Posts Tagged ‘exam purposes’

Students are Gaming Your System

February 18, 2013

There was an amusing story recently about some clever students who found a way to get an A on the final without doing any work.

The professor’s policy was that all exam scores are re-normed so that the highest score on an exam becomes the new “100%” (I have a serious issue with his statement that this system is the “most predictable and consistent way” of comparing students’ work to their peers, since I think that students should judged on the basis of their knowledge of the material and NOT by comparing them to their peers. But that is a topic for a different post). His students recently got together and decided that none of them would take the final. Thus, the highest grade was 0%, and everyone got an A.

The professor did give everyone an A on the final exam, but later said: “I have changed my grading scheme to include ‘everybody has 0 points means that everybody gets 0 percent, and I also added a clause stating that I reserve the right to give everybody 0 percent if I get the impression that the students are trying to ‘game’ the system again.”

Here is the thing: students are always trying to game the system; this is because they are largely rational people. Moreover, professors mostly want students to game the system.

For example: I know of many professors who count homework as maybe 5-10% of a student’s final grade. The most common reason I hear from giving a low, but non-zero, weight to homework is “I want to make the students do the homework.” Translated: “I want my students to ‘game’ the system by doing the homework, whether they learn from it or not.” This is also true of attendance policies, participation policies, or really anything that has points attached to it.

What we (thoughtful people, at least) are really interested in is “student learning.” This is difficult to measure, so we use a proxy—”points”—to measure it. But then we fall subject to Campbell’s Law, where we confuse the proxy with the real thing.

Thus, the phrase “I reserve the right to give everybody 0 percent if I get the impression that the students are trying to ‘game’ the system again” really means
“I reserve the right to give everybody 0 percent if I get the impression that the students are trying to ‘game’ the system again in a way that I do not approve of.”

Moreover, the professor is not being clear about what are allowable ways of gaming and what aren’t. This conjures the memory of the famous case of cheating in Central Florida. The students found a test bank available online and studied from it. To me, this sounds like a completely reasonable way to study, and—to the best of my knowledge—this was not explicitly prohibited by the instructor.

The Central Florida was asking the students to ‘game’ his system by performing well on the exam. He was not clear about the allowable ways to ‘game’ the system, but he expected them to know what was allowable and what was not. This seems very unreasonable to me (there are some things that I think that we mostly agree on. It is not allowable to ‘game’ the system by writing down exactly what your neighbor wrote down, for instance. But I don’t think the Central Florida example is such a culturally agreed upon situation).

This is one of the many reasons why I switched to Standards-Based Grading: the proxies are at the very least less familiar, and most likely better associated with our ultimate goal of “student learning.” My proxies are not points, but rather “the number of times you demonstrated that you can do a particular type of problem to me.” It is tough to ‘game’ this system in a way that I am not in favor of, since most of the ‘gaming’ involves learning something well enough to convince me that you understand it.

It is still possible to game the system, though. For instance, students can demonstrate understanding through quizzes, and they can game the system by copying down their neighbors’ answers. But most of the examples of gaming SBG that I can think of falls into the “everyone knows that you are not supposed to do that type of gaming” category.

But the main point is: let’s not pretend that we don’t want students to game the system in certain ways. Let’s remember that the system is not what is important, and we must not lose sight of the reason why there is a system in the first place.

What oral exams taught me

June 8, 2012

In my course for elementary education students, I once again gave oral exams—this time for the final exam. Here are two take-aways from the oral exams.

First, I need to do some peer instruction next time. In particular, students had a difficult time understanding the difference between the “whole” of a fraction and the “denominator” of a fraction (Consider “\frac{1}{2} of a mouse” and “\frac{1}{2} of an elephant.” Both have a denominator of “2,” but the whole of the first is “mouse” and the whole of the second is “elephant.” This leads to different meanings. I think that three clicker questions would eliminate this.

Second, I was shocked at how ineffective my lectures were. The oral exam questions (which they also had to create screencasts for) were ones that were previous done in class (for example: why does inverting and multiplying give the correct answer to a division problem?). The process was this: students would figure out why the algorithm works, and then present at the end of a class period. I begin the next class period by giving the same argument. Other class periods begin with students presenting on similar questions, the class evaluating the presentations, and—if needed—me presenting the correct explanation.

Furthermore, I gave the answers to each of the oral exam questions on the last day of class. Test test So students saw the answer to each oral exam question at least three times, and probably more (especially since I had students view other students’ video solutions).

I was concerned that students would simply memorize these explanations. This simply did not happen. Either students understood the algorithm (I can tell from the oral exams—these students could answer any question that I had on the algorithm) or students did not understand any portion of the algorithm.

Most puzzling is that, in my student evaluations, some of my students complained that they were never shown how to do the algorithms correctly. This is in spite of seeing a completely correct solution to every problem between 3 and 10 times. I can only explain this in two ways:

  1. Somehow students did not understand that the solutions they saw were solutions to the problems from the oral exams and screencasts. This would mean that I did not clearly communicate the intent of presenting the solutions.
  2. Lecture was monumentally ineffective in helping them learn—so much so that students did not even remember that they occurred.

Do you have any other ideas?

On Midterms

October 22, 2009

I am in the middle of midterms. I tend to write three different types of exams: two types of in-class exams, and one time of take-home exam. I will mix the take-home with either type of in-class midterm.

The first type of in-class midterm is a check that students are able to do the basic things from the course. This includes recalling definitions and answering straightforward questions. In a calculus class, I might include a question like “What is the derivative of f(x)=x^2?” The purpose of this in-class exam is to act as an incentive for the students to take time to learn the course material.

The take-home exam has a different purpose. Here, I’ll ask questions that require students to think about concepts in novel ways. I often make these open book, open notes, group exams. In a calculus class, I might include a problem like: “Find the equation of a tangent line to f(x)=x^2+1 that goes through the point (4,8).” The purpose of this type of midterm is less to assess the student’s knowledge than to help her acquire more. I hope that thinking about these questions leads to a greater understanding of the material.

The second type of in-class midterm is like the take-home, only it is in-class and not a group test (with a couple of exceptions). The main lesson I have learned here is to only give a small number of questions, since each of the questions is fairly involved.

I have given all three types of midterms so far this semester. I tend to always include a component of “learning exam” (rather than “accessing exam”), as my main goal is to help students learn. However, I also need to assign grades, and this is the reason for the pure assessing exams.

I don’t feel great about giving the assessing exams. I do not like the idea of making the students demonstrate that they learned the material, largely because I have read psychology results that say this type of “incentive” (a bad grade is a “stick,” or a good grade is a “carrot”) decreases student learning. I would love to hear of creative ways of having students learn mathematics, assessing what they know, and having the two complement—rather than work against—each other.

Please leave comments, although please offer evidence if you say “students would never learn if I don’t give them exams/homework/etc.”

Educational Goals

September 25, 2009

Time pressure and exams

September 17, 2009

My wife teaches math at the public university in the area. I highly recommend marrying an academic, as dinner-time conversations can quickly turn into professional development opportunities.

Our dinner conversation on Tuesday centered around timed exams; that is, exams where you have to do many questions in a relatively short period of time. We debated their merit, and we came up with the following:

  1. Timed exams should only be used if they fit your goals and values. A discussion on goals and values will be the topic of an upcoming post; for now, I will just say that they are woefully neglected in education.
  2. Timed exams really only work if the students are only expected to either recall, or to do a very basic computation repeatedly.
  3. Timed exams are not appropriate if students are engaged in complex problem solving.

We reached these conclusions mainly by acknowledging that brilliant people can sometimes take a long time to figure things out – professors are never expected to start and finish a paper within a week. Deep thinking takes time. Therefore, adding time pressure to an exam can give a faulty assessment of one’s understanding (assuming this is the reason why the exam is being given).

On the other hand, there are other times when we do not want our students to think much, and here timed exams could give useful information. Examples of such topics include an elementary student demonstrating that they know their multiplication tables, or a calculus student demonstrating that they know how to quickly compute easy derivatives. In both cases, we want students not to have to think deeply about these questions (it is really difficult to get common denominators when both the concept of adding fractions AND multiplying integers require concentration; the cognitive load is just too much).

As I posted (years) before, I have started to give short midterms. This is because I mainly want to test problem solving and conceptual understanding, and I don’t include as much recall and computation (although they have to do computation in order to do other problems). I tend to test recall and computation in different parts of the course.


eat. share. enjoy.

^PEI MUSSELS Steamed with roasted red pepper sauce 10
^PORK TUMBLERS Pork, pineapple, peppers, Edwinton BBQ sauce 7
CORKSCREW SHRIMP Breaded corkscrew shrimp with wasabi vinaigrette 8
^THAI BBQ NACHOS Shredded pork, Thai bbq sauce, vegetables, corn chips 7
^SMOKED PORK BELLY Local bacon with homemade maple bourbon sauce 8
^PORK WINGS Smoked pork shanks with Thai BBQ sauce 9
DUCK RANGOON Duck bacon and sweet corn rangoons with ponzu and sweet chili sauce 10
^SHRIMP COCKTAIL Seasoned shrimp 13
LETTUCE WRAP Chicken, thai sauce, vegetabales, wonton strips, ponzu, sweet chili sauce 6

^EDAMAME Whole pods steamed and salted 5

CHICKEN CURRY Grilled chicken, curry, fresh vegetables, naan bread 6

^SEAFOOD GUACAMOLE Fresh Maine lobster, fresh crab meat fresh guacamole, corn chips 17 Plain 8
CHEESE & MEAT PLATE Artisanal cheeses, smoked salmon, olives 18
 CALAMARI Fried calamari, roasted red pepper sauce, whiskey aioli 8
^CRAB MARTINI Fresh crab meat, celery, spicy ranch, corn chips 12

^Fresh Raw or Rockefeller

 Oysters sold by half dozen

*There is a risk associated with consuming raw protein. If you have any chronic illness of the liver, stomach, blood, or have any immune disorder, you are at greater risk of illness from raw proteins, so you should eat them fully cooked.

^Gluten Free


The interior passages of value of PI
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Cross section of the pyramid showing the interior passages

From the above diagram you can see that there are two systems of passages, a downward or descending system and an upward or ascending system. The entry into the pyramid is on the north side, which is about 56 feet above ground level. This entrance leads into the descending passage which slopes down at an angle of about 26 degrees. It is a narrow passage which measures about 3 1/2 feet wide by almost 4 feet high. The distance of this descending passage to the beginning of the horizontal Subterranean chamber passage is about 344 feet. This shorter horizontal section leads to the subterranean chamber. This large chamber is a strange place, measuring 46 X 27 feet with a height of about 11 feet. In the center of this chamber on the east side is a square pit which is about 10 feet deep, known as the "bottomless pit". It is called the "bottomless pit" since at the time of its discovery, it was not known how deep it was. Continuing from the subterranean chamber is a smaller passage (about 2 1/2 feet square) that runs horizontal for about 53 feet and ends in a blank wall.

Let us look at the ascending system of passages. As we start down the descending passage from the entrance, after about 97 feet, we come to where the ascending passage intersects with it. It is blocked by 3 large granite blocks. Following the ascending passage, (which has approximately the same dimensions as the descending passage), up at its 26-degree angle, after 124 feet, we finally arrive at a large open space. This is known as the grand gallery. It is a hall 153 feet long and 7 feet wide at the floor level. It is about 28 feet high. At this point of intersection, you can take one of two routes. You can continue going up the grand gallery and eventually end up in the King’s chamber or continue in a horizontal direction through another passage (127 feet long) and wind up in the Queen’s chamber. Also at this intersection (where the ascending passage meets with the grand gallery) is a hole which leads to a shaft (known as the well shaft) which connects with the descending passage below. This near vertical tunnel is about 3 feet in diameter. The King’s chamber measures about 34 feet by 17 feet and 19 feet in height. The Queen’s chamber measures 18 feet by 17 feet and 20 feet in height. It should be noted that the passages are all in the same vertical plane, parallel to the north-south axis of the pyramid. They are not in the direct center of the pyramid but off 24 feet to the east of center. Thus the entrance to the pyramid is not in the centerline of the north side, but to the east of it by 24 feet. Also all chambers extend westward from the vertical plane of the passage system, and none extend eastward.

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Textbooks on history and mathematics tell us that the Greeks discovered the relationship of pi. Pi is the relationship between the radius of a circle and its circumference. The mathematical formula is:

That is in any size circle you draw, this relationship will always hold true. Thus if you measure its radius and multiply it by 2 and pi, this will always equal the circumference of that circle. It appears that the value of pi was built into the Great Pyramid of Giza, hundreds of years before the Greeks allegedly discovered it. How was this value built into the great pyramid? The vertical height of the pyramid holds the same relationship to the perimeter of its base (distance around the pyramid) as the radius of a circle bears to its circumference.


As you shop for a mortgage, you need to understand the terminology used. The list below inlcudes some of the most common terms you'll need to know, but it isn't exhaustive. So if you come across a term that you don't understand, be sure to ask your broker or lender or your home-buying counselor to clarify what it means so your not caught off guard.

  • Fixed-rate loans generally have repayment terms of 15, 20, or 30 years. Both the interest rate and the monthly payments (for principal and interest) stay the same during the life of the loan.  The only change in your payment would result from changes in your taxes and insurance if you have an escrow account with your loan servicer.

  • The interest rate is the cost of borrowing money expressed as a percentage rate. Interest rates can change because of market conditions. For example, if you borrow $200 with an interest rate of 10 percent, you need to repay $220 ($20 of which is interest).

  • Points are fees paid to the lender for the loan. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. Points are usually paid in cash at closing. In some cases, the money needed to pay points can be borrowed, but doing so will increase the loan amount and the total costs.
  • Principal is the original amount of a debt or investment on which interest is calculated.

  • Thrift institution is a general term for savings banks and savings and loan associations.
  • Transaction, settlement, or closing costs may include:
    o application fees
    o title examination
    o abstract of title, title insurance, and property survey fees
    o fees for preparing deeds, mortgages, and settlement documents
    o attorneys’ fees
    o recording fees
    o notary, appraisal, and credit report fees.

    Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the borrower receives a good faith estimate of closing costs at the time of application or within three days of application. The good faith estimate lists each expected cost, either as an amount or a range.


Aviation Energy Estate | creating a solarfield and making use of airport landscape

Groningen Airport Eelde will become a solarfield, which seizes the opportunity to make use of the landscape, ecology, and recreation potential as well as the agricultural possibilities. An iconic landscape park emerges with meaning at a regional scale and with the themes of aviation and energy. At the root lies the idea of revealing and ameliorating the existing qualities and thereby providing space for new uses of the land such as energy(crops), education and recreation.

By producing and using solar energy the airport is achieving and displaying its ambitions relating to sustainability. The solar panels are being placed in their ideal positions and such as to account for the highest possible spatial quality. Therefore they generate energy at their maximum capacity and demonstrate how a large-scale solar energy complex can be fitted into the landscape.

To many people flying equals freedom to explore the world. An environmentally friendly way of flying, therefore appears to be an attractive perspective. The plane that propels itself with solar panels on its wings, as is already happening in experiments, symbolizes this glorious view of the future. The ‘Paper Plane’ tells this story and invites visitors and passers-by to feel the excitement of an air journey.

‘Aviation Energy Estate’ is the symbol of a greener future at the airport and in the sky. With the ‘Paper Plane’ this symbol gets its own icon at the scale of the surroundings and the user.
The plane, simply folded from paper, is known to anyone from their youth and symbolizes the dream of being able to fly. By folding the ‘solar panel’ an icon is created that represents the dream of a green future full of opportunity, an encouragement to develop technology that will increase our possibilities. The ‘Paper Planes’ make this tangible in a poetic manner. At the entrance area of Groningen Airport Eelde they form a free flight of ascending and descending airplanes. The ‘solar panel’ ‘Paper Planes’ are placed on poles of differing heights.  They will also mark significant points in the landscape park.

The energy, being generated, can be used in a variety of ways, naturally for airport activities. Better is the visible use. The energy produced by the ‘Paper Planes’ can be used to lit up the terrain. There are also options to charge an electric car or bicycle or even a mobile phone.

By organizing the solar panels in long rows, in the main direction of the airport, a dynamic pattern of stripes with irregular shape forms that have an iconic appearance seen from the air. With this configuration, it is possible to create a large surface of solar panels and thus yield a considerable amount of energy. All of the roofs as well as the covered walkways are covered with solar panels.

Because the panels are placed on angled ground forms instead of the common supporting structures they create a pure image of green and blue. The bottom of the panels is invisible, the technology can be fitted into the groundform. Having the panels  just slightly detached from the groundform ensures natural cooling and ventilation.

The panels are set at the best angle to face to sun. The orientation of the panels and the stripes are angled. The groundforms are the piece of the puzzle to the direction of the panels and the direction of the stripes. The solar field gets a straight edge towards the surroundings related to the main axis of the airport. Runway and solar field form a unified whole. An additional advantage of the groundforms is that they  make for an acoustic effect that reduces noise in the surrounding areas.

The landscape park is the finale of the estate zone at the eastern fringe of Eelde-Paterswolde and connects with the natural stream valley lying west of Groningen Airport Eelde.
The area surrounding the airport has plenty of landscape and recreational qualities. Improving their accessibility and pointing them out as part of a landscape park is of great benefit to the area and region.

The park is formed by making a circular park structure with easily identifiable entrances. The structure connects the different parts and the entrances communicate where the park starts.

The existing roads that have, over the years, turned into dead end streets due to the construction of the runway are employed as entry roads. These roads are joined to the circular park structure. The latter is mainly made up of existing pathways and roads. Radar stations, antennas and service buildings are used in creating the decor for the park. New elements such as pavilions and plane spotting areas are added.

Except for the large solar field the area offers the opportunity to numerous other ways of generating energy. The restoration of hedgerow structures can go hand in hand with the harvest of biomass. Tracts of land that are owned by the airport or government can be planted with attractive energy crops such as coppice or rapeseed. If opportunities for distribution are provided it could also be attractive to farmers to use a part of their land for growing energy crops.

Existing energy related companies in the area can also jump on the bandwagon. The RWZI can produce energy by silt fermentation and the flower auction has a valuable renewable heat.

‘Aviation Energy Estate’ allows regional large scale relations such  Energy Valley,  Sensor City, Green Sustainable Airports, NNN (Netherlands Nature Network), Regiopark Groningen Assen en De Koningsas (Kings Axis) to be accentuated and shown to visitors and inhabitants of the region. It is positioning itself as an example of landscape and spatial connections between market, government, and society.

Aviation Energy Estate

Design Firm | MD Landschapsarchitecten
Images & Text | MD Landschapsarchitecten

Editor’s Note – a interesting conceptual idea however the reflectivity of solar panels in an airport would require a rigorous study to ensure safety of passengers.


Top Chef Floyd Cardoz Shares His Secrets Floyd Cardoz, chef of New York's Tabla and author of the new 'One Spice, Two Spice' cookbook, reflects on growing up in India, the best ways to buy and store spices, and how to add flair to everyday dishes. Budget Travel Thursday, Nov 30, 2006, 12:41 PM Chef Floyd Cardoz, "One Spice, Two Spice" Budget Travel LLC, 2016

Top Chef Floyd Cardoz Shares His Secrets

Chef Floyd Cardoz, "One Spice, Two Spice"
Chef Floyd Cardoz, "One Spice, Two Spice"

Q: Could you share some memories of cooking with your family and how you became interested in cooking?

A: Cooking and food have always been a major part of my family and upbringing, and also play a major role in Indian culture. My mom cooked a lot and we also had a cook at home. Hanging out in the kitchen to help the cook would ensure that I always got a tasty morsel before or in between meals. My mom would plan the meals daily with the cook, and would also get more involved with the meals when we were entertaining. I became familiar with cooking at a young age--I'd watch and help, and smell and taste all the flavors.

My earliest memories were making my Sunday souffle omelets with roasted tomatoes when I was about 11. I also have fond memories of helping the cook clean shrimp, cut green mango, and saute the onions for the Goan stew sorpatel. I used to be the kid in the neighborhood who organized and cooked the monthly barbecues. When I was around 11 or 12 years old, during summers, all the kids in the neighborhood would each bring a potato and roast it over a wood fire and eat it with sea salt from the Arabian Sea.

My love for food and cooking subconsciously were guiding me to my current destination.

Q: What role do spices play in Indian culture?

A: Besides being flavor enhancers, spices have many health benefits. Certain spices are used in different seasons because of their effect on our bodies--some increase body temperature, other keep us cool. Spices also play an important role in digestion. Growing up, I remember spice infusions that were given for various ailments such as a cold, stomach virus, or flu.

Additionally, due to the various seasons and how difficult it used to be to transport fresh ingredients across the country (India), spices played an important role in preserving ingredients in pickles and chutneys for use in leaner times, i.e., in growing seasons when ingredients could not be transported across the country or were not available.

Q: What are some easy ways to give Western dishes Indian flair?

A: Adding one or two spices in a stew is an easy way to give a western dish an Indian flair. Adding coriander to meat dishes, cumin to vegetable dishes, and a combination of cumin and coriander to fish dishes are easy ways to do this as well. In One Spice, Two Spice, I offer many recipes. It can be really simple and is a great way to add tons of flavor.

Q: Which basic Indian spices should be in every kitchen?

A: In my new cookbook, One Spice, Two Spice, I outline levels of spices for home cooks. First, I suggest that people have some basics--bay leaf, black pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. For those who want to add great flavor to their home cooking, Level One includes a selection of versatile spices that work well with most ingredients: Coriander seed, cumin, turmeric and mustard. I have three more levels as one gets more experienced with these spices. But really, it can be easy and is great fun to experiment with spices.

Q: Which spices go into making a classic Indian curry?

A: There are no standard spices in a curry. Depending on the region and season, the combinations change. A classic curry, though, is any sauce with spice, be it one, two, or more spices.

Q: What is the best way to store spices?

A: Buy them whole, keep them away from heat and light, and store them in an air tight container. In order to maintain freshness, buy spices in one- to two-ounce portions.

Q: How should you buy spices?

A: Always whole, never ground (except turmeric, cayenne, chat masala, and paprika). Ground spices tend to loose the essential oils which give the spices their flavor and health benefits. It's ideal to buy spices from ethnic markets, as you never know how long they have been on the shelf in big grocery stores. High turnover is a sure sign of freshness.

Q: Are there any online resources for buying or learning about spices that you recommend?

A: Sinha Trading ships everywhere, but you have to visit or call: 121 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016, 212/683-4419. There's also Penzeys, 19300 W. Janacek Ct., Brookfield, Wis., 800/243-7227,; and Kalustyans, 123 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016, 212/685-3451,

Free downloadable recipes
Download and print out these delicious Indian recipes from Chef Floyd Cardoz of New York's Tabla restaurant. You will need Adobe Acrobat, a free (and easy!) plug-in, to read the recipes
  • Avocado Salad
  • Goan Spiced Crab Cakes
  • Tamarind Chutney
  • Download Adobe Acrobat
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Hackers claim to expose phone information of 4.6 million Snapchat users

“This database contains username and phone number pairs of a vast majority of the Snapchat users,” said a post on website SnapchatDB.info. The account has since been suspended, apparently by the hosting service. A cached version of the site can be viewed here.

The information was acquired through the recently patched Snapchat exploit and is being shared with the public to raise awareness on the issue, according to the post. “The company was too reluctant at patching the exploit until they knew it was too late and companies that we trust with our information should be more careful when dealing with it,” it added.

The hackers said they had “censored” for now the last two digits of the phone numbers in order to minimize spam and abuse, but asked people to contact them for the uncensored database, which they may agree to release under certain circumstances.

Gibson Security had published proof-of-concept code last week that takes advantage of the “find_friends” feature in the Snapchat application programming interface (API) to iterate and match the phone numbers of users to their Snapchat accounts in a short period of time. Gibson first revealed the vulnerability and other issues in August.

“Theoretically, if someone were able to upload a huge set of phone numbers, like every number in an area code, or every possible number in the U.S., they could create a database of the results and match usernames to phone numbers that way,” Snapchat wrote in response last week. “Over the past year we’ve implemented various safeguards to make it more difficult to do,” it added. “We recently added additional counter-measures and continue to make improvements to combat spam and abuse.”

After the release of the SnapchatDB database, Gibson said in a Twitter message that it knew nothing about SnapchatDB, but it was a matter of time until something like it happened. “Also the exploit works still with minor fixes,” it added.

Snapchat could not be immediately reached for comment.

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Accueil > S’informer > Dossiers > Climate Change, Corporate Accountability, Indigenous Struggles for Land, (...) > The Battle for Survival: Arippa (...)

The Battle for Survival: Arippa Bhoosamaram (Arippa Land Struggle)

, by Intercultural Resources

In 2009, the Government of Kerala had set aside a big portion of the 90 acre Arippa revenue forest land for various institutional projects. Adivasis and the landless Dalits in Kerala have been relentlessly protesting against the state, demanding that the surplus revenue land be distributed to the landless Adivasis and Dalits. This article uncovers the timeline of the protest in Arippa forest and reveals the political manipulation of various governments that have come to power. The article also details the decisions of the state government to set up hollow schemes like the Zero Landless Kerala programme, which aims to provide secure land titles to the landless tribals; however, in actuality it seems like an effort by the government to restrict the life of the tribals in government-approved colonies.

By PT George

Flame in the Forest

The deadly silence of the pitch dark forest on a moonless winter night was broken by some abrupt movement that disturbed the nocturnal peace. Suddenly, the orange flames and dark smokes of burning torches emerged at the edge of the forest and forced the staunch darkness to banish into the thickets. Wild wolves unaccustomed to such interference howled in displeasure and disappeared to nowhere. The brisk movements of a large crowd and the sounds of their footsteps became louder; the torch flames lit up the whole forest. The thick carpet of dry leaves creaked and crumbled like thin wafers as people trampled over them. The forest became alive with people everywhere. There were men and women of all ages, and even mothers with little babies in their arms. Soon, the crowd settled down on a mudflat they found, holding their burning torches in one hand. Shouts of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ (Long live Revolution) reverberated and shook the silent forest out of its deep slumber. Their leader stoop up in their midst, forcing the crowd’s murmuring to wane into silence as they listened to him eagerly. Several others spoke and this went on throughout the night, till the first rays of dawn penetrated the night sky.

On the night of December 31, 2012, when the world anxiously awaited the birth of a new year, a large group of Adivasis, Dalits and landless peasants, encroached into the Arippa forest in Kulathupuzha village in the Kollam (Quilon) district of Kerala. For these marginalised, landless poor, the New Year celebration began with a night march through the dense forest to begin a long-drawn nonviolent battle against the state. On that cold winter night, a new struggle was born – Arippa Bhoosamaram (Arippa Land Struggle). The protesters’ demand: land for cultivation, and their slogan: “We do not want three cents of land; we want land for cultivation.”

Arippa Forest

The 90 acre Arippa revenue forest in Kulathupuzha village was in the possession of a business baron (Late) Thangal Kunju Musaliar. The forest land was leased to him for 90 years, which he had retained for 102 years. When the land tenure expired in 2001, the Kerala Government took over the forest and declared it as surplus revenue land. Out of the 90 acres of this revenue land, around 21.54 acres was set aside for some of the beneficiaries of Chengara land struggle, who had been given pattayam (land title deed) in 2009. The remaining 68.46 acres was kept aside for institutional development, out of which, 13 acres was meant for the Dr. Ambedkar Model Residential School. The rest of the 55.46 acres was earmarked for developing an International University campus, Biological Park and Dental College. The protesters in Arippa are holding their demonstration in the 55.46 acres of land, which they claim is the surplus revenue land meant for redistribution among the landless Adivasis, Dalits, and the landless poor.

Landlessness amongst Adivasis and Dalits

In modern societies, land is considered as one of the first signs of power. The landlords are those naturally elevated to the higher ladders of society and historically belonging to the upper caste in the caste hierarchy. Whereas, those who have been pushed to live on roadsides or forced to live in colonies, are people who reside far below in the social, political and cultural hierarchies, disconnected from the caste system and lying at the foot of the social ladder.

Historically, the Adivasis and Dalits, who together comprise 10 percent of the total population of Kerala, had never been land owners. Although an integral part of Kerala’s agricultural economy for centuries, the Adivasis and Dalits never held any records of possession. Most of the land was owned by the Namboothiris (the higher caste Brahmins in Kerala), the Nairs (a warrior class belonging to the Kshatriya caste), wealthy Christian Janmis (land owners) and few rich Mappilas (Muslims of Kerala). The Dalits and Adivasis cultivated the land for land owners or worked as agricultural labourers. Besides, due to a lack of modern education among the Adivasis and Dalits, these landless people were all the more forced to be dependent upon land for sheer survival.

Political Motivation

The problem of landlessness among the Dalits and Adivasis in Kerala has been a recurring issue for the successive governments in power. Political parties have often used the landlessness as a major agenda to attack their political opponents, or used it as a weapon to target the ruling party. The land reforms initiated in the 50s through various land distribution schemes – intended to reduce landlessness in Kerala – did not succeed well. The acquisition of surplus land above the land ceiling limit was a tough task for the various governments that came to power in Kerala. Besides, the redistribution process did not yield much result as there were several hindrances:

1. The non-inclusion of plantations from the purview of land reforms facilitated the big Janmis (Landlords) to retain their huge landholdings. Thus, there was not much surplus land available, as the landlords quickly redistributed their land within their family members to avoid the government taking over their excess land.

2. The Adivasis and Dalits were severely excluded from the government land redistribution schemes or they were pushed into colonies, where large clusters of tiny huts were built to house the landless, with not even enough space to move about. The ‘colony’ life style of the Adivasis and Dalits further removed them from land.

3. The collective notions of ownership over natural resources – a norm widely practiced by the indigenous communities in India, became a cup of poison for them. The lack of proper records showing ownership rights made it impossible for them to prove customary ownership rights over land.

4. The state government has been reluctant to fully implement the existing legislations, including the Forest Rights Act, which empowers the state to distribute land to the Adivasis and Dalits. If the existing legislations are used properly, then the state can distribute up to 5 acres of land to the landless Adivasis. The demand for this can be easily met if the government takes initiatives to acquire excess land from big plantations such as the Harrison Malayalam Ltd.

Zero Landless Programme

The Government of Kerala has embarked on an ambitious project by introducing the Mission Mode Project to make Kerala a Zero Landless State by 2015. The Zero Landless Kerala Programme began on 30 September, 2013. Through this project, the government intends to transform Kerala into a zero landless zone by giving pattayams (secure land titles) to the landless to help them secure a safe dwelling place. According to Sreeraman Koyyon, the President of the Adivasi Dalit Munnetta Samiti (ADMS) and leader of the Arippa land struggle, “The zero-landless scheme of the State government is a hollow one.” He goes on to say, “We cannot any longer live in 3 cents of land in a colony. The colony life has completely destroyed the culture and social life of the Adivasis.”

Arippa Bhoosamaram

The protesters in Arippa argue that they do not want to confine their life to a mere 3 cents plot of land, instead, they want land for agriculture. Their claim is that the setting aside of the 55.46 acres of surplus revenue land in Arippa forest for international projects by the former LDF (Left Democratic Front) government is actually meant for clandestine, money swindling land deals. Instead, this surplus revenue land, along with other such lands in many plantations and forests lying across Kerala, should have been distributed to the landless Adivasis and Dalits. It is on this background that on the night of December 31, 2012 several Adivasi, Dalit and landless poor families from various parts of Kerala encroached into Arippa forest and began their protest by building shanties. Their slogan: “We do not want 3 cents of land; all we want is land for cultivation.” Among the protesters, there were also people who had taken part in the historic Chengara Land struggle and were given pattayams, but found themselves cheated, when they realised that the land given to them was either not enough for cultivation or was not at all suitable for habitation.

The Arippa Bhoosamaram (Land struggle) is led by Sreeraman Koyyon, who is also the president of Adivasi Dalit Munnetta Samiti (ADMS), under whose banner the ongoing land struggle is being undertaken. Koyyon is of the opinion that the Arippa land struggle is actually a continuation of the Chengara struggle. He stated that the renewed struggle in Arippa is to force the government to open its eyes to the plight of a marginalised section of society which has been enslaved for centuries in some form or other.

The charged up atmosphere of Arippa forest is now filled with shouts of, “We are fed up with 3 cents of land; we want land for cultivation” and “Abandon 3 cents plots and go back to agriculture.” Men, women and children are all engaged in the struggle; shouting slogans and raising their voices against the apathy of the state in looking after the conditions of the Adivasis. Frustration, anger, tears and misery are all visible on the faces of the protesters.

The Government’s Double Games

For several months, the ruling UDF (United Democratic Front) led by the Congress did not give any support to the struggle. Even the local MLA from Kulathupuzha did not bother to pay a visit to the protest site or enquire about the state of affairs at the protest venue – a reflection of the government’s neglect towards the landless poor. The political parties played double games according to the situation that suited them. The UDF, which was in the opposition during the Chengara land struggle, was a great supporter of the movement. It severely criticized the ruling party – the LDF (Left Democratic Front) – for its inability to solve the land issue. Now, the UDF government, which is in power in Kerala, feigns ignorance about the Arippa land struggle. Instead of supporting the protesters, it instigates the local people by trumpeting the huge loss of opportunities for foreign investments that the protesters have caused.

Boycott by Villagers

The situation in the forest changed, as strangers began infiltrating the protest site. It is reported that the trouble for the protesters began when outsiders penetrated the forest and the protest site and indulged in alcoholism and misbehaved with Adivasi women. Agitated over this, the protestors got hold of one such intruder and kept him in their custody. This led to altercations, scuffles, and some violent actions between the protesters and the villagers. Adivasi women and children were molested, abused, threatened and even beaten up. The agitated villagers retaliated by declaring a blockade and social boycott. They blocked all roads to the protest site, and prevented the protesters from moving out of the forest or allowed anyone else to enter the forest. This completely stopped the arrival of essential food and other items needed for the protesters. The villagers also prevented the men and women from doing any work in the nearby villagers. They also alerted the other villagers not to employ any of the protesters for any casual work.

What followed was a season of hunger, starvation and illness among the protesters. Men could not go to work. Food became scarce. The arrival of essential items like rice, sugar, cooking oil and kerosene completely stopped. The protesters began to starve and fall ill. NGOs and other supporters of the movement who came to lend their solidarity, were prevented and chased away by the local people or scared off, so as to avoid any help or support coming into the protest site. Several children fell ill, while old people became the victims of acute malnutrition due to long periods of starvation and hunger. As such, police intervention became necessary to take the people who were severely ill to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The extremely volatile situation at the protest site saw some improvement only after the intervention of the District Collector of Kollam and several rounds of meetings with political party leaders and the locals.

Counter Protest by Political Parties

On the very next day, when the protesters led by the ADMS encroached into Arippa forest and began protests by building shanties, CPI (M) (Communist Party of India, Marxist) goons encroached into another vacant section of the forest, hoisted their party flag, and started their own protest. They, too, began to make shanties and huts covered with plastic sheets. Ever since that day, the political party goons have been continuing their protests with the intention of creating confusion and rifts among the Dalits and Adivasis and are determined to suppress the voices of the marginalised communities.

After 100 Days of Protests

Three and a half months into the protests, the ground situation in Arippa changed drastically. The protesters were tormented by an array of issues and underwent tremendous sufferings. Food, water, medicines, shelter and a host of other issues had to be confronted. Coupled with these, the District Collector in Kollam sent them a notice to vacate the forest and move out in a week’s time. The Collector’s notice further strengthened the morale of the protesters. Instead of relenting to the notice, the protesters became more adamant in their demands. The situation at the protest site became a charged one. Men and women were ready to give up their lives. Many individuals were seen climbing trees, ready to jump into a noose and commit suicide in case of any threat from the district administration or the police. Women were also ready to give up their lives by immolating themselves. Plastic containers topped up with kerosene were always kept ready to be used if the need arose. Such was the frustration among the protesters that they were ready to die and give up their lives, but would not relent to moving out of the forest or to end their protests.

Raman Koyyon says, “We have nowhere to go now. We are fed up with the colony life in 3 cents of land. For decades we have been confined to 3 cents of land which has in fact destroyed the social and cultural life of the Adivasis. The educational backwardness is also another issue that the Adivasis face now.” He continues to stress that “the Zero Landless Kerala is a sinister project of the Kerala Government to secretly transfer the Adivasis and Dalits into colonies by promising them 3 cents of land. Such ominous plans to create thousands of colonies to enslave a particular section of people should be objected to and stopped.”

During the prolonged protests, the protesters were regularly affected by several issues, such as:

Problems with the drinking water
In the absence of good drinking water facilities, the protesters in Arippa were forced to collect water from a nearby shallow pond. The heavily polluted pond water took its toll on children, old people, and several women. Skin infections, malaria, typhoid and dengue spread among the protesters.

Health and sanitation issues
There were no proper toilets and bathrooms for women and children. Most people used the forest for these. The protesters requested financial support for making proper toilets and bathrooms, so that they would not be prey to severe illnesses during the monsoon season. Malaria, dengue and typhoid became rampant among the protesters.

Accusations by political party leaders
Tremendous amounts of accusations were levelled against the Arippa protesters. All types of wild rumours, such as - the Adivasis would never look after the land and would only destroy it, rubber plantations would be completely destroyed by improper tapping and cutting of trees and so on, were vigorously publicized.

During the Chengara land struggle, when the LDF government was in power, the then Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan had accused the protesters of illegally tapping rubber and selling it to fund the protests. The Arippa protesters have not resorted to such measures so far. Instead, the land that was lying fallow for decades has now become a fertile ground; full of green paddy fields and vegetable gardens where organic farming is practiced.

Njattuvela (The Times of the Sun) in Arippa

Every year, the monsoon period (21 June to 4 July) is intense cultivation season in Kerala. The abundant monsoon rain helps the farmers to prepare their land for paddy cultivation, pepper planting, and various other agricultural activities. Almost 200 days after the protests began; the monsoon rains brought cheer to the protesters in Arippa. Amidst shouts of joy and folk songs, the Arippa forest came alive after centuries of lying fallow. The protesters began cultivating the forest land, and preparing it for paddy cultivation. The hard work of the protesters transformed the fallow forest lands into beautiful agricultural plots, neatly surrounded with mud walls to protect the soil and to keep the rain water in the field.

Njattuvela is the time for transplantation of rice seedlings. In the absence of tillers or bullocks to plough the fields, men and women used traditional simple tools like Thoomba (hoe with a long wooden handle) and pick axes to flatten the barren soil and to level the field, making it ready for rice seedling transplantation. The Arippa protesters gave a fitting reply to Kerala’s abominably low farming output and dwindling agricultural scenario. When the villagers nearby realised that the protesters were really into farming and the protests were not a mere intention to get land, their animosity towards the Arippa protesters dwindled. Now, they view the protesters as people who are serious about farming and cultivation. Besides, the organic vegetables and paddy cultivated by the protesters in Arippa became high in demand. The animosity that barred the villagers and the protesters was put to an end, and a friendly relationship was established between the two.

Anniversary of the Arippa Struggle

A year after the landless Adivasis and Dalits started a protest movement in Arippa, the protesters, under the banner of ADMS, decided to mark the first anniversary of their protest with an array of activities. An air of celebration filled the forest of Arippa. This was definitely an occasion to cheer, as the protesters had undergone innumerable troubles - hunger, starvation, illnesses, violent repression by the villagers and even a total blockade. Amidst the continuing apathy and inaction of the state government in settling the demands of the protesters, the committee decided to intensify the stir.

Protest in New Delhi

After 400 days of relentless struggle in the dense forest of Arippa, the representatives of the 1,300 Adivasis, Dalits and landless families decided to take their protest to the Indian Parliament in New Delhi. The team of representatives headed by Sreeraman Koyyon took out a march to the Indian Parliament on February 7, 2014 to reiterate their demand of land for cultivation. The protesters intended to call the attention of the Union Government to the indifference of the Government of Kerala in solving the landlessness issue of the Adivasis and Dalits in Kerala. They submitted memorandums at the offices of the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Rural Development, and sought their intervention to resolve the agitation at the earliest. The protesters reiterated their demand for the allocation of 10 cents of land each for the construction of houses and one hectare of land each for cultivation.

Discussions with the Chief Minister

A discussion with the representatives of the Adivasis and the Dalits protesting in Arippa forest was called by the Chief Minister of Kerala, which ended without reaching any final decisions. The suggestion by the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, to give 3 cents of land to each protester was summarily rejected by the representatives. During the meeting, the representatives stressed for one acre of land for cultivation and 15 cents of land for housing for each of the protesting families. The CM pointed out that as per the Forest Rights Act only the landless Adivasis are entitled to land for cultivation. The government is going ahead with a plan to rehabilitate the rest of the protesters by giving 3 cents of land for each family.

For centuries, the Adivasis lived in harmony with Mother Earth, where forest, rivers, streams, animals, birds and all other living beings were a part of their home. Living in extreme closeness with nature, the soil was their laboratory where they created various formulae for sustaining their life. Thus, centuries old experiments on farming, cultivation, food gathering and all other activities created a knowledge system which was closely interlinked with their culture, ethos and religion. The soil and the Adivasis were like a mother and child connected with an umbilical cord in the womb of nature. Alienating them from nature is like disconnecting the mother from the child; fatal for both. Over centuries, this extreme closeness with nature was hampered, when land was gradually taken away from the people through various socio-political and religious transformations. Thus, the Adivasis became orphaned children cut away from their mother and family, thrown into the city of modernity and abandoned on the streets of development.

The problems of landlessness of the Adivasis and Dalits can only be solved through redistribution of land and by restoring their connection with nature. Their upliftment can only happen through land, because land is the chief link that connects them to Mother Earth. Any attempt to reverse the process and to protect the social, economic, cultural, religious and spiritual life of the Adivasis, Dalits, and the landless poor can only happen if the government comes up with proper rehabilitation plans that would strengthen their dignity and pride.

“Arippa Land Protest: Big Story,” Reporter, A Television Report. Online at:

“Authorities neglect land struggle in Arippa,” Reporter, A Television Report. Online at:

“Arippa Land strike completed 150 days,” Reporter, A Television Report. Online at:

“Solve Arippa stir: Adivasi Dalit samithi,” The Hindu, February 17, 2014. Online at:

About the Author:

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EMBRACE OPEN WATER SWIMMING Products - "Adventure through Performance"

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The leading thing you can do to improve your personal life is to workout. Working out helps you to improve life, since you sleep better, lose weight, gain weight, maintain weight, etc. Exercise will help you fight infections, lower risks of heart disease, cancer, etc. Exercise will even help your brain to function better.

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For those that do not know where to begin, you have to start slow and work up to a reasonable schedule.  Before you decide the time frame you want to work with, you have to get a program together.

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What are some of the kinds of equipment that I can use?
Some of the equipment you can use is the treadmill this will help you walk. Maybe you like riding a bike. You can purchase indoor or outdoor bikes. Elliptical machines are affordable equipment, which are less the expense of treadmills. The machine will work the entire lower region of your body. The equipment works the muscle groups, including the smaller and larger groups of muscles in your legs. You can find model equipment that builds the upper half.

Workouts are a great way to improve your personal life. Workouts build self-esteem, confidence, and overall body and mind. You work to achieve good health.

You just want to remember not to over do it. If you overdo exercise, you will burn out and hurt. Exercise does not cause pain, only mild soreness when you are not use to working out. You will need to watch what you eat as well. You will boost energy by watching what you eat and exercising. In addition, you have to make sure you set goals that are realistic and that you can reach.

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 Malchow (Quarter, Germany) - Population Statistics and Location in Maps and Charts
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Malchow (Quarter)

Contents: Population

The population development of Malchow.

Source: Statistik Berlin Brandenburg (web).

Explanation: The tabulated population figures report the registered population and not the resident population. Thus, there are discrepancies compared to other pages on this website.


Distance Between Edgewood, NY and Brooklyn, NY

How many miles? 43 Miles / 69 Km

How many times? 1 hour 3 mins

Distance, Gas Consumption and Emission Notes

Distance from Edgewood, NY to Brooklyn, NY is 43Miles or 69 Km. You can get this distance about 1 hour 3 mins. If you want to planning travel with plane for 39 Miles or 62 Km, You can get this distance about 34 mins .

A car with an average MPG will needs 1.99 gallons of gas to get the route between these points.

The estimated cost of gas to get between Edgewood, NY and Brooklyn, NY is $4.52.

During the route, an average car will release 38.99 pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere. Your carbon footprint is 0.91 pounds of CO2 per mile.

* Average US MPG used for calculations is 21.6 MPG.
* Coordinates of Edgewood, NY is 40.65287, -73.95949000000001 and coordinates of Brooklyn, NY is 40.78489, -73.25333999999998


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The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar

- William Shakespeare -

In 1598, Francis Meres described Shakespeare as "the most excellent in both sides - comedy and tragedy". His comedies are unsurpassed for the marvelous harmony they establish among so many apparently discordant elements. His tragedies, rightly interpreted, do not reveal a spirit of gloom and disillusionment. Yet, if we ponder carefully, while the themes of Shakespeare's tragedies are indeed dark and dismal, the message that they impart is that, no matter how deep the misfortune or how dreary the circumstances, man is capable of rising from his own ashes, like Phoenix; think of Richard II, Henry V, King Lear, or Prospero. Good will triumph over evil, in the end; think of Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar.
As the theme and message in Shakespeare's comedies, they can be summed up in two lines from "As You Like It":

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players"

In his comedies, just as in real life, the protagonists play different parts in the little playmates they have themselves improvised in order to get what they desire. No one is hurt, no one is denied the opportunity to join in the game, no one is left out. Life is a merry-go-round and each individual may get off the platform as soon as he no longer enjoys the game. As long as all ends well…

All Samuel Taylor Coleridge maintained, Shakespeare was more interested in character-development than in his plots. Besides, in most cases, he did not invent the plots, he merely borrowed them from Holinshed and Hall Chronicles. Yet, his plots follow the classical Aristotelian outlines.

Of Shakespeare's tragic characters, Mark Antony is quite outstanding in point of versatility. He does not exactly fit the Aristotelian description of the tragic hero. He is reliable and trustworthy friend, a highly intelligent and tactful man, a good psychologist, a skilful orator. Analysing Antony's famous speech of act 3, scene 2, we admire its uncanny rhetorical effects and the most persuasive use of the emotional appeal that assist him in disentangling the truth from the pack of lies concerning Julius Caesar that Brutus had just told the Roman citizens. By using the apophatic approach (the device by which one mentions something by saying it will not be mentioned: "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him", and "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke"), Antony manages to do just what he was not expected or allowed to do: praise Caesar and disprove what Brutus spoke.

In a society like Shakespeare's, which felt secure about what constituted proper behavior, social, political and familial roles were basic sources of order and untroubled adherence to them symbolized the continued existence of order. What Shakespeare presents in "Julius Caesar" and in other tragedies as "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "Othello", "King Lear", "Macbeth" is not untroubled adherence to the roles of his type but, rather, their constant violation or loss as well as the subsequent restoration of order, as the masters of deceit who had thrived on disorder are exposed and destroyed.

Antony speech moves coherently from one idea to another, from one image to another, as he places the Roman citizens in relation to reality and forces them to identify the real traitor. Thus, order is being restored and, as Edmund remarks in "King Lear": "The wheel is come full circle".

Style and imagery:
In Renaissance literature the idea that the poet, insofar as he creates a world of his own, can be compared with God, Who created the world, was already a commonplace by Shakespeare's time. The fact that St. Augustine compared the world with a poem and a discourse was crucial for the way in which the Renaissance writers conceived of style and imagery.

The development of poetic language, of style and imagery, was the main concern of 16th century Renaissance writers who probed the nature of language and its ingredients as well as potential relationships between words and reality ("brutish beasts" is intentionally used by Antony in his speech in order to imply that, by murdering Caesar, Brutus acted like a brute), between words and signs as containers of meanings.
Shakespeare's preoccupation with language was not confined to words as rhetorical ornaments of thought but, rather, reflects the belief in the magic of language that thrives on an inter-referentially among words, concepts, and things (the word "Brutus", the concept of brutality, and the brutish thing that Brutus did, i.e. Caesar assassination).

ARTICOLELE PUBLICATE IN PAGINA DE REFERATE AU SCOP DIDACTIC SI SUNT ELABORATE IN URMA UNEI DOCUMENTARI SUSTINUTE. ESTE STRICT INTERZISA PRELUAREA ARTICOLELOR DE PE SITE SI PREZENTAREA LOR LA ORELE DE CURS. Referatele din aceasta sectiune sunt trimise de diferiti colaboratori ai proiectului nostru. Referatele va sunt prezentate pentru COMPLETAREA STUDIULUI INDIVIDUAL, si va incurajam si sustinem sa faceti si voi altele noi bazate pe cercetari proprii.

   Daca referatele nu sunt de ajuns, va recomandam pagina de download gratuit, unde veti gasi prezentari PowerPoint, programe executabile, programe pentru bacalaureat, teze nationale, etc.

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Fine Art, Furniture, Decorative Arts & Asian Arts

by Rossini Maison de Ventes aux Enchères

October 9, 2012

Paris, France

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Description: ECOLE ITALIENNE du XVIIIème siècle
Scène de la mythologie
Plume et encre brune sur traits de crayon noir, rehauts de gouache blanche postérieurs
19 x 19 cm
Petite déchirure en bas à droite
(de Bayser)

(voir la reproduction) MG 2875

Notes: Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political areas.
The painters of Renaissance Italy, although often attached to particular courts and with loyalties to particular towns, nonetheless wandered the length and breadth of Italy, often occupying a diplomatic status and disseminating both artistic and philosophical ideas.
[1]The city that is renowned as the birthplace of the Renaissance and in particular, Renaissance painting, is Florence.
A detailed background is given in the companion articles Renaissance and Renaissance architecture.
Italian Renaissance painting can be divided into four periods: the Proto-Renaissance (1300-1400), the Early Renaissance (1400-1475), the High Renaissance (1475-1525), and Mannerism (1525-1600).
These dates are approximations rather than specific points because the lives of individual artists and their personal styles overlapped the different periods.
The Proto-Renaissance begins with the professional life of the painter Giotto and includes Taddeo Gaddi, Orcagna and Altichiero.
The Early Renaissance was marked by the work of Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Paolo Uccello, Piero della Francesca and Verrocchio.
The High Renaissance period was that of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.
The Mannerist period included Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo and Tintoretto.
Mannerism is dealt with in a separate article.
Michelangelo and Titian both lived into the second half of the 16th century.
Both saw their styles and those of Leonardo, Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Antonello da Messina and Raphael adapted by later painters to form a disparate style known as Mannerism, and move steadily towards the great outpouring of imagination and painterly virtuosity of the Baroque period.
The artist who most extended the trends in Titian's large figurative compositions is Tintoretto, although his personal manner was such that he only lasted nine days as Titian's apprentice.
Rembrandt's knowledge of the works of both Titian and Raphael is apparent in his portraits.
The direct influences of Leonardo and Raphael upon their own pupils was to effect generations of artists including Poussin and schools of Classical painters of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Antonello da Messina's work had a direct influence on Albrecht Dürer and Martin Schongauer and through the latter's engravings, countless artists including the German, Dutch and English schools of stained glass makers extending into the early 20th century.
[16]Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling and later The Last Judgment had direct influence on the figurative compositions firstly of Raphael and his pupils and then almost every subsequent 16th century painter who looked for new and interesting ways to depict the human form.
It is possible to trace his style of figurative composition through Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo, Bronzino, Parmigianino, Veronese, to el Greco, Carracci, Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin and Tiepolo to both the Classical and the Romantic painters of the 19th century such as Jacques Louis David and Delacroix.
Under the influence of the Italian Renaissance painting, many modern academies of art, such as the Royal Academy, were founded, and it was specifically to collect the works of the Italian Renaissance that some of the world's best known art collections, such as the National Gallery, London, were formed.

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Kodiak Bear Pictures

Kodiak bear

Kodiak bear

Kodiak bear

Kodiak bear
Kodiak bear
Pictures of kodiak bears  Kodiaks in the wild eat mountain blueberries, washed up whale carcass, and their favorite Pacific Salmon.  They can be a wide range of different shades of brown and may grow up to a ton in weight.

Animal: Kodiak Bear

Species: The scientific species name for the Kodiak bear is Ursus Arctos Middendorffi.

Lifespan: A Kodiak bear can live to be 25-35 years old.

Size & Weight: Male Kodiak bears are generally 20-30% larger than females. The average male kodiak bear is 1,000-1200 lbs and stands 4-5ft tall.

Habitat: Kodiak bears can only be found living within a group of islands south of Alaska called the Kodiak archepilago. The climate there is subarctic and consists of heavy winds, fog, and heavy percipitation.

Diet: Kodiak bears prefer to eat salmon. When the salmon aren't in season they feed on plants, beries, seaweed, and some invertrbrates.

Family Life: Kodiak bears are solitary animals. The only times they are found together is when a mother has cubs, during mating season, and sometimes if their food source is condensed in one area.

*Fun Facts*

  • Male Kodiaks are called "boars" and females are called "sows"
  • Kodiak bears have excellent senses of smell!


Agrees with Knight

Dear Editor

I have been a registered Democrat since 1957, voted in every primary and general election in every year since, including the 3 years I spent in the army.

Events during the past 3 years by the Congress and the President have caused me to rethink my political position. My recent letter to you and published on June 18, stated that approximately $31,496,343 was foolishly spent by our government.

Well, I recently “ran across” some other foolish spending that are just as ridiculous as those “expenditures” mentioned. I wonder why the following information was never published or made the 7 o’clock news?

Again, the following are factual, true and verifiable:

During the 2010-2011 years, 21 members of the White House Staff were given an increase in their salary by a total of $6,101,150. Doing the math, that’s a little more than $29,000 average per year per member. Now that doesn’t include the janitors, gardeners, hair dressers and any other “hangers on” which we know are on the payroll. After the “increase”, the lowest annual salary is $70,000, and highest $172,200 for these people. That’s kind of hard to explain why to a laid off steel worker or our public employees who have run out of benefits or have not had an increase in their wages for years.

To name just a few of the recipients of an increase in salary by their titles, Deputy Director (of what), Deputy Director of Advance,? and Deputy Director of African- American Media, That’s an example, I wonder what they do all day?

Now I see that our Attorney General has been charged with contempt of Congress. Can’t wait to see how he wiggles his way out of this one.

Better wake up, Americans.

James Piatt