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Evaporated water from vegetation helps in global coolingPublished On: Thu, Sep 15th, 2011 | Climate Change | By BioNews
A new study has found that evaporated water helps cool the earth as a whole and not just a local area, showing that water evaporated from trees and lakes could have a cooling effect on the entire atmosphere.
The research, carried out by Carnegie’s Global Ecology department, explains that evaporative cooling is the process by which a local area is cooled by the energy used in the evaporation process, energy that would have otherwise heated the area’s surface.
Since long, paving over of urban areas and clearing of forests is known to have contributed to local warming by decreasing local evaporative cooling, but it has never been understood whether this decreased evaporation would also contribute to global warming.
Using a climate model, the team led by George Ban-Weiss, including Carnegie’s Long Cao, Julia Pongratz and Ken Caldeira, as well as Govindasamy Bala of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, found that increased evaporation actually had an overall cooling effect on the global climate.
Increased evaporation tends to cause the clouds to form low in the atmosphere, which reflect the sun’s warming rays back out into space, which has a cooling influence.
“This shows us that the evaporation of water from trees and lakes in urban parks, like New York’s Central Park, not only help keep our cities cool, but also helps keep the whole planet cool,” Caldeira said.
“Our research also shows that we need to improve our understanding of how our daily activities can drive changes in both local and global climate. That steam coming out of your tea-kettle may be helping to cool the Earth, but that cooling influence will be overwhelmed if that water was boiled by burning gas or coal,” Caldeira added.
The findings have been published in the Environmental Research Letters on 14th September. | <urn:uuid:17a17af2-6792-4d9a-bf09-83928e1199fd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bioscholar.com/2011/09/evaporated-water-from-vegetation-helps-in-global-cooling.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00000-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962127 | 419 | 3.390625 | 3 |
The Powerful Potential of Scripture Stories22901_000_009
One might ask why the doctrines and principles of the gospel are scattered through some 2,500 pages of scripture instead of systematically arranged by topic in a more concise text. To the human mind, such a text would seem to provide for a far greater economy of space and study, as well as added clarity. In His wisdom, however, the Lord has chosen to reveal His eternal truths through the interesting and memorable historical and personal accounts of the writers of the scriptures. This method of teaching powerfully presents and preserves the doctrines and principles of the gospel in the following ways.
Scripture stories pique our interest. Brimming with human interest, the stories of truth contained in the scriptures stimulate our imagination and draw us toward the gospel as no other work of literature can.
Our Heavenly Father’s dealings with His children, both the weak and the strong, are depicted for our profit and learning.
Scripture stories show us how to apply gospel principles. Accounts of real people and events have the power to bring abstract concepts to life. In a variety of settings, the men and women of the scriptures repeatedly demonstrate the application—and misapplication—of every principle of the gospel, including the blessings or problems that follow.
Scripture stories can both tug at our emotions and challenge our intellect. If we read the scriptures with only the attention and thought we might devote to a popular novel, we will fail to appreciate the richness available in our sacred volumes. We are admonished to search them, which suggests a thorough examination of their teachings.
Our searching must involve both mind and spirit if we are to draw the intended messages. As we do so, the eternal principles interwoven with the factual accounts are revealed.
Scripture stories help us remember the principles they illustrate. Associating gospel teachings with vibrant people and events helps us better internalize and recall those teachings. These stories are valuable teaching aids whenever we instruct in the home or in the classroom.
Scripture stories often contain “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” that can be identified only by those who diligently and sincerely search, ponder, and pray, spiritually preparing themselves to receive those principles.
For example, when we read of the tabernacle and its furnishings that Moses and the children of Israel were commanded to build in the desert in Exodus 25–27 [Ex. 25–27], it may seem pointless or tedious. However, when we ponder the symbolism of each aspect of the tabernacle and compare it to our temple covenants and ordinances, a new journey of spiritual discovery may occur.
The Lord has preserved and brought forth for us a marvelous treasure of inspired messages, wrapped in historical narrative. But this gift will have little value if we leave it on the shelf and do not study, appreciate, and apply its teachings in our lives. The Lord expects us to make a determined effort to study the scriptures—to understand, absorb, and delight in the truths they contain. As we study the lives of the people of the Old Testament, we will come to love them for their example and teachings, and we will be better prepared to teach others. If we are sincere and prayerful and strive to be worthy, our quest for greater gospel knowledge will be aided by the promptings of the Spirit. Our consistent efforts to mine the stories of the scriptures will bring us increased strength and resolve to be faithful and true.
The following three articles are the first in a series featuring stories from the Old Testament. We hope they will be useful for scripture study in our homes and Church classrooms this year. | <urn:uuid:61843043-ce4f-467c-afc1-15d837a87824> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.lds.org/ensign/2002/01/the-powerful-potential-of-scripture-stories?lang=eng | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00174-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938803 | 735 | 2.578125 | 3 |
One Teacher’s Role In Promoting Understanding In Mental Computation
Heirdsfield, Ann M. (2005) One Teacher’s Role In Promoting Understanding In Mental Computation. In Chick, Helen & Vincent, Jill (Eds.) International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, July 10-15, Melbourne, Australia.
This paper reports the teacher actions that promoted the development of students’ mental computation. A Year 3 teacher engaged her class in developing mental computation strategies over a ten-week period. Two overarching issues that appeared to support learning were establishing connections and encouraging strategic thinking.
Impact and interest:
Citation counts are sourced monthly from and citation databases.
These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.
Citations counts from theindexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.
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|Item Type:||Conference Paper|
|Keywords:||mathematics educaiton, mental computation, early years mathematics|
|Subjects:||Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > EDUCATION (130000) > CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (130200) > Mathematics and Numeracy Curriculum and Pedagogy (130208)|
|Divisions:||Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Education|
|Copyright Owner:||Copyright 2005 (please consult author)|
|Deposited On:||22 Jul 2005 00:00|
|Last Modified:||29 Feb 2012 13:12|
Repository Staff Only: item control page | <urn:uuid:5004ff50-35ec-489c-b0a9-139d6f0b0136> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1888/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.849839 | 439 | 2.984375 | 3 |
About Open Access
The designs, installations and applications of drainage material manufactured from recycled mixed polymers
Lookup NU author(s)
Dr Oliver Heidrich
Dr Paul Sallis
Dr Paul Quinn
Heidrich O, Sallis PJ, Quinn PF, Gaskarth J
Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
ISWA/NVRD World Congress 2007: Challenging the Future
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Year of Conference
24-27 September 2007
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Waste management and recycling technologies have become major areas of development in today’s societies. UK legislation and regulations have, and still are evolving by imposing and encouraging higher investments for the development and application of recycling technologies. By doing so, the environmental burdens of landfilling, for example plastic wastes, can be reduced. Plastic recycling technologies appear to be well established but the segregation of different polymers and labels may invoke high processing costs and subsequently result in a low uptake of the products manufactured. In order to increase plastic recycling rates there is an urgent need to provide robust recycling processes that manufacture products that can compete on the market place. Flooding and diffuse pollution, arsing from farming has become a major government concern. Drainage from land is traditionally dictated by the rapid removal of runoff from the land through land drains and well maintained ditches, which is thought to contribute to pollution and flood risk. As old land drains collapse it is vital that cost effective and sustainable methods are employed to drain water from profitable land to suitable storage zones, to attenuate flow in the ditch network itself by using, for example barriers and filters. A recycled plastic drainage material (Aquadyne®) is being thought to be able to drain and treat surface water runoff, wastewater and ground water. The surface of Aquadyne® supports the biofilm growth, which was shown to have a beneficial impact on the denitrification of waters and wastewaters. A UK demonstration farm (supported by the Environment Agency), utilises Aquadyne® since January 2006 to create a Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB). Using such a barrier is believed to denitrify the farm runoff and general drainage. Another application of Aquadyne® is the use as drainage for dykes. Seepage and the appropriate drainage of dykes are of major concern to Water Authorities. Aquadyne® was installed in October 2005, which is supported and controlled by the Dutch Water authorities (Waterschap Zuiderzeeland). It is believe that the installation will prevent seepage of a dyke. This paper reports on plastic waste management, recycling and sustainable land drainage, including flood risk management, farm runoff and dyke installation. The current situation of plastic waste management and recycling will be reviewed and current limitations are highlighted. The paper briefly describes Aquadyne®, which is manufactured using 100% mixed waste plastics as raw materials. The installations and applications of Aquadyne® at the UK farm and Dutch dyke are presented. Evidence is provided that Aquadyne® can address two main challenges of today’s society; namely sustainable waste management and innovative land and/or dyke drainage systems (including drainage, water treatment and robust flood/pollution attenuation zones).
Newcastle University Library, NE2 4HQ, United Kingdom. Tel: 0044 (191) 222 7657
©2016 Newcastle University Library | <urn:uuid:386565ee-a98b-4b63-8ff7-cbe5701587c1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/pub_details2.aspx?pub_id=9457 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905292 | 712 | 2.640625 | 3 |
From: European Space Agency
Posted: Friday, January 25, 2013
This Envisat image from 19 March 2012 shows the elongated islands of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago on the left, the mainland of northwestern Russia to the right and an ice-covered Kara Sea in the centre. The Barents Sea is off the islands' west coast.
Located completely within the Arctic Circle, Novaya Zemlya is an extension of the Ural Mountains. Average temperatures range from about 22oC in January to just over 6oC in July.
Polar bears and polar foxes can be found here, along with a variety of birds such as seagulls. Novaya Zemlya is an important site for Arctic exploration. Since the mid-1800s, Russians have maintained scientific stations there.
Polish engineer Jan Nagorski, the first person to fly an aeroplane in the Arctic, took off on his pioneering flights from northwest Novaya Zemlya in 1914.
The Arctic's hard environment makes it difficult to explore. Today, satellites can provide a breadth of information on polar regions such as sea-ice extent, and can facilitate navigation and communications.
// end // | <urn:uuid:31f10175-d7b8-46bf-8cde-499b67e2126f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=43227 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94132 | 253 | 3.765625 | 4 |
My best friend presented to the engineers from his workplace valuable soldering tips that would allow them to create more durable electronic components. The small company he is working for is well known for it`s quality chips and the managers try to keep this way by sending their engineers to make soldering trainings.
Being able to UN-solder any component without pulling pads off the board is an art in itself. I've worked at places where engineers were not allowed to solder unless they first proved their skills to the boss, and with good reason! Will never forget the young eng who butchered about 10 prototype boards replacing "bad" DRAM controllers before finally concluding that maybe there was an error in his design.
Another consideration is the handling of components before soldering. Everything has a shelf life. Sometimes it will be documented and sometimes not. This holds for components, PC boards and the materials used to join them.
Parts and PC boards absorb moisture over time and the metal surfaces collect impurities or react to impurities over time. Boards and parts can be baked to mitigate the moisture issue, but sometimes the only solution for old parts is to discard them.
Silver finish PC boards are great when fresh, but can and will tarnish over time, especially if not stored properly (sealed in a cool, dark place). PCB manufacturers tend to say that silver boards don't tarnish, but empirical evidence says that they do.
ENIG (electroless nickle immersion gold) is a great surface, but can be degraded too. I've seen fingerprints etched into a component land on gold boards.
Part leads can oxidize, collect dust or react to contaminants in the air. And, of course, rework is best prevented before it's needed. As Jim says, each heat cycle takes a toll on the component and PCB.
Engineers may not perform much actual soldering but they do choose the fluxes and component surfaces that the actual soldering personnel must use. Engineers evaluate the performance of soldering personnel. Engineers lay out the assemblies. Most soldering problems begin with engineers who don't understand the consequences of their actions. That's why engineers need to understand soldering.
Jim Smith President Electronics Manufacturing Sciences, Inc. www.emsciences.com
I graduated electrical engineering in 2011. In all my 5 years of study they never showed or mentioned soldering. Luckily I got some practical soldering skills during my high school years and got a good mentor once I started working.
After reading this article I think I should inform myself more about soldering. | <urn:uuid:ea0d2fcc-4786-4ef3-90ea-383cdfb204f5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eetimes.com/messages.asp?piddl_msgthreadid=42737&piddl_msgid=265243 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00092-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963574 | 522 | 2.796875 | 3 |
LONDON (Mar. 29)
The manager of the French branch of Britain’s leading commercial bank, Barclays, not only acted as the Nazis’ banker during World War II but also volunteered to hand over Jewish staff members, according to documents found in the U.S. National Archives.
The materials were located by researchers working on a BBC television documentary, “Banking With Hitler,” which examined the role of European banks during the war.
According to the material, senior officials at the bank’s Paris branch “volunteered” information about its Jewish employees to the Nazis and helped to arrange financing for projects that aided the Nazi war effort.
The records also show the bank received a substantial cash deposit from the Drancy transit camp, located in a Parisian suburb, where valuables were plundered from Jewish prisoners bound for Auschwitz.
The full extent of the bank’s involvement with the occupying Nazis has never been fully investigated, but Barclays has acknowledged that of the 16,000 accounts held by its Paris branch in 1941, some 335 depositors may have been Jewish.
Facing the prospect of a lawsuit last year from survivors living in the United States, the bank announced in December that it was establishing a $3 million fund to repay unclaimed assets held by its Paris branch.
According to the material in the National Archives, U.S. Treasury officials who conducted an investigation in France immediately after the war discovered a close collaboration between the British bank’s French officials and the Nazis.
Their report says that bank manager Marcel Cheradame had been “very amenable to the wishes of the German administrator, Hans Joachim Caesar.”
Barclays continued to employ Cheradame as its Paris manager until he retired in the 1960s.
One of the most startling findings was that a French official of Barclays told Caesar that the bank had a few Jewish employees — and, surprisingly, Caesar rejected the information.
The Treasury officials noted that “this is one instance of the bank’s unsolicited efforts to fall in line with German views.”
Barclays denies that it had any knowledge of the activities of its Paris branch during World War II. | <urn:uuid:449acb93-68a4-42b1-87e1-e22b7e512675> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.jta.org/1999/03/30/archive/parisian-branch-of-british-bank-offered-to-turn-jews-in-during-war-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977411 | 459 | 2.546875 | 3 |
L-arginine is known for its functions with regard to blood vessel dilation and blood pressure modulation. An amount of 3,000 mg L-arginine combined with vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid may contribute to lowering high blood pressure. When combined with pine bark extract, L-arginine has been found to be an effective natural potency enhancer. The amino acid, L-arginine, also plays an important role in strengthening the human immune system.
Now, another application of L-arginine is being researched: using it as an ingredient in toothpaste and observing its effects on dental plaque and periodontitis. The results of a study conducted under the leadership of Prof. Alexander Rickard at the University of Michigan in 2015 look promising. 1 In lab trials, L-arginine was able to largely neutralize the development of plaque and significantly reduce bacterial growth.
Future applications may far exceed utilization in toothpaste, because plaque, a biofilm, is similar to other biofilms such as those found in hospitals. More than 50% of all infections contracted in a hospital can be traced back to biofilms.
Even if the only benefit is improvement in periodontitis prevention through use in toothpaste, this would be a great health improvement. 24 percent of Americans in the US have untreated cavities. Approximately 39% of Americans in the US suffer from mild to moderate periodontitis. Among older adults, that number increases to two-thirds of the population.
- Rickard, A., et al. “L-Arginine Destabilizes Oral Multi-Species Biofilm Communities Developed in Human Saliva”; 2015; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121835 ↩ | <urn:uuid:2a3bece5-f903-400c-b443-fa74dab8643d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://amino-acid.org/l-arginine-can-protect-against-cavities-and-plaque/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932038 | 366 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Israel Celebrates 'Family Day' – Sort Of
Sunday is the 30th of Shvat, the Hebrew date on which Israel celebrated Mothers' Day, which has been abolished under feminist pressure and renamed Family Day. Feminists see Mothers' Day as imparting the wrong kind of message to women, by encouraging them to value motherhood over careerism and other forms of personal fulfillment.
Mothers' Day was first marked in Israel in 1947 at the initiative of the Ezra organization for assisting women in childbirth, which was headed by Rebbetzin Sarah Herzog, wife of then Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog and founder of World Emunah. The date chosen for it was the date on which Zionist leader Henrietta Szold passed away. Szold had no children of her own but was active in bringing children from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel and was known as "the mother of the Children's Aliyah."
In the 1980s, feminists decided to rename the day Family Day. Arguably, the day has lost much of its emotional content under its new heading.
Two other days related to women are now marked in Israel. The first is International Women's Day, on March 8, which was originally adopted by communists in 1911 and became a Soviet holiday under Lenin. The day imparted anti-family messages to women and encouraged them to leave their traditional lifestyles and work outside the home. In later decades, faced with a huge population of homeless children, the Soviets under Stalin gradually adopted a more pro-family policy. The anti-family propaganda on International Women's Day was toned down accordingly and it became a day on which husbands give their wives flowers.
Israel's women's organizations tale advantage of the day to convey messages about violence against women, wage gaps etc, with some more radical feminist groups, heavily financed and influenced by the New Israel Fund, taking those messages to extremes.
Another day that has been introduced into Israel's public sphere is the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women, set at November 25 by the United Nations in a 1999 resolution. Although violence against women is a real issue, the radical groups convey similarly militant views that are perceived by many as anti-male.
In the U.S., too, there has been feminist pressure to transform the romantic Valentine's Day into the militant V-Day. The main figure behind this initiative is playwright Eve Ensler, and according to its organizers, the "V" in V-Day stands for the word "violence." | <urn:uuid:998e18ff-74c2-4528-a9f5-035aabbb2365> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/165079 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398216.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978887 | 510 | 3 | 3 |
No matter where you go, from small towns to big cities, down on the farm or back at the ranch, you're always in a watershed. They come in all shapes and sizes, from millions of square miles to just a few acres. A watershed is an area of land that catches rainfall and melting snow, which in turn, drain into low lying bodies of water. Each one is a dynamic, unique place we call home. It's where we live, work and play. And, how we do each of those things affects the water in the watershed.
Only one percent of all the water on earth is fresh water. So you can see why it's so important to protect our streams, rivers and lakes. Since there's only a small amount of clean water to go around, we can't afford to waste a single drop. Watershed planning looks at the entire watershed picture, evaluating its strengths and weaknesses and developing workable protection plans called Best Management Practices.
We can't simply blame all of our pollution problems on big factories or waste treatment plants. And, while none of us like to think of ourselves as polluters, we make an impact on the environment, too. Nonpoint Source Pollution happens when runoff from rainwater, snowmelt and irrigation carries pollutants such as garden fertilizers, pesticides, automotive oil, construction debris, and even yard and pet wastes into the water we use every day. Polluted runoff can also harm wildlife, devalue property and damage the landscape.
The 319 Grant Program provides money to stakeholder groups for water quality projects in their communities. Projects can include information and education, innovative pollution prevention practices, or improvements to a water quality problem or site. The State Revolving Fund is the flagship program of the Financial Services Section. It's a federally subsidized, low-interest, leveraged-loan program. The Water Protection Program administers several grants and loans that help finance the construction of wastewater treatment facilities to improve surface and ground water quality.
One of the tools we use to protect our water is a TMDL study. That stands for the Total Maximum Daily Load calculation of the maximum amount of a given pollutant a waterbody can absorb before its quality is affected. That sounds like a mouthful, but think of it like this; when you don't feel well, you often take your temperature. If it's above 98.6, you generally take steps to bring your fever down to normal. A TMDL works the same way. It tells us something is wrong with a body of water and indicates a course of treatment to fix the problem.
A variety of stakeholder groups continue to provide input and insight to help the Water Protection Program streamline its permitting process. The program currently issues roughly 2,500 permits a year. It's essential that the permitting process operate in such a way that it gives something of value back to the regulated community. Developing decent working relationships with these stakeholder groups is a top priority. Permits provide opportunities for everyone involved to make informed decisions about water resource protection. Permits are the yardsticks that help us measure our success.
Keeping our watershed in good shape is critical for a healthy environment and economy. You can help by learning about the activities that take place in your watershed and understanding the problems that need your attention. Practicing water conservation at home and at work, volunteering, joining a water monitoring group, attending public meetings and getting involved in the planning process will all help improve our water quality and our quality of life. | <urn:uuid:3cbb77e3-ed0e-4624-be51-6cdd35b1a1f6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/wpcp-about.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00151-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951082 | 712 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Compound Confusion #1These brain teasers rely on your ability to recognize groups of common attributes. For each of these puzzles you'll need to figure out why the words or letters are grouped as they are. Sometimes you will be asked to pick the odd-one-out or to place a new word into the correct group.
Below there are five words. Four of the five words can be paired with one word to create a compound word, and the left over one is the odd one out. Find the odd one out.
HintOne of the following is the odd one out:
AnswerThe answer is the word "flower". All of the words can be paired with snow:
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Back to Top | <urn:uuid:f3b38a87-4869-47c6-a888-aa715151bbd0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.braingle.com/brainteasers/49770/compound-confusion-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92683 | 195 | 3.28125 | 3 |
In the descriptions which follow, a total of seventy-eight species and varieties is described. These embrace species described by Meek, Cragin, White and others, and new species described by the writer. An effort was made to see the material on which Cragin worked, but it could not be found. He listed many species which are doubtfully present, and he listed species by one name which he subsequently described under another. As he was far removed from large libraries and collections, it is obvious that he labored under extreme difficulties. It has been extremely difficult at times to decide what forms Cragin had in mind; but so far as the writer has been able, he has retained all names given by Cragin. Some of the names have been omitted as obviously in error. The fauna described by Meek from the "Dakota" sandstone has been included.
All the types of the species described in this article for the first time are in the museum of the University of Kansas. The writer has cotypes of all species of which material is abundant.
In their distribution the species are intimately related to the type of sediment in which they occur. Not a great many species are common to both the limy shales and limestones of the Kiowa shales and the sandstones of the Mentor beds. A few forms like Trigonia emoryi, Protocardia texana, Cardium kansasensis and Turritella occur in both the sandstone and the limy beds. On the other hand, no Gryphaeas have been collected from the sandstones and no Mactra siouxensis smolanensis have been found in the shales. The sandstones have thirty species, of which five occur in the calcareous strata, while there are forty-seven species in the latter which do not occur in the sandstones. In the Mentor beds there is much variation with respect to species distribution.
In addition to the species which have been described by name, there are others of which the material is not sufficiently well preserved to warrant generic or specific designation. The number of such approximates about a dozen.
The character of the fauna is dominantly molluscan. There is a total of forty-eight species and varieties of pelecypods in the Mentor and other marine strata of central and northern Kansas. There are an additional six species of pelecypods which were described by Meek from the "Dakota" of southeastern South Dakota. There are fourteen species of gastropods in the Kiowa and Mentor strata. All other groups are represented by but few species. The cephalopoda have four species; the annelids have two species; there is a single echinoid and a single coral. Brachiopods are exceedingly rare, only a few fragments of a Lingula having been collected. Several fragments of a Dentalium have been found.
The fauna of the Kiowa shale is essentially the same at all localities, but differs somewhat in different beds. The organisms in the Mentor beds vary in number and components with every locality, as is to be expected. The organisms found in most of the beds of the Kiowa shale probably did not live a great distance from where the shells now occur, but the shells in the Mentor bed in most instances appear to have undergone considerable transportation.
1866. Astrocoenia nidiformis Cragin. Colorado Coll. Studies, 6th Ann. Publication, p. 60.
Cragin's description (in part). Stock massive, broad and low, its breadth increasing more or less from the base upward; its summit excavated, the prominent, narrowly rounded border region of the summit being irregularly lobed; cells united by rather thick walls, calyces small, irregularly polygonal or slightly rounded-polygonal; columella short; septa rather stout, their free margins apparently a little uneven, their summits moderately depressed below the level of the calyx borders, the primary and secondary septa six each, short septa of the third order also appearing.
The above description was based on two specimens. The writer has collected an additional one (a colony), upon which the statements which follow are based.
The colony began its growth on fragments of shells and ultimately overgrew a portion of the surrounding sands. It is not over a centimeter thick. Each calyx is about 3/4 mm. in diameter and the intercalicular substance, is about 1/2 mm. wide. The calyces are about 1/4 mm. deep. The septa in the writer's specimen are in two sets, the larger reaching the center, the shorter consisting of well-defined ridges. There are twelve septa in each set. Cragin noted a columella which has not-been observed by the writer. Neither tabula nor dissepiments appear to have been preserved.
Horizon and locality. Cragin's two specimens came from the Champion shell bed in Champion Draw. The writer's specimen came from the same horizon and locality.
[Note: this should probably be Nereis, as is listed on plates]
1894. (?Neries) incognita Cragin. Am. Geol., vol. XIV, p. 2, pl. I, figs. 20, 21.
Cragin's description. The specific name, incognita, is proposed as a convenient designation for the large, apparently neried worm that inhabited the sandy beach of the Comanchean sea of southern Kansas, and the casts of whose burrows (part of one of which is shown natural size from above and in cross section in figures 21 and 22 of Plate I) occur commonly in Kiowa county in No. 5 of my Belvidere section, and occasionally at least in Clark County, in the earthy and saccharoidal sandstone which constitutes No. 4 of my Bluff Creek section.
The burrows form boldly sweeping, tortuous curves which lie in a slightly warped surface and occasionally cross themselves in a sigmoid or "figure 8" path. The transverse section of the cast is lenticular, averaging about 10 mm. and 6 mm. in major and minor diameters.
The writer has seen markings in the sandstones which were interpreted as seaweed impressions. It is possible that these are the forms described under the above name.
1889. Serpula intrica White, Cragin. Bull. Washburn College Lab. Nat. Hist., vol. II, No. 9, p. 35 (not described). Ibid., No, 11, 1890, p. 76 (not described).
1895. Serpula championi Cragin. Am. Geol., vol. XVI, p. 389 (not described).
The tubes are of varying diameters up to 2 mm. Slow increase in diameter, with the smallest less than 1 mm. Each tube very long and intricately tortuous. Surface without any observed ornamentation. Not certain that either end of a tube has been seen. The walls of some of the largest examples are about a third of a millimeter thick, and in some specimens each wall is composed of three layers. In other specimens only one layer has been observed.
The tubes were first identified by Cragin as S. intrica White, a species from the Upper Cretaceous of Utah. It differs from that species in greater diameter of the tubes.
Horizon and locality. Occurs in abundance in the Champion shell bed; not seen elsewhere.
The test is small, 18 mm. in diameter (which may be a little too great, as there is some distortion), 8 mm. thick. The actinal surface appears to have been slightly concave in the vicinity of the mouth opening.
The ambulacral areas are narrow, about 2 3/4 mm. where widest, increasing from the abactinal end to the peripheral margin, and thence continuing to the mouth with parallel sides. Plates simple, arranged in alternation. Two rows of tubercles in alternating position are along the middle, at least 20 in each row (there may possibly be one or two more, as a small portion of the test is broken away around the peristome). The tubercles are mammillated and the surrounding areas apparently are granulated. Pores uniserial, the outer row situated on the ambulacral plates and two of this row to each plate. Every alternate pore of the inner row is in the central portion of the plate. Each intermediate pore of this row is divided into two parts by the planes separating the plates. Pore couplets slightly inclined.
Interambulacral areas 7 to 7 1/2 mm. wide at the widest portion, narrowing in both directions, formed of two rows of broad plates which are about 3 1/2 mm. in each direction, rectangular and not in alternation. Each with a large crenulated tubercle in the center; these increase rapidly in size from the peristome and are surrounded by mammillated granules of different sizes. An imperforate mamelon is situated within the crenulated margin of the large tubercle.
The apical disk is large, convex, nearly circular, 10 mm. in diameter. Small grooves extend from one plate to those adjacent. Each groove has a small pore in the middle which is shared by each plate. The subanal plate occupies the center of the disk. The anal opening appears to be nearly round, but may be flattened anteriorly-posteriorly. Oculars exsert.
Peristome apparently round; margin broken away so that the original width not determinable. The opening so made is 7 1/2 mm. in diameter.
The shell is about the size of that of S. texana Credner, but differs markedly in the sculpturing of the apical disk and the number of pores to one of the ambulacral plates.
Horizon and Locality. A single specimen from the Champion shell bed, Champion Draw, Belvidere, Kan.
Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
Placed on web February 2006; originally published 1924.
Comments to [email protected]
The URL for this page is http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/9/07_paleo.html | <urn:uuid:e8e11097-644a-49ba-83f2-52d5f3041b4d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/9/07_paleo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00167-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955107 | 2,157 | 3.125 | 3 |
Structural Snapshots of Tankyrase, a Protein Involved in a Rare Genetic Disorder and Potential Cancer Target
DECEMBER 15, 2011
A discovery made with the help of x-rays from the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory provides researchers with a greater understanding of the protein Tankyrase, which is linked to the bone development disorder cherubism and involved in a myriad of cellular processes, and may also lead to the development of new designer drugs to treat cancer.
Researchers from the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (SLRI), the Ontario Cancer Institute, the University of Toronto, and Saint Michael’s Hospital have gained the first structural insight into precisely how the Tankyrase enzyme correctly identifies its targets, or substrates.
“Until now, we did not understand, from a structural perspective, how Tankyrase identifies its substrates,” said Frank Sicheri, Lunenfeld Senior Investigator and one of the lead authors of the study. “At atomic resolution, we now have a clearer picture of what these substrates may be, and have new insight into possible novel functions of Tankyrase.”
The team’s findings are published in the December 9 issue of the leading biomedical journal Cell.
Tankyrase is a poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP)—one protein of a family of enzymes that modify other proteins with chains of ADP-ribose and affect many cellular processes. The modification reactions carried out by Tankyrase can directly alter some proteins’ functions, bring proteins together in protein complexes, or can mark others for degradation.
Initially intrigued by Tankyrase because of its involvement in cherubism (a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the signaling protein 3BP2), the researchers built upon the findings of Robert Rottapel’s laboratory at the Ontario Cancer Institute. This laboratory found that Tankyrase normally recognizes 3BP2 and targets it for destruction. The amino acids mutated in cherubism coincide with precisely the region in 3BP2 that is recognized by Tankyrase, or the “Tankyrase binding motif.” Cherubism mutations in 3BP2 prevent binding of Tankyrase and therefore result in the accumulation of 3BP2 protein in the cell. Rottapel’s findings also appear in the same issue of Cell.
Cherubism, which first manifests in early childhood, is characterized by abnormal bone tissue in the lower part of the face. The lower jaw and the upper jaw become enlarged as bone is replaced with painless, cyst-like growths. These growths give the cheeks a swollen, rounded appearance and often interfere with normal tooth development. In some people the condition can cause problems with vision, breathing, speech, and swallowing. Enlargement of the jaw usually continues throughout childhood and stabilizes during puberty. It can be gradually replaced with normal bone in early adulthood.
The goal of Sicheri and his team was to uncover the exact mechanism by which Tankyrase recruits its substrates, to explain why cherubism mutations in 3BP2 disrupt Tankyrase binding and thereby learn more about how the enzyme works.
The researchers utilized x-ray crystallography for their experiments at the Northeastern Collaborative Access Team x-ray beamlines 24-ID-C and 24-ID-E at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s APS. Their studies led them to a determination of the structures of the portion of Tankyrase responsible for substrate binding, bound to a range of different substrates including 3BP2. Using the technique fluorescence polarization, the researchers then determined the essential signature of the Tankyrase binding motif by which Tankyrase identifies its substrates.
The researchers scanned the entire inventory of human proteins, searching for the signature sequence that is recognized by Tankyrase, correctly predicting many possible new substrates for the enzyme. The result: a deeper understanding of the biology behind Tankyrase’s cellular activities.
“Our work provides answers to two big questions. Firstly, we obtained a visual snapshot of how Tankyrase recognizes its substrates and how mutations characteristic of cherubism lead to illness,” said Sebastian Guettler, a post-doctoral Fellow in Sicheri’s and Tony Pawson’s labs at SLRI and first author of the study. “Secondly, we learned more about the possible cellular tasks performed by Tankyrase. The apparent abundance of potential Tankyrase targets and the variety of cellular functions they perform suggests that the complexity of Tankyrase’s biological functions has been underappreciated to date.”
Inhibitors of PARPs, and among them Tankyrase, have gained considerable attention recently as potential new anti-cancer agents. Inhibition of Tankyrase function may hold promise for treating certain breast cancers as well as other cancers, and therefore the present study may help refine treatment strategies for blocking Tankyrase. | <urn:uuid:8a229e30-1b06-405f-b529-c843e744b2ad> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://aps.anl.gov/Science/Highlights/Content/APS_SCIENCE_20111215.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00103-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928797 | 1,035 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Flu Vaccine Effectiveness: Questions and Answers for Health Professionals
On this Page
- How do we measure how well influenza vaccines work?
- How do vaccine effectiveness studies differ from vaccine efficacy studies?
- What factors can affect the results of influenza vaccine efficacy and effectiveness studies?
- Can you describe biases that are important to consider for observational studies measuring vaccine effectiveness?
- How well do influenza vaccines work during seasons in which the flu vaccine is not well matched to circulating influenza viruses?
- What is the evidence that influenza vaccines work?
- How well does the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) work compared to inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV)?
- How does CDC monitor vaccine effectiveness?
Two general types of studies are used to determine how well influenza vaccines work: randomized controlled trials and observational studies. These study designs are described below.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
The first type of study design is called a randomized controlled trial (RCT). In a RCT, volunteers are assigned randomly to receive an influenza vaccine or a placebo (e.g., a shot of saline). Vaccine efficacy is measured by comparing the frequency of influenza illness in the vaccinated and the unvaccinated (placebo) groups. The RCT study design minimizes bias that could lead to invalid study results. Bias is an unintended systematic error in the way researchers select study participants, measure outcomes, or analyze data that can lead to inaccurate results. In a RCT, vaccine allocation is usually double-blinded, which means neither the study volunteers nor the researchers know if a given person has received vaccine or placebo. National regulatory authorities, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, require RCTs to be conducted and to demonstrate the protective benefits of a new vaccine before the vaccine is licensed for routine use. However, some vaccines are licensed based on RCTs that use antibody response to the vaccine as measured in the laboratory, rather than decreases in influenza disease among people who were vaccinated.
The second type of study design is an observational study. There are several types of observational studies, including cohort and case-control studies. Observational studies assess how influenza vaccines work by comparing the occurrence of influenza among people who have been vaccinated compared to people not vaccinated. Vaccine effectiveness is the percent reduction in the frequency of influenza illness among vaccinated people compared to people not vaccinated, usually with adjustment for factors (like presence of chronic medical conditions) that are related to both influenza illness and vaccination. (See below for details.)
Vaccine efficacy refers to vaccine protection measured in RCTs usually under optimal conditions where vaccine storage and delivery are monitored and participants are usually healthy. Vaccine effectiveness refers to vaccine protection measured in observational studies that include people with underlying medical conditions who have been administered vaccines by different health care providers under real-world conditions.
Once an influenza vaccine has been licensed by FDA, recommendations are typically made by CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) for its routine use. For example, ACIP now recommends annual influenza vaccination for all U.S. residents aged 6 months and older. These universal vaccine recommendations make it unethical to perform placebo-controlled RCTs because assigning people to a placebo group could place them at risk for serious complications from influenza. Also, observational studies often are the only option to measure vaccine effectiveness against more severe, less common influenza outcomes, such as hospitalization.
The measurement of influenza vaccine efficacy and effectiveness can be affected by virus and host factors as well as the study methodology used. Therefore, vaccine efficacy/effectiveness point estimates have varied among published studies.
The protective benefits of influenza vaccination are generally lower during flu seasons where the majority of circulating influenza viruses differ from the influenza viruses used to make the vaccines. Influenza viruses are continuously changing through a natural process known as antigenic drift. (For more information, see How the flu virus can change: Drift and Shift.) However, the degree of antigenic drift and the frequency of drifted viruses in circulation can vary for each of the three or four viruses included in the seasonal flu vaccine. So even when circulating influenza viruses are mildly or moderately drifted in comparison to the vaccine, it is possible that people may still receive some protective benefit from vaccination; and if other circulating influenza viruses are well matched, the vaccine could still provide protective benefits overall.
In addition to virus factors, host factors such as age, underlying medical conditions, history of prior infections and prior vaccinations can affect the benefits received from vaccination.
Study Design Factors
Experts consider RCTs to be the best study design because they are less susceptible to biases. However, as stated above, these studies cannot be conducted when vaccination is recommended in a population and these studies are very difficult to conduct for more severe outcomes that are less common. There are several observational study designs, but many programs currently use the test-negative, case-control design. In the test-negative design, people who seek care for an acute respiratory illness are enrolled at ambulatory care settings (such as outpatient clinics, urgent care clinics, and emergency department) and information is collected about the patients’ influenza vaccination status. All participants are tested for influenza using a highly specific and sensitive test for influenza virus infection, such as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The ratio of vaccinated to unvaccinated persons (i.e., the odds of influenza vaccination) is then compared for patients with and without laboratory-confirmed influenza. The test-negative design removes selection bias due to health-care seeking behaviors. In addition to the test-negative design, there are additional observational study designs that have been used to estimate vaccine effectiveness.
Factors Related to Measuring Specific versus Non-Specific Outcomes
For both RCTs and observational studies, the specificity of the outcome measured in the study is important. Non-specific outcomes, such as pneumonia hospitalizations or influenza-like illness (ILI) can be associated with influenza virus infections as well as infections with other viruses and bacteria. Vaccine efficacy/effectiveness estimates against non-specific outcomes are generally lower, depending on what proportion of the outcome measured is attributable to influenza. For example, a study among healthy adults found that the inactivated influenza vaccine (i.e., the flu shot) was 86% effective against laboratory-confirmed influenza, but only 10% effective against all respiratory illnesses in the same population and season. Laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections, by RT-PCR or viral culture, are generally the most specific outcomes for vaccine efficacy/effectiveness studies.
Serologic assays to detect influenza infection (i.e., which require a four-fold rise in antibody titers against influenza viruses detected from paired sera) were often used in past flu VE studies to detect influenza infections prior to more accurate tests, such as RT-PCR, becoming more widely available. The problem with VE studies that use serology to test for influenza infection, is that vaccination elevates antibody levels, similar to infection. New influenza infections could be missed in a vaccinated person since antibodies are already high and a four-fold increase doesn’t develop. Therefore, serologic testing methods can result in biased VE estimates that inflate VE
Can you describe biases that are important to consider for observational studies measuring vaccine effectiveness?
Observational studies are subject to various forms of bias (see above for definition) more so than RCT studies. Therefore, it is important that bias be minimized with the study design or adjusted for in the analysis. Observational studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness can be subject to three forms of bias: confounding, selection bias, and information bias.
Confounding occurs when the effect of vaccination on the risk of the outcome being measured (e.g., influenza-related hospitalizations confirmed by RT-PCR) is distorted by another factor associated both with vaccination (the exposure) and the outcome. In RCTs, confounding factors are expected to be evenly distributed between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. This is not true of observational studies. For example, chronic medical conditions can confound the association between influenza vaccination and hospitalization with influenza in observational studies. Chronic medical conditions increase the risk of influenza-related hospitalization and vaccination coverage often is higher among people with chronic medical conditions. Therefore, the presence of a chronic medical condition in a study participant is a potential confounding factor that should be considered in analysis. This is an example of confounding by indication because those at greatest risk for the outcome being measured (i.e., influenza associated hospitalization) are targeted for vaccination, and therefore, they are more likely than those without a chronic medical condition to receive a flu vaccine. Not adjusting for confounders could bias the vaccine effectiveness estimate away from the true estimate. In the example given, the vaccine effectiveness estimate could be biased lower, or towards lower effectiveness.
Selection bias occurs when people with the outcome being measured by the study (i.e., influenza infection) differ from people who do not have the outcome. In observational studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness, people with and without influenza may have different likelihoods of being vaccinated, and this can bias the estimate of vaccine effectiveness. For example, people who visit their health care provider in outpatient settings (e.g., clinics and urgent care) are more likely to be vaccinated than people who do not go to a provider for care. If controls are selected from a different population than the cases (e.g., cases are from a clinic and controls from a community sample) with different health care seeking behaviors, selection bias related to health care seeking (and the likelihood to be vaccinated) may be introduced. The test-negative study design minimizes selection bias related to health care seeking by enrolling patients who seek care for a respiratory illness. This study design is used by many studies globally, including CDC-funded networks that measure vaccine effectiveness.
Information bias occurs if exposures or outcome information are based on different sources of information for people with and without the disease of interest. For example, if researchers obtain information on vaccination for children with influenza from immunization records but ask parents of children without influenza if the child was vaccinated, this difference in data collection procedures could bias the results of the study.
How well do influenza vaccines work during seasons in which the flu vaccine is not well matched to circulating influenza viruses?
As described above, when the virus components of the flu vaccine are not well matched with circulating influenza viruses, the benefits of influenza vaccination may be reduced. However, the degree of antigenic drift from vaccine viruses and the proportion of circulating drifted viruses can vary. As a result, even when circulating influenza viruses are mildly or moderately drifted in comparison to the vaccine, it is still possible that people may receive some protective benefit from influenza vaccination. In addition, even when some circulating influenza viruses are significantly drifted, it is possible for other influenza viruses in circulation to be well matched to the vaccine. It is not possible to predict how well the vaccine and circulating strains will be matched in advance of the influenza season, nor is it possible to predict how this match may affect vaccine effectiveness.
Adults 65 years or older
Among older adults, annual influenza vaccination was recommended based on the high burden of influenza-related disease and demonstrated vaccine efficacy among younger adults. One RCT of adults aged 60 years and older relied on serology for confirmation of influenza and reported a vaccine efficacy of 58% (95% confidence interval (CI): 26-77). However, it is unknown if infections were missed by serology among the study participants that were vaccinated (and if the vaccine efficacy estimate is biased upwards – see previous description of how bias can occur in VE studies that test for influenza using serology). A meta-analysis of observational studies that used the test-negative design provided VE estimates for adults aged >60 years against RT-PCR confirmed influenza infection. This meta-analysis reported significant vaccine effectiveness of 52% (95% CI: 41-61) during seasons when the vaccine and circulating viruses were well-matched . During seasons when the circulating viruses were antigenically drifted (not well matched), reported VE was 36% (95% CI: 22-48)3.
An RCT that compared a high-dose, inactivated influenza vaccine (containing four times the standard amount of influenza antigen) to standard dose vaccine in persons aged 65 years or older during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 influenza seasons found that rates of laboratory-confirmed influenza were 24% lower (95% CI: 10-37) among persons who received high-dose vaccine compared to standard dose influenza vaccine, indicating that high-dose vaccine provided 24% better protection against influenza than standard dose vaccine in this trial.
Several observational studies have reported significant vaccine effectiveness against RT-PCR confirmed influenza-related hospitalization among older adults. A three-year study (2006-07 through 2008-09) in Tennessee that used a test-negative design reported vaccine effectiveness of 61% (95% CI: 18-83) among hospitalized adults >50 years of age. In an analysis of two additional seasons, including 2010-11 and 2011-2012 (excluding 2009-10), VE was 58% (95% CI: 8-81) against RT-PCR confirmed influenza associated hospitalizations for persons >50 years of age for the five seasons combined.
Several RCTs have been done in healthy adults aged <65 years[7,8,9,10,11,12]. These studies have reported vaccine efficacy estimates ranging from 16%-75%; VE of 16% was reported during a season with few influenza infections. An RCT in South Africa among HIV infected adults reported vaccine efficacy of 76% (95 CI 9-96). A meta-analysis that included data from RCTs of licensed inactivated influenza vaccines reported a pooled vaccine effectiveness of 59% (95% CI 51-67) against influenza confirmed by RT-PCR or viral culture. In addition, RCTs of cell-based inactivated influenza vaccines (IIVs) and recombinant trivalent HA protein vaccines have been performed among healthy adults. In general, efficacy estimates for these types of vaccines are similar to other inactivated influenza vaccines that are egg-based[15,16,17].
In a four-year RCT of inactivated vaccines among children aged 1–15 years, vaccine efficacy was estimated at 77% against influenza A (H3N2) and 91% against influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. An RCT of children aged 6–24 months reported vaccine efficacy of 66% against laboratory-confirmed influenza in 1999-2000 but no vaccine efficacy during the second year when there was little influenza activity. During 2010-11, the vaccine efficacy of a quadrivalent inactivated vaccine among children aged 3-8 years was 59% (95% CI: 45%-70%). In addition, a cluster-randomized trial conducted in Hutterite communities in Canada found that vaccinating children aged 3 to 15 years with trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine before the 2008-09 season reduced RT-PCR confirmed influenza in the entire community by 61% (95% CI: 8-83), including a 59% reduction (95% CI: 5-82) in confirmed influenza among non-vaccinated community members, evidence of the “indirect” effect of influenza vaccination on prevention on disease transmission.
Several RCTs of live attenuated influenza vaccines among young children have demonstrated vaccine efficacy against laboratory confirmed influenza with estimates ranging from 74%-94%[22,23,24,25]. A study conducted among children aged 12 through 36 months living in Asia during consecutive influenza seasons reported efficacy for live attenuated influenza vaccine of 64%–70%.
An RCT conducted among pregnant women in South Africa during 2011 and 2012 reported vaccine efficacy against RT-PCR confirmed influenza of 50% among HIV-negative women and 58% among HIV-positive women vaccinated during the third trimester. In addition, the trial showed that vaccination reduced the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among infants born to HIV-negative women by 49%; the study was unable to assess vaccine efficacy among infants of HIV infected women. An observational study in the United States during 2010-11 and 2011-12 using a test-negative design reported vaccine effectiveness of 44% (95% CI: 5 to 67) against influenza among pregnant woman.
A randomized trial in Bangladesh found that babies born to mothers vaccinated during pregnancy with trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines were significantly less likely to be born small for gestational age and weighed an average of 200g more than babies born to unvaccinated mothers[29,30]. No effect of maternal immunization on infant birth weight was reported in the South African trial described above. Some observational studies in developed and developing countries have found lower risk of prematurity or low birth weight in babies born to vaccinated mothers, but the effect has not been consistently demonstrated[31,32,33,34,35].
How well does the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) work compared to inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV)?
Three randomized clinical trials comparing live attenuated influenza vaccine to trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in young children, 2-8 years of age, suggested that live attenuated influenza vaccine had superior efficacy compared to inactivated influenza vaccine[36,37,38]. Recently, several observational studies suggest that LAIV did not consistently provide better protection against influenza than inactivated vaccine, especially against influenza caused by the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus[39,40,41]. However, a randomized, school-based study in Canada reported lower rates of confirmed influenza among students vaccinated with live-attenuated vaccine compared to students vaccinated with inactivated influenza vaccine, as well as decreased influenza transmission among family members of students vaccinated with live-attenuated influenza vaccines.
Clinical trials during 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2007-08 that compared inactivated influenza vaccines and live attenuated influenza vaccines to no vaccine among adults suggested that inactivated influenza vaccines provided better protection against influenza than live attenuated influenza vaccines in adults7,8.
CDC monitors vaccine effectiveness annually through the Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) Network, a collaboration with participating institutions in five geographic locations. These institutions enroll patients with respiratory symptoms at ambulatory clinics and test for influenza by RT-PCR. Vaccine effectiveness is estimated using the test negative design, comparing proportions (odds) of influenza vaccination among patients with and without influenza. Statistical methods are used to account for differences in age, race and underlying medical conditions that might influence vaccine effectiveness. Estimates are reported annually, and often, an early estimate is reported during the season. Since the match between circulating and vaccine viruses is not known before the season, annual estimates of vaccine effectiveness give a real-world look at how well the vaccine protects against influenza caused by circulating viruses each season.
- Bridges CB, Thompson WW, Meltzer MI, Reeve GR, Talamonti WJ, Cox NJ, Lilac HA, Hall H, Klimov A, Fukuda K. Effectiveness and cost-benefit of influenza vaccination of healthy working adults: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2000;284(13):1655-63.
- Govaert TM, Thijs CT, Masurel N, Sprenger MJ, Dinant GJ, Knottnerus JA. The efficacy of influenza vaccination in elderly individuals. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. JAMA. 1994;272(21):1661-5.
- Darvishian M, Bijlsma MJ, Hak E, van den Heuvel ER. Effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccine in community-dwelling elderly people: a meta-analysis of test-negative design case-control studies. Lancet Infect Dis 2014; 14(12): 1228-39.
- DiazGranados CA, Dunning AJ, Kimmel M, Kirby D, Treanor J, Collins A, Pollak R, Christoff J, Earl J, Landolfi V, Martin E, Gurunathan S, Nathan R, Greenberg DP, Tornieporth NG, Decker MD, Talbot HK. Efficacy of high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccine in older adults. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:635-45.
- Talbot HK, Griffin MR, Chen Q, Zhu Y, Williams JV, Edwards, KM. Effectiveness of seasonal vaccine in preventing confirmed influenza-associated hospitalization in community dwelling older adults. J Infect Dis 2011; 203: 500–8.
- Chen Q, Griffin MR, Nian H, Zhu Y, Williams JV, Edwards, KM, Talbot HK. Influenza vaccine prevents medically attended influenza-associated acute respiratory illness in adults aged ≥50 years. J Infect Dis 2015; 211: 1045–50.
- Ohmit SE, Victor JC, Rotthoff JR, et al. Prevention of antigenically drifted influenza by inactivated and live attenuated vaccines. N Engl J Med 2006; 355(24): 2513-22.
- Ohmit SE, Victor JC, Teich ER, et al. Prevention of symptomatic seasonal influenza in 2005-2006 by inactivated and live attenuated vaccines. J Infect Dis 2008; 198(3): 312-7.
- Jackson LA, Gaglani MJ, Keyserling HL, et al. Safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of an inactivated influenza vaccine in healthy adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial over two influenza seasons. BMC Infect Dis 2010; 10: 71.
- Beran J, Wertzova V, Honegr K, et al. Challenge of conducting a placebo-controlled randomized efficacy study for influenza vaccine in a season with low attack rate and a mismatched vaccine B strain: a concrete example. BMC Infect Dis 2009; 9
- Beran J, Vesikari T, Wertzova V, et al. Efficacy of inactivated split-virus influenza vaccine against culture-confirmed influenza in healthy adults: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Infect Dis 2009; 200(12): 1861-9.
- Monto AS, Ohmit SE, Petrie JG, et al. Comparative efficacy of inactivated and live attenuated influenza vaccines. N Engl J Med 2009; 361(13): 1260-7.
- Madhi SA, Maskew M, Koen A, Kuwanda L, Besselaar TG, Naidoo D, Cohen C, Valette M, Cutland CL, Sanne I. Trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in African adults infected with human immunodeficient virus: double blind, randomized clinical trial of efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety. Clin Infect Dis 2011; 52(1): 128-37.
- Osterholm MT, Kelley NS, Sommer A, et al. Efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet ID 2011(12): 36-44.
- Frey S, Vesikari T, Szymczakiewicz-Multanowska A, et al. Clinical efficacy of cell culture-derived and egg-derived inactivated subunit influenza vaccines in healthy adults. Clin Infect Dis 2010; 51(9): 997-1004.
- Treanor JJ, El Sahly H, King J, et al. Protective efficacy of a trivalent recombinant hemagglutinin protein vaccine (FluBlok(R)) against influenza in healthy adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Vaccine 2011; 29(44): 7733-9.
- Barrett PN, Berezuk G, Fritsch S, et al. Efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of a Vero-cell-culture-derived trivalent influenza vaccine: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2011; 377(9767): 751-9.
- Neuzil KM, Dupont WD, Wright PF, Edwards KM. Efficacy of inactivated and cold-adapted vaccines against influenza A infection, 1985 to 1990: the pediatric experience. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2001;20(8):733-40
- Hoberman A, Greenberg DP, Paradise JL, Rockette HE, Lave JR, Kearney DH, Colborn DK, Kurs-Lasky M, Haralam MA, Byers CJ, Zoffel LM, Fabian IA, Bernard BS, Kerr JD. Effectiveness of inactivated influenza vaccine in preventing acute otitis media in young children: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003;290(12):1608-16.
- Jain VK, Rivera L, Zaman K, et al. Vaccine for prevention of mild and moderate-to-severe influenza in children. N Engl J Med 2013; 369(26): 2481-91.
- Loeb M, Russell ML, Moss L, et al. Effect of influenza vaccination of children on infection rates in Hutterite communities: a randomized trial. JAMA 2010; 303(10): 943-50.
- Belshe RB, Mendelman PM, Treanor J, et al. The efficacy of live attenuated, cold-adapted, trivalent, intranasal influenzavirus vaccine in children. N Engl J Med 1998;338:1405–12.
- Belshe RB, Gruber WC, Mendelman PM, et al. Efficacy of vaccination with live attenuated, cold-adapted, trivalent, intranasal influenza virus vaccine against a variant (A/Sydney) not contained in the vaccine. J Pediatr 2000;136:168–75.
- Vesikari T, Fleming DM, Aristegui JF, et al. Safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of cold-adapted influenza vaccine-trivalent against community-acquired, culture-confirmed influenza in young children attending day care. Pediatrics 2006;118:2298–312.
- Bracco Neto H, Farhat CK, Tregnaghi MW, et al. Efficacy and safety of 1 and 2 doses of live attenuated influenza vaccine in vaccine-naive children. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2009;28:365–71.
- Tam JS, Capeding MR, Lum LC, et al. Efficacy and safety of a live attenuated, cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent against culture-confirmed influenza in young children in Asia. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2007;26:619–28.
- Madhi SA, Cutland CL, Kuwanda L, et al. Influenza vaccination of pregnant women and protection of their infants. N Engl J Med 2014; 371(10): 918-31.
- Thompson MG, Li DK, Shifflett P, et al. Effectiveness of seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine for preventing influenza virus illness among pregnant women: a population-based case-control study during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 influenza seasons. Clin Infect Dis 2014; 58(4): 449-57.
- Zaman K, Roy E, Arifeen SE, et al. Effectiveness of maternal influenza immunization in mothers and infants. N Engl J Med 2008; 359(15): 1555-64.
- Steinhoff MC, Omer SB, Roy E, et al. Neonatal outcomes after influenza immunization during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne 2012.
- Omer SB, Goodman D, Steinhoff MC, et al. Maternal influenza immunization and reduced likelihood of prematurity and small for gestational age births: a retrospective cohort study. PLoS medicine 2011;8:e1000441.
- Pasternak B, Svanstrom H, Molgaard-Nielsen D, et al. Vaccination against pandemic A/H1N1 2009 influenza in pregnancy and risk of fetal death: cohort study in Denmark. BMJ 2012;344:e2794.
- Fell DB, Sprague AE, Liu N, et al. H1N1 influenza vaccination during pregnancy and fetal and neonatal outcomes. Am J Public Health 2012;102:e33-40.
- Kallen B, Olausson PO. Vaccination against H1N1 influenza with Pandemrix((R)) during pregnancy and delivery outcome: a Swedish register study. BJOG 2012;119:1583-90.
- Richards JL, Hansen C, Bredfeldt C, et al. Neonatal outcomes after antenatal influenza immunization during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic: impact on preterm birth, birth weight, and small for gestational age birth. Clin Infect Dis 2013;56:1216-22.
- Ashkenazi S, Vertruyen A, Arístegui J, Esposito S, McKeith DD, Klemola T, Biolek J, Kühr J, Bujnowski T, Desgrandchamps D, Cheng SM, Skinner J, Gruber WC, Forrest BD; CAIV-T Study Group. Superior relative efficacy of live attenuated influenza vaccine compared with inactivated influenza vaccine in young children with recurrent respiratory tract infections. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2006;25(10):870-9.
- Fleming DM, Crovari P, Wahn U, Klemola T, Schlesinger Y, Langussis A, Øymar K, Garcia ML, Krygier A, Costa H, Heininger U, Pregaldien JL, Cheng SM, Skinner J, Razmpour A, Saville M, Gruber WC, Forrest B; CAIV-T Asthma Study Group. Comparison of the efficacy and safety of live attenuated cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent, with trivalent inactivated influenza virus vaccine in children and adolescents with asthma. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2006;25(10):860-9.
- Belshe RB, Edwards KM, Vesikari T, Black SV, Walker RE, Hultquist M, Kemble G, Connor EM; CAIV-T Comparative Efficacy Study Group. Live attenuated versus inactivated influenza vaccine in infants and young children. N Engl J Med. 2007;356(7):685-96 [270 KB, 12 pages].
- Flannery B. Update on effectiveness of live-attenuated versus inactivated influenza vaccines in children and adolescents aged 2-18 years – US Flu VE Network. Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Atlanta, GA, October, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2014-10/flu-03-flannery.pdf
- Chung JR, Flannery B, Thompson MG, Gaglani M, Jackson ML, MontoAS, NowalkMP, Talbot HK, Treanor JJ, Belongia EA, Murthy K, Jackson LA, G. Petrie J, Zimmerman RK, Griffin MR, McLean HQ, Fry AM. Seasonal effectiveness of live attenuated and inactivated influenza vaccine. Pediatrics (in press)
- Gaglani M , Pruszynski J, Murthy K, Clipper L, Robertson A, Reis M, Chung JR, Piedra PA, Avadhanula V, Nowalk MP Zimmerman RK, Jackson ML, Jackson LA, Petrie JG, Ohmit SE, Monto AS, McLean HQ, Belongia EA, Fry AM, Flannery B. Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness against the 2009 Pandemic A (H1N1) Virus Differed by Vaccine-type During 2013-14 in the United States. J Inf Dis (in press)
Kwong J, Pereira J, Quach S, Pellizzari R, Dusome E, Russell M, et al. Randomized evalution of live attenuated vs. trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines in schools (RELATIVES) pilot study: preliminary results from the household surveillance sub-study.
- Page last reviewed: January 29, 2016
- Page last updated: January 29, 2016
- Content source: | <urn:uuid:fe1ec231-ec14-42e0-9a63-10e4b7dca323> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/effectivenessqa.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896905 | 6,725 | 3.875 | 4 |
Each virtual server provides connections between the server and clients through one or more HTTP listeners. Each HTTP listener is a listen socket that has an IP address, a port number, a server name, and a default virtual server.
HTTP listeners must have a unique combination of port number and IP address. For example, an HTTP listener can listen on all configured IP addresses on a given port for a machine by specifying the IP address 0.0.0.0. Alternatively, the HTTP listener can specify a unique IP address for each listener, but use the same port.
Since an HTTP listener is a combination of IP address and port number, you can have multiple HTTP listeners with the same IP address and different port numbers (for example, 184.108.40.206:8081 and 220.127.116.11:8082), or with different IP addresses and the same port number (for example, 18.104.22.168:8081 and 22.214.171.124:8081, if your machine was configured to respond to both these addresses).
However, if an HTTP listener uses the 0.0.0.0 IP address, which listens on all IP addresses on a port, you cannot create HTTP listeners for additional IP addresses that listen on the same port for a specific IP address. For example, if an HTTP listener uses 0.0.0.0:8080 (all IP addresses on port 8080), another HTTP listener cannot use 126.96.36.199:8080.
Because the system running the Enterprise Server typically has access to only one IP address, HTTP listeners typically use the 0.0.0.0 IP address and different port numbers, with each port number serving a different purpose. If the system does have access to more than one IP address, each address can serve a different purpose.
By default, when the Enterprise Server starts, it has the following HTTP listeners:
Two HTTP listeners named http-listener-1 and http-listener-2, associated with the virtual server named server.
An HTTP listener named admin-listener, associated with the virtual server named __asadmin.
All these listeners use the IP address 0.0.0.0 and the port numbers specified as the HTTP server port numbers during installation of the Enterprise Server. If the Enterprise Server uses the default port number values, http-listener-1 uses port 8080, http-listener-2 uses port 8181, and admin-listener uses port 48489.
Each HTTP listener has a default virtual server. The default virtual server is the server to which the HTTP listener routes all request URLs whose host component does not match any of the virtual servers that are associated with the HTTP listener (a virtual server is associated with an HTTP listener by listing the HTTP listener in its http-listeners attribute).
In addition, specify the number of acceptor threads in the HTTP listener. Acceptor threads accept new connections and put them onto a connection queue. Session threads then pick up connections from the queue and service the requests. The server posts more session threads if required at the end of the request.
A set of request processing threads retrieves incoming HTTP requests from the connection queue and processes the requests. These threads parse the HTTP headers, select the appropriate virtual server, and run through the request processing engine to service the request. When there are no more requests to process, but the connection can be kept persistent (either by using HTTP/1.1 or sending a Connection: keep-alive header), the request processing thread assumes the connection to be idle and passes the connection to the Keep-Alive connection management subsystem.
The Keep-Alive subsystem periodically polls such idle connections and queues those connections with activity into the connection queue for future processing. From there, a request processing thread again retrieves the connection and processes its request. The Keep-Alive subsystem is multi-threaded, as it manages potentially tens of thousands of connections. Efficient polling techniques are used, by dividing the number of connections into smaller subsets, to determine which connections are ready with requests and which of those connections have idled for sufficient time to deem them closed (beyond a maximum permissible Keep-Alive timeout).
The HTTP listener’s server name is the host name that appears in the URLs the server sends to the client as part of a redirect. This attribute affects URLs the server automatically generates; it does not affect the URLs for directories and files stored in the server. This name is normally the alias name if the server uses an alias. If a client sends a Host: header, that host name supersedes the HTTP listener’s server name value in redirects.
Specify a redirect port to use a different port number from that specified in the original request. A redirect occurs in one of these situations:
If a client tries to access a resource that no longer exists at the specified URL (that is, the resource has moved to another location), the server redirects the client to the new location (instead of returning a 404), by returning a designated response code and including the new location in the response’s Location header.
If a client tries to access a resource that is protected (for example, SSL) on the regular HTTP port, the server redirects the request to the SSL-enabled port. In this case, the server returns a new URL in the Location response header, in which the original insecure port has been replaced with the SSL-enabled port. The client then connects to this new URL.
Specify also whether security is enabled for an HTTP listener and what kind of security is used (for example, which SSL protocol and which ciphers).
To access a web application deployed on the Enterprise Server, use the URL http://localhost:8080/ (or https://localhost:8181/ if it is a secure application), along with the context root specified for the web application. To access the Admin Console, use the URL https://localhost:4848/ or http://localhost:4848/asadmin/ (its default context root).
Because a virtual server must specify an existing HTTP listener, and because it cannot specify an HTTP listener that is already being used by another virtual server, create at least one HTTP listener before creating a new virtual server. | <urn:uuid:fd62a251-0648-4009-81fc-ecef70154cb5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19879-01/820-4335/ablta/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00107-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.842009 | 1,292 | 3.0625 | 3 |
In this age of viruses and hackers, of electronic eavesdropping
and electronic fraud, security is paramount. This solid,
up-to-date tutorial is a comprehensive treatment of cryptography
and network security is ideal for self-study. Explores the basic
issues to be addressed by a network security capability through a
tutorial and survey of cryptography and network security
technology. Examines the practice of network security via
practical applications that have been implemented and are in use
today. Provides a simplified AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
that enables readers to grasp the essentials of AES more easily.
Features block cipher modes of operation, including the CMAC mode
for authentication and the CCM mode for authenticated encryption.
Includes an expanded, updated treatment of intruders and
malicious software. A useful reference for system engineers,
programmers, system managers, network managers, product marketing
personnel, and system support specialists. | <urn:uuid:47fbd6bb-cc06-4e97-acff-1194aa97c108> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ebooks-share.net/cryptography-and-network-security-4th-edition/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898717 | 192 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Includes laboratory. This course will address the impacts of humans on Earth's biodiversity, and strategies taken to conserve and protect global natural resources. Topics covered may include global patterns of biodiversity, ecological community structure, habitat exploitation and restoration by humans, genetics of small populations, design of nature reserves, problems associated with invasive species. Prerequisites: BIO 135 (or BIO 101) and BIO 145 (or BIO 102), or permission of instructor..
|BIO 135 (or BIO 101) and BIO 145 (or BIO 102), or permission of instructor.||1 course| | <urn:uuid:5ae88d2a-c06e-4fa9-95fb-c8c8fc3589ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.depauw.edu/academics/catalog/courses/details/BIO/345/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.807759 | 120 | 2.75 | 3 |
by Larisa Proulx
On May 10th, 1941 the Honigberg Family: Zelik, Rajzla Matla, and Bronislaw, arrived in San Francisco, California and were held at an immigration facility on 801 Silver Avenue. Here they were detained, interrogated, and inspected by U.S. Immigration Officials due to ‘suspicion’ concerning the family’s paid passage to the United States. Immigration officials stated that not only did they need to verify who paid for their steamship tickets to the United States, but that they also needed to verify the family’s ability to sustain themselves financially while residing in the country. The family’s interrogation on Silver Avenue was just one of the many challenges for the Honigberg family in finally obtaining their liberty and safety.
The Jewish family first fled from Warsaw, Poland to Wilno sometime before October of 1940. In September of 1939, the Soviet Invasion of Poland occurred. Soon after, German Armed Forces (‘The Wehrmacht’) also occupied Poland by striking with severe aerial bombings and ground fighting that initially targeted civilians in areas like markets, hospitals, and schools. In October 1939, an organized Polish resistance ended, with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying most of Poland. However, at this time Wilno, Poland, where the Honigberg family was residing, was annexed by Lithuania. Once Lithuania took possession of Wilno, the Honigbergs found that they could not safely live in either a Russian or German territory. They made the decision to leave Eastern Europe all together, hoping to avoid persecution, war, and death.
The decision to leave Warsaw meant that most of the family avoided the Warsaw Ghetto that was established in 1940. About one month after the ghetto was established, Jews were not allowed to leave it. Construction of a wall soon followed, built to create a barrier between the Jews held within the Ghetto and the rest of the world. Anyone attempting to cross the wall, made of brick and barbed wire, was to be shot on sight. Despite the danger, Zelik’s sister-in-law, Aurelia Heroberg, stayed in Warsaw during the time that the family resided in Wilno. Her story is unknown.
Leaving Wilno, Poland, the Honigberg family headed for Yokohama, Japan where they would receive immigration visas under the Immigration Act of 1924. From there they would go to the United States on the steamship Asama Maru. At that time, Zelik, a former president and chief manager of a firm producing mother-of-pearl buttons in Poland, left a factory that had at one time staffed about 500 workers. His wife, Rajzla Matla (a housewife), and son, Bronislaw (a medical student), also left their home intending to never return to Poland. All three intended to come to the United States to eventually become citizens.
Their final destination after San Francisco was New York, New York, where one of Zelik’s friend’s, Allan Gerdau, resided. Due to their personal and working relationship, Gerdau wanted to help the Honigberg family during the war. At Zelik’s request in 1940, all of his business agents in Europe sent money collected in his favor to Gerdau so that it wouldn’t be lost during the war. In 1941, Gerdau held at least $3,700.00 owed to Zelik from business. Gerdau agreed to hold this money for the Honigberg family until they were able to enter the United States and claim it. At Zelik’s request, Gerdau also used some of this money to purchase steamship tickets that would take the family from Yokohama to the United States after they left Wilno. Without Gerdau’s assistance, the Honigberg’s would not have been able to leave Wilno. There were no travel agencies in Wilno that could sell all the tickets to the family, and they were necessary to have in hand to get immigration visas for the United States.
After arriving to the United States, the family’s interrogation was held on May 14th, 1941 at 1:00 in the afternoon (four days after arriving). Two immigration inspectors, a secretary, and Polish interpreter were present for the interrogation. Each family member was interrogated separately and asked specifically about their relationship to Allan Gerdau, the amount of money Zelik had, and who purchased their steamship tickets. At this time inspectors were provided with an affidavit, describing Gerdau’s ability to support the Honigbergs in the event that Zelik’s funds become unavailable. Zelik also informed immigration officials that, in addition to the funds collected by Gerdau on his behalf, the Midland Bank in London also held $15,000.00 in United States currency for him. Upon receipt and confirmation of this information, the family was admitted to the United States on May 14th, 1941.
This is where the Honigberg family’s story begins in the United States, and ends on Silver Street in San Francisco. If you have any additional information that you would like to share about the Honigbergs, please contact the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation at 415-348-9200.
Place of Origin
Place of Settlement
San Francisco, CA | <urn:uuid:8f402bdd-2381-4059-b2d6-a35f61eb6618> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.aiisf.org/stories-by-author/853-from-warsaw-to-san-francisco | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978783 | 1,122 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Pitt Researchers To Collaborate With Paramedics To See If The Drug Vasopressin Can Improve Outcome Of Cardiac Arrest
PITTSBURGH, March 5, 2003 More than 350 cardiac arrest cases occur in the City of Pittsburgh each year, according to statistics from researchers in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Can survival for patients who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest be improved by using a generic drug called vasopressin?
To help answer this question, emergency medicine researchers are participating in a local, one-year research study known as the Vasopressin in Cardiac Arrest Research Project. Researchers will be collaborating with City of Pittsburgh paramedics, who will administer the drug.
Paramedics in Pennsylvania are trained how to use vasopressin for advanced cardiac life support, but most do not carry this drug as part of their treatment regimen.
During this study, each City of Pittsburgh paramedic crew will be asked to carry research vials. Half of the paramedics will receive vials containing vasopressin and half of the paramedics will receive vials containing saline (salt water). None of the paramedics will know whether the vials contain the active drug or the saline.
The paramedics will perform their current standard of care for cardiac arrest, including giving adrenaline (epinephrine), and additionally, will administer the contents of the research vial. It is expected that one-half of patients in cardiac arrest will receive vasopressin in addition to their regular treatment. The researchers hope to give vasopressin to 162 patients in cardiac arrest. A total of 324 people may participate in the study.
When paramedics are called to the scene of a patient in cardiac arrest, they typically provide advanced tools to help the patient breathe and administer drugs like epinephrine to help promote blood flow to the heart, making it more likely to resume beating. Currently, the only blood flow-promoting drug approved for use by paramedics is epinephrine.
During the vasopressin study, an emergency medicine physician from the University of Pittsburgh will ride with paramedics in the ambulance. It is not unusual for City of Pittsburgh paramedics to have emergency medicine physicians working along side them in the field and is part of the required training for emergency medicine residents at the University of Pittsburgh.
Information gathered during the study will enable researchers to examine whether there is any change in the proportion of victims whose hearts restart after receiving the vasopressin.
If results of this study show a significant increase in resuscitation from sudden cardiac arrest, vasopressin may eventually win approval for use by all paramedics, says Clifton W. Callaway, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and principal investigator of the vasopressin study. Additionally, it is necessary to conduct this study in the out-of-hospital setting because victims of cardiac arrest often arrive at the hospital too late for the drug to do any good.
Recent studies in Canada and Europe have shown that vasopressin was equivalent or superior to adrenaline when used as a treatment for cardiac arrest. Based on these studies, the American Heart Association recommends vasopressin as the drug to be considered for the treatment of cardiac arrest. However, it is unknown whether vasopressin is helpful when used for victims of cardiac arrest under conditions like those encountered by paramedics in the United States.
Because this study could affect anyone living in Pittsburgh, both the university and the researchers are seeking comments from the public.
To explain the research and answer questions, the Pitt researchers are holding a public forum 6:30 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 13 in the Lower Lounge of the William Pitt Union, corner of Fifth Ave. and Bigelow Blvd. in Oakland.
According to federal law and university policy, those who participate in a clinical research study must provide informed consent. Because of the nature of this trial, it is impossible to obtain consent at the time of cardiac arrest. For this reason, the researchers are notifying the public that informed consent will be waived. Researchers will make every attempt to be in contact with family members and, if possible, the cardiac arrest patient to obtain consent at a later time.
For more information about the public forum, or to make comments or ask questions about the vasopressin study, researchers can be contacted at the following:
By Telephone: Vasopressin in Cardiac Arrest Research Project 412-647-2671.
By E-mail: [email protected]
By Mail: University of Pittsburgh
Department of Emergency Medicine
230 McKee Place, Suite 400
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213
Attention: Clifton Callaway, principal investigator
Funding for the Vasopressin in Cardiac Arrest Research Project is supported by the Pittsburgh Emergency Medicine Foundation. | <urn:uuid:3c19f232-db10-47d9-bc68-eb3e15cf87df> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.upmc.com/media/NewsReleases/2003/Pages/vasopressin-paramedic-study.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920047 | 1,002 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The Integral Test
We already know that series and integrals share some similar properties. We're going to show that, by replacing the series with an equivalent integral, we can determine if the series converges.
In terms of our Pandora's box, we're just replacing our grilled cheese with something else. Assume we've replaced them with gremlins. Maybe we should keep the box shut on these guys.
Now, we're going to test the convergence or divergence of some series by doing some reasoning similar to what we did when studying left-hand and right-hand sums for integrals.
Integral Test: Let f be a non-negative decreasing function on [c, ∞) where c is an integer. If the integral
converges, then the series
If the integral diverges, then the series also diverges.
Like we mentioned before, the integral test replaces grilled cheese with gremlins. They're hard to tame, but if you can do so, you can open the box safely. If you can't tame the gremlins, then keep that box shut.
The integral test works because, depending on how we draw the series, we can choose whether the rectangles will cover more or less area than the integral.
In the example with the harmonic series we drew the series as an overestimate. Since the integral diverged, we knew the series had to diverge.
If we have an integral that converges, we draw the series as an underestimate (right-hand sum) instead. Since a convergent integral describes a finite area, the smaller area covered by the rectangles must also be finite. | <urn:uuid:075fcb95-1531-4468-8625-4dcc36cd65e7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shmoop.com/series/integral-test.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00188-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920111 | 340 | 2.78125 | 3 |
|In pursuit you must always stretch possibilities to the limit. Troops having beaten the enemy will want to rest. They must be given as objectives, not those that you think they will reach, but the farthest they could possibly reach.|
|Field Marshal Viscount Allenby of Meggido, Order to XXI Corps, 1917|
A pursuit is an offensive operation designed to catch or cut off a hostile force attempting to escape, with the aim of destroying it (JP 1-02). Pursuit operations begin when an enemy force attempts to conduct retrograde operations. At that point, it becomes most vulnerable to the loss of internal cohesion and complete destruction. A pursuit aggressively executed leaves the enemy trapped, unprepared, and unable to defend, faced with the options of surrendering or complete destruction. The rapid shifting of units, continuous day and night movements, hasty attacks, containment of bypassed enemy forces, large numbers of prisoners, and a willingness to forego some synchronization to maintain contact with and pressure on a fleeing enemy characterize this type of offensive operation. Pursuit requires swift maneuver and attacks by forces to strike the enemy's most vulnerable areas. A successful pursuit requires flexible forces, initiative by commanders at all levels, and the maintenance of a high operational tempo during execution.
7-1. The enemy may conduct a retrograde when successful friendly offensive operations have shattered his defense. In addition, the enemy may deliberately conduct a retrograde when—
He is reacting to a threat of envelopment.
He is adjusting his battlefield dispositions to meet changing situations.
He is attempting to draw the friendly force into fire sacks, kill zones, or engagement areas.
He is planning to employ weapons of mass destruction.
Therefore, the friendly force must always consider the enemy's actions whenever it sees an opportunity to conduct a pursuit.
7-2. Division is the lowest echelon equipped with the intelligence assets to determine if the enemy is conducting a retrograde under Army of Excellence tables of organization and equipment. When faced with enemy attempts to break contact, lower echelons act to maintain contact until a division or corps commander directs them to initiate a pursuit operation.
7-3. Unlike an exploitation, which may focus on seizing key or decisive terrain instead of the enemy force, the pursuit always focuses on destroying the fleeing enemy force. This is seldom accomplished by directly pushing back the hostile forces on their lines of communication (LOCs). The commander in a pursuit tries to combine direct pressure against the retreating forces with an enveloping or encircling maneuver to place friendly troops across the enemy's lines of retreat. This fixes the enemy in positions where he can be defeated in detail. If it becomes apparent that enemy resistance has broken down entirely and the enemy is fleeing the battlefield, any type of offensive operation can transition to a pursuit.
7-4. Conducting a pursuit is a calculated risk. Once the pursuit begins, the commander maintains contact with the enemy and pursues retreating enemy forces without further orders. The commander maintains the pursuit as long as the enemy appears disorganized and friendly forces continue to advance. Like exploitation, pursuit tests the audacity and endurance of soldiers and leaders. In both operations, the attacker risks becoming disorganized. Extraordinary physical and mental effort is necessary to sustain the pursuit, transition to other operations, and translate tactical success into operational or strategic victory.
7-5. The commander must be aware of any approaching culmination point. The enemy is usually falling back on his supply base, and potentially on fresh units, while friendly forces become less effective as they expend resources faster than they can be replaced. Reasons to discontinue the pursuit include the presence of fresh enemy forces, greatly increased resistance, fatigue, dwindling supplies, diversion of friendly units to security missions, and the need to contain bypassed enemy units.
7-6. Those plan, prepare, and execute concepts introduced previously continue to apply during a pursuit. Assessment concepts described in FM 6-0 and FM 6-22 also apply. The commander modifies them as necessary to account for the specific existing factors of METT-TC.
7-7. Normally, the commander does not organize specifically for a pursuit ahead of time, although he may plan for a pursuit as a branch or sequel to his offensive operation. Therefore, he must be flexible to react when the situation presents itself. The commander's maneuver and sustainment forces continue their ongoing activities while he readjusts their priorities to better support the pursuit. He acquires additional support from his higher headquarters in accordance with the factors of METT-TC. For most pursuits, the commander organizes his forces into security, direct-pressure, encircling, follow and support, and reserve forces. The commander can employ available airborne and air assault units as part of his encircling force because of their ability to conduct vertical envelopments. Given sufficient resources, there can be more than one encircling force. The follow and support force polices the battlefield to prevent the dissipation of the direct-pressure force's combat power. Appendix B addresses the duties of a follow and support force. The reserve allows the commander to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities or respond to enemy counterattacks.
7-8. There are two basic organizational options in conducting a pursuit; each involves a direct-pressure force. The first is a frontal pursuit that employs only a direct-pressure force. The second is a combination that uses a direct-pressure force and an encircling force. The combination pursuit is generally more effective. Either the direct-pressure force or the encircling force can conduct the decisive operation in a combination pursuit.
7-9. In a frontal pursuit, the commander employs only a direct-pressure force to conduct operations along the same retrograde routes used by the enemy. (See Figure 7-1.) The commander chooses this option in two situations. The first is when he cannot create an encircling force with enough mobility to get behind the enemy force. The second is when he cannot create an encircling force capable of sustaining itself until it links up with the direct-pressure force. Either situation can occur because of restrictive terrain or because an enemy withdraws in a disciplined, cohesive formation and still has significant available combat power.
Figure 7-1. Frontal Pursuit
7-10. In the pursuit, the most decisive effects result from combining the frontal pursuit with encirclement. (See Figure 7-2.) In the combination pursuit, the direct-pressure force initiates a frontal pursuit immediately on discovering the enemy's initiation of a retrograde operation. This slows the tempo of the enemy's withdrawal (or fixes him in his current position if possible), and may destroy his rear security force. The direct-pressure force's actions help to set the conditions necessary for the success of the encircling force's operation by maintaining constant pressure. The encircling force conducts an envelopment or a turning movement to position itself where it can block the enemy's escape and trap him between the two forces, which leads to complete annihilation.
Figure 7-2. Combination Pursuit
7-11. The direct-pressure force conducts hasty attacks to maintain contact and apply unrelenting pressure until it destroys the enemy force. The direct-pressure force prevents enemy disengagement and subsequent reconstitution of the defense and inflicts maximum casualties. It forces the enemy to deploy frequently to delay the direct-pressure force and restricts his ability to disengage and rapidly move away. The direct-pressure force must be at least as mobile as the enemy. Heavy forces are ideally suited to this role, but the commander can employ light forces if the enemy is also foot-mobile. The direct-pressure force organizes to conduct a movement to contact and must be able to conduct a series of hasty attacks. It must be powerful enough to defeat enemy rear guard actions and maintain pressure on the enemy's main body.
7-12. The mobility of the encircling force must be equal—preferably superior—to the withdrawing enemy. If there is no inherent mobility differential, the commander must create one. This differential can also result from the direct-pressure force forcing the enemy to deploy. The commander can enhance, and sometimes create, this mobility advantage by conducting countermobility operations against the enemy, specifically targeting locations such as choke points or bridges that will hinder the fleeing enemy's withdrawal. Heavy, air assault, and airborne forces are well suited for this mission. Attack helicopters are also effective when used as part of the encircling force. The encircling force must be strong enough to protect itself from the enemy's main body and slow or stop it until the friendly direct-pressure force can combine with the encircling force to destroy the enemy. It must be capable of mounting a hasty defense without placing itself at risk of annihilation. The encircling force must be self-contained since it normally operates out of supporting range of friendly indirect-fire systems. Therefore, it frequently has its supporting artillery attached. The primary mission of the encircling force is to prevent the enemy's escape by trapping him between the encircling force and the direct-pressure force. The commander can assign other missions to the encircling force, such as—
Destroying the enemy's weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means.
Linking up with airborne or air assault forces in their airheads.
Reporting terrain conditions and other combat information beyond that normally addressed in the unit standing operating procedures.
The commander can assign the encirclement mission, wholly or in part, to available airborne or air assault units because their vertical envelopment capabilities allow friendly forces to be inserted deeper into enemy-controlled territory than would be possible with ground operations. The time required to plan airborne operations and stage airlift platforms impacts on the utility of airborne forces in small-scale pursuit operations.
7-13. The direct-pressure and encircling forces require engineer support to create lanes through obstacles, which enables them to move rapidly and continuously. The commander should place his engineers well forward in his movement formations to quickly breach any obstacles that cannot be bypassed. Engineers accompanying the encircling force must also be prepared to conduct countermobility and survivability tasks.
7-14. The commander uses control measures to retain his tactical options to converge on the most important axis or to redirect his pursuit effort on a new axis. These control measures should be flexible and capable of rapid adjustments to reflect changing conditions. This flexibility is also necessary when engaging advancing enemy reserves or counterattack forces.
7-115. Centralized planning and decentralized execution characterize the pursuit. The commander balances the need to prevent fratricide with the need to allow subordinates to take advantage of fleeting opportunities in a pursuit with rapidly moving forces and a rapidly changing situation. The commander designates an area of operations (AO) for each maneuver unit involved in the pursuit. He establishes few control measures for the direct-pressure force other than phase lines and checkpoints because of the pursuit's nature. He uses these phase lines to designate a forward and rearward boundary for the direct-pressure force. The forward boundary relieves the direct-pressure force of any responsibility beyond the forward boundary. It also gives the higher headquarters flexibility to deal with the encircling force and enemy elements located beyond that forward boundary. The rear boundary becomes the boundary between the direct-pressure force and the follow and support force.
7-16. If the encircling force is a ground element, the control measures are almost identical to those of an envelopment. The commander must designate a route, an axis of advance, or an AO adjacent to that of the direct-pressure force to allow the encircling force to move parallel to and eventually get ahead of the fleeing enemy force. He designates a terrain objective as a guide for the encircling force. (See Objective HAWKE in Figure 7-3.) However, he may change this objective rapidly and frequently, based on the progress of the encircling force and the enemy. The objective should be a piece of ground that provides the encircling force good, defensible terrain that the enemy cannot easily bypass. The commander often selects choke points, such as defiles and bridges, as objectives for his encircling force.
Figure 7-3. Pursuit Control Measures
7-17. The commander establishes a boundary or a restricted fire line between the encircling force and the direct-pressure force before the encircling force reaches its objective. He establishes other fire support coordinating measures (FSCM) around the area currently occupied by the encircling force to relieve it of unnecessary fire support coordination responsibilities. He directs security operations beyond the encircling force, allowing it to engage the withdrawing enemy without devoting resources to flank and rear security. The commander establishes additional control measures to control the convergence of both elements of the friendly force, such as phase lines and contact points.
7-18. The commander anticipates an enemy retrograde operation as either a branch or a sequel to the plan. The plan should identify possible direct-pressure, encircling, follow and support, and reserve forces and issue on-order or be-prepared missions to these forces. The commander should employ the maximum number of available combat troops in the pursuit. He bases the details of his plan on the enemy's anticipated actions, the combat formation of the attacking troops, and the amount of planning time available. The commander also considers—
Possible routes the enemy might use to conduct his retrograde operations.
Availability of his intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to detect enemy forces and acquire targets in depth.
Scheme of maneuver.
Availability and condition of pursuit routes.
Availability of forces to keep the pressure on the enemy until his destruction is complete.
Critical terrain features.
Use of reconnaissance and security forces.
Allocation of precision-guided munitions and aviation support.
Availability of CS and CSS resources.
Pursuit planning must address the possibility of defending temporarily during operational pauses while making preparations to continue the pursuit or to consolidate gains. However, the use of an operational pause generally results in the abandonment of the pursuit because the enemy is able to use that time to organize a coherent defense.
7-19. The commander must specifically address how to detect the enemy retrograde operations; otherwise, the enemy may succeed in breaking contact. The commander relies on active reconnaissance, an understanding of enemy tactics, and knowledge of the current tactical situation. He must watch for signs that indicate the enemy is preparing to conduct a retrograde, such as when the enemy—
Lacks the capability to maintain his position or cohesion.
Conducts limited local counterattacks.
Intensifies his reconnaissance and intelligence efforts.
Increases the amount of rearward movements and changes the type of elements conducting them, especially by fire support and reserves.
Prepares his facilities, installations, equipment, and supply stock-piles for demolition and destruction.
Decreases fire in intensity and effectiveness through the AO.
Increases his fires in one or more individual sectors of the front, which does not appear to be in accordance with the developing situation, and at a time when the amount of defensive fires seems to be decreasing.
The presence or absence of any of the above signs may not necessarily indicate the start of a retrograde operation. The enemy could be attempting to draw friendly forces into an ambush or setting up a counterattack as part of his defense. The decision of when to start a pursuit is part of the art of tactics.
7-20. When the commander initiates a pursuit, he often creates the encircling force from uncommitted or reserve elements. Normally, these forces do not have fire support assets allocated to them. The commander must plan how to redistribute his fire support assets to properly support the encircling force. Attack helicopters and close air support are well suited to support the encircling force.
7-21. Engineer mobility and countermobility assets are instrumental in sustaining the rate of advance and hindering the enemy's withdrawal. Engineers prepare the route of advance and support the lateral dispersion of units transitioning to the pursuit and the movement of the reserve. During the pursuit, the commander must plan for his engineers to provide assault bridging and emergency road repairs to sustain the tempo of the pursuit. The commander also plans to use his engineer assets to block any bypassed enemy's withdrawal routes by using antitank and command-operated mines, demolitions, and obstacles.
7-22. Logistics units should plan for increases in the demand for fuel and maintenance as the tempo of operations increases. In the pursuit, priority of logistics normally goes to units having the greatest success. Logistics planners need to anticipate success since the depth of the pursuit depends on the capability of logistics assets to support the operation. The logistics elements supporting the pursuing force should be as mobile as possible. Logistics planners are particularly concerned with supporting the encircling force, such as casualty evacuation over possibly unsecured LOCs. The commander may need aerial resupply or heavily guarded convoys to support this force. Security for logistics convoys and LOCs are major planning considerations.
7-23. The commander uses all available logistics assets to provide essential support to the force pursuing the enemy. His pursuit plan must result in a force prepared to conduct wide-ranging operations using all available maneuver assets throughout his AO to complete the destruction and morale collapse of the enemy force.
7-24. The decisive operation in a pursuit destroys the withdrawing enemy. This generally occurs as a result of encircling the enemy between the direct-pressure and the encircling forces or a major geographic barrier—such as an unfordable river—and his defeat in detail. The timely and correct decision to initiate a pursuit is critical to its success. If the enemy begins a retrograde undetected, he avoids the constant pressure that results in disrupting that operation. The commander expects the enemy forces to conduct retrograde operations at times advantageous to them—usually at night or during bad weather.
7-25. A pursuit is often conducted as a series of encirclements in which successive portions of the fleeing enemy are intercepted, cut off from outside support, and captured or destroyed. (Appendix D discusses encirclement operations.) The direct-pressure force conducts a series of hasty attacks to destroy the enemy's rear security force, maintain constant pressure on the enemy's main body, and slow the enemy's withdrawal. At every opportunity, the direct-pressure force fixes, slows down, and destroys enemy elements, provided such actions do not interfere with its primary mission of maintaining constant pressure on the enemy's main body. The direct-pressure force can bypass large enemy forces if it can hand them off to follow and support units, or if they do not pose a risk to the direct-pressure force.
7-26. As soon as the commander designates a unit as the encircling force and directs its actions, the force moves as swiftly as possible by the most advantageous routes to cut off the enemy's retreat. If the encircling force cannot move farther and faster than the enemy, it attacks the enemy's main body from the flank. When this occurs, the commander should constitute and dispatch a new encircling force.
7-27. At the first indication of an enemy retrograde, the brigade or lower-echelon commander who discovers the enemy's rearward movement acts to maintain contact with the enemy across a wide area without waiting for orders from higher headquarters. This ensures that the enemy does not break contact and conduct an orderly retirement. These forces in contact constitute the nucleus of the direct-pressure force. As the situation permits, they reform into a movement column with reconnaissance and security elements in the lead and, if necessary, to the flank.
7-28. During a pursuit, the reconnaissance effort is intensive. Reconnaissance elements concentrate on all routes the enemy could use when conducting a retrograde operation. These elements provide information on the disposition of retreating enemy formations and on the forward movement of his reserves as the pursuit develops. The tactical situation during a pursuit may become obscure because of its potential depth. Much of the combat information needed during a pursuit is located behind the fleeing enemy force. Therefore, air reconnaissance, backed by technical intelligence systems, is vital to the overall reconnaissance effort. It can determine—
The beginning of the rearward movement of enemy sustainment forces.
The composition of retrograding forces and their direction of movement.
The composition and direction of enemy reserve forces moving forward.
The nature of obstacles and intermediate defensive positions.
Information about fresh enemy reserves and prepared positions is vital at the stage when a pursuit force may be approaching a culminating point; it may be the basis for terminating the pursuit.
7-29. The primary mission of the encircling force's reconnaissance assets is to find routes for the encircling force to allow it to move behind withdrawing enemy units and establish blocking positions. This mission may force these reconnaissance assets to operate outside the supporting range of the main body as they try to maneuver behind the retrograding enemy force. The encircling force avoids combat when possible until it reaches its assigned objective area. However, en route to its objective, it overruns any small enemy positions while bypassing larger enemy units. Forward security elements of the encircling force conduct activities to prevent the enemy from interfering with the forward movement of the encircling force's main body. These security elements move rapidly along all available roads or routes and overrun or bypass small enemy pockets of resistance. If they encounter strongly held enemy positions, they attempt to find routes around or through these positions. The encircling force can then avoid these enemy positions and occupy blocking positions before withdrawing enemy forces can reach them. If necessary, the encircling force organizes a hasty defense behind the enemy to block his retreat.
7-30. Keeping the enemy from reconstituting an effective defense is critical to success. Constant pressure by direct-pressure forces and echelon fire support systems disrupts and weakens the enemy. The commander uses lethal and nonlethal direct and indirect fires to keep pressure on the enemy. The enemy commander must not be allowed to freely adjust his dispositions to counter the actions of the friendly force. Artillery fire and air strikes harass and disrupt the enemy's attempts to move engaged forces to the rear or bring previously uncommitted forces into action. In a pursuit, decisive operations may include the ground maneuver of the direct-pressure or the encircling force. Fire support targets in a pursuit include fires on enemy columns and troop or vehicle concentrations at road junctions, defiles, bridges, and river crossings. They also include the repulsion of enemy counterattacks, destruction or delay of enemy reserves, and destruction of the enemy's fire support means. The commander conducts offensive information operations against the enemy's command and control (C2) system as an integral part of this disruption process, with emphasis on destroying or degrading the enemy's capability to reconstitute and synchronize an effective defense.
7-31. Using movement and fire effects or fire potential, the commander fixes a withdrawing enemy. If the direct-pressure force disrupts the enemy's C2 system, his ability to counter friendly efforts is significantly degraded, and the goal of fixing the enemy is much easier to accomplish.
7-32. The enemy attempts to use his reserves to restore the integrity of his defenses or prevent his withdrawing force from being overrun. Fixing enemy reserves is essential to the pursuit's success and is normally the focus of echelon shaping operations. The direct-pressure force fixes enemy reserves in place or slows them down so that they remain outside supporting distance until the withdrawing enemy force is completely annihilated.
7-33. To execute the pursuit, the commander normally combines a frontal pursuit with an encirclement. The direct-pressure force conducting the frontal pursuit advances in a column formation as quickly as possible. After a penetration, existing gaps between the different units of the direct-pressure force are likely to increase in size. Aware of the vulnerability of his open flanks in this situation, the commander must deploy his reserves where they can respond to dangers on his flanks. He does not expect a uniform rate of advance on all axes. Some columns may move rapidly while others are still engaged in penetrating the enemy's rear guard defensive positions or meeting enemy counterattacks.
7-34. The actions of the direct-pressure force should facilitate the commitment of an encircling force that moves parallel to the rearward-moving enemy. The depth of the pursuit depends on the size of the forces involved. It takes a division-level or higher commander to make the decision to initiate a pursuit because of the resources necessary to conduct a pursuit. The commander directing the initiation of a pursuit informs his higher commander of his intentions. This allows even greater resources to be devoted to the pursuit and avoids desynchronizing the higher headquarters' major operation or campaign.
7-35. The direct-pressure force normally employs an advance guard to prevent the enemy from ambushing the main body of the direct-pressure force and to overrun or bypass small enemy forces. The security element moves on multiple avenues of advance. If it encounters enemy units beyond its capacity to defeat, it conducts actions on contact to develop the situation. The commander uses combat information provided by these actions on contact to guide the main body of the direct-pressure force to destroy withdrawing enemy forces. These actions of the direct-pressure force may or may not be in conjunction with the actions of any encircling force.
7-36. The commander does everything possible to place his encircling force behind the withdrawing enemy and trap the bulk of that enemy force between the encircling force and the direct-pressure force. The direct-pressure force maintains enough pressure on the withdrawing enemy force so the encircling force can envelop it. To perform this task, the direct-pressure force must be strong enough to overcome any enemy rear guard before the enemy's main body can make a successful withdrawal. Once in position, the encircling force defends or attacks as necessary, responding to the enemy's actions and those of the direct-pressure force to complete the enemy's encirclement.
7-37. The pursuing force must not give the enemy time to reorganize for an all-around defense after it is encircled. If the enemy forms a perimeter, the pursuing commander must repeatedly split it into smaller elements until he destroys the encircled enemy force. If time is not critical, the commander can keep the encirclement closed, defeat enemy breakout attempts, and weaken the enemy by fires alone. He can greatly accelerate the collapse of a large, encircled enemy force by using psychological operations, precision-guided weapons, and improved conventional munitions in mass. (Appendix D addresses the reduction of an encircled enemy force.) If the resulting encirclement does not destroy the withdrawing enemy force, the commander conducts additional pursuit operations until the enemy is destroyed.
7-38. Once the commander initiates a pursuit, he continues pursuing the enemy until a higher commander terminates the pursuit. Conditions under which a higher commander may terminate a pursuit include the following—
The pursuing force annihilates or captures the enemy and resistance ceases.
The pursuing force fixes the enemy for follow-on forces.
The high commander makes an assessment that the pursuing force is about to reach a culminating point.
7-39. A pursuit often transitions into other types of offensive and defensive operations. If the enemy attempts to reorganize, forces conducting a pursuit execute hasty attacks. They conduct an exploitation to capitalize on the success of these attacks and then move back into pursuit. Forces conducting a pursuit may also transition into a defensive operation if the pursuing force reaches a culminating point. This usually occurs when the enemy introduces strong reinforcements to prepare for a counteroffensive.
|Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list| | <urn:uuid:74a08625-8252-4350-b1db-19fc20d1e34f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-90/ch7.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936153 | 5,699 | 3.109375 | 3 |
PREDATORS: Remove the world's large predators and herbivores and what do you have? Trouble, according to a report from an international team of 24 leading scientists, including William Ripple, an Oregon State University forestry professor and director of OSU's Trophic Cascades Program.
According to "Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth," published last week in the journal Science, the decline of large predators and herbivores worldwide has substantially changed terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Their loss "may be humankind's most pervasive influence on nature," the paper says.
Science Daily quotes Ripple: "We now have overwhelming evidence that large predators are hugely important in the function of nature, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains, the tropics to the Arctic ... the collapse of these ecosystems has reached a point where this doesn't just affect wolves or aspen trees, deforestation or soil or water. These predators and processes ultimately protect humans. This isn't just about them, it's about us."
How did they evolve? What's their purpose? Why grow a perfectly good pair of antlers only to shed them and grow another?
Edward Byrd Davis, a University of Oregon paleontologist, gives the heady topic plenty of thought in a paper he co-authored, and which recently appeared online ahead of regular publication in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, an international biology journal.
Better understanding of the evolutionary origins of animal headgear, Davis writes, might lead to innovations in medical treatments for such conditions as burns, bone cancer and osteoporosis.
ELEPHANTS: The Seattle Times this week explains Woodland Park Zoo's nearly 20-year effort to impregnate Chai, a 32-year-old Asian elephant, through artificial insemination. After at least 50 attempts -- the first involving a bull elephant sperm donor from Portland's zoo -- she's never produced offspring from such donations.Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo., where she mated the old-fashioned way. Her offspring, Hansa, died at 6 1/2 after a brief illness.
Animal activists routinely pressure North American zoos to give up breeding efforts and move their elephants to sanctuaries. But like the Oregon Zoo, Woodland Park puts a high priority on breeding, citing a 2004 study in the journal Zoo Biology that indicated North America's captive elephant population could die out in 50 years without aggressive breeding programs.
OIL SPILL VICTIMS: Officials early this week were trying to capture and clean almost 20 animals, including a bald eagle, that might have been harmed by a broken Exxon Mobil pipeline that spilled an estimated 1,000 barrels of oil into Montana's Yellowstone River, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported early this week that 19 oiled animals had been seen but not captured. Crews had collected 10 dead animals for analysis, and another five had been captured for cleaning and care.
Most of the animals affected are birds and fish but also include a fox and beaver.
The pipe that runs under the waterway near Billings failed July 1. | <urn:uuid:c18c4b68-e7c1-4e56-8fae-1d1edb3871b3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/07/animal_nature_destruction_of_w.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950292 | 640 | 3.390625 | 3 |
May 30, 2012 —
They’re probably not going to be farmers, but they’ll learn in school what is involved in growing a crop. In this instance, the school is the Stourbridge Primary Center and the crop is lettuce.
Every second grader in the school visited the school garden every week, learned about lettuce and how to plant it, water it, measure the amount of rainfall that fell, nurture it, watch it grow from week to week while at the same time learning the math, reading, science and history related to growing things.
“This is an interdisciplinary program where students use math to measure the rainfall and measure how long their plant leaves are, learn science in what a plant is, develop reading skills in the stories about farming and growing, learn history about the way farming developed and the history of lettuce,” said Paula Brennan, the principal. “But mostly, it’s about the joys of growing plants and working in the garden.”
Terry Ritter, the Title One reading teacher, helped the students with reading and science activities that were related to growing lettuce.
As the end of the school year approaches, the students went into the garden and harvested the lettuce, washed it and ate it for lunch. There was enough to feed all the students.
John Jose, of Otter Creek Environmental Educational Service, developed the program. Members of the school PTA, members of Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture and members of Transition Honesdale, a local group that encourages sustainable living, aided Jose.
“We had help from a group of employees of Home Depot in Honesdale who donated their time preparing the raised beds and providing some of the garden equipment,” Jose said. “The wood that frames the beds was sawed by the middle school students in their wood shop class.”
“It’s a wonderful way to teach the children the growing process, to learn about it in the classroom and then come out in the real garden and actually do it,” said Kim Modrovsky, a member of the PTA board.
“It’s great to see kids eat healthily by growing their own product and encourage buying produce locally,” said Richelle Stevens of Stevens Pharmacy, whose son was in the program last year.
“We want to develop a garden in every school in the district,” said Bill Templeton, an organizer for the local chapter of Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). “We started a garden in the high school today.” | <urn:uuid:e3461323-2e14-4b3b-a801-16c7864234e7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://riverreporter.com/print/news/14/2012/05/30/elementary-students-learn-about-crops | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964214 | 537 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Monday, April 18, 2011
Feminist Passover Thoughts
The first women in the Passover story are Shifra and Puah, the midwives that refused to listen to Pharaoh and kill all the Jewish baby boys. There are several different opinions as to their true identities. One commentator identifies them as Jochebed and Miriam, Moses’ mother and sister; another feels that Shifra was indeed Jochebed, but that Puah was Elisheba, Aaron’s wife. Other commentaries feel that they were just random women, one opinion even saying that the two were Egyptian rather than Jewish. Whoever they were, they were amazingly strong: they could have easily been killed for their rebellion against the Pharaoh’s orders. To celebrate these amazing women, Brandeis University established the Shifra and Puah award in the 1970s for people who fought injustice. Not only did they save the children’s physical bodies, but they also nourished their souls, passing on Judaism to the next generation. They teach us an important lesson: without one half of the Jewish nation active, we cannot continue, whether that half is male or female.
Jochebed, Moses’ mother, is another important figure. Since the Egyptians wanted to kill all the Jewish baby boys, they tracked the pregnancies of all the Jewish women to ensure no infant boy would live. She gave birth earlier than expected. Taking advantage of the gift from God, she put Moses in a basket on the Nile and prayed that he would fall into good hands. We must learn from Jochebed that when God hands us an opportunity, we must use it to the fullest extent possible.
Pharaoh’s daughter, named Batya, was the one who found Moses in the Nile. There is an opinion that she was walking by the Nile in order to dip herself in the Nile as a mikvah (ritual bath), the last part of the conversion process. When she found Moses and saw he was circumcised, she knew he was a Jew. Because of her recent conversion, she knew it was God’s will that she adopt him, despite the fact that her father was an anti-Semite that wanted to destroy the Jews. Because she saved his life, and by extension the Jewish people, she is one of the nine people that entered the World to Come alive. From Batya we see that no matter how bad our family is, we must pursue what we perceive is the right way to go.
Moses’ sister Miriam is one of the most well-known women of Tanakh (the Jewish Bible). After Pharaoh declared that all the Jewish boys should be killed, Amram, her father, divorced Jochebed, since he didn’t want her to give birth to a son destined to die. Miriam criticized him, saying that his decree was harsher than Pharaoh’s: he was stopping the birth of girls, too! Because of her words, Amram and Jochebed remarried, conceiving Moses. Commentators say that she was as young as five when she said this to her father, a spiritual giant and leader of the generation. Once Moses was born, she watched him as he floated in his basket along the Nile. When she saw that Batya took him, she brought her mother to the palace, and Jochebed offered to be Moses’ wet nurse. Opinions differ as to whether Batya knew Jochebed was his biological mother or not. We hear nothing about Miriam until the Jews are freed from Egypt, and Moses begins singing the Song of the Sea. Miriam sang a parallel song for the women. Virtually every commentator has a different opinion as to how exactly Moses’ and Miriam’s songs worked. For example, one says that Moses sang a line and then Miriam repeated it for the women, and another opines that Moses sang the entire song, and then Miriam repeated it for the women. To celebrate this strong woman, many feminists put a Cup of Miriam on the Seder table. Miriam’s entire life shows us that women must be included in Judaism to the same extent that men are.
The fact that women are so involved in the Passover story shows us that women must be just as involved in the Seder and the holiday in general. We must participate in the retelling of the Jews’ redemption from Egypt, we must question, we must listen to the answers. If we don’t, then what has the feminist movement done? If we’re not as active as the men at the Seder table, if we don’t take advantage of the opportunities given to us, don’t follow the right path, and don’t push for continued inclusion, we are not continuing the legacy of the women of Passover. It is our inheritance. We must accept it with all of our hearts. If we don’t, we are lost. | <urn:uuid:fd2a4e84-21de-4995-97ef-103b491b0641> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://starofdavida.blogspot.com/2011/04/feminist-passover-thoughts.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979242 | 1,029 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Sydney Morning Herald
George Church, a genetics professor of Harvard School of Medicine, said that the process was possible and that far from being brutal and primitive, Neanderthals were intelligent beings.
They are believed to be one of the relatives of modern man and became extinct 33,000 years ago. He added that altering the human genome could also provide the answers to curing diseases such as cancer and HIV, and hold the key to living to 120.
He told Der Spiegel, the German magazine: "I have already managed to attract enough DNA from fossil bones to reconstruct the DNA of the human species largely extinct. Now I need an adventurous female human."
They're more than "relatives". They're blood relatives, unless you're African
according to other research.
Jurassic Park? Or more Mad Science with publicists? OK, let’s look at the criteria so far:
An extinct species is to be revived. It’s 33,000 years out of date with its immune system alone.
Arguments for creating a Neanderthal baby include its cranium size. This is a particularly strange scientific theory, bordering on phrenology, the study of bumps on the head, long discredited. An efficient organism doesn’t necessarily waste space. Quite the opposite, evolution refines organisms and reduces volumes as they become more efficient. Ants have tiny brains, but they can function in an extremely complex, highly reactive environment.
Curing diseases? How? Has anyone ever checked for signs of diseases to which Neanderthals were subject
? Yep, including a disease called “Mad Neanderthal” disease, rickets, and others. Church talks about re-engineering Neanderthals, but re-engineering them from what base? Why assume they can fix our problems when they didn’t fix their own?
So we’re not talking about supermen. We’re talking about a human species which didn’t get through the evolutionary/environmental high school. Would Neanderthals survive common diseases like measles, flu, etc. in a pure genetic state? Doesn’t seem likely, does it?
The other agenda- Cloning humans
This is where science gives way to possible big ways of making money and expedient laws. Cloning of humans is illegal in most countries. That in turn means that you can create an “illegal” human being with cloning. The clone’s rights are already compromised. In the hands of scientists of dubious character, could a clone be safe? Would the law recognize the rights of the clone? How could it, if cloning is illegal?
There’s a much less benevolent side to cloning humans. Who benefits? The clones probably don’t. Being a potential spare parts factory for another individual is hardly a great career path.
The trouble with science is its incredible naiveté. Like a B movie, there are scientists who simply refuse to consider the dangers of their work. Science was wrong-footed by the lawyers on intellectual property, bamboozled by corporates on how research was used, and in many cases corrupted.
Cloning humans could be a big cash cow for a lot of vested interests. Imagine Monsanto on the subject of GM humans, for example. This stunningly unoriginal idea has been around for ages, but put it in the marketplace and what happens?
The New Smart Clone App? See what your clone has been arrested for!
The insurer’s dream? Sorry, no life insurance payout, we’ll just re-install you into this clone.
A support industry where anyone can get bits replaced at their corner shop? “I’d like a few kilos of sperm, please, some free range human eggs and some margarine…”
Rent a Carcass?
If you’re looking for a way to dehumanize humans, even more so than now, this is it. There are no controls, no safeguards and only a tatty looking bit of legislation that says cloning humans is illegal. Watch the lawyers go to work on that one. If clones are people, they deserve legal protection, and it’s quite obvious there are reasons for them not getting it.
I’ll give Church credit for a sense of humor, intentional or otherwise:
"When the time comes to deal with an epidemic or getting off the planet or whatever, it's conceivable that their way of thinking could be beneficial. They could maybe even create a new neo-Neanderthal culture and become a political force. The main goal is to increase diversity. The one thing that is bad for society is low diversity."
A political force more Neanderthal than now? Hilarious. As for diversity, try telling that to the nuts who want a human species comprised of Awestruck Media Presenters and Master Race of Godlike Corporate Interviewees.
Somebody just reminded me that when the original Neanderthal frozen corpse was found, lots of people volunteered to have his baby. Scratch the dating agencies, just phone the Smithsonian. Or watch the Flintstones. Or join a political party and opt out of evolution altogether. | <urn:uuid:a46d6d42-fae8-434a-ad39-65cd84dcee38> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/341845 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957423 | 1,068 | 2.9375 | 3 |
This book looks at an issue which is at the heart of every classroom – the role that talk plays in children’s learning. Drawing on a substantial research base, the book provides useful suggestions to facilitate successful talk between teachers and children to improve learning and raise standards.
This book discusses learning and teaching with modern technology in the new knowledge society. It focuses specifically on new literacy and technology in classroom environments. Based on a social-constructivist approach, this book covers a wide range of new technology use examples, such as participatory media, video recording systems and 3D computer graphics. A case study on a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, especially CSCL (computer supported collaborative learning), is discussed from a practical perspective for educators.
This book formulates a greater understanding of how to enable a capacity for building social professional practice related to technology-enriched teaching and learning (TETL) specific, but not limited to, educational settings. This book comes at a time when many in education are struggling to provide a technology enriched learning experience for students who are entering classrooms with high expectations for such an experience.
Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications
The updated Eleventh Edition of Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications introduces research mainly at a how-to skill and application level. A total instructional system, the book includes stated learning outcomes, instruction, and procedures for evaluating each outcome. It supports readers as they develop expertise in research, learning key concepts and skills and becoming involved in the research process itself. The authors take a down-to-earth approach that helps the reader become both an educational researcher and a competent consumer of educational research.
For undergraduate courses on the principles of marketing. An Introduction to the World of Marketing Using a Proven, Practical, and Engaging Approach, Marketing: An Introduction shows students how customer value—creating it and capturing it—drives every effective marketing strategy. Using an organization and learning design that includes real-world examples and information that help bring marketing to life, the text gives readers everything they need to know about marketing in an effective and engaging total learning package.
Silberberg's Principles of General Chemistry offers students the same authoritative topic coverage as its parent text, Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change. The Principles text allows for succinct coverage of content with minimal emphasis on pedagogic learning aids. This more streamlined approach to learning appeals to today's efficiency-minded, value-conscious instructors and students without sacrificing depth, clarity, or rigor.
For 30 years, Tech & Learning has served the K-12 education community with practical resources and expert strategies for transforming education through integration of digital technologies. Tech & Learning is often used as a professional development tool to help educators across the board get up to speed with the newest technologies and products in order to best prepare students for the global digital workforce. | <urn:uuid:d8b457dd-8b87-42a6-9c7a-6ac5e0ed6444> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://englishtips.org/tags/Learning | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00178-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933838 | 582 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Jane G. Gravelle discusses patterns of federal spending and taxes and compares different approaches to debt reduction.
Addressing a federal budget deficit that is unsustainable over the long run involves choices about providing public goods, making transfers, supporting state and local governments, and raising taxes. A start on addressing the federal budget deficit has been adopted in the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25) and the future growth in debt is also relevant to considering expiring tax cuts.
A small share of federal spending is for direct provision of domestic government services, which many people may think of when considering federal spending. Since this spending is normally about 10% of total federal spending and about 2% of GDP and deficits excluding interest are projected to be as much as 6.6% of GDP by 2035, cutting this type of spending can make only a limited contribution. Transfers and payments to persons and state and local governments constitute most of federal spending, about 70%. Defense spending, currently accounting for about 20% of spending, has declined over the past 35 years, but also tends to vary depending, in part, on the presence and magnitude of international conflicts. | <urn:uuid:da1cead0-fc76-43af-a438-cb50ecd0cdf1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cfr.org/united-states/congressional-research-service-addressing-long-run-budget-deficit/p26524 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00103-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957749 | 234 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Have you ever intuited that the way women think can actually change the world? Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher would say that you're absolutely right:
Men and women are like two feet; they can help each other get ahead. And, in part, this is because they have different ways of thinking. Women, on average, collect more bits of data, assemble that data into more complex patterns, and weigh more options as they make decisions. Women tend to see the big picture; they generalize and synthesize as they consider webs of factors—what I call "web thinking." Men, on the other hand, get to the point. Typically, they are more likely to focus on what they consider relevant, then ponder in a more linear progression: "step thinking." Both approaches have merit. Each has been traced, respectively, to the hormones estrogen and testosterone. And each evolved millions of years ago as women did more multitasking to rear the young, while men spent more time zeroing in on one thing at a time—often hunting game.
Web thinking has its payoffs—among them women's intuition, imagination, and natural aptitude for long-term planning and networking. No wonder we're headed for a powerful role in the world.
Why? Because the world is coming around to our way of thinking. Communication itself has taken a weblike turn as social networking and collaborative enterprises like Wikipedia become part of our daily lives. Business has also begun to favor women's strong suits. Globalization requires taking a broad contextual and long-term view. And with our growing concern over healthcare, poverty, and the state of the planet, creative thinking is currently in high demand.
Women, it turns out, are built to lead—particularly in the modern world.
— Helen Fisher | <urn:uuid:a9c4b5db-3eae-4364-8fa3-e2762eba7c8f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oprah.com/money/8-Ways-of-Looking-at-Power-Women-and-Power/6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00080-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956853 | 361 | 2.578125 | 3 |
What is lumbar spinal canal stenosis?
The lumbar spinal canal is the space inside the lower spine that carries nerves to your legs. It is very narrow. Over the course of many years, the bone and tissue around the canal grow, causing the canal to become even more narrow over time. This narrowing is called "stenosis." As the lumbar spinal canal narrows, the nerves that go through it are squeezed. This squeezing may cause back pain, leg pain and weakness.
Arthritis, falls, accidents, and wear and tear on the spine's bones and joints can also cause lumbar spinal canal stenosis.
Is lumbar spinal canal stenosis the same as a ruptured disk?
Lumbar spinal canal stenosis is not the same as a ruptured disk. A ruptured or "herniated" disk usually pinches 1 or 2 nerves at a time. The pain caused by a ruptured disk in the lumbar spine is usually easy to diagnose and is known as sciatica. Sciatica usually causes back pain that shoots down one leg along the path of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica can happen any time, not just when you stand up or start walking like it does with stenosis.
Written by familydoctor.org editorial staff | <urn:uuid:f7a4d3d1-d3e0-459c-ab14-d1bf863f75f0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/lumbar-spinal-canal-stenosis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00039-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953923 | 268 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Ocean trench conservation
- M. V. Angel
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Considerable concern has been recently expressed in conservation circles about the potential threat to oceanic trench ecosystems. Here, the geological origin in environmental characteristics and biological significance of the trenches are reviewed.
Each trench provides a unique and isolated habitat, consequently endemicity has been found to be high at the specific level in each trench that has been adequately studied. However, the remoteness from primary food sources greatly reduces the richness of the fauna.
The physical instability of trench habitats deriving from their high level of seismic activity, will result in the organisms being pre-adapted to mechanical disturbance. The main threats are either direct through poisoning by toxic chemicals or indirect through the decoupling of the trench habitat from its primary food source, or reduction in oxygen levels caused either by eutrophication or reduction in flushing rates.
Only direct threats are considered as being at all dangerous, and any incident would be restricted to a single trench system. these threats could be reduced by rerouting vessels carrying toxic cargoes and by improving the effectiveness of the London Dumping Convention.
The internationally agreed criteria for the selection of sites for any proposed seabed disposal of radioactive waste exclude the use of trenches for this purpose.
- Ocean trench conservation
Volume 2, Issue 1-2 , pp 1-17
- Cover Date
- Print ISSN
- Online ISSN
- Kluwer Academic Publishers
- Additional Links
- Industry Sectors | <urn:uuid:681f1d10-38b8-4fb6-b1f8-32ce456a970c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02340472 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921345 | 329 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Vaccinium myrsinites Lam.
Shiny blueberry, Evergreen blueberry
Ericaceae (Heath Family)
Synonym(s): Cyanococcus myrsinites, Vaccinium nitidum
USDA Symbol: VAMY3
The Shiny Blueberry is a member of the heath family (family Ericaceae) which is widespread, especially on acid soils, with about 1500 species, mostly shrubs, sometimes trees; 15 native tree and many native shrub species in North America. Leaves: usually alternate, simple, elliptical, and not toothed often thick and evergreen, without stipules.
From the Image Gallery
Bloom InformationBloom Color: White , Pink
Value to Beneficial InsectsSpecial Value to Native Bees
This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
National Wetland Indicator Status
From the National Organizations DirectoryAccording to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:
Mt. Cuba Center - Hockessin, DE
BibliographyBibref 1620 - Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Reprint Edition) (2009) Wasowski, S. with A. Wasowski
Search More Titles in Bibliography
Research LiteratureReslit 850 - Value of various taxa in breeding tetraploid blueberries in Florida (1997) P. M. Lyrene
Reslit 1287 - Testing control sites for fire ecology research (2010) J. L. Silva-Lugo and G. W. Tanner
Reslit 1354 - Elevated CO2 lowers relative and absolute herbivore density across all species of a scrub-oak forest (2003) P. Stiling, D. C. Moon, M. D. Hunter, J. Colson, A...
Reslit 1948 - Native Vaccinium spp. and Gaylussacia spp. infested by Rhagoletis mendax (Diptera : Tephritidae) in the Great Lakes region: A potential source of inoculum for infestation of cultivated blueberries (2001) J. J. Smith, V. Gavrilovic and D. R. Smitley
Reslit 2447 - Life history strategies of Florida scrub plants in relation to fire (1995) E. S. Menges, N. Kohfeldt
Reslit 2605 - Post-fire growth strategies of resprouting Florida scrub vegetation (2011) A. J. Maguire, E. S. Menges
Reslit 2608 - Patterns of reproductive effort with time since last fire in Florida scrub plants (1994) R. Ostertag, E. S. Menges
This information was provided by the Florida WIldflower Foundation.
Search More Titles in Research Literature
Additional resourcesUSDA: Find Vaccinium myrsinites in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Vaccinium myrsinites in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Vaccinium myrsinites
MetadataRecord Modified: 2014-09-05
Research By: TWC Staff | <urn:uuid:de093593-7a0f-4057-84d5-b609fd0c0904> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VAMY3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00047-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.747767 | 661 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Blue Lake in New Zealand is a naturally clear expanse of water and has visibility to 80 meters, which is as clear as distilled water.
Acorn woodpeckers spend their time collecting acorns, drilling holes in firs, and then popping the acorns in the holes for safe keeping.
These ice flowers form when plant stems and roots are not fully frozen but contain a lot of moistiure. As the moisture travels up the stem it freezes and creates layers of ice.
The Sinabung volcano began erupting in September 2013 but the most violent phase of the eruption only started two weeks ago. Over 25,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes for safety.
This phenomenon happens only once a decade in the Arizona Grand Canyon.
In the area of Slope Point, New Zealand the wind is so violent and persistent that the trees get twisted and bent along the direction the wind blows.
The storm winds reached 71 mph in the city on Friday and the rain flooded parts of the Las Vegas strip, affecting as many as 33,000 people with power outages.
Pictures show this Antheraea Polyphemus caterpillar as it changes into a silk moth.
This popular tourist destination in Hinatuan, Mindanao, Philippines, is a crystal clear, Enchanted River, which looks almost surreal and seems to contain further mysteries beneath.
Take a closer look at this living river in Java, Indonesia. | <urn:uuid:ddcf1efe-7d67-4111-a0b5-017db9165579> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://izismile.com/lifestyle/nature/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00116-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937594 | 295 | 2.671875 | 3 |
July 25, 2012, by Jeroen Beekmans
3D printing is on the rise, and it will not only affect design and architecture. Recently we stumbled upon an interesting article on Inhabitat that describes the ambitious idea by Lee Cronin, a chemist at the University of Glasgow, to build a 3D printer that is able to print medicines.
In his speech at TEDGlobal last month, Cronin explains that won’t be impossible to create a device that produces molecules. In his scenario, pharmacists would be able to download plans for assorted drugs and print them out on site. | <urn:uuid:a0befa27-0696-4aee-ad34-98d80dad50a9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://archis.org/n/volume/2012/07/3d-printed-medicines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935111 | 124 | 2.765625 | 3 |
British Insects: the Families of Diptera
Life style parasitic (perhaps sometimes, in the larval stage), or non-parasitic; on if genuinely parasitic, slugs and snails and Arthropods in general (?).
Adult insects. Small to large; robustly-built. Antennae 2–6 segmented; modified; aristate; the arista dorsal (basally plumose or not). The second antennal segment distinctly grooved above. Ptilinal suture clearly defined. Mouthparts functional; non-piercing. The maxillary palps 1 segmented; porrect. Thorax with the dorsal suture continuous across the middle; with well defined posterior calli. Postscutellum absent or weakly developed. Hypopleural bristles present. The post-humeral bristle located on the thorax higher than or level with the pre-sutural bristle. Wings with a discal cell; with a subapical cell; with a closed anal cell. The anal cell short. The costa unbroken. Sub-costa apparent; reaching the costa independently of vein 1. Wings exhibiting a sharp bend in vein 4; without a vena spuria; with a well developed lower calypter. Hind tibiae with strong bristles in the basal 4/5. Neither parasitic nor predatory.
Larvae and pupae. The larvae terrestrial; phytophagous, or saprophagous, or coprophagous, or parasitic (having been sometimes bred from insects and snails, but such cases may represent necrophagy rather than genuine parasitism); acephalic. The pupae enclosed within a puparium.
Comments. Non-metallic, mostly grey flies, with a chequered or tesselated appearance and bright red eyes.
Classification. Suborder Brachycera; Division Muscomorpha Schizophora Calyptratae; Superfamily Oestroidea.
British representation. 59 species in Britain. Genera 15; Agria, Amobia, Angiometopa, Blaesoxipha, Brachicoma, Macronychia, Metopia, Miltogramma, Nyctia, Oebalia, Pterella, Ravinia, Sarcophaga (35–40 species), Sarcophila, Senotainia.
Illustrations. • Miltogramma punctata (Colletes' Attendant, or Bees'-nest Fly: B. Ent. 529). • Miltogramma punctata (detail: B. Ent. 529). • Miltogramma punctata (dissections: B. Ent. 529). • Miltogramma punctata (B. Ent. 529, legend+text). • Miltogramma punctata (text, cont.: B. Ent. 529). • Sarcophaga carnaria (from Walker).
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Diptera. Version: 1st January 2012. http://delta-intkey.com’. | <urn:uuid:136def92-ed68-4657-814c-1a90af3b9c0e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://delta-intkey.com/britin/dip/www/sarcopha.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.79373 | 717 | 2.84375 | 3 |
myfunc (int a)
return a + 2;
main (int argc, char *argv)
printf ("myfunc(2)= %d\n", myfunc (2));
As you can guess, this function will return "4".
Parameter "a" was definitely "passed by value" ...
... and function "myfunc()" definitely returns an "int" ...
... but I wouldn't see the value 4 was "returned by value". I'd merely say "function 'myfunc ()' returned an int".
This applies equally to C and C++.
The big differences here are:
1) C++ absolutely *requires* you to specify the return value type (or specify "void" if there is *no* return value), classic "C" would default to "return int". You should *always* explicitly declare your return value, in *both* C and C++. Whether you get a compile error or not
2) C++ would allow either/both the parameter and/or return value to be a reference ("&"). C doesn't support references (at least not the last time I looked). Pointers: yes. References: no.
'Hope that helps .. PSM
No, there's no "extra memory space". An integer return value is usually copied to a register (for example, "eax" for an Intel CPU). | <urn:uuid:e2c4b07a-960b-4233-81d3-268d0625c453> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/programming-9/local-variables-anomaly-796824/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.761741 | 294 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Suppose engineers built a cylinder-shaped space ship which rotates to create artificial gravity:
__________________ /<-b \ \ / \ \ -----> a \ / / \_b->/_____________/
The space ship uses a rocket to travel through space in the direction of
a. Smaller nozzles ensure that the space ship rotates in in the direction indicated by
- If the space ship wants to travel in a straight line, without stopping, would the astronauts need to frequently turn on the smaller nozzles to keep the space ship rotating at the proper speed or would the space ship constantly rotate at the same speed forever?
- If the space ship was constantly rotated counter-clockwise to create artificial gravity, would this rotation cause the space ship to drift off course? | <urn:uuid:b0e55615-f38e-4d3f-b073-d0336062e54f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/53584/will-a-rotating-object-traveling-along-a-linear-path-continue-to-rotate-forever/53590 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00032-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92762 | 163 | 3.828125 | 4 |
This is a guest post by Marco Bertoli, originally published on The OIl Drum. Mr. Bertoli has an economics degree from Bocconi University in Milano and a master degree in renewable energy from the Milano Politechnical University.
Energy efficiency is one of the themes most discussed by those who are interested in issues regarding energy and the environment. The key question is how effective these proposed solutions will be. Will these technological solutions labeled as 'energy efficiency' (i.e. an increase in power plants generation efficiency, cogeneration, home insulation, more efficient electric motors, cars, light bulbs, etc.) really lead to a decrease in the global demand for energy?
First of all, we should distinguish between two different economic spheres: production and consumption.
With respect to production, the proposed solutions (increases in power plants efficiency, changes to EFF1 electric motors, inverters applied to pumps and motors, improvements in the efficiency of compressed air systems, etc.) will inevitably get caught in the trap of Jevons paradox. We should also remember that industrial development comes from a long history of efficiency increases in the use of productive resources, those being either energy or labor or credit or raw materials. ('More with less!' is the claim.)
Resource consumption has continued to increase in the long term, in spite of acknowledged gains in efficiency and productivity. Considering that, the myth of entrepreneurs reluctant to adopt available methods to increase efficiency should be abandoned: in fact, investment in energy efficiency should be considered business as usual.
On the other side, we should also remember that Jevons paradox applies exclusively to the production sphere: the world of the so-called 'consumer' behaves very differently. In this regard, the economic literature is still pegged to the Consumer theory developed by economists such as Walras, Pareto and other Marginalists between the late 19th and the early 20th century. This is exactly the same theory studied in Basic Economics courses.
According to Consumer theory, individuals choose the level of commodity consumption which, considering their own income and the price requested, maximizes their own Utility. The key point regarding this theory is that one of the theory's unproven principles - the axioms - predicts that, for each individual, utility always increases as the consumption of any commodity increases. Ironically, economists call it the Piggy Principle.
In an energy context, let's consider what happens when an individual buys a more efficient car-the same can be said for light bulbs, home insulation, and so forth. What happens is that, in order to achieve the same level of utility, the individual can consume less energy. However, if the individual is a cute piggy, he/she will not be satisfied with the same utility he/she reached earlier if he/she is able to reach a higher utility for the same expense!
In the figure below, this reasoning is made clear.
For example, this effect is perfectly exemplified when we consider that with a more efficient car, with the same expense, you can take a job further away from home or, with more efficient bulbs, you can get a better illumination by installing multiple lighting spots (the so called 'Ikea effect'), or by insulating your house or installing a more efficient boiler, you can increase your indoor winter temperature, going for example from 18 ° C to 22 ° C. This kind of change has really occurred, if we consider that the winter set-point temperature in Italian schools was around 10 C ° in the early 20th century!
To sum up, it is clear that, due to the Piggy Principle, energy consumption is not affected by efficiency improvements in products for families. Furthermore, as a consequence, if energy consumption does not change, neither does pollution from energy-related emissions.
However, this lack of change does not mean that efficiency improvements in consumer products should not be pursued or encouraged. The opposite is to be said!
Efficiency improvements in consumer products in fact have the great advantage of increasing the Resilience level of society. We are referring to Resilience in its engineering sense, i.e. in terms of resistance to rupture forces. Once again, the figure below clarifies this concept: in case of a substantial rise in energy prices, those who invested in efficiency measures are better off in comparison with those who did not. This can be helpful when facing the dilemma of taking part in riots or supporting the next war for resources.
Now let's focus on another question: are we really piggies? Is it really possible that, in a given period of time, the more we consume the better off we are? The answer is obviously NO! How can you accept as an axiom that individuals, if they could, would drive cars 24/7 the whole year round? Also, how could anyone assume that people, if they could, would be better off with 120 kg of meat per day than if they ate only 1 pound per day? It is pretty clear that the Piggy Principle is a long way from reality.
What we need to admit is that beyond some level of consumption, Utility peaks and then begins to decrease.
This concept is only sketched in some economic texts (Hoffman, Binger). The point beyond which utility decreases is called the 'bliss point'.
If a bliss point for each individual exists, why do figures show that this is never reached?
As a matter of fact, the consumption rate per individual has kept increasing in Western countries since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Moreover, some studies show that the need for money by individuals is never fulfilled.
Finally, if the bliss point exists, but figures show that individuals never achieve it, the correct question would be: how does it happen that the bliss point for individuals keeps moving further, becoming more and more unattainable? Why did we condemn ourselves to this constant Sisyphean challenge?
Several studies have provided answers to this question-beginning with V. Packard and other critics of E. Bernays (this is a nice video to start with). Bernays was Freud's nephew and is considered the inventor of propaganda and advertising modern techniques. Other studies reveal that some products themselves are designed to be 'addictive'. One example is this research on fast-food conducted by Yale University. Yet another area of study relates to the proliferation of the so-called positional goods; in simple terms, these good are intended to stimulate consumption by leveraging social envy. Nate Hagens has made other studies of interest on the subject.
Going back to the problem of energy demand, we can now consider some of the policies that are proposed by different groups.
Some environmental organizations and movements support 'halting economic growth.' These organizations act in a beneficial way by informing the public about the benefits of a more sober life-style and the devastating effects of excessive energy consumption. We could argue that these campaigns help to avoid the constant displacement of individuals' bliss points.
We know, however, that it is extremely difficult to persuade a critical mass of a population with messages related to sobriety. We also know that the most effective persuader in determining the consumption level of a commodity is the price. Just by relying on price, it is possible to prevent the Piggy Principle from undermining the benefits of efficiency investments.
In regard to that, in recent days, the Dutch government has approved a very interesting proposal: it would replace the current ownership and sales taxes with a road tax by the kilometre (about 3€ cents/km, which, for a 15.000 km/year usage sums up to a total of 450 €!).
This policy focuses on the bulk of the matter: the road tax offsets the kilometric price decline perceived by those buying a more efficient car. So the Piggy Principle can't take effect and the final outcome is:
- Same mileage covered, so same 'Utility' reached by drivers
- Same total expenses for drivers
- Less liters of fuel sold, so less polluting emissions
But the more perverse side effects of this proposal need to be balanced in some way. Since mileage is a good on which the poor spend a higher percentage of their income than the rich, this is a regressive tax that might contribute to increase inequality. In addition, as with every carbon tax, it would be exposed to carbon leakage phenomena because of neighboring countries which do not apply it.
Thus, the findings regarding the Piggy Principle and the Jevons paradox lead us to the conclusion that energy efficiency issues are extremely sensitive. The simplistic solutions based on technology changes ALONE can prove to be a real boomerang. | <urn:uuid:c8b73adf-35ec-4703-a12c-53a43da2ebb2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.businessinsider.com/energy-efficiency-helpful-2010-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00168-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952726 | 1,766 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Hydraulic valves contain and transfer the flow and pressure of hydraulic fluid in hydraulic power systems. They range from simple shutoff valves to precision control valves.
In their unpowered state, hydraulic valves can be normally open (open center) or normally closed (closed center). Hydraulic valves with a tandem center connect the pressure and tank ports, but block the service ports to allow system unloading and isolation of the service lines. Devices with a float center...
Learn More about Hydraulic Valves
Q & A on Hydraulic Valves
We asked our users for their input on Hydraulic Valves. Here are the results of 191 users familiar with Hydraulic Valves.Who Took Our Poll? | Design Trends | Applications and Use | Features | Buying Advice | <urn:uuid:2b1d18bc-ac9a-41e4-8f71-50b3dab63f8f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.globalspec.com/insights/92/hydraulic-valves-design-trends-applications-buying-advice-from-technical-experts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.878923 | 156 | 2.875 | 3 |
Eye Care with Eye Drops Brimonidine For You
If brimonidine are using another kind of eye drop (e. Always wash your hands before applying eye drops. More fluid is continually eye produced but cannot be drained because of the improperly functioning drainage channels. The pressure damages the nerves in the eye responsible for vision, and this ultimately causes blindness.
Alphagan is a clear, greenish-yellow to light greenish-yellow eye drop solution in a plastic bottle.
Glaucoma should still be a eye in people who have elevated intraocular pressure with normal-looking optic brimonidine and normal visual drops testing results or in people who have normal intraocular pressure with suspicious-looking optic nerves and visual field testing results. Lowering high fluid pressure in the eye reduces the risk of production loss, nerve damage, or blindness.
This medicine may be harmful if swallowed.
The clogging problem occurs further inside the drainage canals, similar to a clogged pipe below the drain in a sink. | <urn:uuid:11ee1026-1f4f-46fb-a0b3-dc2c6a5df5f3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://insight-vision-care.com/eye-care/treat-133/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.888017 | 205 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Student teachers pioneer use of 'smartphones' in elementary schools
November 5, 2007
Twelve student teachers at Wake Forest University are pioneering the use of "smartphones,” pocket-sized devices that combine the features of a computer with the functions of a cell phone, in elementary school classrooms this fall.
The first of its kind in the country, the program puts the devices in the hands of student teachers to find out how they can be used to track the performance of students and improve the quality of teaching.
The mobile computing devices, nicknamed Mobis, provide an unobtrusive way to evaluate students during a lesson and find out which students may need some additional help, said Kristin Bennett, assistant professor of education at Wake Forest who is coordinating the program.
It is the same sort of information a teacher might gather on paper, but collecting it with the handheld device allows a teacher to easily record real-time observations and eliminate the need to later input the data into a computer.
“I have used my handheld in the classroom to write notes on reading levels during self-selected silent reading as I circulate around the classroom and whisper-conference with each child,” said Liz Nurmi, who is student teaching in a first-grade classroom at Clemmons Elementary.
"With the growing emphasis on formative assessment and data-driven instruction, we saw this device as an efficient, non-cumbersome data collection instrument,” Bennett said. “We are hoping the Mobis will allow the student teachers to analyze their instruction and student performance on a regular and timely basis.”
Constant wireless Internet access for instructional purposes, e-mail access that allows communication with parents during the day, and access to an online shared calendar are features the student teachers also find helpful, Bennett said.
The student teachers can also use the devices to take photos of student work, make audio recordings of students reading and make video clips of class presentations. One student teacher has taken pictures of students in class and sent them directly to her e-mail account to include in her regular newsletter to parents.
For on-the-spot assessment of students, the student teachers use a software program developed by Wake Forest’s Information Systems department called DataInHand™ that allows them to make notes while they are moving around the classroom. One student teacher, Katelyn Hughson, is using the software to track how third-graders are doing in science. She has also evaluated her students’ learning styles and has that information stored in her Mobi so she can access the data and adjust instruction for different students in her classroom.
Some of the student teachers also use the Excel computer program on the handhelds to organize data and streamline various administrative tasks such as attendance and recording grades.
"I think the biggest benefit of having this technology in the classroom is the organization and efficiency of having your assessments and notes all right there,” Nurmi said.
In 2006, Bennett and Ann Cunningham, associate professor of education at Wake Forest, conducted a pilot study to test the usefulness of the devices. Using what they learned, they applied for a grant to equip all of this fall’s student teachers with
them. In addition to the device, which is powered by Windows Mobile, the grant covers the cost of student teachers’ voice and data plans.
The student teachers are placed in four Winston-Salem/Forsyth County elementary schools: Meadowlark, Clemmons, Vienna and Gibson. | <urn:uuid:c9def120-ac53-4e6f-86ad-08db8d5661a5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wfu.edu/news/release/2007.11.05.s.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950165 | 718 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The government’s weather center is forecasting that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1 will be an active one, perhaps even extremely active, during its six months.
Experts at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said there is a 70 percent likelihood of 13 to 20 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 7 to 11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher).
These ranges are well above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes.
NOAA’s seasonal hurricane outlook is not a hurricane landfall forecast; it does not predict how many storms will hit land or where a storm will strike. Forecasts for individual storms and their impacts will be provided throughout the season by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center.
NOAA said that three climate factors that strongly control Atlantic hurricane activity are expected to come together to produce an active or extremely active 2013 hurricane season. These are:
- A continuation of the atmospheric climate pattern, which includes a strong west African monsoon, that is responsible for the ongoing era of high activity for Atlantic hurricanes that began in 1995;
- Warmer-than-average water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea; and
- El Niño is not expected to develop and suppress hurricane formation.
“This year, oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic basin are expected to produce more and stronger hurricanes,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “These conditions include weaker wind shear, warmer Atlantic waters and conducive winds patterns coming from Africa.”
NOAA’s outlook for the Eastern Pacific basin is for a below-normal hurricane season and the Central Pacific basin is also expected to have a below-normal season. NOAA said it will issue an updated seasonal outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season in early August, just prior to the historical peak of the season.
In July, NOAA plans to bring online a new supercomputer that will run an upgraded Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model that provides significantly enhanced depiction of storm structure and improved storm intensity forecast guidance.
Also this year, Doppler radar data will be transmitted in real time from NOAA’s Hurricane Operations Center Hurricane Hunter aircraft. This will help forecasters better analyze rapidly evolving storm conditions, and these data could further improve the HWRF model forecasts by 10 to 15 percent.
The National Weather Service has also made changes to allow for hurricane warnings to remain in effect, or to be newly issued, for storms like Sandy that have become post-tropical. This flexibility allows forecasters to provide a continuous flow of forecast and warning information for evolving or continuing threats.
Next week, May 26 – June 1, is National Hurricane Preparedness Week. To help those living in hurricane-prone areas prepare, NOAA is offering hurricane preparedness tips, along with video and audio public service announcements in both English and Spanish, featuring NOAA hurricane experts and the FEMA administrator on its website here. | <urn:uuid:1af3c41d-f4d2-4d8f-a2f3-bbe8adf66068> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2013/05/23/293144.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945876 | 653 | 2.984375 | 3 |
i think it is more an issue of urban sprawl and lack of human hostility. most studies of coydogs, wolfdogs & such find very little actual hybridization. what they do find is often highly localized and almost universally represents single family units. the NorEast coyote is in fact not ongoing hybridization but the dominance of a hybrid line. that is there was hybridization as the coyotes moved around the north of the lakes. then as they spread the larger size brought on by wolf genes made the hybrids more efficient as predators of large northern deer and gave them a jumpstart on the larger mass typical of northern variants of any animal. by comparison coyotes lacking any wolf genes from IA & the dakotas are significantly larger than coyotes from AZ & so cal (but not as large as the largest wolf line from the NorEast USA & SE canada) simply because the extreme winters make being larger more competitive survival traits.
« Back to index | <urn:uuid:f002dd06-e246-4f3b-8edf-20e09685b73e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://members3.boardhost.com/DOGOMAN/msg/1281984710.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955102 | 194 | 2.875 | 3 |
The jurisprudential definition of justice is primarily having a basis
in fact and regulations that generate an impartial result.
Anglo-American jurisprudence has further developed the concept of
equity to handle circumstances where standard rules, "applied in a
blind or narrowly rigid fashion, would produce a result of violates
our sense of justice in another of its meanings -- that a just result
is a good one." The Western jurisprudential definition of justice
therefore includes both process and result.
Another definition of justice is related to social and economic
concerns. Rawls bases his concept of justice on "equality in the
assignment of rights and duties," and "... social and economic
inequalities are just only if they result in compensating benefits for
everyone, and in particular for the least advantaged members of
Additional social concerns arise regarding environmental justice.
Studies have shown that hazardous waste dumps and other undesirable
facilities are typically located in low income and minority
communities, resulting in "a disproportionate burden on people of
color and the poor."
"Social Equity in Planning" by Elizabeth Deakin Berkeley Planning
Journal Volume 13 http://www-dcrp.ced.berkeley.edu/bpj/pdf/13-Deakin.html
In the "Republic," Plato puts forth a definition of justice connected
with a sense of harmony both within oneself and in one's relationships
to others. This is in contrast to a definition of justice based on
"...the issuance and observance of positive (enacted) laws...."
Another definition of justice that appears in the Republic, which
Socrates attempts to refute, is that justice is "the advantage of the
stronger." Socrates presents the argument that "...justice seeks the
good of the one served rather than the advantage of the stronger."
"September 16 -- Plato II" by Professor William R. Long
Religions typically provide definitions of justice. Christianity
promulgates both a commutative definition of justice and a
distributive definition of justice in Scripture. Commutative justice
means that as one person meets another person's needs, that person
will reciprocate. Distributive justice refers to following commands
given by someone in authority.
"For public order is founded upon moral order, and moral order arises
"The sanction for justice will be found, ultimately, in religious
insights as to the human condition... somewhere there must exist in
authority for beliefs about justice; and the authority of merely
human, and therefore fallible, courts of law is insufficient to
command popular assent and obedience."
However, it is important to note that "not all sins are crimes.... But
mundane courts of law do not touch the sinner unless his sins result
in violence or fraud or substantial damage to others. The state is
unconcerned with sins unless they lead to breaches of the peace, or
menace the social order." As a result, it is possible to be immoral
or unethical without breaking the law and being subjected to the
criminal justice system.
"The Meaning of Justice" by Russell Kirk, Heritage Lecture #457, The
Heritage Foundation (March 4, 1993)
I particularly recommend this last article to you in its entirety as a
comprehensive discussion of the subject.
Search Terms: jurisprudence "definition of justice" jurisprudential
definition of justice | <urn:uuid:8c6d211f-8090-4dcc-9055-a645830c8c0a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/454031.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910215 | 721 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Definition of Image
The new position of a point, a line, a line segment, or a figure after a transformation is called its image.
Example of Image
- In the example shown below, triangle A'B'C is the image of triangle A'B'C, after translation.
- Points A'B'C are the images of points A, B, and C respectively.
- The line segments A'B', B'C', and A'C' are the images of the original line segments AB, BC, and AC respectively.
Video Examples: Geometry: iCoachMath Works
Solved Example on Image
Ques: What would be the image of a polygon reflected over a line with respect to the original polygon?
C. Increase in size
D. None of the above
Correct Answer: B
Step 1: A reflection flips the figure across a line. The new figure is a mirror image of the original figure.
Step 2: So, the image of the polygon reflected over a line is congruent with respect to the original polygon. | <urn:uuid:9ee23242-5952-4318-babe-9d3f1eb98063> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.icoachmath.com/math_dictionary/image.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.847864 | 229 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Students need to have an understanding of the definition of the different
types of geometric solids and 2-D figures, angle relationships and building
3-D shapes. I think the biggest stumbling block would be when the students
have to reason that they have exhausted all the possibilities. I do not
think all 6-8 grade students have the ability to make this conclusion. | <urn:uuid:41483d7a-b5ca-4806-84d1-a740c14c388f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.learner.org/courses/learningmath/geometry/channeltalk/0033.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959029 | 76 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Study: Connection Found Between BPA Exposure, Brain Tumor Diagnosis
July 3, 2012 9:37 AM
comment(s) - last by
Bisphenol A is considered a toxic substance in some countries because of the hormone-like properties it possess
A new study shows that
bisphenol A exposure
could help cause a brain tumor called meningioma.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is an organic compound that is used to make epoxy resins, polycarbonate polymers and other plastics. It is considered a toxic substance in some countries because of the hormone-like properties it possess.
and the European Union have even banned it from being used in baby bottles.
Now, a new study from China has revealed that BPA could be a risk factor for meningioma brain tumors. They made this connection by studying 247 patients with meningioma and 258 patients with no cancer history. Each patient had their medical records and history collected for the sake of the study.
All patients were observed at the Union Hospital in Wuhan, China. The researchers would check
the brain tumors
with brain scans or biopsies while BPA levels were identified through urine samples.
All volunteers were placed into one of four groups, which were determined by the concentration of BPA levels in urine. The groups consisted of less than 0.53 ng/ml, 0.54-0.91 ng/ml, 0.92-1.69 ng/ml, and over 1.69 ng/ml. They determined whether increasing BPA levels in urine were linked to meningioma diagnosis.
According to the results, patients in the latter three groups with the higher BPA concentrations were 1.4 to 1.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with meningioma than those in the lowest BPA level group. The team also found that the association between the two remained consistent despite other factors like BMI, age and gender.
The study noted that this is the first time a link has been shown between BPA exposure and meningioma diagnosis.
Environmental Health News
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: Can we have a little comparison from this study?
7/3/2012 3:02:11 PM
Okay sorry, but seriously get this. BPA is NOT readily absorbed in the body, the vast vast majority is expelled out of our systems.
Now read the article, notice something? They tested peoples urine for BPA levels. Urine. As in waste. As in one of the ways the body expels toxins and waste byproducts.
Hello? What kind of people do a study that attempts to correlate BPA tissue absorption by measuring it's levels in our urine!? When it's a well known fact BPA doesn't stay in our bodies, but is expelled!
Hey I'm going to do a scientific study. I'm going to have a control group with a normal diet, and a group that I feed 10 pounds of chocolate to per day. After analyzing both groups fecal matter, I found that the group eating chocolate had higher traces of Theobromine in their stool!!! Oh my god!
Okay not a perfect analogy, because Theobromine is actually absorbed into the body, while 99.9999999% of BPA isn't. But still, the methodology is flawed right from the start.
To answer your question Kurz, a human would have to consume around one thousand pounds (yes 1,000) of food and drink in contact with BPA to even reach the
safe amount set by the FDA and European health agency. That's one thousand pounds a DAY, by the way.
"Game reviewers fought each other to write the most glowing coverage possible for the powerhouse Sony, MS systems. Reviewers flipped coins to see who would review the Nintendo Wii. The losers got stuck with the job." -- Andy Marken
Aggressive Brain Cancer Tumors Destroyed by Heat
February 2, 2011, 9:23 AM
Chemical BPA Found In Majority of Canadian Population
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Exposure to BPA, DES May Increase Breast Cancer Risk
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Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | <urn:uuid:6ea95744-6d84-47e8-a625-440b72f9b518> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=25086&commentid=782976&threshhold=1&red=53 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908401 | 1,206 | 2.578125 | 3 |
If you're running a refinery or chemical plant, of course, these savings must be balanced against costs, as much as $20-$25 per linear ft. to run wires so sensors can monitor leaks to $3 per ft. and make close monitoring practical. It’s called Zigbee.
Zigbee is an emerging standard for sensor networks, dubbed 802.15.4 by the IEEE. It can run in the same wireless frequencies as the better-known 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. What distinguishes Zigbee is that devices can set up their own mesh network, it can handle periodic or intermittent data, and most importantly it runs on very low power. A Zigbee device is a single chip that carries its own battery, and under the current version of the standard, it will run for a year on a charge.
"What distinguishes Zigbee is that devices can set up their own mesh network, it can handle periodic or intermittent data, and most importantly it runs on very low power."
In applications where precise temperature control is necessary (and that’s true for most basic production), wireless sensors can lead to fine adjustments that lower costs and increase yields.
Standards, of course, mean nothing without applications. Ember Corp. of
Honeywell has been working on a $10 million contract since early this year that aims to save $1 billion in energy costs (15% of the total), using Ember’s Zigbee technology. It’s the largest of several projects in a $115 million U.S. Department of Energy effort created by Congress aimed at cutting costs in eight energy-intensive industries.
Dan Sheflin is Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for the Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions (ACS) business group. He sees Zigbee as a dynamite follow-on to his XYR wireless transmitter technology, which won Frost & Sullivan’s New Product of the Year award in the sensor category. "We have a line of pressure flow, and temperature level sensors that are XYR enabled," he said. But Zigbee enables a mesh network approach to this," says Sheflin. "The neat thing about mesh-topology-based networks is it will work around obstructions. Our customers don’t want to have to do a site survey to put in a system. They want to put sensors where they want to put them, an have it self-configure. That’s what we’re trying to work on. It will likely be built on Zigbee."
Tests will start this year at Alcoa, Dow Chemical, and ExxonMobil to track energy losses from piping systems and monitor the use of gases like ethylene in plastic plants. The network of Zigbee sensors, each the size of an old Matchbox car box, will monitor the gas constantly, letting managers eliminate leaks immediately.
Sheflin is also responsible for residential and commercial markets, and says "We see Zigbee potentially impacting all our spaces; from building controls and thermostats to security systems and fire systems."
The only problem, and it’s a short term problem, lies in standardizing the upper application layers of the Zigbee standard, but Sheflin expects that to be complete late this year. "Once that’s done we can build applications. Our industrial customers demand open standards. We’re not looking for proprietary advantage."
Following this year’s tests, Sheflin hopes to have pilot projects in place early in 2005, with actual products released by next summer. The "amazing" customer acceptance of XYR, which requires site surveys before installation, and line-of-sight use of the 900-MHz unlicensed band, tells Sheflin the market will be there.
Don’t worry about Zigbee, he adds, if you’ve already seen XYR. "We always focus on migration of our customers. Those who have XYR we’ll make sure we can upgrade them to the next standard."
Sheflin is already looking at how Zigbee might go into a major facility. He figures a central node, with regular power, could service 50 wireless sensors running on batteries.
"What’s great about Zigbee is its very low power consumption," notes Sheflin. "We’re talking about several years [of battery life], and our goal is [to achieve] more than that." There are very efficient power management aspects to Zigbee and those help Honeywell’s strategies for using these devices to minimize power consumption he says. "What you want in a system like this is for every sensor to degrade equally, so when you’re done, every sensor has consumed all its batteries. Zigbee won’t just save energy, he adds, but will have a dramatic increase on worker productivity in these plants.
Dana Blankenhorn, Business Analyst | <urn:uuid:e78259da-733d-4b34-96ce-52697d87d935> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2004/25/?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00096-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946707 | 1,011 | 2.609375 | 3 |
A glacier is a huge mass of ice that flows slowly over land. They form in the cold polar regions and in high mountains. The low temperatures in these places enable large amounts of snow to build up and turn inti ice. Most glaciers range in thickness from about 91 to 3,000 meters. Glaciers are formed when more snow falls during the winter than melts and evaporates in summer. The extra snow gradually builds up in layers. Its increasing weight causes the snow crystals under the surface to become compact, grainlike pellets. At depths of 15 meters or more, the pellets are further compressed into thick crystals of ice. These crystals combine to form glacial ice. The ice eventually becomes so thick that it begins to move under the pressure of its own great weight.
Huge moving sheets of ice are wearing down parts of the earth's surface. In Antarctica and Greenland, ice covers all but the tips of the highest mountains. These ice sheets are located in Greenland, Antarctica and other frozen parts of North and South Pole. The ice sheet that covers much of Greenland is growing smaller because of a gradual rise in temperature in the area since the early 1900s. | <urn:uuid:0851ec0b-bd7b-4b56-bded-7b3670710b89> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/glacierjf.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00199-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960396 | 233 | 4.1875 | 4 |
Korean Scientists Make Safe Lithium Ion Batteries
- Nov 24, 2009 11:31 PM EST
- [num] Comments
Engineers from the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) say they have developed a new and safer lithium-ion battery technology. Lithium-ion is one of the most widely-used battery technologies for most gadgets today because it has the capacity to store a lot of energy and last many charge-recharge cycles. Unfortunately, it's not without fault - lithium-ion batteries have been known to be inclined to explode upon exposure to heat or upon impact. Telecoms Korea reports that KAERI engineers have developed a special kind of "separator" that protects the lithium-ion battery from impact and extreme external heat.
Separators in lithium-ion batteries conduct lithium ions from the positive to the negative side of the battery. Normal separators in conventional lithium-ion batteries are only composed of porous polyethylene. The special separator, however, is made from a mixture of polyethylene, nano-alumina and flourine-based resin, which is then subjected to radiation. The developers claim the new separator has the capacity to remove existing lithium-ion battery limitations. A press release from KAERI says, "Tests showed that the new separator maintains its ability to act as an electric insulator even if subject to heat of 150 degrees Celsius and considerable outside impact." When this new technology will be commercialized is still unknown as the developers have only just filed two patents for it. | <urn:uuid:feb85888-bb5d-43dd-8761-a54d9894910a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://goodcleantech.pcmag.com/batteries/279088-korean-scientists-make-safe-lithium-ion-batteries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00113-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92894 | 318 | 3.125 | 3 |
The Two Most Important Kinds of Transportation Routes:
Oil Tankers and Oil Pipelines have routes that allow for oil to travel over seas, over borders, and all around the world.
Oil Shipped Around the World
The Transfer of oil from one country to another is a very large task. Billions of barrels of oil a day are shipped in Oil Tankers to various destinations all over the world. There are many different shipping routes, but there are six major transit chokepoints” which deal with the most traffic of oil tankers and are areas of high risk for something to go wrong with the oil transfer. The Strait of Hormuz, The Strait of Malacca, The Suez Canal, Bab el-Mandab, The Turkish Straits, and The Panama Canal are different areas of the sea that connect large bodies of water and can sometimes create bottleneck situations. The Strait of Hormuz is an area where tankers from Persian Gulf nations (mainly the Middle East) travel through to get to their destinations in the United States, Japan, China, and Western Europe, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gilf of Oman. About 40% of all Oil Tanker traffic passes through The Strait of Hormuz because (as seen on the graph below) the Middle East is the leader of oil production, thus making them the lead exporter of oil. The Strait of Malacca is a smaller area of passage than most chokepoints, but it is one of the most unsafe passages of any transport route in the world. It is the target of many terrorist attacks because of its bottleneck design in the Singapore Strait. The area of passage is located in between the island of Malaysia and Indonesia because it is the shortest route to get Oil into Japan, China, and other Asian countries. The Suez Canal in Egypt connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, only allowing smaller tankers to pass through, transporting Oil mainly to Europe, but also to the Unites States. The Oil comes from some revenues in Asia but mainly from Saudi Arabia, again, making this chokepoint an export region for the Middle East. Bab-el Mandab is a chokepoint between the Red Sea and The Gulf of Aden which begins the only transportation route that transports Persian Gulf Oil exclusively. Many of the times, the oil the Persian Gulf and Middle Eastern countries export gets sifted in with other country’s oil, which makes the Bab el-Mandab unique. The oil from this area travels directly to Europe and the Unites States. Both Bosporus and Dardanelles are canals that make up The Turkish Straits and basically divide Asian countries on the Black Sea from European countries that end the Mediterranean Sea. Oil that is being transported out of Russia and other regions of the Black Sea first encounter the Bosporus which is a small canal leading into a sort of mini-sea, which then leads to the Dardanelles canal which carries the Tankers out into the Mediterranean sea. These tankers end up in Europe, providing them with much of their oil. The sixth Chokepoint is The Panama Canal that takes Oil generated in the United States to other areas of the United States and to Latin American countries. All of these transportation routes are listed in order from most barrels transported per day to the least. The Strait of Hornez transports the most with about 16.5 billion barrels per day, while The Panama Canal only transfers about ½ a million.
Oil is transported to and from other various places, but the main producers and consumers are depicted in the bar graph. North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia (the former USSR), Europe, and Asia comprise most of the world, creating a situation where international over-sea transportation of oil via oil tankers is vital and extremely valuable.
Oil Tanker Shipping Routes
Production and Consumption Determine Transportation Routes
Graph made by Carly Klinger from picture:http://www.black-tides.com/uk/oil/transport-oil/main-oil-transport-routes.php
Strait of Hormuz (The Most Important Transit Choke point)
The Easiest Way to Travel
Oil Pipelines are the most efficient method of transporting oil. In the maps below, it can be seen that pipeline routes are very intricate and widespread. The pipelines are designed to take oil all over the country that they inhibit. America is the best example of these pipeline routes because America has the longest cumulative mileage of pipeline in the world. There are so many pipelines throughout the world that it is nearly impossible to find every single pipeline pump and location, but the major oil consuming and producing countries have the most total mileage of pipeline. The areas in which oil is produced are generally located far away from main areas of consumption, large market places, cities, and companies that need oil for production. The routes that these pipelines travel are able to be extremely direct because the quickest way from one point to another is by traveling in a straight line. Pipelines do not disrupt their surroundings allowing them to be built in the most direct routes possible. The fact that oil travels quickly though the pipelines and their ability to directly provide consumer areas with the needed amount is making pipelines more and more popular, especially in the United States.
American Pipeline Routes | <urn:uuid:42ca0603-f987-49fc-86f2-e5cb6dddb4b9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ckrhmt2008.weebly.com/transportation-routes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00168-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948353 | 1,080 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Malaysians celebrate numerous religious festivals that are based on the Muslim, Hindu, and Chinese lunar calendars, and so vary in time from year to year.
Hari Raya Aidil Adha – January
Hari Raya Aidil Adha is celebrated on the 10th day of Zulhijjah, the 12th month of the Muslim calendar. The festival marks the conclusion of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The day begins with prayers in mosques and is followed by the offering of cattle or goats to the needy.
Chinese New Year - February
On the eve of Chinese New Year, family members hold reunion dinners followed by 'open houses' for relatives and friends. Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the lunar calendar and is celebrated over a period of 15 days. It is a joyous event marked by family reunions, giving of red packets (“ang pows”) by parents to children or among relatives. The mandarin oranges and plum blossom stalks are used as decorations in Chinese homes and shopping complexes for prosperity and good luck. The lion and dragon dance performances accompanied by energetic drums, gongs and cymbals add to the festive air.
Thaipusam - February
Thaipusam is the day of penance and thanksgiving for Hindu devotees pay homage to Lord Maruga. Kuala Lumpur is the best place to celebrate the festival where the deity's jewelled chariot is led in a mass procession through the streets of the city, culminating at the Batu Caves in Selangor. A memorable spectacle is the thousand of devotees in a trance-like state carrying body-piercing kavadis or ornate frames. Thaipusam is celebrated on a big-scale in Selangor, Penang, Malacca, Johor and Perak.
Prophet Mohammed's Birthday - March
It is another important occasion in the Muslim calendar. The birthday of Prophet Muhammad, celebrated on the 12th of the month of Rabiulawal. It is marked by special prayers and sermons in mosques, followed by processions and feasts.
Easter - April
Candle-lit processions from St. Peter’s Church in Malacca on Palm Sunday
Wesak Day - May
Wesak Day celebrates the Lord Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death, marked by ceremonies at Buddhist temples, including the release of caged birds to symbolize the freeing of captive souls. Most Buddhists observe a vegetarian diet on this day and in some towns, like Penang, a procession takes place at night.
Harvest Festival - May
This is Sabah's most anticipated cultural fest where ethnic groups come together to showcase all things traditional. Sabah Fest is the prelude to the Harvest Festival or Tadau Ka'amatan, the biggest annual celebration in the state. From delicious local cuisine to traditional dances, this is the perfect time to visit the Land Below the Wind, otherwise known as Sabah.
Gawai Dayak - June
The Gawai Dayak festival is celebrated by Ibans, Orang Ulu and Bidayuh of Sarawak in early June and marks the end of the rice-harvesting season. The traditional ceremonies and dances held throughout Sarawak in the longhouses and Mardi Gras through Kuching. Visitors are served rice wine or tuak and chicken cooked in bamboo as well as other traditional delicacies at the many 'open houses'.
Hungry Ghost Festival - August
During the 7th month in the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese community in a sense of reverence and apprehension celebrates this festival.
National Day - August
Malaysia's national day on August 31st is celebrated on a grand scale with colorful parades, stage shows, and competitions at major towns throughout the country.
Mid-Autumn Festival - September
The Mid-autumn Festival falls on the 15th day in the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The luminous light of the full, circular moon also signifies lovers seeking unity. In addition, the festival is said to honor the birth of the Earth God, to whom the farming community gives thanks for the bounties reaped. In Malaysia and parts of the world with a significant resident Chinese community, a wide array of moon cakes can be found during this period in Asian markets and bakeries.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri - October
Hari Raya Aidilfitri is the Muslim festival celebrating the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting and abstinence. It is a two-day national holiday. Malaysian Muslims begin their day with visits to the graves of loved ones, followed by prayers and the seeking of forgiveness from their elders. Relatives and friends are invited to the many 'open houses' where they are served with a generous spread of food and traditional delicacies.
Deepavali - November
Hindu ‘Festival of Light’ in the seventh month of the Hindu calendar celebrating the return from exile of Lord Rama, marked by fire-walking ceremonies at Hindu temples. Molded by religion, mythology and culture, Hindus have celebrated this festival in India for thousands of years.
Christmas - DecemberMalaysian Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th each year with midnight mass and carolers just like Christians in other parts of the world. Many Christians invite their friends and families into their homes for food and fellowship on Christmas Day. This practice known as an 'open house' is commonly held by Malaysians during all main religious festivals. | <urn:uuid:b98fa38d-e49c-4440-a826-f976fce4a91d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://malaysiahoteltour.com/travel_guide/malaysia/event_festival/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93747 | 1,139 | 2.75 | 3 |
The modern UFO era began on June 24, 1947, after a report by
private pilot Kenneth Arnold of a procession of unknown flying
objects over Washington State. This event triggered a series of
other reports, which spread rapidly through the northwestern
United States and eventually throughout the world. The reports
described the objects as being variously disc-shaped,
cigar-shaped, or spherical, rapidly moving through the sky and
often performing aerial maneuvers far beyond the capabilities out
Yet this was not the first time that UFOs were seen. History is
replete with incidents of strange vehicles flying through the
atmosphere. Most UFO researchers are familiar with stories of
mysterious airships seen during the late 1890s when witnesses
reported huge, dirigible-type machines with wings, fans and
propellers cavorting overhead. Many of the incidents were
journalistic fantasies and the rest were never positively linked
to any high performance aerial devices, human or extraterrestrial.
Government interest in the UFO phenomenon is commonly thought to
have begun during World War 2 when reports of objects, nicknamed
"Foo fighters" by allied pilots, were sporadically sent to
military intelligence by pilots flying aerial bombing and
intercept missions. The strange objects appeared to be globes of
light, about one quarter to one half meter in diameter. They
hovered near aircraft in flight, frequently maneuvering in front
of, beside, behind, above and below in a seeming intelligent
manner. The activity increased in late 1944, causing the U.S.
government to issue a censored press release on January 1, 1945.
In the story, carried in many U.S. newspapers, the government
acknowledged the existence of the fireballs and blamed the Nazis
for using them. Such was not the case, however, as Axis pilots
encountered similar objects, blaming the Allied forces in turn.
According to one record released later by U.S. Air Force
Intelligence, Foo Fighters were studied after the war and were
dismissed as natural phenomena, the nature of which was not made
A bit over a year later a wave of so-called "Ghost Rockets"
appeared over the Scandinavian countries during the summer of
1946, bringing sky mysteries once again into the news. Witnesses
observed what appeared to be rockets hurtling over cities and
towns in Sweden for several weeks. Some believed they were being
launched from the Soviet Union, perhaps testing newly acquired
German technology from the war. The government of Sweden
reportedly solicited help from the United States in identifying
the unknown rockets. Press stories had indicated that General
James Doolittle, a famed WW2 aviator, had flown to Sweden under a
cover story that he was there on a business trip. The real nature
of the trip was said to be the need for Doolittle to advise the
Swedish government on how to deal with the ghost rockets.
Doolittle said many years later, in a letter sent to this writer,
that he knew nothing about the incidents at the time except what
he had read in the newspapers.
While the events of 1944-46 are known to researchers, government
interest in aerial phenomena is evident during World War 1 when
mystery airplanes appeared in various areas during 1915-17, and
most surprisingly the first instance on record is the "Blue Light"
affair of December 12, 1813!
Working off fragmentary references, the following story
emerged: Commodore Stephen Decatur, a distinguished U.S. naval
officer and a participant in several heroic actions during the
Barbary Wars of the early 1800s and during the War of 1812 against
the British, was in command of a squadron of American ships in the
harbor of New London, Connecticut, which at the time was under a
British blockade. On the evening of December 12th, 1813, Decatur
decided to "run" the blockade and bring his ships into open water
where they could be more useful in battle. A short time after
they began to make their way out of the harbor a set of blue
lights appeared of the heights both at Groton, Connecticut and
near the entrance to New London harbor. Rowing guards at the
harbor entrance noticed the strange lights and immediately made
their way back to the ships where the lights were reported.
Fearful that these lights were a signal to the British fleet that
a blockade run was under way, Commodore Decatur cancelled the run
and returned the ships to anchor.
The incident angered Decatur because he believed that the lights
were a signal to the British by traitorous New Londoners and he
demanded an investigation. Repeated attempts to determine the
origin of the blue lights failed. The press ridiculed the
observations as unreal, which angered the witnesses.
The debate about the lights very quickly made its way to the U.S.
Congress where one may find the specifics in the Annals of
Congress, 13th Congress, 2nd Session, January 1814. An
investigation was offered but there is no evidence that a solution
to the mystery of the lights was made available. So much for the
first government UFO inquiry!
Which brings us back to 1947. In the aftermath of the Kenneth
Arnold report and the many hundreds of flying disc sightings in
July of that year, the U.S. government decided that it was time
to take these stories seriously. While a majority of the American
people felt that the objects were not from another planet, the
Army Air Force was left with the task of determining exactly what
was being seen.
Reports were sent to the Technical Intelligence Division of the
Air Materiel Command at Wright Field, Ohio for study. Many
reports were certainly mistaken observations of weather phenomena,
balloons, stars, planets; etc. Others were not so easily
dismissed. In fact some of the reports were so compelling that
the commander of the Air Materiel Command, Lieutenant General
Nathan Twining, wrote a letter to the Commander of the Army Air
Forces on the subject of "Flying Discs" dated September 23, 1947:
a) The phenomenon reported is something real and not visionary or
These conclusions suggested
that something extraordinary was being seen. Conversely, the
public stance of the Army Air Force was that the objects were most
likely mistaken observations of mundane phenomena and that there
was nothing about which to be concerned. In this respect the
military could continue to monitor the phenomenon without arousing
b) There are objects probably approximating the shape
of a disc, of such appreciable size as to appear to be as large as
a man-made aircraft.
c) The reported operating characteristics
such as extreme rates of climb, maneuverability (particularly in
roll), and action which must be considered evasive when sighted or
contacted by friendly aircraft and radar, lend belief to the
possibility that some of the objects are controlled either
manually, automatically or remotely.
On December 30, 1947, the Army Air Force decided to establish
Project Sign at Wright Field, Ohio in an effort to determine
whether the flying disc phenomenon constituted a threat to the
national security of the United States. The public was to know
this program as Project Saucer.
The staff of Project Sign was philosophically divided into two
factions. One had taken quite seriously the possibility that the
saucers were extraterrestrial vehicles, while the other felt that
nothing as extraordinary as that could be claimed from the
available evidence. All sightings, they said, were explainable.
The pro-extraterrestrial faction of Sign would see their position
enhanced by news reports of several incidents during 1948. One
was the sighting of a flying object near Louisville, Kentucky on
January 7, 1948.
Many witnesses reported their observations to police of a large,
bright object in the sky. The police called officials at Godman
Air Field for confirmation. A flight of F-51 Air National Guard
planes were in the area and were asked by Godman to investigate
the sighting. Led by Captain Thomas Mantell, three of the
aircraft climbed to give pursuit. After running low on fuel, two
of the planes ceased pursuit. Mantell continued the chase and as
he attempted to climb to 20,000 feet, he reported seeing the
object, describing it as "metallic" and of tremendous size. A
short time after this Mantell's plane crashed, killing him. The
official explanation for the crash was that Mantell had mistaken a
balloon for a strange vehicle and in the heat of pursuit ignored
the fact that without a plane equipped with oxygen he was flying
too high. Mantell subsequently blacked out and died in the crash.
Press speculations fuelled a notion that Mantell was killed by a
"flying saucer" and Project Sign found itself saddled with the job
of defusing such speculations. As it turned out this was a
hopeless task and the Mantell incident exhibited the first
evidence of public concern that the government was covering up the
facts about flying saucer reports. Only years later was it
determined that a secret balloon experiment was in the area,
having been launched from Minnesota the day before, and was
certainly responsible for the sightings over Kentucky that day.
The government was covering up, but not a flying saucer.
Another highly credible report was that of Eastern Airlines pilots
Clarence Chiles and John Whitted on July 24, 1948. During a
flight from Houston, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia, a large red light
appeared in the east at 2:45 AM, and approached the aircraft. The
pilots veered the DC-3 to avoid a collision. The object passed
close to the plane, then moved upwards and disappeared. Both
pilots described the object as cigar-shaped with a pointed front
end and a double row of rectangular windows along the side. The
bottom of the object glowed a brilliant blue and an orange-red
flame spewed from the rear.
Once again the Air Force decided to publicly dismiss the sighting
by highly-qualified witnesses as nothing more than a meteor. Few
were satisfied with this, particularly the eyewitnesses.
Project Sign personnel favoring flying saucer reality thought that
it was now time to make their case to the Air Force upper
echelons. They wrote an "Estimate of the Situation," something
the Air Force often did when saddled with a problem. The document
described the background of the flying saucer problem with an
assortment of credible cases as evidence that the objects were
extraterrestrial vehicles from another world. The staff members
sent the document through various decision-making channels. It
finally ended up on the desk of Air Force Chief of Staff General
Hoyt Vandenberg. General Vandenberg was decidedly unimpressed
with the report, believing that it lacked proof. The "Estimate"
was rejected and subsequently ordered to be declassified and
burned. At least two witnesses, Captain Edward Ruppelt and Major
Dewey Fournet, attested to the fact that at least one copy of the
document survived into 1952. Fournet, in a written statement to a
UFO researcher several years ago, was unimpressed with the
document as well. He believed that the extraterrestrial
conclusion was an "extreme extrapolation" and that it contained
discussions of the cases which were on the record at that time and
known to people generally. There was no discussion of physical
evidence either which raises questions about the reality of
In hindsight, the value of the Estimate now is to illustrate the
fact that at that time there was favorable opinion within the
military toward the extraterrestrial hypothesis. The document,
which was disposed of legally and properly, may have been
destroyed more to hide an embarassing conclusion by subordinates
than to hide deep, dark secrets.
The consequences of the Estimate's rejection were far-reaching.
The status of the supporters of flying saucer reality had been
reduced while that of the detractors had increased. In February
1949, Air Force UFO staffers wrote another report which said that
while some twenty percent of the reports they had examined were
unexplained, proof for the extraterrestrial explanation was not
adequate. It was also said that while the objects did not appear
to be the property of a foreign nation, it could not be said with
certainty that they were not a threat to the United States.
Therefore, policy on the UFO problem was based upon the premise
that as the possibility of UFOs being a threat to national
security existed, the Air Force would collect and investigate such
Reinforcement for this can be found in a January 31, 1949 FBI
document sent to J. Edgar Hoover:
At a recent weekly intelligence conference of G-2, ONI, OSI and
FBI in the Fourth Army area, officers of G-2 Fourth Army have
discussed the matter of 'unidentified aircraft' or 'unidentified
aerial phenomena,' otherwise known as 'flying discs,' 'flying
saucers' and 'balls of fire.' This matter is considered top secret
by intelligence officers of both the Army and the Air Force.
So UFOs were important but not spaceships, at least not yet.
Project Sign was changed to Project Grudge on December 16,
1948, almost as if the Air Force were reacting to the change of
attitude. Former Sign personnel who favored UFOs were reassigned
to other duties and replaced with more critical staffers.
During this time of tightening of the Air Force's grip on the UFO
issue, Major Donald Keyhoe, an aviation writer, took an interest
in the subject. He had concluded in a January 1950 article for
True magazine that UFOs were definitely interplanetary spacecraft.
Keyhoe later expanded his ideas for a book, "The Flying Saucers
are Real," later that year. Using the best sighting information
available, plus various statements from the Air Force, Keyhoe felt
that the government was hiding the truth about UFOs. This, he
said, was done to prevent a panic similar to that caused by the
1938 radio broadcast War of the Worlds. Keyhoe was the first
major proponent of the idea of a government cover-up of flying
saucers and he had later named those in charge of the censorship
the "Silence Group."
The Air Force's public statements often tended to be confusing and
contradictory. They would refuse to release information and
conclusions about sightings which were known to have occurred.
The public agreed with Keyhoe's charges in light of hard evidence
that censorship was indeed happening. They were in a very
unenviable position of trying to investigate an unexplained
phenomenon as quietly as possible, while at the same time trying
to allay increasing public fears and pressures. This would lead
to Air Force overreaction in several instances. Twice during this
time the Air Force sponsored articles; a two-part series for the
Saturday Evening Post on April 30 and May 7, 1949 and one
for Cosmopolitan published in January 1951. The intention
was to reduce public interest in UFOs by way of explaining how
mistaken observations were made. While factually correct in
showing how this happens in a majority of sightings, the Post
article admitted that some sightings were unexplained, and the
Cosmopolitan piece was so demeaning in its characterization of
witnesses as true believers and lunatics that it angered the
reading public and actually prompted a libel suit. Instead of
defusing the controversy, the Air Force assured a continuance of
But still, behind the scenes other things were happening. Due to
numerous sightings reported in the vicinity of sensitive
government installations at Los Alamos, New Mexico, a May 25, 1950
memo to the Air Force's Director of Special Investigations
stressed that reports were made by scientists, special agents of
the Office of Special Investigations for the Air Force, airline
and military pilots, and Los Alamos security inspectors, among
others. In other words this is a serious situation.
Such national security concerns about UFOs were not overlooked
outside of the U.S. even if American citizens were not aware of
it fully. In a Canadian Department of Transport memo dated
November 21, 1950, Wilbert B. Smith, a senior radio engineer,
forwarded a proposal to the Department's controller of
telecommunications suggesting various studies such as using the
Earth's magnetic field as an energy source. The memo also alluded
to flying saucers:
a) The matter is the most highly classified
subject in the United States Government, rating higher even than
b) Flying saucers exist.
c) Their modus operandi is
unknown but concentrated effort is being made by a small group
headed by Doctor Vannevar Bush.
d) The entire matter is
considered by the United States authorities to be of tremendous
The memo had been classified "Top Secret." It was obvious that
flying saucers were not about to go away.
(Since this article was first written, some doubt has been
cast as to whether the security classification was legitimate or
something merely inserted by Smith himself. Until further details
are available, the memo should be viewed with caution -
The year 1952 saw the largest increase in UFO sightings in
history. 1501 reports filed and over 300 unexplained. The
Intelligence Division of the Air Materiel Command was reorganized
into the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). Project Grudge
would have to increase staff membership and activities to contend
with the additional reports. Captain Edward Ruppelt was appointed
to oversee the new operation.
Ruppelt was a believer in a systematic approach to the UFO
problem. He was not tolerant of bias and actively sought outside
help from the scientific community. Project Grudge would no
longer be the negative, dour entity it had been over the previous
several years. Shortly after Ruppelt took command of Grudge, it
was renamed Project Blue Book to reflect the change in
approach. Ruppelt's influence even caused the Air Force to
publicly announce that it was still investigating UFOs and that
unexplained reports continued to be filed. Ruppelt also coined
the phrase unidentified flying object during 1952.
A major article in Life magazine's April 7, 1952 issue
emphasized the mysterious nature of UFOs. What was extraordinary
about the article was that it was done with the complete
cooperation of the Air Force. Times had changed and the
negativity of Project Grudge was truly dead. The Life article
concluded that UFOs could not be explained by present science as
natural phenomena but only as artificial devices created and
operated by a high intelligence.
Sightings continued to increase. The Air Force had received so
many press inquiries that it appointed Albert Chop to handle press
relations since Ruppelt's staff at Project Blue Book could not
devote so much of its time to questioning by reporters.
Perhaps the peak of this intense interest in UFOs occurred on two
weekends in July 1952. Radar scopes at Washington National
Airport and at Andrews Air Force Base had detected swarms of UFOs
over the portions of the restricted air space over Washington,
D.C. These, coupled with many other reports that summer, created
a virtual panic. The press frantically inundated the Air Force
with inquiries. Hesitant and unsure, the Air Force could not
answer the questions because it did not yet have any answers to
give. Finally, a few days after the last radar trackings on July
27th, they were prepared to provide at least a semblance of an
As far as the Air Force was concerned, something had to be done to
dispel what had become a wild situation. The Air Force's
communications centers had become overwhelmed with reports, public
inquiries, press inquiries, and political inquiries from worried
members of the Senate and Congress. This was intolerable for a
military body responsible for the security of the country not to
be able to adequately understand what was happening.
A press conference was held on July 29th, headed by Major General
John Samford. He explained that the Washington sightings were
most likely temperature inversions, a peculiar layering of air
masses of differing temperatures which can create radar targets.
He did explain that experts would examine the matter more fully.
He added that the Air Force was still studying UFOs and, while
acknowledging that the sightings were made by "credible observers
of relatively incredible things," he quickly said that UFOs
appeared to be no threat to national security.
The press conference succeeded in reducing the flood of
questioning and, moreover, began a wave of skepticism from the
press which further reduced public interest. Since UFOs had not
actually done anything beyond looking strange and frightening
people, the press felt that perhaps they were nothing but
misunderstood natural phenomena after all.
The Air Force hierarchy now recognized the danger of being too
open about UFOs. An attitude change was once again about to take
Toward the end of 1952, Project Blue Book refined investigative
techniques, planned a photographic network of special cameras in
an attempt to obtain hard scientific data about UFOs, and
sponsored a statistical study of reports by the Batelle Institute.
But at the same time, certain elements in intelligence circles
felt that UFO reports were a serious hinderance. Somehow, they
said, the interest in UFOs could be exploited by foreign nations
at odds with the United States in an effort to create distrust of
government pronouncements. This became a very powerful argument
to leaders of a country that, at that moment in time, was highly
paranoid about the infiltration of "Communists" into the
Early in 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency convened a panel of
experts in Washington. Chairman of the panel was Dr. H.P.
Robertson, Director of the Weapons System Evaluation Group for the
Secretary of Defense. Other members included Dr. Samuel
Goudsmit, discoverer of electron spin; Dr. Luis Alvarez,
physicist and, later, a Nobel Prize winner; Dr. Lloyd Berkner, a
director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory; and Dr. Thornton
Page, Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Operations Research
Office. Additional participants included Dr. J. Allen Hynek,
Captain Ruppelt, and Frederic Durant, astronautical authority and
eventual author of the panel's report.
These experts heard testimony and studied films and UFO cases for
a grand total of twelve hours, after which they concluded that
UFOs were no direct threat to national security. They also
expressed their negative opinion that UFOs were extraterrestrial
and that undue Air Force attention to UFOs would foster public
belief that the government gave UFOs more serious consideration
than they deserved to be given. The reports themselves, not the
UFOs, were the threat to national security in that they tended to
flood intelligence channels with relatively unimportant sightings,
hindering more serious information reporting.
The Robertson Panel suggested a program of "training and
debunking" to reduce mistaken UFO reports and to convince the
public that UFOs were not an important issue any longer.
The panel's conclusions were far-reaching. The Air Force's
serious consideration of UFOs was reversed and the old Project
Grudge policies were to become dominant once again. UFO reports
continued on but the government would not treat the subject with
respect in the future as it had in the previous year. Many
reports still were found to be mysterious and unexplained, yet
they did not prove the hypothesis regarded as so favorable by
personnel during the early days of Project Sign - that UFOs were
extraterrestrial vehicles from another world.
The battle lines were drawn between the new government position
and the public critics of Air Force policy, who were led by the
pro-extraterrestrial advocate Major Donald Keyhoe. A continuous
debate would carry on for many years thereafter.
As another attempt to stifle criticism, the Air Force released
Project Blue Book Special Report 14 in 1955. It was a revised
version of the Batelle Institute statistical study initiated in
1952. The document was clearly released as a debunking effort by
the Air Force. However, it contained many ambiguities and
contradictions. For example, after concluding that the likelihood
of flying saucers being real was very small, the report argued
that, as far as the unknowns in the case sample were concerned,
the more detailed the report, the more likely the report withstood
intense scrutiny and survived as a truly unexplained incident.
Sporadic waves of UFO activity occurred after the decisions of the
Robertson Panel, though nothing like that in 1952. Shortly after
Sputnik Two was launched by the Soviet Union in November 1957, a
UFO wave began in the midwestern U.S., making national headlines.
A Coast Guard vessel, the Sebago, experienced a spectacular UFO
encounter in the Gulf of Mexico when crew members tracked a highly
maneuverable object on radar. Security guards at atomic
facilities saw huge, egg-shaped objects flying over and hovering
near very sensitive sites. Many witnesses saw a UFO fly over and
land repeatedly in various sections of Levelland, Texas, often
causing the electrical systems of cars to black out.
Through all of this the Air Force maintained a posture of disinterest,
considering the seriousness of the situation. If there was concern behind
the scenes, they were very careful not to let the public know about it.
The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP)
became prominent in 1957, under the leadership of Major Keyhoe.
Resistance to government UFO policy was now organized. NICAP's
board contained many prominent names from the military, government
and business fields. All believed that the debunking policy was
wrong. Keeping the public ignorant of a mysterious phenomena in
our skies was, to NICAP, a travesty. NICAP monitored government
statements and responses to public inquiries, exposed deception
and misinformation when it was recognized, and issued reports
showing that UFOs were most probably high-technology vehicles from
In 1958, NICAP pressured the government for Congressional
hearings, hoping that such public exposure of their evidence for a
UFO cover-up would break the monopoly that the Air Force had on
analysing sensitive UFO sightings. The Air Force had managed to
thwart such scrutiny by assuring the Congress that Project Blue
Book's UFO investigations had shown no security threat by the
phenomenon and that proof of extraterrestrials was lacking. Vital
questions about the Air Force's handling of UFOs were, for the
moment, pushed into the background.
In the meantime, debunking became more intense within Project Blue
Book. The Air Force was compelled to reduce the percentage of
unknowns to virtually zero, no matter how outlandish the
explanations were. While the government's frequent public
relations errors enhanced the claims of a deliberate Air Force
debunking program by organizations like NICAP, such gains were
offset by the rise of contactees, who were persons claiming direct
contact with extraterrestrials in flying saucers. The
infiltration of this element into serious UFO research would prove
to be extremely damaging to efforts in turning about government
UFO policy. There was a certain "guilt by association," causing
officials to look at every UFO organization as a potential lunatic
fringe group to be ignored or made the object of ridicule.
Avoiding the pressures that UFO organizations could apply was
easy, as long as sightings did not increase and become public as
they did in 1952. The UFO scene remained quite inert from 1958 to
The sighting of a UFO on April 24, 1964, by Socorro, New Mexico
policeman Lonnie Zamora was another turning point in official UFO
policy. Zamora's story not only became a public issue but,
moreover, proved to be a very difficult case to ridicule.
As he chased a car on the outskirts of town, Zamora heard an
explosion in the direction of a nearby remote area. Driving out
to the site, he saw a strange, metallic, egg-shaped object with
four legs sitting on the ground. Two figures, dressed in white
coveralls, were seen standing beside the object. Zamora watched
both individuals quickly enter the landed UFO, apparently startled
by Zamora's arrival. Under the impression that an accident had
taken place, he rushed over to the landing site. The UFO began to
belch flame from underneath and, as Zamora dove for cover, the
object lifted up and moved away. Upon examination of the landing
spot, he noticed a patch of burned ground where the flame had
Each investigation of the story, from the Air Force to NICAP to
the FBI to the press, found that Zamora was an impeccable witness.
Project Blue Book, which now had a reputation of being a debunking
group, was stymied. About a year later, writing in a classified
intelligence periodical, "Studies in Intelligence," the head of
Blue Book, Major Hector Quintanilla, stated that, "This is the
best documented case on record, and still we have been unable, in
spite of thorough investigation, to find the vehicle or other
stimulus that scared Zamora to the point of panic."
It was an impressive statement of support by the Air Force for a
UFO incident. By this, the Air Force saw signs that, once again,
official UFO debunking was coming into a period when it would be
seriously challenged by the difficult-to-kill UFO phenomenon.
1965 saw a sharp increase in the number of sighting reports,
particularly during the summer. Air Force dismissals had by now
come under escalating criticism by the press. All of the previous
debunking efforts had not completely eliminated the UFOs from the
mind of the population. Reports by the hundreds filtered into the
Air Force, causing the press to issue editorial remarks to the
effect that an unknown phenomenon was present, that the Air Force
was hiding the facts, and that the public had a right to know the
"truth." At one point, an Air Force spokesman had declared that
sightings over Oklahoma were merely the belt stars in the
constellation Orion, when in fact these stars had not yet risen
above the horizon!
Such errors fueled the media frenzy into a belief that a cover-up
was in effect. Something had to be done to alleviate this new
The Air Force asked a panel of six scientists to review the
Project Blue Book operation. Called the O'Brien Panel, all of the
members were a part of the Air Force's Scientific Advisory Board,
except for the inclusion of Dr. Carl Sagan, noted for his
advocacy of the existence of intelligent life in the universe.
Sagan was not, however, a UFO enthusiast.
The panel met for one day in February 1966, and, after endorsing
Project Blue Book's activities, went further to suggest that a
detailed study of UFOs be conducted by a university to relieve the
Air Force of the burden of the UFO problem. Just a month after
the recommendation, UFO sightings exploded again, this time in
On March 20, 1966, numerous witnesses reported seeing a large,
glowing object in a swampy area near Hillsdale College.
Additional sightings were reported the next day in Dexter. Not
particularly spectacular when compared to other reports in years
past, the press decided to devote a large amount of coverage to
these sightings. The reason for this is still unclear except that
after a previous year of high activity, and a winter season which
historically had been slow for UFO sightings, the press was
anxious for the first big UFO blast of the coming warm weather
Dr. J. Allen Hynek, then Blue Book's scientific consultant, was
rushed to Michigan by the Air Force to investigate the sightings,
and to give quick answers. At a large press conference in the
Detroit Press Club, Hynek suggested the possibility that the
sightings were caused by gases from rotting vegetation which, when
spontaneously ignited, creates a glowing ball of light. Hynek's
speculation became fact for the press, eager to report a quick
solution from the Air Force. The Air Force's consultant recalled
watching in horror as a reporter circled the phrase "Swamp Gas" in
his notes as he ran for a phone. "Swamp Gas" was broadcast to the
world as the Air Force's answer to UFO's. The public, the media,
and even many political leaders almost universally ridiculed the
suggestion, openly laughing at Hynek and the Air Force for
offering such an unlikely explanation for the Michigan sightings.
The Air Force's anti-UFO policy at this point had struck bottom
and there became greater urgency to pass the UFO problem to a
A few days after the "Swamp Gas" affair, the House Armed Services
Committee of the U.S. Congress held a one-day hearing on April 5,
1966. Only three people appeared, all Air Force representatives:
Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Major Quintanilla of Project Blue Book and
Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown. Hynek parted ways with
the government at this hearing, advocating that UFOs deserved more
serious attention than they had received at the hands of the Air
Force. He added that the Air Force's debunking policy could be an
obstacle impeding scientific research.
It was clear that the House committee wanted to see the Air Force
implement the O'Brien Panel's recommendation that a university be
contracted to do a major UFO study. Air Force Secretary Brown
wasted no time after the House committee hearing and urged the Air
Force Chief of Staff to begin such a program.
The Air Force approached many universities before finding one
interested in participating. On October 7, 1966, the University
of Colorado accepted the offer. Dr. Edward U. Condon was
appointed to head the project.
Most everyone was pleased that finally a scientific and objective
study was to be conducted on UFOs. Advocates of UFOs felt sure
that the evidence they had to offer would vindicate their
position, while the Air Force was certain that the study would
support their stance and defuse the entire UFO controversy. But
trouble appeared early in the Condon Committee's existence.
In a speech before the American Chemical Society on January 25,
1967, Dr. Condon expressed his opinion that the government should
get out of the UFO business immediately as "there's nothing to
it." Other apparently biased remarks were made by Condon, sending
a shudder through the UFO individuals and organizations
cooperating with the committee. Internal strife among committee
members with opposing beliefs about UFO reality caused more
problems. Finally, the discovery of a memo written by the Project
Administrator, Robert Low, in August 1966, was reported by a staff
member in July 1967. The memo defined the problem, as Low saw it,
of presenting the UFO study as objective, when, in reality, it
consisted of a group of non-believers appearing to be objective
but never having any expectation of proving UFO reality. Low
described this public visage as a "trick."
When the memo circulated to several scientists in the project,
then to outside UFO researchers cooperating with the project, then
to the large-circulation Look magazine, the committee's
credibility began to fall apart. NICAP and Major Keyhoe, who had
a tenuous cooperative agreement with Condon, terminated any future
forwarding of sightings for study, feeling that the Air Force was
exerting it's debunking influence on the study. Condon fired two
staff members for leaking the Low memo to outsiders. Condon's own
administrative assistant resigned over a lack of confidence in
Low's ability to manage.
A flurry of negative public reaction to these events ensued, but
it was tempered by the fact that since the committee's final
report had not yet been released, many chose to wait until they
were able to read it fully. The objectivity of the Condon study
was rendered impure by these events. It was a damaging blow to
government attempts to reduce the UFO controversy. All that was
left was to await the final report and hope that it would be well
Ironically, in the midst of this public relations setback, another
round of Congressional hearings were held on July 29, 1968. A
number of prominent scientists who had supported UFO reality
testified, along with several others against their reality.
Overall, the hearing aired a more favorable view on UFOs than in
the previous hearing in 1966. Most people were distracted from
the hearing by anticipation of the final Condon report. Little
came of the presentations for practical purposes.
The report was released to the public early in 1969. Most
reporters, intimidated by the sheer size of the report (1485
pages), read only the summary section at the beginning of it,
authored by Dr. Condon himself. In it, Condon thoroughly
debunked UFO reality and suggested that no scientific benefit
could come from a study of the phenomenon. Condon's summary was a
crushing rebuke to anyone who even entertained the possibility
that UFOs were other than mistakes and hoaxes.
Those who read beyond Condon's summary found a curious thing. Of
the ninety-one case histories studied, thirty remained
unexplained. This was a figure approximately six times higher
than the Air Force's estimate of unknowns from their own study.
The evidence in the body of the Condon report argued strongly for
the presence of an unexplained phenomenon, yet somehow the press
largely ignored such contradictions and, accepting the conclusions
of Dr. Condon, effectively stopped reporting on UFOs after that.
The Air Force had gotten what it wanted; an excuse to once and for
all divest themselves of the obligation to publicly investigate
UFOs. Project Blue Book was closed at the end of 1969. Sighting
reports dropped drastically for three years.
UFOs returned in 1973 in a wave that rivaled the ones of the past.
The government was not responsive to UFO questioning this time.
Scientific UFO research, however, gained favor once again. The
Center for UFO Studies, headed by the Air Force's former
consultant, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, was born in 1973. This was the
last great UFO wave that the U.S. would see up to present time.
Research into the UFO phenomenon has reached a crossroads. With
this, the 50th anniversary of the modern era of UFO sightings, we
continue to debate not so much the reality of UFOs (UFOs, as
unknowns, surely are real inasmuch as people report seeing aerial
events which they sometimes can not identify) but the answers as
to what they are. Are they extraterrestrial vehicles, time
machines, passages to parallel universes, living organisms,
psychic projections, or merely planets, stars, balloons, aircraft,
hallucinations or other mundane things? The crossroads is that
after half a century we have not been able to decisively settle
the controversy. It churns on year after year, decade after
decade and has remained at the very least as one of the most
persistent of curiosities in the broad field of phenomenology, my
definition of this being the study of transient, superficially
UFO studies have been dominated by serious, scientifically
oriented people trying to make sense of the reports on one end of
the spectrum, and on the other end by a far-out, high-strung
collection of odd balls, con-men and opportunists. The rest of us
fall somewhere along that line. The vast dichotomy of opinion in
a subject barely governed by any rules or regulation has given the
public the notion that often the population within UFO research is
odder that the phenomenon itself!
Whatever the case of the subject's peculiarities, there are still
areas of research well worth pursuing. I had chosen the area
which I felt held the most promise for a resolution: government
UFO documents and investigations. Why? The reasons are easily
For many years during the time of official U.S. government
involvement, 1947-1969, the questionable handling of UFO reports
by agencies strongly suggested that information was being hidden
from the public. The fact that the information was being hidden
says loudly that the information is sensitive and contradicts the
official point of view -- that there was nothing to UFOs.
Military information about jets being scrambled to chase exotic
aircraft which utterly out-performed their pursuers tantalized
thinking individuals who consequently could not dismiss the
stories out of hand. Leaked reports of photographs, gun camera
films, radar trackings and other types of instrument detection
argued for a removal of UFOs from an imaginary or psychic realm
into a category of harder evidence.
But such hard evidence was not as available in the civilian
reports with which the UFO investigators and organizations were
accustomed to dealing. The government's reports promised to take
the quality level of evidence one step higher. Yet if the
information was being withheld, how was one to make it publicly
available for study?
Everything changed for research into government documents in 1975
with the advent of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Suddenly the law, enacted as a reaction to government misconduct
during the Vietnam War and most particularly the Nixon "Watergate"
scandal, allowed private citizens to access government records
with a mere written request, providing that the records did not
fall under any of nine categories of exemption that allowed the
withholding of papers. Such categories included violations of
personal privacy, national security, internal government
decision-making processes; etc. Indeed the categories seemed
broad enough to allow continued withholding of just about
Prior to this time UFO researchers had to settle for government
press releases, reports that were designed for public consumption
like the famous Condon Report debunking of UFOs which ended the
Air Force's UFO involvement, and tidbits from Project Blue Book
investigations which had only recently been made available before
the FOIA began.
The new law opened the floodgates to a wide variety of UFO
information from many different government agencies.
UFO researchers could not believe their good fortune. They began
requesting files from the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Air Force, National Security Agency,
Defense Intelligence Agency, and a host of other agencies known to
have been involved in the UFO controversy over previous decades.
Large numbers of papers appeared in researchers' mailboxes.
Sometimes lawsuits had to be initiated to gain access to withheld
and censored documents. The CIA tried to resist releasing their
files to the public but, in a headlined court case in 1979, they
were ordered to give up nearly 900 pages of records to a UFO
organization, Ground Saucer Watch.
The FBI followed with a release of nearly 1700 pages. Other
agencies released numerous documents dating back to the dawn of
the UFO era.
Several things became clear in reading these newly released files.
One was that the documents tended to be low-priority information,
with little of it having shown evidence of being classified at
high levels. Many former military officers have testified that
UFO documents were classified at "Top Secret" levels so it
appeared that much work was ahead in working the records from the
lower levels to the higher categories. The released papers
alluded to other documents which the agencies often did not
acknowledge as being in their possession. Also, hundreds of
documents were acknowledged as existing but could not be released
due to concerns for national security, among other reasons.
Major Keyhoe's claims of cover-up in the early 1950s rang truer
than ever before. Much of his information at the time tended to
be anecdotal in nature, though still very convincing in a
circumstantial way. But he had little access to the documentation
that we now have.
If Keyhoe had had the papers we have in this decade, who knows how
different the history of the UFO subject might have been in terms
of press and public attitudes. Imagine if Keyhoe had the kind of
information in the following instance:
A North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) document dated
November 11, 1975 said that in October and early November 1975,
military personnel at five U.S. and Canadian air bases along the
northern border between the two countries had sighted strange
objects. The sightings occurred in the proximity of missile
control facilities, aircraft runways, and nuclear weapon storage
sites where security is extremely sensitive. One sighting at
Loring Air Force Base, Maine prompted the Air Force to report that
the UFO seen there "demonstrated a clear intent in the weapons
storage area," implying intelligent control and clarity of
purpose. Whenever strange vehicles appear near buildings storing
nuclear devices, and when the military appears powerless to
prevent the presence of the vehicle, a national security threat is
evident. The perpetrators in this case were never caught, but
fortunately there appeared to have been no tampering with the
Such was not the case however on November 7, 1975, when remote
electronic sensors triggered an alarm at the "K-7" nuclear missile
silo under the control of Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. In
the launch control area underground two officers noticed the
signal and contacted a Sabotage Alert Team (SAT), consisting of
anywhere from four to six security men.
As the team drove to the missile site they could see a huge,
orange glowing object hovering over K-7. They kept their distance
and described a football field-sized disc that illuminated the
area. A short time later, as the object rose, radar picked up the
UFO. Two F-106 interceptors were scrambled and headed towards K-7
but the UFO had already risen to 200,000 feet where it disappeared
from radar. As a witness described the aftermath of the event in
a September 1980 issue of Denver magazine, targeting teams and
computer specialists were called in to check the missile. When
the missile's warhead was examined it was discovered that the
targeting figures programmed into the computer had mysteriously
changed. The missile was removed from the silo and replaced.
Another military source recently related that because of the
problem with the missile, it was used as part of a scheduled
competition at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California known as the
"Olympic Missile Roundup," a contest to determine the best missile
launch crew much like the "Top Gun" competition (as depicted in
the Hollywood film of the same title) determines the best fighter
pilots. The K-7 missile was said to have been refitted and, with
a dummy warhead, launched at Kwajelein Atoll in the Pacific to
determine the competing missile crew's targeting accuracy. No
word on who won.
Or what could Keyhoe have done in the 1950s with this:
The Air Force's former Chief of Staff, General Curtis Le May, in
his autobiography "Mission With Le May" (Doubleday, 1965) said
that while the bulk of UFO reports were explainable, some could
not be dismissed so easily. "There's no question about it," he
said. "These were things which we could not tie in with any
natural phenomena known to our investigators." This from an
individual who was once an overseer of large aspects of the
national security structure of the U.S. military.
It is obvious that the government in its public assertions that
the UFO phenomenon was not a serious topic and of no concern for
national security, had misled observers of the UFO situation for
years. Federal mishandling of the public relations aspect of UFOs
created suspicions for years that they were hiding the "truth"
about them, whatever that may have been. Is there a truth to be
People who believed UFOs were real were generally inclined to
think that they were vehicles of aliens from other planets
exploring the Earth. It was not a completely unreasonable thing
in which to believe. We know that there is life in the universe,
we are an example of it. And since we are now clearly established
as a space exploring civilization, having sent hundreds of space
vehicles beyond our atmosphere and some to explore other planets,
how much of a stretch would it be to imagine that another
civilization in space, more advanced than us, could have mastered
interstellar travel and have come to the Earth? In the radio
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum of energy the Earth
radiates into space quite conspicuously, being probably one of the
brightest spots in the galaxy. Surely such a beacon of
intelligence could have been detected easily by a similarly
talented civilization elsewhere and create a curiosity which could
culminate in direct visits and contact. An astonishing variety of
life forms exist on planet Earth, some of which we know exist now
would not have been believed in the past. Machine intelligence is
growing by leaps and bounds. Why not elsewhere?
The catch for this is that we need proof of such a scenario.
Tantalizing but scientifically inconclusive evidence repeatedly
has become known in the public sector regarding UFOs over the last
half century. Compelling but not decisive. If the UFO situation
were as true as the speculations of UFO proponents have suggested
for the extraterrestrial hypothesis, then the evidence might lie
behind the curtain of secrecy that the government seemed to have
established around some aspects of the UFO phenomenon. The lack
of candor and misinformation virtually ensured that UFOs would be
with us for a long time.
So does the government have proof or not? The answer so far is
no. "So far" only because we have not seen all that there is to
see of the government's UFO papers. At one time spokesmen
insisted that the Project Blue Book files were all that existed on
UFOs. Numerous insiders in the military had said otherwise but
prior to the freedom of Information Act there was little that
could be done to prove it without breaking the law. Since the
Act, UFO specialists in government documents have gleaned roughly
10,000 pages of records.
With the passage of time it is expected that more of the older
files will be brought into the open, providing that they have not
been destroyed already. We know for example that a fire at a
government archive in St. Louis in 1973 destroyed a certain
number of UFO records from the earliest years of UFO
investigations. Copies of raw intelligence gathered by the
military are generally destined for destruction by regulation
after a relatively short period of time. As an example of this
there were a number of times that in attempting to confirm
sightings with Federal Aviation Administration radar tapes we had
discovered that the tapes were erased as a normal administrative
process. In fact it is entirely likely that records that had been
released under FOIA, say twenty years ago, no longer exist. Which
means that the only copy of a particular government record on UFOs
might be in the hands of a private researcher out amongst the
multitudes, and if that person says nothing about it, the
information could be lost for a long time.
Other records have survived only by the barest of margins. The
Air Force in 1952 had subscribed to a clipping service in an
effort to upgrade the flow of sighting information to their
investigators. The service lasted from April through September of
that year and was terminated only because during that particularly
active year for the Air Force so much information had been
received that there was no longer time or room to manage it. When
the Project Blue Book records were turned over to the National
Archives in 1975 the vast clipping file was not there, apparently
a victim of time and Air Force record down-sizing.
However by pure chance the matter was revived in correspondence
with Dr. Herbert Strentz, dean of the School of Journalism at
Drake University. It seems that when Strentz was a graduate
student in journalism he had visited Project Blue Book at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio sometime in 1967.
During that visit he had noticed a pile of old microfilm that was
destined for the trash and had asked about it. He was told that
the material was of no use to Blue Book. They asked him if he
wanted it. Strentz quickly replied yes. It turned out that the
microfilm was a copy of the long-destroyed original 1952
clippings, some 32,000+, along with uncensored copies of old
Project Sign case summaries that were sent to scientists for study
during the early years of the Air Force's investigations, and
hundreds of pages of letters sent to the Air Force following an
April 7, 1952 Life magazine article on UFOs with which the Air
Force had cooperated. These records were perhaps just hours from
FOIA requests now often take months or even years to fulfill.
High search fees have been levied, from hundreds of dollars to as
much as a quarter of a million dollars. Twice researchers were
forced to go to court to obtain documents, once against the CIA in
1979 cited earlier and once against the National Security Agency.
The NSA suit was a landmark case in the pursuit of UFO documents.
A U.S. District Court reviewed a top secret, twenty-one page
affidavit regarding the NSA's withheld UFO documents which at the
time amounted to 239 specific papers comprising a mix of
administrative material, sightings around the world, and
communications and signals intelligence reports (COMINT and
SIGINT), i.e. intercepted broadcasts from NSA's monitoring of
The affidavit was released on May 18, 1982, with more than
three-fourths of the document censored. What was the explanation?
The court declared in its conclusion that release of the documents
"could seriously jeopardize the work of the agency and the
security of the United States." The court further determined that
"public interest in disclosure is far outweighed by the sensitive
nature of the material."
What is the sensitive material? During the late-1990s, the NSA
slowly began to lift much of the censorship, revealing the reasons
for their reticence at releasing documents.
UFO reports are discussed in some detail and considerable censorship
remains. Yet it is clear from the readable portions of the
affidavit that it is not so much the release of the UFO reports that
is of concern. The concern rested in the details of how those
reports were acquired, whether through satellite monitoring,
communication intercepts, code breaking; etc. Revealing these facts
could seriously compromise U.S. intelligence activities by
disclosing locations of monitoring facilities, specific times and
targets of monitoring efforts and internal discussions on how to
deal with "surprise material," like UFO reports. Under such
circumstances, there may always be UFO reports that will never be
made public, fueling conspiracy theories until the end of time.
We have had fifty years to mull over these possibilities. In
asserting that the UFO phenomenon is real, the burden of proof
lies on those claiming the subject's strangeness. But even if
UFOs are proven strange, it doesn't prove an answer. As unusual
as the phenomenon has occasionally been, it still wallows in a
nether world of fact mixed with fiction.
In all likelihood UFOs will be with us for another fifty years,
creating controversy, tantalizing many, angering some and
frustrating others. We should be used to it by now. We have had
a lot of practice. Now the task should be in testing the best of
the information with hard work and common sense, to prevent the
mistakes of the past and reduce the noise level in the future.
Barry Greenwood, Stoneham, Mass. 1-22-97 | <urn:uuid:ed779688-7ae2-459d-b89e-cdb65f4194b8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.project1947.com/bg/ufogov.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966714 | 11,922 | 3.28125 | 3 |
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Plant the eucalyptus tree at the same depth it was growing inside its container, and firm the soil up around the tree once planted.
Water the tree once planted, thoroughly saturating the roots. Continue watering, keeping the soil moist for the first two weeks and then gradually cut back the watering to once per week. Eucalyptus trees are relatively drought tolerant once established and will die if grown in saturated conditions.
Prune the tree as needed to form one main trunk, to control its size and shape, and to remove any dead wood or crossing branches. | <urn:uuid:5e83ddf4-47e4-4ccd-bfd9-c85ff973fe8a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gardenguides.com/113955-grow-eucalyptus-tree.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00124-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923041 | 602 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Improving Gender Balance
A DfE-funded pilot project running from 2014 to 2016.
The Improving Gender Balance (IGB) project is part of the Stimulating Physics Network, an IOP project funded by the Department for Education to develop the teaching and learning of physics in secondary schools.
A team of Project Officers support a group of 20 IGB Partner Schools to identify and address issues around gender and subject choice. Each school is taking one of three distinct approaches to increasing the number of girls choosing to study physics at A-level. These approaches, or ‘strands’, aim to directly address the factors which the evidence suggests are important in influencing subject choices:
- Strand A: Working with girls at KS3-4 to build confidence and resilience (8 schools)
- Strand B: Working with teachers of physics to enhance the experience of girls in the physics classroom (8 schools)
- Strand C: Working with senior leaders, governors, pupils and teachers across all subjects on gender equity and whole school culture (4 schools)
The project aims to assess the impact of each strand and identify the most effective approaches to encouraging more girls to continue with physics post-16.
For more information on the IGB project, please email [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:2fdd7809-0ca0-4db4-b0c3-844c730b4f6c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.iop.org/education/teacher/support/girls_physics/improving-gender-balance/page_63795.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00155-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918532 | 264 | 3.078125 | 3 |
marine fisheries in Southeast Asia
The study by Butcher (2004) highlights the boom-and-bust nature of development of industrial marine fisheries in the region over the past century or so as, one by one, stocks and habitats were exploited in an often uncontrolled, unregulated manner and, when these were depleted, the fleet moved on to the next area or stock. This sequential plunder also occurred across fisheries as the declining economic performance of one fishery spurred the transfer of vessels and fishers to a new, developing fishery (very often with government assistance) which in its turn also declined. However, the point was reached in about the 1980s where there were very few new, underexploited areas for fleets to move to within the region and very few new types of fisheries that fleets could transfer to. This remains the situation in the region today.
This boom-and-bust nature of development of industrial fishing has severely impacted on the small-scale fisheries in the region, which still account for the vast majority of landings (up to 94 percent of total landings for example, in Indonesia) and this led in the past, and continues to lead to, violent clashes between industrial and small-scale fishers.
Another issue highlighted by the analysis of Butcher (2004) is the poor state of even basic statistics on landings, fishing methods and fishing effort. This lack of statistics from the past has made the analysis by Butcher (2004) on the development of fisheries in the region very difficult and often reliant on isolated, qualitative information which, nevertheless, Butcher has assembled from an impressive range of sources. There has never been and there remain today virtually no statistics that are collected on a regional basis (an important gap since many stocks cross national boundaries and are fished by fleets from a number of nations) and there is no consistent regional approach to the type and methodology of statistics collection. In addition, most national statistics are poor both in the extent of their coverage and precision. The basic data upon which to assess the impact of fishing on fish stocks and to make informed fisheries development and management decisions was, therefore, never collected in the past and this important gap in knowledge remains today. | <urn:uuid:6a428f85-a4e0-4c24-8682-f057927478ce> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag122e/AG122E13.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970938 | 442 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The UK’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has launched a public consultation to gauge attitudes toward controversial new medical procedures aimed at preventing the transmission of incurable diseases that result from mutations of cell structures called mitochondria. Supporters of such research are framing criticism of it as opposition to saving children’s lives and an impediment to scientific development. However, this view neglects a crucial factor in the debate: the techniques being developed involve permanent genetic alterations passed on to future generations.
The mitochondria are the energy-producing “batteries” of the cell, containing the only DNA outside of the cell nucleus — 37 genes, or roughly 0.2 percent of a person’s genetic makeup. Given that these genes are contained in the egg, and thus are inherited only from the mother, the new techniques aim to replace the mother’s mutated mitochondria with that of a healthy female donor of eggs without the mutation. This results in embryos that contain genetic material from three people — the child’s father and mother, plus the egg donor.
So the real question is how the public feels about crossing the line between medical treatments for existing people and irreversible genetic alterations that would be passed on to future generations through genetic modification of the human germline (the sequence of germ cells, such as sperm and eggs, containing genetic material that a child may inherit).
Despite the good intentions behind mitochondrial research, international concern about the implications of breaching this barrier is mounting. Indeed, not only do most scientists and governments worldwide consider human germline genetic modification unacceptable; it is expressly prohibited in more than 40 countries, including the UK. As a result, experts in the US, Canada, Germany, Israel and elsewhere have responded critically to the prospect of Britain unilaterally undermining the consensus that prohibits such techniques.
Mitochondrial mutations can have serious consequences, including epilepsy, liver failure, diabetes and cardiomyopathy. However, while the number of people affected by such mutations is estimated to be between one in 200 and one in 400, mutations do not translate to serious diseases in most cases. Because the harmful changes are often only present in low levels, and because a single cell can contain both mutated and normal mitochondria, it is widely believed that only one person in 5,000 — or even one in 10,000 — will be affected by mitochondrial disease.
Despite this relatively low frequency, the Wellcome Trust (an organization dedicated to improving human and animal health) recently donated ￡4 million (US$6.5 million) to scientists at the University of Newcastle to establish a center for mitochondrial research. In a 2010 paper, the scientists reported some early success with a technique involving the use of human zygotes (single-cell embryos) that had been engineered to contain only healthy mitochondria. However, they managed to develop only 8 percent of the zygotes to a slightly later stage.
Nevertheless, last year a coalition of scientists and funders submitted a letter to former UK secretary of state for health Andrew Lansley requesting regulation revision, in order to permit the new techniques’ use in clinical treatment “once sufficient pre-clinical evidence [was] established.” The influential groups backing the coalition — including the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust — claimed that “translating research into treatment [looked] achievable in the near future.” | <urn:uuid:5d97b878-2437-4c32-b94f-7beba021a6e6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2013/01/02/2003551551 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00058-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934014 | 702 | 2.984375 | 3 |
by Staff Writers
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Jul 13, 2012
A lightweight spacecraft with capabilities that punch above its weight could provide the perfect launching pad for a sustainable Australian space program, a leading engineer says. Dr Steven Tsitas from the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER) at UNSW has developed an innovative system design for a new shoebox-sized spacecraft that enables night imaging and agricultural monitoring missions previously requiring much larger crafts.
With the right instrumentation, the 8-kilogram spacecraft known as the 6U CubeSat can perform some of the commercial earth-observation missions of 'microsatellites' that weigh around 100 kg and are roughly the size of a washing machine, he says.
"This 10-times size reduction should make the cost of producing a spacecraft 10-times cheaper - around $1 million versus $10 million," says Tsitas. "The cost may now be low enough to make it politically possible for Australia to establish a sustainable national space program."
"The worldwide space industry has annual revenue of $275 billion and a 9 per cent growth rate," he says. "This is perhaps the last chance for Australia to enter this high growth-rate industry in the capacity of designing and building its own spacecraft."
Researchers in the US developed the original one litre-volume CubeSat for educational purposes. The modified 6U version is slightly larger and rectangular in shape, meaning it has considerably more payload capacity for the inclusion of advanced instruments and cameras.
The system design described by Tsitas was developed in collaboration with Dr Jenny Kingston from Cranfield University in the UK.
Tsitas will chair a workshop at Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra on 17-18 July to explore the range of missions that are possible with the 6U CubeSat.
John Hines, the Chief Technologist for the NASA-Ames Research Centre, will be presenting and speaking on a panel titled: Can the 6U CubeSat form the basis of a sustainable Australian Space Program?
Event Details: 6U CubeSat Low Cost Space Missions Workshop - 17 - 18 July 2012; Mt Stromlo Observatory, Canberra
Register online here
AU Cubesat 2012
Microsat News and Nanosat News at SpaceMart.com
|The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement| | <urn:uuid:19572676-5d27-4a75-a558-515199316346> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Nano_satellite_offers_best_hope_for_Australias_future_in_space_999.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00097-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908958 | 584 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Here's a picture that illustrates what all the words on the first page mean. This diagram was created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It shows that factories produce bad things called SO2 and NOx and release them into the air (These are the yellow dots on the picture). When SO2 and NOx combine with the air, acid rain is created.
Acid rain is very bad and can hurt the environment. It can burn the leaves on your favorite plants and trees. It can even hurt the animals that live in the environment by stopping them from having babies.
Currently, there are programs within the government that make factories limit the amount of bad stuff they produce. So far, it seems like these programs are working, but only time will tell.
If you want to see some interesting activities and information that the EPA has created for teachers and children please SEARCH the EPA home page for acid rain. From there click on the last item (program homepage). Then find the section for teachers and students. It's very helpful.
In addition to the link I already provided, there are lots of other sources on the web that can help young people learn more about the formation of acid rain and its effects on the environment.
Here are some other sources of information:
I hope that you have found this information useful. If you would still like to know more, you can try searching the web some more or you can always take a nice trip to the library. Between those two things, you just can't go wrong.
BACK TO THE FIRST PAGE | <urn:uuid:3ecc1f3f-0c18-4a3c-972d-126acb7a0c8c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/Environmental/acidrain/kids.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00007-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96546 | 316 | 3.28125 | 3 |
From 2009 to 2014, projected rises in anthropogenic influences and solar irradiance will increase global surface temperature 0.15 ±0.03 °C, at a rate 50% greater than predicted by IPCC.
So conclude Judith Lean, of the US Naval Research Laboratory, and David Rind, of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in a new Geophysical Research Letters study, “How Will Earth’s Surface Temperature Change in Future Decades?” (subs. req’d). The UK Guardian explains:
The work is the first to assess the combined impact on global temperature of four factors: human influences such as CO2 and aerosol emissions; heating from the sun; volcanic activity and the El Ni±o southern oscillation, the phenomenon by which the Pacific Ocean flips between warmer and cooler states every few years.
This study does not assume we will have a major El Ni±o, but notes that if we did have a really big one, it could add as much as 0.2°C [0.36°F] to the temperature in an individual year. In the July 27 weekly update by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction, “ENSO Cycle: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions,” NCEP notes “Current observations and dynamical model forecasts indicate El Ni±o conditions will continue to intensify and are expected to last through” the winter, and “nearly all of the dynamical models predict a moderate-to-strong episode.” So again, it looks NASA’s January prediction is accurate,
Given our expectation of the next El Ni±o beginning in 2009 or 2010, it still seems likely that a new global temperature record will be set within the next 1-2 years.
Significantly, a 2007 Hadley Center paper in Science: “Improved Surface Temperature Prediction for the Coming Decade from a Global Climate Model” (see “Climate Forecast: Hot “” and then Very Hot“) also concluded:
Our system predicts that internal variability will partially offset the anthropogenic global warming signal for the next few years. However, climate will continue to warm, with at least half of the years after 2009 predicted to exceed the warmest year currently on record.
That 2007 paper predicted roughly twice as much warming by 2014 as the new study.
A 2008 Nature paper that confused many actually found that the coming decade is poised to see faster temperature rise than any decade since the authors’ calculations began in 1960 (see “Nature article on ‘cooling’ confuses media, deniers: Next decade may see rapid warming“).
The new GRL paper seems highly credible:
By representing monthly mean surface temperatures in terms of their combined linear responses to ENSO, volcanic and solar activity and anthropogenic influences, we account for 76% of the variance observed since 1980 (and since 1889, Lean and Rind, 2008) and forecast global and regional temperatures in the next two decade.
The authors note that:
… our empirical model predicts that global surface temperatures will increase at an average rate of 0.17 ±0.03 °C per decade in the next two decades….
Northern mid latitudes, especially western Europe, will experience the largest warming (of as much as 1°C)….
Of course, Americans also live in the Northern mid latitudes. | <urn:uuid:8ae489fb-fa65-47bf-92c0-1800e05791e9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2009/07/28/204425/another-major-study-predicts-rapid-warming-over-next-few-years-nearly-0-3%C2%B0f-by-2014/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929709 | 704 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Missouri was formerly home to two species of prairie fringed orchids. The eastern species was only known from a few eastern Missouri counties, and has not been found here since 1951. Only three populations of the western species are known to exist in Missouri today, all of them in the state’s northwest corner. These sweet-smelling flowers probably never were what you could call common. However, the loss of the prairie and wetland habitats that they need surely has made them rarer still. Prairie conversion for agriculture and invasion by woody plants are the greatest threats to these species. The western species is pollinated by several species of night-flying hawk moths.
Almost every county in Missouri has an abundance of Cope’s or eastern gray tree frogs (Hyla chrysoscelis & versicolor, respectively). The two species look very similar. Both live in hardwood forests and bottomland. Males produce high-pitched trills from mid spring through early summer to attract females. They often perch near patio lights, which attract their insect prey. For natural entertainment, catch a moth and hold its fluttering wings near one of these cheerful singers. Then watch as the greedy amphibian uses both front feet to help swallow the dusty morsel.
A new reality show is coming to Missouri schools. The host is a white-tailed deer, and the lesson is how scientists solve problems in pursuit of knowledge. To learn what deer eat, biologists decided to put cameras on deer. In April, hundreds of elementary pupils watched a live show in which researchers mounted a video camera on a deer and released the animal. They discussed the process that led to development of the deer-cam. A live link let pupils at six schools ask questions. Participating teachers received dvds with hours of deer-cam footage prior to the event, so pupils could do their own investigations of deer habits. To see for yourself, visit online.
Editor in Chief - Ara Clark
Managing Editor - Nichole LeClair
Art Director - Cliff White
Writer/editor - Tom Cwynar
Staff Writer - Bonnie Chasteen
Staff Writer - Jim Low
Staff Writer - Arleasha Mays
Photographer- Noppadol Paothong
Artist - Dave Besenger
Artist - Mark Raithel
Designer - Les Fortenberry
Circulation - Laura Scheuler | <urn:uuid:e1806fc2-d06d-4d96-aa9f-fc2826c0e65e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2007/05/plants-and-animals | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00168-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958727 | 493 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Encyclopedia of Psychology
Contributor: Kent L. Norman
Article Title: Human-Computer Interface Design
The human-computer interface is the physical and conceptual boundary between the human user and the input/output devices of a computer. It is through this interface that the human gives instructions or supplies data to the computer and it is through this interface that the human receives feedback and other information from the computer. Most interfaces are dynamic and involve an interaction between the human and the computer.
Human-computer interaction (HCI) involves the activities of humans using computers. Interaction refers to a dialogue generated by the command and data input to the computer and the display output of the computer and the sensory/perceptual input to the human and motor response output of the human. Interaction takes place at the interface, which is made up of a set of hardware devices and software tools from the computer side and a system of sensory, motor, and cognitive processes from the human side.
Human/computer interaction is characterized as a dialogue or interchange between the human and the computer because the output of one serves as the input for the other in an exchange of actions and intentions. Early characterizations of the human-computer interface were more computer-centric. "The human-computer interface is easy to find in a gross wayjust follow a data path outward from the computers central processor until you stumble across a human being" (Card, Moran, & Newell, 1983). Today, the interface is viewed primarily from the other direction. Starting from human tasks and intentions, we follow the path of actions until we come to the machine.
The design of the human-computer interface requires a multidisciplinary approach. Research teams include psychologists, computer scientists, and specialists in subject matter domains such as business and management, library and information science, medicine, and so on. Although many of the developers and researchers in HCI reside in computer science and engineering, the contribution to HCI from psychology is key. Psychologists are interested in the perceptual, cognitive, and social aspects of the interface and tend to put the human before the computer, hence HCI. On the other hand, many computer scientists are concerned with the software and hardware that drives the interface and put the computer before the human, namely, CHI.
Psychologys contribution to interface design is many fold involving nearly all aspects of the discipline from sensation and perception of the computer screen and auditory output, learning and memory of commands and procedures, individual differences in experience and cognitive abilities using the computer and attitudes toward the computer, and developmental changes in appropriateness and usability of the computer.
Research in HCI has primarily focused on the cognitive processes involved on the part of the computer "user." From the perspective of the psychologist, the human-computer interface is a fertile testing ground for theories of cognitive processes. From the perspective of the designer, research in HCI helps to provide design guidelines and good design practices for interface development.
Historically, the field of HCI emerged from human factors on one side and computer science on the other. Although the distinction is blurred today, research in HCI tends to focus on computer systems while drawing heavily from the human factors literature, tradition, and methodology. Furthermore, work in HCI has expanded in specific applications such as database management, information retrieval, artificial intelligence, education, and multimedia.
A more detailed representation of the human-computer interface is shown in Figure 2 adapted from Norman (1991b). The human-computer interface is embedded within a task situation and environment. The user is performing some task such as monitoring operations in a factory or writing an email message. The interface is the overlap of areas representing the activities of the human (circle) and processes of the computer (square). The non-overlapping area of the circle represents the cognitive processes involved in tasks that are not directly focused on the human-computer interface. Similarly, the non-overlapping area in the rectangle represents the computer processes involved in tasks that are not directly related to the interface. From the perspective of the user, the overlapping area requires the mapping of intentions to activities such as keyboard entry and the mapping of screen displays to a meaningful interpretation of the information. From the side of the computer, the overlapping area involves the mapping of information in internal data structures to displays on the screen and the mapping of device input to internal codes.
Two basic flows of information and control are assumed through the interface: one going from left to right originating in the task environment directed toward the computer side of the interface, the other going from right to left originating in the machine environment directed toward the user side of the interface. It should be noted that at each point u-shaped arrows are used to indicate the feedback cycles of information flow through interfaces involving such processes as eye-hand coordination and error correcting.
Research in HCI has had a great impact on the development of new human-computer interfaces through guidelines documents, common interface specifications, and graphical interfaces. Most new software is subject to HCI guidelines and subjected to HCI usability testing procedures. Advances in computer ease of use and functionality are a direct result of research in HCI.
On the other side, cognitive psychology has been advanced by the study of HCI. Card, Moran and Newell point out the contribution of HCI to the current study of information processing in psychology. Models of users have been developed that track the information processing steps using computers. The use of metaphors and mental models of users has been researched. The impact of cognitive factors such as spatial visualization ability has been established. Research has contributed to our understanding of problem solving and the use of search strategies.
The importance of individual differences in the design of the human-computer interface has been emphasized in the rule, "Know thy user!" Users have been characterized along simple univariate scales from novice users to experienced users and along more complex cognitive and personality factors. Critical cognitive dimensions are reading comprehension and spatial visualization ability. Reading comprehension is particularly important in text-based interfaces and spatial visualization ability is important in graphical interfaces. Important personality factors that have been studied include (a) the need for closure, (b) whether one is field depend or independent, and (c) the degree that one is an introvert or an extrovert.
Reliance on Research Methods in Psychology
Studies in human/computer interaction rely heavily on established research methods developed in experimental and cognitive psychology. While a number of studies are observational or survey-based, the majority tend to use experimental methods. These involve defining an independent variable to manipulate in the interface. Generally, the independent variable pertains to some aspect of the human-computer interface such as the size, location, or images of icons on the screen, methods of inputting commands, aspects in the design of widgets, etc. The dependent variables include (a) performance variables such as task time and number of errors, (b) subjective assessments such as satisfaction with the interface, and (c) change variables measuring the time to learn a system and tendency to forget how to use a system.
Alternatively, the independent variable may involve the comparison of two different computer systems, programs, or versions. While such comparisons may indicate which of the two is superior, the results usually do not generalize or shed light on the reasons for the difference.
Models in Cognitive Psychology
The design of the human-computer interface is the result of a number of models. Figure 3 summarizes six models inherent in the interface.
The first is the interface model which is a top-level specification of the purpose of the interaction and the allocation of functions to the human and computer. For example, the human-computer interface might be a part of an air traffic control system. The purpose is to monitor and direct air traffic. Some functions are allocated to the air traffic controllers (e.g., selecting routes and communicating with pilots) and others to the computer (e.g., calculating distances and trajectories and alerting the controllers to potential traffic conflicts). Interface design must take into consideration both the top-level purpose and operation of the whole system.
The second model is the cognitive model of the operator generated by the cognitive psychologist. It is a model of the cognitive processes involved in performing a task. The cognitive model is a product of theoretical and empirical research on the limits, capacity, and information processing of the operator. The cognitive model helps (a) in the design of the interface by generating principals of good design (e.g., how to organize information, how fast to present information, how not to overload the working memory of the user) and (b) to make predictions about human performance.
The system model of the operator is a representation of the operators expected processing that is used by the system to predict operator behavior. The system model of the operator is used to predict or anticipate the actions of the human by the computer or disambiguate intentions of the user and format the output in a way to maximize operator comprehension and performance. The system may for example infer that when the user typed "ww.aps.org" he or she meant "www.aps.org" and automatically correct it.
The operator conceptual model is a representation of the system formulated by the designer and given to the operator to aid in the understanding and use of the system. This model is conveyed to the user through documentation, training, and the graphic design and behavior of the interface.
The operators mental model of the system is a representation within the mind of the operator of how the system works. The mental model is a collection of bits of declarative knowledge pertaining to the system and the task. For example, the users may think of a database as a library card catalog or think of a word processor as a glorified typewriter.
Finally, the interface object models are graphical or symbolic representations of token objects such as meters, gauges, knobs buttons, files and other devices represented on the screen. Interface object models help to engage the operators mental models of how things work or what things do.
It is important that these six models work in harmony and provide consistent matches between the elements and relationships among the models. Otherwise, unexpected events will occur; the users expectations will be incorrect; and errors will occur.
Interface Devices for Input and Output
The keyboard and pointing devices such as the mouse, trackball, and touch pad are the most common input devices for personal computers and computer workstations. The keyboard allows alphanumeric and cursor key input. Cursor positioning devices allow for continuous X,Y cursor positioning on the screen and clicks on screen locations. Touch screens can also be used for input by touching positions on the screen to make selections or dragging the finger across the screen to move objects on the screen. Voice input is possible using speech recognition hardware and software. Other more exotic devices include eye and head trackers, data gloves and bodysuits, and physiological readings. The design of input devices involves principles of motor control, feedback loops, and physiology from ergonomics and human factors psychology.
The computer screen, printer, and audio are the most common output devices. The computer printer allows for hardcopy text and graphic output. The screen provides transitory, dynamic output that can change as a function of state and that can show animation and video images. Audio output can provide the user with simple alerts, complex sounds, music, and speech synthesis. Other output devices include tactical stimulation to the body and stereoscopic images using virtual reality goggles. The design of the output devices involves principles from sensory and perception as well as cognitive psychology.
Modes of Interaction
The design of the human-computer interface requires methods for the transmission of information and control across the interface. Command languages allow the user to enter instructions via the keyboard. The computer system provides only a prompt indicating that the system is ready for a command. Command languages require the user to know the list of commands and the syntax for command statements. For example, if one wanted to copy a file from disk a to disk b the command might be: "copy a:file,b:file" More complex commands require programs. This mode of control is hard because it requires learning the commands, the proper syntax for generating statements, and the algorithms for complex programs. An extensive literature of the psychology of computer programming exists although it seems to have had only a minor effect on the development of easy to use programming languages.
On the other hand, interfaces that use menu selection do not require as much learning. Options are constantly available to the user and are structured to ensure proper logic. However, they do require the user to know or understand the functions of the options. Furthermore, with more complex systems involving hundreds or even thousands of menu items, navigation through hierarchies of menus is a problem. Good design of menu interfaces involves careful clustering, ordering, and labeling of menu options and the development of navigational tools to move through large sets of options such as those found on the World Wide Web.
Interfaces for data entry often use form fill-in as the mode of interaction. The computer screen shows labels for the types of data and text entry fields. The user can either use cursor keys or a mouse click to go the field and then use the keyboard to enter the data. Good interface design involves clear labeling of the fields and a logical and consistent layout of the items on the screen.
Finally, many "graphical user interfaces" (GUIs) use direct manipulation as a mode of input and control. Using direct manipulation the user can set values or perform functions by moving objects on the screen. For example, the volume of a sound can be set by using the mouse to drag a pointer along a volume control slider or the size of a circle in a drawing can be determined by dragging the perimeter out from the center. A file can be deleted by dragging its icon to a trash icon. Documents can be printed by dragging their icons to an icon of the printer. Good design for direct manipulation interfaces involves the study of eye-hand coordination, the meaningfulness of icons, an analysis of the screen layout and the steps that are required to perform a task.
Principles of Good Design
Although the term "user friendly" has been popularly used to characterize interface design, other factors have proven to be more practical and meaningful. For example, "ease of use" can be used to describe the ease with which a user can figure out how to perform a task and can then carry it out. Ease of use can be broken down into measurable units such as time to locate a desired function, the number of steps required to perform a function, the amount of time required for the task, and the amount of time needed to learn how to use the interface.
A number of design principles have been related to ease of use. For example, interfaces that are consistent in their use of terms, position of objects on the screen, and ways of doing things tend to be learned faster and are less subject to user errors. Interfaces that make good use of metaphors and create mental models are easier to learn and use because knowledge can transfer to aid in the understanding of the human-computer interface. Interface apparency increases ease of use by allowing the user to see visual representations of how things work rather than having to remember them or infer them. Immediate feedback and dynamic results allow users to see the consequences of their actions and make adjustments. Finally, undo-ability allows users to explore actions and easily correct errors.
Usability laboratories: Testing and Evaluation
Human-computer interface design is evaluated using controlled observation and testing. Many software and hardware companies do testing and evaluation in usability laboratories. Tests involve human participants who serve as computer users. The users are generally given a series of tasks to perform using the software (e.g., retrieve a record and change certain fields). The users are often video taped and encouraged to think aloud as they are performing tasks. Time to complete the tasks and accuracy are recorded by the testing software as well as complete records of all interactions between the user and the computer. In addition, users are asked to provide subjective assessments of overall satisfaction with the system, specific ratings of a number of characteristics of the system (e.g., helpfulness of the help system, meaningfulness of the terms used, difficulty finding desired options), and to suggest ways of improving the interface.
Ubiquity of the Human-Computer Interface
The human-computer interface is becoming more and more pervasive as the way of controlling and interacting with technology. The flight deck on airplanes has become known as the "glass cockpit" as knobs and dials have been replaced with human-computer interfaces. Home lighting and security systems use human-computer interfaces. Communication devices, automatic teller machines (ATMs), personal organizers, medical devices and monitors, educational toys, exercise machines, and so on all make use of the human-computer interface. Consequently, our understanding of the theories, principles, and optimal designs for the human-computer interface are extremely important and the contribution by psychologists is essential.
Card, S. K., Moran, T. P., and Newell, A. (1983). The psychology of human-computer interaction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Norman, K. L. (1991a). Models of the mind and machine: Information flow and control between humans and computers. In M. C Yovits (ed.) Advances in computers. Volume 32. New York: Academic Press. Pp 201-254.
Norman, K. L. (1991b). The psychology of menu selection: Designing cognitive control of the human/computer interface. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corp.
Norman, D., & Draper, S. W. (Eds.) (1986) User centered system design. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shneiderman, B. ( 1998). Designing the user interface: Strategies for effective human-computer interaction (3rd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Author Name: Kent L. Norman | <urn:uuid:d0ed21be-96aa-43ee-bd7a-fc2fd848d92f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lap.umd.edu/lap/Papers/Tech_Reports/LAP1998TR02/LAP1998TR02.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00167-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920699 | 3,671 | 3.796875 | 4 |
- SAO Intern Program - a 10 week summer intern program at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA
- Windows to the universe - user-friendly learning for the general public that includes images, movies, animations, and data sets that explore the Earth and Space sciences.
- universe! Education Forum (SEU) - offers various projects, debates and educational pieces on the structure and evolution of the universe.
K - 8 Education
- NASA for Kids - a comprehensive list of cool NASA sites just for kids.
- StarChild - explains science concepts from galaxies to the Solar System in a way that makes sense to kids.
- Amazing Space - web-based activities primarily for classroom use, but available for all to enjoy. Interactive lessons for K-12.
- AstroCappella - a site of songs, pictures and activities about astronomy...created & performed by scientists!
9 - 14 Education
- Imagine the universe - explores the mysteries of the structure and evolution of the universe; includes lesson plans, activities and more.
- Good Astronomy Activities on the WWW - ASP's annotated catalog of 140 of the best hands-on astronomy (and space science) activities on the Web. (grades K-12)
- NASA Internet Resources for Educators - involving the educational community in NASA's efforts to inspire students. (grades K-12)
- Everyday Classroom Tools (ECT) - inquiry-based, science curriculum development project. (grades K-6)
- Science Education Gateway (SEGway) - Learning adventures in Earth and Space science from a NASA-sponsored partnership of museums, researchers and educators. (grades K- 12)
- NASA Office of Education - supports students, teachers, and faculty in the areas of science, mathematics, and technology.
- NY Times Learning Network - resources for teachers connected to articles in the NY Times (grades 6 - 12).
- Project ARIES - astronomy resources for intercurricular elementary science. (grades 3-6)
- CNN Supernova Lesson Plan - understand the differing uses of radio, optical and X-ray telescopes. Investigate the lifecycle of a star.
Education Links & Resources | <urn:uuid:c7635b70-566d-4b88-83dd-b102e284ba79> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chandra.harvard.edu/edu/edu_links.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.847154 | 453 | 3.40625 | 3 |
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Snow pea sprouts are young snow pea plants grown for human consumption. It takes about a week to grow a pea seed into a pea sprout, after which, the sprout, as it begins to develop leaves, becomes a pea shoot. These sprouts can be grown indoors year round, though they thrive outdoors when the weather is cool.
Any young plant that has emerged from its seed and not yet developed leaves can be referred to as a sprout. Snow pea sprouts are the seedlings of the snow pea plant, which is a member of the legume family. These plants are commonly cultivated for their edible seed pods and are grown all over the world, though they were first farmed in southern Asia. Like many other varieties of pea, the snow pea grows best in the cooler months and is resistant to frost. They often sprout in early spring or late fall, when the daytime temperatures remain below 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).
It takes about seven days for a snow pea seed to grow into a full-sized sprout, and pea seeds that have been dried must be soaked in water for eight to 24 hours before they can be planted. While pea seeds that are intended to be grown into full pea plants are planted 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep, seeds planted for snow pea sprouts are usually left on the top of the soil, making them easier to harvest. The seeds germinate within a couple of days, and then the roots and stems and begin to grow. Sprout seeds are often kept in the dark so that they will grow taller in search of sunlight.
After a few days of growing, snow pea sprouts begin to form their first set of leaves at the top of the stem. At this point, the sprouts are ready to be harvested. The first set of sprouts can be cut off just above the seed and collected. In most cases, the seeds will then send up a second sprout which will be ready for harvest after another week. This second sprout will not usually grow as large as the first, and the seed will not usually produce a third sprout, having used up its resources.
Many people eat snow pea sprouts both for the health benefits and for their delicate flavor. The sprouts can be eaten raw or cooked though eating too many raw legume plants can sicken a person. Though there are many health benefits to eating snow pea sprouts in moderate quantities, they are prone to bacterial infection and have been known to cause severe outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli infections.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:e478bd72-4f49-4f9f-8803-d42f37f39eb5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-snow-pea-sprouts.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965623 | 599 | 3.328125 | 3 |
1. Why does García Márquez use similar terms to describe the effects of love and cholera?
2. Plagues figure prominently in many of García Márquez's novels. What literal and metaphoric functions does the cholera plague serve in this novel? What light does it shed on Latin American society of the nineteenth century? How does it change its characters' attitudes toward life? How are the symptoms of love equated in the novel with the symptoms of cholera?
3. What does the conflict between Dr. Juvenal Urbino and Florentino Ariza reveal about the customs of Europe and the ways of Caribbean life? How is Fermina Daza torn between the two?
4. Dr. Urbino reads only what is considered fine literature, while Fermina Daza immerses herself in contemporary romances or soap operas. What does this reveal about the author's attitude toward the distinction between "high" and "low" literature. Does his story line and style remind you more of a soap opera or a classical drama?
5. After rejecting Florentino's declaration of love following her husband's funeral, why is Fermina eventually won over by him?
6. Why does a change in Florentino's writing style make Fermina more receptive to him?
7. What does Florentino mean when he tells Fermina, before they make love for the first time, "I've remained a virgin for you" (p. 339)?
8. Why does Florentino tell each of his lovers that she is the only one he has had?
9. What does Florentino's uncle mean when he says, "without river navigation there is no love" (p. 168)?
10. Do Fermina and Dr. Urbino succeed at "inventing true love" (p. 159)?
11. Set against the backdrop of recurring civil wars and cholera epidemics, the novel explores death and decay, as well as love. How does Dr. Urbino's refusal to grow old gracefully affect the other two characters? What does it say about fulfillment and beauty in their society? Does the fear of aging or death change Florentino Ariza's feelings toward Fermina Daza?
12. Compare the suicide of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour at the beginning of the book with that of Florentino's former lover, América Vicuña at the end. How do their motives differ? Why does the author frame the book with these two events?
13. Why is Leona Cassiani "the true woman in [Florentino's] life although neither of them ever knew it and they never made love" (p. 182)?
14. When Tránsito Ariza tells Florentino he looks as if he were going to a funeral when he is going to visit Fermina, why does he respond by saying, "It's almost the same thing" (p. 65)? (Questions issued by publisher.)
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When Vonda Wright submitted the results of a study on muscle preservation in older athletes to The Physician and Sportsmedicine for publication, she included some sample MRI images to drive the message home.
“The peer reviewers said, ‘Take the pictures out, the results speak for themselves,’” recalls Dr. Wright, an orthopedic surgeon at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine in Pittsburgh.
The study offered convincing evidence that the “typical” loss of muscle that begins in adults around the age of 40 has more to do with lack of use than aging alone. It joins a growing body of evidence on what types of exercise are most effective for preserving muscle mass, including recent studies by scientists at the University of Western Ontario. But it was the pictures, which Dr. Wright insisted on leaving in, that sent the study rocketing around the Internet.
The subjects in the study were 40 recreational masters athletes between the ages of 40 and 81, who trained four to five times a week for running, swimming or cycling races. Dr. Wright and her colleagues performed a series of fitness and strength tests, and used MRI scans of the upper leg to measure muscle and fat content.
Surprisingly, neither leg muscle size nor strength declined significantly with age among the subjects, suggesting that regular training had warded off the muscle-wasting effects of aging. The sample MRIs showed virtually indistinguishable quadriceps in a 40-year-old triathlete compared with a 70-year-old triathlete. In contrast, the quadriceps of a 74-year-old sedentary man were shrivelled and enveloped in fat.
Numerous studies in the past have documented the inexorable decline of muscle with age, but they have generally used sedentary subjects to draw broad conclusions about the intrinsic effects of aging.
“When we talk about aging, we’re not usually studying what our bodies are actually capable of,” says Dr. Wright, an accomplished runner who has completed several marathons. “We wanted to find out: What happens if you take disuse out of the picture?”
A team from the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging at the University of Western Ontario took a different approach to answering this question by studying the “motor units” in the legs of masters runners. A motor unit is a group of muscle fibres commanded by a single motor neuron in the spine. As you get older, these neurons begin to die off, leaving the disconnected muscle fibres to atrophy. Along with hormonal changes and changes in muscle-protein balance, the loss of motor units is thought to be one of the key contributors to age-related muscle loss.
In a study published in 2010, Charles Rice and his colleagues found that the number of “motor units” in the legs of runners in their 60s was essentially unchanged from runners in their 20s. In contrast, non-runners in their 60s had about 35-per-cent fewer motor units.
But there’s an important caveat to this good-news message. In a follow-up study published last month in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Dr. Rice’s group, led by doctoral student Geoff Power, measured the number of motor units in the arms of masters runners. The goal was to find out whether exercise provides a “whole body neuroprotective effect,” preserving all spinal motor neurons, or whether the benefits only apply to the muscles used in the exercise.
The result: The older runners had a slightly higher number of arm motor units than their sedentary peers, but the difference wasn’t statistically significant. Both were dramatically lower than the younger controls – a finding that wasn’t entirely unexpected. “We were more disappointed than surprised,” Dr. Rice admitted.
Together, the studies confirm the “use it or lose it” dictum, and rule out hopes that a single form of exercise can preserve muscle function throughout the body. Of course, loss of motor units is only one aspect of age-related decline, Dr. Rice points out, so it’s important to choose a mix of exercises that also target cardiorespiratory fitness and bone health.
That message may seem like common sense, but the majority of Canadians still don’t meet even minimum guidelines for physical activity, Dr. Wright points out. That’s why she hopes that her graphic MRI images will help people understand what their current decisions about exercise will mean for their quality of life a few decades down the road.
“We control 70 per cent of how we age,” she says. “The other 30 per cent is genetic, and we can blame our mothers for that. But 70 per cent is in our hands.”
Alex Hutchinson blogs about research on exercise at sweatscience.com. His new book, Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? , is now available.Report Typo/Error | <urn:uuid:cb7d6f76-5d07-4506-ae85-86d556932fe6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/with-muscles-use-it-or-lose-it-rings-true/article547007/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958961 | 1,037 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Robin Dixon says that the educational system in South Africa has improved little for the nation’s poor black students in the 18 years since the end of apartheid. Recently, a national assessment of 7 million students showed that ninth-graders received an average mark of 13 percent for math. Last year, the World Economic Forum ranked South Africa 132 among 144 countries in primary school education and 143 in math and science.
During apartheid, blacks in townships and rural areas were denied education. Today, although the educational system has been expanded, it has fallen short of needs. An important component of Aid for Africa’s work is education. A number of Aid for Africa members are working to improved education for the poor in South Africa. Poor education results have a number of causes, including not enough teachers. Teach With Africa works to reverse the shortage of teachers and teaching resources in under-served areas of the country through an innovative exchange program that sends U.S. educators to underserved schools in South Africa to teach and learn. They also partner high-performing schools with schools in underserved townships in order to expand resources and results in poor areas.
Ubuntu Education Fund, based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, takes an integrated approach.They combine educational achievement with free medical services and household assistance like free meals so that orphaned and vulnerable children in disadvantaged townships can succeed. Ubuntu provides educational support through after-school programs that build math and literacy skills and that prepare students for higher education and employment.
Teach With Africa and Ubuntu Education Fund are delivering hope to thousands of South African students who wish to have a meaningful role in the country’s future. Learn more about Aid for Africa members working in South Africa.
Aid for Africa is an alliance of 85 U.S.-based nonprofits and their African partners who help children, families, and communities throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Aid for Africa’s grassroots programs focus on health, education, economic development, arts & culture, conservation, and wildlife protection in Africa. | <urn:uuid:59019860-a8f8-4c43-b7bf-8be57fd3466f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.care2.com/causes/innovations-in-education-help-poor-children-in-south-africa.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965562 | 417 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Stanza 6 Summary
Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
But Psyche, uplifting her finger,
Said—"Sadly this star I mistrust—
Her pallor I strangely mistrust:—
- Unfortunately for our speaker, Psyche (his soul) doesn't share his optimism. She raises her finger to slow him down, and says she doesn't trust the light they are seeing. She's worried about the pallor (paleness) of the star, and has some kind of weird feeling that things are going to go wrong.
Oh, hasten! oh, let us not linger!
Oh, fly!—let us fly!—for we must."
- Now, all of a sudden, Psyche starts to freak out. She tells our speaker that they have to hurry up and get out of there. She wants to run away ("fly") immediately.
- Psyche's a little like Jiminy Cricket, acting as the conscience of our speaker. Unfortunately, just like Pinocchio, we're not sure he's going to listen.
In terror she spoke, letting sink her
Wings till they trailed in the dust—
- This is a sort of sweet and sad image. Apparently Psyche has wings like an angel, and she's so scared right now that she lets her wings fall down and drag in the dust.
In agony sobbed, letting sink her
Plumes till they trailed in the dust—
Till they sorrowfully trailed in the dust.
- Just in case we didn't get it the first time, Poe hammers on this image, really making us feel Psyche's fear. By now she is crying, sobbing in "agony." Her "plumes" (feathery wings) are dragging in the dust.
- Poe really knows how to work a mood, and this imagery is just his style. His poems are full of beautiful pure and holy things like angels wings. In the end, though, they always wind up getting dirty and dusty, brought down by the sadness of the world. | <urn:uuid:7d0ba2b8-1c02-42f8-86ab-cb3265a0b209> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shmoop.com/ulalume/stanza-6-summary.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947981 | 438 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Kek and Kauket, Deities of Darkness, Obscurity and Night
by Caroline Seawright
The Egyptians believed that before the world was formed, there was a watery mass of dark, directionless chaos. In this chaos lived the Ogdoad of Khmunu (Hermopolis), four frog gods and four snake goddesses of chaos. These deities were Nun and Naunet (water), Amun and Amaunet (invisibility), Heh and Hauhet (infinity) and Kek and Kauket (darkness). The chaos existed without the light, and thus Kek and Kauket came to represent this darkness. They also symbolized obscurity, the kind of obscurity that went with darkness, and night.
The Ogdoad were the original great gods of Iunu (On, Heliopolis) where they were thought to have helped with creation, then died and retired to the land of the dead where they continued to make the Nile flow and the sun rise every day. Because of this aspect of the eight, Budge believe that Kek and Kauket were once deities linked to Khnum and Satet, to Hapi - Nile gods of Abu (Elephantine). He also believed that Kek may have also been linked to Sobek.
Kek (Kuk, Keku) means darkness. He was the god of the darkness of chaos, the darkness before time began. He was the god of obscurity, hidden in the darkness. The Egyptians saw the night time, the time without the light of the sun, as a reflection of this chaotic darkness.
The characteristics of the third paid of gods, Keku and Kauket, are easier to determine, and it is tolerable certain that these deities represent the male and female powers of the darkness which was supposed to cover over the primeval abyss of water; they have been compared by Dr. Brugsch with the Erebos of the Greeks.
-- The Gods of the Egyptians, E. A. Wallis Budge
As a god of the night, Kek was also related to the day - he was called the "bringer-in of the light". This seems to mean that he was responsible for the time of night that came just before sunrise. The god of the hours before day dawned over the land of Egypt. This was the twilight which gave birth to the sun.
The feminine of the god Kek, Kauket (Keket) was a much more obscure goddess than her husband. She was a snake-headed woman who ruled over the darkness with her husband. Her name also meant darkness, as did her husband's name, but with a feminine ending.
O you eight chaos gods, keepers of the chambers of the sky...The bnbn [phoenix] of Ra was that from which Atum came to be as ... Kek, darkness... I am the one who begot the chaos gods again, as Heh, Nun, Amun, Kek. I am Shu who begot the gods.
-- Coffin Text, Spell 76
Kauket was the feminine to Kek's masculine, more of a representation of duality than an actual goddess, so she was even less of a deity than Kek, and much more of an abstract.
She was, though, also related to the day - she was the "bringer-in of the night". This seems to show her to be the goddess of the night, just after sunset. The goddess of the the hours of the evening, as night covered Egypt, and the sun had disappeared. This was the twilight which turned into the darkness of night.
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Tour Egypt aims to offer the ultimate Egyptian adventure and intimate knowledge about the country. We offer this unique experience in two ways, the first one is by organizing a tour and coming to Egypt for a visit, whether alone or in a group, and living it firsthand. The second way to experience Egypt is from the comfort of your own home: online. | <urn:uuid:a564dda2-c5a5-4b81-a091-a2ba91daa39d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kek.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00061-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977747 | 828 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley, [1754-65], at sacred-texts.com
rev 8:1And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven - Such a silence is mentioned but in this one place. It was uncommon, and highly observable: for praise is sounding in heaven day and night. In particular, immediately before this silence, all the angels, and before them the innumerable multitude, had been crying with a loud voice; and now all is still at once: there is an universal pause. Hereby the seventh seal is very remarkably distinguished from the six preceding. This silence before God shows that those who were round about him were expecting, with the deepest reverence, the great things which the Divine Majesty would farther open and order. Immediately after, the seven trumpets are heard, and a sound more august than ever. Silence is only a preparation: the grand point is, the sounding the trumpets to the praise of God. About half an hour - To St. John, in the vision, it might seem a common half hour.
rev 8:2And I saw - The seven trumpets belong to the seventh seal, as do the seven phials to the seventh trumpet. This should be carefully remembered, that we may not confound together the times which follow each other. And yet it may be observed, in general, concerning the times of the incidents mentioned in this book, it is not a certain rule, that every part of the text is fully accomplished before the completion of the following part begins. All things mentioned in the epistles are not full accomplished before the seals are opened; neither are all things mentioned under the seals fulfilled before the trumpets begin; nor yet is the seventh trumpet wholly past before the phials are poured out. Only the beginning of each part goes before the beginning of the following. Thus the epistles begin before the seals, the seals before the trumpets, the trumpets before the phials. One epistle begins before another, one seal before another, one trumpet especially before another, one phial before another. Yet, sometimes, what begins later than another thing ends sooner; and what begins earlier than another thing ends later: so the seventh trumpet begins earlier than the phials, and yet extends beyond them all. The seven angels which stood before God - A character of the highest eminence. And seven trumpets were given them. - When men desire to make known openly a thing of public concern, they give a token that may be seen or heard far and wide; and, among such, none are more ancient than trumpets, Lev 25:9; Num 10:2; Amo 3:6. The Israelites, in particular, used them, both in the worship of God and in war; therewith openly praising the power of God before, after, and in, the battle, Jos 6:4; Ch2 13:14, &c. And the angels here made known by these trumpets the wonderful works of God, whereby all opposing powers are successively shaken, till the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of God and his Anointed.
These trumpets reach nearly from the time of St. John to the end of the world; and they are distinguished by manifest tokens. The place of the four first is specified; namely, east, west, south, and north successively: in the three last, immediately after the time of each, the place likewise is pointed out.
The seventh angel did not begin to sound, till after the going forth of the second woe: but the trumpets were given to him and the other six together; (as were afterward the phials to the seven angels;) and it is accordingly said of all the seven together, that "they prepared themselves to sound." These, therefore, were not men, as some have thought, but angels, properly so called.
rev 8:3And - In Rev 7:2, the "trumpets were given" to the seven angels; and in Rev 7:6, they "prepared to sound." But between these, the incense of this angel and the prayers of the saints are mentioned; the interposing of which shows, that the prayers of the saints and the trumpets of the angels go together: and these prayers, with the effects of them, may well be supposed to extend through all the seven. Another angel - Another created angel. Such are all that are here spoken of. In this part of the Revelation, Christ is never termed an angel; but, "the Lamb." Came and stood at the altar - Of burnt - offerings. And there was given him a golden censer - A censer was a cup on a plate or saucer. This was the token and the business of the office. And much incense was given - Incense generally signifies prayer: here it signifies the longing desires of the angels, that the holy counsel of God might be fulfilled. And there was much incense; for as the prayers of all the saints in heaven and earth are here joined together: so are the desires of all the angels which are brought by this angel. That he might place it - It is not said, offer it; for he was discharging the office of an angel, not a priest. With the prayers of all the saints - At the same time; but not for the saints. The angels are fellowservants with the saints, not mediators for them.
rev 8:4And the smoke of the incense came up before God, with the prayers of the saints - A token that both were accepted.
rev 8:5And there were thunderings, and lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake - These, especially when attended with fire, are emblems of God's dreadful judgments, which are immediately to follow.
rev 8:6And the seven angels prepared themselves to sound - That each, when it should come to his turn, might sound without delay. But while they do sound, they still stand before God.
rev 8:7And the first sounded - And every angel continued to sound, till all which his trumpet brought was fulfilled and till the next began. There are intervals between the three woes, but not between the four first trumpets. And there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and there were cast upon the earth - The earth seems to mean Asia; Palestine, in particular. Quickly after the Revelation was given, the Jewish calamities under Adrian began: yea, before the reign of Trajan was ended. And here the trumpets begin. Even under Trajan, in the year 114, the Jews made an insurrection with a most dreadful fury; and in the parts about Cyrene, in Egypt, and in Cyprus, destroyed four hundred and sixty thousand persons. But they were repressed by the victorious power of Trajan, and afterward slaughtered themselves in vast multitudes. The alarm spread itself also into Mesopotamia, where Lucius Quintius slew a great number of them. They rose in Judea again in the second year of Adrian; but were presently quelled. Yet in 133 they broke out more violently than ever, under their false messiah Barcochab; and the war continued till the year 135, when almost all Judea was desolated. In the Egyptian plague also hail and fire were together. But here hail is to be taken figuratively, as also blood, for a vehement, sudden, powerful, hurtful invasion; and fire betokens the revenge of an enraged enemy, with the desolation therefrom. And they were cast upon the earth - That is, the fire and hail and blood. But they existed before they were cast upon the earth. The storm fell, the blood flowed, and the flames raged round Cyrene, and in Egypt, and Cyprus, before they reached Mesopotamia and Judea. And the third part of the earth was burnt up - Fifty well - fortified cities, and nine hundred and eighty - five well - inhabited towns of the Jews, were wholly destroyed in this war. Vast tracts of land were likewise left desolate and without inhabitant. And the third part of the trees was burned up, and all the green grass was burned up - Some understand by the trees, men of eminence among the Jews; by the grass, the common people. The Romans spared many of the former: the latter were almost all destroyed.
Thus vengeance began at the Jewish enemies of Christ's kingdom; though even then the Romans did not quite escape. But afterwards it came upon them more and more violently: the second trumpet affects the Roman heathens in particular; the third, the dead, unholy Christians; the fourth, the empire itself.
rev 8:8And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea - By the sea, particularly as it is here opposed to the earth, we may understand the west, or Europe; and chiefly the middle parts of it, the vast Roman empire. A mountain here seems to signify a great force and multitude of people. Jer 51:25; so this may point at the irruption of the barbarous nations into the Roman empire. The warlike Goths broke in upon it about the year 250: and from that time the irruption of one nation after another never ceased till the very form of the Roman empire, and all but the name, was lost. The fire may mean the fire of war, and the rage of those savage nations. And the third part of the sea became blood - This need not imply, that just a third part of the Romans was slain; but it is certain an inconceivable deal of blood was shed in all these invasions.
rev 8:9And the third part of the creatures that were in the sea - That is, of all sorts of men, of every station and degree. Died - By those merciless invaders. And the third part of the ships were destroyed - It is a frequent thing to resemble a state or republic to a ship, wherein many people are embarked together, and share in the same dangers. And how many states were utterly destroyed by those inhuman conquerors! Much likewise of this was literally fulfilled. How often was the sea tinged with blood! How many of those who dwelt mostly upon it were killed! And what number of ships destroyed!
rev 8:10And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star, and it fell on the third part of the rivers - It seems Afric is meant by the rivers; (with which this burning part of the world abounds in an especial manner;) Egypt in particular, which the Nile overflows every year far and wide. ln the whole African history, between the irruption of the barbarous nations into the Roman empire, and the ruin of the western empire, after the death of Valentinian the Third, there is nothing more momentous than the Arian calamity, which sprung up in the year 315. It is not possible to tell how many persons, particularly at Alexandria, in all Egypt, and in the neighbouring countries, were destroyed by the rage of the Arians. Yet Afric fared better than other parts of the empire, with regard to the barbarous nations, till the governor of it, whose wife was a zealous Arian, and aunt to Genseric, king of the Vandals, was, under that pretence, unjustly accused before the empress Placidia. He was then prevailed upon to invite the Vandals into Afric; who under Genseric, in the year 428, founded there a kingdom of their own, which continued till the year 533. Under these Vandal kings the true believers endured all manner of afflictions and persecutions. And thus Arianism was the inlet to all heresies and calamities, and at length to Mahometanism itself. This great star was not an angel, (angels are not the agents in the two preceding or the following trumpet,) but a teacher of the church, one of the stars in the right hand of Christ. Such was Arius. He fell from on high, as it were from heaven, into the most pernicious doctrines, and made in his fall a gazing on all sides, being great, and now burning as a torch. He fell on the third part of the rivers - His doctrine spread far and wide, particularly in Egypt. And on the fountains of water - wherewith Afric abounds.
rev 8:11And the name of the star is called Wormwood - The unparalleled bitterness both of Arius himself and of his followers show the exact propriety of his title. And the third part of the waters became wormwood - A very considerable part of Afric was infected with the same bitter doctrine and Spirit. And many men (though not a third part of them) died - By the cruelty of the Arians.
rev 8:12And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten - Or struck. After the emperor Theodosius died, and the empire was divided into the eastern and the western, the barbarous nations poured in as a flood. The Goths and Hunns in the years 403 and 405 fell upon Italy itself with an impetuous force; and the former, in the year 410, took Rome by storm, and plundered it without mercy. In the year 452 Attila treated the upper part of Italy in the same manner. In 455 Valentinian the Third was killed, and Genseric invited from Afric. He plundered Rome for fourteen days together. Recimer plundered it again in 472. During all these commotions, one province was lost after another, till, in the year 476, Odoacer seized upon Rome, deposed the emperor, and put an end to the empire itself.
An eclipse of the sun or moon is termed by the Hebrews, a stroke. Now, as such a darkness does not come all at once, but by degrees, so likewise did the darkness which fell on the Roman, particularly the western empire; for the stroke began long before Odoacer, namely, when the barbarians first conquered the capital city. And the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so that the third part of them was darkened - As under the first, second, and third trumpets by "the earth," "sea, " and "rivers," are to be understood the men that inhabit them; so here by the sun, moon, and stars, may be understood the men that live under them, who are so overwhelmed with calamities in those days of darkness, that they can no longer enjoy the light of heaven: unless it may be thought to imply their being killed; so that the sun, moon, and stars shine to them no longer. The very same expression we find in . "I will darken all the lights of heaven over them." As then the fourth seal transcends the three preceding seals, so does the fourth trumpet the three preceding trumpets. For in this not the third part of the earth, or sea, or rivers only, but of all who are under the sun, are affected. And the day shone not for a third part thereof - That is, shone with only a third part of its usual brightness. And the night likewise - The moon and stars having lost a third part of their lustre, either with regard to those who, being dead, saw them no longer, or those who saw them with no satisfaction.
The three last trumpets have the time of their continuance fixed, and between each of them there is a remarkable pause: whereas between the four former there is no pause, nor is the time of their continuance mentioned; but all together these four seem to take up a little less than four hundred years.
rev 8:13And I saw, and heard an angel flying - Between the trumpets of the fourth and fifth angel. In the midst of heaven - The three woes, as we shall see, stretch themselves over the earth from Persia eastward, beyond Italy, westward; all which space had been filled with the gospel by the apostles. In the midst of this lies Patmos, where St. John saw this angel, saying, Woe, woe, woe - Toward the end of the fifth century, there were many presages of approaching calamities. To the inhabitants of the earth - All without exception. Heavy trials were coming on them all. Even while the angel was proclaiming this, the preludes of these three woes were already in motion. These fell more especially on the Jews. As to the prelude of the first woe in Persia, Isdegard II., in 454, was resolved to abolish the sabbath, till he was, by Rabbi Mar, diverted from his purpose. Likewise in the year 474, Phiruz afflicted the Jews much, and compelled many of them to apostatize. A prelude of the second woe was the rise of the Saracens, who, in 510, fell into Arabia and Palestine. To prepare for the third woe, Innocent I., and his successors, not only endeavoured to enlarge their episcopal jurisdiction beyond all bounds, but also their worldly power, by taking every opportunity of encroaching upon the empire, which as yet stood in the way of their unlimited monarchy. | <urn:uuid:d610a685-3c56-4df9-87ad-d01ebd0cb5dd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/wesley/rev008.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971721 | 3,584 | 2.5625 | 3 |
This website offers more than 20 lecture demonstrations designed to help students discover laws of electrostatics. Demos include electroscopes, a simple electrophorus, a "dissectible" capicitor, spark ignition, triboelectric charging, charge dissipation, and an inexpensive moving charge sensor. The author focuses on materials and tools common to manufacturing to establish a connection between basic principles and practical applications. Background information, diagrams, photos, and schematics of electric charge are also provided to facilitate a speedy set-up.
Does not have a copyright, license, or other use restriction.
capicitance, electric charge, electrostatics
Metadata instance created
October 30, 2006
by Caroline Hall
November 26, 2011
by Caroline Hall
Last Update when Cataloged:
May 20, 2005
This resource is part of a Physics Front Topical Unit.
Topic: "Static" Electricity Unit Title: Teaching About Electrostatics
This website from the University of Rochester offers 20+ demos designed to promote understanding of electrostatic processes. Build a leaf electroscope, a "dissectible" capicitor, a moving charge sensor, a piezoelectric sparker, and more.
%0 Electronic Source %A Jones, Thomas %D May 20, 2005 %T University of Rochester: Electrostatics Demonstrations %V 2016 %N 27 June 2016 %8 May 20, 2005 %9 text/html %U http://www.ece.rochester.edu/~jones/demos/
Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications. | <urn:uuid:c069ccb0-2fb8-48a2-80db-9b4cfe29840b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=4593 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.847599 | 362 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Since 1992, the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) has compiled a geologic database known as the Delaware Offshore Geologic Inventory (DOGI) that consists of sediment samples, radiocarbon and amino acid racemization dates, seismic profiles, and vibracores taken from the near-shore and inner continental shelf in state and federal waters. Most of the 366 vibracores are stored at the DGS on-site core and sample repository.
Lithologic logs from 268 vibracores taken from the Delaware Atlantic offshore were evaluated for sediment type and compatibility with historical beach sediment textures. A model of sand resource evaluation, known as "stack-unit mapping" (Kempton, 1981) was applied to all of the cores, and each core was labeled by its lithology in vertical sequence. The results are shown in detailed maps of the beach-quality sand resources offshore in state and federal waters. Results show significant quantities (approximately 54 million cubic yards) of excellent beach-quality sand sources within the three-mile state limit offshore Indian River Inlet, and within the Inner Platform and Detached Shoal Field geomorphic regions. In federal waters, sand is found on Fenwick Shoal Field and farther offshore Indian River Inlet on the Outer Platform (approximately 43.6 million cubic yards combined). Most of the beach-quality sand resources are believed to be reworked tidal delta deposits of a former Indian River Inlet during periods of lower sea level. Farther south, the resources are accumulations of recent surficial sands of the inner shelf (Detached Shoal Field and Fenwick Shoal Field) showing that the geomorphic region does influence sediment quality. This study found that paleochannels and bathymetry had no relationship to grain size. Multiple cut and fill episodes contributed to the diversity in grain sizes. | <urn:uuid:eb98e699-51ba-41f7-9007-ff94c57d89bb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dgs.udel.edu/category/geology-keywords/vibracores | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9335 | 370 | 2.859375 | 3 |
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A Note on Interpretation of the Paired-Samples t Test
Donald W. Zimmerman
Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics
Vol. 22, No. 3 (Autumn, 1997), pp. 349-360
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1165289
Page Count: 12
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Explanations of advantages and disadvantages of paired-samples experimental designs in textbooks in education and psychology frequently overlook the change in the Type I error probability which occurs when an independent-samples t test is performed on correlated observations. This alteration of the significance level can be extreme even if the correlation is small. By comparison, the loss of power of the paired-samples t test on difference scores due to reduction of degrees of freedom, which typically is emphasized, is relatively slight. Although paired-samples designs are appropriate and widely used when there is a natural correspondence or pairing of scores, researchers have not often considered the implications of undetected correlation between supposedly independent samples in the absence of explicit pairing.
Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics © 1997 American Educational Research Association | <urn:uuid:7156a79f-9ed5-427c-88e4-323dbea2b82b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.jstor.org/stable/1165289 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.875954 | 343 | 2.890625 | 3 |
In my last post, I gave a quick overview of Node.js and showed you how to install and smoke test it. Now let’s dive deeper and learn what it provides and how it works.
Node.js is designed to be an asynchronous system: your application code executes only on a single thread and no blocking I/O is allowed. Instead, Node.js uses an event loop to process I/O events via the libev C library.
Let’s dive into the Node code to see how it initializes itself. This writeup is current as of 0.4.2 or 3/14/2011 but obviously things will change over time.
Node initializes itself in the node::Start method in node.cc.
node::Start performs the housekeeping necessary to use V8 and libev in a well-behaved process. A brief walkthru:
- Line 2240-2275: Parse the cmd line arguments, dividing them up between node and v8.
- Line 2280: Setup signal handlers so Ctrl-C will actually terminate the Node.js process.
- Line 2290-2330: Configure various libev watchers, include the Idle detector which uses a simple hueristic to determine when it would be best for V8 to run garbage collection.
- Line 2332: Initialize V8!
- Line 2338-2364: Debugging support
- Line 2367-2374: Call
node::Loadto bootstrap the Node.js APIs, see below
- Line 2385: The key line: pass control to libev event loop. This function will not return until the application code decides to exit the process based on some event or SIGINT or SIGTERM are received.
- Line 2389-2405: Process is exiting. Execute any “exit” event callbacks in the application code and return.
node::Load performs the actual Node.js API bootstrap in three stages:
- Stage 3: Node.js executes the user’s code, via debugger, repl or user-provided script file. Remember this script doesn’t block so it will load quickly and return back to node::Load.
Once the user’s code has been loaded, we should have set up any listening sockets, timers, etc. The entire node::Load function unwinds and we enter the event loop, waiting for I/O or Timer events to execute code.
Thanks for staying with me this far – I hope you learned something new. Next up, I’ll show you how to configure and run a full stack application on node.js using MongoDB and Express! | <urn:uuid:b4132826-0294-4929-babb-064e7e4cb26e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.carbonfive.com/2011/03/14/node-js-part-ii-spelunking-in-the-code/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.846992 | 562 | 2.96875 | 3 |
A U.S.-led team of archeologists announced Thursday it had uncovered three treasure-filled tombs of the ancient Moche culture in northern Peru, shedding new light on the civilization that vanished about 700 years before the Inca people reached their peak.
The tombs were found in a 105-foot-high pyramid on the Peruvian coast, south of a site known as Sipan where royal tombs were uncovered in the late 1980s.
“What makes these new tombs so special is that we have never seen the quality and quantity of ceramics, textiles and metalwork,” said lead archeologist Christopher Donnan of the University of California in Los Angeles.
Graves of Desert Farmers
“I think these are very important tombs and are among the richest that have ever been found, second only to the royal tombs found in the late 1980s at Sipan in Peru,” added Donnan in a telephone interview.
The tombs’ discovery is the result of a three-year excavation by Donnan and his team, who were supported by the National Geographic Society.
The Moche were farmers whose civilization flourished in the desert plain between the Andes and the Pacific from A.D. 100 to 800. They diverted rivers into a network of irrigation canals, growing corn, beans, chili peppers, potatoes and squash.
The Moche laid their noblest dead in huge monuments they built with sun-dried bricks. Gold, silver and copper objects decorated with scenes of hunting, fishing, combat, punishment, sexual encounters and elaborate ceremonies were buried along with them.
Less than 15 of the 350 Moche burials ever discovered contained gold or silver and Donnan said all three of the latest had both with the second tomb containing large amounts.
The new site is known as Dos Cabezas (two heads) and is the first big settlement discovered from the Moche I period, the earliest in the Moche culture, Donnan said.
In addition to the ornate ceramics and other treasures, Donnan said each of the three tombs contained the three tallest people he believed had been excavated in South America.
“They were up to 6 feet tall. The average Moche male is between 4 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 6 inches tall and so they were way out of the range,” he said. “We were astonished at the height of these individuals,” he added.
Donnan, whose discovery is being made public for the first time in National Geographic Magazine’s March edition, said he believed all three men may have suffered from a disease similar to Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes thin, elongated bones.
VIVID ARTISTIC RECORD
Although the Moche people had no writing system, they left behind a vivid artistic record on their beliefs in beautifully sculpted and painted ceramic vessels, colorful wall murals and textiles.
“The quality of the ceramics and metalwork is astonishing,” Donnan said.
Donnan, who has been excavating the remains of the Moche culture for 35 years, said more than 350 Moche burials had been excavated by archeologists in the past and none of them compared with the latest discovery.
Unlike other Moche burials discovered in the past, Donnan said they found a miniature tomb outside each burial chamber in the pyramid that mimicked the bigger tomb containing the remains.
“These miniature tombs each contained a copper figure that is meant to represent the deceased in the big tomb. That figure is lying on its back with its head toward the south, just as in the big one,” he said.
Donnan said one of the three tombs was particularly ornate, suggesting that its occupant was a person of enormous power. A large copper bowl was placed upside down over the dead man’s face and beneath it was a gold and copper funerary mask.
In addition, five gold objects were found in the man’s mouth and sculptures of clay, coper and gold lined his tomb. The ornate tomb also preserved 18 headdresses and a collection of the finest weapons of the day—war clubs, spears and gold-plated shields.
The dead nobleman was accompanied by a young woman’s body, possibly sacrificed to accompany him in the tomb, as well as the body of a llama.
Donnan said all the treasures had been taken out of the tombs and were being stored in a museum in Peru. A selection of them will be on display in a gallery in Florence, Italy, in May, he said.
He suspected there might be more tombs of the same caliber but said it would be hard to find them. The three tombs were located close to the surface and he said it would be hard to dig deeper. | <urn:uuid:10530ac1-9856-4fb4-85dc-01a99d2e536c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98860&page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980735 | 1,008 | 3.484375 | 3 |
We tend to think of animals as different from us—less complicated, less intelligent, and less likely to engage in meaningful relationships. However, new studies seem to crop up each day which challenge the way we think about creatures big and small, and it often turns out that animal relationships are much more complex and multi-faceted than we ever realized.
One new study from the University of the Free State in South Africa drives home this same point. Led by behavioral ecologist Aliza le Roux, researchers studied gelada baboons and followed their mating behavior for two years. Gelada baboons live together in small groups which consist of a dominant male, subservient females, as well as subservient males. Only the dominant male is “allowed” to have sex with the females, and if he sees one the subservient males trying to make a move on his mates, he will become very aggressive and dangerous.
However, in studying these animals, the researchers began to notice that the gelada offspring wasn’t always from the dominant male’s gene pool. In other words, there was likely some “cheating” going on, and the researchers soon determined that the subservient males would have sex with the females when the dominant male was not present. Most interestingly, they copulated in silence—baboons usually make a great deal of noise while mating, so their silence shows that they knew they were engaged in a risky behavior but that they chose to mate regardless. In other words, just as the unfaithful person hides his or her behavior from their spouse and from their loved ones, so too do the gelada baboons.
The study is interesting for many reasons, not only because it shows the intelligence and foresight of the baboons, but that it shows that infidelity isn’t only a human behavior. The subservient males were willing to go through a lot of trouble in order to spread their and increase their odds of having offspring, even if it meant risking a lot of trouble if the dominant male discovered the infidelity. Humans tend to take similar risks, putting their families, relationships, and even their jobs on the line for their mistress or their mister.
It’s hard to understand such behavior, and as anyone who has ever been cheated on knows, “Why?” is often the hardest question for the cheating partner to answer. Sometimes the cheating partner doesn’t even know the answer himself. Could studies such as these suggest that there is a primal nature to infidelity and that some men (and women) simply cannot resist?
As convenient as that answer would be, I think not. After all, we have plenty of primal urges that we resist every day, whether it’s resisting the urge to lose control on the person who cut us off in traffic or resisting the urge to walk around scratching ourselves. Instead, the motivation for infidelity can usually boil down to one thing: The unfaithful partner feels unfulfilled and unhappy, and instead of tackling that issue head-on, they look for that fulfillment and excitement elsewhere. Of course, the pleasure is usually short-lived, but by that time, the damage has been done and the marriage may forever be broken.
That’s why authentic communication one of the best ways to affair-proof your relationship. That means being honest and open even if (or especially if) the topic is painful or hard to discuss. While gelada baboons might only risk and life and limb when cheating, you will be risking everything you value and hold dear—so talk to your spouse and commit to communication instead of looking outside the relationship.
Last Updated: 1/29/2013 | <urn:uuid:00348156-988e-413c-b2ee-1a65f00bc163> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/dr-laura-berman-new-baboon-study-shows-animals-cheat.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972288 | 763 | 3.15625 | 3 |
In this highest resolution view of the icy, rocky nucleus of comet Borrelly, (about 45 meters or 150 feet per pixel) a variety of terrains and surface textures, mountains and fault structures, and darkened material are visible over the nucleus's surface. This was the final image of the nucleus of comet Borrelly, taken just 160 seconds before Deep Space1's closest approach to it. This image shows the 8-km (5-mile) long nucleus about 3417 kilometers (over 2,000 miles) away.
Smooth, rolling plains containing brighter regions are present in the middle of the nucleus and seem to be the source of dust jets seen in the coma. The rugged land found at both ends of the nucleus has many high ridges along the jagged line between day and night on the comet. This rough terrain contains very dark patches that appear to be elevated compared to surrounding areas. In some places the dark material accentuates grooves and apparent faults. Stereo analysis shows the smaller end of the nucleus (lower right) is tipped toward the viewer (out of frame). Sunlight is coming from the bottom of the frame.
Deep Space 1 completed its primary mission testing ion propulsion and 11 other advanced, high-risk technologies in September 1999. NASA extended the mission, taking advantage of the ion propulsion and other systems to undertake this chancy but exciting, and ultimately successful, encounter with the comet. More information can be found on the Deep Space 1 home page at http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/ds1/. Deep Space 1 was launched in October 1998 as part of NASA's New Millennium Program, which is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The California Institute of Technology manages JPL for NASA. | <urn:uuid:94f1c52b-2423-4342-a29f-1244c14b4ae6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03500 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918751 | 364 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Distribution and abundance of breeding seabirds at Heard Island and the McDonald IslandsEntry ID: Seabirds_HIMI
Click to see members of this collection.
Abstract: Distribution and abundance of breeding seabirds at Heard I and the McDonald Is.
This dataset comprises a broad range of component datasets derived from ground surveys aerial photography and oblique photography. Since the data have also been derived from old station logs for the 1947-54 period, and from published and unpublished records for the 1947-present day period.
Aerial and oblique ... photography has been used to obtain supplementary information on distribution and abundance of seabirds in the region.
Recent surveys, 2000/01 onwards, have made use of GPS for more precise geographic information on seabird nests and colonies.
At present there are a number of child metadata records attached to this record. See the link above for details.
Additionally, data from this project has also been incorporated into several other databases/applications.
The State of the Environment Database (System for Indicator Management and Reporting - SIMR).
GIS Applications (search for &heard& and &gis& in the metadata.
The Scientific Bibliography Database
Start Date: 1901-01-01
BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS > ISLANDS
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > BIRDS
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES
BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS > SPECIES LIFE HISTORY
BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS > RANGE CHANGES
BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS > ENDANGERED SPECIES
BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS > POPULATION DYNAMICS
BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY STRUCTURE
ISO Topic Category
Access Constraints See the associated child metadata records for access to these datasets.
Use Constraints This data set conforms to the PICCCBY Attribution License
Data Set Progress
Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT
Role: DIF AUTHOR
Email: eric.woehler at gmail.com
Province or State: Tasmania
Postal Code: 7001
Extended Metadata Properties
(Click to view more)
Creation and Review Dates
DIF Creation Date: 1999-12-16
Last DIF Revision Date: 2016-01-27 | <urn:uuid:4c9405af-5130-4166-8a9a-e3472434d058> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://gcmd.nasa.gov/KeywordSearch/Metadata.do?Portal=GCMD&KeywordPath=%5BKeyword%3D'Heard+Island'%5D&EntryId=Seabirds_HIMI&MetadataView=Full&MetadataType=0&lbnode=mdlb1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.73794 | 594 | 2.734375 | 3 |
|Nasty Mother Nature
The Perfect Storm, Titanic, Twister. Hollywood blockbusters with their hair-raising, havoc-wreaking special effects have made disaster experts of us all. Or have they? See how many of these natural calamities you can name.
|1. Do They Know Its Christmas was the anthem that drew international attention and a massive relief effort to this crisis in the Sahel of Africa that claimed more than 600,000 lives between 1972 and 1985.
2. Both a disaster and a place name, this eco-calamity of the early 1930s the result of massive overplanting and overgrazing kicked up black blizzards of windblown soil that blocked out the sun and piled up drifts of dirt. Describing its many thousand refugees, novelist John Steinbeck wrote: They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do.
3. Believed to be the most devastating event of its kind, this disaster was preceded by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on July 17, 1998. It flattened three villages, ripped palm and coconut trees from the ground, killed more than 3,000 people and left another 6,000 homeless.
4. In 79 AD, this famous disaster buried at least four cities in Campania under 12 feet of pumice lapilli, leaving fossilized artifacts and human remains well preserved for later archeologists to unearth. According to Pliny the Younger, who witnessed the event, it resembled a very tall pine tree... The cloud went high and expanded in different branches.
5. With a power equal to 21,000 atomic bombs, this 1883 cataclysm was said to have been heard from Indonesia to Australia. It propelled soot 50 miles into the air and plunged the region into darkness for two days. The blast set off tidal waves from South America to Hawaii, including one measuring 120 feet that claimed some 36,000 lives.
6. It didnt loft anyone into the land of Oz, but this natural disaster did kill 695 people on March 18, 1925 ripping some 200 miles across central Missouri through Illinois and southern Indiana. Its the deadliest disaster of its kind on record.
7. This absurdly misnamed weather anomaly boosts ocean temperatures every two to seven years, sometimes with disastrous results. A 1985 episode brought typhoons to usually placid Tahiti, severe drought to Australia and torrential floods to central Chile. Historian Mike Davis traces the seeds of underdevelopment in ... the Third World back to late-19th-century cycles of this climactic perturbation.
8. Chinas recorded history tells of more than a thousand major outbreaks of this disaster, but a 1931 episode made 35,000 square miles uninhabitable and rendered 40 million people homeless.
9. In one of the worst natural disasters of the 20th century, a dozen Peruvian villages were wiped out by this 1970 calamity that left tens of thousands dead. Eight years earlier, a related disaster struck the same area, taking 3,500 lives.
10. Californians may think they cornered the market on this event, but the record books tell a different story. The most deadly one dates back to 1556, killing 830,000 people. (For extra credit, name the most powerful one ever measured. It struck in 1960, miraculously killing only about 2,000 people.)
|1. We are looking for 10 specific natural disasters with an identifying name or location. For example, if the clue were a 1998 disaster in the western Caribbean considered the strongest and deadliest of its kind, the correct answer would be: Hurricane Mitch.
2. We will award up to five $30 gift certificates from Borders Books and Music to catastophiles who correctly identify each cataclysm. If more than five correct entries are received, winners will be drawn by lot.
3. Send your answers by no later than June 15 to:
Visit your neighborhood Borders Books and Music store for over 200,000 books, music and video titles in stock, plus special orders on most merchandise. Serving you throughout Southern California and across the nation.
|Illustration by Matthew Martin|
Features -- Sample's Decade of Distinction - Kid Watch - Attacking Diabetes - Urban Legend Jon Jerde
Departments -- Mailbag - What's New - In Support - Alumni News - The Last Word | <urn:uuid:e4fec059-c244-460b-8ae0-d900135b0fdc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/trojan_family/summer01/lastword/lastword.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943978 | 896 | 2.625 | 3 |
Agriculture: Land and Life
“Growing crops is nothing else but a more or less astute management of peculiarly
simplified ecosystems.”1 In the last half century, however, agricultural management has ignored the lessons of nature. The net loss of topsoil annually may be as much as twenty-five billion tons,2 which is a catastrophic loss, as it takes up to five hundred years for nature to create an inch of topsoil.3 Deforestation has increased water runoff and affected rainfall, causing a loss of about six million hectares (close to fifteen million acres) of fertile land each year to desertification.4
Irrigation has increased crop yields, but has made a quarter of the world’s farmland less fertile due to salt left in the soil by evaporation, or waterlogged if the land was not properly drained. “Although only 17 percent of the world’s cropland is irrigated, that 17 percent produces 40 percent of the global harvest. This disproportionate share is largely due to the capability of irrigated lands to produce two and sometimes three crops in a year.”5 Due to irrigation, water tables are falling,6 and underground aquifers are being depleted.7 “Modern agriculture places a severe strain on our water resources. In the United States, for example, it consumes fully 85 percent of all freshwater resources.”8
The use of artificial fertilizer has produced higher crop yields, but degraded the soil. In fields watered by rain only about 40 percent of the nitrogen in artificial fertilizer is taken up by the crops, and in rice paddies as little as 20–30 percent of the nitrogen in the fertilizer is utilized.9 Agricultural runoff of nitrogen compounds into streams has led to “at least fifty dead zones in the oceans, one the size of New Jersey in the Gulf of Mexico.”10 “We have perturbed the global nitrogen cycle,” Czech scientist Vaclav Smil asserts, “more than any other, even carbon.”11
Moreover, our system of agriculture is precarious. “The world’s food supply hangs by a slender thread of biodiversity. Ninety percent is provided by slightly more than a hundred plant species out of a quarter-million known to exist. Twenty species carry most of the load, of which only three—wheat, maize [corn], and rice—stand between humanity and starvation.”12
What should our ethical presumptions be? I will argue that nature is our model for agriculture, poor farmers can feed themselves and their communities when their human rights are protected, and farming can and must be environmentally sustainable.
Plants depend on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and the soil’s humus is rich in these elements. “Humus is what’s left of organic matter after it has been broken down by the billions of big and small organisms that inhabit a spoonful of earth.”13 An ecosystem naturally maintains the humus required by plants.
Nitrogen “is the single most important nutrient” for plant growth,14 but plants can only use nitrogen that is fixed by bacteria. Legumes (members of the bean family) form “symbiotic relationships with nitrogen fixing bacteria. In exchange for some nitrogen, the bacteria receive from the plants carbohydrates and special structures (nodules) in roots where they can exist in a moist environment. Scientists estimate that biological fixation globally adds approximately 140 million metric tons of nitrogen to ecosystems every year.”15
Nitrogen plays a major role in protein and chlorophyll production, and chlorophyll enables plant cells to carry on photosynthesis, which uses solar energy to transform carbon dioxide into sugars. The nitrogen cycle is crucial for agriculture, but adding more fixed nitrogen to the soil will not increase yields without a sufficient amount of phosphorus. Phosphorus is required by the enzymes in plants that accumulate and convert carbon dioxide into sugars in photosynthesis, and is also needed for the construction and reproduction of DNA.16
In the phosphorus cycle rain removes phosphates from rocks and carries them through the soil, where plants take them up. Phosphates move “from plants to animals when herbivores eat plants and carnivores eat plants or herbivores. The phosphates absorbed by animal tissue through consumption eventually return to the soil through the excretion of urine and feces, as well as from the final decomposition of plants and animals after death.”17
Potassium regulates the water content in plants and the use of nutrients, resists plant diseases and drought, and increases the efficiency of photosynthesis.18 The potassium cycle takes place in the soil and in plants. “In agricultural ecosystems, potassium uptake by various crops varies, and its content in the soil depends on harvesting and general cultivation methods.”19 The use of artificial fertilizer raises levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the soil and increases plant growth, but disrupts the natural cycles of these elements. Furthermore, using pesticides with artificial fertilizers, which is standard practice in industrial agriculture, degrades the humus that maintains soil fertility.
“Mother earth never attempts to farm without livestock; she always raises mixed crops; great pains are taken to preserve the soil and to prevent erosion; the mixed vegetable and animals wastes are converted into humus; there is no waste; the processes of growth and the processes of decay balance one another; the greatest care is taken to store the rainfall; both plants and animals are left to protect themselves against disease.”20
Industrial agriculture ignores these lessons. It replaces farm animals with machines, diverse crops and crop rotation with a single crop, natural fertilizer with artificial fertilizer, and grazing with barns and stockyards where livestock are fed grain laced with hormones and antibiotics to fatten the animals and resist the bacteria that thrive in such artificial environments.
Cheap fossil fuels (which are only cheap due to government subsidies) have made industrial agriculture feasible. Artificial fertilizer is made from natural gas and pesticides from oil. Gasoline powers tractors and irrigation pumps, equipment in the livestock barns, trucks that transport food to processing plants and markets, and processing and refrigeration for much of the food.21 “The food industry burns nearly a fifth of all the petroleum consumed in the United States (about as much as automobiles do). Today it takes between seven and ten calories of fossil fuel energy to deliver one calorie of food energy to an American plate.”22
The development of higher yield hybrid seeds led to what is called the Green Revolution. “Between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250 percent.”23 By 1994, however, it took four hundred gallons of oil to feed each US citizen. Since 1994 the energy input in agriculture has continued to grow, but this increased input has not meant a higher yield, because the soil has been degraded and pesticides have become less effective.24
Artificial fertilizers increase yields,25 but with great waste. Growing a single crop makes using machinery easier (to cultivate and fertilize), but attracts pests. To fight pests, about 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides are used annually in the US—“about five pounds for every person in the country.”26 But pests have evolved resistance to these chemicals. Despite a tenfold increase in pesticide use since the 1950s, crop losses to pests have doubled.27
Over “the past three to four decades, losses in all major crops have increased in relative terms,”28 largely due to:
· Planting crops that are increasingly susceptible to insects.
· Killing the natural enemies of pests by using pesticides.
· The development of greater pesticide resistance in insects.
· Reduced use of crop rotation and diversity that limit pest damage.
· Planting in climatic regions where crops are more susceptible to insects.
· Using pesticides that make crops more susceptible to insects.29
To reduce losses due to pests, US farm policy has adopted integrated pest management (IPM) The original goal of IPM was to manage “pests in an ecologically and economically sound way. Pesticides were to be applied only as needed, and decisions to treat were to be based on regular monitoring of pest populations and natural enemies (or antagonists) of pests in the target system.”30 The assumption was that using “a wide range of compatible or nondisruptive practices, such as resistant crop varieties and selective pesticides that preserve antagonists of pests, would ultimately lead to reduced reliance on chemical pesticides.”31
In 2001 a report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) criticized federal efforts to enforce IPM and reduce pesticide use. The report found that the “total use of agricultural pesticides, measured in pounds of active ingredient, has actually increased since the beginning of USDA’s IPM initiative.”32 It is the same worldwide.33
The shift to industrial agriculture began in the 1970s. Bankers offered low interest loans, and farmers were persuaded that they would do better by taking out loans to invest in more land and equipment so they could increase production. When inflation raised interest rates, farmers were unable to repay their loans, as the surplus of food they were producing drove prices down.
In the 1980s thousands of farmers went bankrupt and much of their land was bought up by corporations. Many surviving farmers in the United States have agreed to the “contract growing of chickens, hogs, and cattle owned by or committed to the processing companies,”34 although this requires that they bear all the risk. Today 95 percent of the chickens in the United States are raised by contract growers, and half of these are owned by four food processors.35 Four firms—Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Cargill, Cenex Harvest Services, and General Mills—“own 60 percent of the nation’s grain-handling facilities.”36
When four companies control 40 percent or more of a market, they control the price of goods.37 In 1996 Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) pled guilty to price fixing and paid an antitrust fine of $100 million.38 A year before the lawsuit was filed, ADM’s chairman admitted with unusual candor: “The only place you see a free market is in the speeches of politicians.”39
Federal farm policy has undercut effective market pricing. In the midst of the Depression the federal government began to use price supports and loans to help farmers survive. In the 1970s the Nixon administration changed to direct subsides, primarily for wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, and cotton. Paying farmers “directly for the shortfall in the price of corn was revolutionary, as its proponents surely must have understood.”40 Instead of removing corn and other commodities supported by the federal farm bill “out of a falling market, as the old loan programs and federal granary had done, the new subsidies encouraged farmers to sell their corn [and other commodities] at any price, since the government would make up the difference.”41
Under this system farmers try to maximize their yield on the land they plant, which makes sense given their fixed costs for loans and equipment. They buy more fertilizer and pesticide, which increases their input costs and also their yield. Higher productivity has generally led to declining market prices, less profit for farmers overall, and the consolidation of agricultural land under corporate ownership—as independent farmers have often been unable to pay their debts.
In 2007 years, however, there was a dramatic change, at least for those growing corn. Federal subsidies for the production of ethanol have driven up the market price of corn42 and made independent farmers rich and agribusiness richer.43 In the past two years alone net farm income has increased by about 50 percent. Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana farmer and former chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, admits that federal farm subsidies, which are “narrowly focused on certain crops and are excessive,” become “ridiculous given the exploding possibilities to grow crops for biofuels production.”44
Opponents of the US farm bill introduced in Congress in 2007 argue that it “subsidizes the overproduction of corn and soy in the Midwest, which is driving up obesity and diabetes and polluting the land. Instead, they say, the farm bill should put more money into sustainable and organic food production, agricultural conservation and efforts to put a higher priority on fresh, local fruits and vegetables.”45 The farm bill that became law in 2008 “preserves an indefensible program of direct payments amounting to about $5 billion a year that flow in good times and bad. It raises support levels for wheat and soybeans, while adding several new crops to the list in a way that will make it easier for farmers to raid the federal Treasury even when prices go up.”46
US farm bill subsidies have long favored agribusiness.47 “Just ten percent of America’s largest and richest farms collect almost three-fourths of federal farm subsidies—cash payments that too often promote harmful environmental practices.” 48 The top 1 percent of subsidy recipients received 17 percent of payments, between 2003 and 2005, of $34,752,000,000. “In this period eleven agricultural businesses each received more than $4 million in subsidies, and half of the total crop subsidy went to agribusiness owners in only 19 congressional districts.”49
Agribusiness not only controls federal farm policy, as well as seeds, livestock, and food processing, but even food retailing. In 1992 the top-five retailers—Albertson’s, Ahold USA, Kroger, Safeway, and Wal-Mart—had only 19 percent of the national market, but by 2004 these five corporations had captured over 45 percent of the national market and almost 75 percent of the market in the largest cities. Pillsbury and General Mills merged in 2000, and Tyson and IPB in 2001. Today, 80 percent of the beef sold by these retailers is packed by four corporations.50
Agribusiness also controls international trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has “encouraged concentration in the food processing industry and the expansion of factory farms and agribusiness in all three NAFTA countries [Mexico, Canada, and the United States].”51 Half of Mexico’s small farmers have been pushed off the land, and Mexico now imports more than ten times as much corn from the United States as it did before NAFTA. The gap between rich and poor in Mexico and in the United States has grown, and the number of Mexicans coming illegally into the US to find work has increased.52
Trade agreements under the WTO, IMF, and World Bank have had similar results elsewhere. In Tanzania, for instance, “the overall impact on food security of the liberalization of agricultural trade is profoundly negative. Farmer incomes are declining, and, at the same time, school and medical fees have been reintroduced under the Structural Adjustment Program.53 Farmers have to part with some of the little money they earn, and have less to meet farming costs and to buy food in times of shortage.”54
In India in the past ten years more than twenty-five thousand farmers in prosperous regions have killed themselves because they were unable to pay their debts—due to the rising input costs of corporate seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers, and the declining market prices for their crops.55 As Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general notes, “the world trading system is not fair.”56
Farmers growing corn for ethanol production57 have recently benefited from higher prices for corn, but these higher profits are unsustainable. Growing corn takes more fertilizer than other crops.58 Fertilizer is made from natural gas, and the price of this fossil fuel is rising due to demand, which will raise the price of growing corn (and all products made using corn). In addition, growing corn takes a lot of water, but the aquifers beneath the midwestern states being used to grow corn are being depleted. There will soon be less water and it will cost more, which will also push up the price of corn (and everything using it).
Using more corn for ethanol is increasing prices for other goods, making it harder for people with low incomes to buy food. “A startling change is unfolding in the world’s food markets. Soaring fuel prices have altered the equation for growing food and transporting it across the globe. Huge demand for biofuels has created tension between using land to produce fuel and using it for food.”59 It seems clear that “shortsighted policies in the United States and other wealthy countries” are largely to blame.60
Having water to drink and to use in growing crops to eat cannot be left to supply and demand, nor can access to food, as markets do not protect human rights.61 “A long-held basic human right, the right to adequate food for the world’s 854 million hungry people, is being threatened once again—this time by the conversion of wheat, sugar, palm oil and maize into agricultural fuel.”62
The price of palm oil, for instance, which is widely used for cooking in many countries, has jumped nearly 70 percent between 2007 and 2008. “Cooking oil may seem a trifling expense in the West. But in the developing world, cooking oil is an important source of calories and represents one of the biggest cash outlays for poor families, which grow much of their own food but have to buy oil in which to cook it.” 63
Rising corn prices will increase the price of most processed foods, which contain corn syrup. Consider these typical items sold at McDonald’s: soda (100 percent corn), milk shake (78 percent corn), salad dressing (65 percent corn), chicken nuggets (56 percent corn), cheeseburger (52 percent corn), and french fries (23 percent corn). In addition to paying higher prices for food, consumers will continue to pay for the health costs that result from eating these high calorie foods—“obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease.”64
For the global poor, “America’s corn-fed food chain” is already a disaster, as the fast-food economy is using up much more than our fair share of the energy being captured by plants and stored as carbohydrates.65 About half of the grain grown today is fed to livestock,66 and much of this grain is corn. “To eat corn directly (as Mexicans and Africans do) is to consume all the energy in that corn, but when you feed that corn to a steer or a chicken, 90 percent of its energy is lost—to bones or feathers or fur, to living and metabolizing as a steer or chicken.”67
Processing food also requires energy and this adds to the inefficiency of food production. So, eating processed food, which has a higher profit margin for the producer than unprocessed food, also makes it harder for billions of poor people to obtain the food they need to survive.
Those who defend industrial agriculture and trade liberalization policies argue that traditional forms of agriculture cannot feed the world’s growing population. Yet, as industrial agriculture is unsustainable, its defenders bear the burden of demonstrating it is necessary.68 Sustainable agriculture is now feeding poor farmers in India and elsewhere, and may be able to feed the world—if population growth levels off and more of us eat lower on the food chain.
The law must ensure that the poor have access to financial capital at fair interest rates, and are able to exercise their civil right to participate in local economic decisions.69 This enables them to use land and water for sustainable agriculture that produces more food than export crops.
Economic and educational initiatives empowering poor women offer the best hope of controlling population growth and ensuring sustainable farming in developing communities.70 “The declining birthrates in nations where poverty and illiteracy are still widespread defy almost all conventional wisdom. Women are taking charge of their lives—not waiting for the slow processes of education and cultural change.”71 Moreover, these “rural women produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries.”72
Gita Sen argues that those promoting population control in poor countries have made a mistake in identifying women as “targets” of family planning—“the necessary locus of contraceptive technology, and reproductive manipulation,” or as “potential decision-makers”—whose capabilities may be improved through education.73 For women generally perceive these measures as violating their human rights.
“Population and family-planning programs,” therefore, “should be framed in the context of health and livelihood agendas, should give serious consideration to women’s health advocates, and be supportive of women’s reproductive health and rights.”74 A poor, undernourished woman is more likely to limit the number of her children when she is able to improve her health and provide sufficient food for her family.
A model for this approach is found in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India, on the semiarid Deccan Plateau. Government policies favoring rice and wheat production “led to the near collapse of coarse grain production in the region, such as sorghum and pearl millet. The increasing costs of modern agricultural inputs also made it difficult for small and marginal farmers to continue production. The government has also encouraged the production of sugar cane [for export] by providing loans to dig bore wells and setting up a sugar factory to process the cane. This has resulted in wealthy farmers over-utilizing groundwater at the cost of poor farmers, whose shallow wells go dry.”75
In 1983 a few professional men set up the Deccan Development Society (DDS) to help poor communities. Initially, the DDS worked with men, but soon discovered that men’s groups are easily split by political affiliations and conflicts over leadership. So, the DDS turned to poor women, who “suffer from the triple burden of caste, class, and gender.”76 With the help of the DDS, women’s sanghams (voluntary associations) have pooled savings to create revolving loan funds, which lend money to women at 12 percent interest annually (rather than at 60 percent or more that is charged by local money lenders).
The problems that these women face are staggering: “A major impact of the poor conditions of agriculture lands and small family holdings is that they are left fallow. Big landlords also cultivate only part of their holdings to grow sugar cane and other irrigated crops while leaving the rest fallow. This leads to (1) lack of employment; (2) lack of basic food since farm laborers are paid in kind when they harvest crops; (3) high rates of soil erosion; and eventually (4) forced migration of landless, small, and marginal farmers.”77
“The vulnerability of the poor leads to inhuman practices such as annual bondage of young boys (for a very small wage), which prevents them from going to school. Young women belonging to poor families are considered fair game for sexual harassment, so girls are married at the age of 10–12 years old because the families experience them as burdens.”78 Strategies used by women’s groups to solve these problems include working together to improve the quality of land owned by group members, pooling their resources to lease land, and creating seed banks.
Today the women’s groups of the DDS are active in seventy-five villages and include over five thousand members. Since 1985 these women’s groups have brought into cultivation ten thousand acres of degraded land. “Consequently, they have been raising over three million kilos of grain every year, which is six times more than half a million kilos of grains they used to produce earlier.”79
The women do not use artificial fertilizers.80 “To ensure long-term sustainability, they are working to establish regional federations and cooperatives which will produce and market traditional organic food.”81 In eight special Dalit (Untouchable) watersheds, women have enabled “local communities to design and shape small areas of land as watersheds and enshrine strong principles of food production through biodiversity based farming systems. . . . [T]hey have breathed life into all kinds of lands around them: the most degraded forest lands, degraded common lands and their own cultivable fallows.”82
These Indian women’s groups have demonstrated that even “very poor farmers, once in control of their agriculture and natural resources, with a bit of help and access to financial resources, can feed themselves and the non-food producing members of their community.”83
The ability of poor women to limit as well as feed their families is also verified by the Grameen Bank, a microcredit initiative for poor women in Ban gladesh that has five and a half million members. One of the Sixteen Decisions84 that participants in the Grameen Bank must memorize and affirm is to keep their families small, and studies have shown that these women are 50 percent more likely than other Bangladeshi women to do so.85 Two of the other Sixteen Decisions are: “We shall grow vegetables all the year round,” and “During the plantation seasons, we shall plant as many seedlings as possible.”86
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization confirmed in 2002 that poverty, not food scarcity, is the cause of hunger.87 In 2008, however, a rapid rise in commodity prices worldwide is evidence that too much grain is being used for cattle feed and ethanol production, rather than for food.88 Raising the input costs of agriculture, by using more artificial fertilizers and pesticides or expensive seeds, exacerbates this problem.
Plants transform solar energy and nutrients into edible leaves, roots, and seeds. Many plants are needed to feed a smaller number of herbivores, and even fewer carnivores are able to live off these herbivores. “In the typical food chain, the energy available declines by a factor of ten at each tropic (feeding) level, although the ratio can vary. Thus the efficiency of agriculture in feeding people depends a great deal on where food is taken from the chain.”89 At each level, energy is lost as heat and waste.
Also, efficiency in farming depends on energy inputs. Traditional agriculture uses solar power, farm labor, and farm animals to plow and fertilize the land. Pests are managed by planting a variety of species in smaller plots and rotating crops, and these practices also replenish the soil as nutrients are removed. Livestock graze on the grasses that grow because of solar energy, and grazing maintains the health of the grasses as well as the fertility of the soil.90
Sustainable agriculture, or “farming with nature,” is “an agro-ecology that promotes biodiversity, recycles plant nutrients, protects soil from erosion, conserves and protects water, uses minimum tillage, and integrates crop and livestock enterprises on the farm.”91 There are three objectives: economic profit, social benefits to the farm family and the farming community, and environmental conservation.92
“Farms become and stay environmentally sustainable by imitating natural systems—creating a farm landscape that mimics as closely as possible the complexity of healthy ecosystems. Nature tends to function in cycles, so that waste from one process or system becomes input for another. Industrial agriculture, in contrast, tends to function in a linear fashion similar to a factory: inputs go in one end, and products and waste come out the other. The wastes of industrial agriculture (non-point source pollution) include suspended soil, nitrates, and phosphates in stream water, and nitrates and pesticides in ground water.”93
Some call this “philosophy of mimicking natural processes”94 organic farming. In 1991 the European Commission (EC) set the first official standards, and the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) was founded a year later. In 2002 the US Department of Agriculture established production standards to regulate the commercial use of the label “organic.”95 Some critics argue that in the United States “organic farming has increasingly come to resemble the industrial system it originally set out to replace.”96 To create an international standard, in 2005 IFOAM published “The Principles of Organic Farming.”97
Sustainable practices in agriculture are more important than achieving a consensus on what “organic” means. Industrial farming takes a huge risk by producing a single crop (a monoculture), such as wheat, corn, or soybeans, because then the farmer is vulnerable to natural disasters and changes in market prices. To reduce risk, sustainable farming involves growing a diversity of crops and integrating plant and animal agriculture. The model for sustainable farming is an ecosystem, not a factory.
Sustainable agriculture works with four natural processes: energy capture, water cycles, mineral cycles, and ecosystem dynamics. Energy capture involves maximizing “the leaf area available for photosynthesis, and efficiently cycling the stored solar energy through the food chain. Off-season cover crops, perennial vegetation, and intercropping are among the tools for capturing more solar energy.”98
The water cycle may be improved by adding ground cover and organic matter to the soil. “A surface mulch layer speeds water intake while reducing evaporation and protecting the soil from erosion. Minimizing or eliminating tillage, growing high-residue crops and cover crops, and adding compost or manure to the soil maintains groundcover and builds organic matter.”99
The mineral cycle involves transferring nutrients from the soil to the crops and animals and then returning these nutrients to the soil. “Conditions and practices that inhibit the natural mineral cycle—erosion, nutrient leaching, organic matter depletion, selling hay or grain off the farm—tend to reduce the farm’s sustainability. Practices that enhance the mineral cycle include on-farm feeding of livestock, careful management of manure and crop residues, use of catch crops to reduce nutrient leaching losses, and practices that prevent erosion.”100
For sustainable farming fertilizers containing anhydrous ammonia and potassium chloride should not be used, as these chemicals harm the soil and organisms in it that are beneficial for crops. Monoammonium phosphate (12-50-0), usually called MAP, offers a more environmentally friendly way to make the transition from industrial agriculture to sustainable agriculture.
Agroecology relies on a mixture of organisms with genetic diversity within species to create greater stability and control pests. “The first step toward increasing biodiversity on the farm is crop rotation, which helps break weed and pest life cycles and provides complementary fertilization among the crops in the planting sequence. Advancing from rotation to strip intercrops brings a higher level of biodiversity and increases sunlight capture.”101
“Strip intercropping of corn and soybeans or cotton and alfalfa are two examples. Borders, windbreaks, and special plantings for natural enemies of pests provide habitat for beneficial organisms, further increasing biodiversity and stability. The addition of appropriate perennial crops, shrubs, and trees to the farmscape enhances ecosystem dynamics still further.”102
Integrated pest management requires knowing a pest’s life cycle and its natural enemies, so growers can deploy other organisms (insects, mites, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes) to control pests. IPM strategies include using insects, mites, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes.103 “When IPM tactics are unable to maintain insect pest populations below economic thresholds, insecticide application to control the pests and prevent economic loss is clearly justified. In such cases, farmers concerned with sustainability will usually attempt to obtain satisfactory control using one of the ‘biorational’ pesticides, which are fairly pest-specific and usually non-persistent, causing a minimal amount of harm to beneficial organisms.”104
Weed control involves crop rotation, which makes it harder for the seeds of weeds to set or to migrate from outside the field, and planting crops that outgrow weeds. “In northern states, oats are commonly planted as a ‘nurse crop’ for alfalfa, clover, and legume-grass mixtures—the oats simply take the place of weeds that would otherwise grow between the young alfalfa plants.”105 Using mulch and grazers, such as sheep or goats, also helps to keep weeds down.
Food for Everyone?
The higher yields of the Green Revolution are unsustainable, because of increased input costs for seed, fertilizer, and pesticides, and because of the loss of topsoil, the degradation of the environment due to nutrient and pesticide runoff, and crop losses due to resistant pests.106 In 2007 and 2008 the price of oil shot up due to demand, speculation in commodity markets by investors,107 and limited refining capacity; before the middle of the century oil and natural gas production will peak and begin to decline. Thus, food and everything else that depends on the price of fossil fuels is bound to become more costly. Rising ozone levels in the lower atmosphere are likely to reduce plant productivity, the depletion of aquifers will reduce the water available for irrigation, and climate change will require more drought-resistant plants.108
It is impossible to use cost-benefit analysis to weigh the consequences of continuing industrial agriculture versus making a transition to sustainable agriculture. There are, however, estimates of some of the annual global costs of industrial agriculture:
· Subsidies for farming in industrial countries—$362 billion
· Subsidies for water—$247 billion
· Losses due to soil erosion—150 billion
· Losses due to desertification—$42 billion109
There are also estimates of some of the annual costs of industrial agriculture in the United States:
· Subsidies for agriculture—$75 billion (or more)110
· Higher food prices—$25 billion
· Subsidized grazing fees for use of federal land—$50 million
· Subsidizes to farmers using Bureau of Reclamation water—$2.5 billion
· Irrigation subsidies in the western United States—$4.4 billion111
Clearly, the “so-called efficiency of industrial animal production is an illusion, made possible by cheap grain, cheap water and prisonlike confinement systems. In short, animal husbandry has been turned into animal abuse. Manure—traditionally a source of fertilizer—has been turned into toxic waste that fouls the air and adjacent water bodies. Crowding creates health problems, resulting in the chronic overuse of antibiotics. And, because the modest profits in confinement operations require the lowest possible labor costs, including automated feeding, watering and manure-handling systems, these operations have helped empty and impoverish rural America.”112
Drugs derived from plants now provide health benefits worldwide worth $400 billion, and the total value of goods and services from biodiversity is about $3 trillion.113 Thus, only a 10 percent loss in biodiversity could mean a loss in value of $300 billion. Forests are being cut to clear land for cattle grazing. Yet, tropical deforestation leads to less soil cover and all its benefits, which in India alone is worth around $10 billion per year. Moreover, tropical forests absorb carbon dioxide, and the loss of this benefit “could cost as much as $3.7 trillion.”114
Pollination services are provided by insects, and this ecological process is worth about $117 billion annually. Pesticides are decimating the population of pollinating insects, and losing these species would raise agricultural costs about $54 billion annually. In the United States we are aware of the recent collapse of honeybee populations, but this is a global problem as well.115
The likely consequences of maintaining the industrial food production system do not prove that sustainable farming is more cost effective, but confirm that it is reasonable to put the burden of proof on those who argue that factory farming is required to feed the world. Also, there is evidence that sustainable farming is cost effective. For instance, after pesticides used in Indonesia killed the natural enemies of the brown planthopper, rice losses rose to $1.5 billion annually. When the government slashed subsidies for pesticides and banned fifty seven of sixty-six pesticides, use of the remaining pesticides fell by 60 percent and rice yields rose by 15 percent, for a savings during 1986–1990 of $1 billion.116
Genetically modified (GM) food may offer some benefits in productivity or resistance to a disease or pest,117 but will not solve the problem of increasing costs for herbicides, pesticides, water for irrigation, and the transport of food, and also pose a threat of contaminating other species.118 GM food will also raise the price of seeds, as corporations seek to maximize the profit from their research and patents. Moreover, these technological innovations do not address the inequitable distribution of food.
Finally, GM food may replace traditional foods that are naturally more healthy and efficient to grow. For instance, “the heavily advertised vitamin A-rich golden rice increases water abuse in agriculture. Golden rice contains 30 micrograms of vitamin A per 100 grams of rice. On the other hand, greens such as amaranth and coriander contain 500 times more vitamin A, while using a fraction of the water needed by golden rice. In terms of water use, genetically engineered rice is 1,500 times less efficient in providing children with vitamin A, a necessary vitamin for blindness prevention.”119
Farming and Food: An Answer
First, there must be a transition to agroecological farming. This requires government policies that phase out commodity subsidies and offer incentives for independent farmers using the methods of sustainable agriculture.120 There is little political support now for this change in the United States, but pressure will grow as fossil fuels become more expensive, food prices rise, and people realize that industrial agriculture is economically as well as environmentally unsustainable.
Second, governments and citizens must support urban farms and markets. To reduce the fossil fuel costs of transportation, more of our food has to be grown closer to where we live.121 This change will require political leadership as well as consumer support.122 We need to revitalize farmers’ markets, grow food on city lots and building roofs, and in urban areas treat and return to the soil the nutrients in organic garbage and waste that are now being wasted.123
Third, those who are affluent must eat lower on the food chain. The average American obtains about 30 percent of his calories from animal sources.124 If everyone in the world ate this way, there would only be enough food for about half the world’s people. “If everyone ate like the average Latin American and consumed a mere 10 percent of their calories from animal sources, only 4 billion people could be fed.”125 To feed the world’s nearly 7 billion inhabitants, most people will have to obtain the bulk of their protein from sources other than meat, and those of us now eating a lot of meat will need to reduce our consumption substantially.
1. Vaclav Smil, Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2000), xvi.
2. William Ophuls and A. Stephen Boyan, Jr., Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity Revisited (New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1992), 49–50.
3. David Pimentel and Mario Giampietro, Food, Land, Population and the U.S. Economy
(Carrying Capacity Network Publications, November 1994), in Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture (Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2006), 11.
4. William Ophuls and A. Stephen Boyan, Jr., Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity Revisited, 50–51.
5. Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels, 15.
6. “Water tables are dropping a meter or more each year beneath a large area of irrigated farmland in north China; they are falling 20 centimeters a year across two-thirds of India’s Punjab, that nation’s breadbasket.” Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels, 16.
7. “The Ogallala Aquifer that supplies agriculture, industry and home use in much of the southern and central plains states has an annual overdraft 130 to 160 percent in excess of replacement. This vitally important aquifer will become unproductive in another thirty years or so.”
Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels, 17.
8. Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels, 15. See Sandra L. Postel, Gretchen C. Caily and Paul R. Ehrlich, “Human Appropriation of Renewable Fresh Water,” Science 271 (Feb. 9, 1996): 785.
9. “Prevailing fertilizer applications are accompanied by large nutrient losses; nitrogen leakage
is particularly large due to leaching, erosion, volatilization [loss due to evaporation], and denitrification [changing usable oxidized forms of nitrogen into nitrogen gas].” Vaclav Smil, Feeding the World, xviii.
10. James Gustave Speth, Red Sky at Morning, 16. Des Moines, Iowa, draws its drinking water from the Des Moines River. “In spring, when nitrogen runoff is at its heaviest, the city issues ‘blue baby alerts,’ warning parents it’s unsafe to give children water from the tap. The nitrates in the water bind to hemoglobin, compromising the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to the brain.” Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: The Penguin Press, 2006), 46–47.
11. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 47.
12. Edward O. Wilson, The Future of Life, 114. Ecosystems are naturally diverse and thus more fit to survive a change in climate or other distressing event. See James Trefil, Human Nature, 193.
13. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 147.
14. “Nitrogen: Role in Plant Biology,” Kemira-GrowHow, online at http://www.kemira-growhow.com/UK/TechnicalAdvice/Plant+Growth/Nitrogen.
15. “The Nitrogen Cycle,” Fundamentals of Physical Geography, online at http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9s.html.
16. “Phosphorus Cycle,” Environmental Literacy Council, online at http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/480.html.
18. “Potassium: Role in Plant Biology,” Environmental Literacy Council, online at http://www.kemira-growhow.com/UK/TechnicalAdvice/Plant+Growth/Potassium.
19. W. Grzebisz, K. Cyna, and M. Wron´ska, “Disturbances of the Bio-geo-chemical Potassium Cycle,” Journal of Elementology, 2004,vol. 9, no. 4 (Supplement): 67–77, online at http://www.cababstractsplus.org/google/abstract.asp?AcNo=20053049354.
20. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 149.
21. Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels, 1. Fisheries, as well as agriculture, depend on “cheap
seemingly super-abundant fossil fuels.” Donald Kennedy, ed., Science Magazine’s State of the Planet: 2006–2007, 34. This is also true for fish farming (aquaculture), as fishing fleets need to catch the cheap fish to make the fishmeal to feed the fish being farmed. “Peter Tyedmers of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia has calculated that for every kilogram of Canadian farmed salmon produced, 2.5 to 5 liters of diesel fuel or its equivalent is consumed.” John Ryan, “Feedlots of the Sea,” World Watch Magazine, vol. 16, no. 5 (Sep/Oct 2003), in Peter Singer and Jim Mason, The Way We Eat, 123.
22. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 183.
23. Ibid., 7.
24. Ibid., 8–9. In India farmers argue that artificial pesticides have depleted the soil, and doctors find increasing health problems that seem to be related to the use of artificial pesticides. See Daniel Pepper, “Some Indians Fear Green Revolution is a Killer,” San Francisco Chronicle (Jul. 28, 2008), A-12, online at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/27/MN3M11LLJQ.DTL.
25. “More than half of all the synthetic nitrogen made today is applied to corn, whose hybrid strains can make better use of it than any other plant. Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn it into food, has in no small measure become a process of converting fossil fuels into food.” Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 45.
26. Francis Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Hope’s Edge, 258.
27. Ibid., see also David Pimentel et. al., “Environmental and Economic Impacts of Reducing U.S. Agricultural Pesticide Use,” Handbook of Pest Management in Agriculture, Vol. 1, 679–718 (Boca Raton, FL: CRC press, 1991), also printed in Pimentel and Lehmen, eds., The Pesticide Question: Environment, Economics and Ethics (Springer, 1993), 223–278, in Francis Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Hope’s Edge, 258.
28. FAO Corporate Document Repository, “Crop Protection in the Context of Agricultural Development,” online at http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/TAC/Y4847E/y4847e05.htm.
29. David Pimentel, “Is Silent Spring Behind Us?” G. J. Marco, R. M. Hollingsworth, and E. Durham, eds., Silent Spring Revisited (Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1987), in Louis P. Pojman and Paul Pojman, eds., Environmental Ethics, 536. Pimentel offers three additional reasons for crop losses: “reduced FDA tolerance and increased cosmetic standards of processors and retailers for fruits and vegetables,” “reduced field sanitation including less destruction of infected fruit and crop residues,” and “reduced tillage, leaving more crop remains on the land surface to harbor pests for subsequent crops.”
30. Lester E. Ehler, “Integrated Pest Management: A National Goal?” Issues in Science and Technology, online at http://www.issues.org/22.1/stalk.html.
33. The World Bank requires that agricultural projects “reduce reliance on pesticides and promote farmer-driven, ecologically based integrated pest management.” In 1993, however, a World Bank report concluded that both national governments and agribusiness were promoting “ex - cessive chemical pesticide use.” FAO Corporate Document Repository, “Crop Protection in the Context of Agricultural Development,” online at http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/TAC/Y4847E/y4847e05.htm.
34. George Pyle, Raising Less Corn, More Hell: The Case for the Independent Farm and Against
Industrial Food (New York: Public Affairs, 2005), 12.
35. The four main food processors are Gold Kist, Perdue Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Tyson. Cargill/Excel, Smithfield, Swift, and Tyson/IBP control 64 percent of the national pork market. Ibid., 13, 16.
36. Four other companies—Monsanto, Novartis, Dow Chemical, and DuPont—sell 75 percent of the corn seed and 60 percent of the soybean seed being sown. Ibid., 17.
37. See chapter 3 for a discussion of the economic reasoning that supports this conclusion.
38. Kurt Eichenwald, “Archer Daniel Midland, Fine-Payer to the US,” The New York Times (Oct. 20, 1996), in Francis Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Hope’s Edge, 300.
39. Dwayne Andreas quoted by Dan Carney in “Dwayne’s World,” Mother Jones (Jan. 1995), in Francis Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Hope’s Edge, 300.
40. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 52.
41. “Or, as it turned out, make up some of the difference, since just about every farm bill since has lowered the target price in order, it was claimed, to make American grain more competitive in world markets.” Ibid.
42. Corn “is trading on the market at about twice the price it was just a couple of years ago.” Joel Achenbach, “So What’s So Bad about Corn?” The Washington Post (Nov. 23, 2007), A01, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/22/AR2007112201442.html.
43. Ibid. “The rural prosperity is due in large measure to billions of dollars in federal subsidies and incentives for corn-based energy. These include a 51-cent tax credit that gasoline manufacturers get on every gallon of ethanol they mix with their blends, and more than $500 million in federal cash to ethanol refiners between 2001 and 2006.”
44. Dan Morgan, “Corn Farms Prosper, but Subsidies Still Flow,” The Washington Post (Sep. 27, 2007), A01, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR20070 92702054.html. The United States is not alone in subsidizing agriculture. In 2002 the WTO reported “that the rich nations subsidize their agricultural producers at a rate of $1 billion a day, or more than six times the level of development aid they give to poor nations.” “Background Paper:
The WTO’s 2-Year Strategy Comes to Fruition,” (Jan. 2002), para. 17, online at http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_e.htm, in Peter Singer, One World, 95.
45. Carol Ness, “The New Food Crusade,” San Francisco Chronicle (Jul. 10, 2007), A1, online at http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/10/MNGNUQTQIT1.DTL. See also Michael Pollan, “You Are What You Grow,” The New York Times (Apr. 22, 2007), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22wwlnlede.t.html?scp=1&sq=2007/04/22Pollen&st=cse.
46. Editorial, “A Disgraceful Farm Bill,” The New York Times (May 16, 2008), online at http:// www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/opinion/16fri3.html. “According to Oxfam, the largest 10 percent of producers receive about 75 percent of the $20 billion in US commodity subsidies each year.” Caitlin G. Johnson, “Mixed Reactions to US Farm Bill,” OneWorld.net (May 22, 2008), online at http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160644/1.
47. For example, “From 2001 to 2005, the federal government spent nearly $1.2 billion in agricultural subsidies to boost farmers’ incomes and invigorate local economies in this poverty stricken region of the Mississippi Delta. Most residents are black, but less than 5 percent of the money went to black farmers. They own relatively little land, and so they generally do not qualify for the payments. Ninety-five percent of the money went to large, commercial farms, virtually all of which have white owners.” Gilbert M. Gaul and Dan Morgan, “A Slow Demise in the Delta,” The Washington Post (Jun. 20, 2007), A01, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902193.html.
48. “Farming: Farm Subsidies,” Environmental Working Group, online at http://www.ewg.org/featured/8.
49. “Crop Subsidy Program in United States, 2003–2005,” Environmental Working Group, online at http://farm.ewg.org/sites/farmbi112007/top_recips1614.php?fips=00000&progcode+farmprog&enttype=indiv&enttype=entity.
50. George Pyle, Raising Less Corn, More Hell, 75.
51. Gary Holthaus, From the Farm to the Table: What All Americans Need to Know about Agriculture
(Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 2006), 210. See the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, online at http://www.iatp.org.
52. Gary Holthaus, From the Farm to the Table, 216–219.
53. “Through conditionalities, Structural Adjustment Programs [SAPs] generally implement ‘free market’ programs and policy. These programs include internal changes (notably privatization and deregulation) as well as external ones, especially the reduction of trade barriers. Countries which fail to enact these programs may be subject to severe fiscal discipline. Critics argue that financial threats to poor countries amount to blackmail; that poor nations have no choice but to comply.” Online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_adjustment.
54. John Madeley, ed., Trade and Hunger: An Overview of Case Studies on the Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Food Security, Swedish NGOs Forum Synod, Diakonia, Church of Sweden Aid and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, in Gary Holthaus, From the Farm to the Table, 219. It is much the same in Kenya, where women produce 75 percent of the food: “As a result of the country’s SAP and liberalization of agricultural trade, many women cannot afford adequate chemicals and fertilizers, and farm output has declined. Liberalization has led to an increase in food imports into the country and caused food dumping (cheap surplus food from the North) in local markets, hitting the country’s own farmers. Liberalization has also led to an increase in the prices of farm inputs, putting them beyond the reach of most small farmers.” Ibid., 220.
55. Girish Mishra, “Why Suicides by Farmers?” ZNet (Dec. 20, 2005), online at http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/4785. US cotton subsidies have also had a devastating impact on West African families producing cotton. “More than 1 million children in West Africa would not go to bed hungry if Washington stopped providing subsidies to America’s cotton growers, according to a study” by Oxfam International. Haider Rizvi, “US Cotton Subsidies Cost W. Africa Millions—Report,” OneWorld.net (Jun. 26, 2007), online at http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/150611/1.
56. “I think the average American should know that the world trading system is not fair. You take the area of agriculture. If US farmers are getting huge subsidies, European farmers are getting huge subsidies and are competing on the global market with a farmer from Burkina Faso or Kenya, how do they compete?” Kofi Annan, quoted in “Annan: World Must Help African Nations Tackle Food Crisis,” The NewsHour (Jun. 11, 2008), online at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/jan-june08/annan_06–11.html.
57. In 2008 “about a quarter of US corn will go to feeding ethanol plants instead of poultry or livestock.” Steven Mufson, “Siphoning Off Corn to Fuel Our Cars,” The Washington Post (Apr. 30, 2008), A01, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/29/AR2008042903092.html. “Brazil and the United States account for a total of more than 70 percent of global ethanol production.” Edmund L. Andrews and Larry Rohter, “US and Brazil Seek to Promote Ethanol in West,” The New York Times (Mar. 3, 2007), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/business/worldbusiness/03ethanol.html.
58. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 41.
59. “The demand for ethanol is already pushing up prices, and explains, in part, the 40 percent rise last year in the food price index calculated by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization.” Keith Bradsher, “An Oil Quandry: Costly Fuel Means Costly Calories,” The New York Times (Jan. 19, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/business/worldbusiness/19palmoil.html. Aditya Chakrabortty editorial, “Secret Report: Biofuel Caused Food Crisis—Internal World Bank Study Delivers Blow to Plant Energy Drive,” The Guardian (Jul. 4, 2008), online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/03/biofuels.renewableenergy. See also “Man-Made Hunger,” The New York Times (Jul. 6, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/opinion/06sun1.html.
60. “Consumption of meat and other high-quality foods—mainly in China and India—has boosted demand for grain for animal feed. Poor harvests due to bad weather in this country and elsewhere have contributed. High energy prices are adding to the pressures. Yet the most important reason for the price shock is the rich world’s subsidized appetite for biofuels. In the United States, 14 percent of the corn crop was used to produce ethanol in 2006—a share expected to reach 30 percent by 2010. This is also cutting into production of staples like soybeans, as farmers take advantage of generous subsidies and switch crops to corn for fuel.” Editorial, “Priced Out of the Market,” The New York Times (Mar. 3, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/opinion/03mon1.html.
61. “The global food crisis is likely to persist if speculative investment by the corporate world is not reined in soon, warned a top expert responsible for reporting to the United Nations on human rights violations.” Haider Rizvi, “UN’s Food Rights Advocate Warms Speculators,” OneWorld.net (May 3, 2008), online at http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160347/1.
62. Talif Deen, “Dash to Convert Food into Fuels Is Recipe for Disaster,” CommonDreams.org (Nov. 7, 2007), online at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/07/5088.
63. “The palm is a highly efficient producer of vegetable oil, squeezed from the tree’s thick bunches of plum-size bright red fruit. An acre of oil palms yields as much oil as eight acres of soybeans, the main rival for oil palms; rapeseed, used to make canola oil, is a distant third. Among major crops, only sugar cane comes close to rivaling oil palms in calories of human food per acre. . . . Farmers and plantation companies are responding to the higher prices, clearing hundreds of thousands of acres of tropical forest to replant with rows of oil palms. But an oil palm takes eight years to reach full production.” Keith Bradsher, “An Oil Quandry: Costly Fuel Means Costly Calories,” The New York Times (Jan. 19, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/business/worldbusiness/19palmoil.html.
64. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 117.
65. Ibid., 118.
66. James Gustave Speth, Red Sky at Morning, 72.
67. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 118.
68. This is also true for fish farming (aquaculture). See Peter Singer and Jim Mason, The Way We Eat, 122–124.
69. See Jazmine Rodriguez, “Hungry Farmers Urge Local Control Over Food,” OneWorld.net (Jun. 13, 2008), online at http://us.oneworld.net/node/160879.
70. “Historically, fertility rates have fallen when people, especially women, have access to education,
to jobs, and to food to feed their families.” Francis Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, Hope’s Edge, 298.
71. Barbara Crossette, “Population Estimates Fall as Poor Women Assert Control,” The New York Times (Mar. 10, 2002), 3, online at http://www.iwhc.org/resources/nyt031002.cfm.
72. Yifat Susskind from MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization. Ida Wahlstrom, “Small Farmers ‘Underserved’ by Rome Summit,” OneWorld.net (Jun. 5, 2008), online at http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160811/1.
73. Gita Sen, “Women, Poverty, and Population: Issues for the Concerned Environmentalist,” in Feminist Perspectives on Sustainable Development, W. Harcourt, ed. (London: Zed, 1994), 216–25, in David Schmidtz and Elizabeth Willott, eds., Environmental Ethics, 248.
74. “This has to be more than lip-service; it requires reorienting international assistance and national policy, reshaping programs and rethinking research questions and methodologies.” Ibid., 252.
75. V. Rukmini Rao, “Women Farmers of India’s Deccan Plateau: Ecofeminists Challenge World Elites,” in David Schmidtz and Elizabeth Willott, eds., Environmental Ethics, 255.
76. Ibid., 256.
77. Ibid., 257.
79. Deccan Development Society, “About Us,” online at http://www.ddsindia.com/www/default.asp.
80. The use of fertilizer in Malawi, however, seems to have ended famine there. “Over the past 20 years, the World Bank and some rich nations that Malawi depends on for aid have periodically pressed this small, landlocked country to adhere to free market policies and cut back or eliminate fertilizer subsidies, even as the United States and Europe extensively subsidized their own farmers. But after the 2005 harvest, the worst in a decade, Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawi’s newly elected president, decided to follow what the West practiced, not what it preached. Stung by the humiliation of pleading for charity, he led the way to reinstating and deepening fertilizer subsidies despite a skeptical reception from the United States and Britain. Malawi’s soil, like that across sub-Saharan Africa, is gravely depleted, and many, if not most, of its farmers are too poor to afford fertilizer at market prices.” Celia W. Dugger, “Ending Famine Simply by Ignoring the Experts,” The New York Times (Dec. 2, 2007), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/africa/02malawi.html.
81. V. Rukmini Rao, “Women Farmers of India’s Deccan Plateau: Ecofeminists Challenge World Elites,” in David Schmidtz and Elizabeth Willott, eds., Environmental Ethics, 259–260.
82. The twenty-five childcare centers (balwadis) operated by DDS sanghams provide care for seven hundred children of laboring women, and 60 percent of these children are girls. The food served in the balwadis: “is made up of the crops grown in the same villages: sorghum, millets, a bit of wheat and a range of uncultivated greens. Being highly superior to rice, the millet-based meals provide a nutritional advantage to the children, meeting 70 percent of their nutritional requirement and helping their mental and physical growth. Besides they also enable the children to respect their own food culture by adapting to it at a very young age.” Deccan Development Society, “About Us,” online at http://www.ddsindia.com/www/default.asp.
84. “The 16 Decisions of Grameen Bank,” online at http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/the16.html.
85. Ibid. For information on the Grameen Bank see http://www.grameen-info.org/.
86. “The 16 Decisions of Grameen Bank,” online at http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/the16.html.
87. George Pyle, Raising Less Corn, More Hell, 159. Pyle notes that the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture “blames hunger on economic, rather than agricultural, factors.”
88. As diverting corn to make ethanol has driven up food prices, investors have begun to promote making biofuel from “non-food crops like reeds and wild grasses.” But scientists are warning that these “invasive species—that is, weeds—that have an extraordinarily high potential to escape biofuel plantations, overrun adjacent farms and natural land, and create economic and ecological havoc.” Elisabeth Rosenthal, “New Trends in Biofuels Has New Risks,” The New York Times (May 21, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/science/earth/21biofuels.html.
89. William Ophuls and A. Stephen Boyan, Jr., Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity Revisited, 38–39.
90. In the United States this might mean investing in irrigation for crops in the eastern part of the country, where there is more water. See Richard T. McNider and John R. Christy, “Let the East Bloom Again,” The New York Times (Sep. 22, 2007), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/opinion/22mcnider.html.
91. Richard Earles, revised by Paul Williams, “Sustainable Agriculture: An Introduction,” National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (2005), online at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/sustagintro.html.
92. Preston Sullivan, “Applying the Principles of Sustainable Farming: Fundamentals of Sustainable Agriculture,” National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (2003), online at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/trans.html.
94. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 150.
95. “The National Organic Program,” USDA, online at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm.
96. Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 151.
97. “Principles of Organic Agriculture,” IFOAM, online at http://www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/principles/index.html. “Worldwide, demand for certified organic products is increasing at 10 percent annually.” Peter Singer and Jim Mason, The Way We Eat, 197.
98. Preston Sullivan, “Applying the Principles of Sustainable Farming: Fundamentals of Sustainable Agriculture,” National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (2003), online at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/trans.html.
99. Ibid. Industrial agricultural has altered the hydrology of the land, making flooding in places like Iowa more likely. In early June 2008, “the heavy rains fell on a landscape radically reengineered by humans. Plowed fields have replaced tall grass prairies. Fields have been meticulously drained with underground pipes. Streams and creeks have been straightened. Most of the wetlands are gone. Flood plains have been filled and developed.” Joel Achenbach, “Iowa Flooding Could Be an Act of Man, Experts Say,” The Washington Post (Jun. 19, 2008), A01, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/18/AR2008061803371.html.
103. “Nematodes are simple roundworms.” Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America,” online at http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/pathogens/nematodes.html.
104. Preston Sullivan, “Applying the Principles of Sustainable Farming: Fundamentals of Sustainable Agriculture,” National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (2003), online at http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/trans.html.
106. “At a time when philanthropists like Bill Gates have become entranced by the possibility of a Green Revolution for Africa, the New Rices for Africa, as scientists call the wonder seeds, offer a clear warning. Even the most promising new crop varieties will not by themselves bring the plentiful harvests that can end poverty. New ways to get seeds into the hands of farmers are needed, as well as broader investment in the basic ingredients of a farm economy: roads, credit and farmer education, among others.” Celia W. Dugger, “In Africa, Prosperity from Seeds Falls Short,” The New York Times (Oct. 10, 2007), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/world/africa/10rice.html.
107. As grain prices soared in the summer of 2007: “Investors fleeing Wall Street’s mortgagerelated
strife plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into grain futures, driving prices up even more.” Anthony Faiola, “The New Economics of Hunger,” The Washington Post (Apr. 27, 2008), A01, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/26/ST2008042602333.html. Diana B. Henriques, “A Bull Market Sees the Worst in Speculators,” The New York Times (Jun. 13, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/business/13speculate. html, and “Oil Trading’s Powerful ‘Dark Markets,’” CBS News (Jun. 17, 2008), online at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/17/broadcasts/main4188620.shtml.
108. David Fogarty, “Farmers Face Climate Challenge in Quest for More Food,” Reuters (May 4, 2008), online at http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSSP28472120080504.
109. Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent, Perverse Subsidies, 12, 13, 14, 27.
110. Dan Morgan, “Corn Farms Prosper but Subsidies Still Flow,” The Washington Post (Sep. 28, 2007), A01, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092702054.html.
111. Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent, Perverse Subsidies, 46, 50, 136. “In this dry region, irrigation accounts for 86 percent of water use. Ironically, irrigation is used to grow crops that are officially in surplus and subject to other expensive federal programs to reduce production.”
112. Editorial, “The Worst Way of Farming,” The New York Times (May 31, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/opinion/31sat4.html. The report funded by the Pew Charitable Trust “recommends new laws regulating pollution from industrial farms as rigorously as pollution from other industries, a phasing-out of confinement systems that restrict ‘natural movement and normal behavior,’ a ban on antibiotics used only to promote animal growth, and the application of antitrust laws to encourage more competition and less concentration.”
113. Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent, Perverse Subsidies, 27.
114. Ibid., 28.
115. Ibid., 29. See Alexei Barrioneuvo, “Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Beekeepers in Peril,” The New York Times (Feb. 27, 2007), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/business/27bees.html. The Natural Resources Defense Council has filed suit against the EPA because it “is refusing to disclose records about a new class of pesticides that could be playing a role in the disappearance of millions of honeybees in the United States.” Jane Kay, “Lawsuit Seeks Pesticide Data,” San Francisco Chronicle (Aug. 19, 2008), A-1, online at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/18/BAKR12DBPO.DTL.
116. Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent, Perverse Subsidies, 59. In New Zealand subsidies are not necessary for agriculture to be profitable. Wayne Arnold, “Surviving Without Subsidies,” The New York Times (Aug. 2, 2007), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/business/worldbusiness/02farm.html.
117. Even as there are benefits from the Green Revolution, there are also benefits from GM plants. For instance, “Researchers at the University of Washington have genetically altered poplar trees to pull toxins out of contaminated ground water, offering a cost-effective way of cleaning up environmental pollutants. A group of British researchers, meanwhile, has developed genetically altered plants that can clean residues of military explosives from the environment.” Julie Steenhuysen, “Genetically Modified Plants Vacuum Up Toxins,” Reuters (Oct. 15, 2007), online at whttp://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1525312420071015.
118. The Center for Food Safety and the Sierra Club are suing Monsanto. “The groups said the wind-pollinated biotech sugar beets will cross-pollinate and contaminate conventional sugar beets, organic chard and table beet crops. As well, the groups said the biotech sugar beets will increase the recent rise of weeds resistant to herbicide, which have been reported on 2.4 million acres of US cropland.” Carey Gillam, “Biotech Critics Challenging Monsanto GM Sugar Beet,” Reuters (Jan 23, 2008), online at http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2359954920080123.
119. Vandana Shiva, Water Wars, 115.
120. This means significant changes in developed countries and world trade agreements, as well as in developing countries. See Jazmine Rodriquez, “Hungry Farmers Urge Local Control Over Food,” OneWorld.net (Jun. 13, 2009), online at http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/160879/1.
121. We should, however, support international fair trade. A 2002 Oxfam report notes: “History makes a mockery of the claim that trade cannot work for the poor. Participation in world trade has figured prominently in many of the most successful cases of poverty reduction—and, compared with aid, it has far more potential to benefit the poor.” Peter Singer and Jim Mason, The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter (Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2006), 154. 122. See Tracie MacMillan, “Urban Farmers Crops Go from Vacant Lot to Market,” The New York Times (May 7, 2008), online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/07urban.html.
123. Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating Fossil Fuels, 70. See Robin Shulman, “Fed Up by Costs, Many Grow It Alone,” The Washington Post (Aug. 3, 2008), A03, online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR2008080201397.html.
124. William Ophuls and A. Stephen Boyan, Jr., Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity Revisited, 44, 49.
Chapter 12, Doing Environmental Ethics (2009). | <urn:uuid:7405eb6e-36d1-453f-bb99-65032b1ee581> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://doingethics.com/Environment/Agriculture/agriculture.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00150-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921222 | 16,713 | 3.703125 | 4 |
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Home > Patients & Visitors > DAISY Award Nomination > Pacemaker for Bradycardia
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A pacemaker is a small battery-powered device that sends weak electrical impulses to "set a pace" so
that the heart is able to keep a regular heartbeat.
different types of pacemakers, so your doctor will work with you to decide what
kind will be best for you.
Most new pacemakers are rate-responsive, or physiologic,
pacemakers. This type of pacemaker varies its rate to cause the heart to beat
faster when you are exercising to meet your body's increased needs or slower
when you are at rest. Another type, the fixed-rate pacemaker, sends electrical
impulses at a set rate that does not vary either faster or slower. Both types
of pacemakers send electrical impulses when the heart rate drops to a predetermined "slow"
Some pacemakers are a combination of a pacemaker with an
implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). This
combination pacemaker and ICD is used for people who need a pacemaker and also
have a risk for abnormal heart rhythms.
Permanent pacemakers are surgically implanted into the chest.
The procedure to implant a pacemaker is
considered minor surgery. It can usually be done using
local anesthesia. Your doctor will make a small
incision in your chest wall just below your collarbone. He or she then usually
threads the pacemaker wires (leads) through the incision into a large blood
vessel in the upper chest and into the heart. Your doctor uses X-rays to place
the leads in the heart. Using the same incision, your doctor creates a small
pocket under the skin to hold the pacemaker. He or she then attaches the leads
to the pacemaker. The procedure takes about an hour.
Temporary pacemakers are located
outside the body and attached to the heart by a wire threaded through a neck
vein or leg vein or through the chest wall. Temporary pacemakers are most
commonly used for a short time following heart surgery or in emergency
Most people stay overnight in the
hospital after having a pacemaker implanted and typically go home the next day.
But sometimes, the surgery is done as an
outpatient procedure, which means you do not need to
stay overnight in the hospital.
Most people return to normal
activities after a few weeks. For several weeks after
having a pacemaker implanted, you should avoid vigorous physical activity that involves the upper body.
activities and situations can interrupt the signals sent by the pacemaker to
the heart. You may need to adapt some of your activities. Follow your doctor's
specific instructions about care and precautions if you have a
Once or twice a year your doctor will
check your pacemaker and adjust it, if needed.footnote 1 In between checkups at your doctor's office, you will probably send information from your pacemaker to your doctor. You will do this by using a telephone or the Internet.
pacemakers are powered by batteries. The batteries usually last 5 to 15 years
before they need to be replaced.
Your doctor might recommend that you get a pacemaker if:
Pacemakers stimulate the heart to
speed up when it beats too slowly. They can also substitute for the natural
pacemaker of the heart (SA node) or the heart tissue that
regulates the beating of the ventricles (AV node).
Pacemakers allow people to return to normal,
active lives. Most people have very few limitations, if any.
There are several risks to getting a pacemaker. But risks
vary for each person. The chance of most problems is low.
The procedure to implant a pacemaker is safe and most people do well afterward. Afterward, you will see your doctor regularly to check your pacemaker and make sure you don't have any problems.
If problems happen during the procedure, doctors can likely fix them right away.
Problems after the procedure can be minor, like mild pain, or serious, like an infection. But your doctor can solve most of these problems. And most people do not have long-term issues with their pacemakers.
In rare cases, people feel
throbbing in the neck, chest fullness, or lightheadedness when the pacemaker
sends out impulses. Talk to your doctor about what types of side effects you
may expect from your pacemaker.
In rare cases, pacemakers are recalled by the maker of the pacemaker. A recall means that the pacemaker has a problem that needs to be watched closely or fixed.
Complete the special treatment information form (PDF)(What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this treatment.
Epstein AE, et al. (2013). 2012 ACCF/AHA/HRS focused update incorporated into the ACCF/AHA/HRS 2008 guidelines for device-based therapy of cardiac rhythm abnormalities. Circulation, 127(3): e283–e352.
Res JCJ, et al. (2004). Pneumothorax resulting from subclavian puncture: a complication of permanent pacemaker lead implantation. Netherlands Heart Journal, 12(3): 101–105.
Akoum NW, et al. (2008). Pacemaker therapy. In EG Nabel, ed., ACP Medicine, section 1, chap. 7. Hamilton, ON: BC Decker.
Baddour LM, et al. (2010). Update on cardiovascular implantable electronic device infections and their management. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 121(3): 458–477.
Swerdlow CD, et al. (2012). Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. In RO Bonow et al., eds., Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, 9th ed., vol. 1, pp. 745–770. Philadelphia: Saunders.
ByHealthwise StaffPrimary Medical ReviewerE. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal MedicineSpecialist Medical ReviewerRakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology
Current as ofFebruary 20, 2015
Current as of:
February 20, 2015
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
© 1995-2015 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. | <urn:uuid:a3364a18-e5bd-4999-9034-7fe012d8a0c8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.asante.org/app/healthwise/document.aspx?navigationNode=/1/33/11/1/&id=te7526 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00167-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.866627 | 1,415 | 3.40625 | 3 |
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Hermaphroditism, also called intersex, is a disorder involving sexual development. Babies with intersex disorders are born with irregular sex organs or have inconsistencies between the inner and outer organs. Doctors treat the condition by removing the unwanted sexual organs.
The condition was originally named after Hermes and Aphrodite, the Greek god and goddess of love and sex, but most 21st-century physicians and patients refer to hermaphroditism as intersex. The symptoms of intersex vary depending on the patient. Several of the symptoms include malformed outer sexual organs, the presence of testes in females or the presence of ovaries in males. Some intersex disorders might not become apparent until puberty.
Four kinds of hermaphroditism can affect a child's sexual development. Children with the condition known as 46 XY intersex have female external organs, but they also have male chromosomes. The condition 46 XX intersex is the opposite — the child has male sexual organs on the outside and female chromosomes.
True gonadal intersex, or true hermaphroditism, occurs when the child has both male and female sex organs on the inside. The external organs can be male, female or indeterminate. Undetermined intersex is a blanket term for any condition resulting in hermaphroditism that does not fall into one of the previous three categories. Some of these conditions result in intersex disorders, and others affect the sex chromosomes or reproductive development without creating inconsistencies between the inner and outer organs.
The causes for the condition vary. Some babies may experience abnormal sexual development if the mother had ovarian tumors during pregnancy or if she used testosterone-based products. Medical conditions such as androgen insensitivity syndrome, a condition caused by a defective X-chromosome, interfere with the body's ability to correctly use male sex hormones. Turner syndrome is a disorder in which a girl is born with only one normal X chromosome rather than two.
Many doctors in the past preferred to assign a gender to children with this condition and would perform reconstructive surgery while the child was still young. Most surgeons opted for a female gender because female external organs were easier to reconstruct. This often led to sexual identity problems later in life, particularly if the child had male chromosomes or developed male hormones at maturity. As of 2011, many experts suggest assigning the child a male or female gender, but they recommend avoiding surgery until the child is older and can have a say in choosing a sexual identity. | <urn:uuid:07cf462b-9434-4736-8441-c8fe5e24204b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wisegeekhealth.com/what-is-hermaphroditism.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00179-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957479 | 518 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Managing ‘Legal Highs’
Whilst significantly reforming the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1971 may be politically difficult under the current circumstances, there are a number of less radical approaches that a government open to reform could implement in order to help reduce the harms associated with new legal highs:-
The Class D Model
An option is the addition of a new class to the current Misuse of Drugs Act classification – the class D model – which has been adopted in New Zealand with some success.
Should a risk assessment of a new legal high determine that it is relatively harmless (aside from short-term behavioural risks associated with any form of intoxication) it could be placed in a Class D “holding” category. Within this category: sales are limited to over-18s; the product is quality-controlled and clearly labelled, so users know what they are purchasing, and doses are limited as far as possible to safe levels; and the product carries health-education messages. This procedure gives scientists and government the chance to limit sales and to collect data on use, while investigating the harms associated with a new substance. Manufacturers and shops that disobey these regulations can be punished, and users can be protected but not criminalised.
A Medicines Act
An alternative approach would involve a Medicines Act, which would require manufacturers to provide evidence of the safety of their products (Gee et al., 2007), removing from government the need to prove that a new substance is unsafe. Web sales and distribution could be banned, and availability restricted though licensing of vendors, the establishment of legal requirements of sale (as with alcohol and tobacco products), and restricted advertising. Accurate information about product composition, standardization, quality control, dose recommendations and contra-indications could be enforced under existing consumer protection legislation. New substances could also be taxed.
Education: A Rational Scale of Harm
A third legislative option is to focus on education. As Professor David Nutt has noted, drugs are rarely intrinsically harmful if used in a safe way. Many young people use the most popular legal high – alcohol – in a highly dangerous fashion. Most recent deaths from legal highs have occurred in the context of drinking. Alcohol can dissolve judgement of harms and encourage risky behaviours, including drug taking. Some drugs interact with alcohol to form more dangerous substances – for example, cocaine is converted to cocaethylene, which is more toxic to the heart.
Beckley Foundation seminars have repeatedly highlighted the confusing and inflexible nature of the current classification system for illegal drugs, which often bears little relationship to the real harms of the different classified substances.
Currently in the UK, controlled substances are segregated into three classes—A, B, and C—that are intended to indicate the dangers of each drug, class A being the most and class C the least harmful. The classification of a drug has several consequences, and in particular determines the legal penalties for importation, supply and possession, as well as the degree of police effort targeted at restricting its use. The current classification system has evolved in a haphazard way from somewhat arbitrary foundations, often with inadequate scientific basis. Critics argue that the classification of drugs in the UK has become more a political tool than the expression of evidence of harm, that a more systematic and scientific approach to drug classification is needed, and that evidence should be at the core of all messages, especially to young people.
In 2003 discussions with Professor Colin Blakemore at the Beckley Foundation seminar: an Interdisciplinary Perspective on Alcohol and Other Recreational Drugs, led to a collaboration which attempted to address the issues of the U.K classification system, which in 2007 created a Lancet article a Rational Scale to Assess the Harm of Drugs of Potential Misuse. The scale rates each substance based on the latest scientific knowledge about aspects of harm, broken down into 3 categories: physical harm, dependence and social harm. This scale gives the general public transparent and scientifically-validated data about the actual relative harms associated with the substance, whether, legal or illegal. The Scale of Harm highlights the lack of scientific evidence within the current UK drugs classification system.
Were the current classification system amended in accordance with the Scale of Harm, the general public would be provided with a rigorous and transparent system that can be easily updated as knowledge advances about the harms associated with both legal and illegal substances, so assisting the public to make informed decisions about its drug usage. | <urn:uuid:502b2147-fb3a-47b0-b8f6-a1204d14e5b0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://reformdrugpolicy.com/beckley-main-content/new-approaches/legal-highs/legislative-options-for-managing-%E2%80%98legal-highs%E2%80%99/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943959 | 892 | 2.578125 | 3 |
University of New South Wales paleontologist Mike Archer has been visiting Riversleigh, a 600-square-mile fossil bed in northeastern Australia, for decades. Each year he brings back more evidence of countless bizarre animals that roamed the outback between 10 million and 20 million years ago. So far, Archer has found remains of carnivorous kangaroos, marsupial lions, giant snakes, tree-climbing crocodiles, miniature tyrannosaurs, prehistoric lungfish, and the largest-ever bird, a 10-foot-tall 1,000-pounder that he likes to call the "demon duck of doom."
Archer has come to realize that the proliferation of oddball animals offers a unique showcase of the long-term biological effects of climate change. Because of the continent's physical isolation, "the Australian story is probably the only one in the world that through history can be read as a pure record," he says. The record shows, for example, that in a world unmarred by humans, global warming actually increases biodiversity. "Because of Australia's isolation it becomes a tool to make predictions about what kinds of things are likely to happen during climate change," Archer says. | <urn:uuid:12cd1bd9-ca82-4e94-a551-514eb859cecd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://discovermagazine.com/2006/oct/oddback | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396455.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00064-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93931 | 242 | 3.25 | 3 |
Johnson & Johnson Plaster Mill Employee (left) and fellow soldier, Spanish American War, 1898
My last post talked about the origins of our tradition of employees volunteering in the community. Another way our employees volunteered was through military service to their countries, a tradition that began in 1898 with the Spanish American War when two Johnson & Johnson employees in the U.S. volunteered to serve in the military.
One of Our First Two Employees to Volunteer to Serve in the Military in 1898: He Wrote the Company a Letter
One of those two employees, Richard G., had just accepted a position in sales, and was understandably nervous about how the management of Johnson & Johnson would take the news that he had just gotten here and would be leaving to serve in the U.S. military. So he wrote a letter, and here are his recollections about what happened:
“I had been in the employ of Johnson & Johnson but a few months when our country became involved in war with Spain…Here I was with a new job – and I needed it – and my heart was set on going to the defense of our country. I decided to take it up with the company. I wrote them a frank letter, telling of my desire to enlist and asking if they would hold my position for me. Very promptly I received a reply from the late Robert W. Johnson, then the president of Johnson & Johnson. I have always kept that letter…” [THE RED CROSS MESSENGER, Vol. XIII, No. 5, 1921, p. 346]
Robert Wood Johnson
Here’s the reply from Company founder and president Robert Wood Johnson, dated April 25, 1898:
We have your letter of the 24th and congratulate you upon your patriotic proposition contained therein.
While we shall greatly regret to lose your services, and would be loath to consent to having you go for any other cause, yet under the circumstances, we not only most heartily applaud your action, but will be glad to tender you every assistance in our power. Not only will we be glad to keep your place open for you when you return, but will also continue your pay the same as heretofore during your entire absence….Wishing you good health and good luck, we are,
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
R. W. Johnson, President”
Actually, according to Richard G’s recollections, the Company didn’t live exactly up to Robert Wood Johnson’s pledge to keep his pay the same during his service: they gave him a raise. [THE RED CROSS MESSENGER, Vol. XIII, No. 5, 1921, p. 346] Twenty-three years later, when he gave that interview to THE RED CROSS MESSENGER, he was one of the Company’s top salesmen.
Incidentally, the Spanish American War also started the first seeds of what would become our disaster relief program, which is one of the cornerstones of our support for the community today.
World War I – Our First Female Employee to Volunteer
Our first female employee to volunteer for military service was Katherine H., who lived in New Brunswick and worked in the advertising department. She was a trained nurse, and when the call went out from the American Red Cross in 1917 for nurses, Katherine volunteered her services as a field nurse to the U.S. Army.
The Army rapidly promoted Katherine, and she was named head nurse and superintendent of the General Hospital #6 at Fort MacPherson in Georgia. Here’s what the Atlanta Constitution said about her:
“..her very presence gives one confidence…with the ideal of executive strength in her composed but expressive manner, her voice one that carries its message unmistakably, but is never sharp or loud.” [Atlanta Constitution article, quoted in New Brunswick Home News, May 21, 1918]
A New Brunswick Home News article mentioned that the hospital’s sterilization and operating rooms were “models of up-to-dateness,” which makes you wonder if our employee volunteer, because she worked at Johnson & Johnson with its rigorous clean rooms and aseptic manufacturing standards, gave the military hospital any advice regarding surgical cleanliness. [New Brunswick Home News, May 21, 1918] Katherine H. was so well-liked by the nurses she supervised at Fort MacPherson that they presented her with a decorative loving cup as a token of their appreciation. [New Brunswick Home News clipping in our archives, August 16, 1918]
From Fort MacPherson, Katherine was promoted to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces in Siberia 1918, and ended up as Chief Nurse of the Evacuation Hospital in Vladivostok, Siberia. When the war ended, she personally brought the last contingent of nurses from the hospital in Siberia back to the U.S. Not only did they treat the wounded there, but they did their best to treat soldiers suffering from the deadly 1918 influenza epidemic as well. Here’s a postcard she sent back to her colleagues at Johnson & Johnson from Siberia, from our archives: | <urn:uuid:d2036bc7-1b20-4079-88db-ba9741c4f732> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kilmerhouse.com/2010/04/our-first-employee-volunteers-in-the-military/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973939 | 1,055 | 2.515625 | 3 |
With approximately 1.3 million fatalities and up to 50 million injuries occurring on roads around the world each year, the United Nations has unanimously proclaimed 2011 through 2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. The UN General Assembly’s goal for the decade is "to stabilize and then reduce the forecast level of road traffic fatalities around the world" by 2020,” potentially preventing millions of deaths as a result.
ITE played an instrumental role in urging the UN to make traffic safety a priority, and the Institute has been at the forefront of the efforts leading into the Decade of Action. Since the May 11, 2011 launch date, transportation professionals and safety advocates across the globe have been contributing to activities and events that will raise awareness about road safety and the related challenge of eliminating fatal crashes.
The links below provide resources and information about the initiatives, partnerships, activities and programs aimed at making the Decade of Action for Road Safety a success.
What is ITE doing?
What can you do?
Tools and Resources
ITE International President Robert Wunderlich with Grover, Global Road Safety Ambassador | <urn:uuid:b5d643a6-5abd-420b-bab7-cbbc7e35d2d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ite.org/decade/default.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938863 | 224 | 2.609375 | 3 |
While looking up some information on Cumberland Gap I ran across something that all you heritage tourists and genealogists out there might enjoy. It’s a firsthand account of one man’s long-distance bike ride through the Gap and along Boone’s Wilderness Road, following the same route his ancestors took all the way to Indiana.
Tag Archives: Daniel Boone
In the fall of 1778 a large force of Indians, most of them Shawnees, laid siege to Fort Boonesborough in central Kentucky. The fort held out, but the siege provides some pretty nifty examples of military ingenuity.
Native American attempts to capture frontier garrisons were usually pretty straightforward affairs, with a party of warriors surrounding the walls and firing from cover along with attempts to fire the structure with torches or flaming arrows. At Boonesborough, the Indians got creative. The Kentucky River ran parallel to the fort’s rear wall and about sixty yards away from it. The attackers decided to tunnel into the bluff along the stream and dig a mine toward the settlers, either to gain access to the interior or to set off a powder charge under the walls. The defenders heard the digging and saw the river’s water turn muddy, and figuring out what was up, they set to work on a counter-mine. The Indians’ tunnel collapsed before reaching the fort, but it was still a pretty interesting approach to frontier warfare.
The whites inside the fort developed a few tricks of their own, thanks to the ingenuity of Daniel Boone’s brother Squire, who built a makeshift cannon out of gum wood bound with iron wagon wheel strips. The second shot blew the barrel apart, prompting derisive shouts from the attackers. (One notable thing about participants’ recollections of the siege was the frequency of verbal insults traded between the two sides.) Not the most effective of weapons, but the bang did cause a party of Indians to “skamper perdidiously,” as Daniel Trabue put it.
Another of Squire Boone’s inventions proved more effective during the siege when he managed to fashion squirt guns out of rifle barrels to douse the Indians’ torches. I’ve never been able to figure out exactly how these things worked, but apparently some type of piston was involved. This guy was like an eighteenth-century MacGyver.
So, who’s up for an experimental archaeology project?
They’ve brought in an archaeologist from across the pond to look for remains of the 1778 siege. I went there a few years ago; it’s a neat site.
Anybody who thinks the history of early America doesn’t continue to cast a long, dark shadow over modern culture should consider the pressing matter of Confederates on Mars.
I’m referring, of course, to the new movie John Carter, and to its source material, the century-old story A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Both the book and the film relate the adventures of an Army of Northern Virginia veteran who finds himself mysteriously transported to the Red Planet, referred to by its inhabitants as “Barsoom.” This fictional Mars is populated by tall, green-skinned, six-limbed aliens called Tharks, as well as a race of humans (or humanoids, I suppose) with copper-red skin whose cities are perpetually at war with each other. Carter is taken captive by the Tharks, gets mixed up in Barsoomian politics, and falls in love with a scantily-clad humanoid princess named Dejah Thoris.
It would be hard to overstate the influence of A Princess of Mars and its sequels on science fiction. I decided to read it for myself before seeing the film, and was surprised at how many of the scenarios, characters, and themes from later movies and books were right there in embryonic form within the pages of Burroughs’ story. What also struck me was a remarkable degree of similarity between this seemingly outlandish tale of extraterrestrial swashbuckling and some very real accounts from the early American frontier.
Because Carter finds himself in a dangerous environment populated by “primitive” races, you could interpret A Princess of Mars as a frontier story, and many people have done so. In particular, let me discuss a number of intriguing parallels between Carter’s fictional experiences and historical accounts left behind by Anglo-American colonists and settlers.
Take clothing, for example—or rather, the lack thereof. One of the things colonists found most striking about Indians was their “nakedness,” interpreting their exposed bodies as signs of barbarity. The inhabitants of Barsoom, both the Tharks and the red humanoids, also go largely unclothed, wearing only elaborate metal ornamentation, jewels, and the straps holding their weapons. Carter describes a Thark leader as “heavily loaded with metal ornaments, gay-colored feathers and beautifully wrought leather trappings ingeniously set with precious stones.” The metal ornamentation is an apparently ubiquitous feature of Barsoomian dress which the text mentions again and again, and it brings to mind the European gorgets and trade bracelets worn by Indians of the Eastern Woodlands.
Thark weaponry also seems reminiscent of Native American weaponry of the colonial and Revolutionary frontier. The green Martians carry rifles which fire bullets equipped with explosive “radium,” and they employ these firearms at long distances to deadly effect. For close-quarters combat, they wield edged weapons.
Carter’s opinion of the Tharks reflects Anglo-Americans’ paradoxical attitudes toward their aboriginal neighbors. On one hand, colonists considered the Indians barbaric. On the other, they sometimes idealized the Native Americans as exemplars of primitive virtue, a notion summed up in the phrase “noble savage.” In the same way, Carter finds the Tharks to be cruel and warlike, raising their children communally with no pity for the weak. Like some historic Native American tribes, Tharks find a kind of collective catharsis in making a violent spectacle of their prisoners. Whereas the Iroquois and other Indian societies vented tribal anger through the communal torture of captives, the Tharks punish troublesome prisoners by forcing them to do battle with monstrous creatures in a gladiatorial arena. But Carter also notes the Tharks’ admirable qualities. They possess what might be called a savage code of honor, and their leaders maintain their status by their prowess in combat.
This regard for prowess is how John Carter earns the respect and even admiration of the Tharks. Martian gravity being distinct from that of his home planet, the former Confederate is capable of tremendous physical feats on Barsoom, turning him into a virtual superman. In time, he becomes a member of Thark society.
Burroughs’ book is thus not merely a story of an encounter between cultures, but a story about an individual from one culture who finds himself immersed in a culture that is not his own. For that reason, I think we can be more precise about its historical antecedents than calling it a “Western” or a frontier story. I suggest that it’s a particular type of frontier story, one that really predates the “Western” as most of us are used to thinking about that term. As one of the first great science fiction epics, A Princess of Mars is an early example of a relatively new genre, but it’s also a comparatively recent example of a very old genre, perhaps the oldest genuinely American genre there is—the captivity narrative.
Captivity narratives are accounts of people who fall into the hands of another culture, a culture which the captive considers less civilized than his or her own. There are very early examples from Europe, but the genre really took off in the New World, where the proximity of aboriginal societies and the frequency of cross-cultural warfare increased the likelihood of cross-cultural captivity. The most notable example is probably Mary Rowlandson’s account of her capture during King Philip’s War, one of the first American “best-sellers.” Like the captivity memoirs of Rowlandson, Jonathan Dickinson, and other whites who were held by Indians for some period of time, A Princess of Mars takes an autobiographical form, since Burroughs employs the device of a “false document,” a manuscript written by Carter and left in the care of a relative, to tell the story from the protagonist’s own perspective. The book thus takes the same form as non-fiction firsthand accounts of cross-cultural imprisonment, except that it’s a work of the imagination rather than memory.
Consider the relationship in these accounts between imprisonment and adoption. While living among the Tharks, Carter earns the right to wear the metal and bear the prestige of the warriors he defeats in battle. When he dons their ornaments and straps, he becomes a full-fledged member of their society and even a prominent figure within it. In the same way, Indian tribes in eastern North America adopted captives taken in war; indeed, the taking of captives to “replace” dead relatives was one of the purposes for which Native Americans engaged in warfare.
The relationship between Carter and the Thark chieftan Tars Tarkas is especially worth noting. Tarkas is the first of the green aliens to appreciate Carter’s remarkable physical abilities. The two become close, even though Tars Tarkas is the Earth man’s captor. Their relationship is not unlike that between Daniel Boone and the Shawnee leader Blackfish, who seems to have adopted the frontiersman during Boone’s imprisonment at Chillicothe in 1778.
One important difference between Boone’s experience and Carter’s is the fact that Boone seized the first opportunity to escape, whereas Carter comes to embrace his newfound status. A decisive factor in his transformation from John Carter of Virginia to John Carter of Mars is his immediate attraction to Dejah Thoris, the red princess of Helium, a character vividly described by Burroughs:
Her face was oval and beautiful in the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure. Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.
She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and symmetrical figure.
She is sufficiently alien to be exotic and alluring, but unlike the Tharks, she is someone in whom Carter can recognize a common humanity. Here is an example of the impulse to fantasize about the frontier as a venue for cross-cultural romantic escape, perhaps the same impulse that might have led John Smith to invent, exaggerate, or misinterpret the occasion on which Pocahontas reportedly intervened to save his life.
The first time Carter lays eyes on Dejah Thoris, she is a fellow captive of the Tharks, and the Virginia gentleman takes it upon himself to protect her. Later, when she falls into the hands of a rival society, Carter undertakes a dramatic rescue. By this point in the book, Carter is no longer a prisoner, but a Martian warrior engaged in rescuing a vulnerable female from danger, just as Daniel Boone led a raid to rescue his daughter from Indian captivity in a famous 1776 incident. The native of Earth has transformed from a captive into a master of his dangerous new world, just as Boone became the archetype of the white man at home in the treacherous environment of the frontier.
Carter’s decision to pledge his heart and his sword to Dejah Thoris marks a point at which his story and the early American captivity narratives part ways. For Anglo-American captives who wrote down their stories for colonial audiences, an important theme was “redemption,” the experience of coming out of captivity. John Carter, by contrast, is one of those captives who chooses to stay among his adoptive people and take up a new identity. Unlike Mary Rowlandson, these “converted” captives did not leave behind such influential accounts of their passages across the cultural boundary. They remained on the far side of that boundary, never again at home in the society in which they were born. John Carter finds on Barsoom an escape from all the unpleasant aspects of American civilization; his frontier, like that of many Americans who wrote about their own, is a source of renewal. Having fought as a soldier for a lost cause on Earth, and having gone west in search of fortune, he unexpectedly becomes a hero on another world. Rather than looking for redemption from captivity and exile, he finds that his captivity and exile redeem him.
In introducing Carter’s “memoir,” Burroughs writes that after the hero of Mars returned to his home planet, he would stand outside at night, “with his arms stretched out to the heavens as though in appeal.” Maybe the reason Burroughs could create a popular hero who dreamed of returning to the far side of the cultural frontier is because the actual, historical frontier of America was no longer a threat close at hand. To early Anglo-American colonists, the Indians were nearby, numerous, and threatening. But Burroughs wrote his story more than two decades after the U.S. Census Bureau declared the frontier closed and the Native Americans’ last great act of military resistance to white encroachment came to an end. The real frontier had become a distant object of nostalgia, almost as distant as Mars must have seemed to John Carter when he was back on Earth, gazing at the night sky toward the faraway home of his Martian princess.
I ran across a post suggesting some possible subjects for historical biopics. The LBJ idea is especially intriguing; I wouldn’t mind seeing a miniseries adaptation of Robert Caro’s work.
I’d also propose Frederick Douglass (great story), John Brown, Joseph Smith, and Daniel Boone as interesting film subjects. Boone’s life in particular is full of dramatic material; the deaths of his sons, the rescue of his daughter, his captivity, and his court-martial would all make for powerful scenes, and then you could wrap it up in melancholy fashion with his abandonment of the Kentucky for which he gave up so much and migration to Missouri.
Personally, though, what I’d really like to see is an Andrew Jackson biopic along the lines of Patton, depicting both his greatness and his faults. I’d start out with his boyhood in the Revolutionary Waxhaws and the beating he took for defying a British officer, and then flash forward to the War of 1812.
Either that, or just adapt David Nevin’s novel 1812 as a miniseries. I rarely read historical fiction—I don’t read much fiction at all, actually—but that was a genuinely great book, and anybody who could play Jackson the way Nevin managed to flesh him out would deserve a Golden Globe.
There’s a move afoot to draw increased attention to the trace Daniel Boone carved out of the wilderness and into Kentucky. You can still drive much of the route on paved highways, but these days a lot of folks take I-75 instead. It’s faster, but not nearly as interesting. As Charles Kuralt said, “Interstate highways allow you to drive coast to coast, without seeing anything.”
I spent about a year living in central Kentucky, and one of the things that always interested me was the fact that the Bluegrass State has really embraced its frontier period. The sites of the old eighteenth-century stations and settlements are state parks, and their special events are big hits with people living in the area. Most bookstores carry Allan Eckert’s “Winning of America” narratives, in which Kentucky heroes like Daniel Boone (seen at right in a portrait by Chester Harding) and Simon Kenton figure prominently. Signs along the driveway of Frankfort Cemetery direct curious visitors to Boone’s grave, and each and every time I visited the spot, other people were there to take pictures. (I’m assuming, of course, that Frankfort really is Boone’s final resting place. There’s an ongoing feud between Kentucky and Missouri over that very question.)
Traces of the frontier in my home state of Tennessee are harder to find. While state parks mark a few important sites (Sycamore Shoals, for instance), many of the locations that figured prominently in Tennessee’s frontier era are indistinguishable from their modern surroundings, or are now underwater as a result of TVA activity.
If Boone is the leading man of Kentucky’s frontier story, then the hero of early Tennessee history is probably John Sevier, seen here in a portrait by Charles Wilson Peale. He commanded overmountain riflemen in an impressive series of victories against Indians and Tories during the Revolution (he was an architect of the King’s Mountain expedition), was the only governor of the short-lived Franklin movement and first governor of the Volunteer State, and represented Tennessee in the House of Representatives. He’s buried on the lawn of the Knox County Courthouse in downtown Knoxville. I’ve been to his grave countless times, and I’ve invariably had it to myself. Every Kentuckian knows Boone, and so do most Americans, but if I had a nickel for every time I’ve met a Tennessean who’d never heard of Sevier, I could retire now.
This contrast between commemoration in Kentucky and neglect in Tennessee isn’t just a matter of popular memory. It’s reflected in historiography, too. Meredith Mason Brown’s life of Boone hit the shelves a few months ago, only a year after the release of Robert Morgan’s Boone biography. Both of these works follow John Mack Faragher’s excellent Boone study by just about a decade and a half. The bibliography of the Tennessee frontier, however, is sparse indeed.
So why is Kentucky’s frontier era the stuff of legend, while Tennessee’s founding remains neglected? I think Boone himself has a lot to do with it. For one thing, he had a healthyhead start. Boone became the popular archetype of the typical frontiersman during his own lifetime, thanks to contemporary publicists and myth-makers.
Furthermore, Boone fit the frontier mold. He looked and acted the way we want frontiersmen to look and act; he was a hunter, a trailblazer, and a resltess and solitary soul who wasn’t really happy unless he was in the wilderness. Sevier also bore many of the stereotypical frontier characteristics—he built a remarkable record as an Indian fighter, respected by his fellow settlers as a dynamic man of action. But he also became a statesman and speculator, occupations which connote a taming and organization of the frontier, rather than a state of living in idyllic harmony with it.
The archetypal frontiersman, and the one who embodied what Americans want to believe about their frontier experience and its enduring legacy, remains forever associated with Kentucky, while Tennessee’s central frontier figure reminds us of the undeniable, recurring fact of the American frontier—it eventually ceased to exist. Maybe that helps to explain the distinction between the popularity of the frontier in Kentucky and its relative obscurity in Tennessee.
It’s unfortunate, both because the late eighteenth century was Tennessee’s formative period and because there is much in that period that is captivating. Sevier’s defense of Ft. Caswell rivals the siege of Ft. Boonesborough for drama; the tragic voyage of the Donelson party to the Cumberland settlements surpasses any trek up the Wilderness Road. There are more than enough highlights in the records of Tennessee’s founding era to weave a mythology that equals any state’s. | <urn:uuid:8f0f0c18-a154-4b42-bb93-b93d57b0609a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://pastinthepresent.wordpress.com/tag/daniel-boone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965406 | 4,196 | 3.015625 | 3 |
- change ups
Smarter cars, smarter roads mean safer driving
LANSING — Roads that communicate with cars and cars that more effectively communicate with their drivers and other vehicles may be well on their way to reality.
For now, it’s a steadily progressing vision of the future held by Michigan Department of Transportation Director Kirk Steudle.
That vision is helped by MDOT’s Connected Vehicles initiative, which is aimed at testing, developing and implementing so-called IntelliDrive systems to make driving safer.
Michigan is one of three states at the forefront of a broader national initiative to make smarter cars and roads, Steudle said, in part because of testing done across the state. California and Virginia also participate.
In the future, he said, “we will have vehicles smart enough to know where they are on the road and refuse to crash” because of the technologies being developed. Cars are already being built with some of those advancements integrated.
Stuedle said cars being tested are smart enough to know optimal speeds to avoid red lights and to refuse to run through those signals. That’s accomplished with wireless technologies, including specialized Wi-Fi, broadcasting information to receptors in vehicles. That information include knowing when a light is ready to change and the posted speed limit, which can then be more easily conveyed to the driver. Cars can also communicate with each other to help avoid collisions.
Applications include adjusting signal timing to help manage traffic, adjusting traffic signals for emergency vehicles’ safe passage and easing traffic jams. It can also help drivers make left turns safely.
Auto manufacturers are on board with the initiative. Carmakers across the world are working together in a Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership. Ford, GM, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes, Audi and Volkswagen are involved and were joined by Hyundai Kia last year.
The systems under development require cooperative technology, according to Mike Shulman, a technical leader for Ford Research and Advanced Engineering’s Active Safety Research division in Dearborn. The companies are working to create an industry standard so vehicles can communicate with each other regardless of brand.
Wireless communications are the next step forward in safety developments, Shulman said. “We’re giving the vehicle more information about the world around it.” That information can be used to warn drivers and help implement avoidance measures. One potential use could integrate knowledge of accidents or traffic jams with a car or smart phone’s GPS to help avoid delays.
Manufacturers are also exploring smart intersections, both internally and with government partners, Shulman said.
One of the major testing operations is in Oakland County, whose road commission is working with MDOT in Farmington Hills on operating a test bed on Telegraph Road between 8 Mile and 13 Mile.
Danielle Denau, a signal systems engineer for the Oakland County Road Commission, said the Telegraph Road corridor is unique among test beds because of its continuous length. “Telegraph is a really heavily traveled corridor,” she said, which makes its data more reliable to testers.
Such test facilities not only help develop technologies but keep automakers’ testing in Michigan, Steudle said.
One of MDOT’s primary objectives is to ensure that research — and the jobs that come with it — stay in the state as much as possible. Steudle estimated the potential jobs from continued research and implementation at 24,000.
He said that while testing continues, it’s time to start implementing such systems at critical points around the state. MDOT is applying for federal grants to do that and is lobbying the federal government to be the site of an upcoming model development.
The explosion in technology, especially mobile and wireless technology in the past few years, is contributing to making smarter cars a reality, Steudle said.
And Shulman said mobile technology and aftermarket components will make it easier to connect older vehicles to new systems. | <urn:uuid:ef3916e8-9b36-4a1c-9878-b55443051c9a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.grbj.com/articles/73275 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00067-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951457 | 810 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Ships to Cruise Over North-Pole And Arctic Ocean by 2050
Thanks to accelerating global warming, commercial shipping could become much cheaper by having ships cruise right over the north pole, which is the fastest route to transport goods between Asia and Europe, the two largest economic blocks in the world. The warming climate is expected to open new sea routes, including the infamous Northwest Passage for the US East Coast leg, through what is now impenetrable ice, a study reported on Monday.
Other than being faster and cheaper, avoiding the Suez or Panama canals also has the advantage that super-large ships can take this shorter route--but most of the time only in the arctic summer when most of the sea ice is melted.
But increasingly warm temperatures also could make north of Canada an economically viable shipping route. Now, it is passable only at the end of most summers. It could also open up a route directly over the North Pole by mid-century,
Both the Northwest Passage north of Canada and the Northern Sea Route, which mostly hugs Russia's northern coastline and is now a primary Arctic shipping route, will become increasingly viable very soon, according to research by Laurence Smith, a geography professor at the University of California-Los Angeles.
The transit across the Arctic would remain highly seasonal, limited to parts of September when the ice has shrunk and thinned to its lowest level, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Plus.
The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center made headlines last September when it reported Arctic sea ice melted to its lowest recorded level ever. The Arctic is one of the fastest-warming places on Earth because of the so-called albedo effect, where sun-reflecting ice is frequently replaced by sun-absorbing dark-colored water.
"Last year, nearly 50 ships went through the Northern Sea Route, but this work shows that there will be other technically feasible options which will be available," he said.
The across-the-pole route, which had never before been considered, would be available only in 2050 and only to light ice-breakers capable of plowing through ice 1.2 meters thick.
And the Northwest Passage is currently navigable only one out of seven years, on average, making it too unreliable to be a viable option for commercial shippers, the researchers said. But by mid-century, sea ice will melt in September to the point that it is accessible every other year, on average.
To arrive at their predictions, Smith and Stephenson studied these emerging shipping routes and the degree of ice melt that has made them possible. They then took the results from seven respected forecasts for the sea ice cover in the Arctic and averaged predictions for the extent of the Arctic ice sheet in September, historically the month when the ocean has the least amount of ice coverage, for every year between 2040 and 2059.
The researchers factored in two scenarios for climate change: one that assumed a 25 percent increase in global carbon emissions, which is generally expected to produce a medium-low increase in temperatures, and one that assumed an additional 10 percent increase in emissions, which is expected to produce a higher increase in temperatures. To their surprise, changes in accessibility were similarly dramatic under both scenarios.
"No matter which carbon emission scenario is considered, by mid-century we will have passed a crucial tipping point - sufficiently thin sea ice - enabling moderately capable icebreakers to go where they please," Smith said. | <urn:uuid:6b1df8af-2bfd-4b70-80fe-6ffa6b9c9ee3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/5361/20130304/ships-cruise-over-north-pole-arctic-ocean-2050.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00184-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96154 | 709 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Draw A Map
Booker T. Washington lives and works in several places throughout his life. Make a list of every place where he lived. Then find and label these towns and cities on a map of the United States.
As a child, Booker works in salt mines and coal mines. Research these jobs and write brief job descriptions, including what miners do, what conditions they work in, and what risks they face.
Booker attends Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, and later is put in charge of Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. Both of these schools still exist today, now known as Hampton University and Tuskegee University. Find and browse through these universities' websites. For each university, make a list of highlights, including colleges, academic programs, student life, sports, mascot, and interesting trivia.
Booker T. Washington National Monument
In Hardy, Virginia, the Booker T. Washington...
This section contains 694 words
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This is the second part of a series and long in coming. Apologies are in order, and I hope I will be forgiven. In the previous segment, I discussed the Five Weeks to a Social Library project and why offering free online education was important. Today, I want to highlight a few of the tools that can make creating a free or cheap online education portal possible.
Most of the options for course management, like WebCT and Blackboard, are very expensive and clunky. Institutions and organizations could reasonably charge students large amounts of money for enrollment and participation in an online course if they were using one of these two tools. WebCT and Blackboard are archaic structures that resemble how students learn in face-to-face environments. Continuing to build online education in ways that resemble the face-to-face environment harms our students and reflects poorly on us as educators. We should know better than to create a hostile learning environment. WebCT and Blackboard are still the norm in instructional design, but there is hope.
Today there are many options available to large and small organizations that vary both in price and functionality. There are a number of tools that are free, costing only labor and time, and can turn backflips over traditional software. These tools are more dynamic, have more flexibility, and better reflect the way people learn and create online.
I thought long about the best way to present this information. There are so many different kinds of tools to choose from -- from blogs, chat, and conferencing software to fully formed content management systems. No list is really ever complete as people are building and sharing new things all the time. Welcome to the world wide web. Because of this dilemma, I am going to talk about three tools in particular, that, I believe, may change the way we think about designing educational content and web pages. If you want to know more about chat, web conferencing, blog, and wiki platforms, the ALA Emerging Leader Group P has complied a very nice and simple list.
Joomla and Drupal are two content management systems that are making it easier for people without programming skills to build robust, community driven web sites or class portals. A class portal can be, after all, a simple web site that allows participation. A content management system like Drupal or Joomla allows more flexibility than WebCT or Blackboard, and creates an environment in which students can contribute to their learning process. The third tool, Moodle, is an open source course management system that models the more traditional WebCT, but allows participation to students that WebCT does not.
Though Joomla and Drupal can be powerful for content management, they were not designed with class management in mind. When making a decision on what kind of tool to use for your class, keep in mind what you want the tools to do. If you want something that reflects the flow of a traditional class, then something like Moodle will suit your needs much better.
What can you do with Joomla and Drupal?
You can build a web site that contains forums, bulletin boards, chat rooms, blogs, media, document editing, newsletters, customizable RSS feeds, calendars, and much more. All of the different widgets and tools that can be added to web sites, like a chat room, are referred to as modules. These tools are open source, which means that the capabilities of these tools are always growing. Unlike traditional course management systems, Joomla and Drupal were created so that individuals and organizations could build portals for communities. The focus was not on learning, but on community. Some of the best learning comes from a community atmosphere. Drupal and Joomla build similar web sites, but the back end of the websites and the process of building them is different.
The Five Weeks to a Social Library group used Drupal as the content management system for our web site. We chose modules that we felt would be important to our class, like a chat room, blogs, and static pages. Drupal, compared to Joomla, is much more flexible in terms of where and how things can be added to your web site. As a user, and not the builder of our site, I found Drupal easy to navigate. We were able to create a shell of what we needed and then populate it with all the class content, users, categories, and blog posts. We did have some issues with Drupal. We were unable to ever get the chat room's archive to save anywhere, but we were pleased overall with the way we were able to present the content for our course.
I am less familiar with the inner workings of Joomla and asked my friend, Jason Griffey, what he thought of Joomla. Jason is the Head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga's Lupton Library. They recently redesigned their entire web site using Joomla.
What 3-5 features make Joomla a good choice for libraries or organizations that want to build learning portals?
Depending on the parsing of “learning portal”, Joomla has a very easy to use backend, with a rich set of tools for the management of web-based content. We chose it at UTC because it has fully-featured user permissions, which allowed us to set up a workflow that was comfortable for everyone. Joomla also has a rich development community with a lot of plugins and modules available that extend its capabilities to things like multimedia management, which would be useful for Web 2.0 type learning portals.
What are some of the drawbacks or difficulties you encountered (or things others might find difficult) when setting up and maintaining your Joomla site?
The biggest difficulty in setup is that Joomla doesn't let you create a menu without items of real content behind the links. In most web development, you decide on a menu structure, a user interface, and then fill in the areas outlined with content. With Joomla, you have to have the content pieces before you can create menus and such…that led to some difficulty in planning the pieces that we don't have content for yet! But the overall ease-of-use compared to dealing with manual HTML/Dreamweaver makes it worth it.
The benefits of using Moodle
Moodle, as mentioned before, was built as a course management tool. It will run on any PHP system, and requires only a single database to run effectively. Moodle combines many of the social software tools we love, like RSS and wikis, with the functionality and layout of a traditional course management tool. Upcoming events, recent posts, wiki pages for classes, and the inclusion of outside RSS feeds, both text and audio, are all modules that can be included in a Moodle learning environment. Like Joomla and Drupal, Moodle is open source, which means it will only cost you time and labor to install and customize your learning environment. There is extensive documentation, support forums, and new modules being created for this tool.
Although open source tools are not ready "out of the box," they do allow for greater control, flexibility, and customization than any commercial tool. When making a choice about what type of tool you need to organize your online learning portal, you should consider the outcomes of your class, the content you are presenting, and the level of technical knowledge of your students. Depending on how your design your site, Joomla and Drupal will often require more from your students. For the Five Weeks to a Social Library project, the goal was to teach librarians about social software, so requiring more participation in a content management environment was a better choice than Moodle, which is course oriented.
To get started and learn more about these tools, here is a small list of places worth visiting:
Joomla in Libraries - This is a Joomla site that has information for libraries who want to use Joomla as a way to redesign their web presence.
Joomla Support - A support site with a knowledge base and tutorials on everything from hosting, installation, and security.
Drupal in Libraries - This is a Drupal site that has information for libraries.
Drupal Support - This is the main support page for Drupal with links to documentation, forums, hosting services, and more.
Moodle requires that you create a free account before navigating in their various forums and documentation, but they can be found from the main Moodle site. | <urn:uuid:df701de7-416a-4f01-b67d-1ed9ee067d01> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2007/06/unsucking-online-education-part-two.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00092-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955159 | 1,717 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Facebook Researcher: 'People Are More Predictable than Particles'
British scientist Stephen Wolfram has already developed two highly influential computational systems: Mathematica, an algebraic software program, and the popular search engine Wolfram Alpha. Now he's taking on Facebook's treasure trove of data, with results that would interest Mark Zuckerberg.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Wolfram Alpha, the computational search engine you developed, just released a detailed report based on what people reveal about themselves on Facebook. How many people gave you access to their Facebook data for this research?
Wolfram: I don't have the precise number, but it's certainly over a million. You can now work out things like "how does the number of friends you have vary with your age?" or "given that I'm a particular age, what are the ages of my friends?" You find that with very young people, it very sharply peaks around their own age, and then it broadens out the older people are. Distribution of friends' age is a function of a person's age. You can work out relationship status as a function of age -- with increasing age, the singles go down and the marrieds go up. When you compare that with data from the census bureau, it tracks very nicely, with some differences. There are people who claim they're married on Facebook even though they are 13, and that's just for fun obviously. You can also track migration of people from different countries, based on what they say on Facebook where they're from and where they're currently living.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What else does the data tell you?
Wolfram: There are topics people discuss on Facebook, based on their gender and age, like movies or politics. Men are more interested in politics, and the amount men talk about politics increases with age. Women seem to be less interested in writing about travel, compared to men, the older they get. And people talk about the weather more and more as they get older.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: You actually decipher what people talk about in their posts?
Wolfram: Yes, based on natural language processing. We're training a natural language classifier using large text corpuses. It's a technology we haven't actually released. We get to use it before the rest of the world gets to use it. For example if someone uses the world "movie" in a post it's fairly probable that they're talking about movies.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Would you be able to spot the title of a newly released film as well?
Wolfram: That's the benefit of having this large natural language understanding system: We know the name of every movie. That helps in being able to decipher things like this.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Has Facebook asked to license this? Your sample is one million or so, but theirs would be one billion people.
Wolfram: This isn't yet out and about in the world. But we obviously know the people at Facebook, so ... we'll see what happens. The good thing is: There is nothing in this data that could be embarrassing to Facebook. It's just a snapshot of the world. The interesting thing is: Generating all this stuff took about three weeks. This is just an example of what we can do with data.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What's your take on Facebook's Graph Search?
Wolfram: There's an interesting endpoint, when you combine computational knowledge with this kind of personal analytics stuff. What's been done so far is an interesting start, they have some interesting user experience ideas. We'll see what happens in the future with our computational knowledge stack combined with that type of data. One thing that's been so satisfying about this is seeing how easy it is to do it. People have had access to various parts of this data for a while, but for whatever reason the tools they've been using have not made it easy enough for them to be able to do the kinds of exploration that it's been easy for us to do.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Obviously the first people who would be interested in this sort of analysis are advertisers.
Wolfram: Yes. There are some interesting directions.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: You come from a hardcore natural science background, you started out as a particle physicist. Do the social sciences become interesting to you at this point for the first time because the available data now allows a different, more computational approach?
Wolfram: I'm interested in science, but also, quite separately, I'm interested in people. I've been building a company for a long time and I'm interested in how talented people manage to do great stuff. I watch some of these things over the course of peoples' lives, and I have all kinds of theories on these things. And now I realize that on this project for the first time what I know in science intersects with what I've been interested in about people -- the trajectories of their lives. It's tantalizing that when you look at data about the dynamics of people, you get very precise curves.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What does that mean?
Wolfram: We had a joke at our company a while ago: Our web analytics team was full of former experimental particle physicists. They were used to doing experiments on neutrinos or something, where they get data at some rate and make these plots on the behavior of particles and so on. The data rate in our web analytics system is about the same as the one they got in their particle physics experiments, the number of clicks is about the same as the number of particles going through a detector. The surprising thing is: The curves in web analytics are actually smoother than those they were used to in particle physics. People are, in a sense, more predictable than the quantum mechanics of particles.
Interview conducted by Christian Stöcker
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2013
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- Stephen Faust | <urn:uuid:0879b3bb-08ce-4b49-b077-880d1d6dce9a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/stephen-wolfram-analyses-personal-facebook-data-a-896981.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963796 | 1,244 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Emperor Maximilian I was a "media emperor", who spared no efforts for the representation of his person and to secure his posthumous fame. He employed the best artists and made use of the most modern media of his time. Many of the most outstanding works produced for the propaganda and commemoration of Emperor Maximilian I are preserved in the Albertina
. These include not only numerous works by Albrecht Dürer, but also Albrecht Altdorfers Triumphal Procession a work in gouache on parchment the artist and his workshop executed for Maximilian which will be in the focus of our exhibition.
Besides Maximilian's tomb at the Hofkirche in Innsbruck and the monumental Triumphal Arch, the Triumphal Procession is the largest and most important of his commissions: following the model of ancient triumphal processions, it presents musicians, hunters, banner carriers, artillery, magnificent imperial carriages, soldiers, knights and princes, statues of Maximilians Habsburg ancestors, his wedding to Mary of Burgundy and his wars. The Triumphal Procession thus reflects the most important persons and events of Maximilians life and, like the other major projects, was intended to serve his eternal memory and the glory of the House of Habsburg.
This work was once composed of 109 large-sized sheets, out of which numbers 49 to 109, as well as the authors sheet, have survived and all of which still show their original brilliant colours; put together, these body-colour paintings amount to more than fifty metres in length. They were last presented publicly in 1959 on the occasion of the Albertinas exhibition honouring the 500th anniversary of Maximilians birthday reason enough to not only present them again in their entirety and on a large scale, but also to reassess them from a scientific point of view.
The subsequent translation of the Triumphal Procession into the woodcut medium by Hans Burgkmair, Albrecht Altdorfer, and their workshops illustrates the works multiple-stage realization, which the emperor requested for almost all of his commissions. In terms of both form and idea, the Triumphal Procession and the monumental woodcut of the Triumphal Arch, which will also be on display in the exhibition, as well as the book projects Theuerdank, Weißkunig, and Freydal, are all intrinsically related to one another, since all of them treat the ever-recurring core themes of Maximilians life: his noble lineage, his extraordinary talents, his devoutness, and his military glory. Another section of the exhibition will be devoted to knighthood and the Order of St George; further focal points will deal with the emperors interest in genealogy, the reception of antiquity, and humanism.
In addition to important works from the holdings of the Albertina, many international lenders are contributing to the exhibition including the the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin, the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. | <urn:uuid:67d36529-bcd0-4363-8b31-c33dab0cf619> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=57715&int_modo=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966424 | 620 | 2.53125 | 3 |
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Part 4: Motor Technology and its Role in Energy Savings
By Thomas A. Westerkamp
June 2014 -
Plumbing & Restrooms Article Use Policy
Managers also can take a closer look at the role of motors in curtailing the energy required to move hot water throughout facilities. Motor technology has advanced tremendously in recent years, yet many drives still in use are driven by older, inefficient motors in disrepair. The most common type of motor, the open, drip-proof motor, is cooled by an internal fan that draws air — along with whatever pollutants are in the air — into and through it to prevent heat buildup.
Technicians need to clean motors periodically, or they will continually run hot due to dirt buildup inside the housing. Technicians also need to keep motors lubricated to reduce friction losses, unless they have sealed bearings. One quick way to find out if the motor is overheating is to check the running amps with a tong-tester at the switch box. The nameplate records the maximum full-load amps. If the motor is pulling more than nameplate amps, it is overloaded and should be shut down until technicians can correct the problem. Usually it is more cost-effective to replace small motors than to repair them.
New premium-efficiency motors draw fewer amps for the same output than older ones. Heat is the number one cause for low efficiency. More energy goes into useful work, due to narrower air gaps between rotor and stationery windings, copper cores, better heat dissipation through finned housings, more efficient and lighter carbon technology fans, better end-bell vent designs, and better insulation.
Another frequent cause of energy loss is sizing the motor incorrectly. Motor manufacturer websites feature energy-savings calculators that can save thousands of dollars for end users who employ this calculator tool to determine optimum premium-motor type, size, as well as the savings versus a standard motor.
Plumbing & Restrooms
Part 1: Submeters Emerge as Effective Water-Conservation Devices
Part 2: Low-Flow Fixtures Offer Simple way to Savings
Part 3: Energy-Savings Strategies to Save Water | <urn:uuid:8f7fceb4-01fc-4877-a220-25acdb812359> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.facilitiesnet.com/plumbingrestrooms/article/Motor-Technology-and-its-Role-in-Energy-Savings--15091 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913061 | 461 | 3.0625 | 3 |
First Jewish Settlers of Vitebsk
Vitebsk was known as a business center, which was in the main in the hands of non-Jews. Vitebsk was situated in a fertile region, producing grain and all kinds of fruits.
In the year 5311 (1551) a small number of Jewish merchants came to Vitebsk to settle there. The Government of the time put all sorts of difficulties and restrictions in their way, and a very limited number indeed was permitted to remain.
In 5365 a Jew named Tevel settled in Vitebsk. He brought a new spirit into the place. He had a son named Nachum, his daughter-in-law was named Deborah, and their daughter, his granddaughter, was called Nechamah.
They were all very pious and loved the Torah with all the fire of their being, and so they immediately established a Yeshivah in Vitebsk and the Yeshivah was called in their name.
But this does not tell the whole story, so let us hear more about Tevel and his remarkable family, at the same time learning of a most exceptional chapter in Jewish history.
In the year 5330 (1570) a Jew named Nachum came to Sebezsh from Prague. Sebezsh was situated at a place which at that time was the border between Poland and Sweden, and which was part of the estate belonging to Count Bontch Zinkevitch, a Polish nobleman.
Count Zinkevitch showed himself very kindly disposed towards the Jews of Sebezsh (who were steadily increasing in number), and particularly to this family from Prague.
In the course of the next few years, the Count planned to transfer his domicile to his estates near Cracow and was anxious therefore to sell his estates near Sebezsh, with all the adjoining villages, altogether comprising some 600 souls.
He approached Nachum, who was by now the leader of the Jewish community in Sebezsh, inviting his help in finding him a customer.
The adjoining estates on the Swedish side of the border belonged to a Swedish Prince named Johann Cambari, who often visited his estates and stayed for long periods at a time. It occurred to Nachum that here was a likely client for the estates of the Polish Count. And so, the next time the Prince paid a visit to his estates on the other side of the border, Nachum arranged to call on him at the castle.
Prince Cambari received Nachum in a friendly manner and chatted with him on all sorts of subjects, but would not discuss the question of the purchase immediately.
He suggested that Nachum see him again about the matter in two or three weeks' time. After a few weeks had elapsed, Nachum called again on the Prince as suggested. The Prince received him this time in a friendlier spirit even than the first time. He provided Nachum with a special room for his private use, and he was given every comfort and shown every consideration.
The Prince made an appointment to discuss the question of the purchase with Nachum on the day he came, and yet when they met, the Prince seemed in no particular hurry to talk about it. Instead he plied Nachum with questions about Jews, of whom he knew very little, he said. But he certainly showed a great interest in them now, and seemed anxious to make up for his ignorance in the past.
Nachum had practically to relate everything from the time of Abraham, and the Prince listened with great attention.
"You really will have to spend a few days with me at the castle," said the Prince to Nachum, "there is so much that I want to ask you! But I don't want your family to be anxious at your lengthy absence, so would you send word home that you are staying here and that you are well and comfortable?"
"Very well," agreed Nachum, "I shall be glad to do all I can to help you." Nachum had never before met a non-Jew with such a genuine interest in Jews and their history. So, not only did Nachum send word home that he would be delayed, but also asked that they send him some food, as he would not, of course, eat the food provided at the castle, and he had only brought enough food for a day, not expecting there would be any necessity to stay longer than that.
His assistant Shalom, foreseeing the possibility that Nachum would have to spend Shabbos at the castle, brought, in addition to the food, Nachum's "Shabbos clothes," including his Tallis with the golden "Atharah" (crown).
He also brought Nachum's miniature "Sefer Torah" in it's tiny "Ark" which Nachum always kept at home and treasured very much.
Nachum's ancestors were amongst the Jews who had been driven out of Spain during the Inquisition, and the miniature Sefer-Torah and Ark had belonged to them. So it was handed down through the generations, from his great-grand-father to him.
The Sefer-Torah was in a beautiful silver case, and the Ark was made of wood which was most artistically carved.
Nachum was very pleased that his servant had brought him these treasures of his, together with his Shabbos clothes and food. For now he would really be able to enjoy Shabbos just as if he were at home, especially as he had been given a private suite of rooms for his use.
When Shabbos came, Nachum dressed himself in his Shabbos clothes with his "Streimel" on his head. The following morning he put on his Tallis with the golden "Atharah" which completely wrapped him around.
During Shabbos afternoon, a messenger came from the Prince inviting Nachum to visit him.
Nachum, dressed in all his fine Shabbos clothes, went along.
When Nachum entered the room, the Prince arose and greeted him with great respect. Nachum sensed something was troubling the Prince, whose face looked sad, and there was a hint of tears in his eyes.
Nachum wondered if the Prince would reveal the cause of his sorrow, but the Prince did not speak about himself. He just kept on asking Nachum endless questions about Shabbos, its purpose, customs, and what it meant to the Jews.
Again and again he came back to the subject of the Jews. He couldn't seem to get to know enough quickly enough. Nachum was sure there was some special reason behind all this unusual interest and questioning about Jews on the part of a non-Jew!
Soon everything was made clear to him for, whilst they were talking, an elderly lady entered the room with great dignity. One could immediately recognize by her stately bearing that she belonged to the aristocracy.
"This is my aunt, my mother's sister," said the Prince to Nachum.
And turning to his aunt, he introduced Nachum, saying:
"And this gentleman, dear aunt, is the friend I told you about, whose acquaintance we are so fortunate to have made!"
When the aunt showed the same keen interest in learning all about Jews, exactly as the Prince had done, Nachum realized there was indeed special significance in their questioning.
He did not remark upon this though, as he felt they would take him into their confidence as soon as they found the time opportune.
During the whole conversation, Nachum saw a look of indecision in the eyes of the old lady, as if she could not quite make up her mind whether or not to tell him their secret, but Nachum did not show he noticed anything unusual in her manner.
The following Monday, Nachum was again called to the Prince and when he entered the Prince's chamber, his aunt was again present. They both greeted him as if he were an old friend!
It was clear that they intended to speak to him freely and take him into their confidence.
This is the story they unfolded to Nachum who listened in wonder and with great interest.
After their exile, they wandered from one country to another and during a plague the husband of the elder daughter died. She then went to live with her sister who had just given birth to a son and who was named Judah. A year later Judah's father also died and this, together with the reduced circumstances in which they now found themselves, caused the early death of the child's mother.
Just before she died, she made her sister promise that when her son Judah would grow to manhood, she would explain his Jewish origin to him and try to induce him to return to Judaism.
The aunt who had taken the child into her care had married a Swedish nobleman who told her that secretly he too was a Jew. He took his bride and Judah to his people in Sweden. They changed Judah's name to Johann and he was brought up as a prince of royal blood, like a true Cambari.
"Two years ago my husband died," concluded Prince Johann's aunt, "and I then revealed to Johann that he was Judah, the grandson of Joseph Gabrieli, who was my father as well as his mother's. He has seen his grandfather's photograph and knows we are Jews."
"Yes, we have both decided we would like to return to the faith we belong to, but you can understand our difficulties," broke in the Prince.
"We have so much to learn and we need someone like you to befriend us and show us the way back!" concluded the Prince pleadingly.
Nachum was deeply moved by the narrative and by the sincerity shown both by the Prince and his aged aunt.
"I am greatly honored by your confidence in me," said Nachum to them. "But I must ask you to give me a few days in which to consider the matter and see what is the best thing to do."
"We know we can trust you to do your best, we have complete faith in you," replied the Prince. "We shall be waiting to hear from you most eagerly!"
With that they parted, and after a few days, Nachum returned to them and told them he had thought of a plan.
He said that he was putting the affairs of the community in Sebezsh, of which he was the leader, in order, so that he should be free within the next month or two to go away.
He suggested that the Prince and his aunt should go to Prague, and he too would come there and do all that was necessary to help them become Jews once again. He recommended to them to keep the whole matter a secret for the present.
They told Nachum they wholeheartedly approved of his plan and suggestion, and that they trusted him implicitly. He must just tell them what to do, and they would carry out his instructions.
"About that matter of the purchase of the estates," said the Prince, "I shall hand over to you the power to negotiate it, and of course I shall be happy to pay you for your trouble. I feel fortunate to have such a trustworthy agent to act for me."
Nachum departed on the best of terms with his grateful hosts, and they, too, returned to their home in Sweden to wind up their affairs there and make all due preparations for moving to Prague.
Meanwhile Nachum returned home and called upon the Polish Count Bontch Zinkevitch, who was delighted to hear that Nachum had found a buyer for his estates.
It was now merely a question of agreeing upon the price, and arranging the transfer of the deeds.
The transaction was concluded in a comparatively short period of time, to the equal satisfaction of both the Count and the Prince.
After Nachum had so successfully and profitably concluded this business matter, he set about making preparations for his departure to Prague, where he had arranged to meet the Prince and his aunt, and see to all that was necessary to bring them back into the Jewish fold.
After a short while, Nachum called together the members of the Council of the Jewish community and informed them that he and his wife were preparing to return to Prague, from which they had come some twenty-three years previously.
As they intended to remain in Prague for a considerable length of time, Nachum said he felt they ought to appoint a leader in his place.
Nachum had a son called Tevel who was quite a fine person, but not a "patch" on his father. He was different in character to some extent, but entirely different in inclination.
Whereas his father was an excellent business man, Tevel had no taste for it at all.
He owned some land which he had received on his marriage from his father-in-law, and, in addition, rented some gardens and orchards, and himself worked there most successfully.
Tevel always used to say he preferred to work next to nature rather than amongst business men who could not always be trusted. He, on the other band, had G-d as a partner, and that is why he was so successful, Tevel ended with a smile.
The estates of the Swedish Prince, together with those which the Prince had acquired from the Polish Count, were being supervised by a man who was very anxious to obtain the expert services of Tevel in the cultivation of this land. But Tevel refused, as it would have meant giving up the care of his own land, and also the land of his father, which was left in his care after his father's departure for Prague. Nachum had sold all his other property and cattle, but knowing how keen Tevel was on working on the land, he passed on his gardens and orchards to his son.
For two years Nachum remained in Prague, and when he returned he began to distribute exceptionally large sums of money for charity, and sent big donations to the Yeshivoth in Poland.
It did not occur to anyone that Nachum was giving money which was not all his own. Actually it was the Swedish Prince Johann Cambari who, having now become a Jew, had decided to donate a worthwhile amount to Jewish causes. He asked Nachum to arrange the matter for him and so that his name should not be mentioned, as he preferred to give the charity anonymously.
This went on until a time came when Nachum felt he was about to die. He decided he must now entrust the secret to his son, so he called him and said to him:-
"My son, there is something I want to tell you concerning a certain person, which until now I have kept secret. Now that I feel my days are numbered, I am going to pass on the secret to you, but I ask you to honor it as I have done, and disclose it to no one."
He then told Tevel about the Swedish Prince Cambari, how he had returned to his Jewish faith and now called himself Judah Gabrieli, the name he was given at his birth.
He told him that he, Nachum, had helped the Prince in Prague, who had become so keen on things Jewish, that he had spent most of his time learning Torah, and was by now already a considerable "Lamdan." He had married the daughter of a well-known and respected Jew in Prague, and now that she had given birth to a son, they had moved to Holland to a place outside Amsterdam, where he had bought a castle. Nachum asked Tevel to travel to the Prince and give him some money that Nachum had of his, and at the same time to take him a message telling him that he would advise the Prince to sell his estates near Sebezsh. Finally he wanted Tevel to say "good-bye" to the Prince for him and tell him he was thinking of him before he died.
Tevel was very moved by all his father told him and promised to carry out all he had asked him to do. He felt now that he had not, during his lifetime, sufficiently appreciated what a great man his father was, and he was determined to improve himself as far as he knew how.
So it was that, when he returned from his mission to the Prince in Holland, he began to follow in his father's steps and distribute large sums of money to charity, so much so, that he became renowned both far and near. And the more he gave, the greater seemed to be his success in increasing his fortune.
But however fine the harvests of his work, he and his wife could find no real happiness, for they were childless.
Then remembering that "to change one's place can change one's luck," he and his wife decided that they would leave Sebezsh, and settle in Vitebsk, in the vicinity of which he had a friend called Mordecai Aaron Segal, who was his partner in a distillery of whiskey, in Batzeikov.
He made but one exception, and that was, that only Jews who could prove that their presence was indispensable to the welfare of the community could remain.
About a year after this decree, Mordecai Aaron Segal who had become friendly with the Mayor of Vitebsk because he used to sell him whiskey, came to Vitebsk and settled there.
Mordecai Aaron Segal was a respected person and in fact quite charitable, but perhaps he was inclined to give his money where it would bring him the most honor.
When Mordecai came to Vitebsk and saw how Tevel gave charity without making any fuss and without looking for any special recognition or honor, he saw how more preferable was his friend's modest demeanor, and made up his mind be would in future act likewise.
Tevel had brought a few more Jewish families with him when he came to Vitebsk, saying he required their services for his land cultivation.
As Tevel was a friend of Mordecai's and the latter a friend of the Mayor's, the matter was arranged without difficulty.
But two years after Tevel's arrival in the town, Mordecai told him that he had learned from the Mayor that the king was not satisfied with the way in which his decree was being treated so lightly. According to him there were far too many Jews in Vitebsk, and they would have to renew their claims proving they were essential and useful citizens; furthermore, if and when they were granted permission to remain, they would have to pay a very high sum for the privilege!
Mordecai Aaron Segal called a meeting of the leaders of the community and told them they must be prepared for unpleasant news. There would soon be a decree issued ordering the Jews of Vitebsk to leave the town.
The members of the meeting were naturally very disturbed at the news, and decided to call the Jews to a day of fasting and special prayers.
Tevel was very grieved at the tragic turn of events, for though he personally might be granted permission to remain, his heart was sore for his fellow-Jews who, were they to be driven out unceremoniously, would lose their present means of livelihood, and face ruin and starvation!
He spent much time contemplating any possibility of a way out of the trouble, and suddenly it occurred to him that perhaps a bribe would buy the Mayor, in whose hands lay the power to grant permission to individual Jews to remain in Vitebsk; all the Mayor had to do was to say that the man was "indispensable."
Tevel lost no time in calling on his partner and friend Mordecai Aaron Segal.
"See my friend, we must help our brothers in their hour of need! We might so easily have been in a similar dilemma. And so, to show our gratitude to the Almighty we must make a sacrifice. I, for my part, am prepared to give a sum, however large you think necessary, and you know the Mayor well enough to decide what he would regard as a 'handsome gift,' so that he promises to allow the Jews to stay."
Mordecai Aaron Segal was deeply impressed with the generosity of his friend and the sincerity of his desire to help the Jews of Vitebsk.
He hurried with Tevel's offer to the Mayor, who "graciously" consented to accept the present and promised he would see that the Jews were allowed to remain in the town. He pointed out, however, that he would still have to publish the king's decree first, and then afterwards use his authority to grant the Jews "special permission" to remain.
Mordecai Aaron Segal agreed with the plan and sent word round to all the Jews to prepare them for the decree and to tell them they must not be alarmed, as the Mayor had promised the publication of same was just a matter of formality.
Sure enough, after a few days, the dreaded decree appeared on the public-notice boards, throwing the Jews of Vitebsk into absolute panic! It was useless trying to convince them that they must not take these notices seriously.
Four days after the publication of the king's decree the Mayor let it be known that as the Jews were essential to the existence and progress of the state, he was using the authority granted him by the king, and would allow the Jews to remain in Vitebsk, without hindrance or interference,
The relief and joy amongst the Jews was indescribable, and when the news got around that it was Tevel's efforts backed by his money that had secured for them their present salvation, their gratitude to him was unbounded.
The year 5365 (1605) came, and Tevel's wife gave birth to a son. They were so very grateful for this precious gift for which they had hoped and prayed, that it is not surprising to learn that they gave him everything of the best. Tevel was not selfish in his gratitude, for he sent bigger donations even than before to all the Yeshivoth in Poland and Lithuania.
Tevel named his son Nachum, after his own father, and the boy was a fine lad, and very gifted. He absorbed his studies eagerly and showed excellent results, to the delight of bis teachers and parents who were so anxious to see him grow into a fine-charactered, Torah-loving Jew.
Mordecai Aaron Segal also had a son, whose name was Judah Leib. He was a good lad and anxious to make progress in his studies, but he just wasn't cut out to be a student, and so when he grew up, his father took him into his business where he did so well, that Mordecai Aaron Segal gradually let his son take over the "reins of management," and himself devoted all his time to social welfare.
Judah Leib developed his father's business so successfully, that their whiskey was known and appreciated far and wide.
In the year 5380 (1620) the Mayor of Vitebsk died, and in his place was appointed one who became an absolute thorn in the flesh to the Jews. He hated them, and nothing they did was right in his prejudiced eyes. He found fault with them at every turn and took every opportunity of sending in complaints against them to the government. Of course he would have no association with Mordecai Aaron Segal or his son Judah Leib, and refused even to touch their whiskey!
This new Mayor was so filled with Jew-hatred, that he could not bring himself to accept anything from them, and would not take Tevel's gifts.
This period of persecution had been going on for about two years. During this time Judah Leib had managed, despite these adverse circumstances, to promote his business to such an extent, that he was even receiving orders for his now famous whiskey from the very highest officials in the government, with some of whom he had become quite friendly in consequence.
By 5384 (1624) Judah Leib's whiskey had reached the Royal Court and was so liked by the king, that he eventually invited him to his august presence, praised him for his excellent beverage, and conferred upon him medals of merit in the presence of his courtiers and counsellors!
So it was that Judah Leib became an influential personage and came to play an important role in Polish government circles.
During one of Judah Leib's visits to the capital city, he learned on high authority that the government treasury was empty, and that the king had commanded all bis governors in the various states to obtain loans on the best terms obtainable.
He also heard that the governors, in the main, had met with little success.
As soon as Judah Leib returned to Vitebsk, he immediately called on Tevel and told him of what he had learned.
Tevel at once declared he was ready to loan a big sum of money to the government on long term, the loan to be repaid to him out of government revenue. But he would only advance the loan on the following conditions:
Mordecai Aaron Segal offered to go with his son to the capital, to meet the respective members of the government and put before them Tevel's offer of the loan and his conditions.
Mordecai Aaron Segal and Judah Leib put the plan into effect and waited hopefully for the result.
Some days passed and then Mordecai Aaron Segal and his son received the Royal command to appear before the king. The king informed them that he was willing to accept the loan from Tevel on the latter's conditions.
The king forthwith despatched Judah Leib as a special messenger to instruct the Mayor of Vitebsk regarding the details of the matter, and to collect the money and bring it back to the king. This was in the year 5387 (1627).
The Mayor was not too pleased at the turn of events but he had no alternative other than to obey the king's command.
He therefore called a special meeting of the City Council, the representatives of the government, as well as the priests of the Catholic church, and with the best face he could bring himself to put upon the matter, made a public proclamation, quoting the king's decree;
"The Jews were henceforth to be allowed to establish their own Community in Vitebsk, and the local government authorities were to do all possible to facilitate their carrying this into effect.
"Further, all Jews were to be allowed to live in Vitebsk with the same rights as other citizens."
After the Mayor had read out the king's decree, it was decided there and then to choose someone to be the Leader of the Jewish community.
There was a unanimous vote in favor of Mordecai Aaron Segal who had so successfully negotiated on behalf of the Jews as intermediary between them and the king.
This same Mordecai Aaron Segal was the ancestor of the father-in-law of the Founder of "Chabad," Rabbi Schneur Zalman, author of the "Tanya."
In this same year, Nachum married the daughter of the Gaon Rabbi Samuel Joseph of Vilna. For five years Nachum studied under the great "Tzadik" Rabbi Yekuthiel Zalman Cracower, who was famed as a saint and recluse.
Nachum was so greatly influenced by his saintly teacher, that he, too, tried to emulate his example. He spent most of his time in prayer and study at the Beth-Hamidrash, only going home to snatch a few hours sleep to refresh himself. Then ie would return to the Beth-Hamidrash to devote himself wholeheartedly to the service of G-d, in prayer, solitude, and Torah-study.
He begrudged himself the pleasure of spending time with his own family, and to no one did he speak, unless it related to discussion of the Torah.
Tevel was very proud of his son Nachum and gladly provided him and his daughter-in-law with all their needs.
But Nachum's father-in-law Samuel Joseph was very far from being pleased. His biggest concern was that his daughter was still childless after being married for many years, and according to the "Din," she ought to obtain a divorce from her husband. This she absolutely refused to do as she had the greatest regard for him, and was very fond of him.
His daughter-in-law's childlessness grieved Tevel too, and he gave still more charity than ever, hoping he would thus earn the privilege of becoming a grandfather.
Tevel's charitableness became a positive by-word, and he made no distinction, distributing his money amongst the needy, Jew and non-Jew alike.
When Tevel heard of the famine in the district of Lifland, he sent his agent to buy large stocks of grain for distribution amongst all the hungry, irrespective of race or creed. For the Torah tells us that, especially in time of hunger, help must be given to all who need it.
One might have thought that Tevel would be justified in feeling "superior" for all his good deeds and all the adulation he earned thereby, but he was, on the contrary, exceedingly humble and modest.
If ever he gave personal thought to his manifold acts of charity, it was in grateful thanks to the Almighty for putting him in such a privileged position where he could help those less fortunate than himself!
It was Tevel's modesty, therefore, that endeared him to everyone.
He had the greatest respect and admiration for Torah-students and scholars since his early youth, and the respect and admiration had increased with time.
Yet he was to be found equally amongst the very ordinary working people, attending their Simchoth, be it "Brith-Milah," "Bar-Mitzvah" or Betrothal. The people just adored him for it; he brought grace and honor to every Simchah that he came to.
When Tevel was ninety years of age he felt it was time that he put his affairs in the hands of a younger person. He chose one by the name of Tzadok Moshe.
A few years later, Tzadok Moshe asked Tevel to allow him to engage his sister's grandson Zalman Aaron as Accounts manager. This he agreed to, and Tevel's affairs were ably handled by these two men.
When the Jewish Community was first established in Vitebsk, a tax was imposed upon each member. Tevel naturally came forward with a handsome donation towards the city's needs.
For the first time in the history of Vitebsk, Yeshivoth and charitable institutions were established.
When, in 5694 (1634), permission was granted to the Jews to buy land in Vitebsk and build houses thereon, Tevel bought several plots of land in various parts of the town, and gave them as a present to the Jewish Community.
Tevel's generosity helped greatly towards the progress of the Community, enabling the Building Committee to carry out its plan of activity.
With the expansion of the Community, Jews began to build houses and Synagogues in the various streets of Vitebsk, and with each "Beth-Hamidrash" there was always a "Cheder" adjoining, for young children.
Nevertheless, Vitebsk was still in the main, a city of merchants and workpeople. The number of Torah-students was very small.
Tevel lived to the age of ninety-seven, and though one would say he had reached a very ripe old age, everyone regretted his passing. He was so universally loved, that all the town, from the civic and government heads, to the humblest and lowest, all came to offer their last respects to this great Jewish philanthropist. His funeral was attended by many whose tears flowed freely.
Tevel died in the year 5401 (1641). According to his will, a quarter of his possessions was to be distributed to charity. This was to be allocated by the leaders of the Community. The remainder of his money and property was to go to his only son Nachum. Tzadok Moshe and Zalman Aaron were to manage the affairs as before.
Vitebsk was composed of two parts, one was called "The Large Side" and the other "The Small Side." The "Large Side" was the business center, so it was natural that, with the appreciable legacy left the Community by Tevel, they should choose the "Small Side" on which to build a Yeshivah.
It was now twenty-four years after his marriage and his wife was still barren. She was already thirty-eight years old, for in those days girls were married at a very tender age. She was only fourteen years old at her marriage.
Her father Samuel Joseph, who had repeatedly urged her without success to agree to a divorce, now finally appealed to her husband Nachum, telling him that he must persuade her to follow the "Din."
Nachum was most reluctant to take this step, for he knew how devoted his wife was to him always, and he appreciated it very much.
Still, however distasteful it was to him or his wife, he agreed that they must conform to the "Din." And so he called three wise and learned men and asked them how he could carry out the matter in the fairest manner possible.
The decision arrived at was that Nachum should settle upon his wife six hundred "gilden" for each year they were married. That meant, a sum of about fifteen thousand "gilden" would be given his wife with the divorce, so that she would be financially well provided for.
Nachum wanted her to know that he was sending her away because of the necessity of carrying out the "Din" and for no other reason, and so he gave her an additional gift of several thousand "gilden."
Meanwhile Tzadok Moshe and Zalman Aaron were managing Nachum's business with great success. They had expanded it with the introduction of flax and wool, and had put this branch of the business in the care of the well-known expert in these lines, Meir Shlomo of Vilna.
In the course of three years, they found that their profits were mounting higher and higher, and Nachum was in fact becoming a very rich man.
Tzadok Moshe proved himself a most successful business man, yet he envied anyone who could devote his time to Torah-study.
In the year 5421 (1661) he traveled to Minsk on business, but even when his business was concluded, he could not tear himself away from the place.
Whilst Vitebsk was essentially a business town, Minsk on the other hand abounded with Yeshivoth and houses of study, where at every turn one met Jews studying the Torah.
Tzadok Moshe was enraptured! Even the ordinary work-people had their own "Beth-Hamidrash" where regular "Shiurim" were arranged for them, to suit their understanding and needs.
As a child and right on into manhood, Tzadok Moshe had spent all his time in Torah-study. But when he married, his father-in-law was weak, and so Tzadok Moshe bad to assume the responsibility of supporting not only himself and his wife, but also his parents-in-law, his unmarried sisters-in-law, and his brother-in-law's orphaned children too.
But whilst he "put his shoulder to the wheel" very conscientiously and efficiently, his heart nevertheless inclined towards Torah-study. So immediately after dawenmg, morning and evening, he snatched an hour or two for study. Minsk, therefore, presenting to him a picture of Torah-study wherever he looked, was to him like a drink to a thirsty man! He just could not have enough, and so he stayed and stayed until he found that he had already spent four months in this "enchanting" city!
One thing that Tzadok Moshe found in Minsk which impressed him very favorably, was the advanced education of the Jewish women there.
In Vitebsk, there was no woman who could read "Ivri" (Hebrew) and those who were anxious to join in the "davvening" in Shool used to gather round some elderly lady who, in the course of the years, had learned the prayers by heart and thus became the "reader" for them, and the others would repeat the prayers after her.
To them it would not only have been an unheard of thing, but an undreamed of thing that a woman could be so educated that, not only could she read, but also learn Chumash, T’nach, Gemorro, and Rashi!
This, then, is what Tzadok Moshe found in Minsk. It was taken for granted that all women should be able to read "Ivri" and "davven." But in addition there were many who could study Torah just the same as the men.
So whilst Vitebsk was much better off than Minsk in the material sense, with beautiful and imposing buildings and a name for business, Minsk towered above her richer sister, in the spiritual sense—with her Torah scholars, both men and women, arid her Yeshivoth and Synagogues. | <urn:uuid:97396812-cafd-4625-b19c-06b9e70f8977> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ibiblio.org/yiddish/Book/lrm/lrmvitebsk.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00102-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.99418 | 7,869 | 3.296875 | 3 |
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Fuel Cell Research
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device which converts chemical energy stored in the hydrogen directly into electrical energy with only by-product as water. Hydrogen is used as a fuel and oxygen (air) serves as an oxidant. The basic fuel cell consists of a electrolyte with an electrode on each side. Fuel cells are classified based on the type of electrolyte used. Besides the electrolyte type, they also differ in operating temperature, application and efficiency.
In practical situations, the actual fuel cell voltage is less than the thermodynamically predicted voltage (1.23 V at 25 °C and 1 atm) due to irreversible kinetic losses. If more current is drawn from fuel cell, the cell voltage declines due to an increase in losses. In general, there are four fuel cell losses which define the current voltage characteristics of a fuel cell.
- Fuel crossover
- Activation losses
- Ohmic losses
- Concentration or mass transport losses
PEM Fuel Cell
The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell uses an ion conducting solid electrolyte membrane. The PEM fuel cell is also termed as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. A solid polymer electrolyte has advantages such as high power density and less corrosion over liquid electrolytes. PEM fuel cells operate at lower temperature which allows faster start up and immediate response to changes in the load. The wide power range and versatility allows their use in large number of applications. The PEM fuel cells are seen as promising choice for transportation applications due to their power ranging up to several kilowatts with temperature only varying from room temperature to 100 °C.
PEM fuel cells use hydrogen as a fuel and oxygen, generally from air, as an oxidant to produce electricity and water. The PEM fuel cell primarily consists of a positively charged electrode, i.e. anode, a polymer electrolyte membrane and a negatively charged electrode, cathode. Hydrogen gas introduced at the anode oxidizes to protons (H+). Protons migrate through polymer electrolyte membrane from anode to cathode and electrons flow to the cathode through an external circuit. Oxygen introduced at the cathode reacts with protons and electrons to form the product water and heat. A catalyst is essential for the electrochemical conversion of hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel cell. Therefore, in PEM fuel cells both the anode and the cathode contain catalyst, usually platinum (Pt), to boost the electrochemical reaction.
The PEM fuel cell electrode reactions are shown below,
The basic PEM fuel cell operation is shown in following figure.
UND Fuel cell Research Test Facility
UND's renewable hydrogen test facility has two 1.2 kW Ballard's Nexa™ and a 600 W PEM fuel cell stacks. The Ballard's Nexa™ PEM fuel cell system has 47 membrane electrode assemblies (MEA). It is a fully integrated system that produces 1200 W unregulated DC power using hydrogen and air. An integrated control board, onboard sensors and a microprocessor monitor the system performance and allow a fully automated fuel cell operation. This PEM fuel cell stack is capable of supplying 44 A. Its output voltage varies ranging from 43 V at no load and 26 V at full load. The Nexa™ power module operates on pure and dry hydrogen and room air. The air is humidified before reaching the fuel cell to maintain the membrane saturation. The stack is air cooled. Hydrogen inlet, oxidant air and cooling air flow rates are controlled using an embedded control board. The compressor's speed that supply oxidant air and the cooling air fan speed are adjusted by the control board to match the current requirement.
The following researches have been conducting at UND's research facility:
- Characterization of a PEM fuel cell at cell and stack level using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
- Equivalent circuit modeling of PEM fuel cell stacks
- Dynamic simulation and verification of a 1.2 kW PEM fuel cell stack | <urn:uuid:edc032d1-bea6-45fc-91cf-bbe1ab12424b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://engineering.und.edu/electrical/research/h2power/fuel-cell-research.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89534 | 829 | 4.125 | 4 |
The 1960 presidential election could easily have turned out differently. Despite Teddy White's bestselling classic, Making of the President 1960, which made John Kennedy's election appear inevitable, like DESTINY, the truth is that JFK won by just one tenth of one percentage point (0.1%), or less than one vote per precinct. It was the closest election of the 20th century. Kennedy won the popular vote by just 112,827.
There were allegations of voter fraud in Illinois, which Kennedy carried by just 8,858 votes, and Texas, where Kennedy beat Nixon by just 2% -- 51% to 49%. But Kennedy only needed one of those states to reach the magic 270 electoral votes, and Illinois had voted Democratic in every election since 1932 except for Eisenhower. Furthermore, voter "irregularities" in southern Illinois, which was controlled by the Republican Party, may have offset fraud in the city of Chicago by the forces of "boss" Mayor Richard Daley.
Even so, the 1960 election turned on a hair:
1. If Kennedy had not chosen Lyndon Johnson of Texas as his running mate, he probably would not have carried Texas. Robert Kennedy opposed Johnson's selection, and at the Democratic Convention tried to talk LBJ out of declining the offer. Up until the last minute, JFK considered as a running mate, Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri, a state JFK carried (without Symington on the ticket) by just 10,000 votes, 50.2% to 49.7%. In short, Symington would not have added the electoral votes that Johnson did.
2. If Nixon had not chosen Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts as his running mate, he might have won the election. He selected Lodge because he thought the choice would distract Kennedy and force him to campaign in his home state of Massachusetts. It did not. Lodge also may have cost Nixon crucial votes the South, especially Texas, by promising (without the vice president's approval) that Nixon would appoint at least one African American to the cabinet, thereby neutralizing the issue of which ticket was more pro-civil rights. If Nixon had instead selected Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York or William Scranton of Pennsylvania, he probably could have won at least one northeastern state, and hence, the election. Rockefeller declined Nixon's offer to join the ticket, having served as New York governor for only two years at that point.
3. If Nixon had not injured his knee in North Carolina, which forced him to stop campaigning for two weeks in the fall, he might have won the election.
4. If Nixon had not made a naive pledge to campaign in all 50 states, wasting valuable time on states he had no chance of winning and states that he was going to win no matter what, he might have won.
5. If at the end of the campaign, Robert Kennedy had not intervened on behalf of Martin Luther King Jr., calling a judge in Georgia and urging him to release King from jail for a minor traffic violation, Kennedy might not have won the election. Ironically, RFK's decision was not a strategic political calculation, but an impulsive decision based on moral instinct, as Evan Thomas pointed out in a biography of Kennedy. After Bobby's decision, Martin Luther King, Sr., an influential Baptist minister, announced that he was switching his vote from Nixon to Kennedy. (King Sr. had initially opposed JFK because he feared Kennedy as a Catholic would take orders from the Pope. "Can you imagine -- Martin Luther King's father's a bigot?" Robert Kennedy said to his brother. JFK retorted: "Bobby, we all have our fathers," an apparent reference to their own father's reputation for anti-semitism.
- Was Nixon Robbed in 1960? David Greenberg in Slate magazine. | <urn:uuid:a39025e2-fe3d-4595-94f0-a5fecb09a154> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://jimbuie.blogs.com/journal/2013/01/what-if-1960-presidential-election-had-turned-out-differently.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00182-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982725 | 770 | 3 | 3 |
Everything that lives in the ocean has its own set of needs and requirements. Microscopic algae, for example, need to soak up the sun, so they stay within the top layer of water. Zooplankton such as copepods eat those tiny algae, so they have to seek out the phytoplankton. Sometimes those organisms can gather into loose layers. When those layers overlap, that means it’s feeding time.
In the waters off Oahu, though, that period of overlap happens for just a brief period at dusk. And its effects cascade up the food web, even up to dolphins, finds Kelly Benoit-Bird of Oregon State University in Corvallis and Margaret McManus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Their study was published May 20 in PLOS ONE.
Over two three-week periods in 2009 and 2010, Benoit-Bird and McManus used moored sensors, ship-based sampling and echo-sounding to determine where the various organisms were living, at what depths and at what times in the waters off the west coast of Oahu.
They found that, on some days, zooplankton layers commonly formed in the afternoon, disappeared just after dusk and then reappeared before midnight. Layers of phytoplankton peaked around dusk and dawn. The two groups overlapped just briefly at dusk. That overlap would let the zooplankton munch on the phytoplankton.
The zooplankton drew micronekton —small creatures, like cephalopods and crustaceans, that swim up from the deep to eat the zooplankton. They don’t get much time, though — the zooplankton disappeared some 20 to 50 minutes after the micronekton showed up, the researchers found.
On days when the zooplankton layer formed, spinner dolphins took advantage of the micronekton that were drawn to the area. The dolphins would split up into smaller groups, and pairs would dive 60 percent deeper to feed on the micronekton. They were able to double their time spent feeding, compared with when there was no zooplankton layer. But they had only a small window of about 30 minutes to take advantage of the increased availability of food.
Spinner dolphins aren’t limited by any scarcity of food but by the amount of time they spend foraging. So that 30-minute window in which they increase their foraging could provide enough of a boost to have an impact on the animals’ fitness, the researchers write. | <urn:uuid:bed8ec88-def4-427d-8023-3b674362df2e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/wild-things/dusk-heralds-feeding-frenzy-waters-oahu?mode=topic&context=60 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963948 | 544 | 3.75 | 4 |
Comprehensive DescriptionRead full entry
BiologyA. commersoni occurs in freshwaters and sometimes brackish waters in slow to fast current waters to the base of the first falls. Usually occurs in clear waters with sand, gravel or rock bottom. Feeds on algi, detritus, worms, gasteropods and crustaceans. Close biology to A. guamensis. Amphidromous species. Adults migrate to the mouth of the rivers for reproduction. Females spawn on the rocks' surface where the males fecund the eggs. Males protect the eggs until they hatch (incubation lasts 24 to 70hrs). Larvae, translucid, are then carried into estuaries or sea. They come back after they spent 150 to 165 days in seawaters (Ref. 57749). Also Ref. 4343. | <urn:uuid:8e3bf511-d214-4938-a968-b791275b5215> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eol.org/pages/2802248/overview | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.87621 | 174 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The Rat's Tale
A historical "document" isn't always a writing sample
The trick about studying the past is figuring out where relevant documents might be stored. I use "documents" in the broadest sense, because documents are not only written objects but also physical ones. The documents of anthropology are usually tools, ceramics, signs of buildings like walls or postholes, human remains, traces of DNA, cut or burned animal bones—tangible debris that has survived the ages. Instead of leafing through dusty archives, anthropologists dig trenches, sifting dirt for clues that humans once were there.
Looking for very early traces of human settlement in a region is difficult, whether the region is a huge continent, a small island, or in between. In most cases, the number of initial settlers was small and their remains and artifacts scarce. If there is a distinctive and common item that can be traced unquestionably to human presence—a new kind of document—then interpreting the archaeological record becomes a lot easier.
The Right Documents
The archaeology of Remote Oceania is a perfect example of document discovery. The timeframe of human arrival in the western area (the region of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa) is reasonably clear because of the distinctive Lapita ceramics that are found in archaeological sites dating from about 950 B.C. in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. But over time the people who had so thoughtfully littered the western islands with bits of Lapita ceramics when they first arrived made fewer and fewer ceramics. By the time people left the western region to migrate into eastern Polynesia (including New Zealand, Hawaii, the Marquesas, Rapa Nui or Easter Island and Tahiti), they had stopped making pots entirely. Thus, dating the second, eastern part of the colonization of Remote Oceania is difficult.
When humans arrived in East Polynesia is particularly significant because so many of the islands of Oceania had experienced ecological catastrophes by the time of European arrival. For example, the deforestation of Rapa Nui has become an icon of human folly and ecocide, despite recent challenges to this idea. What pattern of settlement and catastrophe prevailed in the entire region?
The archaeological and ecological record spanning human arrival in East Polynesia is most detailed and densest in New Zealand. At A.D. 1285 to 1300, Wairau Bar on South Island is the oldest well-dated archaeological site in New Zealand. On that site Maori butchered more than 8,000 moas and consumed more than 2,000 moa eggs; in upper layers, there are huge numbers of seal bones, too. There are postholes from buildings, cutmarked moa bones and broken eggshells, stone tools, and burials of 37 individuals whose graves included such items as perforated moa eggs, real and imitation whale teeth, necklace reels, shark teeth, bird bone tubes and adzes. Moa eggshells placed as grave goods in human burials were dated by the radiocarbon method. Because of Wairau Bar, A.D. 1300 can be used as a dividing line between the time periods before and after proven human arrival.
About 1000 B.C.—before human arrival—85 to 90 percent of the New Zealand landscape was forested. After A.D. 1300, pollen from tall trees declined precipitously, and by 1840 about 70 percent of the forest had been replaced by bracken ferns and grasses. Starch from the bracken root is a major part of traditional Maori diet. Bracken was not planted, but was maintained and encouraged by frequent burning to remove competing woody plants. Not surprisingly, after A.D. 1300, the frequency of charcoal-bearing layers increased dramatically, in some places by an order of magnitude. Charcoal and bracken spores documents the chronology of human settlement in this region.
"Fern root or aruhe is not the only reason Maori favored open country," argue palynologists Matt McGlone and Janet Wilmshurst of Landcare Research in New Zealand, writing with anthropologist Helen Leach of the University of Otago in the New Zealand Journal of Archaeology in 2006. Traditionally, forest impeded the Maori ability to travel for hunting, gathering or trade. In 1844, the Reverend William Colenso wrote about an overland trip on North Island in which his Maori guides were "vociferating loudly their being privileged to see a koraha maori (indigenous fern-land, open country) again" after traveling for days in dense forest.
Human presence unmistakably altered the animal community of New Zealand too. After A.D. 1300, there was a 50 percent decline in bird species—the loss of about 40 species—that once bred on the New Zealand mainland. In addition, a bat, several species of frogs and numerous lizards became extinct. Remains of all but two of the extinct birds have been recovered from at least one archaeological site, showing they were still present when humans arrived. During the early occupation period, fur seals and sea lions also underwent a marked contraction of their range.
The extinction that causes me personally the greatest heartache was of 11 species of large flightless moas. Most of these birds were about the size of ostriches, but much heavier. The one I would really love to have seen is the wonderful Dinornis or "prodigious bird" named by English paleontologist Richard Owen in 1843. Its bones indicate that the top of its back was over 6 feet high and its weight was about 550 pounds. To have missed seeing such an extraordinary creature severely saddens me.
Probably the Maori felt, or feel, the same way. In 1870 Sir George Grey recorded a Maori saying, "Ka ngaro, I te ngaro, a te moa." This phrase translates as "to be lost as the moa is lost" and refers to a tragic and irreversible loss.
Enter the Rat
But with this remarkably well-documented record, why is it so difficult to date human arrival in New Zealand? Thereby hangs the tail (forgive the pun) of the kiore or Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans. Prior to human arrival, bats were the only indigenous mammals on New Zealand or the other islands of Remote Oceania. The kiore arrived in Polynesia with humans as a notorious and highly successful stowaway, like the Norwegian rat more familiar to Europeans and Americans.
In 1994, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating began at the Rafter Laboratory in New Zealand, making accurate dating of small bones possible. Richard Holdaway of Canterbury University and Atholl Anderson of Australian National University got the brilliant idea of using specimens of Polynesian rats as documents of human presence. Even if the founding colonies of humans were very small and slow to reproduce, the rats that came with humans were likely to have reproduced rapidly and spread quickly. Finding and dating rat bones should be much easier than finding human bones or other human traces. Their idea was to test the reliability of rat bone dates using archaeological specimens from sites of known radiocarbon age and then to extend the method to specimens from natural sites of unknown age.
Holdaway used rat bones, excavated from New Zealand sites that had been formed by laughing owls. These birds swallow their prey whole and, after digestion, sit on favorite roosts and cough up neat little packets of bones known as owl pellets. Based on gelatin extracted from these owl pellet bones, the rats were almost 2,200 years old, as Holdaway reported in 1996 in Nature. However, this meant that rats were present on New Zealand for at least 1,000 years before the earliest archaeological record of humans. Holdaway explained the discrepancy by hypothesizing that Maori had paid an early, transient visit to New Zealand—leaving rats—but did not settle there in numbers until about A.D. 1300.
The early rat dates implied that faunal and floral extinctions in New Zealand occurred in two stages. The first stage saw perhaps a drop in species abundance, but no extinctions: that was the "rats only" phase during which the rodents bred freely and ate plants, fruits, seeds, insects, lizards, snails, eggs and nestlings of ground-breeding birds. The second stage, about 1,000 years later, saw the founding of sizeable settlements of humans who hunted, fished and trapped with enthusiasm, triggering numerous extinctions. This interpretation is known as the traditional or "long chronology" of New Zealand.
Anderson addressed the dating issue by using material from an excavation he had led between 1988 and 1992 of the huge, stratified, moa-hunting middens at a site called Shag River Mouth. The remains of at least 6,000 moas show how skillful and systematic the moa hunters were. Anderson found a pattern of deliberate butchery, with moa heads and necks discarded in one pile, pelvises in another, complete ribcages in a third. The major bone of the thigh, the femur, carried big muscles and was usually intact but the big bone of the lower leg, the tibiotarsus, was smashed, for marrow or to obtain thick bone pieces for manufacturing tools. Sometimes a heap of bones was formed of only one species of moa, suggesting that Maori may have taken down an entire flock. Moas were roasted across small depressions or ovens, many of which were preserved intact.
In addition to moa remains and ovens, there were at least 43 hearths, 36 huts, many adzes and hafted blades, fish hooks, manufacturing tools, various ornaments and two intact moa eggs, one near a human burial. At the time of excavation, Anderson took nearly 50 samples for radiocarbon dating—samples of charcoal from hearths and moa ovens, bird bone, marine shell and moa eggshell—and the dates grouped tightly around A.D. 1350 to 1400.
In the face of this hard evidence that Maori had a very well-developed and effective moa-hunting adaptation between A.D. 1300 and 1400, Anderson was troubled by the early dates Holdaway had obtained for Polynesian rats.
"It just did not make sense to me," Anderson explains, "that people could have been in New Zealand for 1,000 years before they started killing moas and seals, making shell middens, flaking stone and so on. What were they doing instead? Holdaway's default position, that people had arrived and then left almost immediately, also looked improbable to me."
"To resolve the problem, I took six samples of rat bone from the same provenances as the other 50 dating samples from Shag River Mouth. The Rafter laboratory in New Zealand (which had dated Holdaway's rat bones) dated four of them between 180 B.C. and A.D. 700, but two samples that we sent to the lab in Oxford were dated to A.D. 1000–1200. Clearly something was wrong," he says. Anderson's paper suggesting that there were technical problems with dating rat bones was published in Archaeology in Oceania in 1996, at the same time as Holdaway's Nature paper reporting the early dates on rat bones.
This led Anderson and Wilmshurst to argue for the "short" chronology, which favors a more-recent peopling of eastern Polynesia that began about A.D. 900 and reached New Zealand around A.D. 1300.
As the debate proceeded, Anderson noticed that Holdaway's dates clustered according to the time at which the Rafter Laboratory had processed them. Thirty of the first 32 dates calculated by that laboratory fell between 200 B.C. and A.D. 800. Of the next 28 dates run by the same lab, 25 were from A.D. 900 or more recent. Anderson suggested that perhaps the Rafter laboratory had failed to remove contaminating, older carbon from the rat samples in pre-treatment or the rats had incorporated older carbon from their diet into their bones.
Like Anderson, Wilmshurst had found discrepancies between Holdaway's rat dates and the evidence from the sedimentary profiles she examined in the 1990s and early 2000s. In core after core—she has studied more than 150 now—she found a major change in the flora and in the frequency of charcoal-bearing levels dating to about A.D. 1300. The signature of human arrival seemed clear and matched the archaeological evidence.
In the face of skepticism, Holdaway continued to test rat bones, seeking further refinement of the long chronology hypothesis. None of the bones in his second round of testing were as old as those in the first.
In recent years, the short chronology has been strengthened by additional new dates indicating that all of East Polynesia except New Zealand—Hawaii, the Marquesas, Easter Island, the Society Islands—was colonized about A.D. 900, much later than the rat dates in New Zealand. These findings raised a new paradox. If New Zealand was colonized at 200 B.C. and the rest of East Polynesia was not settled until A.D. 900, then the Maori colonizers of New Zealand could not have brought East Polynesian culture to New Zealand when they settled there. However, Maori culture is indisputably part of East Polynesian culture.
Coming from separate perspectives, Wilmshurst and Anderson found themselves agreeing that if the date of Wairau Bar was an accurate document of a very early colonization of New Zealand by humans, then the early rat dates could not be correct. A new approach to testing the dating was needed.
Seeds of Change
In 2001 Wilmshurst recognized a new sort of document of human presence: woody seeds that had been gnawed by rats. She had found many such seeds in her botanical samples and could easily tell rat-gnawed seeds from those broken by birds. She and dating specialist Thomas Higham of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit tried to resolve the debate by using rat-gnawed seeds as proxies for rats. If rats had been present for more than 1,000 years earlier than the Wairau Bar site, there ought to be plenty of older rat-gnawed seeds. But they found none older than Wairau Bar in the two North Island sites.
Urged to look for evidence on South Island, Wilmshurst added Anderson and avian paleontologist Trevor Worthy from the University of Adelaide to her team for a three-year project that used a two-prong approach. First, they re-excavated Holdaway's oldest two sites—called Predator Cave and Earthquakes #1—to collect new rat bones for dating. They also re-examined bones, now in museums, that had been originally collected by Holdaway. Second, Wilmshurst and Higham collected and dated woody seeds from a further eight sites, some on South Island.
As the team reported in a 2008 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, all of the rat bones they tested were more recent than A.D. 1280. The 48 gnawed seeds they dated were all more recent than A.D. 1250. Another 48 intact or bird-broken seeds ranged in age from about 2000 B.C. to about A.D. 1800. A volcanic ash from North Island, in which they found rat-gnawed seeds, provided an independent check as it was dated to A.D. 1314. Combining all of their data, Wilmshurst and her colleagues concluded that the earliest presence of rats in New Zealand was securely dated to about A.D. 1290 to 1380, a range closely matching the dates of the older archaeological sites and confirming the short chronology. Apparently, Polynesian rats took less than 80 years to spread through out North and South Islands—about the same time span recorded for the spread of the European rat, Rattus norvegicus, after its arrival.
With the short chronology established, the massive ecological impact that has been called the "dreadful syncopation" of human arrival, faunal extinction and deforestation is also validated. Within a few centuries of their arrival, the people of eastern Polynesia devastated the animals they found in their new habitat and cut down and burned much of the forested land.
And yet, as Anderson points out, from the point of view of the invading species, this was not a disaster but a triumph.
"The first duty of colonizers is to survive. That requires rapid population growth sustained by consuming the richest resources. Relentless slaughter of large flightless birds and breeding seals, and sustained burning of the forest to open up land for edible ferns and gardening was often the result, but without such environmental change people could hardly have inhabited Remote Oceania at all."
The same might be said of rats.
- Holdaway, R. N. 2006. Arrival of rats in New Zealand. Nature 384:225–226.
- Wilmshurst, J. M., A. J. Anderson, T. F. G. Higham and T. H. Worthy. 2008. Dating the late prehistoric dispersal of Polynesians to New Zealand using the commensal Pacific rat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105:7676–7680. | <urn:uuid:ef002712-d171-419b-9010-479e9f11b336> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/id.4842,y.0,no.,content.true,page.3,css.print/issue.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00174-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967139 | 3,614 | 3.140625 | 3 |
- Historic Sites
The Defense Of Wake
Their High Command abandoned them. Their enemy thought they wouldn’t fight. But a few days after Pearl Harbor, a handful of weary Americans gave the world a preview of what the Axis was up against.
July/August 1987 | Volume 38, Issue 5
In one of the most famous anecdotes of the war, Devereux, asked if he needed anything at Wake, shouted, “Send us more Japs!” The roar of defiance embodied the dogged spirit of beleaguered American troops everywhere. The story became so much a part of the fabric of the war that as late as 1945 The New York Times was still taking it seriously and editorialized that it demonstrated a fierceness not shown even by kamikaze pilots. The only thing known for certain about the celebrated line is that no one at Wake ever said it. The Marines at Wake had all the Japs they wanted. When they heard the story over the shortwave radio, they wondered how anyone could say something that stupid. After the war the official version of how the quote got around was that it was all a mistake. In sending a coded message from Wake to Pearl Harbor, Cunningham’s communications yeoman went through the usual procedure of padding the message with nonsense material and sent out a communiqué reading “SEND US...NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN TO COME TO AID OF THEIR PARTY...CUNNINGHAM...MORE JAPS.”
According to Duane Schultz, an energetic chronicler of the Wake saga, “someone in Honolulu seized upon the opening and closing words of the padding and a propaganda legend was born.” Research as thorough as scanty records and fallible memory can provide offers no proof of this explanation, and it strikes me as even less plausible than the folklore version. In my opinion it is more likely the great quote was an inspired piece of flackery from a Marine public information officer no closer to Wake than the bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel—if it had been a Navy officer, he would have attributed the quote to Cunningham. But, as Devereux commented after the war, no one knows for sure.
Following the battle of December 11, real life on Wake settled into a deadly routine. For the next week the Japanese bombing was constant and methodical. A morning raid by land-based planes and a smaller one at dusk by seaplanes kept punishing Wake’s defenses. The men on the ground worked to save their precious Wildcats. Technically each plane had been destroyed twice over, but the ground crews had become expert scroungers. By taking propellers and spare parts from one plane and slapping them into another, they managed to keep something flyable. Once the crews actually wrenched a hot engine out of a crashed plane while the fuselage burned around them.
Next to Japanese bombardment, the greatest enemy faced by the Marines was simple fatigue. Devereux figured he never got more than two hours’ sleep at any one time during the entire siege. Officers and men suffered from exhaustion as one day blurred into the next, punctuated only by bombing raids and burial details. Devereux recalled, “The men became so punch-drunk from weariness that frequently a man would forget an order almost as soon as he turned away, and sometimes it was hard for you to remember.”
In their weariness everything seemed to conspire against the Marines. The birds that flocked around Wake suddenly seemed full of dark menace, and the men frequently mistook them for incoming bombers and sounded the alarm. Even in their foxholes there was little rest for the Marines as the island rats became more voracious, digging into shelters, looking for food and safety from the bombing.
Inevitably tempers became taut. It is unlikely that Cunningham and Devereux could have worked comfortably together even in garrison duty. Each man had a nice appreciation for the prerogatives of his rank and a good measure of the vanity common to men accustomed to exerting authority over their fellows. The memoirs of both men make obvious the fact that they didn’t like each other. The strain of combat in close quarters made a thorny situation worse. Devereux had his hands full conducting the tactical defense of Wake, and he resented reporting to an officer so inexperienced in such matters that he did not know the gunnery characteristics of the weaponry in use. Battle is not a good time to be instructing your commanding officer in ballistics. Cunningham, in turn, was in a nightmarish situation. On November 29 he had come to Wake to be responsible for a brand new naval air station, and two weeks later his command was being blown to pieces and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Cunningham, according to one reviewing Marine officer, “appears to have taken refuge from his own lack of experience and technical capacity by enveloping himself in authority. He attempted to supervise every detail of the defense exactly as the captain of a man-of-war would fight his ship, even down to an attempt to select precise moments for opening and cessation of fire.” Cunningham was clearly beyond his depth at Wake, and as early as December 15 headquarters at Pearl Harbor had decided to relieve him with a Marine colonel, if he could somehow be transported out there. | <urn:uuid:cf2abe8c-6eb9-4d1c-9fdb-9d16d63bb43e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.americanheritage.com/content/defense-wake?page=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982405 | 1,102 | 2.875 | 3 |
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