bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Consistency and Change
Authors: Kelly Alan
Published: November 2020

Proteins are, in my view, the most impressive molecules in food. They influence the texture, crunch, chew, flow, color, flavor, and nutritional quality of food. Not only that, but they can radically change their properties and how they behave depending on the environment and, critically for food, in response to processes like heating. Even when broken down into smaller components they are important, for example giving cheese many of its critical flavor notes. Indeed, I would argue that perhaps the most fundamental phenomenon we encounter in cooking or processing food is the denaturation of proteins, as will be explained shortly. Beyond food, the value of proteins and their properties is widespread across biology. Many of the most significant molecules in our body and that of any living organism (including plants and animals) are proteins. These include those that make hair and skin what they are, as well as the hemoglobin that transports oxygen around the body in our blood. Proteins are built from amino acids, a family of 20 closely related small molecules, which all have in chemical terms the same two ends (chemically speaking, an amino end and an acidic end, hence the name) but differ in the middle. This bit in the middle varies from amino acid to amino acid, from simple (a hydrogen atom in the case of glycine, the simplest amino acid) to much more complex structures. Amino acids can link up very neatly, as the amino end of one can form a bond (called a peptide bond) with the acid end of another, and so forth, so that chains of amino acids are formed that, when big enough (more than a few dozen amino acids), we call proteins. Our bodies produce thousands of proteins for different functions, and the instructions for which amino acids combine to make which proteins are essentially what the genetic code encrypted in our DNA specifies. We hear a lot about our genes encoding the secrets of life, but what that code spells is basically P-R-O-T-E-I-N. Yes, these are very important molecules!
For My Next Trick
Authors: Kelly Alan
Published: November 2020

Compared with some of the processes we have discussed so far, like heating or cooling, drying is one we might think less of in a kitchen context and consider to be more a large-scale industrial process. However, when we look around a kitchen we find a lot of products of such activity, in terms of containers of powders like salt, sugar, spices, milk powder, soups, flavorings, flour, and much more, as illustrated in Figure 12.1. These have enormous advantages of long life, not needing to be kept in the fridge, taking up relatively little space, and providing a neat and concentrated source of whatever flavor or other character we wish to add to a dish. The key consideration is that whichever powder we use will behave in a convenient way when we come to use it, dissolving in water or other meal bases easily and reliably. We also routinely remove water from food in the kitchen, perhaps not by having a mini—spray dryer on the counter (at least not in most kitchens), but by removing a lid from a pot to allow some water to be driven off in the form of steam. We also essentially remove water from food more subtly, for example, by adding sugar to a jam recipe, which does not remove the water as such, but rather renders it less available for undesirable things like supporting microbial growth, thereby achieving many of the stabilizing and preservative benefits of actual drying without the drying. Removing water from food greatly improves the stability of food products and, by inhibiting the actions of microorganisms, increases its safety. As a result, drying of food, wholly or partially, has been practiced for centuries as a way to make food more stable. Not only does removing water from food add major hurdles in terms of stability and safety, but it adds an enormous bonus feature of convenience. To illustrate this clearly, I always think of what life would be like if we had to buy all our coffee in liquid form, and no dried (or highly concentrated pod) versions existed.
Packaging of Food
Authors: Kelly Alan
Published: November 2020

History and fiction provide many examples of barriers being constructed to keep undesirable enemies away, containing a few points at which crossing from one side to the other is carefully controlled, whether it be Hadrian’s Wall, the Berlin Wall, or a 300-mile-long, 700-foot-tall ice wall. This is also the basic principle of food packaging: keep the food and its quality in, and keep all things that can impair that quality, or threaten consumer safety, out. Food packaging has many functions: Contain the product in a physical sense in a single mass and place. Protect the product from physical damage. Protect the product from chemical damage by controlling the access of gases, moisture, or light to the product inside, and also perhaps protect the product from sudden changes in temperature. Present the product to consumers in defined portion sizes. Provide convenience (for example, in how consumers can carry, open. or use and perhaps reuse the package). Provide surfaces on which information (marketing and practical) can be provided to consumers. Be compatible with whatever processes a consumer will subject it to, such as freezing or microwaving, if that is part of the function of the package and intended handling of the product. “Be the least evil” in terms of impact on the environment and our planet. The most common materials used for food today are cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass, while other materials occasionally used in food packaging include wood and ceramics. To achieve the properties just mentioned, though, most food packages today are complex composites of several materials, frequently bonded together in a way that is invisible to the naked eye. Such arrangements are necessitated by the fact that no one material usually has exactly the right properties needed, so such composites (called laminates where layers are glued together, as of paper, foil, and plastic, for example) are used to give a combination of strengths that overcomes any individual component’s disadvantages, like physical weakness, sensitivity to water or fat, or transparency.
Mobility in Student Data Systems
Authors: Astor Ron Avi , Jacobson Linda , Wrabel Stephanie L. , Benbenishty Rami , Pineda Diana
Published: November 2020

For schools to be more proactive about addressing the needs of transitioning students and families, it’s important that district officials have a good sense of how often students are changing schools, who these students are, where they’re coming from, and where they’re going. Currently, there is wide variation in how states handle mobility in their student data systems. While some states have a specific definition of mobility, there are also differences in those definitions. By law, states track migrant and homeless students, but not all flag other groups of students that are likely to be mobile, such as military-connected students or those in foster care. Another complication is that when students move, schools do not mark the reason for the transition. Without knowing the reason for the change, all mobile students are lumped into one category— movers. But, as the previous chapter showed, the circumstances surrounding a move can affect students in different ways and have implications for how schools respond. If a move is proactive, for example, the family and the child may feel less stress and the student might feel more positive about the experience. If the change into a new school is reactive—caused perhaps by a difficult financial situation or leaving a negative situation at another school— the student and parents might feel more anxiety about the new school and need additional support and friendship during that time. Current data systems and the information they provide make it very difficult for researchers to separate the effect of the school move from the effect of the circumstances surrounding the move. These are important distinctions for educators to consider. Data systems do allow for researchers and practitioners to understand if a student moved during the summer or during the academic year. The timing of moves may be suggestive of the type of move a student is making; proactive moves may be more likely to occur in the summer months when learning will not be disrupted. Mid-year moves may have a proactive element, such as families moving for a better job, but they may also be reactive in nature, such as a loss of housing.
Examples of Monitoring
Authors: Astor Ron , Benbenishty Rami
Published: November 2020

This guidebook is inspired by 20 years of collaborative work to improve school climate and student well- being. Working with government leaders, district administrators, and school personnel in the United States and abroad, the authors have extensive experience in designing and implementing monitoring systems that fit local needs and in showing how results can be used to improve schools. These various monitoring models already in use can help education policymakers and administrators gain a better understanding of how these systems can empower schools and guide decisions about programs and interventions. The overarching message of this guidebook is that methods of monitoring should be well integrated into the process of leading a school, just as academic assessment is. Viewed together, both academic and nonacademic data can provide the information that school leaders need to create safer, more successful schools. The California School Climate, Health, and Learning Survey is a comprehensive set of surveys that includes the: . . . California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) California School Climate Survey for staff (CSS) California School Parent Survey (CSPS) . . . The CHKS is a youth risk and resilience survey given to students in the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th grades. The survey gathers feedback from students on issues such as school connectedness, safety, violence and victimization, substance use, and physical and mental health. There is a core survey that covers all of those topics to some extent as well as supplemental modules that ask more detailed questions on specific topics. The CSSS is for teachers, administrators, and all other school staff (e.g., secretaries, security guards, bus drivers). It asks about multiple aspects of school climate and needs for professional development. The CSPS focuses on parent perceptions. It asks many questions that parallel those presented to students and staff. In addition, parents describe how they perceive the ways that the school engages and involves them in the school.
Observations
Authors: Astor Ron , Benbenishty Rami
Published: November 2020

Observations occur in school every day but are often not planned, systematic, or recorded for the purpose of improving school climate. Observations, however, can be a valuable source of information about what students are experiencing in school and where those experiences are taking place, especially when used in combination with other monitoring tools (see Box 10.1 for tips on conducting observations). For instance, mapping (which will be described in the next section) and focus groups may point out a troubling “hot spot” on the school campus where fights or other problems among students are taking place. Observations of that location can help school leaders understand what is happening in order to plan a solution. Studies and anecdotal reports have shown that bullying, school violence, or incidents involving drugs are more likely to occur in the common areas of the school campus or in the hidden- away spots that might not get a lot of traffic. Here is a list of areas that may be the subject of an observation when trying to collect information on where problems might take place: . . . Common areas, such as cafeterias, hallways. and courtyards Playgrounds, the gym (if it’s open to students outside of PE), athletic fields, or stadiums Routes to and from school School buses Nearby parks. . . Just because students leave campus doesn’t mean that adults should no longer be concerned with their behavior. Conflicts that take place in areas off campus often lead to violence, victimization, or other incidents at school. The observation process should be thought of as a continuum. At one end are unstructured observations in which the observer is looking to take away a general sense of the activity in that area. This less- structured approach provides opportunities to see behaviors that perhaps were not expected— both good and bad. At the other end of the spectrum are very structured observation schedules that employ detailed procedures and checklists. More structured observations conducted by multiple observers can lead to more agreement on what actually was observed. These are especially useful if the observation is focusing on a particular topic.
Mapping
Authors: Astor Ron , Benbenishty Rami
Published: November 2020

Mapping invites school members to be a part of identifying particular problem areas and times in their school. Mapping is another way to collect qualitative data, and the process takes places as part of a special type of focus group. Different groups represent the various members of the school community, such as students, teaching staff, and support staff. Several variations on the actual mapping process exist. School settings may decide to modify some details of the procedure while keeping the essential aspects in mind. The first step is obtaining a map of the school. The map should contain all internal school areas, including those surrounding the school and playground facilities. A sketch that is used for fire drills is detailed enough. In some communities where students walk or bike to the school— and where there are concerns about their safety— a simple map of the surrounding neighborhood can also be used with participants. The maps are essential because they focus the discussion on actual places and times and help avoid abstract and emotional discussions. It’s important for students and other participants to provide useful information, and the maps help to trigger concrete conversations. Figure 11.1 is an example of a map that shows where schools are located within a community and the areas around the schools where students are walking to and from school. Note that this, and all other figures in this chapter were originally in color, which helps to emphasize the content of the maps. Figures 11.2 and 11.3 are additional examples of maps that give students a simple way to identify those areas in the school that they view as safe and inviting and those that they would prefer to avoid. These maps also identify students by grade level so administrators can better understand patterns. Finally, Figure 11.4 is an additional example of a community map that includes schools and other locations where students spend time, such as a park. The streets high­lighted are the most common routes that students take to school.
Lord Kāmadeva’s Digital Bow: Dating and Marriage
Authors: Agrawal Ravi
Published: November 2020

When simran arora returned to New Delhi from London, master’s degree in hand, her parents welcomed her with an enough-is-enough ultimatum: she was twenty-six, and it was time to settle down with a good Punjabi boy of their choosing. “I said sure, why not,” recounted Simran, four years older (and wiser, as I was to find out). “If the guy is Mr. Right, who cares if it’s an arranged marriage?” Simran isn’t her real name. She asked me to keep her identity secret because she didn’t want her family and friends to learn the details she was about to tell me. “It’s a complicated, messy, crazy story,” she warned me. Simran’s willingness to be matched by her parents was not unusual. The 2012 India Human Development Survey found that a mere 5 percent of women picked their own husbands; 22 percent made their choices along with their parents or other relatives, and 73 percent had their spouses picked for them with no active say. When marriages are “arranged,” parents usually filter candidates based on compatibilities of caste, class, and family. In many cases, the stars must be aligned—quite literally—as astrological charts are matched to ensure a future of marital harmony. Not everyone follows convention. A small but growing number of Indians, mostly young urban professionals, dismiss the prospect of being set up. Their alternative is the curiously named “love marriage”—a union that implies not only the serendipity of falling for someone but also a proactive, defiant choice. Adding the prefix “love” attaches a hint of illicit romance to what is known in most other parts of the world as, simply, marriage. The choice isn’t always binary. Sometimes unions nestle between “arranged” and “love.” There is, for example, the increasingly common “arranged-to-love” approach, where old-school-but-liberal parents allow a family-matched couple to go on several dates in the hope of Cupid doing his thing. (Incidentally, Indians have their own version of the Greek god: the Lord Kāmadeva is often depicted as a handsome man with green skin, wielding a sugarcane bow with a bowstring of honeybees.
Cyber Sutra: The Internet Is for Porn
Authors: Agrawal Ravi
Published: November 2020

In the year 2012, a generation ago in digital technology, the person who generated the most internet searches in India was not a cricketer or a Bollywood star. Nor was it a politician or a religious figure. None of them were close. The person most Indians were curious about that year—as measured by the total number of Google searches—was Canadian-Indian Karenjit Kaur Vohra, a.k.a. Sunny Leone, a former porn star and Penthouse Pet of the Year. It wasn’t the case only in 2012. As hundreds of millions of Indians continued to discover the internet through 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and even 2017, Sunny Leone remained the most-searched-for person in India. People simply couldn’t get enough. (Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it to number two in 2014, the year he was elected, but Leone remained the clear favorite.) Prudish, conservative, family-values India . . . and a porn star? Leone was no longer even performing; she had stopped around 2010 and started her own production company with her husband and manager, Daniel Weber. In 2011, she came to India as a guest on the reality TV show Bigg Boss, a local version of the Big Brother franchise. Leone’s appearance was predictably controversial (by design, of course: it was good for the ratings). Although most Indians hadn’t heard of her, it didn’t take long for word to spread: “A porn star—from America—here in India?” At the time, parliamentarian Anurag Thakur complained to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, arguing that Leone’s presence on a nationally telecast program would “have a negative impact on the mindset of children.” Thakur added: “When children see these porn stars on TV and then do a Google search, it shows a vulgar site. It will have a bad impact in the long run.” There were no laws, however, to stop Leone from appearing on TV. While the production of pornography was officially illegal in India, Leone could justifiably argue she was no longer involved in the industry. She was trying to pivot to general entertainment.
Critical Service Learning Toolkit
Authors: Johnson Annette , McKay-Jackson Cassandra , Grumbach Giesela
Published: November 2020

Critical Service Learning Toolkit offers a strengths-based, interdisciplinary approach to promoting social competence while enhancing emotional and academic skill development. Designed as a user-friendly guide to carrying out successful CSL projects, this Toolkit provides practitioners with step-by-step assistance in planning, implementing, and evaluating Critical Service Learning (CSL) projects in elementary and high schools. CSL trains youth to become active and conscientious citizens through engagement and leadership experiences that meet real needs in the community. This approach is unique in that it places the youth/student at the center of the process. Prioritizing social and emotional learning (SEL) and school engagement, CSL changes the role of the school-based, counseling professional into that of a facilitator who encourages skill-building, reflection, and civic engagement. Cultivating self-awareness, social-consciousness, and critical-thinking skills, brainstorming and community web mapping activities serve as the cornerstone of CSL and allow youth to become comfortable articulating concerns about their communities. By extending learning beyond the classroom and into the community, CSL enhances what is taught throughout the school curriculum, at all levels, and fosters a sense of civic responsibility and social agency.
Vineyards, Rocks, and Soils
Authors: Maltman Alex
Published: November 2020

Jurassic, basalt, moraine, flint, alluvial, magma: what are these words and what do they have to do with wine? The answers are here in this book. They are geological terms that reflect a bond between wine and the land. Understanding geology, however, is tricky. Geological concepts are obscure; processes can be imperceptibly slow, invisible, and unimaginably ancient. The terminology is formidable, such that even the names of common rocks carry an air of mystery. Geology is introduced plainly, starting with basic principles, all in the context of wine. The emphasis is on the kinds of processes that shape vineyards, and on the minerals, rocks and soils that host the vines. Geological words now commonly seen in wine writings are systematically explained. You will learn the stories behind some of the names, the human face of geology. The book also explores how the geology-wine connection manifests in the finished product and evaluates its importance, particularly in the contexts of minerality, terroir, and wine taste. The fact is that geology is increasingly being promoted in the world of wine; the aim here is to help it be properly understood.
Soil, Water, Sunshine, and the Concept of Terroir
Authors: Maltman Alex
Published: November 2020

If we look at a vineyard, it’s very tempting to assume that what we see at the surface simply continues on downward. Maybe it does, but most soils vary with depth, and the surface can be quite unrepresentative of down where the work is done, of the materials that surround the vine roots. That’s why these days vineyards are peppered with soil pits. Normally, immediately below the surface of the ground is the topsoil, the most fertile part, from which vines get most of their water and nutrients. Below this is increasingly compact, commonly clayey material, subsoil, in which relatively little grows. If we continue downward, sooner or later we hit bedrock, for every vineyard sits on bedrock, at some depth or other. Unlike many plants, vine roots can probe many meters downward into the subsoil and even penetrate fissures in the bedrock, particularly if there’s a need to seek out supplementary water. The way soil varies with depth is called its profile. The variations in physical and chemical properties may be gradual, or in discrete layers, referred to as soil horizons, an arrangement sometimes called a duplex soil. A hypothetical example of a layered soil profile is shown in Figure 10.1, and Figure 10.2 gives an example of how a property can vary with depth. The overall depth of a soil above bedrock is termed its thickness. In vineyards, this can be anywhere from as little as 20 centimeters, such as at Auxey-Duresses in the Côte d’Or, to alluvium on plains such as California’s Central Valley that is measured in hundreds of meters. Even where bedrock has weathered in place to yield the overlying soil, its effects (Figure 10.3) can only be very generalized, because of all the permutations of climate, landform, biology, history, and so on, that influence soil profiles. Granite, with its coarse grains and high content of feldspar and quartz, both of which are fairly stable minerals physically, tends to yield sandy, well-drained soils. They are often pale colored, like the parent rock, though in places with a higher manganese content, such as parts of Barolo and Beaujolais, they can have a bluish tone.
Ethnolinguistic Cleavages and Interstate River Disputes in the Union of India
Authors: Moore Scott M.
Published: November 2020

India is one of the world’s most centralized federal systems, and its Constitution grants the federal government unusually broad powers to control the actions of state-level political leaders. At the same time, however, India’s state- level politics are highly acrimonious, particularly after the emergence of state- based ethnic political parties since the 1960s (Diksit 1975). These fractious subnational politics are mirrored in numerous interstate river disputes which the center has, despite its considerable constitutional and political powers, proven unable to resolve. As John Wood remarks, “One would think that these powers would be adequate to enable the central government to play an active mediating role in an interstate river water disputes. . . . But the central government’s maneuverability is often no greater than that of the states” (Wood 2007, 40). Indeed, the country’s interstate disputes are so acute that the former head of India’s water resource engineering agency, the Central Water Commission, warned in an opinion-editorial that “hydro-politics is threatening the very fabric of federalism” (Menon 2003). Virtually all of India’s major river basins play host to long-running interstate water disputes, primarily related to water quantity allocation. Notable disputes include most of the principal peninsular rivers, including the Mhadei, the Kaveri (Cauvery), and the Krishna basins, which predate independence. Other sites of interstate conflict include the Narmada, racked by construction of a large dam; the relatively water-rich Mahanadi; and the Sutlej–amuna Link Canal, which supplies much of New Delhi’s drinking water. Unfortunately, few of these disputes show signs of resolution in the near term. Yet as India’s economy has grown and the demands on its major rivers have multiplied, these disputes increasingly constrain the development of large sections of the country. The central puzzle of the Indian case is why interstate river disputes are both so numerous and so persistent, especially given the central government’s constitutional authority to resolve them.
Central Control, Localized Interests, and Interprovincial Conflict in the People’s Republic of China
Authors: Moore Scott M.
Published: November 2020

From a comparative perspective, the People’s Republic of China represents perhaps the world’s most distinctive combination of political centralization and fiscal and administrative decentralization. The basic unity of the state, referred to as Dayitong (大一统), has long been seen as the organizing principle of governance in mainland China and underpins the modern system whereby decision- making is tightly concentrated at the central government level (Wang 2009). At the same time, however, the practical challenges of governing a large and diverse territory have historically led Chinese officials to delegate substantial administrative powers to subnational levels of government. Moreover, in economic terms China is one of the most decentralized countries in the world, with revenue and expenditure powers largely in the hands of local officials (Dziobek, Mangas, and Kufa 2011). Chinese officials are thus caught in an institutional matrix known as tiao-kuai (条- 块), in which they are responsible both to line control by functional bureaucracies, such as the various central government ministries, as well as to territorial government leaders, including mayors and provincial governors, and to equivalent officials within the parallel Chinese Communist Party (CCP) structure. The CCP effectively controls all important political appointments, creating a potent mechanism to ensure the coherence of central and local policy objectives (Mertha 2008). This matrix is intended to ensure that subnational officials pursue priorities set by the central government but also to provide them with the flexibility to implement these policies according to individual local circumstances. In practical terms, this flexibility also translates into autonomy in a wide range of policy areas, including water resource management. Like their counterparts in more politically decentralized countries, China’s subnational officials therefore also confront the dilemma of autonomy, and they sometimes attempt to resolve it through conflict with neighboring jurisdictions (Moore 2014a).
Weather, Macroweather, and the Climate
Authors: Lovejoy Shaun
Published: November 2020

Weather, Macroweather, and the Climate is an insider's attempt to explain as simply as possible how to understand the atmospheric variability that occurs over an astonishing range of scales: from millimeters to the size of the planet, from milliseconds to billions of years. The variability is so large that standard ways of dealing with it are utterly inadequate: in 2015, it was found that classical approaches had underestimated the variability by the astronomical factor of a quadrillion (a million billion). Author Shaun Lovejoy asks - and answers - many fundamental questions such as: Is the atmosphere random or deterministic? What is turbulence? How big is a cloud (what is the appropriate notion of size itself)? What is its dimension? How can we conceptualize the structures within structures within structures spanning millimeters to thousands of kilometers and milliseconds to the age of the planet? What is weather? What is climate? Lovejoy shows in simple terms why the industrial epoch warming can't be natural - much simpler than trying to show that it's anthropogenic. We will discuss in simple terms how to make the best seasonal and annual forecasts - without giant numerical models. Above all, the book offers readers a new understanding of the atmosphere.
Past Climates: How We Get Our Data
Authors: Rohling Eelco J.
Published: November 2020

On the work floor, research on past climates is known as paleoclimatology, and research on past oceans as paleoceanography. But they are very tightly related, and we shall discuss both combined under the one term of paleoclimatology. Within paleoclimatology, interests are spread over three fundamental fields. The first field is concerned with dating ancient evidence and is referred to as chronological studies. These studies are essential because all records of past climate change need to be dated as accurately as possible to ensure that we know when the studied climate changes occurred, how fast they were, and whether changes seen in various components of the climate system happened at the same time or at different times. The second field concerns observational studies, where the observations can be of different types. Some are direct measurements; for example, sunspot counts or temperature records. Some are historical, written accounts of anecdotal evidence, such as reports on the frequency of frozen rivers, floods, or droughts. Such records are very local and often subjective, so they are usually no good as primary evidence. But they can offer great support and validation to reconstructions from other tools. Besides direct and anecdotal data, we encounter the dominant type of evidence used in the discipline. These are the so- called proxy data, or proxies. Proxies are indirect measures that approximate (hence the name proxy) changes in important climate- system variables, such as temperature, CO2 concentrations, nutrient concentrations, and so on. This chapter outlines some of the most important proxies. The third field in paleoclimatology concerns modeling. It employs numerical models for climate system simulation and simpler classes of so-called box- models. Numerical climate models range from Earth System models that are relatively crude and can therefore be set to run simulations of many thousands of years, to very complex and refined coupled models that are computationally very greedy and thus give simulations of great detail but only over short intervals of time. Box- models are much simpler and faster to run, and they are most used in modeling of the carbon cycle or other geochemical properties.
Metal Oxide Nanostructures Chemistry
Authors: Jolivet Jean-Pierre
Published: November 2020

This much-anticipated new edition of Jolivet's work builds on the edition published in 2000. It is entirely updated, restructured and increased in content. The book focuses on the formation by techniques of green chemistry of oxide nanoparticles having a technological interest. Jolivet introduces the most recent concepts and modelings such as dynamics of particle growth, ordered aggregation, ionic and electronic interfacial transfers. A general view of the metal hydroxides, oxy-hydroxides and oxides through the periodic table is given, highlighting the influence of the synthesis conditions on crystalline structure, size and morphology of nanoparticles. The formation of aluminum, iron, titanium, manganese and zirconium oxides are specifically studied. These nanomaterials have a special interest in many technological fields such as ceramic powders, catalysis and photocatalysis, colored pigments, polymers, cosmetics and also in some biological or environmental phenomena.
The Beaver Meadow on North St. Vrain Creek
Authors: Wohl Ellen
Published: November 2020

There is a place, about a mile long by a thousand feet wide, that lies in the heart of the Southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Here at the eastern margin of Rocky Mountain National Park, along a creek known as North St. Vrain, everything comes together to create a bead strung along the thread of the creek. The bead is a wider portion of the valley, a place where the rushing waters diffuse into a maze of channels and seep into the sediment flooring the valley. In summer the willows and river birch growing across the valley bottom glow a brighter hue of green among the darker conifers. In winter, subtle shades of orange and gold suffuse the bare willow stems protruding above the drifted snow. The bead holds a complex spatial mosaic composed of active stream channels; abandoned channels; newly built beaver dams bristling with gnawed-end pieces of wood; long-abandoned dams now covered with willows and grasses but still forming linear berms; ponds gradually filling with sediment in which sedges and rushes grow thickly; and narrow canals and holes hidden by tall grass: all of these reflect the activities of generations of beavers. This is a beaver meadow. The bead of the beaver meadow is partly hidden, tucked into a fold in this landscape of conifers and mountains. The approach is from Route 7, which runs north–south across the undulating topography of creeks flowing east toward the plains. Coming from the north, as I commonly do, you turn west into the North St. Vrain watershed on an unpaved road perched on a dry terrace above the creek. The road appears to be on the valley bottom, but beyond the terrace the valley floor drops another 20 feet or so to the level at which the creek flows. I instinctively pause at this drop-off. The conifer forest on the terrace is open and the walking is easy. The beaver meadow looks impenetrable and nearly is. I have to stoop, wade, crawl, wind, and bend my way through it, insinuating my body among the densely growing willow stems and thigh-high grasses.
December: Saving the Dammed
Authors: Wohl Ellen
Published: November 2020

At the nadir of the year, this is how morning comes to the beaver meadow. Just as the sun rises above the eastern horizon, a flush of pale rose lights the snow newly fallen on the highest peaks. The beaver meadow remains in shadow, silent but for the creek flowing quietly between its rims of ice. The air temperature is well below freezing and frost whitens the pine needles like a dark-haired person starting to go gray. Wisps and sheets of snow flag off the summits in the steady wind. Over the course of a few minutes, the summit snow warms from pale rose to faint orange and then a rich, warm gold that also lights the rock outcrops at lower elevations. The wind reaches the beaver meadow before the sunlight, coming in abrupt blasts that shake loose the little tufts of snow remaining on the pine boughs. The wind sends the snow crystals slaloming across the ice on the creek with a dry, skittering sound like that of blowing sand. Before long, the meadow is submerged in a continual rushing sound created by wind gusting through the pines up slope, along the valley walls. The lateral moraine to the south keeps the beaver meadow in shadow until 9:30 a.m. Nothing is so slow as waiting for the warmth of sunlight on a cold winter morning. When the sunlight does reach the meadow, it brings out the colors of water, ice, grasses, and willows. Flowing portions of the creek change from gray to orange brown. The snow reflects the light in a painfully intense glare broken by the deep, long shadows that everything casts. With the sunlight comes a steady wind that blasts the crystalline snow onto my face like grit. Not much snow has fallen yet, but North St. Vrain Creek is completely frozen in places and covered with snow. The ice records the movements of water, freezing the pulses and turbulence in ice ripples and ledges, motionless swirls and bands. It seems a miracle that any water still flows in this gray and white world of ice and snow.
How parents can help — general principles
Authors: Selikowitz Mark
Published: November 2020

This chapter provides general guidelines for helping a child with a specific learning difficulty. Advice on providing help in particular areas of learning is given in Part 2 of the book. Parents of children with specific learning difficulties need information on how to teach their child and how to build up his self-esteem. In addition, they need help in coping with their own feelings and those of their other children. Let us look first at parents’ concerns. Parents of a child with specific learning difficulties often feel great anxiety about their child. They worry about how their child will cope at school, both academically and socially. They worry about how he will manage if teased, and if made to feel inadequate. When he gets home from school, they are sensitive to his feelings, saddened by his disappointments, and made anxious about his concerns. Parents often feel guilty about their child’s difficulties, wrongly imagining that they are somehow to blame. They may feel angry much of the time too: angry with teachers who fail to understand their child’s problems, and angry with doctors who cannot explain their child’s difficulties. Many parents feel confused by the wide range of opinions about their child’s condition and the variety of treatments that people suggest. They often wonder whether they are doing enough for their child, and whether there is something more they should be doing. They may feel many other emotions as well. They may be embarrassed by their child’s difficulties, hurt by other people’s insensitive remarks, and overwhelmed by the task of teaching their child to overcome his difficulties. There is no one right way to cope with these feelings; no single prescription that will work for all parents. Most parents do cope and do find that things become easier with time. Many find it helpful to have someone to share their feelings with: a friend, a spouse, or a professional; someone who will listen sympathetically and not be judgemental, or too quick to offer advice. Some parents obtain this support from meeting other parents of a child with a similar difficulty.
Social and emotional development
Authors: Selikowitz Mark
Published: November 2020

There is widespread recognition that children with specific learning difficulties may experience social and emotional problems because of their learning difficulties, but it is often not realized that impairment of social skills may itself be a form of learning difficulty. This is due to a limitation in the way that the brain is able to understand social conventions. This is called a social cognition (or social learning) deficit. In this chapter, I shall first discuss social cognition deficit, and then discuss a number of behaviour problems that may occur as a result of a specific learning difficulty. Social skills, like any other skills, have to be learned. Yet much of what children learn about socially appropriate behaviour is not actually taught to them; they simply pick it up as they go along. Some children of normal intelligence seem to be less able to learn these things, even when taught. This may be their only area of difficulty, but it is commonly associated with other learning difficulties. These children have been accurately described as being ‘socially tone deaf’. They do not pick up the same cues as other children of the same age. They do not seem to predict the social consequences of their actions. They may be uninhibited, undressing in public without the same embarrassment that their peers would experience. They may be overfriendly to strangers. They may frequently say very tactless things without realizing the effect they are having. They often do not read facial expressions and are oblivious to whether someone is angry or upset with them. They may kiss classmates at an age where this is no longer appropriate. They may make unusual sounds in public. They may be insatiable in their activities, not knowing when to stop in the way another child of their age would. Although such behaviour may be apparent to all who meet the child, the people who are most likely to notice it are the child’s peers. With them, the child often sticks out like a sore thumb. This is something that may not be apparent if the child is only observed in a one-to-one relationship at a clinic.
Severin Klosowski alias George Chapman
Authors: Emsley John
Published: November 2020

Severin Klosowski was born on the morning of 14 December 1865 in the village of Nagornak near Kolo in part of Russian-occupied Poland. He died 38 years later, as George Chapman, on the morning of 7 April 1903 in London, hanged for poisoning three of his partners with antimony in a way that was long and painful but which made it appear they were dying of natural causes. What is rather unusual about these murders were the many witnesses to the way that he carried them out. Antonio Klosowski was 30 and his wife Emilie 29 when their son Severin was born. They were Roman Catholics, and Antonio was the village carpenter. When he was seven years old, on 17 October 1873, Severin started primary school, which he attended for the next seven years, leaving on 13 June 1880, with a good final report. Later that year, on 1 December, he was apprenticed to Moshko Rappaport, in Zwolen, 90 km south of Warsaw. Rappaport would train him to be a feldscher, an occupation combining the roles of barber and minor surgeon. This qualification would allow him to perform small operations by himself, or to assist major surgery carried out by a fully qualified surgeon. In the summer of 1885, when he was 19, Severin left Zwolen and, armed with a good reference from both his employer and a local doctor, he set off for Warsaw with the idea of becoming a fully qualified surgeon. To finance himself through his studies he took a job as an assistant to a barber-surgeon in the suburb of Praga, and that October he enrolled for a three-month course in practical surgery at the Hospital of Infant Jesus nearby. In January 1886 Severin took a job as an assistant surgeon to a D. Moshkovski and continued working thus until 15 November that year. The following month he came of age: that allowed him to apply for a passport and he was also allowed to sit the entrance examination for the degree of Junior Surgeon at the Imperial University.
The empire of lead
Authors: Emsley John
Published: November 2020

Lead is useful, surprising, unpredictable, dangerous – and deadly. Lead is useful. Previous generations found it to be an essential part of civilized living: pipes, pewter, pottery, paints, and even potions were made with it. Toy soldiers were cast from it, port wine protected by it; grey hair was disguised with it, church roofs covered with it; cosmetics contained it, and cans of food were sealed with it. Lead is surprising. In 1859, Professor Lyon Playfair was taking the 18-year-old Prince of Wales, and future King Edward VII, round the chemistry laboratories of Edinburgh University when they came across a pot of molten lead. Playfair then carried out a remarkable demonstration: he poured the molten metal over the fingers of his assistant and to the Prince’s amazement the young man’s hand was unharmed. The Prince too wanted to try the same test, and after rinsing his hand in dilute ammonia solution, lead was poured over his fingers as well – again without scalding them. This demonstration was still being performed before stunned audiences in the 1950s, and the trick is to have the hand wet, so that as the metal hits the film of water on the skin it forms an instant layer of vapour that both protects the skin and causes the lead to bounce off in tiny droplets. Lead is unpredictable. In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice those who would seek to marry the fair Portia are offered three caskets from which to choose: gold, silver, or lead. The man who chooses the casket containing her portrait will win her hand in marriage. Of course the winning choice is lead, the casket with the curiously foreboding inscription: ‘Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath’ and her would-be suitor Bassanio reasons that this must be the right one saying: …‘. . . but thou, thou meagre lead, Which rather threat’nest than does promise aught, Thy plainness moves me more than eloquence, And here choose I; joy be the consequence!’ [The Merchant of Venice, III, ii]…
Lead and dead
Authors: Emsley John
Published: November 2020

Gout was once a common malady that immobilized many of the upper class males of ancient Rome and imperial Britain. Both societies blamed it on too much rich food and wine, and they may have been right. The Roman writers, Seneca, Virgil, Juvenal, and Ovid all poked fun at the sufferers of gout, as did the London cartoonists; the popular belief was that it was a just punishment for over-indulgence. Physicians knew of the pain it caused and discovered that it was due to sharp crystals of uric acid between the joints of the bones; but what caused these to form? Among those affected by gout were Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, British Prime Minister William Pitt, poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, biologist Charles Darwin, and the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. It has been suggested that Alexander the Great, Kubla Khan, Christopher Columbus, Martin Luther, John Milton, and Isaac Newton also suffered its agonies. In the last century, it was found that more than a third of those suffering from gout had high levels of lead in their blood. It now seems likely that earlier generations had exposed themselves to gout by a fondness for port wine, which was invariably tainted with lead, and kept in lead crystal decanters. At various times in the 1700s, the British were at war with the French and no longer imported their wines or brandy, although quite a lot was smuggled into the country. Instead Englishmen turned to drinking the wines of their most faithful ally, Portugal. These, like port and Madeira, contained lead, and they became so popular that by the 1820s more than 20 million litres of port were being imported annually. Bottles of this age have been analysed for their lead content and shown to have in excess of 1 ppm suggesting that the risk of serious lead poisoning from such drink was relatively low, although it would have had an effect. Indeed the lead may have simply served as an irritant to the gut, which is why a glass of port at the end of a meal was reputed to have a laxative effect by the following morning.