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Many sustainability proponents these days encourage us to become vegetarians. At least once a day there is some article along these lines in my Twitter feed. Unfortunately, there are many arguments circulating in this debate that are quite misleading. The worst error people make, in my opinion, is to equate emissions from cattle with emissions from fossil fuels.
This is simply misleading because these emissions have very different relationships to the carbon cycle. By burning fossil fuels we are adding carbon to the carbon cycle whereas emissions from cattle have a role within the carbon cycle, it naturally belongs there.
Let me explain. We all learnt about the carbon cycle in school and thus we should know that carbon circulates between the atmosphere, to plants, to animals and us humans and is yet again released into the air. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi etc. also play a role in this. It is how it should work in nature. Animals have a part to play in this cycle by both storing and releasing carbon in different forms.
Now whereas cattle is part of this normal carbon cycle fossil fuels are not. Fossil fuel is stored away carbon that is suddenly released into the atmosphere through human intervention. Because the natural carbon cycle cannot absorb all this added carbon, a larger portion of it remains in the atmosphere. The natural equivalent is a volcanic eruption. But these days we have constant man-made emissions of such stored away carbon. This way, we add carbon to the atmosphere that was not there before and would not have been released without us. This is indisputable and should really be our focus since we know this for certain.
Now some argue that because we hold cattle as part of our food chain we have affected the carbon cycle by raising more cows than what existed before human intervention, i.e. before animal husbandry. That there are more animals on earth today, and particularly ruminants, is a hypothesis that is difficult to prove. We don’t know exactly how many animals existed before our animal husbandry or how many of these were ruminants, so it is only estimates. Even if there are more ruminants living on earth today, it is not necessarily a problem because cattle also absorbs carbon. Just as us humans, their bodies are partly built of carbon that is released through breathing and when we die etc.
The problem with more ruminants on earth, according to the veggie proponents, is that ruminants release more methane than other animals. Thus we have shifted the carbon cycle towards more methane, they argue. However, the more we learn about methane, it is not really an isolated case of cows as such but methane producing bacteria that we find in all kinds of environments. Moreover, most of these emissions do belong to the natural carbon cycle that was there before us. It is possible that human behavior provide more beneficial environments for these methane bacteria, by raising more ruminants (who release methane) and rice agriculture. But then again, there might have been wild animals and natural swamps before and if so there has not been a significant change. We basically don’t know. There are estimates in both directions.
Acting on very incomplete information on how methane acts is in my opinion risky. Before we start to mess with the methane-producing bacteria in the cow’s stomach (which they are now starting to do), let’s learn more on how it actually operates. And when we do address methane, let’s include all man-made sources such as rice, landfills and wetlands too.
Thus we see that equating fossil fuel emissions to emissions from cattle is misleading. In the case of fossil fuels we know that we have added carbon to the carbon cycle and in these amounts it cannot be absorbed in the cycle (although the oceans have compensated a lot). In the case of cows, we don’t really know whether we have shifted the carbon cycle towards more methane because of animal husbandry. Moreover, the case is not just about cows but methane producing bacteria that could be affected by many of our activities. We still need to learn much more. So until we do, let’s address the things we know for certain and that are urgent: our red meat habit is pretty stable whereas our flying habits have exploded the last decades.
There’s so much more to say on the subject of climate change and food but I find this to be one of the main points.
On the picture: cow at Lovö Prästgård in the Stockholm area. | <urn:uuid:5107a3c1-034f-4f95-9a66-ce5367a464b9> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://sabinadurietz.com/2017/06/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710777.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20221130225142-20221201015142-00751.warc.gz | en | 0.961628 | 918 | 2.765625 | 3 |
One of the laws in Islam is the penalty for leaving is death. This law has been enforced since the beginning of Islam. It is still a powerful influence today. In 2007 we saw in Afghanistan a man whom had converted to Christianity was sentenced to death. His execution was not enforced because of his ‘mental health’. Please research to confirm how entrenched this overall concept is. It does not stop here.
The overall idea is that once something is Muslim, it cannot revert back. This applies to land as well. This is why Israel is ‘occupying’ all of the land it sits upon. This is why the U.S. is ‘occupying’ Iraq and Afghanistan until we leave. This is why the U.S. was ‘occupying’ Saudi Arabia even though the Saudi government invited our troops in. This also extends into an attitude of general intolerance against anything non-Islamic, including other religions.
Islam recognizes NO other national entity EXCEPT itself. This places it in conflict with the parent government even where Islam is dominant and most of the laws are in agreement with Islamic law. Because Islamic law is so specific and rigid, many points of disagreement exist that can become issues as divisive as slavery during the U.S. Civil War. This combined with the penalty for leaving the faith cause divisions within Islam that cannot be easily resolved, if ever. (The Sunni and Shiite division is a classic example)
Islam is so totalitarian and suppresses so many natural human drives that anger is about the ONLY acceptable emotional outlet. Frustration is rampant throughout the Islamic world for many of these reasons. This can only turn to anger over time, as the inability to change and adapt can find no other outlet. While anger is an important part of courage, it can easily become counterproductive when not controlled. Mistakes are easily made when angry and can lead to violence.
The overall point is that Islam has some major structural flaws that lead to divisions that are not easily overcome, if ever. Because of these flaws, Islamic culture is prone to anger, which cause mistakes, counterproductive activity and violence. In addition, Islam does not mix well with its neighbors. Other national entities are constantly being attacked, in many ways. This cannot help Islam make anything but the most shallow of allies.
Islam has a good side as well, but these flaws are so important and pervasive that from an outside view, they overwhelm most if not all of the favorable aspects. From an internal viewpoint, these flaws prevent Islam from ever actually becoming the ‘house of peace’. | <urn:uuid:d8be8b00-593a-42c3-8c55-2784c98f6c9b> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://modwar.blogspot.com/2011/06/flaws-within-islam.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917122933.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031202-00210-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973205 | 523 | 2.890625 | 3 |
1. A great multitude assembled; a crowd; a throng; as shoals of people. Immense shoals of herring appear on the coast in the spring.
The vices of a prince draw shoals of followers. Decay of Piety.
2. A place where the water of a river, lake or sea is shallow or af little depth; a sand bank or bar; a shallow. The entrance of rivers is often rendered difficult or dangerous by shoals.
SHOAL, verb intransitive
1. To crowd; to throng; to assemble in a multitude. The fishes shoaled about the place.
2. To become more shallow. The water shoals as we approach the town.
SHOAL, adjective Shallow; of little depth; as shoal water. | <urn:uuid:efbec4cc-72b7-411d-8a89-649fda41e270> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/shoal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710789.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20221201021257-20221201051257-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.907569 | 177 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Americans are concerned about their data privacy — and rightfully so. According to the Pew Research Center, 91% of adults "agree or strongly agree that consumers have lost control of how personal information is collected and used by companies."
After the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of repealing Federal Communications Commission rules that would have prevented internet service providers from selling consumer data, the concern has only grown. According to Google Trends, searches for "VPN" — virtual private network, or a tool that offers consumers heightened online privacy — spiked on Tuesday night after the vote.
So here's everything you need to know about virtual private networks — and which to consider investing in.
What is a VPN? How does a VPN work?
Virtual private networks connect you to the internet while keeping your connection with its server encrypted. This means all incoming and outgoing data is kept hidden and, in turn, obfuscates your internet activity from your ISP. While your online browsing will remain inaccessible, your location will be visible by your ISP.
What are the downsides of a VPN?
For starters, they are usually not free. And using them can also result in slower browsing. Some sites, like Netflix, don't allow VPN access, which means you won't be able to access some content.
Are all VPNs created equal?
No. Even worse, some have the same downsides as an ISP. As Wired reported, some VPN providers can also track and sell your data. So they're not all ideal for those looking to protect their privacy. And security experts believe up to 90% of VPNs are "hopelessly insecure."
How should I select a VPN?
Do your homework before committing to a VPN provider. A tell-tale sign is to check for whether the VPN keeps a logs of user activity. Wired reported that taking a peek into the Terms of Service will outline if a VPN keeps logs and if there are any scenarios in which they would provide the information. According to PCMag, the type of security protocol used is an equally important factor. PPTP, for example, is considered to be insecure while OpenVPN and L2TP/IPsec are the best choices.
Are free VPNs safe?
It's tempting to want to get a private VPN for free, but cheap out and you may risk using an untrustworthy VPN. "Free VPNs aren't inherently bad, but all services have to make money somehow," reported Wired. "A free trial is one thing, but a totally free service may not have the resources to actually offer the security features it claims." That said, Quartz pointed out that Opera's free web browser is both convenient and comes with a built-in VPN.
What are the best VPNs?
PCMag's 2017 roundup of the best VPN lists IPVanish VPN, NordVPN and KeepSolid VPN Unlimited. Meanwhile, Wired recommends F-Secure Freedome and Private Internet Access VPN — the former is lauded by independent security researchers and the latter is well-reviewed. | <urn:uuid:053ff9ba-a360-4f6a-ade7-bf2b5017491a> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://mic.com/articles/172654/how-to-pick-the-right-vpn-to-protect-your-internet-privacy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827992.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216191351-20181216213351-00188.warc.gz | en | 0.951446 | 614 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Identification of Diet Supplements for Elk Management
USU Student Showcase
In the Intermountain West elk often occur in great numbers and forage in overused areas potentially threatening other wildlife such as deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). One major resource issue in Utah is that many shrub communities are in late successional plant community stages, dominated by mature even-aged shrubs with little recruitment of young shrubs. Yet, young, vigorous, shrub-dominated communities are essential for wildlife habitat. We are therefore proposing to use elk as a tool to convert late successional plant communities into vigorous communities. When elk diets are supplemented with food high in protein or energy they can consume old, decadent sagebrush while still receiving sufficient nutrition. We will identify a supplement that can be used to encourage elk to forage in unproductive sagebrush areas. This will stimulate production and release small sagebrush from competition, thus improving habitat for mule deer and sage-grouse. Our approach is in contrast to when elk are fed a complete diet replacement and they no longer need to move around the landscape to seek additional forage. This approach can lead to overuse and degradation of feeding area. Although diet supplementation is a well-established tool for managing livestock distributions, it has not yet been used for wild ungulates such as elk. The first step in this process is to identify which supplements and feeders (that dispense the supplement) are most likely to attract elk. I am proposing to compare the effectiveness of different feeders and supplements at attracting elk at Hardware Ranch, Cache County, Utah.
Braithwaite, Hope and Bateman, Tim, "Identification of Diet Supplements for Elk Management" (2014). USU Student Showcase. Student Showcase. Paper 34.
This document is currently not available here. | <urn:uuid:8b122114-87f7-4df7-9117-b5cc377cb2ec> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/student_showcase/34/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463608954.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170527133144-20170527153144-00013.warc.gz | en | 0.913825 | 399 | 2.734375 | 3 |
"The Madwoman in the Attic"
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
The phrase "the madwoman in the attic" is the invention of two famous feminist literary critics, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, who wrote a book with that title in 1979. (See "Brain Snacks" for more on the book.) The phrase, of course, refers specifically to Bertha Mason, Rochester’s sometime wife, now an insane prisoner locked in the attic of his house with Grace Poole for a nursemaid. Gilbert and Gubar develop a critical theory about this "madwoman in the attic" figure: she represents all the subverted rage and pain experienced by the female author of the text (in this case, Charlotte Brontë). Bertha can be locked away, kept secret, and labeled as insane, but nobody can deny her intensity or power: she’s sexually potent, wicked smart, and absolutely ruthless. Nobody can kill her, either, because she seems to be invincible – in this novel, of course, she chooses to commit suicide. If Bertha is representative of Charlotte, then what might it mean for Charlotte to kill off her evil doppelgänger as she’s writing? | <urn:uuid:f1fe352e-069b-4f9d-ba79-274904e93926> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.shmoop.com/jane-eyre/madwoman-attic-symbol.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414637899548.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20141030025819-00153-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946369 | 256 | 3.21875 | 3 |
A dentist is trained and licensed to practice the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases, injuries and malformations of the teeth, jaw and mouth. Most dentists practice general dentistry, giving them the capability to provide comprehensive care to a variety of patients.
Some dentists choose to limit their practices to a recognized dental specialty:
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
• Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Public Health Dentistry
If you are in high school, enroll in college preparatory classes in chemistry, biology and algebra. Receive a broad exposure to science and math. A well-rounded liberal arts education is also desirable. If you are currently in college, build a solid foundation in the natural sciences – especially general biology and inorganic chemistry. Psychology and business courses can also provide background important to your success as a dentist. You don’t have to major in science, but you will need to complete the pre-dental science courses.
Dental School Curriculum
A dental education requires a bachelor’s degree and four years of dental school. If you decide to go into one of the nine specialties, you’ll need a minimum of two years additional schooling. Dental schools grant doctoral degrees in Dental Science. When researching this subject, it is recommended you contact several dental schools. Talk about specific requirements with their admissions officers.
Tuition and Financial Assistance
Although dental school may seem expensive, recent studies indicate dental school is an excellent investment. In addition to tuition, the cost of dental education includes books, fees, instruments and living expenses. Many students cover educational expenses through readily available loans, limited scholarships and grants.
Besides prestige, flexibility and personal fulfillment, dentistry offers a variety of challenges and excitement.
California Dental Association
American Dental Association
Dental Board of California
California dental schools
Linda University (LLU) – School of Dentistry
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) – School of Dentistry
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) – School of Dentistry
University of the Pacific (UOP) – School of Dentistry
University of Southern California (USC) – School of Dentistry | <urn:uuid:6a6a73b9-5620-4cab-af06-ab5aa240e600> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://www.sfvds.org/for-the-public/careers-in-dentistry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128321309.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20170627101436-20170627121436-00225.warc.gz | en | 0.883871 | 472 | 2.796875 | 3 |
If you’re ready to help the planet while also improving yourself, then you’re going to love our earth-friendly New Year’s resolutions.
Eating healthier, exercising more, and cutting out the procrastination may be at the top of your New Year’s resolutions list; and while we applaud your desire to be a better person (from the inside-out), we implore you to take things one step further by incorporating Mother Nature, too. Not only will our suggestions benefit you, but they’ll also help green your planet in small ways, bringing a greater sense of holistic living to your life.
1. Eat Less Meat
Current figures say that global animal farming is responsible for nearly a third (or almost 30 percent) of all emissions worldwide. Furthermore, in addition to making you healthier, an Oxford Martin School research study finds that a widespread switch to vegetarianism would reduce food-related emissions by 63 percent. Start by participating in Meatless Mondays, and ask yourself if you really need a meat or dairy product present at every meal of the day — three meals a day multiplied by seven days means consuming meat 21 times a week. Not only does this slow digestion, but it also raises cholesterol and causes premature aging.
2. Ditch Plastic Bags
It’s time to ditch the plastic bags in favor of reusable totes – but, like, for real this time. Only around two percent of plastic bags get recycled annually, while the rest just sit, and sit, and sit some more in our landfills and oceans. Throw those cloth bags in the car and keep them there, so you don’t forget them at home, or try something even more practical, like a roomy (and stylish) backpack for carrying on small trips that you can then fill with your merchandise after paying at the register.
3. Upcycle Your Textiles
With the rise of fast fashion (and fast lifestyles), the average citizen now throws away 70 pounds of clothing and textiles each year, which means this waste also accounts for five percent of all landfill space. With numbers like that, it’s important to come up with solutions. Clothing swaps are great (and fun, and free) ways to do away with gently used stuff in your closet, all while having an excuse to get together and drink wine with your girlfriends. And don’t forget about all of the amazing upcycling potential your clothes have.
4. Pledge To Recycle
All it takes is a small step, a little action, to really get things moving in the residential recycling department. For curbside pickup, check with your local ordinance and get the bins you need. Next, head to the store and pick up one extra garbage can to start with, and begin with a product like plastics, or aluminum, or paper, or glass. Just focus on recycling one category to begin with, and watch your passion grow. Apparently, recycling 100 cans could light your bedroom for two weeks. Imaging the difference you could make!
5. Compost Your Scraps
If you make a conscious decision to compost at home, you could break down the egg shells, banana peels, and other organic waste that would otherwise sit contained in a plastic garbage bag sealed off from the earth and soil it could otherwise nourish. This process is as simple as setting up an outside receptacle that fits your needs (the setup is usually the most intensive, if you can call it that), collecting your scraps after cooking (and some other activities), and placing them in the outside bin where they will decompose, rendering you a rich, fertile compound that can be added to your garden.
6. Grow Something Edible
Even if it’s as small as an indoor herb garden, there is real power behind growing your own food. Edible plants and gardens will not only save you money and potentially improve your health, but they offer a sense of accomplishment for your efforts, and help reduce widespread farming issues. Build (or buy) a small raised garden bed outdoors and get to planting, or research all of the delicious herbs and fruits and veggies you can grow indoors — you may be surprised at the (yard-less) possibilities!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our suggestions for a cleaner planet and body. As always, we want to know what you think, so be sure to let us know your New Year’s resolutions on the EcoSalon Facebook page! Here’s to a safe, healthy, happy, and greener start to 2017!
Related on EcoSalon | <urn:uuid:d03811bc-ad2f-4988-993b-dd6d5ed6d219> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | http://ecosalon.com/6-new-years-resolutions-that-are-better-for-you-and-the-planet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540511946.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20191208150734-20191208174734-00165.warc.gz | en | 0.942055 | 942 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Europe: Proposal of new indicators to measure the effects of gender violence
The FourthWorldWomen’s Conference, celebrated in Beijing in 1995, has described violence against women (VAW) as a social subject that consists in “any act of violence based on gender, which may result or actually results in physical, sexual or psychological harm, including threats, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, in either private or public life”.
Thus, VAW can be considered as gender based violence, understanding gender as the set of roles, rights, representations, expectations and values assigned to each sex; this socio-cultural construction of what is feminine and masculine places men and women in different positions in society, establishing power relationships among them and locating women in an inferior and less valued situation. In this way, gender “refers to the social organisation of the relationship between the sexes and to the fundamentally social quality of the distinction”.
In the GVEI project, the concept of GV refers to gender-based violence perpetrated against women, which is constituted by:
“any kind of violence addressed against women as a representation of discrimination and inequality, framed in an ancient and structural system of power of relationships between men and women, that is expressed in any sphere of life (private or public) throughout economic, physical or psychological harms, including threats, intimidations or coactions, which may result or actually result in physical, sexual or psychological injury or suffering.
As GV is a very broad concept, GVEI has focused on two main types of GV:
—GV in the intimate partner context: understood as physical, psychological, sexual and/or economic abuse of a woman by her male partner or ex-partner(s) or by another person who has or has had a similar relationship with her.
—Workplace context: it includes physical, psychological, economic or sexual violence that usually, but not solely, adopts the form of the so called “sexual harassment” or “sexual based harassment”.
You can download the book here: www.surt.org/docs/publicats/2009/gvei_proposta_indicadors_en.pdf
- Violence against Women in the context of Political Transformations and Economic Crisis in the Euro-Mediterranean Region:
- Too Young to Wed
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo*
- Disposable Victims: Laws and Practices on Gender-related Killings of Women and Girls in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Stoning: Legal or Practised in 16 Countries and Showing No Signs of Abating | <urn:uuid:076518f4-410d-441b-9488-c36527d55551> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.wluml.org/node/5191 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507444339.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005724-00246-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943481 | 556 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Dr. Parameswaran Nair
Many asthma patients are well controlled using standard asthma treatment such as inhaled steroids and long acting bronchodilators, but some patients are not. Inhaled steroids work well for people with asthma when the type of inflammation in their airways is caused by a type of inflammatory cell called an eosinophil. There is another type of cell that can be in the airways, called a neutrophil. Inhaled steroids do not work well when the inflammation in the airways is due to neutrophils. The investigational drug CXCR2 that is being used in this study helps to reduce the neutrophils in the blood and the airways. We hope that decreasing the neutrophils will help decrease the amount of inflammation in the airways of patients who are not doing well on standard asthma treatment and that this will help to decrease their symptoms.
Approximately 20% of moderate-severe asthmatic patients may have airway neutrophilia. IL-8 and its receptor CXCR2 are involved in this process. This trial evaluates a novel small molecule antagonist of CXCR2 in decreasing asthma exacerbations.
For more information about this study please contact study coordinator Katherine Radford by e-mail at [email protected] | <urn:uuid:ff3f2b8e-01ad-459b-9202-1493d0d6585b> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://purr-at-firh.ca/anti_cxcr2_study.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247479101.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20190215183319-20190215205319-00063.warc.gz | en | 0.939126 | 270 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Plants perennial (rarely annual); cespitose, from a knotty base, often mat-forming. Culms 3-8(20) cm, often decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes, frequently branched above the bases, forming short spur shoots at the ends of long internodes; internodes minutely pubescent. Leaves clustered at the bases of the primary and spur shoots; basal sheaths shorter than the internodes; ligules of hairs or absent; blades linear to triangular, convolute to conduplicate, or flat to plicate, sharp, those of the upper leaves usually exceeding the inflorescences. Inflorescences terminal, compact panicles, exserted or partially included in the upper sheath(s). Spikelets laterally compressed, subsessile or pedicellate, with 4 florets per spikelet; disarticulation above the glumes but not between the florets. Glumes subequal to each other and the lowest lemma, rounded or weakly keeled, 1-veined, awn-tipped or unawned; lowest 2 florets in each spikelet staminate or sterile; third floret pistillate or bisexual; lemmasrounded on the back, 3-veined, mostly glabrous but pilose across the bases and on the margins, strongly 3-lobed, lateral lobes wider than the central lobes, all lobes ciliate on 1 or both margins, lower lemmas slightly shorter to slightly longer than the lemmas; lodicules absent; anthers 2 or 3 (rarely 1); style branches 2. Distal florets rudimentary, 3-awned, plumose, or hairy. Caryopses laterally compressed. x = 7. Name from the Greek blepharis, eyelash, and achne, scale or chaff, an allusion to the ciliate lemmas. | <urn:uuid:ea05e1ec-0295-4893-9d2c-eb149b71840f> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=Blepharidachne | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982950764.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200910-00173-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.838815 | 408 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The role carbs play are often misunderstood in regards to how it changes our body composition. I shake my head every time I hear a personal trainer give misinformed advice about the significance of eating carbohydrates at night. The reduction of your overall calories by eating less carbs is the main contributing factor to your physique changing. The timing of your carb consumption plays a much smaller role in fat-loss/gain than you might think.
The myth suggests that it’s harder to use carbs as fuel at night because your metabolism slows down when you sleep. So any carbs that you do eat late in the evening will simply be converted to body fat.
Our body uses energy in a variety of ways. Our resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the energy needed to make sure everything functions properly internally. About half of all daily energy expenditure is for our RMR. Our RMR still uses up a lot of calories whether or not we are active.
The energy we use for exercise is called the exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT). The energy we expend for all other physical activity is called our non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Energy is also expended on the thermic effect of food (TEF) but in smaller quantities than the other processes. Protein has the highest TEF so that’s one of the reasons why higher protein diets are great during a fat-loss phase.
The myth suggests that our RMR would decrease when we sleep because our expenditure is lower than during the day. We won’t be exercising or doing any other activity when we’re sleeping (unless you sleepwalk!) so our EAT and NEAT do not need to be considered in depth here. Studies have found that our RMR is not significantly different when we sleep than during the day. This would mean that eating carbs at night will not cause an increase of fat gain compared to if you eat those same carbs throughout the day. The main cause of body composition changes is the total daily caloric intake. Staying in a daily calorie deficit (eating less than your maintenance calories) will result in fat-loss over time regardless of the timing of your carb consumption. On the flip side, if you eat in a calorie surplus you will still gain weight even if you refrain from eating carbs at night.
This may surprise you but dietary carbs are not easily converted to body fat. They are used as glycogen in our muscles, liver, and are our primary source of energy. Carbs can contribute to fat gain by suppressing fat oxidation when we eat in a surplus. We are then less likely to use our existing fat stores as energy and we then store the dietary fat we consume as body fat. This only becomes an issue if we overeat.
When it comes to fat-loss and meal timings you want to choose a method that helps you stick to your calorie and macro nutrient targets the most. I personally like to eat 5 smaller meals a day amounting to my total caloric needs. I find this suppresses my appetite the most effectively. If you don’t feel hungry in the morning but usually get hungrier as the day wears on, you might want to consider fasting in the AM and then saving your calories for later in the day. This way you can eat larger meals without exceeding your daily food target. Your body is not a fat storage machine at night so there’s no need to treat it like one!
Written by Coach Rishi Haria | <urn:uuid:0dcd7fdb-f088-4470-aaac-26ffbb531578> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://www.thelabbangkok.com/blog/carbs-night-cause-fat-gain/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232256586.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190521222812-20190522004812-00382.warc.gz | en | 0.954065 | 704 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief. Whilst it is usually easy to identify religious beliefs which would be protected under the Act, it is often more difficult to identify protected philosophical beliefs.
Over recent years, this has been an area where claimants have tried to push the boundaries to include a wide range of beliefs. For example, a belief in man-made climate change has been held to be a philosophical belief protected under the Act.
To be entitled to the protection, the employee must establish that:
In the ruling on 3 January 2020, the Norwich Employment Tribunal held that ‘ethical veganism’ is a philosophical belief which is protected against discrimination under the Act.
Mr Jordi Casamitjana claimed that he was dismissed by the League Against Cruel Sports because he has raised issues concerning their pension funds investing in companies known to be involved in animal testing.
Before considering the merits of the claim, the Tribunal had to determine whether ethical veganism fell within the scope of the Act. The Tribunal will now go on to have a full hearing to determine whether this was the reason behind the dismissal.
Such a case came before the Norwich Employment Tribunal in November 2019 when it was held that protection did not extend to vegetarianism. The reasoning for this was unclear and if the matter came before a different tribunal, particularly in light of this latest ruling, a different outcome may arise.
One of the obstacles for establishing a protected belief, in this case, was the fact that there can be many different reasons for being vegetarian – health, diet etc. This could also be said for veganism and it is worth highlighting that the Casamitjana case, it was specifically a belief in ‘ethical veganism’ which was protected, namely a belief in avoiding any animal consumption or exploitation.
The latest decision should put employers on notice of the importance of ensuring that those with vegan food requirements are taken into account when providing food at work functions.
It would also be sensible to take this approach when dealing with vegetarian requirements. They should also be mindful of any other aspects of the work environment which could have an impact, for example, expecting vegans to use hand soap tested on animals.
Businesses should also make sure that employees are not subject to any jokes about such beliefs. Often employers turn a blind eye to such behaviour and view it as good-natured ‘banter’ but this can cause significant problems for them in the future, with the potential for claims of bullying to arise.
Get more information | <urn:uuid:5e1ac66a-0e62-4b3d-bc50-f86e7f60ef7d> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.citation.co.uk/news/hr-and-employment-law/legal-update-employment-tribunal-rules-ethical-veganism-a-philosophical-belief/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100545.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20231205041842-20231205071842-00131.warc.gz | en | 0.966561 | 519 | 2.59375 | 3 |
What is the ‘Core’?
You may not have tried Pilates, but you will most likely have heard people say that it’s good to strengthen your core. Or that you should definitely try these new core strengthening exercises.
In Pilates, we mention it a lot. We talk about how important the core is, and we incorporate a lot of Pilates core strengthening exercises in every class.
But what is the ‘core’?
Your Core Explained
The core refers to the muscles that make up the corset around your waist and pelvis. These muscles work to support and stabilize your trunk, as well as help you rotate and bend your torso. They further help stabilize the lower back, spine, and pelvis, preventing incidences of back pain.
The muscles of the core include:
1. The Transverse Abdominis
2. The Rectus Abdominis
3. The Multifidus
4. The Obliques
5. The Erector Spinae
6. The Gluteal Muscles
Many Pilates core strengthening exercises target these very muscles. But what muscle is responsible for what? Why do these individual muscles matter?
The transverse abdominis is probably the most neglected muscle in the group. This is the small and deep abdominal muscle. It literally acts like a corset around your pelvis and lower spine, offering support and stability. But when it’s weak – which in many people who experience back pain it is – it leaves you susceptible to an array of injuries and pain.
The rectus abdominis is the most well-known muscle in this clique. It’s the infamous 6-pack muscle group. This muscle is responsible for flexing the torso.
The multifidus is a thin muscle that runs along the spine. It adds stability and support to each vertebra, and is also important in maintaining proper posture and functioning in the back.
The obliques are the muscles that allow you to twist your torso from side to side. They further help keep the chest cavity open by pulling it downward and by compressing the abdominal cavity.
The erector spinae extends the spine. But it also supports proper posture, again, adding stability and support to the spine and your mid-section.
The glutes are the big muscles in the buttocks. These play an invaluable role in supporting the pelvis and spine. If these muscles become weak, back pain issues or other problems may arise.
Why Does The Core Matter?
The core is important when it comes to preventing pain, specifically back pain. Back pain is frequently associated with a weak core. The reason the low back comes under stress is often due to a weak core that causes other muscles in the lower back or buttocks to become overworked. In turn, you feel pain or soreness.
How Do You Work the Core?
Interestingly, the common belief that crunches are the sole way to work this muscle group is wrong. In fact, crunches may cause more issues than actually help you.
It’s best to incorporate a variety of core strengthening exercises into your regular routine. Pilates is a great way to do this. There are a variety of Pilates core strengthening exercises for you to choose from and for all fitness levels.
So are you ready to try Pilates for core strength? Contact Reform Studios today. Start your Pilates journey and pave your way toward a better life.
At Reform Studios, we strongly recommend a one-on-one session with one of our instructors – especially if you’re new to Pilates and have a history of chronic pain. They can help you get the fundamentals down, as well as help you explore safe options to avoid aggravating any problem spots. Our instructors can also help you determine your goals and how to get there.
Beginners Classes Available Too!
Check with your doctor or healthcare provider before trying Pilates. If they give you the green light, come join us at Reform Studios. Find your exercise happy place.
Sign up for your first reformer class TODAY! | <urn:uuid:98f348d6-5d41-4601-95bb-ac57427f06c6> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://reformstudios.com.au/what-is-the-core/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703533863.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20210123032629-20210123062629-00772.warc.gz | en | 0.937006 | 849 | 2.84375 | 3 |
The Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland (SPCW) has been declared as a Ramsar site or Wetland of International Importance.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Executive Director Paquito Moreno Jr. said SPCW is the eight Ramsar Site in the country and first in Central Luzon.
It covers more than 3,500 hectares of coastal waters and four barangays in Sasmuan town in Pampanga.
“We are honored and fortunate that the annual celebration of World Wetland Day has become more significant and special because the SPCW is now officially declared as Wetlands of International Importance,” he said.
He explained that SPCW met four of the nine criteria of Ramsar Site before it was considered as internationally important.
“We met criteria 2 and 3, which means that SPCW supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities, and play a big role in maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region,” he said.
Moreno added that SPCW also met criteria 5 and 6 indicating that SPCW regularly supports 20,000 or more water birds, and that it provides to one percent of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of water bird.
“SPCW is a vital component of our environment and its declaration as Ramsar site is an integral part of our strategies in cleaning and rehabilitating our Manila Bay,” he explained.
Pampanga Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Laudemir Salac disclosed that more than 80,000 migratory birds composed of 63 species have been observed in SPCW during the January 2021 Asian Waterbird Census.
Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland has been declared as a Ramsar site or Wetland of International Importance. (DENR Region 3)
“We really need to protect this important ecosystem because of numerous benefits to our local communities and to our biodiversity,” he said.
DENR record shows that Chinese egret, Spotted greenshank, Asian dowitcher, Philippine duck, Philippine fred tail and Grey backed-tailor bird are some of the species frequently visiting SPCW.
Study of Jansen in 2018 found out that 46 percent of the water bird species in the Philippines were observed in SPCW.
The 405-hectare Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Critical Habitat and Eacotourism Area (SBMCHEA) is one of the valuable ecosystems found within the SPCW.
It is an important habitat to migratory birds and mangrove species including the Avicennia rumphiana or locally known as Api-api.
SBMCHEA, which is part of the large and enclosed sea of Manila Bay, is a mangrove islet in Pasak river that was formed by the volcanic sediments from the Mount Pinatubo’s devastating eruption in 1991.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty of which the Philippines is a signatory. It provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The Convention was adopted in the Iranian City of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. | <urn:uuid:62cbd20e-cb32-4bf4-a42d-a9d2704e82fb> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://currentph.com/2021/02/05/pampanga-wetland-gets-declaration-of-international-importance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710974.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20221204140455-20221204170455-00031.warc.gz | en | 0.941976 | 681 | 3.125 | 3 |
Frederick Douglass was an amazingly motivated and talented lecturer, writer, and human being. He didn't only write for newspapers, he created those newspapers, which focused on equal rights not only for African Americans but for women and other oppressed minoritie
What newspapers did Frederick Douglass write for?
In 1847, nine years after escaping from slavery, Frederick Douglass published the first edition of The North Star in Rochester, New York. In 1851, he merged that paper with another journal called The Liberty Party Paper and renamed the new publication Frederick Douglass' Paper. (By this time, he was a well-known and -respected orator, so his name was recognizable.)
In 1859, he also began publishing the journal Douglass' Monthly, which he continued to publish until the start of the Civil War. Frederick Douglass' Paper discontinued publication in 1860.
After the war ended, Douglass bought 50 percent interest in the Washington, D.C., paper The New Era. By year-end, he was publishing it under the new name The New National Era, which lasted until 1874.
Apart from his publications, Douglass gave hundreds of lectures and presentations in the United States and Great Britain, and likely contributed stories and editorials, or had them reprinted, in other periodicals of the time. | <urn:uuid:462dfde4-0449-4788-a388-3838547d61e5> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/history/what-newspapers-did-frederick-douglass-write-for | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514575168.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20190922053242-20190922075242-00345.warc.gz | en | 0.975251 | 270 | 3.609375 | 4 |
Stroke patients have the best chance for survival without damage if treated with a blood clot-busting drug within three hours of the start of symptoms. If you can recognize the signs of a stroke early, you may be able to save a life by calling for help. The earlier the patient gets treatment, the better his or her chance for survival and the lesser the chance of brain damage, because the danger only increases the longer someone goes without blood supply to the brain.
Stroke Signs: What to Look for
"Sometimes, people just collapse," says Mark Alberts, MD, professor of neurology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the stroke program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
But other times, stroke signs may not be as obvious, based on how severe the stroke is and where in the brain it is occurring. "People watching [stroke victims] may not pick up on the fact that they are having trouble. What you’ll notice most often is that, when they’re talking, their speech is slurred or doesn't make sense, their face is drooping, or they are having trouble walking or standing," says Dr. Alberts.
Here's what to look for to help determine if someone is having a stroke:
- Communication difficulties. The person is having difficulty speaking — either unable to say the words or come up with the right words to say — or understanding and responding appropriately.
- Physical weakness. The person having a stroke seems to be weak or feels numb (often on only one side of the body), has trouble walking, and appears to be unbalanced and have difficulty with coordination.
- Diminished mental ability. Confusion is one of the more common stroke signs, and the victim may suddenly not be able to read or write, for example.
- Vision trouble. Someone having a stroke often complains of not being able to see or of having double vision.
- Loss of consciousness. Someone having a stroke may completely lose consciousness, or seem extremely tired or lethargic.
- Severe headache. The person may complain of an extremely severe headache that strikes suddenly and without any clear cause; this is significant, and one of the least-known stroke symptoms.
Stroke Signs: What to Do
If you notice any of these symptoms, or several of them, which is common, Alberts stresses that you should immediately call 911, not the person's doctor.
"Calling the doctor delays things. With a three-hour time window, people just don’t have that time to waste," says Alberts. And don't try to drive the person yourself — call for an ambulance for even faster treatment on the way to the hospital and once you arrive.
Try to keep the person calm, quiet, and comfortable until the paramedics arrive, and be sure to go to the hospital, too, so that you can tell the doctor about the stroke signs you noticed and when they started. If possible while you’re waiting, jot down the person's medical history and a list of any medications he or she is taking.
Stroke Signs: When Stroke Symptoms Are Subtle
If you suspect even subtle stroke signs, it's better to be overly cautious than ignore the symptoms or write them off as confusion or fatigue. You can have the person do these tests to help confirm your suspicions of stroke:
- Ask the person to reach for something or to hold and lift up both arms for about 10 seconds. If he or she is unable to grab, reach, or hold up one or both arms, it's a stroke sign.
- Ask the person to repeat a sentence. Say a sentence or phrase, ask the person to repeat it, and judge how well he or she is able to do it. If there is difficulty repeating the sentence or the words are slurred, it's a stroke symptom.
- Ask the person to smile. Look to see if one side of the face droops or seems paralyzed to confirm your suspicions about a stroke.
Unless you’re a trained doctor, you may not be able to say with 100-percent certainty whether someone is having a stroke. So once you know what to look for, if there is even the slightest suspicion, call 911 immediately. Because of the devastating effects of stroke, it’s better to err on the side of caution. And if it is a stroke, you'll both be so glad you acted quickly. | <urn:uuid:69daa5f3-e933-4f6d-a415-089b3c5af475> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://www.everydayhealth.com/senior-health/stroke/living/index.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084889677.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20180120162254-20180120182254-00467.warc.gz | en | 0.957254 | 919 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Obedience • Majority & minority influence do not always involve a deliberate attempt to change someone’s behaviour • Obedience always involves a direct attempt by one person to control another • “Complying with or deferring to a request or order from a legitimate authority”
Studies of Obedience • Milgram (1963) • A study of destructive obedience to authority • Involved giving people orders to hurt and possibly kill an innocent stranger
Milgram (1963) • Milgram advertised, using a newspaper and direct mailing, for 500 hundred New Haven men to take part in a scientific study of memory and learning at Yale University. Everyone was paid $4.50 simply for coming to the laboratory. The payment did not depend on remaining in the study.
Milgram (1963) • The final group of participants consisted of 40 men aged between 20 and 50, who came from various occupational backgrounds. • There were two further participants: the part of the experimenter was played by a biology teacher, and the part of the learner or victim was a 47-year-old accountant. Both of these men were accomplices of Milgram or confederates.
When each participant arrived, they were told that the purpose of the experiment was to see how punishment affected learning. • The learner was strapped into a chair in the next door room and an electrode attached to his wrist. The learner was given the following task: He would hear a list of word pairs and later be given one word and a choice of four possible partners. He must identify which of the four was correct.
Milgram (1963) • Every time the learner got a question wrong, he would receive an electric shock administered by the teacher and the shocks increased in intensity with each mistake. The teacher did this using a shock generator. • Volts started at 15volts and went all the way up to 450volts.
Milgram (1963) • The ‘teacher’ was given a sample shock of 45 volts to demonstrate that the machine was working, though in fact that was the only time it did work. For the rest of the experiment the learner only pretended to be receiving shocks.
Activity • If you had volunteered to take part in this study, how would you feel at this stage about what you had volunteered to do (remember you are ‘blind’ to the deception)? • The participants were all volunteers. In what way(s) do you think that people who volunteer are different from people who don’t answer advertisements? • In what other ways was this sample biased? (Suggest at least two ways.)
Milgram (1963) • After a few practice questions, the experiment began. The learner gave mainly wrong answers and for each of these the teacher gave him an electric shock which was received in silence until they got to shock level 300. • At this point the learner pounded on the wall and then gave no response to the next question. When the ‘teacher’ turned to the experimenter for guidance, he was given the standard instruction, ‘an absence of response should be treated as a wrong answer’.
Milgram (1963) • After the 315 volt shock the learner pounded on the wall again but after that there was no further response from the learner – no answers and no pounding on the wall. If the teacher felt unsure about continuing, the experimenter used a sequence of 4 standard ‘prods’, which were repeated if necessary: • Prod 1: Please continue. • Prod 2: The experiment requires that you continue. • Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue. • Prod 4: You have no other choice, you must go on.
Milgram (1963) • If the teacher asked whether the learner might suffer permanent physical injury, the experimenter said: “Although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage, so please go on.” • If the teacher said that the learner clearly wanted to stop, the experimenter said: “Whether the learner likes it or not, you must go on until he has learned all the word pairs correctly. So please go on.”
Activity 2 • Identify the independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV) in this experiment. • Why do you think it was important to have a standardised set of responses for the experimenter? • Before you look at the results, write down what you think they will be. What percentage of people do you think continued beyond 315 volts?
Milgram results • There are two key findings from this study, both quite ‘shocking’: • Over half of the participants (26/40 or 65%) went all the way with the electric shocks. • Only nine of the participants (22.5%) stopped at 315 volts.
Milgram results • Prior to the experiment Milgram asked 14 psychology students to predict the naïve participants’ behaviour. The students estimated that no more than 3% of the participants would continue to 450 volts. People who observed the experiment through one-way mirrors also expressed complete astonishment at the participants’ behaviour.
Milgram results • Milgram noted that the participants showed signs of extreme tension: most of them were seen to ‘sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan and dig their finger-nails into their flesh’ and quite a few laughed nervously and smiled in a bizarre fashion. Three even had ‘full-blown uncontrollable seizures’.
Debriefing • At the end of the experiment all participants were debriefed. They were reunited with the victim, assured there had been no shocks, and told that their behaviour was entirely normal and that their feelings of conflict were shared by the others. • They were also sent a follow-up questionnaire, which showed that 84% felt glad to have participated, and 74% felt they had learned something of personal importance. Only one person reported that he felt sorry to have participated.
Activity 3 • Which of the findings do you find are surprising, and why? • In what way is it important that the results were so unanticipated? • Why do you think that it was important for the participants to be debriefed? • What features of this experiment made it more likely that participants would behave more obediently than they would normally? (Note: in a sense these features are demandcharacteristics.) • Milgram says that obedience is ‘an indispensable feature of social life’. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Factors in Destructive Obedience • Several factors increase a person’s tendency to obey an authority: • Legitimacy of the authority • Social isolation • ‘Buffers’ between aggressor & victim • Gradual commitment
Agency Theory (Milgram, 1963) • People have two ways of acting • Autonomous – they direct their own behaviour, and take responsibility for the results • Agentic – they allow someone else to direct their behaviour, and assume that responsibility passes to that person
Agency Theory • We act agentically when the situation or social role we are in seems to demand it • E.g. when given an order by someone wearing a uniform
Resisting Obedience • Educate people • Students who knew about the Milgram research were less likely to obey in a similar study (Gross, 1992) • Remind people of their responsibilities • When Milgram’s PPs were reminded that they were responsible, almost none obeyed
Resisting Obedience • Give social support • In the ‘disobedient confeds’ version, obedience was much lower • Attack the authority’s credibility • Obedience relies on perceived legitimacy
Validity “The extent to which a test or research study measures what it was designed to measure”
Validity • Internal validity • The extent to which the research study was properly conducted, so that it produced a truthful result • The controls (did anything else affect PPs?) • The measurements (accurate & meaningful?) • The demand characteristics (could PPs work out the aims & change their behaviour?)
Validity • External validity • The extent to which the study’s results can be generalised beyond the research situation • The setting (was it realistic?) • The sample (was it representative?)
Assessing Internal Validity • Did the researcher remove or control all additional factors that could have affected the PPs’ behaviour? • Was the behaviour measured an accurate reflection of the relevant psychological processes? • Were there any clues (demand characteristics) that could have allowed the PPs to guess the aim?
Assessing External Validity • Was the research conducted in a setting that resembles the relevant real-world setting in all important respects? • Did the sample used in the study contain members of all the sub-groups represented in the target population in the appropriate proportions? • NB: the target population is not necessarily the general population
Validity & Triangulation • Triangulating means comparing the results of a variety of research studies to see if they all point in the same direction. • Where the validity of a study is in doubt, see if the same or similar results were obtained in a study that used a different methodology.
Internal Validity of Milgram Orne (1966) Says… Milgram Replies… The PPs were not really fooled. They were just playing along with the demand characteristics of the situation. If the PPs weren’t really fooled, why did they get so stressed? This would suggest that they thought the shocks were real. The stress came from having to play along with the situation. They still didn’t believe they were hurting Mr Wallace really. If they didn’t believe that Mr Wallace was really getting hurt, why did they ‘cheat’ when the experimenter was absent?
External Validity of Milgram Criticism… Response… Milgram’s study involved a bizarre task and an artificial situation. People don’t really behave that way in real life. But Hofling et al found that nurses would obey an order to hurt a patient. This shows that authority can make people do bad things But the nurses were only doing their job. They thought it was for the patient’s benefit, and most didn’t notice the incorrect dosage OK, but Bickman (1975) showed that just wearing a uniform increases people’s obedience. That’s what Milgram showed.
External Validity of Milgram Criticism… Response… Milgram only used men in his research. That means that we cannot generalise his results to women. We cannot wholly trust his results. But Milgram did a later study with female pps and found that the rate of obedience was 65% - exactly the same as in male samples. Milgram only used 40 Fs – a small sample. Kilham & Mann (1974) found only 16% of Fs obeyed – less than the Ms in their study (40%) That’s a freak finding. The experiment has been done many times, and usually M & F don’t differ, regardless of the culture of the PPs. | <urn:uuid:bf66204c-de55-4790-ab91-25d4121e75d3> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://www.slideserve.com/baxter/obedience | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154089.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20210731105716-20210731135716-00610.warc.gz | en | 0.970265 | 2,308 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, considerable international attention has been directed towards Afghanistan. Key instruments in support of the new government in Afghanistan and its people have been military operations through the United States of America (US), the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF), The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and international development cooperation. The strategies and approaches of the international community have shifted over time, but international development has remained one of the foundations in promoting security, combating terrorism, reducing poverty, promoting democracy and state-building, and fostering gender equality. The war after 2001 in Afghanistan refers to the intervention of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its allies to combat terrorism. The emergence of this conflict goes back to the incident on 9/11 in the United States of America. The aim of this intervention by NATO and its allies was to dismantle the safe havens of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and the region by removing the Taliban from power.
The government of the United States demanded that the Taliban should hand over Osama Bin Laden and expel Al-Qaeda. The Taliban in Afghanistan asked Bin Laden to leave the country but declined to extradite him without evidence of his involvement in the 9/11 attacks. The United States of America denied negotiating the launch of its operations in response to the rejection of the Taliban regime to hand over Osama bin Laden.
Structure and Framework of Analysis
The paper is based on the International Alert conflict assessment framework due to the fact that the conflict in Afghanistan is very complex and this framework is structured in a very comprehensive and understandable way. This framework divides the report between levels, i.e., conflict profile, causes of the conflict, actors, and dynamics. In the conflict profile part, it discusses historical dynamics, and global, national and societal factors influencing the conflict. This framework also makes connections between these levels, which give a broader knowledge of conflict complexity instead of a general knowledge of the situation. It makes the reader think critically about the conflict rather than grasping a holistic categorization and knowledge about the conflict.
Using this framework, the paper begins with analysis and a discussion of historical dynamics, structures and international interventions, which will be followed by discussion of the root causes. Furthermore, this paper will give information about the different actors involved in the conflict. Finally, it will provide an overview of the current trends, impediments, and recommendations to address the conflict.
To analyze the conflict in Afghanistan and in order to identify the actors and structure that have contributed to the dynamics, it is necessary to explore the history of the conflict in this country and to examine the root causes. In addition to that, this paper will focus on the international interventions and the strategies implemented by the Afghan government with international assistance to determine the potential for security and stability.
The official name of the country is The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It gained independence from the British in 1919. Afghanistan has a land area of 647,000 square km and has borders with Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the north, China and Pakistan to the east and south and Iran to the west. In 2014 Afghanistan is estimated to have a population of 31.82 million inhabitants with 42% Pashtun, 27% Tajik, 9% Hazara, 9% Uzbek and 13% comprising smaller ethnical groups such as Aimak, Turkmen, Baloch and Nuristani. 99% are Muslims, 80% of whom are Sunnis and 19% Shiite. The official languages are Dari (50%) and Pashtu (35%). Turkic languages are spoken by 11% of the population and there are thirty other minor languages. In October 2001, of the estimated four million refugees in October 2001, 2.3 million Afghans have returned home. (The World Fact book, 2014)
Afghanistan, (which literally means Land of the Afghan) is a mountainous land-locked country with a history and culture that goes back over 5000 years. The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul and it has 34 provinces. Afghanistan adopted its new constitution, establishing the country as an Islamic Republic in early January 2004. According to the constitution, the Afghan government consists of an elected President, two Vice Presidents, and a National Assembly consist of two Houses: the House of People (Wolesi Jirga), and the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga). There is also an independent Judiciary branch consisting of the Supreme Court (Stera Mahkama), High Courts and Appeal Courts. The President appoints the members of the Supreme Court with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga (Qazi, n.d).
The provinces are organized into districts. A district is a collection of villages. As the boundaries between districts and between villages are often flexible, and changing, they will be described as the “local level”. The smallest unit is the family with around eight to ten family members. The organization on the local level differs: it can be by governor, elders, khan, mullah, former commander, warlord, or others.
Afghanistan has been characterized as “peasant-tribal society”. According to Foreign Policy index 2007, it received a critical (worst out of five cumulative ratings) and eight out of the 60 least stable states. (Breede, 2008, p.54) The conflict in Afghanistan is identified as one of the high level armed conflicts according to the Alert yearbook. (2014) According to the Fragile States Index, 2014, Afghanistan is categorized under the high alert countries. The fragile state index is based on the thousands of reports and articles that are available electronically through their software.
Afghanistan is a multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Most political conflicts in modern Afghan history are not because of the directions such as development, religious belief, constitutional rights, or social class but they have stemmed from the attempts of the dominant tribes and their elites to accomplish a high degree of centralism of power with the help of foreign patrons (Bredee, 2008, p.58). The history of Afghanistan shows that a person from the majority tribe, the Pashtuns, has almost always ruled the country. This has provided the opportunity for the people of other groups, who felt oppressed, to emerge as a cause for the conflict in later stages. In addition to the multi-cultural, multi-tribal and multi-lingual factors, one of the most important factors that need to be noted about Afghanistan is the religion. Despite the fact that the majority of the population in the country is Muslim, sectarian differences between the Sunni (majority) and Shias (minority) has also helped the ignition of the conflict in certain cases.
Afghanistan had undergone conflict since 1970. Since 1994 the Taliban (religious students) fought to liberate themselves and the country from the tyranny of the warlords. The Pakistani Intelligence armed them. Pakistan was one of the three countries recognizing the Taliban regimes officially. By 2001 the Taliban had 90% of the country under their control using a very strong Islamic regime. They gave sanctuary to Osama bin Laden, who developed training camps for extremist Islamic fighters.
The current conflict in Afghanistan in the fight against Taliban traces back to 2001. The armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom, with support from the Afghan United Front (Northern Alliance), previously involved in the civil war, launched operations in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States. This operation, which succeeded in 2001, aimed at dismantling the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and ending its use of Afghanistan as a base.
The United States also said that it would remove the Taliban regime from power and create a viable democratic state. The United States of America with its allies including NATO drove the Taliban government down. The preludes to the war were the assassination of anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud on September 9, 2001, and the September 11 attacks on the United States, in which nearly 3000 civilians lost their lives in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. The United States identified members of al-Qaeda as the perpetrators of the attacks (War in Afghanistan, n.d, p.1).
On December 2001, the United Nation Security Council established the International Security Forces (ISAF) to oversee military operations in the Afghanistan and train Afghan National Security Forces. At the same time at the Bonn Conference in December 2001, Hamid Karzai was selected to preside over the country as head of Interim Administration, which after a Loya Jirga in 2002 became the Afghan Transitional Administration. In 2004, Karzai was elected as president of the country.
In 2003, NATO led the ISAF and the troops from 43 countries. One portion of U.S. forces in Afghanistan operated under NATO command; the rest remained under direct U.S. command. Taliban leader Mullah Omar reorganized the movement and in 2003 launched an insurgency against the government and ISAF. The Taliban group supported by Haqqani Network and Hezb-e- Islami waged warfare with guerilla raids and ambushes in the countryside. Since 2006, Afghanistan has experienced a dramatic increase in Taliban-led insurgent activity. In their campaign the Taliban also target the civilian population of Afghanistan in terrorist attacks. According to a report by the United Nations, the Taliban were responsible for 76% of civilian casualties in Afghanistan (Rogio, 2010). These insurgencies were responded by ISAF to increase the troops for operations. While ISAF continued to fight against Taliban insurgency, the fight crossed into neighboring North West Pakistan. In 2004, the Pakistani Army began to fight with local tribes hosting Al-Qaeda and Taliban. The US military launched attacks in Pakistan to kill insurgent leaders. This resulted in the start of an insurgency in Waziristan region of Pakistan in 2007. In December 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he would deploy an additional 30,000 soldiers over a period of six months and also set a withdrawal date for the year 2014 (Obama details Afghan, 2009).
On January 2010, at the International Conference on Afghanistan in London, which brought together some 70 countries, President Hamid Karzai addressed the world leaders that he intended to reach out to the top levels of the Taliban (including Mullah Omar, Siraj Haqqani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar) with a peace leadership to take part in a “loya Jirga”(the elders councils) (Richter, 2010). This was resisted by the opposition group Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and the Intelligence head Mr. Amrullah Saleh, believing that Karzai’s plan aims to appease the insurgents’ senior leadership at the cost of the democratic constitution, the democratic process and progress in the field of human rights, especially women’s rights (Karzai’s Taleban talks, 2010).
In May 2011, United States Navy killed Osama Bin Laden, in Abbotabad, Pakistan (Library 2014). In 2012, NATO leaders endorsed an exit strategy for withdrawing their forces. United Nations backed peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban. In May 2014, the United States announced that its combat operations would end in 2014 leaving a small residual force in the country until the end of 2016.
As of 2013, tens of thousands of people had been killed in the war. Over 4,000 ISAF soldiers and civilian contractors as well as over 10,000 Afghan National Security Forces had been killed (War in Afghanistan, n.d). In October 2014 British forces handed over the last bases in Helmand to the Afghan military, officially ending their combat operations in the war. In 2014, a Bilateral Security Agreement was signed between the government of Afghanistan and the government of the United States that was aimed to allow the United States to establish its military bases in the major cities of Afghanistan.
There is still an ongoing war against the Taliban, mainly in the southern part of the country. The security situation is tense with threats against and killings of pro-government Afghans, threats against and killings of the Afghan army and police, suicide bombings and attacks on the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and attacking the international agencies’ personnel and staff.
Causes of the Conflict
The conflict in Afghanistan is complex and protracted. From a general perspective, it is impossible to make a clear distinction between the original root causes and escalating root causes of the conflict. The conflict areas in Afghanistan are very complex as shown in (figure 1), it varies from local level to national and international levels. According to Schnieder (n.d), to study the root causes of a conflict it is important to focus on the strategic dimension including security, political dimension and socio-economic dimension of the conflict. Similarly, in this paper, for better understandings of the root causes of the conflict in Afghanistan the causes of the conflict are divided into four levels i.e. political, social, economic/environmental and security level.
Additionally, Afghanistan due to its strategic location has become the arena for conflicts between foreign powers that try to influence the situation in Afghanistan to their benefits. The insurgent groups receive external support or at least benefit from “safe havens” outside Afghanistan’s border. The international presence has also led to escalating effect of the conflict in the country.
Considering the points above, it is very difficult to clearly distinguish which factors directly relate to which conflict or whether something is a root cause or escalating. However, to provide some categorization, the root causes and escalating factors are discussed accordingly:
Political: Afghanistan is suffering from the effects of terrorism, narcotics, bad governance, militarization of peace building, and using ethnicity, religion and regionalism to mobilize the followers.
One of the main challenges in building a professional and trusted government is the greed of the government officials who seek resources and power in local government rather than contributing to the enrichment of the government and addressing the larger problem of insurgency in the country (Vigier, 2009,p.81). In the INGO Transparency International’s Perception Index listing 180 countries, Afghanistan is among the 5 worst nations in terms of corruption (2014).
The policy of integrating warlords and the system of collective participation without consideration of the qualification in the government has reduced the resistance and has supported the bad governance. There are several warlords who are the key players in ministries and decision-making in the government level. According to Human Rights Watch, about 60% of members of the Afghan parliament are believed to be (war) criminals (Vigier, 2009, p.83). As a result, the high percentage of the warlords in influential positions has led to the boycott of the transitional justice as a part of the reconciliation. This has also increased tribal and ethnical mobilization and radicalization. For example the decisions in parliament are not made based on its context but of their linkages to the ethnical context. Tajik will only support the Tajik proposal. Pashtuns would stick to Pashtun ones; Hazaras would support only options from their kind, and so on (Vigier, 2009, p.83).
One of the other political causes of the conflict in Afghanistan is the culture of rotating unqualified officials to a different official post due political considerations. There is also a rather dominating militarized understanding of “conflict resolution” and “peace building” among government officials. The danger of legitimizing the killings by use of military actions, as a way of peace building is still visible. The dependence of the Afghan government on international assistance due to low government revenue is also a factor that can intensify the conflict.
Social: There is a high illiteracy rate and lack of vocational training. There are ancient honor codes that can lead to bloody disputes, growth of population and limited services as well as highly traumatized population after decades of war.
Strong community and group structures characterize Afghan society. Identity as well as social security is largely subject to membership in one’s family, clan, tribe or ethnic group. The men of a family are expected to care for their relatives in need as a part of the ancient code of honor. This can lead to the high level of nepotism in all levels in Afghanistan. For example one family or ethnic group often dominates NGOs, as the people in charge prefer to hire based on relationship rather than merit (Vigier, 2009, p.85). A person in charge of collecting applications for jobs or funding may “filter” these applications in favor of his or her own group, disregarding the others.
Furthermore, numerous members of the educated elite left the country and many of the few schools that existed were destroyed or shut down during the civil war and the Taliban regime. The result is a very low literacy rate among the people in Afghanistan with a significant difference between the sexes: about 45% male compared to 15% female (Vigier, 2009, p.85). There is also a lack of vocational training structures, and people very much depend on either agricultural or unskilled work opportunities.
Afghanistan also lacks a strong civil society. The civil society is a new phenomenon in Afghanistan that needs ripeness. The return of more than 5 million refugees since 2002 and the lack of resources and job opportunities combined with a population growth supported the conflict.
The insurgent groups and narcotics smugglers target most of the unemployed youth in Afghanistan. According to Oxfam, 70% of people saw poverty and unemployment as the main reason for conflict in Afghanistan; the survey also shows that 35% of the youth in Afghanistan, who are not able to leave the country for work, remain jobless (Amiri, 2010). This is a good opportunity for the opium poppy cultivators and the Taliban insurgent groups to target them for their businesses. The drug trade remains one of the main sources of income for the Taliban insurgent group (Amiri, 2010). There are a lot of young unemployed men who are hired by the Taliban insurgents to fight against the government of Afghanistan.
Economic/Environmental: The country faces scarcity of natural resources such as water, arable land, pastures and wood. Drought and other effects of global warming, the high rate of unemployment and corruption in government that significantly support the revenue from the drug economy are the important factors.
The economy of the country is dependent on agriculture. The country is suffering from increasing lack of natural resources such as arable land, water and forested areas. Afghanistan also has a very poor economy in terms of production industries. It gains some of its revenue from the exportation of cotton and dry fruits but due to the war it hasn’t been able to compete in the world’s market. It is noteworthy that the country is suffering from a high-level of poverty (Vigier, 2009, p.89).
The drug business provides financial resources to the insurgent groups and terrorists. It fuels the corruption in the government and also motivates the spoilers, who consider a strong government as a threat to their businesses. Two million people were involved in opium cultivation in 2005 (Brinkmann, 2006). This produces the highest income for the insurgents, and is closely linked to corruption and anti-government development.
Security Related: High proliferation of small arms, presence of illegal armed groups, the lack of proficiency in the national security force and national police, as well as lack of security for the local population have helped ignite the conflict.
The long history of war in the country increased the chance of small arms. Most of the people in the border and insecure areas own illicit arms for their protection purposes. There have been examples of illegal use of such arms by the insurgents for their insurgency activities.
Afghanistan has a long history of war crimes, which have never been addressed due to a culture of impunity in the country (Blood stained hand, 2005). This, not limited to, has boycotted the transitional justice and has led to mistrust between the people and the government.
Another challenge is low proficiency of the Afghan National Security Forces as well as the Afghan National Police. Over the past decades, the profession of a policeman has had a rather low social reputation rates. Corruption, numerous cases of drug abuse, and lack of discipline among today’s police force contribute to this low reputation (Vigier, 2009, p.91).
In addition to the lack of security provided by Afghan police, in some areas insurgents and criminal gangs offer “protection” to the local population in exchange for support or recognition. There have been some cases where people preferred to be under protection of the insurgent groups. The control of cross border movements of insurgent and criminal group especially between the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan is also an important factor. The corruption and small number of unqualified staff in the borders can also be a cause for the conflict.
Causes and factors related to source/effects from abroad: Afghanistan has a long history of serving as a battlefield for proxy wars involving international interventions including British Empire, the USSR, Iran, Pakistan, the USA and Saudi Arabia. This resulted in a legacy of defending oneself against the international aggressors. As a consequence, the agitators and recruiters from the insurgency group used the mobilization of people against international forces in the country.
Although the fighters in the wars were the Afghan men, international support provided majority of the funds and equipment that is helping prolonging of the conflict. For example, many have “safe havens” across the Pakistan border in areas beyond the control of Pakistan’s government. Also, given the increasing instability in Pakistan, there is the growing risk that unilateral attacks on these safe havens could have severe consequences for the stability of the region.
Causes and factors related to international actors or the international assistance forces: “According to some interviewees there is growing dissatisfaction about where international development funds are spent. On the one hand, there are voices saying that more development projects should take place ‘in the South’ where the security situation is worst” (Vigie, 2009, p.93). However, there are also a number of areas in the north and central Afghanistan that have a comparatively better security situation. Some of the people in insecure areas thinks that there may be “a need for a few explosions” in order to get noticed and get development funds (Vigie, 2009, p.93).
The air strikes and night raids conducted by the international assistance forces have escalated the tension among the Afghan populations in rural areas. The patrolling and searching houses without permission of the families tend to be the violation of the code of honor. This has increased the sense of revenge and hatred among the afghan families in tribal areas against the international forces. They believe that any action to fight against the international forces is deemed to be an opportunity for them to revenge.
Most of the people in tribal areas believe that the existence of the international forces is ruthless and not Islamic in the country. The establishment of civil-military Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) by international forces and the concept of combining military with civil approaches have been widely criticized for working outside of Afghan governmental structures, and even for creating a de-facto parallel structure (Vigie, 2009, p.93).
One other factor that may have an indirect negative effect is the large amount of stress for international staff. The international staffs’ movement is restricted and they cannot enjoy the leisure possibilities due to the security threats. This can leave psychological impression on them that can affect their behavior. This may lead to consequences such as losing their tempers, frustration, and making wrong decisions and worsening the situation in the country.
According to Kaldor (2006), each society has its special characteristics of war. The war in 20th century is more of multi-party and multi-national and the reason is mostly national and ideological. In order to identify the actors in the conflict of Afghanistan they are divided into three parts, namely: armed opposition groups, neutral or highly diverse actors, and pro-government actors.
Armed Opposition Groups (AOG)
The armed group opposition is consisting of a series of different organizations, in most of the cases, with different ideologies. They seek a greater autonomy from the government of Afghanistan and withdrawal of the international community from the country.
It is important to recognize different armed opposition groups in Afghanistan, which is divided among several groups. In provinces and villages the large number of unemployed youth who are not able to find job are targeted and recruited by these groups. Particularly the young returnees from Pakistan who grew up away from the influence of elders seem to be suitable for the recruitment into the radical opposition groups. To know more about these armed opposition groups, the following are the AOGs working in Afghanistan:
Taliban: The most significant part of the insurgency actions in Afghanistan is still organized by the Taliban. After the international military intervention in 2001 the member of this group fled to Pakistan and integrated within the southern part of Afghanistan. The current size of the Taliban insurgent group is estimated to be around 60,000 (Dawi, 2014). Mullah Omar leads the group and the goal of this group is to return to power within Afghanistan and overthrow the Afghan government and the international military forces. A fundamentalist Islamic Ideology, which compels them to impose radical interpretation of Sharia Law, motivates the Taliban group. The Taliban seek political power by using traditional identity, which is the politics of new war. (Kaldore, 2006)
Hizb-e-Islami: The second most significant insurgent group is Hizb-e Islami. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami fought both with the Mujahidin and then with the Taliban in whose government he played a part. At present, Hizb-e Islami is split into two separate factions, Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e Islami, operating in eastern provinces of Nuristan and Kunar, and a branch initially created by Yunus Khalis in 2005, which is not officially affiliated to the Hekmatyar group but follows the same ideology. The latter have won the seats in the National Assembly and have strong hand in either stability or conflict in the country.
After the civil war in Afghanistan Hekmatyar was supported by Pakistan to fight against the Northern Alliances. The group has a large number of supporters even among university students. There are concerns that both Hizb-e Islami factions may be accepting funds or supplies from the Taliban, to supplement their already considerable control over poppy trafficking. Indeed, there are additional concerns that, due to the loss of its better educated and less fundamentalist members through death and attrition, Hizb-e Islami’s composition may now be largely indistinguishable from the original Taliban’s. This may lead to more insurgent actions in the country.
Jamiat-e Islami: There are also signs that the Jamiat-e-Islami party is turning to the opposition-armed group in western and northeast provinces of Afghanistan. These mobilizations are not very coordinated, and the underlying motivation for their actions is the feeling of marginalization, which affects many commanders of this political party.
Although the Jamiat-e-Islami party is a part of the northern alliances and has a visible power in the government of Afghanistan, it doesn’t mean the process is inclusive. They facilitate attacks not necessarily linked with Taliban, but to discredit the local government administration and seek high positions in district and provincial levels.
Haqqani Network: Jalaluddin Haqqani is the founder of the group and they fought for the Mujahidin under the the direction of Haqqani Network. When the Taliban came to power and the Mujahidin were largely defeated, many of the members, not Jalaluddin himself, changed sides. Jalaluddin’s son, Sirajuddin, now commands the Network’s field operations in support of and with financial backing from the Taliban.
Haqqani members recognize the Taliban’s Mullah Omar as their leader. Sarajuddin controls the fighters in Waziristan region of Pakistan. They have been involved in organized attacks in Afghanistan that demonstrates their high capability of insurgency.
Pakistani Insurgent Groups: The Pakistani Taliban party named as Tahreek-e- Taliban led by Baitullah Mahsud has close ties with Al-Qaeda but seems careful to give allegiance to Mullah Omar, he distanced himself from Mehsud whose acts have gone beyond what Omar accepts. Mehsud’s actions against the Pakistani security forces as well as his beheading of Muslim opponents have angered Omar.
Mehsud is a Wahhabi in practice and not a member of the Hannafi tradition as is much of the Afghan Taliban’s leadership. In February 2008, its members kidnapped the Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan, who was released three months later. They possess a high level of support in border provinces. This group may find its political aims within Pakistan assisted by instability in Afghanistan or, more simply, may decide to join their fellow fundamentalists in their struggle on the other side of the Durand Line (the border-line between Afghanistan and Pakistan) out of anti-Western sentiments.
Al-Qaeda and Other Jihadist Groups: At present, there are 14 global jihadist groups operating within Afghanistan as well as Pakistan with the active involvement of Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks (Barakat et.al, 2008). The Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan are increasingly echoing al-Qaeda’s proclamation of a global jihad against the West. One key al-Qaeda contractor is Tahir Yuldashev’s Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan/Turkestan (IMU/T), currently based in Waziristan, which seeks the overthrow of Islam Karimov’s regime in Tashkent. This has affected the regional stability.
ISIS: the emergence of the Islamic State after the withdrawal of NATO forces in Afghanistan is a new threat to the security of Afghanistan and the region. Apparently this group has opposed the Taliban in many incidents and according to the ideology of this group the Taliban have been misled from their actual and expected ‘extreme ideology’ to fight against west in the country. This group has emerged recently in Afghanistan and according to some experts they are no one but the Taliban group who wants to make a new identity for themselves in order to enhance the fear among people. The group has committed several atrocities, and the most recent one was the video showing the murder of Afghan prisoners by detonating bombs.
Poppy Trafficking Networks: These networks are very broad and exist nearly in all provinces of Afghanistan. They are not only connected to the farmers, but also involved in highly complex structures compared to that of any organized crime. Narcotics have been of the biggest challenges during the past several years in Afghanistan, particularly from 2001 to now. Narcotics have been serving as the main sources of income for the insurgent groups in the country. The Taliban as well as other insurgent groups largely support these networks.
Neutral or highly diverse actors: Actors included within this category are either presently neutral or have no wider affiliation with either AOGs or the government:
Regional Warlords and Power Brokers: Natural resources are one of the main factors for the regional warlords to continue competition particularly in the North. These competitions over the natural resources and drug trafficking led to armed conflicts. They follow a dual policy, publicly supporting the state, while at the local level they tend to be loyal to the warlords.
Private Security Companies: The arrival of international civilian organizations in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s fall was coupled with a high level of insecurity. This was an opportunity for the private sectors to invest on security. It is difficult to determine the number of private security companies (PSCs) or individual contractors working in Afghanistan given that, until the recent promulgation of the Private Security Company Law, no regulatory framework existed to monitor and govern their activities.
Almost every category of international actor employs a security company in Afghanistan for their companies, NGO’s or offices. An estimate of the number of private security contractors working in Afghanistan is 10800 (McLeary, 2014). Variability between the private contractors and the government military forces has increased tensions.
Pro Government Actors: This section provides an overview of the international community as well as the Afghan government. Apparently, the international actors seek security in their countries through stability in Afghanistan. As a consequence the regional countries came to a consensus that security and stability in Afghanistan means security and stability in the whole region. Therefore they have agreed to establish the ‘Heart of Asia’-Istanbul Process for regional cooperation in Afghanistan and the region on November 2011. The pro-government actors consist of:
The International Community: The International community’s role in Afghanistan is as complex as the role of armed opposition groups. As discussed, the international community pursued numerous contradictory goals including counter terrorism, counter narcotics, regional security, re-invention of NATO alliances as well as stabilization and geo-strategic goals. Locke and Ladnier (2001) provide a research paper about the criteria to justify international intervention. They provide a list of criteria including widespread loss of human life, commitment of genocide, and deprivation of international human rights. Initially, the intervention of the international community can be categorized under substantial deprivation of human rights and the threat of the expansion of terrorism.
Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: The Afghan government, including its various branches and ministries, is primarily concerned with establishing a stable sovereign state. In order to do so, it requires security, territorial control, monopoly on the use of force and the ability to provide meaningful services to its citizens.
Afghan Security Services: The Afghan security services include the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police, the Afghan National Security Forces and a variety of other smaller forces including the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP), the Afghan Border Police (ABP), the Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) and the National Directorate of Security. Each of these services has strengths and problems.
The Afghan National Security Forces is comprised of 373,400 personnel (Schroden et.al, 2014, p.5). The fact that the security of the government was transferred from the International Security Forces to the Afghan National Security Forces in 2014 increased the responsibility of the Afghan Security Forces. Although the withdrawal deadline for the international military forces from Afghanistan was the end of 2014, the international community including NATO is committed to support the Afghan National Security beyond 2014.
International Military Forces: The international military forces are comprised from 40 countries. The international military forces withdrawal process started early in 2014. According to the international community the international military forces were to totally withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Recently after the bilateral security agreement between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, President Obama extended the period of withdrawal of the American forces by one year. President Obama called for 9,800 U.S. troops to stay there after the end of 2014 (Acosta, Ellis, 2014).
Reconstruction and Development Agents: Reconstruction in Afghanistan after the fall of Taliban was one of the most important factors for economic development in the country. The donors such as the US, the UK, Canada, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the United Nations played an important role. The objective of these donations and investments was to win local support for international military intervention.
The motivation for United Nation and NGO’s are complex to describe, but most were motivated by the desire to improve the quality of life in Afghanistan and to provide the international community with a demonstration of the political and security-oriented significance of reconstruction.
The conflict in Afghanistan is derived from the aforementioned structures and actors. To address the conflict in Afghanistan working with local level, national actors as well as regional and international actors is of prominent importance.
The Afghan National Security Forces still lack sufficient training and logistics. President Ghani, sought slower withdrawal of the foreign forces from Afghanistan (Moosakhail, 2014). Recently President Obama signed a decree allowing 9800 additional soldiers in Afghanistan, but President Ghani says America needs to review their strategy (Moosakhail, 2014). Following a mission of nearly 13 years, the US and NATO International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) formally “cased their colors” on Monday December 8, 2014, symbolizing the end of the mission command in Afghanistan.. This will downsize the personnel of the ISAF forces by 13,000 personnel (Desk, 2014). ISAF is currently transitioning to a NATO- led mission which will focus on training, advising and assisting Afghan Security National Forces. This mission will commence on January 1, 2015. The transition process of security activity completed in 2014 and the Afghan national Security Forces is fully responsible for the security in the country. They have been successful in maintaining the security of the country. The Afghan president is keen to have a large number of foreign soldiers until the end of 2016. One of the significant contributions of the ANSF was maintenance and providing required security during the previous presidential elections.
The peace process initially started in 2008, when President Hamid Karzai said that he asked Saudi Arabia to facilitate the talks with Taliban. In 2009 a Jirga was established to discuss the invitation to Taliban for talks. In 2010, during the London Conference, a fund was created for demobilization and reintegration of the Taliban to the government. Peace and reconciliation could mean power in the central government to the Taliban, and on the other hand it means stability in Afghanistan and the region. In 2011, the government of Afghanistan and government of Pakistan agreed to create a joint commission to develop direct means of negotiation for peace with Taliban. Later Pakistan withdrew the dialogue as a sign of protest over the attack of US in their soil. In the same year, a suicide attack perpetrated by an envoy of the Taliban caused the death of Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former president of Afghanistan between 1992 and 1996, the leader of the Northern Alliance, and the Head of the High Peace Council, which is charged with promoting a reconciliation process in the country (2012, yearbook of peace process).
The Taliban are enjoying the safe havens in the region. Recently, President Ghani visited the People’s Republic of China and addressed the issue of terrorism and extremism in the region at the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process on October, 21, 2014. The regional countries agreed that peace in Afghanistan means peace in the region and they are committed to support any initiatives that lead to the peace in Afghanistan and the region. The Peace Council in Afghanistan believes that close relationships with neighboring countries are necessary, but that the government of Afghanistan needs to review its foreign policy (Moosakhail, 2014). They believe that peace in Afghanistan is complicated and needs patience.
The Pakistani government expressed their willingness to work together with the Afghan government for stability, peace and prosperity (Sharif Wants Close Ties, 2014). The fact that Pakistan has close relations with the Taliban in the region is a great opportunity for peace talks between Afghanistan and the Taliban, but it needs a real political will. However, during the visit of President Ghani to Pakistan in the month of October 2014, the Pakistani Government expressed their willingness to work towards peace and stability. On November 17, Fazl-u-Rahman, the chief of the Islamic Council of Pakistan, said that “We do not justify the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan but we do justify the resistance against them” (Correspondent, 2014). The statement by the government of Pakistan and its Islamic Council contradict each other. A unanimous position towards the peace process in Afghanistan as well as in the region is required to move forward.
The new national unity government of Afghanistan seeks broader relations with the United States, NATO, the international community, and regional countries. On the other hand, the new government has also called upon the Taliban to join the peace process in October, but no progress is reported (President Ghani calls, 2014). The strategy of the new government to have closer ties with the regional and international players has enhanced the insurgent attacks in Afghanistan. During the past two months there have been more than fifteen suicides attacks in the country targeting the civilians and international military forces.
One of the most important issues in the peace process is legitimacy. According to Accord, issue 25 (2014) the legitimacy of the peace process refers to the extent of the public support. A survey shows that nearly 80 percent of respondents said they believe the Afghan government effectively controls the country. About 72 percent said they trust the national army and 64 percent said they trust the national police, but really how Afghans want to pursue peace is unclear (Waseem, 2014).
The nature of the peace talk with Taliban, after the establishment of the national unity government has changed. President Ghani involved Saudi Arabia and Peoples Republic of China as leverage to ask Pakistan for more cooperation in terms of peace talking with Taliban. In order to have a meaningful peace process, the new government will have to address a legacy of failed negotiations under the former president. The reasons for the failure of previous government for peace talks are: the president was not interested in reaching a comprehensive agreement with Taliban, the mistrust which existed between the US government and the president in his second term meant they were unable to cooperate, and the Taliban were divided among themselves (Smith, 2014). However, there is no unanimous definition of the Taliban in the national unity government (Maftoon, 2014). President Ghani calls the Taliban the political opponent, while Dr. Abdullah, the Chief Executive Officer, calls them enemies. The differences of opinions between the two leaders of the national unity government raise the question of where the peace talks with Taliban may lead. According to Muzhdah, the lack of a unanimous definition of the Taliban and the lack of peace talks, in addition to contradictory opinion of the leaders of the national unity government about the peace with the Taliban, may lead to war in the country (Maftoon, 2014).
Despite a stated desire for peace, the obstacles may be greater than the opportunities. There are certain issues that can challenge the peace talks with the Taliban. One of the most important challenges is the exclusion of the women from the peace talks. The peace talks with Taliban are a threat to women in Afghanistan. “The international community used women’s rights to help justify its presence in Afghanistan. Having brought about some improvements and invested more than $100bn[£638bn] in aid, it would be a tragedy if progress was reversed,” Said John Watt, Oxfam Country Director (Chonghaile, 2014).
The role of women in peace process is very important. Throughout the history, women have been involved to ensure that their families are always protected. Fitzduff in her article about the women in Northern Ireland writes, “Women in northern Ireland lacked neither courage nor ingenuity in ensuring that their families are protected”(2010). We can learn that the women have the high potential to contributing for peace.
In the case of Afghanistan, Women are amongst the most vulnerable victims of war and conflict situations, yet they are also often the ones that trigger peace mechanisms. The National Action Plan for Women was signed in October aimed to give women a larger role in peace negotiations with the Taliban (Newswire, 2014). Oxfam’s report details of 11 instances of direct or indirect peace talks between the international community and the Taliban or other insurgents since 2005, none of which had any confirmed participation by women. It also lists 16 such efforts carried out by the Afghan government, only three of which involved any female delegates, and those were fewer than 10 percent of the government representatives involved (Nordland, 2014).
The achievements of the Afghan government and the International Community in terms of women’s rights in Afghanistan are remarkable. Women now comprise 40% of primary school students and nearly 50% of health care workers. The maternal mortality rate – although still high – has dropped. Millions of Afghan women voted in the elections and they make up 28% of Afghan parliament. There is more to come; recently USAID launched the largest women’s empowerment program in the world in Afghanistan, proving up to $416 million dollars for education, training and promotion of Afghan women. Non-inclusiveness of women in the peace process in Afghanistan threatens the achievements of the government in 13 previous years. The importance of Afghan women role in peace process cannot be undermined. According to the Institute for Inclusive Security, Afghan women participated in peace and reconciliation as members of provincial peace councils, with many having worked directly with insurgent groups for the reconciliation process (Newswire, 2014). The women in Afghanistan who have worked for their rights and had significant achievement should be brought into the peace talk tables to ensure that their rights are not bargained away.
The new leadership of Afghan government led by Dr. Ashraf Ghani, in its first two month of leadership has taken important steps towards bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan. The most significant steps taken by the new government of Afghanistan that affects the peace process in the country is the re-opening of the corruption case of $371 million by Kabul Bank, most of the stakeholders of which are the high ranking governmental authorities. It has also initiated the secret peace talks with the Taliban group. According to Fitzduff (2004), the peace talks are usually best conducted in secret. President Ghani believes that the suggestion by the parties should not be disclosed until the parties agree upon it. The first round of peace talks took place in Pakistan between the Afghan delegation and Taliban representatives. The outcomes of this peace talks are still questionable and not clear to people, but were regarded as a step forward towards reconciliation until the death of the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, who died two years ago in Pakistan, was leaked (BBC, 2015). This gave a new face to the peace talks and the second round of peace talks were postponed due to the lack of leadership as well as discrepancies among the Talibans.
The new government has also called upon the regional countries and organizations to support peace talks in Afghanistan. The role or regional organization in peace building is very important. Most of the regional organizations try to assist in bringing peace to the region. For example ASEAN worked for a long time to resolve the problem in Cambodia (Fitzduff, 2001). It also monitored the implementation of the peace agreement in the Aceh case of Indonesia. In the case of Afghanistan, regional organizations and processes such as SAARC, ECO, OSCE and the ‘Heart of Asia’- Istanbul Process as a regional platform have the potential to help the peace building process.
According to Fitzduff (2013), conflicts are never one-dimensional; the causes of the conflicts are always many, and the response should be strategic and prolonged. Therefore, bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan requires ensuring the inclusiveness of all the actors, identifying a party to facilitate the talks between the Afghan government and the insurgent groups, strengthening a regional long-term approach, strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, inclusion of women in the peace process, and strengthening accountability as well as civil society. It is also noteworthy that peace in Afghanistan means peace in the region; therefore the regional countries and organizations can play a vital role in bringing peace and security in Afghanistan and the region.
After twenty-three years of war and violent conflicts and the international intervention against the Taliban in 2001, Afghanistan has had some success in the process of establishing a government. Important steps include the Bonn agreement, the establishment of a constitution by the Constitutional Loya Jirga in 2004, the election of President Karzai, the election of national, provincial councils parliaments in 2005 and the political transition in 2014. Despite all the facts mentioned, Afghanistan is still suffering from lacking a stable peace.
Recently, the unity government has taken the attempts for peace talks seriously. Dr. Ghani has confirmed that peace will be maintained in Afghanistan. Despite an increase in insurgent attacks, the new government is optimistic about peace. The high peace council said that communication with armed insurgent groups are underway. The change in China’s diplomacy with Pakistan regarding the peace process in Afghanistan, the participation of Nawaz Sharif in the London Conference on Afghanistan, and the repatriation of Latif Mahsud, the Taliban commander to the Pakistani government by the US army in Afghanistan, are the green lights towards peace building. The challenges for the peace talks are not only regional, but also internal. Dr. Ghani needs to play a two-sided game, one with the regional players and the other with the internal oppositions. The peace talks will need more time and political willingness.
Key References & Further Readings:
Acosta, J., & Ellis, R. (2014, November 22). White House extends U.S. combat role in Afghanistan
into 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/22/world/asia/obama-afghanistan-policy/
Barakat, S., Giustozzi, A., Langton, C., Murphy, M., Sedra, M., & Strand, A. (2008, November). Strategic Conflict Assessment. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/5292~v~Understanding_Afghanistan__Strategic_Conflict_Assessment.pdf
Breede, C. (2008). A Socio-economic Profile of Afghanistan. Canadian Army Journal, 11(3), 54.
Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/2517694/A_Socio-Economic_Profile_of_Afghanistan
Brinkmann, C. (2006, March 31). Afghanistan Conflict Areas, Challenges and Entry Points for Peace
Building. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.ziviler-friedensdienst.org/sites/ziviler-friedensdienst.org/files/anhang/publikation/zfd-conflict-areas-challenges-and-entry-points-peace-building-1353.pdf
Chonghaile, C. (2014, November 23). Taliban peace talks a threat to women’s rights in Afghanistan,
Oxfam warns. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/nov/24/taliban-peace-talks-a-threat-to-womens-rights-in-afghanistan-oxfam-warns
Fitzduff, M. (2010). Women And War In Northern Ireland – A Slow Growth To Power. Peace Prints:
South Asian Journal of Peace building, 3(1), 9.
Peck, C. (2001, January 1). The Role of Regional Organizations in Preventing and Resolving
Conflicts. 573. Retrieved from latte session 9.
December 9, 2014, from http://theglobalobservatory.org/2014/11/prospects-peace-process-afghanistan-taliban/
Vigier, C. (2009, February 1). Conflict Assessment Afghanistan. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from
http://afsc.org/sites/afsc.civicactions.net/files/documents/Afghanistan – Conflict Assessment.pdf
Featured image is from southfront.org
A. Naveed Noormal is a Fulbright Scholar and a Foreign Service Officer. He has served as a Senior Diplomat at the Embassy of Afghanistan in London and was Policy Lead at the Office of Deputy Foreign Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. Mr. Noormal is a reader and contributor on foreign and public policy, regional cooperation, international relations, conflict management and negotiation as well as peace process. He holds a Masters degree in Conflict Resolution from the US, an MBA from the United Kingdom and a degree of Law from India. He is a fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Asia Foundation Development Program. | <urn:uuid:34f005d1-13a7-4024-8362-7be2c04cb994> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://thekabulpost.com/conflict-analysis-afghanistan-2001-15/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046150266.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20210724125655-20210724155655-00486.warc.gz | en | 0.95155 | 10,664 | 2.734375 | 3 |
In 30 or 40 years, we'll have microscopic machines traveling through our bodies, repairing damaged cells and organs, effectively wiping out diseases. The nanotechnology will also be used to back up our memories and personalities.
In an interview with Computerworld , author and futurist Ray Kurzweil said that anyone alive come 2040 or 2050 could be close to immortal. The quickening advance of nanotechnology means that the human condition will shift into more of a collaboration of man and machine , as nanobots flow through human blood streams and eventually even replace biological blood, he added.
That may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but Kurzweil, a member of the Inventor's Hall of Fame and a recipient of the National Medal of Technology, says that research well underway today is leading to a time when a combination of nanotechnology and biotechnology will wipe out cancer, Alzheimer's disease , obesity and diabetes .
It'll also be a time when humans will augment their natural cognitive powers and add years to their lives, Kurzweil said.
"It's radical life extension," Kurzweil said . "The full realization of nanobots will basically eliminate biological disease and aging. I think we'll see widespread use in 20 years of [nanotech] devices that perform certain functions for us. In 30 or 40 years, we will overcome disease and aging. The nanobots will scout out organs and cells that need repairs and simply fix them. It will lead to profound extensions of our health and longevity."
Of course, people will still be struck by lightning or hit by a bus, but much more trauma will be repairable. If nanobots swim in, or even replace, biological blood, then wounds could be healed almost instantly. Limbs could be regrown. Backed up memories and personalities could be accessed after a head trauma.
Today, researchers at MIT already are using nanoparticles to deliver killer genes that battle late-stage cancer. The university reported just last month the nano-based treatment killed ovarian cancer, which is considered to be one of the most deadly cancers, in mice.
And earlier this year, scientists at the University of London reported using nanotechnology to blast cancer cells in mice with "tumor busting" genes, giving new hope to patients with inoperable tumors. So far, tests have shown that the new technique leaves healthy cells undamaged.
With this kind of work going on now, Kurzweil says that by 2024 we'll be adding a year to our life expectancy with every year that passes. "The sense of time will be running in and not running out," he added. "Within 15 years, we will reverse this loss of remaining life expectancy. We will be adding more time than is going by."
And in 35 to 40 years, we basically will be immortal, according to the man who wrote The Age of Spiritual Machines and The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology .
Kurzweil also maintains that adding microscopic machines to our bodies won't make us any less human than we are today or were 500 years ago.
"The definition of human is that we are the species that goes beyond our limitations and changes who we are," he said. "If that wasn't the case, you and I wouldn't be around because at one point life expectancy was 23. We've extended ourselves in many ways. This is an extension of who we are. Ever since we picked up a stick to reach a higher branch, we've extended who we are through tools. It's the nature of human beings to change who we are."
But that doesn't mean there aren't parts of this future that don't worry him. With nanotechnology so advanced that it can travel through our bodies and affect great change on them, come dangers as well as benefits.
The nanobots, he explained, will be self-replicating and engineers will have to harness and contain that replication.
"You could have some self-replicating nanobot that could create copies of itself... and ultimately, within 90 replications, it could devour the body it's in or all humans if it becomes a non-biological plague," said Kurzweil. "Technology is not a utopia. It's a double-edged sword and always has been since we first had fire."
This story, "Nanotech's Next Development: Making Humans Immortal?" was originally published by Computerworld. | <urn:uuid:23c92c69-9d4d-460a-83ad-f7e49773044b> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://www.pcworld.com/article/172946/immortal_humans.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105291.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819012514-20170819032514-00489.warc.gz | en | 0.960537 | 921 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The purpose of the study is to examine the moderating effect of age on gender differences in teachers’ self-efficacy for using information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching as well as possible variables underlying this effect. Following Bandura’s conceptualisation of self-efficacy, we defined teachers' self-efficacy as their confidence in performing specific tasks that require the integration of ICT into the teaching practice. The study was conducted via an online questionnaire on a sample of 6613 elementary and upper secondary school teachers in Croatia. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis was applied. The findings indicate minor gender differences in self-efficacy for using ICT that are more prominent among older teachers and practically non-existent among younger teachers. These effects remain statistically significant after controlling for the type of school where the teacher works, perceived technical and professional support for using ICT in school, and frequency of use of computer programmes in teaching. The interaction effect ceases to be statistically significant after the introduction of length of computer use in teaching and/or attitudes towards computers in the model, indicating that these two variables have a role in low self-efficacy for using ICT among older female teachers. A similar level of self-efficacy for using ICT among young male and female teachers is an encouraging finding which could hopefully be followed by gender equality in other aspects of ICT use. The findings suggest that strategies for enhancing ICT self-efficacy should be particularly targeted at older female teachers. This study contributes to a better understanding of the underresearched topic of gender differences in teacher’s ICT self-efficacy.
The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the pre-service computer science teachers' attitudes towards computer programming (ATCP). The sample consists of 119 pre-service teachers at a public state university. The influences of students' demographic characteristics (gender, grade level, and high school type), their achievement in computer programming courses, perceived learning, and computer programming self-efficacy on their ATCP were tested using multiple linear regression. Descriptive, correlation and regression analyses revealed three findings: (1) students had moderately high ATCP, (2) their ATCP had significant correlations with their achievement in computer programming courses, computer programming self-efficacy, and perceived learning, and (3) three variables (achievement in computer programming courses, computer programming self-efficacy, and perceived learning) were significant predictors of their ATCP.
The aim of this study is to develop a self-efficacy measuring tool that can predict the computational thinking skill that is seen as one of the 21st century's skills. According to literature review, an item pool was established and expert opinion was consulted for the created item pool. The study group of this study consists of 319 students educated at the level of secondary school. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, the scale consisted of 18 items under four factors. The factors are Reasoning, Abstraction, Decomposition and Generalization. As a result of applied reliability analysis, the Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient can be seen to be calculated as .884 for the whole self-efficacy scale consisting of 18 items. Confirmative factor analysis results and fit indexes were checked, and fit indexes of the scale were seen to have good and acceptable fits. Based on these findings, the Computational Thinking Self-efficacy Scale is a valid and reliable tool that may be used in measuring to predict Computational Thinking. | <urn:uuid:336227f3-8bcc-40fb-b9a1-a613719511ac> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://infedu.vu.lt/journal/INFEDU/search?keywords%5B0%5D=12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943562.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20230320211022-20230321001022-00168.warc.gz | en | 0.966438 | 713 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Awards & Medals
Hans Oeschger Medal 2004
The 2004 Hans Oeschger Medal is awarded to John Mitchell for his pioneer research in using atmosphere-ocean general circulation models to understand natural and anthropogenic influences on climatic changes.
On joining the Met Office, J. Mitchell moved quickly to the field of climate, and over the last two decades built up a research group in the Meterorological Office to become a world leading group in the field of understanding and prediction of climate change. He has overseen the development of state-of-the-art models, as well as contributing directly to their improvement.
He has been among the first to use models to explain past climates, and to use palaeoclimatic data to assess the reliability of climate models. He demonstrated for the first time in simulations of the mid-Holocene how climate feedbacks can modify the climate response to forcing unexpectedly. He also discovered that any similarity between the climate of the Holocene and that predicted with increased carbon dioxide was likely to be fortuitous, as the physical mechanisms involved are quite different.
One of the main problems in modelling climate is the representation of small scale physical processes and he has pioneered the quantification of uncertainty associated with the parameterization of these processes, highlighting the processes needing further observation and refinement. His group has been one of the first to develop and use coupled ocean atmosphere models to investigate climate change. He was the first to demonstrate that ocean atmosphere general circulation models can reproduce the climate of the last century, provided that the cooling effect of sulphate aerosols is taken into account.
The attribution of recent climate change to human activity is one of the most important problems in climate research. With his colleagues, they were first to demonstrate the likely presence of a human induced effect on the vertical temperature structure of the Earth, and to explain the spatio-temporal structure of changes in surface temperature during the twentieth century. Further work has estimated the magnitude of the anthropogenic and natural contributions to recent climate change, and for the first time allowed observations of past changes to estimate uncertainty in predictions of climate change. These papers with the statistical methods provide the most convincing evidence to date of a human impact on climate.
Finally, he has played a highly significant role in international assessments of climate change, notably the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change where he was a lead author (1995) or convening lead author (1990, 2001) as well as having a strong influence on the development climate change research through collaboration and membership of international committees.
[ Back ] | <urn:uuid:6a042e44-f1e5-44c1-99ce-3caaa1bf2bf5> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://www.egu.eu/awards-medals/hans-oeschger/2004/john-mitchell/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999650844/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060730-00000-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95143 | 517 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The spread of the aristocratic villas along the course of the Brenta from Malcontenta to Stra was a phenomenon that was a sign of the power of Venice for a couple of centuries between 1500 and 1700.It showed the propensity of its ruling class for the most lavish theatricality even in its moment of decline. So it fell with a blaze of magnificence. The area was not only chosen for its rural amenities althought they were in any case a fund of resources. The river had always been a commercial waterway much frequented by day and even by night with the use of torches and lanterns by ‘great boats, barges and rowed boats, and any kind of wooden craft’ laden to the brim with merchandise. From the mainland there was flour, legumes, gravel, hay, wines, calves and goats, and from Venice spices, cloths, oils, soap, glass, books and fish. A cargo as unusual as it was precious was the water of the Brenta; it was transported in waterlight barges for the Venetians whose fields were of saltwater. Before the Brenta of the villas this was the Brenta of the
wayside inns where ir was possible to sup and lodge for the night, there were posting stations and ‘locks’ as the boats were raised or lowered with the water-level on the way upstream or down. By the end of 1400, to have a villa on the
banks of the river and to enjoy the summer season with friends and relations or Vip strangers was a great status symbol. Renowned architects and famous painters were engaged, from Palladio to Count Fringimelica,
from Scamozzi to Longhena, Zelotti to Giannantonio Pellegrini, Tiepolo, Guarana, and Zais. A countri villa’s visula impact, including its lodges and gardens, had to be strong, indeed it had to strike the visitors and travellers by its
extraordinary artistic and natural beauty harmoniously merging with the architectural features. | <urn:uuid:95e3cca3-3cd5-4254-b7a9-dcf24c0023ab> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | http://www.hotelanticomulino.com/en/2013/05/03/villas-along-the-brenta/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084894125.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20180124105939-20180124125939-00348.warc.gz | en | 0.98453 | 431 | 2.6875 | 3 |
The lake, marsh,
and woodlands on Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge provide habitat for
over 240 bird species. Ospreys nest in low cypress trees near the edge of
the lake. Hundreds of migratory shorebirds find resting and feeding spots
along the edge of the lake and through 2,600 acres of marsh impoundments.
Migrating warblers are popular subjects for bird watchers in the spring
primarily for its large flocks of visiting waterfowl during the months
from November to March, Mattamuskeet also is a home for threatened and
endangered species such as the peregrine falcon and bald eagle.
The Refuge manages
the marsh impoundments to provide habitat for migrating birds, using
moist-soil techniques to produce stands of natural waterfowl foods such as
wild millet, panic grass and spikerushes. The Refuge staff controls water
levels using pumps and flow-control structures. Management of these
impoundments includes periodic burning, disking, and mowing to maintain
these early successional wetlands plants.
contracts with local farmers to plant corn, soybeans, and winter wheat on
sections of the refuge, under a cooperative arrangement where a percentage
of the crop is left unharvested for feeding the Canada geese, snow geese,
ducks, and swans that winter at Mattamuskeet. Forest management techniques
such as prescribed burning and selective thinning are used to enhance | <urn:uuid:a2778f1c-7716-4930-8df6-671f444953f5> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://www.mattamuskeet.org/birds/birds.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042987174.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002307-00074-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.87755 | 311 | 3.4375 | 3 |
With your help, we can make this technology available across the UK. Here’s how genetic testing for cancer improves diagnosis and care.
Personalised treatment plans
Genetic testing means once we understand how to better diagnose a patient’s cancer, we can develop more personalised and effective treatment plans for them.
Professor Nazneen Rahman, Head of our Cancer Genetics Clinical Unit, is looking at how the genes someone inherits from their parents may make them more likely to develop certain types of cancer and affect their treatment.
She’s already carried out a six-month study, which aimed to make genetic testing more accessible to patients. The results showed her ‘oncogenetic’ pathway was faster, and less expensive, than existing processes. This new pathway will soon be rolled out to other hospitals.
"Genetic testing transformed my treatment"
Claire was referred to The Royal Marsden after her breast cancer had returned and spread to her liver and spine.
Before the genetic cause of my cancer was known, I was given chemotherapy which actually made my tumour grow.
Then I was enrolled in a research study by Professor Rahman and given a genetic test as part of the enrolment process. The results of that single test have been truly dramatic, transforming my treatment and making it much more effective.
My cancer was actually triggered by a particular genetic mutation called BRCA2. Knowing my BRCA status meant my doctors could draw up a targeted treatment plan. This meant I could take part in a clinical trial for a drug specifically aimed at controlling BRCA2 cancers – I’ve now been in remission for 18 months.
Ultimately we hope that the clinical and technological advancements we’re developing will be able to benefit patients anywhere in the NHS
Faster genetic testing for all
At the moment, access to genetic testing for cancer is very restricted but this is all set to change, thanks to new advances in DNA sequencing technology.
Genetic tests used to take months and cost thousands of pounds, but they now cost a fraction of that amount and can be carried out in just one day.
By making this technology available at The Royal Marsden, we can enable more patients both here and across the UK to benefit from genetic tests as an essential part of their diagnosis.
How you can help
The important work we do could not be carried out without supporters like you. So please help us to help change the lives of cancer patients everywhere. | <urn:uuid:8eb82fa5-6e5a-49ae-845a-0525a8a40902> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | https://www.royalmarsden.org/difference-you-make/faster-genetic-testing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818686705.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20170920071017-20170920091017-00060.warc.gz | en | 0.958435 | 507 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Bee venom is produced in the bee’s venom gland and stored in the venom sack. A full sack contains approx. 0.3 mg of venom. The stinger is a special appendage located at the bee’s rear. When feeling threatened, bees will pull out the sting and stick it into the skin or epidermis of the perceived attacker, injecting their venom. The stinger is strongly barbed and gets lodged in the skin; the bee manages to fly away from the danger but the stinger and the venom sack remain stuck in the skin, leaving the bee badly injured.
The venom is released into the body via the stinger. The main components in the venom are:
- Melittin – a protein consisting of 26 amino acids, which accounts for 50 % of the dry weight of the venom;
- Apamin – a protein consisting of 18 amino acids, which accounts for 3 % of the dry weight of the venom;
- Phospolipase – this enzyme accounts for 14 % of the dry weight of the venom;
- Hyaluronidase – this enzyme accounts for 2 % of the dry weight of the venom;
- Histamine – accounts for 0.1 % of the dry weight of the venom;
- Two alkaline polypeptides – in minute amounts.
Bee venom also contains other chemical components but they are still subject to scientific research. However, the evidence gathered so far seems to support centuries old claims that bee venom has certain health-promoting properties. These claims are based on folk medicine and the healing expertise of physicians from millennia ago. | <urn:uuid:04dd5db4-cd9f-4fd8-8132-a55e3001671b> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.beesecret.net/beelog/bee-venom-composition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600402128649.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20200930204041-20200930234041-00759.warc.gz | en | 0.91872 | 330 | 3.984375 | 4 |
1. What is boron?
Boron is a naturally occurring element. In nature it is found combined with oxygen and other natural elements forming several different compounds called borates. Borates are widely distributed in nature, being present in the oceans, sedimentary rocks, coal, shale and some soils. The average concentration of boron in rocks varies from 5 mg/kg in basalts to 100 mg/kg in shales. In the ocean, the boron concentration is approximately 4.5 mg/liter.
The most important borate products and minerals on the market are borax pentahydrate, borax, sodium perborate, boric acid, colemanite, and ulexite.
Boric acid and many borates are soluble, at low levels, in water and in biological fluids such as saliva and blood. When boric acid or borates are dissolved in these liquids, which have a near-neutral pH, the main molecular species present is boric acid with a small amount of borate anion. The amount of borate anion is greater in more alkaline (or higher pH) solutions.
Sodium perborate, however, is different from the other borates. It reacts with the water in which it is dissolved to give hydrogen peroxide plus metaborate. Because it forms hydrogen peroxide, which has oxidising properties, sodium perborate has chemical and toxicological properties that are somewhat different from those of the other borates.
The method used to measure the boron concentration is quite important. More...
Click here for information on measuring methods and units for boron | <urn:uuid:c9d379f2-d897-4559-835a-9bd276152d3f> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://www.greenfacts.org/en/boron/l-2/boron-1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115858583.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161058-00081-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950002 | 347 | 3.8125 | 4 |
7 Advantages based on the Research
Mindfulness training happens to be related to many benefits, therefore the rise in popularity of the subject in good therapy ensures that we’ll oftimes be seeing lot more to come. Have a look at this graph, by way of example (Winter).
Mindfulness Journal Publications By Yea – Image provided by American Mindfulness Research Association
Listed below are just a couple of samples of what the literature has revealed.
1. Enhanced Working Memory
Based on a report by Jha and peers, mindfulness meditation happens to be empirically connected to working memory capacity that is enhanced. Comparing types of armed forces individuals who practiced mindfulness meditation training for eight months with people who didn’t, Jha et al. discovered proof to claim that mindfulness training helped вЂbuffer’ against losses to working memory capability.
They even found that working memory capability also increased due to the fact group that is first mindfulness meditation. These individuals additionally reported greater positive impact and lowered affect that is negative.
2. Heightened Metacognitive Awareness
This describes being able to detach from one’s own feelings and mental processes — to step back and perceive them as transient, momentary occurrences rather than вЂwho we are’ in layperson’s terms. This would relate to вЂknowing’ and вЂfreeing’ the mind in the Buddhist sense.
Pertaining to the empirical literary works, it defines just just exactly exactly how mindfulness happens to be hypothesized to reduce habits of negative reasoning behavior (Teasdale), increased metacognitive understanding, and decentering (Fresco et al.). In change, this might have a effect that is positive helping avoid relapses into depression (Teasdale).
3. Lower Amounts Of Anxiousness
MBSR happens to be analyzed in a host that is wide of, managed studies that find help for the impact on relieving the signs of anxiety. VГёllestad and peers, by way of example, discovered that individuals who finished MBSR had a medium to large impact that is positive anxiety signs (VГёllestad et al.).
Comparable outcomes are also present in studies on social panic attacks (SAD). For instance, compared to Goldin and Gross, whom discovered proof to recommend MBSR training in SAD clients aided to enhance in depression and anxiety signs, along with self-esteem.
4. Reduced Psychological вЂReactivity’
Additionally there is proof to guide the part of mindfulness meditation in emotive вЂreactivity’. Within an interference that is emotional carried out by Ortner and peers, individuals with wide-ranging experience with mindfulness meditation had been expected to categorize tones which were given either 1 or 4 moments after having a basic or emotionally upsetting photo ended up being presented.
Individuals with more experience mindfulness that is practicing were better in a position to disengage emotionally, and thus they revealed greater concentrate on the task in front of you even though emotionally upsetting images had been shown (Ortner et al.).
5. Improved Attention that is visual Processing
Another research by Hodgins and Adair contrasted the performance of вЂmeditators’ and вЂnon-meditators’ on artistic attention processing tasks. Those that practiced mindfulness meditation revealed greater attentional operating through better performance on tests of concentration, selective attention, and more.
These outcomes correspond with earlier findings that systematic mindfulness meditation training promotes improvements in attention, understanding, and feeling (Treadway & Lazar).
6. Reduced Stress
Mindfulness training has additionally been connected to https://guaranteedinstallmentloans.com reduce anxiety levels. An example of empirical proof originates from Bränström et al., who discovered cancer tumors patients whom participated in mindfulness training had considerably paid off self-reported anxiety than those that didn’t. In addition they displayed greater good states of brain and less avoidance that is post-traumatic, such as for example lack of desire for tasks.
7. Handling Bodily Soreness
There is research that shows mindfulness might have a part in aiding to handle pain that is subjective. Those interested in further reading may like Kieszkowska-Grudny’s summary of the literary works with this subject. With it, she includes many samples of studies into exactly how mindfulness might help to handle chronic discomfort and assistance patients boost their total well being (age.g. Goldenberg et al.; Vowles & McCracken).
This list is through no means exhaustive. Certainly, you will find much more studies into subjects such as for example reduced psychological distress, heightened focus, and plenty more applications for the above ideas in way more specific settings. But ideally, this is certainly adequate to start looking at how mindfulness often helps us within our lives that are daily.
The necessity of Mindfulness and Exactly Exactly Exactly How It Can Help
Whether you wish to exercise mindfulness to manage anxiety or anxiety, or whether you’re keen to boost your attentional abilities, there’s lots of systematic proof to your benefit.
Mindfulness can really help us deal with depression, boost our psychological well-being, manage pain that is physical and also have actually better memory. We think and feel, being mindful of our emotions helps us to switch to more positive mindsets and work towards being a вЂbetter’ — or at least, a happier — person when it comes to the way.
With regards to relationships, as we’ll see in a brief whilst, this has good implications for exactly how we communicate and relate solely to those around us all.
Nevertheless, all of the scholarly research reports have a very important factor in keeping. That is, to experience the huge benefits, you’ll like to find a way of mindfulness training that actually works for you personally.
Through training, we can learn to cultivate the state of mind that lets us be mindful when we feel we need it most whether it be an intervention or meditation. If you choose to just take an internet program, or down load scripts to assist you on-the-go, you’re currently well on the path to your aim.
Don’t stress. A bit further on, we’ll get yourself a small little more certain, offering a few examples of precisely how mindfulness can play a significant assisting role in your everyday life.
Exactly Just Just Just How Mindfulness Make A Difference our Psychological State
Mindfulness often helps us to boost our psychological wellbeing in at minimum two means. Mindfulness-based therapy and interventions just just simply take a far more structured way of handling psychological state signs, while less structured approaches are located in numerous types and protect a complete variety of various subjects. Let’s look fleetingly at both. | <urn:uuid:91b8c86d-3f5e-4019-9f4f-4dca60ddd304> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://www.aabergmek.no/2021/03/16/what-exactly-is-mindfulness-definition-advantages-165/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510259.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20230927035329-20230927065329-00666.warc.gz | en | 0.939955 | 1,496 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The Rise in Prescription Drug AbuseJune 15, 2017
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, drug overdose is now the primary cause of accidental death, with opioids as the culprit in the majority of these deaths. In 2015, of the 52,404 registered overdose fatalities, approximately 20,000 involved prescription pills and nearly 13,000 involved heroin, a drug many prescription abusers turn to once their pill addiction becomes too expensive to maintain.
In Florida, 5,364 people died with one or more prescription drug in their system in 2015 and the total drug-related deaths increased by 13.9 percent from 2014. This annual report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement also found that prescription drugs accounted for more deaths and illicit drugs.
This epidemic can in part be attributed to years of physicians’ dependence on using prescription drugs to treat problems like chronic pain, anxiety and insomnia. The U.S. market is flooded with prescribed addictive substances. In fact, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that the U.S. consumes 75% of the world’s prescription drugs even with only 5% of the total global population. According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, in 2012 alone, enough prescriptions for opioids were written for each American to have their own bottle. As these drugs are prescribed by professionals, they tend to be less stigmatized than illegal street drugs. A survey by The Foundation for a Drug-Free world determined that nearly 50% of adolescents believe that prescription drugs are much safer than street drugs when the reality is that certain categories of prescription medication are highly addictive and easily as dangerous.
While all of society is affected in some way, it seems that certain populations are harder hit than others. Rates of abuse among teenagers and young adults are skyrocketing. The Foundation for a Drug Free World estimates that each day 2,500 individuals between the ages of 12-17 abuse prescription medication for the first time. Women are also more severely affected as they are more likely to suffer chronic pain than men. The CDC reports that between the years of 1999 and 2010 the number of women who suffered a fatal prescription drug overdose rose by 415% compared to a 250% rise in the number of men.
States like Florida are beginning to address the issue with stricter laws but as agencies work to fight the problem, individuals must educate themselves about the dangers of prescription medications and help those in need of intervention. | <urn:uuid:c7fa3fe5-217d-4e92-bc10-845b0a33bf7d> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://emeraldcoastjourneypure.com/rise-prescription-drugabuse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647782.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20180322073140-20180322093140-00158.warc.gz | en | 0.956688 | 483 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Mesothelioma is not a disease of this decade, but has its roots in the early 19th century. But it has come into the spotlight in the recent past. Mesothelioma results in tumors in and around vital organs of the body.
The word mesothelioma literally means mesothelium cancer (grandma is a medical term for cancer). The mesothelium is the sac that protects vital organs of our body and this disease affects the cells of the lining and makes them malignant.
Mesothelioma comes in three forms:The Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of mesothelioma that affects the pleura of the lungs and ribs. The pleura is thickened by this disease. Some of the most common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include regular coughing, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, swelling of the face and weight loss, fever, grating, and coughing up blood.
Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the lining of the abdomen. It starts in the abdominal area and spreads to other parts of the body. Patients may experience some or all of the following symptoms: abdominal pain and swelling, loss of appetite, difficulty breathing, chest pain, bowel obstruction, anemia and blood clotting abnormalities.
Pericardial mesothelioma, the rarest of all, affects the heart and the cavity that surrounds the heart. The following symptoms are generally seen: chest pain, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, and palpitations.
Therefor the symptoms for all three types of mesothelioma are non-specific. Articles on computer technology, which means that there are several other diseases with the same symptoms. Therefore, it becomes very difficult to diagnose any kind of mesothelioma. Chances are that a doctor will not discover that a patient has mesothelioma and that the disease is often mistaken for something else. In addition, the long latency period also makes it very difficult for the doctors to diagnose the same thing, and it becomes too late for them to do constructive treatment. Therefore, it is advisable to let people know their doctor if you are regularly exposed to asbestos or other similar substances. Otherwise, they will likely look at other options before even considering mesothelioma. | <urn:uuid:c6cf9f9e-64fd-424a-9b2d-8655571a574f> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.healthpartway.com.ng/2020/05/three-types-of-mesothelioma-and-how.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178361849.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20210301030155-20210301060155-00507.warc.gz | en | 0.952283 | 488 | 3.453125 | 3 |
College students' social networks influence their beliefs regarding the safety of influenza vaccines and decisions about vaccination, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The most influential people seem to be spouses, parents and friends, said study author Sean Richey, Ph.D., a political scientist at Georgia State University. We show that a path to influencing the college students beliefs about vaccinations may be through their social networks, said Richey. So, public health officials may try to target the students parents with information, for example, in addition to the students themselves.
College students face elevated risk for seasonal flu because they often live in close quarters where infectious disease can easily spread, noted Richey. Yet, during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, 30 percent of the surveyed students viewed the vaccine as unsafe, and only 10 percent chose to be vaccinated.
For the online survey, students were asked to identify four people with whom they discuss health matters. Students who believed their parents, spouses or friends were supportive of vaccination reported higher beliefs in vaccine safety and that they were more likely to intend to get the flu vaccine.
Vaccine decisions [are] a behavior that we have very little data on, and we did not know that social networks would influence those decisions, observed Thomas Valente, Ph.D., an expert on social networks at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
The study is promising, he added, because social networks and their perceived support for vaccines are amenable to change.
The study is based on responses from more than 1,000 undergraduates at a large public university in Georgia. Demographics of the participants closely match those of the universitys diverse student body.
Richey notes that the survey was only offered to students in an introductory political science class and thus may not be representative of students in general. Also, he said, We cannot observe the flow of vaccine information within discussion networks, making it hard to determine who influences who. Richey and his colleagues are planning to conduct a more detailed study later this year.
Trials that test network manipulations to accelerate vaccine adoption are also needed, added Valente.
Explore further: Mutation in strains make flu a moving target
Brendan Nyhan, et al. (2012). The Role of Social Networks in Influenza Vaccine Attitudes and Intentions Among College Students in the Southeastern United States, Journal of Adolescent Health, doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.02.014 | <urn:uuid:0d04c33c-e66b-4a91-b86f-2a51a442ae72> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-social-networks-flu-shot-decision.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698541905.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170901-00085-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956372 | 520 | 2.875 | 3 |
The CDC has issued a series of guidelines about those eligible to receive a fourth mRNA COvid-19 vaccine jab. The majority of immunocompromised people in the U.S already received their third jab back in August, and after six months since its administration, they are eligible for a fourth one.
In the immunocompromised category are those older than 65, long-term care residents older than 18, and people over 50 with underlying medical issues. Patients undergoing cancer treatments, those who suffered organ transplants and take drugs that can suppress the body’s immune response to outside infections fall into the immunocompromised category. The recommendation is for those who received mRNA vaccines.
The CDC distinguished between the third dose and the booster shot
The CDC has referred to the third dose in previous guidelines, distinguishing between the third dose and a fourth booster shot. The recommendation for those immunocompromised to receive a booster shot comes after studies concluded that this category is 458 times more likely to need hospitalization or even die. Although fully vaccinated, over 44% of breakthrough infections requiring hospitalization were people with a compromised immune system. According to the same studies, they are more prone to transmit the COvid-19 virus.
A booster shot could enhance antibody levels in immunocompromised people
The health regulator accounted for around 9 million U.S residents who would fall into the immunocompromised category. This category of people can choose between Pfizer or Moderna for their fourth one. Those who got vaccinated with J & J can get a second dose, but not more than that for the moment.
What happens with the other risk categories?
For the moment, those who have a high risk of Covid-19, but no underlying health issues, are not eligible for more than three doses of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines. The CDC estimated that more than 415,012,026 doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered in the U.S until this week. | <urn:uuid:6e743abc-5d25-4cd3-98ab-724f01ef57f6> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://zergwatch.com/cdc-recommends-a-fourth-mrna-covid-19-vaccine-jab-for-immunocompromised-people/10221/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662520817.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517194243-20220517224243-00494.warc.gz | en | 0.967282 | 410 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Real-Time Pricing: Will a Glowing Orb Lead the Way?
The nation's first large-scale real-time pricing program began in 2003 in the metropolitan Chicago area. It's credited with a 3% decrease in customer energy use in the summer.
Real-time pricing (RTP) is a dynamic rate where electricity prices vary hour by hour and day by day to reflect prices set by wholesale electricity markets. Most of the time prices are lower than the flat rate that is usually offered to electricity consumers, but sometimes—usually at times of peak energy use—rates are higher. Overall RTP prices will average out lower than the flat price, but specific days, weeks, and even months can be more expensive. RTP customers who avoid excessive peak energy use are rewarded with even lower electricity costs. And reduction of peak energy use has benefits systemwide that help make the electrical system work better for everyone (see “Time-of-Use, Critical-Peak Pricing, and Real-Time Pricing Rates”).
The two major utilities in Illinois, ComEd and Ameren Illinois utilities, project enrollment of 130,000 customers on RTP rates over the next four years. At that point, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the state’s regulatory body, will review the effect of RTP on reducing peak demand and producing net economic benefits to residential customers and recommend its renewal, modification, or dissolution. Consumers will be evaluating the real-time pricing rate too; in less formal contexts—by looking at their electricity bills, and deciding if the payoff from their attempts to avoid using peak energy was worth the effort. The outcome should provide conclusive evidence as to how much real-time rates can contribute to a more-efficient electrical system.
|Time-of-Use (TOU), Critical-Peak Pricing (CPP), and Real-Time Pricing (RTP) Rates
The Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 1252, requires all states (and nonregulated utilities) to consider charging time-based rates, including time-of-use, critical-peak pricing, and RTP. Each of these time-based rates creates incentives for customers to better manage their load, to reduce their use of the most expensive electricity—peak power. Peak-load reduction reduces power costs, reduces stress on the infrastructure, and improves reliability, all of which provide a range of benefits for both utilities and consumers. Most residential programs have utilized CPP or TOU rates, while RTP rates have only been available to commercial and industrial electricity users. Both CPP and TOU have lower off-peak and higher on-peak prices, varying by season and time of day. With CPP, utilities can also ask customers to curtail usage during especially high-load periods. RTP uses hourly prices, which reflect the marginal supply cost to the utility to procure electricity in the wholesale market. Unlike the artificial constructs of block off-peak/on-peak rates, RTP provides accurate price signals that link wholesale and retail markets. In endorsing RTP, economics Nobel laureate Vernon Smith also predicts that “better and cheaper technologies” will be developed to give consumers even more options on variable rates.
How the Program Works
In contrast to other pricing pilots, the ESPP program was low-tech in its approach. The only equipment required was the replacement of the standard meter with an interval meter capable of recording hourly energy use. These meters are considerably less expensive than more-sophisticated meters that provide customers with real-time feedback on their electricity use. Using these more sophisticated meters would have greatly increased the cost of the program, and the interval meters were compatible with ComEd’s standard meter setup.
Another main focus of the program was education. Before CNT Energy launched the pilot, it conducted an analysis of electricity prices. The analysis showed that there were predictable price trends, and that consumers could manage these trends, given adequate education. The information that customers needed to utilize RTP rates successfully was available from a variety of sources. CNT Energy provided ongoing access to real-time prices by phone or via a dedicated Web site. Program materials (a reference guide and periodic newsletters) educated consumers about daily and seasonal patterns of electricity prices. And when prices exceeded a previously established threshold ($0.13/kWh as of this writing), participants were alerted to watch their electricity use during the relevant hours. This high-price alert was delivered by phone or e-mail the evening before the high prices were scheduled to occur.
Program participants also had password-protected access to a Web site where they could see their electricity use by the month, week, day, or hour, and compare their RTP bills to what they would have paid had they remained on the flat rate. However, customers were not required to have access to the Internet in order to participate in the program. This enabled customers on the have-not side of the digital divide to participate successfully. Other time-based programs have relied on participants to have Web-connected homes that could link with the smart meters. In contrast, 30% of ESPP participants had no computer in their home, and received their high-price alerts via telephone. These customers included both low-income and minority populations, including a Spanish-speaking subset.
Over the first four years of the ESPP program, participants responded positively, with 80% stating that they found participating in ESPP “quick and easy.” Program participants achieved an overall savings in electric bills of 10% over the flat rate. Individual savings varied, with some customers saving 20% and a few even paying more than they would have on the flat rate. Customers were surveyed about the techniques they used to avoid using electricity during the higher-priced hours. They reported behavior changes that ranged from prosaic, such as running the dishwasher or clothes washer at nonpeak times; to creative, such as reinstalling their clothes lines or cooking outdoors; to exotic, such as embracing a nocturnal lifestyle. Customers also reported that participating in the ESPP program inspired them to conserve energy at all times, not just during the high-price alerts or higher-priced periods.
Analysis of the number of customers who utilized the Web site tools showed that relatively few participants took advantage of them. Only 16% ever activated their accounts, and even fewer used the Web site more than once. Most customers seemed satisfied with the twice-yearly paper reports on their savings, delivered by traditional mail along with one of the quarterly newsletters. This finding was unexpected. One interpretation was that although the low-tech approach provided no real-time feedback information the customers preferred it. While customers may have been interested in detailed information about their electricity use, they may not have been interested enough to invest their discretionary time in learning to use and using the Web tools. An alternative explanation was that the Web tools were not user-friendly or compelling enough to capture the customers’ interest. This question is still being analyzed, and it’s possible that both explanations are to some extent correct.
In a theoretical context, this finding was problematic. The ESPP program was based on the premise that when customers were provided with good information, they would make smart choices. Was there a way to convey information that was fast, easy, and perhaps even enjoyable?
|The Ambient Orb
The Ambient Orb is an example of the transmission of ambient information, where data are displayed in subtle, real-life contexts rather than on a computer screen. Unlike tools such as the The Energy Detective, the Ambient Orb requires little from the consumer. CNT Energy had its orbs programmed to signal the current estimated hourly energy prices, and named them PriceLights. Using a spectrum of colors that ranges from blue to red, the signal changes hourly, to reflect price fluctuations. Time periods where the electricity price exceeded the high-price alert level of $0.13/kWh were marked with a slow red pulse.
The Ambient Orb is a small glass globe equipped with a spectrum of colored LED lights (see “The Ambient Orb”). The orb uses 2 watts; at $0.10/kWh, operating costs are about $1.75 per year. Powered by a standard electrical outlet, and controlled via a pager signal, orbs can be programmed to change colors that represent data. Originally, the orb was designed to help investors monitor the stock market. Other standard applications include weather predictions and traffic congestion. CNT Energy wasn’t the first to use the Ambient Orb to convey electricity pricing information. Customers at Southern California Edison who used the orb reduced their peak-period energy use by 40%. Utility Program Development Manager Mark Martinez explains that the orb worked better than other alerts. The glowing sphere was both less annoying and more persistent than other notification methods they had tried, including automated phone calls, text messages, and e-mails.
CNT Energy solicited a subset of participants to receive an orb (branded a PriceLight) in addition to their traditional price notification methods. The participants with PriceLights responded to the orb by using even less electricity during peak times than they had done before they got the orb. Evaluation of customers who were part of the PriceLight study group found an even stronger response to hourly prices, with an elasticity of –0.067. But the affective response to the PriceLight was even more compelling. Customers were lavish in describing their fondness for the PriceLight. In particular, participants with children praised the PriceLight for providing an accessible, real-world context for teaching their children about energy use. Additionally, the orb’s appeal has a lot to do with its attractive design. CNT Energy promoted the orb on TV, and in one of these promotional pieces it was sitting in a display with other round-shaped objets d’art.
One major drawback of the PriceLight is its cost. At $150 retail for the hardware and a monthly fee for the data feed subscription, PriceLights are prohibitively expensive. The PriceLights were originally distributed at no cost, with only a $25 refundable deposit. But even while they proclaimed their affection for their orbs, participants said they were willing to pay only an average of $25 for the product.
Other less flashy devices have proven to be efficient for reducing energy use. CNT offered some participants an option where their central air conditioners would be automatically cycled when prices exceeded the alert level. Programs that combine automated controls with price signals have resulted in peak demand reductions that are up to twice as great as reductions from dynamic pricing or load control programs alone. CNT customers also used this option successfully; automatic cycling for air conditioners resulted in higher elasticities for these customers than for other participants in the ESPP program. The cycling option was also popular with participants, with 24% reporting no change in comfort levels, and 62% reporting a decreased, but still satisfactory, level of comfort. (There were five possible responses to this question: Increased comfort level; Decreased comfort level, but I am still satisfied; Decreased comfort level, but I am not satisfied; No change; and Don’t know.)
Meanwhile, the PriceLight’s photogenic qualities guaranteed that it would play a prominent role in any media coverage of the ESPP program. New applicants often saw the PriceLight as an essential accessory, and insisted that their participation was contingent on their receiving a PriceLight. Exactly how valuable the PriceLight is in terms of reducing energy use is difficult to quantify. If the electricity reductions were large enough, it might pay utilities to subsidize PriceLights for their customers. To reduce costs, Ambient Technologies has developed a less expensive display device called the Energy Joule; this device has not yet been tested as an RTP tool.
Enrollment in RTP programs is ongoing in the territories served by both Ameren Illinois utilities (Power Smart Pricing) and ComEd (Residential Real-Time Pricing). The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation has paid for 150 PriceLights, which are being offered to Ameren customers at reduced costs.
The Glow of Success
As electricity prices continue to rise, customers will look for opportunities to control costs. The realities of climate change also make it imperative to use electricity efficiently. Therefore, variable rates should become a more common option for customers. In some areas, in fact, they are being considered as the default rates for residential consumers.
Most utilities looking at time-varying rates are looking at time-of- use (TOU) or critical-peak pricing (CPP) models, rather than at real-time pricing. Only a few RTP pilots are under way or under consideration. Given the success of RTP in Illinois, it is surprising that this option is not gaining more attention than it is. Or perhaps not. The rate design working group of the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency has stated that “economists and public policy analysts can become enamored with efficient pricing schemes, but customers generally prefer simple rate forms … Rate designs that are too complicated for customers to understand will not be effective at promoting efficient consumption decisions.” But this assertion seems to sell consumers short. Just as consumers have become skilled at evaluating the intricacies of cell phone rates, the Illinois experience shows that they can navigate the potential volatility of real-time electricity prices.
Real-time pricing offers the best opportunity for consumers to reap the rewards of energy-efficient behavior. The reason we think RTP is best is that often the prices can go even lower than they could on a time-of-use rate. The disadvantage is that there is more fluctuation in the prices and they can peak a bit higher, but over time we are seeing that the value of buying directly from the wholesale market translates into savings. Here’s hoping a few more regulators and utilities give consumers the opportunity to use RTP.
Marjorie Isaacson is the director of Research and Operations at CNT Energy, a division of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Ruth Klotz-Chamberlin is the former manager of the PriceLight project at CNT and now works for the Alliance for Healthy Homes in Washington, D.C.
For more information:
Barbose, Galen, Charles Goldman, and Bernard Neenan. A Survey of Utility Experience with Real-Time Pricing, LBNL-54238. Berkeley, California: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, December 2004 (http://repositories.edlib.org/lbnl/LBNL-54238).
York, Daniel, and Martin Kushler. Exploring the Relationship Between Demand Response and Energy Efficiency: A Review of Experience and Discussion of Key Issues. Washington, D.C.: American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, 2005.
For a copy of the DOE’s national Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, go to www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/
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Speak an Adverb is a way to have your students practice different kinds of intonation and language register in English and also to help them become aware of the importance they play in speaking.
A short amount of preparation is enough for different versions of the game and with right materials it can be used to practice intonation with many different ages and levels of students.
Make up a list of cards each of which has an adverb style on it. For example:
You can also include more situational types of adverb cards:
- speaking to your boss; you’re worried he’s going to fire you
- talking to a baby
- talking to a customs official and your suitcase is full of smuggled goods
- at a job interview
- you know a terrible secret about the person you’re speaking to
and so on.
There are different ways to play this. For the first couple of examples, it is often best to show the class yourself. Then get a good student up to show them again, then the rest of the class.
First choose a good phrase that you’d like to practice with the class and write it up on the board. Make sure everyone understands what it means.
Now pick an adverb card at random from the pile and, without showing it to the class, read the phrase out in the style of the adverb. For example the phrase might be have a nice day! and you pick out the adverb grumpily.
The class then have to try and guess what’s on the card. Then of course you can bring different students to the front to play the game or have them in small groups doing this.
Variations on a Theme
Analysis. Depending on the class, you can take each adverb and examine it with the class, drawing diagrams and explaining how the intonation changes depending on the context.
Multiple Phrases. Instead of using just one phrase, have a list of phrases and the students each pick a different phrase before picking an adverb card. These phrases, of course, should be the right level for the class. You can include phrases you’ve recently worked on with the class on topics they are familiar with.
Taping. You might also like to introduce a tape recorder into the class to have the class listen to variations in intonation with the same phrase.
Competition. You can also divide the class into teams. A student from Team A comes up and has to speak the adverb to their team. If their team can’t guess, Team B tries to answer with points being awarded and so on.
Adverbs – all about adverbs
Speaking – a general look at speaking in ELT
Intonation – an introduction to intonation
Language Register – a look at language register and what it meansImage © unclefuz | <urn:uuid:ab5bc9b5-4ed8-4d6f-a707-728c390bb6da> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://icaltefl.com/speak-an-adverb/?option=com_content&view=article&id=315&catid=27&Itemid=601 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587711.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20211025123123-20211025153123-00136.warc.gz | en | 0.954705 | 594 | 4.09375 | 4 |
Modern society is called information society, computer society, network society, and cryptocurrency anonymity is increasingly being studied in combination with technical means, namely network communication, as well as Internet communication.
How to find reliable cryptocurrency anonymity?
In the conditions of the modern world, reliable Internet anonymity may be needed by almost any person. However, the necessary and sufficient level of security for different categories of users will be different: for example, one person needs to hide from detection, and another needs an “anonymizer” just to access blocked websites. Accordingly, choosing a method of ensuring anonymity cryptocurrency begins with a clear understanding of why this anonymity is needed.
Anonymity is a key feature of many cryptocurrencies and is highly valued by many users. It allows people to transact freely without fear of identification, tracking, or control. This is especially important in cases where individuals want to transact without the risk that their financial activities will be noticed by third parties.
The importance of Bitcoin blenders in cryptocurrency
Bitcoin blenders are resources used to break the link between a sending address and a receiving address for bitcoins. Any cryptocurrency is not difficult to determine who owns it. In addition to the fact that most exchanges and other platforms now require proof of identity, every Bitcoin transaction is recorded on the blockchain. Therefore, when you purchase bitcoins and send them to other addresses and wallets, these operations are visible to everyone and absolutely transparent.
What does the bitcoin blender affect?
- The higher the service commission you use, the higher the network commission the mixer will send you the result with.
- All commission values are dynamic, except for the minimum – it is fixed.
- Higher fees increase anonymity in and of themselves, as they are less common and less obvious to analysis based on comparison of transaction amounts. | <urn:uuid:2bc548d5-12c1-4750-8bb4-f6df6761a0b2> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://bestvalue-crypto.com/behind-the-scenes-how-do-bitcoin-blenders-work.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947476205.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20240303043351-20240303073351-00154.warc.gz | en | 0.944487 | 361 | 2.796875 | 3 |
The written word has been a crucial part of human civilization for thousands of years. Words, their pronunciations, meaning, and spelling are living creatures that evolve over time. An excellent example of this is the word “the.” I’m sure you’ve seen the Old-English word ‘Ye.” While many think that’s a ‘Y’ it’s called a “thorn” and is pronounced as “T-H” so “Ye” is pronounced “The.” This is a good example of the subtle evolution of language. Today’s social media world has added to this development and vastly accelerated it. So, in the age of the Internet, should your social media be grammatically precise? Are you turning away customers with words and phrases boiled down to a mere handful of letters?
The simple answer to these questions is yes and no. Internet users and grammar cross paths depending on two major factors: age and platform. Older users, those typically born before or in the earliest days of computers, generally seek consistently good grammar and it will affect their decision to use one company over another. Younger Internet users are less demanding when it comes to grammar. While some might be sticklers, the majority tend to ignore grammatical errors unless there are a lot of them, and some even see grammatical mistakes as a sign of authenticity or “keeping it real.”
The second significant consideration in the linkage between grammar and social media is the platform that you’re writing on. Instagram and Pinterest, for instance, are based almost entirely on visual presentation and typically only hashtags, or a short caption will be posted with the photo. In these cases, grammar is almost irrelevant. On Twitter, where space is limited, grammar has much more flexible rules. Trying to get a cohesive idea into a space of 140 characters is part of the challenge of Twitter, but it also allows a bit of forgiveness from users both young and old. Everyone understands the limitations on Twitter, so using “UR” instead of “You are” saves five precious characters. Leaving out commas or other “correct” punctuation is typical too on Twitter because, again, it’s all about character space.
Moving on to Facebook, Tumblr, and LinkedIn writing more text is allowed and even encouraged. On these sites, particularly on Facebook and Tumblr, generational or personal preference takes hold. However, of the three, LinkedIn is the one social media platform that is particularly demanding when it comes to proper grammar. LinkedIn is, after all, dedicated to connecting Business to Business and employees with employers. Above all else, this is where you will want to showcase command of the written word when trying to get the attention of a future boss.
There is another school of thought that some social media experts support: not everyone takes notice. For the most part, the younger millennial is not focusing on the punctuation so much as they are on the content. For the older Gen X’er, punctuation is still necessary but they might consider loosening the standards because of space constraints. Perfectionists will want to put every comma and semicolon in its right place. An approach that may have been helpful in the past but can turn into an actual detriment to success. In the age of the Internet, speed has overtaken accuracy when it comes to web-based content, and grammar has suffered because of this cultural shift.
Both the perfectionist and the grammar challenged can agree one key thing, the purpose of social media is to communicate. It is important that the lazy writer understand the importance of punctuation, accuracy, and having a rich vocabulary. By the same token the perfectionist needs to understand the new ways in which language is evolving or they run the risk of being ignored by the masses and failing in their efforts to connect with their target audience.
It’s easier to learn the rules and break them, when necessary, than to ignore the rules and later on try to fake them!
Source: Pace Feed | <urn:uuid:4b0a3112-0805-4757-8abd-00e77a589084> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://www.pacesettingmedia.com/grammar-in-the-age-of-social-media/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738735.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20200811055449-20200811085449-00491.warc.gz | en | 0.949465 | 840 | 2.96875 | 3 |
How to Ship Live Lobsters
To keep lobsters alive during shipping there are two things that are required; they must remain cool and moist. Lobster deaths during shipping are most commonly caused by oxygen deprivation. The cooler a lobster is, the less oxygen it uses. The gills on a lobster must remain moist to work properly.
Be sure not do submerge them, a lobster in fresh water that is too cold can swell up and burst. If handled properly a hard-shelled lobster can live out of the water for up to five days.
Create the right temperature environment for shipping. Optimally you will want to start with lobsters that have been stored at 45 to 50 degrees F. Your shipping temperature should be around the 32 to 40 degrees F. Too much of a temperature change can stress the lobster out and kill it. Be sure to regulate and control the temperature constantly. A lobster will freeze at the same temperature that saltwater freezes, 29 degrees F.
Resist the temptation to feed the lobsters. They should not be fed even two days before shipping them. A full stomach consumes more oxygen.
Pack the lobsters tight enough that they will not get damaged during shipping, but not too tightly. If they are crammed to close together they will deplete their oxygen quickly and there will be an excessive carbon dioxide buildup that will kill the lobsters. Almost any watertight container will do. The size depends on the number of lobsters you are shipping.
Never use tap water (tap water has chemicals and additives that can harm the lobster), saltwater is good for very large containers, fresh water (like from a lake) is good but watch the temperature (keep around 35 to 40 degrees).
- Never use tap water (tap water has chemicals and additives that can harm the lobster), saltwater is good for very large containers, fresh water (like from a lake) is good but watch the temperature (keep around 35 to 40 degrees).
Launie Sorrels is a veteran who has worked as a chef and has more than two decades of martial arts training. His writing has developed from his experience as a quality assurance manager for Microsoft and IBM. Sorrels has a degree in computer science and is currently working on his journalism degree. | <urn:uuid:f7511e41-b715-4a9f-8e88-cae0eb98228a> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://homesteady.com/12179148/how-to-ship-live-lobsters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057687.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20210925142524-20210925172524-00714.warc.gz | en | 0.963312 | 459 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Causes and Diagnoses
Causes and Diagnoses of Atelectasis and Pneumothorax
While atelectasis and pneumothorax both involve collapse of the lung, they have very different causes.
Atelectasis results from a blocked airway or pressure outside the lung. Typical causes include:
- Foreign object in the airway
- Mucus plug
- Lung disease
- Fluid buildup around the lung
- Air buildup around the lung
Pneumothorax results from air from the lung filling the area surrounding the lung. This is usually because of a puncture of the lung from a variety of injuries, including:
- Car accident
- Stab wound
- Surgical injury
Spontaneous pneumothorax occurs without detectable cause. It is more common in people with chronic lung disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Diagnosing atelectasis and pneumothorax
Diagnosis of atelectasis or pneumothorax begins with a physical exam. Other diagnostic tests may include:
- X-ray: A chest X-ray can identify the presence of blockages or fluids creating pressure.
- Computed tomography (CT) scan: This test combines X-ray and computer technology to produce detailed cross-sectional images of your chest cavity.
- Bronchoscopy: An endoscope (a thin, flexible tube with a light and camera on the end) is inserted into your airway to check for blockages.
- Arterial blood gas: This blood test checks the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood and measures your blood’s acidity.
- Pulse oximetry: An oximeter measures the amount of oxygen in your blood with a sensor that’s clipped onto your finger. | <urn:uuid:56ca7928-93df-43ac-ba52-5b161b9015af> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.nm.org/conditions-and-care-areas/pulmonary/atelectasis-and-pneumothorax/causes-and-diagnoses | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314732.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819114330-20190819140330-00393.warc.gz | en | 0.881406 | 377 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Before driving a car in USA, you must know how to do it. Mostly people above 16 know and can drive. You will find many people walking however cars are most favorite medium of commute while going somewhere. People prefer cars over buses and metros because petrol and cars are very cheap. In bigger cities where the roads are often blocked on morning and evening people use the buses and metros as well. Usually every household has cars equal to the adult living in the household.
- Road networks in USA
- Accidents on USA roads
- Defined speed limits
- Condition of roads
- Pedestrian respect & sharing the roads concept
- Department of Motor Vehicles – DMV
- Pakistani driving license in USA
- International Driving License in USA
- How to find airline tickets national / international
Road networks in USA:
You will find excellent road networking throughout the USA that connects each state. The term Highway is used instead of motorway in Pakistan. The highway is also known as interstate (The highway that connects different states) and represents with an “I”, the famous interstates in USA are I-81, I-90 and I-95 etc. Driving on a highway is safe however for a Pakistani driving for the first time on a highway might be confusing as we are not use to so many roads and exits while driving at such a fast speed. To know the roads better mostly new people buy a GPS (global positioning system) device that help and guide throughout about the way as you drive. GPS is very common and can easily be available for below $100. I would recommend buying a GPS especially for those who want to use their cars for traveling to other cities for work or pleasure.
Accidents on USA roads:
Fast speed and the more number of vehicles on roads can increase the chances for accidents. USA is among the countries with high accident rates even they maintain safe driving rules and monitor the rules very well but still accidents happens. People working in big cities like New York usually lives in suburban cities to avoid high living cost thus commuting on daily basis sometimes driving more than an hour daily to reach their work places. Due to this reason from 7am – 9pm and in evening from 4pm – 6pm roads are too crowded and for some people it almost take twice the time to reach their homes than it normally take. Traveling distance in USA does not matter much because of the high power engine cars and excellent roads.
The KM (kilometers) units are not used USA, you will always find distance measurement in miles. The speed limits usually found in USA on interstates vary from 55 – 75 MPH (miles per hour) mostly 60 MPH. The other highways usually have speed limit ranges from 40 – 55 MPH. The roads connecting towns or surrounding areas usually have lower speed limit that varies from 25 – 45 MPH
Condition of roads:
Unlike Pakistan you might find almost all roads well built with proper road signs that guides you really well thus save your time e.g. the road is closed, curve ahead etc. You will notice as soon you will leave airport that the roads are well built gives a glimpse of a developed country. You might also find some roads with wear and tear but it’s not very common.
Pedestrian respect & sharing the roads concept:
In Pakistan we honk the people walking besides the roads, with non existence of footpath its difficult for pedestrian to avoid the road completely, but people on car feel that pedestrians should stop walking if there is no foot path. In USA the people walking on streets have the utmost respect; you must let them pass when they step on road for crossing it, it’s a law to stop for pedestrian on a zebra crossing.
While driving a car in USA you should know the concept of sharing the road with others, the concept is that everyone pays tax and has equal right to drive a car on road. Give way when you think you can and if you see someone waiting to get a way for a long you can volunteer any time to help him by stopping and giving him the way. You will notice people giving you way many times; do not forget to wave your hand for thanks.
The situation of the above mentioned rules might be different in different states as where there is too much traffic people might not be that polite and helpful.
Department of Motor Vehicles – DMV:
Department o motor vehicle handles everything related to roads and cars including vehicle registration, vehicle registration Renewal, car ownership title transfer and drivers license etc. DMV keeps driver’s records, traffic accident reports etc.
Every state has different traffic rules and the motor vehicle department name “DMV” may also differ in different states. You can visit your state website for complete information of DMV, like the Virginia DMV website iswww.dmv.state.va.us
If you do not have a computerized driving license, it’s useless. If you have computerized driving license it also might not benefit you in USA (the rule may vary in different states) you will need an international driving permit to initially drive in USA because the state drivers permit may take time to issue.
To get a state ID / Drivers license you need to pass a written computerized driving test whether you have any international license or not. The written test gives you idea about basic traffic rules & traffic sings. You can have a handout for free from any DMV to prepare for the test and after passing a test you will get your learner’s driver permit. This permit can be used in the presence of an adult license holder. Depending on the specific time at any state, e.g. after one month you can visit the DMV for the driving test to get a valid driver’s license.
If you have a computerized Pakistani drivers license then take it with you as there are slight chances that it can save you from the road test. Prepare for the road test, go to DMV, present your Pakistani license and they will check it in their records. If available in their records they will print your driver’s license right away otherwise you have to give the road test to acquire the driver’s license.
I was holding a computerized driver’s license issued from Lahore, as per the DMV they only had information of licenses issued from Islamabad and my license was not verifiable so I gave the road test. This info might not work for anyone however it’s no harm taking your license to DMV.
International Driving License in USA:
If you want to immediately drive after reaching USA then you can get an International Driving Permit (IDP). IDP basically translates information contained on your driver’s license into 10 languages so that officials in foreign countries are able to interpret it. An IDP supplements a valid government-issued license; it does not serve as a replacement for a license. If you are stopped by police, you will most likely be asked to produce both your IDP and your official Pakistani driver’s license. The United States does NOT issue International Driving Permits to foreign visitors, so you will need to obtain this document before traveling to the U.S.
The U.S. government has issued warnings about Internet vendors of fake international driver’s licenses/permits. It is important to educate yourself about the dangers of these costly and illegal licenses. My husband also acquired one for 5000PKR before coming but we came to know later on that it was not real.
How to find airline tickets national / international:
Buying tickets in USA is as easy as 1, 2, and 3. Buy tickets online without involving or calling any travel agent. There are lots of websites from where you can buy tickets online. Just enter the destination and dates and the website will provide you all details and prices of all airlines offering the flight for same route. The most common websites used to buy a ticket are
Note: You can also book hotels, cars, vacation packages & more. | <urn:uuid:c4997914-8fe2-426c-8a1b-91c4ad0f543f> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | http://www.pakistaniinusa.com/driving-traveling-in-usa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424683.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170724022304-20170724042304-00087.warc.gz | en | 0.958114 | 1,635 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Researchers using the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have developed a new method to detect a special class of stellar remnant, known as pulsars. A pulsar is a special type of neutron star, which spin hundreds of times per second. When the intense spin is combined with beams of energy caused by intense magnetic fields, a “lighthouse” pulse is generated. When the “lighthouse” beam sweeps across Earth’s field of view, the object is referred to as a pulsar.
Led by Matthew Kerr (Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology), and Fernando Camilo (Columbia University), a research team recently announced a new method for detecting pulsars. How will Kerr’s research help astronomers better understand (and locate) these small, elusive stellar remnants?
Every three hours, the LAT surveys the entire sky, searching for the high energy signatures associated with gamma-ray outbursts. In general the energy levels of the photos detected by the LAT are 20 million to over 300 billion times as energetic as the photons associated with visible light.
By combining observations from the LAT and data obtained from the Parkes radio telescope in Australia, the team is able to detect pulsar candidates. The team’s approach combines a “wide area” approach of an all-sky telescope like the LAT with the sensitivity of a radio telescope. So far, the team’s discovery of five “millisecond” class pulsars, including one unusual pulsar has proven their technique to be successful.
The unusual pulsar, officially named PSR J0101–6422, had an additional 35 days of study devoted to better understanding its properties. Once the radio pulsation period and phase were determined, an incredible amount of data, including data on its gamma-ray pulsations was obtained. Using the data, the team was able to determine PSR J0101–6422 is roughly 1750 light-years away from Earth, and has an unusual light curve which features a “sandwich” of two gamma-ray peaks with an intense radio peak in the center, like a cosmic ham sandwich.
The team was unable to explain the phenomenon with standard pulsar emission models.which the team could not explain with standard geometric pulsar emission models, and have proposed that J0101–6422 is a new hybrid class of pulsar that features radio emissions that originate from low and high altitudes above the neutron star.
If you’d like to learn more about the Fermi Gamma-ray space telescope, visit: http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/
The results of Kerr’s research have been published in the Astrophysical Journal.
Image #1 Caption:Clouds of charged particles move along the pulsar’s magnetic field lines (blue) and create a lighthouse-like beam of gamma rays (purple) in this illustration. Image Credit: NASA | <urn:uuid:c00da0de-1781-4522-9044-a0a4cb2b9198> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.universetoday.com/95851/gamma-ray-outbursts-shed-new-light-on-pulsars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463411.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00024-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927958 | 619 | 4.125 | 4 |
Ethics in it
As defined by Ethical Dilemma Examples (nd.), an ethical dilemma that is also referred to as a moral dilemma is a situation that presents a choice between two distinct options where none is resolving the issue at hand in an ethically acceptable way.
The situation requires one to select the option that holds the least harm and with the most benefits to the parties involved. From the analysis of Harry’s case study, it is apparent that there are different ethical dilemmas presented. The first dilemma in the case is presented to Harry after Jill, the IT manager at the company rejected his program and opined that it was dangerous hence could not be embraced by the company.
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Analytically, Harry was in a dilemma to either give up on his dream or force its operation by pursuing higher authorities in the company despite Jill’s misgivings. He chose the earlier but released the program to the internet users where he assisted his prospective customers, a move that got him sacked. Nevertheless, his consultant role made his program known to Iris Bigg, the owner of the company, who ordered Brockley, the manager to urgently look for Harry (Lock Smith) since he considered him an asset to the company.
That presented the major ethical dilemma since Brockley supported Jill’s move to sack Harry. The situation presents to ethical options where each selection does not seem to solve the issue in an acceptable way to Brockley. First, calling back an employee, whom he had previously sacked will not only hurt his personality as the manager but will also prove his incompetence as he will be forced to embrace the same program he had rejected. The other option is going against his employer’s demands to look for Harry, to avoid the apparent shame, a move that will put him in trouble with Bigg. Although each selection holds unfavorable aspect to Brockley, he is required to make a choice.
Apparently, Brockley is presented with an ethical dilemma that required him to make the most favorable choice to maximize the benefits and minimize the possible harm to himself and also the other people involved. Making of an ethical selection involves a four-step ethical analysis and decision-making process that allows a proper analysis of the situation is hence making the most suited choice (Craft, 2013 p. 230). Below is an overview of the four distinct steps of ethical analysis and decision-making process.
Step 1: Understanding the situation The first key step in making an ethical choice is understanding the situation and all aspects at stake. That involves the listing of the various facts, the aspects bringing ethical issues, and the individuals involved. That will enable an individual to realize the importance of making the right selection to save the noted shareholders from the potential harm.
In the case of Brockley, it is apparent that the ethical situation resulted from his decision to fire Harry without considering his program. He supported Jill blindly, a move that got him into the situation. Among the various shareholders involved in the ethical case is Brockley, Jill, Harry, and Bigg. Analytically, each choice holds some potential harm to different parties. First, if Brockley decides to look for Harry as instructed, he will hurt his personality and that of Jill, who are the superiors in the organization. Indeed, they will feel humiliated and incompetent by going back to support Harrys program that they had previously ejected and strongly discouraged. Second, if he decides not to call Harry back, he will have ignored his employers command that may cost him his work. That may also impact Bigg and the organization as they may lose Harry, who was considered a major asset.
Step 2: Isolate the Major Ethical Dilemma The step involves the selection and separation of the major ethical choice despite its apparent consequences to different parties involved. In the case study, the most ethical dilemma is looking for Harry. That is because although it will ridicule Brockley and Jills earlier choices to fire Harry, the choice holds the least harm and also some benefits to the parties involved. In making a choice, Brockley will sacrifice his ego to save his job by adhering to his superiors demand.
Step 3: Ethical analysis Ethical analysis step in decision-making involved the analysis of the decision made in the second step. That will allow a proper understanding of the consequences, hence preparing oneself for the outcome. From the Brockleys dilemma, if the action in step II is done, Brockley and Jill will be harmed where they will feel their earlier decision demeaned. That may further impact their work relationship, especially with Harry if he learned about what transpired. If the action in step II is not done, the most individuals may be harmed where Brockley may be fired for disobeying orders, Harry will lose the chance to introduce his program to the company, hence earning more money, and Bigg may lose Harrys expertise that would boost his company. Fundamentally, the first alternative result in the least harm. That is because the Brockley can ensure that Harry does not learn about the whole case. Moreover, hurting their ego cannot be compared with losing his job proving that the selection has the least harm. It the step is done, Harry and the company will benefit. While the earlier will get a chance to earn, the company will take advantage of the program. If the action is not done, Brockley will benefit since his authority will not be questioned. Critically, calling Harry back is the option with the maximum benefit to the most parties as well as the company.
Conclusively, doing step II holds the least harm and the maximum benefit” hence Brockley makes the selection. That will benefit him, Harry, and the company through an overall improvement of its performance. Under Kants categorical imperative, it is apparent that although Brockley and Jill will be treated with disrespect if step II is done, it will be the right move since their initial actions were not justified. As such, the action will ensure justice for all since there was no enough reason to fire Harry. That proves that the alternative in the most preferred. Critically, Brockley had neglected his duties to investigate the reason that Jill wanted to fire Harry. Instead, he chose to trust the earlier hence making a subjective decision.
Step 4: Making a decision Making of a defensible ethical decision is the last step that involves making a defensible ethical decision and listing of the various steps needed in implementing the decision (Spector, 2016 p. 1010). In the case study, it is conclusive that following Biggs order is the defensible ethical decision as it holds the least negative impacts and the most benefits. In its implementation, Brockley requires talking to Jill about it because he approved the decision to fire Harry. Moreover, that will allow him to understand the specific reasons that made Jill decide to fire Harry hence gaining a better understanding of the scenario. Notwithstanding, his criticism may be imperative in improving Harrys program, hence more benefits to the company.
ReferencesCraft, J.L., 2013. A review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature: 2004-2011. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(2), pp.221-259.
Ethical Dilemma Examples. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/ethical-dilemma-examples.htmlSpector, J.M., 2016.
Ethics in educational technology: towards a framework for ethical decision-making in and for the discipline. Educational Technology Research and Development, 64(5), pp.1003-1011. | <urn:uuid:15e2e792-4a2c-44ad-a446-80117006863b> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://papersowl.com/examples/ethics-in-it/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587854.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20211026072759-20211026102759-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.961609 | 1,559 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Giving Compass’ Take:
• Students begin volunteering by engaging in service-learning projects and participating in civic action issues.
• What are some examples of student-led civic action? As a donor, how are you supporting youth-led movements?
Anyone who has volunteered or been a part of a fundraiser knows that you get back so much more than what you give. And, while this applies to people of all ages, youth definitely benefit the most.
Today, many students begin volunteering or fundraising for charities at a young age, often teaming up with their schools, sports teams, or community organizations in order to support a charitable cause.
Service-learning programs educate students on a variety of social issues, while also developing skills in critical thinking, communication, leadership, and empathy. Many programs encourage students to discuss issues that are important to them, and, as a team, engage in the issue through various activities. By connecting service to the classroom, students are able to reinforce their academic knowledge through real-life applications. It also allows young people to become aware of larger issues and begin making decisions on what they feel is important to them.
Student civic action is another form of service-learning, which highlights the organizational structures that surround charitable giving and philanthropy. Engaging in philanthropy from an early age allows young people to learn what it takes to make a charity work. Students learn the struggles of gaining funding for a cause, efficient management practices, and of course, best practices of the sector as a whole.
Programs that center around civic engagement are excellent learning experiences and provide a variety of opportunities for students to expand their knowledge and gain life-skills. But, in my experience, the most important lesson students learn is that they can make a difference.
Service-learning and student philanthropy programs are an amazing way to engage a younger audience and set the foundations for a brighter future.
Read the full article about students engaging in civic action by Natasha Awari at Charity Navigator.
Interested in learning more about Civil Society? Other readers at Giving Compass found the following articles helpful for impact giving related to Civil Society.
Looking for a way to get involved?
If you are interested in Civil Society, please see these relevant events, training, conferences or volunteering opportunities the Giving Compass team recommends.
Are you ready to give?
If you are interested in Civil Society, please see these relevant Issue Funds, Charitable Organizations or Projects where you can get involved. | <urn:uuid:2f027e68-2a43-4f3a-be63-7e9437c66427> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://www.givingcompass.org/article/engaging-students-in-service-learning-and-civic-action/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496668772.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20191116231644-20191117015644-00150.warc.gz | en | 0.951448 | 503 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Records of Rights Vote: The 14th Amendment
Cast your vote now for the 14th Amendment to be displayed first in the new Rubenstein Gallery. Today’s post comes from Jessie Kratz, the Historian of the National Archives.
Why should the 14th Amendment be ranked first on any list of most important documents?
A constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship for all, Federal protection of due process, and the mandate for equal protection under the law—each could individually be considered among the most significant legislation in U.S. history. And all three are included in just the first section of the 14th Amendment.
The amendment originated after the Civil War when Congress tried passing legislation to secure civil rights for the recently freed slaves. President Andrew Johnson repeatedly vetoed these bills because he believed individual states had the right to determine the status of freedmen without interference from the Federal government.
In order to take the issue out of Johnson’s reach, Congress chose to address civil rights with a constitutional amendment. On June 13, 1866, Congress approved a five-part amendment to the Constitution and on July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment became law.
Section one of the amendment includes its most vital components.
First, the Citizenship Clause ensured that anyone born in the United States—regardless of race, color, or familial status—was automatically a U.S. citizen. The clause made citizenship a fixed condition, taking the issue out of the realm of politics where laws could be overturned and rights revoked. This section of the amendment safeguarded the citizenship status of African Americans after the Civil War and after the landmark Wong Kim Ark decision (1898), which affirmed the birthright citizenship of an American-born Chinese man and set the precedent for the clause to be applied to all races, became a means for other immigrant groups to stake their claims for U.S. citizenship.
Second, the Due Process Clause forbids states from taking away “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The clause effectively extended the protection of the Bill of Rights to states’ actions—previously it only applied only to the Federal government. This meant that state governments could not deprive people access to basic legal rights, such as a fair trial, and it provided a means to challenge state laws that deprived individuals of their constitutional rights.
The Due Process Clause was at the heart of many defining 20th-century Supreme Court decisions, such as Loving v. Virginia (1967), which deemed laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional in part because they denied liberty without due process, and Roe v. Wade (1973), which upheld a women’s right to an abortion under the right to privacy encompassed by the Due Process Clause.
Third, the Equal Protection Clause requires states to apply the law equally and prohibits them from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or other arbitrary factors. Although it was initially a response to the Southern Black Codes, which severely restricted former slaves’ basic rights and subjected them to harsh punishments, the Equal Protection Clause was ultimately ineffective in securing rights for African Americans in the years following the Civil War.
In the 20th century, however, the Equal Protection Clause became the core instrument for challenging discriminatory laws and expanding rights for all citizens. It provided the rationale for a myriad of civil rights decisions, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education (1954) which ended state-sponsored school segregation, and supplied the constitutional basis for the Civil Rights Acts of 1964.
More recently, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act on the grounds that it violated equal protection. The constitutional promise of equal protection unquestionably played a crucial role in inspiring thousands of minorities, women, immigrants, and other groups to fight for equal rights.
While less essential than section one, the rest of 14th Amendment is not trivial. Section two eliminated the three-fifth rule, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of congressional apportionment. It also guaranteed that all male citizens over the age of 21, regardless of their race, had a right to vote. The third and fourth sections provided terms for repayment of Civil War debts and rules for federal service by ex-Confederates, addressing issues that may have hindered southern states’ re-entry to the Union. The final section gave Congress the authority to enforce the amendment.
The 14th Amendment redefined American citizenship and fundamentally altered the relationship between the states and the Federal government. It continues to be at the center of national discussions about the role of government and rights of individuals.
Cast your vote now for the 14th Amendment to be displayed first in the new Rubenstein Gallery.
Posted by Hilary on September 30, 2013, under - Civil Rights, - Civil War, News and Events.
Tags: 14th Amendment, birthright citizenship, Brown v. Board of Education, Chinese American, Citizenship Clause, Civil Rights Acts of 1964, civil war, Defense of Marriage Act, Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause, interracial marriage, President Andrew Johnson, Records of Rights, slaves, Southern Black Codes, three-fifth rule, vote, Wong Kim Ark | <urn:uuid:a57137fb-1724-4c49-9cc1-125bbcea1bee> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://blogs.archives.gov/prologue/?p=12888 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163052970/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131732-00095-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9485 | 1,057 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Sixty healthy volunteers took magic mushrooms in a lab, and scientists recorded their brains during their experience.
Approximately half of the Australian population will experience a mental health disorder during their lifetime, and scientists are turning to an unlikely place in the search for treatment.
Researchers at Monash University are scanning the brains of healthy adults under the influence of psychedelic drugs. They aim to identify the pathways in the brain that underlie the effects of these substances to build an understanding of how different parts of the brain are connected in general. PsiConnect (comprising Psilocybin, Connectivity and Context) is the first imaging trial of participants on psychedelics in Australia, and with 60 participants, is one of the largest psychedelic imaging trials worldwide.
Many kinds of psychedelics exist, derived from different plants, animals, and fungi. When a person takes a psychoactive substance, there is a temporary reorganisation of brain connectivity that alters perception. It can cause hallucinations and can change self-perception.
Counter-intuitively, psychedelic-induced distortions of perception can have a positive effect in clinical patients with dysfunctional forms of thinking — such as self-limiting beliefs and pervasive pessimism. By temporarily deconstructing perception in the context of therapy, psychedelics may help people find alternate ways to improve their self-perception and belief. It is these changes that have reinvigorated interest in the therapeutic potential of psychoactive substances.
While some researchers argue that psychedelic therapeutic effects derive from the experience of altered consciousness, others suggest this may not be the case and seek to separate the therapeutic effects from the psychoactive experience. It may be that both the non-psychoactive properties and psychoactive properties of these substances contribute to their therapeutic effectiveness.
However, before psychedelics are used to treat a specific mental health diagnosis, some potential problems need to be considered. For example, psychedelics may be harmful to people who have a genetic predisposition to psychosis. Rigorous scientific study is needed if psychedelics are to be integrated into publicly available therapy in a realistic, safe and lasting way.
At the Monash University Computational Neuroscience Lab, the ongoing psychedelic imaging trial uses synthesised psilocybin — the magic ingredient in ‘magic mushrooms’ — supplied by Usona Institute, a medical research organisation. The trial uses a fixed dose of 19 mg, an amount based on prior studies and recommendations of researchers, to reliably create the psychedelic effects of psilocybin at a level that is generally well tolerated by healthy adults, regardless of gender or body weight.
Participants have two sessions of brain scans at the Biomedical Imaging facility at Monash, one before and one after the psilocybin. They take the drug as a pill in a comfortable non-clinical setting at the Turner Institute’s BrainPark, in the company of the researcher, study doctor and support staff. Most people start feeling the effects of psilocybin about an hour later, so scanning begins.
First, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) takes high-resolution pictures of the whole brain, including deeply located subcortical parts, and measures how that activity changes over time. The researchers also use an electroencephalograph (EEG) after the MRI, because it can measure millisecond changes in brain connectivity, although with much lower (spatial) resolution.
The study also investigates how context plays a role in the effects of psilocybin, by providing different music as the scanning takes place. The researchers will finally debrief the participants, to better understand the mechanisms of perception by associating subjective reports with the observed changes.
The researchers have so far found wide variability in participants’ experiences. Some participants report melting and shifting patterns while their eyes are open; others report no visual alterations. Some participants report purely bodily experiences, while others describe accounts of mystical-like journeys. Some participants disclosed a sense of integration, and dissolved separation between themselves and the environment that entailed euphoria; while others experienced these changes with varying emotions.
At this early stage, the research suggests that the quality rather than the intensity of psilocybin experiences may have a greater bearing on psychological changes. Over time, the work hopes to better understand the biological factors that determine the psychedelic response to a given dose, and how mindset and setting can be optimised to aid therapeutic outcomes. Ultimately asking volunteers to take psilocybin for science could help us better understand the brain and how the brain allows us to make sense of ourselves and the world.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, visit Find a helpline for free, confidential support from a real person over phone, text or online chat in your country.
Devon Stoliker is a neuroscientist and consciousness researcher at Monash University, investigating neural connectivity changes under psychedelics and the influence of extra-pharmacological variables on psychedelic experiences and therapeutic outcomes.
Dr Adeel Razi is an Associate Professor, NHMRC Investigator (Emerging Leadership) and Director of the Computational Neuroscience Laboratory at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health and Monash Biomedical Imaging.
The PsiConnect trial is funded by following grants awarded to A/Prof Adeel Razi: CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Fellowship, Turner Institute’s Strategic Grant, and Monash Academic Supports Fund.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article has been republished following the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announcement that from July 1 this year, medicines containing the psychedelic substances psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) and MDMA can be prescribed by authorised psychiatrists for mental health treatment. It was first published on October 10, 2022. | <urn:uuid:2b81c13e-512c-4304-9f1a-140d8b219357> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://360info.org/taking-psilocybin-for-science/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233506559.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20230924023050-20230924053050-00157.warc.gz | en | 0.913198 | 1,177 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Margaret Bourke-White, Italy, Benito Mussolini, World War II
Arts and Humanities
DURING the nineteenth century, American artists, writers, and intellectuals flocked to Italy, seeking an escape from the exigencies of the modern world. To them, Italy was a dream realm, a golden Arcadia. Some, however, like the painter Thomas Cole, saw through the dream and brought back to America a stark message about the displacement of nations and the fall of empires. In the 183os, on the eve of America's westward expansion, Cole painted his Course of Empire series, tracing the progress of Rome from an Arcadian State, to the Consummation of Empire, to Destruction, finally ending in Desolation. Cole was warning his countrymen not to follow in Rome's disastrous path. 1
Again, in the mid-twentieth century, Americans who went to Italy (though not as tourists), would bring back messages of warning even more urgent because they were responses to the rise of the fascist Roman Empire of Benito Mussolini. At first, in the I930S, Americans were impressed with the new Italy, its sense of order and cleanliness, and its success in industrialization and the utilization of technology. Increasingly, however, the dark side of Mussolini's innovations became apparent, and with the outbreak of World War II, the fascist dream became the world's nightmare.
Bond, Randall I., "Traveler to Arcadia: Margaret Bourke-White in Italy, 1943-1944" (1992). The Courier. Paper 290. | <urn:uuid:a9a8613e-4a9c-40e8-a3fb-0110e07425bf> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://surface.syr.edu/libassoc/290/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698541426.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170901-00376-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91943 | 327 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Every year, millions of people around the world are affected by natural or human-made disasters. With the advancement of science and technology, and better management, the number of deaths due to natural disasters is decreasing over the years. However, disasters like earthquake, cyclone, drought and flood are posing serious threats (Below, 2017; Guo, 2010) to mankind. In fact, earthquakes, cyclones and floods and other related natural events are the leading cause of death in recent years. Given India’s population and weak state of its institutions of governance, adopting precautionary measures to disaster preparedness becomes imperative.
The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events, coupled with poor governance and lack of awareness, cause severe damage in many parts of the world. The impact, in terms of loss of life, livelihoods, and displacement of population, is particularly high in developing nations. The rescue and rehabilitation needs of the community affected by any disaster depend on both the intensity of the disaster and the efficiency of the governance mechanisms in place.
We are fortunate that in the present day agencies around the world are constantly observing the occurrences of disasters across the globe, and analysing their pattern, origin and the damages caused. These determinations are frequently shared among scientific bodies for better preparation of upcoming events and the learnings from similar events are also shared freely. Finding reliable and accurate data is crucial. It plays a vital role not only in disaster preparedness, but also in post-disaster management. As such, domestic capability gaps can often be bridged to a large extent by establishing good networks and communications systems with such global entities.
The efforts of the European Space Agency (ESA) are a good case in point. When a disaster strikes, a group of international space agencies, pool their resources and expertise to support relief efforts on the ground (ESA, 2017). Also, several organisations across the globe work on specific disasters, some of which even offer data about the natural disasters in the open domain to promote more scientific research. International centres are sharing datasets for particular disasters – for example, the global earthquake model (GEM) holds a global historical earthquake catalogue from the year 1000 to date.
India is home to 1.3 billion people (UN, 2018) which accounts for almost 17.74 per cent of the world’s population. The growing frequency and intensity of extreme events, combined with uncontrolled, rapid urbanisation and poor governance makes the country extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. In India, about 60 per cent of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities; over 40 million hectares is prone to floods; close to 5,700 km long coastline out of the 7,516 km, is prone to cyclones; about 68 per cent of the cultivable area is susceptible to drought (NDMA 2018). The Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the East and part of West coast are vulnerable to Tsunami. The deciduous/ dry-deciduous forests in different parts of the country experience forest fires. The Himalayan region and the Western Ghats are prone to landslides (ISRO, 2017).
India has an institutional framework in place for dealing with disasters which is rapidly growing in capability. The nodal agencies for disaster management in India are the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). These agencies, along with state disaster management authorities are responsible for disaster management. Research institutes like the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) are continually conducting scientific research and providing data to disaster management authorities.
The key to preventing or minimising the scale of disasters we face lies in these agencies being able to deploy the latest scientific tools and knowledge available, nationally or internationally, in a timely and systemic manner to predict the likelihood of extreme events and translate this knowledge into response action needed by the administrative set up. Neither the lack of data or knowledge nor the lack of coordination among various agencies responsible for timely response action can any longer be an acceptable excuse for avoidable high losses, particularly in terms of lives lost.
Prime Minister Modi had declared that “In India, we are committed to walk the talk on the implementation of Sendai Framework” during the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi, in November 2016 (PIB, 2016). India has all the technical capabilities it requires to ensure that we are indeed able to walk the talk, and build/strengthen any gaps that may exist. Modern technologies like satellite imaging (for imaging the extent of impact), Internet of things (IOT) (informed decisions), unmanned aerial systems (UAS) (surveillance and rescue), Decision Support Systems (timely decision), GIS technologies (spatial enabled decision), crowdsourcing (disaster management and rescue) and artificial intelligence (inference and learning and decision making)—all of which can contribute to better disaster preparedness— are available in India.
The need of the hour is for the government to strengthen the institutional framework for disaster management by requiring every state to have a disaster preparedness and response network comprising (i) Academic and research organisations that could model vulnerabilities to relevant extreme events in a state bearing in mind the underlying socio-ecological contexts therein (ii) Weather forecasting agencies that have the capability and must take responsibility, for forecasts at relevant time and geographical scales (iii) Large infrastructure service providers that are themselves vulnerable or can add to vulnerability (iv) Municipal and state functionaries who would need to lead preparedness, and enforce it, on the basis of precautionary principles, and finally (v) the agencies that would be involved in relief and rescue operations. Such a network would need to be coordinated by a small empowered committee and chaired by a professional in the rank of a minister. Cross-border coordination must be ensured by the chairmen of the empowered state committees. The only remaining barrier to a more effective mitigation of disaster consequences is one of application.
Below, P. (2017). Hoyois – EM-DAT: The CRED/OFDA International Disaster Database–www.emdat.be–Université Catholique de Louvain–Brussels–Belgium. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
European Space Agency, 2017. Pooling and Sharing of Secure Government Satcoms, November 21.
Guo, H. (2010). Understanding global natural disasters and the role of earth observation, 8947. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2010.499662.
Indian Space Research Organisation (2017), Retrieved September 15, 2018, Available at: https://www.isro.gov.in/applications/disaster-management-support-programme.
National Disaster Management Authority, 2018, Vulnerability Profile, Available at: bitly/2CydOrp
Press Information Bureau, 2016. Prime Minister’s address at Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Prime Minister’s Office, November 3.
United Nations (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision. Retrieved September 15, 2018. | <urn:uuid:d0fec72f-4531-4483-9bb7-a89abc0355ce> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://geographyandyou.com/disaster-preparedness-in-an-increasingly-uncertain-world-aligning-science-policy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103639050.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220629115352-20220629145352-00599.warc.gz | en | 0.91382 | 1,507 | 3.71875 | 4 |
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is set to double over the next 25 years, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly from macrovascular diabetic complications. Pre-diabetic dysglycaemia, characterised by impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and/or impaired fasting glucose (IFG), is associated with an increased risk of developing both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. IGT and IFG appear well before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, thereby presenting an opportunity for intervention to reduce the future burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Intensive lifestyle interventions are effective in preventing or delaying diabetes but are difficult to sustain long term. Intervention trials with pharmacological agents, e.g. the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) with metformin, and the STOP-NIDDM study with acarbose, have demonstrated significant decreases in the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes in populations with IGT. Moreover, preliminary evidence with these agents supports a possible beneficial effect on cardiovascular outcomes. | <urn:uuid:06a02e86-81e0-4f55-b663-21dcd0a196a9> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://bjcardio.co.uk/2004/03/will-prevention-of-type-2-diabetes-reduce-the-future-burden-of-cardiovascular-disease-the-evidence-base-today/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439735810.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20200803111838-20200803141838-00173.warc.gz | en | 0.903765 | 199 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Carmon Jackson, a World War II U.S. Navy veteran who was on board the USS Missouri during the signing of Japan's official surrender, describes his experience.
U.S. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was there. So was Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz.
On a cloudy, overcast day aboard the massive battleship the USS Missouri, they put their signatures on Japan's formal World War II surrender - to the relief of a battle-scarred world.
Sharing history aboard the ship were U.S. Naval sailors Carmon Jackson and Art Albert, two of 3,000 sailors aboard the Missouri on that day. ... | <urn:uuid:12238bb5-ab97-487f-bd78-66b99a33d134> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20130902/NEWS01/309020010/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1433195036618.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20150601214356-00064-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956943 | 135 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Minnesota’s population has more than doubled in the last one hundred years. In 1910, the Census Bureau reported that the state had two million inhabitants. Now, 100 years later, the North Star state has more than 5.2 million inhabitants.
Before 1950, the Census Bureau did not define metropolitan areas such as the Twin Cities. But by using data from IPUMS, Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, a comprehensive population database, it is possible to see what the Twin Cities demographics were in 1910 and beyond.
Over the years, the original Native American inhabitants of the state have been joined by immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. At the onset of the twentieth century, immigrants were mostly European, with immigrant Germans, Swedes and Norwegian, making up about twenty-seven per cent of the population. The number of immigrants one hundred years later is much lower.
Today, only about 8.7 percent of the Twin Cities metropolitan area population comprises people born outside the United States. The American Community Survey (part of the Census) reports a Twin Cities metropolitan area population of about 3.2 million in 2008, with 281,428 foreign-born residents. While some of these immigrants are European, especially from the former Soviet republics and Yugoslavia, the pool of immigrants today is very diverse. The largest groups come from Laos, Vietnam, India, Somalia, Liberia, Mexico, and Canada.
Households were larger in 1910 than they are now. The 1910 Census reported that 59.4 percent of all households had more than four inhabitants. Today most households have only two inhabitants and only 39 percent of households have more than four family members living there. | <urn:uuid:7f1732f2-b77c-469f-b742-803331db40e2> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/changing-minnesota-1910-2010/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207928757.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113208-00257-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968828 | 338 | 3.53125 | 4 |
The low carbon village pilot – supported by £600,000 funding from the National Trust’s energy partner npower – is being trialled at the National Trust owned villages of Coleshill in Oxfordshire and the Wallington Estate in Northumberland. As well as funding the project, npower is also giving advice on effective energy saving solutions for tenants of the properties.
The project involves 62 houses at Coleshill and 73 cottages and 14 farms at Wallington, with properties dating from the 1850s and 1750s respectively. Through community engagement, each village will decide what measures to take to reduce their carbon footprints with the added incentive of making savings to their energy bills.
Residents at Coleshill wanted to find out their current energy consumption and carbon emissions as a starting point so that any success could be measured. On assessment, the average carbon footprint for homes and appliances was 7.57 tonnes of CO2 each year, slightly higher than the national average of 6.15 tonnes.
At Wallington, the community’s overall carbon footprint for heating and electricity was 879 tonnes of CO2, equating to 9.5 tonnes of CO2 per property per year. The reason for this higher emission level is because, like a third of all rural areas in the UK, Wallington is off the gas network. The village therefore has to rely on carbon-intensive oil and electricity for heating which pushes up carbon levels as well as the bills.
After discussing findings and the options available to help reduce emissions, residents at both villages decided that an effective use of the npower funding would be to ensure all houses made basic energy saving improvements first. This approach would ensure all properties would see some benefits by the end of the project. Measures being undertaken over the next 18 months include;
■Encouraging awareness and energy-wise behaviour
■Lagging pipes and water tanks
■Draught proofing windows or fitting secondary glazing
■Fitting low energy light bulbs
■Fitment of heating controls
Celia Robbins, the National Trust’s project manager at Wallington, said:
‘By introducing our energy efficiency measures and helping people understand their energy use we hope to make a real difference to both people’s pockets and to the environment.
Our Northumbrian climate and being off the gas network mean that keeping warm and using energy wisely are real issues for the community. Added to this, solid stone walls and single glazed sash windows, make it more difficult to introduce energy efficiency measures in older properties. This project demonstrates what people can do to improve energy efficiency on properties of any age.
Installing sheep’s wool insulation and improving the efficiency of off-grid electricity generation will reduce Wallington’s carbon footprint by more than 10 Per cent.
On advice from npower’s energy advisor, we are also encouraging residents to monitor their electricity with a real time display which shows how much any appliance uses every six seconds. Using the display can be quite a revelation because although electricity is invisible this helps people see exactly how much they use and the associated costs.’
Caroline Dower, one of the villagers at Wallington, has used the display meter for several months. She commented:
‘The most surprising thing was how much electricity the towel rail was using. I assumed it wouldn’t be very much. In fact we worked out by turning if off we’re saving nearly £200 a year!’
The National Trust’s low carbon village projects have been developing over the past 18 months, looking for solutions on how to make older and historic buildings more energy efficient. Lessons learnt may be shared with the government following its recent announcement of new funding and support for 20 low carbon communities across the UK.
Rob Jarman, head of sustainability and environmental practices at the National Trust, said:
‘This pilot is showing us how to best work with our tenants to reduce energy use and generate renewable energy on all our estates and properties.
We have already done a lot of improvements to cottages and houses, such as insulation and low energy fittings, but we have potential to really achieve some serious energy savings. The Trust looks after 60 estate villages in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – with nearly 5,000 tenanted homes – and in each one we can demonstrate what measures people can take across older properties and what can be achieved in a relatively short time.
People don’t necessarily need to invest in expensive technologies to start ‘greening’ their homes and benefiting from the savings made on energy costs. It is often the case that the basics will make a substantial difference in the first instance. We hope that our low carbon experience can contribute to the government’s recent Low Carbon Communities Challenge.
Kevin Miles, CEO of npower retail, commented:
‘This is a very exciting project for us. Together with the National Trust we are committed to helping reduce emissions at its several hundred tenanted properties and we are keen to share our expertise with residents and advice on what might help them achieve their goals.’
A new website has been launched to follow the progress of the National Trust’s low carbon villages. For further information visit http://www.lowcarbonvillages.org.uk
Have your say on this story using the comment section below | <urn:uuid:0802b74f-040c-432a-998c-b8c7c3c9fa35> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://propertytalklive.co.uk/environment/1904/communities-turn-historic-villages-green | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738659753.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173739-00259-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949714 | 1,098 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The Fukushima accident reminded us how important prior planning is when it comes to safely handling extreme events at a nuclear reactor. We continue to conclude U.S. plants can survive many scenarios, such as loss of offsite power or flooding. After Fukushima, however, we’re requiring plants to have strategies for dealing with the long-term loss of normal safety systems. Instead of figuring out which events might happen, we’re focusing on significantly improving the plants’ flexibility and diversity in responding to extreme natural phenomena (such as severe flooding, earthquakes, extreme temperatures, etc.).
The plants’ strategies must protect or restore key safety functions indefinitely in the case of an accident. The strategies focus on keeping the core cool, preserving the containment’s barrier that prevents or controls radiation releases, and cooling the spent fuel pool. Plants with more than one reactor must be able to do this for every reactor on site at the same time.
Ideally, plants would have everything for their strategies on site. The strategies must protect the plant indefinitely, however, so plants may need to bring in additional equipment or resources. The order reflects this by having three phases with different requirements.
The first phase begins with the accident or event. At this point, the plants will use installed equipment, such as steam-driven pumps or battery-powered systems, to protect or restore safety functions. The plants must be able to shift to the second phase before the installed equipment is exhausted.
The strategies’ second phase uses portable equipment that’s stored onsite, such as additional pumps or generators. This equipment is stored near the reactors and reasonably protected from severe weather or earthquakes. The phase two resources are brought to the reactors and connected to maintain the safety functions. During this phase, plants would also be able to transfer fuel from onsite tanks to the places were it’s needed to run generators and other equipment. Plants have to ensure the third phase can take over before the portable equipment runs out of supplies.
The final phase starts when outside help arrives. The nuclear energy industry is setting up two response centers to provide additional equipment and other resources to any U.S. reactor within 24 hours. One center is in Memphis, Tenn., and the other is in Phoenix, Ariz.
The plants have all submitted a plan for what they intend to do and use in each of these phases. The plans must also explain how the plants will have everything in place by the end of 2016. We’ve been reviewing those plans and we’re at the point of issuing interim staff evaluations, which let the licensee know whether we think they are on the right track. The NRC will inspect the plants throughout this process to ensure the strategies will get the job done. Our website’s Japan Lessons Learned section has more information about the mitigation strategy requirements and related guidance.
Note: The graphic is now available on our Flickr site. | <urn:uuid:a6cccf8f-9671-410f-921c-be52462d095d> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/2014/04/02/addressing-the-unpredictable-through-mitigation-strategies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496665985.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20191113035916-20191113063916-00295.warc.gz | en | 0.943658 | 594 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Local lighthouse a beacon of hope after maritime disasters
The Rescue 116 helicopter is believed to have crashed into the sea not far from Blackrock Lighthouse off the Mayo coast.
Built on a rock outcrop located at sea some 12km from Blacksod Head, the lighthouse was designed to warn shipping off one of the most notorious stretches of coastline in Europe.
Several Spanish Armada vessels were wrecked in waters between Donegal, Mayo and Galway in the 16th century.
The actual lighthouse stands some 16 metres in height but, when combined with the height of the rock outcrop on which it is built, the overall height above sea level is some 84 metres.
Blackrock Lighthouse was ordered in 1857, built in 1863 and became fully operational on June 1, 1864.
Its light, which flashes white to sea and red to land, is visible for almost 34km.
The Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), which operate the facility, will be one of a number of agencies helping the Air Accident Investigation Unit with its investigation into the tragedy.
It is now expected to task its support vessel, ILV Granuaile, to the scene.
The ship is equipped with a heavy lift crane, which helps in salvage and recovery operations.
CIL official Captain Robert McCabe confirmed that all aids to navigation on the lighthouse were operational.
Blackrock Lighthouse was one of the first in Ireland to be converted to automated rather than manned operations.
This was due to its offshore location and the demands on lighthouse keepers, particularly in the harsh winter months.
It became fully automated in 1974.
Blackrock has since been fully modernised with the most modern LED lighting and aid-to-navigation systems.
For almost 150 years, the primary aim of Blackrock Lighthouse has been to warn shipping off dangerous local rocks and guide vessels towards the shelter of Blacksod Bay.
Blackrock Lighthouse was previously associated with an aviation incident, albeit of a different kind.
In August 1940, part of the lighthouse was damaged when it was hit by stray gunfire from a German bomber which had been attacked by a merchant vessel located passing by the rock.
The aid-to-navigation systems on Blackrock Lighthouse are monitored via telemetry links from the Commission of Irish Lights headquarters in Dublin. | <urn:uuid:be09319e-facc-4d72-b3c3-f88a654de4e9> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/local-lighthouse-a-beacon-of-hope-after-maritime-disasters-35536024.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187828356.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20171024090757-20171024110757-00305.warc.gz | en | 0.973166 | 472 | 3 | 3 |
Fifty years ago this month, the U.S. Surgeon General released his now-famous report classifying smoking as a cause of lung cancer. A landmark in the field of public health, the report brought the full weight of the nation’s highest medical office to the burning question of the day. Its conclusions “hit the country like a bombshell,” in Surgeon General Luther Terry’s words. Yet the report was less a product of groundbreaking new science than the capstone on a body of research stretching back decades.
In fact, the history of scientists’ efforts to understand what causes lung cancer is in large part the history of our modern understanding of cancer. A look back at the major players in the field offers a revealing glimpse into why cancer treatment took the shape that it did, and why our knowledge of tobacco's dangers was so long in the making.
In the early decades of the 20th century, people on both sides of the Atlantic began to be concerned by the steep rise in the incidence of lung cancer. Health statistics showed that there were only 140 known cases of lung cancer worldwide before 1900; by 1935, there were 5,049 cases. The incidence rate had tripled. Numerous factors were proposed to explain the rise, among them air pollution from industry and automobile exhaust, use of x-rays, lung damage caused by the 1918 “Spanish Flu,” and tobacco use. Of these, air pollution seemed to many to be the most likely cause.
“If I had had to put money on anything at the time, I should have put it on motor exhausts or possibly the tarring of roads,” recalled the British epidemiologist Richard Doll later in life. “The whole road system in the country had changed with the advent of the motor car, and we knew that the tar that was put on roads contained many carcinogens.”
By contrast, tobacco seemed a less likely cause. After all, tobacco was a “natural” product, commonly smoked by many Americans at the time, including a majority of physicians.
Air pollution was seen as a more likely culprit for several reasons. A long history of scientific work suggested that coal tar was carcinogenic—able to produce cancer. In 1775, an English physician named Percivall Pott noticed a strange correlation between being diagnosed with scrotal cancer and having previously worked as a chimney sweep. Chimney sweeps were often young boys whose small size allowed them to shimmy up chimneys, exposing them to coal tar. Pott’s observation inspired another doctor, more than a hundred years later, to test the relationship between coal tar and cancer. In 1916, Katsusaburo Yamagiwa, a Japanese researcher, succeeded in experimentally producing cancers in rabbits by painting their ears with coal tar. A few years later, in 1925, researchers in England isolated several chemical compounds in coal tar that were carcinogenic. The compounds were all ring-shaped molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The discovery of discrete cancer-causing chemicals was a major breakthrough in cancer research. Not only did it open up a new theoretical framework for thinking about cancer, it also allowed researchers to create cancer in the laboratory, so that it could be studied. Many of the established tumor cell lines, including some still in use today, were created by treating laboratory animals with various carcinogens found in coal tar and petroleum products. It is from these tumor cell lines that we have gained most of our contemporary knowledge of cancer.
From Carcinogens to Chemotherapy
The person most responsible for pursuing the chemistry of cancer was Dr. Murray J. Shear, a biochemist with the Office of Cancer Investigations at the U.S. Public Service, then affiliated with Harvard Medical School in Boston. Shear’s lab performed detailed studies of chemical carcinogenesis from about 1931 to 1937, when the lab merged with another to form the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and Shear moved to Bethesda, MD.
From an early interest in chemicals that cause cancer, Shear broadened his scope to include a search for those that might cure it. He was inspired in this search by the work of Dr. William Coley, considered to be the “Father of Cancer Immunotherapy.” In the late 1930s, not long after Coley’s death, Shear set out to isolate the chemical factor in Coley’s toxins that had produced such potent anti-cancer effects. Shear believed that if he could isolate and purify the chemical, he would be able to obtain more consistent and reproducible results than Coley himself did. In 1943, Shear succeeded in isolating a chemical factor that fit the bill. It was a type of sugar he called lipopolysaccharide, or LPS.
LPS (also known as endotoxin) was a seemingly miracle substance: when injected into mice with tumors, it caused the tumors to shrivel up and die. Shear hoped that LPS might be used therapeutically to treat patients with cancer. Naturally, many others did as well.
William Laurence, a science reporter for the New York Times wrote in July 1944: “This, of course, marks a great step forward in the search for chemical agents to destroy cancer. It is the first pure chemical so far found that seems to have a specific highly destructive effect on cancers in animals.”
Despite initial high hopes, LPS ultimately proved too toxic to be used as a form of treatment. Side effects were severe. Nonetheless, the discovery inspired a methodical search for other chemical compounds that might have anti-cancer effects. Shear’s approach of testing compounds in mouse tumor lines became the model for other large-scale drug screening efforts that eventually took root at Sloan-Kettering Institute, the NCI, and other institutions in the 1950s. It was through such massive drug screening programs that many of our most commonly used chemotherapy drugs were identified, including 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), the nitrogen mustards, and paclitaxel (Taxol). For that reason, Shear is known today as the “Father of Chemotherapy.” (It is, of course, an irony that Shear’s work on Coley’s toxins proved to be the beginning of chemotherapy rather than immunotherapy.)
Tobacco and Cancer: Fast Facts
Cigarette smoke contains more than 60 known carcinogens, including radioactive polonium.
80%-90% of all lung cancers are caused by smoking.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women worldwide.
Lung cancer killed 160,000 Americans last year, and 10 times that globally.
Roughly 100 million people in the 20th century died from tobacco use.
Throughout the 1940s, cancer researchers continued to search for the factors behind the rise in lung cancer. While working at the NCI, Shear and colleagues performed an experiment in which they collected soot from a variety of sources, including air from the Holland Tunnel in New York and air vents in Chelsea, MA, and Pittsburgh, PA, and injected it into mice, finding that it was able to produce skin cancers. (Pittsburgh soot was reportedly the most carcinogenic.)
By 1950, however, epidemiological studies had strongly implicated tobacco smoke as the probable cause of the steep rise in lung cancer. Numerous groups in both England and the U.S. found a strong statistical correlation between having been a heavy smoker and developing lung cancer; the longer the length of time a person smoked, the higher was his chance of developing cancer.
A few years later, in 1953, scientists were able to show in the lab what the epidemiology strongly suggested: cigarette tar is able to produce cancer in laboratory animals. Taking previous researchers’ earlier work with coal tar as a cue, Ernest Wynder, Evarts Graham, and colleagues began painting the skin of mice with cigarette tar. As they reported in the journal Cancer Research, 44% of mice painted with tobacco tar on their backs eventually developed skin cancer.
In retrospect, this work should have clinched the case for tobacco as a cause of lung cancer. As Charles Cameron, medical director of the American Cancer Society, noted in 1956, “If the degree of association which has been established between cancer of the lung and smoking were shown to exist between cancer of the lung, and say, eating spinach, no one would raise a hand against the proscription of spinach from the national diet.” But it was at this time the tobacco industry launched its calculated strategy to intentionally cast doubt on the findings of medical science, effectively creating “controversy” where really there was none.
“Doubt Is Our Product”
Wynder’s damaging report from 1953 lit a fire under tobacco industry executives, who met in secret that year at the Plaza Hotel in New York City to contrive their response. There, behind closed doors, they hatched the plan that would set medical science back decades and cost millions of lives. It was at this meeting that the heads of leading tobacco companies agreed to pursue a policy of casting doubt on the validity of scientific findings linking tobacco and cancer and maintaining that the link was “not proven.” As a tobacco executive from Brown & Williamson admitted bluntly in 1969, “doubt is our product.”
The centerpiece of the tobacco industry’s PR strategy was an institute it created to fund scientific research. The supposed aim of the Tobacco Industry Research Committee (TIRC) was to collect evidence pertaining to the question of whether tobacco was a cause of cancer. Tobacco company executives took out a full page ad in newspapers around the country to announce the creation of this body. But as historians such as Robert Proctor and Allan Brandt have shown, the TIRC was more about PR than anything else. Run out of the offices of the PR firm Hill & Knowlton, the TIRC funded “safe” research projects that could be counted on to avoid the topic of tobacco and cancer. The purpose of such research was, in Robert Proctor’s words, “to look in such a way as not to find.”
Ironically, the person chosen to head the TIRC was C. C. Little, a well-known geneticist and also a Coley Award winner, who as a young scientist had established the purebred mouse strains on which practically all existing cancer work had been done (including Wynder’s famous 1953 experiment). Little had begun his career interested in the genetic basis for cancer. He helped establish, in 1929, the Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory at Bar Harbour, ME, which became a central clearing house for purebred strains of mice, and to this day supplies millions of designer mice for laboratory research to scientists all over the world.
Little was an appropriate choice to lead the TIRC, since his genetic bias led him to de-emphasize environmental causes of cancer. He also seemed to enjoy stoking controversy. In a 1956 editorial published in Cancer Research, Little stuck to his guns about the tobacco-cancer link being “not proven.” Evarts Graham, in an editorial retort, chided Little’s obstinacy, noting that the evidence for a causal relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer was “stronger than that for the efficacy of vaccination against smallpox,” which was, after all, “only statistical.”
It was to put an end to this phony controversy that Surgeon General Luther Terry decided to convene a committee in 1962 to review the problem. The eventual report reflected the conclusions of 10 scientists, all experts in their respective medical and scientific fields, who were chosen to critically evaluate all the existing evidence on the subject of tobacco and cancer—some 7,000 publications. Their conclusion, reached after more than 12 months of consideration, was definitive: smoking is a cause of lung cancer.
Since the 1964 report was released—on a Saturday, to avoid upsetting the stock market and to have maximum publicity in the Sunday papers—rates of smoking have steadily declined. In 1965, Congress required warning labels to be printed on cigarette packages, and in 1970 the label was updated to read, “Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined that Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.” After a steady 60-year increase, the incidence of lung cancer finally began to drop in the 1990s.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that 20% of Americans still smoke. Even more shocking, rates of cigarette smoking in developing countries—China especially—are rising fast.
Increasingly, e-cigarettes are touted as a safer option for smokers, but the jury is still out on just how healthy such a “nicotine delivery device” is. While not itself a carcinogen, nicotine is highly addictive, and comes with dangers of its own in high quantities. The tobacco industry, it seems, will do just about anything to keep us hooked. | <urn:uuid:0a113484-278f-464d-a4c4-4dbdd8f02b66> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.cancerresearch.org/news-publications/our-blog/january-2014/smoke-screens-searching-for-the-causes-of-lung-cancer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424683.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170724022304-20170724042304-00045.warc.gz | en | 0.973361 | 2,695 | 3.5625 | 4 |
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In this brief introduction to the subject of Egyptian Mythology the author has given a lot of thought to the context of the subject. This makes it an easy read. There is a useful Historical Timeline which allows the reader to follow the complexities of Egyptian history and locate the mythology within the development of the country.
Inside you will read about…
✓ A Timeline for Ancient Egypt
✓ Historical Egypt
✓ The Myth Of Creation
✓ The Pantheon Of Gods
✓ Mythology In Day To Day Ancient Egypt
✓ The Central Role Of The Temple And Some Temple Rituals
✓ Sources Of The History Of Egyptian Mythology
✓ The Underworld And Life After Death
✓ Pyramids And Their Locations
The book includes the myths of the creation in some detail and introduces the top Deities in a Pantheon of over two thousand God and Goddesses. The presence and importance of the Nile is discussed and details of daily life, including the rituals followed in the temples, essentially the backbone of the economy, are well covered. | <urn:uuid:d3239523-c5dd-4af3-8f9e-ec572ef1f1c4> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://www.freado.com/book-deal/egyptian-mythology-a-concise-guide-to-the-ancient-gods-and-beliefs-of-egyptian-mythology-greek-mythology-norse-mythology-egyptian-mythology-book-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213666.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818114957-20180818134957-00194.warc.gz | en | 0.846738 | 253 | 3 | 3 |
Drink More, Not Less for Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder is the experience of frequent, strong urges to urinate that you cannot control. You may feel the urge to urinate even when the bladder is not full.
There may be more than one cause of overactive bladder, and although the likelihood of experiencing it increases as you age, it is not a normal part of aging. Overactive bladder is common among men and women, with approximately 33 million Americans diagnosed.
Treatment for overactive bladder can depend on the underlying cause of the condition, but a first line of treatment often includes behavioral changes. As far as drinking fluids, it is recommended that people with overactive bladder drink more, not less, to improve their symptoms.
Normal Bladder Function
In normal urination, nerves in the bladder signal to the brain when the bladder is full and needs to be emptied. The pelvic floor muscles that are usually tightened relax, and the muscles of the bladder constrict. This forces urine out of the body through the urethra.
Causes of Overactive Bladder
With an overactive bladder, the bladder constricts when it is not full, creating the strong, immediate urge to urinate. Sometimes this urge causes incontinence, or involuntary urination.
Potential causes of overactive bladder include:
· Enlarged prostate
· Urinary tract infections
· Certain types of medication
· Excess consumption of alcohol or caffeine
· Tumors or stones in the bladder
Drink More, Not Less
Whatever the cause of overactive bladder, there are changes you can make in your lifestyle and activities that can help. One of these is making sure to drink plenty of fluids. Not getting enough to drink can irritate the bladder lining and make the symptoms of overactive bladder worse. Urine itself is an irritant when concentrated (that is, when you’re dehydrated).
Other Preventive Behavioral Measures
Additional ways to improve overactive bladder symptoms include:
· Strengthen pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises
· Urinate on a schedule, whether there is a strong urge to do so or not
· Delay urination with bladder training
· Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine
· Lose weight if you are overweight
· Wear incontinence pads or specialized underwear to lessen the stress or worry of not getting to a bathroom in time
When changes in behavior are not enough, there are other treatment options available for overactive bladder. Medications can relax the bladder and prevent the urge to urinate. Side effects of these drugs include dry mouth and constipation.
Botox injections temporarily paralyze the muscles of the bladder. These injections may be recommended for severe urge incontinence and its effects last for up to five months.
More invasive treatments include implanting a nerve stimulator, or surgery to enlarge or remove the bladder. These treatments should only be considered when other methods have failed.
If you have an overactive bladder, a urologist can help diagnose it and find the best treatment plan for you. Dr. Richard Natale of Carolina Urology Partners is a board-certified urologist with offices in Concord, North Carolina (in the Charlotte area). Call (704) 786-5131 for an appointment today to get relief for your overactive bladder. | <urn:uuid:41e0aa41-572f-4b40-8893-761653d6935e> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.charlottemenshealth.com/2018/02/16/drink-more-not-less-for-overactive-bladder/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943589.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20230321002050-20230321032050-00378.warc.gz | en | 0.919574 | 693 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The Legend of Tintagel
Tintagel House in central Nelson is named after a previous owners connection to the hamlet of Trevena, once part of the parish of Tintagel.
Pronounced Tin-ta-jel, even the name of this Cornish town sounds mythical and magical, as if casting a spell. In legend, Tintagel is where King Arthur was born. It is said that King Arthur was found as a baby by the wizard Merlin on the beach of Tintagel.
Today, fifteen centuries later, the town still earns its living from the King Arthur connection – King Arthur Cafes, Celtic bookshops and the King Arthur’s Arms Hotel line the streets leading up to the soft hills and ruined castle ahead.
Covered in wooly grass with paths that seem to dip and then rise into the sky, only the rocky cliffs teetering three hundred miles high over the Atlantic Ocean end the mile and a half of massive crags and wooden steps and tiny brooks.
Up high on these rocks are the remains of Tintagel Castle, built in the 12th century as the Earl of Cornwall’s stronghold. But before this time, perhaps, in an older, now eroded castle, King Arthur was born.
The Legend of King Arthur – fact or fiction?
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table never existed in real life. They’re purely figures of legend. There might have been someone called Arturus (or Riothamus) in Britain’s distant past, but if there was, he was probably a Romano-British leader or military general campaigning against the marauding Saxon hordes in the 5th century AD.
In that period of history, however, there was no such thing as knights-in-armour – horsemen didn’t even use stirrups until much later, so they couldn’t have worn and fought in armour.
There are several theories about the location of the ‘original’ court of Camelot, and although research continues, these are irrelevances: King Arthur and his knights will always be figures of fantasy, and Arthurian legend should be appreciated for what it is: a large and unique body of wonderful early European literature. | <urn:uuid:14f183a6-5e04-439e-845d-6e98584e6b3b> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | http://tintagel.co.nz/the-legend/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540486979.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20191206073120-20191206101120-00432.warc.gz | en | 0.95532 | 474 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Traditionally, tennis is played between two people in a singles match, or two pairs in a doubles match.
Standard types of match
Singles involves two players competing against each other, usually two men or two women, although games between a man and a woman may be played on an informal basis or as exhibitions.
Doubles is played by two teams of two players each, most often all-male or all-female. It utilizes a wider court than singles matches: it includes the area in the alley (tramlines, in British terminology), whereas singles does not. The two players on the receiving side change positions after each point played (one at the net and the other near the baseline, preparing to return serve).
Mixed doubles is played the same as doubles, but with one man and one woman per team. This form of tennis is rare in the professional game because the men's and women's tours are organised separately (by the ATP and WTA, respectively). However, all four Grand Slam tournaments hold a mixed doubles competition, alongside the men's and women's doubles, featuring many of the same players. There is also an annual mixed tournament for national teams, the Hopman Cup, which includes mixed doubles matches. Additionally, there have been mixed doubles events at the Summer Olympics on various occasions (In 1900, from 1912 until 1920 and again since 2012).
In professional tennis tournaments such as Wimbledon, the singles competition receives the most prize money and coverage, followed by doubles. Mixed doubles usually receive the lowest monetary awards. Also while players are gradually less competitive in singles by their late 20s and early 30s, they can still continue competitively in doubles (as instanced by Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe, who won doubles titles in their 40s).
Other types of match
When three players are available, modified rules can accommodate the mismatch so that the single player does not have to be significantly better than the double team. The single player hits into a doubles court while the side with two players hits into a singles court.
Australian doubles / American doubles
An informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, this is played with similar rules to Canadian doubles, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve, and the doubles team each taking one if they break. Throughout the United Kingdom (particularly England) and Australia this format is usually known as "American doubles", whereas in South Africa you would call it "American singles", or cut-throat tennis. It is also found in the Caribbean
A game played between three players. A normal tennis game takes place between two of the three contestants. Players are awarded 5 points for a game win and the loser is awarded points based on the score achieved: 3 for deuce, 2 for 30 and 1 for 15. The winner remains in. The player replacing the loser gets to choose who serves. The first to 50 wins. Scoring is calculated continuously, so if a player is currently on 49 points at the start of a game they only have to win one point for the game to end. There is a variation invented in 2005, called "mini-Jordache", where the first person to 25 points wins.
Played in both singles and doubles forms by people in wheelchairs. The main difference is that the ball may bounce twice before it is hit, the second bounce may even be outside the court. All four Grand Slam tournaments include wheelchair tennis.
There is an evolution in tennis training that employs the use of low compression balls and in some cases modified court sizes. Organizations around the world have begun to use lower compression balls and modified court sizes as a way to reach out to younger tennis players interested in tennis. The use of low compression balls and modified court sizes is meant to ease the process into becoming a competitive or amateur tennis player. The low compression balls are colored differently to indicate the level of compression. Young players and beginners are likely to find the game easier to learn because the balls do not bounce as high or travel as fast as "normal" balls. The modified smaller courts make covering the court, or reaching the opponents shot, easier as well.
- Can doubles be saved? Roger Federer and the Bryan brothers know the answer - The Oregonian, Douglas Perry, 14 June 2013
- Bryan brothers anonymity shows tennis is suffering a doubles fault - The Telegraph, Simon Briggs, 1 November 2013 | <urn:uuid:e67f5386-5376-49bb-a34c-bc77d5156378> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://wiki-offline.jakearchibald.com/wiki/Types_of_tennis_match | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215261.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819165038-20180819185038-00366.warc.gz | en | 0.972861 | 954 | 2.703125 | 3 |
264 Years Ago We Lost Twelve Days from The Calendar
How would you like to wake up tomorrow and realize that it was September 14 already?That's exactly what happened on this day in 1752. Britain and the American Colonies proclaimed that the day following September 2, which normally would be September 3, would be September 14 instead. This would be done to correct the Gregorian calendar.
Not only would the next day become September 14, but it was determined at the same time that New Year's Day should be on January 1 and not March 25, which is when it was celebrated in 1752.
For many people, the loss of 12 days from the calendar was too much so they actually protested and rioted over the move by the government to no avail.
Can you imagine trying to correct the calendar in this day and age? | <urn:uuid:2f80fd7b-b237-4934-b26f-f39fb9588e87> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://y101radio.com/264-years-ago-we-lost-twelve-days-from-the-calendar/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247481111.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190216190407-20190216212407-00577.warc.gz | en | 0.987415 | 170 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Science, Technology and Environment Minister Elba Rosa Perez tweeted that experts from the provincial delegation of that ministry are following the evolution of the fire for an environmental evaluation.
The fire broke out on February 18 in Pinares de Mayari, Holguín province, one of the most important regions of the country in terms of biodiversity, 730 kilometers east of Havana.
According to the Granma newspaper, damage was reported to plants that are in danger of extinction, in a critical or vulnerable state, including the jasmine of Pinar (Euphorbia podocarpirolia), native to the area and considered the flower of Holguin.
According to reports, the flames reached the Mensura-Piloto National Park, a protected area since 2008 for being among the most biodiverse in Cuba and a refuge for valuable flora and fauna species.
Other areas that are in danger are the La Sabina trail, where a species of local pine trees of the same name grow and which have a high biological value, and the emblematic Poza de Rafael, where fortunately the fire has not reached.
Specimens of fauna such as mollusks and insects unable to escape have also been affected. | <urn:uuid:072b801c-353b-4114-ad23-59de63bb94aa> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.plenglish.com/news/2023/03/02/forest-fire-in-eastern-cuba-affects-thousands-of-hectares/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943809.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20230322082826-20230322112826-00169.warc.gz | en | 0.933321 | 258 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Figure 1: The new pressure sensor operates at temperatures up to 250 degrees Celsius. Source: Fraunhofer IMS.
The images of the past months will be remembered for all times. Almost incessantly and with tremendous consequences for the environment unknown quantities of oil gushed out of the damaged conveying pipe of the exploded oil platform “Deepwater Horizon" into the Gulf of Mexico. If you analyse internet forums and interviews about this unpleasant issue objectively, it can be stated that big rantings are taking place and a surprising ignorance about the importance of this raw material prevails in the public mind. Further education in this area is necessary. Crude oil is by far not only a complex starting mixture for the production of fuels that are simply burnt to gain energy. In fact oil is the starting point of a product family, which touches almost every area of our lives. Numerous synthetic materials, useful coatings, important drugs as well as essential detergents and cleansing materials are just a few examples. Therefore we will not succeed to preserve our familiar variety of products without oil over the coming years. It is of utmost importance that especially the extraction and the transportation of this raw material will be carried out even safer and more reliable. Even though the medium-term importance of oil for the synthesis of fuels is decreasing due to the development of alternative energy concepts – such as wind and solar power – oil will remain an important and almost indispensable raw material for products of the chemical industry. Numerous research and development projects work on the realisation of those security requirements, which also deliver interesting new impulses for the exhibitors and visitors of the international trade fairs wire and Tube.
Seeing what is Happening - Simulated Cases of Damage
In a time of decreasing resources, secure pipeline systems are becoming more and more important. Such conveying systems are often several thousand kilometres long and therefore they must withstand different climatic, geological and mechanical requirements reliably. In the first place it´s essential to ensure that the raw materials are transported as resource-friendly as possible – wherefore oil demands powerful pumps and gas requires strong compressors. Secondly, the pipelines must be protected against damages of any kind and therefore they must be monitored constantly, so that no leakages can occur. Experts from Siemens now have the opportunity to simulate the working processes of a complete oil or gas pipeline in an unique pipeline demonstration centre in Fürth near Nürnberg. With these results, the engineers are able to develop innovative solutions for real and improved facilities. By this way complex piping systems, for example, can be monitored around the clock in terms of flow, temperature, pressure, vibration and denseness. Furthermore intelligent software solutions are available, which recognize different damages by exceeded or undercut threshold values of the operating parameters independently and automatically block the valves in critical sections.
Figure 2: The pipeline demo centre allows the simulation of various pipeline damages. Source: Siemens AG.
PU-Foams Protect Pipelines
The Nord Stream AG - a consortium of the companies OAO Gazprom, BASF SE/Wintershall Holding GmbH, E.ON Ruhrgas AG and NV Nederlandse Gasunie - wants to connect Russia and the European Union with a pipeline through the Baltic Sea. Since April this year the first ship is on its way through the Baltic Sea in order to lay the gas lines of the North Stream-Project, which will run between Wyborg in Russia and Greifswald in Germany. About 200.000 tubes must be welded for the realization of the project. An enormous number of welds must be protected by intelligent coatings to avoid damages caused by trawl nets or ship anchors for example. In order to fulfil this security-relevant requirement, the shock-absorbing polyurethane foam Elastopor H ® of the BASF Polyurethanes GmbH was chosen. The PU-system consists of two liquid components that are mixed together and worked into the cavities. Subsequently the actual polyurethane is formed from the mixture and is foamed up by the contained foaming agent. Due to its good fluidity, the material can disperse itself evenly and quickly in the cavities. In order to prevent that the polyurethane foam generates a lifting, an open cell structure is necessary which is able to absorb water. The rapid hardening of the polyurethane foam is of central importance for the installation process. Due to this fact, the material withstands the occurring strain during the lowering of the pipeline into the sea and it can unfold its protective effects over long periods of time. According to the company, the pipeline can reliably remain in use for at least 50 years.
Pressure Measurement under Extreme Conditions
Extreme conditions prevail during the extraction of raw materials. Drill heads under high loads bore themselves through massive stone formations - vibrations, high temperatures and changing pressure loads strain all materials that are involved in such processes.
This also includes the sensors that are used to measure the occurring pressure. Conventional pressure sensors only withstand temperatures of 80 to 125 degrees Celsius - but in great depths the temperature is often much higher. Scientists led by Dr. Hoc Khiem Trieu from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg have now developed a novel technology to make such sensors more stable. According to the scientists these sensors will work reliably at temperatures up to 250 degrees Celsius. "The pressure sensors have two components that are located on a wafer," explains Dr. Hoc Khiem Trieu. The first component is the sensor itself, the second is the EEPROM. This module stores all measured values as well as the data for calibration. In order to make the sensor work under extremely high temperatures, the engineers have modified the wafer, which bases typically on monocrystalline silicon material. Now the scientists use silicon oxide. Thereby the insulating properties against leakage currents, which often lead to failure, are improved up to four orders of magnitude. The range of possible applications of this innovation is broad. The engineers want to establish the high temperature pressure sensors in various industrial branches like, for examples, the petrochemical industry and the automotive industry.
Dr.-Ing. Christoph Konetschny
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Subscribe to our free Newsletter Service: | <urn:uuid:40015d73-7010-44ed-8ebf-3d38c6736b6c> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://www.tube-tradefair.com/en/News/Archive/Archive_Topics/Crude_Oil_A_Precious_and_Controversial_Raw_Material | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780054023.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20210917024943-20210917054943-00611.warc.gz | en | 0.93001 | 1,290 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Back in 1988, the dean of the school of education from the City College of New York was visiting London, and she met with the director of the Polytechnic of South Bank (now called the South Bank University). The director, Lady Perry, informed the dean that she had just moved across the street from the Mayflower Pub. Enchanted by the name of the pub, Dean Posamentier questioned if that had anything to do with the famous ship bearing that name. Lady Perry remarked, "Why certainly. The captain was a regular patron there."
The ensuing conversation revealed the differences in what school children on either side of the Atlantic are taught about the event. In England, the passengers of the ship and their reasons for leaving the country are emphasized, whereas in the U.S., their arrival is highlighted. Realizing how nice it would be to enable children from both countries to better understand both sides of the story, The Global Education Telecommunications Network project was born. This project linked school children in New York with children in London using the best available and most cost-effective technology at that time: email. Within a short time, at least a dozen countries joined the network, and classes around the world were learning using email.
Now, 20 years later, the technology is far better, and the need to make our students 21st-century and global learners is so important. We are finding that more and more classrooms around the world are participating in collaborative global projects. The world has changed greatly since 1988, and so has the use of technology in the classroom. As teachers begin to prepare their students to succeed in the global marketplace and society, they are integrating international content into the curriculum and linking students to other students to teach them the values of other cultures.
Today’s students are truly digital learners. Outside of school they are texting, using cell phones, creating social networks on the internet, and playing interactive games online; they often do all of these things at the same time—multitasking. They expect to use some of these tools when they are in school. Teachers can create new learning opportunities for students and turn classrooms into the 21st-century global classroom when they integrate technology into the learning environment. How can teachers begin to create such environments?
Using New Technology Tools
Although it is important for students to acquire new technology skills, what is more important is how these skills can strengthen and enhance classroom instruction. At the very least, students need the skills to allow them to engage in meaningful global collaborative projects. These include the following:
• ‑Internet basics such as searching, evaluating, citing internet resources, and developing appropriate and ethical use policies
• ‑Using the internet for access to information, experts, and other students
• ‑Creating and designing websites to publish student work
• Using desktop videoconferencing
• ‑Using Web 2.0 tools to create interactive, collaborative environments
Teachers can collaborate with other teachers around the globe using a variety of technology tools. For examples, ePals allows for safe student emailing and blogging. Using the ePals tools (www.epals.com), teachers have access to more than 130,000 classrooms in 80 countries. Teachers can also use other communications tools such as Skype (www.skype.com) to bring free videoconferencing into their classrooms in order to see students around the globe; they can also set up blogs so students can communicate and collaborate on project topics. Examples of how a blog was used to do projects between Japan and India and Japan and Chile are found at http://culturequestindia.blogspot.com and http://culturequestchile.blogspot.com.
Google offers teachers and students Google Docs, a variety of free, easy-to-use online tools (www.google.com/educators) that are similar to applications we have on our computers, such as word processing, presentation software, spreadsheets, etc. There’s also the website creation tool Google Sites (http://sites.google.com), which is wonderful for students who want to design websites. And Microsoft’s Windows Movie Maker enables students to create multimedia projects done as digital stories.
Using such digital tools is not only very appealing to students, but it also often makes a difference in their learning. And the tools often "come with" established learning communities, providing students with authentic audiences.
Global projects encourage teachers to engage in project-based learning. Students will work in groups to study real-life situations and to try to solve real problems—for example, studying the environmental concerns of students in various cultures or exploring how families celebrate holidays around the world. When they research their topics, students will use a variety of resources, both print and electronic, to synthesize, analyze, and communicate the information. An excellent project-based learning tool they can use is available at http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/checklist.shtml.
Of course, engaging students in project-based learning can be a challenge for some educators if they are accustomed to more traditional teaching approaches. The central idea when doing global projects is that students develop their own authentic projects based on their own interests and questions about other cultures. Teachers take on the role of coach and guiding partner while students plan and carry out the work of the projects. Students become engaged and eager learners when they share their work with other students electronically. They are also more eager to produce work that is of high quality because they are now sharing their work with a real audience.
Participating in Global Projects
Students need to learn more about other cultures. Teachers should teach about and review the general concept of "culture" and "cross-cultural," understanding as well as exploring the many diverse aspects of cultures such as literature, art, music, history, religion, language, daily life, customs, and traditions of other cultures that exist both in their own country and other countries. Through this experience, students learn the characteristics of the cultures of the countries, regions, and groups in different part of the world. This also helps students understand the similarities and differences across cultures. Understanding other cultures will help students avoid biases, preconceptions, and myths about other cultures.
Teachers can create their own projects or join one that is compatible with their curriculum. For sample international collaborations, see the sidebar titled "Global Projects Your Class Can Join."
In 2002, The City College of New York initiated a project called CultureQuest (www.culturequest.us) as a professional development program designed to train educators to effectively lead students through inquiry-based investigations of other cultures. In the past, textbooks served as the primary, if not the only, source of information about other cultures in our schools. In contrast, CultureQuest relies on both books and the vast array of resources available on the internet. Students can also communicate with peers as well as experts in a given culture and then publish the results of their research by creating an educational website to inform other students and the community beyond.
CultureQuests allow students to examine, understand, and appreciate diverse cultures, including their own cultures. These inquiry-based projects are rooted in student questions and interests, and they involve the focused, intensive study of one or more aspects of the literature, art, music, history, religion, language, daily life, customs, and traditions of other cultures. A CultureQuest is undertaken by an entire class working together, within which small groups of students focus on areas of the culture that are of particular interest to them.
A secondary goal of a CultureQuest is to provide students with the technology skills they will need for the 21st century.
Before undertaking CultureQuest projects, educators should 1) feel comfortable using technology to teach, 2) understand the meaning of culture and the most effective and appropriate ways to study it, and 3) employ pedagogically sound strategies for guiding students in project-based learning experiences and facilitating collaboration with teachers and students in international classrooms.
Teachers in the U.S., Japan, Australia, Israel, Sweden, India, Chile, Austria, and Spain have participated in CultureQuest projects. Second grade students in Spain did a CultureQuest about India. After forming groups of topics such as food, festivals, sites, national elements, and games, the students learned about India from books and the internet and by emailing students in India. A first grade class in New York City studied holiday foods in Israel. They emailed questions to students in Israel and also used books for their research. They drew pictures to represent their work and wrote a sentence or two about each picture. These pictures were later scanned and used to create a digital story. At the secondary level, a Spanish class in New York City did a CultureQuest project about Spain, studying a variety of aspects of Spanish culture, including fashion, music celebrations, language, food, everyday life, and sports. A social studies class did a project about immigration in America. This project allowed students to study the many cultures of their own country, examining the similarities and differences among them.
CultureQuest projects can be viewed at http://culturequest.us/sample_projects.htm, http://culturequest.us/teacherprojects.html, and http://techshowcase.googlepages.com.
We recently began another project called ScienceQuest, which you can learn about at www.culturequest.us/sciencequest.
Sheila Offman Gersh, Ed.D., is director of technology and international projects for the center for school development at the City College of New York, School of Education. She is a speaker at local, national, and international conferences. She teaches graduate courses and professional development workshops in the area of integrating technology across the curriculum. She also co-directs the CultureQuest project. She can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit Sheila's Guide for Educators web site at www.schoollink.org/twin. | <urn:uuid:a116bdbd-6e0b-4fb8-857f-c0ca18bddbcb> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.internetatschools.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Global-Projects-and-Digital-Tools-That-Make-Students-Global-Learners-%5BAvailable-Full-Text-Free%5D-59746.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189088.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00636-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95138 | 2,045 | 3.5 | 4 |
The Leech River complex on southern Vancouver Island and schistose rocks on southern Baranof Island have very similar geologic histories. Both were derived from probable Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous terrigenous clastic rocks and minor associated volcanogenic rocks and chert. Each underwent (1) at least two penetrative deformations locally involving folding, disruption, and transposition of thinly layered sequences, and (2) synkinematic, low-pressure, Buchan-type metamorphism. Progressive metamorphic zones ranging from greenschist to amphibolite facies are related to granitic intrusive bodies. Deformation, metamorphism, and intrusion culminated about 40 to 42 m.y. ago. Apparently, these units, now separated by more than 1,100 km, were once contiguous and lay at least as far south as the latitude of southern Vancouver Island. Shortly after 40 m.y. B.P., the allochthonous Leech River complex was emplaced at the southern edge of Vancouver Island, and the schists of Baranof Island and perhaps the entire Chugach terrane began their long northwestward journey along a system of dextral transcurrent faults. | <urn:uuid:38822f59-d537-4ae9-81d0-4124d5cb6fcf> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology/article-abstract/10/6/309/190850/geological-evidence-for-post-40-m-y-b-p-large?redirectedFrom=fulltext | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105712.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819182059-20170819202059-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.950505 | 246 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Readers may recall the breathless wailing over a brief period of surface melt detected by satellites last year. The way the media and alarmists who drive the media behaved, you’d think that global warming had set the planet on fire. Maybe their beef was over the red color in the satellite image that accompanied the press release.Turns out this wasn’t “unprecedented” as it happened before in 1889. Researchers suggested at the time that this event happens about once every 150 years.
From the University of Wisconsin-Madison today, we have the reason for the event – weather in the form of thin clouds and air masses.
No wonder the public is ignoring the alarmists more and more, when they make claims like they did, and it turns out to be simply Mother Nature conducting business as usual, it tends to turn people off. Seth Borenstein, Joe Romm, and weepy Bill McKibben take note.
Thin clouds drove Greenland’s record-breaking 2012 ice melt
MADISON — If the sheet of ice covering Greenland were to melt in its entirety tomorrow, global sea levels would rise by 24 feet. (but it won’t so why mention it? – A)
Three million cubic kilometers of ice won’t wash into the ocean overnight, but researchers have been tracking increasing melt rates since at least 1979. Last summer, however, the melt was so large that similar events show up in ice core records only once every 150 years or so over the last four millennia.
“In July 2012, a historically rare period of extended surface melting raised questions about the frequency and extent of such events,” says Ralf Bennartz, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center. “Of course, there is more than one cause for such widespread change. We focused our study on certain kinds of low-level clouds.”
In a study to be published in the April 4 issue of the journal Nature, Bennartz and collaborators describe the moving parts that led to the melt, which was observed from the ICECAPS experiment funded by the National Science Foundation and run by UW–Madison and several partners atop the Greenland ice sheet.
“The July 2012 event was triggered by an influx of unusually warm air, but that was only one factor,” says Dave Turner, physical scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. “In our paper we show that low-level clouds were instrumental in pushing temperatures up above freezing.”
Low-level clouds typically reflect solar energy back into space, and snow cover also tends to bounce energy from the sun back from the Earth’s surface.
Under particular temperature conditions, however, clouds can be both thin enough to allow solar energy to pass through to the surface and thick enough to “trap” some of that heat even if it is turned back by snow and ice on the ground.
While low, thin cloud cover is just one element within a complex interaction of wind speed, turbulence and humidity, the extra heat energy trapped close to the surface can push temperatures above freezing.
That is exactly what happened in July 2012 over large parts of the Greenland ice sheet, and similar conditions may help answer climate conundrums elsewhere.
“We know that these thin, low-level clouds occur frequently,” Bennartz says. “Our results may help to explain some of the difficulties that current global climate models have in simulating the Arctic surface energy budget.”
Current climate models tend to underestimate the occurrence of the clouds ICECAPS researchers found, limiting those models’ ability to predict cloud response to Arctic climate change and possible feedback like spiking rates of ice melt.
By using a combination of surface-based observations, remote sensing data, and surface energy-balance models, the study not only delineates the effect of clouds on ice melting, but also shows that this type of cloud is common over both Greenland and across the Arctic, according to Bennartz.
“Above all, this study highlights the importance of continuous and detailed ground-based observations over the Greenland ice sheet and elsewhere,” he says. “Only such detailed observations will lead to a better understanding of the processes that drive Arctic climate. ”
NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory and the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program contributed to the work at NSF’s Summit Station, supporting collaborating scientists Matt Shupe of the University of Colorado Boulder, ICECAPS principal investigator Von Walden of the University of Idaho, Konrad Steffen of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, UW–Madison’s Nate Miller and Mark Kulie, and graduate students Claire Pettersen (UW-Madison) and Chris Cox (Idaho). | <urn:uuid:09f126a9-4c99-48b0-8f6c-b6682a7bf76c> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/04/03/weather-not-climate-caused-the-brief-surface-melt-in-greenland-last-summer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107891203.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026090458-20201026120458-00484.warc.gz | en | 0.934296 | 1,014 | 3.890625 | 4 |
This is how ownership of pets may have had an adverse impact on energy use, creating their very own ‘carbon pawprint
With lockdown now easing and Brits slowly heading back to normality, new research from E.ON with 2,000 pet owners has found more than half (56 per cent) have adopted various habits to help keep their pets calm and comfortable.
Many of these habits can increase households’ carbon emissions – something which almost half (49 per cent) of pet owners surveyed are unaware of.
For those who are slowly heading back into the workplace, over a third (39 per cent) said they’re concerned with how this may affect their pampered pet.
TV for pets
More than six in ten (64 per cent) put devices on when they leave their pet on their own, including the TV (43 per cent) and radio (44 per cent).
When asked why they leave devices on for their pets, more than half (58 per cent) said it’s to keep their pet company.
Chris Lovatt, Chief Operating Officer of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Services, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of all we do at E.ON; we provide all of our customers’ homes with 100% renewable electricity and a range of smart home solutions.
“With many people being unaware of the impact owning a pet can have on their carbon footprint, we’re keen to help encourage pet owners to think more broadly about how they can make sustainable changes in the home. Whether that’s through effective monitoring of energy use with a smart meter, energy efficient appliances, or installing a new and efficient boiler, we believe in a smart, personalised and sustainable energy future for our customers.”
When choosing which TV shows to leave on, Line of Duty (12 per cent), EastEnders (12 per cent) and Planet Earth (17 per cent) were among pet owners’ favourites. Other popular shows included Blue Planet (17 per cent), Coronation Street (12 per cent) and This Morning (11 per cent).
Looking for new ways to be green
Separate research by E.ON with 2,000 pet owners found almost two fifths (37 per cent) of pet owners confirmed if they knew the extent of their energy use when caring for their pet, they’d try new ways to decrease it and become more sustainable.
To help pet owners across the country care for their pet more sustainably, E.ON has teamed up with expert vet and TV presenter, Dr Scott Miller, to provide his top five tips:
Keep it cool – Stress and anxiety can lead to an increase in your pets’ body temperature, something which is exacerbated by a warm house. Try to keep things a little cooler when leaving your pet alone to help reduce stress levels. And make sure that you have an energy efficient boiler for those colder days when you do need the heating on – you’ll save both energy and spend less on your heating bills while still keeping your pet comfortable. E.ON’s tado° smart thermostat is another great way to manage your home’s temperature when you’re not there. It not only monitors the weather forecast for you, but also allows you to control your heating from your phone.
Turn on the TV – Outside sounds and strange noises can worsen separation anxiety, so use gentle background noise, such as a radio or TV to muffle these and reduce any negative reactions to them.
While this is an energy-consuming way of soothing your pet, you can cut down how much power you use simply by turning down the TV screen brightness. Keep an eye on your energy use with a smart meter to help make sure you’re only using the energy you need to when keeping your pet calm and comfortable. And ensure you’re with an energy supplier that provides 100% renewable electricity, like E.ON.
What you can do
Enrich their environment – From toys to interactive food gadgets, there are so many great ways to entertain your pet when you leave the house.
Encouraging your pet to ‘work’ for their food, stimulating their problem-solving abilities and engaging them in a task are all great ways to focus your dog or cat on something positive rather than the negative feelings of your departure.
To light or not to light – Many owners like to keep a light on for their pampered pets, something which can use up a lot of energy over time. But many pet owners might not be aware that dogs are naturally nocturnal and can see better in the dark than you can.
If this habit is one that you can’t quite break, try using energy efficient LED light bulbs or a timer to save energy and keep your pet comfortable.
Practice makes perfect – If your pet is suffering with the common issue of separation anxiety as lockdown eases, you must try to keep some separation from them even when you’re in the house together.
Have an area for them to relax on their own, use stairgates and slowly increase the time you spend out of the house away from them in short increments, using toys and treats to divert their attention from your departure.
Pet cameras can be a useful tool to help gauge the level of your pet’s anxiety, and always consider the help of a local specialist pet behaviourist who can help understand, support and manage separation anxiety in your furry friends. | <urn:uuid:4eb8abae-d062-4295-8ab2-f2f1f263aedc> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://www.glasgowworld.com/read-this/this-is-how-ownership-of-pets-may-have-had-an-adverse-impact-on-energy-use-creating-their-very-own-carbon-pawprint-3244285 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947473735.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20240222061937-20240222091937-00122.warc.gz | en | 0.946419 | 1,132 | 2.5625 | 3 |
This External Floppy Drive connects to the USB port
Photo courtesy Gearxs.com
Genealogists sometimes share data by floppy. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do so regularly and often have problems with TempleReady at Family History Centers (FHCs) or at the Church's temples.
Why is it that floppies written by one computer are not always readable by another?
There are two different problems that can cause this and they can appear to be very similar.
1. FLOPPY FORMAT PROBLEM
CAUSE: Floppy disk format not recognized by Windows 98, XP, 2000, NT, and ME because it is a preformatted floppy missing one byte of information required by these operating systems.
TO AVOID THE PROBLEM: If you have a choice, use TempleReady on a computer with Windows 98, XP, 2000, NT, or ME. If you must run on Windows 95 or MS-DOS, always format the floppy again before using it for sharing.
TO FIX THE PROBLEM: Copy all the files from the floppy to a temporary folder on the computer. Format the floppy again. Copy the files back to the floppy or reuse TempleReady.
2. COMPUTERS DO NOT SEE EYE TO EYE
CAUSE: Floppies work a little bit like old phonograph records. Instead of the needle in a groove used by a phonograph record, floppies use an electro-magnet and read or record circles of information. If two floppy drives disagree about the location and spacing of these circles, then one of the computers won't read floppies recorded by the other.
As a computer is used and gets old, its floppy drive can become so near or far sighted that it records floppies that can't be read by other floppy drives (although it can read its own floppies just fine). You know you have a problem if several computers can't read floppies written by your computer.
TO AVOID THE PROBLEM: If you're still using Windows 98 (or earlier, come on, you know you're out there), it's time to buy a new computer. Buy the cheapest name brand computer you can find. It should be less than $500 on sale. Don't buy one that requires a subscription to the Internet. Be brave. If you're retired, take the money out of your kid's inheritance. If you don't have the money, ask your kids for a Christmas present. (Just don't tell them you were going to disinherit them a moment before!)
I like to wait until Compaq computers are on sale for $400, but eMachines and Gateways are almost always available at that price (or cheaper). Make certain it comes with a 6 to 12 month warranty. Don't pay for an additional warranty unless the convenience is really worth it.
The new computer may not include a floppy drive, so find out how much it will cost to add one. Your best bet may be to buy an external floppy drive.
TO FIX THE PROBLEM: If you're using Windows XP or later, you'll have to decide between replacing the floppy drive or buying a new computer. The floppy drive itself is pretty cheap. If you or someone you know is willing to perform the exchange, go for it. Otherwise, call the computer stores in your area and ask what they would charge to replace your floppy drive. Compare that with the price of a new computer (see price range above). The older your computer, the more you should lean towards buying a new computer.
EXTERNAL FLOPPY DRIVE
Floppy drives are fast becoming dinosaurs. New computers often don't include one. If you don't need a new computer, investigate the option of buying an external floppy drive that plugs into a USB socket of your current computer. Prices range from $35 to $70.
What do you think of the Insider's recommendations? | <urn:uuid:23b2742e-93ed-4115-aca4-bee2c656beb2> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://www.ancestryinsider.org/2007/09/unreadable-floppies.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663754.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00235-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948335 | 826 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Kansas All Books Connect
Kansas ABC is a reading initiative consisting of tools and services to help educators and parents match books to kids to promote successful reading practice.
Kansas Education Resource Center (KERC)
The Kansas Education Resource Center contains tools for teachers to use in aligning classroom instruction and assessment to Kansas’ academic standards.
The Lexile Framework for Reading
Lexile measures describe the reading level of a student and the difficulty of a text on a single scale and are linked with scores on the Kansas reading assessments in Grades 3-8 and high school. Teachers and parents can use Lexile measures to select books that are likely to improve the reading and comprehension skills of students.
Division of Learning Services
Career, Standards and Assessment
Career and Technical Education | <urn:uuid:09375272-3d31-4a50-81f0-c2aadab1a908> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://www.ksde.org/Agency/Division-of-Learning-Services/Career-Standards-and-Assessment-Services/CSAS-Home/CSAS-Educational-Resources | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247489933.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20190219101953-20190219123953-00622.warc.gz | en | 0.763908 | 157 | 3.40625 | 3 |
New Delhi, Jun 20 (PTI) Participation in yoga programmes can improve balance and boost physical mobility of people aged over 60 years, a study today claimed.
Researchers of The George Institute for Global Health said that participation in such programmes can improve balance, provide a safe and enjoyable form of exercise and may reduce the risk of falls for older people.
Anne Tiedemann of the Institute and the University of Sydney said attracting older people to take part in exercise programmes that boost their balance is a challenge and that yoga may be part of the solution.
Yoga programmes could be implemented to compliment other effective balance programmes like Tai Chi, to encourage older people to have an ongoing exercise regime that improves their quality of life.
"Our research has found that overall yoga programmes were safe for older people to take part in and resulted in improvements in key activities such as standing on one leg, standing up from a seated position and walking.
"This is a major public health problem that needs to be urgently addressed as the proportion of older people in the population is rapidly rising," Tiedemann said.
A summary of the results of published trials provides preliminary evidence that yoga may be effective in reducing the risk of falls and promoting independence in older age.
The research comes on the eve of the 2nd International Day of Yoga which will be celebrated all across the country while the main event will be held in Chandigarh where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead by doing the Common Yoga Protocol.
GIGH said as per a report of the Union Health Ministry, the number of people in the 60-plus age group in India will increase to around 198 million by 2030 and the percentage of older people will increase to 12 per cent of the total population.
In India, falls are one of the major causes of accidental deaths in older people.
The rate of injuries due to fall in the older people is quite substantial and sometimes results in long-term disability.
"Further research is now needed to determine if yoga-related improvements in balance and mobility translate to prevention of falls for older people," said Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director, of GIGH India. PTI TDS KND ZMN KND | <urn:uuid:a187d551-d0e1-49a4-bac4-f9db0d6d0473> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/yoga-regimen-can-improve-balance-mobility-for-elderly-people-628496-2016-06-21 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267163146.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20180926022052-20180926042452-00540.warc.gz | en | 0.962158 | 446 | 2.53125 | 3 |
|The upper reaches of the Wairau looking south with the
St. Arnaud Range to the right.
© Christopher Cookson
The Wairau River is Marlborough's largest river. It has a drainage area of 2600 square kilometres and is 257km long. Maori aptly named it "many waters" owing to it being largely a braided river. The Wairau's main tributaries are the Branch, the Waihopai and Rainbow rivers. The Wairau rises in the Spencer mountains and runs from the south to the north before turning to follow a part of the alpine fault line filled by glacial outwash. This leads more or less straight to the sea. A series of glacial moraine deposits west of Wairau Valley used to contain sizeable lakes before European times but signs of them can still be seen along the main road to Rotoiti.
Most of the Wairau Plain was forested before humans arrived but with the advent of fire large areas on the eastern side were cleared and failed to regenerate. At time Europeans arrived large areas swamp and swamp forest covered the lower plains and the Wairau wandered freely amongst it. The north bank of the Wairau was almost entirely forested in mixed podocarp broadleaf forest while the southern side was tall tussock grassland.
The Wairau River as seen from the north bank, clearly
The Wairau today, is a major source of water for the many crops grown on the plains and is famous for its fishing, particularly in the lower reaches, but it has also been responsible for threatening the very existence of many people in some of its floods which have reached over 55000cumecs.
The Wairau is fed by a number of tributaries including the Goulter River, the Branch River, The Waihopi River amongst others. The river enters the sea at the Wairau Bar, where it feeds an extensive area of lagoons which is an important wildlife habitat, and originally an important source of food for Maori.
Due to flooding problems, a second artificial outlet for the Wairau was created, the Wairau Diversion. This has become a popular fishing and picnic spot.
The lower reaches of the river are navigable, and in the early years of European settlement, vessels used the Wairau as part of an important connection between Blenheim and Wellington.
The last important merchant vessel, the Echo , retired in the 1960s.
With growing electricity needs in the region, an electricity generation company Trustpower, has proposed a series of canals to take water from the Wairau to feed generators. There has been a considerable amount of public opposition to the proposal due to concerns over the effect on the environment, including potential loss of recreational fisheries. | <urn:uuid:d3dda119-71b8-4a19-94af-7d0b99c2f7d3> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://www.marlboroughonline.co.nz/index.mvc?ArticleID=22 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609537754.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005217-00427-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962262 | 580 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Comparing the efficiency of hand-washing versus using an automatic dishwasher is a difficult, if not fairly impossible task, since it all boils down to user habits. A water-miser who uses one basin for lukewarm wash-water and another basin filled with cold for rinsing may come closest to beating or even exceeding a dishwasher’s energy and water use. But most studies and sites conclude that if you run your dishwasher when it’s full, a dishwasher is likely to be more efficient.
At the University of Bonn in Germany, one study measured the dish-washing habits of 113 people from seven different countries, and found that water use from hand-washing dishes varied considerably. The study grouped individuals as “superwashers” (the people who preclean, soap clean, and rinse); “economizers,” who put soap on a sponge, using as little water as possible; and “carefree” washers, who were profligate water and soap users.
In the study, each person washed 12 place settings. On average, hand-washing used 27 gallons of water and 2.5 kWh of water-heating energy. The automatic dishwasher used approximately 4 gallons of water, and consumed 1 to 2 kWh of total energy, which agrees with U.S. DOE statistics on Energy Star-rated dishwashers’ water and energy usage.
Whatever method you use—manual or automatic—here are some tips for saving water and energy when it comes to dishwashing:
- Remove large food scraps before you wash.
- Don’t delay, if you’re hand-washing.
- Skip pre-rinsing the dishes under running tap water, whether washing them by hand or in a machine.
- Manual dishwashing is best in two sinks: one with hot water and detergent; the other with cold water for rinse.
- Use the amount of detergent recommended by the manufacturer.
- Run your dishwasher with full loads only.
- Use your dishwasher’s air-dry feature instead of its heat-dry cycle.
- Use a dishwasher that’s fairly new—made in the past few years. Some newer units also have “booster heaters” that heat the water on demand versus from your water heater, helping save energy. | <urn:uuid:f3fd98ee-72f1-4b8a-9a1d-7ab219e8a440> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.homepower.com/dishwashing-hand-or-machine?iframe=true&template=colorbox&width=600&height=600 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279176.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00047-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926156 | 493 | 2.671875 | 3 |
How Dungeons & Dragons Can Help Kids Develop Social-Emotional Learning Capabilities
For many of your kids who arrive at LiHigh School on Vermont, it can their past chance on school. They also have serious behavior challenges which might be difficult to home address in classic settings. LiHigh is a democratic school and emphasizes a new therapeutic method to student understanding. It also works with a variety of own learning ways of develop program around the students’ passions along with interests, like tabletop role-playing game (RPG), Dungeons & Dragons. A couple of years ago amongst Kyle Callahan’s students utilizing autism requested if the game could be experienced in class, and it has since become a cornerstone from the school’s application.
“Without any doubt, D& D has been probably the most successful tuition we’ve offered at LiHigh The school, ” explained Callahan. “Students love it; workers love it; but it genuinely assists the students realize their social-emotional goals. ”
Join typically the Party
Dungeons & Dragons is a fundamentally social experience. A squad of outdoorsmen, known as a event, are wrapped up in a pseudo-medieval world of sword-and-sorcery run by Dungeon Expert (“DM” intended for short), who else narrates location and activities and gets used to the surfacing game towards players’ totally free actions and even decisions. The field of the game is orally built and conjured in the creativity with the help of law books, research guides, chart, multifaceted piensa and road directions.
Rather than fight, players communicate to coordinate their secondary skill sets to problem-solve and triumph over diverse difficulties. Their co-dependence translates into feeling of belonging along with genuine interpersonal cohesion.
“Cooperative activities are on the rise right this moment as I believe people are sick and tired with strict contest in every gameplay they enjoy. D& Deb is the primary cooperative gameplay, ” stated Dr . Ian Slater, who seem to teaches within York University or college in Barcelone and operates Black Monster Games, the that trains novice people and arranges Dungeons & Dragon promotions for educational facilities and private occasions.
“D& Deborah is a class-based system or in other words that your range of usable in-game ui skills is set entirely because of your class. Ever since the classes are depending on archetypes (e. g. the knight, the particular wizard, the particular thief plus the priest), the actual vary. As adventuring only occurs in a dangerous and dynamic conditions where hundreds of skills are expected, for the most part, nearby cooperate an individual die, ” said Slater.
Callahan claims that while their students participate in, they team up with their friends, are absolved of loneliness and are naturally a safe dreamland from very difficult home lives.
“They grow real romantic relationships with the online players at the stand, and while they may still get hold of annoyed or frustrated with each other to the point where most of their disorders can sometimes emerge, more often than not, they connect with in addition to support the other user, sometimes with a kind phrase and other circumstances with a properly placed ball of fire, ” stated Callahan.
Apart from encouraging scholars to work mutually and shape social you will have, Callahan together with other educators who else use Dungeons & Dragons and very similar role-playing games claim that their very own students gain and perform a broad choice of social as well as emotional expertise.
But how can battling your spike-hurling Manticore with an agog two-handed responsable contribute to someone’s emotional well-being?
The author Roman’s pupils at Raritan High School how to play Dungeons & Dragons. (Courtesy connected with Sarah Roman) (Courtesy connected with Sarah Roman)
Hands on Fantasy
Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become a popular topic within education discourse as a increasing body of research finds the fact that self-confidence, self-control, social along with self-awareness, accord and a perception of health are predictive of academic being successful. More importantly, the cultivation of them qualities usually leads to more content and more enjoyable lives. If this sounds the case, then that traditional helpful emphasis on teachers to the ignore of CONSCIENCE seems to be a specific case of placing the basket squarely over horse.
Brian Foglia would be the founder about South Shirt Sudbury Institution, which discover a vision of fostering a non-hierarchical educational locality where pupils design their very own curriculum and learn through survey and engage in. The school’s student-centered school of thought emphasizes conflict resolution, empathy, self-regulation and opened interpersonal transmission. Foglia uncovered that which includes Dungeons & Dragons from the curriculum possesses fit clearly with the school’s emphasis on C?UR.
“The capability to imagine, layout and role-play a character having a track record from an imaginary universe having its own leadership context is certainly immensely innovative, ” stated Foglia. “Practicing this confers many emotive benefits, as well as increased agape skills, relief, problem-solving, team-work and public maneuvering. These are all profoundly valuable knowledge in the older world, and then for children. ”
All of this. Herbal legal smoking buds seen the growth and change in my own youngsters from the sport. https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED/status/1037284235642634242 …
Teachers exactly who use Dungeons & Dragons often discuss the transformative effect there is on scholars. “My D& D kids are changed forever and they also, in turn, will alter others using what they have acquired. ” By simply @PaulDarvasi https://bit.ly/2wKJR8V #gbl #edchat
?tta: 34 PM HOURS – Sep 5, 2018
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Inspite of its outward appearance as a frivolous escape right from reality, the main fantasy style has deep metaphorical correspondences to the special. Tolkien’s influential Lord belonging to the Rings, for example , has been viewed as figuratively, metaphorically capturing the particular horrors the person experienced for a soldier with World Conflict I, for an allegory associated with power, and as an exploration of addiction. The very enchanted configurations are veiled representations involving universal individual experiences in addition to emotional facts.
Paradoxically, for children, the mind trip genre is often both an escape from fact while together providing the indirect radio commentary on top on life. Bullies turn into dragons, malevolent gods are often the feared grownups in their resides, and a labyrinthine dungeon full of puzzles along with ghouls start working as a metaphor regarding school The main fantasy globe is enough removed from reality that small children are prompted to equipment difficult matters at a risk-free emotional distance. Confronting such challenges, possibly even within the outstanding realm associated with sword-and-sorcery, can help you provide scaffolding to improve emotionally charged awareness that help players run more with certainty in the real-world.
“I can see affordablepapers4u.com log in the quietest student during class become the a lot of voice on the gaming dinner table. It is heartwarming to watch these students’ self-assurance grow that will such a degree from a match, and a excellent triumph to view them have that about into the educational setting, ” claimed Houston-area coach Kade Bore holes.
A general Google search makes pages involving stories right from adults who credit D& D for manufacturing them much more caring in addition to compassionate, greater parents, and saving their valuable lives. In just about any case, these people attribute their utmost social and emotional benefits to an teenage life spent role-playing with mates in a parallel universe unique by their valuable collective visualization.
The Transformative Power of Role-Play
Assuming a task and trying alternate opinions, identities together with perspectives fabricates at the heart of how games such as Dungeons & Dragons have the potential to break SEL ability, including sympathy and self-awareness.
“Good people must respond not consistent with one’s private disposition but for that of the type, whose activities are without doubt totally different, ” said Foglia.
The roles may be imaginary, but performing them takes a cognitive together with emotional expenditure of money that is planted in the player’s real mental life. Students can try on different ways to be, and carefully push limits that may usually limit them all in their day-to-day life.
“In a real impression you ‘become’ the character everyone play, alone said Slater. “When your own personal character is threatened together with death provides you a surprise. In almost every experience I’ve go someone seems to have died, and you can see the exhilaration pass through the bedroom. Things get real, real fast. ” Not like most video gaming, a character’s death throughout D& Debbie is lasting, so the pins are excessive.
Sarah Both roman is a Nj-new jersey public highschool teacher who also used Dungeon & Dragons in their English classes and co-founded Teaching using Dungeons & Dragons having Wells. Given that incorporating D& D, the girl found your girlfriend students was more prepared to help both, they conveyed more diplomatically, and it even brought a number of her quieter kids outside of their disguise. She recalls parents phoning her in gratitude to the changes they noticed in youngsters.
“D& G really factors students grow to be someone else for one little while. We have been seeing the actual role-playing point become closely used in psychological health communities, and counselors have been choosing role-play as a way to promote agape, social abilities, and toughness. In that through the, we have to understand that teachers furthermore play the role of the particular therapist occasionally, ” explained Roman.
Remedy groups similar to Game to progress, RPG Therapeutics, Take This and also the Bodhana Group recognize the main advantages of using role-play as a workable course of treatment. Each uses D& Deb and other game to treat numerous conditions, supply social-emotional help support for teens and young people, and even make them contend with gender.
“I’ve referred to at least only two gamers in which regularly performed different issue characters, y. g., a male using a female persona, ” talked about Slater. “D& D lets you adopt a job, and that can manifest as a powerful application for self-exploration. ”
Plot therapy is an additional relevant restorative approach the fact that encourages individuals to reword the stories of their lifestyles, a concept linked to Maria Laura Ruggiero’s ideal hacking own narratives. Erika White, any narrative protection pioneer, looks at the approach in his 3 years ago book Road directions of Narrative Practice: “Effective therapy engages people while in the re-authoring associated with life’s convincing plights in manners that arouse curiosity about man possibility and invoke the actual play associated with imagination. The item opens room or space for different perspectives when assisting customers to participate richer and with a good stronger words of authorship in getting the tips of their everyday life. ”
As being an active workout in role-play and collaborative storytelling, Dungeons & Dragons merges portions of both restorative approaches. Members experiment with different identities, and even simultaneously sanction the skills to help reimagine most of their personal narratives. Furthermore, such ingredients blend within a job circle about play, a crucial element regarding learning plus development championed by famed developmental when compared with Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.
“Psychological studies are generally clear of which play may be the primary means by which persons (and all your other mammals) choose the life expertise they need to good results. Intrinsic enthusiasm preserves plus reinforces a perfect brain assert for figuring out, processing, along with retaining facts. Children effortlessly want to play-practice those abilities which are best to real human adults, ” said Foglia. | <urn:uuid:7c896961-c60f-4143-91d3-42aac67aa696> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | http://www.sloteverytime.com/how-dungeons-dragons-can-help-kids-develop-social-73/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655892516.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20200707111607-20200707141607-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.948559 | 2,518 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Tooth, heal thyself
Dentists beware: Teeth soon may be smart enough to fix themselves.
“Smart materials” invented at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) soon may be available that stimulate repair of defective teeth. Laboratory studies show that these composites, made of amorphous (loosely structured) calcium phosphate embedded in polymers, can promote re-growth of natural tooth structures efficiently. In the presence of saliva-like solutions, the material releases calcium and phosphate ions, forming a crystalline calcium phosphate similar to the mineral found naturally in teeth and bone. Developed through a long-standing partnership between NIST and the American Dental Association (ADA), these bioactive, biocompatible materials are described in a forthcoming paper in the NIST Journal of Research.
Plans are being made for clinical trials, and several companies have expressed interest in licensing the patented material once a production-ready form is available. Initial applications include adhesive cements that minimize the decay that often occurs under orthodontic braces. The material also can be used as an anti-cavity liner underneath conventional fillings and possibly in root canal therapy.
NIST and ADA scientists continue to enhance the material’s physicochemical and mechanical properties and remineralizing behavior, thereby extending its dental and even orthopedic applications. For example, the researchers found that adding silica and zirconia to the material during processing stabilizes the amorphous calcium phosphate against premature internal formation of crystals, thereby achieving sustained release of calcium and phosphate over a longer period of time.
The work is funded through a grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
Alle Nachrichten aus der Kategorie: Materials Sciences
Materials management deals with the research, development, manufacturing and processing of raw and industrial materials. Key aspects here are biological and medical issues, which play an increasingly important role in this field.
innovations-report offers in-depth articles related to the development and application of materials and the structure and properties of new materials.
New calculation refines comparison of matter with antimatter
Theorists publish improved prediction for the tiny difference in kaon decays observed by experiments. -An international collaboration of theoretical physicists–including scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National… | <urn:uuid:1db8acc3-9d46-4c7c-be54-63f57c777873> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.innovations-report.com/materials-sciences/report-19081/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400198868.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20200920223634-20200921013634-00650.warc.gz | en | 0.893044 | 495 | 3.140625 | 3 |
What is a legume?
As most people with peanut allergies know, a peanut is not a nut; it is a legume. But what is a legume?
A legume is a simple dry fruit. The edible part of the fruit is usually contained within a pod or shell. Legumes are often cited as a superior source of protein, especially for vegetarians and vegans. Legumes can also be a great source of fiber and minerals. They don’t spike insulin levels, so they are a favorite of people on low carbohydrate diets.
Health Risks of Legumes
Think of peanuts, beans or peas. They have some standout characteristics which make digestion challenging but do not influence the allergic response a person has. Legumes use phytates to bind their minerals. These phytates are not digestible by the body; therefore, eating legumes can cause inflammation, bloating, indigestion and gas. They also have lectins, which are carb-binding proteins that could be characterized as "sticky.” Lectins can eventually break down the intestinal lining and allow other toxins to enter the bloodstream. Because of this, legumes are often associated with IBS, Chrohn’s disease, arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Legumes and Peanut Allergies
An allergy to peanuts does not increase your chances of being allergic to other legumes. This is true even for soy (a legume) which is one of the more common food allergies. Legume allergies do tend to run in families and have a genetic component. Siblings seem to share the allergy.
Source: Ultimate Paleo Guide, FARE
Related Reading on PeanutAllergy.com
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Stay on top of your allergy with recipes, lifestyle tips and more. | <urn:uuid:166b8336-8c85-49fe-8e20-a80269acb229> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://www.peanutallergy.com/lifestyle/peanut-allergy/what-is-a-legume | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802767843.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075247-00001-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929831 | 381 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Civil and Cultural Functions of Drones
Drones embrace innovative technological innovation and so are function by the existence of records. Integration of the drone information and facts technique as well as its handle needs sensing. This allows to have a standard counsel all over the entire building live.Samedayessays.org A drone system normally takes the sort of a centralized collection or those of a given out data bank. The baseline is that often drones need a united techniques mindset in addition to good lay out sets of rules to master strength in the whole entire making (Colyvas, 2013). Drones embrace web-depending energy facts and regulate products, that have progressed as a result of electric powered application business that regulate time-line electronic utilization details.
Mainly because of the drone evolvement, communities can usually benefit from essential details solutions which may tackle time-selection an electrical source data files. Most important drone advice products can accumulate facts of your whole entire establishing. They certainly do this at time intervals of a quarter-hour of hour or so, files visualization instantly or maybe even old and it also actualize data. Originally, these drone data techniques ended up made available to potential customers to allow them easy access their reputation for energy ingestion. A significant drone data method retrieves trend facts by the hour or sub-per hour and plots it. Even so, it does not provide a detailed data research and let any remote control (Weigelt And Camerer, 2014). Its advantage over other folks different kinds of drone information and facts units is they are less expensive.
Drones also adapt to requirement response units. They are simply notification and treatment programs that make easier the execution of high demand results provided by energy levels businesses. These drone devices work as serious-time interaction gateways among strength potential customers and also vitality companies. Marketplace demand results hosts numerous a number of drone programs like pay for overall performance, which provides end users a utility-driven total price for just about any discounts below the traditional baseline. Drones have need bidding system that permits you to give the most reasonable costs which they could well be in a position to spend the money for electrical power they use up (Colyvas, 2013). A demand reply drone system has notification and result features, it provides remote operate and confirmation and research of happenings by usage of standard or forecasting tactics.
Drones have venture vigor control products. These drones incorporate a couple of online business techniques that are located in energy selection-creating. Through this, they bring about a consistent structure. A drone system of this type deals with electricity research, that allows the making of judgements about economical purchases (Weigelt And Camerer, 2014). It is really involved in vigor procurement by way of discussing deals. They improve consumption of energy levels throughout monitoring. Drone appreciated in vegetation procedures often maximize energy levels prices and tackle the examination of vigor costs.
In summary, drones are recommended in electricity management and deal with techniques. They are simply essential for the genuine-time effect and handling of vigor. Drones are of various types of and who have progressed after a while. Drones also let vigor evaluation to increase verdict-doing. They may have the key facts technique which will accumulate facts inside full building up, envision it then actualize it. Drones, due to this, help in manage and monitoring of varied corporate actions. | <urn:uuid:3895494b-41b0-4a54-9315-44c5e23c08ec> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.carving-parfum.com/archives/1376 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891814101.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20180222101209-20180222121209-00085.warc.gz | en | 0.935794 | 682 | 2.640625 | 3 |
National Values Assessment (NVA)
Understanding The Culture Of A Nation
The well-being of your nation is significantly influenced by the needs that are uppermost in the minds of your citizens. Understanding what these needs are is vitally important for building a successful, harmonious, and peaceful nation. Whatever people say they need is what they value. You can explore these issues with a National Values Assessment.
Nations prosper or fail to the degree that they build social capital.
Insights from a National Values Assessment (NVA)
Diagrams Learn More >
See what is important to the people, how they experience the culture now and how they would like to enhance it in the future.
Cultural Entropy® Score Learn More >
Learn what factors people are concerned about. What issues do they feel most need to be addressed?
Values Jumps Learn More >
Learn which values are most important to people.
A Deeper Exploration of the Nation’s Culture
Additional Perspectives Example Report >
Gain insights from visual graphs, explore demographic differences by gender, age or other groupings to deepen the dialogue about what is working and not working.
Written Reports Example Report >
Custom analysis reveals insights to open your eyes, challenge your thinking and shine light on the way forward.
Alternative Perspectives to Deepen Dialogue
Uncover how people see the cultures of organisations in their nation and what they believe the organisations can do to improve.
Community Life in the Nation
Uncover how people experience life in their community, how it is different to their perception of life in the nation. What lessons can be learned for local national governance?
Benefits of the National Values Assessment
- The National Values Assessment provides politicians and government leaders with a way of measuring the cultural evolution of their nations.
- The assessment highlights the most important national issues, and can be used to generate deep meaningful conversations among different societal groupings about national priorities.
- The National Values assessment provides a values road-map for achieving long-term sustainability.
- Short Survey - The survey instrument asks only three questions, is available on-line and requires only 15-20 minutes to complete.
- Customisable - The survey can be customised to the specific cultural and demographic needs of the nation being surveyed.
- Demographics - The richness of the survey data is determined by the depth of demographic categories chosen. There is no limit to the number of demographic categories you can choose.
- Cost Effective - The assessment is affordable for all nations. Costs are based on the number of reports requested, not on the number of survey participants.
- Multiple Languages - The online survey and plots are available in multiple languages. Additional languages can easily be added. Written reports are produced only in English.
- Fast Turnaround - A survey typically goes from initiation to reporting in three to five weeks.
- Option - Additional questions may be added at the end of the survey with the following options: Free text, Yes/No, Multiple choice, and Likert scale. Responses to the questions are provided as raw data categorised by demographic grouping.
To read about nations who have completed National Values Assessments and view their results visit our National Values Assessment Resource Guide.
The Whole System Change in Communities and Nations document was produced after the third National Values Assessment Coalition meeting in Hungary in November 2011. It offers some guidelines and ideas for carrying out whole system change in communities and nations. This document is a work in progress and comments are welcomed. Please send your thoughts and ideas to [email protected]
Descriptions of the Assessment Process
For more resources on National Values Assessments
Our products are only available through CTT Certified Consultants. If you are interested in any of our assessments, please use the CTT Community Map to find a coach/consultant in your area or contact us and we will help connect you to a consultant. If you are interested in becoming CTT Certified yourself, please visit our training page. | <urn:uuid:1c346cd2-3fd5-4d66-bb5d-79fb4607b9c7> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.valuescentre.com/our-products/products-society/national-values-assessment-nva | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948214.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20180426125104-20180426145104-00252.warc.gz | en | 0.902245 | 822 | 2.75 | 3 |
If you’ve read many novels set in the nineteenth century, particularly in the homes of the aristocracy, you may have come across the names Aubusson and Axminster. You might say they were the royalty of carpets during that time. But what exactly was an Aubusson or Axminster carpet and how did it compare with an Oriental carpet, which you will also see mentioned? Inquiring minds want to know!
Oriental Carpet—Exotic and Fashionable
The weavers of the Ottoman Empire, China, Persia, Egypt, and India created pile carpets and flat-woven carpets like tapestries using silk, wool, and cotton. They used motifs of flowers and medallions with bold colors that had specific meanings in their cultures. While the meanings were generally lost on the Brits and Americans, that didn’t stop enterprising business men from importing and selling the colorful, well-made carpets to the wealthy. But in the eyes of the fashionable, these carpets had a problem. You had to take what you could get; it was relatively difficult to commission one of a particular color and size to fit the decor of a specific space. In other words, you had to design the room around the carpet. So, the search continued for alternatives that would be as luxurious and beautiful.
Aubusson—One Step Down from Royalty
France knew it could do one better. The weaving industry had been thriving in the town of Aubusson for decades. Aubusson rugs were flat-woven rugs, much like tapestries. Many featured the same bold, exotic designs of the Orient, but others incorporated floral and Greco-Roman patterns and pastel colors. The weavers also borrowed designs from Savonnerie, a rug manufacturer that sold exclusively to the King of France. The rugs were highly popular among the ruling classes until the middle of the nineteenth century, when looms stopped producing. Ironically, the designs are now reproduced in the Orient and made available for sale around the world.
Axminster—Closer to Home and Still Quite Fine
Of course, for much of the nineteen century, England and France were at war, and America was blockaded for one reason or another. Obtaining French rugs might be tricky, and some deemed the practice downright treasonous. That’s one of the reasons Axminster carpets came into prominence. In 1755, Thomas Whitty, a weaver from Axminster, Devonshire, became obsessed with a Turkish carpet he saw in London and would not rest until he was able to recreate its like on his own equipment. The beauty and style of Axminster carpets caught the attention of the British aristocracy, and it wasn’t long before Axminster carpets graced the floors of Chatsworth (home of the Duke of Devonshire), Brighton Pavilion (Prince George’s favorite home), and the palaces of King George III. King George and Queen Charlotte toured the factory to see how the carpets were made. The company was so well thought of that the Sultan of Turkey commissioned a huge carpet, 74 feet by 52 feet for the Topkapi Palace. It took 30 men to carry it from the factory. Sadly, the factory caught fire in 1828 and was nearly destroyed. The carpets were so famous, however, that another company took over the manufacturer, and Axminster carpets are still available today.
A Carpet by Any Other Name
Aubusson and Axminster were not just locations where these carpets were made but designated a particular way of creating a rug. It might be the manner in which the loom was strung, or the type of weave or yarn used. You will find Aubusson and Axminster carpets made in places nowhere near the two towns. For instance, this reproduction was of a carpet originally made in America in the late 1700s, although it is called an Axminster.
Never can be too careful what you have underfoot. | <urn:uuid:e0cb07e8-1abb-43db-bc0a-6105451d1ab4> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://nineteenteen.blogspot.com/2016/02/nineteenth-century-carpets-under-foot.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917118743.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031158-00316-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97613 | 826 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Periodontal disease causes your gums to recede, creating pockets in which bacteria can grow. It weakens the attachments that hold your teeth in place, making them move if you press on them and when you chew. The bacteria that cause periodontal disease differ from those that typically appear in the human mouth. The presence of these bacteria can affect your general health, as well as causing dental pain, gum infections, and lost teeth.
Periodontal therapies, including scaling and root planing, remove unhealthful deposits from below your gums. To prevent these deposits from forming again, patients with periodontal disease need regular periodontal maintenance treatments.
Periodontal maintenance vs. regular dental visits
As part of a healthful dental-care regime, dentists assess and clean their patients’ teeth at least every six months, checking for cavities and removing any tartar that formed where plaque accumulated. These cleanings, called prophylactic care, remain essential for everyone. They do a great job of screening for decay and maintaining dental health above the gum line. Patients who have been diagnosed with periodontal disease need additional treatments to address the health of their teeth under the gums.
The importance of periodontal maintenance
Unlike most other dental problems, periodontal disease can’t be cured, but it can be controlled. Following professional recommendations for home care and maintaining a regular schedule of professional cleanings helps keep periodontal disease from advancing. But even the best flossing and brushing techniques can’t address all the problems that the disease can cause.
What periodontal maintenance accomplishes
Therapeutically, periodontal maintenance removes the bacteria that form a biofilm under the gums and cause periodontal disease. These bacterial colonies grow back within three months. As a result, periodontal maintenance treatment routines run on a three-month schedule, helping the immune system attack the bacteria. If the bacteria aren’t removed, the immune system may be unable to keep them in check, and periodontal disease begins weakening the attachments that hold the teeth in place.
Periodontal maintenance may seem similar to a regular dental cleaning. Overall, periodontal maintenance checks for signs that the mouth is getting healthier, staying the same as it was at the last visit, or showing progressive loss of gum tissue and dental bone. The treatment includes cleaning the teeth above and below the gum line, measuring pockets in the gums and verifying whether any of them have grown deeper, and taking x-rays to assess the condition of the teeth and bone structure.
Dental insurance may not cover the costs of periodontal maintenance on a three-month schedule. Patients who consider skipping treatments that their insurance won’t cover should ask themselves this question: If you were prescribed a medication that you had to take four times a day, but your insurance only covered two daily doses, would the medicine work just as well without the other two doses? The answer’s obviously “No”—and the same answer applies to periodontal maintenance.
Periodontal maintenance helps patients preserve their oral health and avoid the need for surgery to correct serious problems. Patients whose periodontal disease stabilizes may be able to increase the interval between their maintenance treatments as their immune systems become better at fending off the bacteria that attack the mouth. | <urn:uuid:eaff50cf-7ba4-448e-9aaf-15f4796cdb8c> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | https://indianaperio.com/portfolio-items/periodontal-maintenance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039744381.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20181118135147-20181118160511-00017.warc.gz | en | 0.931048 | 697 | 3.125 | 3 |
giant grasshopper, hoppers
Grasshoppers have antennae that are almost always shorter than the body (sometimes filamentous), and short ovipositors. Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing the hind femurs against the forewings or abdomen (stridulation), or by snapping the wings in flight. Tympana, if present, are on the sides of the first abdominal segment. The hind femora are typically long and strong, fitted for leaping. Generally they are winged, but hind wings are membranous while front wings (tegmina) are coriaceous and not fit for flight. Females are normally larger than males, with short ovipositors.
They are easily confused with the other sub-order of Orthoptera, Ensifera, but are different in many aspects, such as the number of segments in their antennae and structure of the ovipositor, as well as the location of the tympana and modes of sound production. Ensiferans have antennae with at least 30 segments, and caeliferans have fewer. In evolutionary terms, the split between the Caelifera and the Ensifera is no more recent than the Permo-Triassic boundary (Zeuner 1939).
|Itinerary||. feeling: neutral, slighly upbeat|
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|Height||2592||Flash||Off, Did not fire|
|White Bal.||Auto||Program||Aperture-priority AE|
|Altitude||1954.066667 m||File Size||4.9 MB| | <urn:uuid:894a979d-10ec-4ae2-9bd2-a2eb7f2753f1> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | http://www.hat.net/album/africa/2007_east_africa/20_harmless_animals/hoppers/071017120936_view--giant_grasshopper.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104692018.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20220707124050-20220707154050-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.804733 | 498 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Grand Canyon High Flow Experiment in November, October & November Colorado River Flows
This is a October 25, 2018, update from Heather Patno at Glen Canyon Dam.
High Flow Experiments (HFE) below Glen Canyon Dam are driven by weather, sediment inputs, and other resource conditions, in accordance with the Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP). DOI will conduct a HFE (HFE) release from Glen Canyon Dam from November 5-8, 2018.
This high-flow experiment will include a peak magnitude release of approximately 38,100 cubic feet per second (cfs) for 60 hours (four days including ramping from baseflows to peak release) to move accumulated sediment downstream to help rebuild beaches and sandbars.
Releases from Glen Canyon Dam will begin ramping up to full power plant capacity (approximately 23,100 cfs) on the morning of November 5th. At 10:00 am MST on November 5th, bypass tubes at Glen Canyon Dam will be opened and releases will continue to increase up to full power plant and bypass capacity (approximately 38,100 cfs) by 2:00 pm MST on November 5th. Releases will be maintained at peak release for about two and a half days (60 hours) and then begin ramping back down.
Releases will return to normal operations at about 3:00 pm MST on November 8th. November releases from Glen Canyon Dam prior to and after the HFE are expected to fluctuate between 6,500 cfs and 9,000 cfs.
The decision to conduct this HFE was made after careful consideration of sediment resources as well as potential impacts to other resources downstream of Glen Canyon Dam. Consultation with basin states, American Indian tribes, federal and state agencies, as well as input from Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program stakeholders, were also critical to the Department of the Interior’s decision to conduct the experiment.
High-flow experiments benefit the Colorado River ecosystem through Glen and Grand Canyons by moving sand in the river channel and re-depositing it in downstream reaches as sandbars and beaches. Those sandbars serve as camping beaches for recreationists, supply sand needed to protect archaeological sites, and provide habitat for wildlife.
The release volume from Glen Canyon Dam for October, 2018, will be 625,000 acre-feet. Hourly releases during weekdays in October, 2018, will fluctuate from a low of approximately 7,070 cfs in the nighttime to a high of 12,700 cfs in the daytime.
Heather E. Patno
Hydraulic Engineer, Glen Canyon Dam
Bureau of Reclamation
GCPBA RiverNews 10/6/2018 - Grand Canyon Noncommercial River Trip Regulations Are Updated
Grand Canyon National Park recently updated their noncommercial river trip regulations. The new regulations are dated October 2, 2018. River trips are required by the Park to have a printed copy of the regulations with them at all times. Regulations dated earlier than this are not sufficient. The new regulations can be viewed and printed at this link:
River trips without the current regulations will have delays during the river trip orientation with the Lees Ferry ranger. The river trip permit holder has the responsibility of ensuring that all participants comply with the terms and conditions of the river trip permit as stated in the Noncommercial River Trip Regulations.
Included in the new regulations is language GCPBA discussed with the Park about various topics, noted in Appendix B on page 31.
GCPBA RiverNews 7/3/2018 – Hualapai Reverse Decision To Issue Citations
GCPBA has been reporting on the intent of the Hualapai Nation to require Grand Canyon river runners buy permits to be on land along the left side of the Colorado River from river miles 164.5 to 287. The Hualapai claim the land as theirs. The National Park Service disputes that claim.
Read about it here: Hualapai Land & River Access Permits Followup
The NPS has a different interpretation of the location of the boundary between U.S. and Hualapai land, claiming the boundary is at the historic high water mark from before Glen Canyon Dam was built.
We have been in contact with the Hualapai, and with Grand Canyon National Park, about their plans to require permits for camping and hiking in that area and to issue citations from July 9 to 13 to river runners who access that land without a Hualapai permit.
Today, July 3, we received the following email from the NPS:
"The Hualapai Tribe has recently issued a public notice regarding its requirements for a Hualapai River Access Permit to allow hiking or camping on Hualapai Tribal lands while on a river trip through Grand Canyon National Park. The Tribe has also announced its intention to conduct patrols related to these permit requirements.
"The NPS supports the Hualapai Tribe's authority to enforce its boundary and manage its tribal lands above the historic high water mark. However, the NPS maintains its position that below the high water mark is National Park Service land.
"We are in communication with the Hualapai Tribe on this issue."
Fourteen minutes later, this email arrived from the NPS:
"The Hualapai Tribe just informed us that they would not be doing any permit checks the week of July 9th."
There was no comment regarding the boundary dispute. It remains an issue for future resolution.
GCPBA appreciates the communication between the NPS and the Hualapai Nation to discuss and work out the issues of the land boundary and Hualapai land access permits. We will continue to discuss this with GCNP.
GCPBA RiverNews 6/27/2018 - Hualapai Land & River Access Permits Followup
As you may recall, two weeks ago GCPBA reported that the Hualapai Tribe is trying to institute a permit fee of $100 on river runners for using river left from mile 168 down to mile 287. (Read our RiverNews that announced this here: Hualapai Land & River Access Permits/). They are also planning on doing enforcement patrols using Hualapai Fish and Game law enforcement officers to make contact with river runners between July 9 and July 13 to ensure the permits are purchased.
GCPBA wants to make it abundantly clear that we disagree with this action. We believe that it is in violation of Grand Canyon National Park boundaries and provisions of the 2006 Colorado River Management Plan that the Hualapai were involved in forming. We have sent a letter to GCNP Superintendent Chris Lehnertz regarding this issue, asking for any information or clarification the Park can provide.
Read our full report here: Hualapai Land & River Access Permits Followup
GCPBA RiverNews 6/10/2018 - Hualapai Land & River Access Permits
The Hualapai Game and Fish Department sent out the following notice on June 4th:
Public Notice: Hualapai River Access Permit Checks Upstream Of Diamond Creek (RM225)
The Hualapai Tribe will be conducting river access permits the week of July 9, 2018 through July 13, 2018 on the Colorado River upstream of Diamond Creek. Hualapai Tribal boundaries began (sic) at RM 164.5 to RM 287 river left.
Read our full report here: Hualapai Land & River Access Permits
GCPBA President's Letter - December 2017
Greetings All, Time to catch up on what's been happening......
Click the link below to read our President's Letter containing an update of various topics: The Navajo Council's vote against the Escalade development, our complaint with Grand Canyon National Park regarding the Hualapai River Runners doing an upriver run, and the resumption of river patrols by the NPS.
GCPBA RiverNews 7/16/2017 - Hualapai Nation Announce Intent to Require Permits for Camping
Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Chris Lehnertz held a Community Conversation on July 11 in Flagstaff, Arizona. Among various topics discussed was Hualapai Nation Chairman Damon Clarke announcing their intent to require permits for river runners to camp on Hualapai land from miles 164.5 and 273.5.
Read our full announcement here: Community Conversation Recap, Hualapai Intent of Camping Permits
GCPBA RiverNews 3/27/2017 - Grand Canyon Noncommercial River Trip Regulations Are Updated
Grand Canyon National Park recently updated their noncommercial river trip regulations. The new regulations are dated March 9, 2017. River runners are required by the Park to have a printed copy of the regulations with them at all times.
Read the rest of our announcement here: Grand Canyon Noncommercial River Trip Regulations
GCPBA RiverNews 1/15/17 - Stow Away Motors For Diamond Down Allowed Again!
Read our announcement here: Stow Away Motors For Diamond Down Allowed Again
GCPBA RiverNews 11/6/15 - Unused Grand Canyon Noncommercial Launch Dates Are Rescheduled, Not Lost
Read the rest of our announcement here: Unused Noncommercial Launch Dates Are Rescheduled, Not Lost
GCPBA RiverNews 12/2/14 – Martin Litton, February 13, 1917 – November 30, 2014
Read the entire RiverNews about Martin Litton’s passing here: Martin Litton, deceased at age 97
GCPBA President's Report - October, 2014
Wally Rist, GCPBA President, has his President's Report posted here on our website:
There is a lot of information in it, including reports of meetings with Grand Canyon National Park officials Superintendent Dave Uberuaga, River Permits Program Manager Steve Sullivan, and Chief River District Ranger Brian Bloom.
GCPBA Adaptive Management Considerations Meeting Follow Up
October 24, 2014
Permits Manager, Steve Sullivan
River District Ranger, Brian Bloom
Wilderness Planner, Linda Jalbert
CC: Superintendent, Dave Uberuaga
Grand Canyon National Park
P.O. Box 129
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023
Re: GCPBA Adaptive Management Considerations Meeting, Friday, October 3, 2014
Dear Steve, Brian, and Linda,
Thank you for meeting with us. We appreciate your dedication and the frank and thorough discussion of the Adaptive Management Consideration paper we had previously submitted. The meeting was very productive. I think we learned a lot from each other.
Your prompt implementation of posting up-coming lottery dates on your lottery site(our R-1, recommendation) is being well received. People are able to get a jump-start with their planning. That along with our new trip passenger exchange list https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/gc_river_trip_planning/info (which we are hoping you will also post on your web site) should help in utilizing some of these last minute trip opportunities. It’s a good example of GCPBA/GCNP collaboration and cooperation to achieve something positive.
It was our impression that you would give further consideration to our discussion item D-5, adding a few small trip launches in March and October. In that vein you were going to send us the TAOTs for the different seasons and/or the criteria used as the guiding principles for river use during those seasons. We look forward to getting this information so that we can further explore this concept with you.
You mentioned you still had concerns about our discussion item D-6, which is closely related to the exceeding of TAOTS (60) in early May and results from the shorter trips over taking the longer ones. If we understood correctly, you felt there were only two options to alleviate this situation. The first was a few shorter trips in April swapped for some longer trips in early September, as previously considered publicly. The second was the elimination of, say 3 late spring trips with the addition of 3 trips in early September. As you know, the trip length swap concept was not well received by a number of boaters. Our initial reaction to the 3 trip swap was that it too would probably not be well received by a number of boaters. We did give both alternatives considerable consideration at our board meeting and concluded that neither option would not be well received by some sectors. Neither was less unappealing. We will give it further consideration as, I am sure you will as well. We of course realize that this is an issue where no solution will be without vocal objections.
We liked your “front loading” concept as a method to fill unused trips. Further discussion at our board meeting confirmed that we would support its implementation.
The possibility of allowing someone to appear as a PATL on someone’s application as well as applying for his own permit met with mixed opinions. We could not reach a conclusion on its overall benefit. We will give it further consideration as well.
Again, thank you for working with us. We look forward to hearing from you soon. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions or thoughts to share, or if there is some way GCPBA can be of help.
GCPBA sends Colorado River Management Plan Adaptive Management Considerations to the Park
In May, we asked GCPBA members for feedback about various aspects of the CRMP, and subsequently put a similar query out on our GCPBA Yahoo Group and in several other internet locations.
The feedback obtained from that project was distilled and included in the first of a series of recommendations and discussion items we intend to present to the Park. Two recommendations for CRMP modifications and six discussion items were presented August, 2014, for the Park's consideration. We intend to discuss these with park personnel at our regular meeting with them in October in Flagstaff. Those discussions could possibly result in recommendations for additional implementation items in the future.
The full text of the GCPBA presentation is here, as a .pdf file for saving or printing: GCPBA CRMP Adaptive Management Considerations
The text of the presentation can be viewed on our website here: Presentation text
A brief list of our points is below. Please read the full document for our supporting background information.
While the response period for that project is officially over, the Board would certainly welcome your additional comments now. Write to us at [email protected]
R-1. Expedite reallocation of unclaimed and abandoned launch dates. This would be done by announcing information regarding those dates immediately upon availability, so that boaters can begin exploratory planning before lotteries are actually conducted. In this connection, more frequent secondary lotteries should be considered for unclaimed launch dates. (See Appendix item #2)
R-2. Increase maximum trip lengths for selected portions of the boating season. Under this revision, winter trip lengths would be restored to 30 days. (See Appendix item #6)
D-1. Consider changes in the One Trip a Year rule, to include: waiving it completely; waiving it just for the winter months; or, waiving it only for trips that are unassigned within 30 days of launch. (See Appendix item #1)
D-2. Consider changing how lottery chances are awarded, to develop a new system in which everyone would start with one point. In such a system, additional chances would be awarded only for a failed lottery application (and no trip participation) each year. Under this provision, the lottery chances of the applicant and PATL could be added. (See Appendix item #3, 4)
D-3. Consider increasing trip sizes, such that up to 24 participants would be allowed for winter and shoulder season launches. (See Appendix item #5)
D-4. Consider rescheduling unused launches in a manner that recovers lapsed launches later in the same year. (See Appendix item #8)
D-5. Consider revision of the small trip launch schedule. This idea would entail a reduction in the number of winter launches, which would be replaced by a corresponding number of additional launches in March and October. (See Appendix item #9)
D-6. Consider increasing the maximum trip length for a noncommercial standard river trip launched in the period Sept 1-15 from 18 days to 21. (Appendix item #7)
GCPBA Could Use Your Help - Help Us Help You
A reminder that GCPBA's fund-raising effort is still active. It's vitally important in helping us to stay in the arena when it comes to representing private boater interests. The three key areas where the Board anticipates a coming need for additional financial support are:
* The Long Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) for operation of Glen Canyon Dam, which in its final form will have a major impact on river related recreational opportunities on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
* The proposed LCR Escalade development, which (if not stopped) would result in an extensive resort-type development on the rim, a tramway to the river, and a restaurant literally overlooking the junction of the LCR and the main Colorado, as well as the potential for reduced or no access to the Little Colorado River Canyon for river runners.
* The Backcountry Management Plan now under development by the Park, which interfaces with river operations in important ways like closures (such as happened at Deer Creek) and impact of the increasingly popular sport of packrafting.
For those of you who have already donated, joined GCPBA, or renewed your membership, thank you for your generosity and support.
For folks who are new here, or who in the past have stayed on the sidelines, please help GCPBA through your paid membership, membership renewal, or a direct donation. Visit our new website: www.gcpba.org and look for the "Donate" link on the left side.
Thanks for your support.
Welcome to the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association NEW Website!
Our Goal: Ensure the ability for all to obtain, on an equal and timely basis, an opportunity to experience a float trip through the Grand Canyon while protecting the resource.
The Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association was established in 1996 to provide the self-outfitted boating public with an advocate and a clear voice seeking to achieve fair access for the non-commercial river runner in Grand Canyon and the rivers of the Colorado Plateau region.
Important note to previous GCPBA website registrants - your previous username will still work on this new site but your password may not. If it doesn't work, you will be taken to a page allowing you to request a new password that will be emailed to you. Once you are able to log in, you can change your password if you desire. We're sorry for the inconvenience - building a new website is as challenging as running a heavy boat through Bedrock at low, low water. | <urn:uuid:bc0a7e3a-5705-4084-a152-edbb14398d98> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://gcpba.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039742567.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20181115054518-20181115080518-00551.warc.gz | en | 0.948303 | 3,922 | 2.953125 | 3 |
As one school year winds down, its good to start thinking about the next year. Perhaps you have a child who will simply be moving from one grade to another in the same school. Maybe your child is facing a more dramatic transition such as:
- Starting Preschool for the first time
- Entering Kindergarten
- Moving from Elementary to Middle School
- Beginning High School
It is time to move from thinking to planning! Take steps to make this transition as smooth as possible by gathering information about what might be coming up, and sharing important information about your child with the right people.
If your child is staying at the same school, find out what might be different for the coming year (e.g. class size, number of teachers/aides, daily schedule, curriculum, meal times, etc.). Each of these factors could impact your child and may require some changes in how your child’s needs are met. You might also want to speak with the Principal about the classroom environment and/or teacher styles that are likely to be successful or unsuccessful for your child. Hopefully the Principal will use this information to make a good match when class assignments are made.
If your child is moving to a new school, you will still want to know the things mentioned above, PLUS:
- Visit the new school to check out the physical layout and ask about a typical day
- Think about any possible barriers or challenges that your child might have in the new setting
- If your child is entering middle or high school, ask about required courses and any options that may exist. Some courses are offered at multiple difficulty levels, and there may be other ways to help make sure that your child gets a course schedule that will work for him/her
- Request a transition IEP meeting to discuss and make decisions about any changes that may be needed in the accommodations, modifications, supports, services and/or goals
- For many children, it is helpful for them to have an opportunity to walk through the new school and possibly see their classroom(s) and meet their teacher(s) sometime before school starts. There may also be other steps that you can to help make this transition a smooth one.
Most importantly, stay positive and help your child feel good about the upcoming school year!
It’s report card time and time to see how the first half of the school year went. If your child’s report card reflects solid grades and good work habits, some sort of celebration is in order. One of my co-workers learned that her daughter earned a 96 in an advanced math class. She offered to buy ice cream, but her daughter wanted her bedroom painted instead. Fair enough!
If, on the other hand, you were disappointed in your child’s progress or performance, there is still time to turn things around. You and your child can press the reset button by looking for ways to improve on things that you have been doing. Think about changes that can be made on many possible levels.
- If your child has poor sleeping habits, try establishing a bed-time routine that gradually steps down the amount of activity and stimulation in the household. A well-rested brain functions better.
- If your child wastes time in the evening and then stays up late doing homework, set a firm cutoff time to stop working, shut down the computer and place everything in the backpack (which will “live” in a designated spot in another room). Then start winding things down toward bedtime. Provide prompts and reminders earlier in the evening to serve as fair warning. It may take a couple of incomplete assignments or disappointing test grades to get the real message across. Don’t cave in though, because it is essential that students develop good work habits, including learning how to effectively manage their time, if they are going to be able to sustain their success throughout the school and college years. Showing up for class exhausted and inattentive will eventually take its toll. Throwing together projects at the last minute and cramming for tests will also lead to poorer quality results that your child will take less pride in. I know this first-hand from my experience as person who went through school with undiagnosed ADHD.
- If your child is overwhelmed by an over-packed schedule that doesn’t leave enough time for schoolwork and “down time,” consider taking a break from one of the activities. Unless your child is talented enough that a sport or cheerleading scholarship is a real possibility, they might be better off burning the candle from only one end. Keep the activities that give them joy, and set aside those that are on the schedule just because of habit.
- If your child has an IEP or Section 504 accommodation plan, review it to see if it adequately addresses her current needs. It might be time to update the accommodations and supports to match performance expectations that tend to get higher each year. Get your child’s input so that any changes are going to be ones that they think will be helpful and will cooperate with.
- Re-establish lines of communication with teachers and other school staff. If your child will have different classes for the 2nd semester, there may be new teachers who may not be aware of his special needs or the fact that you are a concerned and involved parent who expects to be considered an equal part of your child’s educational team. Set a positive tone and let them know that you are looking for this semester to be better than the last one.
- Look for any other areas where a change for the better might be possible: diet and nutrition, general health and well-being, mental health, organization (personal and/or household), social skills, etc. Consult with trusted friends, family and professionals to see if they have any suggestions.
If things are going great, keep doing what you are doing. If not, try something different that might lead to better results. Remember, there can be no growth without change!
For students in middle and high school it is extremely important for parents to keep up with the courses that they are taking. The classes should offer the right amount of challenge (not too easy, not too hard). They should be preparing your child for whatever their goals are for life after high school. More importantly, the courses need to be chosen so that they meet the graduation requirements for your school system. With many schools using computer programs to create schedules for students, it’s not hard for the needs of individual students to be overlooked.
For many students who have disabilities, course selection is even more critical. For some students it will be important to make sure that they are placed in the course sections that are co-taught by both regular education and special education teachers. This can offer real-time assistance and support to help students be successful with grade-level material. The co-taught classes can be selected in the areas most likely impacted by the student’s disability. Sometimes the assumption is made that, because the student has an IEP, they should automatically be placed in the lowest level course available. This approach would keep many students from building on their strengths to reach their full potential. Students who need support in some subjects can also take typical or even honors classes in subjects that are areas of strength for them.
These days, most high schools are using block schedules that cover the entire content of a course during a single semester. It may be important to make sure that the courses that will be most challenging for your child are not all piled into the same semester. With thoughtful planning, the school can create a schedule that spreads the work load out more evenly. For example, your child can take two really hard classes at the same time plus a support class and an elective in an area of interest. This kind of planning from the very beginning will usually allow students to complete all of their graduation requirements within 4 years so they can graduate with their peers. Even if they have to pick up a summer class or return for an extra semester, the goal is that the student experiences success and gains knowledge that will help them throughout their life. The extra time will be well spent.
Parents also need to look out for other kinds of scheduling problems:
- Make sure that courses are taken in the right sequence. The level1 course should come before the level 2 course.
- Make sure that your child is not assigned to a course that they have already successfully completed. With rare exceptions, they will not earn course credit the second time around.
- Make sure that your child was not placed in an elective course that they have no interest in, or one that is a poor fit, just because there was space in that class. Forcing an extremely shy kid to take a drama class will probably not end well.
- Make sure that your child is on track to graduate when expected. Your child could be taking math and science classes that are counted as “electives” that do not meet the graduation requirements for that subject area. If your child comes up short by missing even a single graduation requirement, they will not get a diploma. At least once a year have your child’s guidance counselor review the courses that your child has taken and compare them to the courses required for graduation.
Read your child’s class schedule carefully as soon as you get it. If you see anything on that doesn’t look right, contact staff at the school immediately. Go to the school in person if you need to. The sooner any problems are corrected, the easier it will be for your child, and the better their educational experience will be.
We sometimes get calls from parents of high school students that are concerned that their child is doing poorly in school for one reason or another, and as we try to get to the root of the problem, we may ask the parent what classes the student is taking. I am dismayed, but no longer surprised, by the number of parents who cannot answer that question. If parents don’t know the courses that their child is taking during a given semester, then it very likely that they also don’t have a good understanding of where the child stands with regard to meeting the requirements to graduate with a diploma.
In North Carolina there are two courses of study (COS) that lead to a high school diploma: the Future-Ready Core Course of Study and the Future-Ready Occupational Course of Study (OCS). Each COS has it’s own specific set of requirements, which must be met completely before the student will be able to receive a diploma. The decision about which COS is the most appropriate for a particular student is usually made late in the 8th grade year, and parents need to ask as many questions as necessary to understand what will be expected of their child. But that’s just the beginning!
Parents and students should periodically check to see which graduation requirements have been met and which are still outstanding. In most schools, the guidance counselors will meet with each student at least once a year, especially as courses are being selected for the following year. What’s surprising to many parents is that a lot of schools do not routinely involve parents in this process. The parent may have to initiate contact with the counselor and ask to have an unofficial transcript sent home, or maybe schedule a face-to-face meeting with the counselor to see where things stand. Every school system will have it’s graduation requirements available on it’s website and in any high school planning guide that they may publish (you may have to ask for a copy in order to get one).
Think about how much time the student has left in school, and which courses have to be taken before the student will be allowed to take a needed, or desired, course (those are called “prerequisites”). Are there any tests or projects that are stand-alone graduation requirements? If your child plans to go to college, are they taking the courses that will meet the college or university’s admission requirements? Is the student taking, but failing course after course, ending up with very few credits toward graduation? Are they taking remedial courses that they pass, but only count as elective credits? Is the student taking career-technical classes that have nothing to do with their career goal or area of interest? If the student is on the OCS, do they have the required number of hours for each type of work experience? If not, what’s the plan for accomplishing by the time graduation is expected? Who can help with this?
In some cases, parents and students have made a 5-year plan for high school, only to be told that the student MUST graduate at the end of four years. When this happens, there has often been inadequate planning for the student’s transition to adulthood and nothing is in place to support them once they leave school. Spacing the required courses out over a longer period of time can buy the student more time to work on transition goals, further develop their skills, and have experiences that will give them a better chance for success as an adult.
The bottom line is that parents need to stay on top of their student’s progress throughout the high school years. There is a High School Planner available at www.cfnc.org that can help parents and students keep track of graduation requirements that have been, or still need to be met. A similar tool may be available through the high school. Once again, the guidance counselor will be the key contact for this entire process. Establishing a good working relationship with that counselor can only work in your child’s best interest, so it’s well worth the effort. | <urn:uuid:5e4fd528-6c6c-4933-9c4f-2702202f2b3c> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://askecac.org/tag/high-school/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250619323.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20200124100832-20200124125832-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.969815 | 2,805 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Transcendental meditation -- the practice of effortless thinking -- may be as effective at treating PTSD in conflict veterans as traditional therapy, US researchers said on Friday, in findings that could help tens of thousands deal with their trauma. Post traumatic stress disorder, a debilitating condition that can lead to psychosis, bipolar disorder or suicidal and homicidal thoughts, affects an estimated 14 percent of US veterans who serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The most common treatment for PTSD is a process known as prolonged exposure psychotherapy, which forces sufferers to re-experience traumatic events by confronting their memories of the conflict. Researchers from three US universities decided to look into whether more everyday techniques, which help civilians lower their stress levels and increase focus and productivity, would work on traumatised veterans.
They trialed 203 former servicemen and women with PTSD, most of whom were receiving medication for their symptoms, and randomly assigned them courses of transcendental meditation, prolonged exposure therapy or a specialised PTSD health education class.
They found that 60 percent of veterans who did 20 minutes of quiet meditation every day showed significant improvement in their symptoms, and more completed the study than those given exposure therapy.
"Over the past 50 years, PTSD has expanded to become a significant public health problem," Sanford Nidich, of the Maharishi University of Management Research Institute, told AFP.
"Due to the increasing need to address the PTSD public health care problem in the US, UK and worldwide, there is a compelling need to implement governmental policy to include alternative therapies such as transcendental meditation as an option for treating veterans with PTSD."
Transcendental meditation involves effortlessly thinking of an idea or mantra to produce a settled, calmer state of mind -- scientists call it "restful alertness".
Unlike exposure therapy, meditation can be practised at home, takes up relatively little time, and researchers say it would be significantly cheaper than current treatment techniques.
It also avoids forcing combat veterans to relive their trauma in a bid to get better.
"Transcendental meditation is self-empowering, and can be practised just about anywhere at any time, without the need for specialised equipment or ongoing personnel support," said Nidich, who was the lead author of the study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.
- 'Gave me my life back' -
The main problem with existing PTSD treatment, according to Nidich, is that forcing veterans to relive their trauma means many never finish the courses.
Exposure therapy, although officially approved as a treatment by the US Veterans' Association, is ineffective in up to 50 percent of patients and drop-out rates range from 30-45 percent.
"New treatments, including options not involving exposure to the traumatic experience, are needed for veterans who do not respond to treatment or drop-out due to discomfort," said Nidich.
One study participant, a 32-year-old navy veteran whom authors identified only as Ms. K, said learning the meditation technique had "given me my life back."
After being diagnosed as having suffered sexual trauma while on military service, her symptoms worsened until she drank to excess every night and sought to avoid human interaction.
After the transcendental meditation course, "I began to come out of my nightmares and face the battle I had ahead," she said.
She added she had since applied for a job in a hospital.
Researchers said further studies were needed to see if meditation could be a long-term aid for PTSD sufferers. | <urn:uuid:f67c89a0-154d-43fc-8cda-969527eb118e> | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | https://www.timesnownews.com/health/article/meditation-helps-conflict-veterans-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-study/315390 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875145621.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20200221233354-20200222023354-00422.warc.gz | en | 0.962306 | 707 | 2.65625 | 3 |
“I think the best part of gardening is knowing what it really means to eat broccoli,” said Melissa Wender, a Bronx native turned rural green thumb.
Wender picked up a gardening book 15 years ago on a whim, and has since learned by trial and error, keeping detailed journals on the weather and her plants’ patterns—“like my own personal Farmer’s Almanac,” she said.
Last Monday, Wender and Peter Richardson, both members of local grassroots activist group Transition Charlottesville, teamed up to lead a workshop on seed starting. The organization, founded in April 2011, raises awareness of natural resources and climate change through film screenings, discussion panels, community work projects, and free monthly “skill shares” like gardening, canning, and sewing.
About 25 people, from UVA students to retirees, gathered at The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative last week to try their hands at growing fruits and vegetables from seeds. The presentation ended with a free-for-all, where everybody crowded around a table to get their hands dirty and plant some seeds. Everyone walked out with at least one cup of dirt and a hope for some spinach seedlings in the near future.
As urban gardens gear up for the spring, here are some tips for starting your own seeds:
- Seeds should start in small, individual containers, to keep the seedlings’ fragile roots from growing into one another and tangling. Wender recommended picking up divided trays from local garden stores, some of which give used ones away for free.
- True to Transition’s spirit of reusing and recycling, Richardson showed the group how to make small seed containers out of toilet paper tubes. Cut them in half, and fold long-ways twice to make square. Make cuts halfway up each crease, and fold the flaps into one another like a cardboard box. Once the seedling sprouts, Richardson said not to worry about transferring the plant—simply place the entire thing in a larger pot, and the cardboard container will break down as the plant grows. Attendees also suggested using empty eggshells and cups made of newspaper.
- For seed starting, try to use organic peat moss or soil with perlite—the white, Styrofoam-like material that locks in moisture. Using clean soil is essential, Wender said. She suggested sterilizing compost in the oven, if you can stand the smell. Another option is to gather some dirt from the garden before temperatures drop below freezing, and save it for seed starting in the winter and spring.
- Most seeds need consistently warm, moist soil to germinate, so it’s important to keep containers away from extreme temperatures and traffic. Lighting options vary, Richardson said, but regular fluorescent bulbs in shop lights hung on a shelf above the seedlings are an easy, cheap option.
- Once the seedlings outgrow their first containers—a time span that varies from plant to plant—it’s important to transplant them into larger pots with holes in the bottom. Lift a seedling by the rootball, gently holding the leaves to steady it from above, and Richardson emphasized never holding it by the stem. | <urn:uuid:fc4290e0-7b0d-4dc4-842b-500cd5cf1c10> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://www.c-ville.com/transition-charlottesville-helps-gardeners-get-a-jump-on-spring-with-seedling-workshop/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422122034298.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124175354-00214-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938709 | 657 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Multiple Topics Found, please select a specific topic.
; 13th Rajab, 24 BH–21st Ramaḍān, 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, Sunni Muslims consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided Caliphs), while Shi'a Muslims regard Ali as the first Imam and consider him and his descendants the rightful successors to Muhammad, all of which are members of the Ahl al-Bayt, the household of Muhammad. This disagreement split the Ummah (Muslim community) into the Sunni and Shi'a branches. | <urn:uuid:840a7384-4b4b-4524-b6c5-b38e8e84dbe6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/ali/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700477029/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103437-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953505 | 173 | 3.25 | 3 |
Updated 7th December 2014 | Polk City, Florida, USA. Many years ago HMS Belfast rested at a berth along the Thames. Moored immediately to starboard of the Royal Navy (RN) heavy cruiser was a visiting Japanese patrol vessel belonging to what is now the Japanese Coast Guard. Several officers and ratings lined the gangway connecting the ships and politely beckoned aboard the curious. Stepping onto the deck, more than one man recalled that only a few decades previously the United Kingdom and the Empire of Japan had been bitter foes.
The onslaught against British and Commonwealth interests opened with the aerial assault on American bases located on a Polynesian island. The grouping it is associated with was known formerly to the British as the Sandwich Islands. The world now knows them collectively as Hawaiʻi, and to this day Hawaiians recall their historic connection to the United Kingdom visually through the canton of the state’s flag.
An example of the key British player in the precursor to the 1941 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service assault resides today in central Florida. Inside a Fantasy of Flight warehouse complex, known as Golden Hill, a Swordfish sits silently, out of her natural element, on the concrete floor. The forlorn-looking “Stringbag” patiently awaits restoration and a return to airworthiness. Currently incapable of movement, she nevertheless symbolizes the days her kind revolutionized naval warfar
Today being the anniversary of Japan’s attack on American military installations on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, American and English patrons paused to reflect. Their minds drifted into the pages of previously read military history texts and recalled that the potent and capable Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) threatened RN operations in 1940. Senior RN leadership, including Rear Admiral Lyster who had served at Taranto during World War I and devised a contingency plan of attack in the middle 1930s, were of the opinion that the Italian fleet had to be neutralized. A decision was taken to raid Taranto and a training program formulated.
The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious would play a key supportive role. When the warship became available, Illustrious flew on 5 Swordfish from HMS Eagle to supplement her own complement.
The embarked Fleet Air Arm (FAA) planes were from Nos. 806 (Gloster Sea Gladiators and Fairey Fulmars) 813 (Swordfish and Sea Gladiators), 815 (Swordfish), 819 (Swordfish) and 824 (Swordfish) Squadrons. Rear Admiral Lyster commanded the task force.
During the night of November 11-12 Illustrious launched the attack. The Swordfish detailed primarily for carrying torpedoes had their range extended through additions of petrol tanks in the observers’ cockpits, and those tasked to conduct bombing were equipped with auxiliary tankage beneath their fuselages. Notably, a severe loss rate had been forecast.
After flying off in 2 waves the 21 laggardly Swordfish winged their way toward Taranto, the Bristol Pegasas engines laboring under the fuel and armament loads. Amongst them the airplanes toted a mixture of flares for illumination of the harbor, bombs and torpedoes.
At 2300 hours (11:00 pm) flares began dropping from Swordfish. Despite the presence of barrage balloons, anti-torpedo nets and intense anti-aircraft fire of many calibers the pilots determinedly weaved their way through the treacherous sky toward the anchored vessels below. The normally dark airspace was filled with the beams of searchlights, flashes of exploding anti-aircraft shells and strings of colorful and deadly tracer bullets emanating from automatic weapons. The atmosphere was therefore choppy and the Swordfish bounced and skidded. Noting the resistance, the airmen would nonetheless not be deterred from accomplishing their important mission.
The Swordfish crews achieved success. In total 3 Italian battleships suffered severe damage, a cruiser and 2 destroyers were damaged and 2 auxiliary vessels were sunk. Remarkably, only one Swordfish in each wave was lost. David Mondey succinctly summarized (pages 91-92) the results in his book British Aircraft of World War II. He wrote the following: “In the short space of an hour the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean had been irrevocably changed, confirming the belief of prophets such as the USA’s ‘Billy’ Mitchell, by demonstrating the potential of a force of aeroplanes . . . to eliminate a naval fleet . . . .”
Afterward, the Japanese demonstrated intense interest. Lieutenant Commander Takeshi Naito, the assistant naval attaché to Berlin, and others visited Taranto to glean information. It became obvious that aerial torpedoes had been utilized in shallow waters. Naito later conducted a lengthy conversation with aviator Commander Mitsuo Fuchida who was destined to lead the attack on Pearl Harbor. “What is clear . . . is that the action at Taranto convinced the Japanese that the attack on Pearl Harbor was feasible ,” wrote (page 159) David Wragg in Swordfish. Furthermore, the IJN recognized (Wragg, pages ix-x) that the attack persuaded the Italians to relocate their fleet to another port. The recent relocation of the U.S. Pacific Fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor was a deterrent to Japan’s expansionist policies. It is certainly possible that the IJN hoped its raid would likewise result in the withdrawal of American capital ships.
By December 1941 Allied intelligence knew something was about to happen. Many signs of impending action had been noted by both the British and American navies. Even officers aboard one of His Majesty’s warships sensed something afoot. On December 4 HMCS Prince Robert, an armed merchant cruiser of the Royal Canadian Navy, sailed from Pearl Harbor. While steaming toward Esquimalt, British Columbia, her wireless operator “picked up some mystifying signals” (Boutilier, p. 123). However, Prince Robert‘s able seaman lookouts saw nothing of Admiral Nagumo’s striking force. America’s “Day of Infamy” approached unabated.
After the devastation at Pearl Harbor the Congress of Britain’s former American colonies promptly declared war on Japan on the Axis powers. Although the U.S. Navy had been escorting convoys to the “Mother” country for some months, America was now fully and officially engaged in the conflict. Around the time of the United States’ declarations of war, Prince Robert was north of Hawaiʻi and still homeward bound when a received signal advised her captain that Canada was now at war with Japan.
The History Channel documentary Greatest Raids: Royal Swordfish Take Taranto states that the FAA’s raid on Taranto was in some aspects more successful than the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service’s pummeling of installations at and around Pearl Harbor. Regardless, significant physical and psychological damage had been inflicted by both branches.
Obvious to all was the fact that there had been repetitive and effective executions by Swordfish. The ungainly planes damaged the French battleship Richelieu, at the time under Vichy control, on July 8, 1940, struck Taranto in November and on May 26, 1941, wounded the Kriegsmarine battleship Bismark. “In torpedo-plane tactics . . . the British Navy was least backward,” stated (page 35) Captain Donald Macintyre in Aircraft Carrier: The Majestic Weapon.
Compared to torpedo bombers such as the Douglas TBD Devastator, Grumman TBF/TBM Avenger and Nakajima B5N Kate the Swordfish was undoubtedly inferior. The RN was unfortunately not blessed during the early period of the conflict with competent domestically manufactured aeroplanes. As David Wragg stated (page 177), the “Fleet Air Arm had to make the best of what it had.” Nevertheless, the Fairey Swordfish gamely performed every role required of it.
The importance of Fairey’s product became apparent to all, and the legend of the aircraft justifiably grew. Testifying to her qualities, an affectionate song, which has been preserved within The Fleet Air Arm Songbook, became popular:
The Swordfish fly over the ocean
The Swordfish fly over the sea;
If it were not for King George’s Swordfish
Where would the Fleet Air Arm be?
Fantasy of Flight’s Swordfish is a Mk. IV, which is a Blackburn Aircraft Limited variant that was derived from the Mk. II. These planes were built by Blackburn in Sherburn, North Yorkshire. The Mk. IV featured an enclosed cockpit designed for frigid Canadian environs.
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) operated many of this type while the RN also made use of Mk. IV machines at No. 1 Naval Air Gunnery School at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Canada received (Batchelor, page 13) at least 105 Mk. II and Mk. III Swordfish in total, but only a percentage were modified to the Mk. IV standard. The Canadian aircraft served in training roles.
The author (John T. Stemple) salutes the U.S. Military personnel who served, and especially those who died, on Sunday, December 7, 1941. He thanks Jeff Nillson of the Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA) for providing the photograph of HMS Belfast and the staff of Fantasy of Flight for their cooperation.
Readers may be interested in Swordfish pilot Stanley Brand’s book Achtung! Swordfish! Merchant Aircraft Carriers.
*HMS – His Majesty’s Ship
*HMCS – His Majesty’s Canadian Ship
*Kriegsmarine – Nazi Germany’s navy
Sources, Suggested Readings & Viewings
Attack on Pearl Harbor: A Day of Infamy (2 DVD set), Timeless Media Group, 2007.
Attack on Pearl Harbor — Wikipedia
Battle of Taranto — Wikipedia
Bismark – Wikipedia
Brand, Stanley, Achtung! Swordfish! Merchant Aircraft Carriers, Horsforth, Leeds: Propagator Press, 2005.
British Attack on Richelieu
David Wragg, Swordfish: The Story of the Taranto Raid, London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2004.
Donald Macintyre, Aircraft Carrier: The Majestic Weapon, New York: Ballantine Books, 1968, pages 48-71.
Fairey Swordfish — Wikipedia
Fantasy of Flight
Fleet Air Arm attack on Italian Fleet at Taranto
Gloster Sea Gladiator
Greatest Raids: Royal Swordfish Take Taranto, History Channel DVD Release Date: January 26, 2010.
Ireland, Bernard, Collins Jane’s World War II Warships, Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996.
James A. Boutilier, ed., RCN in Retrospect, 1910-1968, Vancouver: The University of British Columbia Press, 1982.
John Batchelor and Malcolm V. Lowe, Plane Essentials: Fairey Swordfish, Dorset: The Minster Press, 2009.
Last Battle of the Bismark
Mondey, David, British Aircraft of World War II, Middlesex: Temple Press, 1982, pp. 91-92.
No. 806 Squadron
Pearl Harbor: Beyond the Movie
Princes Three: Navy Part 38
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum Fairey Swordfish II
Thomas P. Lowry and John G. Wellham, The Attack on Taranto: Blueprint for Pearl Harbor, Stackpole Books, 1995.
Tora! Tora! Tora!, 20th Century Fox, 1970.
War in the Mediterranean – The Battle of Taranto | <urn:uuid:9dfa45fd-b93d-42a6-974a-0e13654be081> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://militaryaviationchronicles.com/wwii/a-fairey-swordfish-tale-on-the-anniversary-of-the-pearl-harbour-attack/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247489343.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20190219041222-20190219063222-00352.warc.gz | en | 0.943133 | 2,450 | 2.671875 | 3 |
A new study by the University of British Columbia shows that teachers don't have to test everything they want their students to remember—as long as the knowledge they want to convey fits together well, and the test questions are well-chosen.
The finding, based on an experiment with UBC pharmacy students, builds on a proven phenomenon known as "retrieval-enhanced learning—that the very act of recalling something reinforces it in a person's memory. But that phenomenon also has stoked fears, demonstrated in a few recent studies, of "retrieval-induced forgetting—that items not included on a test can be purged from students' memories.
The UBC study, published May 26 in Advances in Health Sciences Education, suggests a way to strengthen students' memories of new knowledge without causing "assessment fatigue."
Researchers asked more than 150 second-year pharmacy students to study a 67-slide PowerPoint file about gastroesophageal reflux disease and peptic ulcer disease—a subject relevant to their studies but not yet covered in the curriculum. Each slide contained "bullet points" typical of slides used for university lectures.
Some students were asked to study the slides for 30 minutes in anticipation of being tested on it two weeks later. Other students were asked to study the slides for 20 minutes, with the remaining 10 minutes devoted to a 10-question quiz about the material.
Two weeks later, both groups took a larger test that included the original 10 questions, plus 30 more: 10 that were about the slides, 10 about other medical conditions not covered by the slides, and 10 more general questions about basic physiology and drug characteristics (also not covered by the slides). Most questions were multiple choice, with a couple of true/false items.
As expected, the group that took the preliminary quiz a couple of weeks before did better—22 per cent better—on the questions that were repeated in the larger test. But that group also performed 19 per cent better on other questions based on the slides even though they were not included on the preliminary quiz.
On the other questions that were not specifically about reflux disease and peptic ulcer disease, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups' performance.
From those results, the researchers conclude that knowledge—whether it's about health, law, history or anything else—doesn't have to be tested to be remembered, if it's closely intertwined with knowledge that is being tested.
"The accumulated evidence of retrieval-enhanced learning has led some educators to assert that comprehensive testing is the best way to get students to remember knowledge," said lead author Kevin Eva, a Professor in the Department of Medicine and Associate Director of UBC's Centre for Health Education Scholarship. "But that could lead to valuable class time being eaten up by assessments, creating undue stress and strain for students."
To maximize the effectiveness of testing, Dr. Eva says, course material needs to be well-integrated—each piece should be presented as part of a larger whole, not as a collection of disconnected details. In addition, test questions should be representative of the entirety of the material that instructors want students to retain.
"Students are more likely to forget untested items in a curriculum of disassociated facts," Dr. Eva says. "So teachers need to do their homework, and make sure that what they teach comes together into a bigger, comprehensible whole."
Explore further: Though distracted by social media, students are still listening
Kevin W. Eva et al, The pedagogical value of testing: how far does it extend?, Advances in Health Sciences Education (2018). DOI: 10.1007/s10459-018-9831-4 | <urn:uuid:f4cb8b8f-d8ed-47a0-88e5-05da5413c40c> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | https://phys.org/news/2018-05-isnt-students.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864300.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20180621211603-20180621231603-00521.warc.gz | en | 0.970414 | 755 | 3.109375 | 3 |
During this activity, it was very easy to determine what the trend was. When x = a negative number, the points on the y axis progressed very slowly, while once x = a positive number, it began to rise very quickly. I think it was a very good visual to understand negative exponents, and really get across that they are quite small.
The data table was also surprisingly helpful. It became much clearer to me that the difference between positive and negative exponents is that the main number (x) stays the same, but with a negative exponent, it’s the denominator. | <urn:uuid:95fed1bd-9dc0-4d2c-b876-2604e33ad25c> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/sarap2015/tag/exponentsgraph/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585504.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20211022084005-20211022114005-00331.warc.gz | en | 0.982148 | 121 | 2.953125 | 3 |
From: Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 50
This article explores how the concepts of ecology are presented and utilized in the evangelical Protestant response to the ecological crisis. It finds that there are seven basic themes in the literature: (1) etymological discussions; (2) the concepts of interdependence and balance; (3) cycles and energy flow; (4) food chain/food web/ecological pyramid; (5) carrying capacity; (6) the idea that humans are the disrupters of "nature's" balance; and (7) the contrary idea that humans are a part of the ecosystem. In light of these themes, I make several observations. One is that the summarized findings of ecology becomes the latest version of natural theology: God's will is for each ecosystem to be a climax ecosystem which never declines. If this is the case, then western agriculture, industry, and the use of much technology will have to be severely curtailed--a situation unacceptable to most evangelical Protestants.
Many scholars have argued that western culture, infused with a Christian understanding of the world, provided a nurturing environment for the development of science. The belief in a purposeful God, the argument goes, who gave order and coherence to the universe allowed scientists to assume that they could discover such order, such "laws." God made a world which was consistent and real, and therefore predictable. The discipline of ecology has also benefited from Christian assumptions embedded in western culture. By the time ecology began to develop as a scientific discipline, however, these assumptions had become "secularized," or stripped of their God-talk. In other words, early ecologists did not have to believe in a Christian God to assume that the world was orderly, consistent, real, and predictable. These beliefs had become cultural norms taken for granted by everyone in the West; they could be understood by an ecologist as simply similarities between Christianity and science, rather than shared beliefs which have their "genesis" in Christian doctrine.
Not surprisingly, it is these assumptions that evangelical Protestants emphasize when informing their audience about the concept of ecology.1 Furthermore, probably in part because of these shared assumptions, the languages of ecology and theology are mixed together without any serious discussion about what the potential differences could be--not so much a synthesis as a bricolage. This article is an attempt to describe and analyze the concept of ecology contained in the evangelical Protestant response to the ecological crisis, and to raise questions about its use.
But before addressing this, a brief overview of the evangelical Protestant response to the ecological crisis is necessary. I have summarized the four main ways evangelical Protestants have utilized the concept of stewardship and have created a four-part stewardship typology (see Fig. 1). The capacity for the theological and ethical position of each type to be turned into a justification for exploitation of the rest of creation is what I call its co-optation potential. Rating each type in this way is obviously a judgment on my part. As such, I should declare that I have the greatest affinity with the fourth type, Servanthood Stewardship. The four stewardship types are as follows:
1. Wise Use: Happily, only a few evangelical Protestants fall into this type.2 The name comes not from Gifford Pinchot's utilitarian conservation ethic, which actually reflects the phrase, and is in keeping with my Anthropocentric Stewardship type. Rather, it comes from the co-opted version represented by former Reagan Interior Secretary James Watt, Ron Arnold of the Center for Defense of Free Enterprise, Alan M. Gottlieb, editor of The Wise Use Agenda, and Rush Limbaugh.3 This political "movement," bank-rolled by companies who would profit from deregulation, seeks to promote an open-throttle, all-out exploitation of the rest of creation (ROC).
The evangelical Protestants of the Wise Use type are providing a theological rationale for such exploitation. Wise Use does not include the evangelical Protestants who are opposed to any ethic of creation-care.4 Rather, those in this type seek to offer an alternative which actually works against caring for creation. God is indifferent
to the rest of creation, and thus it has no moral status. Moreover, the best strategy for achieving the welfare of present and future generations is not conservation but economic growth and "resource substitution." Thus, Wise Use's co-optation potential has been fully realized.
2. Anthropocentric Stewardship: This type, a legitimate ethical stance when compared to Wise Use, is widely held by evangelical Protestants.5 Persons who fall into this type stress that the rest of creation was created for the welfare of humanity. Some writers may mention briefly that God declared the rest of creation to be "good," a few even suggesting that it has some modicum of intrinsic value. But this is overwhelmed by talk of "resources" and a strong (and usually defensive) emphasis on the idea that humans come first. Theologically, the focus is on the divine-human relationship. Since the possibility of a moral status for the rest of creation is either denied or discounted severely by adherents of this type, its co-optation potential is high. Rhetorically, the only difference between Wise Use and Anthropocentric Stewardship is the argument that it would be better for future generations to conserve rather than exploit the rest of creation.
3. Caring Management: Many of the writings of the "major players" in the evangelical Protestant response to the ecological crisis belong in this type.6 There is a both/and quality to Caring Management. Humans are both "lord" and "servant" when it comes to the rest of creation, unique in the sense of being created in the image of God, but responsible for the care and management or "dominion" of the rest of creation. In many instances, the two Genesis texts (1:26-28 and 2:7,15) are balanced off each other, with the Golden Mean being what I describe as Caring Management. The rest of creation is both a resource for legitimate human needs and something which shares in our creaturehood and deserves our respect and care. Sometimes the tension within the both/and juxtaposition is so great as to be contradictory. Their rhetoric, i.e. the specific language they use and the way in which they structure their arguments, appears to be based upon an awareness of the writings of "environmentalists," and an awareness that many evangelical Protestants are characterized by the Wise Use and Anthropocentric Stewardship perspectives. In effect, they are saying to their fellow evangelical Protestants, "Look, some of what the environmentalists are saying is true. Trust us; we've listened to them critically and we've weeded out all the crazy stuff. But the biblical message is that we can't be anthropocentric. We've got to care for the rest of creation, too." Thus, due to its both/and nature, Caring Management's co-optation potential is moderate. Its most effective bulwarks against the erosion of its position are the espousal of the concepts of intrinsic value and cosmic redemption.
4. Servanthood Stewardship: While the majority of evangelical Protestant writings on the ecological crisis fall under the categories of Anthropocentric Stewardship and Caring Management, a strong and significant minority belong in the Servanthood Stewardship type.7 The Lord/servant tension of Caring Management is relaxed in the direction of servanthood. There is less of an emphasis on the Genesis texts when it comes to understanding humanity's role, and more of an emphasis upon emulating Christ in servanthood as described in Phil. 2:6-11. Following Christ in servanthood is the key to understanding a Christian's ethical attitude toward all creation. There is an avoidance of hierarchical thinking. A belief in cosmic redemption suggests that God loves and desires shalom for all creation. Thus, the stress is not on whether humans have priority but on their responsibility. Servanthood stewardship's co-optation potential is low due primarily to its attitude of humility, its espousal that God loves the rest of creation, and its resulting belief in intrinsic value and cosmic redemption.
Now that a brief overview of the evangelical Protestant literature on the ecological crisis has been given, a description and analysis of the literature's use of the concepts of ecology can proceed. In general, many of the writings do not define the concept of ecology or describe it in any great detail.8 When they do, the discussion is usually quite brief, and the overall effect is to paint a picture of stasis, that what is "natural" for "nature" is a static harmony.
There are seven basic themes in the literature concerning the concepts of ecology. First, some writings begin with an etymological discussion: the word ecology comes from the Greek word, oikos, meaning the family household and its order and maintenance; numerous commentators point out that the English words ecology and economy come from this common root.9 (Many writers tie in the idea of stewardship: a steward is one who manages the household, which in this instance encompasses both "nature" and the economy.10) Early on Barnette provided the best and most succinct definition in the evangelical Protestant literature: "Ecology is the study of the relationship of all living creatures to each other and to their environment."11
Second is the theme of the two interrelated overarching concepts of interdependence and balance, both of which serve as the theoretical core around which the other themes cluster. Concerning interdependence, the literature really does not go much farther than John Muir's oft quoted statement from My First Summer in the Sierra: "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."12 Indeed, in many instances the words of evangelical Protestants are- whether intentionally or not--a paraphrase of Muir. For example, Snyder states of the world that "everything within it is tied to everything else."13 It could also be the case that evangelical Protestants are picking up Muir's quotation from Barry Commoner, or from those who utilize his work. He takes Muir's quotation and makes it into his "First Law of Ecology: Everything is Connected to Everything Else."14 Indeed, evangelical Protestant Richard Young summarizes each of Commoner's four laws of ecology.15 Although many ecologists would not want to make such a sweeping "metaphysical" statement, (i.e. that everything is connected to everything else) evangelical Protestants writing on the ecological crisis are quite comfortable making this type of assertion because they share with Muir a belief that God in fact made the world this way: interdependent, everything related to everything else.16 The word "community" is often used. This type of relational holism is seen as consistent with the biblical (Hebraic) view of creation.
When it comes to the idea of balance, the underlying assumption is stasis; left undisturbed by humans, the rest of creation is a balanced harmony. The concept of balance is stressed because the anthropogenic ecological crisis is perceived to have created various imbalances. This attitude is summed up in the first proposed title by George Perkins Marsh for his classic, Man and Nature, "Man, the Disturber of Nature's Harmonies."17 If there is any sense of natural ecological change, it is teleological development: left to its own devices, each ecosystem will eventuate in a rich, stable, balanced fecundity and diversity of life.18
The third theme stresses the biochemical side of ecology: cycles and energy flow. Evangelical Protestants succinctly describe how energy from the sun is stored in plants which become food for animals, and how in this life-sustaining process of energy flow the Earth has various cycles, such as the carbon cycle, the hydraulic cycle, and the nitrogen cycle. Closely aligned to energy flow is the fourth theme, that of the food chain, food web, or ecological pyramid. Here, obviously, are specific ecological terms which reinforce the general concept of interdependence.
The idea that ecosystems have a carrying capacity, which means that there are limits beyond which ecosystems cannot be pushed without the possibility of collapse, is the fifth theme. Pollution, habitat destruction, species extinction, and many other anthropogenic disruptions, if not halted, will lead to the degradation and eventual collapse of the Earth's ecosystems.
The sixth and seventh themes, that humans are the disrupters of "nature's" balance and that humans are a part of the ecosystem, are in constant tension with each other. They highlight the fact that borrowing from the discipline of ecology has not answered one of the key theological questions underlying the ecological crisis: "What is humanity's relationship to the rest of creation?"
In light of these seven themes several comments are in order. First, the evangelical Protestant versions of the concepts of ecology which the literature has emphasized appear to put all of my stewardship types except Servanthood Stewardship on the defensive. This is ironic, considering that, according to Worster, a "bioeconomics paradigm" with a perspective quite in sympathy with Anthropocentric Stewardship began its reign in the field of ecology in the mid-forties, and is still widely followed today.19 As Worster points out, this bioeconomics perspective has a great deal in common with a "Progressive conservation philosophy" (e.g., Gifford Pinchot), wherein scientifically trained experts utilize the information obtained from the field of ecology to better manage the ecosystems of the Earth.20 When answering the question "What is humanity's relationship to the rest of creation?" both Anthropocentric Stewardship and Caring Management rely on the "both-a-part-of-and-apart-from" answer. The "bioeconomics paradigm" leans toward the more transcendent "apart-from" view of humanity. Yet the evangelical Protestant emphasis on interdependence, "community," and the literal stress on the idea that human beings are to be viewed as "a part of" the ecosystems they inhabit, obviously leans towards the immanent "a-part-of" understanding of humanity's relationship to the rest of creation. This means that Anthropocentric Stewardship and Caring Management proponents must counter this effect to create a more "balanced" answer to the question: "What is humanity's relationship to the rest of creation?" In many instances they do so theologically, by highlighting the concepts of imago dei and dominion.
The reason for this irony, I believe, and this need to counterbalance theologically the concepts of ecology evangelical Protestants highlight, is because they have been influenced more by the popularizers of ecology (e.g., Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, and Barry Commoner). These thinkers are more "organismic,"21 in their writings, more willing to create a holistic, ecological ethical philosophy from their understanding of the findings of ecology than the average scientist in the field of ecology itself.
A second observation concerns the overall impression of stasis created by the evangelical Protestant descriptions of the concepts of ecology. The themes of balance and cycles seem to diminish any sense of change or linear, temporal movement. This can feed into the dualistic separation of "nature" and "history" wherein the only significant changes occur in human culture--when in fact the rest of creation is constantly changing, moving into ecological successions and regressions without any help from humanity.
A third comment regards the fact that the concepts and summarized findings of ecology at times become the latest version of natural theology: the rest of creation reveals to us the character and intentions of God. God blessed all creation; God's will is for each ecosystem to be a rich, stable, balanced and harmonious diversity--a "climax" (Clements) or "mature" (E. Odum) ecosystem which never declines. This, of course, sounds more like the Garden of Eden than the findings of a scientific discipline. At times writers approach Muir's dualism. For Muir, wilderness (i.e., creation which had not been disrupted by human culture) was "unfallen, undepraved,"22 and therefore "perfectly clean and pure and full of divine lessons."23 In wilderness or undisturbed ecosystems, God's intentions and character can be much more easily seen when compared with fallen human culture.24 Many times in the evangelical Protestant literature, the invocation of the mantra "Nature knows best" appears to be leaning toward this humanity is fallen, rest-of-creation is unfallen dualism. In other words, an undisturbed climax ecosystem is an excellent picture of God's will for creation.25 If God's intentions are for each ecosystem to be arrested at the climax stage of succession, then western agriculture will have to be junked, as will most of the other activities of an industrial, technological society.26 None of the evangelical Protestants reviewed here would be in favor of this, nor would they want to be perceived as advocating some type of return to a romanticized version of hunter-gatherer societies. Furthermore, do evangelical Protestants really want to profess that the rest of creation is "unfallen," or that the "curse" has been completely lifted? Does the rest of creation need the healing of Christ's atoning death irrespective of human activity?
Finally, an obvious consideration not to be overlooked is the context within which evangelical Protestants write: the perception that there is a problem, a crisis. Since things appear to be out of "balance," or even out of control, then balance and limits must be stressed; and since humans appear to be the problem, then interdependence, community, and being a part of the ecosystem needs to be emphasized. | <urn:uuid:20e05b34-7088-46f7-bcb7-5f485d25ca99> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1998/PSCF3-98Ball.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982294097.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823195814-00025-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948497 | 3,644 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Americans love crime. The criminal justice system is fetishized in popular culture and news media. We watch the news and scour the Internet to assess our own moral compass, take cues from others' digressions, and bear witness to justice and punishment. Historically, we learned about crime through news media and fiction. The Internet has dramatically changed this landscape: for the first time, mug shots and jailhouse rosters are available with a click.
Youth cyberbullying is dramatically more likely to occur between current or former friends and dating partners than between students who were never friends or in a romantic relationship, suggests a new study that was presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Death and mourning were largely considered private matters in the 20th century, with the public remembrances common in previous eras replaced by intimate gatherings behind closed doors in funeral parlors and family homes.
But social media is redefining how people grieve, and Twitter in particular — with its ephemeral mix of rapid-fire broadcast and personal expression — is widening the conversation around death and mourning, two University of Washington (UW) sociologists say.
ASA speaks with sociologist Dustin Kidd at the 2016 ASA Annual Meeting on August, 2016, in Seattle, WA. Kidd talks about what it means to “do sociology,” how he uses sociology in his work, highlights of his work in the field, the relevance of sociological work to society, and his advice to students interested in entering the field.
Washington, DC — Increasingly, social scientists use multiple forms of communication to engage broader audiences with their research and contribute to solutions of the pressing problems of our time. Yet, in academia, it is unclear whether these efforts to communicate with the public should count when colleges and universities are evaluating scholars.
More than 5,500 sociologists will convene in Montreal this August to explore scientific research relating to social inequality and many other topics, as part of the American Sociological Association’s 112th Annual Meeting. This year’s theme, “Culture, Inequalities, and Social Inclusion across the Globe,” draws attention to the nexus of culture, inequalities, and group boundaries in order to promote greater social inclusion and resilience, collective well-being, and solidarity in Canada, the United States, and globally.
Increasing Internet use is changing the way individuals take part in society. However, a general mobilizing effect of the Internet on political participation has been difficult to demonstrate. This study takes a digital inequality perspective and analyzes the role of Internet expertise for the social structuration of online political participation. Analyses rely on two nationally representative surveys in Switzerland and use cluster analysis and structural equation modeling. A distinct group of political online participants emerged characterized by high education and income. | <urn:uuid:846d94c0-f0ff-45af-83c1-30e8d86bab9a> | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | https://www.asanet.org/search?f%5B0%5D=node%253Afield_related_topics_term%3A147&f%5B1%5D=node%253Afield_related_topics_term%3A160&f%5B2%5D=node%253Afield_related_topics_term%3A148 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875146341.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20200226084902-20200226114902-00340.warc.gz | en | 0.949286 | 578 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Natural cures are "in" these days with more people than ever wanting to decrease their reliance on prescription drugs. In African, natural hypertension cures are being studied for their effectiveness in helping to cure or alleviate hypertension in adults.
For centuries, medicinal plants have been an important part of African cultures. Now, a team of researchers in South Africa initially begin studying 16 native African plants to test their effectiveness as natural hypertension cures. Those sixteen plants have now been narrowed down to eight herbs that lower blood pressure. These plants show real promise as treatments for hypertension and high blood pressure. The 8 plants were chosen mainly for their promise in replicating the effects of prescription drugs which rely on ACE inhibitors for their effectiveness.
ACE inhibitors, are a group of pharmaceuticals that are successfully used worldwide to lower high blood pressure and reduce hypertension in patients.
The 8 African plants that have thus far shown the most promise as being natural hypertension cures by showing significant ACE inhibitor qualities are:
Amaranthus dubius - a flowering plant also known by the common name of Spleen Amaranth
Amaranthus hybridus - a flowering plant also known by common names of Slim Amaranth, Smooth Pigweed, and Red Amaranth.
Asystasia gangetica - an ornamental, ground cover known as Chinese violet. Also used in Nigerian folk medicine for the management of asthma.
Galinsoga parviflora - a herbaceous plant from the daisy familiy. It has many common names including Gallant Soldier, Guasca, and Galinsoga.
Justicia flava - also known as yellow justicia and taken for coughs and treatment of fevers It is widespread and occurs all over South Africa.
Oxygonum sinuatum - a common weed found in most parts of South Africa. This herb works as an ACE inhibitor. It helps by relaxing the blood vessels and thereby, allowing blood to flow freely and the blood pressure to be reduced.
Physalis viscosa - a common weed also known as Starhair Ground Cherry
Tulbaghia violacea - a bulb like plant, also known as Wild Garlic. Certain medications call ACE inhibitors work by reducing blood pressure by inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzymes.
They work by stopping the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. Agiotensin II, constricts blood vessels. If a medication or herb prevents this conversion, the blood vessels do not constrict. Hence, the blood flow is not restricted and the blood pressure is reduced. The plant extract, Tulbaghia violacea, is especially effective in inhibiting angiotensin II from forming.
In tests, Tulbaghia violacea was the South African plant that showed the most promise of being a natural hypertension cure. In the performed tests, it showed an ACE inhibition effect of more than 50%.The plant is part of the garlic family and has been used by many native South African people for many other illnesses such as headaches, fevers, stomach problems, and others. In prior tests, it has also shown an ability to reduce the diastolic blood pressure in patients within less than 8 hours after consumption.
Many people take drugs such as Ambien to relive insomnia. But how do Ambien and high blood pressure drugs mix. Similarly, many people use drugs such as Claritin for their allergies. And, likewise, how do Claritin and high blood pressure mix. Being afraid of drug interactions, some with hypertension look to solve their high blood pressure problems in other ways.
However, herbs can cause drug interactions the same as synthetic drugs. Therefore, if you are taking other drugs, be sure that your doctor is aware of these medications as well. He can then advise you on how to proceed.
The research has been conducted by Irene Mackraj, S. Ramesar, and H. Baijnath, all from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban, South Africa, | <urn:uuid:2fe0bea3-2431-494b-a3b6-178ded08743b> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | http://highbloodpressurearticles.com/african-natural-hypertension-cures.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827963.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216165437-20181216191437-00258.warc.gz | en | 0.955099 | 827 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Many people think this is easy as it is meant to be short and you just repeat things you are going to tell later anyway. That is a pitfall. The abstract is the first, and in the worst case, the only piece of your work that many other scientists will read. Therefore you want it to be:
- Eye-catching: get people interested in your work!
- Short (half a page max): Short texts are more appealing; a long abstract may put many potential readers off immediately.
- Informative: Give the essence of what you found out, meaning the key question behind your study and what your results show to answer it. People should be able to tell in short words what your work is about after reading your abstract.
- Logical: As mentioned above, the abstract is meant to guide readers through your story in a few sentences. Thus, start by offering readers basic information that is essential to understanding the question you are studying. Then, clearly state the problem you are addressing and describe your approach to tackle this problem. Finally, you can describe your results and conclusions.
- Clear and straightforward: Too many details and long explanations can confuse people who are not familiar with the topic. People who don’t understand the bottom line of your work from reading your abstract are unlikely to get really interested in the rest of the story.
- Thought provoking: The last sentence of your abstracts could be used to put your work into a bigger picture – i.e., how your findings contribute to solving a broader question or problem (new biological insights, disease mechanisms, etc). This is a take-home message and will give readers a chance to relate your work to their own.
The hardest part is to put all of this in short words. One approach could be to write a longer version at the beginning, as it is sometimes easier to trim things out, than to keep it shorter from the start. Some people also start by writing take-home messages to the figures and build their abstract from those sentences.
One of the most important points is to have colleagues, ideally also those who are not familiar with your work, to proofread your abstract, especially focussing on clarity and also formal errors (typos, etc.). Formalities differ depending on the purpose of your abstracts (poster, paper, grant or thesis). Make sure you are aware of word (or character!) limits, regulations on the use of abbreviations or format ( structured or unstructured format requirements) before you start writing!
You will find this piece of information in the author instructions for others of the journal, on the conference homepage or in your departmental regulations. If there is no information given, do not hesitate to ask. It would be a shame if your work cannot be accepted because of formal issues. You have worked too hard to allow this to happen!
A good, interesting and catchy abstract can pave your way to recognition, publishing, presenting your work and even to receive funding. It is not the easiest part of your work, but one of the most powerful, so it is worth the effort!
If you have any particular questions or would like to talk about this topic in more detail, please get in touch ([email protected]).
From the YSSC | <urn:uuid:3e3d19a3-909e-4333-9f41-c7f4c19da993> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.neurochemistry.org/short-but-highly-important-things-to-consider-when-preparing-an-abstract-6/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100287.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20231201120231-20231201150231-00401.warc.gz | en | 0.960642 | 674 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Japanese Connections: The Birth of Modern Decor
Co-edited by Kaph Books x Louvre Abu Dhabi x Musée d’Orsay.
Starting in the 1860s, a partiality for anything coming from Japan appeared in France, followed by England, which was to continue for almost fifty years. Giving rise to the fashion of “Japonisme”, it followed on from the taste for “chinoiserie” that was in vogue in the courts of Europe at the end of the 18th century, and that had fascinated several generations of Romantic artists during the first half of the 19th century.
Most of the innovative artists collected these prints and were influenced by the themes specific to ukiyo-e, such as the seasons and climatic conditions. Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro, woodblock print artists who were little thought of in Japan due to the “lightness” of their works, were considered masters in France. Their influence, combined with that of photography and scientific discoveries relating to matter, had a profound effect on how the world and academic certainties based on unchanging principles were viewed. The aesthetic revolution initiated by the Impressionists was pursued by artists like Van Gogh and Gauguin, who both succumbed to the appeal of Japonisme and took up the formal simplification and bright colours of woodblock prints. The artistic exploration of such artists was to lead to the overturning of visual representation, of which the Nabis were direct heirs.
- Publication Date:
- Sunday, September 30, 2018
- English or French or Arabic
- Hardcover, Fabric Cover
- 24x28.5 cm
- Number of Pages:
- Kaph Books
- The Arts | <urn:uuid:4b8da8d8-f699-41e9-a3d9-3c95811bea1b> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://www.kaphbooks.com/books/japanese-connections-birth-modern-decor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662512249.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516204516-20220516234516-00450.warc.gz | en | 0.97762 | 413 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Aquarium Heater Controller - Hysteresis Method
My new apartment gets much colder than my old apartment. That means that the water in the aquarium now gets colder than my tropical fish can stand. So, before I went on vacation, I bought a cheap aquarium heater. The problem is that the heater doesn't shut off no matter what the water temperature is. I had a temperature sensor IC, so I threw something together to control the heater while I was gone. To do this quickly, rather than pulling out the microcontrollers, I did everything with linear components.
The LM335Z temperature sensor is basically a Zener diode with a breakdown voltage that changes by temperature.
My aquarium has two species of fish with different temperature tolerances.
|Fish||Low (°C)||High (°C)|
My aquarium should be kept between 24°C and 25°C, giving Vz = [2.972,2.982]V.
- If the current temperature is below 24°C, the heater should be on.
- If the current temperature is above 25°C, the heater should be off.
- Between 24°C and 25°C:
- If the temperature was 24°C, heat until 25°C. (heater on)
- If the temperature was 25°C, cool until 24°C. (heater off)
That looks like hysteresis, specifically a Schmitt trigger. I can probably use an op-amp I have lying around and a couple of resistors to activate a relay connected to the heater.
For a good explanation of creating hysteresis in a circuit, take a look at Comparator Hysteresis in a Nutshell by Dave Van Ess. This schematic came from it.
Because the relay will need 5V, I will use the same source for Vdd.
Setting R1 to 1kΩ, Ra is about 1.5kΩ, and Rf is about 300kΩ.
This means the complete schematic would look like this:
D1 is the LM335Z. U1 is an LM324N.
In the next article, I'll write about how I waterproofed the LM335Z and what was wrong with this design. | <urn:uuid:ba266f8f-c042-4d76-b255-cf5b4ef636d0> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://waronpants.net/article/aquarium-heater-controller-hysteresis-method/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912203547.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190325010547-20190325032547-00311.warc.gz | en | 0.921195 | 476 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Where in Cologne is Ivo Bauer?
It is the 28th day of March in the year of our Lord 1248 and Ivo Bauer stands shrouded in smoke, having a short conversation with two dead men. By this time each morning, Haymarket usually swells with craftsman and merchants as they set up their stands and prepare to sell their goods. But as Ivo set off to visit his enemies, he found Haymarket eerily empty.
Writing takes me—and my characters—to wonderful places. If you couldn’t tell already, today we are in 13th-century Cologne within its trading epicenter, Haymarket. If you keep up with my blog, you’ll know that Cologne has a rich and fascinating history. Haymarket is no exception.
The History of Haymarket
Dating back to the Roman era, Cologne’s famous Haymarket may be one of Central Europe’s oldest markets. Prior to the 10th century, Haymarket was located on an island just outside the city walls on the Rhine river. As its name suggests, farmers went there to sell hay and other goods to people living within the city walls.
Around the year 957, the market was moved from the island to inside the city. With its location still near the harbor, Haymarket was an ideal place for trade. Craftsmen and merchants took advantage of the prime location. Nearly a kilometer in length—or approximately two-thirds of a mile—Cologne’s Haymarket is larger than most might assume, but it wasn’t large enough. It seems the 10th and 11th centuries were a time of rapid growth and at least three other markets emerged by the end of the 12th.
By the 13th century, Cologne’s population and commercial trade rivaled cities like Paris and London. On top of its forty-thousand residents and the daily influx of market-goers, pilgrims came from all over Europe to see the city’s many churches and relics. Perhaps most famous is The Shrine of the Three Kings located in the city’s cathedral.
During the 1200s, the city council had gallows built in Haymarket where the medieval market-goer might witness the flogging of a fraudulent merchant or the beheading of an aristocratic criminal. In the 14th century, the city’s former mayor, Heinrich von Stave, was found guilty of treason and beheaded on that very spot. Afterward, his remains were quartered and sent to different sections of the city for display.
Despite its rapid growth, Haymarket still managed to keep its aesthetic appeal. Renaissance Europe considered it to be one of the most beautiful city squares in Central Europe, comparing it to St. Marks in Venice. Today Haymarket’s brick-paved square lined with trees and restaurant is a popular pedestrian destination for tourists and locals.
Since the Victorian era, it’s boasted a beautiful old-world Christmas market. In total, there are seven different Christmas markets throughout the city during the holiday season, though the most popular sit beneath Cologne’s famous Gothic cathedral. Festively decorated pavilions and wooden stands offer visitors everything from the city’s famous mulled wine to sweets, toys, and local delicacies. It also houses the nation’s largest Christmas tree.
As some of you know, The Fairytale Keeper series began with a question: What if one girl was the origin of Grimm’s fairytales? That question spawned a series of others. First and foremost: When and where would this girl have lived? Months of research led me to 13th-century Cologne. It’s fascinating history has so far lent itself beautifully to my imaginary world.
Thanks for reading. Want to explore the fascinating world of Medieval Cologne with my characters? Get a FREE sample of The Fairytale Keeper sent to your Kindle from Amazon.com. To see more posts like this one, click the follow button in the sidebar or sign up for my monthly newsletter. | <urn:uuid:783db1b5-ab1c-47b5-af6f-ea8e6f57d33e> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://andreacefalo.com/category/history-of-cologne/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986700435.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20191019214624-20191020002124-00001.warc.gz | en | 0.949622 | 834 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Preliminary Study on the Effect of Wastewater Storage in Septic Tank on E. coli Concentration in Summer
AbstractOn-site wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) work by first storing the wastewater in a septic tank before releasing it to soils for treatment that is generally effective and sustainable. However, it is not clear how the abundance of E. coli changes during its passage through the tank. In this study, which was conducted under the UGA young Scholar Program in summer of 2010, we examined the change in wastewater quality parameters during the passage of the wastewater through the tank and after its release into soil. We collected wastewater samples at the inlet and outlet of an experimental septic tank in addition to obtaining water samples from lysimeters below trenches where the drainpipes were buried. We report that E. coli concentration was higher by 100-fold in the septic tank effluent than influent wastewater samples, indicating the growth of E. coli inside the tank under typical Georgian summer weather. This is contrary to the assumption that E. coli cells do not grow outside their host and suggests that the microbial load of the wastewater is potentially enhanced during its storage in the tank. Electrical conductivity, pH and nitrogen were similar between the influent and effluent wastewater samples. E. coli and total coliform concentrations were mainly below detection in lysimeter samples, indicating the effectiveness of the soil in treating the wastewater. View Full-Text
Share & Cite This Article
Appling, D.; Habteselassie, M.Y.; Radcliffe, D.; Bradshaw, J.K. Preliminary Study on the Effect of Wastewater Storage in Septic Tank on E. coli Concentration in Summer. Water 2013, 5, 1141-1151.
Appling D, Habteselassie MY, Radcliffe D, Bradshaw JK. Preliminary Study on the Effect of Wastewater Storage in Septic Tank on E. coli Concentration in Summer. Water. 2013; 5(3):1141-1151.Chicago/Turabian Style
Appling, Dominique; Habteselassie, Mussie Y.; Radcliffe, David; Bradshaw, James K. 2013. "Preliminary Study on the Effect of Wastewater Storage in Septic Tank on E. coli Concentration in Summer." Water 5, no. 3: 1141-1151. | <urn:uuid:a10767c9-1e6e-4e1e-832d-c90f891de1ca> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/5/3/1141 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267867304.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20180624234721-20180625014721-00438.warc.gz | en | 0.91438 | 491 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Doklam standoff to climate change: 8 ways India stood up in the world in 2017
Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy sees it challenging China on Doklam border stand-off and defying the Trump administration on its decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Since it came to power, the Narendra Modi government has believed India can afford to “bat on its front foot” in foreign policy. Or, as a Chinese newspaper editorialised, India now had a government that would not be scared to offend others. The Modi government believes 2017 was marked by eight foreign policy actions in which, as a senior Indian official said, “defied precedent, didn’t operate within an ideological construct and didn’t do what we were expected to do.” These were:
1. Belt-Road Initiative: New Delhi, with Modi himself deeply involved, carefully weighed what BRI would mean for Indian interests. Once it got a thumbs down, India decided it was prepared to stand alone, do so publicly and oppose the entire Chinese programme. Since then a number of countries including Japan, Germany and most recently the United States have expressed reservations about BRI. “A moment we decided to stand up,” said an Indian diplomat.
2. Doklam. The Chinese had been building a road in the trijunction since 2011. The UPA had concluded it was just normal border road upgrading. But the Modi government decided Beijing had a different plan in mind: force Bhutan to surrender territory, expose India as spineless and drive a wedge between New Delhi and Thimpu. In the game of chicken that followed, Xi Jinping decided to blink first.
3. International Court of Justice. Traditionally, because of fears over Kashmir votes, India has avoided diplomatic confrontations with the big five UN Security Council members. New Delhi waged a “brutal” campaign against the UK to get an Indian judge on the court, admitted a diplomat. But New Delhi sent a message that it will take getting a foothold in such multilateral rules-making bodies more seriously.
4. Kulbushan Jadhav. Tangentially related was India’s surprising decision to take the Jadhav case to the International Court of Justice. India’s Kashmirphobia meant it had a tradition of never taking bilateral issues with Pakistan to the court or to any multilateral body. Islamabad was blind-sided by the move. And it allowed India to make a legal case on the basis of consular access rather than espionage. The first battle went to India and the foreign ministry is already readying for round two in 2018.
5. Quadrilateral. Many strategists in India felt resurrecting the old US-Japan-Australia-India Quad would be a red rag before China. However, the Modi government has been careful to lay down a Quad agenda that is India-focussed: connectivity and proliferation. This was designed to keep New Delhi an arm’s length from North Korea and South China Sea, the migraines of the other members.
6. Climate change. India took a “counterintuitive position” when Donald Trump decided to pull the US out of the Paris agreement, said a senior Indian diplomat. “We moved left”. The West has reneged on every promise it has made to the developing world since climate talks began. The US’s decision gave India an opportunity to walkout of the climate talks. Instead, partly reflecting Modi’s personal concerns about global warming, India held firm. “This has given us credibility with a large number of other countries,” said an Indian diplomat.
7. Israel. While India’s West Asia policy has been edging in that direction for a while, no government was willing to dehypenate Israel from Palestine in Indian foreign policy. Modi’s stand alone visit to Israel made the formal break. His Palestine visit will carve it in stone. Though many Modi supporters were unhappy with India’s UN vote on Jerusalem, it went with the two-track policy. Behind closed doors, Israeli officials made only a token protest. India made it clear its own multilateral requirements, such as the ICJ campaign, meant that such symbolic events would result in too much collateral diplomatic damage.
8. Rohingyas. This was a case study in the diplomatic equivalent of squaring a circle. Two countries, both being wooed by India, at loggerheads but India unable to absorb any refugees itself. “We squared it on the ground,” said an Indian diplomat. The key accomplishment was to persuade Myanmar that a) they would have to take back some Rohingyas, b) India can make it easier by covering the costs of resettlement and, to Bangladesh, c) providing enough assistance to placate their anger. New Delhi knew they had won when the Myanmar army chief said, “We are grateful for you doing this.” | <urn:uuid:ebaf6820-2bf2-48a4-aa3e-04df417a4c0e> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/not-doing-what-it-was-expected-to-do-8-ways-india-stood-up-in-the-world-in-2017/story-sq3qe8cAOz0RrHWMMBj6cP.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710421.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20221210074242-20221210104242-00758.warc.gz | en | 0.963624 | 1,025 | 2.71875 | 3 |
In James Joyce's story "Eveline," Eveline's father forbids her from having anything to do with Frank because, as he says, "I know these sailor chaps." There are two ways in which this can be interpreted:
- Eveline's father is attempting to protect his daughter from this "sailor chap."
- Eveline's father would object to anyone who courts his daughter because it would disrupt his lifestyle.
Like all Joyce stories, the answer is probably not simple and is perhaps a combination of the two possibilities.
Eveline's father is dependent on his daughter as he counts on her to keep the household together. He would take all of Eveline's wages and then after spending much of them as he would come home "fairly bad of a Saturday night" (drunk), he relies on the girl to do Sunday's shopping. In addition, he counts on her "to keep the house together and to see that the two young children who had been left to her charge went to school regularly and got their meals regularly. If Eveline leaves with Frank, all of this stops and her father must figure out how to make it on his own.
However, it's also possible that Eveline's father is right about Frank being one of those "sailor chaps." Throughout Dubliners, the collection of stories that includes "Eveline," sailors are seen as perhaps untrustworthy. In one of the book's previous stories, "An Encounter," the boys go on a boat looking for adventure. In recent analysis of the story, some experts believe it is possible that Frank was not attempting to woo Eveline toward a marriage, but was tricking her into becoming a sex slave. | <urn:uuid:fe4fdc2a-e49f-49c5-8071-cb5ac0203f66> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-does-evelinefather-think-about-frank-585137?en_action=hh-question_click&en_label=hh_carousel&en_category=internal_campaign | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178375439.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20210308112849-20210308142849-00486.warc.gz | en | 0.993978 | 359 | 2.8125 | 3 |
- Improving influenza surveillance in sub-Saharan AfricaC Steffen
Agence de Medecine Preventive, Paris, France
Bull World Health Organ 90:301-5. 2012..Little is known about the burden of influenza in sub-Saharan Africa. Routine influenza surveillance is key to getting a better understanding of the impact of acute respiratory infections on sub-Saharan African populations...
- Afriflu--international conference on influenza disease burden in Africa, 1-2 June 2010, Marrakech, MoroccoC Steffen
Agence de Médecine Préventive AMP, 13, chemin du Levant, 01210 Ferney Voltaire, France
Vaccine 29:363-9. 2011..The meeting concluded with a pledge to improve influenza knowledge and awareness in Africa, with an emphasis on accurate determination of disease burden to help orient public health policies... | <urn:uuid:1b60f79c-f138-47c1-9431-9206a11dfa21> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://www.labome.org/expert/france/steffen/c-steffen-1663371.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246636104.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045716-00127-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.734298 | 180 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Brooks was born June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas but raised in Chicago, Illinois. She published her first poem in a children’s magazine at 13 and by the time she was 16 she had a portfolio of 75 published poems. Brooks’ first book of poetry, “A Street in Bronzeville,” brought her critical acclaim and she was selected one of Mademoiselle Magazine’s Ten Young Women of the Year. She also won her first Guggenheim Fellowship and became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Her second book of poetry, “Annie Allen,” won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the first given to an African American. In 1962, Brooks began teaching creative writing, which she did at a number of institutions, including Northeastern Illinois University and Columbia University. Her book length poem, “In the Mecca” (1968), was nominated for the National Book Award for Poetry. Also in 1968, Brooks was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois and in 1985 she was selected the Library of Congress’ Consultant in Poetry (now titled Poet Laureate).
Brooks was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1988 and, in 1994, was chosen as the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Jefferson Lecturer, the highest award in the humanities given by the federal government. In 1995, she was presented the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor bestowed on an individual artist by the United States, by President William Clinton.
Brooks was awarded more than 75 honorary degrees from colleges and universities worldwide and there are a number of schools in Illinois named in her honor. Brooks’ biography, “A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks,” was published in 1990. | <urn:uuid:a8a856e8-fcc5-41c4-8b09-672b85faacc3> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://todayinafricanamericanhistory.com/december-3rd-in-african-american-history-gwendolyn-elizabeth-brooks/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320763.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170626133830-20170626153830-00188.warc.gz | en | 0.985995 | 373 | 2.75 | 3 |
Despite establishing around 700 weak private keys that are being regularly used by multiple people, the researchers found a “blockchain bandit” who has managed to collect almost 45,000 ether (ETH) by successfully guessing those frail private keys. Cointelegraph interviewed Adrian Bednarek, a senior security analyst at ISE, to find out more about what they describe as “ethercombing.”
Research background and chief findings
Bednarek says he discovered the hacker by accident. At the time, he was doing research for a corporate client that planned to implement their own wallet with an integrated key generating algorithm.
“As a security analyst, before you start any assessment, you have to understand the underlying technologies very clearly — basically as if you’re creating them yourself,” he told Cointelegraph.
“Private key generation was one of the components we had to research, and I was going through the basics of what is a private key on Ethereum: How large is it? How is it generated? And how is it used to derive the public key and public address?”
On Ethereum, bitcoin (BTC) or any other major blockchain that supports the ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) protocol, private keys are represented by 256-bit numbers. The ISE narrowed it down to eight 32-bit “sub-regions” in the 256-bit key space during their research, because brute forcing a private key within a larger region is meant to be a statistical improbability.
Those eight sub-regions contained an overall amount of 34 billion weaker keys, which the ISE subsequently scanned. “It took an entire day,” Bednarek says.
It is worth stressing that those keys were generated due to a faulty code and faulty random number generators, and the researchers were specifically targeting suboptimal keys.
“Private key is your user ID and your password at the same time,” the security analyst explained while breaking down the basic mechanics. “It’s different than your banking login, where you have your username and a password [...] Therefore, when two individual people use the same password for creating a Brainwallet [i.e., wallets that entail passphrases as part of generating private keys] — like ‘password123’ — they will both own the same exact wallet.” As Bednarek puts it, “it’s like linking two people to the same bank account.”
Initially, the ISE specialist found that the private key of “1” *, which was picked because it is the lower bound of a possible private key, was actually being used on the blockchain. Furthermore, it had been involved in several thousand transactions.
* – (0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001, if written using the 256-bit code)
“That was a red flag,” Bednarek recalled. “Why are people using the private key of 1? That shouldn’t be possible.” His team started to scan more keys to see how widespread the problem was. Although the ISE researchers had established that this issue is not particularly omnipresent, they had found as many as 732 weak private keys associated with a total of 49,060 transactions.
“Roughly, there’s about 50 million keys that have been used on [the] Ethereum [blockchain], and we’ve only discovered 732 of those.”
The blockchain bandit
As mentioned above, during their research, the ISE team noticed how some of the wallets associated with the private keys — found with their suboptimal methods — had a lot of transactions going to a specific address, and no money was coming back out. As Bednarek said in an explanatory video posted on the ISE website:
“There was a guy who had an address who was going around and siphoning money from some of the keys we had access to. We found 735 private keys, he happened to take money from 12 of those keys we also had access to. It’s statistically improbable he would guess those keys by chance, so he was probably doing the same thing. […] He was basically stealing funds as soon as they came into people’s wallets.”
In a conversation with Cointelegraph, Bednarek explained that the hacker (or a group of hackers) had set up a node to automatically swipe funds from addresses with weak keys. To verify that, the researchers used a honeypot: They sent a dollar using a weak private key, which they knew the hacker was aware of, to see how fast it would be taken. The money was gone in a matter of seconds, the ISE employee said:
“If it was a manual thing, maybe it would have been taken within a day or whatever. But as soon as we sent it we went on the blockchain explorer, we saw that there was a transfer going out immediately, within seconds. So basically what he [the hacker] has is a blockchain node that is part of the transaction network set up somewhere. As soon as it sees transactions come in with a private key of which he has knowledge of, it immediately sends a request to transfer the money out.”
As per the data obtained from Etherscan, the hacker’s wallet contains around 45,000 ETH (worth more than $7.3 million, as of the time of writing). At the height of ether’s value, it is estimated that the bandit’s loot could have been sold for more than $50 million.
According to the comment section for the fraudster’s wallet address, it had been stealing funds for several years. One of the comments, purportedly submitted by major ETH wallet provider MyEtherWallet (MEW) features a link to a 2016 Reddit thread titled “Ethereum nodes with insecure RPC settings are actively exploited.” In it, a redditor described setting up an Ethereum node “with its HTTP RPC API exposed to the internet” and getting attacked within a few minutes after going live.
“If you google the [hacker’s] address there’s a lot of people complaining about him,” Bednarek confirms, admitting that the fraudster’s tacts have proven to be quite successful:
“This guy has taken a multi-prong approach to stealing money.”
The security analyst then described the fraudster's method in greater detail: “One — he is looking at bad private keys. Two — he is looking at weak passphrase-based wallets and misconfigured RPCs. You are not really supposed to expose the RPC of your Ethereum node but sometimes people do, and if you don’t have the password set somebody can basically empty out the default wallet associated with your node.”
But such asset-grabbing is not a problem that is exclusive to the Ethereum blockchain, the ISE security researcher warns. “It [the blockchain] is working as intended, it’s just the way people are using it,” he said, describing an ethics-related problem his team faced while doing their research:
“Before we started on this [the research], we had an ethical dilemma — what if we find the wallet with a key that has a million dollar in it? Do we just leave it there? But if we leave it there, we know it’s behind a bad private key and it is likely to get stolen, therefore we would be somewhat responsible this money getting stolen because we could have notified somebody. But then the second problem is who do we notify? There is no easy way to identify the owner of a private key. Maybe we could take the money temporarily until somebody could prove that it was theirs? But then it creates a lot of legal issues. So the CEO of the company [that they were doing the research for] contacted the IFS for legal advice and they basically said: ‘if you find anything, leave it there. Don’t do any transfers. That way you won’t get yourself into any legal hot water.’”
Security advice and further research
Therefore, according to Bednarek, private keys tend to be vulnerable due to two main factors. The first is coding errors in the software responsible for generating them. Secondly, some crypto owners have a tendency to obtain identical private keys through weak passphrases such as “abc123,” or even leaving them blank.
For instance, the ISE report established that one of the most popular weak private keys is the one generated from an empty recovery phrase — i.e., “ ” — using the Parity wallet. There have reportedly been 8,772 transactions on this address with a total of 5,215,586 ETH transferred.
“For a while Parity let you use a default password of nothing and it would generate the private key based on that,” Bednarek explains, adding that the wallet developer allegedly fixed the issue at some point. “I think they have introduced a minimum password requirements [since then]. It might be just a single character, but you can’t use blank passwords on Parity right now if you’re using the latest version of their software.”
No wallet creators have contacted the ISE yet, according to Bednarek:
“That is an interesting issue because it’s hard to say which wallet was responsible, if there was a wallet at all — it could be just people entering the wrong private keys, it could be early debug versions of wallets, it could be developers themselves. It’s a bit hard to say why this exists and which wallet is at fault. It’s something I don’t think we’ll ever know.”
Bednarek’s main advice for those who are not computer-savvy is to use well-known and trusted wallets, possibly moving to hardware or paper-based wallets if large amounts of cryptocurrency are involved. He said:
“If there’s going to be trading or holding of a lot of currency then use a hardware wallet where the private key will never be revealed. A lot of my friends that are long term holders use paper wallets where they generate a random key and store it on paper so it never touches the computer at all.”
Nevertheless, there’s always some risk involved even when it comes to popular software, Bednarek warned, bringing up the example of the Iota wallet being compromised by a developer from Oxford who was arrested and accused of stealing around 10 million euros last month.
Given that the Iota wallet is open-sourced, its code was publicly posted on Github. At some point, the fraudster modified the random number generator by submitting a change to the code.
“That was done in a very obfuscated way,” Bednarek said. “Even though lots of people could review the code,” they just assumed it should work, according to him.
That way, the hacker was able to see how private keys were generated and reproduce them using his injected code, the ISE specialist explained.
“After lots of people lost lots of money, somebody finally reversed-engineered his modifications to the random number generator and they were able to see that he was creating sequential numbers within the specific range of the key space.”
As for the future, the ISE plans to continue monitoring blockchains and weak private keys at a larger scale. “We will move our scanning method to use GPUs where we will be able to scan 38 billion keys within a matter of seconds,” Bednarek told Cointelegraph.
“As we make the scanning more efficient, we’ll be able to do some crazy things like go after brainwallets or other key generation algorithms that might be faulty. So we’ll expand into different areas to identify more keys.”
Moreover, the security research group is going to publish more information — including faulty public keys — for people to do their own research and stay warned of possible security breaches. “Maybe this will turn into a collaborative effort to help finding some of the causes for this,” Bednarek suggested. | <urn:uuid:6262feda-2a0e-4a25-9a03-c2e723f461b3> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-bandit-how-a-hacker-has-been-stealing-millions-worth-of-eth-by-guessing-weak-private-keys | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703512342.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20210117112618-20210117142618-00791.warc.gz | en | 0.968895 | 2,580 | 2.625 | 3 |
The World Health Organization describes sexual health as “a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing in relation to sexuality. It requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence”. The majority of NYU students are sexually active, and college is a time when many young people first become sexually active. Students frequently enter college without adequate sexual health knowledge, and, subsequently, they often engage in sexual behaviors that place them at increased risk for unintended health outcomes such as pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It is crucial to enhance sexual health resources to improve students’ sexual health, increase safer sex behaviors, and reduce STI and HIV transmission.
This page is intended to be a resource containing suggestions for what you can do to help increase your student’s sexual health knowledge and better manage his or her engagement in healthy sexual behaviors.
• Open and on-going communication. Talk to your student about how they are doing on a regular basis. While student’s increased independence and desire to make his or her own decisions, parents and families often continue to be trusted advisors. This provides a great opportunity to offer guidance and share values in an open, non-judgmental climate.20
• Talk to your student about sexual decision-making. Ask your student in a nonjudgmental way about his or her feelings, attitudes, and knowledge about sex. Let your student know that you are there to support him/her in whatever he/she decides about sexual activity, and offer to help if he/she has any questions, needs more information, or would like to see a health care provider.
• Be knowledgeable about NYU’s sexual health services for students and able to refer them to the appropriate resources when necessary. Visit the NYU Student Health Center website or review the Sexual Health Resource Guide available to students.
• Facilitate access to sexual and reproductive health care on campus. Make sure your student understands their insurance coverage benefits, knows their personal and family medical history, has a medical provider close to campus, and understands how and when to access services.
• Make sure your student knows the facts! Inform your student about what kinds of intimate contact can transmit sexually transmitted infections. Check out the NYU Student Health Center and CDC websites (and refer your student to them) for STI facts.
• Encourage your student to talk with his partner about safe sex practices before engaging in sexual activity. Inform your student about what kinds of intimate contact can transmit sexually transmitted infections/HIV, and talk to your student about birth control, safer sex, and how to protect him or herself.
• Encourage your student to get recommended screenings and check-ups. Even if your student is healthy, it is important for your student to be up to date with recommended screenings, exams, and vaccines. | <urn:uuid:13784672-0ac0-403a-b0e1-480de72cd406> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.nyu.edu/life/safety-health-wellness/live-well-nyu/parents/sexualhealth.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500832662.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021352-00288-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957215 | 605 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Extent of available data.
This data layer identifies shallow lakes that have been prioritized for management projects. It was developed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. These shallow lakes have a minimum surface area of 50 acres and a maximum depth of 15 feet. Lakes in this group offer a unique type of wildlife habitat. They are of particular interest to natural resource managers and have been prioritized for wildlife habitat restoration or enhancement projects. | <urn:uuid:24ea0583-f1a0-4b2b-8ffa-6f633924b4c6> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://mnnaturalresourceatlas.org/resources/lakes-shallow-mgmt-priority/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579251705142.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20200127174507-20200127204507-00175.warc.gz | en | 0.929147 | 86 | 2.734375 | 3 |
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