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Recreational Water Illnesses

Recreational water illnesses are those that are spread by swallowing, breathing, or having contact with contaminated water from swimming pools, spas, lakes, rivers, or oceans. They can cause a wide variety of symptoms including gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic and wound infections. Children, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk to suffer from recreational water illnesses.

The most common source of germs and bacteria in the water come from human fecal matter and coincidently diarrhea is the most commonly reported recreational water illness. Infectious diarrhea can contain hundreds of millions to a billion germs in a single fecal accident. Also, did you know that on average people have about 0.14g of feces on their bottoms which can contaminate pool water?!

It is a common misconception that you will not get sick from water that has chlorine in it. Chlorine does kill these germs but it is important to understand that it takes time. Germs are not killed immediately! Even well maintained pools can transmit germs from one person, to the water, and ultimately to you before the chlorine has managed to terminate them.

Disinfectant Times for Fecal Contamination in Chlorinated Water*

E coli 0157:H7 - less than 1 minute

Hepatitis A - approximately 16 minutes

Giardia - approximately 45 minutes

Cryptosporidium - approximately 15300 minutes (10.6days)

 * 1 mg/L (1 ppm) free chlorine at pH 7.5 and 25° C (77° F)

Recreational Water Illness: Children and Infants Diapers on infants will swell once in contact with pool water causing fecal matter to easily leak into the water that everyone is swimming in. Special swim diapers are resistant to swelling in water but are NOT leak proof and may give parents and pool staff a false sense of security regarding fecal contamination. Swim diapers and pants are not a solution for a child with diarrhea or a substitute for frequent diaper changing.

A properly maintained pool with continuous filtration and disinfection of water should help reduce the risk of spreading illness. However, it is still possible to be exposed to billions of germs during the time it takes for chlorine to work or water to be recycled through the filters.

3 "PLEAs" for All Swimmers

Don’t swim when you have diarrhea

Don’t swallow pool water and avoid getting it in your mouth

Practice good hygiene. Take a shower before swimming, wash your hands after using the toilet and/or changing a diaper.

3 "PLEAs" for Parents of Young Kids

Take your kids on regular bathroom breaks and check diapers often (every 30 – 60 minutes)

Change diapers in the bathroom or a diaper changing area, not poolside

Wash your child thoroughly with soap and water (near the rear) before swimming

References:

Center for Disease Control. (2008). Six “PLEAs” For Healthy Swimming: Protection Against Recreational Water Illnesses. Healthy Swimming. Retrieved January, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/6_pleas.htm

Center for Disease Control. (2007). Questions and Answers. Healthy Swimming. Retrieved January, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/w_print.htm

Center for Disease Control. (2007). Swim Diapers and Swim Pants. Healthy Swimming. Retrieved January, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/swim_diapers.htm

Center for Disease Control. (2007). Diarrhea and Spreading Illness at the Pool. Healthy Swimming. Retrieved January, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/diarrhea.htm

Center for Disease Control. (2008). Chlorine Disinfection Time Table. Healthy Swimming. Retrieved January, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/chlorine_timetable.htm

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User:Lbo885

The pool can be an awesome place to have fun, hang out with friends, and spend quality family time, but the truth is that the pool can be a very dangerous place, especially for young children and toddlers. The CDC states that on average, six people a year drown in pools, most of which are public facilities staffed with certified staff and lifeguards. The American Institute for Preventive Medicine states that drowning is the 4th leading cause of accidental deaths claiming around 4000 deaths a year of which one third of these are children under fourteen years of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that for every child who drowns, four are hospitalized for near drowning.

Among these statistics, there are several more confirming that injuries and accidents happen at the pool more often than we like to think. These statistics also suggest that most of the injuries and accidents that happen at pools are happening to our children. What can we do to prevent these things from happening to our families and friends? There are several easy ways to ensure the safety of you and yours.

The American Academy of Pediatrics gives us a few helpful hints to ensure that our children are safe at the pool.
 * First and foremost, all children under thirteen years of age should be supervised by an actively observing adult who is well trained and knowledgeable with CPR. This does not include the staff or lifeguards.
 * Second, be sure to practice touch supervision with children under the age of five. This means that the parent or adult supervising the child should be within arm’s reach.
 * Third, do not substitute air-filled swimming aids for coast guard approved life vests.
 * Fourth, ensure that safety is kept in and out of the water. Running, jumping or diving into shallow water, and swinging on pool fixtures such as rails and ladders are not safe.
 * Lastly, it is important to remember that teaching your child how to swim does not mean your child is safe in water.

Though most pool injuries and accidents there are some risks at the pool that apply to everyone. Here are some additional tips for both children and adults to stay safe at the pool
 * Allow food to digest for at least 45 minutes to an hour before swimming.
 * Apply sunscreen as directed on the packaging. Most directions on these bottles are ignored and sunscreen is applied incorrectly.
 * Never dive in less than nine feet of water.
 * Never drink alcoholic beverages and swim.
 * Stay hydrated, cool, and in the shade.
 * Always read and follow the rules and regulations posted at public swimming facilities.

Parents and supervisors of children tend to think that it is solely the lifeguard’s job to watch their children and ensure their safety, but it is the supervising adult’s first and foremost responsibility to ensure the safety of the children they are supervising. With these guidelines, tips, and your responsibility as a parent or supervisor, accidents and injuries are much less prone to happening so that your family can have a safe and fun time at the pool.

Sources:

National SAFE KIDS Campaign (NSKC). Drowning Fact Sheet. Washington (DC): NSKC, 2004. Retrieved January 2009 from http://usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?folder_id=540&content_item_id=1032

Pool Alarms. (2007). Statistics on Pool Drowning of Children and Adults in the United States. Retrieved January 2009 from http://www.poolalarms.com/pool_drowning_statistics.htm

American Academy of Pediatrics. The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP) (1994). Pool Safety for Children. Retrieved January 2009 from http://www.aap.org/family/tipppool.htm

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

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Pool safety

The pool can be an awesome place to have fun, hang out with friends, and spend quality family time, but the truth is that the pool can be a very dangerous place, especially for young children and toddlers. The CDC states that on average, six people a year drown in pools, most of which are public facilities staffed with certified staff and lifeguards. The American Institute for Preventive Medicine states that drowning is the 4th leading cause of accidental deaths claiming around 4000 deaths a year of which one third of these are children under fourteen years of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that for every child who drowns, four are hospitalized for near drowning.

Among these statistics, there are several more confirming that injuries and accidents happen at the pool more often than we like to think. These statistics also suggest that most of the injuries and accidents that happen at pools are happening to our children. What can we do to prevent these things from happening to our families and friends? There are several easy ways to ensure the safety of you and yours.

The American Academy of Pediatrics gives us a few helpful hints to ensure that our children are safe at the pool.
 * First and foremost, all children under thirteen years of age should be supervised by an actively observing adult who is well trained and knowledgeable with CPR. This does not include the staff or lifeguards.
 * Second, be sure to practice touch supervision with children under the age of five. This means that the parent or adult supervising the child should be within arm’s reach.
 * Third, do not substitute air-filled swimming aids for coast guard approved life vests.
 * Fourth, ensure that safety is kept in and out of the water. Running, jumping or diving into shallow water, and swinging on pool fixtures such as rails and ladders are not safe.
 * Lastly, it is important to remember that teaching your child how to swim does not mean your child is safe in water.

Though most pool injuries and accidents there are some risks at the pool that apply to everyone. Here are some additional tips for both children and adults to stay safe at the pool
 * Allow food to digest for at least 45 minutes to an hour before swimming.
 * Apply sunscreen as directed on the packaging. Most directions on these bottles are ignored and sunscreen is applied incorrectly.
 * Never dive in less than nine feet of water.
 * Never drink alcoholic beverages and swim.
 * Stay hydrated, cool, and in the shade.
 * Always read and follow the rules and regulations posted at public swimming facilities.

Parents and supervisors of children tend to think that it is solely the lifeguard’s job to watch their children and ensure their safety, but it is the supervising adult’s first and foremost responsibility to ensure the safety of the children they are supervising. With these guidelines, tips, and your responsibility as a parent or supervisor, accidents and injuries are much less prone to happening so that your family can have a safe and fun time at the pool.

Sources:

National SAFE KIDS Campaign (NSKC). Drowning Fact Sheet. Washington (DC): NSKC, 2004. Retrieved January 2009 from http://usa.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?folder_id=540&content_item_id=1032

Pool Alarms. (2007). Statistics on Pool Drowning of Children and Adults in the United States. Retrieved January 2009 from http://www.poolalarms.com/pool_drowning_statistics.htm

American Academy of Pediatrics. The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP) (1994). Pool Safety for Children. Retrieved January 2009 from http://www.aap.org/family/tipppool.htm

title: Pool safety


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Recreational Water Illnesses

Swimming Pools and Other Water Play Areas
Diarrheal illness is the most common RWI, as stated before. These illnesses are caused by swallowing water that has been contaminated with feces containing germs. Swimmers are the carriers of the germs and the feces that contaminate the water. They share the water with everyone that enters it. On average, people have about 0.14 grams of feces on their bottoms which, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water. In addition, when someone is ill with diarrhea, their stool can contain millions of germs. This means that just one person with diarrhea can easily contaminate the water in a large pool or water park. People may not realize that although there is no standing water in interactive fountains/water play areas, the spray water will rinse any contaminants (for example, diarrhea, vomit, and dirt) down into the water holding area and be sprayed again. In other words, the water is recycled through the system. Swallowing even a minuscule amount of contaminated recreational water may make you sick.

Oceans, Lakes, and Rivers
Oceans, lakes, and rivers can be contaminated with germs from sewage spills, animal waste, water runoff following rainfall, fecal incidents, and germs rinsed off the bottoms of swimmers. It is important to avoid swallowing the water because natural recreational water is not disinfected. Avoid swimming after rainfalls or in areas identified as unsafe by health departments. Contact your state or local health department for water testing results in your area or go to EPA's beach site.

Hot Tubs
Skin infections like "hot tub rash" are a common RWI spread through hot tubs and spas. Respiratory illnesses are also associated with the use of improperly maintained hot tubs.

The high water temperatures in most hot tubs make it hard to maintain the disinfectant levels needed to kill germs. That’s why it’s important to check disinfectant levels [PDF - 98 kb] in hot tubs even more regularly than in swimming pools.

The germs that cause "hot tub rash" can also be spread in pools that do not have proper disinfectant levels and in natural bodies of water such as oceans, lakes, or rivers.

Decorative Water Features
Not all decorative water features are chlorinated or filtered. Therefore, when people, especially diaper-aged children, play in the water, they can contaminate the water with fecal matter. Swallowing this contaminated water can then cause diarrheal illness.

Diarrheal Illnesses
If swimmers are ill with diarrhea, the germs that they carry can contaminate the water if they have an "accident" in the pool. On average, people have about 0.14 grams of feces on their bottoms which, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water. When people are ill with diarrhea, their stool can contain millions of germs. Therefore, swimming when ill with diarrhea can easily contaminate large pools or waterparks. In addition, lakes, rivers, and the ocean can be contaminated by sewage spills, animal waste, and water runoff following rainfall. Some common germs can also live for long periods of time in salt water. So, if someone swallows water that has been contaminated with feces, he/she may become sick. Many of these diarrhea-causing germs do not have to be swallowed in large amounts to cause illness.

Other RWIs
Many other RWIs (skin, ear, eye, respiratory, neurologic, wound, and other infections) are caused by germs that live naturally in the environment (water, soil). In the pool or hot tub, if disinfectant is not maintained at the appropriate levels, these germs can increase to the point where they can cause illness when swimmers breathe or have contact with water containing these germs. In this podcast, CDC's Dr. Michael Beach discusses the superbug, Cryptosporidium, a common cause of recreational water illness.

Why Doesn't Chlorine Kill RWIs?
Chlorine in swimming pools does kill the germs that may make people sick, but it takes time. Chlorine in properly disinfected pools kills most germs that can cause RWIs in less than an hour. Chlorine takes longer to kill some germs such as Crypto, which can survive for days in even a properly disinfected pool. This means that without your help, illness can spread even in well-maintained pools. Healthy swimming behaviors are needed to protect you and your family from RWIs and will help stop germs from getting in the pool.

Who Is Most Likely to Get Ill From RWIs?
Children, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems (such as those living with AIDS, those who have received an organ transplant, or those receiving certain types of chemotherapy) can suffer from more severe illness if infected. People with compromised immune systems should be aware that recreational water might be contaminated with human or animal waste that contains Cryptosporidium (or Crypto), which can be life threatening in persons with weakened immune systems. People with a compromised immune system should consult their health care provider before participating in behaviors that place them at risk for illness.

RWI Prevention
The following information for RWI prevention is from the CDC website, and is about recreational water illnesses and ways to help prevent them is for people who own, manage, operate, or work at pools, waterparks, hot tubs, and spas.

Twelve steps for reducing germ contamination of swimming pools.
How can you protect swimmers from recreational water illnesses (RWIs) without restricting access and enjoyment? Consider how pool operators deal with other risks that have been identified at the pool. Problems that have been on deck for years include drowning, injuries, bad weather, and blood spills. Pool operators have adopted risk management strategies that rely on state-of-the-art safety equipment and intensive training of staff. Lifeguards are trained in drowning prevention, rescue, first aid, and policies related to weather use and injury prevention. RWI prevention is no different. It will take a combination of equipment and design improvements, new thoughts on pool policies and management, and critical training and education of staff. However, the responsibility for preventing RWIs does not fall on pool staff alone. Swimmers need to be educated about the necessary behavior changes that they need to make in order to reduce the spread of RWIs. Because this is such a complex problem, pool staff, swimmers and health departments all have a role to play in reducing the spread of RWIs. Integrating the 12 steps for RWI prevention into your current risk management program should help reduce the risk of your pool spreading RWIs.

12 Steps for RWI Prevention for Pool Staff

 * Lead your staff.
 * Develop partnerships.
 * Educate pool staff.
 * Educate swimmers and parents.
 * Maintain water quality and equipment.
 * Evaluate aquatic facility design.
 * Institute disinfection guidelines.
 * Evaluate hygiene facilities.
 * Develop a bathroom break policy.
 * Create a special policy for large groups of young children.
 * Post and distribute health information.
 * Develop an outbreak/emergency response plan.

STEP 1: Lead your staff.
Every aquatic facility is different with distinct priorities that have to be juggled on a daily basis while working within limitations on staff and resources. However, all aquatic facilities make safety and health a top priority. Making a choice to integrate an RWI protection plan into an existing facility risk management plan is the single greatest decision you can make to protect swimmers from RWIs. Take the lead, outline your vision, show your commitment to your staff, and put yourself at the forefront of the aquatics field. Decide that RWI protection is a priority; back it up with resource investment and commitment, and that will set the tone for the rest of the staff. Determine which of the Healthy Swimming recommendations are feasible to implement in your facility with available resources. Investing heavily after the outbreak occurs, a common occurrence, is great but it would have been better for the public’s health and more cost-effective if this were done before the outbreak occurred.

STEP 2: Develop Partnerships
Building a communication bridge to your health department and other aquatic facilities is a great way to get information about other outbreaks occurring in your community. If you start to hear about outbreaks associated with other pools, daycares, schools, etc., where your swimmers attend, then take proactive measures and increase vigilance to protect your pool. Increase education of staff, swimmers, and visiting daycare groups. If a pool closes because of a suspected outbreak, that does not mean that all of the swimmers should descend on your pool without giving them some education about RWI prevention. Work with your health department to get the word out when a potential RWI outbreak is occurring. Remind them that one of the messages to send out whenever a diarrheal outbreak is occurring is “don’t swim when ill with diarrhea.” Use your communication networks and the media to alert patrons that they should not be swimming if they are ill with diarrhea. Protect your facility, make the contacts early, and build a communication network so that you are aware of the health status of your community at all times.

STEP 3: Educate pool staff.

 * Ensure that the pool operator, at a minimum, has taken part in a standardized training course given by aquatics professionals.
 * Integrate the "Steps" for Healthy Swimming (see poster on next page) into staff training.
 * Promote good hygiene and safety around the pool by knowing the "Steps" for Healthy Swimming.
 * Inform parents that unhealthy behaviors at poolside and elsewhere are no longer acceptable. Parents told CDC that they wanted to be able to rely on the lifeguards for help and enforcement.
 * Ensure that all staff know the critical role of water testing, proper testing methods, and how to respond if disinfectant levels are not adequate.
 * Make sure that staff can explain, in a way that is inoffensive and acceptable to parents, why behaviors such as using public tables and chairs for diaper changing is a health risk. This may require that an older, more experienced staff member be assigned to the kiddie pool.
 * Maintaining pool water quality according to existing public health requirements will prevent the spread of most recreational water illnesses (RWIs).

STEP 4: Educate swimmers and parents.

 * Educate your season pass holders. You may choose to begin by educating them first since they may feel more ownership of the facility and want to make the facility as safe as possible.
 * Educate your daily patrons. You might hand out prevention messages ("Steps" for Healthy Swimming or CDC brochure) as patrons enter the pool or park area.
 * Remember that people care about their health, so a lead-in might be: “To ensure the health and safety of all our visitors, we ask that you remember to follow these easy "Steps" for Healthy Swimming.”
 * Consider implementing a short safety and RWI orientation for larger groups before they enter the pool complex. This is especially important for groups with young children (see step ten).

STEP 5: Maintain water quality and equipment.
Keep the chemical feed equipment and chemicals at optimal levels within state and local government regulations. This includes maintaining the disinfectant at regulated levels; optimal pH (7.2-7.8); alkalinity (80-120 ppm); calcium hardness (200-400 ppm), and total dissolved solids (below 2500mg/liter). As you know, poor pH control can compromise chlorine’s effectiveness as a disinfectant. Remember that maintaining recommended chlorine levels will prevent most bacterial outbreaks such as E. coli O157:H7. Be sure to monitor chlorine regularly where the chlorine is needed—at poolside. You should be able to prevent waterparks, pools, or hot tubs from running out of chlorine through regular monitoring, and pumphouse and systems checks. Ensure regular and thorough maintenance of the recirculation and filtration equipment to provide maximum filtration.

STEP 6: Evaluate aquatic facility design.
Some pools and waterparks have already started to redesign their facilities for the purpose of illness protection. If you are building a new waterpark, get feedback from your industry colleagues and public health experts about the safety and protection features you need to consider in the design stage. Pool designers will respond to you, their customer, if you are clear that your public health needs are a high priority and you consider it an investment in safe operations.

Evaluate your filtration system.
If your kiddie pool filtration system is connected with other pools, fecal contamination can be dispersed from the kiddie pool to the other pools. The best situation is one in which there is a separate filtration system for the kiddie pool. Increasing the water turnover rates in kiddie pools may decrease the length of time that swimmers are exposed to contaminating germs. This decision needs to be made in collaboration with your state and local regulators and design consultants to avoid causing suction injuries. This may require installation of antivortex drain covers (with no top openings and automatic cut-off valves). When it comes to the spread of some illnesses, filtration can help but it takes substantial time to completely filter the pool.

Evaluate your form of disinfection.
There is a great deal of interest in new technologies that disinfect pool water such as ozone, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, and mixed oxidants. They look promising. Seek out the experts for the latest information but keep in mind that you are still going to need some residual disinfectant in the pool when using ozone and UV.

STEP 7: Institute disinfection guidelines.
Even if you are not required to do so, have a written fecal accident response policy and keep records of all fecal accidents, chlorine and pH level measurements, and any major equipment repairs or changes. This may help you respond more efficiently to any problems. You may have little control over a toddler’s soiling your kiddie pool, but you do have control over how you document and respond to this occurrence. It pays to be proactive.

STEP 8: Evaluate hygiene facilities.
In CDC’s parent interviews, parents uniformly said they change diapers at poolside because changing rooms were unclean, poorly maintained, and/or had inadequate diaper-changing facilities. Here are some questions that you could ask to improve your facilities:
 * Do you have an adequate number of facilities?
 * Are the facilities close to the pool?
 * Are the facilities well maintained (stocked and cleaned)?
 * Would you walk barefoot in them as your patrons do?

Remember….ask your patrons for feedback.

If your facility is large enough, determine the utility of hiring a person just to maintain the restrooms or consider remodeling your diaper-changing stations. Both improvements may be good investments if they increase the number of parents and children who use them.

Install diaper-changing cabanas with soap and running water close by the kiddie pools. This is a great way to discourage parents from changing diapers on tables or lounge chairs. It can also help mothers who are also keeping an eye on other kids. Although difficult, keep pushing to get swimmers to shower (yes, a soap and water, back-end shower) before using the pool. Dirt, sweat, and fecal matter should go down the drain, not into your pool. Train staff to recognize risky behavior such as changing a child on public tables or chairs. Have them educate patrons about why this is a health risk.

STEP 9: Develop a bathroom break policy.
CDC hopes to heighten awareness about the transmission of recreational water illnesses (RWIs).

Parents will continue to want to see regular chlorine testing and appropriate disinfection following fecal accidents. Therefore, why not reduce fecal accidents by helping parents get their children to the bathroom by scheduling an hourly break for disinfectant testing and bathroom use? Staff should let patrons know that this break provides optimal timing for bathroom use. Additionally, to prevent transmission of germs, you should ensure that the bathrooms are clean, that they are stocked with toilet paper, and that they have ample soap for hand washing. If parents ask, tell them this policy not only reduces fecal contamination but also should reduce the amount of urine in the pool that uses up disinfectant that could be killing germs.

STEP 10: Create a special policy for large groups of young children.
If you allow large groups of diaper/toddler-aged children in the pool (e.g. from daycare centers) consider:
 * Requiring RWI orientation training for the care providers and make sure they understand that your pool, like most daycare centers, also excludes children ill with diarrhea.
 * Keeping diaper/toddler-aged children in the pools specifically designated for them.

STEP 11: Post and distribute health information.
Consider providing signage in a conspicuous location before pool entry.

The sign might state:
 * Don’t swim when you have diarrhea.
 * Don’t swallow the pool water.
 * Wash your hands with soap and water after using the restroom or changing diapers.
 * Take your kids to the bathroom often.
 * Change diapers in the bathroom and not at poolside.
 * Wash your child thoroughly (especially the rear end) with soap and water before swimming.

Encourage swimmers to shower with soap and water before entering the pool. This could reduce the risk of pool contamination by removing invisible fecal matter from their bottoms. A quick rinsing over a swimsuit with cold water will not do much good. Facility staff, managers, and home pool staff should consider having hot water available in shower facilities used by swimmers. The recreational water sector is not the only group that needs to participate in the educational process. Parents have told us that they would like to receive this message from various sources before they arrive at the pool. Public health officials have already begun to educate swimmers by making prevention messages available to the general public.

STEP 12: Develop an outbreak/emergency response plan.
The best advice is to be prepared. If an outbreak does occur, are you ready? Do you have a plan?

Most pool staff already have a risk management plan for injuries and drowning, but many do not have plans for managing a recreational water illness (RWI) outbreak.
 * Develop a policy to follow in the event that you begin getting calls from the public, or the health department starts an investigation. Part of this plan should include a strategy to communicate with the local health department and media.
 * Appoint a spokesperson to ensure that a consistent response is given to outside sources (callers, media, health department, and others), and that these sources have a clear contact person.
 * Talk to your colleagues who have experience. It can be difficult if you are not ready to speak with reporters and an outbreak occurs.
 * Collaborate with your local health department. This is always important, plus the investigation may indicate a source unrelated to the pool.
 * Support the investigation. If the pool is the source of the outbreak, the investigation can often reveal how or why illness was transmitted. This information leads to better illness prevention strategies that can help everyone.

Six "Steps" for Protection Against Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs)
PLEASE don't swim when you have diarrhea...this is especially important for kids in diapers.

PLEASE don't swallow the pool water.

PLEASE practice good hygiene.

PLEASE take your kids on bathroom breaks often.

PLEASE change diapers in a bathroom and not at poolside.

PLEASE wash your child thoroughly (especially the rear end) with soap and water before swimming.

Illnesses
RWIs can include many types of infections that include gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurological, and even wound infection. For best protection and for the most information on these illnesses and the viruses and bacteria that cause them, please visit the links below.

 * Cryptosporidium
 * Giardia
 * Legionella
 * Hot Tub Rash
 * Swimmer's ear
 * Shigella
 * norovirus
 * E. coli o157:H7

RWI Prevention Week
The week before Memorial Day has been designated National Recreational Water Illness (RWI) Prevention Week.The goal of this week is to highlight the simple steps swimmers and pool operators can take to ensure a healthy and safe swimming experience for everyone.

title: Recreational Water Illnesses


text:
Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Synaptic Models/Ion Channel Model of Synaptic Function

Ion Channel Model of Synaptic Function
There are two main types of ion channels, although there are many types of ion channels that pump many types of ions. The ion channels can be separated into those ion channels that work with the electrostatic gradient across the membrane, and those ion channels that work against the electrostatic gradient, and so pump ions in a direction that the electrostatic gradient resists. The latter must overcome the resistence of the gradient, and as a result, require an energy source to overcome the electrostatic gradient. It is the difference between a pump and a filter, in either case only specific ions are transferred across the membrane but in the latter case, they need to be assisted with energy from within the cell, usually in the form of ATP.

Some Ion channels are voltage dependent, and only start pumping once the voltage in the cell either increases beyond a particular point, or drops beyond another point. Ion channels existed in the cell, long before some cells learned to be neurons, and as a result, have automatic functions that operate despite of the state of the synapse they may be connected to. One such type of ion channel, is the Potassium Ion channel, which causes the unique overshoot, or spike that causes the neuron to fire. This ion channel has a role in keeping the cell from allowing its internal voltage to drop low enough that the membrane loses its capacitance, and thus the ability to filter out unwanted ions from the extracellular fluid.

The Potassium Ion channels kick in when the membrane depolarizes, causing the cell to quickly gain voltage despite the depolarization. This is, it is believed a defensive reaction against depolarization in an attempt to keep the cell Activation Potential from dropping too low, despite the loss of integrity locally in the membrane caused by the disruption of the protein-lipid-lipid-protein bonds that act to keep the polarity of the cell membrane.

Other ion channels like the NMDA ion channel, named for the presence of the chemical NMDA in the channel structure, only begin to operate when the synapse is active, and the cell is ready to fire, This results in an increase in readiness to firing called Potentiation, which is the active mode that creates Long Term Potentiation (LTP). Potentiation results in an increase in the willingness of the cell to fire. It is interesting to note that the NMDA ion channel pumps Calcium ions into the cell, and Potassium Ions out of cell, thus reducing the overshoot at time of firing, and facilitating the firing of the cell so that it doesn't habituate as easily. This allows the cell to fire in trains of signals instead of just firing once.

Before Neurons evolved, ion channels existed to do mainly two different things, attract ionic nutrients from the nutrient rich extracellular fluid, and secrete ionic wastes into the extracellular fluid so that they could be carried away from the cell. Neurons specialized this capability, in order to transfer signals between cells. As a result, ion channels in neurons also act on the cellular voltage or action potential of the cell, named for the fact that it is thought that the voltage is the factor that causes the cell to "Fire". As a result of this specialization, Neurons are more sensitive to some environmental conditions, and require special caretaker cells called Glial cells to help them maintain their own survival. The more active a neuron is, the more glial cells it needs to support its survival.

Ion channels, in Neurons do mostly 4 things related to signal propagation, Some ion channels increase the voltage of the cell, this is called exciting the cell. Some ion channels inhibit the growth of the increase in voltage of the cell, these are called inhibitive ion channels. Some inhibit the growth of the voltage in the cell so strongly as to short it out, there are called shunt ion channels, and some ion channels modify the way the cell works in some manner, often with the use of a secondary messenger chemical, which triggers chemical reactions within the cell that cause some change in the way it works. These are called either Modifying or Moderating ion channels depending on how they cause the cell to react.

It is interesting to note that the brain works in a negative logic pattern, in the sense that inhibition of signals is the operative mode. The cell operates like a wired OR circuit, which means that if two excitory signals are detected, they both act to increase the chance the cell will fire, but if two inhibitive signals are combined within the neuron it can be partially demorganized to form a NAND like function that allows it to work to select outputs in much the same way that AND gates in a computer select outputs. However to do so requires a three NT minimal system, and while neurons have been shown to have as many as 5 different types of synapse sensitive patches, there is no guarantee that all neurons with 3 or more different types of synapses form the same logical functions, especially since the 3NT pattern of operation is a superset of logic that operates on an continuum between NAND and OR functions depending on the strength of the second inhibitive Neuro-Transmitter.

Despite this complexity to the actual neurons, The net effect of synapses being activated by Neuro-transmitters, is the modification of the cellular voltage. While it is controversial whether it is the actual firing of the neuron, or the voltage in the Axion buds before firing, that determines the amount of Neuro-Transmitter that gets into the extracellular fluid at the synaptic gap, It is recognized that it is the Action Potential, that is the main factor that determines the signal strength at the pre-synaptic bud.

According to Hebbs Model of the Synapse, it is the leverage between the number of permease molecules that detect Neuro-Transmitter and the change in voltage that they create, that determines how much one synapse will affect the Action Potential of a Neuron. This leverage is created by the number of Ion channels that are triggered, each time a permease signals. The Weight, or multiplier however, is not a set value, but changes with the learning rules. I interpret this to mean that the make up of the sensitive patch changes with the Weight, causing more ion channels to become part of the same synaptic sensitive patch as the weight increases and fewer ion channels to become part of the same synaptic sensitive patch as the weight decreases. If this is true, then somehow the synapse signals the cell to increase the number of ion channels in a particular sensitive patch when a synapse is more important to the function of the neuron, and signals the cell to reduce the number of ion channels in a particular sensitive patch when the signal is less important to the function of the cell. Thus, the learning rules, which adjust the weights in a Hebbian Neuron, actually act to adjust the number of ion channels in a synapse sensitive patch.


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Conservation Entrepreneurship/mission and time

Time management
Covey's main point is that time management should be based on determining what is important. Thus it follows from Mission ("Begin with the end in mind"). He then provides a powerful tool, which is to evaluate each task or "to do" according to 2 criteria: urgency and importance. We tend to conflate these; what's pressing tends to be taken as important by default -- Covey's insight is to step back and separate these out. In principle, this will remind us to allocate time to the important things that are not urgent - quadrant II; and hopefully through planning, preparing, nurturing relationships, this will help us reduce the things that are urgent and important (crises).

Assignment
Mission and time management assignment – for March 18

Covey CD (7 Habits): Introduction and Habits 1-3

Readings: Drucker Chapters 1, 2, 13, 14, 15, 16 and Dees et al Chapter 2

Do the Funeral Exercise (Covey Habit 2): visualize your own funeral; four speakers (representing family, friends, work, church or community organization); think deeply about what you would like each of these speakers to say about you and your life.

Develop your Personal Mission Statement (Covey Habit 2).

Maintain a time log for 3 business days prior to Spring Break and bring to class. The easiest way to do this is to divide the day into 3 periods (waking to lunch, end of lunch through dinner, dinner until sleep), carry a notebook with you, and at the end of each period write down every activity you engaged in and the amount of time each one took. (Total should = total number of hours awake). At the end, sort the activities into categories, add the time spent in each category, and divide by the 3 days to get average time spent each day in each category. Typical categories: eating, preparing food, commuting, telephone, reading newspaper, surfing internet, watching TV, in class, reading assignments, email.

Experiences
We all have different approaches for dealing with time issues. Please share some of your experiences. I will start with 2.

I just got back from a 2 week trip. It basically took me until Thursday afternoon to get back on track - productive and focused on what's important. What happened to those first 4 days? In part, I had to trim some work time to take my son to tennis, take my son to the dentist, catching up on family interactions that suffer when I travel - certainly important, but a distraction from work. Also Mon and Tues I had a major project (review 40 applications for ACLI visiting fellowships, wean out half, and form a review committee that could focus on the priority half only) and had to prepare for Wednesday's class. By Wednesday I had a cold and after class all morning, needed to take a break, go home early (and deal with the dentist appointment at 4 pm). So Thursday I'm finally ready to get down to business, longer term, high priority projects -- but my office and desk are so disorganized that I can't work -- I spent most of Thursday just tying up loose ends, such as my travel expense report -- not the important stuff, but I needed to get some level of organization around me so that finally, by late Thursday afternoon, I could get down to some important things -- by now also urgent because I travel again at the end of next week. I'm not a heavy traveller now, which my family appreciates, but this rhythm is very reminiscent of life at WWF -- work intensely before each trip to get each project advanced enough to be "pushed on to someone else's desk", and leave town with a clean desk. Travel, get back, be groggy for a few days, then another intense push to be prepared for the next trip.

In the midst of all this, a classic "bomb" (urgent and important, a crisis) lands on my desk. UF financial department sends me a draft financial report, that was actually due almost 3 months ago, and it's in a format that is going to raise a bunch of red flags with the donor. I have a much more subtle way of presenting the budgeted vs. actual expenditures, but the accounting department, who are people I have no real relationship with, have a totally different system (that will make me look bad with the donor). Aaack! First thought is to run out the door screaming, second is to tell the finance people they are wrong. After many deep breaths, let's try to get more information. Also, let's remember -- the finance people are probably really overworked (imagine how many grants they have to manage, and I'm sure UF budget cuts have hit their staffing levels) and they have a set of accounting principles and standard procedures to follow. Seek first to understand.... (Habit 5). Story to be continued, but probably the most important thing, for me, is to not let anxiety over this follow me home, this is important but nobody's going to say at my funeral "he really did a good job with financial reports" -- remember that what's much more important (Habit 2) is the time I'm going to spend with my family this evening, going out to dinner with my wife, helping my son with math and a speech he has to give. For me, time management is mainly a tool for stress reduction -- if you know your priorities and have a plan, it will help keep that gnawing anxiety from that overdue report from eating away at you.

This exercise on time management and mission couldn't have come at a better time for me. Going into this semester I knew that I had two long term projects that had to be done by May. The first major project that I had to plan for was my thesis proposal. The second major project was a final three year summary report for US Fish & Wildlife. I knew that both of these duties would require a substantial amount of my time. In an attempt to allow more free time for both of these important non-classwork projects, I took a lighter course load than the Fall semester (which constantly bordered on too much important work to handle at one time). Throughout the first month or two of this semester I felt great- I was able to spend more time learning and enjoying my classes, and I was also getting a considerable amount of work done on my thesis proposal. However, I must admit that at this point in the semester the free time was starting to get to me. I was getting all of the work done for my classes, and I was making strides on my proposal, but I was also spending a decent amount of my time doing those random non-important events. I also was falling behind on the Fish & Wildlife report I was in charge of. Next thing I knew spring break was on the horizon, and the stress I was so familiar with in the Fall semester started to come back. Many of the things that had been important were quickly starting to become urgent due to my time restraints. At this point I knew that something had to change and I had to be more proactive in my time management. To do this I went back to doing something I did in college to help keep me organized; I putting a huge calender on the back of my apartment door so everyday I could see what I had planned for the day and week. Little by little I started to check off all of the little things that were beginning to pile up and add to my stress level- nothing too important, but still things that required my constant attention. Next thing I knew spring break had arrived and I was still loaded with work. Instead of going down to Belize with my advisor to do some field work (as was the original plan!) I headed south to Fort Lauderdale to meet with my coworkers to push through some sections of the final Fish & Wildlife report. As I quickly found out, doing work with a team of people goes much much smoother if you are there in person (its usually over the phone since I'm here and they are in S. FL). In one week of meetings with my coworkers we not only completed a number of section of our final report, but also worked out a deal to better divy-up the work load so that the one student of the group (me) wasn't having to stress as much. This, believe it or not, was well worth missing out on Belize this time around. Due to the positive results I was getting, since returning from spring break my time management has become even more structured. This organization and the increased communication with my team has substantially decreased my stress load, and might even make it so I can actually spend a Saturday doing something besides writing a report! Lynch 01:44, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

I also greatly enjoyed this time management assignment. There weren't really any major surprises with how I was spending my time, but it was a good thing to see. I am not sure the days we recorded were really indicative of my normal life since I defended my thesis during that time so it made me want to continue this in the future. The biggest problem is that even recording my time takes time so it would be nice to find a more efficient method for monitoring. I also do not feel I accurately captured free time internet usage such as checking Facebook which occured in little chunks while working on schoolwork, etc. I think Drucker and Covey's points about time management were very insightful. I especially liked the comment about doing the items in quadrant two to reduce the amount in quadrant one. I suppose this is fairly common sense but for some reason it really hit me. I think most of my school career has been focused on the crisis items rather than working ahead. I am not sure if I will be able to change this before the end of the semester but hopefully with my Master's degree wrapping up I will get a fresh start in the fall. I also want to use my mission in life more often in defining where I should be allocating my time. Kifaro50 01:30, 25 March 2009 (UTC)


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Conservation Entrepreneurship/Job Description

Develop a Job Description for the Director of the Tropical Conservation and Development Program at UF.

Dr. Marianne Schmink currently holds this position. She will be stepping down in 2009. The first step in recruiting a replacement is to have a clear job description.


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Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Synaptic Models/Membrane Replacement Model

Membrane Replacement Model
The Neuron, is a squishy sack of chemicals, as one Neuroscientist described it to me. But mostly what it is, is a digestive system that takes nutrients and breaks them down into smaller structures releasing the energy and transforming it into useful forms that can be used to drive cellular processes. If we accept this definition, then we have to accept that part of the nature of the Neuron, and every other cell in the Universe is that it is constantly digesting itself.

Structures like the cellular membrane that are important to its very survival, must therefore have mechanisms that service them and remove the partially digested components and replace them with new components. It is unfortunate but this means that the cellular membrane is constantly being rebuilt, with the effect that the survival of synaptic sensitive patches, adds a complication to a survival trait.

Although we don't yet know exactly what is involved, if only because we don't yet know which questions to ask, evidence of ion channel storage at levels below the surface of the cell, suggest that what might be happening, is that synapses are replaced by the membrane replacement mechanism, along with the rest of the membrane.

This opens up the question, of whether or not ion channel integration in the sensitive patch is also altered in the Membrane Replacement Mechanism, or in some other manner. Evidence from the Neurochemists suggests that proteins some call tags, become associated with particularly active synapses, This has been proposed as a method by which weights can be adjusted, if the protein tag, is consumed during the Membrane Replacement Mechanism, and as a result, new ion channels are added to the synapse, then the effecitive weight of that synapse is increased. Such a tag is called an ephemeral tag, because it lasts only until the next time the membrane is replaced. On the other side of the coin, if the membrane replacement mechanism has the ability to detect the denaturing of an ion channel, it can remove ion channels that have been digested and no longer work, thus resulting in a gradual loss of weight over time, in every synapse that is not active.

The combination of these two factors determines how quickly a synapse can learn. The more ephemeral tags that a sensitive patch can sequester, and the faster the membrane is replaced the faster the synapse weights can be adjusted.


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Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Synaptic Models/Synaptic Gap Model

Synaptic Gap Model
Although I have previously characterized a synapse as being a pre-synaptic bud, a synaptic gap, and a post-synaptic sensitive patch, this is not always the case. It is, however the most prevalent case, except in immature specimens during development. Some synapses have an electrical contact that shorts out the synaptic gap, essentially bypassing the permease and ion channels, and linking cells together directly. It is currently thought that this is an attempt to keep the neurons in the clusters thus formed from prematurely learning before their developmentally appropriate growth period.

At the proper time, the electrical contact is broken and the synaptic gap becomes the operative transmission route. Further the simplified synaptic gap I have suggested where it is just a medium for diffusion of Neuro-Transmitters is also a hopeless over-simplification. There are many mechanisms at work in the synaptic gap that are not directly related to signal transmission. For instance instead of just secreting Neuro-Transmitters, the pre-synaptic bud, also often contains a mechanism that scavenges the synaptic gap for Neuro-Transmitters once they have diffused. This re-uptake mechanism is partly responsible for the development of certain anti-depressant and NeuroChemical Treatments for Mental Disorders. By reducing the re-uptake of Neuro-Transmitters they remain in the synaptic gap longer, and it is thought a larger portion of them eventually diffuse to the sensitive patch.

We are not sure, but we think that there might be chemical factors that affect the growth of new fibrils, perhaps even acting as guides to accelerate the connections between new fibrils and new synapse Sesitive patches. If so, it is possible that these chemical signals might act to increase the likelihood that neurons that fire together, connect to each other. Growth Factors, and other elements, have already shown that plasticity of the neuron is not just dependent on its internal state, but depends to some extent on the availability of chemicals that are produced as the brain develops. In fact it is now known that neurons are not the only cells with sensitive patches, and that some of these sensitive patches create communication links necessary for coordination of development outside the actual Neural connectivity.

It should be understood that any model by which we try to understand the workings of the brain at this early state in neuroscience will be incomplete if only because we don't yet understand all of the information we have been given by Neuroscience. It is no surprise then to find that the Neural Gap model is oversimplified.


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User talk:ObubbledO

 Hello ObubbledO, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may

 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit.
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And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold to contribute and to experiment with the sandbox or your userpage, and see you around Wikiversity! --Juan de Vojníkov 01:01, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

title: User talk:ObubbledO


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Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Synaptic Models/Pre-Synaptic rule

Pre-Synaptic Rule for Weight Adjustment
Even though neural network implementations have developed complex feedforward and feedback networks, based on Universal Learning rules such as the Delta rule, which in turn is based on an error measurement that only makes sense, if you are training to a particular goal, there has always been the criticism that Neurons do not actually work that way, there is little evidence of a global learning rule, instead each cell in the network applies it's own set of rules. More modern Neural Networks tend to have at least two learning rules, a Pre-synaptic Learning Rule, and a Post-Synaptic learning rule.

What this means is that the actual rules by which weights are adjusted, depend both on the state of the pre-synaptic buds that the cell uses to output, and the state of the signals coming in at the synapses. Somehow these states which are situated often at opposite ends of the neuron, both impact on how often weights are increased. Ignoring the Post-Synaptic Learning rule for now, Let us look at the Pre-Synaptic Learning rule, to figure out what is happening that allows the state of the outputs of the neuron, at usually the Axon tips, to influence the inputs of the Neurons at the dendritic tips on the other end of the neuron.

My first clue as to what is going in, was found in Memories Voice by Daniel L. Alkon. In this book, he documents experiments done on snails, in an attempt to decipher the neurochemical basis of memory. One aspect he documents, is the peculiar actions of a specific chemical that seems to be generated as a result of firing of the neuron at the pre-synaptic bud, and travels retrograde up the axon, to the soma of the cell where it gets involved in protein regulation. The proteins differentially formed as a result, seem to diffuse through the cell but concentrate over time, in the dendritic processes where the post-synaptic sensitive patches can be found.

As an interesting tidbit, Dr. Alkon notes that the proteins involved, once sequestered at the synapses, seem to outlast the free-protein in the rest of the cell. This suggests either replacement, over time, or some chemical change that makes them less easily digested.

From a functional point of view, what we are looking at is feedback from the firing of the cell, somehow getting involved in the presence of protein tags at the synapse level. Another way of looking at this is a positive feedback loop that reinforces signals that act to reinforce the output of the Neuron. If only active neurons sequester the protein tags, then the availability of the tags from a previous firing of the cell, will act to reinforce the tagging of the synapses that are the most likely to have contributed to the firing in the first place. If this increases the number of ion channels in the synapse somehow, then the synapse gets stronger.

However this points out the idea that not every tag, is ephemeral, these tags can be shown to survive for weeks after the neuron has fired. Long after they would normally have been digested by the relatively hostile nature of cellular plasma. This suggests the concept of a Survivable Tag, a Tag that is either sequestered in a way that protects it from digestion, or that is replaced before it can be digested away, possible in the membrane replacement mechanism. Some scientists have suggested that in fact survivable tags, contain docking stations for ephemeral tags, so that they increase the chance that an ephemeral tag will be sequestered in the synapse. The ephemeral tags thus sequestered still get consumed at the time of synapse regeneration, but the survivable tags might get rebuilt with the rest of the synapse. The net effect of the docking station is to increase the leverage by which the ion channels can be increased.

Although Dr. Alkon was not sure of the mechanism, he noted that neurons that nearly fired but didn't, still produced his chemical, but somehow the result was not an increase in the protein output, but a decrease instead, this suggests that there might be an Unlearning component to Neural Function that reduces the number of sequestered protein tags, when the cell is inadequately stimulated and doesn't quite fire.


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Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Synaptic Models/Post-Synaptic rule

Post-Synaptic Rule for Weight Adjustment
As I have said in the Pre-Synaptic Rule section modern Neural Networks often use a double rule based on both pre-synaptic and post-synaptic learning. The Pre-synaptic rule involves transport of a chemical retrograde from the presynaptic bud and protein regulation mechanisms in the cell. The Post synaptic rule however is nowhere near as complicated, if only because it works locally to the synapse.

It still involves proteins, but these proteins are not synthesized only when the cell fires, but are synthesized probably during normal operation of the cell, and are therefore probably generally available any time a synapse becomes active.

The rule seems relatively straightforward if a protein tag is available, and the synapse is active, then sequester the tag. We don't know if we need separate sequestering mechanisms for different types of tags, but we do know that protein tags only attach themselves to active synapses. Once the tag is sequestered it indicates to the cellular membrane replacement mechanism whether or not to add ion channels to the synaptic sensitive patch, and may have other uses in the conversion between synaptic values and fibril connections.


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Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Synaptic Models/Complex Ion Channel Model

Complex Ion Channel Model
It is tempting to think of Ion channels as either filters that allow one type of ion into the channel, and thus filter all others out, or pumps that pump one type of ion across the membrane against the electrostatic gradient. And at one time, that was probably all that ion channels were, however, some ion channels evolved into multi-function mechanisms that are much more complex, and interact at a much more intimate level with the chemistry inside the neuron. Some ion channels pump different ions in different directions and some ion channels have secondary messengers that trigger chemical responses inside the cell. And some have it all, the NMDA ion channel for instance pumps potassium out of the cell, Calcium into the cell, and attracts Magnesium Ions to the outside of the ion channel when the cell it is in isn't near firing. These have the effect of blocking the ion channel so that it only works when the cell is near firing. As well, although it is primarily a Glutamate detector triggered ion channel, the ion channel can be blocked open by the presence of a second Neuro-Transmitter essentially sustaining firing long after the other synapses quit triggering it. Finally, the NMDA ion channel releases a chemical called cAMP that together with the calcium, triggers a chemical cascade reaction that involves parallel chemical cascades happening simultaneously, triggers DNA expression, and Protein Regulation mechanisms, and any number of other things that haven't been detected yet.

Eric R. Kandel of Columbia University, another Nobel Laureate, studied the operation of the NMDA ion channel, and extracted from it, a theory of long-term memory formation at the cellular level.

Although the S synapse is not quite as complicated, it may share some of the aspects of the NMDA ion channel including the linkage to long-term memory.


text: Euclidean geometry/Functions

title: Euclidean geometry/Functions


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User:ObubbledO

kim

title: User:ObubbledO


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Arab oil and economy

Arab oil and the global economical crisis

From the book 'Middle East Annual Review' (1975) - Page 141 by Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain), Michael Field - Business & Economics: "The OPEC oil-price revolution of 1973-4 was mainly to blame for the present plight of developing countries and for the world recession". .

In Jun. 25, 1979 there were efforts of 'Teaming Up Against OPEC' by Jimmy Carter and the leaders of Western Europe, Canada and Japan, to prevent financial severity around the world.

Business week magazine March 25, 2002 ''Oil prices appear to be headed higher in coming months, which could strike a blow to the struggling global economy. Blame OPEC, which is expected to leave its output unchanged''.

In May 2007, The U.S. House of Representatives acted on what's been known for years: OPEC's price-fixing conspiracy, it voted to allow the government to sue the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for price manipulation (OPEC), With average U.S. pump prices at an all-time, inflation-adjusted high of $3.22 a gallon, the House voted 345-72 to approve the "No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2007," or "NOPEC.", The bill would revoke the sovereign immunity OPEC members currently enjoy from U.S. legal action and allow the Justice Department to sue them in U.S. courts. .

Jim Jubak in Sep. 18, 2007 blamed OPEC for higher oil prices and said: heading off an economic slowdown has been a fundamental part of OPEC policy.

Manraaj Singh Editor Profit Hunter: 'Arab Oil Wealth To Dwarf US Economy!' [Apr 29, 2008] .

Walid Phares (Oct, 2008): 'OPEC manufactured the financial meltdown' and asks: 'OPEC War against America’s Economic Independence?'.

Notorios businessman Donald Trump Blasted Oil Prices and OPEC July 30th, 2008 “Oil (costs) is what is killing the world’s economy,” Observers say if the U. S. would rattle its own domestic oil supply saber it would shock the market and costs would plummet. Oil experts say the U. S. could be free of Middle East imports in less than 3 years. , he blasted major oil producing countries for the current recession and accuses large oil companies of "doing a major number" on everyone. , it’s the price of oil that is to blame, OPEC and the Saudi Arabians, on Feb. 4, 2009: "As far as the economy is concerned, though, I'm afraid that if and when the economy does get going, you'll have OPEC raise its ugly head and come out and just raise oil prices again and kill it, because I think that OPEC had a lot to do with the failing of the world economy.".

CIBC economist: 'Oil price runup to blame for global economic turmoil' (November 03, 2008).

US president Barack Obama in his speech on February 24, 2009 said: ''The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank. We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before.''.

title: Arab oil and economy


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User:Vamsy

Welcome
I am Vamsy from India. I am interested in learning Music & Fine arts.

title: User:Vamsy


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Talk:Cohen's d

There was a link here to an effect size Excel file at wilderdom.com, but the Excel file has an error in it (specifically, in the calculation of the pooled SD). I have notified Wilderdom and removed the link for now.

title: Talk:Cohen's d


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Talk:Survival kit/Wallet

DIY knife-making
If one wishes to cast an even better (small) knife, the Emerson LaGriffe White Water Rafting can be used as a basis, and the blade may be slightly extended for better slicing (LaGriffe is originally meant for cutting climbing rope). Probably the best blade to use would be tilde-shaped (~) meaning the blade goes up and down like with a kilij or see the image; 4th sword from the left --> The curving is for more sharpness and reduced size

Perhaps some guidance may be obtained from the creator of the LaGriffe, Fredric Perrin (see http://www.donrearic.com/perrin.html)

Note that if made DIY, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten_carbide can be added to the metal in order to make it stronger

title: Talk:Survival kit/Wallet


text: Template:Bn

title: Template:Bn


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Category:Wikiversity awards

ar:تصنيف:جوائز ويكي الجامعة

title: Category:Wikiversity awards


title: Category:2010


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Survey research and design in psychology/Tutorials/Introduction/SPSS

Aim
The aim of this tutorial session is to (re)-familiarise participants with the SPSS software environment and to highlight some of its features which will be particularly useful during this unit.

Demo data file
The Microsoft Excel file (World95.xls) contains demographic data about people in 109 countries around the world in 1995:
 * 1)  Data file: World95.xlsx
 * 2) Save the file onto the desktop or a local drive/folder
 * 3) Open SPSS, then open the World95.xls data file:
 * 4) Change the Files of type: to Excel (.xls, .xlsx, .xlsm)
 * 5) Accept the default prompt about whether to 'read the variable names - yes, they are in the first row
 * 6) Once imported, the data file can be saved as a SPSS data file (File - Save As - World95.sav)

Learning outcome: Participants should understand that SPSS can be used to open many different data file formats, Excel being a common example.

Windows / file types
There are three main types of files in SPSS. Important features of these files are:

Learning outcome: Students should appreciate and understand that there are three files types in SPSS, each with their own purpose and functionality. To optimise use of SPSS, students should become familiar with viewing and editing each of the three file types.

Working with data
There are several data file manipulations that are commonly used and needed:
 * 1) Insert and Delete:
 * 2) Variables
 * 3) Cases
 * 4) Data
 * 5) Sort by a variable
 * 6) Ascending
 * 7) Descending
 * 8) Sorting by more than one variable
 * 9) Recode a variable to create a new variable
 * 10) Recode LIFEEXPF (Life Expectancy for Females) (a ratio variable) into LIFEXPFR, an Ordinal variable with
 * 11) 1 (Low) = < 70 years
 * 12) 2 (High) = 70+ years

Learning outcome: Know how to perform basic data variable and case manipulations in SPSS.

Chart manipulation
Create a chart in SPSS (via Graphs e.g., a histogram of women's life expectancy) and then edit the chart until it is in APA style. Changes should include:
 * 1) Use monotone shading
 * 2) Remove default background (fill) and box (border)
 * 3) Edit the axis labels
 * 4) Remove descriptive statistics (legend)

 * 1) Graphs can be prepared in SPSS, Excel, MS Word (Insert - Object - Microsoft Graph Chart), or many other packages.

Learning outcome: Additional editing is generally needed to present figures in APA style.

Table manipulation
Generate a table (e.g., through Descriptive Statistics - Frequencies - LIFEEXPF) and edit to APA style, e.g.,
 * 1) Editing can be done in either in SPSS output or by copying into a word processor
 * 2) Often its easier to create a new table in a spreadsheet or word processing program

Important aspects of APA style tables:
 * 1) Gridlines: Only show horizontal lines above and below the header row and at the bottom of the table
 * 2) Meaningful row and column labels
 * 3) Correct statistical symbols
 * 4) Times New Roman 12pt font
 * 5) A title caption above the table
 * 6) Convey maximum (relevant) information in the most efficient and understandable way

Learning outcome: Know how to create an APA style tables in a word processing document.

Copying output to MS Word

 * 1) Right click on an SPSS Output Table or Graph
 * 2) "Copy"; treats the item as elements (which can be edited after pasting) - best option for Tables
 * 3) "Copy objects"; treats the item as a picture (not editable) - it will look as (almost) exactly as it does in the SPSS output - best option for Charts.
 * 4) In a MS Word document ctrl-v (to paste) (or choose Edit - Paste)
 * 5) Horizontally centre the Figure or Table
 * 6) Add an APA style Figure caption below the chart.

Learning outcome: Know how to copy an SPSS chart into a word-processing document and present in APA style, with a caption.

Working with syntax
Syntax is a powerful way of conducting SPSS data analysis:
 * 1) SPSS syntax files are text files which allows you to store, modify, and then re-run specific commands.
 * 2) Storing syntax is particularly useful when working over multiple sessions on a  series of related analyses, particularly if you need to re-run the results.
 * 3) To open the SPSS syntax editor, File → New → Syntax. The SPSS syntax editor is an enhanced text editor.
 * 4) There are two ways to generate syntax:
 * 5) Use the pull-down menus to build analyses and then click "Paste". This will dump the command syntax into a (.sps) file. The syntax file can then be saved. To run the command, put the cursor on the command somewhere (or highlight it) and click on the green "Run" (play) button.
 * 6) Type SPSS commands directly into the syntax screen. This takes a lot to learn, but you can also copy and modify syntax.
 * 7) Annotate syntax files with lines which start an asterisk (*) and finish with a full-stop (.). That way you will be more easily be able to come back to the syntax file later on. e.g., * THIS IS A SPSS COMMENT - it starts with an asterisk and finishes with a full-stop.
 * 8) SPSS tutorial exercises will generally demonstrate use of syntax.
 * 9) See also
 * 10) SPSS → Help → Tutorial → Working with Syntax
 * 11) Using syntax
 * 12) Guides to working with syntax in SPSS lab manuals

Learning outcome: Understand the purpose and function of syntax commands in SPSS and have observed and experienced creating, executing, notating and saving syntax.

Help
To get help with SPSS, try the Help menu, particularly:
 * 1) Topics
 * 2) Tutorials
 * 3) SPSS Australia

Learning outcome: Students should become familiar with the help features available within SPSS.


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How to use SPSS/Descriptives/Advanced

Descriptive & Graphical Exercise Using SPSS

 * Assumed knowledge: Allen and Bennett Chapter 3: Summarising and displaying data (pp. 19-32)
 * Download and open the datafile qfsall.sav (collected using the Quick Fun Survey (html))
 * Conduct the univariate and bivariate descriptive and graphical analyses outlined below.
 * You can also download demonstration syntax and output files:
 * Descriptives.sps
 * Descriptives.spo

Univariate
Determine the level of measurement and obtain appropriate univariate descriptives and graphs to depict the nature of responses to each of the following variables:
 * 1) a8 (What is your favourite season?)
 * 2) b2 (Do you snore?)
 * 3) b4 (Do you believe in God?)
 * 4) b9 (At what age do you think you will die?)
 * 5) b13 (Femininity-Masculinity)

Statistically, you may consider using:
 * 1) frequency / % / mode
 * 2) median
 * 3) mean, SD, skewness, kurtosis

Graphically, you may consider using:
 * 1) bar graph
 * 2) pie chart
 * 3) stem and leaf plot
 * 4) boxplot
 * 5) histogram
 * 6) line graph
 * 7) error bar

Bivariate
Determine the level of measurement and examine bivariate distributions for the following relationships: (Note that unless you are an experienced statistician you probably should conduct univariate descriptives and graphs for each variable before using them in bivariate and multivariate analyses.)

 * 1) a1 (Gender) and a4 (Favourite colour) (nominal by nominal)
 * 2) crosstabs
 * 3) clustered bar graph
 * 4) b10 (Psychology student status) and b7 (Exercise) (nominal by ratio)
 * 5) means table
 * 6) bar graph (means)
 * 7) b14 (Physical health) and b15 (Mental health) (interval by interval)
 * 8) correlation
 * 9) scatterplot - edit by going into chart editor, double-clicking on a data point and changing to bins to represent multiple data points.
 * 10) b7 (Exercise) and b9 (At what age do you think you will die?) (ratio by ratio)
 * 11) correlation
 * 12) scatterplot

title: How to use SPSS/Descriptives/Advanced


text:
Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Synaptic Models/Chemical Cascade Model

Chemical Cascade Model
Dr. Kandel's work, links the biochemistry of the chemical cascade reaction to the growth of new connectinos between cells at the physical level, Even at the time that Dr. Kandel published his Nobel Winning work, we thought that it was the nature of memory that it would flow from the shortest memories to the longest memories, in a natural progression.

Wayne Sissons work however suggests that in fact, this is not the case, but that distinct Bio-Molecular Traces can be found for different types of memory, and that these traces are triggered and run in parallel. With the use of genetic KO experiments, and experiments using antagonists for specific chemicals necessary for particular memory functions, it is possible to show that the bio-molecular traces for different types of memories are distinct and do not depend on each other, running in parallel with each other.

Despite this, work on LTP, the mechanism that Dr. Kandel's work was based, indicates that there are distinct phases during which different functions happen and different DNA is expressed. These phases called LTP1, LTP2, and LTP3 by some may correspond to different bio-molecular mechanisms that are triggered by different molecular traces.

It is not until we can straighten out the complex bio-molecular traces, and what they actually do, that we will be able to clear the mist that obscures cellular memory, and model it fully at the cellular level.

One theoretical approach, suggested by Dr. Kandel's work, is the idea that some of the bio-molecular traces are involved with Synapto-genesis, or the creation of synapses, and some of the bio-molecular traces are involved with fibril growth.

However Dr. Sissons work suggests that this is an oversimplification, that there are also short term and medium term mechanisms that need to be taken into account. Perhaps it is necessary for there to be some internal representation of the synaptic state, that lasts longer than the synapse weights can, by themselves.


text:
Portal talk:Tolkien languages

I listed all of your resources in the School of Language and Literature resource catalog--please post any further resources there. Thanks! --Trinity507 03:34, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

title: Portal talk:Tolkien languages


text:
Portal talk:Korean

I have listed your resources in the School of Language resource catalog--please list any further resources there! Thanks! By the way, keep up the good work on this page: I am very interested in learning Korean and I'm sure there are lots of other people who share that interest. Looks good so far! --Trinity507 03:43, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

title: Portal talk:Korean


text:
User:Mimosa757

PERSONAL DATA
Name: Mohd Salim Karbi (Mimosa757)

email: salmansarwani@yahoo.com

WORKING EXP
Have Been Working in services,trading,management services,direct selling,manufacturing,consultancy and property development company

CURRENT PROFESSION
Finance Manager

HOBBY
Reading,bowling,sight seeing,chess,watching tv and daydreaming

DREAM
A successful Businessman

Now pursuing study in open source software ERP (ADempiere) at master level at Asia e University

dream come true!

title: User:Mimosa757


text:
Musical modes

''This article is about modes as used in music. For other uses, see mode.''

Definition
Mode (from Latin modus, "measure, standard, manner, way") is a term from Western music theory having three senses :

(1) the rhythmic relationship between long and short values in the late medieval period;

(2) in early medieval theory, interval; and,

(3) most commonly, a concept involving scale and melody type (Powers 2001).

Beginning at the end of the eighteenth century, the term began to be used in ethnomusicological contexts to describe pitch structures in non-European musical cultures, sometimes with doubtful compatibility (Powers 2001 §V,1).

Mode and scale
In music, a "scale" is an ordered series of intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. However, "mode" is usually used in the sense of "scale" applied only to the specific diatonic scales found below.[citation needed]

Diatonic Modes
A mode can be viewed as an alternative ordering of an existing collection of pitches. For example, the 7 pitches contained in a key with 0 flats and 0 sharps (C major) can be ordered with C as the root to create the Ionian mode (C D E F G A B C), or with D as the root to create the Dorian mode (D E F G A B C D). In total, there are 7 different modes of the diatonic collection, which can be viewed as the major scale with the root changed to different scale degrees. The Ionian mode is more commonly known as the major scale, and the Aeolian mode is more commonly known as the minor scale (or the natural minor scale, as opposed to the harmonic and melodic minor scale, which are not modes of the major scale).

Non-Diatonic Modes
It is also possible to create modes out of scales that are non-diatonic, such as the ascending melodic minor scale or the harmonic minor scale. Especially in jazz, it's common to use the modes of melodic minor in junction with certain chord extensions/progressions that do not exist in the diatonic collection (for example, the Lydian Dominant mode is used frequently with a V7(#11) chord). Listed below are some of the more common non-diatonic modes, however modes can be made from any parent scale.

Relative Major Approach
A very common approach to learning modes in American music education is to learn modes as they relate to their relative major scale, the scale that shares the same pitches (i.e C Major and D Dorian). In this approach modes are constructed by taking the major scale and selecting different scale degrees as the root of the mode (i.e selecting the 2nd scale degree of the major scale as the root creates the Dorian mode, in C major the 2nd scale degree is D, so D Dorian has the same pitches as C major). This approach can be very useful when used in junction with chord scale theory, as the mode built off of a given scale degree is usually the mode paired with the chord built off of that same scale degree (i.e in C major, the ii chord is D minor, D Dorian (the 2nd mode of C major) is the mode that is commonly paired with that chord). This approach allows students who already know their major scales to learn other modes quickly, since each mode can be constructed using existing major scales (for example, to find B locrian, you find which major scale has B as the 7th scale degree (C Major) and order the pitches of that collection starting on B). It also helps students make connections between chords and modes (I-Ionian, ii-Dorian, V7-Mixolydian) when applying chord-scale theory, especially jazz students first learning to solo over chord changes.

Parallel Major Approach
Another approach is to learn modes as they relate to their parallel major scale, the scale that has the same root (i.e C Major and C Dorian). In this approach, modes are created by raising/lowering the scale degrees of the major scale, similar to the way that harmonic minor is created by raising the 7th scale degree of natural minor (note that harmonic minor is not a mode of the natural minor scale, it is its own scale entirely because that collection of intervals (W-H-W-W-H-m3-H) does not exist in any diatonic scale). A benefit to this approach is that it's easier to see the differences between Ionian/Aeolian and other modes to recognize their unique characteristics. Students can extrapolate changes to melodies and harmony by raising/lowering scale degrees from major. For example the third of a V chord is the 7th scale degree of a scale, in major the V chord is major (in C major, G B D), but in Mixolydian the v chord is minor (in C mixolydian, G Bb D) because the 7th scale degree is lowered by a half step. This is a useful approach when modes are utilized the same way keys are, where the harmony is built off of the scale and the 1st scale degree is largely tonicized, however it can also be a useful approach when modes are paired with chords, such as in chord-scale theory. All 7 of the Ionian modes can be expressed as alterations to scale degrees of the major scale, as shown below. Something potentially useful to keep in mind is that the change in pitches between modes (from Lydian to Ionian, from Ionian to Mixolydian, etc.) follows the circle of 5ths. Going through the circle clockwise raises pitches in modes (C lydian contains the same notes as G major, F is raised by a half step to F#) and going through the circle counterclockwise lowers pitches in modes (C Mixolydian contains the same notes as F major, B is lowered by a half step to Bb). If you know the order that pitches are raised/lowered in the circle of 5ths, you can find out which pitches in a given mode change. This also works for larger "leaps" between modes, (for example, C Dorian has 2 notes lowered from C Ioanian, the 2 notes that change when you move twice counterclockwise in the circle of 5ths are Bb and Eb, so C Dorian contains both Eb and Bb). This method may be helpful for students who have already learned their major scales through the circle of 5ths, and are moving on to learning diatonic modes.

Modality
"Modality" refers to the pitch relationships found in music using modes and contrasted with later tonality. The use of more than one mode makes music polymodal, such as with polymodal chromaticism. While all tonal music may technically be described as modal, music that is called modal often has less diatonic functionality and changes key less often than other music.[citation needed]

title: Musical modes


text:
User:Stevenarntson/English Composition/resources

Publications

 * Fuel Magazine
 * Real Change Magazine
 * Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook. Harcourt: NY 1994
 * Oliver, Mary. Rules for the Dance. Houghton Mifflin: NY 1998

Online resources

 * American Zoetrope Virtual Studio. < http://www.zoetrope.com/tour.cgi>
 * National Novel Writing Month
 * Project Gutenberg. < http://www.gutenberg.org>
 * Seattle Poet Populist
 * Poets.org from the Academy of American Poets
 * Naropa Poetics Audio Archive
 * PoemHunter.com.
 * Ubuweb.

Places in and Around Seattle
    8pm, Wednesdays 21+
 * The Richard Hugo House. 1634 11th Avenue 98122
 * The Seattle Public Library. 1000 Fourth Ave. 98104
 * The Elliott Bay Book Company. 101 South Main Street 98104
 * Left Bank Books. 92 Pike Street 98101
 * Seattle Poetry Slam at ToST. 513 N. 36th St.Seattle, WA 98103

Northwest-based Publishers

 * University of Washington Press
 * Sasquatch Books


text:
Adolescence/Teen Problems

Teenagers' Problems
All people were or will be a teenager in their lifes. During this times, teenagers want a pink world where they are free. In their dream world, nobody can interfer them and they behave according to their feelings, but when they meet the real world, they see the difference. And then, problems start for them. Their common problems are: being not an adult, being restricted and obligations.

The first teenager problem is being not adult. They think that being an adult makes them free. So they try to look like an adult. This thought pushes them to some bad habbits. For example, in my country, starting age of smoking is nearly twelve. Drinking age is almost fourteen and these ages are decreasing from day to day. On the other hand, these behaviours show that they haven't been an adult yet.

The second problem is being restricted, in other words, having not enough freedom. In here, parents act the leading role. Parents always try to protect their child. This behaviour usually bores the child and this event becomes a big problem. For example, going out with friends at night usually brings teenager against him or her parents. Moreover, this problem can cause them run away from home.

Another problem is obligations. School is a well-known example about obligations for teenagers. Waking up early, studying lessons, being compelled to continue school etc.are so boring. All of them bore teenagers moreover, makes teenagers aggressive. Aften then, arguments with teachers start. And these problems can cause some psychological problems on teenagers. Another example is rules. 'Rules' contain not only school rules. All of rules have some bad effects on teenagers. So that every teenager tend to break rules.

In conclusion, being teenager is too difficult because of these problems. Everybody was a teenager in past or will be in future. So that adults know teenager feelings and they should help them.

title: Adolescence/Teen Problems