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Anubis, Companion to Osiris (Cont)
By Lee McGiffen
Immortal and Mortal Stars
Let us be more specific about the distinction between these two types of stars. The Pyramid Texts distinguish between the circumpolar stars which are considered immortal or imperishable, because they do not descend below the horizon, and the non-polar stars which are considered mortal, because they set and enter the Underworld, the Land of the Dead.
The cycle of the mortal stars is a metaphor of the reincarnation of the soul. But as in Buddhism, the ultimate aim is to escape the cycle of incarnation and to become immortal like the never-setting stars.
The relationship between the immortal and the mortal stars is reflected in the relationship between Anubis and Osiris. Anubis is immortal because he represents Ursa Minor. Osiris is mortal because he represents Orion's Belt. Orion's Belt may have taken on even more significance in this context. Knowing of the precession of the pole, the priests would have known that Orion's Belt takes up a position on the celestial equator, precisely at that era when Polaris in the constellation of Anubis took up its position at the celestial pole.
The doctrine of the mortal and immortal twins is widespread. For example, it occurs in the Zoroastrian tradition as the pair Yima and Mithras. In Greek mythology, it is Castor and Pollux, who are constellated in the sky as the two brightest stars in Gemini. The myth of Castor and Pollux does not belong to Gemini. The myth of the mortal and immortal twins is about circumpolar and non-polar stars. The myth of Castor and Pollux shows how an ancient Egyptian myth of duality in the sky can be constellated into a single constellation in a seemingly unrelated part of the sky.
Dedicated Servers and Cloud Servers by Gigenet. Invert Colour Scheme / Default |
Q: At the company where I work, the project managers use the phrase “speak to” like this: “Would you be able to speak to this question?” Is that usage correct? Or is it just another “office-ism”?
A: People use the expression “speak to,” meaning to address an issue, in two different ways.
The first usage, as in the example “increased crime speaks to the need for vigilance,” goes back to the 17th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. In this sense, “speak to” means to influence or to constitute evidence of something.
The second usage, as in “let me speak to that,” also goes back at least as far as the 17th century. The OED cites several published examples of “speak to” in the sense of to deal with or discuss or comment on. The first citation is from 1610: “I desire them therefore to speake to these foure points.”
So both usages are well-established. But these days they’re also much overused, especially in muddy or imprecise writing. I find the second one the most annoying. When I hear people say, “Let me speak to that,” I expect them to speak around a point without really addressing it. In other words, here comes a half-baked comment.
Buy Pat’s books at a local store or Amazon.com. |
As expected, the US EPA this week took two formal actions finding that: (1) greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare; and (2) greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles contribute to the greenhouse gas pollution which threatens public health and welfare. The details of the EPA’s “endangerment findings” are available on the EPA’s climate change regulatory initiatives webpage.
These findings have been nearly inevitable ever since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Massachusetts v. EPA decision in 2007, which held that greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and that the EPA must either issue an endangerment finding or justify a decision not to do so. With the overwhelming scientific data and studies demonstrating the harm from greenhouse gas pollution and climate change (heat waves, reduced freshwater supplies, coastal flooding, harmful air quality, infectious diseases, etc.) the endangerment finding was the only lawful outcome.
While the endangerment finding does not on its own impose new restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, it does trigger several regulatory requirements under the federal Clean Air Act. Most immediately, the endangerment finding allows the EPA to finalize its proposed greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles, which will require far more efficient cars and trucks (up to 35 mpg) in coming years. The endangerment finding will also likely lead to new restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from large stationary sources, such as coal-fired power plants and garbage incinerators.
I don’t want to dismiss the importance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen taking place over the next two weeks, but this action by the EPA will have more immediate and tangible implications for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. President Obama’s expected appearance in Copenhagen is a statement to the world that the US is committed to addressing climate change. But this action by the Obama EPA does more than make a statement – it sets in motion the full power of the US EPA to regulate climate change pollution from cars, power plants, and other major sources. |
How to grow a reader
Tips for turning a fledgling reader into a voracious one.
By Peg Tyre
Once your child has figured out how to decode words and can actually read in a sustained way, then a chunk of his schooling should be focused on helping him squeeze meaning and richness out of the experience. You may remember the whole-language ideas about exposing kids to print through fiction, poetry, newspapers, and drama? It is the wrong way to teach kids to read. But getting kids excited about the written word is a great way to turn fledgling readers into voracious readers.
And here's where all parents should step up to the plate. You've been reading to your child, great. Don't stop. Books on tape in the car work, too. But now that she is a reader, surround her with print. Get a newspaper delivered. Get her a library card and make the library a regular stop, like the grocery store and the dry cleaner. And get over your view of what "proper" book reading looks like — fiction, nonfiction, comic books, how-tos, mysteries, sports biographies, magazines about current events, fast cars, sleek airplanes, or video gaming. Open the door wide. Find ways to bring what she is reading into the conversation. Ask questions like: What kind of book is it? What is the setting? What happens? What do you like/not like about the way the author writes?
Word by word
Similar but more formal versions of this should be happening at school, but parents can reinforce this learning at home. Watch for it. If your child is reading and sampling a wide enough variety of material, he will be encountering a lot of words in print that he doesn't know. He should be able to sound out unfamiliar words. First, encourage him to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words from their context, for example, what could propulsion mean based on the words that came before and after it? Then, see if he can tease out the meaning of the word by finding its root. For instance, the word propel is hidden in propulsion and gives a strong hint for the meaning of the word.
Teachers help students build comprehension through the systemic study of words. Yes, weekly vocabulary words. Kids who study words — by this I mean systematically learning their meanings — have larger vocabularies but are also better readers. It's not too effective for the teacher to hand out a list of ten words and have kids look them up and then take a test. They need to hear the words, see them, speak them, and write them that week and in the weeks that follow.
Word lists alone, though, aren't enough. Kids encounter an average of three thousand new words a year — more than eight a day. Unless the entire school day is going to be given over to word study (and no one thinks this is a good idea), teachers must instruct children on how to shave off chunks of an unfamiliar word and tease out its meaning by studying suffixes, prefixes, and the meaning of common root words.
Comprehension, fluency, and stamina should be growing steadily stronger as your child moves through school. Schools need to ensure that happens. So do parents. Do your part. |
The rise of organic farming and rejection of GM crops in Britain and other developed countries is largely to blame for the impoverishment of Africa, according to the government's former chief scientist.
Sir David King, who left the job at the end of last year, says anti-scientific attitudes towards modern agriculture are being exported to Africa and holding back a green revolution that could dramatically improve the continent's food supply.
King, who is due to give the presidential address at the British Association's Festival of Science in Liverpool this evening, will criticise non-governmental organisations and the UN in his speech for backing traditional farming techniques, which he says cannot provide enough food for the continent's growing population. "The problem is that the western world's move toward organic farming - a lifestyle choice for a community with surplus food - and against agricultural technology in general and GM in particular, has been adopted across the whole of Africa, with the exception of South Africa, with devastating consequences."
Last week, King, who is now director of the Smith school of enterprise and the environment at Oxford University, said genetically modified crops could help Africa mirror the substantial increases in crop production seen in India and China. "What was demonstrated [there] was that modern agricultural technologies can multiply crop production per hectare by factors of seven to 10." But traditional techniques could "not deliver the food for the burgeoning population of Africa".
King said a recent report chaired by Professor Robert Watson, the government's chief scientific adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was shortsighted. The report concluded that GM crops had only a minor part to play in eradicating world hunger. The research, based on the findings of 400 scientists, noted that food was cheaper and diets better than 40 years ago, but that while enough food was produced to feed the global population, still 800 million people went hungry.
"You cannot argue that Africa has hunger because it doesn't have GM today," said Watson. "We have more food today than ever before but it isn't getting to the right people. It's not a food production problem, it's a rural development problem."
King will also call for a shift in research towards tackling climate change. More effort, he says, is needed on solar power, which could provide enough energy for the world 10,000 times over. |
The hope of eradicating polio from the planet by the end of 2012 is in serious doubt, a monitoring committee is warning, because the virus is resurgent in places where it had disappeared and cases continue to rise in Pakistan, one of four countries where it is endemic.
"It is on a knife-edge," said Sir Liam Donaldson, the UK's former chief medical officer who now chairs the independent monitoring board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. "Success would be a terrific achievement. To eliminate only the second global epidemic disease [after smallpox] would be a tremendous public health triumph, but failure to do so would have enormous consequences. It is a disease that not only affects individuals and families but erodes economic prosperity in some of the countries affected."
Donaldson considers the continued transmission of polio to be "a global health emergency". Eradicating the disease, he said, "is still feasible but more urgency is needed to complete it. The plan to stop transmission by the end of 2012 is not on track."
The latest report from Donaldson's board, set up last year to monitor and guide the eradication effort, shows that a key target was missed at the end of last year. By the end of 2010, polio should have been stamped out in countries where there had been a resurgence after elimination. It did not happen. The report shows that polio has reappeared in 14 countries.
"The milestone was conclusively missed and the programme must be judged to have performed poorly in this regard," it says.
The biggest concerns are for Chad and Democratic Republic of Congo, with 59 and 80 cases respectively this year. "We are deeply concerned by the situation in DR Congo," says the report. "The worrying picture revealed by vaccination and surveillance data is confirmed by observations of widespread dysfunction on the ground.
"Leadership from the highest level is key for polio eradication and we urge the active involvement of the president in this case. Without his active involvement, we cannot believe that the necessary step-change will occur to interrupt polio transmission in DR Congo."
Polio in Chad, says the report, is widespread and the situation is "of great concern". An emergency action plan has been put into place, but not as quickly as the monitoring board had hoped. The World Health Organisation and Unicef have sent in 100 extra staff to boost vaccination efforts. "The difficult and crucial challenge now is to assemble this new surge of staff into a coordinated functioning team with the utmost speed."Both these countries and 12 others where polio cases have been identified had stopped transmission for at least six months. Four countries have not yet succeeded in doing that – in India, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, polio is still endemic.
Excellent progress has been made in India, where mass vaccination days involving more than a million volunteers brought down cases by 94% between 2009 and 2010, from 741 to 42. In the first six months of this year, there has been just one case.
Afghanistan has been doing relatively well in spite of difficulties caused by conflict. Nigeria made excellent progress in 2010, but there has been a loss of momentum following elections, the report says. The leadership is committed, but Kano, in the north, where the Muslim population a few years ago refused immunisation because of false rumours that the vaccine would sterilise their children, "remains a smouldering risk that could yet undermine the whole eradication effort," the board says.
But in Pakistan, cases are going up, not down and conflict and the dismantling of a national ministry of health in favour of local control does not help. "It still looks like it will be the last country to stop transmission, putting its neighbours and the global effort in jeopardy," says the report. "The country needs to muster up relentless energy to really get to grips with the challenges of implementing its emergency action plan." |
Take a moment to think about scenarios where the child is punished for feeling an emotion. She might be shamed, attacked, physically hurt (spankings, slappings, pinchings, etc) or verbally hurt (teased, mocked, degraded, etc).
"Stop crying. You're okay. That clown isn't scary."
"Shut up. I don't care if you're angry. My house, my rules."
"Give Aunt Mary a kiss. She's family."
"Don't you dare growl at that man! He was just being nice."
Oh, knock off the tears. It was just a little tumble. Stop being a baby."
"What do you mean, you aren't hungry? Do you know how hard your dad works to put food on the table?"
"Get back into your bed right this second. There is nothing to be scared about."
In all of these examples, the child feels an emotion and is acting on that emotion. The parents might not want the child to express an emotion a certain way, but through accident or on purpose, the parent ends up punishing the child for feeling the emotion. The child learns that some emotions are welcome and some are prohibited. Notice that guidance on how to process, express or relieve the "offending" emotion is rarely present. The child is left with few options...repress, dismiss or detach. None of these are healthy, in addition to losing out on learning opportunities.
What are examples of unconditional parenting, where the child is guided without being punished for the underlying emotion (or want/need)?
"I hear you crying. Are you scared of the clown? Let's step into the other room to talk about this."
"You're feeling angry about my decision. Do you want to share your thoughts?" (Notice that the decision is concrete. It's not up for debate, although per your decision, it can be open for discussion. This is especially helpful w/ older children, who can learn valuable resolution and team skills that will help them in their careers and relationships).
"Aunt Mary wants to give you a kiss. No? Okay, Aunt Mary, I'm sure she'll warm up to you over time. Thank you for respecting her boundaries."
"That man looked like he was being nice to you, but you growled at him. Did something feel wrong to you? It's okay to feel worried about someone, but we don't growl at people. Next time squeeze my hand when you feel worried about someone."
"Ouch! That tumble looked painful. Want a hug?"
"If your tummy is saying it's not hungry, then I will put your veggies in the fridge for later."
"Why are you out of bed? You say you feel scared. Let's double check the room and make sure we turned on the nightlight."
Here is an excerpt from "Awakening Intuition" by Mona Lisa Schulz that does a good job summarizing how a punitive paradigm can set the stage for a life of detachment and repression. These harsh scripts are given to us in childhood and become the story of our life unless we work very hard to replace them. As parents, we can work hard to never give them to our own children:
"All too often, however, we don't recognize our own feelings. We walk around feeling sad without really even knowing that sadness is the name of what we feel and without knowing why we feel the way we do.
Say you're a child and you're walking down the street with your mother when you run into an uncle on your father's side of the family whom you don't like because once, when you were alone with him, he touched you in a way you knew wasn't good. "Oh, honey, here's Uncle Ned," your mother says. "Shake hands with Uncle Ned." Instead of shaking his hand, of course, you shake your head, pull back, and try to hide behind your mother.
You're full of fear of this person who you know instinctively has violated you in some way, and you're also angry at being forced to greet him now as though nothing ever happened. But you can't put a name to your feeling, because you are a child and the language of your emotions isn't yet fully developed. "I hate him!" you cry. Your mother, embarrassed, scolds you. "Of course you don't hate Uncle Ned! He's a wonderful man," she says. "Now, you be good and shake his hand right now!"
The emotions you're feeling are being invalidated on the spot. So you begin at that moment to comprehend a particular language of emotions. You know that every time you see this man, your flesh crawls, your heart skips a beat, and you go cold all over. And then you begin to unplug from your emotional intuition network. Your emotions are there to protect you, but you're being taught not to hear or heed them.
This happens repeatedly in our lives. You have no right to be angry, we're told as children, because look at what you have--you have food, you have clothing, think of all the starving children in Africa. You shouldn't be angry, you should be grateful. So you quickly learn to bottle up your anger or to turn it aside. Instead you hang out with some other emotion, such as shame."
Want to learn more about parenting without shame, without fear, without punishment? Check out these resources. All links open to a new window.
Gavin's book gives concrete advice on how to get back in touch with OUR intuition for our children's sake:
Tricky people, not strangers, are the ones to worry about:
Can I have a hug? [This article might have some small pieces that are not entirely acceptable, but overall provides examples on other things to do during awkward greetings instead of outright coerce your child.]
Obedience, at what cost?
When children feel bad:
And my blog post here is a list of even more parenting resources:
|Copyright Eva L.|
When we acknowledge and affirm our children and their emotions, including the bad emotions, we can then guide them to healthy, effective expressions. This will give our children the skills they need to be authentic in their relationships. So ask yourself: do you want forced obedience from your child? Do you want your child to hug someone while feeling shaky inside? Do you want your child to smile outside while crying inside? What is the goal in your parenting? |
Lugar de Noticias Haynes and Boone
Shale wells are well-regulated: Pennsylvania has all the tools it needs to extract gas safely
Christopher S. Kulander
Americans everywhere are familiar with the iconic Pennsylvania image of Drake's Well in Titusville, the first oil well in America. Nowadays, oil and gas are often extracted from "tight" rock formations that do not allow for "gushers" like in the old movies. Such formations, like the Marcellus Shale in Western Pennsylvania, may be filled with gas or oil but only allow them to flow along cracks in the rock known as "fractures."
Hydraulic fracturing - sometimes called "fracking" - involves directly injecting fluid into these tight formations at very high pressures to create man-made fractures. Generally, the more fractures created, the more gas production.
Fracking is a key technology that has made production from the Marcellus Shale economical. Without fracking, the shale gas boom in America might never have started. At U.S. production rates for 2007, estimated reserves could provide enough natural gas to supply the United States for the next 90 years. Separate estimates of shale gas resources extend this supply to
Whether fracking poses an environmental concern, Pennsylvania is on top of the issue. An additional layer of bureaucracy could lead to burdensome operational delays and increased production costs, which would, in turn, impede progress in the development of Pennsylvania's natural gas assets and the jobs and revenue that the Marcellus Shale promises to generate. Proponents of federal involvement should show that existing or contemplated state laws governing fracking and water-management are ineffective. Otherwise, Pennsylvania should be left to manage its dramatic return to the national energy stage free of federal oversight.
Excerpted from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. To read the full article, click here. |
The Hathaway Brown School Library Program prepares its students to be effective and efficient users of information by providing print and electronic resources that serve the educational needs of the school community, while encouraging a deep appreciation of literature and reading for personal enjoyment.
The Primary School Library serves the Primary and Early Childhood divisions, which include preschool through grade four. Each class in the Primary School visits the library once during the rotation for story times and other literacy activities with the librarians.
The Middle School Library serves grades five through twelve. Fifth and sixth graders visit the library once a rotation for information literacy lessons, booktalks and selection of books to read for personal enjoyment.
The Martha Frohring Geisel Library serves nine through twelve. The Geisel Library has computers for student use and houses the School's archives collection. |
If you still have this box in your house, there are more and more reasons why you should get rid of it...
An increasing number of parents today are using the television as an 'electronic babysitter', according to evidence. Some parents tell their children that watching too much TV will make their eyes go square and, although this is not true, evidence is emerging that watching too much TV as a child could mean they end up with a larger waistline.
A new study, featured in BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal of Behavioral nutrition and Physical Activity, has discovered that children's muscular fitness decreases the more hours young children spend in front of the television and that their waist lines become larger as they approach their teens, which can have potential health consequences in their adulthood.
According to recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics, children below the age of two years old should not exceed more than two hours of television per day, yet more and more parents appear to use the TV as an 'electronic babysitter'.
Researchers from Montreal University in Canada decided to investigate whether the number of hours spent watching TV during early childhood is linked to lower subsequent physical fitness once these children are at school.
The team used participants from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, and surveyed the children's parents asking them to report the number of hours their child watched TV per week at the age of 29 and 53 months. Given that muscle strength and abdominal fat are associated with the level of fitness, the researchers examined the children in the second and fourth grade by measuring their waist circumference and using the standing long jump test.
They discovered that for each hour per week of watching TV at the age of 29 months, children scored 0.361 cm less in the Standing Long Jump, which suggests a lower muscle strength compared with those who watched less television at that age. By increasing the weekly TV exposure by just one extra hour between the age of 29 and 53 months predicted an additional 0.285 cm less in the test. Another important finding was the fact that waist circumference at fourth grade increased by 0.047 cm for every hour of television watched between the ages of 29 and 53 months, which translates to a 0.41 cm larger waistline by the age of 10, or a 0.76 cm larger waistline in those who watched over 18 hours of TV a week.
The result could predict that those children who spend an excessive amount of time in front of the TV as a child could experience negative health outcomes in their later life due to their larger waistline and lower muscle strength, as physical fitness is directly associated with future health and longevity.
Leading researcher, Dr Caroline Fitzpatrick from New York University who performed the study at Montreal University and Saint-Justine's Hospital Research Centre, concluded:
"TV is a modifiable lifestyle factor, and people need to be aware that toddler viewing habits may contribute to subsequent physical health. Further research will help to determine whether amount of TV exposure is linked to any additional child health indicators, as well as cardiovascular health." |
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Another potential target is the KCC2 transporter on spinal-cord neurons. One of the characteristics of chronic pain is an increased concentration of chloride ions in neurons, which causes them to fire in a hyperexcited manner. Because a normal-functioning KCC2 removes chloride from the cells, something happens in chronic pain that causes the KCC2 to down-regulate and allow for a rise in chloride concentration. We've shown that both the activation of P2X4 and the rise in intracellular chloride concentrations are necessary for maintaining chronic pain.
In addition to finding new approaches to treating chronic pain, we need better ways of diagnosing it. Individuals with intractable pain often stop talking about their problem because few people believe them. It's no surprise, then, that many patients with this condition become depressed and may even begin to prefer the thought of death to living with their intense pain. An objective diagnostic test would allow people with neuropathic pain to say “my microglia cells are activated” or “the chloride concentration in my spinal neurons is too high,” much as we cite cholesterol or glucose readings now. Being able to point to a physiological difference would allow patients suffering from chronic pain to gain legitimacy and, as a consequence, merit higher priority among medical practitioners, researchers, and the public.
The work in our lab might help with that problem. By quantifying the physiological changes involved in chronic pain, we may be able to create assays to measure microglia activation or a change in chloride-ion concentration.
Our goal is that this research will ultimately lead to viable therapeutic options as well.
A physician-scientist, Michael Salter received his M.D. from the University of Western Ontario and his Ph.D. from McGill University.
Interview by Amy Stone |
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Antibiotic-resistant Neisseria: Exciting College Freshmen About Genetics
This curriculum unit for college freshmen uses a complex and current problem that affects science and society—the antibiotic resistance of the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, a very common sexually transmitted disease—to teach gene expression, natural selection, and other fundamental concepts of biology in a real-world context. Developed by participants in the Teaching Fellows Program of the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, the unit employs scientific teaching—an approach that reflects the nature of science by encouraging students to actively seek, interpret, and synthesize information rather than to passively memorize facts. The core of the unit is a case study: Students are asked to imagine that they run a public health clinic in Racine, Wisconsin. They must create a multifaceted plan to address the societal, political, and economic issues connected with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea. The unit, designed for three 50-minute class periods, incorporates a variety of active learning strategies (mini-lectures, group problem solving) and frequent in-class assessments to help students expand their understanding of antibiotic resistance. The online curriculum unit describes learning goals and intended outcomes; it also contains supplemental materials (such as PowerPoints and a podcast). An analysis of the curriculum unit’s success in increasing students’ understanding of complex biological topics is available at CBE Life Sciences Education, an online journal. Other teaching units in the areas of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and molecular biology are also available from the Scientific Teaching Program’s digital library.
HHMI Professor: Jo Handelsman, Ph.D.
Award Years: 2002, 2006
Summary: Jo Handelsman, Ph.D., is an HHMI Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who studies the communications networks of microbial communities. Her HHMI-funded educational initiatives include:
- The Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, which trains scientists to bring the same creativity and rigor to their teaching as they bring to their research through two initiatives:
- The HHMI Teaching Fellows Program, which gives graduate students and postdoctoral fellows opportunities to learn the principles of scientific teaching and mentoring through course work, practical experience, and the development of curricula; and
- The annual HHMI-National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology, which selects some 40 faculty to participate in a five-day workshop in which they develop instructional materials for introductory biology courses.
- The HHMI Undergraduate Research Scholars program, which improves the research experience for students from groups underrepresented in the sciences. The students, selected from a national pool to work in labs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, meet weekly with Dr. Handelsman to discuss their research, interactions with mentors, and careers in biology.
- The creation of a course on the influence of human diversity on the way students learn and are treated by their instructors. The goal is to educate future teachers about the role diversity plays in the classroom and to create teaching materials to help instructors address diversity issues in biology courses.
- The development of a “cohort model” for summer research programs that will attempt to ease the transition of undergraduates who are members of minority groups to graduate school at predominantly majority-serving universities; and
- The creation of materials for a capstone undergraduate seminar, Science and Technology in Society. |
ArticlesFemale Teen Athletes: At Risk for Injury?
Knees Are Casualties of Women's Sports
Interactive ToolsKnee Care Quiz
Diseases and ConditionsKnee Pain and Problems
Ligament Injuries to the Knee
Knee injuries are common problems—and not just in athletes. Often the cartilage, called the meniscus, can be damaged when you twist your upper leg while keeping your foot in one place. Learn how meniscal injuries are treated and how you can prevent them. |
Vishu is the New Year of Malayalis – it is the astronomical or zodiac New Year in Kerala and is observed on the first day of the Malayalam month of ‘medam.’ In 2014, the date of Vishu is April 15. Historically the festival is closely associated with the agrarian economy of Kerala – a state is the southern part of
. The highlight of the festival is Vishukani, Vishukaineetam and Vishubhalam. India
The Vishu day celebrations begin with the ‘Vishukani.’ ‘Vishu Kani’ is the first auspicious thing that people see on the day and this takes place during the Brahma Muhurta or ideally between 0400 hrs and 0600 hrs.
The ‘Vishukani’ is usually prepared on the night before the Vishu day. Immediately on awakening from sleep, people close their eyes and proceed towards the place where Vishukani is placed. This is known as Kani Kanal – kani means ‘that which is seen first.’
Vishukani consists of rice, kasavu mundu (traditional cloth of Kerala), gold, silver, coins, mirror (usually Aranmula Kannadi or mirror with a tail), cucumber, mango, jackfruit, coconut, banana, and Kanikonna (yellow flower known as Indian Laburnum). The Vishukani is exhibited in an ‘urali’ – a traditional vessel of Kerala. It is placed in front of an idol or portrait of Lord Krishna. Traditional Kerala lamp is lit near it.
Then, the eldest member in the family gives ‘Vishukaineetam’ to the family members. The Vishukaineetam is usually coins but nowadays people also prefer other expensive gifts. Hindus then worship at nearby Sri Krishna temples.
Vegetarian food, consisting of traditional Kerala fare, is prepared on the day and includes the mouthwatering ‘payasam.’
From an astrological point of view, Vishu is of immense significance. The day and night are of equal duration on the Vishu day (12 hours). ‘Vishubhalam’ or the predictions for the next year is read on the day.
The preparation for next agricultural season begins on the Vishu day. Earlier, farmers used to plough the land on this day and it was referred as ‘Vishupootu.’
It must be noted that Vishu is not the first day in the regional solar calendar followed in Kerala. The Malayalam Calendar begins in Chingam (August).
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Navy Regulations for Ships Passing Washington's Tomb
Navy Regulations for Ceremonies for United States National Anniversaries and Memorial Day
"The ship was delayed by head-winds so that we did not reach Washington till late in May. We passed the frigate United States in the lower part of the Potomac. About 10 o'clock in the morning of a beautifully serene day, we passed Mount Vernon. Every one was on deck to look upon the dwelling where Washington had made his home. Mrs. Washington and others of the family could be distinguished in the portico which fronts the river. When opposite the house, by order of Captain Sever, the sails were lowered, the colors displayed half-masted, and a mourning salute of thirteen guns was fired as a mark of respect to the memory of Washington, whose life had so recently closed, and whose tomb was in our view. The general silence on board the ship and around us, except when broken by the cannon's sound, the echo and re-echo of that sound from the near and distant hills, as it died away in the distance, the whole ship's company uncovered and motionless, and the associations connected with the ceremony, seemed to make a deep impression upon all, as they did certainly upon me. When the salute was finished the sails were again set, the colors hoisted, and we proceeded up the river. The frigate New York had preceded us, without saluting, but we found her grounded on the bar at the entrance of the eastern branch of the Potomac, and the Congress, passing her, was the first ship of war that reached what has since become the Navy Yard at Washington. The frigates New York and United States joined us a few days afterwards."
"I am happy to have it in my power to say that I escaped in person and property all kind of injury and loss. The squadron lay at this place some days in its ascent and on its return, and yet I do not believe that during the whole time a single barge approached this shore. This distinguished forbearance I owe to the generous feelings of Commodore Gordon for a place which had once been the residence of my venerated Uncle. He expressed to one of the Alexandria commissioners, who was deputed to stipulate for the safety of the town, an anxious desire to visit this spot, but was so delicate as to declare his resolution not to do so, presuming that my official situation would render such a step peculiarly embarrassing & disagreeable to me. He further added that he would commit no act of hostility injurious to this place even though the militia should make their appearance on it. I have much reason to thank him for such sentiments & conduct, and should it ever be my good fortune to see him in peace here or elsewhere, I should be proud to give him proofs of my gratitude."
"Salutes on the 22nd of February, &c. On the anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Confederate States, and on the twenty-second day of February, the anniversary of the birth of Washington, a salute of twenty-one guns shall be fired at meridian from vessels in commission and navy yards." (Art. 25)
"Marine guard and band paraded; bell tolled and colors halfmasted at the beginning of the tolling of the bell. When opposite Washington's Tomb, buglers sound taps, marine guard present arms, and officers and men on deck stand at attention and salute. The colors will be mastheaded at the last note of taps which will also be the signal for 'carry on.' " (General Order No. 22, June 2, 1906)
31 March 1997 |
Ear, Nose, and Throat Facts
Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
Smell and Taste Disorders (Chemosensory Disorders)
Speech and Voice Disorders
Vocal Cord Disorders
Other Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
Laryngeal Cancer (Cancer of the Larynx)
Hearing and Speech Communication Services and Devices
Otolaryngology is the medical specialty that focuses on disorders in the ear, nose, and throat.
Although many of us think of hearing loss, sinus problems, or ear infections when we think of otolaryngology, it encompasses much more.
Otolaryngology and its allied services provide care for a wide range of disorders, including hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language.
Otolaryngologists also manage the treatment of head and neck cancers, as well as perform reconstructive and cosmetic plastic surgery. |
Bringing the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols to the 21st Century
The ICRC Commentaries on the 1949 Geneva Conventions date back to the 1950s and those on the 1977 Additional Protocols were subsequently developed in the 1980s. Since the original Commentaries were published, the Conventions and Protocols have been put to the test. Practice with respect to their application and interpretation has grown significantly. In order to capture these developments, a major ICRC project to update the Commentaries is now well underway.
Jean-Marie Henckaerts, legal adviser and head of the project, describes the nature of the initiative and what the ICRC hopes to achieve.
Would you explain the purpose of the ICRC Commentaries?
The Commentaries are an excellent resource to get a better understanding of each provision of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. They provide guidance on how each provision is to be interpreted and applied in order to secure better protection for the victims of armed conflict. Hence, they are a valuable tool for practitioners, lawyers, judges and scholars who apply or study international humanitarian law.
In order to interpret and apply a treaty correctly, it is essential to understand the exact meaning of the words used and the relationship between different provisions. The basic rule is that a treaty must be interpreted in good faith, in accordance with the ordinary meaning attached to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of the objective and purpose of the treaty. Subsequent practice of States Parties in interpreting and applying the treaty has to be taken into account as well. The analysis of subsequent practice therefore represents an important part of the project’s research. Even so, the meaning of some terms may remain ambiguous or obscure, which is why recourse can be had to supplementary means of interpretation, including the work preparatory to the adoption of the treaty.
Why is the ICRC updating the Commentaries?
The original Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions and Protocols were based primarily on the negotiating history of these treaties and on prior practice and, in that respect, they remain largely valid. However, the passage of time and the development of practice have made it necessary to update them.
The update will reflect the experience gained in applying the Conventions and Protocols during the last few decades, while preserving the elements of the existing Commentaries that are still relevant. The object is to add to the latter to ensure that the Commentaries reflect contemporary reality and legal interpretation.
Can you give examples of areas where the Commentaries need to be updated?
Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, for example, states that the ‘High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and ensure respect’ for these Conventions ‘in all circumstances’. The international community’s understanding of the obligation to ‘ensure respect’ for humanitarian law has significantly expanded since the 1950s. The updated Commentaries seek to capture and present this understanding.
Another example relates to the area of humanitarian activities where the Conventions provide that both the ICRC and ‘any other impartial humanitarian organization’ may offer to undertake such activities. The context in which this occurs today, in terms of the diversity of actors as well as the challenges for humanitarian action, are very different from when the original Commentaries were written.
In another area, occupation law, the update will be able to offer further clarification on a range of issues, such as the beginning and end of occupation and on the security measures an occupying power may take in an occupied territory. In this respect, the update will be able to draw on the ICRC’s long experience in this area and on a series of expert meetings that it organized.
How are you approaching this research?
The preparatory research is undertaken by topic, not article by article. This is necessary in order to ensure consistency throughout the Commentaries, because many topics are dealt with in one or more of the Conventions and Protocols. For example, provisions dealing with the wounded and sick can be found in the First, Second and Fourth Geneva Conventions and in both Additional Protocols. So, the preparatory work for the updated commentaries on these provisions has to be undertaken together. This method gives us a better overview of the issues involved. Other such cross-cutting issues include, for example, the protection of children, missing persons, the restoration of family links, humanitarian assistance and the use of distinctive emblems.
What sources are you relying on to update the Commentaries?
Research for the project examines a variety of sources relevant for the application and interpretation of the treaties in recent decades, including military manuals, legislation and case law, as well as academic commentary and the ICRC’s own field experience. In addition, consultations with practitioners take place. The project also uses the ICRC’s customary law database, in particular for access to State practice with respect to the application and interpretation of humanitarian law.
Where relevant, the update will also take into account developments in related areas of international law, such as international criminal law and international human rights law. These areas were still in their infancy when the Geneva Conventions were adopted, and have grown significantly in recent years.
Are external experts supporting the project?
Yes. While the updated Commentaries will be published by the ICRC, the process leading up to their publication will involve external experts at various levels. Several external contributors have been invited to draft part of the Commentaries, alongside in-house lawyers who draft other parts. Furthermore, the Editorial Committee overseeing the drafting of the Commentaries comprises well-known external experts, in addition to senior ICRC lawyers. Before they are finalized, the draft Commentaries will undergo a ‘peer review’ by a selection of scholars and practitioners involved in the application of humanitarian law.
Please explain the process and format for the publication of the updated Commentaries?
We plan to publish the volumes of the Commentaries as they become available, aiming for the updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention to be available in 2015 and the other volumes in subsequent years.
The updated Commentaries will follow the same format as the original versions: an article-by-article commentary on each of the provisions of the treaties. The new edition will provide many references to practice and academic literature, which should facilitate further research and reading. In addition, detailed cross-references will make it easy to find information on related provisions in the Commentaries.
The updated Commentaries have to be accessible and widely available. Therefore, in addition to print, we plan to make the updated Commentaries available electronically.. The electronic version will facilitate search and navigation. |
1882 Greatest tonnage shipped on the canal in a year,
more than 1 million tons.
1900 Sanitary and Ship Canal opens.
1911 Texaco oil refinery opens in Lockport; Starved Rock
designated a state park.
1914-1918 I&M experiences a brief resurgence during World War I.
1922 Cal Sag Channel opens.
1933 Illinois Waterway opens
and I&M Canal officially
closes; Civilian Conser-vation
camps along the I&M to make repairs.
1935 Designation of Illinois and Michigan Canal State Park-way
from Joliet to LaSalle.
1941-1945 U.S. involvement in World War II.
1942-1945 Town of Seneca builds LST’s (landing ship tanks), and
the Joliet Arsenal provides TNT for American troops in
World War II.
1963 I&M Canal designated a National Historic Landmark.
1964 Stevenson Expressway opens in Chicago, built over
the first seven miles of the I&M Canal; dedication of
old canal warehouse in Utica for the LaSalle County
Palos & Sag Valley
National Historic Site
Billie Limacher Will-
Joliet Bicentennial Park
State Fish &
Lockport Lock and
Lock and Dam
Lock and Dam
St. James of the Sag
Church and Cemetery
Santa Fe Prairie
Deep Tunnel (TARP)
Isle a la Cache
I&M Canal Visitor Center/
Will Co. Historical Society Museum
Old Illinois State Penitentiary
M Canal State
Joliet Iron Works
I&M Canal State Trail
I&M Canal Bicycle
Gaylord Donnelley Canal Trail
Pine Bluff Road Lorenzo Road
Des Plaines River
Chicago S a
& Shi p Ca
I & M
I & M Canal
Aux Sable Creek
Calumet Sag Channel
I&M Canal Trail
Trail access point
Historic canal towns
0 4 Miles
4 / OutdoorIllinois June 2006 June 2006 OutdoorIllinois / 5
presents a chance to trace a significant
portion of Illinois’ history.
“The I&M Canal is one of Illinois’
most unique resources,” Hassen con-cluded.
“The canal transformed Chicago
into a transportation crossroads, setting
into motion a system that continues to
serve the people of Illinois.”
Today, no matter your mode of trav-el,
the I&M Canal will take you on a trail
of discovery of a land shaped by Native
Americans, French explorers and thou-sands
of immigrant laborers. You’ll pass
through communities once frequented
by mule tenders, frontier businessmen
and pioneers with a dream of carving
out a life on the prairie.
an economic means of shipping freight,
especially bulk items such as coal,
stone and timber. It was the 1900 open-ing
of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship
Canal that signaled the end of the canal,
a fate sealed when channelization of the
Illinois River was completed in 1933,
providing a wider and deeper shipping
lane to the Mississippi River.
Learning the history of canal commu-nities
that stood the test of time, and
those that faded into near oblivion with
canal commerce, has been made easy
by technological advances. A course of
travel that at one time took days can
now be made in a few hours.
Websites produced by DNR and the
Canal Corridor Association (see sidebar)
provide detailed descriptions and pho-tographs
of historical landmarks, natural
features and community services. And
after taking these virtual tours, who
wouldn’t itch for a chance to see the
canal first hand? Whether you dedicate a
day or several long weekends to explor-ing
the trail on bike or foot, or opt for all or
part of the 75-mile driving tour from
Lemont to LaSalle-Peru, the I&M Canal
“The contemplated canal between the Illinois river and Lake Michi-gan,
if we regard the mere location of it, is local; but if we regard
the benefits resulting from it to the whole nation, and as a connect-ing
link to the great chain of inland water communication between
New Orleans and some of the Atlantic states, it is clearly national.
The extent of inland navigation, which will be opened when this
canal is completed, will not be equaled in any country; and its bene-fits
will be very generally and extensively felt. The political effect of
all such works is also very apparent. They will bring and bind more
closely together, the various parts of the extended confederacy.”
Excerpt from 1831 speech of Illinois Governor Reynolds,
reprinted in the Chicago Democrat, November 26, 1833.
Join us for next month as our trek
down the I&M Canal continues from
Seneca to LaSalle-Peru.
I&M Canal from
Chicago to Morris
1969 I&M Canal office in Lockport closed and turned over
to the Will County Historical Society.
1974 I&M Canal transferred to the jurisdiction of the Depart-ment
of Conservation (now Department of Natural
1981 National Park Service
releases concept plan
for I&M Heritage Corri-dor.
1984 I&M National Heritage
Corridor named the
nation’s first Heritage Corridor.
1998 150th anniversary of the opening of the canal; dedica-tion
of the Joliet Iron Works Historic Site.
2000 Corridor driving tour signs installed.
2002 Joliet Area Historical Museum opens.
2004 I&M Canal Heritage Corridor Commission sunsets.
Timeline courtesy of the Canal Corridor Association.
Places to See and Things to Do
To learn more about the natural and historic resources located along the I&M Canal, and
associated recreational activities, visit www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/PARKS/I&M/
Main.htm or www.canalcor.org. Both sites offer virtual tours of some of the canal structures.
Highlights of offerings are listed below.
Prairie habitats: Santa Fe Prairie Nature Preserve (Hodgkins), Lockport Prairie Nature
Canal locktenders house: Aux Sable, Channahon.
Canal locks: Aux Sable, Channahon.
Canal aqueduct: Aux Sable, Gebhard Woods State Park.
Replica canal boat: Canalport Plaza (Morris).
Diagonal bridge: Gebhard Woods State Park.
Native American sites: Briscoe Mounds (1200 A.D., Channahon).
Civilian Conservation Corp structures: Channahon, Gebhard Woods State Park, Aux Sable.
Cemeteries: Evergreen Cemetery (Chief Shabbona), Dresden Cemetery.
Rural structures: Dresden (Rutherford Inn, barn and warehouse).
Museums: Isle a la Cache Museum (Romeoville), Gaylord Building National Trust His-toric
Site (oldest remaining commercial building in the canal corridor, Lockport), Will County
Historic Society (housed in the original canal headquarters, Lockport), Grundy County His-torical
Interpretive centers/features: Canal Origins Park (Chicago), Gebhard Woods State Park.
Industrial ruins: Iron works (Joliet), brewery and furnace (Morris).
Recreational opportunities available on the I&M Canal State Trail and the state and
county facilities in proximity to the trail include picnicking, camping, hiking, bicycling, hunt-ing,
fishing, canoeing, kayaking, boating, snowmobiling (when 4 or more inches of snow is
present on the canal trail), wildlife observation, nature photography and more.
For detailed information on programs offered at state sites (Gebhard Woods State Park,
Heidecke State Fish and Wildlife Area, Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area, Des Plaines
River Conservation Area) visit www.dnr.state.il.us/lands.
For information on properties managed by the Forest Preserve District of Will County
(McKinley Woods, Lockport Prairie) visit www.fpdwc.org.
I&M Canal Partners
The Department of Natural Resources
owns and manages the I&M Canal and the
various state parks within the Heritage Corri-dor.
Call (815) 942-0796 or visit www.dnr.
The Canal Corridor Association is a pri-vate,
not-for-profit organization dedicated to
community economic development, historic
preservation and conservation within the Her-itage
Corridor. Phone (815) 588-1100 or visit
The Heritage Corridor Convention & Visi-tors
Bureau is the certified Convention and
Visitors Bureau for the Heritage Corridor, and
all of Will, Grundy and LaSalle counties.
Phone (815) 727-2323 or visit
The Illinois and Michigan Canal National
Heritage Corridor Civic Center Authority is a
state agency committed to the historic, recre-ational
and economic development of several
communities in the Heritage Corridor. Call
(708) 352-4110. For information on the Santa
Fe Prairie Nature Preserve call (708) 598-
6139, or visit www.civiccenterauthority.org.
Forest Preserve District of Will County
facilities are open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. April through
October and 8 a.m.-5 p.m November through
March. Visit www.fpdwc.org for information on
Lockport Prairie, Isle a La Cache Museum and
Cook County Forest Preserve District.
Canoe access to the I&M Canal is available at
the Willow Springs area (enter at Willow Springs
Rd.). The FPD website also has a Chicago
Portage Canoe Trail Map identifying launch
sites and canoe route distances from Stonyford
to Lemont. Visit www.fpdcc.com or write Forest
Preserve District of Cook County, 536 North
Harlem Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305.
In Evergreen Cemetery at Morris, a large boulder
marks the grave of Potawatomi Chief Shabonna.
Sited adjacent to the I&M Canal at the Canalport
Plaza in Morris, a replica canal boat provides visi-tors
a sense of what travel was like down the
nearly 100-mile water trail.
Boat with a cargo of salt at Lock 8
Lock 8 at Aux Sable circa 1930.
(Map courtesy the National Park Service.)
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections. |
An Improved Balanced Budget Amendment
By J. Huston McCulloch
This article appeared in the Fall 2012 issue of The Independent Review
An ineffective or poorly written balanced budget amendment would be worse than none at allso its good that the version most House Republicans supported in 2011 failed to pass. One provision necessary to make a balanced budget amendment effective is a definition of outstanding debt that includes monetary instruments issued by the Federal Reserve.
The national debt of the U.S. government has doubled to $15.2 trillion in the past four years. The statutory national debt ceiling has proven ineffective in restraining runaway deficit spending, so that a constitutional amendment that requires a supermajority of both houses of Congress to raise the debt ceiling is long overdue. However, an ineffective or ill-written balanced budget amendment would be worse than none at all.
On November 28, 2011, 62 percent of the House of Representatives voted in favor of a proposed balanced budget amendment introduced by Representative Bob Goodlatte (RVa.). Although this majority was short of the two-thirds majority required for passage, twenty-five Democrats joined all but four Republicans, so it had significant bipartisan support. An identical proposal actually passed the House and nearly passed the Senate back in 1995 and was reconsidered in 1997....
Volume 17 Number 2
Independent Review Articles on Related Subjects |
(CDC news release) Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 represent more than a quarter of new HIV infections each year (26 percent) and most of these youth living with HIV (60 percent) are unaware they are infected, according to a Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the CDC news release:
The most-affected young people are young gay and bisexual men and African-Americans, the report says.
The analysis looks at the latest data on HIV infections, testing, and risk behaviors among young people and was published in advance of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.
Overall, an estimated 12,200 new HIV infections occurred in 2010 among young people aged 13-24, with young gay and bisexual men and African-Americans hit harder by HIV than their peers. In 2010, 72 percent of estimated new HIV infections in young people occurred in young men who have sex with men (MSM). By race/ethnicity, 57 percent of estimated new infections in this age group were in African-Americans.
“That so many young people become infected with HIV each year is a preventable tragedy,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “All young people can protect their health, avoid contracting and transmitting the virus, and learn their HIV status.”
Read the entire CDC news release HERE.
What are your thoughts CLICK HERE to leave us a "Your2Cents” comment.
© Copyright 2013 A Granite Broadcasting Station. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
From rioting by immigrants in France to protests against illegal immigration in the United States, the topic of immigration has made headlines all over the world recently. Immigration and Migration helps put this issue in perspective. This insightful book discusses the many reasons people choose to immigrate or migrate to other countries, such as to escape poverty and seek employment opportunities, as refugees from war, or for political asylum. The financial, cultural, and social contributions made by immigrants and migrants to their adopted countries are also discussed, as well as the problems associated with immigration, including difficulties assimilating immigrants into existing communities, racial biases, and entering countries illegally.
After presenting a brief look back through the history of migration and its importance to emerging civilizations, the book focuses on immigration and migration in five countries: the United States, Mexico, France, the Philippines, and South Africa. An overview is presented of each country’s immigration policies and how they have evolved to the policies in place in 2007. In addition, specific examples of immigration and migration in each country are discussed, such as the impact of immigrants or migrants on the country and its citizens, and any changes to the country’s immigration policies caused by immigration or migration. |
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder, d. 924, king of Wessex (899–924), son and successor of Alfred. He fought with his father against the Danes. At Alfred's death (899) Edward's succession was disputed by his cousin Æthelwold, who allied himself with the Danes of Northumbria and East Anglia. The death of Æthelwold in battle (902) put an end to that war, but later fighting with the Danes recommenced. Aided by his sister Æthelflœd, Lady of the Mercians, Edward undertook a series of advances against the Danes, systematically building fortresses to cover his positions. At the same time he repelled Viking attacks on the shore of England. After Æthelflœd's death (918) he asserted his full authority over Mercia and thus became ruler of all England S of the Humber River. He was also accepted as overlord by several Welsh rulers and by English Northumbria, and he is supposed to have received the submission of Constantine II of Scotland. The right of the overlordship of Scotland, based on Edward's position, was asserted by later English kings. Edward was succeeded by his son Athelstan. Two other sons, Edmund and Eldred, also ascended the throne.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Edward the Elder from Infoplease:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: British and Irish History: Biographies |
Principles of Radar
Radar involves the transmission of pulses of electromagnetic waves by means of a directional antenna; some of the pulses are reflected by objects that intercept them. The reflections are picked up by a receiver, processed electronically, and converted into visible form by means of a cathode-ray tube. The range of the object is determined by measuring the time it takes for the radar signal to reach the object and return. The object's location with respect to the radar unit is determined from the direction in which the pulse was received. In most radar units the beam of pulses is continuously rotated at a constant speed, or it is scanned (swung back and forth) over a sector, also at a constant rate. The velocity of the object is measured by applying the Doppler principle: if the object is approaching the radar unit, the frequency of the returned signal is greater than the frequency of the transmitted signal; if the object is receding from the radar unit, the returned frequency is less; and if the object is not moving relative to the radar unit, the return signal will have the same frequency as the transmitted signal.
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. |
The first desktop graphics cards were frame buffers. They provided a region of memory where you could write color values, and a digital-to-analog converter that generated a signal for a CRT. A modern GPU is a very different beast. Something like the Radeon HD 5800 has 2.15 billion transistorsmore than a six-core Xeon.
Whereas the older graphics hardware was only usable for graphics, a modern GPU is a powerful computing engine in its own right. It makes sense to consider using it for tasks other than handling graphics. This is where OpenCL fits in. Like OpenGL, it's an abstract API that hides the details of the GPU implementation. Unlike OpenGL, however, OpenCL is intended for arbitrary computations, rather than just graphics.
In this article, we'll take a look at the concepts behind OpenCL and create a simple program (implementing Conway's Game of Life) that uses OpenCL. Open the syntax-highlighted opencl.c.html file if you want to follow along as we go through the code.
Understanding the GPU
GPUs are often said to be special-purpose processors, with the implication that CPUs are general-purpose processors. This designation is misleading. A modern CPU and a modern GPU are both general-purpose processors; both can implement any algorithm. But they're not built with the same design goals.
In theory, you could run any program on a GPU, just as you can run a complete OpenGL stack on the CPU. It might not run fast, however, because both the CPU and GPU are heavily optimized toward a certain kind of instruction stream. CPUs expect a lot of integer computations and a lot of branches. The code that runs on a CPU expects a branch around every seven instructions, on average. In contrast, a GPU expects very few branches and a lot of floating-point arithmetic.
The CPU and the GPU also have very different memory models: A GPU typically doesn't have memory protection and is designed for streaming. A CPU expects a lot of locality of reference, so it has a big cache for storing the program's working set. The GPU expects you to read from one blob of memory and write to another; for example, reading from vertex lists and textures and writing a picture. Therefore, you can't just recompile your application for a GPU and expect it to run faster. You must select parts that will run efficiently on a GPU and design them carefully.
The OpenCL Model
OpenCL really describes two things:
- A C99-derived language, called OpenCL C, which is designed to be easy to compile for the GPU
- A library designed for compiling this code and running it
The most important unit of code in OpenCL is the kernel. A kernel is a self-contained program that runs on some data. Typically, an implementation will run several copies of the kernel in parallel. Kernels are equivalent to public library functions, with some extra constraints on their concurrency support.
Our example for this article will implement Conway's Game of Life, with a kernel that calculates what the next value for a cell should be. Conceptually, this kernel runs in parallel on every single cell in the input. In practice, the OpenCL stack may run it entirely on one CPU core, run 128 copies of it concurrently on a GPU, and so on.
When you write your kernel, you need to remember this fact. A number of instances of the kernel might run on the same input concurrently, so you have to make sure that they don't interact with each other. To make it easier to prevent interaction, you typically will separate input and output completely, which is what we'll do in this example. Our kernel will take pointers to input and output boards as arguments, read nine cells from the input, and write one cell in the output. The OpenCL stack can run one instance of this kernel at a time, one instance per cell in the board concurrently, or anything in between. This statement is a slight oversimplification, of course. The OpenCL memory model allows kernels to lock regions of memory and enforce synchronization, but with some quite complex limitations.
Commands are sent to OpenCL via queues, a form of implicit serialization. If you tell OpenCL to read some data, run a kernel on it, and then read back the results, all of these actions will happen in the background. Typically, you start them going and then wait for the last onegenerating the outputto complete. |
In the search for renewable alternatives to gasoline, heavy alcohols such as isobutanol are promising candidates. Not only do they contain more energy than ethanol, but they are also more compatible with existing gasoline-based infrastructure. For isobutanol to become practical, however, scientists need a way to reliably produce huge quantities of it from renewable sources.
MIT chemical engineers and biologists have now devised a way to dramatically boost isobutanol production in yeast, which naturally make it in small amounts. They engineered yeast so that isobutanol synthesis takes place entirely within mitochondria, cell structures that generate energy and also host many biosynthetic pathways. Using this approach, they were able to boost isobutanol production by about 260 percent.
Though still short of the scale needed for industrial production, the advance suggests that this is a promising approach to engineering not only isobutanol but other useful chemicals as well, says Gregory Stephanopoulos, an MIT professor of chemical engineering and one of the senior authors of a paper describing the work in the Feb. 17 online edition of Nature Biotechnology.
“It’s not specific to isobutanol,” Stephanopoulos says. “It’s opening up the opportunity to make a lot of biochemicals inside an organelle that may be much better suited for this purpose compared to the cytosol of the yeast cells.”
Stephanopoulos collaborated with Gerald Fink, an MIT professor of biology and member of the Whitehead Institute, on this research. The lead author of the paper is Jose Avalos, a postdoc at the Whitehead Institute and MIT.
Historically, researchers have tried to decrease isobutanol production in yeast, because it can ruin the flavor of wine and beer. However, “now there’s been a push to try to make it for fuel and other chemical purposes,” says Avalos, the paper’s lead author.
Yeast typically produce isobutanol in a series of reactions that take place in two different cell locations. The synthesis begins with pyruvate, a plentiful molecule generated by the breakdown of sugars such as glucose. Pyruvate is transported into the mitochondria, where it can enter many different metabolic pathways, including one that results in production of valine, an amino acid. Alpha-ketoisovalerate (alpha-KIV), a precursor in the valine and isobutanol biosynthetic pathways, is made in the mitochondria in the first phase of isobutanol production.
Valine and alpha-KIV can be transported out to the cytoplasm, where they are converted by a set of enzymes into isobutanol. Other researchers have tried to express all the enzymes needed for isobutanol biosynthesis in the cytoplasm. However, it’s difficult to get some of those enzymes to function in the cytoplasm as well as they do in the mitochondria.
The MIT researchers took the opposite approach: They moved the second phase, which naturally occurs in the cytoplasm, into the mitochondria. They achieved this by engineering the metabolic pathway’s enzymes to express a tag normally found on a mitochondrial protein, directing the cell to send them into the mitochondria.
This enzyme relocation boosted the production of isobutanol by 260 percent, and yields of two related alcohols, isopentanol and 2-methyl-1-butanol, went up even more — 370 and 500 percent, respectively.
There are likely several explanations for the dramatic increase, the researchers say. One strong possibility, though difficult to prove experimentally, is that clustering the enzymes together makes it more likely that the reactions will occur, Avalos says.
Another possible explanation is that moving the second half of the pathway into the mitochondria makes it easier for the enzymes to snatch up the limited supply of precursors before they can enter another metabolic pathway.
“Enzymes from the second phase, which are naturally out here in the cytoplasm, have to wait to see what comes out of the mitochondria and try to transform that. But when you bring them into the mitochondria, they’re better at competing with the pathways in there,” Avalos says.
The findings could have many applications in metabolic engineering. There are many situations where it could be advantageous to confine all of the steps of a reaction in a small space, which may not only boost efficiency but also prevent harmful intermediates from drifting away and damaging the cell.
The researchers are now trying to further boost isobutanol yields and reduce production of ethanol, which is still the major product of sugar breakdown in yeast.
“Knocking out the ethanol pathway is an important step in making this yeast suitable for production of isobutanol,” Stephanopoulos says. “Then we need to introduce isobutanol synthesis, replacing one with the other, to maintain everything balanced within the cell.”
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Shell Global Solutions.
Written by: Anne Trafton, MIT News Office
Caroline McCall | Source: EurekAlert!
Further information: www.mit.edu
Further Reports about: Alpha-ketoisovalerate > Avalos > biochemicals > biosynthetic pathway > butanol production > gasoline > industrial production > isobutanol synthesis > metabolic pathway > renewable alternatives > renewable sources
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This is perhaps not the most politically correct science fair project, but it definitely gets attention. And although it is more based on presentation than science, most people find it very interesting to learn how an electric chair works. :D
This instructable is quite lengthy, though some parts are optional. You'll probably want to scan each section to find what you're looking for. Have fun and happy building!
Also, please note that I will be linking to Amazon.com for the materials used within this project.
Please leave me feedback! I would like ideas on how to improve this project. I procrastinated far too much and had too many projects going on at once. If you have a comment or suggestion, I'd love to hear it!
Step 1: First you'll need to find a Barbie with bendable arms and legs.
Don't pay too much, though, as we'll be messing her up quite a bit.
If you'd like, take a mugshot. You can use it in the presentation of the science project. I cut my Barbie's hair and drew circles around her eyes with a pencil, and well as smudging lip gloss around her face. Barbie had a rough night.
I also made an outfit for my Barbie using scrap fabric I had lying around. This is a very simple thing to do that will help your project become more attractive. I've included a quite awful Microsoft paint image to explain it! |
Drug addiction is a complex illness. It is characterized by intense and, at times, uncontrollable drug craving, along with compulsive drug seeking and use that persist even in the face of devastating consequences. While the path to drug addiction begins with the voluntary act of taking drugs, over time a person's ability to choose not to do so becomes compromised, and seeking and consuming the drug becomes compulsive. This behavior results largely from the effects of prolonged drug exposure on brain functioning. Addiction is a brain disease that affects multiple brain circuits, including those involved in reward and motivation, learning and memory, and inhibitory control over behavior.
Because drug abuse and addiction have so many dimensions and disrupt so many aspects of a person's life, treatment is not simple. Effective treatment programs typically incorporate many components. Each is directed to a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences. Addiction treatment must help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a drug-free lifestyle, and achieve productive functioning in the family, at work, and in society. Because addiction is typically a chronic disease, people cannot simply stop using drugs for a few days and be cured. Most patients require long-term or repeated episodes of care to achieve the ultimate goal of sustained abstinence and recovery of their lives.
Too often, addiction goes untreated: According to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 23.2 million persons (9.4 percent of the U.S. population) aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2007. Of these individuals, 2.4 million (10.4 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility (i.e., hospital, drug or alcohol rehabilitation or mental health center). Thus, 20.8 million persons (8.4 percent of the population aged 12 or older) needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive it. These estimates are similar to those in previous years.1
Basis for Effective Treatment
Scientific research since the mid1970s shows that treatment can help patients addicted to drugs stop using, avoid relapse, and successfully recover their lives. Based on this research, key principles have emerged that should form the basis of any effective treatment programs:
- Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior.
- No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals.
- Treatment needs to be readily available.
- Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the person, not just his or her drug addiction.
- An individual's treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that it meets his or her changing needs.
- Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical.
- Counseling individual or group and other behavioral therapies are the most commonly used forms of drug abuse treatment.
- Medications are an important element of treatment for many patients, especially when combined with counseling and other behavioral therapies.
- Many drugaddicted individuals also have other mental disorders.
- Medically assisted detoxification is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change longterm drug abuse.
- Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.
- Possible drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously.
- Treatment programs should assess patients for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases, and should provide counseling to help patients modify or change behaviors that place themselves or others at risk of infection.
Back to top
Effective Treatment Approaches
Medication and behavioral therapy, especially when combined, are important elements of an overall therapeutic process that often begins with detoxification, followed by treatment and relapse prevention.
Easing withdrawal symptoms can be important in beginning treatment; preventing relapse is necessary for maintaining its effects. And sometimes, as with other chronic conditions, episodes of relapse may require a return to prior treatment components.
A continuum of care that includes a customized treatment regimen addressing all aspects of an individual's life, including medical and mental health services and followup options (e.g., community or family-based recovery support systems) can be crucial to a person's success in achieving and maintaining a drugfree lifestyle.
Medications offer help in suppressing withdrawal symptoms during detoxification. However, medically assisted withdrawal is not in itself "treatment." It is only the first step in the treatment process. Patients who go through medically assisted withdrawal but do not receive any further treatment show drug abuse patterns similar to those who were never treated.
Medications can help re-establish normal brain function and to prevent relapse and diminish cravings during treatment. Currently, we have medications for opioid (heroin, morphine) and tobacco (nicotine) addiction, and are developing others for treating stimulant (cocaine, methamphetamine) and cannabis (marijuana) addiction. Most people with severe addiction problems, however, use more than one drug and will require treatment for all of the substances that they abuse.
Behavioral Treatments help patients engage in the treatment process, modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse, and increase healthy life skills. These treatments can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people stay in treatment longer. Treatment for drug abuse and addiction can be delivered in many different settings using a variety of behavioral approaches.
Outpatient behavioral treatment offers programs for patients who visit a clinic at regular intervals. Most of the programs involve individual or group drug counseling. Some programs also offer other forms of behavioral treatment such as:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy, which seeks to help patients recognize, avoid, and cope with the situations in which they are most likely to abuse drugs.
- Multidimensional family therapy, which addresses a range of influences on the drug abuse patterns of adolescents and is designed for them and their families.
- Motivational interviewing, which capitalizes on the readiness of individuals to change their behavior and enter treatment.
- Motivational incentives (contingency management), which uses positive reinforcement to encourage abstinence from drugs.
Residential treatment programs can also be very effective, especially for those with more severe problems. For example, therapeutic communities (TCs) are highly structured programs in which patients remain at a residence, typically for 6 to 12 months. Patients in TCs may include those with relatively long histories of drug addiction, involvement in serious criminal activities, and seriously impaired social functioning. TCs are now also being designed to accommodate the needs of women who are pregnant or have children. The focus of the TC is on the re-socialization of the patient to a drug-free, crime-free lifestyle.
For more information about drug abuse and addiction, visit the NIDA website. |
11 June 2009
New evidence on disruption of nitrogen cycle
Scientists are getting a better grip on the nitrogen cycle. They are learning about sources of nitrogen and how this element changes as it loops from the nonliving to the living.
Scientists have determined humans are disrupting the nitrogen cycle by altering the amount of nitrogen stored in the biosphere.
The chief culprit is fossil fuel combustion, which releases nitric oxides into the air that combine with other elements to form smog and acid rain.
However, it has been difficult to know precisely the extent to which such emissions have altered the nitrogen balance.
Researchers from Brown University and the University of Washington have found a new way to make the link. The scientists show that comparing nitrogen isotopes in their deposited form, nitrates, can reveal the sources of atmospheric nitric oxide.
In a recently published paper in Science, the group traces the source of nitrates to nitric oxides released through fossil fuel burning that parallels the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The group also reveals the greatest change in nitrogen isotope ratios occurred between 1950 and 1980, following a rapid increase in fossil fuel emissions.
“What we find is there has been this significant change to the nitrogen cycle over the past 300 years,” said Meredith Hastings, assistant professor of geological sciences at Brown and the paper’s lead author. “So we’ve added this new source—and not just a little bit of it, but a lot of it.”
To make the link, Hastings, with Julia Jarvis and Eric Steig from the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington, examined at high resolution for the first time two isotopes of nitrogen found in nitrates in a Greenland ice core. The core, 100 meters long and taken at the peak of the Greenland ice cap in June 2006, contains a record of nitrates from about 1718 to 2006, according to the group.
Tests showed the ratio of the nitrogen-15 isotope to the more common nitrogen-14 isotope had changed from pre-industrial times to the present.
“The only way I can explain the trend over time,” Hastings said, “are the nitric oxide sources, because we’ve introduced this whole new source—and that’s fossil fuels burning.”
For related information, go to www.isa.org/environment. |
ISCID News Editor
Member # 1417
posted 06. November 2004 01:40
PLoS Biology. November 2, 2004
A Structural Analysis of Eukaryotic Membrane Evolution
Copyright: © 2004 Public Library of Science. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation: (2004) A Structural Analysis of Eukaryotic Membrane Evolution. PLoS Biol 2(12): e428.
It took nearly 200 years for biologists to redefine the plant/animal dichotomy set up by Linnaeus in 1758. Among the defining traits used in the new five kingdom model of the 20th century was the presence of a nucleus. Possession of a nucleus is one of the chief characteristics that earns an organism, even a single-celled organism, the name of eukaryote. Those not similarly blessed are prokaryotes. Biologists today classify life into three domains (of which microbes lay claim to two), yet the evolution of many fundamental features of eukaryotic biology remains a mystery.
A pivotal moment in the evolution of early eukaryotes was the emergence of elaborate, interconnected membrane-bound compartments that make up the Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, and nuclear envelope. The nuclear envelope, with its inner and outer membrane, forms a barrier between the cytoplasm and nucleus. Embedded in this envelope are nuclear pore complexes (NPCs), massive (over 400 subunits), cylindrically shaped protein assemblies that connect the outer and inner nuclear membranes via sharply curved sections of pore membranes. The NPC's central ring-like structure is sandwiched between a cytoplasmic ring, with fibrils extending into the cytoplasm, and a nuclear ring, with a “basket” extending into the nucleoplasm. NPCs police traffic flow between the nucleus and cytoplasm, routinely allowing entry to small molecules while providing only selective passage to macromolecules.
How eukaryotes evolved complex membrane-mediated trafficking systems from their stripped down prokaryotic contemporaries is a fundamental question in biology. Michael Rout's team investigates one aspect of eukaryotic evolution—the origin and evolution of NPC proteins (nups)—by examining the structure of nups. In a new study, Rout and colleagues report the structure of a core building block of the NPC in yeast, and propose how the complex could have evolved from organisms with no such system.
The researchers first tackled the structures of the seven protein components of a core NPC subcomplex, called the yNup84 subcomplex in yeast (and the vNup107-160 subcomplex in vertebrates). Rout and colleagues used algorithms that predict secondary structures to generate three-dimensional models of the component nups. Each nup, they found, consists mostly of either repeating alpha helixes (in an alpha-solenoid fold), zigzagging beta sheets (in a beta-propeller fold), or a distinctive arrangement of an amino-terminal beta-propeller followed by a long stretch of alpha-solenoid. Next, the authors compared the structural conformations of the homologous nups found in humans and plants, and showed that the overall architecture of the subcomplex has been conserved throughout eukaryotic evolution.
A search for evidence of the distinctive propeller/solenoid arrangement in other organisms shed light on the function and origin of the yNup87/vNup107-160 subcomplex. Neither bacterial nor archaebacterial proteins contain such an arrangement; it appears to exist only in eukaryotes. Moreover, proteins containing this arrangement function only as components of the coated vesicle complexes that operate in intracellular vesicular transport systems or as part of the NPC. That these complexes are linked by common architecture, the authors argue, suggests an “intimate connection between vesicle coating complexes and the yNup87/vNup107-160 subcomplex.” It's likely that both complexes function in curving membranes: when components of this subcomplex are disrupted in yeast, NPCs form abnormal clusters that impair nuclear membrane interactions.
How did this shared molecular architecture evolve? Rout and colleagues propose that both nups and vesicle coating complexes developed from a common early eukaryotic ancestor—a primitive coating component with a simplified version of the repetitive folds described here. This molecular carpenter specialized in carving and remodeling membranes, and was repurposed to support the many specialized functions that facilitate molecular transport through the elaborately connected, highly specialized internal membrane systems of the modern eukaryote.
[Emphases added by ISCID News Editor.]
From the Abstract:
Numerous features distinguish prokaryotes from eukaryotes, chief among which are the distinctive internal membrane systems of eukaryotic cells. These membrane systems form elaborate compartments and vesicular trafficking pathways, and sequester the chromatin within the nuclear envelope. The nuclear pore complex is the portal that specifically mediates macromolecular trafficking across the nuclear envelope. Although it is generally understood that these internal membrane systems evolved from specialized invaginations of the prokaryotic plasma membrane, it is not clear how the nuclear pore complex could have evolved from organisms with no analogous transport system. Here we use computational and biochemical methods to perform a structural analysis of the seven proteins comprising the yNup84/vNup107–160 subcomplex, a core building block of the nuclear pore complex. Our analysis indicates that all seven proteins contain either a β-propeller fold, an α-solenoid fold, or a distinctive arrangement of both, revealing close similarities between the structures comprising the yNup84/vNup107–160 subcomplex and those comprising the major types of vesicle coating complexes that maintain vesicular trafficking pathways. These similarities suggest a common evolutionary origin for nuclear pore complexes and coated vesicles in an early membrane-curving module that led to the formation of the internal membrane systems in modern eukaryotes.
See full text of Paper at PLoS Biology
[ 03. December 2004, 20:43: Message edited by: ISCID News Editor ] |
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Volunteer subjects used to study normal physiology and behavior or who do not have the condition under study in a particular protocol, used as comparisons with subjects who do have the condition. "Normal" may not mean normal in all respects. For example, patients with broken legs (if not on medication that will affect the results) may serve as normal volunteers in studies of metabolism, cognitive development, and the like. Similarly, patients with heart disease but without diabetes may be the "normals" in a study of diabetes complicated by heart disease.
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|Year : 2000 | Volume
| Issue : 4 | Page : 303-8
History and development of forensic science in India.
RK Tewari, KV Ravikumar
Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India, New Delhi, India., India
R K Tewari
Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India, New Delhi, India.
Keywords: Forensic Medicine, history,organization &administration,History of Medicine, 20th Cent., India,
|How to cite this article:|
Tewari R K, Ravikumar K V. History and development of forensic science in India. J Postgrad Med 2000;46:303
The application of science and technology to the detection and investigation of crime and administration of justice is not new to India. Although our ancestors did not know forensic science in its present form, scientific methods in one way or the other seem to have been followed in the investigation of crime. Its detailed reference is found in Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra,’ which was written about 2300 years ago. Indians studied various patterns of the papillary lines, thousands of years ago. It is presumed that they knew about the persistency and individuality of fingerprints, which they used as signatures. Even Mr. KM Kata, a frequent contributor to ‘Nature’, stated that the Chinese records proved the use of fingerprints in an ancient kingdom of southern India. The Indians knew for long that the handprints, known as the Tarija’, were inimitable. The use of fingerprints as signatures by illiterate people in India, introduced centuries ago, was considered by some people as ceremonial only, till it was scientifically proved that identification from fingerprints was infallible.
During the nineteenth century, when the cases of death due to poisoning posed a problem to the law enforcement agencies, a need was felt for isolating, detecting and estimating various poisons absorbed in the human system. The first Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory was, therefore, set up for this purpose at the then Madras Presidency, under the Department of Health, during 1849. Later, similar laboratories were set up at Calcutta (1853), followed by one each at Agra (1864) and Bombay (1870). These laboratories were equipped to handle toxicological analysis of viscera, biological analysis of stains of blood, semen, etc. and chemical analysis of food, drugs, and various excisable materials to provide scientific support to the criminal justice delivery system within their limited means. These laboratories also provided analytical facilities to the neighbouring States and Union Territories.
While some progress was made in the identification of poisons, the identification of people, specifically criminals, was still being done in a rather haphazard manner. Policemen would try to memorize convict’s face so that they could recognize him if he got involved in another crime later. With the introduction of Photography, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) maintained records of every known criminal including a detailed description of his appearance. With the invention of Bertillon’s anthropometric system in 1878, India, along with the other countries of the world, adapted Bertillon’s system of personnel identification and thus an Anthropometric Bureau, for maintaining anthropornetric records of criminals, was established in 1892 at Calcutta.
William Herschel, the Collector of the District of Hooghly (Bengal) found that markings on the fingertips of a person never changed during his lifetime. Herschel applied his knowledge and skill in devising a system of registration of finger or thumb impressions of native contractors to safeguard the interests of the Govermnent against the repudiation of contracts by them. Thereafter, he extended his registration procedure to prison regulations for identifying convicted criminals. In 1877, Herschel sought the consent of his superior officers in putting his ideas into practice, but did not succeed. In 1891, Edward Richard Henry’s appointment, the Inspector General of Police in Bengal, introduced the thumb impressions in the record slips, containing anthropometric data, to avoid wrong identification. Long before 1897, he introduced maintenance of duplicate criminal records with impressions of 10 fingers separately.
Henry employed few selected Indian police officers, viz. Khan Bahadur Azizul Huq and Rai Bahadur Hem Chandra Bose to work under his general supervision till the classification was evolved, which remains the basic system even to-day. It was Khan Bahadur Azizul Huq who evolved a mathematical formula to supplement Henry’s idea of sorting slips in 1024 pigeon holes, based on fingerprint patterns. Rai Bahadur Hem Chandra Bose made further contribution to the fingerprint science by evolving an extended systern of sub-classification, a telegraphic code for finger impression and a system of single-digit classification.
Henry approached the Government to seek approval for replacing the anthropometric data by fingerprints for the identification of habitual criminals. Government readily agreed, and the first fingerprint bureau in the world was officially declared open at Calcutta in July 1897, although the collection of record slips had started a few years earlier. Thus, the personnel identification solely on the basis of fingerprints commenced in India.
When the use of explosives for subversive activities became common, it was found necessary to detect the causes of explosion, either accidental or intentional. The foundation of the Department of Explosives was laid when the first chief inspector of explosives was appointed in the year 1898, with his headquarters at Nagpur. Later, five regional offices at Calcutta, Bombay, Agra, Madras and Gwalior, and three sub-offices at Shivkashi. Gomia and Asallsol were opened. They developed competence to provide scientific clues in respect of explosives as well as the possible causes of explosions. Their expertise came handy in police investigations in the crimes related to explosions and for evolving various provisions under the Explosives & Petroleum Act.
The British Government of Bengal felt the necessity of identifying the handwritings on the secret documents connected with the Indian independence movement and, therefore, created the post of Government Handwriting Expert of Bengal. Mr. CR Hardless, the then Superintendent in the A.G.’s office in Bengal, was appointed to this post in 1904. This set-up was shifted to Shimla in the year 1906 and was placed under the control of the Director, CID. A post of Handwriting Expert for the Government of India was created and Mr. CR Hardless was appointed to this post. He was replaced by Mr. F Brewester, a police officer from the West Bengal CID, and was designated as the Government Examiner of Questioned Documents (GEQD). At first, the work of this office was mainly confined to the identification of writings on secret documents. Later, as the application of this branch of science was felt in many other cases, the services of this office were thrown open to criminal as well as civil court cases. During the World War II, this organization took up the additional work of secret censorship, including the detection of invisible writings and training of military personnel in this field of science.
When the science of examining human blood developed in India, it became possible to examine blood and seminal stains in criminal investigations. Realising the importance of Forensic Serology, an institute named as Serology Department’ was established in Calcutta in 1910. The head of this institute was designated as Imperial Serologist to the Government of India. Dr. Hankin helped in establishing this department. Though the scientific techniques for serological examination were at the infancy stage, this institute provided valuable scientific support by analyzing biological materials for crime investigations. After independence, the department was renamed as ‘Office of the Serologist and Chemical Examiner to the Government of India’.
During the year 1915, a Footprint Section was established under the CID, Government of Bengal, which helped the police authorities to identify criminals through the examination of footprints collected from the scene of crime. SM Edwardes recorded the following instance in his book ‘Bombay City Police’ showing the use of the footmarks in police work. ‘On several occasions, Indian constables distinguished themselves by acts of bravery and examples of professional acumen. The detection of a burglary in the showroom of an English firm was entirely due to the action of a Hindu constable, who noticed on a piece of furniture the marks of a foot possessing certain peculiarities, which he remembered having seen before in the foot of an ex-convict.’
During 1917, a Note Forgery Section was set up under the CID, Government of Bengal, to undertake the examination of forged currency notes. The Revenue Department also started its own laboratory for identification of opium and narcotics, liquor analysis and estimation of purity levels of precious metals like gold, silver, etc. Similarly, Government Mint and Security Printing Departments at Nasik also established their own laboratories for detecting cases of counterfeit and forged currency notes.
In 1930, an Arms Expert was appointed and a small ballistic laboratory was set up under the Calcutta Police to deal with the examination of firearms. As the menace of firearms grew, other State CIDs also established small ballistics laboratories to help them in the criminal investigation.
During 1936, a Scientific Section was set up under the CID in Bengal and facilities were created for examination of bullets, cartridge cases, firearms, etc., used in committing crime. Few other states also started scientific sections in their CID, where investigations on fingerprints, footprints, firearms and questioned documents were also carried out. Gradually, more and more branches of science were embraced and the laboratories gained maturity over the years.
The first state forensic science laboratory in India was established in the year 1952 at Calcutta. This laboratory became fully operational in the year 1953. The Medico-legal Section of the Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory was also transferred to this laboratory. During the year 1955, a small unit of Physics was established in the West Bengal State Forensic Science Laboratory to deal with various physical examinations of exhibits encountered in crime investigation. During the year 1957, the Physics unit developed into a full-fledged Physics Section. In the same year, the Footprint and the Note Forgery Sections of Criminal Investigation Department were transferred to this laboratory and in the following year General Chemistry Section of the Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory was also transferred to this laboratory. Thus the first multidisciplinary forensic science laboratory came into existence in the country.
On the recommendations of the Royal Police Commission of 1902-03, the first Central Finger Print Bureau (CFPB) in India was established in 1905 at Shimla. It, however, suffered a setback and was abolished in 1922 as a result of retrenchment proposals of the Inchape Committee. The CFPB restarted functioning from 1955 in Delhi under the administrative control of Intelligence Bureau (IB). The major role envisaged for CFPB was to coordinate the activities of State FPBx in tracing/locating inter-state criminals. During August 1956, the CFPB was shifted to Calcutta and remained under the administrative control of IB. During September 1973, it was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation and during July 1986, the administrative control of the CFPB was transferred to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and was again shifted to New Delhi.
CDTS, Calcutta, a premier detective training school in India, was established during 1956 and was colocated (in the same premises) with the CFPB, Calcutta. The aim of establishing such a school was to impart training in scientific investigation of crimes like drug abuse, terrorism, explosion, crime against women, investigation of road accidents and enforcement of traffic laws, etc.
The first Central Forensic Science Laboratory was established at Calcutta during 1957. To begin with, this laboratory was organised into four basic disciplines viz. Forensic Physics, Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Biology and Forensic Ballistics. For application of nuclear methods of analysis to criminal investigation, the Neutron Activation Analysis Unit of CFSL, Calcutta was set up in 1970 at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay. During the year 1965, the second central forensic science laboratory was established at Hyderabad, The CFSL, Hyderabad initially established analytical facilities in the disciplines of Forensic Physics, Forensic Chemistry and Forensic Biology. The Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, was established, in the year 1933 at Lahore was shifted to Chandigarh during 1961. Over the years many full-fledged forensic science laboratories were established in various states.
With the establishment of CDTS and CFSL, (later on GEQD also) in the same premises, under the control of Intelligence Bureau, the whole set up was named as the Central Forensic Institute (CFI), Calcutta. A post of Commandant was created during 1958 to look after the overall functioning of all these establishments, which had different roles but with the common larger goal of providing appropriate scientific inputs to the criminal investigation process and administration of criminal justice in the country.
The Central Detective Training School, Hyderabad was established in 1964, on the pattern of the CDTS, Calcutta, followed by another one at Chandigarh, during 1973. Their main objective was to train the operational police personnel in modern scientific techniques of crime investigation, with a view to improve their professional standard and efficiency.
The Union Government, during 1959, appointed two committees for the purpose of giving a lead to all the States in establishing new forensic science laboratories and improving the existing ones, and for improving the study and application of Forensic Medicine. These committees were (i) Central Forensic Science Advisory Committee and (ii) Central Medico-legal Advisory Committee. The Central Medico-legal Advisory Committee was to advise the Central and the State Governments on matters pertaining to medico-legal procedures and practices. The Central Advisory Committee on Forensic Science considered the issues related to the sphere of Forensic Science (excluding forensic medicine). The Central Medico-legal Advisory Committee was discontinued whereas the Central Forensic Science Advisory Committee was converted into Standing Committee on Forensic Science during the year 1972, which is functional even today in BPR&D.
The Indian Academy of Forensic Sciences (IAFS) was established in the year 1960. This academy started a biennial scientific journal, which served as a forum for the exchange of ideas in forensic science with the other international bodies. The role of the Academy was also to hold annual scientific meetings/seminars or assist in holding seminars in forensic science. In fact, it was at the instance of this Academy that the Government of India established the Neutron Activation Analysis Unit to cater for the forensic needs in the country.
The question of introducing criminology and forensic science as the courses of study at the university level in India was taken up with the Vice-Chancellors of various universities during 1950, but the progress made in this direction was not encouraging. The need for university teaching of criminology and forensic science was also stressed in various annual meetings of the Central Advisory Committee on Forensic Science. A deputation headed by Shri KF Rustamji met the Chairman, University Grants Commission in August 1961 and the matter was again taken up by Shri DP Kohli, the then Director, Central Bureau of Investigation in 1967. As a result of these discussions, Dr DS Kothari, the then Chairman, University Grants Commission set up a high level committee to advise the Commission on the steps to be taken for introduction of Criminology and Forensic Sciences in university education. It recommended that universities should be encouraged to introduce courses in Criminology at the under-graduate level and postgraduate courses in Criminology and Forensic Science should be started only in a central autonomous institution, which should be affiliated to a university. Consequently three Universities viz., University of Sagar, Madras and Patiala started undergraduate and post-graduate courses in forensic science. It was further suggested that, as an initial step in this direction, one institute under the Central Government should be established in Delhi. The Committee recommended those two courses viz. Master’s Degree in Criminology and Master’s Degree in Forensic Science should be organised in this Institute, besides Diploma courses for in-service personnel. The institute should also be developed as a center for research in Criminology and Forensic Science and should act as a clearinghouse of up-to-date information in these fields.
After a series of debates at the Government level, it was decided that initially the Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science should be established only for training the in-service personnel and for conducting research in the field of forensic science. It was felt that unless the State governments and the consumer organizations agreed to participate in the scheme, it would not be wise to start courses for granting postgraduate degrees. However, the ultimate objective of the Institute was to develop into a full-fledged academic institution affiliated to a university. With the above aim in view, the Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science (ICFS) was established in Delhi during 1971 with the limited objectives of imparting training to the in-service personnel and conducting research in Criminology and Forensic Science. It was also envisaged that the Institute should have two distinct faculties viz. the Faculty of Criminology and the Faculty of Forensic Science and both should have a number of eminent teachers and researchers with adequate background and field experience.
On an invitation from the Government of India, Dr. VK Street, an eminent forensic scientist from the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Edinburgh, UK, visited different Indian forensic science institutions during 1972 and submitted a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. He strongly recommended for creation of a post of Chief Forensic Scientist in the Ministry of Home Affairs to look after its forensic science activities and to pay whole time attention for the development of this science in India. The Standing Committee on Forensic Science, during 1973, also recommended for the creation of a post of Chief Forensic Scientist so that the activities, which needed scientific inputs at the Union Government level, could be properly coordinated. The post of Chief Forensic Scientist was finally sanctioned during 1983, and the Forensic Science Directorate was created in BPR&D.
During 1983, the then Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C) under the overall guidance of an Expert Committee chaired by Prof. M. M. Sharma, FRS, recommended that the laboratories in Delhi, Calcutta and Hyderabad must be developed as S & T institutions, functioning in an autonomous fashion, with complete modernization of equipment and manpower capabilities. In pursuance of these recommendations, the Government of India declared the forensic science institutions, at the central Government level as Science and Technology institutions.
Based on the observations of the Expert Group of the SAC-C, BPR&D evolved a master plan for restructuring each CFSL of the BPR&D into fifteen scientific divisions. In the first phase, the three Central Forensic Science Laboratories at Calcutta, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh were restructured into six scientific division viz. Biology, Ballistics, Chemistry, Explosive, Physics, and Toxicology. Similarly, the offices of the Government Examiners of Questioned Documents at Shimia, Calcutta, and Hyderabad were strengthened in terms of manpower. Besides augmentation of staff, all the BPR&D laboratories registered significant progress in the acquisition of sophisticated analytical equipment and updating/modernizing the laboratory and library facilities for smooth working of these institutions.
During mid 1990’s, it was realised that most of the States have established their own forensic science laboratories and hence the role of CFSLs to provide forensic analytical support to different states has got diluted. Hence the utility of three CFSLs at the national level was questioned.
During 1997, this realization led to the process of defining the role of the CFSLs of BPR&D, de novo. The justification for the existence of the three Central Forensic Science Laboratories under the BPR&D was thought to be two folds. One, they should act as epitomes of quality and high standards for the State Laboratories to emulate. They should not only set visibly higher standards in quality of analytical processes and reporting accuracy, but also should be the repository of Standards and benchmarks against which the performance of all the State FSLs can be judged. BPR&D should, therefore, have a decisive say in the process of accreditation, not only of its own CFSLs/GEsQD, but also of all the State FSLs. Secondly, since forensic science is one of the most dynamic sciences, CFSLs should provide R&D support to this field of science. Every new research, development and invention in any discipline of science should have a potential of application in forensic science. Newer, better and more reliable technologies developed in all the disciplines need to be harnessed for the fight against crime. The BPR&D CFSLs should scout around for new developments outside the realm of forensic science and adapt them for use in Ms, standardize the processes and disseminate them to the State FSLs. In order to perform this yeomen service, the CFSLs need to maintain very high standards and specialization, way beyond what is possible in the State FSLs.
Strategy was evolved to bring about a complete paradigm change in the structure of the three BPR&D CFSLs and provide them a new focussed mandate of R&D and specialized training. It emerged that while preserving their composite structure, the three laboratories should have subject-specific exclusiveness and be developed as the ‘Centers of Excellence’ for research and development and specialized training in the designated fields. Consequently, during 1998, the three CFSLs were reorganized with an aim to generate synergy and focus attention on research and development activities in the thrust areas of forensic science. This was possible only if all the available resources are pooled in the designated Centers of Excellence, rather than spread them very thin on the whole ground. Besides focussing on their core activity of R&D and specialized training in the designated field of forensic science, these laboratories also undertake crime case examination in all the fields of forensic science. However, the routine forensic analysis case work has now been restricted to those received from the Central Government organizations and State Governments/Union Territories, which have not yet established their own forensic science facilities. These laboratories also act as the referral centers for handling forensic analysis of crime cases requiring extensive investigation and high expertise, received from the courts of law, state and central forensic science institutions and other crime investigating agencies in India. The designated fields were chosen as follows:
CFSL, Calcutta Forensic Biological Sciences
CFSL, Hyderabad Forensic Chemical Sciences
CFSL, Chandigarh Forensic Physical Sciences
The Neutron Activation Analysis Unit of CFSL, Calcutta, operating at the BARC, Mumbai, was brought under the administrative control of CFSL, Hyderabad.
In response to the rising demands of providing high technology to the crime investigation process, BPR&D established the first Forensic DNA Typing facility at CFSL, Calcutta, during 1998. The implementation of this state-of-the-art technique represents significant advancements in the forensic biology in the country. The DNA Typing Unit at CFSL Calcutta is equipped with the most contemporary techniques of DNA typing, namely, Polymerize Chain Reaction (PCR) based method, HLADQ alpha and Polymarker technique, and Locus Specific Restricted Fragment Length Polymorphism technique. This laboratory, after being functional, has been referred many crime cases pertaining to murder, rape, rape and murder, paternity disputes, organ transplant, exchange of babies in hospitals etc. DNA Typing facility has further been upgraded to conduct ‘Short Tandem Repeats Sequence based DNA Typing.
| :: References|| |
Tewari RK, KV Ravikurnar. Development of Forensic Science in India: A Historical Account. Journal of the Indian Academy of Forensic Sciences 1999;38:17-32. |
|2.||Tewari RK. Application of Forensic Science in Criminal Justice Administration in the Developing Countries. The Indian Police Journal1999; XLVI:78-83. |
|3.||Nanda BB, RK Tewari. Development of Forensic Science Services at the State Level. The Indian Police Journal 2000; XLVI-XLVII:109-119. |
|4.||Iyengar NK. Growth and Development of Forensic Science in India. The Indian Police Journal 1961; (Special Centenary Issue):145-151. |
|5.||Chatterjee SK. History of Fingerprinting in India, The Indian Police Journal (Special Centenary Issue), 1961, pp 152-157 |
|6.||Tewari RK, AK Ganjoo. Fifty years of Forensic Science in India: An Introspection, The Indian Police Journal (Special Issue on Indian Police after 50 years of Independence), Vol. XLV, No. 1 & 2, JanJune 1998, pp 105-110. |
|7.||Tewari RK, KV Ravi Kumar. Nine Decades of Forensic Examination in India, The Indian Police Journal (Special Issue on Indian Police after 50 years of Independence), Vol. XLV, No. 1 & 2, Jan-June 1998, pp 116-122. |
|8.||State-of-the-art Forensic Sciences: For Better Criminal Justice, National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi, May 1999. |
|9.||Forensic Science in India, Bureau of Police Research & Development, New Delhi, 1997. |
|10.||Tewari RK. Swantantrata Ke Pachas Varshon Men Nyayalayik Vigyan Ki Pragati, Uttar Pradesh Police Patrika; 1998. |
|11.||Third Report of the National Police Commission, Govt. of India, Chapter XXIV; 1980. pp 40-47. |
|12.||Misra SC. A Handbook on Police Organization and Administration, BPR&D; 1977. pp 138-140. |
Judaism has always sought a balance—between inward focus and outward focus, between the particular and the universal, attention to Jewish needs and attention to human needs, standing apart from the world and being an integral part of the world. The Sinai Covenant requires that Jewish attention be paid to both of these directions. On the one hand, there is work to be done on God’s earth and Jews need to join with non-Jewish allies to undertake and accomplish that work. No group can go it alone. On the other hand, Jews have always been committed to a vision of God’s will for the world that is unique. Our commitments—and the way of life that flows from them—have set us apart. As a small minority that has lived for most of our history in the midst of non-Jewish religions, cultures, and populations, we have had to take special care to guard our distinctiveness. The covenant thus impels Jews to care about and cooperate with others—and mandates, too, that we preserve our difference and, to some degree, our distance.
This balance has always been difficult to strike and maintain. I think it’s fair to say that Jews have often erred—and still do—by going too far in one direction or the other. I’m proud to say that Conservative Judaism has had noteworthy success over the past 150 years in getting the balance right. We need to think about how to continue to find that balance. The task has never been more difficult than it is right now, I think—and has never been more important.
When the prophet Balaam pronounced the people of Israel "a nation that dwells alone" (Num. 23:9), I think his prophecy carried at least as much curse as blessing. Isolation is not a good recipe for survival. Neither is it helpful in achieving the eternal objectives set for Jews by the Torah. There has always been a powerful strain in Jewish tradition that relishes isolation and counsels suspicion toward outsiders. In part, this attitude results from persecution and hostility that have rarely been absent from Jewish history. "Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations who know thee not," the Passover Haggadah instructs Jews to pray as we symbolically open the door to the prophet Elijah, the harbinger of divine redemption. The prayer is a legacy of medieval persecutions.
And modernity has not brought an end to anti-Semitism. Today, too, the Jewish people has enemies, some of whom are bent on destroying the State of Israel. The "us versus them " mentality that remains widespread in some Jewish circles—especially among Orthodox Jews—is not without cause. But it is, I think, very sad. The Torah wants Jews to embrace the world, not to withdraw from it.
Thank goodness that inclusiveness, too, is a powerful strain in Judaism. Our Torah values Gentiles and good relations with Gentiles. The chapters from Isaiah that Jews read on Yom Kippur command us to feed the poor, house the homeless, and free the oppressed—whether those who suffer are Jewish or not. The Sinai Covenant engages Jews in a partnership designed to make the entire world more just and compassionate. Rabbinic teaching has long accepted and codified Jewish responsibilities toward non-Jews as well as Jews. We know that Jews will not be redeemed unless and until redemption comes to all humanity. We are reminded time and again that all human beings are created in God’s image.
In the modern world, especially in America, Jews exercise unprecedented influence and work together with Gentiles in numerous ways on behalf of the common good. Opportunities for Jewish expression, individual and communal, are virtually unlimited. So are opportunities for relationships with Gentiles. As a result—and perhaps as a response to centuries of persecution—many Jews have opted to embrace Universalism and abandon particularism. They have abandoned the search for balance every bit as much as Jewish isolationists. This too, I think, is very sad.
The world’s need for Torah is urgent right now. Our tradition has something to say—about justice and mercy, about choosing goodness and life—that humanity needs to hear. The need for partnerships among faith communities is especially urgent at this moment when the very survival of God’s earth is threatened as never before, and the world’s religions exercise unrivalled sway over the thinking and behavior of the world’s peoples. We need a new understanding of the boundaries separating Jews from Gentiles, and how we should reach across those boundaries—our distinctive message intact—to work for a better world. Young people, in particular, require this from us, and they are right to criticize our failure to provide it.
Ironically, perhaps, the recent blurring of boundaries between Jews and non-Jews may threaten cooperation between them. Non-Orthodox Jews outside of Israel live and work in close proximity to non-Jews to an extent unprecedented in Jewish history. Most North American Jews number Gentiles among their closest friends. Nearly half of American Jews marry non-Jews. The differences and dividing lines separating Jews from non-Jews are fuzzy where they exist at all. Raising high walls of separation will not help Jewish outreach to the world. But neither will elimination of the distinctiveness that makes Jewish-Gentile cooperation valuable.
Conservative Jews must declare loudly and clearly that we are proud of being Jews, proud to be faithful to our tradition and, precisely because of that loyalty, insist that Gentiles be seen and treated primarily as partners rather than adversaries. We reject forcibly the "us versus them " stance adopted by some Jews in the name of God or Torah every bit as much as we reject the call by other Jews to eliminate what renders Judaism distinctive. We accept our share of responsibility for the communities in which we live and for the planet as a whole, even as we bear special obligations to Jewish communities and the Jewish people. Jews have much to learn from others, we know, and they have much to learn from Judaism.
In next week’s post, I will make several detailed suggestions for ways that Conservative Judaism can maintain the balance between "apart" and "a part" that is so crucial to our future. Print This Essay
"Perhaps a good metaphor for the creative tension between Universalism and particularism in Jewish identity is the balance between the centripetal and centrifugal forces that are required to keep an object in orbit around its center point. If the former is too strong, then the object collapses to the center and ceases to move. If the latter force prevails, then the object flies off and loses contact with the core." Read More »
"I often come to know myself better by being in community with those not like me. My training in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), the reflective practitioner model of learning for interfaith chaplaincy training, has borne this out time and again, and most recently this summer in the program of the Center for Pastoral Education at JTS. " Read More »
"Chancellor Eisen notes that in Conservative Judaism, we have tried to strike an incredible balance in maintaining a distinct Jewish identity without alienating ourselves from the rest of society. However, one of the results of the self-segregation that occurs when we try to raise our kids in tight-knit Jewish communities is that we create a social atmosphere virtually absent of non-Jewish influences." Read More » |
In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.
Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates and their parents, threatened by a lynch mob's rope, attacked with lighted sticks of dynamite, and injured by acid sprayed in her eyes. But through it all, she acted with dignity and courage, and refused to back down.
This is her remarkable story. |
VANCOUVER - A brick unearthed decades ago at Fort Vancouver is back in the spotlight.
The brick was first discovered buried in the ground on the site around 1950, but a recent analysis of its make-up now shows the brick dates back some 2,000 years, all the way back to the Roman Empire.
One of the most interesting aspects of the brick is what was likely not supposed to be on it.
If you look closely at one of its corners you’ll see two tiny paw prints. Archaeologists suspect it’s the work of an ancient Roman kitty cat.
“We kind of jokingly call it the ‘Celtic Kitty,’ jumped up on this wet brick probably close to 2,000 years ago and memorialized itself for all eternity,” said Bob Cromwell, an archaeologist at Fort Vancouver.
The big question: How in the world did this ancient brick end up in Vancouver?
Cromwell says it likely came over on an English ship where it was used as ballast, basically just weight to help balance the ship.
“Somebody in England basically recycled, or took apart, a Roman ruin or maybe a cobblestone road and it probably ended up as a ballast load in a Hudson's Bay Company ship,” said Cromwell.
The ancient brick is on display inside the Fort Vancouver National historic site.
Visitors can see the brick, but because it's being stored in a special climate-controlled room, they must make a viewing appointment. |
Americana: The Forgotten Tears
(Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick)
If we consider that the great Mughal Empire, a rule that began in 1525, is so well documented and understood by contemporary India, how can it be that most Americans know so little of the Native Americans, the original inhabitants of this land?
—Charles Hicks, Cherokee Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, November 4, 1838
The shameful story of what happened to the “Indians,” a mistaken label given to the native people by Christopher Columbus, the person who “discovered” America in 1492, is mostly forgotten. I had forgotten it too, until a recent journey to Inman, South Carolina.
I had traveled to Inman to photograph a small community attempting to transition from a mill town—a place where a mostly homogenous people worked, played and prayed together—into a more diverse and dynamic one capable of attracting high-tech industry. There are many such places in the South.
I have lived in South Carolina for 25 years and have never heard of the Yemassee or the Yemassee Trail. I half-listened as Clarence shared additional history, for I couldn’t shake the feeling that this forgotten road is symbolic of the American Indian’s forgotten history.
As I approached Inman, I noticed a sign for an historic church. The road leading to the church wound gently through the hilly countryside of Spartanburg County. A final sign directed me to turn left off the pavement and onto a grassy road. There, several hundred yards ahead, perched on a sun-bathed meadow, sat the Shiloh Methodist Church. I stared, awed by the simple elegance of the small white-board church, the surrounding golden-brown fields, and the gray tombstones to the left of the church. The grassy road gently curved uphill and then veered to the right of the church.
I walked the land, read the single historical marker, took my photographs and was returning to my car when a man came out from a nearby building and gave me a friendly wave. We walked toward each other.
“Some place here,” I offered.
“Sure is,” he replied. “My name is Clarence Gibbs. Do you know much about the church?”
“I don’t. I saw the historical marker back on Highway 292 and that’s why I’m here. That graveyard really has my curiosity. Some of those markers go back to the 1700s, near the time of the Declaration of Independence. Do you know much about this place?”
“Know a little. Since you are interested in history, I’ll be happy to share the story of this church, but let me start by telling you about this grassy road.
“It was once part of a much larger Indian trail that stretched all the way from Florida to Ohio. This part, called the Yemassee Trail, was named after the Indian tribe that once lived in our state. This few hundred yards of grass road that we are looking at is the last unpaved section of this once great trail. The rest of it has been either paved or forgotten.”
I have lived in South Carolina for 25 years and have never heard of the Yemassee or the Yemassee Trail. I half-listened as Clarence shared additional history, for I couldn’t shake the feeling that this forgotten road is symbolic of the American Indian’s forgotten history. If we consider that the Great Mughal Empire, a rule that began in 1525, is so well documented and understood by contemporary India, how can it be, you might reasonably ask, that most Americans know so little of our Indians, or better, our First Nation people?
For starters, matters relating to Native American history were barely covered in our schools. As a young boy in Poughkeepsie, New York, sure, the nuns taught us about the great Indian tribes such as the Iroquois and the Sioux, but usually within the context of war allegiances with the European imperialists of the day (The British, Spaniards, French and Dutch).
A few self-serving white-washed stories were taught, such as the First Thanksgiving. Then, the “Puritans,” thankful for surviving their first winter and recognizing that without the help of the Indians their entire party might have died, gave thanks to Providence. They were so grateful, why even the Indians were invited to the feast.
Without the help of formal education or intentional study, what we learn is cultural and not historical. The difference can be significant.
When I was growing up, one of the common phrases of the day was “Indian giver,” a term applied to a person who asks for what they gave as a gift, back. It became a cultural synonym for “liar.” According to American Indian culture, however, if you gave a gift, you received a gift. Not understanding why the white man didn’t, in turn, offer a gift, the Indian would ask for his original gift back.
In the 1960s, “cowboys and Indians” was a popular backyard game. Everyone wanted to play the cowboys because the cowboys were always the winners, the cowboys had the guns, and the cowboys got to aim their guns at the Indians and pull their toy triggers while shouting, “You’re a dead Indian.”
The Indians were dead too, though they didn’t know that when the Europeans first arrived. Our First Nation people were often decimated by European diseases such as measles, alcoholism and greed. If forced to fight for their land, their weapons were inadequate. For good measure, they were duped by many treaties with the “Great White Father” (the president) and the United States government.
In one of the darkest moments in American history, President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), and his successor, Martin Van Buren, ordered and enforced the abrupt and brutal removal of Indian tribes such as the Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee, from Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, to non-native lands in Oklahoma. At least 4000 Indians died in the 1830s’ migration, known as The Trail of Tears.
In December of 1987, President Reagan signed a bill that designated the Trail of Tears as a National Historic Trail.
Years ago, my former college roommate and I bicycled across the United States. Our route took us through much of northern Montana and some of North Dakota, both states with a large number of Indian reservations. As far back as Washington State, well-meaning people, when learning of our route, warned us about the dangers of traveling through Indian reservations.
“Go through in the mornings and you won’t have any troubles,” one said. “Don’t stop if you don’t have to.”
“Just mind your own business,” another offered. “Back in the late 1960s and 1970s, there was a lot of trouble on the reservations, including some shootings between the Indians and U.S. Armed Forces. It’s quieter, now, but life on at least some of those reservations is still pretty tough.”
Dave and I pedaled quickly and had no problems.
I have returned several times to Shiloh Methodist Church and the Yemassee Trail for no better or lesser reason than the enjoyment of standing at the veritable crossroads of so much American history.
So what is the legacy of the “Indians”? If we insert the adjective “cultural” before legacy, we have a few things to mention. Many sports teams, as an example, feature team names that draw from our Indian heritage. The Washington Redskins, Florida State Seminoles and the Atlanta Braves come quickly to mind. At the latter stadium, Braves fans even bellow Indian “war cries,” as they simulate a tomahawk chop with their arms, much like (presumably) attacking Indians once did. Quite a few of our political boundaries (cities, states, etc.), and waterways such as the Chattahoochee and Chattooga, carry the names of First Nation tribes.
But if we insert the adjective “historical” before legacy, our national list is short. All I know is that for a brief moment, on an unmarked country road overrun with scrubby weeds and forgotten history, near the small transitional mill town of Inman, South Carolina, I found a piece of the past, and I was glad.
[Americana is our new monthly column highlighting the cultural and historical nuances of this land through the rich story-telling of columnist Bill Fitzpatrick, author of the books, Bottoms Up, America and Destination: India, Destiny: Unknown.]
Website Bonus Feature
Link:Archaeology. Mar/Apr 2012, 65(2):53-58,64.
In "Letter From Tennessee: Return to the Trail of Tears," writer Marion Blackburn brings us word of excavations in the Cherokee National Forest. There, archaeologists from two universities and the U.S. Forest Service are uncovering evidence of both the trail itself and Fort Armistead, one of the many stops along the way for the 13,000 Cherokee who were forcibly relocated out of the Appalachians in 1838. The work is instrumental in keeping evidence of this chapter in United States history from being lost forever.
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(CNN) - The State Department said Friday that the Keystone pipeline expansion should have no significant effect on the environment along its proposed route, but stopped short of saying whether or not the controversial pipeline should be approved.
If the company behind the pipeline, TransCanada, follows all the rules, its "construction and normal operation" of the pipeline should pose no major risks, the State Department said in its draft environmental impact statement. That statement is now open for a 45-day public comment period, after which the Obama administration will make its decision about the pipeline.
The project was delayed last year because of concerns about how it would affect Nebraska's sensitive Sand Hills region. The Obama administration -- which needs to approve the project because it crosses an international border -- turned down those plans, forcing TransCanada to draft a new proposed route.
The pipeline has touched off an intense debate in the United States. Supporters like it because it will carry 830,000 barrels a day of oil from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast, potentially reducing imports from other, more volatile areas. Its construction will create an estimated 5,000 jobs, according to the State Department. TransCanada forecasts even higher job growth.
Opponents hate it because oil from Canada's oil sands region produces 5% to 30% more greenhouse gases than other types of conventional crude. Extracting oil from the sands also uses massive amounts of water and can result in deforestation. Transporting it runs the risk of spills.
The State Department report did take into account the environmental impact of the sands' heavy oil, which it said is 17% dirtier than the average barrel of oil used in the United States. However, it also said that not building the pipeline would not significantly limit oil sands development, or U.S. consumption of heavy oil.
If Keystone is not constructed, that oil would be still be extract and used, State believes. It would simply be transported to buyers by rail or other means instead of through the pipeline.
The report was not well-received by environmentalists.
"It's a good thing this is a draft," said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, international director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Certainly the public is going to have a lot to say in response."
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The Jouberts, National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, introduce young readers to the African animals they have studied for years and give them a lesson in letters at the same time.
A large capital letter frames every page (sadly, without its lowercase counterpart), while the photography takes center stage. A short paragraph either introduces a fact or two about the animal or describes what is happening in the photograph. Heavy alliteration encourages kids to look for each instance of the featured letter on the page—how many b’s are on the baboon page? Attempts to include the featured letter in the paragraph sometimes feel forced, overly anthropomorphic or inappropriate; for example, after cheetahs catch their dinner, they “chomp and chew with delight.” But the letter hunt will be secondary for most children—the photographs will keep them riveted. Beverly Joubert gives readers an up-close and personal view of each animal, capturing the features that make them unique. A brief glossary helps young readers with some of the more challenging vocabulary: boisterous, rambunctious, vociferous. Backmatter also includes a list of sources for more information and a double-page spread showing each letter of the alphabet, a thumbnail photo of the animal it represents and a brief listing of facts, including habitat, size, food, sounds and how many babies they have at a time.
A solid introduction to Africa’s fauna—happy (letter) hunting. (Informational picture book. 4-6) |
The all-but-forgotten origins of Manhattan, told with humor and an acute eye for primary sources.
It’s good to remember, the author suggests, that the early 17th century was the age of Shakespeare, Descartes, Vermeer, and Bacon, a time of change and tumult. Not the least part of that tumult was Dutch political and legal progressivism, “their matter-of-fact acceptance of foreignness, of religious differences, of odd sorts.” Tolerance, in a word, though Shorto (Saints and Madmen, 1999, etc.) is quick to point out that that meant “putting up with” rather than celebrating diversity. By the time New Amsterdam had been established, more as a business settlement of the West India Company than as a colony, its babel of nationalities were seeking balance between chaos and order, liberty and oppression. “Pirates, prostitutes, smugglers, and business sharks held sway,” he notes. “It was Manhattan . . . right from the start.” Despite the tyrannical leanings of the colony’s early directors, from Willem Kieft to Peter Stuyvesant, the crucial element that set New Amsterdam apart from its neighbors north and south was its striving toward democracy, largely in the person of Adriaen van der Donck, student of René Descartes and of Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius, of natural law and human reason. Van der Donck was a veritable Founding Father, the author asserts, though admitting that his authorship of many of the documents illustrating the push toward relative democracy in the colony can only be inferred. “Who was there, how they got along, how they mixed—that is the colony's unheralded legacy,” writes Shorto. A struggle played out among military and diplomatic maneuverings and the revamping of the colony’s political structure. It was a legacy lived by the gallimaufry of Manhattanites, and it was written by Grotius as much as by John Locke.
A bright social history of New Amsterdam that gives the Dutch their due as the first facilitators of its fabled diversity. |
Essential Fatty Acids
If you've already read our article about fats, then you'll already have learned that despite their bad reputation, fats are an essential component of a healthy diet. However, it's important to distinguish between good and bad fats, in order to ensure that you're getting the right kind of fats that the body needs.
Fats and oils are made up of fatty acids - there are a number of essential fatty acids, or EFAs, that the body cannot produce itself, and therefore must be ingested through the food in our diets. Essential fatty acids can also be called vitamin F, or more commonly, polyunsaturates.
What are the benefits of essential fatty acids?
Essential fatty acids are, indeed, essential - these nutrients are needed by every one of the body’s cells, helping to repair damage and produce new, healthy cells, and therefore, are needed in your healthy diet. Essential fatty acids help to reduce high blood pressure and lower cholesterol; they can help in the fight against arthritis, improve the condition of both skin and hair, and help to prevent blood clots. Essential fatty acids are also required by the brain to ensure normal development and functioning, as they help to transmit nerve impulses, allowing us to take in new information and recall it as needed.
Because essential fatty acids have beneficial effects on the skin, they can help to reduce the severity of eczema and psoriasis - they're also helpful for conditions such as candidiasis (thrush) and cardiovascular disease.
The body uses essential fatty acids to produce prostaglandins, which, in turn relay chemical messages and help to regulate a variety of different processes within the body, including; lowering blood pressure, relaxing coronary arteries and encouraging healthy muscle tone within the blood vessels.
In addition to these benefits, essential fatty acids are also vital because they’re the precursors for other unsaturated fatty acids, which ensure that highly active tissues which need a lot of energy and oxygen to function, such as brain tissue, the retina, and adrenal and testicular tissues, get what they need to do their jobs properly.
Types of essential fatty acids – omega 3 and omega 6
Essential fatty acids can be broken down into two different categories: omega 3 and omega 6.
The omega 3 essential fatty acids include the individual acids alpha-linolenic and eicosapentaenoic. The can be sourced from fresh fish (deepwater), fish oil, canola, flaxseed and walnut oils. Among the omega 6 essential fatty acids are linoleic (the most essential of them all) and gamma-linolenic acids, which are present in oils derived from borage, grape seed, primrose, sesame and soybean, and also in raw nuts, seeds and also legumes.
Let’s look at some of these sources of essential fatty acids in more detail:
Fish oil – the best fish oils for omega 3 are those that come from salmon, mackerel, menhaden, herring and sardines. Low fat fish, such as cod, has very low amounts of EFAs in comparison.
Flaxseed and flaxseed oil – as well as being a great source of omega 3, flaxseed is also nutrient rich, with high levels of magnesium, potassium and fibre, and good amounts of Vitamin B, protein and zinc. Another benefit of flaxseed is that it has no cholesterol, and only a small amount of calories and saturated fat. You can grind flaxseed and enjoy its nutty flavour in water or natural pressed juice, or sprinkle on salad, cereal, soup or yoghurt. Research indicates that flaxseed can be incredibly beneficial in reducing the symptoms of arthritis.
Grape seed oil – with no cholesterol, sodium or trans-fatty acids, hardly any saturated fat and an abundance of linoleic acid, grape seed oil is one of the very best sources of EFAs. It’s also one of the only EFA-rich oils that can be heated. Look for cold-pressed versions without preservatives.
Primrose oil (evening primrose) – the richest source of gamma-linolenic acid, primrose oil is beneficial for heart disease, multiple sclerosis, the liver, inflammation, high blood pressure, PMS, sex hormone release and reducing cholesterol levels. Women with breast cancer should use blackcurrant seed oil as an alternative.
Hemp seed oil – a good long-term source of both omega 3 and omega 6, as well as gamma-linolenic acid.
It’s important to note that the EFAs in the above oils (apart from grape seed) are destroyed by heat, so cooking with them or eating them in a processed form (such as hydrogenated to make margarine) will render them useless, and what’s more, leads to the production of free radicals, which are extremely damaging to our health. |
The SpaceX rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, lifted off Sunday night carrying an unmanned cargo capsule.
The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule launched on schedule at 8:35 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an orange blaze against the black night sky. About 10 minutes into the flight, the Dragon separated from the rocket and was on its way to the station.
Mission control called it "a picture-perfect launch and a flawless flight of Falcon."
It is is the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.
"It's a great evening," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell after the launch. "It's just awesome."
The launch comes nearly five months after a demonstration mission in which a Dragon capsule successfully berthed at the station and returned to Earth. Shotwell said the Sunday mission isn't "substantially different" from that flight, "with the exception that we got there once."
The unmanned capsule is packed with about 1,000 pounds of cargo -- everything from low-sodium food kits to clothing and computer hard drives. It's scheduled to return in late October with about 2,000 pounds of cargo, including scientific experiments and failed equipment that can be repaired and sent back, ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said.
"These flights are critical to the space station's sustainment and to begin full utilization of the space station for research and technology development," he said.
The Dragon spacecraft is supposed to catch up with the space station early Wednesday. Station Commander Sunita Williams and Aki Hoshide from the Japanese Space Agency will use the robotic arm to grab Dragon and berth it to the station.
Much of Dragon's cargo is material to support extensive experimentation aboard the space station. One deals with plant growth. Plants on Earth use about 50% of their energy for support to overcome gravity. Researchers want to understand how the genes that control that process would operate in microgravity -- when objects are in free-fall in space. Down the road, that could benefit food supplies here on the planet. |
Bifocal contacts have been available since the days of the first hard contact lenses. However, early bifocal contacts weren't tolerated very well by most patients. Today, bifocal contacts are available in rigid, gas-permeable materials and soft materials. The rigid types have a success rate of about 70 percent. The first soft bifocal contact lenses became available in 1985, and there have been several different forms since then. Each uses a different technique to achieve clarity for near, as well as far vision. Current success rates for vision correction with soft, bifocal contact lenses are only about 50 percent, at best. However, new designs are continually being developed, so the next generation of lenses may provide a better success ratio. Another option that works for some patients who need bifocals is a contact lens technique called ""monovision"" (MAH-no-vih-zhun) With this technique, one eye is fitted with a near-vision prescription lens, and the other eye is fitted with a distance-vision one. This works because when the eyes transmit two different images to the brain, one of them gets shut off. With the monovision method, when you're looking at something close up, the brain shuts off the image from the distance lens, and it does the opposite when you're looking at a far-away image with the other eye. It takes about two weeks for your brain to learn to adapt to this way of seeing, but it can work well for some people. If you don't want to wear glasses but need bifocals, you might want to give monovision contact lenses a try.
©2006 Crossroads Mobile. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
Alicia M Prater, Contributing writer
Maintaining a healthy diet is an important part of heart disease prevention.
The American Heart Association created the heart-check mark as a means to certify foods and extend a stamp of approval to healthier choices on the grocery store shelves.
Products with the mark must pass the group's criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol.
In order to receive AHA certification, a food manufacturer must supply the dietary and nutrition information for the product. If the levels are close to the cutoff criteria, the American Heart Association conducts its own lab testing to verify that the product's nutritional content.
There are three kinds of certification that can be obtained, each based on the nutrition content of a single serving size, as determined by the manufacturer.
The first level is standard certification. To be granted this certification, products must contain 3 g or less of total fat, 1 g or less of saturated fat, less than 0.5 g of trans fat, 20 mg or less of cholesterol, 480 mg or less of sodium, and 10 percent or more of the daily value of one of six vitamins and minerals: vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, or dietary fiber.
The second level of certification that can be obtained is whole grains certification. The food must meet the same criteria as the standard certification -- except the total fat content, which is allowed to be as high as 6.5 g -- and the product must contain a certain proportion of dietary fiber and 51 percent whole grains by weight.
The third level of certification is whole-oats soluble fiber certification. It must meet the same criteria as the standard certification except the amount of total fat, which is not considered if it is derived from whole-oat sources alone. If the total fat is derived from non-whole-oat sources, the cutoff is 3 g. The product must also contain 0.75 g or more of whole-oat soluble fiber.
Meat, which is considered under different criteria, have to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for "extra lean" and contain less than 5 g total fat, less than 2 g saturated fat, less than 95 mg cholesterol, less than 0.5 g trans fat, 480 mg or less sodium, and at least 10 percent of one of the following: vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, or dietary fiber. However, the American Heart Association does not certify beef ribeye or strip steaks.
The heart-check mark is an indicator of very specific components in the foods that apply for certification. Products should be taken as a whole, and consumers should still examine product labels to make informed decisions about the food.
Remember, the mark does not take into account any heart unhealthy components that may be present in the products. Products that pass the above criteria may still contain high levels of sugar, have a high caloric content or lack important vitamins.
A heart healthy diet can be achieved by following the D.A.S.H program, which is rich in fruits and vegetables, low in sodium and simple carbohydrates, and includes whole grains, high-fiber foods, lean meats and poultry, fish, and fat-free or 1 percent fat dairy products. |
Read Kansas! Middle School - M-19 Depletion of the Buffalo
This middle school lesson uses the buffalo as the object of conflict among the Plains Indians and buffalo hunters on the western frontier. The lesson encourages students to compare and contrast different cultural views. Students work with an 1872 diary to understand the point of view of a buffalo hunter. The lesson is written for two class sessions but can be adjusted to meet individual classroom needs.
To view a PDF of the front and back, click on the card
Kansas History Standards:
- Benchmark 3, Indicator 1: The student describes the reasons for tension between the American Indians and the United States government over land in Kansas (e.g., encroachment on Indian lands, depletion of the buffalo and other natural resources, the Sand Creek massacre, broken promises).
- Benchmark 4, Indicator 9: The student uses paraphrasing and organizational skills to summarize information (e.g., stated and implied main ideas, main events, important details) from appropriate-level narrative, expository, technical, and persuasive texts in logical order.
Common Core Reading Standards:
- RH. 6-8.2 The student will determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. |
With summer comes the increase in hand, foot, and mouth disease cases.
Along with the warmer weather, summer also brings a disease familiar to many in the health and child care industries, but perhaps not as familiar to parents: hand, foot and mouth disease.
It's a common viral illness that usually occurs in children and tends to pop up during summer and fall.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a potential painful virus that is highly contagious among young children.
Though it's not uncommon, doctors say they've recently seen a spike in the number of cases.
In fact, Dr. Sachin Parekh who works in the emergency room says he probably saw 8 or 9 patients with it in just one day.
"We've seen them as young as 6 or 7 months old and as old as 11-12 year old kids," said Parekh.
Hand foot mouth syndrome shows itself as sores on the hands, the feet and even inside the mouth, which can be alarming to parents.
The virus, usually spread by direct contact, is a concern at many schools and daycares.
"Good hygiene is the way to prevent it. Washing with warm water soap and sanitizer," said Parekh.
The good news, the virus is short lived and usually goes away on its own after a few days. |
Learning That's Hands-On Holiday Fun (Pre-K)
By: Reading Rockets (2007)
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- Winter's chill offers a different medium for writing and drawing. Let your children "write" on frosted windows or in the snow.
- On short trips to the store or holiday vacations to visit family or friends, play this game to help your preschooler recognize different sounds. Say "We're going to the store. What sound do you hear in the beginning of the word store? It's the /s/ sound. What else starts with /s/ that we can get at the store?" (or, "What are we bringing to grandma's house that starts with /g/?")
- In conversation about holiday celebrations, introduce interesting and new words to your preschooler. For example, "Dad got a plethora of ties last year. Since he has so many ties, let's get him a different gift." or "I like our family tradition of baking cookies together. It is something we do every year that I really enjoy."
- Let your preschooler have a hand in holiday list-making. Even if it is just sitting with you as you write a shopping list, your preschooler will benefit from exposure to the power and practicality of literacy.
- Set aside time just for reading. Curl up on the couch together and read aloud an old favorite or check out books about another culture's winter celebrations.
*To view this file, you will need a copy of Acrobat Reader. If it is not already installed on your computer, click here to download. |
Factories in the sky, that's what the skyscrapers were for the new and growing
female work force. Yet these vertically organized buildings were marvelously
convenient ways to do business. Within a single tall building, with its array
of legal, advertising, and commercial services, world-shaping deals were made
in a matter of minutes, to the amazement of European businessmen.
The skyscraper was also a technological wonder. The first skyscrapers of New
York and Chicago were built with traditional construction techniques. They
were supported by heavy masonry walls, which were especially thick at the base.
Window space was at a premium, and no one dared build a wall-bearing building
over ten stories. It would have collapsed in a heap.
Then, in the mid-'80s, Chicago architects, following the lead of William Le
Baron Jenney, began building skyscrapers supported by wind-braced, iron and
steel frames, or "cages" as they were called. The thin walls of brick and
terra-cotta, lined with long rows of windows, were not part of the building's
support system. The steel frame did all the work. The wall was a mere
Chicago's skyscrapers evoked the no-nonsense, business style of the city. They
were clean-featured buildings, with a minimum of surface decoration. That's
what made them distinctive, a truly American architecture. They looked like
what they were supposed to be; business buildings, while New York skyscrapers
looked like Greek temples or Roman baths.
Chicago skyscrapers looked this way because they were built by developers
interested in cutting costs, not showing off. Louis Sullivan, the first
architect to make tall buildings beautiful, argued that form must follow
function. But in Chicago, form usually followed finance.
The skyscraper was the first building in history to depend on machines for its
operation. It needed elevators to carry passengers to its upper floors, and
telephone and telegraph systems to put tenants in the air in touch with the
city below. The skyscraper couldn't have existed without another gigantic
machine, an urban transit system capable of moving its small army of workers in
and out of the city.
The Department Store
This is equally true of another great commercial invention of the age, the
department store, with its even larger army of salesclerks and customers. The
department stores of America's big cities were crowded from morning 'til night
with customers, as many as a quarter of a million a day. And some of them had
workforces larger than steel mills.
Marshall Field, who rose from stock boy to the richest man in Chicago, built
the country's most opulent department store, a Palace of Desire that catered
almost exclusively to women. In the department stores along State Street,
women accounted for 99% of the purchases. When Chicago lit its department
stores with electricity, many of these women shoppers stayed in town into the
evening, without male escorts.
Traditionalists complained about this; and also about what they called the new
vice of shopping. A cranky editorial in the New York Times called shopping a
"purse-destroying addiction every bit as bad as male drinking." Yet the
accepted place of Victorian women in a male-dominated society, in the home all
day, taking care of children, sewing, cleaning, cooking, and entertaining, made
shopping a liberating escape from domestic drudgery.
In the great Chicago novel Sister Carrie, Indiana-born Theodore Dreiser
captures this oncoming consumption culture. Carrie Meeber, his central
character, leaves her home in rural Wisconsin at age eighteen, drawn to the
lights of Chicago, as young Dreiser had been, like a moth to a flame. There
she enters a glittering department store and finds herself wanting things she's
never seen before the very moment she sets eyes on them.
There is also in Sister Carrie a brilliant sensitivity to the changing nature
of dress as an indicator of class and social station. A salesgirl at Marshall
Field's making $6 a week could save her money and buy one or two ready-to-wear
outfits that could instantly place her on a level with her middle-class
customers. In the city, it was possible to move up in life simply by buying
the right clothes; or as Carrie does, by having her lover buy them for her.
Listen to Dreiser: "When a girl leaves her home at eighteen [for the city],
she does one of two things. Either she falls into saving hands and becomes
better, or she rapidly assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes
worse." Here Dreiser describes how many Americans felt about cities, then, as
well as now. There was the enticement of a better life, but the equal threat of
The Transit System
In Chicago, moving up in life usually meant moving out -- outward, that is, to
the suburbs. We think of suburbia as a 20th century creation. But the suburbs,
like the central business district, came into being at the end of the 19th
century; both of them made possible by mass transportation.
Before 1800, Chicago had a transit system dependent on 75,000 horses. Teams of
them pulled passenger cars along tracks in the streets. The horse, like the
modern automobile, was a heavy noise and air polluter. When it rained, the
city's gutters flowed with rank-smelling brown streams.
In dry weather, pulverized manure blew into the faces of downtown shoppers.
The constant drumming sound of iron-shod hooves on the city's streets was
deafening. And as many as 10,000 dead horses a year had to be removed from
the streets, where they'd been left to swell and rot in the gutters.
In 1880, the cable car, a San Francisco invention, began to replace the horse
as a passenger conveyance in Chicago. It was twice as fast as a horse, and was
clean and relatively quiet. But just as cable cars were being extended, the
electric trolley came along. It was faster, quieter, and less expensive to
install than a steam-driven cable system.
By 1900, almost every American city had adopted the trolley. In the Gilded
Age, urban transit was owned and operated not, as today, by municipalities, but
by powerful, and power-hungry, capitalists. The transit czar of Chicago was an
ex-convict named Charles Yerkes, who Dreiser made into the central character of
his novel, The Titan. Yerkes had served jail time in Philadelphia for stock
fraud, and he led a scandalous lifestyle with half-a-dozen mistresses.
He'd come to Chicago, he brazenly announced, for one reason only: to make a
fortune. Employing corruption and fraud on a colossal scale, they called him
the Goliath of Graft. Yerkes built a far-flung transit system. In the
process, he made a million in land speculation.
Yerkes built tracks out to empty land on the edge of the city, land he'd
secretly bought, in advance, for a song. Then, when his transit lines were in
place, he made a killing selling it to housing contractors. But Yerkes
couldn't get along without a little help from his friends. He needed
franchises from the city to operate his transit lines on public streets, and to
get them he bribed almost the entire city council.
He was finally driven out of Chicago after he tried to muscle through
legislation that would have given him a long-term monopoly of Chicago's transit
system. Yerkes returned to New York and then went abroad to build the London
Underground. Chicago was glad to get rid of him, but he left behind one of the
finest urban transportation systems in the world. |
Image shows the very last of the horse-drawn buses, photograph at Kirkstall Works in Kirkstall Road in 1911. The bus has seats for 10 passengers and a destination of Old Farnley. The first horse-drawn bus service began in Leeds in 1838 with a route to Far Headingley. On 21st June 1911 a new trolley bus system opened for the Farnley route which ran between City Square and New Farnley. Leeds was the first City to pioneer the trolley bus system with Bradford only a few days behind. |
First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let's Move! on February 9, 2010 to unite the country around our kids’ health and create real support for families to live healthier lives. Since then we’ve seen substantial commitments from parents, business leaders, educators, elected officials, military leaders, chefs, physicians, athletes, childcare providers, community and faith leaders, and kids themselves to improve the health of our nation’s children. Thanks to these efforts, families now have access to more of the information they need to make healthier decisions for their children. Young people now have more opportunities for physical activity in their communities. Food in schools has been dramatically improved. And more Americans now have access to healthy, affordable food right in their communities.
- Disney announced that it will require all food and beverage products advertised, sponsored, or promoted on various Disney-owned media channels and online destinations and theme parks to meet nutritional guidelines that align with federal standards to promote fruit and vegetables and limit calories, sugar, sodium, and saturated fat by 2015.
- In support of Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games, the US Olympic Committee and several of its national governing bodies – USA Cycling/USA BMX, US Paralympics, USA Soccer, USA Swimming, USA Track & Field, USA Tennis, USA Gymnastics, the US Olympians Associations, USA Field Hockey, and US Volleyball – provided beginner athletic programming for free or low cost to more than 1.7 million kids in 2012.
- The Department of Defense announced dramatic improvements to nutrition standards for the $4.65 billion worth of food purchased every year for our troops and their families. For the first time in 20 years, DOD is updating their nutritional standards to include more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products with every meal.
- The First Lady celebrated a series of new collaborations to support Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties. Organizations including the National League of Cities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and KaBOOM committed new resources to help hundreds of local elected officials advance the goals of Let’s Move! in their communities. More than 150 local elected officials have committed to the goals of the initiative.
- Birds Eye committed to spending at least $2 million per year for three years to marketing and advertising efforts designed to encourage children to consume and enjoy vegetables. They will also work with kids on two new kid-developed products and will distribute 50 million coupons as part of a marketing campaign to promote vegetables.
- Through the PHA “Play Streets,” the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association funded street-closings to increase safe places for families to play. These areas are called “Play Streets”—city streets where kids and families can run, walk, bike, or play outside freely without traffic. In 2013, at least four Play Streets per city/town in 10 cities and towns across the country will be funded.
In August 2012, the First Lady hosted the first-ever Kids’ State Dinner celebrating healthy lunchtime recipes created by kids. The First Lady, along with Epicurious, USDA, and the Department of Education, welcomed 54 young chefs from all 50 states and U.S. territories to a luncheon at the White House serving some of those healthy creations.
(Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)
- The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition updated the President’s Challenge Youth Fitness Test to reflect the latest science on kids’ health and promote active, healthy lifestyles rather than athletic performance and competition. The new Presidential Youth Fitness Program is a voluntary, school-based program that assesses students’ fitness-based health and helps them progress over time. The new program will be implemented in 25 percent of US schools by the end of 2013, and 90 percent of US schools by 2018.
- The Partnership for a Healthier America teamed up with 157 hospitals to deliver more healthy options throughout their facilities. These hospitals have committed to work over the next three years to improve the nutrition of patient meals as well as that of the food options in on-site cafeterias. This includes more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low calorie options, and healthy beverages.
- In September 2012, experts in the physical activity and public health communities (The Partnership for a Healthier America, Nike Inc., the American College of Sports Medicine, and the International Council of Sports Science and Physical Education) came together around a shared set of seven best practice “design filters” foryouth physical activity programming. Organizations across sectors are working to integrate these filters into school and community-based physical activity programs to provide positive, quality experiences for young people across the country.
- In December 2010, President Obama signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, groundbreaking legislation that is helping American public schools offer healthier school meals for tens of millions of American children. And in January 2012, the USDA released new school meal regulations to boost the quality and nutrition of our national school lunch and breakfast programs – including offering more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and less sodium, saturated fat, and trans fats.
- Through the HealthierUS School Challenge, more than 5,000 schools now meet high standards in nutrition and fitness – and the list continues to grow, surpassing goals set not just for 2012, but for 2013 as well.
- Walgreens, Supervalu, Walmart and several regional grocers announced a commitment to build or expand 1,500 stores in communities with limited or no access to healthy food. This initiative will create thousands of local jobs, and will provide access to fresh food to an estimated 9.5 million people who currently have limited access. In California alone, the Fresh Works Fund has committed 200 million dollars to this effort to increase access to healthy food.
- Darden, the world’s largest full service restaurant company, which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster and other chains, made a commitment to improve kids’ menus by offering a fruit or vegetable and low-fat milk with every meal. Darden will also reduce total calories and sodium by 20% across their menus over the next 10 years.
- The First Lady launched MyPlate and MiPlato, an easy to understand icon to help parents make healthier choices for their families. More than 6,100 community groups and 100 national organizations and corporations have partnered with the USDA to give families across the country access to this important nutritional information.
- The First Lady worked with the US Tennis Association to build or refurbish more than 6,200 kid-sized tennis courts across the country, sign up more than 250,000 kids to complete their PALAs, and train 12,000 coaches to help kids learn the sport of tennis.
- The First Lady launched Let’s Move! Child Care to ensure that our youngest children are getting a healthy start. As of January of 2013, more than 10,000 child care professionals and organizations have registered to implement new criteria for nutrition, physical activity, and limited screen time.
- Walmart announced a new Nutrition Charter through which they lowered the cost of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products by $1 billion in 2011. Wal-Mart has also pledged to work with manufacturers to eliminate trans fats and remove 10% of the sugar and 25% of the sodium in the food they sell by 2015.
- Through Chefs Move to School, 2,400 chefs and nearly 4,000 schools have signed up to work together, teaching kids about healthy eating and helping cafeteria staff prepare healthier meals.
- The country’s largest food manufacturers pledged to cut 1.5 trillion calories from the food they sell by 2015 through their Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation.
- The American Beverage Association fulfilled their commitment to put clear calorie labels on the front of their products to give consumers better information.
- Through Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens, 597 participating institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed up to offer active exhibits and healthy food choices. |
Sex & Health
Sex can impact your life and there is a great deal to consider in deciding when or if you want to “go all the way”. Be informed so you can make the best decision when the time comes. Not only for today, but for your future…
- There are almost 19 million new cases of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) a year and half of these cases are found in 15-24 year olds. This age group makes up 25% of the sexually active population.
- 1 in 4 college students will acquire an STD before graduation.
- 1 out of 6 Americans (14-49 years of age) has genital herpes. Only a third of individuals with the virus know they are infected and an uninfected person has a 75% chance of contracting genital herpes during intimate contact with another person actively shedding the virus.
- Left untreated, 10-15% of women with chlamydia will develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) which can lead to damage of the uterus, fallopian tubes, surrounding tissues, and potentially infertility.
- Almost half of all pregnancies among American women are unplanned and unintended. Four in 10 unintended pregnancies results in abortion and 20-24 year old women make up 33% of that ratio.
Unplanned pregnancy and getting an STD can be scary things. Life Line has trained staff and volunteers ready to talk with you if you need us. In the meantime, it’s okay to wait…
Postponing sex until marriage will help keep you STD free and free from untimely pregnancies.
1) Medical Institute for Sexual Health. (2008). How many people in the US are infected
with an STI? Are many of those infected people are adolescents? Retrieved from http://www.medinstitute.org/public/122.cfm
2) Rutgers, The State University of NJ. (2009). Sexually transmitted infections. Retrieved
3) Center For Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, March 3). Genital herpes - CDC
fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/std/Herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm#common
4) Herpes.com. (2009). Genital Herpes. Retrieved from
5) Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, May 12). Infertility & STDs.
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/std/infertility/default.htm
6) Guttmacher Institute. (2010). In brief: facts on induced abortion in the United States.
Retrieved from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html |
LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists say they have developed a way of pinpointing variations in a person's genetic code using a chemical test on saliva, meaning quick, cheap DNA tests for risks of certain diseases may be around the corner.
Researchers at Edinburgh University said their technique, based on chemical analysis, can deliver reliable results without the need for expensive enzymes used in conventional DNA testing.
Juan Diaz-Mochon of the university's School of Chemistry, who led the research, said the chemical method was able to detect genes linked to cystic fibrosis in laboratory experiments using synthetic DNA.
With funding from commercial partners and the Scottish Enterprise fund, he said his team planned to market a cystic fibrosis test very soon and then run further research to see if the same method could be used to decode entire human genomes.
"We're hoping to bring the first test for cystic fibrosis to the market within five months," he told Reuters. "With the scientific data we already have, we believe we can develop this test further and in different ways."
Tests which identify tiny variations or omissions in DNA code are increasingly being developed and marketed as ways of determining whether or not a person is healthy, susceptible to disease, or has a disease or serious risks of developing one.
Cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening inherited disease in which internal organs such as the lungs and digestive system become clogged with thick sticky mucus, is one of a small number of diseases caused by a single, identifiable faulty gene.
Companies around the world are racing to develop ever faster and cheaper gene sequencing techniques to offer scientists and drug developers swifter routes mapping whole genomes.
U.S. firm Illumina launched its latest genome sequencing tool, HiSeq 2000, in January and challenges rivals at Life Technologies, Roche, Affymetrix, Agilent Technologies and Helicos BioSciences.
Experts say the "holy grail" for such firms is to be able to decode a person's entire genetic sequence for $1,000.
Diaz-Mochon said his chemical method would offer a "speedy, cost-efficient alternative" to existing DNA analysis.
"The market for DNA testing is quickly expanding as it becomes more affordable. Our method could help reach the goal of complete genome analysis in a few hours for less than $1,000," he said in a commentary about the study, which was published in the journal Angewandte Chemie and funded by Scottish Enterprise.
Mark Bradley, who also worked on the study, said the team planned to extend their collaborations with researchers and companies working in DNA "and establish our first commercial operations within the next six months."
SOURCE: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, published online February 12, 2010.
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Contact lenses have been greatly accepted as a vision correcting optical device and also as an excellent alternative to glasses. Such lenses are now to be used in a special treatment for eyes with problems of cornea. This new form of sight restoration by healing the cornea is said to be a safer and cost effective method as opposed to the surgical or other methods.
The procedure involves some stem cells from the patient to be grown on the lens. It is then to be kept for 10 days after which the lens has to worn by the patient so that the cells get transferred to the eye for healing the damaged cornea. The patient undergoing this treatment has a local anesthetic and within two hours is discharged. As of now this process has been applicable for corneal treatment but researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia are also hoping to use the similar technique for retina or other damaged parts like the skin.
Dr. Nick Di Girolamo from the research team states that “Unlike other techniques, it requires no foreign human or animal products, only the patient’s own serum, and is completely non-invasive. There’s no suturing, there is no major operation. You don’t need any fancy equipment.”
[source: dvice.com ] |
American children must be ready to learn from the first day of school. And of course, preparing children for school is a historic responsibility of parents.
Test. It's a loaded word. Important...something to care about...something that can mean so much we get apprehensive thinking about it. Tests are important, especially to school children. A test may measure a basic skill. It can affect a year's grade. Or, if it measures the ability to learn, it can affect a child's placement in school. So it's important to do well on tests.
Besides, the ability to do well on tests can help throughout life in such things as getting a driver's license, trying out for sports, or getting a job. Without this ability, a person can be severely handicapped. Your child can develop this ability. And you can help the child do it. Just try the simple techniques developed through Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) research.
It's helpful for a child to understand why schools give tests. And to know the different kinds of tests.
Tests are yardsticks. Schools use them to measure, and then improve education. Some tell schools that they need to strengthen courses or change teaching techniques. Other tests compare students by schools, school districts, or cities. All tests determine how well "your child" is doing. And that's very important.
Most of the tests your child will take are "teacher-made." That is, teachers design them. These tests are associated with the grades on report cards. They help measure a student's progress--telling the teacher and the student whether he or she is keeping up with the class, needs extra help, or, perhaps, is far ahead of other students.
Now and then your child will take "standardized" tests. These use the same standards to measure student performance across the country. Everyone takes the same test according to the same rules. This makes it possible to measure each student's performance against that of others. The group with whom a student's performance is compared is a "norm group" and consists of many students of the same age or grade who took the same test.
Ask the School
It could be useful for you to know the school's policies and practices on giving standardized tests and the use of test scores. Ask your child's teacher or guidance counselor about the kinds of tests your child will take during the year -- and the schedule for testing.
One other thing: some schools give students practice in taking tests. This helps to make sure that they are familiar with directions and test format. Find out whether your child's school gives "test-taking practice" on a regular basis or will provide such practice if your child needs it.
Avoid Test Anxiety
It's good to be concerned about taking a test. It's not good to get "test anxiety." This is excessive worry about doing well on a test and it can mean disaster for a student.
Students who suffer from test anxiety tend to worry about success in school, especially doing well on tests. They worry about the future, and are extremely self-critical. Instead of feeling challenged by the prospect of success, they become afraid of failure. This makes them anxious about tests and their own abilities.Ultimately, they become so worked up that they feel incompetent about the subject matter or the test.
It does not help to tell the child to relax, to think about something else, or stop worrying. But there are ways to reduce test anxiety. Encourage your child to do these things:
Do's and Don't's
You can be a great help to your children if you will observe these do's and don't's about tests and testing:
After the Test
It's important for children to review test results. This is especially true when they take teacher-made tests. They can learn from a graded exam paper. It will show where they had difficulty and, perhaps, why. This is especially important for classes where the material builds from one section to the next, as in math. Students who have not mastered the basics of math will be unable to work with fractions, square roots, beginning algebra, and so on.
Discuss the wrong answers with your children and find out why they answered as they did. Sometimes a child misunderstands the way a question is worded or misinterprets what was asked. The child may have known the correct answer but failed to express it effectively.
It's important, too, for children to see how well they used their time on the test and whether guessing was a good idea. This helps them to change what they do on the next test, if necessary.
You and the child should read and discuss all comments written by the teacher. If there are any comments that aren't clear, the child should ask the teacher to explain.
(This information was provided by the U.S. Department of Education.) |
Email > Help >
If I tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on...
Faberge shampoo, Television commercial, 1970's.
You should always run the latest version
of a virus protection program and
configure it to scrub your email attachments as they arrive before
Information about virus types, protection, and related issues is provided in the Internet viruses section. With respect to email specifically, if your email application is relatively up to date, and you are running a good virus protection program, then your email connection should be fairly safe from accepting or transmitting viruses. Nevertheless, there are enough vulnerable computers on the Internet that email is still the main transmission channel for viruses around the world. Email viruses spread in two main ways:
- Attachments. Viruses commonly hide in programs sent as email
attachments, and run when the user double-clicks on the program to start
it. Therefore, you shouldn't run programs received as email attachments
unless you have a virus protection program running and the attachment
is from a trusted source.
For example, a greeting card program forwarded from a friend of a friend is
not from a trusted source, and there is nothing to stop it from running malicious
system programming code behind its animated presentation once you start it running
on your machine. You should also be wary of opening documents that might contain
scripts and macros (see below). Some attachments will have two extensions to
try and trick you into believing they are just a harmless data file and not a
program, such as "coolpicture.jpg. exe".
One of the first script viruses was a MIME virus that attacked older versions of programs like Netscape Mail, Microsoft Outlook,
and Eudora, and could under certain rare conditions run a damaging program
as soon as the email was simply opened. In a variation on an old hacker technique, the attached MIME file was given a very long name that then triggered a bug that allowed the end of the name to
be run as a series of instructions, which could then be written to do damaging things to your computer. However, these early viruses remained
theoretical, and a fix for the bug was quickly developed by email
However, Visual Basic (VBasic) script viruses became very real, and have continued to do considerable damage across the Internet. VBasic is a very flexible and deeply powerful program development environment used by Microsoft for their operating system, office automation, and Internet applications. This means that VBasic viruses can run from anywhere in the Microsoft software architecture and affect the entire system, from email to operating system, giving them unprecedented reach and power.
The first widespread VBasic virus was Melissa, which brought down several of the largest corporations in the world for several days in late
March 1999. Melissa traveled in a Microsoft Word document and was triggered when the document was opened, opened the associated Microsoft
Outlook email program, read the user's email address
book, and then sent copies
of itself to the first fifty names. This clever architecture was quickly followed by many variants programmed by hackers around the world, including the KAK virus that triggered as soon as an email was opened, and the BubbleBoy virus that triggered as soon as the email was viewed in the preview pane.
If you upgrade your email program once and awhile, and run a virus protection
program with an automatically updated database, then you should be safe from
most script viruses. Also, select "No" if a document asks to enable
macros when you open it, especially if you don't know who wrote them. |
Seeing wildlife when on a camp out can be a real highlight of your adventure. These sightings can be a real treat but can also be dangerous. Attacks by mountain lions on humans have happened but are rare. Knowing what to do when you’re caught in this situation is very important.
Mountain lions are also known as pumas, panthers, or cougars. Another name for them is catamount. These creatures are shy and isolated so they are seldom seen. If you happen to come upon one of these cougars, think smart. Cluster together with your hiking companions, representing yourself as a big, noisy group. If you’re hiking alone, extend your arms or pack up as high as you can so you look bigger. Wave your trekking poles and shout. Never run or bend down as this will make you look like prey. Call children to come next to you.
These cats roam anywhere from central Canada down to Patagonia. They can be anywhere from sea level up to the high alpine areas. They can survive from swamps to forests to timberline.
The female will fiercely protect its young. Don’t even approach that darling, little kitten. Back away slowly if you happen to come upon an adult or baby. If the cat continues to follow you, throw sticks or rocks while backing away.
A camper’s fear of mountain lions is unjustified. They’re not going to come and get you in your tent while you sleep. These animals are rarely seen, but you may be able to catch a fleeting glimpse of one. Even though sightings are rare, be sure to use caution at all times. These cats’ stealth and adaptability allow them to survive well in a wide environment.
They’ve been known to jump 20 feet in one leap. The puma creeps up on its prey until it’s close enough to leap upon it. Their diet consists of deer, rabbits, turkeys, and grouse. Juvenile cats are trying to establish their territory while the mother cats will protect their young.
My own personal sightings have occurred in areas with an abundance of young rabbits. My sightings have been in the morning hours or at dusk. When my wife and I were in the High Uintahs, we witnessed a Canadian Lynx. It was in an area where lots of naïve, young cottontail rabbits abound. |
The potential for soil carbon sequestration in three tropical dryland farming systems of Africa and Latin America: A modelling approach
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Soil & Tillage Research
Historically, agriculturally induced CO2 release from soils has contributed to rising levels in the atmosphere. However, by using appropriate management, soils can be turned into carbon sinks. Many of the dryland regions of the world are characterised by degraded soils, a high incidence of poverty and a low capacity to invest in agriculture. Two well-proven soil organic matter models (CENTURY 4.0 and RothC-26 3) were used two explore the effects of modifying agricultural practices to increase soil carbon stocks. The changes to land management were chosen to avoid any significant increase in energy input whilst using technologies that would be available without radically altering the current agricultural methodology. Case studies were selected from dryland farming systems in Nigeria, Sudan and Argentina. Modelling showed that it would be possible to make alterations within the structure of the current farming systems to convert these soils from carbon sources to net sinks. Annual rates of carbon sequestration in the range 0.08-0.17 Mg ha(-1) year(-1) averaged over the next 50 years could be obtained. The most effective practices were those that maximised the input of organic matter, particularly farmyard manure (up to 0.09 Mg ha(-1) year(-1)), maintaining trees (up to 0.15 Mg ha(-1) year(-1)) and adopting zero tillage (up to 0.04 Mg ha(-1) year(-1)). Verification of these predictions will require experimental data collected from field studies. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- soil carbon
- carbon sequestration
- global warming
- ISSN: 0167-1987 |
Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
New York, NY
Published October 2, 2012
Terry Plank is a geochemist working literally at the edge of phenomena shaping the Earth’s crust. Her research focuses on what happens when tectonic plates collide, forcing one under the other at a subduction zone. Because these collisions generate tremendous heat, they are frequently associated with volcanoes, which Plank uses as a window to the chemical and physical forces deep below the surface. In early work, she analyzed trace metals in deep core samples from rock entering a subduction zone and compared them with magma ejected from associated volcanoes, finding that the magma unexpectedly includes materials from the subducted crust, rather than exclusively new rock formed from the Earth’s mantle. More recently, she has demonstrated that the chemical composition of volcanic rocks reveals the temperature at the point of rock formation, where the subduction plate intersects the mantle. These data are essential for accurate modeling of tectonic geophysics. Furthermore, her observations of certain volcanic minerals that trap water demonstrate the critical role they play in the geochemistry of rock formation at subduction zones (it is water and other volatiles that account for the volcanic explosions). Though the motion of tectonic plates triggers some of the Earth’s greatest spectacles—earthquakes, pyroclastic lava flows, geysers, etc.—the science of plate tectonics is still in its early stages. With painstaking fieldwork, careful analysis, and profound insight, Plank is uncovering details about the complex interplay of thermal and chemical forces that drives this usually imperceptible but remarkably powerful natural force.
Terry Plank received an A.B. (1985) from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. (1993) from Columbia University. Since 2008, she has been a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. Her prior affiliations include the University of Kansas (1995–1999) and Boston University (1999–2007), and her scientific articles have appeared in such journals as Nature, the Journal of Geophysical Research, and Nature Geoscience, among others.
Hi-res photos for download. Photos licensed under a Creative Commons license. Courtesy of the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Right-click on the links below to save the file to your computer.
About the Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction. Learn More
Sarkis Mazmanian, Medical Microbiologist
Class of 2012 |
If the animals at Saginaw Childrens Zoo could talk, they would agree with tens of thousands of smiling kids that the zoos many new educational exhibits and attractions are a lot of fun.
The animals might also say that privatizationthe transfer of government-owned assets to the private sectoris the reason for the zoos recent success and the better care and feeding they now enjoy.
Animals cant talk, of course, but visitors and employees alike are amazed at the zoos transition from a neglected, city-owned facility to a privatized powerhouse that draws eager families from across the state. How did it happen?
In 1996, Saginaw officials turned over the ailing zoo to a private, nonprofit association. Freed from city bureaucracy and politics, the zoos new, private management raised $2 million in private gifts to help hire seven more full-time workers, raise their wages, add 50 new animals, and improve the animals medical care and food preparation facilities.
As a result, paid annual attendance has jumped by more than 30,000, helping ensure the zoos self-sufficiency next year, when its subsidies end.
Saginaw Zoos success shows that privatization done right can lead to improved services, better jobs, and happy children.
For the Mackinac Center, this is Catherine Martin. |
It was Bret Easton Ellis who coined the phrase, "The better you look, the more you see," and it appears the folks down at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab agree. In what's considered a "first," the agency's latest space-scouring probe, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, has turned on its X-ray vision to capture focused images of a black hole, dubbed Cygnus X-1, feeding on a nearby giant star. By tuning into these high-energy frequencies, scientists are getting a peak into a previously unseen side of the heavens at 100 times the sensitivity and 10 times the resolution of any preceding tech. The space agency plans to use the observatory's powerful sight to suss out other known areas of mass X-ray activity like 3C273, an active quasar located two billion light years away and even explore G21.5-0.9, the fallout from a supernova within the Milky Way galaxy. NuSTAR's first tour of galactic duty will span two year's time, during which it'll attempt to record imagery from "the most energetic objects in the universe, " as well as track the existence of black holes throughout the cosmos. Impressed? Yeah, us too. |
Advancements in solar panel system technologies have allowed citizens of the world to utilize the energy from the sun to power our homes and businesses. This tremendous leap will do wonders for the humanity of today as well as tomorrow. The positive aspects of solar energy panels are boundless, and as the amount of people who use magnolia photovoltaic solar panels increases, the strain on the earth as well as anxieties about the future will decrease exponentially.
The process by which Magnolia Home Solar Panels work is a simple one. By storing natural sunlight in the photovoltaic cells which make up the solar energy panels, we are able to convert that energy into electricity which can be used any time of day. Solar power can be harnessed and used when it is needed, including rainy days or nighttime.
Many passionate homeowners as well as business owners are truly enjoying the financial benefits of Solar Power. Many businesses are forced to pay extraordinarily high utility bills in order to keep the business running. By simply utilizing magnolia photovoltaic solar panels, it is possible to greatly increase productivity, at no extra cost. This can be an extremely advisable way to cut down on overhead, and dramatically increase profit.
In these tough economic times, many families are trying to find new ways to save money for the truly important things in life. By cutting out that utility payment every month, many families are benefiting monetarily, as well as enjoying the limitless power the sun has to offer.
The sun has enough energy to power the world endlessly. It also does not cause carbon dioxide emissions which contribute significantly to global warming. To many people, the choice is simple. If there is a feasible alternative to heavy pollution, it just makes sense to use it.
As we continue to evolve as a species, we are constantly learning new truths and principles. As we increase our knowledge about this earth we live on, it is becoming increasingly evident that we need to make positive changes in order to ensure that our species will continue to live on an inhabitable planet. Investors in solar power technology have found a clean alternative that works. As we continue to require more electricity to power the things in our lives that have become necessities, we will need to stop looking at harmful pollutants, and start looking toward the sky. |
Little Chebeague Island, view from south, 1947Item 67297 info
National Archives at Boston
In early 1942, Capt. O.C. Badger, commanding officer of the battleship North Carolina (BB-55), identified Little Chebeague Island as a site for a recreational center for the crews of Navy ships operating in Casco Bay.
In 1942, sailors began using the island for baseball games, lobster dinners, and other recreational activities, based on an informal agreement with the owner of the majority of the island. |
Nearly 28,000 U.S. Infants Died in 2004
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 2, 2007 - Preterm birth contributes to more than one-third of all infant deaths, according to the National Vital Statistics report released today.
Although the national infant mortality rate is the lowest it's been since the U.S. started collecting data a century ago, there's been little change recently - 6.78 deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2004 compared to 6.89 in 2000, the National Center for Health Statistics report found.
The report, "Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2004 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set" includes a new analysis tracking preterm birth-related infant deaths. The analysis, first published in the October 2006 edition of Pediatrics, found preterm birth contributes to nearly twice as many infant deaths within the first year of life than previously estimated.
"We have long known babies born too soon face many developmental challenges - even death," said Joann Petrini, Ph.D., director of the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center. "This closer look at preterm birth gives us a better understanding of the impact of prematurity on infant survival and provides insights into the factors that have contributed to the lack of improvement in the U.S. infant mortality rate."
Preterm related deaths accounted for more than 10,000 of the nearly 28,000 infant deaths in 2004, according to the NCHS. Birth defects remain the leading cause of infant death, followed by prematurity, according to official reporting systems. But, using this new classification, premature birth would be the
most frequent cause of infant death. The traditional methods cannot accurately gauge the true impact of preterm birth on the infant mortality rate, the NCHS said.
The new method reviews all causes of infant death and combines conditions, such as respiratory distress syndrome, which frequently occur in premature babies. The analysis published in October 2006 looked at only the top 20 leading causes of infant death.
More than a half million babies are born too soon each year and the preterm birth rate has increased more than 30 percent since 1981. Babies who do survive face risks of lifelong health and developmental challenges.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org. |
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The Wikipedia gives the following formula regarding dihedral angles,
Now, how did the wiki work out the co-ordinates without knowing the dihedral angles?
I suggest that you purchase the 'MAHEMATICAL MODELS' book by H.Martyn Cundy and
Hi Joe, I sent your email to Jesse, so hiding it now
I sent an email about this to "Soapy Joe", hopefully it will reach him.
Top line is the dot product between the vectors. Bottom is the product of their lengths.
These calculations are also shown on the sheet along with a conversion into degrees. |
HEALTH FEATURE ARCHIVE
Disorders of Pregnancy
In the course of its research on healthy pregnancy, the NICHD has made great progress in understanding features of disorders that may occur during pregnancy. Work is ongoing to find ways to treat and prevent these disorders to help women have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Researchers estimate that GDM occurs in nearly 7 percent of all pregnancies. Unlike some other disorders that occur during pregnancy, GDM is often treatable. GDM treatment plans should be designed by a health care provider to address a woman's specific health needs. In general, many GDM treatment plans include: following a healthy meal plan as outlined by a health care provider; getting regular, moderate physical activity; maintaining a healthy weight gain; and measuring and recording blood sugar levels. Some women also need to take insulin or other medications to maintain a healthy pregnancy.
Even though it usually goes away after the baby is born, GDM can affect the health of both mother and baby later in life. For instance, women who have GDM during pregnancy have a 40 percent greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. And, babies born to mothers with GDM are at greater risk than babies born to other mothers of developing type 2 diabetes or being obese (extremely overweight) later in life.
Because babies born to mothers with GDM tend to be larger than average, GDM can also affect the way a baby is delivered. In some cases, the safest way to deliver a baby from a mother with GDM is by surgery, called cesarean section; but, cesarean section delivery carries its own risks.
The NICHD supports a great deal of research on GDM, its risk factors, and its treatments. One study, supported by the NICHD through the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit (MFMU) Network, is examining the benefits of counseling and dietary management in treating mild GDM. Other clinical trials on GDM are also underway.
The NICHD offers Are you at risk for gestational diabetes? a brochure that outlines the risk factors for GDM and summarizes recommendations from American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists about testing for GDM. In addition, Managing Gestational Diabetes: Your Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy provides general information and guidelines for keeping yourself healthy if you have GDM.
Preeclampsia and Eclampsia
Eclampsia (ee-KLAMP-see-uh) is a more severe form of preeclampsia that can lead to seizures and coma. Estimates place the number of women affected by eclampsia at one in 200 women who have preeclampsia. Eclampsia can be fatal if it's not treated quickly.
High blood pressure is one possible sign of preeclampsia. Having abnormal levels of protein in the urine is also part of preeclampsia. If you are pregnant and your blood pressure normally runs high, or is suddenly high, your health care provider may ask for frequent urine samples throughout your pregnancy, to test your urine for protein as a sign of preeclampsia.
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! |
The immune system recognizes HIV by its antigen shape. But, just when the immune system recognizes one shape, HIV may multiply and change the shape of its antigen.
HIV can "hide" from the immune system for a long time.
When HIV infects a cell the virus may make more viruses and infect more cells or lie quietly in a cell for a long time. If HIV doesn't reproduce, the immune system can't find it and destroy it.
HIV destroys the immune system. The Immune system consists of Innate Immunity and Humoral Immunity Innate Immunity is Non-specific Immunity, whereas Humoral Immunity is specific Immunity. T-cells produce Cell-Mediated Immunity and B-cells produces Humoral Mediated Immunity.
As HIV destroys more and more helper T cells, the immune system begins to break down.
Finally the immune system can no longer kill HIV or any other invading germs and a person infected with HIV is diagnosed with AIDS. |
The Copper Cauldrons aboard the
High in the reef, at the northern extreme of the Henrietta Marie's site, two riveted, copper cauldrons were discovered. These two pieces are similar in design, but of strikingly different sizes. With near certainty, these copper cauldrons were used as cooking vessels aboard the ship. The smaller of the two is a rectangular, two chambered one, with two coamed openings at the top. The other is a very large cube with a single opening, also
coamed. It is assumed fitted lids covered the openings, though none has been found. When considering the nature of the
Henrietta Marie's business, the need for two cauldrons like these becomes evident.
Aboard a slaver sailing from Africa to the Americas, there were two distinct populations - the cargo of slaves, and the crew. Though the Africans outnumbered the European sailors by 10 or 20:1, they shared no comforts. This indignity can be measured
through many different ways when looking at a slave ship, including the different foods that were customarily consumed onboard by each of the two groups. Though the actual foodstuffs generally do not preserve on shipwreck sites, the galley items, and tableware do. When one looks at differences between the cauldrons, it becomes clearer each was carried to accommodate the differences in the people on board..
Contemporary accounts from those who sailed on slavers record many of the common foods served to Africans, and how they were prepared. Over and over again, the same items appear - "horse" beans, yams, rice, "Indian" wheat, and
"mandioca." In a typical passage, Alexander
Falconbridge, a slave-ship surgeon, wrote in 1788
" The diet of the negroes, while on board, consists chiefly of horse-beans, boiled to the consistence of a pulp; of boiled yams and rice, and sometimes of a small quantity of beef or pork. The latter are frequently taken from the provisions laid in for the sailors. They sometimes make use of a sauce, composed of palm-oil, mixed with flour, water, and pepper, which the sailors call
slabber-sauce. Yams are the favorite food of the Eboe, or Bight
negroes, and rice or corn, of those from the Gold and Windward Coasts; each preferring the produce of their native soil... The horse beans and rice, with which they are fed aboard ship, are chiefly taken from Europe."
In 1699, James Barbot of the Albion Frigate described that the Africans on his ship were fed twice a day in groups of ten from a wooden tub, with each receiving a wooden spoon, and a coconut shell of water. Assuming these diets were typical, it would appear that nutritional requirements were, at best, being only minimally met, and dehydration must have been a persistent reality.
The crew of the Henrietta Marie would have fared better. Typically a merchant ship of the time would have been stocked with salt-meats, cheese, peas, biscuit, beer, brandy, and rum. Additional fresh provisions would have been acquired in Africa, and the sea could always provided plenty of fish and turtles. Two pewter plates found on the site, scarred with utensil marks, remain from their tableware.
Applying these scenarios to the cauldrons, the larger likely held the voluminous, plain, single-course meals needed to keep the Africans sustained. This vessel, with a capacity of almost exactly one-half of a cubic yard, would have served well to hold the large amounts to be cooked for the 200+ Africans. Its single chamber reflects the monotony of their diet. When this item was discovered, its bottom was filled with chain. At the time, in the third leg of the triangular voyage with the Africans already sold as slaves, it simply made for a nice storage space. The smaller cauldron with two chambers, one of exactly one cubic foot, and the other one and a half cubic feet, could have been used to prepare two hot courses for the crew, which numbered around eighteen.
Oppression was inherent in the trade of Africans to the West Indies, but when going beyond the surface, and examining the meaning and purpose of even apparently benign objects from the
Henrietta Marie, evidence for inequality is almost always found.
a printable version in Acrobat PDF format, please click
archaeology for more information. |
If someone around you is suffering from memory loss, it is best to be as patient and understanding with them as possible. It can be very hard for them, and you not being understanding can make it worse for them. The more empathetic and patient you can be with them, the more likely you are to help them recover their memory.
To boost your brainpower, include a fish oil supplement in your diet. Scientists have found that that introducing Omega-3 fatty acids into your diet can help keep your memory sharp. Getting the right dosage is important, so consult you doctor prior to taking this supplement.
Include fish oil in your daily diet. If you are very forgetful, you may be forgetting to eat the necessary omega-3 fatty acids. You can get more in your diet with a pill.
If this is your situation, you should use about 5 to 15 minutes of your time when studying to let your mind rest. That will help your brain absorb and retain the information more easily.
When you are are studying, have your material laid out in an organized, outlined form. When you can take information and separate it into segments that are related, it is more likely you will remember the information easily. The outline doesn’t necessarily have to be long, because any type of grouping system is going to be helpful.
For those who don’t believe that laughter is the best medicine, you might be surprised to learn that laughing can actually help you strengthen your memory. When you listen to the jokes and try to determine their punchlines, your brain’s areas for creativity and learning are triggered. Amuse others and yourself so that everyone’s memory will start working better.
Think of your brain as a muscle. To keep it in good shape, you need to exercise it. You can decrease the effects of senility by playing puzzles.
It was stated that these tips would help you to recall the information that is in your memory when you need it. Hopefully these tips will help you to find the way to do just that. It will make things in your life much easier and less frustrating than it was when you forgot it all. |
A modem that resides outside the computer, and that attaches to the computer's serial port by cable.
A modem that resides in a self-contained box outside the computer system.
A modem that attaches to the computer externally, usually through a serial port, and has its own power supply. An external modem operates no differently than an internal modem, although it can be shut off without turning off the entire computer.
a hardware device, that is attached to the serial port of the computer using a serial port cable
a modem in a small desktop chassis that uses a cable to connect to a serial COM port or USB port on the back of your computer
a modem that is not built into your computer, but which you can plug into your computer and your phone line to access the Internet
a small box that connects to the PC through a serial I/O port
modem that is plugged into one of the serial ports on a computer. External modems often have lights on them showing current activity. Because they are external, they also have to have their own power source and power switch. Due to the case, power supply, and cable that an external modem requires, the price is usually more than an internal modem, though only by about $20. External modems do not have UART chips built into them.
A modem that is separate from the unit with which it operates.
n. A stand-alone modem that is connected via cable to a computer's serial port. See also internal modem. |
DEFINITIONSTransparency in Government:
Transparency in government represents clarity, sharing information and acting in an open manner. As a core principle of good urban governance, transparency connotes the conduct of public business in a manner that affords stakeholders wide accessibility to the decision making process and the ability to effectively influence it. A transparency system in government makes complete, accurate and timely information available to stakeholders, has clear procedures for decision making, and facilitates open communication between stakeholders and decision makers.
Reliability in Government:
Stakeholders rely on the government to make decisions consistent with the public interest, while complying with laws, rules and other policies and to identify deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls that could result in violation of laws, regulations, provision of contracts or grant agreements, fraud, or abuse. Such internal control over reliability mean that there are policies, procedures, and practices that the City has implemented to provide reasonable assurance that operational and financial information used for decision making and reporting, both externally and internally, is reliable and fairly disclosed in reports.
Accountability in Government:
The concept of accountability for use of public resources and government authority is essential to our City’s governing processes. Government officials entrusted with public resources are responsible for carrying out public functions legally, effectively, efficiently, economically, ethically, and equitably.
Government managers are responsible for providing reliable, useful, and timely information for accountability of government programs and their operations. Legislators, government officials, and the public need to know whether (1) government manages public resources and uses its authority properly and in compliance with laws and regulations; (2) government programs are achieving their objectives and desired outcomes; (3) government services are provided effectively, efficiently, economically, ethically, and equitably; and (4) government managers are held accountable for their use of public resources.
UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) and Transparency International. Tools to support Transparency in local governance. Transparency International. .
Comptroller General of the United States. Government Auditing Standard July 2007 Revision. United States Government Accountability Office
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I get a lot of questions regarding damascus steel and how do the patterns form in it.
Although the principle is rather simple, I've noticed that it is extremely hard to try
to explain it in words. For that reason I've prepared here a description about it. In addition
I want to emphasize that this is not the only way to make damascus steel but a glimpse of how I
do it. That being said, this is not ment to be a tutorial and I don't recommend anyone to use
it as one and I don't take any responsibility of it.
In this example I use 0,8% plain carbon steel which I signify C0,8% and nickel steel 15N20.
These steels have rather identical working and heat treating characteristics.
In practice only difference between the two is the 2% nickel content in 15N20 steel
which among other things reduces corrosion in etching. Plain carbon steel (C0,8%) corrodes
more quickly revealing the layered structure.
I start by grinding the steel surfaces clean from rust and other foreign matter.
After this I cut slabs of equal length which I pile in such way that every other slab is
plain carbon steel (C0,8%) and every other is nickel steel (15N20).
After that I MIG-weld slabs together forming a billet and I weld a handle to it so that it
is easier to handle. There are now 10 layers in the example billet. (PICTURE 1)
Next it's time to light fire to the forge. First I heat the billet to cherry red temperature
and take the billet out of the forge to tighten those slabs more closely together with a few
hammer blows. After that I sprikle some borax over the billet. (PICTURE 2).
Borax is used in forgewelding as a flux. It covers the billet and seals it from oxygen
thus preventing scale from forming, which would interfere the welding.
Next the billet is heated in to yellow / starting white heat. When this temperature is reached
billet is kept in the fire for a while longer, allowing temperature to equalize.
Now I bring the billet to the anvil and quickly but lightly hammer the weld shut starting
at the center proceeding outwards. When the weld is hammered shut liquified hot borax and
scale it has dissolved fly out of the seams (PICTURE 3).
It is necessary to work very quickly because as soon as billet is taken out of forge
it's temperature starts to fall rapidly and one has only few seconds to make the weld depending
of the size of the billet. If billet cools down too much slabs wont weld properly and only option
is to cover the billet with borax and heat it again. |
The law connecting the volume of a gas with the temperature was discovered by Gay-Lussac, and independently by Dalton; but it is gene rally attributed to the former chemist. It is : Provided pressure be kept constant, the volume of a gas, measured at 0 degrees C., increases by 1/273 for each rise of 1 degree C..
Or 1 volume of gas at 0 degrees will become 1.00367 volume at 1; 1.0367 volume at 10 ; 1.367 volume at 100, and so on. Generally stated, if / stand for a temperature, 1 volume of gas will become 1 + O.OO367/ when heated from 0 degrees to that temperature.
A third law may be deduced from these two ; it is, that if the volume of a gas be kept constant, the pressure of a gas will increase 1^ of its initial value at for each rise of 1. This is evident from the following consideration : Suppose that i volume of a gas is heated from o to i; the volume will increase to 1.00367 volume. To reduce the volume again to its initial value, i, the pressure must be raised by 0.00367 of its original amount. If the initial pressure corresponded to that of 76 centimeters of mercury, it would have to be increased to 76 + (76 x 0.00367) centimeters, or to
76. 279 centimeters in order that the gas should resume its original volume of I. The same consideration will hold if the gas is cooled instead of being heated ; but of course in that case the pressure will be reduced, in stead of being raised. It follows from this, that if the temperature could be reduced to 273 below o C., the gas would exert no pressure. This temperature, 273, is termed " absolute zero." As a matter of fact, so low a temperature has never been reached ; and, moreover, it is certain that all gases would change to liquids before that temperature was attained. But it serves as the starting point for what is termed the "absolute scale of tempera ture." Gay-Lussac's law may therefore be stated thus: The volume of a gas at constant pressure increases as the absolute temperature ; and its corollary, thus : The pressure of a gas at constant volume increases as the absolute temperature. For o C. corresponds with 273 on the absolute scale; and 273 volumes of gas will become 274, if the temperature is raised from 273 absolute to 274 absolute. Similarly, the pressure of a gas will increase in the proportion 273 : 274 if the absolute temperature is increased from 273 to 274. |
• Area schools provided demonstrations on how technology has been integrated into curriculua.
By Michelle Swartz
Using a laptop to create a weather forecast with maps showing wind currents and air pressure, seventh- grader Billy Axel demonstrated how useful technology is in the classroom.
"It's all accessible through the computer," the Mason Middle School student explained as he clicked on various links to help him create a weather storm watch. "It's all interactive and easy to use."
Billy was one of several area students and teachers who demonstrated how technology is being utilized in Monroe County classrooms. Technology — specifically the countywide technology millage — was the main topic at the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce Koffee Klub held Thursday morning at Monroe County Intermediate School District.
"Looking back when (the millage) was first passed in 1997, one of our goals was to equip all teachers with email," said Dr. Donald Spencer, superintendent of Monroe County Intermediate School District, while speaking to approximately 100 people. "We have come a long way."
The topic of the meeting is in support of the Monroe County Educational Technology Millage, which is up for renewal in the May 3 election. It provides funding solely for educational technology and related staffing and services.
The funding provides classroom technology, including hardware and software, equipment, distance-learning connections, teleconferences, professional development for educators, technology integration and collaborative learning experiences.
If passed, all nine county districts will receive funding through the millage on a per-pupil basis, however, the ISD does not receive funds. Since it is a renewal, local property taxes will not increase. The renewal is .9866 mill for five years, which represents 98.66 cents of taxes for every $1,000 taxable value of a home.
In order to show how technology is being utilized in the classroom, four area schools gave presentations during the Koffee Klub meeting. Four stations were set up in every corner of the room with four different groups rotating at each station every 10 minutes.
Billy, along with fellow students Nick McCoy, Michelle Jacobs, Breanna Cocagne, Katlyn Leutz and Raegan Hiimebauch, showed the crowd the many ways they use computers to learn. Mason Middle School assigns a laptop to every student, but students cannot take the laptops home. The presentation was led by teacher Brenda Brown.
"We have computers in every room at the middle school," Billy said. "We also have other things like SMART boards. There's no such thing as chalkboards anymore."
The other stations were hosted by Sodt Elementary School, Monroe County Intermediate School District and Monroe High School. Fourth-graders from Sodt demonstrated how to use SMART boards, an interactive whiteboard that uses touch detection for user input. Math, science and other topics are taught from the boards.
Ryan Knoblauch, a speech pathologist with the ISD, and Brik Jacobs, a seventh-grader at Mason Middle School, showed their audience how iPads are used as a communication tool in the classroom.
"You can download free applications, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, to dictate notes," Mr. Knoblauch said. "You speak into it and it types out your notes. A lot of doctors and teachers use this application."
The fourth station was led by Monroe High School chemistry teacher Marc Drougel along with 10th-grade students Kaylin Reed, Ryan Gentil and Celeste Bakr. Mr. Drougel explained how he posts lecture videos on YouTube. Homework for his students is to watch the lectures while at home.
"Instead of them listening to me lecture during class, this frees up time for more lab work and one-on-one time," he told the crowd. "It allows students learning at a slower pace to stop, pause or rewind the video lecture and gives them more one-on-one time with me in class. Also, if a student is sick, it gives them an opportunity to catch up while at home."
Kaylin enjoys the tech-savvy chemistry class.
"He gives us deadlines for each chapter so you can work at your own pace. I can pause and rewind the video if I need to go back to something," she said of the self-paced class. "If I have questions, I can talk to (Mr. Drougel) in class about it the next day."
Chris Shankleton, an employee at Monroe Bank & Trust who attended the Koffee Klub, was impressed with the four examples of technology in area classrooms.
"It's just wonderful to see how technology is such an integral part of classrooms today," she said afterward. "Technology is here and not going away. I hope people (voting May 3) realize that." |
The departure of the British at the close of the revolution did not end the upheaval in the life of the Mansion. Serving as an inn for New York City-bound travelers, ownership of the house passed through many hands. Finally, in 1810, the Mansion was restored to its original purpose as a country house by the French emigrant Stephen Jumel and his wife Eliza.
Stephen and Eliza added new doorways and stained glass to the facade of the Mansion. As regular visitors to France, they furnished much of the house in the French Empire style. Many of those objects, including a bed said to have belonged to the Emperor Napoleon, remain in the Mansion today.
Stephen Jumel died in 1832, and Eliza, then one of the wealthiest women in New York, later married the former U.S. Vice President, Aaron Burr. Their marriage lasted just two years. Eliza retained ownership of the Mansion until her death in 1865. After a twenty-year court battle, which was finally settled by the U.S Supreme Court, the property was divided and sold.
The Mansion itself survived the subdivision along with a small plot of land. In 1894 it was purchased by General Ferdinand P. and Lillie Earle. In tune with the deep patriotic sentiment of the late 19th century, the Earle’s revered Washington and the Mansion’s history as his headquarters. They persuaded the City of New York to purchase the house and remaining property in 1903 and to preserve it as a monument to the nation’s past.
In 1904 the Washington’s Headquarters Association, formed by four chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, took on the task of operating the museum. Today, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, Inc., an independent not-for-profit corporation, assumes that responsibility. |
"Keep a stiff upper lip" or "get a grip!" That's often the advice we get—and give—on how to cope with stress. If you take it literally, the result could be grinding your teeth or clenching your jaws. It's called bruxism, and often it happens as you sleep.
Teeth grinding can be caused not just by stress and anxiety but by sleep disorders, an abnormal bite or teeth that are missing or crooked. The symptoms of teeth grinding include:
- dull headaches
- jaw soreness
- teeth that are painful or loose
- fractured teeth
Your dentist can fit you with a mouth guard to protect your teeth during sleep. In some cases, your dentist or physician may recommend taking a muscle relaxant before bedtime. If stress is the cause you need to find a way to relax. Meditation, counseling and exercise can all help reduce stress and anxiety.
Teeth grinding is also common in children. However, because their teeth and jaws change and grow so quickly it is not usually a damaging habit that requires treatment and most outgrow it by adolescence.
Although in adults teeth grinding is often the result of stress, the same is not always true with children. Other possible causes of teeth grinding in children include:
- irritation in the mouth
- misaligned teeth
If you’re concerned about your child’s teeth grinding, ask your child’s dentist about the potential causes and, if necessary, the possible solutions. |
Lettuce Rejoice! A Garden Grows in the Food Desert
June 14, 2011—
In the Atlanta neighborhood surrounding Benjamin Mays High School, it’s easier to get kidney dialysis than buy a peach.
The nearest bona fide grocery store is miles away. Obesity is epidemic, and school kids breakfast on junk food and soda pop.
Nevertheless, when teacher Geri Nix and her students at Benjamin Mays were casting about for a Michigan Tech High School Enterprise project, growing healthy food did not immediately spring to mind. Neither did competing in the world’s biggest science fair. Nix wasn’t even a science teacher: she taught technology classes and had an interest in art and architecture. “We thought of making art out of junk and selling it,” she recalls. “But that didn’t have much science.”
Then the team stumbled upon the concept of skyscraper farming: converting entire buildings to agriculture.
“We considered the neighborhood where our school is located,” Nix says. “We have little access to fresh foods and vegetables. And we thought about not having outdoor space; many people live in apartments.”
That’s when they decided to build a farm of their own, inside the high school, in a classroom that was serendipitously surrounded by windows on three sides. (That turned out to be a very good thing, Nix says. “Grow lights are expensive.”)
First, the team investigated hydroponics, in which plants are grown in water enriched with chemical nutrients. They also studied aquaponics. Simply put, plants are grown in a fish tank, with the fish providing the fertilizer. “Fish are ammonia-making machines,” Nix explains. “They pee a lot.”
They found an aquarium and added goldfish. “Then we germinated sweet basil seeds and floated them like a raft on the aquarium,” she said. Amazingly, they turned into healthy green plants.
Eventually, the team constructed five units, one hydroponic and four aquaponic. “Our classroom looked like a greenhouse.”
What did they grow? “Several different kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, sweet basil, watermelon, squash, sunflowers, spinach, cucumbers, peppers and pole beans,” says Nix. “A lot of pole beans.”
The students learned quickly that the aquaponic systems had the hydroponics beat. They required no chemical fertilizers, just fish food for the fish. And they had the potential for a second income stream. In addition to peddling vegetables, you could sell fish if you were to replace goldfish with, say, tilapia, or even the goldfish’s fancy cousin, koi.
That said, aquaponics wasn’t easy. “There was more science than you could imagine,” Nix remembers. “The kids had to learn chemistry, the nitrogen cycle, test for pH . . . There’s a small window where the chemistry is just right: then the plants are thriving, and the fish are thriving. You have to have that balance perfectly, like in nature.”
Meanwhile, the team investigated their neighborhood’s tattered food web.
“We are living in a food desert in our community,” Nix says. “We have to go several miles to get to a grocery store.” People who don’t have cars have to take a cab or push a shopping cart.
Fast food and convenience stores are everywhere, fresh food is absent. “When there’s less access to fresh, healthy and nutritious foods, there seems to be an abundance of medical issues and obesity. We are starting to see an increase in dialysis clinics in our neighborhoods,” Nix says. “A lot of our kids start their day with Cheetos and Hot Fries and soda. Over 50 percent of the people in food deserts are at high risk for diabetes, hypertension, and kidney failure.”
In a society that doesn’t eat its vegetables, she says, “we’re like the canaries in the mine.”
Even if supermarkets were to sprout on every block, the students’ locally grown food has additional advantages. It’s fresher, tastes better and takes far less energy to produce and bring to market, Nix says. Furthermore, big corporate farms create their own brand of rural blight. Agriculture is responsible for 90 percent of the nation’s water use, and over 80 percent of that water is wasted, she says. “The runoff is full of chemicals.”
The Enterprise team hadn’t thought of entering science fairs, since they weren’t a science project, strictly speaking. But, with some encouragement, they did, and won the city-wide Atlanta science fair, which qualified them for the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held May 8-13 in Los Angeles. Sponsored by the Society for Science and the Public, it’s the world’s largest pre-college science competition.
It was a little overwhelming for the students from Benjamin Mays High School. “Other teams had projects on cancer and DNA, and we had several found fish tanks, including an old bookshelf wrapped in plastic,” Nix says, “But our kids had worked hard. They knew their project inside and out.” Sophomore Quantavious Yorel Griggs, 16, and Moroccan exchange student Nouhayla Houssaini, 17, told the judges what they had learned, including how aquaponics outperformed hydroponics and how the food industry had failed their community.
Their exhibit, titled “Alternative Methods of Optimizing Food Production in ‘Red-Lined’ and Urban Food Deserts Using Aquaponics and Hydroponics vs. Conventional Growing Methods,” took a $500 fourth place prize in the fair’s environmental category.
“To do so well was just phenomenal,” said Nix.
So, what’s next? Nix is retiring, and while she’ll probably do some teaching, she isn’t sure what will happen to their project. “But for now, our school has a greenhouse, and aquaponics and hydroponics will be part of our environmental science curriculum.”
By the most important measure, the Benjamin May High School Enterprise is already a success. “The overarching goal of High School Enterprise is to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math,” said Doug Oppliger, who coordinates the National Science Foundation program at Michigan Tech and recruits high schools to participate. And both Griggs and Houssaini are interested in becoming scientists. “It’s also made them think in terms of enterprise: marketing, making money, producing a product,” says Nix.
The students gave their vegetables away, but there’s no reason they couldn’t embark on a profit-making venture. Inner city neighborhoods are ripe for such an enterprise, she believes. “Years ago, people came around in a truck, and people bought their vegetables,” she says. “It’s back to the future. The things we did in the past, we’ll have to do again.”
But we might do those things differently. With help from some goldfish, a handful of high school students have already made a garden bloom in the desert.
Michigan Technological University (www.mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences. |
A network to share best practices for children with special needs
I absolutely feel manners instills self confidence in children. Anyone who behaves with good character traits feels good at the end of the day-they feel successful. My children are immediately rewarded with verbal praise when I hear them use their good manners. My daughter is especially good at this saying "please" and "thank you", along with "good morning", etc. Just this past Sunday, she got into her carpool and said "good morning Dr. so and so". I heard about her nice manners from the mother. That evening, I told her how proud I was that she used good manners-this feeling of success and goodness makes her feel worthy and good about herself and therefore gives her self confidence.
For the latter part of the question, I feel manners can and should be taught early on. Personally, my kids hear about manners as soon as they can understand language. I have heard my 2 year old say "thank you mommy" (more like "sank you mommy") and he uses please when asking for something (e.g. "cookie please"). It's never too early to start! |
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Setting Priorities for Health Technology Assessment: A Model Process
mission of directing its resources for technology assessment toward medical conditions and technologies that have the greatest impact on the well-being of the public and on the public's expenditures for health care. By adhering to this principle, the committee believes that OHTA can identify and evaluate the medical conditions and technologies whose assessment will offer maximum benefits to the nation's citizens.
Several specific benefits of an OHTA priority-setting process include the potential to improve the health and well-being of the public, reduce needless or inappropriate health expenditures, reduce inequities and maldistribution of health care, and inform ethical, legal, and social issues related to candidate topics. The committee enunciated three other objectives of a priority-setting process: it must (1) meet the information needs of users, (2) be efficient, and (3) be sensitive to the assessing organization's political, economic, and social constraints and be—as well as appear to be—objective and fair. A process that satisfies these principles and objectives is summarized in the 11 recommendations that follow.
OHTA should adopt a systematic process to assist decision making about which medical conditions and technologies it should assess or reassess. The process should involve a broad spectrum of interested parties and should be open to public view, resistant to control by special interests, and clearly understandable.
The process proposed by the committee would be conducted in two phases: (1) setting weights for criteria, which would be performed approximately every 5 years, and (2) implementing the rest of the priority-setting process, which would be performed approximately every 3 years.
OHTA technology assessment, whenever feasible, should focus on a clinical problem (e.g., diagnosis of coronary artery disease) rather than on a technology per se (e.g.. exercise thallium radionuclide scan). Similarly, priority setting should address clinical conditions.
Although concern about a new test or treatment often leads to calls for its assessment, whenever possible, a technology should be evaluated within the context of the clinical condition for which it is being used. There are two reasons for proposing this orientation. First, technology assessment should |
. "5 EFFECT OF BROADER DOE-WIDE ISSUES ON PLANNING FOR ELECTROMETALLURGICAL R&D." An Assessment of Continued R & D into an Electrometallurgical Approach for Treating DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1995.
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AN ASSESSMENT OF CONTINUED R&D INTO AN ELECTROMETALLURGICAL APPROACH FOR TREATING DOE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTROMETALLURGICAL TECHNOLOGY FOR TREATMENTOF DOE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
Argonne National Laboratory
A total of approximately 2,700 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel has accumulated within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex. This government-owned fuel was used in a variety of nuclear reactors, including reactors for the production of national defense materials, experimental and research reactors, and commercial reactors. Although the quantity of spent fuel in the DOE inventory is much less than that in storage at U.S. commercial reactors (estimated to reach 40,000 tons by the end of the century), the DOE spent fuel presents special problems that demand prompt attention. The DOE spent nuclear fuel inventory differs in several ways from the commercial spent fuel inventory, in that the DOE spent fuel represents the arisings from over 40 years of the evolution of nuclear power and reflects a broad spectrum of fuel types, cladding materials, levels of enrichment in the fissile isotopes of the actinide elements, and degrees of chemical reactivity.
Over 150 different fuel designs are represented in the DOE inventory; these can be grouped into 53 different categories according to common design features such as composition, cladding material and enrichment level. There are six major categories of fuel composition (metal, oxide, graphite, cermet, hydride, and aluminum alloy) alone. Included in the DOE spent nuclear fuel inventory are fuels that (1) have seriously degraded during storage, (2) are highly enriched in fissile isotopes, (3) are chemically reactive or contain reactive materials, and (4) cannot be expected to retain their integrity or remain stable over an extended period of wet or dry storage.
The electrometallurgical treatment technique, developed by the Argonne National Laboratory, appears to have great potential for application in the treatment of the collection of DOE spent nuclear fuel types for ultimate disposal. This process is applicable in its current stage of development to over 90% of the DOE spent fuel inventory and offers the advantages of a simple, compact system that is both economical and technically sound.
Electrometallurgical treatment refers to the complete set of unit operations required to separate the actinide elements from fission products present in spent fuel and to place the waste products in stable forms suitable for disposal. In the case of most spent fuel types, these operations begin with the dismantling of the irradiated fuel assembly and the removal of individual fuel elements. These fuel elements are sent to a chopper, where they are chopped into pieces suitable for the next operation. If the fuel is metallic, regardless of the cladding type or any internal components such as hardware or heat transfer media, it is sent directly to the electrorefiner for electrotransport of the actinides to appropriate electrodes where they are collected for further processing. If the fuel is oxide, it is first sent to a reduction step where the oxide compounds of actinides and fission products are reduced to the metallic state by reduction with metallic lithium. The reduced metal product is then transferred to the electrorefiner for separation into the various product streams. If the fuel is of a type other than metal or oxide, it must first |
Few topics in science spark such fascination as the extinction of dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous epoch. An asteroid impact and massive volcanism were apparently to blame. But were dinosaurs already in decline before those catastrophes? New research suggests that the picture was complex, and that the answer is “yes,” at least for some groups of dinosaurs.
Paleontologist Stephen L. Brusatte of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and three colleagues used a novel approach to explore this question. Instead of examining trends in taxonomic diversity by counting dinosaur species or genera, a method fraught with problems because of the unevenness of the fossil record, the researchers performed a quantitative analysis of “morphological disparity”—the variability of body structure within a certain group of animals. “Because skeletal anatomy is closely tied to diet, ecology, and behavior, it is often thought that disparity is a more biologically meaningful measure of diversity than simple counts of species richness,” says Brusatte.
The researchers’ analysis of seven major non-avian dinosaur groups, comprising nearly 150 species, shows that giants such as hadrosaurs and ceratopsids—large-bodied, bulkfeeding herbivores relatively close to the bottom of the food chain—were already in decline toward the end of the Cretaceous. Other dinosaur groups, including many carnivores and midsize herbivores, however, did not decline. One group, the sauropods, even appeared to be on the upswing. Interestingly, that group included giant herbivores that, unlike the hadrosaurs and ceratopsids, lacked advanced chewing abilities. The patterns unearthed by the paleontologists were geographically complex, with some trends dissimilar or even opposite in different world regions at the same time.
Would non-avian dinosaurs still be roaming the Earth had natural disasters not brought the Cretaceous to a close? Perhaps hadrosaurs and ceratopsids would be long gone, but many others might still be flourishing. (Nature Communications) |
By installing on-site solar and wind power systems and purchasing renewable energy certificates, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has gone beyond being "green powered." The Laboratory is employing renewable energy to offset not only the total energy use of its buildings, but the energy used by NREL vehicles, employee commutes, air travel and other "life cycle" energy consumption as well.
The laboratory exceeded its five-year goal as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Leaders Partnership, having cut overall greenhouse gas emissions more than 10% since 2000.
"We at NREL are proud to be leaders in energy efficiency and renewable energy," NREL director Dan Arvizu says, "by both providing the research that helps the nation reduce its dependence on foreign energy sources, and by using those very technologies to make our own facilities the very best they can be."
On-site electricity production from wind turbines and solar electric systems contributes 138,000 kwh annually to the laboratory's power needs. |
Winton, Burning of
Winton, the seat of Hertford County, was burned by Federal troops on 20 Feb. 1862. It was the first North Carolina town burned by Union forces during the Civil War and the only one burned completely. On 19 February a flotilla of eight Union gunboats steamed up the Chowan River. As the vessels approached Winton's wharf, Confederate artillery and infantry opened up from the river bluff, but the boats sustained no serious damage.
When the flotilla returned the next morning, Winton was deserted, but several buildings had clearly been used for Confederate billeting and storage. These were torched, resulting in a blaze that left only one small house standing. The Hertford County Courthouse had been destroyed in 1830, and virtually all records from 1830 to 1862 were consumed in this fire, along with several dozen houses, stores, and other buildings. The cooperation of Union army and navy forces in the action constituted one of the first amphibious operations in the history of the American military.
Thomas C. Parramore, "The Burning of Winton in 1862," NCHR 39 (Winter 1962).
"Burning of Winton." Courtesy of the North Carolina Collection at the University of North Carolina libraries. Available from http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/pcoll/civilwar/index.html?list=Destruction_and_Pillage (accessed May 18, 2012).
"Ruins of Winton." Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 24, 1863. Courtesy of North Carolina Collections at the University of North Carolina Libraries. Available from http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/pcoll/civilwar/index.html?list=Destruction_and_Pillage (accessed May 18, 2012).
1 January 2006 | Parramore, Thomas C. |
CHICAGO ROCKS! Geology in the City
ESCI 109, Section 02
Daily Objectives #10 (October 1, 2009)
w Today's class will meet at Bohemian National Cemetery! Do not come to the classroom first; meet us at the cemetery at regular class time!
Directions to the cemetery from the Science Building at NEIU:
A study session is in the process of being
scheduled for Monday to help prepare you for next Tuesday's exam. Stay
tuned for more information.
By the end of today's class, you should be able to do the following:
w Review: Identify signs of weathering processes on rocks.
w Review: Describe characteristics of rocks that suggest the rocks' origins.
w After collecting data from cemetery markers, draw conclusions about the resistance of various types of rocks to weathering. |
This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. It is the product of almost two decades of research and includes analyses, chronologies, historical documents, and interviews from the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.
Strategy and Tactics of the ANC
This document was adopted by the 'Morogoro Conference' of the ANC, meeting at Morogoro, Tanzania, 25 April - 1 May 1969
The struggle of the oppressed people of South Africa is taking place within an international context of transition to the Socialist system, of the breakdown of the colonial system as a result of national liberation and socialist revolutions, and the fight for social and economic progress by the people of the whole world.
We in South Africa are part of the zone in which national liberation is the chief content of the struggle. On our continent sweeping advances have been registered which have resulted in the emergence to independent statehood of forty one states. Thus the first formal step of independence has been largely won in Africa and this fact exercises a big influence on the developments in our country.
The countries of Southern Africa have not as yet broken the chains of colonialism and racism which hold them in oppression. In Mozambique, Angola, South West Africa, Zimbabwe and South Africa White racialist and fascist regimes maintain systems which go against the current trend of the African revolution and world development. This has been made possible by the tremendous economic and military power at the disposal of these regimes built with the help of imperialism.
The main pillar of the unholy alliance of Portugal, Rhodesia and South Africa is the Republic of South Africa. The strategy and tactics of our revolution require for their formulation and understanding a full appreciation of the inter-locking and interweaving of International, African and Southern African developments which play on our situation.
Rule by Force
South Africa was conquered by force and is today ruled by force. At moments when White autocracy feels itself threatened, it does not hesitate to use the gun. When the gun is not in use legal and administrative terror, fear, social and economic pressures, complacency and confusion generated by propaganda and "education", are the devices brought into play in an attempt to harness the people's opposition. Behind these devices hovers force. Whether in reserve or in actual employment, force is ever present and this has been so since the White man came to Africa.
Unending Resistance to White Domination
From the time alien rule was imposed there has been - historically speaking - unbroken resistance to this domination. It has taken different forms at different times but it has never been abandoned. For the first 250 years there were regular armed clashes, battles and wars. The superior material resources of the enemy, the divided and often fragmented nature of the resistance, the unchallenged ascendancy of imperialism as a world system up to the beginning of the 20th century, the historically understandable absence of political cohesion and leadership in the people's camp; these and other factors combined to end the first phase of resistance against alien domination. But the protracted character of this resistance unequalled anywhere else in Africa is underlined by the fact that the armed subjugation of the indigenous people was only really accomplished the beginning of this century. The defeat of the Bambata Rebellion in 1906 marked the end of this first phase and set the stage of the handing over of the administration of the country to local whites in 1910. The fifty years which followed was not a period of resignation or of acceptance. It was a period of development and of regrouping under new conditions; a period in which newly created political formations of the people continued to struggle with the enemy and grew into maturity; a period in which, above all, national consciousness began to assert itself against tribal sectionalism. This period witnessed the emergence and development of the primary organisation of the liberation movement - The African National Congress. It also saw the evolvement of national organisations reflecting the aspirations of other oppressed non-White groups - the Coloureds and the Indians - and the creation of economic and political organisations - the South African Communist Party and Trade Unions which reflected the special aims and aspirations of the newly developed and doubly exploited working class. This was a period of organisational growth. It was punctuated by struggles involving techniques ranging from orthodox mass campaigning to general strikes, to mass acts of defiance. It culminated in the decision taken in 1961 to prepare for armed confrontation. December 1961 saw the opening stages of the campaign in the simultaneous acts of sabotage which occurred in most of the main urban centres on the 16th.
The Move to Armed Struggle
Why was the decision for armed struggle taken in 1961? Why not 1951 or 1941 or 1931? Is it that the character of the state had so altered fundamentally that only in 1961 did armed struggle become the only alternative? Not at all. There has never been a moment in the history of South Africa since 1952 in which the White ruling class would have given privileges without a physical battle. Why then did organisations like the African National Congress not call for armed struggle? Was it perhaps that they were not really revolutionary or that it was only in the early 60's that they began to appreciate the correct strategy? Is there perhaps substance in accusations by some of our detractors that until the early sixties the liberation movement was lacking in military fervour and the desire for radical change'? In other words was its policy not a revolutionary one? What is our measuring rod for revolutionary policy? A look at this concept will help towards a more profound understanding not only of the past but of the future. It is therefore not out of place to devote a word to it.
In essence, a revolutionary policy is one which holds out the quickest and most fundamental transformation and transfer of power from one class to another. In real life such radical changes are brought about not by imaginary forces but by those whose outlook and readiness to act is very much influenced by historically determined factors.
To ignore the real situation and to play about with imaginary forces, concepts and ideals is to invite failure. The art of revolutionary leadership consists in providing leadership to the masses and not just to its most advanced elements; it consists of setting a pace which accords with objective conditions and the real possibilities at hand. The revolutionary-sounding phrase does not always reflect revolutionary policy, and revolutionary-sounding policy is not always the spring-board for revolutionary advance. Indeed what appears to be "militant" and "revolutionary" can often be counter-revolutionary. It is surely a question of whether, in the given concrete situation, the course or policy advocated will aid or impede the prospects of the conquest of power. In this - the only test, the advocacy of armed struggle can, in some situations, be as counter-revolutionary as the advocacy of its opposite in other situations. Untimely, ill planned or premature manifestations of violence impede and do not advance the prospect for revolutionary change and are clearly counter-revolutionary. It is obvious therefore that policy and organisational structures must grow out of the real situation if they are not to become meaningless cliches.
Future historians may well be able to pause at some moments during the evolution of our struggle and examine critically both its pace and emphasis. But, in general, without the so-called reformist activities of the previous half-century, the prospect of advancing into the new phase would have been extremely small. This is so because even in the typical colonial-type situation armed struggle becomes feasible only if:
Ø There is disillusionment with the prospect of achieving liberation by traditional peaceful processes because the objective conditions blatantly bar the way to change;
Ø There is readiness to respond to the strategy of armed struggle with all the enormous sacrifices which this involves;
Ø There is in existence a political leadership capable of gaining the organised allegiance of the people for armed struggle and which has both the experience and the ability to carry out the painstaking process of planning, preparation and overall conduct of the operations; and
Ø That there exist favourable objective conditions in the international and local plans.
In one sense conditions are connected and interdependent. They are not created by subjective and ideological activity only and many are the mistakes committed by heroic revolutionaries who give a monopoly to subjective factors and who confuse their own readiness with readiness of others.
These conditions are brought about not only be developing political, economic and social conditions but also by the long hard grind of revolutionary work. They depend on such factors as the response of the enemy, the extent to which he unmasks himself and the experience gained by the people themselves not in academic seminars but in actual political struggle. We reject the approach which sees as the catalyst for revolutionary transformation only the short-cut of isolated confrontations and the creation of armed resistance centre. Does this mean that before an actual beginning can be made by the armed challenge we have to wait for the evolvement of some sort of deep crisis in the enemy camp which is serious enough to hold out the possibility of an immediate all-round insurrection? Certainly not! We believe that given certain basic factors, both international and local, the actual beginning of armed struggle or guerrilla warfare can be made and having begun can steadily develop conditions for the future all-out war which will eventually lead to the conquest of power. Under the modern highly sophisticated police state (which South Africa is) it is questionable whether a movement can succeed in a programme of mass political organisation beyond a certain point without starting a new type of action. Also, it is not easy to determine the point at which sufficient concrete political and organisational preparations have been carried out to give our armed detachments the maximum chances of survival and growth within any given area. There is no instrument for measuring this. But we must not overdo the importance of the subjective factors and before embarking upon a path which is in one sense tragic, although historically inevitable and necessary, certain of the basic minimum conditions already mentioned must be present and certain minimum preparations must have been made.
Tempered in Struggle
In the light of those considerations, it is clear that it was only after the victory of the anti imperialist forces in the Second World War and the tide of independence in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, combined with the zig-zags of struggle inside South Africa in the last fifty years which by the beginning of the sixties demanded a move in the direction of armed struggle. The fifties were among the most stirring and struggle-filled decades in the history of the liberation movement. Thousands upon thousands of militant cadres were tempered during this period and masses of our people both in town and countryside participated in a variety of forms of struggle. The moulding of mass political consciousness reached a new intensity. The response of the authorities was such that the overwhelming majority of the people learnt, through their own participation in the struggle and confrontation with the state, that in the long run the privileges of the minority will only be wrenched from it by a reversion to armed combat. Indeed, during this "peaceful" stage in our struggle hardly a year passed without massacres of our people by the army and police.
Each phase in the unfolding of the struggle of the fifties played a part in setting the stage of our new approach. A rebirth of the spirit of deliberate defiance of the White man's law was stimulated by the great Defiance Campaign of 1952. The response of the state towards the Congress of the People Campaign and the adoption of the Freedom Charter demonstrated its intention to crush what had previously been accepted as legitimate expressions for equality. The numbers of highly successful national general strikes motivated in the main by political and not economic demands proved the growing maturity of the urban non-White working class. The magnificent resistance by the peasants in Pondoland, Sekhukhuniland and Natal in the late fifties pointed also to the new spirit of militancy and struggle in the countryside. The general strikes as a method of political mobilisation was suppressed with the utmost vigour and by the end of the fifties could no longer be effectively employed as an instrument of mass struggle. Other protests were increasingly broken by police brutality and the use of orthodox mass demonstration as an effective weapon was demonstrably not feasible. Legal opposition was rendered ineffective by bannings, exiles and the imprisonment of activists and leaders to long terms for the most trivial infringements. Finally by such laws as the Terrorism and Sabotage Acts all opposition by legal or peaceful means was rendered impossible.
Heightened Political ferment
In the field of representation, any reformist illusion that may still have existed of a slow advance towards democracy was shattered by the removal of the historic remains of non-White representation including even undemocratic and powerless bodies such as the Native Representative Council. Thus the enemy unmasked himself completely not only to a group of advanced thinkers but to the mass of the people as a whole. The liberation surge towards independence of the African continent which marked the late fifties and early sixties had an important bearing on our own situation. Not only were friendly borders creeping closer but in a very real way these events stimulated and excited people in the unliberated territories in the direction of self-rule. The basic drive for this in our country had never been suppressed. But the events in South Africa in the previous decade and what was happening on the continent confirmed that conquest of power by the people was a realisable goal in our lifetime. The enormous material power of the enemy and by contrast the material weakness of the people was to them no more than a temporary impediment. Memory was fresh of Cuba and - on our own continent - Algeria, both of which had proved that in the long run material resources alone are not a determining factor.
The heightened political ferment both here and on our continent reflected itself in the growth and further maturing of all sections of the liberation front. These leaders who were unable to adjust to the new revolutionary mood (even before the policy of the preparations for organised armed resistance) fell by the wayside. The cohesion and unity of action between the various national and social groupings comprising the liberation front reached new heights. All this constituted not only moral justifications for a move towards armed struggle, but, what is more important, conditions had been created - they were not always there - making a departure in direction correct, necessary and, in the true sense, revolutionary.
Our Approach to Revolutionary Armed Struggle!
In a way, the decision taken in 1961 was, historically speaking, in the tradition of the earlier armed resistance to the entrenchment of the foreigner. But it is now occurring in a new situation. Not only had this situation to be understood but the art and science - both political and military - of armed liberation struggles in the modern epoch had to be grasped and applied. The head-on mobile warfare of the traditional African armies of the past could not meet the challenge. The riot, the street fight, the outburst of unorganised violence, individual terrorism; these were symptoms of the militant spirit but not pointers to revolutionary technique. The winning of our freedom by armed struggle - the only method left open to us - demands more than passion. It demands an understanding and an implementation of revolutionary theory and techniques in the actual conditions facing us. It demands a sober assessment of the obstacles in our way and an appreciation that such a struggle is bitter and protracted. It demands, too, the dominance in our thinking of achievement over drama. We believe our movement acted in accordance with these guidelines when it embarked upon the detailed preparation for the launching of guerrilla struggle. We understood that the main physical environment of such a struggle in the period is outside the enemy strongholds in the cities, in the vast stretches of our countryside. The opening steps in 1961 - organised sabotage mainly in the urban areas - served a special purpose and was never advanced as a technique which would, on its own, either lead to the destruction of the state or even do it great material damage (although guerrilla activity in the urban areas of a special type is always important as an auxiliary). At the same time there was a threefold need to be met in order to lay the foundations for more developed and meaningful armed activity of the guerrilla type.
The first was the need to create a military apparatus and, more particularly to recruit large numbers of professional cadres who were to be trained and who would form the core of future guerrilla bands.
The second was the need to demonstrate effectively to all that we were making a sharp and open break with the processes of the previous period which had correctly given emphasis to militant struggle short of armed confrontation.
The third was the need to present an effective method for the overthrow of White supremacy through planned rather than spontaneous activity. The sabotage campaign was an earnest indication of our seriousness in the pursuit of this new strategy. All three needs were served by this convincing evidence that our liberation movement had correctly adjusted itself to the new situation and was creating an apparatus actually capable of clandestinely hitting the enemy and making preparations tor a more advanced phase. The situation was such that without activity of this nature our whole political leadership may have been at stake both inside and outside the country and the steps which were simultaneously taken for the recruitment and preparation of military cadres would have met with less response.
The Relationship between the Political and Military
When we talk of revolutionary armed struggle, we are talking of political struggle by means which include the use of military force even though once force as a tactic is introduced it has the most far-reaching consequences on every aspect of our activities. It is important to emphasise this because our movement must reject all manifestations of militarism which separates armed people's struggle from its political context.
Reference has already been made to the danger of the thesis which regards the creation of military areas as the generator of mass resistance. But even more is involved in this concept. One of the vital problems connected with this bears on the important question of the relationship between the political and military. From the very beginning our Movement has brooked no ambiguity concerning this. The primacy of the political leadership is unchallenged and supreme and all revolutionary formations and levels (whether armed or not) are subordinate to this leadership. To say this is not just to invoke tradition. This approach is rooted in the very nature of this type of revolutionary struggle and is borne our by the experience of the overwhelming majority of revolutionary movements which have engaged in such struggle and is borne out by the experience of the overwhelming against a foe with formidable material strength does not achieve dramatic and swift success. The path is filled with obstacles and we harbour no illusions on this score in the case of South Africa. In the long run it can only succeed if it attracts the active support of the mass of the people. Without this lifeblood it is doomed. Even in our country with the historical background and traditions of armed resistance still, within the memory of many people and the special developments of the immediate past, the involvement of the masses is unlikely to be the result of a sudden natural and automatic consequence of military clashes. It has to be won in all-round political mobilisation which must accompany the military activities. This includes educational and agitation Al work throughout the country to cope with the sophisticated torrent of misleading propaganda and "information" of the enemy which will become more intense as the struggle sharpens. When armed clashes begin they seldom involve more than a comparative handful of combatants whose very conditions of fighting-existence make them incapable of exercising the functions of all-round political leadership. The masses of the peasants, workers and youth, beleaguered for a long time by the enemy's military occupation, have to be activated in a multitude of ways not only to ensure a growing stream of recruits for the fighting units but to harass the enemy politically so that his forces are dispersed and therefore weakened. This calls for the exercise of all-round political leadership.
All-round Political Leadership
Guerrilla warfare, the special, and in our case the only form in which the armed liberation struggle can be launched, is neither static nor does it take place in a vacuum. The tempo, the overall strategy is to be employed, the opening of new fronts, the progression from lower to higher forms and thence to mobile warfare; these and other vital questions cannot be solved by the military leadership alone, they require overall political judgements intimately involved with the people both inside and outside the actual areas of armed combat. If more awareness of oppression combined with heroic examples by armed bands were enough, the struggle would indeed be simple. There would be no collaborators and it would be hard to find neutrals. But to believe this is to believe that the course of struggle is determined solely by what we do in the fighting units and further involves the fallacious assumption that the masses are rock like and incorruptible. The enemy is as aware as we are that the side wins the allegiance of the people, wins the struggle. It is naive to believe that oppressed and beleaguered people cannot temporarily, even in large numbers, be won over by fear, terror, lies, indoctrination and provocation to treat liberators as enemies. In fact history proves that without the most intensive all-round political activity this is the more likely result. It is therefore all the more vital that the revolutionary leadership is nation-wide and has its roots both inside and outside the actual areas of combat. Above all, when victory comes, it must not be a hollow one. To ensure this we must also ensure that what is brought to power is not an army but the masses as a whole at the head of which stands its organised political leadership. This is the perspective which is rooted at all levels of our liberation movements whether within or outside the army. Our confidence in final victory rests not on the wish or the dream but on our understanding of our own conditions and the historical processes. This understanding must be deepened and must spread to every level of our Movement. We must have a clear grasp not only of ourselves and of our own forces but also of the enemy - of his power and vulnerability. guerrilla struggle is certainly no exception to the rule that depth of understanding, and knowledge of realities, both favourable and unfavourable, make for more lasting commitment and more illuminating leadership. How then do we view the enemy we face - his strength and his weakness? What sort of structure do we face and how dogged will the enemy resistance be?
The Enemy - His Strength and Weakness
On the face of it the enemy is in stable command of a rich and varied economy which, even at this stage when it is not required to extend itself, can afford an enormous military budget. He has a relatively trained and efficient army and police force. He can draw on fairly large manpower resources. In addition the major imperialist powers such as Britain, W.Germany, France and the United States and Japan who have an enormous stake in the economy of our country constitute a formidable support for the Apartheid regime. Already now before the crisis deepens the imperialist partners of South Africa have done much to develop the economy and armament programme of South Africa. In a situation of crisis they may pass over from support to active intervention to save the racist regime. If there is one lesson that the history of guerrilla struggle has taught it is that the material strength and resources of the enemy is by no means a decisive factor. Guerrilla warfare almost by definition presents a situation in which there is a vast imbalance of material and military resources between the opposing sides. It is designed to cope with the situation in which the enemy is infinitely superior in relation to every conventional factor of warfare. It is par excellence the weapon of the materially weak against the materially strong. Given its popular character and given a population which increasingly sides with and shields the guerrilla whilst at the same time opposing and exposing the enemy, the survival and growth of a people's army is assured by the skilful exercise of tactics. Surprise, mobility and tactical retreat should make it difficult for the enemy to bring into play its superior firepower in any decisive battles. No individual battle is fought in circumstances favourable to the enemy. Superior forces can thus be harassed, weakened and, in the end, destroyed. The absence of an orthodox front, of fighting lines; the need to protect the widely scattered installations on which his economy is dependent; these are among the factors which serve in the long run to compensate in favour of the guerrilla for the disparity in the starting strength of the adversaries. The words 'in the long run' must be stressed because it would be idle to dispute the considerable military advantages to the enemy of his high level industrialisation, his ready-to-hand reserves of white manpower and his excellent roads, railways and air transportation which facilitate swift manoeuvres and speedy concentration of personnel. But we must not overlook the fact that over a period of time many of these unfavourable factors will begin to operate in favour of the liberation forces:
Ø The ready-to-hand resources including food production depend overwhelmingly on non-White labour which, with the growing intensity of the struggle, will not remain docile and co-operative.
Ø The White manpower resources may seem adequate initially but must become dangerously stretched as guerrilla warfare develops. Already extremely short of skilled labour - the monopoly of the Whites - the mobilisation of a large force for protracted struggle will place a further burden on the workings of the economy.
Ø In contrast to many other major guerrilla struggles manpower resources are all situated within the theatre of war and there is no secure external pool (other than direct intervention by a foreign state) safe from sabotage, mass action and guerrilla action on which the enemy can draw.
Ø The very sophistication of the economy with its well-developed system of communications makes it a much more vulnerable target. In an undeveloped country the interruption of supplies to any given region may be no more than a local setback.
Ø In a highly sensitive modern structure of the South African type, the successful harassment of transport to any major industrial complex inevitably inflicts immense damage to the economy as a whole and to the morale of the enemy.
One of the more popular misconceptions concerning guerrilla warfare is that a physical environment which conforms to a special pattern is indispensable - thick jungle, inaccessible mountain areas, swamps, a friendly border and so on. The availability of this sort of terrain is, of course, of tremendous advantage to the guerrillas especially in the early non-operational phase training and other preparatory steps are undertaken and no-external bases are available for this purpose. When operations commence, the guerrilla cannot survive, let alone flourish, unless he moves to areas where people live and work and where the enemy can be engaged in combat. If he is fortunate enough to have behind him a friendly border or areas of difficult access which can provide a temporary refuge it is, of course, advantageous. But guerrilla warfare can be, and has been, waged in every conceived type of terrain, in deserts, swamps, in farm fields, in built-up areas, in plains, in the bush and in countries without friendly borders or islands surrounded by the sea. This whole question is one of adjusting survival tactics to the sort of terrain in which operations have to be carried out.
In any case, in the vast expanse that is South Africa, a people's force will find a multitude of variations in topography, deserts, mountains, forests, veld and swamps. There might not appear to be a single impregnable mountain or impenetrable jungle but the country abounds in terrain which in general is certainly no less favourable for guerrilla operations than some of the terrain in which other guerrilla movements operated successfully. Also the issue must be looked at in the context of guerrillas, who are armed and operate in the terrain. The combination makes an area impregnable for the guerrilla. South Africa's tremendous size will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the White regime to keep the whole of it under armed surveillance in strength and in depth. Hence, an early development of a relatively safe (though shifting) rear is not beyond the realm of practicality.
The White Group
The above are only some of the important factors which have not always been studied and understood. It is necessary to stress these factors not only because they give balance to our efforts but because - properly assessed - they help destroy the myth of the enemy's invincibility.
But above all a scientific revolutionary strategy demands a correct appreciation of the political character of the forces which are ranged against one another in the South African Struggle for liberation. Is the enemy a monolith and will he remain so until his final defeat? What is the main content of the struggle for liberation and, flowing from this, which is the main revolutionary force and who are its potential allies and supporters? These are questions of capital importance. They play a vital part in determining the tactics of the revolutionary struggle, the broad organisational structures we create and many other fundamental approaches. They must be considered within the framework of the special feature of the objective situation which faces us. South Africa's social and economic structure and the relationships which it generates are perhaps unique. It is not a colony, yet it has, in regard to the overwhelming majority of its people, most of the features of the classical colonial structures. Conquest and domination by an alien people, a system of discrimination and exploitation based on race, technique of indirect rule; these and more are the traditional trappings of the classical colonial framework. Whilst at the one level it is an "independent" national state, at another level it is a country subjugated by a minority race. What makes the structure unique and adds to it complexity is that the exploiting nation is not, as in the classical imperialist relationships, situated in a geographically distinct mother country, but is settled within the borders. What is more, the roots of the dominant nation have been embedded in our country by more than three centuries of presence. It is thus an alien body only in the historical sense.
The material well-being of the White group and its political, social and economic privileges are, we know, rooted in its racial domination of the indigenous majority. It has resisted and will resist doggedly and passionately any attempt to shift it from this position. Its theorists and leaders ceaselessly play upon the theme of "We have nowhere else to go". They dishonestly ignore and even twist the fact that the uncertainty about the future of the oppressor in our land is an uncertainty born not of our racialism but of his. The spectre is falsely raised of a threat to the White men's language and culture to "justify" a policy of cultural discrimination and domination. By economic bribes and legal artifices which preserve for him the top layers of skills and wage income, the White worker is successfully mobilised as one of racialism's most reliable contingents. In every walk of life White autocracy creates privilege by operation of the law and, where necessary, the gun and with a primitive and twisted "prooi" of its own superiority.
Nevertheless, the defence of all-round economic, social and cultural privileges combined with centuries of indoctrination and deeply felt theoretical rationalisation which centre on survival, will make the enemy we face a ferocious and formidable foe. So long as the threat from the liberation movement was not powerful enough to endanger the very existence of White baasskap there was room for division sometimes quite sharp in the White political camp.
Its motivation amongst the ruling class was competition for the lion's share of the spoils from the exploitation of the non-White people. It always centred round the problem of the most effective way of "keeping the native in his place". In such an atmosphere there were even moments when White workers adopted militant class postures against the small group which owns South Africa's wealth. But the changed world mood and international situation inhibited these confrontations. The laager-minded White group as a whole moves more and more in the direction of a common defence of what is considered a common fate.
These monolithic tendencies are reinforced by a Hitler-like feeling of confidence that the fortress is impregnable and unassailable for all time. This process of all White solidarity will only be arrested by the achievements of the liberation movement. For the moment the reality is that apart from a small group of revolutionary Whites, who have an honoured place as comrades in the struggle, we face what is by and large a united and confident enemy which acts in alliance with, and is strengthened by world imperialism. All significant sections of the White political movement are in broad agreement on the question of defeating our liberation struggle.
This confrontation on the lines of colour - at least in the early stages of the conflict - is not of our choosing; it is of the enemy's making. It will not be easy to eliminate some of its more tragic consequences. But it does not follow that this will be so for all time. It is not altogether impossible that in a different situation the White working class or a substantial section of it, may come to see that their true long term interest coincides with that of the non-White workers. We must miss no opportunity either now or in the future to try and make them aware of this truth and to win over those who are ready to break with the policy of racial domination. Nor must we ever be slow to take advantage of differences and divisions which our successes will inevitably spark off to isolate the most vociferous, the most uncompromising and the most reactionary elements amongst the Whites. Our policy must continually stress in the future (as it has in the past) that there is room in South Africa for all who live in it but only on the basis of absolute democracy.
The African Masses - the Main Force for Liberation
So much for the enemy. What of the liberation forces? Here too we are called upon to examine the most fundamental features of our situation which serve to mould our revolutionary strategy and tactics. The main content of the present stage of the South African revolution is the national liberation of the largest and most oppressed group - the African people. This strategic aim must govern every aspect of the conduct of our struggle whether it be the formulation of policy or the creation of structures. Amongst other things, it demands in the first place the maximum mobilisation of the African people as a dispossessed and racially oppressed nation. This is the mainspring and it must not be weakened. It involves a stimulation and deepening of national confidence, national pride and national assertiveness. Properly channelled and properly led, these qualities do not stand in conflict with the principles of internationalism. Indeed, they become the basis for more and more meaningful co-operation; a co-operation which is self imposed, equal and one which is neither based on dependence nor gives the appearance of being so.
The national character of the struggle must therefore dominate our approach. But it is a national struggle which is taking place in a different era and in a different context from those which characterised the early struggles against colonialism. It is happening in a new kind of world - a world which is no longer monopolised by the imperialist world system; a world in which the existence of the powerful socialist system and a significant sector of newly liberated areas has altered the balance of forces; a world in which the horizons liberated from foreign oppression extend beyond mere formal political control and encompass the element which makes such control meaningful - economic emancipation. It is also happening in a new kind of South Africa; a South Africa in which there is a large and well-developed working class whose class consciousness and in which the independent expressions of the working people - their political organs and trade unions - are very much part of the liberation front. Thus, our nationalism must not be confused with chauvinism or narrow nationalism of a previous epoch. It must not be confused with the classical drive by an elitist group among the oppressed people to gain ascendancy so that they can replace the oppressor in the exploitation of the mass.
But none of this detracts from the basically national context of our liberation drive. In the last resort it is only the success of the national democratic revolution which - destroying the existing social and economic relationship - will bring with it a correction of the historical injustices perpetrated against the indigenous majority and thus lay the basis for a new - and deeper internationalist - approach. Until then, the national sense of grievance is the most potent revolutionary force which must be harnessed. To blunt it in the interests of abstract concepts of internationalism is, in the long run, doing neither a service to revolution nor to internationalism.
The Role of the Coloured and Indian People
The African although subjected to the most intense racial oppression and exploitation, is not the only oppressed national group in South Africa. The two million strong Coloured Community and three quarter million Indians suffer varying forms of national humiliation, discrimination and oppression. They are part of the non-White base upon which rests White privilege. As such they constitute an integral part of the social forces ranged against White supremacy. Despite deceptive, and, often, meaningless concessions they share a common fate with their brothers and their own liberation is inextricably bound up with the liberation of the African people.
A unity in action between all the oppressed groups is fundamental to the advance of our liberation struggle. Without such a unity the enemy easily multiplies and the attainment of a people's victory is delayed. Historically both communities have played a most important part in the stimulation and intensification of the struggle for freedom. It is a matter of proud record that amongst the first and most gallant martyrs in the armed combat against the enemy was a Coloured Comrade, Basil February. The jails in South Africa are a witness to the large scale participation by Indian and Coloured comrades at every level of our revolutionary struggle. From the very inception of Umkhonto they were more than well represented in the first contingents who took life in hand to help lay the basis for this new phase in our struggle.
This mood was not only reflected in the deeds of its more advanced representatives. As communities too the Coloured and Indian people have often in the past, by their actions, shown that they form part of the broad sweep towards liberation. The first series of mass acts of deliberate defiance of the conqueror's law after the crushing of the Bambata rebellion, was the campaign led by that outstanding son of the Indian people - Mahatma Gandhi. Thereafter the Indian community and its leaders - particularly those who came to the fore in the 40's - played no small part in the injection of a more radical and more militant mood into the liberation movement as a whole. The stirring demonstrations of the fifties from Defiance Campaign to the Congress of the People, to the general strike, and the peasant revolts and mass demonstrations, saw many examples of united action by all the oppressed people. Indian workers responded in large numbers to almost every call for a general strike. Indian shopkeepers, could always be relied upon to declare a day of Hartal in solidarity with any protest which was being organised. Memory is still fresh of the outstanding response by the Coloured workers of the Western Cape to the 1961 call by the ANC for a national general political strike.
The Alliance between the Congress organisations was a spur to the solidarity and reflected it. But events both before and after Rivonia put paid to the structures which had been created to express the Alliance.
How can we strengthen and make effective the co-operation between the communities, and how can we integrate committed revolutionaries irrespective of their racial background?
Our Fighting Alliance
Whatever instruments are created to give expression to the unity of the liberation drive, they must accommodate two fundamental propositions:
Firstly they must not be ambiguous on the question of primary role of the most oppressed African mass and,
Secondly, those belonging to the other oppressed groups and those few White revolutionaries who show themselves ready to make common cause with our aspirations, must be fully integrated on the basis of individual equality. Approached in the right spirit these two propositions do not stand in conflict but reinforce one another. Equality of participation in our national front does not mean a mechanical parity between the various national groups. Not only would this practice amount to inequality (again at the expense of the majority), but it would lend flavour to the slander which our enemies are ever ready to spread of a multiracial alliance dominated by minority groups. This has never been so and will never be so. But the sluggish way in which the Movement inside the country responded to the new situation after 1960 in which co-operation between some organisations which were legal (e.g. SAIC, CPO, COD) and those that were illegal (e.g. ANC) sometimes led to the superficial impression that the legal organisations - because they could speak and operate more publicly and thus more noticeable - may have had more than their deserved place in the leadership of the Alliance.
Therefore, not only the substance but the form of our structural creations must in a way which the people can see - give expression to the main emphasis of the present stage of our struggle. This approach is not a pandering chauvinism, to racialism or other such backward attitudes. We are revolutionaries not narrow nationalists. Committed revolutionaries are our brothers to whatever group they belong. There can be no second class participants in our Movement. It is for the enemy we reserve our assertiveness and our justified sense of grievance.
The important task of mobilising and gaining the support of other oppressed non-White groups has already been referred to. Like every other oppressed group (including Africans) we must not naively assume that mere awareness of oppression will, by itself push the Indian and Coloured people in the direction of opposing the enemy and alighting themselves with the liberation movement. The potential is of course there, because in a very real sense the future of the Indian and Coloured people and their liberation as oppressed groups is intimately bound up with the liberation of the Africans. But active support and participation has to be fought for and won. Otherwise the enemy will succeed in its never-ending attempt to create a gap between these groups and the Africans and even recruit substantial numbers of them to actively collaborate with it. The bottom of the barrel will be scraped in the attempt to create confusion about the objectives of the liberation movement. More particularly, the enemy will feed on the insecurity and dependency which is often part of the thinking of minority oppressed groups. They will try to raise a doubt in their minds about whether there is a place for them in a future liberated South Africa. They have already spread the slander that at best for the Coloureds and Indians White domination will be replaced by Black domination.
It is therefore all the more important, consistent with our first principle, that the Coloured and Indian people should see themselves as an integral part of the liberation movement and not as mere auxiliaries.
The Working Class
Is there a special role for the working class in our national struggle? We have already referred to the special character of the South African social and economic structure. In our country - more than in any other part of the oppressed world - it is inconceivable for liberation to have meaning without a return of the wealth of the land to the people as a whole. It is therefore a fundamental feature of our strategy that victory must embrace more than formal political democracy. To allow the existing economic forces to retain their interests intact is to feed the root of racial supremacy and does not represent even the shadow of liberation.
Our drive towards national emancipation is therefore in a very real way bound up with economic emancipation. We have suffered more than just national humiliation. Our people are deprived of their due in the country's wealth; their skills have been suppressed and poverty and starvation has been their life experience. The correction of these centuries-old economic injustices lies at the very core of our national aspirations. We do not understand the complexities which will face a people's government during the transformation period nor the enormity of the problems of meeting economic needs of the mass of the oppressed people. But one thing is certain - in our land this cannot be effectively tackled unless the basic wealth and the basic resources are at the disposal of the people as a whole and are not manipulated by sections or individuals be they White or Black.
This perspective of a speedy progression from formal liberation to genuine and lasting emancipation is made more real by the existence in our country of a large and growing working class whose class consciousness complements national consciousness. Its political organisations - and the trade unions have played a fundamental role in shaping and advancing our revolutionary cause. It is historically understandable that the double- oppressed and doubly exploited working class constitutes a distinct and reinforcing layer of our liberation and Socialism and do not stand in conflict with the national interest. Its militancy and political consciousness as a revolutionary class will play no small part in our victory and in the construction of a real people's South Africa.
Beyond our borders in Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia are our brothers and sisters who similarly are engaged in a fierce struggle against colonialist and fascist regimes. We fight an Unholy Alliance of Portugal, Rhodesia and South Africa with the latter as the main economic and military support. The historic ZAPU/ANC-Alliance is a unique form of co-operation between two liberation movements which unites the huge potential of the oppressed people in both South Africa and Zimbabwe. The extension of co operation and coordination of all the people of Southern Africa as led by FRELIMO, ZAPU, SWAPO, MPLA and the ANC is a vital part of our strategy.
What then is the broad purpose of our military struggle? Simply put, in the first phase, it is the complete political and economic emancipation of all our people and the constitution of a society which accords with the basic provisions of our programme - the Freedom Charter. This, together with our general understanding of our revolutionary theory, provides us with the strategic framework for the concrete elaboration and implementation of policy in a continuously changing situation. It must be combined with a more intensive programme of research, examination and analysis of the conditions of the different state of our people (in particular those on the land), their local grievances, hopes and aspirations, so that the flow from theory to application - when the situation makes application possible will be unhampered. |
LOCAL or imported? Conventional or organic? Can you make choices that will keep your diet healthy and reduce your carbon footprint? Is it possible to eat green? Does it even matter?
It may surprise you to learn that our diets account for up to twice as many greenhouse emissions as driving. One recent study suggested that the average US household's annual carbon food-print is 8.1 tonnes of "equivalent CO2 emissions" or CO2eq (a measure that incorporates any other greenhouse gases produced alongside the CO2). That's almost twice the 4.4 tonnes of CO2eq emitted by driving a 25-mile-per-US gallon (9 litres per 100 kilometres) vehicle 19,000 km - a typical year's mileage in the US.
As greenhouse gas emissions attract ever greater scrutiny and criticism, the fields of sustainable consumption and life-cycle carbon accounting have prompted academics to tally the greenhouse gas emissions of hundreds of products and manufacturing processes so ...
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Courtesy photo A Catholic priest, two protestant ministers, and a Jewish Rabbi perished in the sinking of the Dorchester. Reverend Fox was a Methodist Minister; Reverend Poling was a Dutch Reformed Minister; Father Washington was a Catholic Priest; and Rabbi Goode was Jewish.
published: Sunday, January 30, 2011
Navy Memorial teams with Library of Congress to commemorate the legendary 'Four Chaplains'
Special to the News-Sun
As the 68th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the U.S. Army Transport ship Dorchester in World War II, is approaching, the United States Navy Memorial and the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project are planning a commemorative event to honor the "Four Chaplains" who proved themselves as spiritual leaders and heroes.
These four men, military spiritual leaders from different denominations, sacrificed their own lives to save others during the fatal German U-Boat attack. Their story is scheduled to be retold by keynote speaker, former Navy chaplain Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, from 12-1 p.m. Thursday at the U.S. Navy Memorial at 701 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. 123, Washington DC.
Other Four Chaplains Memorials
An interfaith memorial chapel was dedicated in February 1951 in Philadelphia in memory of the Four Chaplains, and hence is called the Chapel of the Four Chaplains. Mounted in the wall is a stained glass depicting the sinking of the Dorchester. The chapel is currently at the old Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Other stained glass windows depicting the sinking of the USAT Dorchester are at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy Chaplain Corps Classroom in Fort Bliss, Texas; the Chapel of Immortal Chaplains at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minn.; the Base Family Housing, U.S. Military Academy at West Point; and in the A-Ring, 3rd Floor Hall of Heroes in the Pentagon.
The Four Chaplains
Chaplain George L Fox was the oldest of the four chaplains aboard the Dorchester. He was called the "Little Minister" as he only stood about five and half feet. In 1917, he lied about his age to enlist in the Marines as a medic. At the end of World War I, he returned home and returned to school to become an accountant. Unfulfilled, he returned to school to become a Methodist minister. When war broke out again, he told his wife he needed to re-enlist. He knew what the boys were about to face and wanted to be able to help them. He enlisted in World War II on Aug. 8, 1942.
A high school scholar, Alexander Goode also medaled in track and swimming. His goal was to follow his father and become a Rabbi. Goode married his childhood sweetheart. Although he was assigned to a synagogue as a Rabbi, he wanted to do more. He entered John Hopkins University and received his medical degree. He would now know better how to heal a man's soul and his body, as well. His enlistment date is recorded as Aug. 9, 1942.
Johnny Washington, from Newark, N.J., was born into a large Irish family. His love of music allowed him a chair in the church choir. He was a scrappy kid and a member of the South 12th Street Gang when he received the call to the priesthood. He asked to be sent back to his old neighborhood where he understood the kids there. He returned as the parish priest, played ball in the streets with the youngsters, organized youth baseball teams. On May 9, 1942, when some of the boys left to join the Army, Father Johnny enlisted along side them.
The youngest of the Four Chaplains, Clark Poling was the seventh generation in an unbroken line of Dutch Reform ministers. His enlistment date is June 10, 1942. Before leaving for Greenland, young Clark told his father, "Dad, don't pray for my safe return, just pray that I shall do my duty and something more, pray that I shall never be a coward. Pray that I shall have the strength, courage, and understanding of men, and especially pray that I shall be patient. Oh, Dad, just pray that I shall be adequate."
The USAT Dorchester
The bell on the USAT Dorchester rang twice at 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 3, 1943, never to be heard again. The former luxury coastal steamship turned troopship was torpedoed by an enemy submarine in an area of the Northern Atlantic Sea known as Torpedo Junction, sinking in under 15 minutes. Rescue began over an hour later and lasted more than 12 hours. Statistics show that the frigid waters can take the life of an individual in under three minutes.
The ship, carrying 902 servicemen, merchant seamen, and civilian workers, bound for Greenland, had been used up and down the Eastern Seacoast of the United States, was 368-by-52 foot, and only had a 16-foot draft, suitable for the coast, but not designed for deep open waters. She was being used to transport soldiers to Greenland during the height of World War II.
The weather in the North Atlantic in February can be brutal, with gale force winds. The waters were treacherous not just due to the weather, but the U-boats known for patrolling those waters. Ice began to build on the decks, slowing the old ship to just ten knots.
The Dorchester was one of three ships in the SG-19 convoy moving across the icy Northern Atlantic waters from Newfoundland toward an American base in Greenland. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters, Tampa, Escanaba, and the Comanche escorted the Dorchester and two other ships.
Many of the military personnel and civilians aboard were seasick from the brutal trip. The four Army chaplains among the troops were doing their best to soothe the ailing soldiers and, offering encouragement, easing apprehensions, sharing stories. Their efforts, concern, and camaraderie with the soldiers and civilians and with each other brought solace to those onboard.
With concern of enemy submarines reported by the Tampa, with its sonar, the Dorchester's captain, Hans J. Danielsen, cautiously order the men to sleep in their clothing, with lifejackets close at hand as they neared the coast of Greenland. The ship was only 150 miles from their destined port, just after midnight when a submarine fired a torpedo, striking the starboard side of the Dorchester, exploding in the boiler room, destroying the main electric supply, releasing clouds of suffocating steam and ammonia gas.
Many on board died instantly, while some were trapped below deck. Others, startled, awakened from their bunks, made their way to the decks of the already listing vessel. The ship took on water rapidly through the massive breach. The added weight of ice on the decks hastened the ship's sinking.
The horror of the night continued with overcrowded lifeboats capsized. Life rafts drifted away in the huge waves before anyone could reach them. Frozen in fear, men clung to the side rails, unable to will themselves to let go and plunge into the dark, frigid, churning waters far below.
The USCG Comanche saw the flash of an explosion and left the convoy to return to give aid, rescuing 97 survivors. The USCG Escanaba circled the sinking Dorchester, and rescued an additional 132 survivors. The third U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the Tampa, continued on to Greenland, providing safe passage for the two other vessels.
Survivors gave testimony that the only fragment of hope came from the four Army chaplains who were able to calmly guide men to their lifeboat stations. They opened a storage locker for lifejackets and began to hand them out. One soldier tried to return to his cabin to retrieve is gloves. One of the chaplains stopped him and told the soldier he could have one of his pair of gloves. The soldier, a survivor of the sinking, realized later that the chaplain did not have two pair of gloves.
The chaplains coaxed men to go over the side of the ship to the safety of the lifeboats. When the supply of lifejackets was exhausted, it was reported by some of the survivors; each chaplain removed their own lifejacket and handed it to the next person in line, essentially giving away their only means of saving themselves in order to save others.
The chaplains prayed with the soldiers. The four chaplains linked their arms as the ship's slant became severe. With their heads bowed in prayer, arms linked, they sank beneath the waves. Two Protestant chaplains, one Catholic, and one Rabbi, in one heroic act saved the lives of dozens of young soldiers. The story of the Sinking of the Dorchester and the Four Chaplains represents interfaith cooperation and selfish service.
Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Reformed.
Of the 230 survivors, two lived for a time in Lake Placid - Edward J. Dionne and Dan O'Keefe.
The four chaplains showed unity in interfaith. They each were from different cities and represented four different faiths. Yet, they worked together in harmony and unity to help save as many lives that cold early morning in the North Atlantic. Unity without uniformity is the basic underlying belief of all of those who serve in the United States Armed Services.
The late Dan O'Keefe, a former Lake Placid resident, and a survivor of the Dorchester, pulled his evening watch and was long overdue to be relieved of duty. Had he been relieved of duty sooner, he would have been in his cabin below the waterline at the time of the explosion, and would have perished along with the others in the area of his cabin.
O'Keefe was active with the local veteran activities and participated in the patriotic and veterans events. O'Keefe served as vice president of St. Regis paper company, now known as Georgia Pacific.
Ed Dionne, father of Joseph Dionne, retired county veteran services officer, often told that he survived the icy cold waters only because he was covered in oil, which served to insulate him from the cold. Dionne, raised in Wisconsin, was an avid swimmer in high school sports. The Escanaba rescued Dionne from the icy waters after an extended time in the water. Partially frozen, Dionne spent several months in the military hospitals in Greenland and Washington, D.C., learning to walk again.
Upon moving to Lake Placid with his family, Dionne set up an accounting practice. He served as District 8 commander of the American Legion, state commander of the 40 et 8, was quartermaster for Post 25, a member of Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and on the executive board of AARC. He believed in serving his fellow comrades with unity without uniformity.
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Evolutionary game of rock-paper-scissors may lead to new species
Washington, Feb 19 (ANI): A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), has determined that the evolutionary game of rock-paper-scissors in some animals might lead to the emergence of new species.
The study documents the disappearance of certain morphs of the side-blotched lizard in some populations.
The side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana, has three morphs differing in color and mating behavior.
Barry Sinervo, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCSC, has studied a population of side-blotched lizards near Los Banos, California, for over 20 years.
Ammon Corl, now a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden, led the new study as a graduate student at UCSC and is first author of the paper.
Previous work by Sinervo and his colleagues showed that competition among male side-blotched lizards takes the form of a rock-paper-scissors game in which each mating strategy beats and is beaten by one other strategy.
Males with orange throats can take territory from blue-throated males because they have more testosterone and body mass.
As a result, orange males control large territories containing many females.
Blue-throated males cooperate with each other to defend territories and closely guard females, so they are able to beat the sneaking strategy of yellow-throated males.
Yellow-throated males are not territorial, but mimic female behavior and coloration to sneak onto the large territories of orange males to mate with females.
Corl found the three color morphs in many places, but not everywhere.
Some populations were missing some of the color morphs.
In the field, the researchers captured lizards to collect tissue samples for DNA analysis and then released them back into the wild.
In the lab, they used the tissue samples to get DNA sequences from all of the lizard populations in the study.
"Based on these sequences, we reconstructed the 'family tree' of the lizard populations and figured out which populations were more closely related to one another. This let us figure out how the mating strategies evolved," Corl said.
The results showed that all three color morphs existed millions of years ago and have persisted since then in many populations.
Over time, however, some branches of the lizard family tree lost some of the color types.
Sinervo has documented the cycling of the rock-paper-scissors game at his main study site for 22 years, with the dominant morph in the population changing every four to five years.
"It's like an evolutionary clock ticking between rock, paper, scissors then back to rock," he said. (ANI)
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Diameter of Universe
Name: Thomas P.
What is the diameter of the Universe?
This is a tricky question to answer because the term "diameter" implies that there is
"something" on the "other side", but there is no "other side" so when an astronomer
observes a more distant object (s)he is looking back in time rather more than in space,
actually space-time. The further an object appears, it actually means the older it is.
Recent observations suggest that the expansion of the Universe, in which everything is
receding from every other thing, is actually accelerating. The Universe expansion does
not appear to be slowing down! Sound confusing? It is. It is difficult but inescapable --
how the Universe is behaving is not well understood.
Click here to return to the Astronomy Archives
Update: June 2012 |
Frederick Douglass, born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, (February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, newspaper publisher, orator, author, statesman, and reformer. Called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia," Douglass was among the most prominent African-Americans of his time, and one of the most influential lecturers and authors in American history.
Frederick Douglass was a key figure in the abolition of slavery in the United States. His motivation was based on his early life as a slave and his conviction, rooted in Holy Scripture, that all people are equal in the eyes of God. Douglass was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, or recent immigrant. He spent his life advocating the brotherhood of all humankind. One of his favorite quotations was, "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."
Life as a slave
Frederick Douglass was born a slave in Talbot County, Maryland, near Hillsborough, 12 miles from Easton. He was separated from his mother, Harriet Bailey, when he was still an infant. As slaves, a mother and her children were often separated. Slave owners knew that breaking the family bonds was integral to breaking the slave's spirits. Therefore this practice was often followed. In later life, Frederick would often recount the times his mother walked 12 miles at night to spend half an hour with him. He wrote that "a true mother's heart was hers" and "I take few steps in life without feeling her presence." She died when Frederick was nine years old. He never knew anything about the identity of his father, other than that he was a white man, although some believe that his master, Captain Aaron Anthony, was his father. When Anthony died, Frederick was given to Mrs. Lucretia Auld, wife of Captain Thomas Auld. The young man was sent to Baltimore to serve the Captain's brother, Hugh Auld. Later, Douglass declared this an “Act of Providence.” He wrote, "going to Baltimore laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity. I have ever regarded it as the first plain manifestation of that kind providence which has ever since attended me, and marked my life with so many favors. This good spirit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise."
When Frederick was ten, Hugh Auld's wife, Sophia, broke the law by teaching him to read. When Mr. Auld discovered this, he strongly disapproved, saying that if a slave learns to read, he would become dissatisfied with his condition and desire freedom; Frederick later referred to this as the first anti-abolitionist speech he had ever heard. Another turning point in his young life happened when he purchased a copy of the book The Columbian Orator, by Caleb Bingham, A.M. It was the first book he ever owned. Frederick also studied and memorized classic speeches by the Roman orator Cicero in order to find his own voice.
During this period, Frederick became attached to a deeply religious man known to us as "Uncle Lawson," who became a spiritual father to him. Young Frederick took every opportunity to be with Lawson, who told him that it was possible for him to be delivered from bondage. Douglass fervently prayed to God that it so transpire. This turn of events would not have pleased slave owners, who preferred and appreciated preachers who taught that slavery was the benevolent creation of God and that faithful and obedient slaves would be rewarded in heaven. This was not how Frederick interpreted Christianity. For him it meant the equality of all people before God and deliverance from bondage in this life. Religion taught Douglass to value himself, love others, and work to achieve freedom. Christianity's ideals helped inspire his work and guide his actions.
The fight with Edward Covey
By 1834, Frederick was back on the farm in Talbot County. Gone were his opportunities to learn among the streets and wharves of Fells Point in Baltimore. Now began the great test of his young life. Hugh Auld rented Frederick out to a farmer named Edward Covey, a "slave breaker" of extraordinary cruelty. Sixteen-year-old Frederick was indeed nearly broken psychologically by his ordeal under Covey, but finally rebelled against the beatings and fought back. Covey lost out on a confrontation with Frederick and never tried to beat him again. This incident was kept under wraps possibly because Covey was afraid the news of Frederick's victory would ruin his reputation as a "slave breaker," or he was simply ashamed of his defeat.
Escape to freedom
By 1837, Frederick was back in Fells Point and had joined the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society, a debating club of free blacks. Frederick was the only slave there. Through the society, he met a free African-American housekeeper, Anna Murray. Anna Murray sold a poster bed to buy sailor's papers needed for Frederick's escape. On September 3, 1838, Frederick boarded a train in Baltimore on his way to freedom from slavery, dressed in a sailor's uniform and carrying identification papers provided by a free black seaman. Though he did not match the physical description in the papers, the conductor gave them only a casual glance. From Baltimore, Frederick made his way to Wilmington, Delaware. He had to continue north, as both Maryland and Delaware were slave states. He went through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then onto New York City. He wrote to Anna from there and they were married on September 15. They were warned that New York was not safe for runaways, so they moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts. This was by no means one of the most creative escapes of a slave; Henry "Box" Brown mailed himself (as a parcel) from Virginia to Philadelphia in a journey taking 26 hours. It was at this time that Frederick (Bailey) changed his name to Frederick Douglass, adopting the name of a heroic character in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Lady of the Lake.
Douglass continued reading. He joined various organizations in New Bedford, including a black church. He regularly attended Abolitionist meetings. He subscribed to William Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal, the Liberator, and in 1841, he heard Garrison speak at the Bristol Anti-Slavery Society's annual meeting. Douglass was inspired by Garrison, later stating, "no face and form ever impressed me with such sentiments (the hatred of slavery) as did those of William Lloyd Garrison." Garrison was likewise impressed with Douglass, and mentioned him in the Liberator.
Several days later, Douglass gave his first speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's annual convention in Nantucket Island. Twenty-three years old at the time, Douglass later said that his legs were shaking. He conquered his nervousness and gave an eloquent speech about his life as a slave.
In 1843, Douglass participated in the American Anti-Slavery Society's Hundred Conventions project, a six-month tour of meeting halls throughout the East and Midwest of the United States. Not everyone appreciated his speaking; an angry mob beat Douglass and broke his hand in Pendleton, Indiana, in September 1844. In 1845, he published his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. The popularity of his book forced him out of the country. By 1847, he was back in the States and settled in Rochester, New York. In 1848, he participated in the Seneca Falls Convention, the birthplace of the American feminist movement, and was a signatory of its Declaration of Sentiments.
Douglass later became the publisher of a series of newspapers: The North Star, Frederick Douglass Weekly, Frederick Douglass' Paper, Douglass' Monthly, and New National Era. The motto of The North Star was "Right is of no sex—Truth is of no color—God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren."
Douglass' work spanned the years prior to and during the Civil War. He was acquainted with the radical abolitionist Captain John Brown, but did not approve of Brown's plan to start an armed slave revolt. Douglass believed that the Harpers Ferry attack on federal property would enrage the American public. After John Brown's Raid, Douglass praised him, saying that he was willing to live to free the slaves, but Brown was willing to give his life. Because of his contact with Brown, Douglass had to leave the country again. In March 1860, Douglass' youngest daughter, Annie, died at age eleven in Rochester, New York, while he was still in England. Upon learning of this, Douglass returned immediately. He arrived the following month, taking the northern route through Canada to avoid detection. The Douglass' home was close to the Canadian border and one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad.
Douglass saw the Civil War as a struggle between freedom and slavery. For him, the sin of slavery could only be ended if Americans were forced to shed their blood. He especially wanted black soldiers to fight on behalf of the Union, so that slaves could help earn their freedom. President Abraham Lincoln's original concern was in saving the Union, but on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was promulgated and the first official black troops were registered. Douglass conferred with President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 on the treatment of black soldiers, and later with President Andrew Johnson on the subject of black suffrage. Douglass was in Rochester when he heard of Lincoln's assassination and said, "President Lincoln died as the father of his people and would be mourned by them as long as one remained in America who had been a slave." Mary Todd Lincoln gave Douglass the President's favorite cane as a token of their enduring friendship.
Douglass' most well-known work is his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, which was published in 1845. Critics frequently attacked the book as inauthentic, not believing that an uneducated black man could possibly have produced so eloquent a piece of literature. Except for his brief tutelage under Sophia Auld, Douglass was completely self-taught. The book was an immediate bestseller and received overwhelmingly positive critical reviews. Within three years of its publication, it had been reprinted nine times with 11,000 copies circulating in the United States; it was also translated into the French and Dutch.
The book's success had an unfortunate side effect: His friends and mentors feared that the publicity would draw the attention of his ex-owner, Hugh Auld, who could try to get his "property" back. They encouraged him to go on a tour in Ireland, as many other ex-slaves had done in the past. He set sail on the Cambria for Liverpool on August 16, 1845, and arrived in Ireland when the Irish famine was just beginning.
Travels to Europe
He met and befriended the Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell. When Douglass visited Scotland, the members of the Free Church of Scotland, whom he had criticized for accepting money from U.S. slave-owners, demonstrated against him with placards that read "Send back the nigger." English friends purchased his freedom and urged him to stay in the United Kingdom. But Douglass longed for his family and knew his true mission was to help his enslaved brothers and sisters back in the United States.
Douglass and Anna had five children; two of them, Charles and Rossetta, helped produce his newspapers. Charles and another son, Lewis, served as soldiers during the Civil War.
The North Star problem
In 1847, Douglass founded a Rochester, New York paper called The North Star. One evening, a group of men burst into the office and started to approach menacingly toward one of the printing presses, but Douglass beat them to it. "You can smash this place and I'll open my paper elsewhere. Stop me, and others will take my place. You came here to destroy my paper? Let me help you." Douglass smashed the printing press himself. "You can smash machines, but you can't smash ideas." Thus, Douglass successfully diffused the confrontation.
The Civil War
In 1851, Douglass merged the North Star with Gerrit Smith's Liberty Party Paper to form Frederick Douglass' Paper, which was published until 1860. Douglass came to agree with Smith and Lysander Spooner that the U.S. Constitution is an anti-slavery document, reversing his earlier belief that it was pro-slavery, a view he had shared with William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison had publicly demonstrated his opinion of the Constitution by burning copies of it. Douglass' change of position on the Constitution was one of the most notable incidents of a division that emerged in the abolitionist movement after the publication of Spooner's book The Unconstitutionality of Slavery in 1846. This shift in opinion, as well as some other political differences, created a rift between Douglass and Garrison. Douglass further angered Garrison by saying that the Constitution could and should be used as an instrument in the fight against slavery. With this, Douglass began to assert his independence from Garrison's views. Garrison saw the North Star as being in competition with the National Anti-Slavery Standard and Marius Robinson's Anti-slavery Bugle.
By the time of the Civil War, Douglass was one of the most famous black men in the country, known for his oratories on the condition of the black race, and other issues such as women's rights. He was the first black man to visit a president on equal footing. Whenever President Lincoln saw him, he would say, "Here is my friend, Frederick Douglass." The President once kept Governor Buckingham of Connecticut waiting because he wanted a long talk with Douglass. During the last two years of the war about 200,000 African-Americans served in Union regiments. When given the chance to fight, blacks proved as brave as anyone. More than 30,000 died fighting for freedom and the Union.
The Reconstruction era
After the Civil War, Douglass held a number of important political positions. He served as President of the failed Reconstruction-era Freedman's Savings Bank; as marshal of the District of Columbia; as minister-resident and consul-general to the Republic of Haiti; and as chargé d'affaires for Santo Domingo. After two years, he resigned his ambassadorship due to disagreements with U.S. government policy. In 1872, he moved to Washington, D.C after his house on South Avenue in Rochester, New York burned down—arson was suspected. A complete set of The North Star was lost in the fire.
In 1868, Douglass supported the presidential campaign of Ulysses S. Grant. The Klan Act and the Enforcement Act were signed into law by President Grant. Grant used their provisions vigorously, suspending habeas corpus in South Carolina and sending troops there and into other states; under his leadership, over 5,000 arrests were made and the Ku Klux Klan was dealt a serious blow.
Grant's vigor in disrupting the Klan made him unpopular among many whites, but Frederick Douglass praised him. An associate of Douglass wrote of Grant that African-Americans "will ever cherish a grateful remembrance of his name, fame and great services." The conflict was not limited to the KKK. Racist groups like the Knights of the White Camellia and the White League also played a part. From 1869 until 1893, Douglass served as an important official (and the only black) in the inauguration of every Republican president.
In 1877, Frederick Douglass purchased his final home in Washington D.C., on a hill overlooking the Anacostia River. He named it Cedar Hill (also spelled CedarHill). He expanded the house from 14 to 21 rooms. One year later, Douglass expanded his property to 15 acres (61,000 m²), with the purchase of adjoining lots. The home is now the location of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.
After the disappointments of Reconstruction, many African Americans, known as Exodusters, moved to Kansas to form all-black towns. Douglass spoke out against the movement, urging blacks to stick it out. He was condemned and booed widely by black audiences.
In 1881, Douglass was appointed Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia. His wife, Anna Murray Douglass, died in 1882, which left him in a state of depression. His association with the activist Ida B. Wells brought meaning back into his life. In 1884, Douglass married Helen Pitts, a white feminist from Honeoye, New York. Pitts was the daughter of Gideon Pitts, Jr., an abolitionist colleague and friend of Douglass. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College (at that time Mount Holyoke Female Seminary), Pitts had worked on a radical feminist publication named Alpha while living in Washington, D.C.
Frederick and Helen Pitts Douglass faced a storm of controversy as a result of their marriage. She was a white woman and nearly 20 years younger than he. Both families recoiled; hers stopped speaking to her; his was bruised, as they felt his marriage was a repudiation of their mother. But individualist feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton congratulated the couple. Douglass' response to all the controversy was, "my first wife was the color of my mother. My second wife is the color of my father." Douglass never saw the world as one in which black and white were separated. He spoke of an "instinctive consciousness of the common brotherhood of man," seeing that as human beings we all belong to one species.
In later life, Douglass determined to ascertain his birthday. He was born in February of 1817 by his own calculations, but historians have found a record indicating his birth in February of 1818. As a child, he remembered his mother calling him her “Little Valentine,” so he adopted February 14 as his birthday.
He spoke for Irish Home Rule and on the efforts of Charles Stewart Parnell. He briefly revisited Ireland in 1886. In 1892, the Haitian government appointed Douglass as its commissioner to the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. He spoke about the growth of lynching: "Men talk of the race problem. There is no Negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own Constitution." Douglass was not indifferent to the sight of injustice anywhere. The outrageous way in which the Chinese were treated made him speak up on their behalf. He did the same for Native Americans, Mexicans, and Indians (from India), finding racism a product of ignorance and a host of other factors, encompassing selfishness, arrogance, aggression, and greed.
On February 20, 1895, Douglass attended a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C.. During that meeting, he was brought to the platform and given a standing ovation by the audience.
- Frederick Douglass [videorecording] / produced by Greystone Communications, Inc. for A&E Network; executive producers, Craig Haffner and Donna E. Lusitana.; 1997
- Frederick Douglass: when the lion wrote history [videorecording] / a co-production of ROJA Productions and WETA-TV; produced and directed by Orlando Bagwell ; narration written by Steve Fayer.; c1994
- Frederick Douglass, abolitionist editor [videorecording] / a production of Schlessinger Video Productions, a division of Library Video Company; produced and directed by Rhonda Fabian, Jerry Baber; script, Amy A. Tiehel
- Race to freedom [videorecording] : the story of the underground railroad / an Atlantis Films Limited production in association with United Image Entertainment; produced in association with the Family Channel (U.S.), Black Entertainment Television and CTV Television Network, Ltd. ; produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, Ontario Film Development Corporation and with the assistance of Rogers Telefund ; distributed by Xenon Pictures ; executive producers, Seaton McLean, Tim Reid ; co-executive producers, Peter Sussman, Anne Marie La Traverse ; supervising producer, Mary Kahn ; producers, Daphne Ballon, Brian Parker ; directed by Don McBrearty ; teleplay by Diana Braithwaite, Nancy Trites Botkin, Peter Mohan. Publisher Santa Monica, CA: Xenon Pictures, Inc., 2001. Tim Reid as Frederick Douglass.
Books by Douglass
- A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845)
- My Bondage and My Freedom (1855)
- Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892)
- Collected Articles Of Frederick Douglass, A Slave
- Frederick Douglass : Autobiographies by Frederick Douglass, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Editor.
Books on Douglass
- Foner, Phillip S. The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass. 1975.
- Burchard, Peter. Frederick Douglass: For the Great Family of Man. New York: Atheneum Books, 2003.
- Huggins, Nathan Irvin. Slave and Citizen: The Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: HarperCollins, 1980.
- Kerby, Mona. Frederick Douglass. New York: Franklin Watts, 1994.
- Miller, Douglas T. Frederick Douglass and the Fight for Freedom. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1988.
- Russell, Sharman A. Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist Editor. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.
- Ruuth, Marianne. Frederick Douglass: Patriot and Activist. Los Angeles: Melrose Square Publishing Company, 1991.
- Frederick Douglass (American Memory, Library of Congress) Includes timeline. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Timeline of Frederick Douglass and family. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Frederick Douglas Timeline. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Read more about Frederick Douglass. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Online Books Page (University of Pennsylvania). Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Fourth of July Speech. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Frederick Douglass NHS—Douglass' Life. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Frederick Douglass NHS—Cedar Hill National Park Service site. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Frederick Douglass Western New York Suffragists. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Cultural Tourism DC—African American Heritage Trail. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Frederick Douglass and the term "Band of Brothers". Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Frederick Douglass Gardens at Cedar Hill Frederick Douglass Gardens development & maintenance organization. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- The Frederick Douglass Prize A national book prize sponsored by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Mr. Lincoln and Freedom: Frederick Douglass. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- Mr. Lincoln's White House: Frederick Douglass. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
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A REPORTER AT LARGE about banking heir David de Rothschild’s plan to sail across the Pacific Ocean on a “bottle boat” made entirely of recycled materials. A highlight of the trip will be a visit to a region of floating plastic trash and particles known as the Eastern Garbage Patch. De Rothschild and his team will collect water samples to study and, using a satellite phone, post photographs and video clips on the Web site of Adventure Ecology, an environmental organization that he founded. His goal is to call attention to the perils of ocean polluting and to suggest a solution: waste as a resource. The expedition is expected to cost several million dollars, much of which he has raised from corporate partners. Inspired, in part, by Thor Heyerdahl’s Pacific crossing, in 1947, on a raft called the Kon-Tiki, de Rothschild dubbed the project Plastiki. Describes the building on San Francisco’s Pier 31 where de Rothschild and his team are assembling their boat and the many difficulties they have faced in its design and construction. Tells about the Junk Raft, which another environmental group called Algalita Marine Research Foundation—whose founder, Charles Moore, claimed to have discovered the Eastern Garbage Patch—successfully sailed from California to Hawaii in 2008. “That’s the competitiveness of these green groups and adventurers,” de Rothschild said. Writer compares de Rothschild to the explorers Sir Richard Francis Burton and Sebastian Snow. He is the youngest of three children of the former Victoria Schott and Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, who, until his retirement, ran the English branch of the banking empire Rothschild’s. Tells about de Rothschild’s purchase of an organic farm in New Zealand in 2001 and his participation in an expedition to the South Pole. The latter experience led him to create Adventure Ecology, an organization that would mix adventure, environmentalism, and education. Describes an expedition by de Rothschild to the North Pole in 2006. Afterwards, de Rothschild considered a four-year sailing trip for his next expedition, but, while researching the route, he came across Charles Moore’s article about the Eastern Garbage Patch. Discusses the threat posed by plastics to birds, turtles, and fish and the evolution of the idea that led to the construction of Plastiki. Mentions members of the team who worked on the boat, including Andy Dovell, Mike Rose, and Matt Grey, and the refinements made to a prototype which was created last June. Briefly discusses de Rothschild’s role as host of the television show “Eco-Trip.” De Rothschild had set a launch date of April 28, 2009—sixty-two years to the day since Thor Heyerdahl set out from Peru on the Kon Tiki—however, he has since pushed the date back to the summer of 2009.
A Reporter at Large
Message In a Bottle
David de Rothschild’s oceanic eco-crusade.
by John Colapinto April 6, 2009
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A bridge is a structure that spans a valley, river, or body of water, and roads and railroads, providing passage from one side to the other. Early bridges were natural - fallen logs across a stream or built up landforms chosen as paths for crossing. People made bridges with vines, branches and stones. Bridges are still made of vines, wood and stone, but are bigger and longer when built of man-made materials like steel and reinforced concrete.
There are six main types of bridges: beam, cantilever, arch, suspension, cable-stayed and truss bridges. Designs of bridges depend on the purpose of the bridge, the terrain the bridge will span, and available materials. Bridges carry people, animals, bikers, goods, cars, trucks, buses, trains, and utilities. An aqueduct is a bridge that carries water, resembling a viaduct, which is a bridge that connects points of equal height. A road-rail bridge carries both road and rail traffic. Pedestrian bridges are lighter and just carry people.
Bridges connect us!
Activity 1 understanding bridges!
Bridges are everywhere, large and small. Collect photos of bridges from around the world, sketch their form and structure, categorize them and create a chart of the six main bridge types.
Bridges connect us around the globe!
Activity 2 find bridges in your city!
Look around your city and find the six different types of bridges. Look by highways, over rivers, around waterfronts, in gardens and parks. Photograph and sketch the bridges in your journal, labeling their type and use. The areas underneath some bridges have become makeshift shelters and homes for homeless people, and the undersides of bridges all around the world are often spots of prevalent graffiti. Choose one of your city bridges and improve the area underneath by planting a garden, creating a sculpture, imagining a new shelter.
Respect a bridge!
Activity 3 bridge treasure hunt!
In this activity, you will attempt to find and share, with your class, the world’s oldest bridge, the world’s tallest bridge, the longest spanning bridge, the bridge that carries the most traffic. It’s a bridge treasure hunt!
Wander the world and find your bridge!
What is a bridge designed for?
The first bridges were made by humans.
How many main types of bridges are there?
Design of bridges varies depending on the materials of the bridge.
The first bridges made by humans were spans of steel and concrete.
- Bridge Basics
- Bridges over Niagara Falls
- Digital Bridges
- Railway bridges, Viaducts, and Tunnels
- Library of Science, Engineering and Technology Viaducts + Aqueducts
- All About Types of Bridges
- Build a Bridge Online!
- All About Bridges
Back to Top |
Welcome To Week 6
Your Baby: Forming New Features
It's been four weeks since you conceived, and the embryo is now six weeks old. (Remember, the age of a fetus is calculated from the beginning of the last menstrual period - not from the actual date of conception, which usually happens two weeks later.) Still less than 1/5 of an inch long (4 to 5 mm), it has tripled in size and is starting to look somewhat familiar. The brain is developing distinct areas, and the eyes and ears are beginning to take shape. Even at this early date, the heart is being formed and is starting to pump blood at a rate of about 150 beats per minute. The backbone, ribs, and muscles of the back and sides will grow out of 40 small blocks of tissue that are developing along the fetus’ future spine!
Your Body: Deciding On A Doctor
Nothing is more crucial to your pregnancy than getting good prenatal care. That means choosing a compatible health care provider who you can call whenever you have questions or concerns about you or your baby. In today's world, everything counts: bedside manner, philosophy, type of practice, and medical credentials. For some people, it's the qualifications that count the most.
- The Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB/GYN) is an M.D. who has specialized in the field of woman's health and pregnancy. They specialize not only in the care and treatment of the woman during the pregnancy, but also the labor and delivery of the baby.
- The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist, or perinatologist, is an OB who has received special training to care for high-risk pregnancies. Women may choose this specialist if they have had a previous complicated pregnancy, have a multiple birth pregnancy, or have preexisting medical conditions.
- The Family Physician (FP) is an M.D. that has chosen to study family practice medicine. Family practice physicians treat men and women of all ages as well as treat children. They also take care of women who are pregnant. Some FP’s deliver babies, while others provide prenatal care and have Ob/Gyn or midwifery colleagues who do the delivery.
- The Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) is a person who is trained in nursing and midwifery. A nurse midwife is focused on caring for women who are pregnant and generally is there for labor and delivery as well. Nurse midwives generally work with obstetricians as well. Midwives generally provide a low-intervention approach to pregnancy.
Each type of medical practitioner will treat you and your pregnancy differently. So before you decide on "the one," research each practitioner and practice as extensively as you can.
On That Note: Choosing Dr. Right
Looking for a checklist for choosing the perfect doctor? Click here to use our handy checklist that will help you determine what type of practitioner is the perfect fit for you.
The telltale sign of pregnancy -- morning sickness -- may set in this week. To ease your queasy tummy, try keeping it full at all times. Eat small, simple meals every two to three hours, drink lots of water, and never leave home without a healthy snack in your bag. Some mothers' favorite snacks include power bars, graham crackers, plain crackers, and dried fruits and nuts.
Irina Burd, MD, PhD, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. |
- Posted on 15th February 2010 by Nicola Holden
On Saturday I felt the need for to delve into some art and culture, and so decided to visit Sir John Soane’s Museum, which is somewhere I should have visited ages ago!
Sir John Soane, (1753–1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources. His best-known work is the Bank of England. The Sir John Soane’s museum is located in Soane’s original house at 12 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, close to Holborn tube station. Soane established the house as a Museum by means of an Act of Parliament in the conviction that ‘the study of classical principles of design should be the foundation of an architectural student’s education’.
Soane bought the house in 1792, and used it as his home and library, but also for the entertaining of potential clients. He eventually extended the house into two neighbouring houses to enable him to experiment with different architectural ideas, and also to house his growing collection of antiquities and architectural salvage, many of which he acquired on his ‘grand tour’ of Europe.
His aim was to display his collection so as to educate and inspire ‘Amateurs and Students in Painting, Architecture and Sculpture’. Some of the objects in Soane’s collection include the sarcophagus of the Egyptian King Seti I (carved out of a single piece of Egyptian alabaster), Roman bronzes from Pompeii, paintings by Canaletto, Hogarth and Turner and an ivory table and chair set of late 18th century origin, believed to have been seized from Tipu Sultan by the East India Company. The small Picture Room has a total of more than one hundred pictures, additional wall space being provided by the use of hinged screens. There are also 7,000 books and 30,000 drawings.
His interior designs include the ingenious use of mirrors to expand the apparent space. In the small breakfast parlour, Soane has used over 100 pieces of mirror, together with stained glass windows in skylights, to create ‘a succession of those fanciful effects which constitute the poetry of architecture’.
This museum is well worth a visit! |
Teacher evaluation rules: Welcome to the pressure cooker
Kids are, by definition, not adults, and they’re not interested in grown-ups’ measures of quality. And yet, the N.M. Public Education Department wants teachers’ jobs to be based on tests taken by kids for whom there is no personal consequence. What will it mean for them when the weight of our careers rests in their little hands?
Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of Agranat’s commentary. Read Part 1 here.
Teaching to the test is a sad fact these days. Schools narrow curricula to make “progress” on standardized tests. Reading and math scores on high-stakes tests in grades 4-8 and 11 are used to calculate school A-F ratings. Kids enter middle school lacking science skills and social studies knowledge. The focus on test scores has done serious harm.
The new teacher evaluations from the N.M. Public Education Department will only make it worse. A full 50 percent of every teacher’s evaluation will be based on student standardized test scores.
Parents in North Carolina demanded a change from this system when their kids were constantly subjected to high-stakes tests. This spring, “In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, officials jettisoned 52 end-of-the-year exams last month that were created to measure teacher effectiveness after parents complained… The exams were used for only one year before being scrapped.” The money spent on tests was enormous, and completely wasted.
Instructional practices will also change, not according to the needs of students, but in alignment with the tests. Teachers will focus on what can be assessed with a #2 pencil, and cut time-consuming activities that expand thinking, encourage exploration, inspire students and enrich lives.
We can say “so long” to the science lab, and “farewell” to the class play.
Measurable, agonizingly dull activities
The best things about school cannot be measured with standardized tests. Kids work with friends in science labs, explore water density and build mechanical toys from rubber bands and popsicle sticks. They make scale models of the solar system running the entire length of the hallways. They have CSI workshops, and dissect creatures great and small.
Students put on plays. They act out predators and prey in the animal kingdom, perform scenes from favorite novels, and put on fake beards to recite the Gettysburg Address. These highly enriching, interesting, and I dare say fun activities are in jeopardy because the skills gleaned from those projects can’t, and won’t, be tested.
When jobs are at stake, creativity gets sidelined. As much as teachers want to inspire students, self-preservation is human nature.
Students will still learn the animal kingdom and the Gettysburg Address, but will regurgitate testable material with fewer exploratory opportunities. Classes will consist of measurable, agonizingly dull activities.
Hands-on courses will require standardized tests, too, though before they are developed or purchased, elective teachers’ evaluations will be based on other subjects. In Tennessee, P.E. teachers’ evaluations are absurdly based on their students’ reading scores.
Even course-specific pencil-and-paper tests are problematic in performing and visual arts. Instead of making art, students study facts and analysis. Drama students bubble in how many plays Shakespeare wrote, Band students write a D-minor scale, but the heart of the class, the kids’ acting and playing skills, are ignored.
On Colorado’s first grade art test, 6-year olds are asked to ”Write three colors Picasso used to show feeling or emotion.” They should instead be experiencing and enjoying art.
Taking time away from actual learning
When we realize that we are killing creativity, we may decide to evaluate elective teachers with student portfolios instead. Then, teachers of different subjects would be evaluated on different scales. If language arts and math teachers’ evaluations are based on test scores while arts teachers use portfolios, there will be conflict, jealousy, resentment and possible undermining of each other’s work.
This should never happen in a school. The team of teachers who support a student’s experience must be cohesive and collaborative. We know what is best for kids, and division between teachers is not it.
Morale will sink and we could drive our best teachers away. Washington, D.C. was the first to model this new evaluation system. They now have a turnover rate – among good teachers – that is nearly twice the national average.
School reputations, letter grades and penalties are already contingent on test scores. The stakes are high and students feel tremendous stress around testing season. The anxiety level at schools is palpable. Adults are on edge, and kids get confused and inconvenienced by test security measures. The test preparation is tedious, and the testing itself is brutal.
Preparing for testing, kids learn how to fill in bubbles, how to write a paragraph within a box, (rather than on lined paper), how to narrow down a multiple-choice answer, and how to get to the testing room. We spend weeks “inspiring” kids to do well through pep rallies, speeches, slogans and motivational films.
All of these activities help kids get ready for testing. All of these activities take time away from actual learning.
Welcome to the pressure cooker of teacher evaluations. The already high stakes will reach an extreme. Students who like their teachers will panic about their performance. Students who dislike their teachers will find an opportunity for revenge. Teachers may avoid disciplining students because angry kids could lead to poor evaluations. Teachers may resent the kids who don’t test well, avoid those with special needs, are easily distracted, struggle to learn English, or are not interested in the subject.
Washington, D.C. is considering waiving teacher evaluations in low-income schools because teachers are leaving in droves to avoid getting fired for poor ratings. According to the Education Policy Analysis Archives, “A teacher who teaches less advantaged students in a given course or year typically receives lower effectiveness ratings than the same teacher teaching more advantaged students in a different course or year.”
The lowest grades routinely go to the schools and teachers serving students with the greatest need.
PED released the new A-F grades this week. The Albuquerque map clearly shows that schools in high poverty areas received D’s and F’s while those in affluent areas got A’s and B’s, despite the fact that the formula ostensibly accounted for poverty. It is illogical and insulting to say that all of the teachers working in affluent neighborhoods are terrific, and that the high poverty schools employ nothing but losers. But this is what test score based evaluations will show.
The N.M. Public Education Department wants teachers’ jobs to be based on tests taken by kids for whom there is no personal consequence. There are serious flaws in any system that determines one person’s worth through another person’s actions.
Parents know that kids don’t always do their best, and don’t always follow (or understand) directions. Children and teens are subject to strange and irrational motivations and react to pressure in unpredictable ways. Kids are not interested in grown-ups’ measures of quality. They are not motivated by our values, only by theirs. They are, by definition, not adults.
What will it mean for them when the weight of our careers rests in their little hands?
Hearing being held Wednesday
The PED hearing on the proposed teacher evaluation changes will be held Wednesday in Santa Fe. Their newsletter says they “encourage everyone to attend and express (their) views.” I hope we all take them up on this offer.
Alyssa Agranat is a teacher with Albuquerque Public Schools.
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The Nobel Prize in Physics 1939
Ernest Orlando Lawrence
Born: 8 August 1901, Canton, SD, USA
Died: 27 August 1958, Palo Alto, CF, USA
Affiliation at the time of the award: University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Prize motivation: "for the invention and development of the cyclotron and for results obtained with it, especially with regard to artificial radioactive elements"
Field: Accelerator physics, instrumentation
Ernest Orlando Lawrence
was born on 8th August, 1901, at Canton, South Dakota (United
States). His parents, Carl Gustavus and Gunda (née Jacobson)
Lawrence, were the children of Norwegian immigrants, his father
being a Superintendant of Schools. His early education was at
Canton High School, then St. Olaf College. In 1919 he went to the
University of South
Dakota, receiving his B.A. in Chemistry in 1922. The
following year he received his M.A. from the University of Minnesota.
He spent a year at University of Chicago doing physics and was awarded his
Ph.D. from Yale
University in 1925. He continued at Yale for a further three
years, the first two as a National Research Fellow and the third
as Assistant Professor of Physics. In 1928 he was appointed
Associate Professor of Physics at the University of
California, Berkeley, and two years later he became
Professor, being the youngest professor at Berkeley. In 1936 he
became Director of the University's Radiation Laboratory as well,
remaining in these posts until his death.
During World War II he made vital contributions to the development of the atomic bomb, holding several official appointments in the project. After the war he played a part in the attempt to obtain international agreement on the suspension of atomic-bomb testing, being a member of the U.S. delegation at the 1958 Geneva Conference on this subject.
Lawrence's research centred on nuclear physics. His early work was on ionization phenomena and the measurement of ionization potentials of metal vapours. In 1929 he invented the cyclotron, a device for accelerating nuclear particles to very high velocities without the use of high voltages. The swiftly moving particles were used to bombard atoms of various elements, disintegrating the atoms to form, in some cases, completely new elements. Hundreds of radioactive isotopes of the known elements were also discovered. His brother, Dr. John Lawrence, who became Director of the University's Medical Physics Laboratory, collaborated with him in studying medical and biological applications of the cyclotron and himself became a consultant to the Institute of Cancer Research at Columbia.
Larger and more powerful versions of the cyclotron were built by Lawrence. In 1941 the instrument was used to generate artificially the cosmic particles called mesons, and later the studies were extended to antiparticles.
Lawrence was a most prolific writer: during 1924-1940 his name appeared on 56 papers (an average of 31/2 papers a year), showing his exceptional breadth of interest. He was also the inventor of a method for obtaining time intervals as small as three billionths of a second, to study the discharge phenomena of an electric spark. In addition he devised a very precise method for measuring the e/m ratio of the electron, one of the fundamental constants of Nature. Most of his work was published in The Physical Review and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Among his many awards may be mentioned the Elliott Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Comstock Prize of the National Academy of Sciences, the Hughes Medal of the Royal Society, the Duddell Medal of the Royal Physical Society, the Faraday Medal, and the Enrico Fermi Award. He was decorated with the Medal for Merit and was an Officer of the Legion of Honour. He held honorary doctorates of thirteen American and one British University (Glasgow). He was a member or fellow of many American and foreign learned societies.
Lawrence married Mary Kimberly Blumer, daughter of the Emeritus Dean at Yale Medical School, in May 1932. They had six children. His recreations were boating, tennis, ice-skating, and music. He died on 27th August, 1958, at Palo Alto, California.
From Nobel Lectures, Physics 1922-1941, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1965
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1939
MLA style: "Ernest Lawrence - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 19 May 2013 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1939/lawrence.html |
Triad’s Choice for Learning Differences
Academics at Noble Academy are unique in that students are held to a high standard of learning the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, but are given the tools to be successful in this endeavor. Teachers use direct instruction, pay close attention to individual needs, and use research-based teaching methods in order to help our students become successful in the classroom.
Instruction in our primary, intermediate, and junior high levels emphasizes remediation and direct instruction in learning strategies. Students are grouped according to instructional needs to ensure maximum student-teacher engagement. Our high school curriculum is college preparatory with an emphasis on learning strategies, transition issues, and individual accommodations.
Although many students come to Noble Academy with the intention of graduating from here, many other students come for a few years with a plan to transition back to public school or other setting. Students in all grades learn study skills, organizational skills, and learning strategies that will help them become more successful in another learning environment.
Please see the page below that corresponds to the grade level that you are interested in to find out more about our curriculum.
Lower Division: Grades K-6
Upper Division: Grades 7-12
The Noble Academy Way is a collection of teaching methods, strategies, and philosophies that we apply across the board at Noble Academy. |
A sunny day at the beach has plusses and minuses for your health.
A little bit of sun can help your body produce vitamin D, but the sun's ultraviolet radiation raises your risk for skin cancer. And, it turns out, UV radiation poses another threat — it physically weakens your skin.
As far as barriers go in the biological world, healthy skin is a pretty awesome one. And it's one you definitely want to keep intact, which can be a challenge.
Skin cells have to stick together to keep your insides in and bend with your body as you move. Skin has to be permeable enough for you to sweat but impenetrable to noxious chemicals, bacteria and viruses. The skin's top layer — the stratum corneum — is just 15 microns thick (about half that of wax paper) and is your first line of protection against the outside world.
"Every single day it's insulted by all sorts of abrasions and contact with surfaces," says Reinhold Dauskardt, a bioengineer at Stanford University. "It's actually a remarkably good barrier, which is why getting medications through the skin is so difficult because many molecules simply can't penetrate."
Dauskardt's lab studies the biomechanics of skin. How much does it stretch when you stress it? How stiff is it? That sort of thing.
In a study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dauskardt and his colleagues exposed pieces of stratum corneum from a human cadaver to UVB radiation. That's the type of UV light that the top layers of your skin absorb. In the experiments, the researchers used UVB equivalent to 12, 24, or 60 consecutive days in Florida sunlight.
Then, they tested the treated skin. How easily did it crumble when pressed? How much force did it take to tear or crack it. How hard was it to separate the layers of its cells.
Bottom line: UV light reduces skin's strength and dries it out, putting a strain on the cells. Skin exposed to UV light breaks, cracks and chaps more easily.
"UV radiation really is a double whammy," says Dauskardt. "On one hand you're making skin weaker and easier to break, and on the other hand you're actually increasing the stresses in the skin so there's more stress available to cause it to break."
At the microscopic level, UV radiation changes the structures of integral proteins, namely keratin, and fat molecules called lipids that serve as the glue that holds skin cells together. These lipids become less cohesive. So, even in deeper skin layers, the cells just don't stick together as well.
The damage depends on the dose, and the researchers used particularly high doses. They estimate it takes at least 2 days of sun exposure for the skin's top layer to start weakening.
Can goops and lotions help? Maybe. Most moisturizing products would help prevent the skin from drying out, Dauskardt says, but "depending on what moisturizing product you use, it potentially could even be damaging because it could aid in the absorption of UV light rather than blocking it."
Your best bet is sunscreen. Dauskardt's group has found in preliminary tests that most sunscreens block the physical damage. "What we're trying to figure out now is whether some sunscreens and some molecules or nanoparticles that are typically used in sunscreens are more effective than others," he says.
For Boston University dermatologist Barbara Gilchrest the take-home message is clear. "UV exposure can damage skin in many ways, including ways not yet investigated in all likelihood," she tells Shots. In the meantime, she recommends SPF 30. |
Ivanhoe Plantation Gets Help to Improve Wildlife Habitat – Georgia, October 2006
Ivanhoe Plantation is an old rice and timber plantation located in Camden County along the Satilla River, north of Woodbine, the county seat.
Ivanhoe is owned by a group of businessmen from Brunswick and St. Simons Island.
It is utilized mostly as a hunting plantation and nature preserve, with the two primary goals of preserving the plantation and improving the wildlife habitat.
The owners requested assistance from Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to improve wildlife habitat, both on the uplands and in the wetland fields where rice was once grown, while producing income from the timberland on the property in a sustainable manner.
Beginning in 1999, NRCS worked with the owners to develop a wildlife management plan that would allow them to cut enough timber to finance the needed improvements to their plantation and to enhance the existing wildlife habitat.
EQIP funds from the Coastal Priority Area were used to replant cut-over areas in longleaf pine, establish wildlife food plots, conduct prescribed burning in older planted pine stands, maintain riparian buffers along the Satilla River, and preserve stands of mast producing hardwoods.
The EQIP contract is almost complete, with only some prescribed burning remaining.
In January of 2004, the young longleaf pines were burned for the second time in order to release them from competition, largely from volunteer slash pine that had come up in the old field.
In the fall of 2002, the Brunswick NRCS office began working with the owners to update the wildlife management plan for Ivanhoe Plantation and incorporate some of the old rice fields into the plan.
Funds were approved in 2003 for wetland enhancement through the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP).
The diversity of vegetation on 150 acres of managed, diked wetland will be improved to benefit migratory waterfowl, shore and wading birds, including Woodstorks, an endangered species.
Biologists from NRCS, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Ducks Unlimited as well as private consultants specializing in vegetative management, assisted in developing the wetland enhancement plans.
Future proposed enhancements include improving water circulation and management within the rice fields.
Bill Kirby, one of the Ivanhoe owners, recently expressed how NRCS staff has assisted in achieving conservation and management objectives on the property: “Without the assistance from NRCS, all we could have done was cut and replanted our timber. What happened, and what we have today, would not have happened.
There would be no food plots, no longleaf pine planted, and no natural wildlife corridors.
The NRCS staff taught us what best management practices are and how to use them. In addition, their assistance was invaluable in translating what the contractors that we hired to work on our land were saying.”
The owners look forward to the next phase of enhancing their wetlands and to a long and productive relationship with NRCS as they continue to practice sustainable forestry and wildlife management on their property. |
(Sound effect: Wall falling) Tear down that wall.
I'm Bob Karson with the discovery files--new advances in science and engineering from the National Science Foundation.
(Sound effect: battle sounds--artillery, planes) In the war against antibiotic-resistant infections, sometimes we run out of ammo. For example, there are some strains of tuberculosis that are completely drug-resistant. Since no drug works, you get it--you die. Gonorrhea--once easily cured by antibiotics--is becoming resistant to treatment. Staph infections take more lives in the U.S. every year than HIV/AIDS. That's why a new compound discovered by scientists at the University of Illinois and UC San Diego show so much promise. The compound takes a different tack to accomplish the same goal as antibiotics while reducing the resistance factor.
It works by targeting an enzyme not found in human cells, but necessary for bacterial survival--disrupting biosynthesis of the cell wall. (Sound effect: mice sounds) The team tested the compound on mice infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. (Sound effect: mice cheer) Twenty out of twenty treated with the compound were cured. Of the mice not treated, none survived.
Even better, the same positive results were achieved against both antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria and regular ones. It'll take years of study to see if the compound will have the same effect on humans. If it works, I'd say we could be facing some real "staph cutbacks."
"The discovery files" covers projects funded by the government's national science foundation. Federally sponsored research--brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast. |
With only bones for clues, scientists continue
to puzzle over many details of dinosaur
appearances and physiology. Detective
work by a paleontologist at Ohio University
now indicates that the creatures' fleshy
nasal passages were larger than had been
thought, which could lead to more-realistic
depictions and greater understanding of
their respiratory functions.
In the August 3 issue of the journal Science,
National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported
researcher Lawrence Witmer reveals that
nostrils on many dinosaurs were much farther
from the eyes and closer to the mouths
than previously depicted. By comparing
telltale markings on bones from their
present-day relatives, he has shown that
many dinosaurs had large nasal passages
that might have been important for heat
exchange and other key physiological processes.
Witmer is an associate professor of biomedical
sciences and an anatomist in the university's
College of Osteopathic Medicine. X-ray
examinations of skulls from more than
65 surviving dinosaur relatives - including
crocodiles, birds and lizards - helped
him infer the probable location of cartilage,
blood vessels and other soft tissues that
made up the extinct creatures' nasal cavities.
He discovered that nearly all animals share
these traits, which gives weight to his
assertion that previous depictions of
dinosaur nostrils were inaccurate.
"Our findings were consistent, even in
turtles and mammals," Witmer said. "We
saw an unusual commonality of how the
nasal components relate and are positioned.
It turns out that the nostril positioning
applies to almost all animals."
As a result, scientists may have to change
the conventional view of dinosaur nostrils,
which have until now been based on the
placement of cranial cavities near the
eye sockets. Witmer found the largest
nasal passages in horned dinosaurs like
Triceratops, duck-billed dinosaurs,
and brontosaurs like Diplodocus,
the latter of which was 80 to 90 feet
long and weighed more than 40 tons.
Other scientists had studied dinosaur noses,
Witmer said, but their focus was primarily
on olfactory functions. He isn't only
interested in how the animals were able
to smell; his main goal is understanding
overall dinosaur physiology. As his research
progressed, Witmer was surprised to learn
that no one had previously examined the
position of nostrils.
"Learning the biological rules for assembling
the bones of extinct animals, like dinosaurs,
is notoriously hard," said Jack Hayes,
NSF program director for ecological and
evolutionary physiology. "But learning
the rules for how to place the rest of
the animal on those bones may be even
harder. Because both the general public
and many biologists are keenly interested
in dinosaurs, new tools for reconstructing
the anatomy and biology of dinosaurs are
valuable. What's exciting about Witmer's
findings is that they may make it possible
to explore the function of dinosaur respiratory
systems in more detail."
This rendering reflects the new position
of the nostrils on the sauropod dinosaur
Diplodocus (left and bottom right).
Top right is the skull of Diplodocus;
middle right is the traditional view with
the nostril located more to the rear of
the head, which has been refuted by the
new research by Ohio University's Lawrence
A larger version
Copyright Science/Paintings by
M. W. Skrepnick under the direction of
L. M. Witmer
Ohio University paleontologist Lawrence
Photo by: Jo McCulty.
Changing nostril position in Tyrannosaurus
rex. The middle image is the traditional
view with the nostril located more to
the rear of the head. The image at lower
right is a new restoration based on Witmer's
study reflecting the forward position
of the nostril. The image at upper left
is the skull.
A larger version is
Copyright Science/Paintings by
W. L. Parsons under the direction of L.
Note to Editors |
Reviewed by Jean Worsley
Retired Biology Teacher
This is a formidable resource providing a rationale for changing teaching practices and the way science teachers are trained. First and foremost, it focuses on the role of teachers as mediators instead of transmitters of knowledge. Teachers are invited to understand and develop Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as they strive to improve the teaching/learning process.
To foster understanding of PCK, detailed descriptions of Resource Folios consisting of Content Representation (CoRe) and Pedagogical and Professional Experience Repertoires (Pap–eRs) are clearly delineated. In addition, feedback from participants (teachers and students) in projects gives perspectives on the use and value of CoRe and Pap–eRs.
The preface explains changes that have been made in the second edition as a result of sharing ideas internationally while developing a framework for PCK by implementing strategies in CoRe and Pap–eRs. Factors that influence teaching and the nature of learning are brought to the forefront. The shift in the role of teachers is a major factor in understanding PCK as teachers begin to think about how students learn and the importance of students taking responsibility for their learning. This shift from “traditional teaching and passive learning” is supported by Projects such as the Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) and Predict–Observe–Explain (POE). Many of the ideas in these projects are included in elements of PCK. Utilizing excerpts from Shulman (1986, 1987), the authors provide a thorough definition of PCK. PCK is designed to explain the theoretical and practical side of science. Strategies such as Venn diagrams and concept maps are used to illustrate the importance of different approaches needed to enhance understanding of scientific concepts. It is suggested that PCK will afford teachers the opportunity to develop educational practices that will provide a knowledge based atmosphere in the classroom. The basis of PCK is the merging of content knowledge and pedagogy (teaching strategies) that will lift the teaching/ learning process to a new and higher level. The framework of PCK consists of two elements, CoRe and Pap–eRs, with a constructivist perspective.
CoRe offers a holistic overview of scientific concepts and Pap–eRs describes teaching practices. These two elements coalesce to form Resource Folios which are thoroughly demonstrated. The authors describe each step in CoRe with concise explanations and templates. A narrative account is provided by Pap–eRs and reflects the teacher’s reasoning while building on the experiences of students to highlight a particular aspect of the subject to be taught.
Five Resource Folios are presented: Particle Theory, Chemical Reactions, Circulatory System, Force, Electric Circuits, and Genetics. These Resource Folios illustrate how CoRe and Pap–eRs fit together. In Chemical Reactions and Force, two CoRes are presented to show the importance of different approaches using the same content. In each topic, readers will find reminders about shaping factors that influence CoRe and Pap–eRs. These topics are detailed and include prompts, big ideas, charts, concept maps, discussions, course outlines, objectives, conversations, and feedback from teachers and students. Further, the authors present two vignettes by different individuals (a student teacher and an experienced teacher). By using questions that call for personal feedback to describe the importance and use of these two fundamental ideas, a vivid picture unfolds. A concise discussion allows readers to review results of surveys focusing on the value and effectiveness of these procedures on teachers and learners. Also, in many cases, shortcomings of these activities are explored. In addition, explanations of findings from research questions are included. It is important to note that the primary value is to help students learn by improving the quality of science teaching.
Finally, research indicates that PCK will bridge the gap between theory and practice. It is also suggested that PCK should permeate the teaching of science on all educational levels. Further, science educators will be encouraged to continually examine their practices as they explore and share ideas with colleagues. References included throughout the book are listed before the index. This is an excellent book to challenge science teachers to think seriously about reevaluating their practices in the teaching/learning process.
Review posted on 7/10/2012 |
||EDT601 - Instructional Design
||For the correct edition of the textbook assigned to a specific class, go to: http://www.nutextdirect.com
|Course Description: Overview and application of the instructional design (ID) process. Topics include learning theories and how they relate to ID, design of needs assessment, analysis of subject matter content, development of effective learning objectives, design of instructional strategies, online collaboration, integration of online delivery systems, and assessment and evaluation strategies.
|Course Learning Outcomes:
- Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the Rapid Approach to Instructional Design with other ID methods.
- Differentiate between the five steps of the ADDIE model and evaluate how they work together in the creation of effective instructional design.
- Rate the strengths and weaknesses of at least three different Instructional Design Models and define which type of Instructional Design each is best suited for.
- Conduct a performance gap assessment on a problem and use the results to determine the best method for addressing the problem.
- Discuss the importance of well-defined learning objectives in creating effective instructional design.
- Write clear and concise learning objectives which are useful, observable, assessable, and written in performance terms.
- Compare at least three different Learning Management Systems (LMS) and differentiate between the advantages and disadvantages of each.
- Analyze the design of an online course by assessing what elements are used effectively and why, and what elements need improvement and how they could be improved.
Students with Disabilities:
Students seeking special accommodations due to a disability must submit an application with supporting documentation, as explained under this subject heading in the General Catalog. Instructors are required to provide such accommodations if they receive written notification from the University.
Writing Across the Curriculum:
Students are expected to demonstrate writing skills in describing, analyzing and evaluating ideas and experiences. Written reports and research papers must follow specific standards regarding citations of an author's work within the text and references at the end of the paper. Students are encouraged to use the services of the University's Writing Center when preparing materials.
The following website provides information on APA, MLA, and other writing and citation styles that may be required for term papers and the like: http://www.nu.edu/LIBRARY/ReferenceTools/citations.html
National University Library:
National University Library supports academic rigor and student academic success by providing access to scholarly books and journals both electronically and in hard copy. Print materials may be accessed at the Library in San Diego or through document delivery for online and regional students. Librarians are available to provide training, reference assistance, and mentoring at the San Diego Library and virtually for online or regional students. Please take advantage of Library resources:
Contact the Library:
- (858) 541-7900 (direct line)
- 1-866-NU ACCESS x7900 (toll free)
Use the Library Training Tools (on the Library Homepage) for additional help
- Recorded class presentations
- Tutorials & Guides (APA/MLA, Peer-Review, and more)
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else's ideas or work as one's own. Students must give credit for any information that is not either the result of original research or common knowledge. If a student borrows ideas or information from another author, he/she must acknowledge the author in the body of the text and on the reference page. Students found plagiarizing are subject to the penalties outlined in the Policies and Procedures section of the University Catalog, which may include a failing grade for the work in question or for the entire course. The following is one of many websites that provide helpful information concerning plagiarism for both students and faculty: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
Ethical behavior in the classroom is required of every student. The course will identify ethical policies and practices relevant to course topics.
Students are expected to be competent in using current technology appropriate for this discipline. Such technology may include word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software. Use of the internet and e-mail may also be required.
Learning to work with and value diversity is essential in every class. Students are expected to exhibit an appreciation for multinational and gender diversity in the classroom.
As a diverse community of learners, students must strive to work together in a setting of civility, tolerance, and respect for each other and for the instructor. Rules of classroom behavior (which apply to online as well as onsite courses) include but are not limited to the following:
- Conflicting opinions among members of a class are to be respected and responded to in a professional manner.
- Side conversations or other distracting behaviors are not to be engaged in during lectures, class discussions or presentations
- There are to be no offensive comments, language, or gestures |