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Presentation on theme: "1 Water C1403Lecture 3, Wednesday, September 14, 2005."— Presentation transcript:
1 Water C1403Lecture 3, Wednesday, September 14, 2005
2 Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1798. If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.... Its substance reaches everywhere; it touches the past and prepares the future; it moves under the poles and wanders thinly in the heights of the air; It can assume forms of exquisite perfection in a snowflake, or strip the living to a single shining bone cast up by the sea. Loren Eiseley (Anthropologist)
3 Structure: an intellectual technique to answer questions concerning the makeup of matter and light Mathematical structure from geometry Composition: number and kinds of elements in a set Constitution: connections between the elements of a set Configuration: position of the connected elements in 3 D Application of mathematical structure to chemistry: Let mathematical “elements” = atoms, then Composition: What numbers and kinds of atoms? Constitution: How are the atoms connected? Configuration: How are the atoms positioned in space?
4 Thomas Kuhn. 1923-1996. Paradigm: A characteristic set of beliefs and/or preconceptions (theoretical, instrumental, procedural and metaphysical) that is shared by a community of practitioners. In a global sense the paradigm embraces all of the shared commitments of a scientific group. A paradigm is what defines the scientific community.
5 Flow diagram for normal science: This is how text books describe science.
6 Flow diagram for revolutionary science:Extraordinary claims that become accepted and are integrated into “normal science.” The BIG One!
7 Flow diagram for pathological and revolutionary science. Will an extraordinary claim become Nobel or Ig Nobel science? Nobel Prize? Ig Nobel Prize?
8 "In a recently published paper, I pointed out that one of the causes of the present regression of chemical research in Germany is the lack of general, and at the same time thorough chemical knowledge; no small number of our professors of chemistry, with great harm to our science, are laboring under this lack. A consequence of this is the spread of the weed of the apparently scholarly and clever, but actually trivial and stupid, natural philosophy, which was displaced fifty years ago by exact science, but which is now brought forth again, out of the store room harboring the errors of the human mind; by pseudoscientists who try to smuggle it, like a fashionably dressed and freshly rouged prostitute, into good society, where it does not belong." H. Kolbe, “A Sign of the Times” J. Prakt. Chem., 15, 474 (1877). 1818-1884
9 “A Dr. J. H. van't Hoff, of the Veterinary School at Utrecht, has no liking, apparently, for exact chemical investigation. He has considered it more comfortable to mount Pegasus (apparently borrowed from the Veterinary School) and to proclaim in his book how the atoms appear to him to be arranged in space, when he is on the chemical Mt. Parnassus which he has reached by bold flight.” H. Kolbe, “A Sign of the Times J. Prakt. Chem., 15, 474 (1877). J. H. van't Hoff (1852-1911) First Nobel Prize, Chemistry, 1901
10 Chapters 1- 2 Stoichiometry: Some Learning Goals Stoichiometry: the science dealing with quantitative relationships involving the mass of substances and the number of particles. Counting atoms by weighing. Chapter 1 (substances in isolation; elements and compounds) (1)Mole Concept: Convert mass to moles and moles to mass (1-7) (2)Molecular formulas from Avogadro’s hypothesis (3)Compute % elements in compounds (1-8) (4)Distinguish between empirical and molecular formulae (1-8) (5) Compute empirical formulas (1-8) Chapter 2 (substances in action: chemical reaction) (6) Balance chemical equations (2-1) (7) Mass (mole) relationships for chemical reactions (2-2) (8) Limiting reagent in chemical reactions (2-3)
11 The mole concept: In chemistry equal amounts refer to equal numbers (moles), not equal weights (grams). BUT, moles = numbers = weight
12 (2)Molecular formulas from Avogadro’s hypothesis The Law of Combining Volumes of Gases: When two gases react, the volumes that combine are in a ratio of small whole numbers. The ratio of the volume of each product, if a gas, is also in the ratio of small whole numbers. 1 Liter of hydrogen + 1 Liter of chlorine = 2 Liters of hydrogen chloride 1 H 2 +1 Cl 2 = 2 HCl 2 Liters of hydrogen + 1 Liter of oxygen = 2 Liters of Water 2 H 2 +1 O 2 =2 H 2 O 3 Liters of hydrogen + 1 Liter of nitrogen = 2 Liters of Ammonia 3 H 2 + 1 N 2 =2 NH 3 Mass is always conserved; but the volume of a gas is not. Avogadro’s Law: Equal volumes of different gases contain the same number of particles. The particles of a gas may be atoms or molecules. One liter of hydrogen = one liter of chlorine = one liter of hydrogen chloride in terms of particles (read molecules)
13 From empirical formulas to molecular formulas through Avogadro’s hypothesis and the densities of gases Equal volumes of different gases contain the same number of particles (atoms or molecules). Logic:If equal volumes contain equal numbers of particles, the ratio of the masses of equal volumes is the same as the ratio of the masses of the particles. Thus, with the selection of a standard “particle”, the masses of equal volumes of gases provides a simple basis for establishing atomic and molecular weights. The substance hydrogen (molecular weight = 2) was selected as the standard.
14 Hydrogen as a standard for molecular weights With H 2 (MW = 2 g) as the standard, the molecular weight is given by the density of the gas times the volume of a mole of the gas (22.4 L). Molecular weight=density (gL -1 ) x 22.4 L Example: Density of hydrogen gas= 0.090 gL -1 MW of hydrogen defined as 2 (H 2 ), i.e., MW (H 2 ) = 0.090 gL -1 x 22.4 L = 2.0 g
15 On the hydrogen scale the weight of one mole (6 x 10 23 ) of some important atoms: H = 1 g C = 12 g N = 14 g O = 16 g F = 19 g H 2 = 2g H 2 O = 18 g CO 2 = 44 g N 2 = 28 g O 2 = 32 g CO = 28 g These atomic and molecular weights are different but the number of atoms or molecules are the same. On this scale the weight of one mole (6 x 10 23 ) of some important small molecules:
16 Computing the molecular weight of gases from densities Exemplars: oxygen and ozone Problem: density of oxygen gas (O 2 ) = 1.43 gL -1. What is the MW of oxygen “particles” in the gas? Answer:MW of oxygen particles is 1.43 gL -1 x 22.4 L = 32 g Problem: density of ozone gas (O 3 ) is 2.14 gL -1. What is the molecular weight of ozone? Answer:MW of ozone particles is 2.14 gL -1 x 22.4 L = 48 g These data are all consistent with the AW of hydrogen atoms = 1 g, the AW of oxygen atoms = 16 g and the MW of hydrogen (H 2 ) gas = 2 g, the MW of oxygen (O 2 ) gas = 32 g and the MW of ozone (O 3 ) gas = 48 g.
17 Science as the battleground of ideas. May the best paradigm win! Dalton: The composition of all gaseous elements are single atoms (simplicity): H + O = HO Avogadro: The composition of gaseous elements are diatomic molecules (equal volumes equal particles): 2H 2 + O 2 = 2 H 2 O Cannizzaro: Use Avogadro’s hypothesis and show that a consistent set of atomic and molecular weights could be created by just using Avogardro’s hypothesis and no further assumptions. Dalton’s hypothesis does not work. Avogadro’s paradigm wins! (Not Avogadro!!)
18 Perform calculations employing the mole (the chemical amount) concept. Counting atoms and molecules in a mole of a compound. How many water molecules in 18 g of water (H 2 O)? Compute MW of water first: Since AW of H = 1 and AW of O is 16, the molecular weight of H 2 O is 18, so one mole of water weights 18 g, which contains 6 x 10 23 molecules of water. How many hydrogen atoms in 18 g of water? Each mole of water contains 2 hydrogen atoms, so one mole of water contains 2 x 6 x 10 23 molecules (two moles) of hydrogen atoms. How many oxygen atoms in 18 g of water? Each mole of water contains 1 oxygen atom, so one mole of water contains 6 x 10 23 molecules (one mole) of oxygen atoms.
19 (3)Computing % composition from an empirical or molecular formula of a compound Strategy: From the empirical or molecular formula compute the mass of each element in one mole of the compound (need molecular formula to do this). Add the atomic molar masses to compute the mass of one mole of the compound. Divide each atomic mass by the mass of one mole of the compound to obtain the % of each element in the compound. Exemplar: Compute the composition of hydrogen and oxygen in water. The composition of water is H 2 O. The atomic wt of H is 1 and the atomic wt of O is 16, so the wt of one mole of water is 18 g. The percent compositions of the elements in water is: % H = 2g/18g x 100% = 11.1; % O = 16g/18g x 100% = 88.9 %
20 (4)Distinguish between empirical formula, molecular formula, structural formula. Empirical formula: a compositional formula that shows the relative number and kinds of atoms in the smallest whole numbers in a molecule. Exemplars: empirical formula, CH 2. This is the empirical formula for C 2 H 4 (ethylene), C 3 H 6 (propene), or C 4 H 8 (butene) Molecular formula: a compositional formula that shows the actual number and kinds of atoms in a molecule. Exemplars: C 2 H 4 (ethylene), C 3 H 6 (propene), or C 4 H 8 (butene) Molecular structural (constitutional) formula: a formula that shows not only the numbers and kinds of atoms in a molecule, but also shows how the atoms are connected to one another. Exemplars:
21 (5)Computing an empirical formula from an elemental analysis Strategy: Starting from the experimental wts of the elements from an elemental analysis of a sample of a compound, compute the number of moles of each of the elements in the sample, using the periodic table for the values of atomic masses. The numbers of moles of each element computed are directly related to the relative numbers of atoms in a molecule of the compound. Exemplar: An elemental analysis of 100 g of water provided the following values: H = 11.1 g and O = 88.9 g. Converting to moles: 11.1 g of H = 11.1/1 = 11.1 mol and 88.8 g of O = 88.9/16 = 5.56 mol. The ratio H/O = 11.1/5.56 = 2. The empirical (simplest) formula of water is H 2 O. The results are also consistent with H 4 O 2, H 6 O 3, etc.
22 (5) Computation of the empirical formulas for three hydrogen oxides. (1)Assume a sample of 100 g for the computation (any mass will work, but selecting 100 makes the computation straightforward) (2)Translate the % mass into g (Example: Suppose O is 89% of the total mass of a substance. For a 100 g sample of the substance, the sample contains 89 g of O). (3)Compute the number of mol of each element in the 100 g sample by dividing the mass of the element in the sample by the atomic weight of the element (H = 1, O =16). (4)The ratio of the molar masses of the elements in the substance is directly proportional (within round off error) to the ratio of the atoms in the substance. (5)Express the number of mol of each element in a chemical formula using the smallest possible whole numbers.
23 (5) Computation of the empirical formulas for four nitrogen oxides. (1)Assume a sample of 100 g for the computation (any mass will work, but selecting 100 makes the computation straightforward) (2)Translate the % mass into g (Example: Suppose N is 47% of the total mass of a substance. For a 100 g sample of the substance, the sample contains 47 g of N). (3)Compute the number of mol of each element in the 100 g sample by dividing the mass of the element in the sample by the atomic weight of the element. (4)The ratio of the molar masses of the elements in the substance is directly proportional (within round off error) to the ratio of the atoms in the substance. (5)Express the number of mol of each element in a chemical formula using the smallest possible whole numbers.
24 Atomic and molecular visualization of the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to form water.
25 Burning hydrocarbons: ? C x H y + ? O 2 = ? CO 2 + ? H 2 O
26 (6)Balancing chemical equations Chemical equations: An algebraic representation of a chemical reaction. Balanced chemical equation: Number of moles of atoms on each side of the equation are identical ( Law of conservation of atoms in a chemical reaction). Balancing a chemical equation that describes a reaction involves inserting coefficients before the chemical formulas so that the same number of each type of atom is shown on each side of the equation. Chemical equations may be balances “by inspection” or algebraically (Section 2.1, pages 55-57). Inspection is the preferred way for simple reactions.
27 (6)Strategy for balancing chemical equations: (a)Start by giving the coefficient 1 to the most complex formula. (The one that contains the most different elements). (b)Inspect both sides of the equation for elements that appear in only one formula which the coefficient is unassigned and balance for that element. (c)Repeat balancing elements, until all are balanced. (d)By convention, balanced equations have only integer coefficients. Eliminate fractional coefficients by multiplying all the formulae by the smallest integer that eliminates the fraction.
28 Using balanced chemical equations (2.2) Combustion of a hydrocarbon (compounds that contain C and H atoms only): ? C 4 H 10 + ? O 2 ->? CO 2 +? H 2 O Select most complex formula and assign coefficient = 1. 1 C 4 H 10 (most complex) + ? O 2 ->? CO 2 +? H 2 O For remaining formulae, give coefficients to those that only appear once in equation. 1 C 4 H 10 + ? O 2 ->4 CO 2 +5 H 2 O Complete assignment of coefficients. C 4 H 10 + 13/2 O 2 ->4 CO 2 +5 H 2 O Get rid of any fractions: 2 C 4 H 10 + 13 O 2 ->8 CO 2 +10 H 2 O
29 Example: Find whole numbers for the ? which balance atoms. ? NaCl + ? SO 2 + ? H 2 O + ? O 2 -> ? Na 2 SO 4 + ? HCl ? NaCl + ? SO 2 + ? H 2 O + ? O 2 -> 1 Na 2 SO 4 + HCl 2 NaCl + 1 SO 2 + ? H 2 O + ? O 2 -> Na 2 SO 4 + HCl 2 NaCl + SO 2 + ? H 2 O + ? O 2 -> Na 2 SO 4 + 2 HCl 2 NaCl + SO 2 + 1H 2 O + ? O 2 -> Na 2 SO 4 + 2 HCl 2 NaCl + SO 2 + 1 H 2 O + 1/2 O 2 -> Na 2 SO 4 + 2 HCl Balanced Equation (remove fractional coefficients): 4 NaCl + 2 SO 2 + 2 H 2 O + 1 O 2 -> 2 Na 2 SO 4 + 4 HCl
30 (8)Limiting reactants If reactants are mixed in random amounts, generally one of them will be used up first and at that point, the reaction stops dead (no more atoms of that reactant!). The reactant that is used up first in a chemical reactant is termed the limiting reactant. Example: combustion of a hydrocarbon. 2 C 2 H 6 + 7 O 2 = 4 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O
31 The limiting reactant is identified as follows: (1)A product is selected (any product will do). (2)The balanced equation is used to compute the amount of product that would be produced from the available supply (weight) of each reactant. (3)The reactant which gives the smallest yield of product is the limiting reactant.
32 (8) Example of a limiting reactant problem: Balanced Equation:2 C 2 H 6 + 7 O 2 = 4 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O Pick CO 2 as the product whose yield is to be computed. Suppose the amounts of reactants: 15 g of C 2 H 6 and 224 g of O 2 Which gives the smallest yield of CO 2 ? 15 g/15 g mol -1 of C 2 H 6 = 1 mole; yield of CO 2 = 2 moles of CO 2 224 g/32 g mol -1 of O 2 = 7 moles; yield of CO 2 = 4 moles of CO 2 Limiting reactant is C 2 H 6. 1 mole of C 2 H 6 (15 g) reacts with 3.5 mole of O 2 (112 g) and the reaction stops. 3.5 moles of O 2 (112 g) aare left in excess.
33 From empirical formula to molecular weight Another exemplar Problem: A hydrocarbon gas has an empirical formula of CH. The gas has a density of 1.16 gL -1. What is the molecular weight of the gas? Answer: (1)We symbolize the molecular formula as (CH) n. We need to solve for n. (2)The MW of the hydrocarbon gas is given by the density of the gas time the molar volume: MW = 1.16 gL -1 x 22.4 L = 26 g. (3)The empirical formula CH corresponds to an atomic mass of 13. Dividing this empirical weight into the molecular weight gives the multiplier that takes the empirical formula into the molecular formula: 26/13 = 2. (4)Thus, n = 2 so that (CH) n becomes (CH) 2 or written in the accepted way for a molecular formula or molecular composition: C 2 H 2. (5)There is only one substance with the composition C 2 H 2. That substance is acetylene whose molecular structure is


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This is a place in Puget Sound that some 30,000 inhabitants call home.
Olympia, the state capital, is about 55 miles (86 kilometers) to the southwest of Issaquah, while Mirrormont is 2 miles (4 kilometers) to the south.
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No vacation in Issaquah will be complete until you take a visit to the Costco Headquarters, one of the more interesting landmarks you'll find in the area.
Visit Gilman Village if you are keen on bargain hunting and mingling with the locals. Investigate what the locals shop for and then take home a couple of gifts for friends and family.
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domain: geography


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Submitted by Thurston County
Early on the morning of August 4, 1974, the first units to serve the citizens of Thurston County’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system went into operation. Since those first shifts, Thurston County’s Medic One EMS providers have been serving the citizens of Thurston County for 46 consecutive years.
Thurston County Medic One (Medic One) was the first countywide, paramedic tiered EMS response system in the nation. This tiering system allows for the closest EMS resources to be dispatched to those in need of emergent medical care throughout Thurston County. Medic One has now grown to support seven Medic Units (paramedic) stationed around the county. They are in Rochester (Medic 14), Tumwater (Medic 5), Olympia (Medic 4 and Medic 10), Lacey (Medic 3 and Medic 6), and Yelm (Medic 2). These Medic Units help support the 126 licensed Aid Units (EMT) deployed throughout the 12 fire agencies in Thurston County.
“Thurston County is fortunate to have one of the best Emergency Medical Systems in the country. Our system works cooperatively from the time a call is received, arrival of an EMT and/or Medic unit, to treatment and then to transport, if necessary,” said Emergency Medical Services Council (EMSC) Chair, Margaret McPhee. “Our well-trained paramedics and EMTs are prepared for broken bones, seizures, car accidents, heart attacks, and more.”
Medic One funds also provide free citizen CPR training; Advanced Life Support (Paramedic) personnel, continuing education, vehicles, equipment, and supplies; Basic Life Support (EMT) initial training, continuing education, equipment, and supplies; and EMS system coordination and support.
Over the years, as the county has grown, demand for EMS services has increased. EMS calls in 1999 were 15,688. By 2009, there were 26,469 EMS calls, and in 2019 there were 35,985. In addition, just last year, Medic One trained more than 6,400 Thurston County citizens in compression-only CPR.
“I feel truly privileged to have been a part of this system for close to ten years. Excellence and professionalism, coupled with an innate sense of duty and heartfelt care for their communities, makes all of these providers a pleasure to work with,” said Dr. Larry Fontanilla, Medical Program Director for Medic One. “These providers, from young volunteers to career professionals, make this system, and they make this system great.”
Medic One would like to sincerely thank all of the citizens in Thurston County for their continued support over the past 46 years and would also like to equally thank all of the 700+ hard-working and talented responders serving Thurston County.
“I believe nearly every soul in this county has been touched by our EMS system and many can attest to that impact. But our caregivers, our responders, do not do this job for public acclaim, but for their own private recognition that they make a difference,” added Dr. Fontanilla. “This is why I hope to remain a part of Thurston County Medic One, and all of the good work that they do, for many years to come.”

domain: news


If the Brexit vote happened today, UK agriculture would vote ‘remain’
More than two-thirds of those in British agriculture would vote to remain if the UK’s EU Referendum took place now, according to the surprising results of a live poll at this year’s Oxford Farming Conference.
The poll gave attendees two options – remain or leave – and asked respondents how they would vote if the Brexit Referendum took place today. The question was asked on an app for conference participants.
A whopping 71% voted ‘remain’ while less than half that number voted ‘leave’.
It comes almost two years on from when the British public voted 52% in favour of leaving the EU.
Many farmers previously supported Brexit believing it was a chance to become free from red tape.
The Brexit poll
While just over 200 people voted in the poll, it’s one of the only times British industry representatives have been anonymously polled since the EU referendum.
Around 450 people attended the Friday session including British farmers and agri-business representatives – meaning just over half of them took part in the poll.
The Oxford Farming Conference took place from January 3 to January 5, and is widely regarded as the flagship event for UK farming debate and discussion.
While around 30% of the conference’s delegates are believed to be farmers, the crowd also included rural specialists such as estate agents, lawyers and financial advisors.
While Defra Minister Michael Gove joked that the perception of this year’s conference was that it would be all about Brexit, he wouldn’t have been wrong to say it would dominate the headlines.
Gove made the major announcement that the amount paid in UK farm subsidies would be protected until 2022, with it likely that they would remain until 2024.
The announcement was generally welcomed; however, former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron – who is also the Liberal Democrat party’s DEFRA spokesman – was among those who said the comments were insulting.
He said: “For Gove to imply that farm payments are a reward for inefficiency is an insult to British farmers.”


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Well noted, Zephyrinus!The classic traditional Catholic holy cards, like this one, are exceptional and very moving.I correspond with a traditional Carmelite monastery in Colorado: each time I enclose a donation and a stamped self-addressed envelope, and ask for one of their holy cards. Theirs are quintessentially inspirational, like this one.
Dear Dante Peregrinus.Thank You, as always, for your welcome Comment. I was moved by your support of this Traditional Carmelite Monastery in Colorado and have now subscribed to their Newsletter and, also, made a small donation. Deo Gratias.

domain: artistic


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Now, I want todiscuss the significance of Yap’s poetry on the contemporary writing scene in Singapore. To begin with, let us look at specific generalizations, such as Thumboo as social poet, Yap as private, eccentric, and difficult poet. Contrary to popular belief, Thumboo may actually be seen as more of a private poet rather than a social one. As Rajeev Patke has noted in Interlogue, “it is possible to argue that there are far more poems commemorating personal friendships in Thumboo’s oeuvre than utterances of the kind that get inscribed on public monuments.” This runs counter to the frequent notion of Thumboo’s poetry as more committed to a political standpoint and exclusively committed to the evocation of a coherent, national identity. Also, Yap’s oeuvre reveals a greater preponderance of poems with social themes. On account of this, it may be argued that Yap is not the private poet that everyone claims he is, despite his eschewing the nationalistic rhetoric and didacticism evident in Thumboo’s poems.
The poems by Yap best known in Singapore are such poems as “old house at ang siang hill” (1971) and “2 mothers in a h d b playground” (1980) which deal chiefly with specific aspects of society. More importantly, Yap deals with individuals other than the self in such poems. I want to also emphasise that his poems do not actually reveal “a trenchant critique of our society and its attentiveness to things superficial” (Kirpal Singh in his introduction to Interlogue 1999). This is because to adopt a social critique would entail a definite point of view regarding such social themes as the effects of urbanisation or materialism in Singapore. Yap offers a conscious or unconscious allowance for different, even contradictory interpretations in his poems that may run counter to the common belief that these poems evince a straightforward agenda to satirise and criticise aspects of society.
In “2 mothers in a h d b playground,” for instance, the vivid dramatisation of a conversation between mothers, during which they talk about such matters as the spending of money and the intelligence of their children, is not accompanied by overt comments made by the poet to promote a definite point of view concerning the social issues evoked by their conversation. This creates uncertainty about whether the poem implies that the themes of affluence and materialism alluded to by the “2 mothers” be read disapprovingly, or whether such a dramatisation may also be read in a possibly celebratory way. I have tried to argue that such ambivalences in Yap’s poems may point to a sceptical mode of uncertainty reluctant to deny the viability of either of the conflicting perspectives opened up in the space of the poems. It may be that such ambivalences that have encouraged the perception of Yap as a private and obscure poet uncommitted to confronting social themes unlike Thumboo.
In his collections, Yap frequently dramatises situations where the characters are familiarly and characteristically Singaporean. He may write many poems which explore with a sense of play the nature of language, but even in a poem like “a lesson on the definite article” (2000), for instance, the poet makes fun of a “girl with bank-teller’s eyes” and an “accent” who is suggestively Singaporean in his portrayal. Other than the obvious social themes in such poems as “old house at ang siang hill” (1971) and “letter from a youth to his prospective employer” (1977), Yap’s poems also evince socially-mimetic elements in terms of the incorporation of Singlish and the ventriloquising of distinctly Singaporean voices. Shirley Lim has also written that “Yap’s experiments with local English offer one route to the construction of a ‘national literature’” in Singapore, hinting at the need for such a literature which could aid in defining the national identity of such a new country. Singh has commented that Yap’s use of Singlish may have “paved the way for a more meaningful acceptance of common parlance.”
The remarks by Lim and Singh suggest that Yap’s poetry is significant and important in the local context due to its usages of Singlish, which in turn enhances the indigenous flavour and sense of locality within the variety of English poetry published in Singapore. I would like to suggest that this hints at a possible insecurity within the local literary scene which fears that its literature may not be distinctive enough in relation to the literary output from other countries with a longer history of writing and literature. This is in turn connected to the country’s general insecurity about the incipient stage at which its identity is being formed. To aid in the consolidation of such a identity, the establishment of a national literature not only abundant in works by local writers but also distinctively localised in flavour would indeed play a significant role. The role of Singlish as an indigenous variety of English is also given more dignity for being incorporated into a national literature. It is ironic then that a supposedly private and difficult poet such as Yap should be seen as being linked to such a socially-conscious cause of enhancing and affirming the national identity of Singapore.
Yap’s poems do not shy away from going down to the micro-level of society when they deal with specific individuals or relationships between individuals. A poem like “an afternoon nap” (1977), dramatises the recurrence of a mother scolding and beating her son, who yells back at her. The context is familiarly Singaporean. The poem alludes to “report-book grades” and the mother’s “expensive taste for education,” which reflects the general obsession with obtaining formal qualifications in Singapore. This stems from a societal ethos which places a high value upon a life of hard work towards eventual affluence and the way in which good examination grades may pave the way towards such a life. The poem illustrates the corollary pressures placed on both Singaporean children and their parents as a result of this ethos. Yap hints at broad social themes through the dramatisation of the behaviour or psychology of particular individuals.
One simply cannot ignore that Yap is a poet interested in society, as many of such poems point implicitly or explicitly to aspects of the social ideologies or preoccupations prevalent in Singapore society. But, as I have mentioned before, such poems regularly promote the tension between the opposing ways of interpreting their engagements with society. Also, the frequent use of Singlish in his poetry enables him to evoke the social context more convincingly and dramatically in his poems, such that readers of such poems relate more readily to their social allusions and themes. As such, it would seem that he is a poet more engaged with Singaporean society than he has been commonly perceived, regardless of the uncertainties and the ambivalences predominant in his work, and even more significantly and effectively so than Thumboo.
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QLRS Vol. 1 No. 4 Jul 2002

domain: literature


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Egypt, the host of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November, is planning ...
Egypt listed among six “Grow Countries” in circular economy
Egypt was among the six “Grow Countries” listed by the 2020 Circularity Gap Report. The Grow profile was most relevant to countries in Latin America and Northern Africa, as well as those with an economy in transition in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, plus the larger Asian countries.
The largest countries falling under the Grow profile are China, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam and Egypt.
Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania el Mashaat said these countries represent “the only group with an overall positive trade balance, accelerating transition to a circular economy.”
The minister said on her Twitter account “Congratulations on all collective efforts taken as we catalyze this essential transformation.”
Mashaat said “In January 2020, I shared with you the ministry’s vision to strengthen engagement aimed at achieving a circular economy. Today, I am proud that Egypt is featured as ‘Grow Country’ in the 2020 Circularity Gap Report.”
More about Grow Countries:
Grow countries are, increasingly, the manufacturers of the world and the only group with a positive trade balance overall. The economic growth of their manufacturing industries has far outpaced that in Shift countries over the past decade.
Trade is also a key driver of growth — with comparatively low labor costs and favorable trade conditions (albeit, disputed at times), these countries are manufacturing and processing goods for markets around the world.
Both imports and exports reflect this, whilst being moderated by the relatively low levels of domestic consumption compared to Shift countries.
However, Grow countries have made considerable headway in lifting vast parts of society out of poverty and providing access to essential means.
Grow countries often have a high demographic share of young people, as a result of recent population growth.
The potential of this human capital to contribute to growing welfare necessarily calls for investment in infrastructure and education, as well as effective, sustainable management of the natural asset base in the long run.
Trends in increased consumption cannot simply be attributed to population growth, however, which will only account for a quarter of the rise forecast by 2030.
The remaining three quarters will come from rising wealth per capita, with the rapidly growing middle class being the key driver. The rate of change can be dramatic — for example, disposable income per household in China more than doubled in the last ten years.
Since economic growth remains a primary lever for poverty alleviation in many Grow countries, it is important that this growth is decoupled from primary resource extraction and environmental degradation; and that all citizens benefit. It should be noted, too, that countries in the Grow profile further exhibit the steepest urbanization curves. For instance, Brazil’s urban population has increased from 40% in 1960 to more than 86% in 2018.
As wealth grows, the proportion of domestic extraction of materials tends to go down, due to increases in international trade; whereas the overall mass of material consumption generally goes up. This tradeoff is already happening in Grow countries, who, in anticipation, are joining their Shift counterparts in positioning themselves strategically around access to scarce resources from elsewhere.
Services also make up an increasing part of global consumption, particularly in Grow countries. As income rises, the share of spending on necessities, such as food decreases; spending on services such as restaurants, hotels, recreation, and culture increases. This change in spending can also involve reconsidering historic development pathways with a large impact on resource use and even quality of life.
Waste management and recycling activities that used to be performed by the informal economy are increasingly integrated into a more formal waste management system. Nonetheless, the informal economy is still responsible for a large share of waste collection and processing in the majority of Grow countries.
A major opportunity, therefore, lies in integrating the decentralized steps of the informal sector’s reverse value chain into and alongside the efficiency of centralized processing and recovery of materials.
In many Grow countries, circular economy initiatives have already been launched to design closed-loop value chains, redesign products and processes and use natural resources more sustainably. Often, these are not referred to as ‘circular’ initiatives even if the program is of European origin — as in the case of Switch Asia.
Regulatory measures which discourage the use of toxic materials, or production of items which are difficult to recycle, can be powerful ways to drive a transition and behavioral change top-down. In order to gain momentum and public support to use waste as a resource, however, it is imperative to be transparent in the motivations for certain bans and to carry consumers along through communication and education.

domain: sociology


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Communities across Scotland are set to benefit from the latest round of Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funding. This is the sixth round of CARS funding, with £26 million having been invested by the Scottish Government in projects across Scotland since the first grants were made in 2007. Applications for this round will open early in the new year with a closing date of 31 August 2014.
The £10 million was outlined by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs during her keynote speech at the Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS) Annual Congress in Linlithgow. CARS specifically targets conservation areas with social and economic disadvantages that make it difficult to attract investment in sustainable regeneration. The scheme assists these areas through channelling funding towards opportunities to enhance sustainable economic growth and help support projects that develop an area's sense of place.
Ms Hyslop told BEFS delegates that the scheme has clearly demonstrated it is a catalyst to attract funding from other sources. In the scheme's first year, £6.7 million was invested through CARS, delivering improvements to 28,000 sq m of public realm, and the rejuvenation and reuse of 15,000 sq m of vacant floor space. This investment attracted a further £18.6 million from other sources – a leverage of extra funding of 3 to 1.
CARS is open to Local and National Park Authorities, community groups and other third sector organisations delivering multi-funded projects. The funding can be utilised for a number of purposes from priority repairs and small grants to homeowners and retailers, to providing traditional craft training opportunities.
Further information on the CARS scheme and previous funding recipients can be found on the Historic Scotland website.

domain: finance


The all-new fourth-generation Toyota Yaris Ativ, a cost-effective compact sedan marketed in other regions under the Vios label, has been launched in Thailand.
The new Toyota Yaris Ativ / Vios resembles a baby Corolla sedan in terms of styling. The majority of the front bumper is exposed, and two angular headlamps that are connected by the trim piece are placed on either side of the opening. Thanks to the revised proportions and the larger 16-inch wheels, the profile is more chiselled and upmarket than ever. Last but not least, the back end takes a sportier posture with sharper taillights and a more aerodynamic profile that is more reminiscent of the fastback bodystyle.
— Flyin18T Motorsports (@Flyin18T) August 9, 2022
As part of the optional Presto package, Toyota is now providing a number of sportier add-ons, such as a flashy rear wing and bumper and side sill extensions.
More significantly, unlike the Yaris hatchback built to EU specifications, which is based on the TNGA-B platform, the new Toyota Yaris Ativ / Vios is built on the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA). Its dimensions are 4,425 mm (174.2 inches) long, 1,740 mm (68.5 inches) wide, and 1,480 mm (58.3 inches) height, making it slightly bigger than the previous edition. The largest difference is the wheelbase, which is 2,620 mm (103 inches) longer than the previous version by 70 mm (2.8 inches).
A naturally aspirated 1.2-liter Dual VVT-iE four-cylinder engine under the hood generates 110 Nm (81 lb-ft) of torque and 93 horsepower (69 kW/94 PS). Power is exclusively transferred to the front axle via the engine and a Super CVT-i automatic transmission. Three driving modes are available: Eco, Normal, and Sport. The subcompact model has coil springs in the back, front McPherson struts, and disc brakes on all four wheels.
Thanks to the dashboard’s straightforward design and the upholstery’s use of high-end materials like the red synthetic leather in the picture, the interior design of the cabin appears rather modern for a car in this segment. Along with a 7-inch semi-digital instrument cluster behind the redesigned steering wheel that has several built-in buttons, a free-standing 9-inch infotainment touchscreen that is compatible with all contemporary connectivity capabilities is also available.
A six-speaker Pioneer sound system, 64-colour ambient lighting, automatic air conditioning with vents for all passengers (front and back), four USB connections, and luggage space separators on the boot are all included. The Toyota Safety Sense suite of ADAS, which includes adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, and blind spot monitoring, is also part of the equipment.
The Toyota Yaris Ativ is already on the market in Thailand, with pricing varying based on trim from 539,000 baht ($15,232) to 689,000 baht ($19,472). The larger Toyota Corolla in Thailand starts at 1,059,000 baht ($29,932) as a suitable comparison. Most likely in the upcoming months, the Vios nameplate will be used for the roll-out in further Asian areas.


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From the Editors: These Children are Our Children
There are aspects that are terribly old and frighteningly new concerning the most recent crisis along the Mexican American border. After years of ramping up deportations and militarization and a constant deluge of anti-immigrant propaganda, the American government is now currently and openly warehousing immigrant children. While we should never lose sight of the particular histories or specificities of any burning issue of our time, the people must recognize this attack on immigrant children as a part of the opening up of the face of fascism developing here in the United States of America. The American public is facing a deep moral crisis and is being forced to contend with questions that strike at the very heart of our common human experience.
Who are these children? Firstly, they are refugees of global capital, which allows money to flow freely, electronically, across national boundaries and borders, yet demands the caging of human beings for doing the same. More specifically, they are Central American youth comprised of various nations whose development over the course of centuries cannot be seen separately from the development of U.S. imperialism that arose out of the U.S. capitalist class.
As early as the 1840s Cornelius Vanderbilt had eyes set for the economic conquest of the newly founded republic of Nicaragua. In the 1850s William Walker overthrew that very government in order to reinstitute slavery. From those earliest days to the later toppling of Guatemala’s nationalist government of Jacobo Arbenz at the behest of United Fruit, to Reagan’s dirty wars, to Obama’s complicity in the most recent coup in Honduras as well as countless other incidents and examples that could be cited, it is readily evident that the various peoples of Central America have suffered the boot of the northern imperialists since near the very inception of their republics. These children did not wander aimlessly from random instances of poverty or corruption. There are historical roots to their current displacement.
What is the public’s stance on the broader issues? Pew Research Center in poll after poll shows that the American public is overwhelmingly in favor of immigration reform and a path towards the normalization and legalization of undocumented workers and their children throughout the country. Clearly on this as with a myriad of other issues the American people and the American government are not in step with one another. Where the thinking of the American people must begin to move, however, is in their thinking that these children are separate and unique from their own. When Mike Mcaul, the House Homeland Security Committee Chairman, says that he “saw some 17-year-olds that I thought looked more like a threat coming into the United States” he speaks also too against the Trayvon Martins and Kelly Thomas’s of the world, the propertyless and assumed penniless whose hunger day by day appears to be more and more threatening.
As the polarization widens between those who own and those who do not, the owning class must turn to fascist means and in turn normalize their fascist measures to the point where children are being scapegoated for their own captivity. The depravity and cruelty of the global owning class knows no bounds. More than ever they are a global class. More than ever so are we.
These children are our children. Our children deserve better. Our class must awaken to break these chains along these borders, along all borders and eventually against borders themselves. These children are ours. The children of the world within and without our borders are our children. We must fight for a better tomorrow. Their future is up to us.
The age-old vision of a world without scarcity, without exploitation, class domination, organized violence, and stultifying labor has been the dream of millenia. The new completely socialized labor-eliminating means of production ... sets the basis for its realization. Now human history can begin, the light of the individual shining in the full brightness of liberated life, that can only be realized within true equality and cooperation: communism, a cooperative society.'Without Vision, the People Perish'
Rally, Comrades ! May/June 2011


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Airbnb and Alipay has announced a new financial feature, Travel Deposit, that helps China’s yong travelers to save up for their dream holiday.
After users set the destination location and duration of stay on Alipay, the system shows users the amount of money they have to save, and will transfer the sum to Alipay’s money market fund, Yu’ebao automatically. Users can then share their travel plans through WeChat or Weibo. This is enables Airbnb to engage users even earlier in the vacation planning process, while tapping into social networks to improve their marketing and distribution channels.
This is an interesting post that first appeared on TechNode.
According to Ms. Emmy Teo, CEO of Fashory, the opportunity today lies in being able to show consumers where to buy the things they are interested in, especially if something catches their eye on a TV show. As an example, Fashory has been able to increase traffic and conversions dramatically using a combination of a push and pull strategy, to post content within communities of their target customers, and at the same time, leading interested customers to their WeChat account.
Secondly, marketers should understand the different social networks out there and that each one of them fulfils a different purpose for their target consumers.
Lastly, videos are now a crucial factor to attracting followers. Yoli, an online platform for English learning, regularly posts videos on Weibo to get the attention of their target users. This channel feeds Yoli’s customer conversion funnel, and eventually allows users to convert by registering on their WeChat account.
One of India’s largest ecommerce companies, Snapdeal, announced that it will be introducing a new instand refunds system in its store, to attract more first time users to shop on its site.
Snapdeal has agreed to use the system refund all types of purchases, including offline and Cash-On-Delivery transactions. Snapdeal’s announcement comes after Flipkart made a similar move to provide refunds within 24 hours of receiving a returned product.
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a community post by Lily Portuguez at Tech In Asia.
The Indonesia mobile app market cannot be ignored, especially with a population of 250 million people.
According to Steve Anderson, a tech writer, a large percentage of Indonesia’s population still do not have smartphones. However, all wireless networks are expected to be upgraded to 4G by the year 2017, while over 35 million smartphones are expected to be produced across the country starting in 2017.
McKinsey’s iConsumer China 2015 survey tapped into the behaviors and desires of China’s 630 million Internet users, across different city tiers and throughout rural areas. The research shows robust growth in social commerce, a trend toward transforming physical retailers into mere ‘showrooms’, and mounting consumer enthusiasm for more online-to-offline (O2O) services.
Here are a few interesting statistics:
30 percent of consumer perform online mobile research while shopping in stores, of which, 16 percent bought products from that store while 45 percent bought the same products from other online stores
72 percent of respondents expressed interest in purchasing online and being able to return offline
Consumers were eager to see more O2O offerings in entertainment, healthcare and housing/car services
The most frequently purchased category online was packaged food, with an average of 34 purchases made per year
Yongda, a leading Chinese luxury auto service provider listed in Hong Kong, will sell cars online through Alibaba’s Tmall platform, a move that comes as the mainland fever for pricey wheels cools.
The two giants will allow customers across the nation to buy a car at a single price and pick it up at the nearest Yongda shop, the two companies announced on Wednesday.
According to Wang Licheng, Alibaba’s general manager of automobile business, Alibaba would also offer zero-interest loans to buyers depending on their previous credit record with Tmall and its sister platform, Taobao.
According to a recent report released by PWC, 85 percent of Chinese consumers chose a digital channel when researching a new product or purchase. 86 percent of Chinese respondents (compared with 68 percent of global respondents) said they had intentionally gone to a physical store to check out a product before purchasing it on the web.
Last year, domestic consumers in China purchased online goods and services worth 2.8 trillion yuan (US$451.7 billion), an increase of almost 50 per cent on the year before.
According to a report by Tech In Asia, Rocket Internet’s Lazada saw more than US$350 million in consumer purchases in 2014. US$70 million of that spending happened in December alone, due to Christmas and special promotions like the 12/12 sales day.
Indonesia’s shoppers made up over 30 percent of Lazada’s 2014 spending. According to CEO Maximilian Bittner, exclusive online gadget sales for brands like Xiaomi and Motorola have helped Lazada greatly in Indonesia.
Lazada started out doing only direct sales to consumers from its own warehouses, but that changed in the fall of 2013 as the company launched a marketplace for third-party merchants. Those merchants now take in 70 to 75 percent of the consumer spending at Lazada.


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from the world's big
3 types of Schadenfreude and when you feel them
Schadenfreude is a common feeling, but not all of it is the same.
- A new model of schadenfreude suggests that there are three sub-types of "harm-joy."
- The study also suggests that depersonalization, the ability to view others as less than human, is the key element of schadenfreude.
- The model could lead to a deeper understanding of schadenfreude and psychopathic traits.
Most people would probably deny it, but everybody has felt a bit of joy at the pain or failure of another person at least once. Think back to when a person you don't like had a misfortune, when the coworker you envy missed a deadline, or when your stupid neighbor opened a store for left-handed people and nearly went broke. Admit it, you smiled a little to think of them falling flat.
This sensation of feeling joy at other people's misfortune is called schadenfreude and means "harm-joy" in German. Lots of people experience it, but our understanding of it is still a bit spotty.
The three-part model
A group of psychologists at Emory University have proposed a new three-part model to explain schadenfreude. Their proposal, published in New Ideas in Psychology, suggests that the motivation behind the feeling is important and that an element of viewing others as less than human is often at play.
Drawing upon decades of work, the researchers suggest that three different motivations can drive the feeling of schadenfreude; aggression, rivalry, and justice.
Aggression based schadenfreude involves group identity. Often, improving the group you're in can require the defeat of other groups. This kind of Schadenfreude is the one you might feel when your favorite team's rival loses a game to somebody else and can't make the playoffs, even though your team is already long out of the running.
Rivalry based schadenfreude is similar but distinct. This one is tied to individual achievement and jealousies. It occurs when you go out of your way to do better than another person, such as when you make a move in a game that improves your lead over one player in particular, but that doesn't help you otherwise. Like when you play The Settlers of Catan with somebody and place a settlement right where they wanted to build one, even though there was a better option for you.
The third kind is justice based and revolves around the joy we feel when somebody who we think deserves some comeuppance, say a successful person who we all know robs, cheats, steals, and overcharges for lifesaving drugs who then goes to prison.
Who is most likely to feel Schadenfreude?
While everybody has a little every now and again, the literature showed that people with the traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, or psychopathy, together known as the "dark triad," feel schadenfreude more often. This is also true for the sadistic and cruel.
The researchers propose that feeling schadenfreude requires us to dehumanize the person whose failure we are laughing at. People with any of the dark triad traits would be practicing that dehumanization already. Lead author Shensheng Wang explains how:
One possibility is that when people experience Schadenfreude, they undergo a [temporary] process similar to that experienced by individuals with high levels of psychopathic personality traits: motivated by certain situational and to a lesser extent dispositional variables, the perceiver tends to dehumanise the victim, temporarily losing the motivation to detect the victim's mind, much like a psychopath
They further suggest dehumanization might be the fundamental aspect of this emotion, though further research is needed before that can be proven.
The researchers also explained that people with low self-esteem are more likely to feel schadenfreude when they see other people fail. This is because the success of others can be a threat to their sense of self and seeing the mighty fall can be a comfort.
So, am I a psychopath for feeling Schadenfreude?
Not at all. Explaining another study on schadenfreude, Dr. Mina Cikara explained that "A lack of empathy is not always pathological" and that schadenfreude is "a human response and not everyone experiences this. But a significant portion of us do." You might want to be worried if you feel it regularly, but a little smirk at the failure of somebody you envy every now and again doesn't mean you're turning into a monster.
How can we use this model?
It is human nature to feel envy and feeling schadenfreude can be a part of that emotion. Knowing that this familiar feeling is tied to some of the darker elements of human nature can give us insights into how the darker side of the human personality relates to emotions we all have.
Dr. Wang explained the potential benefits of the study by saying, "By broadening the perspective of schadenfreude, and connecting all of the related phenomena underlying it, we hope we've provided a framework to gain deeper insights into this complex, multi-faceted emotion."
So don't feel too bad for feeling a little schadenfreude every now and again, but beware of doing it too much.
Innovation in manufacturing has crawled since the 1950s. That's about to speed up.
Richard Feynman once asked a silly question. Two MIT students just answered it.
Here's a fun experiment to try. Go to your pantry and see if you have a box of spaghetti. If you do, take out a noodle. Grab both ends of it and bend it until it breaks in half. How many pieces did it break into? If you got two large pieces and at least one small piece you're not alone.
But science loves a good challenge
The mystery remained unsolved until 2005, when French scientists Basile Audoly and Sebastien Neukirch won an Ig Nobel Prize, an award given to scientists for real work which is of a less serious nature than the discoveries that win Nobel prizes, for finally determining why this happens. Their paper describing the effect is wonderfully funny to read, as it takes such a banal issue so seriously.

They demonstrated that when a rod is bent past a certain point, such as when spaghetti is snapped in half by bending it at the ends, a "snapback effect" is created. This causes energy to reverberate from the initial break to other parts of the rod, often leading to a second break elsewhere.

While this settled the issue of why spaghetti noodles break into three or more pieces, it didn't establish if they always had to break this way. The question of if the snapback could be regulated remained unsettled.

Physicists, being themselves, immediately wanted to try and break pasta into two pieces using this info
Ronald Heisser and Vishal Patil, two graduate students currently at Cornell and MIT respectively, read about Feynman's night of noodle snapping in class and were inspired to try and find what could be done to make sure the pasta always broke in two.

By placing the noodles in a special machine built for the task and recording the bending with a high-powered camera, the young scientists were able to observe in extreme detail exactly what each change in their snapping method did to the pasta. After breaking more than 500 noodles, they found the solution.

The apparatus the MIT researchers built specifically for the task of snapping hundreds of spaghetti sticks.
(Courtesy of the researchers)
What possible application could this have?
The snapback effect is not limited to uncooked pasta noodles and can be applied to rods of all sorts. The discovery of how to cleanly break them in two could be applied to future engineering projects.

Likewise, knowing how things fragment and fail is always handy to know when you're trying to build things. Carbon Nanotubes, super strong cylinders often hailed as the building material of the future, are also rods which can be better understood thanks to this odd experiment.

Sometimes big discoveries can be inspired by silly questions. If it hadn't been for Richard Feynman bending noodles seventy years ago, we wouldn't know what we know now about how energy is dispersed through rods and how to control their fracturing. While not all silly questions will lead to such a significant discovery, they can all help us learn.

Join Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and best-selling author Charles Duhigg as he interviews Victoria Montgomery Brown, co-founder and CEO of Big Think.
Women today are founding more businesses than ever. In 2018, they made up 40% of new entrepreneurs, yet in that same year, they received just 2.2% of all venture capital investment. The playing field is off-balance. So what can women do?
In a recent study, researchers examined how Christian nationalism is affecting the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A new study used survey data to examine the interplay between Christian nationalism and incautious behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The researchers defined Christian nationalism as "an ideology that idealizes and advocates a fusion of American civic life with a particular type of Christian identity and culture."
- The results showed that Christian nationalism was the leading predictor that Americans engaged in incautious behavior.
A pastor at the chapel of the St. Josef Hospital on April 1, 2020 in Bochum, German
Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images
Christian nationalists, in general, believe the U.S. and God's will are tied together, and they want the government to embody conservative Christian values and symbols. As such, they also believe the nation's fate depends on how closely it adheres to Christianity.

"Unsurprisingly then, in the midst of the COVID‐19 pandemic, conservative pastors prophesied God's protection over the nation, citing America's righteous support for President Trump and the prolife agenda," the researchers write.

"Correspondingly, the link between Christian nationalism and God's influence on how COVID‐19 impacts America can be seen in proclamations about God's divine judgment for its immorality―with the logic being that God is using the pandemic to draw wayward America back to himself, which assumes the two belong together."

The logical conclusion to this kind of thinking: America can save itself not through cautionary measures, like mask-wearing, but through devotion to God. What's more, it stands to reason that Christian nationalists are less likely to trust the media and scientists, given that these sources are generally not concerned with promoting a conservative, religious view of the world.

(The researchers note that they're unaware of any research directly linking Christian nationalism to distrust of media sources, but that they're almost certain the two are connected.)

Predicted values of Americans' frequency of incautious behaviors during the COVID‐19 pandemic across values of Christian nationalism
Perry et al.
In the new study, the researchers examined three waves of results from the Public and Discourse Ethics Survey. One wave of the survey was issued in May, and it asked respondents to rate how often they engaged in both incautious and precautionary behaviors.

Incautious behaviors included things like "ate inside a restaurant" and "went shopping for nonessential items," while precautionary behaviors included "washed my hands more often than typical" and "wore a mask in public."

To measure Christian nationalism, the researchers asked respondents to rate how strongly they agree with statements like "the federal government should advocate Christian values" and "the success of the United States is part of God's plan."

The results suggest that, compared to other groups, Christian nationalists are far less likely to wear masks, socially distance and take other precautionary measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Christian nationalism was the leading predictor that Americans engaged in incautious behavior during the pandemic, and the second leading predictor that Americans avoided taking precautionary measures."

But that's not to say that religious beliefs are causing Americans to reject mask-wearing or social distancing. In fact, when the study accounted for Christian nationalist beliefs, the results showed that Americans with high levels of religiosity were likely to take precautionary measures for COVID-19.

Limitations
Still, the researchers note that they're theorizing about the connections between Christian nationalism and COVID-19 behaviors, not documenting them directly. What's more, they suggest that certain experiences — such as having a family member that contracts COVID-19 — might change a Christian nationalist's behaviors during the pandemic.

"Limitations notwithstanding, the implications of this study are important for understanding Americans' curious inability to quickly implement informed and reasonable strategies to overcome the threat of COVID‐19, an inability that has likely cost thousands of lives," they write.

Parental anxieties stem from the complex relationship between technology, child development, and the internet's trove of unseemly content.

domain: psychology


Almost thirty years ago one of England’s best garage acts got lumped into a music mag campaign called C-86. A pre Brit-pop attempt to collect the leading indie acts of the day into a handy British music movement and sell a few papers.
Some acts benefitted from the connection, and many of the acts corralled into C-86 were well worth a look. The best of the lot, though, didn’t fit the largely shoegazing crowd that bulked out the collection. Wolfhounds were the one of the first genuine post-Nuggets garage bands in the UK – with a musical backbone comparable to the Stooges tempered by Big Star poetics.
Wolfhounds had a few hits up their sleeve, led by 80s indie classic Anti-Midas Touch, yet seeing them live they had a knack of catching you off guard – not playing crowd pleasers in favour of newer experimental work.
They were all about progression and stepping up. The experiments continued with an intriguing guitar mix as the 80s progressed – Founding guitarist Andy Golding was all about hardcore shredding and a Kinks / Stones edginess. Recent addition Matt Deighton’s influences were more classically English – John Martyn, Gallagher and Lyle – which made for a fascinating dynamic and tension that enflamed their later releases.
Callahan’s lyrics meanwhile were always challenging, mixing garage-inflenced Americana with a peculiarly English linguistic edge. Wolfhounds bridged a lyrical gap between the Kinks and Syd Barrett to progressive pop writers of a later era; Graham Coxon and David Gedge. Their lyrics seemed further informed by a radical ecological eye, something picked up on by a fledgling Manic Street Preachers, who were one of Wolfhounds biggest fans.
Impressed by their live shows I was brought into their circle by Pink Records, and was able to provide graphics for their most influential album, Unseen Ripples From a Pebble. It’s a graphic work that I’m most proud of. To see it getting a re-release at a time when – at last – a reformed Wolfhounds are getting the recognition that they deserved, is wonderful.
Wolfhounds remain one of England’s finest underground bands. It’s taken a generation for critics to catch up to their qualities, but the fans are very much still there. A sound that compares to generational contemporaries Bob Mould and Dinosaur Jr, and a Foo Fighters songwriting edge the band are causing a real stir, with sold out boutique shows Stateside and increasing audiences back home.
As witnessed by the latter two videos here the band are reaching a glorious new peak.


One of the priorities of the most recent Forest County Outdoor Recreation Plan is to apply for a Wisconsin Scenic Byway designation. The Forest County Economic Development Partnership (FCEDP) in cooperation with other stakeholders that include Langlade County Economic Development Corporation, Wisconsin Department of Tourism, Northwood’s Niijii Inc., UW Extension, the Sokaogon Chippewa Community and Wisconsin Department of Transportation are working on a plan to accomplish just that.
This Byway can help bring new visitors into the area and make a positive impact for your local municipality. There is no cost to your municipality for the program. Securing a Scenic Byway designation is a two-phase process. First, applicants must conduct a thorough corridor assessment to determine if the proposed byway meets WiDOT guidelines for scenic quality. Second, applicants must develop a Corridor Management Plan that outlines how the Byway will be maintained. Phase one was approved by WiDOT in October, 2013. But phase two cannot be completed without your help. The Byways program offers special designation for segments of highways that possess exceptional scenic, historic, cultural, and recreational attractions to promote/boost a region’s attractiveness as a tourist destination.
Wolf River-Nicolet Scenic Byway program can create an opportunity for grant programs including façade improvement, streetscape, and safe routes to school programs. The various municipalities can easily enjoy broad based benefits, as far as 30 miles away from the route.
Wolf River-Nicolet Scenic Byway Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Does State Scenic-Historic Byway designation impose additional restrictions on private property owners and highway users?
Answer: Other than the additional Federal outdoor advertising restrictions that apply to scenic byways, scenic byway designation does not provide any Federal, State, or local government with any additional authority to pass or enforce laws or regulations that limits private property use or the activities of vehicles. However, because of concerns raised with earlier legislation, Wisconsin’s scenic byway statute specifically states that the designation will not affect property owners, highway users, or the activities of the agency responsible for the highway.
Question: Will Corridor Management Plans restrict land and highway use?
Answer: The Corridor Management Plans required for Federal and State scenic byway designations do not have any legal standing themselves. However, they do provide the public, adjacent property owners, local governments and highway agencies with an opportunity to document exactly what the designation does and does not do prior to deciding whether they support the designation. Without such a document, some individuals or organizations could forever point to the designation as justification for their efforts to impose restrictions or prevent highway improvements.
Question: Will State Scenic Byway designation force WiDOT to change project designs and maintenance practices?
Answer: There are no Federal or State design requirements tied to scenic byway designations. Although a corridor management plan may identify some special design or maintenance requirements tied to a specific route, WiDOT would have to agree to these requirements before it approved the plan.
Question: What is a Corridor Management Plan?
Answer: A Corridor Management Plan (CMP) is a guide for the future promotion, preservation, and enhancement of a Scenic Byway. The plan is a result of local governments, community organizations, and byway residents working together to establish goals and objectives that hope to achieve through designation. These goals may include the promotion of tourism, protection of historic and natural resources, or preservation of scenic views. The CMP is not a document of new laws, regulations, or ordinances, but instead is composed of existing land use plans plus recommendations, by property owners and stakeholders, used to assist in protecting and promoting the byway.
Question: Who will implement and manage the corridor management plan?
Answer: The objectives of the CMP will be carried out by the local governments and the members of the Corridor Management Plan Committee. FCEDP is providing the facilitation services for the formation and execution of the CMP.
Question: What are the community benefits of a Scenic Byway?
Answer: A community’s benefits depend on the objectives established in the Corridor Management Plan. For example, if a local government uses the designation to promote tourism in the area, then residents may see an increase in economic development and a decrease in taxes due to the generation of new tourism revenue. Or, if a community decides to emphasize the protection of scenic and natural areas, land use ordinances could be created to preserve the rural character of a byway and limit development intrusion. Scenic Byway designation is a distinctive tool, in that it can be used to achieve a wide variety of your business’s and community’s goals.
Question: How will the Byway be funded?
Answer: There are several possible funding sources, including Federal and State government programs and private foundations. At the Federal level, National Scenic Byways Grants and Transportation Enhancements can be used to fund improvements to the byway such as information kiosks, marketing brochures, scenic overlooks, streetscaping plans, and safety enhancements. The Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources also offers funding programs that could be used for Byway-related projects.
Question: What will the Byway cost the sponsor and/or local government?
Answer: It depends. The most obvious cost is time, which includes holding public meetings and developing the Corridor Management Plan. As far as money is concerned, the local government may provide a match for a grant to target specific community goals to implement a project once designated. They may also wish to contract out some elements of the designation, implementation, and maintenance processes. The extent of money and time needed is difficult to determine since governments can take a more or less active part in developing, maintaining, and promoting the Byway.
Question: Does designation as a Scenic Byway mean that WiDOT will exercise Eminent Domain?
Answer: NO. Designation as a Scenic Byway in no way facilitates WiDOT’s ability to “take” your property, nor does it increase the likelihood of such an action.
Question: Does designation as a Scenic Byway impact my ability to secure additional curb cuts/access points?
Answer: NO. WiDOT’s driveway permitting process is not altered by the route’s Scenic Byway designation. However, byway designation is based on the route’s intrinsic qualities and the protection of those qualities through local land use plans and zoning.


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Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Attribute to Superintendent Shanan Gray, Relieving Auckland City District Commander:
Police have taken further enforcement action as part of an investigation into mass gatherings held at the Auckland Domain earlier this month.
Two people, a 44-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man, have been summoned to appear in the Auckland District Court on 11 November 2021.
They will be appearing on charges relating to organising and attending mass gatherings held on 2 and 16 October, in breach of Alert level 3 restrictions.
Police enquiries remain ongoing and we cannot rule out further enforcement action being taken in this matter.
Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

domain: law


MGAES Students Become Pen Pals With Belize School
Nineteen pairs of eyes stare in amazement at a world map as Caryn Earl, Meadow Glade Adventist Elementary School (MGAES) second-grade teacher, shows the distance between Battle Ground, Wash., and Belize, Central America. This far-off place has just become a lot closer to the first through sixth graders at MGAES since they have become pen pals to the students of Zion Adventist School (ZA) in Dangriga Town, Belize.
MGAES became connected with ZA through a non-Adventist doctor, who worked across the street from ZA and noticed the poor, dilapidated building. Upon returning to the U.S., he called a local Adventist church, which connected him with MGAES.
"He wanted us to help the school," explains Brian Allison, MGAES principal. "And once we find out their needs, that is exactly what we will do."
In the meantime, the MGAES students have written letters to introduce themselves to their new sister school. And in March, the first package postmarked from Dangriga Town was enthusiastically received among Earl's first and second graders. Big, excited smiles spread across the faces of the students as they jumped up to receive their letters. As the letters were read, the students learned the ages, genders, names, family members, and other things about their pen pals.
The package also contained pictures of the ZA principal, students wearing uniforms, and the interiors of their classrooms. Earl's class was amazed to see the bars on the glassless windows, the dirt-floor play area and absence of books in the classroom. Some of the boys didn't quite understand why the walls in all the pictures were painted pink. So the students' ideas about how to help ranged from sending pencils and paper to books and play equipment — and, of course, paint for those pink walls.
"This is a great opportunity to help our students become mission-minded," says Allison, who plans to have the students help collect the items the school needs. "And then maybe when these first and second graders become seventh and eighth graders, we can take them to ZA for a mission trip."
However, for now, second grader Mirella Catarino is just happy they wrote back and want to be friends too.


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Anti-corruption war must be won for growth of Nigeria, says Magu
Mr Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday said the war against corruption must be won for the growth of Nigeria.
Addressing journalists after leading officials of the commission in a walk against corruption in Abuja, Magu said Nigerians must resolve to either win the battle or die trying.
The event was part of activities marking the 2017 International Anti-corruption Day with the theme: “United Against Corruption for Development, Peace and Security.’’
“The fight against corruption is now a war in which there is a clear line between forces of evil and those of good; between agents of progress and reactionary elements who mean no good.
“But for those of us on this side of the divide, in the anti-corruption agencies of government, in the media and civil society, the dagger is drawn and I believe I am speaking the minds of everyone on this side.
“We intend to neither retreat nor surrender in our noble intention to cure our country of the evils of corruption.
“For us as a country, the fight against corruption is a do-or-die affair. We have to win the battle or die trying.’’
The EFCC boss gave a strong warning to looters, stressing that the long arm of justice would eventually catch up with them no matter how hard they try to cover their tracks.
Magu called on Nigerians to renew their common consensus against corruption and resolve to halt “Nigeria’s number-one enemy’’ in its stride.
“As individuals and patriotic citizens of this country, we have to work out a united front against corruption in line with the theme of this year’s International Anti-corruption Day.
“The formidable force against corruption that we need to form is not necessarily in physical groups or organisations, important as that is, but in our hearts to make a solemn commitment.
“Winning the fight against corruption means signing an unwritten accord with our maker that we will not indulge in corruption and to detest those who mortgage our collective future through corruption.’’
He said Nigerians had a duty to, not only to support efforts of the anti-corruption agencies, but to help with information that would blow the cover on corrupt elements.
The Acting Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr Anthony Ayine, who participated in the walk, decried the huge negative impact of corruption on the nation’s development.
“I have to personally be present to participate in this programme.
‘‘I suspended everything I had for this because it is when we are united in this fight that we will defeat corruption.
“But our people don’t understand the cost of corruption to this nation. Look at our infrastructure decay. It is principally because of corruption that Nigeria is where we are today.
“Nigeria should be competing with other developed countries but for corruption.“So, like the chairman has said, all hands must be on deck, we have to unite to fight corruption,” he said.
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The Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic bridge connecting the city of San Francisco to Marin County, California. It is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world and is a popular tourist destination. However, there are some disadvantages to the Golden Gate Bridge that should be noted before planning a visit.
One of the primary disadvantages of the Golden Gate Bridge is the cost. The toll for a one-way trip across the bridge is currently $7.50 for a two-axle vehicle. The cost can be prohibitive for those who are trying to make multiple trips across the bridge. Additionally, the bridge can get congested during peak hours, making it difficult to cross and adding to the cost of the trip.
Another disadvantage of the Golden Gate Bridge is the number of visitors. The bridge can become very crowded during peak hours, which can make it difficult to enjoy the scenery. Additionally, the bridge can become dangerous during crowded conditions, as there is more foot traffic and less room for vehicles.
Finally, the Golden Gate Bridge is subject to frequent weather conditions that can make it difficult to cross. Wind gusts can reach up to 50 mph, making it difficult for vehicles in the open air to remain steady. Fog can also be a problem, reducing visibility and making it difficult to navigate. Additionally, the bridge is vulnerable to earthquakes, making it a potentially unsafe crossing.
The Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic symbol of San Francisco, but there are some definite disadvantages to consider before planning a visit. The cost of crossing the bridge is high, and the bridge can get overcrowded during peak hours. Additionally, the bridge can be subject to hazardous weather and earthquake conditions, making it a potentially unsafe crossing.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in the world. Located in San Francisco, California, it spans the one-mile-wide Golden Gate Strait and connects the city to Marin County. It is one of the most photographed bridges in the world and is a symbol of San Francisco and the U.S. as a whole. While the bridge has many advantages, it also has some disadvantages.
- The Golden Gate Bridge has become an important symbol of American engineering, architecture, and ingenuity.
- The bridge’s construction spanned over four years and employed more than 11,000 people.
- It has an impressive length of 8,980 feet and a maximum height of 746 feet.
- The bridge is a major tourist attraction and has become a popular spot for sightseeing.
- The bridge is a major artery, connecting San Francisco to Marin County.
- It is a great way to view the San Francisco skyline, the Pacific Ocean, and the surrounding areas.
- The Golden Gate Bridge is a toll bridge, costing $7.25 for cars and $4.00 for motorcycles.
- The bridge can sometimes experience heavy traffic, especially during peak travel times.
- Since the bridge is located near a powerful ocean current, it can be prone to high winds and strong gusts.
- The bridge can occasionally experience strong fog, making it difficult to see.
Overall, the Golden Gate Bridge is an impressive example of engineering and architecture. It is a major artery for the San Francisco Bay Area and provides stunning views of the city below. However, it can be expensive to cross and can be affected by various weather conditions.
Understanding The Downsides Of The Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic American structure that many travelers and tourists flock to visit every year. It’s a beautiful structure that spans the San Francisco Bay and offers spectacular views of the Bay Area. But, like all great things, the Golden Gate Bridge has its downfalls. Here, we’ll discuss the potential downsides of the Golden Gate Bridge in order to help you make an informed decision about your visit.
First and foremost, the cost for visiting the Golden Gate Bridge can be high. While there is no tolling mechanism in place to cross the bridge, those who elect to park their vehicles in the lots located nearby will have to pay a parking fee. Depending on the time of day and the season, the parking fees can be quite expensive.
In addition to the cost of parking, the Golden Gate Bridge can be a dangerous structure to cross. The bridge has a high rate of suicides and deaths due to accidents, and the risk of being a victim of such tragedies is always present. For these reasons, it’s important to exercise caution while crossing the bridge, and to be aware of any potential hazards.
Finally, the Golden Gate Bridge can be congested at certain times. During peak hours, such as during morning and evening commutes, the bridge can be extremely crowded. This can lead to delays and long lines, so it’s important to plan accordingly if you’re visiting during peak times.
|Iconic American structure
|Costly parking fees
|Risk of accidents or suicides
|No tolling mechanism
|Congestion during peak hours
In conclusion, the Golden Gate Bridge can be a great experience for travelers and tourists, but it’s important to be aware of the potential downsides before making the trek. Understanding the cost of parking, risks associated with crossing the bridge, and potential for delays due to congestion can help ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable experience.
The Golden Gate Bridge has a few major drawbacks, including its susceptibility to high winds, its costly maintenance, and its environmental impact.
The Golden Gate Bridge has had an adverse effect on the local environment due to the noise and air pollution caused by the increased traffic.
Maintaining the Golden Gate Bridge is quite expensive, with costs including repairs, painting, safety inspections, and other necessary upkeep.
The Golden Gate Bridge is designed to withstand a certain amount of wind and rain, but high winds can pose a hazard to the bridge and its passengers.
The Golden Gate Bridge can support a large amount of traffic, but it has been known to get congested due to its popularity.
Safety concerns related to the Golden Gate Bridge include heavy winds, fog, and poor visibility, as well as occasional accidents.
Pedestrians must be at least 16 years of age in order to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The toll for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge for motorists is $7.25, while pedestrians and cyclists may cross for free.
The Golden Gate Bridge is open from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm daily.
Unfortunately, there are no restaurants located on the Golden Gate Bridge.


Image of the week
Interesting Images from Around the Universe
Stunning images captured on earth or from space
Gibraltar is a British Territory on Spain's south coast and is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, a 426 meter-high limestone ridge. This is a great photo of rare Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds seen on September 26th, 2019 caused by wind shear in the flow over the Rock of Gibraltar. Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds are named for Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz, who studied the physics of the instability that leads to this type of cloud formation. The upper layers of air are moving at higher speeds and will often scoop the top of the cloud layer into these wave-like rolling structures. (Photo courtesy Cerianne Pizarro, MeteoGib (twitter)).
This photo was taken in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on Monday, August 19th in a very unstable atmosphere. There is a moist outflow from one storm with a shelf cloud being lifted by the updraft of another storm. A shelf cloud is a low-hanging, well-defined wedge-shaped formation that occurs along the leading edge of a gust front in a thunderstorm. Shelf clouds most often form just ahead of intense lines of thunderstorms.
On July 16th, 2019, the full Moon passed through the shadow of Earth, plunging as much as 65% of the lunar disk into darkness. Only a small amount of the Moon was shadowed and sky watchers in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America saw at least part of the 3 hour event - only North Americans were excluded. The next significant lunar eclipse won't happen until May 2021. Image courtesy spaceweather.com (Alange Castle in southern Spain, photographer Juan Manuel Pérez Rayego).
The Key West National Weather Service noticed that the refinery explosion in Philadelphia last Friday (6/21/19) was captured on satellite. The heat signature is so large and hot it could be detected using infrared imagery.
.The blaze at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex, the East Coast's largest oil refinery, was extinguished Saturday afternoon, fire department and city officials said in a statement Sunday.
Deep upper-level low pressure has pushed off the Mid-Atlantic coastline on Monday, April 22nd and it is spawning the formation of a coastal storm. This developing storm will impact the NYC metro region and New England with rain and perhaps even as far to the south and west as the Philly metro region.
GOES-16 satellite image on April 3 features an April Nor’easter which pounded the eastern part of New England and only skirted the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor. Image courtesy NOAA
Thanks to heavy rain and snow this winter season, many colorful flowers are blooming in California and they can be seen in this satellite image (March 20, 2019, courtesy Digital Globe, Capital Weather Gang twitter)
Incredible footage shows driver passing through 41 FEET of snow near Lake Tahoe in Sierra Nevada (March 10, 2019). A driver passing through a road near Lake Tahoe filmed the captivating scene as huge walls of snow were split in parts on either side of the road. Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows announced it will extend its ski season through July 7 this year due to record snowfall levels following a recent storm. Officials claimed the area had exceeded the 50-foot mark at Squaw Valley's upper mountain on Friday, while several other resorts have gone over 500 inches for the season.
Great Lakes ice cover extent has increased dramatically in recent days thanks to an intrusion of Arctic air. The ice cover content has increased to nearly 75% (as of March 3, 2019) and it is likely to increase further in coming days as the unusual cold spell continues.
A color enhanced image from GOES-16 on January 31, 2019 shows significant ice coverage over Lake Erie. Ice and snow have a "red" hue here, while clouds have a tinge of "blue".
On Sunday, January 20th, 2019, there was a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse visible in both North and South America. An Arctic air mass in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast US made for very cold viewing conditions, but the air was also very dry which improved the clarity of the moon during this space event.
GOES-17 satellite imagery features a monstrous storm over the Pacific Ocean which is producing near hurricane-force winds (January 7th, 2019). Wave heights of up to 45 feet have been analyzed near this powerful system.
Known as the green “Christmas comet”, even the northern lights over Norway could not prevent it from being seen on Monday night, December 17th, 2018.
A GOES-East satellite image reveals the deep snow pack that still remains across much of western North Carolina and southern Virginia. Clouds can be seen off the east coast and over the Great Lakes, but clear skies over the snow pack allow for great viewing today, Wednesday, December 12th.
Since 13 September, European Space Agency’s Mars Express has been observing the evolution of an elongated cloud formation hovering in the vicinity of the 20 km-high Arsia Mons volcano, close to the planet’s equator.
In spite of its location, this atmospheric feature is not linked to volcanic activity but is rather a water ice cloud driven by the influence of the volcano’s leeward slope on the air flow – something that scientists call an orographic or lee cloud – and a regular phenomenon in this region.
The cloud can be seen in this view taken on 10 October by the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on Mars Express – which has imaged it hundreds of times over the past few weeks – as the white, elongated feature extending 1500 km westward of Arsia Mons. As a comparison, the cone-shaped volcano has a diameter of about 250 km.
Mars just experienced its northern hemisphere winter solstice on 16 October. In the months leading up to the solstice, most cloud activity disappears over big volcanoes like Arsia Mons; its summit is covered with clouds throughout the rest of the martian year.


Enjoy Reliable Wireless and Precise Control Control and convenience are at your fingertips with this compact keyboard and reliable mouse. The strong and secured wireless signal allows you to choose where you want to work. And the desktop is easy to use-just load batteries, plug in the receiver, and start typing!
|Interface and Power|
|Batteries Required (Keyboard)||4|
|Batteries Required (Mouse)||2|
|Mouse Power Source||AA|AAA|
|Keyboard Power Source||AA|AAA|
|Warranty Information||2 Year|
|Device Type||Keyboard & Mouse|
|Tracking DPI||1000 dpi|
|Wireless||Keyboard - Wireless|Mouse - Wireless|
|Interface Connection||Keyboard - USB|Mouse - USB|
|General Features||Scroll Wheel|
The Lenovo Bluetooth Tablet Keyboard works seamlessly with any...
Celluon Epic Ultra-Portable Full-Sized Virtual Keyboard The Magic Cube is...
PNY Technologies LV290AA#ABA HP Wireless Desktop Combo UPC: 886111610266...
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Make an elegant statement in this Lurex Plisse Maxi Dress from Miss Selfridge. A soft gold maxi dress crafted with a lurex shimmer fabric, featuring a tapered waist and a cross strap and ruching detail on the reverse. Team with heels and a sequin clutch for a glamorous look. Length 147cm.
Strewn with sparkling sequins and a plethora of light-catching beads, Fleur offers a magical display of ‘20s opulence. The champagne-toned Jazz Age design, with its dropped waist and swishy hemline offer pure Gatsby-inspired glamour. Simply add heels and jive. 100% Polyester. Handwash.
Introducing The Premium Collection from Miss Selfridge. A show-stopping edit of vintage-inspired styles, think 20s-style evening dresses, bodycons strewn with sequins and red carpet worthy gowns. Each piece has been hand-sewn for the most fabulous finish. This stunning Geometric Dress from Miss Selfridge features the prettiest palette of pearl and pink and are offset by graphic shard-like pattern, for a look that’s striking yet undeniably girly. The pencil silhouette and figure-skimming shape make for smooth and feminine lines that contour the body. For a flawless finish we’d team with dainty jewels and barely-there heels, style the look with a simple clutch and dainty jewels.
style="font-size: 12px;" Introducing The Premium Collection from Miss Selfridge. A show-stopping edit of vintage-inspired styles, think 20s-style evening dresses, bodycons strewn with sequins and red carpet worthy gowns. Each piece has been hand-sewn for the most fabulous finish. If blush is the colour of love, then fall for Fan’s rose petal hued dress, strewn lovingly with beading and embellishment. Wear delicate silver jewellery strung over the plunging V neck, or keep things chic and simple with nothing more than a strappy heel.
Add this Stripe Bardot Bodycon Dress from Miss Selfridge to your party staples. Make a statement with this close-fitting jersey dress. It is designed with a graphic black and white stripe pattern and a feminine bardot neckline. Pair with heels and a clutch for a chic evening look.
Opt for these flattering High Waist Wide Leg Trousers from Miss Selfridge. Elegant and easy-to-wear, these smart trousers are perfect for everyday wear. Cut to a classic, slightly flared fit, they come with a comfortable high waist, a concealed button and zip fastening, soft front pleat detailing and welt pockets. The model is finished with belt loops and a traditional straight leg. Associate this piece with a tucked-in blouse and heels for a polished silhouette.
Opt for ice princess glamour in this Petite Jacquard Necklace Dress from Miss Selfridge. A jacquard dress crafted from a luxe cotton blend and finished with gold necklace trim and a flared skirt. Team with metallic flats and a clutch for an elegant look.

domain: design


These standard butyl tubes are economical and reliable.
Delivers approximately 120 PSI to a road tire or 40 PSI to a mountain tire. 5 cartridges per package. Ground Shipping Only
Incredibly tough plastic tire levers.
Bring GU Energy Gels along for fast, lasting energy you need for tough workouts.
Elite Transfer fabric with In-R-Cool and Coldblack technologies for optimal cooling and reflective sun protection.
Use this lube to keep your shifting smooth and your drive train quiet. 4 oz. drip
Replacement brake pads fit holders on Shimano-type caliper road brakes.
Celebrated for its blend of comfort, style, and durability.
The 267g CN-6701 features Shimano's asymmetrical design for faster, smoother shifts, and interior link cut-outs to save weight.
The standard in quality cloth rim strips.
The Ultegra CS-6700 Cassette is more than just an economical alternative to Dura Ace. It's a light-weight, outstanding performer in its own right.
Updated with the ultra-stiff, Dura-Ace inspired 4-arm spider, allowing riders to run standard or compact ring configurations on the same crankset. 688g.
Jagwire's premium Slick Stainless Derailleur cables help reduce friction and keep your bike shifting smoothly.
Shimano's most affordable SPD pedals offer many of the same features as their top-of-the-line pedals and weighs 380g a pair.
A unique ergonomic design that won't weigh down your bike. 270g.
With trickle down technology from Shimano's higher end wheels, the WH-R501 won't disappoint on performance or style.
Carry gear without the need for a rear rack with Apidura's Saddle Pack.
The X2 features a lighter 2-bolt handlebar clamp and is 50g lighter the Thomson Elite road stem. 1 1/8 inch steerer. 31.8 handlebar clamp. 175g.
Now more efficient, 11-speed compatible, and able to handle an 11-32T cassette (GS model). 195g.
The slim head unit meets the standard speed sensor for the Strada Wireless Universal Cyclecomputer RD310W.
Slimmed down cups shave 14 grams, and redesigned seals which dramatically reduce drag. 77g.
The Masterpiece starts with the same one-piece 7000-series machined tube and head design as the Elite, but features an additional 40g of weight saving machining. Like the Elite, the Masterpiece is made in the U.S..
Stealth fighter alert. The Meuse is an absolute rocket ship of a cross bike. Full carbon, disc-only, the werkx. Frame and fork 1570g
One of the most anticipated components of the season, the Ultegra ST-6800 Shift/Brake Levers deliver Dura-Ace features, and 11-speed compatibility at a more obtainable price.
Sets the standard for strength and stiffness at an ultra-low weight. Straight 1-1/8" threadless steerer or a tapered 1-1/2" threadless steerer. 450g/460g.
Diatech Star Nuts (also called Star-Fangled Nuts) are designed for 1" and 1-1/8" steerer tubes.
Clamp down on post-season flabbiness by using the Elite Novo Force Magnetic Trainer during the winter months.
*Orders received before 3:00PM Pacific time are shipped the same day (M-F). Orders over $100 are shipped free (USA only, excluding AK and HI). Some exceptions apply. See Shipping for details.