text stringlengths 199 648k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 1 value | url stringlengths 14 419 | file_path stringlengths 139 140 | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float64 0.65 1 | token_count int64 50 235k | score float64 2.52 5.34 | int_score int64 3 5 |
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Chapter 4 - A Transition of War
Writing in 1744, Abbe Galliani noted that "empires being neither up nor down do not fall. They change their appearance." The barbarian invasions of the Roman empire for the first four centuries match precisely this description. Rome did not collapse as much as it metamorphosed into a decentralized state of quasi-Romanized Germanic fiefdoms each ruled by a warlord equipped with a private army. The Roman army had always to deal with the problem of hostile tribal orders on its boundaries. In Gaul, Spain, and Britain, Rome solved the problem through military conquest with the eventual Romanization of the tribal peoples resident in these areas. The problem on the German frontier, however, was different. Here the tribes were very large, culturally warlike, offered nothing in terms of resources that could be obtained by conquest, and occupied an area of dense forest, rivers, and mountainous terrain that was very difficult to conquer and occupy. The massacre of three Roman legions at the hands of the German tribal chieftain Armenius in 9 A.D. in the Teutoberg forest effectively settled the question of conquest for the Romans. Roman military strategy changed to the defensive, and was marked by the creation of a strong system of in-depth fortifications constructed along the German frontier. | <urn:uuid:3d5fe37e-f1ba-4e09-b0eb-741a194e20a9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/gabrmetz/gabr0013.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972536 | 268 | 3.34375 | 3 |
No matter how small, all network installations go through an initial planning phase before implementation. The new network administrator must take many factors into consideration when planning a network. Most importantly, the administrator must understand the required capacity, compatibility, and flexibility of the new network. Gathering this information requires a wide range of techniques including reading documentation and interviewing management.
As more and more functionality is placed on the network, network traffic begins to grow. Understanding the rate of growth can help network administrators plan for future network upgrades. In order to understand how network traffic grows, network administrators need to understand how the network's user-base is expected to grow. If the company is expecting a sudden increase in sales staff, the portion of the network servicing the sales staff needs to anticipate this growth. Network administrators can also gather a traffic baseline to see how the network is performing at a specific moment in time, and then gather new information to see how the traffic has changed since the baseline was taken (Claise & Wolter, 2007).
In 2006, St. Vincent's Hospital of Birmingham, Alabama, rolled out a huge 168 access-point wireless network designed to connect the hospitals growing number of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptops, and two-way communication badges. Network designers decided to implement the 802.11b standard since it was the most widely compatible protocol available (Geer, 2004). Compatibility is a major consideration when designing a network. Network designers must take into consideration the different devices that will be attached to the network in order to decide what technology must be implemented. Although St. Vincent's network designers utilized the widely implemented 802.11b protocol, they may have found far fewer devices able to implement the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA or WPA2) protocol over the less secure Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) protocol.
While necessary, planning for capacity and compatibility cannot cover every possible circumstance. The final piece of the network-planning puzzle is flexibility. When capacity or compatibility planning do not meet the needs of the growing network, it must have the flexibility to new design parameters without a major overhaul. For example, the ability to accept both copper and fiber media allows network equipment to adapt if a fiber-only device is introduced into a previously all copper network.
Claise, B. & Wolter, R. (2007). Network management: Accounting and performance strategies. Indianapolis: Cisco Press.
Geer, D. (2004, April 15). WLAN project speeds urgent care. America's Network, 108(2), 16. Retrieved August 24, 2009, from Associates Programs Source Plus database. | <urn:uuid:f06d3de2-8a46-46f5-8315-1304f4be9c77> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://slaptijack.com/networking/basic-network-hardware-planning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902522 | 530 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Each student deserves recognition, attention, and respect, and all students must be offered rigorous academic programs and classrooms that support high achievement. In the Oakland Unified School District, Programs for Exceptional Children (PEC) is charged with educating students who have learning disabilities or exceptional cognitive or physical needs. PEC provides service and support through district and charter schools to all identified students from ages 0-22. We are working to establish a shared mindset throughout our district where all school communities and departments embrace students with disabilities and provide support and resources to ensure Every Student Thrives!
The Office also manages the OUSD Diagnostic Center, the Occupation Therapy Program, the Young Adult Program, the Reading Clinic and other programs. Oakland Unified has more than 5,000 identified Special Education students, and the Special Education Office conducts about 7,000 Individual Education Programs (IEPs) each year. | <urn:uuid:44b77502-4ec9-48f3-9843-687c9e250270> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ousd.org/Domain/130 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942095 | 177 | 2.640625 | 3 |
THE EGYPTIAN PROBLEM CHAPTER I MEHEMET ALI : THE CREATOR OF MODERN EGYPT IT is little more than a century since Egypt emerged into modern history from the inglorious obscurity into which she had sunk after Selim the Conqueror incorporated her in 1517 into the dominions of the then mighty Ottoman Empire, and Europe, having discovered new trade routes to the Orient, ceased to take the slightest interest in her fate. Nor did she then emerge from that long obscurity by any effort of her own. She was violently dragged out of it by the vast ambitions of two great soldiers of fortune, neither of them of Asiatic or of African but both of European stock, and both born, by a curious coincidence, in the same year, 1769, in different parts of the Mediterranean—the Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte and the Albanian Mehemet Ali. Napoleon was prompt to realise that in the great duel which had commenced between France and Britain the most vulnerable part of the British Empire was to be sought in the East, and that Egypt provided the best strategic base for threatening the great dependency we were building up in India, and perhaps driving us out of it as we had not so long before ourselves driven .out the French. Mekemet Ali, who landed in Egypt during the great upheaval produced by the French invasion and in the very bay of Aboukir in which Nelson's Bas damaging to our own reputation as to the well-being of Egypt. | <urn:uuid:dc818134-8999-4438-be34-0378e16ce7fe> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.archive.org/stream/TheEgyptianProblem/TXT/00000012.txt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977719 | 306 | 2.84375 | 3 |
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|man pages section 7: Device and Network Interfaces Oracle Solaris 11.1 Information Library|
- introduction to special files
This section describes various device and network interfaces available on the system. The types of interfaces described include character and block devices, STREAMS modules, network protocols, file systems, and ioctl requests for driver subsystems and classes.
This section contains the following major collections:
The system provides drivers for a variety of hardware devices, such as disk, magnetic tapes, serial communication lines, mice, and frame buffers, as well as virtual devices such as pseudo-terminals and windows.
This section describes special files that refer to specific hardware peripherals and device drivers. STREAMS device drivers are also described. Characteristics of both the hardware device and the corresponding device driver are discussed where applicable.
An application accesses a device through that device's special file. This section specifies the device special file to be used to access the device as well as application programming interface (API) information relevant to the use of the device driver.
All device special files are located under the /devices directory. The /devices directory hierarchy attempts to mirror the hierarchy of system busses, controllers, and devices configured on the system. Logical device names for special files in /devices are located under the /dev directory. Although not every special file under /devices will have a corresponding logical entry under /dev, whenever possible, an application should reference a device using the logical name for the device. Logical device names are listed in the FILES section of the page for the device in question.
This section also describes driver configuration where applicable. Many device drivers have a driver configuration file of the form driver_name.conf associated with them (see driver.conf(4)). The configuration information stored in the driver configuration file is used to configure the driver and the device. Driver configuration files are located in /kernel/drv and /usr/kernel/drv. Driver configuration files for platform dependent drivers are located in /platform/`uname -i`/kernel/drv where `uname -i` is the output of the uname(1) command with the -i option.
Some driver configuration files may contain user configurable properties. Changes in a driver's configuration file will not take effect until the system is rebooted or the driver has been removed and re-added (see rem_drv(1M) and add_drv(1M)).
This section describes the programmatic interface for several file systems supported by SunOS.
This section describes ioctl requests which apply to a class of drivers or subsystems. For example, ioctl requests which apply to most tape devices are discussed in mtio(7I). Ioctl requests relevant to only a specific device are described on the man page for that device. The page for the device in question should still be examined for exceptions to the ioctls listed in section 7I.
This section describes STREAMS modules. Note that STREAMS drivers are discussed in section 7D. streamio(7I) contains a list of ioctl requests used to manipulate STREAMS modules and interface with the STREAMS framework. Ioctl requests specific to a STREAMS module will be discussed on the man page for that module.
This section describes various network protocols available in SunOS.
SunOS supports both socket-based and STREAMS-based network communications. The Internet protocol family, described in inet(7P), is the primary protocol family supported by SunOS, although the system can support a number of others. The raw interface provides low-level services, such as packet fragmentation and reassembly, routing, addressing, and basic transport for socket-based implementations. Facilities for communicating using an Internet-family protocol are generally accessed by specifying the AF_INET address family when binding a socket; see socket(3SOCKET) for details.
Major protocols in the Internet family include:
The Internet Protocol (IP) itself, which supports the universal datagram format, as described in ip(7P). This is the default protocol for SOCK_RAW type sockets within the AF_INET domain.
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP); see tcp(7P). This is the default protocol for SOCK_STREAM type sockets.
The User Datagram Protocol (UDP); see udp(7P). This is the default protocol for SOCK_DGRAM type sockets.
The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP); see arp(7P).
The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP); see icmp(7P). | <urn:uuid:68f04fe4-149e-4fc6-89c6-0faa7dd44773> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26502_01/html/E29044/intro-7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892473 | 967 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Posted at: 08/15/2014 12:59 PM
Be kind to your trees by creatively dealing with the surface roots.
Don’t bury, nor cut, dig or shave off these important roots. Covering or damaging the roots creates entryways for insects and diseases to enter and damage or kill your tree.
Mulch is a simple solution. Use a 2 to 3 inch layer on the soil surrounding the tree. And be sure to keep the bark away from the trunk.
Shade tolerant perennials and groundcovers are another option. Carefully plant between major roots and let the plants fill in the area. New plantings will need to be watered regularly.
Add a splash of color with a few potted annuals set them among the perennial groundcovers. Or permanently sink a few pots in the ground and set potted flowers in them. It’s easier on the tree roots and your back.
A bit more information:
Use caution when planting under mature trees. Deep tilling can damage, not only the surface roots, but also the fine feeder roots that absorb water and nutrients. Instead dig relatively small holes, mulch and spot water new plantings. It may take a bit longer for them to fill in, but your tree will be healthier and longer lived. | <urn:uuid:ab08200e-5f1c-4223-b1c6-cecbf983697b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://hbispace.com/printStory/wdio/index.cfm?id=3533844 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00072-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909947 | 269 | 3.09375 | 3 |
In the last 10 years, homes with rooftop solar arrays have gone from curiosity to commonplace. It's a trend perhaps best exemplified by Home Depot's decision to start stocking solar panels in 2001 [source: DOE].
The technology has been available for decades -- NASA has been using solar-powered satellites since the 1960s, and as far back as World War II, passive solar heating systems (which turn solar energy into heat instead of electricity) have been used in U.S. homes [sources: Southface, DOE].
Getting active solar systems in the mainstream residential market has proved a challenge, though. Active solar power uses arrays of photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight directly into electricity, and it has traditionally been a prohibitively expensive technology.
The benefits of residential solar power are obvious: Energy from the sun is endless (at least for the next 5 billion years, give or take); it provides clean energy with no greenhouse-gas emissions; and it can save people money on their electric bills [source: APS]. But there are factors to consider when deciding whether solar power would be a good choice for you -- and cost is only one of them.
In this article, we'll look at five of the most important issues to address when you're thinking about investing in a residential solar-power setup. Using photovoltaic energy is a very green and potentially rewarding move, but it's not quite as straightforward as getting your power from the established electrical grid.
The first consideration is one you may not have thought of: Do you have to do anything to the solar panels once they're up there on your roof?
Powering your home using solar energy does require more maintenance than using the regular old grid power. But not much.
Solar panels have no moving parts. They are part of a completely stationary system. So once they're installed, there's not a whole lot that can go wrong. Pretty much the only thing a homeowner needs to do is keep the panels clean. It's an important task, though -- too much dust and bird droppings on the panels can reduce the amount of sunlight striking them. Dust buildup can reduce the amount of electricity produced by the system by as much as 7 percent [source: CalFinder].
This type of maintenance is not something that needs to be done once a week, though. You'd probably only have to hose the panels down anywhere from one to four times a year [source: CalFinder]. You don't need to get on the roof. A hose and nozzle from ground level works fine. If there's construction in your area, you may have to clean the panels more often to avoid the extra buildup of construction-dust residue.
Aside from that, you're just looking at occasional check-ups to make sure all parts are in working order. You may eventually have to have the inverter replaced (and the batteries if you have a battery-storage system), but that's a once-a-decade type of maintenance event.
Up next: Got a lot of trees on your lot?
Where your home is situated has a big effect on your solar-power efficiency. It's an obvious concern: If your electrical-power generation depends on sunlight, things like towering shade trees and tall, shadow-casting buildings are going to be a problem.
It's an even bigger problem than some people realize, though. Different types of panels react differently to shade. While a poly-crystalline panel will substantially reduce its output if any part of the panel is shaded, a mono-crystalline panel will stop producing electricity entirely.
So to build a solar-powered home, it's necessary to make sure there are no shadows on the roof's panel area during the sunniest hours of the day (typically from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), and preferably during all sunny hours [source: AEG]. The more hours the panels spend exposed to full sun, the more efficient the power generation will be.
Achieving the greatest efficiency level might mean cutting back trees on your property (and keeping them cut back). If your home is surrounded by tall buildings that block the sun from your roof, this is a much bigger problem.
Which brings us to the next big consideration: sunlight.
Sunlight is obviously key when it comes to solar power, and not all regions are created equal in this regard. It's important to know how much sunlight reaches ground level in the area where your potential solar house is located.
What we're talking about here is insolation -- a measure of how much solar radiation hits the ground in any given area in a specified time period. It's typically measured in kWh/m2/day, and it tells you how much sunlight will be available for your solar panels to turn into electricity. The higher the insolation value of your location, the more electricity each of your panels will be able to generate. A high insolation value means you can get more power out of fewer panels. A low insolation value means you could end up spending more to achieve the same power output (more on expenses later).
If you live in a place like Phoenix, Ariz., or Albuquerque, N.M., you're golden. They've got super high insolation ratings, 6.58 and 6.77, respectively [source: CleanBeta]. This means in Albuquerque, 6.77 kWh worth of sunlight falls on each square meter of Earth in the course of one day (on average). In Portland, Maine, on the other hand, one square meter of land receives 4.51 kWh worth of sunlight in a day [source: CleanBeta]. And Chicago sees just 3.14 kWh/m2/day [source: CleanBeta].
Does that mean you have to build your solar-powered home in the Southwest instead of the Midwest? Not at all. It just means that in Chicago, a solar setup is going to be less efficient than a similar setup in Albuquerque. You're probably going to need more panels to achieve the same power output.
That brings us to No. 2 on the list: How many panels do you need?
Contrary to what most people think, the size of a solar-power installation has nothing to do with the size of the house it's powering.
Instead, it's all about two things: insolation, which we just discussed, and how much power you need. If you live in Albuquerque and you don't use much power, you need a smaller system. If you live in Chicago and run a circa-1980 electric furnace all day every day, you're looking at a lot more panels on your roof.
To get a very rough estimate of how big a system you need, look at your electric bill and figure out how many kWh you use per day. The average home in the United States uses about 900 kWh every month, or about 30 kWh per day [source: DOE]. Multiply that by 0.25 [source: GE]. We come up with 7.5, so we need a 7.5 kW system.
A typical solar panel produces a maximum of 120 watts, or 0.12 kW, in a day [source: Richards]. For a 7.5-kW setup, then, you'd need about 62 panels. A single panel might measure about 56 by 25 inches (142 by 64 centimeters), so a 62-panel solar setup would measure roughly 700 square feet (65 square meters).
There's more that goes into this calculation, though. You have to figure in insolation and how many hours of peak sunlight you get per day, and you'd also make adjustments if you're using a battery-storage system with the panels. So it's best to consult a pro.
But assuming this is roughly the system you'd need to power your home, how much of a financial investment are we looking at for a 7.5-kW solar setup?
Up next, perhaps the greatest consideration of all: the expense.
In 1956, solar panels ran about $300 per watt [source: Southface]. A 7.5-kW system would have been out of the question for all but the shockingly rich.
Today, prices are down considerably. In most areas, solar arrays run about $7 to $10 per watt. You'll be paying closer to $7 if you install it yourself, and closer to $10 if you have a professional do it. For a 7.5-kW array, or 7,500 watts, you could pay anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000 dollars.
If you need less electricity, of course, the number gets lower. If you only consume 600 kWh in a month, or 20kWh/day, you could supply all the energy you need with a 5-kW system. That would cost closer to $40,000.
Thousands of dollars in tax credits do bring the cost down considerably -- in New Jersey, for instance, homeowners buying a $50,000 system will get $12,500 back from the state on top of the $11,000 federal rebate. So in New Jersey, that system would end up costing $26,500.
Of course, it's not an all-or-nothing arrangement. You can always partially power your house using solar. If you want to invest in a $10,000 solar array, you can supplement grid energy with a 1.5-kW solar system.
Still, tens of thousands of dollars for a solar array is still pretty cost-prohibitive -- especially since it can take decades to make that money back in energy savings [source: WeatherImagery].
Along those lines, a recent development in the solar-power industry puts solar panels within reach of those who don't have thousands of dollars to spend on clean energy. There are companies now across the country that rent out solar panels. There's no upfront charge. Homeowners pay a monthly rental fee to use the panels, and the rental company owns and maintains them. This could remove the huge cost consideration from the equation.
For more information on solar and related topics, look over the links on the next page.
FIPEL bulbs last a long time and are energy-efficient. Learn about the new FIPEL bulb technology at HowStuffWorks.
Related HowStuffWorks Articles
- "Determining your solar power requirements." Advanced Energy Group.http://www.solar4power.com/solar-power-sizing.html
- "Energy from the Sun." APS Project Sol.http://projectsol.aps.com/energy/energy_sun.asp
- "How Do I Maintain My Solar Panels?" CalFinder.http://solar.calfinder.com/blog/solar-information/how-do-i-maintain-my-solar-panels/
- "How Much Will it Cost?" Northern Arizona Wind & Sun.http://www.solar-electric.com/solar_system_costs.htm
- "Solar Cost FAQ." The Solar Guide.http://www.thesolarguide.com/solar-power-uses/cost-faq.aspx
- "Solar Insolation for Major U.S. cities." Advanced Energy Group.http://www.solar4power.com/solar-power-insolation-window.html
- "What is Insolation?" Apricus.http://www.apricus.com/html/solar_collector_insolation.htm | <urn:uuid:338184d5-c357-4f78-8bf9-7b8a54a1da3d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/5-solar-home2.htm/printable | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00103-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939187 | 2,385 | 2.765625 | 3 |
How did Kennedy’s assassination change the world?
The John F. Kennedy who was elected in 1960 was not going to change the world. His major charge against the Eisenhower administration was that it was not prosecuting the Cold War vigorously.
He believed that its policy of Massive Retaliation in the event of any attack meant America would be incapable of a flexible response to a non-nuclear communist aggression in the Third World, where, he believed, the Cold War would be won or lost.
He aimed to close any missile gap (actually non-existent) with the Soviets. He aimed to beat the Russians to the moon. He planned to calm business fears by appointing a Republican Secretary of the Treasury.
He wanted to avoid coercive civil rights legislation or the use of federal troops to enforce segregation because he put his faith in white southern moderate leaders.
The John F. Kennedy who was assassinated in 1963 had begun to change the world. Admittedly, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion did not lessen the enthusiasm of either the president or his brother, Bobby, for covert action and counter-insurgency.
The military advisers committed to Vietnam were part of a flexible response — but so was the inspirational Peace Corps.
But chastened by confronting the Russians over Berlin and missiles in Cuba, and reassured by the knowledge that the missile build-up had guaranteed a measure of Cold War stability, Kennedy moved to lessen Cold War tensions and the dangers of nuclear war.
He started a backchannel correspondence with Khrushchev. He negotiated, in the face of military opposition, a Test Ban Treaty which aimed to eliminate nuclear tests in the atmosphere. He was the first American president in the Cold War to talk about the Soviet Union as an adversary with whom the United States should peacefully compete, rather than an enemy to be defeated militarily.
Except in the Yom Kippur war in 1973 the world never again came close to a nuclear holocaust. Under JFK the first steps to détente were taken. Kennedy was the first president to understand the Sino-Soviet split.
At home, he proposed a tax cut, not as a result of a budget surplus, but despite a budget deficit, in order to stimulate the economy. As a result of the crisis created by violent resistance in the South to civil rights protest, the president was forced to do the two things he did not want to do.
He sent in federal troops to force the admission of a black student to the University of Mississippi. After the Birmingham demonstrations and the defiance of Governor Wallace on the steps of the University of Alabama, he went on national television to promise strong civil rights legislation and acknowledged for the first time that civil rights was an inescapable moral issue.
Kennedy’s assassination and Johnson’s masterly leadership guaranteed the eventual passage of the civil rights bill and the tax cut. It did not interrupt the progress towards détente.
But Kennedy’s death did put an end to third-party efforts to normalize relations with Cuba. Kennedy might have gone on to re-orient policy towards China. Would he have avoided the Vietnam disaster?
Kennedy’s defenders argue passionately that, protected by a big re-election win in 1964, he would have withdrawn American troops from Vietnam. But his Vietnam policy in late 1963 in which he acquiesced in the overthrow of President Diem’s government was already locked in a policy of sustaining a South Vietnam government that was ready to fight the communists.
He had effectively narrowed the options available to his successor. There is little evidence that he would have sanctioned the “loss” of South Vietnam.
Faced with the impossibility of finding a government that was both popular and willing to fight the Vietcong, how would Kennedy have avoided the commitment of ground troops in 1965?
Advised by McGeorge Bundy and Robert McNamara, who guided Vietnam policy under both JFK and LBJ, would Kennedy have been prepared to scale down the American commitment and see the South Vietnam regime collapse?
British Ambassador and friend of the Kennedys, David Ormsby-Gore, tried to console Jackie Kennedy by telling her that the late president, “had great things to do and would have done them.”
The jury may be out on that judgment. But the British reacted with the same grief as the Americans to a lifer cut short, to the cruel death of a young man whose vigor and youth contrasted so markedly with the contemporary political leaders of an older generation: De Gaulle, Adenauer and Macmillan.
They established at Runnymede, the site of the signing of Magna Carta, a memorial funded by popular appeal and driven by cross-party consensus on an acre of land permanently ceded to the United States.
David Ormsby-Gore, as Lord Harlech, was the first chair of the Kennedy Memorial Trust which also awarded scholarships to the “best and the brightest” of British students to do graduate work at Harvard and MIT.
On Friday, as current chair of the Trust, I will be laying a wreath at the memorial. Why does JFK’s memory still resonate? Perhaps it is because contemporary American politics is dysfunctional and anti-intellectual fundamentalism is so rampant in American public life.
Kennedy was familiar enough with congressional gridlock and only too aware of the paranoid style of American politics on the extreme right. But he was the modern American president who was most comfortable in his own skin, who surrounded himself with intellectuals and delighted in their company, and who made government service an honorable calling after the ravages of McCarthyism.
Kennedy may not have changed the world and his assassination may not have significantly altered America’s future, but 50 years on it is not surprising that his memory still evokes a profound sense of loss.
™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:67b1dae4-267b-4ec1-8f0f-b29a34387e20> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://kdvr.com/2013/11/22/how-did-kennedys-assassination-change-the-world/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968369 | 1,215 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Venus and Adonis is a narrative poem that tells of the goddess Venus' infatuation for a mortal human, the young hunter Adonis. In erotic and humorous passages, Venus courts the youth, attempting to persuade him to make love. Adonis resists her advances, being unmoved by what he sees as simple lust; he prefers to go hunting. The next day, at dawn, Venus discovers the body of the dead Adonis, who has been killed by a wild boar. The poem closes with her lament;
Venus and Adonis has less relevance for most modern readers than do Shakespeare's dramas. Conventions that largely lack meaning today contribute to the overall tone and texture of the poem, and the work is now often perceived as frigidly artificial and remote from real human experience. But although its characterization and plotting are feeble by comparison with the plays, Venus boasts many charming passages. Moreover, and much more important, the poem does in fact deal with a humanly significant theme, sexual love.
Shakespeare dedicated Venus and Adonis to the Earl of Southhampton—a classically educated and highly sophisticated patron of the arts—thus indicating his intention that the poem be received as a fashionable exercise in delicate eroticism, deftly constructed in an artificial and elaborately rhetorical classical manner. From the literature available to Elizabethan readers, the poet turned to the best source for such a poem, the works of the Latin master of erotic poetry, Ovid, which he probably knew both in Latin and in the English translation by Arthur Golding (1567). In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Adonis reciprocates Venus' love, but Shakespeare followed a variant of the tale that was also well known in England, incorporating elements from other Ovidian stories and portraying the mortal's rejection of the goddess. The epigraph to the dedication—promising a work meant for a select audience—comes from another work by Ovid, Amores. Classical literature was entirely familiar to 16th-century readers, and, in associating his work with
Ovid's, Shakespeare was plainly declaring his intention to be similarly witty, charming, and delicately sensual. Some details, especially the episode of the stallion and the mare, were probably inspired by passages in the Georgics of VIRGIL, the greatest of Latin poets.
Shakespeare was probably also influenced by HeroAnd Leander, by Christopher Marlowe. The date of composition of this poem is unknown—it was unfinished when the poet died in early 1593—and it was not published until 1598, but Shakespeare had probably read it in manuscript; certainly Hero and Leander's unprecedented combination of wit and luxuriant sensuousness was unique before Shakespeare wrote his poem. Like Hero and Leander, Venus and Adonis was scandalously popular, to judge by the many references to it, both delighted and disapproving. It has often been speculated that the ferocity of the controversy impelled Shakespeare to follow Venus with a much primmer narrative poem. The Rape of Lucrece.
Venus and Adonis may be seen as simply a trivial entertainment, intended to attract the patronage of a cultured aristocrat. Or the poem may be given more weight and viewed as a scintillating example of Renaissance art, an evocation of ancient ideals equivalent to, say, the paintings of Botticelli. Still, the thematic richness of the plays, which even at their weakest are intent on exploring ideas and human relations, suggest that a work by Shakespeare must have more point than simple entertainment or beauty. However, the moral to be found in Venus and Adonis has proven elusive, and the poem has been assessed in many different ways. Some critics feel that Venus is a failure, an immature effort that is confused and uncertain because the author was himself unclear about the nature of love and lust and therefore resorted to humor to patch up his undeveloped work. Others see the poem as a delightfully erotic comedy, a celebration of sexual passion. Although Adonis dies, his story is couched in humor, and his death is not a tragic one—his corpse vanishes into air and his blood becomes the goddess' nosegay. Still other readers find one of two tragic lessons in Venus. Accepting the erotic passages as indicative of the poet's attitude, one may see Adonis' death as the pathetic outcome of his cold and foolish aversion to love and sex. On the other hand, the horror of his death and Venus' condemnation of love at the end of the poem may be thought to condemn lust as a primal force of destruction.
All of these viewpoints offer salient truths about the poem; as is so often the case when considering Shakespeare, the most productive response combines various theories. Like Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra in particular, Venus deals with perhaps the most difficult emotion to understand, love, and all three works present an essential paradox: love, an obvious manifestation of an elemental life force, is often tied to a self-destructive inclination towards death. Thus two irreconcilable attitudes about love are established, and the poem, like the plays, attempts to resolve the opposition between them.
One must start with a pervasive and obviously positive aspect of Venus and Adonis: the poem is unquestionably funny. Venus' overbearing seizure of Adonis, beginning in line 25, is a virtual parody of male aggressiveness; the description of the stolid Adonis as a tiny, terrified waterbird (lines 86-87) provides a droll juxtaposition; Venus' erotic characterization of her own body as landscape (lines 229-240) is sufficiently amusing to extract a smile even from Adonis. Even at a moment of revulsion, as Venus first sees Adonis' corpse, the famous simile of the shrinking snail (lines 1033-1036) offers an irresistibly whimsical image that softens the blow; the situation is not permitted to inspire horror.
In a similar spirit, the poem boasts frequent vivid and sensual representations of country life—from such minor images as the comparison of the captive Adonis to a trapped bird (lines 67-68) or that of Venus to a 'milch doe, whose swelling dugs do ache' (line 875), to the more elaborate descriptions of the boar (lines 619-630), the boar hounds (lines 913-924), and the hunted hare (lines 679-708). Particularly impressive is the fully developed anecdote of Adonis' stallion in pursuit of a mare (lines 258-324), the last couplet of which is itself a handsome miniature landscape. Venus' repeated enthusiasm for physical love (e.g., in lines 19-24) is part of the same charming presentation of the sensual life. The poem offers an idyllic world populated by delightful plants and animals, needing only the consummated love of man and goddess—or so Venus asserts—to complete the picture.
However, a distinctly darker strain complicates matters. Venus' attraction to Adonis is not simply a delightful infatuation, but rather a fever of the soul; she tears at her beloved like a bird of prey (lines 55-58) and, when she refuses to stop kissing him, he is compared to a forcibly tamed hawk and a deer pursued to exhaustion (lines 560-561). Conversely, Adonis rejects not only Venus herself but also her idea of love, which he equates with lust, in a passage (lines 787-798) strikingly reminiscent of Sonnet 129, which decries lust as 'Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame' (see SONNETS). For Venus, love is entirely involved with physical life, but it is only in death that Adonis can find love, as he conceives it; he says, 'I know not love . . . unless it be a boar, and then I chase it' (lines 409-410). Thus Venus and Adonis represent opposing points of view: the goddess finds fulfillment in the delights of sensuality, while the mortal man conceives of an ideal spiritual state.
We can see that the poem often supports Adonis' position by subtly undercutting that of Venus, and vice versa. The comical sight of Venus plucking Adonis from his horse (line 30) reflects the more serious point that her powers of seduction are so inadequate that she is reduced to this undignified action. When Venus argues—as Shakespeare himself does in several of the sonnets—that love is the most appropriate human activity because it leads to reproduction (lines 163-174), she seems to represent the life force, but in the very next line all such high purpose is lost, as 'the love-sick queen began to sweat'. Even one of Venus' most delightful tactics—her somewhat lewd yet humorous description of herself in terms of landscape (lines 229-240)—results only in her further humiliation; Adonis smiles in disdain, she is reduced to helplessness by his dimples, and the poet remarks, 'being mad before, how doth she now for wits?' (line 249). However, Adonis' ideal is similarly weakened. Although he rejects the animal nature of love that Venus extols, he is himself associated with animals throughout the poem, from the early parallels between him and birds, mentioned above, through the symbolism of his runaway horse as a male lover, to his almost sexual union with the boar in mutual death. The attitude of each protagonist is therefore compromised by the manner in which it is presented.
Thus the apparently hopeless dichotomy between Venus and Adonis is resolved even as it is presented, for Shakespeare's ultimate purpose here is to present opposing views as intertwined principles. The poem opens with a paradoxical introduction of the two protagonists: in the first stanza 'rose-cheek'd Adonis' is contrasted with 'sick-thoughted Venus' (lines 3, 5). A standard romantic convention—lovesick male pursues uninterested woman—is here reversed, and this switch is at the heart of Shakespeare's strategy. Venus is a parody of a typical male suitor, while Adonis is presented in a traditionally feminine role, a sex object, especially in lines 541-564, where he is virtually raped. He is also associated with imagery suggestive of women's physical charms, as in lines 9, 50, 247-248, and, most strikingly, 1114-1116, where the boar's death blow is described in sexual terms. (Adonis' femininity is sometimes taken as evidence of a homosexual inclination in Shakespeare, but the image seems to function quite well in the poem without such a conclu sion. However, it does certainly suppose the acceptability of homoerotic ideas to both the poet and his audience.) The confusion of gender anticipates the conjunction of the two points of view that is reached in the closing stanzas.
The poem simultaneously views love in contradictory ways. Though love is the noblest of imaginable even ridiculous, grounded as it is in the physical desires embodied by Venus' lust. Although Adonis' death is brought about by his rejection of Venus' idea of love, it does not discredit her essentially comic approach; instead, it adds to it a tragic element, that of humanity's unachievable aspiration. Love's complicated blend of opposing qualities is asserted in the description of love in Venus' closing lament: 'Sorrow on love hereafter shall attend, [and it] shall be raging mad, and silly mild, make the young old, the old become a child.... It shall be merciful and too severe, and most deceiving when it seems most just' (lines 1136-1156). While Venus is 'weary of the world' (line 1189) at the tale's end, yet she also has been able to realize that, for all its pain, love may 'enrich the poor with treasures' (line 1150). This is the theme that the poem offers its readers, in as fine and showy a setting as the young Shakespeare could devise.
Venus and Adonis is a flawed, youthful work. The two protagonists display little credible personality; differences in tone within the poem seem to reflect indecisiveness on Shakespeare's part; in particular, Venus' final position, in which she seems to reject love in light of Adonis' death, is uncomfortably at odds with her earlier, much lighter attitude. Therefore, many readers simply accept the pleasures of the poem's numerous delightful passages and disregard an otherwise seemingly unrewarding text. However, the poem is much richer than this. Like Shakespeare's greater works, it is concerned with the human predicament, and it illuminates the young playwright's attitude towards one of his most important concerns, sexual love.
In the poem's dedication Shakespeare calls his work 'the first heir of my invention', and this is sometimes taken as evidence that Venus and Adonis was written before any of the plays. However, most scholars agree that it is much more likely to have been written between June 1592, when the London theatres were closed because of a plague epidemic, and April 1593, when the poem was registered with the Stationers Regiser. During this enforced break in his promising career, the young playwright turned to a mode of literature that was far more prestigious at the time. Thus the reference in the dedication is taken to allude to the poet's first effort at 'serious' writing. Not only was poetry regarded as the only important branch of literature, while the stage was still somewhat disreputable, but, under the patronage system that prevailed until long after Shakespeare's death, it was potentially much more profitable than a career in the theatre.
Venus and Adonis was first published in 1593 by the printer Richard Field in a Quarto edition (known today as Ql), of which only one copy—in Oxford's Bodleian Library—has survived. Field, who also printed The Rape of Lucrece, was probably a friend of Shakespeare's, and this fact, plus the great care with which both texts were printed, suggests that the narrative poems were the only works whose publication was supervised by Shakespeare himself. Venus was very popular, and eight more editions were published during Shakespeare's lifetime. These are known as Q2-Q9 (plus one that is unnumbered, since only a titlepage has survived), though all but Q2 were actually published in an octavo format. A tenth edition, Q10, appeared shortly after Shakespeare's death. Each of these editions was simply a reprint of one of its predecessors, incorporating such minor alterations as the printers saw fit to make, and, while they all contain variant readings, none is thought to reflect any changes that Shakespeare made. Q.1 is therefore regarded as the only authoritative text, and it is the basis for all modern editions.
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[Home] [Upcoming Shows] [HSC Venues] [Past Productions] [Articles] [HSC Programs] | <urn:uuid:24265387-dab0-489c-8af8-889b8059686a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://hudsonshakespeare.org/Shakespeare%20Library/Commentaries/commvenus_and_adonis.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968535 | 3,136 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Dorothea Lynde Dix Biography (1802-1887)
- social reformer
Dorothea Dix is known for her pioneering work in the field of mental health.Horrified at the abusive conditions in which the mentally ill were kept, Dixcampaigned to have hospitals built to treat the mentally ill.
Born on April 4, 1802, Dix was the only daughter of Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow Dix. The Dix family, which included Dorothea's two younger brothers, was very poor, and Dorothea was often sent to Boston to live with her grandparents. At age 14, Dix took a job as a teacher in Worcester, Massachusetts. At age19, Dix founded a school for young ladies in Boston. Unfortunately, Dix suffered from tuberculosis, and by 1927, her health become perilous. She was forced to stop teaching, and spent a good deal of time during her recuperation writing. She had a number of works published, including a science textbook called Conversations on Common Things (1824); Ten Short Stories for Children (1827); Meditations for Private Hours (1828); The Garlandof Flora (1829); and The Pearl or Affection's Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present (1829).
In 1830, believing herself to be fully recovered, Dix resumed teaching, at the same time caring for her ill grandmother. Over the next five years, she worked a grueling schedule as a teacher and a nurse to her grandmother, culminating in a severe relapse of her lung disease. Over the course of the next 18 months, Dix again tried to rest and recuperate, this time at the home of a friend in London.
While in England, Dix read of the French doctor Philippe Pinel, who had worked towards prison reform at the end of the 1700s. Dix also studied about the Englishman William Tuke, who had opened a sanitorium for mentally ill called the Retreat at York. The activism of Pinel and Tuke served as a template for Dix, and she returned to the United States in 1837, committed to examining howthe mentally ill were being treated. As it turned out, her health was stillnot sufficiently strong enough for this undertaking, and her recovery took until 1841. During this time, her grandmother died, leaving Dix an inheritancewhich relieved her of the need to continue teaching in order to support herself.
Finally, in 1841, Dix paid a visit to an East Cambridge, Massachusetts, jail,where she intended to teach Sunday school. She inquired as to where the mentally ill (then referred to as the "insane") were kept, and she was escorted into a horrifying underground chamber, where mentally ill women were housed infrigid, filthy conditions.
Dix was ignited by what she saw. She began to lobby various community leaders, imploring them to join her in her mission to improve conditions for the mentally ill. Three famous activists joined her cause: Horace Mann, the famous educator; Charles Sumner, the abolitionist; and Samuel Gridley Howe, head of the Perkins Institute for the blind. These three were colloquially referred toas the "three horsemen of reform" in Massachusetts. Dix spent the next 18 months visiting various Massachusetts poorhouses and prisons, and documenting the circumstances in which she found the mentally ill. Over and over again, Dix was horrified to find these poor unfortunates caged, chained, bound, inadequately fed, abused, and tortured by the very people who should have been their protectors, but who had instead become their captors. With the help of Mann, Howe, and Greely, Dix was able to secure legislation and funding to appropriately house and care for the mentally ill at Worcester State Hospital.
Dix then reached out beyond Massachusetts, again investigating and documenting the conditions in which the mentally ill were housed in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Over time, Dix wassuccessful in most of these states, and new state hospitals for the mentallyill were established in Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Her successes in these states sent her further afoot to states in the Midwest and South, and to parts of eastern Canada. Dix had a variety of successes in these locations, but failed at getting federal legislation passed to set aside moneyto support the mentally ill, blind, deaf, and mute nationwide.
Unable to gain support for this federal fund, in 1854 Dix turned her attention to Scotland and England, where she was able to convince both Queen Victoriaand then Parliament of the need to improve the asylums in Scotland. Dix traveled the European continent in 1855, visiting France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, and Germany. Her strong, persuasive convictions, coupled with her talent for dramatically conveyingthe horror of the plight of the mentally ill, won support for her cause at many stops.
In 1861, Dix undertook a new cause, and accepted an appointment to superintendent of U.S. Army nurses. This put Dix into the position of training the women who would serve as nurses during the Civil War. Dix's tenure in this role was somewhat controversial. She (as always) felt very strongly about how thistraining should be undertaken, and by whom. This cost her a good deal of criticism, among other reasons because Dix made a mandatory rule that she would only accept middle-aged, homely women into the program. Still, her tireless commitment also won her praise and awards.
After the Civil War, Dix returned to championing the cause of the mentally ill. She continued to travel the United States, investigating and documenting,lobbying and persuading. She even met with an official from Japan about conditions for the mentally ill in his country, and was successful in encouragingJapan to build a hospital in 1875.
In 1881, Dorothea Dix was 79 years old. She set out on her last tour of New England and New York, ultimately retiring to Trenton, New Jersey. Here she lived on the grounds of the New Jersey State Hospital, the very first hospital for which she had lobbied, until her death on July 17, 1887. | <urn:uuid:62864a3c-0096-4790-a2f3-ff90cec56e57> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.faqs.org/health/bios/93/Dorothea-Lynde-Dix.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00186-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979374 | 1,305 | 3.125 | 3 |
More than 90 percent of the world's gold has been produced following the rushes of the mid- to late 1800s [source: World Gold Council]. The entire process of gold mining can be broken down roughly into four steps: prospecting, mining, extracting and refining.
Early discoveries of gold relied on the blind luck of someone spotting a yellow glint in a stream or in a crack between rocks. But the search today is more systematic and precise. First, geologists know more about how gold forms. They know, for example, that the metal is present in almost all rocks and soil, but the grains are so small that they're invisible. Only in a few areas is the gold concentrated enough to be mined profitably. Scientists, known as prospectors or explorationists, search for these deposits. This is known as prospecting. Sometimes, these deposits contain pure gold. In most deposits, however, gold is combined with silver or another metal. After finding indications of gold, scientists drill to obtain samples from below the surface, which they analyze for their gold content. If there's enough gold in the deposit, the mining company may set up a large-scale mining operation.
How gold is mined depends on the deposits. Lode deposits are concentrations of gold found in solid rock. If the gold-bearing rock is located at the earth's surface, the mining company will use open-pit techniques. First, miners drill a pattern of holes, which they then fill with explosives. Next, they detonate the explosives to break up the ground so it can be loaded into haul trucks.
If the lode deposit is located beneath the Earth's surface, underground mining is necessary. In this case, miners drill a shaft, or an adit, into the ground to access the lode. Then they dig long vertical tunnels, known as stopes, that extend from the top of the ore block to the bottom. After they drill and load explosives into the ore block, the miners detonate the explosives, causing broken ore to fall to the bottom of the stope. There, ore is loaded into trucks and taken to the surface.
Placer deposits -- accumulations of loose gold in the sediments of a streambed or a beach -- are mined differently. Miners scoop up sand, gravel and rock, and mix it with generous amounts of water. The gold, because of its greater density, sinks faster than the other materials and collects at the bottom. Many miners use a metal or plastic pan to separate the gold from sediments, a process known as panning. | <urn:uuid:eb0c5c23-e043-43ca-b2fc-1c5080bb8c95> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://science.howstuffworks.com/gold3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955263 | 521 | 4.03125 | 4 |
Shingle Creek's average household size has historically been
Between 1980 and 2000, the majority of households in Shingle Creek were families. The number of family households decreased, even though they remained a large portion of Shingle Creek's overall household composition. The number of people living alone increased, whether they were over or under age 65. Households of people who live together but are not related to each other also increased slightly between 1980 and 1990.
The percentage of people living alone was lower in Shingle Creek than in Minneapolis between 1980 and 2000, but it increased at a faster rate than the city. In 1980 only 15 percent of Shingle Creek residents lived alone compared to 38 percent citywide, and in 2000, 25 percent of Shingle Creek residents lived alone compared to 40 percent citywide.
Shingle Creek has a low proportion of seniors living alone, and this proportion remained fairly stable since 1980 in spite of an increase in the overall elderly population. In 2000 at 25 percent, Shingle Creek had a lower percentage of households with people 65 or older living alone than the citywide percentage of 37 percent.
The proportion of families with children under 18 decreased in Shingle Creek from 43 percent in 1980 to 41 percent in 1990, and then increased to 48 percent in 2000. The neighborhood proportion of families with children is slightly smaller than Minneapolis', where 50 percent of the families have children under 18.
Last updated Sep 27, 2011 | <urn:uuid:2a60be12-b788-4d3c-8709-69fc56c4dddd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.minneapolismn.gov/neighborhoods/shinglecreek/neighborhoods_shinglecreek_households | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00153-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965838 | 297 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This short clip from the movie “We Were Soldiers” is one of the best examples of leadership I’ve found on film. I apologize for the film quality, but the lesson is valuable and worth your time. Here are my summary points from the film clip.
- Stop blaming people and teach them how to identify and solve the systemic sources of their problems
- Don’t remove performance expectations; instead, help folks meet and exceed those expectations
- Accept the person even when you can’t accept the performance
- You are a resource – never do the work for them
The goal of leadership should be to produce purposeful, autonomous employees that are interdependent with you, never dependent upon you. This is a process that takes time, effort, and continuous learning. The process starts with continually holding yourself accountable for your own self-development as a person and as a leader, then holding yourself accountable for helping those you’ve been given the privilege to lead become increasingly more autonomous and self-accountable.
Teach your folks how to solve problems and resist with every fiber of your being the temptation to do the work for them. Paternalistic leadership might make you feel good about yourself, but it makes your followers dependent upon you, and that’s not good for either them or you.
See yourself as a resource, not “the source”. Leadership liberates others by enabling them to find meaning and full responsibility in their roles. If you insist on trying to be an oracle of leadership, your folks will never reach their full potential, which means you will never reach your full potential and your organization will be mired in mediocrity.
Never get the socks and powder for your folks (from the film). Hold yourself accountable for leading others in a way that encourages and enables them to do it for themselves. | <urn:uuid:48752b0f-e923-43a4-a5c4-5e7d5db0a435> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2011-04/resourceful-leadership/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952904 | 381 | 2.796875 | 3 |
UNESCO to Help Revive Alexandria's Ancient Library
Egypt and the UN cultural body, UNESCO, are reviving the 2000-year-old Great Alexandria Library, one of the largest libraries in the world.
The $200 million project, sponsored by UNESCO, has received donations from countries around the globe and considerable attention since its inception in 1989. A symbol of international cultural awareness, it has taken slightly more than five years to prepare it for its inauguration early next year.
The library was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which stood for 16 centuries before collapsing in an earthquake in AD 1349.
Some historians say it burned down when Julius Caesar's legions sacked the city in 48 BC. Others say parts of it survived until the Arab invasion of Egypt more than 600 years later.
The modern library will contain around half a million volumes initially, with an eventual capacity of eight million books. It will accommodate 2,500 people in 300 study cells. An estimated 10,000 visitors are expected daily.
The library will include space for audio-visual items such as slides, tapes, CD ROMs, Internet access and videos. A planetarium and conference center will seat more than 3,500 people.
"The Bibliotheca Alexandrina has never disappeared from its ancient site. In physical reality maybe, but the contributions of the scholars, the knowledge emitted from this library, has formed the basis of our current civilization," said project manager Mohsen Zahran.
“This hall is the greatest single reading hall in any library in the world," Zahran added. "As the ancient library has been the source of knowledge for our present civilization, this one is also ours. We owe the Bibliotheca Alexandrina its revival. Visitors from overseas feel it is theirs, they are part of it." Zahran said there were no problems from the state regarding censorship of materials donated from abroad.
"It is known that this is a public research library," said Zahran.
"According to a policy drawn up by UNESCO experts in the late 1980s, we are required to use various research library references to comply with world-class standards." He said a panel of local and international experts was brought in to recommend which references would be used in specialized fields.
"This is an Egyptian project from the very beginning that has been implemented with international support," Zahran said. "It is everybody's project now. It is going to serve the world community." The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is next to the University of Alexandria Faculty of Arts campus, in Shatby, and overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.
In supporting the revival project, brainchild of Alexandrian historian Mustafa al-Abbadi more than 20 years ago, the international community has taken the first step towards effacing the disaster caused by a fire that burned down the old library more than 1600 years ago.
The inauguration was delayed because of the late arrival of certain shipments due to adverse weather conditions in the Mediterranean. Zahran said more than a thousand workers were working 24 hours a day in two shifts to meet the construction deadline.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
- Washington Post: Alexandria Library Prompts Hopes for Intellectual Revival in Egypt
- Bibliotheca Alexandrina - The Eighth Wonder of the World?
- British-Egyptian Bibliotecha Alexandria revival project completed
- Alexandria Library to Open Officially in February
- Egypt Denies Israel Contributed to Alexandria Library | <urn:uuid:db6a6bbd-4757-417b-a5af-c04297e1adbf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.albawaba.com/news/unesco-help-revive-alexandrias-ancient-library | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00178-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950911 | 716 | 2.765625 | 3 |
|ProActive HowTo :: Odd characters in your content : Â, Ï¿½, â&8364;œ|
Odd characters can sometimes appear in your web pages - mostly these show up as a ?. The reason for this is due to the fact that the browser does not understand the character it is trying to display and therefore displays the ?.
There are a number of reasons why these odd characters can appear in your work.
Repairing these odd characters in the first 2 instances above can be done by opening the article in the editor and removing the character or retype the character, then save the article - make sure you view the page to ensure you have removed all instances.
- Copying and pasting directly from some web pages
- Copying and pasting from MSWord, Excell, Powerpoint or other Microsoft applications.
- VISTA users - having additional keyboards loaded
Vista users - to Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region > Change keyboards or other input methods. From the resulting dialog click "Change keyboards". Ensure there is only one keyboard and that is either US or English.
see also Copying from MS Word and other web pages
Microsoft Word making weird characters in your article?
You have created a new article, carefully copied it into editor, pressed the Save button, and then visited the page to check your work - only to find weird characters throughout.
You may find odd characters or question marks or other gibberish characters such as strange accented A's strewn about your article, but whatever they are, they┴ are┴ certáinly not┴ welcome┴.
A closer inspection reveals that the weird characters have replaced quotation marks, apostrophes, dashes, indentation, copyright, degrees and other special characters. One cause of this is writing and formatting in Microsoft Word before copy/pasting into ProActive Ś if Word is set to use "smart quotes" (curly quotes). Unfortunately, while Microsoft Word is great for writing, it's a word processing program - meaning that it's output is intended for print. And printer characters such as smart quotes have no direct Web translation, so they get replaced by weird characters.
Web browsers use a set of standard fonts so that your output can be displayed properly on a website.
When you see content containing trademark symbols and other gibberish in place of apostrophes (or similar gibberish), you now know how that came to be: copy/pasting from Microsoft Word without turning off "smart quotes".
How to turn off Smart Quotes in Microsoft Word
You can fix this on future articles by turning off smart quotes in Word:
* On the Tools menu:
click AutoCorrect Options, and then click the AutoFormat As You Type tab
* Under Replace as You Type:
select or clear the "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes" check box
Then, before you cut/paste into ProActive, make sure there are no curly quotes in the document; if there are, just use Search/Replace to replace them with straight quotes.
see also Adding special characters to your work
| || | | <urn:uuid:efdf54d2-b3a5-4f88-8782-fafd08fcbb5c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.proactivecms.com/index.php?id=135 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00050-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.887893 | 658 | 3.015625 | 3 |
LABOUR FORCE According to The National Disability Strategy (2011):
Work is essential to an individual's economic security and is important to achieving social inclusion. Employment contributes to physical and mental health, personal wellbeing and a sense of identity. Income from employment increases financial independence and raises living standards. 4
The economic independence employment brings is also important as it helps people with disabilities to exercise more choice in their lives, aids them to live independently and facilitates their inclusion in the community. These are all issues covered in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Article 27 of the United Nations Conventions also recognises: the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities 7.
Labour force participation
Labour force outcomes for people with disabilities remained below this UN target in 2009. Of those aged 15-64 years and living in households, 54% were participating in the labour force, compared to 83% of the non-disabled population. Women with disabilities were particularly affected, with a participation rate of 49%, well below the 60% participation rate of males with disabilities and the 77% participation rate of females without disabilities.
A person’s disability status factored heavily into whether or not they were likely to be participating in the labour force. Those with a profound level of core activity limitation had a labour force participation of 17%, much lower than the participation rate of the non-disabled population (Graph 40).
Historical data indicates there has been little progress in relation to improving the labour force outcomes for people with disabilities over the 16 years from 1993 to 2009. Graph 41 shows the labour force participation rates have been stagnant for all people with disabilities.
People with a disability who were employed were more likely to be working part-time (38%) than those with no disability (31%) (Graph 42). When these data are examined by sex however, it becomes evident that females with disabilities have a much higher rate of part-time employment (56% of females with disabilities who are employed) than males with disabilities (22% of males with disabilities who are employed).
Of those people aged 15-64 years who were living in households and had disabilities, over 51% reported being restricted in the type of job they can do. In terms of other employment restrictions experienced by people with disabilities, 30% reported they were restricted in the number of hours they could work and 41% reported having difficulty changing jobs or getting a preferred job.
When people with disabilities were employed and required an average of one day a week away from work because of their condition, the type of arrangements they used were influenced by whether they worked full-time or part-time (Graph 43). People working part-time most often reported using ‘flexible hours’ to accommodate the time off they needed (53%), while those working full-time were most likely to report 'sick leave' (35%).
Of those people with disabilities reporting needing other special employer arrangements to enable or assist them to do their jobs, 37% reported needing special equipment and 22% needed to be allocated different duties (Graph 44).
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A Bit and Bytes of Knowledge On How GigE Operates
Several technologies that transmit Ethernet at a speed of a gigabit per second is known as GigE in full gigabit Ethernet. There is a specification for gigabit links of half duplex to be connected although the normal links are full duplex. They have bandwidths of Ethernet that can be as high up to ten gigabit. Therefore higher speeds of internet than ever experienced before.
Ethernet protocol that was available before is the basis of gigabit Ethernet just speeds increased like ten times more. These speeds have widened options available by internet and made these options cheaper. For these speeds to be increased changes here and there have been made on Ethernets physical interface.
Ethernet and gigabit Ethernet look similar the difference being the area of the data link upwards. They have merged two different technologies known as IEEE 802.3 and another known as ANSI X3T11. This has stabilized the resulting technology. This merge was necessary so as to improve and upgrade the technology that existed before but was at much slower speed.
Use of balanced copper cables, twisted pair cables and optical fiber by gigabit Ethernet has five different physical layer of standards. The afore mentioned IEEE 802.3z type of standards has an inclusion of various types of interface to transmit over single mode fiber, multi mode fiber and also balanced copper cabling. The standards employ some sort of encoding that inflates the line rates and ensures the DC signal is balanced. The encoding scheme employed by IEEE 802.3ab is different this is to keep the symbol rate as low as it can get at the same time it allows for transmitting of the same over some twisted pair.
The transmitting of gigabit Ethernet over fiber is known as 1000BASE X with different options. 1000BASE SX a fiber optic operation that is applied over multi fibers works over much longer distances. The 1000BASE CX is over cabling of two axials. 1000BASE LX employs long wavelength laser and 1000BASE LX 10 which is same as 1000BASE LX the difference being that it can achieve a longer distance. The rest are 1000BASE T, 1000BASE ZX and 1000BASE BX10.
The standard referred to as 1000BASE T is one that uses gigabit Ethernet over copper wiring. One of these standards can have a length of a hundred meters maximum of network segment and has to have auto negotiation. Auto negotiation is the negotiation of a clock source whereby one shall be the master and the other the slave.
There is a standard that is referred to as 10 gigabit Ethernet also referred to as 10GBASE T that is set to provide speeds as fast as 10 billion bits in a single second. Other than being really fast it is also less expensive while providing technology that is consistent. It employs the use of optical fiber and is set to replace networks that use SONET multiplexers and ATM switches. In addition to that it also employs the use of IEEE802.3 and will interconnect LAN (Local Area network), WAN (Wide Area Network) and MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) it will also have the capability to support long distances of up to forty km on a single mode fiber.
Ethernet has greatly improved over time and provides efficient and affordable connection. This has been achieved by upgrades and some changes. It was created with a main goal and this was to increase speeds and yet not make customers stop use of network equipment they already had. | <urn:uuid:a81e92f6-7365-42d2-a1bf-5c98ad53932f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gige.us.com/gig-e-internet-services | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965407 | 711 | 3.609375 | 4 |
noun[mass noun] Zoology
The ability of chameleons and some other animals to change colour.
- Our data also emphasize the dual neural and endocrine character of metachrosis in the Ambystoma larva.
- Color changing or metachromatism or metachrosis is common in chordates and in vertebrates such as fish, amphibians and in some types of lizards.
- Melanophore cells are the main controls for metachrosis.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: meta|chro¦sis
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
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Apps for People with Disabilities and Older People
- Integrated accessibility on your smartphone or tablet
- Before you purchase or download an app
- Apps for people with a visual impairment
- Apps for people with a hearing impairment
- Apps for people with communication difficulties
- Apps for people with Alzheimers or Dementia
- Apps for people with Autism and other related disorders
- Apps for people with mobility difficulties
- Useful addresses
Smartphones and tablet PCs have revolutionised mobile technology and the way we communicate today. They have also transformed the Assistive Technology (AT) market for people with disabilities. These mainstream devices provide people with mini-computers they can use 'on the go' and they are much more affordable than many dedicated AT or AAC devices.
The introduction of apps (software applications that run on mobile devices and tablets) has further revolutionised the way we use our phones. These ‘apps’ which can be downloaded to your smartphone or tablet PC provide a particular service or allow you to interact with a website. For example, the LUAS app provides a realtime timetable of the trams at each station along the green and red line. There are thousands of apps available for download with new ones constantly being developed, so there is probably already an app for any task you need to complete.
There are apps available that have been designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities, for example, Prologue2Go, a text-to-speech app for people who have difficulty with their speech. Being able to download apps to your smartphone or tablet PC means you have a small, integrated device to store everything you need, rather than having a number of pieces of stand-alone equipment. This makes it cheaper, easier and more efficient for people with disabilities to perform a wide range of tasks. It can also help to remove the stigma of having a large dedicated A.T. device that stands-out, as these days everyone walks around with a phone in their hand! For example, before the introduction of smartphones and apps, someone with a visual impairment may have needed to bring a number of items out and about to ‘see’ for them. They may have carried a money recognition device, a colour recognition device, a screen-reader and a magnifier. Now they can download a screen-reader app, magnifier app, money recognition app and colour recognition app to their phone and just carry the software around.
As the app market is constantly growing and changing, it would be impossible to list all the relevant disability apps on Assist Ireland. Instead, we will just describe the main types of apps available with examples, and provide links to where you can browse and download them yourself.
Before looking at the apps in more detail, it is worthwhile first talking about the smartphone and tablet devices. Some of these devices could in fact be described as assistive technology as they have recently been developed to include various accessible features which can simply be 'turned on' if required, making them easier to use for people with disabilities.
INTEGRATED ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES ON YOUR SMARTPHONE OR TABLET
Different smartphones run on different operating systems. The operating system is the software the phone uses to provide all its functionality and it determines how the person navigates around their phone, accesses the internet, finds and downloads apps and their general experience of the phone. Some phones operating systems’ are more accessible for people with disabilities than others, though most phones today have some basic accessibility functions that make them easier to use. The main operating systems are Apple iOS, Android, Symbian, Blackberry OS and Windows. Let’s take a look at just some of the access features integrated into the two main operating systems, Android and Apple iOS.
Apple Operating System (iOS)
The Apple iOS (currently Version 9) is the Operating System used for Apple iPad tablets, iPhone smartphones and the iPod touch. This operating system has a number of integrated functions that allow or improve access for people with disabilities. Older versions of the phone may run on older versions of the operating system so may not have all the features listed here. To access most accessibility options in your iPhone, go to Settings-General-Accessibility.
- VoiceOver: is a built-in screenreader that allows you to use the iPhone even if you can't see the screen. You touch the screen to hear a description of the item under your finger, so for example it will announce battery level, whose calling or which app your fingers on. You then double-tap to activate the feature you need. When you are typing a note, email, or text message, VoiceOver echoes each character on the keyboard as you touch it, and again to confirm when you enter it. It can also speak each completed word if required. VoiceOver also includes a Braille keyboard, enabling direct braille entry.
- Zoom: lets you magnify the entire screen of any application you are using to help you see what is on the display. Double-tap on the screen to enable Zoom, then you can adjust the magnification from 100% to 1,500%.
- Siri: allows you to perform tasks on your phone hands-free using just your voice. You can send messages, schedule meetings, make phone calls, and more. This voice recognition functionality can be useful for people with a visual impairment or people with limited dexterity. Siri is also integrated with VoiceOver so you can ask Siri a question and hear the answer read out loud.
- Speak Screen: reads the contents of a page back to you, for example you can use Speak Screen to read out your email, iMessages, webpages, and books. This may be helpful if you have a hard time reading the text on your device.
- Dictation: is a speech-to-text feature that allows you to speak what you want typed. To access Dictation, tap the microphone button on the keyboard, say what you want to write, and your device converts your words into text.
- Face Time: provides video calling, which allows people to see the caller on their screen in real-time. This can be helpful for people using sign language or lip reading.
- Font Adjustments: allows you to convert the text to a larger size so it is easier to read. You can also to bold text to make it heavier and easier to see.
- Invert Colors and Grayscale: provides higher contrast or reduces colour to help you see what’s on screen. You can save your preferred settings so that each of the phone’s features and apps use you settings.
- Visible and Vibrating Alerts: provides alternative visual and vibrating alerts for incoming phone calls, new text messages, new and sent mail, and calendar events. You can set an LED light flash for incoming calls and alerts or have incoming calls display a photo of the caller. You can also choose from different vibration patterns or create your own. This can be useful for someone with a hearing impairment.
- Mono Audio: allows you to play both audio channels (left and right) in both ears when using headphones. This means that you don’t miss any audio if you’re deaf or hard of hearing in one ear.
- Closed Captions: allows you to watch movies, TV shows, and podcasts with closed captions. You can customise captions with different styles and fonts.
- Switch Control: allows you to navigate your mobile device using a variety of Bluetooth-enabled switches.
- Guided Access: allows you to disable the ‘home’ button and restrict access to the keyboard or touch input on your mobile device so the user stays focused on one app. It also allows you to limit the amount of time spent in an app. This may help people with attention and sensory challenges to stay focused on one task.
Apple has been the pioneer in accessibility for smartphones and tablets but some of the Android operating systems have started to catch up. Below find details of some of their accessibility functionality.
Android Operating System (Android)
The Android operating system developed by Google is used on a range of different devices including smartphones and tablet PC’s from Samsung, Acer, LG, HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson etc. Therefore it does not have as many integrated accessibility features and not all phones using the Android operating system will have all the accessibility features listed below. If your phone does not have any of these features, you can download them for free in the Android App Store. To access most accessibility options in your Android phone, go to Settings-Accessibility. Some of these accessibility apps are not compatible with older devices working on an older version of the Android operating system.
- Talkback: is a screenreader that provides spoken and vibration feedback to describe your actions on the phone or Tablet, such as when you launch an app, add an event or make and receive calls etc. Soundback, Kickback and Explore by Touch are included in Talkback for devices using Android 4.0 or higher or for older devices are featured separately in the device’s accessibility section. Soundback lets you assign sounds to alert you to actions on your phone, Kickback provides vibration feedback when you perform actions on your phone and Explore by Touch uses speech to describe each item that your finger moves over on the screen.
- Voice Access: let’s you control your Android device with your voice. Using spoken commands, you can activate on-screen controls, launch apps, navigate your device and edit text using your voice rather than touching the screen. This feature requires Android 5.0 or higher to run.
- BrailleBack: allows you to connect a refreshable braille display to your Android device (via Bluetooth) so screen content appears on your braille display. Then you can navigate and interact with your device using the keys on the braille display. You can also input text using the braille keyboard. BrailleBack works with the TalkBack screen reader service to provide a combined speech and braille experience.
- Switch Access: let’s you interact with your Android device using one or more switches. This can be helpful for users with mobility limitations that prevent them from interacting directly with the Android device. This feature only applies to devices running Android 5.0 and higher.
- Captions: allows you to turn on closed captioning for some functionality on your phone. This feature may allow you to see the words in text as they are being spoken in certain apps. You can set the language, text, and style for the closed captioning to suit your needs. Requires Android 4.4 and higher to run.
- Magnification Gestures: allows you to temporarily magnify the screen of your device. When magnification gestures are enabled, you can magnify, pan, and zoom in using a range of different gestures.
- Large Text: increases the text size on your device to the largest available size.
- High Contrast Text: fixes the text colour as either black or white making text easier to read on your device. This feature runs on Android 5.0 and higher.
The other operating systems for mobile devices such as, Windows Mobile OS and Symbian OS are not as widely used and do not have as many accessibility features as the two main OS systems above, but they are all working on improving accessibility in newer versions of their operating systems.
BEFORE YOU PURCHASE OR DOWNLOAD AN APP
Though smartphones and tablets have some integrated accessibility functions, it is the apps (applications) you download that can transform them into a personalised AT device to help you live more independently. There are over four million apps currently available, ranging in cost from free to €200+.
Some apps (whether intentionally or accidentally) can be of huge value to people with disabilities but some apps can also potentially exclude them. For example, app accessibility is very mixed, with some apps being extremely inclusive and others being completely inaccessible. App developers need to think about accessibility when developing their apps to help ensure accessibility and inclusion. Some other issues with apps that you may need to consider in advance of purchase include:
- Some apps are developed by a parent or family member so they have one end-user in mind, therefore they may not suit a wider market/everyone
- Some apps cannot be edited or customised.
- Some apps are only available for download in certain countries
- Some apps are subscription based
- Voice and picture quality can vary
- Some apps may not be compatible with older devices using older versions of operating systems.
It can be quite overwhelming looking for an app as there are so many available, so it is worthwhile getting advice on what might best suit your needs. A Speech and Language Therapist or an Occupational Therapist (OT) may be able to advise you on this, but as apps are a relatively new area, some of them may not have information you require. You could also look at specific organisations, like the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI), DeafHear or Enable Ireland for advice (see their contact details in the Useful Addresses section). These organisations should be able to recommend apps for you based on your needs. There are also a number of websites, blogs and guides that advise and review disability-related apps, see below for details of a few.
- Bridging Apps: online community reviewing apps
- Android Forum: forum with discussions and a Q&A section on Android phones, Tablets and apps
- AbilityNet’s Top 10 Accessible Apps: list of AbilityNet's top-rated apps for accessibility
- AppleVis: a website and forum for blind and low vision users of Apple products
- Apple Apps for AAC: website listing communication apps for Apple devices
- Android Apps for AAC: website listing communication apps for Android devices
- Memory Apps for Dementia: website listing apps for people with Dementia
- Appy Autism: website with information on mobile devices and apps for people with autism
- AT Guide to Accessible Apps, Games and Toys: guide to apps for people with disabilities
- One Place for Special Needs: document listing apps for people with special needs
- ATandMe: website and blog with information on Assistive Technology and apps for people with disabilities
It is recommended that you download your apps from well-known app markets or stores as then you will be less likely to download malware or viruses to your device. You could also look at downloading an anti-virus app for your phone or tablet to protect from this. It is also important to check that the app is compatible with your device and your operating system before you download it. Some apps work best on the newest versions of phones and their operating systems.
Now that you are ready to buy your app, let’s look at where to download them. Apps for iphones and ipads are downloaded from the App Store on iTunes. You can use the App Store directly from your Apple phone or tablet by tapping on the app store icon on your device or by using the App Store in iTunes on your Mac or PC. If you want to buy apps for your Mac, buy them through the Mac App Store instead of iTunes. Before you can buy apps, you need an Apple ID. Your Apple ID is the account that you use to access Apple services such as the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and more. If you don't have an Apple ID, you can create one.
For Android, you can download apps from the Google Play Store. You can download them directly to your Andriod device using the Google Play store icon which will be pre-installed on your phone or Tablet. You will need to create a Google account to access and download apps from the play store.
APPS FOR PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
Having a camera on a phone or tablet PC can be very useful for people with visual impairments because there are apps available that allow you to take a photo of text and the app can read it aloud or magnify it. There are also a range of identification apps that will recognise and speak aloud the colour of an object, value of a note or type of object. You can also download screenreading apps and voice recognition apps. For information on apps for people with visual impairments, you may wish to contact the NCBI, or look at the AppleVis forum, a forum website for blind and low-vision users of Apple's products.
Magnification apps are designed to give a magnified image on the smartphone or tablet screen. Some of these magnification apps work best on newer versions of smartphones which have enhanced autofocus cameras. These are just a taste of some of the magnification apps that are available. To browse through them all you will need to visit the Apple or Android app stores.
- Magnifying Glass with Light (iOS): app that uses the phones camera to transform your iPhone or iPad into a full screen lighted magnifying glass.
- Magnifying Glass Flashlight (Android): app that uses the phones camera to transform your Android device into a lighted magnifier.
- Big Magnify (iOS): magnifying app that uses the devices camera to enlarge items. App has range of magnification options and freeze image functionality.
- Magnifier (Android): magnifying app that uses the devices camera to enlarge items. App has onscreen zoom, lighting controls and freeze image functionality.
- Best Magnifying Glass (Android): app that uses the device's camera to magnify text or images.
- Big Names (iOS): an app that enlarges your contacts list in an extra-large font so it is easier to see when dialling numbers.
- Big Launcher (Android): an app that allows you to customise your home-screen with big buttons and large fonts that represent the phones main functions.
Colour Identification Apps
Apps that use the camera on your phone to identify and speak the name of the colour in front of you.
- Color ID (Android & iOS)
- Color Detector (Android & iOS)
Money Identification Apps
Apps that use your smartphone camera to identify the value of a note. Point the camera at the note and the app will then speak aloud the notes denomination or vibrate to indicate its value.
- Looktel Money Reader (iOS): recognises currency and speaks the notes denomination. Supports 21 different currencies including the Euro, GBP and US Dollar.
- Money Talks Euro (Android): uses the devices camera to recognise and read out the value of the Euro banknote.
Object Identification Apps
Apps that use your smartphone camera to identify objects. Some of these apps use a photo library and/or a bar code scanner to identify objects. They will then speak aloud the type of object in the photo.
- LookTel Recogniser (iOS): app that speaks aloud the description of an object. The user creates a photo library by photographing items and recording descriptions. Once an item is entered into the database, hold the camera in front of the item and the app will speak the recorded description. The app also has a bar code scanner, which speaks the name of the item when you scan the camera over the barcode.
- Ideal Item Identifier (Android): app that reads aloud product descriptions when the user takes a picture of the barcode.
- ScanLife Barcode and QR Reader (Android): app that uses your camera to identify objects using barcodes. Once the codes are scanned, the application starts reading aloud the product details.
- VizWiz (iOS): an identification app that uses crowd-sourcing. You take a picture of an item, record a question and then send the photo and question to your choice of anonymous web volunteers, IQ Engines, your Twitter followers, your Facebook friends, and/or an e-mail contact. Answers are returned to the app and are spoken as they appear.
- TapTapSee (iOS): identification app designed to help the blind and visually impaired identify objects they encounter in their daily lives. Double tap on the screen to take a photo of anything and hear the app speak the identification back to you.
Light Identification Apps
- Light Detector (Android & iOS): app that converts light levels into audio tones, so someone who is blind can detect if a light is on or off. The app uses the phones camera to identify the light source and emits a high or low pitched sound depending on the intensity of the light.
- Seeing Assistant - Light (iOS): app that uses the phones camera to identify a light source. The app emits a continuous sound during operation but the tone of the sound gets higher depending on the intensity of the light.
- Free Motion Light Detector (Android): app that detects changes in light or movements that occur around the user by emitting a beep or vibration. Depending on the level of change the beep tone and duration of the vibration will vary.
Scan and Read Apps
- Text Detective (iOS): app that uses the camera on your smartphone to turn images of text into plain text, which can be read with VoiceOver using speech output or Braille.
- Prizmo (iOS): app that allows users to scan in a text document and have the program read it out loud.
- Text Fairy (Android): app that takes a photo of a document and converts it into a text document that you can listen to by activating the text-to-speech feature.
Your smartphone may already have a screenreader built into its operating system, for example, Apple's VoiceOver or Android’s Talkback (see above). But there are also a number of screenreading apps that you can download to your phone.
- Classic Text-to-Speech (Android): app that reads out texts, e-books and provides navigation in a choice of forty female and male voices.
- Voice Dream Reader (iOS & Android): app that reads out articles, documents and books on your phone or Tablet. Available with a range of voices and languages.
- Voice Brief (iOS): reads aloud a range of notifications from your phones applications including your calendar, weather app, good reader, email and social media apps.
Voice Recognition Apps
These apps allow you to use your voice to navigate between applications, write texts or make calls on your phone. Your phone may have some of this functionality built-in, for example, Siri on iOS but these following apps may offer greater control and customisation.
- Dragon Dictation (iOS): a voice recognition app that allows you to speak your text or email rather than typing it.
- Dragon Mobile Assistant (Android): app that allows you to use your voice to send and receive text messages, post social media updates, write emails and browse the internet.
- Assistant (Siri Alternative) (Android): app that allows you to use your voice to navigate around your phone. You can use voice commands to send emails, dial your contacts, set alarms, reminders and listen to music etc.
Location and GPS Apps
Many phones now have built-in GPS receivers that are sufficient for navigation. The built-in navigation in Android is based on Google's map, with driving and walking directions available. Android will use the built-in text-to-speech on the phone to speak turns as they are approaching. There is also a range of downloadable apps available that use GPS to let you know where you are and what services, businesses or points of interest are in the area. The apps speak this information aloud and can be customised so you hear only what you are looking for, for example, a coffee shop on your route. As these apps are dependent on GPS mapping, some areas may provide more extensive information than others. Examples of such apps include:
- Sendero GPS LookAround App (iOS & Android): app that speaks your location, what direction you are facing and what points of interests are around when you shake your phone.
- Ariadne (iOS): app that tells your position and allows you to monitor it while walking, telling you street numbers or street names. You can save favourite locations into the app and be alerted when you approach one of them. You can be alerted with a sound, vibration or a voice.
- BlindSquare (iOS): app that finds your location using Apple’s GPS then looks up information about your surroundings. When you shake your device it speaks your current address and details of the venues around you.
- Get There GPS (Android): app that tells you where you are and how to get to your destination. It talks to you before and after every intersection and you can ask it to tell you where you are at any time by shaking your mobile device.
- Around Me (Android): app that identifies your position and shows you a list of the businesses around you and the distance to them in a range of categories such as banks, hotels, restaurants, hospitals etc.
There are a range of apps available for people with a visual impairment to help them enjoy books on their mobile device. There are a range of audio book apps that allow you to download and listen to audio books on your phone or tablet. You can also download apps so you can listen to Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) audio books. A DAISY book is a set of electronic files that include audio narration, text marked with special navigation tags, and other files that synchronize the text with the audio.
- Audible (iOS & Andriod): app that allows you to download audio books and listen to them on your device.
- Pastime Audiobook and Podcast Player (iOS): app that plays audio books and podcasts and can be controlled by the user's gestures. Pick an audio book or podcast from the iTunes library, then tap the screen to play or pause it and use swiping motions to fast-forward or rewind it.
- Read2Go (iOS): accessible DAISY player app for Apple devices. Allows you to customise font size, font colour, background colour, highlighting colour, and text-to-speech preferences.
- Darwin Daisy Reader (Android): an app that reads DAISY audio books. Allows you to navigate the app using the arrow keys and all menus are vocalised. You can customise the font and background color, text size, font spacing, voice speed and punctuation speech.
For people who are used to using Braille, there are some apps available that teach you Braille and ones that allow you to type in Braille on your touchscreen. BrailleBack comes as a standard feature on some newer Android devices but can also be downloaded to Android devices that don’t have it. It allows you to connect a refreshable braille display to your Android device (via Bluetooth) so screen content appears on your braille display. Then you can navigate and interact with your device using the keys on the braille display. You can also input text using the braille keyboard.
- BraillePad (iOS): app that allows user to write text messages, emails and social media updates on their device using Braille. To insert a letter you just need to touch each Braille point it is composed of on the device’s screen.
- iBrailler (iOS): app that allows you to use Braille to access and use your Apple device. The app positions the Braille touch keyboard underneath the user’s fingertips, no matter where they set them on the display.
- Super Braille Keyboard (Android): app that allows you to use Braille to access and use your Android device.
- Braille Tutor (iOS & Android): app where you can learn to read and write Braille.
Access and Other Apps
- Fleksy (iOS & Android): an app which allows you to type text on a touchscreen without even looking at it. It has a QWERTY keyboard layout with auto-correct and predictive text that mean you can type every letter in a sentence wrong and it will still predict the correct sentence
- Be My Eyes (iOS): app that connects blind users to a group of sighted volunteers who they can video chat with when required. The sighted person can tell the blind person what they see when the blind user points their phone’s camera at something.
- List Recorder (iOS): app that records voice and text notes so you can make lists or notes using your voice.
- Video Motion Alert (iOS): app that detects motion by using your phones camera. You aim the phone’s camera at the space you’d like to monitor and an alarm will sound if motion is detected.
APPS FOR PEOPLE WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS
There is a range of different apps available for someone with a hearing impairment. For example, video-calling means that people can use sign language over the phone to communicate. There are also a number of captioning apps which can 'text caption' a phone call so you can read anything you did not fully hear during the conversation.
Video-conferencing on a phone or downloading Skype as an App can be very helpful for someone with a hearing impairment as it allows the user to see the caller using sign language. Your phone may already have video calling built into its operating system, for example ‘FaceTime’on iOS. Some of the apps below may also be of use.
- Skype (iOS & Android): an app that provides face-to-face video calls and instant messaging. This means someone who is hard of hearing can use sign language and messaging to converse in real-time using the screen on their phone.
Amplification apps increase sound and send it directly to your ear blocking out background sound.
- SoundAMP R (iOS & Android): app that amplifies sound and speech. You can record conversations and then play them back with louder sound. You need to use wired headphones with this App and it cannot amplify music or phone calls.
- uListen (iOS): a sound amplifier app that makes the sounds picked-up by your phone's microphone sound louder. It is suitable for listening to the TV, increasing the volume of conversations, or for listening to sounds around the house.
- LouderTV (iOS): a personal amplifier app that increases TV sounds for people with hearing impairments. Plug your headphones into your phone and the app will send what is being said on the TV straight to your phone at an increased volume level.
Captioning for Phone Calls
- Hamilton Captel (iOS & Android): a captioning app that captions what is being said on a phonecall, so you can read the bits you miss.
- Clear Captions (iOS & Android): app that adds captions to your phone calls so you can hear and read what’s being said.
- Subtitles (iOS): an app that provides subtitles on your phone so you can play it along with a TV show or movie and read the subtitles on your phone screen. The app only displays the subtitles on your phone.
You can also translate audible alerts to visual or vibration alerts.
- earSensor (iOS): provides visual alerts for any sound your phone makes.
- TapTap (iOS): app that listens and detects warning alarms like fire alarms etc and vibrates to alert you of an alarm.
Voice Recognition Apps
- Dragon Dictation (iOS): speech-to-text app that allows someone to record their speech and have it converted to text so that someone with a hearing impairment can read it. Dragon will transcribe the words as the person is speaking so there is no delay in communication.
APPS FOR PEOPLE WITH COMMUNICATION DIFFICULTIES
Apps to help with communication have made a huge difference to people with communication difficulties. Stand-alone AAC devices are hugely expensive compared to a smartphone/tablet and a communication app, which are cheaper and in most cases a lot more portable. Also many of the well-established AAC software companies have brought out app versions of their software, so people can move to a smartphone/tablet but keep the communication software they are used to. This AAC app area is constantly growing, so below is just a few of the most popular apps in this category. Check the Apps for AAC website for more information http://appsforaac.net
Apple has been the forerunner in AAC apps, so many of the most popular communication apps are only available on iOS at the moment.
Single Message Apps
- TapSpeak Button(iOS): app that turns your device into a single message communication device. You can record a number of messages and store them, then play the one you want when you press the image of a button onscreen.
- AAC My Message (Android): one-message communication app that allows you to record a message and play it back by pressing on the screen.
Sequenced Message Apps
- TapSpeak Sequence (iOS): iPad app that allows you to record and playback customised sequential messages. You can tell a story by recording different sequential sentences/phrases and playing each one back every time you press the onscreen button. The app contains the DynaVox/Mayer-Johnson PCS image library so you can choose one of these icons/images to represent what you have recorded instead of a button image.
Visual Scene Display Apps
- Scene & Heard (iOS): app that enables your Apple device to function as an alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) system. You can build scenes and vocabulary by taking photos with the device or importing from its photo library, then recording voice messages for scenes to ask questions or share stories. The app contains over 10,000 Widgit symbols.
Apps for Whole Message Buttons
- TapToTalk (iOS and Android): communication app that displays a set of pictures onscreen. When you tap a picture, the app plays a word or sentence and then displays another or follow-on screen of pictures relevant to the topic. Each set of pictures can lead to another related screen, and so on. For example, a picture representing Food can lead to a screen with pictures of Fruit, Vegetables, Sandwiches, Snacks and other foods.
- iComm (iOS): this communication app uses words (both written and spoken) and personalised pictures for communication. It organises pictures and their descriptions into nine categories, and pictures can be added, edited or changed to the user's needs. The program includes pictures needed for everyday communication such as "yes","no", "more" and "finished."
Apps for Sentence Construction
- Alexicom AAC (iOS & Android): app that can be used as a stand-alone AAC system. You can create and edit grids using images from your gallery and then use synthesised speech to read aloud sentences and descriptions. The app supports switch access, scanning and bluetooth for remote access to the device. It also provides text-to-speech and word prediction.
- Sounding Board from Ablenet (iOS): app that provides pre-loaded communication boards with symbols and recorded messages to allow communication for those who have difficulty speaking. You can also create your own customised message boards. This app can be accessed by switch scanning for those who cannot touch the screen.
Apps with Symbols and Text to Speech
- AutoVerbal (iOS): AAC app that allows you to communicate in three different ways. You can use built-in phrases which are divided into different categories, you can programme buttons to speak customised messages, or you can type words or sentences which can be spoken using text-to-speech.
- Sono Flex (iOS & Android): AAC vocabulary app that turns symbols into clear speech. App comes with 50 context vocabularies and 11,000 SymbolStix® symbols. The app can be customised and has a choice of voices.
- Prologue2Go (iOS): AAC app that allows you to create onscreen icons that you press to generate sentenceswhich are spoken aloud.
APPS FOR PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMERS OR DEMENTIA
There is a range of apps available to help people with dementia live more independently, including medicine reminder apps, apps that alert a carer if the user falls or wanders as well as reminder apps that alert you to complete or undertake a task.
These apps remind you when your medication is due to be taken. Some of these apps provide an audible reminder when you need to take your medications, while others can provide a visual alert. Pill reminder apps will not work if your phone has no signal, if you put your phone on silent, if your phone's battery runs out or if you do not have your phone with you.
- Pill Reminder (iOS): app that alerts you when you need to take your medicine or refill a prescription. The app has a range of audible alert sounds including an extra loud reminder which may be useful if someone has hearing difficulties. The app has a built-in database of medicines so you can also access information like dosage and side effects for your medication. It lets you add photos of your medication so it is easy to recognise even if the writing on the packets is small. The app also keeps a history of when medications are taken or missed.
- MedCoach (Android & iOS): app that helps you remember to take your medications and pills. You can set up multiple alarms, log the pills you have taken, and there are automatic reminders when you need to refill your prescription. The app links through to a medication database that provides information on medicines.
Fall Detection Apps
These apps are designed to alert a carer or family member if the user has fallen over.
- iFall (Android): app that uses the phone's accelerometer (measures force and acceleration) and tries to detect when a fall has occurred. If a fall is detected, the user is issued a prompt which gives them a chance to clear if it is a false alert. If the alert times out without a user response, their emergency contact is called.
- Fall Alert (Android): app that triggers an alarm if you fall, sending an automatic SMS or phone call to your designated number. GPS coordinates will be attached in the SMS message. It is also possible to activate the function by pressing the 'Panic' button in the app.
- Fall Detection (iOS): app that uses the phone accelerometer to detect if you have a fall. If a fall is detected an email or text message is sent to your designated recipients, providing your GPS location and street address.
These apps are designed to alert a carer or family member if the user wanders off, becomes disorientated or gets lost.
- iWander (iOS & Android): an application that utilises GPS and other locating technologies to identify the location of smartphones on which the app is installed.
- It’s Done! (iOS): this reminder app helps confirm if you have completed tasks throughout the day. You tick 'Done' for each of your routine tasks, like locking the door, then later if you can not remember if you locked the door, the It’s Done! app confirms that the task has been completed. The app can also send a text message or email to others when a task is done, so family or carers can be at ease that the oven has been turned off etc.
APPS FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM & OTHER RELATED DISORDERS
There is a range of educational apps available for children with autism or developmental delays, which are detailed below. It can also be worthwhile looking through the App Store for the things that your child is interested in and use those apps as learning tools. For example, if your child is interested in trains, you could download a train timetable app to help them learn times etc.
There is a range of apps available to help people communicate independently. These include basic communication board type apps, where the user points at a picture on their device to explain what they want, right up to more advanced communication apps that construct sentences and have text-to-speech capabilities. See examples of some apps below. You can also find more communication apps in the Apps for People with Communication Difficulties section of this document.
- Grace (iOS): communication app designed to help people communicate their needs independently. The user selects pictures to form sentences which they then share by pointing at the card on the device to hear the listener read each word. The app does not use speech but is designed to encourage the user to attempt their own vocalisations. It comes with a basic vocabulary of pictures, but it can be fully customised using the device’s camera or images saved from the internet.
- Autism Speech Diego Says (Android): app designed to aid basic communication. The user pushes the action button ‘I want’ and then presses one of the next possible options for example ‘food’.
- iConverse (iOS): app with six display icons that represent a person’s most basic needs. When activated, the icons give an auditory and visual representation of the user’s specific need.
- First Then (iOS & Android): visual scheduling app that lets you create and display daily events or the steps needed to complete specific activities using images. The schedules can be customized to the needs of the individual.
- iPrompts (iOS & Android): visual scheduling app that allows you to display picture sequences to guide the user through different activities. Schedules can have many pictures, and captions can be edited for each image.
- Pocket Picture Planner (iOS): visual scheduling app that reminds you of daily events and tasks you need to complete. It provides information and instructions for each task. You can associate visual and audio media files with a task or event and the app also provides pop-up reminders when activities are due.
- Life Skills Winner Pro (iOS & Android): app that teaches life and social skills using positive feedback. It breaks down life skills into steps, for example brushing your hair. It emphasises the importance of the skill as well as incorporating an interactive aspect like using the touch screen to drag the brush across the character's hair. These actions allow the user to earn designated points to collect and 'cash in' for a reward.
- iReward (iOS): app designed to reinforce a certain behaviour by providing motivation and a reward, for example, a gold star, a new toy etc.
- Easy Kid Tokens (Android): app that rewards good behaviour. The app has a behaviour chart with images representing the reward the child is working toward. The child receives 'stickers' or 'tokens' for good behaviour, receiving a reward when they reach the number of tokens needed. The app also plays music when the child has reached their reward.
Listening and Attention Apps
- Simon Says (iOS): attention and concentration app. The goal of the game is to remember the sequence of buttons selected and repeat them in the same order. You can choose from images of animals, cars, musical instruments, colours or shapes etc.
- Animal Memory (iOS & Android): concentration and matching app where you have to pair up pictures of animals. The game has a number of difficulty levels and the animals make noises to keep children entertained.
- Concentrate (iOS): app that displays work and breaktime in a graph on your device’s home-screen. This allows you to focus on your work and be efficient.
Cause and Effect Apps
- Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box (iOS & Android): app that provides visual effects when you press or sweep over the screen. The app encourages development and basic awareness of touches and gestures.
- Bubble Explode (iOS & Android): app that provides visual and auditory effects when you press the screen. The aim of the game is to explode the bubbles onscreen by touching them.
APPS FOR PEOPLE WITH MOBILITY DIFFICULTIES
Home Automation Apps
There is a range of home automation apps that allow you to control your environment using your smartphone or tablet. These apps are often part of a home automation system, so you need to ensure that your phone can ‘talk’ to the system or the device you want to operate remotely before downloading the app. Home automation means that you can turn on, for example, a light, the heating, or open the curtains remotely. To do this you have to set up an automation system in your house which allows these devices to be controlled by your phone through wifi, infrared etc. Alternatively you can use infrared/wifi sockets to allow your phone to communicate with, for example, a lamp or music system.
The types of apps described in this document are just a taste of what is out there. It is worthwhile looking through the Apple and Android app stores for yourself to see what is available and what might be suitable for you. Often many of the mainstream apps and a device’s integral accessibility functionality can also greatly help someone with a disability in their daily life. If you are looking for advice on apps, take a look at some of the forums mentioned above or you can contact an occupational therapist, speech and language therapist or some of the organisations listed below.
Disabled Living Foundation (DLF)(UK charity providing advice and information and acomprehensive up-to-date database of disability equipment available in the UK)
Hammersmith Bridge Road
London W6 9EJ
Tel: 0044 207 289 6111
Ricability(independent research body in UK which produces guides for older and disabled consumersbased on professional research)
30 Angel Gate
326 City Road
Tel: 0044 207 427 2460
Fax: 0044 207 427 2468
National Association for Deaf People in Ireland (NAD)
35 North Frederick Street
Tel: 01-872 3800
Minicom: 01-817 5777
Text: 01-878 3629
Videophone: 01-817 1400
Fax: 01-872 3816
National High-Tech Assistive Technology Training Service
1 Grand Canal Quay
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During this century, his discovery has saved thousands of lives, not just by the power of this "invisible light" to picture bones, bullets and other foreign bodies under the skin, but also by its ability to destroy cancerous tumours.
For his achievement, Rontgen received the Nobel Prize in 1901, the first to be awarded. Although medical applications have dominated public perception, what Rontgen called "a new kind of rays" have revealed the underlying structures of many materials and have been at the foundation of many more Nobel prize-winning scientific advances.
In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick made perhaps the greatest discovery of post-war science: that DNA, the molecular messenger of genetic heredity, had the shape of a double helix. They deduced the structure by using X- ray studies of DNA fibres carried out at King's College in London. At the University of Cambridge, the analysis of many hundreds of X-ray photographs over a period of some 30 years led Max Perutz to uncover the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms within haemoglobin, the first protein to be so analysed.
Rontgen's discovery did not represent the birth of the modern atomic age - that surely came with Max Planck's quantum theory of radiation in 1900 - but it was the moment of conception. It opened the way to Henri Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity on 1 March 1896, with the promise that the nucleus of the atom itself was vulnerable to decay and disintegration. Rontgen's description of his discovery, according to Dietrich Harder of the Institute of Medical Physics at Gottingen, represented "the splintering of the ice heralding the spring that brought forth the flowers of the theory of relativity and of atomic physics". Malcolm Cooper, professor of physics at Warwick University, has a more personal angle: "He didn't do any of this until he was 50, so there is hope for us yet!"
The news travelled fast from Wurzburg. Within a month, the new rays were called Rontgenstrahlung. Rontgen was asked to demonstrate his experiments to the German emperor. The British physicists Lord Kelvin in Glasgow and Arthur Schuster in Manchester received copies of Rontgen's scientific paper direct. The news was reported publicly in Britain by the Daily Chronicle on 6 January 1896, but was passed over by the Times. The formal translation of the scientific paper was published in the journal Nature on 23 January 1896.
One of the first X-ray pictures ever taken was of Frau Rontgen's hand - her wedding ring is clearly visible circling the bones of her finger. Less than a year after the discovery, X-rays were being used not just as a medical diagnostic aid, but in the treatment of skin disorders, including cancer.
There was a darker side as well, though. Burns to the hands of X-ray workers were being reported within four months of the publication of Rontgen's scientific paper. In just five years, 170 cases of radiation injury were reported and by 1922, about 100 radiologists were known to have died of the results of overexposure.
Yet, although it might at first sight seem paradoxical given their potential to cause cancer, X-rays are fundamental to curing cancer in modern medical practice. According to Ann Barrett, professor of radiation oncology at the University of Glasgow, "of the patients who are cured of cancer, 50 per cent will have received radiotherapy either alone or as part of the treatment. Only 2 per cent of cancers are cured by drugs alone, despite the spectacular advances in treatment there have been." Where a cancer is still localised and has not spread, surgery to cut it out remains the most effective treatment, but radiotherapy, almost always X-rays, "is still one of the most important parts of any cancer treatment", Professor Barrett says.
According to her, "the biggest improvement has come with conformal techniques - we can now shape the beam to conform to the shape of the tumour by adjusting rods in the head of the machine". This can be allied to 3-D imaging techniques to display on a computer screen the exact shape of the tumour and the position of surrounding organs so that the clinician can determine exactly how to shape the beam in three dimensions. This delivers the maximum amount of radiation to the tumour, while minimising any radiation damage to surrounding tissues.
One of the biggest advances in radiation therapy for cancer has come from understanding the basic science of the proliferation of tumour cells, Professor Barrett continues. In June this year, a five-year study funded by the Medical Research Council reported that tumours grow very rapidly and concluded that treatment may have to be given more frequently than the current standard of once a day, Monday to Friday, for six weeks. The study concentrated treatment into 12 days where radiotherapy was administered three times a day, including weekends. The results were dramatic, with a 10 per cent improvement in the long-term survival of lung cancer patients, whereas the most that could be expected of new treatments would be a 3 or 4 per cent improvement.
The world's largest X-ray machine, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), opened for business at Grenoble in France last year. It is difficult to imagine a machine more different from the bench-top apparatus that Rontgen had employed a century earlier. Covering a large site, the first phase of its construction cost Fr2.2bn (pounds 294m); the second phase will cost a further Fr400m, while its annual operating cost is Fr1bn. The ESRF resembles a particle accelerator - popularly known as an "atomsmasher" - not least because the technology has been spun off from the science of subnuclear physics. Subatomic particles - electrons - race round a circular vacuum tube 844m long. As they circle inside this storage ring, they give off intense beams of X-rays, known as synchrotron radiation.
Professor Cooper will be in Grenoble at the end of this week intending to use the X-rays to "look with high resolution at the fundamental structure of high-temperature superconductors". These are materials that lose all their resistance to conducting electricity when they are cooled to temperatures around that of liquid nitrogen. If researchers can understand the atomic structure of these materials they might be able to design compounds that are superconducting at still higher temperatures or that could carry more electric current before losing their superconductivity. Professor Cooper's main aim is "trying to understand the nature of magnetism especially in materials for new magnetic structures". Among the advantages of the ESRF, he said, are that "you can look at materials that are shortlived or make studies of chemical reactions as they proceed and because the beam has a time-structure you can do 'time-lapse' X-ray photography. You don't have these possibilities in the laboratory."
For Professor Jean-Patrick Connerade of Imperial College, London, "the attraction is that if you build a source of X-rays like the ESRF, you attract people from many areas of science that are unrelated by subject but related by the technique they use. They come together round the same machine and this produces a kind of cross-talk among the scientists and new growth in science comes from that kind of exchange."
One hundred years on, Wilhelm Rontgen's discovery is proving as fruitful as ever.Reuse content | <urn:uuid:c39d9ddc-1e55-482d-8039-0a9faad13518> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/a-ray-of-light-in-a-century-of-darkness-1580293.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966863 | 1,533 | 3.75 | 4 |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline)
Electroretinograms can be broken down into three components:
- an initial a-wave, caused by extracellular ionic currents generated by photoreceptors during phototransduction,
- the b-wave, which corresponds to bipolar cell activity,
- and the later c-wave, which is generated by the retinal pigment epithelium and Müller cells.
Depending on the species the ERG is taken from, the c-wave may be positive, negative, or absent in part or in whole. | <urn:uuid:f56c42f4-8d15-4cff-87bb-3d3423d7b2c4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Electroretinogram | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00194-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.777459 | 181 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Introduction to Expansion Bellows
In a piping system a Expansion joints alternately known as Bellows are like sealed springs. Sealed because it is required to contain the fluid pressure which is flowing through it and spring because it is required to respond to the movement of the connected piping without offering appreciable stiffness to the piping system.
An expansion joint/bellow element employed in a piping system is an assembly of generally more than one convolute in series. The convolutes are designed strong enough to withstand the internal pressure of the system, at the same time the typical contour of the convolute assembly allow sit to flex under thermal movement of the connected piping. As a result of this extreme flexibility the expansion joint / bellow as such is highly incapable of absorbing any longitudinal loads by its own,thereby requiring external attachments to transfer these longitudinal loads to its connected piping for maintaining the overall stability of the piping system under question.
COMMON TYPES OF EXPANSION JOINTS ARE:
- Simple Expansion Joint
- Universal Expansion Joint
- Pressure Balanced Expansion Joint
- Hinged Expansion Joint
- Gimbal Expansion Joint
Application of Expansion Bellows:
The Bellows are generally employed in a piping system in one of the following situations:
- When the space constraints do not permit providing adequate flexibility by conventionalmethods (e. g. expansion loops etc.) for maintaining the system stresses withinacceptable limits.
- When conventional solutions (e.g. expansion loops etc.) create unacceptable processconditions (e.g. excessive pressure drop).
- When it is not practical to limit the piping induced loads on the terminal nozzles of theconnected equipment within admissible limits by conventional methods.
- When the equipment such as Compressors, Turbines, Pumps etc. necessitate isolatingthe mechanical vibrations from being transmitted to the connected piping.
EXPANSION JOINT PRESSURE THRUST:
The end anchors in a piping system employing a Bellow requires special considerations owing the large imbalance axial force generated due to internal system pressure acting on the bellow convolutes. At the same time the inherent weakness of the Bellow to transfer the longitudinal force across its ends.
It is therefore imperative that a proper assessment of the imbalance Pressure Thrust of the Bellow and its effects on the piping end terminals be evaluated prior to using the Bellow on a piping system of large diameter and sizable internal pressure.
To understand the above phenomena let us consider a straight length of pipe of internaldiameter D capped at its both ends and subject to an internal pressure P (refer Fig.-1Abelow). The longitudinal Pressure Force acting at each capped end is:
Pf = πPD 2 / 4
The above longitudinal force is carried in tension in the Pipe wall and the system remainsstable with the opposite and equal force acting at the capped end balancing each other. Nowlet us introduce a Bellow in the middle of the above pipe section (refer Fig 1B). Since the above Bellow does not have any appreciable longitudinal stiffness it will tend to straighten outas shown in Fig 1C below resulting into rapture of the convolutes. It is therefore necessary toprovide end anchors (refer Fig 1D below) to counter the pressure force acting at the endsand thereby stopping the bellow convolute from flattening. The magnitude of above force willbe combined longitudinal force acting at the Bellow inside diameter and the imbalancepressure thrust acting on the side-wall, of the convolute.
The net Pressure Thrust to be absorbed by the End Anchors, due to incorporation of the bellow in a straight pipe line, therefore it based on the Mean Diameter of the bellow and isgiven by
pπDm 2 / 4 where :
Dm = Mean Diameter of the bellow
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Widyanti, Vincentia Eischa (2006) Study of Fanny Price's problems in her love relationship and her efforts to overcome them as seen in Jane Austen's mansfield park. Bachelor thesis, Petra Christian University.Full text not available from this repository.
The study discusses Jane Austen?s novel, Mansfield Park. It is about the problems faced by the main female character, Fanny Price and her efforts to overcome them related to her love relationship. In analyzing the novel, I use literary theories, that is characterization and conflict and psychological concept that is self-concept. Characterization is useful to analyze Fanny Price?s problems and her efforts to overcome her problems as the main female character in the novel. While theory of conflict is useful to analyze inner and outer conflicts that she faces. Fanny?s efforts appear because she wants to reach happiness and indirectly this will help her poor family from miserable life to raise the social status. The psychological concept of self-concept is used to analyze Fanny Price?s negative self-concept that causes her inability to express her love and how she builds her positive self-concept, to express her love. She does some efforts to overcome the problems. In addition, she also experiences conflicts. She experiences inner conflict when she has to choose between Henry and Edmund, while her outer conflict is when she is forced to accept Henry?s love by her families and makes her confused. Her true love Edmund, whose she thinks as the right man for her, finally proposes her. Then, she lives happily in her marriage.
|Item Type:||Thesis (Bachelor)|
|Uncontrolled Keywords:||love relationship, problem, efforts, self-concept|
|Date Deposited:||23 Mar 2011 18:48|
|Last Modified:||29 Mar 2011 15:52|
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2007 Anthropology Abstracts
2007 Research Fair - Anthropology Abstracts
Constructing Theory: Prehistory Migration in the New World
Anthropology students studying human evolution and archeology will present different theories about prehistoric migration to the New World. Linguistic, archeological, and biology evidence will be exhibited which support some of these theories better than others.
Opportunistic Learners: Exploring the Continuum of Orangutan Learning
This paper compares solitary, wild orangutans with a recently discovered wild, social group of orangutans. Because the social group shows cultural traits that are lacking in wild orangutans, it dispels the myth that wild orangutans are slow-witted and lazy. Observations made of a third group of orangutans, those raised in captivity but returned to the wild, show that even orangutans who would normally be solitary are social learners when given the opportunity to do so and this opportunistic learning explains why captive orangutans have always been such proficient tool users. Through capitalizing on the opportunity to learn from human keepers, captive orangutans master tool use and human language, making them seem smarter than their solitary fellows. Thus, a continuum can be formed: from wild, solitary orangutans to captive, social . However, it is not a continuum of intelligence, but one of opportunity. | <urn:uuid:94ffb8e1-a256-460b-848a-af1bcff3ccd4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.westminstercollege.edu/undergraduate_research_fair/index.cfm?parent=2702&detail=7486&content=7558 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00091-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.890955 | 283 | 2.546875 | 3 |
First snap of giant asteroid Vesta from orbiting probe
NASA ion-engine craft Dawn surveys juggernaut of space
NASA's Dawn asteroid hunter has returned the first photo of Vesta since achieving orbit around the giant object at the end of last week.
The snap (big version here) was grabbed at a distance of 9,900 miles (16,000 kilometres), and shows Vesta's impressive 530 kilometre (330 mile) diameter bulk beginning to come into focus.
Vesta is the second largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, with only Ceres surpassing it in size. While NASA notes that it has been observed with ground-based telescopes for a couple of centuries, and more recently the Hubble Space Telescope, Dawn offers the first opportunity for scientists to get up close.
Marc Rayman, Dawn chief engineer and mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, enthused: "Dawn slipped gently into orbit with the same grace it has displayed during its years of ion thrusting through interplanetary space. It is fantastically exciting that we will begin providing humankind its first detailed views of one of the last unexplored worlds in the inner solar system."
Christopher Russell, Dawn principal investigator at the University of California, said: "We are beginning the study of arguably the oldest extant primordial surface in the solar system. This region of space has been ignored for far too long. So far, the images received to date reveal a complex surface that seems to have preserved some of the earliest events in Vesta's history, as well as logging the onslaught that Vesta has suffered in the intervening eons."
Vesta shows signs of having taken one very substantial knock during this onslaught, a collision which gouged a substantial crater out of its southern pole. The debris from this impact is believed to account for a round five per cent of meteorites which fall to Earth.
Dawn will now spend three weeks on its "approach phase" to Vesta, during which scientists will "continue a search for possible moons around the asteroid; obtain more images for navigation; observe Vesta's physical properties; and obtain calibration data".
The spacecraft will eventually approach to within 120 miles (200 kilometres) of the asteroid's surface. After a year, it will head off to a 2015 close encounter with Ceres. ® | <urn:uuid:45360c06-27ef-4248-bd83-fb564df4c4a4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/19/dawn_vesta/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939309 | 472 | 2.6875 | 3 |
via Global Research.ca / June 24, 2013 / One of the most severe industrial accidents in history occurred two and a half years ago when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in Japan was crippled in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami that struck the island country.
Critically, electric generators which circulate coolant through the facility failed leaving the core vulnerable to a melt down.
There were three meltdowns within a week, four hydrogen explosions, and the release of radioactive material which continues to this day.
Project Censored lists the incident and the under-reported impacts including 14,000 deaths in the US linked to radioactive fall-out as among its top 25 most censored stories of 2011-2012.
One international figure sounding the alarm bells about Fukushima and other looming nuclear threats is Dr. Helen Caldicott. Caldicott is an Australian-born pediatrician who devoted much of her life to extolling the perils of nuclear war and nuclear power becoming the subject of an Oscar award winning documentary in the 1980s. She also became the founding President of Physicians for Social Responsibility. She has likewise founded other associations dedicated to opposing depleted Uranium, nuclear weapons and power, and militarism generally.
Caldicott has been tireless in her commitment and explains on this week’s show why the nuclear danger is just as bad if not worse today, than it was at the height of the Cold War. She further outlines nuclear power, nuclear war along with global warming as the biggest threats facing humankind.
Complementing Caldicott’s presentation, Michel Chossudovsky of the Centre for Research on Globalization contributes his own research into the new nuclear doctrine.
According to Chossudovsky, nuclear weapons are now considered as part of the arsenal of conventional warfare as opposed to a ‘doomsday’ weapon meant as a bluff to scare off a would-be attacker.
Both Chossudovsky and Caldicott agree that the wider public needs greater exposure to today’s nuclear danger which is the theme of this week’s show. | <urn:uuid:0890a0e9-7c94-43e1-815b-fed7f2f8eaed> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://fukushimaupdate.com/war-and-the-new-nuclear-danger-fukushima-and-beyond/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963871 | 424 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Teen Relationship AbuseSkip to the navigation
If you want to save this information but don't think it is safe to take it home, see if a trusted friend can keep it for you. Plan ahead. Know who you can call for help, and memorize the phone number.
Be careful online too. Your online activity may be seen by others. Do not use your personal computer or device to read about this topic. Use a safe computer such as one at work, a friend's house, or a library.
Teen dating violence is just as serious as adult domestic violence . And it's common. About 2 in 10 teen girls say they have been physically or sexually abused by a dating partner. About 1 in 10 teen boys reports abuse in dating relationships.
Teen dating abuse is a pattern of abusive behavior used to control another person. It can be:
- Any kind of physical violence or threat of physical violence to get control.
- Emotional or mental abuse, such as playing mind games, making you feel crazy, constantly texting you, or constantly putting you down or criticizing you.
- Sexual abuse, including making you do anything you don't want to do, refusing to have safer sex, or making you feel bad about yourself sexually.
Who's at risk?
Like adult domestic violence, teen relationship abuse affects all types of teens, regardless of how much money your parents make, what your grades are, how you look or dress, your religion, or your race. Teen relationship abuse occurs in straight, gay, and lesbian relationships.
Relationship abuse is not just dangerous for you physically and emotionally. It can also put you at risk for other health problems, such as:
Teens in abusive relationships are also more likely to take sexual risks, do poorly in school, and use drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Girls are at higher risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) .
Is it abuse?
Abusive relationships can have good times and bad times. Part of what makes dating violence so confusing is that there is loved mixed with the abuse. This can make it hard to tell if you are really being abused. But you deserve to be treated in a loving, respectful way by your boyfriend or girlfriend.
Does your boyfriend or girlfriend:
- Act bossy and make all the decisions?
- Put you down in front of friends?
- Try to control who you see and talk to?
- Threaten to hurt or kill himself or herself?
- Blame you for "making" him or her treat you badly?
- Pressure you to have or force you to have unprotected sex?
- Stalk you? This can include constantly texting or calling you to find out where you are and who you're with. You might think that's about caring, but it's really about controlling the relationship.
- Feel less confident about yourself when you're with him or her?
- Feel scared or worried about doing or saying "the wrong thing"?
- Find yourself changing your behavior out of fear or to avoid a fight?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you might be in an abusive relationship. There are people who can help you. You're not alone. Talk to your parents or another adult family member, a school counselor, a teacher, or someone else you trust. Call a help center or hotline to get help.
Hotlines for help
These national hotlines can help you find resources in your area.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline toll-free: 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233), or see the website at www.ndvh.org.
- National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline toll-free: 1-866-331-9474 or (1-866-331-8453 TTY) or see the website at www.loveisrespect.org.
How parents can help
Teens may not have the experience or maturity to know if their relationships are abusive. A teen may think of dating violence as only physical violence-pinching, slapping, hitting, or shoving. Teens may not realize that any relationship involving physical violence, sexual violence, emotional abuse, or the threat of violence is an unhealthy relationship.
For example, a teen may think his or her partner cares when he or she calls, texts, emails, or checks in all the time. But that kind of behavior is about controlling the relationship.
Talk with your teen about what makes a healthy relationship. Explain that a caring partner wouldn't do something that causes fear, lowers self-esteem, or causes injury. Let teens know that they deserve respect in all of their relationships. Think about values and messages that you want to pass on.
You might start by asking your teen:
- Is your boyfriend or girlfriend easy to talk to when there are problems?
- Does he or she give you space to spend time with other people?
- Is he or she kind and supportive?
Primary Medical Reviewer William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Current as ofNovember 20, 2015
Current as of: November 20, 2015
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
© 1995-2016 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. | <urn:uuid:52fee9f6-05a5-4199-a36b-9fa0fb84fef7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sutterhealth.org/healthwise/?A=C&type=info&hwid=tm7098§ion=tm7098-Bib | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946745 | 1,141 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Feb 2, 2015
Generation of Electricity from Wind Power EEE Project
This is a good Electrical and Electronics project report on "generation of electricity from wind power or wind energy conversion system". Basic component of WECS are Aero turbine, Yaw control, Rotors, the windmill head, generator. The power in the wind can be computed by using the concepts of kinetics. This report contains all the construction detail, advantage, disadvantage etc. You can also Subscribe to FINAL YEAR PROJECT'S by Email for more such projects and seminar.
Wind results from air in motion. Air in motion arises from a pressure gradient. Wind may be proadly classified as “planetary” & “local”. Planetary winds area unit caused by larger star heating of the earth`s surface close to the equator than close to the northern or southern poles. This cause heat tropical air to rise and flow through the higher atmosphere towards the poles & cold air from the poles to flow back to the equator nearer to earth’s surface. The direction of motion of planetary winds with regard to the planet is suffering from the rotation of the planet.
Recommended Project: Combined Darrieus-Savonius Wind Turbine
The warm air moving toward the poles within the higher atmosphere assumes AN easterly direction that leads to prevailing westerlies. The westerlies controls events between the three hundred & 600 latitudes. As a result of the earth`s axis is inclined to its sheet round the sun.
Aero Turbine:- Aero rotary engine converts energy in moving air to rotary energy normally, they needed pitch management & yow management for correct operation. A mechanical interface consisting of improve gear & an acceptable coupling transmits the rotary energy to AN electrical generator.
Yaw management:- For localities with the air current in one direction, the look of rotary engine may be greatly simplified. The rotor may be during a fastened orientation with the sweptback space perpendicular to the predominant wind direction.
The wind mill works on the principle of converting kinetic energy of the wind to mechanical energy. The kinetic energy of any particle is equal to one half its mass times the square of its velocity, or ½ mv2. Use this project for your reference and study work.
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Final-yearproject.com is one stop for all your project needs. You can find projects and seminars related to Electronics, Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, MBA, Pharmacy, Computer Science, IT, Bio-Tech, Robotics, Telecom, Wireless, Automation, BCA, MATLAB etc. You can Like us at Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Google+. | <urn:uuid:7a1533ab-b3d0-4d60-8dd7-4deeff702a08> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.final-yearproject.com/2012/04/generation-of-electricity-from-wind.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.876822 | 556 | 3.203125 | 3 |
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Water from the Gulf of Mexico
The transformation of the Great American Desert, a huge area running through seven states of the Western United States and down into Mexico, into a thriving area with adequate water, power, and transportation infrastructure, was the subject of a major study produced by EIR in May of this year. The study, which had been commissioned by Presidential pre-candidate Lyndon LaRouche, featured a number of water projects, including two by American engineer Hal Cooper, which would carry water from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great American Desert.
In the first project, Cooper calls for building a canal that would run from the extreme north of the PLHIGON, to Monterrey, and from there to Saltillo, Torreon and into the southern part of the state of Chihuahua, where it would connect to the Conchos River, a tributary of the Rio Grande. The most challenging stretch of the project would be to raise the water from Monterrey to Saltillo, a difference of about 1,050 meters. There is no way around pumping the water up, although you could possibly build some tunnels under the highest parts of the Eastern Sierra Madre.
The relative disadvantage of building tunnels is that they require significant capital investment, more than what is required for the construction of canals and pumping stations alone. But pumping, on the other hand, has continuous operating costs associated with it, which is not the case when a tunnel is built that can save on the difference in heights. These factors have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Using the Gulf of Mexico
Cooper's second project to bring water from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great American Desert, is to build a canal starting at the Gulf of Mexico near Corpus Christi, Texas, which would then run more or less parallel to the border with Mexico, crossing the states of New Mexico and Arizona, and reaching the California coast near Los Angeles. Cooper points out that an existing, but unused oil pipeline that runs from Victorville in southern California, to McCamey in west Texas, could be used. In this project, the water would also have to be lifted to a height of about 1,600 meters above sea level, which is the lowest pass that exists through the Rocky Mountains in that region, at Paisano Pass in Texas. The use of tunnels through the mountains would probably be very advantageous in this project.
But in Cooper's plan, where would the fresh water come from, to carry to the Great American Desert? From the desalination of sea water on the coast, as well as from water retrieved from saline aquifers along the proposed route.
Although there have been increased efficiencies achieved in desalination over recent years, making it an increasingly discussed option for arid lands, the most efficient power source to drive desalination plants is nuclear power. One leading type of reactor is a modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR), capable of producing 350 megawatts. One "island" of four modular HTGR reactors could produce a total of 1,400 megawatts of power. This level of power, when transmitted to a multi-stage flash distillation desalination plant, would generate about 145 million cubic meters of fresh water per year. It would also generate, above that, 446 megawatts of net electrical output.
If one were to place, initially, 20 such nuclear islands in our selected seven-state region, each hooked up to water desalination plants, this would generate about 2.9 km3 of new fresh water per year. As of 1996, the total U.S. desalination capacityincluding both nuclear and non-nuclear techniqueswas only about 1 km3 per year. By way of comparison, Saudi Arabia, the world leader in desalination capacity, had over 2.1 km3 per year.
The 2.9 km3 that 20 nuclear complexes would produce equals 2.3% of the fresh water that is annually withdrawn by the seven-state regiona significant amount. If twice that number of nuclear islands were constructed, then one would be "manufacturing" about 5.8 km3 of new, fresh water every yearalmost as much as the Frias plan would be moving through inter-basin transfer.
Moreover, the development of nuclear technology is absolutely vital on the energy front as well (as we note below), and brings with it the desired non-linear effects that come from introducing the most advanced fields of science and technologythe "geometric" changes discussed by Vernadsky and others.
Cooper suggests that one such nuclear desalination complex could be built adjacent to the Permian Basin in Texas-New Mexico, which today produces significant oil and natural gas, but also brings up, in the extraction process, a large amount of saline water. That water could be desalinated, and used. Other plants could be located on Texas's Gulf Coast; at the Rio Grande; and so forth along the proposed route of the new aqueduct. Similar nuclear desalinating plants should be constructed in Mexico, along the coastal routes of the PLHINO and the PLHIGON, as well as along the proposed route of the aqueduct carrying water into the Mexican highlands.
The full proposal for the development of the Great American Desert can be found on LaRouche's campaign website, and in the EIR (Executive Intelligence Review) magazine.
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Home | Search | About | Fidelio | Economy | Strategy | Justice | Conferences | Join | <urn:uuid:a33f3373-3e0b-4881-b1e9-0646959741ee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://schillerinstitute.com/economy/phys_econ/no_amer_water.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00148-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956321 | 1,256 | 3.125 | 3 |
Knowing When Your Rabbit Needs Emergency Treatment
Just like other pets (and people, too) rabbits can require emergency treatment. An illness or injury may mean that your rabbit needs immediate help, even before you take him to a veterinarian. Suddenly seeing that your bunny is sick or injured can be scary. Thinking straight in these kinds of situations is often difficult.
Before taking any other action:
- Stay calm.
- Keep critical information near the phone: Know the address and phone number for the vet clinic; and the phone numbers for the following:
• 24-hour emergency pet hospital
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
• Your pet sitter
• Animal Control
One way to keep calm is to prepare for an emergency. Read through this article to figure out how to handle the most common rabbit emergencies. If you ever find that your rabbit needs emergency care, you may be surprised at how well your memory serves you.
Blood in urine
Red blood in the urine is a serious sign of disease. Causes include uterine disease (in females), bladder stones, bladder cancer, and trauma to the bladder. Blood that appears at the end of urination and as a separate puddle is most likely caused by a uterine problem. Excess blood loss can be a life-threatening condition. Bloody urine should be reported to your veterinarian immediately, particularly if it is associated with
- Straining to urinate
- Frequent urination
Normal rabbit urine can range in color from yellow to rusty orange due to pigments produced in the bladder and from the plants the rabbit eats. However, blood in the urine is distinctly red. If you are in doubt about your rabbit's urine color, take a sample to your veterinarian for evaluation.
True diarrhea in the rabbit is characterized by stool that is
- Sometimes bloody stool in the absence of normal stool
This condition is most often caused by a serious disruption of the flora normally in your rabbit's gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In addition, the pet will become dehydrated and go into shock. If your rabbit has diarrhea, don't attempt to treat it yourself. Take your bunny to a veterinarian as soon as possible. A serious disease of the gastrointestinal tract — not a change in diet — causes diarrhea.
Rabbits can also develop soft, pudding-like stools often mixed with normal hard, round droppings. This is not true diarrhea and, although it does represent a disease of the gastrointestinal tract that should be addressed, it's not a dire emergency. This condition is most often related to diet.
Dental disease is the most common cause of excessive salivation. If the rabbit is drooling because of dental disease, it means he's in pain and the condition should be attended to as soon as possible.
Signs of excessive salivation include
- Not eating well
- Quickly losing weight
- Constantly wet fur around the mouth and neck
Excessive salivation can also be caused by certain types of poisons and if this condition is accompanied by generalized weakness you need to seek veterinary attention immediately.
Head tilting to side
If your rabbit is holding her head to the side, she may be suffering from an inner ear infection, trauma to the head, or a problem in the brain due to infection, parasitic disease, or other disease.
A veterinarian should see your rabbit right away. The problem may be treatable, depending on the cause.
Rabbits are susceptible to heatstroke and can tolerate cold weather better than hot. A hot and humid day can be all it takes to send a rabbit into heat exhaustion. Signs of heatstroke include labored breathing, extreme lethargy, and an elevated body temperature.
If your rabbit has been exposed to high temperatures and you suspect she's suffering from heatstroke, do the following to help her cool down:
1. Get her out of the heat and into an air conditioned or shady area.
2. Wrap her ears in a cool, wet towel.
3. Rush her to a veterinarian immediately.
A variety of serious problems can cause labored breathing (visible difficulty moving air in and out of the lungs) in rabbits. Anything from pneumonia to shock to heatstroke can cause labored breathing.
Labored breathing in a rabbit is a serious emergency. Rush your pet to a veterinarian as soon as possible. If it's hot outside, run the car air conditioner first because hot air is difficult for the rabbit to breath and will cause further difficulties.
If a rabbit doesn't produce any stool for 24 hours, particularly if any of the following signs accompany it, he's in need of immediate medical attention. The most common cause is a complete or partial obstruction to the GI tract or a complete shutdown of the GI tract caused by a chronic GI motility problem.
- Bloated abdomen (may feel tight or like it's filled with fluid, like a water balloon)
- Constant tooth grinding
- Dull appearance to the eyes
- Hunched posture
- Loss of appetite
- Reluctance to move
This is a dire emergency and medical attention should be sought immediately. These conditions are fatal within 48 hours if left untreated. If an obstruction is present, emergency surgery needs to be performed.
If your rabbit is in pain, he should be rushed to a vet immediately so the cause of the pain can be determined.
The following are signs of pain in a rabbit:
- Excessive salivation
- Frequent grinding of the teeth (Occasional tooth grinding can be normal.)
- Inability to sleep
- Loss of appetite
- Rapid or labored breathing
- Reluctance to move
- Sitting in a hunched posture all the time (particularly with dull, half-closed eyes)
- Unexplained aggression
- Unusual body posture
Any number of problems, all serious, can cause sudden weakness. Heatstroke, blood loss, shock, overwhelming infection, neurological disorder, intestinal obstruction, poisoning, trauma to the spine or legs, and metabolic diseases are just a few of the conditions that result in weakness.
If your rabbit can't stand up, don't try to force him. Instead, to make him comfortable, place him on a towel or blanket and take him to the veterinarian immediately. | <urn:uuid:1537a8c0-8c0b-4394-8611-3f7e8daac3cb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/knowing-when-your-rabbit-needs-emergency-treatment.navId-323762.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944833 | 1,278 | 2.703125 | 3 |
At Moody Gardens, we don’t monkey around. But, we have some residents of the rainforest who do. White-faced Saki monkeys will be roaming the tree tops of the rainforest along with many other fascinating creatures when the Rainforest Pyramid opens May 28th.
White-faced Sakis (Pithecia pithecia) are found in Brazil, French Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and Guyana. These small monkeys are usually about two to three pounds and can measure up to 29 inches long. They are arboreal (tree living), active during the day and rarely go to the ground. Some have even been found 2,300 feet up in the canopy! These monkeys are fast moving and shy, so very little is known about their behavior in the wild. What we do know is that they eat fruit, leaves, flowers, small birds and small mammals and they move mainly in leaps. Jumps of over 32 feet have actually been recorded by these tiny leapers!
Adult male Sakis are black with a white face and females are a brownish gray color with a narrow stripe on their face between the inner eye and mouth. These monkeys are dichromatic (males are different colors from females) which is a rare trait among Central and South American primates. They have long shaggy coats that protect them from rain and non-prehensile, bushy tails.
These monkeys live in small family groups consisting of the parents and usually two to three offspring. After a 146 day pregnancy, the infant Saki will be born and males and females will have the same brownish gray coloration of the mother. After two months, males will start to take on the coloration of the father. The infants are carried in the flexure of female’s thigh for the first few weeks, but will gradually be carried on the back of the mother. Sakis communicate by bird-like chirping sounds and they display aggression by fluffing up their body hair and vigorously shaking their body while stomping their feet.
The status of these animals in the wild is vulnerable. Deforestation leading to loss of habitat, as well as these animals being hunted has led to them being threatened. So, come see Frankie, Clyde and Lionel when life emerges on May 28th!
Please see the video below to learn more about these interesting inhabitants of the rainforest (or click here if no video below). | <urn:uuid:522188e9-5891-421f-bcd4-aaae433b5228> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.moodygardens.com/rainforest-pyramid%C2%AE-update-white-faced-saki-monkeys/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967084 | 496 | 2.6875 | 3 |
As the television series An Hour to Save Your Life makes agonisingly clear, immediate action following critical injury is crucial – and can make the difference between life and death. We may all know that now, but when the First World War broke out, the injured could spend hours being trundled along bumpy roads until they reached help.
That’s why the intervention of two young British women was seen by many as pretty much miraculous. The pair were nicknamed the Angels of Pervyse, and an Anglo-Belgium campaign is under way to raise a statue in their honour at precisely the place where they ran their dressing station – mere yards from the German trenches. Here, Elsie and Mairi would haul in the wounded and deliver the instant attention necessary to save many lives.
Elsie Knocker, a trained nurse, was 30 years old and Mairi Chisholm was just 18 when war broke out. They had met through a shared enthusiasm for motor cycling and would roar round the lanes of Hampshire and Dorset competing in motorbike and sidecar trials.
When they turned up at Victoria station to volunteer in full rig – leather breeches, boots and overcoats – the other women were scandalised. These two were seriously independent. But not too serious: “larky in khaki” is how their biographer describes them. Yet within six weeks they were living and working on the fighting front – the only women to do so.
Their families weren’t at all pleased. Mairi’s mother sent her father out to fetch her back. But the Belgium troops were in full retreat before the invading Germans and the women were needed. He returned home alone, declaring, “If it weren’t for your mother, I’d stay out here with you: you’re having the most wonderful time.” What might justify the word “wonderful” was that these feisty women were running their own enterprise and making a big success of it. They were to live out the war there, in Pervyse, north of Ypres, until they were badly affected in a gas attack and had to come home to convalesce in March 1918.
The women lived and worked in “cellar houses” – bombed-out ruins with spacious or at least adequate cellars – where the conditions were appalling.
The Germans came to admire them, and it was agreed with the commanding officer that they would wear white nursing caps when fetching the wounded from the battlefield and would not be shot at. This was heroism of the highest order. Almost as impressive was the fact that they were unpaid, and had to rush back to England from time to time to raise funds.
Their fame began to spread: there were newspaper articles and meetings; Harrods provided a steel outer door to secure their cellar house: they painted a large red cross on it. And King Albert of Belgium awarded them the Knights Order of Leopold II. So why aren’t they better known now? While articles have been written and a fine biography by Dr Diane Atkinson published, their names still don’t resonate like Florence Nightingale’s or Mary Seacole’s. Somehow a multitude of small acts of courage in an unlikely spot don’t carry the power of a zealous Nightingale or the ethnic renown of Seacole.
However, a bronze statue of the Angels has been commissioned in time for an unveiling in November. It will cost 100,000 euros, of which 50,000 has already been raised. Funding is expected from the City of Dixmude, the Province of West Flanders, and the Flemish Government. I know of no donation yet from the British Government, from Elsie or Mairi’s home towns of Preshute, near Marlborough in Wiltshire, or Nairn in Scotland or from any British philanthropist. Perhaps they simply haven’t heard about it. But there’s still time for that to change. | <urn:uuid:c39155d0-9bf4-4a83-a407-0098633bc67e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10708735/First-World-War-larky-in-khaki-angels-deserve-a-statue-for-their-bravery.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00085-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983755 | 845 | 2.640625 | 3 |
I love listening to music so I planned to go shopping, looking for any instrument that produces a decent amount of sound. Well, I realized it isn't that easy - you have to choose between an mp3 player, a sound system, an iPod and various other such products. Then choose the brand - from among Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Apple and many more. And it doesn't stop there. They won't even let you decide in peace; there will be hordes of ads that will pull you in different directions.
I came out of the Croma store feeling more harassed than happy. And the worst part? Whatever the brand name, the product remained almost uniform throughout. And that’s when it hit me. When all the companies are essentially manufacturing the same product, how do they manage to convince customers that theirs is somehow better? If the answer is advertisements, then what goes into making those advertisements? How do advertisers know what is ‘appealing’ to a large mass of heterogeneity? Now, if the answer is psychology,
what theories or principles are used in creating advertisements? What is the impact of such advertisements on consumers and how successful are they in accomplishing their final goal – of making the consumer buy the product?
Psychologists have carried out a number of research studies to examine the various strategies that have played a role in influencing consumers or which can affect consumer behavior in a certain positive or negative way. Here are a few helpful examples:
1. The buzzword
Buzzwords are words of popular usage, the very sound of which gives a clear indication of what they want one to feel like. Buzzwords solicit an emotional response from consumers, creating associations with the product and evoking them the next time the consumer goes shopping and sees the product. Example: Using the buzzword ‘silky’ for chocolates, and hair, etc.
The ‘Try before you buy’ technique always works with consumers as it is a risk reversal approach. Psychologically speaking, every consumer feels an approach-avoidance conflict while shopping. If you help the consumer minimize his avoidance fears, he is more likely to buy the product. Example: Little trial sachets of shampoos are attached to newspapers along with their ads that act as an effective medium of advertising.
Validation of one’s choice is an important aspect for a consumer. If an advertisement has common people saying ‘It worked for me,’ you feel safer and nicer and belonging to the group if you use the same product.
Example: The various ‘Dove’ ads showing real women is an example of such a strategy
4. Celebrity endorsements
Bandura’s concept of Modeling gives us the reason for increased sales when a celebrity starts endorsing the product. Not only does it make the ‘fan’ get a feel-good factor out of it, it also attaches high credibility to the product. Example: The sales of the washing powder ‘Ariel’ increased substantially when ex-IPS officer, Kiran Bedi
started endorsing it.
More than even celebrity endorsements and testimonials, what attracts a consumer the most is if his friends and family are also using the same product. This conformity to virtual or ‘perceived’ in-group norms makes the consumer buy the product. Example: Facebook
is the biggest example of this strategy, where they notify ‘XYZ likes this company. Like it too!’
One of the many reasons given for compliance by psychologists is the ‘Deadline Technique’. Giving consumers a deadline, short-time frames or limited supply prompts action. It is also called time-pressured advertising. Example: Typical of ‘Offer valid till stocks last’ OR ‘Diwali
Dhamaka: Only applicable during the festive season, so hurry!’
It seems foolish that we fall for such obvious strategies. But one mustn’t lose heart. The fact remains that a skilled advertiser wraps the advertisement so beautifully in his creative and enticing visuals and audios that it becomes very difficult to take a step back and rationalize whether we really need that product or not. So the next time you go shopping, try and make an informed choice. And if the benefits look too nice, well, then give in!
(This column has research contributed by Anupriya Jain)
About The Author
Mrs. ANU GOEL is a Counselling Psychologist. She has practiced in Mumbai for 5 years, and is currently practicing in Delhi since the last 7 years. Goel, who can be contacted at 9313320146 and firstname.lastname@example.org, is a member of the Counsellor's Association of India, and has been a guest speaker on several occasions. | <urn:uuid:ed16f93c-123f-47fb-aba3-f6a44383824e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.merinews.com/article/the-psychology-of-advertising/15881363.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00091-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950101 | 992 | 2.546875 | 3 |
When Making the Transition...
The transition from high school to college is a challenging, rewarding, and exciting process. But let us not forget that information is key to making this journey a success! Below are some quick bits of information that all high school students should understand prior to applying for postsecondary education. This information is very important for students with disabilities to know since there are similarities and differences between high school and college services and accommodations.
- Colleges do not provide personal aides but they may assist in making arrangements.
- Generally have extended time on quizzes and exams, but not unlimited time.
- There is no extra time to complete homework assignments, projects, term papers, etc. (Time Management is Key!).
- No modified assignments, such as as shortened length.
- Confidentiality of education records (FERPA) - this does not allow parents to discuss information without a student release form.
- The typical college schedule demands very different time management skills compared to high school.
- No resource room or special education classes.
- Colleges rely less on human readers/scribes and more on technology (However, this does not mean that such accommodations are not available).
- Colleges rely on diagnostic information to assist students but do not use the IEP process.
- Documentation requirements vary from one institution to another. It is important to become informed as to what is required at each college. Information on how to register with LTU's Office of Disability Services can be found here.
~Check out the table below for more important information on the differences between K-12 and College~ | <urn:uuid:6d6b1984-bdc8-4344-96ec-f58685290481> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ltu.edu/myltu/need_to_know_before_applying.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00019-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942349 | 324 | 2.640625 | 3 |
WEDNESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that human ancestors who lived 2 million years ago had a diet that was devoted to harder foods than other early humans.
"It is an important finding because diet is one of the fundamental aspects of an animal, one that drives its behavior and ecological niche," study co-author Paul Sandberg, a University of Colorado at Boulder doctoral student, said in a university news release. "As environments change over time because of shifting climates, animals are generally forced to either move or to adapt to their new surroundings."
The ancestor in question is a hominid called Australopithecus sediba, or Au. sediba, an upright species that was short and gangly and lived in what's now South Africa. Unlike its counterparts, Au. sediba ate tree bark, bushes and fruits instead of softer foods such as grasses and similar plants, the researchers believe.
An international team of investigators, led by the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, gained insight into the diet of Au. sediba by analyzing fossilized teeth from two sets of remains with the help of a laser that freed carbon from the tooth enamel. The carbon, in turn, reveals what the species ate, the study authors explained in the report published online June 27 in the journal Nature.
The researchers concluded that these two Au. sediba individuals ate very differently than all 81 previously tested hominids.
"What fascinates me is that these individuals are oddballs," study co-author Matt Sponheimer, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said in the news release. "I had pretty much convinced myself that after 4 million years ago most of our hominid kin had diets that were different from living apes, but now I am not so sure."
Sponheimer added that the small sample size used in this study doesn't provide conclusive evidence, but as more fossils are discovered, scientists "won't have to wait another 2 million years" to perform additional research.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has more about Australopithecus sediba.
-- Randy Dotinga
SOURCE: University of Colorado at Boulder, news release, June 27, 2012
All rights reserved | <urn:uuid:5c22af2a-75f4-4234-9f22-4f5597dbdd81> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/-Fossilized-Teeth-Hold-Clues-to-Early-Human-Species-Diet--92060-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964179 | 466 | 3.78125 | 4 |
2 Answers | Add Yours
Act Three of any comedy with a three act structure is about tying up all the complications that have been introduced in Act One and developed in Act Two. The Importance of Being Earnest has an interesting comic structure, as it fits the criteria of a few comic styles: Farce, Comedy of Manners, and Comedy in the classic sense (which involves romantic complications and ends in at least one marriage).
The patterns that you can look for in Act Three of Earnest are:
- The classical Comic ending in preparation for a wedding. Though there have been obstacles, both young couples are resolved towards marriage by the end of the play.
- The resolving of the farcical patterns of identity in the play. Who is Earnest? Is anyone named Earnest? And what about lineage? All of the questions of identity, a common confusion in a Farce, are resolved.
- And everything is played out through great conversational wit and banter, a hallmark of the Comedy of Manners.
It is the wit and banter that relies heavily on comic timing. But, because this is a script that actors must interpret, you won't find "timing" in the play itself. To observe and appreciate the effect of the comic timing, you must see the play as it was meant to be experienced, performed live by actors.
Patterns in The Importance of Being Earnest are used on purpose on Act 3 because this is the act in which the triviality of the whole play will be unveiled. This means that, the closer we get to the "serious truth", the more ridiculous it is supposed to be and the more farcical it has to appear. After all, it is like Wilde said "A Trivial Comedy". Therefore, the patterns in the story are mostly seen in the actions of Gwendolyn and Cecily as a PAIR, and then the actions of Jack and Algernon as a PAIR. What the girls do (eating, then fighting, then being angry at the men, then escaping) are similarly the same thing Jack and Algernon do when they are left alone. With the repetition of actions and the repetition of words on both sides, the entire comedy looks weird and becomes almost ridiculous. But that was the idea of it all.
We’ve answered 327,819 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:94282b97-5cb5-40b6-b11f-503f641a21e1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/importance-being-earnest-how-humour-enhanced-198421 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969987 | 496 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Ultrasonography, the use of ultrasound as a diagnostic aid. Ultrasound waves are directed at the tissues and a record is made, as on an oscilloscope, of the waves reflected back through the tissues, which indicate interfaces of different acoustic densities and thus differentiate between solid and cystic structures.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
|Bookmark with:||word visualiser||Go and visit our forums| | <urn:uuid:84e270fa-647c-49ec-bf84-c4589f6360f2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mondofacto.com/facts/dictionary?echography | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89868 | 99 | 2.6875 | 3 |
March 18, 2014
Color-Coded Tags Tell When Food Is Spoiled In Unopened Containers
[ Watch the Video: Knowing Whether Food Has Spoiled ]
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe OnlineDetermining if the food you’re about to consume is spoiled or not is often times an unpleasant experience. It is not always easy to tell if something is bad by the way it smells, often leaving taste the only other option. More often than not, people will just toss food out instead of taking a risk. And many likely toss food out as soon as the expiration date has been reached without even opening the package.
But now, thanks to a Chinese research team, there is a new way to tell if that food you are concerned about is still consumable or past it’s prime. And what’s more, the new method can determine a food’s freshness without ever opening the package and without regard to the expiration date, suggesting that many foods may have been discarded prematurely in the past or needed to hit the trash bin sooner than expected.
This new method involves using a color-coded smart tag that can be placed on the outer packaging of products such as milk cartons, tin cans and plastic bags, and can determine if the contents therein are still in good standing. The researchers said the tags can even be used to tell if medications and other perishable products are still active or fresh.
The study’s lead author, Chao Zhang, PhD, of Peking University in Beijing, China, presented the findings today at the 247th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
"This tag, which has a gel-like consistency, is really inexpensive and safe, and can be widely programmed to mimic almost all ambient-temperature deterioration processes in foods," said Zhang, adding that these tags could potentially solve the problem of knowing how fresh packaged, perishable foods remain over time.
Zhang noted the real advantage of these tags would be for when manufacturers, grocery-store owners and consumers do not know if the food has been exposed to higher temperatures, which can speed up spoilage in many products – “the tag still gives a reliable indication of the quality of the product.”
The tags, which are about the size of a kernel of corn, appear in various color codes on packaging.
“In our configuration, red, or reddish orange, would mean fresh,” explained Zhang. "Over time, the tag changes its color to orange, yellow and later green, which indicates the food is spoiled."
The colors signify a range between 100 percent fresh and 100 percent spoiled. An example would be for a food product that is labeled to remain fresh for 14 days under refrigeration, but the tag shows up orange, which means the product is only half as fresh as it should be. In this case, the consumer would know the food is good for about another seven days in the fridge, Zhang explained.
To test the tags, the research team used E. coli in milk as a reference model.
"We successfully synchronized, at multiple temperatures, the chemical evolution process in the smart tag with microbial growth processes in the milk," said Zhang, noting that the tags can be customized for a variety of foods and beverages.
The tags contain tiny metallic nanorods that can have a variety of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.
"The gold nanorods we used are inherently red, which dictates the initial tag color," Zhang said. "Silver chloride and vitamin C are also in the tags, reacting slowly and controllably. Over time, the metallic silver gradually deposits on each gold nanorod, forming a silver shell layer. That changes the particle's chemical composition and shape, so the tag color now would be different. Therefore, as the silver layer thickens over time, the tag color evolves from the initial red to orange, yellow, and green, and even blue and violet."
Although these tags use gold and silver nanorods, they are very inexpensive. Zhang said that all the chemicals in the tiny tag cost much less than one cent -- $0.002.
"In addition, all of the reagents in the tags are nontoxic, and some of them (such as vitamin C, acetic acid, lactic acid and agar) are even edible," he explained.
Zhang, noting that the technique is patented in China and initial results published in the journal ACS Nano, said that the next step is to contact manufacturers and explain how the tag would be useful for them and their customers. | <urn:uuid:10e2d71e-4dce-4eae-8d95-3f124318d020> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113097672/food-spoilage-determined-color-coded-nanorod-tags-031814/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00046-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945372 | 968 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Information About Alopecia Areata
If you have been diagnosed with alopecia areata, you will likely want information to help you get a better understanding of this disease.
It's a good idea to start with the basics, such as "What is alopecia?" Alopecia areata is a form of autoimmune disease, in which the body's immune system attacks the hair follicles. This ultimately leads to hair loss. In many cases, it begins in childhood, and it tends to run in families.
Alopecia areata typically causes hair to fall out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter. In rare situations, it can cause complete loss of hair on the head or complete loss of hair on the head, face, and body.
Some of the treatment options include:
- Other topical medications, such as minoxidil (Rogaine®)
- Immune system medications
(Click Alopecia Areata for the full eMedTV article, which contains information on who is affected by alopecia, what causes it, and more.) | <urn:uuid:01d33efc-f19f-4a3d-b83d-3ade2e74ab15> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://skin.emedtv.com/skin/information-about-alopecia-areata.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00052-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945853 | 233 | 3.3125 | 3 |
A miracle may be defined as an event that occurs in nature but that has a cause lying outside nature, that is, a supernatural cause. Miracles are not violations of the laws of nature. The way we know if an event is a miracle is by seeing if it could have been caused by natural forces.
For example, when Jesus changed water to wine (Jn 2:1-11), it would have been impossible for random movements or any other natural stimuli to have effected this transubstantiation. If the water could not have turned into wine by natural means, the change must have had a supernatural cause. Since we know nature could not effect this change, we infer that a miracle took place. In fact, it is precisely because of our knowledge of science that we can identify miracles when they occur.
As C. S. Lewis pointed out, the Virgin Birth is only perceivable as a miracle if one first knows the law of nature that virgins don't normally give birth. Joseph understood this law of nature. When he discovered Mary was pregnant, he initially suspected her of unfaithfulness (Mt 1:19). It took a visit from an angel of the Lord to convince him of the miraculous nature of Mary's pregnancy.
To learn more about how eminently scientific it is to believe in miracles, get hold of these books: Miracles, by C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Catholic View, by Ralph McInerny, Scaling the Secular City, by J. P. Moreland, and That You May Believe and Miracles and the Critical Mind, both by Colin Brown. Highly recommended are the now out-of-print works of Catholic apologist Arnold Lunn, Revolt Against Reason and And Yet So New. | <urn:uuid:cf210c3a-9013-49f4-96bc-cf1b633c2045> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/are-miracles-a-violation-of-natural-law | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00158-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965677 | 360 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Sitatunga: Tragelaphus spekii
A larger version of the bushbuck which lives in swamps and marshlands; the only aquatic antelope.
Weight and Height
males: wt 154-275 lb (70-125 kg), ht 35-50 in (88-125 cm)
females: wt 110-124 lb (50-57 kg), ht 30-36 in (75-90 cm)
Typically two turns, 18 to 36 in (45-90 cm) long.
Several inches long, but thin and oily making it water-repellent
females are brown to chestnut; males gray-brown to dark brown; both are spotted and striped; white patches on neck.
Swamps and marshes in the rainforests of West Africa and the wetter parts of the southern savanna. The sitatunga shares land with the Nile lechwe in southern Sudan, Zambia, Botswana, and Angola.
The sitatunga can be seen in the following National Parks and Reserves: Moyowosi GR, Tanzania; Busanda Swamps, in Kafue NP, Bengweulu Swamp, Zambia; Okavango Delta, Botswana.
Swamps are very productive ecosystems and can support 142 sitatungas/sq mi (55/sq km). Sitatungas live in parts of papyrus swamps and wetlands where reeds, bullrushes, and sedges are abundant. Since it feeds on swamp vegetation in the water and grazing on green grasslands, there is always abundant food for the sitatunga.
In most cases, sitatungas are seen ranging alone. However, females are often seen with two or three offspring. 2/3 of the males seen are often accompanying females; the largest group seen included 4 females and 4 young.
The gestation period is 7.5 months and females conceive at yearly intervals during the dry season. Males mature by the age of 5.
Lion, wild dog, and leopard. | <urn:uuid:e8264d70-7471-4862-b59c-ce22456aa52e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.schoolnet.org.za/PILAfrica/en/webs/16645/wildlife/sitatunga.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.883639 | 429 | 2.890625 | 3 |
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"Melting" Corneal Ulcers
The cornea is the transparent structure at the front of the eye that allows light to enter. Traumatic injury, most commonly a scratch, can damage the cornea and lead to corneal ulceration.
What is a corneal ulcer?
The surface of the cornea is covered by a thin layer called the epithelium, which protects the cornea and keeps it waterproof . An ulcer develops when part of this epithelium becomes scratched, exposing the underlying tissue. The eye becomes painful and cloudy, and the white of the eye may become reddened and inflamed.
Why causes an ulcer to "melt"?
The majority of corneal ulcers will heal rapidly within a few days, as the epithelium regenerates from the edges of the ulcer and spreads across the defect. Some ulcers, however, may progress very quickly - even in a matter of hours. This rapid progression is due to the activity of enzymes which may be released from bacteria, inflammatory cells or corneal cells. The enzymes digest the cornea causing it to become gelatinous and the eye to become very fragile. Melting ulcers are an emergency because they can rapidly lead to rupture and subsequent loss of the eye.
What is the treatment for melting corneal ulcers?
Melting ulcers are treated by medical and/or surgical means depending on the severity of the melt. Usually we will recommend that your pet is hospitalised for treatment. This is so that we can administer the appropriate treatment, monitor the eye carefully and perform surgery if the melt worsens.
What happens after treatment?
For melting ulcers that are deep or progressive, where there is a risk that the eye may rupture, then surgery may be advised. A number of graft procedures may be employed, most commonly conjunctival grafting (pedicle graft, hood graft or 360 degree graft). Surgery requires a general anaesthetic and the use of an operating microscope. The eye will look very reddened and inflamed for some weeks following surgery and it will remain fragile for some time.
There will always be some degree of scarring following a melting corneal ulcer but this usually reduces over a period months and in most cases the eye regains vision following treatment. | <urn:uuid:84852a12-8ab8-424f-bff3-60c8543738d8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://vetspecialists.co.uk/factsheets/Ophthalmology_Facts/Melting_Corneal_Ulcers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905248 | 562 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Even as more states move to bar motorists from texting while driving, a growing number of automakers have been adding supposedly safer voice-to-text features to their vehicles. But a new study by the Texas Transportation Institute warns that the newer technology is just as likely to leave drivers distracted and at risk of a crash.
Distracted driving is responsible for an estimated 11% of all highway deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and texting is generally seen as one of the worst – and growing — problems. The Texas study cites industry data showing Americans send 6.1 billion text messages a day, and other studies have indicated that a sizable share of U.S. motorists – including a significant majority of younger drivers – text behind the wheel.
With more and more states barring the use of handheld phones, whether to make a call or to text, the auto industry has been trying to fill the gap with hands-free technology such as Bluetooth calling and new voice-to-text apps. But despite being billed as a safer alternative, the new study indicates that texting in any form is a dangerous distraction.
“Results indicate that driver reaction times were nearly two times slower than the baseline condition, no matter which texting method was used,” according to Christne Yager, the associate transportation researcher at the Texas Transportation Institute.
The study took 43 licensed drivers between the ages of 16 and 60 and placed them behind the wheel of a 2009 Ford Explorer, each driving on a closed course four times for about 10 minutes. They were asked to drive once while focusing on the road, once while texting manually, and then once each using an iPhone voice-to-text app and an Android phone using voice-to-text.
Though drivers perceived the voice-operated systems to be safer, Yager says “driving performance suffered equally.” In fact, in some cases, manual texting actually took less time to complete.
“That is not surprising at all,” John Ulczycki, vice president of the National Safety Council, told USA Today. Part of the problem, he warned, is that the voice-to-text technology isn’t necessary perfected and can create its own distractions when messages come out garbled. As a result, those using such apps are “still taking their mental concentration off the road.”
While just one small study, the results of the Texas Transportation Institute research could complicate an already complex issue. Ray LaHood, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, has declared distracted driving an “epidemic,” and called for a crackdown on the use of handheld devices while driving, but there is growing concern about the use of hands-free technology, as well.
The National Transportation Safety Board has outlined an aggressive plan to eliminate most high-tech distractions from the automobile, including not just Bluetooth systems but even most onboard navigation devices.
That proposal generated sharp pushback from both the communications and automotive industries but also led to a search for safer technologies, with an emphasis on voice-based systems. The new Mercedes-Benz CLA, for example, will allow a motorist to not only exchange voice-to-text messages, but even use a voice app to listen to and respond to Facebook postings.
Such technologies could be threatened if the Texas research is replicated by other studies.
Tags: Bluetooth, Texas Transportation Institute, auto news, autos texting, car news, distracted driving, handsfree facebook, handsfree texting, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, texting, texting driving, thedetroitbureau, voice texting, voice to text | <urn:uuid:c15dd3a3-7979-49e9-9e10-964465e3ecec> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2013/04/voice-texting-still-dangerous-warns-new-study/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00164-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951841 | 742 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Connect a 2 wire grounded out let to a 2 wire ungrounded wire cable
In an older system, since both the ground wire and the neutral wire connect to the same point in the breaker box, why can't I install a 2-wire grounded outlet into a box with older NM, 2-wire with no ground wire system, by connecting the outlet safety ground to the neutral wire in the outlet box?
First, because it is against code. Then, even though the neutral and ground connect at the panel, they are not connected in the field. By connecting them in the field, you turn all ground conductors into current carrying conductors, just as the neutral is. It is dangerous.
The reason you don't do as you suggest is this. If the neutral becomes disconnected between the receptacle and the panel now all the grounded parts of your device are live at 120 volts. The current flows into the device on the hot and out the neutral and onto the ground which is connected to any metal surfaces of your device. It has no path back to the panel, so the device will not operate. If you touch the metal frame and something that is a true ground you become the path for current flow. | <urn:uuid:a5557013-6b5b-4e7a-90de-636e33646138> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.diychatroom.com/f18/connect-2-wire-grounded-out-let-2-wire-ungrounded-wire-cable-102662/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966258 | 246 | 2.671875 | 3 |
This collection includes two volumes concerning history of Fairfield County.
About The Winns of Fairfield County: Brothers William, Col. John, and General Richard Winn migrated from
Fauquier County, Virginia to Fairfield County in the years just preceding the Revolutionary War. All three, along with several sons, fought for the Patriot's cause with the local militias. In 1785 the brothers petitionedfor a charter and laid out the town on the site of the early village. Early merchants and surveyors, the town of Winnsborough (now Winnsboro) was namedin honor of this founding family. Mr. Chappell was a Winn descendant.
About Captain William Boykin Lyles Estate Record Ledger: The Ledger was the estate record of Captain William Boykin Lyles. His father Thomas Minter Lyles kept the records for several years for the widow. The Fairfield County Lyles properties encompassed several plantations in the farming community called since colonial times Lyles Ford at Beaver Creek on the Broad River (It is now known as Blair). Thomas Minter in the slave censuses of 1850 and 60 was noted as having over 180 slaves and being one of the largest slave owners in the area. Remarkable is the list of the 70 slaves belonging to Boykin Lyles's estate showing their ages and values. Also, debts and debtors listed in the accounting pages show the newspapers subscribed to, artisans contracted, and businesses dealt with during this period of Upcountry plantation economy and culture. Boykin was born Nov. 23, 1835 and was killed in battle at Seven Pines on May 31, 1862. | <urn:uuid:b646a94a-49f6-4d71-9e4a-3e5d3b526fe5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://library.sc.edu/digital/collections/hstryfrfld.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963969 | 332 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Author’s note: I swear that the alliterations are merely a coincidence and until right this moment, I did not intentionally create titles like that.
Many times when perusing the internet, one will find “The Magic of Animals!” “Find out what your omens mean!” and other websites related to the meanings and energies of animals in the natural and magical world. Hopefully, when I speak of plants or animals, my information will be based on observation as well as the traditional energies. Today, I will be reviewing the general properties of lizards, and with that, more specifically, the beauty of geckos.
Lizards are members of the phylum Chordata, sub phylum vertebrate, class reptilia. In terms of evolution, reptiles were the first to have eggs with an amniote – a protective layer in the egg that provides nourishment. It is said that reptiles and birds are closely related, but most classification systems still place them in separate classes.
Reptiles allow the environment around them to influence them in a direct manner. Because they are ectotherms, reptiles use the world around them to help control their body temperature. When purchasing a desert lizard, you’re supposed to offer them a source of heat. If it gets too cold, they will not be as active, or live long, healthy lives.
In addition, reptiles offer the use of a closed circulation system. This means that reptiles’ blood remains in veins and arteries. This may seem odd to you if you are not biologically inclined, however, there exists such a thing as an open circulatory system in which blood kind of flows over everything in the body and eventually trickles back to the heart. With the closed circulatory system, reptiles have a three or four chambered heart.
Therefore, within this biological context, we have established several things about the general energy of lizards:
- They are capable of using the environment to improve their quality of life
- They are indicative of improved protection of their young
- With the closed circulatory system, reptiles are representative of homeostasis and balance – they have a steady pulse.
Unfortunately, I am not going to speak about them, but instead about the Gekko gekko. The Tokay Gecko is a very interesting species. In addition to being just awesome (because that’s what geckos are, awesome), the Tokay Gecko has a special ability: it can speak. Assuming this ability on all lizards, it is easy to conclude that lizards, and geckos most especially, represent the following:
- The power of the voice
Walking along, seeing a gecko – either on a sign, or a cartoon, or in real life if you live in that sort of area – can be a strong reminder or omen to you to speak up! Have a voice in your community, and do something. Sometimes, we wander through life and all we do is what we’re supposed to do. As a pagan, as a witch, as someone who is in love with nature and with the concept of deity, you have extra responsibilities. The gecko may be a sign for you to take action.
In addition to that, geckos and other small lizards have other energies assigned to them:
- Moving unseen from one world into another. (Do you ever see them waltzing into your house?)
- Determination (Ever been holding a lizard that got so scared that it removed itself from its tail so that it could run away? The tails can twitch for hours)
- Balance – many lizards are omnivores – they eat both living prey such as crickets, and plants or fruit
I believe that the most common spiritual classification for this animal is with the Fire element. This, I agree with, as the energies assigned above lend themselves to emotional and spiritual pursuits. Fire is that passing from one world to another – from the physical, to the spiritual.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s article! | <urn:uuid:fe914a66-2ccd-4016-bc09-f83df97c5b5f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://pagantoday.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/the-language-of-lizards/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958825 | 838 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Hemp (asa) has a long history in Japan and was used to produce clothing and ropes from the very earliest times of the Jomon Period. During the succeeding Yayoi Period hemp use for clothing continued including among the Ainu in Hokkaido.
From the 7th century on hemp was used in the making of paper as well as for ropes for temple and shrine bells, noren curtains, bow strings, sandals, the thongs in geta and for ships' rigging.
Hemp at this time was also used to treat various ailments as part of kanpo or Chinese herbal medicine. Hemp seeds, indeed, can still be found in some supermarkets for use in cooking.
Farmers grew fields of hemp throughout Japan and a number of hemp harvest festivals (taima matsuri) survived in certain places in Shikoku, which produced hemp clothes used in ceremonies by the Imperial family and Shinto priests.
Hemp growing, indeed, was only made illegal in Japan in 1948 during the post-war American Occupation and farmers now need a special license to cultivate the plant. A number of farmers have taken to hemp production and the eco-friendly material is now used for making paper lamp shades, bedding, clothing and bags now sold in such shops as the trendy and 'naughty by nature' Oromina in Tokyo.
Nowadays Japan has very strict laws regarding hemp (marijuana; taima) use, cultivation and possession with penalties of up to five years in prison for mere possession of the smallest amounts. Paul McCartney fell victim to Japan's narcotics laws in the 1970s but was released after diplomatic pressure from Britain.
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Books on Tokyo Japan | <urn:uuid:d6b34499-ec6b-4d37-9e52-2247e6662aca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://japanvisitor.blogspot.com/2012/07/hemp-in-japan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00027-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957636 | 354 | 2.890625 | 3 |
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Statement billing is a billing method in which all accounts from a given period are listed in a written document. This written document, called a statement, is sent periodically. It is an alternative to point-of-sale billing or to a requirement that a customer pay for each item individually.
Often, a customer will make multiple purchases during a set period of time. A company could bill the customer for each of the purchases individually. This, however, would be time consuming and expensive.
Instead, statement billing is used. All of the purchases from the set time period are listed on one list. The list includes details on the date of purchase and the amount owed. It commonly also includes details on the type of purchase, such as the item purchased or the location purchased.
Statement billing is standard for credit card companies. Consumers use their charge cards regularly throughout the billing cycle, which is normally 30 days. When the billing cycle ends, a new statement is issued.
Typically, when a statement is sent, the statement will list the amount due. Some statement billing formats require the debtor to pay for all of the items listed on the statement in full by a set date. American Express, for example, has certain cards that require customers pay off their balance in full each month, and suppliers to professional corporations who use statement billing may also require monthly payment in full.
In some cases, the items listed on the statement do not all have to be paid for in full. Instead, the statement lists a minimum amount of money due toward the balance owed. The customer can pay the minimum, or anything beyond the minimum he wants, and the remaining balance is carried over to the next statement.
There are many benefits for companies who use statement billing. Invoicing for multiple purchases in one single bill is far more cost effective and efficient than sending several small bills throughout the course of the month. The company can determine the length of the billing cycle before the statement is sent. Statement billing also allows for easier record keeping since all purchases are listed on one form.
Customers benefit as well, since they can make a single payment. Credit card customers, for example, would likely find it inconvenient if they were required to send in a payment to the credit card company every time they charged on their card. The record keeping benefit that applies to companies also applies to consumers, who can save their statements and have a record of everything they charged during the month.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:57ee72db-d530-4ca0-b0e8-b17c564f7fc6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-statement-billing.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963782 | 553 | 2.875 | 3 |
Digital SLR Cameras and Photography For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Written with just the right balance of technology and techniques in mind, this guide provides you with the know-how on everything from getting acquainted with the basic key features of the technology (lenses, sensors and image processors, and exposure and focusing systems) to the nuances of various dSLR techniques (setting up speedy continuous-shooting burst modes to capture fast action, applying selective and sharp focus, and shooting under the lowest levels of light). Other topics explored include:
- Composing your shots with an accurate viewfinder
- Deciding how many pixels your camera needs
- Cleaning the sensor yourself
- Choosing between a tripod or monopod
- Adjusting exposure and improving shutter speed
- Creating time-lapse sequences
- Fixing murky or contrasting photos
With so much subject area covered, Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies, 2nd Edition not only introduces you to the fundamentals of great picture-taking with a dSLR, but goes beyond the basics. Some of the more advanced topics discussed include working with the various formats of digital photos, minimizing shutter lag and first-shot delays, and fixing up your pictures with various image-editing programs. This is just the book you need to progress from getting started with a dSLR to actually improving your dSLR photography!
Part I: Digital SLRs and You.
Chapter 1: The Digital SLR Difference.
Chapter 2: Safari Inside a dSLR.
Chapter 3: Tracking the Ideal dSLR.
Chapter 4: Accessorizing Your dSLR.
Part II: Oh, Shoot!
Chapter 5: Taking Control of Your dSLR.
Chapter 6: Mastering the Multi-Lens Reflex.
Chapter 7: Special Features of dSLRs.
Part III: Beyond the Basics.
Chapter 8: Working with RAW and Other Formats.
Chapter 9: Action, Flash, and Other Challenges.
Chapter 10: Composition and dSLRs.
Part IV: Fine-Tuning Your Output.
Chapter 11: Fixing Up Your Images.
Chapter 12: Combining and Reorganizing Your Images.
Chapter 13: Hard Copies Aren’t Hard.
Part V: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 14: Ten Ways to Improve Your dSLR Photography.
Chapter 15: Ten Things You Never Thought of Doing with Your Digital SLR.
Chapter 16: Ten Online Resources for Digital SLR Photography.
Chapter 17: Ten (Or More) Confusing Concepts Clarified. | <urn:uuid:d991cea7-9190-4bb5-b94e-fbc822adecac> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470225424.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00176-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.826284 | 538 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees wasn't a chimpanzee. It was something that no longer exists.It was an ape, though. Likewise apes did evolve from monkeys, just not any of the monkeys around today.
It's more accurate to say that humans and chimpanzees share an ape-like ancestor, and that apes and monkeys share a monkey-like ancestor. The phylogeny we use for existing animals can't be projected onto their ancestors. The common ancestors of monkeys and apes weren't more monkey than ape.
Yes, they were. What you are saying only applies to positively defined groups (monophyletic or holophyletic to use the technical term). Monkeys are defined negatively (they are paraphyletic), including all primates that aren't apes, and some are closer relatives of modern apes than to some other modern monkeys. Thus, it's fair to describe their common ancestor as a monkey, whereas it isn't fair to describe the common ancestor of humans and chimps as either.
But paraphyletic and polyphyletic groups aren't allowed in cladistic taxonomy. I guess you're a Linnaean?
It doesn't matter, because monkeys aren't a formal taxonomic category. :) For the record, I agree with the argument by more traditional phylogeneticists that ancestral organisms can't be classified without using paraphyletic groups, but I think their use should be minimized and otherwise support cladistic systems.
[According to DNA analysis bonobo chimpansees are more closely related to humans than to common chimpansees. This means that both kinds have a common ancenstor which would likely have been classified as a chimpansee also. Since humans are also descended from this same common ancestor (through a later branching with proto-bonobo chimpansees), then humans probably are descended from chimpansees. Perhaps they should all be placed together in the sapiens Genus: homo sapiens, bonobo sapiens, pan sapiens. This is likely a claddistic approach.]
Not at all. First, Homo is the genus, sapiens the species. Second, just because they have a common ancestor, doesn't mean they have to be the same genus. Either all three could be placed in Homo, only humans and bonobos could, or all three could be given separate genera. The last seems the most likely in practice.
[oopse, This is terrible. I can't even tell what species and genus I am. OK how about this one: Homo sapiens, Homo bono, Homo troglodytes.]
Actually, there's only one choice in the matter of genus and species differentiation, and it has nothing to do with how you track ancestry. Last I checked, humans and bonobos can't produce a living crossbreed, so they're in different genera. The same is true of the other two pairs of species. | <urn:uuid:347657ff-3404-401c-9b49-b637bda41639> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?CladisticVsLinnaeanTaxonomy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957408 | 597 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Presented at Conference on
Optimal Management of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in Pediatrics
Thurs. June 16, 2005 – Park Nicollet Institute, St. Louis Park, MN
At an alarming rate, obese children are increasing dramatically in our society. Obesity rates in children have at least doubled in the past 20 years and approximately 15% (1 in 7) of children between the ages of 6–19 are considered obese. Disadvantaged children show even higher rates of obesity, diabetes, depression, and heart disease than children in general. Mexican American and African American children are twice as likely to be overweight compared to Caucasian peers (Blom-Hoffman, 2004). Thus, it behooves pediatricians, educators, counselors, nurses, dieticians, other professionals, and parents to combat childhood obesity.
Obesity is a serious health condition that can be both physically and emotionally destructive. There is much documented research that obesity is strongly linked with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, premature death, sleep apnea, asthma (Blom-Hoffman, 2004) and a number of other physical health concerns. Recent research is accumulating that childhood obesity also is associated with a number of serious emotional factors.
Recently, a study by Williams, et. al. (2005) found that overweight and obese children had a lower quality of life. Obese children showed decreases in physical and social functioning compared with children not overweight. Health-related quality of life begins to decline as soon as a child is above average in weight. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academics (2004) have listed the primary emotional health consequences of obesity in children and youth as low self-esteem, negative body image, and depression. The social health consequences are stigma and social marginalization. The Institute also stated that “obese children and adolescents are at high risk for becoming obese adults with many costs to society”.
Body size stigmatization has many negative consequences for social interaction of overweight children. Research by Musher-Eizenman (2004) and her colleagues at Bowling Green State University have shown that negative attitudes about child obesity are present in children as young as 3 years of age. The negative perceptions are even more strongly felt if the child believes that an obese child can control their weight. Children believe that obese children possess more negative personality and behavioral characteristics than do other children and even obese children hold negative attitudes toward obesity. These characteristics include being mean rather than nice, stupid rather than smart, not friendly rather than friendly, sloppy rather than neat, ugly rather than attractive, and loud rather than quiet. As a child becomes older their attitudes toward obesity become more extreme and if an individual blames the obese child’s condition as the fault of that child, then those negative attitudes are felt even more strongly. Musher-Eizenman (2004) implies that obese children are judged responsible for their plight and are viewed as “sinners or sick”. Furthermore, children’s attitudes toward obesity are more negative than individuals with other stigmas.
Locally, research by Marla Eisenberg (2003) and her colleagues at the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota found that teasing and chiding lowers self-esteem in overweight and thin Twin City teenagers. Over 4700 Twin City middle and high school students were surveyed about teasing in a research project on adolescent nutrition called Project EAT. About 1/3 of girls and 1/4 of boys were teased by peers and close to 1/3 of girls and 1/6 of boys were teased by family members. Those who were teased by both peers and family had more severe emotional problems. Half of the girls in that group thought about suicide and 1/4 had attempted it. About 1/3 of the boys thought of suicide and about 1/8 of boys attempted it. The rates for suicide thoughts and attempts were much higher for this group as compared to all Minnesota teenagers, according to data from the Minnesota Health Department. The study also found that about half the girls had symptoms of depression and poor body image. For boys in the group about 1/6 had low self-esteem. Those teenagers teased by family members had somewhat higher rates of depression, suicide thoughts, and suicide attempts than those only teased by peers. Regardless of body types or size, teenagers who were teased about it were two to three times more likely to think about or attempt suicide than those who were not teased.
Studies of bullying (Espelage and Swearer, 2003) indicate bullying occurs often starting as early as kindergarten and peaks in Jr. high school. Seventy-seven percent of adolescents admit they have been victimized by bullies. Victimization can be done physically or verbally and these negative actions are difficult to defend. Examples of verbal bullying include withdrawal of friendship, rumor spreading with intent to damage a relationship, gossip, social rejection and alienation, power to manipulate and control, group harassing and teasing, and name calling. The result of victimization includes depression, low self esteem, somatic complaints, bed wetting, and a number of other stress reactions. The most visible and vulnerable target of a bully is an obese child.
Thus, obese children are at high risk for peer or family teasing, victimization, and rejection and these consequences should also motivate an obese child and his or her parents to seek treatment.
Obese children and their parents need to seek professional help and, fortunately, treatment is available and recovery is possible. Treatment and care can be provided by licensed health professionals such as primary care physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nutritionists, and nurses. The care should be coordinated among the health professionals and most clients respond to outpatient psychotherapy including individual, family, or group along with medical management by the primary care provider. When the situation is life threatening or when there are severe behavioral or emotional problems, inpatient care may be needed.
One of the first things that parents can do is to get a child “health report card” of height, weight, and fitness level. Parents can address any weight problems in their child and most parents are happy to receive this information. Parents who were given the “health report card” were more likely to start a plan to help their child lose weight in elementary school children. The appropriate plan is to have overweight children increase physical activity and change nutritional habits, not to go on a diet. There are many diet plans that are popular in the United States, particularly for adults. However, a recent medical study by Dansinger, et. al. (2005) at Tuffs University in Boston, found that obese adults with a cardiac risk factor could only lose about 5 lbs. on average after one year. The biggest problem was the lack of adherence to the diet for these adults and this would probably be the same issue for obese children. The strongest predictor of obesity in adulthood is obesity in adolescence. Various studies on obese children, particularly girls, indicate that those who diet to lose weight are more likely to gain weight and become a greater risk for obesity by more than 3 times greater than normal children. Those children who diet strenuously and use radical weight loss efforts such as laxatives, diet pills, vomiting, etc. gain more weight through binge eating. Diet and exercise habits are learned at an early age and are usually maintained into adulthood. Thus, proper habits need to be learned early in childhood. (Keenan 2004).
Instead of dieting, healthy eating should be promoted. Certain diet alternatives can be substituted for high fat snacks and sugared soft drinks at home and school. Exercise is encouraged while sitting in front of the TV or monitor should be limited. Psychological counseling of obesity must address the symptoms and the underlying interpersonal and cultural forces that contribute to or maintain obesity. The primary therapeutic technique is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). CBT helps obese children normalize their eating by identifying and restructuring any maladaptive thoughts and beliefs toward eating, body shape and weight. CBT should include body size acceptance and a realistic weight loss goal. Standard behavioral weight control can be effective with standard calorie restrictions. CBT also will assess readiness and motivation for change. Obese children may be more likely to reduce binge eating but less likely to restrict their eating. The therapist and parents will insure that no negative consequences will occur if the child is open about their resistance to change.
The first step in starting treatment is to establish an effective working relationship and to orient the child to the treatment. The weight problem will already be assessed regarding the history of the weight problem and any prior attempts to lose weight and their outcome. The assessment also includes typical eating habits, physical activity, reasons to lose weight, attitude toward appearance, weight goals and physical health. The continuing assessment will also address the child and parent motivation and premature discontinuation of treatment. The child and parent will then monitor food and drink intake and count calories The child will start a weight graph and will be weighed weekly. Thoughts or feelings, the circumstances, or the context in which eating occurred should also be noted by child or parent.
A second step is to design homework assignments with the child and parents. The homework should be specific, achievable, and understood. The homework should be written down so that it is not forgotten and any difficulty completing the homework should be addressed. Praise completion of homework and problem solve any part not completed. Review progress and set one or two goals for the forthcoming week. Special situations and circumstances such as restaurants, eating at a friend’s house, pressures to eat, vacations, snacks, and special occasions will also require planning and problem solving. If child or parents do not comply well with homework assignments or set up barriers to weight loss these problems will be assessed and addressed.
Next, activity level should be increased. The benefits of increasing overall activity will be explained and any misconceptions about exercise will be corrected. Three types of activity should be recorded which includes inactivity (sitting or lying down), life style activity (incidental activity that is part of everyday life), and formal exercise exertion. Sedentariness should be decreased while lifestyle activity and exercise should be increased. Learning appropriate nutrition and exercise habits are important components of the treatment program.
When the child or parents have concerns about body image these concerns should be evaluated an addressed and a positive body image should be developed. Body image concerns are particularly important if unhappiness with their body shape leads to overeating. Negative thoughts and beliefs about the body including recurrent critical thoughts and dysfunctional beliefs need to be corrected and alternative, positive thoughts should be inserted. Having made important changes, the child and his or her parents needs to learn to accept their body and weight and even though they may desire further change, this may not be possible.
The next step is to identify weight goals. The ideal weight is what the obese child would like to weigh but it is probably unrealistic. The desired weight is what the child should be able to achieve during treatment but it will require effort. The tolerable weight would be the highest goal weight the child and parents could accept. During treatment the child and parents should understand that some aspects of being overweight can be changed while others cannot. The treatment plan should help the child change what can be changed and accept what cannot, particularly what is genetically determined. Realistically, a 10-15% weight loss range should be the expected goal and this range should be discussed with the child and parents. If the expectation is to lose more than this range it will probably not happen but the client should not view the treatment or themselves as a failure since it is quite an achievement first to lose the weight and keep it off. A 10-15% weight loss is very beneficial for the obese child and family. The child’s appearance will be improved and the waist line reduced giving the child a general sense of well being and self esteem. There should be a reduction in any negative eff3ects on health and an increase in quality of life. Common primary goals will be met with a 10-15% weight loss. These goals include improving physical appearance, feeling healthier and fit, having more self-respect and self confidence, increasing a choice of clothing, having better relationships, and taking part in activities previously avoided.
During treatment there will be an emphasis on healthy eating. To reduce fat consumption, a low-fat diet will help long-term weight maintenance and reduce any risk of health problems. By eating bread, cereal, rice, and pasta these foods provide energy and fiber and reduce the likelihood of eating fatty foods. Fruits and vegetables should be increased to also lower risk of health problems and increase fiber. The key is to establish a long-term adherence to healthy eating. The successful treatment plan would take 25-30 sessions over a 50-65 week period.
When primary goals are met or when the “costs” of attempting to lose more weight seem to outweigh the possible benefits a weight maintenance plan should be developed. The emphasis is to minimize the risk of regaining the weight they have lost that is beyond the normal expectation of the growing child. The maintenance plan should not attempt to lose any more weight but to learn to maintain a new stable weight for at least a 6 month period. Weight maintenance will be less reinforcing because there is no weight loss goal. Acceptance of weight and shape may have previously been undesirable, the time period will be indefinite and the child may receive little encouragement from others. The child and family will have to balance energy intake with energy expenditure and this should be regularly monitored. Special situations or circumstances and set backs also must be addressed. The child and parents should write up a maintenance plan that include reasons not to regain weight, good eating habits to keep up, good activity habits to keep up, and danger areas to consider. The plan should also include weekly weight monitoring and when and how to take action when a setback occurs.
As early as 1980, Epstein and colleagues demonstrated the effectiveness of behavior therapy in treating childhood obesity. They found that the addition of nutrition education to the behavioral techniques of contingency contracting, self-monitoring of caloric intake and weight, praise, and stimulus control significantly improved weight loss in obese children. Epstein also found parent-child treatment had significantly better changes than any other control group.
It is also possible for the obese child to be effectively treated even if they do no actively participate in treatment as long as the parents are actively involved. Both child and parent together or child and parent treated separately lead to weight reduction. The gradual number of sessions (8 sessions over 15 weeks) had more significant weight change than the rapid (8 sessions in 4 weeks). The child and parents need to process and master sequential components of behavior change. Frequent reinforcement for weight change is also important for obese children.
Both parents and child say they will engage in behavior to eat healthy and exercise but to ensure decisions will be acted on these intentions should be specified in terms of where and when. For example, “I intend to eat low-fat food for supper and exercise ½ hour at 4 PM each day starting Wednesday” will be more likely to be performed than if the intention is unspecified. Parents and child can set a schedule and the child can be reinforced for implementation. This form of self-monitoring and follow through will be strengthened without the need for additional information and the presence of a therapist. Thus, motivation alone is not sufficient to lose weight but when accompanied by voluntary action strategies they become self-directed and more effective.
In summary, obesity in children is a serious problem and it is increasing dramatically. There are many emotional factors which include lower quality of life, depression and anxiety, low self confidence, negative body image, teasing and other forms of bullying, and social alienation. However, obesity can be treated and the child can recover with proper care by licensed health professionals. Counseling, using primarily a cognitive behavior therapy format, can be effective in working with the child and his or her family. After a thorough assessment, a comprehensive psychotherapy plan can be implemented that will require about 25 sessions over 12-15 months. Accounting for normal childhood growth and maturation, a weight loss of 10-15% would be realistic. Parents, educators, and mental health professionals should be alert to the social, cultural, and external influences that promote obesity and be ready to take action and make referrals for treatment.
Blom-Hoffman, J., “Obesity Prevention in Children: Strategies for Parents and School Personnel”, (2004), National Association of School Psychologists Communiqué, Vol. 33 (3).
Dansinger, M. L., Gleason, J. A., Griffith, J. L., Selker, H. P., and Schaefer, E. J. (2005), “Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction.”, Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan. 5, 2005; Vol. 293 (1) pp. 43-53.
Eisenberg, Marla (et. al.) (2003), Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2003 August.
Also reported as “Teasing About Weight Takes Its Toll On Kids, U Study finds” by Josephine Marcotty, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Aug. 12, 2003, B1, B4.
Epstein, L. H., Wing, R. R., Steranchak, L., Dickson, B. and Michelson, J., (1980), “Comparison of family based behavior modification and nutrition education for childhood obesity”, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Vol. 5, pp. 25-36.
Espelage, Dorothy L. and Swearer, Susan M., (2003), ”Research on School Bullying and Victimization”, School Psychology Review, (2003), pp. 365-383.
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (2004), “Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures-Fact Sheet”, (Sept. 2004).
Keenan, J. C., “Guidelines and Outcome Evaluation for Prevention and Treatment of Obesity in Children”, National Association of School Psychologists communiqué, Vol. 33 (3) 11-12.
Musher-Eizenman, D.R., Holub, S.C., Miller, A.B., Goldstein, S.E., and Edwards-Leeper, L. (2004). “Body Size Stigmatization in Preschool Children: The Role of Control Attributions”, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2004, 29(8) 613-620.
Williams, J., Wake, M., Hesketh, K., Maher, E., and Wates, E., (2005), “Health-Related Quality of Life of Overweight and Obese Children”, Journal of American Medical Association, (2005), pp. 70-76.
CDC Growth Charts – Educational Materials section | <urn:uuid:cc260100-e690-43ff-a1f9-9b4b195034e1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://minneapolis-psychologist.com/child-psychology/obese-children/psychological-challenges-in-overweight-children/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953858 | 3,881 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Lead-acid batteries are the most recycled product in the United States.
A battery is a device in which the energy of a chemical reaction is converted into electricity. Small, sealed button and six-volt batteries are used for consumer products. “Starting batteries” deliver a short burst of high power to start engines. “Deep cycle batteries” deliver a low, steady level of power for electrical accessories, such as trolling motors on boats. Large industrial batteries have thicker plates and can supply low, steady power for years. This profile is limited to lead-acid batteries used by motor vehicles.
A lead-acid battery consists of a polypropylene casing; lead terminals and positive and negative internal plates; lead oxide; and electrolyte, a dilute solution of sulfuric acid and water and plastic separators that are made of a porous synthetic material. More than 80 percent of the lead produced in America is used in lead-acid batteries.
Lead-acid batteries have the highest recycling rate of any product sold in the United States. This is because of the ease of returning a used battery when purchasing a new battery and the value of the lead and plastic components of the used battery.
Chaz Miller is state programs director for the National Solid Wastes Management Association, Washington. E-mail him at: email@example.com.
Battery Council International, www.batterycouncil.org
“Measurement Standards and Reporting Guidelines,” National Recycling Coalition, www.nrc-recycle.org
“Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures,” U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste, 2008, www.epa.gov/osw
Waste Age, “If They Ban It, Will It Go Away?”, Oct. 1993
Data is from 2007 EPA estimates, except where noted.
LEAD-ACID BATTERIES MSW
2.54 million tons, or 1.0% by weight.
16.84 pounds per person per year.
The average life of a car battery is four years.
The average life of a truck battery is three years.
A car battery contains 21.4 pounds of lead.
2.52 million tons, or a 99.2% recycling rate.
99% of battery lead is recycled, according to industry data.
Nine states have battery deposit laws.
Most states require retailers to collect old lead-acid batteries from customers who buy new batteries. | <urn:uuid:ae61ae5f-1039-4d6d-a40e-dad207df55b4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://waste360.com/Recycling_And_Processing/lead-acid-batteries-most-recycled-product-200904 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00113-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909257 | 522 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Last name: Christmas
The medieval calendar relied on the main religious saints days to provide the festivals and entertainment, in what otherwise was for most people, a dull and structured existence. Chief among these festivals was that of Christmas, a period given over to both devotion and feasting in equal measure. The surname of Christmas can be either job-descriptive for a person responsible for arranging the annual festivity, or romantically given to one born on Christmas Day. The first recording (below) would seem to be that of a resident at a monastery, although not a monk, ad they were both celibate and non-surname bearing. To add validity to the job-descriptive background, was Gerard Christmas, who from 1619 to 1632 was the official organiser of the Lord Mayor of London's annual procession and festival. He was also a noted wood carver, particularly famous for funeral monuments! The early recordings include: Ralph Christemasse, of Suffolk, in 1191; Richard Cristemes, of Cambridge, in 1308; whilst in 1626, Thomas Christmas married Dorothie Leesie by Civil Licence in London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Cristemesse, which was dated 1185, in the "Rotuli Dominus Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2016
Want to dig deeper into your family history? Take a look at our page on building a Family Tree
. Or get scientific and enter the exciting world of Ancestral DNA | <urn:uuid:2c82d9b3-b31a-4487-94ec-21c0aca8ff88> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Christmas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962997 | 392 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Ukraine is in the midst of civil unrest, following protests which began after the failure to sign an Association Agreement with the EU in November. Taras Kuzio writes that the conflict stems from the persistent erosion of democracy in the country. He suggests that the current government leaders cannot salvage their political futures and, despite their best efforts, Ukraine will not become more like Russia.
The death of protesters in Ukraine on 22 January, the symbolic national independence and unity day, marks the first time people have been killed in civil unrest since the country exited from the Soviet Union. Although, on the very same day, the government of Nikolai Azarov had passed several new laws, which included allowing police to use firearms, under the constitution, the ultimate responsibility lies with President Viktor Yanukovych.
The bloodshed came about because of the nature of those who are in power. In the first decade of Ukrainian independence, the dominant political figures were former dissidents turned national democrats on the one side, and ex-Komsomol (Communist Youth League) and senior political and economic nomenklatura on the other. Ukraine’s first three presidents (Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko) hailed from these groups and they supported the three pillars of the Ukrainian independent state – democratisation (in fits and starts), Ukrainian national identity and efforts toward European integration.
These leaders were anti-communist and fought Crimean Russian nationalist-separatists. More importantly, during crises such as the 2004 Orange Revolution, they supported compromise and negotiation through round-table discussions. They were not angels – few were on either side of the political divide – and most were tainted by corruption. Most of this corruption was derived from white collar crime.
A second group emerged throughout the former USSR, but only in Ukraine did ex-criminal elites come to power – post-Soviet leaders from the senior Soviet party or security nomenklatura. Yanukovych and Azarov come from the Donetsk region of Ukraine, which experienced high levels of violence during the post-Soviet transition and is notably Russophile in its identity. Little wonder that the Party of Regions, the political krysha (‘roof’, colloquial for ‘protection’) of the Donetsk clan, found common cause with Crimean Russian nationalists. The Crimea led the way in violence in the 1990s and also has a strong Russian identity. Meanwhile, the Communists have become a satellite of the Party of Regions.
High levels of bloodshed in Donetsk and Crimea continued through the late 1990s and the parliamentary faction of the Party of Regions that emerged from this in 2000 was organised by Governor Yanukovych to provide political protection for the Donetsk clan. The Party of Regions integrated former ‘Red Directors’, the managers of state enterprises that had been insider-privatised, leaders of organised crime, new emerging oligarchs and ex-security officials. Fourteen years later, the party still includes eighteen people with ties to crime.
The regional and social origins of Yanukovych and the Party of Regions explain their Russophile identity, as well as their repressive behaviour. It was wrong to assume post-Soviet elites were similar to US robber barons of the 19th century, as this would be only analytically correct for those who dominated ruling elites in the 1990s. Yanukovych and his oligarch allies have more in common with American criminal figures. As a Kiev taxi driver told me in December 2013, the difference between Kuchma and Yanukovych was like that between Silvio Berlusconi and Al Capone.
The Donetsk-Crimean alliance was forged in 2006 when the Party of Regions came first in parliamentary elections, but it was Yanukovych’s election as president in 2010 that enabled the alliance to effectively capture the Ukrainian state. Donetsk and Crimea were considered backwaters in the old USSR and its local elites had no influence in Kiev. This was the first time Donetsk ruled Ukraine.
The current social and political turmoil is therefore the culmination of five main factors which have led to the explosion of popular unrest which is continuing today. This outpouring had not taken place sooner, as disillusionment with the presidency of Victor Yushchenko had dampened protest during Yanukovych’s first three years in office.
First is the erosion of Ukrainian democracy, which appeared to reach its height on 16 January. Second is the replacement of the Ukrainian national identity with a Russophile national identity. In the summer of 2012, the Russian language was elevated to the same official status as Ukrainian. Third is the repressive nature of the regime. It employs both vigilantes and police to engage in corporate raids and attacks on journalists, opposition leaders and civic activists. Repressive behaviour has also been evident in the use of fraud by Yanukovych in every one of his elections – as governor, prime minister and president – and his use of brutal police violence against Euromaidan protesters, political leaders and journalists.
Fourth is the personal corruption of Yanukovych, whose three mains goals are to become the wealthiest, most powerful and longest serving president in Ukraine. The erosion of democracy has led to rampant corruption of a large scale with massive corporate raiding. Economist Anders Aslund has estimated the losses from corruption to amount to around $10 billion a year. Yanukovych has used his power to establish his own clan (dubbed ‘The Family’), led by his eldest son Oleksandr, who catapulted to one of the fifty wealthiest Ukrainians only three years after his father became president.
Fifth is that some Ukrainians were willing to ignore the factors above for so long as the president kept Ukraine on a course leading to European integration, in the hopes that Brussels would help push reform. At the end of November, however, the government decided not to sign an Association Agreement with the EU, which served as the spark for the present conflict.
Ukrainians have gone to the streets and set up tents on the Maidan (Square) three times – in 1990, 2004 and 2013-2014. Each occasion was to stand up against authoritarian leaders. Today, anger is mounting because Yanukovych has attacked the three pillars of Ukrainian independence and undermined Ukrainian sovereignty, travelling to Moscow as a president and practically returning as a regional governor.
Yanukovych’s Russophile attitude, repressive behaviour and contributions to the erosion of Ukrainian democracy, which he is constitutionally obligated to protect, along with the violence of recent days, have undermined his legitimacy and destroyed his prospects for having a political future in Ukraine. As someone who dreamt of ruling Ukraine as a managed democracy in the same manner as he governed Donetsk, Yanukovych has learnt too late that Ukraine is not – and will not – be like Russia.
Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.
Shortened URL for this post: http://bit.ly/1fmrhVn
Taras Kuzio – University of Alberta
Taras Kuzio is Research Associate in the Centre for Political and Regional Studies in the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Alberta and Fellow in the Center for Transatlantic Relations in the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. | <urn:uuid:fc2d04a2-3162-4b40-a5ce-b59c3a61aa9c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2014/01/29/ukraines-current-political-turmoil-is-rooted-in-the-erosion-of-its-democracy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00113-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974343 | 1,465 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The New Zealand Walking Access Commission says it is producing a mapping system so that people can more easily find out where there is legal public access across land.
"The current system is complicated," said commission chairman John Acland.
"It's not easy for people to find information on where they can go on publicly-owned land, or who to contact to ask for permission to access privately-owned land."
The commission expected to complete the mapping project this year.
"That should make a difference," said Mr Acland, whose commission today released guidelines for access to the nation's beaches, waterways, and mountains.
"The lack of information has been a problem," he said.
The code was released at Parliament by Agriculture Minister David Carter.
Mr Acland, a former high country runholder, said the great outdoors was an important part of New Zealand culture.
The commission was expected to provide practical, enduring and guaranteed walking access to the outdoors that the public could enjoy at no cost.
"Our role is to promote, encourage and, where appropriate, negotiate public access on foot to rivers, lakes and the coastline, and to our forests, mountains and countryside," he said.
The guidelines, a code of behaviour, spelt out the need for people to behave properly and to take responsibility for their actions in the outdoors.
And the code also asked landholders to continue the traditions of New Zealand, which had seen it as customary for landholders to give access to people wanting to cross their land, though Mr Acland noted access across private land relied on landholder goodwill.
Mr Acland said rights and privileges of access brought with them responsibilities, and he urged people using the outdoors for recreation to respect the environment and the requirements of farming life.
New Zealand was an increasingly urban society, despite its economic reliance on agricultural products, and many people might be aware of rural customs and local practice or the possible adverse impacts of their behaviour.
"Respect for property rights is important - both the property rights of private landowners and the public's property rights," he said.
Statutory rights included:
* roads, including unformed legal roads, and much of the land reserved along water margins;
* marginal strips along rivers, lakes and the coast;
* public reserves: various kinds with a variety of access rights;
* other Crown land reserved from sale, depending on use of the land by the Crown;
* esplanade reserves, esplanade strips and access strips, though there might be restrictions.
There was no right of public access across private land, though there was scope for:
* easements or leases over private land forming part of walkways;
* other easements or rights of way providing for public access;
* esplanade strips; and,
* informal arrangements such as negotiated agreement for access to a fishing river or on a case-by-case basis.
Public access to some public lands or water bodies could be restricted for safety reasons, such as around the spillways of hydro-electric dams. | <urn:uuid:01af916d-4762-4867-a3a2-e5d8fdea90b6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10655476 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965745 | 629 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Benchmarks for Science
Literacy - What students should know about science, math, and technology by the time they
graduate from high school. This guide to instruction and the writing of a curriculum has been
developed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Science NetLinks - Lesson plans and web
resources of K-12 science teachers from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
125 Great Science Videos - From Astronomy to Physics and Psychology. This are videos which may be found on YouTube, and this list is from the Open Culture web site.
Appcrawlr - Search for apps by subject and platform.
Learning Science - Here you will find links to new online technologies for
teaching science, links to science sites which are related to the science learning standards, and cool learning tools for math. This is a collaborative project of Temple University, and teachers in Bucks County (PA) schools.
Learner.org - Professional development and teaching resources. Videos marked VoD may be watched online. This site is by the Annenberg Foundation.
42 eXplore - Teaching ideas and related web sites for a variety of science topics.
Why are Things Colored? - This site could be used for anatomy, art, physics, or several other disciplines. There are lesson plans. This a Smithsonian Web Exhibit.
Who Did It? - Using forensics to hone science and laboratory skills. This is a unit for middle or high school science students. It is an introduction to laboratory investigation which would be appropriate for general science, biology, or bio-technology. It is from Teacher's First.
Earth and Sky - Activities to accompany the daily radio program, and
also links to lesson plan and science sites.
Amazing Space - Astronomy lessons, teaching tools, and a video about the
Space.Com - This site provides current news of the space program, and also
information on space, astronomy and Project SETI. It is a commercial site and sells books, astonomy programs and other materials.
Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground -
Hands on Astronomy Activites for Kids. There are activities for studying the rotation of the earth, mapping,
time and calendars, and the solar system and the moon. | <urn:uuid:03ac8aea-14f3-473a-b8cb-db555f883859> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sldirectory.com/teachf/scied.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901332 | 466 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Fort Magic Is The Perfect Toy To Inspire Creative Play & Learning Simultaneously … At Home Or In Schools!
The Educational Benefits Of Fort Magic Are Numerous And Include The Following:
- Stimulating Invention & Creativity
- Increasing Fine & Gross Motor Skills
- Building Language Skills & Group Cooperation
- Increasing The Ability To Plan & Finish A Project With Joy
- Enhancing A Love of Learning, Curiosity & Exploration
- Increasing Spatial Intelligence & Focus
- Promoting Multi-Sensory Learning
- Increasing Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Skills
- Builds Self-Confidence Through Positive Achievement
- Promotes STEM/STEAM Skill Development
- And More!
- The Creation of Historical Architecture
- The Demonstration of Mathematical Concepts
- The Function & Build of Machines
- The Creation of Children’s Literature Scenes or The Staging Of Plays
- The Unending Exploration of Scientific Principles & Experiments
- Or … Just Fun, Creative Building & Play!
Fort Magic Is Endorsed By Teachers & Doctors As An Excellent Learning Toy For Children!
“As a former high school science teacher and home school mom one of the big ideas I work on is “inquiry learning”. I am always amazed at what I hear children saying when they are putting together Fort Magic … “How do you think …?” and “What if we put …?”… and COOPERATIVE building. They have a blast trying to figure it all out! Fort Magic is a great product that inspires creativity, critical thinking, inquiry and FUN!”
~ Abigail Bihary, Teacher in Ohio
“As a teacher, I think Fort Magic is wonderful for children because it allows them to be creative, problem solve and use their imagination. Seeing kids follow instructions step-by-step to build a pirate ship or castle, and then watching others following their own design to build something unique, is so much fun for me as an educator. The fact that it can clean up easily and become a whole new design the next day is a real plus!”
~ Corry Tyle, Teacher in Florida
“After almost 30 years as a professional educator I have been exposed to a variety of creative and imaginative activities and concepts for children. Fort Magic is a wonderful toy, easy to assemble and promotes inventive play that is essential for a child’s best brain development. Research tells us that the first ten years of life need hands on activities, and Fort Magic is exactly the toy for this, while providing fun!”
~ Kim Montgomery, Professional Educator, M.A.T., Florida
Read Our Professionally Sourced Articles!
The Benefits Of Creative Play Toys For Children!
Fort Magic fort building kit belongs to a very important category of creative play toys for children called “Physical Toys”. This category includes toys that encourage and promote cognitive and emotional development through repetitive use. It is the repetitive interaction with physical toys that literally helps to ‘build’ your child’s best brain.
Dr. Cortney V. Martin, PhD, writes “Physical toys offer a number of advantages over computer-based toys for children including: Being Socially Interactive, Multisensory, Exploratory, Developing Perceptual Skills, Increased Motor Skill Development, And Encouraging Critical Thinking And Problem Solving. There is a growing body of evidence that physical building toys also contribute to spatial ability, and in turn, science and math aptitude.”
Sean Brotherson, Family Science Specialist, writes, “Early experience and interaction with the environment are the most critical in a child’s brain development (not genetics). Until the age of 11, a child’s brain is superdense and has about twice as many neurological connections as an adult’s. Around the age of 11 a type of ‘pruning’ begins and gradually the child’s brain begins to eliminate the extra connections.”
“The neurons in a child’s brain are formed and strengthened through repeated experiences, the connections and pathways that are built actually structure the way a child learns. If a pathway is not used, it’s eventually eliminated based on the “use it or lose it” principle. If it is used repeatedly is becomes permanent.If you do them a single time, either good or bad, they are less likely to have an effect on brain development.”
Positive and loving interaction with loved ones, and a daily investment in quality learning activities, such as playing with physical toys, are just a few of the critical experiences that can have a huge impact on your child’s first ten years of life. These types of repetitive activities will create a strong neurological foundation in your child’s brain. It is literally the one chance we have at developing our child’s best brain for life.
Playtime Builds Confidence!
“Mistakes are not just golden opportunities for learning;
they are, in an important sense, the only opportunity for learning something truly new.”
~ Daniel C. Dennett, Tufts University Professor
A wonderful benefit of building and creating with Fort Magic is the permission children are given to be exploratory, personally unique and sometimes even “wrong”. These types of perspectives and challenges present wonderful learning opportunities.
When a child is building a design from their own invention they have a chance to test for themselves what may work best, what they like to build, or in what direction they would like to build next. They will think inventively about which type of stick they may like to add, a curved one or straight one? A long one or short one? Or what type of connector they would like to choose next.
This is curiosity and learning mixed with play, which is education at its best for kids.
If a parent refrains from suggesting too much when the child is building, or criticizing the child when they choose options differently than what a parent may think correct, but instead observes patiently how well the child is focusing, or compliments the child on their inventive solutions, unusual designs, or encourages the child to keep exploring and trying new ideas when at first they can’t find a solution … then the fertile ground for raising confidence and self-esteem is set. Mistakes make us stronger when they are pathways to success.
Eventually, children will find the solutions they are looking for and build something wonderfully inventive they are thrilled to have created! This moment … when they have overcome their obstacle, or finished their new amazing design, when their face lights up with joy from accomplishing something creatively their own, this is the moment they learn mistakes are not scary failures, but simply stepping stones towards their personal enjoyment and success. | <urn:uuid:576fbac6-ede3-463d-8d38-130f651bac9a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://fortmagic.com/what-is-fort-magic/education-and-learning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00113-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934175 | 1,404 | 2.671875 | 3 |
In 1930, inspired by the nets used in high-wire circus acts, 16-year-old gymnast George Nissen cobbled together a rectangular steel frame and a canvas sheet in his parents’ garage in an effort to create a bouncy version of the net. He called it a bouncing rig. He perfected it over the years and had his "aha" moment in 1937 after hearing the Spanish word for diving board: el trampolin. He added an “e” and registered “Trampoline” as a trademark, and spent his long life promoting both the apparatus and the sport. In 2000, trampolining was added to the Olympics roster; in the 2008 Summer Olympics, Nessen was given the honor of testing out the equipment before the Games began. He died in 2010 at the age of 96. | <urn:uuid:6e14da58-e3af-4d15-ae8c-a7cf22997f71> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mnn.com/leaderboard/photos/8-brilliant-everyday-things-invented-by-kids/trampoline | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971605 | 172 | 2.75 | 3 |
|Hardy, deciduous perennials for shaded gardens with large, bold leaves often marked with contrasting colors. Leaves range in shape from round to lance-shaped, and colors can be yellow to green to blue, often with white, yellow or green marginal markings. Lavender or white flowers grow on 2 foot stalks in early summer. Wonderful contrast when planted with small-leaved plants, adding texture to the landscape.
This species has ovate to heart-shaped, slightly wavy, glossy, light green leaves, 6-11 inches long, with prominent, widely spaced, raised veins. Bears trumpet-shaped, very fragrant white flowers, 4 inches long, on leafy, bright green stalks, 26-30 inches tall, in late summer and early fall. 24 inches tall, 36 inches wide. Prefers a sunny site. 'Aphrodite' bears double flowers that hardly ever open. 'Venus' has ovate wavy leaves, 9 inches long, and bears double flowers 4 inches long. | <urn:uuid:eff08ca1-c146-45b9-90dd-50baf18a1efa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pd_8bd2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911156 | 212 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Weather extremes and the prospect of continued global warming require us to understand the special care trees need in the event of drought.
Drought stress develops in plants when the available soil water becomes limited. As this happens, young roots are killed outright, reducing the plant's ability to absorb sufficient water. The soil also becomes hard and compact as it dries, reducing oxygen to the roots. If landscape plants (trees, shrubs, and ground covers, especially evergreen types) do not receive adequate rainfall or supplemental watering, heavy plant loss is likely.
Water trees and shrubs during extremely dry soil conditions. If you have to choose, water your trees and not the grass since grass will turn green again when water is available. For water conservation, it is best to not water your lawn at all. Trees, on the other hand, will show subtle signs of drought, wilting or dropping leaves. However, they can be seriously injured or die without water.
Summer is the most stressful time for landscape plants. Without enough moisture, plants can't function normally and are predisposed to damage by pests or disease. Generally speaking, those most at risk are newly planted or transplanted trees without extensive root systems or other plants with under-developed or damaged root systems.
When watering trees, shrubs, and other landscape plants, remember that they absorb water and nutrients through their roots, most of which are in the upper 1 to 2 feet of soil. The goal is to keep plant roots moist, but not wet. Constantly saturated conditions also can damage roots.
Watering and other tips for plant care during drought:
- Depending on air temperatures, trees and shrubs need at least 1 inch of water applied every week to 10 days to cope with lack of rain. Larger, established trees have a wide-spreading root system and need not be watered as frequently, perhaps every 2 to 3 weeks. Let the top few inches of soil dry out between watering to avoid saturation and to allow roots and soil organisms to breathe.
- Water slowly and deeply so water percolates down into the soil, electing one or two deep waterings as opposed to several light ones.
- Use soaker hoses and drip irrigation, effective watering tools because they discharge even streams of slow, trickling water directly to the root zone beneath trees and shrubs. When combined with a 3 or 4-inch layer of organic mulch, plants can use nearly all of the water that's provided with little evaporation loss.
- Another effective means of watering a small tree is letting a hose run slowly at its base until the ground is moist. For large trees, let the hose run at various points around the tree's drip line—the imaginary line on the ground that encircles a tree's extended branches.
- Water shrubs at the plant base and under the spread of branches until soil is moistened to a depth of 6 to 8 inches.
- When using a sprinkler system, place a container nearby to measure when you have distributed 1 inch of water to the soil.
- Plants vary in their ability to tolerate water stress. Prioritize watering, caring for newly transplanted trees and shrubs first, then those that have been in the ground from 2 to 5 years. Next, water "specimen" trees or important trees, then all other plants.
- Water strategically. Plants absorb more water in the early morning, before the warming sun causes evaporation.
- Avoid using fertilizer during drought conditions. Fertilizer salts can cause root injury when soil moisture is limited. | <urn:uuid:56805e6d-db6b-47fd-9db3-6ef03af43a3f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-advice/horticulture-care/drought-care | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954954 | 731 | 3.703125 | 4 |
WOOSTER Bullying has been around as long as people have lived and worked together. Whenever power and status come together in a group, the potential for bullying and harassment is there. The reasons for bullying are as varied as the individuals and groups involved. This continues to hold true for schools in America.Judy Rankine and Edith Schmidt, co-chairmen of the Wooster Doll Show, recently approached Every Woman's House with a donation. They asked that the money be used to assist in preventing domestic violence. It was decided to use the donation to underwrite the cost of the No Bullies-No Victims program which is currently being taught in Wayne and Holmes county schools.The No Bullies-No Victims program is designed to help schools and communities address some of the underlying characteristics of students, school staff and families that may add to problems with bullying and peer harassment. The program is designed to help students, staff and parents increase their awareness of bullying and its consequences, as well as help them to develop skills to prevent and intervene in bullying situations. No Bullies-No Victims can be used in conjunction with other peer mediation and conflict management programs. It fits in well with character development curriculums.No Bullies-No Victims has training components for school staff, parents and children. The program provides specific protocols for handling bully situations that can provide support for both the victim and the bully in learning new behaviors and developing the skills they will need to become successful adults and community resources. The program also provides information to assist school personnel and parents to work together to assist children in changing behaviors and improving school life.The skills and techniques promoted by the No Bullies-No Victims program are easy to learn and actually will begin to save time in the classroom by minimizing disruptions, insuring that targets feel safe and are ready to learn and that children know that they come to school to learn and grow.For more information about the area No Bullies-No Victims program, call Every Woman's House at (330) 263-6021. | <urn:uuid:e4bbdbea-79c7-41ac-9602-1fdbc315dd26> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.the-daily-record.com/living/2004/11/28/no-bullies-no-victims-program-is-coming-to-a-school-near-you | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971571 | 410 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Washington can be a frustrating place where we get so bogged down in politics that we sometimes lose the forest for the trees. A case in point is the ongoing debate over the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, the federal policy that is incorporating more domestic renewable fuels into our gasoline and diesel supplies.
Afraid of losing their stranglehold on the fuels market, petroleum groups have long complained that the RFS is unnecessary. More recently, their arguments have become more brazen, suggesting that renewable fuels are responsible for rising fuel prices. This is silly, of course. Consumers are smart enough to know that oil prices that spike at every sign of global unrest are the overwhelming driver behind rising fuel prices – as we've seen in recent weeks following the latest upheaval in Iraq.
First, some background: The RFS was passed with resounding bipartisan support in 2005, under President George W. Bush, as Americans grew increasingly fed up with gas prices. What RFS supporters understood then, and what we need to be reminded of today, is that the economic threat from our oil dependence cannot be overstated.
Gasoline and diesel are the lifeblood of our economy. As fuel prices go, so do prices for just about everything else. Gambling on one source of fuel isn't just risky for our economic well-being, it's dangerous and costly for our national security. It's why we spend untold billions of dollars annually – with limited success – attempting to keep foreign supplies safe and reliable. And that doesn't even begin to address the public costs of pollution.
Instead of looking at these big-picture issues, however, the CBO's report took a narrow, short-sighted approach. The agency somewhat acknowledged the limitations of its analysis by admitting right off the bat that it did not attempt to quantify the costs of oil dependency or the benefits from diversifying the fuels market. The report instead looked at a variety of RFS scenarios for the future and attempted to forecast price impacts. The scenario that received the most attention was a remarkably unrealistic model in which there are significant shortages of biofuels in 2017, and the EPA does nothing to adjust the RFS requirements for blending biofuels.
You don't need a budget agency to tell you what the CBO report predicted: gas and diesel prices would spike under such a scenario. But what the CBO didn't clarify is that, in the real world, such a scenario won't happen. First, biofuels – particularly advanced biofuels like biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol – are making impressive strides toward becoming mainstream American fuels. Last year alone, for example, the U.S. biodiesel market grew to a record of nearly 2 billion gallons – exceeding the requirements under the RFS and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 86 percent according to EPA data. Second, when it wrote the RFS, Congress built in tremendous flexibility to avoid just such a supply disruption, and the EPA has shown that it is ready and willing to exercise that flexibility to avoid harmful impacts if shortages occur.
Further, we now have years of demonstrated, on-the-ground success under the RFS to show that the doomsday scenarios we hear from the critics simply aren't panning out. The record proves that alternative fuels are benefitting consumers, not hurting them. In fact, independent analysis by respected economist Philip Verleger found the RFS saved consumers as much as $2.6 billion last year.
It's surprising to have to say this so often, but the real reason our fuel prices are inexorably climbing is that there is no free market. The fuels market is a monopoly, and consumers have no choices when they fill up their cars.
There is no silver bullet for changing that. We have built our oil dependency over a century, and we won't break it overnight. But policies like the RFS are moving us in the right direction, and we would all be better served if we remembered that consistently – not just when oil prices are inflicting so much pain on our pocketbooks.
Steckel is vice president of Public Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board. | <urn:uuid:aa983011-bfa1-45e1-98b1-a45cf8f9908d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/213981-missing-the-forest-for-the-trees-on-fuel-prices | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00084-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963476 | 835 | 2.671875 | 3 |
What is a renal venogram?
A renal venogram is an imaging test to look at the veins in and around your kidneys. Your healthcare provider may also use the test to find out what is causing your high blood pressure (hypertension).
This test is done by a radiologist who is a doctor that specializes in radiology. For the test, the radiologist injects a contrast dye into the kidney. He or she uses X-ray images to watch the dye as it flows through the blood vessels in the kidneys.
X-rays use a small amount of radiation to create images of your bones and internal organs. A renal venogram is one type of X-ray.
Fluoroscopy is used during a renal venogram. Fluoroscopy is a kind of X-ray movie.
During the test, the radiologist may also take a blood sample (renin assay) from each vein in your kidneys. The radiologist will see how much of a certain enzyme (renin) is in each sample. This can help him or her find what is causing your high blood pressure.
Why might I need a renal venogram?
You may need a renal venogram to help your healthcare provider find problems in the renal vein or with blood flow in your kidneys. These problems may include:
- Blood clot (renal vein thrombosis)
- High blood pressure in the kidneys (renovascular hypertension)
Your healthcare provider may have other reasons to recommend a renal venogram.
What are the risks of a renal venogram?
You may want to ask your healthcare provider about the amount of radiation used during the test. Also ask about the risks as they apply to you.
Consider writing down all X-rays you get, including past scans and X-rays for other health reasons. Show this list to your provider. The risks of radiation exposure may be tied to the number of X-rays you have and the X-ray treatments you have over time.
Tell your healthcare provider if you:
- Are pregnant or think you may be pregnant. Radiation exposure during pregnancy may lead to birth defects.
- Are allergic to or sensitive to any medicines, contrast dye, or iodine. Because contrast dye is used, there is a risk for allergic reaction to the dye.
- Have kidney failure or other kidney problems. In some cases the contrast dye can cause kidney failure. You are at higher risk for this if you take certain diabetes medicines.
Possible complications of a renal venogram include:
- Injury to nerves
- Blood clot (embolus)
- Swelling caused by a collection of blood (hematoma)
- Temporary kidney failure
- Damage to a vein. This can cause blood clots.
You should not have renal venography if you have a severe blockage (thrombosis) in the large vein that brings blood from your lower body to your heart (inferior vena cava) or a blockage in the renal vein.
You may have other risks depending on your specific health condition. Be sure to talk with your provider about any concerns you have before the procedure.
Certain things can make a renal venogram less accurate. These include:
- Having contrast dye still in your body from a recent imaging test
- Gas or stool in the intestines
- Taking certain medicines. These include blood pressure medicines, water pills (diuretics), the hormone estrogen, and birth control pills.
- Too much salt in your diet
How do I get ready for a renal venogram?
- Your healthcare provider will explain the procedure to you. Ask him or her any questions you have about the procedure.
- You may be asked to sign a consent form that gives permission to do the procedure. Read the form carefully and ask questions if anything is not clear.
- You'll be asked to not eat or drink liquids (fast) for several hours before the procedure. If your provider plans to take a blood sample during the test, you will need to cut back on the amount of salt you eat before the procedure.
- Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or think you may be.
- Tell your healthcare provider if you are allergic to contrast dye or iodine.
- Tell your healthcare provider if you are sensitive to or are allergic to any medicines, latex, tape, or anesthetic drugs (local and general).
- Tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you are taking. This includes prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, and herbal supplements.
- Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a bleeding disorder. Also tell your provider if you are taking blood-thinning medicine (anticoagulant), aspirin, or other medicines that affect blood clotting. You may need to stop these medications before the test.
- You may get medicine to help you relax (sedative) before the test. You will need to have someone drive you home afterward.
- Follow any other instructions your provider gives you to get ready.
What happens during a renal venogram?
You may have a renal venogram as an outpatient or as part of your stay in the hospital. The way the test is done may vary depending on your condition and your healthcare provider's practices.
Generally, a renal venogram follows this process:
- You will be asked to remove your jewelry or other objects that may get in the way of the test
- If you are asked to remove clothing, you will be given a gown to wear.
- An intravenous (IV) line will be started in your arm or hand.
- You will lay on the X-ray table.
- The nurse or technician will shave the skin in an area of your groin. He or she will clean the skin and inject local pain medicine. The radiologist will put a needle into a vein in your groin.
- The radiologist will check your pulses below the injection site for the contrast dye. He or she will use a marker to note them. This is so that staff can check the circulation to the leg after the test.
- The radiologist will put a long thin tube (catheter) into the vein. He or she will move the catheter until it reaches the renal vein. The radiologist may use fluoroscopy to see where the catheter is.
- The radiologist will inject the contrast dye. You may feel a flushing sensation, a salty or metallic taste in the mouth, a brief headache, or nausea or vomiting. These effects usually last for a few moments.
- Tell the radiologist if you have trouble breathing, or if you have sweating, numbness, or heart palpitations.
- The radiologist will take X-ray pictures. He or she will be able to see the X-rays on a monitor.
- You may be asked to lie face down for more X-rays.
- Your radiologist may take a blood sample from the IV.
- Once the test is done, the radiologist will remove the catheter. He or she will put pressure on the site to keep the artery from bleeding.
- After the bleeding stops, he or she will put a dressing on the site. The radiologist may put something heavy on the site for a period of time. This will help stop bleeding and keep blood from collecting (hematoma) at the site.
What happens after a renal venogram?
You will be taken to the recovery room. A nurse will watch your vital signs and the injection site. He or she will check the circulation and sensation in the leg where the catheter was used.
You will need to lie flat in bed for at least 2 hours. Once your blood pressure, pulse, and breathing are stable and you are alert, you will be taken to your hospital room or sent home.
You may be given pain medicine to ease pain or discomfort from the injection site or from having to lie flat and still.
Once at home, you should watch the injection site for bleeding. A small bruise is normal. So is an occasional drop of blood at the site.
You should watch the leg for changes in temperature or color, pain, numbness, tingling, or loss of movement.
Drink plenty of fluids to help the contrast dye leave your body. Fluids will also keep you from getting dehydrated.
You may not be able to do any strenuous activities or take a hot bath or shower for a period of time after the test.
Tell your healthcare provider if any of these occur:
- Fever or chills
- Increased pain, redness, swelling, or bleeding or other fluid draining from the groin injection site
- Coolness, numbness, tingling, or other changes in the leg
Your healthcare provider may give you other instructions, depending on your situation.
Before you agree to the test or the procedure make sure you know:
- The name of the test or procedure
- The reason you are having the test or procedure
- What results to expect and what they mean
- The risks and benefits of the test or procedure
- What the possible side effects or complications are
- When and where you are to have the test or procedure
- Who will do the test or procedure and what that person’s qualifications are
- What would happen if you did not have the test or procedure
- Any alternative tests or procedures to think about
- When and how will you get the results
- Who to call after the test or procedure if you have questions or problems
- How much will you have to pay for the test or procedure | <urn:uuid:609a0d5b-2dc7-44a4-a780-f766fc6a1e8c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://healthcare.utah.edu/healthlibrary/related/doc.php?type=92&id=P07722 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915425 | 1,982 | 3.890625 | 4 |
Harmful algal blooms of Karenia brevis, the organism responsible for red tide in the Gulf of Mexico, can impact the health of humans and animal life. The blooms are patchy in nature and the impacts vary by location and throughout the day depending on nearby bloom concentrations, ocean currents, surf conditions, and wind speed and direction. The NOAA HAB Bulletins contain an analysis of ocean color satellite imagery, field observations, models, public health reports and buoy data and forecasts of potential K. brevis bloom transport, intensification and associated respiratory irritation based on the analysis of information from HAB-OFS Contributors & Data Providers. Daily respiratory irritation forecasts by region are also available to the public on the Conditions Report page.
Operational HAB Bulletins are sent via email, following the operational HAB bulletin schedule below to a list of subscribers in the public health, natural resource and scientific fields. A week after the HAB bulletin has been issued, it is posted to the Bulletin Archive for public access. Click here to find out how to Request Bulletin Subscription.
NOAA demonstration bulletins for Lake Erie are pre-operational and may not be issued on a routine schedule. Please visit the Developmental Forecast for more information about developmental HAB projects.
In each regional pull-down menu, posted HAB bulletins are listed most recent to oldest in the following way: Year of Issue, Issue Number, Distribution Date.
Archived bulletins will appear in a new window, you might need to change your pop-up blocker to allow this site or turn off your pop-up blocker.
Harmful algal bloom bulletins are issued for the Gulf of Mexico by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service and the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service in order to provide notification of bloom conditions to state and local coastal managers in the Gulf of Mexico. Due to distribution restrictions, HAB bulletins are posted to this archive with a one to two week delay.
If you are involved in HAB event response or research and are interested in subscribing to our bulletins: | <urn:uuid:470de5cd-5a87-43c9-bdb8-d15686b744e8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/bulletins.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89634 | 435 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Scientists Track Climate-Driving Atlantic Current
WASHINGTON -- The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation -- also known as the conveyor belt -- was featured in the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" and the disaster flick "The Day After Tomorrow" as a changeable force that could wreak havoc on the climate in Europe and North America if it slowed down.
Now scientists are tracking the massive flows of shallow warm and deep cold ocean water that make up the current. They are taking detailed measurements in a line stretching across the Atlantic from the Bahamas to Africa, researchers wrote Thursday in the journal Science.
The current is called the conveyor belt because it forms a giant loop from the Gulf of Mexico to Iceland and back. Warm water -- the Gulf Stream -- flows north near the ocean surface along the U.S. East Coast, then veers northeast before breaking into several streams.
Some of these continue north past Iceland while the rest return south.
On its northward journey, the warm water cools and becomes more dense, sinking as it gets to extreme northern latitudes and returning southward at depths down to 3 miles. It also becomes less salty, fueled by fresh water runoff from rain and melting glaciers, including the Greenland Ice Sheet.
A year of observation indicates the circulation system may vary widely over 12 months, the scientists reported.
There is not yet enough data to tell whether global warming is having an impact, said study co-author Stuart Cunningham of the National Oceanography Centre in Britain.
"I think it's too soon to tell," he told Reuters. "Basically, the previous observations have been snapshot estimates so there is quite a large amount of uncertainty associated with interpreting these estimates."
But the detailed findings agree with previous estimates, which indicates no "dramatic changes" so far.
Cunningham said climate models suggest that changes caused by humans to the current will be relatively steady, slowing down the conveyor belt during the next 50 years.
However, he said, "A lot of paleoclimate evidence suggests that transitions can be rather large and abrupt, maybe 50 percent changes over a few years, and if that happens we'd see it immediately."
To track the current, researchers placed a series of anchored instruments at latitude 26.5 degrees north, some clustered in the western Atlantic near the Bahamas, others off the north African coast.
These instruments measure changes in pressure, temperature and salinity throughout the water column from the surface to the sea bottom. The published study offers measurements from March 2004 through March 2005, but the instruments will continue observing at least through 2014. | <urn:uuid:6e01d697-6af1-49ba-a26e-65dc80761c08> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/21922/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949292 | 530 | 3.484375 | 3 |
For the first time, a human-built spacecraft has left the solar system and entered deep, cold interstellar space.
NASA confirmed Thursday that the Voyager 1 space probe, launched in 1977, is 19 billion kilometers from the sun and has crossed into an unexplored and unknown frontier.
NASA says Voyager crossed into deep outer space last year, but it took this length of time for the evidence to reach Earth.
NASA scientists call this one of the most significant technological achievements in the history of science.
Voyager will now probe parts of the universe never explored before. If all goes as planned, Voyager will radio back details of its discoveries until 2025, when its nuclear fuel is expected to run out.
Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 took off from Earth in 1977 to explore the planets Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 traveled on to Neptune and Uranus and is still in the solar system while Voyager 1 flew beyond Pluto to its current position. | <urn:uuid:52c46616-2846-4949-9466-57c18c453027> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.voanews.com/content/voyager-1-space-probe-leaves-solar-system/1748730.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930595 | 193 | 3.96875 | 4 |
The Affliction of Margaret
Question: Explore the relationship between the mother and the son in ‘The Affliction of Margaret’.
The Affliction of Margaret is a dramatic poem. In the poem a mother is looking for her son. We are told
in the second stanza, that he has been gone for seven years. It also says that she hasn’t received any
news of him, or where he is. The persona in the poem is the mother, whose name is Margaret.
There are lots of poetic devices used through out the poem. One of the many poetic devices used in the
poem is imagery. If you look at lined 43-46 there is imagery about birds being able to easily fly off and
return back. Looking at lines 12-14, there is more imagery. It makes us feel more sorrow towards
Margaret. The imagery is about her thinking of happy memories with her son. Another poetic device is
rhetorical questions. The second line gives the question; ‘Where art thou, worse to me than dead?’ The
question is written in Archaic English, as is most of this poem. In modern English the question means,
where are you? And if you are dead then why wasn’t I informed? Another important poetic device which
helps get a message across is repetition. In the poem Margaret says ‘thou, thou’ in line 55. She says this
to emphasis that she is concerned about him and not others. I’ve found more repetition in the poem
that is in the first and second line. They both start off with ‘Where art thou?’ By starting a poem of like
this it makes us wonder and question where he is, or what is going to happen. It brings a sense of
mystery into the poem. Another rhetorical question in the poem is ‘Nor sorrow may attend they name?’
The seventh stanza has a metaphor in it, which is another poetic device. In the stanza it says ‘Chains tie
us down by land and sea’. This doesn’t exactly happen, however it is like she is chained down, and can’t
find her way without him. Also in the eighth stanza, there is another metaphor that goes ‘Or... | <urn:uuid:8ef2ff28-e5b1-4d97-8873-321c6c207b8c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.essaydepot.com/doc/31339/The-Affliction-Of-Margaret | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00077-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96895 | 485 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Math::NumSeq::Kolakoski -- sequence of 1s and 2s its own run lengths
use Math::NumSeq::Kolakoski; my $seq = Math::NumSeq::Kolakoski->new; my ($i, $value) = $seq->next;
A sequence 1,2,2,1,1,2,1,etc, each run length being given successively by the sequence itself.
Starting from 1,2, at i=2 the values is 2, so there should be a run of two 2s. Then at i=3 value 2 means two 1s. Then at i=4 value 1 means a run of one 2. The value alternates between 1 and 2 and the sequence values themselves determine the run length to give that value, either 1 or 2.
See "FUNCTIONS" in Math::NumSeq for behaviour common to all sequence classes.
$seq = Math::NumSeq::Kolakoski->new ()
Create and return a new sequence object.
There's no need to keep the entire sequence, nor even the portion between where i is up to and the values past that which those up to i induce. Instead the value at i is determined by the earlier value, which is determined a yet earlier value, etc. At each level only a value and pending count need to be kept. The levels required end up being about log base 1.6 of the position i.
Copyright 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 Kevin Ryde
Math-NumSeq is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any later version.
Math-NumSeq is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with Math-NumSeq. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. | <urn:uuid:9bd3408f-48bf-466c-a941-9a61d13772b7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://search.cpan.org/dist/Math-NumSeq/lib/Math/NumSeq/Kolakoski.pm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.85967 | 469 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Grimms' Fairy Tales Justice and Judgment Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (Tale.Page)
When she looked at him, she saw it was King Thrushbeard again, and he said to her in a friendly way, "Don't be afraid. I and the minstrel who lived with you in the wretched cottage are one and the same person. I disguised myself out of love for you, and I was also the hussar who rode over your pots and smashed them to pieces. I did all that to humble your proud spirit and to punish you for the insolent way you behaved toward me." (King Thrushbeard.180)
Gotta keep those women down so they don't get too proud. Hey, that's the Grimms' take—not Shmoop's. | <urn:uuid:f07b1772-ac84-4a81-9cb4-b8c5bed3bd06> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shmoop.com/grimms-fairy-tales/justice-judgment-quotes-4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00132-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979363 | 168 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Russia and Canada might be top producers of this hearty grain, but Americans love their morning oats too. Jackie Shank, undergraduate nutrition program director in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Flagship Program at the University of North Florida, and Brittaney Bialas, UNF graduate student/dietetic intern, discuss myths and facts about this nutritious and versatile grain. To help you include more oats in your diet, a recipe is provided at right.
MYTH: OATS ARE BORING
Fact: The cereal grain oats, or Avena sativa, are wonderfully versatile and delicious. Oats can be rolled, crushed or chopped into oatmeal, ground into flour for breads and cookies and included as an ingredient in muesli and granola. Australia, Denmark and Scotland all brew beers made of oats. And people in many Latin American countries enjoy refreshing drinks made from oats, fruit and sometimes sugar and cinnamon.
MYTH: STEEL-CUT OATS ARE MORE HEALTHFUL THAN INSTANT OATS
Fact: Both types of oats are healthful whole grains; they differ in the cooking time and the glycemic index (an indication of the speed at which the starches turn to sugar and raise the blood-sugar level). Steel-cut oats are named after the sharp steel discs that cut each kernel into two or three pieces. Instant oats are rolled very thin and cut into much smaller pieces. Compared to steel-cut oats, instant oats cook quickly and are easily digested with a speedy release of sugars into the blood. To lower the glycemic index of instant oats, add some protein (low-fat milk) or fat (nuts). It’s best to buy plain oatmeal and add your own accompaniments such as fruit, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, ground flaxseeds, cinnamon or brown sugar.
MYTH: OATS ARE GLUTEN-FREE
Fact: Oats don’t naturally contain gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley; however, oats are often grown in fields with gluten-containing grains nearby. Furthermore, shared equipment for harvesting and processing different grains can ultimately lead to contamination of oats with gluten. People requiring a strict gluten-free diet, such as those with celiac disease, should seek out companies that offer guaranteed gluten-free oats.
MYTH: OATS CONTAIN SOLUBLE FIBER, WHICH RELIEVES CONSTIPATION
Fact: Oats contain the highest amount of soluble fiber of any grain. However, soluble fiber is best known for its cholesterol-lowering effects, not for promoting regularity. Insoluble fiber is the type that most benefits the digestive system. This fiber attracts water and adds bulk to stool, helping to relieve constipation. Insoluble fiber is found in wheat bran, nuts, apples and vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, leafy greens and bell peppers. To maintain a stellar digestive system and good heart health, aim to consume at least 25 grams of total dietary fiber from both soluble and insoluble sources.
MYTH: IRISH OATS ARE SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER OATS BUT ARE HARD TO FIND IN THE U.S.
Fact: Irish oats are simply another name for steel-cut oats. They’re also called “coarse” and “pinhead” oats, and are available in most grocery stores. They’re a good option for people with diabetes because during digestion the sugars are released at a moderate rate, therefore, a large spike in blood sugar levels and insulin can be avoided. | <urn:uuid:aa6fd669-9d9c-40e2-a897-50d82e46375b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2011-12-15/story/goods-doting-nutritious-oats | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92487 | 739 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Got questions? Email us at email@example.com
Entomophagy is the practice of eating insects, including arachnids (tarantulas) and myriapods (centipedes). Read more here.
Insects have served as a nutritional, tasty and safe food source for people for tens of thousands of years, all over the planet. Today insect eating is rare in the developed world, but eating insects is a common practice in over 13 countries. Insects remain a popular food in many developing regions of Central and South America, Africa, Australia and Asia. It’s only a matter of time till Eurocentric based cultures, like the United States, Canada and Europe catch on
There are an estimated 1,462 species of recorded edible insects according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Insects are very nutritional; they tend to be high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Let’s take the cricket as an example: 100 grams of cricket contains: 121 calories, 12.9 grams of protein, 5.5 g. of fat, 5.1 g. of carbohydrates, 75.8 mg. calcium, 185.3 mg. of phosphorous, 9.5 mg. of iron, 0.36 mg. of thiamin, 1.09 mg. of riboflavin, 3.10 mg. of niacin and .05% fat.
Compare that with 100 grams of ground beef, which, although it contains more protein, about 23.5 g. to be exact, it has 288.2 calories and an enormous amount of fat, in fact 21.2 grams worth! Lou Sorkin, Advisor for Insects Are Food, would like to add that like any food, how you prepare them can change their status from healthy to not so healthy. Deep-frying them or using them only as a novelty in a sugared or chocolate coating might be tasty, but then you're eating a junk-food preparation, albeit a tasty one.The difference however between a regular chocolate chip cookie and one made with crickets is that the one made with crickets has a lot more protein! It’s a no-brainer to choose the chocolate chip cookie with crickets (or as entomophagists call them, “chocolate chirp” cookies) over any other brand!
Dave Gracer, Advisor for Insects Are Food, has an answer that covers both sides of the coin: “One kind of answer deals with the details – dry-toasted cricket tastes like sunflower seeds; katydid like toasted avocado; palm grub like bacon soup with a chewy, sweet finish. Weaver ant pupae have practically no flavor, while the meat of the giant water bug is, astonishingly, like a salty, fruity, flowery Jolly Rancher. The other kind of answer is more theoretical and conceptual: often, insects taste the way that people expect them to. If insects were delicious then we’d all know it and we’d eat them, since we like delicious food. Whereas if insects are perceived, however incorrectly as disgusting, the chances that they’ll be deemed delicious are pretty low.”
The Old Testament encouraged Christians and Jews to consume locusts, beetles, and grasshoppers. St. John the Baptist is said to have survived on locusts and honey when he lived in the desert. In Ghana during the spring rains, winged termites are collected and fried, roasted, or made into bread. In Cambodia tarantulas are eaten and are one of the more popular foodstuffs sold to tourists.
In South Africa the insects are eaten with cornmeal porridge. In China beekeepers are considered virile, because they regularly eat larvae from their beehives. Gourmands in Japan savor aquatic fly larvae sautéed in sugar and soy sauce and candied grasshoppers, known as inago, are also a favorite cocktail snack. And in the highlands of Japan many of the elders enjoy wasp crackers. De-winged dragonflies boiled in coconut milk with ginger and garlic is a delicacy in Bali. Grubs are savored in New Guinea and aboriginal Australia. In Latin America cicadas, fire-roasted tarantulas, and ants are prevalent in traditional dishes. One of the most famous culinary insects, the agave worm, is eaten on tortillas and placed in bottles of mezcal liquor in Mexico. For Most People, Eating Bugs Is Only Natural by Sharon Guynup and Nicolas Ruggia, National Geographic Channel, July 15, 2004
One may purchase a variety of insects at any local and trusting pet store. Any pet store that sells food for reptiles should sell crickets and mealworms. There is also an assortment of online vendors. Any online search will bring up several vendors, mostly cricket and worm farms, but a more in-depth search should harvest more insect vendors. We provide a list below. Contact the folks below and tell ‘em you saw their link on Insects Are Food.com. and if you find any good ones please let us know.
- Import Food (ask for Jerry, he’s a great guy!): http://importfood.com/thai_insects.html
- Grubco: http://www.grubco.com/
- Worm Man’s Worm Farm: http://www.wormman.com/default.cfm
- Western New York Herpetological Society: http://www.wnyherp.org/buy-crickets.php
- Thailand Unique: https://www.thailandunique.com/store/
- Bassett’s Cricket Ranch, Inc: http://www.bcrcricket.com/
- PETGUYS.com: http://www.petguys.com/reptile-stuff-food---treats.html
- Edible: http://www.edible.com/shop/
- Flukers: http://www.flukerfarms.com/
- Petco: http://www.petco.com
- Hotlix: http://www.hotlix.com/insect_candy/larvets.html
People who know their insects and the care needed to harvest them from the “wild,” can collect bugs from local areas such as one’s yard, local parks, woodlands, in and along streams and rivers or even on the beach. Otherwise they should only be purchased from reliable and trusted sources.
Bugs are safe to eat as long as you purchase them from a reliable source or raise them yourself. You do not want to take bugs from the wild because you don’t know what sort of pesticides or other chemical sources they’ve come into contact with. A good rule of thumb to follow is to avoid eating any brightly colored, hairy or spiny bugs, as they are likely to be poisonous. Most caterpillars are similarly inedible. In all cases of food consumption, a safe and reliable source equals a safe and healthy diet.
It appears crickets are one of the more popular insects to eat. It is one of the easiest to raise, prepare and cook. They’re very inexpensive to raise and easy to maintain. They’re also highly nutritious and tasty. Mealworms and silkworms are also very popular. It would make for an interesting project for someone to find out which bugs are indeed the most popular to eat. We’d love to hear the responses.
A bamboo worm is the pupa of the grass moth, from the Crambidae family of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). They are quite variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae taking up closely folded postures on grass-stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly colored and patterned insects, which rest in wingspread attitudes.
Local people throughout Thailand and other regions ranging from the Amazon to China, collect "bamboo worms," which are the pupae of a common species of moth endemic to that region. The moths lay their eggs in a lower segment of the bamboo and the worms eat their way up segment by segment. When they are ready to emerge, they climb back down to the segment where they were born and eat through the wall of the bamboo. Local people know when this cycle occurs and make cuts in the bamboo to extract the worms.
Great question! A mealworm is not an actual worm at all, but rather the larva of a Mealworm Beetle or Darkling Beetle, also known scientifically as, Tenebrio Molitor.
First off, insects should only be purchased from reliable sources and kept fresh as possible. Prior to preparing your live insects for a meal, place them inside a storage bag and keep them in the refrigerator between a half hour and an hour up until the time you are ready to use them. Refrigeration will not kill insects, but just slow down their metabolism, prohibiting their movement when removed from the refrigerator. Some people place them in a pot of boiling water for about two minutes ensuring cleanliness. They can be used in any number of recipes without boiling so long as they’re cooked, i.e. roasted, sautéed, fried, etc. Any insect after boiling and/or cooking can be stored in your freezer for later use much like any other food. Go to our RECIPES page for more information.
After extensive research the answer is best supported by a passage from the book: “The Diet of John the Baptist,” by Mohr Siebeck. In the chapter titled: “From Leviticus to Moses Maimonides: Locust Eating in Jewish Literature and the Ancient Near East,” pg 41, the author writes:
With regard to the eating of locusts/grasshoppers, Leviticus 11 allows the Israelites to consume four different kinds of ‘leaping’ insects:
All winged insects that walk upon all fours are detestable to you. But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you. (Lev 11:20-23) 1
There are Jews as well as Moslems (we at Insects Are Food know them personally) who eat crickets and grasshoppers because they recognize the passage from Leviticus as a claim for being kosher and halal.
Online source: “The Diet of John the Baptist,” by Mohr Siebeck
Gain knowledge and insight on how eating insects is a nutritional and sustainable food resource. Learn how to handle, prepare and cook with bugs. Start cooking and feeding your friends while promoting the environmental, ecological, economical, and health benefits to entomophagy. Share your knowledge and courage with others and basically just practice what you preach. Or better yet, put your money where your mouth is. Reach out to others. Create a blog. Read our entire site. Contact us for further dialogue. Give us suggestions. Support us.
- Raising Crickets by Jeff Mucha http://skylab.org/~chugga/cricket/
- Breeding and Raising the House Cricket: http://www.anapsid.org/crickets.html
In short, yes you can make money. There is however as in anything in life, no guarantees, but we at Insects Are Food believe strongly that entomophagy is an incredibly inspiring untapped market and industry. On a more general level, let’s face it, one can make money at anything so long as there’s commitment, direction, a well thought out business plan and a trusted individual with the most expertise and knowledge of the market/industry in charge of making final decisions. With that said, the multi-faceted potential businesses with respect to entomophagy amount to relatively new and risky opportunities.
With the proper guidance, advice and monetary support system, the risks involved, ranging from financial and legal to health and safety can be corralled and controlled. Insects Are Food aims to serve as a portal for online networking. Feel free to email us with any questions you may have about making money with entomophagy and our staff will do its best to offer professional advice and guidance and connect you with the right people. Last but not least, please keep in mind, as with anything we do in life, you must ultimately trust your gut instinct in all matters daring. | <urn:uuid:5281e93e-9d59-46d3-b0d6-dc89cf6b947b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.insectsarefood.com/faq.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944621 | 2,706 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Yesterday I hastily posted about the USDA’s proposed new regulations for school food, but because I was burdened with a lengthy To-Do list and a doctor’s appointment that ran late, I don’t think I did this topic justice. So let me lay it out in terms that will get your attention:
The new school food regulations – however they look in their final form — are a big deal. They will dictate the food that does (and doesn’t) appear on millions of kids’ lunch trays for the foreseeable future.
The new rules run to 78 pages of tiny type, and I’m only just starting to read them. But here are two big changes that you should know about now:
Moving From Nutrient-Based to Food-Based Meal Planning
As outlined in my Schoool Lunch FAQs, school districts currently may use one of two methods to ensure their compliance with the program’s nutritional requirements.
The older method is called “Food-Based Menu Planning”, in which a school must offer five foods in every school lunch: a meat/meat alternative, grains/breads, two servings of fruits and vegetables and a milk. This is the way the average person thinks about planning a meal in their own home: some foods from this group, some from that.
The second method, called “Nutrient Standard Menu Planning” allows a school district pay less attention to the foods served, so long as the requisite number of nutrients are offered over the course of an entire week. According to Janet Poppendieck, about 30% of school districts (including Houston ISD) use the Nutrient Standard. One consequence of using the Nutrient Standard method is the increased reliance by school districts on manufactured products and meals. Manufacturers can fortify and tweak their products so that they are compliant with the nutrient standard and can also offer what’s called a “CN Label” that indemnifies the school district should it later be found noncompliant with federal nutrition regulations. The Nutrient Standard can also lead to some bizarre results: my own school district served graham crackers — essentially cookies — to kids at breakfast because they contain iron (due to fortification) and that helped the district meet the nutrient standard for iron. Crazy.
The good news (in my opinion) is that the new rules move us back to a primarily Food-Based standard. The proposed meal pattern for breakfast would offer fruits, grains, meats/meat alternatives and milk, while lunch would include fruits, vegetables, grains, meats/meat alternatives, and milk. (A nutrient standard does comes into play with respect to limits on things like sodium, saturated fats and trans fats.)
Back in the 1940’s, when malnutrition was of greater concern than it is today, calorie minimums (but not maximums) were set for school meals. These same minimums have been carried over to the present day, despite the fact that children now eat far more food outside of scheduled meal times than in the past. Schools faced the difficult problem of meeting the calorie minimums without tipping over the limits on fat. The result: lower fat but high sugar foods, like cookies and cakes, appearing regularly on lunch trays.
The new school food regulations would set both minimum and maximum calorie levels, which is welcome news to those concerned about both childhood obesity and childhood hunger.
* * *
I’ll continue to delve into the regulations (embarrassingly, this is enjoyable bedtime reading for the kid-and-food blogger!) and will share thoughts and insights with you in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you may also want to check out Marion Nestle’s take on the regulations here. | <urn:uuid:64097f90-0030-42e1-aadc-31f09a003a55> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thelunchtray.com/this-is-a-really-big-deal-people-more-on-the-new-school-food-regulations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959816 | 772 | 2.875 | 3 |
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
In the beginning, there was Creationism. God created light from dark, and separated the two; then God created the sky and the seas, and separated the two; and then He created dry land and populated the world with living beings, including humans. And He saw that this was Good. Thus, on the seventh day, God rested. And took 40 winks.
Then, there came Biological Evolution. In the Year of Our Lord 1859, a mere mortal, Charles Darwin, claimed to have created human beings from chimpanzees, and giraffes from horses, and to have populated the world with living beings that evolve over time via a race in which only the fittest survive. And this was Not Good.
So it came to pass from the land of Sea-ttle, Intelligent Design was made manifest. In the Year of Our Lord 1999, the Discovery Institute demonstrated that all living beings were created out of cloth cut by an Intelligent Designer, or supernatural creator, and thereby provided an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins that was a thinly-disguised theological counter-argument against the possibility of Biological Evolution. And this was Good, but not good enough.
Indeed, thereafter, in the Year of our Lord 2000, the scientific community unequivocally smacked-down the concept of Intelligent Design as incompatible with the Scientific Method and inferior to Mr. Darwin's Theory of Biological Evolution. And this was Not Good.
Hark! Whence came the Second Coming of the Savior Jesus Christ in the Year of Our Lord 2012, whom in His wisdom and compassion delivered unto humanity the concept of Not-So-Intelligent Design, which serves both as a Law of God on par with the Ten Commandments and a Law of Physics on par with Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Thermodynamics. And The Lamb of God declared: "All life on Earth was designed by My Father, albeit some of the aforementioned life was not designed in an optimal manner. But all of it was Good Enough. And this was Good."
Since the Second Coming and the Advent of Not-So-Intelligent Design, the scientific community has been at a complete and total loss to respond to or argue against the concept of Not-So-Intelligent Design, and has thus far been unable to revive Biological Evolution and Darwin's theory of "survival of the fittest" as appropriate explanations for the origins of species that currently populate the Earth.
edit Origin of the concept
The teleological argument, also known as the design argument, is one of three basic religious arguments for the existence of God which has been advanced for centuries by such illuminated individuals as Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Tropez, and L. Ron Hubbard. Specifically, just after the Dark Ages in the 11th century, when light first resurfaced after a 500-plus year absence, Thomas Aquinas argued that natural things act to achieve the best result, and as they cannot do this without intelligence, an intelligent being must exist, setting the goal and providing direction, and that this being must be God.
Next, in the Year of Our Lord 1802, the theologian William Paley used the now-famous "watchmaker analogy" to prove that the extreme level of complexity in nature's various forms of life demonstrates God's benevolent and perfect design. In response, a young man named Charles Darwin attacked the "watchmaker analogy" in the Year of Our Lord 1859 by providing evidence in support of his blasphemous theory that life adapts to its environment over time, thereby changing in a manner that allows only the biologically "fittest" of life forms to survive and reproduce as a species over the centuries and eons. Basically, Mr. Darwin provided evident proof that humans were descended from monkeys. Virtually nobody liked this. Had Jesus Christ remained in His tomb after His crucifixion by the Jews and the Romans rather than having ascended to Heaven so as to be seated at the Right Hand of the Father, Jesus Christ would have been spinning in His grave.
By the Year of Our Lord 1920, Fundamentalist Christians took up opposition to Darwin's theory of evolution and effectively suspended teaching of Biological Evolution in American public schools. By the 1960s, evolution was reintroduced into the school curricula. Then, in the Year of Our Lord 1999, a think tank known as the Discovery Institute divulged its theory of Intelligent Design on the internet as "an alternative scientific explanation of the world in which we live", based on the idea that life on earth is so irreducibly complex, only an intelligent designer could have brought such life into existence. The Design Institute relied on psuedo-scientific "studies" suggesting that messages transmitted by DNA within living cells show "specified complexity" mandated by intelligence, and must have originated with an intelligent agent, such that the intelligent cause view was compatible with both metaphysical naturalism and supernaturalism.
Next, in the Year of Our Lord 2000, every bona fide scientist in the world laughed out loud. Nobody in the scientific community abandoned Darwin's theory of Biological Evolution in response to the Intelligent Design theory, and schools kept teaching evolution in their classrooms.
After this development, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, decided to invoke their privilege of Divine Intervention to set matters straight. In the Year of Our Lord 2012, Jesus Christ returned to Earth from Heaven and gave unto humanity His Law of Not-So-Intelligent Design. Through the new Gospel of Bob Jones, just added to the New Testament of the Holy Bible, it is known that Jesus delivered the aforementioned Law with these words:
"Within the first seven days, all life on Earth was designed by My Father, albeit some of the aforementioned life was not designed in an optimal manner. But all of it was Good Enough. And this was Good. For nowhere is it written by My Father or any of the prophets that all life must be intelligently designed, let alone designed with enough intelligence to win a contest in which only the fittest survive. You have been told that the meek shall inherit the Earth, and it is so; likewise, many species of life that were not so intelligently designed have endured since their original creation by God the Father, and shall endure until the Day of Judgment when the Trumpet of Jericho is blown. By His divine mercy, My Father allows many of the the most humble and poorly designed creatures to go on living, remain fruitful, and multiply. Children of men, I am talking to you."
——Book of Bob Jones, 13:666
edit Origin of the term
As discussed above, the term Not-So-Intelligent Design comes directly from the words of Jesus Christ as spoken during his Second Coming in the Year of Our Lord 2012. These words are known to be true and to have been spoken by virtue of their inclusion within the divinely-inspired, newest Gospel of the New Testament: the Book of Bob Jones.
edit Subsequent Assessment of Not-So-Intelligent Design by God's Mortal Children
Biblical scholars and physical scientists have carefully parsed over every word spoken by Jesus Christ with respect to the Law of Not-So-Intelligent Design, and all such people have found His words to be theologically, factually, and scientifically unassailable. This is for the following reasons.
edit Lemmings: Clear proof against Biological Evolution and Intelligent Design
First, it is irrefutable that many forms of life are not intelligently designed but have still managed to survive over the eons in spite of Darwin's purported theory that only the fittest species survive over time. Examples of such species include lemmings and human beings. Taking lemmings first, scientists have long known that lemmings - a form of small rodent akin to a mouse or vole, which live in the arctic - are far from the fittest species of rodent on the planet. Indeed, lemmings migrate regularly in large packs over narrow cliffs and across large bodies of water that they cannot ever hope to successfully navigate, resulting in mass lemming deaths every year. Lemmings also are proven to lack natural camouflage, and instead are colored such that they obviously stand out amidst their environment so as to be easily seen and caught by the predators that eat them. Worst of all, despite their tiny size and lack of any natural weaponry, Lemmings do not scurry in fear from larger animals and predators like other rodents; instead, they are aggressive and will attack much larger, dangerous creatures when confronted, leading to their certain demise. As a result of these factors, scientists have gauged that the natural lemming population comes to the brink of extinction approximately every four years. Under Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest, there is no way that lemmings could have avoided extinction by now. Even under the theory of Intelligent Design, the continued existence of lemmings cannot be logically explained since lemmings were clearly not intelligently designed. However, in the context of the Law of Not-So-Intelligent Design, the continued survival of lemmings makes perfect sense. They were designed just well enough to survive, and this is all that is required for survival under the Law of Not-So-Intelligent Design.
edit Humans: Further Irrefutable Proof of Not-So-Intelligent Design
The species Homo Sapiens is another prime example of Not-So-Intelligent Design. Humans were created in God's image, but they are at best a very poor reflection of the Lord. Humans were not intelligently created. First of all, one need only look to the Book of Genesis within the Old Testament to see that this is so. After creating the first man, Adam, in His image, God decided that Adam could benefit from a partner and therefore created the first woman, Eve. In doing so, God unabashedly did a second-rate job. Rather than simply command that Eve come into being as he did with Adam (and as he did with light, and water, and all of the animals), God instead waited until Adam was sleeping and then took one of Adam's ribs in order to mix the rib with some dust and then mold the first woman from the mixture. The resulting being, Eve, was a second-rate creature of minimal intelligence. She was easily tricked into eating a piece of Forbidden Fruit by a slimy snake (Satan in disguise), and then she convinced Adam to eat the fruit as well. Had Eve been intelligently designed, she would not have trusted a strange, talking serpent with respect to disobeying God's direct order not to eat any of the fruit from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge within the Garden of Eden. Snakes are scary and have no inherent trustworthiness. God, on the other hand, is the creator of all life, is all knowing, is all powerful, and is benevolent. Any intelligently-created woman would have ignored the serpent in the Garden of Eden and followed God's prohibition against eating the Forbidden Fruit. Clearly, Eve was not created intelligently. And clearly, God was okay with this fact. Since all humans born since Adam and Eve are the fruit of Eve's womb, they are likewise not-so-intelligently designed.
This same point with respect to humans can be proven by empirical facts. If humans were intelligently designed, they would not have been given the ability to create atomic weapons that, with the push of a button, could destroy virtually all life on Earth in a matter of milliseconds. One could argue that, under certain circumstances, it might be intelligent to design something in a manner that it will fail (such as electrical fuses, which are designed to burn out if subjected to undue electric voltage, so as to prevent dangerous levels of electric currents from entering a building's electrical system and causing a fire). However, there is no logical argument that would favor the intelligent design of a life form such that said life form could, upon a whim, destroy all other life forms almost instantaneously. Such a design (as is the case with humans) is akin to designing a building with an anti-fire sprinkler system that sprays gasoline instead of water into the rooms and hallways of the building if smoke is detected. Not so intelligent.
Lastly, the idea that humanity's existence is compatible with Darwin's theory of Biological Evolution and Survival of the Fittest was debunked even before Jesus Christ gave unto mankind His Law of Not-So-Intelligent Design. In the Year of Our Lord 1968, leading scientist Charlton Heston wrote his doctoral thesis, Planet of the Apes, in which he proved that in a world governed by natural selection, humans would not be the dominant species on the planet; rather, Great Apes such as chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas would have already come to topple humanity and reduce humankind to a primitive state of near-extinction and enslavement. As Dr. Heston explained, if Biological Evolution were to actually hold true, humans would have already reduced the world - a previous paradise - into a vast "forbidden zone" due to the humans' propensity to destroy their own environment and themselves. Apes, on the other hand, were proven by Dr. Heston to be the fitter species despite their "damned, dirty paws" in that they do not over-exploit the environment or unduly harm other life forms. Neither before or since Jesus Christ's second coming has any scientist been able to refute Dr. Heston's point.
edit Future of Not-So-Intelligent Design
As there is no current alternative explanation for the current status of the various species that populate the Earth which is superior to Not-So-Intelligent Design, it appears that the aforementioned law is here to stay. Scientists, biblical scholars, and all other mere mortals must accept the reality that creationism is a fact, while also accepting the hard truth that God (who is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent) did not create all life on earth intelligently. What must be accepted is that this is part of God's plan, and there is no arguing with God's plan. From now until Kingdom Come, Not-So-Intelligent Design shall remain the Divine and Scientific Law that governs what creatures exist on Earth, and how that is so. | <urn:uuid:a227634f-49f8-4ded-aa7b-a38c5f041992> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Not-So-Intelligent_Design | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00200-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964054 | 2,917 | 2.671875 | 3 |
In the mid 1960s, at the urging of two U.S. presidents, Congress created legislation to address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region. A few statistics tell the story:
- One of every three Appalachians lived in poverty
- Per capita income was 23 percent lower than the U.S. average
- High unemployment and harsh living conditions had, in the 1950s, forced more than 2 million Appalachians to leave their homes and seek work in other regions.
In 1960, the Region's governors formed the Conference of Appalachian Governors to develop a regional approach to resolving these problems. In 1961, they took their case to newly elected President John F. Kennedy, who had been deeply moved by the poverty he saw during campaign trips to West Virginia.
In 1963 Kennedy formed a federal-state committee that came to be known as the President's Appalachian Regional Commission (PARC), and directed it to draw up "a comprehensive program for the economic development of the Appalachian Region." The resulting program was outlined in an April 1964 report that was endorsed by the Conference of Appalachian Governors and Cabinet-level officials.
President Lyndon B. Johnson used PARC's report as the basis for legislation developed with the bipartisan support of Congress. Submitted to Congress in 1964, the Appalachian Regional Development Act (ARDA) was passed early in 1965 by a broad bipartisan coalition and signed into law (PL 89-4) on March 9, 1965.
Appalachia: A Report by the President's Appalachian Regional Commission, 1964
Appalachian Regional Development Act, as codified in Title 40 of the United States Code
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Substantial Health Benefits,
Clean water is essential.
The quality of your tissues, their performance, and their resistance to disease and injury are absolutely linked to the quality and quantity of water you drink. Water is the most abundant substance on the earth and in the body. It makes up 60-75% of body weight and is important in numerous bodily processes and functions.
Used in the blood to transport nutrients, oxygen and glucose to all parts of the body, water also carries wastes to the kidneys for elimination from the body. It aids in digestion and relieves constipation. Water is a joint lubricant and cushion for organs. It lowers body temperature through perspiration. Water improves skin texture and is useful in preventing urinary tract infections and kidney stones.
Because of its importance in the body, experts recommend that the average adult consume at least 64 ounces (eight 8-oz. glasses) of water every day. Depending on body size and physical activity, men and women may need to drink even more than that to meet their bodies' needs. Every person loses at least 2 ½ quarts of water per day through urination, perspiration, respiration and bowel movements. Very few people replenish this loss.
One of the reasons for this is that many people may equate fluid intake as an equivalent to water intake. It is not. The body processes water differently than beverages. Fluid intake is not the same as intake of water, in fact, in some cases just the opposite. Caffeinated beverages for instance cannot be included in a person's daily fluid content due to their diuretic effect, actually depleting the body of water and fluids.
Tips for monitoring water intake include: take water breaks instead of coffee breaks; drink two cups of water 2-2 ½ hours before scheduled physical activity and again 15 minutes before the activity, ½ cup of water every 15 minutes during activity and then 2 cups per pound of water weight lost during the exercise session; keep a water bottle or cup with you at your desk throughout the day; try fruit juice and seltzer water or a slice of lime to add flavor.
Most health & wellness experts now acknowledge just how important ample pure water is to creating and maintaining health. Let's look at what some of them are saying…
According to the scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it has been estimated that between 60 to 80 percent of all cancer is caused by the chemicals in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Cancer will afflict one out of every four people. The NCI expressed concern over 20 years ago that increase in carcinogens in water and our inattention to removing them at the treatment plants could result in serious exposure of the general population.
"Do I need to tell you why drinking plenty of good quality water is as essential to health as eating properly? In a nutshell: one of the main activities of the body's self-healing system is filtration of the blood, a job performed mostly by the kidneys with a little help from the mechanism of perspiration. Kidneys are such efficient, compact and miraculous filters that they put to shame the dialysis machines used to maintain the patients with renal failure. The heart, blood, and kidneys are a single functional unit the constantly cleanses and purifies itself, removing all the toxic wastes of metabolism and the breakdown products of harmful substances that get onto our bodies one way or another. This purification system can operate efficiently only if the volume of water flowing through it is sufficient to carry away the waste. Further, as clean water enters the body, it has the ability to pick-up mineral deposits accumulated in cells, joints, artery walls, or wherever such deposits occur and begin to carry them out. Gallstones and kidney stores then decrease, and it also lessens arthritic pain as joints become more supple and movable." Dr. Andrew Weil, Natural Health, Natural Medicine.
Most people get their water from the household tap. This water originates from lakes, rivers, streams, and underground sources. The majority of water goes through a system of cleaning at the local water treatment plant. However, because of a lack of funds to provide the necessary technology, many harmful pollutants and water borne diseases are present in the finished treated water.
"In most cases our tap water is treated only to minimum standards, by sedimentation, filtration, chemical conditioning and disinfections with chlorine. The toxic metals, pesticides, industrial chemical,... the 50 or so chemicals used in the water treatment are present in the already treated water, along with the dead bacteria killed by the chlorine, as are the carcinogenic Trihalomethanes from the chlorine itself, that are known to cause liver and colorectal cancers." Dr. Michael Colgan, Optimum Sports Nutrition.
"Bacteria, viruses, synthetic compounds, metals, and radionuclides are the contaminants that become incorporated into our drinking water, and have the potential to cause health effects ranging from low grade sub-clinical illnesses such as colds and flu to death from cancer". Canadian Nutrition Guide.
"There are more than 60,000 chemical contaminants in water. Any municipal water supply is likely to have at least a thousand of these. Water authorities do what they can, but it is too great an expense to ensure our tap water is healthy enough for us to drink. Fifty percent of the US population uses water that in part is made up of recently discharged wastewater. And like the treatments for drinking water, wastewater treatments do not remove many of the toxic substances." Prevention Magazine.
"It has become apparent that pollution and contamination exist within our drinking water. With the amount of sewage dumped into drinking water sources, many water borne diseases are present in the so-called "treated" drinking water. This leaves our bodies wide open to diseases. The viruses of major concern in relation to drinking water are those of intestinal origin, excreted by infected animals or humans, which reach water resources by way of the soil's unlimited potential for serious disease and contamination of the human body." Canadian Nutrition Guide.
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MAURITANIALOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT
FLORA AND FAUNA
ENERGY AND POWER
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Mauritanian Islamic Republic
[French] République Islamique de Mauritanie;
[Arabic] Al-Jumhuriyah; al-Islamiyah al-Muritaniyah
FLAG: The flag consists of a gold star and crescent on a light green field.
ANTHEM: Mauritania (no words).
MONETARY UNIT: The ouguiya (um), a paper currency of 5 khoums, issued by the Central Bank of Mauritania, replaced the Communauté Financière Africaine franc on 29 June 1973. There are coins of 1 khoum and 1, 5, 10, and 20 ouguiyas, and notes of 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 ouguiyas. um1 = $0.00380 (or $1 = um263.03) as of 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Day, 1 May; African Liberation Day, 25 May; Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 28 November. Movable religious holidays include Laylat al-Miraj, 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-'Adha', 1st of Muharram (Muslim New Year), and Milad an-Nabi.
Situated in West Africa, Mauritania has an area of 1,030,700 sq km (397,955 sq mi). Mauritania extends 1,515 km (941 mi) ne–sw and 1,314 km (816 mi) se–nw. Comparatively, the area occupied by Mauritania is slightly larger than three times the size of the state of New Mexico. It is bordered on the ne by Algeria, on the e and s by Mali, on the sw by Senegal, on the w by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the nw and n by the Western Sahara, with a total estimated boundary length of 5,828 km (3,621 mi), of which 754 km (469 mi) is coastline.
Mauritania's capital city, Nouakchott, is located on the Atlantic Coast.
There are three distinct geographic regions in Mauritania: a narrow belt along the Senegal River valley in the south, where soil and climatic conditions permit settled agriculture; north of this valley, a broad east–west band characterized by vast sand plains and fixed dunes held in place by sparse grass and scrub trees; and a large northern arid region shading into the Sahara, advancing south several kilometers each year, and characterized by shifting sand dunes, rock outcroppings, and rugged mountainous plateaus that in a few places reach elevations of more than 500 m (1,640 ft). The high point, Mount Ijill at about 915 m (3,002 ft), is near Fdérik. The country is generally flat.
Although conditions are generally desertlike, three climatic regions can be distinguished. Southern Mauritania has a Sahelian climate; there is one rainy season from July to October. Annual rainfall averages 66 cm (26 in) in the far south; at Nouakchott the annual average is 14 cm (5.5 in).
Trade winds moderate the temperature in the coastal region, which is arid. The average maximum temperature at Nouadhibou for January is 26°c (79°f), and for October 32°c (90°f); average minimums are 13°c (55°f) for January and 19°c (66°f) for July.
Most of Mauritania north of Atar—about two-thirds of the country—has a Saharan climate. Daytime temperatures exceed 38°c (100°f) in most areas for over 6 months of the year, but the nights are cool. Average annual rainfall at Atar is 10 cm (4 in).
In the desert there are some cacti and related species; oases support relatively luxuriant growth, notably date palms. In the south are grasses and trees common to the savanna regions, particularly the baobab tree, but also palms and acacias. The far south, in the Senegal River valley, has willows, jujube, and acacias. Lions, panthers, jackals, crocodiles, hippopotami, hyenas, cheetahs, otters, and monkeys survive in the south; in the north there are antelopes, wild sheep, ostriches and other large birds, and ducks. As of 2002, there were at least 61 species of mammals, 172 species of birds, and over 1,100 species of plants throughout the country.
Deforestation is a severe problem because of the population's growing need for firewood and construction materials. Slash-and-burn agriculture has contributed to soil erosion, which is aggravated by drought. The expansion of the desert into agricultural lands is accelerated by limited rainfall, deforestation, the consumption of vegetation by livestock, and wind erosion. The expansion of domestic herds onto grazing land formerly restricted to wildlife has also taken a serious toll on the environment, both in erosion and in encroachment on wildlife species. In 2003, only 1.7% of Mauritania's total land area was protected. The nation also has a problem with water pollution, resulting from the leakage of petroleum and industrial waste along with sewage into the nation's ports and rivers. A government-built dam on the Senegal River is expected to alleviate the country's water problems and stimulate agriculture.
According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the number of threatened species included 7 types of mammals, 5 species of birds, 2 types of reptiles, 11 species of fish, and 1 species of invertebrates. Threatened species include the African gerbil, African slender-snouted crocodiles, and barbary sheep. The Sahara oryx has become extinct in the wild.
The population of Mauritania in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 3,069,000, which placed it at number 132 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 3% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 43% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 98 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 2.7%, a rate the government viewed as satisfactory. The projected population for the year 2025 was 4,973,000. The overall population density was 3 per sq km (8 per sq mi), but varies significantly. More than 90% of the population lives in the southern quarter of the country, including the Senegal River Valley.
The UN estimated that 40% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 4.34%. The capital city, Nouakchott, had a population of 600,000 in that year.
In seasonal grazing migrations, cattle are moved every year and are led to neighboring Senegal for sale. The droughts of the 1970s and early 1980s led to mass migrations to the towns. The population was 12% nomadic in 1988, compared to 83% in 1963. Some tribesmen of the Senegal River valley go to Dakar in Senegal for seasonal work or to engage in petty trade. A few thousand Mauritanians live in France. In 2000 the number of migrants in the country was 63,000. In 2000 remittances were $2 million, down from $14 million in 1990.
There were 6,148 Mauritanian refugees in Mali as of 2004 and 2,364 Mauritanians applied for asylum in France. In that same year there were also 19,777 Mauritanian refugees in Senegal, all assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Between June 1995 and 1997, 36,000 Malian refugees in Mauritania returned home, with 6,782 Malian refugees still remaining. By the end of 2004, some 3,500 Malians remained in Mauritania, as did 26,000 Western Saharans. In 2004, there were 473 refugees and 117 asylum seekers in Mauritania. In 2005, the net migration rate was an estimated–0.04 migrants per 1,000 population. The government views the migration levels as satisfactory.
Moors (Maures), the main ethnic group, are a Caucasoid people of Berber and Arab stock, with some Negroid admixture. The Moors are further divided into ethno-linguistic tribal and clan groups. Other groups, all black, are the Tukulor, Sarakolé, Fulani (Fulbe), Wolof, and Bambara. The black population is found largely in southern Mauritania and in the cities. About 40% of the total population are a Moor/black admixture, 30% are Moors, and 30% are black. There is also small numbers of Europeans, mainly French and Spanish (the latter from the Canary Islands), and a small colony of Lebanese traders. Freed slaves or the descendants of freed slaves are known as haratin.
Arabic is the official language. The Arabic spoken in Mauritania is called Hasaniya. Wolof, Peular, and Soninke are spoken in southern Mauritania and recognized as national languages. French is widely used, particularly in business, but its status as an official language was eliminated in the 1991 constitution.
The constitution declares Islam to be the religion of both the state and its people. As such, over 99% of the population is Muslim, most of whom are Sunnis. The Qadiriya and the Tijaniya are influential Islamic brotherhoods. The few thousand Christians and a very small number of Jews are mostly foreigners. Though proselytizing is not legally prohibited, it is discouraged, particularly through restrictions on the publishing and distribution of materials that contradict or threaten the tenets of Islam.
Modern forms of transport are still undeveloped. There are few paved roads, only one freight railroad, two deep-water ports, and two airports that can handle international traffic.
In 2002, of some 7,720 km (4,797 mi) of roads, only 830 km (516 mi) were paved. There were only three paved highways, from Nouakchott north to Akjoujt and south to Rosso, continuing to Saint-Louis, Senegal. A 1,000-km (620-mi) east–west road between Nouakchott and Néma, started in 1975, was completed in 1985. A track continues north from Akjoujt to Bir Mogreïn, then branches northwest into Western Sahara and northeast into Algeria. Mauritania had about 11,450 passenger cars and 6,850 commercial vehicles in 2003.
As of 2004, Mauritania had 717 km (446-mi) of railway, all of it standard gauge, which linked the iron mines at Zouérate, near Fdérik, with the port at Point-Central, 10 km (6 mi) south of Nouadhibou. A 40-km (24-mi) spur was built in 1981 to accommodate the planned new mine at El-Rhein. There is a wharf at Nouakchott; work on the construction of a deepwater port, financed by China, was completed in 1986. This "Port of Friendship" is the main commercial port and receives about 90% of imported goods. Nouadhibou, also a port, underwent extensive reconstruction, restoration, and equipment renewal in 1991. Other important ports and harbors include Bogue, Kaedi, and Rosso. The Senegal River offers over 220 km (137 mi) of year-round transport.
In 2004, there were an estimated 24 airports, 8 of which had paved runways as of 2005. The only airports that can handle long-distance jets are at Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. There are smaller airports at Ayoûn-el-'Atroûs, Akjoujt, Atar, Fdérik, Kaédi, Kifa, and Néma. Air Mauritanie (60% state owned) provides domestic flights as well as service to the Canary Islands and Senegal. The multinational Air Afrique also operates within Mauritania. In 2003, about 116,000 passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international airline flights.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Sahara was both lush and filled with game. Desiccation eventually forced the inhabitants southward, a process that in the 3rd and 4th centuries ad was speeded by the Berbers, who had domesticated the camel. As the Berbers pressed down from the north toward the Senegal River valley, black Africans who lived in the path of the invaders moved further to the south. From the 9th century, a Berber tribe, the Lamtuna, and two other Berber groups cooperated in the control of a thriving caravan trade in gold, slaves, and ivory from the south. They took desert salt and north African goods in exchange.
The Almoravids, a group of fervent Muslim Mauritanian Berbers conquered northwest Africa and much of Spain in the 11th century. They had, in turns, hostile and peaceful trade relations with the black African empire of Ghana. Their authority in the Mauritanian region had declined by the late 11th century. After the Almoravid empire was destroyed in the 12th century, the Mali kingdom, successor to Ghana, extended over southeastern Mauritania and dominated trade in the area. Later Mali was succeeded by the Songhai of Gao, whose empire fell to Moroccan invaders in 1591. Meanwhile, during the 14th and 15th centuries, nomadic Arab tribes of Yemeni extraction, the Banu Maqil, moved into Mauritania. By the 17th century, they had been able to establish complete dominance over the Berbers. They called themselves the Awlad-Banu Hassan. The Arabs and Berbers in Mauritania have since thoroughly intermingled with an Arabized Mauritania.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive, attracted in the 15th century by the trade in gold and slaves; later, the gum arabic trade became important. Competition for control was keen among Portuguese, French, Dutch, and English traders. The issue was resolved in 1815 when Senegal was awarded to France in the post-Napoleonic war settlement. During the 19th century, the French explored the inland regions and signed treaties with Moorish chieftains. Penetration of the desert zone was accelerated around the turn of the century in attempts to thwart Moorish raids on the Senegal River tribes. A Frenchman, Xavier Coppolani, was responsible for the signing of many treaties, and played a key role in the extension of French influence in the area. By 1903, he was in control of Trarza, the Moors' main base for raids on the river tribes. Coppolani was killed in 1905, but his work was completed by Gen. Henri Gouraud, who gained effective control of the Adrar region by 1909. Mauritania was established as a colony in 1920, but its capital was located at Saint-Louis in Senegal. Mauritania thus became one of the eight territories that constituted the French West Africa federation.
In 1946 a Mauritanian Territorial Assembly was established, with some control over internal affairs. During the next 12 years, political power increasingly passed to local political leaders. Mauritania voted for the constitution of the Fifth French Republic at the referendum of 28 September 1958; it thus became a self-governing member of the French Community. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania was proclaimed in November 1958, while complete independence was attained on 28 November 1960.
Since independence, Mauritania has experienced three successful coups in up to 10 attempts. The grounds for these lay in part in the human and civil rights abuses committed by the government. The black minority, located largely in the south, has staged antidiscrimination protests and campaigned against slavery in Mauritania. Officially, slavery has been banned since 1981; but a law that makes slavery a punishable offence has yet to be implemented. As of 2006, the government had not gone forward with a ceremony at which hundreds of slaves were to be set free under an arrangement supported by international antislavery organizations.
In foreign affairs, the government has turned increasingly toward the Arab world. Mauritania joined the Arab League in 1973 and withdrew from the franc zone during the same year; but ties with Europe, especially France, and the United States remain strong. The disastrous drought that struck Mauritania and the rest of the Sahel region during 1968–74 elicited substantial aid from the EC, the United States, Spain, France, and the Arab countries.
On 14 November 1975, the governments of Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania reached an agreement whereby Spain agreed to abandon control of the Spanish Sahara by 28 February 1976 and to share administration of the territory until then with Morocco and Mauritania. On 14 April 1976, Morocco and Mauritania announced a border delimitation agreement under which Morocco received more than two-thirds of the region (including the areas with the richest phosphate deposits). Morocco in effect annexed Western Sahara.
Morocco's action drew condemnation from across the world. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia al-Hamra and Río de Oro (generally known as Polisario) even proclaimed Western Sahara as the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic. When Polisario forces, supported by Algeria, launched a war in the region, guerrilla raids on the Mauritanian railway, iron mines, and coastal settlements, including Nouakchott, forced Mauritania to call French and Moroccan troops to its defense. The effects of the war weakened the government both economically and politically, and in July 1978, Moktar Ould Daddah, Mauritania's president since 1961, was overthrown by a military coup. On 5 August 1979, Mauritania formally relinquished its portion of the disputed territory, except for the military base of LaGuera, near Nouadhibou. Morocco also occupied and then annexed that (Mauritania's) portion of the territory. Mauritania thereafter pursued a policy of strict neutrality in the Morocco-Polisario conflict, a policy that strained relations with Morocco.
In the wake of the 1978 coup, the constitution was suspended and the National Assembly and the ruling Mauritanian People's Party (PPM) were dissolved. After a period of political uncertainty, Lt. Col. Khouna Ould Haydalla became chief of state and chairman of the ruling Military Committee for National Salvation as of 4 January 1980. There were unsuccessful attempts to overthrow his government in 1981 and 1982. Amnesty International claimed in 1983 that more than 100 political prisoners, including a former president and former prime minister, were being held in total darkness in underground cells in the desert. These prisoners were freed shortly after a military coup on 12 December 1984 brought Col. Moaouia Ould Sidi Mohamed Taya to power as chief of state.
However, as the economy faltered, racial, ethnic, and class tensions increased and the society became polarized. The lines were drawn between the Maurs or Moors—aristocrats who have dominated government—and black African slaves or descendents of slaves, who have adopted Moorish culture, but remain second-class citizens on the other. Although the government refuses to release census data, it is estimated that Moors account for 30–60% of the population. The black population, which is concentrated along the Senegal River border, has organized an underground Front for the Liberation of Africans in Mauritania (FLAM); grievances were linked with an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1987.
Interethnic hostilities in 1989 exploded when a border dispute with Senegal led to race riots that left several hundred Senegalese dead in Nouackchott. The Moorish trading community in Senegal was targeted for retaliation. Thousands of refugees streamed across the border in both directions. Mass deportation of "Mauritanians of Senegalese origin" fueled charges that Mauritania was trying to eliminate its non-Moorish population. Africa Watch estimated that at least 100,000 black slaves were being held in Mauritania.
Against this backdrop, the military conducted a bloody purge from September 1990 through March 1991 during which some 500 mostly black soldiers were murdered. Taya legalized opposition parties in July 1991, but he also stepped up Arabization policies. Parliament granted the perpetrators of the purge legal immunity in May 1993.
On 26 January 1992, Taya was elected in Mauritania's first multiparty presidential election with 63% of the vote. Ahmed Ould Daddah, the strongest of the four rivals and half-brother of Mauritania's first president, gained 33% of the vote. However, the election was marked by fraud. The legislative elections that followed in March were boycotted by 6 of the 14 opposition parties. Taya's Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS) easily won 67 of 79 Assembly seats.
Multiparty municipal elections were held in 1994, and the PRDS won control of 172 of the nation's 208 administrative districts. Presidential elections were held on 12 December 1997. Main opposition parties claimed that campaign conditions favored the reelection of Taya to a second six-year term and called for a boycott of the elections. Kane Amadou Moctar, the first black African ever to run for the presidency, presented himself as a nonaligned candidate with a platform promising to fight slavery, assist the return of Mauritanian refugees from Senegal, and reform the fisheries policy. The elections took place without incident and Taya was declared the winner, taking 90% of the votes. Turnout was estimated at 70%, despite the opposition boycott. Moctar received less than 1% of the vote. Opposition leaders described the poll as a "masquerade," citing reports of widespread irregularities that included children casting ballots and polls remaining open as late as 11 pm.
Elections were held in April 1998 for 18 of the Senate's 56 seats. The PRDS won 17 of the 18 contested seats, with an independent gaining the remaining seat. In January 1999 the PRDS again won most of the 208 districts contested in municipal elections, though it is estimated that only 16% of the registered votes went to the polls.
Despite multiparty elections, Mauritania is far from a free society. Opposition politicians are harassed and arrested. In 1994 and again in 1998, Cheikh Sadibou Camara of the UDP was arrested for suggesting that the slave trade was continuing—publicly stating the suggestion is considered a crime in the country. Anti-Slavery International, based in London, presented an annual antislavery award to Camara in November 1998. The government also harasses journalists and has suspended publication of newspapers and magazines on numerous occasions in recent years. Since 1993, Mauritania has been denied US trade privileges because of its poor human rights record. Ahmed Ould Daddah had continued to confront the Taya regime; he was arrested in April 2000 but was released a few days later without charges. In May 2000 demonstrations by opposition parties in Nouakchott demanded an independent electoral commission.
Despite opposition protests, the PRDS has maintained its monopoly on power in the Senate and in the National Assembly. In Senate elections held 12 April 2002, the PRDS maintained its commanding majority of 54 seats to 1 for the RFD, and 1 for the UNDD. In National Assembly elections held 19 and 26 October 2001 (next to be held 2006), the PRDS garnered 79% of the vote, compared to 3.5% for the RDU, 3.5% for the UDP, 5% for the AC, 4% for the RDF, 3.5% for the UFP, and 1.5% for the FP. The breakdown by number of seats was as follows: PRDS 64, UDP 3, RDU 3, AC 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, and FP 1. The 2001 Assembly elections were generally considered free and fair by outside observers, but were subject to the usual incumbent advantages in sub-Saharan Africa.
In June 2003, the government was dealing with a coup attempt that nearly overthrew Taya. As many as 40 people were injured and six killed in two days of heavy fighting in the capital on 8–9 June. Sala Ould Henena, who was fired from the army because of his opposition to the government's ties with Israel, was accused of leading former and mid-ranking army officers in the putsch. In response to the coup, the United States sent a 34-member military assessment team to Nouakchott to analyze US Embassy security needs. Analysts suspected that the cabal may have been provoked by a government crackdown earlier in the month against 32 Islamic leaders for their alleged ties to a foreign network of Islamic extremists and to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
In presidential elections held in 2003, Taya won reelection for a third term with 60.8% of the vote. But the opposition claimed that massive fraud marred the vote. There was little doubt though that Taya had been attracting opposition from among key segments of the population. In 1999, Mauritania became only the third Arab League state to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. Taya's links to Israel and his pro-Western, pro-US foreign policy had come under increasing criticism in the largely Muslim country. In September 2004, the government alleged yet another coup plot—the third in 15 months. In June 2005, an attack on an army base in the Sahara left 15 soldiers dead; it was blamed on insurgents from Algeria. All this seems to lend credence to allegations that Taya had been insensitive to the desires of Mauritanians, or that he had become too arrogant and too powerful to be bothered by what people thought about his government.
Thus, when Taya was deposed by a military coup on 3 August 2005, there was no public protest in his support. Dancing was reported on the streets of Nouakchott. On the other hand, opposition politicians welcomed the change; but they also vowed to intensify their watchdog function. Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall became chief of state and head of the new Military Council for Justice and Democracy. Col. Vall also promised to return to a constitutional order within two years, and vowed that no member of his caretaker administration would seek elective posts. Elections to the National Assembly were scheduled for November 2006, and to the Senate in January 2007. Presidential elections were scheduled for March 2007.
The constitution of 20 May 1961 declared Mauritania to be an Islamic republic. This constitution, which placed effective power in the hands of a president who was also head of the only legal political organization, the Mauritanian People's Party, was suspended in 1978 by the new military regime. Subsequently, executive and legislative powers were vested in the Military Committee for National Salvation. A draft constitution was published in 1980 but later abandoned; like the 1961 document, it called for a popularly elected president and National Assembly.
The July 1991 constitution delegates most powers to the executive. The president is to be elected by universal suffrage for a six-year term. The prime minister is appointed by the president and designated head of government. Parliament is composed of a bicameral legislature. The Senate, or Majlis al-Shuyukh, has 56 seats with 17 up for election every two years. Its members are elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms. The National Assembly, or Majlis al-Watani, has 79 seats with members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. These institutions pose no serious challenge and, moreover, are controlled by the president's party, although competing political parties were legalized in July 1991.
Since 2005, the military has controlled the levers of power, although in apparent consultation with politicians. On current reckoning, elections due from late 2006 through early 2007 might return politics and government in Mauritania to the democratic path. But a change in the transition time-table cannot be ruled out.
As elsewhere in French West Africa, formal political movements developed in Mauritania only after World War II. Horma Ould Babana, the leader of the first party to be established, the Mauritanian Entente, was elected to the French National Assembly in 1946. His party was considered too radical by the traditional chiefs, who organized a more conservative party, the Mauritanian Progressive Union (UPM). The UPM won 22 of 24 seats in the 1952 elections for the Territorial Assembly. In the 1957 elections, the first under universal adult suffrage, 33 of 34 persons elected to the Territorial Assembly were UPM members. In 1958, the UPM absorbed the weakened Entente into its organization, forming a single party, the Mauritanian Regroupment Party (PRM).
After independence, Prime Minister Moktar Ould Daddah in May 1961 set up a presidential system of government, and in the subsequent presidential election he was the only candidate. In December 1961, a new single party was formed, the Hizb Shab, or Mauritanian People's Party (Parti du Peuple Mauritanien—PPM). The PPM included minority parties as well as the PRM. By 1965, the single-party system had been established by law. President Ould Daddah was reelected in 1966, 1971, and 1976, but the PPM was dissolved after his ouster in 1978. No political parties functioned openly from 1978 until the 1991 military coup.
The Front for the Liberation of Africans in Mauritania (FLAM) was instrumental in stirring the 1989 unrest that ultimately led to multiparty elections. During this period of partisan organization, Taya formed the Democratic and Social Republican Party (Parti Republicain et Democratique Social—PRDS).
Chief among some 14 opposition parties has been the Union of Democratic Forces (UFD), which supported the runner-up in the January 1992 presidential election and boycotted the March parliamentary election. In May 1992, the UFD changed its name to UFD-New Era. In March 1993, it was weakened by the departure of eight centrist leaders to form a new political grouping. Also active are the Rally for Democratic and National Unity (RDU), the Union for Progress and Democracy (UPD), the Mauritanian Renewal Party (PMR), the People's Progressive Party (PPP), the Socialist and Democratic People's Union (SDPU), the Democratic Center Party (DCP), the Popular Front (FP), and El Har, a 1994 splintering of the UFD-New Era. The technically illegal Islamist party, Ummah, is very popular. The Action for Change (AC) party, which held four seats in the National Assembly following the October 2001 elections, was banned in January 2002.
After Taya won reelection in 2003, the Assembly was overwhelmingly dominated by his party, the PRDS. Since Col. Vall took power, opposition politicians appear to have become more involved, at least indirectly, in public decision making. For many years following 1998, Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna served as prime minister. On 8 August 2005 Sidi Mohamed Ould Boukakar became prime minister.
The Party of Democratic Convergence was banned in October 2005 because it was regarded as having breached Mauritanian law.
Mauritania is divided into the city of Nouakchott and 12 regions, each with a governor and a commission. The regions are subdivided into 49 departments. Elections to municipal councils were held in December 1986 and again in 1992. The January–February 1994 municipal elections led to PRDS control of around 170 of the 208 municipalities, a majority retained by the PRDS in 1999.
Local elections were held in 2001. But the polls were marred as much by opposition boycott as by charges of massive fraud. All results for Nouakchott were annulled and a rerun ordered—although the reasons for such action remained unclear, given the boycott by opposition.
The 1991 constitution completely revised the judicial system, which had previously consisted of a lower court in Nouakchott, labor and military courts, a security court, and a Supreme Court in addition to qadi courts, which handled family law cases.
The revised judicial system includes lower, middle, and upper level courts, each with specialized jurisdiction. The security court was abolished, and 43 department-level tribunals now bridge the traditional (qadi ) and modern court systems. These courts are staffed by qadis or traditional magistrates trained in Koranic law. General civil cases are handled by 10 regional courts of first instance. Three regional courts of appeal hear challenges to decisions at the department level. A Supreme Court, headed by a magistrate named by the president to a five-year term, reviews appeals taken from decisions of the regional courts of appeal.
The 1991 constitution also established a six-member constitutional court, three members of which are named by the president, two by the national assembly president, and one by the senate president.
While the judiciary is nominally independent, it is subject to pressure and influence by the executive, which controls the appointment and dismissal of judges. The system is strongly influenced by rulings and settlements of tribal elders based on Shariah and tribal regulations.
The Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure were revised in 1993 to bring them into line with the guarantees of the 1991 constitution, which provides for due process of law.
In 2005 the active armed forces of Mauritania numbered 15,870. The Army had 15,000 personnel armed with 35 main battle tanks, 70 reconnaissance vehicles, 25 armored personnel carriers, and 194 artillery pieces. The Navy had an estimated 650 active personnel. Major naval units consisted of 10 patrol/coastal vessels. The nation's Air Force had 250 active memembers. The aircraft inventory was limited to 2 reconnaissance, 12 transport, and 4 training aircraft. Paramilitary personnel numbered an estimated 5,000 personnel, with 3,000 in the gendarmerie and 2000 in the National Guard. The defense budget in 2005 totaled $20.1 million.
Admitted to the United Nations on 27 October 1961, Mauritania is a member of ECA and several nonregional specialized agencies, such as the FAO, IFC, IMF, the World Bank, UNESCO, UNIDO, and the WHO. It is also a member of the ACP Group, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, African Development Bank, the Council of Arab Economic Unity, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), G-77, the Arab League, the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Arab Maghreb Union, and the WTO. Mauritania has joined with Senegal and Mali to form the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal—OMVS). Mauritania is a member of the Nonaligned Movement.
In environmental cooperation, Mauritania is part of the Basel Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, Ramsar, CITES, the Montréal Protocol, MARPOL, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change and Desertification.
The country is also a member with neighboring states of the Interstate Committee to Combat Drought in the Sahel (CILSS).
While Mauritania is an agricultural country, historically largely dependent on livestock production, its significant iron ore deposits have been the backbone of the export economy in recent years. The droughts of the 1970s and 1980s transformed much of Mauritania, as the herds died off and the population shifted to urban areas. In 1960, 85% of the population lived as nomadic herders. By 1999, that percentage had fallen to 5%, and nearly one-third of the population lives in the district of Nouakchott. Offshore oil reserves have been identified and are estimated at one billion barrels. Substantial oil production and exports were expected to begin in 2006 and were projected to average 75,000 barrels per day for that year. Gold and diamond prospecting hold potential as growth areas.
Most of Mauritania is desert or semiarid. Less than 1% of Mauritania receives sufficient rain for crop production, and that 1% is drought-prone. Leading staple crops are millet, sorghum, rice, corn, sweet potatoes and yams, pulses, and dates. The country is not agriculturally self-sufficient and this situation has been aggravated by increasing urbanization.
In 2006, iron ore sales accounted for approximately 40% of exports. Fish exports account for 60% of foreign earnings. The contribution of livestock herding and agriculture was 25% of GDP and employed about half of the workforce in 2001, but covered only a small percentage of the country's needs. The droughts of the 1970s and 1980s devastated the herds, but the FAO estimates that they had returned to pre-drought numbers by 1991. The recomposition of the Mauritanian herd and the development of water supplies have been a prime objective of the government.
The droughts have led to a buildup of foreign debt leaving the country dependent on financial aid flows from international donors. Mauritania became eligible for debt relief under the IMF/World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in 2000, and debt service relief reached $1.1 billion by 2002, which almost halved Mauritania's debt burden. Foreign assistance accounted for 90% of investment from 1998–2001. In 2005 the GDP growth rate was estimated at 5.5%.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Mauritania's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $6.2 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $2,000. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 5.5%. The average inflation rate in 2003 was 7%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 25% of GDP, industry 29%, and services 46%.
According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $2 million or about $1 per capita and accounted for approximately 0.2% of GDP. Foreign aid receipts amounted to $243 million or about $85 per capita and accounted for approximately 20.9% of the gross national income (GNI).
The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Mauritania totaled $852 million or about $299 per capita based on a GDP of $1.2 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 4.1%. It was estimated that in 2004 about 40% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.
The estimated labor force in Mauritania numbered 786,000 in 2001. In that year it was estimated that agriculture provided work for 50% of the labor force, with services accounting for 40% and 10% by industry. In 2004, the estimated unemployment rate was 20%.
Trade unions are grouped into three federations, of which the oldest is the Union of Mauritanian Workers (Union des Travailleurs de Mauritanie), which is affiliated with the ICFTU. The newer ones are the General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers, formed in 1994, and the Free Confederation of Mauritanian Workers. Approximately 90% of the formal segment of the economy is unionized. The right to strike is guaranteed by law. Collective bargaining is also permitted.
Children under the age of 14 are prohibited by law from engaging in nonagricultural work. In practice this regulation is not enforced. The guaranteed minimum workweek for most nonagricultural laborers is 40 hours with guaranteed overtime pay. However, domestic employees may work for up to 56 hours per week. The minimum wage was $38.71 per month in 2002 for adult workers. There are minimum occupational health and safety standards, but they are inadequately enforced due to a lack of government funding.
Settled agriculture is restricted to the strip of land along the Senegal River and to oases in the north; only 0.2% of Mauritania's total land area is classified as arable. In general, landholdings are small. Overall agricultural development has been hampered not only by unfavorable physical conditions but also by a complicated land-tenure system (modified in 1984) that traditionally rested on slavery, inadequate transportation, and the low priority placed on agriculture by most government developmental plans. The country's traditional dependence on food imports has been heightened by drought. Agriculture's share of GDP has been steadily falling; in 2003 it stood at 19%, down from 29% in 1987.
Corn and sorghum production reached 6,000 and 68,000 tons, respectively, in 2004. Other crop production in 2004 included paddy rice, 77,000 tons; and millet, 400 tons. Date production was 24,000 tons in 2004.
The Mauritanian government is encouraging agricultural development of the Senegal River valley. The OMVS began in 1981 to build a dam at Manantali, in Mali, for purposes of river transport, irrigation, and hydroelectric power. In conjunction with this OMVS project, Mauritania initiated an irrigation and development scheme in 1975 for the Gorgol River valley, involving construction of a dam; the scheme would increase arable land by over 3,600 hectares (9,000 acres). This project was to be followed by other dams that together would add 30,000 hectares (74,100 acres) for food production. Another OMVS project, begun in 1981, was designed to block salt water from entering the fertile Senegal River delta. From 1989 to 1991, a series of measures aimed at stimulation and rationalization of agricultural production were initiated, including producer price increases, marketing and distribution liberalization, and streamlining of government-owned agricultural organizations.
Animal husbandry, a major activity in the traditional economy, grew rapidly during the 1960s because of a successful animal health campaign and, prior to 1968, favorable weather conditions. Indeed, cattle herds grew well beyond the number that could be supported by the natural vegetation. Thus, the land was already vulnerable when the drought years of 1968–74 reduced the cattle population from 2.6 million head in 1970 to 1.6 million in 1973. There were only 1.6 million head in 2005, while sheep and goats numbered 14.5 million and camels 1.3 million.
The Moors tend to regard their cattle as symbols of wealth and prestige; this attitude discourages the herders from selling or slaughtering the animals. Total meat production in 2005 was estimated at 89,349 tons, with mutton accounting for 28% and beef for 26%. Reported figures are incomplete, however, since animal smuggling is common and much trade is unrecorded.
With a potential catch of 600,000 tons, fishing employs 1.2% of the labor force and contributes about 5% to GDP. It is estimated that more than $1 billion worth of fish is netted each year within the 320-km (200-mi) exclusive economic zone, but little of this sum benefits the treasury because the government lacks means of control and enforcement.
Since 1980, any foreigners wishing to fish in Mauritanian waters have been required by law to form a joint venture in which Mauritanian citizens or the government holds at least 51% of the capital. All of the catch must be landed in Mauritania for process and export, and each joint venture must establish an onshore processing facility. By 1987, over a dozen fishing companies had been established in Nouadhibou, including public and private interests from Algeria, France, Iraq, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Romania, Spain, and the former USSR. In May 1987, Mauritania signed a three-year fishing agreement with the EC, allowing all EC members to fish in Mauritanian waters; in return, Mauritania received approximately $23 million. Since the mid-1980s, however, depletion of the stocks has made Mauritanian fishing increasingly uneconomical. Mauritania's boats have been in poor condition. In spite of the ship repair service in Nouadhibou, which opened in 1989, only about 50% of the fleet was up and running in 1992.
Traditional fishing is carried out along the Senegal River and traditional sea fishing at Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. The national catch was estimated at 80,000 tons in 2003. Principal species caught included octopus, sardine, squid, and hake. Exports of fish products were valued at $103.4 million in 2003.
Sizable tree stands found in the southern regions are not fully exploited. The principal forest product is gum arabic, which is extracted from wild acacia trees that grow in the south. Until 1972, private traders collected and exported the gum; since 1972, it has officially been a monopoly of the state trading company, Société Nationale d'Importation et d'Exportation (SONIMEX). Nevertheless, much gum continues to be smuggled across the borders, particularly to Senegal. Roundwood removals were estimated at 1.6 million cu m (56 million cu ft) in 2004, 99% for fuel.
Iron ore mining and processing accounted for more than 44% of Mauritania's export earnings in 2003, which totaled $388 million. Iron ore output (metal content) was estimated at 6.9 million metric tons in 2003. Iron ore production by gross weight that same year totaled 10.6 million metric tons.
Gypsum output, from some of the greatest reserves in the world, was estimated at 100,000 metric tons in 2003. In 2003, Mauritania also produced cement, salt, crude steel, sand and gravel, and stone. Mauritania was rich in copper; in the 1980s, the mine at Akjoujt was estimated to contain 100 million tons of ore averaging 2.25% copper, with trace amounts of gold. In 1996, gold recovery from tailings at the mine was discontinued because the stockpile was depleted. The nearby Guelb Moghrein Project, which contained resources of 23.7 million tons (144 grams per ton of cobalt, 1.88% copper, and 1.41 grams per ton of gold), continued to be delayed, because of low gold and copper prices, and problems at the pilot plant. Phosphate deposits, and reserves of platinum, palladium, and nickel, have been identified, and prospecting continued for petroleum, tungsten, and uranium. Mineral exploration efforts were focused on diamond (on the Archean Reguibat craton), gold (in the Inchiri region), oil (offshore), and continued evaluation of copper-gold, kaolin, and peat deposits.
Mauritania, as of 1 January 2005, had no proven reserves of crude oil, natural gas, coal, or petroleum refining capacity. But this may change in 2006. Mauritania's Chinguetti oilfield, discovered in 2001, is estimated to have reserves of 100 million barrels. In addition, the country has a number of other offshore gas and oil fields that are seen as promising.
In 2002, Mauritania imported and consumed an average of 22,750 barrels per day of refined oil products. There was no recorded demand for coal or natural gas in that same year.
Electric power is the country's primary energy source. In 2002, installed generating capacity was 115,000 kW, of which 56.5% of capacity was dedicated to hydropower, and the rest to conventional thermal sources. In 2002, electric output totaled 174 million kWh, of which almost 85% was generated by conventional thermal plants, with hydroelectric facilities accounting for the remainder. Consumption of electricity in 2002 came to 162 million kWh.
Fish processing, the principal industrial activity, is carried out in Nouadhibou. By far the largest fish processor is Mauritanian Fish Industries (IMAPEC), a Spanish company in which the Mauritanian government acquired a 51% share in 1980. IMAPEC has facilities for salting, drying, canning, and freezing fish, and for producing fish flour; virtually all of its output is exported. Overfishing is a problem, however, as is mismanagement of the fishing sector and the lack of an effective governmental fisheries policy. The government is modernizing the fisheries sector, through port extension and the development of warehouses. Other small industries include chemical and plastic plants, food and beverages, metal products, building materials, and cookie factories.
The first desalination plant in Africa was completed at Nouakchott in January 1969, with a capacity of 3,000 cu m (106,000 cu ft) a day. A rolling mill at Nouadhibou, built in 1977, produced small quantities of iron rods and steel. A petroleum refinery in Nouadhibou, with an annual capacity of 1 million tons, opened in 1982, shut down in 1983, and resumed operation in 1987 with help from Algeria. Algeria also helped revitalize a sugar refining plant. Similarly, Kuwaiti and Jordanian interests reopened the steel mill after a shutdown. Each of these operations represents a drain on state revenues, and the government has shifted policy toward the promotion of less ambitious industrial development.
The government has signed exploration contracts with the Canadian Rex Diamond Mining Corporation, the American BHP Minerals and Bab-Co, the French La Source, and the Australian Ashton West Africa Property Limited in order to find gold, oil, phosphate, aluminum, and copper in Mauritania. Mauritania as of 2006 had an estimated one billion barrels of proven oil reserves. A national oil company, GPC, was created in 2004. Mauritania is one of four countries in West Africa with an operating oil refinery.
A research institute for mining and geology, founded in 1968, is at Nouakchott. The Economic Community of West Africa has an institute in Nouadhibou-Cansado conducting research in the fisheries industry. The Higher Scientific Institute, founded in 1986 at Nouakchott, has departments of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computer studies, natural resources, and ecology. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 41% of college and university enrollments.
Most trade is done at or near the "Friendship Port" of Nouakchott. The seaport of Nouadhibou is a main center for fishing operations. Most consumer goods are sold through small shops or boutiques, although some medium-sized supermarkets are becoming more common. There are a number of small and medium-sized family-owned retail and wholesale firms. Private exchange offices were created in 1994 and 1995. A new investment code put into place in 2001 is expected to attract foreign investment. Arabic is the official language, but French is the business language. Normal business and banking hours are from 7:30 am to 3 pm, Sunday through Thursday, though it is somewhat common for businesses to open a little later in the morning than scheduled.
Iron ore and fish products are the primary exports (98% of export revenue in 2005). The leading imports are foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, and capital goods. In 2004, Mauritania's principal export partners were: Japan (13.1%), France (11%), Spain (9.7%), Germany (9.7%), Italy (9.6%), Belgium (7.5%), China (6.1%), Russia (4.6%), and Côte d'Ivoire (4.1%). Principal import partners that year were: France (14.1%), the United States
|Italy-San Marino-Holy See||61.0||29.1||31.9|
|(…) data not available or not significant.|
|Balance on goods||40.0|
|Balance on services||-118.5|
|Balance on income||-31.5|
|Direct investment abroad||…|
|Direct investment in Mauritania||0.1|
|Portfolio investment assets||…|
|Portfolio investment liabilities||-0.4|
|Other investment assets||190.1|
|Other investment liabilities||-215.7|
|Net Errors and Omissions||-8.1|
|Reserves and Related Items||-43.2|
|(…) data not available or not significant.|
(7.6%), China (6.4%), Spain (5.8%), the United Kingdom (4.6%), Germany (4.3%), and Belgium (4.2%).
An external debt of $2.6 billion in 1998 resulted in debt servicing that rose 38.5% from 1997 to 1998, causing a leap in the balance of payments deficit. External trade increased in the late 1990s, due to the creation of private exchange offices and the liberalization of exchange systems. Foreign investment began to resume as well. The country's outstanding foreign debt in 2000 was estimated at 220% of GDP, but due to debt cancellation and rescheduling, debt service payment problems were somewhat alleviated. Mauritania's external debt had declined to $1.6 billion by 2000. In the same year, Mauritania qualified for $1.1 billion in debt service relief from the IMF/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in 2001 it received strong support from donor and lending countries. In 2002, Mauritania received $305.7 million in economic aid from donor countries. In 2003, the IMF approved a three-year $8.8 million loan to the country. In 2005, exports were valued at an estimated $784 million, and imports at $1.124 billion.
At independence, Mauritania became a member of the West African Monetary Union (Union Monétaire Ouest Africaine—UMOA), but withdrew in 1973 to demonstrate its independent economic identity. When it withdrew, the government also relinquished membership in the African Financial Community (Communauté Financière Africaine—CFA), whose currency—the CFA franc—was freely convertible to French francs. Mauritania then created its own currency, the ouguiya, and a national bank, the Central Bank of Mauritania (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie), which was established in 1973.
After privatization in 1989, banks in Mauritania included Banque Arbe Libyene-Mauritanienne pour le Commerce Extérieur et le Développement (BALM). BALM, founded in 1990, was 51% owned by Libyans and 49% owned by the state. Other banks included Banque Al-Baraka Mauritanie Islamique (BAMIS), Banque Mauritanie pour le Commerce Internationale (BMCI), and Banque Nationale de Mauritania (BNM). BAMIS, established in 1990, was 50% Saudi owned and 10% BCM owned. BMCI, founded in 1990, was 10% BCM owned, and 90% of the bank was held by private interests. BNM, established in 1988, was 50% state owned.
In 2001, there were seven commercial banks, among them BAMIS, BMCI, BNM, Generale de Banque de Mauritanie (GBM), and the World Bank Representative in Mauritania. There are also three credit agencies and four insurance companies. The Saudi Al-Baraka firm owned 85% of BAMIS and the Belgium Belgolaise bank was the second-largest shareholder in commercial banks. There was also one bank specializing in housing construction and three credit agencies (Credit Maritime, Credit Agricole, and Mauritanie Leasing).
A significant drawback for the Mauritanian economy, partly due to the small number and low income of the population, was a dearth of domestic capital. The poor reputation of the domestic banking system, notwithstanding its recent overhaul, discouraged local savings. In 1997, the government encouraged the creation of popular saving agencies to revitalize the financial sector; and in 1998, the government introduced incentives to encourage fish exporters to keep their assets in the country. The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $108.6 million. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $151.4 million.
Insurance was handled by 13 foreign companies until July 1974 when the Mauritanian government assumed full control of insurance and reinsurance. All insurance business was controlled by the Mauritanian Insurance and Reinsurance Co. There were two insurance companies in 1999.
Mauritania's budget is habitually in deficit. Mismanagement of public enterprises and an abundance of public sector employees led to large deficits in the early 1980s. In 1985, the government began an IMF-sponsored adjustment program to stabilize the economy and diminish the role of the public sector. The overall fiscal cash deficit (excluding debt forgiveness) fell from 12% GDP in 1985 to 5.4% in 1989. From 1989 to 1992, however, due to the Persian Gulf Crisis and turmoil with Senegal, the adjustment effort was set back. In 1994, the government instituted fiscal reform designed to broaden the tax base and reduce exemptions. Goals in 1999 included increasing public revenues, decreasing spending, and increasing the performance of public companies. Privatization continued through the 1990s, and state-owned companies accounted for approximately 20% of GDP at the end of 1997.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2002 Mauritania's central government took in revenues of approximately $421 million and had expenditures of $378 million. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately $43 million. Total external debt was $2.5 billion.
Mauritania has a corporate income tax rate of 20%, with a 4% minimum rate on turnover. Capital gains are taxed at the corporate rate. However the tax may be deferred if the gains are used to acquire new fixed assets in the country in the following three fiscal years. Dividends are subject to a 10% withholding tax, which can be deducted if the recipient of the dividends is subject to corporate income tax. The major indirect taxes are import duties, a turnover tax on exports and mining companies, a value-added tax (VAT), excise levies on petroleum, tobacco, a service tax, and a tax on vehicles. As of 2005, the standard VAT rate was set at 14%. Wages and salaries are also subject to an income tax.
Along with other members of the West African Economic Community (CEAO), Mauritania imposes a revenue duty (droit fiscal ) and a customs duty (droit de douane d'entrée ) on most imported goods. The average tax rate for imports was 43% in 1999. Customs duties ranged from a minimum of 9% to a maximum of 27% for essential goods or nonluxury goods. Imports are also subject to the 14% VAT. Exports were not restricted, although both imports and exports require a license. The government planned to reduce taxes on imports to an average of 25%, and was considering the creation of free trade zones.
Since 1970, Mauritania has had a trade agreement with Senegal, allowing primary products to be traded between the two countries duty-free. Mauritania is also a member of ECOWAS.
With the nationalization of the mining sector in 1974, private foreign investment dropped drastically. Extension of government control over imports and domestic trade further curtailed the activity of foreign capital, as did ethnic clashes in 1989–91. In 1993, the government started to privatize parastatals, and by 1999, only 17% of GDP was accounted for by state-owned companies; 20% of Mauritanian companies were state-owned, including the telephone and postal services, utilities, transportation, radio and television, and mining production.
An investment code, approved in 1979, provided for tax holidays of up to 12 years on exports, imports of raw materials, and reinvested profits. The 1989 Investment Code guaranteed equal and free movement of capital in and out of Mauritania, in all sectors. It also provided incentives to new enterprises like a temporary tax reduction. Amendments have been made to the code to require hiring of Mauritanians. Tax preferences are offered for using local materials and investing in priority sectors, like agriculture, minerals, and fish processing.
Foreign investment has been small since the ethnic violence of 1989 to 1991. However, in 1999 the government introduced new initiatives to attract foreign investment. From 1997 to 1999, the average annual inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) was negligible, ranging from $100,000 to $900,000. In 2000, inflows increased to $9.2 million and then, in 2001, to $30 million. Foreign private investors include Mobil Oil of the United States, NAFTAL of Algeria, and Elf Aquitaine of France, in the petroleum sector; MINPROC, IFC of Australia in the gold sector; and CNF of China, the Al-Baraka Group of Saudi Arabia, and IFAFOOD of France, in the fishing sector.
Foreign investment climbed from 2001–04, particularly in the petroleum, mining, and telecommunications sectors, as well as tourism (especially hotels). In 2003 the government introduced a new investment code, designed to encourage foreign investment as well as local entrepreneurs.
Until the export earning capacity of Mauritania improves, its economy will remain fragile. External deficit management dominates the public investment horizon. In 1999, Mauritania obtained financing from the IDA, AFESD, and World Bank, for its economic and social development projects. The IDA funded a mining sector capacity building project, with $500,000 cofinancing from the government. The AFESD gave an $11.6 million loan to upgrade and develop small dams. The World Bank approved a $15 million loan to support access to the country's mining sector.
In 2000, Mauritania was approved for $1.1 billion in debt service relief under the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. That year, the country withdrew its membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and increased commercial ties with Morocco and Tunisia (members of the Arab Maghreb Union), particularly in telecommunications. In 2003, the IMF approved an $8.8 million three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) Arrangement, to support the government's economic reform policies geared to reduce poverty. The IMF stressed the need for banking and exchange rate reform, and improved governance.
As of 2006, the development of Mauritania's one billion barrels of proved petroleum reserves held promise for the economy. The government emphasized the reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and privatization of the economy as policy priorities.
The National Social Security Fund administers family allowances, industrial accident benefits, insurance against occupational diseases, and old age pensions. Pensions are paid for by 1% contributions from employees and 2% contributions from employers. Employed women are entitled to a cash maternity benefit and payable up to 14 weeks. Workers and their families who are covered under the labor code are entitled to medical benefits. There is also a family allowance and a birth grant.
Opportunities for Mauritanian women are severely limited by social and cultural factors. Although they have the right to vote, women face considerable legal discrimination. According to Shariah law, the testimony in court of two women equals that of one man. The law mandates equal pay for equal work, and in the public sector, this law is respected and applied. Most young girls undergo female genital mutilation by the age of six months, although the incidence is decreasing among the urban population. Education is not compulsory and dire financial circumstances force many children to work. Laws prohibiting child labor are rarely enforced.
Slavery was abolished many times in Mauritania, the most recent law having been passed in 1980. Despite this, as of 2004 there are still slaves in the rural areas where a barter economy thrives. Some human rights abuses are reported including the use of excessive force to disperse demonstrators and inadequate prison conditions.
Mauritania's public health system consists of administrative units and health facilities organized in pyramid style. Total health care expenditure was estimated at 4.8% of GDP. In 2004, there were an estimated 14 physicians, 62 nurses, 2 dentists, 4 pharmacists, and 10 midwives per 100,000 people. In the mid-1990s, there were approximately 300 basic health units at the village level, about 130 health posts, and some 50 health centers. The health system is mostly public, but liberalization of private practice in the past several years has led to marked increase in the number of practitioners in the private sector. Mauritania's only major hospital is in Nouakchott. Only about 63% of the population had access to health care services. Private participation in the pharmaceutical sector has increased since 1987. Public facilities receive stocks from the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Drugs are distributed to patients at public facilities at no cost, but only 40% of demand can be met. Importation of narcotics is prohibited. Approximately 37% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 33% had adequate sanitation.
The main health problems include malaria, tuberculosis, measles, dysentery, and influenza. Guinea worm remains a major problem. Pregnancy complications are common due to unhygienic conditions and lack of medical care. In nondrought years, the staple diet of milk and millet is nutritionally adequate, if somewhat deficient in vitamin C. Immunization rates for children up to one year old were: tuberculosis, 93%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 50%; polio, 50%; and measles, 53%. The rates for DPT and measles were, respectively, 40% and 62%. Forty-four percent of children under five were malnourished. The goiter rate was 31 per 100 school-age children.
The average life expectancy is among the lowest in the world—an estimated 52.73 years in 2005. The fertility rate was 5.7 in 2000. Only 3% of married women aged 15–49 were using some form of contraceptive. As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 42.54 and 13.34 per 1,000 people. The infant mortality rate was 70.89 per 1,000 live births in 2005. The maternal mortality rate was 550 per 100,000 live births. Twenty-five percent of women underwent female genital mutilation and no specific law has been issued against it.
As of 2004, there were approximately 9,500 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 0.60 per 100 adults in 2003.
Construction accounts for a small fraction of GDP. The chief construction company, the Building Society of Mauritania, is hampered by inadequate manpower and capitalization. To encourage housing development, the government introduced new regulations in 1975 to encourage builders and to compel civil servants to purchase their own property and thus relieve the demand for public housing. The phenomenal growth of Nouakchott and the effects of rural migration, impelled by drought, have strained housing resources. In 1998, over 25% of residents in Nouakchott lived in substandard housing, such as tents, huts, or shacks, as did about 35% of Kiffa residents and 44% of Aioun residents.
Six years of basic education are compulsory. A three-year lower secondary (college) program offers general education. Following this stage, students may choose to attend a three-year senior secondary school (lycee ) or a technical school program of three or five years. The lycee programs offer specializations in arts and literature; natural sciences; mathematics, physics, and chemistry; or Koran (Quran) and Arabic studies. The academic year runs from October to June.
Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 68% of age-eligible students. In 2001, secondary school enrollment was about 14.5% of age-eligible students. It is estimated that about 42.9% of all students complete their primary education. The student-teacher ratio for primary school was at about 42:1 in 2000; the ratio for secondary school was about 26:1.
The National Institute of Higher Islamic Studies was established in Boutilimit in 1961 and the National School of Administration was founded in 1966 at Nouakchott. The University of Nouakchott, founded in 1981, has a faculty of letters and human sciences and a faculty of law and economics. In 2003, about 4% of the tertiary age population were enrolled in some type of higher education program. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 51.2%, with 59.5% for men and 43.4% for women.
As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 4.1% of GDP, or 16.6% of total government expenditures.
The National Library at Nouakchott (10,000 volumes) and the National Archives (3,000) were both founded in 1955. The National Library is the depository for all the country's publications. There is a small library at the University of Nouakchott in the capital, as well as a French cultural center. The National Museum is also located in Nouakchott and has archaeology and ethnography collections. There are several Arab libraries in the major towns.
Many of Mauritania's post offices have telephone or telegraph services. There are direct telephone communications from Nouakchott to Paris. Administrative contact within the country is maintained by radiotelephone. Two earth-satellite stations came into service in 1985–86. In 2003, there were an estimated 14 mainline telephones for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were approximately 128 mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.
The government operates all national radio and television networks, broadcasting in French, Arabic, and several African languages. In 2001 there were 1 AM and 14 FM radio stations, with 1 television station reported in 2002. Residents with satellite receivers and dish antennas receive television broadcasts from France and other Arab countries. Telecasts are in French and Arabic. In 2003, there were an estimated 148 radios and 44 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were 10.8 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 4 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet.
In 2004 there were about 25 privately owned newspapers with a regular publication schedule, usually weekly. A government-operated daily, Ach Chabb, is published in French and Arabic. Horizon, another government daily, is published in French.
The constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press; however, by law copies of every newspaper must be submitted to the Ministries of Interior and Justice for approval before distribution.
The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Ranching is in Nouakchott. Youth organizations include the National Union of Students and Pupils of Mauritania and the Association of Scouts and Guides of Mauritania. Several sports associations are active within the country. The Lion's Club has active programs. The International Association of French-Speaking Women has a base in the country. The World Conservation Union has an office within the country. The Red Crescent Society and Caritas are active as well.
Tourists are attracted to Atar, the ancient capital of the Almoravid kingdom, and Chinguetti, with houses and mosques dating back to the 13th century. Popular sports are rugby, surf fishing, tennis, football (soccer), basketball, and swimming.
There are few facilities for tourists, except in the capital, and travel is difficult outside of Nouakchott. Most visitors need a valid passport and visa; the visa requirement is waived for French and Italian nationals. A certificate of vaccination against yellow fever may be required if traveling from an infected area. Precautions against typhoid are recommended.
In 2005, the US Department of State estimated the daily cost of staying in Nouakchott at $202.
Abu Bakr ibn Omar (Boubakar), paramount chief of the Lemtouna, defeated Ghana in 1076. His lieutenant and cousin, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, conquered Morocco in 1082 and most of Spain in 1091. The best-known contemporary Mauritanian is Moktar Ould Daddah (1924–2003), president from 1961 until 1978; after being ousted, he was eventually allowed to go to France. Lt. Col. Khouna Ould Haydalla (b.Spanish Sahara, 1940) became prime minister and chief of staff of the armed forces in 1978 and assumed the presidency in 1980. Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya (b.1941), who had been prime minister (1981–84), was president from 1984 to 2005. Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall (c.1950) became the new military leader of Mauritania in 2005.
Since relinquishing its claim to Western Sahara, Mauritania has no territories or colonies.
Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. Rev. ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
Calderini, Simonetta. Mauritania. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, 1992.
Cotton, Samuel. Silent Terror: A Journey into Contemporary African Slavery. New York: Harlem Rivers Press, 1998.
Handloff, Robert E. (ed.). Mauritania, a Country Study. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1990.
Pazzanita, Anthony G. Historical Dictionary of Mauritania. 2nd. ed. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1996.
Robinson, David. Paths of Accommodation: Muslim Societies and French Colonial Authorities in Senegal and Mauritania, 1880–1920. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2000.
Zeilig, Leo and David Seddon. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Africa. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2005.
"Mauritania." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2586700111.html
"Mauritania." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations. 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2586700111.html
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Atar, Boutilimit, Chinguetti, Kaédi, Nouadhibou, Ouadane, Rosso, Zouérate
This chapter was adapted from the Department of State Post Report dated June 1997. Supplemental material has been added to increase coverage of minor cities, facts have been updated, and some material has been condensed. Readers are encouraged to visit the Department of State's web site at http://travel.state.gov/ for the most recent information available on travel to this country.
The Islamic Republic of MAURITANIA has been a recognized political entity with defined borders for just over 30 years. From the beginning of this century until independence was achieved in 1960, it was a part of the larger region known as French West Africa; prior to that time, portions of the present-day republic were included in political systems based in northwest Africa and in the Niger Basin.
One of the few truly exotic places left in the world, Mauritania is the traditional homeland of the Moors, nomadic herdsmen and warriors who, for centuries, roamed the desert and semi-desert areas of Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, and the Western Sahara. The country is distinct from the ancient African province of Mauritania, which existed in Roman times.
Nouakchott was a small village of mud brick houses on the edge of the Sahara in 1957. It was selected that year as the future site of the capital of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania over larger, historically more important towns because of its relatively moderate climate and central, coastal location. Nouakchott's name derives from the Berber expression "place of the winds."
After rapid and unplanned growth, some 694,000 people now live in Nouakchott and its surrounding tent and shanty suburbs. Most of this growth is the result of prolonged drought, which has forced masses of nomadic people to abandon their way of life and move to the city for food and the slim hope of finding work.
The city, covering some 10 square miles, is bounded on three sides by desert, and on the fourth by the Atlantic coastline, approximately 3 miles from town. Maximum daytime temperatures average in the low 90's (F), with average minimum temperatures in the high 60's (F). Precipitation in Nouakchott is less than three inches annually. The city's water supply is piped some 40 miles from the nearest reliable aquifer.
The airport is located near the older section of town, known as Ksar.
Many of the food products that Americans are accustomed to are expensive on the local market. Almost all such food is imported, including fresh fruits and vegetables such as apples, oranges, and potatoes. Availability, quality, and variety fluctuate widely. Locally produced, good quality, vegetables are always available in winter. During the summer, fresh produce is scarce, and even meat, butter, and cheese can be in short supply due to fewer imports as foreign residents depart. Nouakchott is blessed with delicious fresh, locally caught fish, shrimp, and rock lobster in season at reasonable prices. Beef and lamb, chickens, eggs, and a few vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, tubers, mint, and parsley) are produced locally at costs about 30 to 50 percent higher than U.S. prices. There are many imported fruit juices available at about twice the price of comparable U.S.-made products. Items such as lunch meat, cheese, ice cream, and turkey are imported either from neighboring countries or Europe and are correspondingly expensive.
Supermarkets, butcher shops, numerous smaller shops, several open-air markets, several bakeries producing good baguettes, door-to-door vendors, and the fish market are the local sources of supply for groceries in Nouakchott. Shopping frequently, stocking up on sometimes scarce items, scouring the vegetable stands for fresh items, advance planning (but flexibility in menu planning), and befriending certain vendors enables foreign residents of Nouakchott to live adequately, albeit expensively, on the local market.
The weather in Nouakchott ranges from cool to very hot, so warm weather clothing is needed. Cotton clothing is best. Some cool-weather clothing such as sweaters and long-sleeved shirts are needed during the winter, when evening and nighttime temperatures can drop as low as 45 °F. Sweatshirts or light windbreakers are useful for the beach in the evening. Bring washable clothing, since there is only one quality dry-cleaning establishment in Nouakchott.
Men: Normal office attire for men includes slacks, short-sleeved shirt, with or without tie, and occasionally, a sports jacket or blazer. Men who like lightweight, short-sleeved safari suits or jackets find these comfortable for day and evening. Jeans and shorts are worn on the beach and for recreational activities.
Women: Office attire for women is a simple cotton dress or blouse and skirt. Out of respect for Islamic custom, skirt length is conservative, and shorts are not worn on the street. Bare arms and sundresses are acceptable for foreign women. Local tailors can make dresses and skirts from local tie-dyed or batik fabric. A long-sleeved dress and shawl or dressy jacket are useful for outdoor receptions on chilly evenings. Stockings are rarely worn outside the cool season.
Children: Boys and girls wear shorts or jeans and shirts to school. For the few occasions when they must dress up, boys need a nice polo shirt and cotton pants and girls need a simple dress. Children wear tennis or running shoes, best brought, and "flip-flops," which may be purchased here. The local selection of shoes for children is extremely limited and expensive.
Men and women use sandals for casual wear, and women wear them to the office. All shoes wear out quickly in Mauritania's sandy streets and yards. Bring all sports shoes. Tennis shoes wear out quickly on hard-surfaced courts. Softball cleats may not be necessary in sand, but cleats help rugby and soccer players.
Comfortable clothing for any type of sport or recreational activity in Nouakchott should be brought in quantity. Swimwear, tennis, jogging, basketball, soccer, rugby, and aerobics clothing all wear out much more quickly here from excessive perspiration and dust, and consequent tough washing. Hats and caps are necessary for any outdoor activity. Sweatbands and plenty of cotton socks are helpful.
Supplies and Services
Supplies: Few American products are sold on the local market. Some French products are available, but the prices are high, and the selection is limited. Among French products are some toiletries, patent medicines and drugs, common household items, insect sprays, paper products, hardware, and some cleaning equipment.
Basic Services: Most shops are open from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, and 4 pm to 7 pm, Saturday through Thursday. Services including basic tailoring and dressmaking, and simple electrical and automotive repairs are also available, but the quality of workmanship varies. Most Americans patronize two unisex hairdressers. Massages, facials, manicures, or haircuts are available as home services. Specialty shops carrying items such as pet supplies and English-language books or magazines do not exist. Private veterinarians are available to attend to the needs of American pets. (Ticks and fleas can plague animals during certain seasons and are difficult to control.)
Islam is the state religion in Mauritania. Non-Mauritanians may attend the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph. Mass is in French. Protestant services (in English) are held on Fridays in the Parish Hall on the Cathedral compound.
The American International School of Nouakchott (AISN) is an accredited, nonprofit, private, coeducational school, which provides an American educational program for pre-kindergarten through grade 8, depending on enrollment. The school was founded in 1978 and moved into a new facility in 1981. Current American texts are used. The school year runs from Labor Day until mid-June. Classes are held from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm, Sunday through Thursday. Preschool is offered for 3-and 4-year-olds if there is sufficient enrollment. In addition, ninth grade can sometimes be offered by using correspondence courses.
All kindergarten through grade 8 teachers are certified, either in the U.S. or another country. The school is accredited in the U.S. through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
Students in grades kindergarten through grade 8 are grouped as follows: K-1, 2-3, 4-5-6, and 7-8.
Outdoor recreation centers around the Atlantic beaches and the soft-ball/soccer/rugby fields (in season). The unspoiled beaches are the greatest benefit to Nouakchott. The white sand beach is 3 miles from town by paved road.
With four-wheel-drive vehicles, many Americans drive up the beach at low tide or cross dunes to reach private spots north or south of town for fishing, camping, and picnics. The Atlantic often has high surf, strong currents, and undertows, so vigilance and caution when swimming are necessary. Jogging, shell collecting, motorcycling, and surf fishing are also popular.
Mauritania enjoys good surf fishing year round, along the entire coast. Among the fish in these rich waters are tuna, sea bass, sole, parrot fish, squid, and lobster. Surf fishing rod, reel, tackle, and line all should be brought, as when available; they are expensive, and a fair amount of tackle may be lost to rocks and tenacious fish. Fishing licenses are not required, but a permit is required to fish from a commercial wharf.
The community softball team is organized loosely according to season and interest, and all participation is eagerly welcomed. The team sometimes travels to other capitals of the Sahel for tournaments.
Touring and Outdoor Activities
Travel outside of Nouakchott is interesting and enriching but requires thorough preparation and proper equipment. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are necessary in any direction outside the city. A good selection of spare parts, tools, sand ladders, extra fuel, water, and food must be carried for travel off the main roads.
Camping is possible both on the beach and in the desert. One popular trip involves driving up the beach at low tide along the water's edge toward Cap Timiris. Others enjoy camping in the desert or along ancient caravan routes, searching for archaeological artifacts and exploring ancient towns.
Accommodations for travelers in the interior of the country are rudimentary, if available. Travelers to all but a few cities usually take camping gear or stay with Mauritanian families. Most regional capitals have government rest houses ("gites d'etapes") and a few have tourist hotels. Travel and accommodations require considerable advance planning.
In this country of vast open space, the population is as sparse as the vegetation. Wherever one camps, there are few signs of people. You can enjoy sleeping in the open during favorable seasons, but a tent is useful as protection against wind and sandstorms and as a sunscreen.
The following cities and towns of Mauritania make interesting destinations:
Akjoujt, 3 hours from Nouakchott, is the site of a former copper mining industry.
Atar, 4 hours beyond Akjoujt, was one of the ancient capitals of the Almoravid Kingdom and a caravan base for the trans-Saharan salt trade.
Chinguetti, the seventh holy city of Islam, lies some 72 miles east of Atar. Some of the houses and mosques in its fascinating stone-built quarter date back to the 13th century.
Nouadhibou, accessible from Nouakchott by air or a 2-day drive up the beach at low tide, is a fishing and commercial port, and the terminus of the railroad from the Zouerate iron mines. Air Afrique operates a fishing camp nearby.
Boutilimit, some 2 hours by paved road from Nouakchott, is one of the religious centers of the country and the site of an Islamic institute. The ruins of a French military post are visible atop a dune near town.
Kiffa is 10 hours east of Nouakchott, and an important regional trading center and crossroads. The oases and escarpments around Kiffa offer an interesting change of scenery.
Aioun is 3 hours east of Kiffa, with houses of beautiful blocks of local stone. The interesting rock formations to the south are reminiscent of the American southwest.
Oulata, located in the southeast near the Malian border, was a famous religious center, and is known for its unique style of decorated houses and courtyards. UNESCO is interested in undertaking historical preservation programs in Oulata, Tichitt, Chinguetti, and Ouadane.
Rosso is a border town on the Senegalese River, reflecting the ambience of Senegal, some 3 hours from Nouakchott.
Keur-Massene is a hunting and fishing camp operated by Air Afrique 60 kilometers west of Rosso, in the delta area of the Senegal River, near the Banc de Diawling National Park, a large bird refuge on the Atlantic coast.
The Banc D'Arguin National Park, a 4-5 hour drive north of Nouakchott along the beach at low tide, is large natural estuary rich in bird and animal life. The park is reputed to be one of Africa's best for watching migratory birds.
Other places of interest easily accessible from Nouakchott include the Canary Islands, several different islands, each with its own character. The largest of these resort islands, Gran Canaria, is only a short flight from Nouakchott and features duty-free shopping, international resorts, and Spanish culture. The other islands can be reached by local Spanish airlines or boat.
Senegal offers alluring destinations for residents of Mauritania, including:
Saint Louis, the administrative capital for Mauritania during the colonial period, is a 4-5 drive from Nouakchott. This picturesque island town was one of the earliest French settlements in Africa. The former slave trading port near the mouth of the Senegal River today offers comfortable hotels and good dining.
Dakar, the capital of Senegal and former capital of French West Africa, is a cosmopolitan city with good shopping, beaches, hotels, restaurants, and night life. Frequent 1-hour flights or an 8-hour drive make this seaport city a popular destination from Nouakchott.
Few commercial forms of entertainment are found in Nouakchott. The French cultural center offers occasional live productions, exhibitions, and films all in French. A few but growing number of local restaurants offer varying quality in food and service. A large sports stadium, built by the Chinese Government, hosts sports events featuring Mauritanian, African, and European sports teams. Occasional art shows or musical concerts take place and are widely attended.
The American community in Nouakchott includes personnel of the U.S. Mission, Peace Corps volunteers, and other resident Americans, most of whom are affiliated with religious or international organizations. AERAN is the focal point for many American community activities, with dining service and bar and grill. Social life is relaxed and usually casual, centered around dinners at the Club, and an occasional tennis or volleyball tournament.
Many opportunities exist to develop friendships with members of the international and Mauritanian communities, but French proficiency is essential. The French Racing Club offers evening dinners and dancing as well as tennis tournaments. Entertaining in the international community is similar in style to the American community.
ATAR , one of the ancient capitals of the Almoravid Kingdom about 300 miles northeast of Nouakchott, was a caravan base for the trans-Saharan salt trade. The town is an oasis that produces dates and grains and supports cattle, sheep, and goat grazing. Atar is also known for its rugs.
BOUTILIMIT is the religious capital of the country and the site of an Islamic Institute. It is about 100 miles southeast of Nouakchott.
CHINGUETTI , in west central Mauritania, is the seventh holy city of Islam, and has houses and mosques dating back to the 13th century.
KAÉDI , capital city of the Gorgol administrative region, is situated on the Senegal River in southern Mauritania. The city exports the skins and hides of cattle, goats, and sheep. Its population is about 21,000.
NOUADHIBOU (formerly called Port-Étienne) is a seaport town in the northwest corner of Mauritania, 225 miles north of Nouakchott. Warm currents make this area an ideal breeding zone for valuable fish species. About a dozen fishing companies operate here. However, Nouadhibou lacks the infrastructure to enable it to compete with other fishing ports in the area. Nouadhibou is the site of Mauritania's largest international airport.
OUADANE , just northeast of Chinguetti, is an old caravan center, and the site of several oases.
ROSSO , with a population of about 16,500, lies on the Senegal River in southwestern Mauritania, 110 miles south of Nouakchott. The city produces melons, beans, corn, millet, gum arabic and livestock.
ZOUÉRATE (also spelled Zouîrât) is located in north central Mauritania. As the country's iron-mining center, the city accounts for most of Mauritania's export income. Zouérate is linked by rail to the port city of Nouadhibou and has a population of over 25,000.
Geography and Climate
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is situated on the Atlantic Ocean in northwest Africa. It is bounded on the northeast by Algeria, on the east by Mali, and on the south by Senegal. Mauritania shares its long northern border with the former Spanish Sahara. Spain relinquished control of this area in 1975, but its political status is still unresolved. A UN-sponsored mandate to decide whether residents prefer independence or annexation by Morocco is still being negotiated.
Mauritania has three distinct geographic regions in its surface area of 419,000 square miles. The riverine zone, a narrow belt of rich, well-watered alluvial soil stretching along the Senegal River Valley in the south, is the sole center of settled agriculture. Rainfall averages 10-25 inches annually.
The Sahelian Zone is a broader east-west band that extends from the riverine zone to just north of Nouakchott. Until recently, annual rainfall has averaged some 4-18 inches, enough to support savannah grasslands suitable for nomadic cattle and sheep herding. However, diminished rainfall, in recent years, has resulted in scantier vegetation, forcing many inhabitants to move south or migrate to larger towns. What rain there is occurs mainly in heavy, localized thunderstorms. Nouakchott, at the northern extreme of this zone, experiences such storms several times each year.
The Saharan Zone comprises the northern two-thirds of Mauritania. This vast, sparsely populated region is characterized by beautiful shifting dunes, rock outcroppings, and rugged mountain plateaus with elevations higher than 1,500 feet. Irregular, scant rainfall permits little vegetation, although date palms are cultivated around larger oases and on some of the higher plateaus in the east. Herds of camels, goats, and sheep, which formerly ranged in this area were depleted during successive droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. With only a brief respite, pre-drought conditions have returned in the mid-1990s.
Modifying these conditions is the Atlantic coastal area, which includes Nouakchott. The ocean breezes provide periodic relief from the heat, although desert winds may bring flies, locusts, and sand-storms with consequent discomfort and annoyance. The Sahara is a young, growing desert. The severe droughts of the Sahel in the 1970s-80s have accelerated desertification. Thus, the southern edges of the Saharan and Sahelian Zones creep inexorably southward.
Mauritania's climate is hot and arid, except in the far south, which has higher humidity. In Nouakchott, daytime temperatures reach 85°F in the winter, although at night sweaters and blankets are needed. Summer temperatures regularly reach over 100°F during the day, but because it is a dry heat, they are more bearable than the same temperatures at high humidity. Summer evenings can be considerably cooler.
The area's fine sand makes beach-going one of the highlights of a tour in Nouakchott; however, winds can also stir this sand into enervating sandstorms that last from a few hours to several days. These sand-storms can occur throughout the year, although they are less frequent during the summer and fall.
Mauritania's population of some 2.7 million is unevenly distributed. It ranges from an average of 91 persons per square mile in certain sections of the Senegal River Valley to an average of 19 persons per square mile in the Sahelian Zone and less than one person for every 4 square miles in the Saharan Zone.
Although Mauritania is a country of cultural and ethnic diversity, its many ethnic groups have co-existed essentially peacefully for centuries. Arabic-speaking Moors comprise the largest group, about 70 percent of the population. Among Moors there are two major subgroups, the Bidan, or White Moors, who are mainly Arab-Berber herders, traders, and oasis farmers and the Haratin, mainly descendants of tributary (slave) black groups who practice extensive dryland agriculture and herding. As a result of centuries of intermarriage, the terms black and white Moor now indicate patrilineal ancestry rather than racial characteristics. The Moors have been traditionally nomadic, roaming the deserts of Mali, Algeria, Morocco, western Sahara, and Senegal. Today, the majority live in sedentary agricultural communities or in larger towns and cities. They remain highly mobile, with more than 20 percent of the adult male population away from their settlements at any given time either trading or herding.
The remaining 30 percent of the population live primarily as sedentary farmers and herders in the Senegal River Valley, though their numbers are rising in urban areas. Their major ethnic groups include the Haalpulaar, the largest; the Soninke (Sarakolle); the Peulh (Fulbe, Fula, Fulani); and the Wolof. The French are the largest foreign national group, numbering more than 2,000. Most of the Americans who reside in Nouakchott work for the U.S. Government or for relief and development organizations.
Arabic is the official language for government and, with French, is a working language for commerce. Hassaniya, the local Arabic dialect, is spoken to some degree by 75 percent of the population; however, each ethnic group speaks its own language. The national literacy rate is about 47 percent but rising, now that 80 percent of the school-age population receives a basic primary school education.
Mauritanians are Muslim. Dietary restrictions common to Muslims, such as prohibitions against consumption of alcoholic beverages and pork, are observed strictly. No alcohol is sold in Mauritania; however, imported pork is occasionally available at local shops. Social restrictions, particularly for women, are less noticeable here than in the most conservative of Arab countries, e.g., Saudi Arabia. Mauritanian women cover their hair but rarely their faces in public, and many are active in business and some in government.
Mauritania has been a recognized political entity with defined borders since independence in 1960. From early in this century until independence, it was part of the larger region known as French West Africa. Prior to that, some of present-day Mauritania was included in political systems based in northwest Africa and in the Niger River basin.
The southward migration of the Senhadja Berber confederation of tribes first brought the Islamic faith to what is now Mauritania in the seventh century. By the 11th century, indigenous black African people had been driven south to the Senegal River or enslaved by the nomadic Senhadja. Southern Mauritania was overrun in about 1040 by Islamic warrior monks (Almoravid or Al Murabitun) who, subsequently extended their empire northward into Morocco and into much of southern Spain.
As the Almoravid Empire eroded, the Arabs overcame fierce Berber resistance to dominate Mauritania. Several groups of Yemeni Bedouin Arabs occupied north Africa and spread into what is today Mauritania. Their disruption of trans-Saharan caravan trade caused an eastward shift in the routes, resulting in a decline of Mauritanian trading towns. By the end of the 17th century, the Beni Hassan group dominated much of what is now Mauritania. The last effort by native Berbers to oust the Arab invaders was the unsuccessful Mauritanian Thirty Year War (1644-74).
The social structure established as a result of that war has been maintained intact to the present day. The descendants of the Beni Hassan warriors became the upper stratum of Moorish society, and Arabic gradually replaced Berber dialects. Many of the Berber groups, however, remained social equals, even as they became political vassals. They turned to clericalism and produced most of the region's Marabouts: the men who serve as repositories and teachers of Islamic tradition. At the bottom of the social hierarchy were the Zenaga (the poor Moor tributaries), the Haratin, often called Black Moors, and the Abid (slaves).
The country's other ethnic groups do not share the tribal structure of the Moors, but are organized as clans, extended families, or villages. Their traditional hierarchical structure, however, is very similar.
Under French colonial rule the population was obliged to give up slave trading and warfare, although armed clashes between French soldiers and Beni Hassan warriors continued through the 1930s. Also during the colonial period, sedentary black African peoples began to trickle back into southern Mauritania from which they had been expelled in earlier years by aggressive Moorish nomads.
This influx of non-Arabic-speaking black peoples from the south has caused a major modification of the social structure in this century. Many Haalpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof moved into the area north of the Senegal River at the time of independence. Educated in the French language and customs, large numbers became clerks, soldiers, and administrators in the new state.
Moors reacted to this change by increasing pressure to Arabize many aspects of Mauritanian life (law, language, etc.). A schism resulted between those who consider Mauritania to be an Arab country (mainly Moors) and those who seek a dominant role for the ethnic sub-Saharan peoples. The tension between these two visions remains a feature of the political dialogue. A significant number from both groups, however, seek a more diverse, pluralistic society. The discord between these two conflicting visions of Mauritanian society was evident in language disputes of the 1960s and during the intercommunal violence that broke out in April 1989.
Mauritania became self-governing as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in November 1958, and shortly thereafter began the process of transferring its administrative services from St. Louis, Senegal to the new capital at Nouakchott. Mauritania became independent on November 28, 1960. The constitution, adopted in 1961, replaced the former parliamentary type of government with a presidential system. Moktar ould Daddah, elected the first President in 1961, was reelected in 1966, 1971, and 1976.
On July 10, 1978, ould Daddah was overthrown in a bloodless coup d'etat; power was then assumed by the Military Committee for National Recovery (CMRN). For the next 2 years, power shifted among various members of the military group, culminating in January 1980 with the newly formed Military Committee of National Salvation (CMSN). In December 1980, a civilian prime minister, who formed a government of civilian ministers, was appointed, but the military committee retained policy oversight. This government was dissolved in April 1981 when the military reestablished itself as the sole ruling body of the nation.
In 1984, Colonel Maaouiya ould Sid'ahmed Taya led a successful, bloodless coup and declared himself Chief of State. He soon called for gradual movement toward a democratic system. A constitution was approved in a general plebiscite in 1991, and presidential elections were held in 1992. Taya was elected to office for a 6-year term, then reelected in 1998.
Mauritania is divided into 12 regions and the district of Nouakchott, each administered by a governor responsible to the president. Municipal elections were first held in 1986-88. Second municipal elections in 1994 were the first that saw multi-party participation in races for municipal councils and mayors. In 1995, the government, with support from international and bilateral donors, began seeking to decentralize authority by giving more responsibility to municipalities.
Although the constitution provides for the independence of the judiciary, the executive branch exercises significant pressure on the courts through its ability to appoint and to influence judges. The system includes lower, middle, and upper level courts, each with its own jurisdiction. A dual system of courts, one based on modern law and one based on Shari'a, has been replaced by a single system as the country moves to a modernized legal system that is in conformity with the principles of the Shari'a.
Arts, Science, and Education
Mauritania, a nomadic society until independence, lacked large market centers or sedentary populations that help generate traditional arts and crafts. Limited basic raw materials and restraints on possessions associated with mobility contributed to only a limited crafts tradition focused on utilitarian goods such as decorated leather pillows, woven leather and straw mats, and silver jewelry (which doubled as a portable savings account).
In recent decades, woven rugs, gold and inlaid jewelry, and decorated teapots (so ubiquitous as to be nearly a national symbol), have been developed as crafts. Workmanship varies and vigorous bargaining is necessary to attain a reasonable price. Two types of rugs are available: the "Boutilimit rug," made of camel, goat, and sheep hair, adapted from traditional wool tent weaving methods; and new, tight, hand-knotted carpets with traditional motifs. Both are made at the Artisanat de Mauritanie in Nouakchott.
Nomadic life is not conducive to the establishment of institutions of higher education and science. From ancient times, however, traditional Koranic schools were founded in special encampments as well as religious caravan centers such as Chinguetti, Tichit, and Oualata. In addition to religion and language, these schools taught rhetoric, law, mathematics, and medicine. Curriculum was based largely on Greco-Roman scholarship. Some traditional schools still exist, but that system now coexists with public schools, including the University of Nouakchott with its faculties of letters, law, economics, and science.
Research facilities and programs remain in a formative stage. The Mauritanian Institute of Scientific Research in Nouakchott is a gathering place for a limited number of scholars interested in history, poetry, or archeology. It supervises the National Museum which has two large public rooms, including a small standing exhibit of traditional life in Mauritania, displays of archeological materials found in the country, and some interesting visiting shows. The National Health Center, the National Center for Agricultural Research and Development, and the National Center for Livestock and Veterinary Research perform limited studies, all generally dependent on foreign support.
Commerce and Industry
Many Mauritanians are engaged in subsistence farming or nomadic herding. Settled agriculture is confined mainly to the Senegal River Valley, where millet, sorghum, and smaller quantities of other cereals and rice are the main crops. Some 13,000 tons of dates are produced annually from date palms cultivated in the mountainous regions of Adrar, Tagant, and Assaba, and at the larger desert oases. Most agricultural produce is consumed locally, and Mauritania is a net importer of foodstuffs.
The most important sector of the economy is based on the rich fishing waters that lie off the Atlantic coast. The government levies fees on foreign fleets that fish in Mauritanian waters and requires that a percentage of the catch be processed in Nouadhibou. In 1994, the country exported more than 306,000 metric tons of frozen and canned seafood products worth about $223 million. Fishing by foreign companies, however, threatens this important source of income.
Mauritania's other major income-producing sector is mining. High-grade iron ore is found in the Zouerate region in the northwest. Iron ore exports in 1994 totaled over 10 million metric tons with a value of approximately $160 million. In recent years, however, a decline in demand has led to production cutbacks. The slag heaps of mined copper near Akjoujt, about 135 miles northeast of Nouakchott were reprocessed to extract remaining gold in the early 1990s.
The Societè Nationale Industrielle et Miniére (SNIM), a parastatal corporation established in 1972 when the French mining company was nationalized, controls the country's iron mines (copper and gold mining are private sector efforts). The government also oversees gypsum mining and the administration of the industrial explosives factory at Nouadhibou. More recently, SNIM has been studying the feasibility of sulphur and phosphate exploitation.
Other income sources for Mauritania include traditional exports of salt and gum arabic, still often carried over ancient camel caravan routes into Morocco, Algeria, and Mali. There is no current ongoing exploration for oil in the country, although such sources may exist. Exploration has begun in the diamond and petroleum markets.
Mauritania has been a member of the U.N. since 1961 and of the League of Arab States since 1973. In 1972, Mauritania, Senegal, and Mali formed the joint Senegal River Development Organization (OMVS) to develop the agricultural and hydroelectric potential of the Senegal River and to foster economic cooperation among the three countries. Mauritania also belonged to the 16-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) until the country withdrew in 2000. Mauritania is a signatory of the Lome Convention. In 1989, Mauritania joined Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco to form the Arab Maghreb Union.
Limited bus service is available in Nouakchott and local point-to-point taxis are plentiful, but the vehicles are dilapidated, overcrowded, and rarely used by Americans. Irregular, long-distance taxi service, "taxi-brousse," is available between Nouakchott and many regional capitals. This is a colorful, if slow, way to experience the local scene.
Travel within Mauritania is via a small network of roads, air, or over the beach at low tide to coastal destinations. The only railroad, from the port of Nouadhibou to Zouerate, is used primarily to transport iron ore to the coast. Travel by boat along the Senegal River is possible during the rainy season. No passenger service by ship exists along the Atlantic coast.
Mauritania's road network includes the main north-south trunk line, which passes from Bir Moghrein through Atar and Akjoujt, and then south through Nouakchott to Rosso, on the Senegal border.
Another paved road extends east from Nouakchott to Nema, close to the Malian border, but large sections of the roadway have badly deteriorated. Other paved roads go into Boghe and Kaedi along the river. The rest of Mauritania's roads are unpaved. Because of deep, drifting sand, interior roads (both paved and unpaved) are only regularly passable in four-wheel-drive vehicles. Even paved roads may be in such poor condition that four-wheel-drive vehicles forge parallel tracks over the desert. Many roads in the south along the Senegal River are flooded during the July-September rainy season, when normally dry watercourses, called marigots, often flood and impede travel. No road connects Nouakchott with Mauritania's business capital and port, Nouadhibou, but four-wheel-drive vehicles and heavy trucks ply the beach between the two cities during low tide.
Vehicular border crossings to Senegal can be made via the ferry at Rosso and by land over the Diama Dam to St. Louis, Senegal. Other crossing points at N'Diago, Diana, Jerd El Mohguen, Tekane, Lekseiba, Boghe, M'Bagne, Kaedi, Tifounde Cive, Maghama, and Goraye are made in pirogues, small boats plying the river, but not capable of taking cars. During the rainy season, the dam is not recommended, as heavy mud makes the road impassable.
The government-owned airline, Air Mauritania, provides weekly service to most regional capitals; twice daily service to Nouadhibou; twice weekly flights to Dakar; and weekly flights to Las Palmas, Grand Canaries, and Casablanca. Air Afrique, Air France, and Sabena Airlines fly direct between Paris or Brussels and Nouakchott four times weekly, and Nouakchott usually has frequent direct flights to Dakar, only 1 hour away. Air Afrique has direct flights five times weekly from Dakar to New York. During sand-storms, the Nouakchott airport occasionally closes, and certain airlines decline to land.
Telephone and Telegraph
Telephone service exists between Nouakchott and most regional capitals, and Nouakchott has direct-dial international long-distance service. However, it is not possible to contact the international access numbers for commercial operators such as AT&T, Sprint, or MCI. It is also not possible to dial 800 numbers directly from Mauritania. It is less expensive to call Nouakchott from the U.S. than vice-versa. Telephone and telex facilities operate 24 hours daily.
Radio and TV
The radio station in Nouakchott broadcasts music, news, and commentary, mostly in Arabic, but also in French, and several African languages. Separate government-run radio stations exist in Boghe and Nouadhibou. Radio France International (RFI) broadcasts 24 hours a day and is available on the FM band. Shortwave reception is usually good.
Mauritanian TV service is limited to evening hours and includes news in French and Arabic, a few imported TV series dubbed in Arabic and French, as well as some Arabic music programs. On clear nights, Senegalese TV can be picked up in Nouakchott. Both Senegal and Mauritania use the SECAM (European) system, which is incompatible with U.S. system sets.
Newspapers, Magazines, and Technical Journals
The Government of Mauritania publishes a daily newspaper in French and Arabic editions. French paperbacks, newspapers, and periodicals are available from vendors and in shops. There are about a dozen independent weekly Mauritanian papers published in French and Arabic.
Health and Medicine
Local medical facilities are limited. The single government-run hospital in Nouakchott, staffed by Mauritanian and expatriate physicians, is used only in the case of life-threatening emergencies. Nursing care and hygiene do not meet U.S. standards. A few Mauritanian and expatriate physicians have private practices or clinics.
Bring prescription medicines taken regularly (such as those for high blood pressure, skin problems, hormone replacement, etc.). Although many pharmacies stock French drugs, supplies are not reliable, and exact duplicates of American prescriptions are unobtainable.
Home pharmaceutical items such as cold remedies, home first-aid kit items, digestive aids, eye washes, sunscreens, and insect repellents should be brought in ample supply.
A local ophthalmologist has modern equipment, and an optician is available, but bring extra pairs of prescription glasses. Many people have trouble with contact lenses in Nouakchott because of dust and the dry climate. Several pairs of sunglasses are also recommended.
Dental facilities are limited. Expatriates rarely use a local dentist, and the most exceptional cases are referred to Dakar or Europe. However, a very well-trained dentist just opened a practice in Nouakchott and has been judged reliable and safe. Complete all routine dental work before arrival. Orthodontia is available in Dakar, but the French system used by orthodontists there is not compatible with U.S. practices.
Public health measures in Nouakchott are limited. Personal hygienic standards are low, and household trash often is thrown in the streets and vacant lots. Most illnesses are related to bacteria spread by Mauritania's prodigious fly population, contaminated tap-water, or improper food handling. The desert climate of Nouakchott is healthier than that of tropical regions, but polio, typhoid fever, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria, meningitis, and a variety of parasitic illnesses are endemic.
Because medical facilities are limited, those assigned to Nouakchott must place a high priority on the prevention of illness and maintenance of good health. Health promotion measures include keeping immunizations current; proper treatment of food, water, and personal environment; maintaining good nutrition; and paying close attention to your need for exercise, rest, and relaxation.
NOTES FOR TRAVELERS
An entry visa is required for all Americans traveling to Mauritania. Proof of current vaccination, or a stamp in your World Health Organization (WHO) card, for cholera and yellow fever also are needed. Arriving travelers not holding diplomatic passports should fill out a currency declaration form at the entry port and retain this form until time of departure in order to facilitate exit formalities.
Rabies is prevalent in Mauritania. All dogs and cats must have a valid health certificate showing current rabies inoculation.
The local currency is the ouguiya (UM), valued in December 2000 at about 251=$1.00. Mauritania uses the metric system of weights and measures.
Jan. 1 … New Year's Day
May 1 … Labor Day
May 25 … Africa Day
Nov. 28 … Mauritanian Independence Day
… Hijra New Year*
… Id al-Adah/Tabaski*
… Id al-Fitr/Korite*
… Mawlid an Nabi*
… Lailat al Kadr*
*variable, based on the Islamic calendar
These titles are provided as a general indication of the material published on this country. The Department of State does not endorse unofficial publications.
American University. Area Handbook for Mauritania. U.S. Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C., 1973.
Baduel, Pierre Robert. Mauritanie, entre arabite et africanite. 1990.
Bouill, E.W. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press: London, 1978.
Clarke, Thurston. The Last Caravan. G.P. Putnam's sons, 1978.
Gerteiny, Alfred G. Historical Dictionary of Mauritania. African Historical Dictionaries Series, no. 32. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1981.
——. Mauritania. Frederick A. Praeger: New York, 1967.
Goudie, A. and J. Wilkinson. The Warm Desert Environment. University Press: Cambridge, 1977.
Handloff, Robert E. Mauritania! A Country Study. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990.
Huddson, Thomas. Travels in Mauritania. 1988.
Kritzeck, J. and W. Lewis. Islam in Africa. Van Nostrand-Reinhold Co.: 1969.
La Mauritania: un Tournant Democratique? Politique Africaine no. 55, pages 2-109. October 1994.
Mauritania. Department of State in Country Reports of Human Rights Practice for 1991: February 1992.
Mauritania's Campaign of Terror: State-Sponsored Repression of Black Africans. Human Rights Watch/Africa: April 1994.
Mohamed Mahmoud ould Mohamed Salah. Droit des Contrats en Mauritanie: Tome 1 Theorie Generale du Contrat. L' Ordre National des Avocats: Mauritania, May 1996.
Mohammad-Mahmoud Mohamedou. Societal Transition to Democracy in Mauritania. 1995.
Norris, H.T. Shinguiti Folk Literature and Song. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1968.
Pitte, Jean Robert. Nouakchott: Capitale de la Mauritanie. Paris, 1977.
Renaudeau, Michel. La Republique Islamique de Mauritanie. Editions Delroisse: Paris.
Rezette, Robert. The Western Sahara and the Frontiers of Morocco. Nouvelles Editions Latines: Paris, 1975.
Trimingham J.S. Islam in West Africa. Oxford University Press: 1959.
"Mauritania." Cities of the World. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3410700039.html
"Mauritania." Cities of the World. 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3410700039.html
Mauritanian Islamic Republic
Al-Jumhuriyah al-Islamiyah al-Muritaniyah
République Islamique de Mauritanie
LOCATION AND SIZE.
Located in northwestern Africa, bordered by Western Sahara (occupied by Morocco) and Algeria on the north, by Mali on the east and south, by Senegal on the southwest, and by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the country has an area of 1,030,700 square kilometers (398,000 square miles), making it slightly larger than 3 times the size of New Mexico. Its total estimated boundary length is 5,828 kilometers (3,622 miles), including 754 kilometers (469 miles) of coast on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital, Nouakchott, is situated on the Atlantic coast in the southwest.
The population of Mauritania was 2,667,859 in 2000. Its average population density was 2 inhabitants per square kilometer (5.18 per square mile) in 1994, or the third lowest in the world. Deserts occupy 90 percent of the territory; 90 percent of the population lives in the south, along the Senegal River and the Atlantic Ocean. In 2000, the birth rate was 43.36 per 1,000 population, while the death rate equaled 13.97 per 1,000. With a fertility rate of 6.29 children born per woman, the population growth rate was 2.94 percent. The rapidly growing population is very youthful, with 46 percent below the age of 15 and 2 percent 65 or older.
Arabic-speaking Moors of Arab and Berber ancestry form 30 percent of the population, Arabic-speaking descendants of former slaves of mixed Moor and black African stock comprise 40 percent, and black Africans of the Wolof, Toucouleur (Peul), and Soninke groups constitute 30 percent. While the Moors are traditionally nomadic herders, the black Africans are engaged mostly in agriculture along the Senegal River. Communities are organized in some 150 distinct clans or tribes. Virtually all Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims. Arabic is the official language, though French and several African languages are also widely spoken. Sixty percent of the people lived in urban areas in 2000. The population of Nouakchott, the capital, was 1,070,000 in 1999; other major cities include Nouadhibou, Zouérat, and Kaédi.
OVERVIEW OF ECONOMY
Mauritania is among the world's poorest developing countries with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of just $478 in 1998, according to the United Nations Development Program . Since attaining independence from French colonial rule in 1960, primitive and low-productivity subsistence farming and herding continue to provide livelihood for the majority of the people. However, most nomads and many farmers have fled to the cities since the 1970s due to the spreading desertification of the land, caused by water depletion and locust attacks. Mauritania has deposits of iron ore, which contribute nearly half of its exports, and also copper ore, gypsum, and phosphates. The decline in demand for those products, however, has led to a decline in mining output and income in the 1990s. The coastal Atlantic has a rich fishing area but it is exploited by foreign interests.
Over the 1990s, drought, mismanagement, and waste of resources have contributed to the amassing of a large foreign debt (US$2.5 billion in 1997, or 226 percent of 1996 GDP) and the country remains dependent on foreign aid (US$227.9 million in 1995) and assistance. Debt service is a heavy burden; Mauritania has been qualified by the international community for debt relief as a heavily indebted poor country and seeks cancellation of US$620 million of its debt. Foreign investment is scarce; France and Arab countries (mainly Algeria) are its largest sources. Since 1998, the government has pursued a reform initiative to cut budgetary costs, reduce the waste of resources, and reform the tax system. In 1999, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a US$57 million enhanced structural adjustment loan to support its program.
POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXATION
Mauritania won independence from France in 1960, and is now ruled under a republican constitution of 1991 which resembles that of France, with elements of Islamic sharia law. The constitution legalized opposition parties, but the 2 presidential elections since 1991 were flawed. Mauritania remains under an authoritarian, single-party regime. The president (Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, in office since 1984, and reelected in 1997), is elected by popular vote for a renewable 6-year term. He appoints the prime minister and Council of Ministers (cabinet), who are subject to control by a bicameral parliament. The parliament consists of a 56-seat Senate, or Majlis al-Shuyukh, whose members are elected by municipal leaders to 6-year terms, and a National Assembly, or Majlis al-Watani, whose 79 members are elected by popular vote to 5-year terms.
The ruling party, the nationalist and formerly socialist Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS) of President Taya, controls 71 of the 79 seats in the National Assembly (as of early 2001), and 8 deputies represent other parties. The Union of Progressive Forces (UFP) is the most important opposition group but domestic politics is still tribally based. Mauritania experiences tensions between its black African minority and the Arabic-speaking Moor majority and has a generally ambivalent attitude towards neighboring black Africa.
The government's role in the economy is significant; economic growth and poverty reduction are key objectives of its policy, including privatization and reform in the banking sector, liberalization of the exchange rate , and reduction of trade and investment barriers. Since 1998, the government has also stressed market liberalization, sustainable development, poverty alleviation, education, and health improvement. It plans to modernize the administration, attract foreign investments, increase exports, and develop agriculture, mining, and fishing. Some state-owned companies (such as fish export marketing, petroleum, and insurance) have been privatized, and private initiative has been encouraged. Corruption is still a major problem, particularly in taxation, bank loans, government procurement , project management, traffic and vehicle control, and administrative services.
Given the poverty of the population, taxes on businesses form the bulk of the government's revenue. Since 1999, the number of taxes has been reduced from 5 to 4, with the introduction of a law that replaced 2 existing taxes that applied to imports. Customs formalities have been simplified, but the tax system is reckoned business-unfriendly. The import tax rate varies between 9 percent and 43 percent, and imports value-added tax (VAT) rates are from 5 percent to 14 percent. Importers consider import taxes high in comparison to other countries.
INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER, AND COMMUNICATIONS
Mauritania's infrastructure is poor compared to its neighbors. The roads are dilapidated, particularly in the countryside; long distances and the difficult desert climate make their maintenance difficult. There are about 7,660 kilometers (4,760 miles) of roadways, 866 kilometers (538 miles) of which are paved, and 704 kilometers (460 miles) of railroad line for carrying iron ore from Zouérat to Nouadhibou. Several roads are under construction, and land conversion and road construction are a top priority for the government.
|Country||Newspapers||Radios||TV Sets a||Cable subscribers a||Mobile Phones a||Fax Machines a||Personal Computers a||Internet Hosts b||Internet Users b|
|aData are from International Telecommunication Union, World Telecommunication Development Report 1999 and are per 1,000 people.|
|bData are from the Internet Software Consortium (http://www.isc.org) and are per 10,000 people.|
|SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000.|
The Chinese-built seaport in Nouakchott receives 85 percent of the country's imported goods. The second seaport in the northern center of Nouadhibou serves fish and iron exports. Other ports include Bogué, Kaédi, and Rosso on the Senegal River; there is ferry traffic on the Senegal River.
The air transport company, state-run Air Mauritanie, provides domestic and international services between Nouakchott, Casablanca, Dakar, Las Palmas, Bamako, and Banjul. With international airports in Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, and Néma, Mauritania is served by Air France, Air Afrique, Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian, and Senegalese carriers.
Electricity production was 152 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year in 1998, with 80 percent coming from thermal plants and 20 percent from hydropower installations. Most companies have their own generators. Electricity consumption is 141 million kWh (1998). Public-sector energy output increased 25 percent between 1993 and 1997 to meet demand in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. Mauritania relies on imports of fuel; alternative energy production, such as solar, is limited but growing. It receives 15 percent of electricity output from the Manantali dam on the Senegal river. The Societe Nationale d'Eau et d'Electricite, the state-run electricity and water monopoly , is improving its management, and the government plans to privatize it and has hired a consortium headed by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to prepare the process. Power projects under construction include the extension of the Nouakchott electricity grid. Firewood fulfills one-half of household fuel demand but the European Union (EU) is promoting the distribution of gas bottles and burners to encourage people to convert to gas. To satisfy its demand for potable water, the government plans to renovate the sanitation network, encourage new well drilling in the countryside, and increase of Nouadhibou and Nouakchott's reservoir capacity.
Mauritania has a poor telecommunications system with only 9,000 main lines in use in 1995, but it has undergone considerable expansion in the late 1990s. The first GSM wireless telephone system with 50,000 lines covering the Nouakchott and Nouadhibou areas was launched in 2000. The system operator, Mauritel—a joint venture between the Tunisian Telecommunications Company and local companies—won the $28 million license in competition with France Telecom and Spanish Starcelle. Privatization of the former state monopoly OPT (postal and telecommunications company) was launched in 1999 with the intention to create 3 separate units run by private operators. The Canadian company Sogema has been hired to reorganize telecommunications, and French Alcatel has captured market share with the installation of a new 10,000-line phone exchange in Nouakchott worth US$4.5 million. In 2000, the World Bank approved a US$10.8 million loan to the government for assistance in privatization and expanding access to communications.
Mauritania's GDP composition by sector in 1997 was as follows: agriculture, 25 percent; industry, 31 percent; and services, 44 percent. The relative stability of the various sectors over the years, however, disguises significant changes within those sectors. In agriculture, for instance, there was a 30 percent rise in crop output between 1993 and 1997, while livestock and fishing declined by 40 percent. Mining production peaked in 1994 and has since dropped back to the 1993 level. Mining and fisheries contribute for 99.7 percent of the exports. The low population density does not support a diversified manufacturing sector, and industrial activities are located almost solely in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, where the production growth rate was 7.2 percent in 1994. Growth in commerce, transport, and communications in the late 1990s compensated for declines in public sector services.
Agriculture and herding employ 47 percent of the workforce, although its contribution to GDP is 25 percent due to its inefficiency. Most farmers are engaged in subsistence agriculture and never buy food outside their households. Farms produce dates, millet, sorghum, and root crops, while herders raise cattle and sheep. Fishing is the second largest foreign revenue source after mining. Along its 754 kilometer (469 mile) Atlantic coast, Mauritania has some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. The sector, however, is harmed by the lack of effective government policy, mismanagement, and limited technical ability to monitor and control the resources. In 1997, the government launched a reform to strengthen its control, increase the fishing areas, and encourage joint ventures with foreign companies.
There is very little arable land in Mauritania, while permanent pastures occupy 38 percent of the territory and forests and woodland cover just 4 percent. Mauritania's cereal production covers 35 percent of the country's needs (527,297 metric tons) and the food situation in 1999 called for massive imports and donor aid. The Senegal River valley has attracted local investors to regional dam projects relevant also to navigation, power generation, and distribution. The World Bank supports an irrigation program aimed at rehabilitating 11,000 hectares along the Senegal River and diversifying the crops. In 1998, the government adopted a long-term development strategy to guarantee food security and conserve natural resources by promoting private investment and introducing irrigation.
The mining of iron ore and gypsum and fish processing form the backbone of Mauritanian industry. In 1998, mining exports equaled $214 million, or 56 percent of total exports, a 23 percent increase from 1997, making the state-run mining company the largest foreign exchange generator. Mining is of greatest interest to foreign investors, and suppliers of mining equipment and services. Mauritania is trying to develop new natural resources, notably gold and oil. In 1998 and 1999, research contracts were signed with Canadian Rex Diamond Mining Corporation and Australian Ashton West Africa Property. Researchers have confirmed the presence of gold, phosphate, aluminum, and copper in several regions, and Australian Woodside Petroleum has reported positive results at its offshore drilling in Mauritanian waters.
The domestic market's lack of scale, skilled labor, and infrastructure, and its high utility costs and poor credit make Mauritania unattractive for foreign manufacturers. Manufacturing and handicrafts accounted for 4.4 percent of GDP in 1998 and are concentrated in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. They include food processing, chemicals and plastics, building materials, and paper and packaging materials. Six companies account for 57 percent of investment and 40 percent of the 1,100 jobs in the sector. Of the 10 companies established in the 1980s in fish processing, 8 have failed due to high water and electricity costs, skilled labor shortages, poor infrastructure, and low hygiene standards.
Mauritania's financial sector is underdeveloped, although it has been restructured and privatized over the 1990s. It includes the Banque centrale de Mauritanie (the central bank, which issues currency and oversees monetary policy ), and 5 commercial banks, the Banque nationale de Mauritanie, the Banque mauritanienne pour le commerce et l'industrie, the Banque al baraka mauritanienne Islamique, Chinguetti Bank, and the Generale de banque de Mauritanie. All banks are burdened by bad (irrecoverable) loans in the struggling fishing sector. The Saudi Al-Baraka firm, owning 85 percent of Al-Baraka Bank, and Belgium's Belgolaise bank, holding a stake at Generale, are the largest foreign shareholders in local banks. Government participation in the other banks is significant, but 2 of them are negotiating partnerships with foreign investors. There is 1 bank specialized in housing construction, 3 credit Agencies (Credit Maritime, Credit Agricole, and Mauritanie Leasing), and 2 private insurance companies. Since 1997, the government has encouraged popular saving agencies to diversify the sector and mobilize small savers' assets to promote investment.
Mauritania's retail trade is mostly traditional, represented by small family enterprises. It has a good tourist potential as the Banc d'Arguin reserve and ancient towns such as Chinguetti were declared World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. There are, however, very few facilities and the only international hotels are in Nouakchott.
|Trade (expressed in billions of US$): Mauritania|
|SOURCE: International Monetary Fund. International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1999.|
Mauritania imports food, fuel, vehicles and spare parts, building materials, and clothes, and exports mainly iron ore, fish, and some gold. Its exports amounted to US$425 million in 1997, and are shipped mostly to Japan (24 percent), Italy (17 percent), France (14 percent), and Spain (8 percent). Imports in 1997 worth US$444 million, mostly machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods , foodstuffs, and consumer goods , were purchased from France (26 percent), Spain (8 percent), Germany (7 percent), and the Benelux countries (7 percent). Mauritania's economic ties to black Western African countries have lost relative importance over the 1990s compared to those with the Arab countries of Northern Africa.
Mauritanians benefitted in the 1990s from the abolition of import monopolies on rice, wheat, flour, sugar, tea, and powdered milk, which improved the accessibility of food throughout the country. Credit restrictions, import taxes, and interest rates still hinder most importers. Mauritania is trying to promote trade, particularly with Arab countries. A trade deficit of 6.6 billion ouguiyas is growing, however, and reflects not only the weakness of the domestic economy but also increased debt repayments and the decrease in money transfers from Mauritanian workers abroad.
Banking supervision has been strengthened during the 1990s to encourage bank solvency and the stability of local currency (with the support of the World Bank and the IMF) but interest rates have discouraged private investment. The government pursues price stability through fiscal and monetary restraint, promotes private credit agencies and institutional reform, encourages domestic and foreign investment, and encourages poverty reduction through higher wages. The foreign exchange system was liberalized in the 1990s and currencies can be obtained freely, but the central bank fixes exchange
|Exchange rates: Mauritania|
|ouguiyas (UM) per US$1|
|SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2001 [ONLINE].|
rates through a basket of currencies of the principal trading partners. In 1998, the central bank introduced incentives to encourage fish exporters to bring back their foreign currency and change them for ouguiyas, increasing the availability of foreign currencies, mainly U.S. dollars and French francs, in the market.
POVERTY AND WEALTH
Mauritania ranks among the least developed countries in the world with widespread chronic poverty among the nomadic herders, subsistence farmers, and the unemployed urban masses. Poverty is manifested not only in low income but also in limited access to basic services such as safe water, health care, and education. In 1990, it was estimated that 57 percent of the population lived below the poverty line and the country's Gini index (measuring economic equality, with 0 standing for perfect equality and 100 for perfect inequality) was close to 39, lower than the one in the United States but higher than in Europe. With the lowest 10 percent of earners responsible for 0.7 percent of the consumption and the highest 10 percent for 30.4 percent in 1988, Mauritania is still more equal than many of its African neighbors. The inflation rate was 9.8 percent in 1998. The country is heavily dependent on foreign aid and poverty reduction programs while corruption creates some large illicit fortunes. Economic inequality adds to interethnic and intertribal tension to
|GDP per Capita (US$)|
|SOURCE: United Nations. Human Development Report 2000; Trends in human development and per capita income.|
|Distribution of Income or Consumption by Percentage Share: Mauritania|
|Survey year: 1995|
|Note: This information refers to expenditure shares by percentiles of the population and is ranked by per capita expenditure.|
|SOURCE: 2000 World Development Indicators [CD-ROM].|
produce a very low level of human development, according to United Nations sources.
The labor force was estimated at 465,000 in 1981, but only 45,000 wage earners were reported in 1980, indicating that a vast number of people are employed in subsistence agriculture. By occupation, agriculture employed 47 percent, services 39 percent, industry 14 percent. Mass exodus to cities, low economic growth, and a growing uneducated young population are generating unemployment while there is a shortage of skilled workers, technicians, and managers in most sectors. The unemployment rate was officially 23 percent in 1995. But fully 50 percent of high school and university graduates are unemployed due to government hiring restraints and the stagnating private sector .
Workers have the right to associate and strike, but strikes are rare. There are 3 union confederations, Union of Mauritanian Workers (UTM), General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers (CGTM), and Confederation of Free Mauritanian Workers (CLTM). An employer-employee agreement, the 1974 Collective Labor Convention, establishes many employee benefits, including paid maternity leave. The workweek is 40 hours and the minimum wage is revised periodically by the unions, the employers, and the government. In 1998, the minimum wage was US$54 per month but in the private sector it was US$81.
COUNTRY HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
c. 1-1000 A.D. Berber nomads conquer the indigenous black population, dominating trade with the African kingdom of Ghana across the trans-Saharan trade routes.
c. 1100-1674. Almoravid Dynasty controls the trade in gold, slaves, and salt.
1674. Muslim Arabs conquer the country, becoming the upper class of society. Arabic becomes the official language.
1905. Mauritania becomes a French protectorate and later colony; slavery is legally abolished.
1958. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is proclaimed.
1960. Mauritania gains independence from France; M. Ould Daddah is elected president.
1960s-70s. The economy expands thanks to newly discovered iron and copper deposits.
1975. Spain cedes the Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania, sparking a continuing conflict over the status of the region.
1978. President Daddah is toppled in a coup, and in 1979 Mauritania withdraws from the Western Sahara. Prime minister, later president, Mohamed Ould Haidalla institutes strict enforcement of Islamic law.
1984. Haidalla is deposed by Colonel Taya.
1989. Mauritania joins the Union of the Arab Maghreb, a North African political and economic union whose members include Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria.
1989. Tensions with Senegal over agricultural rights along their border result in the repatriation of 100,000 Mauritanians from Senegal and the expulsion of 125,000 Senegalese from Mauritania.
1991. A new constitution is adopted, and opposition parties are legalized.
1997. President Taya is reelected president in a landslide election victory.
Improving economic management is expected to gradually bring about positive developments in the economy, the infrastructure, and in the alleviation of poverty. The ruling PRDS party will likely win the October 2001 parliamentary elections and real GDP is expected to grow in 2001 at an annual rate of 6 percent. Mauritania's economic ties will be further redirected from West Africa to the Union of the Arab Maghreb (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia). Economic policies oriented toward liberalization and additional bank reforms are expected to improve the investment climate. The success of the telecom privatization is expected to attract new private funds and new businesses. Good relations with the IMF and the World Bank will continue to bring in international funds for poverty reduction and development projects and strengthen the economy.
Prospects for increased mining output capacity, along with an increase in iron ore prices and the development of new mineral resources, may bring steady growth in mineral exports. The health of the fisheries industry depends to a large extent on market conditions in East Asia, particularly Japan, and may suffer from economic recession in that country. Domestic food production may benefit from occasional good seasons of rains but is still in jeopardy due to active desertification processes and will require extensive international aid. Environmental degradation, poor water supply and health services, unemployment, and a lack of basic education will continue to pose the most serious problems to the government in the foreseeable future.
Mauritania has no territories or colonies.
Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Profile: Mauritania. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2001.
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. <http://www.isa-africa.com/amb-mauritanie/index1.htm>. Accessed August 2001.
Handloff, Robert E. Mauritania: A Country Study. 2nd ed.Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1996.
"Mauritania." MBendi: Information for Africa. <http://www.mbendi.co.za/land/af/mu/p0005.htm>. Accessed August 2001.
United Nations Development Program. Human Development Report, Mauritania. New York, 2000.
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook 2000. <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>. Accessed August 2001.
U.S. Department of State. Country Commercial Guides for FY2000: Mauritania. <http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides/2000/africa/mauritania00_02.html>. Accessed August 2001.
Ouguiya (UM). One ouguiya equals 5 khoums. There are coins of 1 khoum and 1, 5, 10, and 20 ouguiyas, and notes of 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 ouguiyas.
Fish and fish products, iron ore, gold.
Machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods.
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:
US$4.9 billion (purchasing power parity, 1999 est.).
BALANCE OF TRADE:
Exports: US$425 million (f.o.b., 1997). Imports: US$444 million (f.o.b., 1997).
Hadjiyski, Valentin. "Mauritania." Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3410100041.html
Hadjiyski, Valentin. "Mauritania." Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies. 2002. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3410100041.html
|Official Country Name:||Islamic Republic of Mauritania|
|Region (Map name):||Africa|
|Language(s):||Hasaniya Arabic, Pular, Soninke, Wolof, French|
Background & General Characteristics
Mauritania is a primarily desert country in northwest Africa, situated south of the Western Sahara, southwest of Algeria, west and north of Mali, and north of Senegal. The country's western border is the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Mauritania is Noakchott. A country of 2.5 million people, Mauritania's population is composed of Arab Berbers in the north and darker-skinned Africans in the south. Many of the people are nomads. The language groups in the country include Arabic (the official language), French, and local languages. Most Mauritanians practice Islam.
Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya is the president of Mauritania, a highly centralized, constitutional Islamic republic with a strong presidency. Although the 1991 constitution provided for a civilian government with an executive branch, senate, and national assembly, President Taya exerts considerable political power over the rest of the government. He came to power in 1984 as the leader of a military junta and was officially elected president of the republic in 1992 during the country's first multi-party election under the new constitution. Taya was reelected in 1997 by 90 percent of the vote, winning out over four other candidates in an election boycotted by a five-party coalition, the Opposition Front. General and local elections held in October 2001 were won by the president's Republican Democratic Party, enabling President Taya to keep firm control over Mauritanian politics and governance.
Newspapers in Mauritania are tightly controlled by the state, which reviews all copy to be published two or three days in advance of the publication date. Five copies of all newspaper issues must be presented to the Ministries of Justice and of the Interior for this pre-publication review. Material deemed insulting to Islam or a risk to national security cannot be published. All newspapers must be registered with the Ministry of the Interior.
The principal newspapers in the country are in French and Arabic, and a wide variety of newspapers exists. Over three hundred newspapers and journals are registered with the government but only about a third of these publish on a regular basis; some have never published an issue. Only about twenty-five private newspapers publish regularly, most of them weeklies printing a maximum of three thousand copies for any one edition.
Key newspapers include Al'Sha'b, a government-owned paper published in Arabic; Horizon, also government owned, but published in French; Journal Officiel, the official gazette published in French; Le Calame, appearing in both Arabic and French; l'Eveil-Hebdo, a French bi-weekly; and Rajoul Echaree, published in Arabic and French.
Those campaigning to end the practice of slavery in Mauritania, which was officially stopped in 1981 but purported to still exist, despite government denials, have sometimes found it difficult to publicize their cause and their campaign activities via the media. As Amnesty International stated in their 2002 annual report, "Human rights organizations, including those campaigning against slavery, remained illegal, and freedom of expression remained limited." In September 2001 the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for improvements in specific human rights situations in Mauritania, including an end to slavery and greater guarantees for freedom of expression. In November 2001 independent journalist Gilles Ammar and his cameraman were expelled from Mauritania, allegedly for attempting to produce a report on slavery.
Mauritania's economy is based on fishing and mining. The principal exports are fish and fish products, iron ore, and gold. The average per capita annual income is only about US$370.
Certain financial benefits apply to those who publish mass media. Publishers and printers of newspapers, journals, and privately printed books do not have to pay government taxes on the materials they use to produce their publications.
The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. However, government control of the media involves pre-publication censorship made possible by Article 11 of the Constitution, which states that content and media can be banned if they threaten national sovereignty, security, or unity or the territorial integrity of Mauritania or if they insult Islam or foreign heads of state.
Censorship is a problem for journalists in Mauritania, though conditions for the press appeared somewhat better in 2001 than in the previous year, based on the annual report of Reporters Without Borders. Papers produced by non-governmental organizations and by the private press are more open in their criticism of government officials and policies and of the opposition parties than are the state-owned papers. As the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor expressed it in their annual report for January through December 2001, "Antigovernment tracts, newsletters, and petitions circulated widely in Nouakchott and other towns."
The U.S. State Department reported that in December 2000 one weekly newspaper, Al Alam, was banned. In 2001 seven issues of various journals were seized by the authorities as objectionable material under the censorship laws. In July 2002 an issue of Le Renovateur, one of the country's bi-monthly newspapers, was seized by the Ministry of the Interior, Posts and Telecommunications despite the fact that the issue had been properly registered. The seizure was likely related to an article it contained on rising prices of essential goods and on foreign exchange, according to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in Accra, Ghana. MFWA issued an alert on August 9, 2002, requesting that letters be sent to Mauritania's president and the Minister of the Interior to protest frequent seizures of newspapers in the country.
Besides the requirement that newspapers must all register with the government, all journalists must carry government-issued press cards to participate in official press events.
The general atmosphere surrounding the press in Mauritania appears to be cautiously positive but restrictive, particularly in terms of the continuing prohibition of private radio broadcasting licenses. Moreover, state-controlled media voice views that favor the government, so it cannot be said that Mauritania enjoys a very large measure of press freedom.
One example of government interference with journalistic reporting was the detention and questioning in July 2001 of reporter Mohammed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi, a contributor to the weekly Le Calame and managing editor of the weekly Hasad Al-Ousbou'é. Mahmoudi was arrested due to suspicions that he knew something about who had produced anti-government graffiti and who had committed acts of sabotage during an official visit to one of the country's regions. After a few hours of questioning, Mahmoudi was released.
Attitude toward Foreign Media
Mauritanian correspondents for foreign broadcasters have occasionally had problems with government repression. For example, in April 2001 the Minister of Communications temporarily banned journalist Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah, Mauritania's correspondent for Radio France International and Radio Monte Carlo, from practicing journalism and working with these broadcasters after Bah reported on conflict between Mauritania and its southwestern neighbor, Senegal.
Mauritanians can access foreign television programs from France and Arab countries through satellite receivers and dish antennae. Although the government had interfered with certain broadcasts of Radio France International and the Qatar-based Arabic television station, Al-Jazeera, due to programs of theirs that had been critical of the Mauritanian government, no such interference reportedly occurred in 2001, according to the U.S. State Department's report on human rights practices.
Mauritania's official news agency is the Mauritanian News Agency.
The state owns all domestic television and radio broadcasting services, whose coverage typically provides a favorable picture of the government. The political opposition has limited access to radio broadcasting, although during the last election the opposition candidates were allowed much greater access to the media than at other times. Foreign broadcasts from France, Arab countries, and other locations, such as Africa No. 1 from Gabon can be received via FM in the country. However, private radio stations within Mauritania are unable to obtain broadcast licenses. Domestic rebroadcasting on FM stations of Radio France International programs is permitted, enabling listeners in Mauritania to hear news of the opposition parties.
The national broadcasting network is the Office de Radiodiffusion-Television de Mauritanie (ORTM). Mauritanian TV broadcasts throughout the country on one channel but can be picked up by satellite in eleven regional capitals. Its programs are produced in Arabic, French, and various local languages. Radio programs by the national broadcaster are transmitted on FM and short wave and by Arabsat 2B satellite. Radio France International is transmitted on FM in Nouakchott, the capital city. No domestic radio stations exist, due to government refusal to grant licenses to private radio broadcasters within the country. However, radio is the most popular form of media in the country.
Electronic News Media
About 300 persons accessed the Internet regularly in 1999. Five domestic Internet service providers operate in Mauritania, unrestricted by the government. Internet connections were improved in 1999 to make Internet access available in Nouadhibou, the country's principal commercial city. The Internet is now available there and in five regional capitals. Internet sites are maintained by some of the privately owned newspapers in the country, and in 2001 these sites were able to operate without government censorship.
Although Mauritania has a ways to come before its press can be called free, some positive conditions appear to exist in the relations between the press and the state, such as permissiveness regarding Internet service provision and the reception of foreign television and radio broadcasts in the country. However, the amount of media control exerted by the government, particularly in terms of government bans on private radio broadcasting and the required government pre-publication reviews of press materials, is restrictive compared with basic international standards for free expression and public debate and dissent. Hopefully, a reduction in government tensions over border disputes with Senegal involving the use of the Senegal River, mixed with domestic and international efforts to promote more multi-party democratic political activity, will eventually change this situation and make Mauritania a more positive environment for journalistic practice.
- 1997: President Taya reelected with 90 percent of the vote.
- 1999: Internet access made available in Nouadhibou, the country's principal commercial city.
- December 2000: Al Alam, a weekly newspaper, is banned and stops publishing.
- April 2001: The Minister of Communications temporarily bans journalist Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah, Mauritania's correspondent for Radio France International and Radio Monte Carlo, from practicing journalism in the country.
- September 2001: The European Parliament passes a resolution calling for improved human rights in Mauritania, including an end to slavery and better guarantees for freedom of expression.
- October 2001: General and local elections won by Republican Democratic Party, President Taya's party, allowing him to stay in firm control of politics and the government in Mauritania.
- November 2001: Independent journalist Gilles Ammar and his cameraman are expelled from Mauritania, allegedly for attempting to produce a report on slavery.
- August 2002: The Media Foundation for West Africa issues an alert on August 9, 2002, requesting that letters be sent to Mauritania's president and the Minister of the Interior to protest frequent seizures of newspapers.
Amnesty International. "Mauritania." Amnesty International Report 2002. London: Amnesty International, 2002. Available from web.amnesty.org/.
BBC Monitoring. "Country profile: Mauritania." Reading, UK: British Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. Available from www.news.bbc.co.uk.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State. "Mauritania." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2001. Washington, DC: Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State, 2002. Available from www.state.gov/.
Committee to Protect Journalists. "Mauritania." Attacks on the Press in 2001: Africa 2001. New York, NY: CPJ, 2002. Available from www.cpj.org/attacks01/mideast01/mauritania.html.
Media Foundation for West Africa. "Another Newspaper Publication Seized." Press release. Accra, Ghana, August 9, 2002. Available from www.allafrica.com/stories/.
Reporters Without Borders. "Mauritania." Africa Annual Report 2002. Paris, France: Reporters sans frontiéres, 2002. Available from www.rsf.org/.
Barbara A. Lakeberg-Dridi
Lakeberg-Dridi, Barbara A.. "Mauritania." World Press Encyclopedia. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3409900140.html
Lakeberg-Dridi, Barbara A.. "Mauritania." World Press Encyclopedia. 2003. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3409900140.html
Mauritania (môrĬtā´nēə), officially Islamic Republic of Mauritania, republic (2005 est. pop. 3,087,000), 397,953 sq mi (1,030,700 sq km), NW Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean in the west, on Western Sahara in the northwest and north, on Algeria in the northeast, on Mali in the east and southeast, and on Senegal in the southwest. Nouakchott is the capital and largest town. Other towns include Atar and Kaédi.
Land and People
Most of Mauritania is made up of low-lying desert, which comprises part of the Sahara. Along the Senegal River (which forms the border with Senegal and is Mauritania's only perennial river) in the southwest is the semiarid Sahel with some fertile alluvial soil. A wide sandstone plateau (rising to c.1,500 ft/460 m) runs through the center of the country from north to south. In the southeast is the Hodh, a large basin in the desert.
The majority of the population is of Berber, Arab, Tuareg, and Fulani descent, and many still live a nomadic or seminomadic existence. Those of Berber, Arab, and mixed Berber-Arab background are sometimes called Moors, Maurs, or Maures. The remainder of the population mostly belong to the Tukolor, Soninke, Bambara, and Wolof ethnic groups and live as sedentary agriculturalists near the Senegal River. Recurrent droughts in the late 20th cent. forced many nomads from the countryside into the urban area of Nouakchott.
Virtually all the inhabitants of the country are Muslim, and many belong to the Qadiriyya brotherhood. The great majority of Mauritanians use Hasaniya Arabic, which, along with Wolof, is an official language. Other indigenous languages such as Pular and Soninke are also widely spoken. The country has a complex social caste system, with light-skinned Moors usually in positions of power and black Africans often at the bottom of the social ladder. In 1981, Mauritania became the world's last nation to officially ban slavery. Nonetheless, the United Nations and other groups report that slavery persists, with thousands of Haratines, the Arabicized Africans known as black Moors, held in involuntary servitude. In 2007 legislation was enacted that, for the first time, provided for criminal penalties for keeping slaves.
Mauritania's economy is sharply divided between a traditional agricultural sector and a modern mining industry that was developed in the 1960s. About half of the country's workers depend on either raising crops or pasturing livestock for their livelihood and are unaffected by the mining industry. The principal agricultural products, produced chiefly near the Senegal River and in scattered oases, are dates, millet, sorghum, rice, and corn. In times of drought food production levels can drop dangerously low. Cattle, sheep, goats, and camels are raised. There is an important fishing industry based in the Atlantic and on the Senegal River. Since 1980, all foreign commercial fishing in Mauitanian territorial waters must be carried out jointly with Mauritania; this policy has increased export earnings, but overfishing now threatens this source of revenue.
A large deposit of high-grade iron ore was discovered in N Mauritania in the late 1950s, and production for export began in 1963. Foreign sales of iron ore account for about 40% of the country's export earnings. Gypsum, gold, copper, and salt are also mined. The difficult mining conditions with respect to the country's large copper ore reserves and low world commodity prices at times lead to occasional mine closures. There are also offshore oil deposits, which the country began exploiting in 2006. Fish processing is also important, and there is light manufacturing. The Trans-Mauritania highway connects the capital with the southeast regions. There is a deepwater port at Nouakchott.
The chief exports, in addition to iron ore, are fish and fish products, gold, and cattle (the latter sent mainly to Senegal); the leading imports are machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital and consumer goods, and food. The principal trade partners are France, Belgium, Japan, and Spain. Mauritania has a large foreign debt.
Mauritania is governed under the constitution of 2006. The executive branch is headed by a president, who is popularly elected for a five-year term and is eligible for a second term. The prime minister is appointed by the president. The bicameral parliament consists of the 56-seat Senate, whose members are indirectly elected for six-year terms, and the 95-seat National Assembly, whose members are popularly elected for five-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 12 regions and the capital district.
Early History through Colonialism
By the beginning of the 1st millennium AD Sanhaja Berbers had migrated into Mauritania, pushing the black African inhabitants (especially the Soninké) southward toward the Senegal River. The Hodh region, which became desert only in the 11th cent., was the center of the ancient empire of Ghana (700–1200), whose capital, Kumbi-Saleh, located near the present-day border with Mali, has been unearthed by archaeologists. Until the 13th cent., Oualata, Awdaghost, and Kumbi-Saleh, all in SE Mauritania, were major centers along the trans-Saharan caravan routes linking Morocco with the region along the upper Niger River.
In the 11th cent. the Almoravid movement was founded among the Muslim Berbers of Mauritania. In the 14th and 15th cent., SE Mauritania was part of the empire of Mali, centered along the upper Niger. By this time the Sahara had encroached on much of Mauritania, consequently limiting agriculture and reducing the population. In the 1440s, Portuguese navigators explored the Mauritanian coast and established a fishing base on Arguin Island, located near the present-day boundary with Western Sahara.
From the 17th cent., Dutch, British, and French traders were active along the S Mauritanian coast; they were primarily interested in the gum arabic gathered near the Senegal River. Under Louis Faidherbe, governor of Senegal (1854–61; 1863–65), France gained control of S Mauritania. The region was declared a protectorate in 1903, but parts of the north were not pacified until the 1930s.
Until 1920, when it became a separate colony in French West Africa, Mauritania was administered as part of Senegal. Saint-Louis, in Senegal, continued to be Mauritania's administrative center until 1957, when it was replaced by Nouakchott. The French ruled through existing political authorities and did little to develop the country's economy or to increase educational opportunities for the population. National political activity began only after World War II. In 1958, Mauritania became an autonomous republic within the French Community.
An Independent Nation
On Nov. 28, 1960, Mauritania became fully independent. Its leader at independence was Makhtar Ould Daddah, who in 1961 formed the Mauritanian People's Party (which in 1965 became the country's only legal party) and was the leading force in establishing a new constitution. Ould Daddah was elected president in 1961; the same year Mauritania became a member of the United Nations.
The 1960s were marked by tensions between the black Africans of the south and the Arabs and Berbers of central and N Mauritania, some of whom sought to join Mauritania with Morocco. By the early 1970s the main conflicts in the country were over economic and ideological rather than ethnic matters, as dissident workers and students protested what they considered an unfair wage structure and an undue concentration of power in Ould Daddah's hands. The long-term drought in the semiarid Sahel region in the south, which lasted from the late 1960s into the 1980s, caused the death of about 80% of the country's livestock, as well as extremely poor harvests in the Senegal River region.
Ould Daddah attempted to act as a bridge between N Africa and black Africa and in the early 1970s was on good terms with Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco as well as with the black African nations of Senegal and Liberia. In 1973, Mauritania became a member of the Arab League. In the same year the country began to loosen its ties with France by withdrawing from the Franc Zone and establishing its own currency. In 1976, when Spain relinquished control of Spanish Sahara, the territory became Western Sahara and was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania. This move left Mauritania (as well as Morocco) in conflict with the Polisario Front, a group of nationalist guerrillas fighting for independence for Western Sahara.
Ould Daddah's regime was overthrown in 1978, and Lt. Col. Mustapha Ould Mohamad Salek assumed power, promising to end involvement in the war. Salek's proposed Arabization of the country's educational system made him many enemies in the African community. He resigned and was succeeded by Lt. Col. Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly in 1979. In that year, Mauritania, under pressure from the Polisario Front, renounced all claims to Western Sahara. In 1980, Ould Louly was overthrown and replaced by Prime Minister Lt. Col. Mohamed Khouna Ould Heydalla. In 1981, Mauritania severed diplomatic relations with Morocco after it appeared Morocco had engineered a coup attempt against Heydalla. In 1984, Lt. Col. Maaouiya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya overthrew Heydalla's regime. Taya restored relations with Morocco in 1985.
In 1989, racial tensions between blacks and Moors reached new heights as 40,000 black Senegalese workers were driven out of the country. Rioting resulted, tens of thousands of black Mauritanians were forced from their land by the military (many of whom fled to Senegal), and Mauritania broke off diplomatic relations with Senegal. In 1991 a new constitution providing for multiparty rule was approved by referendum. President Taya was reelected in 1992 and 1997, amid allegations of fraud. In 1993 the United States stopped development aid to Mauritania in protest against the country's oppression of its black citizens and its support of Iraq during the Persian Gulf War; the government subsequently moved toward a pro-Western position.
Taya survived a coup attempt in June, 2003. In the Nov., 2003, presidential elections he received 66.7% of the vote; his nearest challenger, former president Heydalla, almost 19%. Despite new voting safeguards designed to prevent vote-rigging, there were again accusations of fraud. Heydalla was arrested after the election on charges of plotting a coup, which he denied. He received a suspended five-year sentence in December, and as a result of the sentence he lost his political and civil rights for five years. In Aug. and Sept., 2004, Mauritanian officials said they had foiled two more coup plots. At the same time, locusts ravaged a large portion of the nation's agricultural land, leading to concerns of a possible food crisis.
In Aug., 2005, while President Taya was abroad, the long-time national security chief, Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall led a coup that replaced Taya with a 17-member military council headed by Vall. The coup was quickly denounced by the African Union, United States, and others, but after the council promised to hold democratic legislative elections within two years the objections ended. Mauritanians generally greeted the Taya's overthrow with celebration, and opposition groups with qualified approval.
In 2006 voters approved a new constitution limiting a president to two five-year terms in office. In the legislative elections (Nov.–Dec., 2006) a coalition of former opposition parties won the largest bloc of seats, followed by independents, but no group won a majority. Senatorial elections were held in Jan., 2007, and in March Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, a former government minister who ran as an independent but was supported by former government parties and was regarded as the military's candidate, was elected president after a runoff. In 2008, however, increasing food prices and concerns over the government's overtures to Islamists led to government instability beginning in May and tensions between the president and parliament. In August, after the president dismissed several military and security leaders, one of them, Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, overthrew the president and replaced the presidency with a military-dominated council; a new cabinet was appointed in September. Mauritania saw an increase in Islamic militant attacks in the months following the coup, and fighting between Islamist and government forces continued sporadically into subsequent years, at times spilling across the border into Mali.
Aziz resigned from the military and the government in Apr., 2009, in order to run for president; Senate President Ba Mamadou Mbare became interim head of state. In June, 2009, a settlement negotiated as a prelude to new elections led to the formation of a power-sharing government that included military- and opposition-appointed members. As part of the agreement Abdallahi appointed the interim government and then officially resigned as president.
The presidential election in July, 2009, resulted in a victory for Aziz, with more than 52% of the vote, but the main opposition candidates rejected the results. The president was injured in a shooting in Oct., 2012, reportedly accidentally, though some reports suggested it might have been an assassination attempt. The president's party, Union for the Republic, won a majority of the seats in the legislature in the Nov.–Dec., 2013, elections, with its allies winning additional seats, but all but one of the parties in the 11-party opposition alliance boycotted the vote. The opposition also boycotted the June, 2014, presidential election, in which Aziz was easily reelected.
See R. N. Westebbe, The Economy of Mauritania (1971); A. G. Gerteiny, Historical Dictionary of Mauritania (1981).
"Mauritania." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2016. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Mauritan.html
"Mauritania." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Mauritan.html
|Official Country Name:||Islamic Republic of Mauritania|
|Language(s):||Hasaniya Arabic, Pular, Soninke, Wolof, French|
History & Background
Early public schools in Mauritania were established when the west African nation was colonized by the French. A particularly nomadic people, the Mauritanians quite often ignored these new schools and continued to send their children to the existing Islamic schools, which favored religious instruction based on the teaching of the Koran. Boys typically received seven years of education, beginning at age eight, while girls remained in school for a much shorter duration.
When World War II ended in 1945, the French colonial administration began setting up mobile "tent" schools as a means of reaching these nomadic communities. However, in the mid-1960s, only 14 percent of all school-age children had enrolled in the public schools. It wasn't until the Mauritanians themselves began to view traditional religious education as inadequate to prepare their children for the future that enrollment levels at secular schools began to climb, reaching roughly 35 percent by the mid-1980s. At that time, 878 primary schools—employing 2,900 teachers—and 44 secondary schools—employing 1,563 teachers, more than one-fourth of whom were from other countries—were in operation.
Constitutional & Legal Foundations
After achieving independence in the mid-1960s, Mauritania began experimenting with ways to mold its educational system to the specific needs of its students. In 1966 the government passed legislation that mandated schools to offer instruction in both the French and the Arabic languages. A similar bill passed early in the 1980s required that instruction be offered in the languages of Pulaar, Azayr, and Wolof. A plan conceived in the late 1970s to completely eliminate French in the schools was dissolved by the end of the following decade after vehement resistance by Mauritanians who already spoke French.
Education in Mauritania is mandatory from ages 6 to 16. The school year runs from October to June. Primary and secondary education is divided into three quarters, the first one lasting 11 weeks and the remaining two lasting 13 weeks. Higher education is split into two six-month periods. The languages of instruction are both Arabic and French.
Preprimary & Primary Education
Primary education begins at age six and lasts for six years. General studies include arithmetic, science, and language. Upon successful graduation from Ecole Fondamentale, students are awarded a Certificat d'Etudes Primaires. Despite efforts to make primary education more accessible to girls, large disparities still remain among the sexes. Primary school enrollment reached 61 percent for males and 53 percent for females in 1997.
Secondary education consists of three years of basic studies at a college. Students must pass a final examination to receive the Brevet d'Etudes du Premier Cycle (BEPC) certificate. Those wishing to continue their studies may enroll in a lycée to take an additional three years of courses to earn the Baccalaureat de l'Enseignement du Second Degre with a focus in either mathematics, arts and literature, chemical and physical sciences, natural sciences, or Koran and Arabic. Students may also opt for three years of technical education, which culminates in either the Brevet d'Enseignement Professionnel (BEP) degree or the Brevet de Technicien degree.
The University of Nouakchott, established in 1981, offers higher education degrees in economics and law, arts and humanities, and science and technology. It employs 254 instructors and serves more than 8,500 students. Other institutions include the National College of Administration and the National College of Sciences—both founded in 1982—and various teaching and technical academies, such as Ecole Normale Superieure and Centre Superieur d'Enseignement Technique, which offers mechanical and electrical engineering programs. Students who successfully complete a two-year higher education program are awarded the Diplome d'Etudes. After an additional two years of study, students receive the Maitrise. Those wishing to pursue postgraduate work must do so outside of Mauritania.
Administration, Finance, & Educational Research
The Ministry of Education, based in Nouakchott, oversees the educational policies and procedures of Mauritania. In 1993 roughly 7 percent of the national budget was allocated to education. In both 1994 and 1995, this was reduced to 4 percent, forcing the schools to stretch their limited dollars even further. Education officials spent most of the 1990s working on developing a data processing system for the nation's educational system.
Literacy rates in 1985—among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa at roughly 20 percent—prompted the government to examine ways to establish a more educated base of workers. As a result, Mauritania established the State Secretariat of Culture, Information, and Telecommunications (SSCIT) to oversee the nation's largest adult literacy campaign to date. By increasing the number of classes offered, as well as the expanding the areas in which they were offered, the SSCIT saw literacy rates increase to 52 percent for adult males (older than the age of 15) and 31 percent for adult females in 1997.
Primary school teachers are required to hold a Diplome de Fin d'Etudes. To earn this degree, candidates with a BECP must gain entrance to a teaching academy and complete three years of courses, while those with a Baccalaureat need only complete one year of teaching classes. Those who wish to teach in a college must complete a one-year program at Ecole Normale Superieure. Lycée teachers are required to pass an external examination and complete a two-year program at Ecole Normale Superieure; students who opt to take an internal examination must complete a four-year program there.
A major issue facing Mauritanian education officials in the twenty-first century is the debate over the relevance of curriculum; many education officials in the late 1990s were calling for expanding basic studies to cover such topics as family education, nutrition, the arts, and manual labor. Other areas of concern are inadequate funding, coupled with the need for additional infrastructure, and the disparities in the educational level of boys and girls and among the various regions of the nation.
U.S. Library of Congress. "Mauritania—A Country Study." Prepared by the Federal Research Division. Washington, DC: 1990. Available from http://rs6.loc.gov.
World Data on Education. "Education Profiles: Mauritania." Prepared by the International Bureau of Education, June 2000. Available from http://www.ibe.unesco.org.
World Higher Education Database 2000. "Mauritania—Education System." Paris: International Association of Universities/UNESCO International Centre on Higher Education, 1998-1999. Available from http://www.usc.edu.
—AnnaMarie L. Sheldon
Sheldon, AnnaMarie L.. "Mauritania." World Education Encyclopedia. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3409700144.html
Sheldon, AnnaMarie L.. "Mauritania." World Education Encyclopedia. 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3409700144.html
Official name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Area: 1,030,700 square kilometers (397,953 square miles)
Highest point on mainland: Mount Ijill (915 meters/3,002 feet)
Lowest point on land: Sebkha de Ndrhamcha (3 meters/10 feet below sea level)
Hemispheres: Northern and Eastern
Time zone: Noon = noon GMT
Longest distances: 1,515 kilometers (941 miles) from northeast to southwest; 1,314 kilometers (816 miles) from northwest to southeast
Land boundaries: 5,074 kilometers (3,153 miles) total boundary length; Algeria 463 kilometers (288 miles); Mali 2,237 kilometers (1,390 miles); Senegal 813 kilometers (505 miles); Western Sahara 1,561 kilometers (970 miles)
Coastline: 754 kilometers (469 miles)
Territorial sea limits: 22 kilometers (12 nautical miles)
1 LOCATION AND SIZE
Mauritania is an arid country in western Africa. It forms a transitional zone between the Islamic, Arab-sh2aking countries of North Africa's Maghreb region and the sub-Saharan countries to the south. With an area of 1,030,700 square kilometers (397,953 square miles), it is more than three times the size of the state of New Mexico.
2 TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES
Mauritania has no territories or dependencies.
The northern two-thirds of the country has an extremely hot, arid, Saharan climate. After-noon high temperatures in the hottest months average 38°C (100°F), and often exceed 46°C (115°F) in the interior. The southern part of the country has a semidesert, Sahelian climate. Average summer temperatures at Kifa, in this region, are around 26°C (79°F). The coastal region, although still arid, has the most moderate temperatures due to trade winds blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The average temperature in the coastal city of Nouakchott is around 24°C (75°F) during September, which is the hottest month in this region.
Northeasterly winds and the harmattan wind from the east keep Mauritania's climate dry, especially in the north. Rainfall increases gradually from north to south as the rainy season becomes longer. Average annual rainfall at Nouadhibou is between 1 and 2 inches, and rain falls only between September and November. (Farther north and east, rainfall is too rare and sparse to be measured.) At the opposite end of the scale, Sélibaby in the southern Senegal Valley region averages about 64 centimeters (25 inches) of rainfall annually, with a rainy season that lasts from June to October.
4 TOPOGRAPHIC REGIONS
Approximately one-third of the Sahara Desert is in Mauritania. The Saharan region, a generally flat plain with occasional ridges and rocky outcroppings, covers roughly the northern two-thirds of the country. It includes a series of sandstone plateaus spanning the center of Mauritania from north to south. The southern third of the country and the coastal plain to the west are mostly semidesert, and there is a narrow strip of fertile land on the plain of the Senegal River in the southwest.
5 OCEANS AND SEAS
Mauritania borders the North Atlantic Ocean.
Seacoast and Undersea Features
The waters off the coast of Mauritania are among the richest fishing areas in the world.
Sea Inlets and Straits
The Baie de Lévrier lies between Cap Timiris and the long peninsula of Cap Blanc, bordering the northern third of Mauritania's coast. This bay is one of the largest natural harbors on the west coast of Africa.
Islands and Archipelagos
The major island is Île Tidra, which lies close to shore in the Baie de Lévrier.
Mauritania's Atlantic coast is sandy, flat, and dotted with the saltwater pools known as sebkhas. The coastline is smooth south of Cap Timiris, the only significant promontory. Cap Blanc is the northernmost point on the coast.
6 INLAND LAKES
Lake D'Aleg, Lake Rkiz, and a few other salt-water lakes are scattered throughout Mauritania. None are of considerable size, and due to recurrent droughts in recent decades they are even smaller than they once were.
7 RIVERS AND WATERFALLS
Most of Mauritania has little or no drainage to the sea. The Senegal River, which forms the boundary between Mauritania and Senegal, is the only permanent river between southern Morocco and central Senegal. Rising in Guinea, it flows north and west to the sea at Saint-Louis in Senegal. Its tributaries drain the fertile southwestern corner of Mauritania.
The northern two-thirds of Mauritania is true Saharan desert, with vegetation other than cacti found only in oases. Sand dunes cover about half of Mauritania. Many are arranged in long ridges extending from northeast to southwest, with heights of up to 91 meters (300 feet). In the far eastern part of the country, known as El Djouf, the terrain encompasses both rocky and sandy desert.
9 FLAT AND ROLLING TERRAIN
The Banc d'Arguin National Park, Mauritania's only national park, is a wetlands reserve on the coastline bordering the Baie de Lévrier. It is known for the wide array of migratory birds that winter there. Variously known as the Che-mama or the Pre-Sahel is the Senegal River Valley zone on the country's southwestern border. This region consists of a narrow, fertile belt of land which is 400 kilometers (250 miles) long and extends from 16 to 32 kilometers (10 to 20 miles) north of the Senegal River. The Affollé Hills mark the south-central region of Mauritania along the border with Mali.
10 MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES
Mauritania is largely flat, but in places its rocky plateaus attain heights of over 457 meters (1,500 feet). Its highest point is an enormous block of hematite (a red mineral), Mount Ijill in the northwest, topping out at 915 meters (3,002 feet).
11 CANYONS AND CAVES
Cave paintings have been found near Chinguetti, in central Mauritania.
12 PLATEAUS AND MONOLITHS
Mauritania is nearly bisected by the sandstone plateaus that extend down the center of the country on a north–south axis, rising to elevations of over 300 meters (1,000 feet).
13 MAN-MADE FEATURES
The Manantali Dam on the Bafing River was constructed in the 1980s for irrigation, navigation, and electric power generation. It is 1,460 meters (4,790 feet) long and 65 meters (213 feet) high.
DID YOU KNOW?
The nineteenth-century shipwreck of the frigate Meduse, immortalized in a famous painting by Théodore Géricault, occurred off the coast of Mauritania. Many of those who did not die aboard the fragile life raft built by the passengers perished onshore during a futile trek across the desert.
14 FURTHER READING
Celati, Gianni. Adventures in Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Hudson, Peter. Travels in Mauritania. London: Virgin, 1990.
Morocco Handbook with Mauritania. Footprint Handbooks. Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books, 1997.
Lonely Planet World Guide: Destination Mauritania. www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/mauritania/ (accessed April 24, 2003).
Miftah Shamali Mauritania. http://i-cias.com/meters.s/mauritan/ (accessed April 24, 2003).
"Mauritania." Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3425900172.html
"Mauritania." Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography. 2003. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3425900172.html
constitutional republic located in northwest africa.
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania covers an area of 398,000 square miles and is bordered by Western Sahara and Algeria on the north, Mali on the east, Mali and Senegal on the south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The population in 2002 was about 2.6 million people (United Nations estimate). Nouakchott, the capital and largest city, has more than 800,000 people. The second largest city is Nouadhibou, a maritime commercial center in the northwest, with a population of about 100,000. Mauritania has twelve administrative regions plus the district of Nouakchott.
Climate and Resources
Mauritania has three major geographic and climatic areas. The northern Sahara region is more than 65 percent of the country. Covered by arid plains, plateaus, and sand dunes, it receives almost no rainfall and is subject to severe fluctuations in temperature. To its south is the Sahel, a wide area consisting of steppes and meadows. On Mauritania's southern border is the Senegal River region, a narrow strip of cooler temperatures and higher rainfall that supports considerable plant life.
The national economy has suffered from a lack of natural resources. Climatic conditions limit agriculture to the Senegal River region, where millet, sorghum, rice, and dates are grown. In the Sahel, livestock raising supports much of the rural population. Oil was discovered in 2001 56 miles southwest off the coast of Nouakchott, and although findings were modest, Mauritania's economy can expect a large boost when it acquires the means to extract and export its oil.
To date, however, iron ore, gypsum, and copper constitute the only major mineral exports. Mauritanian waters are considered to be among the richest fishing areas in the world. In the 1980s offshore fishing grew rapidly, making fish the country's chief export. The small manufacturing sector is based largely on fish processing. Food and capital goods account for the bulk of imports.
Population and Culture
Mauritania boasts a unique mixture of North African and West African culture, and it struggles to unite them. Approximately 66 percent of the population are Maures of Arab, Berber, and black African descent who speak Hassaniya, a dialect of Arabic and one of the two official languages of Mauritania. The remaining population is ethnically black African, composed of Halpulaar, Fulbe, Soninké, and Wolof (speakers of Pulaar, Soninké, and Wolof). French is the other official language of Mauritania, spoken in the marketplace as a common second language. Almost all Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims.
In the early 1800s amirs and Islamic religious leaders controlled the area that is now Mauritania. France gradually expanded its military and economic presence from Senegal into Maure areas. Between 1901 and 1912 France gained control of all major regions of Mauritania and declared it a protectorate, ruling indirectly through traditional leaders. After World War II, nationalist parties became active. Under the leadership of Mokhtar Ould Daddah and his Mauritanian Regroupment Party, Mauritania declared its independence from France in 1960. Since independence, Mauritania has faced severe problems with national unity, desertification (enlargement of desert areas), and economic stability. In 2000 the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative qualified Mauritania for debt relief programs. In 2002 Mauritanians wrestled with a severe drought that led to food shortages and the slaughtering of livestock.
Mauritania also faced disputes with its neighbors to the north and south at the end of the twentieth century. In August 1976 the armed POLISARIO Front of Western Sahara invaded Mauritania and forced it to give up its claims to one-third of Western Saharan territory. Morocco quickly took over the land as Mauritanian forces withdrew.
A conflict between Senegal and Mauritania in 1989 intensified to a near-war situation as tens of thousands of Senegalese in Mauritania were expelled or killed, and more than 200,000 white Mauritanians in Senegal were forced to return to Mauritania. In 1991 Senegal and Mauritania resolved their differences and resumed their diplomatic relationship.
In 2000 Mauritania withdrew from ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West Africa) and aligned itself more with the Arab Maghreb Union.
Based on the 1991 constitution, the government is headed by a president elected by universal suffrage, who appoints a prime minister and a constitutional council. The legislature is composed of the National Assembly with seventy-nine members and the Senate with fifty-six members. The constitution guarantees the right of political parties to form. The government is controlled by the Parti Républicain Démocratique et Social (PRDS), whose leader Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya has been the president since his self-appointment in 1984. Amid claims of election fraud Taya was elected to the presidency in 1992 and again in 1997. Mauritania's 2001 legislative elections were internationally recognized as free and open.
see also arab maghreb union; daddah, mokhtar ould; ould sidʾahmed taya, maʿouiya; polisario; western sahara war.
U.S. Library of Congress Federal Research Division. Mauritania: A Country Study, 2d edition, edited by Robert E. Handloff. Washington, DC: Author, 1990.
updated by naomi zeff
Dillman, Bradford. "Mauritania." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424601793.html
Dillman, Bradford. "Mauritania." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424601793.html
1,025,520sq km (395,953sq mi) 2,548,157
Multi-party Islamic republic
Moor (Arab-Berber) 70%, Wolof 7%, Tukulor 5%, Soninke 3%, Fulani 1%
Sunni Muslim 99%
Ouguiya = 5 khoums
History and PoliticsBerbers migrated to the region in the first millennium ad. The Hodh basin lay at the heart of the ancient Ghana Empire (700–1200), and towns grew up along the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Mauritania was the cradle of the Almoravid dynasty, which spread Islam among the Saharan tribes. In the 14th and 15th century, the region formed part of the ancient Mali Empire. Portuguese mariners explored the coast in the 1440s, but European colonialism did not begin until the 17th century, when trade in gum arabic became important. Britain, France, and the Netherlands were all interested in this trade, and France set up a protectorate in 1903. In 1920, the region became a separate colony within French West Africa. In 1958, Mauritania became a self-governing territory in the French Union. It achieved full independence in 1960, and Mokhtar Ould Daddah was elected president. He was re-elected in 1966 and 1971. Mauritania became a one-party state. Devastating drought increased dissatisfaction with Ould Daddah's regime. In 1973, Mauritania withdrew from the franc zone and joined the Arab League. In 1976, Spain withdrew from Spanish Sahara: Morocco occupied the n 66% of the territory, while Mauritania took the rest. Nationalists, led by the guerrillas of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saharan Territories (POLISARIO), began an armed struggle for independence that drained Mauritania's resources. In 1978, an army coup overthrew Ould Daddah, and a military committee assumed control. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from Western Sahara, and Morocco assumed sole authority (for political developments, see Western Sahara). In 1984, recognition of Western Sahara's independence provoked civil unrest, and Ould Taya came to power. A new constitution was adopted in 1991, and Ould Taya became president in 1992 multi-party elections. He was re-elected in 1997 after a boycott by opposition parties. Tension continues between the black African minority in s Mauritania and Arabs and Berbers in the n.
EconomyMauritania is a low-income developing country (2000 GDP per capita, US$2000). The chief resource and export is iron ore. Agriculture employs 69% of the workforce. Droughts forced many nomadic herdsmen to migrate to the urban areas. Farmers in the se grow crops such as beans, dates, millet, rice, and sorghum.
"Mauritania." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 25, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Mauritania.html
"Mauritania." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Mauritania.html
Identification. The name of the country is derived from the Latin Mauretania, meaning "west," which corresponds to the Arab name of North Africa, Maghreb. The Romans referred to the Berber people as Maures.
The French occupied the country in 1860 in close cooperation with Maur religious leaders. Mauritania became a nation after the destruction of the kingdoms of Fouta Toro and Walo Walo and the Arab-Berber emirats of Trarza, Brakna, Taganet, and Adrar. As a result, the country has two main ethnic groups: black Africans and Arab-Berbers. The black African group includes the Fulani, Soninke, and Bambara. The Maurs include the Arab-Berbers (Beydan) and the black Maurs known as Haratin. The Haratins are black Africans who were enslaved by white Maurs. White and black Maurs consider themselves Arab, whereas black Arabs see themselves as African. The most important common denominator is Sunni Islam.
Location and Geography. Mauritania encompasses 400,385 square miles (1,037,000 square kilometers), more than three quarters of which is made up of the Sahara desert and the semiarid Sahelian zone. The remaining portion lies along the Senegal River Valley in the extreme south and southeast. The terrain consists of a plateau with vast sand dunes. The climate is hot and dry with frequent sandstorms. The country borders Senegal to the south, Mali to the southeast, Algeria to the northeast, and the Western Sahara to the north. In the southern region, most people engage in agriculture and livestock raising. The people in the south are settled black African farmers, whereas in the north the people have a nomadic lifestyle.
The capital, Nouakchott, is on the on the Atlantic coast. It was chosen a year before independence in 1960. Because the French wanted to transfer power to their Arab-Berber allies, the idea of having a major cities such as Rosso or Kaedi as the capital was ruled out.
Demography. As a result of ethnic clashes between pro-arabization groups and black Africans, the authorities have banned discussion of population issues to maintain the myth that Mauritania is the land of the Maurs with a tiny minority of black Africans. The most recent estimate of the population is 2.5 million. Because population growth in the black African communities in the south is much higher, white Arab-Berbers have become a minority. According to the latest estimates of ethnic distribution, the Haratin community accounts for 40 to 45 percent of the total population, while the white Arab-Berbers account for 25 percent and black Africans 30 percent.
Linguistic Affiliation. There are four national languages. Hassaniya is a mixture of Arabic and Berber and is the language of the white Maurs and the Haratin. Pulaar (Fulani) is spoken on the Atlantic coast and across the sahel-savannah zone. Soninke (Sarakolle) is spoken on the borders with Mali and Senegal. Wolof is widely spoken. Bambara is spoken in the southeast. At independence, French became the official language and, in 1965, the Arab-Berber regime made Arabic compulsory in primary and secondary education. This resulted in ethnic confrontation over the national language. The clashes intensified until 1999, when Colonel Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya decided to resurrect French and downgrade Arabic. Black Africans' determination to resist Arabization resulted in the official recognition of Fulani, Soninke, and Wolof as national languages in 1980 and the creation of a national institute to teach those languages in public schools. That experiment was sabotaged by a palace coup in 1984.
Symbolism. All Mauritanians self-identify themselves as Sunni Muslims of the Malkite rite and believe that their society is the most Islamic in Africa. Mauritania is an Islamic republic whose basic law is the sharia, and the flag (green with a yellow crescent and stars) symbolizes Islam. Mauritanians believe that they have a mission to promote Islam and Islamic values throughout black Africa, and most symbols are linked to Islam.
Religious leaders and people from immigrant families symbolize power, intelligence, respect, and holiness. There are three important religious brotherhoods and subsects whose leaders symbolize supernatural knowledge and insight: the Tjjaniya, Qadriya, and Hamaliya. The founders of these brotherhoods are venerated. Ancestors are honored, and cemeteries are respected and feared. There are no national monuments, museums, secular national heroes, poets, or artists. Only the few people who are educated know what the national flag, national anthem, and national day symbolize. Some black intellectuals want the national day to be observed as a day of mourning for the martyrs of ethnic cleansing in 1990 and 1991.
History and Ethnic Relations
Emergence of the Nation. Mauritania did not exist as an independent political unit before 1960. The country was created by colonial France in close alliance with the Arab-Berber theocracy in the Trarza region. The motives for creating the country was to build a bridge between French black West African colonies and Algeria and block the expansionist aspirations of proponents of a greater Morocco.
National Identity. Ethnic conflict has sharpened ethnic, tribal, and caste identities. Because the French conspired to keep political power exclusively in the hands of the Arab-Berber aristocracy, a sense of national identity has not developed.
Ethnic Relations. In the past, ethnic relations were characterized by conflicts, shifting alliances, and some cooperation. The more settled black Africans dominated in the south, whereas the nomadic Arab-Berbers controlled the desert north. The different communities were able to function without contact with each other. Gradually, drought and the ensuing environmental degradation pushed the nomads toward the south, and conflicts over decreasing resources arose. With the creation of the state, competition over political power and access to public funds, jobs, and privileges aggravated this situation. In 1989, when ethnic conflict reached a violent level, West African and black citizens became the target of government pogroms. Mauritania then was drawn into the ethnic conflict between the government in Mali and the Maur and Tuareg tribes. Thus, while Mauritania was deporting its black citizens to Mali and Senegal, it was welcoming Maur and Tuareg refugees from Mali. The main political groups and parties are divided along cultural and ethnic lines. The Arab population is sponsored by Iraq, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, and FLAM, the black political party, is based in Senegal.
Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space
Without coherent national planning policies, construction in modern towns and cities is anarchic. Thus, architecture in Nouakchott is a mixture of traditional French concrete building with Spanish and Asian influences. Because of the fragile and sandy terrain, buildings are low.
As a result of drought and the attraction of urban centers, most residents have become totally or party urbanized. Colonization, rapid urbanization, modern education, technology, and mass communication have led to the emergence of two cultures. The modern elite live in Western-style houses, which have replaced thatched-roof houses and tents. Houses are used to shelter extended families and guests. Even in modern houses, there is little furniture and few wall decorations. Many houses have colorful traditional pillows and mats, teapots, trays, and carpets. Mattresses are placed along the walls with traditional pillows. Houses are crowded because of strong family bonds. An urban house normally is open to relatives and friends.
Apart from mosques, government buildings follow Western styles. Some Arab-Berbers put up tents in the courtyards of their villas. Normally, there are no plants inside the house.
Food and Economy
Food in Daily Life. Food has important social and psychological functions. People eat together in groups from a large bowl or calabash, using the right hand. People eat first and then drink cold water or sour milk mixed with cold water, juice from the hibiscus flower, or baobab juice. After lunch and dinner, it is customary to drink small glasses of green tea with sugar and mint. The tea is served by younger persons, women, and slaves.
The diet consists mostly of meat, millet, rice, fish, and sweet potatoes and potatoes. The main meal is lunch among black Africans, whereas Arab-Berbers have the main meal in the evening. Breakfast consists of milk and cereal with French bread and butter. People use a lot of oil in cooking and sugar in drinks. Eating almost always takes place at home. It is not acceptable to eat with or in the presence of one's in-laws, and eating with the left hand is forbidden.
Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. People are expected to slaughter an animal according to the number of wives and the wealth of the husband. At the end of Ramadan and at the sacrificial feast that ends the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, a married man is expected to offer a lamb. The meat must be eaten up within three days or it is thrown away. It is customary to offer an animal in connection with name-giving, initiation, marriage, and funeral ceremonies and when people return from Mecca or other important places. Only circumcised adult men are allowed to slaughter animals.
Basic Economy. While the public and private sectors depend on foreign sources such as development aid and the exportation of iron ore and fish, the vast majority of citizens engage in traditional subsistence agriculture. The informal economic sector is increasing in importance. People do not expect much from the government and rarely pay taxes. Mauritania is one of the largest recipients of foreign aid in the world and is deeply in debt. Despite abundant livestock, one of the world's richest fishing zones, and a huge agriculture potential, the country is not self-sufficient in food and other basic necessities.
Land Tenure and Property. Traditionally, individuals could not own land, which was owned collectively by the community. The head of the clan or community was responsible for the allocation and leasing of communal land. In a society organized according to hierarchical caste, land was controlled by the aristocracy, and the lower classes rented, borrowed, or worked the land according to a sharecropping system. A land ordinance of 1983 stipulated that land belongs to the state and abolished traditional ownership. Black citizens were quick to label the ordinance racist.
Commercial Activities. Animals, meat, and hides are exported to neighboring countries, and iron ore, copper, gypsum, and fish are sent to the European Union nations and Japan. White residents dominate retail trade with the West, and black Africans trade with Central Africa.
Major Industries. Mauritania is one of the least industrialized countries in the world. The few industries involve the production and partial processing of iron ore. There is a fish processing plant and an oil refinery in Nouadhibou and a sugar refinery in Nouakchott as well as a meat processing factory in Kaedi. Traditional crafts are produced in Nouakchott. There is a textile factory in Rosso.
Trade. Iron ore, copper, and fish are sent to the European Union and Japan, and animals are sold to Senegal. Imports consist of food, machinery, and weapons. There is much informal trade with neighboring African countries. Gum arabic and salt also are sold abroad.
Division of Labor. Most people work as farmers, cattle herders, and traders. Regulations regarding child labor are not enforced, and most school-age children work.
Classes and Castes. Society is organized along strict ethnic lines, with a rigid system of castes; every caste has its own internal hierarchy. In both ethnic groups, the division of labor is clear. At the top are the religious and warrior caste, followed by the skilled caste, which consists of smiths, carpenters, weavers, fisherfolk, and leather workers. Historians or court bards, musicians, and court advisers form a lower caste, followed by the theoretically freed slaves and current slaves at the bottom of the social order.
Symbols of Social Stratification. Dress style, comportment, and speech are dictated by the climate and ethnic heritage. Putting on one's best clothing is important in black African communities to express one's social status. Women decorate themselves with gold, silver, and amber to display their wealth and change clothes several times during a party. People in the higher castes to tend to be quiet and generous toward those below them, whereas the lower castes tend to be talkative, outgoing, and "greedy," with less concern about shame. Generally people are kind and hospitable to foreigners.
Government. Mauritania is an Islamic republic with a highly centralized government in which power is vested in the executive president as head of state, aided by a prime minister who acts as the head of government and a council of ministers. Since 1992, direct presidential elections have been scheduled every six years. Universal suffrage occurs at age eighteen years. The legal system is derived from Islamic sharia law and modern Western law. The legislative branch includes a bicameral legislature consisting of the fifty-six-seat Senate elected by municipal mayors for six-year terms and a seventy-nine-seat National Assembly elected by popular vote for five-year terms. The judicial branch has lower courts, appeals courts, and a supreme court. Administratively, the country is divided into twelve regions.
A multiparty system functioned from independence until 1965, followed by a one-party civilian regime that was overthrown by the army in 1978. Between 1978 and 1991, the country was ruled by decree, with no citizen participation. With the end of the Cold War and after Mauritania's alliance with Iraq in the Gulf War, the government was forced to transform the military committee into a political party.
There are twenty-two political parties, including the Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), the Union of Democratic Forces–New Era (UFD/EN), and Action for Change (AC). The PRDS is a continuation of the military committee. Parties are tribal and personal rather than ideological. Action for Change is closely linked with the antislavery movement El Hor. Forces de Liberation Africain des Mauritania (FLAM) is illegal and operates from exile in Senegal. Founded in 1983, FLAM works for ethnic equality, social justice, democracy, and development. It has called for federalism and regional autonomy.
Leadership and Political Officials. Ethnicity and caste membership have caused political positions to be monopolized by religious warrior upper-caste clans and families. Gender, age, wealth, and region also are important factors in attaining and maintaining power. No ruling party has ever lost power to the opposition. Individuals are expected to vote for leaders from their ethnic group, clan, family, and region. Ideology and political programs have minimal relevance and people who cross ethnic and tribal lines are considered traitors. People are afraid of government representatives, especially those in uniform.
Social Problems and Control. Apart from Arab-Berber slave raids, Mauritania was relatively free of crime. With the creation of a neocolonial state, formal mechanisms for dealing with crime have been based on the violent colonial system. Crime management is now provided by repressive police forces in the cities and towns and a gendarmerie in the countryside and a national guard in remote areas. People fear men in uniform, who harass, rape, confiscate cattle, and terrorize the population. Informal social control mechanisms are effective because of strong family and kinship ties and the collective shame associated with committing a crime; people tend to punish criminals on the spot. In the past, the most common crimes were kidnapping children from the south for slavery in the north, stealing cattle, and illegal grazing. Today the most common crimes are official corruption, stealing, political murder, and rape.
Military Activity. The military has become a prestigious institution. The army is huge relative to the population and the nation's poverty. The armed forces number 18,500 men divided into an infantry, a navy, an air force, paramilitary forces, border guards, and auxiliary troops of the Interior Ministry. At independence, the army had fewer than one hundred black officers who had served in the colonial army. Arab-Berbers were exempted from military service by the French, who considered them superior to black Africans. After the Saharan war the army mushroomed in size, staffed mainly by black Africans and Harantin abandoned by their white masters, but most of the commanders were white. After the 1978 coup, ethnic and tribal competition plagued the armed forces. A campaign of ethnic purging of black armed personnel, whom the regime accused of belonging to FLAM and plotting a coup began in 1986. The government then passed a blanket amnesty for the armed forces for any crimes committed in the period 1989–1993. As a result, the national army has become an ethnic army of racist repression.
Social Welfare and Change Programs
Social welfare is provided for within the family and kinship system. Government-supported welfare is nearly nonexistent because of a lack of funds, nepotism, and corruption.
Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations
A few nongovernment organizations (NGOs) work on human rights issues. One of the most important is the Association Mauritanienne des Droits de l'Homme (AMDH), which was created in 1991 after a government massacre of more than five hundred black army officers and civilians in custody. Comité de Solidarité avec les Victimes de la Répression en Mauritanie (Solidarity Committee of with Victims of Repression in Mauritania, or CSVRM) was created by the widows, mothers, and sisters of victims of racist extrajudicial killings in 1990 and 1991.
SOS-Esclaves (SOS Slaves) was founded in 1992 by a former slave. SOS fights for the emancipation of the nearly one million former and current slaves of the ruling white Maurs. Ligue Mauritanienne des Droits de l'Homme (Mauritanian Human Rights League, or LMDH) was created when political parties and NGOs were not allowed in the country after the campaign of terror against black intellectuals in 1986. It is considered a front for the government.
Gender Roles and Statuses
Division of Labor by Gender. Culturally, women's importance is recognized, but men dominate in the economic, political, social, and religious spheres. In the south, men provide for the family and women process and cook food and take care of children. In the Arab-Berber north, women are not supposed to perform physical work, which is seen as degrading. Work there is the domain of slave women.
The Relative Status of Women and Men. Although people honor and obey their mothers, women suffer on the account of their gender. In Islamic-run courts two women count as one witness, polygamy is widespread in the black communities, and female circumcision is practiced by all the ethnic groups except the Wolof. Women inherit half the share that their brothers receive. Children take the father's clan name. When women marry, they tend to join the husband's household. Many marriages are forced or arranged. During racial pogroms, women are targets for rape and terror. There is more illiteracy and unemployment among women than men. Female slaves are sexually exploited. Forced feeding to fatten young girls for marriage is common among the Maurs and Haratin.
Marriage, Family, and Kinship
Marriage. Marriages usually are arranged, especially the first marriage. Illiterate rural individuals have less choice than do people with a modern education. People tend to marry for the sake of their parents and community and usually marry within their community and clan. There is a lot of marriage between cousins, but it is not permissible to marry someone with whom a person has shared breast milk. When it is discovered that a husband and wife shared milk earlier in life, they are obliged to divorce even if they have children. Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men, but Muslim men can marry Christian or Jewish women. Polygyny is allowed, but polyandry is forbidden. According to the prevailing value system, all adults must marry and have many children but it is not unusual to find unmarried women, particularly among the white Maurs.
Economic aspects of marriage are very important. Men are responsible for the economic sustenance of their wives and for brideprice, along with lavish gifts to the parents, relatives, friends, and associates of their wives. Divorce is not common, especially in the black communities. Couples are allowed to divorce twice, and the third divorce is final. If divorce is the fault of the man, the wife keeps the brideprice. According to tradition, children follow the father, but small ones remain with the mother and the husband is obliged to support her and the children until they grow up.
Domestic Unit. The basic household unit consists of a husband and his wife or wives plus their children and the family of the husband, but household units in urban centers are getting more compact. The man has authority in the household because the couple lives with his kin and he is normally older and richer than the wife. Even though the household is an extended family, tasks are sharply divided according to gender and age.
Inheritance. Inheritance is based on Islamic law and local "economic calculation." When male and female relatives are equally close to the deceased, the male relatives gets a double portion. Because the woman joins her husband's family, she often is pressured to renounce her inheritance, especially if it consists of land. All kinds of property including slaves are inheritable by relatives. Sometimes a man inherits the wife or wives of his brother because the family wants to keep the children and property within the household.
Kin Groups. In this extremely traditional society, belonging to a group is very important, and the larger the group, the better. People use clan names rather than family names. When the climate and economic conditions allow it, larger kin groups form a village or neighborhood. Clan members interact by sharing land and engaging in interclan marriage. The male leader, normally the oldest and "most competent" man, manages communal property and affairs.
Infant Care. Child care is provided by the older members of an extended family and the first born child is looked after by the grandmother and aunts. Women, including older sisters and cousins, take care of children, and men come into the picture as a child grows up. Infants are not separated from adults and are nearly always carried.
Child Rearing and Education. Education is based on a combination of three overlapping philosophies: indigenous, Islamic, and Western. In the first system, the objective is to prepare the young to be useful members of the local community. Education is thus inward-oriented and functional and is provided by parents, elder siblings, peers, and specialized traditional teachers. The key values are belief in God, honor, respect, and service to the community, generosity, hospitality, endurance, and patience, Islamic teaching prepares Muslims to serve Allah and the community of believers by learning the Koran and practicing the five pillars of Islam. The most important qualities in a "good" child are respect and service to the parents and the community, truthfulness, learning, prayer, and politeness. Parents believe that children are what they inherit and learn from their parents. If the mother is of good character, her children will be good.
Higher Education. Before independence, there were few schools and illiteracy was close to 100 percent. Sons of the black aristocracy were sent to a special school established by the French in Senegal. After power was transferred to the Arab-Berbers, the new rulers built schools in their areas and neglected the south.
The upper castes give, and the lower castes serve and obey. Maur women do not shake hands with foreign men, and people do not eat in front of their in-laws or address older persons by name. People stare at passing strangers and greet each other with a handshake and ask about a person's health and wealth. People stand very close to each other.
Religious Beliefs. Mauritania is 100 percent Muslim. The people are Sunni Muslims who belong to the Khadria and Thiyania brotherhoods. Religion is a mixture of Islam and local African beliefs. People believe in supernatural spirits, feeling that every thing and being has life and presents potential danger. Taboos are observed, and charms and amulets are used for protection.
Religious Practitioners. Each brotherhood has a founder who acts as a spiritual medium and is venerated and considered to have healing powers. People can receive a blessing through spiritual contact with these spiritual leaders. The founders' power increases with their age. Traditional spiritual medicine men and women have an authority based on the local experience and value system.
Rituals and Holy Places. Rituals often are linked to Islamic prayers. Tombs and graveyards are seen as holy places. People avoid going to those places during certain times of the day and avoid cutting wood near a graveyard. Certain forests and trees are considered holy, and people use them for healing. Daily religious ceremonies take place in a mosque or in open fields. For more important weekly ceremonies, prayers take place in open fields or in the larger mosques in urban centers.
Death and the Afterlife. People believe that after death they will be judged and go to hell or to paradise. Old people are buried directly in the ground without coffins. Only those who die from a contagious disease are cremated. Among the nomadic Arab-Berbers, only the graves of holy people are marked. After a burial, Berbers leave the area for fear of bad spirits. Black people have fixed graves and venerate the burying places of their ancestors. Funerals often are occasions for celebrations and family reunions. Because of the climate, the deceased are buried almost immediately. Bodies are washed seven times and then wrapped in white cloth and carried to the graveyard. The deceased is placed in a grave facing Mecca. Only men attend funerals. After the burial, the guests do not turn back toward the graveyard. Normally, the personal belongings of the deceased are given to the poor.
Medicine and Health Care
People believe that disease is caused by destiny, bad magic, or breaking taboos and seek help from traditional and Islamic healers who combine modern medicine with traditional methods. Very few people have access to medical care, which is concentrated in the urban centers. The rudimentary public health care has crumbled, and the rich have set up private health units and pharmacies.
There are many tropical diseases, but there is a low incidence of psychological disorders, and AIDS is almost nonexistent. Life expectancy is low, and infant mortality is high, partly because of a lack of clean water.
Modern doctors are treated as important personalities, especially if they are white. Traditional practitioners are respected and feared. Traditional medicine men and women use herbs and touching as well as healing words.
There are very few secular celebrations with the exception of the national day on 28 November and Constitution Day on 12 July. Some of the Westernized elites celebrate Christmas and the New Year. Farmers celebrate the harvest and marry at that time. Herders' dispersed families gather and celebrate the rainy season with sumptuous meals. The returns of family members from abroad is celebrated.
The Arts and Humanities
Support for the Arts. There is little appreciation of and support for artists. The little support that is given is ethnically biased and oriented toward entertainment. The arts are functional and cannot be distinguished from crafts.
Literature. The oral tradition includes epics, storytelling, riddles, puzzles, and Islamic poetry and prose.
Graphic Arts. Wall drawings, paintings, some sculpture, textiles, and pottery are produced. Artists are thought to have a secret knowledge that they hand down from generation to generation.
Performance Arts. People attend popular and democratic performances held in the open air.
The State of the Physical and Social Sciences
The state of the physical and social science is deplorable because of the lack of interest among the authorities. A university established in 1981 teaches law, literature, and economics. There are fewer than three thousand students, and the university lacks qualified teachers and researchers, books, facilities, and buildings.
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"Mauritania." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Mauritania.html | <urn:uuid:b7b324a0-0ba9-4546-a130-4e07c66babd0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Mauritania.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948938 | 48,412 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Algorithm detects and isolates cyber-attacks
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a software algorithm that detects and isolates cyber-attacks on networked control systems – which are used to coordinate transportation, power and other infrastructure across the United States.
Networked control systems are essentially pathways that connect and coordinate activities between computers and physical devices. For example, the systems that connect temperature sensors, heating systems and user controls in modern buildings are networked control systems.
But, on a much larger scale, these systems are also becoming increasingly important to national infrastructure, such as transportation and power. And, because they often rely on wireless or Internet connections, these systems are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. “Flame” and “Stuxnet” are examples of costly, high-profile attacks on networked control systems in recent years.
As networked control systems have grown increasingly large and complex, system designers have moved away from having system devices – or “agents” – coordinate their activities through a single, centralized computer hub, or brain. Instead, designers have created “distributed network control systems” (D-NCSs) that allow all of the system agents to work together, like a bunch of mini-brains, to coordinate their activities. This allows the systems to operate more efficiently. And now these distributed systems can also operate more securely.
NC State researchers have developed a software algorithm that can detect when an individual agent in a D-NCS has been compromised by a cyber-attack. The algorithm then isolates the compromised agent, protecting the rest of the system and allowing it to continue functioning normally. This gives D-NCSs resilience and security advantages over systems that rely on a central computer hub, because the centralized design means the entire system would be compromised if the central computer is hacked.
“In addition, our security algorithm can be incorporated directly into the code used to operate existing distributed control systems, with minor modifications,” says Dr. Mo-Yuen Chow, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. “It would not require a complete overhaul of existing systems.”
“We have demonstrated that the system works, and are now moving forward with additional testing under various cyber-attack scenarios to optimize the algorithm’s detection rate and system performance,” says Wente Zeng, a Ph.D. student at NC State and lead author of an upcoming paper on the subject. | <urn:uuid:eda9645b-15e4-440f-81a3-21a131ef7e93> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.tgdaily.com/security-features/71635-algorithm-detects-and-isolates-cyber-attacks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950373 | 517 | 2.78125 | 3 |
The Yong'an Salt Pan Wetland (Yong'an Yantiancyu), characterizes by huge mangrove coverage and rich wildlife, is a major wetland in Taiwan. The approximately 130 hectares wetland was once called the Dark Forest (Wusulin) Salt Pan and was an important one on the island before it was purchased by the Taiwan Power Company for coal ash residue-depositing land in 1984. However the plan did not work out, and the land was soon left uncared for. As a result, natural mangrove started developing, attracting over 110 species of birds into the region including peregrine falcons, Kentish plover, and others. It is enlisted important wetland at local level in 1997. | <urn:uuid:593673d8-ed4a-493b-901d-30d62d65c897> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.360cities.net/image/yongan-salt-pan-wetland-taiwan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960064 | 153 | 3 | 3 |
Caribbean Corals Heading Towards Extinction?
Corals just can't seem to get a break these days. Another study has found that Caribbean coral species are slowly but steadily dying off, with dramatic potential implications for the region's ecosystem stability and structure. Ten percent of the 62 reef-building corals, including the elkhorn and staghorn corals which were once some of the Caribbean's most numerous species, are now under grave threat and likely to be listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species within the coming year.
Michael L. Smith, the director of the Caribbean Biodiversity Initiative at Conservation International, said that, "One of the Atlantic Ocean's most beautiful marine habitats no longer exists in many places because of dramatic increases in coral diseases, mostly caused by climate change and warmer waters."As the first in a series of Global Marine Species Assessments (GMSA) of key marine primary-producers, a group of scientists analyzed data on Western Tropical Atlantic corals, seagrasses, mangroves and algae earlier this year. Suzanne Livingstone, the GMSA programs officer, expects the species studied during the workshop to be added onto the 2008 IUCN Red List after a final review.
"Coral reefs support some of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. When the coral reefs disappear, so will many other species which rely on reefs for shelter, reproduction and foraging," she said.
Having undergone one of the longest periods of human development sine the colonization of the Americas, the Caribbean corals were particularly hard hit by anthropogenic disturbances such as increased sedimentation in run-off water, over-fishing and coastal pollution. In addition, the combined effect of several natural disturbances including disease, hurricanes and bleaching, has further weakened the remaining stocks.
Although corals have certainly gotten the shorter end of the stick, mangroves have also been devastated by global warming and human development with some estimates placing mangrove cover loss in the region around 42% over the past 25 years. Forests are increasingly being cut down to accomodate further residential and aquaculture development throughout the region. Two out of the eight species are now listed as "Vulnerable to Extinction" while two others are in "Near Threatened" status.
Aaron Ellison, a professor at Harvard University, explained that "Mangroves protect shorelines, shelter fish, and filter pollution. The Caribbean was blessed with an abundance of these useful plants, but the consensus of this workshop is that mangroves are in trouble everywhere and need to be protected and restored."
Citing the examples of several healthy coral reefs living in marine protected areas (MPAs) scattered around the area, such as the Bonaire Marine Park in the Netherlands Antilles, the scientists urged immediate action to protect these remaining vestiges of Caribbean natural beauty. "Concentrated marine conservation and a global effort to halt man-induced climate change are necessary to preserve this vital economic engine in the region," said Kent Carpenter, GMSA director. | <urn:uuid:a246583b-2bec-4542-b929-7d72b2bc968c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/caribbean-corals-heading-towards-extinction.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949255 | 645 | 3.390625 | 3 |
MathModelica is an integrated problem-solving environment (PSE) for full system modeling and simulation. The environment integrates Modelica-based modeling and simulation with graphic design, advanced scripting facilities, integration of code and documentation, and symbolic formula manipulation provided via Mathematica. Due to its power and ease of use, it permits the creation of "virtual prototypes," computer simulations that behave like a real physical object or system.
MathModelica integrates and extends software such as the technical computing system Mathematica from Wolfram Research, the diagram and visualization tool Visio from Microsoft, and the Dymola simulation kernel from Dynasim. This means that the MathModelica environment consists of well-developed and reliable software. In MathModelica models can be developed, documented, and analyzed in notebooks.
The software presentation will illustrate how MathModelica can be used develop and analyze physical simulation models both in a graphical environment and a textual one. Furthermore, it will show how the developed simulation models can be integrated into Mathematica notebooks. By integrating the powerful Modelica modeling and simulation technology with Mathematica, advanced modeling and simulation capabilities are merged seamlessly with a technical computing system complete with built-in functions for pre- and post-processing as well as advanced scripting capabilities. Finally, a few visualization examples will be shown.
The presentation has several goals:
- Be easily accessible for people who do not previously have a background in modeling and simulation.
- Introduce the concepts of physical modeling, object-oriented modeling, and component-based modeling, and simulation in the context of MathModelica and Mathematica
- Provide a not-too-formal reference on the Modelica language
- Demonstrate modeling and simulation examples from a wide range of application areas | <urn:uuid:ed54715d-2eaa-4e8f-8144-c262d158351d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://library.wolfram.com/infocenter/Conferences/5373/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.897275 | 360 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2004 April 23
Explanation: Inbound from the distant solar system, comet C/2001 Q4 will soon pass just inside planet Earth's orbit and should be one of two bright, naked-eye comets visible in southern skies in May. First picked up nearly three years ago by the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) project Q4 appears in both of these stunning telescopic views recorded only a few days ago, on April 18th (left) and 19th, from a site near Alcohuaz, Chile. Remarkable changes in the structure of the long, graceful tail can be seen by comparing the two photos, including the dramatic kink seen near the tail's midpoint on April 19th. The apparent motion of the comet sweeping across the sky is evident when you compare the position of the tail relative to background galaxy NGC 1313, visible as a smudge near the top of each image. Q4's closest approach to the Sun will be on May 15th while its closest encounter with planet Earth will be on May 7th (see animation by L. Koehn).
Authors & editors:
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U. | <urn:uuid:b9c7c0df-bba1-4244-8bf3-f413fe06c01c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040423.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921972 | 306 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Hives Treatment Center Over 150,000 patients helped since 2001
How are hives and thyroid related? Do thyroid problems cause hives?
Hives are also known as urticaria medically, and appear as welts that are pink or red in color and can be found on many parts of your body, including hives on face. These welts itch and can last a few hours, days, weeks or even months depending on your condition. Hives can occur on any part of your body, and can be as small as a pea or as large as a plate. Hives occur in about 20% of the population of the world, with these people having at least one case of hives in their life.
For the most part, hives are caused by an infection and viruses that can cause a fever, foods and medications. Some cases of hives are caused by hot or cold temperatures, exercise, pressure, sunlight and vibrations. Most cases of hives will go away within a few hours or days; but there are cases that do last longer than 6 weeks. These cases are called chronic urticaria (AKA chronic hives). Idiopathic chronic hives are those cases that do not have a known cause, but continue to return.
Most Effective Hives Treatment On The Market
Thyroid and hives are closely related in about 10% of all hives cases. Some people with chronic hives have a high level of anti-thyroid antibodies in their system, which can cause a hives rash. Remember that hives are caused by the body’s immune system thinking there is an allergen present. If your body is making too much of a certain chemical, your immune system could think it is an allergen and release histamines to attack the area and cause the allergen to cease. When you have high levels of anti-thyroid antibodies in your blood, simply taking thyroid supplements can make the thyroid and hives problems go away. This is true even when the thyroid is normal.
Sometimes thyroid and hives are connected in other ways. Some people have autoimmune thyroid disease, vitiligo and swollen joints along with the hives. Thyroid and hives problems like this are rare, but if you are unable to find out what is causing your hives, maybe the thyroid and hives are connected. Even with thyroid and hives problems, you are still able to avoid taking medications that stimulate the thyroid or other internal organs to get rid of your hives.
Thyroid and hives issues can be treated with a hives treatment that is available over the counter and does not have the severe side effects so many other medications have. OxyHives is the hives treatments that we have heard the most positive results from. You can use OxyHives as many times as needed, and it helps cure hives regardless of the cause. If you simply want to get rid of the itching, the irritation and the swelling that hives causes, use OxyHives. Thyroid and hives treatment can be as simple as using OxyHives at the first sign of the hives to get rid of them altogether. | <urn:uuid:7d09da39-fbc9-4c99-83ae-642310917ed6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hives.org/thyroid-and-hives.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00119-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95994 | 649 | 2.9375 | 3 |
GALVESTON, Texas A new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reveals that the prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest region of the United States has increased slightly in the last decade.
Researchers suspect the rise is due, in part, to the increase in diabetes and obesity.
Although hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the most common diseases in the United States, affecting more than 72 million Americans, it is one of the most manageable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Advancements in the diagnosis, treatment and control of hypertension have been major contributors to the decline in cardiovascular mortality in recent decades.
"We always expect that things are improving, right?" said Kyriakos S. Markides, co-author and principal investigator of the study, which has been funded by the National Institute on Aging since 1992. "But now we're finding that, in the more recent study participants, they're more disabled, have more diabetes, have slightly more obesity and slightly more hypertension."
The study, which appears in the January issue of the Annals of Epidemiology, looked at 3,952 older Mexican-Americans residing in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and California. A group of 3,050 men and women, 65 and older, were evaluated in 1993-1994, and an additional 902 men and women, 75 and older, were added in 2004-2005. Researchers interviewed the study subjects and took health measurements every two to three years.
The hypertension prevalence rates were significantly different in 1993-1994 compared with 2004-2005 (73 percent vs. 78.4 percent, respectively). The increase in hypertension prevalence was significant for subjects 75 to 79 years, for U.S.-born subjects, for subjects with diabetes and for the obese.
Self-reported hypertension was assessed by asking subjects if a doctor had ever told them that they had high blood pressure. Blood pressure readings were taken by interviewers during in-home visits. Participants were asked to provide the containers of the medications taken in the two weeks prior to the interview, and drug names were recorded.
Subjects were considered hypertensive if they had been told by a physician that they had hypertension, if they had an average systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or an average diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher, or if they were taking antihypertensive medications.
While overall hypertension awareness was significantly higher in 2004-2005 than in 1993-1994 (82.6 percent vs. 63 percent, respectively), diabetic and obese subjects were more likely to be hypertensive in 2004-2005 than in 1993-1994.
There's good news and bad news, said Markides. "The bad news is the prevalence of hypertension went up not a huge increase, but up nonetheless due in part to obesity and diabetes. The good news is that the hypertension is better controlled because of increased awareness and better management."
Hispanics living in the United States are expected to number 120 million by 2050. "This is a long-living population with increasing rates of disability, diabetes and chronic disease," said Markides.
"More effort should be targeted to reverse trends of both obesity and diabetes as potential causes of increases in hypertension," wrote Markides and his collaborators. "Further investigations should be directed toward providing clear guidelines and goals for hypertension treatment and control in the very old to improve hypertension outcomes in this population."
|Contact: Kristen Hensley|
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston | <urn:uuid:7fbc0ff7-2ac9-4cdc-a0f9-1969f6ed18a1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/Researchers-find-rising-levels-of-hypertension-in-older-Mexican-Americans-78390-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00026-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971739 | 727 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Solar power harnesses energy from the Sun. We obtain electrical energy from photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight. We obtain thermal energy from the sun either directly or indirectly through systems that collect the heat and transfer it to other things such as air or water. In the most formal sense “solar panel” refers to devices that harness thermal energy from the sun and transfer it to a medium such as air or water. Further, photovoltaic cells, solar cells, photovoltaic panels or PV panels refer to devices that convert sun light energy into electrical energy. However, you will often find common language references of both kinds of devices as “solar panels”. This category contains non-commercial, scientific and educational references to solar energy science and engineering (technology) and the advancement of using solar energy by mainstream society. Topics include solar electrical energy and solar thermal energy technologies.
Related categories 2
12 Volt Solar Panels
Provides reviews of solar battery chargers.
American Solar Energy Society
Web site has information on membership and publications, as well as policy statements on topics related to renewable energy and electric utility restructuring.
Arizona Solar Center
A comprehensive site that explores various solar technologies and their uses in Arizona. Includes topical papers, news, events calendar, directory of products and services, FAQ and educational materials.
Daystar: The Four Mile Island Solar Home
A tour of an existing solar home with an emphasis on the experience of solar living . This site has lots of information about solar home construction, renewable energy systems and the environment.
Aims to develop, promote and market methodologies, technologies, and products that conserve natural resources and advance our planet towards sustainability through the use of solar energy.
Sponsors of the project to build a large-scale (200-MW) solar thermal power station based on a 1-km-tall solar tower. Information about solar tower technology and the project under way in Australia.
European Association for Solar Energy
Non-partisan independent organization that is independent of industry, political institutions promoting solar energy by conducting conferences and awarding prizes. [English, German]
Florida Solar Energy Center
Research, training programs, and information about photovoltaic technology, other solar applications, energy-efficient building strategies, and related topics.
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems
Provides data, facts, publications, and information for students.
Global Warming Solutions
Offers information about energy conservation using solar energy.
JC Solar House Plans and Solar Collectors
Includes a lot of information about solar energy panels, solar hot water, and solar collectors.
Living on Solar
Personal account of living in an all solar home. Includes a blog and videos showing a home made solar tracking device.
National Solar Power Research Institute, Inc.
Informative articles and project reports concerning solar power and related issues. Studies of both Earth-based and space-based solar power.
SoDa Service for Industry and Research
Information and databases on solar radiation and energy, including calculators for determining parameters needed for a variety of scientific and industrial design problems.
Solar Cells Info
Provides information and news on cells technology. Includes weblog, press reports and data on dye sensitized cells.
Solar Energy Industries Association - SEIA
The US trade association for solar energy and related businesses. Focused particularly on expanding domestic and international markets, and advocating for appropriate state and federal policies.
Solar Energy News
Blog covering solar energy news, solar power products and the politics of alternative energy and a sustainable future.
Solar Investment Renewable Energy Blog
Provides a reference for anybody in the renewable energy industry with a desire to know how the introduction of feed-in tariffs will effect investment and a focal point for green issues.
The Solar Living Institute
A non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education at the Solar Living Center. Featuring workshops and interactive demonstrations in renewable energy and sustainable technologies.
Solar Power Rocks
Blog on solar energy with descriptions and comparisons of state incentives, pending legislation and new solar technology.
Portal on solar energy. Includes news, bulletins and scientific articles.
Increased power-output of terrestrial solar-power systems by optimized generator directing, sun's path and shade analysis.
Alliance of laboratories from different countries in the field of solar concentrating systems. Includes project information.
Special Materials Research and Technology, Inc.
A small business that focuses research on the wet chemical growth of oxides used in microelectronics and photonics (optoelectronics).
Provides information on switching to solar power for homes and businesses, with details of many types of solar device for the home, office or automobile.
Sun Pirate Inc.
Offers online training courses in photovoltaics and solar thermal.
Your Solar Power Home
Resources and information for those considering solar installations for their home.
A Slight Chill In The Air
Christian Science Monitor article on trends in U.S. solar power use. Solar electricity and thermal technologies are improving, but the market is cool. (May 23, 2002)
Other languages 3
Last update:May 18, 2016 at 10:45:07 UTC | <urn:uuid:ff8638c1-7941-4a5a-9490-5ffb66340559> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Technology/Energy/Renewable/Solar/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.855867 | 1,054 | 3.265625 | 3 |
It is important that food safety is observed whenever you thaw frozen foods. The freezer serves as an essential food storage feature in the home. Food that is not intended for immediate consumption can be stored for later use. However, proper procedures must be followed when food is retrieved from the freezer. Many food borne diseases are associated with improperly thawed foods. Below are some guidelines on how foods should be thawed.
Frozen food can be kept in the refrigerator and allowed to thaw. It is best to set the refrigerator temperature at 400F. This is regarded as "safe" because it does not allow pathogens to build-up. The food should be placed in a drip-proof container and kept at the bottom of the refrigerator. This helps to prevent cross-contamination. Adequate refrigeration space facilitates the process. Large items, such as turkey, can take up to 5 days. Allow 4 hours for each pound of poultry and 9 hours for each pound of meat to defrost. Raw meat, poultry, stews, soups, casseroles, vegetables, fruit, breads, cakes and pastries can be defrosted in this way. Seafood can defrost overnight.
You must clean the sink well before you defrost. This helps to prevent cross-contamination. Place the food in a watertight container and submerge in cold water. Water must be changed every 30 minutes until food has completely defrosted. Food defrosted this way takes less time than if thawed in the refrigerator. This method is suitable for small portions of meat and poultry. Time may range from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. You can defrost seafood with cold water. However, the food wrap must be maintained, otherwise color and flavor diminishes. You can also defrost fruits and vegetables with cold water.
This is the quickest defrost method. However, food may begin to cook in the process. It also creates hot spots because the food may heat unevenly. Use the "Defrost" setting to thaw. Remove food wraps from the items before you defrost. For better heat circulation, it is best to leave at least 2 inches between the food and microwave sides. Turn the food regularly so that it heats evenly. Foods you can defrost in the microwave include stews, soups, casseroles and pasta dishes.
Foods must be completely defrosted before you cook. However, you needn't thaw frozen vegetables before you cook. Generally, it is best to cook food immediately once it has thawed. The exception to this is food thawed in a refrigerator. Meat can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; ground beef and poultry for no more than 2 days. Thawed seafood should be cooked within one day. It is best not to re-freeze food that has been thawed. The quality of the food reduces if refrozen. The risk of contamination and illness also increases. Do not allow food to thaw at room temperature. Pathogens easily develop in temperatures that range between 400F and 1400F. This increases the likelihood of food borne diseases. However, exceptions include breads, muffins, cakes and cookies. | <urn:uuid:3a9c8c97-dcbb-41a8-b7d2-c71cd78636a9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/food-safety-thawing-food-correctly.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00102-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951281 | 652 | 3.375 | 3 |
Evidence from Google analytics seems to suggest that people like examples of studies involving contextual analysis (or maybe its sex, hard to tell). With that in mind I will spend the next two weeks on two different studies. Next week I will discuss an example involving community ecology, however, this week I want to talk about Jake Moorad’s study of sexual selection in humans (Moorad 2013 Evolution 67: 1635).
Humans differ from other organisms in at least three respects. First, by in large manipulative studies are not possible, second, humans keep records about themselves, and third sometimes they get offended when their privacy is compromised. The first of these is a problem if for no other reason than it is difficult to remove confounding factors. The second can be a huge advantage. The Moorad study uses the genealogical records kept by the Mormons. The data set is very complete, and the sample size is 741,851 reproductive adults born between 1840 and 1970. The third is a problem in that the Mormon Church is very careful with these data, and is very cautious about whom they allow to have access to their records. We are very lucky that Jake was able to get approval to work with these data.
These data are interesting because 1840 is the year that the Mormons founded a major city (Nauvoo) in Missouri. At this time the Mormons were in the middle of a long migration that would eventually land them in Utah. Survivorship of children was relatively low and the Mormons actively practiced polygyny. By 1850 the Mormons had moved out to Utah, and finally started the process of settling down. By 1890 the Mormons had renounced polygyny, and had established themselves in what would end up being their permanent home. Thus these data span an important demographic transition from a period of high infant mortality and reproduction to a “demographic transition” to much lower reproductive rates and much higher survival.
We also see that rates of polygyny peak around 1860, the time of the demographic transition. It turns out that rates of polyandry also decline. I am told that Mormon women never had more than one husband at a time, thus, this decline probably reflects a decline in mortality of reproductive age men, that is women only remarry if their husbands die at a young age.
One other interesting sort of a graph that makes intuitive sense, but took me a bit by surprise. It turns out that there is much more variance in whether persons father was polygynous than whether an individual male is polygynous. I am pretty sure that this is because a fairly large fraction of males come from polygynous families, whereas only a relatively small fraction of males become polygynous.
One trait that Moorad examined was whether an individual ever mates. An individual can fail to mate either because they do not survive to reproductive age, or they can fail to mate because they never marry or are sterile (the records account for births, thus a barren marriage would count as non-mating).
That there is individual selection is hardly surprising: polygamous males and females had a higher chance of producing offspring than those with a single spouse or no spouse. Selection on the family of origin is more interesting. Here it can be seen that there is selection favoring individuals that come from polygynous families. That is individuals born into multiple female families were more likely to survive and reproduce.
So is this “group selection”? Well this is the problem with the old terminology. It is certainly safe to say it is not individual selection. The family of origin is a contextual trait, it is not a trait of the individual. Thus, we need to call it something. Traditionally that “something” would be group selection, however, it is probably better to go by the more recent term “multilevel selection” and to give that level a more descriptive term, such as family level selection or family of origin level selection.
The problem with this data set is that there is so much data, and it covers a time period in which different birth years cannot be considered comparable. For example, those with birth years prior to 1850 were born in a time when a significant proportion of families were headed by a single male with multiple wives, whereas very few if any of the 1890 birth year was born into such families. Making summary statements over this time period is difficult. Moorad’s solution was to define fitness as the reproductive value at birth, which is roughly the age and population size weighted lifetime reproductive success. He then used this measure of fitness to calculate the opportunity for selection, I, defined as the variance in relative fitness. Finally, he used contextual analysis in a regression of relative fitness on the individual traits (whether or not an individual reproduced, whether or not they were polygynous or polyandrous) and the group traits (whether or not their parents were polygynous or polyandrous). Rather than reporting the individual regression coefficients, he plots the proportion of the variance in relative fitness that explained by each of these factors. The problem with this approach is that there are an unimaginable number of statistical tests that can be done, and the multiple comparison problem gets out of control. Thus, it is best to just look at the plot and interpret it.
What this plot shows is that when looking at overall fitness, family level selection has relatively little impact on the overall variance in relative fitness. Interestingly, even whether or not a male was polygynous had much less effect on the variance in relative fitness than does whether or not an individual ever mated. This is actually a fairly typical result of sexual selection. The number of males that have a large number of offspring is small enough that it doesn’t contribute much to the variance in reproductive success. Far more important is the number of males that don’t produce any offspring. The importance of the polygyny on the proportion mating can actually be seen in the figure above. Note that up until 1860 the intensity of selection on males as to whether or not they ever mate is stronger than it is in females, whereas the two become equal in 1860 which is when polygyny was declining.
In sum this is a great example of the use of contextual analysis in an unmanipulated human population. Studies such as this show that the multilevel selection approach applies in situations that are very different than the traditional “group” of group selection. Even though these are not groups in the sense that Maynard Smith defined groups, they are part of the same mathematical continuum, which indicates that where you draw the line between what is and is not group selection is at best arbitrary. | <urn:uuid:29d1ae10-9ab9-4b00-adea-13e487c5adbb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.uvm.edu/cgoodnig/2014/02/06/contextual-analysis-and-sexual-selection-in-a-human-population/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973752 | 1,355 | 2.703125 | 3 |
A woman's place is in the revolution
tells the little-known history of International Women's Day.
IT'S THE 100th anniversary of the first International Women's Day, and Newsweek is celebrating "150 Women Who Shake the World."
While it includes a small selection of women rights activists, the list of shakers is weighted down by the likes of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and German Chancellor Angela Merkel--women whose foreign policy decisions only make the lives of women in most of the world worse.
And if the definition of "powerful women" is their ability to amass wealth and influence at the expense of others, then the Newsweek list does its job--it includes billionaire Melinda Gates, former Washington, D.C., school "reform" guru Michelle Rhee and former First Lady Laura Bush.
But if you're looking for powerful women who oppose exploitation, Newsweek is probably the wrong place to look. Because the source of women's power--and the real legacy of International Women's Day--is in protests and strikes that are part of a long and rich history of the women workers' movement internationally.
This power was demonstrated just a few weeks ago in Cairo's Tahrir Square--as men and women gathered in protests that took down Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Asmaa Mahfouz, one of the founders of the April 6 Youth Movement who helped initiate the call for protests on January 25, described the transformation that took place in the square: "This is the first time in my life...I was not sexually harassed in a public square. The thousands of men in that square treated me like a human being."
It was here, on the streets in the midst of revolution, that women could begin to get a taste of the equality that they had long been fighting for.
This is the real significance of International Women's Day--that a woman's place is in the revolution. It's in the struggle that women and men can come together and strive for true liberation and equality.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S Day was first called in 1910 at the Second International Conference of Working Women, led by German socialist Clara Zetkin. It was inspired by the struggles of women workers in the U.S., particularly textile workers in New York City, who organized a massive march in March 1908.
In the early part of the 20th century, women were playing a rapidly expanding role as workers in the growing industries of the U.S., such as textiles. They faced grueling, filthy and dangerous working conditions inside the factories, at low pay for long hours.
Women workers began to organize against these horrible working conditions--and other women began to demand a voice in the political process by getting the vote, or suffrage. In 1908, some 15,000 marched in New York City marched for shorter work hours, better pay and an end to child labor, as well as voting rights.
They marched under the banner "Bread and Roses"--with the vision that their struggle was about everyday economic demands and the right to be able to feed their families, but also the right to a better quality of life.
In 1909, thousands of people attended Women's Day demonstrations that U.S. socialists had called, and later that year, women textile workers organized a 13-week general strike for better pay and working conditions.
The "Rising of the 20,000," as it was called, was a strike of young immigrant women--many of them teenagers--who worked in New York City's garment industry. Working in cruel and underpaid conditions in which bosses often forced workers to pay for the needles and thread they used, the vote to strike in November was almost unanimous among the rank-and-file workers, even though many official union leaders urged caution.
One of the strike's rank-and-file leaders was Clara Lemlich, a Ukrainian-born 19-year-old, who was already a veteran activist, having been arrested 17 times--and having just gotten out of the hospital after a beating on the picket line.
At the end of the fierce strike, workers won a shorter workweek and four holidays with pay, and workers no longer had to provide their own tools. But they didn't get union recognition. The importance of organization on the shop floor strong enough to take on the company around issues like safety and help enforce already existing laws became clearer than ever in 1911 when a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory killed 146 workers--many were forced by the blaze to jump out of windows.
But though better working conditions in the garment industry were far from accomplished, the 1909 strike marked an important development in the struggle for women workers to organize. As Lemlich said, "They used to say you couldn't even organize women. They wouldn't come to union meetings. They were 'temporary workers.' Well, we showed them!"
Inspired by these brave struggles in the U.S., Clara Zetkin called on attendees at the International Conference of Working Women in 1910 to support an International Women's Day celebration and a platform for socialists that put forward both political and economic demands for women workers.
In opposition to several delegates who believed that it would be more "realistic" to confine their demand to partial suffrage for women, keeping existing property and income restrictions, Zetkin, along with Russian delegate Alexandra Kollantai, argued for universal suffrage, linking the struggle for the political rights of working-class women with their economic rights. Their resolution passed.
In 1911, International Women's Day ceremonies took place in most major European cities. Kollantai described the first year of celebrations:
Its success exceeded all expectation. Germany and Austria on Working Women's Day was one seething, trembling sea of women. Meetings were organized everywhere--in the small towns and even in the villages, halls were packed so full that they had to ask male workers to give up their places for the women.
This was certainly the first show of militancy by the working woman. Men stayed at home with their children for a change, and their wives, the captive housewives, went to meetings.
During the largest street demonstrations, in which 30,000 were taking part, the police decided to remove the demonstrators' banners: the women workers made a stand. In the scuffle that followed, bloodshed was averted only with the help of the socialist deputies in parliament.
And just as the struggles of working women in the U.S. sparked international days of action to demand rights for women everywhere, International Women's Day protests in Russia in 1917 helped spark a revolution that would inspire workers all over the world.
In February 1917, Russian women gathered on International Women's Day to protest in opposition to the war, high prices and the conditions of women workers. This became the first day of the Russian Revolution, inspiring a strike wave throughout the country.
Women workers took the lead in the struggle, as did their demands, and after the October Revolution, Russian revolutionaries put into effect reforms that could have a real effect on the lives of women workers, such as equal pay for equal work, freedom to divorce, paid maternity leave and taking laws off the books that criminalized homosexuality.
And they attempted as best as they could, considering the shortage of resources in Russian society, to create the conditions in which liberation could begin to blossom. This meant in large part freeing women from the double burden they bear in the home--by building communal restaurants, child care centers and laundries.
The Russian revolutionary Lenin minced no words about the nature of housework:
Notwithstanding all the laws emancipating woman, she continues to be a domestic slave, because petty housework crushes, strangles, stultifies and degrades her, chains her to the kitchen and the nursery, and she wastes her labor on barbarously unproductive, petty, nerve-racking, stultifying and crushing drudgery.
The real emancipation of women, real communism, will begin only where and when an all-out struggle begins (led by the proletariat wielding the state power) against this petty housekeeping, or rather when its wholesale transformation into a large-scale socialist economy begins.
Unfortunately, workers' power in Russia was isolated and therefore short-lived--and as soon as the Stalinist counterrevolution came into power, the status of women drastically declined.
The experience in Russia demonstrated that socialism, and alongside it true women's liberation, cannot simply be decreed into existence, but the material conditions for equality have to be created. This means that the wealth and abundance that is currently devoted to the profit of the few at the top of society must be devoted to the needs of the all.
This is a fight that can only be won by combating the ideas that divide men and women workers, and by bringing all of us together in actions that make use stronger--fighting the people who actually want to take away our rights, whether it's Hosni Mubarak in Egypt or the foes of abortion rights and workers' rights in Washington, D.C.
Divided, we are weak. Together, we are stronger. | <urn:uuid:53a8e5fd-2ddc-44d2-81d2-23c10a5fb89c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://socialistworker.org/2011/03/08/womens-place-in-the-revolution | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972771 | 1,895 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that together laid the foundation
for classical ... The three laws of motion were first compiled by Isaac Newton in
his Philosophiæ Naturalis...
Let us begin our explanation of how Newton changed our understanding of the
Universe by enumerating his Three Laws of Motion.
Any change in motion involves an acceleration, and then Newton's Second Law
applies; in fact, the First Law is just a special case of the Second Law for which ...
Lesson 1 - Newton's First Law of Motion. Newton's ... Lesson 3 - Newton's
Second Law of Motion. Newton's ... Lesson 4 - Newton's Third Law of Motion.
Newton's Laws of Motion. There was this fellow in England named Sir Isaac
Newton. A little bit stuffy, bad hair, but quite an intelligent guy. He worked on ...
Jun 26, 2014 ... Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion describe the motion of massive bodies
and how they interact. While Newton's laws may seem obvious ...
www.ask.com/youtube?q=Isaac Newton Laws&v=mn34mnnDnKU
Apr 13, 2013 ... Visit http://www.makemegenius.com for free science videos for children. A brief
video for children explaining Newton's laws of motion in an easy ...
Learn about Newton's three laws that describe the properties of motion with this
Science Channel interactive.
Newton's law of universal gravitation and laws of motion are named after Sir
Isaac Newton, an English physicist, mathematician, and astronomer. Newton first
Isaac Newton's laws of motion are fundamental to our understanding of physics.
Find out how his analysis of the Moon helped him explain how the force of ... | <urn:uuid:1acc5f65-6e7d-45fb-9fc6-7f72a824d2f8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ask.com/web?q=Isaac+Newton+Laws&o=2603&l=dir&qsrc=3139&gc=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.8761 | 370 | 3.765625 | 4 |
What is a tension headache?
Tension headaches are the most common type of headache. Stress and muscle tension are often factors in tension type headaches. Tension headaches typically don’t cause nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light. They are the most common type of headache. They typically cause a steady ache, rather than a throbbing one, and tend to affect both sides of the head. Tension headaches may be chronic, occurring frequently or every day.
What causes a tension headache?
The exact mechanism that causes a tension headache is not known. Several factors, such as genetics and environment, are thought to be involved. Muscle contractions in the head and neck are considered a major factor in the development of a tension headache. Some people get tension headaches in response to stressful events or hectic days.
What are the symptoms of a tension headache?
While symptoms may differ, the following are common symptoms of a tension type headache:
- Slow onset of the headache
- Head usually hurts on both sides
- Pain is dull or feels like a band or vice around the head
- Pain may involve the back (posterior) part of the head or neck
- Pain is usually mild to moderate, but not severe
The symptoms of tension headaches may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your health care provider for a diagnosis.
How are tension headaches diagnosed?
Tension headaches are diagnosed primarily based on the symptoms you report.A thorough medical exam, which may include other tests or procedures, may be used to rule out underlying diseases or conditions.
Tracking and sharing information about your headache with your health care provider helps with the process of making an accurate diagnosis.
Questions commonly asked during the exam may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- When do headaches occur?
- What is the location of the headache?
- What do the headaches feel like?
- How long do the headaches last?
- Have there been changes in behavior or personality?
- Do changes in position or sitting up cause the headache?
- Do you have trouble sleeping?
- Do you have a history of stress?
- Have you had a head injury?
If the history is consistent with tension-type headaches and the neurological exam is normal, no further diagnostic testing may be necessary. However, if the headache is not found to be the primary problem, then other tests may be needed to determine the cause.
Tests which may be used to determine the cause of a tension headache may include:
Blood tests. Various blood and other lab tests may be run to check for underlying conditions.
Sinus X-rays. A diagnostic imaging procedure to evaluate for congestion, infection, or other problems that may be corrected.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A diagnostic procedure that uses a combination of large magnets, radiofrequencies, and a computer to produce detailed images of organs and structures within the body.
Computed tomography scan (also called a CT or CAT scan). A diagnostic imaging procedure that uses a combination of X-rays and computer technology to produce horizontal images (often called slices) of the body. A CT scan shows detailed images of any part of the body, including the bones, muscles, fat, and organs. CT scans are more detailed than standard X-rays.
How are tension headaches treated?
Specific treatment for headaches will be determined by your health care provider based on:
- Your age, overall health, and medical history
- Type of headaches
- Severity and frequency of the headaches
- Your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
- Your opinion or preference
The ultimate goal of treatment is to stop headaches from occurring. Adequate headache management depends on reducing stress and tension. Some suggestions for tension headache management include:
- Going to sleep and waking at the same time each day
- Exercising regularly each day for at least 30 minutes
- Eating meals without skipping any, especially breakfast
- Avoiding headache triggers, such as certain foods and lack of sleep
- Resting in a quiet, dark environment as needed
- Stress management (yoga or other relaxation exercises)
- Medications, as recommended by your health care provider
Can tension headaches be prevented?
Identifying and avoiding headache triggers may prevent a tension headache. Maintaining a regular sleep, exercise, and meal schedule is also beneficial. If tension headaches occur regularly or frequently, therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation therapy, or biofeedback may reduce or eliminate headaches. Medications are also available to prevention tension headaches and should be discussed with your health care provider.
When should I call my health care provider?
A severe headache that is the “worst headache ever” requires immediate attention.
- Tension headaches are the most common type of headache.
- Tension headaches typically do not cause nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light.
- Tension headaches affect both sides of the head, come on slowly, and are described as a tight band or vice around the head.
- Lifestyle changes including regular sleep, exercise, and meal schedules can reduce or prevent headaches.
- Medications to treat or prevent tension headaches should be discussed with your health care provider.
Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your health care provider:
- Before your visit, write down questions you want answered.
- Bring someone with you to help you ask questions and remember what your provider tells you.
- At the visit, write down the names of new medicines, treatments, or tests, and any new instructions your provider gives you.
- If you have a follow-up appointment, write down the date, time, and purpose for that visit.
- Know how you can contact your provider if you have questions. | <urn:uuid:025025a5-b4d3-433f-b00d-88bf4dac44c9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sjhsyr.org/healthlibrary/default.aspx?id=0&ContentTypeID=85&ContentID=P00791&pTitle=T | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00143-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917529 | 1,195 | 3.265625 | 3 |
In the southern band of Canada where 90% of us live, more than 70% of our terrestrial species at risk are fighting to survive. Loss of habitat is the #1 global threat to wildlife's survival.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) addresses that threat in the most direct way possible. We identify the lands and waters that must be saved, we protect them and we care for them for the long-term. In Canada we still have the opportunity to protect our natural heritage. But we need to act now… before it is too late.
And that's why fundraising on behalf of NCC is so important.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is the country's leading land conservation organization. For over 50 years NCC has worked to conserve our valuable natural areas and the plants and animals they sustain. To date, more than 2.6 million acres coast to coast have been protected.
For more information check out our website: www.natureconservancy.ca.
Photography: (Above) Cabot Head Shoreline Northern Bruce Peninsula, ON by Kas Stone (Left) Golden Winged Warbler by Bill Hubick | <urn:uuid:c937bb8a-5a8d-4d90-8ec7-8a0b5d6fe60c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/charity/ncc.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921139 | 230 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Slipped disc is the common name for the medical terms 'prolapsed' or 'herniated' disc.
A slipped disc most commonly occurs in people who are between 30-50 years of age. The condition affects twice as many men as women. Although back pain is a common problem for adults over the age of 30, a slipped disc is the cause of less than 1 in 20 cases of sudden back pain. Most back pain is the result of a muscle or ligament strain.
What are discs?
The discs you have in your back are protective, circular pads of cartilage (connective tissue) that lie in between the bones of your spine (vertebrae). The discs are responsible for cushioning the vertebrae when you jump or run. The discs are made from a tough, fibrous case, which contains a softer, gel-like substance.
What is a slipped disc?
A slipped disc occurs when the outer part of your disc ruptures, allowing the gel inside to bulge and protrude outwards from in between your vertebrae. The damaged disc can put pressure on your whole spinal cord or on a single nerve fibre. This means that a slipped disc can cause pain both in the area of the protruding disc and in any part of your body which is controlled by the nerve the disc is pressing on.
A slipped disc occurs most frequently in your lower back, but any disc can rupture, including those in your upper back and neck. | <urn:uuid:0f018ff9-c507-44dc-8bf5-5f24bc6a2a4f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thetherapyroomcambridge.co.uk/Slipped%20disc.html?page=ailmentView&ailmentID=150 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951674 | 303 | 3.828125 | 4 |
Enables students to
Are the kinds of reading, writing, speaking, and listening that occur in public spheres such as
Are the “rules” for public sphere writing and speaking, such as
Note 1: No one is born with public sphere literacy. It can be learned at any stage of life.
Note 2: R/C 2 cannot teach all the conventions of every public sphere community. It can, however, help students develop critical literacy, i.e., an ability to recognize, analyze, employ, and (when necessary) interrupt discourse conventions considered appropriate for each public context in which students find themselves.
The linked rubrics define achievement levels for the primary writing units in English 2. For Unit 5, students may revise one of their first three papers.
|Updated for 2011-2012| | <urn:uuid:e49085a3-44ef-43d7-bdeb-1258ec91083e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mu.edu/english/first-year/rhetcomp2-details.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934932 | 166 | 3.59375 | 4 |
If I charge a parallel plate capacitor and I insert a charged body near one of the plates will there be any interactions like attraction or repulsion?
What if I disconnect the battery?
Consider two plates, with area $a$. Let's say that the left plate has charge $q$ and the right has charge $-q$, so the charge density $\pm\rho = \pm q/a$. The plates are a distance $d$ apart. For parallel plate capacitors, the electric field in the gap is given by:
$E = \rho / \epsilon = q / (\epsilon a)$
The field magnitude is the force per unit charge, and it will be acting from one plate to the other (depending on the charge of the particle). So the particle will feel this force:
$F = E Q = qQ / (\epsilon a)$
Note that as the field has no dependence on the position between the plates, this force is constant. So aligning the plates horizontally we could vary the plate charge $q$ until it cancelled the gravitational force on the particle, and the particle would levitate between the plates (assuming you slowed it down - with no overall force it will continue at whatever speed it has).
The electromagnetic interaction is so much stronger than the gravitational interaction that for charged particles it would be very difficult to balance the forces. On the other hand, macroscopic objects have a charge so nearly neutral that gravity wins in any reasonable field.
The charge on a capacitor is due to the position of the charges, so disconnecting the battery will just stop charging the capacitor. Unless the plates are discharged in some way, the field will persist between them.
This is not free energy, however; the particle itself will have its own effect on the field, so if we added many particles they would all end up on the attracting plate; electrons would land on the positive plate and thus reduce its positive charge until it was entirely discharged, and eventually they would stop when both plates were equally negatively charged. The amount of energy available is simply the electric potential energy, a little less than the energy required to charge it initially.
Of course, there would be electrostatic induction for sure. But, I'd say that it would diminish within certain period of time. As a parallel plate capacitor is always grounded, the induced charges would be neutralized. You can't notice this time though.
Now, The interaction would be noticeable. And, it won't be a capacitor afterwards :-) | <urn:uuid:f8a9d34f-636b-45ca-93f7-d17a12224b01> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/41469/effect-of-charges-near-a-parallel-plate-capacitor/56554 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00088-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949493 | 522 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Fifth Grade Reading
Practice reading comprehension skills by a simple activity interpreting illustrations and considering metaphors. Here's how to get started.
We've combed the shelves for fifth grade titles to spice up summer reading. Here's our list of favorites.
Here are 5 great worksheets that work on fifth grade reading essentials.
Reading Study Help
Centered around The Monkey's Paw, by W.W. Jacobs, this writing activity encourages your child to think about the consequences of his actions. Challenge your kid to come up with something he might wish for if he had the opportunity. What would the consequences be if his wish came true?
Adverbs are all around us. Here's an adverb acting game that will have your child hungrily, unceasingly, enthusiastically learning!
Your kid is constantly learning new ways to look at the world and discuss what he observes. Try turning the evening ritual of asking about his school day into a game that consists of twenty questions.
Students usually study for spelling tests by looking over the words and spelling them out loud. Here's a spelling game that gets the whole family involved!
Learn the art of the status update with this cutting-edge take on the book report -- social media book reviews!
Here's an enjoyable at-home activity that gives your child step-by-step practice identifying the important parts of an article and organizing his ideas.
Want a word game to play? How about just a fun way to spend the afternoon? Create words with your child that splice two words together: like "wuice" or "liger" or something totally silly and unexpected!
Textbook studying doesn't have to be a slog. Here's a simple activity you can do at home before your middle-schooler begins those long end-of-the-chapter review questions.
Here's a quick and easy project that ensures your child won't forget his assignments--or his place in the reading. Have your child create a homework helper bookmark!
Brush up on current events by making every day reading a fishing adventure! Your child will "fish" for newspaper headlines and race the clock to match them up with the correct articles.
- Cultural Bias in Teaching
- Physical Development Milestones: 1st Grade
- Freshman Follies: 5 Tips to Help Your Freshman Stay on Track
- Career Information: Carpenters
- Reducing the Harmful Impact of Media Violence Exposure: An Example of a Classroom-Based Program in Germany
- Signs Your Child Might Have Asperger's Syndrome
- Steps in the IEP Process
- Principles of Behavior Management
- Objective Test Items
- Advocating for Your Child with Food Allergies at School | <urn:uuid:5b3d7d19-e1a9-4418-82d2-6e660a8bccc6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.education.com/topic/fifth-grade/reading/activity/article/car-games-ages-10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943913 | 559 | 3.953125 | 4 |
The Perseus Cluster (Abell 426): Cavities & Bubbles
The Perseus Cluster, designated as either A426 or Per X-1, is the brightest X-ray cluster in the sky (Edge, Stewart & Fabian 1992). The vastness of this cluster is such that it can be described as one of the most massive objects in the known universe, containing thousands of galaxies immersed in a vast cloud of immensly hot ionized gases; known as a plasma (Edge 2001). The cluster contains the radio source 3C 84 that is currently blowing bubbles of relativistic plasma into the core of the cluster (Conselice et al. 2001; Wilman et al. 2005; Sanders et al. 2005). These are seen as holes in an X-ray image of the cluster, as they push away the X-ray emitting gas. They are known as radio bubbles, because they appear as emitters of radio waves due to the relativistic particles from within a hollow spherical structure. The galaxy NGC 1275 is located at the centre of the cluster, where the X-ray emission is brightest (Fabian et al. 2000).
The active galaxy NGC 1275 resides at the centre, and the intercluster medium (ICM) shows evidence that the black hole at the centre has been periodically depositing energy into the surrounding medium of gases (Seward & Charles 2010). This deposition is so large that it has been observed to offset radiative cooling: in a sense it is too hot to cool down.
There are two cavities in the ICM medium to the north and south/south-west of NGC 1275. Figure 1 overlays X-ray and radio images and shows that the X-Ray cavities are filled with radio-emitting relativistic particles (Fabian et al. 2000; Salomé et al. 2011). It can therefore be inferred from this that accretion onto the central black hole has produced jets of material and electromagnetic energy, inflating these bubble like structures. It has been theorised that in the future these bubbles will become more buoyant than the surrounding ICM and begin a journey outwards away from the central AGN (Hatch et al. 2006).
However, the bubble to the north-west of NGC 1275, with a lack of radio emission, does not contain any relativistic particles. It is therefore assumed that this is a ghost bubble of some sort that is much older than the other two that has perhaps cooled down as the thermal conduction of the surrounding ICM is very high (Seward & Charles 2010).
This is theorised by Fabian et al. (2006) to be due a cyclic process where a cooling flow in the ICM produces cold gas and stars which sink in towards the central region of NGC 1275. Some of this material then finds it way towards the central black hole, accreted and flung out as jets pumping huge amounts of energy into the surrounding ICM. This heating then turns of the cooling effect and therefore no more material is being accreted onto the black hole. Thus, cooling flows can be turned off and regulated periodically (Fabian et al. 2006; Tucker et al. 2007).
These observations provide astrophysicists with means to understanding the evolution of structures within galaxy clusters, as the are not confined to the Perseus Cluster. The largest deposition of energy observed thus far is within the cluster MS 0735.6+7421 which also exhibits this bubble and cavity behavior. Thus, understanding the Perseus Cluster will provide a dramatic picture of the relations between AGNs within clusters and the surrounding ICM.
- Edge A.C.; Stewart G.C.; Fabian A.C. (1992) Properties Of Cooling Flows In A Flux Limited Sample Of Clusters Of Galaxies. Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 258 (1) pp. 177-188.
- Hatch, N.A. et al. (2006) On The Origin & Excitation Of The Extended Nebula Surrounding NGC1275. Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 367 (2) pp. 433-448.
- Salomé, P. et al. (2011) A Very Extended Molecular Web Around NGC 1275. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 531 (1) Article I.D.: 85.
Suggested Further Reading:
- Seward, F.D.; Charles, P.A. (2010) Exploring The X-Ray Universe: 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: pp. 319-320. | <urn:uuid:f7e2ff49-f500-474c-bfec-7f733724d640> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://carinaemajoris.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/the-perseus-cluster-cavities-and-sound-waves/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00088-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912302 | 951 | 3.3125 | 3 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The impact on poor communities of cutting Chesapeake Bay pollution through credit trading is being questioned in a report released Wednesday by a nonprofit policy analysis group.
The Center for Progressive Reform said that the report finds that even if trading cuts overall pollution, it might still have a negative impact on low-income and minority communities.
Pollution trading allows some polluters to buy credits for cuts made by others. Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia already have state programs, but a bay-wide program does not exist.
Supporters argue a trading program could encourage additional cuts by some polluters who could then sell credits. Farmers, for example, may be able to cut pollution more easily than a sewage treatment plant. However, the authors said if the program is not properly monitored, buyers of credits could create pollution hot spots by not reducing pollution in their area.
“We should judge a trading regime by whether it will actually contribute to cleaning the bay, and whether it will be fair to all,” said co-author and CPR President Rena Steinzor.
Credit-generating activities can also include projects that benefit the bay and the community, the report said.
Municipalities can generate credits through expanding green spaces that will reduce runoff of polluted stormwater while also providing space for exercise and increasing property values.
Another report released in January by the Senior Scientists & Policymakers for the Bay said the concept has promise, but must be vigorously monitored to guard against fraud and to ensure large traders don’t have an advantage over smaller groups.
A study that was presented in May to the Chesapeake Bay Commission, which advises state legislators in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, said trading could cut the costs of restoring the Chesapeake Bay as much as 80 percent. However, the commission said the study also highlighted the need to ensure trading actually delivers cuts.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) | <urn:uuid:78cfcff9-b1c0-4c56-a150-0fb07e21fa3b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/08/15/bay-pollution-trading-impact-on-poor-questioned/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00019-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96234 | 393 | 2.875 | 3 |
As Mother's Day approaches, our research team took a look at what life was like for mothers a century ago and compared our findings to what life is like for mothers today.
Times were very different 100 years ago. In 1914, Babe Ruth made his debut with the Boston Red Sox, the first US bus line began and, on May 7, 1914, Mother's Day was officially recognized as a national holiday in the United States!
Here are some interesting facts:
- In 1914, pacifiers, wooden carriages and baby bottles were around, but mothers didn't have the conveniences of disposable diapers or wipes.
- One hundred years ago, over 95% of all US births took place at home. Today, home births account for less than 1% of all births. Continue reading "Mother’s Day: Then and Now" » | <urn:uuid:28338f24-080d-4512-8209-8dab00c5f624> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.myheritage.com/tag/discount/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983133 | 172 | 2.71875 | 3 |
WELL; Phys Ed: Food Lust May Have A Control In Exercise
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
Published: April 17, 2012
Some people respond to exercise by eating more. Others eat less. For many years, scientists thought that changes in hormones, spurred by exercise, dictated whether someone's appetite would increase or drop after working out. But now new neuroscience is pointing to another likely cause. Exercise may change your desire to eat, two recent studies show, by altering how certain parts of your brain respond to the sight of food.
In one study, scientists brought 30 young, active men and women to a lab at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo for two experimental sessions, where they draped their heads in functional M.R.I. coils. The researchers wanted to track activity in portions of the brain known as the food-reward system, which includes the poetically named insula, putamen and rolandic operculum. These brain regions have been shown to control whether we like and want food. In general, the more cells firing there, the more we want to eat.
But it hasn't been clear how exercise alters the food-reward network.
To find out, the researchers had the volunteers either vigorously ride computerized stationary bicycles or sit quietly for an hour before settling onto the M.R.I. tables. Each volunteer then swapped activities for their second session.
Immediately afterward, they watched a series of photos flash onto computer screens. Some depicted low-fat fruits and vegetables or nourishing grains, while others showcased glistening cheeseburgers, ice cream sundaes and cookies. A few photos that weren't of food were interspersed into the array.
In the volunteers who'd been sitting for an hour, the food-reward system lit up, especially when they sighted high-fat, sugary items.
But if they had worked out for an hour first, those same people displayed much less interest in food, according to their brain scans. Their insula and other portions of the food-reward system remained relatively quiet, even in the face of sundaes.
''Responsiveness to food cues was significantly reduced after exercise,'' says Todd A. Hagobian, a professor of kinesiology at California Polytechnic who oversaw the study, published last month in The Journal of Applied Physiology. ''That reduction was spread across many different regions of the brain,'' he continues, ''including those that affect liking and wanting food, and the motivation to seek out food.'' Though he didn't follow the volunteers after they'd left the lab to see whether they might have headed to an all-you-can-eat buffet on days they exercised, on questionnaires they indicated feeling much less interested in seeking out food after exercise than after rest.
Those results may not be typical, though. The Cal-Poly subjects uniformly were in their 20s, normal weight and fit enough to ride a bike strenuously for an hour. Many of us are not.
And as another provocative new study of brain activity after exercise found, some overweight, sedentary people respond to exercise by revving their food-reward systems, not dampening them.
In that study, published last year in The Journal of Obesity, 34 heavy men and women began a supervised, five-day-a-week exercise program, designed so that each participant would burn about 500 calories per workout. They were allowed to eat at will throughout the experiment.
Twelve weeks later, 20 of the group had lost considerable weight, about 11 pounds on average. But 14 had not, dropping only a pound or two, if any.
Those 14, dubbed nonresponders, also had displayed the highest brain responses to food cues following exercise when the study began. After three months, they retained that undesirable lead. Their food-reward networks lit up riotously after exercise at the sight of food, and in fact showed more enthusiasm now than at the start of the study.
The responders' brains, in contrast, responded with a relative 'meh' to food pictures after exercise.
What all of this suggests, Dr. Hagobian of Cal-Poly says, is that ''exercise has a definite impact on food reward regions. But that impact may depend'' on who you are and what kind of exercise you do.
His group of fit young people, he points out, completed prolonged, strenuous endurance sessions. ''It's likely that, in order to achieve weight loss and weight maintenance, you need to do a fair amount of exercise and do it often,'' he says.
For exercise noticeably to dampen your desire for food, in other words, you may need to sweat for an hour. It may also help if you're already lean and in shape.
But Dr. Hagobian is optimistic that research might help almost everyone to better deploy exercise against appetite control. ''There may be doses or types of exercise that are more effective for some people than for others.'' Eventually, brain research may help to point people to the exercise program best suited to them.
In the meantime, he says, don't take to the couch, even if exercise makes you ravenous. ''Being fit can have psychological effects,'' he says, perhaps increasing your desire to consume a better diet and, in the long term, shed pounds.
''Four or five years ago, it really looked like appetite hormones'' controlled what we eat, says Dr. Habogian, who conducted some of the first studies of exercise and the hormones. ''But I'm more and more convinced that it's the brain. Hormones don't tell you to go eat. Your brain does. And if we can get the dose right, exercise might change that message.''
This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.
PHOTO (PHOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES) (D6) | <urn:uuid:7dbf4d12-5d61-439a-924c-79b274bc8f35> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E5DF1430F934A25757C0A9649D8B63 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00158-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962295 | 1,223 | 3.0625 | 3 |
The Nation; Impeachment or Censure: Either Precedent's Ugly
By Tom Kuntz
Published: September 13, 1998
IMPEACHMENT, censure or resignation? As far as the American Presidency goes, history offers one instance of each.
Many people remember Richard M. Nixon's resignation in 1974 as the House was moving to impeach him. But the impeachment of Andrew Johnson and the Senate censure of Andrew Jackson occurred more than a century ago. Do they offer any insights into the crisis now engulfing President Clinton?
At least one: that the historical auguries may not bode well for high-minded nonpartisanship. The records of the two big Presidential crises of the 19th century show that when Congress acted to remove or sanction a President, raw politics prevailed. Here are excerpts. TOM KUNTZ
Andrew Johnson's Impeachment
After the Civil War, the Radical Republicans in control of Congress were able to override Johnson's vetoes and undermine the policy of leniency toward the defeated South begun under Abraham Lincoln, Johnson's slain predecessor. To protect radical allies in the Administration like Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, the Republicans rammed through the Tenure of Office Act, barring the dismissal of Cabinet members without Congressional approval. Johnson thought the law violated the separation of powers, and, to force a Supreme Court test, he dismissed Stanton on Feb. 21, 1868:
SIR: By virtue of the power and authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, you are hereby removed from office as Secretary for the Department of War. . . .
You will transfer to Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General of the Army, who has this day been authorized and empowered to act as Secretary of War ad interim, all records, books, papers and other public property now in your custody and charge.
That followed an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to oust Stanton, in which he had barricaded himself in his office. The Republicans had had enough of Johnson, a Tennessean. After preparatory work by the House Judiciary and Reconstruction committees, the House on Feb. 24, 1868, approved 11 articles of impeachment, the first 9 alleging violation of the Tenure of Office Act. But probably none of the articles better illustrated their decidedly political nature than Article 10, which said it was an impeachable offense for the President to speak ill of Congress ''with a loud voice.'' The article held:
That said Andrew Johnson . . . unmindful of the high duties of his office and the dignity and proprieties thereof . . . did attempt to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt and reproach the Congress of the United States, and several branches thereof, to impair and destroy the regard and respect of all the good people of the United States for the Congress and legislative power thereof . . . and in pursuance of his said design and intent openly and publicly, and before divers assemblages of the citizens of the United States convened in divers parts thereof to meet and receive said Andrew Johnson as the Chief Magistrate of the United States, did . . . make and deliver with a loud voice certain intemperate, inflammatory and scandalous harangues, and did therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces as well against Congress . . . amid the cries, jeers and laughter of the multitudes then assembled. . . .
Johnson, who had a reputation as a drinker, often spoke bluntly. The impeachment articles cited disdainful remarks he made in St. Louis on Sept. 8, 1866, directed at Radical Republican legislators:
If I have played the Judas, who has been my Christ that I have played the Judas with? Was it Thad. Stevens? Was it Wendell Phillips? Was it Charles Sumner? These are the men that stop and compare themselves with the Savior; and everybody that differs with them in opinion, and to try to stay and arrest their diabolical and nefarious policy, is to be denounced as a Judas.
Well, let me say to you . . . if you will stand by me in trying to give the people a fair chance, soldiers and citizens . . . God being willing, I will kick them out. I will kick them out just as fast as I can.
In early March, 1868, the House's articles were presented to the Senate, and later that month an impeachment trial began before the Senate's 42 Republicans and 12 Democrats, with Chief Justice Salmon Chase presiding. A two-thirds majority was needed to oust Johnson, who did not attend (though much of Washington society did). The trial lasted three months. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, famous for the prewar caning he suffered on the Senate floor at the hands of a pro-slavery legislator, spoke for conviction:
This is one of the last great battles with slavery. Driven from these legislative chambers, driven from the field of war, this monstrous power has found refuge in the executive mansion, where in utter disregard of the Constitution and laws, it seeks to exercise its ancient, far-reaching sway. All this is very plain. Nobody can question it. Andrew Johnson is the impersonation of the tyrannical slave power. In him it lives again.
Linking Johnson with pro-slavery holdouts, Sumner used a sexually charged term (''promiscuous'') typical of abolitionist oratory seeking to portray slaveholders as motivated by carnal lust: | <urn:uuid:08c74025-bf83-4e07-a4de-97eea275bc5d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/13/weekinreview/the-nation-impeachment-or-censure-either-precedent-s-ugly.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962764 | 1,127 | 2.921875 | 3 |
2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 2011
Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/05/2011
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Derivations and imputations
Derivation is the process where some variables are assigned values based on responses to other questions, or (where no response has been provided) from other family members present in the same dwelling.
Variables that may be derived from responses given by other family members present in the same dwelling are:
In addition, the derivation process is used to create new variables by combining responses from a number of questions. Variables which are created this way include:
Where no Census form is returned, the number of males and females in 'non-contact' private dwellings will be imputed. In addition, the following key demographic variables may also be imputed, if they are 'Not stated':
The methodology for imputation is tailored to two situations. Firstly, where no Census form has been returned and secondly where a partially completed form was returned.
No Census form returned - private dwelling: Where a Census collector has identified that a private dwelling was occupied on Census Night but a Census form was not returned, the number of males and females normally in the dwelling and their key demographic variables may require imputation. In these cases, the non-demographic variables are set to 'Not stated' or 'Not applicable'.
The 'No Census form returned' scenario has two variations. Firstly, where no form was returned but the collector was able to ascertain the number of males and females from a resident of the dwelling, or in a small number of cases a building manager or neighbour. And secondly, where no form was returned and the number of males and females remains unknown.
For records where the number of males and females is unknown, two imputation processes are required. Initially these records must have their number of males and females imputed using hotdecking. Then a second imputation (also using hotdecking) is run to impute the key demographic variables.
To hotdeck the number of males and females, the donor records must meet several conditions:
In the next process, the records which have just had their number of males and females imputed, are subjected to the same hotdecking process as those records where the number of males and females had been ascertained.
This hotdecking process imputes the key demographic variables. Again the donor records must meet several conditions:
The key demographic variables are then copied from the donor records to the records requiring imputation.
No Census form returned - non private dwelling: Where a person in a non-private dwelling did not return a form, their demographic characteristics are copied from another person in a similar non-private dwelling using Type of Non-Private Dwelling (NPDD).
Census form returned: Where a form was returned, some or all of the demographic characteristics may require imputation. If Registered Marital Status and/or Place of Usual Residence are 'Not stated' they are imputed using hotdecking, whereas Age is imputed based on distributions obtained from previous Censuses.
Registered Marital Status imputation is carried out by finding a similar person in a similar responding dwelling based on the variables:
Registered Marital Status is only imputed for persons aged 15 years and over, and set to 'Not applicable' for persons aged under 15 years.
Where a complete usual address on Census Night is not provided, the information that is provided is used to impute an appropriate Mesh Block (as well as Statistical Area Level 1 and Statistical Area Level 2). A similar person in a similar dwelling is located, and missing usual residence fields are copied to the imputed variable.
These are based on the variables:
For 2011, dwelling address derivation and imputation is being introduced. Private dwellings that have an incomplete or no address will have a mesh block code derived from adjacent dwellings listed in the collector record book. If a dwelling mesh block code is unable to be derived the dwelling will be imputed into a Mesh Block located within the relevant collector workload. Imputation of the Mesh Block code is a probability proportionate method based on distributions of coded dwellings across mesh blocks contained within a collector workload. These distributions are based on Dwelling Structure (STRD).
For previous censuses the output geographic boundary (Collection District (CD)) was the same as the collection geographic boundary and therefore a dwelling address was automatically coded to the code of the collector's district.
Records that have required imputation can be identified using the Imputation flags:
See also Imputation variables. | <urn:uuid:a21a1910-2a06-46c2-9c3c-59feb20fb25d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2901.0Chapter29102011 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94522 | 953 | 2.828125 | 3 |
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