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One of the nicest aerospace museums in the United States is the Museum of Flight, outside Seattle, Washington. The professionally-displayed collection of more than 150 aircraft is impressive both in size and quality. From a 1914-era Caproni Ca.20 fighter to an Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic airliner, there are aircraft of all shapes and sizes. The spacecraft collection has some notable items as well, from the enormous Space Shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer, to a 1970's era Viking Mars lander and orbiter. It is the Viking lander which drew me cross-country for a recent visit.
Viking Lander at the Museum of Flight
Overall view of the lander, as seen from the sidebeam #2 side. The 30" dish of the high gain antenna (HGA) is in the top-center of the image. The meteorology boom extends to the image's right edge. Fuel tank #2 is the dark gray sphere in the lower-left corner of the image.
Before Viking, little was known about the surface of Mars; no spacecraft had successfully landed. During six years of surface operation (1976-1982) the Viking 1 and 2 landers revealed the cold and dry surface in thousands of photographs, while science instruments analyzed soil chemistry and atmospheric composition and pressure. The museum's lander is the backup unit constructed by Martin Marietta alongside the two primary units (which, of course, are now on Mars). Due to project funding limitations, this backup lander was not completed. Although the lander thus looks rather spartan, I find it a boon to study. The structure is almost entirely exposed to view, rather than concealed behind insulation blankets, covers, and exterior components. Part of the lander interior is even visible through open access panels.
Viking Lander at the Museum of Flight: Landing Leg 1
At the center of this image is landing leg 1, one of three on the hexagonal lander body. This leg's upper strut is missing its white fabric contamination fairing (partly visible on legs 2 and 3 -- the thick diagonal cylinders -- in the upper left and right background). The leg's core is filled with aluminum honeycomb which crushes on landing to absorb impact. The striped stroke or depth gauge rod extends upward as the leg compresses during landing, revealing more 1/4-inch bands above the leg's top cap (properties of Mars soil can be deduced from the result). Some of the lander's complex brackets and fittings are also visible here thanks to the missing external equipment.
Viking Lander at the Museum of Flight: Looking inside
This view looks steeply down on an edge of the lander body. An open panel reveals part of the machined aluminum Equipment Plate which spans almost the entire interior, located a few inches below the top cover. Puffy white insulation blankets surround the area with two large irregular holes. The Mars soil inlets for the Biology and the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer instruments would protrude up through those two holes. The missing instruments allow us to see the white insulation laying at the bottom of the lander interior.
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Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, by Matthew Henry, , at sacred-texts.com
As the foregoing psalm, in the type of David in preferment, showed us the royal dignity of the Redeemer, so this, by the example of David in distress, shows us the peace and holy security of the redeemed, how safe they really are, and think themselves to be, under the divine protection. David, being now driven out from his palace, from the royal city, from the holy city, by his rebellious son Absalom, I. Complains to God of his enemies (Psa 3:1, Psa 3:2). II. Confides in God, and encourages himself in him as his God, notwithstanding (Psa 3:3). III. Recollects the satisfaction he had in the gracious answers God gave to his prayers, and his experience of his goodness to him (Psa 3:4, Psa 3:5). IV. Triumphs over his fears (Psa 3:6) and over his enemies, whom he prays against, (Psa 3:7). V. Gives God the glory and takes to himself the comfort of the divine blessing and salvation which are sure to all the people of God (Psa 3:8). Those speak best of the truths of God who speak experimentally; so David here speaks of the power and goodness of God, and of the safety and tranquility of the godly.
A psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
The title of this psalm and many others is as a key hung ready at the door, to open it, and let us into the entertainments of it; when we know upon what occasion a psalm was penned we know the better how to expound it. This was composed, or at least the substance of it was meditated and digested in David's thought, and offered up to God, when he fled from Absalom his son, who formed a conspiracy against him, to take away, not his crown only, but his life; we have the story, 2 Sa. 15, etc. 1. David was now in great grief; when, in his flight, he went up the Mount of Olives, he wept greatly, with his head covered, and marching bare-foot; yet then he composed this comfortable psalm. He wept and prayed, wept and sung, wept and believed; this was sowing in tears. Is any afflicted? Let him pray; nay, let him sing psalms, let him sing this psalm. Is any afflicted with undutiful disobedient children? David was; and yet that did not hinder his joy in God, nor put him out of tune for holy songs. 2. He was now in great danger; the plot against him was laid deep, the party that sought his ruin was very formidable, and his own son at the head of them, so that his affairs seemed to be at the last extremity; yet then he kept hold of his interest in God and improved that. Perils and frights should drive us to God, not drive us from him. 3. He had now a great deal of provocation given him by those from whom he had reason to expect better things, from his son, whom he had been indulgent of, from his subjects, whom he had been so great a blessing to; this he could not but resent, and it was enough to break in upon any man's temper; yet he was so far from any indecent expressions of passion and indignation that he had calmness enough for those acts of devotion which require the greatest fixedness and freedom of thought. The sedateness of his mind was evinced by the Spirit's coming upon him; for the Spirit chooses to move upon the still waters. Let no unkindness, no, not of a child or a friend, ever be laid so much to heart as to disfit us for communion with God. 4. He was now suffering for his sin in the matter of Uriah; this was the evil which, for that sin, God threatened to raise up against him out of his own house (Sa2 12:11), which, no doubt, he observed, and took occasion thence to renew his repentance for it. Yet he did not therefore cast away his confidence in the divine power and goodness, nor despair of succour. Even our sorrow for sin must not hinder either our joy in God or our hope in God. 5. He seemed cowardly in fleeing from Absalom, and quitting his royal city, before he had had one struggle for it; and yet, by this psalm, it appears he was full of true courage arising from his faith in God. True Christian fortitude consists more in a gracious security and serenity of mind, in patiently bearing and patiently waiting, than in daring enterprises with sword in hand.
In these three verses he applies to God. Whither else should we go but to him when any thing grieves us or frightens us? David was now at a distance from his own closet, and from the courts of God's house, where he used to pray; and yet he could find a way open heaven-ward. Wherever we are we may have access to God, and may draw nigh to him whithersoever we are driven. David, in his flight, attends his God,
I. With a representation of his distress, Psa 3:1, Psa 3:2. He looks round, and as it were takes a view of his enemies' camp, or receives information of their designs against him, which he brings to God, not to his own council-board. Two things he complains of, concerning his enemies: - 1. That they were very many: Lord, how are they increased! beyond what they were at first, and beyond whatever he thought they would have been. Absalom's faction, like a snow-ball, strangely gathered in its motion. He speaks of it as one amazed, and well he might, that a people he had so many ways obliged should almost generally revolt from him, rebel against him, and choose for their head such a foolish and giddy young man as Absalom was. How slippery and deceitful are the many! And how little fidelity and constancy are to be found among men! David had had the hearts of his subjects as much as ever any king had, and yet now, of a sudden, he had lost them. As people must not trust too much to princes (Psa 146:3), so princes must not build too much upon their interest in the people. Christ, the Son of David, had many enemies. When a great multitude came to seize him, when the crowd cried, Crucify him, Crucify him, how were those then increased that troubled him! Even good people must not think it strange if the stream be against them and the powers that threaten them grow more and more formidable. 2. That they were very malicious. They rose up against him; they aimed to trouble him; but that was not all: they said of his soul, There is no help for him in God. That is, (1.) They put a spiteful and invidious construction upon his troubles, as Job's friends did upon him, concluding that, because his servants and subjects forsook him thus and did not help him, God had deserted him and abandoned his cause, and he was therefore to be looked on, or rather to be looked off, as a hypocrite and a wicked man. (2.) They blasphemously reflected upon God as unable to relieve him: "His danger is so great that God himself cannot help him." It is strange that so great unbelief should be found in any, especially in many, in Israel, as to think any party of men too strong for Omnipotence to deal with. (3.) They endeavoured to shake his confidence in God and drive him to despair of relief from him: "They have said it to my soul;" so it may be read; compare Psa 11:1; Psa 42:10. This grieved him worst of all, that they had so bad an opinion of him as to think it possible to take him off from that foundation. The mere temptation was a buffeting to him, a thorn in his flesh, nay, a sword in his bones. Note, A child of God startles at the very thought of despairing of help in God; you cannot vex him with any thing so much as if you offer to persuade him that there is no help for him in God. David comes to God, and tells him what his enemies said of him, as Hezekiah spread Rabshakeh's blasphemous letter before the Lord. "They say, There is no help for me in thee; but, Lord, if it be so, I am undone. They say to my soul, There is no salvation" (for so the word is) "for him in God; but, Lord, do thou say unto my soul, I am thy salvation (Psa 35:3) and that shall satisfy me, and in due time silence them." To this complaint he adds Selah, which occurs about seventy times in the book of Psalms. Some refer it to the music with which, in David's time, the psalms were sung; others to the sense, and that it is a note commanding a solemn pause. Selah - Mark that, or, "Stop there, and consider a little." As here, they say, There is no help for him in God, Selah. "Take time for such a thought as this. Get thee behind me, Satan. The Lord rebuke thee! Away with such a vile suggestion!"
II. With a profession of his dependence upon God, Psa 3:3. An active believer, the more he is beaten off from God, either by the rebukes of Providence or the reproaches of enemies, the faster hold he will take of him and the closer will he cleave to him; so David here, when his enemies said, There is no help for him in God, cries out with so much the more assurance, "But thou, O Lord! art a shield for me; let them say what they will, I am sure thou wilt never desert me, and I am resolved I will never distrust thee." See what God is to his people, what he will be, what they have found him, what David found in him. 1. Safety: "Thou art a shield for me, a shield about me" (so some), "to secure me on all sides, since my enemies surrounded me." Not only my shield (Gen 15:1), which denotes an interest in the divine protection, but a shield for me, which denotes the present benefit and advantage of that protection. 2. Honour: Thou art my glory. Those whom God owns for his are not safe and easy, but really look great, and have true honour put upon them, far above that which the great ones of the earth are proud of. David was now in disgrace; the crown had fallen from his head; but he will not think the worse of himself while he has God for his glory, Isa 60:19. "Thou art my glory; thy glory I reckon mine" (so some); "this is what I aim at, and am ambitious of, whatever my lot is, and whatever becomes of my honour - that I may be to my God for a name and a praise." 3. Joy and deliverance: "Thou art the lifter up of my head; thou wilt lift up my head out of my troubles, and restore me to my dignity again, in due time; or, at least, thou wilt lift up my head under my troubles, so that I shall not droop nor be discouraged, nor shall my spirits fail." If, in the worst of times, God's people can lift up their heads with joy, knowing that all shall work for good to them, they will own it is God that is the lifter up of their head, that gives them both cause to rejoice and hearts to rejoice.
In singing this, and praying it over, we should possess ourselves with an apprehension of the danger we are in from the multitude and malice of our spiritual enemies, who seek the ruin of our souls by driving us from our God, and we should concern ourselves in the distresses and dangers of the church of God, which is every where spoken again, every where fought against; but, in reference to both, we should encourage ourselves in our God, who owns and protects and will in due time crown his own interest both in the world and in the hearts of his people.
David, having stirred up himself by the irritations of his enemies to take hold on God as his God, and so gained comfort in looking upward when, if he looked round about him, nothing appeared but what was discouraging, here looks back with pleasing reflections upon the benefit he had derived from trusting in God and looks forward with pleasing expectations of a very bright and happy issue to which the dark dispensation he was now under would shortly be brought.
I. See with what comfort he looks back upon the communion he had had with God, and the communications of his favour to him, either in some former trouble he had been in, and through God's goodness got through, or in this hitherto. David had been exercised with many difficulties, often oppressed and brought very low; but still he had found God all-sufficient. He now remembered with pleasure,
1. That his troubles had always brought him to his knees, and that, in all his difficulties and dangers, he had been enabled to acknowledge God and to lift up his heart to him, and his voice too (this will be comfortable reflection when we are in trouble): I cried unto God with my voice. Care and grief do us good and no hurt when they set us a praying, and engage us, not only to speak to God, but to cry to him, as those that are in earnest. And though God understands the language of the heart, when the voice is not heard (Sa1 1:13), and values not the hypocritical prayers of those who cause their voice to be heard on high (Isa 58:4), vox et praeterea nihil - mere sound, yet, when the earnestness of the voice comes from the fervency of the heart, it shall be taken notice of, in the account, that we cried unto God with our voice.
2. That he had always found God ready to answer his prayers: He heard me out of his holy hill, from heaven, the high and holy place, from the ark on Mount Sion, whence he used to give answers to those that sought to him. David had ordered Zadok to carry back the ark into the city when he was flying from Absalom (Sa2 15:25), knowing that God was not tied, no, not to the ark of his presence, and that, notwithstanding the distance of place, he could by faith receive answers of peace from the holy hill. No such things can fix a gulf between the communications of God's grace towards us and the operations of his grace in us, between his favour and our faith. The ark of the covenant was in Mount Zion, and all the answers to our prayers come from the promises of that covenant. Christ was set King upon the holy hill of Zion (Psa 2:6), and it is through him, whom the Father hears always, that our prayers are heard.
3. That he had always been very safe and very easy under the divine protection (Psa 3:5): "I laid myself down and slept, composed and quiet; and awaked refreshed, for the Lord sustained me." (1.) This is applicable to the common mercies of every night, which we ought to give thanks for alone, and with our families, every morning. Many have not where to lay their head (but wander in deserts), or, if they have, dare not lie down for fear of the enemy; but we have laid ourselves down in peace. Many lie down and cannot sleep, but are full of tossings to and fro till the dawning of the day, through pain of body, or anguish of mind, or the continual alarms of fear in the night; but we lie down and sleep in safety, though incapable of doing any thing then for our own preservation. Many lie down and sleep, and never awake again, they sleep the sleep of death, as the first-born of the Egyptians; but we lie down and sleep, and awake again to the light and comfort of another day; and whence is it, but because the Lord has sustained us with sleep as with food? We have been safe under his protection and easy in the arms of his good providence. (2.) It seems here to be meant of the wonderful quietness and calmness of David's spirit, in the midst of his dangers. Having by prayer committed himself and his cause to God, and being sure of his protection, his heart was fixed, and he was easy. The undutifulness of his son, the disloyalty of his subjects, the treachery of many of his friends, the hazard of his person, the fatigues of his march, and the uncertainty of the event, never deprived him of an hour's sleep, nor gave any disturbance to his repose; for the Lord, by his grace and the consolations of his Spirit, powerfully sustained him and made him easy. It is a great mercy when we are in trouble to have our minds stayed upon God, so as never either to eat or sleep with trembling and astonishment. (3.) Some of the ancients apply it to the resurrection of Christ. In his sufferings he offered up strong cries, and was heard; and therefore, though he laid down and slept the sleep of death, yet he awaked the third day, for the Lord sustained him, that he should not see corruption.
4. That God had often broken the power and restrained the malice of his enemies, had smitten them upon the cheek-bone (Psa 3:7), had silenced them and spoiled their speaking, blemished them and put them to shame, smitten them on the cheek reproachfully, had disabled them to do the mischief they intended; for he had broken their teeth. Saul and the Philistines, who were sometimes ready to swallow him up, could not effect what they designed. The teeth that are gnashed or sharpened against God's people shall be broken. When, at any time, the power of the church's enemies seems threatening, it is good to remember how often God has broken it; and we are sure that his arm is not shortened. He can stop their mouths and tie their hands.
II. See with what confidence he looks forward to the dangers he had yet in prospect. Having put himself under God's protection and often found the benefit of it, 1. His fears were all stilled and silenced, Psa 3:6. With what a holy bravery does he bid defiance to the impotent menaces and attempts of his enemies! "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that either in a foreign invasion or an intestine rebellion set themselves, or encamp, against me round about." No man seemed less safe (his enemies are numerous, ten thousands; they are spiteful and resolute, "They have set themselves against me; nay, they have prevailed far, and seem to have gained their point; for they are against me round about on every side, thousands against one"), and yet no man was more secure: "I will not be afraid, for all this; they cannot hurt me, and therefore they shall not frighten me; whatever prudent methods I take for my own preservation, I will not disquiet myself, distrust my God, nor doubt of a good issue at last." When David, in his flight from Absalom, bade Zadok carry back the ark, he spoke doubtfully of the issue of his present troubles, and concluded, like a humble penitent, Here I am; let him do to me what seemeth to him good, Sa2 15:26. But now, like a strong believer, he speaks confidently, and has no fear concerning the event. Note, A cheerful resignation to God is the way to obtain a cheerful satisfaction and confidence in God. 2. His prayers were quickened and encouraged, Psa 3:7. He believed God was his Saviour, and yet prays; nay, he therefore prays, Arise, O Lord! save me, O my God! Promises of salvation do not supersede, but engage, our petitions for it. He will for this be enquired of. 3. His faith became triumphant. He began the psalm with complaints of the strength and malice of his enemies, but concludes it with exultation in the power and grace of his God, and now sees more with him than against him, Psa 3:8. Two great truths he here builds his confidence upon and fetches comfort from. (1.) That salvation belongeth unto the Lord; he has power to save, be the danger ever so great; it is his prerogative to save, when all other helps and succours fail; it is his pleasure, it is his property, it is his promise to those that are his, whose salvation is not of themselves, but of the Lord. Therefore all that have the Lord for their God, according to the tenour of the new covenant, are sure of salvation; for he that is their God is the God of salvation. (2.) That his blessing is upon his people; he not only has power to save them, but he has assured them of his kind and gracious intentions towards them. He has, in his word, pronounced a blessing upon his people; and we are bound to believe that that blessing does accordingly rest upon them, though there be not the visible effects of it. Hence we may conclude that God's people, though they may lie under the reproaches and censures of men, are surely blessed of him, who blesses indeed, and therefore can command a blessing.
In singing this, and praying it over, we must own the satisfaction we have had in depending upon God and committing ourselves to him, and encourage ourselves, and one another to continue still hoping and quietly waiting for the salvation of the Lord.
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By Michael Leshinski
A recent NY Times article reports on the 17th annual AIDS conference that was held last week in Mexico. The topic of the article was the decriminalization of certain instances in which the HIV virus is passed from one individual to the other. First of all, I didn’t even know that it was a crime for one person to give AIDS to another person. Although, I have always wondered what would happen to an individual who purposely and successfully gave the HIV virus to another human being. It also makes me think, what about other serious disease states. Types of Hepatitis, for example, can be deadly. When you think about getting the HIV virus, (that leads to AIDS), intravenous drug use and unprotected sexual relations with an infected person are the main reasons for contracting the disease. What about Hepatitis B, which is able to pass through sharing saliva?
Imagine that you made enemies with a person who has Hepatitis B. You’re sitting at lunch and you get up to go to the bathroom. You inadvertently leave your soda bottle sitting at the table. Your nemesis unscrews the cap on your favorite soda and then proceeds to wipe his/her saliva all over the portion that would come directly in contact with your own mouth. This is the way you contract the deadly disease which eventually leads to your death. Is the person ultimately responsible for your death punishable by law? By death? Now this story is obviously made up and a bit far-fetched, but I believe that it is still possible. Think about lesser disease like the common cold. Would that be punishable by fine? Would there be a scale to determine the disease to the punishment? Think about it.
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Art by Istvan Banyai
National Geographic Emerging Explorer
Expertise: Swarm Behaviorist
Locust swarms eat all the vegetation in their path, seeking protein, salt, and water. When that runs out—sometimes even before—they turn into cannibals. Locusts hate to be around each other. They change color and behavior when in groups, and start to form swarms. They’re the Jekyll and Hyde of the insect world. Imagine hopping masses of millions of bugs, each trying to eat the ones in front of it.
Mauritania suffers countrywide outbreaks of these swarms. My team and I, studying the outbreaks there, wanted to know more. When I picked up one locust to examine it more closely, my hands swelled up. Toxic chemicals on the insect had reacted in sunlight when they touched my skin. To make matters worse, we were a two-day drive outside Mauritania’s capital, in the middle of the desert, and had just run out of food. Across Mauritania there was a shortage, because the locusts were eating the crops. We couldn’t eat the locusts, normally a great source of protein, because they were toxic. We got desperate after a day or two. We tried to buy food from the nomads who stopped to drink tea, and managed to get our hands on some camel entrails. My decade of vegetarianism prior to the trip went out the window.
We dried the entrails in a tree outside camp. After I ate them, cramps and vomiting set in and I started hallucinating. I was in a dream world, and not a good one. We were very short of water, had no medical equipment except some antibiotics, and had no way of getting out of the sun other than to bake in our airless tents. It was a waiting game. After I started feeling better a few days later and we got some supplies in, a massive sandstorm kept us in the tents for an extra day and a half. We just had to ride it out.
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Serving Art Educators
and Students Since 1994
Lesson Plan: Classroom Rules
Submitted by: Stephanie Katele
Suggested Grade: 6th-8th
Establishing classroom rules is one of the most important tasks of a teacher and his or her students in the first days of school. By having a discussion about classroom rules and consequences that create a positive learning environment with the class, students can contribute to forming a way of classroom procedures. In this lesson, students will discuss what makes a classroom run well and then create a poster that lists the classroom rules. The teacher then can see where the students are in their artistic development.
27.A.4b: analyze how the arts are used to inform and persuade through traditional and contemporary art forms.
26.A.4e: analyze and evaluate how tools/technologies and processes combine to convey meaning
The student will organize colors and lines to create an eye-catching classroom rules poster that uses lines and color (26.A.4e).
The student will understand how art can be used to convey a message by using design to illustrate his or her ideas of classroom rules (27.A.4b)
The first day of school, ask students what rules they have had in their classrooms in the past. What was the point of having these rules? Stress maturity. Would anything get done without rules? Is safety an important thing to have in the classroom? What about respect? If students seem to be getting off track, guide their way back to positive rules. Discuss consequences for rule violations. Ask what some inappropriate consequences would be for certain rule infractions. Where else in our lives do we have rules? What purpose do they serve?
After the discussion above, write a few of their ideas on the board. Now show some examples of posters that use lists (CPR poster, how-to’s, etc.). Discuss what visual elements make these posters work, meaning that the viewer can look at them and know exactly what the point is.
Explain that the students are to create their own poster of rules that they think the art classroom should have. Point out that the art classroom is slightly different from most classrooms in that there are usually more materials. Ask students to take that into consideration.
Have students pass out markers and 9"x12" (23 x 30.5 cm) pieces of drawing paper. This is for students to create their own poster for rules. The poster should have a title and the list should be organized in some manner (i.e. numbered, bulleted). Patterns and shapes are encourages. The poster should be "eye-catching". Explain. Is the heading bigger or smaller than the list? Is it centered? Is it all capital letters? What colors draw attention? Is there a variety of colors? Write some of these on the board for inspiration. Remind students of the white background and to take that into consideration when creating the poster.
If there is time, start a discussion of why students chose the rules they did. The posters will be collected and may be organized by the teacher under "respect" and "safety". Each appropriate rule usually fall under one of these.
The teacher could create a poster or respect and safety rules and another with excerpts of the student’s rules.
Rules may also be posted as a border around the classroom, close to the ceiling so it is safe and all students are able to see it. It then becomes more than a decorative element.
Eye-catching: aesthetically pleasing
ART RUBRIC- This is how you will be graded
-refined and sophisticated awareness of the color and line employed in work (5)______
-good understanding of elements and principles as shown in work (4)________
-competent understanding of artistic qualities, but not applied well (3)_______
-improved understanding of artistic qualities, piece lacks proper use of elements and principles (2)_____
-lack of understanding of the assignment and material covered (1)______
-explored several different options and took risks (5)______
-unique and creative, but not daring based upon previous work (4)______
-piece shows development of creative idea without sense of completeness (3)_____
-no risks were taken, e.g., piece looks similar to examples (2)_______
-no creative work involved: work was not finished adequately (1)_______
-put as much effort and thought into the work as possible, participated in discussions (5)______
-showed enough effort to make a piece that fulfills the assignment but does not challenge the student, participated in discussions (4)_______
-some effort, gave up early, little class participation (3)_______
-minimal effort, did not learn how to complete processes covered (evident in work), allowed others to carry on with most of the discussion and group work (2)_______
-no effort displayed (1)______
-piece must show exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail (5)_______
-piece lacks exceptional craftsmanship, e.g., frayed edges, smudges, but complete (4)_______
-average craftsmanship, piece incomplete (3)_______
-piece reflects student’s indifference to the assignment; incomplete (2)_________
-work was not completed or not done according to the assignment (1)_________
Multiply total (out of 20) by 5 to compute percentage ____________
F= 59% or lower
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Chapter 6. Evolution of the Brain and Behavior
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Giant manta rays have been filmed checking out their reflections in a way that suggests they are self-aware. Only a small number of animals, mostly primates, have passed the mirror test, widely used as a tentative test of self-awareness. “This new discovery is incredibly important,” says Marc Bekoff, of the University of Colorado in Boulder. “It shows that we really need to expand the range of animals we study.” But not everyone is convinced that the new study proves conclusively that manta rays, which have the largest brains of any fish, can do this – or indeed, that the mirror test itself is an appropriate measure of self-awareness. Csilla Ari, of the University of South Florida in Tampa, filmed two giant manta rays in a tank, with and without a mirror inside.The fish changed their behaviour in a way that suggested that they recognised the reflections as themselves as opposed to another manta ray. They did not show signs of social interaction with the image, which is what you would expect if they perceived it to be another individual. Instead, the rays repeatedly moved their fins and circled in front of the mirror (click on image below to see one in action). This suggests they could see whether their reflection moved when they moved. The frequency of these movements was much higher when the mirror was in the tank than when it was not. manta © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.
By Manuel Valdes For nearly every step of his almost 12-mile walks around Seattle, Darryl Dyer has company. Flocks of crows follow him, signaling each other, because they all know that he’s the guy with the peanuts. “They know your body type. The way you walk,” Dyer said. “They’ll take their young down and say: ‘You want to get to know this guy. He’s got the food.’ ” Scientists have known for years that crows have great memories, that they can recognize a human face and behavior, that they can pass that information on to their offspring. Researchers are trying to understand more about the crow’s brain and behavior, specifically what the birds do when they see one of their own dead. They react loudly, but the reasons aren’t entirely known. Among the guesses is that they are mourning; given that crows mate for life, losing a partner could be a significant moment for the social animals. There are anecdotes of crows placing sticks and other objects on dead birds — a funeral of sorts. Using masks with dark-haired wigs that looked creepily nonhuman, researchers showed up at Seattle parks carrying a stuffed crow and recorded the reactions. One crow signals an alarm, then dozens show up. They surround the dead crow, looking at it as they perch on trees or fly above it, a behavior called mobbing. “Crows have evolved to have these complex social relationships, and they have a big brain,” said Kaeli Swift, a University of Washington graduate student who led the study.
How did evolution produce a monstrous killer like T. rex? A fossil find in Central Asia is giving scientists a glimpse of the process. T. rex and other tyrannosaurs were huge, dominant predators, but they evolved from much smaller ancestors. The new discovery from Uzbekistan indicates that this supersizing happened quickly, and only after the appearance of some anatomical features that may have helped the monster tyrannosaurs hunt so effectively. The finding was reported Monday by Hans-Dieter Sues of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, Stephen Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and others in a paper released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The discovery They report finding bones of a previously unknown member of the evolutionary branch that led to the huge tyrannosaurs. This earlier dinosaur lived about 90 million years ago, south of what is now the Aral Sea. It looked roughly like a T. rex, but was only about 10 to 12 feet long and weighed only about 600 pounds at most, Sues said. T. rex grew about four times as long and weighed more than 20 times as much. The discovery helps fill in a frustrating gap in the tyrannosaur fossil record. Before that gap, which began some 100 million years ago, the ancestral creatures were only about as big as a horse. Right after the gap, at about 80 million years ago, tyrannosaurs were multi-ton behemoths like T. rex. The new finding shows the forerunners were still relatively small even just 90 million years ago. So the size boom happened pretty quickly. Standard equipment ©2016 CBC/Radio-Canada.
Link ID: 21989 - Posted: 03.15.2016
Carl Zimmer Scientists recently turned Harvard’s Skeletal Biology Laboratory into a pop-up restaurant. It would have fared very badly on Yelp. Katherine D. Zink, then a graduate student, acted as chef and waitress. First, she attached electrodes to the jaws of diners to record the activity in the muscles they use to chew food. Then she brought out the victuals. Some volunteers received a three-course vegetarian meal of carrots, yams or beets. In one course, the vegetables were cooked; in the second, they were raw and sliced; in the last course, Dr. Zink simply served raw chunks of plant matter. Other patrons got three courses of meat (goat, in this case). Dr. Zink grilled the meat in the first course, but offered it raw and sliced in the second. In the third course, her volunteers received an uncooked lump of goat flesh. In some of the trials, the volunteers chewed the food until it was ready to swallow and then spat it out. Dr. Zink painstakingly picked apart those food bits and measured their size. Every week, we'll bring you stories that capture the wonders of the human body, nature and the cosmos. “If that was all my dissertation was, I would have quit graduate school,” Dr. Zink said. “It was as lovely as it sounds.” Dr. Zink persevered, however, because she was exploring a profound question about our origins: How did our ancestors evolve from small-brained, big-jawed apes into large-brained, small-jawed humans? Scientists studying the fossil record have long puzzled over this transition, which happened around two million years ago. Before then, early human relatives — known as hominins — were typically about the size of chimpanzees, with massive teeth and a brain only a third the size of humans’ current brains. © 2016 The New York Times Company
By Jerome Siegel To say whether an animal sleeps requires that we define sleep. A generally accepted definition is that sleep is a state of greatly reduced responsiveness and movement that is homeostatically regulated, meaning that when it is prevented for a period of time, the lost time is made up—an effect known as sleep rebound. Unfortunately, the application of this definition is sometimes difficult. Can an animal sleep while it is moving and responsive? How unresponsive does an animal have to be? How much of the lost sleep has to be made up for it to be considered homeostatically regulated? Is the brain activity that characterizes sleep in humans necessary and sufficient to define sleep in other animals? Apart from mammals, birds are the only other animals known to engage in both slow-wave and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Slow-wave sleep, also called non-REM sleep, is characterized by slow, high-amplitude waves of electrical activity in the cortex and by slow, regular respiration and heart rate. During REM sleep, animals exhibit a waking-like pattern of cortical activity, as well as physiological changes including jerky eye twitches and increased variability of heart rate and respiration. (See “The A, B, Zzzzs.”) But many more animals, including some insects and fish, engage in behaviors that might be called sleep, such as resting with slow but regular respiration and heart rates and a desensitization to environmental stimuli. In addition to diversity in the neural and physiological correlates of sleep, species vary tremendously in the intensity, frequency, and duration of sleep. Some animals tend to nap intermittently throughout the day, while others, including humans, tend to consolidate their sleep into a single, long slumber. The big brown bat is the current sleep champion, registering 20 hours per day; giraffes and elephants doze less than four hours daily. © 1986-2016 The Scientist
It’s the most ancient nervous system we’ve ever seen, preserved inside 520 million-year-old fossils. What’s more, the nervous systems of these creatures’ modern-day descendants are less intricate, proving that evolution isn’t a one-way street to complexity. Found in South China, the five Cambrian fossils belonged to a group of organisms that gave rise to the arthropods, including insects, spiders and crustaceans. The fossils are of Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis, a creature around 10 centimetres long, with a segmented body, multiple pairs of legs and a heart-shaped head. But most interesting of all is its nerve cord and associated neurons. Together, the fossils show the entire nervous system of the organism, apart from its brain – making this the oldest preserved nervous system that has ever been found. “The detail of this fossil is exquisite,” says Rob DeSalle of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, who was not involved in the work. “The information from this specimen unravels transitions in how the nervous systems of arthropods evolved.” The animal had a nerve cord that ran the length of its body, with bulbous nodes of neurons called ganglia located between each pair of legs. “It’s almost like a mini-brain for each pair of legs,” says Javier Ortega-Hernández of the University of Cambridge, whose team analysed and described the fossil. Surprisingly, the team found dozens of fine, subsidiary nerves fanning out across the entire length of the nerve cord, making this nervous system more complex than those seen in today’s descendants. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.
Link ID: 21941 - Posted: 03.01.2016
The dodo is an extinct flightless bird whose name has become synonymous with stupidity. But it turns out that the dodo was no bird brain, but instead a reasonably brainy bird. Scientists said on Wednesday they figured out the dodo's brain size and structure based on an analysis of a well-preserved skull from a museum collection. They determined its brain was not unusually small but rather completely in proportion to its body size. They also found the dodo may have had a better sense of smell than most birds, with an enlarged olfactory region of the brain. This trait, unusual for birds, probably let it sniff out ripe fruit to eat. The research suggests the dodo, rather than being stupid, boasted at least the same intelligence as its fellow members of the pigeon and dove family. Mauritius Dodo bird A skeleton of a Mauritius Dodo bird stands at an exhibition in the Mauritius Institute Museum in Port Louis in this Dec. 27, 2005 file photo. (Reuters) "If we take brain size — or rather, volume, as we measured here — as a proxy for intelligence, then the dodo was as smart as a common pigeon," paleontologist Eugenia Gold of Stony Brook University in New York state said. "Common pigeons are actually smarter than they get credit for, as they were trained as message carriers during the world wars." ©2016 CBC/Radio-Canada.
By Ann Gibbons Depressed? Your inner Neandertal may be to blame. Modern humans met and mated with these archaic people in Europe or Asia about 50,000 years ago, and researchers have long suspected that genes picked up in these trysts might be shaping health and well-being today. Now, a study in the current issue of Science details their impact. It uses a powerful new method for scanning the electronic health records of 28,000 Americans to show that some Neandertal gene variants today can raise the risk of depression, skin lesions, blood clots, and other disorders. Neandertal genes aren’t all bad. “These variants sometimes protect against a disease, sometimes make people more susceptible to disease,” says paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Two other new studies identified three archaic genes that boost immune response. And most archaic genes that persist in humans were likely beneficial in prehistoric times. But some now cause disease because modern lifestyles and environments are so different. Living people carry only trace amounts of Neandertal DNA, which makes its impact on health more striking. “The Neandertal genetic contribution to present-day people seems to have larger physiological effects than I would have naïvely thought,” says Pääbo, who helped launch this avenue of research by sequencing the first ancient genomes but was not involved in these studies. On average, Europeans and Asians have inherited about 1.5% of their genomes from Neandertals. Island Melanesians carry an additional 2% to 3% of DNA inherited from another extinct group, the Denisovans. Most Africans lack this archaic DNA because the interbreeding happened after modern humans left Africa. © 2016 American Association for the Advancement of Science
By Virginia Morell Like fearful humans, horses raise the inner brow of their eyes when threatened or surprised. Altogether their faces can convey 17 emotions (ours express 27), and they readily recognize the expressions on their fellow equines. But can they read our facial cues? To find out, researchers tested 28 horses, including 21 geldings and seven mares, from stables in the United Kingdom. Each horse was led by his/her halter rope to a position in the stable, and then presented with a life-size color photograph of the face of a man. The man was either smiling or frowning angrily. The scientists recorded the animals’ reactions, and measured their heart rates. Other studies have shown that stressed horses’ heart rates fluctuate, and when the horses looked at the angry man, their hearts reached a maximum heart rate more quickly than when they viewed the smiling image. When shown the angry face, 20 of the horses also turned their heads so that they could look at it with their left eye—a response that suggests they understood the expression, the scientists report online today in Biology Letters, because the right hemisphere of the brain is specialized for processing negative emotions. Dogs, too, have this “left-gaze bias” when confronting angry faces. Also, like dogs, the horses showed no such bias, such as moving their heads to look with the right eye, when viewing the happy faces—perhaps because the animals don’t need to respond to nonthreatening cues. But an angry expression carries a warning—the person may be about to strike. The discovery that horses as well as dogs—the only two animals this has been tested in—can read our facial expressions spontaneously and without training suggests one of two things: Either these domesticated species devote a lot of time to learning our facial cues, or the ability is innate and more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously thought. © 2016 American Association for the Advancement of Scienc
Fears over surveillance seem to figure large in the bird world, too. Ravens hide their food more quickly if they think they are being watched, even when no other bird is in sight. It’s the strongest evidence yet that ravens have a “theory of mind” – that they can attribute mental states such as knowledge to others. Many studies have shown that certain primates and birds behave differently in the presence of peers who might want to steal their food. While some researchers think this shows a theory of mind, others say they might just be reacting to visual cues, rather than having a mental representation of what others can see and know. Through the peephole Thomas Bugnyar and colleagues at the University of Vienna, Austria, devised an experiment to rule out the possibility that birds are responding to another’s cues. The setup involved two rooms separated by a wooden wall, with windows and peepholes that could be covered. First, a raven was given food with another raven in the next room, with the window open or covered, to see how quickly it caches its prize. With the window open, the birds hid their food more quickly and avoided going back to conceal it further. Then individual ravens were then trained to use the peephole to see where humans were putting food in the other room. The idea here was to allow the bird to realise it could be seen through the peephole. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.
By SINDYA N. BHANOO Several studies suggest that men find women more attractive when they are in the ovulatory phase of their menstrual cycle. The thesis takes a strange turn in a new study in which women were questioned: Each subject was asked whether a woman in an image was likely to entice a man that she was dating. Although women do not find images of ovulatory women particularly attractive, scientists found, women with higher estrogen levels did perceive such images to be more threatening. Women with high estrogen, the researchers noted, have a high potential for fertility. “We’re still trying to pinpoint exactly what all is involved in this,” said Janek S. Lobmaier, a psychologist at the University of Bern. © 2016 The New York Times Company
Heidi Ledford Addie plays hard for an 11-year-old greater Swiss mountain dog — she will occasionally ignore her advanced years to hurl her 37-kilogram body at an unwitting house guest in greeting. But she carries a mysterious burden: when she was 18 months old, she started licking her front legs aggressively enough to wear off patches of fur and draw blood. Addie has canine compulsive disorder — a condition that is thought to be similar to human obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Canine compulsive disorder can cause dogs to chase their tails for hours on end, or to suck on a toy or body part so compulsively that it interferes with their eating or sleeping. Addie may soon help researchers to determine why some dogs are more prone to the disorder than others. Her owner, Marjie Alonso of Somerville, Massachusetts, has enrolled her in a project called Darwin’s Dogs, which aims to compare information about the behaviour of thousands of dogs against the animals’ DNA profiles. The hope is that genetic links will emerge to conditions such as canine compulsive disorder and canine cognitive dysfunction — a dog analogue of dementia and possibly Alzheimer’s disease. The project organizers have enrolled 3,000 dogs so far, but hope to gather data from at least 5,000, and they expect to begin analysing DNA samples in March. “It’s very exciting, and in many ways it’s way overdue,” says Clive Wynne, who studies canine behaviour at Arizona State University in Tempe. © 2016 Nature Publishing Group,
James Gorman Spotted hyenas are the animals that got Sarah Benson-Amram thinking about how smart carnivores are and in what ways. Dr. Benson-Amram, a researcher at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, did research for her dissertation on hyenas in the wild under Kay E. Holekamp of Michigan State University. Hyenas have very complicated social structures and they require intelligence to function in their clans, or groups. But the researchers also tested the animals on a kind of intelligence very different from figuring out who ranks the highest: They put out metal boxes that the animals had to open by sliding a bolt in order to get at meat inside. Only 15 percent of the hyenas solved the problem in the wild, but in captivity, the animals showed a success rate of 80 percent. Dr. Benson-Amram and Dr. Holekamp decided to test other carnivores, comparing species and families. They and other researchers presented animals in several different zoos with a metal puzzle box with a treat inside and recorded the animals’ efforts. They tested 140 animals in 39 species that were part of nine families. They reported their findings on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They compared the success rates of different families with absolute brain size, relative brain size, and the size of the social groups that the species form in the wild. Just having a bigger brain did not make difference, but the relative size of the brain, compared with the size of the body, was the best indication of which animals were able to solve the problem of opening the box. © 2016 The New York Times Company
By SINDYA N. BHANOO Climate change may affect wood rats in the Mojave Desert in a most unusual way. A new study finds that warmer weather reduces their ability to tolerate toxins in the creosote bush, which they rely on for sustenance. The consequences may be dire for the wood rats. “There’s not much more they can eat out there,” said Patrice Kurnath, a biologist at the University of Utah and one of the study’s authors. She and her colleagues reported their findings in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The leaves of the creosote bush contain a resin full of toxic compounds. They are known to cause kidney cysts and liver failure in laboratory rats. Wild wood rats, however, generally tolerate the poisons. Ms. Kurnath and her colleagues monitored the wood rats as they ate the leaves in warmer temperatures — around 83 degrees Fahrenheit. Although highs in the Mojave can reach the 80s and 90s during the summer, much of the year is cooler. The rats became less tolerant of the toxins and began to lose weight. The reason may have to do with how the liver functions in warmer weather, Ms. Kurnath said. The liver is the body’s primary detoxifying organ. When a mammalian liver is active, it increases internal body temperature. “In warmer weather, maybe you’re not producing huge amounts of heat and you’re not breaking down the toxins,” Ms. Kurnath said. © 2016 The New York Times Company
By Christof Koch While “size does not matter” is a universally preached dictum among the politically correct, everyday experience tells us that this can't be the whole story—under many conditions, it clearly does. Consider the size of Woody Allen's second favorite organ, the brain. Adjectives such as “highbrow” and “lowbrow” have their origin in the belief, much expounded by 19th-century phrenologists, of a close correspondence between a high forehead—that is, a big brain—and intelligence. Is this true? Does a bigger brain make you necessarily smarter or wiser? And is there any simple connection between the size of a nervous system, however measured, and the mental powers of the owner of this nervous system? While the answer to the former question is a conditional “yes, somewhat,” the lack of any accepted answer to the second one reveals our ignorance of how intelligent behavior comes about. The human brain continues to grow until it reaches its peak size in the third to fourth decade of life. An MRI study of 46 adults of mainly European descent found that the average male had a brain volume of 1,274 cubic centimeters (cm3) and that the average female brain measured 1,131 cm3. Given that a quart of milk equals 946 cm3, you could pour a bit more than that into a skull without any of it spilling out. Of course, there is considerable variability in brain volume, ranging from 1,053 to 1,499 cm3 in men and between 975 and 1,398 cm3 in women. As the density of brain matter is just a little bit above that of water plus some salts, the average male brain weighs about 1,325 grams, close to the proverbial three pounds often cited in U.S. texts. © 2016 Scientific American
by Sarah Zielinski When you get a phone call or a text from a friend or acquaintance, how fast you respond — or whether you even bother to pick up your phone — often depends on the quality of the relationship you have with that person. If it’s your best friend or mom, you probably pick up right away. If it’s that annoying coworker contacting you on Sunday morning, you might ignore it. Ring-tailed lemurs, it seems, are even pickier in who they choose to respond to. They only respond to calls from close buddies, a new study finds. These aren’t phone calls but contact calls. Ring-tailed lemurs live in female-dominated groups of 11 to 16, and up to 25, animals, and when the group is on the move, it’s common for one member to yell out a “meow!” and for other members to “meow!” back. A lemur may also make the call if it gets lost. The calls serve to keep the group together. The main way ring-tailed lemurs (and many other primates) build friendships, though, is through grooming. Grooming helps maintain health and hygiene and, more importantly, bonds between members. It’s a time-consuming endeavor, and animals have to be picky about who they bother to groom. Ipek Kulahci and colleagues at Princeton University wanted to see if there was a link between relationships built through grooming and vocal exchanges among ring-tailed lemurs. Contact calls don’t require nearly as much time or effort as grooming sessions, so it is possible that animals could be less discriminating when they respond to calls. But, the researchers reasoned, if the vocalizations were a way of maintaining the relationships built through painstaking grooming sessions, then the lemurs would be as picky in their responses as in their grooming partners. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2015.
By Elahe Izadi Tiny cameras attached to wild New Caledonian crows capture, for the first time, video footage of these elusive birds fashioning hooked stick tools, according to researchers. These South Pacific birds build tools out of twigs and leaves that they use to root out food, and they're the only non-humans that make hooked tools in the wild, write the authors of a study published Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters. Humans have previously seen the crows making the tools in artificial situations, in which scientists baited feeding sites and provided the raw tools; but researchers say the New Caledonian crows have never been filmed doing this in a completely natural setting. "New Caledonian crows are renowned for their unusually sophisticated tool behavior," the study authors write. "Despite decades of fieldwork, however, very little is known about how they make and use their foraging tools in the wild, which is largely owing to the difficulties in observing these shy forest birds." Study author Jolyon Troscianko of the University of Exeter in England described the tropical birds as "notoriously difficult to observe" because of the terrain of their habitat and their sensitivity to disturbance, he said in a press release. "By documenting their fascinating behavior with this new camera technology, we obtained valuable insights into the importance of tools in their daily search for food," he added.
Carl Zimmer Over the past few million years, the ancestors of modern humans became dramatically different from other primates. Our forebears began walking upright, and they lost much of their body hair; they gained precision-grip fingers and developed gigantic brains. But early humans also may have evolved a less obvious but equally important advantage: a peculiar sleep pattern. “It’s really weird, compared to other primates,” said Dr. David R. Samson, a senior research scientist at Duke University. In the journal Evolutionary Anthropology, Dr. Samson and Dr. Charles L. Nunn, an evolutionary biologist at Duke, reported that human sleep is exceptionally short and deep, a pattern that may have helped give rise to our powerful minds. Until recently, scientists knew very little about how primates sleep. To document orangutan slumber, for example, Dr. Samson once rigged up infrared cameras at the Indianapolis Zoo and stayed up each night to watch the apes nod off. By observing their movements, he tracked when the orangutans fell in and out of REM sleep, in which humans experience dreams. “I became nocturnal for about seven months,” Dr. Samson said. “It takes someone who wants to get their Ph.D. to be motivated enough to do that.” In the new study. Dr. Samson and Dr. Nunn combined that information with studies of 19 other primate species. The researchers found wide variations in how long the animals slept. Mouse lemurs doze for seventeen hours a day, for example, while humans sleep just seven hours or so a day — “the least of any primate on the planet,” said Dr. Samson. © 2015 The New York Times Company
Megan Scudellari In 1997, physicians in southwest Korea began to offer ultrasound screening for early detection of thyroid cancer. News of the programme spread, and soon physicians around the region began to offer the service. Eventually it went nationwide, piggybacking on a government initiative to screen for other cancers. Hundreds of thousands took the test for just US$30–50. LISTEN James Harkin, a researcher for the British TV trivia show QI, talks to Adam Levy about how he finds facts and myths for the show — and then runs a mini-quiz to see whether the Podcast team can discern science fact from science fiction 00:00 Across the country, detection of thyroid cancer soared, from 5 cases per 100,000 people in 1999 to 70 per 100,000 in 2011. Two-thirds of those diagnosed had their thyroid glands removed and were placed on lifelong drug regimens, both of which carry risks. Such a costly and extensive public-health programme might be expected to save lives. But this one did not. Thyroid cancer is now the most common type of cancer diagnosed in South Korea, but the number of people who die from it has remained exactly the same — about 1 per 100,000. Even when some physicians in Korea realized this, and suggested that thyroid screening be stopped in 2014, the Korean Thyroid Association, a professional society of endocrinologists and thyroid surgeons, argued that screening and treatment were basic human rights. © 2015 Nature Publishing Group,
Parrots can dance and talk, and now apparently they can use and share grinding tools. They were filmed using pebbles for grinding, thought to be a uniquely human activity – one that allowed our civilisations to extract more nutrition from cereal-based foods. Megan Lambert from the University of York, UK, and her colleagues were studying greater vasa parrots (Coracopsis vasa) in an aviary when they noticed some of the birds scraping shells in their enclosure with pebbles and date pips. “We were surprised,” says Lambert. “Using tools [to grind] seashells is something never seen before in animals.” Afterwards, the birds would lick the powder from the tool. Some of the parrots even passed tools to each other, which is rarely seen in animals. This behaviour was exclusively male to female. Lambert and her team, who watched the parrots for six months, noticed that the shell-scraping was more frequent before their breeding season. Since seashells contain calcium, which is critical for females before egg-laying, they suspect that the parrots could be manufacturing their own calcium supplements, as the mineral is probably better absorbed in powder form. Greater vasa parrots are native to Madagascar and have breeding and social systems unique among parrots. For example, two or more males have an exclusive sexual relationship with two or more females, and they are unusually tolerant of their group members. The reproductive ritual of sharing tools and grinding could be yet another one of their quirks. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.
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There’s more in the parish chest than baptism, marriage and burial registers. Back in the 16th century, each parish was required to purchase a strong oak chest, with three locks and keys, to hold the church silver, the parish registers and other documents necessary for the administration of the parish. This followed on from the Poor Law Act of 1522 which had ordered a similar chest to be bought to hold securely the alms collected for the poor. The three keys were to be given to the bishop, the minister and a religious layman.
If you have finished searching the registers and want to know more about your ancestor’s life in a parish, look at the settlements and removals, the apprenticeship records and the bastardy bonds (We’ve all got some of those!). Check out Chapter 1 in my latest book, Discover Gloucestershire Ancestors, Volume 2.
Posted by Category: Apprentices
, Poor Law
Poor Law was administered by each parish following an Act of Parliament in 1597. It authorized the parish to levy a rate to be paid by those who could afford to so do. Collection of the rate was the duty of the Overseers, who also distributed the money to those in need, either in cash or in kind. Overseers had to keep accounts and they are very useful for finding out more about the poorer members of society.
As well as distributing money, the Overseers could organize apprenticeships for poor children and orphans, could question single mothers and order reputed fathers to pay maintenance so that the illegitimate children were not a charge on the parish, and could examine and remove people to their parish of origin who were in need of funds but who perhaps were not qualified to belong to that particular parish. So Overseers Papers include apprenticeships, bastardy bonds, settlement examinations and certificates and removal orders as well as rates for the poor and details of poor relief.
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The right to privacy
Criminalization of HIV transmission or exposure does not recognize how difficult it can be for people living with HIV to disclose their HIV status. Telling someone that you are living with HIV can be very challenging and can mean giving away the power that a person has over their own privacy.
Criminalization of HIV transmission or exposure does not recognize the sensitivity of and obstacles to disclosure. When and how people choose to disclose their status is a very personal choice – it is not for any other individual, or the State, to force or expect disclosure.
If a person is under investigation for an HIV-related crime, their status becomes known to those conducting the investigation and often more publicly. The concept of confidentiality is often ignored and even if not prosecuted or convicted, disclosure about their HIV status is no longer in their own hands.
A human rights approach respects the right to privacy for all and protects any person from being forced or expected to disclose their HIV status by another individual or the State.
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Some discoveries shed more light on the events of the past, while some others baffle scientists and raise new questions about the history of humankind. Here are five of the most puzzling and unexplained mysteries in the world which are yet to be solved.
1. The Bimini Road
In 1968, dozens of huge flat rocks of limestone were discovered under the seabed, close to the coast of Bimini in the Bahamas islands. At first glance, there was nothing surprising. However, scientists were troubled because these stones formed a perfectly straight boulevard one km long that appeared unlikely to be created by nature.
Many said that those were the ruins of an ancient world civilization, others were convinced that it was a unique natural phenomenon. However, none of them can ignore a prophecy made in the early decades of the twentieth century.
A famous prophet and healer of that time, Edgar Cayce, made the following prediction in 1938: “A part of the ruins of the Lost Atlantis will be discovered in the sea around the islands of Bimini… “.
There were others who claimed to have seen pyramids and ruins of buildings on the sea floor near Bimini, but the only confirmed discovery is the Bimini Road, whose origin still troubles scientists.
2. The Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich Manuscript was named after Polish antiquarian Wilfried M. Voynich, who found it in an Italian monastery in 1912. Perhaps, it is the most mysterious book in the world history. This is a book of mysterious pictorial content written in an incomprehensible language. Scientists estimate that it was written centuries ago (approximately 400 to 800 years ago) by an anonymous author who used an unknown writing code…
From its pages, it is possible to understand only that it probably served as a pharmacy book (it appears to describe certain aspects of medieval and early medicine), as well as an astronomical and cosmological map. Even stranger than the writing language are the images of unknown plants, cosmological charts and strange pictures of naked women in a green liquid.
Dozens cryptanalysts have tried to translate it but no one managed to. Many came to the conclusion that it was, in fact, an elaborate hoax and the encrypted words were random and had no meaning, while the images belonged exclusively to the realm of fantasy.
Today the Voynich Manuscript is kept in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, and nobody has managed to decipher a word so far.
3. The Piri Reis Map
The Piri Reis map was accidentally discovered in 1929 in a Turkish museum, and since then, no logical explanation for its illustrations has been found.
In 1513, Turkish admiral Piri Reis designed the map of the world which included Portugal, Spain, West Africa, Central and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the eastern half of South America and a part of Antarctica.
It is believed that there were also the North America and the rest of the eastern half of the world in the pieces of the map that were probably destroyed over the years.
The point is that this map is so accurate in detail that it raises a question: how could an admiral of the 16th century design the entire Earth without the possibility of aerial observation? How is it possible to separate the continents and coasts in their correct distances without the knowledge of the method of Azimuthal projection or spherical trigonometry required for mapping? And how did he design the Antarctic that had not been officially discovered at that time?
4. The Nazca Lines
The geoglyphs of the Nazca culture located in Peru are among the world’s biggest mysteries both because of the manner as for the reason of their creation. These are approximately 13,000 lines forming 800 designs covering an area of 450 square kilometers. They were created approximately between 500 BC and 500 AD and look as if they had been designed by a giant hand.
These lines depict shapes, animals, plants and geometric designs and the strange thing is that they virtually have no actual construction purpose, since they are visible only from the sky. Scientists estimate that perhaps the Nazca had in possession a large hot air balloon or kite that helped them design.
Many say that this is an airstrip built for aliens. Others go even further, saying that the lines were designed by aliens. More popular (and more plausible) explanation is that the Nazca made these designs for their gods in the sky, but no theory has been yet confirmed.
5. The Shroud of Turin
Although the Vatican has affirmed that it is not authentic, the Holy Shroud remains an unsolved mystery for humanity. It is a shroud with an imprinted image of a bearded male adult on it. Throughout the fabric there are signs of blood, which shows that this man was probably crucified and then his body was covered with this piece of cloth. Understandably, many believe it is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ which covered his body after the Crucifixion, as the weave of the fabric refers to the epoch he lived in and the signs of blood confirm the death in the same manner as that of Christ.
Some other scientists believe that the shroud was created much later, between 13th and 14th century. Even if it is a coincidence and not the burial cloth of Christ, the mystery remains: what happened to the real shroud that covered his body after the Crucifixion?
Copyright © 2016 Learning Mind. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.
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Using striking stencil art and profound imagery, Banksy has captured the interest of art lovers, activists, and graffiti artists around the globe. His mysterious identity (and refusal to use social media accounts) has only sparked more intrigue, with media outlets and fans prying to earn a peek into his life. But why use graffiti as a means to communicate?
By displaying art in crowded cities across the world, Banksy puts social and political issues in our face. These pieces force us to stop and think—something that we often avoid doing in our day-to-day lives.
15. Set moral boundaries.
This ominous image of a hitchhiking Charles Manson stands outside of London’s Archway Tube Station. Could it be a reference to the pervasive influence of evil in society? An ominous warning that evil can be lurking on any corner? Perhaps we should be more restrictive of what kinds of influences we allow in our everyday lives.
14. Remember where you came from.
Those who pass this piece in Los Angeles may wonder if they’re being warned, mocked, or simply entertained by a peculiar caveman with his fast food combo meal. Perhaps this is simply a subtle reminder of our human nature—and of those things that we’ve adopted that aren’t so natural.
As crazy as it is to see a caveman carrying a fast food tray, is it really that much crazier for us to consume grease-soaked, nutritionless meals?
13. Let your actions match your words.
Have you ever been frustrated by a parent who said, “Do as I say, not as I do?” Maybe Banksy was too, before allegedly creating this piece in the London Borough of Hounslow. This piece brings to light the contradiction between what human behaviors are expected, and how people actually behave. We’re often told to be good by some of the very people that are doing just the opposite. Actions speak louder than words, so make sure your actions don’t contradict your words.
12. Everyone’s got skeletons.
This rather humorous scene is one of Banksy’s most famous, painted in Bristol, England. Along with the idea that we’ve all got some things to hide, this piece seems to warn us that things aren’t always what they seem. Don’t blindly believe everything you’re told, as someone’s dishonesty may be creating an illusion.
11. There is always hope.
This message is clearly etched in the wall beside this London piece. While the image may symbolize loss, the text clearly tells us that no amount of loss can eliminate hope. This is a gentle reminder to remain positive instead of wallowing in our losses.
10. Strive for peace.
This San Francisco piece demands that we examine ourselves—particularly, how we solve problems. Instead of resorting to violence and immature tantrums, we should aim to be reasonable and fair. This is one of many Banksy pieces that pushes us to question our government and the decisions made by our leaders.
9. Love is not lust.
This dismal scene, painted outside of a New York City strip club seems to highlight the ugly truth about society’s sex obsession: it never leads to fulfillment—at least not for this poor guy. Banksy posted the phrase, “waiting in vain” along with a picture of the stencil on his website, suggesting he’s in the wrong place if he wants to find genuine love.
8. All love is valid.
This piece, outside of a Brighton pub, blatantly displays two uniformed male officers kissing. Banksy seems to be asking us, “Who’s to say what is appropriate?” Whether “conventional” or not, love is love. This piece suggests that love should be accepted publicly and displayed freely, no matter what kind it is.
7. Be humble.
Let’s face it: most humans need a lesson in humility. We’ve caused tragedies for other species, the environment, and other humans without even recognizing any wrong-doing. Banksy reportedly painted several of these pieces, reminiscent of the popular anecdote: don’t step on the little people to get to the top, as you may need them on your way back down. More importantly, don’t step on people because it’s wrong. Practice humility, and you will naturally earn respect without having to mistreat anyone.
6. Utilize kindness.
This London piece of a protester throwing a bouquet of flowers may be Banksy’s most famous piece thus far. The remarkable idea behind this piece is the use of unexpected weapons. The protester fights not with a grenade or other harmful device, but with an innocent bouquet of flowers. This suggests we may be able to get more done by negotiating kindly, not malevolently.
5. Express yourself.
This New York piece illustrates self-expression with a graffiti artist puking flowers. The caption tied to this piece is “better out than in,” indicating that if you have something to express, it’s best to let it out rather than hold it in. We certainly wouldn’t hold it in if we felt the need to puke. So why hold in our emotional needs, like the need to express and create? Whether physical or emotional, some things need to be let out, lest we be left with a sour stomach.
4. Live in the moment.
One of Banksy’s most recent pieces, entitled Mobile Lovers, was also done in Bristol. This not-so-subtle reference to modern technology warns us to be conscious of what we’re spending our time and attention on. Nothing that exists on a screen in more important than what is happening right in front of us. By being constantly preoccupied, we could miss out on meaningful opportunities and connection with others.
3. Don’t be so full of yourself.
Another New York piece of Banksy’s casually knocks us down to reality. As humans, we like to believe that our lives have significance and that we’re unique from everyone else. This piece can be viewed as something that knocks us down a peg, but in a good way. Everyone lives the same struggle. Life is finite, and that’s okay. Don’t do things in order to be remembered; do things in order to be a good person.
2. Don’t let others deter you.
This Boston piece, one of Banksy’s most famous, takes yet another swing in the name of disappointed idealism. Many of us feel forced to give up our dreams, never pursuing them due to financial burdens or other hardships. This may serve as a wake up call for those of us who’ve been asleep. Ultimately, we should follow our dreams, regardless of outside discouragement.
1. Listen to your heart.
Perhaps the most obvious and adorably heartwarming translation of this San Francisco piece is “listen to your heart.” While harsh realities and unforgiving satire are typically Banksy’s style, a bit of optimism seeps through here. This listening doctor serves as an inspiring reminder. Are we living up to the request?
Featured photo credit: Gary Soup via images.search.yahoo.com
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a, Photograph of the holotype (Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, a12818) based on part and counterpart (stitching and focus stacking procedure). b, Detail of the proposed head based on part and counterpart. *, base of hypothetical antenna. c, Detail of legs. d, Same area as in c, inverted grey-scale with some legs colour-coded.
Is Strudiella a Devonian insect?
1. Thomas Hörnschemeyer (a)
2. Joachim T. Haug (b)
3. Olivier Bethoux (c)
4. Rolf G. Beutel (d)
5. Sylvain Charbonnier (c)
6. Thomas A. Hegna (e)
7. Markus Koch (f)
8. Jes Rust (g)
9. Sonja Wedmann (h)
10. Sven Bradler (a)
11. Rainer Willmann (a)
a. Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach-Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
b. Zoological Institute and Museum, Department of Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
c. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle UMR7207 CNRS (CR2P) CP38, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
d. Entomology Group, Institut für Spezielle Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
e. Geology Department, Western Illinois University, 1 University Circle, 113 Tillman Hall, Macomb, Illinois 61455, USA
f. Biocentre Grindel and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
g. Steinmann Institute, Department of Palaeontology, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
h. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Forschungsstation Grube Messel, 64409 Messel, Germany
The origin of winged insects (Pterygota), one of the planet’s most diverse lineages of organisms, is assumed to lie in the Devonian, but as an extremely sparse fossil record impedes our understanding of their early diversification, any well-preserved insect fossil from this time would be particularly valuable. Garrouste et al. described an arthropod from Upper Devonian freshwater sediments from the Strud locality in Belgium (~360 million years ago) as an insect, Strudiella devonica. However, based on a thorough re-investigation of the specimen, we conclude that this interpretation is untenable. Hence we believe that, like several other Devonian arthropod remains, Strudiella is not an insect, and utmost diligence should be taken in interpreting poorly preserved Devonian arthropods.
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A Good Fracking Story
September 19, 2012
Global warming alarmists are at it again, arguing that higher average temperatures and severe droughts are the worst they have been and a result of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, many of those alarmists would be surprised to learn that CO2 emissions are the lowest they've been in 20 years, says Bjørn Lomborg, an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School, and founder and director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center.
The cause for this stems from the switch to reliance on natural gas for energy.
- The United States used to generate only 20 percent of its energy from natural gas and over half from coal.
- Today, coal and natural gas make up 32 percent of energy production.
- Furthermore, natural gas emits 45 percent less carbon per energy unit.
The rise in the use of natural gas comes from technological advancements that have made hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, possible. Fracking has opened up untouched reserves of previously inaccessible shale gas. Aside from some environmental concern, it is difficult to overstate the benefit of fracking.
- Adjusted for inflation, gas has been the cheapest it has ever been in the past 35 years.
- Furthermore, CO2 emissions have dropped 20 percent despite adding 57 million energy producers.
- Overall, U.S. emissions have been reduced by 400 to 500 megatonnes a year, which is twice the total effect of the Kyoto Protocol on the rest of the world.
Many environmentalists incorrectly shift responsibility of the carbon reductions to the investment of alternative energy sources. Wind turbines in the United States reduce emissions by only one-tenth the amount natural gas does. The European Union, for example, has invested over $20 billion annually into solar and wind energy, but its per capita CO2 emission have fallen by less than half of what the United States has achieved.
The United States' investment in green technology has also yielded poor results. The low drop in emissions through wind power ends up costing taxpayers $3.3 billion annually, while the smaller reductions through biofuels and solar power cost $8.5 billion and $3 billion, respectively.
Fracking is not only cost-effective, but the benefits to the environment speak for themselves. Over 30 years of investment and technological innovation have yielded outstanding results and will continue to do so as producers tap into vast natural gas reserves.
Source: Bjørn Lomborg, "A Fracking Good Story," Project Syndicate, September 13, 2012.
Browse more articles on Environment Issues
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Drums For Dummies, 2nd Edition
US $24.99 Add to Cart
Part I: Setting a Solid Foundation.
Chapter 1: Drum Basics.
Chapter 2: I’ve Got Rhythm . . . .
Chapter 3: Tapping into Drumming Techniques.
Chapter 4: Getting a Handle on Hand Drumming Techniques.
Part II: Digging into the Drumset.
Chapter 5: Settling In Behind the Drumset.
Chapter 6: Rolling into Rock Drumming.
Chapter 7: Beating the Blues.
Chapter 8: Rallying Around R&B and Funk.
Chapter 9: Swinging into Jazz.
Chapter 10: Looking at Latin and Caribbean Styles.
Chapter 11: Ratcheting up Your Rock Drumming.
Part III: Dressing up Your Drumset Skills.
Chapter 12: Getting Into the Groove.
Chapter 13: Expressing Yourself with Fills and Licks.
Chapter 14: Flying Solo.
Part IV: Pounding Out the Beat: Traditional Drums and Percussion.
Chapter 15: Handling Hand Drums.
Chapter 16: Singling Out Stick-Played Drums.
Chapter 17: Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Exploring Other Percussion Instruments.
Chapter 18: Jamming with World Rhythms.
Part V: Choosing, Tuning, and Caring for Your Drums.
Chapter 19: Decision Time: Selecting a Drum of Your Own.
Chapter 20: Tuning and Maintaining Your Drums.
Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Expand Your Drumming Horizons.
Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Finding a Drum Instructor.
Appendix: How to Use the CD.
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(List Price: US $24.99)
with Clarinet For Dummies (List Price = US $21.99) Cannot be combined with any other offers. Learn more.
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CREDIT: Edwin Huffman / World Bank
According to experts, the island nations of the Caribbean could see a double blow to their freshwater supplies thanks to climate change. Shifting rainfall patterns may not replenish the countries’ underground water reservoirs as in the past, and rising sea levels threaten to contaminate those same supplies with salt water.
Scientists and officials gathered at the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia this past week for a conference entitled “Climate Change, Tourism and Agriculture — Strategies and innovations for adaptation.” But they also took the opportunity to expand beyond climate change’s implications for those two industries, taking on its impact for freshwater supplies across then Caribbean.
Many countries in the region rely exclusively on underground water for their drinking supplies, reports the Associated Press. And as climate change alters weather patterns, it can diminish the pace at which those supplies are refilled. “When you look at the projected impact of climate change, a lot of the impact is going to be felt through water,” said Avril Alexander, Caribbean coordinator for the nonprofit Global Water Partnership. And the intense rainfall that’s hit the region recently may not help. Heavy rains and deluges actually decrease the amount of time the water has to seep into the ground before running off. They also drive up purification costs and can force water treatment systems to temporarily close down to protect against contamination.
This problem isn’t limited to the Caribbean. Climate change is threatening to upend already-strained water supplies of many U.S. states, including Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The Colorado River is frighteningly low, as are many U.S. reservoirs, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River. The glaciers that supply freshwater for many South American cities and communities are in historic retreat. And tapped-out water supplies even threaten the ability of many major industries — especially the energy industry — to keep functioning at capacity.
An unusual dry spell already hit portions of the Caribbean last year. According to the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology & Hydrology, several islands reported extremely dry weather in August 2012, including Grenada and Anguilla, and those conditions spread to Trinidad, Antigua, St. Vincent and Barbados by July of this year. “There are a number of indications that the total amount of rainfall in much of the Caribbean would be decreasing by the end of the century,” Cedric Van Meerbeeck, a climatologist with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology & Hydrology, told the Associated Press.
The threat of salt water contamination isn’t as pressing as depleted water levels, but it’s a particular problem for island nations and communities. As sea levels rise, there are more opportunities for sea water to seep into groundwater systems along coastal areas and mix in with the fresh water. Of course, on an island, everything is near the coast, leaving the groundwater in the Caribbean especially vulnerable. Studies suggest sea level rise could hit six or seven feet by 2100 under the worst case scenarios in which no action is taken on climate change.
Access to drinking water and sanitation improved markedly for Caribbean populations between 1990 and 2000, but then stalled out or even fell behind since. Many challenges still loom. A 2012 study by the British risk analysis firm Maplecroft ranked the Caribbean nation of Barbados 21st out of 168 countries at risk for water demand exceeding available surface water supplies. Other Caribbean islands high on the list included Cuba at 45 and the Dominican Republican at 48.
Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados have already ordered water rationing this year. “Climate is maybe not the biggest factor, but it’s a drop in an already full bucket of water,” Meerbeeck said. “It will have quite dramatic consequences if we keep using water the way we do right now.”
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Olympic Fun Facts
the Fella" and other amazing trivia
by Mike Morrison
American Myer Prinstein finished runner-up in the 1900 long jump
in Paris, despite not even showing up for the finals. Prinstein, a Syracuse
University student who was in fact Jewish, agreed along with several other
American athletes not to compete in the finals on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath.
Qualifying jumps counted back then, and that's what earned him second place.
As legend has it, he was so angry at eventual gold-medal winning jumper Alvin
Kraenzlein for competing in the finals that he punched him in the face.
The 1912 Greco-Roman wrestling match in Stockholm between Finn
Alfred Asikainen and Russian Martin Klein lasted more than 11 hours. Klein
eventually won but was too exhausted to participate in the championship match,
so he settled for the silver.
Did you ever wonder why the official distance of a marathon is
exactly 26 miles, 385 yards? In 1908, the marathon standard had been set at
exactly 26 miles. However, at the Olympic marathon in London, it was decided
that the royal family needed a better view of the finish line. Organizers
added an extra 385 yards to the race so that the finish line would be in front
of the royal box. It's been that length ever since.
The five interlocking rings of the Olympic flag symbolize the
five continents of the world (Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas)
"linked together in friendship." Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin claimed
that at least one of the rings' colors (blue, yellow, black, green, and red,
along with the white background) was present in each country's national flag.
World record, but no gold medal: In 1924, American Robert LeGendre
shattered the world long jump record with a leap of 25 feet, 4 inches. However,
the jump was part of the pentathlon competition and LeGendre could muster
only a third-place finish overall. The actual long jump competition was won
with a jump of 24 feet, 5 inches.
Stella the Fella—Poland's Stella Walsh (Stanislawa Walasiewicz)—won
the women's 100-meter race at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming the
first woman to break the 12-second barrier. When she was killed in 1980 as
an innocent victim in a robbery attempt, an autopsy declared her to be a male.
Danish rider Lis Hartel won the silver medal in the 1952 equestrian
dressage event in Helsinki. Hartel suffered from an inflammation of the spinal
cord known as poliomyelitis, which required her to be lifted on and off her
horse each time.
Before there was Kerri Strug, there was Japan's Shun Fujimoto.
In the men's team gymnastics competition in 1976, he actually broke his kneecap
while performing in the floor exercise. The following day, however, he needed
a top-notch performance in the rings for Japan to secure the gold. With no
pain killers, he performed a near flawless routine and stuck the landing,
putting a tremendous amount of pressure on his injured knee. He grimaced in
pain as he held his position for the judges, then finally collapsed in agony.
Japan won the team gold by just four tenths of a point over the Soviet Union.
And you thought they just used a match. Did you know that traditionally
the Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece, is rekindled every two years using the
sun's rays and a concave reflective mirror?
In 1928, six of the eight entrants in the women's 800-meter race
reportedly collapsed at the finish line in an "exhausted state."
Poor training methods and the brutal Amsterdam sun were the two major causes
of distress. That event was subsequently cancelled until 1960.
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by Jane E. Spear
The Cape Verde (or Cabo Verde) Islands are known officially as the Republic of Cape Verde. The islands lie approximately 320 miles (515 kilometers) off the west coast of Senegal, the westernmost country on the African continent. The republic consists of ten islands, nine of which are inhabited, and five islets in the Atlantic Ocean. These islands and islets cover an area of 1,557 square miles (4,033 square kilometers) and are also referred to as the Cape Verde Archipelago. The term archipelago indicates a chain of islands within a particular area. The islands form two clusters, the Windward islands and the Leeward Islands, relating to their position to the northeast wind. Windward refers to the islands on the side from which the wind blows. Leeward refers to those opposite the wind. The Windward Islands are: Santa Antao, Sao Vincente, Santa Lluzia, Sao Nicolau, Sal and Boa vista, and the islets of Branco and Razo. The Leeward Islands are Maio, Sao Tiago, Fogo and Brava, and the three Rombo islets. The climate of the Cape Verde islands is mild, and the humidity is low. The clean and beautiful beaches and low crime were factors that promoted increased tourism to the islands by the end of the twentieth century.
The geography of the Republic of Cape Verde is an important key to understanding the Cape Verdean people and their culture. Discovered by the Portuguese around 1455, these volcanic islands have been plagued for centuries by recurrent droughts. The last major drought ended in 1985, following 12 dry years. In a country that relies primarily on agriculture for its livelihood, only ten percent of its land is suitable for growing. Seven percent of its land is used for cattle grazing. With overgrazing and extended droughts, the land resembles the barren coast of New England, rather than an exotic landscape of the Tropics. When droughts occur, the vegetation in the mountainous valleys is supplied with water from underground. But dry winds during these periods leave much of the topsoil washed away and when rain does come, no seeds will have been planted.
In 1990, the Republic of the Cape Verde Islands had an estimated population of 339,000. However, more than half of Cape Verdean citizens lived abroad due to poor working conditions in their homeland. The majority of those inhabited the northeastern United States, primarily Massachusetts and Rhode Island. More than two-thirds of Cape Verdean population ancestry is Creole, descended from the intermarriages between the Portuguese settlers and black Africans. The majority of the population practices Roman Catholicism, although other churches have gained a foothold in the islands. The predominant Protestant group in the Cape Verdean islands is the American Nazarene Church and other large groups include the Baptists and Adventists. Animist customs, which are beliefs rooted in a spiritual presence outside the physical realm, and beliefs in spirits and demons, are not uncommon among Cape Verdeans, even those who practice one of the mainstream religions. The flag of the Republic of Cape Verde contains a circle of ten stars to the left of center, around two colors of stripes on either side—one narrow red stripe in the center between two wider white stripes, all under a deep blue background.
The name Cape Verde means green cape, an ironic description of these dry and mountainous islands. In the middle of the fifteenth century, before Queen Isabel of Spain sent an Italian, Christopher Columbus, to discover a new route to the east, Portugal was engaged in colonial expansion. The dates regarding the exact time that Portuguese explorer Diogo Gomes and Genovese Antonio di Noli (working for the Portuguese king) discovered the Cape Verdean Islands varies. One source suggests that they landed on the unpopulated islands as early as 1455. Other Portuguese historians maintain that they were discovered over the course of two voyages between 1460 and 1462. The navigators reportedly saw the first islands, Sao Tiago, or Santiago, (Portuguese for James) S. Felipe (Portuguese for Philip) and Maio, or Mayo, in honor of the feast of Saints Philip and James, the day of their discovery. Two years later, they were believed to have completed their discovery of the seven other islands. Oral traditions passed down through the centuries among the Portuguese and the Cape Verdeans indicate that the islands were not always uninhabited. According to these stories, Sao Tiago was inhabited by Wolofs, natives of Senegal and Gambia, both west African coastal nations; and that Sal was inhabited by Lebu, Serer, the Felup. These groups were also native to the African continent.
In June of 1466, King Alfonso of Portugal (1432 to 1481) developed a proposal to make settling in the Cape Verde Islands more attractive. He granted a Charter of Privileges and placed his brother Fernando as owner, and gave him jurisdiction over all inhabitants in civil and criminal matters. These inhabitants may have been any of the following groups: Moors, or Mauritanians of mixed Arab and Berber descent who lived in northwest Africa, some of whom had invaded and occupied Spain in the eighth century; Blacks, from the African continent; or Whites, settlers from Europe. This charter allowed the settlers to organize the slave trade off the African coast, providing both for the development of the islands themselves, as well as for the expanding slave markets in Brazil and the West Indies of the Caribbean. The scarcity of European women inhabiting the island ultimately led to the coupling of the Portuguese male settlers with the native Africans, and mixed blood emerged into over 90 percent of the population. This intermingling of bloodlines often set Cape Verdean islanders and their descendants apart from being considered solely African; or, in the instance of emigrants to America, as African-Americans.
The poor growing conditions on the islands created difficulties for the Portuguese. They were used to harvesting and eating grains that could not grow on the Cape Verdean landscape. The Portuguese brought maize, or corn, from Brazil, and established it as the islands' main crop. Urzela, a natural substance used in dyes, was another imported crop. Many of the African slaves brought to Cape Verde were expert weavers, and wove the cotton into intricately patterned materials for use in clothing and household goods. All of the work done to cultivate the land in the Cape Verde Islands during the centuries of Portuguese occupation was done for Portugal, as produce was returned to the mother country. This was to detriment of the local natives, particularly the slaves who had been imported from mainland Africa.
The Europeans who did stay in the islands settled in the most fertile areas. Sao Tiago, the largest island, was divided into feudal estates, which was the system of land division in Europe. Feudal estates were passed down from one generation to the next, father to son, and were worked by tenant farmers. These tenant farmers often lived grim and bleak existences. Working the land, especially in the difficult soil of the Cape Verde Islands was tedious, at best. Although they were not considered slaves, tenant farmers never gained the right to own the land they farmed. They only subsisted on what was left after they paid taxes to the landlord
Portugal, like the Britain's settlement of Australia with criminals, sent degredados, or convicts, to settle the Cape Verde Islands. This practice continued on a regular basis until 1882. Escaping persecution in Portugal, many Jewish people, especially men, also settled in the Cape Verde Islands. Despite the fact that many Jews had converted to Christianity in Medieval Europe, they were persecuted due to racial discrimination, not simply religion. Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal at the time that exploration to the New World began often left robbed of their money and their possessions. In fact, much of the wealth Queen Isabel of Spain used to finance Christopher Columbus' voyage was confiscated from persecuted Jews. But these were not the only deplorable practices that Portugal engaged in. The slavery that brought good prices in their early trade of Africans and deportation to the Caribbean, and Brazil, brought better prices once the slaves of Cape Verde Islands had learned to speak the common tongue of their captors. Thus, Portugal doubled their profit.
After years of living on the islands, the population began to understand that the droughts occurred in cycles. Two major droughts occurred in the sixteenth century, the first in 1549, and the second from 1580 to 1583. Moreover, a harsh and severe famine occurred during the latter drought. Reports of another drought, from 1609 to 1611, indicated that while the rich had food, the poor, both slave and non-slave, did not and many perished from prolonged periods of starvation. By the middle of the seventeenth century, a significant proportion of the white settlers decided to abandon the islands. This, along with the recurring droughts, brought a decline in the export economy. Eventually, the Portuguese governing monarchy permitted slave ships in transit from Africa to the Americas to pay their customs fees before they left the coast of mainland Africa, instead of stopping by the Cape Verde Islands to do so. Consequently, the city of Ribiera Grande became easy prey for pirates. It was pushed into ruin by neglect and abandonment, and Praia became the new capital. This location afforded a natural fortress to protect it from roving marauders and pirates in search of valuable goods. Illegal trade brought the only consistent source of revenue, as Portuguese trade laws restricted trade with foreigners.
From 1696 to 1785, famines increased, even when the droughts were not as severe, due to mismanagement of the charter companies employed by the monarchy. Managers of the land did not store food during more fertile periods and during the famine of 1773 to 1775, some inhabitants became so desperate to leave the island that they sold themselves into slavery to foreign ships. Other slaves took advantage of the chaos that often occurred during pirate attacks, and escaped to the distant countryside, settling down to farm the land for themselves. Because these people were scattered and isolated from each other, they were unable to unite and attempt to take control of their fate.
Another brutal famine during the early 1830s killed an estimated one third of the population. An uprising in 1835 killed even more people. Soldiers at Praia, most recruited from the Azores, began the uprising. The Azores, a group of islands in the north Atlantic that lie west of Portugal's mainland, were also part of the Portuguese empire. The uprising resulted in the slaughter of many officials. Thwarted in their attempt to take over the government, the insurrectionist leaders were hanged. When another uprising occurred at Achade Falcao, ancestral home of twentieth century political leader, Amilcar Cabral, its attempts also failed, as were many others. The United States was aware of news reports of the famines of 1830 to 1833, and another in 1856. While the Portuguese government and public in Lisbon offered nothing in assistance, the people of Boston and New York sent money and food —11 ships worth of food went out from New York alone in 1856 —to alleviate the suffering of the Cape Verdeans.
The Portuguese did not outlaw the trading of slaves until 1836, long after the rest of the European states denounced the practice. The practice continued due to loopholes in the laws and unscrupulous officials and business people. The Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1842 brought the first serious admonitions against it and prevented slaves from coming on to the islands. Laws abolishing slavery continued being passed during the 1850s, yet the trade continued until 1878.
The cruel vagaries of both the landowners and the land itself continued for the tenant farmers who remained on the islands. Outrageous practices, such as arbitrary rent raises, resulted in the sudden eviction of the tenants and there was little mercy for the struggling residents. Although government ruled against it, these practices continued until the 1970s. When a famine from 1863 until 1866 killed a third of the population for the second time in only 30 years, forced emigration began under governmentsponsored recruitment. The government sent people to the equatorial islands of Sao Tome and Principe, where cocoa production was emerging as a major operation. The survivors of these famines chose to endure contract labor rather than another harsh famine. Some islanders settled in Senegal; some went to Guine-Bissau, which eventually fell under Portuguese control. Cape Verdean had established themselves in Guine-Bissau in independent businesses, often trading their distilled spirits, made from sugar cane, and other imported goods. When the Portuguese took over, they resented that these spirits competed with their brandy. They subsequently forced the re-settled Cape Verdeans out of business, and the Cape Verdeans took on low-paying government jobs.
Through the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, droughts and famines in the Cape Verde islands continued. A law enacted by the Portuguese government in 1899 allowed authorities to force any kind of work, no matter how low the wage or undesirable the situation, upon any unemployed males. This enabled the government to maintain the work force on the cocoa plantations during another grave famine in 1902 to 1903. When Portugal became a republic in 1910, the harsh law remained intact. World War I created further havoc for the Cape Verdean shipping industry, as did the famine of 1920 to 1922. An estimated 30,000 people died of starvation.
In 1917, the United States began to prohibit the immigration of illiterate people. This law was the precedent for harsher immigration laws later enacted in the 1920s designed to stem the flow of immigrants into America. Cape Verdeans who had left the islands for America by the hundreds in the nineteenth century and early in the twentieth century, were now leaving only by the dozens. Other reforms, such as the birth of a free press and school reforms, did result from the establishment of the Republic. Even as the rule of Salazar had begun to hamper freedoms again after gaining control in Portugal in 1926, the small minority of Cape Verdeans who were educated struggled to raise its voice. In 1936, a group of the few intellectuals and educated people founded a review known as Claridade. Publication continued until 1960. World War II created further problems for the islands due to restricted travel and shipping, even though Portugal remained neutral. Famines from 1941 to 1943, and again from 1947 to 1949, killed yet another estimated 45,000 people from starvation.
By the 1950s, the islanders, as well as other subjects of the Portuguese colonization, began a new escape route. This time they escaped into postwar western Europe, which needed workers for the booming recovery and rebuilding of a devastated Europe, including Portugal. Many natives of Portugal left their impoverished homeland and were replaced by Cape Verdeans eager to take on the most menial of jobs to escape of the hardships of more famines. The largest group of them settled in the Netherlands. Thus, not only Cape Verdean-Americans could send money back to the homeland. Those settling in Europe sent so much money back home that it became the major source of income and exchange.
Also in the 1950s, protest was mounting throughout Portuguese Africa. A group of Cape Verdeans and people from the mainland colony of Guine-Bissau, led by Amilcar Cabral, joined forces to organize the Patrido Africano de Independencia de Guine e Cabo Verde (PAIGC). The freedom fighters moved through the forests rather than the open mountainous country, to avoid air attacks air attack. Those who resisted politically, were subject to the terrors of the Portuguese secret police, and sometimes imprisoned in the concentration camp at Tarrafal, on Sao Tiago. This place was the sad fate for political prisoners from all over the Portuguese empire. The government provided famine relief in 1959 in an attempt to win the people's support. Other public projects, such as roads, a desalination plant, and irrigation works were constructed, only to fail in a few short years. On April 25, 1974, the government in Portugal was overthrown. The new Portuguese government was prepared to destroy their old colonies, but reconsidered, believing that they could still control the colonies with puppet governments. The Cape Verdeans resisted, supporting the PAIGC, and in September and December of that same year, general strikes were called. The government surrendered when all services and production stopped. In June of 1975, following elections, the independent Republic of Cabo Verde was proclaimed. Independence Day was established on July 5, 1975, and it is celebrated by Cape Verdeans throughout the world.
When Ana Maria Cabral, widow of Amilcar, spoke at the 1995 Festival of American Folklife at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., she focused on her husband's and her country's struggle for independence and cultural resistance. Amilcar Cabral had written into Cape Verde's new Constitution provisions for dual-citizenship and voting, consequently formalizing the close ties that Cape Verdeans who emigrated elsewhere maintained to their homeland. An interdependence between the diaspora (the term used for members of a culture who spread out and settle away from their original homeland) and those who lived on the islands became a legally-recognized status. Cabral's widow noted that, "Cape Verde [had] undergone a very interesting historical process. Originally a group of uninhabited islands, the archipelago's population resulted mostly from Portuguese exiles' intermarrying with black African slaves and their descendants. Cultural colonization progressively diluted itself in a biological and social mixing that, joined with factors less than favorable to the establishment of a strong metropolitan ruling class, soon imposed on Cape Verdean society a characteristic personality. These are evident everywhere: in linguistic re-creation, musical re-harmonization, ancestral traces in culinary customs, and the more common manifestations of everyday life."
Massachusetts colonist Jonathan Winthrop was the first to record any contact with Cape Verdeans. In 1643, he recorded in his journal that a shipment of boat slaves were sent from Boston to England. These slaves were sold to finance the further purchase of Africans from the island of Mayo as well as sold to Barbados to buy molasses. The molasses was returned to Boston to produce rum. The first Cape Verdean islanders settled in the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century. Most of these early settlers had boarded the New England whaling ships that often stopped by the Cape Verde coast. Into the early twentieth century, before the decline of the whaling industry, Cape Verdeans were prominent on the Whalers, serving in every capacity from ship captains to harpooners to shipmates. The long hours and years at sea spawned the particular crafts of scrimshaw—t he intricate carving of whale teeth and jawbones—ship modeling, and other forms of carvings.
The cranberry industry centered south of Boston, on the Cape Cod peninsula, required numerous workers to harvest the bogs. Cape Verdeans who had settled in New England to work in the whaling and shipping industry, were joined by fellow islanders who arrived to work in the bogs. At the end of the twentieth century, the majority of Cape Verdeans remained clustered in the New England area, particularly Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Population estimates vary for that region, with figures of 13,000 to 21,000 people. U.S. Census figures for 1990 counted over 400,000 persons of Cape Verdean ancestry throughout the United States.
Following World War I, a significant number of New England's Cape Verdeans headed to Ohio and Michigan to fill the many positions opening up in the auto, steel and manufacturing industry. With most families remaining in New England, it was not unusual for Cape Verdeans to travel back and forth from their midwestern homes to Massachusetts and Rhode Island. During the lengthy factory strikes of the late 1950s and 1960s, some Cape Verdeans returned east to find comfort in family, and to find work in the cranberry bogs, or other migrant farms.
Cape Verdean Americans carry with them a history of hardship and devastation into the United States. The strength that they developed fortify them as they face obstacles life in a new country. Cape Verdean immigrants keep watch not only for themselves in a new country, but continue to work for the betterment and survival of their fellow Cape Verdeans who remain in the islands.
The distinction between "black" and "white" in the America to which the Cape Verdeans arrived was defined and the Cape Verdeans faced prejudice. Dr. Dwayne Williams, the executive director of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, spoke about Cape Verdeans to a group at Brown University in Providence in February of 1997. He explained that even when Americans attempted to classify Cape Verdeans as black, and often dismissed them because of that, "Cape Verdeans [still] refused to fit within this framework. That differentiates them." Those Cape Verdeans born in the nineteenth century, and before World War I in the islands and in America, created a distinct identity, separate from their African ancestors. They did not think of themselves as "African Americans" in the same way that the descendants of America's slaves did. For them, their European blood was as much a part of their ancestry as was their African blood. That was true especially for those who settled away from the concentrated Cape Verdean environments of New England, and moved into the Midwest. Because a majority of them were Roman Catholics in a country where few African Americans shared in that faith, Cape Verdean Americans more often found themselves in the company of other white Catholics. Many of these white Catholics were immigrants from Eastern Europe, also struggling to blend into their new country. The Cape Verdeans considered themselves Portuguese and usually expressed that distinction when their identity was questioned.
Cape Verdean immigrants, like their fellow white parishioners and factory coworkers in ethnic neighborhoods, spoke a different language. Although many of them were forced into black neighborhoods because of their skin color, earlier generations of Cape Verdean Americans maintained a society separate from other African Americans surrounding them. Their customs, their language, and their religion kept them together in closely-knit extended families. Cape Verdeans, into the middle of the twentieth century, often had large immediate families, with five or more children. For Catholics, practicing a faith that banned birth control and abortion, children were accepted as a natural consequence of marriage. For Cape Verdean Catholics endured a past marked by great uncertainty because of droughts and famines, and children were accepted not only as a matter of their faith. They were also received with joy at the prospect of continuing on and surviving for generations to come.
When the children and grandchildren of the first immigrant waves became involved in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, a new sense of solidarity with other African Americans emerged. Cape Verdean Americans of the post World War II generation in particular saw the similarities between their own struggles and the struggles of other African Americans. While older Cape Verdean Americans frowned upon these ties, the fight for independence from Portuguese rule back in the islands was headed toward victory. Cape Verdeans moved to places all over the world, from Macau to Haiti to Argentina to northern Europe
By the end of the twentieth century, the Cape Verdean community in America had grown in its self-awareness as well as its opportunities to express its identity. Cape Verdean Americans who were scattered throughout the United States, from well-established communities in New England and Southern California to newer clusters in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, began to renew their heritage with the younger generations.
Roman Catholicism provides much of the Cape Verde's religious heritage, but animist customs and beliefs linger in the practices of Cape Verdeans in America as well as the islands. The superstitions born of their African ancestry included a belief in witches, the powers of healers and non-traditional medicine. Nuno Miranda, a healer and spiritualist recognized by all Cape Verdeans in the twentieth century, was responsible for passing down many such customs. Many pagan beliefs were eventually interwoven into the celebration of Roman Catholic holidays.
Many proverbs continue to be passed down from the older generations born in the islands to the younger generations born in America. These proverbs reflected the often troubled lives of the Cape Verdean people, for example: Who stays will not go away. Who never went away will not come back anymore; Without leaving there is no coming back; If we die in the departure, God will give us life in the return; Cover just as your cloth permit it (do not bite off more than you can chew); A pretty girl is like a ship with all its flags windwards; Who does not want to be a wolf should not its pelt wear; Who mix himself up with pigs will eat bran; A poor foreigner eats the raw and the undercooked; There is no better mirror than an old friend; Good calf sucks milk from all the cows; Who does not take the risk, do not taste (life); The fool is sly people's bread; What is good ends soon. What is bad never ends.
The food that most Cape Verdean Americans eat is the dish Katxupa, or Cachupa. Cape Verdeans offer many slight variations of this, but the two main versions are Cachupa rica, indicating the inclusion of meat for the rica, or rich people; and Cachupa povera, for the povera, or poor, who cannot afford meat. The main ingredients of the dish are beaten corn, ground beef, bacon, sausages, pigs' feet, potatoes, dry beans, cabbage, garlic, onions, laurel (bay) leaves and salt and pepper to taste. All of these ingredients are cooked slowly together in a big pot for several hours. It is sometimes made with fish in America's New England community and in the islands, where fish is plentiful.
Another favorite dish is Canja de galinha, which includes chicken, rice and tomatoes, and is cooked with onions, garlic, sage, and bay leaves. This dish is always included at funerals, or in times of big family celebrations and parties. Jagacida is cooked with lima or kidney beans, salt, pepper and fresh parsley, and served with meat or poultry . Caldo de peixe is a fish soup, and a favorite among an island culture that relies on fish as a major food source. Lagaropa, a red grouper fish, native to the sea surrounding the islands, is used when available. Custom dictates that when someone is suffering from too much alcohol consumption, a spicy version of the soup is necessary to recover. For something sweet, Pudim de Leite, a simple milk pudding is served. Whenever food is served among Cape Verdean Americans, the important factor is the coming together of family and friends, celebrating the gift of food, and sharing it with love.
The hardships and trials of the Cape Verdean homeland, and their struggles in the lands to which they immigrated, has resulted in a music full of melancholy, or morna, as the traditional ballads are known. Cape Verdeans enjoy tunes from the beautiful mixture of guitar, violin, and vocals. Song lyrics often reflect the separations endured throughout the waves of immigration, particularly between the islands and America. John Cho wrote in his article, "The Sands of Cape Verde," that, "Given such a history filled with loss and departures, plus having the Portuguese (themselves known for their pensive nature) as their European component, it is not a surprise that the popular music of Cape Verde are steeped in melancholy. Alienation and a forced abandonment of roots have also played a role, as the bulk of the population is composed of the descendants of African slaves from various ethnic backgrounds who were cut off from their histories and had to develop a Creole language and culture under a particularly ruthless colonial regime. An obvious analogy is the development of another great music of melancholia, the blues, also by slaves and their progeny in the United States." In America, Cape Verdeans have continued their devotion to their music. In addition, their heritage led to an interest and participation in the distinctly American music, jazz.
The major holidays of Cape Verdean Americans are rooted primarily in their Christian beliefs, and include Christmas, the Feast of St. John the Baptist and the celebration of Carnival, the weeklong period preceding Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the season of Lent. The celebration of saints constitutes many of the other celebrations among Cape Verdeans. Most of the holidays in the islands and abroad occur during the months of May, June, and July, with some, such as the Feast of All Saints, and All Souls' Day, occurring in early November. In addition to celebrating the July 4 as Independence Day for the United States, their adopted country, Cape Verdean Americans share the worldwide recognition of the islands' own day of independence from Portuguese colonial rule on July 5th. The Cape Verdean Americans of the New England area celebrate St. John's feast with traditional parades, dancing the kola, and favorite foods.
Americans of Cape Verdean ancestry do not suffer any recognizable disease or illness specific to them. However, they do have an increased risk for high blood pressure and diabetes that is common among African Americans.
Due to the unique role of Cape Verdeans as an isolated cultural group in America, social services addressing problems such as domestic abuse and youth violence and delinquency were not readily available until the end of the 1990s. Until then women and men suffered in silence in deference to the family and to the Catholic church. This situation began to change when people like Jose Barros and his Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston's Roxbury section, and Noemia Montero with the Log School Family Education Center in Dorchester, another Boston-area neighborhood, developed programs for the betterment of Cape Verdean immigrants, some of them not yet American citizens, who struggled with identity, poverty, and poor education.
Cape Verdean Americans speak English, Portuguese, and Kriolu (or Crioulo ), the Creole language developed as a mixture of the European languages of explorers and the native African tongues spoken by slaves. Much of the vocabulary stems from Portuguese, although many of these words are no longer used in twentieth century Portugal. The African tongues, mostly Mande, influenced Kriolu chiefly in the way that grammar is used. Since the Republic of Cape Verde was established in 1975 when it became independent of Portugal, Kriolu, not Portuguese has become the dominant language among the islanders.
When Cape Verdeans came to the United States to work in the cranberry bogs on Cape Cod and the nearby vicinity in the early twentieth century, the school system of Massachusetts did not recognize Kriolu as an acceptable language. Consequently, children and students studied Portuguese in order to take the bilingual classes in which they learned English. Many Cape Verdean-American children had a difficult time in school due to the length of time they needed learn English. In 1971, Cape Verdeans in the Boston area urged that their Creole language be recognized by the Transitional Bilingual Education Act. In the years following, significant improvements among Cape Verdean students were made. The Cape Verdean Creole Institute was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1996, with the goal of promoting the Cape Verdean language.
Common Kriolu expressions and greetings include: Sin —Yes; Nau —No; Kon Lisensa —Excuse me; N ka ta konprende —I do not understand; Spera un momentu —Wait a minute; Pur favor, papia dibagar —please speak slowly; Dja Txiga, Dimas —Enough, too much; Gosi li, Gosin li, Gurinha sin —Right now; Kumo ki bu ta txoma-l na Kriolu? —What is that called in Kriolu; Bu ta papia Ingles? —Do you speak English?
Families are central to Cape Verdean Americans. It is the social structure around which everything else in their lives revolves. Until the latter part of the twentieth century, Cape Verdean American families were often large, with at least four or more children. As they assimilated into American culture, and as education levels rose among them their families became smaller. Baby boomers often had only two or three children as compared to their parents' average of seven or eight. Smaller families did not mean the lessening of family ties. Instead, it marked the period when affluence, education, and mobility led newer generations of Cape Verdean Americans back to their heritage.
According to 1990 U.S. Census Bureau figure samples, at least 23.6 percent of the Cape Verdean American population had at least some level of college education. Overall, education has received an increasing status among Cape Verdean Americans
Weddings are an important festivity in the islands and are influenced by Cape Verdeans' African roots. The custom of batuque, composed of solo dancing and responsorials from a women's chorus, is a common wedding tradition. The most traditional practitioners are on the island of Sao Tiago. Among some islanders, the performance involves a ritual mockery of advice to the newly-married couple, sometimes composed by the male family elder. Variations include the lead singer who takes command of the group, slowly dancing the rhythmic beat of the batukadieras, or drums. In the first part, the txabeta, the dancer in the middle of the circle, keeps time to the accelerating music with her hips. The finacon involves the improvisational singing about the events of importance to the Cape Verdeans, such as the devastating famines. In his article, "Traditional Festivities in Cape Verde," writer Gabriel Moacyr Rodrigues, placed this custom into the context of the community. "The elder leader can be understood as a matron, the most experienced woman, who executes the hip movements that suggest the sexual act and provoke the libido." He further noted that, "Young girls—the Batxudas dance afterward, and their agile, sensual bodies awaken feelings in the old men around that remind them of their own love and marriage. For the young who watch, the dancer represents the desire for love. As she dances, the young girl closes her eyes and holds her hands in front of her face in a gesture of wanting to be seen and appreciated while still intending to preserve her chastity and bashfulness."
Funerals among Cape Verdean Americans of Catholic and Protestant denominations follow their churches' standard rituals. The Catholic church highlights the Mass of Christian Burial, also known as the Mass of Resurrection, in keeping with the belief that death is a victory over life, not a sad end. Cape Verdean Americans follow the custom of showing the body in funeral homes the day or two before the Mass, or service, and burial. Following the funeral is the celebration with special foods, particularly the Canja, a dish of chicken, rice, and tomatoes.
By the 1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans gained full strength, Cape Verdean Americans began to interact more frequently as a community. As Cape Verdean Americans intermarried with African Americans of a different background, many of whom were descendants of African slaves and American slave-holders, the cultures began to share traditions and find common sympathies.
The majority of Cape Verdean Americans are Roman Catholics. Some Protestant denominations such as the United Methodist and the Church of the Nazarene are also practiced by Cape Verdeans in America, particularly in the New England communities south of Boston, on Cape Cod.
The first Cape Verdean immigrants to the United States were primarily men, and they were employed with the whaling industry and in shipbuilding. By the early twentieth century, Cape Verdeans were also frequently employed in the cranberry bogs. As education levels climbed, Cape Verdeans began taking jobs as professional fields like medicine, law, education, and business. Many Cape Verdeans arrived in America at the rise of the auto and steel industries and took jobs in those factories. By the end of the twentieth century, Cape Verdean Americans were also visible as sports figures, musicians, and politicians.
Cape Verdeans were prominent as judges and state representatives in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for much of the twentieth century. In 1998, the first Republican Cape Verdean, Vinny Macedo, the representative from Plymouth, was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature.
Cape Verdean Americans served in both World Wars, in Korea, and in Vietnam. The Verdean Veterans Association remained active in many areas of the United States, but particularly in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Due to the Constitution of the Republic of Cape Verde in 1975, all people of Cape Verdean ancestry, whether in the islands or abroad, were able to realize dual citizenship, and partake actively in elections in their home nation. Even Cape Verdeans who are born in United States feel a strong tie to their ancestral country. One organization, the Foundation of Cabo Verde, Inc. helped native islanders with financial assistance, economic development, and disaster relief aid. The 1995 Congress of CaboVerdeanos included more than 225 Cape Verdean Americans, who took a charter flight over to the islands to attend the event. The organization, along with other Cape Verdean Americans, provided assistance in 1995 when a volcano erupted on the island of Foga and destroyed over 2,000 homes. As the Republic of Cape Verde continued to develop economically and socially, Cape Verdean Americans remained at the forefront, working cooperatively with the islanders and government.
Best-known for his photography for Time and National Geographic, Anthony Barboza became celebrated for his work, even outside of the Cape Verdean community. The earliest Cape Verdean American artists were known only to those who frequented the local museums of New England, such as the Kendall Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The seafaring Cape Verdean whaler and scrimshaw artist Joao da Lomba, sailing out of New Bedford in the early 1900s, was also well-known for his expert craft.
Alfred J. Gomes, born on June 14, 1897, was a Cape Verdean American Judge of prominence in the Boston area for much of the twentieth century. He graduated from Boston University Law School in 1923 at a time when few Cape Verdeans completed elementary school. Through his leadership, he helped to establish various scholarships and awards, such as the Verdean Veterans Achievement Awards, the Memorial Scholarship Fund/The Seamen's Memorial Scholarship, to benefit Cape Verdean American youth.
Michael Costa, a Hollywood producer, headed the UPN (United Pictures Network) network into the late 1990s. Well-known as a producer of television commercials, Ricardo Lopes headed Kelly, Denham Productions.
The music group Tavares, enjoyed fame in the late 1970s with their hit song, "More Than A Woman," featured in the Hollywood movie hit, Saturday Night Fever. Famous jazz musicians, Horace Silva and Paul Gonsalves were Cape Verdean Americans who became internationally famous. In his 1956 appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival with Duke Ellington, Gonsalves went down in history with a 27-chorus solo in the song, "Diminuendo." That recording, re-released in 1999, was considered one of the all-time
In 1999, the best-known Cape Verdean American sports figure was Dana Barros, a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics. Another well-known sports figure was Wayne Fontes, a New England native who was raised in the nation's football capital of Canton, Ohio, first a professional football player, who then went on to coach the Detroit Lions NFL team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Also, Henry Andrade attended the Olympics in Atlanta in 1992 as a dual citizen of the United States and the Cape Verde Islands. He was representing Cape Verde.
Tom Riordan, writing for The CVN, in February of 1999, said that, "Cape Verdeans and the Internet are made for each other," since they were "so far-flung" around the world and around the United States. Each of the islands in the Republic of Cape Verde is separated from the others and two-thirds of people who defined themselves as Cape Verdeans live overseas. Half of those overseas are scattered throughout the United States, with half throughout Europe, Africa, and Brazil. A quick tour of the Internet in 1999 called up hundreds of Cape Verdean-related sites or links, including:
"Cape Verde Home Page" at http://www.umassd.edu/SpecialPrograms/caboverde/capeverdean.html
"Cape Verdean.com" at http://www.capeverdean.com
The CVN, a Cape Verdean-American Newspaper.
Publishes local Cape Verdean-Massachusetts news, and information regarding the American, International and Republic of Cabo Verde communities.
Contact: Thomas D. Lopes, Publisher; or, Dr. Norman Araujo, Chief Advisor.
Address: 417 Purchase Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02741.
Mailing address: P.O. Box 3063, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02741.
Telephone: (508) 997-2300.
CABO VIDEO, Cape Verdean Television.
Broadcast in approximately 50 cities and towns in Massachusetts and Rhode Island from Channel 20, New Bedford, Massachusetts; Cuencavision Channel 26, cable; and, Channel 19 UHF, Boston. Founded in 1989, this station provides a source of information regarding events occurring in Cabo Verde, and supports Cabo Verde in the United States. Independent video production company, solely-owned. Weekly 90-minute Cape Verdean program televised in Portuguese and Crioulo. Covers news from Republic of Cabo Verde, and events in the United States, including medical information, legal information, historical footage, and music videos.
Contact: Edward Andrade.
Address: 1147 Main Street, Brockton, Massachusetts 02301.
Telephone: (508) 588-8843.
Fax: (508) 588-8843.
Atlanta, Georgia Area Cape Verdeans.
Annual picnic for Cape Verdeans living in the Atlanta area.
Contact: Michael Rose.
Address: 4716 Halliford Way, Marietta, Georgia 30066.
Telephone: (770) 925-8331.
Cape Verdean American Veterans Association and Auxiliary.
Contact: Stephen Cabral.
Address: Verdean Vets Hall. 561 Purchase Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02741.
Telephone: (508) 993-7320.
Cape Verdean Civic Club.
Organizers of the 4th of July Cape Verdean Festival in Boston. Meeting location is the Ideal Club.
Contact: Omar Oliveria, (781) 892-6627; Noemia Monteiro, (617) 442-7656; Ze Preto, (617) 427-1896; or Toni Silva, (508) 583-8960.
Address: 14 West Union St., West Bridewater, Massachusetts.
Cape Verdean Creole Institute, Inc.
Founded in 1996. A nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote the Capeverdean language.
Contact: Manuel DaLuz Goncalves, President.
Address: 308 Columbus Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02116.
Cape Verdean Cultural Conferences, Inc.
Contact: Jose Ramos.
Cape Verdean Student Association.
Social and service organization of college students in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island area seeking to affirm their Cape Verdean identity; service projects include assistance to children and students in Cape Verde, with food, school supplies, and clothing.
Chapters include: University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, Massachusetts; Boston College; Boston University; Northeastern University (Boston); University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and the University of Rhode Island in Providence, Rhode Island.
Clube Cabo Verde.
A Cape Verdean-American social organization, planning the Festival of St. John the Baptist in June, on the island of Brava.
Contact: Kevin Spry.
Address: 88 Wales Street, Taunton, Massachusetts 02780.
Kendall Whaling Museum.
Dedicated to the history of whaling off the New England coast. Includes the history of Cape Verdean natives who served on the whaling ships as harpooners, captains, and shipmates.
Address: 27 Everett Street, Sharon, Massachusetts 02067.
Telephone: (781) 784-5642.
New Bedford Whaling Museum.
The history of the Cape Verdeans who served out of the New Bedford whaling ships, among other historical-related exhibits.
Contact: Anthony Zave, Director.
Address: 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02740.
Telephone: (508) 997-0046.
Aisling, Irwin, and Wilson, Colum. "Cape Verde Islands." The Bradt Travel Guide. United Kingdom and Old Saybrook, Connecticut: Bradt Publications, 1998.
Beck, Sam. Manny Almeida's Ringside Lounge: The Cape Verdeans' Struggle for their Neighborhood. Providence, Rhode Island: Gavea-Brown Publications, 1992.
Belmira Nunes Lopes, Maria Luisa. The Autobiography of a Cape Verdean-American. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Latin American Literary Review Press, 1982.
Hayden, Robert C. African Americans and Cape Verdean-Americans in New Bedford. A History of Community and Achievement. Pernambuco, Brazil: Federal University, 1993.
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THE FIVE POINTS
By Gregory Christiano
A brief commentary:
The name Five Points evokes images of poverty, rampant crime, decadence and despair. That’s true. The Five Points was a lurid geographical cancer filled with dilapidated and unlivable tenement houses, gang extortion, corrupt politicians, houses of ill-repute and drunkenness and gambling. This was a place where all manner of crime flourished, the residents terrorized and squalor prevailed. This is
The district was known as the Sixth Ward bounded, south, by Reade Street; west, by West Street; north by Canal Street; east by Broadway. The Five Points so named in the 1830’s from the convergence of the intersection of five streets: Mulberry, Anthony (now Worth St.), Cross (now Park), Orange (now Baxter), and Little Water Street (no longer exists). This neighborhood was built over the Collect Pond and its adjacent swampland north of City Hall and the Courthouse, between Broadway and the Bowery. The scene is set.
Certain areas of Manhattan are not suitable to build tall structures because there is no bedrock underground. This was the case in the Canal Street area. If you look at the skyline from either west or east, you’ll notice how the tall buildings are clustered together whereas the skyline dips to smaller structures where there is no bedrock to support them. This is the reason.
When the landfill started to decay in the 1820’s the wood frame houses began to tilt over and sink. It became infested with mosquitoes and disease; the decent residents moved out, those who remained became impoverished and victims of slum lords, gangs and ruthless politicians looking for easy votes. Personal safety was compromised and a person was in constant threat of being robbed or worse. Beginning with the “Old Brewery” – a building that was converted to an apartment house, the floors were partitioned into small flats, rented to the poor and seedy characters. Each room had whole families, cooking, eating, and sleeping in this one room. It was a ghastly sight with squalid living conditions. The same situation prevailed throughout the district – the lower floors usually for drinking, dancing, gambling, and riotous behavior. Many people were robbed, beaten or shanghaied. In the cellars (they were called “cellar dwellers”) were the “oyster saloons,” which were kept open all night luring fresh, unsuspecting victims. This neighborhood was a dangerous place to live in and visit.
The many dancehalls brought together the Irish and African-Americans who had a large population in the area. A combination of the Irish jig or reel and the African-American shuffle, created a new dance form – Tap Dancing. This became a popular trend and forever
Over the decades the neighborhood changed. It was extremely bad in the 1830’s and ‘40’s until Protestant religious sects made inroads to clean up the area in the 1850’s. By 1860 Five Points was a little less violent, but still a slum. Abraham Lincoln visited the area in 1860 and reluctantly gave a speech to some school children. He as well as Charles Dickens, who visited the area in 1842, were appalled at the abject poverty and terrible living conditions. Conditions improved only to crumble again in the 1880’s with the influx of Italian and Chinese immigrants. By 1897 the area houses had been demolished and the district took on a whole new look.
Martin Scorsese’s current movie “The Gangs of New York,” captures the very essence of the period between 1846 and the draft riots of 1863 but it is more make-believe than history. (That’s Hollywood for you). Although there were rival gang melees it usually wasn’t on the scale depicted in the movie or as frequent. The characters were composites of historical figures, for instance, Bill “The Butcher” Cutter (Daniel Day- Lewis), the Protestant leader of the “Natives,” was actually Bill Poole who was assassinated in 1855 many years
By the turn of the twentieth century this neighborhood faded into memory. The very last scene in “The Gangs of New York” demonstrates how the city changed over the decades following these events and how memories were lost to time. Just like the graveyard with the changing city as a background. A great ending. And one with a strong lesson to be learned.
Let the following articles from the newspapers of the day speak for themselves. It’s hard to determine how much of these accounts are true or fabrications to sell newspapers. You must be the judge. The violence and living conditions are fact and most of the descriptions
Read Gregory Christiano’s Review of the film The Gangs of New York, at bookreview.net
Recommended reading list:
“The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld,” by Herbert Asbury, Jorge Luis (Forward).
“Five Points: The Nineteenth Century New York City Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance Stole Elections and Became the Worlds Most Notorious Slum,” by Tyler Anbinder.
“Empire City: New York Through the Centuries,” Kenneth T. Jackson and David S. Dunbar, editors.
“Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898,” by Edwin Borrows and Mike Wallace.
“New York by Gas-Light and Other Urban Sketches,” by George G. Foster, edited and with an introduction by Stuart M. Blumin. Originally published in 1850, new edition 1990.
“The New Metropolis: New York City, 1840 – 1857,” by Edward K. Spann
“Immigrant Life in New York City, 1825-1863,” by Robert Ernst (1949)
©2003 The Composing Stack Inc. ©2003 Gregory J. Christiano
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Once information has been gathered and organized, and a map designed, the next step is printing. Antique maps were printed
using one of three methods. In all cases the design was placed on the printing surface mirror-image, so that when it was printed
the map would be seen as the cartographer intended. The three methods are:
Relief - the design is raised on a block, it is inked and then printed using a press. Most blocks were wood and the design was
put on the block by cutting away the parts that would not be printed. Modern rubber stamps are a form of relief printing.
Blocks were usually of fruit woods such as cherry. Other woods were either too hard to work with or too soft to last long.
Maps and prints made from such blocks are often called woodcuts.
Woodcut map of Africa
Intaglio - the design is cut into a metal plate using a sharp tool known as a burin. Inking the plate is more complex than with
a relief block. First the plate is warmed so ink will run into the grooves, then the entire plate is covered with ink, and finally it is
wiped clean so the only ink remaining is in the grooves.
A special press is required for printing from plates. It consists of two rollers which are close together, much like the old-
fashioned clothes-wringer. Paper is dampened so it will be flexible in the press, placed on the plate, and then the paper
and plate are run through the press. Pressure from the rollers forces the paper down into the grooves, which also causes the printed
lines to be slightly raised. (Modern raised printing is done by a different method, but is an attempt to imitate the effect of raised
lettering which was on early calling cards printed from an intaglio plate.)
The plate usually was of copper, hence the term copperplate engraving. Copper was soft enough to take the design easily, but
hard enough so that several hundred to a few thousand impressions could be made before it wore out. In the 19th century
techniques were developed for softening steel so it could be engraved upon, and then hardening the steel so many thousands of
impressions could be printed from the plate.
Engraved map of Spain
The earliest printed maps were made in the 15th century and both of the above methods were used from the start. Engraving
gradually became the technique of choice probably because it was easier to modify a metal plate than a wood block. In order
to change a block, one had to saw out the section to be changed and insert a replacement. With a metal plate, one tapped out
from behind the area to be changed so it was raised. Then the old design was rubbed out and a new design engraved.
In the 19th century new methods began to be used.
Planigraphic - the design is created on a flat surface such as a stone, and chemical processes are used to hold the ink in place.
Paper is pressed on to the stone and the ink is transferred to the paper.
Lithography is an example of planographic printing. It was invented in the late 1700's. The design would be put on a specially
prepared stone using a greasy pencil. The stone would be inked and then washed to remove excess ink. The only ink
remaining would be that which adhered to the greasy marks. Then a paper would be placed on the stone and an impression
taken. Within a few decades of its invention, lithography was being used to print maps and atlases.
Lithographic map of Pennsylvania
At this time virtually all maps were printed black and white. Color was applied by hand using watercolors. Color printing became practical in the late 19th century.
Maps were usually printed on paper. Other materials such as cloth or animal skin were used occasionally. Specially
treated skin (called vellum or parchment) was sometimes used for maps that would be subject to hard use (such as charts that were
going to sea) or for special presentations. However, the skin was expensive to make, irregular in shape, and difficult to print on
so its use was limited.
Most maps were printed on paper. The paper was made by hand from cloth (usually linen) rags which were cut into small
pieces, put in a liquid bath and beaten so the fibers broke down. A rectangular frame with wire mesh (called a deckle) was
dipped into the liquid and a layer of fiber was lifted out on the mesh. It was allowed to drain, placed on to felt, and covered
with another layer of felt. Thus, layers of felt and paper would alternate. The next step was to put the alternating layers into a
press to remove more water. Then the paper would be air-dried, and finally treated with size to give it body.
A group of maps could be bound together to create an atlas. In early times, there was no such thing as standard publisher's
binding and the loose sheets would be sold by a bookseller to a customer who would then take it to a binder. Before binding
maps would be folded and a binder's guard of paper would be pasted to the back of the map at the back or verso of the
centerfold. The guard would be used for sewing the book, so that when the map was open the center would be visible to the
user of the atlas. Also, there would not be stitch holes in the map.
The size of a piece of paper was limited by the size deckle that one workman could hold. Large maps were created by printing
and then joining several sheets. Often large maps would be given a backing of cloth to strengthen them. The map could then be
attached to rollers and used as a wall map. In other cases, a large map would be cut into convenient-size sections before being
backed. Then it was easy to fold the map for storage.
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Shake and Bake
Let us pause and count the ways the conduct of the war in Iraq has damaged America's image and needlessly endangered the lives of those in the military. First, multilateralism was tossed aside. Then the post-invasion fiasco muddied the reputation of military planners and caused unnecessary casualties. The W.M.D. myth undermined the credibility of United States intelligence and President Bush himself, and the abuse of prisoners stole America's moral high ground.
Now the use of a ghastly weapon called white phosphorus has raised questions about how careful the military has been in avoiding civilian casualties. It has also further tarnished America's credibility on international treaties and the rules of warfare.
White phosphorus, which dates to World War II, should have been banned generations ago. Packed into an artillery shell, it explodes over a battlefield in a white glare that can illuminate an enemy's positions. It also rains balls of flaming chemicals, which cling to anything they touch and burn until their oxygen supply is cut off. They can burn for hours inside a human body.
The United States restricted the use of incendiaries like white phosphorus after Vietnam, and in 1983, an international convention banned its use against civilians. In fact, one of the many crimes ascribed to Saddam Hussein was dropping white phosphorus on Kurdish rebels and civilians in 1991.
But white phosphorus has made an ugly comeback. Italian television reported that American forces used it in Falluja last year against insurgents. At first, the Pentagon said the chemical had been used only to illuminate the battlefield, but had to backpedal when it turned out that one of the Army's own publications talked about using white phosphorus against insurgent positions, a practice well known enough to have one of those unsettling military nicknames: "shake and bake."
The Pentagon says white phosphorus was never aimed at civilians, but there are lingering reports of civilian victims. The military can't say whether the reports are true and does not intend to investigate them, a decision we find difficult to comprehend. Pentagon spokesmen say the Army took "extraordinary measures" to reduce civilian casualties, but they cannot say what those measures were.
They also say that using white phosphorus against military targets is legal. That's true, but the 1983 convention bans its use against "civilians or civilian objects," which would make white phosphorus attacks in urban settings like Falluja highly inappropriate at best. The United States signed that convention, but the portion dealing with incendiary weapons has been awaiting ratification in the Senate.
These are technicalities, in any case. Iraq, where winning over wary civilians is as critical as defeating armed insurgents, is no place to be using a weapon like this. More broadly, American demands for counterproliferation efforts and international arms control ring a bit hollow when the United States refuses to give up white phosphorus, not to mention cluster bombs and land mines.
The United States should be leading the world, not dragging its feet, when it comes to this sort of issue—because it's right and because all of us, including Americans, are safer in a world in which certain forms of conduct are regarded as too inhumane even for war. That is why torture should be banned in American prisons. And it is why the United States should stop using white phosphorus.
white phosporus Fallujah Iraq torture Pentagon military Bush impeach EditorMom
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Major-General Sir Herbert Edwardes
John Henry Foley (1818-74), R. A.
British Library, Euston Road, London
This military hero and administrator appears in various articles on the Indian Mutiny. Born in Shropshire and educated at King's College, London, he took with him into his influential military and administrative roles in India a strong Evangelical zeal, and was admired by Ruskin, who extracted passages from his Year on the Punjab Frontier in 1848-49 (published by Richard Bentley in 1851) for his A Knight's Faith of 1885. Patrick Brantlinger describes Ruskin's commentary on Edwardes as "an exercise in Carlylean hero worship" (470). Edwardes College, Peshawar, in Pakistan, a Christian foundation which started as a high school in 1900, is named after him. His bust was bequeathed to the India Office by Lady Edwardes in 1904, and eventually given to the British Library.
Photograph, caption, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2010
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Hydrogen fuel cells are proving to be a viable replacement for lead-acid batteries used in forklifts at warehouses, according to Keith Wipke, a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the United States.
The technology works by replacing traditional lead-acid batteries in forklifts and other equipment with hydrogen fuel cells that can be refilled by on-site tanks.
“The fuel cell reacts hydrogen with oxygen from the air (and) that produces pure water, heat and electricity. It behaves much like a battery,” said Wipke.
Canadian Tire plans to implement hydrogen-powered vehicles, and potentially hydrogen production, at a controversial 1.5 million-square-foot distribution warehouse currently under construction in Caledon.
Wipke said many warehouses opt to have their hydrogen shipped in and stored in liquid form on-site, where it can be protected by concrete posts and fences, like propane tanks are protected at gas stations. Other facilities may choose to manufacture the hydrogen on-site through one of two main methods: electrolysis or steam methane reforming.
The first involves using electricity to separate the hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water — a common experiment performed in high school science classes. The second is slightly more complicated and involves reacting steam with methane gas. Both are safe if the right precautions are taken, Wipke said.
“They’re both very safe. They’ve been done a long time,” said Wipke. “You don’t hear a lot about hydrogen incidents in the news because there aren’t many things that happen.”
Wipke said the Hindenburg disaster — where a hydrogen-filled blimp collapsed in flames in 1937 — has no relevance to modern manufacture and use of the gas.
The production and storage of hydrogen is regulated by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, according to spokesperson Wilson Lee.
“The risks associated with the operation of an H2 facility would be similar to other liquid or gaseous fuels facilities such as a gasoline station, (or) a propane refuelling station, a natural gas distribution system,” said Lee in an emailed response.
Wipke said the safety risk of hydrogen can be even lower than that presented by gasoline because hydrogen, being lighter than air, tends to dissipate into the atmosphere while gasoline pools up.
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People, Spaces, Deliberation bloggers present exceptional campaign art from all over the world. These examples are meant to inspire.Filariasis, also known as elephantiasis or filaria, leaves a giant footprint in India. A shocking 500 million people in India – one half of the country’s population— are at risk of infection! It is one of seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that attacks nearly one in six people globally.
Filaria occurs when an individual is infected with filarial worms, which are transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. The worms later mature in the lymphatic vessels, causing painful, disfiguring swelling of the legs and genital organs.
While Filaria can be fatal, especially for children, it also has a greater public health impact because it interferes with physical fitness and cognition. Moreover, those with severe symptoms of the disease are often unable to work and may suffer significant social stigma as a result of their disfigurement. In this way, Filaria can trap people in a perpetual cycle of poverty.
In response, the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, was created to raise awareness about the seven most common NTDs (through its END7 campaign) and to work with governments to deliver low-cost treatment for NTDs. In December 2014, the Indian Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW) launched a national campaign called “Hathipaon Mukt Bharat” (Fliaria Free India) to rid the country of filaria within the next few years. It is one of the largest public health campaigns in India’s history and aims to provide more than 400 million people with free medication that could protect them from the disease.
VIDEO: Giant footprints!
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In The Importance of Being Earnest, the tutor Miss Prism instructs her student Cecily to omit ÒThe Fall of the RupeeÓ from her reading in political economy:
It is somewhat too sensational. Even these metallic problems have their melodramatic side.
As often with Oscar WildeÕs jokes, this one goes deeper than it seems.
The rupee was indeed falling in the 1890s Ð and the consequences of the fall have generated more than a century of sensational and angry debate.
British India owed large debts in London. These debts were fixed in British pounds, which is to say, in gold.
The revenues to meet these debts derived primarily from taxes on land. These taxes were paid in rupees Ð and the rupee was a silver currency.
In the 1890s, the value of silver declined relative to the value of gold. IndiaÕs debt suddenly grew much more onerous.
How much suffering did this metallic melodrama cause? That is just one of the questions that Indian nationalists and free-market economists have debated for generations.
British India was, all acknowledge, a very poor country. Indian nationalists have long blamed this poverty on British misrule. The British, they say, smashed IndiaÕs flourishing indigenous industry and commerce, squeezed India for tax revenue, and reoriented IndiaÕs trade to their own advantage. They continue: Britain imposed an inappropriate free-trade policy on India, denying India the opportunity to follow Japan and develop its industry behind tariff walls.
That critique inspired Indian policy after 1947. Independent India turned to protectionism, state ownership, and activist government. Calcutta, the great trading center of British India, was despised and neglected. Bombay, site of textile and steel manufacturing for the home market, was favored and promoted.
After four decades of vigorous state-led development, India remained very nearly as poor as ever. Economists joked about the ÒHindu rate of growth,” not altogether fairly: The Indian economy did grow reasonably briskly in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. But India’s growth lagged far behind that of Japan and the other East Asian economies. And because India’s population also continued to grow rapidly, economic growth failed to translate into incomes per head for the vast majority of the Indian people.
A financial crisis in 1990-91 forced India to retreat from its post-independence policy of state-led self-sufficiency to return to the more open economics of the Raj. In recent years, the Indian economy has at last begin to grow in earnest, perhaps by as much as 6% per year – well short of China’s post-1990 growth, but sufficient to begin to lift large numbers of Indians out of poverty. Already it’s said that the Indian middle class exceeds the entire population of France.
IndiaÕs post-1990 progress has reignited the debate over Indian economic history. If state-led development failed in 1947, perhaps it would have failed in 1887 too? Maybe IndiaÕs 19th century poverty cannot be blamed on British rule. Maybe 18th century India was not as wealthy as Indian nationalists had nostalgically claimed.
IÕve become quite interested in these questions recently, and a couple of months ago sought guidance from NRO readers about major works in Indian economic history. Readers directed me to two books: Dietmar Rothermund’s An Economic History of India, presenting the classic nationalist point of view, and RR Tomlinson’s The Economy of Modern India , which questions that nationalist view.
Rothermund’s Economic History comes to this competition with one huge crushing disadvantage: It is a book so crushingly, staggeringly boring that it takes fierce, persistent willpower even to keep oneÕs one fixed on the page. This is the kind of book that chills the heart and blights the spirit. Oh the piles of late 19th century textile statistics! And the intricate discussion of bimetallism! And the utter refusal to acknowledge that economics might possibly have anything to do with any actual human beings!
TomlinsonÕs Economy of Modern India does not exactly sparkle. But it can be read without toothpicks to prop open the eyelids.
Both books do ultimately endorse state-led development, Tomlinson more hesitantly than Rothermund. And while I will continue searching for a more fully adequate and interesting book, the two together did stimulate some personal reflections on India’s economic past and future.
1) Clearly one of India’s big problems has been an inability to use investment efficiently. By the 1980s, India was investing 25% of its GDP – a staggering input, which seems to have bought very little output. This problem dates back to the Raj. The British built India a vast railway network – Japan would not have anything like it until the 20th century – and yet there is little evidence that the network spurred economic growth or called forth much in the way of supporting industry.
Question: Has modern India become a better user of investment? If not, a lot of hedge funds are going t to be very disappointed.
2) Observers since Pliny have noted the Indian preference for hoarding wealth in the form of precious metals. Modern economists call this a high liquidity preference. The pain of the Great Depression forced many Indian families to sell their jewelry – and for a time, gold ranked as one of India’s top exports. The desire of individual Indians to hold their wealth in metallic form explains why India’s political leaders have so often looked to the state as the investor of first resort. But given the Indian state’s poor track record, people who hope to accelerate Indian growth have to wonder: what will it take to get Indians to invest in their own country?
3) The British charged the Indians not only for the cost of railway building, but also for the cost of government and defense. It was the Indian taxpayer, for example, who shouldered much of the cost of the British war in Mesopotamia in the 1920s. To our eyes, this looks like straight out exploitation. But was it? Government costs money, and itÕs not as if the Mughals worked for free. A very plausible argument can be made that the British Raj delivered more security and stability to more of the subcontinent at a lower price than any previous Indian state. Or, for that matter, than the successor regimes of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, and Sri Lanka have delivered.
4) Has India, despite its impressive recent growth statistics, truly transcended its unhappy economic history? There are reasons to worry. The Indian state continues to fail to provide the preconditions of sustained growth. Like the Raj before it, independent India does a poor job of educating its citizens and sustaining public health. Unlike the Raj, independent India is pervaded by corruption. And unlike China, where corruption often at least has the benefit of buying business freedom from the satate, Indian corruption enables established businesses to pay the state to harass and shut down competitors. India remains an unfavored destination for foreign investment.
5) Many Americans see India as a democratic counterweight to China. Others warn that deep institutional and cultural obstacles will prevent India from ever playing such a role. I think many of us would like to form our own judgments on this important question. Neither Rottermund nor Tomlinson offers the material with which to do so.
In short: for the reader looking to read one book on the Indian economy – well, neither of these is it.
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Article posted April 6, 2012
Seniors are particularly vulnerable to scams and fraud. As well as the many known scams new ones are being invented every day.
The best defense is awareness of the many types of fraud out there and sharing information. The more everyone is informed the better chance there is of not becoming a victim.
Remember NEVER EVER give out personal information by phone or email unless you are ENTIRELY sure of the source.
If you are contacted by a supposed trusted business or institution that you were not expecting such as someone claiming to be from a bank HANG UP. If you wish to call them back call on a number that you have verified. NEVER accept that a call back number they may give you is legitimate.
An example of a common fraud in April is phony emails that appear to come from the Canadian Revenue Agency. Typically these emails will ask you confirm details for your recent filings or may suggest you have an additional refund coming. They will ask for personal information in order to verify your return or for payment of your refund.
With everyone in Canada busy filing their tax returns some people will not question a query that appears to come from the government and will unwittingly give out personal information that will be used to steal from them in a widespread fraud.
This is just one example. Please be aware of the many kinds of internet, telephone and door to door scams.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud centre is a good repository of information and describes the scams. Please click on the following link:
Emails from banks, western union, moneygram, foreign and domestic government agencies (including Canadian Revenue), credit card companies, Paypal, lotteries, and international correspondents offering money, ARE IN ALMOST ALL CASES, FRAUDULENT, SENT OUT IN BULK AND SHOULD BE DISCARDED.
Telephone and online cries for financial help from family and friends, (grandchildren) on Facebook, email, or over the phone ARE TYPICAL OF COMMON FRAUDS and should be ignored. NEVER withdraw money to send to a relative in distress without independently verifying the legitimacy of the request.
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Kentucky Ornithological Society
Distinguishing Ross's and Snow Geese and Their Hybrids
Ross's Goose (Chen rossii) is a regularly occurring and often overlooked migrant and winter resident in Kentucky in small numbers and is usually found in the company of Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens). Identification of these species is relatively straightforward based primarily on structural differences, particularly those of head and bill shape. Hybrids of these species are sometimes encountered and are intermediate in structure between the two.
Although Ross's Goose is usually smaller than Snow Goose, size in itself is not diagnostic. It is a good clue, however, and noticeably small birds in a flock should be looked at closely when searching for Ross's. Primary structural differences of Ross's Goose as compared to Snow Goose include:
In the Identification Guide to North American Birds Part 2, Pyle states the range in size of the gap along tomia in Lesser Snow Goose as 7-12 mm wide and in hybrids as 4-9 mm wide. The gap between mandibles in Ross's Goose is narrower forming no or a thinner dusky stripe along tomia. Many Ross's Geese show a slight gap between the mandibles.
The plumage of Ross's Goose is typically very white and rarely attains the rusty staining which Snow Goose often does, particularly about the head and neck.
Hybrids are best identified by intermediate head and bill characters such as bill size and shape, line of feathering at bill base, degree of bevelling or gap along tomia, and varying amounts of grayish at bill base which Snow Goose lacks.
Images depicting comparisons of and differences between the species and hybrids are shown below and all were obtained in Kentucky. Flight images were obtained on 2 February 2007 in Fulton County, and the remainder were obtained in Warren County between 2003 and 2009.
Image A shows a first cycle light morph Snow Goose retaining some dusky juvenal plumage.
Note the elongated head and bill with wide bevelled gap between mandibles.
Image B shows a Ross's Goose. Note the rounded and less elongated head and more vertical feathering at the base of the bill.
The bill is short and stubby with almost no gap between the mandibles. Note also the grayish base to the upper mandible.
Image C shows a Ross' x Snow Goose hybrid. Note the intermediate head and bill characters including gap
between mandibles and grayish base to the upper mandible.
Image D is a digiscoped shot showing 3 Ross's Geese followed by a Snow Goose along with Canada Geese. Differences in
size and structure between the Ross's Geese and Snow are very apparent in this image. Note the dark line before the eye
in the rear pair of Ross's which is retained juvenal plumage. Juvenile Ross's Geese typically show far less duskiness to
their plumage than juvenile Snows, and a dark line before the eye is the most consistent plumage character suggesting
immaturity in Ross's Goose and can be seen at a surprising distance even in flying birds.
Image E is of a dark morph Snow Goose showing head and bill detail. Note the width of the bevelled gap between the mandibles.
Image F is of a first cycle light morph Snow Goose showing head and bill detail.
Image G is of a Ross's Goose showing head and bill detail. Note the rounded and less elongated head as compared to
Snow Goose along with the more vertical feathering at the bill base. Also the stubbier bill with dark grayish base to
the upper mandible and narrow gap between the mandibles which almost totally lack bevelling.
Image H is of a Ross' x Snow Goose hybrid showing intermediate head and bill characters. Note the reduced bevelled gap
between the mandibles as compared to Snow Goose and the darkish area at the base of the upper mandible from Ross's Goose.
The bill is longer than that of Ross's and the feathering at the base of the bill is intermediate between parent species.
Image I is of a flock of Snow Geese as they might appear overhead. A closer look reveals 3 Ross's Geese and a hybrid in this flock.
Image J is a crop of the 5 birds center-right in the image above, or in the front of the flock. This image approximates the
look that one might have through the binocular or scope. The group is comprised of 3 Snow Geese and 2 Ross's Geese (birds
banked without shadows on their bellies). Difference in size between the species is not apparent here but structural differences
are very much so. Note the shorter necks and more rounded, less elongated heads of the Ross's. The more vertical line of feathering
at the base of the smaller and stubbier bills of the Ross's gives the appearance of having the face cut off at the front. From a distance
in flight, the bill of Ross's often virtually disappears and the vertical line at the front of the face is very apparent.
Image K is also a crop of the same image showing birds in the lower left or at the rear of the flock. This group is comprised
of 4 Snow Geese, a Ross's (bottom center) and a hybrid (second bird from top left). Note the short neck, rounded head with
vertical line of feathering at the bill base and short stubby bill of the Ross's. This bird is also smaller than the others in this
group. The hybrid shows a shorter, rounder body and shorter neck as well as a less elongated head than the Snows, but the
feathering at the bill base is convex lacking the vertically cut off look of Ross's and is intermediate between the species. If
one looks closely, there appears to be a relatively wide and dark gap between the mandibles which would not be as apparent at this
distance in Ross's.
Image L is closer crop of the hybrid and trailing Snow Goose showing differences in structure. The body and neck of the hybrid
suggest Ross's Goose but the head and bill are clearly intermediate between the species. The dark gap between the mandibles can
be seen better in this crop.
Image M shows a Ross's and two Snow Geese. There is a noticeable size difference between this Ross's and the Snows and the
structural differences are very apparent. As pertaining to the Ross's Goose, note the shorter, rounder body, shorter neck, less
elongated head with vertical feathering at the bill base, and short stubby bill with no apparent dark gap between the mandibles.
Image N is a closer crop for comparison of the structural differences between Snow and Ross's Geese which are apparent in flight.
Of course, it is not practical to believe that one would have time to scrutinize or identify every bird in every flock flying overhead, but with practice and good views, some Ross's Geese and hybrids can be identified in flight based on structural characters.
Back to KOS photos page
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Picture this: A 4-year-old is in a sandbox, running sand and pebbles through a sieve. An adult is at his side, asking him to describe the speed of the moving sand, prompting him to compare the sizes of pebbles, and introducing words like "filter," "capture," and "sort." The adult is closely observing his language development, assessing his abilities, bringing math and science into their conversations—and doing the same with 12 other children under her watch that day. By every indication, she is a teacher.
But in American society, she isn’t treated like one. Terms such as "babysitter," "caregiver," or "daycare provider" are too often the words that pop into people’s heads when they think of an adult who teaches very young children. And their pay is too often at the bottom of the income ladder, with salaries near $10 per hour. In fact, many adults working in child-care centers and other early-childhood programs make about $1 more than fast-food cooks and less than animal caretakers, according to a recent report by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley.
This undervaluing of work is not just the case for infant and toddler teachers and assistants. Pre-k teachers, for instance, earn 40 percent less than kindergarten teachers, even though the demands of the job—and the education and training required—can be nearly identical. Research shows that these teachers matter a lot. The adults working in early-childhood programs set the foundation for future learning, developing essential knowledge in their young students as well as the skills, habits, and mindsets children need to succeed later in school and flourish in life. And the quality of interactions between teachers and children is especially important when it comes to sustaining the gains children make in pre-k programs.
The report, "Worthy Work, Still Unlivable Wages: The Early Childhood Workforce 25 Years after the National Child Care Staffing Study," lays bare the wide disparities in pay and benefits to teachers of children under 5 years old in the United States. And it shows the nation has made little progress in improving the pay and status of early-childhood teachers and assistants a quarter-century after researchers started examining the profession. In 1989, they earned poverty-level pay and few, if any, benefits—the same is true today. And since 1997, early-childhood teachers and assistants’ salaries have only increased by about 1 percent according to the report.
The Worthy Work study also offers new evidence that many teachers and assistants working in early-childhood programs have the kind of economic insecurity associated with near-poverty. Based on information from three national population and employment surveys, the study found that almost half of these individuals, compared with just 25 percent of the U.S. workforce, were from families enrolled in at least one of four government support programs: the Federal Earned Income Tax Credit; Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program; federal food stamps; or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. According to a survey of more than 600 early-childhood teachers—mostly working in high-quality programs—conducted for Worthy Work, nearly half worry about having enough food for their family and almost two-thirds worry about paying for housing. And these teachers often face the same challenges as workers in the retail and service sectors with last-minute schedule reductions.
The total estimated cost to the U.S. of these workers’ reliance on public supports? The authors of Worthy Work find it’s about $2.4 billion (this figure is based on yearly rate between 2007 to 2011). If early-childhood teachers were actually paid for the job they do and the education many are required to attain, increasingly an associate's or bachelor's degree, they would be better able to meet their families’ basic needs.
As it is, many early-childhood teachers are left to worry, which can lead—as it would in any sorely underpaid job—to depression and strained relationships with their own children as well as the children in their charge, some of whom may be from struggling families themselves. The authors of Worthy Work write that that "links between adversity, stress, and poor emotional-behavioral self-regulation are documented not only for children, but also for teachers, with consequences for teachers’ own physical and mental health, thus their capacity to support the learning and behavioral growth of young children."
If teachers of young children living in poverty are to help repair the damaging effects of poverty and stress on the young minds of their students, even as they enrich them, the country needs to ensure that at the very least they do not have to worry about whether or not they can feed their families. States and the federal government must make it a priority to provide good pay and benefits to workers from whom they require degrees and other credentials.
Those moments in the sandbox are essential to helping children get the right start in life. But without compensation and better benefits, adults with the skills and motivation needed for good teaching will not be attracted to the profession, and those who are already in the job will continue to be unable to afford the training that might improve their skills. And America’s children will continue to lose out.
This post appears courtesy of New America's Weekly Wonk magazine.
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A brief history on how Thanksgiving came to be
Whether it's for love of country, appreciation that they have a job or having the financial means needed to send money home to their families, immigrants routinely express their appreciation for the things they have. And while gratitude is something that many people express on a regular basis, there's an official day that's devoted to appreciation.
As many are well aware, the fourth Thursday of every November is Thanksgiving – the time of year where families and friends gather and give thanks for all that they've been graced with, like good health, a roof over their head, food on the table and clothes on their backs.
But what people may not be aware of is how Thanksgiving started. Here's a brief background of the holiday.
Immigrants may be particularly appreciative of Thanksgiving. After all, the day has its foundations in people leaving one country for another to pursue a new life with new goals.
Before the U.S. was officially colonized, Native Americans were the original settlers of the U.S. Having lived in the country for thousands of years, they knew a lot about it, such as how to grow various crops, hunt and navigate the terrain.
Meanwhile, far across the Atlantic Ocean, there was a band of people who wished to start a new life. In order to do this, though, they needed to break away from the Church of England, which was one of the main religions of the world at the time.
These individuals, more commonly referred to as "the pilgrims," were able to do this after obtaining the funds they needed from various English merchants who told them about a distant land they could reach by boat. Of course, that land is present-day America.
In 1621, several months after setting sail, they finally arrived to the "New World," the same one that the Native Americans had long called their homes. As anyone would, the pilgrims did all they could to gather what was around so that they could set up dwelling places and provide food for the men, women and children who arrived on the massive ship known as the Mayflower. But it wasn't until a Native American by the name of Squanto introduced himself that the pilgrims got familiar with the area. Squanto served as a teacher to the pilgrims, showing them how to produce and cultivate various crops like wheat, corn and rice. They were also taught how to hunt and build.
With their new-found skills, several of these pilgrims were sent out to hunt so that their fellow settlers could enjoy a meal. Alarmed by the gunshot noises, though, many people from Squanto's tribe, known as the Wampanoag, went to investigate, worried that they may be under attack. It wasn't too long before the Wampanoag came to the realization that these gunshots were from the pilgrims who were hunting for food.
Pilgrims, Native Americans gathered together for a meal
It's at this time that the Native Americans and pilgrims, united. Historians say that over the course of three days, the settlers and Wampanoag celebrated as friends with their loved ones alongside.
While Thanksgiving is believed to have its origins with the pilgrims and Native Americans, it actually wasn't until the late 19th century – 1863, to be exact – that it was officially designated as a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln.
Immigrants can be especially proud of Thanksgiving, as these are the people that made America possible. Nasser Kazeminy, chairman of the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, urged all Americans to give thanks for those who founded the country – the original immigrants.
"We are respectfully suggesting that, as people prepare to enjoy their meals, we pause and offer to those who have assembled for this holiday some words that acknowledge what an amazing country we are," said Kazeminy.
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- Download PDF
2 Answers | Add Yours
This is a complicated question because there are many ways to read it. For example, are you asking how African Americans lived during Reconstruction or are you asking how Reconstruction affected their lives after it was over?
During Reconstruction, African Americans were better off than they had been before (obviously) and better off than they would be in the years following Reconstruction. So you can say that Reconstruction improved their lives while it was happening but did not do much to help them in the long run.
While Reconstruction was happening, blacks had political rights and some amount of social services provided by the Freedmen's Bureau. They were encouraged by the bureau to set up various sorts of self-help societies and to create black schools and churches. These sorts of efforts improved their communities and the political rights gave them some power.
After Reconstruction ended, however, the political rights and social services disappeared. Blacks were left to fend for themselves economically and socially. Their right to vote was taken away.
So Reconstruction was (relatively) good from blacks while it lasted but it did not create any lasting benefits.
Any benefit that African Americans received from Reconstruction is problematic at best, and most historians will argue that Reconstruction was a failure. African Americans were freed by the Thirteenth Amendment, but gained little thereafter. The defeated Southern States were bitter and resentful, and determined to keep African Americans as near slavery as possible. Most Southern States passed "Black Codes that severely restricted the rights of African Americans. Although they were guaranteed civil rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, their rights were violated with abandon. Blacks were forced to use separate facilities and denied the right to sit on juries. In fact, in 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court sanctioned the actions of Southern States in the case of Plessy vs.Ferguson in which the Court held that racially separated facilities were constitutionally protected, as long as they were "equal;" hence the doctrine of "Separate but Equal" which remained in force until 1954. Similarly, African Americans were guaranteed the right to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment; yet Southern States developed creative ways to circumvent this Amendment, typically by imposing poll taxes, literacy requirements, etc. The Freedman's Bureau and other organizations attempted to help blacks; however their efforts were often frustrated by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Knights of the White Camellia which terrorized African Americans. Ultimately, those who came to help withdrew. When Reconstruction ended with a political deal to ensure the election of Rutherford B. Hayes to the White House, Southern Blacks had made little progress, other than their freedom.
We’ve answered 327,532 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question
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As a result of the recent Discovery mission which carried a research satellite to study holes in the Earthıs ozone layer, it is feared that man-made pollutants are depleting the ozone layer.
Global warming has caused the Arctic sea ice to melt at a rate of 9% per decade. The polar bears hunt seals from the sea ice and as the bears get stuck on land, finding food becomes more difficult. Some scientists believe polar bears could be extinct in 50 years, along with many other species. Deforestation has also been blamed for warmer temperatures. In 2003, Phoenix, Arizona experienced a sweltering 118 degrees and areas of that state have experienced triple digit temperatures. The warming has affected the maple syrup industry. Numerous major wildfires have occurred and fire officials believe the worst is yet to come.
How can YOU help? Plant deciduous trees near your home to help shade it & reduce energy use; buy energy-efficient appliances; insulate your home; use compact fluorescent lighting; recycle. If your water heater is more than 5 years old, wrap it in an insulating jacket; caulk & weatherstrip doors and windows; turn off the TV, video player, stereo and computer when not in use. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U. S. biggest offenders in global warming ... also cars.
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All writers, from one that writes a high-school essay to the veteran novelist, need depth, color, and background to make their story stand out. I love to throw in either magnificant trees or showy flowers to liven up my scenes. I've written about flowers the last two weeks, so this week I'll introduce a broadleaf tree. You can’t go wrong with the red maple, especially if your story takes place in the northeast. This week I decided to list a ton of fun facts about the red maple to strengthen any tale, from comedy to historical.
|Leaves of my red maple|
Did you know…
The red maple is the state tree of Rhode Island?
The red maple is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production?
The red maple yields medium to high quality lumber?
The red maple is best known for its deep scarlet foliage in autumn?
The largest known living red maple is located in Michigan and is 125 feet high?
The red maple is one of the most abundant and widespread trees in eastern North America?
The red maple can live up to 150 years?
The red maple is used as a food source by elk, white-tailed deer, and some species of butterflies and moths?
The leaves of red maple, especially when dead or wilted, are extremely toxic to horses?
Story ideas abound. A maple syrup romance. A historical centered around the largest red maple, destined by our villain for firewood. A suspense where horses are fed red maple leaves. So friend, the next time you take pen in hand, consider the red maple, and let your imagination take root. J
Our writing prompt for the week: He grasped the lowest branch of the stately red maple, and tugged until…
Flowers of the Midwest
Yellow goat beard
White prickly poppy
Blue wild indigo
Midwestern Flowering Vines & Parasitic Plants
Black-eyed Susan vine
Black dog-strangling vine
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- Grades: 3–5, 6–8, 9–12
A century and a half later, the Mongols conquered both the Jurchen and the Song, marking for the first time the occupation and rule of all China by a barbarian. The genius behind Mongol power was Genghis Khan; by the time of his death in 1227 the Mongols possessed an empire stretching from Korea to Russian Turkistan and from Siberia to northern India. But even then China had still not been made part of the Mongol empire. This work was left to Genghis's successors, especially his grandson Kublai Khan, who in 1279 at last succeeded in conquering the Southern Song and founded the Chinese-style Yuan (Yüan) dynasty (1279–1368), with its capital at Beijing.
With the peace that settled over Asia as a result of Mongol rule, access to China became relatively easy, and another age of cosmopolitanism and broad foreign contact, particularly with the West, was begun. The Mongols supported foreign mercantile ventures in China, welcomed foreign faiths like Nestorian Christianity and Islam, and patronized Tibetan Buddhism, or Tantrism. They also employed numerous foreigners in the state bureaucracy, such as the Venetian Marco Polo. The Chinese were systematically discriminated against for government service and suffered numerous legal disabilities. Despite this repression, native arts flourished, especially calligraphy and painting produced by the scholar-gentry class and two literary forms — drama (see Yuan drama) and the novel (see Chinese literature).
Copyright © 2006 Grolier Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
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During 2003, 207 (4.2/100,000 population) cases of pertussis were reported, compared to 429 cases reported in 2002, and 308 in 2001. Laboratory confirmation was available for 131 (63%) cases; 59 (45%) were confirmed by culture and 72 (55%) by PCR. Among the remaining cases, 52 (25%) were epidemiologically-linked to culture-confirmed cases, and 24 (12%) met the clinical case definition. Sixtysix percent of the reported cases occurred in residents of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Two deaths due to pertussis-related complications were reported in 2003. One case was a 13-year-old with neuroblastoma. The other case was an 82-year-old with chronic renal insufficiency and multiple myeloma. Both had pertussis-related pneumonia. Disease in the 82-year-old woman was confirmed by blood culture. There has been only one prior report of B. pertussis isolated from blood (CDC. Fatal case of unsuspected pertussis diagnosed from a blood culture – Minnesota, 2003. MMWR 2003;53:131- 2).
Paroxysmal coughing is the most commonly reported symptom. In 2003, 192 (93%) of the case-patients experienced paroxysmal coughing. Over one third (73, 35%) reported whooping. Although commonly referred to as “whooping cough,” very young children, older individuals and persons previously immunized may not have the typical “whoop” associated with pertussis. Post-tussive vomiting was reported in 100 (48%) of the cases. Sixty-nine (33%) of the case-patients reported apnea. Infants and young children are at the highest risk for severe disease and complications. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 8 (4%) case-patients, 3 of whom were less than 18 months of age. Nineteen (9%) case-patients were hospitalized; 13 of the hospitalized patients were younger than 6 months of age.
Due to waning immunity, of either natural infection or vaccine, pertussis can affect persons of any age. The disease is increasingly recognized in older children and adults; however, it is not clear whether it is a true increase or due to changes in surveillance and reporting. During 2003, case-patients ranged in age from 1 day to 82 years. Fifty-eight (28%) cases occurred in persons ages 13 to 17 years old. Fiftyfive (27%) cases occurred in persons 18 years of age and older. Persons 5- 12 years of age accounted for 21% (44) of all cases. Twenty-one (10%) of the total cases occurred in infants less than 6 months of age, and 29 (14%) occurred in children ages 6 months through 4 years.
Infection in older children and adults may result in exposure of unprotected infants who are at risk for the most severe consequences of infection. During 2003, 23 cases of pertussis were reported in infants less than 1 year of age. A likely source of exposure was identified for 11 (48%) cases: 5 (46%) were infected by adults age 18 and over, 3 (27%) were infected by an adolescent, and 3 (27%) were infected by a child less than 13. Twelve (52%) cases had no identified source of infection. For these cases, the source of infection was likely outside the household.
Although unvaccinated children are at highest risk for pertussis, fully immunized children may also develop disease. Disease in those previously immunized is usually mild. Efficacy for currently licensed vaccines is estimated to be 71 to 84% in preventing serious pertussis disease, but waning immunity begins around 3 years after the last dose of DTaP. Of the 118 case patients who were 7 months to 15 years of age, 82 (70%) are known to have received at least a primary series of three doses. Of the 31 cases in persons 7 months to 7 years of age, 12 (39%) received fewer than three doses of DTP/DTaP vaccine before onset of illness, and were considered preventable cases.
MDH reporting rules require that clinical isolates of B. pertussis be submitted to the Public Health Laboratory. Of the 59 culture-confirmed cases, 58 (98%) isolates were received and subtyped by PFGE and tested for antibiotic susceptibility to erythromycin, ampicillin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Ten distinct PFGE patterns were identified; three of these patterns occurred in only a single case isolate. The two most common patterns identified accounted for 36 (62%) of the total isolates and occurred throughout the year.
No cases of erythromycin-resistant B. pertussis have been identified in Minnesota since the first case in October 1999. Statewide, all 968 other isolates tested to date have had low minimum inhibitory concentrations, falling within the reference range for susceptibility to the antibiotics evaluated. Only eight other erythromycinresistant B. pertussis cases have been identified to date in the United States.
The prompt diagnosis and treatment of cases, and prophylaxis of contacts, are the only options for limiting transmission, until an approved booster vaccination for pertussis is available to protect older children and adults. Pertussis should be included in the differential diagnosis of cough illness in persons of all ages regardless of immunization status.
Laboratory tests should be performed on all suspected cases of pertussis. Culture of B. pertussis requires inoculation of nasopharyngeal (NP) mucous on special media and incubation for seven to ten days. However, B. pertussis is rarely identified late in the illness; therefore, a negative culture does not rule out disease. A positive PCR result is considered confirmatory in patients with a 2-week history of cough illness. PCR can detect nonviable organisms. Consequently, a positive PCR result does not necessarily indicate current infectiousness. Patients with a 3-week or longer history of cough illness, regardless of PCR result, may not benefit from antibiotic therapy. Cultures are necessary for molecular and epidemiologic studies and for drug susceptibility testing. Whenever possible, culture should be done in conjunction with PCR testing. Direct fluorescent antibody (DFA), provides a rapid presumptive diagnosis of pertussis; however, because both false-positive and false-negative results can occur, DFA tests should not be relied upon solely for laboratory confirmation. Serological tests are not standardized and are not acceptable for laboratory confirmation.
Note: For up to date information on B. pertussis see Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
Go to full issue: DCN, August 2004: Volume 32, Number 4
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Current factory farm methods of raising livestock are creating health hazards: they encourage salmonella and other virulent microbes to develop antibiotic resistance.
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO/STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
A culture of E. coli, one disease-causing microbe whose virulence is linked to conditions on cattle feedlots.
The unsanitary and stressful conditions in many industrial livestock operations are breeding new diseases faster than ever before. Even in relatively clean conditions, the large number of animals crowded together can help spread disease.
Lagoons used to collect the manure from the feedlot. Concentrated animal feeding operations create severe pollution because they cannot recycle the huge amounts of manure they produce.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, aka MRSA, has been linked to intensive pig farming.
Industrial farm animal production is driven by rising global demand for meat.
Consumer demand can change how meat is produced. Seek out meat from local farmers practicing humane, sustainable methods.
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Maple trees in Michigan are as common as the surrounding great lakes. In this heavily forested state, they are the main stars of the fall color spectacle throughout the northern and upper peninsula. There are many species of maple trees worldwide that survive in Michigan, but three of the most important and common native species are the sugar maple, the silver maple and the red maple.
The sugar maple is known under the scientific name of Acer saccharum. In Michigan, no autumn country drive would be complete without admiring the spectacular display of red, yellow and orange of this majestic tree. It grows to a mature height of 60 to 75 feet tall and 40 to 50 feet wide. Commercially available and easy to transplant at smaller sizes, this tree makes a grand statement when planted in a large lawn panel or an elegant alley. Try the cultivars "Green Mountain," "Legacy" or "Commemoration" for beautiful range of warm yellow to orange fall color. It is hardy in zones 3 to 8.
Fast growth and beautiful silver leaf undersides might seduce you into planting this giant maple in your front yard. Be careful, however, to limit planting to areas where it can spread its massive, shallow root system. At maturity, the Silver Maple, also known as Acer saccharinum, grows to a height of 50 to 70 feet tall and 30 to 45 feet wide. Hardiness zones are 3 to 9.
Graceful and elegant, Acer rubrum is the queen of Maple trees for all seasons in Michigan. The neat and tidy form makes a perfect complement in the home landscape or when used as a street tree. Typical habitat is in low lands where water is widely available, so water it often until it is established. Pink-tinged flowers in spring last for a short time, but are a welcome harbinger of warmer weather. Spectacular fall color in intense reds can take your breath away. Try the cultivar "October Glory" for an intense show of orange, red and gold color gradients. The red maple grows to a height of 40 to 60 feet and will have a variable width. It will perform well in hardiness zones 3 to 9.
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Pillar Candle Sizes Email Us
History of Candles
See Also: Lead Wick Dangers | Candle Burning Tips | Candle Store | Large Pillar Candles
Candles have cast a light on man's progress for centuries. However, there is very little known about the origin of candles. Although it is often written that the first candles were developed by the Ancient Egyptians who used rushlights, or torches, made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in molten tallow, the rushlights had no wick like a candle. It is the Romans who are credited with developing the wick candle, using it to aid travelers at dark, and lighting homes and places of worship at night.
Like the early Egyptians, the Roman's relied on tallow, gathered from cattle or sheep suet, as the principal ingredient of candles. It was not until the Middle Ages when beeswax, a substance secreted by honey bees to make their honeycombs, was introduced. Beeswax candles were a marked improvement over those made with tallow, for they did not produce a smoky flame, or emit an acrid odor when burned. Instead, beeswax candles burned pure and clean. However, they were expensive, and, therefore, only the wealthy could afford them.
Colonial women offered America's first contribution to candlemaking when they discovered that boiling the grayish green berries of bayberry bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned clean. However, extracting the wax from the bayberries was extremely tedious. As a result, the popularity of bayberry candles soon diminished.
The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the first major change in candlemaking since the Middle Ages, when spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil, became available in quantity. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit a repugnant odor when burned. Furthermore, spermaceti wax was found harder than both tallow and beeswax. It did not soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that the first "standard candles" were made from spermaceti wax.
It was during the 19th century when most major developments affecting contemporary candlemaking occurred. In 1834, inventor Joseph Morgan introduced a machine which allowed continuous production of molded candles by the use of a cylinder which featured a movable piston that ejected candles as they solidified.
Further developments in candlemaking occurred in 1850 with the production of paraffin wax made from oil and coal shales. Processed by distilling the residues left after crude petroleum was refined, the bluish-white wax was found to burn cleanly, and with no unpleasant odor. Of greatest significance was its cost - paraffin wax was more economical to produce than any preceding candle fuel developed. And while paraffin's low melting point may have posed a threat to its popularity, the discovery of stearic acid solved this problem. Hard and durable, stearic acid was being produced in quantity by the end of the 19th century. By this period, most candles being manufactured consisted of paraffin and stearic acid.
With the introduction of the light bulb in 1879, candlemaking declined until the turn of the century when a renewed popularity for candles emerged.
Candle manufacturing was further enhanced during the first half of the 20th century through the growth of U.S. oil and meatpacking industries. With the increase of crude oil and meat production, also came an increase in the by-products that are the basic ingredients of contemporary candles paraffin and stearic acid.
No longer man's major source of light, candles continue to grow in popularity and use. Today, candles symbolize celebration, mark romance, define ceremony, and accent decor continuing to cast a warm glow for all to enjoy.
Candle Use & Safety
How are candles made?
While modern candle-making processes vary, most candles are made through the timeless process of placing a cotton wick into wax which is then molded, dipped, extruded, pressed, rolled, drawn or filled into a desired shape and size.
What is the best way to store candles?
Candles should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place and, for tapers, in a flat position to prevent warping. When stored properly, candles can be enjoyed for years and play an important role in traditions.
Does the industry have standards for candles?
Domestic candle manufacturers have a long tradition of making high quality, long-lasting and safe candles. National Candle Association members manufacturers and suppliers are working with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to implement voluntary standards for candles.
Are candles safe to use?
Candles are safe when burned properly and responsibly, and according to manufacturers directions. When burning candles, consumers should always follow these simple, common sense steps:
- never leave a burning candle unattended
- keep candles out of the reach of children and pets
- trim wicks prior to each use and keep trimmed
- keep candles away from drafts, vents and flammable objects
- extinguish a candle that smokes (check instructions before re-lighting)
- extinguish candle when ½" of wax remains in a container
- use only candle holders that have been manufactured for use with candles
- keep matches and other debris out of the candle
- extinguish the flame if it burns too close to the container or holder do not move a glass container when the wax is liquid.
What are the typical ingredients in a candle?
A candle consists primarily of wax and a wick. Many candles also contain dyes or pigments for color and fragrances for scent as well as other minor ingredients.
What kind of label information is required to be placed on candles?
No safety information is required on candle labeling. However, most U.S. candle manufacturers voluntarily place safety and use instructions on their candles. The National Candle Association is working with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to create voluntary labeling standards for the industry.
U.S. candle consumer retail sales for 2001 were projected at $2.3 billion, not including candle accessories.
There are more than 300 known commercial, religious and institutional manufacturers of candles in the United States, as well as many small craft producers for local, non-commercial use.
Candles are sold principally in three types of retail outlets: department stores, specialty (gift) shops, and mass merchandisers, including drug store chains, supermarkets, and discount stores. The U.S. market is typically separated into seasonal (Christmas Holiday) business at roughly 35%, and non-seasonal business at about 65%.
Typically, a major U.S. candle manufacturer will offer 1,000 to 2,000 varieties of candles in its product line.
Types of candles manufactured in the U.S. include: tapers, straight-sided dinner candles, columns, pillars, votives, wax-filled containers and novelties. Many of these come in different sizes and fragrances, and all come in a range of colors.
Candles can range in retail price from approximately 50¢ for a votive candle to around $75.00 for a large column candle although a specialty candle could be as much as $200.
Candle shipments increase substantially during the third quarter of the year because of the seasonal nature of candle sales during the end-of-year holiday celebrations (including Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa), since candles play a large role at this time of year (religious, gifts and decorations).
Candle industry research findings indicate that the most important factors affecting candle sales are color, shape and scent. Fragrance is increasing in importance as a special element in the selection of a candle for the home.
Candle manufacturers' surveys show that 96% of all candles purchased are bought by women,.
Candles are used in 7 out of 10 U.S. households. A majority of consumers burn candles for less than three hours per occasion. A majority of consumers also burn candles between 1-3 times per week with half of these consumers burning 1-2 candles at a time.
Link List | Text Links 2 | Text Links 3 | Text Links 4 | Text Links 5 | Text Links 6 | Text Links 7 | Text Links 8 | Related Candle Links | Banners 1 | Banners 2 | . Submit URL | Large Pillar Candles
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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
|| Teacher Perspectives:
Flow of the class
Bill Mittlefehldt: We begin with an overview for the week, outlined on the board so the kids have a cognitive map of where we’re going. Then we jump into the learning activities, called Connection Points, where the kids have to share orally or in written form how they connect the curriculum, the vocabulary, the theories, and the examples with things they see going on around them. Then we make a transition, usually to some teacher-structured activity that would look a little like a mini-lecture or presentation, where I’ve organized the learning resources. Then we make [another] transition [in which the students work on their projects]. It starts off kind of slowly but as we get deeper (we’re in the sixth week of a nine-week term), more class time is devoted to getting ready for the projects.
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Unilever researches paleo diet, says it has never been done before
Stone Pages: Archaeo News
2 October 2010, Reconstructing the Paleolithic diet
An interdisciplinary team of scientists has been assembled by the Unilever Corporation to study the diet of our early ancestors and determine how it might improve our health today. The group brings expertise in botany, anthropology, archaeology and genetics to the problem.
Early humans are believed to have eaten 20-25 plant-based foods daily. In contrast, many people today struggle to consume the recommended five portions of fruits and vegetables. Whether a plant-based diet is healthier or more in tune with our genetically-defined nutritional needs is one of the questions the scientists plan to address. Also of interest is whether we have evolved since the Paleolithic to need a different diet.
The head of the team, Dr. Mark Berry, explains the research project. "Some scientists have theorised for years that the Palaeolithic diet is more compatible with human physiology than our diet today. This is because evolution is an extremely slow process and changes in our diet have outpaced changes in our genetic make-up. We think this is the first time biological sciences have been used to match an optimal diet against the human genome so this research really is blue-sky thinking, and one of the most exciting projects being carried out by Unilever√*s 'Discover' R&D team. Using cutting-edge scientific techniques, the research employs a new way of looking at diet, examining our evolutionary biology to provide greater enlightenment than ever before. We hope to unlock the secrets of the past and, in doing so, potentially identify key nutrients in the diet of cavemen which might offer nutritional benefits to people today. We√*re only at the start of our journey, but the scientific leads and new insights generated from this could potentially deliver a range of foods and drinks that are specifically designed to be compatible with what evolution has prepared us for."
A team headed by Professor Herzl Chai of Tel Aviv University (Israel) School of Mechanical Engineering is using a different approach to establish the diet of early humans. Joined by researchers from George Washington University (U.S.) and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Chai developed an equation for the relationship between chips in teeth and the force needed to produce them. The work is based upon "fracture mechanics" which is commonly used to study rigid, non-biological materials. Previous studies of this sort relied upon the mechanics of the jaw which require a nearly complete skull.
From the data obtained using the calculations, some information about diet can be extrapolated. Teeth with many large chips may indicate a hard diet of nuts and seeds or meat with bones. Smaller chips would be produced with a softer, plant-based diet.
Edited from Physorg (16 September 2010), FoodBev.com (20 September 2010)
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Assemble Block 2
1. Repeat steps 1 and 2 of Assemble Block 1 to make eight triangle-squares of each fabric combination listed below:
2. Referring to Diagram 3, repeat Step 5 of Assemble Block 1, pressing seams toward bottom of block instead, to make two total of Block 2.
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Water makes up the largest part of the biosphere, the Marine biome is larger than all other water and land biomes put together, it covers nearly 75% of the Earth's surface. Aquatic regions house numerous species of plants and animals, both large and small. In fact, this is where life began billions of years ago when amino acids first started to come together. Without water, most life forms would be unable to sustain themselves and the Earth would be a barren, desert-like place. Although water temperatures can vary widely, aquatic areas tend to be more humid and the air temperature on the cooler side.
Marine regions cover about 3/4 of the Earth's surface and there are hundreds of different fish to cover each square foot of it. It include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. Marine algae supply much of the world's oxygen supply and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater for the land . Populations of organisms in the marine biome are limited by salt level, light, temperature, water pressure, and nutrients available.
Animals found in the Marine: are whales, dolphins, sharks, and seals which are some of the most popular kinds of sea mammals. Also the walrus, star fish, eel, crabs, jelly fish, and fresh and salt water fish, but this is just a small list compared to the many different kinds of fish that inhabit the marine biome. In general these fish have about five different adaptations. These adaptations include sleek bodies to cut down on friction when swimming through the water, gills to allow them to breath underwater, eyes on the sides of their heads so they can see enemies coming, fins to help them swim faster, and they have color coded skin to help them hide from their enemies. Most of the small fish are herbivores
Plants in the Marine: Along the ocean floor you will find many creatures disguised as plants, while they are truly primitive animals. Some examples
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Whilst the most powerful earthquake since records began hit Japan in 2011, triggering a massive tsunami which devastated much of the country, space scientists involved in one of the 'brightest' international Sun missions continued working tirelessly at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Sagamihara, Japan, to capture new data from our turbulent star.
These latest Hinode results, to be discussed in a meeting at the University of St Andrews this week (Tuesday 14 August), include new data on the structure of the Sun's coronal magnetic field, obtained whilst studying a violent solar eruption, and the observation of an unusual asymmetry in our star's magnetic field - a finding that could have a significant impact on the behaviour and prediction of the next solar cycle. The new results will be presented by David Long (UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory) and Masumi Shimojo (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan) respectively.
The Hinode mission is led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in collaboration with the UK, USA and European Space Agency. The UK Space Agency funds the operation of the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) - a UK-led instrument, building on the UK's long history of pioneering work in solar ultraviolet spectroscopy. The Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) is the lead institute for EIS, and STFC's RAL Space provided the calibration and observing software.
Louise Harra, UK Principal Investigator for the Hinode EIS instrument and Professor of Solar Physics at UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, said, "The latest Hinode results will allow us to probe the Sun's activity both on short time scales of minutes, and on the longer scales of years, both of which are critical to understanding our nearest star."
Solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections have a wide range of effects on technology infrastructure and our day to day lives, potentially disturbing the Earth's magnetic field, knocking-out orbiting satellites and disrupting satellite signals. The impacts are wide-ranging, affecting radio communication, navigation and power systems. With its three advanced and highly sensitive telescopes (visible, X-ray and ultraviolet), the Hinode spacecraft is studying the solar magnetic field at scales smaller than ever before and revealing new information about these colossal explosions in the Sun's atmosphere.
In recent years there have been disruptions to power grids, spacecraft have been lost completely and more than half the Earth orbiting spacecraft were affected in their operation by high energetic particles that bombard the Earth's atmosphere during a storm. We are dependent on spacecraft for everything from navigation to using credit cards, so predicting the impact of such storms is important for a technology- driven world.
The Hinode mission acts as a microscope on the Sun. The instruments onboard probe in detail the generation, transport, and dissipation of magnetic energy from the photosphere to the corona and are recording how energy stored in the Sun's magnetic field is released as the field rises into the Sun's outer atmosphere.
This magnetic field can unleash huge amounts of energy in only tens of minutes. An example of this was observed on the 12th July, where a huge flare exploded on the Sun, leading to disruption to radio communications and a reduction in the power output of a nuclear power station on the east coast of the US. The data from Hinode are being analyzed in order to determine quantitative measurements of the pre-flare Sun to assist in predicting activity.
UK Space Agency
Tel: 01793 418069
Mobile: 07770 276 721
UK PI for the Hinode EIS instrument
UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory
Tel: 01483 204141
Mobile: 07747 397283
Notes for editors
- The UK led Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) is a telescope to measure how fast gases travel in the solar atmosphere. It can measure the flows of hot gas down to a level of 1 kilometre per second. EIS is made of very light material - the same type of carbon fibre structure used to build racing cars.
- The Mullard Space Science Laboratory is leading the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) science team.
- Through the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the UK has invested almost £5 million in developing and building the EIS.
- STFC's RAL Space provided the calibration and observing software. The University of Birmingham was also involved in the build.
- The Hinode-6 meeting is an international gathering of scientists to discuss the latest research results from the mission. The conference happens annually and this year it is being held at the University of St Andrews, the first time the meeting is to be held in the UK. The Hinode-6 meeting is supported in part by the UK Space Agency the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and European Space Agency (ESA).
- The UK Space Agency is funding nine PhD students and researchers to attend the conference and participate in the meeting.
UK Space Agency
The UK Space Agency is at the heart of UK efforts to explore and benefit from space. It is responsible for all strategic decisions on the UK civil space programme and provides a clear, single voice for UK space ambitions.
The UK Space Agency is responsible for ensuring that the UK retains and grows a strategic capability in the space-based systems, technologies, science and applications. It leads the UK's civil space programme in order to win sustainable economic growth, secure new scientific knowledge and provide benefits to all citizens.
The UK Space Agency:
- Co-ordinates UK civil space activity
- Encourages academic research
- Supports the UK space industry
- Raises the profile of UK space activities at home and abroad
- Increases understanding of space science and its practical benefits
- Inspires our next generation of UK scientists and engineers
- Licences the launch and operation of UK spacecraft
- Promotes co-operation and participation in the European Space programme
UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
- Founded in the 15th century, St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world.
- Teaching began in the community of St Andrews in 1410 and the University was formally constituted by the issue of Papal Bull in 1413. The University is currently celebrating its 600th anniversary, due to conclude in 2013.
- The University is now one of Europe's most research intensive seats of learning - over a quarter of its turnover comes from research grants and contracts. It is one of the top rated universities in Europe for research, teaching quality and student satisfaction and is consistently ranked among the UK's top six in leading independent league tables produced by The Times, The Guardian and the Sunday Times.
About UCL (University College London)
Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. We are among the world's top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables. UCL currently has 24,000 students from almost 140 countries, and more than 9,500 employees. Our annual income is over £800 million.
www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow us on Twitter @uclnews
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| 0.918947 | 1,495 | 3.015625 | 3 |
The latest news from academia, regulators
research labs and other things of interest
Posted: Feb 23, 2012
Hitachi Chemical Develops Large-scale Synthesis Process, Dispersion Technique for Carbon Nanotubes
(Nanowerk News) Hitachi Chemical has recently developed a new large-scale synthesis process for carbon nanotubes (hereinafter referred to as "CNTs"). This process is based on a technique to synthesize continuously large-scale, extra-fine, and long CNTs (CNTs whose diameter is 10 nm or smaller and length is several hundred micrometers) of high purity with three walls on an average, and is expected to enhance the speed for practical use of CNTs in all fields. In addition, based on the dispersion technique that is indispensable for realizing CNT characteristics, Hitachi Chemical has developed a dispersion liquid, which decreases damage on CNTs and has high stability. Hitachi Chemical will start providing samples of the extra-fine and long CNT, the dispersion liquid, and the related materials synthesized by this process.
Extra-fine And Long CNT Growing on the Heat-resistant Beads.
CNTs have excellent properties such as high flexibility, high electrical conductivity, high heat conductivity, high strength, and so on thanks to its peculiar structure and is expected to be applied to various fields including environment & energy, and electronics. The technique to synthesize on a large scale and with high purity the extra-fine and long CNTs among various kinds of CNTs, however, has not been established and the quantity obtained through the process was very small. In addition, the process required purification processes using chemicals such as strong acid and was difficult to put to practical use.
Then, Hitachi Chemical has established the process to synthesize the extra-fine and long CNTs continuously by improving the fluidized-bed synthesis, which is the existing industrial process, in collaboration with Dr. Suguru Noda, Ph.D, Associate Professor, the University of Tokyo. This is a process that grows CNTs on heat-resistant beads on whose surface the metal catalyst is supported before separating and collecting easily the CNTs from the beads, and produces CNTs continuously by repeating this process, growth, separation, and collection. This process has enabled us to control the average diameter of the CNTs to 10 nm or smaller with the use of a smaller catalyst on the beads. This process also enables us to make the CNT length long to several hundred micrometers or longer because it enables us to control the reaction time at any length of time. In addition, this process, as excellent features, has high CNT production efficiency per reaction volume that results in the prospect of lower cost and requires no purification processes because the CNTs obtained through this process include little catalyst residues and amorphous carbon, and have high purity.
On the other hand, regarding the dispersion technique that is indispensable for realizing the characteristics of CNTs, Hitachi Chemical has developed a new dispersion liquid that decreases damage to CNTs and has high stability by improving the dispersion agent and the method through implementation of a joint research with Dr. Bunshi Hugetsu, Ph.D, Professor, Hokkaido University. By utilizing this dispersion liquid, Hitachi Chemical is going to make a transparent conductive film and respond to customization to meet the applications in the future.
It is expected that the extra-fine and long CNT obtained from this process can add such functions as high electrical conductivity, high heat conductivity, and high strength to the products with a little addition in comparison to the conventional multi-walled CNTs.
Source: Hitachi Chemical (press release)
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on reddit or StumbleUpon. Thanks!
Check out these other trending stories on Nanowerk:
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July 28, 2014
SFWC Rescues Mottled Ducklings from Storm Drain
Thanks to a quick response from the SFWC’s rescue team, six mottled ducklings found their way from a storm drain back to the wild
The South Florida Wildlife Center's rescue team works daily with the South Florida community to rescue wildlife from life-threatening situations. One of the more frequent calls the team receives is to help orphaned or injured ducklings. Because the climate is so mild in South Florida, baby season extends well beyond springtime, so ducklings are frequent year-round visitors to the SFWC veterinary center.
In early May we got a call about a group of ducklings who had fallen through the grating covering a storm drain. When our rescue team arrived, they found six very active, distressed mottled ducklings who were quite vocal about being down in the drain, separated from their mother. Although the ducklings were certainly in a precarious situation, their loud protestations and continued activity meant they were probably in relatively good health.
Once on the scene, our rescue team lifted off the heavy drain cover and began to try to coax the ducklings out with mother duck sounds. After a few minutes, they were able to scoop the babies up with a net and began to look for the mother. Many times when we are called to rescue ducklings, the mother is waiting nearby, which means that as long as the ducklings are healthy they can be sent on their way with mom. Unfortunately, this time the mother could not be located, so the ducklings were loaded into our wildlife ambulance and brought to our veterinary facility.
Although ducklings are common visitors to the SFWC, it is not as common to see mottled ducklings. Mottled ducks, found only in peninsular Florida, are often called the Florida duck or Florida mallard because of their specific geographic territory.
Mottled ducks spend their entire lives within the state, and the species has inhabited Florida for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the long-term well-being of the mottled duck is threatened by crossbreeding with closely related mallards. We felt fortunate to be able to rescue and save these precious Florida treasures.
Rescues like this are possible because of your support. Please consider making a donation to support the life-saving work that we do.
Once the ducklings arrived at our veterinary center, they were evaluated and found to be in good health, but very young. To help them deal with the separation from their mother, they were set up in a small enclosure within the clinic with a heat lamp and a small stuffed animal for them to cuddle up against. Most of the ducklings we see at the SFWC come in as single orphans and need to share space with another for socialization. The fact that these ducklings came in together meant they could learn socialization skills from each other, which was a big plus.
The ducklings improved daily and were eventually able to move to an outdoor habitat, where they could get better acclimated to life in the wild. Dr. Renata Schneider, Director of Wildlife Rehabilitation at the SFWC, noted how amazing it was to watch as the ducklings grew from babies to young adults: “Their transformation was just so quick. One week they looked so small and young, and within a few short weeks they had already grown in their adult plumage and looked like they were ready to take on the world.”
Thanks to the expert care they received at the SFWC, the ducklings were able to be released back into the wild together as healthy and strong young adults after just six weeks. If you find injured or orphaned wildlife in the South Florida area, be sure to call the South Florida Wildlife Center at 954-524-4302 or 866-SOS-WILD.
Watch a video of the ducklings' release (along with a few other duckling patients from the SFWC)
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| 0.982451 | 817 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Arizona State University has received a $10.18 million grant from NASA's Science Mission Directorate Education Community to develop next-generation digital learning experiences that incorporate NASA science content.
Principal Investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton and Deputy Principal Investigator Ariel Anbar of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) will lead the development and evaluation teams for this grant.
During the five-year program, ASU-based teams will work with the Inspark Science Network and ASU's Center for Education Through eXploration (ETX), to develop a new way of learning and teaching through exploration of the unknown, at scale, via a digital learning design platform.
The Inspark Science Network is a joint initiative of ETX and adaptive learning pioneer Smart Sparrow, designed to promote active learning and teaching science through exploration.
The Network was launched in 2015, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to create new digital courseware that incorporates online simulations, virtual field trips and adaptive learning analytics to help students who typically fail science courses succeed.
"SESE is known for combining the creative strengths of science, engineering and education, setting the stage for a new era of exploration," says Elkins-Tanton. "With this grant, we can promote a greater public understanding and appreciation for science, and inspire a new generation of explorers. We hope to share the exciting world of NASA science in a way that is both approachable and interactive."
Of particular focus will be the "active and adaptive" approach to science education, where learning becomes interactive and the platform can be modified for different audiences and teaching goals.
"The aim is to help learners become problem-solvers capable of exploring the unknown, rather than just mastering what is already known," says Anbar. "It is learning science as process and as a universe of questions rather than as a dusty collection of facts."
The ASU team is also led by Co-Investigators Steven Semken and Sheri Klug-Boonstra as well as ASU professor of practice and Smart Sparrow CEO Dror Ben-Naim. Other co-investigators include SESE's Erik Asphaug, Jim Bell, Philip Christensen, Scott Parazynski, Meenakshi Wadhwa, Sara Imari Walker, David Williams and Patrick Young.
Together with Smart Sparrow, this team will develop personalized and adaptive learning experiences centered on astrobiology and "small bodies" such as Saturn's moon Enceladus, Jupiter's moon Europa, and asteroids. These are specific areas of expertise among the NASA subject matter experts on the ASU team.
"By pairing the best of learning technology and design with NASA's groundbreaking research and experience, educators will be able to inspire students in new ways," says Ben-Naim.
In the near term, the focus will be on independent self-learners of science. In the longer term, the team seeks to expand the program to formal K-12 education, in coordination with NASA's new education strategies.
"This grant brings together education powerhouses - ASU and NASA, together with a trusted edtech partner - to promote STEM education through exploration," said Sethuraman "Panch" Panchanathan, chief research and innovation officer and executive vice president at the ASU Knowledge Enterprise. "This opportunity helps ASU engage and empower learners from all backgrounds and proficiencies to master concepts, ask open-ended questions regarding what's next, and prepare to explore the unknown with the help of technology."
NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Education Community vision is to share the story, the science, and the adventure of NASA's scientific explorations of our home planet, the solar system, and the universe beyond, through stimulating and informative activities and experiences created by experts, delivered effectively and efficiently to learners of many backgrounds via proven conduits, thus providing a direct return on the public's investment in NASA's scientific research.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/asu-ar032816.php
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| 0.934037 | 894 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Global Patterns of Leaf Mechanical Properties
Leaf mechanical properties strongly influence leaf lifespan, plant–herbivore interactions, litter decomposition and nutrient cycling, but global patterns in their interspecific variation and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We synthesize data across the three major measurement methods, permitting the first global analyses of leaf mechanics and associated traits, for 2819 species from 90 sites worldwide. Key measures of leaf mechanical resistance varied c. 500–800-fold among species. Contrary to a long-standing hypothesis, tropical leaves were not mechanically more resistant than temperate leaves. Leaf mechanical resistance was modestly related to rainfall and local light environment. By partitioning leaf mechanical resistance into three different components we discovered that toughness per density contributed a surprisingly large fraction to variation in mechanical resistance, larger than the fractions contributed by lamina thickness and tissue density. Higher toughness per density was associated with long leaf lifespan especially in forest understory. Seldom appreciated in the past, toughness per density is a key factor in leaf mechanical resistance, which itself influences plant–animal interactions and ecosystem functions across the globe.
Onoda, Y., Westoby, M., Adler, P. B., Choong, A. M. F., Clissold, F. J., Cornelissen, J. H. C., Díaz, S., et al. (2011). Global patterns of leaf mechanical properties. Ecology Letters, 14(3), 301-312. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01582.x
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http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/wild_facpub/255/
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| 0.856176 | 313 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Education institutions that embrace green concepts in their construction projects are able to provide safe and healthful learning environments that are responsive to the community. Carrying out these strategies can enhance student learning, reduce health and operations costs, and enhance the quality of a school. Moreover, these high-performing schools become visible statements of a community’s commitment to future generations of learners.
Doing your research
Research shows that green, high-performing schools provide the following benefits:
•Improved student performance.
•Increased comfort for teachers and students.
•Reduced liability exposure.
•Reduced operations and maintenance costs.
•Reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
•Reduced environmental impact.
•Better educational examples for students and the community.
One method for evaluating a green school design is the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. LEED for Schools, an application of LEED that recognizes the unique aspects of design and construction of K-12 schools, addresses issues such as master planning, classroom acoustics, mold prevention, indoor air quality and joint use of facilities.
During the planning and design phase of a project, a LEED-accredited architect can guide the education institution with green design strategies.
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http://asumag.com/green/community_commitment_leed
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| 0.937419 | 268 | 3.390625 | 3 |
By Savvy Soumya Misra
Studies confirm energy drinks like Red Bull can be unsafe. India yet to limit their caffeine content
In January 2011, about 300 people in the US had suffered health problems from excessive consumption of energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster; most of them were children and teenagers, as per the American Association of Poison Control Centers. The association has recently started tracking the toxicity of energy drinks that constitute the fastest growing market in the US. Canada, Australia and several European and Latin American countries have also acted against the caffeinated drinks following reports of deaths and seizures.
India’s energy drinks market is worth Rs 200 crore and is growing unregulated. Red Bull leads, followed by Coca Cola’s Burn and Goldwin Healthcare’s Cloud 9. In June 2010, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India prepared draft standards for energy drinks and invited public suggestions.
But its efforts have not moved beyond the invites. As of now, energy drinks are labelled as proprietary food that has no prescribed standards. Unlike carbonated drinks in which caffeine is capped at 145 mg/litre, a can of energy drink has 320 mg/litre caffeine or more. “Caffeine acts as a stimulant,” says Anoop Misra, chairperson of the National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation. “But excess of it may induce agitation, anxiety, irritability, insomnia and cause irregular heart function.” Several recent studies corroborate Misra’s concern.
Until we know more about the effects of energy drinks, children and teenagers should be discouraged from drinking them on a routine basis, says Steven Lipshultz of the Miller School of Medicine in USA. Such beverages also contain Vitamin B and stimulants like taurine, glucuronalactone and guarana to create the energy blend. There is not enough study to show the impacts of caffeine on them, he said, calling for more research.
Companies have purposely placed energy drinks in proximity to sports drinks to confuse the consumer, says John Higgins, professor of medicine at Texas University. “This ploy needs to be stopped as we have young children buying them.” Sports drinks like Powerade and Gatorade are meant to replace the electrolyte and carbohydrates lost during exercise. But energy drinks increase the carbohydrate level in the blood beyond the recommended limit and affect renal function, he adds.
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<urn:uuid:40d73a19-6128-4c58-bfac-ba97b2e1c72b>
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http://www.cseindia.org/print/2318
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| 0.944135 | 490 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Built of Neckar valley sandstone in the 18th century by Prince Karl Theodor, the famous Old Bridge (Alte Brücke) is one of the last large examples of classical stone bridge building. It links the old town to the banks of the Neckar at the eastern end of the Neuenheim district. The precursors of today's Old Bridge were all made of wood. As they were continually being destroyed by wars and floods, Prince Karl Theodor ordered the construction of a stone bridge across the river (1786-1788). On the city side is the medieval Bridge Gate, part of the former city wall.
West of the Bridge Gate, the Heidelberg Bridge Monkey now holds a mirror up to those who look at it. The bronze sculpture by Professor Gernot Rumpf was installed there in 1979. But there was a bridge monkey in Heidelberg as far back as the 15th century. Old drawings of the town show it next to the tower on the north end of the Old Bridge. It disappeared during the Palatinate War of Succession (1689/93) however.
The legend surrounding this curious statue tells us that it symbolizes the fact that neither the city-dwellers nor the people who lived outside the city were better than the other, and that they should look over their shoulder as they cross the bridge to remember this.
Sculptures on the Old Bridge
There are two sculpture groups by Konrad Linck on the Old Bridge. One is a monument to Prince Elector Carl Theodor, who had the bridge built. The other is devoted to the Roman goddess Minerva (in Greek, Pallas Athene). The monument to the Prince Elector is closer to the south shore of the Neckar. The figures arranged on the two-level base around the monument symbolize the most important rivers of the lands governed by Carl Theodor: the Rhine, Mosel, Danube and Isar.
The Prince Elector passionately believed in supporting the arts and sciences, which is why the other monument is dedicated to the goddess of wisdom.
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http://www.heidelberg-marketing.de/en/experience/sights/old-bridge.html
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| 0.9642 | 433 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Dial-A-Buoy gives mariners an easy way to obtain weather reports when away from a computer/the Internet. Wind and wave measurements taken within the last hour at buoy and coastal weather stations operated by NDBC and a growing number of Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) partners can be heard using a cell phone. NDBC, a part of the National Weather Service (NWS), created Dial-A-Buoy in 1997. In 2007, NDBC and the National Ocean Service's Center for Operational Ocean Products and Services (NOS/CO-OPS) jointly implemented a replacement for the original system which had operated well beyond its expected life cycle. The new system is an extension of the Great Lakes Online service that NOS/CO-OPS is expanding to include its National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON) stations.
Large numbers of boaters use the observations, in combination with forecasts, to make decisions on whether it is safe to venture out. Some even claim that the reports have saved lives. Surfers use the reports to see if wave conditions are, or will soon be, promising. Many of these boaters and surfers live well inland, and knowing the conditions has saved them many wasted trips to the coast.
Buoy reports include wind direction, speed, gust, significant wave height, swell and wind-wave heights and periods, air temperature, water temperature, and sea level pressure. Some buoys report wave directions. Coastal weather stations report the winds, air temperature, and pressure; some also report wave information, water temperature, visibility, and dew point.
To access Dial-A-Buoy, dial 888-701-8992 using any touch tone or cell phone. Assuming you know the identifier of the station whose report you need, press "1". In response to the prompt, enter the five-digit (or character) station identifier. (For coastal stations whose identifiers contain both letter characters and numbers, use the number key containing the letter - for the letter "Q", press "7"; for "Z", press "9"; etc.) The system will ask you to confirm that your entry was correct by pressing "1". After a few seconds, you will hear the latest buoy or C-MAN observation read via computer-generated voice. At the end, the system will prompt you to press "1" to hear the report again, or "2" to continue with other options.
Dial-A-Buoy also can read the latest NWS marine forecast for most station locations. The system will prompt you to press "2" to continue after the observation is read, then "1" to hear the forecast. You can jump to the forecast before the end of the station report by pressing "21" during the reading of the station conditions.
When you are finished with Dial-A-Buoy, press 9 or simply hang-up!
There are several ways to find the station locations and identifiers. For Internet users, maps showing buoy locations are given at http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ . Telephone users can press "2" at the beginning of the call to be prompted for a latitude and longitude and receive the closest station locations and identifiers.
When you become familiar with the system, you do not have to wait for the prompts. For example, you can press "1420071" as soon as you begin to hear the welcome message to hear the report from station 42007.
The Dial-A-Buoy system does not actually dial into a buoy or C-MAN station. The phone calls are answered by a computer that controls the dialog and reads the observations and forecasts from NDBC's web site.
How do I enter characters for a Station Identifier? Characters are entered simply by pressing the key containing the character. For Q, press "7", and for Z, press "9". For example, to enter CHLV2, press the keys 24582.
How do I quit Dial-A-Buoy? Simply hang-up.
How do I hear the observations for another station? When you are finished hearing the observation or forecast, the system will prompt you to press "1" to hear it again or '2' to continue. The second option will be to press "2" to enter a new station identifier. You can jump to the new station prompt before the end of the station report by pressing "221" during the reading of the station conditions.
If you press 22 at most points in the call, Dial-A-Buoy will take you back to the beginning dialog.
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http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/dial.shtml
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| 0.918616 | 944 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Veg Diet is Good for Bones
According to a study in this month's British Journal of Nutrition,
animal protein is associated with decreased bone health. The study
comprised 757 girls with an average age of 10 years, who were randomly
assigned to a group consuming cow's milk fortified with calcium, one
consuming cow’s milk fortified with calcium and vitamin D, or a third
group that served as controls and made no changes. Bone mass was
measured at the beginning of the study and at different intervals.
Animal protein, especially from meat and eggs, was found to decrease
bone mineral density and content.
To read the full article please search online for
Animal Protein Bad for Bones
Scientific studies are indeed providing more and more grounds for
leaving animal products off of our plates. Our health, God's animals and
the environment benefit with our transition to a plant-based diet.
Your question and comments are welcome
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<urn:uuid:baf85aec-ce4b-4bfd-a0a8-f74e61000ae3>
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http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/th-20100315-h.htm
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| 0.951558 | 198 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Quartering of Troops
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.Amendment III
The Third Amendment combines a straightforward ban on nonconsensual, peacetime quartering of soldiers in citizens' houses with a requirement that wartime quartering be done by means approved by the legislature. The brief congressional debates on the text make clear that the amendment reflects an effort to balance private property rights and the potential wartime need for military quarters.
The Anti-Federalists used the absence of a ban on quartering as an argument against ratification. Once the concept of a Bill of Rights was agreed upon, however, there was little controversy over the inclusion of a ban on quartering. Six of the original thirteen states also adopted constitutional provisions banning the quartering of soldiers.
The British practice of quartering soldiers in America grew out of the lack of regular army bases, unclear legislative authority for British army quartering in America, and the need to move large bodies of troops about the country during conflicts with the French and Indians. Although there were numerous conflicts over quartering in both Britain and America before the 1770s, the most significant episodes concerned the British quartering of soldiers in private homes to punish the people of Boston under the Intolerable Acts of 1774.
Because of its clear text, there have been few court opinions discussing the Third Amendment. The quartering problem has largely been solved today by paying communities to host military bases. When the Supreme Court has cited the Third Amendment, it has been as part of nonoriginalist interpretations that list it as one of the sources of "penumbras, formed by emanations" that create a zone of privacy in no specific clause of the Constitution. For example, the Court cited it in the name of marital privacy as support for constitutional restrictions on state governments' abilities to regulate the sale of contraceptives in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).
- Andrew P. Morriss
- D. Paul Jones, Jr. & Charlene Angelich Jones Chairholder of Law
- University of Alabama School of Law
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<urn:uuid:1e689633-d4f6-4644-b95b-a5ba7f3e705f>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://heritage.org/constitution/amendments/3/essays/143/quartering-of-troops
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| 0.951444 | 446 | 3.125 | 3 |
Friday, January 29, 2010
Historian and activist Howard Zinn passed away Wednesday at age 87. Zinn's family said that he had had a heart attack while swimming in Santa Monica, CA.
Howard Zinn was born August 24, 1922 in Brooklyn to a Jewish immigrant family. His parents were factory workers with little education, and Zinn's introduction to literature came when they sent 25 cents and a coupon to the New York Post in return for a collection of Charles Dickens' writings. He joined the Army Air Force in World War II. As a bombardier, he participated in attacks upon Berlin, as well as parts of Czechoslovakia and Hungary. At Royan, in southwest France, he also took part in one of the first attacks using napalm. After the war, Zinn found out that the napalm attack killed 1500 innocent French along with the German soldiers in hiding there. This discovery helped influence Zinn's decision to become a pacifist in later years.
Zinn attended New York University on the GI Bill. He moved on to Columbia for his postgraduate work, earning his Ph.D. in history with a minor in political science in 1958. By that time he had landed his first job in academia, as chairman of the history and social studies department at Spelman College in Atlanta. His experience at the historically black women's college led to involvement in the civil rights movement. Among his students were author Alice Walker and Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman. But Zinn's increasing political activity, notably his work in advising the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, angered the school's administration. In 1963, Spelman fired him for insubordination.
The next year, Zinn took a position in the political science department at Boston University. His classes on civil liberties quickly became among the most popular on campus. Once again, Zinn became heavily involved in political activism, particularly the efforts to stop the Vietnam War. In 1968, his diplomatic visit to Hanoi with the Rev. Daniel Berrigan resulted in the release of three US prisoners of war, the first set free since the US bombing of North Vietnam began. Later, he helped edit a set of government documents secretly copied by Daniel Ellsberg that became known as the Pentagon Papers, and served as an expert witness at Ellsberg's trial for theft, conspiracy, and espionage.
Of the many books Zinn wrote during his career, the best-known was A People's History Of The United States, published in 1980. Ever since participating in the civil rights marches of the 60's, Zinn had noticed that history almost always had been focused from the perspective of society's most powerful, and his goal was to create a textbook that contained the voices of America's lower classes, and to present a side of the historical narrative that had been overlooked. A People's History, by frequently casting America's past leaders as greedy, bloodthirsty exploiters, caused a stir among historians when first published. Nevertheless, the book spurred further efforts to consider history from alternative viewpoints, particularly those of the poor and minorities. A People's History became an unlikely popular success as well, with nearly 2,000,000 copies sold.
Zinn retired from teaching in 1988. In typical fashion, he finished his last class and then hurried off to join a picket line. He continued to write with regularity, with his articles frequently appearing in publications such as The Progressive and The Nation, and also continuing to write books, including several highly critical of the Iraq War. One of his last projects was a documentary, The People Speak, based on his A People's History and featuring appearances by Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Bob Dylan, and many others. In one of his last interviews, Zinn said he wanted to be remembered "for introducing a different way of thinking about the world, about war, about human rights, about equality," and "for getting more people to realize that the power which rests so far in the hands of people with wealth and guns, that the power ultimately rests in people themselves and that they can use it." Indeed, Howard Zinn was highly successful in getting millions to reconsider how they thought about history and America's relationship with the world, myself included.
I highly recommend visiting The Nation's website and checking out the videos featured in their Howard Zinn tribute. Zinn also returned to Spelman College in 2005 to give the commencement address. That speech is one of Zinn's most stirring moments, and a good introduction for those unfamiliar with the rest of the historian's work.
(Crossposted at Pole Hill Sanitarium.)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
J.D.Salinger, reclusive author of the classic The Catcher In The Rye, passed away Wednesday at his New Hampshire home. He was 91.
Salinger, the son of a cheese merchant, began writing short stories while attending Valley Forge Military Academy, usually late at night under the covers. He enrolled at New York University in 1936, but dropped out during the spring semester. His father then sent him to Vienna to learn about the meat-importing business, leaving there in early 1938, shortly before Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany.
From there he spent a semester at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, then returned to New York to take a night class in creative writing at Columbia University. He managed to sell a few short stories to publications like Esquire and The Saturday Evening Post. In 1941, The New Yorker bought his "Slight Rebellion Off Madison", but held it for five years, fearful that its rebellious theme would encourage youngsters to drop out of school. In the meantime, Salinger was drafted into the Army to serve in World War II, landing at Utah Beach on D-Day and seeing action in The Battle Of The Bulge. While on the campaign from Normandy into Germany, he also met with Ernest Hemingway, who was serving as a war correspondent in Paris. He also continued writing through the war, the quality of his work markedly improving. The New Yorker published his first major success, "A Perfect Day For Bananafish", in 1948, setting the stage for his greatest triumph.
The Catcher In The Rye sparked something of an uproar when it was published in 1951. Catcher's teenaged protagonist, Holden Caulfield, had already appeared in Salinger's "Slight Rebellion Off Madison", and the novel expands upon the themes of that earlier story. Caulfield was no athletic hero or goody two-shoes; he was a hard-nosed kid of the streets, recently expelled from prep school, and bursting full of attitude, as was apparent from the opening lines: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” The language of Catcher, laced with profanity and sexual innuendo, perfectly captured the streets of New York City, but teachers and librarians of the day felt it was hardly suitable for their young readers. Catcher was an immediate success, going through eight printings in its first two months after its release, and smuggled undercover by countless adolescents during the Fifties and for years thereafter.
Salinger followed this up in 1953 with the critically acclaimed Nine Stories, a collection of short stories, including his previously published "Bananafish", that showcased his ear for the everyday vernacular of the streets. The author, though, increasingly desired to step away from the limelight. Salinger had embraced Zen Buddhism prior to writing Catcher In The Rye, and spent increasing amounts of time in solitude and meditation. Also in 1953, he moved from New York to a secluded 90 acre property in Cornish, New Hampshire, and slowly withdrew from the world.
At first, Salinger socialized with the Cornish townspeople, especially taking a liking to the local high school students who would come to the author asking for advice. He even allowed one of the students to interview him for the high school newspaper. But after that interview appeared on the editorial page of Cornish's daily paper, Salinger cut off all contact with the high schoolers, and eventually with nearly all the city's residents as well.
After the short story "Hapworth 16, 1924" was published in The New Yorker in 1965, Salinger never had another of his works published. He was frequently rumored to be working on a new novel, but nothing ever surfaced. He refused nearly all requests for interviews, turned down numerous requests to have his works made into Hollywood screenplays, and demanded that his photo be taken off the dust cover of future printings of his books. Increasingly reclusive, it became a noted pastime for tourists to Cornish to see if they could get a glimpse of the author. Salinger's enigmatic image was further complicated by the release of two memoirs, one by his daughter Margaret, the other by Joyce Maynard, an author and Yale student many years his junior with whom he had an affair in 1972. Both painted a picture of an abusive, controlling man far different from the genial figure Salinger had been in his heyday.
John Updike and Philip Roth, among others, have acknowledged their debt to Salinger's work. Despite his virtual disappearance from public view, J.D. Salinger remains notable as an author who broke down barriers, without whom the cultural advances of the later 50's and 60's would have been that much more difficult to achieve.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Happy blogiversary to my co-bloggers at VidiotSpeak!
Update (SteveAudio): and from me too, it's a great blog, and I'm so grateful they loan you out to write over here. I'm honored!
Oh, and he's 13 years old. Who know what he might do when he, you know, grows up.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Inspector general cites 'egregious breakdown' in FBI oversightAt the very least every agent that lied to a Federal Court should go to prison for perjury. And everyone involved should be fired.
FBI agents for years sought sensitive records from telephone companies through e-mails, sticky notes, sneak peeks and other "startling" methods that violated electronic privacy law and federal policy, according to a Justice Department inspector general report released Wednesday.
The study details how the FBI between 2002 and 2006 sent more than 700 demands for telephone toll information by citing often nonexistent emergencies and using sometimes misleading language. The practice of sending faulty "exigent" letters to three telecommunications providers became so commonplace that one FBI agent described it to investigators as "like having an ATM in your living room."
At times, what the inspector general called an "egregious breakdown" extended to misstatements to the special Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court about how sensitive information had been obtained by federal law enforcement, the report said.
As part of a leak investigation, the FBI used exigent letters to improperly obtain toll phone call information from Washington Post reporter Ellen Nakashima and New York Times reporters Jane Perlez and Raymond Bonner, all working in Jakarta, Indonesia, about six years ago. The letter was not followed up with a subpoena and it did not secure the approval of the attorney general, which is required when seeking reporters' phone records under Justice Department policy, the inspector general report said.
It ain't gonna happen, but it should.
Cross posted at VidiotSpeak
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Dear people of Massachusetts:
That's so sweet that your newly-elected Jr. Senator tonight called Vicky Kennedy first to
But, Brown isn't exactly setting out to support Teddy's goals. In fact, he'll try to undermine & reverse EVERYTHING!!! Teddy stood for.
I mean, seriously people, didn't you pay any attention when Brown wrote this:
- Government is too big and that the federal stimulus bill made government bigger instead of creating jobs
- Taxes are too high and are going higher if Congress continues with its out-of-control spending
- The historic amount of debt we are passing on to our children and grandchildren is immoral
- Power concentrated in the hands of one political party, as it is here in Massachusetts, leads to bad government and poor decisions
- A strong military and vigorous homeland defense will protect our interests and security around the world and at home
- All Americans deserve health care, but we shouldn't have to create a new government insurance program to provide it
2. Bush 41 caused the majority of that debt, and you supported everything he did. Remember Cheney saing "Deficits don't matter?"
3. IOKIYAR. Power concentrated in R's is OK, in D's is awful. And remember when MA got a new Health Care plan, under liberal Governer Mitt Romney? Yeah, I thought so.
4. So how is that strong military working out in Iraq, and Afghanistan? Winning hearts and minds, or pissing people off?
5. All Americans deserve health care, as long as Anthem/Blue Cross makes their profits first.
Look, this guy has a Repub voting record of between 90 & 96%, nothing independent about that. Brown is a lock-step tea-bagger, climate-change denier, Mass. health-care hating, simple-minded Republican tool.
Yes, the national, as well as MA Democratic infrastructure, as well as candidate Coakley, FAILED.
But good people of MA, what in hell were you thinking?
Well, now you own him. Let me know how that works out, mkay?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
For example, in that piece the bigot is sitting watching a baseball game and someone else says “The bases are loaded and Reggie Johnson is coming up” to which the bigot sneers “Ah, all them niggers choke in situations like this”. Then in the next scene the other guy shouts “Wow! He hit a homerun!”, to which the bigot smugly replies while downing a beer “What do you expect? All them coons are strong from livin’ in the jungle”.
Or in another scene two waiters are talking and one says “I hope that guy over there gives me a good tip”, to which the bigot scoffs “Forget it! Them Jews are way too cheap.” Then in the next panel the first guy comes back exclaiming “Wow! He gave me a $100 tip!”, to which the bigot says “Of course. Kikes have all the money in the world”.
Which, I think, helps to better understand how conservative voices like Rush Limbaugh can spin anything that President Obama does to make it sound negative. The perfect example of the “you can never win with a bigot” in this case is the President’s handling of aid to Haiti. According to Rush, Obama’s swift action to help a nation of people who were absolutely devastated by a massive earthquake amounts to nothing more than a way to appeal to blacks and score brownie points and photo ops. In the world of Rush, even being compassionate and human can be twisted into partisan politics.
As for the art of being “human”, I think Rush clearly pointed out where his own withered "I've got mine" soul stands on that with basically washing his hands of the Haitian people in saying “We’ve already donated to Haiti…it’s called the U.S. income tax”. So pretty much the message is “I gave at the office, so just go away now”. I wonder if he would still feel that way if Haiti was inhabited by blue-eyed Caucasians?
But the real “you can never win with a bigot” point here comes from if we consider what Rush would have said had Obama NOT acted in an opposite manner that Bush had for Katrina, and instead delayed or muted any assistance and aid to Haiti. I think we all know the answer to that one. Rush would have gleefully bounced up and down squealing “See? See? I told you the liberals are all a bunch of hypocrites!”
That is the reason no one should expect someone like Rush and his ilk to ever have a good word to say about the President, regardless of any path he may take at a whatever fork in the road he comes to, because Rush stands ready, like the bigots in the Mad Magazine, to twist and spin whichever direction Obama takes into “proving” himself right no matter what. Because in Limbaugh's world, that is all that matters, regardless of what may or may not be for the overall good of the American people, or humanity for that matter.
And that is why the President has to do what he feels is the right thing to do and not worry about pleasing his detractors who plan to find fault in EVERYTHING he does. Like someone once said, if Obama were to find the cure for cancer, blowhards like Rush would denounce him for taking away jobs from hard-working red-blooded American oncologists.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor in America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.I remember Martin Luther King, and I remember what was said about him at the time. 'He's a communist', 'he's a puppet of outside agitators', 'just a ni**er that doesn't know his place', 'he's uppity for a boy.'
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience, 1967.
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. "
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' "
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I remember separate drinking fountains, 'colored entrances' and attack dogs and fire hoses and Bull Connor and George Wallace.
What I don't remember is any Republicants marching with him. Sure, there were a lot of southern democrats opposing him, and a lot of pure hate that survives to this day, but to march with him you literally had to put put your life on the line.
Maybe as a country we always take 2 steps forward and one step back.
Martin Luther King was always speaking to our better angels. Maybe we can, as a country, recover that optimism. With all that he'd been thru he still held out for hope.
I do too.
Cross posted at VidiotSpeak
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, Haitian artist Wyclef Jean started appearing on teevee asking for donations to the usual suspects, including his own Yele Foundation. But the interwebs are buzzing with rumors his foundation is a fraud. Here's from Wikipedia (yeah, I know. If you don't like it, do your own Googling.):
In 2005, Jean established the Yéle Haiti Foundation. In its first year of operation, the foundation, with funding by Comcel, provided scholarships to 3,600 children in Gonaïves, Haiti, after the devastation by Hurricane Jeanne. In its second year of operation, it is almost doubling the amount of the scholarships and spreading them throughout Haiti, providing tuition in 5 regions. The foundation aims to provide 6,800 scholarships to children in Port-au-Prince, Gonaïves, Les Cayes, Port-de-Paix, and Cap-Haïtien.
Yéle Haiti, and its predecessor the Wyclef Jean Foundation, have been involuntarily dissolved by the the Florida Division of Corporations on multiple occasions for failing to file required state disclosure reports. Of the $1,142,944 in total revenue the foundation collected in 2006, at least $410,000 was paid directly to Jean and his business partner for rent, production services, and Jean's appearance at a benefit concert.
In a 2009 interview with Allhiphop.com writer Han O'Connor, Wyclef stated that his priority for the organization was to raise money to build the Yéle Center, which would be a facility that consists of a sports center, Wyclef Jean School of the Arts, a cultural center focusing on the environment and an internet café. During the interview he claimed that he feels the key to improving the situation in Haiti is to build sustainable opportunity.
OK, so they're sloppy with paperwork. But what's the real issue? Well, The Smoking Gun tells us:
As seen on the following pages from the foundation's 2006 tax return, the group paid $31,200 in rent to Platinum Sound, a Manhattan recording studio owned by Jean and Jerry Duplessis, who, like Jean, is a foundation board member. A $31,200 rent payment was also made in 2007 to Platinum Sound. The rent, tax returns assure, "is priced below market value." The recording studio also was paid $100,000 in 2006 for the "musical performance services of Wyclef Jean at a benefit concert." That six-figure payout, the tax return noted, "was substantially less than market value." The return, of course, does not address why Jean needed to be paid to perform at his own charity's fundraiser. But the largest 2006 payout--a whopping $250,000--went to Telemax, S.A., a for-profit Haiti company in which Jean and Duplessis were said to "own a controlling interest." The money covered "pre-purchased...TV airtime and production services" that were part of the foundation's "outreach efforts" in Haiti.
OK then. I have no insider knowledge of Wyclef or Yele, but I do know the entertainment business, so I think I can shed some light on this.
Regarding the rent paid to the studio, it may be for one of several reasons, like legitimate office rent. The foundation needs space, and will have to pay rent, why not in your own building. Nothing sinister here. And don't think a legitimate business like Platinum Sound can offer "free" space in its building to a charity. Ask your accountant about that. Not happening.
$100k to the studio for Wyclef's performance at a benefit? Look, if he is the studio's only client, like Stevie Wonder and his Wonderland Studio when I worked there, he still has to pay staff, building rent, utilities, even when he's not there. While I wish he'd just paid his expenses out of his own nicely-lined pocket, it still fails the smell test to me. Nothing to see here, move along.
And paying $250k to a production company you own for work they do? In terms of production and post-production expenses, that amount is so small as to be laughable. It probably is wages, utilities, equipment rentals, and rent for the time the company was working on the project. Again, I wish he had just swallowed the expenses, but again, he has a business, with, you know, employees, etc.
Look, when you watch something like the Jerry Lewis telethon, there are many people working on that show, and most of them need to get paid. Someone making $15 per hour can't afford to donate their time for a week of technical work. Could you? Of course not.
So is Wyclef guilty of sloppy bookkeeping? Yes.
Is he guilty of not covering some expenses? Yes.
But is he guilty of fraud, as The Smoking Gun and many others are now implying? I don't know.
But the numbers don't add up to me. If he is skimming a few thousand here, $250k there, he's a lousy con artist, when there's far greater $$ to be had.
Innocent until proven guilty to me. The Smoking Gun is blowing smoke.
In the meantime, here's what you can do for Haiti:
Text "Haiti" to 90999 for a $10 donation to the Red Cross. I did.
Go to Doctors Without Borders' donation site and contribute anything from $35 on up.
And call Pat Robertson's 700 club to politely ask if Jesus would blame the victims of the Haiti earthquake the way Robertson did: (757) 226-7000
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Remarks of President Barack Obama As Prepared for DeliveryNow will he walk the walk?
Weekly Address January 16, 2010
Over the past two years, more than seven million Americans have lost their jobs. Countless businesses have been forced to shut their doors. Few families have escaped the pain of this terrible recession. Rarely does a day go by that I do not hear from folks who are hurting. That is why we have pushed so hard to rebuild this economy.
But even as we work tirelessly to dig our way out of this hole, it is important that we address what led us into such a deep mess in the first place. Much of the turmoil of this recession was caused by the irresponsibility of banks and financial institutions on Wall Street. These financial firms took huge, reckless risks in pursuit of short-term profits and soaring bonuses. They gambled with borrowed money, without enough oversight or regard for the consequences. And when they lost, they lost big. Little more than a year ago, many of the largest and oldest financial firms in the world teetered on the brink of collapse, overwhelmed by the consequences of their irresponsible decisions. This financial crisis nearly pulled the entire economy into a second Great Depression.
As a result, the American people – struggling in their own right – were placed in a deeply unfair and unsatisfying position. Even though these financial firms were largely facing a crisis of their own creation, their failure could have led to an even greater calamity for the country. That is why the previous administration started a program – the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP – to provide these financial institutions with funds to survive the turmoil they helped unleash. It was a distasteful but necessary thing to do.
Many originally feared that most of the $700 billion in TARP money would be lost. But when my administration came into office, we put in place rigorous rules for accountability and transparency, which cut the cost of the bailout dramatically. We have now recovered most of the money we provided to the banks. That’s good news, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s not good enough. We want the taxpayers’ money back, and we’re going to collect every dime.
That is why, this week, I proposed a new fee on major financial firms to compensate the American people for the extraordinary assistance they provided to the financial industry. And the fee would be in place until the American taxpayer is made whole. Only the largest financial firms with more than $50 billion in assets will be affected, not community banks. And the bigger the firm – and the more debt it holds – the larger the fee. Because we are not only going to recover our money and help close our deficits; we are going to attack some of the banking practices that led to the crisis.
That’s important. The fact is, financial firms play an essential role in our economy. They provide capital and credit to families purchasing homes, students attending college, businesses looking to start up or expand. This is critical to our recovery. That is why our goal with this fee – and with the common-sense financial reforms we seek – is not to punish the financial industry. Our goal is to prevent the abuse and excess that nearly led to its collapse. Our goal is to promote fair dealings while punishing those who game the system; to encourage sustained growth while discouraging the speculative bubbles that inevitably burst. Ultimately, that is in the shared interest of the financial industry and the American people.
Of course, I would like the banks to embrace this sense of mutual responsibility. So far, though, they have ferociously fought financial reform. The industry has even joined forces with the opposition party to launch a massive lobbying campaign against common-sense rules to protect consumers and prevent another crisis.
Now, like clockwork, the banks and politicians who curry their favor are already trying to stop this fee from going into effect. The very same firms reaping billions of dollars in profits, and reportedly handing out more money in bonuses and compensation than ever before in history, are now pleading poverty. It’s a sight to see.
Those who oppose this fee say the banks can’t afford to pay back the American people without passing on the costs to their shareholders and customers. But that’s hard to believe when there are reports that Wall Street is going to hand out more money in bonuses and compensation just this year than the cost of this fee over the next ten years. If the big financial firms can afford massive bonuses, they can afford to pay back the American people.
Those who oppose this fee have also had the audacity to suggest that it is somehow unfair. That because these firms have already returned what they borrowed directly, their obligation is fulfilled. But this willfully ignores the fact that the entire industry benefited not only from the bailout, but from the assistance extended to AIG and homeowners, and from the many unprecedented emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and others to prevent a financial collapse. And it ignores a far greater unfairness: sticking the American taxpayer with the bill.
That is unacceptable to me, and to the American people. We’re not going to let Wall Street take the money and run. We’re going to pass this fee into law. And I’m going to continue to work with Congress on common-sense financial reforms to protect people and the economy from the kind of costly and painful crisis we’ve just been through. Because after a very tough two years, after a crisis that has caused so much havoc, if there is one lesson that we can learn, it’s this: we cannot return to business as usual.
Thank you very much.
Please give it up for Aaron Neville, Gregg Allman & And Bonnie Raitt as they Tell It Like It Is
Cross posted at VidiotSpeak
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Google Pat Robertson today, and the top 2 auto-fills Google returns are "pat robertson haiti" & pat robertson haiti earthquake". Wonder why?
Well, Robertson has pissed into the punchbowl of decent people everywhere:
"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about," Robertson said Tuesday.
"They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.' True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it’s a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said.
First, your history is wrong. Napolean Bonaparte, not 'Napolean the third and whatever' sent 20,000 French soldiers to retake the island after they wrote a new constitution. Problem was that yellow fever decimated the French army which was then beaten by Haitian forces. Satan had no part in this struggle. Napolean III wasn't even born until 1808, 6 years after the Hatian Revolution.
Second, what in Hell is wrong with you? I'm pretty sure Jesus, who you claim to worship and adore, wouldn't discuss the reason for the earthquake before wading in to help the poor Haitian people. And He might take issue with your bitching about it:
'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'
So for the first time in 2010, I hereby award our Golden Douch award to Pat Robertson:
Places to donate to Haitian Relief:
Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can visit Yele.org and click on DONATE.American Red Cross:
Those wanting to aid in relief efforts can also text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.
Doctors Without Borders:
Your gift today will support emergency medical care for the men, women, and children affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Please give as generously as you can to our Haiti Earthquake Response and help us save lives.
Sailor here, what SteveAudio said and some more links:
I'm going to mostly ignore politics for the moment, except to point out the differences in response between Haiti and New Orleans.
Oxfam-Earthquake hits Haiti – help urgently needed
I've worked with Oxfam before at benefits. They are among the best international charities I know of.
You want to volunteer, but not sure how? These people may be able to help.
- Haiti has 8 million people. New Orleans had 1/2 a million.
- Haiti is 700 miles to the east of the USA. New Orleans is in the USA.
- Haiti was struck by a natural disaster, and President Obama immediately responded. New Orleans was struck by a natural disaster and pResident Bush said 'heckuva job Brownie.'
The next time someone says there's no difference between Bush and Obama? You have my permission to set them straight.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
But I'm joining them today to call on one member of the admin to not only be fired but to be indicted for conspiracy and manslaughter charges.
Meet Nina Dozoretz:
Officials Hid Truth About Immigrant Deaths in JailRead the whole thing. I'm with the Red Queen on this one. Off with her head.
In February 2007, in the case of the dying African man, the immigration agency’s spokesman for the Northeast, Michael Gilhooly, rebuffed a Times reporter’s questions about the detainee, who had suffered a skull fracture at the privately run Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey.
But, records show, he had already filed a report warning top managers at the federal agency about the reporter’s interest and sharing information about the injured man, a Guinean tailor named Boubacar Bah. Mr. Bah, 52, had been left in an isolation cell without treatment for more than 13 hours before an ambulance was called.
While he lay in the hospital in a coma after emergency brain surgery, 10 agency managers in Washington and Newark conferred by telephone and e-mail about how to avoid the cost of his care and the likelihood of “increased scrutiny and/or media exposure,” according to a memo summarizing the discussion.
Among the participants in the conferences was Nina Dozoretz, a longtime manager in the agency’s Division of Immigration Health Services who had won an award for cutting detainee health care costs. Later she was vice president of the Nakamoto Group, a company hired by the Bush administration to monitor detention. The Obama administration recently rehired her to lead its overhaul of detainee health care.
Now for some brain bleach:
Cross posted at VidiotSpeak
One of the enduring mysteries of the 2008 campaign was what got Ted Kennedy so mad at Bill Clinton. The former president's entreaties, at some point, backfired, and the explanation has never quite emerged.
I've finally gotten my hands on a copy of Game Change, in which John Heliemann and Mark Halperin report:
[A]s Hillary bungled Caroline, Bill’s handling of Ted was even worse. The day after Iowa, he phoned Kennedy and pressed for an endorsement, making the case for his wife. But Bill then went on, belittling Obama in a manner that deeply offended Kennedy. Recounting the conversation later to a friend, Teddy fumed that Clinton had said, A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.
Many were upset by the allegedly racist tone of Clinton's remark. And I'm no Clinton apologist; while there were things to admire about Bubba, there was much that was Teh Suck™.
But hold on a minute. When this was said, Bill was a popular former President, running a successful foundation, with a popular wife who was campaigning for the Presidency. Meanwhile, Barack Obama was a young junior senator from Illinois, also campaigning, somewhat improbably, for said Presidency.
So I think the comment was about position and prestige, a sort of "Hey kid, get offa my lawn! I'm the Big Dawg!" moment having nothing to do with race. I could be wrong, but I really think that's all there is.
And stalwart Dem activists wallowing in outrage? Get over it, quickly. There are so many items of real outrage to deal with rather than step into Halperin's manufactured crap. He's grinning all the way to the bank as he know righty oppo researchers and wanking heads will be inhaling this book and regurgitating it all over Fox News.
Please don't help them.
This band was from Riverside, CA, where I went to high school with Glenn Ross Campbell, the fellow at the bottom of the picture, and the band's steel guitar player. Yep, I said steel guitar, in a rock context. Nice, eccentric guy, and a heck of a musician.
More about Glenn here:
Glenn Ross Campbell born in 1946, is a child prodigy Steel guitarist, most noted for being lead guitarist of cult band, The Misunderstood. The Misunderstood were a psychedelic rock band originating from Riverside, California in the mid-1960s. The band moved to London early in their career, and although they recorded only a handful of songs before being forced to disband, they are considered highly influential in the then-emerging genre. Influenced by The Yardbirds, the distinctive feature of their sound was Campbell's steel guitar. Rolling Stone Magazine (Issue 956) in a September 2, 2004 review describe the Misunderstood's Campbell as "Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page rolled into one.".
Friday, January 08, 2010
What's up with Fire Dog Lake these days!? First Jane Hamsher joins Grover Norquist and now Marcy Wheeler aligns with large corporations. I expect smear tactics from Faux News, but this is a non-story that's now all over the news. Here are some of the headlines:
FDL:Jonathan Gruber Failed to Disclose His $392,600 Contracts with HHSHere is the relevant part of The New England Journal of Medicine's conflict of interest policy:
Faux News actually had a more accurate headline: Economist Was Under Contract With HHS While Touting Health Reform Bill
How do these people think research gets done? Would they rather corporations pay for it? So what if reporters didn't do due diligence, they don't even fact check, and no one has suggested that anything Gruber has said isn't factual. And it's not like he gets all the money, there's overhead for MIT, technical and administrative support services, researchers.
The folks at FDL are doing everything they can to stop health care reform, even dishonest smear tactics like this, trying to make some conspiracy theory out of what is publicly available information. In fact, their 'source' was a website setup by the Obama Admin.
Their stance on HCR aligns them with insurance companies, the US Chamber of Commerce and drug corporations.
I still have hopes we'll get a better bill, but my god if all those folks are against it, then I'll take what I can get.
Update: I stand corrected by a commenter, Prof. Gruber didn't receive a grant, it was a "CONTINUATION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR EVALUATING OPTIONS FOR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE REFORM"
And the contracts are only 2 of 18 contracts he has received from the Federal gov't since 2002. From everybody from the DOJ, to the DOD, to the HHS, to the State Department.
This is what happens when you're a leading expert in economic analysis.
Here is a list of his publications since 1991.
He's been writing papers about HCR since at least 1995.
Cross posted at VidiotSpeak
Thursday, January 07, 2010
This guy has serious skills, and deserves a listen.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Also recorded live at the Kaleidoscope around this time was the album which would find later 1971 release with the deceptive title, Live At Topanga Corral (later renamed Live at the Kaleidoscope), under Wand Records; as Liberty Records didn’t want to release live album at the time and manager Skip Taylor did not want a lawsuit. The band would end 1968 in a big way at a New Year's show in L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium with Bob Hite riding a painted purple dayglo elephant to the stage.
Actually, it was the Shrine Exposition Hall, on the north side of the Shrine Auditorium, where many great concerts took place in the mid-late '60s. The elephant with Bob 'Bear' Hite riding came in from the main entrance doors, and walked slowly toward the stage. Bear was wearing nothing but a diaper, as a proper New Year's baby should do. When they got to the stage, Bear hopped onto the stage and the elephant, who I assume was being led by a handler, left peacefully.
Here's a poster from the Kaleidoscope concert. I'm pretty sure it was Saturday, March 23 when I went with 2 friends/band members:
I had a poster for this show for many years, I guess it's lost now. The building housing the Kaleidoscope has been many venues during its life, as this web site presents:
The glamorous supper club - theatre was built by Carroll to supplement his highly successful New York landmark. The lavish establishment featured a huge revolving stage, swings which dropped from the ceiling, &
"The Most Beautiful Showgirls
in the World".
After Carroll's death in a 1948 plane crash, the theater was sold, then reopened in 1953 as a dinner club, the Moulin Rouge, home to 50's TV show "Queen For A Day".
Later, in the mid 60s, after the successful run of John Hartmann's Kaleidoscope, The theater was home to Gary Bookasta's "the Hullabaloo", a popular teen hangout/nightclub which featured many of the popular new bands (Yellow Payges, Palace Guard, Wild Ones, Pat & Lolly Vegas, etc.), of the era.The theater would later undergo major renovations and reopen as the Aquarius Theatre, home of the West Coast production of the revolutionary stage musical, "HAIR". The Aquarius also became known for staging Rock Concerts featuring many of the biggest 60s groups.
Here's what was special about Canned Heat. From the Playboy After Dark series, this live appearance shows both raw blues as well as the lovely "Going Up The Country" as sung by Alan 'Blind Owl' Wilson. Note especially Blind Owl's superb blues harp playing. The opening and ending are cut off, but it's still a fine performance by one of L.A.'s best blues bands:
Sunday, January 03, 2010
from Media Matters:
Hardly a moment goes by without some well-meaning prat inappropriately offering up their disembodied force in the clouds as a temporal band-aid for some earthly woe...But Brit Hume takes the mumbo-pocus to a whole new level of officious presumption.
'Once the news value dies out of this scandal...' - Of course, the perception that there was any news value in a celebrity's domestic squabble being highly subjective - "The extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith," Hume said.
"He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."
My message to Brit Hume would be stop pushing your personal (and highly uninformed) experience of faith into places where it doesn't belong, like other people's private lives that are no business of yours...And stick to propagandizing for failed political ideologies that bring the world to the brink of chaos and keep the Dow Jones high for your investor-class bourbon fancier friends, you publicly pious gasbag you.
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Geophysics is the study of the physical properties of the Earth. These include three which we can readily measure from a moving aircraft:
- magnetic field
- electrical conductivity
Geophysicists observe how these properties and their effects vary and interpret the results in terms of underlying geological structures. Geophysical methods are particularly useful for mapping regions, such as Northern Ireland, where a layer of glacial cover or peat obscures the solid geology.
The aircraft flies along a network of parallel lines taking regular readings at intervals of between one tenth of a second and one second. The aircraft's position is recorded simultaneously with a global positioning system and the height measured accurately with a radar altimeter. The data are recorded digitally and removed to the processing centre at the end of each flight.
Previous surveys in Northern Ireland
The last major geophysical survey of Northern Ireland was a magnetic survey made in 1959 and the results show the broad structural elements at a regional scale. The new survey, flown at a lower altitude along more closely spaced lines and with significantly more sensitive equipment, has provided a wealth of new detail.
The Tellus airborne survey
The Tellus airborne geophysical survey of Northern Ireland is part of the HiRes geophysical mapping programme of BGS. The survey was flown by the Joint Airborne-geoscience Capability (JAC), a partnership of BGS and the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). The aircraft was equipped with:
- two magnetometer sensors, each with a sensitivity 100 times better than that of the 1959 survey, which measure the magnetic field;
- an electromagnetic system, which measures the electrical conductivity of the ground;
- a gamma-ray spectrometer, which measures radioactivity.
The aircraft was a De Havilland Twin Otter, originally modified for this work by the GTK. The aircraft was manned by two pilots, a navigator and engineer.
Survey lines were spaced 200 m apart and orientated approximately north-north-west or south-south-east. The survey was flown at a nominal height of 56 m above the ground over rural areas and 250 m over villages and urban areas.
We can detect and map the magnetic field of the Earth with a sensitivity of about one part in five million. Most rocks are slightly magnetic and differences in the measured magnetic field indicate variations in the type of rock and soil beneath the aircraft. The pattern of the magnetic map shows both major geological structures deep within the Earth and the shallower effects of magnetic rocks nearer the surface. Prominent magnetic anomalies include those of the Antrim Lava Group, swarms of Palaeocene dykes, and the Palaeocene intrusions of the Mourne Mountains Complex.
The electrical conductivity of rocks and soils varies largely according to porosity, salinity, saturation and clay content. We use the variation in conductivity to help map rock and soil types and conducting structures such as faults. We may also be able to detect contaminants (for example drainage from an industrial site) that typically raise ground conductivity. The electrical conductivity map of Northern Ireland shows variations between the principal formations, areas of increased salinity, prominent expressions of major fault zones and certain industrial effects.
All rocks and soils are very slightly radioactive. Typically the radioactive content is only a few parts per million by volume but we can detect ground radiation with sensitive detectors in the aircraft. Most terrestrial radiation is from isotopes of uranium, thorium and potassium and the proportions of these vary among different rock types. Mapping natural radioactivity is therefore another useful means of differentiating rock and soil types. The radioactivity map provides a standard against which to measure any change in ground radioactivity in the future. Prominent anomalies include those of the intrusive rocks of the Mourne Mountain Complex and parts of the ancient metamorphic rocks in Counties Tyrone and Derry. The Antrim Lava Group and areas covered by peat have much reduced activity.
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“You can’t be what you can’t see.”
This is a common expression that, perhaps like me, you’ve heard many times. For the girls at the Young Women’s Leadership school where I teach in New York City, this is – sadly — the case. My students couldn’t see themselves as women in STEM careers, and in fact, knew little about the opportunities offered within the field.
That’s why I made it my mission to bring computer science to our school.
My principal was excited at the idea of incorporating computer science (CS), but took me by surprise when she said I would have to teach it. As a certified Spanish teacher, I had no background in CS other than being digitally competent. But, after starting to learn through an online training program, I decided to blend computer science into my advanced Spanish speakers class because I figured why not have students learning Spanish dive into coding, too.
It didn’t take me long to realize that the gender gap is not due to women lacking STEM-related skills, but rather because young women are conditioned to believe that careers in technology and science are reserved for men. That’s part of why I also decided to start two after-school programs: a partnership with an existing organization, Girls Who Code, which works to inspire and educate women to pursue careers in technology and my own program, TechCrew – an internship program that exposes girls to coding, graphic design, animation and film.
Watch the girls in Chaves’ class who created the nutrition game, Healthy Bunch, which won the MIT-sponsored competition “Dream It. Code It. Win It.”
Each club started with eight girls, but TechCrew now includes 30 girls working collaboratively to create and produce technology-driven projects. Students have coded video games and apps about recycling, healthy eating habits, carbon footprints, space debris, learning Spanish and more. As one of my students, Brittany Greve, says, “Computer science has allowed me to look at a problem from multiple perspectives and use logic to come up with innovative solutions.”
My students have also become leaders within the CS community. We’ve worked together on all sorts of projects, such as a summer coding camp in Queens where girls learned to build apps that advocate for social justice. Additionally, my TechCrew is currently leading 50 girls in the creation of a Digital Dance, in which dancers, filmmakers, graphic designers and coders are bringing together their expertise to create a beautiful piece of art.
Watch Chaves’ students talking about why they love to code and how coding has influenced them (in English).
Watch Chaves’ students talking about why they love to code and how coding has influenced them (in Spanish).
I am a Spanish teacher by training, but I took a risk to integrate CS into my curriculum and learned that this language does not have to stand on its own. It can be infused into any subject in any classroom. All it takes is a little innovation, trust and risk-taking.
One of my students put it best, “CS has opened a new pathway in my life. It has made me discover a part of who I am that I didn’t know existed. I can now see what I would like my future to be,” she said.
Andrea Chaves is a Spanish and computer science teacher and creative director at the Young Women’s Leadership School in Astoria, New York. She was recently named a White House Champion of Change.
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Domenico Mondo. St. Michael Arresting the Plague in Naples
Italian, 1723 - 1806
St. Michael Arresting the Plague in Naples
pen and brown ink and wash, heightened with white on laid paper
27.9 x 20.3 cm
© 2001: Art Gallery of Ontario
(Genevieve Aymonier, Paris); purchased 30 June 1966 by the Art Gallery of Ontario
No provenance before 1966.
Please use the guide to read Gallery provenance texts:
- Provenance is listed in chronological order, beginning with the earliest known owner.
- Dealers, auction houses or agents appear in parentheses.
- Relationships between owners and methods of transactions are indicated by punctuation: a semicolon is used to indicate that the work passed directly between two owners (including dealers, auction houses, or agents), and a period is used to separate two owners (including dealers auction houses or agents) if a direct transfer did not occur or is not known to have occurred.
- Footnotes are used to document or clarify where critical gaps in provenance exist.
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- Historic Sites
The Missionary Movement
February/March 1978 | Volume 29, Issue 2
Yet the past tense and elegiac tones are distinctly out of place in this account. There are more missionaries than ever before in the field - something like thirty-five thousand Protestants from America in 1975, making about 60 per cent of the whole, a far larger percentage than in the nineteenth century. Nowadays many of them come as undenominational free enterprisers from fundamentalist “faith” missions. To them, fraternal workers are namby-pamby liberals who have lost taste for snatching souls from the jaws of hell. Meanwhile, many “mainline” missionaries try to carry on a balanced program directed to souls and bodies. On the mission soil itself, nativeborn movements spring up with such frequency that some prophets picture Africa becoming the center of a future Christendom. They could be wrong. There are still African rulers who would deny their dream and still pay missionaries the painful compliment of persecuting, banishing, or killing them.
An old phrase about Richelieu seems appropriate for a balance sheet on the missionary: He did too much good to deserve reproach; he did too much harm to deserve praise. But the missionary seldom looked for praise. He or she worked with serene confidence that the command of Jesus in Matthew was sealed with its accompanying promise:… and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age .
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Systems Theory/Open/Closed System Structure
A system that interfaces and interacts with its environment, by receiving inputs from and delivering outputs to the outside, is called an open system. They possess permeable boundaries, that permits interaction across its boundary, through which new information or ideas are readily absorbed, permitting the incorporation and diffusion of viable, new ideas. Because of this they can adapt more quickly to changes in the external environment in which they operate. As the environment influence the system, the system also influences the environment. Allowing a system to be open ultimately sustains growth and serves its parent environment, and so both have a stronger probability for survival.
Examples of open systems: Business organization, Hospital system, College or University system.
Conversely, a closed system is more prone to resist incorporating new ideas, that can be deemed unnecessary to its parent environment and risks atrophy. By not adopting or imps, a closed system ceases to properly serve the environment it lives in.
Adaptability and Survival
This adaptability and survival of open systems has been exhibited in society's recent global information age. Current information technology have absorbed new technologies and approaches have sustained long term success. Systems which incorporate efficient data representation, storage, and transfer, and good operating system design and effective use of processor power have retained their public user base. Information technology initiatives which adapted slowly to their rapidly changing environment ultimately lost significance in the industry and have disappeared.Operating technologies such as the Network File System, initiated by Sun Microsystems, and Netscape Internet Browser, designed by Marc Andeerson, are examples of effective open IT systems. These technologies have established the backbone of information technology within society. Both technologies represent open systems with the common initiative for sharing data. NFS is used to distribute access to shared disk file system across several servers within a local network. Netscape is used as a portal to gain access to the volumes of data within the world’s Internet. Both technologies fostered further growth within the environments in which they were introduced. The NFS standard created synergy for the growth of SUN Microsystems and has been adopted by other operating system designers. Netscape ultimately fostered the growth of the amount and types of data made available through the Internet. These technologies foster an open paradigm where data is absorbed by an infinite number of participants.
The rate of change within the technology sector is extremely rapid, and systems groups have consciously adopted an “open systems” approach to increase their chance of survival. Prioritizing the adaptability of a system for different OS platforms, database designs, and communication protocols has been seen within the IT industry as the wisest approach. Any technologies designed to solely propagate the success of one platform or particular technology have been methodically eliminated. At the risk of domination of the user’s personal computer desktop, Microsoft's introduction of a closed design embedding the company’s internet browser into kernel operating modules was halted by an investigation of monopolistic practices. The initiative of Microsoft to manipulate technology such that the primary benefits were for the propagation of their technical product alone was halted by the natural tensions created by the unhealthy closed system. The system did not serve the environment in which it lived by posing the threat of limiting user’s access to the world’s internet. Outcry from users as well as judicial entities has forced Microsoft to evolve it's operating system into a more accommodating, dynamic and viable system.
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|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What were the sewers called in Philadelphia?
2. On August 27, how many senators from the Pennsylvania legislature met at the state house?
3. A few days before being called to care for Catherine LeMaigre, which doctor had lost his daughter to the same fever?
(a) Dr. Foulke.
(b) Dr. Wyatt.
(c) Dr. Rush.
(d) Dr. Hodge.
4. What year was a French watercolor done to show a yellow fever victim in the early stages of the illness?
5. About how many blacks in Philadelphia were slaves?
Short Answer Questions
1. Where was Dr. Rush's wife that summer of 1793?
2. When did a savage storm hit the city bringing winds and torrents of rain?
3. How many rooms were there in Bush Hill?
4. How many shops were in Philadelphia in 1793?
5. How many Overseers were in charge of managing the city almshouse?
Short Essay Questions
1. Describe Matthew Clarkson's upbringing and career.
2. What did the volunteers from the Free African Society often find when they entered the homes of fever victims?
3. Describe the sewer system in Philadelphia.
4. Why did blacks stop worshiping at St. George Methodist Church?
5. What was the problem with the French that troubled President Washington?
6. Why were there an amazing number of flies and other insects in August 1793?
7. What type of medical training did Dr. Benjamin Rush have?
8. Who decided that a cannon should be fired in the streets of Philadelphia at the end of August?
9. Why was a constitutional crisis set in motion when Washington left Philadelphia?
10. What did doctors base their medical thinking upon in the 1700s?
This section contains 766 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
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Tools & Resources
The ABCs of Hepatitis Fact Sheet
This two page table on Hepatitis A, B, and C provides an overview of statistics, transmission, risk factors, clinical features, screening, testing and vaccination recommendations.
Color [PDF- 2 pages] Black-White [PDF- 2 pages]
The Pink Book -Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
Includes a description of the disease, pathogenesis, clinical features, laboratory diagnosis, medical management, epidemiology, risk factors, trends in the United States, vaccine details, vaccination schedule and use, contraindications and precautions to vaccination, adverse reactions following vaccination, vaccine storage and handling, and reference or publications.
Hepatitis A Chapter [PDF - 14 pages]
Viral Hepatitis Serology Training
This training includes an animated video with voiceover that covers the serologic tests for hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, the serological diagnosis of HAV, the meanings of serologic markers, and interpret serologic test results.
Prevention of Hepatitis A Through Active or Passive Immunization:
Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
MMWR 2006;55(RR-7) [PDF - 30 pages]
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines 2015
MMWR 2015;64(No.3) [PDF - 140 pages]
- Page last reviewed: May 31, 2015
- Page last updated: December 21, 2015
- Content source:
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Example: [Collected via e-mail, November 2013]
Origins: Polycephaly (i.e., having multiple heads) is a phenomenon that many different species of animal occasionally exhibit (most commonly snakes and turtles), and it is sufficiently unusual that discoveries of polycephalic animals typically become the subject of news stories.
Cases of bicephaly/dicephaly (i.e., two-headedness) are uncommon enough, and examples of tricephaly (three-headedness) are quite rare. As far as we know, no cases of live animals born with more than three heads have ever been observed, which would make the seven-headed snake pictured above a headline-grabbing phenomenon if it were real. However, the image is just a digital manipulation of an earlier digital manipulation, the latter of which was circulated in early 2012 as a photograph of a somewhat more believable (albeit equally fake) three-headed snake found in India:
That image was itself a Photoshop-modified version of an original photo of a rather ordinary single-headed snake:
Last updated: 26 November 2013
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Anne Bradstreet: A Guided Tour of the Life and Thought of a Puritan Poetby Heidi Nichols
List Price: $14.00 $11.20 Add to Cart
Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) was America’s first published poet. She lived in England and the Colonies during a remarkable historic period marked by civil and religious strife and political upheaval. Bradstreet’s life and work challenge stereotypes of Puritans, revealing her vibrant intellectualism and her outspoken love for her husband.
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| 0.931657 | 107 | 2.578125 | 3 |
EduCate is a program where specific areas of national curriculum is established through interactive computer programming. The following lesson relates to the issues and themes present in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and analyse the relationships between the main characters of Atticus, Gem and Scout. Students are to progress through several activities which will assist students in gaining a comprehensive understanding of To Kill A Mockingbird which will benefit them when it comes for the assessment of this course - an internal monologue task.
Students are expected to have read To Kill A Mockingbird leading up to the introduction of this unit.
The order in which students will progress this unit is as follows:
Students are to begin this unit by reading though the history of racism and how it impacts on a global scale. Make breif notes if needed to understand more comprehensively and make conscious links while reading through the matieral to To Kill A Mockingbird.
Once students have completed this introductory history lesson of racism they will progress to the first activity which is a timeline of major events in To Kill A Mockingbird. The first activity is quite straight forward, letting students who may have struggled with the novel to plot major events that occur within each chapter of the book.
Students are to write a short paragraph regarding how the legal system has evolved since the 1900s, this activity will assist students in breaking down the legal system and making appropriate links between contempory issues of racism and the potent racist issues which existed since European colonization. Students should also consider questions such as; Does racial discrimination exist within the legal courts? How far has the legal system changed and grown since the 1900s when you were prosecuted because of your skin colour?
Is this Fair and Just? Students will be given a sample of images and videos of various people being punished for committing crimes throughout the time from European colonization to the present day. Students can use what they have learnt from previous activities to justify their reasoning behind their response to the various images and videos.
There are no right or wrong answers to these question, the purpose of these activites is to get students to make links between the relationships of Atticus, Gem and Scout, additionally think about the attitudes, values and beliefs that are the most prominent in To Kill A Mockingbird.
Activity Four follows with students actively creating character profiles which will directly aid them in their assessment task. Students will be given the choice to select from various main characters in To Kill A Mocckingbird and create an extensive character profile of them, drawing on their background in the novel and what characteristics they exhibit. Students should bare in mind that this activity will serve as a draft for the internal monologue assessment task.
Assessment: Students are to write a 300 word internal monologue in the perspective of one of the characters listed under the Character Profiles tab. Students are to reflect on their chosen's characters feelings and emotions directly preceeding Tom Robinson's first appearance in court.
Good Luck and have fun learning about To Kill A Mockingbird.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://english-to-kill-a-mockingbird.webnode.com/intro/
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en
| 0.956458 | 614 | 3.9375 | 4 |
For the first time in 17 years, the federal government is shutting down. It’s ironic that it began on the 123rd anniversary of Yosemite National Park. This national park and all others are now closed. All non-essential federal employees are furloughed. The Army-Navy game may be postponed or cancelled. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives just couldn’t come to an agreement that would have averted a shutdown.
As of today, no one knows how long this may last. Among the shutdowns since 1976, the shortest were 1 day. The longest was the 21-day shutdown in a dispute between President Clinton and a Republican Congress.
If this shutdown lasts 17 days, federal officials are telling us, the nation will run out of cash and may risk an even more disastrous hit to the nation’s credit rating.
How much trust and confidence do you have in Congress now?
Last month, only 34% of Americans reported that they had a great deal or a fair amount of trust and confidence in Congress, according to a new Gallup poll. This low level of trust and confidence in the legislative branch of government has been about the same since 2011. The high water mark, in contrast, was May 1972 when Nixon was president. Then, 71% had a great deal or a fair amount of trust and confidence in Congress.
In the same poll last month, a slight majority of Americans (51%) said that had trust and confidence in the executive branch of government headed by the president. This was neither the highest nor the lowest level of trust. The highest rating was garnered by Nixon in 1972 (73% had a great deal or a fair amount of trust in him). The low water mark was earned by George W. Bush, 42% in 2008.
Pundits and prognosticators are trying to predict who is going to take the hit in the opinion polls: Congress as a whole, the Senate versus the House, the president, Republicans versus Democrats.
How much trust and confidence do you have in Congress today?
Who do you blame for the shutdown?
Please, take a moment to add a Comment, below. And invite friends to read along. Use the blue-”f” Facebook icon or the small envelope-shaped email icon.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.readthespirit.com/ourvalues/polling-on-american-trust-in-light-of-government-shutdown/
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en
| 0.971408 | 472 | 2.609375 | 3 |
About the Trumpet
The Trumpet is a Classic Instrument.
Trumpets are made out of brass tubing that is bent twice to form its shape. Sound is produced when your lips fit inside the mouthpiece and produce a “buzzing” noise. Most trumpets have three valves or pistons that changes the way air is directed through out the horn. These valves make the instrument chromatic: allowing all the notes to be played. The tuning slide on the trumpet will raise or lower the pitch so it can be matched to other instruments in the band. The Bb trumpet is the most common. Other horns that are similar include the piccolo trumpet, the cornet, the bugle, and the flugelhorn. There are many different sounds that can be produced with the trumpet when you change what your tongue and embouchure is doing. For instance, you can double tongue, flutter tongue, growl, glissando, and vibrato. These advanced techniques will set a player apart from the rest and enhance their solos.
Take lessons and watch as you learn a new instrument
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.princemusiccompany.com/instruments/trumpet/about-the-trumpet/
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en
| 0.946175 | 226 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Community organizing is an act of gathering individuals in a group for the promotion of like-minded interests. Community organizing attempts to influence decision-making bodies such as a corporation and government to address interests of the group.
In one type of community organizing, there is a leadership structure called the community organizer and they utilize methods such as picketing, protests, voting, strikes, and sometimes violence as means to achieve their goals, e.g. Weather Underground and William Ayers. Community organizing efforts includes the building of coalitions and may be founded in grassroots (built from scratch), faith-based (members of a church), civic-based or labor union-based. In the 21st century, it is common to forge community organizing for the political means of electing a candidate or enacting a policy.
Rebirth of the SDS
In 2006 a group of former Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) members and sympathizers known as the Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS) re-founded the SDS for a new generation of college students. MDS functions as a support group for the new SDS's 130 college chapters. Independent researcher Trevor Louden refers to MDS as "the brains behind the SDS brawn." The group sponsored the "SDS Comic Roadshow" as a means of promoting the new organization and a book about the "graphic history of SDS." Paul Buhle edited the book, Harvey Pekar wrote it and Nick Thorkelson, a cartoonist illustrated a section of the book dealing with the Economic Research and Action Project (ERAP) in Hazard, Kentucky in the mid 1960s.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.conservapedia.com/Community_organizer
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en
| 0.959769 | 333 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Elements in Class Diagram:
A class diagram is composed primarily of the following elements that represent the system's business entities:
Figure 5.1 The Structure of a Class
The top compartment shows the class name. The middle compartment list the class's attributes. The bottom compartment lists the class's operations. When drawing a class element in class diagram, you must use the top compartment, and bottom two compartments are optional.
Figure 5.2 shows a circle modeled as class.
Figure 5.2 A Circle class showing name, attributes, and methods
Class Attributes List
The attribute section of a class lists each of the class's attributes on a separate line. The attribute section is optional, but when is used it contains attribute of the class displayed in a list format. The syntax is:
name: attribute typeIn business class diagrams, the attribute types usually correspond to units that make sense to the likely readers of the diagram (i. e., minutes, cm, etc.). However, a class diagram that will be used to generate code needs classes whose attribute types are limited to the types provided by the programming language, or types included in the model that will also be implemented in the system.
Sometimes it is useful to show on a class diagram that a particular attribute has a default value. The attributes with default value can be shown as below:
name: attribute type = default valueFor e. g., itsCenter: Point = (0, 0)
Showing a default value is optional.
Class Operations List
The class's operations are documented in the third compartment of the class diagram. Like attributes, the operations of a class are displayed in a list format, with each operation on its own line. Operations are documented using following syntax:
name(parameter list): type of return valueAccess Modifier
You can also apply access modifiers such as public access, protected access, private access, and package access applied to methods and attributes of a class, if required. These access modifiers determine the scope of visibility of the attributes and methods of a class. The notations used for indicating visibility are as shown in figure 5.3.
You can also add documentation information to a class. Notes and constraints can be added to a list of attributes. Notes contain additional information for reference while developing the system, whereas constraints are business rules that the class must follow, and are text included in curly brackets.
During the early phase of the system design conception, classes called Analysis classes are created. Analysis classes are of the following types as per their behavior:
Boundary Class: In an ideal multi tier system, the user interacts with system only with the classes called boundary class. For example, JSPs in a a typical MVC architecture form a boundary class.
Control Class: These classes typically don't contain any business functionality. However, their main task is to transfer control to the appropriate business logic class, depending on the inputs received from the boundary classes.
Entity Class: These classes are those that contain the business functionality. Any interactions with back-end systems are generally done through these classes.
Figure 5.5 Representation of Analysis Classes
Figure 5.6 A package
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<urn:uuid:74452b4b-8d8d-4915-a777-f0564bb263e1>
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http://gyan.frcrce.ac.in/~surve/OOAD/CCD/CD_Elements.html
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en
| 0.882466 | 648 | 3.890625 | 4 |
Animal Species:Green Moon Wrasse, Thalassoma lutescens (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
The Green Moon Wrasse is a beautifully coloured fish, which changes its colour with growth. It is found in tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific.
Standard Common Name
Green Moon Wrasse
Blue-fin Wrasse, Sunset Wrasse, Yellow Moon Wrasse, Yellow-green Wrasse
The Green Moon Wrasse changes colour with growth. Juveniles are brown to green-yellow and have pale orange lines on the head. Males are green-yellow. The pectoral fin is yellow and blue with a black margin. There are salmon-coloured lines on the head. The side of the body behind the pectoral fin is blue. The caudal fin of juveniles is rounded but becomes lunate in mature males.
The species grows to 25 cm in length.
The Green Moon Wrasse is known from tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. In Australia it is recorded from south-western to north-western Western Australia and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland to the central coast of New South Wales.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Distribution by collection data
Feeding and Diet
The species feeds on a variety of invertebrates.
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Tags Fishes, Ichthyology, Green Moon Wrasse, Thalassoma lutescens, Labridae, green, blue, yellow, pink, red, orange, 'normal fish', 10 cm - 30 cm, stripes or bands, countershaded, coral reef, marine, adult,
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en
| 0.751909 | 679 | 3.21875 | 3 |
|Description and function
||The House of the Thunderbolt has a slightly concave facade, The entrance corridor (5) is decorated with two columns (a later addition) and flanked by a staircase with travertine steps (4), and by six shops, two of which were bars. The first (6) is directly to the south of the entrance corridor. In the door opening is a bar counter with three stepped shelves. The second one (2) is in the second room to the north of the entrance corridor. Here too was a counter with three stepped shelves, in the door opening, but only part of it has been preserved.
The entrance corridor leads to a colonnaded courtyard. Further rooms are found only to the north of the courtyard: a row of four rooms, all interconnected through two doors in the lateral walls. In the south wall of the colonnade, in section N, was a door leading to the adjacent apartment III,VII,5. It was blocked and replaced by a door in section I.
Building III,VII,5 forms a structural entity with the House of the Thunderbolt. The door indicates that the two buildings were also a functional entity. From holes in the threshold of the door in section I can be deduced, that the door could only be closed from the House of the Thunderbolt. The ground floor consists of an apartment, that was reached from the street through a long corridor (1). The rooms are connected through four corridors: 3, 4, 8 and 9. The main rooms are G2 and F10. There are three small rooms (5, E11, D12), a latrine with three seats (6), and a staircase (7).
After its discovery the House of the Thunderbolt was identified as a domus, but later it was suggested that it was the seat of a guild, perhaps related to the nearby Sanctuary of the Bona Dea. Van der Meer suggests that the building was related to the cult of ancestors, that it was used for funerary meals in honour of the deceased who had been buried in the adjacent mausoleum III,VII,2. This huge tomb, built c. 30-20 BC, must have been a public memorial. The find of a marble rostrum (a ship's bow) suggests that the person who was buried there had been involved in naval activities. According to Van der Meer it was P. Lucilius Gamala, who gave Ostia money for a naval war. We know that he was honoured with a public funeral. The House of the Thunderbolt may have been built by a relative, also called P. Lucilius Gamala, duovir in 71 AD.
As to the apartment, in this building the caretaker may have lived. The latrine is rather large for an apartment, which suggests that it was also used during the meals.
||Built c. 70-75 AD (opus latericium), but various adaptations can be seen, some dated to c. 150 AD (opus mixtum), others to c. 250 AD (a few mosaics and a painting).
||There are cornerstones in the facade and in the interior. We will begin describing those in the facade.
Nr. 531. In the south jamb of corridor 1 of building 5, but as wide as the facade. Mid.
Nrs. 532-533. In the north jamb of corridor 1 and the south jamb of room 8 of building 3-4. Mid.
Nrs. 534-535. In the north jamb of room 8 and the south jamb of room 7. Mid. There may be a little piece of metal directly above 535, this should be checked.
Nrs. 536-537. In the north jamb of room 7 and the south jamb of room 6. Mid. Both are in modern masonry.
Nr. 538. In the north jamb of room 2. Mid. Partly covered by a column. In modern masonry.
The facade of room 1 of building 3-4 has not been preserved well enough for stones to have been preserved. The south jamb of room 2 and north jamb of room 3 have no stones, even though they have been preserved well enough. The jambs of rooms 4 and 5, against which columns were set, are damaged.
Nrs. 539-541, low and high, are in the south jamb of the door in the west wall of vestibule 5. There is only one low stone (nr. 539), as wide as the jamb.
Nrs. 542 and 544 (low), and 543 and 545 (high) are in the opposite jamb. The inside of the low ones is covered by a secondary wall.
||The front part of the facade seems to have been restored in antiquity. The stones in the interior belong to the first building phase.
||The measurements provided by VdM cannot be related to the individual stones.
|It should be noted that stones in the interior of a building are rare.
Van der Meer 2005, fig. 2.
North is to the right.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://ostia-antica.org/dict/topics/travertine/030703/030703.htm
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en
| 0.974479 | 1,074 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The elephants of Borneo have achieved scientific fame by being recognised as a new subspecies.
By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent
WWF, the global environment campaign, says DNA sampling and analysis of the animals' dung has proved the case.
Borneo's elephants are different
The animals are appreciably different from other elephants on the Asian mainland.
Scientists believe they must have been on the island for many thousands of years.
The DNA sampling was carried out by the Sabah wildlife department and WWF-Malaysia.
Samples of dung from across Borneo were collected and sent to Columbia University's department of ecology, evolution and environmental biology in the US for assessment and comparison with other elephants from across Asia and Sumatra.
Borneo's so-called "pygmy" elephants are said to be smaller, tamer and better-tempered compared with their cousins on mainland Asia and Sumatra.
The DNA evidence shows Borneo's elephants were isolated about 300,000 years ago from their relatives elsewhere in Asia.
Trapped by the waves
During that time they grew smaller, with relatively larger ears, longer tails and straighter tusks. Their genetic distinctiveness makes them one of the highest priority populations for conservation.
"This discovery is fantastic news. It was thought these elephants had been introduced to Borneo by the British East India Company as gifts to the Sultan of Sulu in the 17th Century," said Stuart Chapman, head of WWF's species programme.
The new subspecies is a conservation priority
"But this proves they were already there - remnants of a larger population that once roamed Borneo and were trapped on the island after sea levels rose and severed the link with Sumatra."
Mr Chapman told BBC News Online: "Asian elephants are 10 times more endangered than those in Africa - there are only about 35,000 of them in the wild, spread over 10 countries.
"There are thought to be from 500 to 2,000 of the Borneo elephants. The crux of the genetic survey is that it ratchets up the need for direct action to conserve them.
"They've adapted to their local environment, and they have unique characteristics, so they're essential for maintaining the diversity of the species in Asia.
"In Borneo the main threat is habitat loss, particularly for cash crops like oil palm and other crops which can attract the elephants.
"They're not helped by their lack of aggression. When someone approaches they don't charge but often back away, almost apologetically, and that increases their vulnerability."
Images courtesy of WWF-Malaysia.
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en
| 0.961992 | 548 | 3.53125 | 4 |
April 1st 2010 is National Census day in the USA, and the day that the US Census Bureau encourages everyone to mail in their completed forms. If you are not familiar with the US Census, it runs every 10 years and is designed to count every resident in the United States, and is required by the Constitution. The census is actually really important to local communities as it will help distribute federal aid to areas such as hospitals, schools and emergency services.
For international students currently studying in the USA, you probably think that the census does not involve you – however it is a little known fact that even international students should fill out and complete a census form. This is not an April Fool’s joke, international students and actually everyone in the USA needs to complete the census form. If you have received a census form, complete it and send it along to the US Census Bureau.
For more information about this, please see:
or you can visit the US Census Bureau website for more information:
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<urn:uuid:f0ed3b9e-6e04-4971-91ca-206eeafd8f84>
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http://blog.internationalstudent.com/2010/04/us-census-2010-for-international-students/
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en
| 0.968527 | 201 | 2.796875 | 3 |
April 22, 2005
A Clean Sweep for Electric Toothbrushes
Circular-motion models beat manual brushing, studies show
HealthDay News -- The circling motion unique to certain power toothbrushes is better at sweeping away dental plaque than the traditional 'up-and-down' technique used with manual brushes.That's according to a new review of 42 different studies, involving more than 3,800 participants, that found circle-motion electric toothbrushes outperformed simpler, hand-manipulated models.
The review's British authors found that over one to three months, powered toothbrushes with circular heads that rotate in alternating directions reduced plaque 11 percent better than manual toothbrushes and reduced signs of gum inflammation (gingivitis) 6 percent better than manual toothbrushes.
After more than three months of use, the powered toothbrushes reduced gingivitis 17 percent better than manual toothbrushes. The researchers found no evidence that powered toothbrushes of any kind caused more gum damage than manual toothbrushes.
They stressed that even though the powered toothbrushes provided better results, the benefits of regular brushing "occur whether the brush is manual or powered, and the results of this review do not indicate that tooth brushing is only worthwhile with a powered toothbrush."
"We did not want to say that electric brushes are necessary, just that they can help. It is possible to clean one's teeth perfectly well without an electric brush," review co-author Peter Robinson of Sheffield University said in a prepared statement.
Ionic brushes -- which makers say reverse the polarity of teeth, improving cleaning -- and powered toothbrushes that do not use a circular, alternating motion, were no better at removing plaque and gingivitis than manual toothbrushes, the review concluded.
The review was published in the April issue of the journal The Cochrane Library.
The American Dental Association has more about cleaning your teeth and gums.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/145725/a_clean_sweep_for_electric_toothbrushes/
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en
| 0.942915 | 399 | 2.75 | 3 |
Two bacterial muscle infections have been found to be common in tropical countries along with the emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus// aureus (CA-MRSA), according to researchers in Houston, Texas whose study was published in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, is a common bacterium found on the skin or in the nose of a quarter to a third of all people. Usually harmless, staph can cause skin infections such as pimples and boils and, less frequently, serious infections of surgical wounds or the bloodstream, and pneumonia. For years, infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus have been treated by inexpensive antibiotics in the penicillin and cephalosporin family.
Some years ago, strains resistant to these drugs, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appeared in hospitalized patients. Recently, however, newer forms of MRSA began to strike healthy people who have not been recently hospitalized or undergone invasive medical procedures. These community-acquired strains appear to be readily transmitted from person to person and can cause serious skin and soft tissue infections as well as invasive infections such as bone or joint infections or pneumonia. Failure by physicians to suspect this kind of drug-resistant staph can lead to treatment with the wrong antibiotic.
Pyomyositis is an acute bacterial infection of skeletal muscle that produces an abscess within the muscle. Myositis is also a muscle infection, but does not form an abscess. The study authors investigated the 45 cases of pyomyositis or myositis in otherwise healthy children who were hospitalized at Texas Children's Hospital from 2000 through 2005. Sixteen of these cases were caused by CA-MRSA and 10 by CA-MSSA (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus).
The number of cases increased year by year, from four cases in the first year of
the study to a high of 12 cases in the fifth year of the study. The authors also discovered that a specific strain of Staphylococcus aureus known as USA300 was associated with more severe disease. Similarly, staph that carried a group of genes known as PVL were also linked to a more severe illness.
"We're seeing an increasing number of muscle infections that is clearly associated with an increase in MRSA," said lead author Pia Pannaraj, MD. "Physicians need to be aware that this is a possibility and consider initial treatment with an antibiotic that covers MRSA, particularly if they live in a region where methicillin resistance is present."
NLA Related medicine news :1
. Low Cholesterol Linked to Severe Depression and Violent Behavior in Men
. Cough Syrup Ingredient Linked to Stroke
. Irregular Periods Linked to Diabetes 4
. Hormones Linked To Migraines 5
. Triglycerides Linked To Stroke Risk6
. Smoking Linked To Low Infant Birth Weight 7
. Nausea Linked To Anxiety And Depression8
. Painkiller Linked to Deaths9
. High Levels of Protein Linked to Brain Shrinkage 10
. Snoring Linked To Headaches11
. Hormone Therapy Linked to Dementia
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<urn:uuid:84589299-a3fe-4e2d-9eec-0bde3c863159>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/MRSA-Linked-with-Rise-in-Bacterial-Infections-14030-1/
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en
| 0.943796 | 705 | 3.28125 | 3 |
1. A functional chromaffinoma, usually benign, derived from adrenal medullary tissue cells and characterized by the secretion of catecholamines, resulting in hypertension, which may be paroxysmal and associated with attacks of palpitation, headache, nausea, dyspnea, anxiety, pallor, and profuse sweating. Pheochromocytoma is often hereditary, not only in phacomatoses (Hippel-Lindau disease, neurofibromatosis, and familial endocrine neoplasia), but also as an isolated defect [MIM*171300] as an autosomal dominant trait.
The definition information for pheochromocytoma is provided by Stedman's. You can search our medical dictionary here.
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<urn:uuid:46cbacf2-d03a-4fc4-92ca-cb6773ea317c>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.medilexicon.com/medicaldictionary.php?t=68084
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en
| 0.870729 | 161 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Components of the Package:
MyEducationLab -- Valuepack Access Card
By . . Pearson Education
Instruction: A Models Approach, 6th Edition
By Thomas H. Estes, Susan L. Mintz, Mary Alice Gunter
This classroom-ready resource makes instructional models clear and relevant for readers by placing them within a standards-based and instructionally aligned process.
Instruction: A Models Approach closely links more than ten instructional models based on current research and evidence-based practice to the preparation of objectives, differentiation practices, and assessment options.
The text includes scenarios of the models in both elementary and secondary classrooms, lesson plans for both elementary and secondary classes in a variety of content areas, and detailed steps for implementing the model using evidence based instructional strategies. Attention is paid to when and how the models can be used in particular contexts with specific skills and knowledge.
Table of Contents
PART I: PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTION
1. Educational Standards
2. Organizing Content
3. Instructional Objectives, Assessment, and Instruction
PART II: MATCHING OBJECTIVES TO INSTRUCTION: A MODELS APPROACH
4. The Direct Instruction Model: Teaching Skills, Facts, and Knowledge
5. The Concept Attainment Model: Defining Concepts Inductively
6. The Concept Development Model: Analyzing the Relationships between Parts of a Concept
7. Problem-Centered Inquiry Models: Teaching Problem Solving through Discovery and Questioning
8. Synectics: Developing Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
9. The Cause and Effect Model: Influencing Events by Analyzing Causality
10. Socratic Seminar: Analyzing Text
11. The Vocabulary Acquisition Model: Learning the Spellings and Meanings of Words
12. The Integrative Model: Generalizing from Data
13. Cooperative Learning Models: Improving Student Learning Using Small Groups
PART THREE PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: MATCHING OBJECTIVES TO INSTRUCTIONAL MODELS
14. A Kindergarten Case Study
15. A Middle School Case Study
16. A High School Case Study
17. The Wisdom of Practice: Creating a Positive Learning Environment
This title is currently unavailable on myPearsonStore.
We recommend Instruction: A Models Approach, 6th Edition as a replacement.
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CHILDREN WHO CREATE MUSIC USING THE PIANO OR GUITAR HAVE MORE FUN AND LEARN FASTER!
Discover how improvisation can engage students, motivate kids to master and apply music theory and inspire a lifetime of enjoyment at the piano or guitar.
Here students will find tips and tools to truly understand and create music. With the resources here, kids are quickly able to create beautiful music, giving them a huge confidence boost while enriching and inspiring the lives of everyone around them.
Piano, Guitar & Singing Lessons also teaches technique to strengthen fingers for piano and vocal chords for singing. Another focus is on Theory. We do this with fun games to encourage faster learning. Our music reading method is new to the world of music. Students learn to read music from their first lesson. This technique teaches in the way a a typist learns the keyboard. In this way students learn the keyboard for faster learning of where the notes are on the keyboard in relation to the notes on the sheet music. The most important aspect to piano, guitar & singing lessons is our improvisation. Students learn the skill of creating music instantly.
With a variety to offer: piano, guitar, & singing lessons, we're sure you'll be happy working with us. Look around our website and if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact us.
We hope to see you again! Check back with us later for new updates to our website. There's much more to come!
Victor E. GalvanPianist, Guitar, Vocal Instructor
Home Office: 210-340-7877
Email address: firstname.lastname@example.org
B.M. Music Education-University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
Graduated 1981 (Scholarship from LULAC)
St. Philips College, San Antonio, Texas-1975-1977
Memorial High School, San Antonio, Texas-Graduated 1974Major Areas of Study
Music Theory Composition and Piano Guitar
Piano and Organ Voice & Choral ConductingExperience
Owner/Operator: Piano or Guitar in your Home by Victor Galvan (1981- currently)Instructor: Piano/Guitar/Voice Lessons with both private and classroom instruction. Director of Music Department for various Churches (Denominational and Non Denominational) in San Antonio area from 2001-2010.
Executive Producer and CEO of the CAN Awards Talent Search, a Texas state competition.
Owner and Operator of Private/Class Instruction Fine Arts program, “Community Arts Network”, Working in various San Antonio venues: i.e.; schools, restaurants, shopping malls, and churches where I produced and directed various major musical projects throughout San Antonio public and private schools.
The after school programs served over 600 students.
Producer of many community plays, concerts, recitals, dramas, and musicals including: “West Side Story”, “Grease”, “The Prince of Egypt”(with a cast of 100). Recorded Cd’s with extensive experience directing and training children/adult choirs, bands, and orchestra musicians for small and major productions. Have a strong and broad knowledge in state-of-the-art keyboards, synthesizers, sequencers, computers and video equipment.General Information
Owned and operated music and video recording studio.
Traveled extensively in the United States and Mexico after recording four Latin albums, several singles and live recordings with a major label.
Happily married to my best friend and the father of three (adult son and two young daughters). All of our children are musicians.
References (available upon request)
Piano/Guitar/Voice Lesson Agreement
Weekly Lesson Agenda: Music Reading & Theory, Technique & Improvisation.
SPECIAL NOTE: DUE TO FULL STUDENT SCHEDULING MISSED LESSONS WILL BE FORFEITED, UNLESS MISSED BY ME.
NO REFUNDS. STUDENTS MAY ALSO PAY USING PAY PAL!Group rate must have 3 students to make the class. Fees for Books & Supplies: Up to $50 for the semester
1.Voice 2 Dance 3 Acting
1.Guitar/Bass 2. Drums/Percussion 3. Keyboard/Synthesizer(*)
GROUP REHEARSAL’S WILL COUNT AS LESSONS.
Recognition Awarded at Major Concert/Recitals.
IF YOU ARE PARTICIPATING IN OUR RECITAL GROUP REHEARSALS WILL BE CONSIDERED AS LESSONS.
Lesson day and time:
Fee Paid________________ Date___________________
Teacher: ___________________________ ________________________________
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John's figurative language
With great regularity, those around Jesus understood his
figurative language as literal: John 2:19,20; 3:3,4; 4:10,11,32,33; 6:41,42,
etc; John 7:34,35; 8:56,57; 9:39,40; 10:30-33; 11:11-13.
Tying these thoughts together is a Greek word used three times
in John's Gospel: "paroimia", which is a different way of saying "parable" or
"proverb" than the Greek word "parabole" used 48 times in the other three
gospels. Consider how John uses this word: (1) "Jesus used this figure of
speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them" (John 10:6); (2,3)
"Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no
longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father...
Then Jesus' disciples said, 'Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of
speech' " (John 16:25,29).
And, of course, even today there are those who misunderstand
or even wrest Jesus' words to "prove" their own false doctrines, chief of which
is the Trinity. So these regular occurrences of misunderstanding in the Gospel
of John indicate plainly when a literal interpretation is "out of order". To
recognize this pattern is very useful in counteracting several false teachings
that derive their support primarily from John's Gospel.
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| 0.931647 | 341 | 3.125 | 3 |
Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES)
Protecting livestock against diseases and preventing their spread is one of the keys to fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty. The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) was established by FAO’s Director General in 1994. AGA is entrusted with the EMPRES animal disease component, which provides information, training and emergency assistance to countries to prevent, contain and control the world’s most serious livestock diseases, while also surveying for newly emerging pathogens.
Most of the emerging human pathogens have an animal (livestock or wildlife) origin. Hence there is the need for national and regional animal disease surveillance systems to prevent not only losses to livestock production, but to reduce threats to human health as well.
The EMPRES strategy is to prevent and control diseases at their source. Prevention is at the core of EMPRES and investment in prevention is essential to secure sustainable and safe animal production. The core EMPRES precepts are: Early Warning, Early Detection, Early Reaction, Enabling Research, Co-ordination, and Communication.
The Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) is an initiative of EMPRES and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), with the objective of establishing a global early warning system for transboundary animal diseases and, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), important zoonoses, regional support units around the globe, and a mechanism to provide emergency technical assistance, as well as project development and management.
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| 0.918485 | 331 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Nanotechnology - Improved Batteries with Carbon Nanoparticles
In prototypes of the lithium-sulfur battery, lithium ions are exchanged between lithium- and sulfur-carbon electrodes. The sulfur plays a special role in this system: Under optimal circumstances, it can absorb two lithium ions per sulfur atom. It is therefore an excellent energy storage material due to its low weight. At the same time, sulfur is a poor conductor, meaning that electrons can only be transported with great difficulty during charging and discharging. To improve this battery’s design the scientists at Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM) strive to generate sulfur phases with the greatest possible interface area for electron transfer by coupling them with a nanostructured conductive material.
To this end, Thomas Bein and his team at NIM first developed a network of porous carbon nanoparticles. The nanoparticles have 3- to 6-nanometer wide pores, allowing the sulfur to be evenly distributed. In this way, almost all of the sulfur atoms are available to accept lithium ions. At the same time they are also located close to the conductive carbon.
“The sulfur is very accessible electrically in these novel and highly porous carbon nanoparticles and is stabilized so that we can achieve a high initial capacity of 1200 mAh/g and good cycle stability,” explains Thomas Bein. “Our results underscore the significance of nano-morphology for the performance of new energy storage concepts.”
The carbon structure also reduces the so-called polysulfide problem. Polysulfides form as intermediate products of the electrochemical processes and can have a negative impact on the charging and discharging of the battery. The carbon network binds the polysulfides, however, until their conversion to the desired dilithium sulfide is achieved. The scientists were also able to coat the carbon material with a thin layer of silicon oxide which protects against polysulfides without reducing conductivity.
Incidentally, the scientists have also set a record with their new material: According to the latest data, their material has the largest internal pore volume (2.32 cm3/g) of all mesoporous carbon nanoparticles, and an extremely large surface area of 2445 m2/g. This corresponds roughly to an object with the volume of a sugar cube and the surface of ten tennis courts. Large surface areas like this might soon be hidden inside our batteries.
“Spherical Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Nanoparticles with Extremely High Porosity for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries”.
Jörg Schuster, Guang He, Benjamin Mandlmeier, Taeeun Yim, Kyu Tae Lee, Thomas Bein and Linda F. Nazar.
In: Angewandte Chemie, Article first published online: 1 March 2012
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| 0.901069 | 586 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Until 2008, human rabies had never been reported in French Guiana. On 28 May 2008, the French National Reference Center for Rabies (Institut Pasteur, Paris) confirmed the rabies diagnosis, based on hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction on skin biopsy and saliva specimens from a Guianan, who had never travelled overseas and died in Cayenne after presenting clinically typical meningoencephalitis.
Molecular typing of the virus identified a Lyssavirus (Rabies virus species), closely related to those circulating in hematophagous bats (mainly Desmodus rotundus) in Latin America. A multidisciplinary Crisis Unit was activated. Its objectives were to implement an epidemiological investigation and a veterinary survey, to provide control measures and establish a communications program. The origin of the contamination was not formally established, but was probably linked to a bat bite based on the virus type isolated. After confirming exposure of 90 persons, they were vaccinated against rabies: 42 from the case's entourage and 48 healthcare workers. To handle that emergence and the local population's increased demand to be vaccinated, a specific communications program was established using several media: television, newspaper, radio.
This episode, occurring in the context of a Department far from continental France, strongly affected the local population, healthcare workers and authorities, and the management team faced intense pressure. This observation confirms that the risk of contracting rabies in French Guiana is real, with consequences for population educational program, control measures, medical diagnosis and post-exposure prophylaxis.
Until 2008, rabies had never been described within the French Guianan human population. Emergence of the first case in May 2008 in this French Overseas Department represented a public health event that markedly affected the local population, healthcare workers and public health authorities. The antirabies clinic of French Guiana, located at Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, had to reorganize its functioning to handle the dramatically increased demand for vaccination. A rigorous epidemiological investigation and a veterinary study were conducted to identify the contamination source, probably linked to a bat bite, and the exposed population. Communication was a key factor to controlling this episode and changing the local perception of this formerly neglected disease. Because similar clinical cases had previously been described, without having been diagnosed, medical practices must be adapted and the rabies virus should be sought more systematically in similarly presenting cases. Sharing this experience could be useful for other countries that might someday have to manage such an emergence.
Citation: Meynard J-B, Flamand C, Dupuy C, Mahamat A, Eltges F, Queuche F, et al. (2012) First Human Rabies Case in French Guiana, 2008: Epidemiological Investigation and Control. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 6(2): e1537. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001537
Editor: James E. Childs, Yale University, United States of America
Received: July 28, 2011; Accepted: January 3, 2012; Published: February 21, 2012
Copyright: © 2012 Meynard et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: The authors thank the Institut de Veille Sanitaire, Saint-Maurice, France (http://www.invs.sante.fr/) for their financial contribution to the National Reference Centre for Rabies that made this work possible. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Worldwide, rabies causes approximately 55,000 deaths per year . Rabies viruses are transmitted to humans via saliva from bites of carnivores and bats. Bats may be frugivorous, hematophagous or insectivorous. Vampire bats (3 main species Desmodus rotundus, Diphylla ecaudata and Diaemus youngi) feed on blood from warm-blooded animals, e.g. horses and cattle .
Rabies in 2005, transmitted to humans by vampire bats reached new heights in Latin America, where with several outbreaks reportedly concerned 55 human cases, 41 of them in the Amazon region of Brazil. Peru and Brazil had the highest numbers of reported cases from 1975 to 2006 . Bats represent the main vector of human rabies in Brazil –. Near its border with French Guiana, other outbreaks were described in remote rural areas of Portel and Viseu Municipalities, Pará State, northern Brazil. Twenty-one human deaths were attributed to paralytic rabies in those 2 municipalities. Isolates were antigenically characterized as D. rotundus variant 3 . During a recent outbreak, media reports noted that nocturnal biting coincided with the failure of a regional generator that left people without electricity for 6 weeks. Outbreaks of bat-transmitted rabies have been linked to the continued deforestation of the Amazon region, which has displaced vampire bats across northern Brazil and increased their contact with humans. The reasons for the outbreak in Brazil are not yet fully understood.
In French Guiana, a French Overseas Department located in South America, 10 cows, 2 dogs and 1 cat died of bat rabies-virus infection between 1984 and 2003 , , but no human case had previously been reported there –. However, on 28 May 2008, the National Reference Center for Rabies (Institut Pasteur, Paris), confirmed the diagnosis of rabies for a 42-year-old French Guianan man, who had never left this Department and who died in Cayenne, after developing clinically typical meningoencephalitis. Since 14 May, he had complained of nonspecific symptoms, mainly fever, severe asthenia and pain, and had consulted at the Cayenne Hospital Emergency Unit 3 times before being admitted on 21 May in a state of mental confusion; his condition deteriorated rapidly thereafter. He became comatose on the same day and died on 27 May. On 28 May, rabies was diagnosed based on a new reverse-transcription hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-hnPCR) protocol applied to a skin biopsy and saliva specimens. This case illustrates the risk of under-reporting of human rabies based only on clinical criteria and highlights the need for laboratory confirmation to obtain accurate data on disease burden –. Phylogenetic analysis of the isolated virus identified a Lyssavirus (Rabies virus species), closely related to those circulating in hematophagous bats. This identification of the first human case of bat rabies in France resulted in the creation of a national multidisciplinary Crisis Unit under the authority of the French Ministry of Health in Paris. In French Guiana, it was coordinated by the local health authorities and the Center for Treatment Anti-Rabies (CTAR) of Institut Pasteur de la Guyane (IPG). Its objectives were to manage the crisis, implement an epidemiological investigation and a veterinary survey, provide control measures and establish a communications program. Herein, we review the methodology used by the Crisis Unit and the consequences of this case on the local perception of rabies.
Immediately following laboratory confirmation of the rabies case, a multidisciplinary Crisis Unit was created at the national level in Paris, France, and locally in Cayenne, Guiana. Nationally, the stakeholders were affiliated with the French Ministry of Health, French Ministry of Agriculture, Institut Pasteur, Paris, and Institut de Veille Sanitaire, St-Maurice. Locally, the involved services were IPG and its CTAR, Departmental Health and Development Direction, Departmental Veterinary Services, Cayenne Hospital and the Regional Epidemiological Cell.
Epidemiological investigation and control within exposed population
An epidemiological investigation was conducted to identify people potentially exposed to rabies virus, who would require post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). To do so, the following criteria of exposure were used. A person was defined as potentially exposed when: 1) he/she was a part of the case's entourage (family, friends, sexual partners, sport team members, colleagues, visitors) during the 15 days preceding the onset of the index case's symptoms; 2) he/she was a healthcare worker who had cared for the case; or 3) he/she had been in contact with animals suspected of being contaminated (based on their behavior, illness, death) that were known to have been in contact with the case . An active search was carried out within the case's familial and professional entourage, and in the Cayenne hospital, where the patient had been admitted. A step-by-step search procedure was implemented, questioning all exposed people able to identify other people suspected of being in contact with the index case. All people suspected of exposure had a medical visit at the IPG CTAR, using Questionnaire 2 (Table S2) for the case's familial and professional entourage.
For the healthcare workers, the exposure level was assessed for those working in 3 of Cayenne Hospital's departments: emergency unit, intensive care unit and biology laboratories. To assess their possible exposure, specific healthcare worker questionnaire 1 (Table S1) was filled out during a medical consultation with the physician responsible for the hospital's hygiene unit.
A healthcare worker was considered to be exposed when: 1) he/she had close contact with the index case (<1 m), took part in his resuscitation or performed an act susceptible of generating aerosolization of body fluids; 2) he/she had close contact with the case's biological fluids (laboratory workers); 3) he/she had been bitten by the case; or 4) he/she failed to comply with general hygiene recommendations.
When exposure corresponded to those criteria, the 4-dose Zagreb immunization protocol (1 of the schedules recommended by the World Health Organization guidelines ) against rabies was systematically administered.
Chi-square or Fisher's exact test, with a risk α of 5% was used for simple comparisons of rates. The statistical analyses were run with SAS version 9.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).
The rabies index case had numerous contacts with animals. The objectives of the veterinary survey were to identify the animal at the origin of the rabies infection and to identify other animals possibly contaminated and currently in the incubation period. Suspected animals were listed by questioning the case's family and close contacts. Standardized veterinary questionnaire 3 (Table S3) was completed at IPG, when people in close contact with the case came for their vaccinations, in collaboration with the Regional Epidemiological Cell and the Departmental Veterinary Services.
Two types of suspected animals were identified: those still alive and those that had died. Although it was impossible to obtain brain samples from most of the deceased animals, some of their graves could be found and sometimes brain specimens could be recovered. The living suspected animals were placed under veterinary surveillance and some of them were euthanized when suspicious clinical symptoms became manifest. All the animal brain samples were sent to the National Reference Center for Rabies for laboratory diagnosis of rabies.
The communications program had several levels (national and local) and targeted different types of people (general population, healthcare workers and veterinary services). Several communication means were used: national and local press releases, press conferences, and specific meetings with healthcare workers (in Cayenne Hospital and within the private-practice network) and veterinarians in private practice. The local media (television, radio, print) were kept informed and recruited to encourage individuals who might have been in contact with the index case to come and consult at the IPG CTAR.
The Crisis Unit met twice daily in French Guiana from 28 May 2008 to 4 July 2008 (Fig. 1). The stakeholders involved in continental France participated by phone once daily until mid-June then every 2 days thereafter. After each meeting, a brief report was sent to all the stakeholders to share up-to-date information with the entire network of people involved in the epidemiological investigation, control measures and the veterinary survey. It also provided regular updates of the situation to the media and, thus, to the local population.
Epidemiological investigation and control within exposed population
This investigation identified 160 persons suspected of being exposed: 60 within the index case's entourage and 100 in Cayenne Hospital (Fig. 2, Table 1). Each one's risk of exposure was systematically assessed by the CTAR, after an individual interview with a doctor. Exposure was confirmed for 90 persons: 42/60 (70%) from the case's entourage and 48/100 (48%) from the hospital. The first medical interview conducted within the hospital identified 48 healthcare workers; the CTAR confirmed all of them. For healthcare workers, the confirmed exposure rate differed among departments: 60% for biology laboratories, 58.5% for the intensive care unit and 34.1% for the emergency unit (p = 0.04), and significantly so between the former 2 (p = 0.01) and the latter 2 (p = 0.02). All 90 exposed individuals were vaccinated against rabies. The immunization program for these people began between 28 May and 13 June, and finished on 4 July. Because reported exposures were considered to be only grade 2, no rabies immunoglobulins were administered. One of the consequences of human rabies emergence was a higher number of consultations at the CTAR (Fig. 3), necessitating the reorganization of its functioning and establishment of dedicated chain of consultation for rabies .
Exposure of the rabies index case to bats was difficult to assess. He had very frequently slept outside, in a hammock but without using mosquito netting to protect him, in places where bats are numerous. Nobody from his entourage recalled his having been bitten by a bat but, because bats usually bite while its victim is sleeping, it is impossible to formally conclude. For other animals, a field investigation was conducted from 29 May to 9 June to identify retrospectively any animal that might have been the source of contamination of the human case. Five suspected pets were identified: 4 cats and 1 dog. Unfortunately, only 1 exploitable carcass was recovered and it yielded negative results (Table 2). Four other cats living in the index case's residence, in contact with those pets suspected of having been exposed to the rabies virus, were placed under veterinary observation and, finally, euthanized on 30 May 2008. All the biological analyses were negative. This survey was unable to identify the source of rabies transmission.
A local press conference was organized each week until mid-June. Three reports, on the epidemiological investigation, control measures and veterinary survey, were specifically written for the print media. A free telephone number, dedicated to questions about rabies, was opened within the local Health Authorities Services. Four television and radio reports were prepared within the IPG CTAR.
Three meetings were organized at Cayenne Hospital to inform healthcare workers. The first was held on 23 May, before rabies had been biologically confirmed, to anticipate the crisis and assure the medical teams' preparedness to react (Fig. 1). It was useful because it enabled a quicker healthcare-worker response when the rabies diagnosis was confirmed. Another meeting was held on 2 June to inform private-practice veterinarians in French Guiana of the epidemiological developments and their role in the ongoing epidemiological survey.
The last autochthonous human rabies case identified any French territory was reported in 1924 in continental France . However, the risk remains of humans being exposed to the virus in enzootic countries and not seeking PEP due to ignorance of the rabies risk. Since 1970, 21 human deaths from rabies have been recorded in France : 20 cases were imported and 1 was transmitted by a corneal transplant. The first human rabies case diagnosed in French Guiana, in May 2008, and described herein, confirms that the risk of contracting the rabies virus there indeed exists. It was the first case subjected to molecular biology confirmation by the French National Reference Center for Rabies.
The patient's initial clinical picture was not typical and he consulted the Cayenne Hospital emergency unit 3 times before being admitted, further emphasizing the need to include rabies in the differential diagnosis of unexplained encephalitis in humans . Rabies was diagnosed intravitam based on RT-hnPCR–detection of viral RNA in saliva and a skin biopsy . The rabies virus responsible was similar to those circulating in hematophagous bats in this part of the world and closely related to those previously isolated from animals in French Guiana with <4% nucleotide divergence in the nucleoprotein gene (unpublished data). The origin of the contamination was not formally established, although an unrecognized vampire-bat bite seems by far the most likely route of transmission. However, as some cases reported in other countries , the source of contamination could also have been feline, because a cat reportedly died in March 2008, 2 months after having been severely bitten and wounded by a bat.
After the public was informed of this case, the number of patients consulting the CTAR increased dramatically , a phenomenon that had previously been observed in continental France . Since 2008, no other human rabies case has been reported in French Guiana.
Recent emerging zoonoses, e.g., Ebola or Marburg virus hemorrhagic fevers, Nipah virus encephalitis, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), highlight the potential of bats as vectors for transmission of infectious diseases to humans. This potential was already known for rabies encephalitis, since 10 of the 11 Lyssavirus species are transmitted by bats. Rabies control in bats remains very difficult, even though some encouraging experimental results obtained with D. rotundus bats in captivity demonstrated the immunogenicity of the vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein . However, several effective methods are available to limit the access of the bat population to cattle. Furthermore, some preventive and control measures to limit the number of human deaths attributable to rabies transmitted by vampire bats have been successfully implemented .
Rabies diagnosis is a key issue. It is routinely based on clinical and epidemiological information, especially when the exposure is reported in a rabies-endemic country. Although techniques for postmortem diagnosis of rabies have been well-established for decades, tests for intravitam diagnosis of human rabies were rarely optimal, and depended entirely on the nature and quality of the sample supplied. Over the past 3 decades, molecular biology tools have contributed to the development of these tests, resulting in more rapid detection of the rabies virus. Several molecular methods are now available that can be used to complement conventional tests for human rabies diagnosis . The 21st century challenges for diagnostic test developers are 2-fold: first, to achieve internationally accepted validation of a test that will then lead to its acceptance by international organizations; second, these tests are mainly needed in developing regions the world, where financial and logistical barriers prevent their implementation , . The question is even more important in that rapid diagnosis of rabies in suspected human cases influences PEP for potential case contacts and ensures appropriate patient management .
This first human rabies case in French Guiana means that national and local public health authorities must improve preventive and control measures for the local population and travellers. Rabies prophylaxis requires a multifaceted approach, including health education, PEP, systematic vaccination of dogs and cats, and, sometimes, selective immunization campaigns to control transmission among wild animals, e.g. foxes and hematophagous bats . Since human rabies is almost always fatal if prophylactic measures are not initiated, it is essential to increase awareness of who should receive PEP and when it should be administered.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis entails the administration of the rabies vaccine to individuals at high risk for exposure to rabies viruses, e.g., laboratory workers who handle infected specimens, diagnosticians, veterinarians, animal-control workers, rabies researchers, cave explorers… .
PEP consists of a multimodal approach to decrease an individual's likelihood of developing clinical rabies after suspected exposure to the virus. Regimens depend on the victim's vaccination status and involve a combination of wound cleansing, rabies-vaccine inoculation, and administration of human rabies immunoglobulins . When used in a timely and accurate fashion, PEP is nearly 100% effective. However, once clinical rabies manifestations have developed, rabies PEP remains supportive. To date, only 5 well-documented cases of prolonged survival or recovery from rabies have been described and were specifically associated with PEP administration before the onset of symptoms . The recently developed Milwaukee protocol added induction of therapeutic coma to supportive care measures and antivirals, claiming it ensured the recovery of an unvaccinated patient. However, its use has yielded inconsistent outcomes .
The impact of this rabies-virus emergence in French Guiana was dramatic, especially in the context of a Department far from continental France. Despite the enormous pressure placed on the crisis-managing team by the local population, healthcare workers and politicians, the number of PEP remained relatively limited compared with previous cases in continental France and other countries –. Notably, no subsequent case developed.
This case illustrates the need for further preparedness of public health infrastructures in rabies-enzootic areas that have not yet recorded human rabies cases. Pertinently, lessons learned from other countries, informing public health professionals and a multidisciplinary approach were essential to crisis management of our case , . His case history enhanced the perception of the risk and, consequently, a vast campaign to educate and inform the general population about zoonotic diseases acquired from domestic, as well as wild animals, like bats, was undertaken in French Guiana as had been done in neighboring countries . In addition to these measures, rabies is now more systematically included in the differential diagnosis of human encephalitis cases consulting at French Guiana hospitals. Indeed, 2 suspected human cases, subsequently found negative, were subjected to rabies testing during 2008–2010 period. In parallel, active surveillance of bat rabies has been established to learn more about rabies-virus circulation in the local bat populations.
Questionnaire 1 – Exposure of Healthcare Workers.
Questionnaire 2 – Evaluation of the risk of exposure to rabies by the case's entourage.
Questionnaire 3 – Veterinary contact with rabies.
The authors thank all the people involved in this episode, especially from the French Ministry of Health, Institut de Veille Sanitaire, Institut Pasteur, Regional Epidemiological Cell, Departmental Veterinary Services and Cayenne Hospital.
We also thank the people from the rabies index case's entourage who participated in the epidemiological investigation.
Conceived and designed the experiments: JBM CF CD AM FE NK HB AS. Performed the experiments: JBM CF CD AM FE FQ JR JMF DH PD CG FD LD MG FB VA NK HB AS. Analyzed the data: JBM CF CD AM FE JR PD CG LD MG VA NK HB AS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: JBM CF CD AM FE FQ JR JMF DH PD CG FD LD MG FB VA NK HB AS. Wrote the paper: JBM CF CD AM FE FQ JR JMF DH PD CG FD LD MG FB VA NK HB AS.
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- 7. Carnieli P Jr, Brandão PE, Carrieri ML, Castilho JG, Macedo CI, et al. (2006) Molecular epidemiology of rabies virus strains isolated from wild canids in Northeastern Brazil. Virus Res 120: 113–120.
- 8. Favoretto SR, de Mattos CC, de Morais NB, Carrieri ML, Rolim BN, et al. (2006) Rabies virus maintained by dogs in humans and terrestrial wildlife, Ceará State, Brazil. Emerg Infect Dis 12: 1978–1981.
- 9. da Rosa ES, Kotait I, Barbosa TF, Carrieri ML, Brandão PE, et al. (2006) Bat-transmitted human rabies outbreaks, Brazilian Amazon. Emerg Infect Dis 12: 1197–1202.
- 10. Morvan J, Martrenchar A (2005) Situation épidémiologique de la rage en Guyane. Bulletin d'Alerte et de Surveillance Antilles Guyane 12: 1–5.
- 11. Ribadeau Dumas F, Dacheux L, Goudal M, Bourhy H (2010) Rage. Encycl Med Chir. Éditions Scientifiques et Médicales Elsevier SAS Paris. Maladies Infectieuses 8-065-C-10.
- 12. Briand P (2007) Avis de l'Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments sur le risque actuel de contamination humaine et animale par le virus de la rage (génotype 1) en Guyane et sur les mesures de prophylaxie à mettre en œuvre le cas échant. Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments. Saisine n°2007-SA-0170.
- 13. Dacheux L, Reynes JM, Buchy P, Sivuth O, Diop BM, et al. (2008) A reliable diagnosis of human rabies based on analysis of skin biopsy specimens. Clin Infect Dis 47: 1410–1417.
- 14. Dacheux L, Wacharapluesadee S, Hemachudha T, Meslin FX, Buchy P, et al. (2010) More accurate insight into the incidence of human rabies in developing countries through validated laboratory techniques. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 4: e765.
- 15. Bourhy H, Dautry-Varsat A, Hotez PJ, Salomon J (2010) Rabies, still neglected after 125 years of vaccination. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 4: e839.
- 16. Direction Générale de la Santé (2004) Avis du Conseil Supérieur d'Hygiène Publique de France, section maladies transmissibles, relatif à la conduite à tenir dans l'entourage d'un cas de rage humaine. http://www.sante.gouv.fr/dossiers/cshpf/a_mt_240904_rage.pdf.
- 17. Berger F, Desplanches N, Boisvert M, Queuche F, Renner J, et al. Centre de Traitement Anti Rabique de l'Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, 2009 Annual Report. International Network of Institut Pasteur, 2010.
- 18. Gautret P, Ribadeau-Dumas F, Parola P, Brouqui P, Bourhy H (2011) The risk of rabies for European travellers to North-African countries. Emerg Infect Dis 17: in press.
- 19. Badilla X, Pérez-Herra V, Quirós L, Morice A, Jiménez E, et al. (2003) Human rabies: a reemerging disease in Costa Rica? Emerg Infect Dis 9: 721–723.
- 20. Lardon Z, Watier L, Brunet A, Bernède C, Goudal M, et al. (2010) Imported episodic rabies increases patient demand for and physician delivery of antirabies prophylaxis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 4(6): e723.
- 21. Almeida MF, Martorelli LF, Aires CC, Barros RF, Massad E (2008) Vaccinating the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus against rabies. Virus Res 137: 275–277.
- 22. Fooks AR, Johnson N, Freuling CM, Wakeley PR, Banyard AC, et al. (2009) Emerging technologies for the detection of rabies virus: challenges and hopes in the 21st century. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 3: e530.
- 23. Macedo CI, Carnieli P Jr, Brandão PE, Travassos da Rosa ES, Oliveira Rde N, et al. (2006) Diagnosis of human rabies cases by polymerase chain reaction of neck-skin samples. Braz J Infect Dis 10: 341–345.
- 24. Dantas-Torres F, Oliveira-Filho EF (2007) Human exposure to potential rabies virus transmitters in Olinda, State of Pernambuco, between 2002 and 2006. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 40: 617–621.
- 25. WHO Publication (2010) Rabies vaccines: WHO position paper-recommendations. Vaccine 28: 7140–7142.
- 26. Dacheux L, Delmas O, Bourhy H (2011) Human rabies encephalitis prevention and treatment: progress since Pasteur's discovery. Infect Disord Drug Targets. [Epub ahead of print].
- 27. Nigg AJ, Walker PL (2009) Overview, prevention, and treatment of rabies. Pharmacotherapy 29: 1182–1195.
- 28. Young MK, McCall BJ (2010) Potential exposure to Australian bat Lyssavirus in South East Queensland: what has changed in 12 years? Commun Dis Intell 34: 334–338.
- 29. Fielding JE, Nayda CL (2005) Postexposure prophylaxis for Australian bat Lyssavirus in South Australia, 1996 to 2003. Aust Vet J 83: 233–234.
- 30. Young MK, McCall BJ (2004) Trends in potential exposure to Australian bat Lyssavirus in South East Queensland, 1996 to 2003. Commun Dis Intell 28: 258–260.
- 31. Favi M, de Mattos CA, Yung V, Chala E, López LR, et al. (2002) First case of human rabies in Chile caused by an insectivorous bat virus variant. Emerg Infect Dis 8: 79–81.
- 32. Johnson N, Lipscomb DW, Stott R, Gopal Rao G, Mansfield K, et al. (2002) Investigation of a human case of rabies in the United Kingdom. J Clin Virol 25: 351–356.
- 33. Mahamat A, Meynard J-B, Djossou F, Dussart P, Demar M, et al. (2011) Risk of rabies transmission and adverse effects of postexposure prophylaxis in health care workers exposed to a fatal case of human rabies. Am J Infect Control Sep 8: [Epub ahead of print].
- 34. Kikuti M, Paploski IA, Silva MD, de Oliveira EA, da Silva AW, et al. (2011) Prevention educational program of human rabies transmitted by bats in rain forest preserved area of southern Brazilian Coast. Zoonoses Public Health Apr 6. doi:10.1111/j.1863-2378.2011.01404.x [Epub ahead of print].
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Traditional values still play a central role in Chinese policymaking. And China’s rise as a global leader has highlighted how traditional cultural values, especially the value of Hexie or harmony, influence modern Chinese foreign policy. In this Q&A, Zhang Lihua explains the impact these values have on modern Chinese foreign policy and addresses the differences between Chinese and Western cultures.
- What are the key elements of traditional Chinese culture that relate to Chinese foreign policy and diplomacy?
- How do traditional Chinese values influence Chinese foreign policy?
- What parts of traditional Chinese culture are most valuable today?
- How do traditional Chinese values influence China’s modern development?
- How can China help the international community better understand the concept of a harmonious society?
- How are traditional Chinese values similar to Western values? How are they different?
- What kind of impact can traditional Chinese values have on the modern international community?
What are the key elements of traditional Chinese culture that relate to Chinese foreign policy and diplomacy?The core value of Chinese traditional culture as far as Chinese foreign policy and diplomacy are concerned is the concept of harmony (Hexie, 和谐). Harmony is, in fact, a complete ideological system that consists of not only values but also a philosophy with its own world outlook. To be more specific, harmony includes principles such as the Tai Chi (Taiji, 太极) philosophy and the yin-yang dialectics that help people understand the origins of human beings and the evolution of society. Based on these principles, ancient Chinese sages and philosophers established this ideological system that sought to attain a harmonious equilibrium in the world.
The pursuit of Hexie is about maintaining harmony between man and nature, between human beings and society, between people, and between the mind and soul. With harmony at their core, traditional Chinese values posit that there is a dynamic inherent in the universe that converts imbalance into balance, incoordination to coordination, and disequilibrium into equilibrium. This dynamic manifests itself through the interaction of opposites as they cooperate and struggle against one another.
Conflict resolution requires abiding by the Tian Dao (the cosmic laws), Di Dao (the telluric laws), and Ren Dao (the social laws) as well as by rational behavior. Chinese culture emphasizes harmony but not uniformity, promotes coexistence while respecting diversity, and advances mutually beneficial cooperation.
Traditional Chinese culture subtly influences China’s national interests and foreign policy. The concept of harmony in traditional Chinese values provides four key ideas for Chinese foreign policy.
First, seek harmony but not uniformity. That is, the universe unites diversity. There exist many differences in the universe, nature, and society. However, differences do not necessarily result in conflict or contradiction. Differences between objects sometimes evolve into contradictions and at other times constitute the necessary condition for harmony.
The unification of diversity is the basis for the generation of new things. Confucius says, “The gentleman aims at harmony, and not at uniformity (junzi he er bu tong, 君子和而不同).” Thus, the gentleman may have views that differ from others, but he does not blindly follow others and instead seeks harmonious coexistence with them.
Such ideas have been applied in the Chinese leadership’s formulation of foreign policy. Its adherence to the principle of seeking coexistence and common prosperity despite diversity is exemplified in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (he ping gong chu wu xiang yuan ze, 和平共处五项原则)—mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence—that were introduced by Chinese leaders in the 1950s to govern relations between states.
When former Chinese president Jiang Zemin visited the United States in 2002, he explained that this philosophy of harmony but not uniformity meant harmony promotes coexistence and shared prosperity, while differences can complement and support one another. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Chinese government established new directives to build a harmonious world, a harmonious Asia, and a harmonious neighborhood around China.
The second idea is that big countries should respect smaller ones and vice versa. Lao Tse says in Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing, 《道德经》), “What makes a great state is how it is like a low-lying, down-flowing stream; the bigger state becomes the center that tends to all the small states like the smaller streams flowing to lower stream. The larger rivers and seas are respected by all the streams because of their skill in being lower than the smaller streams. Thus, they are the king. Since the larger stream does not strive to be dominant, the smaller streams and larger rivers and seas work together.”
This tells us that a big power needs to win the trust of a smaller state by keeping a low profile and not asserting its power. This idea is exemplified in the Chinese government's policy of fostering an amicable, secure, and prosperous neighborhood (mu lin, fu lin, shan lin, 睦邻、富邻、善邻), by China’s emphasis on sovereignty and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and by Chinese diplomatic concepts such as equality, mutual benefit, mutual aid, cooperation, and “win-win.”
The third idea is that it is lonely at the top (gao chu bu sheng han, 高处不胜寒) for powerful countries. The Qian Diagram (qian gua, 乾卦) in the I Ching or The Book of Changes (yi jing, 易经) says, “The proud dragon repents (kang long you hui, 亢龙有悔),” meaning that even a proud dragon will have to repent when it falls after flying too high into thin, freezing air. Lao Tse also notes in Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing, 道德经) that great strength can easily deteriorate. This means that large countries should not pursue supremacy or become consumed by their quest for power. Chinese diplomacy embodies these principles through its antihegemony stance.
The fourth idea is that conflicts between states should be handled properly. Nonconfrontational conflicts should be handled through avenues that maintain harmony between states such as diplomatic negotiations. This is to ensure that any imbalance of power is corrected to achieve balance.
However, in cases of aggressive confrontation that violate territorial sovereignty, threaten human life, or challenge other core interests, such as foreign invasions, counterattacks made in self-defense are appropriate. This is to ensure that unjust violence is ended by just means. As a common Chinese saying goes, “We will not attack unless we are attacked; we will certainly counterattack if we are attacked (ren bu fan wo wo bu fan ren, ren ruo fan wo wo bi fan ren, 人不犯我我不犯人，人若犯我我必犯人).” Harmony does not mean shying away from conflict, compromising on principles, or constant neutrality. Rather, harmony stresses that conflicts and struggles should be dealt with properly and legally.
Traditional Chinese culture consists of a wide range of values and principles, primarily based in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Out of these three, Confucianism has been established as the orthodox philosophy of the Chinese state (guo xue, 国学) since the reign of Emperor Wu during the Han dynasty and has often been advocated by the ruling class. The state has also at times officially supported Buddhism, while Taoism has slowly spread into Chinese culture over time. The Chinese cultural legacy also consists of the Legalist (fa jia, 法家) and Mohist schools of thought (mo jia, 墨家), among others, and Sun Tsu's Art of War (sun zi bing fa, 孙子兵法).
In modern Chinese society, classes on ancient Chinese classics, especially Confucian and Taoist works, are becoming increasingly popular. This reflects the spiritual hunger of Chinese people in today’s market economy.
Traditional Chinese values such as harmony, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and honesty should be integrated with contemporary values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, rule of law, and equality. This fusion of traditional and contemporary should be combined with the Marxist values that China follows—namely, the realization of development, freedom, and liberation of human beings and the establishment of more advanced values. In this way, traditional Chinese culture can provide invaluable resources to construct the current mainstream value system.
In the process, Chinese culture should adopt more critical thinking and phase out backward philosophies such as the Three Cardinal Guides (san gang, 三纲), according to which ruler guides subject, father guides child, and husband guides wife, as well as the Three Subjections (obedience to father before marriage, to husband after marriage, and to son after husband's death) and the Four Virtues (san cong si de, 三从四德) of women in ancient China—morality, proper speech, modest manner, and diligent work. Both the Three Subjections and the Four Virtues are spiritual fetters of wifely submission and virtue imposed on women in feudal society. These philosophies embrace monarchism, patriarchy, and sexism. The Chinese value system should advocate for mutual respect among citizens and encourage individuals to uphold benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and honesty.
Since the Chinese economy became market oriented, Chinese values and beliefs have been negatively altered. Materialism, money worship, arrogance, and scams are now common among the Chinese. In this kind of society, traditional Chinese values like benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and honesty can play a positive role, especially in addressing money worship and arrogance. Combining these traditional values with modern values like freedom, democracy, human rights, rule of law, equality, justice, fairness, efficiency, and competition could have a positive impact on improving society’s norms and values.
In addition to integrating traditional Marxism and other modern ideals, Chinese society should adopt some traditional Chinese political values such as governance by virtue (wei zheng yi de, 为政以德) and the principle of people-oriented governance. Such political values correspond with other modern Chinese values like democracy of the people (renmin minzhu, 人民民主) and serving the people (wei ren min fu wu, 为人民服务).
How can China help the international community better understand the concept of a harmonious society?
Many foreigners misunderstand the concept of a “harmonious society” because they do not truly understand the concept of harmony.
The English word harmony is not the exact translation of the Chinese word Hexie (和谐). In English, harmony means attaining agreement without conflict or fighting and describes an ideal world of a completely harmonious society that does not exist. Hexie, by contrast, stresses the pursuit of coexistence while respecting differences. A more precise English translation of Hexie would be “appropriate”—meaning that conflicts should be resolved through the appropriate channels according to the laws, truths, and principles to ensure that balance is maintained.
Traditional Chinese values are quite different from the concepts that define Western values. Western values such as freedom, democracy, rule of law, human rights, equality, and justice are based on the belief that human nature is inherently evil. The Western lens focuses on human nature’s imperfections, like selfishness and greed, and has based its values and political institutions upon this outlook. For example, democratic elections, checks and balances, and freedom of speech were established to prevent the abuse of power. Western values stress human rights and civil rights, mutual respect, and self-esteem. But the West also encourages competition and struggle, which differs from the Chinese concept of harmony. Although Chinese tradition says to stay away from those who are vile and mean, the Chinese traditionally consider human nature as inherently good.
In spite of these differences, both Western and Chinese values may have the same objective. The more advanced and modernized values in both cultures have adapted to laws of nature and society, in accordance with people’s interests and the natural development of human society. Integrating elements of Western values is vital for the modern Chinese value system.
The influence of traditional Chinese values on the international community has not been as pronounced as the influence of modern Western values. However, the establishment of Confucius Institutes government-supported organizations to promote Chinese language and culture, events promoting traditional Chinese culture like the Sino-French Cultural Year, and the rise of China’s global status can together increase the influence of Chinese values on the international community.
I believe the most valuable traditional Chinese values are harmony and cooperation since these two values are extensively reflected in China’s foreign policy. For example, in the spirit of Chinese values like cooperation, mutual benefit, and “win-win” (he zuo, hu li, gong ying, 合作、互利、共赢), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established in 1996 and has made remarkable achievements over the past decade. Another example is China’s vigorous promotion of the Six- Party Talks on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament.
China has always played the role of mediator, trying to create harmony between conflicting agendas. In the Sino-U.S. bilateral relationship, China has not challenged the United States’ superpower status or directly confronted the United States except when China’s core interests were threatened. Beijing manages its relationship with Washington by balancing conflicts of interest and behaving according to international regulations and norms. China’s foreign policies and behavior on the global stage have significantly contributed to the promotion of international peace and cooperation.
This article was published as part of the Window into China series
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- What is Hepatitis C?
- How does someone get infected?
- Who should get tested for Hepatitis C?
- Preventing Hepatitis C
- What if I have Hepatitis C?
- More Information
- Contact Us
Hepatitis C is an infection that affects the liver, and can cause a chronic condition, which may lead to chronic liver disease. It is caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is found in blood.
Hepatitis C is spread by direct contact with human blood.
Behaviors that put people at risk for Hepatitis C:
- Use of needles, syringes, and other “works” used by others which may have infected blood on/in them.
- Receiving blood, blood products, or solid organs from a donor whose blood contained HCV. This is only a concern with blood or organ donation prior to July 1992.
- Received long-term kidney dialysis, since there is a risk of unknowingly sharing supplies with someone else’s blood.
- Having frequent contact with blood on the job as a healthcare worker, especially accidental needle sticks.
- During birth a mother who is infected with Hepatitis C may transmit it to her newborn baby.
- Living with someone and sharing items that may have blood on them, such as razor and toothbrushes.
If you or anyone you know has engaged in any of these behaviors, ask your health care provider whether Hepatitis C testing is right for you.
|Injecting drug users|
|Recipients of clotting factors made before 1987|
|Recipients of blood and/or solid organs before 1992|
|People with undiagnosed liver problems|
|Infants born to infected mothers|
|Healthcare/public safety workers|
|People having sex with multiple partners|
|People having sex with an infected steady partner|
*Anyone who wants to get tested should ask their doctor. HCV can be tested through a blood test done by your health care provider.
- Do not inject drugs. If you do inject drugs, never share needles, syringes, water, or "works." Get vaccinated against Hepatitis A & B.
- Do not share personal care items that might have blood on them (razors, toothbrushes).
- If you are a health care or public safety worker, always follow routine barrier precautions and safely handle needles and other sharps; get vaccinated against Hepatitis B.
- Consider the risks if you are thinking about getting a tattoo or body piercing. You might get infected if the tools have someone else's blood on them or if the artist or piercer does not follow proper health procedures. It is important to verify the establishment’s licensure before getting a tattoo or piercing.
- HCV can be spread by sex, but this is rare. If you are having sex with more than one steady sex partner, use latex condoms correctly and every time to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. You should also get vaccinated against Hepatitis B.
- If you are HCV positive, do not donate blood, organs, or tissue.
- See a health care provider on a regular basis.
- Talk to your health care provider about treatment options and ways to reduce further liver damage. Some ways you can protect your liver are to not drink alcohol, get vaccinated for Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B, and don’t start any new medicines without consulting a physician.
- Do not donate blood.
Living with HEP C: Facts about Hepatitis C
The information in this booklet is intended for people who are newly diagnosed with Hepatitis C.
Combating the Silent Epidemic of Viral Hepatitis:
Action Plan for the Prevention, Care, & Treatment of Viral Hepatitis
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Hepatitis C Information - Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Viral Hepatitis Prevention Coordinator
Vermont Department of Health
108 Cherry Street
PO Box 70
Burlington, VT 05402
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In the Shadow of the Ark Discussion Guide
- Grades: 9–12
About this book
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."
About the Book
In the Shadow of the Ark takes its inspiration from the Biblical account of the Flood. Re Jana and her family leave the rising waters of the marshess for the desert, where it is rumored that the largest vessel of all time is being built. It seems an absurd undertaking, but as a boatbuilder, Re Jana's father is able to convince Noach (the Builder) and his three sons of his expertise and establish a new home for his family. A forbidden love blossoms between Re Jana and the Builder's youngest son, Ham. As work on the ark progresses, more and more questions are raised about its purpose, and the Builder can no longer hide the fact that the vessel is not for everyone, but only for animals and a select company of human beings. When the Flood actually arrives, everyone wants to get aboard, but the. With the help of Ham, Re Jana is able to smuggle herself aboard as a stowaway. Life on the ark is gruelling and dangerous. Shifting power relationships, betrayal and rejection and finally starvation threaten to prove fatal to those on board. But then the ark runs aground and Re Jana's son can become the founder of a new dynasty in a new--though not necessarily better--world.
Overall Discussion Points
1. Re Jana and her father are constantly comparing the Rrattika with their own people, saying, for example, "[Their god] is fed up with this roaming people… [who] hardly show any progress." (p. 150) The Rrattika always come out on the worse end. Why does the author set up these two "camps" (Re Jana's family and the Rrattika) as opposites, and why do the Rrattika always fare so badly?
2. In Chapter 32 we learn Neelata's story. How does it compare to the greater story of the flood and the Ark? How can the Unnameable be compared to the King?
3. There are a number of different views of death in IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARK-Alem's death, Re Jana's mother's death, the death of the masses trying to get on the Ark, Zaza's suicide. Are any of these deaths more noble or more tragic than the others?
4. Anne Provoost writes (p. 163): "For the sake of the children, the elderly, the sick, and the weak, it would be better not to talk about it," and "Because there was no new information to confirm the old, the usual happened: Messages of doom were forgotten." This motif of "messages of doom" being forgotten runs throughout the Hebrew Bible. Can you think of some examples? Why does this usually happen?
5. The chapter titled "The Incident in the Cave" contains the most significant theological discussion in the novel. Re Jana's father challenges the Builder with rational arguments and the Builder responds with faith-based arguments. Which argument seems more valid to you, and why?
6. When Re Jana is hidden in the dodoes' cage on the Ark, she says at one point that the voyage "felt like an imprisonment, like a trial or a trick." Interestingly, at no point does she call the journey a salvation. Consider which one of these (imprisonment, trial, trick, or salvation) each of the voyagers would use to describe his or her experience. How does the attitude behind that choice affect the character's destiny?
7. Re Jana hangs from a rope off the Ark and begs her father to take her on to his papyrus boat, but he refuses. Why, ultimately, do you think he turns her down?
8. The flood is only ever referred to in the novel as a calamity, not a miracle. Why?
9. Re Jana has a number of guesses as to the purpose of the Ark before she learns its true function. All of these guesses assume, in some way or another, that the contents of the Ark are meant to be a sacrifice to the Unnameable. In the end, is she right?
10. The second-to-last sentence of the novel is: "The flood did not wipe out evil." What kind of statement is the author making? Do you agree?
Discussion Points - Character
1. The Builder calls Re Jana "the dwarf in a new shape" (p. 335). What does he mean by that? How has Re Jana's role changed, in the Builder's eyes, from the time when she was dressed as a boy and first questioned his actions until the moment when he tells Ham to leave her behind with him?
2. Re Jana's mother and the Unnameable are two characters who do not speak and yet make their wants known-Re Jana's mother to Re Jana and her father, and the Unnameable to the Builder. How are their wishes understood? Are they always understood accurately?
3. Of the central characters in the novel, there are three mothers and three fathers: Re Jana's mother, Zaza, and Re Jana herself; and Re Jana's father, Alem, and the Builder. What sacrifices do each of them make for their children? Which do you think is the greatest sacrifice?
4. Ham is very different from his brothers Shem and Japheth and he is the one the novel treats the most sympathetically. How? What actions or words sway the reader to his side?
5. When there is tension between Re Jana's parents it has "an unexpected effect on Put…He behaved like a cornered animal" (p.194). Compare his actions in this passage to the descriptions of him at the end of the Ark's voyage.
6. Neelata, Zedebab, and Taneses-three different women, three different wives. Why are they chosen as helpmates to the Builder's three sons and mothers to the future generations?
7. Compare the descriptions of the Builder when we first encounter him (p. 79) and after Zaza's suicide (p. 332). What is the reader's perception of him by the first description? Does it change over the course of the novel?
8. Aside from the main characters, the book describes very few people among the masses working on and living near the Ark. There is one notable exception, however: Camia, to whom a whole chapter (albeit a short one) is dedicated. Why her?
9. The Builder addresses the people in two very short speeches on pages 135 and 273. They aren't very explanatory, and yet the Builder seems to think they're sufficient. Does this indicate a disconnection between the Builder and the people? The Unnameable One and the people? If you were one of the people there hearing these speeches, what would you think was going to happen?
10. In most works of fiction one can argue that the setting acts as a character in addition to the rest of the characters in the work. Here the narrative begins in the marshes, moves to the desert, settles on the Ark, and then ends in the "paradise" where the Ark lands. In what way does the setting as character affect the rest of the characters in the novel?
Discussion Points -- Themes
1. The Unnameable One chooses to "cleanse" the Earth with water, and the author chooses in Re Jana a character who knows how to find water with a "divining rod" and who uses water to cleanse the Builder's family. Is the author suggesting a comparison between the Unnameable and Re Jana? Is her likeness to the Unnameable perhaps why Re Jana is saved? How does this comparison play out in other respects regarding Re Jana's fate?
2. On page 34, Re Jana's father states that to the Rrattika, "A woman's quality is judged by the taste of the water she brings." And so it would seem that Re Jana would be judged well. But Re Jana's father goes on to condemn her sharing her water with the Rrattika, saying it will make Re Jana the "slave of a thirsty man." Does his prediction come true in the end?
3. When the flood occurs, creation is undone: The waters of the Heaven and the Earth that were separated at the time of creation come together again (see pg. 273 and Genesis 1: 6-8). Are there other reversals that occur in IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARK? (Note, for example, the description of the Ark, pg. 107, as "a city turned in on itself.")
1. Compare the Builder's unquestioning faith in the Unnameable's plan to Ham's faith. By the end of the novel, after the calamity of the flood, how has each man changed or stayed the same?
2. Re Jana observes the Builder and says, "He has been abandoned by his god" (p. 329). Soon after Neelata comments, "Anything the boys and their father cannot understand they've called the Unnameable" (p. 338). Have they correctly observed and judged the faith of others? What do their comments indicate about their own faith?
3. Re Jana's father tells Re Jana: "Forget what I have taught you and abide by His wishes." Is he the only one who recognizes the power of the god who brought the flood?
1. Re Jana's mother wants her husband to finish his truss-boat and worries that time is running out. He tells her there'll be time because "we earned it in the cave" (p. 231), referring to his conversation with the Builder. What does he mean? What does this say about the process of questioning the Unnameable's commandments and actions?
2. The people believe their "obedience" in helping to build the ark will bring them "prosperity, not punishment" (p. 88). Why doesn't it?
3. For Zaza the reward of salvation is not enough: "I am too tired for [the Builder's] paradise" (p. 326). In fact, it seems, she doesn't really believe they will arrive in paradise and only supported the Builder's plan because "a dream is better than emptiness." Does everyone on the ark view their place on it as a reward? What about Re Jana's father and Put?
1. In true Shakespearean fashion Re Jana disguises herself as a boy and then "becomes" a woman again later on. What benefits are there to her being a boy? What does she lose by agreeing to the deceit and disguise?
2. Compare Neelata and Re Jana, the two "wives" of Ham. How do they treat others? How do their interactions with the brothers and the Builder differ?
3. When Zaza dies, the text reads, "all knowledge of motherhood had been lost with her," and yet by the end of the novel a new mother is "born"-Re Jana. How does Re Jana's example of motherhood and womanhood differ from Zaza's?
1. Ham builds a secret niche for Re Jana on the ark, hoping to hide her from the Builder. But it's the Unnameable who dictated the dimensions of the Ark and specified its occupants, not the Builder. Does Ham think he can hide the niche from the Unnameable One? What does this say about his faith? His deceit leads directly to the dwarf committing suicide-might that be Ham's punishment?
2. Consider all the voyagers' different kinds of deceit while on the Ark. Which ones, if any, come to a good end and which ones do not?
3. Re Jana and her father hide the truth of the calamity about to occur from Re Jana's mother because they fear her reaction. Was this a good decision on their part? Why or why not?
Other Books to Compare and Contrast
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant. Picador USA, 1998.
Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen, by India Edghill. Picador USA, 2002
The Preservationist, by David Maine. St. Martin's Press, 2004.
About the Author
Anne Provoost was born in Belgium in 1964 and studied literature and education at the University of Leuven. She spent a year and a half in the United States after completing her studies, writing her first novel, My Aunt Is a Pilot Whale (Mijn tante is een grindewal), while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The book was published in Dutch in 1991 and translated into English three years later. Her second novel, Falling (Vallen), was published in Dutch in 1994. It was translated into English by John Nieuwenhuizen in 1997 and later made into an English-language feature film. Provoost retold the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" as The Rose and the Swine (De Roos en het Zwijn, 1997), transforming the familiar story into a saga of guilt and penance, mercy and justice. A similar metamorphosis occurs in In the Shadow of the Ark, published in Dutch as De Arkvaarders in 2001. It has since been translated into Swedish, German, Danish, and now English.
Together Anne Provoost's four books have been translated into ten languages and received practically every major literary award for works in Dutch. They have also been chosen for many international honors, including selection to the International Board on Books for Young People honor list. Provoost was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature in 2003. With their complex themes and sometimes pointed points of view, her books would be expected to carry heavy messages; the author, however, denies this vehemently. "If you have to talk about a message, then I would like to limit myself to one thing: stretching the reader's empathic abilities," she says.
Anne Provoost lives with her husband and three children in Antwerp, Belgium.
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Proselytism and Cultural Integrity
Makau W. Mutua
SUNY Buffalo Law School
FACILITATION FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF: A DESKBOOK, Tore Lindholm, W. Cole Durham Jr., Bahia G. Thazib-Lie, eds., Oslo Coalition, 2004
On March 12, 2000, Pope John Paul II issued a historic statement in which the Catholic Church publicly acknowledged for the first time some of the gross human rights violations that it has committed, perpetrated, condoned, or tolerated over its two thousand year history. While a step in the right direction, the confession and plea for forgiveness failed to address the basic contradictions between proselytizing, universalist faiths and indigenous religions and cultures, and the underlying arrogant and inflexible assumption of the moral, ethical, and racial superiority of the former over the latter. It is this vexed relationship between imperial faiths and the indigenous beliefs and moral universes of non-white, non-European, and non-Arabic peoples of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas that is subject of this inquiry. Using Africa as an illustration, this chapter deconstructs the meaning of the freedom of religion or belief at the point of conflict between the universalist faiths and African religions. It argues that the meeting of the two universes resulted in cultural genocide. It problematizes the concept of the right to the free exercise of religion, which includes the right to proselytize in the presumed marketplace of religions.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 20
Keywords: Proselytism, Culture, Religion, Catholic, Human rights, Faiths, indigenous, Africa, Genocide
Date posted: December 25, 2009
© 2016 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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In the academic world, if your name is John, you’re more likely to be well-thought-of than you would be if your name were Jennifer. When science professors were asked to evaluate the same one-page summary of a promising, but not stellar job applicant, they gave higher scores to the potential applicant whose name was “John” than they did to “Jennifer.”
They estimated that the “Johns” ought to be making more money, too. And they were more likely to be willing to mentor “John.”
The New York Times tonight published a story about new work by researchers at Yale University that adds to the evidence that people making evaluations about the talent and worth of job applicants think more highly of candidates who are men. Even when the men are armed with identical qualifications described in precisely the same words. And even when its a woman making the evaluation.
Combine these findings with the story of “James Chartrand,” a female website developer who ditched her identity and began pitching her newly named company — “Men With Pens” — as an operation run by a guy. Business picked up. Online negotiating became easy.
And then there is the famous study about hiring practices by symphony orchestras. Hide a female musician behind a screen during an audition, and she is more likely to be hired. Here’s a link to that study. Read article.
In a column for CNN.com last week, I talked about the lopsided bylines that readers are exposed to when they read articles in newspapers or online. Women write only 20 percent of newspaper op-eds, yet they’ve received between 70 and 76 percent of all the journalism and mass communications degrees earned over the past ten years. If you have a daughter who isn’t in the workforce yet, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let her know what she has ahead of her. The fight for gender equality is not finished. It’s barely begun.
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| 0.975613 | 419 | 2.5625 | 3 |
From Frodo’s reaction to Gandalf’s story to the end of the chapter
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. . . . even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
Hearing Gandalf’s story, Frodo is frightened and angry, and he wishes aloud that Bilbo had killed Gollum when he had the chance. Gandalf reprimands Frodo, however, saying that it is precisely because Bilbo did not kill Gollum—therefore beginning the hobbit’s ownership of the Ring with an act of mercy—that Bilbo was able to withstand the Ring’s power as long as he did. When Frodo counters that Gollum surely deserved to die, Gandalf agrees. However, the wizard adds that many who die deserve life, and until Frodo can give them that life, he should be less eager to condemn the living to death. Moreover, Gandalf feels that somehow Gollum still has a part to play in the fate of the Ring.
Frodo asks why the Ring cannot simply be destroyed. Gandalf invites Frodo to try. To his surprise, Frodo finds that he is unable to bring himself to destroy it; instead of throwing the Ring away, he unknowingly puts it back in his pocket. Gandalf warns Frodo that he is already falling under the Ring’s power. Frodo asks Gandalf to take the Ring, but the wizard refuses vehemently. With the Ring, Gandalf says, he would become too powerful, and he would inevitably be corrupted like Sauron himself. Even if Gandalf took the Ring simply for safekeeping, the temptation to use it would be too great. Even if he used the Ring out of a desire to do good, it would corrupt him.
Frodo realizes that it is no longer safe for him to stay in the Shire, and that something must be done with the Ring. Gandalf tells Frodo that the Ring can only be destroyed at the Cracks of Doom in Orodruin, the fiery mountain deep inside Mordor itself. Frodo volunteers to keep the Ring and guard it, at least until someone else can be found to destroy it. Frodo quickly realizes, however, that he must take the Ring somewhere else, in order to avoid endangering the Shire. He is terrified of what he has to face, but also somewhat excited to be going on an adventure. Frodo is well aware, though, that the Ring may begin to exert its influence on him just as it did on Bilbo.
Gandalf, impressed by Frodo’s courage, recommends that Frodo take reliable companions along with him. At that moment, the wizard happens to catch Sam Gamgee, who has been eavesdropping through a window. Sam is embarrassed, but clearly well meaning, and he has evidently been entranced by the talk of magic and Elves. Gandalf laughingly decides that Sam should go with Frodo on his journey.
Frodo’s response to Gandalf’s story about Gollum, and his regret that Bilbo had not killed Gollum when he had the chance, introduces us to some of the moral complexities of Tolkien’s work. Gandalf is the moral arbiter throughout The Lord of the Rings, and his views of good and evil are quite stern and inflexible. He firmly acknowledges, for example, that some living creatures actually deserve to die. This view is harsher than the Christian doctrine of forgiveness for even the greatest criminal, as no earthly being can assume the divine role of judging right and wrong or conferring life or death on his fellow creatures. But, on the other hand, Gandalf reprimands Frodo for wishing that Gollum had been killed, approving of Bilbo’s mercy that allowed the monster to escape unharmed. Gandalf feels that some good may come of Gollum someday, that the creature has a role to play in the scheme of fate that Gandalf can dimly glimpse. This notion that even a horrible monster could one day produce something good is closer to the Greek idea of fate than the Christian value of forgiveness.
Gandalf’s attitude toward the Ring also, surprisingly, raises moral questions. We might expect the great figure of good in the novel to be able to rise above the wicked power emanating from the Ring, transcending its ability to seduce its bearer into selfishness and greed. If anyone is superior to the Ring’s evil, it seems, it should be the morally unimpeachable Gandalf. But, in fact, when Frodo offers the Ring to Gandalf, the wizard pulls back sharply, refusing even to touch it. His explanation is candid and revealing. He says that his power makes him too susceptible, and that his great moral goodness could turn to equally great evil under the Ring’s influence. The Ring’s power is greater, he admits, than his own moral strength. Gandalf is not set above the Hobbits or other characters in the work; he does not float over the plot like an otherworldly angel. Instead, he is a creature of flesh and blood like all the rest. He is perhaps stronger and wiser and more skilled than most of the others, but he is not perfect, and has the same weaknesses as the others, the same potential for failure.
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Last updated: March 19, 2016
SUPO (Foundation for Urban Projects in Developing Countries, in Dutch: Stichting voor Urbane Projecten in Ontwikkelingslanden) is a non-profit organization with current projects that supports the development of small parks in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. In these parks (ECOPARCs) jatropha trees (biofuel source) and fruit trees are planted to "green" the neighborhood. The parks can serve as educational areas for solar cooking training. Educational and promotional activities are mainly focused on management and improvement of the urban environment.
In the past (2014?) SUPO conducted a solar cooking program in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The aims of this program, PESGO (Programme Energie Solaire Grand-Ouaga), were to
- Introduce solar energy in urban households by training women in using the CooKit.
- Educate children (13 to 16 years) in hygiene, health and solar cooking to create a new generation of cooks, who are familiar with sustainable cooking.
In PESGO, it was understood that the CooKit could not replace firewood entirely. SUPO explored the use of jatropha oil as a complement to the CooKit. The jatropha plant is drought tolerant and its fruits contain oil which can be used as fuel substitute. The combination of the CooKit and jatropha oil seems to have high potential in urban kitchens of West Africa.
- Adapting to an innovation: Solar cooking in the urban households of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
6677 PC Slijk-Ewijk
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Feeding Low-Income Children When School Is Out—The Summer Food Service Program: Final Report
by Anne Gordon, Ronette Briefel, Karen Needels, Nancy Wemmerus, Teresa Zavitsky, Randy Russo, Tania Tasse, Laura Kalb, Anne Peterson, Darryl Creel, and Jane E. Allshouse
Electronic Publications from the Food Assistance & Nutrition Research Program No. (EFAN-03001) 419 pp, March 2003
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), funds meals for children in low-income areas when school is not in session. The first comprehensive study of the SFSP since 1986 found that, in fiscal year 2001, more than 4,000 local sponsors provided about 130 million meals at more than 35,000 feeding sites. The number of children served in July 2001 (2.1 million per day) was about 14 percent of the number who received free or reduced-price school meals each day during the previous school year. On average, SFSP meals provided the levels of key nutrients recommended for school meals. However, breakfasts were slightly lower in food energy than recommended, and lunches were higher in fat. Half the SFSP sponsors were school districts, which operated about half the sites and served about half the meals. Other sponsors included government agencies, private nonprofit organizations, and residential camps. The nationally representative study, which was sponsored by USDA's Economic Research Service, surveyed State administrators, sponsor staff, and site staff on program operations and on factors that affect participation.
See also: Feeding Low-Income Children When School Is Out—The Summer Food Service Program: Executive Summary.
Keywords: Summer Food Service Program, SFSP, child nutrition programs, nutrient content, plate waste, low income, school meals
In this publication...
- Entire report 2,596 kb
- Abstract, Executive Summary 912 kb
- Contents and List of Tables 43 kb
- Chapter 1: Introduction 1,757 kb
- Chapter 2: Program Characteristics 1,759 kb
- Chapter 3: Program Administration 1,759 kb
- Chapter 4: Program Participation and Outreach 1,759 kb
- Chapter 5: Meal Service 1,758 kb
- Chapter 6: Summary and Conclusions 1,761 kb
- References 1,761 kb
- Appendix A 1,760 kb
- Appendix B 1,763 kb
- Appendix C 493 kb
- Appendix D 404 kb
- Appendix E 365 kb
- Appendix F 238 kb
- Appendix G 183 kb
Need help with PDFs?
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Grades K - 3
Grade level Equivalent: 2.5
Lexile® Measure: 280L
Guided Reading: J
- Friends and Friendship
About This Book
The author of such classics as My Granson Lew, Williams's Doll, and Over and Over needs no introduction. Neither does her collaborator Maurice Sendak, who has illustrated so many of today's best-loved, as well as most distinguised, books for children.
The heroine of their book has a problem. And at first it does not look as though Mr. Rabbit is going to be much help in solving it . For everyone knows you cannot give your mother a red roof, a yellow taxi-cab, a green caterpillar, or a blue lake for her birthday. But then all the little girl had said was that her mother liked red, yellow, green and blue, and so Mr. Rabbit was trying.
How he and the liitle girl come up with the absolutely perfect present makes a story the the youngest reader will love. And the wonderously bright full-color pictures will bring hours of pleasure to readers and lookers of all ages.
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James Spann, chief meteorologist for ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, is reporting that the upside-down rainbow is a circumzenithal arc. That is caused by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals in cirrus clouds.
Those same ice crystals are also causing people to see three suns in the afternoon sky. This atmospheric phenomenon, known as a sundog or mock sun, occurs when ice crystals act as prisms and bend rays of light passing through them. People on the ground see colored patches of light to the left and right of the sun, at the same distance above the horizon.
Share your photos with us by e-mailing email@example.com or tweeting them to @hsvtimes.
Follow me on Twitter: @swdoyle
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Don't take it personally? Sometimes it IS personal!
We hear so often, "Don't take it personally." What does this really mean? The answer is NOT simple!
Let's say you are in a great mood, feeling loving and expansive, and someone—either someone close to you or a stranger like a clerk in a store—is withdrawn or attacking.
This is when it is important not to take it personally. Their behavior is coming from whatever is going on for them—they are tired, not feeling well, feeling inadequate, angry from a previous interaction, judging themselves, coming from their own fears of rejection or engulfment, and so on. When you take their behavior personally, it is because you want to believe that you have some control over their behavior. You want to believe that if only you were different, they wouldn't treat you badly. This is a huge false belief, as you have no control over what is going on with them, and their behavior has nothing to do with you.
On the other hand, let's say you are in your ego wounded self, and you are shut down, harsh, attacking, blaming or people-pleasing. When this is the case, if others are also shut down or attacking, their behavior might be personal to a certain extent. They might be taking your behavior personally and reacting to it from their own ego wounded self. While you are not causing them to react with withdrawal or attack—it is the fact that they are taking your behavior personally that is causing them to react—you are also not innocent in the interaction. So it is always important to notice your own open or closed energy to see whether their behavior is not at all about you, or whether they are being reactive with you.
Another scenario to be aware of: if you are open and loving and another is closed and harsh, their behavior DOES affect you. Even if you do not take their behavior personally, their unloving behavior can cause some deeper core feelings of loneliness, helplessness, heartache, heartbreak and sadness. Taking their behavior personally may be a way to cover over these deeper painful feelings, because when you tell yourself that their behavior is your fault, then you might feel anxious, depressed, guilty or shamed. As bad as these feelings feel, they are actually easier to feel because you are the one causing them by taking their behavior personally.
Likewise, if you are the withdrawn or harsh one, and a person close to you is not taking your behavior personally and are feeling their own core painful feelings caused by your unloving behavior, they may choose not to be with you. They might not want to be with you when you are withdrawn or attacking. In this case, it is important that you DO take their behavior personally and explore what you are doing that is resulting in exactly what you likely don't want—their moving away from you.
The bottom line is that if you are being open and loving, then it is important to never take another's behavior personally. If you are operating from your wounded self and are withdrawn or attacking, then you might want to explore your own behavior when others are also withdrawn, attacking, or when they disengage from you because they don't want to be around you. Your open and loving behavior is NEVER the cause of another's unloving behavior. Your closed, withdrawn or harsh behavior is also not the cause of their closed, withdrawn or harsh behavior, but can be the cause of them not wanting to be with you, and it is important to open to learning about your own withdrawn or harsh behavior.
To begin learning how to love and connect with yourself so that you can connect with your partner and others, take advantage of our free Inner Bonding eCourse, receive Free Help, and take our 12-Week home study eCourse, "The Intimate Relationship Toolbox" – the first two weeks are free!
Connect with Margaret on Facebook.
This article was originally published at Inner Bonding . Reprinted with permission from the author.
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After new research reveals that the diets of infants and nursery chool children are low in many vitamins and minerals found in red meat, dietitians discuss whether meat is a vital part of children's diets - or not.
By Lisa Salmon
A new report suggests that young children aren't getting enough of the key nutrients supplied by red meat, so they should be eating more.
However, in recent years there have been several studies suggesting red meat consumption is reduced because it's associated with cancer and heart problems.
It's enough to confuse even the most knowledgeable of parents.
The latest report, commissioned by the Meat Advisory Panel (MAP), recommends that red meat is included within a healthy balanced diet from weaning onwards because it contains key nutrients that many children are missing out on.
The study evaluated UK dietary surveys of infants and preschool children, and found their diets were low in iron, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin D, all of which can be provided by red meat.
Dietician Dr Carrie Ruxton, a MAP member who co-authored the report, points out that nutritional requirements are high during infancy and childhood due to rapid growth and development, yet the research showed that young children's requirements for micronutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin D weren't being met.
"Red meat is a highly bioavailable source of essential nutrients," she stresses, and points out that emerging research suggests including red meat in the weaning diet may be linked to reduced obesity and better cognitive development.
"In young children, a serving of red meat can make a considerable contribution to the intake of iron and zinc as well as that of protein."
She explains that vitamin A is required for eye function and immune health, zinc for growth and iron for brain development, and stresses: "A lack of these nutrients in early childhood may prejudice health in ways that cannot be compensated for in later life.
"Red meat should therefore be included within a healthy, balanced diet from weaning onwards."
However, a study published last month by researchers at Cambridge University found reducing the amount of red meat in adult male diets led to a decrease in colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.
And a Harvard University study earlier this year found that regular consumption of red meat, particularly processed red meat, was associated with increased mortality risk. Deaths were particularly related to cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The study also showed that substituting other healthy protein sources, such as fish, poultry and nuts, was associated with a lower risk of mortality.
Although the Government issued new guidelines last year suggesting adults cut their red meat intake to around 70g per day (the equivalent of three slices of ham, a lamb chop or two slices of roast beef a day),
British Dietetic Association spokesperson Kate Harrod-Wild says there are no specific guidelines on red meat portion sizes for children.
General guidance, she says, is to give one to two portions of protein-containing foods (two to three for vegetarians) and to include iron-rich foods every day.
She says evidence from large studies suggests a link between the consumption of red meat and the risk of heart disease and cancer, and this is even stronger for processed meat products.
However, she points out that iron deficiency anaemia is so common in preschool children that the need for them to get plenty of iron in their diets takes precedence over any perceived risks of eating red meat.
"With nutrition there is rarely a no-risk option," she explains.
"With many children, particularly preschool children, the problem is that they don't eat enough red meat rather than they eat too much. Therefore, we tend to focus on the benefits of iron in red meat rather than the increased risks."
Harrod-Wild says that in early childhood the brain needs iron for the rapid brain growth that occurs.
"If children don't get enough iron, they may not develop to their potential. Once brain development is complete there isn't really the opportunity to improve on it, whereas there are steps you can take to improve cardiovascular health - so the brain tends to trump the cardiovascular system in terms of priority."
She says breakfast cereals are an important source of iron for young children, although this iron is less well absorbed than that from red meat.
Ideally, children should have a glass of fruit juice or some cut up fruit with breakfast, she says, as the vitamin C will help the iron to be absorbed.
She points out that vegetarian children can get enough iron from alternative sources, as long as families give them a variety of foods, and adds: "Rising rates of childhood obesity suggest that children are getting enough calories, and in my work I would say poor intakes of fat-soluble vitamins are rare."
Liz O'Neill, spokesperson for the Vegetarian Society, points out that it's not surprising a report funded by the meat industry reaches a positive conclusion about the role of red meat in children's diets.
But she stresses: "When you look at the details, the picture is far less clear.
"Sadly, some children in the UK aren't getting all the nutrients they need, but the MAP report doesn't differentiate between those who currently eat meat and those who don't. It offers no evidence that families choosing to avoid meat for ethical or health reasons are at any greater risk of nutritional deficiency than those who do eat meat."
She stresses that the nutrients mentioned in the study can all be found in other foods, and adds: "With a balanced vegetarian diet taking a smaller toll on both the planet and the pocket, there really is no need to lead families up the garden path by suggesting they need to feed red meat to their children."
Ask the expert
Q: "When my 11-year-old son gets his pocket money he spends it straight away. How can I get him to understand the value of money - do schools teach anything about this?"
A: Sophie Wood is a programme manager at the National Children's Bureau, which has helped young people produce a toolkit about campaigning for good financial education in schools.
She says: "It's not uncommon for money to burn a hole in young people's pockets as they get to grips with managing their finances. However, it's important that they learn from these experiences.
"I recommend you carry on giving your son a modest allowance, but sit down with him and work out a budget so he's got enough for all the things he needs. Make it clear to him that the better he gets with money, the more likely you'll be to trust him with important decisions like buying his own clothes.
"Of course there's only so much that parents can do, so we believe that every child should be taught how to manage their money at school. Personal financial education (PFE) helps children and young people decide whether to spend or save, how to live on a budget, and make everyday financial decisions.
"There's a real enthusiasm for PFE among young people, and a group of children and young people working with the National Children's Bureau and the Personal Financial Education Group want to tap into this enthusiasm to bring about change. They have produced the 'Our Money, Our Future' toolkit for other children and young people, to help them campaign within their own schools for high-quality PFE to be taught to all pupils. Some schools already teach PFE well, but it's very much at the school's discretion how much they teach."
:: To download the Our Money, Our Future toolkit, visit www.youngncb.org.uk/what_were_up_to/resources.aspx
Kids in the kitchen
Get the kids baking with their own mini-equipment including a Pastry Bash And Roll rolling pin (£6.99), Shake And Sieve (£12.99), animal Cookie Cutters (£5.99), and a Three In One Measuring Cup (£3.99). Many Tala products are available from www.mollieandfred.co.uk, and other stockist details are available from www.talacooking.com
::Titchy Kitch FunPod
Safely elevates toddlers to worktop height on a safety platform which has five adjustable and lockable height settings so children can cook, learn and play at adult height. Suitable for children aged between one and six years, available from www.titchykitch.co.uk, £99.
:: Little Tikes Cook & Grow Kitchen
A role play kitchen with two different heights for preschool children and older children. Features a worktop, plus an oven, microwave and refrigerator with working doors, sound effects, and a shape-sorting pot to help develop younger children's fine motor skills. Suitable for 18 months plus, £99. For stockist details visit www.littletikes.co.uk or call 01908 268 480.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.dudleynews.co.uk/newsxtra/10023215.The_family_way/
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en
| 0.9697 | 1,822 | 3.171875 | 3 |
- Research on Instruction
- Identifying Similarities and Differences
- Setting Objectives and Providing Recognition
- Cues, Questions & Advance Organizers
- Generating and Testing Hypotheses
- Homework and Practice
- Non-fiction Writing
- Nonlinguistic Representations
- Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition
- Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
- Summarizing and Note Taking
- Cooperative Learning
- Data Teams
How to Implement Nonlinguistic Representation in the Classroom
According to Marzano, Pickering and Pollock in Classroom Instruction that Works, nonlinguistic representation is "probably the most underused instructional strategy of all those reviewed in [the] book" (83). 1) A variety of activities produce non-linguistic representations and 2) non-linguistic representations should elaborate on knowledge.
Marzano, Pickering and Pollock (2001) mention several varieties of graphic organizers, also known as advance organizers. Graphic organizers should be carefully aligned to the type of text used and chosen based upon the desired outcomes for the assigned task. Categories include:
- Descriptive pattern organizer
- Process/Cause-Effect pattern organizer
- Episode pattern organizer
- Generalization/Principle pattern organizer
- Concept pattern organizer
A Bloom Ball is a great activity for allowing students to practice their cooperative skills and exhibit their creativity. A Bloom Ball is created by gluing together 12 circles that contain information important to the concept they are studying. Students can research background information that can expand their knowledge about the time, the environment, important vocabulary, and other things that deepen understanding. Linked here are some photos of Bloom Balls, created by students at Collins Middle School in Fayette County, as they read Tuck Everlasting and studied World War II.
Additional graphic organizers can be located in the book by David Hyerle, Visual Tools for Constructing Knowledge (1996).
Other Uses of Nonlinguistic Representations:
Physical Models: Physical models must go beyond the "errupting volcano." They must be combined with other concepts of learning. Many teachers use manipulatives to help students turn concrete ideas into mental images.
Generating Mental Pictures: Simply stated, the students create mental images of the content they are studying. Teachers may want to facilitate this (“Imagine walking along…” and “Picture in your mind…”).
Drawing Picture and Pictographs: Most students have used drawings to represent their thinking. A variation of drawing is the use of a pictograph which combines symbols or symbolic pictures to represent information.
Engaging in Kinesthetic Activity: Kinesthetic activities involve physical movement. Most children find this a natural and enjoyable way to express their knowledge.
Using technology to teach non-linguistic representation in a middle school classroom-ESD112
Using technology to teach non-linguistic represenation in a high school history class-ESD112
Helping Fourth Graders Understand Measurement: William Bintz & Sara Moore Summary Marshall Memo January 2012 from NCTM article
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http://et.nwresd.org/node/172
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en
| 0.905061 | 641 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Grades 3 - 5
Grade level Equivalent: 3.2
Lexile® Measure: 530L
DRA: Not Available
Guided Reading: Not Available
- Comic Books and Graphic Novels
- Science Fiction
About This Book
In a world of talking animals, there is one burning question: Did humans ever exist? Thelonious Chipmunk believes he has proof that they did: a postcard showing a building made of concrete and glass. But his sister thinks the postcard's just a dumb piece of paper, and that humans are only make-believe.
Then one day a flash flood carries Thelonious away. When he comes to, he's in a strange world that looks something like his postcard, but not quite. Then he realizes that this is the city on his postcard, only crumbling and decaying. But if this means humans did exist, where did they go? Thelonious, along with some new friends, sets off to find out.
And thus, the adventure begins!
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http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/travels-thelonious
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The US Department of Justice and the FBI have released a statement that they have identified over one million computers who have become part of a "botnet"—taken over by malicious software for the purpose of sending out spam and attacking other computers. The FBI has been working with industry partners such as Microsoft and the Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University.
The FBI and the Justice Department aren't just interested in finding and informing victims, however; they are actively working to locate and dismantle the operators of the botnets, known as "botherders." To date, the task force has nabbed James C. Brewer of Arlington, TX, Jason Michael Downey of Covington, KY, and Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle, WA, charging all three of them with using botnets to send spam and disrupt other computers with Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDos) attacks. Brewer's case is particularly troubling as he is alleged to have disrupted computers in a Chicago-area hospital.
The botnet problem is difficult to quantify: exactly how many computers out there are part of a botnet? In January, TCP/IP pioneer Vint Cerf estimated that one-quarter of all computers could be part of a botnet. While this number seems high—much higher than the FBI's one million out of an estimated 600 million computers connected to the Internet—there are other figures that paint a disturbing picture of the level of malicious software out there. Google researchers recently said that they looked at 4.5 million web pages and found that over ten percent of them contained malware or code that attempted to install malware on a user's system.
Most of these computers are running older versions of Windows—specifically versions prior to XP SP2—but there are also botnetted machines running Linux and OS X, primarily servers running third-party server software such as PHP that has not been fully patched for security vulnerabilities. As new versions of Windows harden themselves against OS-level attacks, expect to see more attacks on third-party software, particularly as users are fairly lax at keeping it patched.
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<urn:uuid:d7520fa1-e67c-41ce-9e6d-38b99f5a5802>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://arstechnica.com/security/2007/06/fbi-over-one-million-computers-working-for-botnets/
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en
| 0.96106 | 429 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Emily Dickinson called his work "disgraceful." The secretary of the interior fired him from a clerking job because of the poor moral character of his writing. His book "Leaves of Grass" was banned in Boston as "obscene literature."
But today, Walt Whitman is considered perhaps the greatest of all American poets. He broke from contemporary standards by writing frankly about the human body, and his use of everyday language and reliance on "free verse" (that is, poetry without a set rhyme scheme or rhythm) are echoed in the works of generations of poets. As poet Ezra Pound said, Whitman is "America's poet. ... He is America."
"I read him constantly and learn from him constantly," National Book Award-winning poet Gerald Stern said. "He was voluminous in spirit and in fact, and one has to separate the wheat from the chaff. This requires very careful reading and deep attention, but it is worthwhile since Whitman - and Emily Dickinson - are the two great American poets."
Stern is not alone in his debt to Whitman.
"Whitman is thought of as being the most influential American poet," said David Blake, professor of English at The College of New Jersey and author of "Walt Whitman and the Culture of American Celebrity." "It's hard to escape Whitman's influence."
And how many other bards get 12,000-foot-long suspension bridges named after them?
There's a reason the Walt Whitman Bridge, which stretches from Camden to Philadelphia, is named for the Good Gray Poet: Whitman, who was born in Brooklyn in 1819, moved from Washington, D.C., to Camden after he suffered a stroke in 1873, and he stayed there until his death in 1892. His home is even preserved as a historic landmark in Camden, a place he wrote of as "a city invincible."
Whitman's enduring popularity has a lot to do with his reliance on everyday subjects in his poetry.
"He wrote about the blacksmith. He wrote about the carpenter. ... He wrote about African Americans, about the runaway slave," Blake said.
Whitman's influence is evident in the works of generations of poets, particularly those from New Jersey. William Carlos Williams owes his use of everyday language and imagery to Whitman, and Allen Ginsberg's long line finds its precedent in Whitman's poetry.
But Whitman's most lasting legacy may be his ability to give a nation its poetic voice, impressing a distinctly American perspective on an art form that had been dominated by English poets.
"His break from English diction and English metrics changed the course of American poetry, or at least introduced a new strain of poetic discourse," said Stephen Dunn, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and distinguished professor of creative writing at Richard Stockton College. "In essence, he gave us permission to write in American, to speak our own language, to even write in the first person."
Whitman's contribution to poetry made him one of the great Americans, and one of the great New Jersey residents.
E-mail Thomas Dunford: TDunford@pressofac.com
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| 0.98137 | 640 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Wadena County ranked 84th out of 85 counties for health
Wadena is the second unhealthiest county in Minnesota, according to a study prepared by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
The study ranks Wadena County at 84 out of 85, with only nearby Cass County being worse off. Cook County and Traverse County were not ranked.
In the state overall, the rural northwestern counties tended to rank low and the south metro counties tended to rank high.
Paul Sailer of Wadena County Social Services said high poverty and age demographics factor into the rankings.
"Wadena County's unemployment is very high compared to the rest of the state. So people that are unemployed aren't as likely to go in to the doctor because they don't have their health insurance," Sailer said.
Sailer said that statistics from the agency give evidence of a bad economy. In 2007, 898 people in Wadena County were in the food support program. In the same month in 2011, the number had nearly doubled to 1,795.
Use of public medical programs also rose from 2,470 to 2,882 in the four-year period.
"That's an indication of more poverty in the county, and as a rule, counties with more poverty have more health issues," he said.
Sailer said that Wadena County has a very high per capita of elderly residents, and they tend to have more medical problems on average than the general population.
Age and economic factors interplay when the youngest - and healthiest - residents leave rural counties to find jobs elsewhere, he said.
"The purpose of the health rankings is to inform interested stakeholders of potential areas to look at to improve the health of the population. It is an opportunity to join together and look at what we can do as a community to influence health," Cindy Pederson of Wadena County Public Health said in a written statement.
Peterson said that access to healthy foods, reduced smoking and active living such as exercise and having walkable communities would give people opportunities for better health.
Premature deaths counted in 2005-2007 accounted for 50 percent of the health outcomes score.
"This portion was the primary area that we were above average in. Looking at our causes of premature death in those three years, the top causes for years of life lost were heart disease and cancer," she said.
According to a press release, Minnesota's counties are included in a report ranking the health of every county in each of the 50 states. The County Health Rankings ranks the overall health of counties by using a standard formula to measure how healthy people are and how long they live.
Counties are ranked in two categories: health outcomes and health factors (also known as health determinants). Health outcomes include the rate of people dying before age 75, the percentage of people who report being in fair or poor health and the rate of low-birth weight infants. Health factors include health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment. The rankings, which launched nationwide last year, are designed to compare the health of counties within each state; they do not compare counties in one state with counties in another state.
Wadena County is 52nd in the health factors score.
"We are doing well in some of these health factor areas, but there are also some areas that we could improve in," Pederson said.
"The County Health Rankings help everyone see that much of what influences our health happens outside of the doctor's office and where we live matters to our health," Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey said.
Lavizzo-Mourey is president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which collaborates with the University of Wisconsin on the rankings.
"We hope this second annual release of County Health Rankings data will spur all sectors - government, business, community and faith-based groups, education and public health - to work together to find solutions and take action and implement programs and policy changes to improve health," Lavizzo-Mourey said.
The County Health Rankings are an additional tool that highlights the essential role of prevention across Minnesota.
"The Rankings not only shine a light on the health of individual counties; they also demonstrate the need to include prevention in our health reform efforts," Dr. Edward Ehlinger, Minnesota Commissioner of Health, said. "We have an unprecedented opportunity to make reforms that will improve the health of all Minnesotans, and we must be sure to look at upstream disease prevention and health promotion at the same time we address other aspects of health reform."
Local health departments in Minnesota already do extensive measurement of the health of their communities. Minnesota's Local Public Health Act requires local health departments to conduct a comprehensive assessment and planning process every five years in order to identify public health challenges and strategies for improving health. "Our local health departments already do an excellent job measuring the health of their populations, to help them understand what they do well and where they can improve," Ehlinger added. "This is one reason why Minnesota consistently ranks as one of the healthiest states in the nation."
The County Health Rankings are available for viewing at www.countyhealthrankings.org.
For a list of Minnesota's local health departments, see: www.health.state.mn.us/divs/cfh/ophp/system/administration/chb.cfm.
In a separate study by the hunger relief organization Feeding America, Wadena County is the third worst in terms of hunger with 16.1 percent food insecurity. The only counties with more food insecurity are Clearwater County (18.7 percent) and Kanabec County (16.3 percent).
Results of the "Map the Meal Gap" study can be accessed at feedingamerica.org/our-network/the-studies/map-the-gap.aspx.
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.wadenapj.com/content/wadena-county-ranked-84th-out-85-counties-health
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en
| 0.967615 | 1,206 | 2.546875 | 3 |
With its 500 narrow houses bunched close together, built like a fortress in the midst of Wadi Hadramaut, Shibam is architecturally unique. Its six-storey houses, built of mud with stone foundations, look like skyscrapers. The nickname “Manhattan of the desert” is an apt one.
Twice destroyed in the 13th and 16th centuries, Shibam has scarcely altered since it was last rebuilt after 1553. The main reason is that customary law going back to that time dictates that any rebuilding must follow the exact pattern of the original. The owner may not rebuild on a new ground plan or to a different heigth. Even windows and doors have to be in the same position.
After several centuries of prosperity as a city on the spice and incense trade routes from south Arabia, Shibam went into a slow decline and was almost forgotten until two English travellers, Mabel and Theodore Bent, visited it at the end of the 19th century and brought it to the attention of the West.
Many of Shibam’s inhabitants emigrated; according to tradition, it was Hadramis who took Islam to the East Indies. Those who stayed behind depended on remittances from the far-flung migrants. The Second World War caused a crisis in the Hadramaut, cutting off the flow of funds which the emigrants had sent to their families from Java and Singapore.
The revolution and independence of South yemen (1967) hastened the Hadramaut’s decline. The sultans of the wadi fled to Saudi Arabia along with members of the wealthy Hadrami families who had built their fortunes in the East Indies. The socialist government in Aden distrusted the people of the wadi and their social structure, unchanged for centuries.
But since President Ali Nasser Mohammed became president in 1980 things have changed. He realises he cannot afford to neglect a population of some 100.000 people living in such a strategic area -- at the gateway to saudi Arabia.
In an effort to preserve the cultural heritage of the area, the government has asked Unesco to put the site of Shibam and the Wadi Hadramaut on the World Heritage list. Unesco has now drawn up a plan to save the old city as part of a wider scheme to develop the wadi, expected to cost some $100 million.
One of the Unesco experts working on the plan, Jacques Heyman, stresses the urgency of this campaign. “Today almost nothing has been done to stop the ruin of this city, which is accelerating. If Shibalm is not restored immediately there won’t be much left to restore in 10 years’ time”.
The crisis was compounded by severe floods which hit the city in March 1982, when part of the Muza dam, four miles from Shibam, was swept away.
The Unesco plan is in two stages. First, an emergency programme costing $3 million is to protect the city from further flooding. It includes temporary repairs to the Muza dam, strengthening the city walls and immediate restoration of the most decrepit houses. The second is a longer-term scheme over three or four years which could cost up to $100 million.
The preliminary study shows that some 45 of Shibam’s 500 houses are in a critical state, mainly because of damp because of flooding, poor drainage and the need to restore the layer of ramad (lime and ashes) used to waterproof the walls.
Before work can begin on the houses, the sources of damp need to be tackled -- by rebuilding the dam ($5 million) and the city wall ($5 million) and laying new sewage and fresh water systems, storm drains, electricity and telephone cables ($9 million).
Since Shibam is not a dead archeological site, but a living city inhabited by families which have lived there for generations, the government has asked Unesco to take socio-cultural factors into account.
Costly rehabilitation of buildings will be useless if new life is not injected into the valley. The Unesco plan includes a programme to contain desertification and curb emigration.
The most ambitious target is to reach self-sufficiency in food -- which would be quite an achievement in a region which has long relied on emigration to survive economically. There are also plans to develop trade and local crafts and to build a museum in Seyun, a library for the old manuscripts of Tarim and a cultural centre for the whole Hadramaut. Finally, the major archeological and Islamic sites of the wadi are to be protected and developped.
“It is not enough to preserve the external appearance of the monuments, it is necessary to instil new life into the area”, say the experts in their report to Unesco’s director-general, in preparation for the launching of an international campaign to fund the programme.
What they do not say, but imply, is that the restoration of Wadi Hadramaut’s glories may also bring pressure on the South Yemen government to open its doors to tourism.
(The Middle East magazine, August 1983; 24 Heures, 11 Mai 1983)
Droits de Reproduction strictement réservés © Chris Kutschera 2012
Abu Dhabi, UAE
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| 0.95179 | 1,096 | 3.078125 | 3 |
This report provides an assessment of how food waste levels have changed historically in the UK, and the potential impact of a range of ‘exogenous’ factors and interventions on food waste levels in the future.
- The UK has had large-scale interventions in place since 2007 aimed at reducing food waste across supply chains, and within households. This contributed to a reduction in post-farm-gate food waste between 2007 and 2012 of around 12%, or 1.6 million tonnes.
- Reductions in food waste by 2015 could amount to 2.0 million tonnes a year compared to 2007, preventing around £4 billion worth of food being wasted in 2015, and saving around 7.0 million tonnes of CO2e. Cumulatively, around 12 million tonnes of food waste would have been prevented between 2007 and 2015, with a value of around £24 billion, avoiding around 40 million tonnes of CO2e.
- A reduction of 30% by 2025, from 2007 levels (when the UK ramped up efforts to decrease food waste), could be achieved but would be extremely challenging. The actual level of reduction is influenced by factors such as population levels, global economic conditions and food prices, in addition to the levels of interventions aimed at supporting food waste reduction.
- There is a lack of data and research to accurately estimate the full social, economic and environmental costs and benefits of food waste reduction. However, the evidence available suggests that between 2015 and 2025 around 20 million tonnes of food waste could be prevented.
- This would prevent £30 to £40 billion of food being wasted over the 10 year period (at present values), and avoid 60 to 70 million tonnes of CO2e being generated
- The costs of achieving this could range from between £200 million and £530 million, over the 10 year period from 2015.
This report will inform discussions around the European Commission’s recent Circular Economy package which includes a proposal for an aspirational objective of a 30% reduction in food waste by 2025, and also the development of a proposed successor agreement to the Courtauld Commitment. Any future successor agreement would aim to deliver further reductions in food waste in addition to wider resource efficiency benefits, across the UK, to Governments, businesses, communities and individuals.
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http://www.wrap.org.uk/node/29936
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en
| 0.961541 | 458 | 3.375 | 3 |
Bringing Word Problems to Life:
Using Creation to Build a Solid Foundation
Picture this. It’s a beautiful day so you decide to take your homeschool outdoors. You head outside for a nature walk. Is this just for physical education? It doesn’t have to be. No matter where you live around the globe, the study of creation provides a perfect opportunity to lay a strong foundation for solving word problems with your little ones. From counting to estimating ratios, it’s easy to bring math into your conversation as you stroll along and observe the amazing complexity of nature. Let’s look at some ways you can bring word-problem solving into your daily rambles.
One natural first step for your littlest one is counting. You can count everything as you go–your footsteps, rocks, flowers, bushes–make a game of it, and include categories to provide different challenge levels. For example, your youngest might count all trees while the middle child counts trees over four feet tall and your oldest counts deciduous trees over four feet tall. As you walk, count to a known rhythm, or else make up counting chants. It also is easy to introduce estimation (an invaluable tool in math) by making guesses of the total before you count.
With counting, it is easy to include real-life addition and subtraction. After something has been counted, ask how many there would be if you added 3 more. Birds make it easy to practice subtraction, because after you count them from a distance, some will usually fly off as you come near. Now you can say, “There were eight birds in that tree, but six just flew off. Now there are only two left. Eight take away six makes two.” At first you can model the problem solving, but then transition to asking the child to give you the answer. It’s also fun to have your child give math questions to you as you go along.
Nature is full of predictable patterns that provide a perfect way to practice skip counting or mental multiplication. Many plants have a specific number of leaves or needles clustered together. If a vine’s leaves are arranged in groups of 3, you can count the groups and multiply by 3 to find the total number of individual leaves. A pine tree with needles clustered in groups of 5 provides a great way to practice counting by 5’s. Most animals have two or four legs, but if you look under rocks you may find creepy-crawlies that have many more. Finding six centipedes gives an opportunity for both multiplication and estimation; you probably cannot get an exact leg count, but you could do a guess at how many legs the average centipede has, and multiply that number by six.
Mental math is a skill that is often overlooked in our age of calculators and computers–but it is easily practiced outdoors. Children often object to doing complex calculations, so you can let them practice estimation. To illustrate, if you’re looking at a bush with 32 branches, which each have 12 stems, each of which has 8 leaves, you could multiply 32 x 12 x 8 to find the total number of leaves on the bush; or, you could estimate and multiply 30 x 10 x 10. You can also make estimates of area, circumference, perimeter, or volume. For example, find a puddle of water, measure its approximate length and width, using either a physical object like a stick or your hand, or by estimating using standard units. Then, estimate the average depth of the puddle. The volume of water in the puddle can then be determined by multiplying the length x width x depth. (Your estimate may be in units like “cubic sticks”–and you can use this as an opportunity to talk about what cubic units are!) Be sure to use the terms “estimate”, “approximately” and “about” frequently and interchangeably, as these terms are all commonly found in written word problems.
Speaking of common terms, it’s important to help your child build a strong math vocabulary. If your child knows the words and can picture the situation in a written word problem, it will be much easier to solve. For your beginning students, be sure to use relational words, such as above, under, between, first, and last. For older students, incorporate terms like average, proportion, ascending, descending, accelerate, and symmetrical. Don’t forget geometric terms, like area, circumference, perpendicular or horizontal. Using precise, descriptive words as you observe your surroundings will give meaning and experience to terms that are frequently used in written word problems.
Your nature walk can also be a delightful opportunity to practice fractions and percentages. For the younger ones, stick with simple amounts, like halves or thirds or quarters. By interchanging the terms “half” and 50%, or three quarters and 75% and so on, you will help your child gain an intuitive understanding of the relationship between fractions and percentages. You can say, “Hmmm, it looks like about three fourths of the trees have lost their leaves already; only 25% more to go.” As your children gain proficiency, you can calculate actual percentages or estimate with fifths, sixths, or eighths. It’s very handy to know the decimal equivalents of common fractions, so older children can estimate the fraction and then mentally divide it out to get percent, or start with the percent and reduce if necessary to get the proper fraction. (If you have them do this frequently, it may not be long before they have the equivalents memorized so they don’t have to keep doing the mental math.) The next easy step is to move from percents to decimals.
Using proportions to estimate the sizes of huge objects is a great mental exercise for children. For example, if you want to estimate the height of a tree, you need to find a short object nearby. Then, measure the shadows of the tree and the shorter object and the height of the shorter object. (Again, your measurements can be standard units, or something physical like your hand or a stick.) Since the triangle formed by the short object and its shadow and the triangle formed by the big tree and its shadow are similar triangles, the ratio of the heights will be the same as the ratio of the shadows. If you divide the length of the tree’s shadow by the length of the object’s shadow, and multiply by the height of the object, you’ll get the height of the tree. So as long as you can find a spot with good shadows, this will give a good estimate of the height of the tree.
You may have noticed that many of these mental word problems involve more than one
concept and can easily be modified so children of different levels can take part
in the problem solving. It is fun to work together to solve problems. As you develop
the habit of observing math in nature and figuring out real-life math problems together,
you’ll be helping your children understand math better and develop strategies
for solving written word problems as well. Schools use word problems as a way to
put math into real-life situations; as homeschoolers, we can teach math through
practical, real-life situations, and we don’t have to focus only on the pencil
and paper methods of the classroom. Children often struggle with written word problems.
By teaching math problems through real-life, so that solving them becomes as natural
as speaking, you teach your children both to think and observe, and equip them with
better tools to handle written word problems with ease.
Copyright, 2009. All rights reserved by author below. Content provided by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC.
Carlita Boyles is a homeschooling mother of 3 children. She has an extensive background in public school education, particularly in the area of learning disabilities. She and her husband John have developed the new math curriculum, Math on the Level, which takes advantage of the homeschool environment to teach math through life instead of through textbooks or workbooks. For more information, visit www.mathonthelevel.com.
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This category lists sites which present the history of an era or region through collections in museums composed of historic artifacts located in Ontario.
Amherstburg Freedom Museum
Presents rich Black heritage with special focus on The Underground Railroad and the start of freedom in southern Ontario. Located in Amherstburg, ON.
Arnprior and District Museum
Comprises artifacts, photographs, clothing, and implements all relating to the illustrious local heritage and the surrounding area.
Billings Estate National Historic Site
The home to one of Ottawa's founding families. Hours of operation, contact information, and directions. Located in Ottawa, Ontario.
The Bonnechere Museum
Traces the local history, the legends and lifestyles, and the major events that helped shape the various municipalities that share the Bonnechere River.
Brant Museum and Archives
Covers the history of Brant county from the settling of the Six Nations to the end of the Second World War. Three locations in Brantford and Myrtleville, ON.
Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre
A cultural center for history, genealogy, art and music. Interactive displays and programs year round, located in Southampton, ON.
Buxton National Historic Site and Museum
African Canadian History of the Elgin settlement which became North Buxton and was a terminus point for the Underground Railroad.
The Bytown Museum
Traces the history of Ottawa’s early years from the construction of the Rideau Canal and the early days of Bytown to the city’s emergence as Canada’s capital.
The history, including artifacts, and exhibits on radio and television.
The Cobalt Northern Ontario Mining Museum
Display of native silver ore, mining and prospecting equipment and artifacts, fluorescent rock display, hand-crafted silver jewelry, and heritage silver trail and colonial tours.
The evolution of money around the world and through the ages, including shells, teeth and cocoa beans, as well as today's currency. Hours and programme information.
Cold-war era bunker in Carp now open as a museum. Gift shop, news, bunker facts and exhibit information.
Dufferin County Museum and Archives
Collection of artifacts and archival material that relates to the historical development of the county.
Elliot Lake Nuclear and Mining Museum
Traces the history of the area from the lumbering and trapping days through the discovery of uranium mining, milling, and uses of uranium in Ontario.
Enoch Turner Schoolhouse
A historic (Victorian) heritage building built in 1848 located in Toronto.
Fort Frances Museum
Includes a vast collection of photographs and artifacts related to the history of the city and the Rainy River District.
Guelph Civic Museum
Features exhibitions and public programs which explore the many individuals, cultures and events that contributed to the historic development of the city.
Haliburton Highlands Museum
Established as a centennial project in 1967, the museum portrays typical village life at the turn of the century.
Iroquois Falls Pioneer Museum
Displays the history of the area from the DeTroyes expedition through the beginning of the paper mill in 1912 in Iroquois Falls.
Lake of the Woods Museum
Home to a varied and intriguing collection of artifacts and local history archives, which serve not only as the basis for the permanent exhibits but also for changing thematic displays and special events.
Lennox & Addington County Museum and Archives
Collection contains approximately 10,000 items including furniture, clothing, toys, glass, ceramics, tools and household goods.
Macaulay Heritage Park
Displays of the rich history of Prince Edward County with exhibits showing the county's beginnings to the present in Picton.
MacLachlan Woodworking Museum
Galleries, workshops, demonstrations, and events in Kingston.
Massey Area Museum
Pioneer and local history in Ontario.
Museum on the Boyne
Exhibits on the people, objects and events that shaped the area in Alliston.
Muskoka Lakes Museum
Local history in Ontario.
The Nepean Museum
Features local current events, the history of the city and the museum, volunteering information, and a listing of educational displays and services. Located in Nepean (Ottawa), ON.
Niagara Falls History Museum
Museum is housed within the old Stamford Town Hall built in 1874.
Niagara Historical Society and Museum
Features collections of early furniture, textiles, militaria and Canadiana. Provides museum hours, admission fees, membership details, and location.
An operational 19th century grist mill and museum in Nicolston, Ontario. History, photos, and structural details of the dam are presented.
Nipissing Township Museum
Artifacts from the church, and many others representing the history of the area in Ontario.
Old Stone Mill
Built in 1810 in Delta, it is one of the earliest surviving grist mills of Upper Canada. Features displays of early industrial heritage. Exhibit details, history, and restoration project information.
The OPP Museum
Orillia. Exhibits of specialized law enforcement equipment, uniforms past and present, insignia, investigative techniques and forensic analysis, vintage vehicles, and police photographs.
Peterborough Museum and Archives
Features over 22,000 artifacts, including 19th and 20th century textiles, costumes, coverlets and quilts, furniture, military artifacts, recreational artifacts, ceramics and appliances, metal toys, clocks, canoes, fossils and minerals. Includes photos, exhibition schedule, hours, location and directions.
Gives the history of the oil industry. Features a pioneer village, a railway exhibit, and the world's oldest, largest working oil rig of its kind.
Quinte Educational Museum and Archives
A collection of educational artifacts and archival material.
The Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre
Houses interpretive displays about Woodland Caribou Park, a multi-purpose room for temporary and traveling exhibitions, film and musical presentations, education programs, and conferences.
Rideau Canal Visitor Centre
Features displays and artifacts about the Rideau Canal, built between 1826 and 1832, linking Kingston and Ottawa by water. Exhibit details, calendar of events, photos, membership information, and location map are presented.
The Salvation Army - Archives and Museum
Contains exhibits and artifacts in Toronto.
Scarborough Historical Museum
Traces the story of this community's rural roots and two centuries of immigration, and includes wagon-making tools and is a reminder of the vital role local trades played in sustaining the community.
School House Museum
Includes a unique collections of artifacts and photographs, some dating back to the 1800's, illustrating the history of the Deep River area.
St. Catharines Museum
Exhibits, educational programmes on canal and local history, in addition to the Underground Railroad and Lacrone Archives.
St. Joseph Museum & Archives
Museum devoted to the one of the first French-Canadian settlements in southwestern Ontario and site of Narcisse Cantin’s plans to build a major city and shipping point for the Great Lakes. Located in Zurich, ON.
Thunder Bay Museum
Contains collections, exhibits, programs, archives, and gift shop.
Township of King Museum
Collection includes over 1200 artifacts ranging from 19th Century children’s toys, wedding dresses, the Crawford Wells General Store cash register, Church, a schoolhouse, and the oldest railway station dating from 1850 - 1852.
Wilberforce Red Cross Outpost Historic House Museum
National Historic Site Of Canada, the site of the first Red Cross Outpost Hospital, and the first hospital of any kind in the Haliburton County area. Includes hours, events and contact information.
Willoughby Historical Museum
Exhibit of items from the 1700s to the 1960s, exemplifying life in the Niagara Falls area.
Last update:December 27, 2015 at 22:40:16 UTC
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Oceanographers have completed an important step in constructing the first deep-sea observatory off the continental United States. Workers laid 32 miles of cable along the Monterey Bay sea floor that will provide electrical power to scientific instruments, video cameras, and robots 3,000 feet below the ocean surface. The link will also carry data from the instruments back to shore, for use by scientists and engineers from around the world, reports the National Science Foundation. The Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) observatory, due to be completed later this year, will provide ocean scientists with 24-hour-a-day access to instruments and experiments in the deep sea. The project is managed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and funded by the National Science Foundation. Currently, almost all oceanographic instruments in the deep sea rely on batteries for power and store their data on hard disks or memory chips until they are brought back to the surface. With a continuous and uninterrupted power supply, instruments attached to the MARS observatory could remain on the sea floor for months or years.
The cable itself contains a copper electrical conductor and strands of optical fiber. The copper conductor will transmit up to 10 kilowatts of power from a shore station at Moss Landing, California, to instruments on the sea floor. The optical fiber will carry up to 2 gigabits per second of data from these instruments back to researchers on shore, allowing scientists to monitor and control instruments 24 hours a day, and to have an unprecedented view of how environmental conditions in the deep sea change over time. "After 5 years of hard work, we are thrilled to bring the age of the Internet to the deep ocean, so we can understand, appreciate and protect the two-thirds of our planet that lies under the sea," said MBARI director Marcia McNutt. --Julia Whitty
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| 0.925261 | 372 | 3.359375 | 3 |
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