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Another view at around 6am from the beach looking out towards the mysterious limestone peaks in Halong Bay. There are said to be almost 2,000 separate islands in this area. The workshop shows a far wider view of this area. A wonderful place to experience. Wikitravel mentions the following notes. Ha Long" is literally translated as "Bay of Descending Dragons." Prior to the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Ha Long Bay, old historical books often referred to them by the names of An Bang, Luc Thuy or Van Don. Not until the late 19th century did the name of Ha Long Bay appear on a French Marine Map. The Hai Phong News, a French newspaper of the time, had an article, Dragon appears on Ha Long Bay, reporting the following story: In 1898 a sub-lieutenant named Lagredin, captaining the Avalanse reported seeing a huge sea snake on Ha Long Bay. This was also witnessed by many of the crews. Thus emerged the European image of the Asian dragon. Whether this appearance of a strange animal looking like a dragon resulted the name of Ha Long Bay is not known. The sea territories of Hai Phong are part of north-eastern water area of Gulf of Tonkin. The sea bed compositions and oceanographic characteristics of Hai Phong are closely connected to the common characteristics of Gulf of Tonkin and Eastern Sea. The depth of Hai Phong sea is not large. A depth curve of 2m goes around Do Son Cape and then descends down to 5m far from the coast. At the sea bed where the rivers flow into the sea, the depth is greater due to erosion caused by currents. Further offshore, the level of sea bed descends to the depth of the Gulf of Tonkin of about 30 - 40m. The surface of Hai Phong sea bed is formed by fine components with many deep underwater canals which were used to be river beds and are currently used as daily navigation channels for vessels. The length of sea coast of Hai Phong is 125 km including the length of coast surrounding the offshore islands. The coast has a form of a concave curve as the common sea side of the Gulf of Tonkin. It is low and quite flat with the structure created mainly by muddy sand coming from the 5 major estuaries. At the center of the coast, Do Son cape stretches out into the sea like a peninsula. This cape is also the end of the range of mountains of Devonian sandstone running from the mainland. The highest point is 125m, and it stretched out 5km into the sea in the direction of North West - South East. This advantage of natural structure has given Do Son a status of an important strategic location in the sea and also a famous spot for its beauty. At the foot of the sandstone hills there are beaches making this place a romantic resort and a valuable convalescent area. In the offshore territory of Hai Phong there are many islands which are distributed over the sea with Cat Ba Island as the largest and Bach Long Vi Island as the furthest. Sea, coast and islands have created special natural landscapes to this coastal city. It is also a special potential advantage of the economy of Hai Phong. Source: HaiPhong City site Critiques | Translate cayden (2183) 2009-03-08 23:54 Wonderfull formation of mountains and you present it wonderfully at the right time. achakladar (786) 2009-03-09 0:15 Lovely compo....and so serene. bakes888 (18499) 2009-03-09 0:21 Hi Murray. Up at 6 while on holiday. You must be a keen photographer!! Mind you, you have captured a wonderful light and colours. Well composed and thanks for sharing. Have a good week, Paul. ChrisJ (104429) 2009-03-09 0:50 A specatacular view of Halong Bay & well framed & composed. The boat adds depth & graphism. Tfs! gildasjan (42536) 2009-03-09 0:58 Très bon cadrage du bateau dans ce décor de rêve et ses couleurs venues d'ailleurs.Très belle ambiance avec ce ciel et cette dominante bleue. jasmis (57906) 2009-03-09 1:09 Sentimental view for me. I visited this lovely place in 1988... Superb mood of adventure and mystery. smarcell (19963) 2009-03-09 1:24 Beuatiful blue light for this very famous place. A nice atmosphere triptych2003 (1534) 2009-03-09 1:32 i love the hues and the layers here. the rocks/cliffs in the distance really appeal to me. this is definitely a place i'd like to visit at least once in my lifetime. this image cements that. thank you pierrefonds (60444) 2009-03-09 4:41 The principle of the thirds has been applied, the sea, the rock formations and the sky. The point of view is sending our eyes toward the rock formations in the background which is giving depth to the photo. The early morning light is coming out slowly and is trying to illuminate the area. Have a nice day. ktanska (25923) 2009-03-09 6:19 Early morning light looks great on this famous island landscape. Delicate colours. That ship is well placed. I wonder if it gets more busy at the daytime. PaulVDV (24435) 2009-03-09 11:18 Under a beautiful morning sky we find so many wonderful blue and green tones. A landscape like in a dream. Best regards, Paul jaywalker (16101) 2009-03-10 14:12 Hi Murray, A fabulous picture with the beautiful fading light & the magnificent mountains creating a stunning backdrop, I love the position of the boat & the great blue tone, TFS, kind regards Wilson. devimeuxbe (58557) 2009-03-10 14:14 beautifull colors on the Halong Bay. I like the shadows of the hill and the perfect composition with the boat. zeca (19762) 2009-03-11 21:29 Beautiful view, Murray! I like the softness of your capture, with that wonderful rocks on the background. Really beautiful one! ribeiroantonio (22637) 2009-03-11 23:52 The background is simply wonderful because of the different layers of light and colours. From what you are showing it appears that the early morning is the best time to capture the special mood of this famous place. I love it. Well done. berek (43727) 2009-04-20 20:07 what a interesting place my friend. I love mystic background and calm atmosphere here. well framed picture. thanks for note. leo61 (0) 2011-02-21 11:19 A good shot of Halong Bay,well composed with this loely tourist boat at a good position.love the blue/greenish tones here and the relaxed atmosphere.Years ago in Hanoi I cancelled my trip to this famous spot,because of heavy rain.......but maybe some day....... - Copyright: Murray Lines (MLINES) (12516) - Genre: Places - Medium: Color - Date Taken: 2008-11-25 - Categories: Daily Life, Nature, Transportation - Camera: Canon EOS 400D, sigma 18-200 f3,5-5.6 - Exposure: f/5.6, 1/100 seconds - More Photo Info: view - Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop - Date Submitted: 2009-03-08 23:51

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Trimble Navigation Limited 935 Stewart Drive Post Office Box 3642 Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Trimble GPS Used to Create Purdue "Train Maze" Corn Maze Created for Farm Progress Ag Show LAFAYETTE, In., Sept. 25, 2001 - Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) is helping make the Farm Progress Show this year truly a-maze-ing. That's because specialists from Purdue University chose Trimble's Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to help create a train maze in a five-acre cornfield just south of the Lafayette Show. In addition, visitors will be able to try to navigate the maze's miles of trails using Trimble GPS receivers. The "maze masters," as Purdue has dubbed them, used Trimble AgGPS® 132 DGPS receivers and field mapping software to draw the design in the cornfield. Accurate to within a meter, the Trimble AgGPS 132 receiver was able to intricately reconstruct the design of Purdue's Boilermaker Special train engine displayed at many athletic events and other gatherings. Purdue and Farm Progress logos are also carved into the sides of the maze. The maze holds a wide array of educational exhibits and crop trivia challenges for show visitors. Trimble GPS has been used worldwide to create intricate mazes that help communities raise money, build libraries, give scholarships and gain attention. From California to Maryland, Canada to Switzerland, hundreds of corn mazes are being accurately and quickly created with Trimble GPS. The Purdue maze took several months and a team of faculty and staff from Purdue's Site-Specific Management Center to plan and create. Purdue specialists used GPS and field mapping software to display a digitized copy of the maze design on a hand-held computer in the field. They used Trimble GPS to mark the coordinates of the four corners of the corn field for their mapping software; they then 'fit' the maze design to these corners and mapped out the design. "Once the design was georeferenced, we hooked up the Trimble GPS to our handheld computers and simply marked the GPS points on the ground," said Purdue agronomist Bob Nielsen. "Even though we've worked with GPS for years, even we were impressed with how it turned out." After painting in the GPS points, Nielsen and another agronomist mapped the pattern again with Trimble GPS. It was right on target. Maze masters then used a pair of lawn mowers to cut out the design in the corn. "By the time we started mowing the design, we knew the lines were accurate," said Nielsen. "GPS made this project faster, more accurate and a lot of fun. We've used GPS to do extensive research in crop management and variability for years so we've known its capabilities. This was a completely new application - and it was pretty impressive." While the maze is challenging, visitors who get stumped can find their way out via Trimble GPS, as well. "We'll make sure we have about a dozen Trimble GPS receivers at the maze," Nielsen said. "We're hoping to show people how the system works - and also help them find their way out of the maze." Those who successfully navigate the maze will receive "I survived the Boiler Mazer" stickers and posters. For more information on GPS applications in agriculture, check out Purdue's Site-Specific Management Center Web site at http://www.purdue.edu/ssmc Trimble is a leading innovator of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. In addition to providing advanced GPS components, Trimble augments GPS with other positioning technologies as well as wireless communications and software to create complete customer solutions. Trimble's worldwide presence and unique capabilities position the Company for growth in emerging applications including surveying, automobile navigation, machine guidance, asset tracking, wireless platforms, and telecommunications infrastructure. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Trimble has more than 2,000 employees in more than 20 countries worldwide. Media Contact: LeaAnn McNabb of Trimble: 408-481-7808

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06-09-2013, 07:46 PM | || | Originally Posted by aklick Oh ok, it's very minimal. I just have to clean it off the walls of my fish tank. you are right though, makes sense that it's a normal part of a planted tank! My algea since my last thread has gone WAY down though. My thaiwan moss looks bad though. I'll have to post a picture of that so you can tell me what you think. My plants are doing MUCH better now. Other then the thaiwan moss that is. Algae on the tank glass is not problematic, though depending upon what it is, it might suggest an excess of fertilization, or light. I use one of those sponge scrapers on the front glass of all my tanks every week during the water change, even though I may not see anything. Rarely do I do the other sides, but in my 90g only I do. For some reason algae is more prevalent in this tank, even though the water, fertilization, light, fish load is basically the same in all 7 tanks. I experimented and by reducing the liquid Flourish to once per week (other tanks are getting more) it deal with the algae, or considerably slowed it. Post the photo of the moss, I'll see if I can help. B.

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Economics Undergraduate Research value in the nation among public colleges & universities (Consumers Digest 2015) Undergraduate Research in Economics Research projects give you the opportunity to focus intensely on a particular area of interest that might not be covered in depth in your classes. You’ll also learn how to collaborate with faculty members and fellow researchers while developing an idea from start to finish. Why Do Undergraduate Research - Undergraduate research allows Truman students to study a topic of personal interest to themselves with the mentoring assistance of one or more faculty members. This includes the possibility of studying topics beyond regular course offerings. - Undergraduate research can allow a student to distinguish themselves from others in the application process for graduate school or post-baccalaureate employment opportunities. Most Truman students who have landed post-baccalaureate employment at government agencies or think tanks have participated in undergraduate research. - Undergraduate research participation can yield opportunities for publications or presentations. Publications and presentations can be helpful in the application process for graduate school or employment and are also important determinants of receipt of Departmental Honors in Economics. - Some available undergraduate research opportunities, such as the TruScholar Program and the Grants-in-Aid of Scholarship and Research Program provide funding opportunities for conducting such research. - Participating in undergraduate research facilitates opportunities for faculty members to get to know students better, which can lead to better advising and more personalized and detailed letters of recommendation. How to Get Involved in Undergraduate Research - Students can sign up for individualized research opportunities for academic credit with a faculty member. In economics this is usually done by signing up for either ECON 486 - Readings in Economics or ECON 554 – Independent Studies: Economics. To sign up for either course, students should approach the faculty they wish to work with and negotiate the details of the topic to be studied and the work expectation for the individualized course. Special permission of the mentoring faculty member is necessary before students can sign up for either of these two courses. - Students interested in participating in undergraduate research should pay attention to announcements from the Office of Academic Affairs and posted in Truman Today campus newsletter regarding opportunities to participate in such programs as the TruScholar Program, the Grants-in-Aid of Scholarship and Research Program, the McNair Program, and the Student Research Conference. - Students interested in participating in undergraduate research should familiarize themselves with available outlets for publication or presentation of their research results. "The atmosphere at Truman is warm. People here are friendly and are willing to help you whenever you need it. Also, there are plenty of organizations available to help international students to make new friends, understand new cultures, and enjoy life in America." – Anh Duc M., Mathematics & Economics, Vietnam

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By Daisy Whitney Every few years or so, local broadcasters usually need to upgrade equipment, trucks and technology at their stations. Many of them have been making their most recent updates with a greener focus in mind. Given the broader awareness of environmental issues in recent years, broadcasters and station groups have been dedicating more dollars to greener equipment and facilities. Groups like Cox Enterprises, Fox, CBS and NBC Local have dedicated green initiatives or are outfitting certain stations to be eco-friendly. The benefit, they say, is both in the cleaner output and more efficient tools. Eco-friendly editing systems, tapeless cameras and trucks that run on battery power both use less power and emit less waste. That in turns translates into cost savings. Through the Cox Conserves program, the group’s Pittsburgh NBC station WPXI-TV built a green-friendly, hi-def building two years ago using 20 percent recycled materials. Also, about 75 percent of the station has a raised floor, which in turn yields a 25 percent cost saving on heating and cooling, a Cox spokeswoman said. WPXI also installed eco-friendly heating and air conditioning that doesn’t rely on chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerants. In addition, the station uses all natural cleaners in the building and no synthetic fertilizers outside. The next big step will be in trucks and news vans. As the leases on news vehicles expire, they’ll be replaced by more fuel-efficient units, said Ray Carter, VP and general manager of WPXI. In fact, Cox as a group is in the process of building out an eco-friendly fleet of news vehicles. Migrating to digital equipment can also benefit the environment. Carter said WPXI relies solely on tapeless cameras from Panasonic for all its news and production cameras, eliminating the need for physical tape. But just because green is good doesn’t mean it’s always doable. Many stations want to upgrade to cleaner equipment but don’t have the budget to do so. Switching over to hybrid news vehicles is at the top of the KUSA-TV wish list, said Ken Highberger, director of technology and operations for the Gannett Television Stations-owned NBC affiliate in Denver. “If it was a perfect world we would be buying hybrid vehicles,” he said. “But we’re not turning over the fleet like we used to because of the economy.” However, he’s been replacing generators with cleaner, more efficient models, and swapping out older, incandescent lights with florescent ones that require much less power, he said. Similarly, CBS Television Stations-owned KPIX-TV in San Francisco is replacing quartz studio lights with fluorescent and LED lights, a two-year process that will yield a total reduction of electrical usage of 70,000 watts, said station spokeswoman Akilah Monifa. Already KPIX changed out existing fluorescent fixtures with motion-detector lights. Next up, faucets will be hands free by end of October to conserve water. The station also is aiming to swap out its large live news vans that cost 63 cents for gas and maintenance per mile with fuel efficient vehicles estimated at 18-cents-a-mile operating costs, she said. Many stations in the Fox Television Stations-owned group use hybrid or flexible fuel vehicles, including WFLD-TV in Chicago, WTXF-TV in Philadelphia, KDFW-TV in Dallas, WTTG-TV in Washington, KRIV-TV in Houston, WJBK-TV in Detroit, KMSP-TV in Minneapolis and WHBQ-TV in Memphis. Meanwhile, NBC-owned stations across the country have implemented a number of green initiatives. When WNBC-TV in New York moved into a new studio it reduced energy consumption 80 percent through a combination of florescent lights, LED lights and a single-story studio with less equipment. Also, recycling doesn’t just apply to soda cans — it can work for equipment too. The station was able to reuse two audio consoles that were no longer in service with MSNBC and San Francisco’s Telemundo station KSTS-TV. In turn, WNBC recycled more than 800 DVCPro tapes to sister station WVIT-TV in Hartford, which itself recently built a new facility using green building practices throughout. Then there’s NBC-owned KNTV in the Bay Area. It became the first station to be powered by wind in March 2008. The station also invests in renewable energy certificates to fund wind energy providers. The Fox-owned stations WOFL-TV and WRBW-TV in Orlando recently redesigned many elements of the stations to reduce energy use. That includes the installation of motion-sensor light switches in tape rooms and storage areas to ensure that lights don’t stay on when the space isn’t in use.

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Before you even leave, make sure you check insurance coverage with your carrier and, particularly, whether or not you are covered while traveling abroad. Also, keep in mind that some insurance plans do not cover you if you’re more than 100 miles from home. If your coverage does not apply to where you might be traveling, it's probably a good idea to buy travel insurance that includes medical benefits. Know the protocol to use the benefits in advance. Many insurance company's allow consumers to compare travel-insurance rates. Travel insurance costs will vary by age, coverage limit, length and price of your trip. So now you’re aware of your coverage and it’s time to get ready. First and most importantly, make sure you have all your insurance documents and information with you, including your prescription drug card. Complete the information page on the inside of your passport in case of emergency or if you aren’t travel abroad or don‘t have a passport, write out your information and emergency contacts and keep it with your documentation along with a concise list of your medications . Remember, those of you who take medications should pack enough to last the entire trip and then extra in case of travel delays. For those that have a pre-existing medical condition, carry a letter from your primary care physician describing the condition and any prescription medications you are currently taking, including generic names for these drugs. Be sure to leave any medications you are taking with you outside of the United States in their original containers, clearly labeled. Some medications are considered to be illegal narcotics in foreign countries. You may want to check with the foreign embassy of the country you are visiting to be sure. For more information and in severe cases, contact the nearest US embassy or consulate for a list of local physicians and medical facilities. If your illness is serious, consular officers can help you find medical assistance, and, if you desire, inform your family and/or friends. They can also assist in the transfer of funds from family or friends in the United States. Payment of hospital and other medical bills are the travelers' responsibility. To be prepared for those minor incidents, bring the basics when you pack. I always bring a supply of medicine with me for headaches, coughs, colds, stomach disorders, along with band-aids, ointments and other first aid needs. Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you can’t take a day to relax and hopefully heal. Missing one day may be a lot better than missing out on your whole vacation. If you’re still not feeling well, there are several options for you to help aid in your recovery. Your hotel front desk or concierge can help you in seeking a doctor or pharmacy nearby and possibly help you in transportation. Sometimes, if you're not sick enough to need a doctor, a pharmacist can suggest over-the-count medicines that can be helpful. You may be able to find Mobile Physicians who actually visit you at your location. Just note that you may have to pay upfront for many of these “in-home” services and your insurance company may not reimburse you for all the expenses. However, if you have travel insurance, some of these expenses may be covered. A trip to an urgent care center or even an emergency room are also options. Be sure to keep all the paperwork you receive so you are able to submit itemized bills for reimbursement to your health insurance provider. Hopefully you will never need to use this information and your travels are safe and healthy, but at least you are prepared and have your resources ready!

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Modern technology kickstarted the phenomenon that is known as citizen journalism. You didn’t need proper gear or equipment to capture an event, you could just do it through a smartphone even before reporters turned up. This advancement in technology has also aided law enforcement which can call upon the public to submit any photo or video evidence that they might have recorded. This was best witnessed in the search for the people behind Boston Marathon bombings last year where eyewitnesses literally flooded the authorities with photos and videos they had taken. The Los Angeles Police Department has come up with a much better way of collecting such evidence. The LAPD has teamed up with Amazon Web Services which would provide virtually endless bandwidth. This wouldn’t clog the department’s servers and thus hinder the investigation. Instead people who have evidence can submit it through an Android and iOS app or through the web portal. The system is called the Large Emergency Event Digital Information Repository. Its essentially a modern police tip line which can accept media uploaded from computers or pulled in from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google+. Authorities in Santa Barbara, California were first to use this system, calling on the public to upload any evidence that they might have which can help them investigate the riot at the Isla Vista community near the University of California. Privacy groups aren’t too happy about the LEEDIR system though. They fear that innocent people that are captured on film during a large emergency event could end up becoming subjects of investigation. While law enforcement will definitely weed through submitted evidence to find something they can actually use, this certainly is a genuine concern one that’s likely to get more voices if the LEEDIR system results in investigation and interrogation of innocent people. Filed in arstechnica.. Source:

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Sunday, January 6 Where is the child? Radiant Morning Star, you are both guidance and mystery. Visit our rest with disturbing dreams, and our journeys with strange companions. Grace us with the hospitality to open our hearts and homes to visitors filled with unfamiliar wisdom bearing profound and unusual gifts. Amen. In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. All readings for this week Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 1. When were times that you felt you were seeking God in your life, and why? 2 Who are the foreigners, nations, strangers, who are left out of our vision of the great homecoming? 3. Do we recognize ourselves in their midst, or have we always experienced ourselves as insiders? 4. When has fear shaped your response to something mysterious, unexpected, or new? 5. During the celebration of Christmas and Epiphany, have you been "overwhelmed with joy" at any time? Reflection by Kate Huey Where is the child? But first, who are these strangers seeking him, these "wise men" who are much more, of course, than mere decoration for our nativity scene? John Pilch draws our attention to the "plain history, real politics, and human effort" at "the heart" of this story. These strangers from the East represent long-standing resistance to Western (at that time, Roman) imperialism, Pilch says, and they've come a long way to "submit" to Jesus, the new king of the Judeans. In doing so, they're poking their finger in the eye of Rome and its puppets, and the vision they embody reaches far beyond Israel to embrace the entire known world of ancient times. Who were these wise men, these strangers, these Magi? They were "very high ranking political-religious advisors to the rulers" of empires in areas that today we know as Iran and Iraq. Thus, Pilch and the biblical story give us pause at the beginning of a new year, as we ponder the meaning of visitors from the very places we seem to fear most in the world right now. Perhaps we would get a better sense of the reaction of Matthew's earliest audience to this text about "Magi" from the East if we imagined a visit to our local church by religious or political leaders from that same part of the world. On top of that, imagine that these visitors break many of the rules that we have, rules that help us define who we are as a community. These star-gazing "magicians," then, represent all sorts of problems for Matthew's audience. Where do these strangers come from? They come from "the East"--the same direction from which most of Israel's conquerors approached, including Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. And there are more associations with the East, Richard Swanson says: "East of Judea is the Tigris and the Euphrates....the Garden of Eden....Ur of the Chaldees....Babylon, where Jews lived in Exile after the destruction of the first Temple. East of Judea is the Jewish community who stayed behind when Jews returned to rebuild the Temple and JerusalemÖ" These Magi, Swanson says, were among the Gentiles who might have been influenced by the Jews who remained beyond in Babylon after the rest of their community returned home to Israel; perhaps they had tutored these Magi in sensing the goodness of the One True God, and the foreigners, then, "had been trained to raise their eyes to the horizon of God's activity in the world." Read this last paragraph again, after reading this week's text from Isaiah, about lifting up our eyes and looking around, and about the wealth of the nations coming to Israel. How did these strangers find their way to the new King of the Jews? They're "sincere and persistent" in their search, Charles Cousar says, and, actually, not entirely "wise," despite their experience and worldliness: "Almost naÔve, they seem to anticipate no difficulty in inquiring of Herod the king about the birth of a rival king." So they "naively" follow the star, guided by God, looking to nature for signs and guidance. God would also provide direction through a dream (just as Joseph was guided by a dream), but it's no accident and not insignificant that they're also helped by scripture, when they ask for directions from Herod and hear from the religious authorities who know just the right place to look for the answer. There are many ways that we "find our way" to God, to the little baby born King of Kings: nature does indeed point to the glory of God, the care of God, the presence of God, but we need the Bible, too, and personal experience, and the community that helps us understand all those gifts. Then, like the Magi, we're drawn to worship the One we seek. Thomas Long says that "the world is full of 'stars in the East'--events in nature, personal experience, and history that point toward the mystery of God," but we the Bible helps us to "recognize these holy moments for what they areÖto see God's face clearly in them." Without scripture, we would be like the wise men, trying to figure out the deeper meaning of what they had experienced, and then what to do about it. Just being a biblical scholar isn't enough, either: the chief priests and the scribes missed the meaning of the text, and Herod turns to scripture to use it for his own panicked purposes. Long observes, "One can, like Herod, be in favor of studying the scripture and still be on the wrong side of God's will." Of course, Joni S. Sancken reminds us of the most important way that we experience God: in the person of Jesus Christ himself, who shows us who and how God is. Who, where, how: we also ask "why" these strangers have made such a long and perilous journey (even their return trip started on a warning). They were driven by their sense of an event so important and so powerful, something that drew them far from their home and called forth their generosity and their humble worship. While we may find the roots of Christmas gift-giving in the story of St. Nicholas, Sancken suggests that they really lie here, in the story of three strangers bringing extravagant gifts to a little baby in a land far from their own, and in "Jesus himself, a gift from God." In that age, we'd expect anyone who could afford to bring gold, frankincense and myrrh to be wealthy enough not to be in the habit of bowing down to little children in modest homes, in foreign lands. Once they reached their destination, they were "overwhelmed by joy," and then, what drew them far from home sent them back again. What is Matthew telling us? We also have to ask why Matthew tells us this story: that "why" is just as important as the reason the Magi set out on their journey. Matthew wants his audience to hear about the Good News of God's universal and all-encompassing grace, even if they're offended or even appalled that such "objectionable" people are included in the story and, even more, are included in the circle of God's grace. (Matthew's audience includes us today, of course, and we have our own outsiders whose presence in the circle of God's grace might offend us. Or maybe we feel like outsiders ourselves, excluded by others in their understanding of God's grace.) Scott Hoezee agrees that this story is about the "reach of grace. Matthew is giving a Gospel sneak preview: the Christ child who attracted these odd Magi to his cradle will later have the same magnetic effect on Samaritan adulterers, immoral prostitutes, greasy tax collectors on the take, despised Roman soldiers, and ostracized lepers." Matthew writes his Gospel in light of the Jewish texts familiar to his audience, and he recalls that the prophet Isaiah described "the wealth of the nations" (read, Gentiles) coming to "you," bringing "gold and frankincense," and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. So, what do we hear in this story? We hear that God has sent a gentle shepherd who will nevertheless upset the powers-that-have-been. We hear that the smallest things, like a newborn baby, can terrify the arrogant, and bring them down in the end. We learn that God's reach of grace goes far beyond every obstacle within or without, and pushes us beyond them, too. We learn that a great light has dawned, a light that draws all people and calls us to live our lives illuminated by its truth. That's what the Epiphany season is about: we hear the beautiful words, the promises in the text from Isaiah, about a light breaking forth for all of us who know what it feels like to "sit in darkness," and we hear the call to arise and become radiant with the light of God. Do we in the church shine with God's love for all? "The best and the worst in human nature" When were times that you felt you were seeking God in your life? Was it only at times of need or suffering, or was it an intellectual search, or did it come from a deep, personal hunger for meaning? How faithful were you, and diligent, in the search? How do you think people seek God today? What are the paths and things and methods that help people "find" their way to God? How might the star in the Matthew reading represent nature as it "points" to God? The wise men find the star alone insufficient as a guide, and they innocently turn to one king (a lesser, and evil one) for guidance to the real King. Fear is the response, not just from the powerful, threatened king, the "power-that-has-been," but from the religious establishment, and from the entire town ("all Jerusalem"). According to Sancken, this little story shows "the best and the worst of human nature spring forth in response to God's gift of revelation," and she reminds us that just as a new baby brings upheaval to a house, "the birth of God incarnate promises to turn the whole world upside down and forge a new reality." No wonder some people trembled in fear! Think of the times that fear dictated your first response to something new, even to something promising. What did you, and those around you, fear? Scripture is the guide that is ultimately helpful to the seekers, even when provided by fearful and questionable religious authorities. When has scripture, read in community and with study, provided guidance to you in your spiritual search, especially when other means have fallen short? Calling rulers to righteousness and peace The reading from Matthew interacts with the reading from Psalm 72 and its prayer (its "vision") for the new king, and Herod comes out looking rather bad in the comparison as he contrasts sharply with this vision. In what ways does Jesus fulfill the vision of one who rules in righteousness and peace? What do these readings, especially the psalm, have to say to those in power in our public life today, especially as we struggle to gain an equilibrium of cooperation and common ground while seeking the best of the whole community? In what ways do our rulers live up to this vision, and in what ways and times do they respond in fear to the new and the promising? The Isaiah 60 reading speaks of light and glory, and rising up from wherever we have been pressed or pushed down, rising up to behold the glory that comes to us. It is the light of God that breaks through the thick darkness, but it will appear over us. When have we failed to look up and see the glory of God over us? Broken-down Jerusalem sees everything turned upside down (right side up!), with the wealth of other nations brought to it for the glory of God, not for its own glory. But this procession includes not only the world beyond its borders but the very sons and daughters who were once in exile. Again, the theme of homecoming, but a homecoming that includes the presence, and the gifts, of the strangers, the foreigners, the nations. Whether Isaiah speaks of the exile or Matthew speaks of the wise men bringing gifts, we see and hear the great invitation that would go out, in the end, to "all nations," making them (and us) disciples, too, and bringing us home. For further reflection Mary Anne Radmacher, 21st century "As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way." Vernon McLellan, 20th century "When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing." Marilynne Robinson, Gilead, 21st century "Grace has a grand laughter in it." M. Scott Peck, 20th century "The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." "Lemony Snicket" (Daniel Handler), 21st century "There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself." Christopher Moore, Lamb, 21st century "We were seekers. You are that which is sought, Joshua. You are the source. The end is divinity, in the beginning is the word. You are the word." About Weekly Seeds Weekly Seeds is a United Church of Christ resource for Bible study based on the readings of the "Lectionary," a plan for weekly Bible readings in public worship used in Protestant, Anglican and Roman Catholic churches throughout the world. When we pray with and study the Bible using the Lectionary, we are praying and studying with millions of others. You're welcome to use this resource in your congregation's Bible study groups. Weekly Seeds is a service of the Congregational Vitality and Discipleship Ministry Team, Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ. Bible texts are from the New Revised Standard Version, © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Prayer is from The Revised Common Lectionary ©1992 Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission. Where is the child? Sunday, January 6

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Are 72% of biology teachers hindering scientific literacy in the US? |February 3, 2011||Posted by David Tyler under Intelligent Design| Some have described the survey as shocking. The authors of the report are gloomy about their findings. The perceived problem is this: evolutionists have won court cases bearing on the teaching of evolution in schools; state curricular standards have been revised to reinforce the status of evolutionary theory in biology – but despite all this, “considerable research suggests that supporters of evolution, scientific methods, and reason itself are losing battles in America’s classrooms”. The problem is that only 28% of teachers are forthrightly explaining evolutionary biology. The situation is deemed to “expose a cycle of ignorance in which community antievolution attitudes are perpetuated by teaching that reinforces local community sentiment”. The recalcitrant teachers are “hindering scientific literacy in the United States”, failing “to explain the nature of scientific inquiry”, undermining “the authority of established experts”, and legitimizing “creationist arguments, even if unintentionally”. The sheer magnitude of the “problem” raises the question: have the authors read the situation correctly? Are these teachers really falling down badly in their communication of biological science? Words of commendation are reserved only for the 28% of biology teachers who “consistently implement the major recommendations and conclusions of the National Research Council”. These are said to be “outstanding, effective educators of evolutionary biology”. The rest are made up of 13% “at the opposite extreme” (who are creationists and are willing to present creation or intelligent design in a positive light) and the “cautious 60%” who implement “strategies of emphasizing microevolution, justifying the curriculum on the basis of state-wide tests, or “teaching the controversy”.” John Rennie of Scientific American calls these the “mushy middle“. The difficulty I find with all this relates to the value judgments placed on the actions of educators. Should we rather presume that the majority of both the 60% group and the 13% group are committed teachers who seek to promote a love of biological science in their students? It is far more likely that [the report’s authors] Berkman and Plutzer (and Rennie) are drawing erroneous conclusions from their survey and that their comments undermine and insult the work of thousands of dedicated teachers. For more, go here.

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How far does light travel in a year? Light moves incredibly fast, sweeping past 299,792,458 meters in a single second. And so in a single year, light travels a total of 9,460,528,000,000 m, or 5,878,499,817 miles. As you probably know, astronomers use the distance that light travels in a year as a standard measuring stick for calculating the largest distances in the Universe. The nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, measures 4.22 light-years from Earth. The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is 26,000 light-years away. The nearest large galaxy, Andromeda, is 2.5 million light-years away. When we see the light coming from a distant object, we’re actually looking back in time. When we see the light from a star located 400 light-years away, we’re actually seeing light that was emitted from the star 400 years ago. We’re not seeing the star as it looks today, but as it looked 400 years ago. A star could explode as a supernova, and we wouldn’t even be able to know it had happened until the light arrives here on Earth. We have written many articles about the speed of light for Universe Today. Here’s an article about a beam of material jetting out for many light-years from galaxy M87, and here’s an article about a 400 year old supernova. We’ve also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast on this topic. Listen here, Episode 10: Measuring Distance in the Universe.

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CHICAGO, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Washing down sugary breakfast cereal with milk reduces plaque acid levels and may prevent damage to tooth enamel that leads to cavities, U.S. dentists say. Christine Wu, professor of pediatric dentistry and director of cariology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, says dry, ready-to-eat, sugar-added cereals combine refined sugar and starch, and when these carbohydrates are consumed, bacteria in the dental plaque on tooth surfaces produce acids, which can cause cavities. The study, conducted by Wu's former graduate student Shilpa Naval, involved 20 adults eating 20 grams of dry Froot Loops cereal, then drinking different beverages -- whole milk, 100 percent apple juice or tap water. Plaque pH, or acidity, was measured with a touch microelectrode between the premolar teeth before eating; at 2 and 5 minutes after eating; and then 2-30 minutes after drinking a liquid. The pH in plaque dropped rapidly after consuming cereal alone, and remained acidic at pH 5.83 at 30 minutes. A pH below 7 is acidic; a pH greater than 7 is basic. Pure water has a pH close to 7. Participants who drank milk after eating sugary cereal showed the highest pH rise, from 5.75 to 6.48 at 30 minutes, while those who drank apple juice remained at pH 5.84 at 30 minutes, while water raised the pH to 6.02, Wu says. Fruit juices are considered healthy food choices, but the added sugar can be a risk to dental health, Wu says. "Our study results show that only milk was able to reduce acidity of dental plaque resulting from consuming sugary Froot Loops," said Naval, a fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta." The findings were published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

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Gilbert B. Lee passed away Jan. 19 at his home in Phoenix, Ariz. He was the beloved patriarch of the Lee family and an Ann Arbor resident from the mid-50s to the early 90s. Gilberts passing was peaceful in his sleep, befitting his long involvement in the peace and antiwar movements so popular in the Ann Arbor area. Gilbert was the senior researcher at the Vision Research Laboratories at the University from the late 50s until his retirement in the mid-80s. Gilbert was active locally as a leader in the Boy Scouts of America, as well as a stalwart in the Democratic Party for most of his life in Ann Arbor. His actions and character were a blessing and comfort to all who knew him, and his compassion and grace filled our life as his children. Gil served in World War II as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. In the 50s and 60s, he remained active in the Army Reserve. Throughout his long life, his considerate and constant involvement in his community were simply how he chose to be. He will be missed and remembered for a long time. Gilbert is survived by Thomas Stearns Lee of Kingman, Ariz.; Jane Lee Cummings of Salinas, Calif.; Frederick Ric Cabot Lee of Tucson, Ariz.; and Gilbert Eliot Frazar Lee of Phoenix. Sympathies and prayers may be sent to email@example.com. Donations on his behalf should go to the Ann Arbor Democratic Party. Submitted by the family The Department of Mathematics sadly reports the passing of Prof. Emeritus Jack E. McLaughlin Jan. 12. Born in St. Maries, Idaho, in 1923, McLaughlin received his B.S. from the University of Idaho in 1944. His studies were interrupted during World War II, when he served in the U.S. Navy for two years. He received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 1950. McLaughlin joined the University as an instructor in 1950, was promoted to associate professor in 1958 and to professor in 1963. He retired from the Department of Mathematics in 1994. He was considered an excellent and demanding teacher, especially of honors students who sought his courses to measure their ability. McLaughlin helped guide these students as chair of the honors program for several years. He had a unique success in impressing undergraduates with the beauty of math and the pleasure of discovery after intense effort. He directed 19 doctoral theses, and many of his students have become leaders in their field of interest. In 1986, McLaughlin was given the Amoco Foundation Good Teaching Award. In the letters of recommendation that were submitted by his former students, an overwhelming number of them cited McLaughlin as the best and most inspiring teacher they had in their academic careers. The mastery of the subject he displayed in his teaching influenced many of his students to choose a career in mathematics. Over his career, McLaughlins research ranged widely, encompassing several subfields of algebralattice theory, finite groups and commutative algebra. He discovered one of the sporadic finite simple groups, that of order 898,128,000, which now bears his name. He also participated in the discovery of a module of finite projective dimension with a negative intersection multiplicity. His work on group cohomology, most of which passed on through the writings of his students, has had an important impact on the field. He was well respected by his colleagues in the field. Paul Halmos, his colleague here at Michigan, once said that there are usually a number of ways to tackle a mathematical problem, but when all else fails, ask McLaughlin. While enjoying the intellectual challenges of mathematics, McLaughlin had to overcome the physical challenges of multiple sclerosis. He lived with the disease for the last 30 years of his life. McLaugh-lins physical challenges rarely limited him in his teaching, research or academic activities. McLaughlin was preceded in death by his wife, Doris. He is survived by his mother, Butrice McLaughlin (age 101), and his sister, Vivian OConnor, and her husband, Arthur. The Department of Mathematics will host a memorial service for McLaughlin at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Alumni Center. The service will be followed immediately by a reception, also at the Alumni Center. Submitted by the Department of Mathematics

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Books and Maps Wild in the City, Exploring The Intertwine Mike Houck and M. J. Cody co-edited Wild in the City, Exploring The Intertwine, a joint publication of the Audubon Society of Portland and Oregon State University Press. A comprehensive guide to The Intertwine, the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region's system of parks, trails, and natural areas, Wild In the City was published by Oregon State University Press in collaboration with the Audubon Society of Portland's Urban Conservation program. Organized by watersheds, Wild In The City emphasizes ecological linkages among natural areas and offers almost 100 site guides with detailed maps to natural spaces, trails, waterways, parks, golf courses and even cemeteries where significant habitat or other natural history features can be viewed. The book is interspersed with engaging, lively natural history essays and colorful "tidbits" of information written by experts in their fields and those who have an intimate knowledge of the sites and natural history. Wild in the City gives the reader an uncommon look at local geology, flora, fauna and seasonal changes. It also includes a calendar that provides the reader with must-see natural history events throughout the year, such as the return of bald eagles to their winter roost, the gathering of Vaux's swifts in the fall, and spring wildflowers. Wild in the City is a compilation from a variety of dedicated volunteer naturalists throughout the metropolitan region who have contributed to the Audubon Society's quarterly publication,The Urban Naturalist, since 1982, when the Audubon Society of Portland began its nationally recognized Urban Naturalist program. It is a must-have reference book and field guide for birdwatchers, hikers and nature enthusiasts who want to know where the best natural areas, trails and wildlife-viewing opportunities are throughout the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region. It is available at the Audubon Society of Portland Nature Store. Cost: $24.95. Wild on the Willamette, Exploring the Lower Willamette River A joint production of the Urban Greenspaces Institute and the Audubon Society Portland, this map and guide explores the bicycle and pedestrian trails, kayak and canoe access points, and natural history highlights of the lower 35-mile reach of the Willamette River between the Canby Ferry and the river's confluence with the Columbia at Kelley Point Park. Wild on the Willamette, Exploring the Lower Willamette River has garnered numerous graphic-design awards, recognizing the contributions of graphic designer Laurie Causgrove of Laurie Causgrove Graphic Design, and artist Marla Bagetta. The map can be purchased through the Audubon Society of Portland's Nature Store.

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Our graduates enjoy an employment rate of 98 percent one year out from graduation. At the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, we strongly support our veterinary and graduate students as they prepare for critical roles in veterinary care, public health, emerging infectious diseases and food safety. The school has taken a number of steps to reduce education costs and assist our veterinary students in managing their finances, reducing student debt, and planning for their future economic viability. UC Davis is committed to provide high quality veterinary educational programs at a reasonable cost. We also strive to attract top candidates, promote demographic diversity and provide our students life-long learning strategies to promote a professional career full of opportunities. Efforts include: Making Education Affordable - The school recently distributed 745 scholarship awards amounting to $2.3 million to DVM and graduate students--an increase of 35 awards and $300,000 from last year. Combined with the school's grant awards, these programs provided a total of $6.5 million to defray rising educational expense. More than 90 percent of our students receive scholarship, fellowship or grant funding, placing UC Davis in the top 10 of most affordable veterinary schools in terms of tuition and fees. View “Investing in the Future” video. Stabilizing Tuition & Fees - We held the line on professional degree/course material fees to keep overall enrollment fees low. The average total net tuition and fees for a California resident student at the school are $30,812 annually and have remained the same for the past three years. UC Davis veterinary student debt at graduation averages $136,894, below the national average of $151,672 - due in part to the steps taken by the school to reduce fees and provide more scholarship support. Providing Career Night - We partner with students to support many activities including the highly successful "Career Night Event," which brings in practitioners and industry representatives from throughout the west coast and affords students the chance to build relationships with practitioners and set up future externship, internship, and employment opportunities. Those networking events help ensure that the school's students enjoy an employment rate of 98 percent at one year out from graduation. Facebook album here. Adding Support Services - The school provides student financial aid and scholarship counseling, access to mental health counseling, and access to a Director of Career and Professional Development. The director offers students help in choosing a career path, resume writing, job search strategies and interview techniques. Increasing Support for Student Clubs - By scheduling Continuing Education events in conjunction with various student club activities, the school has helped increase participation and coordinates development activities to provide sponsorship. Clubs focus on areas such as equine, canine, avian, feline and shelter medicine. Faculty advisors mentor students in their outreach activities through these clubs to help them clarify career goals.

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The Asahi D4Y1 Model 11 Suisei (Judy) was delivered for service in 1942 to replace the aging and out of date Aichi D3A1 (Val) carrier based dive bomber which had been in service since 1939. The D4Y carried a single 550 pound bomb in an internal bomb bay and could be fitted with two wing attached 120 pound bombs. Having the bomb load inside an enclosed bomb bay kept the airframe extremely clean and allowed for the high rate of speed which this aircraft could achieve. The D4Y1 series was powered by a series 601 inverted V 12 cylinder water cooled engine which was built under license from Daimler Benz and produced 1200 horse power. This engine proved to be under powered so it was modified in the D4Y2 series to produce 1400 hp. For the later model D4Y3 and D4Y4 series the engine was replaced, this time by the very powerful and reliable 1,560 hp Mitsubishi Kinsei 62 14-cylinder twin row air cooled radial engine. The D4Y3 and D4Y4 had an operational range of 1600 miles and a top speed of 356 MPH. The D4Y series of dive bombers were extremely fast for this type of aircraft and some were even converted to night fighters and had success against the high flying B-29 bombers later in the war 2,038 D4Y1 though D4Y4 variants were produced from 1942 through the end the war.

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Misty Copeland is an African-American classical ballet dancer that is making tremendous waves in the world of classical arts. In the history of the American Ballet Theater founded in 1940, Misty is just the third African-American female soloist. The National Boys & Girls Club National Hall of Fame plans on inducting her this spring. Copeland points to her differences in body type as compared with most ballet dancers and the difficulties making her way in the field. Misty is of African, German and Italian descent and has made a historic and meteoric rise in the world of classical ballet. Far from just a tremendous athlete in strength, Misty is a grounded young woman and down to earth in the success she has achieved training intensively as a dancer. Misty Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1982 and was raised in San Pedro, California. She began studying ballet at the relatively late age of 13 at the San Pedro Dance Center where she showed a tremendous aptitude for dance. Within two years Misty won first place in the Music Center Spotlight Awards vaulting to her greater heights than expected so early. Her aptitude and God-given talent for dance took her next to study at the Lauridsen Ballet Center as well as the San Francisco Ballet School. She then moved onto the American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive program on full scholarship and was declared the ABT’s National Coca-Cola Scholar in 2000. Misty then joined ABT’s Studio Company in September of 2000 and would later move to be a member of the corps de ballet in April 2001 eventually being designated a soloist in August 2007. Her early roles in her career included Kitri in Don Quixote, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker before moving onto more mature roles. Those include her roles within the company including Gamzatti, a Shade and the lead D’Jampe in La Bayadere and Milkmaid in The Bright Stream. Ms. Copeland was also the recipient of the 2008 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts. Since becoming a soloist she has continued to be described as having matured into a more contemporary and modern sophisticated dancer. While Misty is just the third African-American female to achieve the honor of being soloist for one of the three leading classical ballet companies, she has handled it with aplomb despite cultural and racial pressures that have come along with the title. Misty is currently working on a line of dance wear and clothing lines called “M by Misty” that is geared towards curvy shaped girls and plus-sized women. She has also produced celebrity calendars (including her own) and has recently been seeking publication of two books; one a memoir of her life and the other an illustrated book for youths. Her latest work was starring in The Firebird choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. Misty can now be seen in a new series of ads by the soft drink giant Dr. Pepper.

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A rare species that is a pest The Grey-headed Flying-fox is a large fruit bat which feeds on nectar, pollen and fleshy fruit. It is a nomadic species which will travel long distances in search of food which it forages for at night. During the day it will congregate in semi-permanent colonies, called camps, which can comprise thousands of individuals. The species has been widely recorded in Victoria but most of the sightings represent individuals or small groups of animals that are passing through in search of food. There are two major sites for colonies in Victoria, one is in East Gippsland in two rainforest gullies north-east of Mallacoota and the other is on the banks of the Yarra River, a few kilometres east of Melbourne. The Grey-headed Flying-fox has been classified as vulnerable in Victoria, vulnerable in Australia (EPBC) and it has been listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (FFG) and is classified as vulnerable world-wide by the IUCN. Grey-headed Flying-foxes, from NSW, were probably visiting Victoria on foraging expeditions long before European settlement. Our earliest records date back to the 1880s and there have been regular sightings almost every year since. The two rainforest gullies in far East Gippsland have, for a long time, been annual autumn-winter camps for the bats and until relatively recently they represented the only colonies in Victoria. During the 1980s, however, a small population of flying-foxes found its way to the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) in Melbourne where the animals would roost in the gardens' rainforest gully by day and fly off to feed on fruit (often figs) and nectar from surrounding gardens and parks by night. Initially this was a great tourist feature of the gardens and was also considered to be of some scientific interest as the RBG colony was the most southerly in the world. Unfortunately the tourist value began to decline as the colony grew in size over the next two decades to almost 20,000 animals. Exciting as this was from a scientific and conservation standpoint the RBG management was faced with a serious problem of dealing with the damage to the gardens flora by so many large animals. |Pteropus poliocephalus - Grey-headed Flying-fox : Vulnerable in Victoria : Vulnerable in Australia| The culling began sometime in early 2001 but was halted in the middle of that year amid criticism from conservation groups, ecologists and the Federal Minister for Conservation. In December of 2001 the Grey-headed Flying-fox was listed as vulnerable under the federal EPBC Act and the following year the Victorian Minister accepted advice from the SAC to list the species under the FFG. Now that the bat was protected by two layers of legislation the RBG needed to find a less confrontational method to free the gardens of flying foxes, and while it was looking the population increased to nearly 30,000. Fortunately, an idea, promoted earlier, to use a form of bat noise-pollution, was ready to hand and during 2003 it was applied, with a range of empirical modifications, with outstanding success. By the end of 2003 all of the flying-foxes had left the gardens and a large proportion of them had relocated to Yarra Bend Park, about 4 km north-east of the gardens, in a narrow band of woodland on the banks of the Yarra River. It seems to be close to a perfect solution. The animals are in what appears to be a more natural environment with native and near-native vegetation and fresh water. The area is an established park and management plans are now in place to secure the species long-term survival. Meanwhile the RBG can approach the process of restoration without the need to compete with 30,000 restless frugivores and half a tonne of bat droppings each day. © Paul Gullan, Viridans Biological Databases

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OLD CIGARETTE PACKETS FROM THE 1900s Cigarette prices from the 1900s1946 Will's Embassy. Large Size - Mild Flavour. Plain or Cork Tipped. 20 for 2/4. 1946 Four Square Tobacco 2/8d and 3 shillings per ounce. 1947 Fryers Special Tobacco 4/4d per ounce. 1954 Wills's Whiffs 7½d each. 1954 Philip Morris Cigarettes. 3/9 for 20! 1958 Bachelor Tipped 10 for 1/8 - 20 for 3/4. There were five main manufactures in the industry in Britain: Rothmans and Philip Morris, who have 14 per cent of the British market between them, but do not manufacture here; there is BAT, whose factory in Southampton sells only to overseas markets. Then there are two British-based companies, Imperial and Gallaher: both manufacture and sell here. Imperial, now owned by Hanson, makes Regal, Embassy and Superkings, and used to make Number 6, Imperial's brands are big in the north and in Scotland. Gallaher, a subsidiary of the US tobacco firm American Brands, is big in the south, and produces the market- leaders Benson & Hedges (18 per cent) and Silk Cut (10 per cent), as well as others such as Park Drive and Berkeley. Lambert & Butler is Imperial, Winston is Gallaher, Dunhill is Rothmans, Sobranie is Gallaher, Woodbine is Imperial.

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Functions of Norepinephrine Norepinephrine is also known by the name noradrenaline. It can be released in the central nervous system by the neurons, but often times it is the medulla, the adrenal gland’s core portion, which is producing the noradrenaline when needed by the body. Noradrenaline is considered as a neurotransmitter and also as a hormone. Norepinephrine has a wide set of functions in the body: in the liver, cortisol, in the nervous system, in the vascular system, and other related functions. Norepinephrine is produced in the body only in a limited time and only in special cases when it is really needed. Cortisol, on the other hand, works in reverse with norepinephrine. Once the cortisol is released by the adrenal cortex, it limits the production of norepinephrine in the adrenal medulla. This process is very important, since body’s release of norepinephrine for a long period causes side effects such as temporary stopping some minor processes inside the body such as digestion. It affects the liver by modifying its speed in glucose production, which leads to a boost in the body’s energy production. This usually happens in sudden stressful situations. In the nervous system, norepinephrine helps upon the activation of the body’s fight-or-flight situation by boosting the body with an increased attention and reaction time. Norepinephrine is one of the main components that triggers the sympathetic and central nervous system to become hyperactive in times of sudden stressful situations. Noradrenaline is also present in several vascular system activities. In situations like increase in heart rate, dilation of blood vessels, and increased blood pressure, norepinephrine is always present. The functions of norepinephrine does not only applies inside the body, when excreted and processed it also helps in a wide set of medicinal uses. As a component of different prescription medications, it is contained in different medicines such as hypotension medications and antidepressant drugs. Valued Customer, Austin, TX Wow! I'm impressed with the speed of delivery. These arrived already this morning. Thanks very much for such great customer service! Fast shipping, professional-grade products, commitment to outstanding customer service, and great bonuses when you buy are what separate us from our competition. VitaSouth.com is the #1 choice for your health product needs.

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Four hundred and forty kilometers (275 miles) south of the Peruvian capital of Lima, an inhospitable desert is home to a spider, a monkey, a pelican, three hummingbirds, a whale, a dog … and an astronaut. Ages ago, a mysterious culture etched more than 300 figures and shapes into the barren desert rock outside of the present-day town of Nasca, Peru. No one knows for certain why they did it. The culture that created them vanished into the dusty desert winds, and for centuries the drawings waited alone in the ageless wasteland. These mysterious designs weren’t discovered until the 1920s when they were spotted by pilots of the first commercial flights in the region. Those who ventured into the desert to investigate dubbed them “The Nasca Lines.” From ground level, the intricate designs appear to be nothing more than a confused jumble of shallow ruts in the sand and rock of the parched desert. When viewed from the air or an observation tower, however, the shape of these drawings—known as “geoglyphs” in the scientific community—becomes apparent. Some of them are massive: one of the hummingbirds measures 123 meters (400 feet) in length. Another line is 65 kilometers long. Some of the figures are geometric, such as trapezoids and triangles, and others represent animals. The “astronaut” is a bulb-headed humanoid with round eyes. Some say the figure represents an alien; others say he’s a man in a space suit. Interestingly, two of the designs, the whale and the monkey, represent animals that are not found anywhere near the lines. Such figures are considered evidence that the makers of the lines were traders or pilgrims … or space aliens. Like their origins, the exact age of the lines is still unknown. The Nasca culture did live in the region for several centuries (roughly from the first to the ninth century A.D.), but there is no empirical way to date the lines. The recently discovered city of Cahuachi, located nearby, may yet reveal some answers. Besides dispelling the cloud of mystery surrounding their age and origins, preserving the Nasca Lines is one of the biggest challenges facing Peru today. The elements in the desert are harsh and the lines are naturally eroding. Human intervention, however, is proving much more destructive: advertisers and political campaigns have carved messages in the rock between the designs, and new copper and gold mines are slowly scraping away the remaining integrity of the lines. At nearby Cahuachi archaeological site, grave robbers threaten to loot the recently discovered tombs. The area has recently been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which should help in preservation efforts, and in April 2007 Peru's tourism minister Mercedes Aráoz announced a $2.75 million dollar upgrade of the lines, as well as improved access and greater tourism safety. If these efforts fail, perhaps the aliens will come back and fix their landing pad.

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BLACKSBURG, Va., April 29, 2014 – An emerging pig virus, which has claimed the lives of millions of piglets and raised pork prices nationwide, has spread to Virginia. Earlier this month, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services confirmed the first case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that U.S. pork producers are now required to report instances of the deadly virus. PEDV, which has a high mortality rate for piglets, was first recognized in the United States last May and has spread to 30 states. “The virus affects all pigs, but it has the greatest impact on piglets because they are more likely to suffer from severe diarrhea and dehydration leading to death,” said Dr. Kevin Pelzer, an epidemiologist at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. On April 18, USDA announced that it is now requiring pork producers to report cases of the virus and tracking the movement of pigs, vehicles, and equipment leaving affected premises. According to Pelzer, pork producers can help prevent the spread of the virus by following strict biosecurity and good sanitation procedures on their farms. The highly contagious virus spreads through the fecal-oral route when pigs come into contact with other infected pigs or contaminated objects, such as boots or tires, from a farm with infected pigs. “Pork producers should limit their movement on and off the farm and limit the number of people that come to their farm,” said Pelzer, who is a professor of production management medicine in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. “Ideally, when visitors come to your farm with a vehicle, you should meet them just outside your property so their possibly contaminated vehicle never enters your farm. If a vehicle such as a feed truck needs to enter the farm, tires should be disinfected prior to entry.” Although the virus cannot spread from pigs to humans and is not a food safety concern, it has taken a toll on the pork supply and, as a result, consumers are seeing pork prices that are approximately 10 percent higher than before the virus hit the U.S. It takes about five months for a hog to reach market weight. The national outbreak has reduced the number of pigs being raised over the last several months and, therefore, decreased the number of pigs that will go or are going to market. “Because the virus is new in this country, the swine population has no immunity to it,” Pelzer said. “Currently, there are no vaccines for PEDV in the United States. Although PEDV vaccines exist in China, we know that there are multiple U.S. strains of the virus and are unsure whether the Chinese vaccines would work against these strains.” Last fall, a team of researchers led by Dr. X.J. Meng, University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology, used strains of the virus isolated from outbreaks in Minnesota and Iowa to trace the likely origin of the virus to a strain from China. The researchers determined that the U.S. strains of the virus likely diverged from the Chinese strains two or three years ago following an outbreak of a particularly virulent strain in China. Scientists are unsure whether the virus diverged in China before spreading to the United States or was in the country for several years before it became an epidemic. The symptoms — which include vomiting, anorexia, and diarrhea — are similar to another swine disease called transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus. No one knows how or when the virus came to the United States, as swine producers and veterinarians may have originally mistaken the diarrhea outbreak for TGE. “The only way to tell the difference between the two viruses is laboratory testing,” Pelzer said. PEDV favors cold environments and thrives during the winter months. It has advanced rapidly from state to state, prompting some researchers to investigate whether it has other transmission routes. “There is some speculation that the virus may have been in swine feed at some point. Some pigs may have come in contact with contaminated dried plasma, a highly digestible protein fed to baby pigs,” Pelzer said. “This hasn’t been confirmed, but it is a possible explanation for how the virus has spread so quickly.”

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009 A Tale of Two Churches - One in Haiti, the other in New Orleans Haitianalysis.com-November 1st, 2009 By Wadner Pierre In 2006 two struggles were going on in two different Catholic churches and in two different countries. At Saint Claire’s Parish, Tiplas Kazo, Delmas 33 (one part of Delmas County), Haitian parishioners, students, and community leaders stood up against the decision of the Archdiocese of Port-Au-Port to remove the late activist priest, Gerard Jean-Juste, who had been serving this parish for ten years. Simultaneously at Saint Augustine Church, in Tremé, New Orleans, a similar struggle was taking place. Students of different beliefs and backgrounds, civil right’s movement leaders and community leaders stood up against the unjustified decision of the New Orleans Archdiocese, to remove the elderly African-American priest, Father Jerome Ledoux, from the oldest African-American Catholic church in the United States. To explain the meaning of the people’s struggle at Saint Augustine Church, it is important to understand the history of this church and why it is so important for the African-American Catholic community to keep this church from closing after Hurricane Katrina. The History of Saint Augustine Church In 1842, Saint Augustine church was dedicated under Archbishop Antoine Blanc in Faubourg Tremé, 1210 Gov. Nicholls Street, a poor black neighborhood in New Orleans. It is the oldest African-American Catholic church in the United States. The church’s name is a reference to an African Bishop, Saint Augustine of Hippo. Across the street from the church, on St. Claude Ave, is the Backstreet Cultural Museum, and about one mile away is the historic Congo Square. From Saint Augustine Parish, a person can walk to the French Quarter and Saint Louis Cathedral, whose same architect designed St. Augustine Parish. So within a three-mile radius is profound culture and history. Tremé is the oldest place in the nation where les gens de couleur libres (free people of color) could buy or own properties before the Civil War. Saint Augustine Parish was also the oldest African-American Catholic church in the United States where slaves and freed slaves could practice their Catholic faith traditions. It was also where Henriette Delille, a free woman of color, and Juliette Gaudin, a Cuban, began assisting slaves, orphan girls, the uneducated, the sick, and the elderly among people of color around 1823. Delille and Gaudin’s concern for the education and care of children aided greatly in the founding and administration of the city’s early private schools for people of color. Saint Augustine Church means a lot for African-American Catholics and is essentially one of the leading marks in African-American Religious History; it is a heritage that people inherited from their ancestors. Upon my first visit to Saint Augustine, people explained that slaves’ bones were found in the place where the church stands. According to some historical sources, the place where Saint Augustine stands was a former plantation. On the east side of the church on Gov. Nicholls there is a little place where nooses hang and a few little crosses with a big cross are planted in memory of the former slaves who died and were not given a proper burial ceremony. The former pastor of the church until 2006, Father Jerome Ledoux, was the architect of this memorial place. I have been visiting many Catholic churches across the United States, but I had never seen such a powerful and living parish as Saint Augustine. At Saint Augustine, Sunday is a gospel music feast. Parishoners bring various musical instruments to mass such as tambourine and shekere, a typical African percussion musical instrument that is played by striking it with one or two hands. While singing, people dance and clap their hands. You can see how proud people are of their parish. Although they are economically devastated, parishioners go before the altar to give the little they have to keep Saint Augustine alive. At Saint Augustine, visitors can expect to receive warm welcomes. Whether or not you are member of Saint Augustine, if you celebrate your birthday on that Sunday you are visiting the church, you have a special birthday song where all the people extend their hands to you; this is their way of asking God to abundantly bless you. Saint Augustine Church is a living memorial of the long and hard journey taken by former African slaves to America, and their struggle for freedom after they arrived in America. Archbishop Hughes’ Decision to Remove Father Ledoux With the devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the parish began to face some economic difficulties, but thanks to the support of its parishioners, Saint Augustine recovered. The church had to meet the Archdiocese’s requirements: its monthly contribution to the Archdiocese and increasing the number of its parishioners, and if not, the Archbishop reserved the right to close its doors. Father Ledoux was always there with his parishioners. He encouraged them to keep faith and to stay unified as God’s children. Unfortunately, in March 15, 2006, Archbishop Alfred S. Hughes sent Father Ledoux a letter in which he announced that his mission at Saint Augustine’s Parish was over, and he sent Father Jacques, a white pastor of the neighboring St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, as Father Ledoux’s successor. People resisted peacefully, yet firmly. Parishioners and students occupied the church for weeks and vowed to go to jail for the return of Father Ledoux. Leaders of the Tréme community and other civil rights movement leaders such as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and former Black Panther leaders stood up to say “no,” to Archbishop Hughes’ unjustified decision to remove the elderly African-American priest, who had been serving the parish for fifteen years. After a Sunday mass I read on the back of a woman’s t-shirt, “God is good. God is good all the time.” I asked my friend Alison McCrary, a five-year Saint Augustine’s parishioner what her thoughts were on this sentence. She said to me, “God is really good all the time because Saint Augustine could have closed if he wasn’t there with us.” Suddenly, I remembered watching a movie that Allison had given me. This movie retraces the struggle of Saint Augustine’s parishioners for the return of their priest, Father Ledoux, to the parish in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina. This t-shirt was made in 2006 during the struggle for the return of Father Ledoux to Saint Augustine. The struggle was highlighted in the article “Protesters Still Occupying Historic New Orleans Church Rectory” in the March 29, 2006 issue of A Katrina Reader. CC Campbell-Rock interviewed a dozen people. “The protesters want LeDoux back. He should be allowed to stay until his death or until he decides to retire,” said Harris a member of Saint Augustine’s Parish,“Today is just another day in the civil rights struggle.” John Powell, a parishioner at Saint Augustine for the past 59 years, said, "My only statement is that if Hughes spends over $1 billion a year, he could surely give some of that money to St. Augustine Catholic Church.” However, Father Ledoux came back on Easter Sunday and celebrated mass with Archbishop Hughes, and afterward he left Saint Augustine, his home for fifteen years. This return was to fool people, and for Bishop Hughes to pretend that the problem between him and Father Ledoux was solved. The Struggle Continues In 2007 the Archdiocese of New Orleans assigned Father Quinton Moody, from Belize, as the priest at Saint Augustine Church. The church is still facing economic problems and is still under the Archdiocese’s threat. People are still frustrated, and are unhappy with the way that Father Quinton is leading their church. Since Father Quinton arrived, some memories and traditions of Saint Augustine are slowly disappearing: the chain in the memorial place has been taken down, a pink tub that Father Ledoux used to use to baptize people has already been removed, and the relationship between the church and the community does not seem the same as it was when Father Ledoux was ministering Saint Augustine’s Parish. For example, Father Ledoux used to open the doors of the church to community musicians and bless the Mardi Gras Indians. Some activities such as concerts that used to bring local musicians and church musicians together have discontinued. All of these traditions are now disappearing because Father Quinton does not seem willing to continue them. I remember, the first time I went to Saint Augustine, I saw a few posters of Father Ledoux working with the people in Tremé community excavating for archeological remains of Native Americans, African slaves and free people of color. Upon my second return, these posters were no longer there. People continue praying for the return of Father Ledoux, and hoping the new Archbishop of New Orleans, Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond, will bring Father Ledoux back home. “I wish our new Archbishop Aymond could bring Father Ledoux back to us because we miss him a lot,” said an anonymous parishioner. The struggle has lasted a year and is still going on. It might be the biggest African-American Catholic struggle in the nation to keep a church from closing its doors. Like the late activist priest, Father Jean-Juste, in Saint Claire’s Parish in Ti Plas Kazo, Father Ledoux remains a legend at Saint Augustine’s Parish in Tremé. The involvement of both priests, Father Jean-Juste and Father Ledoux in their communities did not only make them the pastors of their parishes, Saint Claire and Saint Augustine, but also fathers for people in their communities, Ti Plas Kazo and Treme. I have written this article in memory of the people’s struggle at Saint Augustine Church in Tremé to keep their church alive. I also remember the struggle of my people at Saint Claire’s Parish in Haiti, Ti Plas Kazo on Delmas 33, to bring back the late activist priest and defender of human rights, Father Gerard Jean-Juste, priest of Saint Claire Church from 2004 to 2009. He was arrested twice by the Haitian de facto government for his political opinions from 2004 to 2006. Father Jean-Juste died in May 25, 2009 at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. After Father Jean Juste’s passing, a new priest, Father Hilaire, was assigned to Saint Claire parish. I also want to thank my friend, Alison McCrary who drove me back and forth to Saint Augustine Church and talked to me about her five-year experience there. She referred me to some sources, which helped me so much with this article. Campbell-Rock, CC. “Protesters Still Occupying Historic New Orleans Church Rectory.” A Katrina Reader: Readings By and For Anti-Racist Educators and Organizers. Changing White Supremacy Workshop, 29 Mar. 2006. Web. 12 Sept. 2009. “Saint Augustine Church.” African American Registry. 2005, 2006. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. Shake the Devil Off. Dir. Peter Entell. Show And Tell Films, 2007. DVD. “Tremé.” Living Culture Project: Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research. 2008. Web. 15 Sept. 2009.

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Health-maintenance organizations and medical consumers take note: For treatment of skin disease, you''re better off medically and financially by going straight to a dermatologist. That''s the conclusion of two recent studies being presented as exhibits at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in New Orleans. One study shows that for even common skin problems, primary care doctors and other "gatekeepers" in managed-care systems have a propensity to refer patients to a dermatologist. The other study determined that dermatologists take less time to diagnose skin diseases than other doctors. The implication of both is that the medical system — HMOs and other managed-care systems in particular — would save money, and their patients would receive appropriate care sooner, if patients were allowed direct access to a dermatologist, says Steve Feldman, M.D. Feldman is a co-investigator of both studies and the director of the Westwood-Squibb Center for Dermatology Research at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, which conducted the studies. The study on referral rates compared the rates of referral for all visits to primary care doctors with rates of referral for patients with a single dermatologic diagnosis. "You would think that skin problems are a simpler-than-average medical problem that primary care doctors would treat," said Feldman, associate professor of dermatology, "but it turns out that on average you are 20 percent more likely to be referred for a skin problem than for other medical problems, showing that skin problems are relatively complex to primary care doctors. "And when you look at what the referrals are for, you see they''re for what one might call simple skin problems — dermatitis, warts, cysts, cellulitis, acne." The study concludes that HMOs would save at least $77,000 for every 100,000 patients by letting their members have direct access to dermatologists. This figure is based on Medicare reimbursement rates for office visits. Feldman cautioned that the estimate of savings is probably too low because it does not take into account the cost of medications a non-dermatologist might have prescribed before referring the patient. "For skin problems the medication costs are often three times the cost of the office visit, so the total cost before the referral is much higher than our conservative estimate," he said. The results are based on data about office visits to doctors as recorded in the National Ambulatory Medical Care surveys for 1990 through 1994. A separate study found that dermatologists take less time to diagnose skin problems even when seeing a patient for the first time, compared to a primary care doctor who has known the patient for years. "You might think that it would be more efficient to go to your family doctor," Feldman said. "They already know you, they know your background, they should be more efficient in taking care of your skin problems. But it turns out that the greater expertise of dermatologists allows them to make a definitive diagnosis rapidly and accurately, with a minimum of testing." This study — also based on the surveys of office visits in 1990 through 1994 — found that dermatologists required 12 percent less time than other doctors to make a diagnosis with patients 18 or younger, and 20 percent less time with patients over 18. This was the case even when dermatologists were seeing a patient for the first time. Given that "time is money," Feldman said, there is only one logical conclusion to be drawn from these studies: "If you''re trying to run a managed care system and utilize your physician resources efficiently, you should send patients directly to a dermatologist. "In the first study we showed that referral is likely, so the initial visit is a waste of money, and in this we show that you use fewer physician resources by going straight to the dermatologist." But there are also savings to be had for Medicare and traditional insurance programs, Feldman said. "Charges are based on how complicated the examination is, and since nondermatologists take longer, this implies that they are examining other possibilities and doing more testing to make a diagnosis, and therefore they may be billing for a more intensive visit." The Westwood-Squibb Center for Dermatology Research is a research program within the Wake Fores University School of Medicine that investigates economic, ethical and policy issues critical to the practice of dermatology. It was established in August 1998 with the assistance of a five-year, $1 million research grant from Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals. Media Contact: Robert Conn, Jim Steele or Mark Wright at (336) 716-4587

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Date Photo Taken: 07/29/2013 Location: North of Cartersville, Georgia. Posted By: bullfroghollow I have always just called this mountain mint and my question is not just about the identification but also about the behavior or bees and butterflies, they seem to find it almost intoxicating, and stumble and fall after feasting on it. These plants grow five to six feet tall in this area and are in mostly sunny areas but also partial shade.

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The column about architect Michael Graves's "Revealing Culture," a Smithsonian Institution exhibition dedicated to the work of artists with disabilities, incorrectly said that the Smithsonian hired Graves's firm to design the exhibition. Graves was hired by VSA, the International Organization on Arts and Disability. Philip Kennicott on Michael Graves's 'Revealing Culture' exhibit Sunday, June 20, 2010 In February 2003, architect Michael Graves came down with what he thought was a cold. After a long and frigid site visit to one of his projects, it got worse. A spinal infection was ravaging his body and left him paralyzed. He now uses a wheelchair. Graves visited Washington earlier this month to speak to a Smithsonian audience before the opening of an exhibition called "Revealing Culture," dedicated to the work of artists with disabilities. The show is in one of the Smithsonian's least glamorous places, the International Gallery located in the underground S. Dillon Ripley Center, sandwiched between the Freer and Sackler galleries. It is a long room with an ugly ceiling and no natural light, and you can't help but think that the exhibitions that get placed there have nowhere better to go. But the Smithsonian hired Graves's firm to undo that impression. It's rare to have an architect of Graves's stature designing museum exhibitions, and even more rare to have an architect who knows life both as a fully ambulatory, jet-setting, golf-loving man and as a man now thoroughly familiar with how public space can aid or thwart people with disabilities. Graves is an excellent raconteur, and he seems by nature a happy man. He shared only two dark thoughts with his June 9 audience. He regretted time lost for research on spinal injuries and diseases during the previous presidential administration, when stem-cell projects were slowed by restrictive new policies. Given those lost years, Graves, 75, wonders if he'll ever walk again. His other dark thought was saved for Rand Paul, the Republican running for the Senate in Kentucky. Paul has emerged as a vocal opponent of aspects of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the landmark legislation signed into law 20 years ago this July. Among other things, the ADA ensured that new construction of public buildings would comply with strict guidelines for accessibility. Like so many laws that seem sweeping in their ambition -- "to establish clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability" -- it also includes reams of exceptions, a fact that Paul glossed over during an appearance on NPR and in an editorial published in a Kentucky newspaper. "Should a small business in a two-story building have to put in a costly elevator, even if it threatens their economic viability?" Paul wrote in an op-ed that likened his treatment in the media to communist purges in Stalin's Soviet Union. "Wouldn't it be better to allow that business to give a handicapped employee a ground floor office?" That angers Graves, and not just because it's patently wrong, as proved by Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent, who hit the books and found chapter and verse: " . . . this section shall not be construed to require the installation of an elevator for facilities that are less than three stories," reads the ADA. It angers Graves because he, like others with disabilities, doesn't want to be confined to the ground floor, doesn't want to experience buildings as a second-class citizen, doesn't want architecture to unnecessarily exclude people when it can so easily be accommodating. Graves says he didn't undergo any particular intellectual revolution when he became paralyzed. But he did become much more attuned to the issues that people in wheelchairs face. "It wasn't the kind of heightened issue that it is for me today," he said in an interview. "But that's only because I know more today, not because my personality has changed." He reminded the audience he is still very much the architectural traditionalist he was back in the 1980s when he was crossing swords with orthodox modernists, railing against the cold concrete and steel boxes that (he felt) have lost cultural and natural connections to human beings. It's curious how those old arguments for architectural traditional center on the body, the standing, moving, ambulatory body. In a 1982 essay, "The Case for Figurative Architecture," Graves argued against the Modern Movement's "dismemberment of our former cultural language of architecture." Windows, he said, were traditionally related to the standing body, with their base somewhere around the level of the waist. The ornamental division of walls, horizontally, relates to the human form as well. "As we stand upright and are, in a sense, rooted in the ground so the wall through its wainscot division, is rooted relative to the floor," he wrote, in just one of several passages where he is clearly thinking like, and arguing from, the perspective of the fully physically able-bodied person he was in 1982.

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Create Music Play Button in Photoshop Learn How To Make Music Play Button in Photoshop! Today we will learn how to Make Music Play Button in Photoshop. We will firstly create the background , then we will work on the many layers, layer masks and other useful techniques related this tutorial. Create a new project with a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels and Fill #555352 Color Now Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) and make shape with radius to 300 pixels like as Below Open layer style and select Gradient Overlay and set the Gradient Overlay like as below Now select the Rectangular Marquee tool (M) and make round shape Fill #152157 Color in shape like as Below Now Select Brush Tool and Apply like as Below Now Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool (U) and make shape Now Select Text Type Tool (T) and type text like as below I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and I hope these techniques have inspired some new thoughts and ideas for your next design. SHARE THIS POST ABOUT THE AUTHOR PsdPoint Best and Unique Web Photoshop Graphics Designers Team

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Payment Gateway is another tool of convenience invented for those who have shortage of time. It enables electronic transactions of money between customers, banks and businesses. This process is a must for all online businesses and shopping carts. Following are the features of a Payment Gateway: - Facilitates ecommerce operations, also it allows transactions in conventional brick and mortar businesses. - Encryption of private data as well as payment. - Carries out communique between the concerned financial institutions, the business and the customer. - Authorization of payments. - Feature to calculate the sales tax, handling costs and shipping rates is available only in some payment gateways. Specialized fraud detection tools can be added to a payment gateway in order to ensure safety. Many web hosting companies provide payment gateways within their packages. Working of a Payment Gateway: All the operations of Payment Gateway are carried out with the help of Internet. Many brick and mortar businesses also make use of them as they are quicker and more reliable means of payment. Following are the steps involved in the working of the payment gateway: - The customer buys a product or products through a Web site, phone order or in person. - The SSL (Secure Socket Layer) coding is used by the customer's browser to "scramble" the data that is being sent. - The information is collected by the business website and forwarded to the payment gateway. - The information is then sent to the bank by the Payment Gateway. - The request is then forwarded to the card association. If card used in the transaction is Discoverer or American Express, the association is then the same bank and if Visa Logo or MasterCard some extra steps are taken. - In the case of Visa Logo or MasterCard, the information related to transaction is forwarded to the concerned bank (customer's bank). - This bank checks whether the customer's account have sufficient balance or not. - An authorization code is sent by the customer's bank to the card association informing them whether the transaction should be completed or not. - The authorization code is then sent to the Payment Gateway. - Finally a code is sent to the business by the Payment Gateway. The refusal of the transaction leads to the termination of the sales deal. The approval helps forward the sale and the money is taken from the account of the customer. Thus Payment Gateway is a complicated process but is efficiently and swiftly carried out. Its incorporation in the business transactions has widened the scope of businesses. Also, it enables the businesses to conduct trade smoothly with clients all over the world.

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New Procedure Helps Eliminate Varicose Veins Lowell S. Kabnick, MD, FACS, attending vascular surgeon and the director of minimally invasive venous surgery at Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, N.J., has performed more than 100 closure procedures. "Cosmetically, it's superlative to surgery because we are only leaving a puncture, as opposed to a couple of incisions," he tells WebMD. "There's less bruising, and recovery is much shorter than with the stripping procedure." But the closure procedure cannot be performed on people whose veins are too big or too twisted, he says. The procedure is still relatively new, Kabnick says. "We still need to follow this to make sure that veins stay closed and that the amount of new veins that develop are no more or less than with the stripping procedure," he says. "It will take some time to have that data." The latest data on the closure procedure was presented by Mark J. Marzano, MD, an interventional radiologist at Vein Care Associates in Barrington, Ill., at a recent meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology. He found that 95% of 221 legs treated with this procedure were free of varicose veins after six months. Possible side effects of the closure procedure include numbness, skin burns, and phlebitis, an inflammation of a vein. Julie Bragg, a 31-year-old sales representative in Chicago, developed varicose veins at age 19. She finally decided to do something about them in February. After reviewing all the options, she decided on closure. "It was wonderful. I couldn't feel a thing," she tells WebMD. "Recovery was really easy; that night, I played volleyball. I would absolutely recommend the procedure." Bragg says that people who saw her legs before and after the procedure can't believe the difference. Elizabeth McCoy, a 37-year-old emergency room nurse in Morristown, N.J., had a similar experience. McCoy developed varicose veins when she was pregnant about eight years ago. Since she is on her feet a lot at work, she often felt pain in her legs due to the varicose veins. She had the closure procedure in May 1999.

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Tea tree oil is a topical treatment that is often used to help treat acne and fungal skin problems. Tea tee oil is only for the skin -- it should not be swallowed or used on the eyes. Allergic reactions are possible; tea tree oil may irritate eczema. Because there is not enough research to determine conclusively its benefits or side effects, you should use caution when using tea tree oil and should avoid it during pregnancy. Follow the links below to find WebMD's comprehensive coverage about how tea tree oil is used, risks and benefits, and much more.

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If you’re looking for a nerdy book to give that budding programmer in your family this holiday season, Google has you covered. Best of all, it’s free (you cheapskate) and it’s written entirely in HTML5 (you nerd). The book is called 20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web. According to the forward, it’s “a short guide for anyone who’s curious about the basics of browsers and the web.” The book was written and built by the Google Chrome team, so the bulk of the technical stuff highlights features in Google’s browser. Under the hood, there’s some cool tech going on. There are fancy CSS type treatments and animations throughout. They’ve also recreated the familiar page-flipping animation as you thumb through the book, which frankly smells like the 1990s but adds a rather quaint touch here. It’s a solid demonstration of how HTML5 can be used to present content in a compelling, “featurey” way. Plus, it’s not just for kids — I learned something new flipping through it, though I’m not saying what. I have a reputation to uphold.

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Kattenhorn, S.A., Marshall, S.T., Cooke, M.L. (2008) Kinematically coupled strike-slip and normal faults in the Lake Mead strike-slip fault system, southeast Nevada Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 89(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract T41A-1951. The Lake Mead fault system consists of a ~95 km long, northeast-trending zone of strike-slip faults of Miocene age that accommodate a total left-lateral offset of 20-65 km. We use a combination of detailed field mapping and numerical modeling to show that a previously unnamed left-lateral strike-slip segment of the Lake Mead fault system and a dense cluster of dominantly west-dipping normal faults acted in concert to accommodate regional left-lateral offset. We suggest that the strike-slip fault that we refer to as the Pinto Ridge fault: (1) was kinematically related to other faults of the Lake Mead fault system; (2) was responsible for the creation of the normal fault cluster at Pinto Ridge; and (3) utilized these normal faults as linking structures between separate strike-slip fault segments to create a longer, through-going fault. Results from numerical models demonstrate that the observed location and curving strike patterns of the normal fault cluster is consistent with the faults having formed as secondary structures as the result of the perturbed stress field around the slipping Pinto Ridge fault. Comparison of mechanical efficiency of various normal fault geometries within extending terranes suggests that the observed west dip of normal faults reflects a west- dipping anisotropy at depth, such as a detachment. The apparent terminations of numerous strike-slip faults of the Lake Mead fault system into west-dipping normal faults suggest that a west-dipping detachment may be regionally coherent. External link: AGU database This abstract has been cited in the following works: None at present.

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Be Clear on Cancer Posted: February 4 2011 A new campaign encouraging people to ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ is being piloted by the Department of Health in the East of England and the South West from 31 January 2011. Featuring a doctor encouraging people to ‘Just tell me’ if they recognise the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, the campaign aims to raise awareness and encourage people to visit their GP. The pilot campaign activity will target the over 55s, as this age group has a higher risk of bowel cancer and are more likely to put off going to their GP. It hopes to make them aware of the symptoms that, if they have had them for three weeks or more, they need check with their GP as it might save their life. The symptoms to look out for are if: - they have noticed blood in their poo, - or it’s been looser, - or they’ve been going to the loo more often than is usual for them. The campaign also hopes to reassure people that cancer is treatable if it is caught early and that the symptoms are often nothing to worry about. In England, bowel cancer is the third most common type of cancer. An estimated 38,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. If bowel cancer is diagnosed in its earliest stages, the chances of surviving for a further five years is 90% and a complete cure is usually possible. However, bowel cancer that is diagnosed in its most advanced stage only has a five-year survival rate of 6% and a complete cure is unlikely. The pilot campaign will use TV, radio and print advertising in the East of England and South West regions, running for seven weeks from the 31st January 2011. For more information about bowel cancer, visit the NHS choices website

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General information on counterfeit medicines What is a counterfeit drug? In accordance with Black's law dictionary,' the term "counterfeit drug" may be used to describe а drug made by someone other than the genuine manufacturer, by copying or imitating an original product without authority or right, with а view to deceive or defraud, and then marketing the copied or forged drug as the original. In reality, however, а counterfeit drug is defined differently in different countries. The absence of а universally accepted definition not only makes information exchange between countries very difficult but it also limits the ability to understand the true extent of the problem at global level. In order to address this problem the following definition has been developed by the World Health Organization: "А counterfeit medicine is one which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source. Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging." The extent of the problem of counterfeit drugs The problem of counterfeit drugs is known to exist in both developed and developing countries. However, the true extent of the problem is not really known since no global study has been carried out. The appearance of counterfeit medicines in international commerce was first mentioned as а problem at the WHO Conference of Experts on Rational Drug Use in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985. Since then, public awareness of the problem of counterfeit drugs has grown. Both government authorities and manufacturers have been concerned with efforts aimed at preventing the problem, and WHO has received reports related to counterfeit drugs from some of its member states on а voluntary basis. According to this information, the problem is known to involve both developed and developing countries. Between January 1999 and October 2000 alone, 46 confidential reports relating to such drugs were received by WHO from 20 countries. About 60% of these reports came from developing countries whereas the remaining 40% were reported by developed countries. Although, the reports received have not been validated and may not be useful for quantitative purposes, the information clearly shows that the problem exists. The data also reflects that only а few countries are willing to provide information about cases detected. The drugs counterfeited included antibiotics, hormones, analgesics, steroids, and antihistamines. These drugs form almost 60% of the products reported. In terms of types of counterfeits and their magnitude, the products reported can be grouped into six categories: - Products without active ingredients, 32.1%; - Products with incorrect quantities of active ingredients, 20.2%; - Products with wrong ingredients, 21.4%, - Products with correct quantities of active ingredients but with fake packaging, 15.6%; - Copies of an original product, 1%; and - Products with high levels of impurities and contaminants, 8.5%. Definitions of counterfeit drugs by WHO Member States The following definitions by WHO member states demonstrate that the nature of the problem of counterfeit drugs varies from country to country. In some countries the issue is more complex and there is no distinction between counterfeit and substandard drugs. Available reports indicate that in developing countries а wide spectrum of types of counterfeit drugs, ranging from the precise copy of a genuine product to the extreme case of а drug product with none of the correct active ingredient exist. Consequently, counterfeit drug is defined broadly in order to cover drug products that have been copied or forged as well as certain substandard products, particularly those intentionally made to be substandard. In the Nigerian Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree; а fake drug is defined as: "... - any drug product which is not what it purports to be; or - any drug or drug product which is so colored, coated, powdered or polished that the damage is concealed or which is made to appear to be better or of greater therapeutic value than it really is, which is not labeled in the prescribed manner or which label or container or anything accompanying the drug bears any statement, design, or device which makes а false claim for the drug or which is false or misleading; or - any drug or drug product whose container is so made, formed or filled as to be misleading; or - any drug product whose label does not bear adequate directions for use and such adequate warning against use in those pathological conditions or by children where its use may be dangerous to health or against unsafe dosage or methods or duration of use; or - any drug product which is not registered by the Agency in accordance with the provisions of the Food, Drugs and Related Products (Registration, etc.) Decree 1993, as amended." The Pakistan Manual of Drug Laws,' defines а counterfeit drug as: "...а drug, the label or outer packing of which is an imitation of, resembles or so resembles as to be calculated to deceive, the label or outer packing of а drug manufacturer." In the Philippines, the Republic Act No. 82036 refers to counterfeit drug/medicine to mean: "...medicinal products with correct ingredients but not in the amounts as provided there under, wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient quantity of active ingredients, which results in the reduction of the drug's safety, efficacy, quality, strength or purity. It is а drug which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source or with fake packaging, and can apply to both branded and generic products. It shall also refer to: - the drug itself, or the container or labeling thereof or any part of such drug, container or labeling bearing without authorization the trademark, trade name or other identification mark or imprint or any likeness to that which is owned or registered in the Bureau of Patent, Trademark, and Technology Transfer in the name of another natural or juridical person; - а drug product refilled in containers by unauthorized persons if the legitimate labels or marks are used; - an unregistered imported drug product, except drugs brought in the country for personal use as confirmed and justified by accompanying medical records, and - а drug which contains no amount of or а different active ingredient, or less than 80% of the active ingredient it purports to possess, as distinguished from an adulterated drug including reduction or loss of efficacy due to expiration." The United States Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act' defines а counterfeit drug as, "...а drug which, or the containers or labeling of which, without authorization, bears the trademark, trade name, or other identifying mark, imprint, or device or any likeness thereof, of а drug manufacturer, processor, packer, or distributor other than the person or persons who in fact manufactured, processed, packed, or distributed such drug and which thereby falsely purports or is represented to be the product of, or to have been packed or distributed by, such other drug manufacturer, processor, packer, or distributor."

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26 September 2007 The Partnership applauds commitments made by the Governments of Norway and the Netherlands The Partnership applauds the landmark commitments made by the Governments of Norway and the Netherlands at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York to reduce deaths of women and children in developing countries and reach the health Millennium Development Goals. On 26 September, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway pledged US$ 1 billion to this cause, with an additional US$ 125 million committed by Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Balkenende, to support education and maternal health. "These contributions are a signal of true leadership, coming at the critical mid-point towards 2015 - the time frame set by the global community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals" said Dr Francisco Songane, Director of the Partnership. "In truth, maternal, newborn and child health have struggled to attract political attention and financial investments. Today's high level commitments must inspire us to redouble our efforts to reduce child and maternal deaths in the countries most affected." "The Partnership has been the platform for the development of the Global Campaign for Millennium Developments Goals 4 and 5 on reducing child and maternal mortality" added Dr Flavia Bustreo, Deputy-Director of the Partnership. "We look forward to other partners' commitments in the coming period, building on the major advocacy drive we have just launched, Deliver Now for Women and Children. The collective power of the Partnership's more than 180 member organizations must now be harnessed to ensure health services become available to all women and children when and where they are most needed."

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The environment in which we live greatly affects our health. The household, workplace, outdoor and transportation environments pose risks to health in a number of different ways, from the poor quality of the air many people breathe to the hazards we face as a result of climate change (see Table 4.6). A range of selected environmental risk factors is assessed here and some summary results are shown in Figure 4.7a and Figure 4.7b . Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene Adverse health outcomes are associated with ingestion of unsafe water, lack of access to water (linked to inadequate hygiene), lack of access to sanitation, contact with unsafe water, and inadequate management of water resources and systems, including in agriculture. Infectious diarrhoea makes the largest single contribution to the burden of disease associated with unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. Six broad scenarios were characterized; these included populations with no access to improved water sources or no basic sanitation; those with access to fully regulated water supply and sanitation services; and an ideal scenario in which no disease transmission is associated with this risk factor. In addition, schistosomiasis, trachoma, ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm disease were fully attributed to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. Exposure prevalence was determined from the WHO/UNICEF Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000. This provides a synthesis of major international surveys and national census reports, which provide data for 89% of the global population. In 2000, the percentage of people served with some form of improved water supply worldwide reached 82% (4.9 billion), while 60% (3.6 billion) had access to basic sanitation facilities. The vast majority of diarrhoeal disease in the world (88%) was attributable to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. Approximately 3.1% of deaths (1.7 million) and 3.7%of DALYs (54.2 million) worldwide are attributable to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. Of this burden, about one-third occurred in Africa and one-third in SEAR-D. In these areas, as well as in EMR-D and AMR-D, 4--8% of all disease burden is attributable to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. Overall, 99.8% of deaths associated with this risk factor are in developing countries, and 90% are deaths of children. Urban air pollution The serious consequences of exposure to high levels of urban ambient air pollution were made clear in the mid-20th century when cities in Europe and the United States experienced air pollution episodes, such as the infamous 1952 London fog, that resulted in many deaths and hospital admissions. Subsequent clean air legislation and actions reduced ambient air pollution in many regions. However, recent epidemiological studies, using sensitive designs and analyses, have identified serious health effects of combustion-derived air pollution even at the low ambient concentrations typical of Western European and North American cities (45). At the same time, the populations of the rapidly expanding megacities of Asia, Africa and Latin America are increasingly exposed to levels of ambient air pollution that rival and often exceed those experienced in industrialized countries in the first half of the 20th century (46). Urban air pollution is largely and increasingly the result of the combustion of fossil fuels for transport, power generation and other human activities. Combustion processes produce a complex mixture of pollutants that comprises both primary emissions, such as diesel soot particles and lead, and the products of atmospheric transformation, such as ozone and sulfate particles formed from the burning of sulfur-containing fuel. Air pollution from combustion sources is associated with a broad spectrum of acute and chronic health effects (47,48), that may vary with the pollutant constituents. Particulate air pollution (i.e. particles small enough to be inhaled into the lung,) is consistently and independently related to the most serious effects, including lung cancer and other cardiopulmonary mortality (44,49,50). Other constituents, such as lead and ozone, are also associated with serious health effects, and contribute to the burden of disease attributable to urban air pollution. The analyses based on particulate matter estimate that ambient air pollution causes about 5% of trachea, bronchus and lung cancer, 2% of cardiorespiratory mortality and about 1% of respiratory infections mortality globally. This amounts to about 0.8 million (1.4%) deaths and 7.9 million (0.8%) DALYs. This burden predominantly occurs in developing countries, with 42% of attributable DALYs occurring in WPR-B and 19% in SEAR-D. Within subregions, the highest proportions of total burden occur in WPR-A, WPR-B, EUR-B and EUR-C, where ambient air pollution causes 0.6--1.4% of disease burden. These estimates consider only the impact of air pollution on mortality, and not morbidity, due to limitations in the epidemiologic database. If air pollution multiplies both incidence and mortality to the same extent, the burden of disease would be higher. Indoor smoke from solid fuels Although air pollutant emissions are dominated by outdoor sources, human exposures are a function of the level of pollution in places where people spend most of their time (51,53). Human exposure to air pollution is thus dominated by the indoor environment. Cooking and heating with solid fuels such as dung, wood, agricultural residues or coal is likely to be the largest source of indoor air pollution globally. When used in simple cooking stoves, these fuels emit substantial amounts of pollutants, including respirable particles, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, and benzene. Nearly half the world continues to cook with solid fuels. This includes more than 75% of people in India, China and nearby countries, and 50--75% of people in parts of South America and Africa. Limited ventilation is common in many developing countries and increases exposure, particularly for women and young children who spend much of their time indoors. Exposures have been measured at many times higher than WHO guidelines and national standards, and thus can be substantially greater than outdoors in cities with the most severe air pollution. Studies have shown reasonably consistent and strong relationships between the indoor use of solid fuel and a number of diseases. These analyses estimate that indoor smoke from solid fuels causes about 35.7% of lower respiratory infections, 22.0% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 1.5% of trachea, bronchus and lung cancer. Indoor air pollution may also be associated with tuberculosis, cataracts and asthma. In total, 2.7% of DALYs worldwide are attributable to indoor smoke, 2.5% in males and 2.8% in females. Of this total attributable burden, about 32% occurs in Africa (AFR-D and AFR-E), 37% in SEAR-D and 16% in WPR-B. Among women, indoor air smoke causes approximately 3--4% of DALYs in AFR-D, AFR-E, EMR-D, SEAR-D and WPR-B. The most important interventions to reduce this impact are better ventilation, more efficient vented stoves, and cleaner fuels. Many other risks to health accumulate in the indoor environment, and housing has a key role in determining their development and impact (see Box 4.2). Box 4.2 Housing and health The primary purpose of buildings worldwide is to protect humans from the hazards and discomforts of outdoor environments and to offer a safe and convenient setting for living and human activity. Furthermore, people -- especially in temperate and cold climates and in industrialized societies -- spend most of their time indoors in buildings such as homes, offices, schools and day-care centres. This means that, from the perspective of exposure to environmental conditions and hazards, housing and indoor environments have important public health consequences for both physical and mental health. The most extreme health impact of housing is found among the poorest sectors of societies in the form of a complete lack of housing, which affects millions of people worldwide. Lack of affordable housing for low-income households may mean diverting family resources from expenditure on food, education or health towards housing needs. Beyond this, both the physical structure of houses and their location can involve health risks. Important parameters in indoor environments include the thermal climate, noise and light, and exposure to a large number of chemical, physical and biological pollutants and risk factors. While these parameters are also affected by human-related activities and outdoor sources (such as vehicle and industrial pollutants or local vegetation and insect ecology), human exposure is modified by housing characteristics such as building materials, number and size of rooms and windows, ventilation and energy technology. For example, a "leaky" house can lead to dampness and mould which may result in various forms of respiratory illness and allergic reactions; the use of building materials such asbestos or lead-based paint can increase exposure to these toxic substances; the use of inflammable or weak material such as wood, plastic or cardboard -- particularly common in urban slums -- poses increased risks of injuries; building design will influence exposure to disease vectors such as mosquitoes; inadequate ventilation or overcrowding will cause exposure to different pollutants and pathogens; poor lighting or heating will influence both physical and mental health as well as participation in activities such as education; and so on. The location of housing and the organization of neighbourhoods also have public health implications, in particular in rapidly urbanizing developing countries, where a growing proportion of the population live in informal settlements or slums, often on the periphery of major cities. If housing is located on floodplains or steep hillsides, near sources of traffic, industrial activity, solid waste dumps or vector breeding sites, and away from services such as sanitation, transportation, schools or health facilities, public health will be affected directly (for example, through sanitation) or indirectly through access to food and education. In addition, organization of neighbourhoods has been shown to have an effect on mental and physical health, school attendance and performance, or prevalence of violence and crime. Referring to housing as a "risk factor" would mask the important role that it plays in providing a setting for daily household and community activities. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the important and complex roles that housing and neighbourhood design play in public health and to promote systematic inclusion of health in the design of housing, housing technology and the urban and regional planning processes. Lead, because of its multiplicity of uses, is present in air, dust, soil and water. Lead enters the body mainly by ingestion or inhalation. Contamination of the environment has increased with industrial development and particularly the use of leaded petrol. Currently about 60 countries have phased out leaded petrol and approximately 85% of petrol sold worldwide is lead-free. Other important lead sources are more difficult to control, such as leaded kitchenware ceramics, water pipes and house paints. Following control measures, lead levels have been steadily declining in industrialized countries but at least 5% of children still have elevated blood lead levels, with even higher rates in children of poorer households (57). In many developing countries, where leaded gasoline is still used, lead can present a threat to more than half of children (58). Rapidly increasing traffic loads have the potential to further increase blood lead levels. Worldwide, 120 million people are estimated to have lead levels of 5--10 g/dl, with similar numbers above 10 g/dl, and 40% of children have blood lead levels above 5 g/dl. Overall, 97% of affected children live in developing regions. Industrial or cottage exposure to lead, such as from smelters or battery recycling, could only partly be assessed here, but can represent a large additional burden in certain regions. Lead affects practically all body systems. Most toxic exposures occur at chronic low levels and can result in reductions in intelligence quotient (IQ) (59), increased blood pressure, and a range of behavioural and developmental effects. The range and extent of adverse health effects has been appreciated only relatively recently. Furthermore, lead is now understood to be toxic, especially to children, at levels previously thought to be safe (60). In more severe cases of poisoning, adverse health effects include gastrointestinal symptoms, anaemia, neurological damage and renal impairment (61). Other adverse effects, such as reduction in IQ levels, behavioural disorders or renal function, can be discerned only through special examinations. These analyses estimate that lead results in about 234 000 (0.4%) deaths and 12.9 million (0.9%) DALYs. About one-fifth of this entire burden occurs in SEAR-D, and a further one-fifth in WPR-B. Humans are accustomed to climatic conditions varying daily, seasonally and yearly. The recent concern over global climate change arises from accumulating evidence that, in addition to this natural climate variability, average climatic conditions measured over extended periods (conventionally 30 years or longer) are now also changing (62). The most recent report (2001) from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the global average land and sea surface temperature has increased by 0.6 0.2 C since the mid-19th century, with most change occurring since 1976 (63). The 1990s was the warmest decade on record. Warming has been observed in all continents, with the greatest temperature changes occurring at middle and high latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Patterns of precipitation have also changed: arid and semiarid regions are apparently becoming drier, while other areas, especially mid-to-high latitudes, are becoming wetter. There is also evidence that where precipitation has increased, there has been a disproportionate increase in the frequency of the heaviest precipitation events. The causes of this climate change are increasingly well understood. The IPCC concluded that "most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is likely to be attributable to human activities", most importantly the release of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. Climate model simulations have been used to estimate the effects of past, present and future greenhouse gas emissions on future climate. Based on a range of alternative development scenarios and model parameters, the IPCC concluded that if no specific actions are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures are likely to rise between 1.4 C and 5.8 C from 1990 to 2100. Such a rise would be faster than any rise encountered since the inception of agriculture around 10 000 years ago. Predictions for precipitation and wind speed are less consistent, but also suggest significant changes. Potential risks to human health from climate change would arise from increased exposures to thermal extremes (cardiovascular and respiratory mortality) and from increases in weather disasters (including deaths and injuries associated with floods). Other risks may arise because of the changing dynamics of disease vectors (such as malaria and dengue fever), the seasonality and incidence of various food-related and waterborne infections, the yields of agricultural crops, the range of plant and livestock pests and pathogens, the salination of coastal lands and freshwater supplies resulting from rising sea-levels, the climatically related production of photochemical air pollutants, spores and pollens, and the risk of conflict over depleted natural resources. Effects of climate change on human health can be expected to be mediated through complex interactions of physical, ecological, and social factors. These effects will undoubtedly have a greater impact on societies or individuals with scarce resources, where technologies are lacking, and where infrastructure and institutions (such as the health sector) are least able to adapt. For this reason, a better understanding of the role of socioeconomic and technological factors in shaping and mitigating these impacts is essential. Because of this complexity, current estimates of the potential health impacts of climate change are based on models with considerable uncertainty. Climate change was estimated to be responsible in 2000 for approximately 2.4% of worldwide diarrhoea, 6% of malaria in some middle income countries and 7% of dengue fever in some industrialized countries. In total, the attributable mortality was 154 000 (0.3%) deaths and the attributable burden was 5.5 million (0.4%) DALYs. About 46% this burden occurred in SEAR-D, 23% in AFR-E and a further 14% in EMR-D. Other environmental risks to health Traffic and transport form another component of environmental hazard in society. Traffic-related burden includes not only injury, but also the consequences of pollution with lead and the effects on urban air quality. Furthermore, as with many exposures assessed here, there are complex interactions with other exposures -- for example, the lost opportunity for physical activity and the economic effects of transport and traffic. Considerations related to road traffic injuries are outlined in Box 4.3. Box 4.3 Road traffic injuries Road traffic injuries were estimated to account for over 1.2 million deaths worldwide in 2000, amounting to 2.3% of all deaths. Many such deaths occur in young adults, with significant loss of life, so the proportion of disease burden measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) is greater -- about 2.8% of the total. Over 90% of these deaths occur in the middle and low income countries, where death rates (21 and 24 deaths per 100 000 population, respectively) are approximately double the rates in high income countries (12 per 100 000 population). Differences in road use between industrialized and developing countries have implications for intervention policies. Driver or occupant deaths accounted for approximately 50--60% of national road traffic fatalities in industrialized countries in 1999, with the vast majority occurring on rural roads. Pedestrian involvement was higher in urban areas, with evidence for increased risk among children and over-60-year-olds. In developing countries, a far higher proportion of road deaths occurs among vulnerable users (pedestrians, bicyclists, other non-motorized traffic, and motor cyclists and moped riders) and among passengers of buses and trucks. Road traffic crashes are largely preventable. Approaches to improving road safety fall into three broad groups: engineering measures (e.g. road design and traffic management), vehicle design and equipment (e.g. helmets, seat belts and day-time running lights) and road user measures (e.g. speed limits, and restrictions on drinking and driving). The prospects for prevention can be estimated from some interventions. For example, in Thailand the introduction of a new motor cycle helmet law was followed by a reduction in fatalities of 56%; in Denmark, improved traffic management and provision of cycle tracks was followed by a 35% drop in cyclist fatalities; and in Western Europe it was estimated that lowering average vehicle speeds by 5km/hour could yield a 25% reduction in fatalities. Based on a model developed in the United Kingdom, which takes into account the numbers of cars per capita, it is estimated that, if the countries with the higher road traffic injury rates were to lower these rates to those of other countries in each region, death rates would fall by between 8% and 80%. The scope for improvement is highest in the poorest countries. Worldwide, it is estimated that 44% of road traffic fatalities -- or 20 million DALYs -- per year could be avoided by this method.

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Our super field guy Chuck in an avocado orchard in the Mexican state of Michoacán There is something I’ve observed about guacamole and the people who make it — everyone has the “best ever” recipe and each is as individual as the person who makes it. Mike, the berry buyer here at our national produce office in Watsonville, has a simple, five ingredient recipe he got when he worked at a Whole Foods Market in Santa Rosa, California. Amy, a research and information administrator in Austin, has a “secret” recipe from her grandmother who insisted the spices be fresh — “not the 10 year old stuff in your cupboard.” My personal recipe — which, by the way, is the best ever — has sour cream to improve the texture. This, according to the Southwest purist, is not “real” guacamole but some fancy-pants California dip that only looks like guacamole. The truth is great guacamole is a matter of taste and like wine, is largely determined by what the person consuming it likes or dislikes. But all the recipes have one thing in common – they all start with avocados. Also know as an Alligator Pear, the avocado is actually a fruit. Originating in the Americas, the avocado was a large part of the diet of the indigenous people of Central and South America at the time they were encountered by Spanish explorers (who were credited with introducing the fruit to Europeans). Commercial cultivation of the avocado did not happen until the beginning of the 20th century and it wasn’t until the chance discovery of the Hass variety in 1926 that avocado production began in earnest. Mexico is the largest producer of avocados in the world. The next four countries on the list for commercial production are the United States, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Indonesia —and you have to add all four together to come close to matching Mexico’s annual output. In the U.S., California and Florida produce the most fruit. Here in the U.S .most of our avocados come from Mexico, Chile and domestically when in season. The California season starts in December but the peak in production is March, April and May. The season usually lasts until September but it’s hard to know how long the California season will last this year since a reduced crop is expected. The weather, the fires in Sothern California and the water shortage will make a crop about 30% lower than normal. Summer is the season for green skinned fruit out of Florida and we see Hass variety from all three locations in the summer as well. By September Mexico and Chile take over for almost 100 percent of our avocado needs as California finishes harvesting for the year. Chilean Hass avocados — with companions While the varieties produced all over the world number in the hundreds, there are two broad types of avocadoes. The most common commercial variety for sale here in the U.S. has a dark, bumpy skin — a type dominated by the Hass variety. This variety can be produced year round and is coveted for its high oil content and creamy texture. The second type of avocado commonly produced is a green skinned type — these varieties keep their green skin when ripe and commonly have lower oil content. Bacon variety avocados – Los Angeles, California Like most citrus, avocado trees are extremely sensitive to cold temperatures and will not tolerate prolonged periods below freezing. In favorable conditions, though, the avocado tree and fruit are remarkably resilient – needing little in the way of input and having few natural pests. In fact the biggest challenge to bringing avocados to market is weather and the fruit itself, which like many tropical fruits, need some help to ripen once they are off the tree and must be stored and shipped in a very narrow temperature range to avoid chill damage. Avocados on the tree - Central Mexico The challenge for a grocery store is to keep fruit on the shelves that is ripe enough to eat but not too ripe that it bruises (which will turn the interior black). It is for this reason that most avocado displays are shallow and the fruit is still firm to the touch. I like to buy my avocados firm to keep from have to cut out and dispose of bruised sections, so I try to get mine a few days before I need them. To finish ripening at home I place them in a bowl with any type of citrus or bananas. Both release ethylene gas which will help the avocado ripen. If you buy a lot of avocados at one time, make sure you check on them every day — avocados generate a lot of heat when ripening so the fruit at the bottom of the bowl will ripen faster that the fruit at the top. Fancy-pants avocado “dip” – Watsonville, California Here’s the recipe for a big bowl of my “best ever” guacamole: - 8-10 medium avocados (ripe) - ½ pint of cherry tomatoes (grape or regular variety- sliced into small pieces) - 3 oz sour cream - ¼ red onion (finely chopped) - 1 hot pepper (I like Anaheim- finely chopped) - ½ teaspoon ground cumin (or more to taste) - ½ teaspoon chili powder (to taste - Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 limes) - Cilantro to taste (or not if you don’t like it) - Salt to taste - Pepper to taste Combine all the ingredients except the tomatoes, mashing first with a fork (or potato masher) and then blend with a firm whisk. Taste and correct the seasoning and then fold in the tomatoes at the end so they will be intact. Serve with tortilla chips to lots of opinionated friends. Okay...bring it on. What’s your “best ever” guacamole? Many thanks to Chuck Anunciation and Rodrigo Velasquez for contributing to this post.

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Seashells can be a nice memento of a fond memory on the beach. Collecting seashells scattered along the beach can be a relaxing activity for some, but any shells that are picked up must be cleaned on the outside and inside, and polished to stay preserved. Use these steps to clean and polish seashells. Part 1 of 3: Finding the seashells 1Obtain your shells from your favorite collecting spot. This may be a local beach, or one you visit when on vacation. Shells can also be purchased from craft stores and from online sources. - Make sure not to take any little sea creatures homes away from them on your seashell hunt; they owned it long before you decided to collect it. - Only take shells if it is legal to do so where you live. 2Take them home. Place them in a small bucket or container to hold them all. This will also make them easy to clean.Ad Part 2 of 3: Cleaning the seashells Cleaning by boiling 1If there is an animal in the shell, remove it. It is preferable to use shells that are not the homes of animals though, so try to avoid this. 2Place the seashells in a large pot of water. Cover the shells with about 2 inches (5.08 cm) of extra water. 3Bring the water to a boil. Let the water roll for about 5 minutes. - If you are boiling more than one shell, add extra boiling time. - Larger shells might require more boiling time. 4Rinse the shell with a mixture of water and vinegar to remove any leftover scum from the boil. Follow this by using a toothbrush to scrub gently with soap and water. Make sure to get between crevices where dirt accumulates. - Smell the shell to determine if you have removed most of the odorous parts. 5Fill a bucket halfway with 1 part water and 1 part bleach. 6Soak the shells in the bleach mixture overnight, or about 10 hours. 7Rinse the shell thoroughly with water and scrub the crevices again with dishwashing soap. 8Dry the shell with a soft cloth, making sure you've soaked up all moisture. You can lay the shell outside in the sun to ensure complete dryness.Ad Cleaning with toothpaste 1With a pair of rubber gloves on, smear a light coat of toothpaste over one side of the shell at a time. 2Let the toothpaste-covered shell sit for at least 5 hours, so the toothpaste has time to soak right in. It is fine to leave it overnight, to make sure that the toothpaste does its job. 3Once it has gone tacky and or hard, depending on the thickness of the layer of toothpaste you applied, get an old toothbrush and a glass of warm water, scrub the shells thoroughly. Make sure you get into all the little cracks and hard-to-see gaps. Make sure that all of the toothpaste has been removed, even if this means rinsing under running water once scrubbed. This will remove the grit and other parts in the toothpaste, remove anything rough or sharp etc, leaving the surface very smooth with very few flaws.Ad Part 3 of 3: Polishing the seashells 1Rub mineral oil over each shell to give it a deep gleam. Allow the shells to dry for at least 1 full day. 2Place the shells on a bed of newspaper on the ground. 3Spray the shells with satin-finish polyurethane or coat with clear nail polish. This type of finish preserves the shell's organic look while giving it an extra gloss. 4Allow the tops to dry completely (about 1 day) and repeat the satin finish on the opposite side of the shells.Ad We could really use your help! - Leave live shells at the beach. They are homes to animal and there are plenty of shells that don't need animals to be removed from them. Toss animal-filled ones gently back into the sea and look for ones free of animals in them instead. They'll make more shells for future shell-seekers. Take a picture of the live shells you find in their natural habitat to display with the empty beauties you take home. - If you tear the shell animal in two pieces when attempting to remove it from the shell, you can bury the shell 1 foot (30.48 cm) in the ground for 1 to 2 months. When you dig it up, the shell should be completely empty. - Put the shells near a trash can or dumpster. One where you can see fly larva (maggots) but make sure that the shells are opened enough for them to be able to get in. They will eat the dead flesh. The flesh should hopefully be gone in at least a week. - Certain shells (notably Cowries) can be damaged rather than preserved by bleaching and other treatments. If you have a shell that is very special to you, identify the species of shell and research the correct treatment for it. You can also experiment with other shells of the same type that you don't like as much. - Some seashells will not take to boiling well. This includes especially fragile or soft shells. If you are worried about breaking your seashells, bring the pot to an almost boil instead of a complete boil. - Always wear protective eye gear-as well as gloves-when handling bleach. - Be careful not to burn yourself when removing hot shells from boiling water. Always wear protective gloves. - Bleaching will sometimes strip the color from shells. If you do not desire a "white" shell, check frequently and/or dilute the bleach solution (you can always add more if necessary). Things You'll Need - Large pot - Slotted spoon - Dishwashing soap - Soft cloth - Baby oil - Satin finish polyurethane Categories: Nature Crafts In other languages: Español: limpiar y pulir conchas de mar, Português: Limpar e Polir Conchas, Русский: очистить и отполировать ракушки, Italiano: Pulire e Lucidare le Conchiglie, Deutsch: Muscheln reinigen und polieren, Français: nettoyer et polir des coquillages Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 159,821 times.

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Are you up in the air about how to easily maintain your home spa, your modern fiberglass spa? Read starting at Step 1 to take the mystery out of spa maintenance! Keep in mind that individual spas vary greatly as does your local water supply. 1Check the water every couple of days to see how it looks. - You should have 1-5ppm of free chlorine or bromine depending on which sanitizer you choose. - The pH should be in the range of 7.2-7.8 with 7.4 being the perfect target as it is the pH of the human eye. - Calcium hardness should be 125 to 400ppm and total alkalinity 120-180ppm. 2Use eco-mode and turn your thermometer up about a half hour before you want to use it. This temperature range 101 °F (38 °C) to 104°F (38-40C) is comfortable for many people and waiting to turn up the heat until you are ready to use it saves energy. Turn it up and then go take a shower before you get in. 3Use test strips two times per week. Adjust chemical levels after you compare the strip with the chart on the strip container. It is really art, not science, but practice does improve your ability to manage your spa. All usually goes well if you can just keep the chlorine level and pH level balanced as it is often too hard to get everything balanced at once. 4Change the water every three, four or six months. Depending on how much your spa is used and how it looks, you will need to perform a complete water change out two to four times each year. 5Make sure your cover fits tightly over your spa to prevent heat from escaping. A newer, better insulating cover may pay for itself by cutting your energy bill. 6Condition your hot tub cover once a month. This will prolong its life by protecting it from the UV rays which break the chemical bonds within the vinyl, causing it to harden and crack. 7Follow the alphabet. When adjusting your hot tub chemicals make sure to follow the alphabet. First adjust alkalinity if need be, then the bromine or chlorine sanitizer, then the calcium hardness and finally the pH. 8Add only one chemical at a time. When adjusting hot tub chemical levels be sure to only add one chemical to the water, then wait a full two hours before adding another chemical. This will allow the chemicals to disperse naturally and will help to maximize their effectiveness. Waiting also minimizes the risk of a direct chemical reactions between the additives which sometimes yield unwelcome products. 9Saturation index is a calculation you can perform on your spa water that will tell you if the water is in a corrosive, scaling or balanced condition. 10Purchase quality hot tub chemicals from dedicated swimming pool and spa stores. Do not purchase department store or hardware store chemicals despite their attractive price tag. This is one of those things that you need to pay more and get more from.Ad We could really use your help! - Conditioning products should only be used on the outside of your hot tub cover and are not designed for the inside of your cover. - Detergent that remains in swimsuits after laundering can also cause foam. If this is a problem, use designated "rinsed-only" swim apparel, or wear nothing at all. - If you have foam, it is often due to people wearing lotions and not rinsing before entering the spa. - Leave your hot tub on at all times. It should be equipped with circulating pumps that will occasionally circulate the water keeping it from building up algae while continually filtering and cleaning the water. - If the water is yellow, the pH level may be way too low. Check this first, then look to using more chlorine or bromine. - If you have working ozone generator, you will not need as much chlorine or bromine. - If cleaning your filter cartridge in the dishwasher, be sure to turn off any built-in water heater. Water over 140 °F (60 °C) can damage the filter. - Consider adding a mineral based purifier to reduce chlorine or bromine. Nature2 makes a product called Zodiac that works great and costs much less than the filters sold by spa manufacturers. - To clean the underside of your cover, just use your garden hose and spray it down, then let it air-dry. Always use the cover treatments recommended by your manufacturer and avoid using a petroleum based product which sometimes proves harmful to your cover. - The least expensive filter cleaner is TSP - TriSodium Phosphate. This is the main ingredient in many dishwasher detergents. Use one cup TSP per five gallons of water. Soak for one hour or until any stains are gone, then rinse well. - Change the water every three, four or six months. Depending on how much your spa is used and how it looks, you will need to perform a complete water change out two to four times each year. Things You'll Need - Chlorine (or Bromine) granules or tablets made for spas - Spa test strips - 'Spa Down' type product to lower pH (alkalinity) - 'Spa Up' type product to raise pH (alkalinity) Categories: Swimming Pools Spas and Hot Tubs In other languages: Español: darle mantenimiento a un Spa o Jacuzzi , Deutsch: Ein Bad oder einen Whirl Pool instandhalten, Русский: содержать домашний спа или джакузи, Português: Manter uma Banheira ou um Ofurô em Boas Condições Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 402,992 times.

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This matchless memorization method is simple and guaranteed to make memorizing scripts, poems, verses and any special writings quicker and easier. It consists of the following: - Convert the lines to your thoughts; - Memorize the thoughts; - Use the carrot and stick method of reward and punishment; - Utilize the "right" hemisphere of the brain. 1Convert the writer's lines to your thoughts. You can use a / to indicate the end of a thought and a// to indicate the beginning of a new thought.Ad 2Memorize those "thoughts" ..Commit to memory a segment at a time. Start with the first thought and then the next unrelated thought. Begin anew from the first thought, as you memorize subsequent thoughts. Proceeding from the known to the unknown assists in grasping the subsequent thought faster. 3Use the carrot and stick form of reward and punishment. After the thoughts are committed to memory, pop them over and over in your head. In the beginning reward yourself when you complete the passage without mistake. Give yourself a treat, candy, cake, carrot. When you fail to complete it, "punish" yourself by going back from where you made the mistake to the beginning and start all over again. 4Use the "right" hemisphere of the brain for memorizing. They say the left hemisphere is best suited to memorization. Try experimenting to know which hemisphere works best, but know when that hemisphere is best suited to memorizing is activated. Memorize "lines" early in the morning when your brain feels as though it's bursting with life. You may be physically tired, but your brain is more receptive, anxious to work. At other times, during the day, pop the lines already committed to memory first, and then work on the unknown script/passage. 5Read out loud. Read the passage you want to memorize out loud. It helps to memorize it.Ad We could really use your help! - Some of what I've given as the four steps to memorization may seem obvious, but taken as a whole, Some have little doubt that you will find the memorizing of poems, scripts, verses will be infinitely easier. - As a way of an exercise, you might try memorizing the following verse from scripture as found in my book, JESUS: THE FINAL JOURNEY: 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.' - Emphasize the fact that popping "lines" that are well known for about 15-20 minutes greatly assists in memorizing the new "lines". Sometimes it helps to say them aloud. Even light exercise for the same amount of time helps memory. And you must try the "early-morning" way and see the results. - Try to avoid rushing to memorize by starting over from the beginning each time until the entire passage is memorized. It may seem time wasted, but believe that you will find that it aids memorization. Once again, proceeding from the "known" to the "unknown".

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The Chicago-based company hopes for approval by early next year, and then intends to finish the $450 million project in a north-eastern area of the state by 2012 - sending most of the power out of Nebraska and into the regional grid controlled by the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). The new law is intended to encourage private development in the only US state where all utilities are 100% public owned. This has allowed those utilities legal rights to control Nebraska's power generation since the 1940s and stifled investment in wind and other projects by independent power producers. But now, private developers with a power purchase agreement (PPA) of ten years or more can build projects in Nebraska as long as they export 90% of the power and pay for any new transmission needed to move the electricity. Invenergy's application in Nebraska would trigger an initial approval to proceed with development, with the understanding that Invenergy would not move towards construction until it had a PPA. The export rule could trigger a boom in a state that, although ranked fifth-windiest, has only 152MW of wind power online. "The energy-policy steps that Nebraska has taken have been very positive for wind power," says Mark Jacobson, Invenergy's director of business development. "Nebraska and other states are seeing that they really need a market that works well inside the confines of a regional grid." The state's efforts to exploit its wind resources have long been minimised by low coal-based electricity prices and a sparse population that creates little demand for new generation. Although that makes exporting wind power a logical solution, not everyone is convinced Invenergy's plan is a sure thing. "They do not have a PPA, they do not have financing and they did not make clear how they are going to deal with transmission," says John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union and longtime wind advocate. "But they are a big player and we need a guinea pig to go through the process to find out whether the law works as we intended it to." Invenergy believes financing and a PPA will be forthcoming. And Jacobson does not think scarcity of wires will be a deal breaker. "I do not see the transmission question being any different in Nebraska than it is in Kansas, Wyoming, Montana or New Mexico," he says. "There are pockets of available transmission in some areas and restricted access in others." Jacobson says developers in Nebraska can anticipate where new lines will be built. "We are trying to look for the available transmission pockets now so that we can get projects built," he says. "At the same time, we are looking long term and saying: 'Where do I think there will be transmission in the future?'" Still, Hansen wonders exactly where Invenergy's 200MW project will send its generation. Nebraska only recently joined the SPP, which, Hansen says, is likely to get all the wind power it requires elsewhere. "They will be filling those needs long before they get to Nebraska," he says. "I was not as encouraged in my recent discussion with the SPP as I was when we first went into the SPP." Yet Hansen is glad that the guinea pig's name is Invenergy. "We have had an awful lot of folks say an awful lot of things that just never turned out to be the case," he says. "But when Invenergy does stuff, unlike some of the folks who have been making claims, they have a pretty impressive track record."

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This article was taken from the September 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing With concerns swirling about the increasing role of government surveillance on social networks -- and with expectations of privacy dying a slow social death over the last decade -- it's time to ask the question: is privacy an essential part of Every year, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, Americans engage in the ritual of voting. The routine is familiar: you arrive at your polling station -- a church, a school, a community centre -- and queue up. If you're travelling or living abroad, you post your vote to your home precinct to be counted. Wherever you are, however you vote, one thing holds true: your ballot will be secret. That wasn't always the case. It used to be that Americans voted publicly, either viva voce or with physical movement, like raising a hand or standing on one side of a room. Not surprisingly, the public ceremony left voters open to intimidation or corruption. As a result, the integrity of our elections was suspect. Leaders were inspired by our Australian friends to institute the secret ballot -- among other rules -- to allow a person to choose free of undue manipulation. By 1892, voting was private, beyond surveillance. Of course, the secret ballot was never an end in itself. Secrecy was a way to protect the right to vote; for example, not having to reveal your preferences to your employer gives you the freedom to vote against his or her interests without suffering retribution. Reformers understood your right to live without harassment, to make your own decisions freely and safely. They respected a right to privacy that has implications for our digital Sadly, our big-data landscape hasn't caught up with 1892. Rapidly evolving technology has made it possible for big entities of all kinds -- campaigns, corporations, even governments -- to exert powerful influence on targeted individuals. Now, a company might know that you're pregnant before your father does. As Latanya Sweeney showed us in the mid-90s, our reliance on "anonymised data" is misplaced. And the legal definition of "personally identifiable information" used by the US Office of Management and Budget does not include several categories, including school or place of residence, which could be combined with other data to identify you. Taken together, these trends represent a threat to what it means to be a citizen in a democracy. It is subtle. In a world of algorithmic personalisation, pervasive monitoring and huge volumes of data, we are deprived of autonomy without realising it. It is true that the rights we hold dear -- free speech, peaceful assembly, due process -- do not vanish when we go online. But the practices of the digital era are quietly chipping away at their foundations by enabling a variety of actors to exploit our attributes to shape our choices for their private gain. Ethan Roeder, the former data director of Obama for America, has well-meaningly claimed: "New technologies and an abundance of data may rattle the senses, but they are also bringing a fresh appreciation of the value of the individual to American politics." But in response, we must ask an important question: value for whom? Current privacy standards simply aren't adequate to protect citizens in a democracy. We are much overdue a serious examination of long-term solutions that celebrate the individual while protecting their right to be the true author of their life. Our old institutions aren't up to the task, but the big digital platforms of our digital age aren't going to do it either. We -- the citizens -- will have to do that ourselves. Nicco Mele is the author of The End of Big: How the Internet Makes David the New Goliath

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(Baltimore) -- Smallmouth bass are a favorite of fisherman, who spend millions chasing them. A new report by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says that also makes them a good indicator of the health of freshwater rivers and streams in the bay watershed. Even though they are an introduced species, the report released today says they have become a major part of the region's culture and economy. It says fishing for the species is responsible for $630 million in sales in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. And that means they are closely tracked by fisheries regulators. "Many factors appear to be affecting the health of the smallmouth bass in the Lower Susquehanna. Of those currently being studied, pollution levels are one we can control," said Harry Campbell, CBF's Pennsylvania Executive Director. "Pennsylvania has made notable progress in the last 25 years, but in order to reduce stress on the smallmouth bass and other aquatic species, we must continue to reduce the amount of pollution getting into the river, and that requires everyone work together." The study shows data from the U.S. Geological Survey indicates between 2007 and 2011, 12 of 24 monitoring sites in the Susquehanna River and its tributaries had levels of phosphorus pollution were among the highest in the Chesapeake Bay region. Plus, 11 of 24 sites had high levels of nitrogen. The pollutants not only can cause algal blooms that trigger spikes in pH levels and low-oxygen conditions that stress fish, but can also create conditions that spur the growth of parasites that may be killing young smallmouth bass, new research suggests. The report's authors say smallmouth bass are sensitive to environmental changes that have led to lesions, intersex traits and other problems. And that can indicate possible future health problems in other species. Populations in the Lower Susquehanna River, the Shenandoah River in Virginia, the South Branch of the Potomac River in West Virginia, and the Monocacy River in Maryland have all experienced disease or die offs in recent years. Anglers first reported diseased and dying smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna River in 2005. Since that time, catch rates are now a mere 20 percent of what they were before. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is halting all fishing for smallmouth bass from May 1 until June 15, for the second year in a row. Many fisheries scientists fear a collapse of the smallmouth bass fishery. Published in Newsback to top Support for WITF is provided by: Support for witf is provided by:

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The Astronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees, who knows something about catastrophes, has called for a multi-billion dollar crash program to bring clean energy technologies to market: A carbon tax on companies generating the most greenhouse gas could be used to fund the project. "Private companies themselves won't provide an adequate research effort even for technologies that may turn out to be the most important ones, because they're still furthest from market," Prof Rees said. According to the International Energy Agency, 80% of the world's energy needs will be met by fossil fuels by 2030. Nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass and waste power will provide only 17%, with other renewables such as solar and wind accounting for less than 2%. Rees calls this a recipe for catastrophic climate change. Lots of others agree, and, indeed, many leading scientists say we need overall planetary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 60-70% over the coming decades. One often hears, in discussions about sustainability, that small steps add up. In reality, the kind of changes our societies need to undergo are truly massive, whether we're talking about climate change, reducing our cities' ecological footprint, or making our own personal consumption habits more sustainable. These things are going to require huge investments and fundamental redesigns of major aspects of our civilization, not just minor changes to a few of our daily habits. While it's encouraging to see such a rapid sea-change occuring in the public perception about sustainability, we mustn't lose sight of the fact that we still have an enormous challenge ahead of us, and the odds are not yet at all reassuring. For instance, while clean energy is having a banner year with the venture capitalists, and some companies are investing heavily in climate solutions, Exxon-Mobile remains the largest and the most profitable company in the world. Rees is right. It's time to think big, and invest accordingly. (image: Steve Roe) Obviously more funding on a grand scale for technology is required in addition to the personal behavior changes that must occur. But energy and food subsidies also need to be realigned, and public policy requires a great transformation. If discreet units of government such as cities began to analyze energy use, and projected energy use, combined with impacts from energy price increases, some profound economic development opportunites would be realized. Metabolistic analysis of cities or regions would help overcome random inefficient development while providing critical incentives for energy efficiency, public transportation, new urbanism approaches, green building, passive cooling, green roofs and infrastructure. The result: decreased operating costs, grid draw, local air pollution and carbon emissions. This would also build strong local economies. See www.warrenkarlenzig.com for more details. I have been reading about astrophysics and cosmology most of my life.I've also done a lot of reading on global warming,and am a member of many environmental groups focused on mitigating the effects of biodiversity and species loss, and fighting desertification, deforestation, and global warming. The Appollo Alliance would fit perfectly with Sir Martin Ree's proposals.Also,I am starting a large underground coal fire fighting company and will be selling the co2 credits to finance the contractors to put out the fires. Any help on research on this area would be firstname.lastname@example.org

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This week, Pope Benedict XVI visits Cuba, in the first papal visit since that of John Paul II in 1998. Tensions are high. In an open letter, Carlos Etre of Yale University writes, "Most Holy Father: All of the imprisoned in Cuba need your visit, desperately. Your physical presence will do much to uplift their spirits. … I have but one request: Please meet with the Ladies in White while you are in Cuba." The Damas de Blancos are the wives and other female relatives of Cuban dissidents who have been jailed or executed since 2003. Two weekends ago, 70 of them were arrested during a protest march, but released a few days later with a warning to lay low during pope's visit. Their case is developing into a cause célèbre, with Christians and secularists alike requesting that Benedict recognize this group. The Ladies themselves request a meeting, "if only for one minute." The official word is that Benedict's schedule is too tight to allow for extra meetings. Cuba-watchers, including Sen. Marco Rubio, fear it's shaping up to be another schmoozefest between the Catholic Church and the Communist establishment, who claim that Church and state have been friends at least since the 1990s. Even though the pope has been outspoken in his criticism of communism, early reports on Breitbart.com indicate he will not stray from the party line, and that the government, with the cooperation of Cardinal Jaime Ortega, is taking steps to ensure no unsightly protests occur. But there's another twist to this story: a rumor, first reported in February by the Italian press, that Fidel Castro is about to be received back into the Catholic Church-perhaps even during the pope's visit. (He was excommunicated in 1962). Castro will turn 86 in August and has had more than one brush with death, which tends to focus a man's attention on the hereafter. His daughter now claims, "He has rediscovered Jesus at the end of his life." This looks more unlikely by the day, but if it turns out to be true, it may be the most under-reported story of the decade. A lively debate on GetReligion.org, and other blogs, addresses the obvious issue of how a man with so much blood on his hands can return to the Church on the basis of a simple confession. Grace is the answer: grace upon grace, enough to cover the chief of sinners. But if it's true, we may not even hear about it, because a public confession would require a public acknowledgement of sin, and some kind of restoration: "Behold, Lord … if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold" (Luke 19:8). The Church's dilemma would be that reinstating Castro quietly would benefit only him. As for Castro, if his heart isn't broken over all those he robbed and jailed and hounded to death, it's not a changed heart. We may never hear about it, but the possibility of a tyrant's conversion is a reminder to pray for him, and for his victims.

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Editorial comment /// I stumbled across some presentations from the March 2008 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2008) by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Some of the data differs markedly from anything that I had seen before and contradicts many recent predictions, even from the EIA itself. All forecasts are to 2030. Many of the forecasts are related to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, but the role that very high prices play is included, such as enabling more production through unconventional resource development and increasing recovery factors, all while dampening demand. For example, US natural gas consumption is expected to remain more or less the same throughout the forecast period, as unconventional gas production increases to 50% of supply, up from today’s 40%, helping to replace a falloff in conventional production. Meanwhile, imports from Canada are nearly wiped out, but LNG imports replace it all. Log in to view this article. Not yet a subscriber? Get started now for immediate access to this content and more. Join Our Newsletter /// Sign-up for World Oil Daily News Latest News ///More

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Don't fall for energy wasters Posted October 19, 2012 As the days start to get shorter and the thermometer begins making its annual trip south, residents across the area are kicking their furnaces into action and using more lighting. The result is a steady increase in energy consumption that will be hitting most homeowner’s pocketbooks next month. This month, make it your family’s mission to search out the energy wasters in your home and take the necessary steps to improve your home’s efficiency before the truly cold weather arrives, and you can reap the savings for the rest of the season. Improving your home’s efficiency starts with knowing where your home stands on the scale of energy efficiency, one excellent reason to get a thorough home energy audit or assessment. Many home performance contractors offer this service for a minimal cost, saving you money in the long run because you can fix the most pressing problems with your home first. A home energy audit includes a homeowner interview on the history and comfort of the home, and then diagnostic procedures such as a blower door test, a pressure pan test of duct work, infrared exploration of hot and cold spots, and a detailed assessment of insulation and thermal barriers in all areas of the house. Many homeowners are surprised to find out that the biggest energy wasters in their homes are not what they thought they were going to be and recommended improvements are often easier and less expensive than anticipated. There are many easy steps that homeowners can take themselves to improve their home’s energy efficiency in the fall. - Use a programmable thermostat. Just setting the thermostat to lower the temperature 5-10 degrees during the daytime when the family isn’t home can save up to 10 percent a year. - Keep shades and curtains on south-facing windows open during the day, when the sun can warm the house, and closed at night, to prevent heat loss. - Have your heating system serviced. Most furnace companies recommend at least an annual tuneup to ensure that the system is at peak performance. - Close the fireplace damper when not in use. Leaving the damper open is the equivalent of having a 6” hole in the wall of the room the fireplace is in. - Turn your water heater down to 120 degrees to save money. Anything higher is generally wasteful and a lower setting is also recommended as a safety precaution for homes with children. - Look for energy-efficient lighting for Halloween and Christmas decorations. New LED outdoor lights are not only 80 percent more efficient than older lights, they’re also more durable and don’t need to be replaced as often. For a double dose of good energy-sense, use a timer to turn lights on and off at night. Know when to seek professional help Some home performance improvements are best left to professionals, including adding/replacing insulation, sealing crawl spaces and replacing windows and doors. These tasks generally fall outside the skills of most DIY homeowners and it’s often more expensive in the long run to have poor improvements corrected. If your home energy audit suggested professional-level improvements were necessary, be sure to collect quotes and referrals from at least three different energy improvement contractors who have credentials with Energy Star, The Building Performance Institute, LEED or similar professional organizations.

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The 30 Second Elevator Speech The purpose of the 30 Second Elevator Speech is to give a solid introductory statement that employers will remember: - Use concise language to describe your experience/skills and abilities - State the position/career field you are seeking - Emphasize your individual strengths, and link them to the perceived needs of the employer There are many ways an elevator speech can be used: - A networking event as a brief introduction of who you are and what you're looking for - During an interview when asked 'tell me about yourself' - In a cover letter describing your experience/skills relating to the position EXAMPLES of the 30 Second Elevator Speech Example steps to creating your speech: 1. Describe highlights of experience/internship/coursework that relate to the needs or interests of a networking contact - Event planning? 2. What skills did you gain? - Communication skills? - Presentation skills? - Problem solving, critical thinking? 3. Describe how these skills relate to: - Job title? - Career field? - Career goals? Practice, Practice, Practice! In most situations, you will have to give a contact the bottom line very quickly. Developing your presentation of who you are and what you're looking for will take practicing it. Enlist friends and family to listen and give pointers! ONE LAST THING: REMEMBER! The idea is to start conversations and that also means LISTENING. If you need further assistance please call The Career Services Center! 360-650-3240 [ Back to Top ] - Resumes, Cover Letters & Portfolios - Graduate School & Preprofessional Advising - Jobs & Internships - Job Search - Interview Process - On-Campus Interviews - International Opportunities - Reference Files - Students with Disabilities - Diversity Resources - Students Without Documents - International Students

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Gasoline prices are cooling just as summer heats up, dropping for the first time in 10 weeks. The average for regular gasoline at U.S. pumps fell 3.99 cents in the three weeks ended Friday, July 11 to $3.6699 a gallon, according to Lundberg Survey Inc. The survey is based on information obtained at about 2,500 filling stations by the Camarillo, Calif.-based company. The average, which is 7.91 cents below a year earlier, may fall another four cents to six cents in the next several days, Trilby Lundberg, president of Lundberg Survey, said in a telephone interview on Sunday. "The wholesale price cuts are continuing now as refiners pass along the lower prices they're paying for crude oil," Lundberg said. "If we can assume that crude oil prices don't shoot right back up, we may see further declines at the pump." The highest price for gasoline in the lower 48 states among the markets surveyed was in San Francisco, at $4.12 a gallon, Lundberg said. The lowest price was in Tulsa, Okla., where customers paid an average $3.35 a gallon. Regular gasoline averaged $3.92 a gallon on Long Island, N.Y., and $4.09 in Los Angeles. West Texas intermediate crude (WTI) fell $6.43, or 6 percent, to $100.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the three weeks to Friday. "The price decline came because of crude oil prices, which are reacting to the news that Libya eked out a production rise and Iraq output hasn't been decimated by the fighting there," Lundberg said. WTI capped its third weekly drop in a row as Libya reopened two oil-export terminals and Kurdish forces took over two oil fields in Iraq. Libya was producing 350,000 barrels a day on Saturday, more than double the output of a month ago, according to Mohamed Elharari, a spokesman at National Oil Corp. Shipments from Iraq's southern region should recover this month to about 2.6 million barrels a day, compared with 2.42 million in June, barring technical problems, the International Energy Agency said Friday. Crude inventories in the U.S. fell for the second straight week, dropping 2.37 million barrels to 382.6 million in the seven days ended July 4, according to the Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department's statistical arm. Gasoline futures on the Nymex slipped 21.92 cents, or 7 percent, to $2.9085 a gallon in the three weeks ended on Friday as supplies increased and demand slipped. Gasoline stockpiles increased 579,000 barrels to 214.3 million for the week ended July 4, EIA data show. Supplies in the central Atlantic region, which includes New York, the delivery point for Nymex gasoline futures, climbed 1.14 million barrels to 30.5 million, a four-week high. Demand over the four weeks was 9.04 million barrels a day, 0.4 percent below a year earlier, EIA data show.

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SAYING the word ‘Stradivarius’, the world’s most famous brand of violin, in some circles, will earn you gasps of awe and wonder; possibly even lust. So how fun it was to hear Levon Chilingirian, the violin-playing namesake of the acclaimed travelling ensemble, who spent a weekend playing Beethoven and Schubert at Taunton’s Castle Hotel, earthing the other-worldliness around the Stradivari family’s legacy most-coveted with some good common sense. “Give a good instrument to a good player, and they’ll make it sound good,” he said. “If you give a bad instrument to a bad player, they’ll make it sound bad.” Thankfully, this quad of Levon, Dartington-trained Ronald Birks (violin), Susie Mészáros on viola, and cellist Stephen Orton, could make a rude creation of elastic bands and cardboard box a concert-worthy instrument. That morning, the quartet presented Beethoven’s 1809 ‘String Quartet in E flat, Opus 74’, or ‘Harp’, and Schubert’s 1824 ‘String Quartet in D minor’, or ‘Death and the Maiden’ – both names admittedly rather a mouthful for anyone who doesn’t consider classical music their cup of tea. Called the ‘Harp’ because of the harp-like plucking sounds runnning through it, Beethoven’s work is playful in its mimicry; a light and warm sound shooting down the centuries. It sounds like an impressionist’s painting (although the music came before the art movement), all interlocking notes, the gentle boom of the cello, the resounding hum from the violin and viola. Schubert’s morbid ‘Death and the Maiden’, meanwhile, grabbed you by your coat lapels. It’s thought the great man wrote it while suffering with syphilis, thinking his death imminent. And it sounds like the lament of a dying man unable to stop the inevitable, feeling he’s being taken too early; the cello’s death knoll sounding through it. But for the chamber music ‘virgin’ – I’m a self-professed indie music lover – this cleansing 11am concert made not just for incredible listening, but viewing too. You can’t help but grin watching the animated Levon stamping the floor as he plays; at times bouncing his chair backwards; the pleasing theatrical sweep and jolt of the players’ bowing arms; Levon solo-ing so urgently you half expect his 17th Century violin to burst into flame. Then there’s just the sheer skill involved in translating a wash of genius score, the flat black and white of a page, into that complex, cascading sound. With 2014 the eleventh year The Quartet has been to the Hotel, “it really feels like old friends”, says Susie Mészáros on her English-made viola. The Castle’s owner, Kit Chapman explains: “We started this concert series in 1977, and here we are today. My job at the time was to put the hotel on the map and market it – what the hell do you do with miserable winter weekends in Somerset?” • THE London Haydn Quartet present’s Taunton’s next chamber music concert weekend, from March 28-30, Friday to Sunday. Tickets are £24 each for morning performances, and £25 for evenings. Book on events.the-castle-hotel.com/ticketing or 01823-272671.

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The National Park Service continues to rehabilitate the Gettysburg National Military Park by planting acres of fruit trees in locations throughout the battlefield where orchards existed in 1863. The plan also involves restoring historic fence lines and fields, including removing trees from areas that were clear during the Civil War. Here are some photos taken February 13, 2011, of the area around McKnight’s Knoll (near Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill). I. E. Avery’s North Carolina brigade of Jubal Early’s division charged over some of this same ground on the evening of July 2, 1863, in a coordinated attack with the Louisiana Tigers. In the right center background is the Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse (click on the photo to enlarge it for easier viewing). Here are some photos of the recent tree clearing… The Iron Brigade of the West entrenched in this general vicinity, with the left of its line protecting the artillery on the knoll and its right well onto Culp’s Hill. Looking toward Culp’s Hill down the line of the Iron Brigade. Felled logs await removal from the Gettysburg battlefield. The sweeping view of Avery’s attack path is greatly improved from the same view last summer.

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Categories: Processes and Tools Authoring team for the foundation article Lead authors: Greg Foliente, Selwyn Tucker, Seongwon Seo, Murray Hall and Peter Boxhall Contributors: Matthew Clark, Robin Mellon and Nils Larsson Performance assessment of a building or facility may be undertaken at different stages of its life cycle: at planning and design, during construction, at commissioning, and during occupancy or use. The type and extent of assessment - and the nature and content of the assessment report - will depend on the primary purpose of the assessment and for whom it has been conducted. This article presents the different contexts in which an assessment can be made, provides an overview of a general process for undertaking assessment, and identifies selected tools and methods that can be used for environmental performance assessment, including a comparative guide for selecting the tool(s) appropriate for a building or facility at various stages of its life cycle. A series of tables is presented as a starting point for quick comparisons of selected tools to aid decision making. Definitions and basic concepts Performance assessment of a building or facility may be undertaken at different stages of its life cycle: at planning and design, during construction, at commissioning, and during occupancy or use. The type and extent of assessment - and the nature and content of the assessment report - will depend on the primary purpose of the assessment and for whom it has been conducted. Based on the timing of the assessment, it may be a pre-commissioning assessment or an in-service assessment. Based on scope, it may be a single-attribute assessment or an extensive assessment (i.e. across a range of environmental or sustainability performance attributes). Based on the nature of input data into the assessment tool or method, it may be an indirect assessment or an assessment based on direct measurements. Based on the type of certification desired, it may be a 'standard' assessment or a customised assessment. Sometimes, an assessment is undertaken to check if the key measures (or indicators) of performance meet the performance targets set beforehand. In other cases, an assessment is done to obtain a snapshot of performance to which current and future facility improvement works can be compared. Alternatively, the objective may be to compare a particular building's performance - intended or in service - to others of similar type and/or size (i.e. benchmarking). Actual in-service performance matters most because impacts and consequences or benefits are real, it serves to validate (or not) design or refurbishment intent, and it contributes to knowledge and could improve future practice. In general, environmental assessment should be considered as part of, or in conjunction with, a broader building performance assessment, since there are complex interactions and inter-dependencies between the different parts or elements of the building. Furthermore, a decision to enhance one particular performance attribute (e.g. choosing a particular material to reduce indoor air emissions) may have adverse impact(s) on another (e.g. increasing the building 'fire load'). Since many building performance requirements compete with other requirements, a total performance approach (or whole systems thinking) is required in setting requirements, design and construction, and performance assessment and management. There are a number of key terms used in this article and their definitions are as below. Facility: Facility refers to a completed or existing building, especially where it supports or facilitates a business or service function. Ecological footprint or 'footprint': This is a measure of how much biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates using prevailing technology and resource management practices. Eco-indicator: An eco-indicator is a measure of the environmental impacts of manufacturing products or providing services, as evaluated according to the widely accepted life cycle assessment (LCA) procedure. Performance approach or performance concept: This refers to the practice of thinking and working in terms of 'ends', rather than 'means'. It is about describing what the building is expected to do, and not prescribing how it is to be realised. Performance assessment or performance evaluation: This refers to the process of assessing or evaluating the performance of the whole building or its component parts, according to a set of performance targets, criteria or requirements. Performance indicators: Performance indicators are a set of measures that reflect the environmental or sustainable credentials or performance of a building. It should be noted that, in research literature, a distinction is made between environmental or 'green' assessment and 'sustainable' assessment; the latter includes the indicators covered in the former and extends its scope to include social, economic and other indicators. Performance requirements or criteria: This is an expression or statement of the level of performance an indicator is required to achieve. It includes two elements: (a) a performance indicator, and (b) an acceptable value or range of values and grades (e.g. 1-star to 5-stars). Performance requirements or criteria may be quantitative or qualitative, or mixed. Rationale and benefits - Building-specific benefits - General industry benefits The building and property industry has a significant direct impact on the environment. Buildings or facilities should exist to provide clean, safe and healthy environments in which the occupants can live, work and enjoy themselves; however, this is not always the case. Sir Winston Churchill (1943) said: 'We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us'. Unfortunately, we do not really know how our buildings actually perform or their actual impact on people and their activities or business, and on the environment. In addition, past mistakes in design and choice of materials or technologies tend to be repeated in new buildings, leading to costly consequences and/or adverse impacts on people, businesses and the environment. These problems will continue unless we undertake appropriate performance assessment in any or all stages of the facility life cycle, and then learn from these assessments and seek continuous improvement. Performance assessment benefits the stakeholders in the specific building that is assessed, as well as the building and property industry in general. An alternative term to 'performance assessment' is 'performance evaluation'. Presier and Vischer (2005) note that the term 'evaluation' contains the word 'value'. Indeed, validation (and certification) that a building performs to a level better than the rest of the industry brings with it many benefits to building owners, facility managers and tenants. These benefits include: - recognition and prestige - operational savings (e.g. in water and energy use) - improved social interactions, worker well-being and productivity. A study of the costs and benefits of green buildings in California (Kats, 2003) identified and quantified the economic benefits of buildings that incorporated concepts and technologies for improved environmental performance. Furthermore, when responsible environmental performance is validated, the companies involved can improve their corporate social responsibility (CSR) status, and gain significant market advantage associated with 'doing well by doing good' (Hampton, 2004), a concept that is also known as 'virtuous circles' (Hampton, 2004; Roaf, 2005). In the UK, an important conclusion from the Post-Occupancy Review of Buildings and their Engineering (Probe) effort - which involved undertaking post-occupancy evaluations (POE) of buildings from 1995 through interviews, surveys (including energy use surveys) and reviews of technical information - was that 'feedback from building users could help add value without increasing cost, by linking means (the constructed facility) more closely to client's ends' (Bordass & Leaman, 2005). Building-specific performance assessment also helps owners and facility managers to: - validate how well actual performance compares with the original goals or targets, where they have been specified and documented (e.g. project brief) - compare a particular building's performance - intended or in service - to others of similar type and/or size (i.e. benchmarking) - identify areas of improvement for the next round of funding or upgrades - make informed decisions about the facility (e.g. to develop appropriate investment and management strategies and actions). Feedback on the actual performance of a building or facility in service will help architects, engineers and contractors to improve their knowledge and practice of designing and constructing future buildings. In the planning and design stages, the use of performance assessment methods or tools: - serves as a common language platform for discussing and understanding what stakeholders mean by a 'green' or 'sustainable' building (Cole, 2005) - guides design and construction professionals about the most (or more) important goals and focuses them on delivering these goals - facilitates integration of knowledge and expertise of people from different disciplines (including fostering collaborative learning) and, in some cases, the integration of project planning and delivery processes (Kaatz et al., 2006). Building tenants and users who understand both the intended and actual performance of the facility they are in usually also tend to behave and act appropriately - they will get the most out of the facility and feel better about their work environment, and the building will perform in a more efficient manner. General industry benefits When more buildings have gone through performance assessment, the individual building-specific benefits identified above are multiplied accordingly. Some of these benefits include: - improving quality and performance of the overall building stock - wider economic benefits to building owners and tenants - better information on performance indicators and benchmarks (with many different building types in various locations in a database, performance benchmarks can be differentiated for building types) - continuously improving knowledge and practice for all stakeholders, especially architects, engineers and builders. The last two points pertain to improving technical information and know-how. These are very important ingredients that support the whole-of-life applications of the performance approach in the delivery and management of high-performance facilities. The performance approach has been identified as a key pathway to achieving the building and property industry's future vision (Foliente et al., 2005a). Environmental performance assessment and rating tools seem to be contributing to industry and market transformation towards innovation and more sustainable built environments in many parts of the world (Cole 2005, 2006). - Facility life cycle - Performance goals, criteria and targets - Types of environmental performance assessment Performance assessment of a building or facility is not a new concept; it is as old as the formal engineering design of buildings. What is more recent is expanding or extending performance assessment to include environmental, economic and social factors. Performance assessment may be undertaken at different stages of a facility's life cycle: at planning and design, during construction, at commissioning, and during occupancy or use. The type, purpose and nature of assessment - and the key players involved - will be different at different stages of the facility's life cycle. This section lays out important considerations that need to be understood before embarking on planning and implementing a performance assessment scheme. Facility life cycle Over its life, a constructed facility goes through a number of stages (which may repeat if the facility is refurbished - see figure below). Performance assessment objectives and key participants differ during each stage, as follows: - Planning: client, designer and regulator - Design: client, designer, builder, regulator and user - Construction: client and builder - Operation: client, facility manager and user - Refurbishment: client, user, designer and builder (The term 'client' is used here broadly to include owners, investors and their specialist consultants; 'designer' includes architects and engineers; 'builder' includes sub-contractors employed in the building process and may extend to building suppliers; and 'user' includes tenants and regular visitors.) The procurement or contractual model for a project has a significant influence on the participants for each stage and can therefore lead to a casting slightly or radically different to that outlined above. Facility life cycle stages The planning and design stages are where the future of the facility is determined. During project programming or briefing, the building performance goals and targets are established (often only implicitly, but doing this more explicitly is preferred). Decisions made during these stages are often very expensive to change once construction is under way. It should be noted that serious assessment of design options is standard practice in engineering design (e.g. for structural and fire safety), and the rigour of these assessments increases in major or important projects. Systematic assessment of performance needs to expand to other building performance attributes, considering the interactions and inter-dependencies of various design elements within a building. Thus, predicting future performance is essential at the planning and design stages if the facility is going to be sustainable, practical and economic over its lifetime. Lifetime may be determined by technical/functional performance, or by economic performance, based on the quality of, and demand for, the characteristics of the facility. Between the construction phase and the operation phase is handover and commissioning. According to the American Building Commissioning Association (1999), the purpose of commissioning is 'to provide documented confirmation that building systems function in compliance with criteria set forth in the project documents to satisfy the owner's operational needs'. Thus, this is a natural point for a performance assessment, especially when the level of payment to the designers and builders as agreed in the project contract depends on a certain building performance level being achieved on completion and as a condition for handover. Multiple and different kinds of assessment may be undertaken during building occupancy and operation. One scheme that has been practiced since the 1960s is known as post-occupancy evaluation (POE). Engineering safety evaluation of critical facilities is also often undertaken after a major event such as an earthquake or fire. Maintenance and performance testing of essential services, such as stairwell pressurisation, are required on a routine basis. Environmental performance evaluation of buildings in service (and during occupancy) establishes actual performance levels. On the basis of any of these assessments, and depending on the facility requirements of owners and tenants, a refurbishment/re-use decision may be reached. In this case, the building cycle then returns to planning, followed by design and so on (see figure titled Facility life cycle stages above). Performance goals, criteria and targets Evaluating design and solution options at various stages of the facility life cycle Source: Foliente et al., 2005b The left figure, which shows the building process in linear form, demonstrates the process and timing of performance assessment. During the design and building phase, the assessment of various design and construction options ('solution space') is done, using 'virtual tools' or methods that predict future performance (see bottom loop arrows in the figure above). Performance assessment during occupancy and building operation may be undertaken at any time, and may lead to a refurbishment/re-use decision. But in all cases, a key assumption is the availability or knowledge of building performance goals, targets or requirements that will form the basis for assessment. It is very important to determine whether these goals and requirements have been defined and documented in the project brief. The set (or sub-set) of performance requirements that needs to be identified depends on the purpose and nature of assessment. Ideally, the starting point is a holistic view of performance space as illustrated in the first figure below (Framework and perspectives for performance assessment). This shows a three-dimensional view of the components of performance assessment. The life cycle stages are along the third (time) axis, where requirements change according to the life cycle stage of the building and where, as noted earlier, those interested in building performance also change over time. Framework and perspectives for performance assessment (a) Performance space (left figure) (b) Different levels of detail for describing performance targets (right figure) Source: Foliente et al., 2005a The vertical axis reflects the need to consider the place of the building in the neighbourhood and region (going upwards), and the breakdown of a building into its component parts (going downwards). The horizontal axis shows the differing attributes for which performance assessment is required; from the typical physical/technical and functional attributes, through to the environmental, economic and social aspects of a building. A distinction is being made in technical literature between (a) 'green' building assessment, which considers only certain environmental attributes, and (b) 'sustainable' building assessment, which includes indicators considered in the green building assessment but extends its scope to social, economic and other indicators (Cole et al., 2000; Kaatz et al., 2006). With this increasing aggregation and disaggregation of performance assessment to suit varying needs, there is now a wide range of indicators that should readily scale as required from a component focus to the whole building and beyond - such as those collected in the European indicators database project CRISP (2003) (http://crisp.cstb.fr/database.asp). In some cases, the range of measures of individual performance attributes is aggregated into a single measure (e.g. a star-rating or eco-points). Performance assessment of buildings has expanded to include the environmental context of a building at local, regional and global levels (Preiser & Vischer, 2005). While the main focus has been on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, there are other factors (such as resource consumption and depletion, toxic emissions to the environment, and recycling) to be taken into account at every stage of the life cycle of a building. Many of these factors would be considered by the designer or facility in the normal flow of business, but the relative importance changes as more emphasis is put on the environment and service life, with aggregation over a whole life (e.g. operating energy) being of similar magnitude to the energy required to manufacture and construct the facility. In addition, interest in people's health and worker productivity - as affected by building design, features and details - has been steadily increasing and becoming a key focus in developing the sustainability business case (Kats, 2003). These intangible factors are, however, not easy to measure, being further complicated by the heterogeneous nature of buildings. To address different stakeholder views, understanding and interests, and to aid communication, the description of a performance goal or requirement may be high-level (e.g. Level 1 in right figure titled Framework and perspectives for performance assessment) for senior decision-makers or detailed (Level x) for technical professionals involved at the operational level. The choice of a performance assessment method should depend on the purpose of assessment (including what and for whom it is for), and the scope and level of description of the goals or targets. A 'performance criteria' has two basic components: (a) a performance indicator (e.g. operating energy), and (b) an accepted level or value (e.g. in KJ/month per m2 or KJ/month per person or KJ/month per m2 per person) or an identified industry benchmark. A performance indicator is not simply a piece of information or statistic, but implies comparison (Tucker & Taylor, 1990); it may be specified as higher or lower than a given value (e.g. operating energy - 100 kJ per m2 per person). A performance requirement may be stated in either quantitative or qualitative terms (Beller et al., 2002). The set of requirements should satisfy, at the minimum, regulatory and legislative requirements, and will also include project-specific requirements. In some assessments, the choice of a specific method and overall performance target (e.g. aiming for a 5-star Green Star rating) brings with it the performance targets for key performance indicators (or required scores for each attribute category) or an overall target score for the aggregated assessment. In other assessments, this may need to be obtained from previous documentation (e.g. a project brief), or established afresh through a workshop or consultation with the client and other stakeholders. Types of environmental performance assessment There are a number of ways to classify environmental performance assessment methods for buildings. The International Energy Agency Annex 31 (IEA, 2004) presents a typology for energy assessment tools that may be applied to general environmental performance assessment tools. Deakin et al. (2002), Luetskendorf and Lorenz (2006), and Hyde et al. (2007) also provide various classification systems for building environmental assessment tools. Various ways of classifying different types of performance assessments are summarised in the table below (Classification and types of performance assessment). As shown in the right-hand column, the tools and methods that are currently available or used in practice can be used for different types of assessment, depending on the classification being considered. Classification and types of performance assessment Assessment process overview Overview of a general process of environmental performance assessment A general process for undertaking performance assessment is illustrated in the left figure. There will be variations of this process, but the key elements are outlined below. a. Establish the purpose(s) of environmental impact assessment of the building: This is usually the decision of the owner or client, and is sometimes decided with input from a specialist consultant. It is important to consider the context of the facility life cycle (see above for figure titled Facility life cycle stages and figure titled Evaluating design and solution options at various stages of the facility life cycle). In a new building project, it is possible to outline a performance assessment plan for the whole life of the facility during the planning stage. b. Choose the type(s) of assessment required for achieving the purpose(s) set earlier: This will include identifying the specific tool(s) or method(s) and the reporting requirements. The table above (Classification and types of performance assessment) and the tables in the Common tools and rating systems and Tool selection guide and comparisons sections below provide guidance in this matter. As noted earlier, the environmental assessment plan should be considered as part of a broader building performance assessment plan. Therefore, linkages with other performance assessment methods (i.e. non-environmental methods such as structural design, fire safety design etc.) should be identified at this stage. Where multiple or different assessments (at one point or at different points in the life cycle) are required, details of the next stages of assessment will need to be planned separately for each assessment type or method. c. Choose assessor/evaluator and assemble participants: The choice of specific tools or methods for assessment will lead to a choice of assessor/evaluator. Some assessment tools, especially those that lead to third-party certification of environmental credentials, require certified assessors. In addition to this, the client should carefully consider the assessor's related qualifications and experience. The participants needed to undertake the assessment depend on for which stage of the life cycle it is being undertaken and the nature of the procurement or contractual model for the project (see above for the Facility life cycle section of this article for more information). d. Identify the building performance goals/targets: This may be as straightforward as choosing an overall performance target associated with a specific assessment method (e.g. aiming for a 5-star Green Star rating). In this case, the required overall target score is an aggregation or sum of scores from key performance indicators (or from a number of attribute categories), and therefore can be distributed to these categories. Alternatively, this step may be a fairly involved process requiring a full workshop or charrette with participants to establish performance targets across a range of building performance attributes — for example, working through a comprehensive performance framework such as that implemented in EcoProp or PRISM (Huovila et al., 2004. For assessments undertaken at commissioning or during occupancy, the set of performance targets obtained from previous documentation (e.g. a project brief) could be the starting point. e. Implement specific assessment methodology: The specific methodology selected in (b) is implemented, led or facilitated by an assessor, with the involvement of the stakeholders identified in (c), and in constant reference to the performance targets set in (d). This process may be iterative, until an appropriate solution is identified that meets the specified level of performance. f. Finalise report and, if required, obtain certification: The report should be finalised in a form that meets the requirements and expectations set in steps (a) and (b). The procedure to obtain 'standard assessment' certification (see table above (Classification and types of performance assessment) is generally straightforward. Customised assessment reports and certification require clear communication of requirements before commencement of assessment, and a careful check afterwards. g. File full documentation as part of whole-life performance requirements management program: The performance targets, assessment process and outputs (report and certification) should be kept or archived as part of a whole-life performance requirements management program for the facility. This has short-term and long-term applications in managing the facility. h. Identify actions required (if any) for specific stakeholders: Where immediate decisions and/or actions are required, these should be clearly identified and passed on to appropriate personnel. If or when the performance assessment undertaken does not assess in-service performance (during operation phase), a plan to validate the facility's performance in service is strongly recommended. Actual in-service performance matters most because: - the impacts and consequences or benefits are real - it serves to validate (or not) design or refurbishment intent - it contributes to knowledge and could improve future practice. Assessment methods and tools - Historical background - Common tools and rating systems - Tool selection guide and comparisons - Environmental performance attributes and indicators - Indoor environment quality (IEQ) - Use of materials and resources - Environmental impacts Although this article, in general, and this section, in particular, is about the environmental performance assessment of buildings, it should be emphasised that environmental assessment should be considered as part of a broader building performance assessment. This is because there are complex interactions and inter-dependencies between the different parts or elements of a building, and the different performance requirements are usually in competition. Final decisions are often a trade-off between performance attributes, legal requirements (e.g. planning and building regulations, workplace safety requirements etc.), and project goals and stakeholder priorities. The different tools and methods of assessment should assist or facilitate this decision-making process. This section covers environmental performance tools specifically developed for buildings. Other environmental impact measures that have been developed for other industries (but are also applicable to buildings) are described in the Other environmental impact measures section of this article (below). A significant addition to building performance assessment methods via engineering design and analysis was the introduction of POEs in the 1960s (Preiser & Vischer, 2005). The first environmental assessment tool, the BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), was developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK in 1990, and this became the forerunner of many popular assessment methods in a number of countries, including Australia's Green Star suite of tools. Another approach, called the SBTool, was developed in Canada in 1996 as part of the Green Building Challenge (GBC) — now called Sustainable Building Challenge (SBC). SBTool provides a generic framework that allows local organisations to develop one or more rating systems that suit the region. The method places emphasis on the ability to have the system reflect the relative importance of performance issues in a particular region, and also to contain regionally relevant benchmarks. Another approach is the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, which was developed and is widely used for the environmental impact assessment of products and services. The LCA procedures are part of the ISO series of ISO 14000 environmental management standards (ISO, 2007). A LCA procedure for buildings was has been developed in Japan in 1999 (Ikaga,AIJ 2005). The use of a single measure from a LCA process, called an eco-indicator, is discussed further in the Eco-indicator section of this article (below). Common tools and rating systems The wide range of environmental performance design and assessment tools provides building design professionals and other project stakeholders with a choice of tools to aid the planning, design, evaluation and management of environmentally friendly buildings and facilities. However, selecting the right tool for a project at the right stage of the process, and for a specific purpose (step (b) in figure above titled Framework and perspectives for performance assessment), can be a challenge. The number and variety of tools (with more likely to be developed) have the potential to confuse project stakeholders. In this section, the focus is on some of the most common tools and rating systems that have been used, or can be used, in Australia. The table below (List of tools) presents a summary of selected environmental rating, design and assessment tools, based on the classifications presented in the table tiled Classification and types of performance assessment (above). The second table below Purpose of tools presents a brief statement of the primary purpose of each tool, the range or type of performance measures it considers, and whether a final single-value rating is given. Both the NABERS and Green Star systems may be considered standard assessments, while BREEAM and SBTool are overseas methods that can be customised and used in Australia; both the BREEAM International and/or Bespoke versions are suitable for Australia, while SBTool has been used in the environmental performance assessment of many buildings around the world, including Australia (Cole, 2002). Finally, EcoSpecifier and Evergen Product Selection Guide are examples of product-based assessment tools. When the tools have similar scope and capability, a comparison of the breadth and depth of their environmental assessment can be made (see Tool selection guide and comparisons below). List of tools - Summary list of environmental rating, design and assessment tools Purpose of tools - Primary purpose of and performance measures considered by various rating, design and assessment tools Tool selection guide and comparisons Choosing a tool for performance assessment requires a consistent framework and a common basis for comparing the applicability and basic technical content of the environmental performance assessment tools commonly available in Australia for application to commercial buildings. This section, and the following sections, are based on discussions in Foliente et al. (2004). The table below shows the applicability of the tools, based on building types and the primary object of assessment, which may be product level, part of a building (e.g. façade), whole building, a portfolio of buildings, or a whole development. Applicability of tools (a) - Applicability of assessment tools in terms of object of assessment The table below identifies the applicability of the tools according to the stage/phase in the life cycle of the building: planning, design, operation and maintenance, and end of life. Applicability of tools (b) - Applicability of assessment tools in terms of life cycle of a building The table below identifies the coverage of the attributes of indoor environment quality, material/resource use, and transport available in each tool (these are briefly defined below in the Environmental performance attributes and indicators section of this article). Comparison of tools (a) - Environmental performance attributes and comparison of breadth and depth of coverage of each tool - indoor environment quality, material/resource use, and transport (Note that these should be read in conjunction with tables titled Purpose of tools, Applicability of tools (a) and Applicability of tools (b)) The table below identifies the coverage of the attributes of energy and water in each tool (these are briefly defined below in the Environmental performance attributes and indicators section of this article). Comparison of tools (b) - Environmental performance attributes and comparison of breadth and depth of coverage of each tool — energy and water (Note that these should be read in conjunction with tables titled Purpose of tools, Applicability of tools (a) and Applicability of tools (b)) The table below identifies the coverage of the environmental impact attributes by each tool (these are briefly defined below in the Environmental performance attributes and indicators section of this article). Comparison of tools (c) - Environmental performance attributes and comparison of breadth and depth of coverage of each tool — environment impact (Note that these should be read in conjunction with tables titled Purpose of tools, Applicability of tools (a) and Applicability of tools (b)) The relative depth of coverage for each performance indicator in the tables titled Comparison of tools (a), Comparison of tools (b) and Comparison of tools (c) is shown in each table by special marks; for example, a fully shaded circle under 'embodied energy' means that a tool provides more detailed treatment (or requires more data), assessment or analysis of this indicator than a tool with only a partially shaded circle. Likewise, a tool with a partially shaded circle does more than a tool with only an open (unshaded) circle (i.e. an open circle means only a cursory or very basic treatment of that specific indicator). The marks were decided based on consistent criteria for comparable tools (i.e. they are relative to comparable tools), as identified in tables titled Purpose of tools, Applicability of tools (a) and Applicability of tools (b). This series of tables provides: - guidance in selecting the tool(s) appropriate for a building project at various stages of development or the life cycle. They do not make a value judgment of the tools considered (one tool may be more appropriate for one project than for another) - a comprehensive set of considerations for quick comparison of scope and capability, from object of assessment to building types, life cycle stages and environmental performance indicators - relative comparisons of the extent and depth of the treatment of each environmental performance attribute - a starting point for quick comparisons of available tools to aid decision making. Finally, it should be noted that: - the 'right' tool for one project at a specific stage of the process and for a specific purpose would not necessarily be the right one for another project - a project can use different tools for assessment at different stages of development, or different tools (with complementary focus) at the same stage of the facility's life cycle. Environmental performance attributes and indicators The attributes selected in the tables titled Comparison of tools (a), Comparison of tools (b) and Comparison of tools (c) are considered the key attributes of a wide range of possible indicators, and include the environmental impacts of the production of a building's components, construction, operation, repair and maintenance activities, refurbishment and demolition, as well as the environmental comfort and benefits to building occupants (e.g. CRISP, 2003; ISO, 2006). Many of the rating tools use a broad spectrum of categories for the sustainability index of a building, such as 'social, transport, water, alteration water, stormwater, energy, alteration energy, waste, indoor air quality, and materials' (Sustainability Advisory Council, 2002; Mesureur, 2002; Deroubaix, 2002). For other sets of sustainability indicators and benchmarks, see State of Minnesota (2000) and Roaf et al. (2004). As well as the environmental aspects of sustainability, economic and social concerns have been suggested for inclusion in sustainability criteria in building assessment (Cole et al., 2000). Indoor environment quality (IEQ) Indoor environment quality is recognised as a significant environmental and health problem. It refers to how well the indoor environment satisfies thermal requirements and respiratory requirements, prevents an unhealthy accumulation of pollutants, and allows for a sense of well-being (IAQWG, 2003). Some indicators of indoor environment quality that are considered by assessment tools are listed below. - Thermal comfort: Thermal comfort includes control of room temperature and humidity, and air velocity. - Lighting: Indicators for lighting include the degree of visual access to the exterior, and daylight access, illumination levels, and control of indoor light levels. - Air quality: Air quality includes consideration of emissions from building materials and parts, the degree of pollutants control, the performance of ventilation, the operational plan to improve air quality (such as a monitoring system), and the air quality management plan. - Noise: Noise indicators for building assessment include noise level, sound insulation levels and sound absorption levels. Use of materials and resources Buildings are a major consumer of materials, as they consume minerals and other natural materials (Roodman & Lenssen, 1995). Some of the indicators related to the use of materials and resources that are considered by assessment tools are listed below. - Consumption: Consumption refers to the amount of materials and components used during construction, operation and maintenance. Improvements in consumption focus on resource efficiency, which relates output (amount and performance attribute of a product) to required input (amount of raw materials needed to manufacture the finished product). - Recycling: To reduce both debris going to landfill and virgin material consumption, recycling of resources used in a building and re-use of materials or structures are considered. The indicators include the recycled or re-used amount and their contents. - Waste: Waste amount and waste reduction strategies for construction and demolition debris are considered. - Service life: The life cycle impact of products used in buildings includes their replacement over the life of the building. Even though a building product has a higher environmental impact in the initial stage (construction stage), it might have less relative impact over the life cycle of the building if it has a long life. The indicators of service life include specification of building materials, life expectancy of appliances and fit-out, durability of building materials, and maintenance/updating schemes. The movement of people between buildings (or locations) can be a major contributor to energy consumption, global warming, and other air pollutants emissions. These environmental impacts of transport are different to those resulting from the building itself. Transport-related factors considered by assessment tools include access to public transport, availability of alternative transportation, and distance to other buildings. Assessment of building energy must include the major elements of energy use, such as heating, cooling, lighting, process energy etc. From an environmental perspective, it is also valuable to know the source of the likely energy services to the building. Energy-related indicators considered by assessment tools are listed below. - Embodied energy: Embodied energy refers to the quantity of energy required by all of the activities associated with a production process, including the proportions consumed in all direct and indirect supporting activities upstream, to the acquisition of natural resources. - Operational energy: Operational energy includes annual operational energy consumption and CO2 emissions arising from the operation of a building and its services. - Energy efficiency: Energy efficiency includes efficiency in all of the building systems (HVAC, ventilation, lighting, water heating, elevator etc.) and operational efficiency, such as an energy monitoring system. This criterion focuses on actions to improve efficiency. - Thermal load: Thermal load includes characteristics such as building orientation, the thermal load of windows, and the insulation level of exterior walls and the roof; all of which affect the absorption of solar radiation by the building. - Renewable energy: This refers to any renewable energy used in the building, including solar, wind, waste, or other renewable energy sources. In Australia, buildings directly consume 14% of total water use (ABS, 2000). This proportion would increase if indirect water consumption, such as embodied water, was considered. Water-related indicators considered by assessment tools are listed below. - Embodied water: Embodied water is the quantity of water removed from the water supply through losses due to process usage, evaporation, wastage and disposal of non-recycled water by all of the activities associated with a production process, including the relative proportions consumed in all activities upstream, to the acquisition of natural resources. - Operational water consumption: Operational water consumption is one of the main resource draws apart from energy. Indicators for operational water consumption include annual water consumption by building occupants, including potable water use for building equipment operation. - Water efficiency: This refers to water efficiency measures designed to reduce water demands for a building, including water-saving features, metering systems, water-saving targets, and water-efficient landscape irrigation systems. - Re-use: Re-use indicators includes water re-use amount and water re-use facilities for internal water usage within a building. Environmental impacts, as measured in environmental impact indicators, are the impacts on human beings, ecosystems and man-made capital resulting from changes in environmental quality (SETAC, 1993; Seo et al., 2005). Environmental impacts considered by assessment tools are listed below. - Global warming: The main cause of global warming is the burning of fossil fuels for energy. There are many gases that cause global warming, such as CO2, methane, CFCs, and NOx. Buildings are directly and indirectly responsible for global warming due to gas emissions during their life cycle (energy consumption from the production and transport of materials, the construction of the building, and the heating, cooling and lighting in the building). - Ozone depletion: Ozone depletion is considered a serious global environmental problem, because thinning of the ozone layer allows more harmful short-wave radiation to reach the earth's surface, potentially causing changes to ecosystems as flora and fauna have varying abilities to cope with it. The largest contributor to ozone depletion is the release of halocarbons, namely chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), bromofluorocarbons (halons), methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, methyl bromide, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) are often used in air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, foams, aerosols, and fire extinguishers. Thus, indicators to reduce the ozone depletion impact include the atmospheric emissions of CFC11 equivalent from a building's life cycle, and avoiding the use of ozone-depleting substances. - Acidification: Sulphur and nitrogen compounds cause acidification, which affects trees, soil, buildings, animals and humans through dissolution in rain or wet deposition. The principal human source is fossil fuel and biomass combustion, but other compounds including hydrogen chloride and ammonia also contribute. These sulphur and nitrogen compounds are emitted due to fossil fuel consumption in constructing and using a building. The indicator for acidification impact is emissions in SO2 equivalents over the building's life cycle. - Eutrophication: Eutrophication, also described as 'over enrichment of water courses', is caused by nitrogen and phosphorus compounds (i.e. nutrients released to land and water directly or indirectly through leakage or deposition). The indicator for eutrophication considers only nitrogen and phosphorus compounds emitted during the life cycle of building. - Human toxicity: Buildings may release substances that are toxic to humans into the environment during their life cycle. The indicators for this impact include toxic substances released from buildings (asbestos, radon, PCBs, leads etc.) and the likely risk of Legionnaires' disease. - Ecotoxicity: Ecotoxicity refers to the impact on an ecosystem from the release of toxic substances during the life cycle of a building. Indicators include all chemicals released into the environment. - Winter/summer smog: Photochemical oxidants are formed as the result of diffusion and photochemical reactions involving ozone precursors, like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and NOx emitted into the air. This indicator is also sometimes referred to as 'low-level ozone creation'. - Emissions to air, water and land: In addition to environmental impacts, which have already been described above, environmental pollutants and other effluents that flow from buildings throughout their life cycle need to be considered. These environmental pollutants released to air, water and land (ground) are defined as sub-categories, such as 'emissions to air', 'emissions to water', and 'emissions to land'. - Biodiversity: Buildings are major contributors to the loss of floral and faunal biodiversity (Barnett, 2002). Indicators considered are the change of species index for building development, wildlife habitat preservation, and biodiversity conservation. Other environmental impact measures - Ecological footprint - Definition of ecological footprint - Overview of concept and general application - Relevance to commercial buildings - Ongoing development - Definition of eco-indicator - Overview of concept - Relevance and application to commercial buildings - Further development Outside of the building, construction and property industry, a number of other environmental impact measures are used. Many of these are applicable, or have already been applied, to the built environment. Two well-known measures are ecological footprint and eco-indicator. Definition of ecological footprint The ecological footprint (EF, or simply 'footprint') is defined as 'a measure of how much biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The ecological footprint is usually measured in global hectares (gha). Because trade is global, an individual or country's footprint includes land or sea from all over in the world' (GFN, 2006a). Overview of concept and general application Since Rees and Wackernagel's(1995) publication of Our ecological footprint: reducing human impact on the earth, EF has gained widespread popularity and recognition. The main appeal is its conceptual simplicity and the ability for EF comparisons (e.g. EF per person) at various levels, such as world regions, countries, whole economies, industry sectors, and even down to individual events/activities and lifestyles. The use of the ecological footprint to communicate demand for bio-productive capacity Source: WWF, 2004 For example, the left figure compares the footprint of different countries, illustrating the relative difference in consumption per capita. The horizontal line indicates that the average 'earthshare' available to each human citizen is approximately 1.9 gha per capita. The inset to the figure shows the footprint by world regions, and can be used to compare the footprint to the available biological capacity to indicate when there is an imbalance in demand and supply — referred to as 'overshoot'. Australia's footprint is about 7.7 gha per person (WWF, 2006). The average Victorian needs 8.1 gha of land to sustain their lifestyle. This means that if everyone on the planet lived like Victorians, we would need more than four Earths to support us. A detailed report with further background on this work is available at the Victorian EPA website: Relevance to commercial buildings The footprint concept has already been applied to commercial buildings and there are a number of Australian case studies, calculators and companies that use the footprint as an indicator. Users of the footprint range from developers, city councils, industry and even superannuation funds. VicUrban's Aurora residential development provides a detailed example of the use of the footprint at the development scale. Interestingly, the Aurora example illustrates the importance of carbon dioxide emissions in the footprint calculation. However, other sustainability issues beyond greenhouse gases, including those used by Sustainability Victoria for the development, are not captured (Grant et al., 2006). In particular, the footprint is not particularly sensitive to the water initiatives of the development or other green development issues. Consequently, the footprint is mainly useful as a proxy for greenhouse gases and its ability to communicate this impact. The GPT Group, one of the largest property groups in Australia, also reports using the EPA Victoria footprint calculator for assessing direction and performance of retail buildings (Noller, 2006). One of the advantages noted was the ability to set and communicate targets that have some relation to ecological limits. Recent initiatives by the GPT Group, such as purchasing 25% of its office portfolio energy from Green Power (Frew, 2007), will be captured by the footprint as a corresponding reduction. In relation to commercial buildings, the use of the footprint as a proxy for greenhouse gases is likely to remain its main application. Issues such as water are unlikely to be accommodated easily into the footprint and bio-capacity accounts (which underpin EPA Victoria calculators). Other contentious issues include land impacts and the use of the global hectare as a unit of measure. These issues are particularly important for footprint comparisons in general, and for comparing the footprint of commercial buildings in particular. The footprint is a developing methodology, overseen by the Global Footprint Network (GFN) (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/index.php), and footprint standards are currently being developed (GFN, 2006b; see also Monfreda et al., 2004 for details). EPA Victoria has a series of calculators (http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/ecologicalfootprint/calculators/default.asp) that calculate the footprint for: - retail (tenants and owners) The calculators draw upon the footprint and bio-capacity accounts from GFN. Although the footprint is now widely used as an indicator of environmental sustainability, even GFN emphasises that it is only one condition for sustainability. There are a number of methodological issues that are likely to remain unresolved or contentious for some time (see Lenzen et al., 2006 for details). Furthermore, 'policy decisions regarding biodiversity, resource management, social well-being and other sustainability dimensions require consideration of factors beyond the footprint. Footprint reports need to state clearly that footprints are not complete sustainability measures' (GFN, 2006a:26). An alternative approach for measuring environmental impacts is via the application of the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. This first reports the 'damage scores(s)' of individual materials or products. The individual product scores can then be aggregated for the whole building, thus considering the project-specific context. Definition of eco-indicator Eco-indicator is an environmental performance indicator method, based on the state of the art impact assessment method for LCA. This method is the basis for the calculation of eco-indicator scores for materials and processes. It offers a way to measure various environmental impacts, and shows a final result in a single score. Overview of concept The Eco-indicator 99 method was developed in 1999 by Pré Consultants, a Dutch eco-design agency, in partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Housing and the Environment, and with contribution from scientific experts on the life cycle approach (Goedkoop & Spriensma, 2001). Eco-indicator 99 has broader scope and is more complex than its previous version (Eco-indicator 95), and is now being used by many designers worldwide. Eco-indicator 99 transforms environmental life cycle inventory data (LCI) into the following damage categories: - Human health: This is measured in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), representing the years lived disabled and years of life lost for people exposed to harmful substances (Murray, 1996). - Ecosystem quality: The units of ecosystem quality are the potentially affected fraction (PAF) of species in relation to toxic substances, determined by the percent of all species present in the affected environment that are living under toxic stress (Meent et al., 1999). - Resources: These are measured by the quantity, in mega joules, of the surplus energy of the remaining mineral and fossil resources (Chapman & Roberts, 1983). The final result can be one single score, but it is also possible to present separate impact category indicators, or three damage indicators. The single score can be used as an environmental performance indicator and can be presented via a user-friendly tool for designers and product managers. It means that the eco-indicator of a material or process is a single number that indicates the environmental impact of a material or process, based on data from a life cycle assessment. The larger the score (points), the worse the environmental impact. Relevance and application to commercial buildings By using Eco-indicator 99, any designer or product manager can analyse the environmental loads of products over the life cycle. Some application examples are shown in the table below. Eco-indicator 99 applications in different phases of the product life cycle |Searching for products ||Development and selection of new product-market combinations ||Product policy analysis, assessment of technological and market developments | ||Description of exact goals, primary requirements of the product ||LCAs of reference products, short 'what-if' analysis | ||Generation of alternative product (or service) solutions ||Rules of thumb, earlier experiences, guidelines and eco-indicators | ||Selection of the best alternatives and development of concepts ||Rules of thumb, earlier experiences, guidelines and eco-indicators | ||Technical design drawings, cost calculations etc. ||Specific information on materials, processing etc.: LCA, Design for recycling/DFE/DFX tools | Source: MSHPE, 2000 Eco-indicator 99 is currently used as one of the main impact measures in SimaPro Software (MHSPE, 2000), which is used broadly for environmental assessment of products and processes around the world. It is also used in LCADesign, which is a fully integrated approach to automatic eco-efficiency assessment of commercial building designs, using a 3D CAD building model to assess the environmental impacts resulting from use of alternative building materials (Seo et al., 2005, 2007). LCADesign integrates the 3D CAD model with life cycle inventories of materials: refer to tables in the Common tools and rating systems and Tool selection guide and comparisons sections of this article (above) to see how LCADesign compares with other environmental assessment and rating tools. Eco-indicator 99 is a 'damage' or end-point approach, which identifies areas of concern and determines what factors cause damage to these areas. Eco-indicator 99 transforms environmental inventory data into damage scores, which can be aggregated, depending on the needs and the choice of the user, to damage scores for each of three comprehensive damage categories (human health, ecosystem quality, and resources), or reduced to one single score. The procedure is as follows: - Resource analysis: This links an extraction of a resource to a decrease of the resource concentration. - Land-use analysis: This is based on a function of the land-use type and the area size. This analysis takes into account local damage on the occupied or transformed area, as well as the regional damage on ecosystems. - Fate analysis: This links an emission to a temporary change in concentration. - Exposure and effect analysis: Exposure analysis links temporary concentration to a dose, and effect analysis links the dose to a number of health effects (like the number and types of cancers). - Damage analysis: This links health effects to DALYs (disability adjusted life years), which are calculated for each emission into air, water and soil. - Normalisation and weighting:* The three damage categories have different units. In order to use a set of dimensionless weighting factors from the panel, these damage categories must be made dimensionless. Damage results are normalised based on specific area (Western Europe, Australia, or World etc.) for one year per person. Weighting is then applied to produce a single indicator. A diagrammatic representation of the Eco-indicator 99 methodology required to calculate a single score is shown in the figure below. A full description of the method can be obtained from the Pré website (http://www.pre.nl/download/EI99_methodology_v3.pdf). Schematic diagram for the Eco-indicator 99 approach Source: Goedkoop & Spriensma, 2001 Key issues and challenges in using the Eco-indicator 99 methodology have been identified by Gooedkoop (2006) and Kerfoot (2005). There are also additional deficiencies for direct use in Australia, but there are initiatives to develop a version that is applicable locally. The scope/content of the damage categories need to be re-visited, and relative weights of the categories need to be re-assessed considering local issues and priorities (i.e. the importance of environmental impacts to Australian society as a whole). Implementing and operating for improved performance - Performance requirements management system - Performance validation, monitoring and feedback This section deals with what to do after undertaking an environmental performance assessment. Performance requirements management system As indicated in the figure above titled Overview of a general process of environmental performance assessment, the performance targets, assessment process and outputs (report and certification) should be saved, documented and archived as part of a whole-life performance requirements management program for the facility. This has short-term and long-term applications in efficiently managing the facility, either for existing use or for new use. Performance validation, monitoring and feedback The figure below illustrates the use of a feedback loop for when the building has been completed and is in full use. This feedback loop allows both actual capital cost (of delivery) and operating and facility management cost to be checked against planned costs, and both actual technical and actual environmental performance to be checked against the performance targets identified in the project brief. Closing the loop: checking actual performance with project brief and learning for future projects Source: Based on Huovila & Leinonen, 2001 Measures of actual performance contribute to a better understanding of the 'health' of the facility, as well as to the development of a performance benchmark database (Roaf et al., 2004). The former allows identification of immediate actions required to keep up or finetune performance. The latter contributes to improving knowledge and practice (for many stakeholders, but especially architects, engineers and builders), to informing future building projects, and to improving the quality of the building stock. This means that stakeholders should have a sensible plan of environmental and functional/physical performance assessment throughout the life of the facility. This could include semi-automated or automated data collection, and regular or periodic assessments. Green Square South Tower, Brisbane Water meters will be installed to monitor all major water uses in Green Square South Tower. These include bathroom water consumption, rainwater collection and wash-down system. The meters will be linked to the Building Management System to provide a leak detection system. NABERS Office (Energy & Water) - http://www.nabers.com.au/ Green Star - http://www.gbcaus.org/greenstar/ BREEAM Offices - http://www.breeam.org/ SBTool - http://iisbe.org/ LCADesign - http://www.construction-innovation.info/ (for contact information) EcoSpecifier - http://www.ecospecifier.org/ Evergen Product Guide - http://www.csiro.au/ (for contact information) Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2000, Water Account for Australia 1993-94 to 1996-97, cat. no. 4610.0, ABS, Canberra. Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) (ed.) 2005, Architecture for a Sustainable Future: All about the Holistic Approach in Japan, Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation (IBEC), Japan. Barnett, G 2002, 'Biodiversity and the built environment', Environment Design Guide, February 2002, GEN 3. Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), Melbourne. Beller, D., Foliente, G.C. & Meacham, B. (2002), Qualitative versus quantitative aspects of performance-based regulations, Paper presented to 4th International Conference on Performance-based Codes and Fire Safety Design, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Bethesda, Maryland. Bordass, W & Leaman, A 2005, 'Phase 5: Occupancy - post-occupancy evaluation', Chapter 7 in Preiser, WFE & Vischer, JC (Eds.), Assessing building performance, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, pp. 72-79. Building Commissioning Association (BCA) 1999, Building Commissioning Attributes, Retrieved April, 2005, from http://www.bcxa.org/about/attributes1999.shtm Chapman, P.F. & Roberts, F. (1983), Metal resources and energy, London: Butterworth. Churchill, W. (1943), Quotations and stories, The Churchill Centre, Washington, DC, Accessed 18 June, 2007, from Cole, R.J. (2002), Review of GBTool and Analysis of GBC 2002 Case-Study Projects, Retrieved from http://www.greenbuilding.ca/iisbe/gbc2k2/gbc2k2-start.htm Cole, R. J. (2005), 'Building environmental assessment methods: redefining intentions and roles', Building Research and Information, 35(5), 455-467. Cole, R.J. (2006), 'Building environmental assessment: changing the culture of practice', Building Research and Information, 34(4), 303-307. Cole, R.J., Lindsey, G. & Todd, J.A. (2000), Assessing life cycle: shifting from green to sustainable design, Paper presented to Sustainable Buildings 2000, 22-25th October, Maastricht, The Netherlands. CRISP (2003), The European thematic network on construction and city-related sustainability indicators, Accessed 25 November, 2003, from http://crisp.cstb.fr/default.htm. Deakin, M, Huovila, P, Rao, S, Sunikka, M & Vreeker, R 2002, 'The assessment of sustainable urban development', Building Research & Information, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 95-108. Deroubaix, G. (2002), Environmental issues in Europe, Paper presented to Forest Products Society Conference, 11-13 February, Kissimmee, Florida, USA. Foliente, G.C., Seo, S. & Tucker, S.N. (2004), 'A guide to environmental design and assessment tools', Environmental design guide GEN 57, Melbourne: Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Foliente, GC, Huovila, P, Spekkink, D, Ang, G & Bakens, W 2005a, Performance Based Building R&D Roadmap. CIB, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Foliente, G.C., Tucker, S. & Huovila, P., 2005b 'Performance-based framework and applications for nD models in building and construction', in Huovila, P. (ed.) (2005), Performance-based building, Helsinki: VTT and RIL. Frew, W. (2007), 'Tower blocks leave fossil age and switch on green power', Sydney Morning Herald, 22 January, 6 Global Footprint Network (2006a), Footprint term glossary, Accessed from http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=glossary. Global Footprint Network (2006b), Ecological footprint standards 2006, Accessed 16 June, 2006, from http://www.footprintstandards.org. Global Footprint Network and The University of Sydney (2005), The ecological footprint of Victoria: assessing Victoria's demand on nature, Melbourne: EPA Victoria, Accessed from http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/ecologicalfootprint/ausFootprint/default.asp. Goedkoop, M. (2006), Midpoint-endpoint models for impact assessment, Workshop for ALCAS Conference, Melbourne, Australia. Goedkoop, M. & Spriensma, R. (2001), The Eco-indicator 99: a damage oriented method for life cycle impact assessment - methodology report (3rd ed.), Amersfoort: Pre Consultants B.V. Grant, T., Murray, M., Hurley, J., Acaroglu, L. & Wackernagel, M. (2006), Working towards 1 planet living - ecological footprint analysis results for Aurora estate, Paper presented to 5th Australian Conference on Life Cycle Assessment, Melbourne, Australia. Hampton, D. (2004), 'The client's perspective - CSR', in Roaf S, Horsley A & Gupta R (Eds.), Closing the Loop: Benchmarks for sustainable buildings, RIBA Enterprises Ltd, London. Huovila, P & Leinonen, J 2001, 'Managing performance in the built environment', CIB World Building Congress 2001 - Performance in Product and Practice. Wellington, NZ. (8p.) Retrieved April 2001, from Informit Online database. Huovila, P. & Curwell, S., 'Sustainability assessment of building design, construction and use', in Deakin, M. et al. (eds) (2006), Sustainable urban development volume 2: the environmental assessment methods, Abingdon: Routledge. Huovila, P., Leinonen, J., Paevere, P., Porkka, J. and Foliente, G. (2004), "Systematic performance requirements management of built facilities." Procs. International Conference on Clients Driving Innovation, CRC Construction Innovation, Gold Coast, Australia. Hyde, R, Watson, S, Cheshire, W & Thomson, M (2007), The environmental brief - pathways for green design, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Oxon. IAQWG (Indoor Air Quality Working Group) (2003), Indoor Air Quality Tools: Education, Prevention and Investigation, An Indoor Air Quality Guidance Document, Version 2, University of California, February. IEA 2004, IEA Annex 31: Types of Tools, Retrieved June 21, (2007) from http://www.iisbe.org/annex31/pdf/D_types_tools.pdf ISO (2006), ISO/TS 21931-1:2006 – Sustainability in building construction – Framework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction works – Part 1: Buildings. International Organization for Standardisation, Geneva, Switzerland. ISO (2007), ISO 14000 - Environmental management, ISO CD-ROM, International Organization for Standardisation, Geneva, Switzerland. Kaatz, E, Root, DS, Bowen, PA & Hill, RC (2006), 'Advancing key outcomes of sustainability building assessment', Building Research & Information, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 308-320. Kats, G (2003), The Cost and Benefits of Green Buildings: A Report to California's Sustainable Building Task Force. Sacramento, Calif.: Sustainable Building Task Force. Kerfoot, K (2005), AWARE: providing consumers with environmental and social performance of products and producers to influence purchasing decisions, Carnegie Mellon University: AWARE. Lenzen, M., Hansson, C. & Bond, S. (2006), On the bioproductivity and land-disturbance metrics of the ecological footprint, ISA Research Paper 03/06, Published in collaboration with WWF. Lützkendorf, T & Lorenz, DP 2006, 'Using an integrated performance approach in building assessment tools', Building Research & Information, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 334-356. Meent, D., Goedkoop, M. and Breure, A.M. (1999), Quantifying toxic stress in LCA by means of potentially affected fraction (PAF), Bilthoven: RIVM Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Amersfoort: Pré Consultants. Mesureur, B. (2002), 'High environmental quality and technological innovative solutions', Building Science, 18, 15-20. MHSPE (2000), Eco-indicator 99: manual for designers - a damage oriented method for life cycle impact assessment, The Netherlands: Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. Monfreda, C., Wackernagel, M. & Deumling, D. (2004), 'Establishing national natural capital accounts based on detailed ecological footprint and biological capacity accounts', Land Use Policy, 21, 231-246. Murray, C.J.L., 'Rethinking DALYs', in Murray, C.J.L. & Lopez, A.D. (eds) (1996), The global burden of disease: a comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases, injuries and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Noller, C. (2006), Application of eco-footprint to advance the business case for sustainable retail, Paper presented to 5th Australian Conference on Life Cycle Assessment, Melbourne, Australia. Preiser, W.F.E. & Vischer, J.C. (2005), Assessing building performance, Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Rees, W & Wackernagel, M (1995), Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth. Gabriola Island, BC and Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers. Roaf, S (2005), "Benchmarking the 'sustainability" of a building', Chapter 9 in Preiser, WFE & Vischer, JC (Eds.), Assessing building performance, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, pp. 93-103. Roaf S, Horsley A & Gupta R (2004), Closing the Loop: Benchmarks for sustainable buildings, RIBA Enterprises Ltd, London. Roodman, DM & Lenssen, N (1995), 'A building revolution: how ecology and health concerns are transforming construction', Worldwatch Paper 124, Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC, March. Seo, S., Mitchell, P., Watson, P. & Ambrose, M. (2005), Analyzing environmental impacts of buildings through LCADesign: approach and case study, Paper presented to the 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference, Tokyo, 27-29 September. Seo, S., Tucker, S. & Ambrose, M. (2007), Selection of sustainable building material using LCADesign tool, Paper presented to the International Conference on Sustainable Building Asia, Seoul, 27-29 June. SETAC (1993), 'SETAC Code of practice document'. Reference material for ISO/TC 207/SC 5/WG1. State of Minnesota (SoM) (2007), Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines (MSBG) Ver 2.0: Buildings, Benchmarks & Beyond, Retrieved June 10, 2007, from http://www.msbg.umn.edu/ Sustainability Advisory Council (2002), BASIX - the building sustainability index, Accessed from Tucker, SN & Taylor, RJ (1990), Performance Indicators for Building Assets, National Committee on Rationalized Buildings, Victoria, Australia. WWF (2004), Living planet report 2004, Accessed 28 August, 2006, from http://assets.panda.org/downloads/lpr2004.pdf.

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(plural quantum states) - (physics) any of the possible states of a quantum mechanical system quantum state - Computer Definition A fundamental attribute of particles according to quantum mechanics. The quantum states are primarily x-y-z position, momentum, angular momentum, energy, spin and time. Fermions The shell structures of the atom are made up of fermion particles, which include the protons and neutrons in the nucleus and the electrons in the outer orbits. Fermions cannot share the same quantum state variables. For example, every electron traveling in electric current has a different quantum state than the electron next to it. The fermion was named after Italian physicist Enrico Fermi (1901-1954). Bosons Bosons are particles that can be in the same quantum state. Photons are examples of bosons, and lasers, masers and the superfluidity Helium derive their behavior as a result. The boson, pronounced "bow-son," was named after Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974). See quantum mechanics, electron, photon and Higgs boson.

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Luna - Exploring the Moon 2015 Sep 4 Friday, Day 247 Selected Luna Missions: A different view from Ian Ridpath Summarised by Don P Mitchell The Mission of Luna 10 Luna 10 was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and then go into orbit around it. The basic design was similar to Luna 9's but the landing vehicle was replaced by a small satellite and the main engine was used to reduce speed in order to enter orbit rather than as a soft-landing retro rocket. The complete Luna 10 spacecraft poses here prior to being mated to its carrier rocket and being despatched to the Moon. Its E-6 flight bus is similar to Luna 9's but the two-part, tapered cylindrical section with the short antennae, situated at the top, is the actual Moon satellite. Minutes after Luna 10 went into orbit around the Moon, the lunar satellite separated, went into its own orbit close to that of the parent craft, and began to operate in its own right. The lunar satellite was unstabilised but its instruments were able to measure the electrical, magnetic and radiation fields in near-lunar space. As it was battery powered, the satellite had a limited lifetime. Radio transmissions ceased after 57 days. Luna 10 is no longer in orbit - the lunar gravitational pull over the Mare areas is greater than over the mountains. The rocks which cause this are referred to as 'Mascons' (short for 'Mass Concentrations'). The result is that satellite trajectories are constantly changing and at some point there is the likelihood of a collision with the Moon. Luna 10 has certainly suffered that fate by now. Luna 10 Statistics: Launch Vehicle: Molniya Launching Technique: Low orbit around the Earth and then a direct landing trajectory Mass: 1,600 kilogrammes fully fuelled (including 245 kg orbiter) Length: 2.7 metres (including orbiter) Maximum Diameter: 1.0 metres Copyright © Robert Christy, all rights reserved Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited

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If you’re wondering just how secure your home network is, here’s an easy way to find out. Pure Networks, makers of the popular Network Magic management tool for home networks, has a free diagnostic scan that will deliver a scorecard on your network’s security status. The Pure Networks Security Scan tool, which works only with Internet Explorer 6 or later, is clearly bait for Network Magic. But it’s a fun download that can provide insight into your network security in just a few minutes. Run the scan, and the resulting scorecard provides a summary status of network devices, the router and network, wireless security, and the computer on which you ran the scan. It advises you of the number of issues tested for each category, alerts you to any worrisome issues found. Click View and it gives you a detailed look within each category. Some of the items it tests under Router and Network include whether you are running a hardware firewall, if your password is strong (and, of course, changed from the factory default), and whether your router firmware is up to date. Under the Wireless Security tab, the scan checks to ensure that you have changed the factory SSID, tells you what kind of wireless security you’re using, and whether there are any SSID name conflicts. The Network Devices tab lists all devices connected to your WLAN, while the This Computer tab tells you whether your PC contains malware that redirects Web sites, as well as whether file and printer sharing are correctly activated, what kind of software firewall (if any) you’re running, and if your antivirus software is up to date. I tested my home network and scored 98 percent. (Whew!) The only issue the program found was that my router firmware might be out of date. It’s a fun test to run, as long as you ignore all the suggestions to download Network Magic. But if you like the interface, you might consider the downloading the networking tool. I’ve played with it a bit and the software seems intuitive and helpful. It’s a free download for a seven-day trial period, and the full version of Network Magic Pro will cost you $49.99. If you have Macs mixed in with Windows PCs, opt for the $64.99 Network Magic Pro 4.7 & Network Magic for Mac, which enables you to easily share printers and files between Windows machines and Macs.

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The European Commission has called on Europe to hasten its measures to digitise books, after concerns were raised about the impact Google Books could have on the continent's copyright holders. Information society and media commissioner Viviane Reding made the rallying call on Tuesday as the Commission announced its Communication on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy, a strategy document that lays out measures to be taken to digitise and disseminate books in Europe. "Europe should seize this opportunity to take the lead, and to ensure that books digitisation takes place on the basis of European copyright law, and in full respect of Europe's cultural diversity," Reding said in a statement on Tuesday. She added: "Europe, with its rich cultural heritage, has most to offer and most to win from books digitisation. If we act swiftly, pro-competitive European solutions on books digitisation may well be sooner operational than the solutions presently envisaged under the Google Books Settlement in the United States." The strategy document states that, for existing digital libraries to flourish, a solution must be found for orphaned works, whose uncertain copyright status is holding back their digitisation. On Saturday, German chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly opposed Google's scheme to digitise millions of books, saying that the German government rejected the scanning of books without any copyright protection. According to the Commission, were the Google Books Settlement to be approved, the vast number of European works in US libraries that have been digitised by Google would be available only to consumers and researchers in the US, but not in Europe. Google said in September that European books still listed as commercially available will not appear in its online registry of orphaned or out-of-print works unless the rights holders give their express authorisation. This came after the European Commission began a series of discussions seeking precise details of the settlement and the number of European works likely to be affected. Judge Denny Chin has set a November deadline for the submission of a new Google Books settlement after the October hearing was delayed. This delay followed requests from parties including the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, who felt they could not support the current settlement and its granting to Google Books unique rights to scan out-of-print books still protected by copyright law. According to a European Commission spokesperson, the full Communication on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy will be released in full in the next few days.

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Google has settled a case with 38 state attorneys general after it collected data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks with its Street View cars as they drove by collecting street-level imagery. The 38 states will receive a slice of the $7 million — which will take— but the twist is that Google will sponsor a nationwide public service campaign to help educate consumers about securing their home Wi-Fi networks, which would prevent disclosure of personal data and prevent bandwidth thieves. Reports of a settlement. But compared to Google's $50 billion in revenue and more than $10 billion in net income during the 2012 fiscal year, it represents just a fraction of the company's worth for what was a massive scale breach of privacy. "We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn't, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue. The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it," Google told the Reuters news agency. Google admitted in 2010 that it had inadvertently collected personal and sensitive data from home wireless networks in the U.S. and Europe while its Street View cars drove past. It was part of the company's efforts to determine the location of Wi-Fi networks in order to build up a list of assisted location services for mobile users. Today's settlement doesn't end the headache for the search giant, however. U.K. data protection authorities re-examined the company's evidence after first letting the co company off with a slapped wrist, after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found further evidence to support its investigation. The U.K.'s Information Commissioner's Office at first didn't fine the company and remains in discussions with Google to get to the bottom of the situation, following a a strongly-worded letter sent in June last year. Google was fined $25,000 by the FCC after it was found to have "deliberately impeded and delayed" the authority's investigation into whether or not it breached U.S. laws. French authorities also fined the company €100,000 ($142,000, at the time).

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PARIS – Luxembourg reaches out to young minds for their third annual innovation competition. The Concours GENIAL, in partnership with research agency Luxinnovation, looks to inspire 5-20 year-olds to think outside the box. Luxembourg, a highly diverse nation bordering France, was traditionally known as a steel-based industry. In the 1960s the development of financial and communications sectors has helped make Luxembourg the country with the highest GDP per capita in the world with an unemployment level hovering just around 5%. Luxembourg has quickly moved to a high-tech and manufacturing economy, attracting companies like Amazon and Skype. Since 2009, the government has been sponsoring this competition to help prep younger generations find their place in this ever-evolving economy. Carole Nuss, spokesperson for Luxinnovation, spoke with SmartPlanet about Concours GENIAL. With a successful economy and diverse population, Luxembourg is fertile ground for such a competition. “This intercultural, multilingual and diverse environment facilitates the uptake of creative and innovative ideas,” she said, citing that four languages are spoken in the country where nearly a third of inhabitants hold a foreign passport. She said the idea stemmed from the 2009 European Year of Creativity and Innovation, an EU initiative to stimulate education and debate on these issues. In Luxembourg, the Ministry of Education launched the Concours GENIAL with Luxinnovation and is now celebrating the third year. Children and adolescents compete in five different age brackets to put forth lofty inventive ideas as well as more practical applications for everyday life. “In the competition Concours GENIAL we are not looking for huge inventions to be nominated for a Nobel Prize. We are looking for smart, creative ideas underlining the fact that innovation is possible at any time and in any domain,” Nuss said. Previous winners include everything from urban personal transport systems and space hotels to solar-powered LED safety lights and shoes for guiding the blind. Prizes are awarded, but Nuss said that the main idea is to instill good practices early in life. “The important thing however is that young people start to realize that it is up to them to become proactive in order to kick-off the innovation process,” she said. The Concours GENIAL ends in April, when Luxembourg finds out who could potentially be the next Luxembouger Steve Jobs. The contest partners with local sponsors involved in innovation and education, acting as support for especially brilliant idea-makers. “Young people with ‘genius’ ideas can count on further assistance after the competition,” Nuss said. Photo: Revue Technique This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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In researching a three-part series on Windows Vista start-up times here last month (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), I spent hours with a stopwatch, documenting my experience with a handful of machines running a clean install of Windows Vista. As it turns out, I didn't need the stopwatch, because all the data was right under my nose all the time. Vista's onboard monitors are constantly recording information about performance and storing it in the new, greatly expanded event logs. It's an overwhelming amount of information, in fact, and none of the details are documented anywhere. To get to the bottom of the mystery, I sat down with a group of Microsoft engineers for a free-wheeling hour-long conversation about Vista boot times and performance, with a special emphasis on learning how to troubleshoot problems that you might experience. I also collected data from 104 Windows Vista startups and crunched it down to find out just how long Vista really takes to start up. It all starts with Vista's Event Viewer program. I've put together an image gallery showing how you can access the same information on your system. so you can follow along. The key information is contained in the Diagnostics-Performance log, where event IDs 100-199 capture information about Boot Performance Monitoring. (The same log contains information about shutdown times and overall system performance, but for this project I chose to zero in exclusively on boot times.) Every time you start your computer, Windows logs your boot time, starting as soon as the kernel loads (obviously, Windows can't track the time it takes for your hardware to enumerate itself and for the BIOS to hand off control to the OS loader) and ending after every background service and process has finished loading and the system has been idle for at least 10 seconds. The total boot time is divided into two parts - MainPathBootTime measures the time it takes for the system to load all drivers and services that are critical to user interaction and get to the Windows desktop where the user can begin doing things. - BootPostBootTime includes all the other drivers and processes that aren't critical to user interaction and can be loaded with low-priority I/O that always gives preference to user-initiated actions that execute using Normal I/O priority. If you look in Event Viewer, you'll see a separate value called BootTime, which measures the sum of these two values. (Subtract 10 seconds from this value to account for the idle time that indicates the boot process is completely done.) In addition, the logs are filled with clues that can help you figure out what went wrong and why a specific startup (or shutdown) took longer than normal. Because the Event Viewer logs save their data in standard XML, I was able to capture this data from 104 startup events on four separate machines and crunch it down to these bullet points: - 35% of all starts took 30 seconds or less to return control to the user - 83% of all starts took 60 seconds or less to return control to the user - 70% of all starts completed all boot processes, including low-priority I/O activity, in two minutes or less - 94% of all starts completed all boot processes within three minutes I've created a scatter chart using the data from these systems that makes the point visually and used that chart to kick off the image gallery. In conversations with engineers at Microsoft, I learned that these values are consistent with what they've observed over millions of installations monitored via opt-in data collection programs, on an incredibly diverse array of hardware installations. In a follow-up, I'll explain what I learned about why some startups take longer than others and how you can diagnose and resolve startup problems on a Vista PC.

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Permanent URL to this publication: http://dx.doi.org/10.5167/uzh-40257 Stadelmann, S; Perren, S; Kölch, M; Groeben, M; Schmid, M (2010). Psychisch kranke und unbelastete Eltern. Elterliche Stressbelastung und psychische Symptomatik der Kinder. Kindheit und Entwicklung, 19(2):72-81. View at publisher The present study compares parental stress in mentally ill parents and non-clinical parents. It also investigates the association between parental stress and children’s psychiatric symptoms, focusing on group differences in the strength of this association between mentally ill parents and non-clinical parents. 83 families with a mentally ill parent as well as a non-clinical sample of 121 families were included in the study. Parental stress was assessed by self-reports with the German version of the Parental Stress Scale and psychiatric symptoms of children were assessed by the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire based on parent ratings. Results showed that parental stress was higher in mentally ill parents than in non-clinical parents. Children’s symptoms correlated significantly with parental stress. This association was significantly stronger in the group of mentally ill parents than in the non-clinical sample. The results indicate a vicious circle within these families and support the need for family-based interventions for these families. 212 downloads since deposited on 28 Jan 2011 42 downloads since 12 months |Item Type:||Journal Article, refereed, original work| |Communities & Collections:||06 Faculty of Arts > Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development| |Dewey Decimal Classification:||370 Education| |Deposited On:||28 Jan 2011 12:14| |Last Modified:||27 Nov 2013 19:34| Users (please log in): suggest update or correction for this item Repository Staff Only: item control page

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Keiser Part of Significant Study Keiser along with NuStep of Ann Arbor, MI and Brilliant Aging of Bozeman, MT have joined forces to study the improvement of health outcomes in low-income older adults. The three organizations have joined the University of Michigan and Masterpiece Living in a MacArthur Foundation grant project, part of the Foundation's How Housing Matters initiatives. Funding supports research projects which seek to address how affordable housing for older adults can be designed to achieve improved health and well-being outcomes, while lowering overall health-care costs. The United States is an aging society, a society in which older men and women are increasing in numbers and proportion. Current policies and institutions have not yet adapted to these demographic changes. Relevant research can provide evidence upon which to base public policy that will optimize life quality and reduce costs. The outcomes of the project will be presented to the House and Senate as well as to the Administration on Aging, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Center for State Innovation and the Surgeon General. The project will help to answer the questions: How can we successfully moderate the medical needs of older adults, and how can we realize the productive potential of older adults? The University of Michigan, Masterpiece Living and American Baptist Homes of the West (ABHOW) have been in collaboration on the project since spring, 2012. Recently, NuStep, Keiser and Kay Van Norman of Brilliant Aging have joined the project, led by Toni Antonucci, PhD, Principal Investigator and Robert L. Kahn, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator, to provide a state of the art fitness center and associated resources. NuStep and Keiser have each contributed fitness equipment, and Kay Van Norman has created programming around the equipment and implemented Project Activate(tm), a comprehensive initiative by Brilliant Aging which inspires increased physical activity. Together, the team will study how fitness interventions impact outcomes for moderate and low-income older adults. "We truly appreciate NuStep, Keiser Corporation and Brilliant Aging for their roles in making the dream of a fitness center for our residents a reality," Ancel Romero, Senior Vice President of ABHOW, said, "Our affordable housing communities inherently operate on very narrow financial margins so their generosity and understanding of this resident need is especially appreciated. Residents and team members are of greatest importance to us and this allows us the opportunity to further enhance their well-being." "The goal of the project is to develop a blueprint that can be widely used to improve the quality of life for all older adults, of every income level," Principal Investigator, Toni Antonucci said. "We hope the results of this field experiment will also result in Medicare and Medicaid savings and contribute to efforts to reform current models of service provision to older Americans.

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Indulge your fantasy of a tropical garden, even if you live in a frost zone. Add dazzling azure blue and Moroccan red to your garden, even if the colors don't exist in nature. And, banish any annoying backyard blemish from sight. Potscaping - landscaping using container plants - allows you to do all that and more. Originally an alternative for those whose balcony or patio couldn't accommodate a full plot, this style is capturing gardeners' imaginations. It offers flexibility and color within any budget. Instead of being limited by your climate, potscaping allows you to escape the seasonal tyranny of gardening. For example, you may regret that you can't cultivate banana, bird of paradise or ficus plants outdoors. You love the lush look, but know you'll destroy your exotic plants in one chill breeze. "With potscaping you can think outside the box," says Alissa Shanley, a landscape designer. You can put anything in the pot during the summer and bring it in during the winter. "Include orchard and tropical plants in your pots. You don't have to think like a cold-weather person," says Shanley, owner of B. Gardening in Denver, Colo. Although most gardeners are used to a little trial and effort when they introduce new plants, potscaping makes experimentation easier. Perhaps the miniature conifer doesn't look good next to the patio. There's no need to dig it up, if you're potscaping. Just put the pot on wheels and move it to a better location. Like most gardeners, you turn to plantings for color. But you can also bring a riot of color into your garden by the pots you choose. Right now high-gloss pots imported from Vietnam are very popular, according to Katie Bloome, at Monrovia Nursery in Azusa, Calif. She sees a lot of interest in either cobalt blue or a very rich red. "These are really bright. A lot of gardens don't have color during certain times of the year. The cobalt blue stands out in winter," says Bloome. Although you can invest hundreds of dollars in imported pots and exotic plants, you can find beautiful arrangements on any budget. In fact, some gardeners prefer it for price savings. "It's a very inexpensive way to get a big bang for the buck," says Alissa Shanley, a landscape designer. "You fill a couple of pots, put them in a spot and you've got an impressive array. If you did that with plants and shrubs it would cost a fortune," says Shanley, And, if you've got an ugly tree stump or bald patch on the lawn that would be expensive to remedy, you can cover the eyesore with a grouping of pots. But, as advantageous as potscaping can be, there's more to it than rolling pots into the yard. Too much clutter and you'll look as if you're living in a garden center. Here are some tips from garden designers. Use pots to set the tone "When you want a formal look, such as an entryway to a home, you want balance. Use the same size and the same number of pots on either side (of the entryway)," says Shanley. She arranged two pots, each with the same plants, on either side of the entrance of her front porch. For the backyard, which is casual, Shanley has clusters of pots in different sizes and textures, but all colored either bright yellow or turquoise. "Get as many pots as you can in the garden and pack them full of flowers. You'll get a step look when the flowers and pots are different sizes," says Shanley says. Bloome applies the same rules to potscaping that she does for any garden design. She recommends putting larger pots in the background and smaller pots with smaller plantings in the front. "Bring pots into areas where there's a lot of hardscape (such as patios or pathways). If you have a patio you can soften the area by bringing in greenery," Bloome says. Keep the pots in a design family "Don't mix a lot of pot styles, such as contemporary, Asian and Mediterranean. Give the pots a little forethought," says Bloome. Match the plants to the pots "Get a piece of pottery that will highlight the plant. That's a huge key people are missing," says Shanley. She suggests using blue pots to bring out the intensity of orange or yellow flowers or deep purple with white flowers. She also urges you to play with monotones. "I had huge yellow pots last summer packed with yellow daisies. The splash of yellow was stunning, Shanley says. Select a theme so the pots and plants are coordinated Add rosemary or a trailing thyme plant to a Mediterranean designed pot, a tropical plant to a hot pink Caribbean pot or a topiary to a Chinese jade green pot. Your potscape doesn't have to be permanent to be pleasurable. You can splurge on single-season plants, experiment with new colors and shapes and start fresh next year.

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With each passing month, the unemployment lines swell with downtrodden members of America’s middle class, once the strength of our nation. Without an infusion of jobs, their plight will continue to grow. And that spells even more poverty among the disadvantaged. All the while, Congress continues to posture, in hopes of gaining political clout and eventual re-election. Any mention of poverty and the emerging threat to our social structure is met with spurious charges of “class warfare.” Into this maelstrom fell two news stories—one from July and another in September—that did not receive the massive attention they deserved. If we continue to ignore their message, we will continue to put our societal stability and fundamental values in jeopardy. The July news, from the Pew Research Center, tells us that the median wealth (including real estate) of white households is 20 times greater than black households and 18 time greater than Hispanic households. More specifically, the typical white household has $113,149 in wealth, the black household $5,677 and the Hispanic household $6,325. About a third of black families have zero or negative wealth. The number is 31 percent for Hispanics and 15 percent for whites. Here’s the kicker: These ratios are about twice the size they were two decades ago. The September news, from the U.S. Census Bureau, tells us that 15.1 percent of Americans live below the poverty line — $22,314 a year for a family of four and $11,139 for an individual. That’s up from 14.3 percent in 2009. This means that 46.2 million Americans live in poverty, 2.6 million more than in 2009. We now have the largest poverty percentage of any developed country. If that’s not enough to break your heart, consider this: 22 percent of children under the age of 18 now live in poverty, up from 17 percent in 2000. And here’s the kicker on this one: This is the largest number of Americans living in poverty since the development of the measure in 1959. These statistics, and the stories behind them, are grim warnings to a society where the social fabric is being stretched to its breaking point. Add to this the constant news about the mega-wealthy, their salaries and lifestyles, and the perception of a government that favors the rich and influential, and you have a toxic mixture, the kind that recently exploded into days of rioting in British cities. It would be too easy and unfair to blame this situation on one political party. The issues of race and poverty have been with us since our nation’s inception. But unlike past years, the problems are getting worse. No happy ending is in sight and the promise of a better tomorrow for these millions is quickly disappearing. And as their hopes fade, so do those of the nation – along with our stability and our ideals. We need to let the people in power know that this is simply unacceptable — that Americans will not give our support to anyone who will not devote their time, energy and resources to the eradication of poverty. Among the many issues we face, this truly can be listed as a priority.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration has extended a ban for six months on five chemicals found in the smokeable herbal blend known as “K2” or “Spice.” In 2010, Kansas was the first state in the country to ban such chemicals after law enforcement began seeing the drug, which mimics the effects of marijuana, sold in Kansas stores. Before the ban, K2 was a popular item sold at a local store, Sacred Journey, 1103 Mass. After Kansas made the chemicals illegal, numerous other states followed suit. The problem? Crafty drug makers began making similar versions of the drug, such as “K3,” with chemicals not banned under the law. The state of Kansas addressed that problem by banning classes of chemicals in 2011, meaning that even modified chemicals still fall under the law. Deputy Tom Erickson, spokesman for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, said the Kansas law has “absolutely” made a difference in their area. “We have the strictest laws in the country,” he said. Drug makers “don’t want anything to do with Kansas.” Erickson said they still see versions of K2 but not nearly as often as they did before the Kansas law. The DEA ban, which expires Sept. 1, makes the chemicals found in K2 a Schedule 1 drug, which means the drug has a high abuse potential and no known medical use. Possession, manufacturing and trafficking are all federal felonies with stiff penalties — up to life imprisonment in some cases. Rusty Payne, DEA spokesman, said the DEA is working to permanently add the chemicals to the Schedule 1 list, which involves a joint process conducted by the DEA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The DEA ban gives federal authorities jurisdiction to enforce the law in any state. But if the chemicals are scheduled, that still leaves the door open for drug makers who are using altered chemicals that aren’t Schedule 1 drugs. “That’s the whole challenge,” said Payne about trying to keep up with drug manufacturers. Pending legislation in Congress similar to the Kansas law, however, might close that gap. That bill, HR 1254, passed the House of Representatives in 2011 and was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The federal legislation broadens the scope of the DEA ban and includes any chemical that is a “cannabinoid receptor.” Payne said that would help counteract drug makers who simplify modify the compounds in K2-like substances to skirt the current ban.

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The Consent Of The Governed … Is Being Lost At An Ever-Increasing Rate ” What are citizens to do when their government refuses to follow its own laws? The answers to this question throughout history have been hugely unhappy. When individuals in government de-legitimize their own institutions by breaking the rules, rebellion, repression and general lawlessness have often been the result. Americans have done better at this than anyone else, having inherited the love of the law from our British progenitors. The Founding Fathers took it a step further by ditching the idea of a monarch altogether and crafting what has become the world’s oldest and most revered national charter. The Constitution was a fulcrum point in human history and the greatest gift from the Framers to their nation: a government of laws, not men. When leaders refuse to follow the rules laid out for them, societies devolve very quickly indeed. Ask any Argentine. Like many good things – true love, baseball, table manners – the rule of law only exists by the voluntary participation of all involved and a willingness to be subject to sometimes seemingly arbitrary requirements.” From the nation that that led the way with respect to the rule of law we have fallen , according to the above graphic . - Enemies Of The Constitution – OpEd (albanytribune.com) - Big Dangers as Obama Democrats Flout Budget Laws (conservativebyte.com) - Why we must protect the rule of law (thetimes.co.uk) - A Liberal Comes Clean: We Hate the Constitution (powerlineblog.com) - America’s Immigration Agents Are Fed Up With Obama & Congress (grumpyelder.com) - State House Blocks Obama Gun Laws (conservativebyte.com) - Barack Obama Comes to Minneapolis (powerlineblog.com) - KING: The Constitution always trumps politics (washingtontimes.com) - The Rule of Law (milesfranklin.com) - US Ignoring Rule of Law, Harming Economy (ritholtz.com)

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A RESTful Web Service is a service that calls a specific SQL statement or PL/SQL block in your Oracle Database. This tutorial shows you how to create a RESTful Web Service. Please Log In to Bookmark this OBE Information about Related Products Welcome! Would you like to set up your user profile? We can provide you with content recommendations based on your preferences.

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Our next country is the country of Israel. Israel is on a narrow stretch of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is unique because, although it is surrounded by Arab countries like Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, it is a Jewish homeland. The land of Israel is important to the history of Jews, Arabs, and Christians, and the religions of Judaism, Muslim, and Christianity. Israel’s history is one of success in many areas of life — from its culture to its economy. Israeli leaders seek to find ways to end the ongoing fighting between Israel and the Arab countries in the region. Although a permanent peace agreement has not been reached, the Israelis want to continue to work toward one. They know that peace is important to the nation’s future. To understand Israel today, it is important to know its history. Jews first lived in the region during Biblical times. But through the years, as various foreign conquerors invaded the area, large numbers of Jews were forced to leave. By the late 1800s, most of the people living in the area, which was called Palestine, were Arab. Meanwhile, in Europe a Zionist movement toward establishing the land of Israel as a Jewish homeland had begun to grow. The goal behind this movement was to create a place where Jews would always be welcomed and protected, especially after World War II and the terrible things that happened to Jews in Nazi concentration camps in Europe. But as large numbers of Jews arrived in Palestine, Arabs began to resent them. Tensions ran high. In November 1947, the United Nations tried to ease the tensions. It called for a division of the land into separate Jewish and Arab nations. In May 1948, the independent country of Israel was officially born. However, the Arabs refused to accept the Jewish homeland. Within 24 hours the united armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq attacked the new nation. But Israel survived. By 1949, it had defeated the Arab forces and added some of the land that had been set aside for a new Arab state to its own boundaries. About 150,000 Arabs were already living in the newly acquired territory. They were angry that a separate place for Palestinian Arabs had not been created. Now they had to adjust to being a minority in a Jewish homeland. However, the Israelis insisted that they had to hold on to the seized area to defend against future Arab attacks. A 1948-49 struggle known as the War for Independence began a series of conflicts that continued through the years. Although many thought Israel would never survive an ongoing Arab attack, it did. And in the Six-Day War of June 1967, Israel seized additional Arab territories. They included the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. Israel now controlled an area where more than one million Arab Palestinians already lived. As a result, the bitter feelings increased. Later, peace agreements required Israeli troops eventually to begin leaving the controlled regions. Still, not everyone was pleased with this requirement. Some Israelis insisted that they should not have to return territory that was important for Israel’s defense. Peace efforts were also made more difficult by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO consists of a number of united Palestinian Arab groups who want to create a separate Palestine. The PLO and other similar groups launched terrorist attacks mostly against Israeli civilian, or non-military, targets. In return, Israel struck PLO-held areas in surrounding Arab nations. As a result, the peace process has been put on hold many times. And Israel must constantly be ready for more military action. Israel is a small country – not quite 11,000 square miles, about the size of Hawaii. Its landscape is quite varied. Within its borders are mountains, deserts, seacoasts, and valleys. Its western border is on the Mediterranean Sea, but it also has the Negev Desert, which is its driest region and has nothing but sand! Israel is also varied in its culture. As a country, it has an unusual blend of ancient places and beliefs, as well as modern things and people. Historical and archaeological sites exist near hip, scenic beaches and busy, noisy cities. The Western Wall, once part of the Jewish temple and one of Judaism’s holiest sites, is one of the many ancient religious places in Israel. Israel is not rich in natural resources, such as coal, water, and natural gas. But many people there live comfortably. This is partly because a large number of its early inhabitants had valuable job skills that helped get the country started. The Israelis also wisely used whatever was available to them. They irrigated dry and desert lands for farming. They drained swamps when the land was needed for crops. Israel has also been fortunate to receive money and supplies from the United States and other countries. Today, Israeli factories manufacture paper, plastics, scientific instruments, chemical products, packaged foods, clothing, and other items. Its farms produce fruits, vegetables, poultry, eggs, and grains. Underwater mining operations in the Dead Sea have yielded potash, salt, bromine, and magnesium. Copper, clay, and gypsum are also mined in the desert. Israel’s economy depends heavily on tourism. Visitors enjoy the country’s warm dry summers, which last from April to October. Winters in Israel are cool, but mild. Since the area is rich in Biblical history, religious journeys to the region are popular, especially around major religious holidays such as Christmas, Passover, and Easter. In recent years, many fine restaurants have opened in Israel, to the delight of both residents and tourists. Like its people, Israel’s food is quite varied. Menus often reflect the different backgrounds of those living there. Traditional Middle Eastern foods such as falafel (fried chickpea patties), shawarma (roasted lamb slices), and borekas (cheese- or potato-filled dough) are common. But European Jewish dishes including chicken soup and gefilte fish are also readily available. (Gefilte fish is ground fish that is formed into balls or patties and cooked in fish broth or baked in tomato sauce.) Israel has a population of about six million people. Although they come from various parts of the world, most of its residents are Jewish. Recently, thousands of Jews from both the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia have settled in Israel. With people from so many different places, it’s easy to see racial, ethnic, and cultural differences among Israeli Jews. Yet as Jews, they have a common religious bond. Other people living in Israel include Muslims, Druze, and Christians. There are many Palestinians who remained after their territory became part of Israel. Arabs in Israel do not always get along well with the Jewish majority. The Palestinians often have complained of inferior schools, housing, and job choices. Tensions between the two groups have been worsened at times when Palestinians have openly sided with anti-Israeli groups. Most people in Israel live in the northern or central part of the nation. Most of them live in apartment buildings in cities. Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, is its largest city. It is a holy place for Jews, as well as for Christians and Muslims. Tel Aviv, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, is the country’s second-largest city. Only a small portion of the people live in the countryside. Some people live in a collective community known as a kibbutz. Kibbutz members work, but they don’t receive pay. Instead, they are given food, housing, child care, medical services, and other necessities. In a kibbutz, everyone shares in the work, property, and profits. Originally most kibbutzim were farming communities. But today many develop and run high-tech factories that produce a variety of products for sale to other countries. Hebrew is Israel’s official language. English is also spoken and is taught in schools. All Israeli street and road signs are written in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. No matter where they live, Israelis value education. There is free public education for everyone through grade twelve. There are also a number of colleges and universities for students who wish to continue their education. These include Haifa University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University (the largest Jewish university in the world), and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. Like the United States, Israel is a democracy. Democracy is a way of governing in which the people choose their leaders in elections. Israel’s lawmaking body is a parliament known as the Knesset. The country does not have a written constitution. It follows a set of basic laws established by the Knesset. Although Israel has a president, that person does not have a great deal of power. Instead, the Israeli prime minister acts very much as the U.S. president does. Elections for the prime minister and Knesset are usually held at the same time. Just as in the United States, Israelis can vote when they turn eighteen years old. Israeli men and almost all Israeli women who are not married must enter the military when they turn eighteen. Men must serve for three years. Women are required to serve for two years. Israel is rich in art and culture. It has many museums and theaters. Israeli writers, painter, and sculptors have become well-known throughout the world. Award-winning Israeli authors include Chaim Bialik, Amos Oz, and A.B. Yehoshua. At times, Jewish themes are evident in the work of Israeli artists. Some of the most interesting works capture Israel’s struggle for survival. Music is another important part of Israel’s heritage. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is respected throughout the world. There are many less well-known orchestras in Israel as well. Vocabulary Words (Hebrew): - Hello — Shalom - Thank you — Toda raba - Good-bye — Shalom - Peace — Shalom - Please — Be’vakasha - Music — Mussica (moozeeca) About the Music: Since Biblical times, music and dance have held an important role in many Jews’ lives. Jewish music (and dances) have both been influenced by surrounding Gentile traditions and Jewish sources preserved over time. The history of religious Jewish music spans history from Biblical to Modern times. The earliest religious music was based on the music used in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Mishnah, the regular Temple orchestra consisted of twelve instruments, and a choir of twelve male singers. A number of additional instruments were known to the ancient Israelites, though they were not included in the regular orchestra of the Temple, such as the uggav. Though scholars do not completely agree what the uggav looked like, some think it was the panflute or panpipes. Much of Orthodox Jewish music is performed by men due to religious restrictions on men hearing women sing. In the 1980s, Tofa’ah was the first female Orthodox band and has paved the road for Orthodox Jewish female performers. Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by Jewish immigrants from more than 120 countries around the world, who have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a global melting pot. The Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern music. It has a wide variety of influences from the European Jews and more modern Hassidic songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially Yemenite singers, and hip hop or heavy metal. From the earliest days of Zionist settlement, Jewish immigrants wrote popular folk music. At first, songs were based on borrowed melodies from German, Russian, or traditional Jewish folk music with new lyrics written in Hebrew. Starting in the early 1920s, however, Jewish settlers made a conscious effort to create a new Hebrew style of music, a style that would tie them to their earliest Hebrew origins and that would differentiate them from the style of the Jewish people of Eastern Europe, whom they viewed as weak. This new style borrowed elements from Arabic styles. “The huge change in our lives demands new modes of expression”, wrote composer and music critic Menashe Ravina in 1943. “… and, just as in our language we returned to our historical past, so has our ear turned to the music of the east … as an expression of our innermost feelings.” Young people played a major role in musical development as Israel became a country in the late 1940s, and in making new popular Jewish songs. The government saw music as a way of establishing a new national identity and teaching Hebrew to new immigrants. The national labor organization set up a music publishing house that printed songbooks and encouraged public sing-alongs. This tradition of public sing-alongs continues to the present day, and is a characteristic of modern Israeli culture. About the Artists: The Burning Bush takes its inspiration from a wide variety of music from the old Jewish world, embracing both the Ashkenazi and Sephardi cultures. Folk songs in Yiddish from Poland, Russia and Ukraine, instrumental dances of the East European Klezmer bands, and mystical dances of the ultra-orthodox Hasidim, mix with the great tradition of Sephardi song from the exiled Spanish communities of Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Morocco. They also feature songs from the Jewish communities of the Yemen and Iraq, sung in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic. Much of this music is preserved in the oral tradition, reflecting the musical language of the countries where Jewish communities settled over the centuries. Ballads, folk songs and romances, some dating back to Medieval Spain, co- exist with melodies of Greek or Turkish origin from the late Ottoman Empire. Yiddish songs and Klezmer melodies show the influence of early jazz with the immigration to the New World at the turn of this century. Many songs were sung in the home from mother to child; others were written for the ghetto theatres; some reach right out to us like the lullaby ‘S’dremlyn feygl’ from the Vilna ghetto; all portray the universal themes of love, sorrow, devotion and the vicissitudes of everyday life. The Burning Bush’s interpretations reflect the local character of the music through the use of traditional instruments and styles of performance. For the music of the Ashkenazi world clarinet, accordion, violins, cymbalom and bass predominate; for the Middle Eastern aspect of the Sephardi repertoire the group use less familiar traditional instruments like the oud, rebec, riq and the goblet-shaped drum, the darabukka. Listen to the song and look at the lyrics. Tell in the comment box what you think about the song — have you heard something like it before? What instruments did you hear? What did the music make you think of? Would you listen to it again? Remember, the comment is worth 5 of your 25 points!!! Write two paragraphs in reaction to the music, the information about Israel, and the pictures in the post — one paragraph for the reading and one for the music. Tell about any interesting things you learned and what you think about Israel as a place and a culture. As always, you can earn up to five bonus points for defining words you don’t know and using them in a sentence. This assignment is due Tuesday, June 5. This is the last day of school, so make sure you get your homework in!

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“DEATH!” There I said it—the infamous “d” word. Death is one of those subjects we don’t like to discuss. That’s why it’s a subject of so many euphemisms. Instead of using the word dead, we say, “passed away,” “returned home,” “gone to a better place,” “sleeping in Jesus,” or “went to be with the Lord.” At least we use those terms around the church and the funeral home. In less guarded moments, we speak of “taking a dirt nap,” “kicking the bucket,” “buying the farm,” “cashing in the chips,” “biting the dust,” or the ever-popular “croaked.” Whether we lean to the reverent right or the flippant left, we shy away from speaking directly of the ultimate enemy.343 It seems that we are hesitant to come to grips with our impending death. We would rather avoid any discussion about it. After all, death is a depressing subject. And who wants to be depressed? Yet, I would argue that we are not prepared to live until we are prepared to die. Solomon tackles the subject of death head-on. Instead of denying death, he discusses its reality and our response. In Eccl 9:1-12, Solomon provides two reminders that will enable us to make the most of our few days on earth.344 1. Death is certain (9:1-6). In this first section, Solomon explains that death is the “Great Equalizer.” Death plays no favorites and overlooks no one. Regardless of your strength and wealth, you are going to die. In 9:1 Solomon writes, “For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds345 are in the hand346 of God. Man does not know347 whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.” After much reflection, Solomon acknowledges that God is sovereign over everything and everyone. Here he states that nothing befalls the children of God that doesn’t first pass through the hands of God. Yet, with this, Solomon reminds us that we may experience “love or hatred.” The terms “love” and “hate” refer respectively to divine favor or disfavor. Solomon’s point is this: There are no guarantees as to what life will bring, but the certainty of life is that God is involved in the lives of those who trust Him. No one by even righteous deeds can gain control over God and coerce blessing from Him. One must acknowledge that all is in God’s hands.348 I’m reminded of this by the words of Bob Hope, after receiving a major award. He responded, “I don’t deserve this, but then I have arthritis and I don’t deserve that either.” Although I appreciate the humor of this remark, it is bad theology. Like Job, we are to receive both good and bad because both can come from the hand of God. In 9:2-3, you’re going to find out why Solomon is not coming over for dinner. He writes, “It is [i.e., death] the same for all. There is one fate349 for the righteous and for the wicked;350 for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate351 for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.” Solomon could summarize verses 2-3 with these words: “Under the sun, you’re done.” If he were living today, he would say, “We’re all going to ‘take a dirt nap.’” Ultimately, every man who has ever lived or will ever live will die. Solomon was right; the same destiny overtakes us all. You and I can work out, take our vitamins, drink bottled water, stay away from McDonalds, and swear off Krispy Kreme, but even with the best of care for this flesh, it is one day going to give out and we will die. In 9:3, death is labeled “the evil,” not simply a natural phenomenon.352 Death is an intrusion, it’s an enemy. This means we shouldn’t go to funerals and sing The Lion King song, “The Circle of Life.” The most ridiculous and pathetic advice you could give someone is: “Death is just part of life.” No it isn’t, it is death! It’s the wages of our rebellion and sin against God. It’s cosmic treason and it is punished by death.353 We were created by a living God, to be a living people, who live forever with this living God. The only way to get rid of death is to get rid of sin. That is why Jesus died for our sin, so we could live.354 Today, will you believe in Jesus Christ as you Savior from sin? He offers you eternal and abundant life.355 Despite the inequities of life, Solomon argues that life is better than death. In 9:4-6 he explains: “For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.”356Solomon is focused on “life under the sun,” he is not talking about “life in the Son.” The person who lives “in the Son” can leave a godly legacy and attain eternal rewards. But that is not under discussion here. Instead, Solomon is speaking of life-and-death matters. We won’t get all we should out of these verses until we recognize that in Solomon’s day, dogs were diseased mongrels that ran in packs through city streets, not pampered pets.357 People feared and loathed them. Nevertheless, Solomon says that a live dog is better than the king of the jungle who’s dead. Why? Because the living know they will die! The living may yet reckon with the reality of death and in so doing embrace the joy life has to offer, but no such possibility exists for those who have already died. Their time has passed. There is no second chance, there is no purgatory, there is no reincarnation, and there is no eternal recurrence of life. You and I are going to die. We’re going to be painted up like a circus clown. We’re going to be filled full of preservatives. We’re going to be shut in a box, thrown into a six-foot hole, and become food for worms. This is painful, but it is true.358 This is one of the best passages in the Bible to offer to one who is contemplating suicide. Life may be a terrible drudgery for you right now. Relationships may have soured, finances may be non-existent, and spiritually you may feel far from God, but if you are breathing, there is hope that things may get better. Many people have built success out of the ashes of failure.359 Relationships can be healed; sickness can be cured; work can improve. It never makes sense to take your life. If you are feeling suicidal today, please tell someone. Solomon has pulled no punches in his death-dealing exposé. The fact that our days are numbered ought to motivate us to live earnestly for God. In light of the brevity of life, we must live with seriousness, recognizing the importance of a life well invested. Twice a week for the rest of our lives, we ought to begin the day by looking in the mirror and saying, “I am going to die someday—maybe today.” What a difference that would make in our lives. The fact that we will die should affect the way we live. [Solomon is clear that death is certain. Now he reminds us that…] 2. Life is uncertain (9:7-12). In this section, Solomon urges us to make the most of our lives because time and chance can overtake us. In 9:7-10, Solomon unveils five imperatives that advocate living life to the fullest (“go,” “eat,” “drink,” “enjoy,” and “do”). These five imperatives are located in the central part of this chapter and are recorded there to present the central thrust of the chapter: life is short; death is certain; so live in the most meaningful way that you can.360 Work is a privilege that we will not have after we die. Probably, toil connected with the curse on nature is in view here. We will be active in service in heaven, for example, but this will not be work as we know it now (Rev 22:3). If you think work is not a blessing, spend some time talking with someone who has been out of work for a long time.372 Throw yourself into something besides bed! You only get one shot at it. Do something worthwhile. Make a contribution. I’ve read that a man or woman of fifty, having worked consistently since school, will have put in 56,000 hours of work. Imagine if you will, 56,000 hours of boredom and resentment. Who would come through such an ordeal with a sound mind? Yet a poor attitude towards one’s job creates that environment. Now imagine someone rising in the morning to say, “Thank You, Lord! Another day to use the gifts and the strength and the mind You have given me. What a gift You have given me that I may work and serve.” That mind-set will add years to your life and life to your years. It will also bring you success, promotions, and glory for God.373 Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, often worked eighteen hours a day. Famous explorer and missionary, David Livingstone, once asked him, “How do you manage to do two men’s work in a single day?” Spurgeon replied, “You have forgotten that there are two of us.”374 Surgeon was right. We have the Holy Spirit working in and through us. He can and should make work a pleasure not a pain. So have a blast while you last. Tragically, many Christians live as if it is a sin to enjoy life.375 Yet, God created man and woman to live in a place called Eden, which means “delight.” The Bible teaches that one day we will live on a new earth that will be like Eden once again.376 So we are to prepare now by living a life of joy. The Hebrews knew joy perhaps better than any culture. In the Old Testament, there are no less than ten different words for “joy.”377 What is the level of joy in your life? Every year I teach a class called “Eschatology” (i.e., the study of last things) at Ecola Bible School. One of the homework questions I ask my students is, “How would you live today if you knew it would be your last?” Some students give what they think are spiritual responses such as, “I would read my Bible all day and share Jesus with my loved ones.” However, many of the students say, “I would have a good meal with my family and friends. I would tell others how much I love them. I would go skydiving.” They figure if I haven’t read my Bible or shared Christ like I should, why bother doing so in my last day? People and enjoyment are what is meaningful to them. So have a blast while you last. The last two verses of this section could serve as a summary for the entire book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon writes, “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.” But just in case we are confident in our strengths and gifts to help us make our mark, Solomon lists five desirable assets: the “swift,” the “strong,” the “wise,” the “discerning,” and “to men of ability.” He then informs us that these talented individuals do not always win and find great success. Wisdom, skill, and hard work can promote but not guarantee success. This is true because “time and chance overtake them all.”378 First, time limits us. This is an echo of the teaching throughout Ecclesiastes that the seasons of our life are in the hand of God. This is a warrant for faith but also a death-blow for self-confidence. Second, chance is the unexpected event which may throw the most accomplished off course, despite the most thoroughly prepared schemes. Time and chance overtakes humankind just like death itself.379 So have a blast while you last. Solomon concludes in 9:12 with these powerful words: “Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil380 time when it suddenly falls on them.” Unfortunately, man does not often recognize this truth. We live as if we are the master of our own fate, the captain of our soul. How foolish we are! Rather than the master of our fate, we are more like little fish. We swim along, minding our own business, and suddenly we are snatched up by a net…and there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it! Time, chance, and death catch one unexpectedly, like a trap, and there is no escape. When the trap has closed, any opportunity to enjoy life is over. Just stop for a moment and think about it: What will we do if our heart or lungs fails us? What can we do if we contract a fatal disease? What can we do if we lose our job or our business? What will we do if a child dies or if a spouse leaves us? Sooner or later, we will all find out that our present existence and future destiny belong to the Lord alone. So have a blast while you last. In a sense, this verse is a microcosm of the whole book of Ecclesiastes. So much of life is enigmatic and fails to conform to the rules we have learned. We’ve been taught that if you want to succeed you have to compete and be aggressive, get up earlier, go to bed later, put in more hours, do unto them before they do unto you. But, says Solomon, it doesn’t always work that way. Nothing is guaranteed. This is how life is, but we shouldn’t despair nor should we quit aiming to be swift, strong, wise, brilliant and learned. We should, however, quit thinking that life owes us anything, or, for that matter, that God owes us anything under the sun. Now if you talk about the long run, that’s a different story. Even Solomon says in 8:12: “Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.” But in the meantime, often it will seem that time and chance play a bigger part in our lives than God’s providence. You play the board game Monopoly. You buy railroads and place hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk. You pass “Go” and collect $200. Everyone has fun. Then the game ends, and all the hotels, all the colorful tokens, and all the funny money go back into the box. Solomon, who held an empire much less plastic, would tell us that whether you build in plastic or gold it’s all the same. Build the temple, extend a dynasty, even write three God-inspired books—in the end, it all goes back in the box.381 Likewise, life is short. You and I are going to die. Stop and ask yourself, “What really matters? How do I want to be remembered? What do I want others to say about me?” And then make a commitment to have a blast while you last. Proverbs 5:28-29; 18:22 1 Timothy 6:17 Colossians 3:17, 23 1. Am I prepared for trials, tests, and tragedies (9:1)? What gives me the necessary peace and confidence to prepare for these difficult seasons? How does the reality that my deeds are “in the hand of God” comfort me? In what way will this perspective help me to live my life this week? 2. To what degree am I aware of my imminent death (9:3-4)? Have I been guilty of being in denial of this reality? What will I do to both acknowledge and prepare for my dying day? How can I help others cultivate a healthy outlook on the brevity of their lives? 3. As a spouse, how do I express my love for my life partner (9:9)? How do I prioritize my spouse in the busyness of life? As a husband, how would my wife say that I have invested my few short years in her and our relationship? Would she say to her friends that I cherish and nurture her? Read Ephesians 5:25-33. 4. Do I serve the Lord wholeheartedly through my work (9:10)? What specific steps do I take to ensure that I have a godly work ethic? Read Colossians 3:17 and 23. 5. How am I going to live now that I realize my death day is set by God (9:11-12)? Read Psalms 39:4 and 90:12. How can I keep the sobering realities of these verses always before me? What can I do to remind other believers to live in light of eternity? 342 Copyright © 2008 Keith R. Krell. All rights reserved. All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, and 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, and are used by permission. 343 Revised and adapted from David Jeremiah, Searching for Heaven on Earth (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004), 225-226. 344 See Pss 39:4; 90:12; Jas 4:13-17. 345 This is the only place in the OT where this word, which normally is used of “service God,” is used as a noun. 346 “Hand” = “power,” cf. Eccl 2:24; Job 19:21; 27:11; Ps 10:12; 17:7. 347 The subsections that follow begin “no one knows” or the equivalent (Eccl 9:1, 12; 11:2; cf. 9:5; 10:14, 15; 11:5 [twice], 6). 348 Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (NAC; Nashville: Broadman, 1993), 349 The word translated “fate” (miqreh) should be translated “event” instead. Solomon refers only to that which “meets men at the end of their lives, an “event,” a “happening,” or “outcome.” 350 The “wicked” and “righteous” both refer to covenant people (not people of the world) because this follows the theology of Deut 31:29 and Jdgs 2:19. 351 The word translated as “fate” (miqreh) appears only rarely outside of the Book of Ecclesiastes, one time each in 1 Sam 6:9 (“chance” – NASB), in 1 Sam 20:26 (“accident” – NASB), and in Ruth 2:3 (not translated, but is subsumed by the verb “happened” – NASB). Within the Book of Ecclesiastes, the author consistently (all seven times) uses this word to reference the ultimate end (“under the sun”) of all animate beings – that ultimate end being “death” (Eccl 2:14, 15; 3:19 [3x]; 9:2, 3). Barry C. Davis, The Book of Ecclesiastes, Multnomah Biblical Seminary unpublished class notes. 352 This too is a meditation on the fall; humanity has been cut off from the tree of life (Gen 3:8-24). 353 Paul writes, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 3:23; 6:23a). 354 David Fairchild, “Living While Dying” (Eccl 9:1-12). 355 Jesus Himself said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have itabundantly” (John 10:10). 356 Verses 4-6 do not contradict 4:2-3 where Solomon said the dead are better off than the living. A person who is suffering oppression may feel it is preferable to be dead (4:1), but when a person is dead his opportunities for earthly enjoyment are non-existent (9:4-6). Dr. Thomas L. Constable, “Notes on Ecclesiastes”; 2007 edition: http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/ecclesiastes.pdf, 24. 357 See 1 Sam 17:43; 24:14. 358 Fairchild, “Living While Dying.” 359 Michael P. Andrus, “Sharp Goads and Hard Nails” (Eccl 7-11): unpublished sermon notes. 360 Davis, The Book of Ecclesiastes. 361 Eccl 2:24; 3:13; 5:18; 8:15; cf. Gen. 14:18; 1 Sam 16:20; 25:18; Neh 5:15; Lam 2:12. 362 Putting oil on the face and arms was a sign of gladness (cf. Ps 23:5; 45:7; 104:15; Isa 61:3). 363 Paul joins the chorus: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil 4:4) And “rejoice always” (1 Thess 5:16). 364 Jeremiah, Searching for Heaven on Earth, 233. 365 This clever title/slogan comes from Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge: Coming to Terms with Reality, Bible Study Guide (Fullerton, CA: Insight for Living, 1986), 250. 366 Jeremiah, Searching for Heaven on Earth, 234. 367 Preaching Today citation: Steve May, Sermonnotes.com. 368 Preaching Today citation: The Talmud; submitted by Aaron Goerner, Utica, NY. 369 It is quite possible that the Apostle Paul had Eccl 9:10 in mind when he wrote Col 3:23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” His point is: Life must be lived to the fullest in all that you do. Elsewhere, Paul wrote, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). A helpful maxim here is, “Doing a little thing for God makes it a big thing.” The reason being, our God is not a little god…He is a colossal God! Anything that is done for the Lord and His glory is an enormously significant work! 370Sheol occurs sixty-five times in the OT and is translated “grave” in approximately half of those instances. The word sheol encompasses the region of departed spirits who are conscious, either in bliss or torment. Since the writers of the OT believed in an afterlife, sheol never means just the grave. 371 Jesus said, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). 372 Constable, “Notes on Ecclesiastes,” 25. 373 Jeremiah, Searching for Heaven on Earth, 234. 374 Preaching Today citation: “Charles Haddon Spurgeon,” Christian History, no. 29. 375 Lest we think that only the ancient Hebrew readers to whom the author of Ecclesiastes was writing are those who should heed Solomon’s advice (commands), the authors of the NT concur. See Matt 5:16; 1 Cor 10:31; Eph 5:28, 33; Phil 4:4; Col 3:17, 23; 1 Thess 5:18; 1 Tim 6:17. 376 See Rev 21-22. 377 See Neh 8:10; Ps 104:31; Zeph 3:17. 378 Five accomplishments are listed, none of which guarantees success or prosperity: (1) the swift-footed may find himself a loser (cf. 2 Sam 2:18); (2) military strength is no guarantee of success in battle (cf. Isa 36-37); (3) wisdom similarly is no guarantee of a livelihood (cf. Eccl 9:13-16; 10:1); (4) understanding may be accompanied by poverty (cf. Eccl 9:15); and (5) favor may be delayed for innocent Joseph (Gen 37-41) and not come at all for others (Eccl 9:13-16). Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16. The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. by D. J. Wiseman (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1983), 130. 379 The prophet Jeremiah explained why these apparent “upsets’ in the natural order of things happen: “It is not for man to direct his steps” (Jer 10:23). Ultimately God is sovereign and in complete control. 380 Nowhere in Scripture, here or in its seven other occurrences (Jer 2:27, 28; 11:12; 15:11; Amos 5:13; Mic 2:3; and Ps 37:19)—with the possible exception of Amos 5:13—do the authors of Scripture use the phrase to indicate a condition of sinfulness. Instead, those writers use this phrase to denote a time of disaster, trouble, or calamity. Davis, The Book of Ecclesiastes. 381 Jeremiah, Searching for Heaven on Earth, 227.

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Utah motorists know they've been seeing prices above average for quite a while- mostly because of refining issues, such as an explosion last year that took a good portion of gasoline production offline. However, the AP is reporting that parts of the refinery that exploded may finally re-open in the near future, helping pressure prices lower. According to the AP, A Utah oil refinery that blew up last year says federal regulators have finished an onsite investigation. Silver Eagle Refining Inc. says it has regained access to the damaged section of the refinery and is making plans to reopen it. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board seized control of part of the refinery after a 100-foot fireball erupted last November. The company resumed refinery operations two months later. Silver Eagle has been fined more than $1 million by Utah regulators for equipment, safety and record-keeping problems. The blast damaged dozens of nearby houses. It knocked four refinery workers to the ground, but nobody was injured.

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A standardized speed test for OpenDNS would be difficult since physical locations, ISPs and other setup factors vary. That’s why we value independent speed testing of OpenDNS so much. I tested that claim from my home base in India. After switching to OpenDNS, content-laden Web sites like news.com, cnn.com, bbcworld.com, and myspace.com loaded a lot more quickly, ping times were considerably lower, and query response times (measured with dig -x site ) to news.com, lxer.com, osnews.com, distrowatch.org, and bbcworld.com were lower by 10 to 25% compared to times when I was using my ISP’s DNS. That shoots holes in the idea that OpenDNS is only faster if you’re in the U.S. or U.K.

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During a visit to a rural school in China, BLOSSOMS founders Richard Larson and Elizabeth Murray watched as a videotaped lecture enlivened an otherwise cold, bleak classroom. The teacher paused the lecture from time to time to engage with the class. The interruptions worked, but awkwardly, prompting Larson and Murray to wonder what would happen if they created video lessons that were designed to be interactive. They envisioned video lessons dovetailed with engaging activities for teachers to do with their students. So inspired, Murray and Larson set out to create BLOSSOMS (Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies), a series of freely available interactive lessons presented in a widely accessible video format. BLOSSOMS video modules supplement the standard curriculum with virtual lessons led by educators from around the world and activities led by local classroom teachers. The BLOSSOMS project is sponsored at MIT by LINC (Learning International Networks Consortium), a global consortium of educators interested in using distance and e-learning technologies to increase access to quality education worldwide. BLOSSOMS is an “Open Educational Resource,” a web-based collection of materials offered freely and openly for re-use in teaching, learning and research. OERs such as BLOSSOMS help make education a right rather than a privilege by providing schools around the world with access to quality educational tools.

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https://blossoms.mit.edu/about_us/history

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In May of this year Brad Feld, Managing Partner of the Foundry Group, wrote about successful entrepreneurs having “A complete and total obsession with the product.” No argument here, however I think we need to take that a step further and warn against blind love of your business. Obsession in business means focus, energy, commitment, and with the best of the obsessed, objectivity. Blind love means never having to say you’re sorry for the last product revision. It was the famous 17th century mathematician, philosopher, and inventor of the first calculator, Blaise Pascal, who wrote, “The heart has its reason which reason knows not.” By scrupulously analyzing your business, constantly looking for ways to make it better, and rejecting the applications or ideas that don’t work, your chance for success goes up exponentially. But if your reason is impaired by your love for the business, you may be in for a broken heart. How many inspired entrepreneurs lost their company because they couldn’t see what had to be done, or couldn’t bring themselves to do it? Be obsessed with your business, and make sure your deepest emotional commitment is to your customers, investors, and fellow employees.

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8 pages matching Dumaguete City in this book Results 1-3 of 8 What people are saying - Write a review We haven't found any reviews in the usual places. Biodiversity Ecology and Biogeography of Zooxanthellae 11 other sections not shown Acropora activities AMCA analysis Apo Island assessment Australia Bali Barrier Reef Barrier Reef Marine Barrier Reef World Bay Islands biodiversity bioregions bleaching catchment Coastal Management coastal resources coelacanth conflicts conservation coral cover Coral Reef Symposium coral reefs Discovery Bay diversity ecological economic ecosystems effective endemic environment environmental fisheries management fishermen GBRMP giant clams groups growth Gulf of Mannar habitat hard coral identified impacts implementation increase Indonesia Indonesia 23-27 October International Coral Reef leopardus locations management plan Marine Park Authority marine protected areas marine reserves marine resources Marine Sanctuary monitoring MPAs no-take areas operators Philippines population programs Queensland reef fish Reef Marine Park Reef World Heritage region resource management restoration sampling Science sea cucumbers seagrass sediment social species stakeholders survey sustainable tourism Townsville transplantation tropical users volunteers World Heritage Area

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https://books.google.com/books?id=kzUUAQAAIAAJ&q=Dumaguete+City&dq=related:ISBN0444513884&lr=&source=gbs_word_cloud_r&hl=en

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The Revolutionary Period in Europe 1763 To 1815 1914. Contents: The People and the Old Regime; Government in the Eighteenth Century; Currents of Public Opinion; The Work of the Benevolent Despots; The French Monarchy as a Benevolent Despotism; The Industrial Revolution; The Fall of the Old Regime in France; Revolutionary Reorganization; The Finances and the Church; The Menace of Civil War; The Revolution and Europe; The War and the Monarchy; The Reign of Force; The Attempt to Organize the Republic; Imperialism and Bankruptcy; The French Republic as a Great Power; A Beneficient Dictatorship; Beginnings of Revolution in Germany; From Consulate to Empire; The New Charlemagne; The Continental System; The Reorganization of Prussia; The Scope of Reform in Europe; The French Empire at Its Height; The Last Great Venture; The Collapse of the Napoleonic Empire; and The Restoration in France and in Europe. What people are saying - Write a review We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.

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In reality, the four "villas" were built as offices for the shopping mall's 160 real estate management employees, reports China Daily. So while they are not actual residences, the architectural oddity has been sparking debate about whether such a development could actually be a feasible solution to issues of modern urban overcrowding. Is this a possible fix, or an outrageous fantasy? Andre Sorensen is a professor of geography at University of Toronto's Scarborough campus and is less than impressed by the rooftop houses. "This is a cute idea, but it really has nothing to do with density," says Sorensen, who points out that these are used as offices, not homes. "There is no reason, technically, why housing could not be built this way…[but] this is actually very low density, if it were actually housing." Others are less dismissive of the project. "Yes they're unusual. No, they're not so outrageous," says Toronto architect and urban designer David Lieberman. "I mean, this is kind of a joke photo. Those are four ridiculously expensive houses, but this is where it begins," says Lieberman. He explains that there is a misconception that urbanity is not kind to the planet, when in fact the carbon footprint of those living in cities is much lower than suburban dwellers. "Urban density is environmentally friendly," says Lieberman. Mixing commercial and residential properties just makes sense. Ingrid Stefanovic is a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto and the founding director of the school's Centre for the Environment. She points out that one problem with developments like these is that most Canadian shopping malls are not designed to bear any extra load, and as such, any additions like this would likely need to be included in the initial planning process, rather than dropped on top as an afterthought. "That being said, were such houses constructed, they would likely appeal to those who wish to live in highly dense urban centres, while maintaining a sense of open space and greenery as part of the traditional suburban dream," says Stefanovic. "It is easy to critique peoples' love of suburban spaces." There are already numerous examples of mixed big box and residential developments in Canada. In Vancouver, a development on lower Cambie Street called The Rise features 90-townhouses and condos on top of a Home Depot and a Save On Foods. The building also features a 20,000 square foot green roof that is both a park and a community garden. And though it doesn't include housing, Lieberman points to Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Business Management in Toronto, which sits atop a big box Canadian Tire and Best Buy in the city's downtown core at Dundas and Bay as a good example of mixed-use planning. Stefanovic says evidence of the trend towards better use of rooftop space can be seen in today's condos. "Already, we are building top floors of condominium buildings that are larger than usual, and host large private decks, the greenery of beautiful landscaping, lovely vistas, a sense of space as well as a sense of private place," says Stefanovic. So can we simply run out and start throwing houses on top of malls? Lieberman says no, and yet he foresees a future urban landscape far more integrated than what we live in now. "The key is mixed-use planning," says Lieberman. "The city of tomorrow is going to look very different than the city of today." Watch the video below for some excellent Feng Shui tips from designer Laura Morris.

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Girl in a blue dress : a novel inspired by the life and marriage of Charles Dickens Summary: "In creating my [the author's] own story of Alfred and Dorothea Gibson, I have taken a novelist's liberties as I explored an imaginative path through their relationship. . . . Inspired by "threads of Dickens's own preoccupations with things strange, romantic, and melodramatic rather than realistic ... at times, characters from his novels make a transmuted appearance as characters in his life. ... Above all, in Dorothea Gibson I have tried to give voice to the largely voiceless Catherine Dickens, who once requested that her letters from her husband be preserved so that 'the world may know he loved me once.' " -- Author's note. Current Holds: 0 System Availability: 1 (of 1) Call Number: FIC ARNOLD Add to my list

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Prospective, Randomized Trial of Basiliximab (Simulect) in the Prophylaxis of High-Risk Keratoplasty Patients Most high risk keratoplasties are currently performed under systemic immunosuppression. Immunosuppressants are currently either Cyclosporine A or mycophenolate mofetile, administered for around 6 months. Due to potentially severe adverse effects, new immunosuppressive exerting less side effects would be desirable. Basiliximab is a monoclonal, chimeric antibody, targeted specifically against the Interleukin-2-Rezeptor from activated T-cells. This agent is known to specifically inhibit T-cell proliferation upon intravenous application only twice following transplantation. Basiliximab has already been demonstrated effective in kidney transplantation. This investigation is a prospective, randomized clinical trial on orthotopic, high-risk penetrating keratoplasty. Basiliximab is evaluated against systemic Cyclosporine A. Primary endpoint is graft rejection. Secondary endpoint is clear graft survival. |Study Design:||Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Open Label Primary Purpose: Prevention |Official Title:||Prospective, Randomized Trial of Basiliximab (Simulect) in the Prophylaxis of High-Risk Keratoplasty Patients| Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00409656 |Study Director:||Thomas Reinhard, MD, Prof.||University Eye Hospital, Freiburg|

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From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository This category lists users according to their ability in the Gothic language. - 1 stands for basic knowledge - 2 stands for intermediate knowledge - 3 stands for advanced or fluent knowledge For a list of language specific tags see Commons:Babel. This category has the following 6 subcategories, out of 6 total.

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See Duplicating a Database to ASM Storage and RMAN DUPLICATE DATABASE From File System to ASM: Example Hemant K Chitale The procedure is almost the same with RMAN, I think the main difference is the Diskgroup name for the location of your DB files. There are a lot of web pages with this information (RMAN from NonASM to ASM): You have three main options: - RMAN Active clonation (online without backup) - RMAN Backup clonatio (with RMAN backup) - EXPDP, your database is not very big, so you can use EXPDP to export and import your database. If you don't have experience with RMAN clonation I would recommend you the third option. I hope this help you.

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Yield Response of Spring Wheat and Barley to Nitrogen Fertilizer in Relation to Soil and Climatic Factors1 - R. A. Young, - J. L. Ozbun, - A. Bauer and - E. H. Vasey2 The relationship between yield response of spring wheat (Triticum (aestivum L.)sp.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) to fertilizer N and various soil and climatic factors was determined in a total of 66 field experiments over a 3-year period using simple and multiple correlation and regression. Measured variables included precipitation and air temperature from seeding to harvest; available soil moisture and NH4-N plus NO3-N at seeding to a depth of 152 cm; N extracted with alkaline permanganate and total N to 61 cm; organic matter to 30.5 cm; and NH4-N plus NO3-N accumulated during 2 weeks incubation at 35C from samples retained field moist, frozen, and air-dried before incubation, to 61 cm. The factors that showed significant relationships with yield response to nitrogen fertilizer were (i) stored available soil moisture at seeding to 122 cm or a dry zone, (ii) stored NO3-N to 61 cm at seeding, (iii) precipitation from seeding to 5 days before harvest and (iv) degree days above 21C from 5 to 60 days before harvest. Using stored NO3-N, stored available moisture, average growing-season precipitation and temperature, and a calculated value of 8.40 kg of fertilizer N/ha to produce a yield response of 1 quintal, predicted N fertilizer rates were within 11.2 kg/ha of actual amounts required in over 50% and within 22.4 kg in 89% of the experiments.Please view the pdf by using the Full Text (PDF) link under 'View' to the left. Copyright © .

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Bazaar is an open source distributed version control system. To install Bazaar: Open an SSH session to your account. Install Bazaar. Enter easy_install bzr and press Enter. You can specify which Python version to use to install Bazaar by entering easy_install-X.Y bzr where X.Y is a Python version number. For example, to use Python 2.5, enter easy_install-2.5 bzr. Configure the default name and email address to appear by default in commits made from your Bazaar installation. Enter bzr whoami "name <email_address>". You can now use the command line tool bzr to work with Bazaar repositories. Enter bzr help and press Enter for a list of commands. To learn more about using Bazaar, see Bazaar in five minutes and the Bazaar User Guide. Publishing Bazaar Repositories with Loggerhead¶ You can create an application to serve the Loggerhead server on the web. Create a Website and Application for Loggerhead¶ First, create a website with an application for Loggerhead: Log in the WebFaction control panel. Click Domains / websites ‣ Websites. The list of websites appears. Click the Add new website button. The Create a new website form appears. In the Name field, enter a website name. If applicable, in the Machine menu, click to select the server to host the website. If applicable, in the IP address menu, click to select the IP address to serve the site. If you want your site served over an HTTPS connection, click to select Encrypted website (https). For each domain name you want to use with the website, add it to the list of domains. In the Domains field, enter the domain name. Enter one or more domain names. If the domain has not yet been added to the control panel, click the Create link that appears at the bottom of the list of domains to add it. Don’t forget to point new domains to the WebFaction name servers. Add an application for Loggerhead. - Click Add an application ‣ Create a new application. The Create a new web app form appears. - In the Name field, enter a name for the application. - In the App category menu, click to select Custom. - In the App type menu, click to select Custom app (listening on port). - Click the Save button. The application is installed and added to website’s list of applications. Click the Add website button. The website is created and added to the list of websites. Make a note of the port number for the Loggerhead application. This number is required later in the installation process. Click Domains / websites ‣ Applications. The list of applications appears. The application’s port number appears next to the application’s type. Create a Place to Store Bazaar Repositories¶ Next, a directory needs to be created where the repositories themselves will be stored. Typically, this will be a directory outside of the custom application’s directory. - Open an SSH session to your account. - Create the repository directory. Enter mkdir path, where path is the path to the new directory, and press Enter. For example, enter mkdir $HOME/bzr and press Enter. Install Loggerhead’s Dependencies¶ - Install the latest version of SimpleTAL for Python 2. Enter easy_install-2.5 url, where url is a URL to the latest version archive (found at Download SimpleTAL for Python 2.), and press Enter. - Install simplejson. Enter easy_install-2.5 simplejson and press Enter. - Install Paste. Enter easy_install-2.5 Paste and press Enter. Download and Setup Loggerhead¶ The next step is to download Loggerhead and configure it to use the right version of Python. Switch to the Custom application directory. Enter cd ~/webapps/custom_app_name. Download the latest version of Loggerhead. You can find a link to the latest version from the Loggerhead download page. For example, enter wget http://launchpad.net/loggerhead/1.17/1.17/+download/loggerhead-1.17.tar.gz and press Enter. An archive is created in the current directory. Decompress the Loggerhead archive. Enter tar -zxvf loggerhead-version_number.tar.gz and press Enter. A directory called loggerhead is created. Switch to the loggerhead directory. Enter cd loggerhead and press Enter. Open serve-branches in a text editor. Edit the first line of the file from this: Save and close the file Create a Cron Job to Automatically Start Loggerhead¶ Open an SSH session into your account. Edit your crontab. Enter crontab -e and press Enter. Your crontab file will open in your text editor. Add this line to your crontab: 10,30,50 * * * * /home/<username>/webapps/<custom_app_name>/loggerhead/serve-branches --port=<number> <bzr_directory> &> /home/<username>/webapps/<custom_app_name>/loggerhead.log - <username> is your username, - <custom_app_name> is the name of your Custom app, - <number> is the port number assigned to your Custom app, - and <bzr_directory> is the full path to the directory you created to store repositories (for example, /home/username/bzr). Save and close the file. Every twenty minutes your Loggerhead installation is automatically restarted. Once the Loggerhead process starts, access your repositories on the web at the domain and path you specified previously.

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My research examines the role of nationalism towards Korean reunification and the development projects of Korea's border area. The Korean border is a political boundary fonned by the 1953 Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War. The boundary and its surrounding areas are restricted due to security reasons and the border area is less developed area compared to other provinces in South Korea. On the other hand, the border area could become an area of economic cooperation between North Korea and South Korea and a milestone of economic integration of the two Koreas. I explore how Korean nationalism would influence concretely on inducing the reunification. And to seek the Korean reunification strategies, I explore nationalism in Korea and relevant case studies such as Cyprus, Germany and Yemen. Specially, I analyze that to ensure environmental sustainability the inter-Korean border area, South Korea's development projects for the reunification needs to be balanced against environmental concerns. In fact, despite the increasing calls for development projects between North Korea and South Korea, the management of the border area's environment is rarely thought of as a common necessity. This research discusses effective development projects concerning part of the South Korean government's reunification strategies and environmental concerns in the border area. This research is based on interviews with key local infonnants conducted in the Korean border area from June 2006 to October 2006. In depth interviews were supplemented with archival and documentary material. And the border people's popular opinion is essential in achieving a community's support for the development projects. Therefore, the border people's attitudes towards the development and the environment have been surveyed in one of the South Korean border cities. The results are discussed in relation to reunification strategies in the Korean border area and the thesis explores South Koreans' aspiration to reunification based on Korean nationalism. In addition, it is argued that there is a linkage between development and environment in the border area. These findings have implications for the effective reunification strategies and management of the border area on the Korean peninsula. A Master of Philosophy's Thesis Submitted in partial fulfiIlment of the requirements For the award of Degree of Master of Philosophy of Loughborough University

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+44 (0)1509 263171 Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: |Title: ||Applications of a novel flame ionisation detector for liquid chromatography| |Authors: ||Smith, Roger M.| Bone, Joanne R. Sharp, Barry L. |Issue Date: ||2005| |Abstract: ||Over the last twenty years liquid chromatography has come to dominate analytical chemistry because of its ability to analyse a wide range of products from pharmaceuticals to environmental and forensic samples but some groups of analytes still cause practical difficulties in detection. The most common detector for HPLC is the UV-Visible spectroscopic detector, which is both sensitive and linear. However, detection is limited to analytes containing chromophores. For other analytes the analyst has to either rely on derivatisation or employ a “universal detector”, such as the less sensitive refractive index detector or the evaporative light scattering detector, which cannot easily detect small, volatile compounds. The universal flame ionisation detector when interfaced to LC has had problems in the past because of the signal from the organic component of the mobile phase, however, the use of superheated water as the eluent overcomes this problem and enables reversed-phase separations with the ability to detect analytes with and without chromophores. A revised design of interface (patent pending) enables a wide range of columns to be employed with differing flow rates.| |Description: ||This is a conference poster from the 2005 Pittsburgh Conference, Orlando, Florida, 28th February 2005.| |Appears in Collections:||Conference Papers and Presentations (Chemistry)| Files associated with this item: Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

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B2. Modelling (Flash) Floods in a Dutch Lowland Catchment Brauer, Claudia; Teuling, Ryan; Overeem, Aart; van der Velde, Ype; Hazenberg, Pieter; Warmerdam, Piet; Kloosterman, Peter; Uijlenhoet, Remko On 26 August 2010 the eastern part of The Netherlands and the bordering part of Germany were struck by a series of heavy rainfall events. We investigated the unprecedented flash flood triggered by this exceptionally heavy rainfall event (return period > 1000 years) in the 6.5 km2 Hupsel Brook catchment, which has been the experimental watershed employed by Wageningen University since the 1960s. This study improved our understanding of the dynamics of such lowland flash floods and the results have been published in HESS (Brauer et al., 2011). During this extreme event some thresholds became apparent that do not play a role during average conditions and are not incorporated in rainfall-runoff models. We present a detailed analysis of this extreme event, focusing on (1) the measured soil moisture, groundwater and discharge response of the catchment, (2) the thresholds we found, (3) the manner in which these processes and thresholds are incorporated in some well-known conceptual hydrological models and (4) how well these models are able to simulate the rainfall-runoff processes during the 2010 flash flood. Reference Brauer, C.C., Teuling, A.J., Overeem, A., van der Velde, Y., Hazenberg, P., Warmerdam, P.M.M and Uijlenhoet, R.: Anatomy of extraordinary rainfall and flash flood in a Dutch lowland catchment, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1991–2005, 2011. Internet-First University Press

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Bhamo (Burmese: ဗန်းမော်မြို့, also spelt Bamaw) is a city of Kachin State in the northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of the state of Kachin (Myitkyina). It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in the hills around the town. It is the administrative center of Bhamo District and Bhamo Township. Pagoda Ike Kaw Daw (အိုက်ခေါတော် စေတီ) |• Ethnicities||Shan, Kachin, Chinese| |• Religions||Theravada Buddhism| |Time zone||MST (UTC+6.30)| Bhamo was an important trading post with the Chinese Empire up to the nineteenth century, when copper coins from China flowed into Burma via Bhamo. VOC (United Dutch East India Company) records identified these copper coins as an important source of profit, and also mention the presence of a Customs Office in Bhamo to regulate the border trade. From 1869 to 1879, it was the seat of British colonial Assistant political agent, subordinate to the Resident with the king of and in Ava. As of 1935, the town was situated at the highest navigable point of the river, and was the terminus of caravan routes from India and Burma, by which jade, in particular, was brought into China. A once weekly Myanma Airways flight is available, as are three times a week river ferries. It is the terminus of river ferries from Mandalay. There is no river ferry between Bhamo and state capital Myitkyina. The land route between Bhamo and Mu Se District (Muse, part of Northern Shan State), is in poor condition. Bhamo is one of the official border trading towns between China and Myanmar. The town is home to Bhamo Degree College. Bhamo has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa). Temperatures are very warm throughout the year, although the winter months (December–February) are milder. There is a winter dry season (November–April) and a summer wet season (May–October). |Climate data for Bhamo| |Average high °C (°F)||25.0 |Average low °C (°F)||9.0 |Average precipitation mm (inches)||6 |Source: NOAA (1961-1990)| References & Sources - "Manmaw", Encyclopædia Britannica - "An Introduction to the Toponymy of Burma" The Permanent Committee of Geographic Names (PCGN), United Kingdom, October 2007, page 12, accessed 18 April 2010 - "Bhamaw Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 11 January 2013. - This article incorporates text from The Modern World Encyclopædia: Illustrated (1935); out of UK copyright as of 2005. - This may be out of date or biased to the timeframe of that reference. - WorldStatesmen - Burma/Myanmar - 17th Century Burma and the Dutch East Indies Company 1634-1680, by Wil O. Dijk, NIAS Press - Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bhamo". Encyclopædia Britannica 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 843. |Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bhamo.|

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Buronga, New South Wales New South Wales Orange World, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) tourist park in Buronga |Population||1,132 (2011 census)| Given their proximity the present day town of Buronga operates largely as a satellite suburb of the regional centre of Mildura. The town is serviced by a small retail area consisting of such outlets as a post office, petrol stations, public bar and a bakery. It is also the industrial base of the Wentworth Shire being the base for the local Country Energy depot as well as several other industrial businesses, including an earthmover, concrete supplier, steel suppliers and metalworkers. Buronga is serviced by the Buronga Public School in Chapman Street. It has two churches, the St Michele Arcangelo Catholic Church, Pitman Ave, Buronga within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes and the Murray River Baptist Church, Midway Drive, Buronga, an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church. The town is also home to the "U Can Do It" boxing gym. World War 2 - "2011 Census Quickstats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 June 2012. - Dunn, Peter. "CRASH OF A KITTYHAWK AT BURONGA, NSW ON 28 SEPTEMBER 1942". www.ozatwar.com. Retrieved 15 January 2013. Media related to Buronga, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons |This New South Wales geography article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.|

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Temporal range: Miocene, 15–4 Ma |Skeleton exhibited at Hubei province| Platybelodon ("flat-spear tusk") was a genus of large herbivorous mammal related to the elephant (order Proboscidea). It lived during the Miocene Epoch, about 15-4 million years ago, and ranged over Africa, Europe, Asia and North America. Although it thrived during its time, it did not survive past the Miocene. Platybelodon was very similar to Amebelodon, another, closely related gomphothere genus. Due to the shape of the two lower teeth, which are worn by many gomphothere genera (such as Platybelodon, Archaeobelodon, and Amebelodon), they are popularly known as "shovel tuskers." Platybelodon was previously believed to have fed in the swampy areas of grassy savannas, using its teeth to shovel up aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation. However, wear patterns on the teeth suggest that it used its lower tusks to strip bark from trees, and may have used the sharp incisors that formed the edge of the "shovel" more like a modern-day scythe, grasping branches with its trunk and rubbing them against the lower teeth to cut it from a tree. - Lambert, W.D. (1992). "The feeding habits of the shovel-tusked gomphotheres: evidence from tusk wear patterns." Paleobiology, 18(2): 132-147. - Barry Cox, Colin Harrison, R.J.G. Savage, and Brian Gardiner. (1999): The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures: A Visual Who's Who of Prehistoric Life. Simon & Schuster. - Jordi Agusti and Mauricio Anton. (2002): Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids. Pg.90, Columbia University Press. - Jayne Parsons.(2001): Dinosaur Encyclopedia. Pg.260, Dorling Kindersley. - David Norman. (2001): The Big Book Of Dinosaurs. Pg.420-421, Welcome Books. - Hazel Richardson.(2003): Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals (Smithsonian Handbooks). Pg.173, Dorling Kindersley.

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|This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2014)| |District||Bruck an der Leitha| |• Mayor||Herbert Speckl (ÖVP)| |• Total||20.50 km2 (7.92 sq mi)| |Elevation||148 m (486 ft)| |Population (1 January 2014)| |• Density||77/km2 (200/sq mi)| |Time zone||CET (UTC+1)| |• Summer (DST)||CEST (UTC+2)| Rohrau (German: Marktgemeinde Rohrau) is a village in the state of Lower Austria. The name Rohrau comes from two single German words, Rohr which means 'reed' and Au which means 'riparian forest' - the name of the village tells its location - south of the village there is a riparian forest and a swamp covered with reed. Rohrau is located in the "industrial quarter" (Industrieviertel) of the state of Lower Austria. Its area is 20.50 km2, of which 8.38% is forested. There is a kindergarten and a primary school (Volksschule). Rohrau is subdivided into the following Katastralgemeinden: The area in pre-Roman times belonged to the Celtic kingdom of Noricum. In Roman Times the area was part of the Roman province of Pannonia Superior; Rohrau is near to Carnuntum, a former Roman army camp close to the village of Petronell-Carnuntum. Rohrau grew along an old road next to the river Leitha connecting Carnuntum to the bridge crossing the river at Bruck an der Leitha, the current district capital. In the Middle Ages a castle was built, surrounded by a moat; later it was converted to a chateau; its facade as seen today is in the "Josephinian Style", a late and very rare Baroque style that only was used during the reign of Emperor Joseph II in the late 18th century. The chateau has been owned by the Counts of Harrach since 1524 and contains the largest private collection of Dutch oil paintings in Austria. In the 16th century Rohrau was given the right to hold a market, thus becoming a Market town. In the early 18th century the town was plagued by attacks from the Kuruczes, described by Geiringer as "the peasant army of the anti-Habsburg Hungarian party". In 1704 they plundered the town and burned homes, returning to do the same in 1706; a further attack took place in 1707. A resident who lost his house to the flames in both 1704 and 1706 was Lorenz Koller (born 1675), who was the Marktrichter (roughly, mayor) of the town and the maternal grandfather of Joseph Haydn (see below). Rohrau as former border town Rohrau stands in close proximity to the neighbouring state of Burgenland, which was part of Hungary until 1921. Rohrau once had a border checkpoint at the bridge crossing the river to what was then the Hungarian part of the Austrian Empire. This checkpoint, which now is a farmhouse, was only an internal border crossing, so much so that the local noble family Harrach owned land on both sides. Rohrau and Haydn The composer Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau in 1732. His father Mathias was a master wheelwright who served as Marktrichter of the village; something akin to mayor. His mother had previously worked as a cook in the Harrach household. Haydn lived in Rohrau only until about 1738, when he was sent away to attend a boarding school in nearby Hainburg. The composer's birth home, which is also the birth home of his brother Michael Haydn, is today a museum; it only partially reflects its original form since it has been repeatedly restored following fires and floods. It has also been expanded to serve its purpose as a museum. A monument to Haydn was erected by Count Karl Leonhard Harrach in 1793, during the composer's own lifetime; it is thus the oldest of all Haydn monuments. It was originally placed in the park of Harrach chateau, on an artificial island (the "Haydn-Insel") in the Leitha River, created for the purpose. The monument was later transferred to the center of the village, where it stands today. When Haydn returned from London in 1795, he visited the monument during an emotional return to his home town. Historical population of Rohrau - 1971: 1,341 - 1981: 1,258 - 1991: 1,224 - 2001: 1,455 - 2011: 1,544 - 2014: 1,569 As of 2011, there were 47 companies related to agricultural and forestry, and 89 non-agricultural jobs. 791 persons were employed at their place of residence. 43 people were unemployed. Local agricultural products: sugar beets, wheat, maize/corn, potatoes, sheep, wine. The village mayor (Bürgermeister), is Herbert Speckl, Deputy Mayor is Albert Mayer. The "village secretary" (Gemeindesekratär) is Josef Rössler. In 2015 election the seats at the village council, 19 in total, were distributed between the People's Party - ÖVP (14) and the Social Democratic Party - SPÖ (5). Traditionally the People's Party has a stronghold in Lower Austria, due to the support they get from farmers and white-collar employees. Rohrau is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. The Catholic priest at the church of St. Vitus is Dr. Norbert Mendecki. - Schloß Museum Rohrau - Counts of Harrach Collection - Haydn-Geburtshaus Museum (birthplace of Joseph Haydn) - Pfarrkirche St. Vitus (St. Vitus church) containing the "Haydn-Orgel" a historic church organ, also the Baroque grave of Haydn's parents situated in the churchyard, and the chapel in front of the church. - The Joseph Haydn Monument in front of the city hall - (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), composer - (Johann) Michael Haydn (1737–1806), composer and brother of Joseph Haydn - Karl von Harrach (1570–1628), consultant to Emperor Ferdinand II - Johann Herbsthofer (1866–1932), Austrian politician - Andrew Molles (1907-6 Jan. 1975), American painter (Informel), settled in Rohrau, and died there. - Statistik Austria - Bevölkerung zu Jahres- und Quartalsanfang, 2014-01-01. - Statistical data - Schule/Bildung, municipal website - Source for this paragraph: Geiringer (1983:5) - Webster (n.d., section 1) - Head, Mathew (2000) Music with "No Past?" Archaeologies of Joseph Haydn and "The Creation". 19th-Century Music 23:191-217. Reference is to page 1. - Geiringer (1983:11) - Geiringer, Karl (1983) Joseph Haydn: A creative life in music. Berkeley: University of California Press. - Webster, James (n.d.) "Joseph Haydn"; article in the New Grove, online edition.

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Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by the name of the major street and the number, as in "Soi Sukhumvit 4", "Sukhumvit Soi 4", or "Sukhumvit 4", all referring to the fourth soi of Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok. When walking on the major street towards increasing soi numbers, all the even-numbered sois are on the right side and the odd-numbered ones on the left side of the street. If for instance a new soi is added between soi 7 and soi 9 it will get the number soi 7/1, the next one soi 7/2 etc. It is also possible that soi 20 is far away from soi 21 if there are more sois on one side of the street than on the other. Almost all sois in Bangkok also have a name. On lower Sukhumvit road in Bangkok for instance the sois are named after important landowners or families of landowners who had land in the area in the past. Some sois become major thoroughfares and because of that get known by their name only. Examples are Asok (Soi Sukhumvit 21), Thong Lo (Soi Sukhumvit 55), Ekkamai (Soi Sukhumvit 63), Pridi Banomyong (Soi Sukhumvit 71), etc. The houses in a soi are numbered. If a new house is inserted after the house with number 150 for instance, it will get the number 150/1, etc. A formal address might read "150/1 Soi Sukhumvit 7", referring to the house with the first number after 150 in the seventh soi of Sukhumvit Road. The house numbers in most sois don't start at 1, but continue the house numbers of the main street. - Definitions for ซอย via thai-language.com

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3. Finally, if I were Dr. Nansen and proposed to you to join my North Pole expedition, your option would be momentous; for this would probably be your only similar opportunity, and your choice now would either exclude you from the North Pole sort of immortality altogether or put at least the chance of it into your hands. He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he tried and failed. Per contra, the option is trivial when the opportunity is not unique, when the stake is insignificant, or when the decision is reversible if it later prove unwise. Such trivial options abound in the scientific life. A chemist finds an hypothesis live enough to spend a year in its verification: he believes in it to that extent. But if his experiments prove inconclusive either way, he is quit for his loss of time, no vital harm being done. It will facilitate our discussion if we keep all these distinctions well in mind. The next matter to consider is the actual psychology of human opinion. When we look at certain facts, it seems as if our passional and volitional nature lay at the root of all our convictions. When we look at others, it seems as if they could do nothing when the intellect had once said its say. Let us take the latter facts up first. Does it not seem preposterous on the very face of it to talk of our opinions being modifiable at will? Can our will either help or hinder our intellect in its perceptions of truth? Can we, by just willing it, believe that Abraham Lincoln’s existence is a myth,

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Popular Science Monthly/Volume 42/March 1893/The Brooklyn Ethical Association |THE BROOKLYN ETHICAL ASSOCIATION.| THE philosophical evolutionist looks for the regeneration of society and the advancement of civilization by means of the voluntary action of individuals, rather than by the multiplication of state agencies. Society, to him, is not an artificial mechanism, held together by legal compulsion, but an organic growth, depending for its strength and utility upon the intelligent volition of its constituent units. To effect results, however, the units must not illustrate an individualism which is antagonistic and repellent, but an individualism inspired by the social sentiment—the desire and purpose to co-operate voluntarily in all wise efforts for the common good. As the coercive functions of the state decline, and the divorce of church and government becomes more complete, efforts for the moral and social improvement of the people are relegated more and more to the control of voluntary organizations. This is especially true as the importance and indeed the necessity of applying the method of science to the solution of the great social and political problems of the day is recognized by the public mind. It is not surprising, therefore, in a country where the government is "of the people, by the people, and for the people," to note that the education of the people in religious matters has already passed out of the control of the state, while in social and political concerns voluntary associations are rapidly taking the place of the state in the instruction of the people, and even in the enforcement of the law and the administration of justice. The Citizens' Association, the Society for the Prevention of Crime, the Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and to Animals, labor organizations and arbitration committees, the Prison Reform Association, and the Social Science Association are factors in the training of our people for good citizenship, and in the administration of affairs which are not second in importance to the authorized and legalized agencies of the state. Among the voluntary associations which are doing effective work in the moral education of the people, and in the wise direction of public sentiment toward the practical solution of our social and political problems, the Ethical Society holds a unique and important place. For a goodly number of intelligent minds—agnostics and independents in their theological views—it has already to a large extent supplanted the Church as an agency for moral, and in a qualified and unconventional sense, of religious education. Its aim is broader than that of any of the organizations devoted to specific social or political reforms; it strives not only to afford the means for wise altruistic efforts in applying ethical data to the practical problems of social life, but also, and in a special sense, to discover the true scientific and philosophical principles which underlie applied ethics and sociology. The work of Prof. Felix Adler and his able coadjutors, Dr. Stanton Coit, Mr. Salter, Mr. Sheldon, Mr. Weston, and Mr. Mangasarian, as teachers of a noble type of ethical theory, and earnest workers among the poor and ignorant of our great cities, is worthy of all praise, and has received the cordial recognition of many who are not in full sympathy with the philosophical foundation on which the able and scholarly teaching of Prof. Adler and his disciples appears to be based. The Brooklyn Ethical Association, which is the subject of this sketch, has no connection, however, except through its general sympathetic attitude toward noble workers for common ends, with the societies over which Prof. Adler and his devoted associates preside. This association, which has become known to the public through its efforts to bring the problems of ethics, sociology, and religion to the test of scientific and evolutionary principles, is itself a product and illustration of natural development. It did not spring, full grown, from the brain of any individual, and its ultimate success has doubtless far exceeded the expectations of any who were promoters of the earliest stages of its growth. Its original nucleus was an adult class in ethics connected with the Sunday school of the Second Unitarian Church of Brooklyn, N. Y., of which the Rev. John W. Chadwick has been for twenty-seven years the honored minister. For several years this class had been conducted by Dr. Lewis G. Janes, using as text-books such suggestive works as Spencer's Data of Ethics, Mill on Liberty, Graham's Creed of Science, Sidgwick's History of Ethics, and others of a similar character. In the season of 1881-'82 this class was temporarily in charge of Prof. Franklin W. Hooper, now the able manager of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, and to him more than any other individual the organization and initiatory success of the association are due. He was made its first president, and presided over its deliberations for two years, being succeeded for a like term by Mr. Z. Sidney Sampson. At the close of Mr. Sampson's second term, in the fall of 1885, Dr. Lewis G. Janes was chosen as his successor, and has been re-elected in each succeeding year. The association, which at first assumed the rather formidable title of "The Association for the Promotion of Moral and Spiritual Education," continuing for a time its Sunday morning meetings at the Second Unitarian Church, met also in private parlors on Friday evenings, and during its first season devoted its sessions to the discussion of certain fundamental philosophical problems and to the study of Herbert Spencer's work on The Study of Sociology. The doctrine of evolution, which, indeed, had entered largely into the discussion of ethical topics in the previous studies of the Sunday-school class, thus inspired and directed the work of the association from its inception. Its members, often differing in theology, in politics, and in speculative views, were agreed in finding in the scientific method, especially as inspired and illumined by the evolution idea, a common pou sto, on which they could unite in fruitful study and discussion. From 1883 to 1885 the association continued its meetings in private parlors, studying the natural evolution and ethical foundations of the Oriental religions, with preliminary lectures on the Origin of the Religious Idea, and Fetichism; Confucianism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, the Religions of Ancient Egypt, and the Hebrew Religion were thus reviewed during the first season, several evenings being devoted to each topic. At one meeting Prof. Charles D. B. Mills, of Syracuse, gave an interesting lecture on Our Aryan Home, and at another Baboo Amrita Lai Roy, now the editor of the Hindoo Magazine in Calcutta, described the social and religious status of his people in India at the present day. The work of the next season involved a similar treatment of the Greek and Roman Religions, Primitive Christianity, Gnosticism, and Neo-Platonism. The lectures on Primitive Christianity, which were delivered by Dr. Janes, were subsequently compiled in book form and have had a considerable sale. Other occasional lectures of this period were printed in the Westminster Review, the Index, Boston Commonwealth, Unitarian Review, and elsewhere, thus reaching and creating a larger public interest in the association and its work. As one of the results of its Oriental studies, the association obtained honorable recognition abroad, and became the authorized recipient of the first complete English translation of that monumental work, the great epic poem of India, the Mahabharâta, published, mainly for gratuitous distribution, by the Datavya Bharâta Karyalaya, at the head of which, is its devoted translator, Baboo Pratapa Chandra Roy, of Calcutta. This work has now reached upward of four thousand pages, and is hardly more than two thirds completed. In subsequent seasons the association studied the historical development of the Rational Movement in Religion, Social Problems, viewed in the Light of History, and the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Carlyle, and "George Eliot." Its membership had expanded so far beyond the original thirty or forty who comprised the Sunday-school class that private parlors were too contracted for its meetings, and by the courtesy of the trustees of the Second Unitarian Church they were transferred, first to the vestry, and subsequently to the main auditorium of the church. Here were inaugurated, in the fall of 1888, on Sunday evenings, the noteworthy lectures and discussions on Evolution which attracted the favorable attention of many of the leading minds in Europe and America to the association and its work. Mr. Herbert Spencer, to whom the programme of that year was submitted, gave it his cordial indorsement, saying in his very appreciative letter: "The spread of the doctrine of evolution is both surprising and encouraging. The mode of presentation seems to me admirably adapted for popularizing evolution views, and it will, I think, be a great pity if the effect of such presentation should be limited to a few listeners in Brooklyn." Acting upon this suggestion, the association, which had now formally adopted the less formidable title of "The Brooklyn Ethical Association," commenced the regular publication of its lectures, each one being first issued in cheap pamphlet form, and the lectures of each season subsequently compiled in handsome cloth bindings. Four noble volumes now constitute the lasting memorial of the work of the association for the past four years in popularizing evolution views. Under the titles, respectively, of Evolution, Sociology, Evolution in Science, Philosophy, and Art, and Man and the State, the leading problems of physics, biology, philosophy, sociology, religion, ethics, and practical politics have been ably treated from the standpoint of the philosophical evolutionist. Much of the work, and admittedly some of the best work of the association, has been done by its active members, among whom distinctions would be invidious. This work, which has involved much time and study, has been rendered gratuitously by the lecturers. Others, not active members of the association, whose names stand in the first rank of the disciples of science and advocates of evolution, have cordially co-operated, among whom we may mention Prof. John Fiske, Prof. Joseph Le Conte, Prof. E. D. Cope, Mr. Daniel Greenleaf Thompson, Mr. Garret P. Serviss, Dr. Rossiter W. Raymond, Mr. C. Staniland Wake, Prof. George Gunton, Rev. John C. Kimball, Prof. Thomas Davidson; Dr. E. Benjamin Andrews, President of Brown University; Dr. Charles De Garmo, President of Swarthmore College; Dr. L. A. W. Alleman, Dr. Francis Ellingwood Abbott, Prof. Joseph Henry Allen, Mr. Edwin D. Mead, Mr. Arthur E. Kennelly, Mr. Thaddeus B. Wakeman, Rev. Samuel J. Barrows, Mr. Daniel S. Remsen, Hon. Roswell G. Horr, Hon. Edward M. Shepard, Hon. William J. Coombs, Prof. Amos G. Warner, Dr. T. D. Crothers, Rev. Nicholas P. Gilman, Rev. E. P. Powell, Mr. J. W. Sullivan, Miss Eliza A. Youmans, and Mrs. Mary Treat. The association has been fortunate, not only in the character and ability of its lecturers, but also in its publishers. The two volumes on Evolution and Sociology, as well as The Evolutionist, which for the past year has constituted a modest bimonthly organ of the association, were published by James H. West, of Boston, whose single-hearted devotion to the work has not been excelled by that of the active members of the association. Since 1890 the lectures have been published by Messrs. D. Appleton & Company, of New York—the publishers of the works of Spencer, Huxley, Darwin, and other eminent scientific teachers of our time. They have met with cordial recognition from leading reviewers and scientific teachers, and are having a steady and constantly increasing sale. The aim of the association has been to combine a popular mode of presentation with scientific accuracy of treatment; and this end has been fairly achieved. Each lecture is submitted to criticism by competent invited speakers when delivered, so that inaccuracies, if they exist, are discovered and corrected, and both sides of all disputed topics are fairly presented. A full abstract of the discussion is published with the lectures, which greatly adds to their value in many instances for all who desire scientific accuracy and have faith that the truth is best discovered by the free use of the enlightened reason. The membership of the Brooklyn Ethical Association, which has gradually grown from year to year with no backward steps, now includes between two and three hundred ladies and gentlemen, of whom more than two thirds are active members, resident in Brooklyn and New York. The remainder includes a number of non-resident associate members, whose homes are in different portions of the United States and England, and fifty-five corresponding members, comprising some of the best-known names of those eminent in science and literature the world over. Among those who have accepted membership in the association and expressed their cordial sympathy with its work are Mr. Herbert Spencer and Prof. Thomas H. Huxley, of London, England; Alfred Russel Wallace, D. C. L., LL. D., of Parkstone, Dorset, England, the co-discoverer with Darwin of the law of natural selection; Prof. William Graham, M. A., of Queens College, Belfast, Ireland, author of The Creed of Science, Social Problems, etc.; M. Th. Ribot, of Paris, France, editor of the Revue Philosophique, perhaps the most eminent advocate of the doctrine of evolution in that country; Count Goblet d'Alviella, of Brussels, Belgium, author of Evolution of Contemporary Religious Thought; Prof. Ernst Haeckel, of the University of Jena, Saxe-Weimar, Germany, author of The History of Creation, Evolution of Man, etc.; Prof. A. Hjalmar Edgren, Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Baboo Pratapa Chandra Roy, translator of the Mahabharâta; and Baboo Amrita Lai Roy, editor of The Hindoo Magazine, Calcutta, India; and in our own country, Prof. Joseph Le Conte, LL. D., of the University of California, author of Evolution as related to Religious Thought, etc.; Prof. William Emmette Coleman, of San Francisco, member of the American Oriental Society; Prof. Edward D. Cope, Ph. D., of the University of Pennsylvania, author of Origin of the Fittest, etc.; Prof. Edward S. Morse, of the Peabody Institute, Salem, Mass.; Prof. John Fiske, of Cambridge, Mass., author of Cosmic Philosophy, etc.; Prof. Otis T. Mason, of the National Museum, Washington, D. C, President of the American Folk Lore Society; Prof. Amos G. Warner, Superintendent of Public Charities, Washington, D. C, recently elected to the chair of Economics in the Leland Stanford University, California; Rev. William J. Potter, of New Bedford, Mass., President of the Free Religious Association; Rev. Minot J. Savage, of Boston, author of the Evolution of Morality, etc.; Rev. E. P. Powell, of Clinton, N. Y., author of Our Heredity from God, etc.; Andrew Dickson White, LL. D., late President of Cornell University and United States Minister to Russia; Mr. Frederick May Holland, of Concord, Mass.; Mr. J. W. Alfred Cluett, of Troy, N. Y.; Rev. John C. Kimball, of Hartford, Conn., and others. Though the association is perhaps best known for its advocacy of evolution views, its terms of membership are entirely undogmatic and unsectarian, being conditioned only by good moral character and a tacit pledge to the use of the scientific method in its investigations. Its constitution expressly declares that "membership in this association shall not be regarded as committing one to any particular form of religious belief, nor as interfering with other religious or secular connections. No doctrinal test shall ever be required as a condition of membership. Any person of good moral character, over eighteen years of age, approving the objects of the association, may become a member on recommendation of the Committee on Membership, duly reported to and approved by the association." In order to popularize the conditions of membership the annual dues have been kept very low, being at present only two dollars per annum. The conditions for non-resident membership are similar to those for active membership, the dues being the same, and non-resident members being entitled to receive without further expense "publications of the association of a value not exceeding the annual membership fee." Corresponding membership, which does not involve any pecuniary obligation to the association, is bestowed on such persons in sympathy with its aims as the Board of Trustees may nominate and the association elect. On the 5th day of February, 1891, the Brooklyn Ethical Association was duly incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, its objects being stated as follows: "a. The scientific study of ethics, politics, economics, sociology, religion, and philosophy, and also of physics and biology as related thereto. "b. The application of the results of such studies to the problems of practical philanthropy and statesmanship. "c. The procurement, preparation, and delivery of popular lectures, expositions, and discussions, and the circulation of the same, together with other printed matter related to such subjects. "d. The promotion of unity and harmony among the friends of progress by correspondence, friendly intercourse, and the application of the scientific method to social, religious, and political reforms. "e. The maintenance of a library for the purpose of more effectually carrying out the objects of the association." The association long since outgrew whatever theological limitation may have been presumably implied by its connection with a Unitarian society. Its membership now includes a minority of avowed Unitarians, together with orthodox Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Friends, and people of other diverse religious connections, as well as agnostics and liberals of various stripes and degrees of belief or unbelief. The success of the association in recent years and the extension of its work into new fields of practical investigation have been due in no small degree to the faith, wisdom, energy, and enthusiasm of Mr. James Avery Skilton, for three years its corresponding secretary and an untiring worker in its behalf. Mr. Skilton is a member of Plymouth Church, a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N. Y., and the Wesleyan University of Middletown, Conn., and with a thorough scientific education combines a large experience in practical affairs and long acquaintance and thorough sympathy with the doctrine of evolution as expounded by Mr. Spencer, Mr. Fiske, and its ablest advocates in Europe and America. With a clear insight into the causes of social phenomena, he possesses great independence of mind and judgment. Though temporarily withdrawn from official connection with the association, he continues his membership, and is in thorough sympathy with its work and aims. Mr. Herbert Spencer has manifested his sustained interest in the objects and work of the association by frequent correspondence and generous commendation of its efforts and accomplishments. After declining membership in the French Academy and the leading scientific bodies of Europe, he paid the Brooklyn Ethical Association the high compliment of accepting its corresponding membership. The cordial feeling on his part is heartily reciprocated by every member of the association, and it has fallen to the lot of some of its representatives to be honored by the privilege of defending Mr. Spencer against the unjust assaults of his critics on this side of the Atlantic. Happily, he has lived to see his great work almost accomplished, and its purport much better understood than it was two decades ago. Nowhere has it found firmer or more appreciative friends than in America. That the Ethical Association has been able in a modest way to take up and carry on the work of popularizing evolution views so ably begun by the founder of The Popular Science Monthly is not the least among the sources of congratulation in the judgment of its members. To continue this work, and by means thereof to aid in the scientific solution of those vast and impending problems of our social and political life in the discussion of which, under the prevailing a priori and empirical methods, wisdom has often been obscured by a multitude of unscientific and conflicting counsels, is their continued ambition, and to this end they solicit the sympathy and co-operation of all consenting minds. - Corresponding members. - Corresponding members.

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The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Chamberlain, Mellen CHAMBERLAIN, Mellen, American lawyer, librarian and historian: b. Pembroke, N. H., 4 June 1821; d. Chelsea, Mass., 25 June 1900. He was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1844 and at the Harvard Law School in 1848. In 1849 he was admitted to the bar, opened a law office in Boston and made his residence in Chelsea, where, during 51 years of citizenship, he served the town in many public capacities. In 1858 and 1859 he was a member of the Massachusetts house of representatives and the senate in 1863-64. He was associate justice of the Municipal Court of Boston 1866-70, and chief justice 1870-78. On 26 Aug. 1878 he was chosen librarian of the Boston Public Library, serving until ill health compelled his retirement in 1890. During his administration the new library building was begun and the corner-stone laid. Throughout his life he was a close student and investigator of American history. Besides important chapters in Winsor's ‘Memorial History of Boston’ (1881), and ‘Narrative and Critical History of America’ (1888), he wrote ‘John Adams, the Statesman of the Revolution’ (1884); The Authentication of the Declaration of Independence’ (1885); ‘John Adams, the Statesman, with Other Essays and Addresses’ (1898); ‘The Journals of Captain Henry Dearborn, 1775-83’ (1886-87); ‘The Constitutional Relations of the American Colonies to the English Government at the Commencement of the American Revolution’ (1887).

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Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary - Outside of the normal curriculum of an educational establishment - The students enjoy a number of extracurricular activities at weekends. - Similarly outside of the normal duties of a job or profession - (informal) extramarital outside of the normal curriculum of an educational establishment extracurricular (plural extracurriculars)

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There are two references in the Bible to the pool of Gibeon. The first is in the account of a conflict between Abner and those aligned with King Saul, and Joab and the servants of David (2 Samuel). Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. (2 Samuel 2:12-13 ESV) Arnold’s entry in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary says, This “pool” undoubtedly refers to the impressive water system uncovered at el-Jib during recent archaeological excavations” [by Pritchard in the 1950s]. The pool had been constructed in the late 12th or early 13th century B.C. At first, it was thought to be a reservoir intended to hold water. Later it was learned that it served as a stairway leading to a source of water underneath the city. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the king of Babylon made Gedaliah governor over the land. A rebellion led by a man named Ishmael killed Gedaliah at Mizpah (Jeremiah 41). The followers of Gedaliah and the men of Ishmael met at the great pool in Gibeon. they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. (Jeremiah 41:12 ESV) For more information see James B. Pritchard’s Gibeon Where the Sun Stood Still (1962). For a ground level photo of the pool, see here.

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Filed under: Corrupting the Youth, History and Historians | Tags: bullshit, historiography, History, Scocca, smarm, snark, SOE Or, <eye roll> Primary Documents </eye roll> Tom Scocca’s recent snarking on smarm has got me thinking about the connections between history, as it is written and pursued, and one of the defining literary styles of our time. But before I bloviate over a blog post, here’s the essay: go have a look. Filed under: Golden Ghetto, History and Historians, Knowledge Droppings, Now in Actual Work | Tags: Frederick Townsend Ward, Platt, Qing, Taiping Or, Thoughts on Stephen R. Platt, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War (Knopf, 2012). Odd as it is to say, it’s been a long time since a history book completely captivated my attention; and even longer since I lost a night of sleep to stay up reading one. I read history all day, everyday, but rarely for pleasure – one likes to escape, you know? But sometimes something special intervenes. Stephen Platt’s excellent account of the Taiping Rebellion is one such. While by no means an escape – the civil war he takes as his subject was one of the most brutal the world has ever seen – his book is as gripping and analytically sophisticated a piece of historical scholarship as I have ever read. Platt’s book marries the deft use of “novelistic” tricks of popular historians with a serious and important new analysis of the Taiping civil war to construct a gripping narrative. The careful use of a judiciously chosen cast of characters – drawing from all factions in the war – allows Platt to draw the reader in to personal stories. But these are not just historical excursions for history’s sake, loosely connected. Rather, Platt makes a consistent, and convincing argument that the war should be seen as intimately connected to the other great civil conflict of the period – the American Civil War – by way of British foreign and economic policy. (Basically, he argues that the Brits got involved in the war – decisively, as it happened, on the side of the Qing – to protect their economic interests, partly out of pressure put on them by the loss of the American market). In what I think is his greatest accomplishment, Platt makes all of these events make sense.* That might sound like the first task of an historian – but believe me when I say that it is quite a feat, especially in this case. The caprice of the British public and the arrogance of some of their officials is paired nicely with the internal politicking of the Qing and Taiping courts. Each on its own is complex enough, but Platt is able to draw out the links between them, to explain the unfolding of events through these wavering intersections (which is not to say that events were rational; like all wars, this one was model of chaos). As someone who has mainly confronted the Taiping war through the garbled accounts of contemporary American observers, I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to finally have some glimpse of the Taiping war as a coherent whole. (Okay, well I can: and just did). I think part of the secret here is that, unlike other books on the war which analyze the particular cultural characteristics that motivated actors – say, Jonathan Spence’s – this book concentrates on making the strange familiar, and not on delineating just how strange the the strange was. Thus we get a portrait of Zeng Guofan, commanding general of the Hunan army (the main Qing force), that depicts him as a deeply conflicted, even tortured scholar trying to follow duty wherever it led. The foreignness of Zeng’s worldview (from our contemporary, Western perspective) is only partially revealed in the denouement, when glimpses of Zeng through the eyes of Western and Chinese observers reveal a brutal, calculating man, working to protect his image and his family’s power from the still-smoking and blood-stained ruins of the rebel capital, Nanjing. I’m no expert in the Chinese historiography, so I can’t comment on how Platt’s work succeeds of fails in that regard; certainly his pedigree as a China expert is impeccable, and Sinologists who’ve reviewed the book seem pleased. From my perspective as an Americanist with more than a passing knowledge of British and American sources relating to the period, nothing rang false. Sections of the book dealing with British perspectives on the war, or maneuvering in Parliament, or even American reactions to the Taiping all seemed judiciously written, and did not a make any claims that stepped beyond the evidence. The Chinese sections…well, Chinese history, in English, always seems lightly sourced to me – but I think that is an artifact of the available archives and my footnote fetish, not any sort of real criticism. (If I have one criticism, it is that I wish Platt had refrained from including a poorly-argued NYT op-ed as part of his book publicity efforts. Affecting a Tom Friedman-level of rhetorical analysis is not only historical malpractice – really, is the Taiping rebellion in any way like China today? really? – it does his scholarly reputation no favors. Indeed, had I not already bought the book before I read that article, I would have never cracked the cover). But if we judged all scholars purely by their malpractice on the op-ed page, then we’d read no one, ever. So, my recommendation is simple: whatever your speciality or your interests, go read Stephen Platt, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, and have your understanding of 19th-century history, the global economy – and perhaps even your ideas about human nature – helpfully revised. And maybe your sleep disturbed, too. *The petulant jerk who reviewed the book for the NYT seems to lack any sense of how complex this war was – how many people were involved, how difficult the sources are, how much violence deranges neat narratives. His complaints about how difficult his finely-tuned flâneur’s mind found the book reveal more about him, I think, than about the work under review. Filed under: History and Historians, Our Glorious National Heritage | Tags: Andrew Jackson, College Humor, Too close to a Slate pitch for comfort, War of 1812 Or, A Modest (But Friendly!) Rebuttal Joe Adelman raised an interesting point on Twitter today: should we commemorate the War of 1812? And if so, on what grounds? Joe’s ably summarized and commented on the conversation that ensued in a blog post here. Take a look! Now, from that you’ll see that I placed myself firmly in the “War of 1812 isn’t worth commemorating” camp. It’s been a solitary experience. Filed under: Golden Ghetto, History and Historians, Now in Actual Work, Our Glorious National Heritage Or, Gibson, Friedman, and #FirstWorldProblems How evenly distributed was the future, in the past? Yesterday, Alexis Madrigal distilled novelist Teju Cole’s tweeted critique1 of what’s wrong with #firstworldproblems – as a concept – and it got me thinking. His post goes into a bit more detail (and explains what #firstworldproblems signifies), but here are the key lines of Cole’s analysis: I don’t like this expression “First World problems.” It is false and it is condescending. Yes, Nigerians struggle with floods or infant mortality. But these same Nigerians also deal with mundane and seemingly luxurious hassles. … … people don’t wake up with “poor African” pasted on their foreheads. They live as citizens of the modern world. … the interesting thing about modern technology is how socially mobile it is–quite literally. Everyone in Lagos has a phone. Quite so. The approach that twitterers using #firstworldproblems take to the developing world mirrors, in no small part, the approach Europeans (and later, Americans) took to the “new” worlds of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. To assume that no one in Lagos is frustrated with her iPad’s inability to sync properly is to assume that Lagos exists in a different stage of history, a different time – pace Gibson, “[t]he future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.” But listening to Cole, it seems the future is actually very well distributed – at least geographically; in our brave new world, wealth forms more of a barrier than oceans.2 The key difference in both usages is history, represented by technological gadgetry (and sometimes infrastructural abundance). Time passed, in this view, is progress achieved — a view echoed, from another vantage point, in a related meme-driven complaint about the lack of flying cars. In this, as in so many ways, our way of seeing the world is an iron Enlightened Victorian imperialist cage, albeit one with some of the sharp edges sanded off. Filed under: History and Historians, Our Glorious National Heritage, Power At Play Or, A Little Presentism Goes a Long Way Historians like to think that even as we study the past, we’re doing something new. Bringing fresh light to unexplored recesses, listening, patiently, to quiet, pained voices – or, more aggressively, stripping away the accumulated decades-deep varnish of myths and flipping the table on complacent “just-so” stories about how we got into our present mess. And so on. I’m no different. Part of the sales pitch for my own work (Hellloooo future employers and funders!) is that early American trade with Asia is understudied – and so, by examining at its sources we can not only learn more about the trade itself, but also overturn long-standing debates in “wider” fields (e.g. American early republic or antebellum history). This is should be a familiar tune to all of you, I’ve sung it enough… But history, in its modern incarnation, is not a new field; these habits are old. Even (or perhaps especially) when it comes to studying early American trade with Asia. Allow me to illustrate. In 1937, in his monumental study of the Jackson and Lee merchant families Ken Porter complains, at length, that the American China trade is too well known , romanticized, even – and that the trend in the extant literature is to obscure an equally important topic: U.S. trade with British India.* It was the trade with the Far East which gave early American commerce its characteristic flavor, but although the early history of the China trade has been told and retold, the story of the trade with Calcutta and other ports in India remains un-recounted either in scholarly or popular form. [emphasis mine] The very simplicity of the Canton trade, emphasized by the exotic and fantastic characteristics of its physical background, has made it a favorite theme for writers on American foreign trade. Far otherwise was the situation at Calcutta, a British port, where the lack of any such rigid monopoly as the co-hong or any exclusive policy toward foreigners, coupled with the undeveloped character of native industry, rendered the trade situation almost infinitely more complex. This complexity, which calls for a thorough analysis, has instead produced the effect of repelling investigators, who found in the background of Calcutta trade no such compensatory romantic elements as were furnished by the forbidden world of China. Anecdotes of Houqua, the great hong merchant, abound; but who has more than the name of his millionaire Caclutta contemporary, Ram Duloll Day? [Ramdulal Dey] ~Porter, Jacksons and the Lees, I:28, 52 And, for what it’s worth, Porter was right: at the time he was writing, the U.S. public and scholarly community had been inundated, for at least thirty years, with wistful remembrances, detailed annals, and historical examinations of the American China trade.** That itself was a retread: the China trade, and it’s romantic clippers and secret hongs and smuggling, was celebrated well in to the Gilded Age in travelogues, stories, poetry, and images. Indeed, Porter’s own work was part of a new resurgence of interest in the early history of US-Asia relations, prompted, in all likelihood, by near-term threats to American interests in the Pacific (<cough>WWII</cough>). Porter himself appears to have lost interest – some uphill battles are not worth fighting, I guess? – and devoted the rest of his (extremely long) career to working on the African American experience on the U.S. frontier. Even among professionals, our historical memory is only the length of a lifetime, if that – and so trends cycle, if not predictably so. This is true, I suspect, in all sub-fields, but certainly in early American history, where once again innovative work is being done by adopting perspectives that echo (at least superficially) those of earlier generations, though hopefully with the benefits that the treadmill of time has provided us.*** But part of that innovation is also a calculated forgetting. Speaking for myself, it would be impossible to write anything new, if I felt obligated to fully represent every quantum of prior work equally in my own scholarship — the accumulated weight of the dust alone would crush me. Turns out that the the dead hand of the (professional study of the) past is just as easily shrugged off as the past itself; even necessarily so, I think. History, no less than the earth, belongs in usufruct to the living – though perhaps we would do well to be better stewards of it than we’ve been with the land.**** *Kenneth Wiggins Porter, The Jacksons and the Lees: Two Generations of Massachusetts Merchants, 1765-1844, 2 vols., 3rd ed., Harvard studies in business history 3 (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1969; orig 1937). **To give but a brief taste of the recent (c. 30 years) lit that Porter might have been frustrated with: John Watson Foster, American Diplomacy in the Orient (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1903); Frank Erastus Hinckley, American Consular Jurisdiction in the Orient (Washington, D.C: W.H. Loudermilk, 1906); Hosea Ballou Morse, The International Relations of the Chinese Empire, 3 vols. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1910); Charles O. Paullin, “Early Voyages of American Naval Vessels to the Orient,” Proceedings 36, no. 2, United States Naval Institute (USNI) (June 1910): 428-463; Robert Ephraim Peabody, Merchant Venturers of Old Salem; a History of the Commercial Voyages of a New England Family to the Indies and Elsewhere in the XVIII Century, (Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1912); Robert Glass Cleland, “Asiatic Trade and the American Occupation of the Pacific Coast,” Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1914 I (1916): 283-289; Thomas Franklin Waters, Augustine Heard and His Friends, Ipswich Historical Society publications no. 21 (Salem, Mass.: The Society, 1916); Frederic William Howay, “The Fur Trade in Northwestern Development,” ed. H. M Stevens and Herbert E Bolton, The Pacific Ocean in History (New York, 1917), 276-86; Kenneth Scott Latourette, The History of Early Relations Between the United States and China, 1784-1844, Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 22 (New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1917), http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000521723; State Street Trust Company, Other Merchants and Sea Captains of Old Boston; Being More Information About the Merchants and Sea Captains of Old Boston Who Played Such an Important Part in Building up the Commerce of New England, Together with Some Quaint and Curious Stories of the Sea (Boston, Mass: Walton Advertising and Printing Company: Printed for the State Street Trust Company, 1919); James Christy Bell, Jr., Opening a Highway to the Pacific, 1838-1846 (New York: Columbia University, 1921), http://books.google.com/books?id=uPRYAAAAMAAJ; Tyler Dennett, Americans in Eastern Asia: a critical study of the policy of the United States with reference to China, Japan, and Korea in the 19th Century (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922); Samuel Eliot Morison, The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860, 1st ed. (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1922); Shü-lun Pan, “The trade of the United States with China” (Ph.D. diss., New York: Columbia University, 1924); Charles H Barnard et al., The Sea, the Ship and the Sailor; Tales of Adventure from Log Books and Original Narratives (Salem, Mass: Marine Research Society, 1925); Sydney Greenbie and Marjorie Latta Barstow Greenbie, Gold of Ophir; or, The Lure That Made America (Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1925); George Granville Putnam, Salem Vessels and Their Voyages, III (Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1925); Robert Ephraim Peabody, The Log of the Grand Turks (Boston ;New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1926); Charles Frederick Remer, The Foreign Trade of China (Shanghai, China: The Commercial Press, Limited, 1926); Kenneth Scott Latourette, “Voyages of American Ships to China, 1784-1844,” Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 28 (1927), http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000521723; Samuel Eliot Morison, “The India Ventures of Fisher Ames, 1794-1804,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 37 (April 1927): 14-23; George H Danton, The Culture Contacts of the United States and China; the Earliest Sino-American Culture Contacts, 1784-1844 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1931); “Perkins and Company, Canton 1803-1827,” Bulletin of the Business Historical Society 6, no. 2 (March 1, 1932): 1-5; Basil Lubbock, The Opium Clippers (Boston: Charles E. Lauriat company, 1933); E. H. Pritchard, “The Struggle for Control of the China Trade during the Eighteenth Century,” The Pacific Historical Review 3, no. 3 (September 1934): 280-295; Eliot Grinnell Mears, Maritime Trade of Western United States,, Stanford business series (Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1935); Chen Ching-Jen, “Opium and Anglo-Chinese Relations,” The Chinese Social and Political Science Review 19 (October 1935): 386-437; Amy Christine Carlson, “References to China in American Juvenile Periodicals During the Days of the Old China Trade, 1784-1844.”, 1936 And so on. ***I was having a conversation with a colleague just today about how it’s time to take the doughfaces seriously again! This is an ancient heresy of the worst kind, I tell you. **** Said with all due obeisances to the lord master of Monticello, of course. Filed under: History and Historians, Now in Actual Work, Our Glorious National Heritage, The Past is a Foreign...Something Or, How Debt Ceilings, Tea, and the tradition of Governing in the U.S. Tangentially Relate The political crisis du jour is over whether or not Congress will vote to raise the “debt ceiling,” aka the legal borrowing limit for the Federal Government. The broad consensus is that should the debt ceiling not be raised (as is customary), the Federal government would, for the first time ever, fail to pay – and perhaps even repudiate – its debts. Now, the consequences of such an action are disputed; those seeking to hold firm on the debt ceiling (the Republicans) maintain that there would be no ill effects, just a healthful readjustment of budgetary priorities, while their opponents – and here that includes the Democratic party and associated partisans and officials, bankers, other Wall Street honchos, and most of the media – maintain that failing to raise the debt limit would be tantamount to a financial apocalypse, for the U.S., and possibly the entire world. So there’s a bit of a gap in the conversation. I bring it up here not to comment on the issue in particular – though there are some really interesting discussions happening, including some historical debates related to whether or not the 14th Amendment was designed to prevent just a crisis1 – but because lately I’ve been working through documents from the first few years after the Constitution, a period where Congress was determined to do exactly the opposite of what the Republicans are proposing today. Back in the 1790s, the overriding concern for the rulers of the newly re-organized American republic was to figure out how generate revenue so as to pay the U.S.’s debts. The rub was that Congress had to find a way to do so consistent with the principles of the Revolution – and since there was no real agreement about what these were, or what that would look like, conflict ensued (some things never change). The parts of these machinations that typically get the most airplay are the debates over the “how, who, and what to pay” issues – the internal structuring of the national debt, the creation of a national bank, division of fiscal powers among the different branches, etc. These are the core issues around which the first partisan divide in the nation’s modern history formed, between “Federalists” (the Hamiltonian/Washingtonian conglomeration in favor of an active national government modeled in its fiscal policies after European powers) and the “Jeffersonians” (TJ and Madison’s more structured opposition party that favored a decentralized republic with weaker coercive power). The attention this dynamic gets is justified – the people involved in these struggles certainly emphasized the “how, who, and what to pay” issues. But they weren’t the only problems being worked out. I’ve been looking how those early Congresses worked out the other part of the debt equation – the “where do we get revenue from” problem. Here the partisan divide dissolves a bit, because the answer that the Founders gave to the revenue question basically boils down to one phrase: the tariff. The national government did implement other taxes in the early years – there was a pretty heavy tax on personal carriages2, and of course the excise tax on whiskey is well known – but until the introduction of the permanent income tax in the early 20th century, taxes on imported goods and international shipping were the primary revenue for the Federal Government. And, as you might expect of such an important component of government, during that period between Revolution and the 16th Amendment the tariff was among the most powerful drivers of American politics. Long-time readers of this blog will be unsurprised to find out that Asian trade was a non-trivial part of the tariff, in both the debates setting it up and the legislation itself. And in fact, there is a lot that’s unique about the way the Federal Government handled Americans’ involvement in Asian trade which suggests that policymakers regarded it as particularly important.3 But what interests me in connection with the debt ceiling controversy is not the protections the China trade received, but rather how the Federal Government resolved problems with the collection of tariffs on the trade, and what that says about the ultimate priorities of the Founding generation of legislators. Despite what a visit to your local art museum might lead you to believe, the West’s trade with China in the late 18th-century was not about porcelain, silks, or lacquered furniture, but rather was almost entirely concerned with exchanging silver for tea. The American trade with China was no different; indeed “china ware” was carried back from Canton to U.S. markets chiefly as ballast. The Founding generation, having concluded that taxing widely-consumed beverages with mild psychoactive effects was the most effective, lucrative and appropriate way of gaining a steady income, made duties on tea one of the linchpins of the American revenue system.4 In the tariff acts from 1789 onward, and in the periodic special taxes for defending the frontier and paying down the debt, tea invariably appears as one of the key enumerated items singled out for special attention – and taxation.5 In the early years, though, both the success of the American trade in teas, and the amount of tax it could reasonably bear, were unknowns. It is unsurprising, then, that the government ran into trouble with collections. The problem was not that tea taxes were somehow verboten because of their role in sparking the Revolutionary struggle.6 The difficulty was more prosaic: an oversupplied market meant that merchants couldn’t pay their taxes without going broke. It was a classic boom-bust case. Americans’ rush into the China trade in the late 1780s and early 1790s flooded the U.S. market with cargoes of tea – enough in 1790 alone for three years’ of domestic consumption, according to one (admittedly self-interested) China merchant.7 With supply and demand being in an inverse relationship and all, this in turn led to both a precipitous drop in the commodity’s price and a marked rise in petitions to Congress. As merchants found themselves with stocks of teas that could not be sold even at cost, they presented Congress with a dilemma: how to best secure an important source of revenue while at the same time encouraging growth in a key economic sector?8 The merchants themselves were divided. Some requested stronger protections from foreign competitors, up to and including a ban on sales of teas imported by European shippers; others merely requested “to be allowed a farther time for payment of the duties on a quantity of teas imported.” Though there was a strong sentiment in the early Congresses that the development of the China trade was of great importance as a means to national prosperity and security – as “a trade sought after by all the world” it seemed obvious to some members that it should be protected, one way or another – this feeling was not sufficiently shared to move more protective legislation out of committee. Even Alexander Hamilton, who is sometimes presented as the protectionist avatar of American commerce, was ambivalent. Replying to a request to evaluate a petition from the “merchants of Philadelphia trading to India and China,” he told the House of Representatives that “the trade to India and China appears to lay claim to the patronage of the Government” but “a full and accurate examination should be had into the nature and tendency of that trade” before any “encouragement” or protection could be offered.9 In other words, Hamilton kicked the can down the road, a move likely made out of concern for maintaining government income – as Hamilton knew, protecting the American trade too aggressively was a sure way to choke off the stream of revenue that flowed into the Treasury from the high duties paid by foreign importers (who paid 50% higher duties on teas, and 700% higher tonnage duties). However, in a different report on a similar petition, the Secretary of the Treasury did suggest another option: that Congress extend “credit for the duties” due on tea.10 Though Hamilton’s advice was hardly gospel – Madison and other proto-Republicans in the House were at pains to reduce the his influence in all things financial – in this matter the legislature followed his lead and chose to amend only the administrative aspects of the tariff law. Specifically, Congress extended the amount of time American merchants could store imported teas without paying duties, first from nothing to one full year, and then later from one year to two; all the importer had to do was give the port collector a bond for future payments, which could be made as the tea was sold.11 In the event, this new system worked well: by offering merchants two-year interest-free loans on their taxes, the Federal Government provided the flexibility needed to keep the trade alive beyond one season of oversupply, while at the same time effectively securing an important long-term source of revenue. It was a neat piece of governance which allowed Congress leeway to raise taxes on teas repeatedly over the next few decades, without fear of harming the trade, as merchants would always have time to adjust to new market conditions. So what does this have to do with the debt ceiling negotiations? Well, I think the case of the tea tariffs offers us some insight into the particular ways our own political scene differs from those of the Revolutionary era. For the significant conservative political force in our own moment, the financial reputation of the U.S. is worth chancing in order to achieve a significant change in policy, whereas in the founding decades, for partisans of every stripe, any policy was worth changing in order to secure a sounder financial reputation. Moreover, I think the audacity of the move – forego taxes in order to secure them! – is one worth remembering in any era where a flexible approach to ideology in governance seems rare. (It’s also important to remember that – two centuries of hagiography to the contrary – this was not the compromise of a uniquely enlightened age. Recall that a key architect of this decision, Hamilton, got himself shot and killed by a political rival – something that is now, thankfully, nearly unheard of. And trust me when I say that the rhetoric exchanged between partisans, of this or almost any other age of American politics, is quite comparable to ours, in terms of outright viciousness; though earlier generations were perhaps more creative…) More germane to my own inside baseball, the tea tariff decision overthrows the bipolar conclusions drawn in the current literature on the China trade. In contrast to writers who argue (implicitly or explicitly) that Asian commerce impinged only slightly if at all on the politics of early America, the care policymakers took with the tea trade suggests that concern with economic connections with Asia was most certainly a force in political debate. On the other hand, the government’s strategic deafness to merchant’s calls for commercial protection from competition belies accusations leveled by later politicians and historians that the: “records of American legislation bear the most satisfactory testimony of the transcendent influence of the mercantile interests, and of the unceasing exertions made to fence it round with every species of protection the government could bestow which secured to the tonnage of our merchants, a monopoly of the whole of the China trade – and gave them paramount advantages in all other foreign trade.”12 Neither a controlling force in government nor a puff of air, the China trade was nonetheless an important component of the nation’s most crucial, and endlessly controversial, revenue laws. And the way the revenue it generated was flexibly supervised within the tariff laws typifies the pragmatic approach that early American politicians took to governing what they hoped would be a nation simultaneously prosperous and free. 3) Among all forms of overseas commerce, only the direct trade in China goods was singled out for protection, distinguished by the trade route rather than what commodity trafficked. Taxes on Asian goods – teas, China ware, etc. – were the lowest if they were imported by Americans directly from Canton, higher if they were brought by Americans from Europe, and highest if they were imported by foreigners to the U.S. 5) 1 Stat. 25, Chapter 2, 1 Congress, Session 1, An Act: For laying a duty on goods, wares, and merchandises imported into the United States. (July 4, 1789); 1 Stat 145, Chapter 35, 1 Congress, Session 2, An Act: To provide more effectually for the collection of the duties imposed by law on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States, and on the tonnage of ships or vessels. (Aug. 4, 1790); 1 Stat. 180, Chapter 39, 1 Congress, Session 2, An Act: Making further provision for the payment of the debt of the United States. (Aug 10, 1790); 1 Stat 219, Chapter 26, 1 Congress, Session 3, An Act: Making farther provision for the collection of the duties by law imposed on teas, and to prolong the term for the payment of the duties on wines. (Mar. 3, 1791); 1 Stat 411, Chapter 17, 3 Congress, Session 2, An Act: Supplementary to the several acts imposing duties on goods, wares, and merchandises imported into the United States. (Jan. 29, 1795); 1 Stat 503, Chapter 10, 4 Congress, Session 2, An Act: For raising a further sum of money by additional duties on certain articles imported, and for other purposes. (Mar. 3, 1797); etc. 6) As one republican columnist explained, the political implications of taxes mattered, not what they taxed: “people who revolted against that innovation [the 1773 Tea Act], certainly not for the magnitude of the duty, but from a wise anticipation of the horrid train for which it was calculated to open the way….” “For the National Gazette, On the Secretary’s Report on the Excise,” National Gazette, 26 April 1792 7) “Petition of Elias Hasket Derby, Salem, Mass., 10 June 1789,” in Kenneth R. Bowling, William Charles DiGiacomantonio, and Charlene Bangs Bickford, eds., Petition Histories and Nonlegislative Official Documents, vol. 8, Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, 1789-1791 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998), 407. 9) Emphasis mine. United States Congress, American State Papers: Finance, ed. Walter Lowrie and Matthew St. Clair Clarke (Washington, D.C: Gales and Seaton, 1832), 1:107, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsp.html; “Report of the Treasury of the Secretary, 10 February 1791,” in Bowling, DiGiacomantonio, and Bickford, Petition Histories and Nonlegislative Official Documents, 8:382-383. 11) 1 Stat. 145, Chapter 35, 1 Congress, Session 2, An Act: To provide more effectually for the collection of the duties imposed by law on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States, and on the tonnage of ships or vessels. (Aug. 4, 1790); 1 Stat. 219, Chapter 26, 1 Congress, Session 3, An Act: Making farther provision for the collection of the duties by law imposed on teas, and to prolong the term for the payment of the duties on wines. (Mar. 3, 1791) 12) Mathew Carey, The New Olive Branch, or, An Attempt to Establish an Identity of Interest Between Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce and to Prove, That a Large Portion of the Manufacturing Industry of This Nation Has Been Sacrificed to Commerce, and That Commerce Has Suffered by This Policy Nearly as Much as Manufactures (Philadelphia: M. Carey & Son, 1820), 213-214, http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006512105. Carey’s summary of the early Congress’s favoritism toward the mercantile interest in general and the China trade in particular is repeated in Edward Dewey Graham, American Ideas of a Special Relationship with China, 1784-1900, Harvard dissertations in American history and political science (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1988); Edward Dewey Graham, “Special Interests and the Early China Trade,” Michigan Academician 6, no. 2 (Fall 1973): 233-242. Or, the world in a grain of ads You’ll recall that in my last I wondered “What am I getting wrong?” — a big question, for sure, with many and varied answers, as friends, acquaintances and passer-by would be happy to tell you. But in this case I was specifically concerned with what I was misunderstanding about the search results I was receiving from a Readex database, America’s Historical Newspapers. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that Readex, in the person of their marketing director, David Loiterstein, was kind enough to get in touch by e-mail and tell me exactly that. And the answer? Granularity. Basically, the AHN database does not consistently break down advertising sections at the same level of granularity; it has changed over time. As David explained: Initially, particularly for the 18th century in which the first series of newspapers was so heavily concentrated, we identified individually every advertisement on every page; however, in later series multiple contiguous advertisements were identified in groups. So: sometimes individual ads count as individual “articles,” sometimes a multiple-ad block count as one, and sometimes entire columns of ads count as one unit; and the granularity of the ads goes down, generally speaking, over time. Which means that my results — which included all article types, including ads — were skewed by the ways ads are counted. This approach seen above—in which advertisements are isolated and an aggregate number of the other article types is counted separately—provides a more representative measure of available “texts.” While the data does in fact indicate fewer “articles” available between 1820 and 1850 in what is otherwise a steady increase in articles available between 1690 and 1819 and between 1850 and 1922. The declining number of ads as a percentage of “articles” or “text” is a result not of fewer ads but the changing approach by which we identify them. Thus, practically speaking, if you want to get some kind of a baseline for how representative a given search’s results are, you’re going to have to sacrifice including ads in those search results. Not ideal, of course, but much better than not knowing what your results mean. In addition to responding directly to this specific question, David also mentioned that Readex was working to update the Readex Help section, and fix the discrepancy between the two portals I had noticed. So where does this leave us? Well, with a much better understanding of how one of the most important databases in Early American historical research functions, for which I am grateful to David and his colleagues for their quick response and kind explanation. I would note, though, that even using the new numbers, the curve still shows an unexpected dip in the 1820s and 1830s — the heart of the Jacksonian era, where most historians would tell you that print, and especially newspapers, exploded. As I said before, this is not something I think unique to Readex, but rather an artifact of the way many digitization projects have done triage (or, alternately, it might be proof that print output indeed declined, in which case steam-powered presses were not actually all that important in the development of American democracy! But let’s hope not, as then we’d have to revise a lot of historiography…). In any case, all good factors to keep in mind when trying to use large collections to buttress claims about relative representativeness, ubiquity, or uniqueness. And now on to new and exciting problems…

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Bird and Animal Sounds Library of Bird and Animal Sounds Available CHIRP! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library’s Web site is now making available over 65,000 sound clips and about 18,000 video clips of birds and animals. You can get your squawk on at http://www.animalbehaviorarchive.org . You can do a simple search by keyword, or you can do an advanced search for marine vs terrestrial beings as well as searching by location and recording information (at the moment the catalog has a North American emphasis but the site promises to continue to put more clips online.) I did a simple keyword search for hawk. I got OVER 1300 RESULTS. Results include both audio and video clips. Note that not everything you get in your search results has been digitized yet (the advanced search includes a switch that allows you to include only results with available video or audio clips.) Search results include animal name (common and scientific), date of clip (I saw clips that go back as far as 1951) and contributor, and quality of the clip (rated on a scale from one to five.) A detail page includes the location and duration of the clip. Clicking on the “play” button (if the play button is gray, the clip is not available; look for blue play buttons) pops up a window that plays the clip with RealPlayer. There’s also a neat feature called RavenViewer that requires a download; RavenViewer allows you to get a visualization of bird calls; play the call and watch a waveform and spectrogram at the same time. (RavenViewer is not available for all the clips that I saw.) Don’t feel like searching the clips? There’s also a browsing feature that allows you to look at several sets of “best of” — best of long-distance communications, best of territory defense, etc. Lots to browse through here!

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Nondestructive Evaluation of Historic Hakka Rammed Earth Structures The in-service Hakka rammed earth buildings, in the Fujian Province of China, are unique in design and performance. Their UNESCO’s inscription as World Heritage sites recognizes their artistic, cultural, social and historic significance. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation of the United States, the authors have examined the engineering values of these buildings in terms of comfortable living at low energy consumption, sustainability and durability. The objective of this study was to better understand the thermo-mechanical and aging responses of Hakka earth buildings under thermal and earthquake loads through nondestructive field evaluation, including full-scale roof truss and floor testing, laboratory testing of field samples and finite element modeling. This paper presents our observations and findings from the field nondestructive evaluations with emphasis on the integrity of the rammed earth outer walls and inner wood structures, as well as the thermal comfort of living in these buildings, while a second paper presents the results from the material characterization of field samples and the structural responses of a representative building under earthquake induced loads through finite element analysis. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:1:p:298-315:d:23003. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc. For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (XML Conversion Team) If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about. If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form. If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form. If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation. Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

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Inter-regional Poverty Comparisons: Case of West Bengal This paper aims to explore into the causes of the differential levels of economic well being in the two parts of West Bengal, an eastern state of India in terms of incidences of poverty and various socio economic explanatory variables. Using a regression based technique, the incidences of poverty are found separately for these two parts, i.e., North Bengal and South Bengal. The disparity in poverty estimates (in particular, the Head Count Ratio (HCR) between rural North and South Bengal is studied. The difference between the poverty estimates is then decomposed into a characteristics effect, showing the effect of the regional characteristics and a coefficients effect, showing the effects of the differential impact of the characteristics over the regions using the familiar Oaxaca decomposition method and the results are interpreted in terms of policy prescriptions. Volume (Year): 9 (2011) Issue (Month): 2 (July) |Contact details of provider:|| Web page: http://www.jqe.co.in/societyhome.html| More information through EDIRC |Order Information:|| Postal: Managing Editor, Journal of Quantitative Economics, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Gen. A.K. Vaidya Marg, Goregaon (E), Mumbai 400 065 , INDIA| References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: - Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Ira N. Gang & Myeong-Su Yun, 2006. "A Note on Decomposing Differences in Poverty Incidence Using Regression Estimates: Algorithm and Example," Departmental Working Papers 200633, Rutgers University, Department of Economics. - Bhaumik, Sumon K. & Gang, Ira N. & Yun, Myeong-Su, 2006. "A Note on Decomposing Differences in Poverty Incidence Using Regression Estimates: Algorithm and Example," IZA Discussion Papers 2262, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). - Geda, A. & de Jong, N. & Mwabu, G. & Kimenyi, M.S., 2001. "Determinants of poverty in Kenya : a household level analysis," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19095, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague. - Alemayehu Geda & Niek de Jong & Mwangi S. Kimenyi & Germano Mwabu, 2005. "Determinants of Poverty in Kenya: A Household Level Analysis," Working papers 2005-44, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics. - Yun, Myeong-Su, 2003. "Decomposing Differences in the First Moment," IZA Discussion Papers 877, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). - Ira N. Gang & Myeong-Su Yun & Kunal Sen, 2002. "Caste, Ethnicity and Poverty in Rural India," Departmental Working Papers 200225, Rutgers University, Department of Economics. - S. Mahendra Dev, 2008. "India," Chapters, in: Handbook on the South Asian Economies, chapter 1 Edward Elgar. - Bigman, David & Srinivasan, P. V., 2002. "Geographical targeting of poverty alleviation programs: methodology and applications in rural India," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 237-255, June. - Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October. - Ronald Oaxaca, 1971. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," Working Papers 396, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jqe:jqenew:v:9:y:2011:i:2:p:104-122. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc. For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (D. M. Nachane)or () If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

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Market Efficiency and the Euro: The case of the Athens Stock Exchange The behaviour of an emerging market, the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), after the introduction of the euro is investigated. The underlying assumption is that stock prices would be more transparent; their performance easier to compare; the exchange rate risk eliminated and as a result we expect the new currency to strengthen the argument, in favour of the EMH. The General ASE Composite Index and the FTSE/ASE 20, which consists of “high capitalisation” companies, are used. Five statistical tests are employed to test the residuals of the random walk model: the BDS, McLeod-Li, Engle LM, Tsay and Bicovariance test. Bootstrap and asymptotic values of these tests are estimated. Alternative models from the GARCH family (GARCH, EGARCH and TGARCH) are also presented in order to investigate the behaviour of the series. Lastly, linear, asymmetric and non-linear error correction models are estimated and compared. Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: - William A. Barnett & A. Ronald Gallant & Melvin J. Hinich & Jochen A. Jungeilges & Daniel T. Kaplan & Mark J. Jensen, 1996. "A Single-Blind Controlled Competition among Tests for Nonlinearity and Chaos," 9602005, EconWPA, revised 20 Sep 1996. - Barnett, William A. & Gallant, A. Ronald & Hinich, Melvin J. & Jungeilges, Jochen A. & Kaplan, Daniel T. & Jensen, Mark J., 1997. "A single-blind controlled competition among tests for nonlinearity and chaos," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 157-192. - William Barnett & A. Ronald Gallant & Melvin J. Hinich & Jochen A. Jungeilges & Daniel T. Kaplan & Mark J. Jensen, 2012. "A Single-Blind Controlled Competition Among Tests For Nonlinearity And Chaos," WORKING PAPERS SERIES IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS 201219, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, revised Sep 2012. - Granger, Clive W. J. & Terasvirta, Timo, 1993. "Modelling Non-Linear Economic Relationships," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198773207. - Ashley, Richard A. & Patterson, Douglas M., 2006. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of State-Switching Time Series Models for U.S. Real Output," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 24, pages 266-277, July. - Timo Teräsvirta & Ann-Charlotte Eliasson, 2001. "Non-linear error correction and the UK demand for broad money, 1878-1993," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 277-288. - Teräsvirta, Timo & Eliasson, Ann-Charlotte, 1998. "Nonlinear error-correction and the UK demand for broad money, 1878-1993," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 265, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 30 Nov 1998. - Robert Engle, 2002. "New frontiers for arch models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(5), pages 425-446. - Nikitas Niarchos & Christos Alexakis, 1998. "Stock market prices, 'causality' and efficiency: evidence from the Athens stock exchange," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 167-174. - Nicholas Apergis & Sophia Eleptheriou, 2001. "Stock returns and volatility: Evidence from the Athens Stock market index," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 50-61, March. - Nelson, Daniel B, 1991. "Conditional Heteroskedasticity in Asset Returns: A New Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 59(2), pages 347-70, March. - Tim Bollerslev, 1986. "Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity," EERI Research Paper Series EERI RP 1986/01, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels. - Bollerslev, Tim, 1986. "Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 307-327, April. - Granger, C W J & Lee, T H, 1989. "Investigation of Production, Sales and Inventory Relationships Using Multicointegration and Non-symmetric Error Correction Models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 4(S), pages S145-59, Supplemen. - Robert F. Engle & Victor K. Ng, 1991. "Measuring and Testing the Impact of News on Volatility," NBER Working Papers 3681, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. - Engle, Robert F & Ng, Victor K, 1993. " Measuring and Testing the Impact of News on Volatility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(5), pages 1749-78, December. - David Chappell & Theodore Panagiotidis, 2005. "Using the correlation dimension to detect non-linear dynamics: Evidence from the Athens Stock Exchange," Econometrics 0504005, EconWPA. - Mackinnon, J.G. & Haug, A.A. & Michelis, L., 1996. "Numerical Distribution Functions of Likelihood Ratio Tests for Cointegration," 96a09, Universite Aix-Marseille III. - MacKinnon, James G & Haug, Alfred A & Michelis, Leo, 1999. "Numerical Distribution Functions of Likelihood Ratio Tests for Cointegration," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(5), pages 563-77, Sept.-Oct. - James G. MacKinnon & Alfred A. Haug & Leo Michelis, 1996. "Numerical Distribution Functions of Likelihood Ratio Tests for Cointegration," Working Papers 1996_07, York University, Department of Economics. - Engle, Robert F, 1982. "Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity with Estimates of the Variance of United Kingdom Inflation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(4), pages 987-1007, July. - John Barkoulas & Nickolaos Travlos, 1998. "Chaos in an emerging capital market? The case of the Athens Stock Exchange," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 231-243. - Theodore Panagiotidis, 2005. "Market capitalization and efficiency. Does it matter? Evidence from the Athens Stock Exchange," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(10), pages 707-713. - repec:att:wimass:9520 is not listed on IDEAS - David Chappell & Robert Eldridge, 2000. "Evidence of market inefficiency in a war environment," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(5), pages 489-492. - Escribano, Alvaro & Pfann, Gerard A., 1998. "Non-linear error correction, asymmetric adjustment and cointegration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 197-216, April. - Zakoian, Jean-Michel, 1994. "Threshold heteroskedastic models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 931-955, September. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0507022. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc. For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (EconWPA) If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

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The boundaries of the state The paper is organized as follows: in part 2, I give a short account of Humboldt's boundaries of the state that relates to many present-day challenges to classical liberalism: his blunt rejection of any solicitude of the state for the positive welfare of the citizen which also covers education, religion and any kind of moral paternalism. In part 3, I refer to the new economic literature on the optimal size and number of nations in order to discuss whether small states are more likely to be (nearly) minimal states. This literature tends to disregard Humboldt's arguments in favour of exposing the individual to varieties of situations that he can choose and from which he can learn to self-develop. Therefore, in part 4, I argue that the evolutionary merits of this exposure can be illustrated by regarding institutional competition as a Hayekian discovery procedure. In part 5, I look at the partial removal of borders within the European Union and, using some intuitions from club theory, I argue that, in terms of the size of European government, integration has become in most areas too deep whereas in terms of the size of membership in the Union the EU has grown too big in some areas and too small in others. I conclude with a plea for more decentralization and competition amongst jurisdictions as a way to lead, as if by an invisible hand, to at least somewhat more limited states. My qualified claim is thus: more, and more open, boundaries between states lead to more limited governments. |Date of creation:||2011| |Date of revision:| |Contact details of provider:|| Postal: | Web page: http://www.walter-eucken-institut.de/ More information through EDIRC Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: - Roland Vaubel, 2005. "The Role of Competition in the Rise of Baroque and Renaissance Music," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 277-297, November. - Lars P. Feld & Gebhard Kirchgaessner & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2010. "Decentralized Taxation and the Size of Government: Evidence from Swiss State and Local Governments," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 77(1), pages 27-48, July. - Lars P. Feld & Gebhard Kirchgässner & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2003. "Decentralized Taxation and the Size of Government: Evidence from Swiss State and Local Governments," CESifo Working Paper Series 1087, CESifo Group Munich. - Besley, Timothy & Case, Anne, 1995. "Incumbent Behavior: Vote-Seeking, Tax-Setting, and Yardstick Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(1), pages 25-45, March. - Timothy Besley & Anne Case, 1992. "Incumbent Behavior: Vote Seeking, Tax Setting and Yardstick Competition," NBER Working Papers 4041, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. - Charles M. Tiebout, 1956. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64, pages 416. - Michael Wohlgemuth, 2008. "Learning Through Institutional Competition," Chapters, in: Institutional Competition, chapter 3 Edward Elgar. - Chris Mulhearn & Howard R. Vane, 2008. "The Euro," Books, Edward Elgar, number 12566, March. - Bruno S. Frey & Reiner Eichenberger, 2000. "A Proposal for a Flexible Europe," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(10), pages 1323-1334, October. - Wallace E. Oates, 1999. "An Essay on Fiscal Federalism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(3), pages 1120-1149, September. - Buchanan, James M & Faith, Roger L, 1987. "Secession and the Limits of Taxation: Toward a Theory of Internal Exit," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(5), pages 1023-31, December. - Mathias Dewatripont & Francesco Giavazzi & Jürgen von Hagen & Ian Harden & Didier Baudewyns & Gérard Roland & Howard Rosenthal & André Sapir & Guido Tabellini, 1995. "Flexible integration: towards a more effective and democratic Europe," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/9541, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles. - Alberto Alesina & Enrico Spolaore, 1995. "On the Number and Size of Nations," NBER Working Papers 5050, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. - Vanberg, Viktor J, 2000. "Functional Federalism: Communal or Individual Rights?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 363-86. - Johannes Rincke, 2005. "Yardstick Competition and Policy Innovation," - Lars P Feld & Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2001. "The political economy of direct legislation: direct democracy and local decision-making," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 16(33), pages 329-367, October. - Roland Vaubel, 2008. "A History of Thought on Institutional Competition," Chapters, in: Institutional Competition, chapter 2 Edward Elgar. - Feld, Lars P. & Schaltegger, Christoph A. & Schnellenbach, Jan, 2008. "On government centralization and fiscal referendums," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 611-645, May. - Vanberg Viktor, 1993. "Constitutionally Constrained and Safeguarded Competition in Markets and Politics with reference to a European Constitution," Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 26, March. 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ultimate Sylow theorems version An optimal guide for the proof of the Sylow’s theorem is offered. You must be acquainted with these concepts: - group-action, with - and conjugation-class-equation Now let be a prime integral number. Then two aplications of that machinery are: - if with , then the center - if , then is abelian Lemma: if in any group then . The following sequence gonna take you to the mastery of a celebrated results on the theory of finite groups: 1. Cauchy (abelian) Theorem: - Let be a prime integral number - let be a finite abelian group Then : . The proof is inductive: we are going to admit that the proposition is true abelian such that Let and . Then consider two cases: either or . 1-: . . . 2-: . . where . . such that . . . . where . . . . . . 2. Sylow I - finite abelian : The proof is based on double induction that is, we are going to accept the validity of proposition for any group such that and on . [(n=1)]: Let where . Consider the two cases: either or . 1-: since is abelian then such that . So, with . 2-: since then such that . Then are coprime. . . . : [(n=2)]: Let be, where . Consider again the two cases: either or . 1-: such that . , so with . With the natural epimorphism find . is also an epimorphism with . By the first fundamental homomorphisms theorem then . 2-: this implies . Since then such that , so they are coprime. . . . : Now the induction on is clear Definition of a -Sylow subgroup 3. Sylow II: 4. Sylow III:

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en