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Straub's Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice is a sweet and coveted customer favorite, but you may not yet know its contributions to sustainability in our community.
Straub’s Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice is a sweet and coveted customer favorite, but you may not yet know its contributions to sustainability in our community. Every year, 33 tons of oranges are squeezed by our Produce professionals. 100% of those rinds are collected in organic waste bins along with our other produce trimmings. These bins are sent to a facility that collects local leaves and other forms of organic, carbon-rich “brown waste.” The trimmings, or “green waste,” are added to the brown organics and they are composted together to create the local compost available from the Missouri Botanical Garden. The next time you take a sip of Straub’s Fresh OJ, you can feel even better about what you are drinking.
Why use compost?
Compost adds nutrients and micronutrients to the soil and boosts plant growth and yields. Nutrients are released at a rate related to the plant’s needs, depending on the temperature and available moisture.
Compost binds with soil improving its texture and structure. Healthy soil organically sustains your plants, providing better moisture, oxygen for root growth and improved drainage. It increases the soil’s capacity to hold 200 percent of its dry weight in water.
Composting attracts nature’s soil builders in the form of earthworms and friendly insects that rejuvenate the soil and increase plant growth. It also helps balance the pH in the soil and acts like a buffer making plants more resilient and less dependent on specific pH levels. In addition to its buffer duties, compost performs similarly to mulch and helps prevent weeds from creeping into your garden.
Organic composting materials
A basic guide to achieve composing benefits is to build your compost from two parts carbon-rich “browns” for every one part nitrogen-rich “greens.” Materials included must be biodegradable and contain nutrients that are available and usable to microorganisms. Examples of organic compost matter includes pond algae, wood ashes, coffee grounds, feathers, organic kitchen garbage—except grease, oil and animal fats—, dry dog food, eggshells, flowers, grass clippings, produce trimmings, old newspaper, leaves, weeds, and kelp. There are many more!
Learn more about composting from National Geographic! | <urn:uuid:e2750fb7-87c5-4677-8fb1-798599b5e082> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://straubs.com/blog2/?pager=5&category=smoker-menu | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932952 | 517 | 2.875 | 3 |
The Political Foundations of Modern India
Aims and Scope
What India’s founders derived from Western political traditions as they struggled to free their country from colonial rule is widely understood. Less well-known is how India’s own rich knowledge traditions of two and a half thousand years influenced these men as they set about constructing a nation in the wake of the Raj. In Righteous Republic, Ananya Vajpeyi furnishes this missing account, a ground-breaking assessment of modern Indian political thought.
Taking five of the most important founding figures—Mohandas Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, and B. R. Ambedkar—Vajpeyi looks at how each of them turned to classical texts in order to fashion an original sense of Indian selfhood. The diverse sources in which these leaders and thinkers immersed themselves included Buddhist literature, the Bhagavad Gita, Sanskrit poetry, the edicts of Emperor Ashoka, and the artistic and architectural achievements of the Mughal Empire. India’s founders went to these sources not to recuperate old philosophical frameworks but to invent new ones. In Righteous Republic, a portrait emerges of a group of innovative, synthetic, and cosmopolitan thinkers who succeeded in braiding together two Indian knowledge traditions, the one political and concerned with social questions, the other religious and oriented toward transcendence.
Within their vast intellectual, aesthetic, and moral inheritance, the founders searched for different aspects of the self that would allow India to come into its own as a modern nation-state. The new republic they envisaged would embody both India’s struggle for sovereignty and its quest for the self.
- 368 pages
- 1 line illustration, 1 map
- HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
- Academics, Students, Libraries, Institutes | <urn:uuid:ff058c42-ad3d-4ae5-b1f2-098b3aa82089> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.degruyter.com/dg/viewbook/product$002f184435 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916709 | 385 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Proton Fire Crackers and Solar Soup
Why does a bright red car look grey in the dark? Why don’t sunrays get cold on their long journey through space? And how can they be converted to electricity? In the summer of 2010, an exhibit in mondo mio!, the children’s museum in Dortmund, responded to tricky questions about the sun, light, and energy. In tune with the motto, Here Comes the Sun, the boys and girls learned that without the sun there would be no colors, life, wind, and weather.
Between July 15 and August 28, 2010, over 7,000 visitors attended the exhibit and well over half of them were children. The boys and girls played at the energy ticker with the sun to see who could make their solar powered insects chirp first. In the multi-media knowledge box, they found key facts about the central star of our planetary system: Just how big, how old, and how hot is the sun? What is it made of? Furthermore, with the computer animation, proton fire cracker, the children were able to travel to the inside of the sun and let hydrogen atoms collide with each other. In this way they learned about how nuclear fusion works.
A particular goal of the exhibit was to give children more insight into energy use, energy supply, and energy efficiency. In the sun energy lab, the youngsters learned, for instance, how photovoltaics work. And on sunny days, they prepared soup with the help of a solar cooker - made exclusively from solar energy.
To encourage Turkish as well as German families to visit the exhibit, all of the info texts and installations were in both languages. The same applied for the audio stations where professional speakers were telling stories. One of the stories was about polar bears. The light-colored fur of these animals conducts the warming solar energy to the skin where it is absorbed very well because polar bears have black skin.
Here Comes the Sun was a touring exhibit, and after spending six weeks in Dortmund, it travelled to the German capital. It was here that the exhibit was developed by the Institute of Physics at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the children’s museum in Berlin, Verein Neues Universum. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research funded Here Comes the Sun as an official contribution to the Year of Science 2010, which went by the motto ‘The Future of Energy.’ The RWE Foundation shared the costs of the presentation in mondo mio!, the children’s museum in Dortmund. | <urn:uuid:e45967cc-a2fe-4a4a-8976-25413634ead9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/625902/home/about-the-foundation/funding-areas/education/here-comes-the-sun/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964199 | 527 | 3.265625 | 3 |
National Science and Technology Week
SNOLAB staff and scientists participated in an event at Science North this weekend as part of National Science and Technology Week. Science North hosted an "Ask the Scientist" Day for elementary students and another for families visiting the Science Centre.
National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) raises awareness about the importance of science and technology in today’s world--celebrating Canada’s historic and ongoing role as a leader in innovation. The Canada Science and Tecnology Museums Corporation is the national coordinator for NSTW, leading its Steering Committee.
NSTW allows thousands of Canadians to celebrate science and technology with over 100 organizations from October 12th to 21st, 2012!
|National Science and Technology Week.gif||10.11 KB| | <urn:uuid:a60c132d-2093-4b3a-88a9-636b7783ede5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.snolab.ca/news/2012-10-13-national-science-and-technology-week | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903714 | 163 | 2.5625 | 3 |
In the Dutch era, the Moluccas were known as the Spice Islands and were the only place on earth where nutmeg, mace, cloves and several other valuable spices were grown.
The over 632 islands Maluku are sprawled across a vast expanse of ocean, sitting astride one of the world’s most volatile volcanic belts. Maluku is blessed with incredible sea gardens, idyllic, tropical beaches and rugged, forest-coated volcanic mountains.
These are the famous ‘ spice islands’ which drew Indian, Chinese, Arab and eventually European traders in search of cloves and nutmeg. In 1511, the Portuguese built their first fort in the area on the island of Ternate, and cornered the clove trade. The Dutch, who arrived in 1599, mounted the first serious threat to Pourtuguese control of Maluku’s treasures. Armed conflicts broke out, taking a heavy toll from the island populations as well as the rival European powers. When the Dutch finally emerged as victors they enforced their trade monopoly with an iron fist. Whole villages were razed to the ground and thousands of islanders died, especially on the island of Banda.
The British briefly occupied Maluku during the Napoleonic Wars, but Dutch rule was restored in 1814 and it wasn’t until 1863 that the compulsory cultivation of spices was abolished in the province. Now fish and other sea products are Maluku’s major sources of revenue, but nickel, oil, manganese and various kinds of timber also contribute to the province’s wealth.
The main gateway into Maluku is through the provincial capital Ambon, which is served by regular flights to most parts of the archipelago. Air and sea transportation connect the islands with 79 seaports and 25 airports. Roads on many of the islands provide acces to the more remote places of interest.
Maluku is administratively divided into two provinces.
North Maluku (Maluku Utara)
- Halmahera — largest island in the Malukus, yet sparsely populated
- Ternate — tiny island that once ruled a mighty kingdom of spices, now a quiet provincial capital
Maluku, sometimes South Maluku (Maluku Selatan)
- Ambon — provincial capital, wracked by riots in the early 2000s
- Buru - penal colony where author Pramoedya Ananta Toer was imprisoned
- Kei Islands
There are daily flights to Ambon and also Ternate from Jakarta.
Maluku experienced bad riots between 1999 -2004, but by now peace has returned and the people are getting on with their lives. Despite what certain Indonesian embassies and websites might tell you, foreigners no longer need special permits to visit Maluku, and the entire region has been completely safe to visit for years.
This page was last edited at 12:48, on 15 January 2009 by Jani Patokallio. Based on work by Manise Hotel, Todd VerBeek, Liz, Evan Prodromou and Tom Holland, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo, Morph, InterLangBot and Akubra and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. | <urn:uuid:1c35468a-195c-4c2b-b48b-65ab0e3a5978> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.traveltips24.com/Maluku.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945935 | 667 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Samuel Hearne—"The Mungo Park of
Canada"—Perouse complains —The North-West Passage—Indian
guides—Two failures—Third journey successful—Smokes the
calumet—Discovers Arctic Ocean—Cruelty to the Eskimos—Error in
latitude—Remarkable Indian woman—Capture of Prince of Wales
Fort—Criticism by Umfreville.
Such an agitation as that so skilfully
planned and shrewdly carried on by Arthur Dobbs, Esq., could not
but affect the action of the Hudson's Bay Company. The most
serious charge brought against the Company was that, while having
a monopoly of the trade on Hudson Bay, it had taken no steps to
penetrate the country and develop its resources. It is of course
evident that the Company itself could have no reason for refusing
to open up trade with the interior, for by this means it would be
expanding its operations and increasing its profits. The real
reason for its not doing so seems to have been the inertia, not to
say fear, of Hudson's Bay Company agents on the Bay who failed to
mingle with the bands of Indians in the interior.
Now the man was found who was to be equal to
the occasion. This was Samuel Hearne. Except occasional reference
to him in the minutes of the Company and works of the period, we
know little of Samuel Hearne. He was one of the class of men to
which belonged Norton, Kelsey, and others—men who had grown up in
the service of the Company on the Bay, and had become, in the
course of years, accustomed to the climate, condition of life, and
haunts of the Indians, thus being fitted for active work for the
Hearne became so celebrated in his inland expeditions, that the
credit of the Hudson's Bay Company leaving the coast and venturing
into the interior has always been attached to his name. So
greatly, especially in the English mind, have his explorations
bulked, that the author of a book of travels in Canada about the
beginning of this century called him the "Mungo Park of Canada."
In his "Journey," we have an account of his earlier voyages to the
interior in search of the Coppermine River. This book has a
somewhat notable history. In the four-volume work of La Perouse,
the French navigator, it is stated that when he took Prince of
Wales Fort on the Churchill River in 1782, Hearne, as governor of
the fort, surrendered it to him, and that the manuscript of his
"Journey" was seized by the French commander. It was returned to
Hearne on condition that it should be published, but the
publication did not take place until thirteen years afterwards. It
is somewhat amusing to read in Perouse's preface (1791) the
complaint that Hearne had not kept faith with him in regard to
publishing the journal, and the hope is expressed that this public
statement in reminding him of his promise would have the desired
effect of the journal being published.
Four years afterwards Hearne's "Journey"
appeared. A reference to this fine quarto work, which is well
illustrated, brings us back in the introduction to all the
controversies embodied in the work of Dobbs, Ellis, Robson, and
the "American Traveller."
Hearne's orders were received from the
Hudson's Bay Company, in 1769, to go on a land expedition to the
interior of the continent, from the mouth of the Churchill as far
as 70 deg. N. lat., to smoke the calumet of peace with the
Indians, to take accurate astronomical observations, to go with
guides to the Athabasca country, and thence northward to a river
abounding with copper ore and "animals of the fur kind," &c.
It is very noticeable, also, that his
instructions distinctly tell him" to clear up the point, if
possible, in order to prevent further doubt from arising hereafter
respecting a passage out of Hudson Bay into the Western Ocean, as
hath lately been represented by the 'American Traveller.'" The
instructions made it plain that it was the agitation still
continuing from the days of Dobbs which led to the sending of
Hearne to the north country.
Hearne's first expedition was made during the
last months of the year 1769. It is peculiarly instructive in the
fact that it failed to accomplish anything, as it gives us a
glimpse of the difficulties which no doubt so long prevented the
movement to the interior. In the first place, the bitterly severe
months of November and December were badly chosen for the time of
the expedition. On the sixth day of the former of these months
Hearne left Prince of Wales Fort, taking leave of the Governor,
and being sent off with a salute of seven guns. His guide was an
Indian chief, Chawchinahaw. Hearne ascertained very soon, what
others have found among the Indians, that his guide was not to be
trusted; he "often painted the difficulties in the worst colours"
and took every method to dishearten the explorer. Three weeks
after starting, a number of the Indians deserted Hearne.
Shortly after this mishap, Chawchinahaw and
his company ruthlessly deserted the expedition, and two hundred
miles from the fort set out on another route, "making the woods
ring with their laughter." Meeting other Indians, Hearne purchased
venison, but was cheated, while his Indian guide was feasted. The
explorer remarks:—"A sufficient proof of the singular advantage
which a native of this country has over an Englishman, when at
such a distance from the Company's factories as to depend entirely
on them for subsistence."
Hearne arrived at the fort after an absence
of thirty-seven days, as he says, "to my own mortification and the
no small surprise of the Governor." Hearne was simply illustrating
what has been shown a hundred times since, in all foreign regions,
viz., native peoples are quick to see the inexperience of men raw
to the country, and will heartlessly maltreat and deceive them.
However, British officers and men in all parts of the world become
at length accustomed to dealing with savage peoples, and after
some experience, none have ever equalled British agents and
explorers in the management and direction of such peoples.
Early in the following year Hearne plucked up
courage for another expedition. On this occasion ho determined to
take no Europeans, but to trust to Indians alone. On February
23rd, accompanied by five Indians, Hearne started on his second
journey. Following the advice of the Governor, the party took no
Indian women with them, though Hearne states that this was a
mistake, as they were "needed for hauling the baggage as well as
for dressing skins for clothing, pitching our tent, getting
firing, &c." During the first part of the journey deer were
plentiful, and the fish obtained by cutting holes in the ice of
the lakes were excellent.
Hearne spent the time of the necessary delays
caused by the obtaining of fish and game in taking observations,
keeping his journal and chart, and doing his share of trapping.
Meeting, as soon as the spring opened, bands of Indians going on
various errands, the explorer started overland. He carried sixty
pounds of burden, consisting of quadrant, books and papers,
compass, wearing apparel, weapons and presents for the natives.
The traveller often made twenty miles a day over the rugged
Meeting a chief of the Northern Indians going
in July to Prince of Wales Fort, Hearne sent by him for ammunition
and supplies. A canoe being now necessary, Hearne purchased this
of the Indians. It was obtained by the exchange of a single knife,
the full value of which did not exceed a penny. In the middle of
this month the party saw bands of musk oxen. A number of these
were killed and their flesh made into pemmican for future use.
Finding it impossible to reach the Coppermine during the season,
Hearne determined to live with the Indians for the winter.
The explorer was a good deal disturbed by
having to give presents to Indians who met him. Some of them
wanted guns, all wanted ammunition, iron-work, and tobacco; many
were solicitous for medicine; and others pressed for different
articles of clothing. He thought the Indians very inconsiderate in
On August 11th the explorer had the
misfortune to lose his quadrant by its being blown open and broken
by the wind. Shortly after this disaster, Hearne was plundered by
a number of Indians who joined him.
He determined to return to the fort.
Suffering from the want of food and clothing, Hearne was overtaken
by a famous chief, Matonabbee, who was going eastward to Prince of
Wales Fort. The chief had lived several years at the fort, and was
one who knew the Coppermine. Matonabbee discussed the reasons of
Hearne's failure in his two expeditions. The forest philosopher
gave as the reason of these failures the misconduct of the guides
and the failure to take any women on the journey. After
maintaining that women were made for labour, and speaking of their
assistance, said Matonabbee, "women, though they do everything,
are maintained at a trifling expense, for as they always stand
cook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times is
sufficient for their subsistence." Plainly, the northern chief had
need of the ameliorating influence of modern reformers. In company
with the chief, Hearne returned to the fort, reaching it after an
absence of eight months and twenty-two days, having, as he says,
had "a fruitless or at least an unsuccessful Journey."
Hearne, though beaten twice, was determined
to try a third time and win. He recommended the employment of
Matonabbee as a guide of intelligence and experience. Governor
Norton wished to send some of the coast Indians with Hearne, but
the latter refused them, and incurred the ill-will of the
Governor. Hearne's instructions on this third Journey were "in
quest of a North-West Passage, copper-mines, or any other thing
that may be serviceable to the British nation in general, or the
Hudson's Bay Company in particular." The explorer was now
furnished with an Elton's quadrant.
This third Journey was begun on December 7th,
1770. Travelling sometimes for three or four days without food,
they were annoyed, when supplies were secured, by the chief
Matonabbee taking so ill from over-eating that he had to be drawn
upon a sledge. Without more than the usual incidents of Indian
travelling, the party pushed on till a point some 19 deg. west of
Churchill was reached, according to the calculations of the
explorer. It is to be noted, however, that Hearne's observations,
measurements, and maps, do not seem to be at all accurate.
Turning northward, as far as can be now made
out, about the spot whore the North-West traders first appeared on
their way to the Churchill River, Hearne went north to his
destination.1 His Indian guides now formed a large war party from
the resident Indians, to meet the Eskimos of the river to which
they were going and to conquer them.
The explorer announces that having left
behind "all the women, children, dogs, heavy baggage, and other
encumbrances," on June 1st, 1771, they pursued their journey
northward with great speed. On June 21st the sun did not set at
all, which Hearne took to be proof that they had reached the
Arctic Circle. Next day they met the Copper Indians, who welcomed
them on hearing the object of their visit.
Hearne, according to orders, smoked the
calumet of peace with the Copper Indians. These Indians had never
before seen a white man. Hearne was considered a great curiosity.
Pushing on upon their long journey, the explorers reached the
Coppermine River on July 13th. Hearne was the witness of a cruel
massacre of the Eskimos by his Indian allies, and the seizure of
their copper utensils and other provisions, and expresses disgust
at the enormity of the affair. The mouth of the river, which flows
into the Arctic Ocean, was soon reached on July 18th, and the tide
found to rise about fourteen feet.
Hearne seems in the narrative rather
uncertain about the latitude of the mouth of the Coppermine River,
but states that after some consultation with the Indians, he
erected a mark, and took possession of the coast on behalf of the
Hudson's Bay Company.
In Hearne's map, dated July, 1771, and
purporting to be a plan of the Coppermine, the mouth of the river
is about 71 deg. 54' N. This was a great mistake, as the mouth of
the river is somewhere near 68 deg. N. So great a mistake was
certainly unpardonable. Hearne's apology was that after the
breaking of his quadrant on the second expedition, the instrument
which he used was an old Elton's quadrant, which had been knocking
about the Prince of Wales Fort for nearly thirty years.
Having examined the resources of the river
and heard of the mines from which the Copper Indians obtained all
the metal for the manufacture of hatchets, chisels, knives, &c,
Hearne started southward on his return journey on July 18th.
Instead of coming by the direct route, he went with the Indians of
his party to the north side of Lake Athabasca on December 24th.
Having crossed the lake, as illustrating the loneliness of the
region, the party found a woman who had escaped from an Indian
band which had taken her prisoner, and who had not seen a human
face for seven months, and had lived by snaring partridges,
rabbits, and squirrels. Her skill in maintaining herself in lonely
wilds was truly wonderful. She became the wife of one of the
Indians of Hearne's party. In the middle of March, 1772, Hearne
was delivered a letter, brought to him from Prince of Wales Fort
and dated in the preceding June. Pushing eastward, after a number
of adventures, Hearne reached Prince of Wales Fort on June 30th,
1772, having been absent on his third voyage eighteen months and
twenty-three days. Hearne rejoices that he had at length put an
end to the disputes concerning a North-West Passage through Hudson
Bay. The fact, however, that during the nineteenth century this
became again a living question shows that in this he was mistaken.
The perseverance and pluck of Hearne have
impressed all those who have read his narrative. He was plainly
one of the men possessing the subtle power of impressing the
Indian mind. His disasters would have deterred many men from
following up so difficult and extensive a route. To him the
Hudson's Bay Company owes a debt of gratitude. That debt consists
not in the discovery of the Coppermine, but in the attitude
presented to the Northern Indians from the Bay all the way to Lake
Athabasca, Hearne does not mention the Montreal fur traders, who,
in the very year of his return, reached the Saskatchewan and were
stationed at the Churchill River down which ho passed.
First of white men to reach Athapuscow, now
thought to have been Great Slave Lake, Samuel Hearne claimed for
his Company priority of trade, and answered the calumnies that his
Company was lacking in energy and enterprise. Ho took what may be
called "seizen" of the soil for the English traders. We shall
speak again of his part in leading the movement inland to oppose
the Nor'-Westers in the interior. His services to the Hudson's Bay
Company received recognition in his promotion, three years after
his return home from his third voyage, to the governorship of the
Prince of Wales Fort. To Hearne has been largely given the credit
of the new and adventurous policy of the Hudson's Bay Company, -
Hearne does not, however, disappear from public notice on his
promotion to the command of Prince of Wales Fort. When war broke
out a few years later between England and France, the latter
country, remembering her old successes under D'lber-ville on
Hudson Bay, sent a naval expedition to attack the forts on the
Bay. Umfreville gives an account of the attack on Prince of Wales
Fort on August 8th and 9th, 1772. Admiral de la Perouse was in
command of these war vessels, his flagship being Le Sceptre, of
seventy-four guns. The garrison was thought to be well provided
for a siege, and La Perouse evidently expected to have a severe
contest. However, as he approached the fort, there seemed to be no
preparations made for defence, and, on the summons to surrender,
the gates were immediately thrown open.
Umfreville, who was in the garrison and was
taken prisoner on this occasion, speaks of the conduct of the
Governor as being very reprehensible, but severely criticizes the
Company for its neglect. He says:—"The strength of the fort itself
was such as would have resisted the attack of a more considerable
force; it was built of the strongest materials, the walls were of
great thickness and very durable (it was planned by the ingenious
Mr. Robson, who went out in 1742 for that purpose), it having been
forty years in building and attended with great expense to the
Company. In short, it was the opinion of every intelligent person
that it might have made an obstinate resistance when attacked, had
it been as well provided in other respects; but through the
impolitic conduct of the Company, every courageous exertion of
their servants must have been considered as imprudent temerity;
for this place, which would have required four hundred men for its
defence, the Company, in its consummate wisdom, had garrisoned
with only thirty-nine."
In this matter, Umfreville very plainly shows
his animus to the Company, but incidentally he exonerates Hearne
from the charge of cowardice, inasmuch as it would have been
madness to make defence against so large a body of men. As has
been before pointed out, we can hardly charge with cowardice the
man who had shown his courage and determination in the three
toilsome and dangerous journeys spoken of; rather would we see in
this a proof of his wisdom under unfortunate circumstances. The
surrender of York Factory to La Perouse twelve days afterwards,
without resistance, was an event of an equally discouraging kind.
The Company suffered great loss by the surrender of these forts,
which had been unmolested since the Treaty of Utrecht. | <urn:uuid:9a15df23-fbeb-485b-a2d6-be3e9a1a87f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.electricscotland.com/history/canada/hudsonbay/chapter12.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977282 | 4,201 | 2.96875 | 3 |
- What is race? Is race a biological fact, or is it a historical construct?
- Does everyone belong to a race? How does one know?
- If there is such a thing as “mixed race,” is there a “pure race”?
- In what ways is the concept of race like, or unlike, the concept of “breed”?
- How is diversity of race related to diversity in terms of culture, religion, language, and nationality?
- How does the idea of race inform our sense of origins, origin of ourselves, our kin, origin of a people, of the human species, etc.?
These questions are indeed complex, often contentious, and difficult to resolve. In this team-taught course, we will explore these questions by focusing on a particularly controversial idea: the Aryan race.
Who first called themselves “Aryans,” and what did they mean by that? When and how did the notion of the Aryan become associated with a particular kind of white-ness? What is the relation identity and/or difference between “Aryan” on the one hand and “Caucasian,” “European,” “Western,” “Christian,” and “Judeo-Christian” on the other? Who today call themselves “Aryans,” and what do they mean by that?
The course material to be covered will include selected historical writings in anthropology, archeology, biblical studies, criminology, philology/linguistics, physiology, zoology, etc., a few 19th- and 20th-century novels, films, as well as some contemporary scholarly book chapters and articles. | <urn:uuid:6390287d-b471-49c2-8b89-27ae636ac095> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lsa.umich.edu/cg/cg_detail.aspx?content=1920COMPLIT490003&termArray=w_13_1920 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971561 | 367 | 4.3125 | 4 |
How long could life on Earth survive if the Sun stopped shining?
What would happen to life on Earth if the Sun were to burn out how long would we be able to survive?
The Earth's atmosphere has some capacity to hold in heat but not much of one. A relatively simple calculation would show that the Earth's surface temperature would drop by a factor of two about every two months if the Sun were shut off. The current mean temperature of the Earth's surface is about 300 Kelvin (K). This means in two months the temperature would drop to 150K, and 75K in four months. To compare, the freezing point of water is 273K. So basically it'd get too cold for us humans within just a few weeks. Some bacteria seem to be capable of surviving at extremely cold temperatures in space, so there would probably still be some limited bacterial life left on Earth. But anything else would die pretty quickly (even the rats :).
We could probably survive if we went deep underground where the Earth's internal heat is higher or if we built totally isolated habitation domes, but at the moment I don't think we're capable of something like that on any appreciable scales.
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TMPFILE(3) Linux Programmer's Manual TMPFILE(3) NAME tmpfile - create a temporary file SYNOPSIS #include <stdio.h> FILE *tmpfile(void); DESCRIPTION The tmpfile() function opens a unique temporary file in binary read/write (w+b) mode. The file will be automatically deleted when it is closed or the program terminates. RETURN VALUE The tmpfile() function returns a stream descriptor, or NULL if a unique filename cannot be generated or the unique file cannot be opened. In the latter case, errno is set to indicate the error. ERRORS EACCES Search permission denied for directory in file's path prefix. EEXIST Unable to generate a unique filename. EINTR The call was interrupted by a signal. EMFILE Too many file descriptors in use by the process. ENFILE Too many files open in the system. ENOSPC There was no room in the directory to add the new filename. EROFS Read-only file system. CONFORMING TO SVr4, 4.3BSD, C89, C99, SUSv2, POSIX.1-2001. NOTES POSIX.1-2001 specifies: an error message may be written to stdout if the stream cannot be opened. The standard does not specify the directory that tmpfile() will use. Glibc will try the path prefix P_tmpdir defined in <stdio.h>, and if that fails the directory /tmp. SEE ALSO exit(3), mkstemp(3), mktemp(3), tempnam(3), tmpnam(3) COLOPHON This page is part of release 3.27 of the Linux man-pages project. A description of the project, and information about reporting bugs, can be found at http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/. 2008-07-14 TMPFILE(3)
Generated by dwww version 1.11.3 on Fri May 24 17:56:25 CEST 2013. | <urn:uuid:c2f40a7b-07ab-496c-8f68-e64a888e7f93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hep.itp.tuwien.ac.at/cgi-bin/dwww?type=runman&location=tmpfile/3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.759921 | 428 | 3.375 | 3 |
What does Mosaic or Mosaicism mean?
Mosaicism denotes the presence of two populations of cells in one
patient, where usually one of the two is affected by a genetic
disorder. Although most forms of trisomy are due to problems in meiosis
and affect all cells of the zygote, there are cases where the trisomy
only occurs in a selection of the cells. Generally this leads to a
milder phenotype than in non-mosaic patients with the same disorder.
Post-zygote event: a mutational event or abnormally in chromosome
replication/segregation that occurs after fertilization of the ovum by
the sperm, often leading to mosaicism. Germline mosaicism denotes two
or more genetic or cytogenetic cell lines confined to the precursor
(germline) cells of the egg, or sperm; formally called gonadal
mosaicism. Somatic mosaicism denotes two or more genetic or cytogenetic
cell lines within the cell of the body (may or may not include the
germline cells). Isolated: an abnormality that occurs in the absence of
other systemic involvement.
Milewicz, D. M., Witz, A. M., Smith, A. C. M., Manchester, D. K., Waldstein, G., Byers, P. H. Parental somatic and germ-line mosaicism for a multiexon deletion with unusual endpoints in a type III collagen (COL3A1) allele produces Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV in the heterozygous offspring. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 53: 62-70, 1993. [PubMed: 8317500, related citations] | <urn:uuid:00cadd7b-9eab-41bb-a678-97d43213fd89> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ednf.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1575&Itemid=88889049 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.870547 | 365 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Capturing a Whisper From Space
Deep space communications are far more challenging than communications with Earth-orbiting satellites because the distances are so staggering. Signals must travel millions or billions of kilometers between Earth and the spacecraft. At the same time, the spacecraft's communications equipment must be compact and lightweight to allow for a larger scientific payload. Most spacecraft communicate at a very low power - up to 20 times less than the power required for a digital watch.
To hear the whisper of a signal at such great distances, receiving antennas on Earth must be very large, equipped with extremely sensitive receivers and protected from interference. Imagine a person shouting loudly to a companion a block away. If the street is quiet, the person can be understood. But what if the two pals are in Los Angeles and
San Francisco - 700 kilometers (435 miles) apart? That's exactly the kind of conditions the Deep Space Network operates under. The Earth-orbiting satellites are the equivalent of two friends shouting a block apart; while the deep space probes a scattered through the solar system - from 2001 Mars Odyssey at Mars to Voyager 1 at the very edge of our solar system.
The Deep Space Network listens to low-power spacecraft signals with huge antenna dishes that are precisely shaped and pointed at the target with pinpoint accuracy. In a sense, they are giant ears. The network's largest - the 70-meter (230-foot) diameter antenna - stands as tall as a 9-story building.
They also serve as giant megaphones so mission control can talk to the spacecraft. The network's antennas use high power transmitters to broadcast commands to spacecraft, allowing mission controllers to activate computers and instruments and make course corrections.
A Global Network
As if that weren't hard enough, the Deep Space Network must accomplish this while anchored the the surface of a rapidly spinning planet. Imagine you are standing on Callisto, one of Jupiter's moons, looking back towards Earth with a powerful telescope. First, you'd see the United States. A few hours later - as the Earth rotates on its axis - you'd be looking at Australia and still later the European continent would swing into view.
To compensate for this rotation, the Deep Space Network maintains clusters of antennas three locations - in California's Mojave Desert, near Madrid, Spain and outside of Canberra, Australia. The spacecraft signals are received at one site; as Earth turns, the spacecraft "sets" at that site - just like the Sun sets every night - and the next site picks up the signal, then the third and then back to the first. Think of it as a relay race with one runner handing off the baton to the next, who hands it off to a third. This configuration allows NASA to maintain 24-hour contact with distant spacecraft. | <urn:uuid:d8c0bddb-7279-4807-9cf0-e5df0fbc1eed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Chron&MCode=DSN&StartYear=2000&EndYear=2009&Display=ReadMore | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932653 | 563 | 3.9375 | 4 |
"Anabaptist" is actually a Greek word meaning "rebaptizer," used in church Latin from the 4th century onward, and appearing at least as early as 1532 in the English, seldom used in 16th-century German or Dutch, where the translation Wiedertäufer and Wederdooper is used from the beginning of Anabaptist history in 1525. It was never used by the Anabaptists themselves but often vigorously objected to by them because of the opprobrium and criminal character attached to the name. Its introduction and constant use by the enemies of the Anabaptists can best be explained by the fact that the imperial law code from Justinian's time (A.D. 529) on, made rebaptism one of the two heresies penalized by death, the other being Antitrinitarianism. Thus to classify the Reformation radicals as "Anabaptists" made them at once legally subject to condemnation and execution, although it still remained necessary for each local jurisdiction to implement the basic code. (Thus Zürich did not decree the death penalty for Anabaptists until 1526.) The first imperial mandate (4 January 1528, Speyer) against the Anabaptists specifically grounds the required suppression on the ancient imperial law as follows: "Since in both ecclesiastical and civil law Anabaptism (der Widertauf) is forbidden under severe penalties, and since the imperial code decrees and orders, on pain of the highest penalty of death, that no one shall have himself baptized a second time or baptize another . . . . "
The very first literary attacks on Anabaptism (Zwingli's Von der Taufe, von der Wiedertaufe, und von der Kindertaufe of May 1525, and Oecolampadius' Ein Gespräch etlicher Predicanten zu Basel gehalten mit etlichen Bekennern de, Wiedertaufe, also of 1525) use the term Wiedertäufer. The Latin writings likewise use Anabaptists (e.g., Faber's Adversus Doctorem Balthasarum Pacimontanium, Anabaptistarum Nostri Saeculi, Primum Authorem, Orthodoxae Fidei Catholica Defensio of 1528). However, in Zwingli's testimony against the local Anabaptists before the Zürich court in March 1525 he uses the term Täufer exclusively. Strangely enough, Zwingli uses the term "Catabaptist" in his major attack against the group in 1527, In Catabaptistarum Strophas Elenchus, instead of "Anabaptist."
It has sometimes been assumed that the evil connotation of the epithet Anabaptist is associated primarily with the dreadful Münster episode of 1534-1535. However, the fairly extensive polemic literature of the period before that time, written by Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, Bader, Rhegius, Faber, Bugenhagen, Menius, Bullinger, and others, gives abundant evidence that it was a designation of severest reproach and condemnation long before Münster. The Augsburg Confession of 1530 condemns the "Anabaptists" specifically in three articles, though in part based on misinformation. Abundant citations could be given showing that the term "Anabaptist" in all its forms and translations was always essentially one of condemnation as of grievous heresy and crime. More, in his Confutation of Tindale's Works (1532), speaks of "pernitious and Anabaptistical opinions." This completely evil connotation of the name, which makes it truly an opprobrious epithet, carried through the 16th century and on down through the following centuries until modern times. It is this sense of condemnation and execration which has made some modern historians, particularly Mennonites, hesitate. to use it, but usage is gradually overcoming the objectionable sense.
An illustration of the strong objection by those, dubbed Anabaptists to its application to them is the title of Dirk Philips' Dutch tract written in 1545 but first published as the fourth part of his Enchiridion in 1564, which reads as follows: Een Apologia, ofte verantwoordinghe, dat wy (die van de werelt met grooten onrecht Anabaptisten gescholden worden) gheen wederdoopers noch sectemakers en zijn; maer dat wy een zijn met de rechte Ghemeynte Gods die van aenbeginne gheweest is. (An Apology or Reply, that we who are by the world with great injustice accusingly called Anabaptists are no re-baptizers nor sect-makers, but that we are one with the true church of God which has been from the beginning.)
The original use of "Anabaptist" in the 4th and following centuries was to refer to the rebaptism of those who had been baptized by heretics, or of those who had been baptized by bishops who had temporarily and partially recanted under persecution. There was considerable controversy over both points in North Africa; over the former from Tertullian's time on (A.D. 200) and over the latter in Augustine's time (Donatist controversy). In both cases the Roman bishop's position won out, namely, that rebaptism should not be required nor permitted. Those who insisted on rebaptism were in effect repudiating therefore the authority of the church.
The Anabaptists of the Reformation period, however, did not repudiate infant baptism because they denied the validity of office of the bishop or the authority of the church (although they did in fact deny both) but rather because they denied the readiness of an infant to receive baptism on New Testament terms. They called for baptism only on confession of faith and commitment to discipleship by the candidate. They denied that infant baptism was baptism at all and hence denied that they were "rebaptizers." However, their real objection to the name "'Anabaptist" was not this minor technical one; it was rather their refusal to be classed as heretics and to be reckoned as not being the true church. Their intensity of feeling on this must be understood in the light of their deep conviction that they were the true church and that the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches were the false churches. Naturally also they did not wish to be classed as heretics subject to the death penalty merely on the basis of an epithetical identification with the Anabaptists of earlier centuries whom the imperial law condemned to death. They wished to stand on their own faith and to have their testimony and doctrine received on its own merits.
Although the meaning put into "Anabaptist" before 1535 was bad enough, additional overtones were added after Münster. Already frightened by the rapid spread as well as obstinate steadfastness and evident spiritual power of the movement, and already firmly believing the Anabaptists to be a threat to the existing order and social stability, the leaders of church and state were now sure of it for the Münsterites were actually militant revolutionaries and perverters of Christian ethics.
Hitherto the Anabaptists had lived irreproachable lives, but now the scandalous behavior of the King of Münster and his henchmen was known to all. So the invective against the Anabaptists now rises to a shrill crescendo. The Protestants in particular were concerned to vindicate themselves of the Catholic charge of complicity in and responsibility for the Anabaptists by going to extreme lengths of condemnation. The epithet "Anabaptist" was thus filled with even more venom than before, if that could be possible. It became the synonym for everything dangerous to church and state, much like "Bolshevik" or "Communist" in 1950s America.
Furthermore, the epithet was used indiscriminately of all types of left-wing groups, whereby the sins of the worst were applied to all. In retrospect Thomas Müntzer, the leader of the Peasants' Revolt in 1525, was now dubbed an Anabaptist and his sins were added to the others. In fact, he came to be thought of as the originator and most typical leader of the movement, even though he never practiced nor taught rebaptism, and had no connection with the true Anabaptist movement.
The Anabaptists themselves used no common name, indeed they were not a unified organized movement throughout, although the Swiss-South German, Dutch-North German, and Hutterite wings were soon separately organized and disciplined. Their most common self-designation was "Brethren." Because of the strong leadership of Jakob Hutter (d. 1535) among the Moravian Anabaptists, who adopted community of goods, this group was soon called "Hutterisch" or the "Hutterian Brethren," while the non-communist group being originally of Swiss origin was called "Swiss Brethren," even though they lived in many places outside of Switzerland such as the lower Rhine region. In Holland after 1545 the group came to be called "Mennists" after their chief leader Menno Simons, a name which gradually developed into "Mennonist" and then "Mennonit," although early in the 17th century "Doopsgezind" (German, "Taufgesinnt") came into use in Holland and ultimately superseded "Mennonit." Thus at least one syllable of the original "Wederdooper" is retained in the modern designation of the descendants of the original Dutch Anabaptists.
The 17th-century English Baptists took the major part of "Anabaptists" for their name and passed it on down to their 10,000,000 modern spiritual descendants. The 19th-century Baptists of Germany however did not take "Täufer," the proper translation, for their name, but instead, "Baptisten." It remained for modern German scholars to adopt the term "Täufer" as the designation for the Anabaptists of the Reformation period, thus taking up Zwingli's early 1525 word instead of 'Wiedertäufer." -- HSB
The German word Täufer has a definite meaning and is applied exclusively today to those evangelical Anabaptists who represent the ancestors of today's Mennonites all over the world. German church historiography has generally abandoned the terms Anabaptisten and Wiedertäufer; Dutch historians use the terms Doopers or Doopsgezinden for the German Täufer. In English, American, and French church historiography, however, the term Anabaptist (Dutch Wederdooper, German Wiedertäufer, French Anabaptiste) is used in a much broader and more inclusive sense to cover all types of radicals of the Reformation period. Basically the word "Anabaptist" indicates nothing more than the rejection of infant baptism (on whatever ground) and the consequent practice of adult baptism or baptism on confession of faith. This general principle was, in the 16th century, held by many different groups which can scarcely be thrown together indiscriminately under the heading "Anabaptist" in the sense that it is used in this encyclopedia (although from the 16th to the 18th centuries it was almost universally so used in Europe). For instance, the Socinian Polish church accepted this principle without belonging to what generally is called Anabaptism. The same is true of scattered groups in England in the 16th century, which sometimes are called Anabaptists, or with scattered individuals of the "enthusiastic" fringe who have only a very loose connection with the main body of evangelical Anabaptists, or the fanatical revolutionary Münsterites of 1534-1535. Professor Bainton of Yale, for instance, almost identifies the term "Anabaptist" with what he calls Left-Wing Protestantism in general, that radical wing of widely varied types which pressed for complete separation of state and church, and at the same time for a believers' or gathered church. (In German church history, mainly through the work of E. Troeltsch, The Social Teachings of the Christian Churches, 1931, first German edition, 1912, the term "sect" is used for these groups in general. Unfortunately it is not applicable in English and American church history.) It is quite obvious that this interpretation of the concept of Anabaptism is much too broad to be usefully applied to any one distinct body. Not all Protestant groups which practice adult baptism can be classified as Anabaptists, as can be clearly seen, for instance, in the distinction between Anabaptists and Baptists. But even so, the term still needs a more precise definition whereby a distinction must also be drawn between the stillen Täufer or evangelical Anabaptists (see Church History, 1940, 362) who accept the principle of nonresistance, and all other related groups which decline nonresistance, and accept the "sword" as a positive instrument. To this latter group may be counted the millennialist Münsterites and their partisans in Holland and elsewhere. (Troeltsch suggested the term "Taborites" for this type. In English church history the "Fifth Monarchy Men" would fall under this category.)
As a matter of fact, the phenomenon of Anabaptism has been subjected to manifold and widely varying interpretations, and even in the 1950s, with greatly improved factual knowledge, there was no complete agreement among church historians regarding its understanding and definition.
Anabaptism certainly does not simply mean (a) the refusal of infant baptism for whatever reason. Even the reformers themselves, Luther and Zwingli, admitted in the earlier years of their work that infant baptism is without Scriptural basis. (b) Nor is Anabaptism the same as fanaticism (Schwärmertum, Schwarmgeisterei). This is the traditional confusion mainly among Lutherans (e.g., Karl Holl) because Luther himself called all his opponents Schwärmer, i.e., people who have replaced Biblical theology with personal inspiration, special illumination, or private revelations. It is quite obvious that most Anabaptists were far from any such fanaticism (which they hated just as much as did Luther). Their strict Biblicism is beyond doubt; it was at once their strength and their limitation. (c) Anabaptism has hardly anything in common with traditional millennialism, even though certain millennialists favored and still favor adult baptism (e.g., the Münsterites, the Fifth Monarchy Men, later some Pietists). Millennialism was for Anabaptists always but a marginal idea. Finally (d) Anabaptism should not be confused with Antitrinitarianism as has so often been done and still occasionally is done (Dunn-Borkowski and Wilbur: see Antitrinitarianism). The Polish Socinians, though practicing adult baptism, declined any connection with western Anabaptism; and yet, Wilbur still considers many early Anabaptists as forerunners of Unitarianism. Thus all these interpretations expanded the term "Anabaptist" into a general concept of Free Church Protestantism, by which the concept of genuine Anabaptism loses its character and its meaningfulness.
We now turn to modern attempts at positive definition or delineation of the concept of Anabaptism.
It is quite clear that this rapid survey by no means exhausts the problem involved in a delineation of the idea of evangelical Anabaptism. The present analysis has been more negative than positive. It needs, therefore, ample supplementation. H. S. Bender's Anabaptist Vision and his analysis of the church concept of the Brethren (Mennonite Quarterly Review 18, 1944, 67-88, and 19, 1945, 90-100) might well supply it. (R. Friedmann, "Conception of an Anabaptist," Church History 9, 1940, 341-365.) -- RF
After summarizing the perception of what Anabaptism was after the revision carried out by Harold S. Bender and others, Robert Friedmann asserts in volume 1 of the Mennonite Encyclopedia above that Anabaptists were "nearer to the spirit of Christ's exemplary life and teaching. . ." than were Protestants, Schwärmer ("enthusiasts"), and millennialists, and that Bender's "Anabaptist vision" might supply "delineation of the idea of evangelical Anabaptism." This had, in fact, already happened by the time Friedmann wrote. "Evangelical Anabaptism" was identified by insistence on discipleship as the essence of Christianity, on the church as a brotherhood, and on an ethic of love and nonresistance. This became the normative description of Anabaptism. In this view, evangelical Anabaptism arose with the Swiss Brethren, and by transmission became part of Netherlands Anabaptism and of the Hutterites. Thus was Anabaptism given unity and clearly distinguished from Catholicism, from Protestantism, and from other 16th-century dissenting groups.
A revision of this portrayal began around 1960. Heinold Fast warned in a 1967 article that the Mennonite revision of four centuries of negative historiography was too tidy, too ideal, and that reaction would come. Indeed, reaction was already under way as part of a major shift in Reformation studies from systematic theology to history of ideas and from confessional history to social history. This shift strongly modified the traditional confessional (Lutheran, Reformed, Catholic, Mennonite, etc.) orientation and opened the door to consideration of the dialectic between social and political developments, on the one hand, and the development of theological positions in the various reinterpretations of Christian faith, on the other. For Anabaptist studies it meant the entry into the field of a number of non-Mennonite historians who studied Anabaptism not as the ancestral movement of the 20th-century church communion, but as part of the general history of western Europe in the 16th century. It produced a new picture of Anabaptism not only socially but also in theology.
The word Anabaptism is normally used in the late 20th century to denote the mosaic of groupings of dissenters without at the same time making claims to uniformity. In his 1972 work Anabaptists and the Sword, James M. Stayer used the term with great care in order to avoid giving the impression that he was writing about a single unified movement across Europe. He wrote about Anabaptists and defined them as those who rebaptized persons already baptized in infancy. Walter Klaassen had already used this definition in his Oxford dissertation in 1960. Calvin Pater (1984) broadened the definition by including those who, before 1525, rejected the baptism of infants, but this is perhaps too broad to be useful. These definitions were meant to avoid such confessional definitions as "evangelical Anabaptism." Thus, all those rebaptizers who have in the past been classified as Schwärmer (Melchior Hoffman), spiritualists (Hans Denck), and revolutionaries (the Münsterites) are now considered to be genuine Anabaptists.
Despite the variety of viewpoints among 16th-century Anabaptists, despite important differences of nuance even where Anabaptists appear to be similar, one may hazard to identify some themes held in common following the crystallization of the movement between 1527 and 1540. (1) All shared a basically synergistic view of salvation (human and divine "cooperation"). Justification was seen as progression in holiness; the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount was the guide to it. (2) Baptism was considered to be the sign of lay emancipation from clerical control and the spiritual enfranchisement of lay people (priesthood of all believers). (3) Anabaptists developed a Gemeindechristentum centered on the congregation, in contrast to the clericalized territorial churches, both Catholic and Protestant.
However, the open definition of Anabaptist now in use emphatically does not imply uniformity. Anabaptism was pluralistic. Claus-Peter Clasen identified six major groupings often hostile to each other, and then cited contemporary literature to show that there were actually many more (1972). The 1975 article "From Monogenesis to Polygenesis," by James M. Stayer, Werner O. Packull, and Klaus Deppermann, has become the accepted statement on Anabaptist plurality. The essay disputed the older view that Anabaptism had its origins solely in Zürich, and that Swiss Brethren Anabaptism was transmitted to South Germany and Austria and to the Netherlands and North Germany, where it developed into the Hutterian and Mennonite branches respectively. The authors showed that each of the three in fact had a distinctive character and therefore a distinct source. For South German-Austrian Anabaptism it was a diluted form of Rhineland mysticism (Packull, 1977). Social unrest and the apocalyptic visions of Melchior Hoffman put their stamp on Netherlands Anabaptism (Deppermann, 1979; 1987). Swiss Anabaptism arose out of Reformed congregationalism (Stayer, 1975).
Numerous individual studies demonstrating links and relationships between Anabaptists have gradually led to the abandonment of the Schleitheim Confession as a norm for all "true" Anabaptists. As long ago as 1956 Frank J. Wray showed that Pilgram Marpeck had borrowed the bulk of his Vermanung (1542) from the despised Münster theologian Bernhard Rothmann's Bekenntnisse of 1533. Quite as surprising was the demonstration that Melchior Hoffman's commentary on the Apocalypse (1530) was used by the Hutterites soon after Hoffman wrote it, but without acknowledgement of authorship (Packull, 1982).
David Joris had for long been a pariah, especially for North American Mennonite historians, and was condemned by relative inattention. Two major dissertations have shown Joris to have been the most important Anabaptist leader in the Netherlands before 1540, even more so than Menno Simons (Zijlstra, 1983; Waite, 1986). He was an influential figure in Anabaptism's consolidation period following the fall of Münster.
Most significant is the integrative rewriting of the history of Anabaptism in the Netherlands. Melchior Hoffman is acknowledged as its progenitor, as the person who gave the movement its basic apocalyptic stamp. The differences that appear along the "peaceful" to "revolutionary" spectrum can be accounted for by differing nuances in the era's widespread apocalyptic expectation (Klaassen, 1986). A clear line stretches from Hoffman to Rothmann, Menno Simons, and David Joris on apocalyptic anticipation. Very similar formulations of apocalyptic views on secular government and on the incarnation are found in Hoffman, Rothmann, and Menno Simons (Voolstra, 1982; Stayer, 1972, 1978, 1986). The work of these scholars has therefore shown that in some important respects there was a single movement from Hoffman to Menno.
George H. Williams' massive volume, The Radical Reformation (1962), presented for the first time a comprehensive portrayal of radical dissent in the 16th century. Moving across his stage are the whole cast of characters, from Andreas Karlstadt (Carlstadt) and the Zwickau Prophets through Conrad Grebel and the St. Gall fanatics, Hans Hut and Jakob Hutter, Menno Simons and the Batenburgers, to Michael Servetus and Faustus Socinus, with all the intricate linkages between them.
Clear links between Thomas Müntzer and Hans Hut had been established by Grete Mecenseffy (1956) and Walter Klaassen (1960, 1962), but the most important study on this relationship was done by Gottfried Seebaß (1972). His work and the work of Werner Packull (1977) established beyond question the formative influence of Thomas Müntzer on South German Anabaptism, both in its mysticism and its apocalyptic cast. By means of the thesis that mystical theology was a theology of dissent in the 16th century, Steven Ozment linked the Anabaptists Hans Denck and Hans Hut with Müntzer, Sebastian Franck, and others. The central thrust of this mysticism was that ultimately God could communicate his will to men and women directly in disregard of ecclesiastical channels, a kind of democratization of revelation. Later Calvin Pater (1984) convincingly showed that Andreas Karlstadt significantly influenced Swiss Anabaptism. Versions of Karlstadt's view and use of Scripture, his doctrine of the church, and his views on baptism, all found their way into Anabaptism.
Building on earlier work, Hans-Jürgen Goertz (1980) offered the first extended discussion of the thesis that anticlericalism was a prime motive for dissent, and that this factor provided close links between Anabaptism and other movements of the "common man," such as the peasant uprisings of 1524-26, also extensively motivated by anticlericalism. Among Anabaptists this expressed itself in contrasts between the Good Shepherd and the self-indulgent clergy, the simple reading of Scripture and its use as a means of oppression, and the improvement of life and the fruitless life of the new Protestant teachers of justification by faith alone. Other expressions of anticlericalism were the involvement of the Zürich radicals in opposition to tithes and the demand for congregational autonomy. Both central issues for peasants have been clearly documented by Haas (1975) and Stayer (1975A). Werner Packull (1985) and Arnold Snyder (1984, 1985) have provided further evidence for these links.
Finally, the relationship of Anabaptists to Caspar Schwenckfeld has also been extensively studied in recent years. Neal Blough's work on Pilgram Marpeck (1984) demonstrates dependence of Marpeck on Schwenckfeld especially relating to their understanding of the Incarnation. A complex set of relationships of Schwenckfeld with Melchior Hoffman and Pilgram Marpeck was described by R. Emmet McLaughlin (1985). The lure of Schwenckfeld's spiritualism for South German Anabaptists was clearly shown by George H. Williams in his Radical Reformation. Anabaptists and Schwenckfeld agreed on many important issues (Klaassen, 1986).
Anabaptists must now therefore be seen as an integral part of the larger phenomenon of religious and social dissent in 16th-century Europe from the Zwickau Prophets to Sébastian Castellion.
Anabaptism arose out of the religious and social ferment of the Reformation period. That Anabaptists everywhere should have been influenced in numerous ways by the Reformers, is established. That they were the most consistent Protestants carrying the reforms of Luther and Zwingli to their logical conclusion as earlier Mennonite interpreters such as Cornelius H. Wedel and John Horsch held, is a view that can no longer be sustained. For Anabaptists differed with the major Reformers both on the principles of sola scriptura (by Scripture alone), and even more radically on sola fidei (by faith alone). Because of their profound concern for ethics, they adopted variants of a synergistic soteriology which bore resemblance to some late medieval views. But there was also ambivalence among Anabaptists as to whether they were reformist or restitutionist (Wray, 1954; Meihuizen, 1970). As Hans J. Hillerbrand (1971) pointed out, restitutionists have great difficulty dealing with recent history. This point has also been made by Dennis Martin (1987), who argued that restitutionists, in contrast to reformers, can really build no lasting traditions since their revolt against a corrupt immediate past makes them suspicious even of any new institutions or traditions they may establish.
Finally, the question as to whether Anabaptism was medieval or modern has been vigorously debated. The link of Anabaptism to mysticism, its synergistic soteriology, and its version of imitatio Christi, all point to pre-Reformation forms of piety (Ozment, 1972; Davis, 1974; Packull, 1977). Alternatively, it has been argued that Anabaptism was the true harbinger of modernity in its emphasis on voluntarism, toleration, and pluralism in religion (Bender, 1955, Zeman, 1976). The early Swiss Brethren, claimed Fritz Blanke, were a vanguard striving toward a new dawn (Blanke, 1961). A carefully nuanced statement on this subject describes social tendencies in Anabaptism that moved in the direction of modernity (Goertz, 1985).
Bender, Harold S. "The Anabaptists and Religious Liberty in the 16th Century." Mennonite Quarterly Review 29 (1955): 83-100.
Blanke, Fritz Blanke. Brothers in Christ. Scottdale, 1961.
Blough, Neal. Christologie Anabaptiste: Pilgram Marpeck et L'humanité du Christ. Genève: Éditions Labor et Fides, 1984.
Clasen, Claus-Peter. Anabaptism: A Social History 1525-1618. Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1972.
Davis, Kenneth R. Anabaptism and Asceticism. Scottdale, 1974.
Deppermann, Klaus. Melchior Hoffman: Soziale Unruhen und apokalyptische Visionen im Zeitalter der Reformation. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1979; English translation, Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1987.
Fast, Heinold. "Europäische Forschungen auf dem Gebiet der Täufer-und Mennonitengeschichte (1962-1967)." Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter 24 (1967): 19-30.
Goertz, Hans-Jürgen. Die Täufer: Geschichte and Deutung. Munich: C. H. Beck, 1980: 41-76.
Goertz, Hans-Jürgen. "Das Täufertum--ein Weg in die Moderne?" Zwingli und Europa, ed. Peter Blickle et al. Zürich: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1985: 165-81.
Goeters, J. F. "Die Vorgeschichte des Täufertums in Zürich." Studien zur Geschichte und Theologie der Reformation: Festschrift für Ernst Bizer, ed. Louise Abramowski und J. F. Gerhard Goeters. Neukirchen/Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1969: 239-81.
Haas, Martin Haas. "Der Weg der Täufer in die Absonderung: Zur Interdependenz von Theologie und sozialem Verhalten" in Umstrittenes Täufertum (1975): 50-78.
Hillerbrand, Hans J. "Anabaptism and History." Mennonite Quarterly Review 45 (1971): 107-22.
Klaassen, Walter. "Word, Spirit, and Scripture in Early Anabaptist Thought." PhD diss., U. of Oxford, 1960.
Klaassen, Walter. "Hans Hut and Thomas Müntzer." The Baptist Quarterly 19 (1962): 209-27.
Klaassen, Walter. "Eschatological Themes in Early Dutch Anabaptism." The Dutch Dissenters, ed. Irvin B. Horst. Leiden: Brill, 1986: 15-31.
Klaassen, Walter. "Schwenckfeld and the Anabaptists"' in Schwenckfeld and Early Schwenkfeldianism, ed. Peter C. Erb. Pennsburg: Schwenkfelder Library, 1986: 389-400.
Martin, Dennis D. "Nothing New under the Sun: Mennonites and History." Conrad Grebel Review 5 (1987): 1-27.
McLaughlin, R. Emmet. "Schwenckfeld and the Strasbourg Radicals." Mennonite Quarterly Review 59 (1985): 268-78.
Mecenseffy, Grete. "Die Herkunft des oberösterreichischen Täufertums." Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte 47 (1956): 252-59.
Meihuizen, Hendrik W. "The Concept of Restitution in the Anabaptism of Northwestern Europe." Mennonite Quarterly Review 44 (1970): 141-58.
Ozment, Steven E. Mysticism and Dissent: Religious Ideology and Social Protest in the Sixteenth Century. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1972.
Packull, Werner O. Mysticism and the Early South German-Austrian Anabaptist Movement 1525-1531. Scottdale, 1977.
Packull, Werner O. "The Origins of Swiss Anabaptism in the Context of the Reformation of the Common Man." Journal of Mennonite Studies 3 (1985): 36-59.
Packull, Werner O. " 'A Hutterite Book of Medieval Origin' Revisited." Mennonite Quarterly Review 56 (1982): 147-168.
Pater, Calvin A. Karlstadt as the Father of the Baptist Movements; The Emergence of Lay Protestantism. Toronto: U. of Toronto Press, 1984.
Seebaß, Gottfried. "Müntzers Erbe: Werk, Leben und Theologie des Hans Hut." unpub. Habilitationsschrift, Erlangen, 1972.
Snyder, C. Arnold. The Life and Thought of Michael Sattler. Scottdale, 1984.
Snyder, C. Arnold. "The Schleitheim Articles in the Light of the Revolution of the Common Man." Sixteenth Century Journal 16 (1985): 419-430.
Stayer, James M. "The Anabaptists," in Reformation Europe: A Guide to Research, ed. Steven Ozment. St Louis: Center for Reformation Research, 1982): 135-59.
Stayer, James M., Werner Packull, and Klaus Deppermann. "From Monogenesis to Polygenesis: The Historical Discussion of Anabaptist Origins." Mennonite Quarterly Review 49 (1975): 83-121.
Stayer, James M. "Die Anfänge des schweizerischen Täufertums im reformierten Kongregationalismus," in Umstrittenes Täufertum (1975): 19-49.
Stayer, James M. "Menno and Oldeklooster." Sixteenth Century Journal 9 (1978): 51-67.
Stayer, James M. "Was Dr. Kühler's Conception of Early Dutch Anabaptism Historically Sound? The Historical Discussion of Münster 450 Years Later." Mennonite Quarterly Review 60 (1986): 261-88.
Voolstra, Sjouke. Het Woord is Vlees Geworden: De Melchioritisch-Menniste Incarnatieleer. Kamkpen: Kok, 1982.
Waite, Gary K. "Spiritualizing the Crusade: David Joris in the Context of the Early Reform and Anabaptist Movements in the Netherlands 1524-1543." PhD diss. U., of Waterloo, 1986.
Wray, Frank J. "The Anabaptist Doctrine of the Restitution of the Church." Mennonite Quarterly Review 28 (1954): 186-96.
Zeman, Jarold K. "Anabaptism: A Replay of Medieval Themes or a Prelude to the Modern Age." Mennonite Quarterly Review 50 (1976): 259-71.
Zijlstra, Samme. Nicolaas Meyndertsz. van Blesdijk: Een Bijdrage tot de Geschiedenis van het Davidiorisme. Assen: Van Gorcum, 1983.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 113-116; vol. 5, pp. 23-26. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
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As the war in Vietnam intensified, the issue of prisoners of war and war crimes gained in significance, both in Vietnam and worldwide. The MACV Staff judge Advocate became deeply involved in this issue, developing legal policy and implementing rules based on the Geneva Conventions, United States policy, and Free World forces interests.
Application of Geneva Conventions to Prisoners of War
The application of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 to captives in the Vietnam War was complicated by the perplexing legal nature of that conflict. In the classic sense, the conventions presume a declared state of war between two or more sovereign states, each fielding a regular army fighting on a readily identifiable battlefront. Virtually none of these classic conditions existed in the Vietnam conflict.
The United States recognized the sovereignty of South Vietnam, as did some eighty-seven other nations. Indeed, South Vietnam is a member of several special committees of the United Nations, and would have been a member of the United Nations itself had it not been for a Soviet veto in 1957.
The United States has not accorded full diplomatic recognition to North Vietnam, as have some twenty-seven other states. However, the United States has acknowledged North Vietnam's agreement to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and it has treated North Vietnam as a separate state in the context of Article 12 of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions.
Throughout the course of the war the government of North Vietnam was most reluctant to admit to any involvement in South Vietnam, constantly maintaining all of Vietnam to be one country and the Saigon government a puppet regime, beleaguered by indigenous patriots who wished to restore the country to the people. The Republic of Vietnam, while asserting its separation from North Vietnam and its existence as a sovereign state, steadfastly refused to accord to
the Viet Cong any degree of legitimacy, either as a separate political entity or as an agent of Hanoi.
Neither the United States nor North Vietnam issued a declaration of war. South Vietnam declared a state of emergency in 1964 and a state of war in 1965, actions taken primarily to increase its internal powers.
The types of combat forces in the war ranged the full spectrum from the regular divisions of the United States, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam to the Regional Forces and Popular Forces of the government of South Vietnam, the Main Force and Local Force battalions of the Viet Cong, the Civilian Irregular Defense Group of South Vietnam, and the secret self-defense groups of the Viet Cong. The battlefield was nowhere and everywhere, with no identifiable front lines, and no safe rear areas. Fighting occurred over the length and breadth of South Vietnam, on the seas, into Laos and Cambodia, and in the air over North Vietnam. It involved combatants and civilians from a dozen different nations. Politically, militarily, and in terms of international law, the Vietnam conflict posed problems of deep complexity. The inherent difficulty of attempting to apply traditional principles of international law to such a legally confusing conflict is well illustrated by the issue of prisoners of war.
As combat units of the United States became heavily engaged in the war in 1965, the question arose as to the proper disposition for battlefield captives and others detained by U.S. units during military operations. In 1965 the United States determined to win over to the Vietnamese armed forces all individuals captured by U.S. forces. Such an arrangement is permissible under the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions, which provide for the capturing power to release prisoners to a detaining power as long as both the capturing and the detaining powers fulfill certain obligations concerning the welfare of the prisoners.
While the legal basis for a transfer of prisoners was sound, carrying out the transfer was beset by serious legal and practical difficulties. The Republic of Vietnam regarded the Viet Cong as criminals who violated the security laws of South Vietnam and who consequently were subject to trial for their crimes. As indigenous offenders, the Viet Cong did not technically merit prisoner of war status, although they were entitled to humane treatment under Article 3, Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions. Under Article 12, the United States retained responsibility for treatment of its captives in accordance with the Geneva Conventions even after transfer of the captives to the South Vietnamese. At the same time, the United States was concerned that Americans held captive in North and South Vietnam receive humane treatment and be accorded the full benefits and protection of prisoners of war. In the south, where the government of
South Vietnam had tried and publicly executed some Viet Cong agents, there had been retributory executions of Americans by the Viet Cong. In the north, the Hanoi government stated that it would treat captured American flyers humanely, but it would not accord them prisoner of war status as they were "pirates" engaged in unprovoked attacks on North Vietnam. Hanoi repeatedly threatened to try United States pilots in accordance with Vietnamese laws, but never carried out this threat. U.S. policy was for the United States to do all in its power to alleviate the plight of American prisoners. It was expected that efforts by the United States to ensure humane treatment for Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army captives would bring reciprocal benefits for American captives.
Early in the war there had been some question in the United States command as to whether the struggle against the Viet Cong constituted an armed international conflict as contemplated in Article 2, Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions, or a conflict not of international nature, to which Article 3 would be applicable. With the infusion of large numbers of United States and North Vietnamese combat units and the coming of the Korean, Australian, Thai, and New Zealand contingents of the Free World Military Assistance Forces, any practical doubts as to the international nature of the conflict were resolved. Although North Vietnam made a strong argument that the conflict in Vietnam was essentially an internal domestic struggle, the official position of the United States, stated as early as 1965, and repeated consistently thereafter, was that the hostilities constituted an armed international conflict, that North Vietnam was a belligerent, that the Viet Cong were agents of the government of North Vietnam, and that the Geneva Conventions applied in full. This view was urged upon the government of South Vietnam, which acceded reluctantly, but subsequently came out in full support of the conventions.
A major practical difficulty in implementing a prisoner of war program was that the Vietnamese government had no facilities suitable for the confinement and care of prisoners of war. In December 1964, the Vietnamese Director of Military justice took the MACV Staff judge Advocate on a tour of courts and confinement facilities throughout South Vietnam. As a result of his observations during that tour the Staff judge Advocate prepared a study pointing out some of the serious problems that existed in handling Viet Cong suspects and prisoners. These problems were quickly becoming joint U.S.-Vietnamese problems, because combat captives and Viet Cong suspects picked up by U.S. forces, Free World Military Assistance Forces, and Vietnamese forces were all delivered to Vietnamese authorities for interrogation, processing, and possible confinement.
During 1965 the number of political prisoners in confinement
rose almost 100 percent, from 9,895 in January to 18,786 in December. These were primarily members of the Viet Cong, but also included some Viet Cong sympathizers, supporters, or collaborators. A total of 24,878 of these political prisoners were confined during the year (compared with 14,029 in 1964), while 15,987 such prisoners were released during the same period. The total rated capacity of all South Vietnam civilian jails and prisons was about 21,400. Few political prisoners, terrorists, or prisoners of war were customarily held in Vietnamese military prisons, which were used primarily as pretrial detention centers for Army deserters and other military offenders. After June 1965 the prison population steadily rose until by early 1966 there was no space for more prisoners in the existing jails and prisons. The practical effect of this was that as new prisoners were confined others had to be discharged. Average time of confinement for all prisoners, including Viet Cong, was about six months. Thus a few months after apprehension a Viet Cong member could be, and usually was, back in operation, while had he been a prisoner of war he would have been restrained "for the duration."
Lack of physical space was but one of many serious problems. An important factor in the operations of the jails and prisons was simply the cost of feeding the prisoners. At an average allowance of 14 piasters (100) per prisoner per day, the monthly cost by early 1966 ran to about ten and a half million piasters a month. Confinement authorities complained of chronic difficulty in feeding the large number of prisoners they-were. required to care for, and the jailer in one province was understandably reluctant to accept and feed prisoners from other provinces. Again, the result was that many prisoners were released after a short time simply because they could not be fed.
Confinement facilities were also handicapped by a severe shortage of qualified administrative and security officers. As an illustration, in 1965 at the Tam Hiep prison there were 30 guards for all shifts and 50 other personnel to control and train almost 1,000 prisoners. In 1966 at Nha Trang Province jail there were 26 guards and 1 instructor for about 440 prisoners. The situation was further aggravated by the frequent loss of guards, jailers, wardens, and instructors who were drafted into the military. This manpower shortage not only thwarted any meaningful classification and rehabilitation program for the prisoners, but also seriously threatened the security of jails and prisons, which were prime Viet Cong targets as long as they held Viet Cong prisoners.
In terms of the war effort, probably the most serious shortcoming of the prisons was the fact that common criminals, Viet Cong suspects, prisoners of war, and even juvenile delinquents were all mixed together. This enabled Viet Cong agents to foment resentment against the government of the Republic of Vietnam and to proselitize their
fellow prisoners; it also increased a Viet Cong's chance for early release as part of the normal inflow-outflow of the prison population. The following figures show the population of Vietnamese jails and prisons that housed political prisoners as of the end of 1965. The figures do not include military prisons, which at that time also held some Viet Cong who were taken in combat and more closely resembled the classical prisoners of war.
|Prisons||Total prisoners||Viet Cong||Prisoners of war|
|Con Son National Prison||3,551||2,934||41|
|Chi Hoa National Prison||4,179||1,513||0|
|Tam Hiep National Prison||946||809||137|
|Thu Duc National Prison||673||296||0|
|42 Province jails||14,035||12,069||886|
Three possible ways of alleviating the overcrowded conditions in the prisons, brought on by the escalation of the war, were suggested: a prisoner of war camp construction program; a broadening of the prisoner of war concept beyond the terms of Article 4 of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions so as to include more Viet Cong in the prisoner of war category; and the establishment by the Vietnamese government of re-education centers to separate and rehabilitate suspects who either did not qualify for prisoner of war status or were to be brought before a criminal court as civilian defendants.
In August 1965 the U.S. government and the Vietnamese government notified the International Committee of the Red Cross that their armed forces were abiding by and would continue to abide by the Geneva Conventions. In September a Vietnamese-U.S. joint military committee was appointed to work out details on the application of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions in Vietnam. By October the committee had issued three-by-five-inch cards and other training aids for the troops, explaining prisoner of war treatment under the Geneva Conventions. A program of instruction for all U.S. and Vietnamese military units was established to teach the basic rules to be applied in the handling of prisoners. U.S. units and advisers were instructed to identify and record all captives turned over to the Vietnamese, specifying to whom the captives were transferred. Vietnamese military legal advisers were briefed by the MACV Staff judge Advocate on the legal aspects of applying the conventions. The Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, established a policy that all suspected Viet Cong captives taken by U.S. forces were to be treated initially as prisoners of war by the capturing unit. Capturing units were responsible for all of the enemy taken prisoner during the course of operations, from the time of their capture to the time the prisoners were released to Vietnamese authorities. Captives were to be interrogated and detained by U.S. forces
only long enough to obtain from them any legitimate tactical intelligence they possessed. Captives were then to be sent to a combined U.S.-Vietnamese Army interrogation center for classification and further processing. Prisoners of war were sent to prisoner of war camps; innocent civilians were released and returned to the place of capture, if possible; civilian defendants were turned over to Vietnamese civil authorities or the province security committee; former Viet Cong seeking amnesty under the Chieu Hoi (Open Arms) program were sent to the Chieu Hoi center. Chieu Hoi was an amnesty program established by the Vietnamese government to encourage Viet Cong to return to government control.
The classification of Viet Cong combatants and Viet Cong suspects posed an interesting legal problem. Because it believed the Viet Cong were traitors and criminals, the Vietnam government was reluctant to accord prisoner of war status to Viet Cong captives. Furthermore it was certainly arguable that many Viet Cong did not meet the criteria of guerrillas entitled to prisoner of war status under Article 4, Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions. However, civil incarceration and criminal trial of the great number of Viet Cong was too much for the civil resources at hand. In addition, Article 22 prohibited the mingling of civil defendants with prisoners of war. By broadly construing Article 4, so as to accord full prisoner of war status to Viet Cong Main Force and Local Force troops, as well as regular North Vietnamese Army troops, any Viet Cong taken in combat would be detained for a prisoner of war camp rather than a civilian jail. The MACV policy was that all combatants captured during military operations were to be accorded prisoner of war status, irrespective of the type of unit to which they belonged. Terrorists, spies, and saboteurs were excluded from consideration as prisoners of war. Suspected Viet Cong captured under circumstances not warranting their treatment as prisoners of war were handled as civilian defendants. MACV policy concerning the classification and treatment of prisoners of war was first codified in MACV Directive 381-11, dated 5 March 1966. (See Appendix D.)
The delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross speaking in Saigon had the following to say about the MACV policy concerning treatment of Viet Cong as prisoners of war:
The MACV instruction . . . is a brilliant expression of a liberal and realistic attitude.... This text could very well be a most important one in the history of the humanitarian law, for it is the first time . . . that a government goes far beyond the requirements of the Geneva Convention in an official instruction to its armed forces. The dreams of today are the realities of tomorrow, and the day those definitions or similar ones will become embodied in an international treaty . . . will be a great one for man concerned about the protection of men who cannot protect themselves.
... May it then be remembered that this light first shone in the darkness of this tragic war of Vietnam.
Establishing a Prisoner of War Program
On 27 November 1965 the joint Military Committee proposed a workable plan for application of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions by the U.S., Vietnamese, and Free World forces. The plan called for the construction of five prisoner of war camps, one in each corps tactical zone and one in the Capital Military Region (Saigon), each having an initial capacity of 1,000 prisoners. Each camp would be staffed by Vietnamese military police, with U.S. military police prisoner of war advisers also assigned to each stockade. The plan was approved in December 1965-a temporary prisoner of war camp was to be established at Bien Hoa in early January 1966, with permanent prisoner of war camps to follow. Prisoner of war camp construction continued to receive priority command attention in 1966. The Bien Hoa camp in III Corps was opened in May, the Pleiku camp in II Corps was completed in August, and the Da Nang camp in I Corps was opened in November. Late in the year work was begun on the Can Tho camp in IV Corps.
The objectives for the prisoner of war program for 1967 were ambitious: to identify and transfer prisoners of war in civilian jails and prisons to Vietnamese Army prisoner of war camps; to establish a program of repatriation of prisoners of war; to promulgate the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1949; to establish effective prisoner of war accountability procedures and maintain records for the identification and handling of prisoners of war; to construct additional prisoner of war camps as required; to establish prisoner of war labor and educational programs; to adhere to the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions as closely as possible with respect to mail, medical attention, Red Cross visits, visiting privileges, and health and welfare.
By the end of 1967 the prisoner of war camp capacity had increased from 3,000 to 13,000. In March 1968 a camp for female prisoners of war was established at Qui Nhon, and in April steps were taken to concentrate all Viet Cong prisoners of war under age eighteen at the Bien Hoa camp, where they received special rehabilitation, education, and vocational training. A central prisoner of war camp was constructed at Phu Quoc Island, off the coast of Cambodia, and by the end of 1968 the prisoner of war camps could house a population of 21,000 normally, and a total of 32,000 on an emergency or short-range basis. All gradually expanded until by 11 December 1971 the Vietnamese government held 35,665 prisoners of war in six camps. Of these, 13,365 had been captured by U.S. forces.
Inspections by the International Committee of the Red Cross
Construction of the prisoner camps was a major feat in itself, but the U.S. and Vietnamese governments worked hard in many other areas to fulfill their responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions. At first the Vietnam government was reluctant to co-operate with the International Committee of the Red Cross with respect to inspections and furnishing lists of prisoners. Furthermore, the Democratic Republic of North Vietnam refused to allow the Red Cross any access to their prisoners and the South Vietnamese felt there should be reciprocity. In South Vietnam confinement facilities were the responsibility of the Minister of the Interior, and at the urging of the United States he agreed to allow more visits by Red Cross representatives to Vietnamese civil prisons and re-education centers where prisoners of war were being detained until the completion of the camps. In early 1966, as a result of U.S. efforts, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited prisons at Tam Hiep, Con Son, and Da Nang, and the prisoner of war camp under construction at Bien Hoa. After it was completed, the Bien Hoa camp was again visited by Red Cross representatives in August 1966. The representatives were favorably impressed with the camp and agreed to provide health and welfare items on their next visit. In October 1966 the committee's representatives visited detention facilities in Da Nang and Pleiku, and again they were favorably impressed. Another Red Cross representative, accompanied by a Saigon delegation, made an extensive tour from 29 November until 8 December 1966 of South Vietnamese, Free World, and U.S. prisoner of war facilities throughout the Republic of Vietnam. The representative visited Vietnamese prisoner of war camps in I, II, and III Corps Tactical Zones; two Vietnamese Army hospitals; the Australian prisoner of war collecting point and field hospital; the Republic of Korea Capitol Division collecting point and hospital; the four U.S. collecting points and six U.S. hospitals; the III Marine Amphibious Force special detention facility at Da Nang; and the Philippine hospital at Tay Ninh. In 1967 members of the international press accompanied the representatives on their visits to two camps.
Despite the many problems they encountered, the record is clear that the United States and Vietnam made a vigorous effort to adhere to the exacting standards of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions. Within the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, the provost marshal was responsible for advising the Vietnamese prisoner of war camps, ensuring that they were operated in conformity with Geneva requirements, and acting as the point of contact for representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross. MACV policy and procedures pertaining to Red Cross inspections of prisoner of war
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS VISITS VIETNAMESE ARMY PRISONER OF WAR CAMP AT LONG BINH
camps were set forth in MACV Directive 190-6. (See Appendix E.)
In August 1966 a committee began to screen prisoners who had been placed in civilian jails before the construction of the prisoner of war camps. The committee, which was composed of representatives from MACV directorates of personnel, intelligence, and logistics and their Vietnamese counterparts, screened all four national prisons and 37 provincial jails. The committee identified 1,202 men as prisoners of war; all but 27 of these had been transferred to prisoner of war camps by the end of 1967, as the screening process continued.
Several programs to improve the living standards of prisoners of war were approved in 1967, among them a pilot educational program to teach reading and writing. Mailing privileges were granted the prisoners and visitation rights given the families of Viet Cong prisoners of war. Health and comfort items were issued free, and a dispensary with a medical doctor and staff was established at each camp. In August 1967 the MACV directorate of personnel established a Prisoner of. War Work Advisory Detachment to encourage and assist work programs at the prisoner of war camps. In December 1967, the Vietnamese government approved a labor program whereby prisoners of war would work and be paid 8 piasters per day. This program, which was in accordance with recommendations of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions, became effective 1 April 1968.
Throughout the course of the war the allies maintained a major and sustained effort to promote a reciprocal program of prisoner repatriation. On 3 February 1967, twenty-eight North Vietnamese prisoners of war were released at the Ben Hai River to return to North Vietnam through the demilitarized zone. On 11 March 1967, two Viet Cong prisoners of war captured by U.S. forces were released in response to the release of two U.S. prisoners of war. On 20 March two North Vietnamese PT boat crewmen were repatriated through Cambodia; on 22 March the South Vietnamese released twenty-two Viet Cong prisoners of war and on 23 June 1967 three Viet Cong captured by U.S. forces were released at a jungle rendezvous in exchange for the release of two U.S. prisoners and one Filipino captured by the Viet Cong. In April 1967 a screening program was begun to identify prisoners of war who, because of illness, were qualified for release under Articles 109 and 110 of the Geneva Conventions. The screening team included two Swiss physicians under contract to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Of the 286 prisoners screened, 135 qualified medically for repatriation. Of those qualified for repatriation, only 39 wished to return to North Vietnam. To this group was added a female prisoner of war who had given birth in a South Vietnamese hospital. The 40 prisoners and the infant were repatriated to North Vietnam through the demilitarized zone on 12 June 1967; on the same day four Viet Cong-U.S. prisoners were released in South Vietnam. During 1967 a total of 139 prisoners of war were released in South Vietnam or repatriated to North Vietnam.
In 1968 the government of South Vietnam, with U.S. support, sought to repatriate 40 sick and wounded prisoners of war to North Vietnam under Articles 109 and 110 of the Geneva Conventions. The prisoners were examined by a Red Cross physician and had expressed a desire to return to the north. The Vietnamese made the repatriation offer through the Red Cross, which sent a telegram to the North Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposing repatriation in late January or early February. When no reply was received, the South Vietnamese asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to renew its efforts in May, but there was still no reply by the end of the year. Efforts by the South Vietnamese and the Red Cross to repatriate these 40 prisoners of war, and 24 civilians as well, continued through 1969, but to no avail. At the Paris Peace Talks of 13 November 1969 the South Vietnamese proposed returning 62 sick and wounded prisoners of war to North Vietnam. The offer was declined. It was the position of the South Vietnamese that if Geneva Prisoner of War Articles 109 and 110 required the capturing state to
repatriate the sick and wounded, these articles also required the home state of the prisoners of war to accept those prisoners who wished repatriation. The South Vietnamese even proposed transporting sick and wounded prisoners of war by sea to any port or point on the coast of North Vietnam, but received no response to this offer.
During 1969 the Republic of Vietnam did release 191 Viet Cong prisoners of war in South Vietnam for reasons of youth, age, or pregnancy under Article 21 of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions. Also, some prisoners of war who were not deemed to be "hard-core" Viet Cong were transferred to the favored Hoi Chanh status, under the Chieu Hoi amnesty program. These transfers particularly applied to youths seventeen and under, Efforts to repatriate prisoners of war to North Vietnam and to secure the release of U.S. and South Vietnamese prisoners of war continued through 1970, but met with little success. In January 1971 the Republic of Vietnam offered to repatriate all sick and wounded prisoners to North Vietnam. This offer was ignored. On 29 April 1971 the Vietnam government requested North Vietnam to conclude a bilateral agreement for the repatriation or internment in a neutral country of those prisoners of war who had been held captive for a long period of time. This offer was ignored, but in May 1971 North Vietnam finally agreed to accept 570 sick and wounded prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross interviewed 660 sick and wounded prisoners, of whom only 13 wished to be repatriated. As arranged, these thirteen were taken by sea to a point off the coast of North Vietnam; but before they were released North Vietnam canceled the agreement to accept the prisoners and they were returned to Da Nang. This ended repatriations for the remainder of 1971.
Throughout the war the United States had urged the South Vietnamese to release qualified prisoners of war, seeking possible reciprocal action by North Vietnam. The South Vietnamese had been understandably reluctant to release unilaterally large numbers of able-bodied prisoners of war, but after the national election of October 1970, the Republic of Vietnam transferred 2,300 Viet Cong prisoners who pledged loyalty to the government to Chieu Hoi centers and released 623 outright. Through I March 1972, South Vietnam released a total of 5,960 prisoners of war. Of this total 188 were repatriated to North Vietnam, 900 were released in South Vietnam, 1,784 were reclassified, and 3,084 were accepted into the Chieu Hoi program. In contrast, by the end of 1971 the Communists had released 53 American prisoners of war; they had allowed no visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Communist prisoner of war camps in North Vietnam or South Vietnam; and they had made no effort to repatriate sick and wounded prisoners. Mailing privileges for U.S. prisoners held in North Vietnam had been al-
lowed sporadically and in an arbitrary manner. Finally, the Communists had refused to furnish a comprehensive and accurate list of the prisoners they held. Although both the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese consistently maintained that their prisoners received humane treatment, their efforts to comply with the provisions of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions were negligible.
MACV Policy on Prevention and Investigation of War Crimes
The first MACV directive dealing specifically with war crimes was Directive 20-4, dated 20 April 1965. Its purpose was to designate the agencies responsible for conducting investigations of alleged or apparent violations of the Geneva Conventions inflicted by hostile forces upon U.S. military or civilian personnel assigned to Vietnam. The directive defined war crimes as violations of the law of war, and stated that "grave breaches" of the Geneva Conventions, such as willful killing, torture, or inhuman treatment of persons protected by the conventions constituted war crimes. The directive also addressed itself to "prohibited acts" under common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, defining them as those acts which "would be war crimes but for the fact the existing conflict is not yet deemed to be international in character." In retrospect, this early directive is interesting in two respects. The directive concerned itself only with those violations inflicted by hostile forces upon U.S. citizens, and it stated that the fighting in Vietnam was not yet an armed international conflict in the legal sense.
The reasons for drafting the directive in this manner were immediate and practical. Prior to the introduction of ground combat units in Vietnam in March 1965, U.S. troops in Vietnam served in an advisory capacity; U.S. units had not planned or executed combat operations or taken prisoners, and there were no indications that U.S. advisers were violating the Geneva Conventions. To the contrary, the only atrocities known to the U.S. command at the time were those committed against U.S. advisers by the Communists. MACV Directive 204 was promulgated to ensure appropriate investigation of such atrocities. (See Appendix F.) As to the international nature of the conflict, the principal enemy of the Republic of Vietnam at the time was the Viet Cong, whose members the republic regarded as domestic criminals. The government of North Vietnam did not admit that its troops were in the south, or that it was in any way sponsoring the Viet Cong, whom it considered local patriots struggling against dictatorial regime.
MACV Directive 20-4 was updated on 25 March 1966 with several significant changes. The scope of the directive was broadened to include war crimes committed by U.S. personnel as well as those against U.S. personnel. In consonance with the official U.S. position
that the struggle in Vietnam by then constituted an armed international conflict, no mention was made of a lesser category of "prohibited acts," as defined in the earlier directive, and eighteen examples of acts which constituted war crimes were given.
The directive clearly stated that the willful killing, torture, or inhuman treatment of, or willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to the body or health of persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of the armed forces who had laid down their arms or who were not combatants because of sickness, wounds, or any other cause, was a war crime. Other acts specified as war crimes were maltreatment of dead bodies, firing on localities which were undefended and without military significance, pillage or purposeless destruction, killing without trial of spies or other persons who committed hostile acts, and compelling prisoners of war or civilians to perform labor prohibited by the Geneva Conventions.
The directive went on to fix responsibility on every member of the U.S. armed forces for reporting incidents which could constitute war crimes. It stated that "It is the responsibility of all military personnel having knowledge or receiving a report of an incident or of an act thought to be a war crime to make such incident known to his commanding officer as soon as practicable. Personnel performing investigative, intelligence, police, photographic, grave registration or medical functions, as well as those in contact with the enemy will, in the normal course of their duties, make every effort to detect the commission of war crimes and will report the essential facts to their commanding officer."
As was the-practice for all MACV directives, MACV Directive 20-4 was updated periodically. It was also supplemented by a number of other directives pertaining to the Geneva Conventions, war crimes, and prisoners of war. MACV Directive 27-5, Legal Services: War Crimes, and Other Prohibited Acts, dated 2 November 1967, listed acts which constituted war crimes and stated, "Commission of any act, enumerated in paragraph 4, above, or constituting a war crime is prohibited. Violation of this directive will be punishable in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military justice." Other regulations pertinent to war crimes and prisoners of war were MACV Directive 190-3, Military Police: Enemy Prisoners of War, 6 April 1967; MACV Directive 20-5, Inspections and Investigations: Prisoners of War-Determination of Eligibility, 17 May 1966; MACV Directive 381-46, Military Intelligence: Combined Screening of Detainees, 27 December 1967; MACV Directive 335-1, Reports of Serious Crimes or Other Incidents, 5 January 1966; and Geneva Conventions Checksheet sent to all judge advocates in Vietnam. (See Appendix G.)
Throughout 1965, 1966, and 1967 the most grievous breaches of
the Geneva Conventions continued to be those committed by the Communists, and there were several cases where U.S. troops were murdered and their bodies mutilated by the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese. The Viet Cong policy of kidnapping civilians, assassinating public officials, and terrorizing entire populations continued. Communist tactics against the Montagnards, indigenous mountain tribes, were particularly vicious.
On the American side, the sudden massive U.S. troop buildup in Vietnam that began in 1965 created many problems for the U.S. command, and incidents of war crimes by U.S. troops began to be reported. For example, during the period between 1 January 1965 and 31 August 1973, there were 241 cases (excluding My Lai) which involved allegations of war crimes against United States Army troops. One hundred and sixty of these cases, upon investigation, were determined to be unsubstantiated. Substantiated allegations of war crimes Violations committed in Vietnam by personnel subject to the Uniform Code of Military justice were prosecuted under the provisions of the code. From January 1965 through August 1973, 36 cases involving war crimes allegations against Army personnel were tried by court-martial. Sixteen cases involving thirty men resulted in acquittal or dismissal after arraignment. Twenty cases involving thirty-one Army servicemen resulted in conviction. By the time the U.S. troop buildup was in full swing, various MACV directives contained a sufficient body of law clearly to define, prohibit, and provide for the investigation of war crimes. The constant rotation of troops created a continual need to get the information to the troops.
Long before U.S. troop units were engaged in combat in Vietnam, the Army had included in its training programs material designed to inculcate in the troops a knowledge of their rights and obligations under the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Army Regulation 350-216, dated 19 December 1965, placed upon the Commanding General, Continental Army Command, the responsibility of incorporating within appropriate training programs periods of instruction designed to insure that all members of the Army were familiar with the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The soldier's first introduction to the Geneva Conventions was during basic training, where he received two hours of formal instruction, followed by a test, the results of which were noted on his record. During advanced individual training, instruction in the Geneva Conventions was integrated with other subjects and principles were applied during field exercises. Annex B of Continental Army Command Regulation 350-11 dated 15 June 1965, required commanders to take continuing action to incorporate instruction on
the Geneva Conventions in their training programs. Training programs pertaining to the Geneva Conventions were the subject of a comprehensive review, and several steps were taken to increase and improve instruction by the use of training films and combined judge advocate-combat arms officer training teams.
In Vietnam, Geneva Conventions training was intensified and became more formalized as troop strength increased. As early as August 1965, the Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, directed that the educational program for all U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam include the issuance of a three-by-five-inch card containing the basic requirements of the Geneva Conventions pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war. By October 1965 cards had been prepared in English for U.S. personnel and in Vietnamese for Vietnamese armed forces personnel. U.S. units were instructed in the basic rules of handling prisoners and MACV judge advocate personnel briefed Vietnamese military legal personnel on the application of the conventions. Troops arriving in Vietnam received Geneva Conventions orientation during their initial in-processing period, where they also received a copy of the card, "The Enemy in Your Hands." (See Appendix H.)
The Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, continuously and emphatically stressed the importance of all troops acting in accordance with the laws of war. In November 1965, he discussed with the chief of staff of the Vietnamese joint General Staff the importance of adhering to the Geneva Conventions pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war. The commander conferred periodically with Vietnamese officials on this subject and on the importance of proper deportment by all troops in general. The results of this concern became noticeable in several areas, one noteworthy example being the promulgation in March 1967 by the Vietnamese government of a National Decree stating the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. In August 1966 the Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, personally wrote separate letters to all of his major commanders on this same theme, stating in part, "Active command interest in this program, in coordination with Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces authorities, which assures that prisoners of war and combat captives are properly processed and handled in accordance with International Law is vital."
This theme was repeated over and over again. A MACV command information bulletin, titled Application of the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions in Vietnam, dated October 1966, instructed the U.S. troops that the Geneva Prisoner of War Conventions applied to Vietnam even though there was no formal declaration of war by the United States. Moreover, the United States was applying not
only the letter of the law, but also the spirit of the Geneva Conventions, which were designed to protect the individual who could no longer protect himself. Prisoner of war treatment was to be extended to all Viet Cong and to all members of regular North Vietnamese units, whether captured in combat or not, as long as they were not criminals, spies, saboteurs, or terrorists. Criminals, spies, saboteurs, and terrorists were to be given humane treatment and turned over to the Vietnamese government for trial.
The bulletin explained the steps to be taken immediately upon capture of enemy personnel, and stressed that prisoners must be protected from torture, humiliation, degrading treatment, reprisals, or any act of violence. The categories of detained persons (innocent civilians, prisoners of war, returnees, and civil defendants) were listed, with a reference to the MACV directive which outlined processing procedures for each type of detainee. The bulletin went on to explain the importance of observing humanitarian principles in waging war, giving specific reasons why it was in the interest of the U.S. for American troops to treat prisoners humanely. In conclusion, the bulletin urged the troops to follow the rules on the card "The Enemy in Your Hands." In addition, through U.S. judge advocate resources in Vietnam the MACV Staff judge Advocate's office monitored the troop education program and disciplinary aspects of Geneva Conventions violations.
These efforts on the part of the U.S. command were commended by the Red Cross in a letter of 5 January 1968 to W. Averell Harriman, U.S. Ambassador at Large. Samuel A. Gonard, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, wrote: "We are convinced that in the context of the war in Vietnam the U.S. Forces are devoting a major effort to the spread of knowledge of the Geneva Conventions."
War Crimes Investigation
For the most part, war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Vietnam fell into two principal categories: willful murder or assault of noncombatants; and mutilation and maltreatment of dead bodies. Serious incidents involving assault, rape, and murder that were not directly connected with military operations in the field were not characterized as war crimes but were reported through military police channels as violations of the Uniform Code of Military justice.
Acts constituting war crimes were also offenses against the Uniform Code of Military justice, and as such were investigated by agents of the Criminal Investigation Division. Pertinent MACV directives required a concurrent investigation of war crimes by an investigating officer who was concerned not only with the details
of the crime, such as the persons involved and where, when, and what occurred, but also with the broader question of how and why the incident took place. The scope of this investigation included an examination of the established rules of engagement and command and control procedures that were in effect at the time, and how these procedures were implemented. The question to be determined was whether there was any failure of command responsibility.
When an investigation was completed, the report was delivered to the general court-martial convening authority, who had appointed the investigating officer. The appointing authority reviewed the report and approved or disapproved it. If approved, the report of the investigation with the appointing authority's indorsement was forwarded through channels to the Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. At MACV headquarters it was circulated to appropriate staff offices, including the Staff judge Advocate, for review. The report could be returned for further action or approved by the MACV commander or chief of staff. After final review, a war crimes investigation report concerning any person was forwarded to The judge Advocate General, Department of the Army.
The Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, had considered establishing special war crimes teams and having the Army maintain centralized files on war crimes for all services, but this was not done because the laws prohibiting war crimes and the administrative and judicial machinery for investigating and punishing such offenses were judged adequate. Murder, rape, assault, arson, pillage, and larceny were all punishable as offenses against various sections of the Uniform Code of Military justice, and there were many directives from Military Assistance Command, U.S. Army, Vietnam, and units specifying and prohibiting various acts in the war crimes category. Representatives of the military police, Criminal Investigation Division, Inspector General, and judge Advocate had experience in conducting investigations; they, as well as the commanders, and, indeed, all military personnel, had the responsibility for reporting possible violations of the laws of war so that an appropriate investigation could be conducted as specified by regulation.
Despite laws and preventive education, war crimes were committed. Most were isolated incidents, offenses committed by individual U.S. soldiers or small groups. Investigations were conducted, and the records of courts-martial proceedings contain the cases of individuals who were tried and punished. My Lai, the most notorious offense committed by U.S. troops in combat in Vietnam, was not the result of inadequate laws or lack of command emphasis on those laws; it was the failure of unit leaders to enforce the clear
and well-known procedures set forth in applicable regulations. It is tragically true that troops on both sides committed atrocities; but had it not been for the genuine concern of commanders at the highest levels that U.S., Vietnamese, and allied forces conduct themselves humanely and in accordance with the laws of war, the Vietnam War probably would have been far more brutal.
It was evident that international law was inadequate to protect victims in wars of insurgency and counterinsurgency, civil war, and undeclared war. The efforts of the international community to codify the humanitarian law of war in 1949 drew upon examples from World War II which simply did not fit in Vietnam. The law left much room for expediency, political manipulation, and propaganda. The hazy line between civilian and combatant became even vaguer in Vietnam.
There was an absence of effective power to insure compliance by both sides with the Geneva Conventions or to give reassurance of at least minimum protection for victims of the armed conflict. The inability of the International Committee of the Red Cross to function effectively on behalf of U.S., South Vietnamese, or other Free World forces was particularly tragic. The law of war was not completely ineffective; certainly many combatants and noncombatants survived the war because of the application of the law of war. The U.S. military lawyers' role in applying the known and developed humanitarian rules for armed conflict brought credit to the legal profession and to the U.S. Armed Forces.
page updated 30 May 2001
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Years ago, Warren Lambert, a history professor at Berea College, where I taught for nearly 40 years, wrote an essay on the Titanic.
He saw it as an image of Western culture at the turn of the 20th century. The great ship that could not be sunk seemed to embody the triumph of Western culture traveling towards an unlimited horizon of power and prosperity.
In the 17th century, Newton and his laws of motion had explained the universe, providing the keys for human manipulation of nature. In the 18th century, Adam Smith had done something similar for economics. His Utilitarian successors promised that unfettered application of Smith's laws would inevitably maximize material good for the greatest possible number.
By the 19th century, engineers employing laws of both physics and economics had brought to our planet the steam engine, railroads, electricity and other scientific wonders, portending a future without limit to human achievement.
Meanwhile, Charles Darwin had unlocked the secrets of biology and of evolution, promising a trajectory of species development without end. There was even talk of telephones, radios, television, airplanes and automobiles.
Who could not believe that every day in every way, the world was getting better and better? The unsinkable Titanic was an image of it all.
But then came the unforeseen icebergs. World War I with its millions slaughtered did its part to debunk the idea of constant human improvement. The Great Crash of '29 undermined confidence in the inevitable triumph of Smith's laws.
World War II, the Jewish Holocaust (and Nazi "social Darwinism"), Hiroshima and Nagasaki all ripped the Titanic hull of Western optimism, hubris and belief in inevitable progress.
The 20th century, once so full of promise, turned out to be the bloodiest in the history of the world. And the West was responsible for it all; it was indeed eminently sinkable. Could it even hope to survive?
I was reminded of Lambert's essay last week as I watched unfold the plight of the more than 4,000 passengers on the cruise ship, ironically named Triumph, and floundering precisely at the time of pre-Lenten Carnival.
An engine fire had caused the ship's systems to shut down, and travelers were left without power.
As a result, everyone on the Triumph sweltered in their rooms as people were virtually forced to live on deck. Food became scarce. People started hoarding, looting and going off on each other over trivial matters.
Perhaps worst of all, toilets stopped functioning. And passengers were reduced to urinating in showers and defecating in plastic bags which they then handed over to crew members for sequestration and disposal once the liner reached shore. "It was the most embarrassing thing I've had to do in my life," one woman passenger complained.
People who just days earlier had been so delighted to be on the cruise of a lifetime found themselves holding up SOS signs and shouting in vain for help to helicopter pilots bringing generators and food supplies. Everyone was talking about lawsuits.
The fate of the Triumph seemed as eerily prophetic of the 21st century as the Titanic's did of the 20th. This time we can see what's coming — not icebergs, but a complete breakdown of systems providing food, shelter, law and order.
I'm referring, of course, to the effects of climate change and the massive disruptions that promise to shut down entire ecosystems. Except to the willfully blind, the signs of approaching disaster are unmistakable: unprecedented drought, flooding, superstorms, earthquakes and tsunamis.
As we saw with Hurricane Sandy last fall, those acts of man (we can no longer blame them on God) cause widespread loss of power and the associated problems related to sewage, food shortage, looting, hoarding, violence and loss of human dignity and fellow-feeling.
Yes, the impending breakdowns are apparent. Nonetheless, our insane captains keep shouting "full steam ahead," drawing us further and further into the deep, where we will soon find ourselves stranded with no one to answer our desperate appeals for help.
Do you want to see where it's all going, where our captains are leading us? Watch the news. Look at the pyrrhic Triumph of Carnival as it limped into port. When the portended breakdown happens, there'll be no harbor awaiting the stranded.
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Mar. 31, 2008 Garments that can measure a wearer's body temperature or trace their heart activity are just entering the market, but the European project BIOTEX weaves new functions into smart textiles. Miniaturised biosensors in a textile patch can now analyse body fluids, even a tiny drop of sweat, and provide a much better assessment of someone's health.
It is 7 o’clock in the morning. You check yourself in the mirror, adjust your collar, and consider the hectic day ahead. But at least you know that the stress won't damage your health, for this is no ordinary set of clothes you are wearing. Embedded within the fabric are numerous sensors, constantly monitoring your vital signs. If danger signs are detected, the garment is programmed to contact your doctor – and send a text message telling you to take it easy.
A cluster of EU research projects (SFIT Group) is supporting this burgeoning field of smart fabrics, interactive textiles and flexible wearable systems. Jean Luprano, a researcher at the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), coordinates the BIOTEX project.
“One of the most obvious applications for smart fabrics is in the medical field,” he says. “There has been a good deal of progress with physiological measurements, body temperature or electro-cardiograms. But no-one has yet developed biochemical sensing techniques that can take measurements from fluids like sweat and blood. We are developing a suite of sensors that can be integrated into a textile patch. The patch is a sensing and processing unit, adaptable to target different body fluids and biochemical species. At the very least, some basic biochemical analyses could complement the physiological measurements that can already be monitored. In some circumstances, fluidic analysis may be the only way to get information on a patient's health status.”
But there is a simple reason why researchers have shied away from developing smart textiles for fluid monitoring: it is extremely tricky. How do you collect a fluid and transport it to a biosensing unit? Can you perform non-invasive blood tests? Can measurements be reliable and accurate with tiny volumes of liquid?
The BIOTEX partners – universities and small enterprises from Italy, France and Ireland – have collaborated with CSEM to overcome some of the technical barriers to biosensing textiles.
One of the main achievements of the project has been the development of a suite of prototype ionic biosensors, capable of measuring sodium, potassium and chloride in sweat samples. Another probe measures the conductivity of sweat and a miniaturised pH sensor uses colour changes to indicate the pH of sweat. An immunosensor, which could be integrated into wound dressings or bandages, can detect the presence of specific proteins in fluid samples.
These biosensors are not just scaled-down versions of existing technology, Luprano is keen to point out. “Many of the chemical or biochemical reactions used in sample assays are non-reversible and some part of the biosensor has to be replaced. When you monitor continuously you can't do that – you need a sensor that binds your substrate reversibly. Also, the BIOTEX sensors work on tiny volumes of liquid, so we had to come up with innovative designs and materials that would make it possible to miniaturise the sensors and make them compatible with fabrics.”
Several of the BIOTEX probes, including the pH sensor, use colour changes or other optical measurements. For example, as sweat passes through the pH sensor it causes an indicator to change colour which is detected by a portable spectrometer device. The immunosensor technology works in a similar fashion. Plastic optical fibres (POFs) are woven into the fabric so that light can be supplied to the optical sensors and the reflected light directed to the spectrometer.
Small and smart
The BIOTEX oxygen probe measures levels of oxygen saturation in the blood around the thorax using a technique called reflective oximetry. A cluster of POFs allows a large surface of the thorax to be illuminated and improves the collection of the reflected red and infrared light used for the oximeter sensor. Signal processing also improves the sensitivity of this method.
Having an array of biosensors in a textile patch is one thing, but how do you get fluids to them in the first place?
“The volume of fluid secreted from sweat glands is just a few millilitres over a small surface,” says Luprano, “and the body's heat means this is rapidly vaporised. We needed some kind of pump that could collect sweat in one area and bring it to the sensor array, where it could be channelled through each sensor.”
The solution uses a combination of hydrophilic (water-loving) and hydrophobic (water-repellent) yarns. It is possible to weave these two threads to direct the sweat through fabric channels to the sensor array. It is a passive system using no power, thereby reducing the power demands of the BIOTEX system (and the weight of a battery pack that the wearer would have to carry).
In the first BIOTEX trials, the smart patches will be worn in clothes by people with obesity and diabetes, as well as athletes. Once the technology has been validated, the plan is to take on industrial backers to commercialise it. Meanwhile, a large EU-funded project within the same SFIT group, called PROETEX, is integrating the technology with other micro- and nanosystems for specific applications (fire fighting and rescue teams).
However, whilst BIOTEX has solved several of the technical aspects of continuous biochemical monitoring, Luprano calls for more research into the application of this technology.
“It's new and healthcare providers are not used to it. We are not used to the information that continuous, remote monitoring can provide – so different to the one-off laboratory tests that are usually taken. BIOTEX makes this remote monitoring possible, but more research into the links between these indicators and disease conditions and states will make it realistic. Nevertheless, in the long-term we expect continuous monitoring, made possible with smart textiles, to make a major improvement to the way we approach the treatment of metabolic disorders and leisure.”
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What it is
A vertical aquaponic system grows vegetables without soil in columns above a fish tank. By growing vertically, you can produce about twice the amount of plants as you can with a hydroponic system of the same area. One five-foot tower can produce more than 200 heads of lettuce per year. And it uses a small fraction of the water needed to grow crops in soil.
The system puts fish waste to work as fertilizer for crops. A small pump draws nutrient-rich water from the fish tank to the tops of the vertical columns. The water trickles down through the roots of the plants, gathering oxygen from the air as it falls back into the tank. It releases almost no waste and, because it's soil free, there's no need for fertilizer or most pesticides. Also, if you do it right, you won't have to clean the fish tank much.
You do have to replace lost water as needed, power the pump and feed the fish. Try raising crickets for fish food, or buy them flakes. It might not be too hard to power one of these pumps with a small solar panel or some other renewable energy. If anyone has an idea, please share.
This is how to build Sean Brady's low-cost vertical aquaponic system This build is for the simple design in the cover photo, and we're including pictures of other, fancier systems built with mostly the same materials to show what's possible. For credit, Brady took all of the photos. For more information on aquaponics, please see CSA's and NTP's sites.
You can use these or swap out anything for whatever you have on hand. Measurements are in feet and inches. Sorry, rest of the world.
15-20 ft. of 4-in. diameter PVC or ADS
Four 4-inch elbows
Four 4-inch T connectors
*Two 50-gallon drums
*15-20 ft. of pex tubing, or aquarium tubing
*Strips of cloth, such as burlap sack, cable ties or another fastener
*Two rolls of electrical tape
One water pump - the size depends on how much flow it would need. An aquarium pump is enough to keep the flow going.
One air pump (optional). The system can aerate itself but it can produce more if it has an air pump.
*Power drill or hand drill
*1-in hole saw
*3-in hole saw
About two hours.
Recommended plants and fish
Leafy vegetables, tomatoes and herbs do well in these systems. So do flowers. You can experiment to find which do well and fit your needs.
Tilapia and trout do well, they grow quickly and they're delicious.
Step 1: Prepare the base pipes
Drill two 3in-diameter holes in each of the 1ft side pieces.
Drill a 1in-diameter hole into the side of one of the end pieces.
Then assemble the pieces with electrical tape
You can use any kind of durable plastic or pipe, not just what's pictured. | <urn:uuid:7f8cb6f5-a27e-4872-a0c1-b27717b04219> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-vertical-aquaponic-veggie-fish-farm-for-/CUBQBQ3H3QFIXYM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923542 | 640 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Social Network Analysis diagram
|Theory · History|
Graph · Complex network · Contagion
|Types of Networks|
|Metrics and Algorithms|
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations) and a complex set of the dyadic ties between these actors. The social network perspective provides a clear way of analyzing the structure of whole social entities. The study of these structures uses social network analysis to identify local and global patterns, locate influential entities, and examine network dynamics.
Social networks and the analysis of them is an inherently interdisciplinary academic field which emerged from social psychology, sociology, statistics, and graph theory. Georg Simmel authored early structural theories in sociology emphasizing the dynamics of triads and "web of group affiliations." Jacob Moreno is credited with developing the first sociograms in the 1930s to study interpersonal relationships. These approaches were mathematically formalized in the 1950s and theories and methods of social networks became pervasive in the social and behavioral sciences by the 1980s. Social network analysis is now one of the major paradigms in contemporary sociology, and is also employed in a number of other social and formal sciences. Together with other complex networks, it forms part of the nascent field of network science.
A social network is a theoretical construct useful in the social sciences to study relationships between individuals, groups, organizations, or even entire societies (social units, see differentiation). The term is used to describe a social structure determined by such interactions. The ties through which any given social unit connects represent the convergence of the various social contacts of that unit. This theoretical approach is, necessarily, relational. An axiom of the social network approach to understanding social interaction is that social phenomena should be primarily conceived and investigated through the properties of relations between and within units, instead of the properties of these units themselves. Thus, one common criticism of social network theory is that individual agency is often ignored although this may not be the case in practice (see agent-based modeling). Precisely because many different types of relations, singular or in combination, form these network configurations, network analytics are useful to a broad range of research enterprises. In social science, these fields of study include, but are not limited to anthropology, biology, communication studies, economics, geography, information science, organizational studies, social psychology, sociology, and sociolinguistics.
In the late 1800s, both Émile Durkheim and Ferdinand Tönnies foreshadowed the idea of social networks in their theories and research of social groups. Tönnies argued that social groups can exist as personal and direct social ties that either link individuals who share values and belief (Gemeinschaft, German, commonly translated as "community") or impersonal, formal, and instrumental social links (Gesellschaft, German, commonly translated as "society"). Durkheim gave a non-individualistic explanation of social facts, arguing that social phenomena arise when interacting individuals constitute a reality that can no longer be accounted for in terms of the properties of individual actors. Georg Simmel, writing at the turn of the twentieth century, pointed to the nature of networks and the effect of network size on interaction and examined the likelihood of interaction in loosely-knit networks rather than groups.
Major developments in the field can be seen in the 1930s by several groups in psychology, anthropology, and mathematics working independently. In psychology, in the 1930s, Jacob L. Moreno began systematic recording and analysis of social interaction in small groups, especially classrooms and work groups (see sociometry). In anthropology, the foundation for social network theory is the theoretical and ethnographic work of Bronislaw Malinowski, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, and Claude Lévi-Strauss. A group of social anthropologists associated with Max Gluckman and the Manchester School, including John A. Barnes, J. Clyde Mitchell and Elizabeth Bott Spillius, often are credited with performing some of the first fieldwork from which network analyses were performed, investigating community networks in southern Africa, India and the United Kingdom. Concomitantly, British anthropologist S.F. Nadel codified a theory of social structure that was influential in later network analysis. In sociology, the early (1930s) work of Talcott Parsons set the stage for taking a relational approach to understanding social structure. Later, drawing upon Parsons' theory, the work of sociologist Peter Blau provides a strong impetus for analyzing the relational ties of social units with his work on social exchange theory. By the 1970s, a growing number of scholars worked to combine the different tracks and traditions. One group consisted of sociologist Harrison White and his students at the Harvard University Department of Social Relations. Also independently active in the Harvard Social Relations department at the time were Charles Tilly, who focused on networks in political and community sociology and social movements, and Stanley Milgram, who developed the "six degrees of separation" thesis.Mark Granovetter and Barry Wellman are among the former students of White who elaborated and championed the analysis of social networks.
Levels of analysis
In general, social networks are self-organizing, emergent, and complex, such that a globally coherent pattern appears from the local interaction of the elements that make up the system. These patterns become more apparent as network size increases. However, a global network analysis of, for example, all interpersonal relationships in the world is not feasible and is likely to contain so much information as to be uninformative. Practical limitations of computing power, ethics and participant recruitment and payment also limit the scope of a social network analysis. The nuances of a local system may be lost in a large network analysis, hence the quality of information may be more important than its scale for understanding network properties. Thus, social networks are analyzed at the scale relevant to the researcher's theoretical question. Although levels of analysis are not necessarily mutually exclusive, there are three general levels into which networks may fall: micro-level, meso-level, and macro-level.
|This section requires expansion with: additional examples and references for each sub-level. (January 2012)|
Micro level
At the micro-level, social network research typically begins with an individual, snowballing as social relationships are traced, or may begin with a small group of individuals in a particular social context.
Dyadic level: A dyad is a social relationship between two individuals. Network research on dyads may concentrate on structure of the relationship (e.g. multiplexity, strength), social equality, and tendencies toward reciprocity/mutuality.
Triadic level: Add one individual to a dyad, and you have a triad. Research at this level may concentrate on factors such as balance and transitivity, as well as social equality and tendencies toward reciprocity/mutuality.
Actor level: The smallest unit of analysis in a social network is an individual in their social setting, i.e., an "actor" or "ego". Egonetwork analysis focuses on network characteristics such as size, relationship strength, density, centrality, prestige and roles such as isolates, liaisons, and bridges. Such analyses, are most commonly used in the fields of psychology or social psychology, ethnographic kinship analysis or other genealogical studies of relationships between individuals.
Subset level: Subset levels of network research problems begin at the micro-level, but may cross over into the meso-level of analysis. Subset level research may focus on distance and reachability, cliques, cohesive subgroups, or other group actions or behavior.
Meso level
In general, meso-level theories begin with a population size that falls between the micro- and macro-levels. However, meso-level may also refer to analyses that are specifically designed to reveal connections between micro- and macro-levels. Meso-level networks are low density and may exhibit causal processes distinct from interpersonal micro-level networks.
Organizations: Formal organizations are social groups that distribute tasks for a collective goal. Network research on organizations may focus on either intra-organizational or inter-organizational ties in terms of formal or informal relationships. Intra-organizational networks themselves often contain multiple levels of analysis, especially in larger organizations with multiple branches, franchises or semi-autonomous departments. In these cases, research is often conducted at a workgroup level and organization level, focusing on the interplay between the two structures.
Randomly-distributed networks: Exponential random graph models of social networks became state-of-the-art methods of social network analysis in the 1980s. This framework has the capacity to represent social-structural effects commonly observed in many human social networks, including general degree-based structural effects commonly observed in many human social networks as well as reciprocity and transitivity, and at the node-level, homophily and attribute-based activity and popularity effects, as derived from explicit hypotheses about dependencies among network ties. Parameters are given in terms of the prevalence of small subgraph configurations in the network and can be interpreted as describing the combinations of local social processes from which a given network emerges. These probability models for networks on a given set of actors allow generalization beyond the restrictive dyadic independence assumption of micro-networks, allowing models to be built from theoretical structural foundations of social behavior.
Scale-free networks: A scale-free network is a network whose degree distribution follows a power law, at least asymptotically. In network theory a scale-free ideal network is a random network with a degree distribution that unravels the size distribution of social groups. Specific characteristics of scale-free networks vary with the theories and analytical tools used to create them, however, in general, scale-free networks have some common characteristics. One notable characteristic in a scale-free network is the relative commonness of vertices with a degree that greatly exceeds the average. The highest-degree nodes are often called "hubs", and may serve specific purposes in their networks, although this depends greatly on the social context. Another general characteristic of scale-free networks is the clustering coefficient distribution, which decreases as the node degree increases. This distribution also follows a power law. The Barabási model of network evolution shown above is an example of a scale-free network.
Macro level
Large-scale networks: Large-scale network is a term somewhat synonymous with "macro-level" as used, primarily, in social and behavioral sciences, in economics. Originally, the term was used extensively in the computer sciences (see large-scale network mapping).
Complex networks: Most larger social networks display features of social complexity, which involves substantial non-trivial features of network topology, with patterns of complex connections between elements that are neither purely regular nor purely random (see, complexity science, dynamical system and chaos theory), as do biological, and technological networks. Such complex network features include a heavy tail in the degree distribution, a high clustering coefficient, assortativity or disassortativity among vertices, community structure, and hierarchical structure. In the case of agency-directed networks these features also include reciprocity, triad significance profile (TSP, see network motif), and other features. In contrast, many of the mathematical models of networks that have been studied in the past, such as lattices and random graphs, do not show these features.
Imported theories
Various theoretical frameworks have been imported for the use of social network analysis. The most prominent of these are Graph theory, Balance theory, Social comparison theory, and more recently, the Social identity approach.
Indigenous theories
Few complete theories have been produced from social network analysis. Two that have are Structural Role Theory and Heterophily Theory.
The basis of Heterophily Theory was the finding in one study that more numerous weak ties can be important in seeking information and innovation, as cliques have a tendency to have more homogeneous opinions as well as share many common traits. This homophilic tendency was the reason for the members of the cliques to be attracted together in the first place. However, being similar, each member of the clique would also know more or less what the other members knew. To find new information or insights, members of the clique will have to look beyond the clique to its other friends and acquaintances. This is what Granovetter called "the strength of weak ties."
Structural holes
In the context of networks, social capital exists where people have an advantage because of their location in a network. Contacts in a network provide information, opportunities and perspectives that can be beneficial to the central player in the network. Most social structures tend to be characterized by dense clusters of strong connections. Information within these clusters tends to be rather homogeneous and redundant. Non-redundant information is most often obtained through contacts in different clusters. When two separate clusters possess non-redundant information, there is said to be a structural hole between them. Thus, a network that bridges structural holes will provide network benefits that are in some degree additive, rather than overlapping. An ideal network structure has a vine and cluster structure, providing access to many different clusters and structural holes.
Information benefits
Networks rich in structural holes are a form of social capital in that they offer information benefits. The main player in a network that bridges structural holes is able to access information from diverse sources and clusters. This is beneficial to an individual’s career because he is more likely to hear of job openings and opportunities if his network spans a wide range of contacts in different industries/sectors. This concept is similar to Mark Granovetter’s theory of weak ties, which rests on the basis that having a broad range of contacts is most effective for job attainment.
Social capital mobility benefits
In many organizations, members tend to focus their activities inside their own groups, which stifles creativity and restricts opportunities. A player whose network bridges structural holes has an advantage in detecting and developing rewarding opportunities. Such a player can mobilize social capital by acting as a “broker” of information between two clusters that otherwise would not have been in contact, thus providing access to new ideas, opinions and opportunities. British philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill, writes, “it is hardly possible to overrate the value...of placing human beings in contact with persons dissimilar to themselves…Such communication [is] one of the primary sources of progress.” Thus, a player with a network rich in structural holes can add value to an organization through new ideas and opportunities. This in turn, helps an individual’s career development and advancement.
A social capital broker also reaps control benefits of being the facilitator of information flow between contacts. In the case of consulting firm Eden McCallum, the founders were able to advance their careers by bridging their connections with former big 3 consulting firm consultants and mid-size industry firms. By bridging structural holes and mobilizing social capital, players can advance their careers by executing new opportunities between contacts.
There has been research that both substantiates and refutes the benefits of information brokerage. A study of high tech Chinese firms by Zhixing Xiao found that the control benefits of structural holes are “dissonant to the dominant firm-wide spirit of cooperation and the information benefits cannot materialize due to the communal sharing values” of such organizations. However, this study only analyzed Chinese firms, which tend to have strong communal sharing values. Information and control benefits of structural holes are still valuable in firms that are not quite as inclusive and cooperative on the firm-wide level. In 2004, Ronald Burt studied 673 managers who ran the supply chain for one of America’s largest electronics companies. He found that managers who often discussed issues with other groups were better paid, received more positive job evaluations and were more likely to be promoted. Thus, bridging structural holes can be beneficial to an organization, and in turn, to an individual’s career.
Research clusters
|This section requires expansion with: additional theoretical perspectives and additional examples and references for existing areas of theory. (January 2012)|
Communication Studies are often considered a part of both the social sciences and the humanities, drawing heavily on fields such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, information science, biology, political science, and economics as well as rhetoric, literary studies, and semiotics. Many communications concepts describe the transfer of information from one source to another, and can thus be conceived of in terms of a network.
In J.A. Barnes' day, a "community" referred to a specific geographic location and studies of community ties had to do with who talked, associated, traded, and attended church with whom. Today, however, there are extended "online" communities developed through telecommunications devices and social network services. Such devices and services require extensive and ongoing maintenance and analysis, often using network science methods. Community development studies, today, also make extensive use of such methods.
Complex networks
Criminal networks
In criminology and urban sociology, much attention has been paid to the social networks among criminal actors. For example, Andrew Papachristos has studied gang murders as a series of exchanges between gangs. Murders can be seen to diffuse outwards from a single source, because weaker gangs cannot afford to kill members of stronger gangs in retaliation, but must commit other violent acts to maintain their reputation for strength.
Diffusion of innovations
Diffusion of ideas and innovations studies focus on the spread and use of ideas from one actor to another or one culture and another. This line of research seeks to explain why some become "early adopters" of ideas and innovations, and links social network structure with facilitating or impeding the spread of an innovation.
In demography, the study of social networks has led to new sampling methods for estimating and reaching populations that are hard to enumerate (for example, homeless people or intravenous drug users.) For example, respondent driven sampling is a network-based sampling technique that relies on respondents to a survey recommending further respondents.
Economic sociology
The field of sociology focuses almost entirely on networks of outcomes of social interactions. More narrowly, economic sociology considers behavioral interactions of individuals and groups through social capital and social "markets". Sociologists, such as Mark Granovetter, have developed core principles about the interactions of social structure, information, ability to punish or reward, and trust that frequently recur in their analyses of political, economic and other institutions. Granovetter examines how social structures and social networks can affect economic outcomes like hiring, price, productivity and innovation and describes sociologists’ contributions to analyzing the impact of social structure and networks on the economy.
Health care
Analysis of social networks is increasingly incorporated into heath care analytics, not only in epidemological studies but also in models of patient communication and education, disease prevention, mental health diagnosis and treatment, and in the study of health care organizations and systems.
Human ecology
Human ecology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The scientific philosophy of human ecology has a diffuse history with connections to geography, sociology, psychology, anthropology, zoology, and natural ecology.
Language and linguistics
Studies of language and lingustics, particularly evolutionary linguistics, focus on the development of linguistic forms and transfer of changes, sounds or words, from one language system to another through networks of social interaction. Social networks are also important in language shift, as groups of people add and/or abandon languages to their repertoire.
Literary networks
In the study of literary systems, network analysis has been applied by Anheier, Gerhards and Romo, De Nooy, and Senekal, to study various aspects of how literature functions. The basic premise is that polysystem theory, which has been around since the writings of Even-Zohar, can be integrated with network theory and the relationships between different actors in the literary network, e.g. writers, critics, publishers, literary histories, etc., can be mapped using visualization from SNA.
Organizational studies
Research studies of formal or informal organizational relationships, organizational communication, economics, economic sociology, and other resource transfers. Social networks have also been used to examine how organizations interact with each other, characterizing the many informal connections that link executives together, as well as associations and connections between individual employees at different organizations. Intra-organizational networks have been found to affect organizational commitment, organizational identification, interpersonal citizenship behaviour.
Social capital
Social capital is a sociological concept which refers to the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to achieve positive outcomes. The term refers to the value one can get from their social ties. For example, newly arrived immigrants can make use of their social ties to established migrants to acquire jobs they may otherwise have trouble getting (e.g., because of lack of knowledge of language). Studies show that a positive relationship exists between social capital and the intensity of social network use.
See also
- Collective network
- Complex networks
- Dynamic network analysis
- International Network for Social Network Analysis
- Interpersonal relationship
- Network science
- Network society
- Network theory
- Semiotics of social networking
- Social complexity
- Social group
- Social media
- Social network analysis
- Social networking
- Social relation
- Social web
Further reading
- Wellman, Barry; Berkowitz, S.D. (1988). Social Structures: A Network Approach. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24441-2.
- Scott, John (1991). Social Network Analysis: a handbook. SAGE. ISBN 978-0-7619-6338-7.
- Wasserman, Stanley; Faust, Katherine (1994). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-38269-4.
- Barabási, Albert-László (2003). Linked: How everything is connected to everything else and what it means for business, science, and everyday life. Plum. ISBN 978-0-452-28439-5.
- Freeman, Linton C. (2004). The Development of Social Network Analysis: A Study in the Sociology of Science. Empirical Press. ISBN 1-59457-714-5.
- Barnett, George A. (2011). Encyclopedia of Social Networks. SAGE. ISBN 978-1-4129-7911-5.
- Kadushin, Charles (2012). Understanding Social Networks: Theories, Concepts, and Findings. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537946-4.
- Rainie, Lee and Barry Wellman. 2012. Networked: The New Social Operating System. MIT Press. isbn=978-0-262-01719-0
- E. Estrada, "The Structure of Complex Networks: Theory and Applications", Oxford University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-199-59175-6
Peer-reviewed journals
- Social Networks
- Network Science
- Journal of Social Structure
- Journal of Mathematical Sociology
- Social Network Analysis and Mining (SNAM)
Textbooks and educational resources
- Networks, Crowds, and Markets (2010) by D. Easley & J. Kleinberg
- Introduction to Social Networks Methods (2005) by R. Hanneman & M. Riddle
- Social Network Analysis Instructional Web Site by S. Borgatti
Data sets
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Social networks|
- Pajek's list of lists of datasets
- UC Irvine Network Data Repository
- Stanford Large Network Dataset Collection
- M.E.J. Newman datasets
- Pajek datasets
- Gephi datasets
- KONECT - Koblenz network collection
- RSiena datasets
- Wasserman, Stanley; Faust, Katherine (1994). "Social Network Analysis in the Social and Behavioral Sciences". Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–27. ISBN 9780521387071.
- Scott, W. Richard; Davis, Gerald F. (2003). "Networks In and Around Organizations". Organizations and Organizing. Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-195893-3.
- Freeman, Linton (2004). The Development of Social Network Analysis: A Study in the Sociology of Science. Empirical Press. ISBN 1-59457-714-5.
- Borgatti, Stephen P.; Mehra, Ajay; Brass, Daniel J.; Labianca, Giuseppe (2009). "Network Analysis in the Social Sciences". Science 323 (5916): 892–895. doi:10.1126/science.1165821.
- Easley, David; Kleinberg, Jon (2010). "Overview". Networks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–20. ISBN 978-0-521-19533-1.
- Scott, John P. (2000). Social Network Analysis: A Handbook (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Tönnies, Ferdinand (1887). Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Leipzig: Fues's Verlag. (Translated, 1957 by Charles Price Loomis as Community and Society, East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.)
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- Lee, J. & Kim, S. (2011). Exploring the role of social networks in affective organizational commitment: Network centrality, strength of ties, and structural holes. The American Review of Public Administration, 41(2), 205-223.
- Bowler, W.M. & Brass, D.J. (2011). Relational correlates of interpersonal citizenship behaviour: A social network perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1), 70-82.
- Sebastián, Valenzuela; Namsu Park, Kerk F. Kee (2009). "Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students' Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 14 (4): 875–901. ; Hua Wang and Barry Wellman, "Social Connectivity in America: Changes in Adult Friendship Network Size from 2002 to 2007, " American Behavioral Scientist 53 (8): 1148-69, 2010. DOI: 10.1177/0002764209356247
- (1977). Connections: bulletin of the International Network for Social Network Analysis. Toronto: International Network for Social Network Analysis. | <urn:uuid:33de1c73-882d-405d-bd78-3939d1e6b17b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.86542 | 7,622 | 3.171875 | 3 |
We are so proud to welcome a new addition to the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit – a Linne’s two-toed sloth was born in late August! The baby is the first born to Ivy, one of the four sloths in the exhibit, and is the third sloth born at National Aquarium.
During a daily routine checkup, National Aquarium staff observed Ivy carrying a newborn. The baby was born fully haired and already had its trademark claws! Staff are keeping a close eye on the two and have spotted the baby actively nursing. Upon initial observations, the baby sloth seems strong and healthy, and is actively clinging and crawling about on its mom. Animal care staff suspects the baby will continue to cling to its mother for the first several weeks of life. Sloths can remain dependant on their mothers for up to a year. As time goes on, the young sloth will begin exploring its immediate surroundings and eating solid foods.
Linne’s two-toed sloths are commonly found in South America’s rain forests, where they spend their entire lives in the trees. They are nocturnal by nature, fairly active at night while spending most of the day sleeping. Adult sloths are typically the size of a small dog, approximately 24–30 inches in length and about 12–20 pounds in weight.
Sloths have been an ongoing part of the animal collection at National Aquarium. The two oldest sloths currently living in the rain forest, Syd and Ivy, were acquired in May 2007 from a private captive breeder in South Florida. The other two sloths, Howie and Xeno, were born at National Aquarium in 2008 and 2010, respectively.
“Despite the fact that the two-toed sloth is a fairly common animal, many of its most basic behaviors are still a mystery because they are rarely observed,” commented Ken Howell, curator of Rain Forest Exhibits at National Aquarium. “We’re thrilled to welcome the new baby to our family and we hope that it will increase awareness and interest in this group of most unusual mammals.”
Ivy and her new infant are free roaming in the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit and will be particularly good at hiding in the trees for at least a few weeks.
Stay tuned for more updates about our newest addition! | <urn:uuid:0f32acd4-7ff9-4bc2-802f-f443a71a25cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalaquarium.wordpress.com/tag/linnie-sloths/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975225 | 488 | 2.78125 | 3 |
A tantalizing mixture of biography, history, and science. The Invention of Clouds takes as its focus a specific scientific advance of the early nineteenth century, but it also addresses other issues of the day, such as culture, religion, aesthetics, literature etc. At the time such things weren't divided into separate disciplines, a mentality that is reflected by the book itself. It tells the story of a shy young Quaker, Luke Howard, and his pioneering work to define what had hitherto been random and unknowable structures - clouds. Howard was catapulted to fame in December 1802 when he named the clouds, a defining point in natural history and meteorology. His poetic names and groundbreaking work made him internationally famous. He became a cult figure for Romantics like Shelley and Goethe. His work is still the basis of modern meteorology, but he himself has been overlooked. In this book Hamblyn means to restore both him, his cultural context and the science he loved, to life. | <urn:uuid:0a6a9bc6-d906-43b2-bd59-2aaff4856392> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Invention-Clouds-Meteorologist-Language/dp/0330391941 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978686 | 197 | 3.234375 | 3 |
As noise pollution has a negative impact on hearing health, CHS strongly supports initiatives pertaining to hearing conservation and noise control. CHS’s position is in accordance with the component of our mission statement that promotes the advancement of hearing health.
Visual fire alarms and visual emergency notification systems are essential to the safety of culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing Canadians. Accessible emergency notification is an issue quite simply of life and death.
To ensure the development of language and communication competencies, it is essential that all infants and young children are provided with uninhibited and unimpeded access to language. In Canada, such language acquisition and development opportunities are readily available to typically hearing infants and children through normal interaction with their environments and the people in their environments.Also available in .pdf
Culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing Canadians have the right to fair and equitable treatment, to participate equally in the workplace, and to communicate fully and freely with businesses, non-profit organizations and government. It is the position of CHS that both the public, private, voluntary and not for profit sectors be responsible for ensuring discrimination-free environments.
Culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened and hard of hearing Canadians have the right to be able to communicate fully with political candidates and elected representatives or as political candidates and elected representatives.
Organizations and institutions should be responsible for providing any and all accommodations that they and culturally Deaf, oral deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing people need in order to have full and equal access to each other. | <urn:uuid:a5178c60-073e-45a9-9952-18e826b127ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chs.ca/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=71&Itemid=&lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942781 | 327 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The controversy surrounding English and the teaching of the language in China dates back to the late Qing dynasty, when the British, American and other trading empires sought access to Chinese markets and Christian missionaries access to Chinese souls. China's strategy to mitigate undesirable cultural transfer through selective assimilation has been in place since the mid-nineteenth century. It is akin to a sluice gate. At times, the gate has only allowed very limited contact with English, at others the inflow has been freer. In the former cases, English has not been ascribed a significant role in state policy; in the latter cases, the language has been promoted, most notably in education — in the curriculum of schools, colleges and universities.
The reason for these shifts lay in a change in the relations between China and the rest of the world, which have affected the role and status of English (Table 2.1, see p. 22). Before the mid-nineteenth century, these relations had been low key, with the main focus on trade and most crises being territorial. China had traded with the Roman Empire. She had been occupied by the Mongols in the thirteenth century and intermittently threatened by Russian expansion, but threats to Chinese cultural and territorial integrity had generally been negated — the Mongols, for instance, appeared to adapt Chinese ways rather than impose their own cultural norms (Mackerras, 1991). Foreign language learning had existed in imperial China since at least 1289, during the Yuan dynasty, when languages were learnt by aristocrats to enhance commercial and tributary relations with countries in Southeast Asia (Gu, 1996). Some Western missionaries, most notably Jesuit priests such as Matteo Ricci, Adam Schall and Ferdinand Verbiest, established themselves as scholars in the Imperial service in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but their technique for gaining acceptance was generally nonthreatening: they learnt spoken and written Chinese, adopted Chinese manners and contributed Western learning (most notably in science and mathematics) at the behest of the emperor.
Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Book title: China's English: A History of English in Chinese Education. Contributors: Bob Adamson - Author. Publisher: Hong Kong University Press. Place of publication: Hong Kong. Publication year: 2004. Page number: 21.
This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means. | <urn:uuid:662e9f24-625d-4c14-a28f-2d6da8bf5278> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.questia.com/read/119172379/china-s-english-a-history-of-english-in-chinese | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960591 | 514 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Most everything you do is a manifestation of who you are. Even the most ordinary and commonplace such as writing in cursive can be a revelatory experience.
Graphologist Kathi McKnight explains some basic concepts into handwriting analysis.
People's handwritings sometimes lean to one side when writing in cursive. If yours tends to lean a little bit to the right, you are most probably a social butterfly and approach the world with an attitude evoking openness. If your handwriting leans to the left, you are more of a loner type who doesn't like to be in the limelight.
However, if you are right handed but your handwriting leans to the left, you may be expressing a bit of your rebellious nature. If your handwriting is upright, it implies a logical and practical nature. You also guard your emotions well.
The size of your letters also matter. If you are used to writing in big, bold letters, that corresponds to a bigger personality. People who write in a tighter, smaller letters are much more introspective and focused.
There's a good chance that they are also shy and reserved. An average sized letter can mean that you are adaptable and pretty much well-rounded.
The appearance of your cursive letter "s" also plays into graphology. A smooth, rounded out "s" can correspond to someone who's a people pleaser. It can also mean that you hate conflict and would go to great lengths to not be involved in one. A tense, pointy "s" calls for a much more curious person in terms of intellectual pursuits. The higher and pointier the tops of your letter, the more ambitious you are.
These are just some of the introductory tips that McKnight shares. Next time you write to someone, try analyzing your own handwriting to see if these tips are accurate.
To contact the editor, e-mail: | <urn:uuid:c0e415b6-b4ee-4639-a5a8-cec80fc99742> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/251815/20111118/handwriting-personality.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953541 | 384 | 3.03125 | 3 |
“The Street finds its own uses for things – uses the manufacturers never imagined!”William Gibson
There are hundreds of web tools that have been developed educators in mind. Although it is not possible for us to know and use all of them, there are some tools that we should all have in the bag.
Youtube has always been a great resource for us to use with our students, but it has also many destructive features, ads and comments on one page if you want to share it with your students. Now we have SafeShareTv that can help us to remove inappropriate elements around the page and generate a safe link for our students. It also lets you crop youtube videos and get rid of the unwanted parts from a video.
Adout is another tool that blocks all sort of ads and banners on a website so you can easily share the links with your kids and they can safely surf the net without clicking any inappropriate ads.
Vocaroo is a simple tool to record your voice and share it with others. You don’t need to download a software or sign in. You simply go to the website, record your voice with a microphone and create your podcast easily.
MultiUrl is a tool to combine links into one short link and share it with others. All the links are editable so you can delete or add new links. You can also see how many times the links have been clicked.
Jing is a tool to take a picture of your screen. It’s a good alternative to the print screen button on the keyboard. You can decide on the size of your screen shot, upload it to your computer as a jpg or get a link for your picture. You can also make a short video of your screen by recording your voices. Jing is a great tool for creating presentation with your own voice, to show how a website works. Look what we are doing with jing at school here.
It is not always easy to find “easy to read” texts online. With Twurdy, you can now find texts that suit your students’ readability level. It looks for the number of words on the page, the average number of syllables in each word and the average sentence length. The lighter the colour is, the easier the text is. Also, Twurdy comes from “Too Wordy?”.Isn’t it so cool?
Howjsay is a free online dictionary. The words are pre-recorded and it is not synthetic. You can also hear multiple entries by separating them with semi-colons.
VideoDL lets you download videos from video sharing websites to your computer.Please be careful with Creative Common Works rights and make sure that you ask the owner and get permission to do that.
You can spell check a text by simply copying it to the box on Orangoo.
BatLyrics lets you search for song lyrics based on words and phrases with a video. You can watch and listen the video with a teleprompting screen with the lyrics of the song on it. It’s a great listening material in the classroom.
Tinypic is a free image hosting site where you can upload your pictures and get a link for that to share it with others.
If you want to learn if a text is copied from somewhere or not, here comes plagiarismchecker. Just copy and paste the text and see if the text is original or not.
This blog or the author are not responsible for any inappropriate images/text/ads of the external links. Please double check before you use it with your students.
Cross posted on TechLearning. | <urn:uuid:31fca1e8-d79c-400e-8cff-e8f278942d9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ozgekaraoglu.edublogs.org/2011/09/26/web-tools-that-educators-should-have-in-the-bag/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942409 | 746 | 2.71875 | 3 |
To Kill A Mockingbird - Test
Below is a sample of a basic multiple choice, true-false type test. These
are given to complement essay tests, and quizzes. They work well as
9 weeks tests when there is a deadline to get the grades entered.
Multiple choice , true-false tests can be easily constructed by having the
students participate in their creation. Explain to the students that they
will be using their notes to make up 5 multiple choice and 3 true-false
questions for a test. (The more thorough their notes, the more they can
review for the test and the more likely they will know other students'
Teachers can take the students' questions and compile them into a test
that fits the students' level of learning, gives stylistic variety, and saves
the teacher time and work. [Sometimes the students' humor in the
questions, "lightens up" a test.] To compile the test, simply go through the
students' questions, marking and editing the best ones and then typing
them up. Be aware of duplications and questions that give answers
to other questions in the test. *Ask the students to supply the answers
to each of the questions that they write.
Point out to the students that they will receive credit for this assignment,
as motivation to devise good questions. Do not return the questions as
those used for the test will be marked.
Answers for the tests on this website are not provided so that they are a
teachers' "methods resource" and not a source of 'easy answers' for
students who have not read the material.
[* Recently a teacher reported an error in two questions, so please check the
test carefully if you decide to use it as more than a sample."
To Kill A Mockingbird
1. Who got stabbed with a kitchen knife? a. Bob Ewell b. Jem c. Atticus
d. Heck Tate
2. What was Scout dressed up as to go to the pageant? a. Turkey
b. an apple c. a ham d. piece of bacon
3. Who did Scout find under her bed? a. Boo Radley b. Bob Ewell c. Dill
d. a cat
4. Who was Mr. Ewell Bothering? a. Aunt Alexandra b. Helen Robinson
c. Dill d. The Radleys
5. What was the name of the mad dog Atticus shot? a. Tim Johnson
b. Tom Robinson c. Rover d. Scout
6. Mr. Dolphus Raymond gave Dill a drink of what to settle his stomach?
a. whiskey b. Coca-Cola c. root beer d. water
7. Who saved Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell? a. Nathan Radley
b. Atticus c. Tom Robinson d. Arthur Radley
8. Who followed Scout and Jem home after the pageant? a. Boo Radley
b. Bob Finch c. Bob Ewell d. Cecil Jacobs
9. Who carried Jem back to the house after he was hurt? a. Arthur Radley
b. Nathan Radley c. Atticus Finch d. Bob Ewell
10. Scout and ______, went through the house of horrors on Halloween.
a. Jacob b. Cecil c. Arthur d. Dill
11. Why did Jem cry during the trial of Tom Robinson?
a. Someone was punching him b. had something in his eye
c. felt it wasn't fair. d. got a sliver in his toe.
12. Jem was how old when his arm was broken? a. 15 b. 12 c. 13 d. 14
13. Who did Atticus think killed Bob Ewell? a. Boo Radley b. Scout c. Jem d. Tom Robinson
14. How was Bob Ewell killed? a. Hit his head on the ground
b. Boo squeezed him to death c. Scout got hold of a knife and stabbed him
d. He stumbled, fell and landed on a knife. e. none of the above
15. When Jem and Scout made a snowman who did they first intend to
make it look like? a. Calpurnia b. Miss Maudie c. Mr. Avery d. Stephanie
16. Who said it was a sin to kill a mockingbird? a. Uncle Jach b. Calpurnia
c. Aunt Alexandra d. Atticus
17. What sport did Jem like most? a. baseball b. soccer c. football
18. What does Scout think when she sees it snowing outside?
a. The sky is falling b. It's snowing c. Santa Claus is here.
d. The world is coming to an end.
19. Whose house caught on fire? a. Mrs, Dubose's b. Mrs. Maudie's
c. Calpurnia's d. The Finches
20. Who was the man that sat with Jem and Scout in the court room?
a. Reverend Sykes b. Mr. Ewell c. Atticus d. Mr. Tate
21. How did Jem break his arm? a. fell out of a tree b. fell out of two story
window c. a man broke his arm d. fell off a skateboard
22. Why do you think Atticus never used a gun unless necessary?
a. he felt uncertain of himself b. he felt he had an unfair advantage
c. he wasn't a good shot d. his eyes were too bad to shoot
23. How does Dill customarily eat? a. with his mouth open b. in the left side
of his mouth c. with his hands d. with his back teeth e. with his front teeth
24. Why did Scout miss her cue? a. talking with someone else and didn't
hear it b. couldn't hear inside costume c. fell asleep d. none of the above
25. Boo Radley was a "Mockingbird." a. true b. false
26. Mr. Radley liked to say "If you can stand in someone else's shoes for
a minute, it helps in understanding them. a. true b. false
27. Jem's favorite sport was a. soccer b. tennis c. baseball d. football
28. What do Dill, Scout, and Jem use to put the note into Boo's window?
a. Stick b. rock c. fishing pole d. Calpurnia's yard stick.
29. Mayella Ewell said that Tom Robinson a. raped her b. strangled her
c. beat her d. all of the above
30. Where does Charles Baker, Harris, usually live? a. Maycomb
b. Finch's Landing c. Meridian d. Mobile
31. What kind of flowers did Mayella grow? a. geraniums
b. chrysanthemums c. fuschias d. primroses
32. When the missionary women met in Atticus' house, who did they talk
about being their favorite male person? a. Atticus Finch b. Heck Tate
c. J. Grimes Evertt d. Harold Johnson
33. Who killed Bob Ewell a. Atticus Finch b. Arthur Radley
c. Jem d. none of the above
34. Atticus said that in ________all men are treated equally.
a. your own house b. a court c. school d. society
35. Atticus is reelected as a. the mayor. b. A deputy sheriff.
c. a state legislator d. defense lawyer
36. Who tried to scare Jem and Scout before the pageant? a. Bob
b. Dill c. Walter d. Cecil
37. Zeebo was a. the milk man b. Atticus' cat. c. Calpurnia's cat
d. Calpurnia's son
38. Who was Tom Robinson's boss? a. Bob Ewell b. Heck Tate
c. Link Deas d. none of the above
39. Mrs. Dubose was a sweet old lady who often made little cakes for
the children. a. true b. false
40. Aunt Alexandra moved in with Atticus, Jem and Scout, because her
house burned down. a. true b. false
41. How did Mr. Tom Robinson's left hand become handi-capped?
a. He was thrown out of a tractor and his arm was run over.
b. He got it stuck in a cotton gin. c. It was cut during a street fight and
never healed correctly. d. He was born with a muscle deficiency.
42. Bob Ewell was killed by a. Jem b. Scout c. Boo Radley d. himself
43. Calpurnia learned to read from a. Blackstone's Commentaries
b. newspapers c. her dad d. Reader's Digest
44. Atticus always said, "to understand someone, you had to ____."
a. live with them b. know their mother c. walk in their shoes for awhile
d. talk to them
45. Which is the definition of piety? a. Being doubtful b. having sympathy
c. having a religious character about you. d. saying one thing, and doing
46. Miss Maudie was Presbyterian. a. true b. false
47. What happened to Bob Ewell? a. He moved to Russia b. his daughter
killed him. c. He fell on his own knife d. Jem killed him. e. none of the above
48. Mr. Underwood did what? a. Shot black people b. acted as a sheriff
c. ran a newspaper d. ran a funeral parlor.
49. What did Tom do to get put in jail? a. Murdered someone b. shoplifted
something c. raped someone d. he was a runaway slave. e. None of the
50. Who was Mr. Tate talking about when he said "taking the one man
who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his
shy ways into the limelight to me, that is a sin." a. Atticus b. Arthur
c. Bob d. Jem.
Return to the: Teaching Literature page | <urn:uuid:71342093-0dea-4c7c-ad62-b1f565a6b7a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://teacher2b.com/literature/mockbrdtst1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939669 | 2,168 | 3.265625 | 3 |
The simplest definition of biotechnology is "applied biology." The application of biological knowledge and techniques to develop products. It may be further defined as the use of living organisms to make a product or run a process. By this definition, the classic techniques used for plant and animal breeding, fermentation and enzyme purification would be considered biotechnology. Some people use the term only to refer to newer tools of genetic science. In this context, biotechnology may be defined as the use of biotechnical methods to modify the genetic materials of living cells so they will produce new substances or perform new functions. Examples include recombinant DNA technology, in which a copy of a piece of DNA containing one or a few genes is transferred between organisms or "recombined" within an organism. | <urn:uuid:99970b05-485b-4020-80dd-2ca012e11bae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dadamo.com/glossary/glossary.cgi?word=Biotechnology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923581 | 156 | 3.25 | 3 |
Millions more patients could benefit from taking statins, drugs typically used to prevent heart attacks and strokes, than current prescribing guidelines suggest, Johns Hopkins doctors report in a new study.
Doctors have long known that statins can help prevent subsequent heart attacks and strokes in patients who have already had one of these cardiovascular events. Additionally, statins have been shown to have a protective effect for patients who haven't yet had a heart attack or stroke but are at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Consequently, doctors currently prescribe these drugs both to patients with established cardiovascular disease, as well as those with high cholesterol and other risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease such as diabetes. About 33 million older adults — men age 50 or older and women age 60 or older — are currently eligible to take statins based on these criteria.
However, notes Erin D. Michos, M.D., M.H.S., assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its Heart and Vascular Institute, about half of all cardiovascular events occur in patients who don't have high cholesterol, and about 20 percent of these events occur in people who have no identifiable cardiovascular disease risk factor. Until recently, doctors haven't been sure if any of these patients might also benefit from statin therapy.
Last November, a research team led by doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston announced the results of a study known as the JUPITER trial that involved nearly 18,000 patients.. They found that statins protect against heart attacks and strokes even in older adults without known cardiovascular disease or diabetes and with low cholesterol, below 130 mg/dl—a group that isn't usually prescribed statins—as long as these patients also had high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a blood marker for inflammation. Recent research has shown that inflammation plays an important role in initiating cardiovascular events, says Michos, but at-risk patients aren't routinely tested for CRP levels.
Building on the JUPITER trial results, Michos and Hopkins cardiology professor Roger S. Blumenthal, M.D., wondered how many patients in the United States fit the low-cholesterol, high-CRP profile featured in the study and might also benefit from taking statins. To get an estimate, they gathered data generated by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES. This research program, which has gathered various health data from thousands of Americans from 1971 to the present, weights the data from its participants so that they're representative of the entire United States population.
After searching NHANES between the years 1999 and 2004 for participants that fit the JUPITER profile, then extrapolating that to the general population, Michos and Blumenthal estimate that about 6.5 million older adults with low cholesterol and high CRP might benefit from statins. If they expanded their search criteria to the cholesterol level cutoff of 160 mg/dl that doctors often use when deciding to prescribe statins, the researchers increased this statin-benefiting group's size to 10 million.
"We're showing that doctors may be able to prevent thousands of heart attacks, strokes and deaths each year if we expand statin-prescribing criteria to include C-reactive protein levels, something we can assess as part of a simple blood test," says Michos.
The team points out in the study, published in the March 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, that based on JUPITER's results, prescribing statins to older adults using this new criteria that incorporates CRP would prevent about 260,000 cardiovascular events over five years.
For more information, go to: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heart_vascular_institute/experts/physician_profile.html?profile=1D3183C290D29A4E8021C61C87797E41&directory=1B2D0F30B59D39A341B0C23CB2B204D9
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system. | <urn:uuid:06dfb985-c93c-4f1d-8d59-51625bb11ea6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/jhmi-6mm031809.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940837 | 870 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Results of a survey released this week shows that a growing number of state transportation departments (DOTs) are communicating critical news and information with travelers using Twitter, Facebook and other social media.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) survey of 32 state DOTs finds that 26 states (or 81 percent) use Twitter to communicate with travelers when major traffic incidents or severe weather such as snow storms, hurricanes and tornadoes force road closures or detours.
Almost half of the states surveyed (14) have an active Facebook page and 23 report using video on their Web site. Eighteen states also report having an active YouTube channel. (Since the survey was completed, at least three other states started using Twitter.)
“Using social media tools allows us to carry messages to constituents through the forums they already use rather than expecting them to seek us out,” said Washington State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond. “We have improved our agency’s credibility with the public, improved communication efficiency and saved taxpayers money.”
Washington was one of the first state DOTs to use Twitter and now has 8,000 followers on its main WSDOT Twitter account and 3,000 followers on its Seattle area traffic account. Washington, along with Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and California are among several states using multiple Twitter accounts to give travelers the ability to personalize their information based on specific highway routes or their geographic location.
Overall, state DOTs are finding that social media are decidedly more efficient in reaching the public with time-sensitive traffic and travel information, according to the survey.
Among the new social media tools, respondents found Twitter (65 percent), RSS feeds (56 percent), podcasts (18 percent) and Facebook (13 percent) to be the most effective method to reach their primary audiences.
States accompany their information with warnings not to read Twitter texts while driving. Idaho’s slogan – “Call 511 B 4 U GO” and Tennessee’s “Know Before You Go!” – are typical of the public safety campaigns that accompany many of the state social media initiatives. | <urn:uuid:20347e70-e530-48da-b426-e7672e5d33bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itd.idaho.gov/transporter/2010/030510_Trans/030510_NewMedia.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92754 | 437 | 2.53125 | 3 |
To locate a specific quadrangle area in MapGuide, select the 'Zoom GoTo' button from the tool bar. This tool is a magnifying glass with an arrow on top pointing to the right .
A window will pop up with several selections on a pull down menu.From this menu, select either 1:250 QMQ or 1:63 ITM. This allows you to find either a quarter million USGS quadrangle area (1:250 QMQ), or a specific inch-to-mile quad area (1:63 ITM). In the 'Location' pane, enter the name of the desired quadrangle. If you're unsure of the name or spelling, type in the first few letters and a selection list will appear. This function takes you to the quadrangle area; it does not bring up a USGS quadrangle image.
If you're unsure of the quadrangle name, but know the general vicinity, you can turn on the USGS 1:250 quadrangle grid while viewing the entire state. Then, using the 'Select' arrow, move the curser over the area of interest and the quadrangle name will appear. You may use the Zoom GoTo button to find the specific quadrangle, or use the magnifying glass to enlarge the particular area. | <urn:uuid:e29faf47-5e5a-42b8-9575-8a66c730630e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/reclands/reclands_help/find_quad.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.8101 | 272 | 2.578125 | 3 |
(March 5, 2009)
Inexpensive, lightweight bomb-proof cameras may help protect mass transit.
Flash Player version 9 or newer is required to view this video.
Can a cheap little camera survive a big costly blast?
That was the question on the minds of Department of Homeland Security scientists and managers watching from behind three feet of reinforced concrete.
“30 seconds…” came the countdown voice in an adjacent room.
Outside was an old public bus, rigged to explosives; a series of baseball-sized video cameras mounted to its walls. Could the images on their memory chips be salvaged by computer engineers? Would they be clear enough to identify the bomber? In this case, of course, the latter question wasn’t much of a mystery.
“20 seconds…” the voice called again.
Earlier in the day, this group had traveled out to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, the test site for every Army vehicle with wheels or tracks since World War II. They went as guests of the Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) to witness a test more than two years in the making.
Stephen Dennis, an S&T program manager, explained the idea. DHS wanted to develop cameras with memory chips sturdy enough to withstand bombing attacks, fires or floods, but inexpensive enough to use in places where a complete surveillance system wasn’t workable.
DHS’s target price for the cameras was between $150 and $200 a piece, he said.
“These cameras would be used as a means of forensic analysis,” said Dennis, pointing out two working prototypes under consideration. The cameras would not transmit or collect personal information, and would be tamper-proof to prevent someone from ripping one off a wall and, say, posting the images on YouTube. Video from the cameras would be recovered and used by law enforcement only after an incident.
Inside the shelter, the group watched a wall of flat screens hooked up to high-speed cameras ringing the bombing range outside. This was just one test with one bus, representing just one kind of dangerous threat.
“The idea is that the cameras are robust enough to survive the blast from a suicide bomber,” said Dennis.
There had been some talk about what kind of damage the explosive representing this suicide bomber could do. Would it pop the ceiling open like a tin can? Would it split the bus in half?
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”
Even behind a giant steel plate, the walls of the shelter shuddered. The screens flashed red, and filled with smoky plumes.
Once the smoke cleared and flying debris settled, the group watched workmen through the digital haze as they wandered the cold and muddy site, plugging the ground with colored flags wherever they spotted one of the small cameras. A metal strip from the bus’s shell lay across tree branches a hundred yards away. There wasn’t much left except the wheels and chassis.
In a future issue of Snapshots, find out if the cameras' memory chips survived the blast intact. | <urn:uuid:31bb0814-b062-4ea7-ae2c-bc05cb487879> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhs.gov/lights-camera-ka-boom | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949263 | 657 | 3 | 3 |
Monitor Your Meter
It's time to check inside you rmeter box. It's usually infront of the house near the curb. Lift the cover aside to expose your water meter. Flip open its hinged lid. It is not uncommon to have dirt in the box due to wind and rain. Don't worry, this does not affect the proper operation of your meter. Simply brush it aside to read the meter face.
With all of the faucets (inside and outside) shut tightly, mark the test-needle by laying a straight-pin or toothpick exactly on top of it.
A half hour later, check the dial again. If the test-needle has moved and no one has used any water you probably have a leak and should do some more investigating.
To determine if the leak is inside or outside the house, locate the main shut-off valve (usually at the front of the house underneath an outside faucet). If the dial moves while the main house valve is turned off, you probably have an underground houseline leak. Inspect along a straight line between the meter and the house valve for surface water or a wet or super-greenspot.
Note: Leaks that may occur intermittently (like a running toilet, irrigation system leak or faulty swimming pool fill valve) will not always continuously register at the meter. These are all early steps you can take to locate the problem your self before calling a plumber or leak detection specialist.
Read Your Meter - Often!
One way to find out the “why“ of high water consumption is to determine the “what” and “when” consumption is occuring. Read your meter every day or every week and keep a log of the readings. Is your consumption consistent or is it higher on some days? If your sprinkler system has a timer, read the meter the day before and the day after an irrigation cycle. How much water is going into the garden? How does that compare to the days without irrigation?
You may routinely put new washers in the faucets and fix any leaks you can see inside the house and around the yard but do you have any invisible leaks? | <urn:uuid:a42f79ca-4cc1-439a-ad39-8f423f330dd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mountpleasantwaterworks.com/Monitor%20Your%20Meter.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941484 | 450 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Science subject and location tags
Articles, documents and multimedia from ABC Science
Friday, 29 February 2008
Biological organisms play a surprisingly large role in how rain and snow forms, a new study shows.
Monday, 25 February 2008
An Arctic 'doomsday vault' filled with samples of the world's most important crop seeds will be opened this week.
Friday, 15 February 2008
Bottles tossed into the sea for research nearly half a century ago may help people fight the spread of coastal weeds in Australia.
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Banana and mint are the two unlikely candidates for the next generation of novel insecticides, scientists say.
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
A microscopic lens, inspired by a Venus flytrap's ability to trap insects in a split second, can pop instantly between convex and concave when triggered, scientists say.
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Carnivorous pitcher plants that feed on insects in the tropics may be smarter than they look.
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Great Moments in Science The potato is forever associated with Ireland, yet the tale of the potato is a twisted one. As you will discover with Dr Karl following the curls.
Thursday, 1 February 2007 575K
Lesson Plan This fascinating, cheap and very reliable experiment clearly demonstrates the damaging effects of salinity (salt) on seed germination.
Thursday, 26 October 2006
Great Moments in Science I am lucky enough to have a chippie (carpenter) for a brother-in-law, and over the years, he has taught me a lot.
Thursday, 28 September 2006
Great Moments in Science Dr Karl investigates how lucky the 'lucky' four-leaf clover might be.
Thursday, 11 August 2005
Scribbly Gum Across Australia, mosses and lichens are starting to reproduce and spread themselves around. Lichen are the termites of the plant world, but also used to be the source of the colour purple! Mosses, on the other hand, are a garden's friend, holding soil together and keeping in moisture.
Friday, 5 March 2004
Scribbly Gum Are mistletoes friend or foe? They provide food and shelter to a vast range of birds, mammals and insects, yet now infest trees in plague proportions in some parts of Australia.
Thursday, 3 July 2003
Scribbly Gum Feature Why do some wattles bloom in winter while so many other plants hunker down for the cold weather?
Friday, 2 August 2002
Western Australia has one of the most spectacular displays of wildflowers anywhere in the world. At least 12,000 plant species live across the state, with more discovered every year. Yet the soils here are among the most barren in the world, and it hardly ever rains. What's going on?
Thursday, 6 June 2002
Scribbly Gum Feature If you suddenly catch a whiff of bubblegum or peanut butter when you go for a bushwalk, don't be surprised if there's a native truffle lurking nearby. As winter approaches, these fungi form fat and fruiting bodies just below the soil surface, where they wait to be dug up and devoured by native animals. | <urn:uuid:3a330f20-ec0d-4b39-9375-ccfe8d64c4e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/science/tag/browse.htm?site=science&topic=enviro&tag=botany&page=07 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936041 | 659 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Society today seems more likely than ever to accept the idea of holistic solutions to educational and community problems. Each day, foundations are created to reach out to populations that are unable and unprepared to empower themselves.
When New York City's 1.1 million public school students return from summer vacation, they can look forward to rolling up their sleeves and getting busy improving the world, or at least their corner of it.
There was a fight at my school last week, a big, ugly fight in the street just after students were dismissed for the day. Some older relatives of the girl who instigated the fight were involved. Dozens, perhaps even hundreds of students, gathered around to watch.
There's more than one way to make a delicious bread, soup, or stew. Similarly, there is not just one recipe for reducing risk in students' lives. But there do seem to be some essential ingredients to the process.
People often ask me what evidence there is to support the view that our schools should promote social, emotional, and character development in our students. They seem especially interested in whether SECD actually helps shape the character and behavior of students over time.
You go to conferences and other professional-development experiences, check Web sites, read blogs, and participate in teleseminars and webinars. You gain great insight and knowledge, and you notice that many, if not most, of your colleagues have not shared this experience with you. How do you communicate this back at your home-school setting?
The first thing I heard as I walked into school on this miraculous morning after Barack Obama's landslide victory was a group of African American parents talking about the results. One father said, "They didn't want to give us 40 acres and a mule, so we took fifty states and the White House."
One of Envision Schools's four principles is about building relationships. Often, the difference between a student graduating and going to college and a student not finishing school or going on to college is the relationship that student has with just one adult at school who knows him or her well, believes in the student's ability to succeed, and will not let him or her fail. | <urn:uuid:ec9ee3c9-f0bd-4484-9098-fb2f929c99bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.edutopia.org/blogs/beat/social-emotional-learning?page=14 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980812 | 442 | 2.609375 | 3 |
HOME ARTICLES CALENDAR
THE GREAT CIRCLES AND THEIR POLES
Nick Anthony Fiorenza
The Ecliptic Poles
are two points in the heavens that lie exactly perpendicular to the ecliptic
plane. They are the "North Ecliptic Pole" (NEP) and "South
Ecliptic Pole" (SEP). Because the Star Chart is a rectangular map of the
celestial sphere, these points are stretched out to create the entire top and
entire bottom of the chart.
Planets move west to east in the heavens--right to left in the Star Chart. Most planets lie close to the plane of the ecliptic, but many of the asteroids lie north and south of the ecliptic because their orbits around the sun are tilted with respect to Earth's orbital plane (the ecliptic).
The Galactic Equator
The Galactic Equator, a great circle in our celestial sphere shown as the violet line in the map, is defined by the spinning disc of our galaxy. The Galactic Equator is tilted at a 60° angle to the ecliptic and intersects the ecliptic at 5° sidereal Sagittarius, the galactic equatorial node (GEN), also called the "Gate of God," and 5° sidereal Gemini, the anti-GEN, called the "Gate of Man." The constellations which lie along this great circle are the "Galactic Constellations."
The Center of our Galaxy lies along the galactic equator just south of the Gate of God. Galactic Center (GC) enters the ecliptic at about 2° sidereal Sag.
The North and South Galactic poles, which are perpendicular to the galactic plane (galactic equator) are labeled NGP and SGP. The NGP lies in the constellation Coma Berenices, which lies 30° north of the ecliptic, above the head of the Virgin. The NGP enters the ecliptic at 5° sidereal Virgo. The SGP lies in the constellation Sculptor, 30° south of the ecliptic, and enters the ecliptic at 5° sidereal Pisces.
The Celestial Equator
Earth's equator projected out into the celestial sphere is called the Celestial Equator, a great circle shown as the green line in the Star Chart. The Celestial Equator, tilted at 23.5° to the ecliptic, currently intersects the ecliptic at 5° sidereal Pisces, which is called the vernal point (VP) and 5° sidereal Virgo (@2000 A.D.), which is called the Anit-VP. The vernal point is where the sun resides on the March equinox and the anti-vernal point is where the sun resides on the September equinox.
The Celestial Equator and the vernal points move westward (to the right) through the ecliptic at a rate of about 1° per 72 years with respect to the Galactic Equator, to the sidereal signs, and to the stars--all which remain fixed in the heavens--due to Earth's 25,000-year precessional cycle. Precessional movement is east to west in the heavens, the opposite direction of planetary movement.
The vernal point is called the Birthplace of the Sun / Sol / Soul. It is also called the Christ Point or Office of the Christ--referring to a position held that reveals where we, as a soul collective, reside in Earth's "Evolutionary Cycle of the Soul," a cycle driven by Earth's precessional movement. The vernal point is also the reference for the Tropical Zodiak, marking 0° tropical Aries. Thus the tropical signs (which can also be referred to as the "Houses of the Sun." move westward with respect to the sidereal signs and the stars.
Earth's North and South Celestial Poles, which are Earth's poles projected into the heavens, are labeled NCP and SCP. They move very slowly through the heavens as well due to Earth's precession. Earth's NCP currently lies in Ursa Minor, near the star Polaris, and enters the ecliptic at 5° sidereal Gemini (2000 AD). Earth's SCP lies in Octans and enters the ecliptic at 5° sidereal Sag (2000 AD).
Your Zenith and Nadir
Imagine looking directly up into the heavens from the location on the Earth where you were born, from your "natal location." This point in the heavens is called your "Zenith." Imagine standing on that location, but that your body extends through the Earth such that you feet extend through the opposite side of the Earth. That point projected into the heavens is called your "Nadir." Your Zenith and Nadir are always opposite each other in the heavens, just as are Earth's north and south celestial poles. The Zenith-Nadir axis creates your personal pole. You can think of it as the energy running through your spinal column.
The stars and constellations surrounding your Zenith reveal much about how you are guided in your life, your soul-level focus. The Nadir stars and constellations reveal much about your soul-level foundation.
Your Horizon Plane; ASC / DSC
Visualize a plane extending through the center of the Earth that lies perpendicular to your personal pole--to the Zenith / Nadir axis--much like Earth's equator is perpendicular to Earth's polar axis. This is your personal equator and it is called the "Horizon Plane." The Horizon Plane can be tilted at any angle with respect to Earth's equator, to the ecliptic, and to the galactic plane depending upon when and where you were born. (If you were born on the north or south pole of the Earth, your Horizon Plane would be the same as Earth's equatorial plane. If you were born exactly on Earth's equator, your Horizon Plane would lie parallel to Earth's pole.)
The points where the Horizon Plane intersect the Ecliptic Plane create your Ascendant (ASC) and Descendant (DSC). The ASC-DSC axis in the ecliptic is the horizontal axis in the typical astrology chart. Your Horizon is the orange line in your Star Chart. The stars conjoining your ASC are your "rising stars" and reveal much about the nature of your soul expression on Earth. The stars conjoining your DSC are your "setting stars" and reveal much about your interpersonal expression, the nature of the significant relations you draw to your self, and how you interrelate and present your self to others, You can think of your Horizon Plane (and the ASC / DSC axis in your natal sidereal astrology chart) as the plane upon which you participate. The stars and constellations along your horizon plane are like your personal zodiak.
Your Meridian; MC / IC
Visualize the longitude on the Earth where you were born, that which passes through your Zenith, and how it encircles the Earth. This great circle passes through your Horizon Plane at the most southern point from Earth's Equator (labeled S in your Star Chart) and the most northern point from Earth's Equator (labeled N). This great circle also passes through the north and south poles of the Earth (NCP and SCP) and your Nadir. This great circle or plane is perpendicular to your Horizon Plane and to Earth's Equatorial Plane (to the Celestial Equator).
This plane, or great circle projected into the heavens is your Meridian. The Meridian is the yellow line in your Star Chart. The points where the Meridian intersects the ecliptic create you Mid-Heaven (MC / media-colli) and your Anti-Mid-Heaven (IC / illia-colli). If you follow the yellow great circle in your Star Chart you will see it pass through the NCP (which lies to the upper right in your Star Chart near the star Polaris of Ursa Minor), through your Zenith, MC, the south point of your Horizon, the SCP, your Nadir, IC, and the north point of your Horizon.
The stars conjoining your MC reveal much about your day to day modality and focus in the world, how you see things, what is in your face. Mastering the theme of your MC is a part of claiming your personal power on the (horizon) plane upon which you participate. The stars conjoining your IC reveal the nature about the foundation upon which you stand and the nature of the environment that best serves you, as well as the nature of the family genetic coding (patterning) through which your soul expresses.
Your Equatorial Ascendant (East Point)
The eastern node created by the intersection of your Horizon Plane and the Celestial Equator is labeled "E" for east. This will be near your ASC. Your "Equatorial Ascendant" (or East Point) which resides on the ecliptic, is defined by a meridian of the Earth that passes through the east point on your horizon plane--it is labeled "EP."
Note: The Equatorial Ascendant is also called the East Point (EP), but this is not to be confused with the eastern point on the Horizon Plane (labeled E).
Many astrological authors have written about the nature of the Equatorial Ascendant. It may be worth researching their writings if you are not familiar with this point and are interested in its astrological significance.
I tend to think of the Equatorial Ascendant as our Earth Attitude--that is, how the soul currently views Earthian experience based on soul's accumulative experience up to this incarnation. Equatorial Ascendant stars often indicate the nature of soul-level grief or self-judgment. Exploring the stellar themes conjoining the Equatorial Ascendant can provide insight into our attitude and experience about life in general. Addressing any Equatorial Ascendant issues (perhaps some deep seated grief about what we did not accomplish or live up to in our previous incarnational experience) can serve us to express ourselves in greater self-empowerment.
Your Prime Vertical and your Vertex
The Prime Vertical is another great circle that passes through your Zenith and Nadir, except this one is perpendicular to your Meridian, thus passing through the eastern point on your Horizon Plane (labeled E) and the western point (labeled "W").
Your Vertex is where the Prime Vertical intersects the ecliptic from the western point on your horizon plane. This will be near your DSC. (Note: on some Star Charts, I've only shown the part of this great circle that creates the Vertex.)
Many astrological authors have written about the nature of the Vertex as well, which may be worth exploring if you are not familiar with this point. The Vertex is where things just occur as if they are fated--seemingly planned from a soul-level and beyond the awareness of the incarnate person. Thus, the Vertex is often significantly aspected when there is a death (or birth), or the ending or beginning of a significant relationship, or events of that nature. Some suggest it to be where we draw adversaries, although this may be dependant upon the nature of any Vertex aspects. Vertex stars might be considered to reveal the nature of our soul-level agreements. Or they may reveal the nature of interpersonal issues we hold at a transcendent level.
Additional Perspective of the East Point and Vertex
The East Point (Equatorial Ascendant) can be found by following an Earth meridian to the Ecliptic. The Vertex can be found by following a Horizon Plane meridian to the ecliptic. Thus, the East Point is common to Earth's equatorial plane, whereas the Vertex, being an orthogonal projection from the Horizon Plane, is common to soul's personal plane, somewhat removed from or transcendent to the Earth plane. This perspective may help provide insight as to why the Prime Vertical and the Vertex are more related to transcendent or fated matters, those unique to or intended by the soul; or simply how the world can act upon us regardless of our personal intent and actions. For those with strong vertex alignments (i.e., conjoining planets, primary asteroids, or significant stars) this may be all the more true--where it seems certain things just happen or even seemed blocked until the mysterious universe decides otherwise.
About the Great Circles' Nodes
Keep in mind that all of the great circles in your Star Chart are planes of energy or consciousness. The intersection of these great circles create nodes that translate energy from one plane to another--nodes are points of commonality between different aspects of self. Exploring the stars and constellations surrounding the nodes of your great circles may provide other interesting insights about your self.
Planes common to us all
The Galactic Plane
The Ecliptic Plane
The Celestial Equatorial Plane
The Personal Planes
The Horizon Plane
The Prime Vertical
The planes common to us all create the Holy Cross in the ecliptic, consisting of the GEN, Anti-GEN and the Vernal Point and Anti-Vernal Point. This Cross, determined by Earth's precessional cycle, defines where we reside in the timing of the evolutionary cycle of the soul collective--the incarnational (punctual) timing of the (durative) soul. Our personal planes create our Personal Cross (Natal Cross) consisting of the ASC-DCS / MC-IC. Our Personal Cross nests upon the Holy Cross, giving us temporal form in Earth's time and space. The planets nest upon the Crosses, as seen in an astrology chart. Planets on or around our personal points are accentuated significantly in our psychophysiology and their resonance dominates our expression and experience on Earth.
The stars conjoining each of your planets, asteroids, and personal points (ASC, DSC, MC, IC, EP, and Vertex) are those that lie along the ecliptical longitude (a straight vertical line) through each item. A relatively tight orb is used for stars -- 1 or 2 degrees in ecliptical longitude -- so only those stars that are very close to each planet's ecliptical longitude are considered conjoining. (Keep in mind each zodiakal sign is 30° wide to estimate a 1 or 2 degree orb). It does not matter how far north or south of the ecliptic a star is to be of significance. Although the themes of the conjoining stars express through the character of each planet and personal point, the themes of adjoining stars (those which lie in a wider orb), will reveal a backdrop theme as well, as will the myth of each constellation. Exploring the themes of adjoining stars often help us to understand the themes of the stars tightly conjoining any planet or personal point (The individual star themes reveal the ever-changing character within each zodiakal sign).
Having some astrological appreciation for the planetary themes is fundamental to understand how the stellar themes will express through your planets. The stellar themes reveal a far deeper and clearer level of our consciousness. Star level sidereal astrology compared to simple sign-based astrology is like adjusting an out-of focus camera lens into crystal clarity.
You can gain an appreciation for individual star themes as I write about them in the monthly lunar planners (keeping an eye out for those stars that are significant in your personal chart); and by also exploring back issues of the monthly lunar planners listed in the Lunar Planner Archive.
Also take note of the stars surrounding your zenith and nadir, they are your personal pole stars--those of the zenith, provide guidance; those of the nadir, foundational. Stars surrounding any of the other nodes created by any of the Great Circles can also provide interesting insight--like those of the nodes at the four directions found along your horizon plane (N,S,E,W).
Stars conjoing planets or asteroids within a couple of degree in ecliptic lattitude (in paralell) can also be of influence.
WEBMASTER CECE [email protected] | <urn:uuid:3b79c997-1624-4e15-9cce-1b8e687b422b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.internationalastrologers.com/galactic_equator.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92066 | 3,394 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Today, new homes are twice as energy-efficient as they were 30 years ago. Nationwide, roughly 100,000 homes have been built using local green building program guidelines since 1990, more than 14,000 of them in 2004 alone. More than 1,000 builders participate in local green building programs.
Introduced in 2005, the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines brought environmentally friendly building techniques to mainstream builders and home builders associations. The guidelines offer builder and market-driven solutions in seven areas, including lot preparation and design, resource efficiency, energy efficiency, water efficiency and conservation, occupancy comfort and indoor environmental quality, and operation maintenance and homeowner education. Now, the Guidelines form the basis of the NAHB Green Building Program and the first-ever residential green building standard.
Homes built today use myriad green building techniques and technologies that:
Lower operating costs—homes are equipped with more efficient heating and cooling systems and use less water, resulting in lower monthly utility bills. Improved construction methods better protect homes from rain and ground water and reduce upkeep and replacement costs, while use of recycled materials helps conserve natural resources.
Reduce maintenance issues—landscaping uses native or drought-resistant plants and grasses, and decks made of pressure-treated lumber or synthetic materials need no sealing or staining.
Increase home value—homeowners with documented lower monthly utility bills are reporting higher re-sale values.
Improve environmental quality—moisture-control products and low VOC paints contribute to a more comfortable indoor environment, and efficient use of materials helps conserve natural resources.
Click here to view past issues of our digital newsletter - Beyond Green. | <urn:uuid:1b5cdae0-6c47-493b-afd1-56e5dca3f5e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smithphillips.net/Beyond-Green.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921505 | 332 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Occupational therapy is a health profession concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the occupations which give meaning and purpose to their lives. Occupational Therapy provides the skills for the job of living, to help people lead productive and satisfying lives. Occupational Therapists consider occupation to be everything people do to occupy themselves: Self-care, Leisure, Productivity/Work.
Occupational Therapy works to break down the barriers which impede individuals in their everyday activities: Physical, Psychosocial, Community, Environment.
These obstacles may result from a change in function (thinking, doing, feeling) because of illness or disability, and/or barriers in the social, institutional or and physical environment.
Occupational Therapists are experts, recognized by the government and consumers for evaluating and promoting performance in daily occupations.
Depending on what your issue is, an Occupational Therapist can help you resolve it by:
- Helping you overcome your disability
- Adapting the material/equipment you use
- Recommending changes to your environment
Occupational therapists are authorized to prescribe assistive devices such as wheelchairs, mobility devices, and communication aids in provinces with provincial assistive device funding programmes.Book an appointment now | <urn:uuid:57adc2ec-22a4-48d0-8ba3-c2c09e8dda72> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.straitareaphysio.com/services/occupational-therapy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926597 | 263 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Theory of Change
We are often asked how social innovation occurs. We’ve learned there is no single or simple answer. Social change is the result of a tremendously complex mix of ingredients. Environmental conditions, social conditions and individual actors collide to spark world-changing ideas. There is an underlying magic to social innovation that precludes any simple recipe for success.
What We've Learned
What we can do, however, is create the spaces that best foster social innovation. Our observations tell us that these are the spaces that provide people with exposure to new ideas, connections with incredible people, and systems and structures to help turn the seeds of an idea into an achievable plan. The Centre for Social Innovation has been working hard to create these conditions in its home base in Toronto and our experiences have led us to a few important conclusions.
First, social innovation occurs best in environments that are diverse. Innovation rarely occurs within homogenous or staid structures. It happens at the peripheries, where differing approaches bump up against each other and stimulate new ways of thinking. The diversity of our system leads to new opportunities and robust and flexible responses to common challenges. For us, this means doing away with the silos that keep sectors and structures apart. We often refer to the ‘social mission sector’ – an umbrella term that includes all the individuals and organizations whose primary mission is to produce some benefit for people or planet. The CSI community reflects this diversity. Our social mission members include nonprofits, charities, for-profits, entrepreneurs and activists working in areas from health and education to arts and environment. We don’t create change by doing the same things we’ve always done. By introducing diversity we provoke discovery.
The Right Environment
Second, social innovation needs a conducive physical environment. Social innovators need actual spaces to spark, develop and apply their ideas. Without access to resources and support structures, even the best ideas have trouble taking flight. As a space-based organization, we are finding ways to create and curate spaces that foster social innovation. We’ve learned that the best spaces are a mix of utility and whimsy. When ‘bearing down’ and on the task at hand, social innovators need a functional work environment with reliable office infrastructure. But all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl! We recognize the critical importance of unstructured social space. There is far more serendipity around the kitchen table than the boardroom table. By balancing these characteristics, we create a dynamic that stimulates new ideas to germinate and blossom.
Animate and Watch it Grow
Finally, we have learned that some gentle animation can do wonders. In addition to the physical space and a diverse mix of people, it is the interventions and learning opportunities that help make connections and stimulate new thoughts and ways of doing. We bring innovators together with capacity-building workshops, informal social mixers, our Intranet network, and more. We foster individual and collective growth and create an environment that produces original action. Our key is to adopt a light touch. We do not program with an expectation of uniform engagement. We offer opportunities for individuals to ‘find their own level’; to dip in and dip out of the community in a way they find comfortable and natural. And when a new idea begins to surface, that same gentle touch helps it to grow. This is our role within the centre: to animate the ideas that have developed in the spaces we have created, and to nurture a participatory culture where all members feel welcome to bring their ideas and to leave their fingerprints.
Making it Simple - The CSI Pyramid
More recently, CSI has begun to understand its work through a new lens. Our emerging Theory of Change is most succinctly communicated through the following image:
We begin at the bottom of the pyramid, focussing on the creation of the physical space. We do this carefully, designing a space that''s functional, whimsical, inviting and energizing.
The next layer is community. What begins as a group of people looking for a place to work becomes a community through conscious and careful curating and programming.
These layers form the basis for innovation -- the serendipity that happens when you mix the right people, the right values and the right environment; when you set the conditions for social innovation emergence.
The results are unpredictable. And often astonishing.
For more on our Theory of Change and to learn about the impact of our work, download Proof: How Shared Spaces are Changing the World. | <urn:uuid:c704fb8b-d806-40e0-a2f3-2153319e40c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://socialinnovation.ca/about/theory-of-change | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933917 | 925 | 2.75 | 3 |
Clyde Ellis, Luke Ellis Lassiter, Gary H. Dunham, eds. Powwow. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005. vii +309 pp. $19.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8032-6755-8.
Reviewed by Megan L. MacDonald (American Studies Program, Purdue University)
Published on H-AmIndian (February, 2007)
Pan-Indian or Intertribal: The Identity of Powwow Dancing
Clyde Ellis, Luke Eric Lassiter, and Gary Dunham do a wonderful job of compiling a striking collection of works by and about powwows throughout indigenous cultures. At the root of the text is the power and knowledge represented by a uniquely indigenous expression of community and identity. Reference to some seminal texts on the powwow, including those by Barre Toelken, Clyde Ellis, William Powers, and Alice Kehoe, are offset nicely by a range of current literature, by such authors as Mark Mattern, Thomas Kavanagh, and Patricia Albers, analyzing cultural values within the powwow. Powwow presents a collection of essays by a number of scholars and maintains a recent trend in localizing powwow activity, like Tara Browner's Heartbeat of the People (2002), rather than generalizing the powwow as a pan-social phenomenon.
What is a powwow? Ellis tells us immediately that "every weekend of the year Indian people gather in one place or another to share their dances and songs, renew friendships, and reaffirm their shared experiences as members of a tribe, organization, family or community.... 'Why do we dance?... Well, how many reasons you got? Sometimes it's for ceremony. Sometimes it's because I want to put on my getup and shake a leg. And sometimes it's because I want to remember my friends and family. And sometimes it's just because'" (p. vii). Overall, Powwow tells us that powwows are fun, serious, traditional, modern, respectful, organized, and a good time all at once. The dynamic nature of powwow essentially defines the many ways in which powwow is represented in these essays.
The authors state that the "goal is to draw attention to some of the differences and similarities from community to community and group to group and to help point the way toward a more systematic and nuanced cross-cultural understanding of powwows" (p. xiii).
Do they fulfill this goal? Yes and no. The presentation of a cross-cultural powwow understanding is present, but I am not sure that the analysis is present in this collection. One such example is the repeated questioning of powwows as pan-Indian or intertribal. The editors and authors cannot seem to decide which term is currently appropriate for the multiple nations intermingling at powwow events. I think if we are discussing a "nuanced cross-cultural understanding of powwows," this discussion of intertribal vs. pan-Indian is vital to the way in which powwows bridge indigenous nations (p. xiii).
The book itself is divided into three sections, all easily laid out and readable. Part 1 introduces the powwow via history and how it developed into a significant marker of community identity for indigenous nations. The history of organized indigenous dancing is often traced to World War I, with some localized dances like the Grass Dance affiliating with specific nations.
Part 2 introduces performative aspects of powwows with specific reference to people and bodies--elders, princesses, singers--and how these bodies contribute to identity formation and community building in specific powwows. Essentially this section represents the people you see at every powwow.
Part 3 (what I came to refer to as Powwow Outliers) addresses powwow culture inside particular enclaves we do not immediately associate with powwow--indigenous gays and lesbians, southeastern tribes reclaiming profession of their cultures, German nationals dancing, New Age acting within a constructed tribal/powwow identity, and the multitude of expected (Indianness, common identity) and unexpected (tribally specific identity/community expression) reasons these various groups powwow.
As powwow history and lineage has been outlined in previous works, it is part 3 that fired me up the most about this book. I have so many questions to ask it--is powwow able to be appropriated if powwow is such an ambiguous and "unclaimable" event? Can anyone appropriate powwow for their community, tweaking it as they see fit? Is powwow uniquely indigenous? What makes powwow so easily transformable for individual communities? Given its broad nature, does powwow work for or against indigenous identity? Perhaps these questions are the reason the editors did not provide a conclusion, in order to bridge some of the larger, more unsolvable questions raised through the readings.
A brief discussion of how replacing pan-Indian with intertribal concludes that "understanding powwow as both a community-specific and a cross-cultural institution means doing more than simply renaming things, so dropping 'Pan-Indian' won't necessarily produce more perceptive treatments" (p. xiii). The editors do state that the collection is a stepping-off point for further discussion, not a text that solves issues. In an amazing way, however, the collection introduces the intertribal critique without overt analysis, allowing the reader to draw his/her own conclusions about pan-Indian or localized cultural event with regard to powwow. In that way, this collection would be excellent for undergraduate populations with little exposure to powwow or indigenous cultural activities.
It seems another goal is to spark interest and discussion concerning the powwow as something more than just a set of generalized cultural practices; however, the text does just the opposite. Numerous examples illustrate how the powwow can be a sociocultural template that many groups may take and shape as their own. For example, the New-Agers, the Monacan nation, and the Ho-chunk each take the common ground of dance, music, head people, emcees, arena directors, and elders, and make it their own with practices, songs, and language unique to their own nation or region, or re-discovering of community.
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the list discussion logs at: http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl.
Megan L. MacDonald. Review of Ellis, Clyde; Lassiter, Luke Ellis; Dunham, Gary H., eds., Powwow.
H-AmIndian, H-Net Reviews.
Copyright © 2007 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web location, date of publication, originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews editorial staff at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:f476d6d7-500b-4d1e-8461-b8c5e4ed707a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=12856 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925154 | 1,460 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Jan. 23, 2011 Much research has been carried out on why diabetics develop complications. Now researchers are asking the question the other way around. They want to know why some diabetic patients do not develop complications. What is it that protects them? The PROLONG study could provide the answer.
"The majority of diabetics will over time develop severe or fatal complications, but 10-15 per cent never do. They are the ones we are interested in in the PROLONG study," explains Valeriya Lyssenko, who along with Peter Nilsson, both from Lund University Diabetes Centre, leads the PROLONG (PROLONG stands for PROtective genes in diabetes and LONGevity) study.
Stiff sugary arteries
Major diabetic complications include kidney disease (nephropathy), eye damage (retinopathy), heart attacks and stroke. Despite decades of intensive research on diabetes complications, the fundamental mechanisms are not yet fully known. Neither is it possible to prevent or treat the damage to the blood vessels that affects the majority of diabetics.
The risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is two to three times higher for diabetics than for non-diabetics. The small blood vessels are also damaged. After only ten years with diabetes, 70 per cent of patients will have some form of kidney damage that may progress to kidney failure. As many suffer from eye complications -- some will develop severe visual impairment and two per cent will become blind.
"The blood vessels and other organs of the body become sugar coated and stiff. It is reminiscent of premature biological ageing," says Peter Nilsson.
Half of the veterans
Perhaps nature itself can answer the question of why some patients are protected. This is what the PROLONG study will investigate.
Today there are approximately 12 000 people in Sweden who have had diabetes for more than 30 years; of these, 1 600 have had it for over 50 years.
"About half of these diabetic veterans do not have major complications. Two thirds of those who have had diabetes for more than 50 years have escaped complications. Clearly they are different and we want to find out what it is that protects them," says Valeriya Lyssenko.
Greatest risk passed after 30 years
The PROLONG study is starting now in Skåne with a pilot study of patients with diabetes duration of more than 30 years. At a later stage patients will be recruited from all hospitals and health care centres in Sweden. They will be compared with diabetics who have already developed severe complications despite having had diabetes for less than 15 years.
The 30-year limit has been chosen because a person who has had diabetes for such a long time without developing complications is unlikely to do so later in life.
Copying nature's protective mechanisms
Participants in the PROLONG study will answer questions about their lifestyle and about diseases they, or their closest relatives, may have. Various blood samples, including genetic tests, will be analysed, and close relatives of the participants will also be invited to take part in the study.
"If we can identify factors protecting these veterans from devastating complications, then it might be possible to develop drugs that can do the same thing," says Valeriya Lyssenko.
"I have dreamt of performing a study like this for a long time," adds Peter Nilsson.
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead. | <urn:uuid:fd08b351-ce18-4a5e-910a-6d5ab4826550> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110121065753.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953323 | 708 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Summary: In attempting to resolve a complex problem such as that posed by UFO reports, one is very much in the "gray area" of scientific research that is not well defined: the facts are to some extent shaky; some of the hypotheses are speculative; and it is not clear how to evaluate the hypotheses on the basis of the facts and of other relevant information.
In attempting to resolve a complex problem such as that posed by UFO reports, one is very much in the "gray area" of scientific research that is not well defined: the facts are to some extent shaky; some of the hypotheses are speculative; and it is not clear how to evaluate the hypotheses on the basis of the facts and of other relevant information. Furthermore, one has the difficulty of relating the analysis of individual reports ("Is this report due to a hoax?") to the global questions represented by the hypotheses ("Are some reports due to hoaxes?"). In such a situation, it is essential to have some way to organize one's analysis of whatever research is being conducted. Scientific inference is the intellectual basis of science, and the procedures of scientific inference offer a framework for organizing such analyses. (See, for instance, Good, 1950; Jeffreys, 1973.)
The formalism of scientific inference involves expressing all judgments in terms of probabilities. Where there are definite rules for deriving probabilities from the evidence, these rules can be used; otherwise, the probabilities may be regarded as subjective. If each judgment is made by several investigators, this can provide both a mean or consensus estimate and a measure of the degree of uncertainty of that estimate. For a recent exposition of this formalism, see for instance Sturrock (1994d).
In investigating any specific case, it is necessary to work with a complete and mutually exclusive set of hypotheses. The following set of 8 hypotheses was used in Sturrock's survey of the members of the American Astronomical Society (Sturrock, 1994a; 1994b; 1994c):
b. Some well established phenomenon or device,
c. Some well established but unfamiliar natural phenomenon,
d. Some unfamiliar terrestrial technological device,
e. Some hitherto unknown natural phenomenon,
f. A technological device not of terrestrial origin,
g. Some other cause which [the investigator] can specify, and
h. Some other cause which [the investigator] cannot specify.
An investigator may begin by assigning "prior probabilities" to these hypotheses, although this is not essential. If so, each value must be greater than zero and less than unity, and they must sum to unity. Once these prior probabilities have been assigned, the investigator should then forget about his prejudices. Bayes' theorem then provides a mechanism for updating one's assessment of probabilities on the basis of new evidence. The new evidence may be a single case or an analysis of a catalog of cases. When measurements are made in terms of "log-odds" defined by log[(p/(1 - p)] rather than the probability pitself, it turns out that investigators with very different prejudices should assign the same weight of evidence, measured by the change in log-odds, to the same experimental or observational data. Hence, although they may differ in their prejudices, they should be able to agree in their assessments of the evidence.
It is even more convenient to work in terms of the quantity 10*log[p/(1-p)], since one may then use the familiar engineering term "db" or "decibel" to represent an assessment. For instance, if one begins with the assessment that the probability of an event being due to an extraterrestrial vehicle is 10-6, one could rephrase that as saying "my assessment is -60 db." If a certain research program made that proposition even more unlikely by, say, 10 db, one would then lower that assessment to -70 db. If, on the other hand, the evidence seemed to support that hypothesis with weight 10 db, the resulting assessment would be -50 db. If six separate and completely independent studies were each to yield evidence of 10 db, the investigator would end up with an assessment of 0 db, which represents even odds of the proposition being true. That is, the evidence would have been just sufficient to change the mind of the investigator from being highly skeptical about the hypothesis to considering it just as likely to be true as not true.
It is highly unlikely that any research project that is in operation for only one or two years will solve the UFO problem. However, it could and should provide useful relevant evidence, and that evidence should lead to a measurable change in the assessments of an interested scientist. In an area such as that of UFO research, that is all that can be expected. On the other hand, several research projects, each lasting a reasonable length of time, should provide sufficient evidence that an hypothesis may be effectively definitely established or definitely rejected.
If these suggestions are considered to have merit, they could be developed into a more specific and more useful form by means of a workshop that brings together UFO investigators, professional investigators (of accidents, failures, etc.), physical scientists, and statisticians. | <urn:uuid:6158f122-bcb1-44a6-9b05-4d3a808fe95d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc536.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957682 | 1,041 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Saturday, July 31
The 125-foot-tall column overlooking Astoria, Ore., is covered with scenes of the region’s exploration-rich history: Capt. Robert Gray claims the region for America in 1792, Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific in 1805, and explorers with the Pacific Fur Company arrive in 1811. Despite these textbook-worthy highlights, Astoria is perhaps best known for its starring role in the Oscar-snubbed cult classic film “The Goonies” (apparently we missed the 25-year “Goonies” reunion by a couple of weeks). Nonetheless, it’s a fitting place to set off on our own journey of discovery.
Over the next 12 days, our contingent of 24 scientists and 30 crew members will be mounting a scientific assault on Hydrate Ridge, a fascinating site 90 kilometers off the Oregon coast where methane gas flows out of the earth’s crust and into the deep ocean. Methane has a P.R. problem: In the atmosphere, the gas is a troublemaker, contributing to climate change with 25 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide. But on the seafloor, it’s a lifeline, as innovative micro-organisms are able to eke out a living converting methane to carbon dioxide and using the resulting energy to grow. Where one type of organism leads, others will follow, and entire ecosystems have grown up around these methane vents: microbes, clams, stringy tube worms and a range of other exotic species.
The methane vents at Hydrate Ridge are known as cold seeps, because the temperature hovers around 4 degrees Celsius — typical of the deep ocean. These conditions are in marked contrast to the flashier hydrothermal vents, where superheated water can exceed 100 degrees Celsius and plumes of “black smoke” (which is really composed of metallic minerals) billow out of the rock chimneys.
But from a biological point of view, both types of deep sea vents are critically important in the same way. Virtually all other known life on Earth is ultimately dependent on the sun, either using it for energy directly (plants) or eating other links of the food pyramid (that would be you). Deep sea vents are a different story: Hundreds of meters down, sunlight is irrelevant, and organisms need to look elsewhere for food. Chemicals in fluids squeezed out of vents provide the right nutrients to sustain an oasis of life in the middle of the seafloor desert. This kind of sun-independent ecosystem makes the idea of extraterrestrial life a bit more palatable because we know that even if the surface is too hostile (too hot, too cold, too dry, too much radiation), there may well be enough food beneath the surface for creative cells to work with. Our mission over the next couple of weeks is to learn more about the life forms at cold seep environments, how they interact with each other, how they shape our planet, and what they might mean for the possibility of life beyond earth.
We arrived yesterday morning as our driver/Astoria evangelist pointed out the highlights of this fading fishing town on the south bank of the Columbia River. Over there is where they filmed the orca in “Free Willy” jumping over the rocks. That was the first house in the country to have a flush toilet. This part of town had the largest Finnish population west of the Mississippi in the 1800s. I consider myself well prepared for the day “Astoria” appears as a “Jeopardy” category.
When we got to the dock, the blue-hulled Atlantis was a hive of activity, with suitcases, microscopes and tanks of liquid nitrogen being loaded on board. Atlantis is a 274-foot-long research powerhouse, owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for the marine research community. Onboard, it’s “Deadliest Catch” meets “CSI,” as grizzled sailors and crew work alongside lab-coated scientists in the name of science. We’ll be setting sail (or, less romantically but more accurately, firing up the diesel-electric thrusters) early tomorrow morning, eager to get to work at Hydrate Ridge. | <urn:uuid:3814a5e7-2bcd-4f75-a4bf-3df018bd38c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/leaving-astoria-for-hydrate-ridge/?ref=earth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933866 | 886 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Science subject and location tags
Articles, documents and multimedia from ABC Science
Thursday, 28 March 2013
New cancer treatments and better methods for cancer screening could emerge from a huge new international study that has revealed more of the genetic underpinnings of breast, prostate and ovarian cancers.
Monday, 27 August 2012
Children exposed to blue asbestos may face more wide-ranging health problems in adulthood than mesothelioma and lung cancer, according to an Australian study.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
News analysis An expert taskforce has caused a stir by recommending against the use of the PSA test to screen for prostate cancer in men.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Counting the number of cancer cells circulating in a patient's blood could help determine how aggressive a cancer is and predict the best treatment to use, say British scientists.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
A newly identified mechanism that helps explain why some tumours are resistant to specific anti-cancer drugs could help improve patient care and drug design.
Monday, 14 December 2009
Scientists have developed a nanosensor for the quick detection of cancers through a simple blood test.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009 6
Great Moments in Science Dr Karl continues his look at epigenetics and how the latest research into DNA is helping fight cancer.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
A virus known to cause cancer in animals has been found in some prostate tumours and might be a cause of prostate cancer, according to US researchers.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Two large studies looking at the benefits of a common screening test for prostate cancer produced conflicting results about whether it saves lives.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Great Moments in Science The prostate gland is little understood by most men. Why this is so is a matter Dr Karl can't quite put his finger on.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Researchers believe they have found a compound produced by aggressive prostate tumours that could be used to develop a new urine test.
Monday, 21 May 2007
Eating lycopene-rich tomatoes offers no protection against prostate cancer, according to the latest research, contrary to the findings of some past studies. | <urn:uuid:1d95310c-2684-4930-acdb-ff0175085138> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/science/tag/browse.htm?topic=energy&tag=prostate-cancer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952275 | 438 | 2.8125 | 3 |
- Full Description
PostgreSQL is arguably the most powerful open-source relational database system. It has grown from academic research beginnings into a functionally-rich, standards-compliant, and enterprise-ready database used by organizations all over the world. And its completely free to use.
Beginning Databases with PostgreSQL offers readers a thorough overview of database basics, starting with an explanation of why you might need to use a database, and following with a summary of what different database types have to offer when compared to alternatives like spreadsheets. Youll also learn all about relational database design topics such as the SQL query language, and introduce core principles including normalization and referential integrity.
The book continues with a complete tutorial on PostgreSQL features and functions and include information on database construction and administration. Key features such as transactions, stored procedures and triggers are covered, along with many of the capabilities new to version 8. To help you get started quickly, step-by-step instructions on installing PostgreSQL on Windows and Linux/UNIX systems are included.
In the remainder of the book, we show you how to make the most of PostgreSQL features in your own applications using a wide range of programming languages, including C, Perl, PHP, Java and C#. Many example programs are presented in the book, and all are available for download from the Apress web site.
By the end of the book you will be able to install, use, and effectively manage a PostgreSQL server, design and implement a database, and create and deploy your own database applications.
- Source Code/Downloads
If you think that you've found an error in this book, please let us know about it. You will find any confirmed erratum below, so you can check if your concern has already been addressed.On page 71:Date format in orderinfo populating script would be better formatted as '2000-03-13' (ISO). I had to make the substitution for the populating script to run without error. (Using 8.4 on Ubuntu server 11.04 in North America)
On page 87:SELECT description, cast((cost_price * 100 AS int)) AS "Cost Price" FROM item;
SELECT description, cast((cost_price * 100) AS int) AS "Cost Price" FROM item;
(I'm using PostgreSQL 9.0.4)
On page 161:Command should be written:
\copy customer from 'cust.txt' delimiter ','
not: using delimiters, which is for COPY syntax.
On page 381:
FIgure 12-12 Many-to-many relationship
In table BOOKAUTHOR, AUTHOR_ID can not be a primary key. It would break the unique constraint. | <urn:uuid:1f30d23b-717e-467b-9878-2f7362ddc0bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.apress.com/open-source/databases/9781590594780 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.887815 | 571 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Arizona State Symbols
What makes Arizona unique? The State has designated official symbols that represent the distinctive environment, heritage, and history of the Grand Canyon State.
State Amphibian: Arizona Tree Frog
State Anthem: “The Arizona March”, written by Margaret Rowe Clifford in 1915
and adopted in 1919
State Bird: Cactus Wren
State Butterfly: Two-tailed Swallowtail
State Colors: Blue and gold
State Firearm: Colt Single Action Army Revolver ("Peacemaker")
State Fish: Apache Trout
State Flag: The state flag of Arizona "represents the copper star of Arizona rising from a blue field in the face of a setting sun" (Chapter 7, Session Laws of Arizona, 1917)
State Flower: Saguaro Blossom
State Fossil: Petrified Wood
State Gem: Turquoise
State Mammal: Ringtail
State Motto: “God Enriches” (“Ditat Deus”)
State Neckwear: Bola Tie
State Nickname: The Grand Canyon State
State Reptile: Arizona Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake
State Seal: Per the Arizona Department of State's "History of the Great Seal of the State of Arizona":
"The official seal is in black and white. In the background is a mountain range with the sun rising behind the peaks. At the right side of the range of mountains is a storage reservoir (a lake) and a dam. In the middle are irrigated fields and orchards. In the lower right side of the seal is [sic] grazing cattle. To the left, on a mountainside, is a quartz mill with a miner with a pick and shovel. Above the drawing is the motto "Ditat Deus," meaning "God Enriches." The words "Great Seal of the State of Arizona" and the year of admission to the United States, 1912, is [sic] written around the seal."
State Song: “Arizona” by Rex Allen Mitchell, 1981
State Tree: Palo Verde
"Arizona Secretary of State Kids Page." Arizona Secretary of State ~ Home Page. http://www.azsos.gov/public_services/kids/kids_state_symbols.htm (accessed February 25, 2013).
Fischer, Howard. "Lawmakers name state gun, adjourn.." Arizona Daily Star. April 21, 2011.
"History of the Great Seal of the State of Arizona." Arizona Department of State. www.azsos.gov/info/state_seal/history.htm (accessed February 25, 2013).
"The State of Arizona Flag." Arizona Secretary of State ~ Home Page. http://www.azsos.gov/info/Arizona_Flag/ (accessed February 25, 2013). | <urn:uuid:09c3cfd6-8757-4ca4-9f87-4d6c9ce1fb77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.library.pima.gov/librarianfiles/index.php?kbid=1309 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.876753 | 588 | 3.34375 | 3 |
TORONTO - Canadian researchers have used the power of genomics to identify the cause of a rare Parkinson's-like disease in children of one extended family and come up with a treatment to help reverse its effects.
It's believed to be the first time a new disease has been discovered, its cause figured out and a treatment successfully determined in such a short time, in this case about two years.
The eight children — five boys and three girls born to four sets of parents in a large Saudi Arabian family — were born with symptoms similar to those experienced by adults with Parkinson's disease, said principal researcher Dr. Berge Minassian, a neurologist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.
"They're very interesting, they're like little babies with Parkinson's disease," said Minassian, explaining that the children exhibited typical symptoms of the neurological disorder, including tremors, problems executing movements, and the flat facial expression known as a "masked face."
"Those kids are like that. They cry, but you don't see them cry," he said.
Dr. Reem Alkhater, a pediatric neurology resident at the hospital, has been travelling back and forth between Toronto and Saudi Arabia as part of the research team's investigations into the familial disorder.
The children are part of an unidentified family of Bedouin ancestry living in a western Saudi city whose members had intermarried through several generations. Known as consanguineous marriages, the offspring of such unions have a one in four chance of inheriting mutated genes if they are carried by both parents.
"When you have consanguinity, then you end up with problems where you get the bad copy from each side because the two sides are related," said Minassian. "In this case, consanguinity played a role in these children being sick and having this autosomal recessive disease."
Using genomic sequencing, the Toronto scientists pinpointed a common mutated gene among the children, known as SLC18A2. (The genome is all the genetic material in a person or any other organism.)
The gene, which is involved in the production of the brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin, had a single genetic-letter misprint, which dramatically reduced its function and produced the Parkinson's-like disorder, he said.
Based on the symptoms, doctors treated one 16-year-old girl and three of her affected younger siblings with L-dopa, a drug that boosts dopamine in the brain. Classic Parkinson's is caused by diminished levels of the neurotransmitter, and L-dopa is one of the standard treatments.
"It made them worse, so we quickly stopped," he said.
The researchers then determined that despite the mutation, the children's bodies were making enough dopamine — it just wasn't getting "packaged" properly and delivered where it needed to go in the brain. In fact, in that state, it was toxic to brain cells.
The children were then treated with another standard drug called a dopamine agonist. "These are newer compounds that bypass the whole packaging thing and go directly to the dopamine receptors (on the surface of cells)," Minassian said.
"Now we are providing dopamine where it belongs without the need of packaging and so it made the patients better," he said.
Within days of starting the drug, the children began improving, although those who were older did not do as well as the younger kids, say the researchers, who detail their work in Wednesday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"If we treated them very young, they responded almost completely," Minassian said.
"It was magical. These kids, it's like one day they're frozen and cannot move and they're just either sitting or lying, depending on their age, and as soon as we treated them, they get up and start running.
"And then they were so excited to walk and run, they wouldn't stop. So we had to put helmets on them because they were falling all over the place."
It's been almost three years since the children began receiving the drug, which they must take for life. Their symptoms continue to improve with minimal side-effects, primarily slight overactivity and weight loss, the authors report.
Their work is a good example of personalized medicine — medical care that is tailored to an individual's genetic profile, said Dr. Sylvia Stockler, head of the division of biochemical diseases at B.C. Children's Hospital.
"It's really a great article, so congratulations to the team in Sick Kids that they had such a successful story to report," she said of the study.
"It's really great work because we have so many children with unexplained, severe neurological handicaps and intellectual disability, where we just do not know where it comes from," Stockler said Wednesday from Vancouver.
Even knowing that such rare diseases must have a genetic basis — and having high-tech genomic-sequencing equipment to investigate — doesn't mean it's easy to narrow down the search for a faulty gene or a series of faulty genes, she said.
Stockler's own team has been trying, so far unsuccessfully, to pin down the genetic cause of similar rare neurological diseases in children that share some of the symptoms seen in the Saudi kids.
"We will probably go back and look right away into that gene," she said of SLC18A2.
"We have quite a list of patients where we think there might have been a new gene defect and this definitely will help us also in looking at the right spot in the genome of those patients."
Minassian said the team is "very excited" about helping the children and the speed at which they were able to pin down the cause of their disease. He attributes their success to new technology that allows scientists to sequence chunks of DNA much faster than in the past.
"So many diseases are either completely genetic or have big contributions from genetic mutations," he said. "And now we have technologies that get us directly to the causes by whole-genome sequencing.
"And so it's quite striking what can be done these days. A project like this would have taken 20 years, just a few years ago. But now it can all be done very quickly." | <urn:uuid:302ad1c6-e688-4819-a0a4-cfe993945cac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Researchers+pinpoint+gene+behind+rare+disorder+kids+treat+successfully/7895188/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981076 | 1,272 | 3.234375 | 3 |
JASPER, Alberta — Autumnal equinox occurred on Saturday, marking the end of summer and the start of fall. But there's another divide between the seasons of melting and freezing: the breakup of ice in the Arctic Ocean and the renewed freezing.
On Sept. 19, the U.S. government's National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that sea ice had started freezing again, but that the summer melt-off was greater than the previous record set in 2007.
In 1980, the amount of ice-covered ocean was comparable to that of the continental United States. Now consider the change just from 2007 and 2012: an area larger than the entire state of Texas.
"An ice-free summer in the arctic, once projected to be more than a century away, now looks possible decades from now. Some say that it looks likely in just the next few years," points out Scientific American.
It was a hot summer across North America. Colorado and Wyoming both had their warmest summers on record — if, perhaps surprisingly, not the absolute all-time temperature in Colorado (115 degrees Fahrenheit, set in other hot, drought periods of the 1930s and 1950s; this year it got to only 110 degrees).
In Jasper National Park, the falling of a large portion of Ghost Glacier from Mount Edith Cavell during August also fits into this pattern of warming and melting.
But if no individual heatwave or drought can be blamed on global warming, it's clear enough that the rapid accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a bad, bad gamble.
Jasper's Fitzhugh newspaper does an excellent job of describing the predicament:
"Considering the extreme weather this summer, not only in the Jasper area but all over Alberta and British Columbia, we have to wonder if what scientists have been warning all along has begun to manifest in a very real way," says the Fitzhugh.
"Unfortunately, data has only been collected for a relatively short time and attempting to accurately model climate change is problematic at best. Basically, we don't know if it is normal for glaciers to break up and fall off mountains every hundred years or so. We may never see such an event repeat in our lifetime.
"Still, most people know melting ice caps will result in increased global temperatures and weather changes. Less polar ice means less reflection of the sun's heat and more absorption.
"Is the world oblivious to the greater threat?
"Power, money and religion continue to be more important than the environment, even though it is the environment that will decide all our fates one day. Why do governments and people fail to see the significance of climate change? Is it because they don't understand it or is it because they feel they can do nothing about it? Perhaps as a species, humans are incapable of looking beyond their own field of view or their own personal concerns. Perhaps climate change is simply too big of a subject to contemplate, even for politicians. Maybe it is easier to pretend the problem doesn't exist or simply leave it to others to figure out.
"Of course, if people can't find a way to address this issue, nature has a way of balancing itself out, whether people like the results or not."
Vail hustling harder
VAIL, Colo. — Vail is boosting its budget to market its allures to the outside world for next summer by eight per cent, to $2.57 billion.
The Vail Daily says that the Vail Local Marketing District wants to grow the percentage of out-of-state business from 56 per cent to 60 per cent of the total, and to bring back more international visitors during summer. The share of summer guests from international locales dropped by half from 2010 to 2012.
The community also intends to hustle the groups business for the shoulder seasons, which shrank significantly after banks and other businesses slashed funding for travel after 2018.
Low-cost air link explored
CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Telluride wants Crested Butte to pool resources to draw in a new low-cost air carrier to deliver visitors to both resorts from the Phoenix and San Francisco areas.
Planes belonging to the airline, which hasn't been identified, would land at Montrose, which is already the primary portal for visitors to Telluride, about an hour away. Crested Butte is two hours distant.
To make the deal work, the two resort communities would have to scrape together a minimum of $650,000, maybe $1 million, to market the flights, explains the Crested Butte News. Organizer from Telluride seeing Crested Butte getting about 11 per cent of the passengers.
Nobody seems to be frowning in response to the idea, although the devil is always in the details. Whether the flights would have the 90 per cent load factors that are predicted is another matter. Flights to ski markets average 60 per cent, according to flight consultant Kent Meyers, and he points out that the originating airports would be in suburban locations. The airport that would serve the Pheonix area is 45 minutes away.
what's in a name
ASPEN, Colo. – After two years, the U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge appears to have strong wheels. But there are calls for tweaking.
In Aspen, Councilman Steve Skadron wants a name that would reflect and direct attention to the host region. He can imagine a Colorado Pro Cycling Challenge or a U.S. Ski town Cycling Challenge.
Aspen is also somewhat worried about the financial commitment of hosting the event, tabulated at $1 million this year, although offset by increased lodging and spending by visitors.
Bison keep distance, but not so silly people
BANFF, Alberta — Parks Canada continues to move through the steps neededbefore bison can be reintroduced into Banff National Park. The animals, native of the plains, frequented the Bow Valley until being killed off about 1858.
Among the concerns being addressed are whether reintroduction of bison will result in transmittal of brucellosis, a disease, to cattle in the region. The answer seems to be that unlike Yellowstone National Park, the bison to be relocated into Banff will come from a disease-free herd in the Elk Island National Park of Alberta.
How about injuring tourists? The Rocky Mountain Outlook found relatively few injuries and deaths in Yellowstone National Park from bison-human encounters, and nearly all the mishaps or worse were due to people who were candidates for the Darwin Award. Yellowstone officials advise people to stay at least 23 metres away from elk and bison. Some try to pose with the massive animals.
Fire danger ebbs
JACKSON, Wyo. — Although nobody had to leave home, several thousand people in Jackson were advised to pack their bags in case a fire in nearby Horsethief Canyon swept over Snow King Mountain.
The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports last week the fire was largely contained after burning 3,300 acres. No other fire has threatened Jackson with anything approaching the same degree of danger in at least a century, and perhaps before that.
That the fire didn't get closer to town may have been due to the size of the arsenal flung at it. The cost ran more than $7 million, paying for such things as a helicopter capable of drawing up to 11,356 litres (3,000 gallons) of water or retardant in one swoop. A DC-10 tanker, a fixed-wing plane, was also deployed, and it can carry up to 45,425 litres (12,000 gallons) of retardant or water.
How can dying forests be put to beneficial use?
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Entrepreneurs for the last decade have been trying to figure out how to convert Colorado's dying forests into electricity, heat, or both.
Burning wood to heat buildings, in lieu of fossil fuels, has been the easier proposition. Wood heats a recreation centre at Fairplay, south of Breckenridge, a public-works facility near the gambling towns of Central City and Blackhawk, and a school at Oak Creek near Steamboat Springs.
Electrical production is a more difficult nut to crack. A plant approved for biomass electrical production at Gypsum, between Vail and Glenwood Springs, has permits and the promise of a subsidy from an electrical utility and now appears ready to move forward into construction. Plans for electrical production are also moving forward in southwest Colorado, near Pagosa Springs.
But in Summit County, near the epicentre of the Mountain Pine beetle epidemic, people see the dead forests and wonder what-if. Entrepreneurs tell Mountain Town News that they are exploring different financial and technology models, especially those that allow more mobile units. It seems to be a long, slow process that may well see fruition after the current beetle epidemic has passed.
In other words, the current story is what could-be, not what has-been.
Flags and patriotism aplenty
GRAND LAKE, Colo. — If Aspen can have a festival focused on macaroni and cheese, why can't Grand Lake, the town located at the west entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park, have a week-long celebration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution?
The Sky-Hi News says the festivities include a "patriotic parade, plenty of flag-waving, a Constitution trivia contest, and a pie-throwing competition. The latter probably fits in, given how much disagreement there has been over the centuries about just what the framers of the document had in mind in regard to freedom of speech, guns and so forth.
The event was capped by what was called the Forefather's Fireworks Extravaganza. One person who attended said it seemed to be a good excuse to set off fireworks that couldn't be used on July 4, when fire danger gripped Colorado, dampening the Independence Day pyrotechnics.
May 24, 2013, 2:05 PM
Locals frustrated by damage to village; police log 17 cases of mischief over one night More...
May 24, 2013, 2:00 PM
Course to be announced at mandatory athlete meeting Sat. 6 p.m. at the GLC More...
May 24, 2013, 2:00 PM
Eight candidates were nominated for three positions on the Board More... | <urn:uuid:0923408d-bf44-4e3d-a5da-a84f0225c909> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/mountain-news-withering-arctic-sea-ice-is-a-concern/Content?oid=2327734&showFullText=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961503 | 2,134 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Want to learn how Google works? A new archive of publications by Google employees offers deep insights into many aspects of the search engine's operation.
Many of these articles are heavy-duty, industrial strength treatises suitable only for those with the technical background needed to follow the math and logic presented. But some are eminently readable for non-technical folks, such as Searching the World Wide Web, which originally appeared in Science Magazine.
Most links on this page don't point directly to articles, but rather to abstracts and other useful information provided by Cite Seer from the NEC Research Institute.
Cite Seer is a very cool scientific literature digital library created by a team including Dr. Steve Lawrence, who currently works at Google. Cite Seer results for a particular document offer a ton of useful related information about each paper.
For example, the Cite Seer entry for The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine, the definitive source about Google written by its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, includes an abstract, links to articles that cite the paper, an active bibliography (related documents), similar documents based on text, related documents from co-citation... in short, a snapshot not only of the article itself, but numerous links to other directly related articles, all without your needing to search for them.
There are also links to author home pages, to other articles found at the same source (in this case, Stanford University's database group technical reports, another useful collection in its own right), and so on.
The result page for each article provides links that allow you to read papers in a variety of formats (pdf, postscript, DjVu, etc). Tip: The PDF format generally works best, but you might also try pasting the title of an article (in quotes) directly into a Google search box. If it's in Google's index, you'll also often see a "view as HTML" link that lets you read the article directly in your browser.
Papers Written by Googlers
NOTE: Article links often change. In case of a bad link, use the publication's search facility, which most have, and search for the headline.
JUNE SALE! Save 15%*
Save on all e-learning certification courses, including: SEO, Social Media, Online Marketing Foundation, Web Analytics and more. Enter CZAJU at checkout »
Offer expires June 30. *Discount not applicable on SES Online products. | <urn:uuid:0551f2b9-37e4-4fb6-a543-8bf83786221b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2063987/Learning-About-Search-Engines-From-Google-Engineers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909357 | 516 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Joseph D. Sloan
sloanjd @ wofford.edu
Code by imitation
Code by careful design—Carpet calculation example
We want to calculate the cost of carpet for a room. We'll need the cost of the carpet and the size of the room and we'll get the total cost
Let the room be 10 feet by 12 feet and the (lavish) carpet $10 per square foot. The size of the room is 10 x 12 or 120 square feet. The cost of the carpet is 120 x $10 or $1200.
The inputs are length and width of the room and the cost of the carpet. Notice we have named two variable in the process.
The output is the totalCost of the carpet
Calculate the area of the room: area = length * width
Calculate the totalCost of the carpet: totalCost = area * cost | <urn:uuid:3525a6d9-be45-4c3f-87d7-4ec129ead4b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://webs.wofford.edu/sloanjd/spring09/cosc235/feb13.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915523 | 185 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Medford. 1 City (1990 pop. 57,407), Middlesex co., E Mass., a residential and industrial suburb of Boston, on the Mystic River; settled 1630, inc. as a city 1892. Wax, paper, clothing, and furniture are among its products. A shipping and shipbuilding center from the 17th to the 19th cent., Medford was also known for its rum. It is the seat of Tufts Univ. Several 18th-century buildings stand in the city.
2 City (1990 pop. 46,951), seat of Jackson co., SW Oreg., on Bear Creek; inc. 1884. It is a growing trade, shipping, and medical center in an agricultural area. Food processing, lumbering, and tourism are important. Manufactures include furniture, veneer, electrical equipment, and boats. Between 1836 and 1856 the area was the scene of a number of bloody conflicts between white settlers and Native Americans of Rogue River descent. Gold was discovered nearby in 1851. The gold-mining town of Jacksonville has been restored. Medford is the headquarters for Crater Lake National Park (see National Parks and Monuments, table) and Rogue River National Forest.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography | <urn:uuid:07bf6809-603a-49c6-bfac-bfd64dad52a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/us/medford.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953142 | 262 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Preschools Reduce Early Academic-Achievement Gaps: A Longitudinal Twin Approach
Study by Elliot M. Tucker-Drob, published by the Association for Psychological Science
Access to Full-Day Kindergarten: Pay Attention to the Details (2010)
Article by First Call's Adrienne Montani in the BC Teachers' Federation's Newsmagazine.
Care Advocacy Forum Archive (1999-2010)
The Child Care Advocacy Forum of BC has brought closure to their work. Download an archive of all of their publications.
Childhood Education and Care: Next Steps (2009)
Report from the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.
Childhood Development in BC: First Call's Framework for Action (Revised
This paper highlights the research, policy and advocacy links to Early Childhood Development and describes the five components of First Call's ECD basket framework.
Overview of Initiatives Affecting Early Childhood Development (Updates Sept 2008)
This compilation provides an overview of recent major initiatives that are affecting Early Childhood Development (ECD) in British Columbia, Canada. Most comments are excerpts from the relevant web sites. This is a work in progress as the initiatives are continually changing.
Inclusion for At-Risk Children and Their Families
A partnership between the Human Early Learning Partnership and Infant Development Program of BC, this project aims to better understand the early childhood developmen of at-risk children.
Context for Child Care in the Face of Corporate Intrusions and Government
First Call Provincial Coordinator Adrienne Montani's speaking notes from her presentation at the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC's Annual General Meeting.
Childhood Education Staffing Survey Results (2008)
In October/November 2007, First Call conducted a survey of Early Childhood Educators in BC. The results of this survey demonstrate that services to young children and families will continue to be in crisis until both levels of government recognize the need, and commit to building an integrated, planned and adequately funded system for early learning and child care in BC.
• Media Release
the One Time Only Funding Grants (Updated July 2007)
First Call has compiled a summary of one time funding grants from the Ministry of Children and Family Development and Ministry of Education for 2006/2007.
Cuts to Child Care: Impacts and Actions (January 2007)
This document is a compilation of resources and advocacy materials from First Call and our partners in response to the massive cuts to child care funding.
Early Childhood Development Presentation Toolkit
This presentation and meeting kit has been developed to assist you when speaking to decision-makers and other influential groups and individuals about the importance of the early years and the need for community-based family and early childhood education and care services that are supported by effective social and fiscal policies. Available to download as a zip file, or contact First Call to receive a hard copy.
Taking stock of ECD in BC – Just the Facts (2006)
On June 28, 2006 First Call hosted a forum called “Taking Stock of ECD in BC – Just the Facts.” The forum featured presentations on federal and provincial ECD spending and the state of key programs and services for young children and families. Participants at the forum posed a list of outstanding questions and discussed advocacy priorities and strategies.
Open Letter to the Education Community: End the Divide Between Early Learning and Child Care (2005).
Position Statement on Publicly Funded Child Care (2005)
Parent Programs in BC: A Profile (2005)
This profile establishes a baseline of the existing young parent programs combining educational and child care components that allow young parents to continue with school while their children attend child care on-site or nearby.
Everyone Counts Campaign - Child Care (2004)
Everyone Counts is a public awareness campaign and poster series launched in 2004. The general theme of all the posters is “everyone counts,” a not-so-subtle reminder that democratically elected governments are supposed to serve all their constituents – not just a chosen few.
Child Care Backgrounder and Press Release (2004)
The EDI (Early Development Instrument) Impact Study (2004)
Report from the Human Early Learning Partnership.
Healthy Child BC Forum Working Group Discussions (2004)
For more resources on early childhood development, visit the web sites of our coalition partners. | <urn:uuid:81d6a25b-b563-485b-bc90-1a4c14e6e1d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.firstcallbc.org/earlyChildhood-resources.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913303 | 891 | 2.515625 | 3 |
DVS128 Dynamic Vision Sensor
The DVS128 is a completely new way of doing machine vision. Conventional vision sensors see the world as a series of frames. Successive frames contain enormously redundant information, wasting energy, computational power and time. In addition, each frame imposes the same exposure time on every pixel, making it impossible to process scenes containing very dark and very bright regions.
The DVS (Dynamic Vision Sensor) solves these problems by using patented technology that works like your own retina. Instead of wastefully sending entire images at fixed frame rates, only the local pixel-level changes caused by moving in a scene are transmitted – at exactly the time they occur. The result is a stream of events at microsecond time resolution, equivalent to or better than conventional high-speed vision sensors running at thousands of frames per second. Power, data storage and computational requirements are also drastically reduced, and dynamic sensor range is increased by orders of magnitude due to the local processing.
The DVS128 is available with a USB 2.0 interface or an address- event representation (AER) output (DVS128-AER).
The Physiologist's Friend
The Physiologist's Friend Chip electronically emulates cells in the visual system and responds realistically to visual stimuli.
If you are a physiologist working on the properties of the early visual system, you could use this chip as a simple substitute animal. You could use it to train students to run your rig. Or you could use it as a set of realistic and known receptive fields with spiking or analog responses for developing new spike-triggered averaging techniques. Or when debugging a new setup, you can use it simply to make sure everything runs as expected. The idea is that experimenters can test nearly the complete loop -- which generally involves stimulus generation, recording, and analysis, without using actual animals. Bugs in the large portions of the setup can be found before any animals are used.
If you teach about how the brain works, the chip is a captivating way to involve the students in demonstrations of a number of basic properties of the visual system: adaptation, complementary (ON/OFF) coding, spikes, complementary push-pull input to cortical cells. Using an overhead projector, you can conduct experiments on this model visual system. | <urn:uuid:409b7462-4f2c-45de-973f-d4a9719d7849> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inilabs.com/products | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914944 | 464 | 3.171875 | 3 |
One of the simplest ways to encourage learning is by answering your child's questions. Children are curious. They want to know everything about the world around them. Give them a real answer. If you don't actually know why the sky is blue, don't just say 'because God made it that way.' Say, 'let's look it up together.' When you show an interest in learning, it's bound to motivate your child. Probably the single most important step you can take is urging your child to read. Buy him or her any books that are appropriate, even comic books. Take your kids on trips, where they can see the things they've read about come to life: rivers, canyons, forests, and deserts. Discuss what you're seeing as you drive along. Visiting historical sites can make history a real experience, not just boring dates from a textbook. You can even find educational value in a simple trip to the grocery store. Have your children help you figure out how much two pounds of carrots might cost, and other related tasks. Finally, always praise your children for what they learn. Small rewards are okay, as long as they don't become the child's only motivation for the behavior. Always emphasize that learning is its own reward.
©2004 Bluestreak Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:f65f3b45-164d-4bb8-bde5-b13b50bb3174> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc24.com/guides/school/story/Motivating-your-child-to-learn/pLuLpMZeSEeeSOtHHEyIcg.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965899 | 281 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Alexios II Komnenos (1180–1183)
A twelve year old child when his father Manuel died, Alexios II’s reign is a brief story of inept regency and opportunistic, long-awaited usurpation. Manuel’s widow, Maria of Antioch, and Alexios Komnenos, the protosebastos, spread their favor and the largesse of the imperial treasury narrowly but intensively over Italians and aristocrats. The regency was not militarily successful, losing ground to the Hungarians in the Balkans and the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia. Maria and Alexios faced conspiracies and plots from within the Komnenos family and extended clan, and eventually Manuel’s cousin Andronikos Komnenos, stationed in Pontos, led an uprising against Maria and Alexios. The two regents were overthrown in the spring of 1182 after a brief siege of St. Sophia, in which they had taken refuge. Alexios the protosebastos, Maria of Antioch (whose death sentence was signed by her son), and Alexios II’s older sister Maria were killed by Andronikos. The imperial bloodletting was accompanied by a purge of the Genoese and Pisans by the mob in the capital, which Andronikos did nothing to stop. Andronikos was crowned co–emperor in September 1183 and briefly ruled alongside his nephew Alexios. However, Andronikos soon had the young boy murdered.
This seal contains the title megas basileus, “great emperor.” Alexios II is known to have been styled this way in public acclamations. In addition, the Komnenian tradition of including porphyrogennetos, naturally where such an epithet was warranted, is continued on this seal. Iconograhically Alexios's seals follow in the tradition laid down by his great grandfather, Christ is shown enthroned on the obverse, and on the reverse the emperor is depicted wearing a crown and loros, holding a labarum and globus cruciger.
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Bāburnāma (Chagatai/Persian: بابر نامہ;´, literally: "Book of Babur" or "Letters of Babur"; alternatively known as Tuzk-e Babri) is the name given to the memoirs of Ẓahīr ud-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur.
It is an autobiographical work, originally written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as "Turki" (meaning Turkic), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids. Babur's prose is highly Persianized in its sentence structure, morphology, and vocabulary, and also contains many phrases and smaller poems in Persian. During Emperor Akbar's reign, the work was completely translated to Persian by a Mughal courtier, Abdul Rahīm, in AH 998 (1589–90).
Bābur was an educated Timurid and his observations and comments in his memoirs reflect an interest in nature, society, politics and economics. His vivid account of events covers not just his life, but the history and geography of the areas he lived in, and their flora and fauna, as well as the people with whom he came into contact.
The Bāburnāma begins with these plain words:
|“||In the month of Ramadan of the year 899 and in the twelfth year of my age, I became ruler in the country of Farghana||”|
There is a break in the manuscript between 1508 and 1519. By the latter date Bābur is established in Kabul and from there launches an invasion into northwestern India. The final section of the Bāburnāma covers the years 1525 to 1529 and the establishment of the Mughal empire in India, which Bābur's descendants would rule for three centuries.
Babur also writes about his homeland, Fergana:
|“||The Domain of Fergana has seven towns, five on the south and two on the north of the Syr river. Of those on the south, one is Andijan. It has a central position and is the capital of the Fergana Domain.||”|
He also wrote:
|“||A man took aim at Ibrahim Beg. But then Ibrahim Beg yelled,"Hai! Hai!"; and he let him pass, and by mistake shot me in an armpit from as near as a man on guard at the Gate stands from another. Two plates of my armour cracked. I shot at a man running away along the ramparts, adjusting his cap against the battlements. He abandoned his cap, nailed to the wall and went off, gathering his turban sash together in his hand.||”|
The Bāburnāma is widely translated and is part of text books in no less than 25 countries mostly in Central, Western, and Southern Asia. It was first translated into English by John Leyden and William Erskine as Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber: Emperor of Hindustan and later by the British orientalist scholar Annette Susannah Beveridge (née Akroyd, 1842–1929).
Illustrations from the Manuscript of Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur)
See also
- Dale, Stephen Frederic (2004). The garden of the eight paradises: Bābur and the culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India (1483–1530). Brill. pp. 15,150. ISBN 90-04-13707-6.
- "Biography of Abdur Rahim Khankhana". Retrieved 2006-10-28.
- English translation
- Bābur (Emperor of Hindustān) (1826). Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber: emperor of Hindustan. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
Further reading
- The Babur-nama in English (Memoirs of Babur) (1922) Volume 1 by Annette Susannah Beveridge at the Internet Archive
- The Babur-nama in English (Memoirs of Babur) (1922) Volume 2 by Annette Susannah Beveridge at the Internet Archive
- The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor, Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur, Translated, edited and annotated by Wheeler M. Thackston. 2002 Modern Library Palang-faack Edition, New York. ISBN 0-375-76137-3
- Babur Nama: Journal of Emperor Babur, Zahir Uddin Muhammad Babur, Translated from Chagatai Turkic by Annette Susannah Beveridge, Abridged, edited and introduced by Dilip Hiro. (ISBN ) ISBN 978-0-14-400149-1; (ISBN ) ISBN 0-14-400149-7. – online version
- Local Culture
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Building code inspector officals have been inconsistant in their reactions to the concerns about indoor air quality.Concerns about energy consumption in the 1970's forced many building code inspectors to severly restrict the amount of outside air used in the building.Indoor air quality concerns have reversed that trend,with some communties now insisting on very large amounts of outside air for wall cavity,and many other building applications.
Building Pressurization- Structural Moisture Outside air intrduced into a building and inside air exhausted to the outside are both forms of ventilation.Properly using and balancing each type of air is essential.Stack effect and wind influence a building's internal pressure.Stack effect,caused by buoyant warm air rising to the top of the building surronded by cold air,increases the pressure at the top of the building envelope.The bottom of the building has less pressure than the top as the warm air inside rises from it.The building expells warm air at its top(because high pressure there)while inhaling cold outside air at its lower pressure.A properly operating ventilation system should be setup to slightly pressurize the interior space.This is not possible under all conditions.The goal,however,of a property operating ventilation system is to provide building pressure under most conditions.There are many benefits to slight postive pressure.Reduction in air infiltration into the home like uncontrolled drafts and dust intake.Positive pressure is attained by properly balancing the exhaust and intake air supplies to the building.Ventilation air is required throughout the year,including when tempertures are well below freezing.
Humidity Control-Proper regulation of humidity is of increasing concern to control condensation in wall cavitys,and to assure good air quality.Air that is to moist or dry can lead to serious problems such as mold growth.Living in the south east where humidity levels are sometimes in the 80 to 90% range on certain days.Damage to the building structure and occupants illness can be caused by improper humidity control.Indoor air quality-the existence of bacteria,mold,and other micoorganisms in the air-is often related to humidity control.What relative humidity should I have in my home? Seems like a simple enough question. However, the answer can sometimes be difficult to understand.
Elevated relative humidity at a surface – 70 percent or higher - can lead to problems with mold, corrosion, decay and other moisture related deterioration. When relative humidity reaches 100 percent, condensation can occur on surfaces leading to a whole host of additional problems. An elevated relative humidity in carpet and within fabrics can lead to dust mite infestation and mildew (mildew is mold growing on fabrics).
Low relative humidity can lead to discomfort, shrinkage of wood floors and wood furniture, cracking of paint on wood trim and static electricity discharges.
The key is not to be too low and not to be too high. High enough to be comfortable, but low enough to avoid moisture problems associated with mold, corrosion, decay, and condensation.
Unfortunately, determining the correct range depends on where the home is located (climate), how the home is constructed (the thermal resistance of surfaces determines surface temperatures), the time of year (the month or season determines surface temperatures), and the sensitivity of the occupants.
Limits to Relative Humidity—Comfort and Health Aspects
How low can you go? Comfort wise at least, the 2001 ASHRAE Fundamentals (8.12) tells us that at dew point temperatures of less than 32 degrees F, complaints of dry nose, throat, eyes, and skin occur. A dew point of 32 degrees converts to a relative humidity of 25 percent at 68 degrees.
How high can you go? Again, using comfort as the criteria, the 2001 ASHRAE Fundamentals (8.12) tells us that a relative humidity of 60 percent should not be exceeded.
This is consistent with ASHRAE Standard 62-2001 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, which recommends that the lower boundary of the relative humidity range be limited to 25 percent and the upper boundary of the relative humidity range be limited to 60 percent.
Now, it is important to consider the ASHRAE definition of comfort: “combinations of indoor space environment and personal factors that will produce thermal environmental conditions acceptable to 80 percent or more of the occupants within a space.” Remember that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
The ranges cited above do not consider health, except indirectly. Some people love to live in desert climates, and some people love to live in the tropics. The upper limits from a health perspective are indirectly derived from a desire to control the growth of mold, bacteria, and other disease vectors. Similarly, for the lower limits, although the lower limits tend to be arguably “healthier” from a disease vector perspective. Dry conditions do not favor mold, most bacteria, and other disease vectors.
However, some have argued that dry conditions dry out the mucus linings of the respiratory system and therefore make it more difficult for the body to fight off invaders. The other side of the argument is that there are fewer invaders to worry about.
As can be expected, individual sensitivities and susceptibilities vary greatly, and it is typically very difficult to generalize with respect to relative humidity and health. Having said it is difficult to generalize, we will do so anyway. Keeping relative humidity in the 25 percent to 60 percent range tends to minimize most health issues – although opinions vary greatly.
Incorrect recommendations in the popular press often lead occupants and homeowners to over humidify homes during the winter. The range of 40 percent to 60 percent relative humidity is commonly incorrectly recommended for health and comfort reasons. As we will see, there is a big difference between 25 percent as a lower limit rather than 40 percent – particularly in very cold and cold climates.
To complicate things further, most people are not capable of sensing relative humidity fluctuations within the range of 25 percent to 60 percent. If the relative humidity drops below 25 percent, most people can sense it. Similarly, if the relative humidity rises above 60 percent most people can sense it. In the range of 25 percent to 60 percent the majority of people cannot sense any difference. The range of 25 percent to 60 percent is typically defined as the comfort range for this reason. This is very different than people sensing temperature variations. Most people can sense a difference in temperature within a range of 1 to 2 degrees. Less—below 0.1 degrees—if they are married (just kidding).
Comfort is of course different than health. When relative humidity drops below 25 percent there have been some reports in the medical literature of eye irritation in office workers using computers. Breathing difficulties have been reported in some individuals when relative humidities drop below 15 percent due to the mucus linings of the respiratorysystem
desiccating. However, there is no medical consensus in this regard.
Determining the Humidity Limits—
Many people believe that 25 percent relative humidity as a lower level is still too high. The debate breaks predictably into several camps with the engineers (the aircraft people being the most vocal) arguing for no lower limit for health and only a discussion on comfort. Whereas the lung researchers and some MD’s argue that until there is definitive research, why not keep the level high from a prudent avoidance perspective. This of course terrifies the microbiologists and mold researchers since higher lower limits clearly lead to mold growth in buildings and are associated with microbial contamination in typical residential humidifiers.
So on the lower limit there is no real consensus, but only a current compromise recommendation. It is pretty clear that the lower limit will not go up. The only question is how low it will end up. At present, 25 percent relative humidity is the current compromise recommendation within ASHRAE.
On the upper end, there is an emerging consensus. Interior relative humidity should be maintained so that a 70 percent relative humidity at a building surface is avoided in order to control mold growth and should never rise above 60 percent in any event.
Relative Humidity, Surface Humidity, and Condensation
Consensus among microbiologists gives the critical relative humidity for adverse biological activity to occur on building envelope surfaces to be 70 percent. Where a relative humidity above 70 percent occurs at surfaces, mold growth, dust mite growth, decay, corrosion, etc. can occur. Therefore, conditions should be maintained within a building such that the critical 70 (or higher) percent relative humidity at a building envelope surface does not occur. Due to climate differences, interior conditions which must be maintained to avoid the critical relative humidity at a surface vary from region to region and time of year. They also vary based on the thermal resistance of the building envelope.
This means in winter months in cold climates interior relative humidity should be kept as low as possible but within the comfort and health range (i.e. above 25 percent if you believe ASHRAE Standard 62-2001).
In the summer months it means that interior relative humidity should never exceed 60 percent for both comfort and health reasons.
There is a fundamental difference between relative humidity measured in the middle of a conditioned space, and the relative humidity found at surfaces due to the significant difference in temperature typically found between surfaces and the air in the middle of a conditioned space.
For a given sample of air containing water, relative humidity goes up as the temperature goes down. If the air in the middle of a room is 70 degrees at a relative humidity of 40 percent, any surface below 45 degrees will be able to condense water. Any surface below 54 degrees will have air adjacent it at a relative humidity of 70 percent – the mold limit.
Whereas when air in the middle of the room is 70 degrees at a relative humidity of 25 percent, the temperature of a condensing surface drops to 32 degrees from 45 degrees. And a surface with a relative humidity adjacent to it of 70 percent drops to 40 degrees from 54 degrees.
In other words, for condensation to occur with air at 70 degrees and a relative humidity of 25 percent, surfaces need to be colder than 32 degrees. For mold to grow, surfaces need to be colder than 40 degrees. Of course, in a nice and happy coincidence, mold does not like to grow at surfaces below 40 degrees, but will happily grow at 54 degrees. What does this tell us? Well, if surfaces are likely to be cold – say like in the winter - you are better off having a lower relative humidity.
Where relative humidities near surfaces are maintained below 70 percent, mold and other biological growth can be controlled. Since relative humidities are dependant on both temperature and vapor pressure, mold control is dependant on controlling both the temperature and vapor pressure near surfaces.
Surface Humidity and Building Assemblies: Applications in Heating Climates
In heating climates, mold growth on interior surfaces occurs during the heating season because the interior surfaces of exterior walls are cool from heat loss and because moisture levels within the conditioned space are too high. Mold growth control is facilitated by preventing the interior surfaces of exterior wall and other building assemblies from becoming too cold and by limiting interior moisture levels. The key is to prevent relative humidities adjacent surfaces from rising above 70 percent. The thermal resistance of the building envelope and the local climate determine the interior surface temperatures of exterior walls and other building assemblies. Controlled ventilation and source control limit the interior moisture levels.
Experience has shown, that where interior moisture levels in very cold climates during the heating season are limited to the 25 percent relative humidity at 70 degrees, relative humidities adjacent to the interior surfaces of exterior walls (of typical code minimum thermal resistance) fall below 70 percent and mold growth is controlled. The colder the climate (for the thermal resistance of any given building envelope) the lower the interior relative humidity necessary to prevent 70 percent relative humidities occurring adjacent interior surfaces of exterior walls. Building enclosures of similar thermal resistance interior moisture levels during the heating season. A 25 percent interior relative humidity at 70 degrees would be appropriate for Minneapolis. Whereas interior relative humidities up to 35 percent at 70 degrees would be appropriate for Cincinnati – which is located in a cold climate rather than a very cold
climate . Correspondingly, the higher the desired interior relative humidity, the higher the
thermal resistance necessary to control relative humidities adjacent to interior surfaces.
In a mixed climate, during the heating season, interior moisture levels should be limited to 45 percent relative humidity at 70 degrees. This limits the relative humidity adjacent to the interior surface of exterior walls to below 70 percent for the typical thermal resistance found in most building assemblies in this climate zones.
In cooling climates, interior mold growth also occurs because interior surfaces are typically cold and then exposed to moisture levels that are too high. The cold surfaces in cooling climates arise from the air conditioning of enclosures. When exterior hot air is cooled, its relative humidity increases. If the exterior hot air is also humid, cooling this air will typically raise its relative humidity above the point at which mold growth can occur (70 percent).
Where air conditioned "cold" air is supplied to a room, and this air can be "blown" against an interior surface due to poor diffuser design, diffuser location, or diffuser performance, creating cold spots on the interior gypsum board surfaces. Although this cold air is typically dehumidified before it is supplied to the conditioned space, it can create a mold problem on room surfaces as a result of high levels of airborne moisture within the room contacting the cooled surface. This typically leads to a rise in relative humidity near the surface and a corresponding mold problem.
If exterior humid air comes in contact with the interstitial cavity side of cooled interior gypsum board mold and other biological growth can occur. Cooling this exterior hot, humid air by air conditioning or contact with cool surfaces will raise its relative humidity above 70 percent. When nutrients are present mold and other growth occurs. This is exacerbated with the use of impermeable wall coverings such as vinyl wallpaper that can trap moisture between the interior finish and the gypsum board. When these interior finishes are coupled with cold spots (from poor diffuser placement and/or overcooling) and exterior moisture, mold and other growth can occur.
Accordingly, one of the most practical solutions in controlling mold and other biological growth in cooling climates is the prevention of hot, humid exterior air, or other forms of moisture transport, from contacting the interior cold (air conditioned) gypsum board surfaces (controlling the vapor pressure at the surface). This is most commonly facilitated by maintaining the conditioned space at a positive air pressure to the exterior and the installation of an exterior vapor diffusion retarder. Pressurization of building assemblies
is expedited by airtight construction.
Interior moisture levels within the conditioned space should also be limited to 60 percent relative humidity at 75 degrees by dehumidification and source control to prevent mold growth on the interior surfaces within the conditioned space.
Many people are concerned about wood floors and wood furniture being damaged if humidifiers are not installed. More often than not, people tend to over humidify their homes in an attempt to protect their wood floors and wood furniture. They need not do so if relative humidities are maintained in the range of 25 to 60 percent between winter and summer.
Let us examine the effect of varying humidity inside of a home between a low of 25 percent and a high of 60 percent on wood. Wood moisture content changes directly with exposure to varying relative humidity.
The relationship is extremely well understood by generations of wood workers and furniture makers .The moisture content of wood will vary from 5 percent moisture content by
weight at 25 percent relative humidity to 11 percent moisture content by weight at 60 percent relative humidity. This results in a maximum change in dimension of approximately 2 percent tangential to the grain. If the wood in question is oak, and the board is 4 inches wide, the
maximum movement is 0.08 inches.
If we have a wood floor installed with 4 inch wide wood boards initially conditioned to the mid range of expected moisture content, i.e. 8 percent moisture content by weight, the range in movement is plus and minus 0.04 inches or approximately the thickness of a credit card. This is not an aesthetically displeasing or unacceptable range of movement. Of course if the wood is not initially conditioned to the mid range of the expected moisture content, then the movement can be two credit card thicknesses.
The amount of bound water in wood is determined by the relative humidity (RH) of the
surrounding atmosphere; the amount of bound water changes (albeit slowly) as the
relative humidity changes. The moisture content of wood, when a balance is established
at a given relative humidity, is its equilibrium moisture content (EMC). The solid line
represents the curve for white spruce, a typical species with fiber saturation point (FSP)
around 30% EMC. For species with a high extractive content, such as mahogany, FSP is
around 24%, and for those with low extractive content, such as birch, FSP may be as high
as 35%. Although a precise curve cannot be drawn for each species, most will fall within
the color band. As a Certified IAQ Inspector I will inspect the check relative humidity levels.Serving atlanta metro and south atlanta counties.Member international code council,and member in good standing with the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors.Ventilation is the key to a health home.
Air conditioning systems that don't control inside humidity leave the space feeling cool and damp.Water vapor from the ouside infiltates the interior when the refrigeration compressor isn't on.Moisture enters with ventilattion air and leakage around the building's perimeter.If the air condition does run almost constanly,interior relative humidity rises.Cooling system that are to small for their application can also benefit from the use of a dehumidifier.Dehumidifiers cannot,however,compensate for a poorly constructed building.A badly or incorrectly installed vapor barrier can admit much more water than must dehumidification system can remove.These areas are very important areas needing inspected by a certified home inspector.
Air quality in buildings with little outdoor air supply quickly deteriorates when the interior space is occupied.Carbon dioxide gas exhaled by people accumulates,leading to discomfort and drowsiness.Poor ventilation does not expel the carbon dioxide or dilute it,and its concentration rises throughout the day.Some quality recovery usally takes places at night while the space is vacant.Other ventilation problems related problems include the accumaltion of gases and dust generated from sources within the home.Many building materials give off chemicals,especially when new.Formaldehyde is commonly "exaled by carpeting,upholstered furniture,and many wood fiber products.This gas is very irritating to the eyes,nose,and throat..People allerigic to it can be sticken with severe reactions that might require hospitalation.
Dust and dirt can spread to with poorly designed or serviced air handling equipment.Improper filtration allows irritating from one part of the homes interior other parts of the home..
Sources of Attic Mold: Roof leaks or, alternatively, high levels of attic moisture due to a combination of inadequate attic (soffit intake and ridge outlet) ventilation combine with building moisture sources (such as a chronic or even a single-event wet basement, plumbing leaks, or a leaky roof from roof failure or from ice dams) are likley to cause excessive moisture or actual wet conditions in an attic. High attic moisture levels or actual wet attic conditions invite extensive mold growth.
Visible mold may appear on wood surfaces in an attic such as on rafters or roof sheathing. Hidden mold may be present and may be even more of a problem if it forms in insulation or in the ducts and air handler of an air conditioning or heating/air conditioning system. Typical building air convection currents tend to move air up and out from lower to upper building levels, so one would not think that much mold would move down from an attic into the living area. But important exceptions to this can quickly move problem mold from an attic into a living area. Conditions moving mold downwards from an attic include
*Mold growth in HVAC ducts or air handlers found in an attic:*
Mold on any attic surface or in attic insulation if it is a species producing airborne spores and if the building uses a whole house ventilating fan, especially if there is inadequate exit venting for the fan operation. This condition pressurizes the attic and moves mold down through various openings into the floors below.
Mold on building surfaces in an attic or attic knee wall space which opens onto or has a knee wall common with an upper floor living space such as a bedroom.
Building Exteriors Leaks and Mold No mold cleanup project will be successful unless you correct the conditions that caused mold growth in the first place. An expert inspection and report should find and suggest remedies for site and building exterior conditions that produce mold or for building areas that serve as a mold reservoir or as amplifiers for allergens, mold, mildew, excessive pollen or pet dander, The basic steps: find all unwanted moisture sources, correct appropriate building, site, landscaping, & construction details. 90% of the wet basements and crawl spaces I see are caused by bad or missing roof gutters and downspouts.
Cleaning mold from smooth wood surfaces
Perfectly adequate cleaning may be accomplished by wiping or (where feasible) power-washing or media blasting. Where wiping a moldy surface, take care not to spread moldy debris from a moldy surface onto a previously uncontaminated surface by making the mistake of re-using the same moldy rag over and over on all surfaces. Professionals use "steri-wiping" which takes care to avoid spreading moldy debris by always folding and using a clean side of the wipe when moving to a new spot.
Where the framing lumber is indoors or otherwise in a location where water spillage is a concern, wipe the areas of heaviest mold to remove any loose mold from the surface of the lumber. Unless professional area-containment has been set up (barriers, negative air), do not use violent cleaning methods such as power-washing or sandblasting indoors, as you will spread moldy debris throughout the building and you'll increase the ultimate project cleanup cost. (Where the framing lumber is outdoors where water spillage and the creation of aerosolized mold spores is not an issue, pressure wash the infected lumber to remove surface mold.
"Cleaning" in this case can be simply wiping with a sponge wet with water or detergent. See my warnings below about using bleach. The object of cleaning is to remove most of the loose moldy particles. The object (except in medical facilities) is not to produce a particle-free sterile surface. However beware of cross-contamination. Wetting a rag and wiping a very moldy surface off is fine but if you then use the same dirty rag to wipe another fairly clean surface you may be in fact spreading moldy debris around. A professional uses sterile wipes and folds to a clean side of the wipe for each wiping stroke. For a small homeowner non-critical project this may be overkill but think about and avoid spreading moldy debris by your cleaning procedure.
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NICHCY Disability Fact Sheet 12 (FS12)
In This Publication:
- Juan José’s story
- About spina bifida
- Characteristics & health considerations
- Help for babies and toddlers
- Help for school-aged children
- Educational implications
- Resources of more information
Juan José’s Story
This story comes to you from the Real Stories collection of the Spina Bifida Association.
I remember when the doctors told me my child had hydrocephalus and myelomeningocele and that he would not be able to do anything that another child would do. I was devastated to say the least!
Through the years, my son has proved them wrong time and time again by overcoming obstacles that having Spina Bifida can give. He spoke his first sentence at nine months old, he crawled on time, he used a wheelchair for the first time at 12 months old. My son is now an honor student in “regular” education classes and very active in wheelchair sports. He has many friends and excels in everything that he does.
Spina Bifida Association, Real Stories 1
About Spina Bifida
Spina bifida is one of the most common birth defects in the United States, affecting some 1,500 babies each year. 2 Spina bifida happens during the first month or so of pregnancy and means that the baby’s spine did not close completely. Damage to the nerves and the spinal cord may result.
In general, there are three types of spina bifida. These are:
Spina bifida occulta: In this mildest form of spina bifida, there’s a small defect or gap in one or more of the vertebrae (bones) of the spinal column. The defect may not be visible at birth and causes no harm. In fact, it’s estimated at 15% of healthy people have spina bifida occulta and don’t even know it. An X-ray of their back at some point later in life may reveal the condition. 3
Meningocele: In this form of spina bifida, the protective covering around the spinal cord (called the meninges) has pushed out through the opening in the vertebrae as a sac called the “meningocele.” But the spinal cord is not in this sack, so there’s little or no damage to the nerve pathways.
Myelomeningocele: This is the most severe form of spina bifida, where a portion of the spinal cord itself protrudes through the back. In some cases, sacs are covered with skin. In others, tissue and nerves are exposed. This needs to be corrected surgically within 24 to 48 hours after birth, but some degree of nerve damage has already occurred and more severe disabilities can result. These may include problems with bladder and bowel control and partial or total paralysis of the parts of the body below where the spinal opening was. It’s not unusual to hear the terms “spina bifida” and “myelomeningocele” used interchangeably.
Spina bifida occurs in about 7 out of every 10,000 babies born in the United States. 4 Most of these (95%) have the myelomeningocele form of the birth defect.
Reducing the risk of spina bifida | Research has shown that if all women who could possibly become pregnant were to take a multivitamin with folic acid, the risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida could be reduced by up to 70%!
Folic acid is a B-vitamin that helps build healthy cells. Since spina bifida occurs early in pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant, it is important that women of child-bearing age take folic acid every day. 4
Characteristics and Health Considerations
The effects of spina bifida vary from person to person, depending on the type involved. Children born with spina bifida occulta typically have few symptoms or adverse effects from the condition. As we mentioned, many may never even know that they have it. Those with meningocele, also a mild form, may be only minimally affected as well.
The effects of myelomeningocele, the most serious form of spina bifida, may include:
- muscle weakness or paralysis below the area of the spine where the incomplete closure (or cleft) occurs,
- loss of sensation below the cleft, and
- loss of bowel and bladder control.
Hydrocephalus | In addition, fluid may build up and cause an accumulation of fluid in the brain (a condition known as hydrocephalus). A large percentage (70%-90%) of children born with myelomeningocele have hydrocephalus.
Hydrocephalus is controlled by a surgical procedure called “shunting,” which relieves the fluid buildup in the brain. If a drain (shunt) is not implanted, the pressure buildup can cause brain damage, seizures, or blindness. Hydrocephalus may occur without spina bifida, but the two conditions often occur together.
Latex allergies | Research has found that up to 73% of children and adolescents with spina bifida are sensitive to natural rubber latex, the substance often used to make surgical gloves. 5 (Synthetic latex is not a problem, because it is man-made.) Symptoms can include watery eyes, wheezing, hives, rash and even life-threatening breathing problems,6 which is why the Spina Bifida Association strongly recommends that families avoid contact with latex products in all settings from birth. See SBA’s full list of recommendations and suggestions online (including a list of latex products and alternatives to those products), at: http://tinyurl.com/yjjfn6o
Help for Babies and Toddlers
Although spina bifida is relatively common, until recently most children born with a myelomeningocele died shortly after birth. Now that surgery to drain spinal fluid and protect children against hydrocephalus can be performed in the first 48 hours of life, this is no longer true. Children with spina bifida now go on to live full and active lives. They will, however, need extensive help and support to address the effects that spina bifida can have in key developmental areas. Frequent medical tests, surgeries, and hospitalizations are not uncommon. 7
Parents should know that there is a lot of help available for most babies and toddlers with spina bifida, especially those with myelomeningocele. Of particular note is the the early intervention system that’s available in every state.
Early intervention is a system of services designed to help infants and toddlers with disabilities (until their 3rd birthday) and their families. It’s mandated by the IDEA, the nation’s special education law. If a child with spina bifida is found eligible for early intervention services (and most are), staff work with the child’s family to develop what is known as an Individualized Family Services Plan, or IFSP. The IFSP will describe the child’s unique needs as well as the services he or she will receive to address those needs.
The IFSP will also emphasize the unique needs of the family, so that parents and other family members will know how to support their young child’s needs. Early intervention services may be provided on a sliding-fee basis, meaning that the costs to the family will depend upon their income.
To access early intervention services in your area
Consult NICHCY’s State Resource Sheet for your state.
There, you’ll find a listing for early intervention under the first section, State Agencies. The agency listed will be able to put you in contact with the early intervention program in your community.
To learn more about early intervention, including how to write the IFSP, visit the Babies and Toddlers section of our site.
Help for School-Aged Children
Just as IDEA requires that early intervention be made available to babies and toddlers with disabilities, it requires that special education and related services be made available free of charge to every eligible child with a disability, including preschoolers (ages 3-21). These services are specially designed to address the child’s individual needs associated with the disability—in this case, spina bifida.
If the child is found eligible for services, school staff will work with his or her parents to develop an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. The IEP is similar to an IFSP. It describes the child’s unique needs and the services that have been designed to meet those needs. Special education and related services are provided at no cost to parents.
There is a lot to know about the special education process, much of which you can learn at NICHCY, which offers a wide range of publications on the topic. Visit our special education pages in the Children 3-22 section of our website.
Quite often, children with myelomeningocele will need to have a series of operations throughout their childhood and school years. School programs should be flexible to accommodate these special needs.
Many children with myelomeningocele need training to learn to manage their bowel and bladder functions. Some require catheterization, or the insertion of a tube to permit passage of urine.
The courts have held that clean, intermittent catheterization is necessary to help the child benefit from and have access to special education and related services. A successful bladder management program can be incorporated into the regular school day. Many children learn to catheterize themselves at a very early age.
In some cases, children with spina bifida who also have a history of hydrocephalus experience learning problems. They may have difficulty with paying attention, expressing or understanding language, and grasping reading and math. Early intervention with children who experience learning problems can help considerably to prepare them for school.
Successful integration of a child with spina bifida into school sometimes requires changes in school equipment or the curriculum. In adapting the school setting for the child with spina bifida, architectural factors should be considered. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires that programs receiving federal funds make their facilities accessible. This can occur through structural changes (for example, adding elevators or ramps) or through schedule or location changes (for example, offering a course on the ground floor).
Children with myelomeningocele need to learn mobility skills, and often require the aid of crutches, braces, or wheelchairs. It is important that all members of the school team and the parents understand the child’s physical capabilities and limitations.
As Juan José’s story at the beginning of this fact sheet illustrates, families and teachers can play a key role in promoting the personal growth and independence of children with spina bifida. The foundations of that independence are laid a step at a time. Take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and insight that’s available through the organizations listed in the References and the Resources sections of this fact sheet.
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
Information in English and Spanish.
Easter Seals—National Office
Information in English and Spanish.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke | National Institutes of Health
Information in English and Spanish.
1 | March of Dimes. (2009, August). Spina bifida. Available online at: www.marchofdimes.com/birthdefects_spinabifida.html
2 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Data and statistics. Available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/spinabifida/data.html
3 | Spina Bifida Association. (2008). Spina bifida. Available online at: http://tinyurl.com/3qegx2y
4 | Spina Bifida Association. (2008). What can be done to reduce the risk? Available online at: http://tinyurl.com/6yxqzf
5 | Spina Bifida Association. (2008). Latex (natural rubber) allergy in spina bifida. Available online at: http://tinyurl.com/yjjfn6o
6 | March of Dimes. (2009). Birth defects: Spina bifida. Available online at: http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/birthdefects_spinabifida.html
7 | Rowley, L. (2007). Welcoming babies with spina bifida: A message of hope & support for new & expectant parents. Available online at the Children and Adults with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus website: http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/~rowley/sb-kids/wbwsb.html | <urn:uuid:3dd1fbbd-13f1-4efc-97d1-687fafe445c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/spinabifida | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937714 | 2,736 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Line Drawing. U.S. Supreme Court precedent requires judges to draw lines around speech when analyzing government restrictions. Court rulings in 1976 and 1980 determined that speech which does “no more than propose a commercial transaction” is entitled to less First Amendment protection than “pure” political speech. Some communications, such as advertisements, obviously fit on the “commercial” side of the line. But other speech isn’t so easily categorized, leading to needlessly convoluted judicial review which can silence or chill valuable speech.
What are the Yellow Pages? For instance, in Dex Media West, the Ninth Circuit had to categorize Seattle’s Yellow Pages, the distribution of which the city wanted to curtail for environmental reasons. Common sense may dictate that the Yellow Pages are quintessentially commercial. But the circuit court concluded that the existence of some noncommercial information – maps, individuals’ phone numbers, government office locations – in the Yellow Pages rendered the entire volume noncommercial.
The court could have stopped there and struck down the Seattle distribution restrictions as unconstitutional. Instead, it went on and discussed the Supreme Court’s complex jurisprudence on the “inextricable intertwining” of commercial and noncommercial speech. The two different types of speech were clearly intertwined and could not be unwound, the court reasoned, because the ads subsidized the noncommercial items. Seattle has asked the Ninth Circuit to grant en banc review of the three-judge panel’s ruling.
Does a web address speak? The combination of “commercial” and “noncommercial” speech, and speech which could arguably be either, can arise even more easily and frequently online. In Gibson, the Fifth Circuit had to determine the constitutionality of a Texas regulation prohibiting the commercial use of certain government-implicated words on attorney websites, such as “Texas” and “Workers Comp.” Gibson’s website was “texasworkerscomplaw.com.”
While the circuit panel admitted that the speech status of web addresses was “res nova,” it nonetheless went on to state that Gibson’s web address “might qualify as commercial speech if the website itself is used almost exclusively for commercial purposes.” Such a statement flies in the face of Supreme Court precedent that the speaker’s purpose cannot alone determine the speech category. If profit motive was a sole determinant, newspapers, movies, books, and anything else which is created and sold to make money could be more easily restricted as “commercial speech.”
The Fifth Circuit remanded the case back to the trial court, where Texas must justify its regulation under the Central Hudson test and where Gibson can adduce evidence that his site did much more than “propose a commercial transaction.”
A Different Approach. The need to sort speech into Supreme Court-created boxes, and the analytical gymnastics required when it doesn’t fit neatly, can inspire a great deal of harmful censorial mischief. The First Amendment and those whose rights it protects deserve a better approach.
The Court wasn’t wrong 30+ years ago when it said that government has a stronger interest in regulating speech on commercial matters than on political matters. False or misleading information, or speech that promotes an illegal transaction, undermine a free market system. The Framers knew this when they drafted the Bill of Rights. As Judge Robert Bork wrote in a 1996 WLF Legal Backgrounder, “The First Amendment was adopted against the backdrop of a venerable common-law tradition of prohibiting commercial misrepresentation.”
The Court should, when given the opportunity, bring assessment of speech which may be “commercial” back in line with the First Amendment as the Framers wrote it. An appropriate analytical framework could begin with two basic initial questions:
- Does the speech being regulated directly relate to the characteristics of a product or service offered for sale?
- Does the challenged government restriction seek to address speech proposing an illegal transaction or speech that is false or misleading?
If the answers are affirmative on both, then courts should proceed with an exacting application of intermediate scrutiny. Such scrutiny must require government to prove a close fit between the means utilized and the ends sought with something more than “history, consensus, or simple common sense.”
Regulations that don’t meet both conditions should be reviewed under strict scrutiny. Such an approach will permit government to police the free market by targeting false or misleading commercial information which harms competition and disserves consumers. It will also prevent government from inappropriately regulating speech to achieve policy goals unrelated to the speech. Goals such as environmental protection (the justification for Seattle’s ordinance in Dex Media West), promoting temperance (Rubin v. Coors; 44 Liquormart), and lowering healthcare costs (Sorrell v. IMS Health) may be compelling state interests, but none relate to preventing false or misleading commercial information.
This approach should also ensure that businesses can publicly oppose PR attacks on their brand without the fear of being sued for false advertising under state laws, as happened in 2002′s Nike v. Kasky. There, the California Supreme Court labeled Nike’s statements countering allegations of abusive overseas labor practices as “commercial speech,” and allowed private lawsuits to proceed. The Supreme Court failed to correct this miscarriage of justice, so the chilling precedent endures.
Recalibration of constitutional doctrine does not come easily at the Supreme Court, nor should it in most instances, but in the interests of Americans’ most cherished right — freedom of speech — the effort must be made. | <urn:uuid:cefdb151-3619-4700-bbfe-287e9cec77ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wlflegalpulse.com/2012/11/26/federal-court-rulings-reflect-a-commercial-speech-doctrine-in-need-of-recalibration/?like=1&_wpnonce=425f013316 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940117 | 1,164 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Sandy River (Oregon)
It rises in the Cascades in eastern Clackamas County, issuing from a glacier on the flanks of Mount Hood. It flows northwest past Sandy and Troutdale. It joins the Columbia from the south in central Multnomah County, approximately 14 mi (23 km) east of Portland, near the lower end of the Columbia River Gorge.
Tributaries of the Sandy River include the Bull Run River, Cedar Creek near the town of Sandy, as well as Alder Creek and Wildcat Creek east of Sandy. The Sandy River Fish Hatchery lies on Cedar Creek very near to its confluence with the Sandy.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | <urn:uuid:8f284b64-9142-417b-8f4c-9009be9fe2c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/Sandy_River_(Oregon) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918986 | 169 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Maybe he's expecting the result to a specific number of decimal places? In which case look at sprintf and the format options... But agreed would be handy to know what the expected output for a given input is.
float si(int p,int r,int t)
std::cout << "p = " << p << "\nr = " << r << "\nt = " << t << std::endl;
If the valuesthere are incorrect, there may be a problem with how you write them in.
You are not separating the p r and t with comma's when you input them into the program are you?
It will only work using spaces, unless you do: | <urn:uuid:59b7ef11-563f-4700-b254-899430992a4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cplusplus.com/forum/general/90251/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.868807 | 145 | 2.9375 | 3 |
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Ideally, the goal of homework is to reinforce concepts and skills introduced in school, and experts generally agree that the amount of homework kids are assigned should take about 10 minutes per grade per night. If experts and teachers agree this is the right balance, why then are parents around the country reporting that elementary-school kids are routinely dragging home two or three hours of homework a night?
Because of the emphasis on standardized tests, for one thing, says Bob Chase of the NEA: "Teachers, schools and students are being judged by these tests; pressures are being applied from all angles to make sure kids do well. Does this translate into more homework? The answer is yes."
In addition, says Shirley Igo, president of the National PTA, teachers may assign as homework any material that won't be covered by standardized tests. To free up class time for test prep, subjects like art appreciation, health education and citizenship may end up as homework tasks. The alternative is to skip them altogether.
Sometimes parents themselves are supportive of heavier homework loads, says Chase. "Many parents just don't understand the appropriate use of homework," says Chase.
"They think if children are working harder they must be learning more." In fact, overburdened kids actually learn less.
What you can do about it: First things first: Talk with your child's teacher. She may not even be aware of how long your child is spending on homework. And if a child has more than one teacher, each instructor may not be aware of how much homework the others are giving.
If the problem is dueling assignments, it can easily be solved by better coordination among teachers. If it's a problem that's unique to your child, says Deborah Diffily, Ph.D., an assistant professor of early childhood education at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, the teacher can often make accommodations in the assignment so that the work doesn't take so long to do but the lesson is reinforced nonetheless. After you've described the problem in nonaccusatory terms, stop talking and listen to what the teacher suggests. If she doesn't volunteer any specific remedies, propose a few of your own. You might suggest, says Diffily, that your child be permitted to do only the odd-numbered math problems in a long assignment, or be allowed to move on to the next subject's work after spending 15 minutes on a particular assignment. If the teacher is opposed to all such accommodations, and if the child is genuinely doing her best to keep up with expectations though to no avail, don't hesitate to appeal to a guidance counselor or the school principal, says Igo. | <urn:uuid:a04f89ed-698f-4270-bc91-3dd748f979f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lhj.com/lhj/printableStory.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/lhj/story/data/BTS_Homework_07192002.xml&catref=C284 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968302 | 560 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Description from Flora of China
Vines evergreen, woody, less often erect shrubs or trees, dioecious or sometimes monoecious; stems with swollen nodes. Leaves opposite, petiolate, without stipules, simple, pinnately veined, margin entire. Flowers unisexual, borne in whorled, spikelike cones (here termed "spikes"), arranged in lax, dichasial cymes. Cymes terminal or lateral, sometimes arranged in dense, cauliflorous clusters on old stems. Spikes with many cupular to almost flat, annular, involucral collars, each formed by the fusion of a whorl of bracts. Male spikes with collars closely arranged and ± hiding axis (less often somewhat laxly arranged), each collar with 20-80 flowers, often also with a whorl of sterile female flowers, apical whorl with sterile female flowers only; male flowers with a cupular, succulent false perianth, usually ± obconical; stamens 2, filaments fused, exserted from false perianth; anthers opening by a common, apical slit, pollen rounded, with minute projections. Female spikes solitary or several in a panicle, often cauliflorous; involucral collars widely separated, each with 4-12 flowers; female flowers with a false perianth tightly enclosing ovule; ovule with 2 integuments, innermost integument elongated into a micropylar tube exserted from false perianth; outer integument with a fleshy, outer layer connate with false perianth and developing into a false seed coat, inner layer bony. Seeds drupelike, enclosed in a red, orange, or yellow, fleshy (rarely corky) false seed coat; female gametophyte tissue copious, succulent. Cotyledons 2. Germination epigeal.
One genus and about 40 species: mostly tropical and subtropical Asia, fewer species in W Africa and NW South America; nine species (six endemic) in China.
Following common convention, the strictly flowering plant terms inflorescence, flower, fruit, stamen, filament, and anther are used here to avoid unwieldy descriptions.
Cheng Ching-yung. 1978. Gnetaceae. In: Cheng Wan-chün & Fu Li-kuo, eds., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 7: 490-504.
(Authors: Fu Liguo (傅立国 Fu Li-kuo) , Yu Yongfu (于永福) ; Michael G. Gilbert) | <urn:uuid:77645b12-e74c-40fd-bc76-12e063616040> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=610&taxon_id=10375 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.833749 | 571 | 2.75 | 3 |
Reducing an object to simple geometric shapes makes it far easier to draw the object. Once the basic shapes are established it becomes a simple case of judging angles and proportions. Oscar here was drawn around an oval.
By first fixing one or two key elements it becomes easy to see where everything else goes.
Usually you need to use more than one shape. I started this swan with a distorted rectangle and an oval.
Spaces form shapes too and drawing them as such helps to position other elements correctly.
By using simplification and a small amount of knowledge of facial proportions I was able to knock up this face in a couple of minutes without reference.
If you're totally new to drawing, try some simple shapes like these.
OK I cheated with the tree, I used Gimp Paint Studio tree foliage but you get the idea. | <urn:uuid:8ea7910c-323e-4721-81d9-7c304439ffb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gimpchat.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4377&view=next | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947771 | 171 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Imagine you are a teen with ADHD. It’s hard for you to focus in class, your mind wanders everywhere, and even though you want to do well in class you’d much rather be outside shooting hoops. Although you take notes, it’s hard for you to remember the teacher’s instructions. So after a medical evaluation, your doctor prescribes stimulants to help you focus. That’s what happened to NIDA’s second place Addiction Science Award winner, Kevin Knight, a 17-year-old junior at Collegiate High School in Niceville, Florida. Based on his own experience, Kevin wanted to know if there were other ways besides medication to train his brain to focus.
So he decided to take a scientific look at computer programs designed to improve focus and memory with his project, "Improving ADHD Treatment: A Comparison of Stimulant Medication Treatment for Children with ADHD."
Computerized Cognitive Training of Attention and Working Memory, and the Combination of the Two," took a lot of work (even more than coming up with that title!) He worked with doctors to find teenage volunteers with ADHD to see if they could improve their focus and memory by playing computer “brain games.”
Kevin was surprised by what he learned. The best outcomes came with kids who took their medication AND used the computer programs. They had better focus and better memory. Kevin even tested himself, and improved his own ability to focus. This suggests that computer games used with medications could be part of an effective approach for treating ADHD.
Why was this given an “Addiction Science” award? Because the medications prescribed for ADHD, such as Ritalin and Adderall, are stimulants, and stimulants can be abused. Some kids even give or sell the pills to their friends, which can be dangerous. For more information on stimulants taken for ADHD, check out http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/ADHD.html.
NIDA’s Addiction Science award is given at the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which was in San Jose this year. For more information on NIDA’s 3 winners, see NIDA’s news release at http://www.nida.nih.gov/newsroom/10/NR5-14.html
What is part of your personal experience that might be the basis of a cool science fair project?
In a recent Drug Facts Chat Day, freeman-jones of Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School, Maryland asked:
Can taking Ritalin help you if you have not been prescribed Ritalin?
Ritalin is a drug used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is classified as a stimulant. The term stimulants can be used to refer to any number of drugs, including prescription drugs like methylphenidate (Ritalin’s scientific name) and dextroamphetamine (Adderall).
People diagnosed (by a doctor) with ADHD can benefit from these drug when they’re used as prescribed. However, teens with an ADHD prescription are sometimes pressured by friends to share some of their pills because they think the pills will help them focus or stay alert or ace an exam.Trouble is, when you take a pill that’s been prescribed for someone else’s weight, symptoms and body chemistry, or take more than the right dose for your own body, it can bring on more harm than good. Like changing your mood in ways that you can’t control, or raising your blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature. And when the effects wear off, you might feel extreme fatigue and maybe even depression.
Better than borrowing someone’s prescription pills is GETTING SLEEP. It’s safe and easy and will help you learn and stay mentally and physically alert. Maybe that’s why sleep is such a major part of our lives. Get it for free now (ok, wait ‘til bedtime). | <urn:uuid:dc0dc580-8efd-4917-92cf-f67ef4938e5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/tag/adhd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957824 | 845 | 3.640625 | 4 |
2012 Poster Contest Examples
Theme: Energy Efficiency
- Unplug unused electronics & use power strips – when electronics are turned off but still plugged in, they continue to use energy.
- Turn off computers or turn to sleep mode when not in use - you can save energy, save money, and help the environment by activating power management features on your computer.
Theme: Waste Reduction, Reusing & Recycling
- Recycle at school and home to reduce waste, save energy & protect our natural resources.
- Compost – provides a way not only of reducing the amount of waste that needs to be disposed of, but also of converting it into a product that is useful for gardening and landscaping.
- Use reusable water bottles & lunch containers - instead of disposable water bottles; get refillable bottles. Breaking the habit reduces the use of fossil fuels and toxic greenhouse gases that result from manufacturing plastic bottles, most of which end up as landfill waste.
- Reuse and donate – clothes and toys that are donated or reused reduce your carbon footprint by reducing transportation costs & the pollution associated with it. It also saves natural resources used to generate the items.
Theme: Alternative Transportation
- Walk, Bike, carpool and ride the bus to save fossil fuels and reduce your carbon footprint. Walking or biking to school also provides much needed exercise.
Theme: Green Shopping
- Use recycled paper & print on both sides – benefits of using 100% postconsumer copy paper - One ton saves the equivalent of 24 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity, and 60 pounds of air pollution.
- Purchase eco-friendly school supplies/products – including green cleaners and Energy Star® electronics.
- Stop idling – a great deal of idling takes place at schools, where buses and cars line up to drop off and pick up children, and the children end up breathing the exhaust. Stopping unnecessary vehicle idling improves air quality and the respiratory health in our communities.
Theme: Water Reduction
- Plant native drought-resistant trees & shrubs – it conserves water and protects the environment by reducing carbon dioxide and supplying oxygen. Also consider a butterfly garden at school.
- Conserve water – check all faucets, water fountains and toilets for leaks and running water. Taking shorter showers at home reduces water and your carbon footprint (water heater use).
- Spread the word!!! – Morning announcements and word-of-mouth are fundamental ways to spread the environmental message about these important issues. | <urn:uuid:aea8b13c-84a4-4e1e-846b-5fbf1e1e1f36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.co.broward.fl.us/KIDS/CONTESTS/Pages/2012PosterContestExamples.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.897137 | 518 | 3.375 | 3 |
And Seaburg adds, "If you have a chronic illness or take prescription medications and you are evacuated or choose to go to a community center, make someone aware that you have a medical condition, so they will know what to check for if your behavior seems a little unusual."
Another consideration during a loss of power is for patients with chronic breathing problems.
People who require continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, devices for sleep apnea or other sleep issues will need an alternative source of power. There are options available for most machines, including CPAP battery packs, DC power options, marine battery adapters and travel-specific CPAP machines to provide power in the event of an electrical outage.
Keeping food at a healthy temperature may be a challenge during a power loss.
Refrigerators keep dairy products, meat, fish, poultry and eggs at a healthy temperature if they are 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If your power goes out, your refrigerator will stay at the proper temperature for about four hours if it's unopened. Placing ice bags or dry ice will help to maintain healthy cooling.
A full freezer will remain cool for about 48 hours, or for about 24 hours if half full. It's a good idea to have digital thermometers on hand to check the temperature.
Once the thermometer goes above the recommended temperature, avoid eating any dairy products, meat, fish, poultry or eggs. Throw away items that have been compromised.
The USDA suggests keeping a supply of canned and packaged foods that do not require refrigeration. Coolers are a good solution if your power will be on within 24 hours. And knowing where to purchase ice and dry ice is a good way to plan for an emergency. | <urn:uuid:d8495dab-a690-4aba-a590-dfa3779d2ece> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ketv.com/news/health/Staying-safe-when-the-lights-go-out/-/9674364/18471644/-/item/2/-/uumqynz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929355 | 360 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Large, white, with broad, cream-colored scales on cap, white gills that turn gray-green, and a stalk ring. July–September. Cap round, becoming flat; white, with large whitish, pinkish, or cream-colored patches in center; patches breaking into many small scales when open. Gills broad; spacing close; white, becoming gray-green or darker; attachment free. Stalk enlarges toward the base; white, darkens when handled; texture smooth; upper stalk has ring. Partial veil leaving a ring on the stalk resembling a napkin ring. Spore print green. Spores magnified are elliptical, smooth, with small pore at tip.
Lookalikes: Most true Lepiotas have white spore prints. Reddening lepiota (Leucoagaricus americanas) bruises red. Parasol (Macrolepiota procera) has a tall, slender, scaly stalk. Agaricus species have brown spore prints. Thiers amanita (A. thiersii) has a white spore print. Shaggy mane (Coprinus comatus) has a cylindrical cap, turning inky with age, and black spores. | <urn:uuid:d2f5ffd4-f711-44d4-9eb8-86fa61ed0fac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/green-spored-lepiota | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.871632 | 255 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Globalization and its Effects on the Transnational Movement to End Human Trafficking
Globalization and its Effects on the Transnational Movements to End Human Trafficking
Globalization is known as a phenomenon occurring all around us, making positive contributions to our lives, as well as negative. In addition to fueling the technology revolution, globalization has made us closer to achieving such goals as free trade, deregulation, and economic flexibility. At the same time, however, this time-space compressor is seen as a monster to millions of people around the world; it is a principle cause of the growing inequality gap, of political domination, poverty and debt, as well as, oppression and structural violence.1 With that being said, it is clear that globalization does not, in fact, make everyone’s grass greener. However, particularly the main benefiters of globalization such as the Western nations, many people do not realize the dramatic negative effects of this phenomenon. Therefore, one of the ways to better your understanding of the positive and negative effects of globalization is by expanding their knowledge of a transnational social movement.
Thousands of movements exist today, each involving intersecting layers of networks within hundreds of nations across the globe. Various movements exist to fight the many forms of oppression and violence that have become more prominent since globalization took a more dominant role in shaping our world. A transnational crime that is being affected in an incredibly negative way by globalization is that of modern-day slavery, better known as human trafficking. For instance, worldwide, 27 million people are victims of human trafficking and, with its annual revenue between 5 and 7 billion dollars, it is clear that trafficking is an enormous problem rendering global attention.2 Since globalization plays such a primary role in the transnational anti-human trafficking movement, as well as in all transnational social movements, in this paper I will first discuss the relationship between globalization and transnational social movements in general, discussing some of the positive and negative effects. Then, I will elaborate furth er on human trafficking (specifically sex-trafficking) as a major global problem, as well as, delve into how the anti-trafficking movements are dominantly effected by globalization. Within the context of that, I will highlight the problem of sex-trafficking in India (a country where it is most prevalent), and finish by focusing on the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), the first non-governmental organization to fight human trafficking (especially sex trafficking in women and girls).3 Inspired by the CATW, while addressing human trafficking as a whole in some aspects, this paper will focus explicitly on the fights to end the sex-trafficking of women and girls.
Similar to transnational movements, Valentine M. Moghadam stated in her book, Globalization and Social Movements, that “globalization can be thought of as something that “transcends nation state-boundaries; a multi-faceted process of social change with economic, political, and cultural dimensions, creating new forms of inequality, competition, and transnational forms of organizing and mobilizing.”4 A transnational social movement is something that unifies people, in three or more countries, to work together on an international issue that they feel passionately enough about to want to come together and fight.5 Today, some of the transnational social movements with the largest number of supporters are: feminist movements, gay/lesbian rights movements, and Islamic movements. With that being said, the ultimate goal of any social movement is to delegitimize their enemy’s legal stance, eventually leading to their demise. However, this becomes increasingly more difficult when the primary force that a movement is fighting is something as eternal as globalization.
Nonetheless, globalization has its positive and negative effects to all social movements. First, I will discuss one of the positive effects that globalization has had on the world, specifically in terms of aiding transnational social movements. Technology, ironically also a negative effect, has drastically expanded the range of transnational social movements with things such as the internet and the cell phone. It is through the use of technology that movements and organizations (especially transnational) are able to recruit a lot of their supporters. With the internet comes instant communication and advertisement, making contact between existing members of a group, as well as future members, much easier. In addition to facilitating contact and recruitment, the internet serves as a great avenue for raising global awareness. A lot of transnational organizations may not have an enormous formal following but that does not mean that they have been unsuccessful in their recruitment endeavors. Someone does not have to be an official member of a transnational organization or social movement to be able to contribute to spreading global awareness about a particular injustice. In fact, some of the most successful advertising is through word of mouth, something that all of us are capable of contributing to.
Another aspect about transnational social movements that the global technology revolution has contributed to is the expansion of their goals and audience. According to Kevin Bales, author of Understanding Global Slavery, “the average non-state organization, before globalization, aimed only to alter state policies, usually reaching national borders at the very most.”6 Now, social movements are not forcibly restricted (except if by their own personal choice) to state boundaries. As a result, their target audiences have expanded exponentially, originally being primarily local and becoming global. Just by basing their goals on philosophies relatable to all audiences and making informational resources available, people can find out information faster, spread awareness quicker and easier, and even donate to a cause in a matter of seconds. This creates a lot higher of a success rate for organizations with less required work, such as campaigning, protesting, and personally asking people to donate. All of these options would not be presented to transnational social movements without the fuel of technology, which would not be nearly as prominent and available in our world without globalization.
Now taking a look at the other side of globalization, we will explore some of its negative effects, including overpopulation and the growing inequality gap in addition to discussing how technology is also a negative effect of globalization.7 Beginning with overpopulation, globalization has played a huge role in not just overpopulation and migration but in minimizing the resources available to third world impoverished nations. For instance, after the population explosion of WWII raised the global population from 2 to 6 billion, problems regarding global population began to exponentially advance.8 When large numbers of impoverished people inhabit a nation, it is often that they find themselves under the control of a corrupt government. Thus, when the people that are supposed to be protecting them, particularly law enforcement, are in conspiracy with the enemy (such as transnational criminal organizations), citizens are not able to protect themselves against things such as enslavement, trafficking, discrimination, and several other forms of oppression and violence. This makes transnational social movements hopes of success increasingly more implausible. The more the population grows, the more people are likely to be subject to transnational violence and crime, creating a rewinding effect to their already small progress.
Since globalization is not rendering benefits to all nations equally, with Western and other industrialized nations receiving the most advantages, globalization becomes much more negative than positive. With that in mind, the second negative aspect of globalization is the growing economic inequality gap; the rich seem to be getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. This effect of globalization is viewed by most as a direct result of the unequal distribution of its benefits. With such inequality comes an increased amount of poverty, crime, structural violence (oppression), civil wars, governmental corruption, illiteracy, and fatality. To first expand on the effects of poverty, when the poor population of a nation grows, more people are forced, particularly women, to travel internationally for work in order to support their families. In turn, this makes them more vulnerable to being a victim of transnational crime. Also, when in times of immense need, “some parents will sell their children, not just for money but also in hope that the children will be escaping a situation of poverty and will move to a place offering more opportunities.”9 Unfortunately, whether through good intentions or not, those children often grow up without any education or social guidance. Without those, they become increasingly more likely to either become an instigator or a victim of violence (such as ethnic violence, trafficking, invasions, civil wars, etc.). This directly effects transnational social movements, especially those fighting forms of oppression and violence, because it is drastically increasing the amount of victims of such atrocities as trafficking and exploitation.
To further expand on the effects of governmental corruption caused by globalization, when a government is corrupt, the citizens of a nation have no one to trust. When a country’s citizens cannot even trust their own government, crime and structural violence become even more likely to occur. As such rates increase, civil wars, ethnic violence, or invasions often result, causing innocent civilians to lose their home, risk sexual assault or exploitation, lose their children (often to the recruitment into the army as child soldiers), or even die. Therefore, through these negative effects, globalization is breeding a domino effect, beginning with overpopulation, leading to poverty, influencing an increase in crime and governmental corruption, which in turn lead to structural violence, civil wars, and an increase in fatalities. Since they are placing such a great amount of people at risk for their human rights to be intrinsically violated, it is clear that none of these effects pose positive aspects for transnational social movements.
The last negative effect of globalization to be discussed is technology. Although there are also many positive attributes of technology, which were previously discussed, there are even more negative consequences associated with globalization and the technology revolution. For instance, according to Kevin Bales, “the technology and transformationalism that [inspires] the key globalized industries [permits] other types of [negative] activities, [such as] money laundering and trafficking, to assume a global scale.”10 On that note, technology has served as a primary vehicle in making local crimes national, national crimes transnational, and transnational crimes global phenomena, due to the window of opportunity it presents for instant and mass communication. Although such aspects can also be positive, with the ability to communicate an infinite amount of information, whether true or false, to any amount of people in a matter of seconds creates a large, and almost alluring, invitation for new forms of manipulation. Especially since the internet is public domain for anyone to post whatever they want, millions of people fall under the traps of con-artists and criminals, ending up as victims of fraud or future victims of trafficking, money laundering, or sexual or physical exploitation in a matter of one click. Not only does the internet serve as an opportunity for perpetrators to communicate with their future victims, but it also permits members within transnational crime organizations, such as the Taliban, to communicate with ease. Basically, although it has negative and positive effects, technology is known as something that has been fueled by globalization and, in turn, serves as a provider to a great deal of the manipulation and transnational crime in our world today.
Now I will begin expanding on why the global issue of human trafficking is so difficult to fight, by first emphasizing that, although I will be focusing on just one, there are many different types of trafficking. In my opinion, human trafficking (in all of its forms) is a prime example of how history can repeat itself or, in some cases, problems can continue to exist but are recognized as a different crime than in the past. For instance, human trafficking is often referred to as modern-day slavery. However, trafficking is not seen as identical to slavery, since it involves the possibility of many different things Before the Anti-Trafficking Protocol in 2000, “there was no international definition, making there no physical basis for research on the problem.”11 Now, a victim of human trafficking is commonly understood as someone who is taken against their will and forced to do certain things (such as prostitution or drug laundering) and be subject to things that often compromise the following plus more: their right to free will, right to freedom from slavery, torture, and other inhumane or degrading treatment, the right to freedom from discrimination, the right to human dignity, and the right to work in just conditions. However, that still leaves an incredible amount of room for ambiguity. With that being said, one of the biggest problems with being able to prevent human trafficking is that since there are so many avenues by which someone can be a victim of trafficking. Hence, people find it difficult to pinpoint the crime into specifics. With such a narrow focus placed on sex trafficking, sometimes the word “trafficking” is used incorrectly, directly referring to the transportation and sexual exploitation of victims (aka sex trafficking).12 Although it is definitely one of the most common types of trafficking, sex-trafficking should not be thought of as the only form of trafficking that is prevalent today. To help expand the spectrum, some forms of trafficking that are also current transnational issues are: trafficking for the purpose of agricultural work or other forced labor, drug trafficking, and weapon trafficking; each of which have millions of victims annually. Since attempting to tackle anti-tracking as a whole would be far too difficult to discuss all at once, although all forms of trafficking deserve global attention, this paper will specifically focus on sex-trafficking (spotlighting women and girls as victims) and the transnational social movements to fight it.
Now that the basic definitions and understandings of the various types of trafficking have been successfully established, I will continue discussing in more detail the severity of sex-trafficking, beginning with more aspects of sex-trafficking and why fighting it is so difficult, following with an expansion the anti-trafficking social movement in relation to globalization, spotlighting the issue as it takes place in India, and finishing with an exploration of the specific transnational social organization: Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). On that note, another one of the most detrimental aspects of the sex-trafficking phenomenon is that it is very difficult to determine how severe it actually is, so by default, we assume that it is drastically underestimated. To expand on this a little, although some people believe that NGOs have inflated statistics to influence anti-trafficking policies, based on current research on other forms of sexual assault and exploitation (such as rape), it is highly unlikely that the number of sex-trafficking victims is overestimated. One of the main reasons why it is so difficult to determine its severity is that it is extremely challenging to gain any information from former or current victims or traffickers. Furthermore, to create a secretive nature similar to other sexually-evasive crimes, traffickers employ certain tactics on their victims to prevent them from escaping or being found and reporting the crime. Sex-traffickers often threaten their victims with violence, deportation, or murder; force them to take an excessive amount of drugs (almost always causing addiction and often to the point of an overdose); or they just make them feel so ashamed about their body and who they’ve become, beating down their self-esteem, that the victims reach the point where they no longer desire to escape. As if that is not enough, traffickers will also take it upon themselves to do anything and everything to keep their victims hidden; since sex-trafficking is a crime in which “the victim is also the moneymaking ‘product,’ like that of a bag of cocaine that a drug trafficker would keep hidden at all costs,” sex-trafficking victims will be exhausted until they are deemed worthless and then disposed of.13 A lack of initiative on the part of the people can also be blamed for fueling the fire of sex-trafficking. Since a great deal of ambivalence surrounds the ideas behind prostitutes and undocumented immigrants (victims of sex-trafficking in disguise), people are slow to take action to protect them.14 With all of these aspects placing a blanket of disguise of sex-trafficking victims and statistics, the transnational social movements to end human trafficking live on with minor noticeable success.
Although this is an issue that takes place worldwide, I wanted to highlight the issue of sex-trafficking in India, as it is one of the world’s most prevalent countries for trafficking and slavery. Starting with some statistics, on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being low and 4 being very high, India ranks 4 in incidences of slavery, 3 as a destination country for trafficking, and 4 as a transit country for trafficking. To better place things into perspective, “the number of slaves in India is estimated to be between 18 and 22 million,” more than any other country by nearly 10 million.15 Although this includes all forms of slavery and trafficking, not just sex-trafficking, but it is without a doubt that with those types of numbers millions of victims are being subject to sexual exploitation as well. Since India sufferers from a lot of globalization’s negative effects, the global consequences that were discussed earlier start to become more apparent.
For instance, India suffers immensely from overpopulation, governmental corruption, and poverty. As an example, it was reported on the website of the transnational social movement against sex-trafficking, CATW (to be discussed later on), that “top politicians and police officials in Bombay are in league with the mafia who control the sex industry, exchanging protection for cash payoffs. many politicians view prostitutes as an expendable commodity.”16 Although there have been minor signs of progress since, the UN Convention of the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation and the Prostitution of Others was in fact signed by India.17 In terms of the future, efforts to rehabilitate victims and prevent future victims of sex-trafficking are squandered by the lack of support from the Indian citizens and their government. Like all other places where this phenomenon is most prevalent, India needs to raise public awareness on the issue of sex-trafficking and accepting that its negative effects not only influence the Indian population but the world as a whole.
Now that we have seen how devastating sex-trafficking can be in just one country, it should be clear that the issue is an even larger problem when looked at from a global perspective. Thus, I am going to delve into the details of the CATW, the first non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting women’s rights by internationally combating sexual exploitation in all of its forms.18 Within exploring the organization as a transnational movement, I am going to discuss its direct affiliations with globalization. Before evaluating the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, it is important that two other examples of effort set forth to combat trafficking are briefly mentioned; the first being the Anti-Slavery Society and the second (which was already previously mentioned) being the Anti-Trafficking Protocol. It is critical to recognize that since the Anti-Slavery Society was before globalization became a global concern, the organization was primarily located within the state political system, never reaching international borders.19 Clearly this has changed, since several if not most anti-trafficking organizations today are transnational. However, the goals of the movement have not changed since pre-globalization, just the ways in which the goals are sought to be achieved. For example, the goal of the Anti-Slavery Society was to “bring about public redefinition of slavery as a moral issue, not locally, but globally,” which is the goal of anti-trafficking organizations today, such as the CATW. The only difference is that with the internet and other technological avenues, public awareness is spread easier and faster. Unfortunately, the issue has not improved much since the times of the Anti-Slavery Society because although technology makes for easier communication, as previously discussed, it also makes for easier manipulation and, therefore, more victims. In terms of the Anti-Trafficking Protocol of 2000, besides establishing a more formal definition of trafficking, it also helped the world to recognize that “trafficking [is] a transnational crime requiring a transnational solution, and that globalization and new technologies [have] created new opportunities for criminal organizations.”20
With inspiration from the Anti-Slavery Society and the Anti-Trafficking Protocol, the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (or CATW), founded in 1988, dominates the international scene today as the most “vocal and best known organization” for advocating for women’s rights, particularly in the form of anti-sex-trafficking campaigns.21 As a leading organization, the CATW has successfully set up worldwide networking against sex-trafficking and prostitution through their major world regions in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. They also have national coalitions in over fifteen countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Venezuela, the United States, Canada, and France. For an organization that is primarily anti-globalization (or at least against the negative effects of globalization), they use the internet in a lot of their work. Aspects such as communication between members, spreading awareness, and recruiting supporters, are all immensely aided by the internet and the use of cell phones. However, the CATW has alternative forms of such communication, such as through their presence at events similar to the World Social Forum, as well as, through word of mouth.22 In addition, CATW works with national and international policy makers, women’s rights and human rights advocates, national congress, and regional and UN committees and commissions.23 ? At a more local level, the CATW strives to educate young boys and girls in schools throughout various parts of the world by training teachers, police, and governmental officials about the harms of sexual exploitation and ways to resist and combat it.24 Thus, with its goals, methods of discourse, recruitment, and techniques, it is clear that the CATW is a very well established transnational social movement; one that seems to be fighting globalization but, at the same time, could not be nearly as successful without it. Hence, this movement can definitely be thought of as an example of globalization from below; in other words, “a reaction to the effects of neoliberal globalization and an exemplar of the transnational and collective action” used to combat it in the form of NGOs, social movements, and civil society organizations.25
In conclusion, it should now be without question that trafficking (particularly sex trafficking) is an immense and growing problem in the globalized world; one that has been helped, but mostly hindered, by the inevitable effects of globalization. Due to the unequal distribution of the its benefits, overpopulation, poverty and crime caused by globalization lead to governmental corruption, causing oppression, structural violence, famine, civil wars, and in particular, atrocious violations of human rights such as sex-trafficking. Before closing, I want to address the fact that many people, particularly citizens of wealthy Western nations, argue that trafficking is only a phenomenon in impoverished and third world countries and that it does not, in fact, place us at risk. On that note, it needs to be known that “since organized criminal groups are alleged to dominate trafficking, it is seen as a [serious] security threat to Western countries.”26 Furthermore, the US is also a very popular destination country for trafficking; just because it is not as severe as it is in countries such as India and Thailand does not mean that it does not exist. Therefore, as citizens of what is arguably the most powerful nation in the world, we cannot ignore our opportunity to make a difference in the fight to end sexual exploitation and other forms of trafficking. As seen in other arenas besides trafficking, globalization can transform local issues into global phenomena very rapidly, so although trafficking may not be as prevalent in the US as it is in developing countries, there is no way of knowing when that might change. Globalization has been known to have no boundaries, making the actions of each country have direct negative effects on the rest of the world. With that being said, I hope to have inspired people to become involved in an anti-trafficking organization, such as the CATW, or to somehow join the global movement to end sex-trafficking and other forms of trafficking, not only in third world countries but worldwide. As the great Gandhi once said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.”27
Bales, Kevin. Understanding Global Slavery: a Reader. Berkeley [u.a.: Univ. of California, . Print. 2005.
“Coalition Against Human Trafficking in Women.” Human Trafficking-Trafficking of Humans-Coalition Against Trafficking of Women. Web. 18 May 2010. .
Human Trafficking Statistics. Polaris Project. Web. 18 May 2010. .
Kyle, David, and Rey Koslowski. Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2001. Print.
Moghadam, Valentine M. Globalization and Social Movements: Islamism, Feminism, and Global Justice Movement. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Print.?Sen, Amartya. “How to Judge Globalism.” The American Prospect. Web. 18 May 2010. .
Kelly Dona (2011)
Peace Studies & French
Along with being a part of the Honors Program, Kelly Dona will be graduating this May 2011with a double major in French and Peace Studies. After graduation, she hopes to volunteer with the Peace Corps and then pursue a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. | <urn:uuid:63420222-23b7-461e-ad94-e317a7062ca1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sapereaude.chapman.edu/?p=418 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959305 | 5,289 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Solr is a Java based Apache open source search server built on top of Lucene. Solr actually stores its index in Lucene format, and builds more features on top of it. Solr is generally run as a web application in a web container like Tomcat, but it can also be embedded inside of an application. Originally created by CNET in 2007, Solr has become a top level Apache project with many followers. Solr currently provides a vast array of features such as automatic sharding, replication, SQL like queries, and more. Some of the interesting query capabilities include faceting, group by, highlighting, spellcheck, autocomplete, and geospatial support. Solr is also becoming the go to search integration point for many NoSQL databases such as HBase and Cassandra to provide real time SQL like analytics on big data. One of the most advanced products in this space is DataStax, which integrates Solr search indices on data stored in Cassandra.
See also Lucene, SolrCloud, and DataStax Enterprise
Lucene is an Apache open source index library written in Java. Lucene was originally written by Doug Cutting, creator of Hadoop, in 1999. Lucene is based on the inverted index, and provides many different features to enable advanced indexing and querying on many different data types. Many features of Solr, which is built on top of Lucene, are actually provided entirely by the Lucene query and index libraries. People generally look to Lucene when they do not need the features added on by Solr or when they find themselves requiring changes to the core way that Lucene indexes or queries data.
See also ElasticSearch, Solr, SolrCloud, and DataStax Enterprise
ElasticSearch is a distributed, RESTful, open source search server based on Apache Lucene written in Java, providing JSON and Java APIs to expose features thereof. It supports facetting and percolating, which can be useful to be notified if new documents match for registered queries.
ElasticSearch can be used to search all kind of documents. It provides a scalable search solution, has near real-time search and support for multitenancy. "ElasticSearch is distributed, which means that indices can be divided into shards and each shard can have zero or more replicas. Each node hosts one or more shards, and acts as a coordinator to delegate operations to the correct shard(s). Rebalancing and routing are done automatically [...]".[
SolrCloud is a subset of distributed 'cloud based' features as part of the Apache Solr 4.x releases. Introducing functionality such as automatic sharding, automatic failover, query/index partitioning, automatic replication, and write durability, SolrCloud is quickly becoming very popular in the open source search community. SolrCloud achieves these distributed capabilities by integrating Solr with ZooKeeper. By storing cluster configuration in state in ZooKeeper, Solr can understand the cluster state to route queries/indexes or manage node failure. SolrCloud is based on a Master/Slave architecture, in SolrCloud terms Leaders/Replicas, that focuses on the Consistency and Partition Tolerance of the CAP theorem.
See also Lucene, Solr, and DataStax Enterprise
Enterpise DataStax Enterprise is a commercial product that integrates Solr with Cassandra to provide real time SQL like query capabilities on top of a proven scalable database. Unlike SolrCloud, DataStax Enterprise is based on a peer to peer architecture that provides Availability, Partition Tolerance, and tunable Consistency. DataStax Enterprise stores the raw indexed values in Cassandra to enable automatic node failover and reindexing in case of schema changes or load balancing. DataStax Enterprise also integrates with Hadoop so that users can perform Map/Reduce jobs on top of data within Cassandra.
See also Lucene, Solr, and SolrCloud
Splunk is software to search, monitor and analyze machine-generated data by applications, systems and IT infrastructure at scale via a web-style interface. Splunk captures, indexes and correlates real-time data in a searchable repository from which it can generate graphs, reports, alerts, dashboards and visualizations. Splunk aims to make machine data accessible across an organization and identifies data patterns, provides metrics, diagnoses problems and provides intelligence for business operation. Splunk is a horizontal technology used for application management, security and compliance, as well as business and web analytics. | <urn:uuid:cf0785e8-fc01-4a69-821c-d273a09ef378> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkbiganalytics.com/leading_big_data_technologies/search/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914102 | 928 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Education plays a very vital role in building up a brighter future. This doesn’t mean that education is essential only to build up a career. Education is equally important in shaping a person to a perfect person who knows his responsibilities in life and also the culture that he should follow. With the help of education our culture is transmitted from one generation to next generation and it continues till the existence of life.
In today’s world more and more choices have come up for selecting a career. But for getting into any of these careers education is mandatory. Normal education will help you to join a normal career but competition in such field are more; to achieve the career goals and to attain a better future people are opting for higher studies. Most of the universities provide many courses for higher education. This will help them to compete at the next level of their career. It has become very tough for the children to select a career from a wide range of options. For a brighter future and better quality of education is must. Due to high demand in brighter future and good education many of the educational institutions have come up with many new courses.
Better education makes good future for the people and this will automatically help to makes the future of the country better. Making majority of the people literate will help the country also. It will help the country to develop more. Through education problems like poverty, unemployment can be controlled to a larger extent. Abroad countries like United States, Middle East, United Kingdom and many more will always look for educated people across the world for giving them job. Getting education through this way will help both the individual and the country. Foreign money will flow into our country and this can help for the growth and development of our country. | <urn:uuid:564e6990-6703-4b8f-a386-79d75ba169f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nazbookfestival.org/tag/united-states | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9661 | 350 | 2.875 | 3 |
Five years ago, a Chinese lawyer bought an old map from a dealer in Shanghai. Today, that map is at the center of the debate over who came to America and when.
The Chinese map, dated 1763, shows North and South America in a fair amount of detail. No surprise there. However, an inscription on the map says it is a copy of an earlier map, from 1418. If correct, that means the Chinese visited America more than 70 years before Columbus.
Historians have long known that Chinese Admiral Zheng He sailed all over Asia in the 1400s, and even got as far as the east cost of Africa. However, most doubt he ever reached the Americas—let alone explored them in the amount of detail this map suggests.
The map is currently being tested to see if it really is as old as it says it is. But even if the tests come back positive, the debate will not be settled. Even if the map is authentic, it is still only a copy—drawn in 1763, and supposedly based on an older map which no one has ever seen. It could just as easily be based on a map from, oh, 1762.
(One interesting feature the article does not dwell on is the fact that the map also shows Australia—small and not in the right place, but it's there. Australia was not visited by outsiders until 1770. If the map really does date from 1763, then it may have a lot more to say about the history of Australia than the history of America.) | <urn:uuid:34eb08ef-b4c3-431b-bd98-0cdbc7c306fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencebuzz.org/blog/old-map-makes-new-news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979994 | 314 | 3.5 | 4 |
Date of this Version
The buildup of phosphorus (P) in the soil is a major factor limiting the operating life of a wastewater land treatment system. In this study, we evaluated changes of chemical properties, P profiles, and adsorption isotherms in the soils of a Muskegon wastewater land treatment system, which has received wastewater for ~30 years. It was found that the pH in the 15-cm topsoil increased from ~5-6 in 1973 to ~7.4-7.8 in 2003; a large amount of salt (e.g., Ca, Mg) in wastewater was adsorbed by the soil; the soil Al content (either exchangeable or oxalate extractable) decreased, while the oxalate-extractable Fe content remained at the same level. Ca-bound P accounted for ≥70% of the total P adsorbed in the soil. The soil P adsorption capacity increased and was positively correlated with the concentration of exchangeable Ca in the soil. A higher concentration of exchangeable Ca was found in the 15- cm topsoil, where a higher total organic carbon was present. More P was accumulated in the upper soil than in the deeper soil. The adsorption of Ca in wastewater by the soil may extend the life expectancy of the Muskegon land treatment system. | <urn:uuid:c283e7a7-77c6-4034-ae2e-b3fb4a5473ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/civilengfacpub/7/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948395 | 275 | 2.515625 | 3 |
For those of you who love your clams, perhaps it is time to see them in new light. Apart from being an extremely rich source of iron (although there is also the risk of obtaining a touch of food poisoning in the process if it is not properly cooked and prepared), it seems that work has been done to transform clams into an energy source. A battery of sorts, if you will, where enough power is generated to actually run an electric motor. This is somewhat akin to the idea of human being batteries for the machines in The Matrix trilogy.
US and Israeli researchers managed to place implants within a trio of living clams, hooking them up as a battery so that enough electricity is generated in order to turn an electric motor. Biofuel cells were implanted into the clams through the sticking in of electrodes into the clams’ main body cavities that are filled with blood, enabling the blood sugar to function as the energy source for the biofuel cells. The clams do get adequate rest between energy-harvesting periods in order for them to regenerate their blood sugar levels, so there is no need to form a picket line somewhere to protest against the inhumane treatment of clams.
Measurements were made during initial tests, and the three-clam batteries were capable of charging a capacitor with almost 29 millijoules across the time span of an hour, and while this is enough to turn an electrical motor about a quarter of a full turn, it is nowhere near in powering a 75-watt light bulb that consumes 75 joules (75,000 millijoules) per second. Having said that, using a clam-powered smartphone or computer is still a far flung dream, which is a good thing as well as things would smell fishy then.Follow:Gadgetsbattery | <urn:uuid:e6c4c8fe-bcd4-4797-9a88-2fc436873321> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/clams-provide-battery-power-apart-from-being-rich-in-iron/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974032 | 372 | 2.9375 | 3 |
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF INVASIVE SWALLOW-WORTS IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
Location: Biological Integrated Pest Management Unit
Title: Mapping the current and projected ranges of two swallow-wort invasive vines
Submitted to: Proceedings of Northeastern Weed Science Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 30, 2009
Publication Date: January 4, 2010
Citation: Little, N., Morse, S., Ditommaso, A., Milbrath, L.R. 2010. Mapping the current and projected ranges of two swallow-wort ionvasive vines. Proceedings of Northeastern Weed Science Society. p. 54.
Knowing whether a plant species is likely to be locally invasive is important to controlling the spread of such plants and protecting native ecosystems. This is made more difficult by the fact that some introduced plants become invasive in some areas but remain innocuous in other regions. Two species that have become invasive in northeastern North America, especially during the last two decades, are the perennial herbaceous vines: black swallow-wort (Cynanchum louiseae (L.) Kartesz & Gandhi [= Vincetoxicum nigrum (L.) Moench]) and pale swallow-wort (Cynanchum rossicum (Kleopow) Borhidi [= Vincetoxicum rossicum (Kleopow) Barbar.]) [Apocynaceae]. The goal of this study was to use herbaria records, data from individual swallow-wort researchers, and geographic information system (GIS) tools to map and analyze the current known range of these two species and, from this information, project potential distributions in the continental United States. At present, black swallow-wort locations are clustered in the northeastern and upper midwestern states. Records of black swallow-wort in California were of plants growing in the UC Riverside Botanical Garden. Pale swallow-wort locations are currently clustered in the northeastern states, with no records found for the upper midwest states. We found 199 records of black swallow-wort with locations in the following states: California (2), Connecticut (6), Illinois (26), Kansas (3), Massachusetts (22), Maryland (1), Maine (4), Michigan (2), Minnesota (5), Missouri (1), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (1), New York (65), Pennsylvania (10), Rhode Island (12), Vermont (6), and Wisconsin (22). There were 138 records of pale swallow-wort, with locations in the following states: Connecticut (7), Massachusetts (6), New York (119), and Pennsylvania (1). Nine records of black swallow-wort and five records of pale swallow-wort had no state listed in the record (or information from which the state could be deduced), but were found in the database of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and so were likely collected in New York State. We generated three potential black swallow-wort distribution maps and two pale swallow-wort distribution maps based on the ranges of climate variables in their current known locations. Although the maps generated are rather coarse given the amount of data collected, they do suggest that projected ranges for these two invasive vines could expand substantially relative to current distributions. For example, the distribution of black swallow-wort is predicted to increase especially in the midwestern U.S., while the distribution of pale swallow-wort is expected to expand most in the Great Lakes region. These findings should help land managers in potentially affected regions to begin planning for early detection and rapid response programs against these two aggressive vines. | <urn:uuid:7553f31c-b259-444e-83ad-5b1b41ac9aa7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=249327 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912131 | 751 | 2.640625 | 3 |
We are committed to choosing suppliers that have recycling systems in place and reuse their materials.
Glass Bottles: Our bottles are made from recycled glass, which helps to reduce the amount of silica sand extracted and thereby decreases soil erosion in Chile’s coastal zones.
Did you know that
Recycled Cardboard boxes: We use suppliers that manufacture boxes from recycled cardboard to help save trees and reduce cellulose production, which can pollute the environment when contaminants are discharged into rivers.
Plastic containers: We choose suppliers that reuse their packaging materials to reduce polluting the land with polyethylene which does not biodegrade but takes 200 years to decompose.
WE ONLY PRINT MATERIAL WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY and we reuse sheets of paper by printing on the back.
Did you know that one tree produces about 20 reams of paper? That is quite a lot, right? 20 x 500 = 10,000 sheets of paper.
If 10,000,000 people printed one less page per day, we would save 1000 trees each day.
These are some of the actions we carry out to care for our planet, and every day we look for ways to conserve resources such as water, gas, and electricity, and separate our garbage for recycling and reuse. | <urn:uuid:953a5ed4-f75b-41a7-bfa8-2db950cf5d2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.juntawinery.com/en/medio-ambiente/reciclaje/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942049 | 265 | 2.6875 | 3 |
DOHA // Thawing permafrost covering almost a quarter of the northern hemisphere could "significantly amplify global warming" at a time when the world is already struggling to reign in rising greenhouse gases, a United Nations agency said yesterday.
The warning came as UN climate negotiations entered a second day, with the focus on the Kyoto Protocol - a legally-binding emissions cap that expires this year and remains the most significant international achievement in the fight against global warming. Countries are hoping to negotiate an extension to the pact that runs until at least 2020.
The UN Environment Programme (Unep) said the hazards of carbon dioxide and methane emissions from warming permafrost have, until now, not been factored into climate models. It called for a special UN climate panel to assess the warming and for the creation of "national monitoring networks and adaptation plans" to better understand the threat.
In the past, land with permafrost experienced thawing on the surface during summertime, but now scientists are witnessing thaws that reach up to 3 metres deep due to warmer temperatures. The softened earth releases gases from decaying plants that have been stuck below frozen ground for millennia.
"Permafrost is one of the keys to the planet's future because it contains large stores of frozen organic matter that, if thawed and released into the atmosphere, would amplify current global warming and propel us to a warmer world," said Achim Steiner, the Unep executive director.
At the climate talks in Doha, negotiations over Kyoto started yesterday. Many wealthy countries such as Japan, Russia and Canada have refused to endorse the extension, and talks are expected to be heated. The United States was the lone industrialised country not to join the original pact.
In its current form, a pact that once incorporated all industrialised countries except the US would now only include the European Union, Australia and several smaller countries that together account for less than 15 per cent of global emissions.
"We want to send a very clear message. We will not accept a second commitment period that is not worth the paper that it's written on," Asad Rehman of the Climate Justice Now! network told delegates. | <urn:uuid:5275dbc5-51b8-4886-bfcf-9649a4e3b507> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/thawing-permafrost-threat-raised-in-doha-talks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946999 | 442 | 2.859375 | 3 |
LUDHIANA: Inmates of Ludhiana Women Central Jail learned methods of making jam and jelly from guava on Friday under a training programme for developing entrepreneurship, which is being run by Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET).
This was the third such event organized by CIPHET with an objective to provide decent livelihood opportunities to inmates.
Senior Scientist from CIPHET Dr Ramesh Jhangra carried out the demonstration.
Those attending learnt the technique and raised questions regarding its feasibility as a business.
Guava jam can be made without adding pectin. That is a chemical used to provide thickness to jams.
The expert said pectin was available in plenty in guavas.
He said that starting small scale industry for production of jam and jellies was very easy. ''One can start this business with just Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. No expensive equipment is required. Value addition tends to be almost double that of investment,'' he stated.
Dr Sangeeta Chopra, senior scientist at CIPHET, told inmates that anyone interested in starting their own business in food processing could contact the institute.
''We wish that some of you start it as occupation after your release from jail rather than limiting it to domestic use,'' she added. Deputy jail superintendent Snehjot Dhawan termed the training quite informative. | <urn:uuid:dbba7023-222e-4dde-95f7-898138a66f39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-26/ludhiana/29191787_1_jail-inmates-jam-ciphet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96108 | 289 | 2.546875 | 3 |
By Steve Schifferes
Economics reporter, BBC News
Tackling global poverty requires both public and private investment
The World Bank has warned that world poverty is much greater than previously thought.
It has revised its previous estimate and now says that 1.4 billion people live in poverty, based on a new poverty line of $1.25 per day.
This is substantially more than its earlier estimate of 985 million people living in poverty in 2004.
The Bank has also revised upwards the number it said were poor in 1981, from 1.5 billion to 1.9 billion.
The new estimates suggest that poverty is both more persistent, and has fallen less sharply, than previously thought.
However, given the increase in world population, the poverty rate has still fallen from 50% to 25% over the past 25 years.
"This is pretty grim analysis coming from the World Bank," said Elizabeth Stuart, senior policy adviser at Oxfam.
"The urgency to act has never been greater, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where half the population of the continent lives in extreme poverty, a figure that hasn't changed for over 25 years."
The new figures confirm that Africa has been the least successful region of the world in reducing poverty.
The poor need growth - but it must be distributed more equitably
The number of poor people in Africa doubled between 1981 and 2005 from 200 million to 380 million, and the depth of poverty is greater as well, with the average poor person living on just 70 cents per day.
The poverty rate is unchanged at 50% since 1981.
But in absolute numbers, it is South Asia which has the most poor people, with 595 million, of which 455 million live in India.
The poverty rate, however, has fallen from 60% to 40%.
China has been most successful in reducing poverty, with the numbers falling by more than 600 million, from 835 million in 1981 to 207 million in 2005.
The poverty rate in China has plummeted from 85% to 15.9%, with the biggest part of that drop coming in the past 15 years, when China opened up to Western investment and its coastal regions boomed.
In fact, in absolute terms, China accounts for nearly all the world's reduction in poverty. In percentage terms, world poverty excluding China fell from 40% to 30% over the past 25 years.
The new figures still suggest that the world will reach its millennium development goal of halving the 1990 level of poverty by 2015, according to World Bank chief economist Justin Lin.
The transformation of China has been the biggest example of growth
"Poverty has fallen by about 1% per year since 1981," he said.
"However the sobering news that poverty is more pervasive than we thought means we must redouble our efforts."
Oxfam, however, warns that another 100 million people may be forced into poverty by rising food prices, as well as the additional 400 million identified in the new report.
The Bank's findings come as the OECD has reported that many rich countries have cut back on their foreign aid budgets, with little sign that the pledge made at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005 to double aid to Africa by 2010 is being met.
The World Bank's new poverty line of $1.25 per day in 2005 is equivalent to its $1 per day poverty line introduced in 1981 after adjustment for inflation. The new estimates are based on 675 household surveys for 116 countries, based on 1.2 million interviews. The data has also been revised on the basis of new data on inflation and prices from the 2005 ICP survey of world prices, which showed that the cost of living in developing countries was higher than previously thought. It does not take into account the recent increases in fuel and food prices. | <urn:uuid:3049b3e7-bee5-4473-a8e3-87d1d28ab4bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7583719.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969849 | 777 | 2.78125 | 3 |
The elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen lie at the heart of the biological processes that make life possible, but they are by no means the only elements that facilitate those processes.
Two scientific papers, published in the journal Science, refuted the 2010 NASA finding that bacterium called GFAJ-1 not only tolerates arsenic, but actually incorporates the poison into its DNA, swapping out phosphorus. The finding, at the time, was hailed as a significant new discovery, which could increase the likelihood of discovering exotic life on other planets.
“Contrary to an original report, the new research clearly shows that the bacterium, GFAJ-1, cannot substitute arsenic for phosphorus to survive,” the journal said. ”If true, such a finding would have important implications for our understanding of life’s basic requirements since all known forms of life on Earth use six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur.”
Phosphorous may not be one of the first elements that comes to mind when it comes to supporting life, but there are good reasons that phosphates are a critical component in plant fertilizers. Both DNA and RNA are dependent on the availablility of phosphorous, as are energy storage compounds such as ATP, and thus, the presence of biologically available (i.e., able to be metabolized by an organism) phosphorous is seen as an essential environmental requirement.
A 2010 NASA study garnered a lot of attention when its authors, observing bacteria in Lake Mono, California, reported that the bacteria were surviving on arsenic instead of phosphorous. Such a discovery would be of obvious interest to NASA, as it would expand the list of possible environments where life might be found beyond the confines of Earth. This bacteria, dubbed GFAJ-1, reportedly utilized arsenic in the construction of its cell wall as well as other systems.
“The newly discovered microbe, strain GFAJ-1, is a member of a common group of bacteria, the Gammaproteobacteria. In the laboratory, the researchers successfully grew microbes from the lake on a diet that was very lean on phosphorus, but included generous helpings of arsenic. When researchers removed the phosphorus and replaced it with arsenic the microbes continued to grow. Subsequent analyses indicated that the arsenic was being used to produce the building blocks of new GFAJ-1 cells,” the report noted at the time.
One independent team is disputing the finding, arguing that the bacteria are simply well-adapted to life in the extreme lake environment and able to efficiently use the scarce amount of phosphorous to meet its needs. The team notes that arsenic does not contribute to the growth of the microbe at all.
Meanwhile, another group led by Tobias Erb from the Institute of Microbiology at ETH Zurich targeted the claim that GFAJ-1 did not rely on the phosphorus present in the samples. While the original group insisted that the levels of phosphorus were simply too low to accommodate life, the new report found that the organism was incapable of surviving without some amount of the substance.
The lead researcher from the NASA study, Felisa Wolfe-Simon of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, defended the study, saying that the data in the new findings do not, in fact, conflict with the study at all.
“We are working to define where the arsenate is [in the organism], rather than where it is not,” she said. ”How does GFAJ-1 thrive in such high levels of arsenic? Where is the arsenic going? This is our continued focus.”
In addition, Michael H. New, astrobiology discipline scientist at NASA Headquarters’ Planetary Science Division, said in a statement that the U.S. space agency supports an open dialogue on the matter:
“NASA supports robust and continuous peer review of any scientific finding, especially discoveries with wide-ranging implications. It was expected that the 2010 Wolfe-Simon et al. Science paper would not be exempt from such standard scientific practices, and in fact, was anticipated to generate significant scientific attention given the surprising results in that paper. The two new papers published in Science on the microorganism GFAJ-1 exemplify this process and provide important new insights. Though these new papers challenge some of the conclusions of the original paper, neither paper invalidates the 2010 observations of a remarkable microorganism that can survive in a highly phosphate-poor and arsenic-rich environment toxic to many other microorganisms. What has emerged from these three papers is an as yet incomplete picture of GFAJ-1 that clearly calls for additional research.”
Skepticism over the validity of the findings is likely to leave alien hunters a bit disheartened. The 2010 study was the result of a test proposed by astrobiologist Paul Davies, director of the BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University, Tempe. Mr. Davies encouraged scientists to scour the Earth for organisms so exotic that they must have derived from other planets.
The findings were released Sunday in the journal Science. | <urn:uuid:d773cd04-d477-4599-93cd-8a934730a0be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebunsenburner.com/news/scientists-slam-nasa-report-on-arsenic-loving-bacteria/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950228 | 1,049 | 3.6875 | 4 |
International Tracing Service and historical research
Since 1955 the ICRC has been managing the International Tracing Service in Arolsen, Germany. Striving to help people who were persecuted under the Nazi regime, including victims of the Holocaust, the ITS works with a purely humanitarian mandate derived from the Bonn Agreements of 6 June 1955.
Since 1955 the ICRC has been managing the International Tracing Service (ITS) in Arolsen, Germany. The purely humanitarian mandate under which the ITS works to help the former victims of the Nazi regime is derived from the 1955 Bonn Agreements, which set up the International Commission for the International Tracing Service, which today has 11 member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxe mbourg, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, United States).
The ITS's archives concern the Germans and non-Germans who were held in Nazi concentration and labour camps as well as non-Germans who had to flee their homes because of the Second World War. The central archive houses over 50 million file cards relating to more than 17.5 million civilians persecuted by the Nazis. Other documents containing personal information on the victims take up over 25,000 metres of shelf space.
At its 1998 annual meeting held in London, the International Commission for the ITS approved the principle of opening the ITS archives for historical research, though it did not fix a legal framework or lay down practical procedures for this. Confronted as they are with problems caused by the diversity between the different member countries in terms of legislation on protection of personal data, the Commission's member States have not yet fully agreed on a means of reconciling the desirability of historical research with the need to protect the privacy of the former victims.
Various sub-commissions and intergovernmental groups of experts, including some in which the ICRC and the ITS have taken part, have conferred in recent years about creating a new legal framework that would determine – given the very sensitive nature of the information collected within the ITS – where, how and for whose benefit this new activity should be carried out.
At the International Commission's May 2005 meeting, the United States proposed that each member State receive a digitized copy of the ITS's entire collection of documents and then make it available to researchers in accordance with its own national legislation.
Since 1998 the ICRC and the ITS have had very clear positions. The ICRC recognizes the historical value of the IT S archives. It also recognizes that historical research into such a traumatic subject is viewed by many former victims as significant in humanitarian terms. The ICRC and the ITS are in favour of these archives being opened to researchers and strongly urge the International Commission for the ITS to take the decisions needed for practical implementation.
It is up to the member States of the International Commission, and to them alone, to determine whether to make digitized copies of the entire archives and, if so, who should have access to those copies. It is also up to the member States to decide on what safeguards should be furnished to both the ICRC and the ITS regarding possible claims for damages resulting from wrongful use of the data provided in this way.
An intergovernmental group of experts, chaired by the Netherlands, met in Luxembourg on 21-22 February last. It is the hope of the ICRC and the ITS that this group will make a proposal acceptable to all member States of the International Commission and that unanimously accepted research will then begin without delay.
In 2005, the ITS received 150,828 requests for documentation from former victims or their families, and issued 226,535 replies. Over the past two years, the ITS has issued over 950,000 certificates to enable people subjected to forced labour under the Nazis to obtain compensation. | <urn:uuid:4b6c3fd9-c035-490d-80a9-05d70d57c731> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/international-tracing-service-280206.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963568 | 763 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Mar. 24, 2008 Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego atmospheric scientist V. Ramanathan and University of Iowa chemical engineer Greg Carmichael, said that soot and other forms of black carbon could have as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, more than that of any greenhouse gas besides CO2. The researchers also noted, however, that mitigation would have immediate societal benefits in addition to the long term effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Observationally based studies such as ours are converging on the same large magnitude of black carbon heating as modeling studies from Stanford, Caltech and NASA," said Ramanathan. "We now have to examine if black carbon is also having a large role in the retreat of arctic sea ice and Himalayan glaciers as suggested by recent studies."
In the paper, Ramanathan and Carmichael integrated observed data from satellites, aircraft and surface instruments about the warming effect of black carbon and found that its forcing, or warming effect in the atmosphere, is about 0.9 watts per meter squared. That compares to estimates of between 0.2 watts per meter squared and 0.4 watts per meter squared that were agreed upon as a consensus estimate in a report released last year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N.-sponsored agency that periodically synthesizes the body of climate change research.
Ramanathan and Carmichael said the conservative estimates are based on widely used computer model simulations that do not take into account the amplification of black carbon's warming effect when mixed with other aerosols such as sulfates. The models also do not adequately represent the full range of altitudes at which the warming effect occurs. The most recent observations, in contrast, have found significant black carbon warming effects at altitudes in the range of 2 kilometers (6,500 feet), levels at which black carbon particles absorb not only sunlight but also solar energy reflected by clouds at lower altitudes.
Between 25 and 35 percent of black carbon in the global atmosphere comes from China and India, emitted from the burning of wood and cow dung in household cooking and through the use of coal to heat homes. Countries in Europe and elsewhere that rely heavily on diesel fuel for transportation also contribute large amounts.
"Per capita emissions of black carbon from the United States and some European countries are still comparable to those from south Asia and east Asia," Ramanathan said.
In south Asia, pollution often forms a prevalent brownish haze that has been termed the "atmospheric brown cloud." Ramanathan's previous research has indicated that the warming effects of this smog appear to be accelerating the melt of Himalayan glaciers that provide billions of people throughout Asia with drinking water. In addition, the inhalation of smoke during indoor cooking has been linked to the deaths of an estimated 400,000 women and children in south and east Asia.
Elimination of black carbon, a contributor to global warming and a public health hazard, offers a nearly instant return on investment, the researchers said. Black carbon particles only remain airborne for weeks at most compared to carbon dioxide, which remains in the atmosphere for more than a century. In addition, technology that could substantially reduce black carbon emissions already exists in the form of commercially available products.
Ramanathan said that an observation program for which he is currently seeking corporate sponsorship could dramatically illustrate the benefits. Known as Project Surya, the proposed venture would provide some 20,000 rural Indian households with smoke-free cookers and equipped to transmit data. At the same time, a team of researchers led by Ramanathan would observe air pollution levels in the region to measure the effect of the cookers.
Carmichael said he hopes that the paper's presentation of the immediacy of the benefits will make it easier to generate political and regulatory momentum toward reduction of black carbon emissions.
"It offers a chance to get better traction for implementing strategies for reducing black carbon," he said.
The article, "Global and regional climate changes due to black carbon," will be posted in the online version of Nature Geoscience on Sunday, March 23.
The National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded the review.
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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead. | <urn:uuid:8f4942f0-fc0b-436e-92d5-6fa0cafa370a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080323210225.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945511 | 973 | 4.03125 | 4 |
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2009 February 3
Explanation: Are those UFOs near that mountain? No -- they are multilayered lenticular clouds. Moist air forced to flow upward around mountain tops can create lenticular clouds. Water droplets condense from moist air cooled below the dew point, and clouds are opaque groups of water droplets. Waves in the air that would normally be seen horizontally can then be seen vertically, by the different levels where clouds form. On some days the city of Seattle, Washington, USA, is treated to an unusual sky show when lenticular clouds form near Mt. Rainier, a large mountain that looms just under 100 kilometers southeast of the city. This image of a spectacular cluster of lenticular clouds was taken last December.
Authors & editors:
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U. | <urn:uuid:45de0d37-b627-48c0-bd9b-ac1c3dd1ac2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090203.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905658 | 223 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Letter to Voetius
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discussed in biography
...in 1639, involved Descartes in a fierce controversy with the Calvinist theologian Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676) that continued for the rest of Descartes’s life. In his Letter to Voetius of 1648, Descartes made a plea for religious tolerance and the rights of man. Claiming to write not only for Christians but also for Turks—meaning Muslims, libertines,...
What made you want to look up "Letter to Voetius"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:f8883444-cf18-46c7-868b-4eaf842c6190> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/920169/Letter-to-Voetius | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899585 | 162 | 3.125 | 3 |
Mud volcano in Java may continue to erupt for months and possibly years
(23 January 2007)
The first scientific report into the causes and impact of Lusi, the Indonesian mud volcano, reveals that the 2006 eruption will continue to erupt and spew out between 7,000 and 150,000 cubic metres of mud a day for months, if not years to come, leaving at least 10 km2 around the volcano vent uninhabitable for years and over 11,000 people permanently displaced.
The paper by a Durham University-led team and published in the February issue of US journal, GSA Today , reveals that the eruption was almost certainly manmade and caused by the drilling of a nearby exploratory borehole looking for gas, reinforcing the possible explanation in a UN report from July last year. The mud volcano, known locally as ‘Lusi’, has been erupting for 239 days and has continued to spew between 7,000 and 150,000 cubic metres of mud out every day, destroying infrastructure, razing four villages and 25 factories. Thirteen people have also died as a result of a rupture in a natural gas pipeline that lay underneath one of the holding dams built to retain the mud. It first erupted on 29 May 2006 in the Porong subdistrict of Sidoarjo in Eastern Java, close to Indonesia’s second city of Surabaya. The team of mud volcano and pressure experts, who analysed satellite images of the area for their study, propose that a local region around the central volcano vent will collapse to form a crater. In addition an area of at least the dimensions of the flow (10km2) will probably sag over the next few months and years. Seepage of mud and water are common on earth but usually a preventable hazard when exploring for oil and gas. Mud volcano expert, Professor Richard Davies of Durham University’s Centre for Research into Earth Energy Systems (CeREES) comments: “It is standard industry procedure that this kind of drilling requires the use of steel casing to support the borehole, to protect against the pressure of fluids such as water, oil or gas. In the case of Lusi a pressured limestone rock containing water (a water aquifer) was drilled while the lower part of the borehole was exposed and not protected by casing. As a result rocks fractured and a mix of mud and water worked its way to the surface. Our research brings us to the conclusion that the incident was most probably the result of drilling.” “Lusi is similar to a ‘blow-out’ (eruption of water at the surface) that happened offshore of Brunei in 1979. Just as is most probably the case with Lusi, the Brunei event was caused by drilling and it took an international oil company almost 30 years and 20 relief wells and monitoring before the eruption stopped.” Prof. Davies continued: “Up to now scientists have known relatively little about mud volcanoes and Lusi has provided the first opportunity for experts to study one from birth onwards. Our work offers a clearer understanding of how they are created and what happens when they erupt. We hope that the new insights will prove useful to the oil and gas industry, which frequently encounters pressurised fluid in rock strata that could, if not controlled, force their way to the surface during exploration drilling. Ultimately we hope that what we learn about this incident can help insure it is less likely to happen again.” The team from Durham, Cardiff and Aberdeen Universities and GeoPressure Technology Ltd, an Ikon Science company, has essentially discounted the effect of an earthquake which occurred in the region two days prior to the mud volcano as the cause of the eruption. This is based on the time-lapse between the earthquake and the eruption, the fact that there were no other mud volcanoes in the region following the earthquake and through comparison with other geological examples. | <urn:uuid:2a8635dc-960c-432d-b513-dd3f52d522fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/research/?itemno=5090 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967786 | 803 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Divorce - FQA
- When was Divorced Permitted?
- Previously Married
- Conflicted Couple in Therapy
- Chronic Gambling, Personality Disorder and Divorce
- Divorce and the Spiritual Court
- Same Sex Marriage
Question: "The question is when and why did the Church first allow divorce and remarriage?"
Answer: The Orthodox Church permits its faithful to divorce because it maintains that marriages can and do die. In these cases, the Orthodox Church acknowledges this tragic reality and argues that the worst of two evils is that the couple remain in a destructive relationship that can have a deleterious effect on all family members' religious, spiritual, psychological, emotional and physical well-being.
Additionally, the following three historical factors have probably had the greatest impact on the Orthodox Church's perspective of divorce and remarriage:
1. The close relationship between the church and state which existed in Byzantium had a profound impact on the formulation of marital practice and the possibility of remarriage in the Eastern Church. This is particularly the case with regard to the legislative contributions of the Emperor Justinian's codex of law issued in 535 A.D. Justinian's marriage legislation affirmed that marriage was dissoluble for a number of specific reasons I will not detail here.
2. Despite Justinian's codex, the present discipline of the Orthodox Church with regard to divorce and remarriage actually dates back to the Council of Constantinople held in 920 A.D. This council recognized, without canonical punishment, remarriage and divorce.
3. Further, since the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D. the specific reasons given by the Council of Constantinople in 920 A.D. were expanded further.
From an Orthodox perspective, divorce and remarriage belong to human weakness and failure. The Orthodox Church allows remarriage out of mercy and for the salvation of its faithful whose first marriage has died. Alexander Schmemann - a prominent Orthodox theologian - speaks of the "condescending" of the Church "to the unfathomable tragedies of human existence" when speaking about remarriage and divorce. As such, pastoral economia take into account the fact that Christian people are surrounded with erotic propaganda, urbanization, uprooted ness and a culture that is at odds with Christian values.
I pray this helps. Write me back if you have follow-up questions or concerns.
Question: "I am divorced and was previously married in the Roman Catholic Church. My boyfriend is Greek Orthodox. He is also divorced and previously married in a non Greek Orthodox Church. Since we are both divorced, can we get married in the Greek Orthodox Church?"
Answer: The short answer is, yes.
Based on the information you've shared, you can get married in the Greek Orthodox Church. However, at minimum, you would both need to provide the priest. preparing you for marriage in the Greek Orthodox Church, the following documentation: (1) a copy of each respective partner's civil divorce, and (2) a copy of each partner's baptismal certificate.
Question: “My husband and I are separated. He moved out several months ago and he now lives with one of his daughters. I am questioning what kind of marriage we have if we cannot be together. I am torn between believing that God brought us together and blessed us with holy matrimony and feeling as though we are not honoring His gift. I am in terrible pain as I know my husband is, and I keep turning to God for help. I am not sure what I should do. We have been in therapy for four months and it has helped, but the progress is very slow. I have shared my pain, but he can’t seem to share at the same level. How do I know when enough is enough and it’s time to move on?”
Answer: I am sorry you find yourselves at an impasse. Being stuck in marital gridlock is very hard - especially around the holidays. Based on your observations, it appears the therapy is headed in the right direction. Stay vulnerable, committed and try not to take his lack of support personally. He is likely struggling internally with unproductive psychodynamics that even he may not fully understand. Hopefully the therapy will help him put some pieces together.
When the pieces come together, he will also become equally vulnerable. When and if this occurs, the therapy will quickly move to another level that should lead you both to increased connection and commitment. So, in response to your question, I believe you are a distance away from divorce and I suggest you continue the therapy. In time, if circumstances and attitudes do not change, you will eventually know it may be time to consider separation and divorce.
Finally and most importantly, continue to pray. In your prayers, thank God for the gift of unity he has blessed you with and ask Him to help you both in your efforts to realize the gift and embrace it.
Grace be to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying (Ephesians 6:24).
Question: “I cannot thank you enough for the work you have done for the Archdiocese in regards to marriage guidance. I really enjoyed the new teaching guide “Journey of Marriage in the Orthodox Church” I found it very helpful – wish I had it 15 years ago. Unfortunately, both my husband and I have failed at our marriage. Looking back, we were both ignorant about what it takes to make a marriage work thinking it would just happen automatically. It also does not help that communication is a weakness for both of us. That said, our marriage problems go deeper than that. My husband has a gambling problem and a narcissistic personality, which I do not know how to deal with. I am a typical woman who just wanted to be loved and respected and cannot continue living like this. Is there any hope here? Your advice would be greatly appreciated.”
Answer: Thank you for your supportive, kind words related to my work. I was pleased to read you found The Journey of Marriage helpful.
Regarding your question: "Is there any hope here?" The short answer is, yes, there is always hope. That is because we follow Christ. With that stated, and based on what you've written me, if there is hope for your marriage, I believe the following steps must occur.
If you have been enabling his dysfunctional behavior –the gambling - you need to stop. If necessary, seek some professional help. You must inform your husband that you believe he has some serious problems and he must agree to seek some help. If this step intimidates you, find one or two people to provide some moral support when you have this conversation with him.
During this conversation, your husband will be faced with the fact that he has some serious problems that require professional and spiritual help. He must face the fact that both he and you are powerless to resolve on your own. He must then commit to finding some professional help. You can help him find help, but he should do the lion's share of the work. I would suggest you consider Gamblers Anonymous as a start.
Once your husband is receiving treatment for his gambling and personality problems, I would then suggest that you both consider couple's counseling with a marriage friendly therapist. This will help you learn new ways of being with one another.
Concurrently, you should both seek out spiritual counseling. Research indicates that the types of issues you've described are resolved and managed when God's life changing, healing grace is centrally present during the change process.
If your husband is unwilling to assume responsibility for his behavior, and if he is unwilling to admit that he has some serious issues and problems tha are compromising his well-being, your well-being and marital satisfaction, then you should prayerfully consider meeting with your pastor to discuss your options - on option being divorce. At that point, your pastor will be able to provide further assistance. If needed, you can contact me again.
Question: “I was on the Web site looking for some answers and I was hoping that you could help me. I was married to a non-Greek Orthodox man (I am Greek Orthodox) and we went through a nasty divorce. It’s three years later, I have moved on. I went to the church to fill out the papers for the Spiritual Court and sat with my priest. He said that we had to contact my ex to get his signature. He is a very vindictive person and will likely not cooperate. What can I do?” (watch your spacing here)
Answer: It is my understanding that it is standard procedure for a spiritual court to contact your former spouse. However, the spiritual court should not need his signature or approval to proceed with its work. Those sitting on the spiritual court will essentially render a decision based on your statements and your priest's statement and not on this detail.
Question: “I am a Greek Orthodox Christian. My husband and I have raised our family in the church and our son married a non-Greek Orthodox woman three years ago. They are having marital problems. My daughter in-law has left my son due to his infidelity. He is now in therapy. My sadness is overwhelming. Please provide some advice. Are there any resources that might help?”
Answer: It is always very painful for parents to watch their children struggling - no matter what their age. I shall keep you, your son and daughter in-law in my humble prayers.
Based on what you have written me, it appears your son has taken a proactive approach that should help him begin addressing a number of important questions. The support you are offering should also prove invaluable. Together with the steps that have been taken to address the marital problems you've described, I have provided links to a few articles that should prove helpful for all concerned. After reviewing the information, please feel free to contact me again if you have additional questions or concerns.
Question: “I am struggling with the same sex marriage issue. I feel as though the issue is intimately interconnected with our country’s civil rights laws that deal with discrimination. Am I accurate? Any feedback would be helpful.”
Answer: I agree that heterosexuals have perpetrated immeasurable damage to the institution of marriage and their criticisms that same sex marriage will do irreparable damage to the institution of marriage often rings hollow. I also agree that discrimination - in any form - is destructive to both those who suffer discrimination and those who discriminate - especially the discriminated. I also agree that this issue is very complex and there do not appear to be any easy answers.
Coupled with the above, I could cite research and theory that suggests that children - on average - do better when their parents remain together and take an active role in raising them, but I won't. I could also site research and theory that suggests that children derive unique benefits from having both a mother and father who love one another and are committed to co-parenting them, but I won't. I could also illustrate how I believe this debate has largely been an adult-centered debate that has often lost sight of what is best for children, but I won't. I could also delineate the church's position regarding homosexuality and same sex marriage, but I won't. As compelling as all this information might be, I suspect you've heard it all in some form or another and such information might not be as useful to you as the following observation I am about to share which is encapsulated in the following quote from Holy Scripture. "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not known" (Jeremiah 33:3).
I would also maintain that any sincere response to the same sex marriage issue requires an expenditure of time and energy similar to your efforts. That stated, in your efforts to agonize over this issue and take some positions, I wonder how much time you've spent in prayer calling upon the Lord? Have you cried unto Him for answers, peace and wisdom?
As you know, one fact about the God that we worship is that He cannot lie. He tells us that He will answer our prayers, and He does. However, the process might take some time. So,...you may shed more tears before you find some answers. (capitalize when you refer to God -HIs, He, etc.)
I don't know if I have helped, but what I do know is that our Lord can definitely help.Contact me again if you have additional related questions or concerns.
In His grip,…(what is this slang?)
Boy, I didn’t teach you well enough in 13 years it seems… : >) Now, find yourself a blackboard, the same one I have given you assignments on...write 100 times: I will not use “write me back..”. Instead, it is CONTACT ME AGAIN...in lower case of course. Another boo-boo - you don’t seem to be able to discern between “advice” and “advise” -look up the differences...one is a verb and the other a noun..guess which is which? : >)
Question: I am currently dating a woman who is divorced. She has completed her civil and ecclesiastical divorce. Her husband left her several years ago. I am in love with her but my parents do not agree with my decision to pursue her further. There aren't any children involved.
Does the Orthodox Church’s view of divorce contradict Holy Scripture? I guess I have a moral dilemma regarding this issue and don’t necessarily agree with the Orthodox Church’s view of divorce. Can you help?
Answer: The Orthodox Church's position regarding divorce does neither contradict Holy Scripture nor is it predicated exclusively upon Holy Scripture. The Orthodox Church understands that some marriages die and that these seriously conflicted marriages are destructive to the spiritual, physical, psychological and emotional well-being of those spouses as well as their children who are caught in an unhealthy, unholy, destructive relationship. Because the Church desires that all its members come to the knowledge of Christ's truth, through economia - a type of pastoral flexibility - it has determined to permit its faithful to remarry. The woman whom you are dating has obtained an ecclesiastical divorce- based on specific, acceptable, clearly defined reasons and as far as the Orthodox Church is concerned she is free to remarry. Because of this, you would not be considered an adulterer nor would she be unworthy to remarry.
If you would like to read more about the orthodox Church's position regarding divorce, the following resources might prove helpful:
The Sacrament of Love by Paul Evdomimov
Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective by John Meyendorff
Eros and Transformation: Sexuality and Marriage an Eastern Orthodox Perspective by William Basil Zion
I pray this helps. | <urn:uuid:5d4fbe47-f8de-4d2f-9414-0462e9574a54> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/marriage/interfaith/faq/divorce-fqa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974871 | 3,067 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Dinosaur computer games are fun and they can also have an educational value for children. Children love dinosaurs. They are fascinated by these large extinct creatures that use to roam the earth millions of years ago.
Children usually develop an interest in dinosaurs when they reach school age (around the age of 6). As they become interested, they learn the complicated scientific names and get acquainted with various dinosaur facts. They gain knowledge of which dinosaurs where plant eaters (herbivores) and which were meat eaters (carnivores).
Actually young children begin learning about science through dinosaurs. Dinosaurs can introduce children to subjects such as biology and paleontology. They can also make kids become interested in visiting natural history museums.
If you have to choose a video game we recommend dinosaur computer games. Not only do kids love dinosaur video games, but these games can help them memorize the different dinosaurs names such as the T-Rex (abbreviation for Tyrannosaurus Rex, translation: tyrant lizard king). Moreover, these games are usually very realistic, kids can visualize the dinosaurs, learn their names, learn about their habitat and lots of scientific facts.
One dinosaur computer game that we recommend is the Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis. In this game kids design a dinosaur theme park, learn about DNA and fossils, look for research material with the help of archaeologists. The dinosaurs look very realistic and the graphics are amazing. Children get to watch dinosaurs behavior and how they interact with each other. They also learn the difference between herbivores and carnivores and how herbivores have a very different behavior from carnivores.
Another great dinosaur video game is Dinosaur Hunter (ages 7 and up). In this game children visit a museum and learn lots of information on 50 different species of dinosaurs. They also learn about famous paleontologists and their discoveries and dinosaurs anatomy through X-ray panels. They can even chart the evolution of dinosaurs going back 200 million years. The 3D graphics are amazing and we highly recommend this game.
Another video game that we recommend is Escape the Museum 2 (previous version is Escape the Museum). For all ages and adults, it is not exactly a dinosaur video game. However the game takes place in a Museum of Natural History and is about hidden objects and puzzles and can challenge children’s brain. | <urn:uuid:8843e70f-2c04-43c1-930a-624f5cf0a26d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smart-kid-educational-games.com/dinosaur-computer-games.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946277 | 469 | 3.265625 | 3 |
I did a drop-in program today titled "Insects in the Garden," the purpose of which was to introduce visitors to the flighted things that visit our gardens most often. I only had a few takers, but they were interested in seeing what we had.
Most of the garden's visitors today were bees and flies of one stripe or another. And even though it is technically a Butterfly Garden, there wasn't a butterfly to be seen.
As I stood there, sneaking up on insects, I finally decided to try and identify to species (!) some of the bees I've been seeing with relative frequency. Are there really many species visiting the blooms, or are there only a few? It was time to find out.
Many of the bees I've been seeing are these medium-sized, fuzzy bodied ones. What stands out are the orange sides. I paged through the photos in the Audubon Field Guide to Insects and Spiders and I'm fairly confident that these are Red-tailed Bumble Bees (Bombus ternarius). They are described as "robust and hairy," the male drones measring up to a half inch in length, while the Spring Queen may reach three-quarters of an inch. The adults sip nectar while the larvae eat honey. Like many bees, only the young, mated females overwinter, to start the next generation the following year. The field guide then notes that "unlike the honey bee worker, a bumble bee can sting many times." Hm - so much for the "bumble bees don't sting" statement I've been told for years and years. Still, I wander among the bumbles with relative ease these days and with the exception of one last weekend who repeatedly stung the tire of my lawnmower (I really wasn't trying to run it over - in fact, I gave every bee I encountered plenty of time to fly off before I mowed on).
One of the other diagnostics of the Red-tailed Bumble Bee is the "broad black band between the wings." Could this be a Red-tailed, even though we don't see the red bands? I doubt it - the red bands are probably essential to the ID of the Red-tailed. What species could it be?
Ah, now this one is different. Note that it is mostly yellow. No red bands, no broad black band between the wings. I have no idea what species it is, though.
Not a single honey bee was to be found, though. | <urn:uuid:426abef4-490a-4fe2-990e-95b28394d08f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://adknaturalist.blogspot.com/2009/08/insects-in-garden.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979113 | 520 | 2.5625 | 3 |
General Information About Ewing Sarcoma
Key Points for This Section
- Ewing sarcoma is a type of tumor that forms in bone or soft tissue.
- Possible signs of Ewing sarcoma include swelling and pain near the tumor.
- Tests that examine the bone and soft tissue are used to diagnose and stage Ewing sarcoma.
- A biopsy is done to diagnose Ewing sarcoma.
- Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
- Primitive neuroectodermal tumor.
- Askin tumor (Ewing sarcoma of the chest wall).
- Extraosseous Ewing sarcoma (tumor growing in tissue other than bone).
All of these names may be grouped together and called Ewing sarcoma family of tumors.
Ewing sarcoma may be found in the bones of the legs, arms, chest, pelvis, spine, or skull. Ewing sarcoma also may be found in the soft tissue of the trunk, arms, legs, head and neck, abdominal cavity, or other areas.
Ewing tumors often occur in teenagers and young adults.
- Pain and/or swelling, usually in the arms, legs, chest, back, or pelvis (area between the hips).
- A lump (which may feel soft and warm) in the arms, legs, chest, or pelvis.
- Fever for no known reason.
- A bone that breaks for no known reason.
- Physical exam and history : An exam of the body to check general signs of health, including checking for signs of disease, such as lumps or anything else that seems unusual. A history of the patient’s health habits and past illnesses and treatments will also be taken.
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): A procedure that uses a magnet, radio waves, and a computer to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body. This procedure is also called nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI).
- CT scan (CAT scan): A procedure that makes a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, such as the chest, taken from different angles. The pictures are made by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. A dye may be injected into a vein or swallowed to help the organs or tissues show up more clearly. This procedure is also called computed tomography, computerized tomography, or computerized axial tomography.
- PET scan (positron emission tomography scan): A procedure to find malignant tumor cells in the body. A small amount of radioactive glucose (sugar) is injected into a vein. The PET scanner rotates around the body and makes a picture of where glucose is being used in the body. Malignant tumor cells show up brighter in the picture because they are more active and take up more glucose than normal cells do. Sometimes a PET scan and a CT scan are done at the same time. If there is any cancer, this increases the chance that it will be found.
- Bone scan : A procedure to check if there are rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells, in the bone. A very small amount of radioactive material is injected into a vein and travels through the bloodstream. The radioactive material collects in the bones and is detected by a scanner.
- Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy : The removal of bone marrow, blood, and a small piece of bone by inserting a hollow needle into the hipbone. Samples are removed from both hipbones. A pathologist views the bone marrow, blood, and bone under a microscope to see if the cancer has spread.
- X-ray : An x-ray is a type of energy beam that can go through the body and onto film, making a picture of areas inside the body.
- Complete blood count (CBC): A procedure in which a sample of blood is drawn and checked for the following:
- The number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
- The amount of hemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen) in the red blood cells.
- The portion of the blood sample made up of red blood cells.
- Blood chemistry studies : A procedure in which a blood sample is checked to measure the amounts of certain substances, such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), released into the blood by organs and tissues in the body. An unusual (higher or lower than normal) amount of a substance can be a sign of disease in the organ or tissue that makes it.
Tissue samples are removed during an incisional or needle biopsy so they can be viewed under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer. It is helpful if the biopsy is done at the same center where treatment will be given.
- Incisional biopsy: For an incisional biopsy, a sample of tissue is removed through an incision in the skin. The specialists (pathologist, radiation oncologist, and surgeon) who will treat the patient usually work together to decide where the incision should be made. This is done so that the biopsy incision doesn't affect later treatment such as surgery to remove the tumor or radiation therapy.
- Needle biopsy: For a needle biopsy, tissue is removed using a needle. This type of needle biopsy may be done if it’s possible to remove tissue samples large enough to be used for testing.
If there is a chance that the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, one or more lymph nodes may be removed and checked for signs of cancer.
The following tests may be done on the tissue that is removed:
- Cytogenetic analysis : A laboratory test in which cells in a sample of tissue are viewed under a microscope to look for certain changes in the chromosomes.
- Immunohistochemistry study: A laboratory test in which a substance such as an antibody, dye, or radioisotope is added to a sample of tissue to test for certain antigens. This type of study is used to tell the difference between different types of cancer.
Before treatment, prognosis depends on:
- Whether the tumor has spread to distant parts of the body.
- Whether the tumor has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
- Where in the body the tumor started.
- How large the tumor is at diagnosis.
- Whether the tumor has certain gene changes.
- Whether the child is younger than 15 years.
- The patient's gender.
- Whether the tumor has just been diagnosed or has recurred (come back).
After treatment, prognosis is affected by:
- Whether the tumor was completely removed by surgery.
- Whether the tumor responds to chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
- Whether the cancer came back more than two years after the initial treatment.
Treatment options depend on the following:
- Where the tumor is found in the body and how large the tumor is.
- Whether the tumor can be completely removed by surgery.
- The patient's age and general health.
- The effect the treatment will have on the patient's appearance and important body functions.
- Whether the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred (come back).
Decisions about surgery may depend on how well the initial treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy works. | <urn:uuid:49334497-1ef5-4b7b-9699-47491f6524c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/ewings/Patient | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927432 | 1,515 | 3.734375 | 4 |
Affectionately known as the "Everglades of Maryland", the tidal wetlands of lower Dorchester County are some of our largest and most intact natural systems. In the heart of this system is the Fishing Bay Natural Area which is a mosaic of brackish marshes and wooded swamps. The expansive wetland system is home to many marshbirds including the secretive, Endangered Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis). A nine-mile road provides access through the marshes, and adventurers can continue their explorations on designated water trails in canoes, kayaks or other small watercraft. Visitors can also enjoy excellent opportunities for saltwater fishing or crabbing within the wetland.
Of critical importance to the wetland system are the "high marsh" areas that are only occasionally flooded by extreme high tides or storm surges. This habitat is formed of salt marsh hay and sea-shore saltgrass which provide important habitat for ground-nesting birds like Northern Harriers, Willets and Saltmarsh Sparrows. Only a decade ago, these vast marshes were in danger of being ruined by nutria, a water rat introduced from South America. Thanks to extensive trapping by the Chesapeake Nutria Partnership, the rodents are absent today and the marsh is thriving. The Fishing Bay Natural Area is mostly contained within the Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Calling All Birders
Fishing Bay is a haven for birders.
Its many habitats, ranging from
forests to expansive marshes
allow for a variety of birds to
make their home within the
Natural Area. Notable species
include rare marshbirds such as
the American Bittern (Botaurus
lentiginosus), Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis), Sora (Porzana carolina),
and Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata). Other rare species
like the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
and Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) can also be seen here.
Water On The Rise
A combination of sea-level rise and land subduction are causing some marshes in Maryland to convert to open water. Because of this, Fishing Bay's undeveloped uplands are expected to take the place of these wetlands as water levels continue to increase over the next 100 years.
Click here for a Print Version of this map.
Fishing Bay Marshes is a large Natural Area with many access sites for parking, paddling and boating.
About nine miles south of the town of Vienna in eastern Dorchester County, the landscape transforms from agricultural fields and pine woods into a vast tidal marsh ecosystem. From US Route 50 east, take the Route 331 exit south to Vienna. Continue straight across Old Route 50 and turn left onto Race Street. Turn right on Market Street, which later becomes Elliott Island Road. Continue south until you reach the edge of the forest. There are three boat launch areas with small parking lots at each site. Otherwise, there are no established hiking trails or boardwalks, restroom facilities or paved parking areas.
Special Note: The Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area is used seasonally by hunters (for waterfowl and deer) and trappers (primarily for muskrat), as well as by fishermen and crabbers, in addition to nature enthusiasts.
A detailed map illustrating water trails can be found at:
A detailed map of the wildlife management area with alternate
parking locations can be found at:
Driving directions and aerial views open with Google Maps. For the aerial view button, if an aerial view does not open by default, click on the Satellite icon in the upper right corner and Google Maps will switch to an aerial view of the Natural Area.
Maryland's Natural Areas
- Guide to Maryland's Natural Areas
- Interactive Map of Natural Areas
- Natural Areas by County
- List of Natural Areas
- Maryland Natural Areas News
- Natural Heritage Program
- Rare, Threatened & Endangered Species
- Natural Plant Communities
- Maryland's Wildlife Diversity Conservation Plan
- Maryland Naturalist Organizations
- Contact Us | <urn:uuid:d414e90e-1d6a-4951-8a4a-51c8deb5acbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Publiclands/Natural_Areas/FishingBayMarshes.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904656 | 858 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Unless it is an emergency, you and your physician may discuss surgery as a way to correct your condition upon diagnosis. This decision is based on careful evaluation of your personal medical history and subsequent medical tests, some of which may include x-rays, MRI, CT scan, ultrasound or sonogram, or other diagnostic testing and laboratory work performed to determine the exact diagnosis.
What Are the Different Types of Surgery?
Depending on the diagnosis, a patient has several surgery options:
- Optional or elective surgery
A procedure you choose to have, which may not necessarily be essential to continue a good quality of life. An example would be to have an unsightly mole or wart removed.
- Required surgery
A procedure which needs to be done to ensure quality of life in the future. An example would be having kidney stones removed if other forms of medication and treatments are not working. Required surgery, unlike emergency surgery, does not necessarily have to be done immediately.
- Urgent or emergency surgery
This type of surgery is done in reaction to an urgent medical condition, such as acute appendicitis.
What Will the Surgical Setting Look Like?
In the past, surgery may have meant a lengthy hospital stay to recover. With modern medical advances, the patient now has several options, depending on the diagnosis:
- Outpatient surgery
Due to advances in surgical procedures and anesthesia, many surgeries performed today allow the patient to recover and go home on the same day. Outpatient surgery, when appropriate, has proven to reduce costs, reduce stress for the patient, speed up the process of healing and reduce the time lost from work and family life. Outpatient surgery may also be called same-day surgery, in-and-out surgery, and ambulatory surgery.
- Inpatient surgery
Some of the more intensive surgeries still require patients to stay overnight or longer in a hospital setting. This allows clinical staff to monitor the patient's recovery and ensures immediate medical attention in case of complications.
- Ambulatory surgery
Ambulatory surgery, also called outpatient surgery, is done without admitting the patient to the hospital. The surgery may be performed in the outpatient section of the hospital, in an outpatient surgical center, or in a physician's office.
How to Prepare for Scheduled or Elective Surgery
Being scheduled for surgery can be frightening. People who prepare mentally and physically before their operations are likely to have fewer complications, less pain and a quicker recovery than those who don't prepare, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The following suggestions can help you take an active role in the medical decision-making process and your preparation for surgery, thus increasing the probability the procedure will have a positive outcome.
Deciding on Surgery
If your health care provider recommends that you have an operation, it's important you have as much information regarding the surgery as possible.
Asking your provider the following questions can help you determine if surgery is right for you. Many people find it helpful to take notes or have a family member or friend with them when discussing these questions to help them remember the information their doctors provide.
Ask your doctor:
- Why do you think surgery is the best treatment?
- How will the surgery improve my health or quality of life?
- How long can I safely delay the surgery?
- What risks are involved?
- Does my health or age create a higher risk for complications?
- What's the risk for death with this surgery, in general? For me, considering my age and health?
- What sort of complications might arise? What are the chances?
- Could more surgery be necessary?
- What type of anesthesia will be used?
- How long will I be in the hospital?
- What can I expect during recovery?
- What will my condition be when I go home?
- When can I resume my normal activities and go back to work?
- What, if any, limitations will I have after surgery?
Getting a second opinion from another health care provider also can help you make your decision. Having another physician review your case can verify your diagnosis and ensure surgery is preferable to other treatments. In addition, many health insurance companies require a second opinion and may require you to choose a doctor from its list of providers.
Anxiety and fear are normal responses to planned surgery. But having a full understanding of the procedure can reduce your stress and result in a better outcome.
People scheduled for an operation often find it helpful to practice relaxation exercises, such as deep breathing, meditating, and visualizing a positive outcome from surgery and a quick recovery period.
Preparing physically can increase your chance of a successful surgery and timely recovery.
In the weeks before surgery, you should:
- Quit smoking if you smoke. If you can't quit, at least cut back on your smoking.
- Ask your provider if you need to change the schedule and dosage of any medications you take. Be sure your provider knows all the medications you take, including over-the-counter and prescription ones, vitamins and herbal remedies.
- Ask your provider if you can maintain your regular exercise routine. If you've been sedentary, ask if starting a gentle walking routine would be beneficial.
- Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs.
- Eat a well-balanced diet, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and water.
- Avoid aspirin or other aspirin-like medications that interfere with blood clotting, beginning seven days before your surgery. If you take aspirin every day, ask your provider how you should cut back.
Preparing Your Life
When scheduling surgery, it's important to take into consideration your job and family commitments. If you have children or pets, you'll need to arrange for their care while you're in the hospital. You'll also need to keep your supervisor at work aware of your surgery date and how long you expect to be out of the office, and work with him or her to train someone to cover your responsibilities.
Become familiar with your medical benefit plan ahead of time so you'll know what portion of the costs you'll have to pay and how you'll make those payments.
Preparing the Day Before
Your surgeon and anesthesiologist should give you specific instructions about what you can and can't do the day and night before your surgery. Follow them exactly; failure to do so could be life-threatening.
Be sure to ask the following questions:
- What can I eat or drink the night before? Surgical patients usually are forbidden to eat or drink anything—even water—after midnight before the day of surgery.
- Do I need to have an enema or take a laxative the night before?
- Are there any restrictions on other activities?
Finally, get a good night's sleep and be ready to arrive at the hospital in the morning with a family member or trusted friend who can be a source of strength and calm. | <urn:uuid:7c3c7a83-73c4-45dd-9e15-a4575ca6abd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northshorelij.com/obgyn/wh-our-services/wh-gyn-surgery-ed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948642 | 1,415 | 3.078125 | 3 |
More than 50 years after the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education, the nation still has not abolished de facto segregation in public schools. But thanks to good will and enormous effort, some communities have made progress. Today the Supreme Court hears arguments in a pair of cases that could undo much of that work.
Conservative activists are seeking to halt the completely voluntary, and laudable, efforts by Seattle and Louisville, Ky., to promote racially integrated education. Both cities have school assignment plans known as managed or open choice. Children are assigned to schools based on a variety of factors, one of which is the applicant’s race.
The plan that Jefferson County adopted for Louisville has a goal of having black enrollment in every school be no less than 15 percent and no more than 50 percent. Seattle assigns students to its 10 high schools based on a number of factors, including an “integration tiebreaker.” This tiebreaker, which is applied to students of all races, requires that an applicant’s race be taken into account when a school departs by more than 15 percent from the district’s overall racial breakdown.
Parents in both districts sued, alleging that the consideration of race is unconstitutional. In each case, the court of appeals upheld the assignment plans. In the Seattle case, Judge Alex Kozinski, a Reagan appointee who is highly respected by legal conservatives, wrote that because the district’s plan does not advantage or disadvantage any particular racial group — its pro-integration formula applies equally to all — it “carries none of the baggage the Supreme Court has found objectionable” in other cases involving race-based actions.
The Louisville and Seattle plans are precisely the kind of benign race-based policies that the court has long held to be constitutional. Promoting diversity in education is a compelling state interest under the equal protection clause, and these districts are using carefully considered, narrowly tailored plans to make their schools more diverse.
It is startling to see the Justice Department, which was such a strong advocate for integration in the civil rights era, urging the court to strike down the plans. Its position is at odds with so much the Bush administration claims to believe. The federal government is asking federal courts to use the Constitution to overturn educational decisions made by localities. Conservative activists should be crying “judicial activism,” but they do not seem to mind this activism with an anti-integration agenda.
If these plans are struck down, many other cities’ plans will most likely also have to be dismantled. In Brown, a unanimous court declared education critical for a child to “succeed in life” and held that equal protection does not permit it to be provided on a segregated basis. It would be tragic if the court changed directions now and began using equal protection to re-segregate the schools.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Justice Department Seeks Resegregation of America's Schools
The Times weighs in on the challenges to the Louisville and Seattle desegregation plans, now under attack by segregationists outside and inside the Justice Department: | <urn:uuid:c7b55b1e-eca0-41eb-b59f-2a5ccc167fff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2006/12/justice-department-seeks-resegregation.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965265 | 631 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Diabetic Proximal Neuropathy
Diabetic proximal neuropathy causes pain (usually on one side) in the thighs, hips, or buttocks. It can also lead to weakness in the legs. Treatment for weakness or pain is usually needed and may include medication and physical therapy. The recovery varies, depending on the type of nerve damage. Prevention consists of keeping blood sugar under tight control.
Diabetic Focal Neuropathy
Diabetic focal neuropathy can also appear suddenly and affect specific nerves, most often in the head, torso, or leg, causing muscle weakness or pain. Symptoms of diabetic focal neuropathy may include:
- double vision
- eye pain
- paralysis on one side of the face (Bell's palsy)
- severe pain in a certain area, such as the lower back or leg(s)
- chest or abdominal pain that is sometimes mistaken for another condition such as heart attack or appendicitis
Diabetic focal neuropathy is painful and unpredictable, however, it tends to improve by itself over weeks or months and does not tend to cause long-term damage.
Other Nerve Damage Seen With Diabetes
People with diabetes can also develop other nerve-related conditions, such as nerve compressions (entrapment syndromes).
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a very common type of entrapment syndrome and causes numbness and tingling of the hand and sometimes muscle weakness or pain.
Prevention of Diabetic Neuropathy
Keeping tight control of your blood sugar levels will help prevent many of these diabetes-related nerve conditions. Talk to your doctor about optimizing your individual diabetes treatment plan. | <urn:uuid:27836ada-f804-4289-b3b6-ed8b6b9cc1c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://diabetes.webmd.com/diabetes-neuropathy?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926416 | 333 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The European Commission on Thursday launched a new cyber-security plan, aimed at safeguarding vital information systems and bolstering the bloc's defences against a growing criminal threat.
The plan calls on member states to set up specialised agencies to ensure the security of information networks and rapid intervention units to counter any cyber attack.
These bodies should cooperate to improve the resilience of information systems, on which all aspects of life increasingly depend, and bolster overall defences against crime.
To highlight the scale of the problem, the Commission cited World Economic Forum research estimating there is a 10 percent chance of a major critical information infrastructure breakdown in the coming decade, which could cost $250 billion.
Cybercrime meanwhile costs even more, with security firm Symantec saying victims worldwide lose around 290 euros billion each year.
"The more people rely on the Internet the more people rely on it to be secure. A secure Internet protects our freedoms and rights and our ability to do business. It's time to take coordinated action," said Neelie Kroes, EU Commissioner in charge of the bloc's Digital Agenda.
EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton highlighted the importance of cyber-security to the bloc's wider political aims.
"For cyberspace to remain open and free, the same norms, principles and values that the EU upholds offline, should also apply online. Fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law need to be protected in cyberspace," Ashton said.
Last week, Twitter said it was hit by a "sophisticated" cyber attack similar to those that recently hit major Western news outlets and that the passwords of about 250,000 users were stolen.
"This attack was not the work of amateurs and we do not believe it was an isolated incident," Twitter information security director Bob Lord said in a blog post.
The attack coincided with the revelation of several high-profile security breaches as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal said they too had been hacked, pointing to attackers from China.
Last month, the US Department of Defense reportedly approved a five-fold expansion of its cyber-security force to defend critical computer networks.
Explore further: Yahoo unveils makeover of Flickr site | <urn:uuid:b5bedc6c-9fba-456f-81d0-575f4dcb84d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news/2013-02-eu-safer-internet.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935591 | 447 | 2.71875 | 3 |
There has been a great deal of discussion about The Davinci Code and its historical errors. I have been urging people to rally around John Paul the Great Catholic University as a response (also see here). But let's say someone asked you, "How do you know the claims of The Davinci Code are false?" Here's a top ten list of errors for easy reference that you might want to print off, put in your bulletin or give to others who are interested. However you use this list, please credit my site.
Should you believe the claims made by Dan Brown in the book (now turned into a movie) The Davinci Code? At the start of the book the reader discovers a "fact page," which asserts, “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” In fact, the book and it’s wild claims about Christianity are based on total falsehoods. Here are just a few examples:
1. More than 80 Lost Gospels. Brown claims, “More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John among them” (p. 231).
In fact, that is a total lie. Yes, there were other books written later on in the second century which were called “gospels”—The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Philip, and The Gospel of Judas are three of the most famous. But there were nowhere near 80 of them! Brown appears to have completely invented that number. Furthermore, none of them were ever considered for inclusion in the New Testament. In fact these gospels were written much later and drew much of their material from the biblical Gospels.
2. Constantine and the Bible. The Davinci Code claims: “The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine” (p. 231).
This is utterly false. Constantine died in A. D. 337. Yet, Christians still continued to disagree about which books were Scripture long after he died. This is clearly evident when one reads the lists of the biblical books written by Cyril of Jerusalem (~A. D. 350) and Gregory of Nazianzus (~A. D. 389) which exclude the Book of Revelation. In fact, it seems clear that the question wasn’t fully decided until the list assembled by the Councils of Hippo (A.D. 393) and Carthage (A. D. 397) was finally sent off to be ratified in A. D. 419. Interestingly, the list was not sent off to the Emperor: “Let this be sent to our brother and fellow bishop, Boniface, and to the other bishops of those parts, that they may confirm this canon, for these are the things which we have received from our fathers to be read in church.”
3. Lost Gospels found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. On page 234 Brown writes, "some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950s hidden in a cave near Qumran in the Judean desert. And, of course, the Coptic Scrolls in 1945 at Nag Hammadi. In addition to telling the true Grail story, these documents speak of Christ’s ministry in very human terms.…”
What was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls is no secret—you can order an English translation of the scrolls from any on-line bookseller. Nowhere in any of the Dead Sea Scrolls is anything ever said about Jesus. Furthermore, while apocryphal gospels such as The Gospel of Thomas were found at Nag Hammadi, they depict a much more esoteric Jesus than the biblical gospels—they do not present Jesus’ ministry “in very human terms.”
4. Mary Magdalene as Jesus’ wife. On page 234 we learn that the Gospel of Phillip describes Mary Magdalene as the “companion” to Jesus—we are told that the Aramaic word used here implies a “spousal” relationship. Brown reveals his ignorance here. The Gospel of Philip was written in Coptic, not Aramaic. Moreover, “companion” means just that—there’s no reason to believe it implies a marital relationship.
The book continues with the following passage from the Gospel of Philip: “Christ loved [Mary Magdalene] more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth.” What Brown never tells us is that this is a questionable reading of the passage. The original document contains holes in key places—it tells us that Jesus “used to kiss her often on” and then there is a blank. Whether the next word is “mouth” is not clear—it might simply be “cheek.”
Regardless, it is clear that the book of Philip uses the image of the “kiss” as a metaphor for spiritual communion. To read this passage as evidence of a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene misunderstands what the passage is saying.
5. Leonardo’s Painting of the Last Supper. Of course, one of the major claims is that Leonardo’s picture of the Last Supper contains an image of Mary Magdalene—she is supposedly the figure sitting at Jesus’ right. That this figure is depicted as looking “feminine” supposedly supports this view. In fact, this is not Mary Magdalene but the youngest disciple, John, who was called the “beloved disciple.” The Gospel of John tells us that he sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper (cf. John 19:23). Count the number of people there with Jesus in the picture and you will find that there are exactly 12—they are clearly the twelve apostles.
The “feminine” depiction of John is usually attributed to the attempt to portray his youth. Leonardo’s portrait of the young John the Baptist also depicts him rather as rather “feminine.” Moreover, many medieval painters prior to Leonardo depicted John the Apostle this way. If the figure is not John one would have to conclude that Leonardo left one of the prominent apostles out of the Last Supper scene—and that’s outrageous.
6. The Mona Lisa. The book claims that Leonardo hid his belief in the “sacred feminine”—a belief suppressed by the Church—in his painting of the Mona Lisa. That painting’s name is supposedly a combination of the names of two Egyptian gods: Amon and the goddess Isis. We read that Isis’ “ancient pictogram was once called L’ISA. The title Mona Lisa, then, is really ‘an anagram of the divine union of male and female’ (p. 121).
Really? What Brown doesn’t tell us is that the painting was never named by Da Vinci. Da Vinci died in 1519. It wasn’t until 1550 that the painting was first named. In 1550 Giorgio Vasari lists the work in his Lives of the Artists as “Monna Lisa.” It was later shortened in English to “Mona Lisa.” It simply means Madame Lisa, and refers to the person who most scholars believe it depicts: Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. Brown’s explanation is completely unfounded and is nothing more than a product of his imagination.
7. The Bloodline of Jesus. The book purports that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were not only married, but that they also had children. Brown writes, “The royal bloodline of Jesus Christ has been chronicled in exhaustive detail by scores of historians” (p. 253). Who are these “historians” who have chronicled all of this? He lists four books, written by Margaret Starbird, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince.
Yet, none of these authors are strictly speaking “historians”—none of them have earned advanced degrees in history. Starbird, for example, has her M.A. in literature. The work Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln co-authored, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, has been thoroughly discredited by scholars—Baigent has even admitted to forging his sources. The last two authors, Picknett and Prince, believe that the ancient pyramids of Egypt were built by aliens from outer space (The Stargate Conspiracy: The Truth About Extraterrestrials and the Mysteries of Egypt )
8. The Priory of Sion. On the “fact page” we read: “The Priory of Sion—a European secret society formed in 1099—is a real organization. In 1975 Paris’s Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous numbers of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo and Leonardo da Vinci” (p. 1).
The Priory of Sion hardly goes back 1099—it was established in 1952 by Pierre Plantard, who was eventually revealed as a hoax and sentenced to prison for Fraud. He admitted so in 1993 in a French Court before Judge Thierry Jean-Pierre. The so-called secret documents that were “discovered” were faked by Plantard and Philippe de Chérisey, who has also admitted his role in the scandal. Full documentation is found at http://www.priory-of-sion.com/. An episode of 60 Minutes which aired on CBS in April of 2006 also exposed the Priory of Sion as nothing but "good old fashioned fraud."
9. Opus Dei. Throughout the book Brown demonstrates his shoddy knowledge of Opus Dei. The murderer in the book is an Opus Dei monk named Silas. Yet, in the real world, there are no monks in Opus Dei. Anyone who knows Opus Dei knows that the organization seeks to help Catholics who live in the world live their faith. Opus Dei is made up of lay people: doctors, teachers, etc. You will never find a monk in Opus Dei. Moreover, while it is true that a very small number of Opus Dei members practice forms of corporeal mortification, the depiction of Silas whipping himself to a bloody pulp is an outrageous misrepresentation.
10. Jesus as a “mortal prophet.” Brown claims that originally, Christians did not think Jesus was God—that belief was invented at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. He writes, “until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers as a mortal prophet” (p. 233).
Hardly. The New Testament contains many references to the divinity of Jesus. One of the most clear statements is found in the Gospel of John, written in the first century—long before Nicea. In John 21:28, Thomas addresses the resurrected Lord as “My Lord and My God” (John 22:28). At the beginning of his Gospel, Jesus is described as “the Word”. His divinity and pre-existence is especially clear: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
For more information I recommend you listen to Matthew Arnold's wonderful audio set, The Davinci Code Exposed.
Other resources include:
--Darrel Bock, Breaking the Da Vinci Code. Nashville: Nelson, 2004.
--Carl Olson, et al. The Davinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in the Davinci Code. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004.
--Amy Wellborn, De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of the Da Vinci Code. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2004.
Although it is not specifically about Dan Brown's Book, I also recommend Mike Aquilina and Christopher Bailey's fine book on the Holy Grail, The Grail Code. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2006.
“Add up everything that was ever called a gospel in the first half-millennium of Christianity (most of which are small compilations of esoteric sayings ascribed to Jesus and not narratives of any portion of his life) and you come up with about two dozen documents.” Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D., Review of The Da Vinci Code in Denver Journal, An Online Review of Current Biblical and Theological Studies.
Darrel Bock, Breaking the Code (Nashville: Nelson, 2004), 23. | <urn:uuid:e1316e81-e58b-4167-8ec7-e242992aa3ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesacredpage.com/2006/05/10-clear-errors-in-davinci-code.html?showComment=1148247420000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969862 | 2,712 | 2.5625 | 3 |
lorence Luchs had lost hope. She had resigned herself to the idea that she was going to die of esophageal cancer. That's when her daughter, Sheila Ann Kogan, read about a completely new technique that was showing promise in treating cancers such as Mrs. Luchs'. It is called photodynamic therapy (PDT), a
revolutionary treatment that uses a light-sensitive drug to selectively destroy cancer cells. Mrs. Luchs was one of the first patients to undergo the therapy at
Frank Gress, MD, Chief of Endoscopy, (L) and his associate, Mo Barawi, MD, Attending Gastroenterologist, (R) display the photodynamic laser used to activate photosensitive medication which targets and destroys certain cancer cells.
The key to PDT is the medication, which in addition to being photosensitive, tends to concentrate in malignant tissue. Laser light at a prescribed wavelength
activates the drug, causing it to disrupt and ultimately kill cancer cells.
Photodynamic therapy begins with the infusion of the medication, porfimer
sodium, which is absorbed throughout the body. The medication remains in malignant cells for longer than it does in normal cells. Two days after the infusion, physicians endoscopically pass a laser light source
into the esophagus to activate the drug as
it lingers in the tumor cells.
"Surgery is still the treatment of choice for most tumors," said Frank Gress, MD, Chief of Endoscopy at Winthrop. "However, for patients who are not candidates for
surgery, early research indicates that PDT
is at least as effective as radiation and chemotherapy for treating large tumors."
PDT is being used against cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, skin, head and neck. The technique also shows great promise in treating Barrett's esophagus, a pre-cancerous condition caused by chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Barrett's esophagus affects between eight and 20 percent of all patients who are
evaluated for symptoms of GERD. Currently surgery is the preferred treatment for advanced Barrett's esophagus and
"The main side effect of PDT is
photosensitivity," explained Dr. Gress. "The medication concentrates in tumor cells, but smaller amounts also accumulate in the
skin. Patients therefore must observe light
precautions following treatment."
Just two weeks after undergoing PDT, Mrs. Luchs' condition had improved. Dr. Gress reported that her esophageal tumors had shrunk. More importantly, her quality of life improved. "She is able to eat and drink normally and has gained weight," said Sheila Kogan. "She looks and feels better."
For additional information on PDT at Winthrop, call Dr. Gress at (516) 663-8977. | <urn:uuid:dbc6d0a2-7e5a-4e06-b151-9e98dfa45ac9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.winthrop.org/newsroom/publications/vol10_no3_2000/corner2.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965382 | 584 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Safety Tips for Kids
A note to parents
Child safety teachings have evolved in recent years. The old 'stranger danger' concept is outdated — today, programs acknowledge that strangers aren’t the only people who can harm a child.
The following tips are adapted from the For Safety’s Sake program, a child safety curriculum designed to enhance kids’ personal safety and problem-solving skills, encourage responsible telling, and empower them to prevent victimization. Take some time to talk through these tips with your children... For Safety’s Sake!
1. Check first before you go anywhere with anyone (for any reason at any time)! Check with the adult who is in charge of you at the time. If you cannot check, then the answer is NO! (You cannot go!)
2. Adults can get help from other adults. You do not need to help an adult find a lost puppy, unload a truck, etc. If you want to help, check first!
3. Know your full name, address (including state), and telephone number with the area code. Know your parents’ or guardians’ names, too.
4. If you are separated or lost from your parent or buddy, freeze and yell your parent’s or buddy’s first and last name. You may ask a clerk or a parent with children to go get help for you, but stay where you are.
5. If anyone tries to move or hurt you, make sure you scream, kick, fight, and yell, “You’re not my dad (or mom)!”
6. Use the buddy system; go places in groups of friends.
7. You are in charge of your body. No one has the right to touch you or talk about your body in a way that is wrong or makes you feel uncomfortable. Use the “Power NO,” get away from the situation and tell a trusted adult. (The “Power NO” is a forceful statement that you are encouraged to make when something is happening that you don’t like or that is harmful to your body.)
8. If you find a gun, do not touch it. Get away from it and tell someone. If a friend wants you to touch or hold it, use the Power NO!
9. Use the Power NO (and other refusal skills) for bullies, dares, and drugs, too.
10. When you are home alone, keep the door locked and closed for everyone. Let the phone ring, use caller ID or the answering machine, or work out a system with your parents so that no one realizes you are home alone.
11. On the Internet, keep personal information to yourself! Ask your parents which sites you can visit.
12. Control your anger, don’t be a bully, and use nonviolent actions and words.
13. Tell an adult if you think that something is wrong or someone could get hurt. It is not snitching — it is responsible reporting!
Nov 27, 2012 02:59 PM | <urn:uuid:5c4d8c2d-be3c-4745-9ab6-499b7f8f6ac9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jeffco.us/sheriff/sheriff_T62_R268.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928414 | 637 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Fundamentals of a Mixed Domain Oscilloscope
More InfoLess Info
By definition, "integrity" means "complete and unimpaired." Likewise, a digital signal with good integrity has clean, fast transitions; stable and valid logic levels; accurate placement in time and it would be free of any transients. Evolving technology makes it increasingly difficult for system developers to produce and maintain complete, unimpaired signals in digital systems. The purpose of this application note is to provide some insight into signal integrity-related problems in digital systems, and to describe their causes, characteristics, effects, and solutions. | <urn:uuid:35008ae6-04c0-40c5-9653-9861eacb983e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techonline.com/electrical-engineers/education-training/tech-papers/4229700/Fundamentals-of-a-Mixed-Domain-Oscilloscope | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927034 | 123 | 2.5625 | 3 |
What other names is Bifidobacteria known by?
B. Bifidum, B. Breve, B. Infantis, B. lactis, B. Longum, Bifido, Bifido Bacterium Longum, Bifidobacterias, Bifidobactérie, Bifidobactéries, Bifidobacterium, Bifidobacterium adolescentis; Bifidobacterium animalis, Bifidobacterium bifidum; Bifidobacterium breve; Bifidobacterium infantis; Bifidobacterium lactis; Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidum, Bifidus, Bifidus Brevis, Bifidus Infantis, Bifidus Longum, Bifidobacteria Bifidus, Lactobacillus Bifidus, L. Bifidus, Probiotic, Probiotique.
What is Bifidobacteria?
Bifidobacteria are a group of bacteria that normally live in the intestines. The bacteria are used as medicine.
Possibly Effective for...
- Prevention of a type of colitis caused by bacteria (necrotizing enterocolitis).
- Prevention of diarrhea in infants, when used with another bacterium called Streptococcus thermophilus.
- Prevention of traveler's diarrhea, when used with other bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, or Streptococcus thermophilus.
- Treating a skin condition in infants called atopic eczema.
- Inflammation of the intestines in infants.
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- Preventing a complication after surgery for ulcerative colitis called pouchitis.
- Reducing side effects of treatment for the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
- Ulcerative colitis. Some research suggests that taking a specific combination product containing bifidobacteria, lactobacillus and streptococcus might help induce remission and prevent relapse.
Insufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for...
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate (detailed description of each of the ratings). | <urn:uuid:d49dbac5-31ba-426d-9d77-31bdf60600fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/bifidobacteria/supplements-vitamins.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.697698 | 521 | 3.1875 | 3 |
His father, Leopold Mozart, assistant choir-master and court musician to the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, was one of the most distinguished musicians of his time. He was the author of the best method for violin-playing written up to that period, and was a man of thorough education and sterling character. Realizing his son's extraordinary endowments, and also the great musical gifts of his daughter Maria Anna, five years Wolfgang's senior, he devoted all his energy and knowledge to their education.
Wolfgang at the age of three was wont to spend whole hours at the piano, discovering, to his great joy, consonant intervals, and was not yet four when he began to receive from his father systematic training in piano-playing and in the theory of music, improvising even before he could write notes. Violin-playing came to him practically by intuition, a fact which he demonstrated to the astonishment of his father and a company of artists, by performing at first sight the second violin part in a trio for stringed instruments. He was not yet five when his father wrote for him a theme for the piano with variations, which he had himself composed. So correct was the child's ear that he would remember the tone pitch of a violin which he had heard even weeks before. His sensitiveness was such that harsh sounds were distressing to him, a blast of a trumpet almost causing him to faint away.
Wolfgang was not yet eight years old when his father undertook a concert tour with his two children, visiting Munich, Vienna, and Presburg. Everywhere their performances, especially the boy's, created great astonishment. In 1763 Leopold Mozart visited Paris with his prodigies, and the following April London, where they remained until July, 1764. Received and fêted by royalty and people of high station, the Mozart children, but particularly Wolfgang, were considered musical wonders of the world. On their way back to Salzburg they visited The Hague and the principal cities of France and Switzerland.
During all these travels, and the distraction and excitement incident thereto, Wolfgang made progress in all branches of musical and other knowledge. He composed constantly and in almost every known instrumental form. Returned home, he devoted himself to the mastery of counterpoint, and the perfecting of his technique in piano, violin, and organ-playing. His patron, Archbishop von Schlatterbach, sceptical regarding the boy's reported achievements as a composer, invited Wolfgang to his palace, forbidding communication of any kind with him, and giving him the text of the first part of an oratorio, prepared by the archbishop, to set to music. The second and third parts of this work were composed by Michael Haydn and Anton Cajetan Adlgasser respectively. It was published at Salzburg in 1767, and performed during Lent of the same year. A year later, at the age of twelve, Wolfgang visited Vienna anew, and was commissioned to write an opera buffa, "La Finta Semplice", for which Marco Coltellini furnished the libretto. Intrigues of all kinds, especially on the part of the members of the theatre orchestra, who objected to playing under the direction of a twelve-year-old boy, prevented its performance.
Returning to Salzburg, Wolfgang was appointed concert-master, at first without compensation, but later was allowed a monthly stipend of twelve florins. Leopold Mozart, chafing under Wolfgang's lack of recognition, made every effort to secure for him a suitable appointment in the larger field of Munich and Vienna, and also Florence, but not succeeding, he finally decided to visit Italy, with a view to gaining there the prestige which success in that country then carried with it. In Bologna, they became acquainted with Padre Giambattista Martini (1706-1784), the most learned musician of his time. This master put Wolfgang through tests in contrapuntal writing, which the latter withstood with ease and consummate skill. In Rome young Mozart performed his famous feat of scoring Allegri's "Miserere" for double chorus, after listening to its performance on Wednesday of Holy Week. Hearing the work repeated on the following Friday, he had but a few minor corrections to make in his manuscript. After being created Knight of the Golden Spur, fêted, and acclaimed throughout Italy by the artistic and aristocratic world as the greatest living musical genius, Wolfgang returned to his modest position in Salzburg. Again and again he tried to find a more congenial atmosphere in Munich, Mannheim, Paris, and elsewhere, but without success. He continued, except for occasional visits to other cities for the purpose of conducting new works, to reside in Salzburg until his twenty-first year, when he took up his permanent abode in Vienna.
An offer from Frederick William II of Prussia to become court conductor at Berlin at a salary of three thousand thalers he refused on patriotic grounds. Mozart was now in full maturity of his powers, creating with astonishing rapidity works which will remain classic for all time: operas, symphonies, quartets, concertos, etc., all of which increased his fame, but did not ameliorate his material condition. Not only was due recognition denied him, but his life was one continuous battle for existence. His application for the assistant conductorship of the imperial opera house failed. He applied for a similar position at the cathedral of St. Stephen, in the hope of ultimate promotion to the post of choir-master. Only on his deathbed did he receive the news of his appointment. The great master died at the age of thirty-four and was buried, in a pauper's grave, his exact resting place being now unknown. Only a few persons followed his remains to the cemetery.
Mozart's individuality was of an exquisitely delicate, tender, and noble character. His operas, "Don Juan", "The Magic Flute", "The Marriage of Figaro", "Cosi fan tutte", "La Clemenza di Tito", on account of their melodic beauty and truth of expression, have as strong a hold upon the affections of the musical public today as they did at the end of the eighteenth century. His instrumental works continue to delight musicians the world over. As a composer for the Church, however, he does not, even artistically, reach the high level he maintained in other fields. In his day the music of the Church, Gregorian chant, was practically ignored in Germany, and sadly neglected in other countries. Mozart had but little knowledge of the masters of the sixteenth century, and consequently his style of writing for the Church could not have been influenced by them. The proper of the Mass, which brings singers and congregation in intimate touch with the liturgy of the particular day, was rarely sung. The fifteen masses, litanies, offertories, his great "Requiem", as well as many smaller settings, most of them written for soli, chorus, and orchestra, in the identical style of his secular works, do not reflect the spirit of the universal Church, but rather the subjective conception and mood of the composer and the Josephinist spirit of the age. What Mozart, with his Raphaelesque imagination and temperament, would have been for church music had he lived at a different time and in different surroundings, or risen above his own, can easily be imagined.
JAHN, W.A. Mozart, tr. TOWNSEND (London, 1882); NOHL, Mozart's Leben, tr. LALOR (Chicago, 1893); NOTTEBOHM, Mozartiana (1880); KOCHEL, Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichnis admmtlicher Tonwerke W. A. Mozart's (Leipzig, 1862-1889); MEINARDUS, Mozart ein Kunstlerleben (Leipzig, 1882).
APA citation. (1911). Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10623a.htm
MLA citation. "Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10623a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas M. Barrett. Dedicated to Sr. Jeanne Frolick.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads. | <urn:uuid:b9920d35-4169-46c1-aa1a-fef97b68dfc9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10623a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976966 | 1,916 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Sep. 13, 2007 An arachnaphobe’s worst nightmare, the gauzy, insect-laden web drew more than 3,300 curious visitors over the three-day holiday to this 376-acre park on the shore of Lake Tawakoni, 50 miles east of Dallas. On Labor Day, the park recorded 1,275 people visiting just to see the web.
“When I first saw it,” said Park Superintendent Donna Garde, “I was totally amazed. What ran through my mind was that this looked like something out of a low-budget horror movie, but I was looking at something five times as big as what you’d see on a Hollywood set.”
Stumped as to the web’s origin, the initial consensus of arachnologists and entomologists who saw an online photo of the web sent by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Mike Quinn was that it may have resulted from a “mass dispersal” event. In such an event, millions of tiny spiders or spiderlings spin out silk filaments to ride air currents in a phenomenon known as “ballooning.”
Quinn collected a sample of spiders Aug. 31 from in and around the gigantic web and took them to Texas A&M University in College Station for analyses. Entomology Department researcher Allen Dean identified 11 spider families from the sample. The most prevalent species was the Tetragnatha guatemalensis, or what Quinn dubbed the Guatemalan long-jawed spider, since this species didn’t have a common name. Guatemala was the country in which it was first documented.
“I drove 50 to 100 spiders to A&M on Saturday,” Quinn said. “Spider experts tend to specialize in one or few families of spiders. There are nearly 900 species of spiders known from Texas, so no one is an expert on all the species.”
Quinn described the Lake Tawakoni web as “sheet webbing” since it covers a large area of trees, which is more typical of a web spun by a funnel web spider rather than the classic Charlotte’s web, or orb web, like that produced by long-jawed spiders. He speculates that the park’s spider population exploded due to wet conditions this summer that resulted in an abundance of midges and other a small insects upon which the spiders feed.
The Guatemalan long-jawed spider ranges from Canada to Panama, and even the islands of the Caribbean. According to Quinn, the spider is about an inch in length with a reddish-orange head- and-thorax. Spiders, like mites and scorpions, are arachnids, a group of arthropods with four pairs of legs, saclike lungs and a body divided into two segments.
So popular was the monster Lake Tawakoni spider web phenomenon that it ran as the lead story in the Nation section of the Aug. 31 New York Times, and was the newspaper’s most e-mailed article that day. The nightmarish quality of the story prompted satirical takes on several Internet Web sites and led to national coverage on Fox News, the Discovery Channel, CNN and other networks. Quinn termed the degree of news coverage “remarkable.”
Dr. Norman Horner, a retired dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, was on his way to the park mid-week to study the “not very common” phenomenon, when he received a call from park staff telling him that a heavy overnight rainstorm had made the trail impassable and knocked down much of the giant web.
“So far,” Horner said, “we have been informed of webs of this nature occurring in Florida, California, Canada, Italy, Ohio and now Texas. In all cases, they appear to have been produced by tetragnathids, but have other species associated with them.”
Superintendent Garde said Sept. 5 that the crowds coming to see the wondrous creation had slowed to a trickle, and that they were not being allowed to access the nature trail due to the sloppy conditions.
“It was fun, but we were really tired,” Garde said. “The spiders are great little guys. They put our park on the map.”
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Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead. | <urn:uuid:ccb45842-43ab-4250-add9-579f3d54a4f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070912145919.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959582 | 961 | 2.90625 | 3 |
“Ms. Craven, we can put ‘nigga?’”
I pause. Images of earnest sitting-in-a-circle chats in college flash through my brain:
- A classmate from Kentucky explaining how she will never say that word, even in academic circles, because, being white, she will never be able to fully grasp its implications;
- Another black classmate asserting that the word has been reclaimed, and that when black people use it, the poison of the original use gets diluted.
Meanwhile, my 13- and 14-year-olds look at me from a class that is mostly black. They generally have heard only that the n-word is either “cursing” or “ghetto.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” I say honestly. “What do you think?”
This week my kids are working on their understanding of parts of speech by making teenage dictionaries. Slang and text-speak are all allowed, although cursing and offensive language are not. Of course, I’m walking a dangerous line. If kids were good at knowing what words are appropriate for a school setting, we’d all have one less thing to teach. I, for one, would have far fewer detentions.
But I got into this project knowing these things would come up. I decided I was okay with that. My real, true, not-in-the-Louisiana-Comprehensive-Curriculum goal for this project was to involve my students in a discussion about the power of words. And here we were. Discussion begun.
“It’s just what we call each other,” said Devonta, “It’s like, ‘Wassup, son.’”
Jared replies, “Nah man, that’s what white people called us in the slave days.”
I asked them if the word meant the same thing for everybody—if it means the same thing from everybody. Would they would be okay if I used this word, for example. (The response was mixed.)
Quite understandably, kids who saw the word primarily as a relic of its “-er” origin decided they should not include the word. Those who saw it simply as a way friends greet each other concluded that it was okay. After all, as Sha’de put it, “This is supposed to be a dictionary of how we talk.”
My kids don’t use four-letter words often in my classes anymore. A strict policy of an immediate detention has curbed the use of your standard Showtime expletives. But I still don’t feel satisfied. I’m not satisfied because I think what this has taught my kids is that swearing in Ms. Craven’s class will get you a detention. What I want to teach my kids is that swearing and using offensive language makes you appear less intelligent, less empathetic and even cruel.
This project is helping. These discussions are helping. My students are exploring the history and implications and power of specific words. They’re starting to understand that every time you use a word it essentially has two meanings: (1.) What you meant by it, and (2.) What it means to the person who hears it.
I still have a ways to go. My classroom is far from some utopia of all-inclusive and tolerant language. But this is a start, this honest talk about words we know can offend. And I think it’s a pretty good one.
Craven is a middle school English teacher in Louisiana. | <urn:uuid:c515085d-1074-41c2-b8ae-57efa870395a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tolerance.org/blog/exploring-power-n-word?newsletter=TT053111 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972218 | 775 | 3.078125 | 3 |
In spoken language learning, spaced repetition is very popular and quite effective in the long run. Although, everyday use will also accomplish the same result. For example, in the Pimsleur method, you repeat like this:
Every: 5 seconds, 25 seconds, 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 5 hours, 1 day, 5 days, 25 days, 4 months, and 2 years.
And another I've run across, but unfortunately can't remember the name of, was:
- Every minute
- Every hour
- Every day
- Every week
- Every month
- Every year
I have also heard the phrase "You forget things 7 times before you remember them", meaning you have to study each thing at least 7 times, before you know it intuitively without refreshing.
But they all come down to the fact, that you must study the same thing not just a few times, but several times over a medium-long timespan. Otherwise they will not be stored in the long-term memory of the brain. | <urn:uuid:b4fdc798-a5b9-4919-a127-e84b0d35549c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://productivity.stackexchange.com/questions/5129/what-is-the-efficient-way-to-remember-things-we-read/5130 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939067 | 214 | 2.9375 | 3 |
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