How the Urban Heat Island is Impacting North Texas
With the Texas summer in full swing, residents of urban areas are dealing with something their rural counterparts may not: Urban Heat Islands.
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect occurs when built surfaces, like roads, parking lots, and roofs, heat up during the day and slowly release heat throughout the evening and night, resulting in hot days and hotter nights. Lack of vegetation can increase this effect, making cities, such as those in North Texas, especially susceptible.
Impacts of the Urban Heat Island Effect
Heat islands sound like they have a distinct cut off at the edges, but in reality, it exists on a gradient with some areas being impacted more than others. The more impervious surfaces like roads and roofs, the more the effect heats an area.
City parks, by contrast, can be significantly cooler. Cities can be 1.8–5.4°F warmer than nearby rural areas, during the day, and up to 22°F warmer on clear calm nights. In DFW, for example, the hottest areas of Dallas measured an average high of 101°F and a low of nearly 80°F for five full months of the year.
In areas of severe urban heat, temperatures can reach dangerous levels. Hot environments can cause life-threatening conditions such as dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
According to the Center for Disease Control, between 1999 to 2010, 8,081 heat-related deaths were reported in the United States. They also note that the elderly is especially prone to heat-related effects.
How to Reduce Urban Heat Islands
Trees can have a big impact on urban heat. By providing shade to impervious surfaces, and controlling micro-climates around them through a process called evapotranspiration, trees can cool hot urban areas up to 15°F on hot summer days.
Planting trees in the hottest areas with high density residential was found to reduce deaths by more than 20 percent by merely dropping the temperature alone. By moving the benefits of rural vegetation into cities, we can begin to reverse the urban heat island.
Learn more about what the Texas Trees Foundations is doing to combat urban heat islands in North Texas.


BACKGROUND: In the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), migrants from high-endemic countries are disproportionately affected by HIV. Between 2007 and 2012, migrants represented 39 % of reported HIV cases. There is growing evidence that a significant proportion of HIV acquisition among migrant populations occurs after their arrival in Europe.
DISCUSSION: Migrants are confronted with multiple risk factors that shape patterns of population HIV susceptibility and vulnerability, which simultaneously affect HIV transmission. Undocumented migrants incur additional risks for contracting HIV due to limited access to adequate health care services, protection and justice, alongside insecure housing and employment conditions. All EU/EEA countries have ratified a number of international and regional human rights instruments that enshrine access to health care as a human right that should be available to everyone without discrimination. From a clinical and public health perspective, early HIV care and treatment is associated with viral suppression, improved health outcomes and reductions in transmission risks. A current challenge of the HIV epidemic is to reach the highest proportion of overall viral suppression among people living with HIV in order to impact on HIV transmission. Although the majority of EU/EEA countries regard migrants as an important sub-population for their national responses to HIV, and despite the overwhelming evidence of the individual and public health benefits associated with HIV care and treatment, a significant number of EU/EEA countries do not provide antiretroviral treatment to undocumented migrants. HIV transmission dynamics in migrant populations depend on the respective weight of all risk and vulnerability factors to which they are exposed, which act together in a synergistic way. People who are not linked to HIV care will continue to unwillingly contribute to the on-going transmission of HIV. Following the recommendations of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, ensuring access to HIV-care for all sub-populations, including undocumented migrants, would fulfil the human rights of those populations and also strengthen the control of HIV incidence among those not currently able to access HIV care.


Chess is a strategy board game played by two players on a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an 8 by 8 grid. Each player begins the game with 16 chess pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns.
Each of the six chess piece types has particular ways of moving around the board. The objective of the game is to use a player's pieces to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, ultimately to checkmate the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture.
Whether chess is a sport is debatable. Chess does not fit our definition of a real sport as it is not primarily a human physical activity, but is included on our list of sports as some people believe it should be.
The game has some official recognition, with the World Chess Federation an IOC Recognized International Sports Federations, and also being a member of the International Mind Sports Association and the Global Association of International Sports Federations. A chess tournament was also included in the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games.
- Chess boxing — a combination of chess and boxing.
- Poker — a card game that combines gambling, strategy, and skill. The winner of each hand is determined according to the combinations of players' cards.
- Bridge — a card game that is played by four players, playing in two competing partnerships. Players score points based on the number of tricks achieved.
- About Mind Sports
- About the World Mind Sports Events
- Is Bridge A Sport?
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports


Activated carbon in water and wastewater treatment
Activated carbon (or sometimes known as active carbon) is an adsorption process used in both water and wastewater treatment applications. Adsorption processes are commonly used in municipal drinking water treatment to remove synthetic organic compounds (SOCs), taste and odor-causing, color-forming organics, and disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors.
Industrial waste streams often contain many impurities such as dissolved and undissolved substances, easily degradable or persistent organic substances, heavy metals, and salts. Activated carbon eliminates these unwanted substances and is normally used in a last treatment step as a last ‘polish’.
Activated carbon removes pollutants
During the adsorption process, dissolved species diffuse into the porous solid granule and are then adsorbed onto the extensive inner surface of the granule. A key feature for adsorbents is a high degree of porosity within the adsorbent granules. This means that the interior surface at which adsorption can occur is vast.
Activated carbon is produced from natural, carbonaceous materials with high temperatures and steam. Depending on the material used for production, the distribution of the pore size differs.
The four materials shown in the figure are only a few of the dozens of different activated carbon types available with varying pore sizes (Å = Ångstrøm = 0.1 nm). It is therefore important to have a basic idea of what needs to be removed from the wastewater, so the right type of carbon can be chosen. As shown in the figure, the pore size distribution various significantly.
Activated carbon is slowly saturated with absorbent over time, and must be replaced and discharged when fully saturated.
Aquarden will assist you in choosing the right type of carbon for your wastewater application.


Stormwater runoff from land and impervious areas such as roads, parking lots, and building rooftops during rainfall and snow events often contain pollutants that could adversely affect water quality. State, local and possibly Federal permits are required depending on the size and amounts of impervious surfaces.
As described by the Vermont DEC, “The management of stormwater runoff is at once a simple concept and a complex problem. Precipitation runs off impervious surfaces rather than infiltrating into the soil. The cumulative impact resulting from the increased frequency, volume, and flow rate of stormwater runoff can lead to destabilization of downstream channels and can also result in increased pollutant loading to waterways. The Stormwater Management Program provides regulatory oversight and technical assistance to ensure proper design and construction of stormwater treatment and control practices as well as construction-related erosion prevention and sediment control practices, necessary to minimize the adverse impacts of stormwater runoff to surface waters.”
Bannon Engineering has experience and expertise in stormwater management and permitting. There are several types of permits that a project may need:
Stormwater Construction permits cover stormwater management from construction sites. These permits are based on the size of disturbed area, type of soils, slopes, surrounding terrain and connections to nearby surface waters. The level of effort to comply depends on the risk factors associated with the site, e.g., steep slopes close to a stream maybe a higher risk than a flat site far away from surface waters. Bannon Engineering is Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) and can evaluate the risk of your site, prepare the permit application, prepare a site specific erosion and sediment control plan, and perform inspections.
Operational Stormwater permits cover stormwater management from the developed project after construction. Bannon Engineering has expertise in designing, modeling, evaluating and modeling stormwater management systems. We utilize HydroCad modeling software to design and evaluate projects.
Bannon Engineering can also can fabricate stormwater flow measuring and sampling devices to collect data needed to permit a project and maintain compliance in a sensible and easily managed fashion.


Hereditary homage to Charles VI in Ljubljana
Our colleague Vanja Kočevar has written a chapter for the book Stadt im Wandel. Der Donau-Karpatenraum im langen 18. Jahrhundert/Cities in Transition. The Danube-Carpathien area in the long 18th century, published by Peter Lang. The chapter is entitled Ljubljana als Schauplatz der Erbhuldigung an Kaiser Karl Vl. im Jahre 1728. Herrscherrepräsentation im öffentlichen Raum am Beispiel der krainischen Hauptstadt [Ljubljana as the scene of the hereditary homage to Emperor Charles VI in 1728. The representation of the ruler in public space using the example of the Carniolan capital city].
The hereditary homage of the Duchy of Carniola to its territorial prince, Emperor Charles VI, in 1728 brought about a number of innovations in the field of royal representation in the open spaces of the city of Ljubljana. According to the available information, this was the first hereditary homage in Ljubljana for which two triumphal arches were built. The first, in front of the Lieutenant's Gate, was permanent and adorned the city until 1791, while the second, in front of the Town Hall, was a temporary architectural creation. Other "temporary" creations include the decoration of the town buildings with tapestries and paintings in the streets through which the Emperor's entry and the procession of the Succession passed, the lighting of the town and the two luxurious ships built by the provincial estates for the Emperor and Prince Francis Stephen of Lorraine. From the point of view of representation in public spaces, the Carniolan hereditary homage of 1728 followed contemporary Central European trends, and Ljubljana, with its rich decoration and the quality of the sculptures contributed by Francesco Robba for the triumphal arches, took advantage of the large number of visitors to present the new Baroque image it had adopted after the defeat of the Turks at Vienna in 1683 to the court and a wider public through the printed media.


Building your Remote Project Based Learning Environment
How to create self- directed and empowered remote learners through PBLWatch Promo
This course is a culmination of ten years of work implementing dynamic virtual project- based classrooms with students.
It is designed as a crash course in helping you set up your own, project in a digital/ remote space for students so they can learn on their own. Anytime. Anywhere. It will help you identify major learning goals for students; design a project or challenge to excite and motivate them; and construct a digital space in a way that allows them to learn independently. By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Design a digital project that engages and empowers your learners to learn on their own
- Scaffold and integrate content and skills
- Plan major assessments and milestones
- Provide feedback structures that improves the quality of student work
- Help students maintain positive relationships while learning from home
- Conduct effective digital meetings
- Maintain effective progress with learning while students are at home
The course is perfect for...
- Administrators hoping to support teachers in remote learning
- Teachers new to technology infusion and need a quick guide
- Experienced tech teachers looking for ways to enhance digital tools and strategies for students
- Tech coordinators looking for simple ways to coach and guide teachers in remote learning
- Curriculum coordinators looking for new approaches to curriculum delivery in a remote environment
Kyle Wagner, MEd. is a former Middle School Programme Director and instructional coach for innovative educators all over the world on how to use deep and meaningful project- based experiences to create socially, emotionally and globally aware citizens. Kyle has now coached and trained over 1000 teachers spread across 20 schools to help them infuse project- based experiences into their classrooms. As a Curriculum Designer and former Project- Based Learning Humanities Teacher Leader at High Tech High, a school featured in the hit documentary "Most Likely to Succeed," Kyle knows how to guide project development and implementation to ensure it transforms and empowers student learning. With 13 years experience teaching PBL, and 4 years leading, he believes in the 'Power of Simple' and has authored a book and numerous articles on how school leaders can lead change through PBL with simple, repeatable strategies. Kyle holds a Masters Degree in Teacher Leadership and two supplemental teaching authorisations. When not writing or consulting with school leaders, Kyle enjoys traveling the world and writing original music for his band.


I thought of an idea recently, and I wanted to know if electrical engineers agreed with my theory.
I have a smartphone.
Recently I bought a power bank because I found my phone's battery not holding up long enough.
Now here is what I thought about while charging my power bank and my phone.
If both batteries (of my phone and powerbank) could in theory fill up 1 mAh/minute and both my phone and and the power bank are connected to the outlet, and are actively charging, I'm basically charging the two batteries at an effective 2 mAh/minute.
If both my phone and my battery pack could hold 1000 mAh, I could charge both half way to 500 mAh and still have an effective 1000 mAh at half the time it would take me to charge the phone alone.
So if I bought three banks then together with my phone I could get the same effective 1000 mAh in just a quarter of the time!
So if this works in theory: Why not divide the phone's battery into hundreds of separate banks to get hundreds of times the times the charge rate? What prevents this in practice?
It doesn't work that way. One of these two issues will get you:
With the batteries split to conserve overall capacity, a larger fraction of the whole volume would be taken up by interrconnects, so the overall battery pack would now be larger and a little heavier.
The cell phone maker has already picked a tradeoff between size and weight on one side and longevity of charge on the other. For the same battery technology, you can't cheat this tradeoff. By adding more batteries, you increase longevity of charge, but you can't get away from the proportionally larger size and weight of the resulting battery pack.
If it were really so simple, they'd be doing it.


CHARITY’S ROLE IN OUR FAITH
As Catholics we have been taught about charity work through the gospels and various practices like outreaches. St. Thomas Aquinas esteems charity as “the most excellent of the virtues.”
Charities fulfills the Church’s role in the mission of helping anyone in need by providing compassionate, competent and professional services that strengthen and support individuals, families and communities based on the value and dignity of human life. In order to remain faithful to our mission, Charities is guided by these core values: Respect, Compassion, Competence and Stewardship
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites* do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. Matthew 6:2
Charity teaches us to have a Christ-like love for our neighbours. This kind of love is unconditional and by it we are able to reach out to our brothers and sisters and help relieve any physical, mental, moral or spiritual needs they may have.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35
As members of the Catholic Faith we are encouraged to practice charity in different ways. Since the apostolic age, Christians were taught to not just give but to give from the heart to everyone in need regardless of their race or religion because “Christ is all and in all.”
Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all. Colossians 3:11


Please see How to Use Lection Connection
Full lections can be read here.
Based on the Readings as Set
First Reading (Joel 2:21-27)
The prophet Joel reveals that the whole earth, nature, and Israel are to join in celebrating a coming era of abundant harvests. Their time of punishment and failed crops is coming to an end. These events will demonstrate that the Lord alone is God.
Reflecting on those blessed occasions when Yahweh had restored Israel’s fortunes in the past, the Psalmist calls upon him once again to act in like manner. Although his people have sown with tears he is confident that they shall reap in joy under Yahweh’s hand.
Second Reading (1 Timothy 2:1-7)
Speaking as the apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul encourages prayers and thanksgivings to be made for everyone, including those with power to protect the church. It is God’s desire that all be saved through the mediation of Christ Jesus, the ransom for all.
Gospel (Matthew 6:25-33)
Jesus says that instead of striving and worrying over the necessities of life, his disciples are to seek God’s kingdom above all else. God marvelously provides for all his creation and we can trust him to provide for us, as we are the most valuable of his creatures.
- Giving thanks for God’s provision for the necessities of life
- God is still at work in creation and through people
- God turns around our disobedience, tears, and worry and brings joy instead
- The welfare of humankind is God’s primary focus
One Reply to “Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, 2018, Year B”
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The health of women is dependent on many different factors, including a healthy diet, exercise, and prevention/treatment of diseases that commonly affect women. Some of the most common health issues experienced by women include pregnancy and childbirth-related complications and breast cancer.
During the last century, there have been enormous improvements in care for pregnant women reducing complications and allowing better family planning. However, disorders such as pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes still affect a significant proportion of the population. Pre-eclampsia refers to high blood pressure and the presence of proteins in the urine after twenty or more weeks of gestation. Gestational diabetes is increased blood glucose levels in pregnant women that usually resolve after pregnancy. Many women also experience pre-term labor and miscarriages due to a variety of medical conditions.
Breast cancer is second only to skin cancer in terms of prevalence in women. It is caused by uncontrolled cell division in the breasts; these cancer cells can metastasize to other locations and invade healthy tissues. However, if caught early, breast cancer usually has a good prognosis. It is thus important for women to check for any changes in the breasts, such as lumps, discoloration of the skin, abnormal discharge, and inversion of the nipples.


Creation 25(2):43, March 2003
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Aim, spit and catch
The Archer Fish, renowned for being able to shoot down insects with a well-aimed spit of water, is also adept at calculating just where its prey will fall. In fact, researchers have found that the fish starts sprinting towards the landing spot within 100 milliseconds of a hit—a reaction time twice as fast as the average human’s. And unlike humans, in that time the Archer Fish has already extracted all the information needed to predict the insect’s trajectory. So, not needing any further visual cues, the fish charges straight to the point where its victim will hit the water.1
In contrast, outfielders in games like baseball or cricket keep their eye on the ball, running in a curved path as they keep track of its flight. That means running further, which takes longer. Said one researcher, ‘The Archer Fish would be the better outfielder.’2
This means the Archer Fish’s brain is capable of complex mathematics (trigonometry and calculus). But the programming required for this calculation is very advanced, and would also be useless unless it was fully functional. Since one never sees natural processes giving rise to programmed information, the fully-formed program is evidence of an intelligent Programmer who programmed the original kind from which today’s Archer Fish is descended. As with all living things, each generation is programmed to pass on the original program, with the ability to vary within its own kind. But no new programs ever arise. All things reproduce ‘after their kind’ as Genesis indicates (in addition to showing brilliant design).
- Even before the Fall, this program might have been useful if the fish could shoot down pieces of plant matter. Actually, though, insects are probably not ‘living creatures’ (Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה nephesh chayyāh) in the Biblical sense. So what we call biological death of insects is not in the same category as the death of nephesh chayyah, which is the result of the Curse. Return to text.
- New Scientist 176(2363):21, 5 October 2002. Return to text.
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Mental health consequences of urban air pollution
by | VIEW 207
The consequences of pollution are many and varied for a human being. Health and the body can be strongly affected by exposure to polluting sources, even irreversibly undermining health. However, fine dust, air, earth and water pollution cause not only physical ailments, but also mental health consequences.
The Mental health consequences of urban air pollution: prospective population-based longitudinal survey, published on the Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, explains: "The World Health Organization (WHO) recently ranked air pollution as the major environmental cause of premature death.
However, the significant potential health and societal costs of poor mental health in relation to air quality are not represented in the WHO report due to limited evidence We aimed to test the hypothesis that long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with poor mental health.
A prospective longitudinal population-based mental health survey was conducted of 1698 adults living in 1075 households in South East London, from 2008 to 2013. High-resolution quarterly average air pollution concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and oxides, ozone, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm and <2.5 μm were linked to the home addresses of the study participants.
Associations with mental health were analyzed with the use of multilevel generalized linear models, after adjusting for large number of confounders, including the individuals' socioeconomic position and exposure to road-traffic noise.
We found robust evidence for interquartile range increases in PM2.5, NOx and NO2 to be associated with 18-39% increased odds of common mental disorders, 19-30% increased odds of poor physical symptoms and 33% of psychotic experiences only for PM10 .
These longitudinal associations were more pronounced in the subset of non-movers for NO2 and NOx. The findings suggest that traffic-related air pollution is adversely affecting mental health. Whilst causation cannot be proved, this work suggests substantial morbidity from mental disorders could be avoided with improved air quality. "


The World Bank is promoting a program in Nepal that endorses the use of biogas in villages. It’s all about improving the lives of the poor by providing cheaper fuel while helping the environment through lowered emissions.
“The project promotes the use of biogas as a commercially viable industry in Nepal by expanding its use for cooking and lighting in rural households. The biogas units will be sold at a non-commercial price to poor households and displace fuel sources traditionally used for cooking"”fuel wood, kerosene and agricultural waste"”with gas from the treatment of animal and human waste. Each household biogas unit can reduce almost five tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.”
2 thoughts on “Biogas in Nepal”
It is funny that most people are talking about the use of biogas in the
deverloped world. But the reality is that Asian countries are doing well in it.
For example, Nepal’s success in using biogas has
remained virtually unnoticed so far. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in
the world but in terms of
biogas unit per capita it is way ahead of India and China the two emerging
giants in the world economy. Thanks for your post.
Whoa, that’s pretty groovy! I had no idea!
Comments are closed.


This very large model railroad exhibit in HO scale presents the German history of railways from the beginning of the 20th century to modern times. Four various model train layouts on more than 1,000 square meters present the several periods of time. There are more than 200 model trains in action. In the beginning of railroad history, there were steam locomotives. Later, these steam locos were replaced by diesel locomotives. Today, electric locomotives and high-speed trains, for example the famous ICE in Germany or TGV in France or Frecciarossa in Italy, are in use.
At this model railway show, called La Statione, each period is represented with its inherent locomotives and trains. Although these four model railroad layouts are very big, the trains are not digitally controlled. There is no DCC in use. There is an analog control technology in use, namely the model train control system made by the Gebhardt company from Germany. Furthermore, it must be mentioned, that all the locomotives and trains are running in a very smoothly way. They were converted and optimized with special model train motors made by the Faulhaber company from Germany. In addition, the trains have the correct length in relation to the 1/87 scale.
You have spent many years building a model train layout? Wouldn't it be nice if you could present your model rail layout to the world? Pilentum Television offers you this unique opportunity: You can reach an audience of millions and present your layout on Pilentum’s video channel.


For this article, Leslie Pray interviewed William C. Hahn, postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., and an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age.
W.C. Hahn, C.M. Counter, A.S. Lundberg, R.L. Beijersbergen, M.W. Brooks, R.A. Weinberg, "Creation of human tumour cells with defined genetic elements," Nature, 400:464-8, July 29, 1999. (Cited in 177 papers)
|Courtesy of Justin Knight|
For nearly two decades, scientists have been generating cancer cells in the lab using specific combinations of oncogenes. But, up until two years ago, they could only do this with rodent cells. Generating human tumor cells required other methods, such as irradiation and chemical treatment. However, these methods produced mutations...
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The structure of how things relate
Creating mathematical tools for characterizing the structure of ideal graphs and irregular networks, and the behaviour of processes on them.
Networks represent interactions between multiple elements. Widely accessible and large data sets makes it easy to build networks, but extracting meaning from them remains a challenge. Part of the problem is that mathematical methods for characterizing networks are primitive and sundry. While the theory of graphs—idealized networks containing internal symmetry—is more advanced, the mathematical foundations for both networks and graphs, and their relation, are underdeveloped.
In this project we investigate new mathematical methods to describe the topology and geometry of networks and graphs, without regard to the kinds of data from which they are derived. The broad range of techniques under development include applications and extensions of spectral graph theory, tailored graph ensembles, replica methods, community detection and enumerative combinatorics.
A deeper understanding of network and graph structure underpins many other research endeavours. Examples range from biomedical data for personalized medicine to predicting behaviour from social interaction networks to the stability of interconnected financial institutions.
Papers in this project
Physics of networks
Statistical physics harnesses links between maximum entropy and information theory to capture null model and real-world network features.
From ecology to finance
Bipartite networks model the structures of ecological and economic real-world systems, enabling hypothesis testing and crisis forecasting.
Scales in weighted networks
Information theory fixes weighted networks’ degeneracy issues with a generalisation of binary graphs and an optimal scale of link intensities.
Weighted network evolution
A statistical procedure identifies dominant edges within weighted networks to determine whether a network has reached its steady state.
Edge multiplicity—the number of triangles attached to edges—is a powerful analytic tool to understand and generalize network properties.


On February 16, 1886, John Echols shot and killed John Pettenridge in the Chickasaw Nation. The murder followed a dispute over the sale of some horses. Echols believed that Pettenridge had failed to deliver his end of the bargain.
When Pettenridge said that he was too busy to meet Echols demand to be made whole, Echols found him and killed him.
Echols, a white man born in Fulton County, Georgia, was convicted of first-degree murder on August 20, 1886, and sentenced to death.
John T. Echols was hanged at Fort Smith, Arkansas, on January 14, 1887.
Author: Bill Lofquist
I am a sociologist and death penalty scholar at the State University of New York at Geneseo. I am also a Pittsburgh native. My present research focuses on the history of the death penalty in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pa.
This website is dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about all Allegheny County cases in which a death sentence was imposed.
Please share any questions or comments, errors or omissions, or other matters of interest related to these cases or to the broader history of the death penalty in Allegheny County.
View all posts by Bill Lofquist


What Niche Is NLP? (Natural Language Processing)
What Niche is NLP?
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an area of Artificial Intelligence that enables computers to understand and interpret human language. It has been around for over 50 years, with its roots in linguistics and computer science. NLP enables computers to comprehend and analyze natural language like humans do by analyzing text data and breaking it down into smaller chunks.
Today, NLP is used in many applications, such as information retrieval, machine translation, sentiment analysis, question-answering systems, automatic summarization, speech recognition, and more. In business niches such as sales or image consulting, NLP can be used to identify customer needs or target the right audience with personalized messages.
It can also be used in marketing campaigns to understand customer behavior and preferences better so that companies can create tailored content that resonates with their target audiences. Additionally, NLP can help businesses optimize their websites for better search engine rankings by understanding the context of keywords and phrases used on web pages.
In short, Natural Language Processing is a powerful tool that helps businesses make sense of large amounts of text data quickly and efficiently. It can be used in various niche markets to gain valuable insights about customers’ needs or preferences so companies can better serve them.


Thursday 10/27/22: Intro to Exposure and Camera Settings
- Intro to Exposure and Camera Settings!
- Experiment with camera simulator
We will cover the information on this link:
Learn | Canon Explains Exposure (canonoutsideofauto.ca)
Extra links w aperture and depth of field definitions/explanations:
Then you will conduct an aperture experiment on this link:
Play | Canon Explains Exposure (canonoutsideofauto.ca)
Instructions for Aperture f-stop experiment:
Step 1: Change the camera mode on the simulator to APERTURE PRIORITY (Av). THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!
Step 2: Set the aperture setting (f-stop) to the lowest number: 2.8. Press the blue shutter button to “take a picture”. Your picture will pop up for you to see. Read the info and then click “X”. This will save it in the gallery below.
Step 3: Now take another photo with each of the aperture settings: 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, and 22. You should then have a total of 7 photos saved in your gallery when you’re done.
Step 4: Analyze your photos in your gallery. Click on the first one to notice what aperture setting it was taken with, then click the arrow to view the next photo. View them all to answer the following question:
- How did the different aperture settings affect the images you captured?
Step 5: Clear you photo gallery by deleting each one. Now change the camera mode back to MANUAL. Set the shutter speed to 1/60 and ISO to 400.
Step 6: Take photos using the same aperture f-stops (2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22)
Step 7: Analyze your photos again, paying attention to the aperture used in each one, and answer the following question:
- How did the different aperture settings affect the images you captured this time?


Alexander the Great and Cleitus the Black
The great Alexander of ancient Macedon was never one to shy from a fight.
With the help of his officers, he embarked on numerous battles in pursuit of expansion. One such officer ended up saving his life.
The officer in question was Cleitus the Black, and after saving Alexander's life, Alexander killed him.
To save a man, then die by his hand...
In the 334 BC battle of Granicus, as a certain Spithridates poised to slay Alexander with a mighty hammer blow, Cleitus cleaved his arm clean off of his body.
Obviously, Spithridates didn't make it. Less obviously, a mere 6 years later, a drunken Alexander would show the depth of his gratitude for such a noble performance in battle by hurling a javelin through Cleitus's heart.
There had been an argument between the two friends over Alexander's drunken decree for Cleitus to go off and fight nomads in the middle of nowhere for a while. Next thing you know, Cleitus does his best pincushion impersonation.
Moral of this story: don't get drunk around javelins.
Read up on Romulus and Remus's legendary she-wolf upbringing...
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Finnish Scientists Found a Sustainable Approach of Producing Coffee
Scientists at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland created sustainable lab-grown coffee that would grow from a bunch of coffee plant cells
Are you a coffee lover? Has someone ever told you that coffee is neither good for an individual’s health nor for the environment? Then you need to read on.
Initially coffee happened to be grown on delicate eco-systems with required floras to form habitable areas for native animals and insects, which prevented topsoil erosion satisfying the need for fertilizers.
With the increased global demand for coffee, its plantation has grown rapidly and because of this, the use of chemical fertilizers has massively amplified. The sun-grown coffee demands a lot of water and clearing of forests resulting in deforestation. Coffee processing plants often discharge waste into rivers producing pollution which can harm aquatic lives.
Also Read: Manchester City Offers ‘Edible Coffee Cups’ as Part of Food and Beverage Overhaul
In order to tackle the problems associated with coffee production, scientists of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland created sustainable lab-grown coffee. This type of coffee would grow from a bunch of coffee plant cells under the desired temperature, levels of oxygen, and intensity of light.
It tastes somewhat like coffee although it is less bitter in taste. Heiko Rischer, principal scientist and research team leader of plant biotechnology at VTT said;
It’s really coffee, because there is nothing else than coffee material in the product.
This lab-grown coffee would be useful for serving as a raw material for roasted coffee products meanwhile farmers can focus on quality farming of coffee produce over quantity farming at fair prices. Therefore this lab-derived coffee could be a win-win deal sustaining nature while meeting the demands of coffee buyers!


Many people suffer from different degrees of eye discomfort after contracting COVID-19. For example, "my right eye was red three days after infection, and my tearing increased significantly. ", and "my left eye was rubbing and photophobic after I recovered from the fever.", "My vision was a little blurry after two days of positive antigen test"...
Eye redness, eye pain, and vision loss are some of the more common symptoms of eye discomfort after infection with COVID-19.
ConjunctivitisConjunctivitis is the most common ocular manifestation of COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 infection causes mucosal congestion and edema in the eye, resulting in local lymphatic circulation disorders and inflammatory reactions due to capillary dilation. Patients mainly present with eye redness, foreign body sensation, tearing, and other discomforts, either in one or both eyes, and can occur in all stages of COVID-19 infection.
It is now thought that the occurrence of conjunctivitis may be related to a direct COVID-19 attack on the conjunctival tissue or the immune system attacking the conjunctival tissue after COVID-19 infects the organism. Hand-eye contact may increase the occurrence of conjunctivitis.
Superficial ScleroiditisSuperficial sclerositis is also seen in patients with COVID-19 infection and presents as localized eye redness, eye pain, tearing, and other discomforts. Previous studies have shown that about 1/3 of patients with superficial sclerositis may be associated with COVID-19 infection. Uveitis and keratitis can also cause ocular redness in COVID-19-infected patients. In addition, infected individuals may also experience eye pain due to trigeminal nerve dysfunction caused by the activation of inflammatory factors by the COVID-19 virus.
Ocular vascular diseaseCentral retinal vein occlusion is one of the many vascular diseases caused by COVID-19 infection, and patients may present with blurred vision and distorted vision. Central retinal artery occlusion can also occur in infected patients. The primary manifestation is a sudden onset of painless vision loss. In addition, acute macular neuroretinopathy can be caused by ischemia of the fundus capillaries in COVID-19-infected patients, which may manifest as painless vision loss or visual obscuration in one or both eyes.


If you are living near industrial or commercial areas, you are likely to get exposed to harmful chemicals that these units emit. They cause water, air and noise pollution. Water pollution is the most serious one because it enters our bodies immediately and infects our organs. It can only be prevented if you take some steps to stop it such as installing water purification systems. Camp Lejeune incident is one good example of how water contamination affected millions of people living in that area. From adults to children, everyone got health complications. Apart from this, several claims are filed to recover financial losses.
Pollution in the environment
It is important to learn that pollution does not happen overnight. The persistent emission of harmful chemicals and gases into the environment causes massive pollution. Various industries such as pharmaceutical, textile, construction, and engineering units make use of several man-made chemicals, which are not easy to break. They enter the groundwater, lakes, rivers and oceans and contaminate water. Since they cannot be broken down, they enter our bodies through tap water, well or public water systems. We don’t even know if we are drinking such water. After prolonged use of impure water, we start to develop health complications.
We cannot ignore the fact that harmful chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides are used in the agriculture field. They remain in the groundwater and reach us through water supply systems. The government should be responsible for making the water safe and healthy for us to drink. One such example is PFAS and if anyone in your locality has reported its presence in the water, you should get your water tested.
Health complications due to contaminated water
There are a number of health issues that can be related to water contamination such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. However, if contamination and exposure are more than expected, a person can get severe health problems such as cancer, delayed development in the fetus, reproduction-related problems, kidney and liver problems and heart disorders. Since pure water is associated with good health of mind and body, contaminated water can hamper the body’s normal functioning and make you seriously sick.
Hiring an experienced water contamination lawyer
If your health problems are linked to the contaminated water, you should not delay contacting a suitable lawyer. He can investigate your case and let you know if you are entitled to get compensation. With a good lawyer on your side, you can recover your financial losses.


Lasiosiphon is a genus of subshrubs, shrubs and small trees in the Thymelaeaceae or daphne family. The genus was recently reinstated and the species moved from the Gnidia genus.
The generic name, Lasiosiphon, is derived from the Greek words lasio meaning woolly and siphon meaning tube, referring to the hairy corolla tubes.
The leaves are simple and may be opposite or alternate.
The bisexual flowers usually grow in head-like clusters of sometimes few flowers at stem-tips, sometimes subtended by bracts. The floral parts occur in fours or fives. The calyx is tubular or bell-shaped. There may be scales in the flower mouth. Some of the species are pollinated by beetles and butterflies.
There are about 49 Lasiosiphon species in tropical and temperate regions of Africa, Madagascar and Asia, 29 of which occur in southern Africa.
Some species feature in traditional medicine in treating fever, while others have been found toxic. The yellow flowers of some species have been used to dye leather. The plants are generally not well-known and not cultivated much yet.
The plant in picture is Lasiosiphon deserticola (Wikipedia; http://www.scielo.org.za; http://pza.sanbi.org).


The Greek Minister of the Environment and Energy Kostis Hatzidakis recently announced the launch of Greece’s largest reforestation campaign.
The reforestation effort would lead to the planting of over 30 million trees over a period of 10 years.
Planting will start in regions that have not witnessed natural regeneration of lost forests, mainly due to forest fires.
The plan, announced in the last days of November, was presented to the Council of Ministers by Hatzidakis and was made possible by the 310 million euros Greece received from the European Union’s Recovery Fund.
The first step of the ambitious campaign–identifying areas where reforestation is most necessary–has already been completed, following research completed by the Department of Forestry and the Natural Environment at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The next move is for the state to find a workforce to begin planting, which will likely include volunteers, NGOs, and students. Planting will only begin after scientists have thoroughly analyzed and conducted testing of the areas where the new forests will be established.
After the planting of millions of trees on an estimated 50,000 hectares (just over 123,552 acres) is completed, scientists and researchers will conduct studies regarding the progress and health of the newly created forests.
While the entire program is set to be completed in 2030, the Ministry has proposed measures to maintain and protect the forests well past the end of the reforestation effort, ensuring that the forests will remain for future generations.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!


Gallery: Google’s Knol takes on Wikipedia
Image 1 of 11
Perhaps, Google was tired of sending out Wikipedia search links with almost every inquiry so the search company created its own wiki-style online encyclopedia called Knol–a unit of knowlege. ZDNet’s Garett Rogers says Knol could eventually “suck the life” out of Wikipedia.rnrn
The main difference between Wikipedia, which is often criticized for letting inaccuracies slip through its publishing process, and Knol, is that Knol articles will most often carry a byline. Knol also allows readers to rate the articles, post a comment, and write a competing article on the same subject.rnrn
Knol home page. Remember you can click on any screenshot to expand.
Google issues guidelines for submitting Knol articles.
Edits to the Knol articles are tracked.
An example of a Knol is this extensive article on tooth pain written by Professor and Chairman of General Dentistry and Director of the Craniofacial Pain CenterrnTufts Dental School.rnrn
A good addition to this article would be a submission by ZDNet’s Roland Piquepaille on a potential breakthrough in dentistry.
In comparision, the Wikipedia search for tooth decay redirects to dental caries which follows the history, causes, and treatments for dental diseases–complete with photos of rotten teeth.
Knol shows off an extensive posting on carpal tunnel which gets to the bare bones of the matter.
In contrast Wikipedia’s carpal tunnel entry is mostly links to other sites.
Knol has serious postings like this one on aids which include article ratings and talkbacks.
Some early Knol highlighted Knol postings were of general interest. Its expert is a Chicago-area photographer and writer.
Here’s a how to article on toilet clogs.
A first-time triathalete wrote an article about his experiences.


Print all possible combinations of words from Dictionary using Trie
Given an array of strings arr, for every string in the array, print all possible combinations of strings that can be concatenated to make that word. Examples:
Input: arr = ["sam", "sung", "samsung"] Output: sam: sam sung: sung samsung: sam sung samsung String 'samsung' can be formed using two different strings from the array i.e. 'sam' and 'sung' whereas 'samsung' itself is also a string in the array. Input: arr = ["ice", "cream", "icecream"] Output: ice: ice cream: cream icecream: ice cream icecream
- Add all the given strings into trie.
- Process every prefix character by character and check if it forms a word from trie by searching.
- If the prefix is present in the trie then add it to the result and proceed further with the remaining suffix in the string.
- Once it reaches the end of the string, print all the combinations found.
Below is the implementation of the above approach:
sam: sam sung: sung samsung: sam sung samsung
Time Complexity: O(n*s2) where n is the number of words and s is the maximum length of the word in the list of words.
Auxiliary Space: O(m*ALPHABET_SIZE) m is the total number of characters in all the words stored in the trie.
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Python is one of the most mind-blowing open-source, object-situated programming languages accessible wherever on the lookout. It regularly utilizes English keywords, while different programming languages use accentuation. Some of you will practice for web development projects; somebody will rehearse it in product advancement; some will utilize it in their FinTech association.
For whatever reason you are utilizing, it will permit you to plan simple and meaningful code that can be utilized at both, frontend and backend and in every one of the major working frameworks and stages. Not only this, but this broadly useful language additionally offers a test-driven programming application advancement decision for data science, research, data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning (ML) capabilities for the formation of remarkable applications.
The most well-known organizations that utilization Python is Google for its centralized server establishment, DropBox for its cloud-based administrations, YouTube for the coordination of streaming videos into their web pages, Twitter for posting tweets, Instagram for its Django structure, Wikipedia MoinMoin is a wiki motor, WAS for Nasa are a couple of models.
All the latest and greatest happenings in the world of data science and machine learning these days seem to end up with Python programming language. This article features 10 ways businesses use Pythons for tremendous growth and why this programming language is necessary for your business:


Analyzes some of the most prominent mental health issues facing at-risk youth in order to provide youth workers with insight into the prevention and treatment of mental health challenges.
You are here
Identifies core competencies on integrated practice relevant to behavioral health and primary care providers.
Reports on workforce issues related to the provision of integrated behavioral health and general health care. It also provides recommendations related to training and education, recruitment and retention, leadership, infrastructure development, and research and evaluation.
Defines infant mental health, highlights the workforce competencies across disciplines, describes essential components of a competent infant and toddler mental health workforce, and provides national examples of successful workforce development approaches.
Provides templates, a planning checklist, and other tools to prepare for National Children’s Awareness Day, a yearly event that raises awareness about the importance of children’s mental health and emphasizes positive mental health as essential to a child’s healthy development from birth.
Provides resources related to a public awareness campaign that was launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education.
Helps primary and behavioral health care provider organizations improve outcomes by fostering an understanding of where they are on the integration continuum.
Discusses resources that service providers, advocates, and practitioners can use to better understand and engage the community in responding to children whose caregivers are negatively impacted by mental illness, substance use, or trauma.
Provides information on high-quality evaluation of early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) in community based settings. This tool kit provides guidance, tools, and resources that will assist in designing and implementing program evaluations.
Describes the general process of Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation using candid, unfiltered stories to illustrate what consultants do within early care and education settings in collaboration with families, teachers, children and other partners every day.


Written by Mahmoud Ragheb
Saturday, March 25, 2023 12:27 PM
Today, Saturday, March 25, 2023, observers around the world are preparing for the approach of a newly discovered asteroid, which will pass safely near Earth, at a distance of about half the distance between our planet and the Moon, at about (07:51 pm GMT).
And the Astronomical Society in Jeddah revealed, in a report, that the asteroid was discovered in late February 2023 at the La Palma Observatory, in the Canary Islands, Spain. It was named (2023 DZ2), and it is part of the Apollo asteroid family and is classified as a near-Earth object, and it orbits the sun every 3.16. year.
He continued: The Apollo asteroids, which are a group of space rocks whose orbits intersect with Earth’s orbit, and it is the most numerous group of near-Earth objects with more than 10,000 recorded asteroids.
Current estimates indicate that its diameter is about (64 or 52 meters). For comparison, the asteroid that penetrated the atmosphere over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, in February 2013, had a diameter of only about 20 meters.
For a while this new asteroid had a small chance of colliding with Earth on March 27, 2026, but after further observations and new data it was removed from the Sentry Danger table as of March 21, 2023.
Due to the relatively close distance from which the asteroid will pass, observers can see the asteroid with telescopes six inches in diameter and larger, and the asteroid moves at a speed of 28,008 kilometers per hour relative to Earth. While it appears to be a huge speed, it is a relatively slow asteroid unlike other asteroids that astronomers study.
And the report continued: And since the asteroid will pass at a distance equivalent to half the distance between the Earth and the Moon, this small distance will make it appear as a “slow-moving star” in the field of a small telescope, and its movement can be detected in real time.
The report emphasized that one of the best techniques used by sky enthusiasts to see an asteroid is to point the telescope towards a known star in the asteroid’s path. Then they just wait for the asteroid to appear, and fortunately many small telescopes now include a computerized Go-To hand control, so the telescope can be pointed at a reference star to get a look at the asteroid as it passes.


Malaria is an infectious disease caused by mosquito and to the pathogens susceptibility is influenced by various genes. Their pathogenicity and protective mechanisms finds new molecular approaches to the target genes for prophylactic and therapeutic interventions. The protein encoded by this gene is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by activated T cells which is a ligand for interleukin 4 receptor (ILAR). The regulation of antibody production and functions in patients with complicated and uncomplicated malaria is still largely unknown. It inhibits macrophage-mediated killing of P. falciparum. In humans, IL4 gene regulates B cells to express the yl, y2. Y3, 74, al, a2 and E, and to secrete the related corresponding proteins. Malaria provides natural selection of protective genetic traits against disease. Present study suggested that Malaria disease promote a selection pressure in IL4 gene which leads to survive in areas where malaria is endemic. For this purpose we sequenced 240 samples from different regions of India. 144 samples were from Chhattisgarh which is highly endemic region and beside this other 96 samples were from different population of India. After doing sequencing and analyzing the result of sequencing 87 mutations were found out of which 58 mutations are novel mutation and among them 8 mutations are present on exonic region and remaining 50 are on intronic region. Further studies are required to determine that whether these mutations found in ILA gene play a beneficial role by reducing the parasite-induced inflammatory response by decreasing the cellular immune responses.
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Timeline Infographic Template for PowerPoint
Timeline infographic template PowerPoint and Keynote slide is a simple design to show the timeline line development of a business. The template is suitable to show the business processes and business achievements in a chronological step-by-step method. Timeline presentation is a common technique to illustrate the movement from one phase to another. It’s an inevitable tool for project planning and management. It provides a view of progress over activities. Timeline infographic is a visual demonstration of tasks and duration, enabling users to create an easy-to-understand roadmap or project or event. This infographic timeline is easy to use and customize. It is useful to display historical achievements and milestones along with the story of your company. Each section of the timeline colors differently and have a thin line that indicates the area of the text zone. This may style help the user to easily distinguish the presentation subject.
The timeline infographic template PowerPoint and Keynote slide useful to illustrate seven stages of business or organizational development in arranged chronology. A timeline is very popular for project management and any kind of business planning. Users can display the objectives of each milestone with an elaborate explanation and summarize in a concise way with authentic and reliable proof. Additionally, it is able to present product features and unique strategies to ensure process development. PowerPoint timeline template is suitable for creating roadmaps visualizations. Each square box is comprised of infographic icons and text zones, the theme of the presentation is easily extractable because of the color differentiation and text positioning.
Timeline infographic template for PowerPoint and Keynote slide is available in two backgrounds and four slides. These attractive timeline slides were created with professional touch because the icons in the slides have deeper meanings, especially in project management terms. The user can download the product launch roadmap timeline PowerPoint and keynote template to describe 10 stages of project development.
You can access more Timeline PowerPoint Template here Grab the free ppt now!


The Book of Mormon contains a strong Egyptian influence, including names and the language used on the gold plates.
FAIR Latter-day Saints asks:
Joseph Smith may have known that Hebrew was the language of Lehi, but how did he know of the huge cultural impact of Egypt on Israel in 600 B.C.? Lehi’s descendants used “Reformed Egyptian” to write on the metal plates for brevity, and the 2 languages/cultures clearly influenced the Book of Mormon people.– FAIR Latter-day Saints – Book of Mormon Names
How would Joseph Smith know to include such a strong Egyptian influence in the Book of Mormon?
Hugh Nibley points out even the high proportion of Egyptian names is correct:
[W]e [can now] test certain proper names in the Book of Mormon in the light of actual names from Lehi’s world, unknown in the time of Joseph Smith. Not only do the names agree, but the variations follow the correct rules, and the names are found in correct statistical proportions, the Egyptian and Hebrew types being of almost equal frequency, along with a sprinkling of Hittite, Arabic, and Greek names.– Hugh W. Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 3rd edition, (Vol. 6 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by John W. Welch, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), Chapter 22
Where would Joseph Smith have learned this? What experience did he have of ancient Egypt and its impact on Israel?


Tags: archives and special collections, Homepage
June 2022 – Drew University Archives and Special Collections recently rediscovered a 3,000 year-old artifact from Iran, a brick with Elamite cuneiform text.
The brick was found in a storage box in Embury Hall, along with other items dating back to when the New Jersey Museum of Archaeology occupied part of the building’s first floor in the 1970s and 1980s.
The artifact is currently on display for the public at the United Methodist Archives and History Center as part of the exhibition series “Scripts in the Archives,” curated by Alex de Voogt, associate professor in the department of economics and business, and Candace Reilly, manager of Special Collections.
The brick was located among facsimiles of writing systems, suggesting it was used as a teaching tool. It was then transliterated and translated by University of Chicago emeritus professor Matthew W. Stolper.
“This brick is a common find within Elamite building structures, but it also provides an example of one of the lesser known languages that used cuneiform,” explained de Voogt.
“It illustrates the versatility of one of the oldest writing systems in the world. An example like the one on this brick is a rare treat for anyone interested in the development of cuneiform and of writing systems in general. The text itself helps us to date and contextualize the object, which also makes it a tangible entry into the ancient history of western Iran.”
Click here for United Methodist Archives and History Center hours of operation.


Definition: The Path-Goal Model of leadership is given by Robert House and others, who studied the relationship between the leadership styles and the situations. According to them, there is no single leadership style that fit in all the situations and therefore, they tried to predict the effectiveness of leadership styles in different situations.
Robert House and Mitchell have identified four types of leadership styles:
- Supportive Leadership: Here, leader emphasizes on establishing the interpersonal relationships with the subordinates by showing concern for their welfare and building a friendly environment within the organization. This kind of leadership style is adopted with the intent to make the job more interesting when the work is more stressful or hazardous.
- Directive Leadership: The directive leadership style is followed when the subordinates are inexperienced, or the job is quite complex that cannot be performed without the manager’s directions. Here, manager properly tells the subordinates about the task and the ways to perform it.
- Participative Leadership: This kind of leadership style is adopted when the subordinates are experienced, and the job is complex. Here, the leader involves the team members who are experts to give their input in the decision-making process.
- Achievement-Oriented Leadership: Here, the manager sets high standard goals for his teammates with the intent to motivate them to achieve those goals. The leader has full confidence in his subordinates and adopts this leadership style for the self-improvement of each group member and to make a task more exciting. Generally, this style is followed when the task is quite complex, and the subordinates are less motivated.
Thus, the path-goal model posits that the foremost function of the leader is to clarify and set goals with subordinates, help them in identifying the best path for achieving the goal and removing the obstacles if coming in the way. In order to do so, the leader adopts different leadership styles that best suits the situation.
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What is the difference between a Master’s thesis and a research paper? Thesis: The Master’s thesis should reveal that the candidate is able to work in a scholarly manner and is acquainted with
Month: December 2018
thesis definition: The definition of a thesis is a proposal or suggestion that is maintained by an argument. (noun) An example of thesis is a research paper on why the United States should legalize marijuana….
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Writing a Thesis Statement What is a Thesis Statement? A thesis statement is a sentence that states the topic and purpose of your paper. A good thesis statement will direct the structure of
[email protected] is the home of Colorado State University’s open-access learning environment, the Writing Studio. Use this site to write, learn to write, take writing classes, and access resources for writing teachers.
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Recommendations & Guidelines: Bachelor Thesis In order to support you in the preparation, structure and conduction of a thesis, we have compiled a list with guidelines and tips on finding a
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Undergraduate dissertations What is a dissertation? How is it different from an essay? There are some obvious differences: an essay is relatively short – usually 1500 to 2500 words – and you
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Find Theses and Dissertations: Home About this guide This guide aims to help you find AUT, national and international theses and dissertations. You may also find the resources related to


According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100 million Americans are either living with diabetes or have higher than average blood sugar levels consistent with prediabetes.
Management of these chronic conditions requires consistent monitoring of blood sugar levels, robust medication regimens and frequent health care appointments, all of which take time, resources and money. Because of these barriers, many Americans with diabetes often go undiagnosed or ignore necessary treatment options altogether.
A study published online in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine has confirmed one way to ensure broader usage of preventive and disease management services for diabetes patients: access to affordable health care.
Using electronic health record data, Nathalie Huguet, Ph.D., and a team of researchers at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, compared changes in insurance and primary care visit rates among patients diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes, and individuals with no diagnosis. Patients received care at community health centers in 13 U.S. states, nine of which have Medicaid expansion programs.
Researchers found that the rates of uninsured visits to Community Health Centers decreased in all states across the three patient groups. Further, consistent with national averages, patients previously diagnosed with diabetes had higher clinic visit rates when compared with prediabetes or undiagnosed patients.
While the researchers did not find an overall increase in visits among this population, Huguet, a research assistant professor of family medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine, says that due to higher rates of obtained insurance, many patients were able to receive critical treatments and services, including preventive screenings, lab testing, specialized care and some medication not accessible to them before.
“This is particularly true for patients with lower socioeconomic status,” she said. “The utilization rates of these services prove how critical programs such as the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion are to a growing and vulnerable patient population.”
This research was supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (U18DP006116) and the National Cancer Institute (R01CA204267, R01CA181452), both components of the National Institutes of Health; and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01HS024270).


Most people eat from a somewhat restricted dietary selection. They eat a traditional, customary, or habitual diet. In the United States, this customary fare has long included large amounts of animal fat in such foods as eggs, milk, butter, pork, and beef. Most people tolerate this diet extremely well. Nonetheless, large numbers of people face the problem of elevated levels of blood cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol levels may cause premature development of hardening of the arteries, atherosclerosis, and the associated problems of heart attack and stroke.
TIAs are small, reversible strokes. When blood flow is temporarily insufficient for part of the brain, the brain tissue will not function properly. The changes that the patient experiences are real but reversible. The affected part of the brain loses function while the blood flow is insufficient, but it does not die, which would cause permanent loss of function. The variety of symptoms produced by TIAs is large and may involve sensory or motor functions, or both. Occasionally the symptoms may be so mild and transient that they are ignored by the patient and family alike.
Strokes occur when there is an interruption of blood flow to part of the brain. The most common cause of the interruption of blood flow is the plugging of an artery inside or leading to the brain. The plug is most often a blood clot or an embolus. An embolus is a piece of clot or other material broken off from somewhere else in the circulatory system. This kind of stroke, caused by interruption of blood flow, is an ischemic stroke and is the major cause of stroke in elderly patients. TIAs are small, reversible strokes.
Smoking cessation is good preventive health care. It is particularly important for patients suffering from a select list of health problems. This list includes angina pectoris (heart pain), heart attack, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (including emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis), stroke, dyspepsia, and osteoporosis. You are never too old to gain a benefit from stopping smoking.


Google Earth provides some amazing imagery of the earth, but as most of you know, the wide view of earth isn’t the greatest due to the patchwork of imagery across the globe. Fortunately, back in 2006 Frank released the Blue Marble, which uses beautiful imagery from NASA to show off the earth. NASA imagery shows a different image for each month of the year so you see a cloudless representation of the earth with vegetation colors and snow/ice as seen from space for that month, and the file below shows the current month.
The Blue Marble allows Earth to look more realistic when viewed from space, but the file automatically hides itself as you zoom in so that you can still see the sharp satellite imagery on the ground.
Due to some issues with the file locations, Frank recently had to update the file. While he was in there he made some nice tweaks to it, including removing the old cloud images. The result is a great-looking, lightweight file to make Google Earth look excellent! Frank had hopes Google would someday add such a feature into Google Earth, but there’s no sign of that yet. Best viewed if you turn off other layers like the Borders layer so it looks more like the view from space. You can also turn on the Weather->Clouds layer and the View->Sun menu option to add realism.
To try it for yourself, simply download this KML file and that’s it! Thanks to Frank for continuing to maintain such a great add-on.
You can also view a Blue Marble time animation Frank created that shows all 12 months of the Blue Marble in Google Earth.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
Helen Cornavits says
Hey Blue Marble update that’s ossom. Thank you!
Helen Cornavits says
I found the last up date http://www.mapmonde.org
This is a nice KML.
You can also get a similar view if you activate the Historical Imagery option and force it back to 12/1930.


With the fall beginning and winter close behind, people who live in colder areas are starting to look into portable storage options for various vehicles, tools and other such items around their home. Leaving certain items outdoors in cold weather leaves them unprotected and open to potential damage from rain, ice, sleet and the whole lineup of nasty weather during the later months of the year. Carports are a main option for many looking to cover their vehicles from these elements, but sometimes carports have a use beyond simply protecting your cars and trucks.
As we have mentioned before, more and more electric vehicles are being released and with them comes a slew of solar charging stations. In most cases, solar panels are placed atop carports to supply the charger with power. A new innovation from Tesla Motors takes this premise to a new level. According to ZDNet:
“So far, Tesla has built six Supercharger stations, which use a solar carport system installed by national solar leasing company, SolarCity…from the driver’s (driving a Tesla Model S) standpoint, the capacity of the charger is perhaps more intriguing. It can provide up to 100 kilowatts of power, which means that it can recharge a Model S with up to three hours of drive time in about a half-hour…”
The article says that Tesla has installed six such stations in California, which is a hotbed for electric vehicles. The next step of carport installations will look into high traffic routes – “from Vancouver to San Diego, Miami to Montreal and Los Angeles to New York. Superchargers will migrate to Europe and Asia in the second half of 2013.”
Electric vehicles are becoming more present on our roadways, so expect to see solar carports becoming a common sight at rest stops throughout the country and the world.


A simple definition of productivity is do more in less time. In 21 century, teenagers life is the most vulnerable of all. Distractions of all sorts, like phones, Facebook, Instagram, local events and parties are just a minimum of all the things that can ‘eat up’ the time of a teen. Victor, student in 12th grade, said that in the last month he accomplished just a few goals of his monthly plan. Also, Florentina, student in 12th grade, said that she is worried because she thinks that she won’t be able to learn everything for the Baccalaureat exam. If you too are facing problems like running out of time or postponing goals, there are a few tips that can boost your productivity and help you come back on track.
The first thing you can do is to plan in the evening the schedule for the next day. Waking up and knowing exactly what to do, will help you save energy and willpower. Your schedule should contain the main activities that you want to do, on hierarchical order with the exactly amount of time that you expect to last. For example: ‘Study for history- from 9:00 to 9:55’, ‘Write an essay- from 10:05 to 11:00’.
Another advice to increase productivity was given by Andrei, student in 11th grade. He said: ‘Take relaxing breaks after each hour spent on homework, and you will start seeing real results’. He also told me that after each goal accomplished he offers himself a reward.
Turning off all the distractions is something that will make you a ‘productivity machine’. For an hour, turn off your phone, close your window (if the noise is a distractor for you), tell your parents that you are studying and make sure that nothing in this world could disturb you. A right focus on the task that you have to do will help you to save time and finish things quickly.
One last thing that will increase your productivity is sport. Researchers showed that physical activity will make your brain perform better.
Those are the essential tips which will help you with productivity, if you make properly use of them. Don’t forget to have a healthy diet and positive thinking.


Have you ever noticed that your smile is different? Are your canines (eye teeth) closer than usual to your two front teeth? Is your smile similar to the picture displayed to the right? Then you may have a common genetic dental problem known as congenitally missing lateral incisors.
Missing lateral incisors is when the teeth adjacent to the upper front two teeth are missing. This trait is genetic, so if your lateral incisors are missing then you inherited this feature.
What Are lateral Incisors?
This congenital dental malformation is common, so you are not alone! Over 20% of people are missing one or more wisdom teeth (third molars) and over 5% are missing one or more second premolars or upper lateral incisors.
Although congenitally missing lateral incisors are not uncommon it is important to speak with your dentist about taking care of your missing teeth. Since every tooth has an essential and specific function, missing teeth may disturb the natural function of your teeth. For example, when the upper lateral incisors are missing the canine teeth often move toward the two front teeth (central incisors) to close the gaps created by the missing teeth. Once this occurs the upper and lower teeth will not close together properly, thus inhibiting the teeth from functioning and your ability to chew food correctly and comfortably.


The achievement gap – the difference in performance between low-income students and their wealthier peers – is larger in Connecticut than any other state, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Low-income children are often two or more grade levels behind in core subjects.
- African-American and Hispanic students scored significantly lower than white students in every content area of the Connecticut Mastery Tests.
- The performance of low-income students is poor even when compared with low- income students from other states.
- Low-income students in grades 4 and 8 scored in the bottom third nationally on standardized tests. So it’s not a case of Connecticut having a large gap because our highest achievers are doing so well. (Connecticut Council for Education Reform)
Schools are a major feeder to the juvenile justice system — and they are sending children of color to the system at a high rate.
- In Connecticut schools, black children are nearly four times more likely to be arrested than white children.
- Black students are suspended or expelled more frequently than white students. And while black children made up 16% of all enrolled children in 2011-12, according to federal data, they accounted for 31% of all in-school arrests.
- Nationally Black students are nearly two and 1/2 times more likely to be hit in schools than White children, and nearly eight times more likely to be ‘corporally punished’ than Latin@ kids
The disparity begins in preschool: 48% of preschool children suspended more than once are black. And students with disabilities are also suspended more frequently than students without disabilities.
Several studies have looked at the relationship between race, behavior, and suspension, and none have them have proven that black students misbehave at higher rates. A study in 2002 found that white students were more likely to be disciplined for provable, documentable offenses — smoking, vandalism, and obscene language — while black students were more likely to be disciplined for more subjective reasons, such as disrespect.


It is important to have an ethical framework in place for artificially intelligent and autonomous machines. In the Net Future 2017 debate on Legal, ethical and social issues in a software defined world, there was a disagreement among the participants regarding the ethical considerations of AI. It was advocated by some participants that the ethical framework and legal standards should be designed and built into the system design. However this raises a question that what happens to the learning algorithm and how it can be designed with such ethics in mind?
The counter argument is that the application of technology should be the subject of legality and ethics rather than the technology itself. It is argued that the use of technology is to be accountable against legal and ethical questions rather than the technology. Trying to put ethics into technology design might constrain it.
It is however still a question to be answered that how ethics can be designed into AI technology and where these ethical and legal questions lie.
The question of ethics for autonomous machines is not new and lessons can be learned from the societal impacts of robotics, a well-cited example from 1942 being Isaac Asmiov’s "Three Laws of Robotics".
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
The concept of robotics as tools is discussed in EPSRC and AHRC Robotics Retreat held in September 2010, supporting the notion that it is the application that the tool is put to that needs ethical consideration and legislation governing what is permissible.
The Hub4NGI D2.1 deliverable recommends that multi-disciplinary research and discussion are undertaken to provide answers to legal and ethical questions surrounding AI and its applications:
- How should legislation be brought to effect on AI systems?
- What are the most appropriate regulations?
- Are AI systems ever likely to be legal entities?
- How can an AI system be incentivised to be compliant with the law? It does not understand the notions of penalties for non-compliance.
- Should ethics be designed into AI technology, or should ethics apply to the applications
of AI technology?
- How can commitments be acquired from creators of AI technology to issue patches for
safety critical flaws over the long term?


The guard period after each rectangular pulse carrying the modulated data symbol is a simple and efficient method to deal with multi-path reception.
The cyclic prefix (CP) simply consists of the last part of the following symbol.
The size of the cyclic prefix field depends on the system and can even vary within one system. Cyclic prefixes are used by all modern OFDM systems and their sizes range from 1/4 to 1/32 of a symbol period. Most receiver structures use the cyclic prefix to make an initial estimation of time and frequency synchronization which including pre-FFT synchronization, non-data assisted synchronization for Cyclic prefix in LTE
A receiver typically uses the high correlation between the cyclic prefix and the last part of the following symbol to locate the start of the symbol and begin then with decoding. In multi-path propagation environments the delayed versions of the signal arrive with a time offset, so that the start of the symbol of the earliest path falls in the cyclic prefixes of the delayed symbols. As the CP is simply a repetition of the end of the symbol this is not an inter-symbol interference and can be easily compensated by the following decoding based on discrete Fourier transform for Cyclic prefix in LTE.
Of course cyclic prefixes reduce the number of symbols one can transmit during a time interval. This method to deal with inter-symbol interference from multi-path propagation is theoretically sub-optimal. CDMA with RAKE receiver for instance provides a much better efficiency. On the other hand non-ideal implementations of RAKE receivers also degrade system performance drastically but still require a lot of hardware capacity for the basic implementation for Cyclic prefix in LTE.
The rectangular pulse with cyclic prefix requires far less hardware, so the free capacity can be used to implement other performance optimization techniques like MIMO.


Centenary Map 1913 - 1923
The period 1913 - 1923 was one of great tumult and change for the people of Cork. Cork City Libraries, through our programme, It Seems History is to Blame, is seeking to commemorate the momentous events the shaped the social landscape in Cork at this time, and contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationship between its people and these events.
Each pin on the Centenary Map details an event which occurred in or about Cork City during the period 1913 - 1923. Every care has been taken to ensure each pin is placed in as precise a location as possible. Equally, every effort has made to describe the events at a location in its proper historical context. Primary resources such as contemporary newspaper reports and witness statements (as collated by the Bureau of Military History) form the basis of the map with supplementary information from books and maps listed below in the Bibliography.
Cork City Libraries would also like to acknowledge the work of UCC undergraduate Shane Kent at the initial stages of this project, and Eoin Long, UCC Digital Humanities undergraduate, who completed the project.
Brugha MacSwiney, Máire, History's Daughter: a Memoir from the Only Child of Terence MacSwiney ()
Costello, Francis J., Enduring the Most: The Life and Death of Terence MacSwiney (1995, Kerry)
Crowley, John et al, Atlas of Cork City (2005, Cork)
Guy & Co. Ltd., Guy's Cork Almanac and Directory (1917, Cork)
Henchion, Richard, Bishopstown, Wilton and Glasheen, (2001, Cork)
O'Donoghue, Florence, Tomás MacCurtain: Soldier and Patriot (1971, Kerry)
White, Gerry & O'Shea, Brendan, The Burning of Cork (2006, Cork)
White, Gerry & O'Shea, Brendan, A Great Sacrifice (2010, Cork)


Each assignment consists of a specific reading and a three page (minimum) resumé of the assigned pages.
1) Introduction, Maloney,* pp. 1-33.
2) The language, text and format of the Gospel, Brown,* pp. cxxix - cxxxv.
3) The destination and purpose of the Fourth Gospel, Brown, pp. lxvii - lxxix.
4) The question of authorship, Schnackenburg,* pp. 75 - 104.
5) Relation to the Synoptics, Schnackenburg, pp. 26 - 43.
6) The Prologue, Schnackenburg, pp. 221 - 282.
7) Jesus at Passover, Brown pp. 268 - 303.
8) The last discourse, Maloney, pp. 370 - 427.
9) The arrest and trial, Brodie* pp. 519 - 532.
10) The glorification of Jesus, Brodie, 541 - 574.
11) Ego Eimi - "I am", Brown, pp. 533 - 538.
12) The notion of faith in the Fourth Gospel, Schnackenburg, pp. 558 - 575.
13) The "Son of Man" in the Fourth Gospel, Schnackenburg, pp. 529 - 542.
14) Crucial questions in Johannine Theology, Brown, pp. cv - cxxii.
N.B. A certain amount of overlap is foreseen and intended so as to make the student experience the distinctive approach each author adopts.
* Bibliographical data follow:
Brodie, Thomas L. The Gospel According to John. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Brown, Raymond E. The Gospel According to John. Vol. I. (Anchor Bible Series). Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966.
Mooney, Francis J. The Gospel of John (Sacra Pagina Series). Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998.
Schnackenburg, Rudolf, The Gospel According to St. John. Vol. I. New York: Herder and Herder, 1968.


skillshare – Frame by Frame Animation Basics: Animate a Basic Walk Cycle
Frame by Frame Animation Basics
Frame by Frame Animation Basics: Animate a Basic Walk Cycle : This class is the comprehensive guide on how to animate walk cycles. I hope this existed when I started doing frame by frame animation. In this class you will learn the basic key poses: contact, down, passing and up. You will also learn the movement of the body, how the feet would move as well as the hands. By the end of this class, you will be animating a basic walk cycle. My goal is that by animating a walk cycle you will understand better the principles of frame by frame animation.
Here’s a summary of what you’ll learn:
- Breakdown the character into a simple figure
- Keyposes in a walk cycle
- Animate a moving walk cycle
- Animate a walk cycle on place
- Animate on ones
- Animate on twos
- Flesh out your animation
Note: this class is not for beginners or first-time animators. If it’s your first time animating please take my class: Frame by frame for beginners before taking this one.
Direct download links 0.6 GB :
CGArchives Is The Best
Review this tutorial


In western Madagascar, on the Bemaraha Plateau not far from the coast, lie a national park and nature preserve. Both areas are named for their otherworldly, rocky spires: tsingy. A haphazard landing on these razor-sharp rocks guarantees injury; the inhospitable terrain long provided local wildlife with protection against human encroachment.
The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite captured this true-color image of a portion of Madagascar’s Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park on January 16, 2005. Although less dramatic from the sky than from the ground, the rock formations are still visible in this image, especially near the top center. Together, naked rocks and vegetation produce a patchwork of green and gray. The outcrops appear to form long lines that run roughly north to south, but this is due partly to the angle of sunlight. Just as the clouds cast their shadows to the west, the rocks cast their longest shadows in that direction, too. In reality, breaks along multiple directions dissect the spires of rock, forming a crosshatch pattern.
The formation of these unusual rocks actually began some 200 million years ago when layers of calcite accumulated at the bottom of a Jurassic lagoon, forming a thick limestone bed. Later tectonic activity elevated the limestone, and as sea level fell during the Pleistocene ice ages, even more of the limestone was exposed. No longer underwater, the ancient sediments were carved by monsoon rains, which washed softer rocks away and left tougher rocks standing. Meanwhile, groundwater carved caves below the surface. As cave ceilings gave way, canyons formed between rocky towers. Today, the limestone formation shows a combination of jagged spires and rounded surfaces.
To a human, the area is formidable, but negotiating the tsingy is far easier for a primate that evolved here, the sifaka lemur, which jumps nimbly between spires. Because of its value in preserving habitat for lemurs and birds, the Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve has been established as a World Heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen, using EO-1 ALI data provided by the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Michon Scott.


The current spell of warm weather means people should think carefully about how to keep cool and stay healthy.
Dr Jones, a practising cardiologist, said:
“We have seen a significant rise in the number of people attending emergency units with cardiac and respiratory related conditions and a corresponding rise in hospital admissions.
“For children and babies, older people and those with long term health conditions, especially those with heart and breathing conditions, there are some simple steps to take to stay healthy.
“Stay out of direct sunlight between 11am and 3am when the sun is strongest, and always use a sunscreen with a high sun protection factor. Loose, cool clothing and wearing a hat when outdoors can also help to prevent heat exhaustion and sunstroke.
“People who are physically active also need to be aware of what they can do to stay cool and hydrated. eep well hydrated, drink cold drinks such as water and fruit juice regularly and avoid tea, coffee and alcohol.
“Cool baths or showers, or splashing yourself with cold water or placing your wrists under cool running water can help if you feel you are overheating.
“Don’t forget to check up on friends, relatives and neighbours; older people and people with mobility problems are likely to be affected by the hot weather.
“Getting out in the sunshine can be a real mood-booster, but don’t forget to drink plenty of water and think about what you can do to keep well in warm weather.”


Appendicitis is one of the causes of serious belly pain. It happens when the appendix, a part of the large intestine, becomes infected and inflamed.
Appendicitis is most common in people between the ages of 10 and 30, although it can occur at any age. Common symptoms of appendicitis include:
- Pain in the belly. The pain may begin around the belly button.
- Pain in the belly that gets stronger and moves below the belly button to the lower right side.
- Pain that does not go away and gets worse when the person moves, walks, or coughs.
- Pain in any part of the belly or on the side.
- Nausea, throwing up, and not wanting to eat.
- Constipation, back pain, and a slight fever.
- A general feeling of being sick, and a pain that is hard to describe.
If the infection gets worse, the wall of the appendix can break open (rupture). This spreads infection into the belly area, causing peritonitis. Peritonitis is a serious condition that, in rare cases, can lead to death.
The main treatment for appendicitis is surgery to remove the appendix (appendectomy).
Current as of: November 30, 2022
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:Anne C. Poinier MD - Internal Medicine & Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine & Adam Husney MD - Family Medicine & E. Gregory Thompson MD - Internal Medicine


The region was relatively unaffected until 1940 when Japanese forces began occupying northern Vietnam areas. Within a year’s time, Japan had full control over Indochina. Fortunate enough for the French, the Vichy government was permitted to “remain in office until March 1945 (britannica.com).” Following March 1945, the Japanese overturned the French control allowing for self-governing, independent Vietnam. Unfortunately, this was a short-lived as the establishment of autonomy fell through following the surrendering of Japan in August of 1946.
Immediately following the Japanese over-head, the nationalist leader Ho Chi Minh who was associated with the Viet Minh took power and declared the governed state of Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Laos and Cambodia were soon re-occupied by their French Union roughly at the same time as Chi Minh took power.
Shortly after, the First Indochinese War took place. The French wanted and tried to maintain control of the region between 1949-1950, which lead to a treaty between France and the governed states of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to be seen as independent states under the French Union. The leaders of these notably semi-independent states were loyal to the French and remained “puppet-leaders (Britannica.com).”
Post Geneva Conference, these states fully received independence and France lost their governing ability.
Berganus. "Indochina Map. Wikipedia Commons. 22 Nov. 2014.
"Indochina." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web.
Go to Historical Events


2000's and '10's
For queer youth, the 2000's followed up the radical air of the nineties with cartoonists like Ariel Schrag and Mariko Tamaki depicting the pseudo-acceptance of the counterculture as acceptance became trendy in certain parts of the country. As a consequence of this and general capitalist forces, independent queer communities began to die off at the hands of larger corporations. Those communities were generally moved online allowing a level of communication and interaction that hadn't really previously been possible for queer people.
In 2015, gay marriage was legalized in all fifty states by the Supreme Court in the case Obergefell V. Hodges and queerness essentially became normalized. Despite large public opposition until as late as 2010, the fundamental right to marriage marked a solid starting point for further moves towards queer rights. The 2010's also saw a boom in transgender recognition as trans kids and celebrities entered the public eye and amassed recognition and systemized access to medical care that had previously been largely underground.
Queer people are still fighting for rights: legal protection from employment termination as a consequence of gender identity or sexuality only becoming ratified in 2020. However, things have consistently improved as a result of communication, political action, and bravery of those who came before us. It is the duty of those of us here today, whether queer or ally, to continue to fight for and protect the rights of all queer people as a community, since legal protection and recognition is significantly more tenuous than many people realize.


The Institute of Education Sciences, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, recently released their 23rd annual review of criminal incidents and student safety in educational institutions.
The Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2020 presents the latest federal findings on occurrences of bullying, hate speech, sexual assault, and more in K-12 schools and colleges in recent years. The agencies gather data from a variety of individual studies and reports to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of crime and safety in the U.S. education system.
Several significant findings emerged from this year’s report. Perhaps most alarming, the data shows that the number of sexually related offenses reported on U.S. campuses rose 383 percent from 2009 to 2018. The report’s authors note that federal changes in Title IX reporting guidelines issued in 2014 likely played a significant role in the increase, as incidents in that year alone rose 36 percent.
Another major finding concerns hate speech and bullying for students in middle and high school. According to the data, students ages 12 to 18 who identify as two or more races were significantly more likely to report being a target of hate speech or a victim of bullying compared with all other races.
All data listed below is for 2017-2018 unless otherwise noted.
This article was published in our September 2021 issue.