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Deep, Rich Japan Blue
Ai-zome indigo dyeing

The deep blue of indigo dyes is one of the best known natural colors in the world. Indeed, it is the blue which has made blue jeans so popular the world over. Natural indigo dyeing is one of the oldest dyeing methods in the world.

One type of indigo dyeing is considered to be over 4,000 years old. Extensive evidence shows that indigo was widely used in ancient Egypt and India. The Chinese character for "ai (= indigo)" has been found in records dating back to the 1st century AD. Indigo blue or ai-iro in Japanese, long praised for its deep, rich color, dates back to the 10th century.

There are many different kinds of traditional indigo dye processes. The unique Japanese method yields a color that is known as ''Japan Blue.'' Kyoto is home to a few indigo craftsmen who continue to keep the Japan Blue dye tradition alive. This month, KVG introduces you to this ancient world of color and textile wonders…

The history of indigo dyeing in Japan
The word "indigo" originally refers to a dye from India. Indigo can be obtained from a variety of plants including indigofera, storobilanthes and polygonum. In Japan polygonum or tade, is used in the natural indigo dye process. The oldest evidence of indigo dyeing in Japan dates back to the 10th century. In Japanese, indigo dyeing is known as ai-zome.

The first ai-zome textiles came to Japan from Southeast Asia. A number of indigo textiles can be found in the 8th century treasure trove in Nara's Shoso-in Repository (part of Todai-ji Temple). Japanese ai-zome dyeing has its roots in the Heian period (794-1185). By the Kamakura period (1192-1333) the Japanese method was well established.

Japanese ai-zome culture exploded in the Edo period (1600-1868) when laws were passed preventing the lower classes from wearing silk and cotton became the popular alternative. In addition to being readily available (the indigo plant is native to Japan), ai-zome was also color fast on cotton and thus faded slowly, adding to its appeal.

Though the polygonum or tade plant grows all over Japan, Shikoku Island has long been the main production area in Japan. The Awa region (present-day Tokushima prefecture), with its rich soil and abundant water supply, was especially suited to indigo plant farming. About 200 years ago, the Awa region was one of the wealthiest areas in Japan, due largely to indigo production. It continues to be Japan's dominant area for indigo leaf production.

Materials used to prepare the dye
There are five basic materials used in Japanese indigo dyeing: sukumo (the tade leaves of the Japanese indigo plant), fusuma (wheat bran), sake, hardwood ash, and lime.

Ai-zome dyeing is a very complicated and long process. The chemical compound indican contained in the raw leaves is converted into indigo by fermenting the leaves. The traditional process uses only natural materials and no chemicals of any kind.

Sake and fusuma facilitate the fermentation process. Wood ash (ash lye or aku) and lime are used to control the alkaline levels of the dye stuff. Wood ash for indigo dyeing is a very delicate material and must be stored carefully or it loses its power. Lime is usually added three times directly to the vat.

All these materials are mixed in a large vat (about 540 litres) and moderately heated (between 20-25 degrees C). The entire mixture is fermented for about one week. The vat is buried in the ground to more easily keep the temperature stable.

The fermentation process completely determines the quality of the final dye produced. In the ideal fermentation process a sponge-like foam (called ai-no-hana or indigo flowers) forms at the top of the vat.

Dyeing the textiles
When the fermented indigo solution is ready the cloth is repeatedly soaked in the vat. If the textile is long, for example an obi sash or roll of kimono cloth, the craftsman slowly and carefully pushes it bit by bit towards the bottom of the vat. The textile is left in the vat for 15-30 min., depending on the depth of color desired and then removed.

After squeezing the excess liquid from the textile it is spread wide and hung on a rope. This allows the textile to oxidize and thus fix the color. Just after the textile is removed from the vat it looks dark green. As it oxidizes it turns blue.

The soaking and oxidizing steps are repeated over and over until the final desired color has been produced. For the darkest blues soaking lasts 30 minutes and is repeated 30 to 40 times.

Varieties of Indigo Blue

Shira Ai (White indigo)
Kame Nozoki (Looking into the vase)
Usu Ai (Light indigo)
Ruri Kon (Lapis lazuli blue)
Tetsu Kon (Iron blue)
Nasu Kon (Eggplant purple)

Interview with Toru Shimomura of Ai no Yakata
Natural ai-zome craftsman in Ohara village

Discover the beauty of indigo dyeing
Toru Shimomura is an indigo dyeing craftsman. His studio is in Ohara, a rural area about 30 minutes northeast of Kyoto City. For a craftsman, Shimomura is still young but his passion for indigo dyeing is pure and intense.

Shimomura was born in Nishijin, a district of Kyoto famous for its brocaded textiles, especially obi sashes. His parents managed a shop selling a variety of indigo dyed goods. However, as is often the case in traditional craft industries, the number of experienced elder craftsmen decreased and good quality indigo items became harder and harder to find. At the same time, many craftsmen began to make use of chemical dyes. As a result, his parents almost decided to close the business but Shimomura decided he would continue.

''Though I have helped out in my parent's business since I was a university student, I never thought I would take it over let alone become an indigo dyer myself. Actually, when I was young I wasn't even that attracted to indigo blues. I thought they were boring and dull. While I helping my father, I began to understand and appreciate the depth and beauty of indigo blues,'' Shimomura recalls.

Once he decided to take over the business, he went to a master of natural plant dyeing in Yamagata Prefecture and studied indigo dyeing with him for about two years.

Life as a craftsman
Everything Shimomura learned from the dye master was new and in the process he became increasingly attracted to the world of indigo dyeing. Finally in May of 1993, he opened a dye studio with his father in Ohara and named it Ai no Yakata, The House of Indigo. He chose Ohara because of its abundance of clean water, essential for dyeing.

''Natural dyed indigo has a certain depth of color and reflects light in a way that is very different from textiles made with chemical indigo dyes. I was also fascinated with the rich range of blues that could be produced with natural indigo, a range not possible with chemical dyes,'' Shimomura says.

''Sadly, most ai-zome products sold in Japan today are chemically dyed. It can’t be helped considering the decreasing number of trained traditional craftsmen and the reduced availability of good quality natural raw materials [peak annual production of sukumo was hundreds of times higher than it is today]. However, the more challenging the situation became the more I wanted to show people how beautiful and special natural ai-zome and Japan Blue are.''

Indigo is alive
Shimomura confirms that the most difficult and important process in natural indigo dyeing is the preparation of the fermented indigo mixture. ''Indigo is alive, like human beings. A new born baby is full of energy while an old person has less energy but is full of depth and experience. Indigo is exactly the same – a newly fermented indigo solution has strong energy but it can only be used for about 2 weeks and then it is finished. Even the color produced by a vat at the beginning and end of the day are different. Like people, indigo gets tired after working a whole day,'' Shimomura explains smiling.

Following his passion and devotion to ai-zome, he works in his studio as well as showing off his products around Japan. His hands are permanently dyed and at first glance it appears that he is wearing gloves. ''Since ancient times, Japanese people have said that an indigo craftsman can’t do something bad because the color of his hands immediately identifies him!''

Kobo Ai no Yakata
In Ohara: take Kyoto Bus #17 or #18 from Kyoto Station or Keihan Sanjo Station; Tel: 075-744-2404; Open: 10:00-16:30; http://aizomeya.com/ ; open by appointment only (call in advance; Japanese only).

Aizen Kobo
Ai-zome in Nishijin

The Aizen Kobo workshop lies a few blocks from the world-renowned Nishijin traditional weaving and textile district. This indigo dye workshop and retail shop produces a wonderful range of hand-dyed indigo clothing items using techniques such as shibori (tie dyeing), sashiko embroidery (hand stitching), ikat and double ikat (resist dyeing and weaving). The shop also offers products made with other natural dyes including red madder.

This family business, now in its third generation, started out as an obi sash weaving studio. The second-generation head of the family added indigo dyed textile production and for a while ran both businesses side by side. At a certain point it became clear that the kimono industry was rapidly shrinking and the family decided to concentrate on the indigo business only and sold all their obi weaving looms.

The present head of the business, Kenichi Utsuki (3rd generation) has been invited to many universities around the world to lecture on natural indigo dyeing. His wife, Hisako, is the designer of many of the clothing items they sell in their shop.

Aizen Kobo produces their indigo dyed textiles in the traditional way. They use the same basic ingredients: indigo plant leaves, wheat husk powder, limestone powder, lye ash, and sake. Their dye vats are in operation year-round and are kept at the right temperature with heaters placed directly in the vats. To ensure quality Mr. Utsuki even taste tests the sake before adding it to the vat.

Aizen Kobo's indigo process produces an incredibly vibrant, deep blue color that hardly fades over time. Some of their blues are so intense and deep that they appear to be black. They have pieces in their collection that are 50-60 years old and they look quite new. For comparison the studio has chemically produced indigo textiles from several countries that they show to customers to educate them on the unique color depth of naturally dyed indigo textiles.

For more information about Aizen Kobo; The original version of this essay (edited here) and the accompanying photos are courtesy of Felicia Lo, SweetGeorgia Yarns: http://blog.sweetgeorgiayarns.com


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Ciencia del suelo

versión On-line ISSN 1850-2067

GIZZI, Antonio H et al. Characterization of the meso and macrofauna of a Southeastern Buenos Aires province soil under different cropping systems. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2009, vol.27, n.1, pp. 1-9. ISSN 1850-2067.

The aim of this work was to determine the taxonomic composition and relative abundance of the soil meso and macrofauna and their different trophic groups as affected by soil management practices. Four cropping systems were evaluated: LC50 [(50% pasture - 50% cropping under conventional tillage (LC)], SD50 [(50% pasture - 50% cropping under no-tillage (SD)], LC75 (25% pasture - 75% cropping under LC), SD75 (25% pasture - 75% cropping under SD). In the year 2000, a pasture (P) was sown on LC50 and SD50 and in 2001 it was one year old. On LC75 and SD75, corn was planted in 2000 and soybean was planted in 2001. Most of the individuals observed in 2000 within the mesofauna were enchytraeids and their abundance was not different between LC and SD, whereas in 2001 the highest abundance of enchytraeids was observed under the 15-year-old P. Within the macrofauna, earthworms, isopods and miriapods predominated, but isopods and miriapods were dominant under P in both years. In the first year, the meso and macrofauna densities were not significantly different (p>0.003) among cropping systems, although they tended to be greater under SD. In the second year, such densities were significantly higher (p<0.003) under P. In both years, density interactions between cropping systems and fertilization rates were not significant (p>0.003) for detritivours, herbivours, predators and omnivous. Despite the lack of significant differences (p>0.003) among systems during the first year, all four trophic groups were more abundant under P and SD than under LC. In the second year, detritivours, predators, and omnivours were significantly more abundant under P than under soybean. Our results confirm that the cropping systems affected the taxonomic composition of the soil meso and macrofauna and their trophic groups. On the other hand, the abundance of both communities increased under P throughout the experiment.

Palabras llave : Soil fauna; Tillage systems; Crop rotations; Taxonomic composition; Trophic groups; Density.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · pdf en Español


Historical Astronomy: Ancient Greeks: Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemy
c85 to c165
Born in Alexandria?, Egypt
Short Biography

Very little is known of Ptolemy's life. He most likely grew up in or near Alexandria, where he studied mathematics and astronomy. While he is most known for his work in mathematical astronomy, he wrote a number of other books that have survived, including Optics and Geography, which was an attempt to make a map of the world as known by Ptolemy with latitude and longitude measurements.

Importance to Astronomy

Ptolemy wrote the Almagest around 150 AD. The name Almagest actually comes from the latinized version of the Arabic name for his work, al-majisti, meaning "the greatest." The Greek name, Syntaxis, is short for its original title, The Mathematical Compilation.

With the Almagest, Ptolemy produced the first working, predicitve model of the solar system in the world, and was the culmination of Greek astronomy and the geocentric model. The Almagest was a complete textbook in mathematical astronomy, and was so successful that it became the standard in mathematical astronomy for 1400 years. The Almagest itself was broken into 13 chapters. He begins by teaching all the mathematics that is needed for the computations in the book, and then goes on to give detailed descriptions of how to make astronomical observations and mathematical models for the sun, moon and planets. He includes mathematical tables and star charts, and explains how to improve on observational data. He describes how to make any astronomical calculation that one may want. He improved on the work of Hipparchus, and produced the first complete working and predictive model of the solar system, and it was the basis for mathematical astronomy until the sixteenth century when Copernicus introduced his heliocentric model of the solar system. The Greek geocentric model is still often called the Ptolemeic system in honor of this achievement.

In addition to using epicycles to more accurately reflect the speed changes in the motion of the sun and moon, Ptolemy uses the epicycles introduced by Hipparchus to explain the retrograde motion of the planets. An epicycle is small orbit that carries a planet. The center of this little orbit is also itself going around the earth.

By playing with the sizes of the two circles, and their rate of rotation, one can make the planet appear to go backwards (when the planet is closest to the earth.) and so it can explain the retrograde motion of the planets. This also happens to explain why the planets are brighter during retrograde: they are closer to the earth. (The sun and moon never go backward in the sky, so those epicycles don't do that.)

There is a great shockwave file which I got from http://astro.unl.edu/naap/ssm/ssm.html. It shows the whole model, lets you adjust parameters and then runs so you can see what happens. Seeing it in action helps a lot.

Ptolemy's planetary model was based on eccentric epicycles, shown in the diagram to the right.epicycle and equant Each planet (lets say Mars in this case) travels around a little circle called an epicycle. In the diagram, let M be Mars and P be the center of the epicycle. The epicycle rotates at a constant angular speed. The center of the epicycle, P, also rotates around the earth on its own bigger circle, called the deferent, whose center is at point C. This model is called an eccentric epicycle because the center of the deferent, C, is not on the earth, E. This general layout was first conceived by Hipparchus, and Ptolemy makes it more accurate by adding the equant point, Q, such that CE = CQ. The center of the epicycle, P, does not rotate around the deferent at constant speed; rather it rotates in such a way that the line created by QP rotates with a constant angular speed. This causes the epicycle to travel faster or slower on the deferent. (Putting the earth off-center also makes it appear that the planet goes faster and slower, but Ptolemy needed the equant to make his model more accurately match the actual positions of the planets.) In later years, the equant becomes very controversial, as people claim that it violates the Principle of Uniform Circular Motion. (See the links at the bottom of the page for outside links with some animation of this process.)

In the Ptolemaic model, one only needs a few key pieces of information to predict where a planet is at any point in time. One needs to figure out the sizes of the epicycle and deferent, the eccentricity, the rotation rates, and the position of the planet at a particular date. Ptolemy not only gives all this information to the reader of his book, he explains how to make one's own observations and calculate what each parameter is. Given only 7 parameters, one can then calculate where a planet is at any point in time. It is important to note that this model worked reasonably well. In fact, it worked so well, that it was the standard model for almost 1400 years, until Copernicus proposes something else.

ptolemy model of solar system

The diagram above shows the order of the planets in the Ptolemeic system. Note that if one switches the earth and the sun, then this matches the correct order of the planets. Ptolemy simply based this on the rates of the rotations. It should also be noted that the orbital parameters for each planet are independent of each other. Updating or improving the numbers for one of the planets has no effect on the other planets. Ptolemy simply chose orbital sizes so that the end of one orbit was the begining of the next. Also, notice that the orbits of Venus and Mercury were connected to the orbit of the sun. This is because these planets are never that far away from the sun in the sky.

The model described above was used to calculate the longitudinal position of the a planet along the ecliptic. However, the planets did not travel completely along the ecliptic, they traveled above and below it. Ptolemy uses a different model to be able to calculate the latitiude of the planet, which is the the angle above or below the ecliptic. The two models and parameters were independent of each other, but they combined to give a reasonably accurate (as far as the observational data went at the time) position for the planets.

Links for More Information

data last updated 2/8/11 by david mcclung, copyright 2011, all rights reserved
html generated on Fri Jun 21 07:45:57 2013


ColdFusion Integration App

Job Description

ColdFusion programmer needed to write and support an integration using a REST API.

The application will request certain data via REST calls. Then apply a set of lead scoring rules. Finally, update the Lead Score field via another REST call.

We already have a good understanding of the API, and have a library of wrappers written. The library will have to be expanded for this project.

This is a fairly urgent project, so I'll want you to be able to start work immediately and have significant availability.

If this project is successful, we do have other projects that we need help with on an ongoing basis.

If interested, please reply with your experience in ColdFusion and your experience doing web integrations.


What is wininit.exe?

The .exe extension on a filename indicates an executable file. Executable files may, in some cases, harm your computer. Therefore, please read below to decide for yourself whether the wininit.exe on your computer is a Trojan that you should remove, or whether it is a file belonging to the Windows operating system or to a trusted application.

Click to Run a Free Scan for wininit.exe related errors

Wininit.exe file information

Windows Task Manager with wininit
Wininit.exe process in Windows Task Manager

The process known as Windows Start-Up Application or Windows-Startanwendung belongs to software Microsoft Windows Operating System or Betriebssystem Microsoft Windows by Microsoft (

Description: The original wininit.exe from Microsoft is an important part of Windows, but often causes problems. Wininit.exe is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Known file sizes on Windows 8/7/XP are 96,256 bytes (60% of all occurrences), 96,768 bytes and 7 more variants.
Wininit.exe is a Windows system file. The program has no visible window. Wininit.exe is a trustworthy file from Microsoft. Wininit.exe is able to record keyboard and mouse inputs and manipulate other programs. Therefore the technical security rating is 3% dangerous, however you should also read the user reviews.

Recommended: Identify wininit.exe related errors

Viruses with the same file name

Is wininit.exe a virus? No, it is not. The true wininit.exe file is a safe Microsoft Windows system process, called "Windows Start-Up Application". However, writers of malware programs, such as viruses, worms, and Trojans deliberately give their processes the same file name to escape detection. Viruses with the same file name are for example Artemis!25C1C6B54E1D (detected by McAfee), and Trojan.Agent.AYBI (detected by BitDefender).
To ensure that no rogue wininit.exe is running on your PC, click here to run a Free Malware Scan.

How to recognize suspicious variants?

External information from Paul Collins:
There are different files with the same name:

Important: Some malware disguises itself as wininit.exe, particularly when not located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. Therefore, you should check the wininit.exe process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend Security Task Manager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PC World.

User Comments

very little-seems to initiate various sys startup progs
I think its a polite application,it always asks my security every time it wants to listen.I didnt want to loseinit so I took ownership and renamed it wininit.whynotdoc.exe.some programs listen without permission that annoys me more.
Seems harmless but scan it and be cautious, bugs would like to manipulate it iam sure.
solo que es de riesgo elevado
Worm, known as Worm.Win32.Bymer.a
  Alex   (further information)
Not a worm. Read further - it exploited Win95 back in Y2K. Irrelevant in Windows 7
The proper form of this program is essential for windows to function, most windows system files and services run through it. Shutting down wininit.exe will crash windows.
In windows 7 64 bit with sp1, my wininit.exe is 126KB(129024bytes actual & not size on disk which varies) and has version info 6.1.7600.16385 and last mod date of 2009-JUL-13_21:39hours (much earlier than when the PC was installed, and located in c:\windows\system32 directory.

Rating chart

Summary: Average user rating of wininit.exe: based on 14 votes with 8 user comments. 10 users think wininit.exe is essential for Windows or an installed application. 3 users think it's probably harmless. One user thinks wininit.exe is dangerous and recommends removing it. 2 users don't grade wininit.exe ("not sure about it").

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Best practices for resolving wininit issues

A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with wininit. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using cleanmgr and sfc /scannow, uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using msconfig) and enabling Windows' Automatic Update. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points.

Other processes

wininit.exe [all]


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Diversity at CEMEX

We employ approximately 8,500 people in more than 25 states around the US. Diversity is an intrinsic part of our culture.

CEMEX in the US employs approximately 8,500 people working in more than 25 states. Our diversity and the ability to share knowledge and collaborate within our network helps ensure that all employees, no matter where they are located, have an opportunity to contribute and succeed.

We believe that by valuing the differences among us, we establish a platform for creativity, innovation, and problem-solving that allows us to collaborate effectively.


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Visual language. A visual language is a system of communication using visual elements.

Visual language

Speech as a means of communication cannot strictly be separated from the whole of human communicative activity that includes the visual[1] and the term 'language' in relation to vision is an extension of its use to describe the perception, comprehension and production of visible signs. Overview[edit] An image that dramatizes and communicates an idea presupposes the use of a visual language. Just as people can 'verbalize' their thinking, they can 'visualize' it. A diagram, a map, and a painting are all examples of uses of visual language. The elements in an image represent concepts in a spatial context, rather than the linear form used for words. Visual Language[edit] Visual units in the form of lines and marks are constructed into meaningful shapes and structures or signs. Iconography.

The word iconography comes from the Greek εἰκών ("image") and γράφειν ("to write"). A secondary meaning (based on a non-standard translation of the Greek and Russian equivalent terms) is the production of religious images, called icons, in the Byzantine and Orthodox Christian tradition; that is covered at Icon. Symbolism (arts) Distinct from, but related to, the style of literature, symbolism of art is related to the gothic component of Romanticism.

Symbolism (arts)

Symbology dictionary. Ancient Symbols, meanings of symbols from Ancient Egyptian, Celtic, Greek, etc. Psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics.[1] By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at another's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative, abusive, devious, and deceptive.

Psychological manipulation

Social influence is not necessarily negative. For example, doctors can try to persuade patients to change unhealthy habits. Social influence is generally perceived to be harmless when it respects the right of the influenced to accept or reject and is not unduly coercive. Depending on the context and motivations, social influence may constitute underhanded manipulation. §Requirements for successful manipulation[edit] According to psychology author George K. Consequently, the manipulation is likely to be accomplished through covert aggressive (relational aggressive or passive aggressive) means.[2] §How manipulators control their victims[edit] Marketing dictionary. Advertising research. Advertising research is a specialized form of marketing research conducted to improve the efficiency of advertising.

Advertising research

History[edit] 1879 - N. W. Ayer conducts custom research in an attempt to win the advertising business of Nichols-Shepard Co., a manufacturer of agricultural machinery.[1] 1895 - Harlow Gale of the University of Minnesota mails questionnaires to gather opinions about advertising from the public.[1] 1900s - George B. 1910s - 1911 can be considered the year marketing research becomes an industry. 1920s - In 1922, Dr. 1930s - In 1936, Dr. 1940s - Post World War II, the U.S. sees a large increase in the number of market research companies.[4] 1950s - Market researchers focus on improving methods and measures. 1960s - Qualitative focus groups gain in popularity.[6] In addition, some advertisers call for more rigorous measurement of the in-market effectiveness of advertising in order to provide better accountability for the large amounts being spent on advertising.

See also[edit] Mind control. Mind control (also known as brainwashing, coercive persuasion, thought control, or thought reform) is an indoctrination process which results in "an impairment of autonomy, an inability to think independently, and a disruption of beliefs and affiliations.

Mind control

In this context, brainwashing refers to the involuntary reeducation of basic beliefs and values"[1] The term has been applied to any tactic, psychological or otherwise, which can be seen as subverting an individual's sense of control over their own thinking, behavior, emotions or decision making. Theories of brainwashing and of mind control were originally developed to explain how totalitarian regimes appeared to succeed systematically in indoctrinating prisoners of war through propaganda and torture techniques.

These theories were later expanded and modified by psychologists including Jean-Marie Abgrall and Margaret Singer to explain a wider range of phenomena, especially conversions to new religious movements (NRMs). Subliminal stimuli. Subliminal stimuli (/sʌbˈlɪmɨnəl/; literally "below threshold"), contrary to supraliminal stimuli or "above threshold", are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold for conscious perception.[1] A recent review of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies shows that subliminal stimuli activate specific regions of the brain despite participants being unaware.[2] Visual stimuli may be quickly flashed before an individual can process them, or flashed and then masked, thereby interrupting the processing.

Subliminal stimuli

Audio stimuli may be played below audible volumes or masked by other stimuli. Effectiveness[edit] The effectiveness in subliminal messaging has been demonstrated to prime individual responses and stimulate mild emotional activity.[3][4] Applications, however, often base themselves on the persuasiveness of the message. Method[edit] Objective threshold[edit]

Symbolism and color

Symbolism and advertising. Research links. Symbolism. Symbolism or symbolist may refer to:


Why do artists create

Edward Hopper

People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves as we strive for greater heights.
Edvard Munch

I don't paint to live, I live to paint.
Willem de Kooning

If I didn't think what I was doing had something to do with enlarging the boundaries of art, I wouldn't go on doing it.
Claes Oldenburg

Art to me is a humanitarian act and I believe that there is a responsibility that art should somehow be able to have an effect on mankind and make the world a better place.
Jeff Koons

Vincent Van Gogh

The primary purpose of life is to achieve a growth of consciousness.
Gordon Onslow-Ford

Learning to trust my own creative process has been key to my artistic development, and I continue to learn with each new piece.
Janyt Piercy-Brooks

Getting into alignment with our truth is like opening the door to destiny.
Linda Saccoccio

All art deals with the absurd and aims at the simple. Good art speaks truth, indeed is truth, perhaps the only truth.
Iris Murdoch

I seek for neither the real or the unreal, but for the subconscious, the instinctive mystery of the human race.
Amedeo Modigliani

Georgia O'Keeffe

Every man who steeps himself in the spiritual possibilities of his heart is a valuable helper in the building of the spiritual pyramid which will someday reach to heaven.
Wassily Kandinsky

My art is destined for the XXI century.
Emma Kunz

To send light into the darkness of men's hearts, such is the duty of the artist.
Robert Schumann

As artists, we are educators and communicators. We need to keep our finger on the pulse of society.
Elizabeth Azzolina

In some ways I am a treasure hunter, searching for that perfect moment of order that sometimes occurs in the midst of chaos.
Diana Lehr

Send light to the dark hearts of men, that is the duty the artist.
Robert Schumann

We just have to look and listen within, and be curious about our own experience.
Brenda Johima

My art is destined for the twenty-first century.
Emma Kunz


Browse Dictionary by Letter

Dictionary Suite
a cappella without instrumental accompaniment, as choral singing.
accede to agree or consent; assent. [2 definitions]
acceleration the act or process of accelerating. [2 definitions]
accelerometer an instrument that measures acceleration.
accentual of or pertaining to accent or stress in poetry. [2 definitions]
accentuate to emphasize; draw attention to. [2 definitions]
accept to receive, esp. willingly. [6 definitions]
acceptable worthy of approval; satisfactory. [3 definitions]
acceptance the act of accepting what is offered or given. [4 definitions]
acceptation the generally accepted meaning of a word, phrase, or the like. [2 definitions]
accepted generally regarded as normal, right, or correct; approved; recognized.
access a way of approaching or entering a place. [5 definitions]
accessary variant of accessory.
accessible easily approachable, entered, or used. [3 definitions]


October's new Graphic Novels

Here's a selection of some of our newest titles -- be sure to look for more of your favorites at our new location in the YA area!!

Amulet. Book 4, The last council -- Emily and her friends think they'll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn't right. Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live in fear. Emily is soon escorted to the Academy where she's expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Council, a group of the the most powerful Stonekeepers. But as the number of competitors gets smaller and smaller, a terrible secret is slowly uncovered--a secret that, if left buried, means certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.

Ozma of oz -- Dorothy Gale plunges into adventure again, this time winding up in the land of Ev; she meets new friends such a sTik-Tok the mechanical man and Billina, perhaps the cleverest chicken you'll ever encounter. Dorothy will also have to face the wicked Nome King, who's imprisoned the royal family of Ev. Lucky for her, she'll get help from her Oz friends such as the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow -- along with the new Queen of Oz, the lovely Ozma! But can even their combined might win the day and see Dorothy back home?

X-men. Age of X -- In a world where the X-Men never existed, and mutantkind has been hunted to extinction, the few remaining mutants have banded together to make their last stand. They spend each day securing the walls of their stronghold, Fortress X, beating back the anti-mutant forces that would see them wiped out. But when a conspiracy is discovered within Fortress X itself, could it be that mutantkind's last bastion will crumble from the inside out? And when the dust settles, no one will be left unscathed.

Brightest day. Vol. 3 -- Once dead, twelve heroes and villains were resurrected by a white light expelled deep within the center of the earth. Now, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Deadman, Jade, Osiris, Hawk, Captain Boomerang and Zoom must discover the mysterious reason behind their return and uncover the secret that binds them all. In this third volume, Hawkman and Hawkgirl pay a visit to the Star Sapphires, but with the Hawks' connection to the cosmic corps, it looks like this meeting may end in bloodshed. And more even more blood may be drawn as Captain Boomerang hunts down Deadman and Dove!

Fairy tail. 14, Demon's rebirth -- Laxus wants Fairy Tail for himself, and he's set his three powerful allies against the entire guild! But when the attacks of Laxus's right-hand man become sadistic, the guild's angel, Mirajane, is forced to reveal the frightening satanic power she's been hiding for so long!

Locke & Key. Volume 4, Keys to the kingdom -- With more keys making themselves known, and the depths of the Locke's family's mystery ever-expanding, Dodge's desperation to end his shadowy quest drives the habitants of Keyhouse ever closer to a revealing conclusion.

Wheel of time. Vol. 1, The eye of the world -- Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy tale begins by introducing Rand al’Thor and his friends Matrim and Perrin at the spring festival. Moiraine Damodred and Lan Mandragoran appear, and almost before Rand knows it, he and his friends are fleeing his home village with Moiraine, Lan, and Egwene al’Vere, the innkeeper’s daughter, who wishes to become an Aes Sedai. The conclusion of this volume leaves the travelers on the road to Baerlon, barely ahead of the pursuing Trollocs and Draghkar. As they run for their lives, Moiraine and Lan begin to teach the young people what they need to know to survive in this dangerous world.

Rave Master. Volume 33, 34, 35 -- The planet is on the brink of destruction and Haru must finally face the evil Lucia once and for all. Haru's only hope is to enter Endless and fight Lucia on his own turf, but even Haru can't destroy Endless on his own. Only Elie's Etherion is powerful enough to stop Endless and save the planet. Haru is perfectly willing to sacrifice his own life in order to conquer the forces of evil, but Elie refuses to unleash Etherion until Haru is out of harms way. The future of all humanity hangs in the balance and time is running out. Will Elie launch Etherion in time to save the human race? Find out in the final volume of Rave Master!

Gunnerkrigg Court. Volume 3, Reason -- Annie and Kat continue to uncover terrible secrets about their school, Gunnerkrigg Court, while relationships grow and the boundaries of reality are blurred. In the meantime, Coyote begins to show that things in the forest are not quite what they seem! Plus, Annie's second year at the Court comes to a dramatic end!

Green Arrow : Into the woods -- After Star City was devastated by an attack by the villain Prometheus, the White Lantern Ring gave birth to a massive, mysterious forest located at the center of the destruction. Now, Green Arrow--formerly self-centered billionaire Oliver Queen--lives in the woods and strikes against crime and corruption as a modern-day Robin Hood.

Witch & wizard. Vol. 1, The Manga -- A sister and brother, along with thousands of young people, have been kidnapped and either thrown in prison or turned up missing after accusations of witchcraft were made against them, and the ruling regime will do anything in order to suppress life and liberty, music and books.

Ultimate comics Spider-Man. Vol. 2, Chameleons -- With Gwen Stacy, the Human Torch and Iceman boarding at Aunt May's house, you'd think Peter Parker would have it easy for a change. But in the world of Spider-Man, that's rarely the case. First, Spidey and his houseguests discover their neighbor Rick Jones possesses special abilities. Meanwhile, with mutants outlawed across the country, what happens when agents find out where Kitty Pryde's been hiding?


Doctors should tell patients to not only exercise more but also sit less, the researchers say. ((Canadian Press))

The longer people spend sitting, the more likely they are to die prematurely, regardless of their fitness levels, a finding that has serious public health implications, researchers say.

The link held after taking into account physical activity levels outside of work, body mass index, age, sex, smoking and drinking alcohol.

"I don't think it's a very rosy future," said the study's lead author, Claude Bouchard, a retired professor from Quebec City who is now executive director at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.

"If we combine that [time spent sitting at work] with the growing prevalence of obesity, it's going to mean that just about every developed society is going to be faced with a health care cost bill that has the potential to bankrupt the finances of all of these developed countries."

In the study, the researchers concluded the results support public health calls to limit sedentary time.

"The findings of the study also support that physicians should counsel patients to not only increase their level of physical activity and maintain a normal body weight but to reduce the amount of time they spend being sedentary in general and sitting in particular."

Participants who were classified as active (getting at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity such as brisk walking five days a week) had a lower overall risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow up, the team found.

Only five per cent of Canadian adults compensate for the time they sit at work through exercise. Even among this group, the risk of premature death escalated depending on the amount of sedentary time in their day.

Walk away from your seat

During the 12 years of follow-up, 1,832 deaths were recorded, including 759 from cardiovascular disease, 547 from cancer and 526 from other causes.

The link between time spent sitting and higher risk of mortality applied only in the case of the cardiovascular deaths and deaths overall but not those from cancer.

The finding is important since researchers suspected that deaths related to sitting would occur through cardiovascular disease.

Laboratory studies suggest that time spent sitting is associated with major disturbances in how the body metabolizes fuels such as glucose and lipids, Bouchard noted.

Taking breaks from sitting helps to normalize this physiology, he added.


Fort, Belgaum Cantonment

The Belgaum fort built in 13 century (Originally built by the Ratta dynasty, later fortified by Yakub Ali Khan of the Bijapur Sultanate) was well known for its unique building structure and its huge moat surrounding the fort, which made it inaccessible to the enemies. The Belgaum fort served as a bulwark against the attacks of invading armies. It steadfastly held fort as Belgaum played host to a multitude of dynasties, from the Rattas, the Vijayanagar emperors, Bijapur Sultans, Marathas and finally the British. During the freedom movement of India, Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned here.

The inside of the fort is stretched about 1000 yards long and 800 yards broad. The fort was well built as a Military store.

Belgaum Fort has been ruled by Dynasties such as Kadambas, Rashtra Kutas, Kalyan Chalukyas, Rattas, Bahamanis. In the year 1778 it was under Tipu Sultan kingdom. In 1818, Gen. Munro British Officer took over the fort & built houses inside the Fort for Residence of Army Officers.


Domestic Violence Teaching Package, 1955-1964 Markus, Gregory civil disorders economic conditions instruction instructional materials internal political conflict political violence protest demonstrations revolutions riots social protest violence ICPSR.X.A.3 IDRC.II IDRC.I This study contains a subset of the World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators II data on national attributes and domestic violence for 136 nations in the period 1955-1964. The teaching package is intended to provide data for examining current theories of domestic violence and to introduce students to a number of topics in quantitative aggregate analyses. Data are provided in five-year periods for the economic, political, and social characteristics of the nations. Economic variables provide information on the gross national product (GNP), energy consumption per capita, sectorial income inequality, land inequality, and calories intake per capita. Political variables provide information on government sanctions, political executions, deaths from political violence, armed attacks, anti-government demonstrations, riots, political strikes, and the relaxation of government restrictions. Variables on social characteristics include population density, literacy rates, and the number of physicians per one million population. 1992-02-16 aggregate data 5702 10.3886/ICPSR05702.v1 Taylor, Charles L., and Michael C. Hudson. WORLD HANDBOOK OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INDICATORS. New Haven, CT. Yale University Press, 1972. Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Argentina Australia Austria Barbados Belgium Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burma Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China (Peoples Republic) Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Cyprus Czechoslovakia Democratic Republic of Congo Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Ethiopia Finland France Gabon Gambia Germany Ghana Global Greece Guatemala Guinea Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Kuwait Laos Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea Norway Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Romania Rwanda Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore Somalia South Africa South Korea Soviet Union Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda United Kingdom United States Upper Volta Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam (Socialist Republic) Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe 1955--1964 ICPSR metadata records are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License (


Where Are Thunderstorms Most Common?

By By Steve Pool

SEATTLE - It's certainly not Seattle. Seattle is one of the rarest places to find thunderstorms -- as is the Pacific Coast in general. That's because the Pacific Ocean helps to moderate our temperatures, keeping us from getting the wide temperature differences needed for good thunderstorm development.

No, the lightning trophy belongs to Florida, where its cities average about 90 thunderstorms a year -- or one every fourth day. They have a unique situation from being a peninsula. The inland areas will radiate their heat upward.

Cool sea breezes will rush in to replace the air, but they get a sea breeze from both their western and eastern shores. Those sea breezes collide over the inland areas and create convection, which leads to thunderstorms.

Your Photos

YouNews {Light Me Up} (New) {Light Me Up}
After spending the morning shooting pictures at other fields in the area, I was on my way home and noticed the unique colors in this field of flowers. I made a mental note as to its location so I could rendezvous back the following day.
YouNews Moon, Jupiter and Sun (New) Moon, Jupiter and Sun
The weather was clear Thursday night for some images of the
Transit of Io across Jupiter. The images and Jupiter and the moon were taken with a Meade LX6(Schmidt-Cassegrain)at prime focus and a ZWO ASI120MC video camera.
YouNews Double Rainbow Lopez Island (New) Double Rainbow Lopez Island
On Sunday, March 22nd, I took a photo with my iPad of a beautiful double Rainbow over Flat Point on Lopez Island. It cast a reflection in the water.


The Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Criminal Justice provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of individuals and groups. Through the department you will have the opportunity to study the methods of social and psychological research; diversity and its various expressions; indigenous experience; national, international, ethnic, religious, class, and gender perspectives; modern languages; and models of advocacy and social justice.

Degrees are available in the areas of criminal justice, cultural studies, modern languages and psychology that will prepare you for occupations and further study in these and related fields. See a complete list of available degrees.

Upon graduation, students receiving a psychology degree will be able to:

  1. Understand and carry out research and the scientific method
  2. Acquire and exhibit practical experience and skills in professional roles
  3. Access, use, and communicate conclusions about psychological literature
  4. Understand the basic theories and systems in the field of psychology
  5. Discuss the relationship between Christian thought and social sciences meaningfully.

Areas of Study

Students in the psychology field can major in three distinct areas. A minor in psychology education is also available for students interested in teaching.

CHECK OUT the Centennial 5K - an annual walk/run event supported/sponsored by the NNU Psychology Club to raise money for scholarships and this year is helping to kick-off the NNU centennial celebration.


Smart? Yes. Creative? Not so much.

Torrent of Torrances

Torrent of Torrances:  Kyung-Hee Kim looks up from a binder of completed examples from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. In this figural activity, participants construct—and give a name to—a picture using the jellybean-shaped blob. Kim has documented a decline in creativity as measured by the Torrance test.

The numbers show it: American creativity has been declining since 1990

First, the good news: Judging from IQ scores, America’s young minds seem to be improving every year. And now, a reality check: While our ability to memorize facts and think critically may be at an all-time high, our knack for coming up with original ideas and inventions may be at risk.

According to a study by William & Mary’s Kyung-Hee Kim, America is facing a creativity crisis. She found that, though America’s IQ scores are on the rise, the country’s scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking have been declining since 1990. Her research indicates that creativity levels are dropping throughout all age groups, she said, but the decrease is most significantly among young students. Though her paper “The Creativity Crisis,” has not been published yet, Kim’s discovery has garnered a lot of attention, including a cover story in Newsweek.

With help from the Scholastic Testing Service, Kim an assistant professor in William & Mary’s School of Education, examined nearly 300,000 Torrance tests of kindergartners to adults from across the country, collected between 1968 to 2008. Through her research, Kim discovered that, like intelligence scores, Torrance scores rose steadily for many years. However, in 1990, the Torrance test scores began going down.

drawThe Torrance test, named for creator E. Paul Torrance, was developed in the late 1950s as a potential tool to individualize student instruction. However, it has since been primarily used to identify gifted children. Kim says the Torrance test is the most widely used creativity test in the world and is the best predictor of creative achievement.

In fact, the Torrance test has been found to predict children’s creative achievement three times better than IQ tests, Kim said.  Moreover, creativity and intelligence are not the same thing—or even closely related, she noted. And creative people are not just artists and musicians; they enter all professions, including engineering, mathematics, medicine and the sciences. People who are creatively successful go beyond merely performing a job, becoming sources of new ideas, discoveries and inventions.

Although Kim looked at the overall Torrance scores (see sidebar), she also examined the six Torrence subscales used to score the figural form of the tests: abstractness of titles, resistance to premature closure, fluency, originality, elaboration and creative strengths.

Creative strengths, for instance, refer to creative personality traits, such as emotional expressiveness and energy level. The elaboration score is determined by how detailed the drawing is. The amount of detail in a drawing is also an indicator of how motivated someone is to be creative, Kim said.

When scoring abstractness of titles, Kim looked at the originality of titles that the test takers had given their drawings. For instance, a person who drew a whale in one of the drawing tasks and named it “whale” would receive fewer points than someone who drew something similar and named it “Moby Dick’s missing child.”

“In order to be creative, you need to have some abstract thinking,” she said.

Kim also looked to see what participants did when presented with a drawing that was left open—for instance, a shape that looks something like a sideways V.

“When non-creative people look at a drawing and it has an empty space in one part, they want to close it as soon as possible,” said Kim. “But creative people try to leave it open. It means that psychologically, creative people tend to defer their judgment and they can stand ambiguity. Non-creative people cannot stand that. They have to know the answer.”

For the fluency score, Kim looked at how many ideas were created.

“In order to produce a really creative idea, you have to have a lot of ideas,” she said.

In terms of originality, Kim used an “originality list” that Torrance created in the 1980s to determine the uniqueness of ideas. The list includes the most common responses that people give on the test. For instance, in the section where there are a lot of circles, most people draw something involving things like wheels or other common round objects.

“Those common responses are on the originality list,” said Kim. “Since (the creation of the list), when we look at the circles, if you draw one of those things that are on the list, it’s not original, so you don’t get any points for originality.”

Significant decrease in K-3

Like the overall scores, most of the scores in each of the six subscales also began decreasing in 1990. However, the score for elaboration has been decreasing since 1984. Additionally, Kim discovered that the overall decrease was most statistically significant among kindergartners through third graders.

Kim also noted that most of the scores began decreasing or remaining static at sixth grade. This result questions the idea of the “fourth-grade slump”—a common concept among researchers that describes a plateau or drop in creativity in the fourth grade as more emphasis is placed on socialization and conformity. Kim suggests that her study shows that a “sixth-grade slump” has replaced the fourth-grade version.

Kim said the results of her study are important not only because of what the world will lack in terms of positive benefits from the decline in creativity but also because of what happens when creative people are not nurtured.

Three types of gifted children

She noted that there are three types of gifted children: those with high intelligence and high creativity, those with low intelligence and high creativity, and those with high intelligence and low creativity.

“In order to be creative, you don’t have to have high intelligence,” said Kim, adding that studies have found “there’s almost no relationship between creativity and intelligence.”

“Among underachieving students, there is a strong relationship between behavior problems and creativity,” she said. “The more creative you are, the more behavior problems because of their creative personality.”

Although Kim stresses that she cannot yet make a conclusion about what has caused the decrease in creativity, she said that certain environmental factors—such as strict gender roles and too much structure—can stifle it.

“According to research, parents who are really organized, really clean, really structured have less creative students,” said Kim.

Creative children often have parents who allow them ways to release their creative energy—even if it means they are a little messy in the process, said Kim.

“The children have the freedom to explore, to throw something, to make it dirty,” she said. “The parents value when their children make something new, no matter if it’s useful or not. They also show they value their own creativity, too.”i


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators on Thursday settled charges against MF Global over the futures brokerage's collapse, and also charged former Chief Executive Jon Corzine and former Assistant Treasurer Edith O'Brien in connection with the alleged misuse of customer funds.

Corzine, a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs and New Jersey governor, was charged with violating his legal obligations to diligently supervise. He was also charged with not acting in good faith as a "control person" at the firm.

"Turning a profit is not the only job of the person at the top of a CFTC-regulated firm," CFTC Enforcement Director David Meister said. "Particularly in times of crisis, the person in control, like the CEO here, must do what's necessary to prevent unlawful uses of customer money, so that customers' money is still there if and when the music stops."

O'Brien was charged with aiding and abetting the company's misuse of customer funds. The CFTC said that O'Brien was behind the improper transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars from customer accounts to meet the brokerage's other obligations as it experienced a liquidity crisis.

The CFTC is seeking full restitution and penalties against Corzine and O'Brien, as well as trading and registration bans against them.

Andrew Levander, a lawyer for Corzine, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did a Corzine spokesman.

Evan Barr, O'Brien's lawyer, had no immediate comment.

(Reporting by Douwe Miedema and Emily Stephenson, with additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Emily Flitter; Writing by Karey Van Hall; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Steve Orlofsky)


Andy Totten: Minimum-wage hikes are Democratic ploy

Posted: Wednesday, February 21, 2007

For some Democrats, poverty statistics are like a soggy old bone is to a dog. A recent letter to the editor, written on behalf of the Clarke County Democratic Committee, called the county's poverty rate of about 25 percent an "embarrassment" (Letters, "Local Democrats push for state minimum wage," Feb. 13). Even though no one wants to address it, the pervasive culture of illegitimacy is the real embarrassment for Athens-Clarke County. Advocating birth control would do more to help the poor than an increase in the minimum wage.

It would be interesting to find out if all the politicians pushing for an increase in the minimum wage could live on $7.25 an hour. The only goal of the minimum wage increase is to expand the Democratic voter base by giving handouts.

Andy Totten

Trending this week:


Keyword: Puerto Rico

Reclaim (2014)

Rated: R Runtime: 96 minutes Release date: 09/18/2014
Following the death of their unborn child, an American couple goes to Puerto Rico to adopt a Haitian child, who disappears from their room at the hotel mysteriously. To expose the truth and get back to the U.S., they must risk their lives to save their daughter.

Mala Mala (2013)

Dir: Antonio Santini
With: N/A

The Bermuda Triangle (N/A)

Rated: NR Runtime: 80 minutes Release date: N/A


Vancouver Canucks

- Worst ranking is Shots Per Game, ranked #22 in the league.

- Ranked #11 in goals per game, despite being ranked #22 in shots per game.


Flatbed Scanner Guide: Glance from Inside

by Sergey Samarin
01/11/2004 | 11:56 PM

Certain peripheral devices look like a “thing in itself” for the outsider, especially if the device includes both: electronics and mechanical parts. They are something that seems too hard to be grasped by a common person. Flatbed scanners are an example of such devices.

At first glance, construction of a scanner has nothing sophisticated about itself: a case with a few connectors and a couple of buttons, a lid and a glass where you place the original for scanning. That’s quite simple and you of course can use your scanner without bothering about technicalities. At second glance, when you try to find out how the stuff works and what those mysterious numbers in the specifications stand for, things become more complicated. So if you don’t have a scanner, but are planning to buy one, you should learn what real things stand behind the characteristics declared by the manufacturer. In this article I will try to take a scanner apart (literally) to show you what it is made of. Doing this exciting job, we will also learn certain facts about scanners in general.

I guess we should start out with the most important component of each scanner. Its eyes, which are a light-sensitive matrix.

It is the matrix that mostly determines what a scanner is. It transforms color and brightness of the incoming light flux into analog electrical signals that would make sense for its only mate – analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The ADC acts like both an interpreter and a guide, always coming with the matrix. Without interpretation, no processor or controller would understand the analog signal from the matrix. But they do understand digital signals produced by the ADC – a string of zeroes and ones. The digital electronics of a scanner are blind – you can shine at them with your flash-light and never get a single reaction. The matrix is quite another thing: a stream of light falls onto its surface literally beating electrons out of its sensitive cells. The higher the intensity of light, the more electrons the matrix releases. And as a result, the stronger will these electrons be when they all rush to the exit. However, the electrons current is too weak to be heard by even the most sensitive ADC. That’s why there is an amplifier at the matrix exit, which can be compared with a megaphone making a siren wail out of a mosquito hum. The amplified signal (analog so far) will be “weighed” by the converter so that each electron could receive a digital value, according to its current strength. That’s where the matrix quits the game: we’ve got digital information now to be processed by other devices. Image reconstruction doesn’t require the matrix any more.

This is the general picture, let us now delve somewhat deeper into technical details. Many contemporary scanners for home of office use (Small Office Home Office – SOHO) come with a matrix of one of the two types: Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) and Contact Image Sensor (CIS). This fact alone produces two natural questions: “What is the difference and which one is better?” You can catch the difference with a naked eye: a CIS scanner comes in a thinner case compared to a similar CCD machine (its height is usually about 40-50mm). The second question is rather harder to answer, since both matrix types have advantages and shortcomings. They are listed in the following table:

Support high resolutions (contemporary low-cost CCD-scanners support up to 2400dpi optical resolution);
Long lamp service time;
High quality scanning;
High focal range (depth of field);
supports slide-adapters and automatic documents feeder.

Relatively high pricing (compared with CIS-scanners);
It takes the lamp too long to heat up before scanning;
Requires additional power supply source.

Small dimensions;
Fast start-up;
Low cost;
Low power consumption (many CIS-scanners are powered via USB);
Autonomous functioning.

Limited optical resolution (up to 1200dpi);
Not very high focal range;
Sensitive to side lighting;
Relatively low scanning quality.

although a typical scanner has at least three or four of them

Schematic representation of a CIS sensor

A CCD matrix is the most important component of a scanner

Side view of a CCD-matrix

Parts of a CCD matrix magnified

Control Unit

All scanners are controlled by the computer to which they are attached and the user can adjust scan settings via control software. It means that SOHO scanners don’t necessarily have their own control units, although some manufacturers help the beginner and insert a few “fast scan” buttons (generally, in the front panel of the case).

Fast scan buttons are something you can well do without

Each button is marked by an icon. Typical functions assigned to the buttons include: launching a standard scan operation with output to the printer, to your e-mail client, to the fax and so on. Of course, there are definite scan settings for each button. Anyway, when you push a button, an application responsible for it will start up. By the way, control units are available in few SOHO scanners, and are always missing in professional machines.

Some manufacturers often remove certain options from the scanner driver, which most of the users don’t use. For example, SOHO scanners from Hewlett-Packard don’t allow changing the gamma, loading ICC profiles and so on. However, Hewlett-Packard is known for pleasing its customers with “fast scan” buttons in most products.

About Light Sources

Every scanner has an internal lighter. It is a small and powerful unit responsible for turning the scanner lamp (or anything that serves as a lamp) on and off. A CIS scanner uses a LED line as a source of light, and this is why it consumes so little power.

CCD scanners generally illumine the original with a fluorescence lamp with a cold cathode. This lamp is incomparably brighter than light-emitting diodes, but high voltage is required to make the gas inside the lamp shine. A unit called inverter provides this voltage.

A high-voltage unit is required for supplying power to the lamp

The inverter pulls the voltage up from 5 volts to several thousand volts, and also transforms direct current into alternating current.

Generally, there are three types of lamps used in scanners:

However, for several reasons, SOHO scanners only use lamps of the last type (with a cold cathode).

Cold Cathode Fluorescent lamp

The scanner lamp rests on a plastic chassis of the scan head right above the lampshade. The lampshade is shaped like a reflector (a “collector” and “thrower-off” of light) or magnifying glass. The reflected light is more intense and shines at the object placed on the bed. Reflecting from the original, light goes through the chassis slit (its contour is outlined with blue in the snapshot) and falls onto the first, longest mirror of the optical system.

An evident advantage of a cold-cathode lamp is its long service time, about 5,000-10,000 hours. That also explains why some scanners don’t turn the lamp off after a scanning operation is over. Then, lamps of this type do not require any additional cooling and have low manufacturing cost. The disadvantage of these lamps is slow turning-on. It takes from 30 seconds to several minutes for a lamp like that to warm up.

The lamp matters a lot for the quality of scanning. Even a slight deviation in the characteristics of the light source may affect the light stream that is falling onto the reception matrix. This fact explains why it is necessary to warm up the lamp properly before scanning. Some drivers allow reducing the warm-up time if you don’t want to have excellent scanning quality (when scanning text documents, for example). The lamp’s characteristics degenerate with the time, which is a natural inevitable process, but scanners can automatically calibrate themselves according to a black-and-white pattern that is integrated into the case.

As you can see in the snapshot, the plastic of the case
and the calibration target get dimmer after being exposed to light

The scanner I took as an example complies with the rule. The photo above shows the color pattern according to which the scanner adjusts colors before scanning to compensate for “ageing” of the lamp. The plastic inside the case, which is permanently illumined by the lamp, as well as the calibration pattern become dimmer with time. This brings in more color distortion.

A cold-cathode lamp resembles a daylight lamp… only a small one

If you are inventive enough, you can design a desk lamp
from the inverter and a cold-cathode lamp

That’s another possible use for the scanner lamp. The inverter unit was connected to a standard computer PSU with wires and an adapter. Add a holder and you will have a bright desk lamp.

Analog-to-Digital Converter: How it Works

Interface Controller

two connectors for attaching additional units

SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface)

USB (Universal Serial Bus)

FireWire (or IEEE1394)

Belt Motor

That’s where the belt is fastened to the scan head

Components of the belt mechanism

Stepping Motor

The stepping motor rotates the spindle into either direction in small steps, so that the scan head moves at a certain distance. This motor resides in any flatbed scanner. It rotates the reducer (those cog-wheels you see in the snapshot) and moves the carriage in which the optical unit, lamp and matrix are. A special controller chip is responsible for changing the direction and rotation speed of the motor. The precision with which the carriage moves is referred to as mechanical resolution on Y-direction.

Optical resolution of a scanner is X-direction,
and mechanical resolution is Y-direction

Overall, optical resolution is determined by the number of elements in a matrix line divided by the width of the operational area. Mechanical resolution is the number of steps the scanning carriage can make in Y-direction. You can often come across a notation like “600x1200” in a scanner’s specification. The first number stands for optical and the second – for mechanical resolution of the scanner. There is also the so-called interpolated resolution, which may be a few times higher than optical resolution, but doesn’t depend on the physical capabilities of the device. I would call it “scaling resolution”. Interpolation (enlargement of the original image) is performed by the scanner software. You can disregard this parameter altogether as it’s quite possible to do the same interpolation in an image-editing software like Photoshop.

Insides of the motor

The external side of the motor core is connected with a gearing which is a simplest reducer. Its large cog-wheel pulls in the belt with the connected scan head.

Power Supply Unit

Power supply unit

Additional Devices

A scanner with an automatic document feeder is quite a bulky construction

This is the transparent window of the document feeder
from the other side of the glass

Some active slide-adapters are equipped with their own light source shining through a transparent original. Some models feature a moving carriage with a light source, which is moved with a motor and a belt mechanism. The light source is moving along with the scanner head. The scanner’s own lamp is turned off in this case.

 Today, SOHO scanners without moving parts in the slide-adapter unit are the most popular. We have recently tested one device like that, EPSON Perfection 3200 Photo. Its light source is built into the scanner lid and occupies its entire useful surface. For the adapter and the scanner to work together, a cable comes from the lid and gets attached to a special connector in the scanner back panel (marked as “XPA”). The light of the adapter is automatically activated when you change the type of the original in the control program; an indicator in the scanner lid informs you about that. Transparent originals are installed into stencils included with the device: 35mm film of 12 stills, four 35mm slides in frames, 120/220 (6x9cm)/4x5” film. Then you lay the stencil onto the glass.

During the scan process, light stream goes through the transparent original, hits the input of the scanner’s optical system and is handled just like a non-transparent original. Of course, such features of the scanner like optical resolution or color depth do not change when you use a slide-adapter, but the range of optical density does. This last parameter directly depends on the brightness of the light source and the time of exposure. It can be described as follows:the darker is the original, the less light can go through it, and the more time it takes the CCD matrix capacitors to collect a necessary charge. The darkest of all transparent materials is X-ray film (up to 3.6D). In order to get a quality scan of such a film, you need a bright light source. However, the range of reproduced optical densities doesn’t depend on the lamp brightness alone. It is also determined by the precision (bit capacity) of the analog-to-digital converter, by the abilities of the optical system and of the light-sensitive matrix.

A passive adapter is a much simpler device. It uses the scanner’s own lamp and you get poorer results than with an active adapter (intensity of the light stream is lower just like the quality). However, you can use passive slide-adapters for scanning images for Web. They are cheaper.

The scanner is a sophisticated electronic device and I could discuss it for ages, getting deeper into specifics and nuances. So far, we have learned the following:


Stung by a UN official's criticism of the country for allowing some of its people to go hungry, Canada has described Olivier De Schutter as a "patronising academic" and said there are more pressing food concerns in other countries.

Reacting to De Schutter's report, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird told reporters the country's federal and provincial governments were focused on improving the lives of Canadians and their ability to provide for themselves.

But the meeting did not seem to go well.

"I met with the individual this morning and I found him to be an ill-informed, patronising academic studying, once again, the aboriginal people, Inuit and Canada's Arctic from afar," Aglukkaq told parliament.

Canada is the first developed country on which De Schutter has reported. UN spokeswoman Yoonie Kim said Canada had a standing invitation to UN human rights officials to visit.

Source: Agencies


Players will be close enough to count an opponent's missing teeth when skaters square off to settle things with their fists in NHL 10. Electronic Arts announced that the game will shift the perspective from the third- to first-person during fights as players clobber each other in the forthcoming annual update.

The change is among 200 "refinements" EA promises, including glass-banging crowds, a new board physics engine and scraps after the whistle. Additionally, EA adds that enforcers will now step in to throw down to protect skill players in a fight, meaning even virtual versions of Crosby or Sakic can breathe easy knowing someone's got their back.

This article was originally published on Joystiq.

The best of WoW Insider: May 5-12, 2009


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Human energy requirements are estimated from measures of energy expenditure plus the additional energy needs for growth, pregnancy and lactation. Recommendations for dietary energy intake from food must satisfy these requirements for the attainment and maintenance of optimal health, physiological function and well-being. The latter (i.e. well-being) depends not only on health, but also on the ability to satisfy the demands imposed by society and the environment, as well as all the other energy-demanding activities that fulfil individual needs.

Energy balance is achieved when input (i.e. dietary energy intake) is equal to output (i.e. total energy expenditure), plus the energy cost of growth in childhood and pregnancy, or the energy cost to produce milk during lactation. When energy balance is maintained over a prolonged period, an individual is considered to be in a steady state. This can include short periods during which the day-to-day balance between intake and expenditure does not occur. An optimal steady state is achieved when energy intake compensates for total energy expenditure and allows for adequate growth in children, and pregnancy and lactation in women, without imposing metabolic, physiological or behavioural restrictions that limit the full expression of a person’s biological, social and economic potential.

Within certain limits, humans can adapt to transient or enduring changes in energy intake through possible physiological and behavioural responses related to energy expenditure and/or changes in growth. Energy balance is maintained, and a new steady state is then achieved. However, adjustments to low or high energy intakes may sometimes entail biological and behavioural penalties, such as reduced growth velocity, loss of lean body mass, excessive accumulation of body fat, increased risk of disease, forced rest periods, and physical or social limitations in performing certain activities and tasks. Some of these adjustments are important and may even increase the chances of survival in times of food scarcity.

2.1 Definitions

Based on these definitions, a main objective for the assessment of energy requirements is the prescription of dietary energy intakes that are compatible with long-term good health. Therefore, the levels of energy intake recommended by this expert consultation are based on estimates of the requirements of healthy, well-nourished individuals. It is recognized that some populations have particular public health characteristics that are part of their usual, "normal" life. Foremost among these are population groups in many developing countries where there are numerous infants and children who suffer from mild to moderate degrees of malnutrition and who experience frequent episodes of infectious diseases, mostly diarrhoeal and respiratory infections. Special considerations are made in this report for such sub-populations.

2.1.1 Daily energy requirements and daily energy intakes

Energy requirements and recommended levels of intake are often referred to as daily requirements or recommended daily intakes. These terms are used as a matter of convention and convenience, indicating that the requirement represents an average of energy needs over a certain number of days, and that the recommended energy intake is the amount of energy that should be ingested as a daily average over a certain period of time. There is no implication that exactly this amount of energy must be consumed every day, nor that the requirement and recommended intake are constant, day after day. Neither is there any biological basis for defining the number of days over which the requirement or intake must be averaged. As a matter of convenience, taking into account that physical activity and eating habits may vary on some days of the week, periods of seven days are often used when estimating the average daily energy expenditure and recommended daily intake.

2.1.2 Average requirement and inter-individual variation

Estimates of energy requirements are derived from measurements of individuals. Measurements of a collection of individuals of the same gender and similar age, body size and physical activity are grouped together to give the average energy requirement - or recommended level of dietary intake - for a class of people or a population group. These requirements are then used to predict the requirements and recommended levels of energy intake for other individuals with similar characteristics, but on whom measurements have not been made. Although individuals in a given class have been matched for characteristics that may affect requirements, such as gender, age, body size, body composition and lifestyle, there remain unknown factors that produce variations among individuals. Consequently, there is a distribution of requirements within the class or population group (WHO, 1985) (Figure 2.1).

Distribution of energy requirements of a population group or class of individuals*

* It is assumed that individual requirements are randomly distributed about the mean requirement for the class of individuals, and that the distribution is Gaussian.
Source. WHO, 1985.

For most specific nutrients, a certain excess of intake will not be harmful. Thus, when dietary recommendations are calculated for these nutrients, the variation among individuals in a class or population group is taken into account, and the recommended level of intake is an amount that will meet or exceed the requirements of practically all individuals in the group. For example, the recommended safe level of intake for proteins is the average requirement of the population group, plus 2 standard deviations. This approach cannot be applied to dietary energy recommendations, because intakes that exceed requirements will produce a positive balance, which may lead to overweight and obesity in the long term. A high level of energy intake that assures a low probability of energy deficiency for most people (e.g. the average requirement plus 2 standard deviations) also implies a high probability of obesity for most people owing to a dietary energy excess (Figure 2.2). Therefore, in agreement with earlier reports, this expert consultation concluded that the descriptor of the dietary energy intake that could be safely recommended for a population group is the estimated average energy requirement of that group.

Probability that a particular energy intake is inadequate or excessive for an individual*

* Individuals are randomly selected among a class of people or a population group. The two probability curves overlap, so the level of energy intake that assures a low probability of dietary energy deficiency is the same level that implies a high probability of obesity owing to dietary energy excess.
Source: WHO, 1985.

2.2 Sources of dietary energy

Energy for the metabolic and physiological functions of humans is derived from the chemical energy bound in food and its macronutrient constituents, i.e. carbohydrates, fats, proteins and ethanol, which act as substrates or fuels. After food is ingested, its chemical energy is released and converted into thermic, mechanical and other forms of energy.

This report refers to energy requirements that must be satisfied with an adequately balanced diet, and does not make specific recommendations for carbohydrates, fats or proteins. Reports from other FAO and WHO expert groups address those topics. Nevertheless, it should be noted that fats and carbohydrates are the main sources of dietary energy, although proteins also provide important amounts of energy, especially when total dietary energy intake is limited. Ethanol is not considered part of a food system, but its contribution to total energy intake cannot be overlooked, particularly among populations that regularly consume alcoholic beverages. Allowing for the mean intestinal absorption, and for the nitrogenous portion of proteins that cannot be completely oxidized, the average values of metabolizable energy provided by substrates in a mixed diet are 16.7 kJ (4 kcal) per gram of carbohydrate or protein, and 37.7 kJ (9 kcal) per gram of fat. Ethanol provides 29.3 kJ (7 kcal) per gram. The energy value of a food or diet is calculated by applying these factors to the amount of substrates determined by chemical analysis, or estimated from appropriate food composition tables. A recent related report from a FAO technical workshop provides more information on this topic (FAO, 2003).

2.3 Components of energy requirements

Human beings need energy for the following:

2.4 Calculation of energy requirements

The total energy expenditure of free-living persons can be measured using the doubly labelled water technique (DLW) or other methods that give comparable results. Among these, individually calibrated heart rate monitoring has been successfully validated. Using these methods, measurements of total energy expenditure over a 24-hour period include the metabolic response to food and the energy cost of tissue synthesis. For adults, this is equivalent to daily energy requirements. Additional energy for deposition in growing tissues is needed to determine energy requirements in infancy, childhood, adolescence and during pregnancy, and for the production and secretion of milk during lactation. It can be estimated from calculations of growth (or weight gain) velocity and the composition of weight gain, and from the average volume and composition of breastmilk.

2.4.1 Factorial estimates of total energy expenditure

When experimental data on total energy expenditure are not available, it can be estimated by factorial calculations based on the time allocated to activities that are performed habitually and the energy cost of those activities. Factorial calculations combine two or more components or "factors", such as the sum of the energy spent while sleeping, resting, working, doing social or discretionary household activities, and in leisure. Energy spent in each of these components may in turn be calculated by knowing the time allocated to each activity, and its corresponding energy cost.

As discussed in the following sections of this report, the experimental measurement of total energy expenditure and the assessment of growth and tissue composition allow sound predictions to be made regarding energy requirements and dietary recommendations for infants and older children around the world. Special considerations and additional calculations assist the formulation of recommendations for children and adolescents with diverse lifestyles.

Total energy expenditure has also been measured in groups of adults, but this has been primarily in industrialized countries. Variations in body size, body composition and habitual physical activity among populations of different geographical, cultural and economic backgrounds make it difficult to apply the published results on a worldwide basis. Thus, in order to account for differences in body size and composition, energy requirements were initially calculated as multiples of BMR. They were then converted into energy units using a known BMR value for the population, or the mean BMR calculated from the population’s mean body weight. To account for differences in the characteristic physical activity of the associated lifestyles, energy requirements of adults were estimated by factorial calculations that took into account the times allocated to activities demanding different levels of physical effort.

The extra needs for pregnancy and lactation were also calculated using factorial estimates for the growth of maternal and foetal tissues, the metabolic changes associated with pregnancy and the synthesis and secretion of milk during lactation.

2.4.2 Expression of requirements and recommendations

Measurements of energy expenditure and energy requirement recommendations are expressed in units of energy (joules, J), in accordance with the international system of units. Because many people are still used to the customary usage of thermochemical energy units (kilocalories, kcal), both are used in this report, with kilojoules given first and kilocalories second, within parenthesis and in a different font (Arial 9). In tables, values for kilocalories are given in italic type.[2]

Gender, age and body weight are the main determinants of total energy expenditure. Thus, energy requirements are presented separately for each gender and various age groups, and are expressed both as energy units per day and energy per kilogram of body weight. As body size and composition also influence energy expenditure, and are closely related to basal metabolism, requirements are also expressed as multiples of BMR.

2.5 Recommendations for physical activity

A certain amount of activity must be performed regularly in order to maintain overall health and fitness[3], to achieve energy balance and to reduce the risk of developing obesity and associated diseases, most of which are associated with a sedentary lifestyle. This expert consultation therefore endorsed the proposition that recommendations for dietary energy intake must be accompanied by recommendations for an appropriate level of habitual physical activity. This report provides guidelines for desirable physical activity levels, and for the duration, frequency and intensity of physical exercise as recommended by various organizations with expertise in physical activity and health. It also emphasizes that appropriate types and amounts of physical activity can be carried out during the performance of either obligatory or discretionary activities and that recommendations must take into account the cultural, social and environmental characteristics of the target population.

2.6 Glossary and abbreviations

In addition to those defined in the preceding sections, the following terms and abbreviations are used in this report. They are consistent with the definitions used in other related WHO and FAO documents (FAO, 2003; James and Schofield 1990; WHO, 1995).

Basal metabolic rate (BMR): The minimal rate of energy expenditure compatible with life. It is measured in the supine position under standard conditions of rest, fasting, immobility, thermoneutrality and mental relaxation. Depending on its use, the rate is usually expressed per minute, per hour or per 24 hours.

Body mass index (BMI): The indicator of weight adequacy in relation to height of older children, adolescents and adults. It is calculated as weight (in kilograms) divided by height (in meters), squared. The acceptable range for adults is 18.5 to 24.9, and for children it varies with age.

Doubly labelled water (DLW) technique: A method used to measure the average total energy expenditure of free-living individuals over several days (usually 10 to 14), based on the disappearance of a dose of water enriched with the stable isotopes 2H and 18O.

Energy requirement (ER): The amount of food energy needed to balance energy expenditure in order to maintain body size, body composition and a level of necessary and desirable physical activity, and to allow optimal growth and development of children, deposition of tissues during pregnancy, and secretion of milk during lactation, consistent with long-term good health. For healthy, well-nourished adults, it is equivalent to total energy expenditure. There are additional energy needs to support growth in children and in women during pregnancy, and for milk production during lactation.

Heart rate monitoring (HRM): A method to measure the daily energy expenditure of free-living individuals, based on the relationship of heart rate and oxygen consumption and on minute-by-minute monitoring of heart rate.

Total energy expenditure (TEE): The energy spent, on average, in a 24-hour period by an individual or a group of individuals. By definition, it reflects the average amount of energy spent in a typical day, but it is not the exact amount of energy spent each and every day.

Physical activity level (PAL): TEE for 24 hours expressed as a multiple of BMR, and calculated as TEE/BMR for 24 hours. In adult men and non-pregnant, non-lactating women, BMR times PAL is equal to TEE or the daily energy requirement.

FAO. 2003. Food energy - methods of analysis and conversion factors. Report of a technical workshop. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper No. 77. Rome.

James, W.P.T. & Schofield, E.C. 1990. Human energy requirements. A manual for planners and nutritionists. Oxford, UK, Oxford Medical Publications under arrangement with FAO.

WHO. 1985. Energy and protein requirements: Report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation. WHO Technical Report Series No. 724. Geneva.

WHO. 1995. Physical status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry. Report of a WHO expert committee. WHO Technical Report Series No. 854. Geneva.

[2] 1 joule (J) is the amount of mechanical energy required to displace a mass of 1 kg through a distance of 1 m with an acceleration of 1 m per second (1 J = 1 kg × 1 m2 × 1 sec-2). Multiples of 1 000 (kilojoules, kJ) or 1 million (megajoules, MJ) are used in human nutrition. The conversion factors between joules and calories are: 1 kcal = 4.184 kJ, or conversely, 1 kJ = 0.239 kcal.
[3] The term "fitness" encompasses cardiorespiratory health, appropriate body composition (including fat distribution), muscular strength, endurance and flexibility. Fitness can generally be described as the ability to perform moderate to vigorous physical activity without becoming excessively tired.

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Man Made Islands May Be Wind Power Key

While it’s clear that wind power has a lot of potential, harnessing that potential rests largely on being able to store energy for use when the wind isn’t blowing. A new design by Copenhagen-based architectural firm Gottlieb Paludan called Green Power Island may help to spell a solution.

The Green Power Island makes use of pumped hydro, a storage strategy that’s already in wide use. Conventional pumped hydro systems use vertically separated reservoirs to utilize the power of water and gravity; during times of low demand (off peak),  water is pumped using excess energy from the lower to the upper reservoir. As demand increases, the water is allowed to flow downhill into the lower reservoir, generating electricity in the process. In this system, the amount of power that can be stored is limited by the amount of water that can be stored–and, of course, the height difference between the two reservoirs.

image via Planetsave

While there are environmental questions and concerns associated with this “artificial island” design, Paludan is confident that these islands can be constructed in ways that minimize impact on local wildlife and water quality. Plans have already been drawn for Green Power Islands in several locales, including Copenhagen, Bahrain, Jiangsu, and Tampa, and Florida. According to Planetsave, each island–built primarily around wind energy storage, but also featuring PV/concentrated solar/biomass production facilities–will be designed to enhance the surrounding environment and utilize the space with mixed used capabilities, including recreation trails, beaches, harbors,  and even residential and business units.


Report identifying the extent of partner abuse in Scotland, both since the age of 16 and over a 12-month period. It assesses the nature and impact of partner abuse and explores the extent to which people or organisations were informed about the abuse, in particular contact with the police about the incident.

Paper investigating the challenges police forces in England and Wales face in controlling costs and balancing protective services, counter-terrorism and response policing. It offers suggestions for addressing the funding shortfall, providing neighbourhood policing and achieving a more effective and efficient service.

Document setting out the UK Government's approach to tackling violence against women and girls. It is an approach which moves beyond just the criminal justice system and includes roles for all relevant public sector organisations such as central government departments, local government and the voluntary sector.