text
large_stringlengths 1k
155k
| id
large_stringlengths 47
47
| dump
large_stringclasses 95
values | url
large_stringlengths 16
401
| file_path
large_stringlengths 125
155
| language
large_stringclasses 1
value | language_score
float64 0.65
0.99
| token_count
int64 500
36.8k
| score
float64 2.52
4.72
| int_score
int64 3
5
| raw_reasoning_score
float64 0.3
3.25
| reasoning_level
int64 0
3
| interpretation
stringclasses 4
values | topic
stringclasses 23
values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In Human Evolution this week, we discussed how animals with different diets will have coinciding differences in their teeth morphology as well as in other cranial areas, such as the zygomatic and mandible. Similar dietary morphology patterns are observed in hominins as well, which can tell us a lot about both the environment they were living in and the types of food they were eating. Though it is not entirely conclusive, such investigations can help paint a broad picture of how these early ancestors of ours may have lived.
To better understand these ideas, we took to the lab! Using a variety of tools and substrates, we emulated the different chewing mechanisms and diets of hominins. The tools served as models for the types of teeth, while the size differences helped emphasize the varying amount of force needed to process distinct food types. The tools each group used were pliers, scissors, mortar and pestles, and meat tenderizers; there were two sizes for each tool, the smaller size imposing a force limitation. Each group had a different substrate: collard greens, tomatoes, carrots, nuts, ginger, and potatoes. These were used to represent the types of food animals in the wild may eat, ranging from soft and fleshy, to tough and fibrous, and to a harder exterior (as in a nut-shell).
The next day we took to the field again to visit Area 13, home to a few localities where the hominin hunters of TBI had worked several years ago. We visited two of their hominin sites: at one, they found a tooth, and at the other, a calcaneus. After extensive excavations, a humerus was uncovered that they believe is associated with the calcaneus!
As the two sites are about a kilometer apart, rather than simply walking to the second site, Dr. Skinner had us prospect for hominin fossils along the way. Maximizing efficiency is paramount to success in the field!
At the second site, Sale and Apolo described how they found the hominin calcaneus and the excavations that took place afterwards. The team spent several months working at this site, and the time and effort they put in is apparent! The first round of excavations alone is quite large, but the succeeding trench is truly massive. Fortunately, their tremendous effort was rewarded when they found a hominin humerus!
We spent the remainder of our morning prospecting for any hominin fossils that may have been missed in the previous excavations.
As fate would have it, in our last ten minutes one of the students found a small fragment of what we believed to be a primate. The students gathered around to examine the find, and, serendipitously, Esther stumbled upon a primate talus (a bone in the foot that articulates with the tibia and calcaneus). After inspection, we realized that the initial fragment was actually a piece of the talus, probably from the opposite leg! Though we unfortunately had to depart, we decided to return to this site on our next field day to continue searching for the missing pieces of this ancient primate!
Stay tuned for the upcoming blog to find out the results of our extended investigation!
|
<urn:uuid:546a8f82-07ce-46de-a687-98ad1092c281>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-47
|
http://www.turkanabasin.org/2016/11/what-do-our-teeth-tell-us/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496671053.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20191121231600-20191122015600-00377.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.972851 | 663 | 4.125 | 4 | 2.945598 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Each person is unique and possesses one-of-a-kind characteristics and qualities. Generally, we identify people by their physical characteristics, such as height, weight, ethnic background, and hair color among other things. Now, with the power of advanced technology to scan and analyze microscopic details of our physical selves, biometric identification enables secure and speedy methods to help authenticate people at scale.
Biometric identification refers to uniquely identifying a person by evaluating one or more distinguishing biological traits. For example, many phones now need a fingerprint or facial scan to access. Numerous other biometric markers are in use in various secure access applications such as retina and iris patterns, voice waves, hand geometry, earlobe geometry, and even DNA.
When compared against passwords, biometrics offers a more user-friendly and secure option of authentication. Passwords, as they are hard to remember, cause friction for the consumer leading to unsafe practices and security vulnerabilities. Leveraging authentication methods that are nearly invisible for consumers while providing enhanced security improves adoption and reduces risk.
Mobile Payment Authentication
The use of biometric information for identity purposes is expanding on multiple fronts. A new report from Juniper Research predicts that 1.5 billion people will use mobile biometric software by 2023. That is a jump from 429 million that are using the technology today.
While fingerprint scan is the most common input for mobile biometrics, there’ll be an increasing use of voice and facial recognition. According to the report, “mobile payment security will broaden hugely thanks to the implementation of pure software solutions … The key battle now will be to convince users, particularly those in Europe and North America, that these methods are just as secure as traditional hardware-based security.”
Biometrics for Travel
The US is increasingly using biometrics at border check points. They have been implementing facial recognition at various land border crossings and are now setting up at airports for international outbound flights.
As demonstrated by the fact that the Department of Homeland Security has approved the technology, these systems deliver high levels of security. Another significant advantage is the speed these systems offer; by delivering higher throughputs security can process more travelers, cutting lines and improving the travel experience while still providing the necessary levels of security.
Biometrics on ID Cards
While identity documents such as drivers’ licenses and passports have long had photographs, including biometrics adds a powerful new security feature. An estimated 120 countries now have electronic passports that include chips that can include digital photographs for comparison, fingerprints or other biometric data.
The EU has recently proposed to make it mandatory for any Member State that issues National ID to include two fingerprints and a facial image in machine-readable form. The argument for this introduction is to limit the use of forged documents by criminals and extremists. However, many privacy advocates, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, believe they “comprise the cornerstone of government surveillance systems that creates risks to privacy and anonymity.”
Who has access to the information? What controls over their collection and distribution exist? What are a person’s rights over that information? What obligations are associated with that data?
The complex interaction between security and privacy has many tangents and is a key debate of our era. As opposed to other identity data, such as an ID number, which can be reset, biometric data is fixed; if the information is stolen, it’s difficult to fix the resulting issues. The trade-offs and precautions taken to ensure security and privacy are carefully balanced needs consideration throughout the implementation process.
Biometrics and the Public
Regardless of the complexities of introducing biometrics, the public seems onboard with their use; in an IBM Future of Identity study, 67 percent of respondents are comfortable using biometric authentication today. That number jumps to 87 percent who would consider it in the future.
Of course, it depends on what purpose of the biometric information and who is storing the information. Not surprisingly, for financial applications security considerations rank five times higher than convenience (70 percent to 14 percent). However, in social media applications, convenience was more valued than security (36 percent to 34 percent).
Major financial institutions also generate the most trust when it comes to handling biometric data, with 48 percent of respondents stating they would trust them to hold that data. In contrast, only 15 percent would trust major social media sites. Note though, the significant use of social medial logins to access multiple other services; a breach of those logins could entail allow attackers to gain access to numerous sites and services.
Biometric acceptance also varies on the region. APAC is the most comfortable, knowledgeable and accepting of biometric authentication, followed by the EU and then the US. When it comes to being knowledgeable about the topic, 61 percent of APAC respondents stated they were, compared to 40 percent for EU and 34 percent for US.
The study concludes with the observation that the offering of choice is the best approach. A risk-based approach, where the level of authentication depends on the level of associated risk, offers a flexible approach to balance the needs for security with convenience and privacy. If extra security is required, an additional authentication step is introduced.
The offering of choice also extends to the type of biometric. Different groups are comfortable with different types of biometric authentication. By offering choice, companies can allow people to choose which way they are comfortable with. Also, delivering more authentication approaches increases the acceptance level and diffuses the potential opportunity of any one system hack.
Strong Customer Authentication
Biometrics though, is only one technique for authentication. The best approach for verifying and authenticating customers is a risk-based approach that layers multiple data points and technologies to make an accurate assessment. Consider the Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirement, which comes into effect for the EU in September 2019. The SCA requires that a customer’s identity be verified, using at least two of the following independent elements:
- Knowledge (something only the user knows, e.g. password or PIN)
- Possession (something only the user possesses, e.g. mobile phone or ID card)
- Inherence (something the user is, e.g. fingerprint or facial recognition)
Relying on a single identity authentication data source is rife with potential trouble; systems with one data source have one point of failure, corrupted data can’t be offset and varying data sets can’t be analyzed and optimized for maximum insight and performance. Layering multiple data points and technologies provides a method to triangulate true identity, enabling the information from different angles to better determine accuracy.
This consortium view of identity, using multiple data sources and multiple identity attributes, helps create a robust, scalable, trustable identity.
The use of biometric authentication is growing in different industries, use-cases and official programs. While there are concerns about the level of trust and impacts on privacy, the technology is making inroads into everyday use. For those looking to implement solutions, careful consideration of their customer needs and desires is a necessary first step. What techniques will they accept? It’s also about ensuring that implementation is secure, privacy is maintained and the public knows how you will handle their unique information.
Improving the customer experience and security simultaneously is a powerful goal for improving identity authentications. Biometric authentication, if implemented properly, demonstrates significant potential to push that goal forward.
|
<urn:uuid:35e7896e-cac5-4299-8eba-4f7b9e44416c>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-40
|
https://www.trulioo.com/blog/biometric-identification
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337906.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007014029-20221007044029-00513.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.925985 | 1,518 | 2.953125 | 3 | 2.965549 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Cardiomyopathy is a deformation of the heart muscle. Walls of the heart become enlarged, inflamed, or brittle, limiting their ability to pump blood effectively. Its cause isn’t always known, but in some patients, doctors can clearly trace the condition to an external cause. Here, Myocarditis Foundation offers a brief overview of common cardiomyopathy causes to be aware of.
In many cases, cardiomyopathy stems from a previous heart condition. Cardiac arrest and other heart diseases can damage the heart tissues, leaving behind scars and weak points. This damage renders the muscle weakened and vulnerable to stretching or swelling. Cardiomyopathy may also be related to existing cardiac conditions, such as:
- Valve problems
- Long-term high blood pressure
- Chronic rapid heart rate
- And more.
Diseases and Infections
Cardiomyopathy may also be related to some other infection or illness that does not originate in the heart. This is especially true of conditions that cause damage or build-up in the heart muscle – even if they aren’t specifically a heart disease. Here are a few conditions that are commonly connected to cases of cardiomyopathy:
- Connective tissue diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus
- Endocrine disease, including diabetes and thyroid conditions
- Cholesterol-related coronary heart disease
- Muscular dystrophy
- Viral infections
Chemotherapy and Other Cancer Treatments
Another significant cause is chemotherapy and other cancer treatments, which are intense and involve radiation, cell-killing drugs, and similar methods. While they do kill cancer, they may also cause collateral damage to the patient’s otherwise-healthy body, including the heart.
In many cases, cardiomyopathy from chemotherapy will disappear when the treatment is complete, as the patient’s body repairs and rebuilds healthy heart tissue as it recovers from the harsh drugs. This isn’t true of everyone, however, so all treatment-related cardiomyopathy should be monitored closely.
For some patients, cardiomyopathy isn’t related to another condition or treatment at all. Many cases instead are connected to certain factors in the patient’s lifestyle. These include:
- Long-term alcoholism
- Cocaine, amphetamine, or anabolic steroid abuse
- Nutritional deficiencies, especially thiamin (vitamin B-1)
- Diets high in cholesterol
Keeping these factors to a minimum is essential – especially for people already at risk (i.e. chemotherapy patients or those with a history of other heart problems). By living in a healthy manner, patients can minimize their risk of developing cardiomyopathy both now and into the future.
Finally, cardiomyopathy often runs in the family. This is true of many heart conditions. Experts aren’t completely sure why they are most common in related individuals. It can affect certain family members more than others, with some experiencing intense symptoms and others being entirely unaffected.
Luckily, cardiomyopathy can be tested for. If you have any close family members who’ve had the condition, ask your doctor for a genetic test to determine whether you might be at risk. Knowing can help you plan ahead and avoid other factors that may contribute to your risk of heart disease.
Learn More with Myocarditis Foundation
Medical experts are constantly learning more about cardiomyopathy causes, leading to better treatments and disease prevention. Myocarditis Foundation is committed to supporting their efforts. We contribute to research efforts, spread awareness of cardiomyopathy, and educate patients and their families. Contact us to learn more about how you can get involved in our mission.
|
<urn:uuid:26fa6c8a-089e-41b9-8303-e5521e11c6f9>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-40
|
https://www.myocarditisfoundation.org/frequent-causes-of-cardiomyopathy/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337680.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005234659-20221006024659-00283.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.923896 | 774 | 3.21875 | 3 | 2.436284 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Health
|
How to configure Static Routing on wireless routers?
A static route is a pre-determined path that network information must follow to reach a specific host or network.
Here are two typical scenarios, as examples of when a static route is needed, consider the following case.
Issue: The gateway of PC is router2 which connected the Internet, but when PC visit servers in intranet, firstly the request will be sent to router2. Because there is no route to server1 and server2 on route table of router2, thus the request will be thrown away.
Resolution: Therefore, if you want PC to visit servers in intranet, you have to set up a static route on router2 helps your packet route to router1.
Net parameter：Servers in net segment: 172.30.30.0. IP subnet mask for this net segment is 255.255.255.0
Issue: The gateway of LAN network is router 1, and router2 WDS router1’s signal.
But there is no route record from router2 to NTP server on route table of router2, therefore, router2 can’t get synchronization time from server.
Resolution: In order to solving the issue, you have to set up a static route on router2.
Net parameter：The IP of Server in Internet is 220.127.116.11. IP subnet mask for this address is 255.255.255.255
Steps of Configurations:
Login configure page of router.
According to scenario 1 and scenario 2: type 192.168.0.1 in address bar,
Type the username and password in the login page. The default username and password are both admin in lower case.
Click Advanced Routing button on the left side of the screen, then select Static Routing List(in 54Mbps Wireless Router, the name of button is Static Routing).
Refer to picture:
And the page of Static Routing would appear on the screen:
Click Add New….
Input destination network, subnet mask, default gateway, select status and save it.
Please refer to following introduction to input parameter.
In 1st bar, type the IP address of destination.
In 2ndbar, type the IP subnet mask for this destination.
In 3rdbar, type the gateway IP address, that must be on the same LAN segment as the router.
As per scenario 1, for net segment
As per scenario 2, for single IP address
If there are any further problems, please contact TP-Link Support.
Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.
Mit Ihrer Rückmeldung tragen Sie dazu bei, dass wir unsere Webpräsenz verbessern.
|
<urn:uuid:044841db-c17f-46e4-9721-5c579152f90e>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-39
|
https://www.tp-link.com/ch/support/faq/560/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057504.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20210924050055-20210924080055-00203.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.821885 | 601 | 2.9375 | 3 | 1.88288 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Software
|
Subscribe to the Real Truth for FREE news and analysis.Subscribe Now
More than 118 people have died and at least 2,636 have been infected across 48 states in what is on track to become the deadliest West Nile virus outbreak to strike the country in 13 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of infection in August was almost four times the normal average.
“I woke up with a headache like I have never come close to feeling before,” an infected man who spent a week at the hospital battling high fever and meningitis (inflammation of the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord) told Minnesota television station WDAY TV. “The pain was immense. I knew I was in trouble.”
The unusual 2012 weather has provided the prime conditions for illness. While it is mainly an avian disease, mosquitoes bite infected birds, then pass it on to humans and animals.
“Normally, the number of mosquitoes decreases greatly during the cold months, with a small proportion of mosquitoes surviving, or ‘overwintering,’” New Jersey Center for Public Health Preparedness director, Dr. George DiFerdinando Jr., said in a statement. “This year, with a mild winter, most mosquitos survived and so we’re seeing a bumper crop.”
About 75 percent of reported cases have occurred in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Oklahoma, with the CDC stating that as many as 53 percent of the 1,405 documented cases “were classified as neuroinvasive disease (such as meningitis or encephalitis)” while 1,231 or 47 percent were non-neuroinvasive, with less serious implications.
With such high rates of infection, the CDC believes that 2012 is poised to surpass 2003, the worst West Nile virus year in the nation’s history, during which a total of 9,862 people were infected and 264 died.
Texas is experiencing the brunt of the outbreak. The state has had at least 552 cases and 21 confirmed deaths, prompting intense fumigation operations in the Dallas region.
Voice of America reported, “The aerial and ground fumigation programs are blanketing around 1,400 square kilometers of the county, but don’t target all mosquitoes…Weekend rains halted some of the spraying efforts and left puddles of water where more mosquitoes can breed.”
And the outbreak is “far from over,” an article on WebMD stated. “Right now, the U.S. is in the middle of mosquito season—and nearly all West Nile virus infections come from mosquito bites. Case counts usually rise through September.”
Authorities are also concerned that the virus could make a comeback in Canada, where a person from Calgary, Alberta, was the first in the country to become infected with the virus in two years.
|
<urn:uuid:60664e7e-b538-45ee-98e3-8fd081e0e738>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-04
|
https://rcg.org/realtruth/news/120924-007.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703519843.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20210119232006-20210120022006-00444.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96433 | 602 | 2.84375 | 3 | 2.704972 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Health
|
We are Recycling Services, a waste management company who provides a wide range of waste and recycling services.
What Impact Does Waste Have On Our Planet? Why Is Recycling Waste So Important?
Do you know what happens to waste in landfill? Whilst the waste decomposes it produces methane gas, which is an incredibly powerful greenhouse gas, far more powerful than carbon dioxide; around 30 times more powerful. In addition to this, landfills also produce a substance known as leachate. When rainwater falls on a landfill, the water passes through all of the waste disposed there. As the water passes through the waste, it can become toxic. This has the potential to pollute water and groundwater near the landfill. Thankfully measures have been put into place, as Leachate.co.uk writes “the use of linings is now mandatory within both the United States and the European Union”, with some exceptions such as locations where waste is “closely controlled and genuinely inert.”
So how can we reduce the amount of waste going to landfill? One of the methods at our disposal is recycling. Recycling-guide.org.uk wrote that up to 60% of the rubbish in our dustbins could be recycled, to put this into perspective; they wrote that the unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin in a year could power a television for 5,000 hours, that’s just over 208 days!
The Benefits Of Recycling
Recycling has many incredible benefits to our planet but it could also help us to save money. Manufacturing goods from recycled materials is significantly cheaper than creating them using the virgin source product. This is because it saves energy, keeping production costs lower; the saving of such can be passed on to the consumer. Another clear benefit of recycling is that it produces less carbon. As Care2 writes recycling “reduces the amount of unhealthy greenhouse gas omissions.”
By recycling more of our waste, we can reduce the amount of landfill needed, which has many benefits to the environment. We can reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses and leachate produced. Also landfills take up a lot of space and by recycling more and reducing the amount of landfills we need, we can instead use this space for businesses, homes or leave them as areas of natural beauty.
Zero To Landfill
In England alone approximately 177 million tonnes of waste is generated each year. Perhaps the issue with waste is that we think of waste as waste. What if instead of viewing waste as a material to be disposed of and thrown away, what if instead we thought of waste as a resource?
We are a waste management company who views waste as a resource. By following the waste hierarchy system you can take one step closer to achieving a zero to landfill waste management system.
The waste hierarchy is as followers in order from the most favoured option to the least favoured option:
Simple in theory, if you can prevent items from becoming waste, they are no longer items of waste to manage.
If you cannot prevent an item from becoming waste, perhaps you can minimise the amount of waste being generated.
Reusing waste is a fantastic way to manage the waste you produce. This can give them a second life before they become waste. For example, instead of discarding a plastic bottle, you could reuse it filling it with tap water, extending the life of the product.
By recycling waste you can reprocess waste products into new products. For example, ten plastic bottles could be recycled into plastic fibre and used to make a t-shirt.
5. Energy Recovery
Some forms of waste can be used as fuel to recover the energy in the waste. Whilst the idea of incinerating your waste may sound wasteful and harmful, some forms of energy recovery can use the CO2 emissions to provide a greenhouse with a supply of carbon dioxide to help the plants grow. Such a system is used in a solution described by Kevin Scoble in a TEDx talk where he discusses the carbon emissions related to growing a tomato.
At the bottom of the hierarchy, the least favourable choice is disposal. Disposal is the last choice because it is simply the disposal of waste. There is no recycling or even energy recovery; we are simply disposing of the waste.
Tailored Waste Management
We offer a number of services as a part of our waste management service. Some of the waste services we offer include:
What Can We Recycle?
We can recycle most commercial and industrial waste, our total recycling management solutions include:
Waste Management Services From Recycling Services
Using an extensive network of trustworthy suppliers we can deliver fantastic value and great service standards. We manage over 1 million tonnes of waste and recyclables every year for some of the largest companies in the UK.
In our opinion, every business needs a bespoke strategy to manage its commercial waste.
We can manage multiple types of waste, ranging from hazardous waste to recyclable waste. We can work with you to create a waste strategy tailor made to work for your business.
With commercial waste and recycling services from Recycling Services you can enjoy peace of mind and concentrate on your business. If you have any questions or concerns and would to like speak to our team of experts then you can contact us by telephone on 01952 204471.
|
<urn:uuid:c2a1c183-4d3c-4010-bccb-890cf6590a5b>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-22
|
http://www.recycling-services.co.uk/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794865456.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180523063435-20180523083435-00450.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.94294 | 1,098 | 3.6875 | 4 | 2.546082 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Newswise — The Science
When sunlight is absorbed in a solar cell, some of the energy that could be used is lost as heat. Because this complex loss process occurs in a fraction of a second, characterizing it has long been a challenge. For the first time, accurate first-principles theoretical calculations of the energy lost to heat in silicon, the primary component of solar cells, have been performed. This understanding should allow development of devices with significantly improved solar energy conversion efficiency.
Understanding how energy losses occur in materials as sunlight is converted to electricity, referred to as electron dynamics, is central to improving solar energy conversion technologies. The challenges presented by the sub-picosecond time scales and complex physics were overcome in this fundamental theoretical research, opening new avenues to guide the development of more efficient energy conversion materials.
When sunlight is absorbed in a solar cell, negatively charged electrons and positively charged holes are created which in turn drive electrical current producing power. The absorbed light produces electrons and holes with a range of energies -- those with larger energy, called ”hot” electrons and holes tend to lose their energy in the form of heat before it can be converted into an electrical current. In fact, conversion of the energy of hot carriers into heat is the main source of energy loss in solar cells. These losses are central to many energy conversion processes and occur in most electronic/optoelectronic energy conversion devices. Further, they occur at ultrafast speeds, typically less than 1 picoseond. Due to the sub-picosecond time scale and complex physics involved, characterization of hot carriers has long been a challenge even for the simplest materials. This research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory provides the first ab initio calculations of hot carrier properties and dynamics in semiconductors using many-body perturbation theory without any experimentally derived parameters. Using excited-state methods and computer codes, the properties and dynamics of the hot carriers in silicon were calculated. Further, their behaviors as a function of time were tracked within the first picosecond after sunlight absorption. It was shown that the dominant loss mechanism was the creation of phonons or vibrational motion of the atom positions. These results clarify the mechanism for energy loss for hot carriers and explain previous experiments. This work opens the avenue to use ab initio calculations to interpret and guide new experiments to harness the energy from hot carriers in semiconductors and other systems and opens the door for theoretically designed new materials for efficient conversion of sunlight to electricity.
This work was supported by the DOE Office of Science (Office of Basic Energy Sciences and Advanced Scientific Computing Research SciDAC), Molecular Foundry and National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, DOE Office of Science User Facilities; National Science Foundation (basic theory and formalism); and the Simons Foundation Fellowship (Steven G. Louie).
M. Bernardi, D. Vigil-Fowler, J. Lischner, J.B. Neaton, and S.G. Louie, “Ab initio study of hot carriers in the first picosecond after sunlight absorption in silicon.” Physical Review Letters 112, 257402 (2014). [DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.257402].
|
<urn:uuid:4359c6cf-c59d-4a63-b921-e6cce5f06e2e>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-49
|
https://www.newswise.com/doescience/taking-on-the-heat-in-solar-cells-new-calculations-show-atomic-vibrations-hurt-efficiency
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964358702.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20211129074202-20211129104202-00264.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.904713 | 665 | 3.515625 | 4 | 3.028409 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
(Edward III)The Foundation of the Guild with the First Subscription Deed
(RichardII) The Second Subscription Deed.
(Henry VI)Third Subscription Deed. Agreement by twenty four Shipmasters with the Vicar of Hessle, to establish an altar in the Holy Trinity Church. Pledge to pay their “Lowage and Stowage” into the Guild, to support distressed seamen.
Letters of Henry VI approving the building of an almshouse for thirteen persons.
A house to accommodate thirteen pensioners and a chapel completed. Ground rent of one shilling per annum payable to the White Friars.
(Henry VII) Fourth Subscription Deed. An agreement with several persons to pay “Lowage and Stowage”.
(Henry VIII) Hull Shipmasters request the Brethren to assign “Good Men” to pilot “Strange” ships into and out of Hull.
Charter of Henry VIII. Confirms payment of “Lowage and Stowage” for the maintenance of the House, Chapel and thirteen poor Brethren. Power to acquire lands, to elect two Wardens annually. Guild to be a Corporate Body. All Foreign ships to be piloted into Hull by the Brethren.
Fifth Subscription Deed.
Sixth Subscription Deed.
Charter of Edward VI confirming that of Henry VIII.
Charter of Queen Mary Tudor, confirming that of Edward VI.
Charter of Queen Elizabeth I confirming previous Charters.
Second Charter of Elizabeth I establishing the constitution of the Guild substantially as it is today, i.e. Wardens, Elder Brethren, Assistants and Younger Brethren.
Authority to settle seamen’s wages disputes, examine and licence, Masters and Pilots. To collect “Primage” and confirms the rights and privileges contained in previous charters, and to control maritime affairs and the right to fine or imprison.
The Proclamation of the Lord High Admiral to establish buoys and beacons, and to collect dues for their maintenance.
The First whaling voyage.
The First whaling voyage out of Hull.
(James I) The Charter of James I, confirming that of Elizabeth I.
The First buoy and two beacons established in the river.
Thomas Ferres gives the Whitefriars Estate to the Guild.
The Charter of Charles I confirming previous charters.
Two lights are erected at Spurn Point.
Charter of Charles II, gives the Wardens the power to appoint deputies and a Haven Master to collect “Dolphinage”.
(William III)Almshouse, with accommodation for six persons, founded by William Robinson, taken over by the Guild 1745. The Guild established the Elder Brethren and Assistants Fund, and the Guild also established its own artillery Company for the defence of the town.(George II)
The House was re -constructed.
The pediment was erected over the main entrance in Trinity House Lane.
A new Chapel was built on the North side of the House, in Trinity House Lane.(George III)
The Guild acquired its first yacht, the “HUMBER”.
Queens Dock opens.
Marine Almshouse built in Trinity House Lane.
Marine School founded in Trinity House Lane. This is the first Marine school ever established.
The Guild again established an artillery company, this one to be disbanded in 1802.
The Neptune Inn is built in Whitefriargate.
Pilotage Act. Humber Pilots are not necessarily Brethren of the Guild.
Humber Dock opens.
Compulsory Pilotage introduced on the Humber. The Guild establishes the First Lifeboat station at Spurn Point.
The Neptune Inn is leased to H.M. Customs.
(George IV) Ferres Almshouse built on Princes Dock Side. These were converted into offices in 1863.
Trinity Almshouse erected in Posterngate. This building is now “Carmelite House”.
The Port of Goole is open to foreign trading vessels. The upper Humber Pilotage service is established by the Guild.
Princes Dock opens.
Charter of William IV, Wardens are no longer required to be Burgesses.
Bull Lightship on station. The First lightship on the Humber.
Master Mariners almshouses built in Carr Lane. These are destroyed by enemy action in 1941.
Second Charter of William IV, permitting Younger Brethren to vote at elections for Assistants,
(Victoria) A Mariners Almshouse was erected near to the Master Mariners Almshouse.
The New Seal was acquired.
The School was transferred to a new building.
A Post Office was built on the site of the stables and coach house in Whitefriargate, and the present Chapel was built.
Kingston Almshouse on Beverley Road opens.
The Harbours Bill is passed, depriving the Guild of a substantial part of its income.
The Trinity Provident Fund is established.
One acre of land is given for the construction of The Hull Seaman’s and General orphanage.
The new building in Posterngate,( Victoria and Albert Chambers) is leased to the Local Marine Board.
Funds and Assets divided into Charity and Corporate Funds.
The order of 1617, requiring each Warden to enter a bond of £200 is rescinded.
The Humber Conservancy Commissioners lease the old post office building in Whitefriargate.
The Lord Chamberlain consents to a new uniform for the brethren.
Customs release four rooms of the old Neptune Inn to convert into shops. These are now Boots the Chemist.
The First light float on the Humber.
(Edward VII) The Humber Conservancy Board is formed. Six of the Brethren to serve on the board. This Authority took over all the administration of the Humber and all the navigational aids.
(George V) H.M. Customs end their tenancy of the old Neptune Inn.
Fire in the House.
Charter of George VI. Allows the Guild to hold increased assets.
The First block of the Rest Homes is built on Anlaby Road.
Completion of the building of the Rest Homes on Anlaby Road.
Elizabeth II 600th Anniversary of the foundation of the Guild. Visit of H.M. The Queen, Prince Philip, The Prince of Wales and Princess Anne.
The Trinity House Nautical School amalgamates with the Boulevard Nautical School.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales made an Honorary Brother
The School becomes an Academy
The School moves from its traditional site and into the refurbished Nautical College Building on George Street.
Hull Trinity House
|
<urn:uuid:26a185c1-38fa-4df0-916d-4e67f5a9970c>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-39
|
http://www.trinityhousehull.org.uk/guild/timeline
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514575596.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190922160018-20190922182018-00408.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.911629 | 1,423 | 2.59375 | 3 | 2.2817 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
History
|
|Scientific Name:||Ziphius cavirostris (Mediterranean subpopulation)|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Data Deficient ver 3.1|
|Reviewer(s):||Aguilar, A., Bearzi, G., Birkun, A., Donovan, G., Fortuna, C., Gaspari, S., Hammond, P., Natoli, A., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Perrin , W., Reeves, R., de Stephanis, R. & Taylor, B.L.|
Appropriate data on distribution, population structure and abundance in the Mediterranean basin are lacking, except for a very limited areas. Also, the species’ biology is very poorly known. The status of Cuvier’s Beaked Whale in the Mediterranean is therefore impossible to assess on the currently available evidence.
|Range Description:||Cuvier’s Beaked Whales inhabit both the western and eastern basins of the Mediterranean (Notarbartolo di Sciara 2002). Much of the current knowledge of this species in the Mediterranean has come from stranding data. Strandings have been reported in Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Spain and Turkey (Podestà et al. 2006). Appropriate data on distribution in the Mediterranean basin are lacking, except for a very limited areas.|
Native:Albania; Algeria; Croatia; France; Gibraltar; Greece; Israel; Italy; Monaco; Spain; Turkey
|FAO Marine Fishing Areas:||
Mediterranean and Black Sea
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
Strandings have been reported in Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Spain and Turkey, totalling 316 animals (Podestà et al. 2006). Twenty-six percent of the total animals recorded stranded in the Mediterranean have been in mass strandings involving three or more animals (Podestà et al. 2006). Strandings have been particularly numerous along the Ligurian and Ionian coasts, but it is important not to infer too much about species distribution or relative abundance from strandings data alone. Strandings data are subject to a variety of types of bias.
Cuvier’s Beaked Whales seem to be relatively abundant in the eastern Ligurian Sea, off southwestern Crete and the Alboran Sea, especially over and around canyons (D’Amico et al. 2003, Frantzis et al. 2003, Ballardini et al. 2005, Scalise et al. 2005). They appear to be regular although less abundant inhabitants of the western Ligurian Sea (41 sightings in 16 years, Tethys Research Institute, unpublished data; 4.2% of 814 sightings during 10,000 km on effort from 1996–2000, Azzellino et al. 2008). Cuvier’s beaked whales have been described as regular inhabitants of the Hellenic Trench (Frantzis et al. 2003), the southern Adriatic Sea based on frequency of strandings (Holcer et al. 2003) and the eastern section of the Alborán Sea (Cañadas et al. 2005). They also occur in the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Marini et al. 1992) and in Spanish Mediterranean waters (Gannier 1999, Raga and Pantoja 2004, M. Castellote pers. comm.). They have been reported both from strandings and sightings in Israeli, Palestinian and Syrian waters (Aharoni 1944; Saad and Othman 2008; D. Kerem, pers. comm.). No information is available for the remaining areas of the Mediterranean.
There are two abundance estimates for this species in small portions of the Mediterranean Sea. In the Gulf of Genova (eastern Ligurian Sea) mark-recapture analysis (2002–2008) yielded an estimate of 96–100 animals (left and right side identifications respectively) from an open population (Rosso et al. 2009). In the northern Alboran Sea, spatial modelling of line transect data (1992–2007) yields an abundance estimate of 102 animals with a CV=32.1% (corrected for availability bias from a D-tagged animal in the Alboran Sea) (Oedekoven et al. 2009). Abundance estimates for the whole Alboran Sea and the northern Tyrrhenian Sea will be available in 2010 after analysis of the Sirena08 and MED09 survey cruises. Therefore, much better information will be available, and a reassessment is recommended for then. Preliminary inspection of the data highlights a relatively high density (compared to other areas of the world) of Cuvier´s Beaked Whales in the Alboran Sea (44 groups, 89 individuals in 846 km on survey effort, for an encounter rate of 19.5 individuals per 100 km of effort; unpublished data).
There are no data on trends for this species in the Mediterranean.
There are areas, especially in the southern portions of the basin, where Cuvier’s Beaked Whales have not been recorded from either strandings or sightings. However, it must be borne in mind that their long dive times, usually inconspicuous appearance at the surface and typical avoidance of vessels make them difficult to spot (Heyning 1989). In addition, sighting effort and the efficiency of stranding networks vary throughout the Mediterranean: many areas have little or no effort to make and record sightings or to detect strandings. Therefore, a comprehensive basin-wide survey and an efficient basin-wide stranding network are needed before reaching firm conclusions about presence and absence. It is nevertheless possible, based on available data, to identify at least some areas as good habitat, and probably hot-spots, for Cuvier’s Beaked Whales, such as the eastern Ligurian Sea, the eastern Alborán Sea and the Hellenic Trench. The species is probably also common in several other unexplored areas.
|Habitat and Ecology:||
Cuvier’s Beaked Whale is a predominantly oceanic species often associated with steep slope habitat and a marked preference for submarine canyons and escarpments (D’Amico et al. 2003, MacLeod 2005, Podestá et al. 2006). In the Alborán Sea, Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are encountered in areas of 600 m depth and 40 m km-1 of slope, especially around the 1,000 m isobath in an area of steep canyons off southern Almería, SE Spain (Cañadas et al. 2002, Cañadas et al. 2005). In the Hellenic Trench, Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are sighted in areas of between 500 and 1,500 m depth; it is not known if they are also present farther offshore over the abyssal plain (Frantzis et al. 2003). They seem to be present over all steep topographic features of the Aegean Plateau (Frantzis et al. 2003). In the eastern Ligurian Sea (Gulf of Genoa) they are especially abundant around canyons (D’Amico et al. 2003). In this area, Scalise et al. (2005) reported a mean depth at encounters of 1,358 m (range = 641–2545, se = 514) and a mean slope of 77.1 m km-1 (range = 3–256.5, se = 57). In the same area, cruises organised by SACLANTCEN encountered Cuvier’s Beaked Whales in waters 500–2,600 m deep, with a peak encounter rate in waters 1,000–1,500 m deep over steep slopes (M. Carron, pers. comm.). In the western Ligurian Sea, sightings have been in waters of an average of 1,722 m deep (range = 795–2,500, se = 276) (Azzellino et al. 2008).
Mean group size is fairly constant across the whole basin where data have been collected, ranging from 2.2 to 2.6 individuals (Cañadas et al. 2005, Ballardini et al. 2005, Scalise et al. 2005), except in the western Ligurian Sea with a mean of four (sd = 2) (Azzellino et al. 2008). Social organization is unknown, although the intermediate levels of mtDNA diversity observed in Cuvier’s Beaked Whales suggest that social groups are unlikely to be strongly matrifocal (Dalebout et al. 2005).
Owing to their offshore occurrence and tendency to feed on deep-sea squid, Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are probably little exposed to human activities that occur in coastal waters (tourism, many types of fisheries, etc.). However, the few studies carried out on this species highlight one main threat: certain forms of man-made underwater noise. This threat affects the species world-wide and it has been responsible for some of the observed mortality in the Mediterranean. Military sonars and possibly high-energy sounds from other anthropogenic sources have repeatedly resulted in the stranding and death of Cuvier’s Beaked Whales. The implications of this mortality at the population level are uncertain. Two other concerns are bycatch in drift gillnets and the ingestion of plastic debris (e.g. Kovacic et al. 2009).
Recent atypical mass strandings of beaked whales have been linked to high-powered navy sonar and seismic exploration (e.g. Frantzis 1998, Jepson et al. 2003, Fernández et al. 2005). Deployment of military sonar has led to strandings of beaked whales suffering from chronic and acute tissue damage due to the in vivo formation of gas bubbles, possibly the result of decompression sickness (Jepson et al. 2003, Fernández et al. 2005). Cuvier’s Beaked Whale is the species most commonly involved in these atypical mass strandings (Brownell et al. 2005). Of 224 recorded stranding events of Cuvier’s Beaked Whales in the Mediterranean, 15 involved two animals (9.8% of the total) and 12 involved three or more animals (totalling 80 animals; 26.1% of the total) (Podestà et al. 2006). Four of these strandings were definitely associated with naval activity so far: 1) Valencia, Spain in February 1996 (Filadelfo et al. 2009), 2) Kyparissiakos Gulf, Greece in May 1996 (Frantzis 1998), 3) Ionian Islands, Greece in October 1997 (Frantzis 2004, Filadelfo 2009), 4) Algerian coasts, in 2001 (Filadelfo et al. 2009). In the other cases, either no appropriate data were collected or the analyses were inadequate for assessing the potential association (Podestà et al. 2006). An atypical mass stranding of four Cuvier’s Beaked Whales occurred in SE Spain in January 2006. This event was coincident in time and space with military manoeuvres of NATO (Draft EIS/OEIS 2007), and necropsies of the animals showed “Gas and Fat Embolic Syndrome”, previously associated with anthropogenic acoustic activities, most probably anti-submarine active mid-frequency sonar used during the military naval exercises (Jepson et al. 2003; Fernandez et al. 2004, 2005; Cox et al. 2006). The Mediterranean Sea is a militarily strategic area and is also of increasing interest for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation. All military or geological or oceanographic activities involving high-intensity noise carried out in the proximity of Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are of concern.
Although the population-level implications of the use of military sonar are uncertain, there is evidence suggesting that they could be at least locally significant. A photo-identification study that preceded and followed the Bahamas mass stranding showed that previously photo-identified, resident beaked whales either left the area or died, since they were never re-captured (photographically) after the event (Balcomb and Claridge 2001). In the Mediterranean Sea, no surveys had been conducted in the Kyparissiakos Gulf before the mass stranding following a naval military sonar exercise (Frantzis 1998). However, strandings of Cuvier´s beaked whales had been common in that area (average rate of one per semester) and have become extremely rare (none or only one) in the nine years since the event. Two international surveys that covered the Kyparissiakos Gulf (IFAW 2003 and MVO in 2004) as well as a survey that has crossed the same area twice yearly since 2002 have failed to record any sightings of Cuvier´s Beaked Whales.
Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are occasionally taken incidentally in driftnets in the Mediterranean Sea. DUring the MED09 survey in the Alboran Sea, a Cuvier´s Beaked Whale was found alive recently (probably) entangled in a driftnet (and two Moroccan driftnetters were spotted a few miles away). After several hours of attempts, it was not possible to approach the animal close enough to release it from the net.
In a study of cetacean by-catch by the Spanish Mediterranean long-lining fleet, only one unidentified beaked whale was found entangled (released alive) out of 798 sets (CPUE).
Fourteen Cuvier’s Beaked Whales were reported as having been captured intentionally between 1972 and 1982 – 11 in French and three in Spanish waters, all shot and one also harpooned (Northridge 1994). No pingers are in use in this area to avoid beaked whales bycatch.
With regard to plastic debris, two stranded animals in Greece had stomachs full of pieces of plastic bags (A. Frantzis, pers. comm.), as did a stranded animal in Croatia (Holcer et al. 2003). Poncelet et al. (1999) described a considerable amount of plastic debris in the stomach of a Cuvier’s Beaked Whale washed ashore on the French Atlantic coast. Together with pilot whales (and some other teuthophagous species), Cuvier’s Beaked Whale seems to be attracted by plastic debris that may be mistaken for squid.
One probable hot-spot for Cuvier’s Beaked Whales in the Mediterranean, the eastern section of the Ligurian Sea, is included within the Pelagos Sanctuary created by Italy, France and Monaco. However, no management or conservation measures have been taken as yet specifically for this species.
A SPAMI (Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance) under the Barcelona Convention has been proposed for the northern half of the Alborán Sea and Gulf of Vera in southern Spain (Cañadas et al. 2005), but it has not yet been designated or even evaluated by the Spanish administration. This proposed area includes another of the probable hot-spots for Cuvier’s beaked whales: the deep waters off southern Almería. The Hydrographic Office of the Spanish Navy has agreed not to use active sonar in that area (C. Gamundi, Subdirector of the Hydrographic Office of the Spanish Navy, pers. comm.).
|Citation:||Cañadas, A. 2012. Ziphius cavirostris (Mediterranean subpopulation). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 17 September 2014.|
|Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided|
|
<urn:uuid:7b1b033a-7592-4c8c-97fe-ac3715fca499>
|
CC-MAIN-2014-41
|
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/16381144/0
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657124236.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011204-00306-ip-10-196-40-205.us-west-1.compute.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.891669 | 3,350 | 3.109375 | 3 | 3.008765 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Voluntary action in building design is unlikely to be able to achieve sweeping results in “greening” our cities, writes Assistant Professor Jeroen van der Heijden.
BUILDINGS NEED TO BECOME more environmental and resource sustainable, as well as more resilient to human-made and natural hazards. Rising energy prices, unhealthy levels of smog in cities, and increased exposure of buildings to floods and bushfires are but a few of the reasons for doing so.
This is why on 18 and 19 March, leaders of the building sector, policymakers and academics are coming together and discuss the way forward for buildings and cities in Australia and elsewhere at the Green Cities Conference in Melbourne.
Why governments cannot act
Whilst governments tend to regulate city planning and the development and construction of buildings, they are held back in regulating increased urban sustainability and resilience, predominantly as a result of archaic planning.
Put simply: existing buildings are normally exempt from new regulation.
Because cities in a country like Australia only transform by at best 2% per year, it may take up to 70 years until a rule introduced today applies to all buildings in the future.
There may be a possible solution to this problem: voluntary action by businesses and civil society. Such voluntary action is normally heralded on conferences like the Green Cities Conference as the panacea to the problem faced by governments.
But is it truly a panacea?
Over the last two years, I have studied over 50 examples of such voluntary action in Australia, Europe, Asia and the USA.
My insights are all but uplifting.
Whilst voluntary action has achieved a handful of successes, it has thus far not been able to achieve sweeping results in “greening” our cities.
An example of voluntary action in Australia: Green Star
In 2003, Green Star was launched by leaders in the Australian construction industry.
They wanted to show their buildings outperform others in terms of sustainability.
To give insight into the relative performance of a building, they developed a labelling scheme. For instance, a six-star rated building shows that it outperforms a four-star one. Green Star works similarly as the energy and fuel consumption labels you find on new fridges or cars.
Green Star claims to have started a green building revolution in Australia, with 7.2 million square metres already labelled. Yet, when contrasted to Australia’s (conservatively estimated) 1.5 billion square metres of built up space, the “success” of Green Star shrivels to having affected a mere 0.5% of all Australian built up space.
That's over a ten year period.
I have seen this lack of meaningful success time and again in the over 50 examples of voluntary action I have studied. My work points towards four shortfalls in such voluntary action.
Shortfall 1: A lack of focus on existing buildings
Whilst the vast majority of sustainability and resilience problems is caused by existing buildings, there is hardly any voluntary action that successfully addresses existing buildings.
This is a major problem.
At best, 2% of new buildings are added to the existing building stock each year. This means that roughly 98% of buildings are predominantly left outside the scope of voluntary action.
Shortfall 2: A lack of focus on residential buildings
Predominantly the top-end of the market for commercial buildings is addressed by voluntary action. Green Star is a typical example: it is predominantly applied for new office buildings in the central business districts of Australia’s major cities.
There is hardly any voluntary action that addresses residential buildings. Yet, residential buildings consume roughly as much energy and contribute roughly as much to global carbon emissions as do commercial buildings.
When these two shortfalls are combined, it becomes clear that voluntary action affects not even 1% of the problem: voluntary action appears only successful in the very top-end of the market for new commercial buildings.
Shortfall 3: A lack of focus on hazard resilience
Voluntary action has a dominant focus on the environmental sustainability of buildings, and hardly on their resilience to climate risks and man-made hazards. Again this marginal focus of voluntary programs is a problem.
It is estimated that more than 80% of all Australian houses do not comply with construction codes that have been introduced since 1980. Keeping in mind the devastating consequences of bushfires on Black Saturday in 2009 and those of the Queensland Floods in 2010 and 2011 one can only begin to grasp the need for improved resilience of the existing building stock.
Shortfall 4: A lack of focus on behavioural change
Voluntary action predominantly seeks an increased uptake and use of (innovative) technological solutions to improve buildings’ sustainability. Only a few of the examples I have studied try to do so through a change in the behaviour of how we use our buildings.
Again this is a problem.
Keeping in mind that most energy and water in buildings is wasted as a result of behaviour and not technology, a stronger focus on occupants’ behaviour is essential.
For instance, by fully switching off electrical appliances instead of switching them to stand-by mode, households can reduce up to 10% of their energy bill. For office buildings, these easy savings may be even more, given that up to 55% of energy in offices is consumed after office hours, on weekends and during holiday breaks, when hardly anyone is using these offices.
Why this limited focus of voluntary action?
Why has voluntary action thus far predominantly sought to improve the environmental and resource sustainability of buildings in the top-end of the market for new commercial buildings through an uptake of (innovative) technological solutions? Why the limited focus on existing buildings? Why the limited focus on residential buildings? Why the limited focus on hazard resilience? Why the limited focus on behavioural change?
In looking at the examples in my study that are successful, I can only conclude that it is about dollar value.
For developers, there is an almost guaranteed financial gain in developing new commercial buildings with high levels of sustainability, for they are found to sell at higher prices on the market and yield higher rents than conventional buildings. Their occupants may also market their buildings as being part of their social corporate responsibility policies, aiming to convince their clientele that they truly care about the environment.
Further, by participating in a voluntary action initiative, a business may sell more of its technology to its clients — say, energy efficient air-conditioners. It would make less sense for the same business to participate in an initiative that helps its clients to only change their behaviour.
There is no economic incentive in telling your clients that they can be more efficient in using their existing air-conditioners, now is there?
Finally, preparing for future hazards is, in the short term, less cost-effective than seeking reduced energy consumption — for instance, by installing solar panels. The latter is clearly visible on your reduced energy bill and will pay itself back. Guaranteed. The former will only “pay itself back” if a hazard materialises somewhere in the distant future and if the building withstands it.
There is absolutely no guarantee either of the two will happen.
Rethinking voluntary action
This truly asks for a rethinking of the potential of voluntary action for sustainable and resilient cities.
Policymakers, practitioners and academics alike have thus far ascribed much potential to these in terms of possible reductions of resource consumption in cities (that is, energy, water, building materials), possible reductions of greenhouse gasses and other wastes, as well as its potential to improve cities’ reliance to withstand future climate risks and human-made hazards.
Whilst I have found a handful of hopeful examples, I cannot conclude anything else than that this general trust in such voluntary action is unfounded. I therefore hope that the discussions about voluntary action at the Green Cities Conference in Melbourne will move far beyond discussing the handful of buildings achieved by a handful of voluntary action initiatives.
There is nothing wrong with proudly introducing them to what has been achieved by some voluntary action initiatives, but the focus should be about what has not yet been achieved in terms of “green cities”. Though, this less-positive story is not likely to go down well with the up to $2,350 conference fees that visitors have to pay for attending the Green Cities Conference.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
|
<urn:uuid:44c3fcc6-f783-4ff1-a942-187eb1a0a061>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-34
|
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/voluntary-action-for-sustainable-and-resilient-cities-wont-be-enough,6290
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109525.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170821191703-20170821211703-00223.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.95777 | 1,721 | 2.90625 | 3 | 3.061092 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
The United States is confronting significant demographic shifts that could have critical implications for policy and progress throughout this decade, according to new census data.
In a first-ever comprehensive study of America’s large metropolitan areas, we have found that the United States is undergoing the most significant socio-demographic change since the huge wave of immigrants in the early 20th century.
Failure to manage this change could have grave consequences for America’s future quality of life. But success would allow us to use this demographic transformation as a competitive advantage for the 21st century.
Cities and large metropolitan areas are leading this transformation and may, in many ways, determine the path forward. America’s 100 largest metropolitan areas already account for two-thirds of our population and generate 75 percent of our gross domestic product.
But we are growing rapidly. Our population exceeded 300 million in 2006, and we are on track to hit 350 million in the next 15 years.
What will America and its cities look like in 2025? Who will these 50 million new Americans be? Based on our new analysis, America will probably be older, more diverse, more urban — and less equal.
Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 83 percent of our population growth this last decade. We are well on the way to becoming a majority-minority society.
America in 2025 may also be significantly older. The number of seniors and boomers already exceeded 100 million this past decade.
Fifteen years from now we might be more educated. Yet, if we continue as today, we could be living in a far less competitive and equitable society.
Today, whites and Asians are more than twice as likely to hold a bachelor’s degree as blacks and Latinos, and young people are lagging. Low-wage workers saw real hourly earnings decline by 8 percent this decade; high-wage workers saw wages rise by 3 percent.
Should these trends continue, America in 2025 may have cities that can’t support their aging citizens; transportation infrastructure ill-equipped to meet the needs of young or old, and a gap between rich and poor that could grow with our population.
We could be living in a less prosperous society. Indeed, our national prosperity in 2025 might depend on whether we master this demographic change and leverage its possibilities in two fundamental ways.
First, our largest metropolitan regions, because of their size, and their current and historic role in America’s economy and society, must confront these dynamics. All the dimensions of change growth, diversity, aging, educational disparities and income polarization are at a faster pace, a larger scale and a higher level of intensity in these areas.
Major challenges like climate change and immigration are now complicated, if not fueled, by these marked changes in the size and composition of our nation’s population.
Our greater metropolitan areas are where the responses that ultimately shape our evolving society must be produced. Working together, Cities, suburbs and exurbs must consider issues like transportation and housing, services for the elderly and workforce training for the rising diverse generation that will take jobs that baby boomers are starting to leave.
Consider that in our greater metropolitan areas, 70 percent of older Americans now live in suburbs, which were not designed for aging populations. For the first time, the majority of the nation’s poor now also live in suburbs.
The demographic challenges we face are national; but their impact could be local — and so must be the solutions we develop to confront them.
At the same time, the federal government cannot wait for the greater metropolitan areas to address this massive transformation.
Washington should develop macro-level responses. These include comprehensive immigration reform that better incorporates new Americans into our society and economy; a revamping of transportation and housing policy that reduces energy inefficient sprawl and accommodates seniors; programs to increase post-secondary education for our emerging workforce; and redoubling efforts, like the Earned Income Tax Credit, that help make work pay for working-class families.
Over the next 15 years, as we deal with revolutionary changes in who we are and where we live, U.S. policy-makers, at the local and national level, could be tested, perhaps as never before.
Yet, overall, the United States is a demographically blessed nation. Our competitors in Europe and Asia are either growing slowly, as in Japan and China; or actually declining, as in Germany and Russia.
In a fiercely competitive world, demographic transformation may be America’s ace in the hole.
If we fail to meet the challenge of our changing social and urban landscapes, issues now on the horizon will compound those we face today.
But if we can successfully manage this transformation, the 21st century could be and hopefully will be a prosperous one for all Americans.
|
<urn:uuid:35096ead-3012-4d8c-a9d3-ab150f8822b8>
|
CC-MAIN-2020-24
|
https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/an-impending-national-transformation/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347399830.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20200528170840-20200528200840-00377.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.943901 | 976 | 2.546875 | 3 | 2.966923 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Politics
|
Instead of making permanent gene modifications with a common DNA editing tool, researchers can now make temporary changes thanks to some clever modifications. Scientists at the Salk Institute described their new technique in a paper published in Cell earlier this month.
The team, led by Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, altered the CRISPR/Cas9 system — a genome editing technology that normally creates double strand breaks in DNA — to simply turn genes off or on without any permanent changes to the genome. “We didn’t disrupt the DNA, we changed the gene function,” says study coauthor Hsin-Kai Liao.
“Sometimes, to cure the disease, we don’t need to really make a correction, we just need to overcome the phenotype and overcome the disease,” he says. By avoiding deleting or adding anything to genes, their technique circumvents concerns of unwanted mutations from rogue CRISPR cuts in the DNA. The new epigenetic CRISPR technology can also be used to treat diseases or slow down symptoms that arise from a constellation of genetic factors rather than being limited to single mutation-based disorders that traditional genome editing tools treat. The team has already demonstrated its effectiveness in three different mouse models of human diseases, and they plan to study more in the future. Liao says the experiments will soon pave the way for human trials.
Here are some of the conditions the team has tackled using the epigenetic editing system, and other CRISPR research to look for in 2018.
Acute Kidney Injury
Sudden damage or loss of kidney function is one type of disease that can be treated with epigenetic modifications. That’s because this type of kidney failure isn’t usually caused by genetic mutations, but by the accumulation of toxic chemicals or other harmful environmental factors, says Liao. Other cases of declining kidney function are simply a result of aging, he says. But in mice with kidney problems, Liao and his colleagues successfully used their epigenetic CRISPR tool to turn on two genes: one that helps protect organs from damage but becomes less active as we age, and another that is responsible for anti-inflammatory effects after kidney injury. Turning these genes on helped the mice live longer with healthier kidneys.
Type 1 Diabetes
Treating type 1 diabetes with the epigenetic CRISPR tool requires a different approach. In their mouse model, the Salk Institute team still turned on a gene, but instead of protecting an organ like the kidney, this gene — known as Pdx1 — triggers a cellular transformation. “It’s like one cell type becomes the other cell type,” says Liao. This gene is vital for pancreatic development, he says, and it can also help some liver cells to change into insulin-producing cells like those in the pancreas. As a result, the treated mice had lower blood glucose levels, and while Liao says the effect wasn’t as strong as they had hoped for, it is a promising start.
Both Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy are usually caused by mutations in a single gene on the X chromosome, which causes a fatal deficiency of the protein dystrophin in patients’ muscles. But a replacement dystrophin gene is too large to be suitable for traditional CRISPR’s viral delivery system, says Liao. So his team found two ways to work around this problem. They reduced symptoms in some mice by turning on the Klotho gene, which helped the mice build muscle mass. The other method used the modified CRISPR technology to turn on the Utrophin gene, which encodes a protein very similar to the one encoded by dystrophin. The replacement proteins, in turn, helped reduce symptoms in mice.
Liao and his team are also starting to study how their technique can be used to combat aging. “Everybody gets old,” says Liao, and “in the majority of cases, they’re not getting older because they have a gene mutation.” Instead, it’s a result of the reduced expression of genes like Klotho, and damage from a lifetime of exposure to environmental factors, like UV radiation and pollution. By toggling epigenetic changes like switches, the researchers hope to slow the aging process, or at least minimize symptoms of age-related diseases, such as macular degeneration and hearing loss, he says.
Heart Disease, Lung Disease, and Beyond
Liao says researchers from other labs have also expressed interest in using their technique for treating conditions, such as heart disease and lung disease, that are influenced by environmental factors. If scientists can identify genes to turn on or off to compensate for a disease’s symptoms, the tool can be used. Researchers can also use it for basic research, to discern the function of various genes, and to identify more diseases suitable for treatment with the new epigenetic CRISPR in the future, says Liao. “Our approach is not only for therapeutic studies,” he says.
|
<urn:uuid:7c3dbc22-1b9b-4c5a-be8a-c5499e99a5ea>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-13
|
http://genomemag.com/2017/12/a-modified-crispr-tool-creates-new-treatments-for-diseases/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647706.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20180321215410-20180321235410-00268.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947185 | 1,041 | 3.4375 | 3 | 3.01656 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Today marks 19 years since the passing of one of the world’s great management thinkers—W. Edwards Deming.
After World War II, the U.S. did something remarkable in the history of war – it helped its friends and even its former foes get back on their feet economically. In Europe, that was accomplished through the Marshall Plan – but in Japan, where the U.S. also gave broad counsel, one man had a singular impact: Ed Deming.
Born in Sioux City, Iowa and reared in Iowa and Wyoming, Deming was officially a statistician and college professor, and he was sent to Japan post-war to give his expertise to the U.S. allied command and help the Japanese government set up a census.
But he had studied work processes from a statistical point of view for years and had come to some interesting conclusions – essentially, that quality with the goal of satisfying customers and even employees must govern production decision-making, and ultimately costs less than trying to sell lower-quality goods. In that war-torn nation lacking a broad industrial base, Deming in 1950 was invited by a Japanese scientists’ and engineers’ group to give a talk – the first of many – that set the stage for a Japanese resurgence in electronics, automobiles and other produced goods. Later, he authored many books and taught at several U.S. universities.
Deming’s teachings, which came to be known as Total Quality Management or TQM (and originated to address production-style workplaces) have been summarized as 14 points:
1. “Create constancy of purpose towards improvement.” That is, plan for the long term instead of reacting, short-term.
2. “Adopt the new philosophy.” Everyone in the workplace – including the management – understands and lives by the philosophy established for that workplace.
3. “Cease dependence on inspection.” If statistical variation is reduced, inspection for product defects loses importance because there will be few, or no, defects.
4. “Move towards a single supplier for any one item.” Multiple suppliers increase the potential for statistical variation and defects.
5. “Improve constantly and forever.” A workplace must constantly strive to reduce variation.
6. “Institute training on the job.” If people aren’t sufficiently trained, they will not all work the same way, and this will introduce variation.
7. “Institute leadership.” Deming made a distinction between leadership and supervision, which he defines as quota- and target-based.
8. “Drive out fear.” Deming believed workers would act in an organization’s best interest if they would not be punished or demoted for pointing out problems or telling uncomfortable truths.
9. “Break down barriers between departments.” In Deming’s analysis, customers are not just people outside the organization – customers include other departments within a workplace.
10. “Eliminate slogans.” Deming felt that posting slogans or exhortations was not nearly as effective in improving a workplace as finding out where, in that workplace’s processes, the bugs were, and removing them.
11. “Eliminate management by objectives.” Deming disliked production targets, saying they led to delivery of poor-quality goods.
12. “Remove barriers to pride of workmanship.” Satisfied workers make quality products.
13. “Institute education and self-improvement.”
14. “The transformation is everyone’s job.”
Deming remains one of the most revered business thinkers of our time – and his papers are in the Manuscript Division here at the Library of Congress.
The W. Edwards Deming Institute entertains applications for grants to aid students or authors in conducting their research using that Library of Congress collection.
|
<urn:uuid:92741ec3-95dc-48f1-898a-9a16423cbdf5>
|
CC-MAIN-2014-42
|
http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2012/12/the-sensei-from-sioux-city/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413558066654.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017150106-00157-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.970074 | 819 | 2.65625 | 3 | 2.827528 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Finance & Business
|
“Go will be the server language of the future.” — Tobias Lütke, Shopify
Nothing makes a developer go crazy than digging more for a new programming language. So, I started learning GOlang. Though it is not a much popular programming language like others languages (C, C++, Java, Python, C# etc), but its features and advantages are surely gonna make you incline towards its usage!
Here, I am going to explain what is Golang and the current stage of computer hardware-software and why we need new language like Go?
Let’s go ahead…
Introduction To GO
Go is a programming language introduced by Google in 2009 developed by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike and Ken Thompson.
It is also known as Golang, Developed in traditional ALGOL (short for Algorithmic Language) and C.
It has features like Garbage Collection, Memory Safety, Statically Typing and CSP -Style Concurrent Programming (Communicating Sequential Processes).
The compiler and other language tools are open-source, originally developed by Google.
It contains two major implementations:
- Google’s Go compiler (gc) supports different platforms like Linux, Windows, OS X, BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution, Unix operating system) and Unix versions. It also supports Mobile devices including smartphones.
- The second one is ‘gccgo’ compiler, which is a GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) front-end.
It is not required any integrated development environment, but supporting them well and also Supporting networking and multiprocessing.
Go language is similar to traditional C language, but make many changes to improve simplicity, safety and so on.
Some Improvement features are as follows:
- It reduces compilation time.
- Variable declaration and initialization through type inference (the automatic detection of the data type of an expression in a programming language).
- Remote package management.
- Built-in concurrency primitives: light-weight processes (goroutines), channels, and select statement.
Go includes the same process of debugging, testing, and code-vetting tools as other language distributions but the Go distribution also includes :
- build – go build, which builds Go binaries using only information in the source files themselves, no separate make files.
- test – go test, for unit testing and micro benchmarks.
- fmt – go fmt, for formatting code.
- get – go get, for retrieving and installing remote packages.
- vet – go vet, a static analyzer looking for potential errors in code.
- run – go run, a shortcut for building and executing code.
- doc – godoc, for displaying documentation or serving it via HTTP.
- rename – gorename, for renaming variables, functions, and so on in a type-safe way.
- generate – go generate, a standard way to invoke code generators.
Go also has a number of types of other programming languages.
- Floating point Values
3. Character String
- Slice – It allows to increase/decrease the size of an array dynamically.
- Interface – Replace class inheritance, provide Run time polymorphism.
- Map – It maps unique keys to values, the key is an object which is used to retrieve values at a later date.
- Channel – Channels are the pipes that connect concurrent Goroutines, we can send values into channels from one Goroutine to another Goroutine.
First Pentium 4 processor with 3.0 GHz clock speed was introduced in 2004 by Intel. You can see the comparison of increasing the processing power with the time in below chart.
You can see that the single-thread performance and the frequency of the processor remained steady. So for this problem, we have solutions like…
Adding more and more cores to the processor, added more cache to the processor to increase the performance and We can also introduce hyper-threading.
Nowadays we have quad-core and octa-core CPU’s available.
But these solutions also have its own limitations like adding more and more processors having its own cost.
So, if we cannot work on the hardware improvements, the only way is to go, more efficient software to increase the performance, but the modern programming language is not much efficient.
“Modern processors are alike nitro-fueled funny cars, they excel at the quarter mile. Unfortunately, modern programming languages are like Monte Carlo, they are full of twists and turns.” — David Ungar
GO Has Goroutines
A goroutine is a lightweight thread managed by the Go runtime.
go f(x, y, z)
starts a new goroutine running
f(x, y, z)
The evaluation of f, x, y, and z happens in the current goroutine and the execution of f happens in the new goroutine.
Goroutines run in the same address space, so access to shared memory must be synchronized. The synchronizes package provides useful primitives.
Most of the modern programming languages (like Java, Python etc.) are from the ’90s single-threaded environment. Most of those programming languages support multi-threading, but the real problem comes with concurrent execution, threading-locking, race conditions and deadlocks.
For example, if we create a thread in java it takes 1 MB of memory from the heap. But Go was released in 2009 when multi-core processors were already available and keeping concurrency in mind. It has goroutines instead of threads which consume almost 2 KB memory from the heap. So, you can spin millions of goroutines at any time.
Other benefits of Goroutine :
- Goroutines ensures a faster startup time than threads.
- Goroutines are loaded with built-in primitives that communicate safely among themselves (channels).
Code Written In Go Is Easy To Maintain
Go have very neat and clean syntax to do programming. The designers of the Go at google had this thing in mind that code should be simple to understand for other developers and one segment of code should has minimum side effect on another segment of the code. That will make code easily maintainable and easy to modify.
Go doesn’t have many features of modern OOPs languages like…
- It doesn’t have Classes.
- Golang doesn’t have Constructor.
- It Doesn’t support Inheritance.
- Golang doesn’t have Generics.
- Golang doesn’t have Exceptions.
Advantages of GOlang
- Testing Support, it provides a feature of parallel unit testing in our code.
- It provides the replacement of inheritance by Interface system.
- Golang Package system which provides the facility to use the functionality of other files, so there is no need to add any header files in the program.
- Go language provides built-in functionality and library support, for writing concurrent programs. Concurrency of the program in Go language refers not only to CPU parallelism but also to CPU asynchrony.
- It provides statically typing, which take care of compilation, type conversion and comparability as well.
- It has a powerful standard library, which helps developers to develop projects in a effective and easy manner.
- Go has garbage collection.
- Go compiler provides error checking that is able to detect variables that went unused, packages that are miss or imports those packages which are necessary to run and mistyped or invalid operations.
Disadvantages Of GOlang
- The packages distributed with Go are pretty useful, but there are still some libraries you’ll miss. Most notably a UI toolkit.
- There is no support for generics in Go.
- Lack of language extensibility (through, for e.g, operator overloading) makes certain tasks more complex.
- Lack of compile-time generics leads to code duplication, meta-programming cannot be statically checked and the standard library cannot offer generic algorithms.
Go is efficient, scalable and productive. Some programmers find it fun to work in, others find it boring. Go was designed to address the problems faced in software development at Google, which led to a language that is not a breakthrough research language but is still an excellent tool for engineering large software projects.
Many companies use Go, some name are as follows:
- BBC Worldwide
Some properties which make programming easy with Go are as follows:
- Clear dependencies
- Composition over inheritance
- Clear syntax
- Clear semantics
- Simplicity provided by the programming model (garbage collection, concurrency)
- Easy tooling (the go tool, gofmt, godoc, gofix)
Projects using Go (Reference Wikipedia)
Some notable open-source applications in Go include:
- The “Lightning Network”, a bitcoin network that allows for fast Bitcoin transactions and scalability.
- Caddy, an open source HTTP/2 web server with automatic HTTPS support.
- CockroachDB, an open source, survivable, strongly consistent, scale-out SQL database.
- Dgraph, an open source, scalable, distributed, highly available and fast graph database.
Hope my GO session was quite informative for you all!
|
<urn:uuid:9c8dfbc8-3b97-4e99-9e60-c9bd07e6a509>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-17
|
https://www.loginworks.com/blogs/programming-go-golang-benefits/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125937090.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20180420003432-20180420023432-00211.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.894985 | 1,937 | 2.875 | 3 | 2.342001 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Software Dev.
|
Christ has often been seen as Prophet, Priest, and King, and following an Augustinian theory of learning, He has often been viewed as the Teacher as well. We have not often imagined Christ as the Student, though. Should we?
The act of learning was such a mystery to Plato that he claimed learning was nothing more than remembering what had been learned in eons past. In a manner of speaking, language is an irreducibly complex machine. No one word is definable without previous words, and previous words require previous words. Look up any word in Webster’s and you’ll get four or five salient words in the definition. Look each of those words up and you’ll get four or five salient words. The definitions of those salient words will invariably retread the first round of salient words. How could the first word have ever been spoken? Did not the first word require previous words? Augustine recognized the difficulty of learning and claimed that ultimately Christ taught all things; the act of learning transcends human capacity and requires divine grace, no less than turning a few loaves of bread into a few thousand loaves of bread.
Of course, any seasoned teacher will tell you that the teacher is simply the foremost student. The teacher is the longest running student. The teacher is the student who talks the most. The teacher is the student who grades the papers. There are times when I think there is little qualitative difference between myself and my sophomore class. I’ve simply been at it for longer.However, if the teacher is simply the foremost student, what does this mean for Christ the teacher? In what way could Christ, the Light which illumines all, possibly be a student?
If there is a case to be made in Scripture for Christ the Student, John the Baptist is His foremost teacher. Jesus learns to fight the devil from John; John battles viperous Pharisees in the wilderness, and Christ goes into the wilderness to battle the serpent shortly after meeting John. Jesus learns to criticize the Pharisees from John; John calls the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” in Matthew 3, and twenty chapters later, Christ does the same. Christ learns to speak of the Judgment from John; while Sheol was traditionally a dark, deep, watery place, John speaks of the judgment as an “unquenchable fire,” and Jesus teaches in Mark 9 that hell is a place where “fire is not quenched.” Christ learns ministry from John; John’s ministry of repentance spreads by baptism with water, and Christ’s ministry spreads by baptism with fire. Christ learns charity from John; as John preaches, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none,” so Christ doubles the commandment of generosity and teaches, “And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.” It might even be said that John taught Christ how to die. John is slaughtered by a reluctant politico who does not want to embarrass himself and renege on a generous promise at a feast, and so is Christ.
So there are many parallels between John’s life and Christ’s life. Big deal. Did we not already know about archetypes? Have we not read enough about Christ reliving the history of Israel that we need Christ to relive John’s life, as well? Is this nothing more than proof the Gospel writers knew something of foreshadowing and theme?
It is far more.
Sadly, living downstream of the Enlightenment, we tend to think of time in a linear and progressive fashion, which more or less reduces the prophets of the Old Testament to the level of mere fortune tellers. They saw the future and reported back on it in the present. Because the future is uncertain, only those who have access to transcendent power can know the future in advance. Or so we say. Telling the future is far more common than it might seem, though, and according to many a Medieval philosopher, actually quite easy to do (given the right tools), even while doing so is profoundly impious and sinful. The Delphic oracle was a reliable witness of future events for centuries, and, call me romantic, but I refuse to believe every last fortune teller alive today is kept afloat by mere vagaries and gullible customers.
Perhaps the Old Testament prophets could see into the future in a way similar to a character in reel 2 of a film having a look at real 5, but such a model of time is a recent invention. I’ve always been fascinated by Christ as the “desire of nations,” though, which suggests a far different nature to the prophetic work. In drawing so near to God as to speak on His behalf, the prophets expressed the deepest longings of humanity; in His infinite condescension to man, Christ fulfilled the deepest longings of man. The Old Testament might be read as a perfection of man’s desire, and Christ comes as the fulfillment of that desire. When Christ does something “so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Elias,” He is not proving Himself the Christ as though by a checklist of attributes, but giving man what man has desperately wanted. How much of a difference is there between Job’s longing for a judge between God and man and Isaiah’s “He took our sickness and bore our infirmities.” The perfect longing is the perfect prophesy. “God is whatever it is better to be than not to be,” claimed Anselm. The inspired intellect of the prophets simply expressed what was better.
Christ could not fulfill all prophecy, all longing, unless He was first a student of man, learning the desires of man. Christ learns from the last of the prophets, the greatest man born of a woman, and so learns from the most human of human desirers. As an office occupied and fulfilled by Christ, the office of student is divine, honorable. To undertake the work of a student is to undertake the work of God, and not merely to prepare to do the work of God in some labor later in life. The teacher-as-student must learn the greatest and deepest wants of the students, as well, in order to serve as Christ served. Too often, the role of student is reduced (in the imagination) to a series of benign, necessary, inevitable tasks, and the students themselves do not approach their education with a regard higher than that which attends any other expensive thing their parents have paid for. We would do well to ask our students about other holy offices. What makes a priest special? What makes a king special? How must a priest or a king habituate themselves to self-respect? Why should a student not become habituated to such self-respect, as well?
|
<urn:uuid:76a8beb6-fb80-4ade-a158-01afb64df655>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-23
|
https://circeinstitute.org/blog/blog-christ-student-student-divine-office-god/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224646350.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20230610200654-20230610230654-00762.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.973289 | 1,421 | 2.75 | 3 | 2.920473 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Religion
|
According to the Polisario, Western Sahara, home of the Sahrawi people, is Africa’s last colony, and it continues to employ anticolonial rhetoric to great effect.
What was the last European colony in Africa?
Namibia became the world’s newest nation when South Africa formally relinquished control shortly after midnight today (5 p.m. EST Tuesday). So ended an era of colonial rule on a continent once carved up and ruled by European powers hungry for imperial glory.
Are there any colonies left in Africa?
There are two African countries never colonized: Liberia and Ethiopia. Yes, these African countries never colonized. But we live in 2020; this colonialism is still going on in some African countries.
When was the last African colony freed?
Between March 1957, when Ghana declared independence from Great Britain, and July 1962, when Algeria wrested independence from France after a bloody war, 24 African nations freed themselves from their former colonial masters.
Are there still British colonies in Africa?
Britain had many colonies in Africa: in British West Africa there was Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Southern Cameroon, and Sierra Leone; in British East Africa there was Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar); and in British South Africa there was South Africa, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Southern …
Did Africa ever invade Europe?
Between the 1870s and 1900, Africa faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasions, and eventual conquest and colonization. … By the early twentieth century, however, much of Africa, except Ethiopia and Liberia, had been colonized by European powers.
Why didn’t Europe colonize Africa?
If we are going to discuss disease and disease-resistance as a major factor in differential colonization speeds: it is possible Africa was more resistant to colonization from Europe not because Europeans were not resistant to tropical disease, but because native African peoples were more resistant to European disease.
What if Africa was not colonized?
If Africa wasn’t colonized, the continent would consist of some organized states in North Africa/Red Sea, city-states in West and East Africa, and decentralized agricultural tribes in Central and Southern Africa. … With no Europeans to blunt their expansion, the Zulu and their cousins take over all of South Africa.
Is Kenya still a British colony?
The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya, was part of the British Empire in Africa.
|Colony and Protectorate of Kenya|
|• Established||11 June 1920 (Colony) 13 August 1920 (Protectorate) 1920|
|• Independent as Kenya||12 December 1963|
Do colonies still exist?
Today colonies are rare, but still exist as non-self-governing territories, as categorized by the United Nations. Examples include Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands, to name a few.
Why did European countries give up their colonies?
After the war Britain, France and other European states faced many economic problems. They could no longer afford the cost of keeping their empires. After the war there was a rising tide of nationalism in the colonies. … Most French and British colonies were given independence in the early 1960s.
Why did so many former colonies in Africa struggle with independence after decolonization?
Answer: Because the European nations were weak and did not want to lose their territories. Explanation: … Like this armed conflict that took place on the European continent, it suffered from destruction and economic decline.
Which country in Africa gained independence first?
Today in history: Ghana becomes first African country to gain independence from colonial rule, and more, World News | wionews.com.
Who is still under British rule?
Many of the former territories of the British Empire are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Fifteen of these (known, with the United Kingdom, as the 16 Commonwealth realms) retain the British monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II) as Head of State.
Why did Britain rule the world?
In the 16th Century, Britain began to build its empire – spreading the country’s rule and power beyond its borders through a process called ‘imperialism’. This brought huge changes to societies, industries, cultures and the lives of people all around the world.
What was Africa like before colonization?
At its peak, prior to European colonialism, it is estimated that Africa had up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs. From the late 15th century, Europeans joined the slave trade. … They transported enslaved West, Central, and Southern Africans overseas.
|
<urn:uuid:e4ed186d-9b00-43ae-abd8-ffb0336f69c7>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-49
|
https://haiafrika.com/about-africa/what-was-the-last-colony-in-africa.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446711001.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20221205000525-20221205030525-00545.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.959425 | 976 | 2.96875 | 3 | 2.842162 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
The ear is a complex system important in hearing and communication. This is an area that your doctor operates in daily and is intimately familiar–both with the anatomy and function.
The most common problem for children is ear infections. This involves recurrent infections and/or persistent fluid in the middle ear space that is usually filled with air. If your child has several ear infections or persistent fluid, tympanostomy tubes may be recommended.
In this section, we will review more involved ear surgery. We will divide this into three sections:
3) Tympanomastoidectomy: Surgery that involves the ear drum, middle ear and mastoid (the hollow bone behind the ear).
What is Myringoplasty?
When there is an opening or hole (perforation) in the ear drum, many times it can be repaired by a relatively straight-forward ‘patching’ of the ear drum (tympanic membrane). The material used can be the patient’s own tissue (fat) or man-made (gelfoam).
We use this method to close smaller openings or when removing tympanostomy tubes. Think of removing a nail from your tire and patching.
This method can be also used when closure is desired but the patient is too young for formal Tympanoplasty surgery (< 7 years).
The procedure is quick, relatively painless, does not affect hearing and has a good record of successful healing (60-85%) depending on the size of the perforation.
What is Tympanoplasty?
Tympanoplasty is repair of the ear drum requiring careful evaluation of the middle ear including the middle ear bones, nerves and other structures. Tympanoplasty is performed when 1) the perforation is large, 2) the perforation presents in a complicated position (next to the edge or ear bones), 3) associated with chronic infection or 4) growth of cholesteatoma (skin cyst). Tympanoplasty is performed also when the ear bones are fixed or disconnected requiring repair: ossiculoplasty.
In this case, man-made ear bones can be used to replace natural ear bones restoring hearing.
The ear drum (tympanic membrane) is repaired using the patient’s own tissue. This allows healing with a minimum of reaction or inflammation. The two most common materials used are fascia (thin tissue covering muscle) and cartilage.
Your doctor will recommend the material used and surgical approach based on the location of the perforation, age of your child, size of the ear canal and history of previous ear surgery.
The usual approaches are: 1) incision behind the ear and 2) through the ear canal.
It is important to understand the post-operative limitations with this surgery. In the pediatric patient it is very important to have reduced activity after surgery allowing the ear to heal successfully.
What are the complications possible after Tympanoplasty?
The most common complication of this surgery is graft failure. In repairing the ear drum, your child’s tissue is used as a scaffold or framework and their own skin grows over it (healing itself). If there is excessive activity or drainage after surgery, the graft will dissolve leaving a hole.
What is Tympanomastoidectomy?
When infection or growth of a cholesteatoma(skin cyst) in the ear extends into the mastoid – the hollow bone behind the ear – surgery involving the middle ear and mastoid is combined to remove all the infection or growth.
In this case, the approach is done through an incision behind the ear. This approach allows your surgeon to remove all the infection or growth while seeing and protecting the important structures like the balance system, ear bones, nerves and hearing organ (cochlea).
Tympanomastoidectomy surgery for cholesteatoma is unique because it usually involves and “second look” procedure no sooner than six months after the first surgery. If the cholesteatoma has not recurred, reconstruction of the hearing mechanism (ear bones) can be completed.
What are the possible complications of tympanomastoid surgery?
Because your surgeon has expert knowledge in the anatomy and function of the ear, complications are unusual. However, if your child has a particularly bad infection or extensive growth of cholesteatoma, your surgeon will outline areas of possible concern or increase complication risk.
The possible complications that can occur with this surgery include: graft failure, decreased hearing, dizziness, ringing in the ear, deafness, facial nerve damage (facial paresis or paralysis), spinal fluid leak and meningitis.
Thomas M. Andrews
Dr. Andrews specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of ear, nose and throat disorders of children and adolescents. His accreditations include Florida State Medical License and Ohio State Medical License. He is also a board member of the National Board of Medical Examiners and American Board of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery
|
<urn:uuid:25c6a0de-35d4-4794-9ae3-613fe0ab5fbd>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-31
|
https://pediatric-ent.com/ear-surgery/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046151672.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20210725111913-20210725141913-00624.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.919383 | 1,048 | 3.59375 | 4 | 1.941836 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Health
|
Most of us have heard the word “livestock” since we can remember but may have never fully thought about what raising livestock would be like. There are plenty of helpful resources for raising livestock that go into great depth about everything from the environmental impact of raising backyard chickens to the types of products livestock can produce. But sometimes a general overview of farming practices and management styles and some of the challenges involved in raising livestock can better answer your overarching questions about whether raising livestock is right for you and your farm. Here’s so food for thought for those of us pondering a livestock adventure or tweaking our current operation.
Livestock Management Styles
As you can imagine, when it comes to farming practices, there are a lot of options. Your best bet is to first decide which types of livestock you want or are able to raise. Once you choose your animal(s), the management style will become more obvious. Whether you opt for raising chickens for eggs, hanker for beef cattle or just want a family cow to supply your family’s dairy needs, here are a few of the options out there.
Organic Livestock Farming
According to the Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises department at the University of Florida:
“Organic livestock production often necessitates the integration of animal-pasture-crop production to be successful.”
Producing organic livestock means that not only have you raised the animal on a continuous organic program from birth/hatching, their food must be of organic origin and they must also live in surroundings that allow for natural behavior and health. For example, confined feedlots for cattle or sheep are not natural. In addition, farmers must manage manure and waste products a way that recycles nutrients yet avoids contaminating water, soil or crops.
SFAE advises that producers cannot provide prophylactic antibiotics, medicines given to ward off sickness. Rather, they are encouraged to “treat animals with appropriate treatment, including antibiotics and other conventional medicines when needed, but treated animals cannot be sold or labeled as organic.” And obviously, hormones or other growth drugs are taboo, as well.
Clearly, with these stipulations, keeping records is important, and as it turns out, the Organic Food Production Act dictates that farmers must maintain records for five years to verify the organic status of:
- product-handling practices
Furthermore, official certification is required in order to sell products under an organic label. A quick internet search will send you in the proper direction, giving an overview for your state and contact information for the official agency in charge of organic certification. Save yourself a lot of potential financial and emotional stress—if you don’t want to go through the time and expense of certification, don’t put “organic” on your label.
Sustainable Livestock Farming
At first glance, sustainable livestock farming looks a whole lot like organic livestock farming; however, it is more like the umbrella under which we find organic practices. Sustainability takes in a much larger scope. The clue is in the name: Sustainable practices are those that can be sustained over time, as all parts contribute to the whole. Just a few examples of this symbiosis include no-till farming, preventing erosion and conserving water, while organically raised animals provide organic fertilizer for those no-till crops and help control weeds and pasturage. According to Oregon State University, sustainable livestock farming takes into account financial, environmental, ethical, social, product-quality and animal-welfare issues.
Sustainability can be overwhelming at first because it can extend past what we produce and how we produce it to address what we eat, the products we clean with, how we recycle and reuse our resources, and more. Our best bet, as hobby farmers desiring to employ sustainable livestock farming practices, is to start small. One change at a time is, well, more sustainable!
Most people associate the term “free range” with chickens. Again, the basic definition is in the term: a livestock management practice in which the animals—in this case, chickens—are allowed to range freely, without confines. In reality, chickens are often only ranging free in an enclosure in order to protect them from predators on the farm, which is, technically speaking, “enclosure-raised.” To be truly free range, poultry would have no pens, and larger animals, such as cattle and sheep, would be wandering about without fences.
So though they may not exactly be “free,” the important aspect of free-ranging is freedom of movement and free availability of forage/grass/pasture, as opposed to dirt enclosures, such as chicken pens or corrals/feedlots. In addition, access to sunshine is a basic tenet of free-ranging. By contrast, fowl in large poultry operations may spend their whole lives indoors in a small, enclosed space and never actually experience direct sunlight.
Intensive Livestock Farming
Intensive livestock farming, referred to by opponents as “factory farming” or “industrial livestock production,” is the name given to operations involving large numbers of animals that are being raised on a small amount of land. While these could include confined animal feeding set-ups, like feedlots for cattle, confined dairy herds or chickens grown at extreme densities, there are viable, sustainable ways to support a large number of animals without such situations.
Some farmers opt for intensive rotational grazing. Included in this might be growing meat chickens in chicken tractors. These movable pens are rotated over pasture as soon as the current spot becomes eaten down. Sheep, cattle and goats can be managed similarly, rotating them out of one paddock and into another at the optimal time that allows the pasture to recuperate quickly while affording fresh graze at all times.
Beyond Management Styles
Once you’ve chosen your animals and your farm-management plan, there are a couple more aspects of raising livestock you’ll want to keep in mind, including predation and disease.
On a farm, predators come in many sizes and shapes. There are both four-legged and winged poachers, and depending on which livestock you’re tending, you’ll need to take precautions to prevent some critter from eating beef (or chicken) for dinner instead of you.
Obviously, a raccoon is not a threat to a cow or a sheep, but it can create serious mayhem in a chicken coop or run, as can foxes, possums and chicken hawks. Coyotes, wolves, mountain lions and even dogs at times can pose threats to newborn or even half-grown calves, kids and lambs. Each predator has its own approach, and consequent safeguards against each type of predation is necessary.
Again, there are a lot of helpful resources out there. Not only can internet searching turn up reputable suggestions, your local cooperative extension office is a goldmine of information.
Happily, the natural state of livestock is one of health. But disease can happen, and you need to be aware of the various illnesses/diseases/injuries inherent with the animals you’ve chosen to raise and how to combat them should they surface in your herd or flock. Preparation takes on various forms, the first of which would be to educate yourself not only on the various things that can go wrong with a particular animal’s health, but what a healthy animal looks and acts like. This is key in being able to recognize if something is wrong.
Secondly, take the time to research and connect with a veterinarian before a crisis. As one who has called four vets in succession before managing to connect with one to assist in a difficult calving situation, believe me—this is not the type of thing you want to deal with when time is of the essence. Ask your fellow farmers for recommendations, and if you’ve got large animals—cattle, horses, sheep—ascertain if your vet of choice makes farm calls. Even if you’ve got a trailer, sometimes hauling animals in crisis stresses them beyond their ability to recover.
Thirdly, farm stores and vet offices carry basic health supplies. Compiling a first-aid kit for your livestock is a great investment in their health and your stress level should something develop quickly or at an hour when stores are closed.
Marketing Your Livestock
While some hobby farmers are interested only in raising livestock for their own consumption, a certain percentage may be considering this venture as a way to bring in additional income. If this is you, your first task should be to research your particular state’s regulations on selling livestock and livestock products. As an example, in some states, selling raw milk is legal, but only in certain settings. Other states require certification in order to sell milk and dairy products. Your state may be fine with you selling eggs at your farm or farmers market, but meat is a whole different animal, so to speak. Bottom line? Don’t take a neighbor or friend’s word for it; do your own legal homework. Know exactly what you can and can’t sell and how you should label it. That way, your money-making venture won’t backfire and cost you a whole lot more than you bargained for.
If you’re hankering to raise livestock for fun, food or profit, it’s good to know that one farm management style doesn’t have to fit all. Choose your animals and your livestock management practices, deal with predation, and prepare for contingencies such as disease and illness, and your livestock adventure will be off to a great start.
|
<urn:uuid:77f940b4-8bf3-4962-9d08-29cc9f476435>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-49
|
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/about-livestock-farming/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964362879.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20211203121459-20211203151459-00272.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.942102 | 2,028 | 2.953125 | 3 | 2.802026 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Industrial
|
Martial arts are often considered as a type of sport and self-defense technique. However, many martial arts practitioners find that street fighting styles often break the rules, causing them to struggle when they need to defend themselves on the street. Although martial arts could provide us with important basics for self defense, it is also necessary for us to learn about proper self defense methods based on situations on the streets. In some big cities, there are self defense groups that are designed to provide realistic methods, preparations and techniques to defend ourselves on the street. In reality, we shouldn’t focus too much on traditional-style techniques; because there are no referees and rules in the street.
When choosing self defense instructors, we should make sure that they have proper martial arts background and significant experience on the street. They should know how to deal with real fights. We should check with people who know the instructors personally when they are much younger. Some instructors could actually fabricate an entirely new martial art or create a false background with some fake legends behind it. We should also stay away from self defense instructors who talk down traditional forms of martial arts. In any case, any self defense method should be based on traditional forms of martial arts. Judo is often the most maligned of them all, because it is considered as the most useless in any street condition.
Technically speaking, it can be quite true if an attacker on the street use long stick of wood to attack while keeping their distance from us. However, good instructors will use best elements of judo to grapple and incapacitate attackers when we manage to get closer to them. In order to survive on the street, we should make sure that we have proper training. From the technical standpoint, surviving on the street could be quite easy. We should develop the attitude and resolve. With proper preparation, we could even avoid fights entirely. On the street, people tend to use mixed martial arts techniques and people with some good basic martial arts should find it easier to train with other techniques.
Learning traditional martial arts techniques shouldn’t be one dimensional. Unfortunately, many people do this and it could make routine training sessions become boring and monotonous. Martial arts trainers and gurus should also focus on external factors and this actually an important element of any martial art. In any case, martial art practitioner should know how to defend themselves, even if their primary motives are only for sports and improving their fitness. Another element is internal. It actually takes years of corrections, self- criticisms and self-examination to make ourselves more mature in determining the right type of self defense technique for us. This can be a gruelling and long process; that can be achieved only with years of traditional martial arts training. There’s no easy and quick way to turn traditional martial arts technique to allow them defend themselves properly on the street.
|
<urn:uuid:80772329-5f06-4196-a71d-f4008f2cffb1>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-26
|
http://www.antiquarisbcn.com/r/01/why-martial-arts-practitioners-need-to-learn-realistic-self-defense-techniques/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320438.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20170625050430-20170625070430-00029.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.959504 | 578 | 2.515625 | 3 | 2.610915 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Sports & Fitness
|
The goal of this article is to provide a context before diving into Vasicek model. Therefore, our goal is mainly to explain why are certain interest rates negative and to present the consequences of this phenomenon.
Negative Interest Rates: what does that mean ?
An interest rate is the cost of borrowing. Lenders charge borrowers interest when they take out any type of debt. Therefore, interest rates are ubiquitous in the economy: loans, mortgages or bonds are different examples of how they can be used.
Let’s take the example of a bond. A bond represents a promise by a borrower to pay a lender their principal and usually an interest on a loan.
We consider a one-year zero-coupon bond described as followed: a bank B lends $100,000 to an investor A. In return, the investor A must pay back the principal ($100,000) plus and interest rate. Let’s say 2% which means that the investor A pays back $102,000 to the bank B.
In our example, if interest rates were negative, transactions would utterly change. In the case of intermediate payments (coupons) before maturity, the investor A would be paid for borrowing the money !
Interest rates tell how valuable money is today compared to the same amount of money in the future. Positive interest rates imply that there is a time value of money: money today is worth more than money tomorrow. Thus, a negative interest rate implies that the money now is worth less than in the future.
Role of Central Banks
First of all, it is important to understand the role of central banks. A key role of central banks is to conduct monetary policy to achieve price stability (low and stable inflation) and to help manage economic fluctuations. Nowadays, an inflation rate of 2% over the medium term is the target that has been announced by the European Central Bank.
More details can be found here: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/mopo/decisions/html/index.en.html
Obviously, beyond this monetary policy, central banks are also lenders of last resort to governments and commercial banks. A lender of last resort is whoever you turn to when you urgently need funds and you’ve exhausted all your other options.
Central banks try to control the inflation level and to maximize the economic growth simultaneously.
We focus on this monetary policy as it is closely related with interest rates. Basically, the global economic growth has been really low over the last two decades. As a result, central banks tried to boost the economy.
First, this has been done by reducing interest rates. Indeed, reducing interest rates makes investors less mistrustful as they are more likely to be able to pay back the lenders. In other words, borrowing money costs less than usual. Then, central banks also used Quantitative easing. This means that banks purchase longer-term securities in order to increase the money supply and encourage lending and investment. It is also a way to buy a part of the government-debt.
Let’s focus on this whole process and see how we ended up with negative interest rates.
How did we end up with Negative Interest Rates ?
Well, negative interest rates are not a theoretical concept that has never been considered. First, they appeared with the CHF in Switzerland in 1971. The inflation rate was around 12% in 1973 ! Similarly, they were adopted with the JPY in the 90s during the Japan’s Banking crisis.
Overall, the purpose was to make the money less attractive in order to facilitate exports.
An excess of liquidity
Then, the different markets stumbled in the wave of the 2008 crisis. This pushed central banks to invade the markets with liquidity and QE to boost the economy. The goal was clear: encourage individuals and banks to invest in riskier assets. This has been combined with QE and it eventually worked… until the Covid crisis hit the markets. The ultimate consequence is a long-lasting inflation.
Indeed, there is not much that can be done with an excess of liquidity. For instance, central banks can reduce it by lending to other banks or by purchasing assets. Nonetheless, the liquidity always ends up in another bank.
Therefore, with negative interest rates, storing cash incurs a fee rather than earning interest. Consumers and banks have to pay interest in order to deposit money into an account.
Who benefits from Negative Interest Rates ?
With negative interest rates, commercial banks are charged interest to keep cash with a nation’s central bank, rather than receiving interest.
But this phenomenon does not apply to consumers and/or individual investors. Commercial banks are unwilling to charge them for deposit. It concerns another sphere of investors mostly banks, government agencies and governments in general.
What is currently happening ?
Negative interest rates are widely used nowadays. However, the context is changing because of inflation. Indeed, what follows a period of Quantitative easing is the phenomenon of Quantitative tightening.
It is a tool used by central banks to diminish the amount of liquidity in the economy. More specifically, the number of financial assets hold by central banks diminishes. They are sold into the financial markets. Thus, this spawns a decrease in asset prices and a raise of interest rates. Those « rate hikes » aim to slow the economy down and to decrease the high inflation level.
So, are negative interest rates that bad ? Well, it is far from being an ideal scenario as it fosters inflation. Nevertheless, for governments, this phenomenon enables them to not pay interests every time they issue a bond.
Is it a long-lasting phenomenon ? What is sure is that the lack of economic growth, especially from the Group of Seven (G7) is intertwined with the presence of negative interest rates.
What’s next ?
To put it in a nutshell, the main purpose of negative interest rates is clearly to avoid saving money and to push investors to invest. This is done when there is a need to boost the economy.
Now, our goal is to be able to model those interest rates. To do so, the focus will be made on Vasicek model. It is a model that has been frowned on for a long time as it permited rates to become negative. Given the current context provided in this article, it makes sense to learn more about it nowadays !
Credits: Photo by Maryna Yazbeck on Unsplash
|
<urn:uuid:c2224ab7-af28-4efd-881d-d18ca47a74c8>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-06
|
https://diggers-consulting.com/finance-de-marche/from-math-to-python-negative-interest-rates
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499470.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20230128023233-20230128053233-00681.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955877 | 1,318 | 3.5 | 4 | 2.899091 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Finance & Business
|
law of sines and cosines applications worksheet search result by word problems triangles worksheets doc 4.
solving right triangles worksheet answers word problems triangle trig.
area worksheets and perimeter word problems of triangles worksheet similar right triangle.
grade word problems worksheets perimeter worksheet 2 rounding and area of triangles 6 wo.
trigonometry word problems worksheets the best image triangles.
trig word problems worksheet worksheets solving right triangles free triangle trigonometry pdf w.
triangle word problems worksheet 1 practice problem and right with answers.
right triangles sin cos tan intro to trigonometry free worksheets library download and print on oblique triangle word problems worksheet trig 4.
grade math word problems worksheets problem for theorem proof students are right triangle trigonometry worksheet with answe.
collection of division word problems worksheets grade 2 download one family math similar figures solving additio.
right triangle trigonometry word problems worksheet with answers best poster reciprocal identities of related post.
trig word problems worksheet answers excel spreadsheet special right triangles answer key pr.
word problems worksheet answers statement letter similar right triangle figures with proportions and triangles wo.
trigonometry word problems worksheet download them and try to solve search result by right triangle trig trigonome.
solving right triangles word problems worksheet similar triangle.
similar triangles word problems worksheet checks activities figures worksheets triangle 4.
geometry similarity worksheet beautiful ratio tables sixth grade math of wonderfully similar triangles word right triang.
area of triangles worksheet by teachers pay triangle word problems worksheets original 1.
sponsored links trigonometry word problems worksheet similar triangles answer key trig of.
special right triangles word problems worksheet with answers triangle trigonometry graphics similar answer key w.
theorem word problems wo com coloring answers right triangles riddle practice rd worksheets worksheet using template monster area of triangle pdf.
small size a basic trigonometry worksheets activities right special triangles word problems worksheet answer key triangle problem.
how to solve a right triangle word problem worksheet inequality theorem problems of.
right triangle trigonometry word problems worksheet trig worksheets collection of math download them and ratios works.
theorem word problems worksheet problem solving area and perimeter of triangles.
worksheets trig word problems worksheet answers trigonometry problem solving right triangle with inequality theorem w.
best right triangles images on special word problems worksheet oblique triangle.
solving right triangles word problems worksheet similar triangle with proportions and.
similar figures word problems worksheet shared by triangles worksheets 1.
triangle sum theorem worksheet answers unique class maths word problems similar triangles worksheets of theore.
5 theorem word problems for table time similar triangles worksheets worksheet fresh on practice.
applying special right triangles worksheet fabulous similar word problems activities of lovely best geometry rig.
worksheet theorem problems word worksheets gallery for problem examples triangles product ms with ers math inde.
similar figures word problems worksheet the best worksheets image collection download and share area of rectangles tria.
honors ii answers to worksheet word problems right triangle trig similar rig.
|
<urn:uuid:dc1e7b98-ee9b-4434-9482-570cb4ab4292>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-51
|
http://prosib.info/triangle-word-problems-worksheets/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376823382.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20181210170024-20181210191524-00530.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.768066 | 678 | 3.28125 | 3 | 1.406263 | 1 |
Basic reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
How to Search Unstructured Text Spatially
Spatial Search and Unstructured Data
How often have you tried to search for a document using a place name that you “remember” being in the document? You can recall the document talked about California (for instance) but you just can’t find it. Why is this important? Most office based jobs require us to find information from document sources that we have already gathered. Some of that data may already be indexed and in a neat searchable database but it’s not always that simple. Sometimes it’s in unstructured text and not in a database. Perhaps it’s a news article, or in a company magazine or in a report. Searching the documents may be difficult, unless they are in electronic form and all in the same place. Even if the text has been indexed, finding a document with a reference to California can still be difficult. What happens if the document doesn’t contain the word California? Perhaps you remembered incorrectly. Maybe it referred to a specific place like Los Angeles or San Diego but you only remembered it as California?
Given 1,000 documents, how can you find all those documents that contain references to California? Well, Symilarity’s Helix Insight Engine can do this for you at scale.
1. Ingest Using Natural Language
Symilarity’s Helix search engine can ingest large quantities of documents containing unstructured text and create a searchable index. During this ingestion process, it can use Natural Language Processing (a type of machine learning) to decompose each sentence and extract key data, such as proper nouns and verbs. Proper nouns (sometimes called Entities) would include the names of people, businesses, or places.
This extracted data is placed in separate fields and also indexed to make it easier to find when searching.
Geocoding is the process of translating a place name into a geospatial position. For most of us geospatial position means latitude and longitude although there are other ways of stating it. Helix takes the extracted place names found during the ingestion process and uses an external geocoding service (Bing Maps or Google Maps) to deduce the latitude and longitude. It then stores that data in the index too. This means that every place name in every document has a set of coordinates that might be represented by pins on a map. A document containing references to London and New York would have 2 pins, one in London and one in New York but both pointing to the same document.
As we said earlier, if we were just looking for California (or London or New York), we could have just used text search and found the documents anyway. However, if the entries had been Hollywood, Chelsea or Manhattan, it might not have been so straight forward. If we wish to find all documents that reference California, London or New York, we would have to cover all the potential place names in those locations. This of course is completely impractical. Geocoding the extracted place names solves this problem.
3. Spatial Search
Spatial Search is a concatenation of the words “Spatial” and “Search”. The spatial component of the term is like filtering the list of results to include only results in a certain geographic area. The area might be described by a boundary (e.g. the state boundary of California) or more simply, by drawing a rectangle on a map and showing only the results falling within it. Helix enables all search results to be filtered by drawing a rectangular box around the area of interest (a so-called Bounding Box). The results provided will then only be those documents that refer to a location within the bounding box.
Helix ingests large quantities of documents containing unstructured text. It uses natural language processing (a form of machine learning) to identify and extract place names. Spatial coordinates are added to the extracted locations during ingestion using an external geocoding process. This enables documents to be shown on a map, based upon the locations contained in the document. Helix provides spatial search functionality enabling users to find results that only fall within a rectangular area drawn on the map. This means a document can still be found, even if you cannot remember the precise place name.
|
<urn:uuid:ad903ee6-1472-4959-a3cf-e6646797cbee>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-49
|
https://symilarity.ai/how-to-search-unstructured-text-spatially/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446711200.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20221207153419-20221207183419-00535.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.917046 | 900 | 3.1875 | 3 | 2.507835 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Software
|
Every religion has its own traditions, customs and ways of worship. In Christianity, there are three major places of worship, the church, chapel and cathedral. But people often use these terms, in general, to denote the place of worship for Christians without knowing the actual difference between the three. But all three of them have the difference in their structure of formation while the fundamentals remain the same.
Near the beginning of Christianity, the Jew residing in Israel worshipped in the temple in Jerusalem which was called as the “second temple”. They also worshipped every week in synagogues. The worship that was conducted in the temple included the ritual of sacrifice. These sacrifices were of animals made to the God in Israel.
The early synagogues (Jewish or Samaritan house of worship) were developed for worship during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews as they did not have any access to a temple for sacrifice. The Jews conducted a daily and weekly practice of Torah reading because they were constrained from going into a temple. This practice is even today carried out in a house or in some cases architectural settings are developed. These developments involve a residence being converted or even an old public building being converted. The minimum requirements for such developments is a proper seating for the worshippers along with a case for a Torah scroll and a slightly raised platform for the reader.
The church came into existence during the 4th century when the number of non-Israelites increased. Other developments like the reign of Constantine I with Christianity and the start of the state Church of the Roman Empire helped expand the concept of church worship.
What is a church?
All churches have one common point in their architectural formation which is that the architecture is shaped like a cross. The churches have a huge vault space in the interiors to represent heaven. It is represented by the domes of the church. Other important shapes include a circle that represents infinity and an octagon shape or a cross that represents the church as a source of light and positivity. There are two main types of churches- basilicas and cathedrals. Basilicas were initially the Roman public building but after the Roman Empire became Christian, it was referred to as a church which is the traditional site used by the Pope.
What is a Cathedral?
“Cathedral” is derived from the Latin word “
What is a Chapel?
Chapels are the most ancient Christian place of worship. These are a single independent building but are located in the form of a dedicated chamber inside a building. In these chambers, an individual or two can peacefully pray without joining any congregation. These are places for relaxation and people often come here in search of peace.
|
<urn:uuid:c6aa1103-9e97-4deb-862f-5d4317e93aa4>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-51
|
http://alldatmatterz.com/article/2892/what-is-the-difference-between-a-church-and-a-chapel
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376825098.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20181213193633-20181213215133-00613.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.981803 | 544 | 3.609375 | 4 | 2.014858 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Religion
|
November 4, 1995
Page A18 ||© 1995 San Francisco Chronicle|
San Francisco has celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and the founding of the United Nations, but now comes another remembrance: the 100th anniversary of the first radio signal beamed by inventor Guglielmo Marconi.
The radio transmission was one of the most significant inventions of the last century -- and the progenitor for the telecommunications revolution of this century.
In 1895, Marconi, an Italian electrical engineer and inventor, managed to successfully send a signal for a distance of more than a mile -- without the aid of a transmission wire.
His invention was called radiotelegraphy. The term was a combination of words stemming from radiant energy (proceeding in waves from a source, as in sound waves and light waves) and telegraphy (denoting transmission without wires).
Marconi's creation came to be known as ``wireless irradio'' and then simply ``radio.''
An extraordinary exhibit of early-days radio equipment will be on display this weekend only, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater on Lyon Street. It will be the only showing on the continent of the historic but seldom seen Cremona Collection -- featuring more than 100 rare and exquisite antique radio instruments and artifacts assembled by General Francesco Cremona, a retired veteran of the Italian Army Signal Corps and authority on the history of worldwide military communications.
San Francisco has been designated as the site for this prestigious collection because of Marconi's special relationship to the Bay Area and its role in the early development of radio technology.
Marconi conducted many of his pioneering experiments here, and so much of his important work was accomplished in the immediate Bay Area that the city of San Francisco granted him honorary citizenship in 1933 -- four years before his death.
Marconi first came to the Bay Area in 1899. He soon discovered that special atmospheric conditions made the Tomales Bay area in Marin county ideal for conducting experiments in long-distance radio signal transmission.
He set about building two transmitting stations, one in Bolinas, the other in Marshall. Completed in 1914, the stations, along with counterparts constructed in other key locations, successfully opened up instant communication among California and Hawaii, Japan, Europe and South America -- presaging the Bay Area as the heart of high-tech innovation more than half a century before the emergence of the Silicon Valley.
Hosted by the Italian Consulate General, the Italian National Research Council and the Amici Dell'Italia Foundation, the Marconi exhibit is the focal point of ``Settimana Italiana'' (Italian Week), and includes a special presentation to the mayor commemorating the unique relationship between Marconi and the city of San Francisco.
Other special events connected with Italian Week festivities are rare performances by the Teatro delle Briciole di Parma theater tonight at the Palace of Fine Arts and tomorrow afternoon and evening at the Zellerbach Theater in Berkeley.
|
<urn:uuid:2f5d6268-23c1-4724-9eb0-a5916bf96eb3>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-40
|
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/radio.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737899086.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221819-00231-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.935989 | 618 | 2.984375 | 3 | 2.533278 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
After the severe natural disasters that had happened over the past years, it’s becoming more and more important now to teach kids about them. If they didnt see those hazards on TV, the likelihood that they’ll see it or hear it elsewhere is very high. Moreover, since kids react in so many different ways, it is essential for parents to make their children feel they’re safe and explain to them those matters clearly. Your kids are probably tougher than you give them credit for. By talking to them about emergency situations, you can make them even more resilient. Unfortunately, natural disasters are here to stay, but we can prevent our children from panicking. Tell your kids about these 4 emergencies before they happen so they can understand the situation and recover from trauma sooner.
Tell Your Kids About Home Robberies
According to the FBI, there are about 2.2 million robberies in the United States last year. That equals one robbery every 15 seconds. Chances are pretty good that one day a burglar will break into your home.
Prepare your kids by explaining that most burglars only break in when no one is home. The thieves dont want to encounter any disruptions or problems. They just want to grab a few valuable items and run away as quickly as possible.
If your children want to know how you can protect them, give them the details of your home security system and other home protection strategies.
Make a Plan for House Fires
Between 2006 and 2010, fire fighters in the U.S. responded to nearly 372,000 house fires. Thats significantly lower than the number of robberies, but its also more likely that someone will get hurt during a fire than a robbery. That makes it important for you to tell your kids how to avoid house fires and what to do when they sense trouble.
Your familys plan should include:
- How to check for signs of a fire
- How to crawl under smoke to get out of the house
- Where to meet once you have escaped the fire
You can also talk to your local fire department for tips.
Explain the Likelihood of Earthquakes
If you live in an earthquake-prone area, then you should make sure your children understand how earthquakes happen. Taking a scientific approach gives you an opportunity to teach your children about the world while reducing unknown factors that could scare them during a tremble.
You also need to make sure your children know what to do when an earthquake happens. This could give them a sense of control so that makes them less fearful. Plus, it will teach them what to do so they dont get injured during the quake.
Help Your Children Understand Tornadoes
Emergency Preparedness for ChildrenEmergency Preparedness for Children
Tornadoes not only cause a lot of damage, they make a lot of noise in the process. That can scare anyone, no matter how prepared he is. Knowing more about tornadoes could help your children feel safer and take more control when they hear or see a tornado approach.
Teach your children to understand the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. It your area has a tornado watch, then conditions are suitable for tornadoes to develop, but none have been spotted.
If your area has a tornado warning, then a tornado has been spotted and your family should take the warning seriously.
What other emergency situations should children know about before they happen? Do you think teaching kids about these emergencies empowers them or gives them more to worry about?
|
<urn:uuid:e2f21622-5879-4f71-8f45-0413f00d1f58>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-47
|
http://epillinois.org/2017/05/19/emergency-preparedness-for-children/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039743282.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20181117040838-20181117062838-00117.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.964183 | 712 | 3.109375 | 3 | 2.451422 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Education & Jobs
|
Books remain supreme over audiobooks
By Kassidy Weber
Throughout the centuries, generations have passed down stories and information through the written word. As technology has progressed, different book forms have been invented to fit the latest generation, but traditional paper books still reign supreme.
When reading a hard-copy book, you can read at your own pace. While reading the words in your own head, it is easy to reread and reflect, allowing for a better understanding of what is happening in the story. It becomes a personal experience for the reader as the mind imagines the story right then and there. The images become projected in your mind, and every detail of the story becomes ever clearer. When you are listening to an audiobook you are not even reading the words itself. Reading the words help improve speech, writing, and vocabulary skills. You don’t get that practice with audiobooks.
Some may think that audiobooks help you read faster, but they don’t. Reading the story yourself is faster than being read to in a slow, boring, monotone voice. You can’t listen to an audiobook at a train station or school because you might miss important instructions with earbuds. It also makes it difficult to follow the story while being constantly distracted by the chaotic environment. Because of this, audiobooks take much longer to finish.
You can’t skim an audiobook which only makes it harder when you are searching for that specific line or phrase in a chapter when you are annotating for your classes or to better understand the book. With paper books, you’re able to mark the phrase or annotate your reading for notes and for a better understanding. Sometimes, people lend their books to others to share notes, but that interaction doesn’t work the same with audiobooks. With the freedom to mark or underline quotes or phrases, others can use that for their future reading.
Collecting audiobooks isn’t as simple as some may claim. Having an immeasurable library at your fingertips comes with a price. Generous amounts of storage are necessary to hold all the books you want, and there aren’t any features you can get for referencing notes and such. Physical books don’t require any of those additions. As long as there is enough shelf space, book lovers will make room. Books are always ready to be read, annotated and enjoyed at any time and place desired.
Books give more freedom for reading, and people aren’t limited by the restrictions and additional necessities of audiobooks. Reading a physical book will forever hold a special part in readers’ hearts that audiobooks can’t replace because the feeling of holding words is irreplaceable.
Audiobooks accommodate readers
By Kiley Brown
Audiobooks are one of many ways to appreciate a book. They have been around since 1955 and continue to become an increasingly common way for people to enjoy their books. For those who have trouble finding time to read, this is a good way to help finish any book. In today’s day and age, audiobooks are simply more practical.
Many people don’t have enough time in the day to actually sit down and read a book. Multitasking is easy while listening to an audiobook, whether you are driving or doing chores. Audiobooks are a great alternative to staring at pages and give more freedom to do other things when it comes to managing time. Listening, rather than reading, is more efficient.
Books can get damaged, lost and take up space on your shelves, but audiobooks are available at your fingertips. Almost everyone has a cell phone and a pair of earbuds, making audiobooks easily accessible, and a growing trend is the use of a smart speaker. According to Billboard, 18 percent of Americans own a smart speaker, which has increased from the only seven percent in 2017. The use of a smart speaker has become a household staple for many. You tell the speaker a command, such as opening your audiobook; within seconds you can pick up where you left off.
Audiobooks are a great way to feel more connected to the author and makes readers feel as if they are in the same room with people they’ve never met before. The comfort of a recognizable voice will easily hold the listener’s interest. Some celebrities do voiceovers for audiobooks they have written. For example, Shane Dawson, a multi-talented YouTuber, voiced his own audiobook, “I Hate Myselfie: A Collection of Essays,” debuting at No. 1 on The New Times Best Seller list in the Paperback Nonfiction category.
If you click on any YouTube video, you will most likely find one of the many YouTubers that promote Audible, the largest audiobook seller in the world. Although it seems like it’s been around forever, Audible only came out in July of 2016. The company sells audiobooks at $14.95 per month for 12 books a year. However, it is not the only audiobook distributor out there. Google Play brought audiobooks to the Play store in January; Android brought Kindle in 2007.
According to Pew Research Center, 23 percent of 18-23 year olds listen to audiobooks in 2018, and with technology advancing every day, that number is bound to increase. The next time you check out the library or browse the app store, consider picking up an audiobook or downloading a new app.
|
<urn:uuid:0903d82c-e7e8-4a2e-be4c-580ad813ad0b>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-39
|
http://www.coronadocougars.net/blog/2018/12/14/books-hardcopy-or-audio/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514573065.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20190917081137-20190917103137-00111.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.951553 | 1,153 | 2.546875 | 3 | 2.067152 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Literature
|
I have a confession to make: I cringe each time I hear someone say they practice tolerance. Being a full supporter of equal rights for LGBTQ+ people, wouldn’t I be happy to hear people “practice tolerance”? Why would I have that inner reaction?
I might “tolerate” bad weather, someone cursing, loud music in a peaceful park, or rude drivers. Each of these has negative impact which might require tolerance. Someone being a part of the LGBTQ+ community does not have a negative impact on me, and thus there is nothing for me to “tolerate”.
Am I merely not understanding the meaning of the word? I checked with Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tolerance).
First definition: “capacity to endure pain or hardship: ENDURANCE, FORTITUDE, STAMINA” (capitalization theirs). When I work with someone who identifies as LGBTQ+, I’m certainly not thinking about how I have to “endure” them! Having people who are different is a benefit, not a hardship.
Second definition, part a: “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own”. In no way do I feel like I am “indulging” LGBTQ+ people because their “practices differ from or conflict with” mine. We are all different; I no more have to “indulge” someone for being in that group than someone who has different colored eyes or hair than I do, or whom prefers a different flavor of ice cream. There is no need for sympathy or to “indulge” them for being different than me. To the contrary I am happy to embrace diversity.
Second definition, part b: “the act of allowing something: TOLERATION”. I most certainly don’t “allow” someone to be lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, etc. any more than they “allow” me to be straight. They simply are who they are and I am who I am. Nothing to tolerate either way.
Third definition, “the allowable deviation from a standard”. “Standard” according to whom? It is not “standard” to fit all common “categories” — and if someone was normal in all ways that in itself would be non-standard.
None of the definitions of “tolerance” seem to fit the idea of acceptance, and yet it is often used.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) talks about tolerance in multiple mission statement examples. https://www.aclu.org/other/gsa-mission-statement-examples
November 16th is the International Day For Tolerance. https://www.un.org/en/events/toleranceday/index.shtml
There’s a website on Teaching Tolerance. https://www.tolerance.org
The U.N. has “Declaration of Principles on Tolerance”, which is interesting to read and may be key as to why tolerance has been used with LGBTQ+ people. There they have their own definition of tolerance!
Regardless of how the U.N. defines tolerance, most dictionaries seem to agree with Merriam-Webster and the word certainly carries the connotation of tolerating something that is bad or annoying.
Wouldn’t it be better to use the word inclusive? Again back to Merriam-Webster: “including everyone especially: allowing and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, or ability)”. (Italics theirs) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inclusive
Tolerance or inclusive, what do you think?
Anne & Michael Glasser make a great writing team. Anne likes to write and Michael is a fantastic editor! Bilby, Michael’s pocket bear, is the Editor in Chief! They have two magnificent teens who are constantly teaching them how to make this world a better place, and they are listening.
|
<urn:uuid:78d01851-fa0c-4d9b-bedc-dddfc4f7fa7b>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-05
|
https://az-gycc.org/2020/09/is-tolerance-a-good-thing/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320304872.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220125190255-20220125220255-00152.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938877 | 946 | 2.78125 | 3 | 2.653856 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Politics
|
Measuring brain activity with precision is essential to developing further understanding of diseases such as epilepsy and disorders that affect brain function and motor control. Neural probes with high spatial resolution are needed for both recording and stimulating specific functional areas of the brain. Now, researchers from the Graphene Flagship have developed a new device for recording brain activity in high resolution while maintaining excellent signal to noise ratio (SNR). Based on graphene field-effect transistors, the flexible devices open up new possibilities for the development of functional implants and interfaces.
The Graphene Flagship’s Biomedical Technologies Work Package explores the use of graphene and related materials in biomedical implant devices such as neural implants for recording and stimulating electrical activity, and targeted drug delivery. Graphene’s biocompatibility, chemical stability and flexibility – alongside its excellent electrical properties – make it attractive for use in medical devices. “Mechanical compliance is an important requirement for safe neural probes and interfaces,” said Jose Antonio Garrido, who led the research at ICN2. “Currently, the focus is on ultra-soft materials that can adapt conformally to the brain surface.”
The research, published in 2D Materials, was a collaborative effort involving Flagship partners Technical University of Munich (TU Munich; Germany), Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS; Spain), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC; Spain), The Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN; Spain) and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2; Spain).
Measuring Brain Activity
The devices were used to record the large signals generated by pre-epileptic activity in rats, as well as the smaller levels of brain activity during sleep and in response to visual light stimulation. These types of activities lead to much smaller electrical signals, and are at the level of typical brain activity. The graphene transistor probes showed excellent performance, with a high SNR and good spatial discrimination of the brain activity.
Neural activity is detected through the electric fields generated when neurons fire. These fields are highly localised, so having ultra-small measuring devices that can be densely packed is important for accurate brain readings. The graphene-based probes are competitive with state-of-the-art platinum electrode arrays and have the benefits of intrinsic signal amplification and a better signal-to-noise performance when scaled down to very small sizes. This will allow for more densely packed and higher resolution probes, vital for precision mapping of brain activity. The inherent amplification property of the transistor also removes the need for a preamplification close to the probe – a requirement for metal electrodes.
Graphene Neural Probes
The neural probes are placed directly on the surface of the brain, so safety is of paramount importance for the development of graphene-based neural implant devices. “Graphene is one of the few materials that allows recording in a transistor configuration and simultaneously complies with all other requirements for neural probes such as flexibility, biocompability and chemical stability.” said Benno Blaschke of TU Munich, first author of the research. Importantly, the researchers determined that the graphene-based probes are non-toxic, and did not induce any significant inflammation. Graphene-containing implants should be long-lasting and safe – key characteristics of long-term therapeutic devices.
An array of 16 graphene-based transistors, each with an active area less than the cross section of a human hair, are arranged on a flexible substrate to form the probe. “Although graphene is ideally suited for flexible electronics, it was a great challenge to transfer our fabrication process from rigid substrates to flexible ones,” said Blaschke. “The next step is to optimize the wafer-scale fabrication process and improve device flexibility and stability.”
Future Implant Technology
This work represents a first step towards the use of graphene in research as well as clinical neural devices, showing that graphene-based technologies can deliver the high resolution and high SNR needed for these applications. “Graphene neural interfaces have shown already a great potential, but we have to improve on the yield and homogeneity of the device production in order to advance towards a real technology,” said Garrido, who is also the Deputy of the Graphene Flagship Biomedical Technologies work package. “Once we have demonstrated the proof of concept in animal studies, the next goal will be to work towards the first human clinical trial with graphene devices during intraoperative mapping of the brain. This means addressing all regulatory issues associated to medical devices such as safety, biocompatibility, etc.”
Devices implanted in the brain as neural prosthesis for therapeutic brain stimulation technologies and interfaces for sensory and motor devices, such as artificial limbs, are an important goal for improving quality of life for patients. Andrea Ferrari, Science and Technology Officer and Chair of the Management Panel of the Graphene Flagship, added “We are pleased to see this promising result from the newly formed work-package on Biomedical Technologies. This was created to exploit the short and long term potential of graphene and related materials in this high growth area, with great potential benefits for society.”
SOURCE: Graphene Flagship
|
<urn:uuid:5f81c658-47be-49a3-84ec-322b282d1f30>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-14
|
https://www.rdworldonline.com/graphene-based-neural-probe-probes-brain-activity-in-high-resolution/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943637.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20230321064400-20230321094400-00545.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.936953 | 1,109 | 2.65625 | 3 | 2.925062 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
This is a guest post by my friend Lamar Hull of inspirationalbasketball.com who is dedicated to provide great content for young players, parents and coaches to improve in the game of basketball. Parents and coaches around the world face a great challenge in motivating young kids to continue training basketball for many years and Lamar shows us a proven way to do that. I hope you enjoy it:
Playing sports is a terrific way to teach children so many life lessons. They learn teamwork, the value of hard work, the joy of winning, how to deal with defeat, confidence, and independence. Amazing how all of these things can be learned by playing a sport, but it does happen. The growth and development of each child is amazing to watch. The hard work of playing sports as a child may prove to be a benefit in the present and in the future.
Motivating young kids to play basketball and really enjoy the game can seem tricky. This is especially true if the child becomes bored too quickly, feels as though he/she cannot master the sport, or simply refuses to practice. The question becomes, how can the child be motivated?
According to Lamar Hull, as a parent, coach, or other adult in the child’s life, you want the child to succeed without seeming pushy. After all, most children do not respond to demands and pushiness. Plus, you want the child to have fun and really enjoy playing basketball.
For starters, express praise for the hard work and great job on the court. Children like to know that they are doing well. They want to impress their peers and the adults around them. Hearing “good job” or “ great work” and similar comments will help them realize that they are doing well. This is especially true when the child has really been working hard and practicing. The child needs to see that the practicing is paying off. This is what kept me going as a young kid. I started to perform better; I was being praised of my success, so this helped motivate me to continue to work hard when nobody was looking.
Support, encouragement, and the constant reminder that every player is important to the team’s success will help players realize that they are needed in order for the team to win. It also may encourage the hard work to reach the team’s goal. While this may help, there are more tips and pointers to keep kids enjoying the sport while teaching self-motivation.
Practice is important and vital to strengthening skills and becoming a better athlete, yet this is a difficult time to keep all of the players motivated and focused. There are some basketball drills that reinforce hard work, motivate players to participate, and encourage the players to focus. The following is a drill to consider during the next practice.
One fun drill to try is a shooting drill. Begin by first dividing the team into separate teams. Each team will stand behind one of the basketball hoops, so that the teams are facing each other across the basketball court. Each player on both teams is assigned a number. Keep in mind that both teams are assigned the same numbers so that one player from each team has the same number. Two basketballs are placed in the middle of the court, or, to make the drill a little harder, one basketball can be placed in the center of the court. The coach then shouts a number. The two children from each team who were assigned that particular number will race to the middle of the basketball court in an attempt to grab the basketball, dribble it back to his/her basket, and make a shot. One point is rewarded for reaching the basketball first, and one point is rewarded for scoring first. Once a shot is actually made, the players return to their team and another number is called.
These types of team and individual drills that are fun but competitive will continue to motivate a child to practice on their game more in addition to praise and compliments.
About the Author: Lamar Hull is a former Davidson College basketball player who had the opportunity to play alongside of Stephen Curry and play professional basketball overseas in the United Kingdom. Lamar currently is establishing a youth basketball website called Inspirational Youth Basketball. The purpose of his site is to provide professional and college drills and tips for parents, players and coaches. You can follow Lamar on Twitter @lamarhull20.
|
<urn:uuid:c16b50bb-9b2d-438e-8afe-dde8c35fd804>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-07
|
http://www.basketballismypassion.com/motivating-young-kids-to-practice-basketball/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701169261.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193929-00300-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.977389 | 882 | 2.578125 | 3 | 2.095156 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Sports & Fitness
|
I participated in a contest on the Facebook page of Ladies Learning Code – Montreal Chapter, and won a pair of tickets to attend the preview of Hidden Figures or Figures of the Shadow! Since I had the chance to watch this film before it was released in Canada and the United States, I felt that I was going to share my appreciation of this film.
This film is about the life of African-American and mathematician Katherine Johnson as well as two of her colleagues, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. They helped NASA gain ground in the Race to Space. Using their calculations, John Glenn became the first American astronaut to perform a complete orbit of the Earth.
Review of Hidden Figures
There are many elements of the period of segregation that I had forgotten over the years. Do you remember that the African-Americans had to use the toilets assigned to them, sit in their section at the back of the classroom and did not participate in the important meetings with the white men? They could not even borrow the same books as the whites from the neighborhood library …
This film moved me to the highest point. It is not a sad film, on the contrary, it is a film full of hope. But twice I had tears in my eyes when I saw what black women were dealing with at the time.
The main actresses are all very talented. The three women work for NASA. Mary Jackson is a mathematician and aerospace engineer. She campaigned to be accepted at the University of Virginia to move from being a mathematician to being an engineer. This university was for the whites, so she had to beg a judge from the city of Virginia to be granted the right to attend evening classes.
Katherine Johnson is a physicist and mathematician who is widely recognized for her contribution to NASA. She calculated the trajectories of the shuttle Apollo 11, with John Glenn on board. As for her, Dorothy Vaughan is a mathematician who was the first African-American woman to be a supervisor at NASA.
Thus, the film takes place in the 60s and we follow the evolution of their personal life, but especially the careers of the three women. I won’t tell you any more details as I don’t want to say spoilers.
It’s a movie I’ll remember. I advised all my entourage to go to see it!
Buy the movie
If you want to buy the movie on Amazon, you can do so through my affiliate link! All the commissions I earned are used to support my blog and my content. Thank you in advance!
I have only good words for this striking film. And you, did you see the film? What do you think of that? If not, will you see it?
|
<urn:uuid:1d997f32-0699-4cc3-921b-c9ab564683c3>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-43
|
https://girlknowstech.com/hidden-figures/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587606.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20211024204628-20211024234628-00585.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979262 | 549 | 2.578125 | 3 | 2.229702 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Entertainment
|
Although immortality literally means “not mortal,” its more specific and commonly used meaning refers to a conscious entity, or a part of that conscious entity, not being subject to non-existence by death and eternally existing, in whole or in part, once it exists. Some immortal entities, such as God or gods, are believed to have always existed and are not subject to death. All known animals, including humans, however, are mortal—meaning, in the least, their physical body dies. Numerous philosophies and theologies, however, maintain that the death of the body does not entail the nonexistence of conscious entity, in whole or in part. If the part of the conscious entity (e.g., life force, energy, or atoms) that continues to exist does not also confer and maintain personal identity then such immortality is said to be metaphysically thin. If, however, the conscious entity maintains its personal identity such immortality is said to metaphysically thick. In philosophy of religion, it is the latter that has received the lion’s share of attention: specifically how it can be conceived that an individual (human) person can continue to exist beyond the death of the physical body in such a way that she not only retains personhood but also her unique identity.
Several options from various philosophical and religious traditions have been offered as to how a human individual can survive her own death; these include reincarnation, resurrection (of the body), disembodied soul, and ethereal (astral) body. Reincarnation, also known as transmigration of the soul, has the longest philosophical legacy, and was the type of immortality favored since at least the time of Pythagoras, and accepted by Socrates (through his mouthpiece, Plato). In this tradition, some type of identity conferring essence (e.g., soul) of the person is said to continue to exist after death and be reborn into another mortal body (with some exceptions) in perpetuity. Resurrection of the body is the official doctrine of Christianity. This doctrine states that once an individual dies (immediately or at some future time) God will resurrect (and perfect) the individual in his entirety. This resurrected individual (including the body) will never die again, and thus is immortal. The idea of humans continuing to exist after the death of the physical body as a disembodied soul has been discussed in philosophy since at least the time of Plato, but the ideas major exegesis did not come until Descartes. Descartes argued that he was “a thing that thinks” (i.e., a thinking thing, a mind) and that this thing was his soul. This soul was an immaterial substance and immortal and separated from the physical body at the time of death. Whether or not the soul was ever again joined with a physical body was irrelevant. The essence of a person, and his identity, was his soul, and his soul alone. The ethereal (astral) body hypothesis has largely been ignored in philosophy, but is perhaps best represented in mythologies, folk tales, religious representations, literature and movies. It is the idea that a person continues to exist after their physical death as some sort of ghostly, supernatural immortal apparition that is still in some way recognizable as the deceased individual.
The question of immortality is closely tied to questions of personhood and personal identity. Can a person be essentialized to one or more characteristics that maintain personhood and their identity? To what extent is a body necessary for both personhood and identity? If a person is resurrected, is it the same person or a replica of the original person? What (if any) identity conferring properties can be used to positively identify a person who has been reincarnated, resurrected, disembodied, or ethereal?
Immortality also plays an important role in other areas of philosophy of religion, including the problem of evil and subsequent theodicies. For instance, why would an all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful being (e.g., God) create beings that would suffer death? Does the death of the physical body serve a divine purpose? Why would the knowledge that humans are immortal be hidden from them? Are immortal persons rewarded or punished eternally for their actions during their Earthly life? If so, is that just?
The idea that humans and other beings are immortal has largely been taken for granted for most of the history of philosophy. With the rise of skepticism and atheism in the Modern Era forward, however, arguments for and against immortality have become more and more logically complex, and little is taken for granted.
- Fission and Split Brains (95)
- Dissociative Identity Disorder (79)
- Brain Transplants (6)
- Mind Uploading (13)
- Thought Experiments in Personal Identity (22)
- Puzzle Cases in Personal Identity, Misc (12)
- Afterlife (1,400 | 949)
- Resurrection (164)
- Personal Identity, Misc (460)
- Reincarnation (45)
- Philosophy of Religion (51,765)
- Divine Eternity (74)
Using PhilPapers from home?
Create an account to enable off-campus access through your institution's proxy server.
Monitor this page
Be alerted of all new items appearing on this page. Choose how you want to monitor it:
David Bourget (Western Ontario)
David Chalmers (ANU, NYU)
Rafael De Clercq
Jack Alan Reynolds
Learn more about PhilPapers
|
<urn:uuid:4cd8e050-6435-495f-aec7-854c65ce628e>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-22
|
http://philpapers.org/browse/immortality
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207929561.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113209-00228-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.944351 | 1,136 | 3.25 | 3 | 2.935562 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Literature
|
I intend to and another categories in my blog, is about my country Malaysia. Well everyone should be proud of their country. We have different kind of races like Malay, Chinese, Indian and Punjabi. Every race had a different culture..will post it one by one.
First I’m going to tell you about M’sia culture..over all….
The Culture of Malaysia draws on the varied cultures of the different peoples of Malaysia. The first people to live in the area were indigenous tribes that still remain; they were followed by the Malays, who moved there from mainland Asia in ancient times. Chinese and Indian cultural influences made their mark when trade began with those countries, and increased with immigration to Malaysia. Other cultures that heavily influenced that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic, and British. The many different ethnicities that currently exist in Malaysia have their own unique and distinctive cultural identities, with some crossover.
Arts and music have a long tradition in Malaysia, with Malay art dating back to the Malay sultanates. Traditional art was centred around fields such as carving, silver smithing, and weaving. Islamic taboos restricted artwork depicting humans until the mid-20th century. Performing arts and shadow puppet shows are popular, and often show Indian influences. Various influences can be seen in architecture, from individual cultures in Malaysia and from other countries. Large modern structures have been built, including the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, . Malaysian music has a variety of origins, and is largely based around percussion instruments. Much early Malaysian literature was based on Indian epics, which remained unchanged even as Malays converted to Islam; this has expanded in recent decades. English literature remained restricted to the higher class until the arrival of the printing press. Locally created Chinese and Indian literature appeared in the 19th century.
Cuisine is often divided along ethnic lines, but some dishes exist which have mixed foods from different ethnicities. Each major religious group has its major holy days declared as official holidays. Official holidays differ by state; the most widespread one is Hari Merdeka, which celebrates the independence of Malaya. Although festivals often stem from a specific ethnic background, they are celebrated by all people in Malaysia. Traditional sports are popular in Malaysia, while it has become a powerhouse in international sports such as badminton. Malaysia hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998, the first Commonwealth Games where the torch passed through more countries than England and the host.
The Malaysian government has taken the step of defining Malaysian Culture through the “1971 National Culture Policy”, which defined what was considered official culture, basing it around Malay culture and integrating Islamic influences. This especially affected language; only Malay texts are considered official cultural texts. Government control over the media is strong, and most media outlets are related to the government in some way.
Malaysia is a multi–ethnic, multicultural, and multilingual society, and the many ethnic groups in Malaysia maintain separate cultural identities. The society of Malaysia has been described as “Asia in miniature”. The original culture of the area stemmed from its indigenous tribes, along with the Malays who moved there in ancient times. Substantial influence exists from the Chinese and Indian cultures, dating back to when trade with those countries began in the area. Other cultures that heavily influenced that of Malaysia include Persian, Arabic, and British. The structure of the government, along with the racial balance of power caused by the idea of a social contract, has resulted in little incentive for the cultural assimilation of ethnic minorities in Malaya and Malaysia.The government has historically made little distinction between “Malay culture” and “Malaysian culture”.
Heads from old headhunting practices in a Kadazan house in Sabah
The Malays, who account for over half the Malaysian population play a dominant role politically and are included in a grouping identified as bumiputra. Their native language, Bahasa Malaysia, is the national language of the country.By definition of the Malaysian constitution, all Malays are Muslims. The Orang Asal, the earliest inhabitants of Malaya, formed only 0.5 percent of the total population in Malaysia in 2000,but represented a majority in East Malaysia. In Sarawak, most of the non-Muslim indigenous groups are classified as Dayaks, and they constitute about 40 percent of the population in the state. Many tribes have converted to Christianity. The 140,000 Orang Asli, or aboriginal peoples, comprise a number of different ethnic communities living in peninsular Malaysia.
The Chinese have been settling in Malaysia for many centuries, and form the second-largest ethnic group. The first Chinese to settle in the Straits Settlements, primarily in and around Malacca, gradually adopted elements of Malaysian culture and intermarried with the Malaysian community and with this, a new ethnic group called emerged, the Peranakan (“Straits Chinese”). These Chinese have adopted Malay traditions while maintaining elements of Chinese culture such as religion The more common dialects of Chinese spoken in Peninsular Malaysia are Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, and Foochow.
The Indian community in Malaysia is the smallest of the three main ethnic groups, accounting for about 10 percent of the country’s population. They speak a variety of South Asian languages. Tamils, Malayalees, and Telugu people make up over 85 percent of the people of Indian origin in the country. Indian immigrants to Malaysia brought with them the Hindu and Sikh cultures. This included temples and Gurdwaras, cuisine, and clothing. Hindu tradition remains strong in the Indian community of Malaysia. A community of Indians who have adopted Malay cultural practices also exists in Malacca. Though they remain Hindu, the Chitties speak Bahasa Malaysia and dress and act as Malays.
Some Eurasians of mixed European and Malay descent live in Malaysia. A small community in Malacca are descendants of former Portuguese colonists who married Malay women. While they have adopted Malay culture, they speak their own language and are Catholics.
Each ethnic group has its own underlying culture that separates it from the others, and they have achieved different levels of integration. The Chinese have integrated with Malay culture in a number of areas, including parts of Terrenganu, and they form Malayanised groups such as the Baba Chinese in Malacca and the Sino-Kadazan of Sabah. Their years under combined British rule brought some joint sense of identity to all the ethnic groups, with English ideas and ideals providing some unifying features. A joint Malaysian culture can be seen in the symbiosis of the cultures of the people within it
|
<urn:uuid:b8ff630b-0b66-4e4f-a6e2-ab253ec013f3>
|
CC-MAIN-2014-15
|
https://daphnegan.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/malaysia-culture/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609538022.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005218-00285-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.960032 | 1,382 | 2.78125 | 3 | 2.881126 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
By Bryan Stevens
Two recent summer bird counts emphasized some of the more commonplace birds in the region. While American robins and European starlings were extremely abundant, these two birds are permanent residents and are present year-round. A few other summer songbirds also helped swell the ranks of some of the seasonally common birds. For instance, the Unicoi County Summer Bird Count found a total of 141 indigo buntings while the Elizabethton Summer Bird Count tallied 82 of these little blue beauties. Both of these Northeast Tennessee surveys are conducted by members of the Lee and Lois Herndon Chapter of Tennessee Ornithological Society.
The indigo bunting likes to reside in the boundary region where forests and woodlands meet fields and pastures. Personally, the indigo bunting has always been a bird that is suggestive of the long, hot days of summer. One of my earliest and still quite vivid birding memories is a recollection of a shockingly blue bird atop a blue spruce tree in my yard. Several decades later, the tree is no longer standing, but these beautiful birds — I now know these summer visitors were indigo buntings — return year after year to my yard and gardens.
These birds usually arrive in the region in late April and I’ve seen them in late October, although most indigo buntings have left the region by late September.
Male indigo buntings are persistent singers, and in the past couple of weeks one very enthusiastic male has been singing even during the hottest hours of recent July afternoons. The preference of this small songbird is to sing from the tops of tall trees. They are often concealed by the green leaves. When I do get a glimpse of the obscured songster, often all I see is a dark shape silhouetted against the bright sky. Sometimes, if he plunges from the upper branches into the woodland understory, I get that telltale glimpse of blue feathers.
The indigo bunting is the only solid blue bird in the eastern United States. It’s all an illusion, of course. The indigo bunting’s feathers are not really blue. The male’s brilliant azure plumage is caused by the process of refraction. This process absorbs all but blue light, which explains why the indigo bunting appears blue. In bright light, it can even look unnaturally vivid blue. In poor light, however, an indigo bunting male can appear black. Fortunately, indigo buntings have both a characteristic body shape and song, so even if the birds are not seen at their best, they can still be recognized.
Like many species of songbirds, the male is by far the most colorful. In this instance, the male is also responsible for the species’ name. Indigo is a blue dye that was once an important crop in the South. The drab female may boast some blue highlights in her plumage. Juvenile birds just out of the nest also resemble the female. Pay close attention to any indigo buntings you observe as summer progresses. Juvenile birds will look mostly brown with just a hint of blue in the wings and the tail. These will be the young buntings that were hatched this spring and early summer. They will often accompany their parents to feeders.
Indigo buntings are particularly fun birds to observe in late summer. Although some books indicate that males are not very active in rearing young, I have on numerous occasions witnessed male buntings feeding fledglings at feeders. Indigo bunting juveniles, like the young of many other birds, beg for tidbits from parents by “bowing,” spreading their wings and shivering. These actions usually prompt a parent to pop some morsel into an impatient youngster’s open bill. Indigo buntings are relatively easy to view. They frequent weedy fields and roadside brush. During the breeding season, males can also be seen singing from prominent perches. The song, a distinctive jumble of notes, can help observers find these dedicated singers.
The male indigo bunting is one of the most colorful birds to visit feeders in the region. This species is also extremely fond of millet seed. I like to have some feeders stocked with millet when the buntings begin to return each spring. They will also feed on thistle and sunflower seeds. Away from our feeders, they also devour plenty of seeds from various noxious weeds. Because of the indigo bunting’s appetite for the seeds of destructive weeds, it is considered a very beneficial bird.
One of the most attractive summer scenes is to observe American goldfinches and indigo buntings feeding together on the nodding heads of summer sunflowers. The goldfinch males, resplendent in their bright yellow and black plumage, compete with the blue indigo bunting males for the fresh sunflower seeds. When bright red male Northern cardinals join in, observers have a complete artists’s palette for summer viewing.
The indigo bunting will usually respond to human squeaks that imitate a bird’s call. When a flock or family group of buntings are disturbed by a human observer, they usually begin a chorus of alarmed “chipping.”
As I indicated earlier, indigo buntings remain in the region until late September. Although this bird typically winters in Mexico, Panama and the Caribbean, in recent decades some indigo buntings have only gone as far south as Florida to spend the winter. There in the Sunshine State, the indigo buntings may mingle with a close relative, the splendidly multi-colored painted bunting. I usually see these vibrant songbirds whenever I visit coastal South Carolina in spring or summer. Male painted buntings are probably one of the most colorful birds in the United States with hues of red, green, purple and blue in their feathers.
Other North American buntings include the snow bunting, the lazuli bunting and the lark bunting, which is also the official state bird for Colorado. Some of the common but descriptive names for some of the world’s other buntings include striolated bunting, cinnamon-breasted bunting, cinereous bunting, white-capped bunting, lark-like bunting, ochre-rumped bunting, golden-breasted bunting, chestnut-bunting, red-headed bunting, yellow bunting, little bunting, brown-rumped bunting, meadow bunting, corn bunting and crested bunting.
Keep your feeders stocked with millet and sunflower seeds if you want to increase your chances of seeing indigo buntings. They will need some dependable places to re-fuel and rest during their upcoming fall migration.
|
<urn:uuid:59f48d29-b827-4d10-b340-2c6965bab5b3>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-27
|
https://www.erwinrecord.net/community-news/feathered-friends-indingo-bunting-one-of-summers-songbirds/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104141372.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220702131941-20220702161941-00489.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.952388 | 1,420 | 2.890625 | 3 | 1.941301 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Working with Sounds (Phonological Awareness)
Why This is Important
Phonological awareness prepares children’s ears for manipulating words and sounds. It includes identifying and making oral rhymes, clapping out the number of syllables in a word, and recognizing words with the same initial sounds like mom and make.
Goals for Strong Readers
- Recognize rhyming words and create rhyming word pairs (top/pop).
- Tell the first and last sound they hear in a word.
- Show how many sounds are in a word using their fingers (cat = c-a-t = 3 sounds).
- Tell the number of words they hear in a sentence.
Use magazine pictures, online images, or everyday household items (furniture, kitchen items, foods in refrigerator, toys, etc.) to play “I Spy” with your child, but instead of naming a color, say, I spy something that rhymes with _________. Take turns with your child playing the game. Encourage the use of nonsense words as rhyming clues.
More Activities and Games
Say a sentence aloud to your child with no more than 7 words. Ask your child to count and determine how many words are in the sentence. Check your child’s answer by having him or her clap the number of words in the sentence.
Create a list of 5-10 words before the activity (child should not view the list of words; this is for parent’s reference). Give your child clues one at a time, describing the initial sound in the word (onset) and the vowel and final sounds (rime), like r-ug. Once your child understands how to play, take turns giving the clues. Examples:
- It begins with the /r/ sound and rhymes with bug. (rug)
- It begins like bed and ends like rest. (best)
- It ends with /op/ and begins like tool. (top)
- Gather some small items such as pennies, pom-poms, or different colored blocks.
- Think of a simple word such as chat and push one item toward your child while making each sound in the word: ch – a – t
- Ask your child to put the sounds together and tell you what word you just said. Example: What word am I saying, ch – a – t? Answer: chat
- After your child can successfully blend the sounds together, ask your child to break words apart into their separate sound. Example: What are the sounds in chat? Answer: ch – a – t
- Sample words for this activity: chat, mit, truck, shut, cat, met
|
<urn:uuid:c7b01255-928e-4190-b820-772cd96106c9>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-25
|
https://strongreadersms.com/kindergarten/k-phonologicalawareness/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487621699.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20210616001810-20210616031810-00169.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.919036 | 557 | 4.1875 | 4 | 1.472066 | 1 |
Basic reasoning
|
Education & Jobs
|
Animals and Plants
Species richness in North Macedonia
The fact that the Balkan country has a relatively small population favors the growth of rare species. Together with the different climatic zones of the country, this enables the preservation of many plants and above all their survival in the isolated habitats.
The Macedonian government is now aware of this wealth and has since protected nature in three large national parks. It is believed that more than 3500 plant species grow in Macedonia. That’s a lot for such a small country.
What is growing in North Macedonia?
There are many rare plants in North Macedonia, including many medicinal plants. Herbs, spices and berries are also of great use to the people of the country.
Pomegranates, mirabelle plums and peaches are also grown. The five-needle Rumelian pine is particularly rare. This grows on the slopes in the Pelister National Park in North Macedonia. Pine, beech and oak grow more frequently.
Which animals live in Macedonia?
Many foxes, chamois and wild boars live in the forests of Macedonia. But game such as deer and roe deer can also be found there. In the pristine parts of the Macedonian forests you can also run into a wolf or a bear. The lynx that can be found in the Sarbergs are even rarer.
Bird species such as cormorants and pelicans can be found near the waters of Macedonia. These are under species protection. Of course you can also watch eagles and falcons in the mountains. There are also snakes in Macedonia, including a few poisonous species. The tortoises are an interesting sight and can be seen along the way, even in inhabited areas in the country.
Economic situation in North Macedonia
Even when North Macedonia was still part of Yugoslavia, the country had a very weak economy. Since independence in 1991, efforts have been made to encourage more foreign companies to invest in North Macedonia and so increase economic growth.
Foreign companies are deterred by the corruption in the country. They also complain that the legal situation in North Macedonia is insufficient, which would pose a risk. In addition, a lot of money is squandered by the government on stately government buildings or monuments instead of, for example, investing it in the infrastructure of the country, where it is needed much more.
According to mathgeneral, many people in North Macedonia have no jobs. It is estimated that 23 out of 100 people are unemployed. This rate is even more extreme for young people. Here one can assume that even half of them have no job and cannot earn any money. In addition, certain groups of the population are still discriminated against in the labor market. This includes women or members of the Roma.
North Macedonia is heavily dependent on imports because it cannot meet the needs of its own people itself. As a result, however, it has to go into debt because the country’s purchasing power is low. Above all, energy resources, vehicles, machines and oil are urgently needed. However, Macedonia can only export, i.e. sell to other countries, iron, steel, textiles, tobacco and wine. In other areas the competition is too great.
Important economic sectors
Half of North Macedonia can be used for agriculture. That is why around 17 out of 100 people work in agriculture. There are actually a lot more people working in this area, but they are not included because they only grow for their own use. There is nothing left for these people to sell, as there is hardly enough for their own families.
Other sectors of the economy are industry and mining, even if both areas are shrinking. In contrast, the area of services increased. Around 63 out of 100 people work here in North Macedonia. The tourism industry is also trying to expand.
|
<urn:uuid:013db2d2-69ac-4799-9977-27fb4efa0a87>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-40
|
https://www.ehotelat.com/macedonia-wildlife-and-economy/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337473.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004023206-20221004053206-00211.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.971272 | 792 | 3 | 3 | 2.556842 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
This study deals with the fabrication of composite matrix from saw dust (SD) and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at different ratio (w/w) by flat-pressed method. The wood plastic composites (WPCs) were made with a thickness of 6 mm after mixing the saw dust and PET in a rotary type blender followed by flat press process. Physical i.e., density, moisture content (MC), water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS), and mechanical properties i.e., Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR) were assessed as a function of mixing ratios according to the ASTM D-1037 standard. WA and TS were measured after 24 hours of immersion in water at 25, 50 and 75°C temperature. It was found that density decreased 18.3% when SD content increased from 40% to 70% into the matix. WA and TS increased when the PET content decreased in the matrix and the testing water temperature increased. MOE and MOR were reached to maximum for the fabricated composites (2008.34 and 27.08 N/mm2, respectively) when the SD content were only 40%. The results indicated that the fabrication of WPCs from sawdust and PET would technically feasible; however, the use of additives like coupling agents could further enhance the properties of WPCs.
Keywords:Hot pressing; Recycling; Plastic wastes; Modulus of rupture; Modulus of elasticity
Wood plastic composites (WPCs) are relatively new generation of composite materials and also the most promising sector in the field of both composite and plastic industries. In 1970s, the modern concept of WPC was developed in Italy and gradually got popularity in the other part of the world (Pritchard 2004). Wood in the form of flour/particles/fibers are combined with the thermoplastic materials under specific heat and pressure for producing WPCS where additives are added for improving the quality. Many researchers have been worked on WPCs by flat-pressed method at various wood-plastic ratio (Chen et al. 2006; Najafi et al. 2007; Lee et al. 2010; Ayrilmis et al. 2011; Ayrilmis and Jarusombuti 2011; Jarusombuti and Ayrilmis 2011) which typically ranges between 50 to 80% of SD or fibre either as filler or reinforcements (Clemons 2002). The higher strength and aspect ratio of natural fibres offers good reinforcing potential in composite matrix compared to the artificial fibres (Abdul Khalil et al. 2014; Clemons 2008).
Virgin plastics include high and low density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE respectively), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and poly vinyl chloride (PVC) which are commonly used for the production of WPCs (Najafi et al. 2007). Recycled plastics can also consider for manufacturing of WPCs depending on their melting temperature (Stark et al. 2010). Additives can also be added to improve the quality of the composites by eliminating the off-putting properties. However, the utilization of recycled plastic in WPC manufacturing is still limited, and a major portion of global municipal solid waste includes post consumer plastic materials like HDPE, LDPE, PVC, and PET which have the potentiality for being used in the WPCs (Chaharmahali et al. 2008). These post consumer plastics also pose a serious threat to the environment unless they are recycled.
Polyethylene terephthalate commonly known as PET and is formed from terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). It is a long-chain polymer (C10H8O4)n belongs to the polyesters family. It shows both amorphous (transparent) and semi-crystalline nature (Ozalp 2011). PET is intensively used by the packaging industries for bottles and containers of food and other consumer products. Later, PET has started to use in injection molded and extruded articles, primarily for reinforcement with glass fibre (Sinha et al. 2010) which do not degrade in the outdoor environment. Thus, increasing interest has recently been focused on the recycling of plastic wastes, especially PET for these various purposes which could prevent the environmental pollution. Saw dust, a waste from wood processing industries, also creates environmental hazard unless reprocessed for different applications like particleboard, pulp. The recycled PET and saw dust can be used to produce wood plastics by flat-press method which might a good value added products from waste and would help to minimize the waste. Flat press method is newly introduced method in the WPC sector and is similar to the industrial particleboard manufacturing process. Though extrusion and injection molding are the predominant technologies to produce WPCs, but flat press process is technically more advantageous (Jarusombuti and Ayrilmis 2011). This technology possesses some advantages like higher productivity with relatively lower pressure requirement and as a consequence naturally given wood structure lefts undestroyed. Thus, the density of WPCs reduces considerably (Ayrilmis and Jarusombuti 2011; Jarusombuti and Ayrilmis 2011) and increase the moisture resistance properties compared to the conventional wood based composites (Jarusombuti and Ayrilmis 2011). However, there is very limited/no work so far on the fabrication and properties of flat-pressed WPCs from sawdust and recycled PET at various mixing ratios. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of wood plastic composites fabrication from sawdust and PET. Determining the physical and mechanical properties of WPCs as a function of mixing ratio was also an objective of this study.
Materials and methods
Preparation of raw materials
Sawdust was obtained from the local saw mills in Khulna, Bangladesh. Sawdust was screened to remove the impurities. It was then dried in an oven at 103 ± 2°C for 24 hours for a moisture content of 2%. Clean consumer drinking water bottles were collected locally and grind in a grinder for getting the recycled PET powder. The PET powder was sieved by 60 mesh size sieve to remove the oversized particles. The PET powder was then dried in an oven at 103 ± 2°C for 24 hours for a moisture content of 3% or less. Density, melt flow index and melting point of recycled PET was 1370 (Kg/m3), 18.4 g/10 min and 260°C, respectively.
Flat-pressed sawdust-PET composite manufacturing
The ensuing sawdust and PET powder were mixed for 6 minutes in a rotary drum type blender according to the ratio of Table 1 for producing a homogenous composite. WPC panels were manufactured by flat press process using a dry blending method which was similar to an industrial production process. The mixture was placed in an aluminium caul plate using a forming box to form uniform mat. The press cycle consisted of three phases (Chen et al. 2006), i.e., first phase involved the manual pressing to reduce the mat height, second phase involved in shifting it to the electrically heated improvised hot press for hot pressing, and finally for cold pressing to facilitate the setting of thermoplastic resin. The maximum pressing temperature, pressure, time and cold pressing or pressure holding time were 190°C, 5 N/mm2, 25 minutes and 6 minutes, respectively. Lower temperature (190°C) compared to melting temperature (260°C) of the PET was set to avoid the degradation of the wood components. After cold pressing, the WPCs were removed from the press for further cooling. At least six replications of each type of WPC panels having 30 × 25 × 0.6 cm dimension were fabricated. The WPC panels were then trimmed and put into a conditioning room before testing for 48 hours.
Table 1. Formulations of sawdust-PET composites
Evaluation of composite properties
For both physical and mechanical properties, room temperature and relative humidity was 23 ± 2°C and 65 ± 2%, respectively. According to the ASTM standard D-1037 (ASTM 1999), all specimens were carefully prepared and tested to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of each type of WPCs. At least 24 specimens from 6 replications were used for each type of WPC panel for the evaluation of physical and mechanical properties. The results were compared with the wood based panels as there was no WPC panel standard for comparison as were reported by Ayrilmis et al. (2011).
Density was measured according to the standard for composites. Moisture content of WPC panels was measured by oven dry method by using the equation 1:
Where, mc is the moisture content, mint is mass with moisture (g) and mod is mass after drying.
After soaking the samples in water for 24 hours at 25, 50 and 75°C, water absorptions and thickness swelling were measured according to Najafi et al. (2007). The water absorption (A) and thickness swelling (G) of the specimens were calculated as percentage. The water absorption (A) and thickness swelling (G) was calculated according to the Equation 2 and 3, respectively:
Where m2 is the weight (g) of the specimen after soaking and m1 is the weight (g) of the specimen before soaking.
Where, A1 is the thickness before soaking, and A2 is the thickness after soaking.
WPC panels were cut into rectangular sections for determining MOE and MOR. The dimension of the specimen was 240 mm × 50 mm × 6 mm. MOE and MOR were measured by following the three point bending test using universal testing machine IMAL-IB600 according to the ASTM D 1037–93 standard (ASTM 1999).
Statistical analysis of data
Statistical analysis was done by using SAS system software (version 6.12) at 95% confidence level. The significance of different treatments was determined by least significant difference (LSD) test.
Results and discussion
The most important indicator of composite’s performance is density, which basically affects all the properties of composites. Density of the SD-PET composites decreased with the increase of SD percentage in the thermoplastic matrices. The lowest density (856.73 Kg/m3) was found in composites made with a mixing ratio of 70:30 (SD:PET), whereas the highest density (1048.55 Kg/m3) was found when the ratio was 40:60 (SD:PET) (Figure 1). The lower density of sawdust compared to PET might be the cause of this density reduction. Statistical analysis illustrated significant differences (α = 0.05) for density among the SD-PET composites for different mixing ratio (Table 2). According to ANSI (1999) standard, the density of high density particleboard is above 800 Kg/m3. Hence, the density of SD-PET composites was above that required standard for high density particleboard. Chen et al. (2006) reported that the smaller wood particles like sawdust would make a thinner mat and the compaction ratio would be higher resulting high density composite materials. That might be another reason for this higher density of WPCs found in this study.
Figure 1. Density of SD-PET composites at varying ratio.
Table 2. Effect of sawdust content on the properties of SD-PET composites
The moisture content of the SD-PET composites increased along with the increase of SD percentage from 40 to 70% (Figure 2). Adding SD into the thermoplastic matrix increased the moisture content due to the hydrophilic nature of wood. Additionally, the gaps and flaws at the interfaces, and the micro-cracks in the matrix formed during the manufacturing process boosted up the moisture content as reported by Adhikary et al. (2008). From the variance analysis and LSD (Table 2), it was observed that there was significant difference (α = 0.05) in moisture content among composites. According to the ANSI (1999) standard, the mean moisture content of the board shall not exceed 10% (based on the oven dry weight of the board). The moisture content of SD-PET composites was substantially lower than that of the required standard. The same increasing pattern of MC was also reported by Chen et al. (2006) for the thermoplastic composites made from HDPE and recycled wood particles.
Figure 2. Moisture content of SD-PET composites at varying ratio.
Figure 3 illustrates the water absorption of the SD-PET composites based on various SD content and different temperatures (25, 50 and 75°C) after 24 hours of immersion in water. WA of the composites increased with the increase of SD content. The highest WAs were 29.52, 36.10 and 40.33% for 25, 50 and 75°C temperature, respectively with 70% SD content. These results mainly attributed due to the hydrophilic nature of wood. Wood is a hydrophilic porous composite which consists of cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose polymers that are rich in functional groups such as hydroxyls, which readily interact with water molecules by hydrogen bonding (Clemons 2002) and due to this reason, the WPCs have the potentiality to uptake water under humid condition (Adhikary et al. 2008). Similar results for increasing pattern of WA were also reported by Chen et al. (2006) for the WPCs made from HDPE and recycled wood particles. On the other hand, higher water resistance of composites with the increasing PET content can be attributed to the hydrophobic character of PET, though it is semi-crystalline in nature. Figure 3 also illustrated the water uptake as a function of temperature. Immersion temperature had also significant influence on the WA of the composites. In composites with higher SD contents, WA increased more rapidly when the temperature increased from 25°C to 75°C. The trend was reverse for composites having lower SD content. Statistical analysis showed that there was significant difference (α = 0.05) in WA after 24 hours at three different temperatures (25, 50 and 75°C) among the SD-PET composites (Table 2). Najafi et al. (2007) reported that besides the percentage of wood flour/particle, there were several factors including plastic type, virginity of the plastic and surrounding temperature also influenced the water absorption of WPCs.
Figure 3. Water absorption of SD-PET composites at varying ratio.
The tendency of TS was similar to the WA (Figure 4). From the statistical analysis (Table 2), it was observed that the TS were significantly different (α = 0.05) for WPCs at three different temperatures (25, 50 and 75°C). It also illustrated that the SD-PET composites having lower percentage of PET were more susceptible to the thickness swelling than those of panels having higher PET content. This might be due to the increasing SD content in the WPC formulation. Ayrilmis et al. (2011) reported that for thickness swelling and water absorption of WPCs, wood fibers were mainly responsible. The TS at room temperature (25°C) ranged between 5.7 and 10.0% for composites made from 40-70% SD content. The lowest thickness swelling was found for SD-40 composites which might be because of the higher compatibility between SD and PET when compared to the other formulations. This increasing pattern of TS was similar to the results of TS stated by Chen et al. (2006) for the thermoplastic composites made from HDPE and recycled wood particles. Wood has a critical surface energy in the range of 40–60 mJ/m2 (Gupta et al. 2007) which is higher than that of PET. The large difference in surface energy between PET and wood might make the PET to be water repellent or hydrophobic.
Figure 4. Thickness swelling of SD-PET composites at varying ratio.
Modulus of elasticity (MOE)
The MOE of composites decreased along with higher SD loading from 40 to 70% in the formulation (Figure 5). This variation might be due to the poor interfacial interaction between the sawdust and PET. The melting temperature of PET was 260°C, however, the pressing temperature was 190°C as a result the thermoplastic (PET) might not flow well within the composites. Shibata et al. (2002) reported that the lower MOE of the composites could be mainly attributed to the poor interfacial interaction between the polymeric matrix and wood particle, not allowing efficient stress transfer between the two phases of the material though the modulus of the natural fibers are higher than the polymeric materials. Some other researches with various thermoplastic materials either virgin or recycled indicated that the MOE of the WPCs would increase with the increase of wood content up to 60% and deceased after 60% of wood content. This was because of more than 60% wood particle used to manufacture WPCs, the plastic material could not totally cover fine wood particles (Chen et al. 2006 and Sanadi et al. 2001). Moreover, Maloney (1977) reported that the relatively large surface area of the fine materials might be another cause of strength loss of the composites. The MOE of WPC panels were statistically different according to the ANOVA and LSD (α = 0.05). MOE of the SD-PET composites could not fulfill the required standard of ANSI (1999) for the high density particle board (2400 N/mm2) but all the composites except the 70:30 (SD:PET) fulfilled the required standard (1725 N/mm2) for medium density particleboard.
Figure 5. MOE of SD-PET composites at varying ratio.
Modulus of rupture (MOR)
Figure 6 illustrates the effects of SD content on the MOR of the WPCs. The tendency of the MOR was similar to the MOE. It was observed that the MOR of the composites decreased with the increase of SD content and ranged between 11.69 and 27.08 N/mm2. It appeared that the binding capacity of the utilized PET gradually decreased. The mechanical behavior of WPCs was greatly influenced by the uniformity of lignocellulosic materials dispersed in the polymeric matrix (Chen et al. 2006 and Raj et al. 1989). The ratio of 40:60 (SD:PET) had the highest MOR value compared to the other formulations. Based on the statistical analysis, significant difference (α = 0.05) was found for the MOR properties of the WPC panels (Table 2). Moreover, only MOR of the SD-40 and SD-50 composites fulfilled the required standard of ANSI (1999) for the high density particleboard (16.5 N/mm2). However, all the formulation of composites fulfilled the required standard (11 N/mm2) for medium density particleboard. Ayrilmis and Jarusombuti (2011) reported that MOR would increase up to 40–50% for wood fiber content and would start to decrease after 50–60% wood fiber content for flat-pressed PP bonded WPCs.
Figure 6. MOR of SD-PET composites at varying ratio.
Effects of PET content on the properties of composites
Effects of PET content on SD-PET composites are presented in Table 3. Table 3 illustrates that the higher content of PET in the WPC formulation increases the density and bending strength of composites. In the mean time, the increasing PET content in the formulation decreases the moisture content, WA and TS at temperatures of 25, 50 and 75°C. Similar results were also reported by Najafi et al. (2007). It seems that the effect of PET content on moisture content, WA and TS of WPC is positive. Among all the properties of SD-PET composites, PET content showed the most relative effect on WA at 25°C (R2 = 0.926), while PET content showed least effect on WA at 75°C for WPCs (R2 = 0.693).
Table 3. Effects of PET content on composite properties
This study investigated the technical evaluation of flat-pressed wood plastic composites fabricated from different mixing ratios of sawdust and PET. On the basis of physical and mechanical properties, it appears that fabrication of SD-PET composites with dry blending method followed by flat press process is technically feasible for various structural purposes. Therefore, from the above presented results and discussion the following specific conclusions can be drawn:
1. The physical and mechanical property differences among the WPCs are due to the raw material characteristics and the mixing ratios used in the formulations. Therefore, the property of SD-PET composites depends on raw material and mixing ratio.
2. PET contents decreased moisture content, water absorption and thickness swelling of composite. It has also relative effects on density and bending strength.
3. Immersion temperature has significant effect on the water absorption and thickness swelling of WPCs. With the increasing immersion temperature, water absorption and thickness swelling increases.
Though the flat-pressed WPC fabrication from the sawdust and PET is technically feasible, it would be better to mix additives like coupling agents to enhance interaction between sawdust and PET by reducing the melting temperature of PET, and thus, could ensure the adequate physical and mechanical properties of composites.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
KS Rahman and MM Rahman carried out the field study. R Dungani drafted the manuscript. MN Islam, MO Hannan and HPS Abdul Khalil edited the manuscript. I also declare that all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Abdul Khalil HPS, Davoudpour Y, Islam MN, Mustapha A, Sudesh K, Dungani R, Jawaid M (2014) Production and modification of nanofibrillated cellulose using various mechanical processes: a review. Carbohydr Polym 99:649-665 PubMed Abstract
Adhikary KB, Pang S, Staiger MP (2008) Dimensional stability and mechanical behaviour of wood-plastic composites based on recycled and virgin high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Compos Part B 39:807-815 Publisher Full Text
ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) (1999) Standard test methods for evaluating properties of wood-based fiber and particle panel materials static tests of timbers. D 1037–93. ASTM, Philadelphia, PA.
Ayrilmis N, Jarusombuti S (2011) Flat-pressed wood plastic composite as an alternative to conventional wood-based panels. J Compos Mater 45(1):103-112 Publisher Full Text
Ayrilmis N, Jarusombuti S, Fueangvivat V, Bauchongkol P (2011) Effect of thermal-treatment of wood fibres on properties of flat-pressed wood plastic composites. Polym Degrad Stabil 96:818-822 Publisher Full Text
Chaharmahali M, Tajvidi M, Najafi SK (2008) Mechanical properties of wood plastic composite panels made from waste fiberboard and particleboard. Polym Compos 29(6):606-610 Publisher Full Text
Chen HC, Chen TY, Hsu CH (2006) Effects of wood particle size and mixing ratios of HDPE on the properties of the composites. Holz Roh Werkst 64:172-177 Publisher Full Text
Gupta BS, Reiniati I, Laborie MPG (2007) Surface properties and adhesion of wood fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites. Colloids Surf A 302:388-395 Publisher Full Text
Jarusombuti S, Ayrilmis N (2011) Surface characteristics and overlaying properties of flat-pressed wood plastic composites. Eur J Wood Prod 69:375-382 Publisher Full Text
Lee CH, Wu TL, Chen YL, Wu JH (2010) Characteristics and discrimination of five types of wood-plastic composites by FTIR spectroscopy combined with principal component analysis. Holzforschung 64:699-704
Najafi SK, Tajvidi M, Hamidina E (2007) Effect of temperature, plastic type and virginity on the water uptake of sawdust/plastic composites. Holz Roh Werkst 65:377-382 Publisher Full Text
Ozalp M (2011) Study of the effect of adding the powder of waste PET bottles and borax pentahydrate to the urea formaldehyde adhesive applied on plywood. Eur J Wood Prod 69(3):369-374 Publisher Full Text
Pritchard G (2004) Two technologies merge: wood plastic composites. Plastics, Additives and Compounding 6(4):18-21 Publisher Full Text
Raj RG, Kokta BV, Maldas D, Daneault C (1989) Use of wood fibers in thermoplastics. VII. The effect of coupling agents in polyethylene-wood fiber composites. J Appl Polym Sci 37:1089-1103 Publisher Full Text
Madison, WI, 15–16 May 2001
Shibata M, Takachiyo K, Ozawa K, Yosomiya R, Takeishi H (2002) Biodegradable polyester composites reinforced with short abaca fiber. J Appl Polym Sci 85:129-138 Publisher Full Text
Sinha V, Patel MR, Patel JV (2010) Pet waste management by chemical recycling: a review. J Polym Environ 18:8-25 Publisher Full Text
Stark NM, Cai Z, Carll C (2010) Wood-based composite materials panel products, glued-laminated timber, structural composite lumber, and wood–nonwood composite materials. In: Wood handbook—Wood as an engineering material, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-190. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI. p 508
|
<urn:uuid:d7a45625-f79f-443f-9a8f-a7f234fc43d5>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-11
|
http://www.springerplus.com/content/2/1/629
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462839.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00052-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.922156 | 5,437 | 2.671875 | 3 | 3.007903 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
We hope you’re as excited as we are here at Rujani Tea to learn that, late last year, the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced a new “International Day” — International Tea Day!
From 2020, International Tea Day is to be celebrated on May 21st each year.
Hang on a second!
Haven’t we heard of International Tea Day before now?
Yep, since 2005, International Tea Day has been celebrated in tea-producing countries such as India, Vietnam and Sri Lanka and many other parts of the world, on the 15th of December.
Now, starting this year, the official International Tea Day as per the UN is the 21st of May. #1
Why May 21st, you may ask? In most tea-producing countries, the quality tea production season is at its height in May. Its called the “Second Flush” in India and the “Spring Flush” in China.
So, what will this special day involve?
Will people the world over, be sipping on endless cups of tea throughout the day?
The FAO tells us International Tea Day is about acknowledging and promoting tea’s “contribution to human health, socialization, cultural heritage, rural development and sustainable livelihoods.”
The UN hopes International Tea Day will help to boost tea’s popularity, consumption and production and to fight hunger and poverty in rural areas.
We hope International Tea Day can take a step towards improving tea worker’s rights, wages, health and employment security around the globe.
FAO advises that globally, jobs provided in the tea-producing industry provide an income for millions of families in developing countries, including in remote and economically disadvantaged areas. The tea sector creates jobs which help to reduce poverty, improve lives and promote food security and rural development. Tea is a widely traded commodity around the world.
Additionally, the FAO advises that “tea is also associated with the empowerment of women involved in the picking, processing and marketing of the commodity.”
In India, a country with a population of 1.3 billion people, the tea industry is the second highest employer amongst all its industries. It’s even more encouraging that women make up three-fourth of this workforce when there is rampant gender discrimination in the developing world.
The FAO reminds us of tea’s massive role in rural development and sustainable livelihoods and gender equality.
So, what does International Tea Day aim to achieve?
International Tea Day aims to link tea producers and consumers worldwide.
It’s hoped that a global celebration of tea will help to promote activities concerning tea’s sustainable production and consumption, and importantly, raise public awareness of tea’s significant role in fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty, and the benefits for tea producers and consumers that go along with this.
We should celebrate tea not just as a commodity, but also for its heritage, cultural importance, benefits to smallholder livelihoods and celebrate the quality of loose leaf tea.
In 2020, tea is grown in over 35 countries — with the FAO estimating that the livelihood of over 13 million people worldwide is dependent on the tea sector!
Tea dates back around 5,000 years and boasts a rich history and culture!
Now that’s something worth celebrating!
Impressively, tea is the most consumed processed-drink in the world, and the most consumed drink, FULL STOP, after water!
The tea industry continues to grow rapidly, with the number of tea drinkers around the world ever-increasing.
While we may be aware of tea’s health benefits, calming effects and great taste, it’s also important to remember tea is responsible for the livelihood of millions of low-income families and communities the world over.
At Aideobari tea farm, where we produce all our speciality teas, we support 150 families who are permanently employed with us and a much larger temporary workforce during the peak production season. Even during this lockdown, we continue to support the community. We have been supporting this community since our forefathers started this tea farm in 1897!
Tea has been part of the folklore of many historic events. Who can forget that America’s independence was the outcome of the incidents unfolded by the historic ‘Boston Tea Party.’
I don’t know about you, but all this talk of tea has made me want to go and make myself a satisfying cuppa!
Get yourself some of our speciality teas from our online store and support our small tea business and you could be enjoying a cuppa too!
Sources: #1 https://www.un.org/en/observances/tea-day
|
<urn:uuid:01d1dea5-8370-454b-979b-4f4a35d001bc>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-21
|
https://rujanitea.com.au/blogs/the-tea-gram/a-new-international-tea-day
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522741.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519010618-20220519040618-00785.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.93772 | 1,004 | 2.546875 | 3 | 2.613763 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Food & Dining
|
On the basis of my less-than-scientific survey of Christians’ Bible reading habits, I would estimate that the Old Testament forms less than 10 percent of most Christians’ Bible reading. Remove the Psalms and Proverbs, and we’re probably down to less than 5 percent.
“So what?” many say.
“No great loss, is there?” others shrug.
Let me suggest seven reasons to stop shrugging and start studying the other 60 percent of our Bibles.
1. The Old Testament reveals Christ.
The Old Testament doesn’t just “point forward” to Christ; it reveals him. It isn’t merely a series of signposts to Christ; his revealing shadow falls on every page, exciting faith and love in believing hearts.
But why linger in the Old Testament shadows when we have New Testament sunlight?
Have you never found it easier to read and be refreshed in shade? Have you never admired the unique and wondrous beauty of the dawn?
Consider the unparalleled revelation of Christ’s substitutionary atonement in Isaiah 53. And although the Gospels describe Christ’s outer life, the messianic psalms disclose his mysterious inner life, the unfathomably deep emotional and mental struggles of his earthly suffering.
2. The Old Testament is a dictionary of Christian vocabulary.
How do we understand the theological words, phrases, and concepts of the New Testament? If we turn to a modern dictionary, we will import 21st-century Western meaning into ancient Eastern words. Greek lexicons will usually get us closer to the original meaning, but that still assumes the biblical authors were influenced exclusively by Greek culture.
Rather, when we come to a word, phrase, or concept in the New Testament, our first question should be, “What does the Old Testament say?” Remember, the New Testament was originally written by Jews, and much of it was written to Jews. It assumes knowledge of the Old Testament and builds upon it.
3. The Old Testament is a manual for Christian living.
While there is understandable debate over the continuing validity of a small percentage of Old Testament laws, there are 10 clear and unchanging moral principles that God applies in different ways in different contexts: to Israel in the wilderness (Exod. 20), to Israel about to enter the promised land (Deut. 5), and to Israel settled in the land (Proverbs). Jesus and the apostles continue this varied cultural application of these same 10 moral principles for their own generation (e.g. Matt. 5; Eph. 5). All these examples provide models for how to think about and apply these moral principles in our own day.
4. The Old Testament presents doctrine in story form.
God has not only given us laws; he’s given us lives. He’s incarnated his 10 moral principles in the lives of Old Testament characters, providing us with fascinating biographies to inspire and warn (1 Cor. 10:11; Luke 17:32).
We also see New Testament doctrines worked out in Old Testament believers’ lives: through typology we learn most about Christ’s priesthood from Aaron, kingship from David, and prophetic office from Moses. Abraham demonstrates justifying faith, Elijah portrays effectual and fervent prayer, Ruth and Naomi display the communion of saints, Job perseveres through the Lord’s preservation, and David exhibits how forgiveness and chastisement often go together. And it’s all in the vivid Technicolor and Dolby of flesh-and-blood humanity.
5. The Old Testament comforts and encourages us.
As we read the Old Testament narratives, we experience the beautiful comfort and hope that Paul promised would accompany such study (Rom. 15:4). We are comforted with God’s sovereign love, majestic power, and covenant faithfulness in his relationship with Israel.
When we know the Old Testament backgrounds of the “Hall of Faithers” in Hebrews 11, we’re encouraged to follow their Christ-focused faith and spirituality.
In the Psalms, we’re given songs that have comforted and encouraged believers throughout the world and throughout the centuries.
And when we see the way that hundreds of Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in Christ, our faith in God and his Word is strengthened.
6. The Old Testament saves souls.
The apostle Paul had the highest regard for the Old Testament’s origin, nature, power, and purpose (2 Tim. 3:16-17). But the Old Testament wasn’t only helpful for Christian living; it gave Christian life. When Paul assured Timothy that “the Holy Scriptures [are] able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,” he was speaking of the Old Testament (2 Tim. 3:15). Like the New Testament, the Old Testament also saved (and still saves) souls through faith in the Messiah.
7. The Old Testament makes you appreciate the New Testament more.
For all the Old Testament reveals of Jesus, and of Christian doctrine and experience, we must concede that it also conceals, that there’s a lot of frustrating shadow, that there’s unfulfilled longing and desire, that there’s often something—or rather someone—missing. The more we read it, the more we long for and love the incarnate Christ of the New Testament. The dawn is beautiful, but the sunrise is stunning.
About the Author:
David P. Murray is professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Murray blogs regularly at Head, Heart, Hand: Leadership for Servants. Learn more about reading and applying the Old Testament from David Murray’s new book, Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament (Thomas Nelson, 2013). The article above was adapted from http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/08/27/jesus-on-every-page-7-reasons-to-study-your-old-testament/
|
<urn:uuid:c4727ca9-f5a4-4545-8f17-7edb5e3a8d52>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-43
|
https://verticallivingministries.com/tag/old-testament-studies/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986682998.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20191018131050-20191018154550-00275.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.907831 | 1,288 | 2.578125 | 3 | 2.869165 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Religion
|
Researchers at IRB Barcelona and IAL Santa Fe in Argentina have found the cell-signalling factor TNFα to be critical for coordinated organ growth in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Regulated by the tumour suppressor p53, TNFα enables the tissue to detect and reverse growth defects.
These findings allow researchers to better understand tissue development better, and they are also relevant for diseases such as cancer.
The Development and Growth Control Laboratory, led by ICREA researcher Marco Milán at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), has published an article in the journal PloS Genetics that identifies the signalling pathways involved in coordinating organ growth in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Together with Andres Dekanty’s group at the Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral (IAL) in Argentina, they report that the cell-signalling factor TNFα is involved in defective tissue growth signalling to neighbouring cells. Through this mechanism, neighbouring cells can reduce the speed at which they grow, thereby maintaining organ functionality.
During embryo development, the different tissues in our body grow in an ordered fashion to give rise to specific organs of predetermined shapes and sizes in specific places. However, these developmental processes are not perfect and cells sometimes can be damages. To ensure functionality of the fully formed organ, the organism must repair this damage and therefore halt organ growth during reparation. In an earlier study, the researchers observed that cells located next to damaged cells sensed this growth delay and adjusted their growth to ensure tissue functionality.
“We identified a mechanism through which the tissue can detect growth defects and respond adequately to preserve organ proportion,” say Milán and Dekanty, co-leaders of this project. Interestingly, this coordination mechanism is dependent on the tumour suppressor protein p53, which is mutated in more than 50% of all human cancers. p53 usually acts inside the cell, protecting it from damage that can ultimately lead to cancer. However, in this study the scientists uncovered an additional function: p53 also mediates communication between cells.
In this study, the researchers used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to examine how neighbouring cells communicate and coordinate the shape and proportions of an organ. “Given the importance of p53 as a tumour suppressor, we addressed the mechanism p53 uses for this dialogue between cells, and we identified the genes and molecules that act downstream of p53,” explains Juan Sánchez, first author of the study. Using the fly wing as a model, the scientists found that p53 orchestrates a complex network involving the cell signalling factor TNFα (Eiger in Drosophila melanogaster), hormones, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) to ensure correct organ formation. Not only do these findings provide insights into developmental processes but they are also important for our understanding of diseases in which cell growth is deregulated, such as cancer.
This study was supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (previously MINECO), Spain, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the National Agency for Promotion of Science and Technology (ANPCyT), Argentina, and the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), Argentina.
Juan A. Sanchez, Duarte Mesquita, María C. Ingaramo, Federico Ariel, Marco Milán, Andrés Dekanty.
Eiger/TNFα-mediated Dilp8 and ROS production coordinate intra-organ growth in Drosophila.
PLoS Genet (2019), DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008133
|
<urn:uuid:a980f883-4ed2-49ff-9c53-a8ee7f1c42ce>
|
CC-MAIN-2020-40
|
https://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/news/in-perfect-shape-how-cells-maintain-organ-proportions
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600402132335.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20201001210429-20201002000429-00114.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.911367 | 764 | 2.96875 | 3 | 3.018471 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Then and Now
The Heritage of Inverness County
by Jim St. Clair from the Oran
Heisker/Heisgeir Then and Heisker Now – a Gaelic site
Webposted July 07, 2004
To the casual observer driving into Whycocomagh from either
direction along the Trans-Canada Highway, the low-lying island in
Whycocomagh Bay is barely evident. The trees which cover the large
part of the ten or so acres blend into the growth along either shore
– and there is little evidence of beach or clearing.
From the South Side Road, the shape of the island is a little more
clear, but nothing remarkable stands out. A bit more of the
shoreline is visible as well as a section where the trees seem
In recent times it has been known as Sheep Island, and on maps it is
often referred to as MacDonald Island. But in earlier documents from
the 1800s, the name Heisker is attached to the island in Whycocomagh
Bay. The name, however, has long departed from local use.
Owned privately, it has been a quiet retreat for local people who
are looking for a nearby place for family enjoyment and a unique
opportunity to enjoy the view of the mountains surrounding
Whycocomagh and to fish and swim and perhaps "paddle your own canoe"
On days when fog or mist covers the lake, the island seems to
disappear for some hours, as it does when a major snowstorm sweeps
across the lake and visibility is almost zero. But then, as the
weather clears and the sun scatters the fog, once again
Heisker/Sheep/MacDonald Island reappears.
Out of the mist of times past as well, Heisker appears with a
collection of references to earlier events and people. Heisker, an
island or really two islands, sometimes called the Monach Islands;
Heisker, now a wildlife and bird sanctuary off the coast of the
island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides; Heisker, with remnants
of many buildings of centuries past; Heisker, once a familiar place
to some early settlers around Whycocomagh Bay and to their ancestors
Apparently a name of Scandinavian origin recalling the days when the
Norse were pillaging and trying to order the course of events on the
western coast of Scotland, Heisker is on the early list of the
places from which Sir Donald MacDonald of Sleat collected rents in
1718. A tiny part of the MacDonald Estates, it was occupied at that
time by an Alexander McDonald and his family. They paid 220 merks
(Scottish currency) as well as a share of the produce gained on the
island which was known for being quite fruitful and a fine place for
raising sheep and cattle.
Eighty years later, according to the listing in the rental rolls for
North Uist, eleven families were living there with a total
population of sixty residents – MacDonalds, MacAulays, MacInneses,
MacIsaacs, MacLellans and Laings being there in 1799. Some of these
families were already well aware that times were changing, and
people were hearing about the possibilities of new economic
opportunities for themselves and for their descendants in Nova
Scotia, indeed in Cape Breton – island to island.
The next list of MacDonald Estate rentals in 1814 shows only the
families of Malcolm MacAskill and John MacDonald with eleven
individuals in their two families on Heisker. Although they had four
horses and four cows and 44 sheep in the possession of the two
families, the rent seems high as listed. And certainly the
population has started to change locations – some moving to other
parts of the Hebrides and some probably already moving to other
places as well.
Which of the families once resident in Heisker attached the name to
an island in Whycocomagh Bay is not quite evident yet from research
– but almost certainly one of the MacDonalds, since it was also
known as MacDonald Island for a time and is listed as granted to a
MacDonald in the records of Lands and Forests.
We will never know, moreover, which if any of the immigrants
recalled the importance of Heisker in the late Middle Ages when it
was noted as a place of learning and instruction and a monastery or
religious centre of some sort.
Who of the early immigrants sang Oran t-Haisgeireadh and other songs
of Heisgeir/Heisker as printed in >From the Farthest Hebrides –
songs gathered by Donald Fergusson and Angus MacDonald and printed
in 1978? When did the oral tradition of these songs and stories
disappear from local lore?
This week, from many places, Gaelic teachers are gathering in Mabou
at Dalbrae Academy for a time of learning and stimulation. They have
come to this Island of Cape Breton to share their learning and to
increase their knowledge, as centuries ago people may have gathered
on the Island of Heisker in the Outer Hebrides.
The Gaelic Language and Culture Institute, led by Margie Beaton, is
sponsored by the Strait District School Board and the Nova Scotia
Department of Education. Language and history, oral tradition and
Gaelic literature are all part of the offerings of the institute.
While the island of Heisker in Whycocomagh Bay will not be included
in the field trips, its name, although dimly recalled now, can bring
forth a recollection of Gaelic language and culture, of songs
remembered and forgotten – and the name has a resonance of early
immigrants who may well have been lonesome for their old home in a
place where the sound of the sea is ever present. Or they may have
wished in some way to remind themselves and others of the
significance of this remote place, once a major centre and a
productive home for many people.
Heisker Then and There...Heisker Here and Now.
|
<urn:uuid:6c457ec8-a93d-4106-ab56-836729c0f59c>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-44
|
http://www.electricscotland.com/hiStory/articles/heisker.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720972.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00433-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.960929 | 1,305 | 2.625 | 3 | 2.896166 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
“Every human society must justify its inequalities: unless reasons for them are found, the whole political and social edifice stands in danger of collapse.” So begins Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology, his much anticipated follow-up to Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2014).
Piketty, one of today’s best-known economists, is a professor at L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and at the Paris School of Economics. This latest book, stretching to more than a thousand pages, blames ideology for creating and enshrining economic inequality.
It’s a timely book. In the face of right-leaning politics, populism, and the rise of autocrats, Piketty argues that the global conviction to tear down structures that uphold various inequalities already exists; and in the face of a catastrophe, he warns, issues such as immigration or climate change could quickly compound concerns about extreme inequality and lead to what he calls “a new politics.”
In the current book, he looks to history in hopes of finding a sensible way forward. But can a lasting and stable solution come from revisiting or redefining old political ideologies?
Realities of Modern Inequality
In his search for answers to one of the major issues plaguing society today, Piketty traverses 500 years of global inequality. Part One analyzes societies of the premodern era, comprising “three distinct social groups, . . . the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate”; Part Two examines slave and colonial societies; Part Three addresses “the great transformation of the twentieth century”; and Part Four analyses the way in which political parties and movements in some of the world’s notable democracies have evolved since the mid-20th century, and where Piketty thinks we might go from here.
Unsurprisingly, Piketty’s study points to the persistence of significant inequalities across the world today. While acknowledging progress in such spheres as global health and education, he remarks that this success often masks “vast inequalities and vulnerabilities.” For example, “in 2018, the infant mortality rate was less than 0.1 percent in the wealthiest countries of Europe, North America, and Asia, but nearly 10 percent in the poorest African countries.” In the same year, across the globe, “average per capita income rose to 1,000 euros per month, but it was barely 100–200 euros a month in the poorest countries and more than 3,000–4,000 a month in the wealthiest”—even higher in “certain petro-monarchies” and “a few tiny tax havens, which are suspected (rightly) of robbing the rest of the planet.”
“Every human society needs to justify its inequalities, and every justification contains its share of truth and exaggeration, boldness and cowardice, idealism and self-interest.”
The economist goes on to note that in recent decades, a small segment of the population in many countries has enjoyed an ever increasing share of total income. In India, the United States, Russia, China and Europe, for example, the top 10 percent of wage earners accounted for between 35 and 55 percent of all income in their region in 2018, up from 25–35 percent in 1980. The bottom 50 percent, on the other hand, accounted for only 15–20 percent of income in 2018, down from 20–25 percent in 1980. In the United States, income for the bottom 50 percent dropped to as low as 10 percent of total wages, an ominous statistic for future social cohesion.
The numbers suggest that a “tiny segment of the population . . . has captured an elephant-sized portion of the world’s growth.”
The Ideological Choice
The book goes on to build the case for Piketty’s belief that, at its root, “inequality is neither economic nor technological; it is ideological and political.” He argues that in every era throughout history, human beings have developed a range of ideologies, and that in each period the ideology that became dominant inevitably served to justify and strengthen inequality.
For example, today’s prevailing democratic capitalist societies tell us that modern inequality is justified on the basis of entrepreneurship and meritocracy—“a freely chosen process in which everyone has equal access to the market and to property and automatically benefits from the wealth accumulated by the wealthiest individuals, who are also the most enterprising, deserving, and useful.”
Piketty dubs this the “meritocratic fantasy” in that the system does not offer equal access for all, despite what its primary beneficiaries would like to believe. Further, he says, it upholds double standards. For example, “today’s meritocratic ideology glorifies entrepreneurs and billionaires” as long as they’re “the nice entrepreneurs from Seattle and Silicon Valley” and not “the wicked Russian oligarchs.” Western meritocracy thus overlooks the “quasi-monopolistic behaviour” of the first group, as well as the “legal and tax breaks they are granted and the public resources they appropriate.” Evidence that inequality has only increased under the prevailing capitalist narrative leads him to declare that “social democracy has failed.”
“Such hyper-meritocratic, Western-centric justifications of inequality demonstrate the irrepressible human need to make sense of social inequality, at times in ways that stretch credulity.”
This meritocratic system isn’t a 20th-century development, Piketty argues. He makes the case that from premodern to modern societies, political power and property ownership (of land, natural resources, money, buildings, other people, etc.) have been closely related. He suggests that systems promoting inequality have perennially been a choice; these social and historical constructs “depend entirely on the legal, fiscal, educational, and political systems that people choose to adopt and the conceptual definitions they choose to work with.”
To Hypercapitalism and Beyond
Perhaps the most worrying of Piketty’s points is the degree to which inequality has been increasing around the globe. The United States, in particular, has become “the most inegalitarian country in the developed world.” In the West, he traces the trend to the 1970s and ’80s and what he calls the “conservative revolution” forged by Ronald Reagan’s Republican Party and Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party. Their policies led to deep cuts in the top US and UK tax rates, together with significant social and financial deregulation. Piketty suggests that the full consequences may only now be playing out across the world.
Like many commentators on the left, Piketty views that era as a failed experiment. Productivity growth in both countries, he says, was greater in the decades before 1990 than since, casting doubt on the idea that cutting tax rates for the rich leads to economic growth. Rather, he writes, it contributed greatly to the widening inequality gap over the past 40 years, to the point that “the share of national income going to the bottom half of the income distribution collapsed.”
From Piketty’s perspective, “the dramatic failure of the Communist experiment in the Soviet Union” was a major factor in the rise of economic liberalism. The fall of the Berlin Wall led to an “anticommunist euphoria” that allowed a new hypercapitalistic digital economy to spread across the globe all but uninhibited. For their part, social-democratic parties failed to provide a credible alternative. Instead, he says, the administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama validated and perpetuated some of Reagan’s economic policies. Piketty argues that this euphoric propulsion was so strong that fresh thinking on the subject didn’t resurface until after the crash and burn of the 2008 economic crisis.
All of this has fueled resentment among the lower and middle classes and led to a shift in voting lines. The culmination of these factors, he says, came in 2016 with the British vote to leave the European Union (Brexit) and the election of Donald Trump in the United States. The financial crisis of 2008, he says, “showed that deregulation had gone too far.” Piketty speculates that on both sides of the Atlantic, a sense of abandonment felt by those who lack wealth, a high income or an advanced degree may well have inflamed current identity politics and anti-immigration sentiments.
As the global population burgeons, Piketty sees a boiling pot that, without the right kind of intervention, will inevitably overflow. The empowered and privileged classes blame the poor for their own poverty and discriminate on the basis of race, religion or status. They discriminate against the homeless and against immigrants. “In these respects, modern society can be as brutal as the premodern societies from which it likes to distinguish itself.” He sees a fear-based populist backlash against these “lesser” classes of people as a real possibility: “We saw this in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century, and it seems to be happening again in various parts of the world.”
A New Narrative
The era of hypercapitalism and a globalized digital economy have clearly helped lift some nations out of poverty. But globalization has not prevented the smallest percentage of the population awarding itself a majority share of the wealth. Piketty’s proposed solution brings progressive taxation and wealth redistribution in its wake. He believes we can learn much from postcolonial discussions about federalism in the context of regional and transnational democracies (such as the European Union). In our global village, he suggests, “the world’s ideologies become increasingly interconnected” and “the frame within which political action is imagined must be permanently rethought.”
Notably, he declares: “Those who believe that we will one day be able to rely on a mathematical formula, algorithm, or econometric model to determine the ‘socially optimal’ level of inequality are destined to be disappointed. This will thankfully never happen.” Rather, “only open, democratic deliberation, conducted in plain natural language (or rather in several natural languages—not a minor point), can promise the level of nuance and subtlety necessary to make choices of such magnitude.”
“The history of human societies can be seen as a quest for justice.”
In Piketty’s view, any solution will remain conscious of inequality’s long history. We should look, he says, to those moments when political processes, including revolutions, led to changes such as “universal suffrage, free and compulsory public schools, universal health insurance, and progressive taxation.” In a world where right-leaning political and economic policies have dominated in recent decades, this is indeed the other side of the ideological coin; but it hasn’t gained widespread acceptance. So far, at least, it’s been unable to overcome the fact that, in Piketty’s words, “the elites of many societies, in all periods and climes, have sought to ‘naturalize’ inequality.”
Although the economist barely mentions greed in this book, that singularly unattractive human trait would seem to be central to the problem: greed for money, greed for possessions, even greed for power or superiority. Enough never seems to be enough, and so begins a never-ending quest for more of one or all of them—often at the expense of others, thereby widening the inequality gap.
Certainly inequality seems built in to humanly chosen and constructed systems that have historically included, to use a biblical term, trading in the “bodies and souls of men”—both literally and figuratively. The question is whether a return to the failed circus of old human ideologies, or even a newly formed and historically informed global response to today’s rising inequality, will rid us of the fundamental problem of human greed.
Piketty notes that “this book is in no way a book of lamentations. I am an optimist by nature.” He genuinely seeks to provide the framework for a better system rather than just denigrate the currently prevailing and clearly imperfect one. Yet it is not through an ideological lens (from the right or the left) or greater participatory democracy that a solution can be glimpsed today. To lay hold of that vision and begin to make it a reality, we will each need to start making very different choices. Can we do that? “No one,” Piketty admits, “will ever possess the absolute truth about just ownership, just borders, just democracy, just taxes and education.”
That said, Piketty’s optimism leads him to conclude that we can make progress “through detailed comparison of personal and historical experiences and the widest possible deliberation.” Yet it seems clear that what needs to change first is the human tendency toward greed and lust for power, which has unfortunately been a hallmark of human history, no matter the dominant ideology of the day. Only when we begin to question the notion that we inherently deserve more than someone else will global equality, with fairness and justice for all, become possible. And that’s where it really does become a choice, because inequality isn’t just about wealth; it’s about whether we recognize the equal value of other people.
|
<urn:uuid:17ac4662-0101-4cd3-a80d-c94a0d065b8d>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-25
|
https://www.vision.org/review-thomas-piketty-capital-ideology-9085
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487648194.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20210619111846-20210619141846-00381.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947979 | 2,824 | 2.578125 | 3 | 2.989057 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Politics
|
My parents had Bad Teeth and I’ve got the same problem!
No Way! What you have is Bad Habits.
What Bad Habits you ask?
- Frequently eating or drinking starch or sugar containing food or beverage during the day.
- Brushing right after you eat.
- Scrubbing the teeth like bathroom tile.
- Rinsing your mouth after you brush with water or worse, mouthwash.
- Constantly sipping water from your designer sports bottle.
Yeah but I’ve always done that!
Time to review the facts:
- Every time you eat or drink, the normal bacteria in your mouth break down the carbohydrates with an increase in acidity that lasts for one half hour after the last mouthful. So if you eat or sip all day long your mouth is constantly acidic.
- If you brush during this acidity, your teeth are softer and get literally worn away by your brushing.
- The brush is very stiff from the last use of toothpaste; scrubbing action is like giving your teeth thirty lashes for bad behavior. First soften the brush by rubbing with your thumb under warm water and then only use a vibratory motion with pressure to clean.
- There are beneficial ingredients in toothpaste that should soak in for at least one half hour but if you rinse, all that potential benefit goes down the drain.
- Many popular mouthwash formulas are acidic to “kill bacteria” but also make your teeth softer.
- Saliva is very protective of your teeth because it neutralizes the acidity and helps to fight the bad bacteria. But every time you sip water or any other beverage, you’re washing away or diluting the saliva.
So what should you be doing to save your teeth?
- Try to eat no more than three times a day and if you snack, try to eat a combination of food that is not acidic. Foods that can reduce acidity are milk, cheese and nuts. Avoid vinegar, citrus, fruits and starches.
- Wait at least one half hour after drinking/eating before brushing; if you must brush right away, use water or an alkaline mouthwash (baking soda or “Biotene”) to reduce the acidity first.
- The best brushing stroke is given by an electric toothbrush (Sonicare or OralB’s vibratory motion) which you can simulate with your manual brush which just takes longer.
- Mouthwash should be used first to reduce the bacteria count in your mouth, then floss or pick between the teeth and finally brush with a good quality toothpaste. Lastly do not rinse but spit out the extra toothpaste and allow the beneficial ingredients to soak in.
- If you have real sensitive teeth or extensive dental restorations, be sure to use a low abrasive toothpaste which can be any of the products for sensitive teeth such as Sesnsodyne’s Pro-Enamel.
If you take the time to develop Good Habits, you’ll be rewarded with Great Teeth and Healthy Gums.
|
<urn:uuid:0961246d-724c-441c-be42-eb331c7e9330>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-50
|
https://www.drschwan.com/blog/2012/02/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100550.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20231205073336-20231205103336-00299.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.918932 | 642 | 2.734375 | 3 | 1.201578 | 1 |
Basic reasoning
|
Health
|
Atoms can be in two places at the same time
Researchers of the University of Bonn have shown that Caesium atoms do not follow well-defined paths
Can a penalty kick simultaneously score a goal and miss? For very small objects, at least, this is possible: according to the predictions of quantum mechanics, microscopic objects can take different paths at the same time. The world of macroscopic objects follows other rules: the football always moves in a definite direction. But is this always correct? Physicists of the University of Bonn have constructed an experiment designed to possibly falsify this thesis. Their first experiment shows that Caesium atoms can indeed take two paths at the same time.
Almost 100 years ago physicists Werner Heisenberg, Max Born und Erwin Schrödinger created a new field of physics: quantum mechanics. Objects of the quantum world – according to quantum theory – no longer move along a single well-defined path. Rather, they can simultaneously take different paths and end up at different places at once. Physicists speak of quantum superposition of different paths.
At the level of atoms, it looks as if objects indeed obey quantum mechanical laws. Over the years, many experiments have confirmed quantum mechanical predictions. In our macroscopic daily experience, however, we witness a football flying along exactly one path; it never strikes the goal and misses at the same time. Why is that so?
“There are two different interpretations,” says Dr. Andrea Alberti of the Institute of Applied Physics of the University of Bonn. “Quantum mechanics allows superposition states of large, macroscopic objects. But these states are very fragile, even following the football with our eyes is enough to destroy the superposition and makes it follow a definite trajectory.”
Do “large” objects play by different rules?
But it could also be that footballs obey completely different rules than those applying for single atoms. “Let us talk about the macro-realistic view of the world,” Alberti explains. “According to this interpretation, the ball always moves on a specific trajectory, independent of our observation, and in contrast to the atom.”
But which of the two interpretations is correct? Do “large” objects move differently from small ones? In collaboration with Dr. Clive Emary of the University of Hull in the U.K., the Bonn team has come up with an experimental scheme that may help to answer this question. “The challenge was to develop a measurement scheme of the atoms’ positions which allows one to falsify macro-realistic theories,” adds Alberti.
The physicists describe their research in the journal “Physical Review X:” With two optical tweezers they grabbed a single Caesium atom and pulled it in two opposing directions. In the macro-realist’s world the atom would then be at only one of the two final locations. Quantum-mechanically, the atom would instead occupy a superposition of the two positions.
“We have now used indirect measurements to determine the final position of the atom in the most gentle way possible,” says the PhD student Carsten Robens. Even such an indirect measurement (see figure) significantly modified the result of the experiments. This observation excludes – falsifies, as Karl Popper would say more precisely – the possibility that Caesium atoms follow a macro-realistic theory. Instead, the experimental findings of the Bonn team fit well with an interpretation based on superposition states that get destroyed when the indirect measurement occurs. All that we can do is to accept that the atom has indeed taken different paths at the same time.
“This is not yet a proof that quantum mechanics hold for large objects,” cautions Alberti. “The next step is to separate the Caesium atom’s two positions by several millimetres. Should we still find the superposition in our experiment, the macro-realistic theory would suffer another setback.”
Publication: Carsten Robens, Wolfgang Alt, Dieter Meschede, Clive Emary und Andrea Alberti: Ideal negative measurements in quantum walks disprove theories based on classical trajectories; Physical Review X, 20.1.2015 (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.5.011003)
Image caption: The Bonn team has developed a measurement scheme that indirectly measures the position of an atom. In essence, one looks where the Caesium atom is not. The image clarifies this procedure. Let us assume that two containers are in front of us and a cat is hidden under one of them (a). However, we do not know under which one. We tentatively lift the right jar (b) and we find it empty. We, thus, conclude that the cat must be in the left jar and yet we have not disturbed it. Had we have lifted the left jar instead, we would have disturbed the cat (c), and the measurement must be discarded. In the macro-realist’s world, this measurement scheme would have absolutely no influence on the cat’s state, which remains undisturbed all the time. In the quantum world, however, a negative measurement that reveals the cat’s position, like in (b), is already sufficient to destroy the quantum superposition and to influence the result of the experiment. The Bonn physicists have exactly observed this effect.
© Andrea Alberti / www.warrenphotographic.co.uk
|
<urn:uuid:77f1f949-5d2d-4bc3-bd15-49104c9f435e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-40
|
https://www.uni-bonn.de/Press-releases/atoms-can-be-in-two-places-at-the-same-time
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660214.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00109-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.927671 | 1,147 | 3.140625 | 3 | 3.020808 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Art is a universal language for us to share our voices, tell our stories, and act as a medium for change. Here at ARTE, we aim to emphasize the power of art and invite you to do the same
The ARTivism (Art + Activism) Art Contest asked young artists, ages 13-18, to submit visual art pieces that comment on a personal experience or issue related to a broader theme in our society. The contest was judged by members of ARTE's Junior Board.
The three contest winners received a variety of prizes, including gift cards to Blick Art Materials, and both the winning pieces and honorable mentions will be featured indefinitely on ARTE's website and social media.
Congratulations, artists, and thank you again for sharing your work with us!
"EAGLE EYE" by Carmel Canate (she/her, 15)
The piece is titled EAGLE EYE, created digitally. It portrays the government as an eagle that never looks down at the blood on the gun it carries.
I am familiar with shootings-though you could say every American school student is. The school district I am in faced a gun threat last year. Though it was eventually resolved, it was still a startling reminder. What unnerved me was how every classmate I met seemed used to this. They were used to sharing Snapchat stories warning each other to hide or run if the threat came true. They were used to not being able to leave the school because buses were stopped. They were used to going about their day and commenting on how annoying this all was. They were
resigned to the fact that they could be killed any moment by someone with a gun. To many students, the threat of a shooting is a mere annoyance. We are used to this.
I wanted my piece to express the frustration and anger I felt. Like an eagle flying high up in the sky, the way to end gun violence seems unattainable. Those who hold the power to help have refused to for too long. Look down at us.
"Equality For All Women" by Michedarlie Brevil (she/her, 17)
My artwork is called "Equality for all Women."
It shows 3 women of 3 different races, with a piece of fabric wrapped around all their eyes, and across the fabric it is written equality in blue.
I choose these 3 races because as we know black and native people are minorities and minorities are the most degraded, disrespected, and discriminated against in this country and world.
The blue symbolizes peace and unity. I want my artwork to show that we all need to stay together in unity and peace to make society work.
"The Green Card" by Jazmine Florencio (she/her, 18)
My piece depicts my experience during a summer internship in downtown LA working at a non profit immigration defense lawyer's office.
I was able to give a young man his green card and as a first generation Chicana who is a aspiring lawyer, that moment made me aware of my privilege due to my citizenship.
I came back from that moment being more aware of my identity and that of my parent's as well.
"Where I belong" by Madison Shaw (she/her, 17)
Being half Asian and half white has always made me feel like I don't belong in either of those communities.
Because of this, I try to connect with the cultures and traditions from both sides of my family.
"Perspectives of Incarceration" by Toushi Karim (she/her, 18)
In order to work towards a world without incarceration, we must first examine the systems in place that currently prevent that society.
The spatiality in carceral society prevents us from reaching positive change and freedom.
In a world without incarceration, we must learn to redefine the word freedom and how we value it.
|
<urn:uuid:8c815726-9aae-4868-b4fd-c2fcf8b253d2>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-40
|
https://www.artejustice.org/art-contest-winners
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030336978.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001230322-20221002020322-00686.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97507 | 827 | 2.59375 | 3 | 2.748837 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Art & Design
|
Ardhanari (also known as Ardhanarishwara) is a Hindu deity that melds the goddess Parvati into her husband, the god Shiva. Images usually depict Ardhanari as masculine on the right side of the body and feminine on the left. For those who worship the Supreme Goddess (devotees known as Shaktas) as the universal expression of Brahman (the Hindu Godhead) rather than a male deity, the right side is feminine while the left side is masculine.
Ardhanari is popular with many Hindus, and especially venerated by hijras: typically understood to be males who traditionally cut off their genitals and dress as women. In current forms of LGBTQ spirituality, Ardhanari may be considered a divine example of Trans and Bisexual identity. The full name, Ardhanarishwara, is a composite of three Sanskrit words: ardha (half), nari (woman), and ishwara (lord).
Male gods (devas) have female companions (devis) that are their shaktis, embodiments of their power. Typically, shaktis are considered to be goddesses in their own right, but are nevertheless dependent upon their male consorts for their importance. Goddess-privileging Shaktas who see Brahman expressed more clearly in feminine divinities, however, will often look to myths that show the superiority of devi to deva. “Shakti” may also be considered the generic name of a goddess, and a shakti’s identity can be determined by the Deva whose power she embodies.
It is an oversimplification to say that Shiva is superior to Parvati, despite Ardhanari being considered a manifestation of Shiva rather than his wife. Parvati is sometimes portrayed as subservient to Shiva, sometimes not. She has the ability to transform into the warrior-goddess Durga or the fierce, sensuous, and demonlike goddess Kali. It is as Kali that Parvati may express her anger at Shiva. Many myths testify to Parvati’s dominance of Shiva, and these myths reflect the veneration she receives as Kali from Hindus in the Shaiva (Shiva-worshipping) and Shakta traditions.
The origin myths of Ardhanari are twofold: 1. Shiva and his shakti come from Ardhanari, who exists before either of them, or 2. Ardhanari arises when the god and goddess unite. A story of how Ardhanari came into being relates that, when Shiva captured the Ganges River in his hair to save the world from flooding, his wife Parvati became angry because Shiva let the Ganges (personified as a feminine goddess) sit on his head. Shiva hugged Parvati to calm her, and they fused. Another account states that they two fused together as they were making passionate love. Such myths traditionally show how all gods are manifestations of Almighty Brahman who transcends male/masculine and female/feminine divisions, and these same myths and theology are utilized by LGBTQ activists to argue for Gay rights.
Parvati/Kali’s dominance mayvbe expressed in her sexual relationship with Shiva. One myth states that, when Shiva unwittingly killed their son Ganesh (the popular elephant-headed deity), Parvati went murderously insane, transforming herself into multiple Kalis and eating Shiva’s band of devotees. In order to pacify her, Shiva lay flat on his back like a corpse as an act of utter submission. Kali/Parvati then placed her foot atop his chest in victory. In some accounts, Shiva has an erection while lying under her foot. Another story found in the Hindu epic Ramayana relates that during lovemaking, Shiva became a woman to pleasure Parvati, a story that also suggests the possibility that women’s same-sex love could be holy.
The Better Half
When portrayed in sculpture or painting, the image of Ardhanari shows superiority to either Shiva or Parvati by having the favored deity on its right side. Identity is shown through symbols associated with each deity (bull and trident for Shiva, tiger and lotus for Parvati/Durga), clothing appropriate to each (rudraksha beads and animal pelt for Shiva, pearl or gold necklace and sari, often red, for Parvati), skin color (Parvati is often shown as dark-skinned, and Shiva as light-skinned, except when Shiva is blue), and the presence of a more prominent breast on the Parvati half. When the image has four arms, two are for each half. When shown with three arms, two are for Shiva, one for Parvati.The role of Ardhanari may be performed in sacred Hindu dance in which the dancer will have a bifurcated costume and make-up representing Parvati and Shiva.
A similar two-gendered deity to that of the Shaivas is also found among the Vaishnavas or worshippers of Vishnu: Krishna (an avatar or incarnation of Vishnu) merged with his consort Radha. There are also stories of Krishna and Radha exchanging clothes and sexual positions in their love-play.
Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1999.
Pattanaik, Devdutt. The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales of Hindu Lore. New York: Harrington Park, 2002.
Varadpande, Manohar Laxman. History of Indian Theatre. New Delhi: Abhinav, 1987.
|
<urn:uuid:b470588c-055d-4bf3-9a9b-fe04706a2a59>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-48
|
http://www.qualiafolk.com/2011/12/08/ardhanari/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398446250.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205406-00237-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.960597 | 1,158 | 2.8125 | 3 | 2.93146 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Religion
|
A thunderstorm is a storm with lightning and thunder. It’s produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, usually producing gusty winds, heavy rain and sometimes hail. The basic ingredients used to make a thunderstorm are a moisture, unstable air, and lift. Moisture needs to form clouds and rain. Heated air expands rises and forms clouds.
Thunderstorms can occur year-round and at all hours. But they are most likely to happen in the spring and summer months and during the afternoon and evening hours. It is estimated that there are around 1,800 thunderstorms that occur across our planet every day.
Must Read: Monsoon, Floods and Droughts
Lightning is a bright flash of electricity produced by a thunderstorm. All thunderstorms produce lightning and are very dangerous. Lightning kills and injures more people each year than hurricanes or tornadoes; between 75 to 100 people.
What causes lightning?
Lightning is an electric current. Within a thunder cloud way up in the sky, many small bits of ice (frozen raindrops) bump into each other as they move around in the air. All of those collisions create an electric charge. After a while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges. The positive charges or protons form at the top of the cloud and the negative charges or electrons form at the bottom of the cloud.
Since opposites attract, that causes a positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud. The grounds electrical charge concentrates around anything that sticks up, such as mountains, people, or single trees. The charge coming up from these points eventually connects with a charge reaching down from the clouds and – zap – lightning strikes!
What causes thunder?
Thunder is caused by lightning. When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the ground it actually opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel. Once then the light is gone the air collapses back in and creates a sound wave that we hear as thunder. The reason we see lightning before we hear thunder is because light travels faster than sound!
Also Read: Why is lightning accompanied by thunder ?
Hail is created when small water droplets are caught in the updraft of a thunderstorm. These water droplets are lifted higher and higher into the sky until they freeze into ice. Once they become heavy, they will start to fall. If the smaller hailstones get caught in the updraft again, they will get more water on them and get lifted higher in the sky and get bigger. Once they get lifted again, they freeze and fall. This happens over and over again until the hailstone is too heavy and then falls to the ground.
If Lightning is nearby
If you see dark clouds, then lightning could be present, but the best thing you can do is to listen for thunder. If you hear thunder, then you need to go indoors or get in a car. Don’t be outside, where lightning could strike! If your hair stands on end or your skin starts to tingle, lightning may be about to strike. Get down on your hands and knees and keep your head tucked in. Do not lay flat, because it can give lightning a better chance of strike you.
|
<urn:uuid:16b1f4b5-0e31-46c3-9044-f9e9d0c74987>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-30
|
https://syskool.com/2014/12/thunderstorm.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549448095.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170728062501-20170728082501-00438.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.937492 | 664 | 3.53125 | 4 | 1.049557 | 1 |
Basic reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Without doubt, the Tosa Inu is one of the most fascinating but at the same time least well understood dog breeds, much like the culture they originate from. The native country of the Tosa Inu breed is Shikoku, the smallest of the four Japanese islands. Their character reflects many attributes of the Japanese culture and mentality.
Definition and Etymology
The dogs were named after the area where they were bred, the old Tosa province, now known as the Kochi prefecture.
At that time, the Tosa province was one of the two most popular dog fighting areas, the other one being the prefecture of Akita, the northernmost area on the island of Honshu. At first, the Akita breed was stronger than the Tosa, but gradually, the situation reversed because of cross-breeding of the Tosa breed with European breeds.
The Akitas and Tosas were also cross bred, with the resulting off-spring labeled as "Shin Akita".
Tosa Inu 土佐犬 literally means "Tosa dog", the two first ideograms (Kanji) representing the word 'Tosa' and the last one that one of 'dog'. In English the suffix 'Inu' is sometimes left out. A variant of this name is Tosa Ken. Both 'Inu' and 'Ken' mean dog in Japanese. It is not another word but basically the Sino-Japanese pronunciation (on-reading) of the same "dog-Kanji"犬, as KEN, instead of INU (kun-reading, indigenous Japanese reading). Both are correct, but the expression Tosa-Ken is more generally used in the spoken language.
Tosa's are also known as Japanese Mastiffs or Japanese fighting dogs, after the Japanese 土佐闘犬,Tosa Touken or Tosa Tôken, which literally means 'Tosa Fighting dog'. 'Tôken' takes a long -o in Japanese and the correct transcription in English therefore is either 'Tôken' or 'Touken'.
When the Japanese politics of isolation ended with the Meiji Restoration from 1866 to 1869, more and more foreigners with big-sized dogs entered the country. The Japanese were impressed by the size, strength and endurance of these Western dogs. As a result, they started to crossbreed some of their native breeds with these dogs. To create the Tosa they crossbred the Shikoku ken with Bulldogs (1872), Mastiffs (1874). German Pointers (1876) and Great Danes (1924), Bull Terrier and St. Bernards all of which were used to improve the breed by sequential mating.
Note that the Great Dane were not as giant as today's Danes and that the English Bulldog and Bull Terrier looked substantially different from today's exemplars. Within a short period of time they succeeded in fixing a type that concentrated the characteristics of the japanese 'Sumo'. In 1925 the breed was already well defined and in 1930 an official association was founded for the preservation and diffusion of the breed.
The original Japanese Tosa Inu is courageous, prudent, well-tempered and docile. It displays an enormous strength and high pain threshold.
They are probably the only dogs in the world which are still used quite legally to this day for dog fights. However, the Japanese developed a type of fight according to their mentality that bears no comparison with the notorious pit dog fights held illegally in other parts of the world.
In Japan dogs are carefully bred and trained and the game is conducted under strict rules and accompanied by holy rituals and processions. The dog fights among Tosa's should never be cruel or bloody and they never end with the death of one of the participants. On the contrary, the fights are designed to last long and, contrary to pit dog fights, a dog that goes for a fast and easy victory, is not considered a good specimen. Similar to Sumo wrestling, the dogs try to bring and hold each other down on the floor. If he dominates for more than 3 min. (or 5 min. if the fight lasted for more than 15 min.) he is declared the winner. A whining or growling dog is declared the loser. The same goes for a dog that turns its hind to the opponent or moves back three steps when attacked. The fight ends in any case after 30 min. in a nil draw if neither of the dogs has proved superior to the other. Unlike most other fighting dog breeds, the original Tosa is conscious of the symbolic value of the fight and it respects the rules of the game and its opponents.
Like sumo wrestlers, the dogs are graded into a hierarchy according to the points they have recently earned. The greatest Tosa "wrestlers" receive the title of Yokozuna, like the famous sumo's.
Two times in the twentieth century all the japanese breeds, including the Tosa, were in imminent danger of extinction. First the food crisis during World War II and the invasion by the allied forces, then a distemper epidemic brought the Tosa to the verge of extinction. The Association for the preservation of the Tosa decided to save 12 Tosa's which by their character and type were the most authentic representatives of the breed and took them to the Aormi prefecture at the north of Japan, an area little involved in the war. From those 12 exemplars descend the majority of the genuine Tosa's today.
Appearance and Temperament
The overall appearance of the Tosa should be that of a massive but dynamic and flexible athlete, with a large, broad head, a boxy muzzle and clearly observable dewlap. Contrary to the Japan Kennel Club (JKC) and the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) which require red as the preferred color, the traditional Tosa breeding in Kochi City accepts a variety of colors, solid or brindle, black with markings, or pied.
It is very difficult to find good quality Tosa's outside Japan with the typical Tosa character as sought after by the Japanese breeders: a dog that is calm and quiet, but vigilant and conscious of its own strength and with an innate sense of prudence, that will only react in case of emergency, then demonstrating great courage and unequalled strength.
Even in Japan things are changing. Many influential people do not wish to promote the positive, humble side of the Tosa, as they fear that if the breed is perceived as other than a fighting breed, it will be more easily replaced by another breed at the shows.
Some conscientious breeders in the Netherlands, Germany and the United States are carrying on the legacy of the true Tosa inu. Prospective buyers should be particularly careful in selecting a responsible and reputable breeder who breeds to this genuine character of the Tosa Inu.
|
<urn:uuid:f447c172-5bcc-4813-83ea-f0cce3f9f248>
|
CC-MAIN-2014-15
|
http://www.bulldoginformation.com/Tosa-inu.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609538423.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005218-00612-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953507 | 1,424 | 2.875 | 3 | 2.608121 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Home & Hobbies
|
Pneumonia has at least thirty different causes. Although most cases of pneumonia are caused by bacteria, viruses, or other disease organisms, the illness can also be the result of non-infectious causes such as chemical injuries to the lungs, food or saliva accidentally getting into the airway, or even by allergies to substances in the air.
• Nosocomial pneumonia: Nosocomial refers to infections acquired by hospital patients. This type of pneumonia can be very serious, partly because hospitalized people are already ill or weak from surgery, and partly because the bacteria found in hospitals are often more resistant to antibiotics.
• Ventilator-associated pneumonia: Patients who must be placed on a ventilator to help them breathe are at increased risk of developing pneumonia.
• Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP): CAP refers to pneumonia caused by disease organisms in people who have not been recently hospitalized.
• Aspiration pneumonia: Aspiration is the medical term for getting saliva, food particles, or liquids into the airway and lungs. Aspiration pneumonia is common in the elderly, patients with Parkinson disease, and others who may have trouble swallowing normally. The materials that get into the lungs can cause pneumonia either by chemical irritation or by carrying bacteria that cause inflammation.
• Opportunistic pneumonia: Opportunistic infections are caused in people with weakened immune systems by organisms that do not ordinarily cause disease in people with healthy immune systems. People with AIDS are vulnerable to a particular type of pneumonia called PCP, which stands for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Pneumocystis is classified as a fungus.
• Chemical pneumonia. Breathing in certain chemicals, particularly pesticides, can cause pneumonia.
• Walking pneumonia: Walking pneumonia is an older term for pneumonia that does not make patients sick enough to stay in bed; that is, they are well enough to go about their ordinary activities in spite of coughing and headaches. Most cases of walking pneumonia are caused by mycoplasmas, a kind of bacteria, or by viruses.
• Emerging diseases. Some emerging diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and avian influenza (bird flu) can cause pneumonia in otherwise healthy people.
Pneumonia is one of the oldest diseases known to humans, first described by Hippocrates in the fifth century BCE. Pneumonia can vary from a mild infection of the lungs that does not require hospital treatment to a fatal illness. In the 1930s pneumonia was the leading cause of death in the United States. It is still the eighth most common cause, killing 60,000 people each year. Pneumonia can come on either suddenly or gradually. Its major symptoms include chest pain, fever, severe coughing, and greenish or pus-colored sputum (mucus or phlegm). The early stages of pneumonia are sometimes mistaken for a cold or flu. The severity of the symptoms depends on the organism causing the illness and the person’s basic level of health.
Bacterial pneumonia often comes on suddenly with sweating, severe chest pain, high fever (up to 105°F/40.6°C), chills, and a cough that produces greenish or yellowish sputum. It can develop by itself or following a viral infection like a cold or the flu.
Viral pneumonia accounts for about half of all cases. Some cases are mild. In other cases, people have symptoms resembling those of influenza: fever, aching muscles, headache, and weakness. Within twelve to thirty-six hours, however, patients become much sicker, may start gasping for breath, and their cough becomes worse. Patients with viral pneumonia sometimes develop a secondary bacterial pneumonia. Pneumonia caused by mycoplasma is usually mild and develops gradually. It is common among children and young adults because it spreads rapidly in day care, college dormitories, and other group settings. The most noticeable symptoms of mycoplasmal pneumonia are a dry cough and whitish sputum. Some patients also experience nausea and vomiting.
Pneumonia is a widespread health problem in the general population as well as hospital inpatients and those in nursing homes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1.4 million people in the United States are treated in hospitals each year for pneumonia, with an average stay of five days. About 2 percent of nursing home residents are treated for pneumonia in an average year.
Pneumonia is most common in the winter months in the United States. It affects males more often than females, and African Americans more often than members of other racial or ethnic groups. In developing countries, pneumonia is a common cause of death among children. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2 million children die each year around the world, and that one in three deaths among newborn babies results from pneumonia.
People who are at increased risk of pneumonia include:
• Those with weakened immune systems, including people who are HIV-positive, have received organ transplants, or are being treated for cancer with chemotherapy
• People with emphysema, cystic fibrosis, or other diseases that affect the lungs
• People who smoke or abuse alcohol
• People who are hospitalized or in nursing homes, particularly those placed on artificial respirators
• People whose jobs expose them to pesticides, large amounts of dust, or other chemicals that irritate the lungs
• Very young children and adults over age sixty-five
• People with diabetes, kidney disorders, sickle cell anemia, or heart disease
Nursing Care Plan Signs and SymptomsThe causes, types, and major symptoms of pneumonia have been described in previous sections. Other symptoms that some people with pneumonia experience include:
• Rapid but shallow breathing
• Loss of appetite
• Mental confusion and disorientation (more common in the elderly)
• Unusual tiredness
• Heavy sweating and clammy skin
Nursing Care Plan DiagnosisThe diagnosis of pneumonia is made by a combination of the patient’s history, a physical examination, and appropriate laboratory and imaging tests. The doctor will need to know when the symptoms started, whether the patient has been recently hospitalized, whether he or she has had a cold or flu, and similar questions. The physical examination will include listening to the patient’s breathing through a stethoscope as well as taking the temperature and pulse. Patients with pneumonia typically have abnormal rubbing, crackling, or other harsh sounds that the doctor can hear. In addition, the number of breaths per minute is usually high.
A chest x ray will usually be ordered. Other tests include:
• A complete blood count (CBC). An unusually high number of white blood cells is a common sign of an infection.
• A sputum test. The doctor can collect a sample of the patient’s sputum and send it to a laboratory to identify the organisms that may be causing the infection. Not everyone with pneumonia will produce sputum and not everyone who produces sputum has pneumonia.
Nursing Care Plan TreatmentTreatment depends on the cause of the pneumonia. Pneumonia caused by bacteria or mycoplasma is treated with a seven- to ten-day course of antibiotics. Viral infections cannot be treated by antibiotics; in some cases, the doctor may prescribe antiviral medications like rimantadine, which is used to treat some types of influenza. Most patients can care for themselves at home by taking the prescribed medication and by getting plenty of rest, drinking fluids, and taking over-the-counter pain relievers to reduce fever and headaches. It is important for people recovering at home not to return to work or a normal schedule of activities too quickly, as the pneumonia can recur. Recurrences can be more severe than the initial infection. People who are severely ill and having difficulty breathing are hospitalized, given higher levels of oxygen to breathe, and given intravenous antibiotics. They will be given a follow-up x ray by the doctor after they are well enough to leave the hospital.
The prognosis for pneumonia depends on the organism or irritant causing it, the patient’s age and general health, and the time elapsed before diagnosis and treatment. Young people who are diagnosed and treated early may recover in about ten days. Middle-aged adults may take several weeks to recover fully. Mycoplasmal pneumonia takes somewhat longer than either bacterial or viral pneumonia to go away—sometimes as long as six weeks.
The prognosis for recovery is poor for people who develop ventilatorassociated pneumonia (about 50 percent will die) or those with bacterial pneumonia that spreads into the bloodstream (about 20 percent will die). Doctors sometimes use a rule called the pneumonia severity index or PSI to estimate a specific patient’s chances of recovery. The PSI is based on age, gender, vital signs, and laboratory test results.
Nursing Care Plan PreventionAn important measure that anyone can take to lower the risk of pneumonia is to quit smoking (or not start in the first place). Another step is vaccination. There is a specific vaccine called Pneumovax that protects against a specific bacterium called the pneumococcus, a common cause of bacterial pneumonia. Pneumovax is recommended for children under two and older children with sickle cell anemia, diabetes, or other diseases that affect the immune system, as well as for adults over fifty-five. A different version of this vaccine, called Prevnar, is now given to children. Older adults should also receive yearly flu shots, as bacterial pneumonia is a common complication of influenza.
Pneumonia is likely to continue to be a common health problem, especially since it has so many different causes. On the one hand, the development of effective vaccines against flu viruses and the pneumococcus has had some positive effects in reducing the number of cases among children and older adults in the United States. On the other hand, the development of drug-resistant bacteria and the emergence of such new diseases as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) present new challenges to doctors and public health officials.
|
<urn:uuid:8bd57102-044c-4e6e-9660-ce19cb6fbb12>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-48
|
http://www.enurse-careplan.com/2010/10/nursing-care-plan-ncp-pneumonia.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164061354/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133421-00035-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953012 | 2,057 | 3.984375 | 4 | 2.037226 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Health
|
Evaporation for Biochemicals
Energy efficient product concentration is one of the most important feasibility criteria in biochemical processes. The product concentration in fermentation is generally much lower than product concentrations in chemical synthesis. Therefore great amounts of water have to be evaporated to receive the product in its final form – in most cases solid.
The concentration of product that is generated through fermentation processes is generally far lower than that produced by chemical synthesis. Energy efficient product concentration is thus an important parameter than must be factored in when considering the feasibility of a bioprocess: large amounts of water may have to be evaporated to generate the product in its final, generally solid form.
Energy saving concepts
Biochemical production processes most commonly use either falling film evaporators or forced circulation evaporators, as these technologies have proven very robust against fouling. GEA offers evaporation technologies that demonstrate the highest energy efficiency, while representing robust and reliable solutions.
Our portfolio covers a range of technologies to help reduce energy consumption and cost. These include:
• Multi-stage evaporation
• Thermal vapor recompression
• Mechanical vapor recompression
GEA can also combine and integrate different process steps that will allow the re-use of exhaust energy. Evaporators represent an ideal equipment type for exploiting energy recovery, because they can be heated using a wide variety of energy sources, such as steam, dryer vapors and even hot water.
GEA has significant experience in providing evaporation technologies for amino acid production. Amino acids are produced by fermentation processes, and equipment for concentrating fermentation broths are a key component of production plants. Multi-effect falling film evaporators with product circulation are often used in these environments. Alternatively, we can design single- or double-effect plants with multiple product passes that are heated using mechanical vapor compression.
The fermentation process for amino acids is also water intensive, and in the majority of factories waste water evaporators are used to recover most of the used water. GEA’s multi-effect falling film evaporators and forced circulation evaporators are ideal in this setting.
Evaporation of organic acid solutions
An increasing range of organic acids is being produced by fermentation of renewable resources. After biomass separation and cleaning, the acids are concentrated in evaporation plants, most commonly using falling film technology. The separators are often equipped with scrubbing columns for the separation of volatile components or with stripping columns for the separation of ammonia.
Product isolation from the fermentation broth generates large secondary flows that feature high salt content or high organic loads, which are associated with corrosion or coating of the equipment. GEA can design evaporation plants that combine falling film, forced circulation technology, constructed from suitable materials, to help ensure long service life and economic operation.
|
<urn:uuid:8263ed09-b85f-4151-a27c-8e37f28e36d8>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-04
|
https://www.gea.com/en/applications/chemicals/biochemicals/biochemicals_evaporation.jsp
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583661083.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190119014031-20190119040031-00551.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.922402 | 563 | 2.59375 | 3 | 2.711422 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Industrial
|
By using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Japanese astronomers have spotted strong evidence of a massive planet-forming disk around a young star known as HD 142527.
HD 142527 lies in the constellation Lupus at a distance of about 457 light-years from Earth.
The astronomers have used ALMA to detect the submillimeter emission from the dust ring around this baby star. The emission has a non-uniform distribution and the northern side is 30 times brighter than the faint southern side, according to the team.
Recent near-infrared observations with the NAOJ Subaru Telescope revealed that protoplanetary disks have structures that are far more complex than astronomers expected. Spiral or gap structures are thought to be associated with hidden planets in the disk.
However, it is impossible to measure the amount of dust and gas in the densest part of the disk by near-infrared observations. Since near-infrared light is easily absorbed or scattered by a large amount of dust, it isn’t suitable for observing the innermost part of the dense region of the disk. Then, the key to the solution will be millimeter and submillimeter wave.
The new image of HD 142527, which was taken with ALMA, shows that cosmic dust is circling around the star in a form of asymmetric ring.
By measuring the density of dust in the densest part of the ring, the astronomers found that it is highly possible that Jupiter-like giant gaseous exoplanets or Earth-like rocky planets are now being formed in that region. This region is far from the central star, about 5 times larger than the distance between the Sun and the Neptune.
“We are very surprised at the brightness of the northern side,” said Dr Misato Fukagawa of Osaka University, who is the lead author of the paper appearing in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (full paper in .pdf / arXiv.org version).
“The brightest part in submillimeter wave is located far from the central star, and the distance is comparable to five times the distance between the Sun and the Neptune. I have never seen such a bright knot in such a distant position.”
“This strong submillimeter emission can be interpreted as an indication that large amount of material is accumulated in this position. When a sufficient amount of material is accumulated, planets or comets can be formed here. To investigate this possibility, we measured the amount of material.”
In calculating the amount of material based on the submillimeter emission strength, the temperature of the material is an important parameter. The scientists estimated the temperature in the dense region from the observations of isotopomers of carbon monoxide and reached two possibilities – formation of gaseous giant planet or rocky planet.
If the abundance of dust and gas is comparable to that in typical environment in the Universe, the dense region is massive enough to attract large amount of gas due to the self-gravity and form giant gaseous planets several times more massive than Jupiter. Although this is similar to the formation process of stars in cosmic clouds, it was the first time that the possibility of such a planet formation process was directly suggested by observations of protoplanetary disks.
The other possibility is the formation of dust trap in which the abundance of dust is exceptionally higher than the other part of the disk. If the dust trap is formed in the disk, earth-like rocky planets, small bodies such as comets, or cores of gaseous planets may be formed.
In both cases, it is highly possible that exoplanets are being formed in the dense part of the disk around HD142527.
The astronomers plan further observations of HD142527 with ALMA for closer investigation, as well as other protoplanetary disks to have a comprehensive understanding of the planet formation in general.
Fukagawa M et al. 2013. Local Enhancement of Surface Density in the Protoplanetary Ring Surrounding HD 142527. Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan 65, L14
|
<urn:uuid:003e1710-c163-430d-b7c4-d07d901be932>
|
CC-MAIN-2014-52
|
http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/science-alma-giant-protoplanetary-disk-hd142527-01701.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802776528.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075256-00016-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.942932 | 848 | 3.171875 | 3 | 2.97303 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
RUSTAND PROJECT PROPOSAL
This project has two parts: (1) Installation and establishment of a bramble barrier about 100 yards in length and (2) imprinter seeding of about 20 acres of pasture. The first is to be accomplished during the spring and summer seasons of 1997 and the second part during the subsequent fall season.
Procedure for Bramble Barrier:
Dig furrow (with ridge on lower side) about 8 inches deep to capture rainwater runoff from upslope.
Auger 8-inch diameter holes in the bottom of furrow to a depth of 4 feet where third story transplants are to be rooted--space about 15 feet apart.
Backfill holes with a 50-50 mix of peat and soil enough for proper transplanting depth.
Widen holes at top if needed to fit rootball.
Procure potted saplings of a number of species selected from the list of third story plants given in the Appendix.
Transplant saplings into prior dug holes grouping them by species for a natural look.
Stake and water the transplanted saplings.
Auger several holes between each sapling for the second story seedlings. Backfill part way with 50-50 peat & soil mix.
Procure potted seedlings of a number of species selected from the list of second story plants given in the Appendix.
Transplant seedlings into prior dug holes selecting for species compatibility with the saplings already transplanted.
Water transplanted seedlings and stake if necessary.
Install seep-hose watering system, connecting it to existing water lines.
Water plants when necessary to prevent excessive wilting and to promote rapid growth.
Scatter a mixture of seeds (selecting the species from the list of first story plants given in the Appendix) along the furrow and downslope ridge.
Scatter finely divided straw mulch to a one-inch depth onto the furrow and ridge.
Cover the furrow and ridge with woody prunings to discourage herbivory by rodents and birds.
Check developmental progress of bramble barrier weekly making adjustments in the system where needed.
Procedure for Imprinter Seeding:
Divide each pasture in half with a low dike constructed on the contour using a border disk.
Make another low dike along the lower edge of each pasture in the same way.
Procure seed of a number of species selected from the lists of plants given in the Appendix for first and second stories.
Mix seed with an equal volume of wheat bran and fill seed hopper on demonstration land imprinter.
Note: Seed mix should include cool season annuals to serve as a cover crop for erosion control, imprint stabilization, nurse crop and green manure. Species such as annual ryegrass, schismus and plantago work well in the cover crop role in southern Arizona .
5. Imprint areas by going around the outside and working toward the center. Rip to soften the soil before imprinting if necessary for adequate penetration of imprinting teeth.
6. Monitor the development of the plant community for two years following imprinting.
7. Reseed areas with thin stands of seedlings.
Plants & seeds ................................................... $2,000
Labor, equipment & supplies ..................................$2,000
Seeds ............................................................... $2,000
Labor, equipment & supplies ......................... .........$2,000
.............................................. Total $8,000
Note: The foregoing estimates are based on the specifications--
10 to 15 gal saplings for the third story trees
5 gal seedlings for the second story shrubs
1 gal seedlings for the first story half shrubs
diverse seed mixes including early, mid & late successional species
seeding rates of 12 to 15 pounds per acre
These specifications can be scaled down, but at the expense of a slower response to the land treatments.
Stories of Vegetation: First Story (forbs and grasses), Second Story (half shrubs and shrubs), Third Story (trees)
First Story: Forbs & Grasses: F=Forb, G=Grass, W=Warm season, C=Cool season, L=Legume, A=Annual, P=Perennial, B=Biennial, "/" = or
** Sunflower (F,W,A) * Six-weeks grama (G,W,A)
* Plantago (F,C,A) Slender grama (G,W,P)
* Schismus (G,C,A) * Blue panicum (G,W,P)
** Penstemon (F,C,P) ** Johnson grass (G,W,P)
Wild mustard (F,C,A) ** Millet (G,W,A)
* Annual ryegrass (G,C,A) ** Wheat (G,C,A)
** Globe mallow (F,C,A/P) ** Oats (G,C,A)
* Desert marigold (F,C,P) ** Barley (G,C,A)
** Purple aster (F,W,P) ** Rye (G,C,A)
Amaranth (F,W,A) ** Grain sorghum (G,W,A/P)
** AZ poppy (F,C,A) * Wilman lovegrass (G,C/W,P)
** AZ lupine (F,C,L,AP) ** Owl's clover (F,C,A)
Vine milkweed (F,W,P) Devil's claw (F,W,P)
** Buffalo gourd (F,W,P) ** Tanglehead (G,W,P)
** Sideoats grama (G,W,P) ** Plains bristlegrass (G,W,P)
* Pappas grass (G,W,P) Alkali sacaton (G,W,P)
* Lehmann lovegrass (G,C/W,P) * Boers lovegrass (G,C/W,P)
* Cochise lovegrass (G,C/W,P) * Purple three-awn (G,W,P)
* Sand dropseed (G,W,P) ** Buffelgrass (G,W,P)
Yellow sweetclover (F,W,L,B) * Burclover (F,C,L,A)
Wildoats (G,C,A) * Bermudagrass (G,W.))
Natal redtop (G,C/W,P) Bushmuhly (G,W,P)
** Sprucetop grama (G,W,P) * Needle grama (G,W,P)
** Red brome (G,C,A) * Cane bluestem (G,W,P)
* AZ cottontop (G,W,P) ** Feather fingergrass (G,W,A)
* Rothrock grama (G,W,P)
Second Story: Half Shrubs & Shrubs:
S=Shrub, T=Tree, H=Halfshrub, E=Evergreen, D=Deciduous, L=Legume, "/" = or
* Yellow bird of paradise (S,D,L) * Cassias (S,E,L)
* Texas ranger (S,E) * Four-wing saltbush (S,E)
* Desert saltbush (S,E) ** Desert hackberry (S,D)
** Quailbush (S,E) ** Graythorn (S,E/D)
* Wolfberry (S,E/D) ** Desert broom (S,E)
** Burroweed (H,E/D) ** Bursage (H,E)
** Fairyduster (H,D,L) * Creosote bush (S,E)
** Tree tobacco (S,E) ** Desert smoketree (S,D)
* Catclaw acacia (S/T,D,L) * Whitethorn acacia (S/T,D,L)
* Brittlebush (H,E) * Desert mallow (H,E)
* Mexican paloverde (S,E/D,L)
Third Story: Trees: T=Tree, E=Evergreen, D=Deciduous, S=Shrub, L=Legume, "/" = or
* Eucalyptus (T,E) * Rhus lancea (T,E)
** Desert willow (T/S,D) ** Mexican paloverde (T/S,E/D,L)
* Aleppo pine (T,E) ** Canyon hackberry (T,D)
** Chinaberry (T,D) Cottonwood (T,D)
** Catclaw acacia (T/S,D,L) ** Arizona ash (T,D)
* Honey mesquite (T,E/D,L) * California pepper (T,E)
* Blue paloverde (T/S,D,L) ** Salt cedar (T/S,E)
*Olive (T,E) * Argentine mesquite ) (T,E/D,L) (Colorado variety)
The foregoing listings are based on the Imprinting Foundation's first-hand experience with each plant species for use in the Tucson area under irrigated and dryland conditions.
One star ( * ) preceding a species indicates our first choice, whereas two stars ( ** ) signifies the second choice.
Usually we select the first choice species for use in a project if available after considering the cost & quality of the plant material and special preferences of the client. When these considerations can't be met, we go to the second-choice species for selection of comparable plant material.
Unstarred species have rankings of third or fourth choice.
Species for the bramble barrier are given in all three listings, whereas species for the pasture seed mix are in the first and second story lists; i.e., no trees.
The Imprinting Foundation
1616 E. Lind Road
Tucson, AZ 85719
Close Window to Return to List
If you entered our site on this page, click on Logo below to go to the Imprinting Foundation for more Information
|
<urn:uuid:a37a8d82-8506-4a96-8b41-cd849fcb6970>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-30
|
http://www.imprinting.org/scientific-conservation/RUSTAND%20project1.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549429417.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20170727182552-20170727202552-00209.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.820543 | 2,254 | 2.890625 | 3 | 2.28985 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Industrial
|
Already have an account? Get multiple benefits of using own account!
Login in your account..!
Don't have an account? Create your account in less than a minutes,
Forgot password? how can I recover my password now!
Enter right registered email to receive password!
We drop a 26-g ice cube (0C) into 1000 g of water (20C). Find the total change of entropy of the ice and water when a common temperature has been reached. Caution: calculate the common temperature to the nearest 0.01C.
How many straight flush possible hands exist in Poker? (5 cards of 5 consecutive ranks, all in 1 suit, including Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks). Explain.
Suppose the average puppy weighs 10 pounds. A sample of 10 puppies yields a sample mean of 13.2 pounds and a sample standard deviation of 2.78 pounds. Assume the population standard deviation is known to be 5.25.
A 64 kg skier coasts up a snow-covered hill that makes an angle of 25° with the horizontal, What is the magnitude of the kinetic frictional force
The starting salaries for full-time jobs for recent graduates in statistics are normally distributed with a mean of $44,000 and a standard deviation of $2,900. If random samples of 25 recent graduates were selected
A 8760-kg car is travelling at 29.7 m/s when the driver decides to exit the freeway by going up a ramp, What is the magnitude of the average drag force exerted on the car
The price of a pie is now $11 how many pies are sold How many pies does each producer make How many producers are there How much profit does each producer earn c. Is this situation described in part (b) a long run-equilibrium
Is the demand for this good price elastic or price inelastic? Justify your classification by talking about the determinants of elasticity as they apply to this product.
You want to know how the commuting time of your employees compare to Departments competing for the same staff, so you get some survey data on average commuting times for36 randomly selected people in your line of business.
A jet is circling an airport control tower at a distance of 22.0 km. Find the distance traveled (in meters) by the jet as the observer watches the nose of the jet cross from one side of the moon to the other
Determine the total consumer surplus and the total producer surplus; Label these areas on your Graph.
Illustrate what is the magnitude of the apparent weight of a 78kg astronaut 5200km from the center of the Earth's moon in a space vehicle moving at constant velocity?
Calculate the time the microgel would require to recover to 99% of its initial height after the stress is removed. Determine the potential barrier for the molecule aggregation?
A 65kg person throws a 0.0410 kg snowball forward with a ground speed of 28.0 m/s. A second person, with a mass of 60kg, catches the snowball. Both people are on skates.
The coefficient of static friction between the wall and the rod is μs = 0.575. Determine the minimum distance x from point A at which an additional weight w (the same as the weight of the rod) can be hung without causing the rod to slip at point A.
A mountain climber, in the process of crossing between two cliffs by a rope, pauses to rest. She weighs 521 N. As the drawing shows, Find the tensions in the rope to the left and to the right of the mountain climber
An electron moves in a circular path perpendicular to a constant magnetic field with a magnitude of 2.00 mT. The angular momentum of the electron about center of the circle is 5.50 multiplied by 10-25 J·s.
What is the period of this pendulum in the small angle approximation.
Two ants race across a table 56 cm long. One travels at 4.5cm/s and the other at 2cm/s. When the first one crosses the finish line how far behind is the second one.
Find the magnitude of book's velocity, just before the book reaches the floor. Find the direction of book's velocity, just before the book reaches the floor.
A 10-kg bullet is fired horizontally into a 300-g wooden block initially at res on a horizontal surface and become embedded in it. The coefficient of friction between block and surface is (0.50).
Argon is a monatomic gas whose atomic mass is 39.9 u. The temperature of 9 grams of argon is raised by 75 K under conditions of constant pressure. Assuming that argon is an ideal gas, evaluate how much heat is required? J
A skier with a mass of 63 kg starts from rest and skis down an icy slope that has a length of 50 m at an angle of 32 degrees with respect to the horizontal. Iillustrate what is the speed of the skier at the bottom of the slope?
Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!
All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd
|
<urn:uuid:be662069-017e-4e31-92f7-75a0d2237954>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-14
|
https://www.expertsmind.com/library/find-the-total-change-of-entropy-of-the-ice-and-water-5245991.aspx
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945182.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20230323163125-20230323193125-00259.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.924654 | 1,132 | 2.578125 | 3 | 2.046957 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Education & Jobs
|
Dec. 28, 2013
Flying Over West Texas at Christmas
Oh, little town far below
with a ruler line of a road running through you,
you anonymous cluster of houses and barns,
miniaturized by this altitude
in a land as parched as Bethlehem
might have been somewhere around the year zero—
a beautiful song should be written about you
which choirs could sing in their lofts
and carolers standing in a semicircle
could carol in front of houses topped with snow.
For surely some admirable person was born
within the waffle-iron grid of your streets,
who then went on to perform some small miracles,
placing a hand on the head of a child
or shaking a cigarette out of the pack for a stranger.
But maybe it is best not to compose a hymn
or chisel into tablets the code of his behavior
or convene a tribunal of men in robes to explain his words.
Let us not press the gold leaf of his name
onto a page of vellum or hang his image from a nail.
Better to fly over this little town with nothing
but the hope that someone visits his grave
once a year, pushing open the low iron gate
then making her way toward him
through the rows of the others
before bending to prop up some flowers before the stone.
It was on this day in 1973 that the Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Nixon. There had been wildlife conservation laws in place for decades. In the late 19th century, the passenger pigeon was almost gone, the whooping crane population had plummeted, and many other species were being hunted into extinction — for food, for fashionable clothing, and sometimes just for fun. In 1900, the Lacey Act was passed, regulating the sale of illegally captured or hunted wildlife across state lines. But the Lacey Act could only do so much; the passenger pigeon went extinct, and by 1941, there were only about 16 whooping cranes left in the wild. The whooping crane became the inspiration for the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, which set aside money to buy habitat for endangered species. Amendments made the laws stricter for using products that came from endangered species. In 1970, the Department of the Interior proposed adding the sperm whale to its list of endangered species, and the Pentagon and Commerce Department protested because the Navy used sperm whale oil in its submarines. It was clear that more comprehensive legislation was necessary.
In 1972, Nixon outlined his environmental agenda to Congress. He said: "This is the environmental awakening. It marks a new sensitivity of the American spirit and a new maturity of American public life. It is working a revolution in values, as commitment to responsible partnership with nature replaces cavalier assumptions that we can play God with our surroundings and survive." He specifically asked for a new Endangered Species Act that would provide early identification and protection of threatened species, and treat hunting or capturing endangered species as a federal offense. In 1973, the House and Senate versions were combined. The Senate passed the bill unanimously, and the House by a vote of 355 to 4.
Biologist Daniel H. Janzen said: "For what DNA literacy if we have extinguished the books?"
It was on this day in 1945 that Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. It was written in 1892 by a minister and Socialist named Francis Bellamy, who was eventually forced out of his position because he preached too many sermons about Jesus and socialism. Bellamy wrote the Pledge for Youth's Companion magazine,which had launched a program offering kids a flag for their school in return for every 100 magazine subscriptions they sold. Youth's Companion decided to step it up a notch and partner with the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (the World's Fair) to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landing in America. They wanted schools nationwide to participate in honoring the flag. One hot August evening, the magazine's employees were in the offices planning for the celebration, and the editor asked Bellamy to write something for students to recite. Bellamy agreed to hole himself up in his office for an hour and see what he could do. He said later: "Here arose the temptation of that historic slogan of the French Revolution which meant so much to Jefferson and his friends, 'Liberty, equality, fraternity.' No; that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all. That's all any one nation can handle. [...] The words seemed to take care of themselves — they were the old words of American history and evolution, with the ear instinctively helping in their choice. They had been condensed to 23. When they were said aloud, they seemed to have a carrying resonance together with ease of speech." His pledge was published in early September, and it read simply: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." On Columbus Day, October 12th, it was recited in public schools all over the country.
In 1923, the National Flag Conference changed the words from "my Flag" to "the Flag of the United States of America," so that immigrants wouldn't be confused about which flag they were honoring. In 1942, Congress first acknowledged the Pledge as part of legislation codifying flag-related rituals, but it wasn't until this day in 1945 that they officially recognized it and it was sanctioned by Congress. The words "under God" were added in 1954 to make sure it didn't sound like something that would be recited by Communists.
It was on this day in 1895 that Auguste and Louis Lumière opened the first movie theater at the Grand Café in Paris. Other inventors, including Thomas Edison, were working on various moving picture devices at the time. But most of those other devices could only be viewed by one person at a time. The Lumières were the first to project moving pictures on a screen, so that they could be viewed by a large audience.
It's the birthday of the man who said: "Lead us not into temptation. Just tell us where it is; we'll find it." That's writer and comedian Sam Levenson (books by this author), born in New York City (1911). He grew up in a Jewish section of Brooklyn and later said, "It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.'"
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®
|
<urn:uuid:65627e5b-5df3-48cd-8579-f7a550e9b13f>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-22
|
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2013/12/28
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207932737.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113212-00097-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979818 | 1,375 | 2.734375 | 3 | 2.793864 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
When thinking of essential kitchen appliances, a garbage disposal should be on your list.
This device is a powerhouse and keeps your efficiency in the kitchen as high as ever. Invented in 1927 by John W. Hammes, this device has stayed relatively the same over the years and has made it into just about every kitchen.
This device allows you to make cleanup go by much quicker, and honestly, once you install one, you’ll wonder why it took you so long. Keep reading to find out the question we’ve all asked, how does a garbage disposal work?
What Is a Garbage Disposal?
A garbage disposal is a mechanism that you can find underneath your sink attached to the drain. Its purpose is to help during clean up, and when turned on it cuts up things like meat and veggies into small bits and pieces.
This ensures that the food doesn’t clog the plumbing system and even helps it biodegrade more quickly. You will spend less time scraping your dishes in the trash.
How Does a Garbage Disposal Work?
The garbage disposal is an electrical device that one plugged in can chop up your food. After installing to your sink drain and hooking it up to the necessary plumbing, make sure you plug this guy in and test it out before using it.
Once you place any food item into the grinding chamber, a blade will chop everything into small pieces. It is recommended that you run the garbage disposal for about 30 seconds with the cold water running to ensure it does its job properly.
Then, an impeller and plate system pushes the food down from the chamber towards the drain. This comes in handy because it is also hooked up to the dishwasher in most cases, allowing those food particles to exit the same way.
How to Use a Garbage Disposal
When using the garbage disposal, make sure that the water you are running is room temperature or cold before turning the device on. It is very important that you run the water before turning it on and during the grinding process.
Make sure all the food is in the chamber before turning it on to help it work quickly, and never stick your hand into the chamber unless the device is unplugged. Once everything is down the drain safely, then turn the water off. This will help flush the system at the end.
It is also important that when using it, you never stick anything like bones or utensils down into the grinding chamber, as this could cause damage to the device.
Picking out the right garbage disposal can save you a lot of heartache down the line. Doing your research and picking a trusted brand can make the process easy as cake.
Did you find the answer to how does a garbage disposal work? Check out more of our blog for more.
|
<urn:uuid:2339c8ea-5229-4175-b6d6-8d99c8663728>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-17
|
https://www.thepinnaclelist.com/articles/how-does-garbage-disposal-work-quick-guide/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618039379601.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20210420060507-20210420090507-00208.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.951253 | 574 | 3.015625 | 3 | 1.235476 | 1 |
Basic reasoning
|
Home & Hobbies
|
Persona Non Grata is a phrase originated from Latin, literally meaning unwelcome person”. Its plural form is “Personae Non Grata”. The term is regulated in the Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations dated 1961.
- The receiving State may at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable. In any such case, the sending State shall, as appropriate, either recall the person concerned or terminate his functions with the mission. A person may be declared non grata or not acceptable before arriving in the territory of the receiving State.
- If the sending State refuses or fails within a reasonable period to carry out its obligations under paragraph 1 of this Article, the receiving State may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the mission.”
- The receiving state does not have to disclose any grounds for the Persona Non Grata declaration. Commonly, this notification is made on the diplomatic officials who act contrary to the interests of the receiving state or for the diplomatic officials who
are not subject to judicial sanctions due to diplomatic rules after the offense committed .
- Diplomatic official may be declared ‘Persona Non Grata’ because of acts and actions contrary to the obligations and requirements of the receiving state, before being sent.
- Persona Non Grata declaration does not remove the diplomatic immunity of the diplomatic official. Commonly, the state recalls the official who has been declared Persona Non Grata; but this is not an obligation arising from sanction but a result of practice.
The Main Reasons Persona Non Grata is Based On
- The acts and manners of the diplomatic official that are contrary to the interests of the receiving state
- Certain crimes committed by the diplomatic official within the borders of the receiving state
- Retaliation (If the diplomatic official of a state is declared Persona Non Grata in another country, in return to this declaration, the diplomatic official belonging to that state is also declared Persona Non Grata )
The aspect of Persona Non Grata within legal and diplomatic framework is defined in Vienna Convention. However this sanction is also used upon non diplomatic people, in order to create social and territorial pressure nowadays.
- US politician Donald Trump has been declared Persona Non Grata by Mexico and Panama due to the controversial and harsh statements he made in the countries he visited.
- After one of Turkey’s diplomatic officials had been declared Persona Non Grata in Bulgaria due to his intense interest in religious affairs, Turkish state declared Persona Non Grata one of the diplomatic officials of Bulgarian state to retaliate .
- In 2012, Israel declared German author Günter Grass Persona Non Grata, because of his poems blaming and criticizing Israel.
|
<urn:uuid:9b49ee90-29b8-4fc1-90b4-12f657d3c38e>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-14
|
https://eslemanabay.com/unwelcome-person-persona-non-grata/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945440.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20230326075911-20230326105911-00097.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947402 | 595 | 3.25 | 3 | 2.678824 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Politics
|
Neuroscientists think you might be reading to your child incorrectly
Find out how to read 'correctly' to your child
A common and effective way to help your little one get a head start in life is to read to your child. All parents want their kids to be successful, and they do whatever it takes to prepare them for challenges in life ahead.
So they give their children nutritious food, buy educational toys and select a preschool with a nurturing environment among the many other things they do.
Perhaps one thing most parents do to stimulate their child's intelligence and knowledge is encourage reading. Even if their children are too small to understand still, reading encourages language development and speech.
One of the most popular times to read to children is during their bedtime. This reading ritual is one that fosters bonding between parents and their child and also helps kids develop a love for reading.
But what if all this time you were reading to your little one in the wrong way?
Neuroscientists think that many parents are missing out on an important trick that can make reading so much more beneficial to their kids.
By using this method, parents can even use reading to make their kids more successful at life later but nurturing a crucial value that we'll tell you about soon.
So what is this trick?
We all know that reading to your kids is important. But neuroscientist Erin Clabough explains that many parents (unknowingly) do just the bare minimum when it comes to reading to their children.
Clabough says that instead of reading to their children, parents need to read with them, encouraging them to get "inside" the story.
Writing in Psychology Today, Clabough explains that reading often becomes a repetitive bedtime ritual done with the intention of making children sleepy, or "so they can have something to write down on their school reading logs". She says when does this way, it's only the tiniest bit different from placing kids in front of the TV.
"We've been sucked in by the plot, and we're dying to know what happens. But we're still on the outside, watching someone else make decisions. The real magic happens inside our own heads when we try on someone else's life," Clabough writes.
When a parent reads in this manner, getting 'inside' the story along with their child, they are in fact promoting the development of intellectual empathy (the ability to perceive objectively how other people see and experience things), which can help lead to success later in life.
How do you read to your child?
According to research, those who read literary fiction learn to better understand the thoughts and motivations of others. And while reading literary fiction might be too advanced for little ones, you can use the following "child-friendly" tips to promote this understanding nevertheless:
- Embrace dramatic pauses. Use appropriate facial expressions to 'show' your child what the words are trying to say
- Interrupt the story at appropriate points to encourage your child to put themselves in the mind of the characters.
- Encourage them to solve the problem before the character does by asking them how they would find a solution to it.
Even if you read the same story to your child over and over again, by adopting these tips and this reading method, you can give your child hundreds of different scenarios, promoting him to think, problem solve and imagine in hundreds of different and creative ways.
Clabough says encouraging children to make decisions while they're reading amounts to decision-making practice, which "results in synaptic changes and strengthening of neuronal pathways in your child."
Ultimately, your child not just becomes a better reader, but also a more effective person with heightened intellectual empathy. She writes that such people often become "better bosses, co-workers, negotiators, and friends."
So parents, try incorporating these ideas into the way you read to your child starting from today, knowing that you are making a significant difference to their lives.
Share your thoughts on this article in a comment below.
|
<urn:uuid:35ef85f7-642c-4a0d-b85e-aeb4b7cb88f0>
|
CC-MAIN-2020-05
|
https://sg.theasianparent.com/right-way-to-read-to-kids/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250593994.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20200118221909-20200119005909-00425.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968664 | 826 | 3.21875 | 3 | 2.82369 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Education & Jobs
|
Posted by Sean Heyliger on Friday, December 1st, 2017
The African American Museum & Library at Oakland is working to preserve Oakland's music heritage.
It was forty-five years ago when Jay Payton, a well-known Bay Area emcee and music promoter, launched his own music and dance variety, Soul Is (later named “The Jay Payton Show”) on Oakland’s KEMO-TV. The variety show was modeled in part on Don Cornelius’ Soul Train, which had premiered two years earlier and created a model for a youth-focused music and dance variety show that promoted African American performers on a national stage.
Soul Is featured many Bay Area musicians and dance groups that frequently performed at Jay Payton’s Top Star Awards, an annual music award show produced by Payton for Bay Area African American R&B musicians held at the Showcase, Bimbo's 365 Club, the Claremont Hotel, and other venues.
Until recently it was commonly believed that there were no existent tapes of the Jay Payton Show. As Thomas Guzman-Sanchez remarked in his 2012 book on underground dance, “it appears that the show master tape recordings were recorded over by Jay Payton to save on production costs.” So we were excited to receive two original master 2’’ inch quad tapes containing two episodes of the Jay Payton Show that originally aired on KEMO-TV in 1976.
The master tapes were donated to the museum in 2016 by the family of Jay Payton. The episodes feature an interview with Lenny Williams of Tower of Power and performances by Fresh, Joe Washington & Wash, The Saul Serenade, Graham Central Station. They are particularly significant for their footage of dance routines by The Black Resurgents, a dance troupe formed by students at Castlemont High School in East Oakland that combined parts of the boogaloo and the robot that would influence the next generation of hip hop artists and dancers.
The African American Museum & Library at Oakland was able to digitize the two tapes through a grant from the California Audiovisual Preservation Project with video hosting by the Internet Archive.
Jay Payton Papers, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library.
Rickey Vincent, Party music: the inside story of the Black Panthers’ band and how black power transformed soul music. Lawrence Hill Books Chicago, 2013.
Doug Harris’ documentary Jay Payton: Legendary Bay Area MC
Hip Hop Evolution, Banger Films
|
<urn:uuid:90232f2d-1d67-44e6-a38d-1f2867e8bddb>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-21
|
https://oaklandlibrary.org/blogs/post/the-jay-payton-show-oaklands-own-soul-train/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662521152.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518052503-20220518082503-00752.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.963861 | 516 | 2.640625 | 3 | 2.584547 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Entertainment
|
Information Communication Technology (ICT) refers to all or any the technology accustomed handle telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audio-visual process and transmission systems, and network-based management and observance functions. ICT refers to technologies that give access to info through telecommunications. It’s like info Technology (IT), however focuses totally on communication technologies. This includes the net, wireless networks, cell phones, and different communication mediums.
In the past few decades Information Communication Technology have provided society with a colossal array of latest communication capabilities. As an example, folks will communicate in time period with others in several countries mistreatment technologies like instant electronic messaging, vocalisation informatics (VoIP), and video-conferencing. Social networking websites like Facebook permit users from everywhere the planet to stay up-to-date and communicate on a daily basis.
Modern Information Communication Technology have created a “global village,” within which folks will communicate with others across the planet as if they were living not far away. For this reason, ICT is usually studied within the context of however trendy communication technologies have an effect on society.Although ICT is usually thought of associate extended equivalent word for info technology (IT), its scope is additional broad.
ICT has additional recently been accustomed describe the convergence of many technologies and therefore the use of common transmission lines carrying terribly various knowledge and communication varieties and formats.
Components of associate Information Communication Technology System
Information Communication Technology encompasses each the internet-enabled sphere furthermore because the mobile one hopped-up by wireless networks. It additionally includes old technologies, like land line telephones, radio and tv broadcast all of that are still wide used nowadays aboard newest ICT items like computer science and artificial intelligence.
Information Communication Technology is typically used synonymously with IT (for info technology); but, ICT is mostly accustomed represent a broader, additional comprehensive list of all elements associated with pc and digital technologies than IT.
The list of Information Communication Technology elements is thoroughgoing, and it continues to grow. Some elements, like computers and telephones, have existed for many years. Others, like smartphones, digital TVs and robots, are more modern entries. ICT unremarkable suggests that over its list of elements, though. It additionally encompasses the applying of all those numerous elements. It’s here that the $64000 potential, power and danger of ICT will be found.
Importance of Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Information Communication Technology (ICT) has a very important role within the world since we tend to are currently within the modern era. With ICT, the corporate will build the business easier to happen with the shopper, provider and therefore the distributor. It’s additionally important in our daily lives. the dearth of applicable info at the correct time can lead to low productivity, quality analysis works, and waste of your time to pursue info and even to try and do analysis that truly different had done or in other countries. Today ICT cannot be separated with our daily wants.
Information Communication Technology contains a nice impact in our daily lives. As an example, we are able to scan our native newspaper mistreatment the web newspaper. Another example is we tend to still will get connected with our family, relatives, or colleagues even though we tend to are abroad by mistreatment the email correspondence, yahoo traveller, decision conference, or video conference.
Digital computer and networking has modified our economy conception to the economy with no boundary in time and area attributable to ICT. It brings heaps of benefits for economic development sanctionative many transactions to happen in a simple and quick method.
Information Communication Technology is one in every of the economic development pillars to realize national competitive advantage. It will improve the standard of human life as a result of it will be used as a learning and education media, the mass communication media in promoting and effort sensible and necessary problems, like the health and social space. It provides wider data and might facilitate in gaining and accessing info.
Information Communication Technology has become associate integral a part of standard of living for several folks. It will increase its importance in people’s lives and it’s expected that this trend can continue, to the extent that ICT accomplishment can become a useful demand for people’s work, social, and private lives.
Information Communication Technology drives innovation and innovation is that the path to business success. Innovation in business has constant impact that steam had on the commercial revolution.
In fact, it’s laborious to imagine any business that has not benefited from the digital revolution. Even one thing as hands on as agriculture uses computers. Farmers use computers for production records, monetary designing, and analysis on technical problems, and procure.
Nowadays the formula for business success is simple: drive innovation with info technology. So, the primary factor start-ups in any trade try and fathom is the way to build sensible IT recruiting selections. While not a backbone of data technology, a business isn’t getting to go so much.
Speed/time and cash will be saved as a result of its abundant faster to send/share info around. Communication is additional economical to contact either business partners or friends and relations everywhere the planet Information Communication Technology expands accessibility for communications. Social network sites and Social media like Skype permits creating video-conference calls with immediate response. Messages will be send to varied people/companies across distances. Lives are suffering from Information Communication Technology in most positive way’s delivery families along across the planet.
Numerous offers from telecommunication firms and sensible phones so creating so much cheaper than within the past. For business Information Communication Technology saves unbelievable quantity of cash on business flights and accommodations. Solely few years agone there was no thanks to send free message through to the phone, however currently folk’s uses social network for complimentary communication e.g. Viber, Skype, and Facebook. Saving time and cash for gasoline as folks will searching|shopping|buy groceries window shop go on a spree} from home through on-line shopping.
Websites are open for communication in each minute of the year. This implies that a business will be open anytime anyplace giving a client the potential to form purchase from totally different completely different} sites and different countries.
4.Bridging the cultural gap
Greater access to the Information Communication Technology has helped to create the bridges between totally different cultures giving them chance to exchange views and concepts. Also, educate either side of Communication Bridge thereby increasing awareness and reducing prejudice.
5.Creation of jobs
The best advantage of Information Communication Technology has been a creation of latest and attention-grabbing jobs in IT sectors. Pc programmers, internet designers etc. have nice employment opportunities created through the advancement of technology.
There is new chance for any education to boost qualification in such a lot of economic sectors. A degree will be completed on-line from person’s home. It’s doable to carry employment and still do degree.
1.Lack of Security/Privacy
Though it should have modified and additional convenient, it additionally brought on privacy and security problems. From email hacking, phone signal interception etc. folks are upset that non-public info might become cognition. IT keeps dynamic virtually a day which suggests that the people should be up to this point in IT to secure their jobs. There’s additionally risk factors with the systems pc viruses, malware, spam, Trojans etc., attacking.
While it should have efficient the business method, its created job redundancies and subcontracting. Mistreatment the computers rather than human resources employers save Brobdingnagian quantity of cash however workers are losing their jobs as not required any longer.
The network pages are hospitable everybody as well as teenagers and young children’s which may have an effect on their mental and physical health by look and enjoying violent games. They became hooked in to the phones, iPod, play consoles forgetting regarding outside activities and communication within the society.
It is really easy currently bullying and threatening others in social network pages that this has become abundant easier for net users everywhere the planet. They do not notice what the implications are to those reading/hearing unpleasant comments. Within the recent past there are such a lot of investigation cases concerning cyber bullying with fatal consequences.
5.Reliance on technology
People do not trouble to scan, calculate or write while not computers any longer in same time losing talents of hand writing (why write it will use spell-checker), calculate while not calculator even for minor addition, scanning books (why read if there most info in internet).
The above mentioned has explained varied benefits and drawbacks that are increasing because the technology improves. Folks should use caution with however and UN agency they provide within the personal info to. The list will be endless. What happens within the future; can benefits outweigh disadvantages? UN agency can win during this battle, computers or mortals, and the way abundant are lost during this battle remains to be seen.
|
<urn:uuid:a491f8ae-6cbe-442d-a5ad-37ea7d746651>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-51
|
http://blog.obligr.com/what-will-information-communication-technology-ict-mean/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376829997.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20181218225003-20181219011003-00582.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.930404 | 1,840 | 2.921875 | 3 | 2.612576 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
In the heart of civilization lie places abandoned. For whatever reason, people retreat from these spaces entirely, leaving behind unintentional time capsules filled with objects and equipment from another era, including computers.
In recent years, a risky hobby called "urban exploration" has gained momentum on the internet. Urban explorers risk life, limb, and imprisonment to document derelict buildings and urban decay. They are guided by a code of ethics not to disturb what they find, as illustrated by their main credo: "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints."
In the gallery below, we'll uncover the hidden and often eerie world of abandoned computers in 12 photographs that remind us both of our own propensity for technological excess and of the seemingly inexorable force of tech obsolescence that has overtaken our civilization at a breakneck pace.
Before we begin, a strong disclaimer: Urban exploration is extremely dangerous and usually illegal, so please do not try it yourself.
(This story was first published on March 13, 2011.)
1. School Computer Lab
While exploring the abandoned remains of Horace Mann High School
in Gary, Indiana, photographer Ken Fager stumbled across the school's computer lab. There, among piles of generic PCs, he found a few Apple II units. Years of vandalism took their toll on the (circa 1987) Platinum IIe seen here, but oddly, the Imagewriter II printer remains unscathed. Those printers were built like tanks.
(Photo: Ken Fager)
2. Moss On Board
The Earth wastes no time reclaiming what is hers, even if it's in the shape of an electronic printed circuit board. Avid hiker Eric Koppel discovered this striking display of nature overtaking technology while exploring near Paterson, New Jersey, in 2006.
(Photo: Eric Koppel)
3. Accountant's Desk
Time has not been kind to the buckling desk beneath this monstrous early-1980s computer terminal, which was likely used as part of an office-wide mainframe computer system. Despite the years of decay, the machine looks as if would spring back to life if given the chance. A moldy paper ledger, perhaps once used to stock the computer with data, still sits atop the terminal, awaiting its appointment with software that has long since faded away.
(Photo: Bill Anderson)
4. A Tangled Web of iMacs
In the bowels of an abandoned Niagara Falls fire station, urban explorer Phrenzee stumbled upon this collection of Apple iMacs, which appear as if they've been victims of a giant computer-eating spider. Only 10 years ago, computers such as these would have been welcomed with open arms onto the desktops of Macintosh fans everywhere. Now they sit abandoned and unwanted, proving that the march of technological progress holds no favorites.
5. Broken Displays
Urban explorers often encounter senseless acts of vandalism committed long before they arrived to peacefully explore a scene. These two PC monitors, found in an abandoned home for boys, may be cursed to forever sit among shards of their own broken picture tubes. Their only respite could be the arrival of the wrecking ball.
(Photo: Tiffany Bailey)
7. Homeless PC
This trashed circa-1981 IBM PC monitor and matching keyboard have definitely seen better days, but they make for a beautiful image when photographed by explorer Tommaso Coerini in Italy.
(Photo: Tommaso Coerini)
During the heyday of the Apple II computer line, AppleWorks was the premier productivity software suite. Containing integrated word processor, spreadsheet, and database applications in one package, it was the 1980's equivalent to Microsoft Office. Photographer Chris Luckhardt found this AppleWorks box sitting among trash and rubble in an abandoned Rochester, New York, office complex.
(Photo: Chris Luckhardt)
9. The Blue Beast
You never know what you'll find in an old building. Chris Folsom discovered this rather large 1970's-era Bell System mainframe and matching widescreen text terminal in Forest Haven, Maryland.
(Photo: Chris Folsom)
10. Junk Room
Many folks have a room in their house that ends up as a dumping ground for unorganized stuff. The owner of this 100-year-old bathhouse
in Clydebank, Scotland, took that practice to a whole new level: they stuffed a room full of old computers, let it sit for 15 years, and invited a wide variety of animals to defecate all over it. Don't sit in the orange chair.
(Photo: Alan Third)
The clock stopped at 12:40. Somewhere in Toronto, an entire lab of computers sits frozen in time like a modern Pompeii. But no sudden disaster struck this gritty scene, captured with artistic flair by Michael Quigg; just slow and purposeful abandonment.
(Photo: Michael Quigg)
Stripped of its case and its dignity, a rusted PC chassis sits as a monument to electronic pollution on the banks of the Meduxnekeag River in Maine.
With the profound explosion in computer production in the last three decades, e-waste has become a serious problem. This computer, for instance, is potentially leaking toxic chemicals and heavy metals into a natural waterway, which spells bad news for the animals and humans that rely upon it for survival.
One piece of electronic trash can leave a legacy of pollution that lasts decades, if not centuries, which begs the question: are we abandoning computers, or are they abandoning us?
(Photo: Aaron Gullison)
13. Abandoned Video Games and Arcades
Get Our Best Stories!
Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.
|
<urn:uuid:e9d17b08-12a2-4374-a276-1f6a54051bce>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-50
|
https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-eerie-world-of-abandoned-computers
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100651.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20231207090036-20231207120036-00784.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.927929 | 1,184 | 3.03125 | 3 | 2.77612 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Hardware
|
Current statistics show that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making the condition more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric aids combined with a 28% rise from Harlem to Hollis.
In total, an estimated 1.5 million individuals in the United States are affected by autism. Perhaps most alarming, government statistics suggest that the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually – without a known explanation.
To help change some of the commonly held assumptions and misconceptions of autism, the mother-daughter team of Camille Cohn (author) and Riley Cohn (illustrator) created the forthcoming children’s book, Cooper and the Big Apple. In this stunningly illustrated picture book, the Cohns tell the story of Cooper, a cat who reluctantly embarks on a trip to New York City with his best friend, Jennifer. Throughout his journey, the autistic Cooper is confused by the figures of speech and nicknames used to describe landmarks in the city. Through Cooper’s travels, readers get a rare peak at the world through the eyes of an autistic, literal thinker. Readers then experience the transformation of Cooper’s confusion into amazement when he realizes that experiencing new adventures can be interesting, fun, and educational.
This engaging, heartfelt, and informative book also:
- Explains to other children the unique interpretation of the world through the eyes of someone with autism
- Teaches autistic children how to move beyond what is already familiar, and take part in new experiences
- Helps teach young autistic children to transition away from constant literal thinking, and embrace colloquial speech and common phrases
- And so much more!
“I wrote Cooper and the Big Apple in hopes that educators could use it in the classroom to teach young children about figures of speech. It could also be used as a tool to teach other children about what it is like to be on the autism spectrum,” says Camille. “But I think the most important thing I want people to know is that people with autism might be different, but they are not less. Most people on the autism spectrum are extremely intelligent; but they are wired differently. They have a hard time expressing themselves. My hope is that as awareness increases, the general public will be able to give autistic people opportunities that celebrate their unique talents.”
From an article that ran in DNAinfo dated April 2, 2012 titled Autism Rate Rises 28 Percent in NYC, but Getting Help Remains a Struggle the numbers tell the story from Harlem to Hollis:
Between 2009 and 2011, New York City saw a staggering nearly 28 percent increase in the number of autistic students between the ages of 3 and 21, Department of Education figures show. By the end of 2011, about 1 in 110 public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade had been diagnosed with autism, the city found.
The numbers are in line with the much-discussed announcement last week that 1 in 88 children across the United States had been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder by the time they turned 8-years-old — a staggering 78 percent increase compared to six years ago.
Among boys, the incidence of autism is even higher, with 1 in 56 diagnosed by the time they turn 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in the 2008 study, which covered 14 states and was released last week.
Cooper and the Big Apple
Follow Cooper and his adventurous companion Jennifer as they travel from the Texas Hill Country to the Big Apple!
Greenleaf Book Group Press (October 13, 2015). Hard Cover, $12.62
|
<urn:uuid:df3b7d2c-2717-44d1-8aee-26bed55d39bf>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-06
|
https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/hw-pick-cooper-and-the-big-apple-the-world-through-autistic-kids/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499801.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20230130034805-20230130064805-00055.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955912 | 734 | 3.21875 | 3 | 2.79952 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Health
|
DONATE TODAY!: Join the NOR Associates
Each word has its own particular emphasis, a specific definition, and a subtle yet distinct connotation. In communication, one word cant be swapped for another without altering, in a small or great way, the meaning of the concept being conveyed, or without at least casting it in a different hue.
The close link between clarity in language and clarity of thought has not been lost on power-seekers of all stripes. Love him or hate him, Saul Alinsky was spot on when he wrote, He who controls the language controls the masses. History has proved him right on this score: The social acceptance of homosexuality was made possible in no small part by the substitution of the word gay for homosexual in popular discourse. The latter term simply sounds weird whereas the former sounds friendlier and connotes happiness. Likewise, the debate over abortion was decisively swayed when its advocates began calling themselves pro-choice. Anyone can be against abortion, but who could be against choice?
The thought finds the words, the poet Robert Frost once wrote. But when words are controlled suppressed, eliminated, replaced for others the converse of Frosts dictum takes hold: The words help form the thought. So now we talk of abortion rights and marriage equality; these suggestive descriptors have helped form public opinion on these topics of high controversy. The controller of language controls the masses by redefining or, in some cases, limiting the very thoughts in their heads.
George Orwell explored this theme to great effect in his novel 1984. The totalitarian government of Oceania, in order to rein in dissent and advance its peculiar form of socialism, pared down the English language, reducing it to an attenuated version of its former glory, which it called Newspeak. The whole aim of Newspeak, explains Syme, a government linguist, is to narrow the range of thought. In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Thoughtcrime is any idea at variance with the creed of the ruling party an idea that need not be acted upon or even given expression in order to be considered a crime. Control the speech, control the thought, and the masses are made malleable for Big Brothers purposes.
You have two options:
- Online subscription: Subscribe now to New Oxford Review for access to all web content at newoxfordreview.org AND the monthly print edition for as low as $38 per year.
- Single article purchase: Purchase this article for $1.95, for viewing and printing for 48 hours.
If you're already a subscriber log-in here.
|
<urn:uuid:3f840c3c-89cc-4576-8763-920574434cb2>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-13
|
http://www.newoxfordreview.org/note.jsp?did=0713-notes-sister
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257646176.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20180318204522-20180318224522-00359.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954553 | 537 | 2.578125 | 3 | 2.742715 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Literature
|
Food Preservation Methods and Guidance
We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to food preservation. To extend the longevity of food used at home or in your food business, you can use refrigeration, freezing, canning, sugaring, salting, and even vacuum packing. Plus, food experts are constantly researching new preservation methods to expand our options.
Centuries of trial and error have taught us the safest methods of food preservation, which you must prioritise if you want to retain the quality and hygiene of stored food. The good news is that, with the right guidance and materials, you can easily do so in any setting.
The Importance of Food Preservation
Food preservation refers to the processes you use to prepare food for safe, long-term storage, whether you plan to use it at home, for prep in a commercial kitchen, or to sell directly to consumers. Preservation methods help inhibit bacterial growth and other types of spoilage, meaning the food is safe and satisfying to eat in the future.
There are three reasons why food preservation is important:
- To minimise pathogenic bacteria – food in long-term storage is at serious risk of spoilage due to bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, and other pathogens. Bacteria only need warmth, moisture, and time to rapidly multiply in food, but food preservation inhibits one or more of these conditions and stops their growth. For more information, check out our Complete List of Food Borne Diseases.
- To keep food at its best quality – food deteriorates over time due to spoilage. In many cases, mild spoilage doesn’t make food unsafe to eat, but it significantly affects its taste, texture, and appearance. Proper food preservation can help retain some of these qualities, as well as the nutritional value of certain foods.
- To save money – waste is costly, both at home and in a commercial setting. Ideally, you should avoid buying more than you can use, but various preservation methods – if done safely – help you keep vegetables, fruits, meat, etc. well past their usual expiration so there’s no need to bin them.
Certain food preservation methods can be tricky, but chances are you’ll gain a real sense of satisfaction and pride when you successfully apply them. Also, as many preservation methods require precision and care to maintain food safety, you’ll strengthen your awareness of food hygiene risks and good practices.
Common Methods of Food Preservation
Food preservation methods range from the simple process of chilling to more complex procedures such as canning. Many are creative options that help you mix things up at home or sell food in various forms of packaging. Others help you keep your inventory in a commercial kitchen for much longer, which means you reduce waste and increase profit.
The 6 sections below look at various food preservation methods you can use and the safest, most effective way to do them.
Although refrigeration is a basic storage method nowadays, it was once a luxury. Storing food at a low temperature is the simplest, and often safest, way to store many types of food, as the food you plan to chill usually requires minimal preparation – or it’s already done for you.
Fridges preserve the quality and safety of food because the cold slows bacterial growth and minimises spoilage. Depending on the type of food, it can last between a few days and a few weeks in the fridge before the texture and taste deteriorate.
To safely refrigerate food, you should:
- Set your fridge to a temperature between 1°C and 4°C. The law requires you to store food for commercial use under 8°C.
- Use separate refrigerators, where possible, for raw and high risk or ready-to-eat food to minimise cross-contamination. If it’s unpractical for you to use separate fridges, you should be aware of which fridge shelves you should store food on. For example, ready-to-eat food should sit above raw food at all times.
- Ensure you label food with best before and use by dates if you remove the original packaging.
- Avoid overloading the fridge or placing food in front of the cooling unit. Ensure there’s plenty of room between foods to allow air circulation.
- Put canned food in a separate container before you refrigerate it. When you refrigerate an open can, a small amount of metal transfers to the food which, although not harmful to consumption, gives food an unappetising taste.
- Use a FIFO food storage system to ensure you use those with the nearest best before or use by dates before others. Proper stock rotation minimises waste and saves you money.
Did you know?
Throughout history, various civilisations cut and stored ice or snow to create conditions for refrigeration. Ice was even shipped around the world.
If stored properly, frozen food can last for months. In fact, because bacteria cannot grow when frozen, food you keep in the freezer can remain safe to eat for almost indefinite periods of time. However, it will eventually deteriorate in quality and become unappetising, so you should use most frozen food within a few months or a year.
To safely freeze food, you should:
- Set the freezer to a temperature between -18°C and -22°C.
- Place food in air-tight containers or freezer bags before freezing. Proper wrapping is especially important for meat, otherwise it may get freezer burn and become inedible.
- Only freeze items before their best before or use by date.
- Never refreeze defrosted food, as it gives bacteria an opportunity to grow between thawing. You should either use it right away or store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- Defrost the freezer regularly to keep it free of an ice build-up. You should be able to keep frozen food in the fridge for a couple of hours maximum while the freezer defrosts.
- Label food with the date you freeze it. You can refer back to the date to see whether you should use the food before it deteriorates. Use our online guide to check how long food lasts in the freezer.
Did you know?
If the power cuts, don’t open the freezer door. Food usually remains frozen for about 24 hours even if the freezer shuts off, so you shouldn’t have to throw anything away once the power returns.
Preserving food in a high-sugar environment stops bacterial growth by reducing the food’s water content. It works particularly well for fruit: you can make jam and marmalade that lasts for a long time, and you can use canning to store it (see the section below).
All sorts of sugary substances work well to preserve food, including sugar granules, sugar syrup, or honey. Some sugaring recipes even use alcohol alongside sugar to preserve certain foods.
You may use sugaring to preserve foods such as:
- Fruit – apples, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, and more preserve well when sugared.
- Vegetables – ginger and carrot are commonly sugared and used for relishes or condiments.
- Certain fish and meat – you can combine sugar with salt or another liquid to make a brine that helps preserve meat and reduce saltiness.
Using an excessive amount of sugar comes with health risks, but if you reduce the amount of sugar to lower than what is necessary, you may allow the food to spoil. Make sure you follow suitable sugaring recipes shared online or in books to get the right amount, and be sure to consume sugared foods in moderation.
Did you know?
The average person consumes 24 kilos of sugar a year: six times the recommended amount.
Similar to sugaring, salt draws water out of food and stops bacterial growth. In high concentrations, it can even destroy bacteria cells, although by this point the food is likely unappetising.
There are two forms of salting:
- Dry curing – you apply salt to the food, such as meat, and leave it to draw out the water.
- Wet curing – better known as brine, you mix salt with water and add food to the liquid to preserve it, usually together with canning (see the canning section of this guide).
As with sugar, excessive salt consumption can harm health, so you should follow suitable salting recipes found online or in published food preservation books. You also need to use salt specifically designed for pickling or a Kosher salt.
Did you know?
The Ancient Romans valued salt so highly as an ingredient for preserving food that they used it as a form of currency.
Keeping food canned significantly extends its lifespan – but only if done correctly. The canning process preserves food by removing oxygen through an airtight seal and containing food in an acidic, sugary, or salty environment, where bacteria cannot thrive.
You should follow a safe, proper canning process:
- Select good quality food that is still within its best before or use by date. Handle it hygienically.
- Purchase suitable jars and self-sealing lids specifically designed for canning. You cannot reuse old peanut butter jars and jam pots; they won’t ensure an airtight seal.
- Purchase a canning rack.
- Follow tested preservation recipes. You must follow every step carefully to make sure your canned foods preserve safely. Visit freshpreserving.com for good examples or search for books online.
Follow these canning steps:
- Heat the jars beforehand in simmering water (not boiling).
- Prepare the food according to the preservation recipe. You usually need to heat food to boiling.
- Remove jars from the water and loosely fill them with the food.
- Depending on the recipe, you may fill the jar entirely with the food (e.g. jam) or you may need to add an acidic liquid or brine, which you’ll boil beforehand.
- Leave ½ inch of headspace and apply the sealing lid. Adjust the lid until the fit is fingertip tight.
- Submerge the jars in boiling water using your canning rack for the period of time that the recipe states.
- Remove and set aside to cool for as long as stated.
It’s critical that you follow a tested canning process to increase the longevity and safety of food. If improperly canned, food containing C. botulinum may produce toxins that cause botulism poisoning: a rare but life-threatening condition. Fortunately, C. botulinum remains inactive in high-acid environments, so make sure you follow any steps that require adding acids.
Did you know?
In response to Napoleon’s concern for soldiers dying from malnutrition, a man named Nicholas Appert invented canning in the early 1800s.
Similar to canning, vacuum packing deprives bacteria of oxygen by creating an airtight atmosphere. While food may not last for as long as canned goods, vacuuming still extends its storage life for much longer than keeping food in the fridge or in a cupboard.
Vacuum packing also has value as a preservation method because it preserves the quality without the need for other ingredients (unlike canning). It usually maintains the food’s smell, colour, taste, and texture – which is particularly desirable for meat you intend to cook rare. In the absence of air, vacuum packed food also retains its moisture, which ensures optimum food quality.
Beyond preservation, vacuum packing also works well for food preparation. Many chefs vacuum pack specific ingredients and cook it at a precise temperature to produce unique results.
To safely vacuum pack food, you should:
- Prepare the food hygienically. Wash fruits and vegetables and trim unwanted skin, fat, and bone from meat.
- Place the food inside a suitable vacuum packing plastic bag.
- Feed the plastic bag into a vacuum packing machine.
- Allow the vacuum packing machine to run.
- Store in the fridge or a cool, dry place.
You can follow certain methods that don’t require a machine to vacuum pack food if you like, but they usually sacrifice food safety and produce varying results. Remember: to prevent botulism, airtight packaging must be spot on. In a commercial setting, always use suitable equipment to vacuum pack. You’ll preserve food safely and make it safe to eat at a later date.
Did you know?
You can vacuum seal a lot of foods, but you should avoid soft cheese, mushrooms, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. They give off gases that expand the bag and lead to spoilage.
What to Read Next:
- What’s the Best Way to Store Vegetables?
- How Long Does Food Last in the Freezer?
- Food Safety Awareness Quiz
- Level 3 Supervising Food Safety in Catering
Subscribe for the latest Hub updates! Tell us what you're interested in hearing about:
|
<urn:uuid:77ccf11f-6f6c-4a8b-94f0-c02e3298b1b9>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-13
|
https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/food-preservation-methods/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912201329.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190318132220-20190318154220-00134.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.926251 | 2,696 | 3.328125 | 3 | 2.189133 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Food & Dining
|
What is “big data”?
Big Data refers to the recent growth in data available to businesses. Data comes from many sources, and when combined, can help answer important business questions. Through the mastery of big data management techniques, businesses can gain an edge over their competition.
What is a data model?
A data model is a way of organizing the fields in your data to mirror the actual people, places, events and activities you encounter in your business every day.
The data model for every business is as unique as that business. A good data model contains all of the facts, attributes, entities and features, appropriately structured, used to accurately report on how your business is performing and help it plan for the future.
What does a data model contain?
In most businesses, data is spread across multiple systems. Customer Data, for example, is often housed in multiple places, in different formats, like CRM, Marketing systems, ERP, Support and Survey systems, The problem is that each of these systems only provides a small sliver into what’s going on inside your business around your customers. This “Siloing” of data is what leads to inaccurate understandings and poor quality decision-making
Enter the Data Model. A data model is a way of organizing your data into a structure where the silos are removed and you can view all of your data about a subject in one place, the way you actually think about it in your mind.
By combining all of this separate data into a single data model, you can visually see your data in the way your business is actually organized.
Concepts like Integrated Customer View and Integrated Prospect View are examples of data models designed to let you see everything your business knows about a customer or prospect; how they found you, how much business they’re doing, how satisfied they are, etc.
What is data monetization?
Data Monetization is an exciting and emerging new revenue opportunity around getting economic value out of data assets your organization already has. With Data Monetization, businesses and organizations create valuable new revenue and profit streams by providing curated analytics to various audiences that are based around data they’ve already collected.
To get into Data Monetization, you need Data Monetization tools (like Inzata) that produces the curated analytics. Inzata’s data monetization tools also manage the secure access to these data assets, and enable you to launch fee-based access to these analytic. Inzata has tools to manage this entire process for you, from the loading and organizing of your data to the delivery of real-time insights to your customers and subscribers. Inzata also protects the security and privacy of your data
Isn’t Data Monetization the same as selling my data?
No. In fact we don’t recommend you sell your data. You worked hard to get it and it’s a valuable asset for you. Data Monetization is focused around offering access to the insights your data can provide to your target audience. Your core data is never sold or traded. What your buyers see are trends and other useful information that they are willing
Types of monetization
Internal Data Monetization:
Internal Data Monetization is the harvesting of economic value through the use of information from inside the enterprise. It is the most commonly practiced form of Data Monetization in use today. Internal Data Monetization consists of analyzing and using collected business data to improve business decision-making, avoid risks, optimize KPIs. If you can quantify the economic value received from these practices, then you’re already getting benefits from Internal Data Monetization.
External Data Monetization:
External Data Monetization involves getting paid for the economic value the analytics produced from your data would bring to parties outside of your immediate enterprise.
Businesses today are desperate for high-quality, reliable information on topics they care about. They will pay high prices for credible, curated sources of intelligence.
Your business is probably collecting data that can easily be analyzed and curated to meet this significant market demand. Companies are finding valuable assets among data they are already collecting and storing, as long as it’s packaged appropriately and marketed to the right audience.
Why is Inzata different?
Inzata is the only platform with a powerful AI assistant to organize, blend and model raw data from any source. This means Inzata lets you go from raw data to beautiful analytics in minutes rather than weeks and months. It is more than 100 times faster than other data analysis tools in modeling and blending raw data into useful business models, that let you create precisely the visualizations, charts and dashboards and predictive tools your business wants to see.
Who would use Inzata?
Just about anyone in your organization! Inzata does not require a technical background to us. Among our clients, we have everyone from new interns right up to CEOs using it. Inzata takes only about 30 minutes to learn and start using. Inzata is drag-and-drop; all you need is a web browser. Online walkthroughs are available to get you started and we also offer more in-depth online learning courses and live training to help you get the most out of your data with Inzata.
How does Inzata compare to Tableau and other Data Visualization and Dashboarding tools?
Most other data visualization tools are just that, data visualization tools. So unless your data is perfectly clean and structured and in just a single file they struggle. Many of these tools are trying to implement ways of addressing this issue but this is an afterthought to them. With Inzata we have focused on being the full stack solution you need; from data preparation, to data quality and modeling, and then finally the data visualizations with your now prepped data.
Can Inzata integrate with *insert popular applications*?
Yes we can! Inzata is built to be able to pull in data from anywhere using many different methods from flat files to active streaming IoT data.
Inzata is also built to be able to get your data back out to other platforms or processes you use. You’re able to export data as anything from CSVs to a managed SQL database without any additional tools.
How does Inzata’s AI work?
Inzata uses advanced AI to profile and evaluate the data you connect to it. In this way, Inzata gets to know your data and helps you organize it up to 100x faster than manual methods. Inzata’s AI uses an array of descriptive statistics to look for logical “overlap” points within your data, fields that can be used to connect various datasets together, faster than any other data analytics tools on the market.
What kind of data does Inzata work with?
Almost any data can be used for analysis with Inzata! You can upload anything from IoT data, log file data, transactional data, or even custom database data.
How does Inzata keep my data secure?
Inzata employs multi-layered security techniques to ensure your data is kept private and secure. Inzata offers row-level security, data encryption, and multi-factor authentication, among others.
What kind of data can I load into Inzata?
Just about any kind of digital data can be loads. Structured, semi-structured, SQL data, data in CSV, Excel, Google Sheets. Inzata even connects to streaming data sources like IoT device feeds, real-time POS data feeds, and social media streams. One of Inzata’s key features is bringing all of your data together so you can see the true picture of what’s going on in your business.
Is Inzata only available in the cloud?
While Inzata was built for the cloud, it is also available as an on-premises deployment via appliance as well as directly installed in your data center. Contact us to find out more.
How do I access Inzata?
Inzata is accessible via a web browser or mobile device. Since it’s hosted in the cloud, it’s always available and can be accessed securely from wherever you are.
How does Inzata work?
Inzata connects to your directly to your source data, organizes it into visual models, and lets you start building charts, reports and dashboards faster than any other Data Analytics Software. These visualizations can then be shared across your business to help people see a single version of the truth about what matters to your business.
Inzata is an all-in-one Data Analysis and Data Visualization suite. All you need to bring is your data. Inzata can connect to SQL databases, cloud data lakes, and directly to over 200 applications like Salesforce, Hubspot, Google Analytics and Facebook Ad manager.
Do I need to know SQL to use Inzata?
No! Inzata is a visual drag-and-drop interface. It organizes, integrates and displays your data in a visual format allowing you to work with your data visually to produce beautiful data visualizations, charts, graphs and dashboards, then share them across your organization.
What can data analytics do for my business?
Data analytics opens up a multitude of business opportunities to your business. You can leverage your data to improve marketing and sales, improve internal process efficiency, discover new business patterns, or even create brand new revenue streams!
What does a good business strategy using analytics look like?
The two main use cases for Data Analytics are 1) Business Intelligence and 2) improving business decision making. Business Intelligence helps you understand what is currently happening in your organization. Predictive analytics and data science begin to help you understand and predict what will happen, so you can make better decisions. Together, these provide some very powerful techniques that will help your business become more data-driven.
What kind of data is needed for analysis?
Virtually any data can be suitable for analysis. Most businesses start with data on things that are most important to them: Customers, products, sales, operations.
What is the difference between structured and unstructured data?
Structured data is any data that is organized in a consistent way, think of your standard CSV file that has headers and columns and rows. This sort of data is the easiest to handle however is not as common as one may think. What’s more common is Semi-structured data. Semi-structured data is data that has an underlying structure but isn’t really human readable. These are things like log files or streaming IoT data.
Unstructured data is things like PDF scans. For data like this in most cases the data has to be transcribed to some other format in order to be readable by any software.
How much data can I load/upload?
As much as you need or want. There really is no upper limit, companies have used Inzata to analyze datasets numbering into multiple terabytes and billions of rows. Because of its ultra-high performance cloud engine, Inzata processes very large datasets up to 5x faster than other cloud data warehouses.
|
<urn:uuid:7f00ac5b-c61d-43f0-ab12-d103b731f061>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-26
|
https://www.inzata.com/frequently-asked-questions/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998288.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20190616162745-20190616184745-00109.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938108 | 2,323 | 2.765625 | 3 | 2.26176 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Software
|
The snow shows us shapes and textures we might otherwise overlook.
“Darwin pointed out that ‘many plant parts, and particularly leaves, move in response to a number of extrinsic (environmental) and intrinsic (physiological) factors. The most important extrinsic factors are light intensity (phototropic), light direction (heliotropic), water content (hydrotropic), and temperature (thermotropic). The most frequently observed case of thermotropic movements occurs in plants in hot, dry environments where leaves move upward and become vertical to avoid excessive light absorption. The thermotropic leaf movements of Rhododendron are unusual because these movements are in response to cold temperatures and the leaves become pendent rather than vertical.’”Nilsen summarizes the various theories about thermotropic leaf movements in rhododendrons, describes his own research, and concludes that “the thermotropic leaf curling in Rhododendron may serve to prevent damage to cellular membranes during the process of daily rethawing that often occurs during the early morning.”It’s an interesting, readable article.
“It was the humble carrier-pigeon that was to prove the only means of breaking the blockade in reverse. A microphotography unit was set up in Tours, and there government despatches were reduced to a minute size, printed on feathery collodion membranes, so that one pigeon could carry up to 40,000 despatches, equivalent to the contents of a complete book. On reaching Paris, the despatches were projected by magic lantern, their contents transcribed by a battery of clerks. During the siege, 302 pigeons were sent off, of which 59 actually reached Paris. The remainder were taken by birds of prey, died of cold and hunger, or ended up in Prussian pies. As a counter-measure, the Prussians imported falcons, which prompted one of the many imaginative Parisian 'inventors' to suggest that the pigeons be equipped with whistles to frighten off the predators. When the war finally ended, there was talk of rewarding the noble birds (which some compared to the savior geese of Ancient Rome) by the incorporation of a pigeon in the city’s coat of arms.” (Horne, p. 256)
[Researchers] constructed a model that related bird abundance and species richness to home prices. The model suggests that the presence of less-common birds helps home prices soar. On a lot that already had one less-common species, for instance, the addition of a second such species improved mean home prices by $32,028.Here’s the article, followed by the abstract from the original study.
An innovative study of home sales in Lubbock, Texas, suggests that planners can use relatively simple bird counts to analyze the ecological and economic values of urban landscapes. And it finds that even a single extra species can help pinpoint relatively rich ecosystems.
“A problem urban ecologists and ‘new urbanists’ often face is the difficult task of completing ecological-environmental evaluations in a timely and cost-effective fashion,” write Michael C. Farmer and colleagues at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, in Urban Ecosystems. As a result, officials in a rush to issue permits often deem all green spaces, such as public parks, beneficial—even though ecologists know “that not all green spaces are equally valuable.”
The researchers decided to see whether bird surveys might offer a quick-and-dirty solution. They collected information on approximately 368 home sales in 17 Lubbock neighborhoods from 2008 to 2009. Then they conducted bird counts in the vicinity of each home sale, recording both the total number of birds and the number of “less-ubiquitous” species—which included blue jays and western kingbirds. They also used Google Earth to estimate the percentage of tree cover in the area surrounding each sale. Finally, [researchers] constructed a model that related bird abundance and species richness to home prices.
The model suggests that the presence of less-common birds helps home prices soar. On a lot that already had one less-common species, for instance, the addition of a second such species improved mean home prices by $32,028. Although that number shouldn’t “be taken too literally,” it does suggest that the presence of less-common birds indicates a varied ecosystem—such as one with a variety of trees and shrubs. That’s in line with ecological studies showing that more diverse bird life tends to inhabit ecosystems with more “vertical” diversity (vegetation of various heights).
“This deliberately simple and inexpensive indicator,” they conclude, could help ecologists and economists identify development practices that provide “even stronger gains to housing values, environmental footprint, and urban wildlife that might otherwise go unnoticed in a quick-paced development cycle.”
Abstract: It is known that public greenspaces contribute positively to urban home prices; yet urban ecologists also have known that not all greenspaces are equally valuable. Also some ecologically valuable space appears on private residences, not only public spaces. This work examines directly whether using a variable derived from bird species richness and relative abundance adds new information regarding ecological value and if high values of that variable significantly improve urban housing prices. We collected information on approximately 368 home sales in Lubbock, TX from 2008 to 2009 from the Multiple Listing Service: Sale Price, Square Footage, Lot Size and Age in 17 neighborhoods identified by the Lubbock Realtor Association. We conducted bird counts in the vicinity of each home sale and recorded both the total numbers of birds and the number of bird species identified in a particular class—less ubiquitous bird species. Finally, we used GIS to record the percentage of tree cover in the immediate area surrounding each sale. We constructed a predictive model for a bird relative abundance and species richness variable (Bird) from AICc statistics. Home price for each sale then was regressed against the predicted value of ‘Bird’ from the selected model and regressed against home price along with other attributes from the Multiple Listing Service. The predicted value for Bird finds that the addition of another desirable, less ubiquitous bird species improves mean home price by $32,028, likely due to the human created landscapes on private properties immediately surrounding a home sale. Curiously, the presence of a nearby park neither explained variation in the ecological indicator nor contributed to home price elevation. This deliberately simple and inexpensive indicator helped to direct attention to the composition of local landscapes in specific areas to assess joint ecological and economic gains rather than presume a priori that open greenspace jointly satisfies these dual objectives.
―Charles Dickens (1812-1870), A Tale of Two Cities (1859, opening of Chapter III, “The Night Shadows”)
|
<urn:uuid:74d7551e-28d6-432f-b9a2-d73bfd4ea33f>
|
CC-MAIN-2020-16
|
http://quodlibet-sarah.blogspot.com/2012/01/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370506580.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402014600-20200402044600-00176.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.943732 | 1,420 | 3.484375 | 3 | 3.015251 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Keep in mind that the aim of it all is to have a thesis: a position or argument you wish to establish—a major claim you want to persuade others to. And you are doing this by positioning your research vis-à-vis the existing knowledge (or knowledges) of the area as reflected in the literature/s.
‘Reviewing the literature/s’ entails reading—lots of it. To make this more manageable, I advise students to approach their reading as comprising two stages: preliminary reading and continuing reading.
It can be useful to establish a ‘quick map’ of what’s already been done in your area of research. This is important to enable you to begin to reduce and refine what you’re going to cover—to move from a broad topic to a precise question.
Guided by your supervisor and assisted by a librarian, you should begin by systematically scanning/ checking journal literature, monographs and other theses to ‘map’ what constitutes the knowledge of your area.
Aim to become familiar with as much of the literature as possible in a short period of time. You will quickly begin to sense what is going to be relevant to your area, what is less relevant, and what is irrelevant. You can come back to the material as you being to refine your Research Question. The initial aim should be to gain an overview of the literature ‘landscape’.
When I meet with new research students, I tell them that when we meet again in a fortnight I expect that they will have discovered most of the literature that is relevant to their topic. Of course it’s an impossible task. But it forces them to skim-read, to take short cuts—like checking abstracts and key words of articles, looking at the contents pages of books, and skim reading introductory paragraphs to chapters that sound promising.
I recommend they adopt a simple three-way filing system:
- One manila folder to hold the information on what literature is irrelevant;
- Another folder for articles and texts that clearly are relevant to the emerging topic;
- And a third for material that might be relevant, depending on what finally emerges as their Research Question.
In this way, they control the literature, rather than allowing it to control them. To ensure that they really are in control, they need to be absolutely accurate in how they record the bibliographical information—noting carefully correct title and spelling of the author’s name, the date and place of publication, the name of the publisher, and the edition— and the precise page number for any information they write down.
Note that much published material is now accessible electronically. Ensure that you take advantage of sessions provided by Victoria University so that you are clear on how to access and to manage electronic material.
Guided by your supervisors, and what you begin to pick up yourself in footnotes and references, you should continue to read as much of the relevant research and theoretical literature as you possibly can.
In one sense you can never read too much. In another sense you need to know when to stop!! Guided by your supervisors, you must be able to answer this question in the affirmative:
‘Have I covered the authors who have contributed significantly to my field of study or my topic?’
Reading continues virtually up to the point of submission. An examiner might check the Bibliography to establish if major writers (including him- or herself!) have been ignored. An examiner might also check the dates of the references you include. If the date of publication stops, say, three or four years ago, the natural assumption is that you stopped reading at that point and that you have not kept up to date with the literature.
Many theses, especially professional doctoral theses, will work from both the ‘scholarly literature’ and the ‘practical literature’, such as policy and program documents, company and institutional reports, and the like.
Guided by your supervisors, you should be able to answer the following questions:
- What is the scholarship for my area?’
- What are the leading ‘scholarly’ texts and ‘practical’
- ‘How can I obtain them or gain access to them?’
Adams, R. (2005). Demystifying the thesis. Victoria University.
|
<urn:uuid:0018978c-0b3b-4429-97bd-e40942e1072a>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-51
|
http://thesishub.org/review-literature-literatures/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827992.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216191351-20181216213351-00277.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954052 | 903 | 2.90625 | 3 | 2.831665 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Education & Jobs
|
Table of Contents
What Tempest is About?
‘Tales from Shakespeare’ is an English children’s book written by the siblings Charles and Mary Lamb in 1807 for children to get to know Shakespeare’s drama in form of short stories. The Tempest is a play written by William Shakespeare probably written in 1610–1611 and thought to be one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is a play about magic, betrayal, love, and forgiveness.
It is set on a deserted island where Prospero, the one-time Duke of Milan, and his beautiful daughter, Miranda, live with a spirit called Ariel and a strange monster called Caliban. Prospero is a powerful magician who creates a storm, that sets the scene for the play. In the events that follow we see a plot to kill Prospero, and a romance between Miranda and the King’s son, Ferdinand. In the end, everyone is forgiven and they all set sail for home.
Prospero and Miranda’s Residence
In a deserted island lived Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Miranda. Miranda did not remember how she reached there as she was too young when she had first arrived. They lived in a cave made of rock where he had a separate place to keep his books that treated to magic.
With the help of his magic, he released the spirits who were trapped by a witch called Sycorax in the bodies of large trees which made the spirit obedient toward him. Ariel, who was one of those spirits loved to trouble Caliban who was employed as a slave by Prospero to do the heavy duties such as fetching the woods and some laboratory works and was in charge of Caliban to make him complete his duties properly.
Storm raised by Prospero causes a shipwreck
With the help of the spirits, Prospero raised a storm in the sea and shows Miranda the shipwreck from their island, to which Miranda gets concerned for the people in the ship. Prospero tells her, for the first time, how they came to be on the island. Twelve years ago when he was the Duke of Milan, his brother Antonio had brutally dethroned him but with Gonzalo’s help he had escaped in a small boat with his infant daughter, Miranda, and his library of books about magic. This was one of the reasons why Prospero raised a storm as his enemies The King of Naples and his brother Antonio were on that ship.
The passengers reach the island safely
After telling his story Prospero puts his daughter into a sleeping spell and talks to Ariel who informs that the ship’s passengers are cast upon the island unharmed as instructed. The King of Naples believes his son to be dead, but Ferdinand has landed on another part of the island. Prospero orders Ariel to bring the young prince for Miranda to get to know him and Ariel uses magical sounds to lure Ferdinand to find Prospero.
Miranda meets Ferdinand
He is the first man, apart from her father and Caliban that Miranda has ever seen and instantly falls in love with him. Prospero puts Ferdinand to work manually, controlling all his movements with magic to see if he is worthy of his daughter’s love. Miranda feels pity for Ferdinand and tries to help him, according to Miranda It was Prospero’s time to study and meanwhile Ferdinand can take a rest but Ferdinand doesn’t agree to it.
All this while Prospero was invisible and listening to their conversation and appeared before them to approve their love for each other. Prospero releases Ferdinand and gives his blessing to the marriage of the two young people.
Enemies are taught a lesson
When Prospero left the young couple, he called for Ariel who was eager to inform what he had done with Antonio and King of Naples. He had left them in fear and caused them to see and hear strange things. When they got tired of wandering around and starving Ariel had suddenly set before them a delicious meal and as they prepare themselves to eat Ariel appears before them in form of a greedy monster with wings and the feast vanishes away. Then to their shock, this monster reminds them of the cruelty they did to Prospero by leaving him and his infant daughter to die in the sea and that is the reason for their suffering in the wilderness.
Prospero and Miranda return to their actual home
The King of Naples and Antonio repents for their injustice done to Prospero. Prospero then orders Ariel to bring them to him, and he returns with the old Gonzalo as well who had helped Prospero in his hard times. Prospero reveals himself and when asked for repentance he forgives his brother and prepares to return to Milan to resume his dukedom. Miranda and Ferdinand are promised to each other. Prospero announces that the ship hasn’t been wrecked after all, and is safely anchored off the island. Ariel is set free before Prospero leaves the island.
The tempest represents a disturbance of the social order. It also seems to represent Prospero’s anger, as he is responsible for the storm. In the end, he asks Ariel to make sure the waves are calm on the way home, reflecting Prospero’s own internal calm. Prospero, the pardoner, implores pardon. Thus, the whole conduct of Prospero is a homily on the moral truth that it is far nobler to forgive than to take revenge. The happiness of life is to be attained by nobler forgiveness than cruel vengeance.
|
<urn:uuid:8f346697-1394-4c80-9a89-897b959aac39>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-21
|
https://englishsummary.com/lesson/the-tempest-lesson-summary-and-explanation-in-english-class-9th/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662545326.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522094818-20220522124818-00270.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.983358 | 1,140 | 3.53125 | 4 | 2.864857 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Literature
|
- By John HannahJohn Hannah is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on U.S. strategy. During the presidency of George W. Bush, he served for eight years on the staff of Vice President Cheney, including as the vice president's national security advisor.
Among the Iraq-related anniversaries to consider, here’s one more: Twenty-one years ago this week, millions of Iraqi Kurds set flight for the desolate, snow-capped mountains bordering Turkey and Iran, frantically seeking to escape the advancing armies of Saddam Hussein. Fresh off his humiliating defeat in the first Gulf War, Saddam had quickly trained his guns on wiping out all internal opposition to his tyrannical rule.
Where the Kurds were concerned, his purpose seemed clear. Saddam aimed to eliminate once and for all the persistent challenge this proud, irrepressible minority had long posed to his dictatorship. Genocide was on tap, the completion of a job begun in 1988, when Iraqi forces razed thousands of Kurdish villages, murdered their inhabitants, and rained chemical weapons down on the innocent men, women and children of a town called Halabja.
Now, with their backs literally to the wall, freezing to death on a barren mountainside, facing Saddam’s full vengeance, the Kurds’ destruction seemed nigh.
Until, that is: America. Said. No. Working with a small group of allies, the United States, quite simply, saved the Kurds. Saddam’s army was ordered to stand down or face renewed hostilities. U.S. ground forces deployed to northern Iraq and organized one of history’s greatest humanitarian rescues, Operation Provide Comfort. A no-fly zone was established over Kurdistan, which U.S. aircraft patrolled until 2003, when America finally settled its score with Saddam for good, liberating almost 30 million people from his republic of fear, including the long-suffering Kurds.
It’s a story of deliverance and American leadership well worth recalling, especially this year. For the first time in a generation, Iraq’s Kurds find themselves without direct American protection. President Obama’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq has once again left the Kurds largely alone. While no longer confronting Saddam’s terror, the long shadow of their anguished history remains, as do unresolved tensions not only with Iraq’s majority Arabs, but with powerful neighbors in Iran, Syria and Turkey struggling with disadvantaged Kurdish minorities of their own.
It’s a mix of fear, loathing and foreign meddling that, left untended, could easily lead to conflict and even war — both inside Iraq and, perhaps, regionally. That, indeed, would be tragic — for the often-betrayed Kurds, to be sure, but also for the prestige and long-term interests of their main benefactor, the United States.
Say what you will about the American project in Iraq, its application in Kurdistan was well down the path toward success. As happened in Germany, Japan and South Korea after World War II, a few decades of intense American engagement had begun working wonders for the Kurds. Excellent security — indeed, not a single U.S. combat death in areas under Kurdish control. A booming economy with growing levels of foreign investment. And an emerging democracy that, while far from perfect, has seen real opposition parties emerge, as well as a burgeoning civil society and media. Yes, corruption, lack of accountability, and uneven development remain serious problems. But certainly no worse than, say, South Korea circa the 1970s, at a similar point in that country’s experience under America’s wing.
Properly nourished, Iraqi Kurdistan has all the makings of a U.S. strategic asset. Iraq’s Arabs may have been profoundly ambivalent about a continued role for American troops. But not the Kurds, whose leaders loudly proclaimed their desire for a permanent U.S. presence, and whose population of some 5 million is overwhelmingly pro-American. Sharing borders with Iran and Syria, Kurdistan could play a vital role in U.S. strategy to combat the serious threats now emanating from those anti-American regimes. Kurdish security and intelligence forces are competent and battle-hardened, and after years of cooperation have built up excellent working relations with their U.S. counterparts, including in fighting Al Qaeda. And sitting atop 40-50 billion barrels of oil, Kurdistan is poised to become one of the world’s largest petroleum producers, a major contributor to global energy security.
Confident in its U.S. backing, Kurdistan could serve as both engine and anchor for the rest of Iraq’s democratic development. But America’s precipitous retreat has left behind a dangerous vacuum, a potential breeding ground for destructive acts of self-help that could easily spiral out of control That vacuum urgently needs to be filled by a concerted American strategy to define a new, "special" relationship with Iraq’s Kurds. Making clear that Kurdistan’s well-being within a truly federal Iraq is a high U.S. priority could serve both to deter potential aggressors while encouraging Kurdish restraint, patience and cooperation in dealing with the turmoil of Baghdad’s day-to-day politics.
When Kurdish President Masoud Barzani visits Washington next month, the Obama administration would be well advised to use the opportunity to establish a new Joint Commission on U.S.-Kurdish relations to oversee the bilateral relationship, composed of high-level officials from both sides. America’s consulate in Kurdistan should be led by a senior foreign service officer of ambassadorial rank, perhaps seconded by a retired general. Under the rubric of U.S. security assistance for Iraq, programs for equipping and training Kurdish security and intelligence services should be established, including robust channels for information sharing and other cooperative efforts. A joint initiative to expand dramatically American investment in Kurdistan needs to be launched, with a focus on expediting the region’s emergence as a reliable energy exporter to Western markets. Technical assistance should be provided to support Kurdish efforts to battle corruption, strengthen the rule of law, and ensure human rights.
More than two decades after saving Iraq’s Kurds from annihilation, it’s time for America to institutionalize a long-term strategic relationship with them — one that understands that a secure and prosperous Kurdistan, confident in its ties to the world’s sole superpower, can be a boon to U.S. interests, and a force for stability and modernism throughout Iraq and the broader Middle East.
|
<urn:uuid:6f774f30-72cc-4616-8d16-910b0e6675e1>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-18
|
http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/03/22/america-needs-a-kurdish-policy/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246661095.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045741-00269-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.956496 | 1,353 | 2.65625 | 3 | 2.952809 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Politics
|
R: Lois Weber / Phillips Smalley. B: Based on the poem “Ostler Joe” by George Robert Sims. D: Lois Weber, Philips Smalley. P: Rex for Universal. USA 1911
Print: Milestone Film / EYE Filmmuseum (without music)
“Lois Weber was the leading female director-screenwriter in early Hollywood. She began her career alongside her husband, Phillips Smalley, after the two had worked together in the theatre. They began working in motion pictures around 1907, often billed under the collective title ‘The Smalleys.’ In their early years at studios like Gaumont and Reliance, they acted alongside one another on-screen and codirected scripts written by Weber. Indeed, their status as a married, middle-class couple was often used to enhance their reputation for highbrow, quality pictures. In 1912, they were placed in charge of the Rex brand at the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, where they produced one or two one-reel films each week with a stock company of actors, quickly turning the brand into one of the studio’s most sophisticated. The couple increasingly turned their attention to multireel films, completing a four-reel production of The Merchant of Venice in 1914, the first American feature directed by a woman. Later that year they moved from Universal to Hobart Bosworth Productions where they were given more freedom to make feature-length films, among them Hypocrites (1915).”
Women Film Pioneers Project
“Weber wrote a 1915 article for Paramount Magazine titled ‘How I Became a Motion Picture Director,’ and she returned to Universal that same year. By then she was seen as a prominent director, and Carl Laemmle, head of Universal, allowed her to produce feature-length films — a privilege he had denied her prior to her Bosworth experience. While at Universal, she made Shoes (1916), which some critics consider her best film. The best known, however, was Where Are My Children? (1916). A plea for birth control, it was akin to The Hypocrites in bringing both controversy and censorship. Motion Picture Magazine featured her in its issue for July 1916, emphasizing the technically difficult aspects of her job with ‘Lois the Wizard.’ By 1917, she was sufficiently established to start her own studio, Lois Weber Productions. Among the movies she made during this period were The Price of a Good Time (1917), For Husbands Only (1918), and What Do Men Want? (1921).
The last title may have hinted at personal problems: when her 18-year marriage ended in a 1922 divorce, Weber suffered a nervous breakdown. She recovered enough to make A Chapter in My Life (1923), and a burst of energy after a 1926 marriage to Harry Gantz led to The Marriage Clause (1926), Sensation Seekers (1926), and The Angel of Broadway (1927).
In a May 14, 1927 article for the then-popular mass magazine Liberty, Universal’s Laemmle said of Weber: ‘She knows the motion-picture business as few people know it, and can drive as hard as anyone I’ve ever known.’ That work ethic may have been the cause of both a second divorce and of her long-term gastric ulcer. She made her last film, White Heat, in 1934, and died of a gastric hemorrhage in 1939, when she was age 58.
Lois Weber was the most consistently successful female director in the early movie industry. She had her own personal style, and as film history and criticism have evolved during the past few decades, she has regained her proper place as a pioneer.”
NWHM National Women’s History Museum
Lois Weber on this website:
|
<urn:uuid:f8766ab8-7adc-4eb8-bf89-6fb5fd5b6a77>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-04
|
https://traumundexzess.com/2018/08/06/lois-weber-the-wizard/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583829665.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20190122054634-20190122080634-00586.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.975169 | 799 | 2.53125 | 3 | 2.639381 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Entertainment
|
A carbon dioxide impact is actually just how an individual, firm, task, service or even product makes a big quantity of garden greenhouse fuels. A carbon footprint is actually determined based on a number of elements, including ones you generate in your every day life and others you discharge to the setting. Among one of the most necessary questions one might ask about, is how to finest get ready for environment modification. The good news is there are actually many options on call to help individuals ready. A lot of households have put up electricity effective home appliances, acquired items such as sky hair conditioners that function more efficiently, installed trees to offset discharges, and used alternative types of power when feasible. reduce carbon footprint
While these actions can most definitely aid decrease the amount of worldwide warming, they alone can certainly not stop it. Global warming is thought to be actually increasing at a disconcerting cost, and some think that time is managing out to take some corrective action. The principal aspects preventing environment improvement consist of green house fuels, absence of info on global warming, political weakness, and also scarcity. fiberglass and cellulose
There are actually a handful of straightforward traits you can easily start performing that will help you protect against worldwide warming. By making use of tidy water as well as using the lavatory at the very same opportunity you are actually aiding to steer clear of the air pollution of water sources all over the globe. Energy Efficiency vs Energy Savings
You perform possess control over what your body and also your lifestyle are actually allowing to go in to the planet’s ambience. You have the power to manage what enters into the sky you breathe as well as the amount of of that enters the ground. You simply aren’t being actually truthful along with on your own if you believe you can’t carry out just about anything to help stop international warming. There are a ton of factors you can possibly do to help in reducing the volume of dangerous factors entering into our environment, you only must take the project and also throw down the gauntlet.
One factor you can easily begin to do is actually to cut down on your green house gas discharges through steering a much less costly automobile or making use of energy-efficient appliances. All these little points with each other can assist you decrease down international warming as well as if you take action quickly you may save on your own whole lots of amount of money in the procedure.
It can easily be actually enjoyable to learn regarding international warming and also to make changes to your own life. It might appear ridiculous to discuss it, however it is really one of the a lot more interesting methods to make an effort to eliminate it. You do not need to take a significant activity against international warming; you merely must make sure that you do what you can in the house. Try creation changes in your way of life today and find just how simple it is actually to quit global warming prior to it receives also big.
What is actually Carbon dioxide Footprint? A carbon footprint stands for the volume of garden greenhouse gas emissions caused during production of a product, celebration, market, solution, and even item. If our experts continue to make use of nonrenewable energies, and increase our carbon impact, the Planet’s temperature are going to steadily alter and the world is going to be even more dangerous for our team, our children, and potential age groups. The earlier our experts begin to lower our carbon dioxide impact, the a lot less co2 and various other garden greenhouse fuels will be actually launched in to the environment.
Greenhouse gasolines, also referred to as HFCs or Heating, Air Flow, and Air Training discharges, are actually the result of insufficient combustion or breakdown to suitably regulate internal temperatures during the course of combustion. Many of the energy taken advantage of in modern-day culture is actually from fossil fuels, the electricity that gives off carbon dioxide is actually one of the biggest contributors to international warming. With more reliable electricity selections currently accessible at an affordable cost, it is essential to learn what is green on the power front. Eco-friendly energy can be used in the house, workplace or anywhere you need to have a replenishable resource for energy.
One of the absolute most important parts of knowing what is actually green is actually knowing what is entering into the Earth’s crust. This is actually since the majority of the green house gasoline emissions are actually made when folks melt nonrenewable fuel sources like gasoline and oil in their cars. The cars and truck that our experts drive everyday simply releases regarding 5% of the co2 that is discharged in to the ambience. As you age you will create even more carbon dioxide emissions and also as your little ones age a lot more thus.
In the upcoming few years our company need to start to appear at techniques in which our team may minimize green house fuel exhausts. And also one of the most convenient things to perform is actually to switch over to electricity vehicles if you own one!
|
<urn:uuid:abcfea5d-3bd0-429e-9cb9-b2cc882376d3>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-17
|
http://blogwerk.net/2020/12/16/is-what-is-carbon-dioxide-impact-the-best-trending-factor-right-now/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618039601956.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20210423041014-20210423071014-00131.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.952639 | 1,011 | 2.625 | 3 | 2.202834 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage
Smart Grid - "Enabler of the New Energy Economy"
Craig Severance, EnergyEconomyOnline.com
Over the last couple decades we have seen a revolution in communications with the Internet, digital cell phones, GPS, YouTube, and a host of applications the digital era has enabled.
However, your electric utility still has to count on customers calling in to let them know about power outages, and still has to send meter readers to know how much you have used each month.
As an electric customer you are equally in the dark. You have no idea how much your refrigerator or air conditioner consumes, or what would be the most effective way to cut your electric bill. If you use power at night when it costs the utility far less to generate, you don't get a discount because your meter has no clock. All you or your utility know is the total kWh's you consumed each month -- long after the fact, when it is too late to do anything about it.
Because customers receive no price signals that consuming electricity at peak times is very expensive, utilities are forced to build new power plants, just to have enough capacity available for a few dozen hours per year of peak demand. All utility customers now pay this huge cost as part of average rates.
The need to use renewable sources of power is also a major problem for today's electricity grid. One of the largest and cheapest renewable power sources -- wind energy -- produces electricity only when the wind blows. The windiest locations are also hundreds of miles away from large cities, where the power is needed most. Bringing power from these remote locations, and finding ways to store it for use when needed, are challenges to expanding renewable's share of electricity production.
Change is Coming. This is all about to change, spurred by the push to use more renewable energy and implement energy efficiencies, and with help from billions in the Economic Stimulus package. Utilities are now poised to begin a massive upgrade of electric meters and the electricity transmission and distribution grid, with a number of technologies collectively referred to as the "Smart Grid". While this upgrade is expected to cost billions of dollars to implement nationwide, it will save even more.
Craig A. Severance, CPA, is the Editor and founder of Energy Economy Online. He is a co-author of The Economics of Nuclear and Coal Power (Praeger 1976) and author of Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power (Center for American Progress web-published January 2009). He has served as Assistant to the Chairman and to Commerce Counsel, Iowa State Commerce Commission, and Finance Manager of the Iowa Railway Finance Authority. He was the founder and served as Executive Director of the Iowa Center for Local Self-Reliance, a non-profit renewable energy and energy conservation center in Des Moines, Iowa.
(27 April 2009)
This is a succinct attempt to explain all the components of the "Smart Grid" concept, how they work together, plus referencing CO2 savings projected for Smart Grid. Conclusion summarizes how important Smart Grid implementation is to accessing potential for renewable technologies, leveling loads, and saving costs for utilities.
UPDATE (May 1). High praise from reader Ann Peluso:
This is the first article that I have read in my 7 years of intense reading about peak oil/climate change that has given me any hope at all. I have a background in both electrical engineering and science education. This is workable, and brilliantly understandable.
An Aged Electric Grid Looks To A Brighter Future (audio and text)
Jeff Brady, Morning Edition, National Public Radio (NPR)
The nation's electricity grid is facing some huge challenges — it's outdated and unprepared for increasing demand and a future that includes more renewable sources of energy. In a weeklong series, NPR is examining the state of the nation's electricity infrastructure.
The economic stimulus bill passed in February includes $11 billion to upgrade the country's power grid, but that's just a down payment on a massive undertaking. That's because when it comes to electricity, not much has changed since Thomas Edison fired up the first commercial power grid in lower Manhattan on Sept. 4, 1882. The fundamentals he pioneered are still the basis for an electricity grid in the U.S. that is almost 100 percent reliable. But in recent years, that grid has started showing weakness.
On Aug. 14, 2003, a lot of people in the northeastern U.S. learned that they couldn't take reliable electricity service for granted anymore.
The first of a 10-part series
(27 April 2009)
'Vampire' energy use is taking a bite out of your wallet
Kathy M. Kristof, Los Angeles Times
Are vampires sucking the life out of your household energy budget?
Almost every household has at least one electricity vampire that sucks up power and costs you money.
"You need to do a home energy audit," said William Tauber, chief executive of Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions Inc. in Tustin and host of "The Green Energy Show" on KRLA-AM (870). "Things in your house are draining energy and you're not even aware of them, but they cost you hundreds of dollars."
(26 April 2009)
|
<urn:uuid:3cd6aae8-ef3b-4772-874c-5674b00be4a4>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-17
|
http://www.energybulletin.net/print/48791
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917122992.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031202-00484-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.949743 | 1,091 | 2.5625 | 3 | 2.870622 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
I get to see many economic charts, but they very rarely manage to illuminate a current situation as
this one does. In a morass of often conflicting economic data, graphs can lead to confusion rather
than clarity and insight but this chart, which has taken a huge amount of research to produce, is a
very welcome exception. Charts covering a really long time span are seldom available, and one like
this that extends for 140 years is rare indeed. The data used for the graph has taken the combined
resources and time of a team of international economists and academics who have cooperated to
pull it all together from disparate sources in 17 developed countries.
The chart clearly shows that since the 1980s banks should no longer be called banks because
banking is no longer their primary function. More accurately these organisations should be known
as: “mortgage lenders” or “property investors” or “real estate finance” companies. For several
decades now banking’s main interest has been in lending money to individuals to buy property, as
opposed to investing in companies which will grow and create employment. After the collapse of
Lehman Brothers and the following economic disasters, our governments in the U.S., U.K. and
Europe didn’t bail out the banks, using trillions of debt, to prevent industry grinding to halt. No, we
actually bailed out the avaricious property investors who were responsible for pumping up the
housing bubble in the first place and who would have been bankrupt without our help. So how did
this nonsensical situation come about? More importantly, why didn’t our governments understand
what was really happening? And why are we still being sold on the idea that investment in industry
is banking’s primary role, when it patently isn’t? Banking insiders tell us that modern banking is a
highly complex, highly-pressured business when the truth is that they take deposits from retail
customers (borrowing short) to lend to people in the form of mortgages to buy primarily domestic
houses (lending long). This is a very simple business with very little risk as the mortgage loans are
secured against a tangible asset (the property). But, as long as the banks continue this activity,
property prices will continue to rise and the bubble will continue to grow. Eventually it will burst
as it must when, like any Ponzi scheme reliant on new entrants, our young people are so burdened
with debt they cannot afford to buy property, however much they would like to. I suggest we may
be close to that point now. Those of you who read this article I wrote in May this year will know
that so called “quantitative easing” is a mechanism that uses newly created public money for debt
relief for banks, or perhaps I should refer to them more precisely as real estate finance companies.
Funny, but It doesn’t sound such a desirable and wholesome process when you swap the banking
word for real estate or property finance does it? Governments are devaluing our currencies at a
touch of a keyboard to protect greedy property speculators, and not to help our industries,
increase employment prospects or to protect the weak and the poor.
The data used to produce this chart compares bank mortgage and non-mortgage lending and their
relationship to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP is a very crude measure of the total of goods a
country produces defined in, as close as it gets, a world currency - the imperial U.S. dollar. As
Philipp Lepenies points out, GDP measurement has many weaknesses, and economist Simon
Kuznets argued against making GDP the main economic measurement because it is focussed on
production rather than the more human- centred measurement of National Income. Kuznets
originally devised the National Income measurement for President Roosevelt in 1931 and it was
used up until the Second World War, when GDP came into favour as all the politicians were
concerned about was measuring their own country’s total production. Post war, politicians
continued to find GDP an easier measurement to use because it was fairly basic and took no
account of income distribution. This failure to measure income and its distribution has played a
significant factor in creating the very unequal society of the 1% versus the 99% that Thomas Piketty
writes about in his book: Capital in the Twenty-First Century. As the management axiom says: you
cannot control what you do not measure, even if you wanted to. Any discussion about the fairness
of the differences in income quickly becomes a polarised political debate. Thus it was far easier to
simply measure a country’s productive capacity in dollar terms, so consequently GDP became the
universal standard of economic measurement. But GDP is actually a relatively poor measure: For
example it doesn’t include any form of unpaid work such as child care, or caring for an elderly
relative. Nor does it consider any form of voluntary work like staffing the millions of charity shops
that litter our high streets, particularly here in the U.K. But, notwithstanding its many limitations,
GDP still remains a useful measure because, since the 1940s, we have a reasonably consistent
dataset for comparison between countries. This chart therefore compares bank non-mortgage
lending and bank mortgage lending against an approximate measure (GDP) of the production
capacity of 17 economies.
Following the two graph lines from 1870 we can see that bank non-mortgage lending was always in
excess of bank mortgage lending up until around 1995. So banks behaved like banks, essentially
fulfilling their traditional role of supporting business and industrial development. This was very
much the case during and after the First World War. But observe that during the Second World
War, when obviously there was substantially less bank lending as populations fought each other,
non-mortgage bank lending and bank mortgage lending converged. Following the war both types
of bank lending grew, with non-mortgage lending resuming its traditional role right up to the mid-
1990s. But from that point on it’s clear that bank mortgage lending accelerated and then became
the primary activity, significantly outstripping non-mortgage lending. From 1995 banks no longer
behaved as they had for the previous 125 years. Their primary business became real estate or
property financing. Naturally, all the new property-loan money created by them has fuelled an
explosion in property prices. The net result of this is that people, especially younger people, are
becoming poorer as they have to pay an ever larger proportion of their disposable income to have
somewhere to live.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. within people’s living memory the limit on the amount that banks would
extend against a property was 25% of a family’s income. But the U.S. Government’s latest housing
loan guarantee has just raised that ratio to 43% of a family’s income. If you add a student’s
educational loan repayments, car loan costs for commuting to work, plus credit card debt, most
people are left with barely 20% of their income available for purchasing goods or services. So it’s
hardly surprising we have ended up with a stagnant economy caused by what economists define as
debt deflation. So much of most people’s income goes on paying a mortgage and other debts that
there is little left for any discretionary spending, and this is resulting in a shrinking economy.
Against so much evidence to the contrary, many economists, still hidebound by their early
education, stubbornly continue to believe that property prices are “relatively inelastic”. They’re
convinced that property prices only have a narrow band of price movement in relation to income.
Yet for decades there’s been no growth in wages in real terms for most workers in the U.S., and the
incomes of the bottom 90% of the population have stagnated for a third of a century.
If you find this hard to believe, the realistic economist, Joseph Steiglitz, says that median incomes
for full-time male workers are actually lower in real (inflation-adjusted) terms than they were 42
years ago. And, at the bottom end, real wages are comparable to their level 60 years ago. Yet look
at the chart: the data shows that however much lower incomes are, property prices continue to rise
fuelled by bank lending. So the assumption by economists that house prices are “relatively
inelastic” is patently false. Forget economic theory, the reality is that a house is worth what a bank
will lend you to buy it. I realised this 40 years ago when I visited Frankfurt, Germany. At that time
most of the population lived in flats with strict rent controls, and to own freehold property could
take a family two or three generations to complete the purchase. In other words property prices
are very elastic in that they can easily exceed one, two or more lifetimes. In fact there appears to
be no upper limit. This is a situation which many people are now beginning to face, where prices
are so high they may not be able to complete the necessary mortgage before they die.
Common sense demands that we must return to the traditional model of banking. If we continue
on the present course, where banks are primarily about property finance, then we all become
impoverished - except for the bankers. We will end up as debt-slaves to them as they compound
the interest we pay on the ever increasing amounts we owe. What is just as bad is that this
transformation from the role of banking into property finance starves businesses of investment
and growth. Nowadays a bank will always prefer the security of a tangible asset like a house over
any other type of loan. But prior to 1995 banks understood that their raison d’etre was primarily to
help business, not to finance property. So what changed? I would argue that 1995 was when the
property bubble, doomed to eventually burst in 2008, really developed. One might think, hope,
that banks would have learnt to minimise their exposure to property after such a lesson. But no.
The free money they are being fed by “quantitative easing” is mostly being used to finance
property. Some people, like Adair Turner, feel that in rich, developed societies it is perfectly natural
that property prices will continue to rise as more people want to live in better neighbourhoods and
chase after nicer houses of which there is a limited supply. Whilst this may be an underlying trend
there is no doubt, as the chart above shows, that the new and apparently boundless increase in
bank lending for property purchase is the driving force that’s creating another property bubble.
And every Central Bank seems intent on blowing the new property bubble ever bigger as it provides
free money in the form of quantitative easing for banks.
In the 17 countries used in the dataset above, more than two thirds of the loans extended by banks
are for property loans. In a country like the U.K. the figure is even higher at 79% (2012 data) as I
noted in May this year. Yet, at the beginning of the 20th century, property lending was less than a
third of all the loans extended by banks which meant nearly two thirds of bank loans went to help
grow businesses. But we now live in The Great Recession (or, as I called it in an article in early
2014, The Great Long Depression), so banks consider any loan other than a property loan as risky.
Part of this situation was created by the bankers themselves in 1988 when in the Basel Accord
(Basel 1) they decided that loans secured by mortgages on residential properties should carry only
half the risk weighting of loans to business. Changes to Banking Regulation also allowed banks to
extend two loans for property to every one loan for business, at the same risk level. As they could
make more and safer profits from property loans this naturally led to banks preferring these to any
other sort of loan.
In the chart above, the data reveals this trend starting to show up around 1995 and then rising
inexorably until 2010 when the chart ends. But the property loans haven’t, nor are they likely to.
We desperately need new banking regulation to revise that flawed Basel 1 agreement and to double
the risk weighting on property loans, thereby reducing the incentive for banks to finance property.
But as politicians seem to be in thrall to the powerful banking lobby, don’t expect this dangerous
property bubble to be controlled by government intervention any time soon.
...with analysis & insight...
|
<urn:uuid:33463a66-7dd9-4707-904d-1402f1b8848f>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-13
|
https://www.dataplusinsight.com/2016/banking-and-property-finance.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257651465.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20180324225928-20180325005928-00015.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.963577 | 2,686 | 2.625 | 3 | 2.97796 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Finance & Business
|
A category is an assortment of items that a consumer finds as reasonable substitutes for each other. Goods are categorized on the basis of similarities in consumer tastes, preferences, liking and disliking such as Junk food, Bar-be-Que, Razors, burgers, baked confectionary, sweets, etc.
The goods are priced, promoted and targeted to same customer base (target market). For instance Vishal Mega Mart, Gokul Mega Mart and few other domestic and global brands have the practice of dividing their apparel on the basis of Gents’ Apparel, Ladies’ Apparel and Kids Apparel.
Two retailers selling similar merchandise may have different definitions and thus different categories of the same product range. For instance, one retailer divides its ‘apparel’ under gents, ladies, kids and infants category, while another (for say) may define categories in terms of brands like Polo figer be one category and Rivalry be the other. Why it is so? Because a ‘Polo’ customer will buy only polo figer not the Rivalry.
In short, whatever may be the base of defining a ‘Category’, one thing must be remembered that it should suit to customers who ultimately will be affected in terms of time and money spent. Further, supply chain members and suppliers may find it convenient and hassle free.
Category Management is the process of managing retail business that merchandise category outputs rather than the contribution of individual brands or models. Under category management retailer’s efforts (promotional, pricing and display) are grouped into categories with the objectives of measuring their financial and marketing performance separately.
Consequently, it arranges grouping of products in to strategic business units (SBU) in order to better serve the needs and demands of consumers. Most of the emerging retail outlets are managing their merchandise on the same pattern.
While on the other side, unorganized Indian retail sector has developed their merchandise items in the categories that serve their customers requirement and are cost effective and time saving for them. Therefore, these categories differ from region to region and outlet to outlet.
According to Institute of Grocery Distribution, “Category Management is the strategic management of various merchandise groups through trade tie ups and partnerships which aims to maximize turnover and profit by satisfying consumer needs and want.”
According to Nielsen (1992), Category Management is a process of managing product categories as separate business units and customizing them to satisfying consumer needs.
Why Category Management?
1. One foremost reason for the introduction of ‘category management’ is that all the items of merchandise are not equally important for a retailer from cost revenue generation point of view. Some items are very small but of high value, some items are most popular but of low profit margin. Therefore need was point to categorized the items in to different sub groups.
2. One reason for introduction of ‘category management’ was the fact that only a definite amount of profit could be obtained from price negotiations and that there was more profit to be made in for the purpose of increasing the total sales.
3. One reason for introduction of ‘category management’ was that the collaboration with supplier will be helpful in development of categories under three ways:
The ways are:
(i) Part of the work load like development of categories would be assign to the concerned supplier.
(ii) Supplier’s expertise will be utilized.
(iii) Supplier will take the venture seriously.
2. Significance of Category Management:
1. Increased sales, goodwill and market share
2. Proper care and devotion to each item of merchandise
3. Increased sales further lead to increased turnover
4. Maximize shelf efficiencies
5. Less inventory shrinkage
6. Recognizes procurement opportunities
7. Enhances customer knowledge level
8. Improves return on investment (ROI)
9. Decreases chances of out-of-stock positions
10. Enhances return on money invested in marketing efforts
11. Classifies the performance of brands as doing well, not doing well, problem brands, etc.
12. Purchasing merchandise exercise becomes easy and cost effective.
Essentials / Prerequisite of Category Management:
1. Category should be divided and arranged as per consumers’ ease not because of retailer’s convenience.
2. CM should be based on differentiation and uniqueness.
3. CM should drive multiple item purchases at the same time.
4. It should result in better customers’ relations rather than relations with suppliers.
5. Category division should be based on the basis of product response, space, time and profitability.
3. Category Management Process (8 Steps)
Category management is the process of classifying and managing product categories as strategic business units, rather than simply viewing a retailer’s offering as a collection of individual products. The category management approach delivers enhanced business results by focusing on delivering consumer value. It is often a shared process between a retailer and its vendors.
This description comes from Category Killers (2005) by Robert Spector:
For the past couple of years, the term “category management” has entered the retail lexicon in virtually every merchandise category. Category management began in the supermarket business, where big retailers of packaged goods learned that they could improve sales and profits if they could more efficiently administer all their different product classifications. The idea was to oversee the store not as an aggregation of products, but rather as an amalgam of categories, with each category unique in how it is priced and how it is expected to perform over time.
One vendor is designated as “category captain” and charged with helping the retailer define the category; determine its place within the store; evaluate its performance by setting goals; identify the target consumer; divine the best way to merchandise, stock, and display the category; and then influence the implementation of the plan. Becoming a captain is obviously an important position because it offers that supplier an opportunity to sway a retailer’s buying decisions.
Thus the category management process is a repetitive, strategic and long-term business philosophy that promotes cross functional working between companies with the involvement of professionals from very diverse areas such as procurement, finance, supply chain, marketing, store operations, sales and space planning.
IGD Research (2007) reveals that merely 9% of companies follow this eight step process of category management and is useful for those firms that have developed shorter, streamlined approaches that deliver benefits in a relatively smaller, less resource intensive time horizons.
A typical category management process is discussed as follows:
1. Category Definition:
Defining a category is the first step in a typical category management process. In this step retailer classifies the store’s products into different categories depending on the usage of the product by the consumers and its packaging. What should be the best way to define a particular category are always debatable issues amongst retailers.
The category management experts opine that whatever the base it should be, category definition should be based on consumers’ buying behaviour not on retailer’s buying behaviour. Before beginning with the process of category definition, the retailer and vendor should first understand what exactly makes a category? The supplier know-how about a category and its potential customers becomes vital in developing the correct definition and segmentation of the category.
This basically decides the products that fall under a particular category, sub-category and key segmentation. Thus a retailer basically assigns products to the different categories depending upon customers’ liking, disliking, quantity size, and packaging. The main objective of defining category is to know what items to include and what items to exclude.
The definition of category varies from situation to situation and one store to another. In one circumstance, category may be narrowly defined or very broadly defined, depending upon several factors. For instance, the category of sandwich may be narrowly defined so as to comprise only vegetarian sandwich, or it may be broadly defined to include all types of varieties such as vegetarian, non-vegetarian, chocolate, fried, baked, grilled, cheese spicy/mutton spicy etc.
The point is to be remembered that it is the customer that gives the profit so its perspective should be kept at top priority while defining a particular category. The task further should result into particular product titles with respect to its sizes, color, packaging, sub-categories, variety of products and variety within the product.
2. Category Role:
Under this step, retailers usually determine the priority level and then assign a role for the category based on a cross category comparison considering liking and disliking of consumers, and market trends. Basically here retailers develop the base for allocating resources for the entire business.
While assessing the role played by a category, retailers should thoroughly consider the nature and size of product category. For instance, some categories may represent luxury brands, whilst others might be denominated by low priced brands. It signifies that if a particular category is denominated by luxury brands, then most of the underlying brands are or will be, lucrative.
On the other hand, category largely composed of low priced brands may not provide any opportunity to earn profitable margins for both the retailer and the supplier. Hence, it becomes imperative for a retailer to consider the role played by a category in the store while determining a particular category.
For example, the ice cream product category has been upgraded in UK marked by introducing premium luxury ice-cream, ice cream confectionery, mass scale marketing and sales promotion companies such as Haagen Dazs and the development of premium store brands. Athletic footwear (trainers), toys and beer are examples of other categories that have shifted from value to premium (Vishwanath and Mark, 1999).
The role of SKU within a Category:
When a retail product manager is reviewing the choice within a product category, the individual roles that are played by the different brands or product variations will be acknowledged (McGrath, 1997). In a store, some products within a category are ‘customers’ catchers’, giving high sales and have a large market share. These are the sources of attraction for visitors/customers and their non-availability may result in customer loss. Store brands are clearly concerned with achieving sales targets.
Low-priced goods not only attract customers but motivate customers to buy other goods too kept in store. Some stock keeping units (SKUs) create excitement and theatre in stores while other SKUs depict latest fashion and imported goods under same roof. Some SKUs sometimes have been observed for latest fashion and known for first arrivals.
Be it profit generator or service provider, all have their own presence and significance for a retail store. Each (SKU) member of the category contributes in the overall turnover and it should be clearly visible. Otherwise astute retailers would like to replace its efforts to another more profitable brand. For instance, will it be feasible to replace one ‘non- performing’ brand with another more profitable brand. Does a present category enable to create excitement?
Considering a category to be a part of growing market, is there any scope for further excitement? Does a particular SKU require packaging change with regard to quantity packed and offered? Do we offer two or more different pack sizes of a same item like 1 kg, 3 kg, and 5 kg packs? Will the sales be hampered if we offer only two sizes – small and family pack?
While on the other hand, the best practices in category management report suggests a set of four consumer centric categories roles as follows:
I. Destination Category:
It is used by retailers to position themselves as the most favorite stores of customers through combining the attributes of several categories of stores:
(i) The size of a mass merchandiser,
(ii) The variety and scope of a department store, and
(iii) The low prices of a discount store.
So that customers should make a special trip to their stores with the specific intention of making a purchase that concentrates on one product category and that combines a huge multivariate selection with low prices. Large discount toy chains, sporting goods chains, and office supply chains are examples of destination categories.
Besides this, fresh vegetables and fruits at super bazaars, apparel at departmental stores, fresh bakery produce and food at RPG’s Giant Hypermarket are few examples of destination categories. The primary reason for calling them as destinations is that people are willing to travel a good distance to shop in these stores.
II. Routine Category (Preferred category):
These are the products and services that customers use in their day to day life on regular basis as a matter of routine or habit. The products placed under routine category include shaving cream, body wash, hair oil, shampoo, toothpastes, soap, and so on. The services under routine category include banking, post office, courier, gyms, spa, health centres etc.
III. Seasonal Category (Occasional category):
These are the products and services which are not purchased on regular basis but occasionally. The products placed under seasonal category include raincoats, umbrellas, sweaters, mangoes, etc. other items such as crackers during Diwali Season, Colours and water balloons before Holi, flying kites before independence day in Delhi and Northern part of India are also examples of seasonal items.
IV. Convenience Category:
These are the products that a customer always prefers to buy from neighbourhood retail stores. Usually these goods carry a wide range of products but of low prices. The products under convenience category include bread, butter, eggs, routine stationery, and routine medicines and so on. Convenience products can be categorized into staple (milk), impulse (not intended prior to shopping trip).
Category roles are implemented through the appropriate mix of strategies in the category. Certain strategies are implied by role. Figure 9.3 illustrates the type of marketing strategy that is most commonly deployed to implement a category role. These strategies should be considered before other strategies.
3. Category Assessment:
Under category assessment step, the retailer conduct an analysis of the category’s sub categories, segments with respect to sales, turnover, profits, return on assets by reviewing consumer, market, retailer and supplier information. Category assessment requires a variety of analytical measures designed to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a particular category. It provides the retailer an opportunity to identify future prospects in the category.
The retailer’s objective to assess categories is to know (a) whether to continue with the present category categorization, (b) Which categories require additional effort to generate profits, (c) What are the areas of highest turnover, profit, and return on asset improvement opportunities, and lastly to know the gaps existed between the chosen
category and the present performance level of the category. Besides analytical tools, retailer sometimes assesses the categories with the help of data on the customers, suppliers or competitors.
4. Category Performance:
Measuring category performance is the fourth step in the category management process in which the retailer develops bottom-line and benchmark to measure the performance of the categories. It involves setting measurable targets in terms of sales, volume, margins, and gross margin return on investment (GMROI).
Establishing category performance measures are essential for measuring performance of a particular category which later on becomes base for further improvement within the category. Category performance measures basically represent the category score card that result in target objectives that are set by the retailer and supplier for the achievement of the implementation of the category business plan.
5. Category Strategy:
Under this stage of category management business process, retailers develop marketing and product supply strategies that determine the category role and performance objectives. The basic purpose behind developing strategies is the retailer’s intention to capitalize on category opportunities through creative and optimum utilization of available resources assigned to a category.
The sub objectives are:
I. How to horizontally position a store’s own brand relative to the incumbent national brand and
II. How to price the store and national brands for retail category profit maximization.
Following seven are the widely applied category management strategies:
(i) Traffic Building:
Traffic building strategy is used to draw customers’ attention towards store, aisle, and/ or category. This is usually achieved through advertising relatively low priced goods (having enough price difference from the everyday). This strategy typically applies to products that are most price sensitive, have high degree of household penetration, need frequent purchases, frequently promoted, having high sales in the category and generate major portion of sales.
(ii) Turf Protecting:
A turf protecting strategy (also known as super traffic building) basically is applied to defend the category sales and market share against a known competitor through competitive based pricing. This policy is only deployed when absolutely essential because it is generally an expensive strategy in terms of profit impact products with large transaction size that are under intense pressure from a defined competitor are considered under turf protection strategy. Turf protection strategy should be applied carefully as and when required because of the essential margin investment. However, proper use of a turf protection strategy can assist the retailer in creating a positive overall price image. Implementing turf protecting strategy requires that if the competitor reduces prices or prices fall in the market, the retailer will follow with price reductions to maintain turf protection strategy.
(iii) Transaction Building:
This strategy is issued to increase the sales of a particular category by emphasizing larger sales, multi packs, goods with trade-up options, aggressively pricing and promotion large transactions size terms, and goods that are subject to impulse purchase.
(iv) Profit Generating:
This strategy is used to generate profits by focusing on sub-category or parts of the category while keeping prices within competitive ranges. Products generating higher margins usually have a substantial amount of loyalty and which are not like less price sensitive items, with higher than category average gross margins are commonly used in this category. Store’s own brands also come under profit generators.
(v) Excitement Generating:
This strategy is used to create excitement to a particular category by communicating a sense of dire need (urgency), or opportunity to the prospect. Seasonal items, latest arrivals, special items, limited edition, rapidly growing segments, fashion trends, and high items with a high incidence of impulse purchasing, come under this category.
(vi) Cash Generating:
This strategy is used to generate cash flow to ensure the retailer a balanced cash flow across the categories in a store to meet operating cash requirements, larger sales volume products, fast turning products, low inventory turnover goods, and goods with favorable payment terms come under this category.
(vii) Image Enhancing:
This strategy is used to enhance retailer’s image before customers in one or more of the following aspects:
g. Brands Available
Examples with regard to image enhancing are:, offering live fishes to customers stocked in fish tanks, exclusive product offerings, combo offers, happy meal menus, meal solution suggestions, wide product assortment, luxury brand assortment, competitive pricing, easy loan options, multiple modes of payment, feel of the product, etc.
6. Category Tactics:
Categories tactics are used to determine the optimal category assortment, pricing promotions, and shelf penetration, essential to ensure that strategies put are on right track. Category tactics determine and authenticate the specific actions that are required to implement the category strategies developed earlier.
The areas covered under category tactics vary from retailer to retailer and place to place. But pricing, promotions, assortments and the store’s overall presentation are few commonly used areas where tactics are developed.
Therefore, it is expected from a supplier to do proper amount of value addition depending upon the role expected from a category; by assessing this retailers further develop proper strategies. For instance, a SKU may play convenience role for one retailer but a destination role for another.
Therefore, while developing the category, category captain (usually supplier) should take an overall view of the category and create a framework suggesting for marketing (traffic building, profit generating, and image enhancing etc.) as well as ensuring product supply. The retailing format (departmental, destination, hypermarkets, etc.) and the product’s stage in a product life cycle should be taken into consideration.
7. Category Implementation:
This step is used to implement the category business plan through a systematic schedule and list of responsibilities. Implementing category plan as per the objectives laid down, is the path to the success of category management.
A typical category plan under implementation stage includes:
I. What specific tasks need to be done?
II. When to do,
III. Where to do, and
IV. Who will do it
Therefore, in a short, implementing category plan on the part of a retailer requires to decide what, where, when a task to accomplish and by whom.
8. Category Revision:
This is the final step in a typical category management business plan. Category review enables a retailer and concerned supplier to gauge the performance of a category and identify key areas of opportunity and threats to overcome by adopting alternate plans.
As today category management is an important strategic plan, it becomes imperative for a supplier to revisit the dynamics of the category and the appropriate strategies and tactics. This will enable a supplier to measure performance against the appropriate strategies and tactics.
In this regard, one thing should be noted that category business plans are subject to change with regard to change in assumptions laid down. For instance, incase of any specific change in business environment, assumptions made earlier may not hold validate. Therefore, business plan must be modified with respect to change in underlying assumptions without any delay.
|
<urn:uuid:6c2918b9-879c-4984-b303-a0f66332b06d>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-26
|
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/retailing/category-management-definitions-significance-and-8-steps-process/48198/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320243.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170624082900-20170624102900-00490.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.923247 | 4,442 | 3.03125 | 3 | 2.806653 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Finance & Business
|
Near Farson in Sweetwater County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)
Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Siskadee Agie is a Crow Indian term meaning "River of the Prairie Hen." Along with sage grouse (so called prairie hens), Native Americans hunted deer, pronghorn, bison, waterfowl, eagles, and other wildlife. Explorers and mountain men trapped beaver in the Seedskadee area; and the hundreds of thousands of pioneers who crossed the Green River hunted game here.
Construction of the Fontanelle Dam about 20 miles upstream changed the natural flooding cycle of the Green River, affecting the fish and wildlife habitat along the river. The dam created prime trout habitat; yet it endangered the natural marshlands bordering the river that relied on spring flooding. These marshlands are critical nesting habitat for many species of waterfowl.
Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge was established by Congress in 1965 to help offset the loss of marshlands habitat resulting from construction of both the Fontanelle Dam and the Flaming Gorge Dam which is about 100 miles downstream in Utah.
Since 1965, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge managers have used methods such as prescribed burning, flood irrigating, native grass planting, and fencing to enhance
Erected by U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Location. 41° 52.811′ N, 109° 48.466′ W. Marker is near Farson, Wyoming, in Sweetwater County. Marker can be reached from Wyoming Route 28 at milepost 102 near Wyoming Route 372, on the right when traveling east. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Farson WY 82932, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 13 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. One Day at a Time (here, next to this marker); Overland to Zion (here, next to this marker); The Lombard Ferry (a few steps from this marker); Crossing the Green River (within shouting distance of this marker); Ferrying Across the Green River (within shouting distance of this marker); "Graves" of the Unknown Emigrants (approx. 12.5 miles away); Burial on the Trail (approx. 12.5 miles away); Death on the Trail (approx. 12.5 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Farson.
More about this marker. This marker is found at a viewing area in Seedsskadee National Wildlife Refuge. The viewing area is located downstream (south) of west end of the bridge over the Green River.
Categories. • Natural Resources • Waterways & Vessels •
Credits. This page originally submitted on , by Barry Swackhamer of San Jose, California. This page has been viewed 87 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on , by Barry Swackhamer of San Jose, California. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016.
|
<urn:uuid:4ecb38e3-bec3-4efb-b8b2-7278f662c436>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-44
|
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=90036
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721278.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00133-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.919235 | 652 | 3.0625 | 3 | 1.982175 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
History
|
The Battle of Culloden is one of the most historically important civil wars of Great Britain. It was the final attempt of the Jacobite rising that resulted in a victory for the House of Hanover over the House of Stuart. The Jacobite rising was instigated by Charles Edward Stuart, essentially for the restoration of the House of Stuart as a ruling family. However, it soon got the religious touch as Catholic Christians supported the House of Stuart while the British army was backed by Protestant Christians. The Battle of Culloden is also famous for being the last ever pitched battle in the history of Great Britain.
In 1701, the English Parliament passed an act for the succession of crowns for England and Ireland. A major reason behind the introduction of the Act of Settlement 1701 was the failure of Queen Mary II and Queen Anne in terms of birthing a living successor to the crown. The Act of Settlement 1701 made it compulsory that the crown will pass to a Protestant Christian only. Queen Anne, the last ruler of the House of Stuart, had no living children at the time of her death; all other members of the House of Stuart other than Sophia of Hanover were Roman Catholics. This particular aspect made the line of Sophia of Hanover eligible to rule Britain, according to the Act of Settlement. Thus, King George I became the King of Great Britain, regardless of the fact that Sophia’s line was the shortest in the House of Stuart and the same reason raised an objection and prompted a fight between the House of Stuart and the House of Hanover.
The French Kingdom fully supported and backed the Jacobite rising. Even the Jacobites were under the impression that France will impose war against Britain to provide strength for their movement by opening another front against British Government. The Jacobite army, totalling 6,000 men, mainly consisted of Catholic Christians and Episcopalians of Scotland; moreover, they also had a handful number of Irish, Scottish, and Englishmen. On the other hand, the British army, totalling 8,000 men, was a combination of Protestant Christians, Ulstermen, Austrians, Hessians, Lowlanders, and Highlanders from Scotland under the command of the Duke of Cumberland, the son of King George II.
The successful siege of Edinburgh, Dumfries, and victory in the Battles of Prestonpans and Falkirk Muir built a momentum in the Jacobite rising that resulted as their invasion into England. The Jacobite armies advanced to Derby; this move was a serious threat to London. On April 15th 1746, one night before the Battle of Culloden, the Jacobite army made a strategic move by executing a night attack on the English army camped in Nairn. Slow march because of dark and lack of coordination among the Jacobite troops forced them to return to their camp without attacking the government forces.
On April 16th 1746, the two armies came face to face at the Culloden Moor. Repeating the mistake made the previous night, the Jacobite troops advanced without proper coordination which resulted in a poor arrangement of the army. The Duke of Cumberland utilized the best of this situation and attacked the Jacobites with a smart war strategy that shook the Jacobite front lines. Within the first half hour of the battle, Prince Charles moved away from his forces for safety, which affected their morale badly. Meanwhile, the Scottish Highlanders attacked the second line of government army, which was successfully responded by Major General Huske. Soon, the Jacobite lost their left wing. Seeing that, the Duke of Cumberland ordered an advance to the government armies to end the battle. It took only one hour for the government forces to win this battle. The British suffered casualties of 300, whereas the Jacobites lost 2,000 including 200 French.
The Battle of Culloden was the last ever attempt by the Jacobites against the House of Hanover. It not only ended the Jacobite rebellion against the government but also initiated the end of the Scottish Clan system and lead to the introduction of various laws to prevent such movements in future.
|
<urn:uuid:dd98a00e-4ccb-49cb-8ac0-4bed01972947>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-10
|
https://www.worldatlas.com/what-was-the-battle-of-culloden.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178357641.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20210226115116-20210226145116-00283.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.964156 | 829 | 3.65625 | 4 | 3.053949 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
Today we’re going to learn how to package up small chunks of code for reuse using functions.
Goal for this Tutorial:
- Create our first function to execute code multiple times.
- Learn about
- Learn about function arguments.
In most of our programming, we won’t be working with a script that we’re going to run from top to bottom. Most of our time is going to be spent grouping code together in a way that makes sense to use and then combining the piece that we build up in order to create our final product. The simplest way we can package up our code is by using a function.
Python Functions are Pretty Awesome
Functions are the building block that virtually every programming language has in common, and are even the most important building block in some languages. Python functions aren’t the most important, but they are very powerful.
I like to think of functions in programming in the way that you might learn about functions in mathematics. Let’s break down a math function and turn it into a Python function:
f(x) = x + 1
Our function has the name of
f and it requires a single variable
x. We will define this function in Python using the
We follow our function name and arguments with a
: and then we will indent the actual logic of the function by 4 spaces. After the body of the function we’ll insert a blank line which will end the function.
def f(x): x + 1
We’ve defined our function, now let’s take it for a spin:
>>> f(1) >>>
That’s not quite right. In our math function if we use
x then the answer should be
2, but we didn’t get anything. Our function works this way because unlike mathematical functions which always produce an output, Python functions can take an action and then return nothing to us. To make this work like the math function we need to use the keyword
def f(x): return x + 1
If we try to run the function again, we should get
>>> f(1) 2 >>>
Beyond Math… Onto Fizz Buzz
Figuring out how to represent a math function in Python is one thing, but that really doesn’t event scratch the surface of Python functions.
Functions are not restricted to being a single line, so we can package up a series of expressions to execute. We’ll demonstrate this using a problem from programming interviews called “fizz buzz”.
For “fizz buzz” we’re going to take a number and print from 1 to that number and for each number we will print one of the following:
- “Fizz” if the number is divisible by 3
- “Buzz” if the number if divisible by 5
- “Fizz Buzz” if the number is divisible by 3 and 5
- The number itself if not divisible by 3 or 5
Here’s an example of one way we could write this function:
def fizz_buzz(limit): for num in range(1, limit): output = "" if num % 3 == 0: output += "Fizz " if num % 5 == 0: output += "Buzz" print(output or num)
This function combines loops, conditionals, strings, conditionals, printing, and even throws in something new:
range is a sequence of numbers, in our case it’s from
1 to whatever the passed in
limit is, excluding the
limit itself. Ranges are great for when you want to iterate through something a specific number of times or in our case where we want to do something with each number, but we don’t want to create a list ourselves.
This is a fairly complex function, and now we can run it over whatever limit we want, as many times as we want.
>>> fizz_buzz(17) 1 2 Fizz 4 Buzz Fizz 7 8 Fizz Buzz 11 Fizz 13 14 Fizz Buzz 16 >>>
Fizz Buzz, but Better
Our original example was a good example of creating a more complex function body, but there is more that we can do in the function declaration that can make it even better. For instance we can give
limit a default (we’re going to call this
fizz_buzz2 to keep them separate):
def fizz_buzz2(limit=20): for num in range(1, limit): output = "" if num % 3 == 0: output += "Fizz " if num % 5 == 0: output += "Buzz" print(output or num)
Now if we call
fizz_buzz2 without any arguments it will automatically use
20 as the value for
limit. Pretty neat!
Let’s take this even one step forward and make the “fizz” and “buzz” messages configurable (this is
def fizz_buzz3(limit, fizz="Fizz", buzz="Buzz"): for num in range(1, limit): output = "" if num % 3 == 0: output += fizz + " " if num % 5 == 0: output += buzz print(output or num)
This version of fizz buzz is the best we’re going to create. We’re now using multiple arguments, some with defaults and some without. Let’s look at some of the ways we can call this function:
>>> fizz_buzz3(7, "Red", "Blue") 1 2 Red 4 Blue Red >>> fizz_buzz3(7, buzz="Boom!") 1 2 Fizz 4 Boom! Fizz
In our first example we used all positional arguments, meaning the order we passed them in would be interpreted as the order we defined them. The second time we ran it though, we used what’s known as a keyword argument. We let
fizz take its default value, but we explicitly set
buzz to be
We’re finally getting into the more exciting parts of programming. Before today, most of what we’ve learned about were the small building blocks that we’ll use to build up an individual line of code, but with functions we’re learning the tools we need to write more complex programs. From here, there are only a few more broad topics that we’ll need to cover before we can start digging into the problem solving of programming.
|
<urn:uuid:338093b3-20a2-4af7-8e47-332874c0338f>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-14
|
https://coderjourney.com/getting-started-python-functions/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943704.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20230321162614-20230321192614-00255.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.855277 | 1,422 | 4.46875 | 4 | 1.910053 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Software Dev.
|
Because of the city's relevance to the and its position in the centre of Germany, the chose the city to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions — the. The First Supplementary Decree 14th November 1935. The strained relations between the burgraves and the castellans, with gradual transferral of powers to the latter in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, finally broke out into open enmity, which greatly influenced the history of the city. Jews are forbidden to hoist the Reich and national flag and to present the colors of the Reich. The Laws also outlined different levels of Jewish individuals, depending on the number of Jewish grandparents an individual had.
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 laid the foundation for the next 10 years of racial policy. The plague returned to the city in 1405, 1435, 1437, 1482, 1494, 1520 and 1534. Jewish officials will be retired as of December 31, 1935. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 laid the foundation for the next 10 years of racial policy. A crime committed by a German officer for crimes committed in German occupied Yugoslavia against Bosnians, for example, could be prosecuted in a British or American, French, or Russian tribunal, even though the allied powers had no territorial connection to the crime, the location, the perpetrator, or the victims. They also prohibited displays by Jews of the German flag, and the hiring of German women under the age of 45 as domestic workers for Jews.
Jews were portrayed as dangerous to Germans. Such extremists argued that partial Jews were more dangerous than full Jews because their mix of German and Jewish blood would enable them to lead the state's enemies with the skill of Aryans. Germans created laws against Jews to wipe them away from the face of the earth. In total, about 6,000 Nuremberg residents are estimated to have been killed in air raids. Some no longer practiced Judaism and had even begun celebrating Christian holidays, especially Christmas, with their non-Jewish neighbors. Such a loss would have been a serious blow to German prestige.
Meanwhile, immediately after Jackson's appointment, the staff of the Office of the United States Chief of Counsel, which grew to more than 600 personnel, started collecting documentary evidence that could be used by the prosecutors. In other words, Hitler would then implement further laws and policies to persecute the Jews. Such cards allowed the police to identify Jews easily. People with three or more grandparents born into the Jewish religious community were Jews by law. Others furthered geographical knowledge and travel by map making. Often stored in churches and courthouses, these records indicated what religion one adhered to or had left. In Nazi Germany, no profession of belief and no act or statement could convert a Jew into a German.
The city is also strong in the fields of automation, energy and medical technology. However, over half of the historic look of the center, and especially the northeastern half of the old was lost forever. In 1935, he was dismissed under the provisions of the racist Nuremberg Laws. He outlined new laws for the protection of German blood and honor. Loesener feared the disastrous social repercussions that would result from branding as Jews several highly decorated half-Jewish World War I veterans one a Pour le Mérite recipient and distinguished supporters of the Nazi movement. It also defined as Jews people born to parents or grandparents who had converted to Christianity. In the summer of 2010, the National Archives accepted donation from the Huntington Library of the original Nuremberg Laws—63 years later than they would have if Patton had turned them over to the appropriate authorities.
Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor The second Nuremberg Law, the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, banned marriage between Jews and non-Jewish Germans. Remaining German citizens were hesitant to object for fear of being accused of being disloyal to the German government as decreed under the Reich Citizenship Law. Benz, The Holocaust: A German Historian Examines the Genocide 1999 ; Y. The largest operators are currently , or , while the low-cost and companies connect the city to various European centres. I, Chapter 12, contains information about documents, including those not introduced as evidence during the International Military Tribunal, relating to the persecution of the Jews in Germany.
The Nuremberg Laws stemmed from the Nazi Racial Legislation of 1935, which was aimed at upholding the perceived Germanic racial superiority, and promoting it as such. Thoroughly convinced by the knowledge that the purity of German blood is. Its name was changed in 2011 from its previous name: The Nuremberg Philharmonic Nürnberger Philharmoniker. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939—1946, Stackpole Books Revised Edition 2006 , p. It was written in the local Franconian dialect by and had illustrations by , , and Albrecht Dürer. The city's climate is influenced by its inland position and higher altitude. Hitler had asked these men to translate racial ideology into law.
Due to the , subsequent trials never took place. The Nuremberg Laws: The were anti-Jewish statutes enacted by on September 15, 1935, marking a major step in clarifying racial policy and removing Jewish influences from Aryan society. A subway station in Nuremberg. The royal and Imperial connection grew stronger in 1423 when the Holy Roman Emperor granted the Imperial regalia to be kept permanently in Nuremberg, where they remained until 1796, when the required their removal to and thence to. Loesener argued that since most felt German and rejected Judaism, their suicide rate would climb dramatically if the government labeled them as Jews. Full Jews had three to four Jewish grandparents.
Archived from on 3 April 2013. The premise behind this section of the law was centered around the fact that women under this age were still able to bear children and thus, were at risk to be seduced by Jewish males in the household. Reich Citizenship Law The Nazis had long sought a legal definition that identified Jews not by religious affiliation but according to racial anti-Semitism. The laws of Nuremberg was the first, ah, form, legal shape where you knew where you stood. They regarded Jews as members of neither a religious group nor an ethnic group defined by their cultural heritage. Students can draw lines connecting a comment to a particular question. The Rochusfriedhof or the Wöhrder Kirchhof are near the Old Town.
|
<urn:uuid:6f287f03-6e8e-4c09-ae78-2f31ad88d124>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-35
|
http://onebridge.io/nuremberg-laws-examples.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317516.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822215308-20190823001308-00063.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.970852 | 1,313 | 3.5625 | 4 | 2.998423 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
History
|
Research Credit Category
That’s a great question, and there is no easy answer. This may clarify it a little:
As individual taxpayers Romney and Buffet pay so little in taxes because of two sources of income:
- They take qualified dividends from their corporations that they own or are investors in.
- They take Capital Gains distributions from investments they have created
For qualified dividends, between 2001 and 2012 they were taxed at 15% (now its 20%), regardless of what tax bracket you were in. Although it seems like a relatively small amount of tax, before any shareholder is able to receive and pay tax on those dividends, the corporation had to pay a tax on that as well (somewhere in the ballpark of 35-40% usually). This is where double taxation occurs. If the company is a foreign company, lets use the Netherlands as an example, they only charge 3-4% taxes on that income, then it gets distributed to Mr Buffet, and he only pays 15%. Heck of a deal.
For capital gains, the maximum rate from 2001-2012 was 15% (now its 23.8%). For investments in a “small business” (a company that has less than 50 million in assets), sale of any stock provides a tax deduction of 50% of that sale, this means that sale is now only taxed at 7.5%… wow. This is why there are so many venture capital firms.
In addition to this, they can also take advantage of investments made in countries with favorable tax laws. Both store a good chunk of their money in overseas, tax favorable bank accounts and investments. Though a slipperly slope for US tax law, many ultra rich investors have many advisors that make it legal. To explain fully would require a whole other blog post.
So as you can see, using those two methods, Buffet and Romney were able to keep their upper tax limit to around 15%, then using deductions, like donations, property taxes, etc, they dropped their tax rates to around 11-12%.
That is only for their individual rates, below is how they win with their corporations:
Huge corporations use a combination of tactics to keep tax low, but the latest and greatest is setting up shop overseas in a “tax haven” country. For example, Ireland made a deal with apple so that they would only charge 3% in taxes on ALL of their worldwide appstore sales. That’s almost a billion dollars in sales a year that they only pay 3% tax on. In comparison, the US would charge 35%.
The research and development credit allows for a very good option too. An example of the extraordinary benefits of the R&S Credit includes the fact that Boeing reported a $20 billion dollar pre-tax income, yet they received a refund from the government of $110 million. Also the new Domestic Production Activity deduction allows a very large deductions as well, most US based companies can access that.
I’ve researched this stuff a lot, mainly because I want to be in the business of offering these options to small businesses and startups, as well as people who may not be as wealthy as Mitt Romney.
- Comments Off
And if your CPA says otherwise, fire them. I have seen two articles already where a Kickstarter video game project says they had to pay taxes on their left over money in their first year, this makes me sad, because you can easily avoid that.
NOTE: There has been some confusion on this article where people seem to think I am suggesting you avoid or evade taxes. That is NOT the case at all. These methods used are 100% legal ways to reduce or postpone taxes paid. I want to be very clear: ALL OF THESE METHODS are 100% legal and are in no way avoiding or evading taxes.
In order to eliminate taxes all together there is a simple accounting rule and election of income that you can use, if that fail (which it wont 99% of the time), then there are a few more complex methods that can not only reduce the tax, but can set yourself up to have a tax benefit to carry over to future years, and should probably be used regardless of your situation.
I will start with the first and most simple method:
Accrual accounting is an election that is made on a tax return that allows you to claim income when it is earned, rather than when it is received. This means that every video game company (or many others) out there who get Kickstarter funds would not have to pay taxes on those advanced payments until the game is actually made and distributed to those individuals who pre-purchased it.
Going further, let’s just assume that you have given away items such as T-shirts, artwork, and prizes that you distribute to your backers the first year. You would have to include in income up to cost (or fair market value) of those items on your tax return, because technically you did provide a portion of the service and some of that income was technically “earned”. Therefore, you will be responsible for some of the income earned. What’s important to note, is that you will easily be able to offset that income “earned” with the first year’s expenses or the cost of those items (t-shirts, art, etc.).
Simply electing the accrual accounting system is not enough in itself (which anyone can do including individuals, LLCs, Corps), the IRS still requires a special election to classify the income. If that election is not made, the income falls under the rules set in publication 538 (passage in quotes below) and you do not get any benefit from the accrual election, further, you must use the instructions in pub 538 to properly elect the classification on your tax return in order to make that income an “advanced payment”:
“You report an amount in your gross income on the earliest of the following dates.
- *When you receive payment.
- When the income amount is due to you.
- When you earn the income.
- When title has passed.”
It is important to properly elect to classify this income. I highly recommend a professional handle this for you, as it is easy for someone untrained in taxes to make a mistake with this election. The key to this is to talk to many professionals and ask them if they understand these concepts, as I have seen over and over, most professional do not.
Other Tax Savings Tactics:
Research and Development tax credit
This one I write about all the time, and if you are a video game dev and your accountant has not offered this to you, fire them right now, the benefits are tremendous and could potentially eliminate taxes on income generated from both Kickstarter and sales to the general public. The credit requires some heavy analysis. My firm and many others will not charge until the benefit is used, so it makes complete sense for you to utilize it.
Domestic Production Activity Deduction
This deduction was created in 2004 and was meant to be geared toward the manufacturing industry, then the attorneys over at Electronic Arts successfully lobbied congress and extended it to software and video games. This deduction is 9% of net income, which is an incredible tax break that nearly nobody knows about. For someone that has a net income of $100,000 can easily write off $9,000 as an additional deduction, potentially getting up to $3,000 back in taxes. There are many other requirements to elect this deductions, so again, I advise you to consult a professional with experience utilizing this deduction, not all of them have this skill.
Updated 4/19/2013 with additional information, fleshing out the concepts
Again, this article is only meant as informational, many individuals and companies have unique situations, I recommend you consult a professional before applying any of the above information.
- Comments Off
This article says it all. EA taking advantage of the exact tax incentives that I offer analysis for.
It doesn’t take a team of accountants to save money in taxes
- Comments Off
Video game devs have it good when it comes to taxes, a properly set up system in place could save them thousands and sometimes let them pay as little as 1-2% in taxes. With the basics in place, the Research and Development tax credit, and the domestic production deduction can put that nail in the coffin to nearly eliminate any tax burden once the game is released. Not only that, but many states offer their own Research Credit AND Enterprise Zone Credits (I count those as one).
Results truly vary based on the developer because of the use of their expenses. But the bottom line is that 100% of indie devs can take advantage of at least one type of incentive.
In my experience, Sadly, very few use a professional when they start due to the initial costs. Though spending a few hundred may be the smart thing to do because the last thing they want is to be stuck with a 3 million dollar tax bill that Markus Persson got from his little project called Minecraft (Although Sweden’s taxes are a bit higher than they are here).
A smart company would not only set up a corporation or LLC and pay themselves and their employees salaries, but they would also utilize the R&D credit for every year of development. The dollar for dollar tax credit allows the company to carry forward the credit they utilize each year of production and eventually use the credit to offset their net profits once the game is being sold.
Not only are these credits available to all video game devs, they also have access to a little known deduction called the domestic production deduction. This allows video game devs to deduct up to 9% of income earned from production activities that occur here in the US.
Enterprise Zone Credits
Now, this doesnt apply to everyone, but many states, including CA, NY, SC and FL (among some others), offer an EZ credit. This is a very complex credit, but can save a company thousands in taxes.
The combination of good accounting practices and sound use of tax credits can literally eliminate tax liability from sales of video games. I have worked with many companies virtually eliminating their liabilities using these techniques
- Comments Off
This post is more informative if someone reading this actually looking into doing the Research Credit.
We charge on a contingency basis, in fact, a great many firms do this. If you get a refund from the work that we do, then we get paid. Simple as that.
The reason you will rarely find anyone charging an hourly rate for the Research Credit is that the scope of the credit is so considerable, that it could potentially outweigh the actual credits earned. There are certainly cases where we lose money by not properly qualifying a client before going into it.
Also, the job costing for creating hours billed for R&D credit work can be an absolute nightmare, not many companies are willing to do this, it also creates a burden on the company receiving the credit because they need to review the hours before paying.
Some of you might be thinking, what happens if you inflate the total credit numbers, just to get a few more bucks? There is a sort of insurance, or guarantee attached to the service. If the IRS audits you, then we pay back the difference in fees. In this case it makes sense to create a rock solid defense so this never happens.
Many people ask me when I bring up research credits, why their CPA isnt currently doing it for them if, according to me, they would qualify for such a fantastic credit.
There are many reasons that your typical tax filing CPA wouldnt work on the R&D Credit for you. One of the biggest is that they could potentially lose their license (explained below). Below is a list of some of the reasons your tax CPA is not even offering this type of service:
1. It takes a extraordinary amount of time
Your CPA is already spending a lot of time preparing your tax returns, to add an additional 40+ hours to determine if you have even the slightest chance to achieve the Research Tax incentive is not something that they would do. The only time I have seen a CPA firm offer both Tax Prep and Research incentives, is when it is a top 4 firm, that has seperate departments. This of course shows in the hefty price tag.
2. Its a pain in the ***
The R&D Credit is a very difficulty credit, with literally hundreds of lines of tax code to support it. It is highly specialized, and only certain tax firms that have done the work to learn the ins and outs of the credit can offer the service.
3. Your CPA can potentially lose his license
This is the big one. The Research credit is not an easy credit to perform, it takes hours upon hours of substantiation, your typical tax accountant will have to charge for these services. No one in their right mind will pay an hourly charge for something like this, because if they did there would be a potential situation for a huge bill and nearly zero credits used (in the case that the CPA could not find enough credits to offset the fees). There is enough uncertainty that the credit might not heed results to cause this.
So CPA firms typically charge a contingency, if they can find enough credits to use, they will charge you a percentage of what you use. It makes sense to use this business model, you pay for what you use, and it doesn’t come out of your pocket until money goes into it. I have yet to meet a CPA that charges hourly for tax incentive work.
In this case of charging a contingency, if your tax accountant is preparing your returns as well, they face a very large liability of losing their license if they make any mistake on your return. It is very easy for a CPA to deflate an expense in order to inflate the amount of the tax credit used. This in turn will inflate their contingency collected.
This is illegal under the AICPA. An accountant preparing taxes is not allowed to collect a contingency for it. Period.
Simple enough right? Well maybe not, but there is the long explanation of why your Tax CPA will not, and has not done your R&D credit project. This is why many CPAs work with other firms to provide these services.
I work with 10 other firms and provide their clients with this service. It benefits everyone.
Many start-ups are in one mode only and thats survival mode. Doing what they do best, selling, programming, and creating.
What they fail to do is plan for the future by getting good professional help with their taxes. Just getting a CPA is not what I am talking about.
Finding a CPA firm that can provide all the resources you need is difficult. What I am talking about is providing tax advice throughout the year, doing or auditing books to make sure your financials are sound, and the most important: making sure you qualify for and implement tax incentives.
This is a huge deal when it comes to start-ups, because many do not take advantage of the credits or wait too long and cant utilize the credits from earlier years. Just because you pay little or no taxes now, does not mean you cant use them or benefit from them in the future. A little planning can save you thousands off income you earn in future years.
What I am specifically referring to is the Research and Development Tax Credit (or R&D credit). This credit has been put in place for anyone who spends money to create or improve a product or service. This allows them to lower their taxes and offset some of the uncertaintanty of doing those activities. The credit has been around for years, and is said to provide an incentive for american companies to spend money on creating something, giving us a huge advantage in the world marketplace.
I’ve found in my experience, very few small start-ups utilize the credit, although based on the credit itself, it’s those small businesses that benefit the most.
For a typical startup, the credit is usually around 10-20% of research expenses for the first 5 years, which can be astronomical. You can carry forward the credit up to 20 years, which means if you dont use it right away, you can save it for later. The look-back is 3 years max, so the credit can be utilized in past years if not taken advantage of immediately upon start-up.
Here is a simple calculation showing the potential of the credit itself, these are the assumptions:
- You hire one employee to work on coding software, their salary is $70,000
- You also hire one contract worker (within the US) to debug at $38,500
- You buy computer equipment and a server for $3,000
- You also hire an assistant to help out your programmer and you, the assistant actually helps the programmer 50% of the time, their salary for the year was $4000.
Add those up:
- +25,000 (65% of $38,500)
- +2,000 (50% of $4,000)
- =$100,000 for 1 year
Assume your company’s revenue was less than $500,000 that year.
The credit would be:
- =$10,000 – Off federal and most* state tax liabilities
|
<urn:uuid:6c8916cd-5015-472b-bd13-3b2eada6010d>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-22
|
http://www.guenthertax.com/blog/category/research-credit/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207924799.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113204-00015-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.972728 | 3,583 | 2.734375 | 3 | 2.879905 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Finance & Business
|
A startling phenomenon occurs after a bushfire tears through a landscape. From the blackened soil springs an extraordinary natural revival – synchronised germination that carpets the landscape in flowers and colour.
When I answer my office phone as an extension vegetable specialist, from time to time it’s someone asking how they can get recognition for growing a huge tomato, possibly the biggest one ever.
About eight years ago, 10 families (including mine) and others started a small community garden in Saskatoon.
If you are having tomato fruit set problems try this simple toothbrush trick to get more tomatoes!
Spending time in outdoors, taking time out of the everyday to surround yourself with greenery and living things can be one of life’s great joys – and recent research also suggest it’s good for your body and your brain.
Anyone who has traveled across multiple time zones and suffered jet lag will understand just how powerful our biological clocks are
f you have a hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water, you might have the impression that all that hummingbirds need to live a healthy life is to sip sweet drinks all day long.
In this video, I give you my 5 top tips on how to grow a ton of passionfruit all from just one passion fruit!
Should tomato plants be pruned or not?
Some might balk at the idea that plants made of roots, stems and leaves could have intelligence or consciousness.
In today's episode, we look at how to grow broccoli - specifically growing the broccoli variety called green magic broccoli.
On a bright spring afternoon in late April, roughly 75 people gathered at the first Camp Fire restoration weekend at a farm 20 miles southwest of Paradise, California.
You might not really be sure you saw what you think you saw when the first one shows up.
Micro-naps For Plants: Flicking The Lights On And Off Can Save Energy Without Hurting Indoor Agriculture Harvests
A nighttime arrival at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport flies you over the bright pink glow of vegetable production greenhouses.
Many scientists believe that halting global warming at 1.5°C will require us to invent Negative Emission Technologies – machines that can suck climate warming gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air.
In today's video we provide you lots of gardening tips and advice on how to do some common diy things in your garden.
Iris, a high school student in New York City, took a course aimed at preparing public school students for college.
In this video, I give you my 10 top reasons why raised bed vegetable gardens are the best! And, how the raised bed gardening revolution is here.
If you could ask British insects about the habitats they prefer, they’d probably tell you that you can’t improve on grassland that’s rich with wildflowers.
In today's episode we look at the five best vegetables you can grow in your vegetable container garden or edible container garden. By growing these vegetables you can easily get great quality produce
This video shows what happens when you bury kitchen scraps or waste like bones and meat such as fish in the vegetable garden.
How farming companies are using a carbon rich material to enhance soils and purify waste water.
Chernobyl has become a byword for catastrophe. The 1986 nuclear disaster, recently brought back into the public eye by the hugely popular TV show of the same name
Have you have seen ants this year? In Britain, they were probably black garden ants, known as Lasius niger – Europe’s most common ant.
You might feel bad about having a less-than-manicured lawn, but it’s great for bees and other pollinators.
I heard a local story of a man who, in his excitement to kill a rattlesnake, used the only thing he had available ─ his thermos bottle.
As a plant biologist I have spent a long time interested in what makes plants salt tolerant. Some plants can grow and thrive in very salty soils, saltier than the sea, while others (like most of our staple crops) will fail to flourish.
The species Solanum centrale, also known as kutjera in several Aboriginal languages, or the desert raisin in English, stands out in Australia’s wild bush tomato family in more ways than one.
Sunlight, harnessed by plants in the process of photosynthesis, powers almost all life on earth.
If you would like to know how to grow a big harvest of sweet potato watch this video for my five top tips on sweet potato growing!
In this complete growing guide for growing eggplants, we show you how to grow eggplants in containers or pots. The Container Little Prince eggplant variety is an excellent eggplant variety by Renee's
Nature is just like us: it likes to be treated with respect, to be approached with an open heart and with care. Our energy fields will then come into harmony with one another and our intuitive perception will be enhanced.
People across North America love to garden, yet the vast majority of garden plants are non-native species.
Here's how to grow a ton of carrots in just one small round raised garden bed.
This is a fantastic way to grow potatoes using minimal effort whilst both building soil and creating an abundance of tubers.
Here's a neat trick or hack using vaseline to organically control pests like aphids or scale/mealybugs on a fruit tree. Smear vaseline around the trunk of the tree to stop ants from climbing up and protecting
The perfect soil mixture can do more than grow food.It took more than two decades for Kevin Holtham, 49, to formulate what he reckons is the perfect soil mixture.
In this video, I show you my 10 top organic ways to get rid of pests in your garden. There's no need for harsh pesticides or chemicals just these simple tips to grow lots of fruit and vegetables! Support
Roger Cook helps a homeowner build a simple, affordable backyard greenhouse.
In today's episode we look at wheatgrass and the benefits of using wheatgrass juice or wheatgrass powder to our health. We show you how easy it is to grow wheatgrass in your home in a container. In just
In today's video, we look at how to grow the Crossandra Plant. We look at two plant vareities - the Sundance Crossandra which produces orange flowers and the Firecracker plant which produces red flowers.
Learn how to grow beets or beet root plants in your vegetable garden. We show you show to grow beets from seeds, how to transplant them to containers or raised beds, how to care for your beetroot plants.
In today's episode we look at growing a compact, bush cucumber variety called bush slicer cucumber. Cucumber can be of vining type or bush type. This cucumber is a bush type, compact cucumber variety
Follow our garlic plants all the way from planting using the Ruth Stout method (hay mulch, no diging or tilling), to harvesting, and drying.
In our continuing quest to experiment with a multitude of permaculture techniques, this time we decided to construct a Back to Eden style garden bed... and in doing so, also prevented desertification!
An Indigenous-led organization in New Mexico is using fungus in an attempt to remove chemicals from soil.
Help support our channel: https://www.patreon.com/backtoreality After a long and difficult summer, we're finally ready to give some garden updates. So let's start off with the changes we've been making
Watch this method of growing potatoes and a big harvest - in containers with a well draining potting mix like ProMix HP or a mix of Peat Moss and Perlitte.
In today's episode we show you how to grow an okra variety called Nombo Giant okra in containers. This okra variety produces giant sized pods and can be easily grown in containers. Growing okra is easy.
Climate change is underway, and human activities such as urbanisation, industrialisation and food production are key contributors.
Here is a very easy way to trellis your cucumbers to grow vertically rather than have them spread over your garden. This works great. Get them in place and watch the
Elaine Uang and Mike Greenfield knew they wanted an edible garden, and they maximized their space
Find out the best garden hose for your home garden as we review different types of garden hoses and how they perform. From the folding garden hose to the traditional vinyl hose to the next generation
Start your raised bed garden by converting your existing lawn area to a raised bed. We go thru all the steps from installing the beds, protecting it from critters and adding cardboard and raised bed mix.
When we broke ground for a garden at our 80-year-old house in the middle of Seattle, we took the most obvious thing for granted.
The opportunity to connect to Earth and her gifts in modern times is often waved away as a childish fantasy or an outdated practice, yet the impact of this disconnect is creating huge problems in our environment and mental health. To those who wave away our connectedness with Earth as a fantasy, I offer you an alternative way to consider these practices.
Planting more flowers is a great idea – but it is difficult to predict which flowers different insects will use the most, and whether enough flowers are being provided for them.
Are we facing insect Armageddon? A recent study found that German nature reserves have seen a 75% reduction in flying insects over the last 27 years.
When it comes to making decisions, most of us are influenced to some degree by other people, whether that’s choosing a restaurant or a political candidate.
Ponds are taken for granted. Perhaps it’s because most of us have seen them – and on occasion, fallen into them – and think they’re only good for goldfish.
You might have noticed how bright green your plants look after rain. Or you may have been watering your garden this summer, over many hot days and weeks. So, which water is best for your plants? The stuff that falls out of the sky or the water that comes out of the tap?
Last night I was watering the garden with a hose. It is easy to see how stressed the plants are on a 38 degree day, but then I remembered that the animals in my garden need water too.
For more than 20 years, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made tens of millions of dollars available in grants and low-interest loans to the local food sector.
Researchers have genetically modified a common houseplant—pothos ivy—to remove chloroform and benzene from the air around it.
Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, with 38% of Australian households owning dogs. Dogs improve the quality of our lives, and studies show that exposure to dogs can even improve our immune system.
A company in Scotland has unveiled what it claims is arguably the world’s most technically advanced indoor farm. Intelligent Growth Solutions’ vertical farm uses artificial intelligence and specially designed power and communication technologies. The firm says this reduces energy costs by 50% and labour costs by 80%...
Eight schools in London have closed this month because of an infestation of spiders. The schools reported that they were concerned for the children’s well-being so they sent their pupils home – in one case for a whole month.
There are seven species of Apis honey bee in the world, all of them native to Asia, Europe and Africa. Apis mellifera, the western honey bee, is the species recognised globally as “the honey bee”. But it’s not the only insect that makes honey. Many other bee, ant and wasp species make and store honey. Many of these insects have been used as a natural sugar source for centuries by indigenous cultures around the world.
It is highly unlikely that a butterfly or moth remembers being a caterpillar. However, it may well remember some experiences it learned as a caterpillar.
That fact in itself is especially amazing because inside the pupa (or chrysalis), the caterpillar actually turns to liquid as it transforms into a butterfly or moth (the adult stage).
When those first fat drops of summer rain fall to the hot, dry ground, have you ever noticed a distinctive odor? I have childhood memories of family members who were farmers describing how they could always “smell rain” right before a storm. Of course rain itself...
Recognizing faces is essential for how we interact in complex societies, and is often thought to be an ability that requires the sophistication of the large human brain. But new evidence we published in Frontiers in Psychology shows that insects such as the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the European wasp (Vespula vulgaris) use visual processing mechanisms that are similar to humans’, which enables reliable face recognition.
Studies indicate spending time in nature brings physical, mental and social benefits. These include stress reduction, improved mood, accelerated healing, attention restoration, productivity and heightened imagination and creativity.
Many people forget that our gardens can be important havens for wildlife. But with ponds drying up, amphibians are losing out.
After spending many years living in refugee camps, gardening can provide a safe space to establish identity, rebuild lives and attain happiness.
They are one of the most unwelcome signs of summer. Buzzing through beer gardens, attacking innocent picnics, wasps arrive ominously with a sting in their tails.
While you may be familiar with your zodiac sign and maybe even the precious stone associated with the month of your birth, did you know that The Language of Flowers shares with us blossoms connected with not only the month, but also the day and even land of your birth?
One of the biggest knocks against the organics movement is that it has begun to ape conventional agriculture, adopting the latter’s monocultures, reliance on purchased inputs and industrial processes.
When it is done properly, organic growing methods can deliver two to three times the yield of conventional methods. Of course if you take two fields and plant each with a monocrop, then the one without pesticides will do worse than the one with, but that isn't really what organic farming is.
Pollinating insects like bees, butterflies and flies have had a rough time of late. A broad library of evidence suggests there has been a widespread decline in their abundance and diversity since the 1950s.
Slugs and snails are the bane of almost every vegetable planting gardener and farmer. Slugs in particular have voracious appetites and are relentless in eating stems, leaves and shoots.
Researchers have uncovered exactly where a key protein forms before it triggers the flowering process in plants.
Growing food in cities became popular in Europe and North America during and immediately after World War II. Urban farming provided citizens with food, at a time when resources were desperately scarce.
The weather is getting warmer, and gardens are coming alive with bees, flies, butterflies, dragonflies, praying mantises, beetles, millipedes, centipedes, and spiders.
Flowers have a secret signal that’s specially tailored for bees so they know where to collect nectar. And new research has just given us a greater insight into how this signal works.
Although most species of plants on Earth have flowers, the evolutionary origin of flowers themselves are shrouded in mystery.
Unlike parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, marjoram missed out on a role in the classic song Scarborough Fair, made popular in the 1960s by Paul Simon. But it does have a key advantage over most herbs.
Some local governments are more tolerant than others in allowing residents to grow food where they want.
In Norway, a high-tech seed vault flooded from melting permafrost. In Montana, locals keep their seeds in the library.
A new device can produce enough food to make one salad per week for an entire year—and do it inside an apartment.
The next time you bite into an apple, spare a thought for the soils that helped to produce it. Soils play a vital role, not just in an apple’s growth, but in our own health too.
Is organic agriculture the solution to our global food system challenges?
Since 1880, the average global temperature has increased by 0.8°℃, with large changes in rainfall redistribution.
Urban agriculture, the cultivation of crops and animals in an urban environment, is known to increase access to healthy food.
In the heat zone of Louisville, Kentucky, 170 residents have been trained as “citizen foresters.”
Farmers looking to reduce reliance on pesticides, herbicides, and other pest management tools may want to heed the advice of agricultural scientists: Let nature be nature—to a degree.
A new report has found that U.S. land for organic farming reached 4.1 million acres in 2016, a new record and an 11 percent increase compared to 2014.
During the devastating floods that hit Queensland in 2011, Brisbane and regional centres came perilously close to running out of fresh food.
It is with great sadness that I acknowledge the passing of Bill Mollison on Saturday, September 24 (1928-2016). He was one of the true pioneers of the modern environmental movement, not just in Australia but globally.
As the weather warms and days lengthen, your attention may be turning to that forgotten patch of your backyard. This week we’ve asked our experts to share the science behind gardening. So grab a trowel and your green thumbs, and dig in.
It’s back-to-school time in the United States, and for countless children across the nation, it’s also time to get back into the school garden.
|
<urn:uuid:5cf20472-af42-4971-b16e-531e162a56c6>
|
CC-MAIN-2020-05
|
https://innerself.innerself.com/content/living/home-and-garden/gardening.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250628549.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20200125011232-20200125040232-00348.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.942425 | 3,709 | 2.546875 | 3 | 2.730066 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Home & Hobbies
|
Landscaping involves a variety of activities. These activities include trimming branches and blooms, digging holes for planting or extracting plants, cleaning and preparing beds for the upcoming season, moving plants and supplies around the yard and maintaining the plants by watering or weeding. All of these activities require common tools used by landscapers. These tools can be found at your local home improvement store or large discount retailer.
Digging tools include shovels, spades, hoes, trowels and specialty tools like the post hole digger. Although a trowel can be used to plant seeds or small plants, like flats of annuals, a shovel is necessary for larger plants. In addition to a shovel, a spade is handy to have for digging and extracting plants. For digging weeds, hoes and trowels can do the job, although there are many specialized tools on the market that claim to make this task easier. Finally, for specialized jobs like installing fence or deck posts, there are specialty tools like the post hole digger or auger.
Once planted, the trees and shrubs require pruning to ensure proper growth and flowering. Hand pruners are appropriate for small jobs, such as removing spent flowers or trimming shrubs for a natural look. Gas or electric pruning shears work well for hedges and larger shrubs, especially when a crisp, clean, sculptured look is desired. Finally, loppers and tree saws cut medium to large branches of trees and shrubs. These tools are also available with long handles to reach high places.
Cleanup and Transport Tools
Rakes are used for cleanup tasks, such as removing leaves or branches left from pruning activities. For leaves, a blower can also be used. After piles of debris are created, a tub, tarp, wheelbarrow or garden cart can be used to move the debris to the desired location. Tarps, wheelbarrows and garden carts can also be used to transport plants and supplies to the planting bed.
Landscaping plants need maintenance. Lawns need cutting, so a lawnmower is necessary. Whether gas, electric or manual, a lawnmower must be used several times each season. In addition to mowing, lawns and gardens need watering, so hoses and watering cans are essential items. Specialty hose nozzles are available to control the flow of water. Spreaders are useful for applying lawn and garden treatments, such as fertilizers and herbicides. Finally, some lawn and garden treatments can now be attached to the garden hose for ease of application.
- List of Gardening Tools
- Stihl Vs. Mantis Tiller Cultivator
- Concrete Cutting Methods
- Tools & Equipment Used in Landscaping
- Old-Fashioned Harvest Tools
- Uses of Small Gas Engines
- Where Are Porter-Cable Tools Made?
- Lubricate the Drive Shaft of a Weed Eater Gas Trimmer
- How Does a Ditch Witch Work
- Grass Cutting Tools
- Craftsman Chainsaw Troubleshooting
- The History of the Garden Hoe
|
<urn:uuid:6f531235-a0e0-4def-9995-eeb4fea0a67d>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-47
|
https://www.gardenguides.com/138831-list-landscaping-tools.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496665985.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20191113035916-20191113063916-00062.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.921253 | 643 | 2.671875 | 3 | 1.389924 | 1 |
Basic reasoning
|
Home & Hobbies
|
- Our Services
- Events and Training
June 3, 2014
Water causes enough trouble by itself, but when we add salt we go to a whole different level, especially where porous materials are concerned. What is the deal with porous materials? Simple, porous materials are capable of wicking water large distances due to capillary suction (1). And when water can move large distances only bad things can happen.
Some of the tiniest pores can be found in wood, concrete, mortar and brick. Guess what we like to build out of? Yup, wood, concrete, mortar and brick. The theoretical limit of capillary rise in concrete is about 10 kilometers—and folks that is not a typo—it really is about 10 kilometers or about 6 miles. Concrete sucks big time. In wood it is about 400 feet—the height limit trees can grow to is set by the size of the capillary pores in wood. Ever wonder how leaves get water? When you go into a forest and listen very carefully you don’t hear any pumps pumping water upwards a couple of hundred feet do you? Capillary suction is powerful stuff. When you add salt to the water the power becomes explosive—literally as we shall see.
It is pretty common for ground water to dissolve mineral salts found in the earth. These dissolved mineral salts are transported by capillarity in solution through porous soils. When porous building materials are in direct contact with porous soils the building materials also wick the water inwards and upwards. Concrete footings are typically placed directly onto soil without any intervening capillary break and water wicks upward into the structure. The Brits call this “rising damp.” This rising damp or capillary ground water can cause serious damage in buildings. In new structures the problem is easy to avoid by installing a capillary break on the top of footings. We already provide capillary breaks under slabs—stones or sheet membranes such a polyethylene—and on the exterior of foundation walls by coating them with bitumen (“dampproofing"). Adding capillary breaks over the top of footings makes the protection continuous and avoids moisture problems when below grade interior spaces are insulated and finished (Figure 1). But how do we deal with existing structures—especially the old ones? We had better figure this out as we have a lot of old buildings to retrofit if we are going to be serious about climate change and energy security.
The best way to understand old buildings is to talk to old people. Unfortunately the old people we need to talk to are so old they have been dead for a long time. Hence, we have to use a new tool unknown in the Internet age—books—and really old ones that are typically written in some language other than English by some long dead European.
First a little “engineering physics”1 to help us get our arms around salt and water in porous materials. Figure 2 shows water with salt in solution traveling through a porous material by capillary flow to a surface where evaporation occurs. As the capillary water evaporates from the surface the salt is left behind. As water continues to evaporate from the surface this leads to an ever-increasing concentration of salt in the material. This increasing concentration of salt disturbs matters and to re-establish equilibrium water rushes towards the salt to dilute the concentration of salt. This can lead to huge hydrostatic pressures within the porous material. Aficionados (a.k.a. “geeks”) will recognize this as “osmosis.”
Figure 2: Spalling of porous materials—Without salt present evaporation of water from porous surfaces can often be easily managed—with salt present significant damage can occur.
The forces are not trivial (see below)(2). The osmosis pressures can exceed the cohesive strength of most porous materials and they literally blow apart.
Diffusion Vapor Pressure: 0.3 to 0.5 psi (2.1 to 3.5 kPa)
Capillary Pressure: 300 to 500 psi (2.1 to 3.5 MPa)
Osmotic Pressure: 3,000 to 5,000 psi (21 to 35 MPa)
Photograph 1 shows salt on the above-grade exposed surface of a brick foundation. Water carries salt in solution to the surface of the brick where the water evaporates leaving behind the salt on the surface of the brick in the form of salt crystals. The white deposits of mineral salts are called “efflorescence.” When the crystallization of salts happen beneath the surface of the brick-mortar matrix the phenomenon is called “sub surface efflorescence” or “sub-florescence.” If the subflorescence leads to sufficiently strong osmotic pressures—greater than the strength of the brick—and the brick flakes apart the damage is called “spalling.”
Photograph 1: Efflorescence on brick foundation
Figure 3 illustrates the all too common situation at the base of a brick foundation in an old building. The mortar fails near the base of the wall due to sub-efflorescence. The damage is localized near the base of the wall as the capillary water does not travel upward very far as it is easier for it to evaporate inwards rather than travel upwards. If it is prevented from evaporating inwards, the capillary water will travel upwards—again as we shall see.
One of the things you notice when you read old books written by old people is that they noticed things—seemingly little things that most of us would overlook but that actually turn out to be big things. Old master masons in the old world noticed that the mortar in the joints of brick assemblies would get “eaten” away at a much faster rate than the brick itself if the mortar had a lot of lime in it. The lime made the mortar weaker and more liquid water permeable and more vapor permeable than the brick—it made the mortar a “preferential” matrix for salt laden capillary water. They noticed that the capillary water with the dissolved salt preferred the mortar matrix to the brick.
This observation lead to the old practice, and good practice, of wanting mortar to be weaker and softer than brick—both above grade and below grade. Preservationists go through a lot of brain damage analyzing mortar chemistry to make sure this is the case when they replace old mortar using a process called “re-pointing.” You do not want the mortar to be stronger than the brick, because then the brick “sacrifices” itself to protect the mortar not the other way around. Note to structural engineers: stronger is not better where mortar is concerned—listen to the preservationists on this one.
Figure 4 illustrates the elegant solution to the problem of efflorescence, sub-efflorescence and spalling courtesy of a long dead old world mason. The re-pointing of brick with weak lime based mortar was seen to protect the brick from damage. The mortar would “sacrifice” itself to protect the brick. The re-pointing of the brick with “sacrificial” lime mortar over time evolved into applying “sacrificial” coatings over the entire brick surface. The lime-mortar rendering (or “parge coat”) would preferentially attract the capillary salt-water solution and evaporation would happen in this layer not in the brick-masonry assembly. The spalling and damage would be limited to the sacrificial layer. The lime-mortar layer would act like a “poultice” sucking the “salt poison” out of the assembly. The sacrificial layer would eventually fail and fall off—as expected—and would need to be replaced 3 or 4 times a century.
Figure 4: Sacrificial layers—Old world technology at its best. If you can’t stop the damage function, at least concentrate it at a location where you can deal with and within a material you can replace.
Photograph 2 shows a sacrificial layer failing on the exterior of a foundation wall at grade in the old town of Siena, Italy letting its owners know that it is time to reapply a new sacrificial layer. Photograph 3 shows a new sacrificial layer being applied on a building in the author’s ancestral home of Prague in the Czech Republic. Photograph 4 shows a recently applied sacrificial layer on one side of a doorway—but not yet applied on the other—on a building in Firenze, Italy.
Figure 5 illustrates an approach to address osmosis problems when retrofitting existing brick foundations. A sacrificial layer of lime-based mortar is applied to the exterior of the foundation at grade. An interior liquid water impermeable and vapor impermeable layer is applied to the masonry foundation preventing the capillary water from evaporating to the interior. The capillary water is directed upwards and outwards to the exterior sacrificial layer. The salt accumulates in this layer rather than causing damage to the interior of the foundation. This allows the interior of the masonry foundation to be insulated full height from the slab to the underside of the floor assembly.
Figure 5: Retrofitting existing brick foundation—Damage function is concentrated on outside surface of foundation at grade in a material designed to be replaced 3 or 4 times a century. Interior membrane sheet waterproofing is designed to prevent inward drying of capillary water—water is directed upwards and outwards.
Here is where things get tricky—we want to direct the capillary water upward and outward—but not too far upward into the structure where it can damage timbers and interior finishes. Figure 6 provides guidance for the protection of embedded timbers in masonry foundations when directing capillary water upward and outward.
At the end of the day in order to deal with old buildings that need to be retrofitted to meet the challenges of climate change and energy security it appears that we will have to dust off some old world technology. It is not too big of a sacrifice to ask.
Figure 6: Rules of Thumb—Physicists hate this type of information—experienced based recommendations without formal equations derived from first principles. I will come clean here—this is a “best guess” on my part. But I have been around and have been pretty good at guessing at stuff like this.
Not true physics—but close enough—engineers deal with approximations and “fudge factors” (i.e. “coefficients”) so “engineering physics” are “approximately correct.” If we engineers waited for physicists to solve things nothing would ever get done. We’re still waiting for physicists to explain friction from first principles. Until they do we will use our “coefficient of friction” and the trains will run and the planes will fly.
J.F. Straube and Burnett, E.F.P.; Building Science for Building Enclosures, Building Science Press, Westford, MA, 2005
|
<urn:uuid:ca89db9e-72d6-4fb6-ab3d-a2840c8e07b1>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-26
|
https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-011-capillarity-small-sacrifices
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998339.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20190617002911-20190617024911-00411.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.93326 | 2,301 | 3.109375 | 3 | 2.882766 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
What is student burnout? Burnout is a state of complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. It has become an all too common issue among students.
The relentless pressure to excel in academics, extracurricular activities, and personal lives can often take a toll on mental and physical well-being. One potential solution to burn out is taking a gap year—a deliberate break from formal education after high school or during college. Not only is a gap year a way to explore the world, it also holds immense potential as a restorative tool for students struggling with burnout. In this article, we outline some of the benefits of taking a gap year as an antidote to student burn out.
1. Press Pause
On a gap year, you’re pressing pause and stepping away from the constant cycle of assignments, exams and deadlines. This allows you the opportunity to recharge your mental and emotional batteries. It gives you the space to breathe and reflect, which can be invaluable in making informed decisions about your future. A gap year provides perspective on what is really important in life.
2. Learn Life Skills
There’s a lot of essential life skills that academia alone cannot teach. Getting out into the world is the only way to put into practise crucial skills like problem-solving, communication, time management, and adaptability.
3. Discover Your Passion
Taking a gap year is one of the few times in life where you get to focus on yourself and finding your passion. It’s an opportunity to explore interests, hobbies, and activities you may not have tried before. Finding your passion —whether it's travel, volunteering, creative projects, etc., —is an amazing antidote to burn out.
We cannot overstate how much a gap year will change your life. At the most basic level, you will return to formal education after a gap year with a renewed sense of purpose. You will be more motivated, focused and better equipped to manage stress and your workload effectively.
An intentional pause from academia allows students to recharge, explore new avenues, gain life skills, and return to their studies with renewed vigor. Pacific Discovery’s carefully curated gap semester offers a variety of enriching experiences, from meaningful volunteer opportunities to awe-inspiring adventures in nature, all designed to reconnect you with your passions and interests. You'll have the chance to engage in transformative workshops and activities that focus on well-being, mindfulness, and personal development.
- The benefits of taking a gap year
- 12 cool gap year ideas for students
- How to take a gap year after high school
- What to do during a gap year in 2023
- How to take a gap year during college
- Why you should consider volunteering abroad on your gap year
- Everything you'll ever need to know about planning your gap year
- Should I take a gap year before medical school?
|
<urn:uuid:1b27ca5f-a205-4c8f-8617-9c258c89b3b8>
|
CC-MAIN-2023-40
|
https://www.pacificdiscovery.org/helpful-info/blog/student-burnout/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510462.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20230928230810-20230929020810-00770.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.944252 | 603 | 2.828125 | 3 | 2.212066 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Education & Jobs
|
Home › Projects › White Book › Russian train into the future
Russian train into the future
Aleksandr Misharin, First Vice President of the Russian Railways JSC (RZD JSC)
It is interesting that the most progressive railroad countries (Japan, France and Germany) gambled on new technologies in the 1960s. Railroads were a vestige of the past, and the maximum commercial speed of 210 km/h achieved by a train was considered the ultimate dream.
During this period, the Japanese and Germans started designing magnetic cushion trains, while the French worked on air cushion designs. However, "air trains" never got off the ground except for a short magnetic cushion section in Shanghai. High-speed trains "took off" instead, and reached speeds of 260 km/h in 1981, 300 km/h in 1989, and set a record of 574 km/h in 2007.
The high-speed rail revolution is also changing the social life of the entire METR region (Middle East, Europe, Turkey and Russia). Above all, these changes have to do with freedom of movement: fast and high-speed trains have increased people’s mobility by many times for distances from 100 to 800 or even 1,000 km.
There is an interesting historical viewpoint of the situation in our country. The first railroads in Russia were built during the reign of Alexander II to truly liberate the peasants from "attachment to the land" by giving them the opportunity to move to the new industrial centers. However, as a result, one "law of serfdom" was replaced with another. Today, people involuntarily resettle in large cities with more opportunities for self-fulfillment. New high-speed railroads will allow the new "liberation of people", while at the same time revitalizing a large number of small and medium-sized cities.
Specifically, the project to build the high-speed Moscow-Kazan main railway line (HSL) initiated by the President Vladimir Putin must become the basis for new social changes in Russia. We are speaking about the Moscow-Kazan HSL as a potential subway or suburban electric train of future urban areas. This is because, at speeds of 300–350 km/h, communities within an hour’s travel are becoming stops on the future Greater Moscow, Greater Kazan and Greater Nizhny Novgorod. Communities up to 400 km from each other that can be reached in less than an hour and a half will be regarded as "suburbs". Thus, urban areas are extending to 400 km, and cities like Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod, for example, are becoming suburbs of each other. At the same time, the importance of these stopover communities will sharply increase rather than decrease. This is because, in modern Russian conditions, such distances – from 50 to 400 km – are the most difficult. Covering these distances each day is equally long and difficult in both cars and trains. Since people’s income and social level decrease sharply at these distances, the most ambitious citizens try to move closer to the center. Thus, when the HSL passes through these stations, they will get a "second wind" and migration of citizens to large cities will stop. The fact is that when high-speed rail travel is available, moving for work is no longer obligatory. Like residents of Lyon or Turin arriving in Paris or Milan, residents of Vladimir or Petushki will be able to travel by the HSL to Moscow or Nizhny Novgorod in less than an hour (it takes an average of 2.5–3 hours today). So in fact, it will be a new high-speed subway with travel intervals of 4–6 minutes.
Furthermore, a "centrifugal" trend has been observed in a number of European countries, especially Spain and France, due to high-speed trains. People have started moving to small communities located up to an hour and a half from large centers by high-speed train. The advantages of life in the provinces includes a good environment and lower prices; and in the case of real estate, the difference can be substantial. Middle-income families who buy an apartment 20 minutes from the center of Moscow by high-speed train (80–100 km) will pay off their mortgage in about two – five years. A mortgage for an apartment right in Moscow, but at the same distance from the center will have to pay for thirty years. Thus, people will be able to buy or rent better quality housing for less money. It will also become perfectly normal to live where it is more comfortable and work where there is more money.
The new wave of social changes will also affect the more affluent demographics. This is because the cost of land in Vladmir or Niznhy Novgorod regions is not comparable to the cost in areas around Moscow. However, after the HSL project is implemented, from the center of Moscow, these places will be at about the same distance in terms of ease of travel.
Thanks to the HSL, offices of large companies, universities and exhibition centers will be able to move to a distance of 1–1.5 hours of travel from central "high-speed subway" stations. It is clear that the HSL will become an excellent tool for decentralizing business, and thus for reducing the load on the infrastructure of large cities. It is precisely because of transportation problems that the idea of moving some government offices outside of Moscow has never got off the ground.
At the same time, as European experience shows, the quality of life improves in small cities due to "high-speed subway" stops, because people from large cities or those who work there need better quality services. Consumer demand will appear, which in turn will stimulate the expansion of education, medicine and services in these communities. So ultimately, many opportunities for growing small and medium businesses will appear.
The Internet has already enabled large corporations to move their service centers to the regions. Some consultants will also go out to the regions with the appearance of the HSL. They will be able to get to their clients in the time that today is spent in urban traffic jams.
The Moscow-Kazan "high-speed subway" will give people the opportunity to earn more and make better use of their free time for traveling. Within a day, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod will be able to take a trip to see the Kazan Kremlin and return within a day after spending a total of three hours on the road. The Moscow-Kazan "high-speed subway" will make the beautiful cities on the way accessible – the cities on the Golden Ring, for example. In many ways, high-speed railroads have revitalized a number of former industrial cities in Europe. For instance, the government of the French city of Lille lobbied for construction of an HSL through their city, which brought in half a million tourists annually, which is 15 times more than before.
The reason for the success of HSL in the METR region is associated with both socioeconomic and other factors, including environmental. A train traveling at speeds up to 320 km/h consumes less than one liter of fuel per passenger, or four times less than the energy consumption of a car and seven times less than an airplane traveling the same distance. Moreover, atmospheric emissions from HSL are many times less than from aircraft. If clean energy is used, this figure may even be 100 times lower. Finally, a railroad line is four times more efficient than a highway in terms of carrying capacity and occupied space.
Russian Railways has the longest rail network in the METR region. Of course, this gives us an advantage in terms of ability to transport freight within the country and for international trade. However, if we want to get a big piece of the pie, including traffic between Europe and Asia, we will have to increase the speed and reliability of freight delivery many times. For this purpose, a project to upgrade the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur lines has started at the initiative of the President Vladimir Putin.
Of course, the HSL project is also expected to increase the competitiveness of Russia’s transportation system. In this context, we should note that it will significantly reduce the load and risks on existing lines, since it will be used for trains with varying speeds. As a result, Russia’s Transport Strategy to 2030 calls for construction of more than 7,000 km of fast and more than 4,000 km of high-speed lines. Implementation of the pilot Moscow-Kazan HSL project is currently underway. In addition, there are plans to extend this line to Yekaterinburg and build a line from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Construction of the Moscow-Adler HSL with the option of extending it to Sevastopol is becoming especially important, specifically from the geopolitical standpoint.
Sign up for MIR initiative email updates
Sign up to receive monthly notifications about new arctiles published and other events on your email.
|
<urn:uuid:eefd6052-5bab-4073-b9b5-202968c7873c>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-17
|
http://mir-initiative.com/projects/white-book/aleksandr-misharin/russian-train-into-the-future.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917122720.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031202-00625-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.959779 | 1,859 | 2.734375 | 3 | 2.892217 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Transportation
|
Children’s bedrooms are more than just spaces to sleep; they are places of creativity and imagination. One way to enhance this imaginative world is by introducing a unique and inspiring piece of furniture: the philosophic car bed for kids. In this article, we will explore the concept of the philosophical car bed for kids, its significance, and the ways it can shape a child’s perspective on life.
The Philosophical Car Bed: A Journey of Imagination
The philosophic car bed is not just a piece of furniture; it’s a gateway to a world of imagination. Designed to resemble a real car, this bed allows children to embark on journeys in their minds, using their creativity to explore new horizons. It is a manifestation of the idea that imagination knows no bounds and that each child is a born philosopher in their own right.
A Symbol of Freedom
The philosophic car bed represents freedom – the freedom to dream and imagine beyond the limits of the physical world. It’s a symbol that encourages children to think outside the box, break free from the conventional, and explore their inner philosopher. This bed is not just for sleep; it’s a space for boundless thoughts and limitless adventures.
The car bed fosters curiosity, a fundamental trait of a philosopher. As children lay down in their car beds, they are prompted to ask questions about the world around them. They ponder over the complexities of life, just as philosophers do. Why is the sky blue? What makes a car go vroom? The car bed serves as a springboard for inquisitive minds, encouraging them to explore the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of things.
The philosophic car bed is a gentle nudge for children to push their boundaries. It inspires them to set out on a journey of self-discovery, helping them understand their strengths and weaknesses. Much like philosophers who strive to understand the depths of human nature and existence, children can use their car beds to explore the depths of their creativity and capabilities.
A philosopher values independence and self-reliance. The car bed, designed with child-friendly features, encourages children to take care of their space, teaching them a sense of responsibility. It becomes their domain, where they decide how the adventures unfold. This autonomy instills a sense of self-worth and independence that will serve them well throughout their lives.
Imagination: The Fuel of Philosophy
Imagination is the cradle of philosophy. The philosophic car bed serves as a canvas for a child’s imagination, where they can paint their dreams and ponder over the mysteries of life. Through play and storytelling, children learn to express their thoughts and feelings, which is at the heart of philosophical exploration.
Philosophers often spend years pondering a single question, seeking answers and understanding. The philosophic car bed instills perseverance in children as they play and create their own stories. They learn that answers don’t come easy, but the journey of seeking knowledge is as important as the knowledge itself.
Encouraging Critical Thinking
The philosophic car bed also promotes critical thinking. Just like philosophers critically analyze theories and ideas, children can use their beds to critically examine their imaginative creations. They evaluate their ideas, make connections, and refine their thinking.
A Vehicle for Storytelling
Philosophy is often conveyed through stories and parables. The car bed becomes the stage for storytelling, where children can weave intricate narratives and philosophical tales. This creative process not only enhances their storytelling abilities but also reinforces the importance of communicating thoughts and ideas effectively.
Building Emotional Intelligence
The philosophic car bed is not just a piece of furniture but a companion in a child’s emotional journey. Just as philosophers explore the depths of human emotions, children can use their beds as a safe space to process their feelings and experiences. It’s a place where they can confront fears, celebrate victories, and learn to navigate the complex landscape of emotions.
Empathy and Compassion
Philosophers often ponder questions about ethics, morality, and empathy. The car bed can be a tool to teach children about kindness and empathy through imaginative play. They can explore different perspectives and learn to put themselves in others’ shoes, fostering a sense of compassion for the world around them.
At Hurryguru India, the philosophic car bed for kids is more than just a piece of furniture; it’s a vessel for nurturing young philosophers. It encourages children to dream, explore, question, and imagine. As they lay down in their car beds, they embark on journeys of creativity and self-discovery. These beds become spaces where the seeds of philosophy are sown, and the ideals of freedom, independence, and curiosity are cultivated. By embracing the philosophic car bed, parents can inspire their children to become lifelong learners, thinkers, and dreamers, ready to tackle the complex questions of life with an open heart and a curious mind.
|
<urn:uuid:a131b70c-0727-4a87-af2b-369bc52f765e>
|
CC-MAIN-2024-10
|
https://www.newyorktimesnow.com/explore-the-concept-of-the-philosophical-car-bed-for-kids-igniting-imagination-and-dreams/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474573.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20240225003942-20240225033942-00836.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.944442 | 1,020 | 2.65625 | 3 | 2.518397 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Home & Hobbies
|
Friday, March 29, 2013/lk
n Exercise at least 30 minutes every day
n Warm up and stretch before physical activity
n Wear the right shoes and protective gear
n Take lessons to learn proper technique
n Invest in good equipment
n Be cautious when adding new activities and exercises
n Develop a balanced fitness program that includes cardiovascular exercise, strength training and flexibility
Tips for youth sports
n Children should participate in a level of sport that matches his or her level of development and physical conditioning. Injuries occur when parents expect the sport to get the child into shape rather than helping a child train for a sport prior to participating in it.
n Sporting events should occur in a healthy environment (with the appropriate surface) and be well-coached and supervised by a qualified adult leader.
n Allow children to play as children, not adults
n Receive and follow conditioning guidance in your child's sport of choice. It is important for young bodies to start at a beginning level of activity and work their way up to a more advanced level.
n Safety gear can be a life-or-death issue. Always have your child wear properly fitting safety equipment that is in good condition.
n Many children have special needs. Be aware of them and address them.
n Most sports require a certain amount of flexibility and power. Make sure your child takes time to warm up properly before engaging in the sporting activity.
n Overuse is a common risk among young people. Children should be properly rested before playing and shouldn’t overdo. They should never be allowed to play through pain.
n Learn the rules with your child and make sure he or she follows them
n Encourage your child to have fun participating in their sport of choice
Playground safety tips
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends these playground safety tips for children and the adults supervising them:
n Children should play over a soft surface such as rubber, double-shredded bark mulch or engineered wood fibers
n Inspect equipment for loose, broken or missing parts
n Children should hold onto handrails and grips with both hands
n An adult should be present during playtime
n When using the slide, kids should slide one person at a time, slide sitting down and facing forward, and move away from the slide as soon as they reach the ground
n Children should play on dry equipment only and wear proper footwear
n Encourage kids to watch out for others, climb on steps slowly and have fun!
Submitted by Providence Hood River Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Clinic.
|
<urn:uuid:1811d568-7a35-47fe-a012-b70a86f440fa>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-06
|
http://t.hoodrivernews.com/news/2013/mar/29/tips-injury-prevention-during-sports/?templates=tablet
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115926735.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161206-00116-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.949451 | 529 | 3.625 | 4 | 1.082969 | 1 |
Basic reasoning
|
Sports & Fitness
|
⇧ [VIDÉO] You may also like this affiliate content (after ads)
In recent years, the use of organoids has led to many advances in medical research. Indeed, these miniature organs have repeatedly allowed scientists to better understand how diseases develop and test different therapeutic approaches. A team at UC San Diego School of Medicine recently made a major new discovery using these organ models: They identified a genetic mutation associated with a profound form of autism, and then successfully repaired the entire nervous system by correcting that mutation.
Several neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia, are associated with mutations in transcription factor 4 (TCF4), a gene on chromosome 18 essential for brain development and neuronal function; Transcription factors are proteins that initiate or regulate the transcription of other genes. However, it is poorly understood how pathological TCF4 mutations affect neuronal tissues.
To learn more, the researchers studied neurons and brain organelles derived from skin fibroblasts taken from children with Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, a disease caused by certain specific mutations in TCF4. Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome is an ASD characterized by cognitive impairment, characteristic facial morphology, gastrointestinal problems, and respiratory rhythm disturbances. Through observation of the organoids, the team was able to identify underlying pathological molecular mechanisms and characterize the cellular abnormalities resulting from TCF4 mutations.
A mutation that limits cell proliferation and differentiation
Mouse models of Pitt-Hopkins syndrome cannot accurately mimic the neural characteristics of patients with this disorder; By converting skin cells taken from young patients into stem cells, the researchers were able to fabricate neural progenitor cells, neurons and “mini-brains” that more closely mimic the expected functions of a real organ. Thus, they could follow the development of tissues, as if they were studying the growth of a fetus.
By comparing the growth of tissues containing mutated versions of TCF4 with tissues with typical TCF4 genes, they were able to accurately map the changes caused by mutations in tissue structure and function. “Even without a microscope, we could tell which brain organoid is carrying the mutation,” said Alisson R. Muotri, director of the UC San Diego stem cell program and lead author of the study.
Significant differences in size and structure were observed between brain organoids obtained from patients with Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (right) and a normal organoid (left). © F. Papes et al.
To begin with, the team found that the syndrome-bearing organelles were aberrant in size and structure; they were significantly smaller than normal organelles and contained a higher percentage of neural progenitor cells and significantly fewer neurons. Indeed, progenitor cells cultured from stem cells showed reduced proliferation and a lower ability to differentiate into neurons, suggesting that the TCF4 mutation inhibits the proliferation and differentiation of neuronal progenitor cells. The latter also showed early aging.
The few cells that were still differentiated into neurons were less active than usual and remained clustered together rather than organized into neural networks. According to the researchers, this atypical architecture likely underlies the cognitive and motor deficits in Pitt-Hopkins syndrome. So they wondered if these structural modifications could be reversed by acting directly on TCF4 expression.
Possible recovery of motor and cognitive functions
A series of experiments have shown that TCF4 mutation results in reduced Wnt/β-catenin signaling and expression of SOX transcription factors, two important molecular signals that regulate embryonic cell reproduction, their maturation into neurons, and their migration into neurons. suspected area of the brain. Thus, the decrease in neuronal differentiation appears to be related to this decrease in signaling.
The researchers then turned to pharmacological support for Wnt signaling (through a chemical called CHIR99021), a procedure that restored some of the diversity and neural activity in diseased organoids. In addition, direct correction of TCF4 mutations (by gene editing) reversed their effects: organelles with the syndrome became more similar to normal organelles used as controls. “The fact that we can fix this gene and restore the entire nervous system, even at a functional level, is amazing,” Muotri said.
h) Live cell count after treatment of neural progenitor cells with Wnt pathway agonist CHIR99021. j) Quantification of senescent cells among neural progenitor cells treated with CHIR99021. k) CHIR99021 restores expression of proliferation genes in treated cells. l) Pitt-Hopkins syndrome organelles 4 weeks in vitro after treatment with CHIR99021, showing a marked increase in the number of neural progenitor cells (green) and neurons (pink), as well as the reappearance of neuronal rosettes (arrow). © F. Papes et al.
However, the team points out that these manipulations took place at a very early (prenatal) stage of brain development; however, children with Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, as with other ASDs, are not diagnosed until about 2–3 years of age. Therefore, clinical trials should be conducted to ensure that the same procedure can be performed safely and with the same efficacy at this age. Muotri and colleagues are optimizing their gene therapy tools for such trials. “For these children and their loved ones, any improvement in motor-cognitive function and quality of life is worth trying,” the specialist concludes.
|
<urn:uuid:2c86436e-6065-4e39-9287-cf3bfb782da2>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-21
|
https://geeky.news/researchers-reverse-the-effects-of-autism-linked-mutations-with-gene-therapy/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662604495.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220526065603-20220526095603-00595.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953305 | 1,123 | 3.171875 | 3 | 3.004562 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Health
|
^ Mentors are a Priceless Asset for Rookie Welders
Image Courtesy of Monkey Business Images at http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-165341816/stock-photo-engineer-teaching-apprentice-to-use-tig-welding-machine.html?src=6um7DkK14vtHU7TDScGCfg-1-0
Skilled Labor: An Essential Commodity in Manufacturing
In order to start the production of any kinds of goods or services, you need four essentials – land, labor, capital, and enterprise. Economists refer to these elements as the factors of production. The United States is running out of skilled labor.
Manufacturing built the U.S. economy between 1900 and 1950. In the 1970s however a combination of automation, outsourcing, and cheap imports shrunk the manufacturing sector as companies and colleges cut down heavily on skilled labor training programs.
After the disaster of 2008, the U.S. economy began to gather steam in 2009 even as global trade revived. Reshoring i.e. the return of manufacturing activity that was outsourced earlier suddenly created a demand for skilled trades. As did the long-due upgrading of infrastructure projects.
In August 2013, a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey estimated the skilled labor shortage in the U.S. to clock a mammoth 875,000 by 2020. Shipping is an integral part of the manufacturing economy and as such cannot be immune from the issues that plague the manufacturing world.
Welders, fabricators, and pipe fitters are in great demand. Welding is indispensable because it joins metals at the molecular level. Fabricators handle the umpteen cutting-bending-assembling jobs in building and repairing ships. And pipefitting lays down the arteries of any large mechanism.
A Comparative Analysis of Skilled Labor in the U.S. & the World
According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2012, the U.S. ranked 14th in the world in wages and compensation paid to manufacturing workers.
Such compensation is a function of the global economic competitiveness, productivity, and overall human development. Wages rise as an economy becomes increasingly post industrial.
In order to maintain global competitiveness, U.S. giants such as Ford and General Electric have adopted a two-tier pay structure paying lower wages to new workers and higher to experienced ones. This may further depress the average wages.
Skilled Trade Requirements of the U.S. Shipping Industry
Welding: it is the welded joints that hold together most of our modern metal infrastructure. In a maritime setting, welders generally build, repair, and maintain ships and boats and their metal parts.
Commercial welder-divers who execute underwater welding are in great demand on offshore oil and gas rigs. Underwater welding saves the colossal cost and effort of pulling large structures out of water.
Marine or underwater welding is tougher to conduct because of higher ambient pressures around the diver-welder. Faster cooling rates of joints and greater hydrogen content in joints weaken joints, destabilize arcs, and intensify joint porosity.
Diver-welders require better skill levels to weld effectively under such testing conditions. They also face the risk of nitrogen narcosis when nitrogen from the inhaled compressed air enters bloodstream and causes drowsiness below 100 feet.
Maritime welders in the U.S. find employment in the coastal regions around the Gulf of Mexico, coastal Alaska, Atlantic and Pacific shores, Great Lakes, region, Houston, and coastal Virginia.
In 2012, there were only 357,400 welders in the U.S. as compared to 570,000 in 1988. The American Welding Society (AWS) estimates the paucity of welders in the entire U.S. to reach 290,000 by 2020 and 400,000 by 2024.
Welders drew an average salary of $36,300 in the year 2012 as per statistics by the BLS. For obvious reasons, commercial diver-welders make much more, even beyond $100,000 per year.
Pipefitting: modern machines and machine systems just cannot operate without pipe networks. These pipes supply the vital fluids such as fuel, oil, lubricant, coolant, water, slurries, vapor, and others that keep the mechanism running.
Piping systems on a ship include:
- Fuel Oil System
- Power Generation System
- Fire Fighting System
- Ballast System
- Lubrication System
- Steam System
- Bilge System
- Seawater Cooling System
- Compressed Air System
- Freshwater Cooling System
- Domestic Water System
Pipefitters, steamfitters, and plumbers establish maintain, and repair the pipe network in all these systems. Plumbing is the low-pressure version of pipefitting. Pipefitters make about $24.34 per hour according to the BLS. Skilled pipefitters are in great demand and make more.
Fabrication: is the making of metal structures with processes such as cutting, bending, and assembling. Fabricators in the U.S. earned a median annual salary of around $36,570 in 2014. The hourly average wage is around $15.24.
Alarmed by the skilled machinist shortage, policymakers and industrial bodies are teaming up with high schools and other such educational institutions to catch students early through internship and training programs. If all goes well, the shortage will soon be a thing of the past.
Wish to know all the stuff that makes a difference to the manufacturing industry? Visit our blog.
Kemplon Engineering is an ISO 9001:2015 certified marine and industrial engineering company. Contact us for welding, marine pipe fitting, large scale custom metal fabrication, and other marine fabrication services.
|
<urn:uuid:62e728bc-0a58-4903-8eb1-2e5936b81fe7>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-26
|
http://www.kemplon.com/skilled-labor-in-the-u-s-shipping-industry/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320226.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170624050312-20170624070312-00712.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.923683 | 1,211 | 2.9375 | 3 | 2.67161 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Industrial
|
Find schools that offer these popular programs
- Advertising and Commercial Design
- Commercial Photography
- Fashion Design
- General Visual Communications Design
- Graphic Design
- Illustration and Drawing
- Industrial Design
- Interior Design and Decorating
Free Online Interior Design Courses
Although most free online interior design courses aren't affiliated with schools, a select few university classes related to design concepts are available. Most courses don't confer credits and can't be applied toward degree programs. Interior design classes and learning materials are often offered by commercial concerns in the industry. Users interested in these free online interior design resources should have a computer with high-speed Internet access to take full advantage of streaming videos and online software tools. You can also learn about interior design right here on Study.com. For an affordable monthly subscription, you'll get unlimited access to Study.com's engaging Interior Design Basics & Principles course as well as over 3,000 other courses.
- Autodesk Homestyler allows users to place doors and windows in floor plans, experiment with actual product brands and see their designs in 3D. This web-based software is supported by Windows. Learners also have access to tip sheets for paint colors and design ideas, in addition to video presentations from an interior designer.
- Decorating Your Home is a 6-lesson course developed by a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Students learn key concepts about color and ideas for decorating various rooms in a home through text and pictures. Practice exercises are included.
Home and Garden Television
- Design 101 is available through Home and Garden Television's website. The articles provide a general foundation on basic design topics, like choosing the right furniture, selecting a cohesive color scheme and deciding between traditional and contemporary designs. Users can also read about the fundamentals of feng shui, color theory and decorative fabrics. Additional resources include furniture and design glossaries and an 8-question design IQ quiz.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
This school offers most of its classes free through OpenCourseWare. Credits are not awarded, and access to faculty members is not included. The entire contents of original courses may not be reflected in the materials that are made available.
- Principles of Design is an undergraduate course dealing with advanced theories of design. Students complete readings and assignments dealing with historic periods, lighting and color. Although this course is geared toward stage design, concepts learned may be transferred to design in the home, as well.
- Daylighting is an advanced course concerned with the design decisions related to both daylighting and electric lighting. Students complete reading and homework assignments, in addition to a final design project.
Through LearningSpace, Open University offers free courses on a variety of topics.
- Design Thinking is a 10-hour introductory course available through download, content feed or print. Learners study principles of composition, such as structure, repetition, symmetry and proportion. Assignments include readings, how-to guides and design activities.
- People-Centred Designing is a 12-hour introductory course that focuses on usability. Topics include design for users, inclusive design, ergonomics and designing for customers. Although product design is the major focus in this course, the concepts could also be related to the design of buildings, rooms, appliances and furniture.
Sweet Home 3D
- Sweet Home 3D allows users to draw house plans and arrange furniture pieces within them, seeing the results in 3D. Learners also have access to a users' guide, video tutorial, picture gallery of home examples and a blog.
|
<urn:uuid:dbffab8c-fe6e-4f3a-a415-6ae5d7b02220>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-05
|
https://study.com/articles/List_of_Free_Online_Interior_Design_Courses_Classes_and_Learning_Materials.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084886815.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20180117043259-20180117063259-00293.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.937295 | 731 | 2.53125 | 3 | 1.722507 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Art & Design
|
1000s of cabbages, 16 clean water wells and 71,703 people, including 41,331 children, whose lives have been impacted.
Despite definite hardships, 2020 had moments of hope and wonder.
Binza in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is an extremely dangerous place. Currently, no other NGOs are willing to work in the area due to instability and security concerns.
Located between the Ugandan border and the Virunga National Park, it is a place of immense natural beauty - and of bitter and deadly conflict.
In addition to rebel-led armed violence, food insecurity, natural disasters caused by climate change, kidnappings and armed robbery threaten children's lives here, where the rates of malnutrition are alarming.
Binza is a place that can change in an instant. One moment the community could be tending a crop of cabbages when suddenly an armed group can arrive, violently demanding food, stealing community supplies or threatening to kidnap a child to invoke a bribe.
COVID-19, conflict and instability could not stop the incredible impact from being made in Binza. Starting in late 2019, our teams in Binza conducted community workshops to identify the key areas that require immediate support, as well as larger, long-term community sustainable goals.
The community identified, nutrition, food security and water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives as its top priorities.
To begin to address the community’s concerns, 16 additional health staff were hired to monitor the weight of children, helping 2,467 children address and/or recover from the impacts of malnutrition.
Severe malnutrition robs many children, like Glodis, 4, of their lives, or permanently damages their future as ongoing health problems due to inadequate development.
World Vision staff were alerted to Glodis' desperate situation during a community health screening. After several consultations and home visits with Glodis' mother, she agreed to bring him to the health facility for treatment.
Glodis' case was so serious that the child, at the age of 47 months, could not stand up. The first 14 days of treatment were critical, thankfully he survived. Sadly, his younger sibling passed away the previous year as the family was unable to receive help, despite requests at hospitals.
Glodis' mother sadly relays the moment. “Every time I went to the hospital, I was told that we will receive therapeutic milk or [therapeutic food]. But after a few days, we had not received anything. Then one day my youngest child died,” she says.
“Today my child is in good health, I can go to my activities, I don’t need to stay at home anymore. We have survived the stress in our family, now that Glodis is gradually recovering,” his mother thankfully relays.
Glodis is one of thousands of children who have survived severe malnutrition and are on their way to recovering and building a future.
World Vision not only seeks to meet the immediate needs of children like Glodis, but to help the community build sustainable initiatives that address the root causes of poverty.
|
<urn:uuid:04f2f533-8372-4600-bdce-c41b919c871c>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-05
|
https://www.wvi.org/stories/fragile-contexts/drc-impact-binza-what-year
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320300624.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220117212242-20220118002242-00340.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.975218 | 639 | 2.515625 | 3 | 2.987606 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Health
|
In November 1915, in a lecture before the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Albert Einstein described an idea that upended humanity’s view of the universe. Rather than accepting the geometry of space and time as fixed, Einstein explained that we actually inhabit a four-dimensional reality called space-time whose form fluctuates in response to matter and energy.
Einstein elaborated this dramatic insight in several equations, referred to as his “field equations,” that form the core of his theory of general relativity. That theory has been vindicated by every experimental test thrown at it in the century since.
Yet even as Einstein’s theory seems to describe the world we observe, the mathematics underpinning it remain largely mysterious. Mathematicians have been able to prove very little about the equations themselves. We know they work, but we can’t say exactly why. Even Einstein had to fall back on approximations, rather than exact solutions, to see the universe through the lens he’d created.
Over the last year, however, mathematicians have brought the mathematics of general relativity into sharper focus. Two groups have come up with proofs related to an important problem in general relativity called the black hole stability conjecture. Their work proves that Einstein’s equations match a physical intuition for how space-time should behave: If you jolt it, it shakes like Jell-O, then settles down into a stable form like the one it began with.
“If these solutions were unstable, that would imply they’re not physical. They’d be a mathematical ghost that exists mathematically and has no significance from a physical point of view,” said Sergiu Klainerman, a mathematician at Princeton University and co-author, with Jérémie Szeftel, of one of the two new results.
To complete the proofs, the mathematicians had to resolve a central difficulty with Einstein’s equations. To describe how the shape of space-time evolves, you need a coordinate system—like lines of latitude and longitude—that tells you which points are where. And in space-time, as on Earth, it’s hard to find a coordinate system that works everywhere.
Shake a Black Hole
General relativity famously describes space-time as something like a rubber sheet. Absent any matter, the sheet is flat. But start dropping balls onto it—stars and planets—and the sheet deforms. The balls roll toward one another. And as the objects move around, the shape of the rubber sheet changes in response.
Einstein’s field equations describe the evolution of the shape of space-time. You give the equations information about curvature and energy at each point, and the equations tell you the shape of space-time in the future. In this way, Einstein’s equations are like equations that model any physical phenomenon: This is where the ball is at time zero, this is where it is five seconds later.
“They’re a mathematically precise quantitative version of the statement that space-time curves in the presence of matter,” said Peter Hintz, a Clay research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-author, with András Vasy, of the other recent result.
In 1916, almost immediately after Einstein released his theory of general relativity, the German physicist Karl Schwarzschild found an exact solution to the equations that describes what we now know as a black hole (the term wouldn’t be invented for another five decades). Later, physicists found exact solutions that describe a rotating black hole and one with an electrical charge.
These remain the only exact solutions that describe a black hole. If you add even a second black hole, the interplay of forces becomes too complicated for present-day mathematical techniques to handle in all but the most special situations.
Yet you can still ask important questions about this limited group of solutions. One such question developed out of work in 1952 by the French mathematician Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat. It asks, in effect: What happens when you shake a black hole?
This problem is now known as the black hole stability conjecture. The conjecture predicts that solutions to Einstein’s equations will be “stable under perturbation.” Informally, this means that if you wiggle a black hole, space-time will shake at first, before eventually settling down into a form that looks a lot like the form you started with. “Roughly, stability means if I take special solutions and perturb them a little bit, change data a little bit, then the resulting dynamics will be very close to the original solution,” Klainerman said.
So-called “stability” results are an important test of any physical theory. To understand why, it’s useful to consider an example that’s more familiar than a black hole.
Imagine a pond. Now imagine that you perturb the pond by tossing in a stone. The pond will slosh around for a bit and then become still again. Mathematically, the solutions to whatever equations you use to describe the pond (in this case, the Navier-Stokes equations) should describe that basic physical picture. If the initial and long-term solutions don’t match, you might question the validity of your equations.
“This equation might have whatever properties, it might be perfectly fine mathematically, but if it goes against what you expect physically, it can’t be the right equation,” Vasy said.
For mathematicians working on Einstein’s equations, stability proofs have been even harder to find than solutions to the equations themselves. Consider the case of flat, empty Minkowski space—the simplest of all space-time configurations. This solution to Einstein’s equations was found in 1908 in the context of Einstein’s earlier theory of special relativity. Yet it wasn’t until 1993 that mathematicians managed to prove that if you wiggle flat, empty space-time, you eventually get back flat, empty space-time. That result, by Klainerman and Demetrios Christodoulou, is a celebrated work in the field.
One of the main difficulties with stability proofs has to do with keeping track of what is going on in four-dimensional space-time as the solution evolves. You need a coordinate system that allows you to measure distances and identify points in space-time, just as lines of latitude and longitude allow us to define locations on Earth. But it’s not easy to find a coordinate system that works at every point in space-time and then continues to work as the shape of space-time evolves.
“We don’t know of a one-size-fits-all way to do this,” Hintz wrote in an email. “After all, the universe does not hand you a preferred coordinate system.”
The Measurement Problem
The first thing to recognize about coordinate systems is that they’re a human invention. The second is that not every coordinate system works to identify every point in a space.
Take lines of latitude and longitude: They’re arbitrary. Cartographers could have anointed any number of imaginary lines to be 0 degrees longitude. And while latitude and longitude work to identify just about every location on Earth, they stop making sense at the North and South poles. If you knew nothing about Earth itself, and only had access to latitude and longitude readings, you might wrongly conclude there’s something topologically strange going on at those points.
This possibility—of drawing wrong conclusions about the properties of physical space because the coordinate system used to describe it is inadequate—is at the heart of why it’s hard to prove the stability of space-time.
“It could be the case that stability is true, but you’re using coordinates that are not stable and thus you miss the fact that stability is true,” said Mihalis Dafermos, a mathematician at the University of Cambridge and a leading figure in the study of Einstein’s equations.
In the context of the black hole stability conjecture, whatever coordinate system you’re using has to evolve as the shape of space-time evolves—like a snugly fitting glove adjusting as the hand it encloses changes shape. The fit between the coordinate system and space-time has to be good at the start and remain good throughout. If it doesn’t, there are two things that can happen that would defeat efforts to prove stability.
First, your coordinate system might change shape in a way that makes it break down at certain points, just as latitude and longitude fail at the poles. Such points are called “coordinate singularities” (to distinguish them from physical singularities, like an actual black hole). They are undefined points in your coordinate system that make it impossible to follow an evolving solution all the way through.
Second, a poorly fitting coordinate system might disguise the underlying physical phenomena it’s meant to measure. To prove that solutions to Einstein’s equations settle down into a stable state after being perturbed, mathematicians must keep careful track of the ripples in space-time that are set in motion by the perturbation. To see why, it’s worth considering the pond again. A rock thrown into a pond generates waves. The long-term stability of the pond results from the fact that those waves decay over time—they grow smaller and smaller until there’s no sign they were ever there.
The situation is similar for space-time. A perturbation will set off a cascade of gravitational waves, and proving stability requires proving that those gravitational waves decay. And proving decay requires a coordinate system—referred to as a “gauge”—that allows you to measure the size of the waves. The right gauge allows mathematicians to see the waves flatten and eventually disappear altogether.
“The decay has to be measured relative to something, and it’s here where the gauge issue shows up,” Klainerman said. “If I’m not in the right gauge, even though in principle I have stability, I can’t prove it because the gauge will just not allow me to see that decay. If I don’t have decay rates of waves, I can’t prove stability.”
The trouble is, while the coordinate system is crucial, it’s not obvious which one to choose. “You have a lot of freedom about what this gauge condition can be,” Hintz said. “Most of these choices are going to be bad.”
A full proof of the black hole stability conjecture requires proving that all known black hole solutions to Einstein’s equations (with the spin of the black hole below a certain threshold) are stable after being perturbed. These known solutions include the Schwarzschild solution, which describes space-time with a nonrotating black hole, and the Kerr family of solutions, which describe configurations of space-time empty of everything save a single rotating black hole (where the properties of that rotating black hole—its mass and angular momentum—vary within the family of solutions).
Both of the new results make partial progress toward a proof of the full conjecture.
Hintz and Vasy, in a paper posted to the scientific preprint site arxiv.org in 2016, proved that slowly rotating black holes are stable. But their work did not cover black holes rotating above a certain threshold.
Their proof also makes some assumptions about the nature of space-time. The original conjecture is in Minkowski space, which is not just flat and empty but also fixed in size. Hintz and Vasy’s proof takes place in what’s called de Sitter space, where space-time is accelerating outward, just like in the actual universe. This change of setting makes the problem simpler from a technical point of view, which is easy enough to appreciate at a conceptual level: If you drop a rock into an expanding pond, the expansion is going to stretch the waves and cause them to decay faster than they would have if the pond were not expanding.
“You’re looking at a universe undergoing an accelerated expansion,” Hintz said. “This makes the problem a little easier as it appears to dilute the gravitational waves.”
Klainerman and Szeftel’s work has a slightly different flavor. Their proof, the first part of which was posted online last November, takes place in Schwarzschild space-time—closer to the original, more difficult setting for the problem. They prove the stability of a nonrotating black hole, but they do not address solutions in which the black hole is spinning. Moreover, they only prove the stability of black hole solutions for a narrow class of perturbations—where the gravitational waves generated by those perturbations are symmetric in a certain way.
Both results involve new techniques for finding the right coordinate system for the problem. Hintz and Vasy start with an approximate solution to the equations, based on an approximate coordinate system, and gradually increase the precision of their answer until they arrive at exact solutions and well-behaved coordinates. Klainerman and Szeftel take a more geometric approach to the challenge.
The two teams are now trying to build on their respective methods to find a proof of the full conjecture. Some expert observers think the day might not be far off.
“I really think things are now at the stage that the remaining difficulties are just technical,” Dafermos said. “Somehow one doesn’t need new ideas to solve this problem.” He emphasized that a final proof could come from any one of the large number of mathematicians currently working on the problem.
For 100 years Einstein’s equations have served as a reliable experimental guide to the universe. Now mathematicians may be getting closer to demonstrating exactly why they work so well.
Reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering research developments and trends in mathematics and the physical and life sciences.
|
<urn:uuid:7a324ae1-c6a4-42bf-a036-23da5e0039e6>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-39
|
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-test-einsteins-equations-poke-a-black-hole/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciam%2Fspace+%28Topic%3A+Space%29
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267158205.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20180922064457-20180922084857-00480.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.934606 | 2,968 | 3.421875 | 3 | 2.965697 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
By Damien Knight
I shall start with a quote from The Underground man himself. “Ha! Ha! Ha! But after all, if you like, in reality, there is such thing as choice.” (Dostoevsky, p.24), In the readings a major theme was free will and morals. Is the good life a free life or are we controlled by fate? To what limits are these freedoms?
In Fear and Trembling freedom is limited by morals or by faith. For Abraham he is both free and bound. He must, due to duty, serve God even if God orders his son’s death. Still this faith left him free. Free of ethics we become bound by faith. “A tragic hero can become a human being by his own strength, but not the knight of faith. When a person sets out on the tragic hero’s admittedly hard path, there are many who can lend him advice; but he who walks the narrow path of faith no one can advise, no one understands.” (K. p.95) This states how even Abraham who seeks freedom from ethics through the duty of faith is not free from being alone. Freedom is fickle.
The Underground Man rants about how he is spiteful but is not so. He does what he does because he can. In the Grand Inquisitor the Grand Inquisitor questions Jesus, telling him that med do not want this kind of freedom. Where Jesus denies the adversary his temptations, the Inquisitor says man could not handle choice, and the Church accepted temptations. They gave miracles to men and bread they may eat. Freedom was not possible for men. In this parable on human freedom the Inquisitor says, “today, people are more persuaded than ever that they are completely free, yet they have brought their freedom to us and laid it humbly at our feet.” For the Inquisitor the temptations are symbolic of the Church’s duty while Jesus was the symbol of free will.
Free will was the thing the Underground Man valued most. Even though he refused to seek medical help out of “spite.” He wanted to do what he wanted because he enjoyed it. Even when he became so miserable with his hyper-consciousness, he found pleasure from it. Freedom leads him to misery; a free life does not mean a happy one. For him he is ‘content’ miserable and expressing his free will of choice instead of being happy but not making his own choices.
Like the Inquisitor and Abraham, the Underground Man is not free. He in fact by force of insisting on being spiteful out of choice is now a life of determinism. A life fated by spite. His choice to choose is not a choice at all. He says himself he was “a coward and a slave. I say this without the slightest bit of embarrassment. Every decent man in our age must be a coward and a slave.” (Dostoevsky, P. 41) He expresses again his “free will” by exclaiming this does not embarrass him. He is once more proving his limitations. He cannot be embarrassed that he is not free as it is not expected he would be.
While the writer wants us to value free will and seems to say we exist on choice, this is not true. It is one prison or the other. You are a prisoner of faith, society or self. You may think you are free its only symbolically so. You can be free from morals but you have duty, or you are free from duty but now serve morals and law. When you are truly free, crash the party and let inhibitions go, even then this could be the expected.
What then is free will? It is the ability to choose your prison. You choose whether to be happy or a miserable slave. The good life it seems does not exist at all. Life is just life, you live it and you die. It is not controlled by fate, but it is not free either. We might become cynical “conscious” sheep or joyous faithful murderers. What we are not is truly free.
|
<urn:uuid:c1437463-fbc3-49b5-ade6-b9d39dfdeea2>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-43
|
https://theshadeofwriting.blog/2018/08/26/freedom-over-fate-how-the-underground-man-is-not-free/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585382.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20211021071407-20211021101407-00133.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.975509 | 854 | 2.71875 | 3 | 2.881109 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Religion
|
xkcd #1680, ladies and gentlemen, by Randall Munroe. You’ll have to click to find out what else it does.
This seems important.
The nuclear strong force binds the smallest bits of matter together to form atoms, thereby making our material world possible. Now physicists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have made the first-ever measurement of a similar strong force for antimatter — the mirror image of regular matter that lies at the heart of one of our biggest cosmological mysteries.
No, really. That’s pretty damn cool. If you don’t believe me, ask a physicist.
Image note: Detail of Harmonica Macrocosmica, by Cellarius, circa 1661.
Ouelette, Jennifer. “For the First Time, Physicists Have Measured the ‘Strong Force’ of Antimatter”. Gizmodo. 9 November 2015.
“OK so there’s flowing water on Mars. Yip yip yip yahoo. You know me, I’m science 101, big time guy, tech advance it, you know it, I’m all in. But, NASA has been corrupted by the current regime. I want to find out what they’re going to tell us. OK, flowing water on Mars. If we’re even to believe that, what are they going to tell us that means? That’s what I’m going to wait for. Because I guarantee, let’s just wait and see, this is September 28, let’s just wait and see. Don’t know how long it’s going to take, but this news that there is flowing water on Mars is somehow going to find its way into a technique to advance the leftist agenda. I don’t know what it is, I would assume it would be something to do with global warming and you can―maybe there was once an advanced civilization. If they say they found flowing water, next they’re going to find a graveyard.”
What stands out is this is not, really, so unexpected. Neither is the part where the man who mouths a golden mike described the “challenging existence” of always being right.
Every once in a while, these inflammatory media stars not so much let down their guard but find themselves actually hiding behind their falsehoods. One or another of the FOX News hosts once admitted he knew he wasn’t describing real facts; Rush Limbaugh once tried to duck controversy by posturing himself as a comedian, even comparing himself to Bill Maher, who rightly and roundly rejected the sleight. Still, though, the point persists, as does the concomitant question: Mr. Limbaugh and his fellows are entertainers. Why do their audiences receive them as purveyors of fact?
The thing is that we probably would not look at any one NASA event and predict Mr. Limbaugh would respond as he has, but now that he’s gone and said it, well, you know, is anybody really surprised?
Just keep this one in mind; you will hear it in the murmur and buzz around you. You know, the dude at the pub; that one guy at work; your proverbial crazy uncle.
And when you do encounter this bit of tinfoil, remember that even Mr. Limbaugh knows he’s full of shit. And ask yourself why these people you encounter might believe it. Or, hell, ask them; that ought to be interesting; you know, proverbially.
Because if Mr. Limbaugh is a comedian, how is the joke not on the Dittoheads?
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh talks with guests in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., 13 January 2009. (Photo: Ron Edmonds/AP)
Media Matters Staff. “After NASA Announces It Found Water On Mars, Rush Limbaugh Says It’s Part Of A Climate Change Conspiracy”. Media Matters for America. 28 September 2015.
And then there is this:
The Japanese brewing and distilling company said this week it would send a total of six samples of its whiskies and other alcoholic beverages to the International Space Station, where they will be kept for at least a year to study the effect zero gravity has on aging.
According to a spokesman at the company, the samples, which will be carried in glass flasks, will include both a 21-year-old single malt and a beverage that has just been distilled. Research has shown that whisky aged in an environment with little temperature change, convection of fluids and shaking tends to be become “mellower,” he said.
Hongo, Jun. “Suntory Plans Space-Aged Whisky”. Japan Real Time. 31 July 2015.
Thank you, MESSENGER.
Mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., confirmed today [30 April 2015] that NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft impacted the surface of Mercury, as predicted, at 3:26 p.m. EDT this afternoon (3:34 p.m. ground time).
Mission controllers were able to confirm the end of operations just a few minutes later at 3:40 p.m., when no signal was detected by the Deep Space Network (DSN) station in Goldstone, California, at the time the spacecraft would have emerged from behind the planet had MESSENGER not impacted the surface. This conclusion was independently confirmed by the DSN’s Radio Science team, who were simultaneously looking for the signal from MESSENGER from their posts in California.
MESSENGER was launched on August 3, 2004, and it began orbiting Mercury on March 18, 2011. The spacecraft completed its primary science objectives by March 2012. Because MESSENGER’s initial discoveries raised important new questions and the payload remained healthy, the mission was extended twice, allowing the spacecraft to make observations from extraordinarily low altitudes and capture images and information about the planet in unprecedented detail.
Last month — during a final short extension of the mission referred to as XM2′– the team embarked on a hover campaign that allowed the spacecraft at its closest approach to operate within a narrow band of altitudes, 5 to 35 kilometers above the planet’s surface. On April 28, the team successfully executed the last of seven orbit-correction maneuvers (the last four of which were conducted entirely with helium pressurant after the remaining liquid hydrazine had been depleted), which kept MESSENGER aloft for the additional month, sufficiently long for the spacecraft’s instruments to collect critical information that could shed light on Mercury’s crustal magnetic anomalies and ice-filled polar craters, among other features.
With no way to increase its altitude, MESSENGER was finally unable to resist the perturbations to its orbit by the Sun’s gravitational pull, and it slammed into Mercury’s surface at around 8,750 miles per hour, creating a new crater up to 52 feet wide.
“Today we bid a fond farewell to one of the most resilient and accomplished spacecraft ever to have explored our neighboring planets,” said Sean Solomon, MESSENGER’s Principal Investigator and Director of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Our craft set a record for planetary flybys, spent more than four years in orbit about the planet closest to the Sun, and survived both punishing heat and extreme doses of radiation. Among its other achievements, MESSENGER determined Mercury’s surface composition, revealed its geological history, discovered that its internal magnetic field is offset from the planet’s center, taught us about Mercury’s unusual internal structure, followed the chemical inventory of its exosphere with season and time of day, discovered novel aspects of its extraordinarily active magnetosphere, and verified that its polar deposits are dominantly water ice. A resourceful and committed team of engineers, mission operators, scientists, and managers can be extremely proud that the MESSENGER mission has surpassed all expectations and delivered a stunningly long list of discoveries that have changed our views not only of one of Earth’s sibling planets but of the entire inner solar system.”
Just remember that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wants to be president. And remember that for some reason, Senate Republican leaders saw fit to give him the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveneness. David Levitan picks it up from there. The summary, from FactCheck.org:
During his critique of NASA’s spending on earth and atmospheric sciences at a recent committee hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz made some misleading claims regarding the agency’s budgets and the science that it conducts.
• Cruz said there has been a “disproportionate increase” since 2009 in funding of earth sciences. There has been an increase — and it is larger than some other NASA areas — but spending on earth sciences is lower now as a percentage of NASA’s budget than it was in fiscal 2000. And the increase reflects an effort to restore funding that had been cut.
• Cruz also suggested that the “core mission” of NASA does not include earth sciences. In fact, studying the Earth and atmosphere has been central to NASA’s mission since its creation in 1958.
• In criticizing NASA’s spending on earth sciences, Cruz also said the agency needs to “get back to the hard sciences” — meaning space exploration and not earth and atmospheric research. The term “hard sciences” refers to fields including physics and chemistry, which are central to the research being done as part of NASA’s earth science programs.
Now, perhaps it might occur to wonder why Senate Republican leadership would put so dishonest and incompetent a person in any committee chair. And the answer is about as obvious as it can be. Remember how conservatives like to complain that government does not and cannot work?
Yeah. This is called laboring to prove the thesis.
And if it occurs to wonder why anyone would go out of their way to sabotage an entire society just to prove a petulant political thesis, we need only remind that this is what your conservative neighbors want. This is what they vote for. Stupidity and incompetence are of great value in the Republican Party, right now, since they have nothing left but to try to wreck the place just so they can thump their chests and boast about being right all along, that government cannot and does not work.
Levitan, David. “Cruz Distorts NASA’s Mission, Budget”. FactCheck.org. 18 March 2015.
There are so many ways to go about this. We might, for instance, pause to consider the pathetic canard about how the competing political parties in these United States are the same. Or perhaps we could take a moment to think about why American progress lurches forward in quick bursts after seeming to stall for extended periods. And it is not exactly impossible that we might also eventually encounter an opportunity to simply look away and give our attention to something else.
First up, science:
Scientists training their instruments on the skies have caught the world’s major greenhouse gas right in the act of warming the planet, researchers reported Wednesday, providing the first direct evidence that human activity is dangerously altering the environment.
The instruments captured more than a decade of rising surface temperatures, changes that were directly triggered by the atmosphere’s increasing burden of carbon dioxide, a team of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley, reported.
That gas, whose main source is emissions from burning fossil fuels, has long been the principal culprit in global-warming investigations by the vast majority of the world’s climate scientists. Its rising levels in the atmosphere have been the basis for increasingly strong warnings about global warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, known as the IPCC.
“We have known for decades that there must be an effect, but getting a direct measurement and isolating the carbon dioxide component are a technological coup,” Christopher Field, a senior scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University who has led two major IPCC reports, said in an email.
The UC Berkeley scientists’ study, he said, provides concrete evidence for the first time of carbon dioxide’s effect on global warming.
Sometimes amid the noise and bluster we might feel an angry impulse toward something that seems almost absurd by comparison. Yet it also seems inevitable that there is a lesson waiting to be learned. Eric Lewis reminds us of something very, very important that happened this week; the United States is moving back toward its very own manned space program.
But no. We can’t possibly pause to celebrate that, can we? Because we’re all too busy giving attention-hungry cops exactly the sort of sycophantic celebrity they’re after.
It is worth noting that controversial professor Leonard Jeffries used to denounce the space program as an effort by white people to spread their filth across the Universe. It’s only about a quarter-century later, and perhaps the most disgraceful thing about that rhetorical temper tantrum is the effort American society has devoted to proving it true.
Space exploration is something to be celebrated; getting the hell off its rock is one of the fundamental purposes of the living endeavor. This arrangement of matter and energy can last as long as the Universe itself allows, unless Life destroys itself first. Yet Lewis makes an important point: When the time comes, can we please leave the racism behind?
Everybody wins that way; the human endeavor can properly advance, and the hatemongers can finally start feeling like they’ve got a place to call home. And when they look around at the wreck of whatever is left, they can celebrate that they finally got what they wanted, the whole trash heap of human existence on planet Earth all to themselves.
Evolution is supposed to coincide with progress. Oh, you romantic American rebels, you.
Naturally, Zach Weiner’s Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is anxious to demonstrate the point.
But therein also lies one of the hidden treasures of geek humor. Complicated setups offer myriad thematic variations, digressions, and mutations. To wit, it might occur to someone considering the proposition of ten-thousand iterations of a metaphorical argument about reality, somewhere in there reality itself invented the Republican Party.
Do away with science, and there are no more arguments about reality, metaphorical or otherwise.
Weiner, Zach. Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. 25 November 2014.
Abrams, Lindsay. “House Republicans just passed a bill forbidding scientists from advising the EPA on their own research”. 19 November 2014.
Marcos, Cristina. “House passes bill to limit EPA ‘secret science'”. The Hill. 19 November 2014.
Briefly: Sure, if your mother is still accessible to you in this world, give her a hug.
The rest of this is just … I don’t know, silly.
Quite literally on the day Keith Knight’s cartoon, detailed above, posted at Daily Kos Comics, a note popped up from a friend that her mother had fallen and broken her arm. You know, a request for prayers and best wishes.
Naturally, I sent my friend a link to the cartoon.
It was … what, two days later? Another friend informed us that her mother had fallen and broken her wrist. Prayers and best wishes dutifully filed in, and I won’t nitpick the point that it seems a dubious proposition to pray that God will undo His will and magically heal the damage. We can set prayer aside, and just send cartoons on such occasions.
A bit before midnight last night that same friend checked in: “So, guess what…Mom fell again today. This time she broke her right wrist.”
Sigh. I don’t have a cartoon link for this one.
Best wishes, of course. But come on, either God or Keith Knight—who do I get to blame for this absurdity?
How about Isaac Newton?
Knight, Keith. “Visiting Germany”. Daily Kos. 11 November 2014.
|
<urn:uuid:8af6d1dd-c1e4-4f07-a02d-344937f528ef>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-30
|
https://bdthisis.wordpress.com/category/science/physics/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195528141.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20190722154408-20190722180408-00221.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947443 | 3,421 | 2.75 | 3 | 2.878616 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Darwinism (Wallace)/Chapter VI
DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS
Difficulty as to smallness of variations—As to the right variations occurring when required—The beginnings of important organs—The mammary glands—The eyes of flatfish—Origin of the eye—Useless or non-adaptive characters—Recent extension of the region of utility in plants—The same in animals—Uses of tails—Of the horns of deer—Of the scale-ornamentation of reptiles—Instability of non-adaptive characters—Delboeuf's law—No "specific" character proved to be useless—The swamping effects of intercrossing—Isolation as preventing intercrossing—Gulick on the effects of isolation—Cases in which isolation is ineffective.
In the present chapter I propose to discuss the more obvious and often repeated objections to Darwin's theory, and to show how far they affect its character as a true and sufficient explanation of the origin of species. The more recondite difficulties, affecting such fundamental questions as the causes and laws of variability, will be left for a future chapter, after we have become better acquainted with the applications of the theory to the more important adaptations and correlations of animal and plant life.
One of the earliest and most often repeated objections was, that it was difficult "to imagine a reason why variations tending in an infinitesimal degree in any special direction should be preserved," or to believe that the complex adaptation of living organisms could have been produced "by infinitesimal beginnings." Now this term "infinitesimal," used by a well-known early critic of the Origin of Species, was never made use of by Darwin himself, who spoke only of variations being "slight," and of the "small amount" of the variations that might be selected. Even in using these terms he undoubtedly afforded grounds for the objection above made, that such small and slight variations could be of no real use, and would not determine the survival of the individuals possessing them. We have seen, however, in our third chapter, that even Darwin's terms were hardly justified; and that the variability of many important species is of considerable amount, and may very often be properly described as large. As this is found to be the case both in animals and plants, and in all their chief groups and subdivisions, and also to apply to all the separate parts and organs that have been compared, we must take it as proved that the average amount of variability presents no difficulty whatever in the way of the action of natural selection. It may be here mentioned that, up to the time of the preparation of the last edition of The Origin of Species, Darwin had not seen the work of Mr. J.A. Allen of Harvard University (then only just published), which gave us the first body of accurate comparisons and measurements demonstrating this large amount of variability. Since then evidence of this nature has been accumulating, and we are, therefore, now in a far better position to appreciate the facilities for natural selection, in this respect, than was Mr. Darwin himself.
Another objection of a similar nature is, that the chances are immensely against the right variation or combination of variations occurring just when required; and further, that no variation can be perpetuated that is not accompanied by several concomitant variations of dependent parts—greater length of a wing in a bird, for example, would be of little use if unaccompanied by increased volume or contractility of the muscles which move it. This objection seemed a very strong one so long as it was supposed that variations occurred singly and at considerable intervals; but it ceases to have any weight now we know that they occur simultaneously in various parts of the organism, and also in a large proportion of the individuals which make up the species. A considerable number of individuals will, therefore, every year possess the required combination of characters; and it may also be considered probable that when the two characters are such that they always act together, there will be such a correlation between them that they will frequently vary together. But there is another consideration that seems to show that this coincident variation is not essential. All animals in a state of nature are kept, by the constant struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest, in such a state of perfect health and usually superabundant vigour, that in all ordinary circumstances they possess a surplus power in every important organ—a surplus only drawn upon in cases of the direst necessity when their very existence is at stake. It follows, therefore, that any additional power given to one of the component parts of an organ must be useful—an increase, for example, either in the wing muscles or in the form or length of the wing might give some increased powers of flight; and thus alternate variations—in one generation in the muscles, in another generation in the wing itself—might be as effective in permanently improving the powers of flight as coincident variations at longer intervals. On either supposition, however, this objection appears to have little weight if we take into consideration the large amount of coincident variability that has been shown to exist.
The Beginnings of Important Organs.
We now come to an objection which has perhaps been more frequently urged than any other, and which Darwin himself felt to have much weight—the first beginnings of important organs, such, for example, as wings, eyes, mammary glands, and numerous other structures. It is urged, that it is almost impossible to conceive how the first rudiments of these could have been of any use, and, if not of use they could not have been preserved and further developed by natural selection.
Now, the first remark to be made on objections of this nature is, that they are really outside the question of the origin of all existing species from allied species not very far removed from them, which is all that Darwin undertook to prove by means of his theory. Organs and structures such as those above mentioned all date back to a very remote past, when the world and its inhabitants were both very different from what they are now. To ask of a new theory that it shall reveal to us exactly what took place in remote geological epochs, and how it took place, is unreasonable. The most that should be asked is, that some probable or possible mode of origination should be pointed out in some at least of these difficult cases, and this Mr. Darwin has done. One or two of these may be briefly given here, but the whole series should be carefully read by any one who wishes to see how many curious facts and observations have been required in order to elucidate them; whence we may conclude that further knowledge will probably throw light on any difficulties that still remain.
In the case of the mammary glands Mr. Darwin remarks that it is admitted that the ancestral mammals were allied to the marsupials. Now in the very earliest mammals, almost before they really deserved that name, the young may have been nourished by a fluid secreted by the interior surface of the marsupial sack, as is believed to be the case with the fish (Hippocampus) whose eggs are hatched within a somewhat similar sack. This being the case, those individuals which secreted a more nutritious fluid, and those whose young were able to obtain and swallow a more constant supply by suction, would be more likely to live and come to a healthy maturity, and would therefore be preserved by natural selection.
In another case which has been adduced as one of special difficulty, a more complete explanation is given. Soles, turbots, and other flatfish are, as is well known, unsymmetrical. They live and move on their sides, the under side being usually differently coloured from that which is kept uppermost. Now the eyes of these fish are curiously distorted in order that both eyes may be on the upper side, where alone they would be of any use. It was objected by Mr. Mivart that a sudden transformation of the eye from one side to the other was inconceivable, while, if the transit were gradual the first step could be of no use, since this would not remove the eye from the lower side. But, as Mr. Darwin shows by reference to the researches of Malm and others, the young of these fish are quite symmetrical, and during their growth exhibit to us the whole process of change. This begins by the fish (owing to the increasing depth of the body) being unable to maintain the vertical position, so that it falls on one side. It then twists the lower eye as much as possible towards the upper side; and, the whole bony structure of the head being at this time soft and flexible, the constant repetition of this effort causes the eye gradually to move round the head till it comes to the upper side. Now if we suppose this process, which in the young is completed in a few days or weeks, to have been spread over thousands of generations during the development of these fish, those usually surviving whose eyes retained more and more of the position into which the young fish tried to twist them, the change becomes intelligible; though it still remains one of the most extraordinary cases of degeneration, by which symmetry—which is so universal a characteristic of the higher animals—is lost, in order that the creature may be adapted to a new mode of life, whereby it is enabled the better to escape danger and continue its existence.
The most difficult case of all, that of the eye—the thought of which even to the last, Mr. Darwin says, "gave him a cold shiver"—is nevertheless shown to be not unintelligible; granting of course the sensitiveness to light of some forms of nervous tissue. For he shows that there are, in several of the lower animals, rudiments of eyes, consisting merely of pigment cells covered with a translucent skin, which may possibly serve to distinguish light from darkness, but nothing more. Then we have an optic nerve and pigment cells; then we find a hollow filled with gelatinous substance of a convex form—the first rudiment of a lens. Many of the succeeding steps are lost, as would necessarily be the case, owing to the great advantage of each modification which gave increased distinctness of vision, the creatures possessing it inevitably surviving, while those below them became extinct. But we can well understand how, after the first step was taken, every variation tending to more complete vision would be preserved till we reached the perfect eye of birds and mammals. Even this, as we know, is not absolutely, but only relatively, perfect. Neither the chromatic nor the spherical aberration is absolutely corrected; while long-and short-sightedness, and the various diseases and imperfections to which the eye is liable, may be looked upon as relics of the imperfect condition from which the eye has been raised by variation and natural selection.
These few examples of difficulties as to the origin of remarkable or complex organs must suffice here; but the reader who wishes further information on the matter may study carefully the whole of the sixth and seventh chapters of the last edition of The Origin of Species, in which these and many other cases are discussed in considerable detail.
Useless or non-adaptive Characters.
Many naturalists seem to be of opinion that a considerable number of the characters which distinguish species are of no service whatever to their possessors, and therefore cannot have been produced or increased by natural selection. Professors Bronn and Broca have urged this objection on the continent. In America, Dr. Cope, the well-known palaeontologist, has long since put forth the same objection, declaring that non-adaptive characters are as numerous as those which are adaptive; but he differs completely from most who hold the same general opinion in considering that they occur chiefly "in the characters of the classes, orders, families, and other higher groups;" and the objection, therefore, is quite distinct from that in which it is urged that "specific characters" are mostly useless. More recently, Professor G.J. Romanes has urged this difficulty in his paper on "Physiological Selection" (Journ. Linn. Soc., vol. xix. pp. 338, 344). He says that the characters "which serve to distinguish allied species are frequently, if not usually, of a kind with which natural selection can have had nothing to do," being without any utilitarian significance. Again he speaks of "the enormous number," and further on of "the innumerable multitude" of specific peculiarities which are useless; and he finally declares that the question needs no further arguing, "because in the later editions of his works Mr. Darwin freely acknowledges that a large proportion of specific distinctions must be conceded to be useless to the species presenting them."
I have looked in vain in Mr. Darwin's works to find any such acknowledgment, and I think Mr. Romanes has not sufficiently distinguished between "useless characters" and "useless specific distinctions." On referring to all the passages indicated by him I find that, in regard to specific characters, Mr. Darwin is very cautious in admitting inutility. His most pronounced "admissions" on this question are the following: "But when, from the nature of the organism and of the conditions, modifications have been induced which are unimportant for the welfare of the species, they may be, and apparently often have been, transmitted in nearly the same state to numerous, otherwise modified, descendants" (Origin, p. 175). The words I have here italicised clearly show that such characters are usually not "specific," in the sense that they are such as distinguish species from each other, but are found in numerous allied species. Again: "Thus a large yet undefined extension may safely be given to the direct and indirect results of natural selection; but I now admit, after reading the essay of Nägeli on plants, and the remarks by various authors with respect to animals, more especially those recently made by Professor Broca, that in the earlier editions of my Origin of Species I perhaps attributed too much to the action of natural selection or the survival of the fittest. I have altered the fifth edition of the Origin so as to confine my remarks to adaptive changes of structure, but I am convinced, from the light gained during even the last few years, that very many structures which now appear to us useless, will hereafter be proved to be useful, and will therefore come within the range of natural selection. Nevertheless I did not formerly consider sufficiently the existence of structures which, as far as we can at present judge, are neither beneficial nor injurious; and this I believe to be one of the greatest oversights as yet detected in my work." Now it is to be remarked that neither in these passages nor in any of the other less distinct expressions of opinion on this question, does Darwin ever admit that "specific characters"—that is, the particular characters which serve to distinguish one species from another—are ever useless, much less that "a large proportion of them" are so, as Mr. Romanes makes him "freely acknowledge." On the other hand, in the passage which I have italicised he strongly expresses his view that much of what we suppose to be useless is due to our ignorance; and as I hold myself that, as regards many of the supposed useless characters, this is the true explanation, it may be well to give a brief sketch of the progress of knowledge in transferring characters from the one category to the other.
We have only to go back a single generation, and not even the most acute botanist could have suggested a reasonable use, for each species of plant, of the infinitely varied forms, sizes, and colours of the flowers, the shapes and arrangement of the leaves, and the numerous other external characters of the whole plant. But since Mr. Darwin showed that plants gained both in vigour and in fertility by being crossed with other individuals of the same species, and that this crossing was usually effected by insects which, in search of nectar or pollen, carried the pollen from one plant to the flowers of another plant, almost every detail is found to have a purpose and a use. The shape, the size, and the colour of the petals, even the streaks and spots with which they are adorned, the position in which they stand, the movements of the stamens and pistil at various times, especially at the period of, and just after, fertilisation, have been proved to be strictly adaptive in so many cases that botanists now believe that all the external characters of flowers either are or have been of use to the species.
It has also been shown, by Kerner and other botanists, that another set of characteristics have relation to the prevention of ants, slugs, and other animals from reaching the flowers, because these creatures would devour or injure them without effecting fertilisation. The spines, hairs, or sticky glands on the stem or flower-stalk, the curious hairs or processes shutting up the flower, or sometimes even the extreme smoothness and polish of the outside of the petals so that few insects can hang to the part, have been shown to be related to the possible intrusion of these "unbidden guests." And, still more recently, attempts have been made by Grant Allen and Sir John Lubbock to account for the innumerable forms, textures, and groupings of leaves, by their relation to the needs of the plants themselves; and there can be little doubt that these attempts will be ultimately successful. Again, just as flowers have been adapted to secure fertilisation or cross-fertilisation, fruits have been developed to assist in the dispersal of seeds; and their forms, sizes, juices, and colours can be shown to be specially adapted to secure such dispersal by the agency of birds and mammals; while the same end is secured in other cases by downy seeds to be wafted through the air, or by hooked or sticky seed-vessels to be carried away, attached to skin, wool, or feathers.
Here, then, we have an enormous extension of the region of utility in the vegetable kingdom, and one, moreover, which includes almost all the specific characters of plants. For the species of plants are usually characterised either by differences in the form, size, and colour of the flowers, or of the fruits; or, by peculiarities in the shape, size, dentation, or arrangement of the leaves; or by peculiarities in the spines, hairs, or down with which various parts of the plant are clothed. In the case of plants it must certainly be admitted that "specific" characters are pre-eminently adaptive; and though there may be some which are not so, yet all those referred to by Darwin as having been adduced by various botanists as useless, either pertain to genera or higher groups, or are found in some plants of a species only—that is, are individual variations not specific characters.
In the case of animals, the most recent wide extension of the sphere of utility has been in the matter of their colours and markings. It was of course always known that certain creatures gained protection by their resemblance to their normal surroundings, as in the case of white arctic animals, the yellow or brown tints of those living in deserts, and the green hues of many birds and insects surrounded by tropical vegetation. But of late years these cases have been greatly increased both in number and variety, especially in regard to those which closely imitate special objects among which they live; and there are other kinds of coloration which long appeared to have no use. Large numbers of animals, more especially insects, are gaudily coloured, either with vivid hues or with striking patterns, so as to be very easily seen. Now it has been found, that in almost all these cases the creatures possess some special quality which prevents their being attacked by the enemies of their kind whenever the peculiarity is known; and the brilliant or conspicuous colours or markings serve as a warning or signal flag against attack. Large numbers of insects thus coloured are nauseous and inedible; others, like wasps and bees, have stings; others are too hard to be eaten by small birds; while snakes with poisonous fangs often have some characteristic either of rattle, hood, or unusual colour, which indicates that they had better be left alone.
But there is yet another form of coloration, which consists in special markings—bands, spots, or patches of white, or of bright colour, which vary in every species, and are often concealed when the creature is at rest but displayed when in motion,—as in the case of the bands and spots so frequent on the wings and tails of birds. Now these specific markings are believed, with good reason, to serve the purpose of enabling each species to be quickly recognised, even at a distance, by its fellows, especially the parents by their young and the two sexes by each other; and this recognition must often be an important factor in securing the safety of individuals, and therefore the wellbeing and continuance of the species. These interesting peculiarities will be more fully described in a future chapter, but they are briefly referred to here in order to show that the most common of all the characters by which species are distinguished from each other—their colours and markings—can be shown to be adaptive or utilitarian in their nature.
But besides colour there are almost always some structural characters which distinguish species from species, and, as regards many of these also, an adaptive character can be often discerned. In birds, for instance, we have differences in the size or shape of the bill or the feet, in the length of the wing or the tail, and in the proportions of the several feathers of which these organs are composed. All these differences in the organs on which the very existence of birds depends, which determine the character of flight, facility for running or climbing, for inhabiting chiefly the ground or trees, and the kind of food that can be most easily obtained for themselves and their offspring, must surely be in the highest degree utilitarian; although in each individual case we, in our ignorance of the minutiae of their life-history, may be quite unable to see the use. In mammalia specific differences other than colour usually consist in the length or shape of the ears and tail, in the proportions of the limbs, or in the length and quality of the hair on different parts of the body. As regards the ears and tail, one of the objections by Professor Bronn relates to this very point. He states that the length of these organs differ in the various species of hares and of mice, and he considers that this difference can be of no service whatever to their possessors. But to this objection Darwin replies, that it has been shown by Dr. Schöbl that the ears of mice "are supplied in an extraordinary manner with nerves, so that they no doubt serve as tactile organs." Hence, when we consider the life of mice, either nocturnal or seeking their food in dark and confined places, the length of the ears may be in each case adapted to the particular habits and surroundings of the species. Again, the tail, in the larger mammals, often serves the purpose of driving off flies and other insects from the body; and when we consider in how many parts of the world flies are injurious or even fatal to large mammals, we see that the peculiar characteristics of this organ may in each case have been adapted to its requirements in the particular area where the species was developed. The tail is also believed to have some use as a balancing organ, which assists an animal to turn easily and rapidly, much as our arms are used when running; while in whole groups it is a prehensile organ, and has become modified in accordance with the habits and needs of each species. In the case of mice it is thus used by the young. Darwin informs us that the late Professor Henslow kept some harvest-mice in confinement, and observed that they frequently curled their tails round the branches of a bush placed in the cage, and thus aided themselves in climbing; while Dr. Günther has actually seen a mouse suspend itself by the tail (Origin, p. 189).
Again, Mr. Lawson Tait has called attention to the use of the tail in the cat, squirrel, yak, and many other animals as a means of preserving the heat of the body during the nocturnal and the winter sleep. He says, that in cold weather animals with long or bushy tails will be found lying curled up, with their tails carefully laid over their feet like a rug, and with their noses buried in the fur of the tail, which is thus used exactly in the same way and for the same purpose as we use respirators.
Another illustration is furnished by the horns of deer which, especially when very large, have been supposed to be a danger to the animal in passing rapidly through dense thickets. But Sir James Hector states, that the wapiti, in North America, throws back its head, thus placing the horns along the sides of the back, and is then enabled to rush through the thickest forest with great rapidity. The brow-antlers protect the face and eyes, while the widely spreading horns prevent injury to the neck or flanks. Thus an organ which was certainly developed as a sexual weapon, has been so guided and modified during its increase in size as to be of use in other ways. A similar use of the antlers of deer has been observed in India.
The various classes of facts now referred to serve to show us that, in the case of the two higher groups—mammalia and birds—almost all the characters by which species are distinguished from each other are, or may be, adaptive. It is these two classes of animals which have been most studied and whose life-histories are supposed to be most fully known, yet even here the assertion of inutility, by an eminent naturalist, in the case of two important organs, has been sufficiently met by minute details either in the anatomy or in the habits of the groups referred to. Such a fact as this, together with the extensive series of characters already enumerated which have been of late years transferred from the "useless" to the "useful" class, should convince us, that the assertion of "inutility" in the case of any organ or peculiarity which is not a rudiment or a correlation, is not, and can never be, the statement of a fact, but merely an expression of our ignorance of its purpose or origin.
Instability of Non-adaptive Characters.
One very weighty objection to the theory that specific characters can ever be wholly useless (or wholly unconnected with useful organs by correlation of growth) appears to have been overlooked by those who have maintained the frequency of such characters, and that is, their almost necessary instability. Darwin has remarked on the extreme variability of secondary sexual characters—such as the horns, crests, plumes, etc., which are found in males only,—the reason being, that, although of some use, they are not of such direct and vital importance as those adaptive characters on which the wellbeing and very existence of the animals depend. But in the case of wholly useless structures, which are not rudiments of once useful organs, we cannot see what there is to ensure any amount of constancy or stability. One of the cases on which Mr. Romanes lays great stress in his paper on "Physiological Selection" (Journ. Linn. Soc., vol. xix. p. 384) is that of the fleshy appendages on the corners of the jaw of Normandy pigs and of some other breeds. But it is expressly stated that they are not constant; they appear "frequently," or "occasionally," they are "not strictly inherited, for they occur or fail in animals of the same litter;" and they are not always symmetrical, sometimes appearing on one side of the face alone. Now whatever may be the cause or explanation of these anomalous appendages they cannot be classed with "specific characters," the most essential features of which are, that they are symmetrical, that they are inherited, and that they are constant. Admitting that this peculiar appendage is (as Mr. Romanes says rather confidently, "we happen to know it to be") wholly useless and meaningless, the fact would be rather an argument against specific characters being also meaningless, because the latter never have the characteristics which this particular variation possesses.
These useless or non-adaptive characters are, apparently, of the same nature as the "sports" that arise in our domestic productions, but which, as Mr. Darwin says, without the aid of selection would soon disappear; while some of them may be correlations with other characters which are or have been useful. Some of these correlations are very curious. Mr. Tegetmeier informed Mr. Darwin that the young of white, yellow, or dun-coloured pigeons are born almost naked, whereas other coloured pigeons are born well clothed with down. Now, if this difference occurred between wild species of different colours, it might be said that the nakedness of the young could not be of any use. But the colour with which it is correlated might, as has been shown, be useful in many ways. The skin and its various appendages, as horns, hoofs, hair, feathers, and teeth, are homologous parts, and are subject to very strange correlations of growth. In Paraguay, horses with curled hair occur, and these always have hoofs exactly like those of a mule, while the hair of the mane and tail is much shorter than usual. Now, if any one of these characters were useful, the others correlated with it might be themselves useless, but would still be tolerably constant because dependent on a useful organ. So the tusks and the bristles of the boar are correlated and vary in development together, and the former only may be useful, or both may be useful in unequal degrees.
The difficulty as to how individual differences or sports can become fixed and perpetuated, if altogether useless, is evaded by those who hold that such characters are exceedingly common. Mr. Romanes says that, upon his theory of physiological selection, "it is quite intelligible that when a varietal form is differentiated from its parent form by the bar of sterility, any little meaningless peculiarities of structure or of instinct should at first be allowed to arise, and that they should then be allowed to perpetuate themselves by heredity," until they are finally eliminated by disuse. But this is entirely begging the question. Do meaningless peculiarities, which we admit often arise as spontaneous variations, ever perpetuate themselves in all the individuals constituting a variety or race, without selection either human or natural? Such characters present themselves as unstable variations, and as such they remain, unless preserved and accumulated by selection; and they can therefore never become "specific" characters unless they are strictly correlated with some useful and important peculiarities.
As bearing upon this question we may refer to what is termed Delboeuf's law, which has been thus briefly stated by Mr. Murphy in his work on Habit and Intelligence, p. 241.
"If, in any species, a number of individuals, bearing a ratio not infinitely small to the entire number of births, are in every generation born with a particular variation which is neither beneficial nor injurious, and if it is not counteracted by reversion, then the proportion of the new variety to the original form will increase till it approaches indefinitely near to equality."
It is not impossible that some definite varieties, such as the melanic form of the jaguar and the bridled variety of the guillemot are due to this cause; but from their very nature such varieties are unstable, and are continually reproduced in varying proportions from the parent forms. They can, therefore, never constitute species unless the variation in question becomes beneficial, when it will be fixed by natural selection. Darwin, it is true, says—"There can be little doubt that the tendency to vary in the same manner has often been so strong that all the individuals of the same species have been similarly modified without the aid of any form of selection." But no proof whatever is offered of this statement, and it is so entirely opposed to all we know of the facts of variation as given by Darwin himself, that the important word "all" is probably an oversight.
On the whole, then, I submit, not only has it not been proved that an "enormous number of specific peculiarities" are useless, and that, as a logical result, natural selection is "not a theory of the origin of species," but only of the origin of adaptations which are usually common to many species, or, more commonly, to genera and families; but, I urge further, it has not even been proved that any truly "specific" characters—those which either singly or in combination distinguish each species from its nearest allies—are entirely unadaptive, useless, and meaningless; while a great body of facts on the one hand, and some weighty arguments on the other, alike prove that specific characters have been, and could only have been, developed and fixed by natural selection because of their utility. We may admit, that among the great number of variations and sports which continually arise many are altogether useless without being hurtful; but no cause or influence has been adduced adequate to render such characters fixed and constant throughout the vast number of individuals which constitute any of the more dominant species.
The Swamping Effects of Intercrossing.
This supposed insuperable difficulty was first advanced in an article in the North British Review in 1867, and much attention has been attracted to it by the acknowledgment of Mr. Darwin that it proved to him that "single variations," or what are usually termed "sports," could very rarely, if ever, be perpetuated in a state of nature, as he had at first thought might occasionally be the case. But he had always considered that the chief part, and latterly the whole, of the materials with which natural selection works, was afforded by individual variations, or that amount of ever fluctuating variability which exists in all organisms and in all their parts. Other writers have urged the same objection, even as against individual variability, apparently in total ignorance of its amount and range; and quite recently Professor G.J. Romanes has adduced it as one of the difficulties which can alone be overcome by his theory of physiological selection. He urges, that the same variation does not occur simultaneously in a number of individuals inhabiting the same area, and that it is mere assumption to say it does; while he admits that "if the assumption were granted there would be an end of the present difficulty; for if a sufficient number of individuals were thus simultaneously and similarly modified, there need be no longer any danger of the variety becoming swamped by intercrossing." I must again refer my readers to my third chapter for the proof that such simultaneous variability is not an assumption but a fact; but, even admitting this to be proved, the problem is not altogether solved, and there is so much misconception regarding variation, and the actual process of the origin of new species is so obscure, that some further discussion and elucidation of the subject are desirable.
In one of the preliminary chapters of Mr. Seebohm's recent work on the Charadriidae, he discusses the differentiation of species; and he expresses a rather widespread view among naturalists when, speaking of the swamping effects of intercrossing, he adds: "This is unquestionably a very grave difficulty, to my mind an absolutely fatal one, to the theory of accidental variation." And in another passage he says: "The simultaneous appearance, and its repetition in successive generations, of a beneficial variation, in a large number of individuals in the same locality, cannot possibly be ascribed to chance." These remarks appear to me to exhibit an entire misconception of the facts of variation as they actually occur, and as they have been utilised by natural selection in the modification of species. I have already shown that every part of the organism, in common species, does vary to a very considerable amount, in a large number of individuals, and in the same locality; the only point that remains to be discussed is, whether any or most of these variations are "beneficial." But every one of these variations consists either in increase or diminution of size or power of the organ or faculty that varies; they can all be divided into a more effective and a less effective group—that is, into one that is more beneficial or less beneficial. If less size of body would be beneficial, then, as half the variations in size are above and half below the mean or existing standard of the species, there would be ample beneficial variations; if a darker colour or a longer beak or wing were required, there are always a considerable number of individuals darker and lighter in colour than the average, with longer or with shorter beaks and wings, and thus the beneficial variation must always be present. And so with every other part, organ, function, or habit; because, as variation, so far as we know, is and always must be in the two directions of excess and defect in relation to the mean amount, whichever kind of variation is wanted is always present in some degree, and thus the difficulty as to "beneficial" variations occurring, as if they were a special and rare class, falls to the ground. No doubt some organs may vary in three or perhaps more directions, as in the length, breadth, thickness, or curvature of the bill. But these may be taken as separate variations, each of which again occurs as "more" or "less"; and thus the "right" or "beneficial" or "useful" variation must always be present so long as any variation at all occurs; and it has not yet been proved that in any large or dominant species, or in any part, organ, or faculty of such species, there is no variation. And even were such a case found it would prove nothing, so long as in numerous other species variation was shown to exist; because we know that great numbers of species and groups throughout all geological time have died out, leaving no descendants; and the obvious and sufficient explanation of this fact is, that they did not vary enough at the time when variation was required to bring them into harmony with changed conditions. The objection as to the "right" or "beneficial" variation occurring when required, seems therefore to have no weight in view of the actual facts of variation.
Isolation to prevent Intercrossing.
Most writers on the subject consider the isolation of a portion of a species a very important factor in the formation of new species, while others maintain it to be absolutely essential. This latter view has arisen from an exaggerated opinion as to the power of intercrossing to keep down any variety or incipient species, and merge it in the parent stock. But it is evident that this can only occur with varieties which are not useful, or which, if useful, occur in very small numbers; and from this kind of variations it is clear that new species do not arise. Complete isolation, as in an oceanic island, will no doubt enable natural selection to act more rapidly, for several reasons. In the first place, the absence of competition will for some time allow the new immigrants to increase rapidly till they reach the limits of subsistence. They will then struggle among themselves, and by survival of the fittest will quickly become adapted to the new conditions of their environment. Organs which they formerly needed, to defend themselves against, or to escape from, enemies, being no longer required, would be encumbrances to be got rid of, while the power of appropriating and digesting new and varied food would rise in importance. Thus we may explain the origin of so many flightless and rather bulky birds in oceanic islands, as the dodo, the cassowary, and the extinct moas. Again, while this process was going on, the complete isolation would prevent its being checked by the immigration of new competitors or enemies, which would be very likely to occur in a continuous area; while, of course, any intercrossing with the original unmodified stock would be absolutely prevented. If, now, before this change has gone very far, the variety spreads into adjacent but rather distant islands, the somewhat different conditions in each may lead to the development of distinct forms constituting what are termed representative species; and these we find in the separate islands of the Galapagos, the West Indies, and other ancient groups of islands.
But such cases as these will only lead to the production of a few peculiar species, descended from the original settlers which happened to reach the islands; whereas, in wide areas, and in continents, we have variation and adaptation on a much larger scale; and, whenever important physical changes demand them, with even greater rapidity. The far greater complexity of the environment, together with the occurrence of variations in constitution and habits, will often allow of effective isolation, even here, producing all the results of actual physical isolation. As we have already explained, one of the most frequent modes in which natural selection acts is, by adapting some individuals of a species to a somewhat different mode of life, whereby they are able to seize upon unappropriated places in nature, and in so doing they become practically isolated from their parent form. Let us suppose, for example, that one portion of a species usually living in forests ranges into the open plains, and finding abundance of food remains there permanently. So long as the struggle for existence is not exceptionally severe, these two portions of the species may remain almost unchanged; but suppose some fresh enemies are attracted to the plains by the presence of these new immigrants, then variation and natural selection would lead to the preservation of those individuals best able to cope with the difficulty, and thus the open country form would become modified into a marked variety or into a distinct species; and there would evidently be little chance of this modification being checked by intercrossing with the parent form which remained in the forest.
Another mode of isolation is brought about by the variety—either owing to habits, climate, or constitutional change—breeding at a slightly different time from the parent species. This is known to produce complete isolation in the case of many varieties of plants. Yet another mode of isolation is brought about by changes of colour, and by the fact that in a wild state animals of similar colours prefer to keep together and refuse to pair with individuals of another colour. The probable reason and utility of this habit will be explained in another chapter, but the fact is well illustrated by the cattle which have run wild in the Falkland Islands. These are of several different colours, but each colour keeps in a separate herd, often restricted to one part of the island; and one of these varieties—the mouse-coloured—is said to breed a month earlier than the others; so that if this variety inhabited a larger area it might very soon be established as a distinct race or species. Of course where the change of habits or of station is still greater, as when a terrestrial animal becomes sub-aquatic, or when aquatic animals come to live in tree-tops, as with the frogs and Crustacea described at p. 118, the danger of intercrossing is reduced to a minimum.
Several writers, however, not content with the indirect effects of isolation here indicated, maintain that it is in itself a cause of modification, and ultimately of the origination of new species. This was the keynote of Mr. Vernon Wollaston's essay on "Variation of Species," published in 1856, and it is adopted by the Rev. J.G. Gulick in his paper on "Diversity of Evolution under one Set of External Conditions" (Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool., vol. xi. p. 496). The idea seems to be that there is an inherent tendency to variation in certain divergent lines, and that when one portion of a species is isolated, even though under identical conditions, that tendency sets up a divergence which carries that portion farther and farther away from the original species. This view is held to be supported by the case of the land shells of the Sandwich Islands, which certainly present some very remarkable phenomena. In this comparatively small area there are about 300 species of land shells, almost all of which belong to one family (or sub-family), the Achatinellidae, found nowhere else in the world. The interesting point is the extreme restriction of the species and varieties. The average range of each species is only five or six miles, while some are restricted to but one or two square miles, and only a very few range over a whole island. The forest region that extends over one of the mountain-ranges of the island of Oahu, is about forty miles in length and five or six miles in breadth; and this small territory furnishes about 175 species, represented by 700 or 800 varieties. Mr. Gulick states, that the vegetation of the different valleys on the same side of this range is much the same, yet each has a molluscan fauna differing in some degree from that of any other. "We frequently find a genus represented in several successive valleys by allied species, sometimes feeding on the same, sometimes on different plants. In every such case the valleys that are nearest to each other furnish the most nearly allied forms; and a full set of the varieties of each species presents a minute gradation of forms between the more divergent types found in the more widely separated localities." He urges, that these constant differences cannot be attributed to natural selection, because they occur in different valleys on the same side of the mountain, where food, climate, and enemies are the same; and also, because there is no greater difference in passing from the rainy to the dry side of the mountains than in passing from one valley to another on the same side an equal distance apart. In a very lengthy paper, presented to the Linnean Society last year, on "Divergent Evolution through Cumulative Segregation," Mr. Gulick endeavours to work out his views into a complete theory, the main point of which may perhaps be indicated by the following passage: "No two portions of a species possess exactly the same average character, and the initial differences are for ever reacting on the environment and on each other in such a way as to ensure increasing divergence in each successive generation as long as the individuals of the two groups are kept from intercrossing."
It need hardly be said that the views of Mr. Darwin and myself are inconsistent with the notion that, if the environment were absolutely similar for the two isolated portions of the species, any such necessary and constant divergence would take place. It is an error to assume that what seem to us identical conditions are really identical to such small and delicate organisms as these land molluscs, of whose needs and difficulties at each successive stage of their existence, from the freshly-laid egg up to the adult animal, we are so profoundly ignorant. The exact proportions of the various species of plants, the numbers of each kind of insect or of bird, the peculiarities of more or less exposure to sunshine or to wind at certain critical epochs, and other slight differences which to us are absolutely immaterial and unrecognisable, may be of the highest significance to these humble creatures, and be quite sufficient to require some slight adjustments of size, form, or colour, which natural selection will bring about. All we know of the facts of variation leads us to believe that, without this action of natural selection, there would be produced over the whole area a series of inconstant varieties mingled together, not a distinct segregation of forms each confined to its own limited area.
Mr. Darwin has shown that, in the distribution and modification of species, the biological is of more importance than the physical environment, the struggle with other organisms being often more severe than that with the forces of nature. This is particularly evident in the case of plants, many of which, when protected from competition, thrive in a soil, climate, and atmosphere widely different from those of their native habitat. Thus, many alpine plants only found near perpetual snow thrive well in our gardens at the level of the sea; as do the tritomas from the sultry plains of South Africa, the yuccas from the arid hills of Texas and Mexico, and the fuchsias from the damp and dreary shores of the Straits of Magellan. It has been well said that plants do not live where they like, but where they can; and the same remark will apply to the animal world. Horses and cattle run wild and thrive both in North and South America; rabbits, once confined to the south of Europe, have established themselves in our own country and in Australia; while the domestic fowl, a native of tropical India, thrives well in every part of the temperate zone.
If, then, we admit that when one portion of a species is separated from the rest, there will necessarily be a slight difference in the average characters of the two portions, it does not follow that this difference has much if any effect upon the characteristics that are developed by a long period of isolation. In the first place, the difference itself will necessarily be very slight unless there is an exceptional amount of variability in the species; and in the next place, if the average characters of the species are the expression of its exact adaptation to its whole environment, then, given a precisely similar environment, and the isolated portion will inevitably be brought back to the same average of characters. But, as a matter of fact, it is impossible that the environment of the isolated portion can be exactly like that of the bulk of the species. It cannot be so physically, since no two separated areas can be absolutely alike in climate and soil; and even if these are the same, the geographical features, size, contour, and relation to winds, seas, and rivers, would certainly differ. Biologically, the differences are sure to be considerable. The isolated portion of a species will almost always be in a much smaller area than that occupied by the species as a whole, hence it is at once in a different position as regards its own kind. The proportions of all the other species of animals and plants are also sure to differ in the two areas, and some species will almost always be absent in the smaller which are present in the larger country. These differences will act and react on the isolated portion of the species. The struggle for existence will differ in its severity and in its incidence from that which affects the bulk of the species. The absence of some one insect or other creature inimical to the young animal or plant may cause a vast difference in its conditions of existence, and may necessitate a modification of its external or internal characters in quite a different direction from that which happened to be present in the average of the individuals which were first isolated.
On the whole, then, we conclude that, while isolation is an important factor in effecting some modification of species, it is so, not on account of any effect produced, or influence exerted by isolation per se, but because it is always and necessarily accompanied by a change of environment, both physical and biological. Natural selection will then begin to act in adapting the isolated portion to its new conditions, and will do this the more quickly and the more effectually because of the isolation. We have, however, seen reason to believe that geographical or local isolation is by no means essential to the differentiation of species, because the same result is brought about by the incipient species acquiring different habits or frequenting a different station; and also by the fact that different varieties of the same species are known to prefer to pair with their like, and thus to bring about a physiological isolation of the most effective kind. This part of the subject will be again referred to when the very difficult problems presented by hybridity are discussed.
Cases in which Isolation is Ineffective.
One objection to the views of those who, like Mr. Gulick, believe isolation itself to be a cause of modification of species deserves attention, namely, the entire absence of change where, if this were a vera causa, we should expect to find it. In Ireland we have an excellent test case, for we know that it has been separated from Britain since the end of the glacial epoch, certainly many thousand years. Yet hardly one of its mammals, reptiles, or land molluscs has undergone the slightest change, even although there is certainly a distinct difference in the environment both inorganic and organic. That changes have not occurred through natural selection, is perhaps due to the less severe struggle for existence owing to the smaller number of competing species; but, if isolation itself were an efficient cause, acting continuously and cumulatively, it is incredible that a decided change should not have been produced in thousands of years. That no such change has occurred in this, and many other cases of isolation, seems to prove that it is not in itself a cause of modification.
There yet remain a number of difficulties and objections relating to the question of hybridity, which are so important as to require a separate chapter for their adequate discussion.
- See Origin of Species, pp. 176-198.
- See Kerner's Flowers and their Unbidden Guests for numerous other structures and peculiarities of plants which are shown to be adaptive and useful.
- Nature, vol. xx. p. 603.
- Nature, vol. xxxviii. p. 328.
- A very remarkable illustration of function in an apparently useless ornament is given by Semper. He says, "It is known that the skin of reptiles encloses the body with scales. These scales are distinguished by very various sculpturings, highly characteristic of the different species. Irrespective of their systematic significance they appear to be of no value in the life of the animal; indeed, they are viewed as ornamental without regard to the fact that they are microscopic and much too delicate to be visible to other animals of their own species. It might, therefore, seem hopeless to show the necessity for their existence on Darwinian principles, and to prove that they are physiologically active organs. Nevertheless, recent investigations on this point have furnished evidence that this is possible.
"It is known that many reptiles, and above all the snakes, cast off the whole skin at once, whereas human beings do so by degrees. If by any accident they are prevented doing so, they infallibly die, because the old skin has grown so tough and hard that it hinders the increase in volume which is inseparable from the growth of the animal. The casting of the skin is induced by the formation on the surface of the inner epidermis, of a layer of very fine and equally distributed hairs, which evidently serve the purpose of mechanically raising the old skin by their rigidity and position. These hairs then may be designated as casting hairs. That they are destined and calculated for this end is evident to me from the fact established by Dr. Braun, that the casting of the shells of the river crayfish is induced in exactly the same manner by the formation of a coating of hairs which mechanically loosens the old skin or shell from the new. Now the researches of Braun and Cartier have shown that these casting hairs—which serve the same purpose in two groups of animals so far apart in the systematic scale—after the casting, are partly transformed into the concentric stripes, sharp spikes, ridges, or warts which ornament the outer edges of the skin-scales of reptiles or the carapace of crabs." [The Natural Conditions of Existance as they affect Animal Life, p. 19.] Professor Semper adds that this example, with many others that might be quoted, shows that we need not abandon the hope of explaining morphological characters on Darwinian principles, although their nature is often difficult to understand.
During a recent discussion of this question in the pages of Nature, Mr. St. George Mivart adduces several examples of what he deems useless specific characters. Among them are the aborted index finger of the lemurine Potto, and the thumbless hands of Colobus and Ateles, the "life-saving action" of either of which he thinks incredible. These cases suggest two remarks. In the first place, they involve generic, not specific, characters; and the three genera adduced are somewhat isolated, implying considerable antiquity and the extinction of many allied forms. This is important, because it affords ample time for great changes of conditions since the structures in question originated; and without a knowledge of these changes we can never safely assert that any detail of structure could not have been useful. In the second place, all three are cases of aborted or rudimentary organs; and these are admitted to be explained by non-use, leading to diminution of size, a further reduction being brought about by the action of the principle of economy of growth. But, when so reduced, the rudiment might be inconvenient or even hurtful, and then natural selection would aid in its complete abortion; in other words, the abortion of the part would be useful, and would therefore be subject to the law of survival of the fittest. The genera Ateles and Colobus are two of the most purely arboreal types of monkeys, and it is not difficult to conceive that the constant use of the elongated fingers for climbing from tree to tree, and catching on to branches while making great leaps, might require all the nervous energy and muscular growth to be directed to the fingers, the small thumb remaining useless. The case of the Potto is more difficult, both because it is, presumably, a more ancient type, and its actual life-history and habits are completely unknown. These cases are, therefore, not at all to the point as proving that positive specific characters—not mere rudiments characterising whole genera—are in any case useless.
Mr. Mivart further objects to the alleged rigidity of the action of natural selection, because wounded or malformed animals have been found which had evidently lived a considerable time in their imperfect condition. But this simply proves that they were living under a temporarily favourable environment, and that the real struggle for existence, in their case, had not yet taken place. We must surely admit that, when the pinch came, and when perfectly formed stoats were dying for want of food, the one-footed animal, referred to by Mr. Mivart, would be among the first to succumb; and the same remark will apply to his abnormally toothed hares and rheumatic monkeys, which might, nevertheless, get on very well under favourable conditions. The struggle for existence, under which all animals and plants have been developed, is intermittent, and exceedingly irregular in its incidence and severity. It is most severe and fatal to the young; but when an animal has once reached maturity, and especially when it has gained experience by several years of an eventful existence, it may be able to maintain itself under conditions which would be fatal to a young and inexperienced creature of the same species. The examples adduced by Mr. Mivart do not, therefore, in any way impugn the hardness of nature as a taskmaster, or the extreme severity of the recurring struggle for existence.[See Nature, vol. xxxix. p. 127.]
- Origin of Species, p. 72.
- Darwin's latest expression of opinion on this question is interesting, since it shows that he was inclined to return to his earlier view of the general, or universal, utility of specific characters. In a letter to Semper (30th Nov. 1878) he writes: "As our knowledge advances, very slight differences, considered by systematists as of no importance in structure, are continually found to be functionally important; and I have been especially struck with this fact in the case of plants, to which my observations have, of late years, been confined. Therefore it seems to me rather rash to consider slight differences between representative species, for instance, those inhabiting the different islands of the same archipelago, as of no functional importance, and as not in any way due to natural selection" (Life of Darwin, vol. iii. p. 161).
- See Variation of Animals and Plants, vol. i. p. 86.
- Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoology, vol. xx. p. 215.
- In Mr. Gulick's last paper (Journal of Linn. Soc. Zool., vol. xx. pp. 189-274) he discusses the various forms of isolation above referred to, under no less than thirty-eight different divisions and subdivisions, with an elaborate terminology, and he argues that these will frequently bring about divergent evolution without any change in the environment or any action of natural selection. The discussion of the problem here given will, I believe, sufficiently expose the fallacy of his contention; but his illustration of the varied and often recondite modes by which practical isolation may be brought about, may help to remove one of the popular difficulties in the way of the action of natural selection in the origination of species.
|
<urn:uuid:1fefd5f3-f0f6-4c58-a1f8-2389e64eea70>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-14
|
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Darwinism_(Wallace)/Chapter_VI
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131303523.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172143-00080-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.970303 | 12,556 | 2.921875 | 3 | 2.947457 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Jose Rizal (1861-96) is the greatest figure not only in the Spanish-language literature but in the history of the Philippines. He studied medicine at the University of Santo Tomas and later in Madrid, and in the course of his travels in France, Germany and Britain encountered some of the great spirits of the day. His first work in Spanish, Noli me Tangere (Touch Me Not, 1887), was historically significant and was instrument in establishing the Filipino sense of national identity. This novel brought him fame but displeased the Spaniards. His second novel El Filibusterismo (The Subversive, 1891) portrayed Philippine society with critical view. These two novels denounced Spanish abuses, and as a result when he returned to the Philippines for the second time, in 1892 he was deported to Dapitan (Mindanao). When he was on the point of leaving for Cuba as a doctor he was arrested, found guilty of treason and rebellion, and shot on 30 December 1896 though in fact his participation in the Revolution had been intellectual and literary rather than political.
Noli me Tangere novel expressed the pain of the persecuted Philippines. Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, a young progressive, returns to the Philippines after completing his studies and learned that his father has died a wretched death in prison, although he had been an honourable man, wealthy and respected. He tries to find out the truth but his enemies seek to destroy him. As a result of their intrigues his promised bride, Maria Clara seeks refuge in a convent and he himself is led to disappear mysteriously. Elias, a boatman whom Ibarra had saved from drowning, later, was able to pay his debt of gratitude. El Filibusterismo describes Ibarra’s return, under the name of Simoun, and his attempts to find Maria Clara and take vengeance on his enemies. Meanwhile, however, his fiancée has committed suicide, and his plot fails: whereupon he commits suicide in his turn.
These two novels depict the society of the period and its archetypes, particularly the evil-doing Spanish clergy. Maria Clara is an example of a girl brought up under the Spanish system. Ibarra-Simoun’s reforming zeal, which is strong but personal and self-centred, is frustrated by his excess of passion, the contrasting figure of Elias represents Rizal’s clear-sightedness, his moral strength and superiority and his dynamism.
Rizal did not confine himself to the novel, but added to his reputation with two plays, Junto al Pasig and An Autobiography, Memorias de un Estudiante de Manila . His poems proclaim his love for the suffering country which he seeks to arouse from its oppression. His essays were published in five volumes along with his correspondence, written in Spanish, German, Tagalog, French and English.
Graciano Lopez Jaena and Marcelo H. were the two writers contemporary with Rizal and fought with him in Madrid for the cause of Filipino nationalism, writing numerous articles for their propaganda journal, La Solidaridad. Marcelo H. del Pilar was popularly known as Plaridel. He tried to marshal the nationalist sentiment of the enlightened Filipino ilustrados, against Spanish imperialism using the pasyon and prayers. Monetary currency was used to describe the friar in the poem Friar Ginoong Barya (Hail Father Coins) and A Parody of Aba Ginoong Maria (Hail Mary, A Popular Prayer). Graciano Lopez Jaena becomes a leading literary and oratical spokesman for the cause of Filipino freedom.
Two other writers of the period, who made their names by historical and political writings are Pedro A. Paterno and Apolinario Mabini. Pedro A. Paterno was the author of Pacto de Biak-na-Bato (Pact of Biyak-na-Bato, 1910); the very first novel written in Tagalog, Ninay (1907); and the first Filipino collection of poems in Spanish, Sampaguitas y Poesis (Jasmines and Poems which was published in Madrid in 1880. Apolinario Mabini, known as Sublime Paralytic was a Filipino theoretician who wrote the constitution for the first Philippine Republic in 1899-1901.
|
<urn:uuid:1d62975c-765e-4765-9711-7348c17af1e4>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-47
|
https://www.visitphilippines.org/about-philippines/prose-writing/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496670597.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20191120162215-20191120190215-00379.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.977266 | 901 | 2.984375 | 3 | 2.893299 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Literature
|
Herbalists work with patients by diagnosing medical problems and using plants and herbs to treat them. While there is no standard licensing requirement in this field, most herbalists complete a training program.
An herbalist engages in the practice of using plants for medical purposes. The practice is sometimes referred to as botanical medicine, herbal medicine, (medical) herbalism, herbology or phytotherapy. Herbology may include elements of Western botanical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, which is a holistic system of medicine from India. Herbalists work with doctors, in alternative medicine facilities, wellness centers or as independent practitioners.
|Required Education||Completion of a training program|
|Required Skills||Knowledge of plants and herbs|
|Projected Job Growth (2014-2024)*||14% (healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other)|
|Median Salary (2015)*||$48,270 (healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other)|
Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Herbalist Career Information
Like a medical doctor, an herbalist consults with patients to help diagnose medical problems. Herbalists also use knowledge of both traditional and contemporary medicine in their practices. Herbal practitioners usually operate their clinics just like a doctor's office, which means they maintain patients' records, follow-up on appointments, make referrals and engage in all the activities associated with operating a private medical practice.
Depending on whether their goal is a career or personal interest, students can choose among many options to get an herbal education. Many colleges and universities, as well as schools of naturopathic medicine, offer classes and programs in botanical medicine. There are also well-established programs in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. Bastyr University is the only accredited college in the United States that offers a bachelor's degree in herbal science (www.bastyr.edu).
Distance-learning, short courses (6- to 8-month programs), on-site courses, apprenticeship programs and independent study are other options for students who want to train for a career in herbology. The American Herbalists Guild (AHG) has a resource guide to getting an herbal education. AHG also runs a mentorship program to provide guidance to herbology students and help them meet their requirements for clinical training and supervision (www.americanherbalistsguild.com).
AHG recommends that a program of herbal education includes courses in botany, therapeutic herbalism and pharmacognosy (the study of drugs derived from plants and other natural sources). Classes in basic human sciences, including anatomy, pathology, physiology and nutrition should also be part of the curriculum. In addition, the AHG recommends students get training in counseling, physical assessments, dosing strategies and other clinical skills.
There are currently no federal or state agencies that regulate herbal practice. While some countries have minimum education standards to be an herbalist, these standards are not the same between or even within countries.
According to a survey done by the National Center for Contemporary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, including herbal medicine, is on a slow rise in the United States. In 2002 about 36% of all U.S. adults used CAM therapies; by 2007 that number had risen to over 38%. Also in 2007 about 12% of the nation's children were using some type of CAM (www.nccam.nih.gov). Increasing CAM use should translate to more job opportunities for all types of alternative medicine practitioners.
There are other employment options for herbalists besides herbal medicine practitioner. Trained herbalists can also become teachers and researchers. They can find employment in the herbal industry as representatives, managers, manufacturers or consultants. Other career options include cultivating or 'wildcrafting' herbs for medicinal use, working in the health and wellness industry, becoming a production or processing specialist and specializing in quality assurance.
Herbalists can run their own practice or work directly with doctors. Most herbalists complete a training program and are knowledgeable in traditional and contemporary medicinal practices. As forms of alternative medicine are becoming more popular, the demand for herbalists is growing, with a 14% increase in job growth predicted through the year 2024.
|
<urn:uuid:9a0109f9-4aab-4f75-8072-7b06b741d587>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-44
|
http://study.com/herbalist_career.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720154.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00221-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.928365 | 881 | 2.984375 | 3 | 2.347699 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Health
|
Service animals accompanying persons with disabilities are permitted on the Indiana University South Bend campus. Service animals are animals trained to assist people with disabilities in the activities of daily living. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a service animal as “any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.” An animal that meets this definition is considered a service animal regardless of whether it has been licensed or certified by a state or local government or a training program.
The person a service animal assists is typically referred to as a partner. The partner’s disability may not be visible. If you are not sure whether an animal is a pet or a service animal, you may ask if the animal is a pet. You may exercise your judgment as to whether a person’s statements about the functions of the animal make it reasonable to think that the animal is a service animal. Although you may ask the person how the animal is assisting them, you may not ask for details about the person’s disability.
Information faculty, staff, and students should know about service animals
A service dog can be any of a variety of breeds or sizes. It might wear specialized equipment, such as a backpack, harness, or special collar or leash, but this is not a requirement.
Allow a service animal to accompany the partner at all times and everywhere on campus. The courts have upheld the rights of service animal owners to take service animals into food service locations.
Do not pet a service animal without first asking permission; touching the animal might distract it from its work.
Speak first to the partner.
Do not deliberately startle a service animal.
Do not feed a service animal.
Do not separate or attempt to separate a partner from his or her service animal.
In case of an emergency, every effort should be made to keep the animal with its partner. However, the first effort should be toward the partner; this may necessitate leaving an animal behind in certain emergency situations.
Requirements for service animals and their partners
The service animal cannot pose a direct threat to the health and safety of person on the campus.
Local ordinances regarding animals apply to service animals, including requirements for immunization, licensing, noise, restraint, at-large animals and dangerous animals. Dogs must wear a license tag and a current rabies vaccination tag.
The partner must be in full control of the animal at all times, including use of leash, as appropriate for the disability. The care and supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility of its partner. The animal must be maintained and used at all times in ways that no do not create safety hazards for other people.
The partner is responsible for cleaning up the animal’s feces. The partner should always carry equipment and bags sufficient to clean up and properly dispose of the animal’s feces. Partners who are not physically able to pick up and dispose of feces are responsible for making all necessary arrangements for assistance. The University is not responsible for these services.
Emotional support animals are not trained services animals and are only allowed in housing per the Fair Housing Act. Emotional support animals are not covered by the ADA.
Personal Care Attendants
The provision of a personal care attendant is entirely the responsibility of the student needing this care while on campus. Indiana University South Bend does not provide, assist, or train personal care attendants. A student can contact the Disability Support Services office for referral information about obtaining a personal care attendant.
A student with a disability who wishes to park a vehicle in a space designated for disability parking must obtain an IU South Bend disabled parking permit, as well as the state parking permit. The Parking Services office issues a two week temporary permit to allow the applicant to visit a physician. Upon written documentation from a physician, parking services will extend the issuance of a temporary campus permit for up to 30 days. If the disabled permit is required for more than 30 days, the applicant must obtain the state permit within the 30 day time period.
The issuance of parking permits is handled through the Parking Services office, and not through Disability Support Services. The Parking Services office is located in room 112 in the Administration building and can be contacted at (574) 520-5528. You may also get further information online at http://www.iusb.edu/parking/index.php
|
<urn:uuid:06bdb54d-1511-4a45-b88e-feac38fbbb29>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-21
|
https://www.iusb.edu/students/student-support-services/disability-support-services/policies.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662510097.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516073101-20220516103101-00600.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.935815 | 948 | 3.140625 | 3 | 1.740541 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Health
|
Much of our lives are affected by random events; however, we are not fully aware of them. How could we, there is just too much randomness to keep track of. Despite our best efforts to reach our goals, we can’t eliminate the role of chance and unpredictability. We know that randomness exist, but to what extent? That is when a keen understanding of probabilities can be helpful. Calculating probabilities can determine a course of action and set realistic expectations for outcomes.
The insurance business is built on probabilities, which predict how often unforeseen events occur. That is, unforeseen for one particular individual, but almost a certainty for someone in a large group of people. For example: houses will burn down, cars will crash and people will die unexpectedly; we just don’t know who and where. Unfortunately, insurance cannot protect us from something bad happening (even the things we buy insurance for).
We like to think that we are in control of our lives. We tend to focus on intentions and give credence to willful actions or direct causes. Most of the time, when something works out for us we are eager to take credit. When something does not work out, we find fault by blaming ourselves or others. But I don’t think it’s that simple; success or failure is partly the result of chance (maybe as much as effort). Chance, however, does not mean that all outcomes have an equally chance of happening. Some outcomes are more probable than others, and sometimes it can be calculated.
How Do We Quantify Chance
Although there are many unnoticed causes that we cannot quantify, there are situations when we can calculate chance. For example, a coin toss, the role of a die, and the dealing of playing cards. In simple situations, intuition is a reasonable guide. Simple mathematics instantly reveals the odds: There is a 1 in 2 chance of a coin landing on heads. There is a 1 in 6 chance of a die showing a six. There is a 1 in 52 chance of a turning over the ace of spade.
Problems arise when situations get more complicated. For instance, how many different possible outcomes are there for a 7 game series between 2 sports teams? From one team’s perspective, one outcome could be: win, win, loss, loss, win, loss and win. Like most probability questions, it can be calculated, but the answer is not immediately obvious. Assuming that all 7 games are played, there are 128 possible outcomes. In reality the outcomes are less, because after one team wins 4 games the series is over.
In fact, intuition is usually misleading. Why is that? 1) Humans are good at recognizing patterns, and often find patterns when there are none. 2) We tend to give more weight to recent events and stronger memories. 3) We are bias and notice what we look for. 4) Short-term results don’t always match actual probabilities, which will show up in larger sample sizes. The following are examples of how scrutinizing randomness can reveal surprising results:
The Gamblers Fallacy
Imagine you are trying to predict the outcome of a coin toss. You toss the coin 5 times and it turns up heads every time. On the sixth toss, would you be inclined to call tails? Or with a number of people predicting the next toss, would there be more calls for tails than heads? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, someone has fallen victim to the gamblers fallacy.
The gamblers fallacy is the mistaken belief that if something happens more often than normal in a time period, it will happen less often in the future. It’s a belief that odds will even out, which is true in the long run; however, it will not bear out in the short run. That’s the difference between the Law of Small Numbers and The Law of Large Numbers. Although the odds of a coin toss are 50/50, a small sample size will often show a large dependency in heads and tails (The Law of Small Numbers applies). Conversely, a large number of tosses will come out very close to 50/50 (The Law of Large Numbers applies). For odds to accurately reflect reality there needs to be many events. A run of consecutive heads in no way changes the odds for the next toss.
In the coin toss scenario each result is independent from each other. Therefore, the odds of getting six heads in a row are 1 in 64. It’s also the same odds of getting 5 heads and 1 tails (in that exact order). This means that no matter how many times you toss, the odds are always 50/50 on the next toss. This is important, because the gamblers fallacy does not apply in dependent events. That’s when one result truly influences a future result. For example, when an ace turns up in a game of black jack, then there is less chance of an ace showing up on the next card. By removing an ace from the deck there are fewer aces left and the odds are really less of drawing another ace. As long as the cards are not reshuffled, your intuition of expecting cards that have not shown up would be correct.
The Monty Hall Problem
Let’s Make a Deal was a popular TV game show, which air in 1963 and ran for many years. The host was Monty Hall, and here is the problem: Monty Hall gave a contestant a choice, pick 1 of 3 doors. Behind one door was a valuable prize, and behind the other two was something far less valuable. Let’s say the contestant was playing to win a car. After the contestant picked a door (for example door #1), the host (who knew where the car was) opened one of the two remaining doors. Monty always opened a door with a dud prize (for example door #2).
This is the point when the Monty Hall Problem arose. He gave the contestant the choice to change his/her mind. Should the contestant stick with door #1, or pick door #3. Without careful analysis, it seems that it makes no difference. Both door #1 and door #3 have an equal chance of winning the car. However, that is incorrect. The probability of winning is twice as high if the choice is switched.
The reasoning is very simple, yet it eludes many people. With the original choice, the odds are 1 in 3 that the car is behind the chosen door. That means that it’s 2 in 3 that the car is behind one of the other doors. When the host opens one of the dud doors (which he already knows has a dud prize), he is giving new information. He has eliminated one of the bad options. Therefore, there is a 2 in 3 chance of winning the car by switching doors (for example door #3), but only a 1 in 3 chance of winning by staying put.
We can exaggerate the game by imagining 100 doors. The contestant chooses 1 door and the host opens 98 doors without revealing the car. Remember that the host knows where the car is. The obvious choice here is to make the switch. There is only a 1 in 100 chance that the first choice is correct. That means that there is a 99 in 100 chance of winning the prize by switching doors.
Sharing a Birthday
If you are hosting a party, what is the likelihood that two people will share the same birthday? Worded another way, how many people need to show up for the odds to be higher than 50%? Once again, intuition is shaky. One would think that the number would be quite high, as there are 365 days in a year. The answer is surprisingly low: just 23 guests will give a better than even chance of two people sharing a birthday.
The reason is that there are many possible combinations in which people can share a birthday. Each guest is not limited to matching a specific date on the calendar. Every arriving guest has the chance of matching a birthday with all the people already at the party. By the time it gets to 23 people, every guest has 22 chances of sharing a birthday with another guest.
My three examples above are fairly straight forward. Life is not as simple. Although we tend to feel responsible for the events in our lives, we should not underestimate the role of chance. Of all the possible outcomes, we don’t know how each day will turn out. We clearly can’t predict what will happen in life; however, there are isolated situations when information can help us determine the most probable outcomes. We need to figure out which facts apply and which facts do not apply. And unless we think it through, we can easily be fooled by surface information. Probabilistic thinking requires that at times we set our emotions and intuitions aside and let the numbers take over. Sometimes the numbers will reveal surprising results.
References: Leonard Mlodinow, The Drunkard’s Walk, (New York: Pantheon Books, 2008).
|
<urn:uuid:1b452294-5b81-4a09-b2cc-8d95fa81cbe7>
|
CC-MAIN-2019-04
|
https://thelandscapeofreality.com/2016/07/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547584445118.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20190124014810-20190124040810-00025.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.960326 | 1,855 | 2.953125 | 3 | 2.86023 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Once upon a time, a young brave knight upon his white horse, ventured through the darken forest in search for a greatly feared scaly beast. He made his way to a massive mountain that blocked the sun from his view. He came upon a gaping hole in the side of the mountain. Assuming that this is where he would meet his prey, he slid off his gallant steed, braving the murky cavern.
“Come out you beastly thing! Your days of terror are over!”
The dragon dove from his hollowed home and met the knight with a quick CHOMP! and ate the knight in a single bite.
And the dragon lived happily ever after terrorizing the kingdom.
Dragons are probably one of the most popular of mythological creatures. They are seen everywhere these days, from movies and books, to being seen on clothes and as statues big and small, all over the world. They show up all throughout history, thought it’s not known exactly when dragons first started making an appearance. They were very versatile creatures that could live anywhere, land and sea. Dragons appear often in stories, protecting masses of treasure, eating young maidens, often leading the the dragon’s death by a heroic knight. They were also depicted as protectors and their images later used in war and depicted on buildings and flags.
The Chinese dragon is typically depicted as serpent like with four legs. They were viewed as powerful and good luck for those who were worthy of them. The Emperor of China took on the dragon as a symbol of power and strength.
European dragons are depicted with four legs and two wings, with a shorter more stout torso compared to the Chinese dragon. In Christian legends, dragons are associated with Satan, with stories about their slayings by Michael the Archangel and St. George. The Greeks and Sumerians spoke of “flying lizards” in their scrolls and lectures, being mentioned in the famous story, Iliad. Greeks viewed dragons as protectors of important treasures. Romans considered dragons to be powerful and a source of information, using them as a symbol in their military. Christians placed churches dedicated to St. Michael and St. George that were believed to be Pagan sacred sites dedicated to dragons.
The Jews mention dragons in Job (26:13), and Isaiah (27:1), as well as in Genesis. In astronomy, the Jews identified the celestial pole, which 4,500 years ago was the star Thuban, located in the tail of the Draco constellation.
There are tons of stories across the globe depicting dragons.
Today, dragons may be of a different realm, but are great at keeping your home and space protected from unwanted spirits. They come big and small, serpent like and the traditional European style, one head or two, sometimes more. They also show up in many colors with beautiful scales gleaming from metallic to a flat color.
Typically, it is suggested that you do not, yourself, search for dragons. They do not like to be bothered and consider their time valuable. But you can ask for assistance in protection, by calling on the astral world, angels, guides, gods and goddesses to provide you a dragon. Anyone can request assistance, there are no special tools or rituals, but be sure to always provide a offering to the dragon that is helping you. It will be up to you to ask your dragon what type of offering that they would like, typically being shiny objects or food. They will not work for free and will only stay as long as they are needed, or until they feel that they are unappreciated.
They also have names and their own personalities, and enjoy sitting on roof tops, and curling themselves around homes and sacred spaces.
Keep in mind that if they are trying to protect an area surrounded by an overwhelming amount of negative spirits, they may need help as well. Though they find negative spirits to be yummy, they can also be out numbered if attacked. Be sure to check in on your dragon often and build a relationship with them.
|
<urn:uuid:72f73edb-acdb-403c-aab7-2bd7252157f6>
|
CC-MAIN-2021-04
|
https://gaiasawakenchildren.com/2016/10/28/dragons-spiritual-protection/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703512342.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20210117112618-20210117142618-00169.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.980357 | 831 | 3.078125 | 3 | 2.220233 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Religion
|
Sensation and Perception Rapid Review for AP Psychology (page 2)
A more in-depth study guide for this review can be found at:
Sensation—the process by which you detect physical energy from your environment and encode it as neural signals.
Psychophysics—the study of the relationship between physical energy and psychological experiences.
Stimulus—a change in the environment that can be detected by sensory receptors.
Absolute threshold—the weakest level of a stimulus that can be correctly detected at least half the time.
Signal detection theory—maintains that minimum threshold varies with fatigue, attention, expectations, motivation, emotional distress, and from one person to another.
Difference threshold—minimum difference between any two stimuli that a person can detect 50% of the time.
Just noticeable difference (jnd)—experience of the difference threshold.
Weber's law—difference thresholds increase in proportion to the size of the stimulus.
Subliminal stimulation—receiving messages below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Transduction—transformation of stimulus energy to the electrochemical energy of neural impulses.
Perception—the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensations, enabling you to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Vision and the human eye:
Rays of light from an object pass from the object through your cornea, aqueous humor, pupil, lens, and vitreous humor before forming an image on your retina.
Cornea—transparent, curved layer in the front of the eye that bends incoming light rays.
Iris—colored muscle surrounding the pupil that regulates the size of the pupil opening.
Pupil—small adjustable opening in the iris that is smaller in bright light and larger in darkness.
Lens—structure behind the pupil that changes shape, becoming more spherical or flatter to focus incoming rays into an image on the light-sensitive retina.
Accommodation—process of changing the curvature of the lens to focus light rays on the retina.
Retina—light-sensitive surface in the back of the eye containing rods and cones that transduce light energy. Also has layers of bipolar cells and ganglion cells that transmit visual information to the brain.
Fovea—small area of the retina in the most direct line of sight where cones are most concentrated for highest visual acuity in bright light.
Photoreceptors—modified neurons (rods and cones) that convert light energy to electrochemical neural impulses.
Rods—photoreceptors that detect black, white, and gray and that detect movement. Rods are necessary for peripheral and dim-light vision when cones do not respond. Distributed throughout the retina, except none are in the fovea.
Cones—photoreceptors that detect color and fine detail in daylight or in bright-light conditions. Most concentrated at the fovea of the retina, none are in the periphery.
Optic nerve—nerve formed by ganglion cell axons; carries the neural impulses from the eye to the thalamus of the brain.
Acuity—ability to detect fine details, sharpness of vision. Can be affected by small distortions in the shape of the eye.
Normal vision—rays of light form a clear image on the retina of the eye.
Nearsighted—too much curvature of the cornea and/or lens focuses image in front of the retina so nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects.
Farsighted—too little curvature of the cornea and/or lens focuses the image behind the retina, so distant objects are seen more clearly than nearby objects.
Dark adaptation—increased visual sensitivity that gradually develops when it gets dark.
Bipolar cells—second layer of neurons in the retina that transmit impulses from rods and cones to ganglion cells.
Ganglion cells—third layer of neurons in the retina, whose axons converge to form the optic nerve.
Blind spot—region of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye so there are no receptor cells; creates an area with no vision.
Feature detectors—individual neurons in the primary visual cortex/occipital lobes that respond to specific features of a visual stimulus.
Parallel processing—simultaneously analyzing different elements of sensory information, such as color, brightness, shape, etc.
Trichromatic theory—proposed mechanism for color vision with cones that are differentially sensitive to different wavelengths of light; each color you see results from a specific ratio of activation among the three types of receptors.
Opponent-process theory—proposed mechanism for color vision with opposing retinal processes for red–green, yellow–blue, white–black. Some retinal cells are stimulated by one of a pair and inhibited by the other.
Sensory adaptation—temporary decrease in sensitivity to a stimulus that occurs when stimulation is unchanging.
Attention—the set of processes from which you choose among the various stimuli bombarding your senses at any instant, allowing some to be further processed by your senses and brain.
Hearing and the human ear:
Audition—the sense of hearing. The loudness of a sound is determined by the amplitude or height of the sound wave.
Frequency—the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given amount of time. The wavelength is inversely proportional to the frequency. Frequency or wavelength determines the hue of a light wave and the pitch of a sound.
Pitch—the highness or lowness of a sound. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch. The longer the wavelength, the lower the frequency, the lower the pitch.
Timbre—the quality of a sound determined by the purity of a waveform. What makes a note of the same pitch and loudness sound different on different musical instruments.
Sound localization—the process by which you determine the location of a sound. The outer ear includes the pinna, the auditory canal, and the eardrum. The middle ear includes three tiny bones: the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. The inner ear includes the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Cochlea—snail-shaped fluid-filled tube in the inner ear with hair cells on the basilar membrane that transduce mechanical energy of vibrating molecules to the electrochemical energy of neural impulses. Hair cell movement triggers impulses in adjacent nerve fibers.
Auditory nerve—axons of neurons in the cochlea converge transmitting sound messages through the medulla, pons, and thalamus to the auditory cortex of the temporal lobes.
Place theory—the position on the basilar membrane at which waves reach their peak depends on the frequency of a tone. Accounts well for high-pitched sounds.
Frequency theory—the rate of the neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, enabling you to sense its pitch. Frequency theory explains well how you hear low-pitched sounds.
Conduction deafness—loss of hearing that results when the eardrum is punctured or any of the ossicles lose their ability to vibrate. A hearing aid may restore hearing.
Nerve (sensorineural) deafness—loss of hearing that results from damage to the cochlea, hair cells, or auditory neurons. Cochlear implants may restore some hearing.
Somatosensation—the skin sensations: touch/pressure, warmth, cold, and pain.
Gate-control theory—pain is experienced only if the pain messages can pass through a gate in the spinal cord on their route to the brain. The gate is opened by small nerve fibers that carry pain signals and closed by neural activity of larger nerve fibers, which conduct most other sensory signals, or by information coming from the brain.
Kinesthesis—body sense that provides information about the position and movement of individual parts of your body with receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints.
Vestibular sense—body sense of equilibrium with hairlike receptors in semicircular canals and vestibular sac in the inner ear.
Gustation—the chemical sense of taste with receptor cells in taste buds in fungiform papillae on the tongue, on the roof of the mouth, in the throat. Molecules must dissolve to be sensed. Five basic taste sensations are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and newly added to the list, umami or glutamate. Flavor is the interaction of sensations of taste and odor with contributions by temperature, etc.
Olfaction—the chemical sense of smell with receptors in a mucous membrane (olfactory epithelium) on the roof of the nasal cavity. Molecules must reach the membrane and dissolve to be sensed. Olfactory receptors synapse immediately with neurons of the olfactory bulbs in the brain with no pathways to the thalamus.
Today on Education.com
- Kindergarten Sight Words List
- Signs Your Child Might Have Asperger's Syndrome
- Coats and Car Seats: A Lethal Combination?
- Child Development Theories
- GED Math Practice Test 1
- The Homework Debate
- Graduation Inspiration: Top 10 Graduation Quotes
- Social Cognitive Theory
- 10 Fun Activities for Children with Autism
- First Grade Sight Words List
|
<urn:uuid:c7f4e5be-d804-4caa-ba32-ac93d8c73f41>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-48
|
http://www.education.com/study-help/article/sensation-perception-rapid-review/?page=2
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1387345760669/warc/CC-MAIN-20131218054920-00071-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.899173 | 1,956 | 3.71875 | 4 | 2.04249 | 2 |
Moderate reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Colorado Boulder used DNA testing and citizen science to create an “atlas” that shows the range and diversity of arthropods found in homes across the continental United States.
“Previous research found a significant diversity of arthropods in homes in one part of North Carolina – we wanted to use advanced DNA sequencing-based approaches to get a snapshot of arthropod diversity in homes across the country,” says Anne Madden, a postdoctoral researcher at NC State and lead author of a paper on the new work. “This work is a significant step toward understanding the ecology of our own homes, with the goal of improving our understanding of how those organisms in our homes may affect our health and quality of life.”
To collect nationwide data, the researchers recruited more than 700 households across all 48 states in the continental United States. Study participants swabbed dust from the top of a doorway inside their house or apartment. The swab was then sealed and sent to the research team, which used high-throughput DNA analysis to identify every genus of arthropod DNA found in the dust samples.
“We found more than 600 genera of arthropods represented inside people’s homes – not including food species, such as crabs and shrimp, which also showed up,” Madden says. “That’s an incredible range of diversity from just a tiny swab of house dust.”
After analyzing the data, researchers identified several variables that were associated with greater arthropod diversity: having cats or dogs in the home; having a home in a rural area; or having a home with a basement.
“Greater diversity does not necessarily mean greater abundance,” Madden says. “We’re talking about more types of arthropods, not necessarily larger populations of arthropods.”
These findings expand on previous work that found pet ownership also increased the biodiversity of microbial organisms, such as bacteria and fungi.
“We were surprised to see that these three variables – which we have some control over – were more powerful predictors of biodiversity than climate,” Madden says. “We had expected environmental factors associated with regional climate to play a larger role than they actually did.”
However, the scope of the study data also allowed the researchers to create a national atlas they can use to track the range of specific arthropod genera. And, depending on the genus, climate factors were seen to play a significant role in determining the range of some arthropods.
For example, dust mites can be serious allergens in homes and the team found that they were more often associated with homes in humid regions of the country.
In addition, researchers were able to use the atlas to identify genera that had significantly expanded their range – but no one had previously noticed.
For example, the Turkestan cockroach (Shelfordella lateralis) was previously thought to be found only in the southern and western regions of the United States – but the data from this study showed that it had expanded as far as the Northeast.
“We’re just scratching the surface of how we can use this data set and the arthropod atlas,” Madden says. “What can it tell us about the food webs in our own homes? What can it tell us about how arthropod populations expand and contract across the country? What emerging allergens can it reveal? We’re just getting started.
“Also, we want to stress that this was a citizen science project,” Madden says. “This study would not have been possible without the participation of people from across the country who volunteered to be actively involved in the work.” [Note: anyone interested in participating in future citizen science projects with this research team can visit http://www.yourwildlife.org/participate/.]
The paper, “The diversity of arthropods in homes across the United States as determined by environmental DNA analyses,” is published in the journal Molecular Ecology. The paper was co-authored by Albert Barberán and Noah Fierer of the University of Colorado Boulder; Matthew Bertone and Holly Menninger of NC State; and Rob Dunn of NC State and the University of Copenhagen. The work was done with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Note to Editors: The study abstract follows.
“The diversity of arthropods in homes across the United States as determined by environmental DNA analyses”
Authors: Anne Madden, North Carolina State University and University of Colorado, Boulder; Albert Barberán and Noah Fierer, University of Colorado, Boulder; Matthew A. Bertone and Holly L. Menninger, North Carolina State University; Robert R. Dunn, North Carolina State University and University of Copenhagen
Published: Nov. 1, Molecular Ecology DOI: 10.1111/mec.13900
Abstract: We spend most of our lives inside homes, surrounded by 3 arthropods that impact our property as pests and our health as disease vectors and producers of sensitizing allergens. Despite their relevance to human health and well-being, we know relatively little about the arthropods that exist in our homes and the factors structuring their diversity. Since previous work has been limited in scale by the costs and time associated with collecting arthropods and the subsequent morphological identification we used a DNA-based method for investigating the arthropod diversity in homes via high-throughput marker gene sequencing of home dust. Settled dust samples were collected by citizen scientists from both inside and outside more than 700 homes across the United States, yielding the first continental-scale estimates of arthropod diversity associated with our residences. We were able to document food webs and previously unknown geographic distributions of diverse arthropods—from allergen producers to invasive species and nuisance pests. Home characteristics, including the presence of basements, home occupants, and surrounding land-use, were more useful than climate parameters at predicting arthropod diversity in homes. These non-invasive, scalable tools and resultant findings not only provide the first continental-scale maps of household arthropod diversity, our analyses also provide valuable baseline information on arthropod allergen exposures and the distributions of invasive pests inside homes.
Originally Posted on: news.ncsu.edu
|
<urn:uuid:6567864d-a56b-4eef-9a23-2124a716edbd>
|
CC-MAIN-2018-26
|
http://prattpest.com/category/pests/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864940.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20180623035301-20180623055301-00011.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.951932 | 1,317 | 3.65625 | 4 | 3.042821 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Science & Tech.
|
Mawson, C.O.S., ed. (18701938). Rogets International Thesaurus. 1922.
Class IV. Words Relating to the Intellectual Faculties
Division (II) Communication of Ideas
Section II. Modes of Communication
TEACHING &c. v.; pedagogics, pedagogy; instruction; edification; education; tuition; tutorship, tutorage, tutelage; direction, guidance; opsimathy [rare].
PREPARATION, qualification, training, schooling &c. v.; discipline; exercise, exercitation, drill, practice.
PERSUASION, proselytism, propagandism, propaganda; indoctrination, inculcation, inoculation, initiation.
LESSON, lecture, sermon, homily, harangue, disquisition; apologue, parable; discourse, prelection or prælection, preachment; explanation (interpretation) [See Interpretation]; chalk talk [colloq.].
Chautauqua -system, - course; lyceum [U. S.].
exercise, task; curriculum; course, - of study; grammar, three Rs; A. B. C. (beginning) [See Beginning].
[EDUCATION] elementary -, primary -, grammar school -, common school -, high school -, secondary -, technical -, college -, collegiate -, military -, university -, liberal -, classical -, academic -, religious -, denominational -, moral -, secular- education; propædeutics, moral tuition; the humanities, humanism, humane studies.
normal -, kindergarten- -course, - training; vocational -training, - therapeutics; Montessori system.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION, physical drill, gymnastics, calisthenics, eurythmics or eurhythmics; sloyd.
TEACH, instruct, edify, school, tutor; cram [colloq.], grind [colloq.], prime, coach; enlighten (inform) [See Information].
inculcate, indoctrinate, inoculate, infuse, instill, infix, ingraft or engraft, infiltrate; imbue, impregnate, implant; graft, sow the seeds of, disseminate, propagate.
give an idea of; put up to [slang]; put in the way of; set right.
sharpen the wits, enlarge the mind; give new ideas, open the eyes, bring forward, teach the young idea how to shoot [Thomson]; improve [See Improvement].
direct, guide; direct attention to (attention) [See Attention]; impress upon the -mind, - memory; beat into, - the head; convince (belief) [See Belief].
EXPOUND (interpret) [See Interpretation]; lecture; read -, give- a -lesson, - lecture, - sermon, - discourse; incept [Cambridge Univ., Eng.]; hold forth, preach; prelect or prælect, sermonize, moralize; point a moral.
TRAIN, discipline; bring up, - to; educate, form, ground, prepare, qualify, drill, exercise, practice, habituate, familiarize with, nurture, drynurse, breed, rear, take in hand; break, - in; tame; preinstruct; initiate, graduate; inure (habituate) [See Habit].
put to nurse, send to school.
EDUCATIONAL; scholastic, academic, doctrinal; disciplinal, disciplinary, instructive, instructional, hortatory, homiletic or homiletical, pedagogic or pedagogical, didactic; teaching &c. v.; taught &c. v.; propædeutic or propædeutical; propagative; cultural, humanistic, humane; pragmatic or pragmatical, practical, utilitarian; naturalistic, psychological, scientific, sociological, eclectic, coeducational.
The schoolmaster abroad.
A bovi majori discit arare minor.
Adeo in teneris consuescere multum est.Vergil
Quæ nocent docent.
Qui docet discit.
Sermons in stones and good in everything.As You Like It
We will our youth lead on to higher fields.II Henry IV
|
<urn:uuid:223c4aa9-f020-4887-b289-59b1bc51600f>
|
CC-MAIN-2015-32
|
http://bartleby.com/110/537.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042986625.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002306-00283-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.68155 | 935 | 2.71875 | 3 | 2.588213 | 3 |
Strong reasoning
|
Education & Jobs
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.