JOHANNESBURG: Some 270 miners were charged on Thursday with the murders of 34 striking colleagues who were shot and killed by South African police officers, authorities said, a development that could further infuriate South Africans already shocked and angered by the police action.
The decision to charge the miners comes under an arcane Roman-Dutch common cause law, and it suggests President Jacob Zuma's government wants to shift blame for the killings from police to the striking miners.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Frank Lesenyego said that "it's the police who were shooting but they were under attack by the protesters, who were armed, so today the 270 accused are charged with the murders" of those who were shot.
More than 150 of the arrested miners have filed complaints that they have been beaten up in police cells by officers, the Independent Police Complaints Directorate reported earlier this week.
Directorate spokesman Moses Dlamini said the complainants accused police of beating them with batons and fists and kicking and slapping them to force them to give the names of miners who hacked two police officers to death in a week of violence preceding the shootings. Eight other people were killed, including three miners and two mine security guards whom striking miners burned alive in their vehicle.
The violent strike, apparently rooted in rivalry between two trade unions, had rock drill operators demanding a minimum wage of R12,500 (USD 1,560) and complaining that their take-home pay was only about R5,500 (USD 688).
On August 16, police said they had failed to persuade the strikers to disarm and that it was "D-Day" to end the strike at the London-registered Lonmin PLC platinum mine. That afternoon, striking miners armed with clubs, machetes and at least one gun allegedly charged at police, who opened fire, killing 34 and wounding at least 78.
Some survivors said many of the miners were fleeing police tear gas and water cannons when they were shot.
Dlamini has refused to comment on local news reports that autopsies show many of those killed were shot in the back.
http://www.DayTradersWin.com John McLaughlin, StockCoach ? career specialty: Day Trader (Day Trading Stocks) - Personal Success - Consultant / Coach. I help troubled investing, swing trading, and day trading traders become millionaires - Day Trading Socks, New School.
AAA??Aug. 30, 2012?10:32 PM ET AP PHOTOS: Flooding from Isaac plagues Louisiana By The Associated Press??By The Associated Press
This aerial photo shows Interstate 10, partially submerged by floodwaters, in LaPlace, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac soaked Louisiana for yet another day and pushed more water into neighborhoods all around the city, flooding homes and forcing last-minute evacuations and rescues. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This aerial photo shows Interstate 10, partially submerged by floodwaters, in LaPlace, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac soaked Louisiana for yet another day and pushed more water into neighborhoods all around the city, flooding homes and forcing last-minute evacuations and rescues. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This aerial photo shows an intentional levy breach created to alleviate trapped floodwater in the community of Braithwaite, La., in the aftermath of Isaac, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac soaked Louisiana for yet another day and pushed more water into neighborhoods all around the city, flooding homes and forcing last-minute evacuations and rescues. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People ride ATV's through flooded streets in Lafitte, La., after Hurricane Isaac came through the region, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People leave a building by boat after Isaac flooded the community of Braithwaite, La., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Isaac soaked Louisiana for yet another day and pushed more water into neighborhoods all around the city, flooding homes and forcing last-minute evacuations and rescues. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Dislodged homes and debris appear on the levee and submerged roadway in the community of Braithwaite, along side the Mississippi River, seen at left, after Hurricane Isaac came through the region Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? A highway lost under water. A levee intentionally breached to alleviate flooding. People riding ATVs through flooded streets.
Here are some aerial images of the effects of Hurricane Isaac's fury.
Minnesota Opera?s Multimedia Communications Intern, under supervision of the Communications Manager, will assist in the development and production of engaging multimedia content for a variety of platforms to support the publicity and communications strategies of the company. The intern will learn about using video, audio recording and photography to promote the productions and initiatives of one of America?s leading opera companies. By filming special events and portions of the rehearsal process, editing in-house video clips for social media and website content, organizing video shoots and assisting our videographers from Comcast and QuarterTon Productions, the intern will develop editing and evaluation skills as well as a critical eye for compelling content for viewers and listeners. The Multimedia Communications Internship will run from September 10, 2012 ? May 17, 2013. The schedule is approximately 15-20 hours per week, including nights and weekends, with exact schedule to be determined. Internship is available immediately and negotiable in length, but a full season internship is preferable (September ? May). Please only apply if you are available 15-20 hours per week.
All interns can expect to interact with staff in various departments throughout the company, providing a better understanding of the role of multimedia content within the organization. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
ACTIVITIES: Brainstorm content ideas for video clips and audio podcasts. Develop storyboards and scripts. Record, edit, distribute and archive video of a limited amount of special events and various publicity runouts (artist appearances and interviews for newsprint/magazines, radio and television) and the rehearsal process at the Minnesota Opera Center in Minneapolis and the Ordway in St. Paul. Collaborate with Communications Manager, Online Content Specialist, Photography Intern and Social Media Intern to develop content for the Opera?s social media initiatives (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, YouTube) and website. Coordinate video shoots and production schedules for Comcast ?A Backstage Look? features (one for each of our five productions). Coordinate and assist with artist interviews for in-house created audio podcasts. Organize video interviews and assist in the editing process for QuarterTon Production?s shoots on our final dress rehearsal nights (resulting in interview clips, production b-roll and publicity VNR). Manage Minnesota Opera?s video content via YouTube.
QUALIFICATIONS: Interest in multimedia conceptualization and production. Previous experience required in video production/editing (Adobe Premiere), podcasting (Audacity, Garage Band) and/or graphic design (Adobe Creative Suite). Detail-oriented with the ability to multitask and meet deadlines required. Strong written and verbal communication skills. Strong interest in pursuing a career in not-for-profit/performing arts publicity. Professional demeanor. Undergraduate/graduate students and recent college graduates with a strong portfolio of work (all majors are welcomed, though Art, Design, Cinema, Communications and other related majors are preferred).
FOR CONSIDERATION: Please submit cover letter and a link to your personal website/online portfolio of video work, or video projects posted on YouTube to dzillmann@mnopera.org.
This phone is available in two colours- black and white. A silver rim runs around the edges of the phone (black colour). The back cover is especially prone to scratches and fingerprints. Up front is a large 4 inch display together with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. Its keys at the bottom are a bit cramped. It would have been better had it been limited to just 3 instead of 4 physical buttons.
The
front camera of Sony Xperia neo L rests above the screen together
with the sensors. There is a sole charging port towards the left
side, while the right includes the power button and the volume
rocker. On the top, the 3.5mm headphone jack and notification LED is
located. The back houses a 5 megapixel shooter, the speaker grill and
an LED flash. Under the hood, you will have a SIM card slot, a 1500
mAh battery and a non hot swappable microSD card slot. The Xperia neo
L is available at the retail price of S$388 (US$307) without operator
subsidies in Singapore. This price is cheaper as compared to the neo
V's retail price that is S$468 (US$370) at launch.
Some
of the
new mobile phones in Singapore that have won the hearts of thousands
of people are Samsung Galaxy Beam, BlackBerry curve 9220, Nokia Asha
305, Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus and LG Optimus L7. People in Singapore
loved the features and specification of Sony Xperia Go. The mobile
gadgets, which people are curiously waiting, includes Sony Xperia LS,
Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTQ, Acer Liquid Gallant Duo and Microsoft
surface RT. The Sony Xperia LS has been voted with five stars. It is
being considered as an excellent phone among all other Sony mobile
phones with highly advanced features.
There
are many sites that not only offer news about the release of new
mobile phones in Singapore,
but
also about the other gadgets. The Motorola Razr Maxx, an Android
based phone, has the longest talk time as compared to other
smartphones. There is another latest release by Samsung named Galaxy
Beam 2012 that is a fancy smartphone. The specialty of this phone is
that it contains projection capabilities. Another mobile phone from
Sony named Funky Xpreia have 3.5 inch of screen. Its price tag is
affordable. Sony Xperia U has taken the hearts of the people. Enjoy
Sony Xperia neo L and its exclusive features.
Around the same time that man discovered fire, he also invented the barter system. One man had something that another man wanted, the first offered a trade for something that the other man needed and thus business was born.
Since then, business has become a foundation of our society and things have progressed significantly in terms of the ways of doing business and ways for businesses to reach their customers.
PR or public relations is something that many people think lies solely in the realm of large, multi-national businesses but truth be told it is something that all companies from the smallest to the largest should be engaging in, no matter what their area of operation.
In essence, PR and marketing are about controlling and managing public perception of your business. For most businesses, how your company is perceived is extremely important and will have a direct impact on the success and profitability of your organisation.
This could take the form of generating new interest in your business, generating interest in a new product or service that you are launching, managing the image of your business in the media, or gathering feedback about how your products and services are being received by your customers and in what ways you can improve on them.
If you run a small business you might think that running a PR and marketing campaign is out of your reach, or something that you can manage yourself. However, if you really worked out the cost of such a campaign and the benefits is could bring, compared to the opportunities you might miss out on by not engaging in this kind of activity, it starts to look very cost effective.
Whether your business operates in the business to business sector, the private sector, the public sector, directly to the consumer or anyone of a myriad of other possibilities, there are specialist PR services that you can use to improve and grow your company.
The right kind of targeted PR, whether it be business PR, consumer PR, fashion PR, restaurant PR, corporate PR, music PR or baby PR, (to name but a few) can provide enormous benefits to your business and identify areas for potential growth that you would never have seen as opportunities otherwise.
If you?re not using PR effectively, then you are ?leaving money on the table? and giving away and advantage to any of your competitors who are. Don?t ask yourself if you can afford to use a PR agency, ask yourself if you can afford not to.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2012) ? A new study has found a gene that appears to make women happy, but it doesn't work for men. The finding may help explain why women are often happier than men, the research team said.
Scientists at the University of South Florida (USF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute reported that the low-expression form of the gene monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is associated with higher self-reported happiness in women. No such association was found in men.
The findings appear online in the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry.
"This is the first happiness gene for women," said lead author Henian Chen, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, USF College of Public Health.
"I was surprised by the result, because low expression of MAOA has been related to some negative outcomes like alcoholism, aggressiveness and antisocial behavior," said Chen, who directs the Biostatistics Core at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine's Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. "It's even called the warrior gene by some scientists, but, at least for women, our study points to a brighter side of this gene."
While they experience higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders, women tend to report greater overall life happiness than do men. The reason for this remains unclear, Chen said. "This new finding may help us to explain the gender difference and provide more insight into the link between specific genes and human happiness."
The MAOA gene regulates the activity of an enzyme that breaks down serontin, dopamine and other neurotransmitters in the brain -- the same "feel-good" chemicals targeted by many antidepressants. The low-expression version of the MAOA gene promotes higher levels of monoamine, which allows larger amounts of these neurotransmitters to stay in the brain and boost mood.
The researchers analyzed data from a population-based sample of 345 individuals -- 193 women and 152 men -- participating in Children in the Community, a longitudinal mental health study. The DNA of study subjects had been analyzed for MAOA gene variation and their self-reported happiness was scored by a widely used and validated scale.
After controlling for various factors, ranging from age and education to income, the researchers found that women with the low-expression type of MAOA were significantly happier than others. Compared to women with no copies of the low-expression version of the MAOA gene, women with one copy scored higher on the happiness scale and those with two copies increased their score even more.
While a substantial number of men carried a copy of the "happy" version of the MAOA gene, they reported no more happiness than those without it.
So, why the genetic gender gap in feeling good?
The researchers suspect the difference may be explained in part by the hormone testosterone, found in much smaller amounts in women than in men. Chen and his co-authors suggest that testosterone may cancel out the positive effect of MAOA on happiness in men.
The potential benefit of MAOA in boys could wane as testosterone levels rise with puberty, Chen said. "Maybe men are happier before adolescence because their testosterone levels are lower."
Chen emphasizes that more research is needed to identify which specific genes influence resilience and subjective well-being, especially since studies of twins estimate genetic factors account for 35 to 50 percent of the variance in human happiness.
While happiness is not determined by a single gene, there is likely a set of genes that, along with life experiences, shape our individual happiness levels, Chen said. "I think the time is right for more genetic studies that focus on well-being and happiness."
"Certainly it could be argued that how well-being is enhanced deserves at least as much attention as how (mental) disorders arise; however, such knowledge remains limited."
The study by Chen and colleagues was supported by the National Institutes of Health and a USF proposal enhancement grant.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of South Florida (USF Health).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Henian Chen, Daniel S. Pine, Monique Ernst, Elena Gorodetsky, Stephanie Kasen, Kathy Gordon, David Goldman, Patricia Cohen. The MAOA gene predicts happiness in women. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.07.018
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
You don?t have to go off the deep end and turn into Ebenezer Scrooge just to save money in the day-to-day operations of your small business.? We?ve got tips that will help you save by cutting back on unnecessary expenses within your company. No need for drastic measures like forcing your employees to work by candlelight with a single lump of coal.
1. Never buy on a whim.
Sometimes it?s easy to get distracted by how convenient the latest tools and electronics can be. What you really need to focus on is the bottom line. Will making the purchase be a sound financial decision for your small business? If not, walk away. Make it a habit to contemplate major non-emergency purchases a minimum of one week before you buy.
2. Practice your negotiating skills.
So many times you can get better prices from suppliers if you just ask. It?s worth it to read up a little on the art of negotiating and understand the psychology behind it, too. Not everything is negotiable, of course. But it?s pretty easy to recognize when there?s an opportunity to save.
3. Shop used or buy older models.
It might seem tough at first, but you really can operate a business without being an early adopter. Whether buying a company car or a computer, you can get everything you truly need for a better price if you avoid the temptation to buy the latest and greatest model just because it?s there.
4. Track office supply spending.
You don?t have to be a tedious penny pincher to make this work. Just look over your supply receipts and learn to recognize where you have opportunities to save. For example, if you see you?re spending a fortune on sticky notes each month, consider investing in dry-erase boards or other reusable products for taking notes and messages.
5. Cut back on utility consumption when the business is closed.
Just like at home, you should be automatically adjusting the thermostat when your building is empty to save money. And remember that little things add up. From installing a motion light in restrooms to buying office space with plenty of natural light, you can reduce how much you pay on utilities every month.
6. Spend less on postage.
Many of us already take advantage of email and electronic newsletters to communicate with customers. But sometimes it?s necessary to send important information via snail mail. Take advantage of bulk delivery services whenever possible. You should also plan ahead to reduce the need to use overnight delivery services. One-day delivery can cost your business a small fortune in just a few months time.
In most cases, saving money is about taking the time to track and evaluate your expenditures. Put aside a little time every month to look for places where you can save. You can also ask your staff members for suggestions to help make business more efficient and less costly.
Have you recently implemented money-saving measures in your small business? How did you do it?
President Barack Obama walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington after his arrival from Camp David on Marine One helicopter, Sunday, Aug., 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama walks across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington after his arrival from Camp David on Marine One helicopter, Sunday, Aug., 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? As college students return to campus, President Barack Obama's campaign will be there waiting for them.
Obama aides sees college campuses as fertile ground for registering and recruiting some of the more than 15 million young people who have become eligible to vote since the 2008 election. As Republicans hold their party convention in Florida this week, the president will make a personal appeal to college voters in three university towns: Ames, Iowa; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Charlottesville, Va.
Obama's victory four years ago was propelled in part by his overwhelming support among college-aged voters, and polls show him leading Republican rival Mitt Romney with that group in this year's race.
But the president faces an undeniable challenge as he seeks to convince young people that he is the right steward for the economy as they eye a shaky postgraduation job market.
Seeking to overcome that economic uncertainty, Obama's campus staffers and volunteers are touting the president's positions on social issues, like gay rights, that garner significant support among young people. Obama has stressed his effort to freeze the interest rates on new federal student loans, a pitch he personalizes by reminding voters that he and the first lady were once buried under a "mountain" of student loan debt after law school.
They also see a fresh opportunity to court students ? and their parents ? following Romney's pick of Paul Ryan as his running mate. Democrats say Ryan's budget would cut funding for Pell Grants, the federal need-based program for students, and Obama's campaign is running television advertisements in battleground states trying to link Romney to that plan.
Campaigning last week at Capital University in Ohio, Obama told students that Romney's economic plan "makes one thing clear: He does not think investing in your future is worth it. He doesn't think that's a good investment. I do."
Obama was scheduled to speak Tuesday at Iowa State University and Colorado State University. The University of Virginia rejected his campaign's request to hold an event on campus Wednesday, saying it would cause the cancellation or disruption of classes on the second day of the semester. The event was instead being held at an off-campus pavilion in Charlottesville.
White House and campaign officials were closely monitoring Tropical Storm Isaac as it barreled toward the Gulf Coast, but as of late Monday, there were no plans to cancel the president's trip.
Romney's campaign sees an opportunity to cut into the president's support among young people by pushing a three-pronged economic argument focusing on the nation's high unemployment rate, the soaring cost of college and the national debt.
"These kids haven't even entered the workforce and they already owe the government a bill for the debt Obama has rung up," said Joshua Baca, the Romney campaign's national coalitions director.
Obama campaign officials say the start of the new school year is a particularly crucial time to ramp up college registration and make sure those new voters get to the polls. In many of the battleground states, about 50 percent of the college students register to vote on campus after Labor Day, according to the campaign. And even those who are already registered may need to change their address or other personal details after moving to new dorms.
At the University of Dayton, Daniel Rajaiah encourages his fellow Democrats to carry voter registration forms to class, to parties and around campus in case they find someone who hasn't yet registered. Members of the College Democrats set up tables in the middle of campus a few days a week to catch students walking to class or to the cafeteria.
"Our game plan this fall is to hit voter registration very hard," said Rajaiah, who is president of the College Democrats of Ohio.
Obama's campaign said it registered 10,000 voters on college campuses in Ohio last week and signed up 300 new volunteers at colleges in Iowa.
Four years ago, Obama won two-thirds of the vote among 18- to 29-year-olds, compared with just 32 percent for his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, according to exit polls.
An Associated Press-GfK poll released last week showed Obama again holding a broad advantage among younger voters, with 54 percent of registered voters under 35 saying they would vote for Obama and 38 percent backing Romney.
___
Associated Press News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.
___
Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Ken Thomas at http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas .
ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2012) ? Pretend play can be fun for preschool children, but a new University of Virginia study, published in the current online edition of the journal Psychological Bulletin, finds that it is not as crucial to a child's development as currently believed. Pretend play is any play a child engages in, alone, with playmates, or with adults, that involves uses of the imagination to create a fantasy world or situation, such as making toy cars go "vrrooooom" or making dolls talk.
Based on a number of key studies over four decades, pretend play is widely considered by psychologists -- and teachers and parents -- to be a vital contributor to the healthy development of children's intellect.
However, the new U.Va. study -- a thorough review of more than 150 studies -- looked for clearly delineated contributions of pretend play to children's mental development, and found little or no correlation.
Much of the previously presented "evidence" for the vitality of pretend play to development is derived from flawed methodology, according to Angeline Lillard, the new study's lead author and a U.Va. professor of psychology in the College of Arts & Sciences. She said testers might have been biased by knowledge that they were testing children who had engaged in adult-directed pretend play prior to testing.
"We found no good evidence that pretend play contributes to creativity, intelligence or problem-solving," Lillard said. "However, we did find evidence that it just might be a factor contributing to language, storytelling, social development and self-regulation."
She said it is often difficult for psychologists to separate whether children who engage in pretend play are already creative and imaginative, or if the pretend play, often encouraged by parents or teachers, actually promotes development.
"When you look at the research that has been done to test that, it comes up really short," Lillard said. "It may be that we've been testing the wrong things; and it may well be that when a future experiment is really well done we may find something that pretend play does for development, but at this point these claims are all overheated. This is our conclusion from having really carefully read the studies."
Lillard emphasized that various elements often present during pretend play -- freedom to make choices and pursue one's own interests, negotiation with peers and physical interaction with real objects -- are valuable, especially with appropriate levels of adult guidance.
These conditions exist both in pretend play and in other playful preschool activities that encourage children to discover their own interests and talents, such as the method used in Montessori schools.
Pretend play is also important diagnostically for children between 18 months and 2 years old, Lillard said. A complete absence of pretend play among children of that narrow age range could indicate autism, and suggests that such children be evaluated for other signs of the neurological disorder.
A growing problem, she said, is a trend in schools toward intensively preparing children for tests -- often supplanting organized and informal playtime, leading to a debate over whether early childhood curricula should include materials and time for pretend play.
"Playtime in school is important," Lillard said. "We found evidence that -- when a school day consists mostly of sitting at desks listening to teachers -- recess restores attention and that physical exercise improves learning."
Regarding pretend play, she said, "If adults enjoy doing it with children, it provides a happy context for positive adult-child interaction, a very important contributor to children's healthy development."
Stephen Hinshaw, editor of Psychological Bulletin and a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, said, "The article by Lillard and colleagues is a game-changer -- a paragon of carefully-reasoned evidence that will challenge the play-based domination of the early-childhood field for years to come."
Lillard's graduate student co-authors are Rebecca Dore, Emily Hopkins, Matthew Lerner, Carrie Palmquist and Eric Smith.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Virginia. The original article was written by Fariss Samarrai.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Angeline S. Lillard, Matthew D. Lerner, Emily J. Hopkins, Rebecca A. Dore, Eric D. Smith, Carolyn M. Palmquist. The Impact of Pretend Play on Children's Development: A Review of the Evidence.. Psychological Bulletin, 2012; DOI: 10.1037/a0029321
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Following up on our call for legal history workshop schedules, here is the line-up for the Triangle Legal History Seminar:
Sept. 21, 2012: Daniel Bessner, History Graduate Student, Duke University? "'We Shall Repeal the Twentieth Century': Murray Rothbard and the Making of Radical Libertarianism"
Oct. 19, 2012: David Gilmartin, Professor of History, North Carolina State University ?"The Paradox of Patronage:? Influence, Dealing, and Moral Character in mid-20th century Indian Election Law"?
Nov. 16, 2012: Emiliano Corral, Graduate of UNC Law School and recent Ph.D. recipient, University of Chicago? "Legal Culture as Impetus to Action: The Gary Code and Progressive-Era Capitalism."
Dec. 7, 2012: Linda Rupert, Assistant Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Greensboro ??'Henceforth al slaves who seek refuge in my domains shall be free': Spanish Royal Decrees regarding Inter-imperial Marronage in the Eighteenth-Century Caribbean." (jointly sponsored with the Triangle Early American History Seminar)?
Jan. 18, 2012: Cynthia Greenlee, History Graduate Student, Duke University ?"'A Most Offensive Outrage against One So Young': Defining Childhood and Sexual Harm in South Carolina's Criminal Courts, 1885-1905."
Feb. 15 , 2013: Verena Kasper-Marienberg, Institut fuer Geschichte, Karl Franzens Universitaet Graz "Jewish Cases at an Early Modern Supreme Court: A Source for Legal and Gender History" (jointly sponsored with the Triangle Jewish Studies Seminar)
April 5, 2013: Steven Usselman, Professor, School of History, Technology, and Society, Georgia Tech University "Antitrust as Technology Policy:? The Case of Computing."
April 19, 2013: Madeline Zelin, Dean Lung Professor of Chinese Studies and Professor of History, Columbia University ?The Contested Role of Law in China?s First Commercial Law Regime??
For more information, follow the link. Hat tip: The Faculty Lounge
The light and the dark, complete enemies. The light cheerful and the dark fearful. But which side are you on
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Humans inherit more than three times as many mutations from their fathers as from their mothers, and mutation rates increase with the father's age but not the mother's, researchers have found in the largest study of human genetic mutations to date.
The study, based on the DNA of around 85,000 Icelanders, also calculates the rate of human mutation at high resolution, providing estimates of when human ancestors diverged from nonhuman primates. It is one of two papers published this week by the journalNature Genetics as well as one published at Nature that shed dramatic new light on human evolution.
"Most mutations come from dad," said David Reich, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and a co-leader of the study. In addition to finding 3.3 paternal germline mutations for each maternal mutation, the study also found that the mutation rate in fathers doubles from age 20 to 58 but that there is no association with age in mothers ? a finding that may shed light on conditions, such as autism, that correlate with the father's age.
The study's first author is James Sun, a graduate student in Reich's lab who worked with researchers from deCODE Genetics, a biopharma company based in Reykjavik, Iceland, to analyze about 2,500 short sequences of DNA taken from 85,289 Icelanders in 24,832 father-mother-child trios. The sequences, called microsatellites, vary in the number of times that they repeat, and are known to mutate at a higher rate than average places in the genome.
Reich's team identified 2,058 mutational changes, yielding a rate of mutation that suggests human and chimpanzee ancestral populations diverged between 3.7 million and 6.6 million years ago.
A second team, also based at deCODE Genetics (but not involving HMS researchers), published a paper this week in Nature on a large-scale direct estimate of the rate of single nucleotide substitutions in human genomes (a different type of mutation process), and came to largely consistent findings.
The finding complicates theories drawn from the fossil evidence. The upper bound, 6.6 million years, is less than the published date of Sahelanthropus tchadensis, a fossil that has been interpreted to be a human ancestor since the separation of chimpanzees, but is dated to around 7 million years old. The new study suggests that this fossil may be incorrectly interpreted.
Great Heights
A second study led by HMS researchers, also published in Nature Genetics this week, adds to the picture of human evolution, describing a newly observable form of recent genetic adaptation.
The team led by Joel Hirschhorn, Concordia Professor of Pediatrics and professor of genetics at Boston Children's Hospital and HMS, first asked why closely-related populations can have noticeably different average heights. David Reich also contributed to this study.
They examined genome-wide association data and found that average differences in height across Europe are partly due to genetic factors. They then showed that these genetic differences are the result of an evolutionary process that acts on variation in many genes at once. This type of evolution had been proposed to exist but had not previously been detected in humans.
Although recent human evolution is difficult to observe directly, some of its impact can be inferred by studying the human genome. In recent years, genetic studies have uncovered many examples where recent evolution has left a distinctive signature on the human genome. The clearest "footprints" of evolution have been seen in regions of DNA surrounding mutations that occurred fairly recently (typically in the last several thousand years) and confer an advantageous trait, such as resistance to malaria. Hirschhorn's team observed, for the first time in humans, a different signature of recent evolution: widespread small but consistent changes at many different places in the genome, all affecting the same trait, adult height.
"This paper offers the first proof and clear example of a new kind of human evolution for a specific trait," said Hirschhorn, who is also a senior associate member of the Broad Institute. "We provide a demonstration of how humans have been able to adapt rapidly without needing to wait for new mutations to happen, by drawing instead on the existing genetic diversity within the human population."
Average heights can differ between populations, even populations that are genetically very similar, which suggests that human height might have been evolving differently across these populations. Hirschhorn's team studied variants in the genome that are known to have small but consistent effects on height: people inheriting the "tall" version of these variants are known to be slightly taller on average than people inheriting the "short" versions of the same variants.
The researchers discovered that, in northern Europe, the "tall" versions of these variants are consistently a little more common than they are in southern Europe. The combined effects of the "tall" versions being more common can partly explain why northern Europeans are on average taller than southern Europeans. The researchers then showed that these slight differences have arisen as a result of evolution acting at many variants, and acting differently in northern than in southern Europe.
"This paper explains ? at least in part ? why some European populations, such as people from Sweden, are taller on average than others, such as people from Italy," Hirschhorn said.
The researchers were only able to detect this signature of evolution by using the results of recent genome-wide association studies by the GIANT consortium, which identified hundreds of different genetic variants that influence height.
###
Harvard Medical School: http://hms.harvard.edu
Thanks to Harvard Medical School for this article.
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Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks at a rally at the University of South Florida Sun Dome on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks at a rally at the University of South Florida Sun Dome on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Rep. Ron Paul's delegates are trying to mount a floor fight over new GOP rules designed to limit the ability of insurgent presidential candidates to amass delegates to future Republican conventions.
They are getting help from other delegates, though it is unclear whether they can rally enough support to challenge the rules on the floor of the convention Tuesday.
Mitt Romney, the party's presumptive nominee, has plenty of delegates to win any floor fight. But the dispute could provide an unwanted distraction for party leaders who would rather focus on promoting Romney and defeating President Barack Obama.
"It's so heavily scripted. This is not the forum in they want to air the proverbial dirty laundry," said Juliette Jordal, a Paul delegate from Minnesota.
The new GOP rules would bind delegates to the outcome of presidential primaries and caucuses, allowing candidates to choose which delegates would represent them at future national conventions. Currently, state parties choose national delegates, usually at state and congressional district conventions.
The new rules would also make it more difficult for insurgent candidates to get their names placed in nomination at the convention. This year, candidates need a plurality of delegates from five states to get their name placed in nomination, a threshold Paul did not reach. The new rules would require support from eight states.
The convention's rules committee approved the new rules last week before the start of the convention in Tampa, Fla. The rules were scheduled for a vote by the full convention Monday but many activities were delayed because of Tropical Storm Isaac.
A handful of Paul delegates tried to provide a taste of what's to come after Monday's brief convention session. After the session, a handful of Paul's supporters gathered near the rear of the convention hall and waved signs bearing Paul's name.
They included delegates from Oregon, Nevada and other states where the Texas congressman had support. They said they were upset about the pending rule changes.
"It's going to shut us out of the process," said Oregon delegate Larry Ericksen, a Paul backer compelled by state rules to vote for Romney at the convention. "We deserve a voice in the process."
The Romney campaign treads lightly around Paul while making it clear this is Romney's convention. On Monday, Romney's pick for vice president, Rep. Paul Ryan, downplayed the rift between Paul's supporters and the GOP ticket.
"We see eye to eye on a lot of issues and believe in sound money, We believe in limited government," Ryan told Fox News. "We believe in academic freedom. We believe in the founding principles. We believe that this is a watershed moment for America, whether or not we're going to reclaim the American idea or we're going to become, you know, a cradle-to-the-grave welfare state, which is where I think the president is taking us."
"So I think, in the final analysis, Ron is clearly going to ... he and his supporters should be very comfortable with us," Ryan said. "Ron is a friend of mine. I've known him a long time in Congress."
Romney's convention planner, Russ Schriefer, sidestepped questions about whether efforts by Paul supporters would project a lack of unity.
"In terms of unity, we are a big party. We have people with different opposing viewpoints. I don't think this is a particularly divisive point of view," Schriefer told reporters Monday. "The one thing we know is we're all united in defeating Barack Obama and at the end of the day, I guarantee you on Thursday as we walk out of this convention we will be 100 percent united behind MR and defeating Barack Obama for the good of the country."
Supporters of the new rules say voters expect the delegate count to reflect the outcome of state primaries and caucuses.
They point to states like Maine and Minnesota. Romney narrowly won local caucuses in Maine and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum handily won the presidential caucuses in Minnesota. But Paul's dedicated supporters were able to win most of the delegates in each of those states by taking control of the state conventions.
Ten Paul delegates from Maine were subsequently replaced by a convention panel last week after the panel decided they were picked through a flawed state selection process.
Paul didn't win a single primary but he was able to amass 177 delegates, according to the tally by The Associated Press, largely by organizing supporters at state conventions.
Opponents of the new rule say it would limit the ability of state parties to reward local activists, and Monday's weather delay is giving them time to organize.
"A lot of people who get elected as delegates and alternates to the convention are people who have been paying their dues for years and years," said Stavros Mendros, a Paul delegate from Maine. "I think it's a big mistake for the RNC to make."
___
Associate Press writers Brian Bakst and Thomas Beaumont in Tampa, Fla., and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.
Bathroom style goes through developments and modifications. The existing push in bathroom style is toward creating the bathroom comparable to an at-home spa retreat. With our stressed out lifestyles, people are looking for a method to relax and unwind in their very own houses. There are actually some particular trends in bathroom design which are quite well-liked correct now. For anyone who is considering a bathroom design renewal, take into account adding one or a lot more of those components to provide your bathroom a fresh, new look.
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Contemporary bathroom design is targeted on combining unique supplies with each other, for example glass and chrome. The reflective surfaces of both materials add class to the general bathroom style. Glass tiles are also emerging as being a well-liked bathroom style pattern. These tiles are translucent and can add an artistic flair towards the bathroom. Combining glass and porcelain tiles can include a remarkable touch for your bathroom style. Stainless steel is making its way into common bathroom design, and it is becoming seen in everything from medicine cabinets to shower walls.
Bathroom style trends can add a contemporary and refreshing feel to your bathroom. If you are preparing a remodeling venture, get a few of these bathroom style developments under consideration.
Team of researchers finds a link between cold European winters and solar activityPublic release date: 27-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Professor Dr. Frank Sirocko sirocko@uni-mainz.de 49-613-139-22714 Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Studies of Germany's largest river reveal a correlation between periods of low activity of the sun and regional cooling
Scientists have long suspected that the Sun's 11-year cycle influences climate of certain regions on Earth. Yet records of average, seasonal temperatures do not date back far enough to confirm any patterns. Now, armed with a unique proxy, an international team of researchers show that unusually cold winters in Central Europe are related to low solar activity - when sunspot numbers are minimal. The freezing of Germany's largest river, the Rhine, is the key.
Although the Earth's surface overall continues to warm, the new analysis has revealed a correlation between periods of low activity of the Sun and of some cooling - on a limited, regional scale in Central Europe, along the Rhine. "The advantage with studying the Rhine is because it's a very simple measurement," said Professor Dr. Frank Sirocko, lead author of a paper on the study and Professor of Sedimentology and Palaeoclimatology at the Institute of Geosciences of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. "Freezing is special in that it's like an on-off mode. Either there is ice or there is no ice."
But how to find this information? Easily done: From the early 19th through the mid-20th centuries, riverboat men used the Rhine river for cargo transport. And so docks along the river have annual records of when ice clogged the waterway and stymied shipping. The scientists used these easily accessible documents, as well as other additional historical accounts, to determine the number of freezing episodes since 1780. Sirocko and his colleagues found that between 1780 and 1963, the Rhine froze in multiple places fourteen different times. "The sheer size of the Rhine river means it takes extremely cold temperatures to freeze over making freezing episodes a good proxy for very cold winters in the region," Sirocko said.
Mapping the freezing episodes against the solar activity's 11-year cycle, a cycle of the Sun's varying magnetic strength and thus total radiation output, Sirocko and his colleagues determined that ten of the fourteen freezes occurred during years when the Sun had minimal sunspots. Using statistical methods, the scientists calculated that there is a 99% chance that extremely cold Central European winters and low solar activity are inherently linked. "We provide, for the first time, statistically robust evidence that the succession of cold winters during the last 230 years in Central Europe has a common cause," Sirocko said.
"With the new paper, Sirocko and his colleagues have added to the research linking solar variability with climate," said Thomas Crowley, Director of the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment, and Society, who was not involved with the study. "There is some suspension of belief in this link," Crowley said, "and this study tilts the argument more towards thinking there really is something to this link. If you have more statistical evidence to support this explanation, one is more likely to say it's true."
When sunspot numbers are down, the Sun emits less ultraviolet radiation. Less radiation means less heating of Earth's atmosphere, which sparks a change in the circulation patterns of the two lowest atmospheric levels, the troposphere and stratosphere. Such changes lead to climatic phenomena such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, a pattern of atmospheric pressure variations that influences wind patterns in the North Atlantic and weather behavior in regions in and around Europe. "Due to this indirect effect, the solar cycle does not impact hemispherically averaged temperatures, but only leads to regional temperature anomalies," said Stephan Pfahl, a co-author of the study who is now at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich. The authors show that this change in atmospheric circulation leads to cooling in parts of Central Europe but warming in other European countries, such as Iceland. "Sunspots do not necessarily cool the entire globe; their cooling effect is more localized," Sirocko said.
In fact, studies have suggested that the extremely cold European winters of 2010 and 2011 were the result of the North Atlantic Oscillation, which Sirocko and his team now link to the low solar activity during that time. The 2010 and 2011 European winters were so cold that they resulted in record lows for the month of November in certain countries. Some who dispute the occurrence of anthropogenic climate change argue that this two-year period shows that Earth's climate is not getting any warmer. But climate is a complex system, Sirocko said. And a short-term, localized dip in temperatures only temporarily masks the effects of a warming world. "Climate is not ruled by one variable," said Sirocko. "In fact, it has at least five or six variables. Carbon dioxide is certainly one, but solar activity is also one."
Moreover, the researchers also point out that, despite Central Europe's prospect to suffer colder winters every 11 years or so, the average temperature of those winters is increasing and has been for the past three decades. As one piece of evidence of that warming, the Rhine river has not frozen over since 1963. Sirocko said such warming results, in part, from climate change. To establish a more complete record of past temperature dips, the researchers are looking to other proxies, such as the spread of disease and migratory habits. "Disease can be transported by insects and rats, but during a strong freezing year that is not likely," said Sirocko. "Also, Romans used the Rhine to defend against the Germanics, but as soon as the river froze people could move across it. The freezing of the Rhine is very important on historical timescales."
However, it wasn't the Rhine that first got Sirocko to thinking about the connection between freezing rivers and sunspot activity. In fact, it was a 125-mile ice-skating race he attended over 20 years ago in the Netherlands that sparked the scientist's idea. "Skaters can only do this race every 10 or 11 years because that's when the rivers freeze up," Sirocko said. "I thought to myself, 'There must be a reason for this,' and it turns out there is."
###
Publication
Sirocko, F., H. Brunck, and S. Pfahl (2012), Solar influence on winter severity in central Europe, Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L16704
DOI:10.1029/2012GL052412
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Team of researchers finds a link between cold European winters and solar activityPublic release date: 27-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Professor Dr. Frank Sirocko sirocko@uni-mainz.de 49-613-139-22714 Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Studies of Germany's largest river reveal a correlation between periods of low activity of the sun and regional cooling
Scientists have long suspected that the Sun's 11-year cycle influences climate of certain regions on Earth. Yet records of average, seasonal temperatures do not date back far enough to confirm any patterns. Now, armed with a unique proxy, an international team of researchers show that unusually cold winters in Central Europe are related to low solar activity - when sunspot numbers are minimal. The freezing of Germany's largest river, the Rhine, is the key.
Although the Earth's surface overall continues to warm, the new analysis has revealed a correlation between periods of low activity of the Sun and of some cooling - on a limited, regional scale in Central Europe, along the Rhine. "The advantage with studying the Rhine is because it's a very simple measurement," said Professor Dr. Frank Sirocko, lead author of a paper on the study and Professor of Sedimentology and Palaeoclimatology at the Institute of Geosciences of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. "Freezing is special in that it's like an on-off mode. Either there is ice or there is no ice."
But how to find this information? Easily done: From the early 19th through the mid-20th centuries, riverboat men used the Rhine river for cargo transport. And so docks along the river have annual records of when ice clogged the waterway and stymied shipping. The scientists used these easily accessible documents, as well as other additional historical accounts, to determine the number of freezing episodes since 1780. Sirocko and his colleagues found that between 1780 and 1963, the Rhine froze in multiple places fourteen different times. "The sheer size of the Rhine river means it takes extremely cold temperatures to freeze over making freezing episodes a good proxy for very cold winters in the region," Sirocko said.
Mapping the freezing episodes against the solar activity's 11-year cycle, a cycle of the Sun's varying magnetic strength and thus total radiation output, Sirocko and his colleagues determined that ten of the fourteen freezes occurred during years when the Sun had minimal sunspots. Using statistical methods, the scientists calculated that there is a 99% chance that extremely cold Central European winters and low solar activity are inherently linked. "We provide, for the first time, statistically robust evidence that the succession of cold winters during the last 230 years in Central Europe has a common cause," Sirocko said.
"With the new paper, Sirocko and his colleagues have added to the research linking solar variability with climate," said Thomas Crowley, Director of the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment, and Society, who was not involved with the study. "There is some suspension of belief in this link," Crowley said, "and this study tilts the argument more towards thinking there really is something to this link. If you have more statistical evidence to support this explanation, one is more likely to say it's true."
When sunspot numbers are down, the Sun emits less ultraviolet radiation. Less radiation means less heating of Earth's atmosphere, which sparks a change in the circulation patterns of the two lowest atmospheric levels, the troposphere and stratosphere. Such changes lead to climatic phenomena such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, a pattern of atmospheric pressure variations that influences wind patterns in the North Atlantic and weather behavior in regions in and around Europe. "Due to this indirect effect, the solar cycle does not impact hemispherically averaged temperatures, but only leads to regional temperature anomalies," said Stephan Pfahl, a co-author of the study who is now at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich. The authors show that this change in atmospheric circulation leads to cooling in parts of Central Europe but warming in other European countries, such as Iceland. "Sunspots do not necessarily cool the entire globe; their cooling effect is more localized," Sirocko said.
In fact, studies have suggested that the extremely cold European winters of 2010 and 2011 were the result of the North Atlantic Oscillation, which Sirocko and his team now link to the low solar activity during that time. The 2010 and 2011 European winters were so cold that they resulted in record lows for the month of November in certain countries. Some who dispute the occurrence of anthropogenic climate change argue that this two-year period shows that Earth's climate is not getting any warmer. But climate is a complex system, Sirocko said. And a short-term, localized dip in temperatures only temporarily masks the effects of a warming world. "Climate is not ruled by one variable," said Sirocko. "In fact, it has at least five or six variables. Carbon dioxide is certainly one, but solar activity is also one."
Moreover, the researchers also point out that, despite Central Europe's prospect to suffer colder winters every 11 years or so, the average temperature of those winters is increasing and has been for the past three decades. As one piece of evidence of that warming, the Rhine river has not frozen over since 1963. Sirocko said such warming results, in part, from climate change. To establish a more complete record of past temperature dips, the researchers are looking to other proxies, such as the spread of disease and migratory habits. "Disease can be transported by insects and rats, but during a strong freezing year that is not likely," said Sirocko. "Also, Romans used the Rhine to defend against the Germanics, but as soon as the river froze people could move across it. The freezing of the Rhine is very important on historical timescales."
However, it wasn't the Rhine that first got Sirocko to thinking about the connection between freezing rivers and sunspot activity. In fact, it was a 125-mile ice-skating race he attended over 20 years ago in the Netherlands that sparked the scientist's idea. "Skaters can only do this race every 10 or 11 years because that's when the rivers freeze up," Sirocko said. "I thought to myself, 'There must be a reason for this,' and it turns out there is."
###
Publication
Sirocko, F., H. Brunck, and S. Pfahl (2012), Solar influence on winter severity in central Europe, Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L16704
DOI:10.1029/2012GL052412
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
?
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Around the same time that man discovered fire, he also invented the barter system. One man had something that another man wanted, the first offered a trade for something that the other man needed and thus business was born.
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Public release date: 27-Aug-2012
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