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Native American Healing and Dance
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• Published : October 8, 1999
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Native American Dance and Healing
Native Americans in Contemporary Society:
The population in the United States has increased steadily in the 20th century. In
1990 the number of Native Americans was almost two million, 8 percent of the total
population. Slightly more than one third live on a reservation; about half live in urban
areas. Indian reservations function as independent governments within the federal
Among many of the Native Americans, there are many musical styles, singing is the
dominant form of musical expression, with instrumental music serving primarily as
rhythmic accompaniment. Throughout the Americas the principal instruments have been
drums, flutes, and whistles.
The American Indian lived life in love with nature. Their wisdom showed in
everything, their capacity for harmony with the environment, what they wore, what they
created, what they ate and how it was prepared, in their philosophies and beliefs.
Music and dance were confined to the native world or offered in tourist attractions
as an illustration of a lifestyle unknown to many people. Over the past few years there has
been a heightened interest in all Indian things, such as in their art. Expression in the art
and dance among North American people this part of life in the form of function and
ceremony as it is decoration or performance. Today the Indian Arts have been
"discovered", and a large cross section of humanity is enjoying its intrinsic excellence,
vitality, originality and tradition they offer to the heart and head.
Men's Traditional Dance:
They danced with exaggerated movement above the waist to simulate hunting,
tracking, or fighting, but heavy grounded, flat footed loser body. This dance originated
with members of warrior societies on the Great Plains. Costumes includes an eagle feather
bustle and hair roach made of porcupine quills.
Women's Traditional Dance:
This dance is extremely reversed in nature, simply a single or double step done in a
circle. Sometimes as a up and down movement is done while standing in place. Costumes
for women's traditional dance also remains tribal specific, and sometimes with elaborate
beadwork on a long buckskin or trade cloth dresses.
Stomp Dances:
This dance they get into nature by way of rhythm and it can make your body
healthier and relieve stress. Native Americans believe then and still believe now that when
the body works in harmony with nature, the natural rhythms of the body and spirit work
together. It is that energy that makes one whole. In the Native stomp dances, in the
habitats of the native homelands, when they get into rhythm with nature then your body
becomes healthier, your mental stress is relieved and you become a whole person
spiritually and physically.
It is hard for us to believe that ancient people knew more about their world than we
know about ours. We think or we presume that our knowledge has not only caught up with
theirs but surpasses it. And yet those primitive people may have known more about healing
and preventing disease than we give them credit for. Their medicine was a combination of
faith, blind luck and relying on the good earth, or basically relying on what was there.
What nature provided was all there, there wasn't a corner drugstore, not even medical
specialists. They knew what would keep them from getting sick and what potions would
ease the pains of snake bites and rheumatism and child birth, even what would heal the
wounds of arrows and gunshot wounds, and other scars from battles in their daily living.
Many centuries of trial and error taught them what leaves, herbs, roots, smoke, heat, and
even faith could do. They knew what could cure them and what could kill them. It was
natural healing, and now, centuries later, the world is returning to it.
We ( western...
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This documentation is archived and is not being maintained.
Strings.Join Method (String[], String)
Namespace: Microsoft.VisualBasic
Assembly: Microsoft.VisualBasic (in microsoft.visualbasic.dll)
public static string Join (
string[] SourceArray,
[OptionalAttribute] string Delimiter
public static String Join (
String[] SourceArray,
/** @attribute OptionalAttribute() */ String Delimiter
public static function Join (
SourceArray : String[],
Delimiter : String
) : String
Not applicable.
Required. One-dimensional array containing substrings to be joined.
Optional. Any string, used to separate the substrings in the returned string. If omitted, the space character (" ") is used. If Delimiter is a zero-length string ("") or Nothing, all items in the list are concatenated with no delimiters.
Return Value
For more detailed information, see the Visual Basic topic Join Function (Visual Basic).
There is a parity between the Join and Split functions. The Join function takes an array of strings and joins them using a delimiter string, to return a single string. The Split function takes a string and separates it at the delimiter, to return an array of strings. However, a key difference is that Join can concatenate strings with any delimiter string, Split can only separate strings using a single character delimiter.
The following example demonstrates how to use the Join function to create a list from several strings.
Dim TestItem() As String = {"Pickle", "Pineapple", "Papaya"}
' Returns "Pickle, Pineapple, Papaya"
Dim TestShoppingList As String = Join(TestItem, ", ")
.NET Framework
Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
.NET Compact Framework
Supported in: 2.0, 1.0
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Mythology and “Perdita”
The three Fates spinning Perdita (Latin for the “lost one”) is an elusive but central figure in Marged Brice’s story. She is a gothic, ghostly hybrid—said to have been an important figure in Greek mythology and originally included in the works of the poet, Hesiod (c. 650-750 BCE). Somehow her story has been “lost” from the record (or perhaps deliberately erased). As a result, she is virtually unknown to contemporary readers.
Perdita’s role in mythology
In Greek mythology (according to the novel), Perdita is an orphaned child who was once hidden among the Fates—the three sisters who determine how long a mortal being will live. The metaphor connecting the sisters is “the thread of life.”
Clotho (pictured on the right) is the youngest sister: she spins the “thread of life” from her distaff and onto a spindle.
Her sister, Lachesis (sitting on the left) then measures out the amount of thread that a person is “allotted.”
It is the third sister, Atropos (seated in the background and whose name means “inexorable one”) who cuts the thread and ends a person’s life. Atropos is said to determine both the timing and manner of a mortal’s death.
The Fates may seem rather grim company for a small child, but they have a unique place within Greek mythology. In many accounts, the Fates are depicted as independent entities who make sure that the immutable laws of destiny are allowed to unfold without interference.
In Perdita, however, the Fates can get a little distracted in their work and occasionally make “mistakes.” (The painting by John Strudwick seems to capture a sense of this: Atropos looks thoroughly bored.) The results of their distraction are pieces of “thread” that cannot be accounted for—in other words, “loose ends.”
The extra pieces of thread are hidden under Lachesis’s robe and it is the lost child, Perdita, who gathers these up and makes bundles out of them.
Loose ends
Perdita is an abandoned child in William Shakespeare's
Perdita is an abandoned child in William Shakespeare’s play, “The Winter’s Tale.” King Leontes thinks that his wife (Queen Hermione) has had a child by her lover. The King orders the child’s death but Perdita (the lost one) is rescued by shepherds. (Detail of a painting by A. F. Sandys 1829-1904.)
What are particularly important to Perdita are the loose ends of love relationships—for example: romances that never get off the ground, love that isn’t returned, relationships that are broken off, or love that isn’t acknowledged or even “seen.” This last being something that is particularly important to Clare and Garth’s relationship.
Gathered in Perdita’s bundle, then, are the “loose ends” associated with all the different forms of love: friendship (philia), erotic love (eros), unselfish love (agape), and biophilia, the love between humans and the natural world.
Perdita keeps these loose ends (“lost threads” or in Latin fila perdita) because they are never completely dormant. Loose ends are important to us mortals because they always offer the possibility of redemption, reconciliation and greater understanding. So Perdita’s gift to humans is an extraordinary one—the possibility of love—and it is just as remarkable as Prometheus’s gift of fire (see below).
Perdita’s parents
In the “original” text of Hesiod’s epic poem, events involving Hephaestus, Pandora and Prometheus unfold in a very different way than in conventional versions. Both the events themselves and their sequence is different in the “original,” uncensored version that Garth and Clare discover. But before detailing Perdita’s story, a quick who’s who of the relevant figures in Greek mythology might be helpful.
Zeus by William Blake (1794)
Zeus by William Blake (1794)
Zeus is the godhead or “father of all gods and mortals.” He is the powerful Lord of the Greek mythological world and not only does he like to get his way, but fully expects to get it.
Screen Shot 2015-01-01 at 7.13.25 PMPrometheus is a Greek god who seems to have had a rocky relationship with Zeus. In many stories he frequently tricks Zeus and embarrasses him. He is best known for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humankind. As a result, Prometheus is often depicted as a special friend of humanity—a sort of patron saint—who gives humankind a special skill that none of the other creatures have: that of harnessing and utilizing fire and all its associated technologies. In 18th century Europe (the time of the Western Enlightenment), Prometheus became associated with scientific advancement, technological innovation and the triumph of “reason” over religion and superstition.
Prometheus's punishment by Zeus (J. Jordans, 1640)
Prometheus’s punishment by Zeus (J. Jordans, 1640)
In Greek mythology, Zeus punishes Prometheus by chaining him to a mountain. Each night an eagle visits Prometheus and eats his liver. During the day, Prometheus’ liver regenerates itself—but it is only eaten again by the eagle at night. This goes on for thousands of years until Hercules rescues Prometheus. The phrase a “Promethean agony,” then, captures this sense of a horrible torture that goes on for days and days.
Haphaestus: the
Hephaestus: the “Blacksmith” and maker of Vulcan’s thunderbolts
Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera (goddess of love) and a master craftsman. He is said to have been born crippled and to have made some pretty fabulous objects: the winged helmet of Hermes, Achilles’ armour, Helios’ chariot and the golden lions and dogs at the entrance to Alkinoos who could tell the difference between friends and intruders (and bite only the latter!). One of Hephaestus’ tasks was to make the chains that bound Prometheus to the mountain where Zeus inflicts his horrible punishment.
A cosmological “love child”
Hephaestus in his forge (detail of painting by Diego Valesquez, 1640)
Even before chaining him to a mountain, Zeus is very angry with Prometheus for his many tricks. Zeus is also jealous of Prometheus’ friendship for mortals and so Zeus orders his son Hephaestus (the blacksmith) to make a “beautiful maiden”—a female human (Pandora) who will become the vehicle of Zeus’ revenge. Pandora’s extraordinary beauty is meant to hide what she is really bringing in her “box” to humans: the spirits of pestilence, disease, jealousy, greed, etc. Hephaestus obeys, begins work and creates Pandora.
Pandora (painting by J. W. Waterhouse, 1896, private collection)
Pandora peeping in her box (J. W. Waterhouse, 1896)
In conventional stories, Pandora cannot resist looking inside her box (as depicted in Waterhouse’s painting). In Perdita, however, something else happens in Hesiod’s original version of the tale: Hephaestus unexpectedly falls in love with Pandora. He doesn’t intend to and initially he resists his impulses. Perdita is the result of his eventual union with Pandora. She is therefore born as a result of a passionate love…and without Zeus’s knowledge or approval.
Perdita’s escape with Prometheus
Prometheus steals fire from Zeus (Christian Griepenkerl, 1839-1916)
Hephaestus and Pandora conceal their “love-child,” but Zeus eventually hears about Perdita and demands that she be handed over to him. The two lovers initially hide her among the Fates and it is here that Perdita is given the task of saving all the “loose ends” of existence. But Perdita is not safe among the Fates: Zeus plans to steal her and so the Fates give her to Prometheus.
Prometheus agrees to hide the child among mortals. Taking her with him while he steals fire from the gods, he gives both Perdita and fire to humans. In the novel, Clare picks up on this dimension of the myth to suggest that “love” in addition to “technology” are equally important “gifts” from the gods. Humans seize upon fire and begin to use it‚ but they forget about Perdita and eventually abandon her.
2 Comments on “Mythology and “Perdita”
• Hi Betty,
Thanks so much for your interest in mythology and Perdita!
If you are looking to trace information on the name “Perdita”–most of the information available on-line refers to Shakespeare’s character “Perdita” in The Winter’s Tale.
As the mythological character of the novel, she is really known only to Marged Brice and her Trinity Professor, Dr. Latham, as well as to the still-living linguist: Muriel Hampstead. The mythological Perdita has literally become lost to the Western record, which is why we know so little about her and can find so little written on/about her.
Perdita, however, will make a reappearance in “Lonely Island”(the sequel to the first Marged Brice novel) which I am finishing up now.
Best wishes, Hilary
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Insects can be problematic for spinach growers and pest pressures vary geographically.
“In Texas we have to deal with cucumber beetles, crown mites, some aphids and some worms,” said Stein.
Scouting the fields to determine pest population levels and spraying accordingly is the best management strategy, according to Stein.
Pests vary geographically across the country and within the same state. For example, in the Salinas Valley in California, the warmer or hotter area in the southern part of the region increases risk of pest infestation. For example, temperatures are typically higher in the southern part of the Salinas Valley than northern region throughout the year.
Generally speaking, West Coast growers are particularly worried about battle leafminers and lepidopterans pests.
“Growers typically plant these crops where the temperatures are mild and reduce the risk of severe infestation,” said Shimat V. Joseph, Ph.D., IPM advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension.
The leafminers (Liriomyza spp.) punch the leaf surface using egg-laying apparatus and feed on the sap that flows from those injury sites.
“This injury is called stippling and it appears as yellow or white dots on the leaf surface,” Joseph said.
Sometimes these pests also lay eggs in those injured feeding sites. Eggs hatch and larvae mine between upper leaf layers causing leaf mining injury.
“Both stippling and leaf mining injuries cause economic losses to spinach growers,” he added.
Aphids such as green peach aphid can be a serious pest of spinach in any location. The pests feed on the plant juice by using a sucking mouthpart to pierce the plant. Often, the mere presence of aphids causes severe economic issues in marketing the produce.
The majority of the pest impacts are due to direct feeding injury and quality, but presence of frass (insect poop), and live or dead insects in the harvested produce will impact marketability of the produce.
The best method of control is use of insecticides. Insecticides such as cyromazine and abamectin are used for leafminer control. For lepidopteran, there are several insecticides registered: methoxyfenozide, chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram are examples that are effective. Pyrethroids such as permethrin and zeta-cypermethrin are used to control aphids and lepidopteran pests.
Pest populations vary each year and are largely dependent on the climate.
“Leafminers, lepidopterans and aphids are always present every year in the Salinas Valley,” Joseph said. “The growers and pest control advisers are always at alert to manage these insect pests all year.”
Weed and disease control
Spinach is somewhat susceptible to weed pressures. High-density planting beds make it impossible to mechanically cultivate weeds. Hand-hoeing is labor intensive and costly, which means the most effective weed management approach is prevention. Pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides can be used to control weeds in spinach crops, but it is critical to plant the crop in fields where weeds have been properly managed. Herbicide options are limited and expensive. Stein recommended rotating planting areas, specifically wheat, leaving at least three years in-between spinach crops, and hand weeding.
Weed pressures vary geographically. In California, burning nettle, little mallow, chickweed, London rocket and shepherds purse are most problematic, whereas in Texas grasses and broadleaf weeds are of most concern. Regardless of location, methods for control are similar. Regardless of location, commit to practices that minimize disease pressures, pre-planting during growing and again post-harvest.
Pythium seedling disease and downy mildew are two diseases of most concern for growers nationwide. Diseases common to spinach crops include white rust and cucumber mosaic virus. Cultural management tactics are most important for preventing and limiting the impact of diseases.
Good fertility management is also critical. Spinach requires about 100 to 150 lbs nitrogen (N) per acre, 75 to 100 lbs of phosphorus (P) per acre and 70 to 100 lbs of potassium (K) per acre.
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How to Verify MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-256 Checksum in Windows 10
If you’ve just downloaded a file from the Internet, you may want to verify that the downloaded file hasn’t been tampered with. After all, who knows that kind of nefarious fiddling a hacker might have been up to? By checking the MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256 checksum of a file, you can verify its integrity and ensure the file hasn’t been corrupted or changed.
A checksum is a short, unique string that results from running an encryption algorithm on a given file. The algorithm looks at all the bits that make up a file and, based on those unique bits, creates a checksum. This checksum will change if even a single bit in the file changes. This means that by comparing two checksums, you can make sure your file hasn’t been damaged or modified. It’s a useful way to defend against file corruption or malicious interference in your downloads.
The most commonly used algorithms for checksums in MD5. SHA-1 and SHA-256 are also available and are based on cryptographically-secure algorithms. If you can choose from among the three, use SHA-256.
To use a checksum, you’ll first need to know what a given file’s checksum is. This will have to be provided to you by the same source that provided the file. You’ll run your downloaded file through the same checksum algorithm using one of the tools below. Once you’ve done that, you’ll compare the two strings. If the strings match, the file hasn’t changed. If the strings don’t match, something about your file is different from the original file.
The best way to run checksums in Windows 10 is with a tool called MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility. It will calculate the MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256 checksums for a given file simultaneously and allow you to compare your result against the provided data.
1. Download MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility from the developer’s website.
2. Double-click the downloaded file to launch the program.
3. Click the “Browse” button to select the file you want to check.
4. Locate the provided checksum for your downloaded file. Not all downloaded files have checksums available, but open-source or security-conscious developers will frequently provide a checksum. Copy that checksum to the clipboard, then click the “Paste” button in MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility.
5. If the checksum is the same as the checksum the application calculated, you’ll receive a success message. This means that the file you have is identical to the file that was previously checked.
If the checksum is different, you’ll get an error message. This means the file has somehow changed since the last checksum was calculated.
If you verify checksums frequently, you might be interested in HashTab. The application installs an additional tab in the Properties window of File Explorer. This makes checking checksums much faster, but the application only supports CRC32, MD5 and SHA-1 algorithms.
1. Download and install HashTab from the developer’s website.
2. Right-click on the file you want to run a checksum against and choose “Properties” from the context menu.
3. Click the tab labelled “File Hashes” at the top of the window to see the MD5, SHA-1 and CRC32 hashes for the file you selected.
4. Copy and paste the checksum you want to compare against in the “Hash Comparison” dialog box.
5. If the hash checks out, you’ll see a green checkmark.
If the hash doesn’t match, you’ll see a red X.
If you want to check the integrity of a file you’ve downloaded, checksums will help you get it done. You can use MD5 & SHA Checksum Utility as a standalone application for calculating and comparing MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256 checksums or use HashTab for a checksum checking tool that’s integrated into File Explorer.
Image credit: Beyer Cryptographic Watch via Wikimedia Commons
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Summary: To be called a hypocrite is one of the most hurtful criticisms there is, how do we avoid Hypocrisy?
Study Tools
Clean on the outside and dirty on the inside. Wow! Jesus spoke about that concept a number of times throughout the gospels using word pictures like whitewashed tombs all clean and pretty on the outside and full of dead men’s bones on the inside. On my first trip to Africa one of my team members asked our guide why he hadn’t seen any cemeteries. The man thought for a minute and said “I’ve been to America and the cemeteries are so beautiful, you almost want to live there.” And he went on to tell us that in Sierra Leone in the villages the dead were just buried in the forest and in the city cemeteries were just places to bury the dead. And he wasn’t kidding, they took us to a small cemetery where the first Wesleyan missionaries had been buried and it was overgrown and neglected, at first I was a little cranky, here was the final resting place of people who had given their lives for the people of Sierra Leone and nobody was taking care of their graves. But to the nationals the spirit had gone and all that was left was a container and what do you do with a container when you are done with it? You certainly don’t turn it into a shrine. They saw our obsession over how our cemeteries looked almost as ancestor worship. Interesting. And that really had nothing to do with the message.
So Jesus spoke of whitewashed tombs and of bowls that people prepared for eating, all shiny and spiffy on the outside and yucky on the inside. In each case there is a concern with outward appearances without a corresponding concern for what the inside was like.
And he used these illustrations to describe the actions of certain people, people who spent more time on the external than on the internal. That how they acted and what they did was more focused on how people perceived them than who they really were. The outside was all clean and shiny but inside where they actually lived was filled with all sorts of nasty things.
The story is told in Luke chapter 12, it was read earlier. We are told that the crowds following Jesus have become larger and larger, to the point that Luke tells us in Luke 12:1 Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy.”
The next nine verses are strung together like pearls on a necklace, each thought separate but connected to the previous one and the next one.
Hypocrisy is one of those insults that cuts to the core of who we are, to be called a hypocrite is really hurtful. Most of us think of ourselves as authentic individuals. If we were to claim to a life philosophy it would be the same as Horton who said “I meant what I said and I said what I meant, an elephant is faithful one hundred percent.”
But Jesus dropped the hypocrisy bomb several times in the gospels, usual in regards to the Pharisees who would have never applied that label to themselves. After all, their very name meant “The separated ones” and they had removed themselves from the daily constraints of life to focus on keeping the rules and regulations of the law. It wouldn’t even be fair to draw a comparison with pastors because on a day to day basis we deal with administration and maintenance and people. The Pharisees were more like contemplative monks, except instead of living in a monastery they lived in the world and it would appear part of their mandate was to criticize people who weren’t as rigidly committed to the rules and regulations as they were.
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From Science Fiction to Affordable Reality
It wasn’t very long ago that things such as flying aircraft which were personally controlled by private citizens, video conferencing, and replicators were nothing more than science fiction. Once they began to emerge into the world they were unaffordable for the average person. However, with recent leaps in technology, the price has come down and now what was once nothing more than science fiction has become an affordable reality for the average person.
While we have yet to prove life from other planets is regularly visiting our planet, there are an increasing number of flying objects in the sky that are occasionally unidentifiable. Drones are far more than toys, they offer truly remarkable opportunities in the field of photography and videography. A video drone makes it possible for even amateur producers, directors, and photographers to capture stunning areal footage and imagery.
Many of these are much smaller than the initial drone offerings which also makes them far more affordable. While many people do use these types of devices as novelty entertainment, the practical applications for security and artistic expression are virtually limitless.
Replicators were one of the most universally loved creations of the Star Trek universe. The ability to task a machine to create something else quickly and with no technical knowledge was immensely appealing. While we don’t quite have replicator technology yet, we do have 3D printers.
These devices have slowly been brought into classrooms at all levels, workspaces, homes, and medical facilities. These devices are bringing instant real-world application for students learning about engineering and design. Instead of theoretical design efforts that are limited to a 2D environment, students can print out their designs and discover where improvements need to be made.
While this technology is still very new, the open source interconnectedness of design sharing has made it accessible to people of all ages and academic levels. There is a great deal of interest in the technology and it is expected to continue evolving and play an even greater and more affordable role in the daily lives of people going forward.
Science fiction television shows, cartoons, and movies have long showcased the ability to communicate with others with video but it has only become a widespread reality within the last decade. There were earlier prototypes several decades ago but the technology was cumbersome and expensive and too few people had access to it to make it widely integrated into society.
With the invention and advancement of smartphone technology, people are now able to communicate with people anywhere in the world with a handheld device. We may not be able to transport instantly to our friends, family, and coworkers but we do have the ability to speak with them face-to-face easily and relatively inexpensively.
Home security is another area that has greatly benefited from recent technological advancements. Specifically, the decreased cost of remote surveillance has made securing one’s home easier than ever. What once required a home security company to accomplish can now be set up by most homeowners with a few wireless cameras connected to smartphone apps.
When you add electronic door locks and automated home systems would not be unfair to say our homes are rapidly becoming as smart as our phones. In a few years it is easy to imagine that our homes will have the ability to anticipate our needs, alert law enforcement when there is a problem, and even offer recommendations to improve our home and personal security.
With so many incredible advancements in all areas of our lives, it is fun to think about what else science fiction will bring us in the coming years.
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Knowing what to do in an emergency can save someone’s life.
1. Open airway by tilting head back and lifting chin.
2. Look, listen and feel for signs of normal breathing.
3. If they are breathing:
• Place or help them into the recovery position (see right)
• Call 999 for an ambulance, or get someone else to do it if possible, and stay where you are with the person
• Keep them warm.
4. An unconscious person who is breathing but has no other life-threatening conditions should be placed in the Recovery Position.
Turn them onto their side. Lift the chin forward to an open airway position and adjust hand under the cheek if necessary. Check that they cannot roll forwards or backwards. Monitor breathing and pulse continuously until help arrives. If injuries allow, turn the casualty to the other side after 30 minutes.
Dial 999 if you’re in any doubt about their condition and ask for the Ambulance Service. Stay calm, tell them what symptoms the person is suffering from and, if you know, what drugs they’ve taken. You will also need to give them your location if they need to send help.
If they are tense and panicky
• Try to calm them down
• Tell them where they are, what's happening, and reassure them that everything's going to be OK
• Keep them away from things that might make them more panicky, like loud noises and bright lights
• If they're breathing too quickly or gasping for breath, try to get them to copy you as you breathe slowly and regularly
• Get medical help.
If they're drowsy but awake
• Call 999 for an ambulance or get someone else to do it
• Try to keep them awake and alert
• Don’t give them anything to eat or drink as it may cause problems later.
If they're dehydrated - looking very red and hot, but not sweating
• Move them to a cool place and make sure they've got plenty to drink (if fully alert)
• Open windows to cool the room if possible.
If they're unconscious (not awake)
• Call 999 for an ambulance as soon as possible or get someone else to do it
• Check breathing by tilting their head backwards and looking and feeling for breaths
• If the person is breathing, move them on their side and gently tilt their head back, loosening any tight clothing around their neck and chest
• The ambulance call-handler will assist you in managing the patient and will guide you in resuscitation if required
• When the ambulance arrives tell the crew what happened, what you've already done to help the person, and what you think they have taken
• If you have any of the substance taken, give it to the ambulance crew.
Where Else To Get Help
If you're worried, anxious or need information or advice, call the Know the Score Helpline on 0800 587 587 9 8am - 11pm, any day of the week. For help in your local area, check our directory of helpful services.
Worried about someone?
Helping a friend or loved one with their drug abuse often starts with a conversation.
Services Directory
Find local and national sources of support and information.
Drugs helpline
Call the Know the Score Drugs Helpline on 0800 587 587 9 or email us here.
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Java – why use interfaces?
An interface is a way to describe how to interact with a class that implements defined methods. An interface only defines how to interact with an interface or class that implements the interface, not the actual implementation. In other words, an interface exposes what behaviors will be available, not how the behavior is carried out. In the real world, all cars have horns, but each car’s horn may have a distinct volume, pitch, sound, and duration. The interface for each car may be the same (pressing the center of the steering wheel), but the sound produced by each car (the implementation) is different. This allows any driver to know how to use any car horn, not how the sound is produced by the internals of the car.
Continue reading Java – why use interfaces?
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domingo, 1 de dezembro de 2013
The snipe is a bird in the charadriiforme Scolopacidae family. It is also called by the following common names: crouching, agachadeira, Atim, Semipalmated Plover, berrumeira, beak-rail, skimmer, pointed, windproof, water tower torch, torch Moorhen sweet, minjolinho, Monjolinho, snipe, snipe-girl, narcejinha, boy, boy and ripping shroud.
The adult is between 27-29 cm long and weighs 110 g. It has short, gray-green legs. It has long, straight beak, dark back with yellow bands. There is a dark stripe through the eyes, with light stripes above and below it.
It feeds mainly on insects and worms, as well as plant material.
The male performs a "tweet" during courtship, flying high in circles and then dives into shallow water to produce a distinctive sound. The call is like a scraping "tssk".
The nest is a well hidden depression in the ground. Both parents incubate the two yellow eggs for about 19 days to hatching, the chicks leave the nest soon after birth.
Live in damp and swampy environments.
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The First Man to Die by Electric Chair
September 24, 2012 in Trivia
Q: Who was the first man to be executed by electric chair?
A: The first man to die by electric chair was convicted murderer William Kemmler at the Auburn Prison in New York, Aug. 6, 1890. The idea of using electricity as a means of capital punishment came from Harold P. Brown. Using equipment provided by Thomas A. Edison, Brown and Dr. A. E. Kennelly, Edison’s chief electrician, experimented on a large number of animals. The animals could not all be killed by electrocution, some being dispatched by a brick to the head.
According to the official report, it took Kemmler eight minutes to die, his flesh burning where the electrodes made contact.
The New York Times described Kemmler’s execution as “an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging.”
The Electrical Engineer reported “the death of the victim at Auburn was not instantaneous, that respiration was resumed some minutes after the application and cessation of the current, that the current was turned on again, this time despatching the convict…meanwhile evidences of the vital struggle [were] not less revolting than those usually seen upon the gallows.”
Today, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia still use electrocution as a means of capital punishment. The preferred method is lethal injection, however.
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The external environment of a business includes a variety of factors such as competitors, suppliers and regulations that influence major strategic decisions. Scanning and assessing the external environment is a vital part of strategic decision-making in entrepreneurial ventures. This helps small-business managers locate factors that pose opportunities or threats to their businesses. A better understanding of the ramifications of external environmental factors can improve success and survival for small businesses.
Strategic Decision-Making
In formulating strategic decisions, managers need to consider present and future environmental opportunities and threats. Entrepreneurs develop a basic business idea with a target customer base. Then they proceed to scan the environment for opportunities and threats and analyze the results in the light of company's resources and strengths. This analysis gives the managers the information to decide on the feasibility of the business idea. Oversight in identifying opportunities or threats can lead to misguided strategic decisions and business failure.
Task Environment
The task environment of a business includes the components of the environment that the company deals with directly, such as customers, suppliers and competitors. Customers are the central stakeholders in strategic decision-making. Any decision that sidelines the needs of the customers can potentially lead to loss of business. Suppliers provide inputs for the value-creation process of the company. Any lapse in the quality of their products and services can affect the operations of the company and eventually trickle down to the customer. As a result, the management works with suppliers to ensure they provide timely and quality service. Any strategic decision should consider the reaction of competitors. Strategic decisions may strengthen the position of the company in relation to competitors or may leave the company vulnerable to competitor attacks.
General Environment
The general environment comprises those components of the environment that impact the business indirectly, such as the government, socio-cultural, technological and economic conditions. For example, the company should comply with taxation, labor market and industry-related regulation. Additionally, technological advances pose new opportunities as well as threats. For example, new online music sharing formats threaten to alter the entire recording industry, and the advent of the Internet made e-commerce a reality.
Sources of Innovation
The environment holds potential sources of innovation for an entrepreneurial venture. An unexpected success or outside event can indicate a business opportunity. For example, Don Cullen of Transmet Corporation spilled fine aluminum flakes onto the company's parking lot and later observed that the asphalt did not turn sticky in high temperatures. This discovery led to the idea of producing aluminum chips for roofing. Sales doubled every year since the commercialization of the product.
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Published March 5, 2015 by Iphis of Scyros
Today’s myth diverges a bit from the previous myths. Despite their children’s storybook style of narration, none of them have been particularly child-friendly, but today’s is even less so. But I referenced it earlier, in talking about Pirithoos, so…here goes. As with some of the other myths I’ve handled so far, there aren’t a lot of full-length accounts of this story in surviving ancient sources, more just brief summaries and such.
Ixion was the King of the Lapiths, who lived in Thessaly. When it came time for him to take a wife, he decided to marry Dia, the daughter of his kinsman Eioneus. Eioneus was reluctant to let Dia marry Ixion, because the Lapiths were a primitive, nomadic tribe, without proper palaces and with little of value. But Ixion was an ardent and relentless suitor, and promised to pay Eioneus a huge bride price of many horses and cattle. Eioneus agreed, sent his daughter back with Ixion, and promised to meet Ixion in Larissa to collect the livestock he was owed.
Ixion was delighted with his new wife, but when he returned to his tribe, he realized that if gave Eioneus everything he had promised, then their herds would be so greatly diminished that they would have very little left. He couldn’t have that, but he couldn’t possibly return Dia–who was so beautiful that Zeus himself was smitten with her!–nor could he admit to his father-in-law that he would need more time to pay the bride price.
Instead, Ixion came up with a clever plan to keep his wife and his livestock.
Setting all the herds of horses and cattle in a particular field outside of Larissa, Ixion went up on top of a nearby hill, where there was a little bit of an old fence. He dug a pit in front of that fence, covered the pit with a carpet, and then erected a hasty shack over the pit, so the carpet would not seem out of place. When he heard Eioneus had arrived in Larissa, Ixion filled the pit with burning coal, and then replaced the carpet.
Ixion went to meet Eioneus, greeted him joyfully, and then led him towards the shack, telling him that from within, he could both look out at the flocks that were the bride price and stay out of the hot sun. Eioneus was grateful for the consideration and stepped inside the shack.
The carpet gave way under his weight, and Eioneus plunged down into the burning coals, where he was roasted alive, screaming in agony.
Dia was distraught that her husband had killed her father, and the other Lapiths were horrified that their king had killed his own kinsman, but they dared not speak out against their king.
But the Lapiths were soon visited by many misfortunes, because Ixion was still stained with blood. He needed to be purified of the homicide, but only kings–and gods–can purify a man of such a terrible crime.
But no matter where Ixion traveled, he could find no king willing to purify him of his unspeakable murder of his own blood relation and father-in-law.
Eventually, Zeus himself–moved by Dia’s prayers–took pity on Ixion, and allowed him to visit Mt. Olympus as a guest. Zeus purified Ixion of the murder, and allowed him to sit at the table with the gods and share in a feast.
But as they ate, Ixion would not stop staring at the beautiful Hera, queen of the gods, and as the night wore on, he began to speak words of love to her.
Hera was horrified to be so accosted by a murderous mortal, and Zeus was enraged by Ixion’s effrontery.
So Zeus concocted a plan far more clever than Ixion’s had been. He fashioned a cloud in the semblance of Hera, and sent that to the chamber where Ixion was resting for the night.
Then while Ixion was slowly and laboriously seducing the cloud, Zeus stole down onto the mortal plane and went to visit Dia–as had always been his plan, after all–and quickly got her with child.
On his return to Olympus, Zeus barged into Ixion’s chamber, and found the mortal man in the process of having his way with the cloud in the shape of Hera. Ixion was terrified, but his fear turned into confusion when Hera appeared in the doorway behind her husband. Only then did the cloud resume her own shape.
Zeus dragged Ixion out into the open, and declared for all the gods to hear just what the mortal had done. “I will have no mortal presume to cuckold me!” the angry god bellowed. “I’ll show you what happens to mortals who sin against the gods!”
Zeus personally dragged Ixion all the way down to Tartaros, and had him bound to a wheel of fire, which turned eternally under the screaming mortal.
Nine months later, even as Dia was going birth to Zeus’ son Pirithoos, the cloud that had impersonated Hera, too, gave birth. But that child was the monstrous Centauros, born fully grown. Centauros was a man from his head down to his waist, but below his waist was the body of a horse. The disgusted cloud released her horrible offspring into the wild mountains of Thessaly. There Centauros mated with all the wild mares, and soon had produced the race of the centaurs, who looked like their father, and were just as wicked as their grandfather, Ixion.
As with a lot of these tales, there’s probably a reason it wasn’t often fully written out…but I’m surprised how little dialog there is in it. Usually I insert more of that than this.
The odd thing about this story is that one of my sources talked about how Ixion was supposedly the first man to shed the blood of a kinsman. But if Ixion is in the generation before Theseus, that doesn’t seem possible. In fact, it’s absolutely impossible, if you’re going to accept that Pelops, as a boy, had been (temporarily) killed by his own father, Tantalos, in order to test/impress the gods. Pelops, as a grown man, was driven out of Lydia by the grandfather of King Priam, and Theseus and Pirithoos are contemporaries of Heracles, who set the young Priam on his throne. So Ixion can’t possibly have killed his father-in-law before Tantalos (temporarily) killed Pelops. And Pelops–as I’ll get to eventually–in turn killed his own father-in-law, so it’s not like that part hadn’t been done before, either. Sigh. These myths were just never meant to all be connected like this. It’s been the impulse of mythographers at least since the Hellenistic era to try and make them all work together in a single, cohesive narrative, but they’re the product of centuries (or possibly even millennia) of oral tradition across a wide region with different local beliefs and practices, so of course they don’t fit together cohesively! Ahem. Sorry about that. I’ve probably said all this before, too, and I apologize for that as well.
Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered any mention of Centauros having been born fully grown, but if he wasn’t then the centaurs would have been too young to play their role at Pirithoos’ wedding. Unless we’re supposed to assume that centaurs have the lifespan of horses instead of human beings? (Not that I know, specifically, what the lifespan of a horse is, but I’m pretty sure it’s shorter than a human’s.)
I’m wondering if I should re-write this one and “Theseus and Pirithoos” so that Pirithoos actually is the son of Ixion, and Dia had just claimed Zeus had fathered him because she didn’t like the idea of having had the son of such a terrible man as her husband Ixion. Ancient sources contain both versions, so either one is “accurate.”
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76 - 75BC Cicero's Quaestorship
Cicero's time as quaestor in Sicily
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• Created by: Abby
• Created on: 22-12-12 15:01
Quaestorship And Sicily
Sicilian farmer had been texed with duty of providing a share of harvest to Roman authorities.
Sicily aquired reputation as 'nation's storehouse'.
Year Cicero entered office there were shortages of grain supply in Rome, this meant increasing demand for farmer to raise supply to Rome - not a popular idea.
There wasn't a civil serivce to collect tax. It was private companies who often charged extrortinate rates and bullied their way into more money. The Roman magistrate either ignored or participated in schemes.
Cicero became most popular quaestor because of fairness and evident care, also had an eye for justice. Cicero also showed genuine joy at small things that meant a lot to the Sicilians, like discovering tomb of scientist.
However, there are little sources that tell us about Cicero's time as quaestor.
The job itself involoved financial administration, support for senior politicians and automatic membership to the senate.
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Importance Of Quaestorship
Created personal support - compensated for status of Novus Homo.
Important Sicilians who were protected by partronage of noble Roman familias or military gynasts offered access to inner core of Roman elite.
Cicero made efforts to support Roman buisnessmen who settled in the area. They formed large parts of Equites who were useful supporters to expand oratory career.
In farewell speech Cicero promised to serve as patron of Sicilian people if they were ever in need of an advocate.
Undertook many cases and practised oratory.
Learnt value of being seen in Rome everyday. Cicero learnt through humiliation that people soon forget about you. Everyone was talking about Pompet and Crassus.
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Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. In a gentle way, you can shake the world. Gandhi
When Mahatma Gandhi was studying law at the University College of London, a white professor, whose last name was Peters, disliked him intensely and always displayed prejudice and animosity towards him.
Also, because Gandhi never lowered his head when addressing him as he expected, there were always “arguments” and confrontations.
One day, Mr. Peters was having lunch at the dining room of the University, and Gandhi came along with his tray and sat next to the professor.
The professor said, “Mr Gandhi, you do not understand. A pig and a bird do not sit together to eat.”
Gandhi looked at him as a parent would a rude child and calmly replied, “You do not worry professor. I’ll fly away,” and he went and sat at another table.
Mr. Peters, reddened with rage, decided to take revenge on the next test paper, but Gandhi responded brilliantly to all questions.
Mr. Peters, unhappy and frustrated, asked him the following question. “Mr Gandhi, if you were walking down the street and found a package, and within was a bag of wisdom and another bag with a lot of money, which one would you take?”
Without hesitating, Gandhi responded,”The one with the money, of course.”
Mr. Peters , smiling sarcastically said, “I, in your place, would have taken the wisdom, don’t you think?”
Gandhi shrugged indifferently and responded, “Each one takes what he doesn’t have.”
Mr. Peters, by this time was fit to be tied. So great was his anger that he wrote on Gandhi’s exam sheet the word “idiot” and gave it to Gandhi.
Gandhi took the exam sheet and sat down at his desk, trying very hard to remain calm while he contemplated his next move.
A few minutes later, Gandhi got up, went to the professor and said to him in a dignified but sarcastically polite tone, “Mr. Peters, you signed the sheet, but you did not give me the grade.” ……..
Kiriman Pak Sagaf Basri
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Study Skills On An IEP
Study Skills on an IEP
Teaching students how to study independently is a very important skill for success in school and college. If your child has an Individual Education Program (IEP) you can have study skills goals written directly on the IEP. This can help ensure that your son or daughter is directly taught how to study. Study skills is a broad term that often includes organizational skills, learning strategies, time management, and notetaking.
If your child has an IEP, consider each of the following questions.
Does my child’s IEP have specific goals for teaching study skills?
If you are unsure, check your copy of the IEP and look in the section called ‘annual goals.’ Sometimes these are called ‘benchmarks.’ If your child’s IEP does not have any goals related to study skills, give the teacher a written request to hold a meeting to revise the IEP.
Which study skills instructional programs are specified on the IEP?
The quality of study skills programs varies. Check the IEP to determine if a specific program or series is used. The benefit of having instruction with a program is that it tends to be more systematic and sequential as compared to a haphazard approach. You want a study skills program that is shown to be effective. The program should have guided instruction that provides a lot of instruction and practice in the beginning. The study skills program should gradually transfer more responsibility to the student. This ensures they become proficient at using the study skills independently.
Some examples of study skills programs include Anita Archer’s Study Skills for School Success, the University of Kansas Strategic Interventions Model (SIM), and the Mangrum-Strichart Study Skills program.
How frequently does your child receive study skills instruction?
You can examine your child’s IEP to determine how frequently the study skills are taught. It should say in the section that is usually called ‘intensity and duration’ or ‘supplementary aids and services.’ If you can not find anything on the IEP that specifies frequency, schedule a meeting to review your child’s IEP. If you are writing your child’s first IEP, make sure they receive instruction daily or at minimum, twice a week.
Are there opportunities for occasional study skills review sessions?
Some students do not learn to independently study even though they have been instructed. This can occur when the teacher provides study skills instruction but not ongoing support. Like most people, if we don’t use it, we lose it. Our kids need regular review sessions and feedback from the teacher to keep their study skill fresh. If your child seems to forget the study skills, consider having a teacher meeting to find out if they provide regular review sessions.
By advocating for your child and having study skills goals on the IEP, your child’s IEP will guarantee they are taught the necessary study skills for school success.
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A recent article in Bovine Veterinarian on lying behavior in calves caught my attention. While the research was conducted with dairy calves around weaning, beef producers can learn from the results of the research. Dairy calves spent 86 percent of their time lying down. As they grow older, the time spent lying decreases. Additionally, calves with a fever increased lying time by 44 minutes per day. Behavioral studies with beef cattle have focused primarily on heavier finishing cattle. Iowa researchers reported that 900-pound steers in a bedded pack barn spent 42 percent of their time lying down.
If cattle are going to spend this amount of time lying down, good husbandry dictates that they be given a comfortable place to lie. Not surprisingly, studies have shown that calves spend more time lying and less time walking when housed with dry bedding versus wet bedding or concrete.
What is the purpose of bedding?
During the winter, bedding serves as a cushion from the hard ground or concrete. This makes it more comfortable for them to get up and down. Being more comfortable they will spend time resting and ruminating. This alleviates stress and increases feed efficiency. Bedded cattle are cleaner, with less mud and manure on their hides. For finished cattle, this is an important food safety concern. Additionally, a cleaner coat is a better insulator against cold and wind. Finally, bedding insulates cattle from the cold ground or concrete. Better insulation from a dry hair coat and the cold ground reduces their maintenance requirements, thus increasing gain and feed efficiency.
Calves have more surface area per pound and generally have less insulating fat than a cow so they lose heat more easily and need more bedding.
Photo by cgbaldauf/
What type of bedding?
Bedding materials can be straw, corn stover, old hay, soybean residue, wood chips/shavings or paper. North Dakota researchers evaluated soybean residue, oat straw, wheat straw and corn stover. They concluded that wheat straw or corn stover was preferred. The bedding you choose should be determined primarily by availability and price.
What’s the effect on animal performance?
North Dakota has evaluated bedding levels and types in several locations. Finishing steer performance was improved when using either 20 or 35 pounds of bedding per animal compared to little or no bedding.
Pooled analysis of studies with finishing cattle in Colorado and South Dakota showed an increase in average daily gain and feed efficiency of 7 percent.
Computer models that include the influence of environmental factors in evaluating rations predict a reduction in average daily gain (ADG) of nearly 20 percent when feeder cattle have mud and manure on their hides.
The reduction in animal gain and efficiency is due to the increase in maintenance requirements. This change is due to the animal’s ability to self-regulate temperature. Under cold stress brought on by a wet hair coat and wind chill more energy is required for the cow to maintain its temperature. Therefore, it’s critical to keep the animal dry and out of the wind for animal comfort and to reduce the cost of production.
What is bedding and shelter worth?
The table shows the results of an analysis using the Large Ruminant Nutrition System (
Cattle with mud and manure on their sides have a lower critical temperature, reducing gains from 1.5 pounds per day to 1.1 pounds per day. Over a 150-day backgrounding period, this is a loss of 45 pounds; at $2 per pound, that’s a $90 reduction in income. If we use a bedding rate of 5 pounds per head per day, we need 750 pounds of bedding. At $90, you can afford to spend up to $240 per ton for bedding. Evaluating from the nutritional cost, the model predicts that it would take nearly $25 per head in additional energy supplement to reach the 1.5-pound ADG. From an animal welfare standpoint, it’s difficult to argue that it is acceptable not to use bedding; adding the financial benefit further makes the case.
Bedding requirements
The amount of bedding needed is determined by housing and animal type. Calves need more bedding than cows. They have more surface area per pound and, therefore, lose heat more easily. Generally, they also have less insulating fat than a cow in good body condition. Cows, in fact, can be quite comfortable with no bedding if they have a windbreak and can lie on clean snow or dry ground.
For calves housed in a barn where rain and snow are excluded a minimum of 2.5 to 5 pounds per head per day should be used. If bedded outside with a windbreak, then the amount can easily be doubled, depending on the amount of precipitation. Dr. Mary Smith, veterinarian at the Cornell Ambulatory Clinic, likes to use the knee test. If her knees get wet when she kneels on the bedding, then more bedding needs to be added. The smell test can also be used. If you smell ammonia at the surface (that’s where the calf’s head is when it’s lying down), then bedding should be added.
With winter upon us, as an animal caretaker it’s up to you to ensure that your cattle are comfortable. Evaluate cattle cleanliness and utilize the knee and smell test. Make sure you have the bedding necessary. When you take care of your cattle, they will take care of you.
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The primary properties of visible light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum, and polarisation, while its speed in a vacuum, 299,792,458 metres per second, is one of the fundamental constants of nature. Visible light, as with all types of electromagnetic radiation (EMR), is experimentally found to always move at this speed in a vacuum.
In physics, the term light sometimes refers to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not. In this sense, gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are also light. Like all types of light, visible light is emitted and absorbed in tiny "packets" called photons and exhibits properties of both waves and particles. This property is referred to as the wave–particle duality. The study of light, known as optics, is an important research area in modern physics.
^ CIE (1987). International Lighting Vocabulary. Number 17.4. CIE, 4th edition. ISBN 978-3-900734-07-7.
By the International Lighting Vocabulary, the definition of light is: “Any radiation capable of causing a visual sensation directly.”
^ Pal, G. K.; Pal, Pravati (2001). "chapter 52". Textbook of Practical Physiology (1st ed.). Chennai: Orient Blackswan. p. 387. ISBN 978-81-250-2021-9. Retrieved 11 October 2013. The human eye has the ability to respond to all the wavelengths of light from 400–700 nm. This is called the visible part of the spectrum.
^ Buser, Pierre A.; Imbert, Michel (1992). Vision. MIT Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-262-02336-8. Retrieved 11 October 2013. Light is a special class of radiant energy embracing wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm (or mμ), or 4000 to 7000 Å.
^ Gregory Hallock Smith (2006). Camera lenses: from box camera to digital. SPIE Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8194-6093-6.
^ Narinder Kumar (2008). Comprehensive Physics XII. Laxmi Publications. p. 1416. ISBN 978-81-7008-592-8.
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Nutrition research has traditionally focused on the assumption that all individuals have the same nutritional requirements, (although some distinction has been made for children and men vs. women). Nowadays, more and more researchers are studying nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics to see if, instead, we can create personalized nutrition for the individual. Let’s see what this is all about.
All the gene stuff can get a bit confusing as it is complex, but hopefully, I can make it clear and help you realize why it is important.
(Refer to my previous posts for genetics basics like nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA.)
We’ve all experienced the one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition – and found that it works for some people and not others. With new research, we now have a different goal: to develop a personalized nutrition strategy for optimal health and disease prevention. This means that we match our nutrient intake with our genome so that gene expression, maintenance, metabolism and cell function can occur normally and sustainably.
It seems like a huge goal, but we are making progress. Two aspects of it are: how the food we eat affects our gene expression and how our inherited genes modify micronutrient uptake and metabolism and dietary effects on health. This is nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics, which together are called Nutritional genomics. The infographic below explains a little more.
Infographic of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics from
Nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics both involve genes and nutrients but nutrigenomics looks at how food acts on genes and nutrigenetics looks at how genes act on food. A lot of people still get it confused – even some professionals and researchers – but now you know!
So now what do I do with my gene test results?
You have probably heard of 23andme and other genetic testing facilities that look for SNPs. This is nutrigenetics. Maybe you’ve already had yours tested, or maybe you are contemplating it.
The chances are that if you have test results, you were probably confused by them! It is complex.
And the interpretation of your results is very important. We can’t look at SNPs in isolation. One SNP doesn’t lead to one disease or increase disease risk. These genes are what is called “low penetrance” genes, so we need to look at patterns/groups of SNPs, not individual ones.
But as we saw above, nutrigenetics is just part of the picture. We also have to look at the biochemistry and nutrigenomics. And then, most importantly, we need to look at the person. Do they have symptoms, what is their family history, what are they concerned about? What are their lab or functional tests showing? How is their environment?
Yes, we can improve our health and work to optimize our function but not just from looking at SNPs.
What does all this mean to me?
What this means is that for these nutrigenetic (23andme type) tests, you need to work with a health care practitioner who understands this. It’s not that having a certain SNP means you need to take this supplement or eat more of this food. Functional medicine practitioners like myself, include genetic testing as part of our program for clients, when we think it is necessary. But it is just part of the process and not something to look at in isolation.
Stay informed
There is an ‘interpreting your genetics’ summit available online in August. This is a great way for you to learn more – and then you’ll be able to tell if you are working with someone who understands the big picture. And you’ll feel empowered to make some changes. Here’s a link to sign-up. I’ll be covering some more about nutritional genomics with specific examples in the next couple of weeks. Interpreting Your Genetics Summit
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Laurie Lange
In the face of plant patents and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the current food and backyard garden revolution is taking back local foodsheds. Despite what GMO proponents say about their products staving off world hunger, as well as claims of conquest over pests and diseases via genetic modification, when looked at ecologically, open-pollinated and heirloom varieties have other advantages, including resilience that one-shot solutions via chemicals and genetic finagling simply can’t achieve. Plants have diverse means of handling whatever the environment dishes out. Whether it is abnormal deluges, triple-digit heat, or drought beyond belief, plants’ innate genetic responses to challenges exemplify green invention at its best.
Open-Pollinated Defined: The New/Old Seed-Saving Revolution
Open-pollinated (OP) means that the vegetable variety in question has the ability to remain true to type when grown in the open rather than under controlled conditions. It means that the genetic pool within the variety is responding to environmental pressures, rather than being propped up by laboratory-isolated, single genes that address just one thing. An OP variety’s gene pool is freely passed on by whatever the pollination mechanism is for that plant type—wind or insects. Coupled with human tending and selection of seed from preferred plants over time, these natural genetic mutations created our cornucopia of succulent, flavorful vegetables from small, tough, plant ancestors.
Seed companies as we know them arose early in the last century, as packeted seed became marketed nationally via catalogs. At first, if a company wanted to offer seeds of a variety listed by a competitor, all the company had to do was obtain that seed and increase it in-house. As hybrids began to be produced in earnest, seed companies realized that, because the parent lines used to create a hybrid contain proprietary information, hybrids offered exclusivity; that is, no one else knew the parents—often highly inbred and specialized for a purpose—of their hybrid variety.
We won’t follow the further development of seed as intellectual property here or discuss patented hybrids, GMOs, etc. Let’s focus on positives: at the same time that seed megacorporations are mounting their current thrust for the control of agriculture these technologies represent, there is also an unstoppable grassroots resurgence of seed-saving. Along with water, seeds are our most basic world commons. For a resilient world, we need resilient seed able to create defenses under increasing environmental challenges. We’ve realized through weather events how seed is the foundation of independent foodsheds, and the call to grow our own food is getting louder every minute. Here are some things you can do to revive seed-saving arts in your own backyard:
Selfing Beans and the Peculiar Pollination of Tomatoes
Beans are among the easiest vegetables to save seed from because they’re self-pollinating. In order to preserve a plant variety effectively, one needs to stay within the variety’s own gene pool and prevent cross-pollination with other varieties. Insects generally don’t get the opportunity to cross-pollinate a bean flower because, before it opens, the male flower part sheds pollen directly onto the female stigma, the pollen-receptive area atop the ovule in which the seeds develop. Thus, more than one bean variety can be planted in your garden without much concern about cross-pollination. Most common bean varieties, Phaseolus vulgaris, function this way.
Not so with a sister species, Phaseolus coccineus, the runner beans. They are immensely attractive to hummingbirds and bumble bees. They get cross-pollinated during visits, and it’s a pretty sure bet that runner bean varieties that aren’t isolated will get crossed. A couple of years ago, another seed saver shared the apricot-colored “Sunset” variety with me. The resulting flowers in my grow-out were every color of the runner bean spectrum: white, apricot, pink and vermillion—a delightful mix of runner bean glory. I named the mix “Sunset Parade.” But I can’t pass it on because “Sunset,” the seed I received, was already something else.
Tomatoes are also considered self-pollinating, and seed savers often plant varieties next to each other and save seed. But there are exceptions you should know about. Take a look at a tomato flower. At its center is a plump cone that tapers to a slender tip, a fused structure of male stamens bearing pollen. When tomato flowers are moved by a breeze, the pollen gets shaken onto the stigma atop the female style inside the cone, self-pollinating the flower.
However, in some tomato varieties, the style is exserted beyond the anther cone, where it’s exposed to pollen from other tomato plants. Cross-pollination becomes even more likely if, say, a bumblebee visits and “buzzes” the flower. She wraps her abdomen around it, vibrates it incredibly fast, and harvests a little cloud of pollen on her pollen-gathering body hair, thus spreading pollen vigorously. If you see a little tip emerging from the anther cones of a variety you’d like to save, it’s best to isolate that plant.
Squash Pollination: Developing Seed-Saving Skills
Squash are a whole different story—cross-pollinated all the way. No pollinators, no fruit. There are a few genera of native bees whose lives depend on the pollen from cucurbits, i.e., squash-family plants. These big bees often sleep in squash flowers overnight. In the morning, if you look inside open blossoms, you may see them busily gathering pollen in the male blooms. When they then visit a female flower, the incipient fruit at the base of the flower is fertilized. Midmorning, the bees take off with a loud buzz, carrying pollen loads back to their nests, where they make it into bee bread for the next generation.
Saving seed, especially of cross-pollinated plants, can get complicated. The simple rule with squash is to grow just one variety of each of the three major species: Cucurbita pepo, maxima, and moschata. If you want to grow both a pumpkin and a summer squash, though, because both are usually C. pepo varieties, you have to learn hand-pollination skills. For corn, a wind-pollinated plant, ears must be bagged to keep the silk from getting further pollinated after applying pollen by hand from the variety of your choice.
Learning the seed arts takes time; there’s a lot to know about the growth habits and cultivation preferences of each plant type. Commercial seed producers apply carefully honed knowledge in their professionally tended fields to get what is known as high-germination seed.
So what’s the role of a backyard seed-saver without the same resources? A good many of the heirloom varieties we now enjoy are here only because of home gardeners. And valuable varieties bred by public institutions prior to current, private seed-breeding programs got offered for a while, then were dropped from catalogs. They’re only still with us because they were saved in backyards. Start your seed-saving education by reading up on recommended practices, get quality OP seed, build your soil with compost, encourage organisms in the soil/food web by refraining from chemical applications. All these things will nurture the seed, enliven your table and increase vibrancy in our local foodsheds.
Laurie Lange runs Light Green Thumb Seed, offering New Mexico adapted seed as well as wild and cultivated seed for pollinator gardens. [email protected]
[Reviving the Seed Arts Sidebar:]
New Open-Pollinated Seed Companies
Adaptive Seeds (www.adaptiveseeds.com): An open-pollinated (OP) seed company that developed from a Seed Ambassadors project. Andrew Still and Sarah Kleeger traveled to Europe, rescuing old varieties threatened by restrictive European seed regulations. Their listings include heirloom greens and “bitters,” like sculpit and herba stella, endive and escarole—salad and braising ingredients Europeans relish and Americans could develop a healthy taste for. They have more: Listings are selected primarily for the Pacific Northwest and short growing seasons, but some of their selections are worth trying in New Mexico, especially their hardy greens for growing over in our milder winter conditions. [Garden hint: fall/winter greens need to be started mid-to-late summer to develop strong cold resistance.]
Farm Direct Seed (www.farmdirectseed.com): OP seed grown by the Hobbs family in southeastern Colorado, where there are cool nights and hot days. Dan and Jamie are building a seed list specializing in squash, peppers and Alliums, with lettuce, tomatoes and other veggies, too. They’re wonderfully thoughtful growers who express a gratitude for the challenging weather events we endure in the Four Corners states—drought, devastating fires and all. They say that raising their crops through these challenges is an opportunity for increased resilience in the seed it might not otherwise acquire.
Light Green Thumb Seed (www.pollinatornation.com): Laurie Lange’s brainchild focuses on world heirlooms and OP varieties adapted to aridity, production in triple-digit temperatures and other extremes. Lange began offering seed of plants that support pollinator conservation and habitat for native bees. She now includes veggies, flowers, herbs, native plants and cover-crop seed for overall garden resilience. One of her major goals is to fill gaps in seed selections that exist because U.S. companies are mostly based in regions where strong drought and heat tolerance is not a primary concern. One current LGT project is growing-out curly top-resistant tomato varieties that have been dropped in the trade. Saladmaster, the first revived variety, has shown it can stay alive and remain flavorful when curly top takes out other tomatoes.
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Burial of John Franklin. Author: me
jueves, 16 de abril de 2015
Not long time ago I talked here about other winter places where other expeditions had opened small graveyards during their long stays in the Arctic. They did it while trying to find a way through the Northwest Passage or while looking for the lost Franklin expedition. The more one investigates the more one realises that it seems that the arctic is virtually full of these tiny mini-graveyards or at least it was once full of them. Now we can see only what has been left of them, which amazingly, is more than one could expect at first sight.
Thanks for a link to a webpage which has recently fallen in my hands, kindly provided by the enthusiast Franklinite Regina Koelner, and thanks too because an article, which Peter Carney has facilitated me, I have been able to gather enough information to show you another interesting place which rests right at the doors of the beautiful but dangerous jaws of the Arctic Archipielago.
Dundas Mount, north side of North Star Bay
The North Star expedition of 1849-50 led by the Master James Saunders is not a well known expedition. However, the historian R. J.Cyriax found it fascinating enough as to write a short article called "The Voyage of HMS North Star". Their mission was apparently simple, resupplying a rescue expedition which had been sent after Franklin and his men in 1848 under the command of James Clark Ross. James C. Ross together with Edward Bird were stopped in Lancaster sound on board their ships HMS Investigator and HMS Enterprise. Orders said that if James Saunders was unable to find Ross, they had to leave the stores at some specified places on the south shore of Lancaster sound.
The North Star tried to find its target during the summer of 1849, but, after being unable to find Ross, the increasing and growing ice forced them to winter in the northwest coast of Greenland. The ice spat them, providentially before being crushed, into a free of ice small bay which they called (how not) North Star Bay. Paradoxically, what Saunders didn´t know was that J.C. Ross had come back to England that same summer.
James Saunder was an experienced sailor who had accompanied George Back as master in the HMS Terror in his voyage of 1836-37, however, his expedition was not prepared to winter in the Arctic. They had been specifically ordered to avoid that situation, but orders, are like the wind in the Arctic. Orders can push you into one direction and your fate can push harder you into the opposite one.
They had to fight their way to survive during the killer frozen months when the sun disspears under the horizon. That unexpected situation cost them a high price. Four of the 63 crewmen died during the winter and spring of 1849 - 50. It is said that the deaths weren´t provoked by hunger (remember they carried tons of extra stores to be deployed somewhere) nor by cold, ...by what them? .The fact is that I haven´t found anywhere any reasonable explanation for those four deaths.
North Star Bay is a place which, in my opinion, has certain resemblance with the geographical features of Beechey Island. As it happen in the latter, there are here too steep cliffs and a prominent table-shaped mountain which emerges from the ice in winter and from the seas in summer. That gives the place a creepy atmosphere, where a dwarved ship beseted at the feet of the mountain by the smooth ice of the bay, looks like if it were lying in an inmensive grave headed by some sort of giant tombstone.
1850 painting by one of the men from the North Star. You can see the ship at the base of Mt. Dundas.
It was in the south coast of this small bay where was built our small graveyard. One mile and a half inland from the beach. The four men died one by one during one winter which a lot of accounts of the time describe as an uneventful winter. Definitely it was not uneventful for the four poor men who were buried there. Close to the graves was built a big cairn which was a matter of discussion for David Woodman in his book Unravelling the Franklin Mistery. But that´s another different story.
Graves of the North Star
In the course of the first winter endured for some of those Arctic expeditions, usually there were several casualties, normally from one to four and sometimes more. As for an example, the three famous men buried in Beechey Island during the first winter (1845-46) of the last Franklin expedition, four men during the second Parry expedition, three men lost by George Back during his expedition in HMS Terror 1836-37, etc.
Lack of preparation could have been one of the causes. One of the main differences between this expedition and Franklin´s one, for instance, could be that while the Franklin´s one was exquisitely prepared to spend three or four winters in the arctic, the North Star´s one must be back at home before the winter will fall.
Perhaps the selection of the crew was not so rigurous as it could have been for the Franklin expedition. Perhaps James Rae, the assistant Surgeon of the ship could have told us what happened during that winter,...yes, you have read it well, James Rae. And now I will try to answer the question you have in mind. I have found data about two different James Rae of the time who were assistant surgeons in two different websites. In the first, the Tait´s Edimburgh Magazine, it is said that this man was the son of a John Rae from Myre, Orkney Island (suspiciously close to the location of the Hall of Celestrian). He died in front of the coast of Biafra, Africa on board a steam vessel called Pluto. Likely the ship which was capturing slave ships in 1860.
Capture of a large slave ship by HMS Pluto 1860
The second reference states that this James Rae was born in 1821, and that he was the one who participated in the North Star expedition of 1849-50. He was the son of a Doctor called John Rae, at St Ninians (near Glasgow I think) but there is no mention about our beloved John Rae the famous explorer. Could that important data be omitted? I find that fact of such significance as to be mentioned in his short biography. If he was, then I didn´t know John Rae´s brother was a Polar explorar too! Tons of paper would have been written about John but not too much about his brother. I couldn´t find any decissive clue in the books "Fatal Passage" or in "Lady Franklin´s Revenge" nor in some other books. Should we then think that they weren´t actually brothers?.
Returning to North Star bay, it has taken me some time to identify where the four graves of these poor sailors were dug. At first, I though they were placed in the flat istmus which links Mt Dundas with the mainland. After, and according to certain pictures, the drawing of the burial site, and thanks to a short description of the place. I have located the graveyard at the other side of the bay, in the south coast and close to the harbour. The mountains in the background must correspond with those at the other side of the Pituffik glacier.
North Star Bay and Mount Dundas at the background
There is at least one burial plot on the istmus but it seems clear that the remains of these men were buried on the other side of the bay,
William Sharp grave
James Saunders left several cairns with records which were found time after for other rescue expeditions. One of the recovered notes reminds me strongly the sober content of the sadly famous Victory Point Record left by the Franklin expedition in King William Island. The note reads:
" This paper is placed here to certify, that H.M.S, ' North Star ' was beset, at the east side of Melville Bay, on the 29 th of July, last year, and gradually drifted from day to day, until, on the 26th of September, we found ourselves abreast of Wolsten holme Island; when perceiving the ice a little; more loose, and the Sound perfectly clear, wo made all ])lain sail, and pressed her through it, anchoring in the lower part of the Sound that evening, and arrived in the Bay on the 1st of October, whereshe remained throughout the winter.
It is my intention to leave as soon as the breaking up of the ice will permit, and prosecute my voyage in search of the Arctic ships.
(Signed) J. Saunders, Master adn Comander
" North Star Bay, Wolstenholme Souud, "April 15th, 1850. " Lat. 70º 3´ N.; long. O" 30' W."
They found some other papers telling the same story, in the back of one of them were written the names of the men who died in that desolate place. The paper said:
William Sharp, A. B., died 1st of November, 1849
William Brisley, boatswain's mate, died 3 1 st of January, 1850.
Richard Baker, A. B., died 7th of April, 1850.
George Deverell, A. B., died 17th of May,
"As we contemplated these sad memorials of our departed countrymen, one consolation was felt by us " they had died surrounded by friends, and by all the appliances which a Christian charity could afford; and their last wishes were confided to those who had been their fellow-sufferers throughout a dreary and wretched Arctic winter. Thus far they had been happy; but when we recal the glowing anticipation that swelled our breasts, on joining our Expedition; when we think with what fondness we dwell upon the happiness that will gladden our hearts, as the shores of dear England will again burst upon us; we may be permitted to let fall a tear, and to pity the lot of those whose remains lay amid the granite monuments of nature, thousands of miles from their native homes."
It is funny because another fellow Franklinite, Randall Osczevsky, raised not long time ago the issue about why James Fitzjames and Crozier left so scarce information on the paper they left under the cairn of Victory point if they had a whole blank side of the paper to explan all the proceedings of the ships till the date. They even scribbled the margins of it but it seems that they despised, or never thought on, the idea of writting in the back side of the paper,...well. James Saunders did that, why didn´t they do?.
The graves and the records were not the only thing the James Saunder´s expedition left in the Arctic. They left too their stores, as far as Wollaston Island, a place close to the mouth of Lancaster sound. The cache was soon looted, apparently by locals.
Only one tombstone remains there, that of William Sharp. The others seems to have dissappeared. I have read that this one was moved further inland, perhaps the other were swallowed by the increasing level of the sea forever. The grave of William Sharp is and will be there for now witnessing how war ships come to the shores of the North Star Bay and see how planes land and take off from the Thule air base which was built there.
Grave of William Sharp
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Thursday, July 7, 2011
Turn (something) up/ Crank up
If you turn (something) up, you increase the power, intensity or volume of something - normally an electronic or electric device. The opposite of turn up is: turn down. A more informal synonym would be the phrasal verb “crank up”. It’s possible to say “crank down”, but it’s not used.
1. Can you turn the fan up please, the mosquitoes are still biting me?
2. I wish they would turn the air conditioning up in here, it’s boiling hot!
3. Everyone likes to crank up the music when their favorite song is playing.
4. Can you turn up the volume, I can’t heat the TV so well?
5. In colder countries in winter you need to turn the central heating of the house up especially when there is a cold front passing.
6. When you want to ask someone for a favor, it’s a good idea to “turn up the charm” and be a little friendlier ;)
1. Can you think of anything else that you can turn up... or down?
2. Hi Frank!
I am glad you are back after a little break ;) Love your blog! I've been living in the USA for quite a long time now (originally I am from Europe) and almost consider English my native language :) But I read you with a great pleasure (found you through couchsurfing), sometimes discover new things! I love the examples you give - they are all great and make understanding and remembering the expressions so much easier!
Thank you for your great job!!
3. Hi Dina,
Yes... I was gone for some time, wasn't I?!
It's good to hear from you again, and I'm glad to know how much you appreciate my posts ;)
4. "You have to turn up your voice when it's about talking to many people in public."
Is it correct?
Tks for the great tips everyday!
5. Hi Aline... nice try, although it would be better to say "raise your voice" or "speak up". Usually turn (something) up is for an electronic or electric device. The only exception I could think of was my last example, "turn up the charm"... maybe there are others, but they would be exceptions. You're welcome! I'm glad to have you around!
6. Thanks, Frank!
So... let's try again...
"If my grandma were here, I'd turn the fan down because she doesn't like the noise it makes."
7. Perfect! My wife likes the noise the fan makes... she can hardly sleep without it, so she likes to turn the fan up.
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Video: Oodles of nurdles: What are they and why so bad?
A search of hundreds of UK beaches has found almost three-quarters are littered with nurdles.
The tiny plastic pellets are used to make new plastic products, but they can escape into the environment and end up getting washed out to sea.
They can be a danger to wildlife and can soak up chemical pollutants before releasing the toxins into the creatures that eat them, such as birds and fish.
Special report a plastic tide
Video: Documentary: Plastic pollution in our oceans
Searches of 279 shorelines from Shetland to the Scilly Isles found 205 (73%) had the pellets on them.
The largest haul was in early February at Widemouth Bay in Cornwall, where 127,500 were collected on a 100-metre stretch.
More than 600 volunteers took part in the Great Winter Nurdle Hunt, organised by Scottish environmental charity Fidra in collaboration with the Environmental Investigation Agency, Fauna & Flora International, Greenpeace, the Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage.
Traces of pollutants are found in world's deepest ocean life
Video: Shock as pollutants found in deep ocean life
Madeleine Berg, projects officer at Fidra, said: "The information we've gathered will be vital to show the UK Government that pellets are found on beaches all around the UK and, importantly, that so many people care about the issue.
"Simple precautionary measures can help spillages and ensure nurdles don't end up in our environment.
There are calls for companies using plastic pellets to take greater care to contain them.
Prince Charles hopes Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign can win hearts and minds
Video: Charles: Ocean Rescue campaign can win hearts and minds
Manufacturers can sign up to Operation Clean Sweep, an industry initiative to ensure nurdles are handled more carefully.
However, it is a voluntary programme and nobody monitors whether measures, such as the implementation of drain covers or staff training, are actually put in place.
In 2012, 150 tonnes of nurdles leaked from shipping containers into the sea around Hong Kong.
The so-called "mermaid tears" swamped beaches and clogged up grass. Some of the pellets were found in the guts of fish and locals became reluctant to eat seafood.
Sky has launched its Ocean Rescue campaign to raise awareness of the damage being caused to our marine environment worldwide by single use plastics.
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Holographic screens
A holographic screen demonstrating the controls for Fault Line
Ability Show the player how to play the game
Game(s) Fault Line
Holographic screens are interactive objects in the game Fault Line.
Lights on the ceiling project them onto the level. The screens are basic screens, with a light coloured light floating across it, moreover, the screens are semi transparent.
Game information
The screens are basically up for teaching the player what to do. Zapo is represented as a small rectangular person, with the target reticule being a bit smaller then the usual one.
They first, and only appear on level one to teach the basics of Fault Line, including how to move and how to make a fault line. They don't appear in further levels as there is nothing left to teach.
• The holographic screen is the first sign ever to be made by Nitrome in a game not to use text, instead, use actions and images. All previous signs were just text, explaining to the player what to do. This may have played a part in leading to the success of Fault Line.
• This also may have lead to the use of signs without words in other games, such as Steamlands.
Ad blocker interference detected!
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Mixtures: Living with the Enemy
Some years after pacification, the Wari’ no longer lived in the named areas of
their territory. They built their houses close to indigenous posts, located at
sites deemed more accessible by the whites. However, apart from Sagarana,
the spi—and, later, funai—posts were situated close to the territories for-
merly occupied. In these new villages, the Wari’ became coinhabitants not
only of whites and people from other indigenous groups but also of Wari’
foreigners who had previously occupied other named areas. Here I do not
mean to suggest that the Wari’ never lived with foreigners in the past, or that
a chaotic mixture of people was found at the posts. As we saw in chapter 1, a
group of foreigners might decide to live in a named area associated with the
territory of another subgroup, meaning that this area would become associ-
ated with the subgroup of its current inhabitants, or the foreigners may be
subsequently incorporated by the local subgroup through marriage. Affinity
was the means of incorporating not only enemies but also foreigners, who
became coinhabitants and kin in the process. In terms of subgroup organiza-
tion at the posts, I showed the tendency to settle at the posts closest to the
group’s original territories. So, for example, most of the OroNao’, OroEo, and
OroAt live at the Rio Negro–Ocaia post and nearby villages, while the Oro-
Waram live at the Lage post and on its outskirts.
Living at the same location, the foreigners began to act as typical co-
inhabitants, marrying among themselves, calling each other by kin terms,
and sharing food. In sum, they gradually turned into consanguines, despite
the completeness of this process being cast in doubt with each internal con-
flict, whose fault lines usually coincide with the limits of the subgroup. From
this perspective, the Wari’ today live in a tenser environment amid coinhab-
itants who are really foreigners, and relatives who are not really kin.
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Stokesay Castle - South Shropshire
Stokesay Castle is not really a castle at all, it is the finest and best preserved 13th century fortified manor house in England dating back to 1281. The castle has two towers joined by a buttressed Great Banquetting Hall, with long, gothic, gabled windows. Massive roof timbers, made from whole trees dominate the Great Hall, standing alonside an elaboratively decorated Flemish overmantal, brought from Flanders by the Baldwyn family and fitted over a medieval fireplace. Stokesay Castle began its life as a stark Norman stronghold, but was transformed sometime between 1285 and 1305 into a grand manor house. The Elizabethans added the timber-framed jacobean gatehouse in the 17th Century. The ornate carved timbers over the gatehouse entrance, depict Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Visit the website for this castle Stokesay Castle
Slideshow image
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Buy the Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors Lesson Plans
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
Multiple Choice Questions
1. How had snow entered the plane?
(a) The ceiling collapses.
(b) It snows heavily and enters the gaping hole.
(c) The men had brought it into the plane.
(d) An avalanche had pummeled the plane and entered through their makeshift barriers.
2. What does the army commander, Colonel Morel, agree to do?
(a) End the search.
(b) Send a patrol to the area where the footprints were reported.
(c) Contact other neighboring countries for support.
(d) Find the plane.
3. Who took turns sleeping in the exposed area near the opening?
(a) The couples.
(b) The strongest among the survivors.
(c) The weak and sick.
(d) The injured.
4. Where is a cross discovered?
(a) Santa Helena mountain.
(b) Santa Maria mountain.
(c) Santa Elena mountain.
(d) Santa Lucia mountain.
5. To where do the families turn their focus?
(a) The area around the volcano and lake.
(b) The area around the top of Mount Helena.
(c) An area near Santiago.
(d) The area around Quito.
Short Answer Questions
1. What is done with the luggage?
2. What is discovered back at the Fairchild?
4. Canessa and Parrado remained at the Fairchild and attempted to do what?
5. To what do the men return?
(see the answer key)
This section contains 296 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)
Buy the Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors Lesson Plans
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40 Cards in this Set
• Front
• Back
The region of Northern America contains two countries:
United States
Canada is politically divided into ten provinces and three territories. The US:
Contains 50 States, plus a number of outlying possessions and dependencies
Mountain chains in North America run in what direction:
North to South
* The largest are te Appalachians and the Rockies
The Mississippi River is the largest and most important river in North America. The major water bies surrounding North America are:
The Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico
Canada is officially bilingual. The United states speaks:
No official language
The British Isles are made up of many small islands and two large ones:
Great Britain
The British Isles region consists of what two countries:
United Kingdom
Republic of Ireland
Despite the hight latitude of the British Isles, the influence of the Gulf Stream makes its climate:
Fairly mild
The largest city in the British Isles is:
* Also a major world finance and cultural capital
The people's religion of the United Kingdom are largely:
The people's religion of Ireland are:
U.K.- Protestant
Ireland- Roman Catholic
The dominant language of the British Isles is:
* along with remnants of ancient Celtic tongues
West Europe has been the site of major wars throughout history, and has been the focal point of:
two twentieth century world wars
The European Union emerged from the devastation of World War II. Although its core is in West Europe, it is about to expand to:
The borders of the former Soviet Union
The Alps are dominant physical features of the European region. It's principal river is:
The Rhine River
The people of West Europe are primarily:
The people of West Europe speak either:
Romance or Germanic Indo-European languages
What 5 countries are in the Northern European, or Nordic regions:
The Nordic countries are located where:
The most northern part of the world
With the major exception of the North Sea oil and gas, the region of Nordic Europe is relatively:
poor in fuel and mineral resources
*but is highly developed and affluent
The Nordic European regions that have relatively small amounts of population are located:
In the South and along the coasts
The Greeks and Romans left a lasting cultural imprint on what region:
Southern Europe
What 4 countries are located on peninsulas and have many islands:
Greece- more than 2000 islands
All southern European countries except_______ border the Mediterranean Sea, all share a Mediterranean climate:
Southern Europe is mountainous and tends to depend more on _________ than the rest of Europe:
Higher living standards and membership in the European Union have made all 4 Southern European countries magnets for:
Illegal immigration
New Eastern Europe- region's 18 countries include what peoples:
-former Soviet Union republics
-former satellites
-new offshoots from the former Yugoslavia
All of the Eastern Europe countries are undergoing a transition from communist economics to:
Western-style free-market economics
The 8 most successful economies of Eastern Europe are:
5-Czech Republic
The post-communist breakup of Yugoslavia was accompanied by:
Ethnic violence, Civil War, and foreign intervention
One of Europe's greatest rivers, the _______, flows through the region's southern tier before emptying into the Black Sea:
Danube River
Russia's Emperors were called:
*the last tsar was overthrown in the communist revolution of 1917
The USSR's 15 former republics have all:
become separate countries, including Russia
Russia is the world's largest country in area, and sixth largest in population. It's largest and most important cities are:
Saint Petersburg
Russia's high latitude result in what kind of climate:
extremely cold climate
Most of the Russian region's people speak:
Russian, and are Russian Orthodox
Russia is in the process of making a slow and difficult transition from a rigid-state-controlled economy to:
A free-market economy
The Middle East is at the crossroads of what three continents:
The Middle East Core and the Arabian peninsula gave rise to three of the world's major religions:
Most of the world's oil comes from:
The Middle East Core and the Arabian peninsula
The entire Middle East and Central Asia has become a battleground in:
The global war on terror
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What is Dark Data?
The basic definition of dark data is data that has been collected, but is unstructured and, therefore, not currently being used. It is data that has been continuously collected and stored, but has not been organized via categorization, labels, or any other effective organization tool. However, this massive treasure trove of data could hold valuable insights if it were to be organized and, subsequently, analyzed. Essentially, this type of data could be highly influential in the decision-making process of a business, if the business could properly evaluate and analyze the data via data analytics.
dark data
Examples of Dark Data
One example of dark data is a customer call record, which could potentially hold valuable information on a customer’s thoughts and geolocation. These types of records are regularly recorded and stored, but rarely organized or analyzed. Another example of dark data is a website log file, which could potentially hold valuable information on website visitor behavior and traffic. These logs are regularly collected, but rarely analyzed in any organized or meaningful way.
Growth of Dark Data
According to a 2011 IDC study, 90% of digital data is unstructured data, or dark data. The study also found that the world’s digital data is doubling every two years, significantly faster than Moore’s Law predicted. New technologies are allowing for low-cost solutions to capturing and storing massive amounts of information. In 2011, the overall cost of capturing and storing large amounts of unstructured information dropped to just one-sixth the cost seen in 2005.
Issues with Dark Data
Considering the increasing demand and usage of big data and data analytics, there is now a quickly increasing demand to organize dark data and make it usable. However, this type of data is often complex, very large in size, and stored in multiple locations. This makes analysis very difficult and costly.
Nonetheless, the potential value of analyzing unstructured data is staggering. There have been many proposed solutions to making unstructured data usable for big data endeavors. Some of these solutions are described below.
Solutions to the Dark Data Problem
• machine learning, or allowing some type of artificial intelligence to develop a computer program that changes and improves based on a constant supply of new unstructured data
• open data, or making unstructured data available for everyone to analyze and explore
• software that converts dark data to graphics, creating a program that automatically organizes data into easy-to-understand graphics
These solutions are all feasible and are now being actively explored and attempted, by various companies, in the race to acquire and utilize the newest and most valuable big data.
How would you solve the dark data problem?
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HealthInfo Canterbury
Is my child a healthy weight?
He aha te taumaha hauora o tāu tamaiti?
Children come in different shapes and sizes - big, tall, small and short. There is a wide range of healthy shapes and sizes.
Children who stay a healthy weight tend to be fitter, healthier, better able to learn, and more self-confident. They are also much less likely to have health problems later in life.
The body mass index (BMI) is a way to find out if your child is the right weight for his or her height.
Finding out my child's BMI
You can work out your child's BMI using an online BMI calculator. If your child is 2 to 18 you need to use a calculator for children, as BMI is measured differently for adults. You will need to know your child's weight in kilograms and their height in centimetres. The calculator will tell you if your child is underweight, a healthy weight or overweight for their height and age.
You can use the following online BMI calculator from the UK site NHS Choices.
After giving the BMI result, the calculator provides practical information about why the result matters. But the information is UK based. Take a note of the BMI result, but instead of following the link to Why this result matters, read the local information below about the BMI result.
content provided by NHS Choices
BMI result
BMI calculators for children give the results as a percentile. This shows how your child's BMI compares to other children of the same sex and age. For example, a girl on the 80th percentile is heavier than 80 out of 100 other girls her age.
Underweight (on the 2nd percentile or below)
If your child is underweight, it might be because they have inherited this from you or their other parent. But it could mean they aren't eating enough or they have an underlying health issue. Make an appointment to see your doctor or practice nurse. Find out more in Underweight children.
Healthy weight (between the 2nd and 91st percentiles)
Keep up the good work. For tips on helping your child maintain a healthy weight see Healthy & active children.
Overweight (91st percentile or above)
If your child is overweight, they are more likely to develop health problems. These could include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, breathing problems and joint pain. They are more likely to be teased and bullied at school. They are also more likely to become an overweight adult.
See Healthy & active children for tips on how to encourage your child to eat well and be more active. If you are concerned about your child's weight, talk to your doctor or practice nurse.
If your child is overweight and still growing, they don't need to lose weight. Staying the same weight while they grow taller will mean they will become a healthier weight for their height over time.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. October 2016.
Page reference: 298107
Review key: HIHEC-62690
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How Healthy Are Oatmeal Cookies?
author image Kristin Mortensen
How Healthy Are Oatmeal Cookies?
Oatmeal cookies contain slightly more fiber, protein and calcium than other cookies. Photo Credit OxanaNigmatulina/iStock/Getty Images
Oh, that sweet smell of soft, warm oatmeal cookies baking on a cool, fall afternoon. Or, perhaps you prefer dunking a crunchy one in a cold glass of milk on a hot summer day. Whatever your preference, you may wonder if that cookie you're devouring is nutritious. After all, oatmeal is supposed to lower cholesterol, right?
Crunching the Numbers
Compared to chocolate chip, peanut butter and sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies are marginally more nutritious. Comparing cookies of similar size, an oatmeal cookie has fewer calories than peanut butter or sugar cookies. Oatmeal cookies contain less fat and more protein, fiber and calcium than the others. However, all of these cookies contain between 54 and 72 calories; 2 and 3.5 grams of fat; 0.4 and 0.9 grams of protein; and 0.1 and 0.4 grams of fiber, so the differences are miniscule Oatmeal cookies do contain significantly more calcium, with 14 milligrams compared to 2 or 3 milligrams in the others; however, with the recommended dietary allowance for calcium of more than 1,000 milligrams, you’d have to eat a lot of oatmeal cookies to make a dent in your daily needs.
The Basics
Oats have several possible health benefits, including reducing asthma in young children, improving digestive health, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing the risk of diabetes, controlling blood pressure, improving heart health and even lowering cholesterol, according to the Whole Grains Council. Some oats are gluten-free so if you suffer from celiac disease or are gluten sensitive, oats can be a source of healthy grains. Eating them in a cookie -- although not the healthiest way to consume them -- can be an enjoyable way to include this nutritious grain in your diet.
Healthy Additions
The great thing about oatmeal cookies is their versatility. Adding certain ingredients can improve the nutrition of your oatmeal cookie if you make them from scratch. Dried fruits such as raisins or cranberries will increase iron and potassium. Old-fashioned peanut butter increases protein and healthy fats. Chunks of dark chocolate add flavonoids and antioxidants, which may fight against heart disease. Adding ground flax seed or chia seeds increases healthy omega-3 fats. Wheat germ or bran cereal crumbs will increase fiber and other vitamins and minerals. Try substituting some of the white flour in your recipe for whole-wheat flour and reducing the sugar to make it even more nutritious.
Consume With Caution
Even with healthy additions, an oatmeal cookie is still a cookie. Enjoying one occasionally is OK. They may contain more nutrients than other cookies, but they still contain large amounts of fat and sugar, which aren’t so healthy and may be detrimental to your waistline.
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Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search
Wikipedia has articles on:
From Middle English schanke, from Old English sċeanca, scanca, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (compare West Frisian skonk, Low German Schanke, Dutch/German Schenkel 'shank, leg', Norwegian skank), from *skankaz (compare Old Norse skakkr 'wry, crooked'), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng (compare Middle Irish scingim 'I spring', Ancient Greek skázein 'to limp').
shank (comparative shanker, superlative shankest)
1. (slang) Bad.
shank (plural shanks)
• Shakespeare
2. Meat from that part of an animal.
11. A loop forming an eye to a button.
the shank of the morning
Derived terms[edit]
(improvised stabbing weapon): shiv (slang)
See also[edit]
(poorly played golf shot): thin, fat, toe
1. (archaic, Ulster) To travel on foot.
4. (transitive, chiefly golf, tennis, soccer) To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Darwin to this entry?)
(to remove another's pants): pants (slang)
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…death cannot be eroded. It is a part of life, and it actually imparts meaning to life because it involves a basic contradiction that is essential for an understanding of human existence. Why should Christ have died on the Cross if death were simply an absurdity? Christ’s death rests on the presupposition that every death is tragic. And his death imparts to every death a dimension of hope and victory. Christ on the cross hallowed the agony of love. The gift which Christ offers to those who love is the cross, and it is this gift which purifies love.
To love life as it really is means to accept it in its total reality, which includes death; to accept not only the idea of death but also those acts which anticipate death, in the offering and giving of ourselves.
…In a sense, every sacrifice of our personal interest and our pleasure for the sake of another person or simply for the act of ‘love’ is a kind of death. But at the same time it is an act of life and an affirmation of the truth of life.
Preface, p.16 – Thomas Merton, from Love by Ernesto Cardenal
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Basic Pitcher Statistics
Pedro Martinez pitched in the Majors for 18 years with 5 teams. He excelled at many of the fundamental pitching aspects of the game, and for this reason, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
In baseball, it is crucial to know how to routinely field a grounder before you can learn how to turn a double play. In the same way with statistics, understanding the basics is necessary before learning more advanced metrics. These basic baseball statistics are ones that have been around since even before Babe Ruth’s time. A fundamental understanding of baseball and/or experience playing at any level will likely have allowed exposure to most or all of these statistics. This may serve as a good refresher if it has been awhile, or if just now working into some of the more complicated metrics. This article will serve as a quick learning course for the basics.
Games |G|
This statistic represents the number of games a pitcher has pitched in over a period of time. Games is a counting statistic, increasing consistently by one for each game pitched. Games are interchangeably referred to as “appearances” in conversation, but statistically will always be represented as above. A pitcher receives credit for a game regardless of how many pitches he throws.
Games Started |GS|
This statistic is similar to Games and represents the number of games a pitcher has started over a period of time. Again, Games Started is an example of a counting statistic.
Innings Pitched |IP|
Innings pitched indicate how many outs a pitcher has recorded. Each time a pitcher records an out (either by strikeout, groundout, flyout, fielder’s choice, etc.) they receive credit for 1/3 of an inning. This is numerically represented as 0.1 innings, to indicate 1 out. This is read as “one-third innings”. Similarly, 2/3 of an inning, or 2 outs, is represented as 0.2 innings and 3 outs is 1 inning. When calculating statistics, it is important to remember to convert this number into the appropriate fraction. If this does not occur the arithmetic will not be performed correctly, and the statistic will be inaccurate.
Walks |BB|
Walks are accrued when a pitcher allows a batter to reach base via a base on balls (hence, BB). This occurs when a pitcher throws 4 pitches that are called as balls in a plate appearance. Walks are used as a representation of a pitcher’s ability to control their pitches. The less walks issued, the more control they are thought to have.
Intentional Walks |IBB|
Intentional walks are walks that a pitcher deliberately issues, normally at the instruction of his manager for tactical reasons within the game. The primary reason is that the manager perceives the next batter in order as considerably less skilled than the current one. This avoids the current batter having an opportunity to create runs with his bat.
Strikeouts (SO or K)
Strikeouts occur when a pitcher tallies three strikes against a batter, thus recording an out for his team. Statistically, strikeouts are seen as the counterpart to walks; while walks indicate a pitcher’s control, strikeouts are viewed as an indication of a pitcher’s power or “stuff”.
Hits |H|
This statistic represents the number of hits allowed by a pitcher. Refer to Basic Hitter Statistics for more information.
Home Runs |HR|
This represents the number of home runs allowed by a pitcher. Refer to Basic Hitter Statistics for more information. Home Runs are one of the most exciting plays to occur in the game, but not for the pitcher who allowed it!
Runs |R|
Runs represent the number of runs scored (both earned and unearned) for which a pitcher is responsible. As explained above in the definition for losses, a pitcher is responsible for the run when a batter he allows to reach base scores, regardless of which pitcher is in the game at the time.
Earned Runs |ER|
Earned runs are similar to runs, but are only assigned to a pitcher if the runner in question did not reach base due to an error, passed ball, etc. This is a very basic explanation, and for a more nuanced one, consult the official MLB Rule 10.16.
Earned Run Average |ERA|
Earned Run Average (or ERA) represents the average number of earned runs a pitcher allows in a nine-inning span, given to 2 decimal places. ERA is calculated by dividing the total number of earned runs by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by 9. Mathematically, this is displayed as:
\textrm{ERA} = \frac{\textrm{ER}}{\textrm{IP}} \cdot 9
The value that results from this represents the earned runs a pitcher would be expected to allow on average over the course of a standard, 9-inning game. A pitcher who allows 50 earned runs over 120 innings pitched would thus have an ERA of 3.75. This is read as “three seventy-five”.
Wins |W|
A win is awarded to the pitcher who records the last out prior to his team scoring the final go-ahead run in a win. There are also two exceptions to this rule that can (rarely) occur in Major League Baseball games. For the finer details of these occurrences, you can consult official MLB Rule 10.17.
A win functions to indicate which pitcher was most responsible for leading his team to victory. The issue with this is that it only takes into account the results of the game, and not how the defense behind the pitcher played or how his offense performed while batting. As we will see later, there are better ways to quantify a pitcher’s individual performance.
Losses |L|
In much the same way that wins are assigned to pitchers that lead their teams to victory, losses are assigned to a pitcher whose effort leads to his team’s defeat. A pitcher is awarded the loss if he is responsible for the runner that scored the final go-ahead run in a game his team lost. This means that if “Adam” allows a batter to reach base and that batter (regardless of whether or not pitcher Adam is pitching at the time) scores the run that ultimately wins the game for his team, Adam is assigned the loss. It is thus possible for Adam to receive the loss in a game after he has exited the game for pitcher Ben, Carlos, et al. to enter. For example, Ben (or Carlos, and so on) can throw the actual pitch that leads to the runner scoring, but if Adam was responsible for allowing the runner to reach base, then he is still responsible for the loss. In the event that Adam’s team either ties the game or takes the lead, he is no longer “on-the-hook” for the loss, and the decision for the game is reset.
Losses serve to indicate which pitcher is responsible for losing the game for his team but fail to take into account how the team around him played and other outside factors. We will examine better ways to recognize a poor performance later.
Win-Loss Record |W-L|
Plainly, this is the ratio of a given pitcher’s wins-to-losses. This statistic can be given over any time frame (either a series of games, a season, career, etc.). For example, a pitcher who has 12 wins in a year and 10 losses is said to have a record of 12-10. This is read as “twelve and ten”.
Win-Loss Percentage |W-L %|
Similar to the win-loss record, this is the percentage of games a given pitcher wins over the total number of decisions (equal to wins + losses) he is involved in, given to three decimal points. Thus, the same pitcher that is 12-10 in a season has a win-loss percentage of 0.545 (12 wins divided by 22 decisions). This is read as “five forty-five”.
Complete Game |CG|
This statistic represents the number of games in which a pitcher throws every pitch for his team during a given game.
Shutout |SHO|
A shutout is a complete game in which the pitcher also does not allow an earned run. Thus, a starting pitcher who earns a shutout also earns a complete game.
Save |S or SV|
Saves are awarded to a relief pitcher on the winning team under certain circumstances. These are:
1. The pitcher must finish the game for the winning team (i.e. appear in relief and be responsible for the final out)
2. The pitcher has not received the win for his team
3. The pitcher is responsible for at least one out (i.e. pitched 1/3 of an inning)
4. Lastly the pitcher must meet one of below criterion:
• Enters the game with a 3-run lead or less and pitches at least one inning
• Enters the game with the tying run on base, at bat, or on deck
• Pitches for at least 3 innings
Saves are frequently earned by one specific relief pitcher, termed the closer. In other instances, a different relief pitcher will be tasked with earning the save due to unavailability (because of injury, fatigue, etc.) of the closer.
Taking a Lead: Sabermetric Pitching Stats
With this knowledge, an understanding of the game, and the Basic Hitter Statistics, begin investigating the Advanced Pitcher Statistics. Learning the finer points of advanced statistics will enable a greater enjoyment of the game. Advanced statistics allow to better recognize individual performances that are having the greatest effect on a team’s results. This allows for increased ability in evaluating a player’s performance, discussing the effectiveness of managerial choices and front office competence, and predicting the actions of a team both in-game and off the field. Many teams now rely on metrics the same or similar to those presented on this site in making their decisions.
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Empirically Baseball
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Category Archives: Economics
Have Central Banks Lost Their Independence?
Many other countries have modeled their Central bank operations after the Federal Reserve in hopes of maintaining economic stability. Over the years, the tools used by the Fed and other Central Banks to achieve the congressional mandate have varied. Until recently many would argue that Central Banks, at least in the US, have been largely independent of political pressures. This independence from political pressure is significant as political control of the Fed would lead to an ever growing money supply. Increasing the money supply increases political opportunity for reelection as it falsely gives the impression of economic growth. This results in uncontrolled inflation that eventually kills economic growth.
The most common tool used by Central banks is the manipulation of interest rates. When the economy expands interest rates are increased to control inflation. When the economy contracts, interest rates are lowered to spur economic growth. In 2007, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan commented that “The Federal Reserve may have to double its benchmark interest rate to at least 10% by 2030 to stem inflation, sparking a political showdown that could challenge its independence. Federal Reserve independence is not set in stone. The dysfunctional state of American politics does not give me great confidence in the short run” and there may be “a return of populist, anti-Fed rhetoric.”
The significance of Greenspan’s comments lies in the independence of the Federal Reserve and Central banks around the world. Economist Frederic Mishkin wrote: “Economic theory and massive amounts of empirical evidence make a strong case for maintaining the Fed’s independence. When central banks are subjected to political pressure, authorities often pursue excessively expansionary monetary policy in order to lower unemployment in the short run. This produces higher inflation and higher interest rates without lowering unemployment in the long term. This has happened over and over again in the past, not only in the United States but in many other countries throughout the world.”
Is the independence of the Fed already being threatened? In 2009, there were several bills proposed in Congress directed at the Federal Reserve. The two most prominent proposals were Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd’s bill to take away most of the Fed’s regulatory authority, and Congressman Ron Paul’s bill to force the Fed to allow its monetary policies to be audited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Since this time the Federal Reserve has responded by significantly increasing their balance sheet through their quantitative easing programs which began in early 2010.
Did the supposedly independent Fed succumb to political pressure? Did they initial easing programs in response to threats from congress? We may never have a clear cut answer but the data shows that since the proposed bills, the Fed has significantly increased their balance sheet. Note the graphic below. Never in history has such an increase occurred.
The motive for the Fed to ‘print’ such large amounts of money is to ease the debt burden and hopefully spur economic growth thru inflation. These actions have not only taken place in the US but around the world. If we just look at the US, Europe, England, Japan, and China, the central banks added over $300 billion of new assets in the first quarter of 2012, and $1.6 trillion over the last year.” Have central banks’ political independence around the world been compromised? Absolutely!
Political entities around the world know that they will quickly lose power if they let the global debt crisis get further out of control. They are putting pressure on central banks around the world to increase the money supply in order to monetize the debt and ease the heavy sovereign debt burdens put on the world by years of government deficit spending.
The question of further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve, China, and European Central banks appears to be a forgone conclusion. Political pressures continue to mount and money…not policy changes continue to be thrown at the situation in hopes of economic stability. Unfortunately the more money gets printed, the worse the inflation situation that Mr. Greenspan spoke of becomes. Rampant global inflation in the 20 years to come will put a great economic burden on our children all because prior generations deemed it best to spend uncontrollably in the name of economic growth. With the main political incentive being to print more money, the loss of the independence of Central banks around the world spells worsening problems for the global economy.
What does this mean for the markets? Volatility and lots of it. Without a stable monetary footing, markets will experience an increase in bubbles and bursts over the coming years. For aggressive individuals this spells opportunity but for those with a more traditional buy and hold mentality, inflation will eat at any potential gains in the coming years.
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The caste divisions in Rwanda are (were?) simply that: caste divisions, that is stratification based on socio-economic standing. In the case of Rwanda, the Germans and later the Belgians enforced the caste system to the point of bastardising those groupings into what they called tribes or ethnic groups. That bastardisation of castes continues to obtain in our mistaken thinking. The Rwanda caste system is not any different from what was/is common in East Asia, in Japan, Nepal, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and so on.
India has 5 castes (if you add on the “thug” caste they become six). The Brahman or priests, the Kshatriya (warriors) who may be the equivalent of the cattle-owning, ruling Tutsi of Rwanda/Urundi; then there is the Vaishya who doubled as merchants and farmers, the equivalent of the Hutu; then there are the Sudra or labourers, the land poor, equivalent of lower Hutu who could only provide labour, or the Bairu in Nkore. I think in Rwanda/Urundi and Nkore the structure had not yet differentiated to the point of free crop growers being distinguished from the landless who could only provide labour to the ruling caste. Finally, India has the lowest caste, the Dalit or Harijan, the “untouchables”, the equivalent of the hunter-gatherer Batwa, those to only be spat on. You know the sound of spitting…”Ptwaa! Hence, Twa, Batwa…
India believed so much in caste that any emerging socio-economic group was allocated a caste. As criminality increased, those that thrived on crime were placed in their own caste of the “Thugs”, the sixth caste and these gave a hell of time to the British, forcing them to introduce Hindi “thug” into their language. Bottom line, those were not tribes, they were not ethnicities. They were strata determined by socio-economic position…call them classes.
Rwandan women marrying outside their castes: that is true. Women tend to outnumber men, especially in the warrior caste where there were usually high fatalities among men in endless battles and blood feuds. In later Rwanda/Burundi, this was accentuated by the legal prohibition of polygamy. It is not adventure that drove women to marry outside their caste. It was ontological necessity. Similarly in Uganda, when you go to areas of Nakasongola, south of Lango, there are people there called the Chope or Bachope. They were called Chope because at one time, serious wars among the Luo (in Dokolo etc) forced women and children to flee southwards towards Bunyoro as refugees. When those women were asked where their men were, their answer was, “finished, Kaput, kwisha”. Qestion: “Cho?” answer: “Pe!”. In Luo a man is a “Cho” and kaput is “Pe”; hence Chope. They were quickly married off not due to adventure, but due to the tragedy that had befallen them. Now in Bunyoro and Toro, they have such names as Muchope, Kachope, Kabachope, etc reflecting what you, Mr Okello would call the fruits of adventure. By the way, the Bakopi caste of Buganda seems to have borrowed its name from “Chope”. As you know, the Chope are also called Pawil. The word Biiru or Bairu similarly seems to have also been photocopied from the predicament of those widows and orphans…..
The existential reality of the Hima/Bairu and Tutsi/Bahutu was one of constant and at times bloody conflict over space for crop growing Vs stock grazing. When the cattle of a pastoralist strayed into the millet garden of a crop growing Hutu or Mwiru, the latter would almost always get his spear and finish off part of the offending herd. These conflicts still obtain in all parts of the world where pastoralists co-exist with crop growers. The bitter emotions that go with those conflicts over ecological resources are part of what we witnessed in the form of the Rwanda genocide. That is why I disagree with the Dr.Eric Kashambuzi’s perspective that reduces everything to boyfriends/girlfriends while not explaining the wider picture of the many levels of interaction or lack of it, amongst those groups. If a Hutu speared your beloved cow yesterday after it strayed into his millet garden, and you drowned his son in your cattle watering pond yesterday, when you caught him stealing your water, there may be little room left for romance between the two Hutu/Hima families. Mr Kashambuzi is oblivious of those realities.
In the case of Rwanda and Nkore, what made matters worse was the fact that, those societies subsequently acquired a pastoralist ruling class. As you know, pastoralists can depend on their cattle for virtually everything. Cattle is life! They cannot starve when crop growers deny them their cassava. So, there was a lack of symbiotic dependence between the rulers and the ruled, unlike in the agrarian kingdoms where the ruling class survived by getting tribute in kind (cassava, millet, yams, nswa, bush meat etc) from the subordinate classes and vassals. When you are an aristocrat of an agrarian kingdom, to ensure that you do not starve, you had to have very good relations with all clans. You could not dare to be arrogant. You even had to marry from each one of them to sustain the solid bonds of symbiosis. That is why you hear that Kings of an agrarian Kingdom like Buganda would marry platoons of wives (Kyabagu, 20; Kamanya, 38; Suuna I, 148; Mutesa I, 85; Mwanga, 20; Chwa II, 17 wives, Mutesa II, 14 etc). When you have a king who you don’t owe a living; one who can feed on milk, blood, meat, ghee 24/7, then you have a highly polarised polity: no symbiotic connection, no obligation to marry outside your caste etc…the point that Mr Kashambuzi misses completely in his anecdotes about girlfriends and finacees.
Lance Corporal (Rtd) Patrick Otto
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Investment Risk
Regardless of your chosen route to investing, understanding and taking into account the risk of your chosen assets is essential.
Systematic and Non-systematic risk
Unsystematic risk can be thought of as the risk generated by factors specific to the stock or share, such as a poor management team, changes to regulation or other event driven risks. By investing in a number of different companies, this ‘specific risk’ can be significantly diversified away. Increasing the number of holdings reduces risk only so far, studies have shown that there is little to no additional benefit in holding more than 35 companies in different sectors.
Systematic risk, often called ‘market risk’ is deemed undiversifiable as it pertains to the financial system as a whole. Sentiment will drive markets up or down as measured by changes to an index. The change in price to an individual equity on any given day will in part be a reflection of these market fluctuations. Professional investors measure market risk by beta (β) – a share with a beta of 1.0 is expected to move exactly in line with the market.
Risk Adjusted Performance Measures
Looking at outright performance in isolation is a common but dangerous business. Provide most novice investors with a list of investments attaching the performance figures for each, and ask them to select their top 10 picks. Most would select the investments that have performed the best over the previous 1, 3 or 5 years without taking care to analyse and assess the risk taken to achieve those returns.
Risk adjusted measures factor in both the performance and the relative risk of an investment to give a more useful value with which to make buying decisions. The share that marginally outperformed over the past 3 years but whose management team took huge gambles to deliver the profits is unlikely to be able to repeat their success. Conversely, an investment that has marginally lower risk characteristics than its sector average but delivers consistently high returns indicates a sustainable process and is perhaps a safer bet.
For example, the ‘Sharpe Ratio’ shows the excess return per unit of risk associated with the excess return. The benchmark used is the ‘risk free’ rate of return. The higher the ratio, the better the risk adjusted performance – a useful ratio for investors comparing the relative returns of an asset over cash.
Another useful ratio when looking at investment funds is the ‘Information Ratio’ (IR) which factors in the outperformance of a portfolio and the tracking error (how ‘off-piste’ the manager skied from the benchmark). A high IR indicates the manager used the information about markets to identify price anomalies better than his peers.
Quantifying and understanding ‘total risk’
A measure commonly used to quantify the volatility of returns an investment is the standard deviation (SD) of its returns around its ‘mean’ or expected return. SD gives us a feel for the total risk of an investment (systematic risk plus non-systematic risk = total risk).
If an investment behaves ‘as expected’ producing returns, year on year, close to the average return of the investment, then we consider this ‘low risk’. Conversely, if the returns fluctuate widely around the average return the investment can be considered as ‘higher risk’.
If a given investment has a high expected return, then it usually carries a higher than average degree of risk rendering it inappropriate for people wanting to take a cautious stance. By the same token, if two potential investments have the same expected return, but one is half as volatile, then this ‘lower risk’ investment is perhaps more attractive.
If your time horizon is short for a given investment and the standard deviation value is high, then the risk of having to crystallise a loss at the point of encashment is elevated.
Advice on Risk & Risk Assessment
Calculating and understanding the downside potential of the investment an individual holds is a key responsibility of the financial adviser.
The volatility of a ‘balanced’ (a common label used in retail fund investing) fund a few years ago may well look completely different today, effectively leaving an investor with a different portfolio to the one originally selected. A possible solution here is to use a mix of asset specific funds that are regularly reviewed and rebalanced allows tighter controls of ongoing risk.
We offer a comprehensive analysis and assessment service of existing portfolios, reporting on the historic, current, and prospective risk associated with the assets /funds held within it. We can advise and recommend if any changes are required to create outcomes that are in line with expectations and objectives.
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You have 100 trillion microbes on your body right now.
A lot of readers were worried to learn that resistance to antibiotics now kills more people than AIDS, but while the evolution of superbugs is certainly a problem, it's good to remember that not all bacteria are bad. In fact, we wouldn't be able to live without them. PBS Digital Studios' It's Okay To Be Smart blog has a great video explaining our microbiomes.
Amazing, right?
For a deeper dive into the role of good bacteria, read Carl Zimmer's great article on what antibiotics do to your body and why probiotics are so important.
See also: Say hello to your 100 trillion invisible friends (aka friendly bacteria)
Tags: Antibiotics | Health | video
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Tuesday, April 2, 2013
F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C Projects Underway
1. LEGO project: Students are working in groups of 2-4 to construct a LEGO kit of their choice, while also creating a stop-motion movie of the process. This project follows many science standards, including following step-by-step processes and classification.
2. "How to Survive 1st Grade" project: Students have started to brainstorm ideas for a writing and video project for the incoming 1st graders. The writing piece will include a mixture of past focal points like persuasion, using voice, and of course, "how-to" writing. Like always, students will also have a hand in the movie-making process.
3. We have finished the word F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C with compliments! Students have voted for a nature & animal day, beating out dance party by four votes. Our nature & animal day has a TBD date, but will most likely come closer to our field trip to the nature museum.
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Alligator Snapping Turtle
Alligator Snapping Turtle.jpg
Conservation Status
VU (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Family: Chelydridae
Genus: Macrochelys
Species: M. temminckii
Binomial Name
Macrochelys temminckii
The Alligator Snapping Turtle is a carnivorous species of turtle, and one of the largest (as well as the heaviest) freshwater turtles in the world. An appendage at the end of its tongue visually resembles an earthworm, and is used as bait to lure prey.
The alligator snapping turtle is often known to feed on fish of various sizes. However, it will eat any manageable prey item, including molluscs, carrion, amphibians, sakes, crayfish, water birds, plants, and other turtles. One study from Louisiana determined that 79.8% of stomach contents of adults was comprised by other turtles. Occasionally, they may prey on rodents, such as nutrias and muskrats, or even take other small and mid-sized mammals, including squirrels, opossums, raccoons and armadillos when they attempt to enter their territory to swim or come to the water's edge to drink. On rare accounts, they have been known to kill and eat small American alligators.
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The Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun
A submachine gun or SMG is a select-fire weapon, either handheld (machine pistols) or shoulder-fired, that fires pistol-caliber rounds. Its primary role was that of a close-quarters weapon; it has since been replaced by short-barreled rifles (carbines) for this purpose.
The M3 submachine gun
The concept of the submachine gun dates back to World War One; the trench warfare of this period required effective, compact weapons for close combat in trenches; additionally, a lightweight and maneuverable fully automatic weapon was desirable to complement light machine guns in both defensive and offensive scenarios.
The submachine gun was once used as a CQC (close-quarters combat) weapon, usually in house and room clearings (owing to their usually compact size). Due to the fact that pistol calibers are poor terminal performers and carbines packed much more power in a similarly sized package, most law enforcement agencies, as well as the military, became increasingly reliant on the carbine to take over the role of the SMG.
However, the submachine gun still holds one advantage: when fired suppressed, the SMG is quieter than a carbine.
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sábado, 13 de junio de 2015
Facing exams... Buckaroos!!!
2 comentarios:
1. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
2. Buckaroos are the names that people put to the cowboys in Australia or "vaqueros" in Spanish. Buckaroo is a word that has its origins in the west North American. In Australia it means a person who works in a state where there are sheep or cows. In Australian it is said Jackaroo which is a jovial word to appoint an apprentice in a hacienda, ranch ... etc. This word is made up of two English words: jack+kangaroo (an Australian marsupial).
The final days of the school year are coming and there are many exams to be done. The students are very stressed because they haven't got free time in the evenings and because they have to do a lot of homework and projects to rise their marks. For example, I have to go to the Music School and I have to have my things and my schedule very organized. When I come home from school, I eat quickly and I do my homework so that I can have some time to rest later in the afternoon on the couch.
Here are my tips to be succesful in exams:
1.Listening to classical music before doing the exam.
2.Sleeping well the day before the exam.
3.Studying in a room where there isn't any noise.
Joaquín Alejandro España Sánchez 3ESO
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Overview of Orientalism by Edward Said
Orientalism as a geo-political and sociological concept has attracted much controversy. It remains author Edward Said’s definitive work, alongside other titles such a The Question of Palestine and Covering Islam. Orientalism as a scholarly work is the combined study and analysis of Oriental “philology, linguistics, ethnography, and the interpretation of culture through the discovery, recovery, compilation, and translation of Oriental texts”. (Windschuttle, 1999, p.30) Having been born into a Palestinian Christian family that later migrated to the United States, Said had the unique advantage of experiencing different perspectives on the issue of Palestine-Israel conflict as well as broader Arabian politics. His works on the subject of Middle East politics are informed by his first hand experiences at these places, as well as a careful study of preceding scholarship by Western intellectuals. The primary criticism in his book Orientalism, as also seen in the documentary, is directed toward the stereotyped vision of Arabs in Western media and academia. This phenomenon, Said notes, is not something new, for its origins could be dated back to the Napoleonic conquest of Egypt in late eighteenth century.
Behind the Western stereotyping of the Orient is the underlying belief that the surveyed geographies and peoples are somewhat backward and unrefined compared to Western civilization. What is also evident is the process of homogenization, whereby the vast mosaic of Oriental culture, language, social norms and religious beliefs are bracketed and abstracted into a unified whole. According to Said,
“Orientalism identifies a range of strategies by which 19th and 20th century scholars, writers and artists imposed their authority on the East. The Orient was represented as a theatrical stage affixed to Europe, a place where jaded aristocrats, earnest second sons and tyrannical explorers could discover timeless truths, or perhaps unimagined erotic delights. Stereotypes of eastern wise men and exotic harems removed the colonial world from history altogether, substituting a timeless realm. Orientals are seen not as people but as problems, subjects, races”. (Burrows, 1999, p.50)
But the reality is far from such constructions, as accounts of people who live in different regions of the Orient attest to. And as Said suggests in the documentary film, this set of illusions about the Middle East is not accidental or due to scholarly oversight.
Said identifies a subtle difference between the stereotyping of the Orient by erstwhile European imperial powers and that done by the United States of America. In the case of the latter, the contact with the Orient has not been direct, but one derived from the European imperial experience. Having assumed the position of a global superpower since the end of the Second World War, the United States has a strategic and material stake in the Middle East. With the Arab world rich in energy resources, the US can afford not to get involved in the politics of this region, so as to create favorable situations for corporate exploitation and political domination. The creation of Israel in the aftermath of WWII provided the US with an opportunity to get an enduring foothold in the Arab region, which it has established as expected. While the legitimacy of the state of Israel could be contested and debated, at least on moral grounds there was a need for a place of refuge for Holocaust survivors. In late 1940s, with the backing of a global wave of sympathy for the decimated Jewish population in Europe, the US was able to expedite the creation of Israel. But the real agenda is much beyond express humanitarian ones, as subsequent decades of the new country’s existence have shown. In order to understand why Orientalism as an intellectual construct continues to thrive, one also has to understand the pressing real-realpolitik considerations for US and its allies in the West.
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“Over”, “More Than” and Over-Correcting
Today, we’re answering a question we got from one of our recent submissions, as we think it can be quite helpful to other people, as well. It’s about word choice, and over correcting.
Specifically, it’s about numbers, and what words to use with them. The submission had used the phrase “over 900 million dollars”. Their teacher had marked that wrong, and insisted they use “more than 900 million dollars”. They were confused, and asked us why “over” was wrong.
The answer, however, is that “over” isn’t wrong, and any grammar rulebook or style guide you find is likely to say the same thing. There’s a misconception that “over” is the wrong word, but it’s not particularly true.
The Grammar Girl has a good breakdown of the situation, but essentially, one magazine editor decided he didn’t like the way “over 50,000” sounded back in the late nineteenth century. He didn’t have a particular reason for disliking it; it just didn’t fit his style. For most people, a personal preference wouldn’t matter, but when you’re the editor of the New York Evening Post, you have a little more impact. He prevented writers at his magazine from using it, and they took that rule with them to other magazines and newspapers, and eventually, it wormed its way in as a “rule” in newspaper offices around the country.
That doesn’t make it right, however, and even the last holdout—the AP style guide—relented in 2014. No reason was ever given for preferring “more than” to “over”; it just sounded better to one particular writer, who had an impact on how people wrote and read, and it became a “known rule” despite not having any basis in grammar whatsoever.
That’s how language works, though—if enough people agree that something is right or wrong, it becomes right or wrong. Language is living and fluid, and words and grammar fall in and out of style. There are myths that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition, or that you shouldn’t split an infinitive or that you shouldn’t start a sentence with “and” or “but”, but there are no legitimate grammatical reasons for any of those so-called rules. The primary point of language is communication. The sentence “But we decided to boldly go in.” violates all three of those “rules”, but is a perfectly understandable sentence. It’s fine to write like that.
Of course, writing to communicate is one thing. Writing an essay or a paper, where you’re graded, is another. While you may think what you’re writing is correct, and grammar has no rules against it, the final opinion goes to your professor—they’re giving you the grade. It’s best, on something like that, to go with whatever your professor feels is the right way to write. After all, you want to make sure that your grade is over the rest of the class. Or should that be more than the rest?
If you want to make sure your grammar is flowing nicely, why not stop by Wordsmith Essay’s order page? Our team of international editors will help make sure everything is clear and ready to go. Check us out today!
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Breastfed babies grow up more intelligent and earn more money
New study suggests breast is best
New study suggests breast is best
A new survey has concluded that breastfed babies grow up to be more intelligent and earn more money in their working lives.
New mothers are always encouraged to breastfeed their little ones as their milk is said to be important for a young child to fight off illness in their first few days, but now it seems it can also have a more lasting effect.
Dr Bernardo Lessa Horta, from the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil, suggested his survey offered compelling evidence to suggest breastfeeding had long term benefits.
“What is unique about this study is the fact that, in the population we studied, breastfeeding was not more common among highly-educated, high-income women, but was evenly distributed by social class.”
The survey found that breastfeeding generally led to an increase adult intelligence, length of schooling and adult earnings and interestingly, the longer a child was breastfed, up to a period of one year, the greater the benefits turned out to be.
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Parents Blog
Hard Knocks
Susan Boyd
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Stop the Ls
In the National Youth Coaching Course we talk about avoiding the three L’s during a training session. Those three L’s are Lines, Lectures and Laps. The cartoon below, in its own way, says it all. You see kids in school who have been listening to lectures, so why would a coach do that to them after school at soccer practice? The rule of thumb for all coaches, at all levels of soccer, is talk less and play more.
In the cartoon you also see the boy daydreaming about a drill of dribbling through the cones. The odds are the rest of his teammates are in a line at the end of the line of cones waiting for their turn to dribble through them. Boring! Ideally, no lines of players in a training session, but if there’s no way around it then at least keep it to several short lines of players – say three max.
Finally, in the cartoon you see the boy awakened from his daydream by his teacher (who when wearing shorts and out on a soccer field is known as the coach). The youngster is sure that he’ll be punished by running laps. Frequently coaches use running as a punishment for misbehavior during a training session. Some coaches have even used running as a punishment for an entire team at the end of a match if the team did not meet the coach’s expectations of performance. For the individual and the team using running as a punishment hurts team morale more than it solves any behavior problem. First of all, soccer is a game that requires a lot of running. You have to like running to play the game. Why give something so integral to the sport a negative connotation both mentally and emotionally for the players? This is just the opposite of what the coach should be trying to achieve in developing a team. If punishment is needed for misbehavior then there are many other options the coach could use other than running as punishment. Soccer coaches should never use running as a punishment!
Coaches, let’s unite to stamp out the three L’s in youth soccer!
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Much Ado About Something
Susan Boyd
Various sports periodically use their public platform to highlight social injustices. Leagues, teams, coaches, and players may speak out collectively or individually when they perceive an issue that requires attention. In 2005 after a particularly ugly year for racial incidents on pitches across Europe, French soccer player Thierry Henry began the Stand Up Speak Up campaign in conjunction with Nike, who produced wristbands to both advertise and support the movement. Since that time, racial incidents on the pitch seem to have dropped from that peak, but are still prevalent throughout Europe including clubs who refuse to recruit and sign black players, taunting of players, attacks on players both on and off the pitch, and general hooliganism sparked by racial prejudice. While the protest was well-meaning and broadly supported, the overall impact wasn’t as productive as one would hope based on the exposure the situation received. Nevertheless, many sports analysts, political pundits, and world leaders joined in, praising how the movement had sparked a serious discussion of race in sports. Sound familiar? Though not as controversial as Colin Kaepernick’s refusing to stand during the national anthem, both Henry and Kaepernick were attempting to highlight how minorities experience racism daily and to energize a discussion.
Kaepernick’s protest has been greeted with mixed reactions. While many people acknowledge that there are racial issues that require our attention, fans are split on whether or not his methods were the best way to go about it. Unfortunately while Colin was hoping to cast light on unjust treatment of minorities and police brutality against African Americans, the discussion seemed to focus solely on his patriotism. While some athletes have joined the movement, most notably Megan Rapinoe in soccer, Stephen Curry in basketball, and even President Obama, who defended his right to protest, the question remains if this is support for his cause or for his right to protest. An important indicator of the support for Kaepernick has come in the record sales of his jersey. To his credit he announced that he would donate all of his profits from those sales back to the community and thanked fans for their support. As we look at these two crusades separated by a decade, we should take note of two facts: (1) sports and race are significantly intertwined and (2) the topic remains in need of exposure.
How do we begin a conversation about race? So often our attitudes spring from our own experiences making it difficult to empathize with the life events of others. We depend on anecdotal evidence from our lives to make arguments for or against the truth of racial injustice, which makes conversation difficult. But there is also data to support Henry’s and Kaepernick’s concerns. When Henry’s home country of France won the World Cup, there was a surge of French politicians who called the national team “unworthy” of the victory because most of the players weren’t white. A 2016 European Network Against Racism report highlighted among their facts that people of African descent had unemployment rates from two times higher (UK) to five times higher (Finland) than the rest of their countrymen. Records on U.S. public high school graduation rates shows a tremendous gap: Whites have an 89% rate, Hispanics a 73% rates, and blacks only a 69% rate. Theories abound as to why these discrepancies occur to include unemployment, single-parent families, poor nutrition, and lack of role models. However, the facts are still the facts. We need discussion on how to solve these problems, which is Kaepernick’s point. According to a 2013 Pew Research Center Study, black men are six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men. The study also noted that “fewer than half of all Americans (45%) said the country has made substantial progress toward racial equality, and 49% said “a lot more” remains to be done”. That indicates that many people recognize that racial issues are far from resolved, and they are amenable to conversations on race.
How does this relate to youth soccer? Things trickle down. Kids learn opinions from older kids and adults that they then ascribe to and repeat without testing the validity or rationale for such opinions. Racially charged comments can be expressed at just about any age depending on how much kids are exposed to such language either from home, school, or the media. We also live in an anonymous age online where people express some really ugly personal attacks hiding behind a faceless and shadowy screen name. Our children have been both victims and perpetrators of these attacks, and their experience can spill over to outbursts and attitudes on the field. While a national conversation on race would be exciting and possibly productive, what really matters are the smaller, more intimate conversations we have with our kids, neighbors, and friends. We should encourage our children to express how racial situations have impacted them and how they handled them. No matter what race our children are, they all need to think about their place in the world. How will they react if they are attacked for their race or if they overhear someone attacking a teammate? What do they feel is appropriate language concerning race? What are our attitudes about race? If we don’t have much experience with other ethnicities and cultures, how might we achieve a better understanding? What stereotypes do we hold about all races? Are we tipping the scales too far in political correctness? Kids want to talk about these things, but they may not have the opportunity in school due to instructional constraints. Teachers may worry that if they initiate or encourage a discussion on race, they will be singled out for saying the wrong things. They may not feel equipped to talk about race. Therefore, kids are left with a variety of news stories, movies, music, and sports, which may influence their experiences with racial issues, yet they have no responsible sounding board to sort out these stimuli and feelings.
When Thierry Henry came out with his Stand Up Speak Up campaign, I remember that the wristbands were a prized fashion statement on the soccer pitch. Even today the wristbands are available on eBay. However, the reason for the statement printed on the band was often ignored then and awareness hasn’t increased in the intervening years. Even as kids sported the strap, they had little idea of what it actually represented. In Europe the reasons were clearer since the continent had witnessed several incidents including beer bottles hitting players and bananas being thrown on the pitch with racial taunts. But in the United States those episodes weren’t on the radar for young soccer players. Rather, it was Thierry Henry who was a soccer icon that prompted kids to want to own and wear the wristband. Instead of a social issue, the campaign ended up being an exercise in coolness. I’m concerned that Kaepernick’s stance will likewise be drowned in the rush of young players wanting to sport his jersey for the sake of being coolly attached to the player, not to his cause. As parents, we can have an important role in directing our children’s attention to the issues even as we acquiesce to their wish to have the jersey.
Talking about race doesn’t mean we all have to have the same outlook or agenda. As the mother of two African American/Hispanic sons I know firsthand some of the difficulties that exist for minority children. I also understand that like me other people come to these situations with their own moral, religious, and political histories that will shape their points of view. We need to hear all of those voices, but more importantly, our kids to need to hear our voice. This weekend the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of African American History opened in Washington, D.C. Visiting institutions like that or a Mexican street festival or a Caribbean music concert with our children can be a way to jump start not only some insight to other cultural histories and populations, but also open the door to talking with our children about the variety of ethnicities and religions that exist in America. Considering the recent concerns over refugees and national safety, I’m certain our children have questions that we can answer. No matter where we stand on the issues, we owe it to our kids to be transparent about our views so they can begin to discover their own way of dealing with the racial matters they encounter at school, among friends, and on the field.
This is why we need to narrow down the conversation to encounters our kids understand and have personally experienced. Even as they hear about Colin Kaepernick’s protest, they probably don’t have the context in which to understand it. However, relating his action to episodes from their own lives will give our kids the basis on which to begin an important discussion, not only with us but also with their friends and teammates. There are certain topics that we should take the lead on – money management, birds and bees, religion, and race. We can’t expect our schools to be handling them because each of these has a very personal quality centered on our own morals, beliefs, and lifestyle. Therefore, we need to initiate the conversation and then be good listeners and guides. Using Kaepernick as a portal to begin the talk seems like a great way to start on a serious and significant examination.
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Street Soccer In War Zone
Sam Snow
This entry is from Andrew Breithaupt. He is a district coach for US Youth Soccer ODP Europe in Stuttgart, Germany. He holds the “D” License and the National Youth License. Andrew had a recent trip to Kosovo and had this to say upon his return.
“Kosovo is small country in the Balkans about the size of Wisconsin that most people know nothing about. The country and its people continue to recover from one of the worst civil wars in Europe since World War II.
Recently, I traveled to Kosovo providing humanitarian aid. In a remote area where we were working was a bunch of kids hanging around all day. They watched the entire day while their families herded around the livestock they owned.
The kids had a single torn up old soccer ball that barely held air while they kicked it around. I turned around at the gate as the ball accidentally hit my feet while passing by. I played it back and they motioned for me to join them playing. I dropped my gear and jumped into the play, work boots and all. For the next 30 min we played and played. They didn't speak a bit of English but that just didn't matter, all we needed was the ball and the game.
Parents in the US often worry about turf fields not being open enough, the newest $200 cleats being sold out, or their child not getting to start the match every game. These kids had one torn up ball among them, some only had an old pair of Crocs on their feet, and one had no shoes at all. We played on a gravel road with giant tank track ruts on both side and a ditch. The goals were a couple rocks drug over. There was no out of play, they played thru the ditches, gravel, and even boulders like they were just another defender. A couple of them would make an ODP team no question and probably never had a day of training in their life. They just played the game and laughed.
They really put the essence of the game into perspective for me in a way I'd never thought. It was an experience I'll never forget.”
Stree Soccer Blog
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
How did that food get on your plate?
... or rather, what was done to the food before it was dished up? I'm still talking about GI values.
Yesterday I mentioned that particle size has impact on the GI value of a food. Any sort of processing -grinding, milling, mashing, beating, liquidizing, refining - reduces particle size and raises the GI value. Heat and cooking increases the ease of digestion, and has the same effect.
Here are a few ways to reduce the resultant rise in blood-glucose levels.
Eat more slowly. Research shows that eating more slowly raises blood-glucose levels more gently.
Add lots of low GI vegetables to your plate - especially salads. Salads are usually raw, or if not raw, at least chilled. Adding low GI veg will slow down the rate of digestion. Slower digestion equals a slower release of glucose into the blood stream, and a slower release of glucose leads to a more gradual insulin reaction.
Eat regularly. What you eat at breakfast, strangely enough, impacts on what you eat at lunch time, and lunch impacts on dinner; so a low GI, low fat breakfast, for example fresh fruit and oat porridge, will keep you going until lunchtime without a problem. You will not then be tempted to cram high GI foods into your mouth in an attempt to assuage your hunger. Hunger as a result of eating high GI foods, or of not eating at all, will make you overeat at the earliest opportunity.
Add other low GI foods to your meal. Whole-grains, beans, lentils. These all fill you up, and keep you satisfied for longer.
Eat in-between meal snacks - fruit is the healthiest and easiest snack, or crudites.
Eat fibre. Most of us don't eat anywhere near the recommended 30 - 40gm a day. Fibre is filling and satisfying. Get it from oats, beans, pasta and leafy vegetables like cabbage and spinach. Fibre helps protect against high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
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Why any modern banking system is necessarily uncompetitive?
Interesting post by Cameron Murray, a professional economist on Naked Capitalism blog.
He argues why banks are uncompetitive in today’s system.
I want to use this blog post to explain in detail the underlying administrative mechanics of why any modern banking system is necessarily uncompetitive.
The first thing to know is that banks do two things. They make money by extending loans, which expands the money supply; a function that is an essential public service in a growing economy. Second, they settle obligations between parties both within their own bank, and between banks, which is another essential public service.
But letting private entities simply make money is risky. So our central banking system constrains the private banking system by making the banks settle payments between each other with a different currency held in accounts at the central bank. In Australia these are called Exchange Settlement Accounts. Every private bank in the system must have an account at the central bank so that they can perform this second function of settling payments.
By controlling the second function of banks by making them use a currency controlled by the central bank, it indirectly controls the former function of money creation. No one bank can rapidly create new money by writing loans faster than the rest of the banks. If they do, when the borrower deposits the money created into an account at a different bank, like when they use the loan to buy a house from someone who banks with another bank, it will require the originating bank to settle this payment flowing from their bank to a different bank with their central bank money.
This process reduces their net asset position and increases their costs. They can’t continue to do this. What limits their rate of money creation through new loans is how fast other banks are creating money and transferring central bank money to them. Each individual bank is constrained in their money creation function by their settlement function.
This leads to increased concentration:
The Australian bank data shows this process in action. Below are two graphs. On the left is the size of the loan book of Australian banks. There is a clear concentration here and a surprising regularity to the trends at all banks. To show these trends more clearly, on the right is the monthly growth of the loans made by the four major Australian banks. As you can see, there is no sustained deviation by any banks from the core growth trend. All banks are moving lock step, as they should.
The whole point of a central banking system is that the growth rate of loans for all banks in the system will quickly equalise. If you are a small bank, this means you can never grow abnormally fast in order to gain market share by competing for loans with the larger banks.
Any central banking system is therefore, by definition, unable to be competitive.
In Game of Mates, the solution proposed to stop the economic losses from the abnormal profits of the protected private banking cartel is to let the central bank itself offer basic low-risk lending and deposit functions directly to the public. Because it has the ability to create for itself its own central bank money, it is the only entity that can grow faster than the existing banks in the system.
These arguements go into evolution of banking and central banking. Earlier banks ran the show before their powers were curbed by central banks. Free banking guys say this intervention distorted the markets whereas this post argues that banks should be regulated like utilities.
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Maps of World
Current, Credible, Consistent
World Map / Cyprus Map / Geography / Cyprus Weather
Cyprus Weather
Cyprus weather is largely influenced by the geographical location of the island and its topographical features. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and therefore has a Mediterranean type of climate. But as Cyprus lies close to south west Asia
it has the hottest summers in the whole of the Mediterranean.
Cypriot weather is shaped, to a large extent, by its terrain. In the mountainous regions the Cyprus weather is cooler and wetter that sustain large pine forests. The Climate of Cyprus is characterized by hot or warm summers that depend on the altitude. The period from end of May to the middle of September is marked by a negligible amount of rainfall. The weather of Cyprus, during this time of the year, remains constant and the days are sunny.
Weather in Cyprus is most disturbed during the winter months. The temperatures during winter usually remain mild but Cyprus during the winter season experiences heavy rainfall. Temperatures are very low in the mountain where snowfall occurs frequently. The peaks of Troodos mountain range generally remain snow covered for four to five months. Spring and autumn in Cyprus are characterized with almost steady weather with little variations that come in the form of storms and rain.
Cyprus climate in the coastal regions of Cyprus is marked by cool sea breezes that lower down the temperatures during the daytime. But the nights are hot and humid. The summers, along with the early period of autumn, are long, hot and dry. Cyprus weather is rather pleasant during the winter and the spring when the days are sunny and warm. This time of the year is the ideal time to visit the island.
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Animal Rights Over the Past Essay
Excerpt from Essay :
Animals in captivity, for example, have often been genetically, behaviorally or anatomically manipulated in order to enhance acclimation to the new environment. Similarly, animals have been neutered, declawed or defanged to be more compatible with their human keepers. Those who are in support of captivity of animals need to revisit such earlier condoned behavior and ensure that animals receive necessary care, nutrition and exercise and live in proper caging areas. Further, depending on the specific animal, there may also be behavioral or psychological concerns in captivity. For instance, captive animals, particularly those that are not domesticated, may develop repetitive and what appears to be random motor behaviors called "stereotypical behaviors," due to their abnormal environment (Bostock 88). Those who maintain animals in captivity, especially zoos and similar institutions and research laboratories, need to attempt to prevent, decrease or eliminate such behavior by introducing novel stimuli, known as environmental enrichment.
Zoos receive even more criticism than wildlife parks, and many people believe that they should be shut down. This is not a new idea. Even 200 years ago in Versailles, a group of Jacobian sympathizers marched down the street with the goal of liberating the royal menagerie (Bostock). The sentiments of these animal liberators were very similar to those continuing to demonstrate today at many zoos and animal entertainment events. According to the American philosopher Jamieson (Bostock 109), there are three reasons for defending these traditional animal institutions: 1) We can deny that animals are comparable enough to humans to make the moral comparison appropriate; 2) We can explain that the animals we are keeping captive are actually in a state of well being, perhaps better off than they would be in the wild and 3) We can spell out the advantages to humans that follow from keeping animals: notably assistance towards conservation, science and education, plus recreation or entertainment.
Bostock agrees that certain relatively wild animals can be kept in zoos in a state of well being. However, it is important to note that many of today's zookeepers continue to fall short of their responsibility, by both Bostock's and other animal caretakers' criteria. For a variety of reasons, this does not mean that all zoos should be shut down, First, there are a growing number of zoos that set high standards in their level of care and conservation achievements. Second, the latest ethological research is providing greater insights into how to keep wild animals satisfactorily captive. Third, the zoos will be playing an ever-increasing role in safeguarding many large vertebrate species in response to a growing human population worldwide. Fourth, zoos increase empathy and appreciation for other living beings.
As Bostock admits, not all zoos and other animal centers of information for entertainment place the well being of animals first. The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS), for instance, states that it only "supports only those zoos or wildlife enclosures which adhere to the principle that the needs and welfare of the animals are of primary importance, must take precedence over consideration for human visitors, and should not be compromised by economic factors." Any zoological sites with barren enclosures or those with a shortage of materials for stimulation, a lack of educational materials, and animals demonstrating repetitive behaviors such as pacing, indicate that they are not meeting animal welfare standards. There are more than one hundred zoos and wildlife collections and about two dozen major zoos across Canada. Some of these provide high-quality care for their animals and place a priority on animal welfare. These zoos make important contributions towards education and conservation, reports the CFHS. Unfortunately, many others do not adequately provide for the animals in their care, do little to promote animal welfare, and do even less to further education or conservation. It is such zoos that need to be recognized and updated. Those who support animal captivity feel just as strong about maintaining high standards; in most cases, their concern for the overall well being of animals is not any less than those who call for animal rights.
If it were at all possible, there are many who would call for a total separation of animals and humans. They would want the human species to have no contact with any other animals, not even domestic ones, much less those that are wild. Kiley-Washington (195) has called this approach the "animal apartheid." It cannot be denied that the process of slaughtering an animal -- as well any other injurious activities such as confinement, mutilation, transport and teethering -- is an experience that billions of unfortunate animals face every year. Such maltreatment should not be condoned under any circumstances. Yet, there are also thousands of animals every year that are saved and thousands more protected through supportive captivity and conservation programs.
One last benefit needs to be noted when discussing animals. It was not long ago that human ancestors came down from the trees and began to walk the earth. It has only been about 10,000 years since they first grew crops and lived in cities. During this short period of time, humans have become increasingly alienated from the natural world. Despite the many pleasures of the Western lifestyle, there is often a sense of alienation or a feeling of meaningless and not being part of the world. There still remains much in humans that is connected to nature, which continues to be removed farther and farther from their daily lives. When people see animals in captivity, if they are unable to see them in their natural environment, they are given a link to their past and a foundation of who they are.
Bostock, Stephen. Zoos and Animal Rights. New York: Routledge, 1993
Canadian Federation of Humane Societies. (n.d.). Animals in the Wild. 17 April, 2010,
Claggett, Hilary. Wildlife Conservation. Bronx, NY: Reference Shelf, 1997.
Eakins, Paul. Captivity vs. extinction: Is wildlife served by zoos. North County Times. 1 July, 2007. 15 April, 2010
Frey, R.G. Interests and Rights. The Case Against Animals. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980.
Kenny, A.J.P. Will, Freedom and Power. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1975.
Kiley-Washington, Marthe. Animals in Circuses and Zoos -- Chiron's World?," Basildon, UK: Little Eco Farms Publishing, 1990
MacIntyre, Aladair. Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtue. Chicago: Open Court, 1999.
Martin, Howard D., Wilson, Sandra C., and Carpenter, James W. Animal Welfare and Wildlife in Captivity; A perspective on veterinary ethics and responsibilities. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 23.3 (1992): 273-275
Rose, Margaret and Adams, David. "Evidence for Pain and Suffering in Other Animals." Gill Langley, ed., Animal Experimentation:…
Online Sources Used in Document:
Cite This Essay:
"Animal Rights Over The Past" (2010, April 17) Retrieved August 17, 2017, from
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"Animal Rights Over The Past", 17 April 2010, Accessed.17 August. 2017,
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Cockroaches and Things You Can Do to Limit an Infestation
Cockroaches are a big problem because they contaminate food, utensils and furnishings, and might transmit many diseases like gastroenteritis and dysentery.
Large infestations of German roaches aren’t just visually off putting but may frequently make an unpleasant odor. They have a tendency to enjoy warm, moist conditions and can feed from garbage bins, kitchen cabinets, drainage regions and even sewers.
The American Cockroach
Most cockroach species share similar traits. The American cockroach is distinguished by its size and is among the biggest of the cockroach family.
A grownup American Cockroach is generally 40mm long and can be reddish brown in color with a boundary around the head region. This species is known to fly, especially in hot weather.
The American cockroach is mainly seen in dark, moist and warm places like unoccupied homes, garbage dumps, sub floor tiles and roof places away from human action. It will have a taste for decaying organic waste; nevertheless it may survive for weeks without food.
Most species of cockroaches are proven to have the ability to make thousands of youthful during the year. Female cockroaches may create around 50 instances, roughly 8mm from 5mm each comprising 10-16 eggs. The egg cases are glued to things which are frequently transported, as an example, cardboard boxes or wooden crates.
Nymphs grow in 6-12 months. After roughly 10 molts at a year, the cockroach reaches adulthood and lives just for an additional year.
The German cockroach
The most typical of all cockroaches, this species is a tiny light brown horizontal insect with two dark stripes in the front part of the head. German cockroaches will consume nearly anything, such as built-up cooking dirt. Typically a grownup is 10-15mm lengthy and although armed with wings, adults don’t appear to fly.
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Super Duper Foods
What are super foods? Where do antioxidants come from? Are phytochemicals good or bad? These are just a few of the many questions I often get asked as a dietitian. Food companies and the media have done an excellent job of confusing the public as to which foods are healthy and which are not. Words such as super, antioxidant, and natural get thrown around without much care. But what are they and where do they come from?
Phytochemicals are compounds found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and dry beans that are thought to promote health. They include antioxidants, fiber, and the natural chemicals that give plants their flavor and color. People have known about phytochemicals for centuries even if they did not call them phytochemicals. Chewing the bark of the willow tree in ancient Greece was known to reduce pain; the compound salicin was extracted from the bark and is produced commercially today as aspirin.
As we go through our day, our bodies move from bed to kitchen to shower to work… all these activities require energy. This energy is provided by the foods we eat. As food breaks down in our stomachs and is transported through the blood to our muscles, thousands of chemical reactions take place creating ‘free radicals.’ Think back to grade school when you added vinegar to baking soda to create a flowing messy “volcano.” Unlike the volcano, we do not immediately see the end results of these reactions. Just like the volcano though, the reactions that take place inside us leave behind byproducts called free radicals that need to be cleaned up. This is where antioxidants come in. Antioxidants are molecules found in fruits and vegetables that clean up and neutralize the harmful free radicals. If left roaming free in the body, free radicals will cause inflammation and stress; which may lead to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis. The most commonly know antioxidants are vitamin C, vitamin E, and lycopene. Foods high in these antioxidants are citrus fruits, dark green vegetables, nuts, and tomatoes.
Super Foods are those that contain high amounts of antioxidants and phytochemicals. They are low in fat and calories. Thanks to celebrities and companies promoting their favorite products, new super foods seem to be popping up every year or so. It started with cranberries and then moved to pomegranates and then the acai berry. There is nothing magical about these fruits by themselves. Drinking gallons of blueberry pomegranate juice will not make excess pounds fall off or protect someone from cancer. However, eating a wide variety of colorful vegetables and fruits will help promote an overall healthy body and when they replace high fat, high calorie foods they can aid in weight loss. Some diets encourage people to fast or ‘cleanse’ their bodies of toxins and free radicals by drinking special teas, juices, or other concoctions. The lack of calories in these diets is what leads to weight loss in the short term. Once the person begins eating normally again, weight will be regained quickly. Adding green tea (un-sweet) and small amounts of fruit or vegetable juice to any diet can be a good way in increase vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, but will not make up for a diet high in processed foods.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Quick Prep Products
We all experience times when a "home cooked" meal just is not possible. You get caught at the office and have to stay late, your kids have a football or hockey game that goes into double overtime, or you just don't feel like putting much energy into cooking. It's times like these when having quality quick prep products on hand can be very beneficial. Instead of ordering that pizza or swinging by the drive through, consider keeping a couple of these products on hand. Any of these would also be great for people trying to be animal friendly and having a "Meatless Monday."
Garden Lites: Frozen egg souffles chock full of vegetables. I've only tried the spinach, but when paired with a slice or two of toast it makes a complete and very filling breakfast, lunch, or super for one. Each package contains one souffle that is big enough to be split between two small kids if needed. The best part is that all the ingredients are pronounceable. At approximately 140 calories (2 points) per souffle, these are perfect for people watching their weight; especially if they are doing the new Weight Watchers Points Plus program.
Buitoni Ravioli: We tried the Mushroom Agnolotti and they were scrumptious. They were so flavorful and rich they do not even need sauce. But a drizzle of leftover pizza sauce did a nice job of adding a little moisture to the edges of our ravioli. Each package contains 2 servings which range in calories from 250 to more than 340 for most of the cheese versions. Convenience wise they cook up in 4-6 minutes which is just enough time to pop a bag of frozen broccoli in the microwave. My only complaint is that their products are a little pricey. They range from $3-$8 depending upon the filling and number of servings per package. For larger families they may not be a great choice as a main course, but could work as a side dish.
Trader Joe's Indian Fare: Shelf stable packages of 'traditional' vegetarian Indian dishes. We tried the Madras Lentils a while back and served it with TJ's frozen Naan and a vegetable; of course. Thankfully I had some dry lentils on had that I quickly cooked; otherwise the 2 serving package would have fed only one of us. We were both very impressed. The flavor was great and at $2 a pouch they are very affordable. Each serving contains just over 200 calories, and is low in fat. As with most packaged products their sodium is a little high at just over 600mg, but I let that slide since they have more than 6g of fiber and no added sugar. Too cook, either immerse the pack in a pot of boiling water, or empty the contents into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 2 minutes. Soon we will try their Punjab Choley and I have a feeling I will be adding a can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans to stretch it. The frozen Naan is delicious and thaws/bakes in approximately 1 minute. Now this is what I call fast food! For people who do not like traditional breakfast foods, these would be a great stand in.
Prepackaged foods are not always the best options...some fast food burgers have fewer calories many of the TV dinners lurking in the freezer section. However, if you do a little looking and read the nutrition labels there are some great buys out there.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
National Nutrition Month 2011
Mixed greens salad, Chicken with mango salsa, steamed broccoli, apple/cranberry risotto,
angel food cake with fresh strawberries
March is National Nutrition Month! This year’s theme is Eat Right With Color. People who consume lots of colorful vegetables and fruits tend to weigh less, suffer fewer chronic diseases, and lead healthier lives compared to people who do not. The produce section of the grocery store contains a wide array of colors and each one may have special properties that benefit our bodies; this is why it’s important to eat a variety of different colored vegetables and fruits. To get in as many different colors each day try and consume at least one fruit or vegetable with each meal. This may mean topping morning cereal with a cut up banana or fresh blue berries. Sautéed mushrooms and peppers make ‘egg-celent’ additions to omelets and are a sneaky way to get veggies in at breakfast. Sandwiches are another easy way to sneak in more vegetables by loading them up with fresh baby spinach, sliced cucumbers, and sprouts. Dip fresh slices of apple in low-fat vanilla yogurt for a light and refreshing desert after super.
To ensure a variety of colorful produce people can try and eat ’the colors of the rainbow.’ This is done by consuming 1 vegetable or fruit each day that is Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, and/or White. Foods that are red and orange contain vitamin A which is important for eye health. These colors are also easy to spot. Fill your shopping cart with mangos, tomatoes, carrots, and strawberries. Foods such as yellow summer squash, bananas, white grapefruit, and corn contain vitamin C which is an important antioxidant. Green foods such as broccoli, spinach, and green beans are believed to help prevent cancer. The compound chlorophyll gives these vegetables their color and is believed to help prevent not only cancer but heart disease and even Alzheimer’s dementia. Also, thanks to their high concentrations of vitamins C and A as well as iron and calcium, green vegetables are considered ‘super foods.’ Blue and purple colored foods might be harder to spot, but purple grapes black and blue berries are a good start. Black berries and black beans also count. The dark blue and purple colors contain high concentrations of antioxidants which help reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation occurs when the body is under stress or injured. Chronic diseases such as arthritis, high blood pressure, and diabetes also cause inflammation. Over time this inflammation can be very damaging to the body and its many different tissues. White and brown produce like cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, and pinto beans are good for intestinal health. Some people may experience gas and bloating after eating cauliflower and onions, but if eaten in small amounts each day the body will adapt and the bloating will decrease.
Peeling, chopping, and preparing fresh produce can be time consuming. Cutting up bell peppers, celery, and onions on the weekends can help make them easier/faster to use during the busy week nights. Weekends or days off of work are also a great time to prepare snack bags filled with fresh grapes and baby carrots. Before heading to work in the morning, grab a bag for an instant healthy snack later in the day. Grocery stores also offer precut veggies such as broccoli, lettuce, and mushrooms. These types of items are great for the super time crunched, as well as people who have limited knife skills. Frozen vegetables can be very economical, especially for large families. The produce is picked when it is the ripest and flash frozen. Compared to canned vegetables, those that are frozen retain more vitamins and minerals and are not loaded with extra salt. Stock up on large bags of frozen broccoli, green beans, and vegetable blends for a quick side to any meal.
Juices are an easy way to sip down a serving of fruit and in some cases, vegetables as well. However, fruit juice contains the same number of calories from sugar as a similar serving of soda. While juice contains vitamins and minerals it does not contain any fiber to help people feel full. Because of these reasons, people who are trying to maintain or lose weight may find it helpful to limit juice to 4-6 oz per day. For individuals who enjoy a glass of juice at breakfast, make sure to read the label as see that it contains only 100% juice. Juice drinks such as ‘Sunny D’ contain very little real fruit juice and are mostly added sugar and corn syrup. Just like whole fruit, try and pick juices with the most color. Orange, pink grapefruit, cranberry, and purple grape juice will contain more antioxidants than clear juices such as pear and apple.
It’s easy to see why eating a variety vegetables and fruit is important to keeping our bodies as healthy as possible. Celebrate National Nutrition Month by trying a few new fruits or vegetables and by trying to “eat the rainbow” people will ensure that they are consuming plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber; all of which are important to ensuring optimal health.
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Sunday, May 16, 2010
Colored Pencil Portrait (Realistic Art) :
I used photo reference for this particular portrait, I just quickly sketched out the simple outline of the face right onto the Handmade colored green paper, I didn't need to do a lot of erasures, since the face was made up from reference image.
Lightly and carefully, start laying down the general tones of the portrait. Start with light tones first. Do not get messy, or make large, loose strokes. Keep your pencil sharp, and let the tip glide over the surface of the paper. Do not dig down and lay a dark, rich tone yet. It's too soon for that.
When you have drawn and rendered the majority of the face's lighter and more subtle tones, start to lay down the darker, richer and more saturated areas of the portrait (for instance, dark hair, red lips, bright colored or dark colored clothing, darkest shadows of the face, etc.). To get these colors sufficiently rich and saturated, gradually begin to bear down harder with your colored pencils, making stronger and darker pencil strokes. These strong lines are the most difficult to erase, which is why you should wait until you are almost finished with the portrait to put them in.
Some basic things to remember when drawing in colored pencil:- Keep your pencils sharp most of the time!
- Start drawing lightly, and carefully. Don't start laying down dark, rich colors right away.
- Keep the paper surface clean. Don't let any colored pencil "crumbs" stick to the drawing surface Carefully brush them away, before they smear or streak on the drawing.
- Use a kneaded rubber eraser to lighten up or erase areas. Don't use the same eraser that you use for graphite or charcoal, however. Have special kneaded rubber eraser set aside for your colored pencil work.
- Final goal of your portrait is, make it more realistic.
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More people, more environmental stress
Thomas Dietz is examing how population growth can influence greenhouse gas emissions, which includes factors like rate of consumption and affluence of a nation.
June 11, 2012
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Thomas Dietz
In an article published in the journal Nature Climate Change, Michigan State University (MSU) AgBioResearch scientist Thomas Dietz and his colleague, Eugene Rosa of Washington State University, take a critical look at the various factors that have long been prime climate change suspects -- particularly the role of population growth.
“How does population growth influence greenhouse gas emissions?” Dietz asked. “In looking at most nations of the world during the past few decades, we find that for each 1 percent increase in population, we get a bit more than a 1 percent increase in emissions. With the Earth’s population projected to reach 10 billion by the end of this century, it unquestionably will add to the stress we place on the planet.”
Until recently, climate change debate had focused on whether change was brought about by human activity. That debate recently has shifted to focus on what sorts of activities are creating it.
“No single factor acts independently of the others,” said Dietz, MSU professor of sociology and environmental science and policy, and assistant vice president for environmental research. “The effect of population size depends on consumption; the effects of consumption depend on how many people are consuming at that level.”
Another factor that has sparked climate change debate focuses on how affluent a nation is.
“On one hand, it’s argued that more affluent nations use more resources, thus creating more emissions,” Dietz explained. “On the other hand, citizens of more affluent nations tend to be more socially conscious and are willing to work and pay for a cleaner environment. For example, increased use of electricity generated by renewable sources that do not emit greenhouse gases might partially or wholly compensate for the tendency toward increased emissions that come with increased affluence.”
Dietz and Rosa wrote that they are not optimistic about the future, calling the paper they did “sobering.”
“The population and economic growth that can be anticipated in coming decades will tend to push emissions substantially upward,” they said. “The only possible saving grace is improved technology and changes in the way humans use resources. These changes, however, will need to be huge, because they must counter substantial increases in scale coming from population growth and increasing affluence.”
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What steps must school districts take to create a pipeline of high-quality principals? This feature article describes the efforts of districts that are part of a six-year, Wallace-funded initiative to further develop their principal pipelines. Districts pursued four key strategies: setting standards for school leaders, training future principals rigorously, hiring selectively and offering strong on-the-job support for novices. Leaders from six school districts—Denver; Prince George's County, Md.; Gwinnet County, Ga.; Hillsborough Co., Fla.; Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C.; and New York City—share their strategies for selecting and developing school leaders and discuss candidly what's working and what's not.
Points of Interest
• Standards for principals should require that they share leadership with staff members in meaningful ways, as opposed to, "You're in charge of the supply closet."
#Principals should share leadership with staff in meaningful ways, not "You're in charge of the supply closet."
• Evaluation for principals isn't an end it itself. Done right, it provides information about what professional growth is needed, such as in leading instruction, sharing leadership with others or analyzing student data to plan school improvements.
A #principal's evaluation isn't an end in itself; it should show what professional growth is needed to excel.
• Training for principal mentors in the art of listening and questioning is crucial, in part so that mentors can avoid the common pitfall of being buddies to their protégées rather than coaches.
Training #principal mentors in the art of listening/questioning is crucial if they are to become effective coaches.
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Comparison Of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" And "Winesburg, Ohio"
Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade August 2001
download word file, 3 pages 3.0
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"Their Eyes Were Watching God"ÃÂ and "Winesburg, Ohio"ÃÂ Both Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio provide great examples of community, although there are stark differences in the way the two respective authors present them.
In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie moves to the town of Eatonville, Florida with her second husband Jody Starks. The move was to flee her arranged first marriage to a man that she did not love, and also gain some stature in a community.
The "All-Negro town"ÃÂ of Eatonville is Jody's dream. It turns out to be a big disappointment to him though, and he takes on the responsibility of building and leading the town. This preoccupation causes Joe to slowly but surely lose interest in his wife and become overbearing towards her. Janie finds that Jody is no more interested in letting her speak than Logan Killicks: "...mah
wife don't know nothin' "ÃÂbout no speech-makin'. Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home"ÃÂ (41).
Sherwood Anderson presents his fictional middle-America town of Winesburg through inter-connected short stories. The character of Winesburg Eagle journalist George Willard in these stories is the bond.
On the surface, Winesburg is a functional town that could be perceived as an example of an American dream community. Anderson proves this idea wrong in presenting the characters as lonely "ÃÂ and feeling a part of nothing. Many envision life in the big cities (such as Chicago) as superior, and some have made plans to leave.
In "Adventure,"ÃÂ Alice Hindman wished to travel (unmarried) to Cleveland with her lover, but at his request remains in Winesburg and never hears from him again. After over a decade of waiting, she has the realization that he will never come for her: "(Hindman) began trying to force herself to face bravely the fact that many people must live and die alone, even in Winesburg"ÃÂ (102).
Parallels can be drawn between Janie and residents of Winesburg such as Hindman and Louise Bentley. All are searching for love, and more importantly "ÃÂ a purpose in life and their differing communities.
Through trial and error Janie does find love in her third husband Tea Cake, but ironically is forced to kill him in self-defense after a rabid dog bites him. Despite the tragic turn of events towards the end of Hurston's novel, when Janie is finished telling her life story to the residents of Eatonville, the reader senses that she feels fulfilled and has a sense of calm. In other words, she knows where she belongs.
In Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson's characters find no such peace. In the final story, "Departure,"ÃÂ Willard boards a train to an unspecified city after walking through Winesburg at dawn and finally saying goodbye to various townspeople. Because of the way Anderson has crafted the book, the reader feels as if they know the town of Winesburg just as well as Willard "ÃÂ and is taken away on the train ride with him.
A common theme shared by both texts is isolation. Even though communities are represented in both, certain characters do find themselves cut off from contact from others.
After Janie starts her life with Jody in Eatonville, she begins to grow tired of always having to act as if she was above everybody in the town. She would have preferred to be a normal towns person - joining in on the great talks and laughs on the store porch with the rest of the people, but this was forbade by Jody. Jody also prohibited her from wearing her long, beautiful hair down in public, feeling that it called attention from the other men.
When Jody asks Janie how she likes being the wife of the mayor she replies: "Jody, it jus' looks lak it keeps us in some way we ain't natural wid one "ÃÂnother. You'se always off talkin' and fixin' things, and Ah feels lak Ah'm jus' markin' time. Hope it soon gits over"ÃÂ (43).
In Anderson's "Loneliness,"ÃÂ Enoch Robinson moves to New York and meets plenty of friends, but grows tired of them quickly. Eventually, after a failed marriage he is totally surrounded by his imaginary friends "ÃÂ who he needs to be happy. As the story is told to the reader and George Willard, Robinson is lonely back in Winesburg and all his friends have left him.
Another example of this theme in Winesburg, Ohio is the story "Hands,"ÃÂ which tells the story of Wing Biddlebaum, who lives on the fringes of the town. His only friend is George Willard, but the entire town knows and is in a sense "ÃÂ proud of how agile his hands can be. As Biddlebaum tells Willard, however, his hands have gotten him in trouble.
As Hurston and Anderson show their readers, communities provide an excellent frame; or in Winesburg, Ohio's case "ÃÂ focus for telling a story.
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Essay by favoroguJunior High, 9th gradeB+, November 2014
download word file, 6 pages 0.0
What is poverty? Poverty is waking up in the morning not having anything to eat; poverty is waking up on a dirty mattress because your family couldn't afford a brand new one. Poverty is living with a smell that doesn't go away, waking up with the hope of not ever escaping. Poverty is us instead doing nothing we should all be a part of decreasing poverty. Many people would argue that the job of decreasing poverty goes to the government but what is the government doing. Throughout this essay I'm going to answer an essential questions of what the government is doing to help decrease the poverty rate in the United States which includes a brief introduction of SNAP, TANF along with the , "Opening doors and Breaking Barriers" incentive.
Throughout many years the poverty rate has increased dramatically as we enter the 21st century. What does that mean? It means that they're people who are in hunger and are not able to access the right food which means they're not getting access to the right nutrients along with the needed vitamins.
This results in having a very unbalanced meal which could eventually lead to obesity. Obesity is the condition of being grossly fat or overweight. During the years the government has taken actions to help deal with this problem by passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which helps fight hunger by having a $20 billion increase which goes toward the SNAP ( Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). In June 2009, the SNAP program served 35.1 billion low - income individuals providing a total benefits worth $4.675 billion. This program in particularly helps fund food banks and other special organization that helps donate food to different low income communities. This program has also provides an average benefits of $133...
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Seventy-five years since the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union
22 June 2016
Seventy-five years ago today, in the early morning hours of June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a massive, undeclared invasion of the Soviet Union. Over the course of the operation, some 4 million soldiers of the Axis powers attacked the USSR along an 1,800-mile front, the largest invasion force in the history of warfare.
Operation Barbarossa was, in the words of the German state, a Vernichtungskrieg, a war of annihilation. Its aim was not simply the conquest of territory and seizure of human and natural resources, it was the physical liquidation of the Soviet Union and extirpation of all traces of the 1917 Russian Revolution.
The war against the Soviet Union expressed the historical and political essence of the Nazi regime, which had been brought to power by the German bourgeoisie to destroy the German workers movement and end for all time the threat of socialist revolution. But in a profound sense, Operation Barbarossa was the response of world imperialism and the international capitalist class to the crisis of their system and the growth of revolutionary Marxism.
It was well known that in the years leading up to the German invasion, the Western imperialist powers and capitalist governments had looked sympathetically upon Hitler’s despotic regime and hoped that it would at least initially turn its military might to the East and serve as an instrument for the destruction of the USSR.
In his book Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East, published in 2011, historian Stephen G. Fritz summed up the motivation behind the Nazi invasion as follows:
Contrary to the belief of many in the West, Hitler did not blunder into the war in the east. For him, the “right” war was always that against the Soviet Union, for to him Germany’s destiny depended on attaining Lebensraum and solving the “Jewish question.” Both of these, in turn, hinged on destroying the Soviet Union. Which of these aims was most important? Given Hitler’s views, it would be artificial to attempt to prioritize or separate them. For him, the war against “Jewish-Bolshevism” and for Lebensraum was comprehensive and of whole cloth.
This political and historical goal determined the character of the German war in the East and the methods employed. From the outset, and by design, the German Wehrmacht unleashed a level of brutality such as the world had never seen. Between 2 million and 3 million Russians, mainly civilians, were killed in the first three months of the invasion.
The Generalplan Ost (General Plan East), adopted in 1940, included a “Hunger Plan” that envisioned the deliberate, targeted starvation of 30 million people in western and northwestern Russia—18 percent of the Soviet population.
On the orders of Hitler and the general staff, all basic tenets of international and military law were to be ignored. The so-called Commissar Order issued in advance of the invasion decreed: “In this battle it would be a mistake to show mercy or respect for international law toward such elements… The barbaric, Asiatic fighting methods are originated by the political commissars… Therefore, when they are picked up in battle or resistance, they are, as a matter of principle, to be finished off immediately with a weapon.”
General Erich Hoepner told the 4th Panzer Group that “the struggle must aim at the annihilation of today’s Russia and must therefore be waged with unparalleled harshness… No adherents of the present Russian-Bolshevik system are to be spared.”
The invasion of Russia had a genocidal character. It marked a new phase of the Holocaust, setting into motion the systematic campaign to destroy European Jewry. The Wannsee Conference, where the decision to implement the “Final Solution” was taken, was held seven months after the launch of Barbarossa.
The almost complete annihilation of Jews in all the conquered territories began with the first days of Operation Barbarossa. In the Baltic countries, a large majority of the Jewish population was exterminated within six months of the invasion. Over a million Soviet Jews were murdered by Einsatzgruppen death squads.
The number of casualties among Soviet civilians has to this day not been definitively established, but it is usually put at around 18 million out of a total of 27 million people from the Soviet Union who died in the war.
The war was launched nearly two years after the August 1939 non-aggression pact between Hitler and Stalin that ushered in the German invasion of Poland and World War II. This pact, which greatly disoriented the international workers movement, occurred two years after the destructive and demoralizing purge of the Red Army in the Great Terror of 1937-1938. This historically unprecedented massacre of Red Army officers, on the eve of a major war, left the Soviet Union immensely vulnerable to a German attack. Stalin killed more high level officers than were killed in the four years of the subsequent World War.
Stalin thereby eliminated virtually the entire military cadre that had emerged from the Revolution and the 1918-1921 Civil War, and been trained and educated under the leadership of Leon Trotsky, co-leader with Lenin of the Russian Revolution and the creator and commander of the Red Army in the early years of the regime. In total, some 30,000 Red Army personnel were executed, including high percentages of division, corps and army commanders.
Germany began massing troops and materiel near the Soviet border months before the invasion. Despite being warned by British intelligence and the Soviet regime’s own intelligence agencies that Hitler was preparing to attack, Stalin delayed the reconstruction of defensive fortifications in the border regions.
As a result of Stalin’s policies, driven by the counterrevolutionary bureaucracy’s fear of a revolutionary challenge to its rule by the Soviet working class, when the Wehrmacht crossed the border it quickly overwhelmed the Soviet forces. In the first weeks of the war, German and allied forces advanced with breathtaking speed across virtually the whole of the front, occupying some of the most important economic areas of the USSR, mainly in Ukraine. Stalin, caught by surprise and in total panic, suffered a nervous breakdown. He did not even address the nation until July 3, 11 days after the invasion.
Hitler had organized the offensive on the premise that the war would be quickly won.
But despite the catastrophic failure of the Stalinist leadership and the terrible losses suffered by the Soviet Union in the initial weeks, the resistance mobilized almost spontaneously by the Soviet people had a massive and historic character. By the mid-autumn of 1941, notwithstanding the fact that the Germans had advanced some 600 miles, had encircled Leningrad and were almost within sight of Moscow, the German high command concluded that the invasion had failed and Germany was trapped in a protracted war it could not win.
In December of 1941, the Red Army launched a devastating counterattack and, for the first time ever, the fascist armies were thrown backwards. The failure of Operation Barbarossa was a decisive turning point in the fortunes of the Third Reich. The scale of popular resistance in the USSR, and the heights of courage and self-sacrifice displayed by the suffering Soviet masses were a testimony to the world historic and progressive significance of the Russian Revolution and the world’s first workers state which it brought to power, despite the crimes and depredations of the Stalinist ruling clique.
The Soviet victory, which still required four more years of fighting and more terrible human losses to consummate, had a powerful impact on the working class all over the world. It was the residual strength of the Russian Revolution that played the decisive role in the defeat of fascism. The Soviet counteroffensive inspired the growth of resistance movements throughout Nazi-occupied Europe and internationally.
Summing up the crucial role of the Red Army and the resistance of the Soviet masses in the defeat of Hitler’s Reich, Stephen G. Fritz wrote in the volume cited above:
The Second World War was not won or lost solely on the Ostfront, but it was the key—while the scale of fighting there dwarfed anything in the west. In retrospect, the disproportional nature of the Ostkrieg is striking: roughly eight of every ten German soldiers who died were killed in the east … the Red Army, at the cost of perhaps 12 million dead (or approximately thirty times the number of the Anglo-Americans), broke the back of the Wehrmacht…
Trotsky, the leader of the international struggle to defend and extend the Russian Revolution on the basis of the program of world socialist revolution, and implacable opponent of Stalinism, anticipated and understood better than anyone else the significance of the Red Army. He concluded a 1934 article titled “The Red Army”:
Facts must be taken as they are: not only is war not excluded but it is also almost inevitable. He who is able and willing to read the books of history will understand beforehand that should the Russian Revolution, which has continued ebbing and flowing for almost thirty years—since 1905—be forced to direct its stream into the channel of war, it will unleash a terrific and overwhelming force.
Seventy-five years later, the Soviet Union no longer exists. It was destroyed, as Trotsky had warned, by the reactionary, nationalist character of the Stalinist bureaucracy. The dissolution of the USSR in 1991 was the culmination of the betrayals and crimes of the Stalinist regime and a major blow to the international working class.
The quarter century since the restoration of capitalism in Russia, far from producing a flowering of peace and democracy, has inaugurated a new period of imperialist war and reaction all over the world. For Russia, it has been an unmitigated disaster. One of the necessities driving the Russian Revolution was the fact that Russia, so long as it remained under capitalist rule, would inevitably be carved up by the Western imperialist powers and reduced to the status of a semi-colony. Today, militarily encircled and under relentless political, economic and diplomatic assault by the United States and its NATO allies, capitalist Russia is incapable of warding off its attackers. The Putin regime embodies a return to the most bankrupt forms of Russian nationalism, pursued in the interests of a criminal capitalist oligarchy.
The removal of the Soviet Union from the scene, despite its degeneration under the Stalinist bureaucracy, has fueled a growth of interimperialist conflict and militarism, and hastened the drive of world imperialism toward a new world war.
It is remarkable how little is being written or said about the anniversary of one of the most monstrous crimes of the 20th century. This is not accidental.
For some time and with increasing ferocity, particularly as we approach the centenary of the Russian Revolution, a spirit of revanchism has animated the political, ideological and academic representatives of imperialism. Books are being published, articles written, interviews given seeking to legitimize and apologize for the Nazi war against the Soviet Union. The central calumny and historical falsification of these screeds is not only the claim of an equivalency between the invader and the invaded, but the assertion that the unspeakable crimes of Nazism were a justified response to what they claim was the real crime of the 20th century—the overthrow of capitalism in Russia.
These are preemptive and, in the end, desperate attempts to prevent a new generation of workers and youth, entering into revolutionary struggle and attracted to the banner of socialism, from drawing inspiration from the greatest event of modern history—the October 1917 Revolution—and learning the true lessons of the heroic and tragic fate of the Soviet Union.
Barry Grey
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The Circle Series: What I know and how I use restorative practices… Part 2 of 3
13 Jan
Restorative Questions
As evident from my previous post, I do not use the practices and structures of restorative justice in a traditional sense. I use the circle as a structure to my class or in a professional setting as a means of management, accountability and community building.
The restorative questions provide similar opportunities for teachers to manage student accountability and to build respect in the classroom. Youth are uninterested in taking responsibility for their actions because they do not want to be punished. As a teacher, I am uninterested in being an authoritarian over my students. I don’t enjoy the parent/child relationship and prefer to empower my students to make positive and responsible choices as an equal to myself and everyone else in the class. When students understand there is no punishment they are far more open to taking responsibility for their actions and make things right again!
So what are the restorative questions? In a traditional restorative circle, there are two parts to the process.
1) The person who caused harm must provide their prospective of what happened and how their part would have effected other people.
2) The person who was harmed is asked to explain how the events have affected them and what they feel should happen to restore the harm done.
After the incident has been recognized, the person who caused harm would answer the following questions…
1) What happened?
2) What were you thinking about at the time?
3) What have you thought about since?
4) Who has been affected by what you have done? And in what way?
5) What do you think you need to do to make things right?
The person who was affected by the harm would answer these questions…
1) What did you think when you realized what happened?
2) What impact has this incident had on you and others?
3) What has been the hardest thing for you?
4) What do you think needs to happen to make things right?
For the skeptics out there, please keep in mind that there are some very important factors involved in facilitating these questions in any number of situations and environments.
1) Is the person who caused harm willing to participate? How willing are they to answer the questions?
2) Those involved must focus on the facts and be true to their own reality and experience of the incident. It is the responsibility of the facilitator to guide and reassure those participating that honest is not going to result in a punishment, but that we are all working together to restore things back to the way they were.
As a teacher, I find these questions not only help me resolve issues in the classroom but to also understand things about my students that help me to be proactive in the future concerning behaviour issues. When people first begin practicing restorative questioning, it can be difficult to imagine what the conversation is going to sound like. A few years ago, I came across an article posted by Julia Steiny that provides and excellent example how restorative questioning can be used in school and what the specific conversation would sound like…
Talking to kids about how their behaviour affects others
A darling, cocky boy gets kicked out of class and into the suspension room. He has that goofy look of a kid who knows he’s been a jerk, but figures he’ll stonewall the adults by pleading innocence. We’ll call him Manny. He looks to be a young 14.
But instead of just parking him with other “bad” kids for a while, this school is starting to experiment with “restorative practices,” an alternative to traditional punishments like suspension. Research says suspension doesn’t work anyway, because it doesn’t teach social skills. I’m working with the school on “restoring” kids back to the community fold, by asking standard questions that help them think through their behavior. The questions are gold in my opinion. This story is a real-life image of how they can work.
The busy staff member bringing Manny in mentions only that he was yelling out the window. In itself, the offense sounds like something a teacher could handle on the spot, but we don’t know what else might have happened or how chronic this behavior has been.
The first Restorative Question is always: What happened?
Restorative practitioners focus on “what” and not “why.” “Why” invites a lot of useless reasoning and getting into other people’s heads and motives. Observable facts are important and push the kid toward an objective perspective.
Manny insists, “Nothing happened! I saw a friend of mine out the window, so I got up and said hey. Really, Miss! That’s all!” He starts to explain that the teacher was wrong, which kids do. So I cut him off, reminding him that we’re not here to talk about the teacher’s behavior, but his. He shrugs and nods. We move on.
I ask him to take me back a step and describe the scene leading up to yelling out the window.
Nothing was happening. He was in the back of the class chilling with his friends, like always, doing nothing.
Hmmm. I ask about schoolwork. What was he supposed to be doing?
“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,” he quickly remembers, “I was doing my schoolwork.”
I love kids. If they’re not yet hardened with antisocial defenses, they’ll just open their mouths and tell you what you need to know.
Okay, I say, you were in class with one eye on your work and another on your friends.
He smiles sheepishly, “Uh, yeah, something like that.”
And then you got up out of your seat and went to the window. “Yeah.” And what did you yell at your friend?
He rolls his eyes like it’s a stupid question and answers something to the effect, “Yo! Alex, up here! Whuzzup?”
I repeat back to him what is now a fairly clear scenario — with no editorial on my part, just the facts. He nods as I talk; I’m getting it. He thinks he’s off the hook. But when I get to him yelling out the window, I actually do yell, which makes him laugh. Still, he confirms my version of the story.
Next Restorative Question: Who else was affected?
“Absolutely no one!” Big surprise. They all say that, too.
Okay, Manny, pretend you’re not yourself, but another kid in the room, one of the ones in the front, doing their work. You’re yelling to Alex, and what happens to that kid?
Manny quickly uploads the image in his mind, and his face drops. He’s stepped out of his narcissism, and while looking back at his behavior he sees for himself what he’s done.
“We-ell. Just for one tiny second, I might glance up to see what was happening. But it would be only …” I cut short his efforts to minimize and ask how many kids were in the class. Probably, like, 20.
Okay, Manny, now pretend you’re the teacher.
Without hesitation he barks, “Okay, okay, I get it! I disrupted class!”
I thank him. Good! That’s honest.
The last Restorative Question I ask is: What would make this right?
This usually has a complex set of answers. The kid doesn’t want to be sent down here again, so we start with how he can avoid this particular hot water in the future. He thinks and umms, but concludes that he could sit in the front of the class, away from the window and away from his friends.
I ask if he really thinks he can commit to that. “Yeah, definitely.” I praise him for a very doable plan.
But, I point out, academic success is far easier when you have good relationships with teachers. Would an apology help? Whoa, no, that he can’t do. We talk a bit, but his heels are in the ground. I let go and count the incident as a big partial win. He’s gratifyingly pensive as I let him switch to doing homework.
Now, anyone, any mom, teacher, neighbor, or older kid could ask those Restorative Questions. Granted, it’s a bit of a skill not to react to the answers except with polite, clarifying questions, to keep the information flowing. But the point is to let the kid see himself in his own answers. Help him think.
Otherwise we’re just letting kids repeat their mistakes, over and over again.
By Julia Steiny
In my experiences, students do not learn to take responsibility for their actions from punitive consequences. They become defensive and put themselves in a victim role and often only learn not to get caught the next time. The restorative questions respect both the situation and experience of the person who causes harm and the person has experienced harm. It allows both parties to reflect on the events of the incident and express their part in it. The questions allow the person who caused harm to empathize with those who were harmed and to understand the impact of their actions. Collaboratively, all parties involved work together to make things right and allow everyone to move forward.
Can you imagine using these questions to help solve problems in your work environment as a teacher or a manager or even as a parent?
2 Responses to “The Circle Series: What I know and how I use restorative practices… Part 2 of 3”
1. angiebirdy September 2, 2012 at 9:16 pm #
Only problem… some young people sit there, agree with everything while in their head, anger churns and churns. What if Manny had gone to the window for another reason for instance: The teacher assesses that loud construction noise outside is disrupting the class. She closes the windows. It is stiflingly hot in the room. Manny is hot and senses the discomfort of his classmates. He goes and opens the window and sits back down. The teacher goes and shuts the window again. Now both Manny and the teacher are incensed. Manny gets up to shut the window and the teacher orders him to leave it. Manny swears at the teacher. He is sent to the office…. without the teacher. What now?
• The Idealistic Educator September 3, 2012 at 1:42 am #
This is the magic of restorative questioning and the importance of teachers and administrators adopting the practices as a means of communication. The questioning and approach to problem solving would more than likely not have resulted in Manny going to the office. A student who chooses not to answer the questions is choosing not to participate, and with many at-risk students they don’t always trust adults and will not trust the process. This means that relationships need to be built.
In the situation you described above, there is a deeper issue that again if teachers, administrators and students could avoid by adopting restorative thinking. The issue: poor communication skills. In your situation, Manny would never have gone to the office if the teacher simply went to Manny and let him know she wanted to keep the window closed because of the noise outside. Then several things could happen. The teacher should ask why he opened the window right after he closed it… I imagine Manny would say something like, “It’s hot Miss.” At which point the two, or maybe even the entire class could decide as a group how to make everyone feel comfortable.
Now, if Manny got sent down to the office and the principal is trained in restorative questioning, they are going to ask… what happened? Eventually through questions the principal is going to find out from Manny that the room was hot. At this point the principal would need to work through the questions and come to a conclusion about Manny’s swearing and work out a better way to deal with the problem.
On the other hand, if Manny had felt able to communicate with his teacher, he would more than likely just told the teacher he was hot when she went to close the window. I read your other comment about working with children and not having to ‘belittle’ them. This is why I believe so strongly in restorative practices. When students feel respected and heard they respond accordingly (for the most part).
The conversation in the article above is an example of how to frame the questions. Its not going to work out perfectly every time, but I do think that the approach to communicating is more effective than the traditional reprimand and punish.
Thanks for commenting! This is why I love having a blog, I’m crazy about dialogue and debate!!
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Solve for x: h=(k/4)(x-3L)
Solve for B: v-6Bxk=7B
Solve for S: z+(1/7)sk=(1/6)yk^2
Solve for x: 3F=10hx+10hv+10xv
• Algebra -
all these are basically the same, so I'll do one for you. If you get stuck on the others, come on back and show ehere you get stuck.
(1/7)sk = (1/6)yk^2-z
(k/7)s = (1/6)yk^2-z
s = (7/k)(1/6)yk^2-z
s = (7/6)yk - 7z/k
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An official website of the United States Government.
Assessment & Selection Other Assessment Methods
Biographical Data (Biodata) Tests
Biodata measures are based on the measurement principle of behavioral consistency, that is, past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. Biodata measures include items about past events and behaviors reflecting personality attributes, attitudes, experiences, interests, skills and abilities validated as predictors of overall performance for a given occupation.
Often, biodata test items are developed through behavioral examples provided by subject matter experts (SMEs). These items specify situations likely to have occurred in a person's life, and ask about the person's typical behavior in the situation. In addition, biodata items reflect external actions that may have involved, or were observable by, others and are objective in the sense there is a factual basis for responding to each item. An item might ask "How many books have you read in the last 6 months?" or "How often have you put aside tasks to complete another, more difficult assignment?" Test takers choose one of several predetermined alternatives to best match their past behavior and experiences.
A response to a single biodata item is of little value. Rather, it is the pattern of responses across several different situations that give biographical data the power to predict future behavior on the job. For this reason, biodata measures often contain between 10 and 30 items and some wide-ranging instruments may contain a hundred or more items. Response options commonly use a 5-point scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree). Once a group of biodata items is pre-tested on a sample of applicants, the responses are used to group the items into categories or scales. Biodata items grouped in this way are used to assess how effectively applicants performed in the past in competency areas closely matched to those required by the job.
A more recent development is targeted biodata instruments. In contrast to traditional biodata measures developed to predict overall job performance, targeted biodata measures are developed to predict individual differences in specific job-related behaviors of interest. Similar to the developmental process used for traditional biodata, the content of a targeted biodata measure is often driven by SME-generated behavioral examples relevant to the specific behavior(s) of interest.
An example of a targeted biodata measure is a job compatibility measure (sometimes referred to as a suitability measure) which focuses on the prediction of counterproductive or deviant behaviors. Counterproductive behavior is often defined as on-the-job behavior that is (a) harmful to the mission of the organization, (b) does not stem from a lack of intelligence, and (c) is willful or so seriously careless it takes on the character of being willful. Previous criminal misconduct (e.g., theft), employment misconduct (e.g., sexual harassment, offensiveness to customers, and disclosure of confidential material), fraud, substance abuse, or efforts to overthrow the Government are some major factors that may be relevant to suitability determinations. A job compatibility index is typically used to screen out applicants who are more likely to engage in counterproductive behavior if they are hired. Job compatibility measures are less costly to implement than other procedures typically used to detect counterproductive behaviors (e.g., interviews, polygraphs) and are beneficial for positions requiring employees to interact frequently with others or handle sensitive information or valuable materials.
• Validity - Biodata measures have been shown to be effective predictors of job success (i.e., they have a moderate degree of criterion-related validity) in numerous settings and for a wide range of criterion types (e.g., overall performance, customer service, team work); Biodata measures also appear to add validity (i.e., incremental validity) to selection systems employing traditional ability measures
• Face Validity/Applicant Reactions - Because some biodata items may not appear to be job related (i.e., low face validity) applicants may react to biodata tests as being unfair and invasive
• Administration Method - Administered individually but can be administered to large numbers of applicants via paper and pencil or electronically at one time
• Subgroup Differences - Typically have less adverse impact on minority groups than do many other types of selection measures; Items should be carefully written to avoid stereotyping and should be based on experiences under a person's control (i.e., what a person did rather than what was done to the person)
• Development Costs - The development of biodata items, scoring strategies, and validation procedures is a difficult and time-consuming task requiring considerable expertise; Large samples of applicants are needed to develop as well as validate the scoring strategy and additional samples may be needed to monitor the validity of the items for future applicants
• Administration Costs - Can be cost effective to administer and generally not time consuming to score if an automated scoring system is implemented
• Utility/ROI - High predictive ability can allow for the identification and selection of top performers; Benefits (e.g., savings in training, high productivity, decreased turnover) can outweigh developmental and administrative costs
• Common Uses - Commonly used in addition to cognitive ability tests to increase validity and lower adverse impact
(See Section VI for a summary of each article)
Elkins, T., & Phillips, J. (2000). Job context, selection decision outcome, and the perceived fairness of selection tests: Biodata as an illustrative case. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3), 479-484.
Schmitt, N., Cortina, J. M., Ingerick, M. J., & Wiechmann, D. (2003). Personnel selection and employee performance. Handbook of Psychology: Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 12, 77-105. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) website contains information on Biographical Data Tests.
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Summary: Christmas Season
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It All About The Love
Scripture: Mark 12:30-31; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:16-19
There is a controversy going on right now in reference to the use of the word Christmas to describe this particular holiday season. It is politically incorrect to wish someone a Merry Christmas unless you know for sure that they are a Christian. Even though a lot of our holiday stories centers on Santa Claus, Christmas for Christians, started as a celebration of Christ’s birth. Christmas, as we know it, is a rather modern innovation. Christ’s birthday was not celebrated until more than 300 years after his death and resurrection. For the early Christians, His birth was not as important as His death and resurrection. Based on biblical account of His birth, Christ was probably born in the spring. The celebration of Christmas being on December 25 was chosen to coincide with a Roman holiday in which the sun god was worshipped. By 386 A.D. church leaders set up the celebration of “Christ Mass” so that Christians could join in the festival activities that the Romans were already participating in without bending to paganism. After the Roman empire dissolved, Christians continued the December 25 birthday custom. Through the years other customs were added to the celebration to the point that what we have today does not resemble what was originally celebrated. So we find ourselves in the midst of wondering can I wish someone on my job a “Merry Christmas?” If I know a person is a Christian, I can wish them a Merry Christmas but if I do not know, now I run the risk of offending them, especially if they are Jewish or Islamic. Retailers are also getting away from using “Christmas” in their advertising as to not be offensive. They are now wishing everyone a very “Happy Holiday Season”.
I was watching a talk show this week and the host had an atheist, a Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest as his guest. The host was also Catholic. The focus of the conversation was on why “religious” people believe in God and why the atheist did not. They also discussed the obvious fact that there is a division among those who believed in God but reject the belief in Christ. Both the rabbi and the priest could not believe that the atheist could teach her children that all that they were existed within them now, that there was no higher power than them. Her response to them was that the so-called “religious” people cannot agree with one another. The first place she went was Christ. She said to the priest and the rabbi that one of them must be wrong since one believed in Christ and the other did not. The rabbi responded by saying that both believed in God and that was more important. He took it a step further and said that he believed that Christ was truly the Messiah for the Gentiles, but he did not think that Christ was God’s Son. I did not hear all of the conversation, but the prevailing thought of the atheist was if the religious people could not agree how could she agree with and/or believe either group. It was easy to see the difference between Christians and Jews, but it is much harder to explain the differences between Christians, which is a point that the atheist quickly pointed out.
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To the Moon!
The Space Age Begins: A Race to the Moon
Mercury - Gemini - Apollo
On to the Moon
Gregory A. Smith & Chris A. Peterson
Published by
Mission: To advance space exploration and the establishment of human communities beyond Earth.
(c) 2000, The Apollo Society. All rights reserved.
The Apollo Society is a non-profit educational and scientific research organization Federally recognized under US IRS Code 501(c)(3).
To the Moon!
The Space Age Begins: A Race to the Moon
The Space Age was born of a combination of very different human activities and motivations: imagination and exploration, military weapons development, national prestige, and international scientific cooperation.
It is human nature to be curious, to reach out in exploration to try to understand the world around us. The wonders of the night sky are also part of our world, though seemingly just out of reach. Early astronomers watched movements of the Moon, planets and stars in efforts to understand them and their relation to us. Galileo turned one of the first telescopes toward the Moon and discovered that it was another world with mountains and what he thought were seas. When Galileo and the astronomers that followed him in the 18th and 19th centuries also discovered the (literally) astronomical distances between celestial objects, the age-old desire to reach the Moon became a symbol of the impossible.
But some people like to dream "impossible" dreams. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in Russia and Herman Oberth in Germany described how rockets could propel an object through space. An American dreamer, Robert Goddard, began building and flying small rockets in the 1920s. However, rockets remained little more than curiosities until they were developed into weapons of war. Germany developed V-2 rockets and used them to attack Britain during the Second World War. After the war, some of the remaining V-2 rockets and many of the German rocket scientists, including their leader, Wernher Von Braun, were brought to America to build rockets for the United States. Other German rocket scientists were taken to the U.S.S.R.
While the militaries of the U.S. and the Soviet Union were building on the V-2 technology to develop long-range missiles, scientists around the globe were planning an unprecedented experiment in peaceful scientific cooperation, the International Geophysical Year (IGY, July 1, 1957 - December 31, 1958). The IGY was organized to coordinate activities by scientists and governments around the world to study Earth as a planet. As part of the IGY, the United States announced that it would attempt to orbit an artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union later announced that it would do the same, but the declaration was not taken seriously or even noticed by most Americans. Behind the scenes, however, the Soviets had started an undeclared contest with the United States for superiority in space technology. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union succeeded in launching a satellite called "Sputnik" (traveling companion). The world was stunned by the accomplishment.
While the American civilian space program was openly publicized, and launch attempts were often televised live, the Soviet Union was secretive, only announcing successes after the fact and never admitting failures. Many Americans worried that if the U.S.S.R. could surprise the world by secretly developing the capability to launch the world's first artificial satellite, it could also launch nuclear weapons into orbit where they could be dropped on the United States with little or no warning. The U.S. had to catch up! Fast!! What had started out in a spirit of peaceful scientific cooperation had suddenly become a life-or-death contest. The Space Age - and an undeclared space race - had begun.
The United States successfully launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, which discovered Earth's Van Allen radiation belts, on January 31, 1958. The U.S. government established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and, in 1959, NASA announced the selection of the first seven astronauts. But on April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union scored another first when Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched into orbit and became the first human in space. Alan Shepard, the first American in space, followed with a brief suborbital flight on May 5, 1961. Less than three weeks later, on May 25, President John F. Kennedy called on Congress and the nation to attempt to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. The United States now knew it was in a race, and it had declared a finish line. The space race had become a race to the Moon.
The Mercury Program
On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became America's first man in space with his suborbital flight of the Mercury spacecraft "Freedom 7."
Within 3 weeks of Shepard's flight, President John F. Kennedy, told Congress; "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."
The Mercury 7
Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
The Mercury Project was the United States' first human-in-space program with six crewed flights from 1961 to 1963. Astronauts Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper each followed Alan Shepard with their own Mercury missions. "Deke" Slayton, selected to fly MA-7 (Mercury-Atlas-7), was grounded by NASA flight surgeons for an irregularity in his heartbeat. Deke became NASA's "Chief Astronaut," and finally got into space "thirteen years overdue," with the flight of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July, 1975.
The Mercury program proved that we could reach, work in, and return from space.
The Gemini Program
Ed White - Space Walking
In 1965 and 1966 the Gemini Program flew 10 crewed flights; Gemini 3 through Gemini 12. These were the first space missions to rendezvous and dock with other spacecraft in orbit and to test astronauts and hardware for up to 2 weeks in Earth orbit. Gemini astronauts also conducted extensive EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activities - space walks). Ed White became the first American to walk in space from his Gemini 4 spacecraft launched June 3, 1965.
Only Gemini 3, the first crewed Gemini spacecraft, had a call sign; "Molly Brown." Command pilot Gus Grissom, whose Mercury spacecraft sank and was lost after splashdown in the Atlantic, jokingly named his Gemini spacecraft in reference to the heroine of the musical comedy "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
The Gemini Program taught us 1) how to "fly" a spacecraft by maneuvering in orbit and 2) how to rendezvous and dock with another spacecraft. These were the skills that would be required for the upcoming Apollo missions.
The Apollo Program
January 27, 1967
Virgil I. Grissom * Edward H. White II * Roger Chaffee
* * * * * * *
Apollo astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee sacrificed their lives for the space program when a fire swept tough their Apollo Command Module during a pre-flight test at Pad 34, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Kennedy, Florida on January 27, 1967. The mission was scheduled for launch on February 21, 1967 and was to be the first crewed Apollo mission. The investigation of the fire led to major design, engineering and testing modifications that substantially improved the overall safety of the entire Apollo program.
The success of the Apollo space program is founded on the lessons learned in the tragedy of Apollo 1.
* * * * * * *
Apollo 7 Launch - October 11, 1968
The Maiden Voyage of the Apollo Spacecraft
The Apollo program arose from the ashes of Apollo 1 with the successful launch of Apollo 7 on October 11, 1968. Commander Walter "Wally" M. Schirra, Jr., Command Module Pilot Donn F. Eisele and Lunar Module Pilot Walter Cunningham checked out the re-engineered Apollo Command and Service Module for the maiden crewed voyage of the Apollo space program.
* * * * * * *
Apollo 8 Patch
On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James A. Lovell, Jr., and Lunar Module Pilot William A. Anders became the first human interplanetary space explorers when they left the bounds of Earth's gravity and flew 10 orbits around the Moon. The crew of Apollo 8 brought back the first photograph of the Earth as a globe in space: a Christmas gift for humanity.
From the crew of Apollo 8
The crew of Apollo 8 brought back the first photograph of the Earth as a globe in space; a Christmas gift to humanity.
* * * * * * *
Apollo 9, launched March 3, 1969, was the first flight test Saturn V/Apollo Spacecraft in full lunar mission configuration. Apollo 9 conducted tests of the Command Module and the Lunar Module in Earth orbit.
Command Module Pilot David R. Scott, was left alone to fly the Command Module named "Gumdrop," while Mission Commander James A. McDivitt, and Lunar Module Pilot Russell L. Schweickart tested the spindly legged lunar lander they called "Spider."
* * * * * * *
Earthrise from Apollo 10
Apollo 10, launched on May 18, 1969, was a full dress rehearsal of the landing mission and also a reconnaisance mission in which potential landing sites were reconnoitered. After separating from the Command Module named "Charlie Brown" and dropping from lunar orbit at 60 miles down to 50,000 feet, Mission Commander Thomas P. Stafford and Lunar Module Pilot Eugene A. Cernan barnstormed the mountains of the moon at 3,700 mph in their Lunar Module called "Snoopy." As they skimmed over the mountains of the Moon, Gene Cernan called out; "Houston, this is Snoopy! We is Go and we is down among' em, Charlie!"
At the low point in their trajectory, the crew attempted to release their decent stage. Immediately the spacecraft began pitching up and down and violently yawing left and right. "We've got some wild gyrations." Cernan announced as he wrestled with the controls. For 8 tense seconds the crew fought to regain control of their ship. "Hit the AGS!" Cernan yelled to Stafford to deactivate the Abort Guidance System. Somehow an abort system switch had been left in an incorrect position. This caused the spacecraft to begin radar searching and firing rockets in an attempt to find its mother ship, "Charley Brown." The quick thinking of the skilled crew brought their ship back under control and headed back up to a rendevous with the Command ship and Command Module Pilot John W. Young for a flight home to Earth. If the crew of Snoopy had not reacted as swiftly as they had, after another 2 seconds, their spacecraft would have locked into a dive that would have crashed Apollo 10 on the Moon.
The Apollo Lunar Landing Missions
* * * * * * *
July 16, 1969
July 20, 1969
July 24, 1969
CMDR: Neil A. Armstrong
CM Pilot: Michael Collins
LM Pilot: Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin
CM: Columbia
LM: Eagle
21.6 hours
MET 109:24:13 Neil Armstrong: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for Mankind"
November 14, 1969
November 19, 1969
November 24, 1969
CMDR: Charles (Pete) Conrad, Jr.
CM Pilot: Richard F. Gordon
LM Pilot: Alan L. Bean
CM: Yankee Clipper
LM: Intrepid
31.5 hours
MET 115:22:16 Pete Conrad: "Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."
April 11, 1970
Landing Aborted
April 17, 1970
CMDR: James A. Lovell
CM Pilot: John L. Swigert, Jr.
LM Pilot: Fred W. Haise, Jr.
CM: Odyssey
LM: Aquarius
Landing Aborted
MET 55:55:35 Jim Lovell: "Houston, we've had a problem."
January 31, 1971
February 5, 1971
February 9, 1971
CMDR: Alan B. Shepard, Jr.
CM Pilot: Stuart A. Roosa
LM Pilot: Edgar D. Mitchell
CM: Kitty Hawk
LM: Antares
33.5 hours
MET 115:52:33 Alan Shepard: "Nothing like being up to your armpits in lunar dust!"
July 26, 1971
July 30, 1971
August 7, 1971
CMDR: David R. Scott
CM Pilot: Alfred M. Worden
LM Pilot: James B. Irwin
CM: Endeavor
LM: Falcon
66.9 hous
MET 119:55:45 David Scott: "Okay, Houston, As I stand out here in the wonders of the
unknown at Hadley, I sort of realize there's a fundamental
truth to our nature; Man must explore. And this is exploration
at its greatest!"
April 16, 1972
April 21, 1972
April 27, 1972
CMDR: John W. Young
CM Pilot: Thomas K. Mattingly, II,
LM Pilot: Charles M. Duke, Jr.
CM: Casper
LM: Orion
71 hous
MET 119:04:05 John Young: "...I'm sure glad they got ol' Brer Rabbit, here, back in the briar patch where he belongs."
December 6, 1972
December 11, 1972
December 19, 1972
CMDR: Eugene A. Cernan
CM Pilot: Ronald E. Evans
LM Pilot: Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt
CM: America
LM: Challenger
75 hous
MET 170:41:00 Gene Cernan: " we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind."
On to the Moon
- The rationale for building a community on Earth's Moon -
Why begin on the Moon? Why not Mars or an asteroid first? While other locations may offer certain attractions for settlers, Earth's Moon possesses practical advantages unmatched by any other body.
Proximity to Earth
The Apollo astronauts reached the Moon in only about three days. Travelers to Mars or an asteroid would need to spend several months in space just to reach their destination. The trip back would be just as long at best, and only at infrequent intervals when Mars or the asteroid are favorably positioned with respect to Earth.
Previous Experience
Humans have been to Earth's Moon, and we know that humans can work for extended periods there and can survive a round trip to the Moon without suffering any serious ill effects. The Apollo astronauts brought back 382 kg of rocks and soil from known locations on the Moon, and three Soviet robot landers returned 250 gm. These samples have been studied intensively.
Known Resources
The Moon possesses many of the resources, such as oxygen, hydrogen, iron, titanium and shielding material, that are needed in order to build a settlement and enable our further exploration of - and expansion into - the solar system. Recent discoveries even suggest that there may be H2O ice at the lunar poles. These resources could also greatly benefit Earth orbiting operations. It is even possible that the Moon may become a valuable source of Helium-3 in future fusion power generators on Earth.
For all the above reasons and more, a human settlement beyond Earth can be developed for less money and can become self-sustaining more quickly on Earth's Moon than anywhere else.
Benefits to Earth
The Moon has much to offer humanity on Earth. The Moon is an easily visible symbol of humanity's reach for the stars, uplifting the spirit and offering hope for the future. The combination of geologic stability, low gravity, lack of atmosphere and (on the farside) shielding from Earth's radio interference, makes Earth's Moon an excellent platform for astronomical observatories. It may also prove useful to monitor Earth's environment from the Moon. Of course, further exploration of the lunar surface will teach us more about the history and possible future of the Earth and our solar system. For example, through further geologic studies of the Moon we can expect to learn more about the variability of the Sun and the frequency of impacts by meteoroids in our neighborhood.
Soon new pioneers will move beyond Earth. Doing so will be difficult, but the struggle will make us stronger, as it always has. We have extended our reach and our abilities by moving into new environments. Living in space will require us to develop new and efficient methods of food and energy production, materials processing and waste recycling techniques that can also benefit those on Earth. Most of the benefits are ones we cannot yet foresee. That is the nature of exploration -- we discover what we did not know or even imagine. Perhaps the greatest benefit of space exploration and settlement will be a lifting of the human spirit as we see that we have risen beyond the boundaries of Earth and will find endless opportunities among the stars.
The best place to begin this adventure is on Earth's Moon.
MET = Mission Elapsed Time (usually initiating at time of launch)
CMDR = Mission Commander
CM = Command Module
LM = Lunar Module
A Man on the Moon; Andrew Chaikin (1994), Viking Penguin, ISBN: 0-670-81446-6
Lost Moon; Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger (1994), Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN: 0-395-67029-2,
Moon Shot; Alan Shepard & Deke Slayton (1994), Turner Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-878685-54-6
This New Ocean; NASA SP-4201
Space Almanac - 2nd Edition
Deke! - Slayton/Cassutt
Apollo Expeditions to the Moon; NASA SP-350 (1975) Edited by Edgar M. Cortright TL789.8.U6A513 629.45'4 75-600071
Apollo 11-17 Voice Transcripts Pertaining to the Geology of the Landing Site by N.G. Bailey and G.E. Ulrich, USGS
Web Sites Referenced:
APOLLO Lunar Surface Journal (Edited by Eric M. Jones)
National Air and Space Museum - Apollo Manned Space Program
NASA Kennedy Space Center - Historical Archive
Apollo Anthology
The Mercury, Gemini & Apollo Missions (links to resources)
The Apollo Society
The Delphi Project
Education Program
Membership Program
The Apollo Society
P.O. Box 61206
Honolulu, Hawaii 96839-1206
(c) 2000 by The Apollo Society. All rights reserved.
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artwork cycles
in progress:
- wealth
- black & white
- liquid life
- colors & forms
- encounters
The gold cycle pays tribute to the hypnotic effect and impact of gold in our life. Gold is desirable due to its rarity and everlasting beauty. Quality and value of gold are undisputed. Throughout history high cultures have accumulated gold. Numerous other currencies have existed throughout centuries, however gold has never lost its desirability.
The gold cycle reflects the pure economic power and timeless beauty of gold as well as the large variety of valuables associated with gold.
visit the gold collection
Over 4,000 years ago the first diamonds were mined in India. The Hindis attributed so much power to diamonds that they even placed them in the eyes of the statues of deities. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that diamonds were tears from the Gods and splinters from falling stars. That would explain the high emotional value of diamonds.
visit the diamond collection
Grow it, protect it, spend it, share it!
The cash cycle explores the versatility and fascination of cash money. Cash money has a very strong impact in our behavior and social life. People confronted with real cash money show a wide variety of desires and emotions:
- people live and die for cash
- people fight each other for cash
- people love and hate cash
- people are bought with cash
- people make and loose cash
- people always desire more cash
- people think cash is king
- people work for cash
- people consider cash to make them happy
- people counterfeit cash
visit the cash collection
exhibition "if I had millions of dollars"
black & white
This theme visualizes the mystique of the "black box" converting input into output and the uncovering truth and insight represented in the "white box". Both are omnipresent in our lives. As we are facing and using more and more complex systems in private and professional life but barely know how they work, the black and white box cycles are the ultimate reminders.
black & white cycles:
-black box
-white box
visit the black & white collection
liquid life
This theme visualizes the glistening, colourful and magnificent world of sealife in an expressive and playful way - inspired by countless diving sessions.
deep sea
It’s hard to imagine a more forbidden place than the ice cold, pitch black, crushing environment of the deep sea. It’s even harder to imagine that any creature can live there. The overwhelming variety of animals - including all kind of fish, corals, crustaceans and medusa - which have adapted to this challenging life - has always attracted me.
Many of these creatures look alien to us. Some have huge eyes - or eyes on long stalks - which capture the dim light still left in the deep sea. Others have a huge mouth. Their gaping jaws - often filled with fanglike teeth - are open all the time, ready to capture whatever morsels fall from above. Yet other deep sea animals have transparent bodies, enabling them to blend right in with the water.
visit the deep sea collection
The medusa exists for more than 700 million years. The medusa has no heart, no brain, no blood, yet it is alive. Its striking and terrifying unrealness and blatant elegance in movement makes it the alien dancer of the oceans. A specific kind of medusa is known as the only creature ever achieving potential immortality. This is simply astonishing!
visit the medusa collection
colors & forms
the world around us.
Is color in the eye of the observer or is color objectively real? Would colors still exist in the world, even if no one
was around to see them?
Our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the color of fire and blood, energy and primal life forces, and most of
red’s symbolism today arises from its powerful associations in the past.
Blue is the favorite color of all people. It is nature’s color for water and sky. Supposing the color blue was removed from the world, specifically the sea and sky...what color would the void be filled with?
Endless intertwining lines and colors. Play & enjoy!
Empty your mind.
Be formless, shapeless,like water.
Put water into a cup and it becomes the cup.
visit the colors & forms collection
Encounters are experiences.
• people
• animals
• thoughts
• emotions
• objects
• forms
• colors
• and ultimately nothingness.
Despite the advent of many new information and communication technologies, face-to-face communication is the ultimate gold standard of communication.
visit the encounters collection
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In students' play, slaves find 'religion'
February 26, 1993|By Stephanie Shapiro | Stephanie Shapiro,Staff Writer
As a slave and preacher, Devron Young has some electrifying moments in "Crossings: The Christianizing of the Slaves." This performance differed dramatically from others, says Devron, a Baltimore School for the Arts senior. "It's like a writer performing his own play; he really knows what's going on in the play. That's how I think we feel," he says.
This past week, to commemorate Black History Month, Devron and four other members of the Baltimore School for the Arts Senior Acting Ensemble, took "Crossings" to city high schools and Towson State University. Sunday, they will perform the play at a celebration honoring the 80th anniversary of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
Begun last year, the "Crossings" project was passed on to this year's seniors in September. Assigned by their teacher, Donald Hicken, to research the question, "How did the slaves become Christians?" the students spent hours at the Maryland Historical Society and the Enoch Pratt Library searching for primary materials that would form their answer.
Creating and performing the play was a process full of discovery, says Devron, a finalist in the prestigious Presidential Scholar national academic competition. "When we first thought about doing a project about slavery, we didn't think we would find a lot of information about it . . . what we all learned in school was 'that slaves picked cotton' . . . but there's so much more we were supposed to learn about."
For the five students, making "Crossings" was also a thorough dramatic exercise.
"The idea is making theater from scratch," Mr. Hicken says. The "docudrama is the easiest form to create. You're not being asked to invent text, and if you can stick with primary sources, you can basically arrange, transpose, edit and create stuff and . . . come up with the basic ingredients of what makes a drama."
In slave narratives, folk tales and folklore, histories, and actual sermons preached to slaves, the students discovered the inherent dramatic conflict between African spiritual traditions -- rich in nature, gods and wise men -- and rough-hewn American churches where the Bible was often invoked to justify and perpetuate slavery.
The students also learned how the slaves found in Christianity parallels with their own religious beliefs, and welded a faith intended to subjugate into a source of inspiration and power.
On long Monday afternoons, ensemble members "workshopped" the piles of primary material they found. Sifting, juxtaposing, reading aloud and debating, the group compressed its research into a potent, 45-minute piece with recurring themes and symbols.
An African creation myth which speaks of how Mutima -- "longing for God" -- became a part of humankind, frames the play as it travels from Africa to America.
Water carries great weight in the play as a symbol for life -- fertility -- and death. As a Yoruban myth is related, Joy Hooper, portraying an African woman, performs a silent dance with a bowl of water perched on her head, an achievement said to bode pregnancy. Later, as a slave, Joy recounts how she planned to drown her second newborn, rather than watch the child grow up a slave.
In passages from sermons, essays and slave narratives, the polar sensibilities of masters and slaves are exposed in a dialogue that propels "Crossings" to a triumphant conclusion where faith and the prospect of freedom merge. Included in the script, for example, is the 1731 lament of a frustrated bishop namedGeorge Berkeley: "The gross barbarity and rudeness of their manners, the variety and strangeness of their languages and the weakness and shallowness of their minds renders it in a manner impossible to attain to any progress in their conversion."
In response, Mary Prince, a West Indian slave whose narratives were published in London a century later, gives lie to this harsh view, as she describes a Methodist meeting for prayer, where another slave "prayed them all to forgive him, and he prayed that God would forgive him. He said it was a horrible thing for a [black slave driver] to have sometimes to beat his own wife or sister; but he must do so if ordered by his master."
At one point, student Sheilynn Wactor speaks as an African, remembering the priests, magicians and wise men of her tribal religion. Later, in an eerie role reversal, she is a preacher, spitting out disdain for slaves who "believe in second sight, in apparitions, charms, witchcraft, and in a kind of irresistible Satanic influence."
In another scene, the performers cluster together on the simple set, and hold their fists up, as if chained together on a slave ship. Their movement, as the imaginary ship is buffeted by waves, resembles the rhythmic sway of a gospel choir, a foretelling of the solace many slaves -- and later free African-Americans -- learned to draw from from Christian faith and song.
For Sheilynn, an African-American, the greatest challenge in performing "Crossings" was portraying an authentic white preacher whose ugly words once dehumanized the black congregation.
"There were a lot of ways I did that sermon," Sheilynn says. "At first, it was really powerful and angry, but that was really scary to me. After I had done it, I was still shaking.
As she discussed the role during rehearsals with Mr. Hicken, Sheilynn realized that the preacher did not deserve her strongest emotions. "It shouldn't even have that much power. It's very false, very superficial," Sheilynn says. The preacher "didn't feel anything for these people."
L Where: Martin's Eudowood in Eudowood Plaza, Putty Hill Road.
When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Admission: $30.
% Call: (410) 521-3413.
Baltimore Sun Articles
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Underwater Traffic Tunnel
Underwater Traffic Tunnel to be built by Norway
If we can build sky-high super highways, so why it’s impossible to make underwater traffic tunnel? Norway proves that nothing to impossible in this world. Yes! It’s really true. Norway Plan to make Underwater Traffic Tunnel.
Norwegian engineers have proposed a truly innovative solution to a travel difficulty faced by the pictures country.
Norway has hatched ambitious plans to install the world’s first floating underwater tunnels to help travellers easily 21-hour drive from one end of the country cross the nation’s many fjords. Fjords mean “deep, narrow and elongated sea or lake drain with steep land on three sides”. At Now the only way to travel across the bodies of water involves taking a series of ferries- an inconvenient and time-consuming process. An Unconventional and first of its kind of transportation infrastructure could be the answer to travelling across fjord- ridden Norway.
The Underwater Traffic Tunnel from Kristiansand to Trondheim via the E39 and it’s in the form to submerged floating tunnel.
The proposed tunnel consists of 4000 foot long concrete tubes that can hold two lanes of traffic. This Underwater Traffic Tunnel will be suspended less than 100 feet of water, placing them far below the water affected by ships. The highway takes drivers on a 1100km journey but given the unique landscape of the Nordic country it involves seven ferry trips to complete the drive.
The $25 billion tunnel project could cut the trip time to just 10 hours by 2035.
The first-of-its kind structure will be made up of two 1200 meter (4000ft) curved concrete tubes, floating up to 30 meters below the surface. The tube will be supported by pontoons on the surface and kept stable with connecting trusses. The structure is officially called a submerged floating tube-bridge but is also known as an Archimedes Bridge.
Underwater Traffic Tunnel
On the surface, there would be wide gaps between the pontoons to allow ferries to pass through.
The Underwater Traffic Tunnel will also be designed to with stand any tidal movements and the effects of ice and cold weather. So there will be no problem using these even during the coldest weather and during storms.
The floating underwater tunnels will allow boats to still traverse the fjord without the worry about hitting or being blocked by a bridge.
You can also watch the video of Underwater Traffic Tunnel given as below:
But there’s still a long way to before floating Underwater Traffic Tunnel become reality. Engineers have several questions to answer, including how wind, waves and currents will affect the structures. If the tunnels prove too difficult, inhabitant reported, politicians have the right to send the funding to another project.
If you want more information about Underwater Traffic Tunnel built by Norway then like our: Facebook page , Twitter page .
If you have any query and want to say something about the article Norway to Build World’s First Floating Underwater Tunnels then please use comment box which is given below.
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Understanding the Hazards of High Indoor Humidity
Indoor relative humidity is a tricky topic when you live in a humid climate like Venice, FL. As a rule, you want to keep your home’s relative humidity within a range of 35 and 50 percent. Anything higher sustained for a prolonged period puts your home at risk for a host of issues.
Increased Dust
One of the first signs of high indoor humidity is an increase of dust. Dust mite populations thrive in humid environments; their primary water source is absorption of moisture in the air. The more prevalent the moisture, the more eggs they lay and the bigger the population becomes. This results in more dust—a serious allergen for many people and one that is difficult to keep up with when out of control.
Poor Indoor Air Quality
You don’t have to have allergies to get sick from poor indoor air quality. Mold, along with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paint, cleaning supplies, carpeting, and furniture, will cause headaches, nausea, fatigue, depression, and dizziness. VOC levels elevate when humidity is high.
Mold Infestation
Like dust mites, mold thrives in humid conditions. It contributes to the decay of porous construction materials like wood and sheet rock and can find its way into carpeting, furniture, appliances, and HVAC systems, destroying your things as it spreads. You might not even see the mold until significant damage has been done; a mold colony can grow beneath the floor, where it has access to the humid air through a crevice and can grow undetected. Repairs generally mean removal of the damaged materials, thorough cleaning of the area with trisodium phosphate, and replacement.
Structural Damage
Excess moisture collects in the crevices between walls or within adjoining pieces of wooden furniture. When humidity is high, this moisture does not evaporate, causing wood joints to soften and loosen—and in some cases, begin to rot. Temperature changes exacerbate the process as expansion and contraction of the moist materials cause cracks, breaks, and even disintegration. Painted surfaces will peel and glued surfaces will give way.
Concerned about humidity in your home? Call the pros at Climatic Conditioning Co. today: 941-444-5399.
Image provided by Shutterstock
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Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Difference between XLPE and PVC Cables
Both Cables are widely used in Industries:
PVC - stands for polyvinyl chloride
XLPE - is cross linked polyethylene cable.
Main Thumb rule for differentiation is that XLPE cables can be used for both HT and LT lines.
But PVC Cables can be used only for LT lines.
XLPE can withstand a higher temperature than PVC without detriment. This means that more current can be conducted for the same cross sectional area of copper. This means a big saving in cables costs.
Visit link below for more details:-
XLPE Cables useful properties are :-
XLPE Cables construction:-
1.Temperature resistance
2. Stress rupture resistance
3. Environmental stress crack resistance
4. Resistance to U.V light
5. Chemical resistance
6. Oxidation resistance
XLPE Cables can be useful for following applications:-
1) XLPE cables work for the working voltage of 240 V to 500 KV .
2) Conductor Material can be either Copper or Aluminium.
3) XLPE cables can be either Single Core cables or Multi core cables depending upon the number of
4) They can be Unarmoured or Strip Armoured or Wire Armoured or Tape Armoured type depending upon the presence or absence of Armour .
5) HT / LT Aerial Bunched Cables
Polyvinyl chloride Cables
They are commonly abbreviated as PVC, insulated cables are widely used in various fields.
PVC's Cables are generally have following Properties:-
1. Low cost
2. Chemical resistance
3. High tensile strength
4. Better flexibility
For electric cables the PVC is mixed up with plasticizers.
Low voltage copper conductor PVC cables are extensively used for domestic home appliances wiring, house wiring and internal wiring for lighting circuits in factories, power supply for office
automation, in control.
1) Power Cables upto 1.1 KV
2) Multicore Cables upto 61 Cores
3) Sheilded instrumentation Cables
4) FRLS / FR / HR / Fire Survival Cable
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7 Stupendous Reasons To Eat More Sapodillas
organifi web22
Written by: Angelique Johnson
Manilkara zapota, also known as sapodillas, are large, evergreen, forest trees that are native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. They were first introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish colonization and are also grown in India, Thailand, Malaysia and other Asian countries.
The fruit is known by many other names such as mispel, zapote, nispero, dilly and sapoti. The flavor has often been described as a pear dipped in brown sugar due to its texture and rich sweet taste.
But besides being a fabulously tasty treat, did you know that research has shown that sapodillas actually have amazing medicinal properties as well?
Here are 7 of those amazing properties:
1. Help Prevent Anemia
Anemia is a condition that occurs when your blood doesn’t have enough hemoglobin, also known as red blood cells. Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type. Without enough iron in your diet, your body cannot make enough red blood cells. Symptoms can include brittle nails, pale skin, dizziness and shortness of breath.
Including sapodillas into your diet is an amazing (and delicious) way to help prevent anemia. Sapodillas are rich in iron and eating them can help you get the 19.3-20.5mg/day you need if you’re a man or the 17.0-18.9mg/day if you’re a woman.
2. Protect Against Colds, Flus And Infections
It seems as though these days the microbes that invade your body and get you sick are getting stronger and stronger and the flus are lasting longer and longer. Not to worry, though, sapodillas pack a microbe fighting punch! Sapodillas are packed with vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that can help fight sickness and help you recover faster if you are sick.
3. Great For Heart Health
Antioxidants are powerful components of many fruits that can help fight off preventable diseases such as heart disease. Research has shown that antioxidants like vitamin E and carotenoids (such as beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin) can help prevent DNA damage and fat accumulation around the heart.
Sapodillas are loaded with these antioxidants. In fact, they contain more antioxidants per serving than strawberries, guava and dragon fruit.
4. Help You Poop Regularly
Life is too short not to have a great poop everyday! Fiber is an important carbohydrate to include in your diet to help keep your bowels moving. Fiber cannot be digested by the body like other carbohydrates, so it helps move food through your intestines to help prevent constipation.
You typically need to get anywhere between 25 to 35 grams of fiber everyday and most people usually eat half of that amount. Sapodillas are extremely rich in fiber. One half cup serving contains a whopping 6.4g of fiber!
5. Can Prevent Many Cancers
Anthocyanins are antioxidants known as flavonoids that help to prevent many types of cancers including colon, breast, oral, esophageal, skin, lung and gastrointestinal. They help to induce apoptosis (or cell death) in cancer cells, reduce inflammation and stop cancer cells from growing and spreading.
Research has shown that sapodillas are rich in anthocyanins. In fact, sapodillas were found to have more of these cancer fighting antioxidants than many other fruits have combined!
6. Amazing For Weight Loss
Want to lose a few pounds? Start eating sapodillas! The best way to lose weight is to include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Because sapodillas are low in calories, they’re an excellent way to cut back without having to sacrifice flavor. Plus, their rich fiber content helps to keep you fuller longer to help fight cravings, making it the perfect weight loss enhancing treat.
7. Slow The Aging Process
Remember all those powerful antioxidants mentioned before? Yep, they’re also amazing for helping slow the aging process. Antioxidants help to reduce inflammation and protect against DNA damage and vitamin C is important for helping to create collagen, an important protein that helps encourage youthful skin.
These antioxidants in sapodillas have been found to slow the aging process and also to help encourage wound healing.
Try using sapodilla as a natural sweetener in plain cooked oatmeal or in a healthy shake. Need ideas? This sapodilla shake is both healthy and tastes very similar to a caramel flan!
5 from 1 reviews
Sapodilla Shake
• 1 ripe sapodilla fruit, cut in half and deseeded
• 1 cup of ice cubes
• 1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• 6 frozen whole strawberries
• ¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1. Scoop out the sapodilla pulp from the rind into your blender.
2. Add the ice, chocolate almond milk, vanilla almond milk, and strawberries.
3. Blend until smooth.
Image source: http://www.naivecookcooks.com/chikoo-sapodilla-cardamom-shake/
Were you surprised at how many amazing benefits sapodillas have? What do you call sapodillas where you are from? Let me know in the comments below!
Additional Sources:
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Angelique Johnson
Angelique Johnson
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Dog First Aid
Poisons: Dogs are by nature curious and love to explore. One of the ways they discover new things is through taste. This means that there is always the possibility that your dog may ingest a poisonous substance. If you think that your dog has swallowed a harmful substance wash its mouth out immediately to remove any remaining poisons. Then contact your veterinarian or the local Animal Poison Control Center. When you take your dog to a clinic try to take the container of the substance that your dog swallowed along with you to help in the diagnosis and treatment of your dog.
Antifreeze: Dogs find this sweet tasting poison very attractive.
Convulsions, vomiting, dizziness, coma and sudden death.
Treatment: If sure that your dog has drunk antifreeze you should immediately seek medical attention. Even with prompt medical attention antifreeze can cause death.
Aspirin: This human drug is poisonous to dogs if not administered properly.
Symptoms: Dizziness, blood-tinged vomiting, bloody diarrhea and a totalcollapse.
Treatment: If you find your dog eating aspirin you should induce vomiting.
Then give your dog a water and baking soda solution to neutralize the aspirin. The mixture should be made of 10 ml of baking soda and 30 ml of water.
Seek immediate medical attention.
Chlorine: This is a substance that should always be locked away in a safe place.
Symptoms: Runny or irritated eyes, red mouth, vomiting, diarrhea.
Treatment: Rinse your dogs mouth and eyes with large amounts of water and give it plenty of water to drink. Seek immediate medical attention.
Vermin poisons: The poison in that is found in anti-rodent pellets is poisonous if eaten by your dog and it is can poison your dog if he just eats an animal that has been killed by rodent poison.
Symptoms: One of the most common toxins used in the manufacture of rat poison is warfarin a chemical that stops blood from clotting and causes hemorrhaging. Some of the other symptoms are convulsions, muscular rigidity and total collapse.
Treatment: The specific treatment depends entirely on the active toxin in the rodent poison. It is therefore imperative that the veterinarian knows what kind of rodent poison was eaten so that he/she can diagnose the best treatment.
Seek urgent medical attention if your dog eats a dead rodent or rodent poison and be sure to take the original packaging of the poison with you if you can.
Plants: There are some plants like mistletoe, holly and Easter lilies can make your dog very sick. Before getting house plants be sure and check with your dog's veterinarian.
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Sunday, October 12, 2008
Dopamine, Mood, Movement and Exercise
Good ole dopamine! Watch out, major geek alert ahead and it involves some biochemistry. I think everyone just clicked off, but hold that mouse as this will be a short crash course some cool stuff.
Dopamine is neurotransmitter with five flavors of dopamine receptors — D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5, and their variants. It works on the sympathetic nervous system (think "fight, flight or freeze"), producing effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. It canNOT cross the blood-brain barrier, so dopamine given as a DRUG (via injection etc) does not directly affect the central nervous system. To get around this, patients that need it (such as in Parkinson's disease) may take L-DOPA which is a precursor to dopamine.
Dopamine is also a precursor of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline) which qualifies it as a card carrying member of the catecolamine family. .
How does the body make it?
It is made in the body via hydroxylation (think oxidizing) the amino acid L-tyrosine to L-DOPA and then on to dopamine, which can then in turn go on to norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline).
Can I increase dopamine without drugs?
Some have used L-tyrosine to possible increase dopamine levels, although more research is needed in this area. There are very few studies done on it and most seem to be split in terms of L-tyrosine enhancing exercise performance. One researcher I spoke to at ACSM this past year was quite convinced that L-tyrosine would enhance exercise performance based on his review of the literature (source: personal conversation).
Functions in the brain
Dopamine does tons of stuff in the brain. Everything from motor activity, motivation/reward, sleep, mood, learning and on down the list--yep, it is important!
Dopamine is commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment. Drugs like cocaine and amphetamines inhibit the RE- UPTAKE of dopamine; so there is more floating around in the brain to do its job. Cocaine is a dopamine transporter blocker that competitively inhibits dopamine uptake to increase the lifetime of dopamine and augments an overabundance of dopamine (an increase of up to 150 percent) within the parameters of the dopamine neurotransmitters; aka it cranks up the dopamine in your brain by a crap load!
Amphetamines are similar in structure to dopamine and sort "mimic it" They can actually enter presynaptic neuron and then shove the poor dopamine molecules out of their storage vesicles! Think of them as a drill sargent shoving you out of bed in the AM to get to work.
Obviously both of these drugs have consequences (like what goes up must come down) and are illegal. Although I remember asking my neuroscience prof a few years back that if Parkinson's patients have an issue with dopamine, what happens if you give them cocaine? I was actually serious!
We know that the body and mind are highly integrated. Below are some new abstracts showing the connection between exercise (movement) and dopamine. Be sure to check out a previous blog I did recently on Mood and Mobility.
Neuroplasticity of dopamine circuits after exercise: implications for central fatigue.
Foley TE, Fleshner M. Department Integrative Physiology, Center for Neuroscience, Clare Small Building, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0354, USA.
Habitual exercise increases plasticity in a variety of neurotransmitter systems. The current review focuses on the effects of habitual physical activity on monoamine dopamine (DA) neurotransmission and the potential implication of these changes to exercise-induced fatigue. Although it is clear that peripheral adaptations in muscle and energy substrate utilization contribute to this effect, more recently it has been suggested that central nervous system pathways "upstream" of the motor cortex, which initiate activation of skeletal muscles, are also important. The contribution of the brain to exercise-induced fatigue has been termed "central fatigue." Given the well-defined role of DA in the initiation of movement, it is likely that adaptations in DA systems influence exercise capacity. A reduction in DA neurotransmission in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), for example, could impair activation of the basal ganglia and reduce stimulation of the motor cortex leading to central fatigue. Here we present evidence that habitual wheel running produces changes in DA systems. Using in situ hybridization techniques, we report that 6 weeks of wheel running was sufficient to increase tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA expression and reduce D2 autoreceptor mRNA in the SNpc. Additionally, 6 weeks of wheel running increased D2 postsynaptic receptor mRNA in the caudate putamen, a major projection site of the SNpc.
These results are consistent with prior data suggesting that habitually physically active animals may have an enhanced ability to increase DA synthesis and reduce D2 autoreceptor-mediated inhibition of DA neurons in the SNpc compared to sedentary animals. Furthermore, habitually physically active animals, compared to sedentary controls, may be better able to increase D2 receptor-mediated inhibition of the indirect pathway of the basal ganglia.
Conclusion: Results from these studies are discussed in light of our understanding of the role of DA (monoamine dopamine) in the neurobiological mechanisms of central fatigue.
Elevated central monoamine receptor mRNA in rats bred for high endurance capacity: implications for central fatigue.
Foley TE, Greenwood BN, Day HE, Koch LG, Britton SL, Fleshner M. Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 0354, USA.
Although alteration to peripheral systems at the skeletal muscle level can contribute to one's ability to sustain endurance capacity, neural circuits regulating fatigue may also play a critical role. Previous studies demonstrated that increasing brain serotonin (5-HT) release is sufficient to hasten the onset of exercise-induced fatigue, while manipulations that increase brain dopamine (DA) release can delay the onset of fatigue. These results suggest that individual differences in endurance capacity could be due to factors capable of influencing the activity of 5-HT and DA systems.
We evaluated possible differences in central fatigue pathways between two contrasting rat groups selectively bred for high (HCR) or low (LCR) capacity running. Using quantitative in situ hybridization, we measured messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), 5-HT transporter (5-HTT), 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B autoreceptors, dopamine receptor-D2 (DR-D2) autoreceptors and postsynaptic receptors, and dopamine receptor-D1 (DR-D1) postsynaptic receptors, in discrete brain regions of HCR and LCR. HCR expressed higher levels of 5-HT1B autoreceptor mRNA in the raphe nuclei relative to LCR, but similar levels of TPH, 5-HTT, and 5-HT1A mRNA in these areas. Surprisingly, HCR expressed higher levels of DR-D2 autoreceptor mRNA in the midbrain, while simultaneously expressing greater DR-D2 postsynaptic mRNA in the striatum compared to LCR. There were no differences in DR-D1 mRNA levels in the striatum or cortex between groups.
Conclusion: These data suggest that central serotonergic and dopaminergic systems may be involved in the mechanisms by which HCR (high capacity running) have delayed onset of exercise-induced fatigue compared to LCR (low capacity running).
Running wheel exercise enhances recovery from nigrostriatal dopamine injury without inducing neuroprotection.
O'Dell SJ, Gross NB, Fricks AN, Casiano BD, Nguyen TB, Marshall JF. Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, 1452 McGaugh Hall, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Forced use of the forelimb contralateral to a unilateral injection of the dopaminergic neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine can promote recovery of motor function in that limb and can significantly decrease damage to dopamine terminals. The present study was conducted to determine (1) whether a form of voluntary exercise, wheel running, would improve motor performance in rats with such lesions, and (2) whether any beneficial effects of wheel running are attributable to ameliorating the dopaminergic damage. In experiment 1, rats were allowed to run in exercise wheels or kept in home cages for 2 1/2 weeks, then given stereotaxic infusions of 6-hydroxydopamine into the left striatum. The rats were replaced into their original environments (wheels or home cages) for four additional weeks, and asymmetries in forelimb use were quantified at 3, 10, 17, and 24 days postoperatively. After killing, dopaminergic damage was assessed by both quantifying 3 beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropan-2 beta-carboxylic acid methyl ester ([(125)I]RTI-55) binding to striatal dopamine transporters and counting tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in the substantia nigra.
Exercised 6-hydroxydopamine-infused rats showed improved motor outcomes relative to sedentary lesioned controls, effects that were most apparent at postoperative days 17 and 24. Despite this behavioral improvement, 6-hydroxydopamine-induced loss of striatal dopamine transporters and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive nigral cells in exercised and sedentary groups did not differ. Since prior studies suggested that forced limb use improves motor performance by sparing nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons from 6-hydroxydopamine damage, experiment 2 used a combined regimen of forced plus voluntary wheel running. Again, we found that the motor performance of exercised rats improved more rapidly than that of sedentary controls, but that there were no differences between these groups in the damage produced by 6-hydroxydopamine.
Conclusion: It appears that voluntary exercise can facilitate recovery from partial nigrostriatal injury, but it does so without evident sparing of dopamine nerve terminals.
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Infinity Times Zero is Not Zero
The problem is that the laws of addition and multiplication you are using hold for natural numbers, but infinity is not a natural number, so these laws do not apply. If they did, you could use a similar argument that multiplying anything by infinity, no matter how small, gives infinity, thus ∞×0=∞. More sophisticated arguments can also be made, like ∞×0=limx→∞(x×1/x)=1. Clearly all these different values for ∞×0 mean that ∞ cannot be treated like other numbers.
In order to work with infinity, you must first define it. You may think you know what infinity is, but really you don't have a concrete definition. In fact, there are many different definitions of infinity that you could use, each of which result in different behaviors. For example, the real projective line has a concept of infinity such that 1/∞=0, while when talking about infinite sets one uses cardinal numbers (another type of infinity) to represent the sizes of these sets. You must make it clear what infinity you are talking about in order to work with it.
In summary, the expression ∞×0 using multiplication defined for the natural numbers does not have any meaning, so it cannot be said to be equal to 0.
Folksonomies: mathematics
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Why is Infinity multiplied by Zero not an easy Zero answer?
Electronic/World Wide Web>Message Posted to Online Forum/Discussion Group: Schroder, Ashley , Why is Infinity multiplied by Zero not an easy Zero answer?, Retrieved on 2015-02-04
• Source Material []
• Folksonomies: mathematics
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Schools get smarter about ed-tech energy use
Schools across the country are starting to take measures to reduce both energy and costs by rethinking their information technology systems. The Rio Rancho Public Schools in New Mexico were featured in this article. The executive director of technology in this district noted that “we’re estimating saving about $30,000 per year, and that’s [mainly] by consolidating servers.” According to CDW Government LLC, If schools do not start taking action like Rio Rancho, greenhouse gas emissions from IT data centers will surpass those emitted by the airline industry in the next ten years. The district has found this project to be changing their school in many ways. The $30,000+ a year savings could be redirected towards something that the school needs such as extracurricular activities, paying teachers or new technologies. Another big expense for many schools is air conditioning. In the article Romeo, the executive director of technology, described how they are replacing light bulbs that emit heat with high efficiency LED bulbs.
I found this article very inspiring and uplifting. So many stories in the news show schools negatively through cutting programs and laying off teachers. We've also talked in class about how districts are building excessively elaborate school buildings but not having the funds to run them. This school on the other hand, is doing something extremely positive and effective for the environment and their schools alike. I hope that more schools can adopt this concept to improve our environment and redirect where money is being spend. It excites me to know that this New Mexico district is so focused on making such improvements.
1 comment:
medwards said...
I feel silly about this now, but I had no idea that IT centers even caused pollution, let alone that they will emit more green house gasses than the airline industry pretty soon! It's amazing to me that some simple reforms could not only cut down on those pollutants, but also save a school district that much money. Like Emily mentioned, a school district could do a lot of good with an extra $30,000. Hopefully this story will reach other school districts and inspire them to follow suit.
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Water heating
Publié le par salebatterymart
Domestically, water is traditionally heated in vessels known as water heaters, kettles, cauldrons, pots, or coppers. These metal vessels that heat a batch of water do not produce a continual supply of heated water at a preset temperature. Rarely, hot water occurs naturally, usually from natural hot springs. The temperature varies based on the consumption rate, becoming cooler as flow increases(SONY PCG-5G3L battery).
Appliances which provide a frequent supply of hot water are numerously called water heaters, hot water heaters, hot water tanks, boilers, heat exchangers, geysers, or calorifiers, These names depend on region, and whether they heat potable or non-potable water, are in domestic or industrial use, and their energy source. In domestic installations, potable water heated for uses other than space heating is also called domestic hot water (DHW) (SONY PCG-F305 battery).
Electric tank-type storage water heater (US)
Storage water heaters (tank-type)[edit]
Main article: Storage water heater(SONY PCG-5K2L battery)
In household and commercial usage, most water heaters in North America have traditionally been of the tank type. Also called storage water heaters, these consist of a cylindrical vessel or container in which water is kept continuously hot and ready for use. Typical sizes for household use range from 75 to 400 litres (20 to 100 US gallons). These may use electricity, natural gas, propane, heating oil, solar, or other energy sources(SONY PCG-5L1L battery). Natural gas heaters are most popular in the US and most European countries, since the gas is often conveniently piped throughout cities and towns and currently is the cheapest to use.
Another popular arrangement where higher flow rates are required for limited periods is to heat water in a pressure vessel that can withstand a hydrostatic pressure close to that of the incoming mains supply. In North America, these vessels are called hot water tanks, and may incorporate an electrical resistance heater, an air source heat pump(SONY PCG-6S2L battery), or a gas or oil burner that heats water directly.
In temperate zone countries, where ambient temperature are seasonally colder, tiny point-of-use (POU) electric storage water heaters with capacities ranging from 8 to 32 liters (2 to 6 gallons) are made for installation in kitchen and bath cabinets or on the wall above a sink. They typically use low power heating elements, about 1 kW to 1.5 kW(SONY PCG-7111L battery), and can provide hot water long enough for hand washing, or, if plumbed into an existing hot water line, until hot water arrives from a remote high capacity water heater. They may be used when retrofitting a pump and recirculating plumbing in a building is too costly or impractical. Since they maintain water temperature thermostatically, they can only supply a continuous flow of hot water at extremely low flow rates, unlike high-capacity tankless heaters(SONY PCG-71511M battery).
Tankless heaters[edit]
Main article: Tankless water heating
See also: Instant hot water dispenser and Electric water boiler(SONY PCG-6W3L battery)
Stand-alone appliances for quickly heating water for DHW are known in North America as tankless or on demand water heaters. In some places, they're called multipoint heaters, geysers or ascots. In Australia and New Zealand they are called instantaneous hot water units. A similar wood-fired appliance was known as the chip heater. (SONY PCG-7Z1L battery)
A common arrangement where hot-water space heating is employed, is for a boiler to also heat potable water, providing a continuous supply of DHW without extra equipment. Appliances that can supply both space-heating and DHW are called combination (or combi) boilers. Though on-demand heaters can provide a continuous supply of DHW, the rate at which they can produce it is limited by the thermodynamics of heating water from the available fuel supplies(SONY PCG-7Z2L battery) .
Electric shower heads[edit]
A poorly-installed electric shower head can pose an electrical shock hazard (Guatemala)
Invented in Brazil in the 1930s and used frequently since the 40s, the electric shower is a home appliance often seen in South American(SONY PCG-8Y1L battery) countries due to the higher costs with gas distribution. Earlier models were made of chromed copper or brass, which were expensive, but since 1970, units made of injected plastics are popular due to low prices similar to that of a hair dryer. Electric showers have a simple electric system, working like a coffee maker, but with a larger water flow. A flow switch turns on the device when water flows through it. Once the water is stopped, the device turns off automatically. (SONY PCG-8Y2L battery) An ordinary electric shower often has three heat settings: low (2.5 kW), high (5.5 kW) or cold (0 W) to use when a central heater system is available or in hot seasons.[citation needed]
Energy usage[edit]
The power consumption of electric showers in the maximum heating setting is about 5.5 kW for 120 V and 7.5 kW for 220 V. The lower costs with electric showers compared to the higher costs with boilers is due to the time of use: an electric shower uses energy only during the water flow, while a boiler works many times(SONY PCG-8Z2L battery) a day to keep a larger quantity of standing water hot for use throughout the day and night. So electric showers may save energy compared to gas central heaters. A 20 minute bath by an electric shower can cost about US$0.10, but the same bath using water from a gas heater can cost three times as much. This difference can be larger where the electricity is cheaper than the gas supply, or in tropical countries where the maximum power consumption is required only during the cold seasons(SONY PCG-8Z1L battery).
Some changes in electrical distribution utilities were required before widespread use of electric showers could become practical. Electric utility transformers with higher KVA capacity are required due to increase of peak electrical demand. In countries where almost all houses use electric showers like Brazil, an ordinary street transformer per square has 112.5 to 150 kVA of capacity, and buildings must have their own transformers to support the electrical domestic demand without overloads in the electric distribution. (SONY PCG-5K1L battery)
Solar water heaters[edit]
Direct-gain solar heater panels with integrated storage tank
Flat-plate solar thermal collector, viewed from roof-level
Main article: Solar water heating
By contrast, indirect or closed-loop systems do not allow potable water through the panels, but rather pump a heat transfer fluid (either water or a water/antifreeze mix) through the panels. After collecting heat in the panels, the heat transfer fluid flows through a heat exchanger, transferring its heat to the potable hot water. When the panels are cooler than(SONY VGP-BPL8 battery) the storage tank or when the storage tank has already reached its maximum temperature, the controller in closed-loop systems will stop the circulation pumps. In a drainback system, the water drains into a storage tank contained in conditioned or semi-conditioned space, protected from freezing temperatures. With antifreeze systems, however, the pump must be run if the panel temperature gets too hot (to prevent degradation of the antifreeze) or too cold (to prevent the water/antifreeze mixture from freezing.) (SONY VGP-BPS9 battery)
Flat panel collectors are typically used in closed-loop systems. Flat panels, which often resemble skylights, are the most durable type of collector, and they also have the best performance for systems designed for temperatures within 100 °F (38 °C) of ambient temperature. Flat panels are regularly used in both pure water and antifreeze systems(SONY VGP-BPS9/S battery).
Another type of solar collector is the evacuated tube collector, which are intended for cold climates that do not experience severe hail and/or applications where high temperatures are needed (i.e., over 200 °F (93 °C)). Placed in a rack, evacuated tube collectors form a row of glass tubes, each containing absorption fins attached to a central heat-conducting rod(SONY VGP-BPS9A battery) (copper or condensation-driven). The evacuated description refers to the vacuum created in the glass tubes during the manufacturing process, which results in very low heat loss and lets evacuated tube systems achieve extreme temperatures, far in excess of water's boiling point.
Geothermal heating[edit]
In countries like Iceland and New Zealand, and other volcanic regions, water heating may be done using geothermal heating, rather than combustion(SONY VGP-BPS9A/B battery).
Gravity-fed system[edit]
A locational design decision may be made between point-of-use and centralized hot water heaters. Centralized water heaters are more traditional, and are still a good choice for small buildings. For larger buildings with intermittent or occasional hot water use, multiple POU water heaters may be a better choice(SONY VGP-BPS9A/S battery), since they can reduce long waits for hot water to arrive from a remote heater. The decision where to locate the water heater(s) is only partially independent of the decision of a tanked vs. tankless water heater, or the choice of energy source for the heat.
Other improvements[edit]
Other improvements include check valve devices at their inlet and outlet, cycle timers, electronic ignition in the case of fuel-using models, sealed air intake systems in the case of fuel-using models, and pipe insulation(SONY VGP-BPL9 battery). The sealed air-intake system types are sometimes called "band-joist" intake units. "High-efficiency" condensing units can convert up to 98% of the energy in the fuel to heating the water. The exhaust gases of combustion are cooled and are mechanically ventilated either through the roof or through an exterior wall. At high combustion efficiencies a drain must be supplied to handle the water condensed out of the combustion products, which are primarily carbon dioxide and water vapor(SONY VGP-BPS10 battery).
Residential combustion water heaters manufactured since 2003 in the United States have been redesigned to resist ignition of flammable vapors and incorporate a thermal cutoff switch, per ANSI Z21.10.1. The first feature attempts to prevent vapors from(SONY VGP-BPS11 battery) flammable liquids and gasses in the vicinity of the heater from being ignited and thus causing a house fire or explosion. The second feature prevents tank overheating due to unusual combustion conditions. These safety requirements were made based on homeowners storing, or spilling, gasoline or other flammable liquids near their water heaters and causing fires. Since most of the new designs incorporate some type of flame arrestor screen, they require monitoring to make sure they don't become clogged with lint or dust(SONY VGP-BPL11 battery) reducing the availability of air for combustion. If the flame arrestor becomes clogged, the thermal cutoff may act to shut down the heater.
Display of water heaters used in the past.
Though not very popular in North America, another type of water heater developed in Europe predated the storage model. In London, England, in 1868, a painter named Benjamin Waddy Maughan invented the first instantaneous domestic water heater that didn't use solid fuel. (SONY VGP-BPS12 battery)Named the geyser after an Icelandic gushing hot spring, Maughan's invention made cold water at the top flow through wires that were heated by hot gases from a burner at the bottom. Hot water then flowed into a sink or tub. The invention was somewhat dangerous because there was no flue to remove heated gases from the bathroom. A water heater is still sometimes called a geyser in the UK. The terms electric water boiler, electric dispensing pot or electric water urn are also commonly used there(SONY VGP-BPS13 battery).
Maughn's invention influenced the work of a Norwegian mechanical engineer named Edwin Ruud. The first automatic, storage tank-type gas water was invented around 1889 by Ruud after he immigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. The Ruud Manufacturing Company, still in existence today, made many advancements in tank-type and tankless water heater design and operation. (SONY VGP-BPS13Q battery)
Thermodynamics and economics[edit]
Water enters typically residences in the US at about 10 °C (50 °F), depending on latitude and season. Hot water temperatures of 40–49 °C (104–120 °F) are usual for dish-washing, laundry and showering, which requires that the heater raise the water temperature about 30 °C (54 °F) if the hot water is mixed with cold water at the point of use(SONY VGP-BPS13A/Q battery). The Uniform Plumbing Code reference shower flow rate is 2.5 US gallons (9.5 L) per minute. Sink and dishwasher usages range from 1–3 US gallons (3.8–11 L) per minute.
Energy efficiencies of water heaters in residential use can vary greatly, particularly based on manufacturer and model. However, electric heaters tend to be slightly more efficient (not counting power station losses) with recovery efficiency (SONY VGP-BPS13B/B battery) (how efficiently energy is transferred to the water) reaching about 98%. Gas fired heaters have maximum recovery efficiencies of only about 86% (the remaining heat is lost with the flue gasses). Overall energy factors can be as low as 80% for electric and 50% for gas systems. Natural gas and propane tank water heaters with energy factors of 62% or greater, as well as electric tank water heaters with energy factors of 93% or greater, are considered high-efficiency units(SONY VGP-BPS13A/S battery). Energy Star-qualified natural gas and propane tank water heaters (as of September 2010) have energy factors of 67% or higher, which is usually achieved using an automatic flue damper or power venting. Direct electric resistance tank water heaters are not included in the Energy Star program, however, the Energy Star program does include electric heat pump units with energy factors of 200% or higher. Tankless gas water heaters must have an energy factor of 82% or higher for Energy Star (SONY VGP-BPS21A/B battery)qualification. Since electricity production itself today has efficiency levels ranging from only 15% to slightly over 55% (combined cycle gas turbine), with around 40% typical for thermal power stations, direct resistance electric water heating is typically the least energy efficient option. However, use of a heat pump can make electric water heaters much more energy efficient and lead to a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions, even more so if a renewable source of electricity is used(SONY VGP-BPS21B battery).
2015 United States Department of Energy minimum efficiency requirements[edit]
In 2015, new minimum standards for efficiency of residential water heaters set by the United States Department of Energy will go into effect.[6] All new gas storage tank water heaters with capacities smaller than 55 gallons sold in the United States in 2015 or later shall have an energy factor of at least 60% (for 50 gallon units, higher for smaller units), increased from the current minimum standard of 58% energy factor for 50 gallon gas units(SONY VGP-BPS13AS battery). Electric storage tank water heaters with capacities less than 55 gallons sold in the United States shall have an energy factor of at least 95%, increased from the current minimum standard of 90% for 50 gallon electric units. Under the 2015 standard, for the first time, storage water heaters with capacities of 55 gallons or larger will face stricter efficiency requirements than those of 50 gallons or less. Under the current standard(SONY VGP-BPS13S battery), a typical 75 gallon gas storage water heater can have an energy factor as low as 53%, while under the 2015 standard, the minimum energy factor for a 75 gallon gas storage tank water heater will be 74%, which can only be achieved by using condensing technology. An 80 gallon electric storage tank water heater can have a minimum energy factor of 86% under the current standard, while under the 2015 standard, the minimum energy factor for an 80 gallon electric storage tank water heater will be 197%, which is only possible with heat pump technology(SONY VGP-BPS13B/S battery). Gas tankless water heaters shall have an energy factor of 82% or greater under the 2015 standards, which corresponds to the current Energy Star standard.
Water heater safety[edit]
Water heaters potentially can explode and cause significant damage, injury, or death if certain safety devices are not installed. When the water temperature exceeds 100 °C (212 °F), the water will remain a liquid inside the tank, but when the pressure is released as the water comes out the tap the water will boil, potentially inflicting steam burns. Water above about 88 °C (190 °F) (SONY VGP-BPS13B/G battery)will cause burns on contact. A safety device called a temperature and pressure relief (T&P or TPR) valve, is normally fitted on the top of the water heater to dump water if the temperature or pressure becomes too high. Most plumbing codes require that a discharge pipe be connected to the valve to direct the flow of discharged hot water to a drain, typically a nearby floor drain, or outside the living space. Some building codes will allow for the discharge pipe to terminate in the garage. (SONY VGP-BPS14 battery)
If a gas or propane fired water heater is installed in a garage, it is recommended, and many codes require, that it be elevated at least 18 inches (0.46 m) above the floor to reduce the potential for fire or explosion due to spillage or leakage of combustible liquids in the garage. Furthermore, certain local codes mandate that tank-type heaters in new and retrofit installations must be secured to an adjacent wall by a strap or anchor to prevent tipping over and breaking the water and gas pipes in the event of an earthquake. (SONY VGP-BPL14 battery)
For older houses where the water heater is part of the space heating boiler, and plumbing codes allow, some plumbers will install a Watts 210 device in place of a TPR valve. When the device senses that the temperature reaches 99 °C (210 °F), it will shut off the gas supply and prevent further heating. In addition, an expansion tank or exterior pressure relief valve must be installed to prevent pressure buildup in the plumbing from rupturing pipes, valves, or the water heater(SONY VGP-BPS22 battery).
Thermal burns (scalding)[edit]
Scalding injury to right hand
Bacterial contamination[edit]
Bacterial colonies of Legionella pneumophila (indicated by arrows)
Two conflicting safety issues affect water heater temperature—the risk of scalding from excessively hot water greater than 55 °C (131 °F), and the risk of incubating bacteria colonies, particularly Legionella, in water that is not hot enough to kill them(SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery). Both risks are potentially life threatening and are balanced by setting the water heater's thermostat to at least 54.4 °C (130 °F). The European Guidelines for Control and Prevention of Travel Associated Legionnaires’ Disease recommend that hot water should be stored at 60 °C (140 °F) and distributed such that a temperature of at least 50 °C and preferably 55 °C is achieved within one minute at outlets.[11] If there is a dishwasher without a booster heater, it may require a water temperature within a range of 57 °C (134.6 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) for optimum cleaning, (SONY VGP-BPS22A battery)in which case tempering valves set to no more than 55 °C can be applied to faucets to avoid scalding. (Note: Tank temperatures above 60 °C may produce limescale deposits, which could later harbor bacteria, in the water tank. Temperatures above 60 °C may also cause gradual erosion of glassware in a dishwasher.)
Tank thermostats are not a reliable guide to the internal temperature of the tank. Gas-fired water tanks may have no temperature calibration shown. An electric thermostat shows the temperature at the elevation of the thermostat(SONY Vaio VGN-CR11H/B battery), but water lower in the tank can be considerably cooler. An outlet thermometer is a better indication of water temperature.[13]
In the renewable energy industry (solar and heat pumps, in particular) the conflict between daily thermal Legionella control and high temperatures, which may drop system performance, is subject to heated debate. In a paper seeking a green exemption from normal Legionellosis safety standards, Europe's top CEN solar thermal technical(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11S battery) committee TC 312 asserts that a 50% fall in performance would occur if solar water heating systems were heated to the base daily. However some solar simulator analysis work using Polysun 5 suggests that an 11% energy penalty is a more likely figure. Whatever the context, both energy efficiency and scalding safety requirements push in the direction of considerably lower water temperatures than the legionella pasteurisation temperature of around 60°C(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15T battery).
However, legionella can be safely and easily controlled with good design and engineering protocols. For instance raising the temperature of water heaters once a day or even once every few days to 55 °C (131 °F) at the coldest part of the water heater for 30 minutes will effectively control legionella. In all cases and in particular energy efficient applications, Legionnaires' disease is more often than not the result of engineering design issues that do not take into consideration the impact of stratification or low flow(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ15G battery).
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Basics of X-Ray Diffraction Self-User Training for the X-Ray Diffraction SEF Scott A Speakman, Ph.D. 13-4009A (617) 253-6887
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Presentation on theme: "Basics of X-Ray Diffraction Self-User Training for the X-Ray Diffraction SEF Scott A Speakman, Ph.D. 13-4009A (617) 253-6887"— Presentation transcript:
Scott A Speakman, Ph.D. A (617)
2 Additional Training All users must complete the EHS X-ray Safety training the next class is Nov 20 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm in N52-496A The following class is Dec 11 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm register at Thursday, Nov 6 in room next session, Friday Dec 12 Lab Specific Safety Training, 1 pm to 2 pm Data Collection with the Rigaku Powder Diffractometer; 2 to 5 pm Thursday, Nov 13 in room next session, Wed Dec 17 High-Speed Data Collection with the PANalytical X’Pert Pro; 2 to 5 pm
3 Data Analysis Classes XRD Data Analysis with Jade Workshop
Friday, Nov 7, 1-4 pm, in Friday, Nov 14, 1-4 pm, in Tuesday, Dec 2, 1:30-4:30 pm in Additional Topics HRXRD and XRR Analysis on Thin Films Wed, Nov 5 from 1-5 pm in Wed, Dec 3 from 1 to 5 pm HRXRD Data Analysis, Nov 14 9:30 am to noon in Pole Figure Analysis of Texture Tuesday, Nov 25 from 1-5 pm in
4 Basics of Diffraction
5 Crystalline materials are characterized by the orderly periodic arrangements of atoms.
The (200) planes of atoms in NaCl The (220) planes of atoms in NaCl The unit cell is the basic repeating unit that defines a crystal. Parallel planes of atoms intersecting the unit cell are used to define directions and distances in the crystal. These crystallographic planes are identified by Miller indices.
6 The atoms in a crystal are a periodic array of coherent scatterers and thus can diffract light.
Diffraction occurs when each object in a periodic array scatters radiation coherently, producing concerted constructive interference at specific angles. The electrons in an atom coherently scatter light. The electrons interact with the oscillating electric field of the light wave. Atoms in a crystal form a periodic array of coherent scatterers. The wavelength of X rays are similar to the distance between atoms. Diffraction from different planes of atoms produces a diffraction pattern, which contains information about the atomic arrangement within the crystal X Rays are also reflected, scattered incoherently, absorbed, refracted, and transmitted when they interact with matter.
7 X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) uses information about the position, intensity, width, and shape of diffraction peaks in a pattern from a polycrystalline sample. The x-axis, 2theta, corresponds to the angular position of the detector that rotates around the sample.
8 Bragg’s law is a simplistic model to understand what conditions are required for diffraction.
dhkl draw the diffraction vector on this slide, or make a second slide explicitly illustrating the diffraction vector For parallel planes of atoms, with a space dhkl between the planes, constructive interference only occurs when Bragg’s law is satisfied. In our diffractometers, the X-ray wavelength l is fixed. Consequently, a family of planes produces a diffraction peak only at a specific angle q. Additionally, the plane normal must be parallel to the diffraction vector Plane normal: the direction perpendicular to a plane of atoms Diffraction vector: the vector that bisects the angle between the incident and diffracted beam The space between diffracting planes of atoms determines peak positions. The peak intensity is determined by what atoms are in the diffracting plane.
9 Our powder diffractometers typically use the Bragg-Brentano geometry.
Detector X-ray tube w q 2q The incident angle, w, is defined between the X-ray source and the sample. The diffracted angle, 2q, is defined between the incident beam and the detector angle. The incident angle w is always ½ of the detector angle 2q . In a q:2q instrument (e.g. Rigaku RU300), the tube is fixed, the sample rotates at q °/min and the detector rotates at 2q °/min. In a q:q instrument (e.g. PANalytical X’Pert Pro), the sample is fixed and the tube rotates at a rate -q °/min and the detector rotates at a rate of q °/min.
11 A polycrystalline sample should contain thousands of crystallites
A polycrystalline sample should contain thousands of crystallites. Therefore, all possible diffraction peaks should be observed. 2q 2q 2q For every set of planes, there will be a small percentage of crystallites that are properly oriented to diffract (the plane perpendicular bisects the incident and diffracted beams). Basic assumptions of powder diffraction are that for every set of planes there is an equal number of crystallites that will diffract and that there is a statistically relevant number of crystallites, not just one or two.
12 Powder Diffraction is more aptly named polycrystalline diffraction
Samples can be powder, sintered pellets, coatings on substrates, engine blocks, … If the crystallites are randomly oriented, and there are enough of them, then they will produce a continuous Debye cone. In a linear diffraction pattern, the detector scans through an arc that intersects each Debye cone at a single point; thus giving the appearance of a discrete diffraction peak. break up into two slides, make better transition between before and after
13 Area (2D) Diffraction allows us to image complete or incomplete (spotty) Debye diffraction rings
Polycrystalline thin film on a single crystal substrate Mixture of fine and coarse grains in a metallic alloy Conventional linear diffraction patterns would miss information about single crystal or coarse grained materials
14 Linear (1D) Diffraction Scans have better resolution and less noise
15 Diffraction patterns are best reported using dhkl and relative intensity rather than 2q and absolute intensity. The peak position as 2q depends on instrumental characteristics such as wavelength. The peak position as dhkl is an intrinsic, instrument-independent, material property. Bragg’s Law is used to convert observed 2q positions to dhkl. The absolute intensity, i.e. the number of X rays observed in a given peak, can vary due to instrumental and experimental parameters. The relative intensities of the diffraction peaks should be instrument independent. To calculate relative intensity, divide the absolute intensity of every peak by the absolute intensity of the most intense peak, and then convert to a percentage. The most intense peak of a phase is therefore always called the “100% peak”. Peak areas are much more reliable than peak heights as a measure of intensity.
16 Powder diffraction data consists of a record of photon intensity versus detector angle 2q.
Diffraction data can be reduced to a list of peak positions and intensities Each dhkl corresponds to a family of atomic planes {hkl} individual planes cannot be resolved- this is a limitation of powder diffraction versus single crystal diffraction Raw Data Reduced dI list Position [°2q] Intensity [cts] hkl dhkl (Å) Relative Intensity (%) {012} 3.4935 49.8 {104} 2.5583 85.8 {110} 2.3852 36.1 {006} 2.1701 1.9 {113} 2.0903 100.0 {202} 1.9680 1.4
17 You can use XRD to determine
Phase Composition of a Sample Quantitative Phase Analysis: determine the relative amounts of phases in a mixture by referencing the relative peak intensities Unit cell lattice parameters and Bravais lattice symmetry Index peak positions Lattice parameters can vary as a function of, and therefore give you information about, alloying, doping, solid solutions, strains, etc. Residual Strain (macrostrain) Crystal Structure By Rietveld refinement of the entire diffraction pattern Epitaxy/Texture/Orientation Crystallite Size and Microstrain Indicated by peak broadening Other defects (stacking faults, etc.) can be measured by analysis of peak shapes and peak width We have in-situ capabilities, too (evaluate all properties above as a function of time, temperature, and gas environment)
18 Phase Identification The diffraction pattern for every phase is as unique as your fingerprint Phases with the same chemical composition can have drastically different diffraction patterns. Use the position and relative intensity of a series of peaks to match experimental data to the reference patterns in the database
19 Databases such as the Powder Diffraction File (PDF) contain dI lists for thousands of crystalline phases. The PDF contains over 200,000 diffraction patterns. Modern computer programs can help you determine what phases are present in your sample by quickly comparing your diffraction data to all of the patterns in the database. The PDF card for an entry contains a lot of useful information, including literature references.
20 Quantitative Phase Analysis
With high quality data, you can determine how much of each phase is present must meet the constant volume assumption (see later slides) The ratio of peak intensities varies linearly as a function of weight fractions for any two phases in a mixture need to know the constant of proportionality RIR method is fast and gives semi-quantitative results Whole pattern fitting/Rietveld refinement is a more accurate but more complicated analysis
21 Unit Cell Lattice Parameter Refinement
By accurately measuring peak positions over a long range of 2theta, you can determine the unit cell lattice parameters of the phases in your sample alloying, substitutional doping, temperature and pressure, etc can create changes in lattice parameters that you may want to quantify use many peaks over a long range of 2theta so that you can identify and correct for systematic errors such as specimen displacement and zero shift measure peak positions with a peak search algorithm or profile fitting profile fitting is more accurate but more time consuming then numerically refine the lattice parameters
22 Crystallite Size and Microstrain
Crystallites smaller than ~120nm create broadening of diffraction peaks this peak broadening can be used to quantify the average crystallite size of nanoparticles using the Scherrer equation must know the contribution of peak width from the instrument by using a calibration curve microstrain may also create peak broadening analyzing the peak widths over a long range of 2theta using a Williamson-Hull plot can let you separate microstrain and crystallite size 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 2 q (deg.) Intensity (a.u.) > Cerianite- - CeO
23 Preferred Orientation (texture)
Preferred orientation of crystallites can create a systematic variation in diffraction peak intensities can qualitatively analyze using a 1D diffraction pattern a pole figure maps the intensity of a single peak as a function of tilt and rotation of the sample this can be used to quantify the texture (111) (311) (200) (220) (222) (400) 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Two-Theta (deg) x10 3 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 Intensity(Counts) > Gold - Au
24 Overview of the Diffractometer
25 Essential Parts of the Diffractometer
X-ray Tube: the source of X Rays Incident-beam optics: condition the X-ray beam before it hits the sample The goniometer: the platform that holds and moves the sample, optics, detector, and/or tube The sample & sample holder Receiving-side optics: condition the X-ray beam after it has encountered the sample Detector: count the number of X Rays scattered by the sample
26 Most of our powder diffractometers use the Bragg-Brentano parafocusing geometry.
A point detector and sample are moved so that the detector is always at 2q and the sample surface is always at q to the incident X-ray beam. In the parafocusing arrangement, the incident- and diffracted-beam slits move on a circle that is centered on the sample. Divergent X rays from the source hit the sample at different points on its surface. During the diffraction process the X rays are refocused at the detector slit. This arrangement provides the best combination of intensity, peak shape, and angular resolution for the widest number of samples. F: the X-ray source DS: the incident-beam divergence-limiting slit SS: the Soller slit assembly S: the sample RS: the diffracted-beam receiving slit C: the monochromator crystal AS: the anti-scatter slit
27 X-radiation for diffraction measurements is produced by a sealed tube or rotating anode.
Sealed X-ray tubes tend to operate at 1.8 to 3 kW. Rotating anode X-ray tubes produce much more flux because they operate at 9 to 18 kW. A rotating anode spins the anode at 6000 rpm, helping to distribute heat over a larger area and therefore allowing the tube to be run at higher power without melting the target. Both sources generate X rays by striking the anode target wth an electron beam from a tungsten filament. The target must be water cooled. The target and filament must be contained in a vacuum.
28 The wavelength of X rays is determined by the anode of the X-ray source.
Electrons from the filament strike the target anode, producing characteristic radiation via the photoelectric effect. The anode material determines the wavelengths of characteristic radiation. While we would prefer a monochromatic source, the X-ray beam actually consists of several characteristic wavelengths of X rays. K L M
29 Spectral Contamination in Diffraction Patterns
Ka1 Ka1 Ka2 Ka1 Ka2 K alpha 1 and K alpha 2 overlap heavily at low angles and are easier to discriminate at high angles. Ka2 W La1 Kb The Ka1 & Ka2 doublet will almost always be present Very expensive optics can remove the Ka2 line Ka1 & Ka2 overlap heavily at low angles and are more separated at high angles W lines form as the tube ages: the W filament contaminates the target anode and becomes a new X-ray source W and Kb lines can be removed with optics
30 Wavelengths for X-Radiation are Sometimes Updated
Copper Anodes Bearden (1967) Holzer et al. (1997) Cobalt Cu Ka1 Å Å Co Ka1 Å Å Cu Ka2 Å Å Co Ka2 Å Å Cu Kb Å Å Co Kb Å Å Molybdenum Chromium Mo Ka1 Å Å Cr Ka1 Å Å Mo Ka2 Å Å Cr Ka2 Å Å Mo Kb Å Å Cr Kb Å Å Often quoted values from Cullity (1956) and Bearden, Rev. Mod. Phys. 39 (1967) are incorrect. Values from Bearden (1967) are reprinted in international Tables for X-Ray Crystallography and most XRD textbooks. Most recent values are from Hölzer et al. Phys. Rev. A 56 (1997) Has your XRD analysis software been updated?
31 The X-ray Shutter is the most important safety device on a diffractometer
X-rays exit the tube through X-ray transparent Be windows. X-Ray safety shutters contain the beam so that you may work in the diffractometer without being exposed to the X-rays. Being aware of the status of the shutters is the most important factor in working safely with X rays.
32 The X-ray beam produced by the X-ray tube is divergent
The X-ray beam produced by the X-ray tube is divergent. Incident-beam optics are used to limit this divergence X Rays from an X-ray tube are: divergent contain multiple characteristic wavelengths as well as Bremmsstrahlung radiation neither of these conditions suit our ability to use X rays for analysis the divergence means that instead of a single incident angle q, the sample is actually illuminated by photons with a range of incident angles. the spectral contamination means that the smaple does not diffract a single wavelength of radiation, but rather several wavelengths of radiation. Consequently, a single set of crystallographic planes will produce several diffraction peaks instead of one diffraction peak. Optics are used to: limit divergence of the X-ray beam refocus X rays into parallel paths remove unwanted wavelengths
33 Divergence slits are used to limit the divergence of the incident X-ray beam.
The slits block X-rays that have too great a divergence. The size of the divergence slit influences peak intensity and peak shapes. Narrow divergence slits: reduce the intensity of the X-ray beam reduce the length of the X-ray beam hitting the sample produce sharper peaks the instrumental resolution is improved so that closely spaced peaks can be resolved.
34 One by-product of the beam divergence is that the length of the beam illuminating the sample becomes smaller as the incident angle becomes larger. The length of the incident beam is determined by the divergence slit, goniometer radius, and incident angle. This should be considered when choosing a divergence slits size: if the divergence slit is too large, the beam may be significantly longer than your sample at low angles if the slit is too small, you may not get enough intensity from your sample at higher angles Appendix A in the SOP contains a guide to help you choose a slit size. The width of the beam is constant: 12mm for the Rigaku RU300.
35 Other optics: limit divergence of the X-ray beam
Divergence limiting slits Parallel plate collimators Soller slits refocus X rays into parallel paths “parallel-beam optics” parabolic mirrors and capillary lenses focusing mirrors and lenses remove unwanted wavelengths monochromators Kb filters Parallel Plate Collimator & Soller Slits block divergent X-rays, but do not restrict beam size like a divergent slit Göbel Mirrors and capillary lenses collect a large portion of the divergent beam and refocus it into a nearly parallel beam
36 Monochromators remove unwanted wavelengths of radiation from the incident or diffracted X-ray beam.
Diffraction from a crystal monochromator can be used to select one wavelength of radiation and provide energy discrimination. An incident-beam monochromator might be used to select only Ka1 radiation for the tube source. A diffracted-beam monochromator, such as on the Rigaku RU300, may be used to remove fluoresced photons, Kb, or W-contimination photons from reaching the detector. Without the RSM slit, the monochromator removes ~75% of unwanted wavelengths of radiation. When the RSM slit is used, over 99% of the unwanted wavelengths of radiation can be removed from the beam.
37 Detectors point detectors position sensitive detectors
observe one point of space at a time slow, but compatible with most/all optics scintillation and gas proportional detectors count all photons, within an energy window, that hit them Si(Li) detectors can electronically analyze or filter wavelengths position sensitive detectors linear PSDs observe all photons scattered along a line from 2 to 10° long 2D area detectors observe all photons scattered along a conic section gas proportional (gas on wire; microgap anodes) limited resolution, issues with deadtime and saturation CCD limited in size, expensive solid state real-time multiple semiconductor strips high speed with high resolution, robust
38 Introduction to the Rigaku Powder Diffractometer
39 Choosing which side of the Rigaku RU300 to use
The Rigaku instrument has two powder diffractometers: the left-hand side goniometer has a 250mm radius, which provides high angular resolution and more accurate peak positions, but which requires 2 to 3 times longer to collect data because the beam is weaker. the right-hand side goniometer has a 185mm radius, which provides more intensity and faster data collection, but at the sacrifice of some resolution and accuracy.
40 Left-Hand Side (250mm radius) of the Rigaku Diffractometer
RSM DS=Divergence Slit SS=Scatter Slit RS= Receiving Slit RSM= Monochromator Receiving Slit
41 Configuring the Rigaku RU300
To use either Rigaku diffractometer, you will need to choose which divergence slit (DS), anti-scatter slit (SS), receiving slit (RS), and monochromator receiving slit (RSM) to use. typical DS is ½° or 1° The slit can be as small as 0.15° or as large as 4° when low angle data is important or better angular resolution is required (so that peaks near each other can be resolved), use a smaller slit when high angle data or intensity is more important, use a larger slit The anti-scatter slit should be the same size as the DS. the receiving slit is typically 0.3 mm. larger 0.6mm or smaller 0.15mm slits are also available a smaller slit provides better peak shapes and resolution, but at the sacrifice of some intensity The RSM slit is only needed when spectral contamination from K-beta of W-lines is problematic. should always be used when using the left-hand side, 250mm goniometer. should always be used when looking at a coating on a single crystal substrate otherwise, only needed if the sample produces some very strong peaks
42 Sample Preparation
43 Preparing a powder specimen
An ideal powder sample should have many crystallites in random orientations the distribution of orientations should be smooth and equally distributed amongst all orientations If the crystallites in a sample are very large, there will not be a smooth distribution of crystal orientations. You will not get a powder average diffraction pattern. crystallites should be <10mm in size to get good powder statistics Large crystallite sizes and non-random crystallite orientations both lead to peak intensity variation the measured diffraction pattern will not agree with that expected from an ideal powder the measured diffraction pattern will not agree with reference patterns in the Powder Diffraction File (PDF) database
44 Preferred orientation
If the crystallites in a powder sample have plate or needle like shapes it can be very difficult to get them to adopt random orientations top-loading, where you press the powder into a holder, can cause problems with preferred orientation in samples such as metal sheets or wires there is almost always preferred orientation due to the manufacturing process for samples with systematic orientation, XRD can be used to quantify the texture in the specimen
45 Important characteristics of samples for XRPD
a flat plate sample for XRPD should have a smooth flat surface if the surface is not smooth and flat, X-ray absorption may reduce the intensity of low angle peaks parallel-beam optics can be used to analyze samples with odd shapes or rought surfaces Densely packed Randomly oriented grains/crystallites Grain size less than 10 microns ‘Infinitely’ thick
46 Varying Irradiated area of the sample
the area of your sample that is illuminated by the X-ray beam varies as a function of: incident angle of X rays divergence angle of the X rays at low angles, the beam might be wider than your sample “beam spill-off”
47 The constant volume assumption
In a polycrystalline sample of ‘infinite’ thickness, the change in the irradiated area as the incident angle varies is compensated for by the change in the penetration depth These two factors result in a constant irradiated volume (as area decreases, depth increase; and vice versa) This assumption is important for many aspects of XRPD Matching intensities to those in the PDF reference database Crystal structure refinements Quantitative phase analysis This assumption is not necessarily valid for thin films or small quantities of sample on a ZBH
48 Ways to prepare a powder sample
Top-loading a bulk powder into a well deposit powder in a shallow well of a sample holder. Use a slightly rough flat surface to press down on the powder, packing it into the well. using a slightly rough surface to pack the powder can help minimize preferred orientation mixing the sample with a filler such as flour or glass powder may also help minimize preferred orientation powder may need to be mixed with a binder to prevent it from falling out of the sample holder alternatively, the well of the sample holder can be coated with a thin layer of vaseline
49 Dispersing a thin powder layer on a smooth surface
a smooth surface such as a glass slide or a zero background holder (ZBH) may be used to hold a thin layer of powder glass will contribute an amorphous hump to the diffraction pattern the ZBH avoids this problem by using an off-axis cut single crystal dispersing the powder with alcohol onto the sample holder and then allowing the alcohol to evaporate, often provides a nice, even coating of powder that will adhere to the sample holder powder may be gently sprinkled onto a piece of double-sided tape or a thin layer of vaseline to adhere it to the sample holder the double-sided tape will contribute to the diffraction pattern these methods are necessary for mounting small amounts of powder these methods help alleviate problems with preferred orientation the constant volume assumption is not valid for this type of sample, and so quantitative and Rietveld analysis will require extra work and may not be possible
50 Sources of Error in XRD Data
Sample Displacement occurs when the sample is not on the focusing circle (or in the center of the goniometer circle) The greatest source of error in most data A systematic error: S is the amount of displacement, R is the goniometer radius. at 28.4° 2theta, s=0.006” will result in a peak shift of 0.08° Can be minimized by using a zero background sample holder Can be corrected by using an internal calibration standard Can be analyzed and compensated for with many data analysis algorithms For sample ID, simply remember that your peak positions may be shifted a little bit Can be eliminated by using parallel-beam optics
51 Other sources of error Axial divergence Flat specimen error
Due to divergence of the X-ray beam in plane with the sample creates asymmetric broadening of the peak toward low 2theta angles Creates peak shift: negative below 90° 2theta and positive above 90° Reduced by Soller slits and/or capillary lenses Flat specimen error The entire surface of a flat specimen cannot lie on the focusing circle Creates asymmetric broadening toward low 2theta angles Reduced by small divergence slits; eliminated by parallel-beam optics Poor counting statistics The sample is not made up of thousands of randomly oriented crystallites, as assumed by most analysis techniques The sample might be textured or have preferred orientation Creates a systematic error in peak intensities Some peaks might be entirely absent The sample might have large grain sizes Produces ‘random’ peak intensities and/or spotty diffraction peaks
52 sample transparency error
X Rays penetrate into your sample the depth of penetration depends on: the mass absorption coefficient of your sample the incident angle of the X-ray beam This produces errors because not all X rays are diffracting from the same location Angular errors and peak asymmetry Greatest for organic and low absorbing (low atomic number) samples Can be eliminated by using parallel-beam optics or reduced by using a thin sample m is the linear mass absorption coefficient for a specific sample
53 Techniques in the XRD SEF
X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) Single Crystal Diffraction (SCD) Back-reflection Laue Diffraction (no acronym) Grazing Incidence Angle Diffraction (GIXD) X-ray Reflectivity (XRR) Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)
54 X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD)
More appropriately called polycrystalline X-ray diffraction, because it can also be used for sintered samples, metal foils, coatings and films, finished parts, etc. Used to determine: phase composition (commonly called phase ID)- what phases are present? quantitative phase analysis- how much of each phase is present? unit cell lattice parameters crystal structure average crystallite size of nanocrystalline samples crystallite microstrain texture residual stress (really residual strain) in-situ diffraction (from 11 K to 1200C in air, vacuum, or inert gas)
55 Grazing Incident Angle Diffraction (GIXD)
also called Glancing Angle X-Ray Diffaction The incident angle is fixed at a very small angle (<5°) so that X-rays are focused in only the top-most surface of the sample. GIXD can perform many of analyses possible with XRPD with the added ability to resolve information as a function of depth (depth-profiling) by collecting successive diffraction patterns with varying incident angles orientation of thin film with respect to substrate lattice mismatch between film and substrate epitaxy/texture macro- and microstrains reciprocal space map
56 X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR)
A glancing, but varying, incident angle, combined with a matching detector angle collects the X rays reflected from the samples surface Interference fringes in the reflected signal can be used to determine: thickness of thin film layers density and composition of thin film layers roughness of films and interfaces
57 Back Reflection Laue Used to determine crystal orientation
The beam is illuminated with ‘white’ radiation Use filters to remove the characteristic radiation wavelengths from the X-ray source The Bremmsstrahlung radiation is left Weak radiation spread over a range of wavelengths The single crystal sample diffracts according to Bragg’s Law Instead of scanning the angle theta to make multiple crystallographic planes diffract, we are effectively ‘scanning’ the wavelength Different planes diffract different wavelengths in the X-ray beam, producing a series of diffraction spots
58 Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)
Highly collimated beam, combined with a long distance between the sample and the detector, allow sensitive measurements of the X-rays that are just barely scattered by the sample (scattering angle <6°) The length scale of d (Å) is inversely proportional to the scattering angle: therefore, small angles represented larger features in the samples Can resolve features of a size as large as 200 nm Resolve microstructural features, as well as crystallographic Used to determine: crystallinity of polymers, organic molecules (proteins, etc.) in solution, structural information on the nanometer to submicrometer length scale ordering on the meso- and nano- length scales of self-assembled molecules and/or pores dispersion of crystallites in a matrix
59 Single Crystal Diffraction (SCD)
Used to determine: crystal structure orientation degree of crystalline perfection/imperfections (twinning, mosaicity, etc.) Sample is illuminated with monochromatic radiation The sample axis, phi, and the goniometer axes omega and 2theta are rotated to capture diffraction spots from at least one hemisphere Easier to index and solve the crystal structure because it diffraction peak is uniquely resolved
60 Instruments in the XRD SEF
Rigaku RU300 Powder Diffractometers Bruker D8 with GADDS Bede D3 PANalytical X’Pert Pro Back-reflection Laue (polaroid) SAXS Bruker Smart APEX*
61 Rigaku RU300 Powder Diffractometer
Fast, precision XRPD using theta/2theta motion High-power (18kW) rotating anode source supplies high X ray flux Two horizontal-circle powder diffractometers Horizontal circle facilitates precision movement of goniometer Disadvantage: sample sits vertical, can easily fall out of sample holder The 185mm Bragg-Brentano diffractometer is optimized for high intensity for fast data collection. The 250mm Bragg-Brentano diffractometer is optimized for high resolution at slightly slower data collection speeds. Sample size is generally 20mm x 10mm x 0.3mm, though we have a variety of sample holders and mounting procedures to accommodate varied sample geometries. Special accessories include: Attachment for GIXD of thin films Inert atmosphere sample chamber for air/moisture sensitive samples Zero background sample holders for high accuracy measurements from small quantities of powder Requires special considerations if your sample is a single crystal or a thin film on a single crystal substrate
62 Bruker D8 Diffractometer with GADDS
Ideal for texture (pole figure) and stress measurements, as well as traditional XRPD and limited SCD and GIXD. Two-dimensional area detector (GADDS) permits simultaneous collection of diffraction data over a 2theta and chi (tilt) range as large as 30° Eularian cradle facilitates large range of tilts and rotations of the sample A selectable collimator, which conditions the X-ray beam to a spot 0.5mm to 0.05mm diameter, combined with a motorized xy stage stage, permits microdiffraction for multiple select areas of a sample or mapping across a sample’s surface. Samples can include thin films on wafers or dense pieces up to 6” in diameter (maximum thickness of 3 mm), powders in top-loaded sample holders or in capillaries, dense pieces up to 60mm x 50mm x 15mm (and maybe even larger). Accessories include a furnace for heating a sample up to 900°C in air, vacuum, or inert gas (maximum sample size of 20mm x 20mm x 1mm)
63 PANalytical X’Pert Pro Multipurpose Diffractometer
Prefix optics allow the configuration to be quickly changed to accommodate a wide variety of data collection strategies. This diffractometer can be used to collect XRPD, GIXD, XRR, residual stress, and texture data. A vertical-circle theta-theta goniometer is used so that the sample always lies flat and does not move. Sample sizes may be as large as 60mm diameter by 3-12mm thick, though a more typical sample size is 10-20mm diameter. Data collection modes can be changed between: high-speed high-resolution divergent beam diffraction Programmable divergence slits can maintain a constant irradiated area on sample surface parallel beam diffraction using incident Gobel mirror and receiving-side parallel plate collimator eliminates errors due to irregular sample surfaces, sample displacement, and defocusing during glancing angle measurements A variety of sample stages include: 15 specimen automatic sample changer open Eulerian cradle with automated z-translation as well as phi and psi rotation for texture, reflectivity, and residual stress measurements furnace for heating a sample to 1200°C in air, vacuum, or controlled atmosphere a cryostat for cooling a sample to 11 K in vacuum
64 In-situ XRD can yield quantitative analysis to study reaction pathways, rate constants, activation energy, and phase equilibria Na3AlH6 Al NaCl NaAlH4
65 Bruker D8 Triple Axis Diffractometer
For GIXD and for analysis of rocking curves, lattice mismatch, and reciprocal space maps of thin films and semiconductors This instrument is typically used to measure the perfection or imperfection of the crystal lattice in thin films (i.e. rocking curves), the misalignment between film and substrate in epitaxial films, and reciprocal space mapping. High precision Bruker D8 triple axis goniometer Beam-conditioning analyzer crystals remove Ka2 radiation and provide extremely high resolution.
66 Bruker Small Angle Diffractometer
Used for SAXS high-power rotating anode X-ray source two-dimensional detector for real-time data collection A long X-ray beam path allows this instrument to measure X-rays that are only slightly scattered away from the incident beam. The two-dimensional detector allows entire Debye rings to be collected and observed in real time. The current beam path length of 60.4 cm allows the resolution of crystallographic and structural features on a length scale from 1.8nm to 40nm (1.8nm is near the maximum resolvable length scale for XRPD in our other systems). A heater is available to heat the sample up to 200°C.
67 Bruker Single Crystal Diffractometer
Designed primarily to determine the crystal structure of single crystals can also be used for determining crystal orientation This diffractometer uses a two-dimensional CCD detector for fast, high precision transmission diffraction through small single crystals. A variety of goniometer heads fit on the fix chi stage A cryostat is available to cool samples down to 100 K in air, which permits more precise determination of atom positions in large organic crystals.
68 Back Reflection Laue Diffractometer
The sample is irradiated with white radiation for Laue diffraction Use either Polaroid film or a two-dimensional multiwire detector to collect back-reflection Laue patterns The 2D multiwire detector is not currently working Determine the orientation of large single crystals and thin film single crystal substrates
69 Software MDI Jade phase ID indexing and unit cell refinement
RIR quantitative phase analysis residual stress nanocrystallite size and strain calculated diffraction patterns
70 Available Software PANalytical HighScore Plus
whole pattern fitting for unit cell refinement nanocrystallite size and strain quantitative phase analysis indexing Rietveld refinement of crystal structures cluster analysis
71 Available Software PANalytical Stress- residual stress analysis
PANalytical Texture- pole figure mapping of texture PANalytical Reflectivity- reflectivity from multilayer thin films Bruker Multex Area- pole figure mapping of texture
72 Available Free Software
GSAS- Rietveld refinement of crystal structures FullProf- Rietveld refinement of crystal structures Rietan- Rietveld refinement of crystal structures PowderCell- crystal visualization and simulated diffraction patterns JCryst- stereograms
73 Website reserving instrument time
instrument status training schedules links to resources SOP’s tutorials
74 Single Crystal Diffractometers
The design challenge for single crystal diffractometers: how to determine the position and intensity of these diffraction spots Reflection vs transmission Transmission: small samples & organic crystals Reflection: large samples, epitaxial thin films Laue vs. SCD Laue: stationary sample bathed with white radiation (i.e. many wavelengths) SCD: monochromatic radiation hits a sample as it is rotated and manipulated to bring different planes into diffracting condition Demonstrate with DiffractOgram
75 Diffraction from a Single Crystal
X Rays striking a single crystal will produce diffraction spots in a sphere around the crystal. Each diffraction spot corresponds to a single (hkl) The distribution of diffraction spots is dependent on the crystal structure and the orientation of the crystal in the diffractometer The diffracting condition is best illustrated with the Ewald sphere in reciprocal space Reciprocal space is an artificial, mathematical construct– it doesn’t really exist; however, we can see it in single crystal diffraction. *Diffraction spots are sometimes called reflections. Three cheers for sloppy terminology!
76 The conventional theta/2theta powder diffractometer
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An upright heart is first a perfect [or complete: teleios] heart, as the Scripture terms it. It is an entirely whole heart, which is when all the powers go one and the same way, when the whole soul is bent after God and is driven only to seek and honor Him.
You may best know it by the contrary; the hypocrite’s heart is a divided heart. He looks two ways at once, as one power and faculty of the soul is against another. There is (‘tis true) a fight within the best people, but then it is between grace and flesh, between a man and his enemy. But in the hypocrite, one faculty takes part against the other. Here is reason and conscience against affection, and one affection against another.
There is a wise difference between civil war, where one neighbor is against another, and a national war, where they all join together against a common enemy. The Christian man’s fight is of the whole regenerated part against corruption; but in the hypocrite’s heart there is civil war. The powers are altogether at odds with themselves, as if one member in the body should fight against another. Passion commends a thing, reason condemns it; lust affects a thing, conscience refuses it; one part would have one thing, and another part another.
In the upright man it is far otherwise; his heart is entire, and goes all one way; he desires in all things to please God and fight against sin.
—Robert Harris
Member of the Westminster Assembly
President of Trinity College, Oxford
A.D. 1581-1658
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The History of the Hairbrush
Published: 25th May 2007
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We may think of hairbrushes as utilitarian tools for grooming - but it hasn't always been that way. Once upon a time, comb, hairbrush and mirror sets were treasured luxuries that were often given as gifts to new brides, or as romantic anniversary gifts from husbands to wives. Even today, a popular baby gift is 'Baby's First Brush' in pink, blue or gender-neutral yellow with silky soft bristles. And why not? Even the Bible refers to hair as a woman's crowning glory. It's only to be expected that grooming tools for proper care of hair would be important.
Hair brushes are ubiquitous. They occupy a rather unique place in our culture. How many of us have a memory of sitting on a stool at mother's feet while she dragged a brush through our tangles? Who hasn't held a hairbrush to their lips and sung along with the radio? There's something sensual, appealing and comforting about having your hair brushed. Having your hair brushed is one of the most deliciously decadent and sensuous treats in the world - and yet, there's a sweet innocence to it.
The earliest hairbrushes, some historian theorize, were made of natural materials like porcupine quills which could be used to pick through hair and tug out knots. Animal hair brushes were originally used for painting some 2.5 million years ago, and the theory is that those brushes were later adapted for use in hair grooming. There's no note in history to name the person who first thought of drilling holes into a wooden paddle and inserting firm animal hairs into those holes, but whoever it was certainly can claim the title of genius. In the centuries since, the hairbrush has undergone some evolution, but the basic design remains the same - a handle, a paddle (also called a club or a block), and bristles (or teeth).
These days, many of us simply pick up a hairbrush at the corner drug store or department store without paying much attention to quality, design and materials. This, say hair care professional, is one of the worst things that you can do for your hair. The brush that you use every day has more to do with how your hair looks and feels than the expensive shampoos and conditioners that people pay for without blinking.
According to those who work with hair every day, the best brush for most people is one made of genuine boar bristles. Boar bristle hairbrushes do more than detangle and style hair. The natural material picks up sebum - your hair's natural oil - and distributes it evenly from scalp to ends. It gently massages the scalp to stimulate healthy sebum production, and smoothes the shaft of the hair to make it shiny and manageable.
For coarser, thicker hair, nylon bristles may be more appropriate. A bit stiffer than boar bristle, the nylon bristles can detangle and work through thick waves without tugging or pulling. For curly, wavy or thick hair, a nylon and acrylic half-round brush is ideal for daily hairbrushing needs.
Why not get the best of both worlds? Boar and nylon combination brushes have the firmness needed to get through thick hair, and the natural qualities of boar hair bristles. While it's easy to walk into any store and buy a cheap hairbrush, you really owe it to your hair to use the best hairbrush you can get. Fine construction pays off - while a beech wood brush with 100% boar bristles will cost a bit more than a molded plastic one from the corner store, it will last years and keep your hair healthy, shiny and soft.
Visit http://www.fuller-brush-products.com
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Clove is harvested from the evergreen clove tree. It is basically a flower bud that turns bright red in color from green. It generally reaches the height of 1.5 to 2 cm long before it is harvested. It has quite a pretty appearance with a long calyx, that spreads into four sepals with a small ball in the center, and develops an aromatic smell and flavor as it begins to dry. Full of health benefits, clove oil is used abundantly. It has antimicrobial, antiseptic, antiviral, aphrodisiac, and stimulating properties. It is a rich source of many vital vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, phosphorus, hydrochloric acid, sodium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
Clove oil is extracted from its stem, leaves and buds. Water distillation is usually the process involved in extraction. The primary component of clove oil is eugenol; a member of class of chemical compounds. The oil is mostly colorless or pale yellow. There are three types of clove oil.
• Stem Oil: Extracted from the stems and twigs.
• Bud Oil: Extracted from the clove's flower buds.
Various Uses of Clove Oil
Dental Care
Blood Purifier
Skin Care
Other Uses
A mix of some salt and clove oil drops helps relieve headaches. Warm clove oil dropped into the ears will ease earache. Clove oil when applied with a cotton swab on eyelashes will help to reduce inflammation and heal the infection. People suffering from cough, cold, bronchitis, sinusitis, and asthma can use it infused in hot water to relieve nasal and chest congestion.
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Different Breeds of Banty Chickens
Backyard chicken flocks have surged in popularity in recent years, with suburban coops appearing in numbers not seen in most keepers' lifetimes. The reasons are clear, as poultry pets offer a distinct advantage over their furry counterparts: Chickens give us delicious eggs. They also aid in insect management and bring a quirky strut to the otherwise tame suburbs.
What's a Bantam?
For backyards with space issues, bantam chickens are a natural fit. Bantam chickens are bred specifically to mature at a size much smaller than an average adult chicken. The idea of breeding diminutive birds is an old one, traceable to ancient Indonesia. Most contemporary bantams weigh in between 16 and 30 ounces. Bantams require less feed than larger chickens, and accommodations such as nesting boxes and perches demand reduced space. Though not primarily marketed as food producers, bantams can lay eggs roughly one-half to two-thirds the size of a normal chicken egg and, in some markets, are valued for their meat.
• Careless breeding can produce larger birds. As a rule, smaller bantams are more desirable, but runty birds should be avoided.
Familiar Breeds, Miniaturized
There are a variety of bantam bird breeds, and many of the most-recognizable full-sized birds have banty counterparts. Plymouth Rocks, with their alternating bars of black and white feather rows, and green egg-laying Araucanas are especially popular, as are bantam Orpingtons, Delawares and Cochins. One of the more prevalent full-sized birds, the prolific Red Island red, also has a bantam counterpart, a breed that's popular at chicken shows and competitions.
Game Birds: Brutal Beauties
The game bird is a classification of bantams less tied to a recognizable, full-sized farm bird. Originally developed from ancient fighting cocks and introduced to England in the 19th century, Old English game bantams can be categorized into two groups: The Carlisle exhibits a horizontal back with a large breast, while the Oxford displays a more angled back.
Modern game birds exist as well, but outside of poultry shows, the distinctive bantams are recognized more for their variety of striking colors than lineage. As they are descended from fighting birds, with little change introduced since their development, care must be taken to prevent males from engaging in bloody, often fatal, battles. Dubbing, or removing the comb and wattles from a bird, helps to this end, as fighting cocks will grab at dangling appendages to exact victory.
• Game birds do not lose the fighting instinct in their genes and two roosters will fight to the death. Special care must be taken to prevent fatalities when two roosters are present.
Silkie Bantams Double Down on Cuteness
Though eggs and meat potential are valid reasons for bantam ownership, most keepers of these miniature chickens do so because they make beautiful, if unconventional, pets. This, of course, explains the popularity of silkie bantams, a breed of bird who lays few eggs and offers next to nothing for meat. What silkie bantams do provide, however, is a heaping helping of cute. Due to a feather structure that differs from other birds, silkie feathers appear more like puffy fur than anything, and these silklike feathers cover their entire body, from the majority of a silkie's head down to the bird's feet. Silkie bantams also boast blue beaks, skin and feet, and they sport five toes compared to the average four in most chickens. The bantam breed cannot fly and requires very little space, so it's possible to fill a small area with these little, strutting puffballs.
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Allergy To Dogs
Allergies are the most widespread chronic conditions inthe world. The good news is that allergies can be controlled if not beaten. The days are gone when allergies could keep you from what you most love --whether it's the world outside, a dusty library or your beloved Fido.
Dog allergies are about half as frequent as cat allergies. Four out of five people who are allergic to animals are allergic to cats. Some suggest this is because cats lick themselves so much. Because cats are more likely to cause allergic reactions than are dogs, most of the research on pet allergies has been done on them.
Cat allergens have been detected in homes for months after the departure of the cat, and have even been discovered in the Antarctic, although no cats have ever been there! It has been found that long-haired cats tend to shed fewer allergens. It is not currently known if it's true for dogs.
The days are also gone when doctors automatically advised their patients to "get rid of the dog." More responsive practitioners understand that's not even an option for people who depend on animals, such farmers or people with disabilities.
Getting rid of animals is not even practical. Researchers in the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) discovered that pet allergens were present in every single one of 831 homes tested across the United States. This included homes of non-pet owners. Nine percent of the homes without a dog had high enough levels of allergens to cause asthma symptoms in asthmatics who were allergic to dogs. The suggested explanation is that dog and cat proteins are "sticky," clinging to clothes and shoes. So, even if you find a dog another home, his allergens will remain. The vacuum samples from the study showed that couches had the highest concentrations of allergens, even in petless homes, suggesting that residents or visitors brought the allergen material in on their clothing and then plopped down on the couch.
Siberian husky
Animal dander causes the particular type of allergic reaction called perennial allergic rhinitis (sneezing and runny nose) and comes from breathing in airborne particles of the offending dander. Most people suffering this type of allergy don't get eye inflammation, but nasal congestion that may block the Eustachian tubes in the ears and cause hearing problems, especially in kids. Complications of pet allergy can include chronic sinus headaches and infections, and asthma. It's not always easy, by the way, to tell the difference between perennial allergic rhinitis and recurring sinus infections and growths (polyps) inside the nose. And, someone could have all three at the same time. Dog allergies may take two or more years to develop. Most people allergic to dogs are also allergic to other things.
This means these same sticky proteins are everywhere - movie theater seats, clothing stores, airplane and train seats, even your allergist's office.
The study also suggests that getting rid of the dog won't solve the problem for these allergy sufferers. It is agonizing for families to have to remove their beloved pet, especially if several children are present in a household and only one is allergic. And, in fact, most pet owners (between 75 and 90 percent) do not "get rid of the dog." They learn to live with it, and you can too. You can fight back and you can win the allergy battle.
Part of the fighting is finding an allergist who will help you in your battle against pet dander without insisting you "get rid" of the pet. Not every allergist is so enlightened.
Some dog breeds are considered "hypoallergenic", or dog breeds that do not cause allergic reactions. The fact is that no such breed exists. Such an animal would have no saliva, no hair, no dander, and no urine. Different people are allergic to different proteins, and so, while some people might have no symptoms form a hairless dog, others who are allergic to proteins from the saliva will be just as allergic as ever.
All dogs, including hairless ones, produce dander. However, it is true that some breeds, because they are low-shedding or have single coat, are less apt to cause severe symptoms than are hairier, heavier-coated breeds. Curly-coated and corded breeds do shed their hair, but their hair has a long life-span, so shedding is infrequent. In addition, the shed hair doesn't fly around the room, but clings to the cords that naturally form on the dog, thus producing fewer allergy symptoms than most breeds.
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Emotions shape the landscape of our mental and social lives. Like the "geological upheavals" a traveler might discover in a landscape where recently only a flat plane could be seen, they mark our lives as uneven, uncertain, and prone to reversal. Why and how? Is it because emotions are animal energies or impulses that have no connection with our thoughts, imaginings, and appraisals? Proust denies this, calling the emotions "geological upheavals of thought." In other words, what changes the Baron's mind from a flat plane into a mountain range is not some subterranean jolt, but the thoughts he has about Charlie Morel, a person who has suddenly become central to his well-being, and whom he sees as inscrutable, undependable, and utterly beyond his control. It is these thoughts about value and importance that make his mind project outward like a mountain range, rather than sitting inert in self-satisfied ease.
To say that emotions should form a prominent part of the subject matter of moral philosophy is not to say that moral philosophy should give emotions a privileged place of trust, or regard them as immune from rational criticism: for they may be no more reliable than any other set of entrenched beliefs. There may even be special reasons for regarding them with suspicion, given their specific content and the nature of their history. It does mean, however, that we cannot ignore them, as so often moral philosophy has done. It means that a central part of developing an adequate ethical theory will be to develop an adequate theory of the emotions, including their cultural sources, their history in infancy and childhood, and their sometimes unpredictable and disoderly operation in the daily life of human beings who are attached to things outside themselves.
Proust's account of the Baron's mind issues a challenge to conventional ethical thought in yet another way. It tells us something about what texts we need to turn to if we are to arrive at an adequate account of the emotions. If emotions involve judgments about the salience for our well-being of uncontrolled external objects, judgments in which the mind of the judge is projected unstably outward into a world of objects, we will need to be able to imagine those attachments, their delight and their terror, their intense and even obsessive focusing on their object, if we are ever to talk well about love, or fear, or anger. But then it seems that we will have reason to turn to texts such as Proust's novel, which encourage us in such imaginings, deepening and refining our grasp of upheavals of thought in our own lives. If Proust is right, we will not understand ourselves well enough to talk good sense in ethics unless we do subject ourselves to the painful self-examination a text such as his can produce.
Furthermore, if emotions are as Proust describes them, they have a complicated cognitive structure that is in part narrative in form, involving a story of our relation to cherished objects that extends over time. Ultimately, we cannot understand the Baron's love, for example, without knowing a great deal about the history of patterns of attachment that extend back into his childhood. Past loves shadow present attachments, and take up residence within them. This, in turn, suggests that in order to talk well about them we will need to turn to texts that contain a narrative dimension, thus deepening and refining our grasp of ourselves as beings with a complicated temporal history. It is for this reason that Proust's narrator comes to believe that certain truths about the human being can be told only in literary form. If we accept his view of what emotions are, we should agree, to the extent of making a place for literature (and other works of art) within moral philosophy, alongside more conventional philosophical texts. Once again: an account of human reasoning based only upon abstract texts such as are conventional in moral philosophy is likely to prove too simple to offer us the type of self-understanding we need.
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Some of these claims might be maintained even by people who think of emotions as totally noncognitive: even such people might think that we need to understand human psychology better than we often do in order to write well about ethics. But if a cognitive/evaluative theory of emotions is correct, these claims have a particular salience: for what they mean is that not just a psychological adjunct to emotional thought, but a part of ethical thought itself will be omitted with the omission of emotions. Emotions are not just the fuel that powers the psychological mechanism of a reasoning creature, they are parts, highly complex and messy parts, of this creature's reasoning itself.
Thus a theoretical account of emotions is not only that: it has large consequences for the theory of practical reason, for normative ethics, and for the relationship between ethics and aesthetics. Such an account has consequences for political thought as well: for understanding the relationship between emotions and various conceptions of the human good will inform our deliberations as we ask how politics might support human flourishing. If we think of emotions as essential elements of human intelligence, rather than just as supports or props for intelligence, this gives us especially strong reasons to promote the conditions of emotional well-being in a political culture: for this view entails that without emotional development, a part of our reasoning capacity as political creatures will be missing.
In the first part of the book I shall develop a conception of the emotions that fleshes out the insight expressed in Proust's description, suggesting that diverse phenomena of our emotional life are well explained by a view that has its antecedents in the ideas of the ancient Greek Stoics. This view holds that emotions are appraisals or value judgments, which ascribe to things and persons outside the person's own control great importance for that person's own flourishing. It thus contains three salient ideas: the idea of a cognitive appraisal or evaluation ; the idea of one's own flourishing or one's important goals and projects; and the idea of the salience of external objects as elements in one's own scheme of goals . Emotions typically combine these ideas with information about events in the world; they are our ways of registering how things are with respect to the external (i.e., uncontrolled) items that we view as salient for our well-being. Focusing on a complex example of grief involving the death of a parent (an example chosen because of its ubiquity, as an apt device for encouraging readers to mine their own experiences of grief), I shall show how this particular type of cognitive account does justice to our experiences of emotion.
My strategy is to state the view initially in a relatively simple form, providing it with a preliminary defense (Chapter 1). Once we have seen its general structure, we can then consider several modifications that it needs to undergo in order to become more adequate. These modifications were not made by the Stoics themselves (so far as we know from the fragments of their work on this topic that survive). The view undergoes refinement and reshaping in four distinct stages. By the time we are finished with it, a general core will remain, but it will be a lot more subtle than the view first announced. The view that emerges may justly be called neo-Stoic, and I shall often use this term. But it has an independent character, emphasizing, as it does, the commonality between humans and other animals, the role of social norms, and the complexities of an individual human history.
To modify the view, we need, first, simply to elaborate it further, taking up issues the Stoics are not known to have addressed. We need to consider the role of imagination in emotions of various types. We need to make distinctions between general and particular emotions, and between "background" and "situational" emotions. We need to ask how the diminution of grief over time can be explained within a cognitive/evaluative theory. We need to ask carefully whether all the evaluations involved in emotion do indeed relate to uncontrolled "external goods," and whether the object of emotion is always valued for some relation it bears to one's own flourishing. And, finally, we need to devote a good deal of attention to the thorny question of whether there are elements other than cognitive attitudes that are involved in emotion: feelings, bodily movements, dense perceptions that are not exhausted by the emotion's propositional content. In the latter half of the first chapter, I begin the refinement of the Stoic view — or, we might also say, the construction of a contemporary neo-Stoic view — by mapping out these further distinctions and confronting these further questions.
Second, any contemporary cognitive/evaluative view needs to advance a plausible account of the relationship between human emotions and the emotions of other animals. The original Stoics had an implausible account: they simply denied that nonhuman animals had emotions. This denial has led some thinkers to reject their view. But we need not take this course, since we may, instead, reject their low estimate of the intelligence of animals. At this point we need to turn to modern work in ethology and cognitive psychology, asking what forms of cognitive appraisal it is plausible to ascribe to animals of various types. I argue in Chapter 2 that we can give an adequate account of animal emotion in the general spirit of the Stoic view; but we need to broaden the Stoic account of evaluative cognition, focusing less on language and the acceptance of linguistically formulable propositions and more on the general ability to see X as Y, where Y involves a notion of salience or importance for the creature's own well-being. At this point I also focus on some general issues of emotional content, addressing the connection between animal emotions and the perception of helplessness, arguing that emotional health requires the belief that one's own voluntary actions will make a significant difference to one's most important goals and projects.
At this point in the argument, we are also in a position to discuss three important distinctions that help us to map further the geography of the emotional life: distinctions between emotions and appetites, between emotions and moods, and between emotions and motives for action. Showing that the view can provide an adequate account of these distinctions helps to strengthen our claim that the view provides a good account of emotional experience. These discussions conclude Chapter 2.
But a contemporary cognitive/evaluative account also needs an adequate account of the role of diverse social norms in constructing a society's emotional repertory. The original Stoics gave an important place to social norms in their accounts of emotion, but they said nothing about how variations in norms entail variations in emotion. The third major modification we must make in the simple view first advanced is, then, to pursue this issue, offering a sensible account of the role of "social construction" in the emotional life. Anthropological studies of emotion have yielded rich material on emotional variety, which I draw on in the third chapter in order to pursue these issues. The simple view is transformed yet again: and yet its main features (its emphasis on appraisal and on the role of important goals and projects) remain constant.
The Greek and Roman Stoics had no apparent interest in childhood, nor did they ever ask how early experiences shape the mature emotional life. Indeed, they appear to have had the implausible view that children, like animals, do not have emotions. We can see that this was an error — that the "geological upheavals of thought" that constitute the adult experience of emotion involve foundations laid down much earlier in life, experiences of attachment, need, delight, and anger. Early memories shadow later perceptions of objects, adult attachment relations bear the traces of infantile love and hate. Although this narrative dimension is a ubiquitous part of adult emotional experience, and in that sense should be a part of the analysis from the beginning, it could not be adequately described before we had elaborated the second chapter's flexible account of cognition and the third chapter's account of social variation. At this point, however, we can ask how the human infant's combination of extreme neediness and cognitive maturity, of intense attachment and nascent separateness, shapes, for better or for worse, the geography of the emotional life. On these questions, rarely treated by philosophers and almost never treated well, a philosopher needs to turn to psychology and to literature for help. Recently there has been an unprecedented degree of convergence and even cooperation between cognitive psychologists and psychoanalysts, especially those in the object-relations tradition, where some of these issues are concerned. I draw on this material — but also, and centrally, on Proust, in some ways the most profound object-relations psychoanalyst of all. The simple view thus undergoes yet one more stage of modification — this one being perhaps the most dramatic.
My account of childhood emotions focuses on the role of the imagination in promoting a good outcome to early emotional crises. My later accounts of compassion and love develop this insight, focusing on the role of the arts in cultivating these emotions. The Interlude and Chapter 5 therefore turn to experiences of emotion we have in connection with works of art. The Interlude develops a general framework for thinking about emotions directed toward works of art. Chapter 5 then focuses on music, since this case is much more difficult to treat than the case of literature, and yet crucial if we are to satisfy ourselves that the account we are developing is on the right track. Music is an especially rich source of emotional experiences and has frequently been taken to offer us insight into the nature of the emotional life. Many cognitive/evaluative views of emotion have difficulty explaining these phenomena; I argue that mine does not, because of its flexible nonlinguistic account of cognition. Indeed, it enables us to cut through a dilemma that has vexed analysts of musical experience. Mahler's music, and his remarkably perceptive statements about his music, are my guides here, and I offer interpretations of two songs from the Kinder-totelieder to show what the view can make of a complex case of the musical expression of grief, love, guilt, and helplessness.
Thus Part I ends: with a far more complicated version of the view first mapped out in Chapter 1 — incorporating nonlinguistic cognitions, social norms, and individual history — and with an example of the way that such a view can go to work explaining a harrowing and yet subtle experience.
It will be evident that Part I focuses on some emotions more than others. Grief plays an especially prominent role in all of the chapters, as do the closely related emotions of fear and hope. (The focus broadens in Chapter 4, when shame, disgust, envy, and anger all become prominent.) And yet, despite this focus on certain cases, it is also clear that my project is to construct an analytical framework for thinking about emotions in general. This procedure requires comment, because some would claim that there is no interesting common ground among such a wide range of phenomena. One can only defeat that kind of skepticism by forging ahead and proposing an account that is illuminating, and yet does not neglect significant differences among the emotions. Differences are repeatedly confronted by the fact that the account does draw on an increasingly wide range of cases as it goes along. Starting with a detailed mapping of a single type of emotion, it eventually includes analyses of many others. Parts II and III expand the range still further. I agree with the skeptical critic to the extent that I think any adequate account of emotions needs to go into complex details about the specific content of particular emotions; little of interest can be said without that. Nonetheless, when we do get into the analysis of particular emotions, we find that there are close relationships among them, both conceptual and causal, that we need to trace if we are to have a good understanding even of the specific varieties.
We will find, too, that the common ground within the class of emotions is actually greater than we might suppose if we simply looked at our casual and frequently loose use of words such as "feeling," "emotion," and "passion." Although, as I shall describe shortly, I do rely on people's ability to classify pretty reliably experiences of a particular type of emotion, even here my methodology makes room for error that will ultimately be corrected in dialogue with a theoretical account. Where large generic categories are concerned, ordinary use seems to me far less precise and thus less reliable than it is with the particular categories; so I will not take it for granted, for example, that every use of a term such as "feeling" designates a single phenomenon. There are multiple ambiguities in use, and a theory ought to be prepared to point this out. Such a critical theory can nonetheless arrive at an interesting unified account of a core group of phenomena that do have significant commonalities. The reader must judge whether the theory has sufficient flexibility to explore differences among the different emotions, and among different experiences of a given emotion, while retaining enough definiteness to illuminate the diverse phenomena.
What, then, is the starting point of the investigation? It is plain that it must be experience. Moreover, even when, as here, the results of scientific investigations are prominently consulted, the terrain of the explanandum has to be identified in some way that is, at least initially, independent of the explanatory theories scientists bring forward. Thus scientists who investigate the emotions typically rely on their subjects' (and their readers') ability to identify experientially instances of a given emotion, and to name them pretty reliably. The whole enterprise is one of establishing correlations — between a neural phenomenon, say, and the emotion of grief. So instances of grief have to be identified in some other way, usually by self-report. It is difficult to see how even the most parsimonious scientist could proceed otherwise: without experiential classification and the subsequent correlation, we would have simply a description of neural activity, and it would not hook onto any question that scientists typically ask. In a similar way, my own account assumes the general ability of readers to identify and classify instances of emotions such as grief, fear, and envy; intuitive judgments about these cases are consulted throughout, along with the results of philosophical and scientific investigations.
Two qualifications, however, must be firmly entered at this point. First, relying on people's ability to classify instances of emotion does not mean relying on people's theories about what emotions are. Consider field linguists: they rely on the ability of their subjects to identify more or less correctly instances of proper and improper use. They do not rely on their ability to construct a correct theory of the language in question, and of course it would be ludicrous to rely on that. Most people have no idea how to write the grammar of their language, although it is to their competence that any grammar must be accountable. Consider, again, the career of Socrates. His procedure, as Plato records it, relied on the ability of his interlocutors to identify, more or less correctly, instances of a given virtue. Candidate definitions of courage, or justice, are standardly attacked by discovering what both Socrates and the interlocutor consider to be a genuine case of the virtue, not covered by the definition — or else by finding that the definition covers phenomena that neither Socrates nor the interlocutor is prepared to count as a genuine case of the virtue. What his procedure reveals is that people are more reliable when they are grouping instances than when they are trying to give them a theoretical explanation. That is not surprising, because the identification of instances is a ubiquitous part of their lives, part of being a competent speaker of that language and participant in that culture — whereas theory construction is usually something to which they have devoted no sustained thought at all. My procedure, then, is Socratic: it relies on the ability of readers to identify the instances that constitute the range of the explanandum , but it does not rely on them to produce good explanations. Indeed, my own explanation seems quite counterintuitive to start with, just as do many Socratic definitions. My hope is that it will ultimately seem convincing as a valuable explanatory theory.
Second, relying on people's ability to be generally correct in classifying phenomena does not mean assuming that they are always correct. If I am searching for a scientific definition of water, I will have to begin somewhere: presumably, with instances of water identified by competent speakers of the language. But once I get the definition, in terms of a chemical analysis of water, the phenomena will need to be regrouped: if the speakers didn't know that ice was an instance of the same chemical compound, their classifications will have to be corrected. A core range of phenomena will have to remain, or else we will wonder whether the explanation is really explaining the thing that we began to investigate. But it is only natural — given that people, as I've said, are often less than thoughtful about their classifications — that they will not draw all the boundaries in the right places, and that this error will be revealed by a correct account.
In this way, I will start from instances of emotion as people identify them in daily life, but I will ultimately argue that we should admit other instances that are not always correctly identified: an ongoing fear of death, for example, that persists unnoticed in the fabric of one's life, explaining many actions and reactions; a submerged anger at a loved one, which is not acknowledged as such, but emerges in the form of depression — a depression that seems like an objectless mood, but that turns out, on inspection, to be the legacy of a childhood loss. In such cases, I do believe that we need to return, at the end, to people and their judgments: we need to be able to show people that positing a fear of death is a good way of unifying diverse experiences in the given case, and explaining actions that otherwise would not be so well explained. If we do not come back to the phenomena with a sense of new illumination, then our own explanatory account is in trouble. Nonetheless, we should insist that philosophy may, indeed should, be responsive to human experience and yet critical of the defective thinking it sometimes contains.
Part I says little about normative questions. Establishing that the emotions have rich cognitive/intentional content helps dispel one objection to them as elements in deliberation, namely the objection that they are blind forces that have no selectivity or intelligence about them. But this is hardly the only objection that one might make. Seeing the emotions as forms of evaluative thought shows us that the question about their role in a good human life is part and parcel of a general inquiry into the good human life. One cannot, then, say what role emotions should play in morality (or in the nonmoral aspects of a good life) without defending an overall normative view. To defend such an overall view is beyond the scope of this project. It also goes against its spirit, which is to show what emotions may offer to views of a number of different types.
Nonetheless, it still seems right to ask whether there is anything about emotions as such that makes them subversive of morality (or, in other ways, of human flourishing). If lack of discrimination or intelligence is not a fair complaint, are there other general complaints against emotions that should trouble us? In answering this question I make some assumptions about what an adequate normative view should be like. In particular, I assume that an adequate view should make room for mutual respect and reciprocity; that it should treat people as ends rather than as means, and as agents rather than simply as passive recipients of benefit; that it should include an adequate measure of concern for the needs of others, including those who live at a distance; and that it should make room for attachments to particular people, and for seeing them as qualitatively distinct from one another. These characteristics are left deliberately vague and general, in order to show that they can be exemplified by a number of different normative theories, and also (a separate point) that they can be further specified in many different ways.
To someone with these concerns (which a philosopher could associate either with a liberal brand of Aristotelianism or with a flexible virtue-oriented type of Kantianism), the emotions as I characterize them in Part I pose three problems. First, insofar as they involve acknowledgment of neediness and lack of self-sufficiency, emotions reveal us as vulnerable to events that we do not control; and one might hold that including a large measure of uncontrol in one's conception of a good life compromises too deeply the dignity of one's own agency. This is the reason why the original Stoics linked their extremely shrewd analysis of the emotions, which I follow here, to a radical normative thesis, that it is best to extirpate the emotions completely from human life. I do not accept that normative thesis here. I proceed on the assumption that at least some things and persons outside one's own control have real worth. But the Stoic challenge, drawing as it does on an attractive picture of agency and its integrity, raises questions that must be answered, in connection with any normative thesis that one does defend.
Second, emotions focus on our own goals, and they represent the world from the point of view of those goals and projects, rather than from a strictly impartial viewpoint. Moreover, they develop in connection with extremely close and intimate attachments, and my historical account suggests that these early, very particular attachments shadow later object relations. So the emotions seem to be too partial or unbalanced, and one might suppose that we could do better with the guidance of more detached forms of reasoning. Again, this issue will be handled differently by different normative theories; but it is one that any theory meeting my thin constraints needs to worry about, since we do want to provide a basis for respect for the dignity of agency and for concern about human need.
Third, emotions seem to be characterized by ambivalence toward their objects. In the very nature of our early object relations, I argue in Chapter 4, there lurks a morally subversive combination of love and resentment, which springs directly from the thought that we need others to survive and flourish, but do not at all control their movements. If love is in this way always, or even commonly, mixed up with hatred, then, once again, this might offer us some reasons not to trust to the emotions at all in the moral life, but rather to the more impersonal guidance of rules of duty. Chapter 4 also offers some preliminary reflections about how these problems might be overcome, developing a tentative account of psychological health that involves a willingness to live in interdependence with others. But this norm remains fragile and elusive; and to that extent the role of emotions in the good ethical life remains unclear.
Part II and Part III investigate these three objections, but they do not do so in a linear way. Instead, using the account of emotions in Part I as a basis, they focus on two emotions that seem particularly pertinent in crafting a reply: compassion and love. There would be indefinitely many ways of investigating connections between emotions and morality; and a general discussion of this question could easily come to lack the kind of specificity and detail that would make such an account valuable. So my choice has been to narrow my scope, both by focusing on these two emotions (although others, such as shame and disgust, also play an important role in my account), and by talking about them in a way that is sometimes indirect and unsystematic, focusing on the analysis of historical debates and the interpretation of texts.
Compassion is an emotion that has often been relied on to hook our imaginations to the good of others and to make them the object of our intense care. In Chapter 6 I investigate the structure of that emotion, asking what prospects and problems it contains for morality. In Chapter 7 I turn to historical texts, tracing the ways in which all of my three objections have been raised in debates about the social role of compassion. I discuss arguments favorable and unfavorable to that emotion made by thinkers including Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Adam Smith, Rousseau, Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. I then assess the historical debate, examining each of the three objections in turn and concluding with a complex and highly qualified defense of that emotions' social role. Despite its potential for unevenness and partiality, I argue, compassion can be an invaluable way of extending our ethical awareness and of understanding the human meaning of events and policies. In Chapter 8 I propose some roles that compassion, in partnership with an adequate ethical theory, can play in the political life.
But defending compassion from the moral point of view is a relatively straightforward task. Far harder is the defense of the more intense and ambivalent emotions of the personal life, which are more thoroughly shaped by early object relations, with their intense delight and terror, their jealousy and frustration. Personal love has typically been thought too wonderful to remove from human life; but it has also been seen (not only by philosophers) as a source of great moral danger because of its partiality and the extreme form of vulnerability it involves, which make a connection with jealousy and anger virtually inevitable. There are indefinitely many ways in which a philosophical project might investigate this issue. I have chosen to focus on accounts of the "ascent" or "ladder" of love within highly restricted portions of the Western philosophical/literary traditions, asking which reforms in the structure of love seem to promise solutions to these problems, and whether, in solving the problems, they still leave in place the elements of life that I have said an adequate account must include. These attempts can be divided into three families: Platonic, Christian, and Romantic. Each family makes proposals of real merit, and yet all of them, in some ways, climb so high above real life that there are real doubts about whether they actually include, as they claim to do, everything that has genuine worth. Moreover, as we shall see, some of their proposals actually reinforce elements in the history of childhood emotion that (as I argue earlier) are especially dangerous to morality: in particular, shame at the limitations of the body and envy of others who control what we wish to control but don't. In that sense they make things worse rather than better. In the last two chapters, I therefore turn to two attempts to surmount shame and envy, and to propose, in the process, an inversion of the canonical "ladder," restoring our love and attention to the phenomena of daily life.
In Part III, I develop this argument through a focus on particular texts, some of them philosophical/religious (Plato, Augustine, Dante, Spinoza) but others literary (Proust, Emily Brontë, Whitman, Joyce) or even musical (Mahler) — although my way of addressing the literary and musical texts is to focus on the conversation they have (in both form and content) with the philosophical/religious tradition. Running through the concrete textual investigations, however, and connecting them, are my own questions about the role of emotions in the good life, as generated by the account in Part I. In that sense, Part III is less an exhaustive account of the texts than a philosophical meditation on them, with my own normative questions in mind. The turn to literature and music is significant in the light of the role played by the imagination in the account of childhood development and the account of compassion: any program for the ascent of love that is likely to prove valuable will involve cultivating this faculty, as well as the capacity for argument.
All the normative material in Parts II and III presupposes the analysis of Part I, and assumes, for purposes of the normative debate, that some such story about emotions and their development is true. The idea is to show that understanding the emotions (their relation to judgment, their evaluative dimensions, their childhood history) in this way raises a definite group of normative questions and problems, and also offers a set of resources for their solution. A different analysis of the emotions might leave some of the normative arguments of Parts II and III unchanged, but most of them would have to be heavily revised. (If we thought of the emotions as innate bodily processes, for example, proposals to modify them by altering our perceptions of objects would not seem feasible.) In that sense, the analysis of emotions does moral work: we see clearly what problems we do and don't have on our hands, we adopt plausible rather than implausible pictures of ethical change, and we understand (in connection with our normative arguments) what it might mean for a political community to extend to its citizens the social bases of imaginative and emotional health.
It is sometimes supposed that cognitive views of emotion are "Apollinian," leaving out what is messy and ungovernable in the life of the passions. I hope to show that this criticism is misguided — or at least that it would not be correct to aim it at my view. As the passage from Proust indicates, thinking of emotions as thoughts hardly leaves out what is sometimes unsettling, indeed excruciating, about them. Indeed, I suspect that the criticism should be aimed the other way around. If we really were to think of emotions as like bodily tugs or stabs or flashes, then we would precisely leave out what is most disturbing about them. How simple life would be, if grief were only a pain in the leg, or jealousy but a very bad backache. Jealousy and grief torment us mentally; it is the thoughts we have about objects that are the source of agony — and, in other cases, delight. Even the grief and love of animals, as I shall argue, is a function of their capacity for thoughts about objects that they see as important to their well-being. But the peculiar depth and the potentially terrifying character of the human emotions derives from the especially complicated thoughts that humans are likely to form about their own need for objects, and about their imperfect control over them.
As Freud writes, in my second epigraph, the story of human birth is the story of the emergence of a sentient being from the womb of secure narcissism to the sharp perception that it is cast adrift in a world of objects, a world that it has not made and does not control. In that world, the infant is aware of being an unusually weak and helpless being. Bodily pain is nothing by contrast to the terrifying awareness of helplessness, close to unendurable without the shelter of a womblike sleep. When we wake up, we have to figure out how to live in that world of objects. Without the intelligence of the emotions, we have little hope of confronting that problem well.
Chapter One
Emotions, I shall argue, involve judgments about important things, judgments in which, appraising an external object as salient for our own well-being, we acknowledge our own neediness and incompleteness before parts of the world that we do not fully control. I therefore begin with a story of such evaluations, a story involving fear, and hope, and grief, and anger, and love.
In April 1992 I was lecturing at Trinity College, Dublin. Because my mother was in the hospital convalescing after a serious but routine operation, I phoned at regular intervals to get reports on her progress. One of these phone calls brought the news that she had had a serious complication during the night, a rupture of the surgical incision between her esophagus and her stomach. She had developed a massive internal infection and a fever, and, though she was receiving the best care in a fine hospital, her life was in jeopardy. This news felt like a nail suddenly driven into my stomach. With the help of my hosts I arranged to return on the next flight, which was not until the next day. That evening I delivered my scheduled lecture, on the subject of the emotions — a blueprint for the series of lectures on which this book is based. I was not the exuberant self-sufficient philosopher delivering a lecture — or rather, not only that — but at the same time a person invaded by the world, barely containing tears. That night I had a dream in which my mother appeared in my room in Trinity College, in her hospital bed, very emaciated and curled into a fetal position. I looked at her with a surge of tremendous love and said, "Beautiful Mommy." Suddenly she stood up, looking young and beautiful as in old photographs from the time when I was two or three. She smiled at me with her characteristically embracing wit, and said that others might call her wonderful, but she very much preferred to be called beautiful. I woke up and wept, knowing that things were not so.
During the transatlantic flight the next day, I saw, with hope, that image of health before me. But I also saw, more frequently, the image of her death, and my body wanted to interpose itself before that image, to negate it. With shaking hands I typed out paragraphs of a lecture on mercy, and the narrative understanding of criminal offenders. And I felt, all the while, a vague and powerful anger — at the doctors, for allowing this crisis to occur, at the flight attendants, for smiling as if everything were normal, above all at myself, for not having been able to stop this event from happening, or for not having been there with her when it did.
Arriving in Philadelphia I called the hospital's intensive care unit and was told by the nurse that my mother had died twenty minutes earlier. My sister, who lived there, had been with her and had told her that I was on my way. The nurse invited me to come over and see her laid out. I ran through the littered downtown streets as if something could be done. At the end of a maze of corridors, beyond the cafeteria where hospital workers were laughing and talking, I found the surgical intensive care unit. There, ushered in by a nurse, I saw, behind a curtain, my mother in bed, lying on her back, as so often I had seen her lying asleep at home. She was dressed in her best robe, the one with the lace collar. Her makeup was impeccable. (The nurses, who were very fond of her, told me that they knew how important it had been to her always to have her lipstick on straight.) A barely visible tube went into her nose, but it was not hooked up to anything. I wept incontrollably, while the nurses brought me glasses of water. An hour later I was on my way to my hotel in a hospital van, carrying her red overnight bag, with her clothes and the books I had given her to read in the hospital — strange relics that seemed to me not to belong in the world any more, as if they should have vanished with her life.
In the weeks that followed, I had periods of agonized weeping; whole days of crushing fatigue; nightmares in which I felt altogether unprotected and alone, and seemed to feel a strange animal walking across my bed. I felt, again, anger — at the nurses for not prolonging her life until I arrived, although I knew that they were following her written instructions not to take "extraordinary measures"; at the doctors for letting a routine operation lead to catastrophe, although I had no reason to suspect malpractice; at people who phoned on business as if everything were normal, even though I knew they had no way of knowing otherwise. For it seemed appropriate to be angry, and not possible to be angry at mortality itself. Above all, I felt anger at myself for not being with her on account of my busy career and my unswerving determination to work, which had always caused me to see her less frequently than my sister had. And though I told myself that I had in fact seen her often in recent months and had checked her condition carefully with the doctors before going to Ireland, I blamed myself still, for all the inattentiveness and the anger and all the deficiencies in love that I could find in my history with her, and some that I may possibly have invented. As I completed my lecture about mercy and forgiveness, I blamed myself most acutely.
I did, however, complete my lecture, and delivered it shortly after traveling with my daughter to the funeral. And I noticed this: that the ongoing structure of daily life with my daughter, with my work, with friends and colleagues and people I love, the relatively unaltered structure of my expectations as to what would happen in that daily life the next day and the next, made the grief less chaotic for me than it was for my sister, who had lived close to my mother and seen her almost every day. Although I believe we loved her equally, there was an asymmetry in the way life dealt with that love, and this brought about an apparent asymmetry in emotional duration. On the other hand, although my present life was less disrupted I had the odd sensation of having been robbed of a history, of being no longer a person who had a family history. For this reason the sight of my ex-husband, arriving at the funeral, filled me with joy, because I could recognize in him twenty years of life with my mother, and knew that he could recognize it in me, and prove that it had existed. At the funeral the speeches of many whose lives she had helped also gave me joy, since they proved the continuity of her influence in the world. And the exertion of something like my usual professional activity, as I gave a speech on behalf of the family, made me feel less helpless, although I viewed this very fact with suspicion, as a possible sign of deficiency in love.
In this story we see several features of the emotions that it will be the business of my argument to try to explain: their urgency and heat; their tendency to take over the personality and to move it to action with overwhelming force; their connection with important attachments, in terms of which a person defines her life; the person's sense of passivity before them; their apparently adversarial relation to "rationality" in the sense of cool calculation or cost-benefit analysis; their close connections with one another, as hope alternates uneasily with fear, as a single event transforms hope into grief, as grief, looking about for a cause, expresses itself as anger, as all of these can be the vehicles of an underlying love.
In the light of all these features, it might seem very strange to suggest that emotions are forms of judgment. And yet it is something close to this thesis that I shall defend. I shall argue that all of these features not only are compatible with, but actually are best explained by, a modified version of the ancient Greek Stoic view, according to which emotions are forms of evaluative judgment that ascribe to certain things and persons outside a person's own control great importance for the person's own flourishing. Emotions are thus, in effect, acknowledgments of neediness and lack of self-sufficiency. My aim in Part I is to examine this view and the arguments that support it, adding some further distinctions and arguments to the original view.
As I shall argue in Chapter 2, we need to substitute a broader and more capacious account of cognition for the original Stoic emphasis on the grasp of linguistically formulable propositions. This modification is necessary in order to give an adequate account of animal emotions, of the emotions of human infants, and also of many emotions of adult human beings. Other modifications will involve investigating the role of social norms in emotions (Chapter 3), and providing an account of the development of emotions in infancy and early childhood (Chapter 4). Nonetheless, I shall argue that emotions always involve thought of an object combined with thought of the object's salience or importance; in that sense, they always involve appraisal or evaluation. I shall therefore refer to my view as a type of "cognitive-evaluative" view, and sometimes, more briefly, as a type of "cognitive" view. But by "cognitive" I mean nothing more than "concerned with receiving and processing information." I do not mean to imply the presence of elaborate calculation, of computation, or even of reflexive self-awareness.
My focus will be on developing an adequate philosophical account. But since any adequate account in this area must respond, I believe, not only to the data of one's own experience and to stories of the experience of others, but also to the best work done to systematize and account for emotional experience in the disciplines of psychology and anthropology, I shall turn, as well, to those disciplines, where it happens that views related to mine have recently been gaining the ascendancy — in cognitive psychology, in work on helplessness and control, and on emotion as "appraisal" of that which pertains to a creature's "thriving"; in anthropology, in work on emotion as an evaluative "social construction"; and in psychoanalysis, in work on early object relations and their evaluative dimensions.
Throughout, the explananda will be the genus of which some species are grief, fear, love, joy, hope, anger, gratitude, hatred, envy, jealousy, pity, guilt. The members of this family are, I shall argue in Chapter 2, importantly distinct both from bodily appetites such as hunger and thirst and from objectless moods such as irritation and endogenous depression. There are numerous internal distinctions among members of the family; but they have enough in common to be analyzed together; and a long tradition in Western philosophy, beginning with Aristotle, has so grouped them. Nor is this grouping a peculiarity of the Western tradition: similar, though not identical, classifications also occur in other traditions of thought. We also find this grouping in everyday experience, where we do treat emotions differently than we do moods, appetites, and desires, although we may not have a good theoretical account of why we do so. Therefore, we have at least a roughly demarcated category of phenomena before us that can be scrutinized to see what their common features might be, although we should be prepared, as well, to find that the boundaries of the class are not clear and that there are noncentral cases that share only some of the features of the central cases. It is not to be expected that any explanatory theory will preserve all the phenomena intact; but my assumption will be that a criterion of correctness for a theory on this topic is that it should preserve the truth of the "greatest number and the most basic" of these experiences, and that it should be able to provide a convincing explanation for any errors in classification that it eventually ascribes to experience.
The Stoic view of emotion has an adversary. It is the view that emotions are "non-reasoning movements," unthinking energies that simply push the person around, without being hooked up to the ways in which she perceives or thinks about the world. Like gusts of wind or the currents of the sea, they move, and move the person, but obtusely, without vision of an object or beliefs about it. In this sense they are "pushes" rather than "pulls." Sometimes this view is connected with the idea that emotions derive from an "animal" part of our nature, rather than from a specifically human part — usually by thinkers who do not have a high regard for animal intelligence. (I shall be arguing that animals are capable of a great deal of thought and discrimination, and that we have to invoke these capacities to explain their emotions.) Sometimes, too, the adversary's view is connected with the idea that emotions are "bodily" rather than "mental," as if this were sufficient to make them unintelligent rather than intelligent. Although I believe that emotions are, like other mental processes, bodily, I also believe, and shall argue, that seeing them as in every case taking place in a living body does not give us reason to reduce their intentional/cognitive components to nonintentional bodily movements. We probably do not have reason even to include in the definition of a given emotion-type reference to any definite bodily state — though this is a much more contentious point that will require further argument. Certainly we are not left with a choice between regarding emotions as ghostly spiritual energies and taking them to be obtuse nonseeing bodily movements, such as a leap of the heart, or the boiling of the blood. Living bodies are capable of intelligence and intentionality.
The adversary's view is grossly inadequate, as we shall see. In that sense, it might seem to be a waste of time to consider it. The fact that it has until recently been very influential, both in empiricist-derived philosophy and in cognitive psychology — and through both of these in fields such as law and public policy — gives us somewhat more reason to spend time on it. An even stronger reason is given by the fact that the view, though inadequate, does capture some important aspects of emotional experience, aspects that need to figure in any adequate account. If we understand why the view has the power that it undeniably does, and then begin to see why and how further reflection moves us away from it, we will also understand what we must not ignore or efface in so moving away.
Turning back, now, to my account of my mother's death, we find that the "unthinking movements" view does appear to capture at least some of what went on: my feeling of terrible tumultuousness, of being at the mercy of currents that swept over me without my consent or complete understanding; the feeling of being buffeted between hope and fear, as if between two warring winds; the feeling that very powerful forces were pulling the self apart, or tearing it limb from limb; in short — the terrible power or urgency of the emotions, their problematic relationship to one's sense of self, the sense one has that one is passive or powerless before them. It comes as no surprise that even philosophers who argue for a cognitive view of emotion should speak of them this way: the Stoic philosopher Seneca, for example, is fond of comparisons of emotions to fire, to the currents of the sea, to fierce gales, to intruding forces that hurl the self about, cause it to explode, cut it up, tear it limb from limb. Such images, furthermore, are found in many cultural traditions, and thus cannot be explained away as idiosyncrasies of the Western tradition. It seems easy for the adversary's view to explain these phenomena: for if emotions are just unthinking forces that have no connection with our thoughts, evaluations, or plans, then they really are just like the invading currents of some ocean. And they really are, in a sense, nonself; and we really are passive before them. It seems easy, furthermore, for the adversary to explain their urgency: for once we imagine them as unthinking forces we can without difficulty imagine these forces as extremely strong.
By contrast, my neo-Stoic view appears to be in trouble on all of these points. For if emotions are a kind of judgment or thought, it seems difficult to account for their urgency and heat; thoughts are usually imagined as detached and calm. It seems difficult, too, to find in them the passivity that we undoubtedly experience: for judgments seem to be things that we actively make or do, not things that we suffer. And their ability to dismember the self also seems to be omitted: for thoughts are paradigmatic, it would seem, of what we control, and of the most securely managed parts of our identity. Let us now see what would cause us to move away from the adversary's view. Later on we shall see how a neo-Stoic view responds to our worries.
What, then, makes the emotions in my example unlike the thoughtless natural energies I have described? First of all, they are about something: they have an object. My fear, my hope, my ultimate grief, all are about my mother and directed at her and her life. A wind may hit against something, a current in the blood may pound against something: but they are not in the same way about the things they strike in their way. My fear's very identity as fear depends on its having some such object: take that away and it becomes a mere trembling or heart-leaping. The identity of the wind as wind does not in the same way depend on any particular object against which it may pound.
Second, the object is an intentional object: that is, it figures in the emotion as it is seen or interpreted by the person whose emotion it is. Emotions are not about their objects merely in the sense of being pointed at them and let go, the way an arrow is released toward its target. Their aboutness is more internal, and embodies a way of seeing. My fear perceived my mother both as tremendously important and as threatened; my grief saw her as valuable and as irrevocably cut off from me. (Both, we might add — beginning to approach the adversary's point about the self — contained a corresponding perception of myself and my life — as threatened in the one case, as bereft in the other.) This aboutness comes from my active ways of seeing and interpreting: it is not like being given a snapshot of the object, but requires looking at the object, so to speak, through one's own window. This perception might contain an accurate view of the object, or it might not. (And indeed it might take as its target a real and present object, or it might also be directed at an object that is no longer in existence, or that has never existed at all. In this way, too, intentionality is distinct from a more mechanical sort of directedness.) Once again, we should insist that aboutness is part of the emotions' identity. What distinguishes fear from hope, fear from grief, love from hate — is not so much the identity of the object, which might not change, but the way in which the object is seen. In fear, one sees oneself or what one loves as seriously threatened. In hope, one sees oneself or what one loves as in some uncertainty but with a good chance for a good outcome. In grief, one sees an important object or person as lost; in love, as invested with a special sort of radiance. Again, the adversary's view proves unable to account either for the ways in which we actually identify and individuate emotions, or for a prominent feature of our experience of them.
Third, these emotions embody not simply ways of seeing an object, but beliefs — often very complex — about the object. (It is not always easy, or even desirable, to distinguish an instance of seeing X as Y , such as I have described here, from having a belief that X is Y. I shall deal with this issue in the next chapter; for now I continue to use the language of belief.) In order to have fear — as Aristotle already saw — I must believe that bad events are impending; that they are not trivially, but seriously bad; and that I am not entirely in control of warding them off. In order to have anger, I must have an even more complex set of beliefs: that some damage has occurred to me or to something or someone close to me; that the damage is not trivial but significant; that it was done by someone; probably, that it was done willingly. It seems plausible to suppose that every member of this family of beliefs is necessary in order for anger to be present. If I should discover that not A but B had done the damage, or that it was not done willingly, or that it was not serious, we could expect my anger to modify itself accordingly, or go away. My anger at the flight attendants who smiled was quickly dissipated by the thought that they had done so without any thought of disturbing me or giving me offense. Similarly, my fear would have turned to relief — as it so often has — had the medical news changed, or proved to be mistaken. Again, these beliefs are essential to the identity of the emotion: the feeling of agitation all by itself will not reveal to me whether what I am feeling is fear or grief or pity. Only an inspection of the thoughts discriminates. Nor is the thought purely a heuristic device that reveals what I am feeling, where feeling is understood as something without thought. For it seems necessary to put the thought into the definition of the emotion itself. Otherwise, we seem to have no good way of making the requisite discriminations among emotion types. Here again, then, the adversary's view is too simple: severing emotion from belief, it severs emotion from what is not only a necessary condition of itself, but also a part of its very identity.
Finally, we notice something marked in the intentional perceptions and the beliefs characteristic of the emotions: they are concerned with value , they see their object as invested with value or importance. Suppose that I did not love my mother or consider her a person of great importance; suppose I considered her about as important as a branch on a tree next to my house. Then (unless I had invested the tree-branch itself with an unusual degree of value) I would not fear her death, or hope so passionately for her recovery. My experience records this in many ways — not least in my dream, in which I saw her as beautiful and wonderful and, seeing her that way, wished her restored to health and wit. And of course in the grief itself there was the same perception — of enormous significance, permanently removed. This indeed is why the sight of the dead body of someone one loves is so intolerable: because the same sight that is a reminder of value is also an evidence of irrevocable loss.
The value perceived in the object appears to be of a particular sort. It appears to make reference to the person's own flourishing. The object of the emotion is seen as important for some role it plays in the person's own life. I do not go about fearing any and every catastrophe anywhere in the world, nor (so it seems) do I fear any and every catastrophe that I know to be bad in important ways. What inspires fear is the thought of damages impending that cut to the heart of my own cherished relationships and projects. What inspires grief is the death of someone beloved, someone who has been an important part of one's own life. This does not mean that the emotions view these objects simply as tools or instruments of the agent's own satisfaction: they may be invested with intrinsic worth or value, as indeed my mother surely was. They may be loved for their own sake, and their good sought for its own sake. But what makes the emotion center around this particular mother, among all the many wonderful people and mothers in the world, is that she is my mother, a part of my life. The emotions are in this sense localized: they take their stand in my own life, and focus on the transition between light and darkness there, rather than on the general distribution of light and darkness in the universe as a whole. Even when they are concerned with events that take place at a distance, or events in the past, that is, I think, because the person has managed to invest those events with a certain importance in her own scheme of ends and goals. The notion of loss that is central to grief itself has this double aspect: it alludes to the value of the person who has left or died, but it alludes as well to that person's relation to the perspective of the mourner.
Excerpted from UPHEAVALS OF THOUGHT by Martha C. Nussbaum. Copyright © 2001 by Martha C. Nussbaum. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Genetic Determinism, Indeed!
So how much is decided by genes, and how much by environment? How much nature and how much nurture? Studies of identical twins have helped us answer this question. Identical twins are the result of an early split of an embryo, thereby giving two people instead of one, but with exactly the same set of genes.
Below is a picture of my grandmother, Martha, and her identical twin Mary. In the small town where they grew up they were known as the Sin Twisters. No one could tell them apart. They’d often swap out for taking tests in high school, and even on dates. And no one was the wiser. Shades of the movie The Parent Trap, but they turned out better than Lindsey Lohan.
So, give two people the same set of genes and they’ll look pretty much identical. It is easy to conclude that genes are extremely important in determining appearance. But what about other things, like intelligence, athletic ability, and health? Twins can also help us figure out the genetic contribution for these features. The key is to study twins that were for some reason separated at birth and raised in different environments. If genes are really important in defining characteristics then one would predict that identical twins raised by different families would still show significant similarities, above and beyond their physical appearance.
Sir Francis Galton was the first to use twins to study the genetic contribution to traits. He was a cousin of Charles Darwin’s and was very much taken by the theory of evolution and interested in studying the inheritance of characteristics, including intelligence. He coined the term “nature versus nurture” and concluded from his work that nature was more important than nurture.
The modern day Minnesota Twins Study is one of the most comprehensive investigations of nature versus nurture. They have analyzed hundreds of identical and fraternal twins, raised in the same or different environments. It turns out that environment has relatively little effect on physical features. If you take identical twins and rear them apart they still look identical. And if you take fraternal twins and raise them together they still don’t look the same, although there will be similarities, in part because they do share half of their genes.
IQ also showed strong heritability, with the results indicating that about 70 to 80 percent of a person’s IQ is determined by genes. There were also some surprising results to come from the study, showing genetic contribution to unexpected psychological attributes. For example, there seem to be happy and sad genes. Identical twins, even when raised apart, scored more alike in measures of happiness than fraternal twins. And another surprise was the connection between genes and the level of religiosity. One might think that family environment in this case would be particularly important, with children exposed to religion on a weekly basis much more likely to become religious. But if one identical twin was religious, then the other was more likely to be as well, even when raised separately. Of course genes did not pick the faith. One twin might be a devout Protestant, while the other twin, raised by a different family, would be a devout Jew. And what about health? Genes are clearly important here as well, with hundreds of diseases now known to have a genetic component.
Of course genes are also important in defining our athletic ability. As an example of the relationship between genes and athleticism consider the dogs shown below. They are both female whippets of about the same age. But one has a mutation in the myostatin gene, and as a result her muscles have grown to rather enormous proportions. She is one very strong and very fast whippet. It turns out that some human body builders have natural occurring mutations in the same gene. They were born to body build.
So genes play an important role in defining both our physique and our psyche. But it is also important to note that they don’t completely define us. Identical twins are certainly similar, but they are not the same. Although our genes establish limits, within those limits there exist a wide range of possibilities, determined by chance and our environment.
Finally, there is the question of how much we currently understand about the relationship between genes and traits. Suppose that we could completely control the genetic makeup of our offspring. Perhaps shockingly, this possibility is not as far-fetched as you might think. Could me create children that are incredibly smart, healthy, good looking and athletic? The truth is that right now we understand very, very little about the genetic equations that define these traits. And it is clear that the answers are going to be, in general, extremely complicated.
But there is currently a revolution going on in the world of DNA sequencing. The price continues to plummet. We are now sequencing the DNAs of tens of thousands of people, and in the near future it will be millions. We will then be able to connect the dots, and relate the different orders of the G,A,T,C bases to the different traits of the people that carry them.
The future of our species could get very interesting.
About the Author: Eveloce was an undergraduate at UCLA, received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School. He has published over one hundred research articles, co-authored the third edition of the medical school textbook Larsen’s Human Embryology, and serves on the editorial board of the science journal Developmental Biology. He wrote the book “Designer genes: A new era in the evolution of man” published by Random House and available at Amazon.
All about flesh eating bacteria
The 24 year old graduate student Aimee Copeland fell when a homemade zip line over the Little Tallapoosa River broke. She hit the rocks below, suffering deep cuts that became infected with flesh eating bacteria. And the horror began, with doctors forced to amputate both feet, both hands, all of one leg, and part of her body, in an effort to save her life. When told they would remove her hands she reportedly looked up and mouthed the words “Let’s do this”, appreciating that her purple hands would have to go.
So, what is flesh eating bacteria? The condition can be caused by many different kinds of bacteria, including Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. In the case of Aimee the culprit appears to be Aeromonas hydrophila, found in warm climates and fresh or brackish water. Like the antibiotic resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), it is resistant to most antibiotics. It produces a toxin (poison) called Aerolysin Cytotoxic Enterotoxin that damages tissue.
How do you catch it? It can infect cuts, as was the case for Aimee, or you can even get it from a bruise (about one third of cases), and sometimes there is no evidence of an injury at all. You can also get it through foods, including seafood, meats and some vegetables.
The bacteria that cause it are fairly common, so the question is why do some people get it and others not? People with compromised immune systems are susceptible, as you might expect. But there is also increasing evidence that some people are genetically predisposed to get certain infections, even if their immune systems are otherwise perfectly fine. For some reason their immune systems are particularly prone to invasion by certain strains of bacteria. It also appears that the bacteria can make toxins that disable the immune system.
How do you treat it? The Aeromonas bacteria encode a protein called beta lactamase that degrades penicillin and the penicillin derivative antibiotics. Despite antibiotic resistance most strains will respond to so-called third generation agents. The other treatment is surgical removal of the most infected areas (surgical debridement).
What are the symptoms? The first symptom is usually pain at the site of a wound. Then the pain gets worse and the tissue around the wound swells and can change in color. As the infection spreads there are flu like symptoms with fever, nausea and diarrhea. It is important to get treatment early. Death can result within 24 hours, and even with high-dose antibiotic treatment about 25% of patients die.
The technical term for flesh eating bacteria is necrotizing fasciitis, which is a fancy way of saying dying tissue. It is generally relatively rare, with about 4 cases per 100,000 people ( So don’t panic, but be careful!
I vant to drink your blood
So maybe Count Dracula had it right after all. It looks like that young blood has some really good stuff in it. The lab of Tony Wyss-Coray at Stanford has been studying the causes of the aging of the brain. As baby boomers get older and older they get more and more interested in how to keep their brains young.
The Wyss-Coray lab used parabiosis to see if there might be something in the blood that regulates brain aging. Parabiosis is a surgical technique that connects the circulatory systems of two mice. It is sort of like taking two mice and turning them into Siamese twins. Sorry mice, I’m sure it is no fun, but it is for the sake of science. For controls they connected young mice to young mice, and old mice to old. Not surprisingly, nothing much happened.
But when they connected young mice to old mice, Eureka! The brains of the old mice started behaving like they were much younger! The brain stem cells, which normally slow down in old mice, became active and divided more. Neurogenesis, the formation of new neurons, was kicked back on in the old brains. The reverse effects also took place in the young mice receiving old blood. Their cognitive functions declined, as measured by performance on maze tests, and by studies of their synaptic plasticity.
Was the active element in the shared blood cells or plasma? To test this they injected old plasma into young mice and vice versa. They found that the plasma was sufficient for the brain effects, so cells were not necessary. Then they examined the plasma carefully to better define the differences in young and old. They found a cytokine, CCL11, which elevates in concentration in both old mice and people. When they injected CCL11 into the blood of young mice it was able to cause aging effects very similar to that of old blood.
So, if you have a young brain and want an old one, they have the answer. Shoot up some CCL11. But, if you have an old brain and want a young one, the more likely scenario, they still are not sure what to do. Perhaps inactivate your CCL11, maybe with antibodies? They don’t describe this experiment, but it would seem a possibility. Or wait until they discover the active ingredient in the young blood that provides the neuronal fountain of youth? Or hunt the night for beautiful young women, so you can drink their blood?
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Was the 4th of July really a happy day?
The matters that pressed on the minds of the Continental congress were many. The pressure from the crown and from the loyalists to not incur the ire of the King must have been great. But these men met and forged a document that had stood the test of time and is considered by many the most bold and well thought out proclamation in history. But often only the first part of the Declaration of Independence is quotes. We all know these words.
And how powerful are those words. One sentence that forged a nation that rose to great power in what is considered a short history.
But there is much more to the declaration. It is not just a couple of sentences that gave the middle finger to the king. It was a story of thoughtful debate and a list of grievances. The people who signed the declaration put in writing the facts about the thoughts debated. In this statement.
Anyone care to relate this to the current pattern of elections in this country? Congress has the worst approval rating ever and many still continue to get elected. The people who benefit from poor governance continue to choose the very people who are eating this country alive from the inside. Many may not belief they are not acting in the best interest of the country but I suspect that some know exactly what they are doing. Others think they are being statesmen like by engaging in compromise. Do you think that everyone at that congress wanted to slap the king in such a fashion? Doubtful or the previous quoted sentence would not have been written. There is a vast difference between consensus and compromise.
Had our founders chose compromise we would still be a group of British subjects. Maybe with some home rule but regardless compromise would have bought a document less definitive than the Declaration of Independence. No it is consensus that we need. Something Washington no longer does. What comes out of Washington is not consensus but a piece meal form of governance. I look to the declaration and I see guidance and courage. The closing line says it all.
These men were willing to risk it all to do what needed to be done. Find me one politician in Washington who will lat his career on the line to do what needs to be done. The declaration was the foundation and the Constitution the structure of this country. Both were examples of courage. Forging a freedom movement while hostile forces are on your land is dangerous. Forging a new country and government is just as bold. Where are our bold men and women ready to lead? Find a person of courage, not the person your party told you to vote for. Ask the questions that need to be asked and get the right answers or don’t vote for them.
I doubt the men who wrote the declaration were having as much fun on this day as our congress is now. What do you think?
P.S. Harry Reid called the Senate back form their vacations. Do you think he did it for altruistic reasons? Heck no tomorrow he will announce that the Republicans are not serious about the Debt ceiling. But the Democrats are. As we should have learned by now it is all BS!
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7 responses to “Was the 4th of July really a happy day?
1. SpeakupNJ
Are you trying to tell me they had no “Camp David” where they could be pampered, at the expense of 20% unemployment, $3.75/gal gasoline and 3- simultaneous wars, in order to PLAN in complete serenity their summer vacation in New England? Oh Mike….say it isn’t so!
2. EXCELLENT! I salute all members of our ARMED SERVICES!
3. mikeh
What…no pedalling around Martha’s Vineyard in bike helmet and rear-view teleprompter? No strolling the links hoping no one films your next tee?
What kind of 4th did these dullards have anyway?
I bet they went to church or something.
4. mikeh
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college papers
Topics For a Term Paper
Understanding how you can create an argumentative paper is vital for a achievement in university since you’ll be assigned to write argumentative papers more regularly in contrast to any one of the other style of paper.
In such form of paper, we not just offer data but also provide a statement with the pros (defending suggestions) along with cons (contrasting opinions). Provided tutorial tries to expose how to make persuasive term papers relating to censorship. Your assignment is to convince readers to take our standpoint on the core issue. The primary target is to persuade an opposing audience to transform beliefs that a lot of the readers don’t feel like adjusting.
college papers
What you’re planning to sell your arguments to the readers with? Choose a thesis statement that surely will attract attention of the readership. Bad thesis could put an end to the argument. Bear in mind, the topic statement must be medium-sized and also is supposed to incorporate a statement. At times, topic sentences can be tough. Pick the above-mentioned only when you, the author, feel that you’re capable of supporting the claim using satisfactory material and figures. Tough topics reviewing censorship are always triumphant.
Shape the paper making sure you compell the audience care about the ideas you present undoubtedly. You can take structure layout for the persuasive college paper dealing with censorship from one of the many advisable designs. First design suggests that you, the author, arrange supporting facts, individual argument per paragraph, after that you bring in opposing arguments and contradict the cons one after the other.
How to format?
Alternative manner of formating your argumenttive paper dealing with censorship is in citing opposing arguments, all in a separate passage, primarily then to contradict them earlier than creating closing paragraph. Regardless of which style of presenting your claims you, the author, take, you should not disremember to formulate a conclusion at the closing stages of your paper in which you illustrate the standpoint about the censorship topic.
Once discrediting confronting thoughts to the censorship claim, assert the con. Hence, you, the author, refer to the focus of this negation. Announcement of antagonistic claim shows what exactly you’re planning to confront, making it less difficult for you personally along with the readers to understand. Do not present claims which can be imprecise or are collected from unreliable resources.
In the confutation, draw on these 3 different types of beating the statement
• evidence of irrelevancy (while you prove that confronting argument appears to be irrelevant to the censorship topic focus)
• total discrepancy (at this juncture you are demanded to provide strong counterstatements and also back up them by information to break the antagonistic statement)
• compromise (while you conform to your rival claim in general but confirm the claim isn’t efficient sufficiently)
Determined by the approach of demonstration you chose for the censorship college paper, the conclusion is supposed to either summarize without exception, all pros plus recite contradictions to cons, or debate disproofs to all opposing thoughts to the censorship issue. There are organization kinds about the way the breaking off should be ordered, it is dependent upon the approach of demonstration you chose for the censorship paper.
According to one format, it should recapitulate altogether pros as well as deliver contradictions to opposing ideas. Consistent with the other organization framework, it is supposed to review contradictions to every one of cons to the censorship theme.
To make a final conclusion concerning censorship you must do all of the above-mentioned.
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Budgeting By despena vedis
A budget is a document made and used to predict future financial income and expense as well as distribute a particular amount or percentage of income to various expenses over a certain amount of time. A budget gives you the knowledge you need to know to see if you can sustain the way you are living. A budget consists of and can track:
The money you may earn by services or investments which is earned frequently (wages, salary, interest, bank accounts, etc). This is known as an income.
The money which you spend often on essential necessities or things you would like to have (rent, food, bills, phone, etc). This is known as your expenses.
There may be remaining income after the expenses have been deducted from the income. This is known as a ‘disposable income’ which is the money that you can afford to spend or save.
Most of the current day teenagers live a life of no worry when it comes to expenses, income and budgeting. Many of them will be happily buying like this girl, right? And many of them will not even be educated on this topic. I believe budgeting is more important and crucial then it may seem to teenagers. It’s important for teenagers to prepare for large expenses in the future and be educated on what possibilities may happen in the future. Budgeting is also a useful skill because it allows us to appreciate our money, to teach us to live within our means and to assist in avoiding debt.
A budget is a prediction of income and expenditure over a set period of time. From this, data you are able to have knowledge on an estimate amount of money which needs to be distributed and allocated to each expense.
When budgeting it is important to keep in mind to prioritise, this means putting necessities or items which are needed for survival (needs) over items we would enjoy having for personal pleasure but can live without (wants). Examples of these are putting shelter, food, petrol or uniforms before items such as shoes, makeup, skateboards or a basketball.
Another factor of budgeting is expense and income, to correctly budget we must keep in mind there are far more expenses then there are incomes.
It is important to set realistic goals when budgeting so they can be achieved and avoid this
When a credit card is received the money can be used to spend on anything you like. This sounds great right? But on the other hand this money wasn't yours in the first place and therefore this credit must be paid back to the provider. If this can not occur this becomes an outstanding balance or a debt on top of this there are additional cost which must be paid. Debts often build up quite easily as the money is more accessible and therefore easier to spend. If the money isn't regularly paid back debt can build up and become a large expense to pay back. People quite generally get into debt when they continue to borrow money on top of their current debt. This leads up especially if they spend more than they earn.
Though having this money is amazing there a consequences for having this money and excessively spending it. Although money is predominately borrowed from the bank and needs to be paid back there is other types of credit such as interest-free deals, store cards, home loans, personal loans and small amount of loans.
On top of debt there is an additional money percentage which must be paid back known as interests this is due to borrowing credit.
Credit card companies understand that there are many payments to make hence having minimum monthly payments which is the minimum amount of a credit card expense you can pay to remain with the company.
A credit report is a collection of your history with payments, the bank and credit this used to tell your capability for frequent repayments.
There are many ways to be money smart and not buying anything isn't always the answer. Here are some efficient ways for teens to save money.
1. Figure out if there will be an income and if so what will it be and how frequent?
2. Asses what the expenses will be
3. Consider ways to make an income (cleaning, walking dogs or getting a job)
4. Have an education on budgeting and create one
5. Store the majority of money either in a bank account or other safely kept space
6. Treat yourself occasionally to avoid major shopping sprees.
Here's some more helpful information on teenage budgeting.
I hope that this website has given valuable information about budgeting in business and much more additional information
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Factor completely: 2x2 – 50
To indicate x squared, use this notation — x^2.
2x^2-50 = 2(x^2-25)
You should be able to continue the factoring with the site that Lance has given you.
I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
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Factor completely. Always begin by factoring the GCF. ax(squared)p-8pa-2axp
9. Algebra 1-Factoring Help!
Factor completely. if the polynomial is prime, state this. -6x^2-21x-9 I am confused about how to factoring. Thanks!
10. Algebra 1-Factor by Grouping Help!
Factor. Use factoring by grouping even though it would seem reasonable to first combine like terms 3u^2-7-21u+49 Would be the same procedure as factoring polynomial?
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Monday, March 24, 2014
The Return of the Polar Votex is Actually a Good Thing !
Just when you thought it was safe to go outside again, the Polar Vortex is back! It's blasting the Midwest and Eastern half of the United States with very cold weather. While this will undoubtedly be unpleasant, there is an upside.
NASA image of Polar Vortex reaching down in mid-U.S.
You might remember the Polar Vortex from January and later in January, when it brought extremely low temperatures to a good deal of North America. Well...this week this atmospheric phenomenon, usually confined to the Arctic regions of our planet, will be dipping down once again into many states.
Models are ''very confident that it'll be significantly colder than average'' in much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, said Mike Halpert, acting director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. During the worst parts, temperatures could be as much as 20 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit below average. The most affected areas will likely be places that have already felt the freeze this year, such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Those states are currently feeling a little relief as the weather has momentarily cleared up in the Midwest, leading to warmer temperatures in the 50s and 60s and heavy rain instead of snow. Though it might be a nice break from the freezing temperatures, unfortunately, this is actually a bad thing.
According to Weather Underground, there is so much snowpack on the frozen ground in the central and northeastern U.S. that warm weather and rain could lead to flash floods. Ice floes breaking up in rivers could get carried downstream and jam up the flow, leading to spillover flooding. It seems that the expected arrival of the Polar Vortex may be a blessing: The return of freezing temperatures could save the region from the worst of this this. ''This week's thaw will be short-lived, preventing the kind of major flooding that could result if all the snowpack were to melt in a week,'' wrote meteorologist Jeff Masters at Weather Underground.
The Polar Vortex originates in the far north, when sunlight has disappeared during the winter season, creating the Northern Hemisphere's coldest air. Moving southward, this air gradually warms, until it reaches a place where the warming occurs very quickly. A swift-moving river of air moves west to east here, marking the typical southern edge of the Polar Vortex. Another climatic phenomenon in play is known as the Arctic Oscillation, where atmospheric mass moves back and forth over many years between the Arctic and the middle latitudes. During a positive Arctic Oscillation, pressure is lower than normal over the Arctic but higher than normal over the mid-latitudes. Because air moves from high to low pressure, the Polar Vortex is pushed upward, near to the pole, creating warm weather in the Artic Circle and melting the ice cap.
During a negative phase, conditions are reversed, with high pressure in the Arctic and low pressure in the mid-latitudes. This is the time when the Polar Vortex can develop waves or kinks that bring freezing air southward. Interestingly, this year's Arctic Oscillation was not largely negative. This could help explain why the Polar Vortex only came down in North America and eastern Siberia. Other locations around the and within the Arctic Circle such as Alaska, Scandinavia, Europe, and western Russia had a much balmier than normal temperatures. While this year's Arctic Oscillation wasn't very negative, scientists have noticed a tread in recent decades toward more negative phases. Some blame loss of sea ice and other effects from climate change, though the true cause remains unclear.
Mike Halpert
Though many folks like to think this perpetually dark and frozen winter they are suffering through is especially miserable, it's actually not been a particularly severe one when taking the long term view of the entire country. ''People have been saying this winter's been really cold,'' said Halpert. ''When looking at the last three months, yeah, we'll be a little on the cold side compared to average. But it's certainly nothing historic.'' This statement of his was a direct response to the Jeff Master's obviously ignorance of severe weather history and in other severe weather cases he is also a serial exaggerator to boot. Just how cold it is, of course, depends on where you live. While some states like Wisconsin, are experiencing what may be in the top 10 coldest winters on record, California is in the middle of a warm, dry drought while a lot of the U.S. hasn't been having anything really out of the ordinary weatherwise.
J. Masters
The Way I See It.....within the realm of climate change/global warming alarmism, there are scientists who practice (admitted) fraud, such as Peter Gleick, then there is Michael Mann's hockey stick graph that is the most laughable and widely discredited object in the history of science because he purported to abolish the medieval warm period and to show - falsely - that today's quite normal global temperatures were unprecedented in 1300 years! You see, this global warming alarmism science community has fakers like in Climate-gate, and an alarming number of pathological exaggerators and serial incompetents: meet Jeff Masters, that meteorologist I mentioned before, who always takes current individual severe weather events and then claims the event is unprecedented or unusual in weather history. Fortunately he's proven wrong a lot showing the public and his colleagues that his climate change alarmism has an unenviable record of complete incompetence!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Beware The Donbass Elite !
With the Crimean referendum having been decided yesterday, the results seemed obvious to all who have witnessed Vladimir Putin's uncalled for Hitler-style annexation. However, there's more to this story that many people in the West don't know and should, if any future decisions are o be made in resolving Ukraine's political and economic weaknesses.
American and European news broadcasts about Ukraine, sometimes even those involving specialists and political scientists, tend to include phrases like ''In the Ukraine there is a struggle between the Eastern pro-Russian part and the Western pro-European part of the country.'' People hearing this could be forgiven for thinking Ukraine consists only of two regions: The West and the East, animated simply by their pro-European or pro-Russian views. It's not that simple.
This cliché is nothing new and, indeed, 20 years ago it was a reasonably accurate picture of things. The far east of Ukraine had more affection for Moscow than it had for Kiev, while the west had no love for either Kiev or Moscow, considering itself self-sufficient and part of Europe. Remember that Western Ukraine was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Poland and became part of the USSR only in 1939 -- unlike the East, which had long been a key source of Soviet industrial wealth, the site of mines, metalworking plants and barrack towns for the workers and their families who had come from all over the Soviet Union. There, almost all significant posts at the provincial, district and town levels were given to men and women from Russia or Soviet Ukraine.
Putin and Yanukovych
In 1991, Ukraine celebrated the unexpected gift of independence. But in the East - the coal-rich Donbass region - there was a frightened hush. While western Ukraine happily started developing small businesses and embraced statehood, the east followed the model of post-Soviet Russia, with a criminal craving up of the region's factories an the development of its own school-for-scoundrels of oligarchs driven first by a desire to keep Donbass for the use of the Donbass elite alone. So, in 2004, these bums put forward their own candidate in the presidential election: their stooge was Viktor Yanukovych; a Putin favourite.
In 2010 he became master of the whole country and he repeated the policies of 1939. Russian-speaking inhabitants of Donetsk, the largest city in Donbass, were sent our to be chiefs of police, customs officials and heads of the justice system through the country. This infiltration of their country had the inhabitants of many other areas of Ukraine angry with the tough, unsmiling manner of their new bosses from Donbass. The result was a complex national political picture - more complex than the simple division between East and West - one that I believe defines Ukraine today.
Donbass became a Mafia-style headquarters, a shop floor and counting house of Yanukovych's Party, a place of coal mining, metal smelting and unimaginably corrupt schemes that allowed state funds and taxes from the region's businesses to disappear into thin air. Civil society was strangled, and this densely populated area couldn't produce a single honest public figure or writer of national importance to take on the most pressing issues of the day. While the central and western regions had less money but, free from an oligarchy, more ideas and discussion. They became the arts and humanities heart of the country, with a more active civil society and honourable public figures.
The Way I See It.....Crimea is a lost cause with it being the only area with a large percentage of pro-Russian inhabitants and Europe and America powerless to stop the referendum much less the Russian occupation and Putin will shrug off the impending sanctions. But let's not forget that there also exists in this region a fast-increasing Tatar population, with is generally anti-Russian. Putin may get the majority vote on this referendum but it won't be unanimous across the Crimea. To my mind, the central-southern area and Zakarpattia area make up another region, the commercial region, with seaports like Odessa and Mykolayiv and the tradition of cross border commerce with Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. There you notice more ideas and more discussion; just like the Tatars, they too have no time for Donbass.
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Sunday, March 16, 2014
My God! Journalists are Suckers for Any Kind of Scare !
Early this week Australian Broadcast Company senior interviewer, Kerry O'Brien, groaned that our ''once-spectacular reef '' was ''threatened by global warming'' and ''up to 10% of the reef has been lost to bleaching since 1989'', turning it ''bone white''. Up popped Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (yeah, I know it sounds like a glandular disease). a Queensland reef researcher with a natty patter, to warn us to ''change our lifestyles'' or the reef would go - killed by hotter seas.
Just like last week's Liz Hayes' (see previous posting) catering to Helen Caldicott's latest diatribe crap about how many Japanese that'll die from the radiation from the Fukushima accident three years ago. So now, Kerry, another respected journalist shows his major ''suckerhood'' by giving Hoegh-Guldberg uncritical coverage of his latest scare. It's like they actually want to be fooled - or to fool you.
Hoegh-Guldberg is now said to be the world's most influential reef scientist in global warming circles. Pity that, because he rose to fame on a gravy-train of our tax dollars having got big government grants, chaired a $20 million World Bank study of warming, and worked as an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead author. That's not saying much judging by the low standard of ''expert'' authors that's come to light and their incestuous relationships in so called peer-review circles.
Last week he bobbed up on radio, being fronted by a sweet-youth-thing (a favourite student perhaps) waving a report he'd just done for the WWF green group with the sweet-young-thing promoting this month's useless Earth Hour. Again journalists lapped it up, not bothering to check how all Hoegh-Guldberg's other warnings had panned out. He keeps predicting the death of the reef that refuses to die. Intelligent people ask, ''Will Professor Ove's latest reef scare turn out better than his many lasts?'' (Answer: no..., as you'll see.)
His report states: ''The Great Barrier Reef will suffer irreversible damage by 2030 unless radical action is taken to lower carbon emissions. Coral bleaching, which occurs when water becomes too warm and coral's energy source is decimated, is now a ''serious threat'' to the reef, having not been documented in the region prior to 1979.'' He continued, ''The current climate trends signal game over for the Great Barrier Reef.'' But what of Hoegh-Guldberg's previous scares?
In 2000....he warned that ''The reef building corals are likely to become very rare indeed if warming continues unabated. We now have more evidence that corals cannot fully recover from bleaching episodes such as the major el Nino event
in 1998. The overall damage is irreparable. We're seeing the first signs of a major change to an ecosystem due to climate change.'' Ka-cling!!
In 2006....he shockingly stated; ''Between 30 and 40% of the coral on Queensland Barrier Reef could die within a month!'' Ka-cling!!
In 2009....more scary stuff; ''So what we know now, with rising CO2, the Great Barrier Reef has started to low its calcification rate. Tests show that coral reefs are calcifying now 50% slower than they did prior to 1990. Ka-cling!!
In 2011....a shocker; ''We will see large-scale mortality of reef-building corals (30% or more) and many organisms on reefs along the West Australian coastline (300 km or more). This will occur over the next 1-3 months. These reeks will take more than 10 years to recover. Ka-cling!!
But now? REALITY !
A Government-run research body has found in an extensive study of corals spanning more than 1000km of Australia's coastline that the past 110 years of ocean warming has been good for their health. I exposed this warmist climate-reef deception in a posting Warming Gives Us MORE reefs ! (June, 19, 2011). The findings undermine blanket predictions that global warming will devastate coral reefs, and add to a growing body of evidence showing coral reefs are more resilient than previously thought. Maria Byrne, a professor of marine biology at Sydney University, said after reading the paper published in the leading journal Science, that its findings ''made perfect sense''. She added, that ''Temperature rules metabolism, so it's a no-brainer that if you get more temperature you will get more metabolism.''
More good news! The reef is recovering from damage caused largely by cyclones, which even the CSIRO admits have not been made worse or more numerous by warming, stating ''The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority scientists say baby corals are blooming on the reef, which is a positive sign of recovery. It is showing that even though it has had multiple impacts in the last few years, it is able to bounce back. It is good news for the fast growing coral but there are slower growing coral that need more time and thankfully cyclones numbers are the lowest in years.''
And Still More ! The Catlin Seaview Survey, an underwater survey, has found thriving coral reefs at depths of 30 meters and below, on the Great Barrier Reef and no above-average sea warming. This
is good news has come just a few weeks after a survey by the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the University of Wollongong, which revealed it has not being global warming that was involved in the decline in coral over the years but storm damage, fresh water bleaching and the population explosion of the Crown of Thorns starfish. It is with satisfaction that we know the Barrier Reef in still flourishing underneath the damage coral.
The Way I See It.....Professor Hoegh-Guldberg must have been too busy riding the gravy train not to notice while real science has been going on checking the health of our coastal reefs. He seems to have ignored or not taken seriously the fact that global warming has stopped rising over the last 17 years even though the Carbon Dioxide levels have gone up 25% with no obvious ill-effects. And coral bleaching is mainly due to fresh water runoff from cyclonic rainfall.
Now the warmists, without batting an eye or and an apology in their throats, say the heat has gone into the ocean depths to work it's devastation.......where? The dreaded acidification of the sea water isn't happening either, and even tests show that the fish can breed quite happily in warmer water as well, if need be. I think Ove should give back some of our grant money since his predictions about our lovely Barrier Reef have been a series of duds and the money would be better spent on scientists with no ideology or agenda to push..
Friday, March 14, 2014
60 Minutes' Disgraceful Fukushima Scare Beat Up !
Liz Hayes' credibility dropped into a toilet last week by giving another disgraceful example of enviro-porn - the kind of green scaremonger that kills more people than it saves. Her truly irresponsible report on the three years after the Fukushima nuclear reactor incident featured Australia's resident fruitcake and anti-nuclear hysteric Helen Caldicott. She was introduced as merely a ''paediatrician'' and falsely billed as a ''nuclear expert''. The closest thing she's come to a nuclear expert is looking at the photos of the incident in TIME magazine and borrowing some books from the library.
Caldicott's past alarmism is not mentioned (because she would look like a true idiot if the truth be told), and not least her unforgivable fear mongering at the time of the emergency. She warned on radio station 3AW that Fukushima reactor could blow (a scenario ruled out by nuclear experts). This, she wailed, meant ''hundreds of thousands of Japanese will be dying within two weeks of acute radiation illness, with countless more later suffering an epidemic of cancers!'' Hayes fails to find a single example of anyone at all in Japan - not even the workers at the emergency site - suffering ill-health as a consequence of the emergency. Not one - despite clearly hunting for atrocity stories.
Hayes shows Caldicott (photo left) claiming Japan is now so unsafe that athletes should not go to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Hayes fails to mention the truth, as established by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation last year: that no evidence is likely to emerge of any radiation illness from the incident, even among the heavily exposed workers who were at the plant. As UNSCEAR officially said:
''Radiation exposure following the nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daiichi did not cause any immediate health effects. It is unlikely to be able to attribute any health effects in the future among the general public and vast majority of workers.'' They went on to report that the exposure of the Japanese population was very low, leading to correspondingly low risks of health effects later in life. Also, no radiation-related deaths or acute effects have been observed among the 25,000 workers (including TEPCO employees and contractors) involved at the accident site. The assessment also concluded that ''although the rate of exposure may have exceeded the levels for the onset of effect on plants and animals in the first few months following the accident, any effects are expected to be transient in nature, given their short duration.''
Hayes then goes on to report more scary claims that the ''whole world'' is being contaminated by the fallout, including the west coast of the United States. What she fails to add is that any contamination that washes ashore will not affect anyone. Carl-Magnus Larsson, chair of the UNSCEAR says ''we're not about to produce a race of sea monsters.'' He went on to say, ''This radioactivity is also being transported over very long distances with the ocean currents circling up and around Alaska and down the west coast and by that time be diluted to levels where there is no concern for harmful effects on the sea life or for using the beaches along the California coast for recreational purposes.
Hayes stupidly warns Fukushima could turn out as terrible as the Chernobyl disaster without adding that Chernobyl was beaten up just like Hayes is now beating up Fukushima. I remember when another idiot, Peter Garrett, as President of the Australian Conservation Foundation, thundered on the danger of all things nuclear and claiming the Chernobyl nuclear explosion in 1986 ''caused the deaths of more than 30,000 people!'' In fact, the known death toll of that explosion of a badly designed reactor is not 30,000, but just 65, according to the Chernobyl Forum that included the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia as well as all relevant United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organisation and International Atomic Energy Agency.
But I said that Liz Hayes' reckless scaremongering is the kind of thing likely to kill more people than it could possibly save. It's true. Radiation scare-mongers risk scaring people to death, Just ask the thousands of evacuees who have just recently been told by the Belarus government that, ''Opps, we made a mistake, there really wasn't any risk from Chernobyl and you can go back to your homes.'' No matter that a generation of their lives were destroyed, that about 10,000 died from suicide, depression and alcoholism because the fear was far more devastating than the event itself. During the first year after Chernobyl, the average dose to inhabitants in Northern Europe was 4.5 mrem, i.e., less than 2% of the average global annual natural dose of 240 mrem/yr. This was not worth destroying these people's lives. And it is exactly the same danger as eating a bag of potato chips a day.
The Way I See that the first thing that people don't realise is that radiation is natural. We are exposed to radiation from outer space....that radiation is there, it provides us with a background exposure as we live on this planet. How many Fukushima residents are being scared to death by the likes of Hayes and Caldicott? Sadly just two weeks ago it was revealed stress-related deaths among the evacuees had topped the actual death toll of 1,600 from the earthquake and tsunami. Terrible!
All this dogmatic nonsense rests upon LNT, the Linear No-Threshold Dose hypothesis, a supposition that all radiation is deadly and there is no dose below which harmful effects will not occur. Double the dose, double the cancers. Of course, this is not true! The millions of nuclear workers that have been monitored closely for 50 years have no higher cancer mortality than the general population but have had several to ten times the average dose. The Chernobyl Forum summed it up by stating, ''Persistent myths and misconceptions about the threat of radiation have resulted on paralysing fatalism among residents of affected areas.''
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
The Origins and Consequences of Barack Obama's Weakness !
President Obama and John Kerry
In 1983, an idealistic socialist student of political science at Columbia University in New York City penned an article for the university magazine railing against the ''war mentality'' of America and ''the relentless, often silent spread of militarism in the country.'' He said President Ronald Reagan was a hostage to the ''twisted logic of the Cold War'', he wrote, and was ''playing into the Russians' hands'' rather than ''shifting America off the dead-end track'' and pursuing the proper goal of a ''nuclear-free world.'' Well, we all know it was Russians that played into Reagan's hands that ended the Cold War.
A quarter of a century later, the author, Barack Obama was elected to the White House. While due allowance could be made for the callow scribblings of any student, there have been striking echoes of Obama's naïve suspicion of American power during his five years as President. In those five years President Obama has led a foreign policy more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality. It was a world in which he said ''the tide of war is receding'' and the United States could, without much risk, radically reduce the size of its armed forces. Other leaders, in this vision, would behave rationally and in the interest of their people and the world. Invasions, brute force, great-power games and shifting alliances -- these were things of the past. Secretary of State John F. Kerry stupidly displayed this Obama-mindset on Australian radio when he said of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ''It's a 19th century act in the 21st century.''
Unfortunately, President Vladimir Putin has not received the memo on 21st century behaviour. I remember last October in the 3rd presidential campaign debate with Mitt Romney, Obama smugly critiquing a quote Romney made saying that the biggest geopolitical threat to the America and the world is not al-Qaeda but Russia, by saying loudly, ''don't you know that the Cold War has been over for 20 years?'' What an idiot Obama seems today. Unfortunately he's the idiot in charge of what's left of a defence of what is left of the free world. Obama's leadership - or lack of it - has only hastened the decline of Western power and the new axis emerges.
Russia has said China is largely ''in agreement'' over Ukraine, after other world powers condemned Moscow for sending troops into the country. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Ukraine by telephone with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and claimed they had ''broadly coinciding points of view'' on the situation. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: ''China has always upheld the principles of diplomacy and the fundamental norms of international relations.'' But he added, ''At the same time we also take into consideration the history and the current complexities of the Ukrainian issue.''
It's a sinister reminder for the West that the rest of the world doesn't think force is a bad thing. While most advanced economies have been cutting back on defence, the Russian Federation has embarked on the greatest expansion of its military since the end of the Cold War. Putin's latest move is further proof that he is prepared to use force to reassert Russian influence within the boundaries of the former Soviet Union - a chilling reality for not just Ukraine but for other Eastern European and Central Asian states. It is also a reminder for a complacent European Union that old-fashioned power politics in Eurasia is not merely a thing of the past but alive and all too well.
Russia's military invasion of Georgia showed that Putin was willing to use force against peripheral states moving against Russian interests. Georgia provides a predictable strategy for Russian response to the loss of Ukraine to Europe: invade on the pretext of protecting a Russian minority. After all, there the EU and US proved powerless to stop the forcible change of Georgia's sovereign borders by force. Reluctant to characterise the Russian military push - a flagrant breach of Ukraine's sovereignty and international law - as a hostile action, the Obama administration chose to term it laughingly as an ''uncontested arrival'', similarly the most startling US foreign policy euphemism since the ''war on terror'' was renamed an ''overseas contingency operation.''
The Way I See It.....the Left, of which Barack Obama is graduate member, (see previous 3 serial posts titled Barack Obama's Un-Holy Trinity (Mentors of Ill-Repute) parts 1,2 & 3 - August, 2012- for enlightenment), have argued for many years for disarmament of the West, can now see what they have wrought. Who now can stand against Russia and China, who have far fewer reservations about the use of force. Obama will not change. We have seen a lot of this and we're going to see more. Besides Russia and China you have Syria, the Egyptian generals, (Hamid Karzi in Afghanistan, Iran within Iraq, Hezbollah - you can keep rattling them off. Everyone is reacting to this weakness.
Next, China might seize the Senkaku, also known as the Diayou, islands from Japan; Iran might judge that the cost of acquiring nuclear weapons would be bearable; North Korea might flex its muscles again; Assad's Syria has no obvious need to come to the table. A vacuum has been created - and is starting to be filled by leaders with far fewer scruples about using force. China is watching the US reaction. What would it conclude about the US's readiness to defend Taiwan????
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Putin Pissed at Political Cold Shoulder: Ukraine Pays !
The Valdimir Putin era in Russia, now in its 15th year, has given birth to the ongoing diplomatic challenge of reading what's going on behind the Kremlin leader's steely eyes. George W. Bush famously perceived ''something trustworthy and sympathetic'' in 2001, while former defence Secretary Robert Gates, in his memoir ''Duty", recalls seeing ''a stone-cold killer.'' The Russian President many seem to many like an unbending autocrat, but in fact Putin has never in his career shown himself to be more susceptible to Western influence than he has during the run-up to the Winter Games in Sochi.
As the Games approached, Putin granted many of the West's most pressing demands. He freed nearly all Russia's most prominent political prisoners -- environmental activists, Pussy Riot, oligarchs turned democrats and street protestors. That still left the U.S. and Europe criticizing Russia's discriminatory law against homosexual ''propaganda'' directed at minors. But Putin eased up on that too, thinking he had earned much diplomatic credit with the West for hosting Sochi and for his acts of conciliation. So far, he has received none. What he got for his efforts was the West's informal boycott of the Games and the most prominent statesman not showing up. That was a mistake!
The closing ceremony attendance by Americas delegation wasn't much better. President Obama could've sent Joe Biden but no, he sent Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul and to gay previous medal winners instead. That would've compounded further annoyance on his mind during the ceremonies in Sochi of the upheaval underway 250 miles to the west, the distance to the border between Russia and Ukraine -- where Viktor Yanukovich's government had just been toppled. As Putin sat in his guarded box in Fisht Olympic Stadium, he no doubt reflected on all the sweat and treasure he poured into these Games and who his friends are. A nice photo opt would have let him feel like he is part of the European family at the very moment he craves acceptance to most. After all his good faith gestures, he still was treated like an outcast.
So, is it no surprise that Putin's penchant for using armed force in what is beginning to look like a 21st century version of the ''Great Game.'' Ukrainian officials reported that unmarked Russian soldiers had seized two airfields in Crimea and condemned Russia for committing an act of occupation. This is the second time in six years that Putin has exerted Russian hard power to intimidate a neighbouring country. In August 2008, Putin punished and weakened the pro-Western government in Tbilisi by sending Russian armoured columns into Georgia, ostensibly to ''protect'' and ultimately to ''liberate'' the secessionist enclave of South Ossetia.
The bullying of the Georgian and Ukrainian governments reflect not just Putin's worldview, motives and methods but those that have predominated for centuries in the country he rules. This mentality went back to the czars -- and one uniquely acquisitive czarina, Catherine the Great, whose reign from 1762 to 1796 is often regarded as Russia's golden age. ''I have no way to defend my borders,'' she is reputed to have said as her armies gobbled up much of Eurasia, ''except to extend them.'' Russia was not unique in adopting the principle that the best defense is a good offense. But over the centuries, it felt itself uniquely vulnerable -- to Swedes and others from the north, Mongols from the East, Napolean and Hitler to other great powers. The more of Russia's periphery its rulers could conquer, the fewer and the further away from Moscow their enemies would be. The result was the largest territorial empire in history and the largest state on the planet today.
History tells us that the Ukraine has as special emotional grip on every Russian. The Kievan Rus, a loose assemblage of Slavic tribes in the Middle Ages, became the cradle of Russian civilization. And of all the regions in Ukraine, Crimea was the object of the most resentment and nostalgia in Russia. In 1954, Nikita Khruschev transferred Crimea from the Russian Federation to Ukraine as a gift on the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's absorption into the czarist empire. At the time, it was a symbolic gesture, since Ukraine was, like the rest of the Soviet Union, governed from Moscow. The Crimean port city of Sevastpol was home to the Soviet Baltic fleet. Odessa, Yalta, and other seaside towns were retirement communities for the Soviet military. Hence the heavy concentration of transplanted Russians, as well as Russian-speaking Ukrainians, in Crimea today.
Putin is, at a minimum, dangerously close to violating a compact signed under President Clinton, where Russia promised to respect the ''sovereignty and territorial'' integrity'' of Ukraine. So much for the spirit of the Olympic Games and its celebration of international goodwill, friendly competition and playing by the rules. Putin seems to believe that Mother Russia has the right and obligation to protect ''her children'' in what post-Soviet Russians have called ''the near-abroad.'' That is a code word for what Putin sees as Russia's
sphere of influence and a no-go zone for the NATO and the European Union. Therein lies a profound irony. Putin, like many of his countrymen, is convinced that the West, institutionalized in NATO and the EU, constitutes a strategic threat to Russia. In fact, the West and the North are the only points of the compass that do not point to danger of radical Islamics.
The Way I See It.....the number one threat to Russia's sustainability as a unified state is internal: the combination of a demographic time bomb (low birth rates among Slavs and high rates among undesirable ethnic groups), an intractable public health crisis (high smoking and alcoholism), a failure to modernize the economy, and Putin's ''vertical power'' -- a euphemism for authoritarianism --makes efficient, transparent, accountable, and democratic governance impossible.
This has now led to a final irony. One key goal of Putin's foreign policy has been to prevent Western powers for bringing about regime-change -- especially when the regime in question has ties to Moscow. Yet in the most precious part of the near-abroad there was regime-change in Keiv. It wasn't caused by Western meddling, as the Russians claim. It was caused when Yanukovich, with the evident support from Moscow, resorted to violent tactics and escalating brutality against the people-power movement. Ukrainians came together in outrage and opposition -- not just to Yanukovich but to his backer in the Kremlin.
With film director and ex-supporter Oliver Stone's comment that ''Obama is a weak and spine-less man.'' still ringing in this ears, and 2000 Russian troops invading the Crimean Ukraine, you would think President Barack Obama would have had a sense of aggressive urgency. But no, his statement to the media was that ''the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine.'' Charles Krauthammer, political commentator on Fox News, responded on Special Report last night saying, ''The Ukrainians and I think everybody is shocked by the weakness of Obama's statement. I find it rather staggering.''
Krauthammer thinks Obama's comment is about ''three levels removed'' from actual action. He explained: Obama said ''we will stand with the international community -- meaning we are going to negotiate with a dozen other pussy countries who will water down the statement -- in affirming that there will be costs. What he's saying is we're not really going to do anything and we're telling the world.....with Putin all ears.'' Once again I can see Vald, the master strategist, skating rings around the feckless West.
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Monday, February 25, 2008
Wampanoag Three Sisters Garden (acclimated to the south east by Native Americans
Wampanoag Three Sisters Garden
It was the Wampanoag gardens that enabled the early settlers of Jamestown to survive and thrive in the New World. Squanto was a Wampanoag who "taught the newcomers to plant maize in little hills and fertilize each mound with an alewife, a species of fish". With this efficient and intensive gardening style, each family could sustain their needs on about one acre of land. Many of the tribes of the Northeast, including the Iroquois, used the Wampanoag garden design. Planted without plowing or tilling, the traditional Wampanoag garden includes corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. The corn and beans are planted in mounds, with squash planted between the mounds.
The sunflowers are planted along the north edge of the garden, so that they do not cast a shadow on the other crops . When the sunflowers have bloomed and the squash and beans have flowered, the Wampanoag Three Sisters garden becomes a stunning cluster of red, yellow, and white flowers against a textured backdrop of shimmering greens.
First, the raised corn and bean mounds must be constructed. These small mounds are laid out in rows with 4 feet between the centers of the mounds . Each mound is about 4 inches high, with a wide base (about 18 inches in diameter) that narrows to a flattened top (about 10 inches across). To conserve moisture, a depression with a lip may be formed at the top of each mound . The finished mounds have a remarkable resemblance to miniature moon craters.
When the mounds are ready, plant four corn seeds about 6 inches apart and 3 inches deep in the top of each mound. Once the corn has grown to a height of 4 inches or more, plant four beans seeds halfway down the slopes on the sides of each mound . Allow the bean vines to entwine themselves around the cornstalks for support. The bean vines may be pruned if they get too aggressive .
Squash seedlings are planted at the same time as the beans. Construct rounded mounds 3 inches high and about 1 foot across at the base. The squash mounds are staggered between the mounds of corn and beans . Traditionally, four seedlings are planted in the top of each mound.
The seedlings are arranged to represent each of the four sacred directions . Both winter and summer varieties are planted, including pumpkins, acorn squash, and summer crookneck squash . Sunflower seeds are planted at the same time as the corn. The smaller-flowering common sunflower, Helianthus annus, is traditionally grown in a Wampanoag Three Sisters garden. The sunflower mounds are located at the north edge of the garden. The mounds are spaced about three feet apart from center, with three seeds planted (one seed per hole) atop each mound. The sunflowers seeds are traditionally harvested after the first frost.
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[per-spek-tiv] /pərˈspɛk tɪv/
Compare , .
an architect’s perspective of a house.
a perspective on the main axis of an estate.
the state of existing in space before the eye:
Your data is admirably detailed but it lacks perspective.
a mental view or prospect:
the dismal perspective of terminally ill patients.
a picture showing perspective
Read Also:
• Perspectivism
[per-spek-tuh-viz-uh m] /pərˈspɛk təˌvɪz əm/ noun, Philosophy. 1. the doctrine that reality is known only in terms of the perspectives of it seen by individuals or groups at particular moments.
• Perspectivist
• Perspex
/ˈpɜːspɛks/ noun 1. trademark any of various clear acrylic resins, used chiefly as a substitute for glass 1935, trade name in Britain for what in the U.S. is called Plexiglas or Lucite, irregularly formed from Latin perspect-, past participle stem of perspicere “look through, look closely at” (see perspective).
• Perspicacious
[pur-spi-key-shuh s] /ˌpɜr spɪˈkeɪ ʃəs/ adjective 1. having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment. 2. Archaic. having keen vision. /ˌpɜːspɪˈkeɪʃəs/ adjective 1. acutely perceptive or discerning 2. (archaic) having keen eyesight adj. 1630s, formed as an adjective to perspicacity, from Latin perspicax “sharp-sighted, having the power of seeing through; acute” (see […]
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Information as a core concept for explaining order and evolution
English: Entropy, Thermodynamics and Divergenc...
English: Entropy, Thermodynamics and Divergence, How is it possible to understand Singularity or how the the whole universe is structured under the second law of thermodynamics? Teilhard de Chardin had a vision and many explanations about it, his work is worth of further investigation, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Working principle of Carnot's heat en...
English: Working principle of Carnot’s heat engine. Français : Principe de fonctionnement du moteur thermique de Carnot. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Cesar Hidalgo’s book, “Why information grows” is trying to untangle a very big issue by looking at a very simple problem (at least in appearance). How do small things (cities, economies, groups) get complex when most other things in nature tend to decay over time? A large rock, left by itself, over time cracks, breaks, and washed by rain and blown by winds turns into sand. A small family can over time turn into a dynasty or state. See the House of Habsburg or Osman. A small city can grow to become a world metropolis. See Singapore. Hidalgo believes that the world of humans, especially economies, are sophisticated information engines “Economies become distributed computers, made of networks of people, and the problem of economic development becomes the problem of making these computers more powerful.” I find the computer simile provoking, yet reductionist. Hidalgo’s proposition hides a much more abstract problem: if the second law of thermodynamics predicts the ultimate demise of the universe in a state of sameness and lukewarm entropy, why is life, natural and social, going in the opposite direction? If the world of humans is the apex of life, our success as a species, which includes the creation of cultural artifacts (in the anthropological sense), is our ability to defy and beat back entropy. But why do living organisms and cultures strive to become increasingly complex and their societies more and more unpredictable and negentropic? The simple answer could be that the universe is a reciprocal engine, in which evolution is the reverse of entropy, and that the second law of thermodynamics goes hand in hand with the law of evolution. The flow of physical world according to the principle “panta rei” to a state of maximum stability and predictability seems to engender and support as a compensatory mechanism the evolution of life and consciousness. The universe is not just an everflowing river, but a river that was created to power a watermill. The mill of life and culture. The more the river flows, the more complex the mill becomes and the more refined its products. The universe is run not by one law, that of decay, but by a more complex, two pronged law, that demands a compensatory force to keep the world in balance. As the world becomes more entropic, it generates information as a reciprocal action. Information and its “complexification” are the “bright side of the force” fighting the “dark side” of entropy. The old idea of a necessary “ying” and “yang” balance becomes more relevant than ever. The only unclear question is “what happens at the end of time”? When entropy would’ve run its course, would the world of life an consciousness come to its ultimate realization as a noosphere, as proposed by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin?
Sorin Adam Matei
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Understanding Insomnia
Insomnia is a common problem that is affecting a lot of people. It is characterized by difficulty in falling, staying or maintaining sleep. A lot of people go through bouts of insomnia due to several reasons. But people suffering from chronic insomnia may require some professional medical help.
Causes of insomnia
There are several causes attributed to insomnia. Stress has been known to be a common cause of constant sleeplessness. Stress can keep the mind in active mode even at night when it needs to take a rest.
Anxiety disorders are also know to cause insomnia, keeping the mid too alert to fall asleep.
Depression may also cause others to suffer from insomnia. The use of stimulants can also cause insomnia as they can interfere with normal sleeping patterns.
Symptoms of insomnia
The most common symptom of insomnia is difficulty falling asleep. Other symptoms include frequent waking up during the night or waking too early. People with insomnia also includes sleepiness and fatigue during the day as well as mood swings such as irritability.
How insomnia is diagnosed?
Although insomnia is a common sleep disorder, it can sometimes be difficult to diagnose. This is due to differences in particular sleep patterns among individuals as well as the degree of daytime fatigue that some may consider as indications of insomnia.
Diagnosis of insomnia usually falls on the doctor’s evaluation of experiences of different individuals concerning sleeping patterns and looking into other symptoms.
How to treat insomnia?
Treatment for insomnia would depend on the severity of the problem. Other cases of insomnia may be worked out through self-help measures such as taking sleep remedies and other means. But there are cases also that may require professional medical help.
For severe insomnia cases, doctors can usually recommend a variety of treatments. There are behavioral therapies that can help teach sufferers new sleep behaviors as well as ways to make the sleeping environment more ideal for sleeping.
In case that may prove insufficient, there are also medications that may help treat chronic sleeplessness in people. There are prescription sleeping pills available that may further help treat insomnia, depending on certain cases as evaluated by the physician.
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kukuhkjhh's version from 2017-04-30 20:14
Section 1
Question Answer
What are some of the many jobs of the liver (9) ? 1. Carb metabolism 2. Protein metabolism 3. lipid metabolism 4. Coagulation factor production 5. thrombopoietin 6. Breaks down/modifies toxic substances 7. stores glycogen, VIT A, VIT D, VIT b12 , VIT K, iron and copper 8. Produces albumin 9. synthesizes angiotensinogen
The liver is responsible for carb metabolism , what 3 jobs specifically does it perform ?1. gluconeogensis 2. glycogenolysis 3. glycogenesis
What are the 2 jobs of lipid metabolism ?1. cholesterol synthesis 2. lipogenesis
What coagulation factors does the liver produce ?1, 2, 5, 7, 9 , 10 , 11 and protein C and S and anti-thrombin
What does thobopoietin do?regulates the production of platelets
What does cirrhosis lead to?fibrosis, jaundice, ascites, portal HTN, liver dysfunction
What is hepatitis ?inflammation of the liver, due to infection (usually viral)
What are some other causes of hepatitis besides viral ?ACTAMINOPHEN , Alcohol, hereditary , billiary obstruction
What are the 2 major viral forms of hepatitis we see in the dental seating B and C related to dental
What type of virus is hepatitis ?All except HBV are RNA viruses, HBV is a DNA virus
How do you contract HAV and HEV ?spread fecal-oral route
, associated with poor sanitary conditions// HIGHLY contagious
What hepatitis's are serum hepatitis ?HBV, HCV and HDV
How do you contact serum hepatitis ?Parenteral routes, and less commonly by intimate or sexual exposure
Which hepatitis could cause hepatocellular carcinoma ?HBV abd HCV
What is alcoholic liver disease manifest from ?EtOH is hepatic and its metabolite, aetyladehyde is fibrinogenic
Is alcoholic hepatitis reversible ?considered reversible but can be fatal
What are sign of liver disease jaundice, tender or swollen or shrunken liver, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy , spider angiomas, palmar erythema, bilirubinemia, increased enzyme levels and prolonged prothrombin time
What are the 4 risks of treating a patient with HEPATIC DISEASE ?1. Risk of BLEEDING (increased risk as liver function decreases) 2. Risk of DRUG ACTIONS/INTERACTIONS ( minimize use of drugs metabolized by the liver/ unpredictable drug metabolism) 3. Risk of INFECTION (risk of transmission/ immunomodulators) 4. Risk of ABILITY TO WITHSTAND CARE (good)
What are the concerns in treating a patient with alcoholic liver disease? INCREASED BLEEDING
What lab tests would you order for a patient with alcoholic liver disease ?INR
What oral sedative would you give to a patient with alcoholic liver disease ?VALIUM -but think of the interactions
How does acute alcohol intake affect the dental procedure ?results in high blood levels of concomitantly administered drugs
What does chronic EtOH cause ?increases drug metabolism
What lab measure should you use as a guide of liver's synthetic ability ?Serum albumin
When do you schedule patients with alcoholic liver disease ?morning appointments
What should you always do during dental TX with hectic disease patients ?always use local hemostatic agents during surgical procedures or when bleeding is anticipated
What should be done AFTER dental treatment for patients with hepatic disease ? 1. LIMIT USE OF ASA and NSAIDS 2. COX 2 inhibitors and narcotics for analgesia 3. Avoid more than 4gm of acetaminophen a day
What should you prescribe for analgesia for hepatic disease patients ?Cox 2 inhibitors
Section 2
Question Answer
Crohn's and ulcerative colitis can be associated with what in the oral cavity Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis can be associated with oral lesions that resemble aphthous
What types of oral lesions do you see in chron's disease patients ?nodular area which has ulceration / some are very similar to aphthous stomatitis
What is ulcerative colitis ?irritable bowel symptoms(e.g. watery diarrhea with periodic constipation and cramping)
Where do most lesions involved with ulcerative colitis form ?most lesions form in descending colon
What are the oral complications of GI disease?RAS-like lesions in 20% of UC patients / Association with pyostomatitis vegans / Atypical linear oral ulcerations with hyper plastic margins or papulondular "cobblestone" proliferations unique to Crohn's
What is pyostomatitis vegans ?rare, chronic, non-neoplastic disorder of unknown etiology
Who is p. vegans seen in typically ?men are affected with PV twice as often as women, peak age range is 3rd-6th decade
What is PV characterized by ?characterized by miliary pustules, erosions and a vegetating dermatosis of the skin and mucous membranes
What is the PRIMARY objective in the treatment of PV ?must be identifying and/or controlling the associated bowel disease
How are oral lesions associated with PV affectively treated treated effectively with topical corticosteroids
What is lichen planus ? common dermatologic disease of skin and mucous membranes
Who is lichen planus often seen in ?middle aged women
What are the various forms of lichen planus ?1. RETICULAR - asymptomatic, Wichham's striae 2. PLAQUE LIKE- asymptomatic 3. BULLOUS/EROSIVE - symptomatic
What ist he etiology of lichen planus ?IMMUNE MEDIATED T-cell mediated degeneration of the basal cell layer of epithelium
What is lichen planus associated wit ?associated with stress, drug hypersensitivity (licenoid drug reaction) or INFECTION (HCV)
What drugs can cause lichen planus1. NSAIDS 2. Allopurionl 3. Sulfonamides 4. tetracyclines 5. ACE inhibitors 6. HCTZ 7. lorazepam 8. sulfonylureas
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Saturday, 27 October 2012
Algerian Flag
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:
28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references:
total: 2,381,741 sq km
country comparison to the world: 10
land: 2,381,741 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 6,343 km
998 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Natural resources:
Land use:
arable land: 3.17%
permanent crops: 0.28%
other: 96.55% (2005)
Irrigated land:
5,700 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
14.3 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
per capita: 185 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
Environment - current issues:
Environment - international agreements:
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
largest country in Africa
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian
Ethnic groups:
Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
37,367,226 (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.8% (male 4,297,588/ female 4,123,103)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 12,652,479/ female 12,436,658)
65 years and over: 5% (male 874,908/ female 1,021,567) (2012 est.)
Median age:
total: 28.1 years
male: 27.9 years
female: 28.4 years (2012 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.165% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
Birth rate:
16.64 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
Death rate:
4.72 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 197
Net migration rate:
country comparison to the world: 127
urban population: 66% of total population (2010)
Major cities - population:
ALGIERS (capital) 2.74 million; Oran 770,000 (2009)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
Maternal mortality rate:
97 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 75
Infant mortality rate:
total: 24.9 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 81
male: 27.82 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.73 years
country comparison to the world: 99
male: 72.99 years
female: 76.57 years (2012 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.78 children born/woman (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
Health expenditures:
5.8% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 113
Physicians density:
1.207 physicians/1,000 population (2007)
Hospital bed density:
1.7 beds/1,000 population (2004)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
country comparison to the world: 108
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
18,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
3.7% (2005)
country comparison to the world: 97
Education expenditures:
4.3% of GDP (2008)
country comparison to the world: 89
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.9%
male: 79.6%
female: 60.1% (2002 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2005)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 24.3% (2006)
country comparison to the world: 34
By far, Algeria's most significant exports today (in terms of financial value) are petroleum and natural gas. The reserves are mostly in the Eastern Sahara; the Algerian government curbed the exports in the 1980s to slow depletion; exports increased again somewhat in the 1990s. Other significant exports are sheep, oxen, and horses; animal products, such as wool and skins; wine, cereals (rye, barley, oats), vegetables, fruits (chiefly figs and grapes for the table) and seeds, esparto grass, oils and vegetable extracts (chiefly olive oil), iron ore, zinc, natural phosphates, timber, cork, crin vegetal and tobacco. The import of wool exceeds the export. Sugar, coffee, machinery, metal work of all kinds, clothing and pottery are largely imported. Of these by far the greater part comes from France. The British imports consist chiefly of coal, cotton fabrics and machinery.
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Overcoming Ek Thali ke Chatte Batte (Chips of the Same block)
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We are still quoting from history, most certainly of the facts that lie before us. Examine the situation pre-1947 August. Increased freedom activism on many fronts, primarily the Congress which was secular yet classified as Hindu dominion and the other, the Muslim League led by Jinnah.
The major divide came through centuries, both slaved or ruled by Hindu and Muslim kings, the Muslims discovered their partial identity when the Britishers decided to rule them based on their religion. A very inefficient and biased form of governance which was based on profit. There was no ideology other than serving to the Queen of England. Much like the school curriculum divided for different age groups, the people of India as citizens of many other countries being a different front, they used the policy of divide and rule. This led to consciousness but not qualifying in terms of secularism or even a separate country because they misjudged themselves as a new identity over a century.
The Muslim invaders who came from as far as Arab world, Persia, Iran and Turkey could not further define or state their ideological definition yet their present identity was unformed without the specification of role of united India as their motherland. This is inclusive of living, working, doing business, serving and being in harmony with other sections of society. What Jinnah did was unfortunate.
Today, we compulsively fight many wars both in real sense and philosophically with Pakistan over continued efforts by terrorists to claim Kashmir or to ensue seeds of hatred among Indian Muslims. No wonder, we also continually spew the venom on the political leaders who are able to lead the Hindu fraction in some direction while there were hints of friction between Muslims and Hindus. This is a direct observation in relation to Mr. Narendra Modi, the future prime-ministerial candidate from BJP.
This political leader has fought through our constant questioning of secularism while in different part of country, there are sometimes incidents of violence between the two sectarians. Jinnah was not a strong leader or may be he did not had a strong backing of supporters who could follow him, if he chose to determine a different fate. To be a strong leader is to be Mahatma Gandhi who sacrificed his life and his efforts remain undisputed even in the matters of partition because he tried to convince Jinnah and then the public with his unending fasts.
We might not have any expectation other than scare of another ugly event where the government may fail to check the unruly civilians from both the sides when the issues closer will rise up. The truth is that the Congress is unable to judge him as an efficient political leader who can make the people anywhere believe in issues of more wide interest and benefit. It could be about rural development, no racial discrimination or national security. He dominated the election scenario with extensive insights.
Could be we have more dynamic debates, so that we could ask the next Jinnah to stop pressurizing under some doctrine that is not wrong in its entirety being already established as a different country but yet, not at the expense of the billions significant of this country.
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Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Why Women Should Vote on Thursday
It is claimed that a significant proportion of the British electorate will not vote on Thursday. For those women contemplating the possibility of not voting, I would ask them to consider the sacrifices made in order to get them the vote.
Members of the Kensington Society were very disappointed when they heard the news and they decided to form the London Society for Women's Suffrage. Similar Women's Suffrage groups were formed all over Britain. In 1887 seventeen of these individual groups joined together to form the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
By the end of the 19th century the NUWSS had about 100,000 members but women were no closer to gaining the vote. Emmeline Pankhurst was a member of the Manchester branch of the NUWSS. By 1903 Pankhurst had become frustrated at the NUWSS lack of success. With the help of her two daughters, Christabel Pankhurst and Sylvia Pankhurst, she formed the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU).
During the summer of 1908 the WSPU introduced the tactic of breaking the windows of government buildings. On 30th June suffragettes marched into Downing Street and began throwing small stones through the windows of the Prime Minister's house. As a result of this demonstration, twenty-seven women were arrested and sent to Holloway Prison.
Marion Wallace-Dunlop was one of those arrested. Christabel Pankhurst later reported: "Miss Wallace Dunlop, taking counsel with no one and acting entirely on her own initiative, sent to the Home Secretary, Mr. Gladstone, as soon as she entered Holloway Prison, an application to be placed in the first division as befitted one charged with a political offence. She announced that she would eat no food until this right was conceded."
Marion Wallace-Dunlop refused to eat for several days. Afraid that she might die and become a martyr, it was decided to release her after fasting for 91 hours. Soon afterwards other imprisoned suffragettes adopted the same strategy. Unwilling to release all the imprisoned suffragettes, the prison authorities force-fed these women on hunger strike.
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Human Rights should Ensure Human Dignity
Inayat-AttaThe 67th anniversary of Human Rights Day falls on 10th December. The event has a special significance as it coincides with the United Nations initiative of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which was envisioned to be achieved by the end of 2015. On the occasion whole the globe is going to be a venue of many a march and many a seminar. There are still certain cynic voices which categorically disapprove any significance attached to the day for they allege it to be backed by the foreign agendas and their vested interests. Yet, given the scale of human rights abuses across the globe, its commemoration does not seem without a rationale.
Coming on the heels of World War II, which witnessed the nightmarish rejoinders of a fanatical brutalisation of human behaviour, the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations on 10th December 1948 revealed the maturing of human mind and mores regarding the basic political and social rights of men, women, and children inhibiting the mother earth. But still there are several countries which continue to get a poor rating in studies on the subject. Still not enough efforts have been devoted to the overall monitoring of the human rights abuses across the world which continues to undermine the dignity of man.
In Indian subcontinent, poor people still sell themselves both in the farm as well as brickkiln sectors and thence make themselves and their families bonded slaves of the lenders for all time to come. Besides, the dilemma of casteism remains firmly embedded within the subcontinental social fabric and culminates in discriminatory attitudes and practices. In Middle East, the humanist voices have not been able to entirely persuade the elitist power structures to see reason which renders these polities akin to iron-fisted police states. Europe as well as the United States are experiencing the ugliest phase of the dominant ideology of capitalism. Its corollary in the form of rampant consumerism has now entered its advanced stages and eroding the moral fabric of these societies. The cancerous progression is further hastened by spiritual drought which is plunging them into an appalling perversion and excesses of western decadence, thereby undermining the sublime dignity of the human person in noble sense of the word.
Historically, Africans have made the maximum sacrifices for human civilisation. But despite this they stand deprived of their several basic rights even today. In many African nations the citizens are not only hounded and preyed like animals but majority of them continue to live on the level of serfs. Africa still falls within that historical epoch which has witnessed certain brutal genocides over the past few decades assisted by the widespread weaponization as well as inbuilt apathy on the part of its governments towards the plight of their masses. In addition, the cybercrimes, intranational ethnic conflicts, human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, drug trade, and several other organised criminal activities and gross inhuman vulnerabilities across the world continue unabated. Still the human blood flows profusely in several parts of the world.
The global analysis further confirms that the plight of women remains a source of concern to anyone who understands the sensitivity of the issue. In several Asiatic societies the birth of a daughter is still received with discontentment which points towards the parental selfishness and societal discrimination. Most often women are the sufferers everywhere and in many cases unable to access justice even when subjected to harassment and outrageous exploitation of several types.
Similarly, children are routinely exploited by their employers in many countries of the world. Child labour in several parts of the world continues to be a social problem. Underlying it are the economic factors as well as the irresponsible attitude on the part of society. With declining or no source of income to maintain a family, adults fail to feed all their dependents. Thus, economically hard-pressed sections either abandon their children or send them to menial work regardless of their sex or age. Children who should be playing and going to school are forced to earn at a tender age to keep their family units intact and their body and soul together. Particularly in these times of doom and gloom when the cost of living is skyrocketing and the basic necessities are getting beyond a common man’s reach, child labour becomes a logical reality for many.
The constant onslaught of the western human rights organisations upon the third world countries for their negligence regarding child labour seems to be partly based on the old colonial premise that uncivilised oriental societies have no regard for the human rights. But it is pertinent to mention here that several structural reforms pushed forward by the international multinational organisations since the 1950s for the economic good of the recipient counties are also partly responsible for the deteriorating living standards of the poor countries. With every reform the state coffers get depleted due to massive corruption and misallocation of funds. In order to cut the deficit, social sector and developmental outlays are further reduced.
Consequently, the first victims of the fabled ‘trickle-down effect’ are normally the children besides the pinch felt by the overall society. Moreover, due to the growing cost of living, low wages also justify and prompt the existence of child labour in various manufacturing units like sporting goods and carpet industry etc. In reality, low wages increase the size of profit of local producers and exporters to western countries. Resultantly, the developed world has been the major beneficiary of cheap labour and the subsequent child labour from the developing world. In this way child labour becomes an instrument of transferring the capital from poor countries to the rich ones.
Sadly, violation of the human rights is a disease to which our own society also remains vulnerable irrespective of the assurances extended by the constitution of the country. Many of the articles of the constitution are routinely nullified by those resorting to violation and abuse including Article 11 which states that “All forms of forced labour and traffic in human beings are prohibited,” and “No child below the age of Fourteen years shall be engaged in any factory or mine or any other hazardous employment;” and Article 14 “The dignity of man…shall be inviolable.”
Today what is at stake is the dignity of man. We are all in one way or another responsible for this. When a certain class prefers to remain silent on important matters related to human dignity it becomes an unconscious contributor in perpetuating the overall societal sickness. Instead of realising that the cure has to come from within our negligence, apathy and tendency to blame each other for all the ills staring us in the face only puts the vital issues on backburner. It may provide a temporary escapism or psychological relief but unless the deplorable facts are changed for better the dignity of man will continue to suffer.
On the global level there is still a greater need of raising awareness about the human rights. It is hoped that while the human rights activists and organisations will continue to create a growing public awareness about the strict observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the individual governments of every nation would also do well to adopt the effective measures to ensure their implementation in letter and in spirit.
It is a high time that governments around the globe foster policy frameworks and ingrain attitudinal changes aiming at the dignity of man. There should be a serious, concentrated and composite approach to overcome the human rights abuses. At the same time we should not forget that we all have a collective responsibility to defend the rights of man. Only through the collaborative efforts between governments as well as people will we be able to achieve any substantial and meaningful results. In such a process the overall benefits will be mutual.
“Every spectator is a coward or a traitor,” said Frantz Fanon. Each one of us has to play his or her part and pragmatically and immediately needs to get engaged in the human condition which could otherwise further slip away from the paths of decency, harmony and sanity. It is the time to stop blaming each other and instead assume the responsibility of bringing about the required political and social changes about human rights by working together. Let us not forget this sacred duty we owe to each other and to the posterity. It is the only way in which all of us in our individual capacities can add our bit to the sum of human dignity. Let the dignity of man be held above all. Let the human rights ensure that dignity.
Writer: Inayat Atta
The writer is a civil servant and researcher, works as a columnist with THE PASHTUN TIMES. He has an M.Phil Degree in history from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He can be reached at
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Youth Soccer Drills and Games
New coaches need to climb a steep learning curve, and a basic understanding of drills and practice plans will lessen the learning curve. Soccer drills are very simply the key to your coaching success. The drills you choose are going to be the foundation to your practice plans, and will determine your teams progress on building their fundamental skills, or getting passed by other teams. Well designed practices will allow you to focus on areas requiring development, and will improve the speed which your team improves on their fundamental skills. When building a practice plan, divide the practice into the different components, and focus on developing your players in a systemic fashion where transition is incorporated. The players will be able to start putting the pieces together in scrimmage and game situations, and the better the fundamental skill development and transition flow, the better the assimilation into game situations.
Here are some offensive drills that can help you focus your team on improving their skills around the goal. The nice thing about offensive drills is that you can combine the offense with a defensive transition where you can teach the kids about the importance of attacking the ball and recovering once the ball is lost.
Transition Coaching
Youth Soccer Drills and Games
This drill will develop a players aggressiveness for 50/50 balls, focus on the goal once the ball is won, and defending if the ball is lost. Divide your team into two sides and have them line up on each goal post. Have a cone about 20 yards from each goal post. On the coaches' signal, each player will sprint toward the cone. As the players approach the cone, the coach will release a 50/50 ball. As the players round the cone, they will attack the ball, each trying to gain possession. The player that gains possession tries to score a goal while the player that did not get possession defends the goal. The coach needs to emphasize speed when rounding the cones, attacking 50/50 balls, and attacking or defending quickly once the ball is won or lost. Cycle through until one team gets to 10 or some other pre-determined number. The drill should be run quickly, and players should not have much downtime between turns.
Shooting/Follow-up and transition
This drill will focus on shooting and the quick follow up on shots on goal. It will also focus on transition from defense to offense, and creation of offensive opportunities from a defensive position. Divide the field into two halves. The size of the field will be determined by the age and ability of the players. A full size goal will be placed on either side of the field, with a goalkeeper in each goal. Taper the sides of the field so the angle for shooting will be optimized. Teams will consist of 6 players; 4 defensive and 2 offensive players. Each half will have 4 defensive players from one team, and 2 offensive players from the other team. Once assigned to a half of the field, each player must stay on their assigned half. The 4 defenders will move the ball around and take shots on the opposing goal. Once a shot is taken, the offensive players will follow up on the shot, while the defensive players will try to recover the ball. Once the ball is recovered by the defense, the two offensive players will try to regain possession, while the defense works into position to shoot on the opposing goal again. Encourage players to take shots, and have an extra ball available for quick turn around when the ball goes out of play. This game should be kept moving and transition speed encouraged.
Focus on solid practice plans that emphasize speed and transition. Offensive drills can be used to build skills around the goal and emphasize the transition from defense to offense. The transition game is one of the toughest to teach to children just learning the game. The coach that uses transition while teaching offensive soccer skills will build a much higher fundamental understanding of the skills and flow of the game.
Youth Soccer Drills and Games
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The Painted Veil Test | Mid-Book Test - Medium
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Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What does Charlie think is the best way to understand a man?
(a) To study his life.
(b) To ask him numerous questions.
(c) To spend a great deal of time with him.
(d) To put yourself in his shoes.
(a) A comforting shawl.
(b) A drink of brandy.
(c) A love note.
(d) A small photograph of himself.
3. Why does Kitty refuse so many proposals?
(a) She is in love with someone who is already engaged.
(b) No suitors meet her critera in either position or income.
(c) She likes irritating her mother.
(d) She enjoys the single scene and does not wish to marry.
4. What does Charlie think that Walter would do if he found out about the affair going on between himself and Kitty?
(a) Do nothing or ignore it.
(b) Try to get Charlie fired.
(c) Divorce Kitty.
(d) Alert Charlie's spouse.
5. What instrument does Charlie play?
(a) He does not play an instrument.
(b) The harp.
(c) The violin.
(d) The piano.
Short Answer Questions
1. After being married for some time, how does Kitty feel towards Walter?
2. Why won't Walter join in singing with others at a party?
3. Why did Maugham decide to change the last name of his main character in the novel?
4. What reason does Charlie give for being unable to eat his meal?
5. In Chapter 27, when Kitty returns home what does Kitty tell Walter?
Short Essay Questions
2. What pains does Charlie take to maintain his figure?
3. Describe Walter's behavior towards others at the dinner party in Chapter 21.
4. What is the view from Kitty's home in Happy Valley?
7. Why does Kitty claim to not care if Walter does "kick up a row" about her affair with Charlie?
8. When Kitty tells Charlie about Walter's ultimatum, what is his response?
9. Why is Mr.Garstin reluctant to take silk and become a K.C.?
10. How does Kitty's love for Charlie initially change her perception of Walter?
(see the answer keys)
This section contains 860 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
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Video: Croc fossils found
updated 6/8/2005 9:07:17 PM ET 2005-06-09T01:07:17
Scientists on Wednesday unveiled 11 skeletons of prehistoric crocodiles and said their discovery suggests that an ancient land bridge once linked South America to Indo-Pakistan.
The fossilized skeletons of the Baurusuchus salgadoensis appear to be closely related to another ancient crocodile species, the Pabwehshi pakistanesis discovered in Pakistan, scientists from Rio de Janeiro's Federal University said.
"This discovery really proves that South America was at one time linked to the India-Pakistan bloc, and this link could have only been through Antarctica or Australia," said Rudolph Trouw, regional editor of the scientific magazine Gondwana Research.
90 million years old
The Baurusuchus salgadoensis lived 90 million years ago in an area of southeastern Brazil known as the Bauru Basin, 450 miles (700) west of modern-day Rio de Janeiro, said Pedro Henrique Nobre, one of the authors of the crocodiles' scientific description.
An adult measured about 10 feet (3 meters) from head to tail and weighed around 900 pounds (400 kilograms), making it the largest crocodile species ever discovered in South America, Nobre said.
Unlike modern crocodiles, the Baurusuchus had long legs and spent much of its time walking. It also could live in arid areas where water was scarce, like other carnivorous creatures of the epoch, Nobre said.
Nobre said the skeleton was exceptionally well-preserved.
Scientists were able to separate the fossil's jaws and see how the Baurusuchus used its big teeth to chew its prey, he said.
"It's the best-preserved fossil in this family. The ribs are intact and practically all the bones are preserved. To find a fossil this well preserved is rare," Nobre said.
Found by schoolteacher
Scientists were led to the fossils by elementary-school teacher Joao Tadeu Arruda, who dug them up himself after one of his students showed him a fossilized tooth near the southwestern city of General Salgado.
In January, the same team of scientists unveiled a replica of another prehistoric crocodile species, Uberabasuchus terrificus, which lived along the Sao Paulo coast around 70 million years ago.
In December, scientists unveiled a replica of Unaysaurus tolentinoi, an ancestor of the huge Brontosaurus that lived 230 million years ago in what is now southern Brazil. Experts said it was more closely related to fossils found in Germany than to dinosaurs from neighboring Argentina.
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Field notes
Australia builds modern-day Noah's ark to rescue disappearing species
Australia is building a sanctuary in Newhaven to protect its native species from feral cats
In a stretch of remote bushland in the Australian outback, rangers have begun clearing a historic line in the red sand.
It is a line that could eventually mark the difference between life and extinction for a range of endangered native animals.
This line in the centre of the continent marks the boundaries of an ambitious project to build a fenced sanctuary - labelled a modern-day version of Noah's ark - to protect native species from predators, especially feral cats, the worst of Australia's non-native predators.
The sanctuary is envisioned to cover about 80,000ha and will be the world's largest feral-free enclosure. It is being built in Newhaven, about 350km from the city of Alice Springs, by conservationists from Australian Wildlife Conservancy, a non-profit organisation.
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The chief executive of the organisation, Mr Atticus Fleming, said the fence would "turn back time" and restore the region to conditions before the arrival of British settlers in the late 1700s.
"The middle of Australia is the global epicentre for mammal extinctions," he told The Straits Times. "Unless we take really dramatic steps - like establishing the largest cat-free environment on the planet - Australia will lose more species.
"We have this natural capital that is unique in the world and we are letting it slip away."
• >$10.8m Total cost of the sanctuary, which will be the world's largest feral cat-free enclosure.
150,000 The total population of animals expected by the time the fence is completed.
• Vanishing creatures
• Australia has long been known for its unique animals such as koalas and kangaroos but has also been developing a dubious reputation for its tragic loss of native species.
Since the arrival of British settlers in 1788, many native animals have become extinct or endangered, due mainly to predators, such as wild cats and foxes, brought over by early settlers.
Australia has lost about 30 native mammals - more than any other country in the world - and 108 are listed as endangered. These extinctions amount to about 35 per cent of the world's modern mammal extinctions. It is believed that 28 of the extinctions involved feral cats, including 22 directly caused by cats.
The Newhaven sanctuary will seek to restore local populations of 10 endangered mammals which will be brought in from places where they have survived.
The species include the numbat, a small bushy-tailed anteater, of which fewer than 1,000 are believed to still survive.
The other creatures are the bilby, a large-eared silver creature known as Australia's Easter Bunny; the mala, a rabbit-sized wallaby also known as a rufous- hare wallaby; the western quoll; red-tailed phascogale; golden bandicoot; burrowing bettong; brush-tailed bettong; shark bay mouse; and central rock-rat.
In the absence of feral cats, it is believed that the animals will thrive. Australian Wildlife Conservancy chief executive Atticus Fleming said the species inside the sanctuary are expected to "breed like rabbits".
Jonathan Pearlman
There are an estimated six million feral cats across 99.8 per cent of Australia, though some estimates say there could be up to 11 million.
Each cat kills between five and seven native animals each night, a tally which has had a severe impact on creatures such as small kangaroos, bandicoots and native rodents, based on studies by scientists and conservation groups.
The first stage of the sanctuary project began last month and is due to be completed early next year. It involves building a 45km fence enclosing 9,450ha of land.
At least 10 species will be placed in the sanctuary over the next four years. The fence will be electrified and will aim to keep out feral cats.
It will allow 10 mammals - such as the numbat and the bilby - to be reintroduced. The creatures will roam wild but surveys will be conducted to monitor their population.
The second and final stage, which will see the sanctuary expanded by 70,000ha, will take about five years and is expected to cost about A$5 million to A$8 million (S$5.4 million to S$8.7 million), on top of the A$5 million for the first stage, of which A$750,000 will be paid by the federal government. Construction is due to start in 2020.
The total population of animals is expected to number about 150,000 by the time the fence is completed.
Eventually, it is hoped, the sanctuary will provide a glimpse of pre-settlement wildlife and will become a destination for visitors from Australia and around the world.
Any plans for tours or local accommodation will be made in cooperation with the indigenous Warlpiri, the traditional owners of the land.
"You will have a landscape that is again full of animals," Mr Fleming said. "At that point it will be an important destination for anyone who wants to see the Australian landscape as it once was."
Australia has long used fences to protect animals from predators, though they have typically been built to prevent deaths of farm animals. The longest is a "dingo fence", built in 1885 to protect sheep and cattle from native dogs, that measures more than 5,400km.
Other countries, including New Zealand, have built small sanctuaries. But, globally, there has never been such a large undertaking aimed at conservation.
The fence at Newhaven will be 180km long and involve more than 1,600km of wire, 35,000 pickets, 500km of netting and some 12 million clips to hold the netting in place.
An overhang at the top of the fence will prevent animals from climbing over while netting at the bottom will prevent burrowing. It will aim to keep out foxes and rabbits as well as cats.
Australia's Threatened Species Commissioner, Mr Gregory Andrews, said the sanctuary at Newhaven is the largest and most significant such project in the world.
"It is like an ark - a Noah's ark," he told The Straits Times.
"For species that are driven to the brink, that can't cope with feral cats, this will be an ark of safety. The beauty of this is that it is so big that the species inside will be operating like wild species in the open," he said.
In 2015, the federal government adopted a threatened species strategy which set a five-year plan for preventing further extinctions. This included establishing 10 new large fenced-off, feral-free areas on the mainland, clearing five islands of cats and culling two million of the creatures by 2020.
Mr Andrews also said the sanctuary is vital because Australia is the only continent - aside from Antarctica - which evolved without predatory feral cats. As a result, he added, "our species did not evolve to cope with the cats".
The cats are difficult to spot, though their tracks are evident in the dirt. They resemble ordinary pets but are largely nocturnal.
Besides the fenced sanctuaries, the government has also begun a mass cull of cats, mainly via shooting and trapping. Aboriginal trackers have been helping to hunt the cats and remove them from the area that will form the sanctuary.
Mr Andrews said technology in the next 20 years could offer new solutions to help staunch species loss. "When we lose our animals and plants, we lose part of what it is to be Australian," he said.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 29, 2017, with the headline 'Modern-day Noah's ark'. Print Edition | Subscribe
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