How Can Educational ICT be Relevant to the Poorest of the Poor?
Consider this: can children in the remotest villages, who can’t even afford proper stationery for school, have access to a top of the line tablet or a laptop for a gamified version of the class exercise? No, but they certainly should.
In what is now nothing short of a digital world—considering the pervasive impact of technology around the world at least—learning and applying already existing skills is going to be several folds harder without access to communication and information, increasingly even in the “developing” world. The lack of exposure to ICT can be a serious impediment to stay relevant in the job market after finishing school. Even in a scenario where people do have a job, it could leave them handicapped or limit upward mobility.
Besides, ICT tools have also become central to continued learning outside of the classroom, and an important part of retraining or improving at the job. Educational ICT can directly enable basic ICT skills, but also help develop crucial skillsets in equally important practices of critical thinking and problem solving. So the better question is, “can educational ICT be relevant to the poorest of the poor?” The answer is an emphatic “yes”. The policy makers, innovators, and academics should just be more creative to find what fits best.
Why hasn’t more been done?
The question that might follow is, “if the impact of educational ICT is so important, why hasn’t more been done?” It is not that we lack ideas and innovations–there are spots of brilliance everywhere–but successfully scaling them up has not always been possible.
Often times, there have been attempts to boost education ICT in remote parts of the world, and in spite of all the research, hard work, and investment, they have failed miserably. This gives much fodder for the critics (and for good reason) of if educational ICT is relevant in the “developing” world. It is easy to imagine the latest technological breakthroughs in the schools with well-developed infrastructures. The same successes when applied in context of the schools in the remotest of villages would certainly fare better, even in the eyes of the staunchest detractor.
Ongoing projects like NEPAD e-Schools and One Laptop per Child show a lot of promise, but they still face development’s age-old problem of bringing them to scale. With the right policy framework to allow the necessary latitude for the projects to adapt to the new realities, educational ICT could thrive anywhere.
Beyond the direct impact
Educational ICTs also offer the possibility of game changing improvements to school governance, curricular reform, and teachers in the education systems. Among other efficiencies, the introduction of lCT could lower the cost of implementing student learning assessments and better link the results to both teacher development and the allocation of education resources.
The use of ICT could also simplify the supply of up-to-date information on teacher development programs, and expand learning to outside of formal school settings (see this). The empowerment of the school networks and educators in the poorest parts of the world pays dividends to the students.
In many cases, learning for the poorest of the poor is hampered by access and equity issues (due to gender, geography, and socio-economic background per this). Education for ICTs can go a long way in filling those inadequacies through the efficiency and effectiveness created in learning, teaching and education systems governance and management across the board.
The promise of technology in education and the lessons learned from “failed” attempts not only make educational ICTs relevant to the poorest of the poor, but they are poised to start an education revolution. Today’s policy makers, innovators, and academics need only ask the right questions.


Newspaper archives can be a great resource for finding information about a person or an organization or business.
Here are some ways that newspaper archives can help you find out information about a person:
- Obituaries: One of the most valuable sources of information in newspaper archives is obituaries. Obituaries often include biographical information about the deceased, including their birthdate, occupation, family members, and achievements. They can also provide other details about the person’s life.
- Birth and marriage announcements: Newspaper archives may also contain birth and marriage announcements, which can provide important information about a person’s family history and relationships.
- News articles: News articles can be a great source of information about a person, especially if they were involved in a newsworthy event or were a public figure. Even for non public figures, there are often news articles about high school and college events (sports, theater productions, graduations etc) which can provide important factual information about a person.
- Classified Advertisements and Legal Notices: Newspaper archives may also contain classified advertisements and Legal Notices which can provide information about their occupation, interests, and lifestyle.
- Opinion pieces: Opinion pieces, such as editorials or letters to the editor, can also provide insights into a person’s beliefs and values.
To find information about a person in newspaper archives, you can start by searching for their name, as well as any relevant keywords or dates. You may also want to try searching for the names of family members, as well as the places where the person lived or worked.
Here is a list of newspaper archives websites in the US:
- Library of Congress – Chronicling America: This website provides access to over 16 million pages of historic newspapers from 1789-1963 from 48 states and the District of Columbia. It is free and open to the public.
- NewspaperArchive.com: This website claims to have the world’s largest online newspaper archive with over 300 million pages of historical newspapers from the United States and around the world. It requires a subscription to access.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: This database provides access to over 30 historical newspapers from major cities in the US, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. It requires a subscription to access.
- GenealogyBank: This website provides access to over 7,000 historical newspapers from the United States, including obituaries, marriage and birth announcements, and other genealogical records. It requires a subscription to access.
- Newspapers.com: This website provides access to over 19,000 historical newspapers from the United States and around the world. It requires a subscription to access.
- The New York Times Archives: This website provides access to all articles published in The New York Times from 1851 to the present day. It requires a subscription to access.
- Genealogy websites: Many genealogy websites, such as Ancestry.com and Findmypast, offer access to historical newspaper archives as part of their subscription services.
- Library databases: Many libraries offer online access to newspaper archives through their databases. Check with your local library to see if they offer this service.
- Newspaper websites: Some newspapers host their own online archives of their past issues. This may be a paid service, or it may be available for free.
- Google News Archive: Google News Archive is an online database of historical newspapers, offering free access to millions of articles from a range of newspapers.


I became a journalist in 1965, when two successive droughts killed thousands and forced India to beg for US food aid. India’s share of global food aid was so large then that a best-selling book claimed that India was unviable and should be left to starve, conserving food aid for viable countries.
How distant those dark days seem! This year another drought has struck, but we have no panic or talk of food aid. India withstood a terrible drought in 2002, so Indians are confident that the government knows how to tackle droughts. That’s a revolutionary change from the 1960s.
Most people think that the green revolution ended mass starvation. Not so. The green revolution improved yields, and made India self-sufficient. Yet it did not raise yields sufficiently to increase foodgrain availability per head. Remarkably, grain consumption per head in later years rarely reached the 1964 level.
Why, then, did droughts cease to cause mass starvation? Because of better food distribution, not production. In subsequent droughts, enough food got through to the worst hit.
Rural employment was the key to success. Maharashtra first experimented with an Employment Guarantee Scheme when hit by successive droughts in the early 1970s. Simultaneously, countries of the Sahel region in Africa suffered repeated drought. Food aid was rushed to the Sahel, while very little came to India or Maharashtra. Yet there was mass starvation in the Sahel, and none in Maharashtra.
Economists Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze explained the paradox. In Maharashtra, grain availability per head was just half that of the Sahel. But employment schemes enabled hungry Maharashtrians to earn just enough to stave off death. Maharashtra suffered mass hunger, but not mass starvation.
The opposite was true in the Sahel. Food aid piled up in ports and godowns, but there was no mechanism to get it to those starving. NGOs, government agencies and free kitchens did not have the necessary reach.
In Maharashtra, the market provided the reach. Once the needy obtained purchasing power through employment schemes, the market drove grain to where the money was. This reached the needy more efficiently and completely than free government kitchens.
Other states did not follow Maharashtra’s lead in enacting employment guarantee legislation. But when a drought occurred, they would rush to create emergency employment schemes. Gujarat, for instance, created millions of man-days of work to successfully combat the 1987 drought.
This approach aimed to relieve distress, not improve economic efficiency. Yet economic efficiency improved too. Research across the world shows that, other things equal, small farmers are more efficient than large ones, mainly because they maximize the use of family labour.
Markets usually drive assets to those who use them most efficiently. When industries suffer a recession, inefficient industries fail and are acquired by efficient ones. But this does not happen in rural India in a drought: efficient small farmers do not acquire the land of inefficient absentee landlords. On the contrary, many small farmers make distress sales of their land and cattle to large farmers.
Why such perverse results? Because rural credit and insurance markets are missing or incomplete. Big farmers dominate access to credit, and enjoy the lion’s share of huge rural subsidies for electricity, water, fertilizers and credit. In these conditions, small-farm efficiency does not translate into superior yields or income.
Rural employment schemes plug the financial gaps of small farmers and thwart distress sales. This not only relieves suffering but improves economic efficiency: small landholders are efficient.
How should rural employment be tailored to meet needs in the current drought? First, the financial allocation must be raised: the budget has already done this. Second, the spending share of the states should be reduced in the worst-hit areas, enabling them to tap more central money. In 2008, Bihar provided just 23 days work per applicant, Chhattisgarh 30 days, Jharkhand 44 days and Uttar Pradesh 26 days. These states are badly hit by drought this year, and must expand person-days of work massively.
Third, payments to workers must be prompt. Many states routinely delay payments, hitting the neediest. Dreze rightly calls this deplorable.
A radical solution would be for states to stop rural works and simply pay the legal compensation to job-card holders. This will cost less than rural works, since money will not be spent on materials or supervision: it will go entirely to the needy. In effect, cash transfers will replace rural works. Activists like Dreze will demur: they think rural works create durable assets, despite evidence to the contrary. I believe that in a major drought, we should focus on getting cash to the needy, not on building mud roads that vanish in the next monsoon.


According to EF English Proficiency Index (EF-EPI), Costa Rica has not been able to raise their level of proficiency in the last five years, same as in El Salvador while Panama and Guatemala, which in 2014 and 2015 did improve their performance, fell in 2016 to the “Very low” level.
The index published each year defines three levels of language proficiency in 72 countries around the world.
In the world rankings, Costa Rica ranked 38 of 72 countries, has a “Low Proficiency”, an EF EPI score of 51.35 and ranks 4th of 14 in Latin America, behind Argentina, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
Guatemala, Panama and El Salvador, ranked 53, 50 and 63, respectively. Nicaragua and Honduras are not covered in the study.
In nearly all countries surveyed, women have stronger English skills than men.
The EF EPI sixth edition calculated using test data from 950,000 test takers in 2015 reveals Costa Rica has remained “Low” since 2011, without any improvement, while Panama deteriorated from “Low” to “Very Low”.
El Salvador, on the other hand, ranked 63rd worldwide and last place in Latin America, at the “Very Low” level, where it has been since 2012. Only in 2011 did it have the “Low” level.
Research shows that better English correlates with higher income and better quality of life.
Compared with other Central American countries, Guatemala is the third country with the worst level of English, surpassed only by El Salvador. The level according to the 2016 ranking is “Very low”, and a fall was reported compared to 2015 when it ranked in the “Low” level.
About the EF-EPI
The EF English Proficiency Index attempts to rank countries by the average level of English language skills amongst those adults who took the EF test. The index is based on data from a survey, not on a representative sampling model.
The EF-EPI is increasingly cited as an authoritative data source by journalists, educators, elected officials, and business leaders.
The EF English Proficiency Index has been criticized for its lack of representative sampling in each country. The report states that participants in the tests are self-selected and must have access to the internet. It is an online survey rather than a statistically valid sampling of the population.
However, there are few alternative comparisons available of countries by their English skills.


Definitions for tamarindo
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word tamarindo
tamarind, tamarind tree, tamarindo, Tamarindus indica(noun)
long-lived tropical evergreen tree with a spreading crown and feathery evergreen foliage and fragrant flowers yielding hard yellowish wood and long pods with edible chocolate-colored acidic pulp
large tropical seed pod with very tangy pulp that is eaten fresh or cooked with rice and fish or preserved for curries and chutneys
Tamarindo is a town and distrito located on the Nicoya Peninsula on the Northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica in the Province of Guanacaste. The district has a population of 3,525, although the town itself is about 500. But it can swell to 5,000 people or more during the tourist season and during special holidays. The main attractions are surfing and eco-tourism. Playa Tamarindo is a long beach, with excellent waves near the mouth of the estuary. Currents can be strong, especially on a falling tide. Tamarindo has two main breaks for advanced surfers: Pico Pequeño a rocky point in front of the Hotel Tamarindo Diriá and the excellent river mouth break across from Cabinas Tsunami called El Estero. The rest of the beach breaks are perfect for learning. The biggest waves can get up to 12 feet, although only during November and December. Playa Grande beach is also where the Leatherback Turtle comes to lay its eggs. The leatherbacks take over the beach from November to April, digging their nests up to one meter deep, lay their eggs and cover the pit with sand, and return once again to the sea. After 60 to 90 days, the hatchlings emerge and immediately make their way to the water. There are other eco-friendly activities including watching turtles during their nesting season at night, diving, snorkeling, body surfing, zip-lining, estuary trips, horseback riding and fishing. During the December to April period when the water turbidity is low, fishing may be done from the shore.
Find a translation for the tamarindo definition in other languages:
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One of the most difficult parts so far of researching traditional barbacoa has been trying to nail down its history, both recent and pre-Conquest. There are plenty of myths out there — the things people say and repeat, often without any evidence other than that someone else said it. But I’ve been surprised at how thin the historical record is and even more surprised how thin the anthropological/archaeological record is. Even in books devoted to the history of food in mesoamerica, earth oven cookery is rarely mentioned.
However, I was happy to find, recently, the work of Professor Stephen L Black, especially his article co-authored with Alston V Thoms entitled, “Hunter-Gatherer Earth Ovens in the Archaeological Record: Fundamental Concepts.” Here is the abstract:
Remains of earth ovens with rock heating elements of various sizes and configurations are common at hunter-gatherer sites around the world. They span the last 30,000 years in the Old World and some 10,000 years in the New World. Although various foods were baked in these ovens, plants predominate. Earth ovens are ethnographically well documented as family-size and bulk cooking facilities, but related technology and its archaeological signatures remain poorly understood and understudied. These ubiquitous features are often mischaracterized as generic cooking facilities termed hearths. It is proposed that, in fact, most rock “hearths” are heating elements of earth ovens. Reliable identification and interpretation of earth ovens requires documentation of heating elements, pit structure, rock linings, and various remnants thereof. Fundamental technological concepts for investigating their archaeological signatures include thermodynamics, construction designs, and life cycles in systemic context, as informed by ethnographic, archaeological, and experimental data. Earth oven technology explains well the primary purpose of labor-intensive thermal storage for long-term cooking and conserving fuel. Information from the extensive archaeological record of earth ovens on the Edwards Plateau of south-central North America illustrates these points.
It’s really a primer on the archaeology of earth ovens. The bibliography will be an opportune rabbit hole that I look forward to getting lost in, but the article itself has a lot to offer, including the basic timeline of earth oven usage and its spread across the globe, how to spot the remains of earth ovens, the science behind the effectiveness of earth ovens, the nutritional advantage of earth ovens, and the basic technology of how earth ovens work.
Take, for example, this outline of the basic structure of earth ovens, as illustrated by the picture at the top of this page:
In its moist-heat baking mode, a typical earth oven consists of seven layers (Figure 1), from bottom to top: (1) prepared surface (i.e., basin or deeper pit); (2) fire (reduced to glowing coals and ashes when oven is sealed); (3) layer of hot rocks; (4) lower layer of green plant material, which we call packing; (5) food being baked; (6) upper packing layer; and (7) earthen cap. The packing layers envelop the food, keeping it clean, supplying critical moisture, and adding flavor. Moist heat allows the food to undergo hydrolysis, during which complex molecules are broken into smaller, more easily digestible molecules (Wandsnider 1997). A moist-heat baking environment is also essential because, as long as adequate moisture from the packing material and food is retained in the oven (water is sometimes added), the temperature of the food remains below the phase change from water/liquid to steam/gas (ca. 100°C) and thus prevents burning/charring the food (Stark 1997).
This gives basic insights into the process for making barbacoa and what is necessary to the process and how it has changed or stayed the same throughout its history. I can’t help but notice, for example, that while we think of this earth oven technology as primarily a means to cook meat, the earth ovens were originally used more for vegetables, especially those least digestible. I have always thought of mezcal production as a post-Conquest technology. However, the cooking of the agave roots in large underground pits, while it may today be used almost exclusively as the first step towards turning starch to sugar to alcohol, it is clearly a process that pre-dated the Spanish, but turned the starch to sugar to food.
If you want to check out some of the field work Black and his students are doing on earth ovens, you can check out this blog post on earth ovens in Nevada, too.


Healthy food for everyone through collaboration, education and promoting self-reliance.
To grow a thriving local food system where consumers make informed decisions; farmers make a decent living while prioritizing ecological stewardship of the land; and all people – regardless of income – have access to healthy food. We push beyond the immediate demands of hunger relief toward community food security (and hunger prevention) with programming that expands our community’s capacity to feed each other today and into the future.
1) Food and quality nutrition is the foundation for well-being for the individual. The well-being of our community is directly linked to the health of the soil and ecosystem that feeds us;
2) All people, regardless of income, deserve access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food at all times;
3) Healthy behaviors are rooted in an appreciation and re-valuing of the food, land, and people that provide for us;
4) To move from emergency handouts toward long-term community food resilience, we must prioritize community capacity building and development of the individual’s sense of agency;
5) We are engaged in an evolving conversation and thus programming must remain responsive and dynamic to shifting community priorities and needs.
6) All parts of the system are inter-connected and thus solutions must benefit multiple stakeholders of the food system;
7) Diversity- cultural, biological, socio-economic, nutritional, and linguistic- cultivates and strengthens individual and community resilience.
Building Community Food Security through Access, Education, Engagement, and Empowerment!
1) Access: Increase access to healthy food for low-income families and seniors while improving the economic viability of local farms;
2) Education: Foster positive relationships to food and increase healthy behaviors and lifestyles for all people, especially those facing diet-related diseases;
3) Empowerment: Build skills and community capacity in gardening, farming, food preparation and preservation, as well as hands-on experiences addressing malnutrition in our community
4) Engagement: Expand community engagement, collaboration and action around solutions to food waste, food insecurity, ecological harm and other shortfalls of our conventional food system with methods that empower food insecure community members into a greater sense of agency-turning recipients into participants.
The environmental, economic, and health impacts of our conventional food system requires community-based solutions that are collaborative, prevention-focused, systems-oriented and benefit multiple stakeholders.
By convening people from diverse sectors and experiences, we design innovative programming that responds to the need of our community and works toward our common vision. Not a food bank or pantry, Bounty is a small group of community organizers, facilitators and farmers that, over the past ten years, has played a large role in shifting the local conversation from just hunger relief to addressing underlying systemic problems for long term and lasting change toward hunger prevention.
Our work goes beyond conversation with measurable and notable impacts including: expanded economic opportunities for local farms; the quality of food pantry offerings; food waste and greenhouse gas emissions prevention; food miles saved; school and youth visits to our farm; attitudes toward healthy food and lifestyles; increased knowledge of sustainable farming techniques, self-sufficiency skills, and the importance of food security for all; policy and advocacy to direct service providers to local and state laws; number of at-risk youth trained; and increase of CalFresh customers served at local farmers’ markets.
For a description of programs, please click on this link.


The topic I chose for my final project was gender diversity. As soon as expecting parents find out the gender of their unborn child and sometime even before that, there are certain gender expectations they have for their child. As a child gets older even the toys they play with are separated based on gender. Gender identity development relates to my topic because it focuses on the kind of person a child grows to be based on the kinds of things they are into, which can be a direct affect to their gender identity. I feel as though growing up gender plays a big role in the kinds of things a child wants to do as well as what their parents will allow them to explore. For example, it is more acceptable for little girls to have play kitchen sets and want to learn how to cook and clean then it is for boys. On the other hand little boys are encouraged to play with army men, tool sets, and trucks. Using this example even toys are geared toward specific genders.
One of the sources I would like to include in my project is one from Healthy Children, which is a website/blog ran by pediatricians that has a section that talks about gender identity development in children. This page does a really good job at explaining gender identity and what to expect from your child while they are going through this stage of life. It also gives parents some ideas of how they can help guide their child through this time. Another reason I chose this source was because not only does it explain what gender identity is and what happens during this time, it also explains some ways that children will express their gender identity. I think that this source provides good, broad, information on this topic.
American Academy of Pediatrics (2018) Gender Identity Development in Children retrieved from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Confusion-In-Children.aspx
Gender identity development relates to children within the special education population that have behavioral issues because it would make sense to me that males and females present differently with regard to behaviors either in or outside of the special education arena. While I notice that males seem to externalize more throughout childhood, it seems that females are more likely to internalize. I have always felt this way and it has guided a lot of my thought processes with regard to treatment plans. However, this is a biased perspective which may potentially have a negative impact on children, because if I look at them through a fixed lens of male-externalizes and female-internalizes then it will limit my own ability to accurately identify behaviors and their roots.
Some supporting resources that I may use include peer-reviewed journal articles, media books and resource books (hard copies). I intend to use peer-reviewed articles to support the majority of my final assignment. I will also rely on the books and resources that have been given to us this semester.
I think that the specific resources I intend on using provide both a broad and specific perspectives. I’m going to rely on the use of journal articles for the majority of my work because it allows me to focus on a specific topic and go in depth with that topic. If I want to get a bit more broad information, then I may resort to using media books or other books – or potentially could access information on blogs related to my topic.
Please list references


Papaya is a luscious fruit that has been taken for granted. The total crop area in the Philippines planted to papaya amounts to only 8,720 hectares or 0.1 percent of our agricultural land. Yet no one can deny its tastiness as a dessert or as an indispensable vegetables dish of various recipes. Papaya fruits are good sources of Vitamin A, B and C. It is a familiar meat tenderizer because for clearing fruit juices, on fermenting liquors, pre-shrinking the quality of wool and as soap for washing clothes. Papaya possesses medicinal values.
Papaya can be easily grown in home yard gardens. It can also be a profitable enterprise. Under ordinary farm condition, production cost amounts to only P2,700 per hectare on the first year and P1,500 per hectare on the second year. The net profit on the first year may be less than P400 per hectare; but in the second year the returns can reach as high as P4,000 per hectare. The productive life of a papaya plant is about 3-1/2 years. This means that after establishing the plantation, income will flow with little effort provided you have a ready market.
There are several cultivars you can choose from whether for backyard or commercial planting:
“Cavite Special” is a popular semi-dwarf type that blooms 6 to 8 months after planting. The fruit weighs from 3 to 5 kilos each and mainly eaten fresh.
“Sunrise Solo” is a new improved high quality selection with reddish orange flesh, each fruit weighing half a kilo.
“Waimanalo” is high quality variety with orange yellow flesh, each fruit weighing from one-half to one kilo.
“Sinta” is the first Philippine-bred hybrid papaya, semi-dwarf, profile, sweet and flesh and weighs 1.2-2.0 kg./fruit.
LAND PREPARATION AND PLANTING
Land preparation for papaya orchard is similar to other upland crops. First clear the fields; then plow and harrow alternately about 2 to 3 times to kill weeds and provide good internal drainage. The distance of planting papaya ranges from 2 to 3 meters depending on the variety.
Papaya plants are usually planted by direct seedling in the field. Place 5 or more seeds in each hole; then cover with ¼ inch of soil. When fresh seeds are used, seeds will germinate in 10 to 14 days after planting. Seed germination is better and faster if the gelatinous envelope (sarcotestae) surrounding the seed is removed by means of the fingers. In some cases, seedlings are started in the nursery by sowing seeds in seed plots or individual containers such as in cans or plastic bags. Sow 3 to 4 seeds per container. Use sterilized soil to avoid nematode infestation and damping-off. Seedlings in the nursery should be grown under full sunlight to produce vigorous and hardy seedlings. Care should be taken not to disturb the root system. Constant watering is essential until plants are well-established. Seedlings are transplanted when there are 3 to 4 leaves.
Thin papaya seedlings in the field 4 to 6 weeks after emergence. Leave only 3 of the strongest seedlings in each hole. Save plants that are spaced far enough from one another to allow minimum competition for sunlight and nutrients.
The second and final thinning in the field should be done as soon as flowers appear. This is usually 4 to 6 months after seed germination. At this stage, leave one tree seedling per planting hole. In plantation where female trees are grown, some pollinating trees of either male or hermaphrodite forms should be preserved during the thinning process. Allow one male plant to grow for every 15 to 20 female trees for pollination purposes.
CARE OF PAPAYA PLANTATION
Establishment of Windbreaks
Windbreaks are necessary in areas where strong winds prevail. Local materials used as windbreaks are ipil-ipil and madre de cacao. The distance between windbreaks varies with location. Where winds blow horizontally across the plantation, a common rule of thumb is to space windbreaks at a distance of 20-30 times the height of windbreak trees. Where winds come in different directions and angles, it is necessary to have windbreaks half as close.
In general, a good windbreak should be permeable, allowing some air to pass through.
Factors such as soil types, rainfall, locations, cultural practices, and age of plant influence fertilization practices. Start fertilizing when seeds are planted or when seedlings are transplanted in the field. Mix a handful (5-10gms.) of complete fertilizer (14-14-14) with the soil at the bottom of the hole before planting. As papaya seedlings grow larger, more fertilizer is applied.
Guide for papaya fertilization in the Philippines:
1. Apply 60 grams of ammonium sulfate as soon as plants are well-established and show new growth.
2. Apply the same amount at intervals of six weeks until plants are one year old.
3. Thereafter, apply 225 grams of ammonium sulfate per plant every three months.
4. Apply 450 grams superphosphate per plant at the start of rainy season every year.
5. In potassium-deficient soils, complete fertilizer with ratios 2:1:2 or 2:1:3 is recommended.
Weeds can be controlled by mechanical and chemical means. Hand-weed when papaya plants are less than 2- ½ meter high. Always keep one meter area around the trunk free from weeds.
In large commercial papaya plantation, weed control is done by using herbicides. Spray pre-emergence herbicide to hinder weed control for six months without much damage to plants. Spray post-emergence herbicides such as Paraquat of Gramoxone plus a surfactant, at intervals between sprays 5-6 weeks. Since papaya seedlings are very sensitive to chemical sprays, remove weeds close to the seedlings manually.
Papaya can be grown as intercrop with coconuts, coffee, pineapple or assorted vegetables. Intercropping with papaya increases total farm income and reduces weeding expenses. It is important to provide fertilizer requirement of the intercrop.
Harvesting is a simple operation when papaya trees are short and the fruit can be reached by hands. The first harvesting starts on the 7th to 8th month after planting. Pick all fruits showing a tinge of yellow at apical end.
Place harvested fruits in picking bags, galvanized containers or pails. Allow fruits to mature more fully to develop better flavor. However, this shortens shelf life and make them more susceptible to fruit fly infestation.
When papaya trees grow older, harvesting is done with the use of ladder. It is a tedious, time-consuming and costly method of harvesting. Farmers in Cavite use a long pole to strike the apical end of the papaya fruit to detach it from the tree while the fruit is caught by hand.
The papaya plant will keep on fruiting for many years but production declines rapidly as it grows older. Old trees grow slower and produce lesser fruits. The productive life span of papaya plantations end after 3-1/2 years. The yield of well-managed papaya plantation is 35 to 40 tons of fruits per hectare which is roughly 4 times the average yield (national) of 10 tons per hectare per year.
COMMON DISEASE AND PESTS OF PAPAYA AND THEIR CONTROL
Phytophtora blight – caused by Phytophtora palmivora. Common symptoms are found on stems and fruits. Small, water-soaked, discolored spots may occur anywhere on the stem, around the fruit or leaf scars, especially during fruit production. These infected areas enlarge and often completely encircle stems of young trees. Green fruits are resistant to infection but can be invaded through the wound or through the peduncle from the stem cankers. Infected mature fruits that hand on the tree shrivel as disease progresses, turn dark brown, become mummified and fall to the ground. Mummified fruits become reservoir for fungus and source of infection.
Control – remove rotting fruits from the tree as these serve as reservoir of spores from fungal mass which is carried by rain or wind to healthy parts of plants. These spores may infect non-injured leaf tissue, stems or fruit. Good drainage conditions reduce infection and use of protectant spray such as copper sulfate or DithaneM-45 fungicides limit extent of injury.
Anthracnose – Affects both plants in the field and the fruits at harvested. First symptom is usually a small, round, water-soaked area on ripening portion of the fruit. As fruit ripens, these spots enlarge rapidly, forming circular, slightly sunken lesions; these enlarge up to 2 inches in diameter as fruit matures. Fungus frequently produces large, light orange or pink masses of spores in the center of the lesions. Sometimes spores are produced in concentric rings similar to a bull’s eye. In addition to producing this surface damage, the fungus also advances into the fruit.
Occasionally, green portions of the papaya become affected with anthracnose. Disease first appears as a small, water-soaked lesion. Soon after fungus penetrates the fruit, latex comes out in sticky mound of horns. These lesions enlarge to ½ inch in diameter as fruit remains green and eventually plant dies. Infected petioles may act as source of inoculum for infection of fruit.
Control – Control of this disease can be achieved only by means of a thorough spray program. In rainy areas with high temperatures, spray Dithane M-45 at 7 to 10 days intervals. Copper-based fungicides also provide good control.
Papaya mosaic – Initially, leaves develop rugged appearance. Undersides of leaves show thin, irregular, dark-green lines etching the borders of cleared area along veins. Younger leaves of crown are generally stunted and severely chlorotic with veins banding; transparent oily areas are scattered over leaf or along leaf veins. In mature leaves, chlorotic patters is light color between veins accompanied by numerous small rinds ranging from transparent yellow to tan yellow. In several affected areas, defoliation progresses upward until only a small tuft of leaves remains at the crown. Stems of infected plants show pinpoint-sized, water-soaked spots may develop into linear or concentric ring patterns, w/c become larger and more intense in color. This is generally transmitted by green peach aphid, Myzuz persicae.
Control – The only satisfactory way of controlling mosaic is by destroying source of the virus. A strick roguing program should also be followed:
– Spray all infected trees with insecticide to kill aphid carriers.
– Cut all infected trees and remove them from growing trees and other cucurbit plants.
– Avoid nearby cultivars of cucurbit plants.
– Control aphids with pesticides since they are disease-carriers.
Mites – They colonized on different parts of plants and feed on plant, causing premature leaf drop, reduce tree vigor and produce external blemishes on fruit. They puncture plant tissues with their needle-like mouthparts and feed on tissue juices. Some mutiply rapidly throughout the year and cause widespread damage in a very short time.
Control – Control mites by sulfur dustings. Spray Malathion at rates recommended by manufacturers.
Fruit fly – These infest papaya when fruits are allowed to ripen on the tree beyond recommended picking stage. Fruits harvested in the mature green stage are not infested due to the milky substance they exude when fruit is punctured.
Control – Sanitation is important. Destroy all dropped and pre-mature ripe fruits and suspected of being infested to prevent larvae from developing into adults flies.
MEDICINAL VALUES OF PAPAYA
Bruised papaya leaves are used as poultice in treating rheumatism. In nervous pains, leaves can be dipped in hot water or warmed over a fire and applied. As purgative, one tablespoon of the fresh fruit juice mixed with honey and 3 to 4 tbsp. of boiling water is taken one draught by an adult; two hours later, it is followed by a dose of castor oil. This treatment is repeated for 2 days, if necessary, for children aged 7 to 10 years old. The children under 3 years, half the dose is given.


Unlike many things we take for granted these days, like a light bulb or perhaps the telephone, the invention of the internet cannot be attributed to one single inventor. It is something that has evolved through the years and is now one our biggest recreational pastimes.
We can pinpoint the beginnings of the internet by going back to the Cold War when the Americans used it as a weapon. For many years, it was used as a method of communication between researchers and scientists, for them to share their data with one another. Today, it is used for just about anything and, for some, life without the internet would be unthinkable.
Enter the Sputnik
October 4th, 1957. The Russians, then known as the Soviet Union, launched Sputnik. This was the first man-made satellite, sent into orbit, to circle around the earth. It was a failure; all it dis was tumble around in outer space, with no real direction, sending back the odd bleep from the on-board radio transmitters.
Failure it may have been, the USA still saw it as a threat, a warning that they needed to take notice of. While some of the brightest minds in the USA had spent their time designing televisions and cars it would seem that the Soviets had been directing their energies elsewhere – on something that would help them win the Cold War.
It took the launch of this satellite to make America sit up and think. Subjects such as chemistry and physics began to appear on the school syllabus. Government grants were provided for corporations to invest in research and development.
The Federal government began to form new agencies and, so, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was born. Alongside NASA another Department of Defense Agency appeared. The Advanced Research Projects Agency, or ARPA for short, was set up for the development of space-age technology – rockets, computers and weapons.
ARPAnet is born
One of the main concerns with Sputnik from the point of view of the scientists and the military experts was the effect a Soviet attack could have on the telephone system. The biggest fear was that the whole system would be destroyed in one fell swoop, leaving the Americans without any form of communication.
In 1962, J C R Licklider, an MIT and ARPA scientist came up with a solution. He proposed a “galactic” network, a series of computers that could communicate with each other, which would allow government leaders to talk to each other even if the telephone system were destroyed.
In 1965, yet another MIT scientist came up with something called packet switching, a system of sending information from one computer straight to another.
The way that packet switching works is it breaks data into smaller blocks before sending it on its way. Each block, or packet, can then find its own route to its destination and, without this system, the entire network would still have been open to attack.
In 1969, ARPAnet, as the system became known, sent its very first message. It was called a “node to node” communication and it went from one computer, housed at UCLA inside a research lab to another one in Stanford. At that time, each computer was about the size of a small house.
The message they sent was very short and very simple – LOGIN – but it still managed to bring down the ARPA network and the Stanford computer received only the first two letters of the message.
The Growth of the Network
By the time 1969 had ended there were 4 computers connected to ARPAnet but, throughout the seventies, the network began to grow, In 1971, the University of Hawaii’s ALOHAnet was added to the network followed a couple of years later by those from the London University College and Norway’s Royal Radar Establishment.
As these networks began to multiply it started to become difficult to integrate them all into one universal global network, called the “internet”. By the end of the seventies Vinton Cerf, a computer scientist, had found the solution to this by coming up with a way for all of the computers on these mini-networks to talk to each other. It was called “Transmission Control Protocol” or TCP for short.
He later added another protocol into the mix called “internet protocol” and that is what we know today as TCP/IP.
The Beginning of the World Wide Web
This protocol turned the entire series of mini networks into one big worldwide network. During the eighties, scientists and researchers alike made use of this new network to send each other files and date, from one computer straight to another. However, in 1991, everything changed again.
Tim Berners-Lee, a computer programmer from Switzerland, gave us the World Wide Web. This was a system that could be used, not just to send data and files between computers but also as a place of information, a web if you like. This was somewhere where anyone could go to find information about things. This was the internet, as we know it today.
Since then, the internet has evolved beyond recognition. In 1992, at the University of Illinois, a group of researchers and students got together and produced Mosaic. This was the world’s very first internet browser, a very sophisticated one for its time, although later its name was changed to Netscape. Mosaic made it easy to search the internet for information; it let users see pictures as well as words, both on the same page for the very first time.
Mosaic also allowed users to use things like scrollbars and links that you could click, to navigate their way around the web. In the same year, Congress allowed that the web could be used for commercial use of. Because of that, a number of companies began to set up websites, and e-commerce entrepreneurs started to sell goods and services on the internet and now, with social sites like Twitter and Facebook, it is a complete world of its own.


Equine Assisted Personal Development is experiential in design where preconceived learning goals can be experienced.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is a psychological treatment form that combines concepts deriving from Psycho-analysis and Gestalt therapy with experiences and experiential learning.
Both approaches incorporate the EAGALA model. In both participants are invited to participate in activities that involve interactions with horses. Both offer the opportunity for participants to acquire and practice new abilities.
Nonverbal communication, creativity, problem solving skills, the ability to assume responsibility, leadership skills, work ethics, cooperation and relational skills as well as self esteem are just some examples of skill sets that can be acquired, practiced or developed through equine assisted experiences.
- What is "experiential learning"?
- What does an equine assisted process look like?
- Why are horses part of the process?
- What part do the horses take on during the process?
- What does "metaphoric learning" mean?
Incorporating horses into the learning and developmental process transforms the typical process into an experiential one. Participants get to participate and execute certain activities. By processing some of those activities in a follow up conversation, during which observable behaviors and events are brought up, participants have the opportunity to learn much about their thought processes, internal convictions, actions and typical behavioral patterns.
What does the Equine Assisted process look like (according to the US Association for Experiential Learning)?
Experiential learning occurs when carefully chosen experiences are supported by reflection, critical analysis and synthesis.
Experiences are structured to require the learner to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.
Throughout the experiential learning process, the participant is actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning.
Participants are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, soulfully and/or physically. This involvement produces a perception that the learning task is authentic.
The results of the learning are personal and form the basis for future experience and learning.
Relationships are developed and nurtured: learner to self, learner to others and learner to the world at large.
The facilitator and participant may experience success, failure, adventure, risk-taking and uncertainty, because the outcomes of experience cannot totally be predicted.
Opportunities are nurtured for participants and facilitators to explore and examine their own values.
The facilitator 's primary roles include setting suitable experiences, posing problems, setting boundaries, supporting learners, insuring physical and emotional safety, and facilitating the learning process.
The facilitator recognizes and encourages spontaneous opportunities for learning.
Facilitators strive to be aware of their biases, judgments and pre-conceptions, and how these influence the learner.
The design of the learning experience includes the possibility to learn from natural consequences, mistakes and successes.
Horses can have a strong and big impact on human beings. Whether it is the building of a relationship, training a horse or taking care of one – all those activities can influence the person involved in them. The cooperation between humans and horses enables a developmental and learning process in a natural way.
Horses are similar to humans. They are social animals. They have clearly defined roles within their groups and herds. They typically search for contact to others like them. They have distinct personalities and at times mood swings. One method that works with one horse may not work with another one. At times they may appear stubborn and uncooperative. Their sheer size may be intimidating to some people. Engaging in activities with horses and, for example, overcoming those obstacles can provide room to expand self esteem, which in turn may be transferred to everyday life. In other words: interactions with horses offer great opportunities for metaphorical learning.
Horses are able to react to human body and nonverbal language cues. By having partipants create true to life scenarios, the probability increases that used materials are emotionally connotated and charged, which shows itself in participants' body language. Horses react to those cues. Their reactions are documented according to patented observational categories and presented back to participants, who may interpret or label those reactions. Horses therefore can become symbol carriers and potential metaphors. Participants are able to practice and experience various aspects of interest in an emotionally safe environment.
Therefore horses are an integral part of our work.
Metaphor (greek, "to carry over, translate, transport") is a rhetorical figure or figurative picture in which a word is not used in its literal but instead symbolic meaning. Typically there are some similarities between the original word and its metaphorical countenance.
In the field of psychology a metaphor is a description of an object in words that fit another object. It is a simple verbal, culturally influenced cognitive concept in which the realm of human experiences is structured, interpreted and communicated.
In equine assisted work metaphors are in part employed to label the horses's functions. A horse can therefore at times become symbolically a conflict that needs to be dealt with. The horses can become symbolic team mates who need to be motivated to overcome challenges.
The applicability is sheer endless and new behaviors and insights are easily transferred to everyday life.
Are references proof of success? Or do they rather serve as evaluation or easing of underlying concerns? Or do they serve to heighten one's own image?
Client comments and coaching references will not be published by me. Confidentiality is important and is an absolute prerequisite for emotional safety.
At this time it is important to note: the people depicted on posted pictures are volunteers and training participants who have experienced equine assisted work and were trained in working with the model. The photos are copyrighted and were used only with explicit permission of all persons shown in them.


Collections contain selected sets of historical documents related to a specific topic, region, or event.
The origins of nuclear cooperation between Argentina and Brazil from the 1960s onwards.
Documents on the history of Pakistani nuclear development.
Stalin's successors jockeyed for control of the Soviet Union following his death on 1 March 1953.
The KGB operated a worldwide intelligence network to monitor indicators and assess the likelihood of a surprise nuclear missile attack.
Political purges were a common phenomenon in 1950s China. This collection focuses on the so-called Gao Gang and Rao Shushi Affair.
Declassified US government documents on Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.
China's policy of reform and opening, launched by Deng Xiaoping, transformed its economy, the end of the Cold War, and the world.
Koreans in China, Japan, and elsewhere returned or were repatriated to North Korea throughout the Cold War.
Ryszard Kukliski was a Polish colonel and Cold War spy for NATO who passed top secret Warsaw Pact documents to the CIA between 1972 and 1981
Records from Saddam Hussein’s regime released by the Conflict Records Research Center.
The People's Republic of China and the United States squared off against one another from 1949 through 1971.
After 1972 and until Tian'anmen, China and the United States China cooperated in resolving a range of global issues and problems.
On 27 January 1964, France and the People’s Republic of China officially established diplomatic relations.
China and India fought a brief but consequential war in late 1962 over disputed territories in the Himalayas.
A collection exploring the normalization of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and Japan in 1972.
Once war time enemies, relations between China and Japan were often quite cordial during the Cold War.
In 1950, Mao Zedong "leaned to one side" and forged an alliance between China and the Soviet Union.
The Sino-Soviet Border Conflict of 1969 escalated the split into a direct and deadly armed clash.


This review will focus on one promising innovation in breeding technology, namely genome editing.
Agriculture is critical in addressing some of the world’s major challenges: food shortage, nutrition, health and sustainability. Most of the advances in agriculture in the last century can be attributed to either mechanisation (industrial revolution) or improved management and plant breeding and selection (green revolution). Further improvement in productivity and sustainability will, however, require continued advances and innovation.
What is gene editing?
Genome editing is a catchall phrase to describe the technologies that are available to alter an organism’s DNA. The most promising of these technologies is CRISPR, which is an acronym for ‘Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats’ and occurs in nature as a bacterial ‘immune system’.
The technology is relatively simple and versatile, hence its success in revolutionising science, from medicine to agriculture. A decade ago, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier unveiled the potential of this technology and since then the progress and applications increased exponentially.
This discovery is having such an impact on our lives that the two scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020.
Much like antibodies in our own immune system, the CRISPR system enables the bacteria to identify an infecting virus and target specific sequences for destruction using specialised proteins. These proteins are called CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas).
How does gene editing work?
Doudna and Charpentier demonstrated that the Cas protein can easily be re-programmed to find and bind to almost any desired target sequence, simply by attaching a piece of RNA (guide RNA) to steer it in its search.
When the Cas protein and a guide RNA are delivered into a cell, they form an editing complex that moves along the strands of DNA until it finds and binds to a 20-DNA-letter long sequence that matches part of the guide RNA sequence (Figure 1).
This is an impressive feat, considering that the DNA packed into each human cell has six billion letters and is two meters long. Once the target sequence has been recognised, the Cas protein cuts the DNA at the target site.
The cut gets repaired by one of two natural repair mechanisms, the most common of which is error-prone, resulting in a knock-out mutation that usually disable the target gene.
Another repair mechanism relies on homology repair and can be used to introduce foreign DNA, creating a knock-in mutation. So, for instance, scientists could program the Cas protein to snip out a gene that causes Huntington’s disease in humans and insert a “good” gene to replace it.
Numerous types of CRISPR/Cas systems have been discovered – the one we described so far is the most widely used and well known: CRISPR/Cas9. Several more Cas proteins have been characterised that have slightly different mechanisms and target requirements. For example, Cas13, can cut RNA instead of DNA.
Advantages and disadvantages of the technology
Various techniques to knock out genes have been around for years. What makes CRISPR so revolutionary is that it’s so precise: the Cas protein mostly goes wherever it is directed. And, as mentioned before, it’s incredibly versatile, cheap and easy. Also very promising, this technique has worked on every organism it’s been tried on: animals, plants and bacteria.
It provides the possibility to cure genetic diseases and to produce plants that can resist pathogens and adverse climate conditions. CRISPR can be used for DNA-free gene editing without the use of foreign DNA. A DNA-free gene editing system can be a good choice to avoid the possibility of undesirable genetic alterations due to the foreign DNA integrating randomly.
In spite of being such a recent discovery, CRISPR technology has already achieved incredible results. However, each CRISPR system needs to be optimised to be accurate and reliable, especially in eliminating the so called ‘off-targets’ edits. Indeed, it has been observed that sometimes a sequence not exactly the same as the one intended, can be recognised and cut by the CRISPR/Cas.
Like all powerful technologies, it is important that safety and ethical aspects are considered. Scientists must consider that there are potential hazards of using this technology in an irresponsible way.
Applications of CRISPR
The range of applications is wide: including biological research, breeding and development of agricultural crops and animals, and human health. Before focusing on the agricultural/viticulture applications, it is worth it to mention an example of medical use of the technology.
CRISPR-Cas9 was used to correct mutations associated with the human genetic disease, β-thalassemia. First, induced pluripotent stem cells from the β-thalassemia patients were created. Subsequently, CRISPR-Cas9 was used in these cells to correct the mutations in the non-functional human hemoglobin beta gene, resulting in cells with restored expression of the human hemoglobin beta gene, which can be used for gene therapy.
Regarding agriculture, it is crucial to mention that evidence suggests that through the potential contributions to increase yield, enhance nutrition and greater environmental sustainability, genome editing can help attain the top three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified by the United Nations.
For example, genome editing can contribute to increase sustainability through improvement of water- and nitrogen-use efficiency of crops, reduction in environmental footprint in agricultural production, and enabling the production of more food using less or the same amount of resources as conventional crops and livestock.
Applications in grapevine
Uptake of CRISPR technology in the grapevine research community industry has been slow and cautious, probably because of the notorious recalcitrance of grapevine, being a perennial woody fruit crop, to any type of genetic improvement.
The uncertain and contradictory policies regarding the regulation of genome-edited crops in different parts of the world certainly also contributes to this slow progress with applications in grapevine.
Ironically, the precision and relatively low cost of the technology may be particularly useful in the wine industry, where a huge value is attributed to existing Vitis vinifera varieties.
Unlike in the case of traditional breeding, where genetic backgrounds are randomly mixed, the minimalistic nature of the genetic modifications (most of the time the removal or insertion of a single genetic letter) introduced by CRISPR technology, allows for desired changes to be made, while retaining cultivar characteristics. CRISPR/Cas9-edited grapevine plants have been generated in a few cases.
In 2016, CRISPR-induced point mutations in ‘Chardonnay’ embryogenic cell masses led to the regeneration of plants with an altered production of tartaric acid and vitamin C. Around the same time, attempts to create non-transgenic edited grapevines by directly delivering purified Cas9 and gRNAs into ‘Chardonnay’ cells, generated edited cells, but could not recover viable plants.
In parallel, the technology was used to create edited grapevine plants using two different delivery systems, one GMO and one DNA-free. In another application, ‘Neo Muscat’ plants displaying the characteristic albino phenotype in leaves were obtained after somatic embryos were transformed with a CRISPR/Cas9 editing construct targeting the phytoene desaturase gene.
A number of applications also targeted major diseases of grapevine e.g., transgenic ‘Thompson Seedless’ plants, in which the WRKY52 transcription factor gene was mutated using CRISPR/Cas9, were recently produced for increased resistance to Botrytis cinerea.
Likewise, the technology was used to edit both downy mildew and powdery mildew susceptibility genes in the powdery mildew-susceptible cultivar ‘Thompson Seedless’ and in different grapevine clones.
In other food crops, CRISPR/Cas technology have been used to achieve impressive results, mostly to address biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Examples include drought and salinity stress in many grain and vegetable crops, and numerous fungal, bacterial and viral diseases in crops like maize, wheat, rice, potato, tomato, soybean, cabbage and cucumber.
Recently, an unexpected feature of the alternative Cas12, Cas13 and Cas14 nucleases, that of non-specific activity upon recognition and digestion of the original target, has been exploited to design diagnostic systems far more accurate and sensitive than any existing methods.
World views of the technology
Policy regulations for the CRISPR-Cas9 system vary around the globe. As far as agriculture is concerned, countries are regulating the production of edited crops in different ways. More conservative approaches, like in Europe, consider genome-edited crops as GMOs, simply because of the processes used for producing them, and therefore they are assessed by the cumbersome GMO regulatory processes.
In other countries, like the USA, if the crop was produced by introducing a genetic mutation, without the introduction of foreign DNA, these are not subjected to any regulation. South Africa is following the lead of Europe and edited crops will be regulated like GMOs. It is important to avoid the same mistakes made with GM crops, and to allow genome-edited crops to be more accessible to small/medium enterprises, that can’t afford the burden of unnecessary and onerous regulatory processes.
In a recent comment paper in the influential Nature Genetics journal, scientists recommended that policies are adopted to support the use of genome-editing technologies and genome-edited crops to help improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The need for decisions on the regulatory, trade and intellectual property frameworks are urgently needed to ensure that the best that science can offer, contributes to equity and is not available only to the privileged or wealthy.
CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing is a technology that can modify the genetic code of any organism in a precise way, and in a manner that does not require the insertion of foreign DNA into the genome of the target organism. Since its invention almost a decade ago, CRISPR/Cas technology has found a multitude of applications in medicine and other industries.
In agriculture, the technology is seen as an essential part of any approach to address food sustainability towards the second half of this century.
Desirable traits like tolerance to adverse abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity, which are associated with a changing climate, as well as resistance to pests and diseases that threaten food production, can realistically be achieved using CRISPR/Cas technology, and in a fraction of the time compared to conventional breeding approaches. Several impressive successes have been recorded in many crop plants over the last few years, including a few in grapevine.
– For more information, contact Manuela Campa at firstname.lastname@example.org.


Cornell Entomologist Discovers 14 New Beetle Species
|Perrault's Mecyclothorax, was found at the summit. Courtesy of James Liebherr|
|The Moorean comb-legged Mecyclothorax was found at a slightly lower elevation. Courtesy of James Liebherr|
The genus originated in the Australian region, but there are only 25 species known from Australia, and around 40 more distributed from New Zealand to Java. The most abundant species in Australia can fly, but researchers have discovered 239 flightless species in Hawaii and another 100 in the Society Islands. This phenomenon — a single species dispersing from its place of origin and diversifying into new species elsewhere — is known as adaptive radiation.
The reasons behind "the disparity between the Hawaiian and Society Island radiations versus the source is really the question," said Liebherr.
The Hawaiian and Society Islands are volcanic mountains that rise out of the water from the sea floor, said Liebherr. Often, lava flows from the mountains and bisects areas of forest. Because the Mecyclothorax species in these areas cannot fly and are only three to seven millimeters long, they become isolated in kipukas, small pockets of land surrounded by lava, and then evolve over time into new species.
"The thought is that many Hawaiian insects originated in limited areas within kipukas," Liebherr said.
The Society Islands exhibit much the same qualities, though the landscape is very vertical with isolated mountain ranges, which may lead to even more diversity.
Liebherr collects the insects by shaking the plants they live on over a nylon sheet, or by spraying a pyrethrum insecticide and collecting the specimens, which are later examined in the lab.
Once discovered, Liebherr often names a new insect based on "an attribute that stands out," he said. For example, the male of one species had large spines on its back legs that reminded him of a comb, so he named it Mecyclothorax pahere, using the Tahitian word for comb. Another was named for Georges Perrault, the French entomologist who laid the groundwork for classifying Mecyclothorax species of the area starting in the 1970s.
"These animals are signals for habitats in good health" and, when a new discovery is made, the area becomes a focal point for conservation efforts, adding a rationale for land managers "to argue for management of a particular area," said Liebherr.
Mecyclothorax beetles, which belong to the group Carabidae, are small predatory beetles. The beetles undergo a complete metamorphosis within the first month, with a larval, pupal and adult stage. The adults may live up to a year.


Until the advent of large-scale industrial production in the 20th century, the economic and nutritional contribution of chickens was modest. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond listed chickens among the “small domestic mammals and domestic birds and insects” that have been useful to humanity but unlike the horse or the ox did little—outside of legends—to change the course of history. Nonetheless, the chicken has inspired contributions to culture, art, cuisine, science and religion over the millennia. Chickens were, and still are, a sacred animal in some cultures. The prodigious and ever-watchful hen was a worldwide symbol of nurturance and fertility. Eggs hung in Egyptian temples to ensure a bountiful river flood. The lusty rooster (a.k.a. cock) was a universal signifier of virility—but also, in the ancient Persian faith of Zoroastrianism, a benign spirit that crowed at dawn to herald a turning point in the cosmic struggle between darkness and light.Like so many birds, chickens can be fantastic works of nature's art. Behold these breeds from Tamara Staples' book The Fairest Fowl: Portraits of Championship Chickens.
|This one looks like it's going to the opera!|


Andrew Carnegie (25.11.1835 – 11.08.1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and one of the most important philanthropists of his era. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1848. His first job in the United States was as a factory worker in a bobbin factory. Later on he became a bill logger for the owner of the company. Soon after he became a messenger boy.
Eventually he progressed up the ranks of a telegraph company. He built Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company, which was later merged with Elbert H. Gary’s Federal Steel Company and several smaller companies to create U.S. Steel, which he sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million. With his fortune he devoted the remainder of his life to large-scale philanthropy, with special emphasis on local libraries, world peace, education and scientific research. Andrew Carnegie founded the Carnegie UK Trust which was established in 1913.
The Carnegie UK Trust
Established in 1913 by Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to seek:
“Improvement of the well-being of the masses of the people of Great Britain and Ireland by such means as are embraced within the meaning of the word “charitable” and which the Trustees may from time to time select as best fitted from age to age for securing these purposes, remembering that new needs are constantly arising as the masses advance.”
We have sought to deliver this mission in a number of ways over the past 100 years – investing in libraries, public space, further education, social work, children’s rights, rural development and many more.
In its early decades the Trust focussed primarily upon the building of libraries, reflecting Andrew Carnegie’s strong commitment to extending equality of opportunity through learning. By the 1920s it had also become a major supporter of adult education, funding the Workers’ Educational Association and the creation of Carnegie College in Leeds, (now part of Leeds Metropolitan University), College Harlec in Wales and Newbattle Abbey college in Scotland. It was also a pioneer advocate of rural development and national parks. During the 1930s it began a longstanding programme of funding social welfare projects addressing issues of poverty, unemployment and urban renewal.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, the Trust established the first of a number of independent national Carnegie Commissions of Inquiry. The first of these examined the nutrition and health of the population during the War. Post 1945 the Trust became a major advocate of comprehensive social work and youth and community services, with leading trustees and Commission members at the time, such as Albemarle, Wolfenden, Younghusband and Titmuss being amongst the leading architects of the British Welfare State.
Arts and Culture
The Trust has also had a longstanding interest in the arts and museums and over the decades funded numerous high profile projects at national and local levels from the restoration of the Book of Kells in Ireland and the creation of the Castle Museum in York, to supporting extensive networks of community and voluntary arts workers. National Inquires in this area included its seminal work on film education and on arts and disability chaired by filmmaker Richard Attenborough.
In the nineteen eighties, with a return of high levels of poverty and unemployment in the UK and Ireland, the Trust focussed much of its attention upon national policy and programme initiatives around the Third Age, young people and community and voluntary service.


Welcome to Episode 40 Is the Negativity Bias Affecting Your Knitting? There are ways to counter the negative
Brainy Thing: 20:35 Behind the Redwood Curtain 32:40
What We’re Learning from Our Knitting
Margaret was inspired by Catherine’s project to try Sasha Ball Rives’ wonderful pattern Among the Wildflowers http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/among-the-wildflowers with her own “learning opportunities”, of course.
For a Ravelry swap, Catherine completed the Crochet Flower Potholders pattern by Jennifer Martin Blue J http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flower-potholders using scraps of cotton she had leftover in her stash!
Brainy Thing: Negativity Bias:
Studies have shown that are brains are hardwired toward the negative which is a great advantage on the Savannah but probably not now. Check out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200306/our-brains-negative-bias and
For ways to counter that bias, try Marelisa Fabrega http://daringtolivefully.com/overcoming-negativity-bias.
Behind the Redwood Curtain:
Catherine tells us about the historical Phillips house in Arcata built in 1853/4 in the Greek Revival style which is open Sundays 2 to 4 http://www.arcatahistory.org/phillips_house_museum_arcata .
One of our Ravelry Members, puffygriffinclaw, offers some tips on Felting.
A Little Podcast Business
Listen for the winners of the membership incentive and the tips contest next episode. In the meanwhile, become a member of our Ravelry Group http://www.ravelry.com/groups/teaching-your-brain-to-knit, and check out our website https://teachingyourbraintoknit.com/ for show notes, photos of our knitting and crochet projects, Behind the Redwood Curtain places and things and anything else we decide to post. Also, join our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/Teachingyourbraintoknitpodcast/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel


The most important thing to remember here is this: you should practice slowly. No matter how boring it may sound, you simply have to have patience and practice at a tempo in which you can avoid making mistakes. If you make a mistake, very often (but not always) it means that the tempo is too fast.
Achieving a fast tempo and fluency is similar to lifting weights. If you try to lift a weight for which you are not ready, you will hurt yourself but if you say to yourself “OK, even though I am lifting only that much, this is my current level. I will stick to the plan, and see it through.” This is so true because it is generally believed that you should raise the resistance level by only 10 percent every week for safe exercise. In other words, if you can currently lift 50 pounds, you should add 5 pounds after one week of exercising with this weight. Then add another 10 percent after another week and so on.
The same thing is valid for organ playing. Even though you might think that you are progressing too slowly and you are not able to achieve the fast tempo yet, you are making progress, if only you are practicing correctly and slowly. You can even use the metronome for choosing the tempo. Just like with lifting weights or any kind of physical exercise, increase the speed of your metronome by 10 percent every week. When you are ready, the faster tempo will seem natural. Just have patience and you will succeed. In fact, very often people give up playing a certain organ piece only days before a real breakthrough.
Build up Your Technique
If you feel that achieving the fast tempo is too challenging, it might mean that you need to work on improving your organ technique. Try practicing daily exercises like scales (natural, harmonic, and melodic versions in both major and minor keys), and chromatic scales in parallel and contrary motion in octaves, thirds, tenths, and sixths over four octaves. Also play regular and long arpeggios and chords on a tonic, dominant, and diminished seventh chord. When these exercises become easy, later add scales and chromatic scales in double thirds, and sixths.
All of these exercises can be practiced either on the organ or on the piano. Take a pair of major and minor key with the same number of accidentals and practice all of the above scales, chords, and arpeggios for a week. Then every week practice different keys according to the circle of fifths. If you have very limited practice time, work on your technique at least for 30 minutes a day. After a few weeks you will start to see some real changes in your organ playing. A wonderful collection for improving your manual technique is Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist which include all of the above scales, and arpeggios in part 2 and 3 plus many more exercises for finger dexterity, evenness, and strength. I recommend playing the exercises from Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist before your regular organ practice because it also serves as a fantastic warm-up.
By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.


Many melanoma survivors forgo sunscreen and use indoor tanning beds after recovering from the disease, according to research conducted at the Yale Cancer Center.
Led by Anees Chagpar, associate professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine, researchers analyzed self-reported data from 171 melanoma survivors and presented their findings at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., last week. The research team found that though many survivors take precautions to protect themselves from further melanoma risk, a significant percentage of skin cancer survivors do not. According to the study, 27.3 percent of melanoma survivors nationwide report never wearing sunscreen, 15.4 percent report rarely or never staying in the shade, and 2.1 percent report continued use of indoor tanning salons.
Chagpar said her findings indicate a need for physicians to educate cancer survivors about precautions they can take to avoid further melanoma risk.
“We’ve come a long way in terms of treating melanoma, but we can be doing a better job in terms of educating our patients,” Chagpar said. “We need to convey to survivors that they can be proactive about protecting their skin.”
Chagpar said the research team used data from the National Health Interview Survey, which she called the country’s largest source of health statistics. The data was drawn from the NHIS’s 2010 study and surveyed 27,120 people. Among the population studied, 171 individuals were self-reported survivors of melanoma. Chagpar said NHIS statistics are “population representative” — the 171 survivors surveyed represent a population of 697,309 melanoma survivors nationwide.
Evaluating melanoma survivors and noncancer patients, Chagpar and her team contrasted the sun-protective practices of these two populations. The researchers found that melanoma survivors were more likely to report using sunscreen, and that 2 percent of melanoma survivors reported using a tanning bed within the previous year, compared to nearly 5.5 percent of noncancer survivors. Chagpar said though 2 percent may not seem like a significant proportion of melanoma survivors, she considers the finding important because tanning is an active behavior that puts survivors at risk.
“You would think melanoma survivors would do everything they could to avoid getting cancer again,” said study co-author Donald Lannin, Yale School of Medicine professor of surgery. “It’s interesting to try to understand why patients are engaging in dangerous behavior.”
The research team’s findings have opened up new channels for research, Chagpar said. Since finishing their evaluation of the NHIS data, the researchers have been considering factors that might explain survivors’ decisions to put themselves at risk. Chagpar said the team determined that medical institutions might need to focus more on educating survivors on precautionary behavior, and physicians might also need to communicate with patients to ensure they do not become despondent and self-destructive after recovering from cancer. The research team is using its findings to evaluate the possibility that tanning is an addictive behavior, she added.
Since the data collected in this study came solely from database analysis, Lannin said researchers also hope to understand these findings by interviewing patients about their motivations in forgoing skin protection. Chagpar said she also aims to use the findings to analyze other types of cancer survivors, adding that her research may shed light on the motivations of lung cancer survivors who continue smoking.
“We’re finding more ways to help patients survive cancer, but we need to make sure they are taking action to prevent relapses,” Chagpar said.
The study’s other authors include Jeremy Puthumana ’15, Leah Ferrucci, Donald Lannin and Brenda Cartmel.


When it comes to the formation and shaping up of the immune system, environment plays a more significant role compared to one’s genetic makeup, says a new study. Immune system keeps modifying itself all through an individual’s life to fight disease, suggested Mark Davis, director of Stanford’s Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection. He is the one who led this latest work.
It’s been long known that the way immune system functions in healthy individuals show great variations. To find out what could be the specific role of environment, in this study, scientists compared 78 pairs of identical twins with identical genetic make ups and 27 pairs of non-identical twins, who had about 50 percent of their genes in common, reports The New York Times.
The blood samples from the twin pairs were analyzed. Their age ranged from 8 to 82. More than 200 immune components were studied. The finding suggests that three-quarters of the immune system differences between the twins were due to the impacts from the environment such as previous exposure to microbes or toxins in the form of vaccinations and diet.
“Nonheritable influences, particularly microbes, seem to play a huge role in driving immune variation,” senior study author Mark Davis, a professor of microbiology and immunology and director of Stanford’s Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, said in a university news release.
Another interesting observation confirmed that the specific effects of the environment on the immune system were stronger amongst those who were 60 and older than those who were younger than 20. The same work came up with another intriguing finding.
Cytomegalovirus or CMV results in notorious outcome for people with weak immune systems but with healthy individuals, it proves to be quite harmless.
The Stanford group screened 16 pairs of identical twins, and only one of them had CMV the presence of CMV made substantial differences in around 60 percent of the components examined. The present study doesn’t offer any health advice, it just shows the influence of environmental factors in shaping up of the immune system, concluded Davis.
The work got published Jan. 15 in the journal Cell.


Cast aluminum and wood (painted) on a vertical panel.
For educational use only. All rights reserved by the contributor(s) and publisher(s).
This is the first known method of raising water from a well of no considerable depth. Use is made of a lever of the first type (See first model on No. 2). The rock or counter balance attached to the boom assists in lifting the bucket because it equals about one-half of the weight to be raised.
[Virginia Downward & William M. Clark, 1930]
[Editorís Note: This mechanism is not unlike a slider-crank linkage, where the bucket acts as the sliding piston and the cable serves as the connecting link. FCM]


Scalped turf tends to be weak and sparse, which exposes soil. One of the top contributors to weed success is exposed soil that allows weed seed to take root. A sparse lawn also allows sunlight to reach weed seedlings, which gives them a boost. Consistently cutting grass too short contributes to a poorly developed root system, which also makes the lawn more susceptible to serious damage from drought or high temperatures.
MOW IN THE SHADE
When you prune a plant, it causes stress. Grass is no different. The act of mowing creates tremendous stress on grass plants. If you mow during the heat of the day, individual grass plants lose more water and recover much more slowly than if you mow during the cooler part of the day. Another option is to wait until shade is on the lawn. Grass in the shade loses less water when cut and is quicker to rebound.
ADJUST MOWER HEIGHT
Adjust mower height throughout the growing season. For instance, shift the cutting deck higher in summer and allow grass to grow longer. Taller grass helps shade soil, which prevents weed growth and slows water evaporation from soil. Taller grass also develops deeper roots, which creates a lawn that can withstand drought better.
IDENTIFY SOIL TYPES
Explore your yard’s soil type to make the most effective lawn irrigation decisions. For instance, if you see puddling each time you water, your soil likely has high clay content. This type of soil cannot absorb water quickly, but instead requires repeated, shorter watering cycles. On the plus side, clay soil retains water longer than sandy soil, which needs more frequent watering. Lawn specialists may recommend a soil test to learn what kind of soil is hosting your grass and determine adjustments for irrigation cycles.
Newly sodded or seeded lawns need more irrigation than established turf. In most cases, Regal’s lawn specialists recommend watering new sod lawns daily for the first week. With sod, you can taper off watering after the first week to encourage grass to sink deep roots. For seeded lawns, twice daily watering ensures seedling success. Aim to keep the top inch of soil consistently moist. Keep up daily irrigation until you have mowed the grass at least once (or twice is even better).
Take time to observe the irrigation system. Note where water delivery is coating hard surfaces, like walks or driveways, or where puddling is occurring on the lawn. Adjust nozzles and irrigation duration as needed to ensure you are making the most efficient use of every drop of water.


This news disturbed us not a little, for we realized that we too might become the victims of an Ojibway war party.
He had no English, and our Ojibway was of the strictly utilitarian.
The Ojibway fort runner looked grimly at the antics of his prize.
"In the days of my grandfather" is the Ojibway's preface to all his traditions and legends.
They looked unreal, a shadow following shadows, the huge figure of the Ojibway chief in the first boat a shadow itself.
The sun had smoked him till he was as swarthy as the Ojibway steersman.
I was very small when my uncle brought home two Ojibway young women.
Annee-meekee is the Ojibway for the thunder; "dart of" consequently is the lightning.
He opened a school there and completed a little Ojibway spelling book which was commenced at La Pointe.
“Good-evening,” said Donald, courteously, in the Ojibway tongue.


In "Building Bridges," a Tapestry of Faith program
To live and let live, without clamour for distinction or recognition; to wait upon divine love; to write truth first on the tablet of one's own heart—this is the sanity and perfection of living. — Mary Baker Eddy
IN TODAY'S WORKSHOP... we heard about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, including their journey on the Mormon Trail to escape religious persecution. We found out some facts about Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, and the Baha'i. We talked about the reasons some of these faiths proselytize and we practiced sharing our UU faith with others.
How are UUs viewed in your community and region? Is Unitarian Universalism unknown? Regarded negatively? Appreciated? Are UU congregations welcome in interfaith organizations and efforts? Why or why not? Does your congregation reach out to other faiths in the community? Why or why not?
EXPLORE THE TOPICS FURTHER WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS...
Do you have friends that belong to one of the faiths explored in this workshop? They might appreciate a conversation with you about what it is like to belong to a religious minority. Look for videos on YouTube of youth discussing what it is like to belong to one of these faiths.
Practice describing Unitarian Universalist faith with others in your family so you will be ready the next time someone asks you, "What's a UU?" See the new UUA pamphlet, "To the Point: 15 Unitarian Universalist Elevator Speeches."
For more information contact web @ uua.org.
This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors and congregations.
Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.
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The southern Chesapeake Bay region is experiencing land subsidence and rising water levels due to global sea-level rise; land subsidence and rising water levels combine to cause relative sea-level rise. Land subsidence has been observed since the 1940s in the southern Chesapeake Bay region at rates of 1.1 to 4.8 millimeters per year (mm/yr), and subsidence continues today.
This land subsidence helps explain why the region has the highest rates of sea-level rise on the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Data indicate that land subsidence has been responsible for more than half the relative sea-level rise measured in the region. Land subsidence increases the risk of flooding in low-lying areas, which in turn has important economic, environmental, and human health consequences for the heavily populated and ecologically important southern Chesapeake Bay region.
The aquifer system in the region has been compacted by extensive groundwater pumping in the region at rates of 1.5- to 3.7-mm/yr; this compaction accounts for more than half of observed land subsidence in the region. Glacial isostatic adjustment, or the flexing of the Earth’s crust in response to glacier formation and melting, also likely contributes to land subsidence in the region.