#2014a

[literaryvein-reblogs]

hello, i was wondering if you had any information on mediums (like, able to communicate w ghosts)? thank you

Writing Notes: Medium

Medium - a person who appears to be able to talk to the dead or, more generally, appears to communicate with invisible intelligences or receive “energy” from other dimensions of reality (Barušs, 2003a, 2014a).

They are sometimes sought out by the bereaved as a way of trying to confirm the continuing existence of the deceased, so that mediumship also has relevance for the treatment of grief (Beischel, Mosher, & Boccuzzi, 2014–2015).

Medium - (in occultism) a person reputedly able to make contact with the world of spirits, especially while in a state of trance.

A spiritualist medium is the central figure during a séance and sometimes requires the assistance of an invisible go-between, or control.

During a séance, disembodied voices are said to speak, either directly or through the medium.

Materialization of a disembodied spirit or of a specific part of a human body can allegedly take shape from a mysterious, viscous substance called ectoplasm that exudes from the medium’s body and subsequently disappears by returning to its original source.

At times the medium, or a material object, appears to float in the air (levitation).

Trance - a state that is like being asleep except that you can move and respond to questions and commands like a person who is awake

Séance - French “sitting” (in occultism) meeting centred on a medium, who seeks to communicate with spirits of the dead.

Because strong light is said to hinder communication, a séance usually takes place in darkness or subdued light.

It generally involves 6 or 8 persons, who normally form a circle and hold hands.

Believers assert that communication has been established when a disembodied voice is heard, or a voice speaks through the medium, or a ghostly apparition appears.

Sometimes music of unknown source seems to fill the room, objects appear to move for unnatural reasons, or a hand, a limb, or an entire body may take shape from ectoplasm (a peculiar viscous substance said to issue from the medium’s body).

Other alleged means of communication include automatic writing, trance speaking, or a ouija board or planchette.

Many of the seemingly mysterious phenomena manifested during séances are effected by the medium to validate his or her claim to supernatural powers.

That some spiritualists actually possess the ability to communicate with spirits, however, remains open to debate.

Dissociation, especially derealization or depersonalization, can readily be misconstrued as paranormal.

Example: Dissociation as an alternative hypothesis for the following:

After intense chanting, a medium enters a “trance” and is no longer aware of his surroundings (dissociation). He then communicates with a dead relative.

Good mediums can produce correct information, at least some of the time.

That is consistent with some cases of spontaneous and induced after-death communication.

But is that information coming from dead people? Could mediums, and others experiencing apparent after-death communication, just be good at picking up information from the living or from physical sources wherever the necessary information might be found?

The former explanation has been called the survival hypothesis, whereas the latter explanation has been called the super-psi hypothesis (Braude, 2003; see also P. F. Cunningham, 2012).

History of Spiritualism. Spiritualism is a collection of beliefs based on the claim that spirits or departed souls live in a realm beyond our material universe. In the 19th century, seances, ceremonies in which mediums communicated with the dead, became fashionable winter night parlor entertainment. Popular mediums would roam from city to city and amaze thousands with their astonishing communications with the departed. In the United States, in time spiritualism became a social movement that offered hope of an afterlife for those grieving the slaughter of the civil war and skeptical of a Christianity newly challenged by science, especially Darwin. Spiritualists fought against slavery (in the afterlife all are equal) and the movement provided women with a rare public role not unlike that enjoyed by male priests (mediums were female). This movement set the stage for current widespread interest in channeling, psychics, parapsychology, and faith healing. Organized scholarly research into the paranormal began with serious investigations of spiritualist claims.

Psychic vs. Medium

As an adjective, psychic means “of or relating to the human soul or mind,” or something mental as opposed to physical.

It’s also defined in psychology as “pertaining to or noting mental phenomena,” which describes being in tune to some nonphysical force or agency.

For example, Having heard that colors can provoke a psychic response, I decided to paint the room a calming blue.

Psychic can also mean “sensitive to influences or forces of a nonphysical or supernatural nature.”

So if someone or something is influenced by a mysterious force that’s outside physical science or knowledge, it’s a psychic influence.

For example, it was a psychic feeling that led him to run out of the building right before a fire started.

As an adjective, some synonyms for psychic are:

spiritual,

supernatural,

paranormal,

psychological, and

metaphysical.

As a noun, psychic refers to “a person who is sensitive to psychic influences or forces.”

For example, since she was a little girl, John’s grandmother has sworn she’s a psychic and can tell when something bad will happen.

In addition to medium, other synonyms for psychic as a noun include clairvoyant, fortune-teller, and prophet.

First recorded in 1855–60, psychic originates from the Greek word psȳchikós, meaning “of the soul.”

Types of Mediumship

In modern spiritualism, mediumship can be generally divided into 2 forms:

Physical mediumship generally involves anything happening of a physical nature that can be perceived by the medium and others present.

Mental mediumship involves communication from the spirit world which is interpreted through the mind and consciousness of the medium.

Examples: Famous Mediums

William Stainton Moses: Moses, a medium from the late nineteenth century, would hold séances during which psychic lights would appear. He also had experiences of levitation, and the appearance of scents like musk and freshly mown hay. Musical sounds would often be heard with no musical instruments in the room, as well as the materialization of luminous hands and pillars of light. Moses also produced a great number of automatic writings, including his most well known scripts, Spirit Teachings (1883) and Spirit Identity (1879).

Fransisco (Chico) Xavier: Born in 1910, Xavier was a famous Brazilian medium, often appearing on television. He produced his first automatic writing in grade school, where he claimed that an essay was given to him by a spirit. He went on to amass an enormous number of automatic writing scripts in various scientific and literary disciplines, and is one of the world's most prolific automatic writers.

Daniel Dunglas Home: Home was one of the most well-known mediums of the nineteenth century. Scottish born, he performed a number of séances for royalty and other well-respected people. He was most famous for his levitations, one of which took place outside a third story window. Though many, including Houdini accused Home of trickery, he was never once exposed as a fraud.

Psychologist Terence Hines, in his book Pseudoscience and the Paranormal:

Modern spiritualists and psychics keep detailed files on their victims. As might be expected, these files can be very valuable and are often passed on from one medium or psychic to another when one retires or dies. Even if a psychic doesn't use a private detective or have immediate access to driver's license records and such, there is still a very powerful technique that will allow the psychic to convince people that the psychic knows all about them, their problems, and their deep personal secrets, fears, and desires. The technique is called cold reading and is probably as old as charlatanism itself... If John Edward (or any of the other self-proclaimed speakers with the dead) really could communicate with the dead, it would be a trivial matter to prove it. All that would be necessary would be for him to contact any of the thousands of missing persons who are presumed dead—famous (e.g., Jimmy Hoffa, Judge Crater) or otherwise—and correctly report where the body is. Of course, this is never done. All we get, instead, are platitudes to the effect that Aunt Millie, who liked green plates, is happy on the other side.

Some Related Character Tropes

I See Dead People: Mediums are a special category of psychic; people with a sixth sense that allows them to see, hear and/or touch ghosts for better or for worse.

Magnetic Medium: Psychics tend to attract things only they can perceive. Whether they're unknowingly sending out psychic signals or just bad luck is anyone's guess.

Unhappy Medium: Having psychic powers can suck.

Examples

Dante in Coco can see the spirits of dead relatives and interact with them, because he's an alebrije. Miguel temporarily gains this when he steals Ernesto de la Cruz's guitar, causing him to cross over to the spirit realm.

A big part of the classic Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol, wherein Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley, heralding the coming of the three spirits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future, "yet to come".

Cassandra from Classical Mythology, though not at first. The curse was separate from the prophesy part — she got prophesy as a blessing from Apollo, then pissed him off, so he added on a curse that she'd never be believed.

Everything Everywhere All at Once: Jobu Tabaki can see all possible outcomes of every action because she is present in all her alternate selves simultaneously. This has driven her to total nihilism and a desire to destroy the entire universe just to make it stop.

In The Sixth Sense, Cole Sear is frequently harassed by the spirits of the dead, whom only he can see and hear (and get mauled by, occasionally). Since he's only about ten years old, he is understandably freaked out by this.

The X-Files: Seeing ghosts is the X-file of the episode "Elegy". People report seeing wounded women who seemed silently asking for help in strange places where they had actually never appeared when alive. They always brought the ominous message "s/he is me". It turns out the apparitions happened very close to the moment of their death and only people who were close to death themselves could see them.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hope this helps with your writing!

[komsomolka]

In 2010, the eastern Ukrainian and Russian-friendly Viktor Yanukovich won the presidential election. Shortly thereafter, Yanukovich enshrined Ukraine’s non-aligned status in law and thus putting an end to the NATO aspirations pursued by his predecessor. Framing Yanukovich as “pro-Russian” implies divisive bloc alignment when he in reality sought to cement Ukraine’s non-aligned status and was also negotiating an agreement with the EU without a zero-sum component. In November 2013, the EU offered the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) to Ukraine and other former Soviet republics in what was a clear breach of the Common Spaces Agreement dedicated to harmonising integration initiatives to avoid new dividing lines. EU officials and representatives referred to the DCFTA to Ukraine as a “civilizational choice” between the West and Russia (Sherr, 2013: 2–3). [...]

The narrative presented to the media was that the EU’s Association Agreement was not a zero-sum initiative but a mere trade agreement. In reality, the agreement sought to redirect the Ukrainian economy from Russia to the West. Furthermore, the Association Agreement included military integration by committing Ukraine to “gradual convergence in the area of foreign and security policy, including the Common Security and Defence Policy” (European Union, 2013). This would disrupt Ukraine-Russian security cooperation and was likely a stepping stone towards NATO membership.

The EU’s civilizational choice imposed on Ukraine initially backfired as Kiev chose Russia as its closest and most important neighbour (Petro, 2013). The EU responded to Ukraine’s rejection of the Association Agreement by challenging the legitimacy of its government, which the media soon began to refer to as the “Yanukovich regime”.

European and American politicians encouraged the protests and riots, and blamed the instability on the government. Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister who would later become the President of the European Council, called for the EU to channel 3 million Euros to “the development of citizens’ movements” to oppose President Yanukovich (Rettman, 2014). [...]

The US officially claimed it was working with all sides to reach a peaceful solution, although a leaked phone call between Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt, the US Ambassador to Ukraine, revealed a plot to topple the Ukrainian government. The phone call, leaked two weeks before the coup, discussed making Arseny Yatsenyuk the Prime Minister and other details of the make-up of the future post-coup government. Nuland also outlined how the UN can be used to legitimise the process and “glue this thing together” (BBC, 2014a).

While Nuland handed out cookies to the protesters on Maidan, Senator John McCain also went to Kiev and expressed his full support to the anti-government protesters: “We are here to support your just cause… the destiny you seek lies in Europe”. McCain was uttering his solidarity as he stood next to the leader of the Svaboda party, Oleh Tyahnybok. Svaboda has previously been criticised by the European Parliament (2012) as “racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic”, and the original name of the party was the Social National Party of Ukraine with a swastika as a logo. Tyahnybok has denounced “the Moscow-Jewish mafia ruling Ukraine” and “the Moskali, Germans, Kikes [Jews] and other scum who wanted to take away our Ukrainian state” (Whelan, 2013). Svaboda’s deputy chief, Ihor Miroshnychenko, similarly wrote about Mila Kunis: “Kunis is not Ukrainian, she is a Yid [Jew]. She is proud of it, so Star of David be with her” (Whelan, 2013). The fascists were nonetheless whitewashed as freedom fighters as they became a forceful ally against President Yanukovich and Russia. Furthermore, Russia’s concerns about the empowerment of fascist movements in Ukraine were repeatedly dismissed as Russian propaganda.

When protesters were shot on Maidan, the Western political-media establishment immediately and uncritically blamed the government and mounted pressure on Ukraine to pull back its security forces and for Yanukovich to step down from power. However, a leaked phone call between the EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet revealed that the EU leadership knew or suspected that the new leadership in Ukraine had ordered the shooting as a provocation. Paet stated that “there is a stronger and stronger understanding that behind snipers it was not Yanukovych, it was somebody from the new coalition” (MacAskill, 2014).

The Western media has largely ignored the investigations and trials of the Maidan massacre, which has resulted in findings that undermine the entire narrative of the government initiating the massacre. The majority of wounded protesters have testified that they were shot from the Maidan-controlled buildings, and the majority of killed protesters were also shot from the direction of Maidan-controlled areas. The trial also found that several protesters were shot before the special Berkut police unit was even deployed (Katchanovski, 2016, 2021) [...]

The coup was branded as a “democratic revolution” to bestow legitimacy and moral authority. However, President Yanukovich had been elected in a free and fair election according to the OSCE. In contrast, the Maidan protests did not enjoy democratic majority support from the Ukrainians and even less supported a coup (BBC, 2014). Furthermore, the coup in no uncertain terms breached the constitution of Ukraine. Although, British Foreign Minister, William Hague, deceived the British parliament by claiming that the overthrow of President Yanukovich had complied with the Ukrainian constitution (Morrison, 2014). [...]

The first decree by the new Parliament on 23 February 2014 was to call for repealing Russian as a regional language. At Kiev’s city council, there were large neo-nazi banners for white power, the American confederate flag, and the fascist Stepan Bandera (BBC, 2014). While the Party of Regions had been the largest political party from 2007 to 2014, it largely disappeared from the political map after Maidan. The Communist Party was similarly purged with accusations of treason for its benign posture towards Russia.

Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics by Glenn Diesen.

[lingwistyka-balto-slawistyka]

It is common for researchers to create their own accounts on Tumblr to facilitate research. Fink and Miller (2014) used Tumblr extensively prior to the development of their method, with their reflective “autho-ethnographic dialogue” (Fink and Miller, 2014, p. 611) being inspired by their personal experience. Maintaining a Tumblr presence enabled several researchers to acquire a fuller understanding of their chosen communities and practices. Hillman et al. (2014b) state that their participation on Tumblr was responsible for their discovery of the fan spaces studied, and for their acclimatisation to the “unique culture of practice” (Hillman et al., 2014b, p. 775) found within. Daer et al.’s (2014) study of the rhetorical function of hashtags across social media used similar methods: "Over a period of 18 months, we became participatory observers and regular users of the social media communities we studied […] interpretation of meaning was indeterminable without knowledge of context, timing, affordances, and personalities of each social media network" (Daer et al., 2014, p. 18).

the sheer mental image of researchers making an account to study the wild exotic culture of Tumblr hahhahaha

Restricted information No data is provided on geographic location of users when they make posts on Tumblr (unless specifically provided). It is also not clear whether a post has been made by a user through the desktop site, through the Tumblr mobile application, through a third-party mobile application or via e-mail. Xu et al. (2014a) consider access to location information is “crucial” (p. 406), and note that geo-tagged content is supported by other microblogging platforms including Twitter. Tumblr’s deficiency in these areas can be a deterrent to researchers.

Deficiency huh. So not employing excessive tracking like other media sites makes research on Tumblr slightly more difficult :(

Tumblr’s current perilous financial state and falling user base could become a major limitation to academic research (Bell, 2016; Fiegerman, 2016; Kim, 2016; Flynn, 2016). Tumblr has potential for research, but only while the platform is developed and supported. Those considering future research on Tumblr should ascertain the health of the platform before proceeding.

for perspective, this paper is from 10 years ago

These are all from this paper:

Attu, R. and Terras, M. (2017), "What people study when they study Tumblr: Classifying Tumblr-related academic research", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 73 No. 3, pp. 528-554.

I really recommend reading it, it's a good starting point for research relating Tumblr

[deadtothefuture]

"‘The modern world owes its very existence to slavery’ (Grandin, 2014a). What could this impossible debt possibly entail? Not only the infrastructure of its global economy but also the architecture of its theological and philosophical discourses, its legal and political institutions, its scientific and technological practices, indeed, the whole of its semantic field (Wilderson, 2010: 58). A politics of abolition could never finally be a politics of resurgence, recovery, or recuperation. It could only ever begin with degeneration, decline, or dissolution. Abolition is the interminable radicalization of every radical movement, but a radicalization through the perverse affirmation of deracination, an uprooting of the natal, the nation, and the notion, preventing any order of determination from taking root, a politics without claim, without demand even, or a politics whose demand is ‘too radical to be formulated in advance of its deeds’ (Trouillot, 2012: 88).

The field of Black Studies consists in ‘tracking the figure of the unsovereign’ (Chandler, 2013: 163) in order to meditate upon the paramount question: ‘What if the problem is sovereignty as such’ (Moten, 2013)? Abolition, the political dream of Black Studies, its unconscious thinking, consists in the affirmation of the unsovereign slave—the affectable, the derelict, the monstrous, the wretched—figures of an order altogether different from (even when they coincide or cohabit with) the colonized native—the occupied, the undocumented, the unprotected, the oppressed. Abolition is beyond (the restoration of) sovereignty. Beyond the restoration of a lost commons through radical redistribution (everything for everyone), there is the unimaginable loss of that all too imaginable loss itself (nothing for no one). If the indigenous relation to land precedes and exceeds any regime of property, then the slave’s inhabitation of the earth precedes and exceeds any prior relation to land—landlessness. And selflessness is the correlate. No ground for identity, no ground to stand (on). Everyone has a claim to everything until no one has a claim to anything. No claim. This is not a politics of despair brought about by a failure to lament a loss, because it is not rooted in hope of winning. The flesh of the earth demands it: the landless inhabitation of selfless existence."

– Jared Sexton, "The Vel of Slavery: Tracking the Figure of the Unsovereign"

[gundemarsivi]

Kanal İstanbul Projesinin İstanbul ve Çevresindeki Öngörülen Bazı Olası Olumsuz Etkileri -
Prof. Dr. Murat Türkeş

“Milyonlarca yılda evrimleşmiş bir yeryüzü parçasının, tarihsel coğrafya ve jeopolitik özellikleriyle de çok özel bir coğrafyanın değiştirilmek istendiği böyle bir büyük projenin etkileri, etkilenebilirlik ve riskleri hiç değerlendirilmemiştir.” #kanalistanbul

Kanal İstanbul Projesinin İstanbul ve Çevresindeki Öngörülen Bazı Olası Olumsuz Etkileri

Prof. Dr. Murat Türkeş

Son günlerde, Sazlıdere Baraj Havzası koruma kuşağı içinde yapılmaya başlanan -Arap medyasında da etkili tanıtımı yapılan- büyük olasılıkla rant amaçlı toplu konut projesi nedeniyle Kanal İstanbul projesi bir kez daha bilimsel ve siyasal olarak yeniden tartışmaya açılmış durumda. Gerçekte bu proje için hazırlanan son Çevresel Etki Değerlendirme (ÇED) raporuna* zamanında bilimsel ve teknik çalışma ve çalıştayların sonuçlarına dayanılarak çeşitli sivil toplum kuruluşları ve meslek odalarının yanı sıra, 2019 seçimleri sonrasında İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi (İBB) tarafından ciddi itirazlar yapılmış ve ÇED’in iptali için davalar açılmıştır. Bütün inceleme ve araştırma çalışmalarında ÇED raporu her açıdan tümüyle eksik, etkisiz, yetersiz ve kusurlu bulunmuştur (ör. İBB, 2020a; TEMA Vakfı, 2014a, vb.).

*Kanal İstanbul projesi ÇED’inin tam ismi: “TC. ULAŞTIRMA VE ALTYAPI BAKANLIĞI ALTYAPI YATIRIMLARI GENEL MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ KANAL İSTANBUL PROJESİ (KIYI YAPILARI [YAT LİMANLARI, KONTEYNER LİMANLARI VE LOJİSTİK MERKEZLER], DENİZDEN ALAN KAZANIMI, DİP TARAMASI, BETON SANTRALLERİ DÂHİL) ÇEVRESEL ETKİ DEĞERLENDİRMESİ RAPORU”.

Konunun daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlamak üzere, bu kısa makalede kendi çalışmalarımız (Türkeş, 2014a, 2020a, 2024) ile bilimsel öngörü ve değerlendirmelerimize dayanarak -önceki çalışmalardan da yararlanarak (ör. İBB, 2020a; TEMA Vakfı, 2014a, vb.)- Kanal İstanbul Projesinin genel olarak İklim ve Doğa Bilimleri açısından geri döndürülmesi olanaksız olası etkilerine ilişkin bazı önemli sorular öz olarak yanıtlanmaya çalışılmıştır.

Giriş

Önceki yıllarda çeşitli kereler anlattığımız (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=tJLGs9rJqPk) ve yazdığımız gibi (Türkeş, 2014a, 2020a), söz konusu ÇED raporu ağırlıklı olarak -yine çok yetersiz, eksik, yanlı ve kusurlu olmak üzere- mühendislik bilimleri açısından ele alınmıştır; başta fiziki coğrafya, klimatoloji, meteoroloji ve atmosfer bilimleri açısından ise çok ama çok eksik ve yetersiz bulunmuştur. Pek çok konuysa hiç ele alınmamış yani çevresel etki değerlendirmesi yapılmamıştır.

Milyonlarca yılda evrimleşmiş bir yeryüzü parçasının, tarihsel coğrafya ve jeopolitik özellikleriyle de çok özel bir coğrafyanın değiştirilmek istendiği böyle bir büyük projenin etkileri, etkilenebilirlik ve riskleri hiç değerlendirilmemiştir. Her bir konu ve alt konu hatta her veri ve öge için ayrı ayrı, konuya özgü modelleme ve kestirimler ya da öngörüler gerekli olmasına karşın bunlar yapılmamıştır. Gerçekte bu model ve kestirim sonuçlarının kümülatif etkileri hem güncel hem de gelecek için ayrı ayrı ve birlikte değerlendirilmiş olmalıydı. Olası farklılıklar ya da benzerlikler ve nedensellikler mutlaka çok değişkenli ileri istatistiksel yöntemlerle, alansal ve zamansal olarak değerlendirilmiş olmalıydı.

Kısaca, yörenin atmosfer, hava ve iklim tehlike ve riskleri ile şiddetli hava ve iklim olayları ve afetleri ile iklim değişikliği ve değişkenliklerine ilişkin modelleme, etkilenebilirlik ve risk analizleri yapılmamıştır. Bu konulara ilişkin çalışmalar ve modellemeler ile etkilenebilirlik ve risk analizleri ile bunların çevresel etki değerlendirmesi yapılmadan bir ÇED’in varlığı hiçbir anlam ifade etmez. Analiz sonuçlarının hem alansal ve zamansal hem de günümüz ve gelecek açısından çevresel etkileri açısından değerlendirilmemiş olması çok büyük bir sorundur, İstanbul’un geleceği için ciddi tehlike ve riskler barındırmaktadır. Ayrıca, öngörülen kanalın gelecek etkilerine ilişkin çeşitli sosyoekonomik ve çevresel senaryolara dayalı projeksiyonlar da üretilmeliydi.

Dahası, Çatalca ve İstanbul yörelerinin jeomorfolojisi hiç değerlendirilmemiştir. Yeryüzü şekillerinin oluşumları, gelişim ve evrimleri ile morfojenetik bölge özellikleri hiç açıklanmamıştır. Dolayısıyla jeomorfolojik tehlike, etkilenebilirlik ve ‘afet’ riskleri tümüyle eksiktir. Flüviyal jeomorfolojinin yanı sıra yapısal jeomorfolojik özellikler ayrıntılı analiz edilerek mühendislik jeolojisi değerlendirmesiyle birlikte ele alınmalıydı. İklim değişikliği modellemesi ile gelecek iklim koşullarında jeomorfolojik etmen ve süreçlerin nasıl değişeceği de hiçbir biçimde incelenmemiştir.

Projeden bölgede yaşayan İstanbullular nasıl etkilenecek?

Projeden İstanbul’da ve çevresinde yani İstanbul Yöresinde (İstanbul yöresi, Anadolu-Kocaeli ve Doğu Trakya – Çatalca Yarımadalarını içerir) yaşayan yurttaşlar, başta ciddi hava ve iklim değişiklikleri, bunlara bağlı aşırı hava ve iklim olayları ve afetlerinin sıklıklarının ve şiddetlerinin artması, vb. gelmek üzere, içme ve kullanma suyunun azalması, hava, toprak, su ve karasal-denizel ekosistem kirliliği, karasal ve denizsel biyolojik çeşitlilik, tarım alanları ve orman ekosistemlerinin kaybı, var olan içme, atık su, yol, kanalizasyon, elektrik ve haberleşme ağının kaybı ve çok büyük maliyetlerle bunların yeniden inşa edilmesi, içme suyu baraj ve havzalarının kaybı, arkeolojik, tarihsel, kültürel eser ve sitlerin zarar görmesi ve kaybı vb. gibi çok sayıda alanda kayıplar yaşayarak, ciddi düzeylerde etkilenecektir.

Proje, İstanbul’un su kaynakları ve rezervlerini, ormanlarını, sulak verimli topraklarını ve tarım

alanlarını nasıl etkileyecek?

Kanal İstanbul, İstanbul yöresinin var olan doğal su kaynaklarının (tatlı su pınarları), içme ve kullanma-sulama amaçlı baraj ve havzalarının kaybına ve/ya da nitelik ve özelliklerinin değişmesine yol açacaktır. Kanal İstanbul’un -proje gereği- Küçükçekmece Gölü- Sazlıdere Barajı – Terkos Doğusunu izleyen yaklaşık 45 km’ik yolu boyunca, başta Küçük Çekmece gölü sulak alanı var olan tüm irili ufaklı sulak alanları yok etmesi bekleniyor. Kanal, Sazlıdere Barajını doğrudan yok ettikten sonra Terkos Gölünün doğrudan beslenme ve koruma alanının içinde kalan doğusundan Karadeniz’e ulaşacak ve Terkos’u hem karadan hem de denizdeki doldurmalar ve yaratacağı her türlü kirlilik aracılığıyla kirletecektir. Dahası zamanla Terkos’un beslenmesi de tümüyle kesilecek ve Terkos kuruyacaktır. Ormanlar kanalın yolu boyunca her yerde olumsuz etkilenecek ve ormanların büyük bölümü kesilecektir. Orman fauna ve florası, biyoçeşitliliği, orman toprağının içerdiği organik madde önce hızla azalacak sonra da hızla yok olacaktır.

Proje Trakya-Çatalca yarımadasındaki son verimli tarım topraklarının ve doğal ekosistemlerin elden çıkmasına ve tarımsal üretimin azalmasına yol açacağı için, İstanbullular hemen yakınlarından gelen, yöreye özgü, görece doğal ve/ya da geleneksel yöntemlerle üretilen hayvansal (ör. manda sütü ve yoğurdu) ve bitkisel tarımsal ürünlerden mahrum kalacaklar.

Projenin İstanbul’un iklimine ve doğal yaşama etkisi olur mu?

Sanayi devrimiyle başlayan, ancak asıl olarak 20’nci Yüzyılın ortalarıyla birlikte daha da şiddetlenen ve daha yıkıcı olan sorumsuz ve dikkatsiz insan eylemleri, bugüne değin biyosferden (yaşam küre) atmosfere (hava küre) kadar Yerküre’nin ana bileşenlerine, biyomlara ve tüm yaşam alanlarına zarar verip bozmayı ve insanın bugünkü ve gelecek kuşaklarının yaşamlarını tehlikeye atmayı sürdürdü. Yerküre’nin dinamik ve yaşayan bir gezegen olmasını sağlayan küresel iklim sistemi, biyosfer bütünlüğü ve biyojeokimyasal döngülerdeki bozulmalar da sürdü. Bu durum insanın Yerküreye, doğaya, yaşam alanlarına ve biyolojik çeşitliliğe olan sorumsuz, çıkarcı, sömürgeci ve yıkıcı bakışı sürdükçe, çok büyük bir olasılıkla gelecekte de tüm şiddetiyle sürecek gibi görünüyor.

Fosil yakıtların kullanımı ve arazi bozulumdan ormansızlaşma ve biyoçeşitlilik kaybına kadar değişen çok sayıda insan etkinlikleri ve bağlantılı olumsuz iklim etkilerini de dikkate aldığımızda, bu projenin hem İstanbul’un havasını ve iklimini olumsuz etkileyeceğini, hem de özellikle ormanların kanalın yolu boyunca her yerde büyük ölçüde kesilecek olmasına bağlı olarak karasal yaşam ortamlarında azalma, habitat parçalanması, habitatların kirlenmesi, yok olması vb. pek çok etmen sonucunda biyoçeşitliliğin olumsuz etkileneceğini öngörmek mümkündür. Kanal İstanbul’un hem inşası sırasında Karadeniz ve Marmara kıyılarında, kıyıda ve deniz içinde ortaya çıkacak olan her türlü kirlilik, doğal dengenin ve düzeneklerin bozulması (ör. akıntıların, balık akınlarının, göçlerinin, denizin biyolojik, kimyasal ve fiziksel özelliklerinin değişmesi vb. yoluyla) ve doğrudan kanalı yaratacağı etkiler ve ek yükler sonucunda deniz yaşamını ve ekosistemlerini de olumsuz etkileyecektir. Ayrıca, Kanal projesi hava kirliliğini ciddi düzeyde artıracak, kentsel ısı adası etkisini kuvvetlendirecek ve insanların yaşam konforu düşürecek nitelikte olumsuz etkilere sahiptir.

Kanal İstanbul (+ İstanbul Havalimanı) Projesi gibi büyük ölçekli arazi kullanımı değişiklikleriyle sonuçlanan insan etkinliklerinin, Yerküre yüzeyinin albedosunu (Güneş ışınımını yansıtma oranı) belirleyen nemlilik, pürüzlülük, bitki örtüsü vb. özellikleri ile atmosferin yere yakın bölümündeki havanın bileşiminde oluşturabileceği değişiklikler, önce yeryüzünün ısı akıları, ısı ve nem dengesi ile bazı iklim ögelerinde, uzun dönemde ise bölgesel iklimde değişikliğe neden olabilecek güçtedir.

İstanbul yöresinde Kanal İstanbul (+ İstanbul Havalimanı) Projesi gibi büyük ölçekli arazi kullanımı değişiklikleriyle sonuçlanan insan etkinliklerinin doğrudan ve dolaylı etki alanı ve geniş anlamıyla bölgesi dikkate alındığında, o bölgedeki iklimsel değişikliğin iki yönünden söz etmek gerekiyor.

Birincisi, küresel iklim değişikliğinin İstanbul yöresinde bir bölgesel iklim değişikliğine yol açabilecek oluşudur.

İkincisi ise, söz konusu projelerin doğuracağı yeni arazi kullanımı (su kanalı, hava alanı, yeni ve ek daha fazla yerleşme, sanayi, kara yolu, beton alanlar, vb.) olanak ve desenlerinin bölge iklimini değiştirebilecek oluşudur.

Kanal İstanbul (+ İstanbul Havalimanı) Projesi gibi büyük ölçekli arazi kullanımı değişiklikleri ve olası büyük barajlar ve su yapılarının yerel iklimler ve iklim değişikliği açısından yeterli bir bilimsel değerlendirmesini yapabilmek ve bu tür büyük ölçekli arazi kullanımı değişiklikleri ve fiziki planlamaların yerel iklim üzerindeki etkilerini ortaya koyabilmek için, bu projeler yapılmadan önce yöre ikliminin oluşmasını ve denetimini sağlayan tüm yerel fiziki, biyolojik ve ekolojik etmen, süreç ve düzeneklerin en az 5 yıl, ideal olarak 10 yıllık bir zaman süresince gözlenmesi ve olası değişikliklerin izlenmesi gerekir(di).

Projenin İstanbul’un iklimine etkilerini özetlemek gerekirse:

Kanal İstanbul (+ İstanbul Havalimanı) Projesi gibi insan yapıları ve etkinliklerinin İstanbul yöresinde yeryüzünde yaratacağı arazi kullanımı, nemlilik, sıcaklık, gaz ve enerji akısı ve albedo vb. değişiklikler, atmosferik kararlılık/kararsızlık, toprak nemliliği ve sıcaklığı, buharlaşma ve terleme, bulut, sis çiy oluşumu, don olayları ve yerel rüzgârlar vb. gibi çeşitli hava ve iklim olay ve düzeneklerinde oluşturacakları değişiklikler yoluyla önce yöredeki küçük ölçekli iklimi (mikroklima), sonra da bölgesel iklimi etkileyebilecek güçtedir.

Kanal İstanbul (+ İstanbul Havalimanı) Projesi gibi insan yapıları ve etkinliklerinin İstanbul yöresinde yeryüzünde yaratacağı arazi kullanımı, nemlilik, sıcaklık, gaz ve enerji akısı ve albedo vb. değişiklikleri ve yeni ve ek ısı kaynaklarının varlığının, projelerin yapıldığı alanların ve yakın çevrelerinin çok kısa bir zamanda, sahip oldukları kırsal özelliklerini (fiziksel, iklimsel, biyolojik, ekolojik, vb.) kaybederek, yüksek olasılıkla kentsel ya da görece daha kentsel bir özellik kazanmalarını sağlaması beklenmelidir.

Kanalın kendisi ve kanalın çevresindeki yeni yerleşme alanları, özellikle yüksek binalardan – gökdelenlerden oluşan yerleşim ya da iş yeri kümeleri, otoyollar, köprülü kavşaklar vb. gibi insan yapıları yüzey pürüzlülüğünü, hava akışlarını ve ısı akılarını değiştireceği için, yerel rüzgâr rejimi hız ve yön açısından değişecektir. Meltemlerin zayıflamasıysa, İstanbul’un özellikle Avrupa yakasının taze hava girişinden mahrum kalmasına, hava kirleticilerinin dağılmasında zayıflamaya ve kentsel ısı adasının daha fazla etkili olmasına yol açacak düzeydedir.

Sonuç olarak, Kanal İstanbul (+ İstanbul Havalimanı) Projesi gibi insan yapıları ve etkinliklerinin İstanbul yöresinde yeryüzünde yaratacağı arazi kullanımı, nemlilik, sıcaklık, gaz ve enerji akısı ve albedo vb. değişiklikleri ve yeni ve ek ısı kaynaklarının varlığı;

Birbiriyle bağlantılı ve etkileşim içerisindeki egemen mikro iklimler dizisini bozabilecek hatta yok edebilecek düzeyde olduğu için,

Projelerin yapıldığı alanların ve yakın çevrelerinin çok kısa bir zamanda

Isı ve nem akıları, sıcaklık, nemlilik, buharlaşma, bulutluluk, yağış ve rüzgâr rejimleri ile alansal dağılış desenlerini etkileyerek

Yüksek olasılıkla birer kentsel ısı adasına dönüşmesine neden olacaktır.

Halk, bu denli kapsamlı yaşam standartlarını etkileyecek projeden yeterince haberdar mı?

On yıl önce değildiler ama şimdi ‘Evet’. Şöyle ki: İBB İstanbul Planlama Ajansı’nın Kanal İstanbul ile ilgili sorular yönelttiği güncel bir ankette (İPA. 2025), İstanbulluların yüzde 77.2’si Kanal İstanbul Projesi’ni desteklemediğini belirtti. Desteklemeyenlerin en önemli nedenlerinin başında kanalın yüzde 53.8 ile doğa tahribatı ve yüzde 39.1 ile deprem riski oluşturması geldi. “İhtiyaç için değil, kentte rant alanı açacaktır” diyenlerin oranı ise yüzde 31.2 oldu (Şekil 1).

Şekil 1: İBB İstanbul Planlama Ajansı’nın Kanal İstanbul’a yönelik halk desteğini ortaya koymak amacıyla gerçekleştirdiği güncel ankete verilen yanıtların yüzde dağılımı (İPA. 2025).

Kanal İstanbul’un yapılması bir gereklilik midir? Projeye ayrılacak bütçe başka alanlara kaydırılamaz mı?

Hayır, Kanal İstanbul’un yapılması hiçbir konuda öncelikli olmadığı gibi, ülkenin ve İstanbul’un hiçbir gereksinim ve/ya da sorununa çözüm getirebilecek bir stratejik bir planlamaya da dayanmamaktadır. Bu bir meydan okuma, rant, talan ve yıkım projesidir. Hiçbir gereksinime ve önceliğe dayanmamaktadır. Başta su kaynaklarının ıslahı ve geliştirilmesi, kuvvetlendirip artırılması, kentin yeşillendirilmesi, ulaştırma altyapısı ile depreme dayanıklı yapılar ve sistemlerin geliştirilip kuvvetlendirilmesi, iklim değişikliği ve şiddetli havaya direngen alt yapının geliştirilmesi gelmek üzere, bu projeye harcanacak olan para çok sayıda yaşamsal önemi bulunan soruna, özellikle iklim değişikliği ve deprem afetlerine direngen sürdürülebilir yeşil bir kent oluşturma proje ve çalışmalarına kaydırılabilir.

Kısa Tartışma

Kanal projesi kapsamında yapılmakta olan ve proje önlenemezse gelecekte yapılabilecek olan daha büyük ölçekli çeşitli kazı çalışmaları sırasında oluşan tozlanmanın, kazı süresinin uzunluğu da dikkate alındığında toplam etkisi, toz, kirletici gaz, sera gazı salımı, gürültü ve titreşim yoğunluğu çok ciddi olumsuz etkiler yaratacaktır. Kazı ve inşaat süresince çıkan tozlanmanın, fosil yakıtlı araçların egzoz salımlarından ve asfaltlama sırasında açığa çıkan hava kirleticisi gazların ve sera gazlarının (NOx, SO2, CO2, CH4, vb.), hava kirleticilerinin yağış ve nemle buluşması sonucunda oluşan kuru ve ıslak asit birikimlerinin, yakın çevrede ve taşınma ile İstanbul Yöresi ve çevresinde tarım alanları, su kaynakları, kara ve doğal ekosistemlere olumsuz etki yapması; fiziki coğrafyanın (yerel ve bölgesel jeomorfoloji, bitki örtüsü, hidrografya ve hidrolojik sistemler, klimatoloji ve meteoroloji, vb.) değişmesinin yerel ve atmosfere verilen sera gazı salımlarının da katkısıyla bölgesel ve küresel iklim değişikliklerine yol açması ya da çevresel ve iklim değişikliklerinin hızlanmasına ve etkilerinin daha kısa sürede belirmesine yol açması beklenmelidir.

Sonuç olarak, Projeden İstanbul’da ve çevresinde yani İstanbul Yöresinde (İstanbul yöresi, Anadolu-Kocaeli ve Doğu Trakya-Çatalca Yarımadalarını içerir) yaşayan yurttaşlar, başta ciddi hava ve iklim değişiklikleri, bunlara bağlı şiddetli hava ve iklim olayları ve afetlerinin sıklıklarının ve şiddetlerinin artması, aşırı hava ve iklim olaylarının sıklık, uzunluk ve büyüklüklerinin artması vb. gelmek üzere, içme ve kullanma suyunun azalması, hava, toprak, su ve karasal-denizel ekosistem kirliliği, karasal ve denizsel biyolojik çeşitlilik, tarım alanları ve orman ekosistemlerinin kaybı, var olan içme, atık su, yol, kanalizasyon, elektrik ve haberleşme ağının kaybı ve çok büyük maliyetlerle bunların yeniden inşa edilmesi, içme suyu baraj ve havzalarının kaybı, arkeolojik, tarihsel, kültürel eser ve sitlerin zarar görmesi ve kaybı vb. gibi çok sayıda alanda kayıplar yaşayarak, ciddi düzeylerde etkilenecektir.

Kısa Kaynakça

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJLGs9rJqPk

İBB. 2020a. Kanal İstanbul, Çok Disiplinli Bilimsel Değerlendirme. (Ed: D. Orhon, S. Sözen, N. Görür), s. 315-337. İstabul Büyük Şehir Belediyesi, İstanbul Kültür ve Sanat Ürünleri Ticaret A.Ş. Yayını, İstanbul.

İPA. 2020b. https://ipa.istanbul/yayinlarimiz/genel/kanal-istanbul-calistayi-raporu/

İPA. 2025. https://abcgazetesi.com.tr/istanbul-planlama-ajansindan-kanal-istanbul-anketi-istanbullularin-yuzde-77si-karsi-808744

TEMA Vakfı. 2014a. İstanbul’un Geleceğini Etkileyecek Üç Proje, 3. Köprü – 3. Havalimanı – Kanal İstanbul. Tema Vakfı Uzman Görüşleri, (ed. N. Z. Gülersoy, Ö. E. Mutlu ve E. Y. Gökmen). ISBN: 978-975-7169-70-3, s.67-75. TEMA Vakfı Yayını, 1. Basım Mart 2014: İstanbul.

TEMA Vakfı. 2014b. http://www.tema.org.tr/folders/14966/categorial1docs/1244/ BUYUKPROJELER20032014data.pdf

Türkeş, 2014. İstanbul’da Yapılması Planlanan Projelerin Yerel İklim ve İklim Değişikliği Üzerindeki Etkileri. İçinde: İstanbul’un Geleceğini Etkileyecek Üç Proje, 3. Köprü – 3. Havalimanı – Kanal İstanbul. Tema Vakfı Uzman Görüşleri, (Ed. N. Z. Gülersoy, Ö. E. Mutlu ve E. Y. Gökmen). ISBN: 978-975-7169-70-3, s.67-75. TEMA Vakfı Yayını, 1. Basım Mart 2014: İstanbul.

Türkeş, M. 2020. İstanbul Kanalının Fiziki Coğrafya, Atmosfer, Hava ve İklim Değişikliğini Yok Sayan ÇED’ine İlişkin Eleştirel Bir Değerlendirme. İçinde: “Kanal İstanbul, Çok Disiplinli Bilimsel Değerlendirme” (Ed: D. Orhon, S. Sözen, N. Görür), s. 315-337. İstanbul Büyük Şehir Belediyesi, İstanbul Kültür ve Sanat Ürünleri Ticaret A.Ş. Yayını, İstanbul.

Türkeş, M. 2024. Küresel Çevre, İklim Değişikliği ve Gezegenin Sınırları. Cumhuriyetin 100. Yılında Çevre ve Toplum, Endişe de Var Umut da. (Editörler: A. E. Gülersoy, G. Kaya, A. Şeker), ISBN: 978-625-6658-76-9. 1. Baskı, Mayıs 2024, s.327-371, Eğitim Yayınevi: Konya.

[literaturereviewhelp]

The purpose of the literature review is to provide a synthesis of recent scholarly studies focused on the identified research problem. Since the research question is concerned with the potential of various educational programs to reduce the incidence of patient falls, the review of literature will revolve around this topic. The analysis of pertinent scholarly articles indicates that the stated hypothesis is likely to be confirmed. The most typical directions of modern scholars in the dimension of patient fall prevention include exercises, gait balance training, and behavioral modifications. Articles by Canning et al. (2014b) and Gawler et al. (2016) dwell on the issue of exercise interventions for elderly patients prone to falling. Both of the studies emphasize the significance of regular exercising for elderly patients with a high risk of falls. However, the findings of the two articles open up different perspectives on the problem. Specifically, Gawler et al. (2016) have found that home- and group-based exercises can decrease patient falls by 42%. Meanwhile, Canning et al. (2014b), whose study is based on Parkinson’s disease patients, report that exercise intervention does not lead to a statistically significant change in patient fall ratio. However, both analyses agree that regular exercising can improve patients’ physical and psychological health. Training on gait balance has also received sufficient attention from scholars. Hsieh et al. (2014) and Moncada and Mire (2017) investigate the importance of such interventions for elderly patients. Hsieh et al. (2014) suggest using a Kinect-based virtual reality system for promoting patients’ balance maintenance and reducing falls. The authors note that a statistically significant change has been reached with the use of such an intervention. Therefore, Hsieh et al. (2014) consider the use of virtual reality tools as a beneficial approach to eliminate patient falls. Meanwhile, Moncada and Mire (2017) also emphasize the need to support elderly people’s balance to reduce the likelihood of falls. However, the scholars remark that the application of only one method is not enough to gain the most beneficial outcomes. Hence, it is suggested that a multifactorial intervention including balance exercises, gait training, hypotension management, and other crucial factors should be introduced. Finally, it is necessary to discuss the attention of scholars to behavioral modifications needed for elderly patients prone to falling. Canning, Paul, and Nieuwboer (2014a), Kim et al. (2015), and Moncada and Mire (2017) focus on this issue in their research studies. Canning et al. (2014a) note that behavioral interventions have the potential to increase patients’ physical activity. Kim et al. (2015) also find the behavioral approach rather productive in this respect. The scholars report that behavioral interventions help elderly patients to adjust to educational programs and make the necessary changes to the environment. Additionally, Kim et al. (2015) have found that behavioral learning helps to decrease patient falls. Moncada and Mire (2017) support the idea defended in Kim et al.’s (2015) study and state that behavioral modifications are highly advantageous for elderly people with a high risk of falls. Thus, all three articles support the idea of behavioral changes’ usefulness for such patients. A review of relevant literature on the research topic allowed identifying several trends in scholars’ views on patient fall prevention. All of the studies under analysis consider it beneficial to implement behavioral changes and encourage patients to exercise to reduce the likelihood of falling. However, since some findings are contradictory, it is necessary to continue research in this field to obtain the most reliable results. References Canning, C. G., Paul, S. S., & Nieuwboer, A. (2014a). Prevention of falls in Parkinson’s disease: A review of fall risk factors and the role of physical interventions. Neurodegenerative Disease Management, 4(3), 203-221. Canning, C. G., Sherrington, C., Lord, S. R., Close, J. C. T., Heritier, S., Heller, G. Z., … Fung, V. S. C. (2014b). Exercise for falls prevention in Parkinson disease: A randomized controlled trial. Neurology, 84(3), 304-312. Gawler, S., Skelton, D. A., Dinan-Young, S., Masud, T., Morris, R. W., Griffin, M., … Iliffe, S. (2016). Reducing falls among older people in general practice: The ProAct65+ exercise intervention trial. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 67, 46-54. Hsieh, W. M., Chen, C. C., Wang, S. C., Tan, S. Y., Hwang, Y. S., Chen, S. C., … Chen, Y. L. (2014). Virtual reality system based on Kinect for the elderly in fall prevention. Technology and Healthcare: Official Journal of the European Society for Engineering and Medicine, 22(1), 27-36. Kim, E. J., Arai, H., Chan, P., Chen, L.-K., D. Hill, K., Kong, B., … Won, C. W. (2015). Strategies on fall prevention for older people living in the community: A report from a round-table meeting in IAGG 2013. Journal of Clinical Gerontology and Geriatrics, 6(2), 39-44. Moncada, L. V. V., & Mire, G. (2017). Preventing falls in older persons. American Family Physician, 96(4), 240-247. Read the full article

[nursingwriter]

Ebola: Prevention and Management of the Infection The Ebola virus infection has dented the medical care field a big blow due to the highly infectious nature and the lack of a proper cure or vaccine at the current time. There is need hence for the absolute preparation for handling and prevention of the continued spreading of the viral infection by the healthcare workers. The first step is to be undertaken way before the healthcare workers receive the Ebola patient. They must have received thorough training and also practically shown that they can efficiently perform all the Ebola related infection control drills and processes particularly in donning and doffing (wearing and removing) the personal protective equipment (PPE). This donning and doffing needs to be supervised at all time by a trained observer in order to see into it that stablished protocols are followed for the eventual protection of the healthcare worker and the general public. It is also crucial to ensure that as the healthcare worker works in PPE, they should have absolutely no part of the skin exposed as this is a measure that will ensure reduced possibility of having infection from the patient and spreading it even without knowing. During the care for the Ebola patient within the designated facility, it is important that the care is overseen by an onsite manager at all times (CDC, 2014a). There are several signs and symptoms that an individual may show that can tell that the person is suffering from Ebola infection. Significantly, if the individual has a history of having visited West Africa or any other areas or specific places with reported Ebola cases, the following signs can be considered as being those of Ebola. The individual shows signs of fever, suffers severe headache, complains from muscle pains, general weakness, experiences fatigue, has diarrhea, vomits frequently, suffers abdominal/stomach pain and displays unexplained hemorrhage then these could be conclusive enough to have Ebola as the infection. It is worth noting that the signs may start showing any time from the 2nd to the 21st day after the individual was exposed to the virus though the general average is 8 to 10 days. There is high possibility of individuals recovering from the infection is proper and extensive care is taken, good supportive clinical care as well as the immune response of the patient are significant in the recovery of the patient (CDC, 2014b). The people who are risk are those who live together with an infected person and the healthcare worker taking care of a patient with Ebola. This is because the viral infection can be passed through getting intro contact with the fluids from the body of the victim like the vomit, sweat, blood, urine and feces of the person who is infected by the virus. The only prevention measures that have so far proven effective are avoiding getting into contact with the fluids from the body of a victim of Ebola, regular washing of hands, proper handling of the body of a person who has died of the virus is also important since the virus does not die even after the death of the individual, regular disinfection of surfaces that harbor several people occasionally is also a preventive measure. If these measures are taken, then these are the only sure ways of protecting self and also protecting the public from the infection by the Ebola virus. From a brief review of the some of the topics on this page, it is apparent that the information contained therein is up-to-date and continued updating seems to be on. The information presented by the CC n Ebola here is seen to be detailed and well researched with the bundling of information in a given section or sub-topic together for easy readership. References CDC, (2014a). Guidance on Personal Protective Equipment To Be Used by Healthcare Workers During Management of Patients with Ebola Virus Disease in U.S. Hospitals, Including Procedures for Putting On (Donning) and Removing (Doffing). Retrieved November 1, 2014 from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/procedures-for-ppe.html CDC, (2014b). Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease) Signs and Symptoms. Retrieved November 1, 2014 from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/symptoms/index.html Read the full article

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Wong, Desmond. 2024. “What No Means: Indigenous Feminist Refusal to Library Extraction.” Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship 10: 1–18. https://doi.org/10.33137/cjal-rcbu.v10.43098 © Desmond Wong, CC BY-NC 4.0.

What No Means: Indigenous Feminist Refusal to Library Extraction Desmond Wong University of Toronto Libraries

Abstract:

Libraries have benefitted from the extraction of Indigenous Knowledges and cultural materials through which they have sought to complete collections. This has led Indigenous communities to distrust of research and research institutions, recognizing the deep harms and exploitation of these research practices. This article undertakes a case study of the book The Sacred Scrolls of the Southern Ojibway to reveal the ways in which extractive research, publishing, and collections practices are known to Indigenous communities and are refused by them. This discussion pursues the publication and collections history of this book through the framework of refusal, an Indigenous feminist practice that asserts Indigenous Sovereignty and care practices over Knowledge. Refusal should be viewed as a generative space (Tuck and Yang 2014a) and should be taken as an invitation for libraries to question and critically evaluate the very foundational principles of our profession and practices. This article challenges three deeply held library assumptions that are revealed through refusal: (1) that extraction is inevitable, (2) that the library is the only appropriate place to steward materials, and (3) that communities should be invested in the future of the library. The call to reconceptualize extraction through refusal is essential: libraries that do not strive to be reciprocal and transformational in their relationships with Indigenous peoples will only serve as a barrier to Indigenous resurgence. Instead, we must reconceptualize librarianship practices toward a liberatory practice.

[asoboze-everydayidrawbarcelona]

Post 158 - ARTPAPER 2024 - Presentation of works 3/3 

ARTPAPER 2024 – Presentación de trabajos 3/3 Exposición / venta en El patio de atrásC/ Bonaplata, 55, 08034 BarcelonaHasta el 13 de diciembre (de 12h a 20h) Continuando con los dos posts anteriores, os presento más dibujos originales que se exhibirán en ARTPAPER. ☼Carrer de Rogent™ diciembre de 2014A medida que se acerca la Navidad, la atmósfera del barrio empieza a ser más divertida: la…

[oaresearchpaper]

Carbon Storage and Biomass of Mangrove Forests in Samar, Philippines

Abstract

Samar is one of the provinces in the Philippines with the most extensive remaining mangrove forest. However, information on ecology and carbon sequestration capacity is limited. Thus, this study aims to assess the species diversity, community structure, and carbon stock in the natural and planted mangrove stands in Zumarraga, Samar. The transect-line method was used to collect vegetation analysis and diversity data, while biomass estimation used an allometric equation. Fifteen sampling plots of 10 m x 10 m  were established in each sampling site, representing the seaward, middleward, and landward zones. The species composition of these areas consists of 11 species belonging to 5 families. Biodiversity indices indicated very low species diversity for both types of mangrove forests. Avicennia marina was the most important species, with an importance value (IVI) of 168.55% (natural stand) and 75.61% (planted stand). The total carbon stock was 71.97 t C ha⁻¹ in the natural stand and 391.44 t C ha-1 in the planted stand. Overall, even if both mangrove stands have very low species diversity, their ability to store and sequester carbon cannot be undermined, as evident in the biomass and carbon stock values. Thus, sustainable management strategies and efforts should be made to protect this naturally grown and planted mangrove ecosystem.

Introduction

Mangrove forests are coastal wetland ecosystems considered one of Earth's most highly productive ecosystems, contributing various functions and services to surrounding coastal areas (Van Oudenhoven et al., 2015). It provides many useful human products, such as charcoal, medicines, and building materials (Barbier et al., 2011). Moreover, mangroves aid in regulating floods, erosion, and saltwater intrusion (Camacho et al., 2020) and as a buffer for coastal communities against storms and typhoons (Polidoro et al., 2010). Aside from that, this habitat also provides food and livelihood for coastal residents (Gevaña et al., 2018). Furthermore, mangroves play an important role in the health of coastal ecosystems. Their intricate root network stabilizes sediments and enhances water clarity, providing a perfect home for many marine organisms (Arceo-Carranza et al., 2021).

Recently, blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves have received international attention as a valuable tool for mitigating the impacts of climate change. This coastal ecosystem is rich in biodiversity and one of the world's most significant carbon sinks, trapping and storing a remarkable amount of carbon within its dense root systems and forest soils (Alongi, 2014; Howard et al., 2014). Since the carbon trapped in the soil is difficult to decompose, this allows the stored carbon to stay in the soil for a long time, further emphasizing its vital importance in moderating the global climate (Castillo and Breva, 2012). Mangroves can hold up to 1023 t C ha-1 and five times more organic carbon than rainforests (Donato et al., 2011; Kaufman et al., 2018). Previous studies have emphasized that the bulk of this carbon is stored belowground, particularly in soil and roots (Donato et al., 2011).

Despite their importance, mangrove forests face numerous threats and challenges. Anthropogenic activities such as urbanization (Marchio et al., 2016), aquaculture (Primavera, 2006; Garcia et al., 2014), and overexploitation (McLeod and Sam, 2006) have led to the widespread degradation of mangrove habitats. Climate change also poses a significant risk to mangroves with rising sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of storms (Gilman et al., 2008; Abino et al., 2014a). Globally, it is estimated that mangrove forests lost at a rate of 2.74% in 1996- 2007 and 1.58% in 2007-2016 (Hagger et al., 2022). Brander et al. (2012) forecast a decline from 6,042 to 2,082 ha for the mangrove forests in Southeast Asia between 2000 to 2050. According to Gevaña et al. (2018), the country's mangrove forest cover is estimated at 356,000 ha with a decadal deforestation rate of 0.5%. The main drivers of this huge loss are various anthropogenic activities, including deforestation, land conversion for agriculture, aquaculture, and coastal development (Primavera et al., 2004; Garcia et al., 2014).

The western part of Samar has a relatively long coastline, extending over 300 km (Abino et al., 2014a). Its mangrove forests constitute 7% of the total mangrove area of the country (FMB, 2011). As one of the provinces in the Philippines with the most extensive remaining mangroves, its biomass carbon sequestration and storage potential is also expected to be huge. However, there is limited information on Samar's natural and planted mangrove stands' composition, structure, and carbon storage potential. Hence, this study provides information on the diversity, structural complexity, and carbon storage potential of mangroves in the province. The objectives of the present study were to (i) identify mangrove species composition and diversity, (ii) determine the mangrove community structure, and (iii) evaluate the biomass and carbon stock concentration. The data collected from this study provides more comprehensive information for properly implementing mangrove conservation programs and developing local-specific climate change mitigation strategies.

Source : Diversity, stand structure, biomass and carbon storage potential of natural and planted Mangrove Forests in Samar, Philippines

[higherlearningtvshow]

Hope you enjoyed the conversation on Monday Morning Mindfulness! As you may know, Watermelon is one of the best melons on the planet you can eat. Why? Because it's a HEALING FRUIT. You can live off this fruit for days with nothing else. But don't believe me, believe what you find when you do your own research!

Origin and emergence of the sweet dessert watermelon, Citrullus lanatus

Harry S. Paris*

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Abstract

Background and Aims Watermelons, Citrullus species (Cucurbitaceae), are native to Africa and have been cultivated since ancient times. The fruit flesh of wild watermelons is watery, but typically hard-textured, pale-coloured and bland or bitter. The familiar sweet dessert watermelons, C. lanatus, featuring non-bitter, tender, well-coloured flesh, have a narrow genetic base, suggesting that they originated from a series of selection events in a single ancestral population. The objective of the present investigation was to determine where dessert watermelons originated and the time frame during which sweet dessert watermelons emerged.

Key Findings Archaeological remains of watermelons, mostly seeds, that date from 5000 years ago have been found in northeastern Africa. An image of a large, striped, oblong fruit on a tray has been found in an Egyptian tomb that dates to at least 4000 years ago. The Greek word pepon, Latin pepo and Hebrew avattiah of the first centuries ce were used for the same large, thick-rinded, wet fruit which, evidently, was the watermelon. Hebrew literature from the end of the second century ce and Latin literature from the beginning of the sixth century ce present watermelons together with three sweet fruits: figs, table grapes and pomegranates. Wild and primitive watermelons have been observed repeatedly in Sudan and neighbouring countries of northeastern Africa.

Conclusions The diverse evidence, combined, indicates that northeastern Africa is the centre of origin of the dessert watermelon, that watermelons were domesticated for water and food there over 4000 years ago, and that sweet dessert watermelons emerged in Mediterranean lands by approximately 2000 years ago. Next-generation ancient-DNA sequencing and state-of-the-art genomic analysis offer opportunities to rigorously assess the relationships among ancient and living wild and primitive watermelons from northeastern Africa, modern sweet dessert watermelons and other Citrullus taxa.

Keywords: Archaeobotany, citron watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, Cucurbitaceae, colocynth, crop history, dessert watermelon, egusi watermelon, evolution under domestication, fruit sweetness, talmudic cucurbits

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INTRODUCTION

Watermelons, Citrullus Schrad., are among the most widely grown vegetable crops in the warmer parts of the world (Maynard, 2001; Wehner et al., 2001; Wehner, 2008). Over 3 400 000 hectares are planted annually, with production exceeding 102 000 000 t (http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx). Few food items are as refreshing and appreciated on hot summer days as chilled slices of watermelon.

Citrullus (2n = 2x = 22) is a xerophytic genus native to Africa (Whitaker and Davis, 1962; Robinson and Decker-Walters, 1997). Other cultivated members of the genus, besides the familiar sweet dessert watermelon, are the citron and egusi watermelons and the colocynth (Jeffrey, 2001). The sweet dessert watermelon, though, has considerably less DNA sequence polymorphism than the others (Maggs-Kölling et al., 2000; Levi et al., 2000, 2001; Dane et al., 2004, 2007; Hwang et al., 2011; Nimmakayala et al., 2014a, b), indicating that it originated from a single founder population. The progenitor of the sweet dessert watermelon has been widely believed to be the colocynth or the citron watermelon and, recently, genomic sequencing has fostered the suggestion that the progenitor is the egusi watermelon (Guo et al., 2013). Another widely held belief is that sweet watermelons first diffused to Europe via Moorish Spain somewhat prior to 961 ce, from the Indian subcontinent, facilitated by Islamic conquests (Watson, 1983). However, there is much evidence showing that the history of the sweet dessert watermelon matches none of the above beliefs concerning progenitor or geographic origin. My objective is to gather and assess this evidence, and trace the origin and emergence of the sweet dessert watermelon.

[a1tppjthomas]

Entry 2

In preparation for an internship, I have made it a point to brush up on my knowledge and define exactly what skills I may have and be seen as desirable, along with what I must begin to learn in order to best succeed in a professional environment. While King & Sweitzer (2014) do discuss that an internship is an ideal environment to be learning these skills for the professional space and full-time roles, I would argue it is just as important to be able to come into an organisation and impress with the skills you have already developed on your own time, as it takes less resources to get you up to speed and paints you in a better light from the outset.

If I was to get into an internship position in the social and digital media space, I would be extremely confident in knowing that my skills that I have currently developed would be used to great effect by the organisation and that I would have an advantage over my fellow classmates due to my experience. I believe that my skills would need to be improved in the time management and aspects of work such as business dealings and marketing, as I haven’t had much experience of that sort and would be something that I would be learning on the spot and starting from near scratch in. My current resume is up-to-date and has been consistently updated for the better part of three years. I have ensured that I have kept this in line with my current work as I am aware that my current employment looks very favourable to any potential employers. My current resume and my achievements listed on it should bare well in my favour to any employer that is looking for a social or digital media position filled, as I have had considerable experience at high level organisations that can be shown as such. While I do not currently have a cover letter that could be used as a template, I am aware that a cover letter is essential to introducing yourself to potential employers and is used as a great summary of your skills and capabilities for the job on offer. When producing my cover letter, I will be sure to include my current employment status and abilities that I have used regularly, along with ensuring that I explain why the role is best suited to me and what I hope to gain from the experience.

References:

King, M. A., & Sweitzer, H. F. (2014a). Towards a pedagogy of Internships. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 06(Fall), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.57186/jalhe_2014_v6a2p37-54

[fabiankiss]

As part of my Red vs. Blue project, I conceptualised a gothic church, delving into the intricacies of Gothic architecture. This endeavor provided a valuable opportunity to explore diverse shapes and deepen my understanding of architectural style.

During my critical analysis, I immersed myself in Erwin Panofsky's book on Gothic architecture, further enriching my knowledge and influencing my creative direction.

Inspired by this exploration, I decided to continue the gothic theme but approached it from a distinct design and conceptual perspective. My goal was to infuse elements of technology while retaining the essence of traditional architecture, resulting in a creation that seamlessly blends both worlds.

The concept of ‘visual logic’ in gothic design resonates with my understanding of architecture as a form of non-verbal communication, where buildings convey messages through their design. This perspective has profoundly influenced my view of architectural elements as symbols that transcend their practical function as highlighted by Panofksy.

“the shape of canopies, decoration of scoles and archevaults, and, above all, the form of piers and capitals tended to be suppressed in favour of standard types admitting only of such variations as would occur in nature among individuals of one species.”

700-08145902 (no date). https://www.masterfile.com/image/en/700-08145902/interior-with-vaulted-ceiling-ely-cathedral.

Brooks, M. (2023) 'IBM wants to build a 100,000-qubit quantum computer,' MIT Technology Review, 25 May. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/05/25/1073606/ibm-wants-to-build-a-100000-qubit-quantum-computer/.

Contributeurs aux projets Wikimedia (2014a) Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle/Construction -- Voûtes. https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_raisonn%C3%A9_de_l%E2%80%99architecture_fran%C3%A7aise_du_XIe_au_XVIe_si%C3%A8cle/Construction_--_Vo%C3%BBtes.

Contributeurs aux projets Wikimedia (2014b) Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle/Construction -- Voûtes. https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_raisonn%C3%A9_de_l%E2%80%99architecture_fran%C3%A7aise_du_XIe_au_XVIe_si%C3%A8cle/Construction_--_Vo%C3%BBtes.

Gothic cathedral main tower in black and white by Visual Motiv (no date). https://pixels.com/featured/gothic-cathedral-main-tower-in-black-and-white-visual-motiv.html.

Katwala, A. (2021) 'Quantum computers are already detangling nature’s mysteries,' WIRED UK, 17 June. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/quantum-computing.

Limited, A. (no date a) An introduction to the study of Gothic architecture, Alamy Images. https://www.alamy.com/an-introduction-to-the-study-of-gothic-architecture-l-winchester-ad-12221235-the-window-has-plate-tracery-consisting-of-a-quatrefoil-in-the-head-and-thetwo-lights-have-trefoil-heads-and-transoms-four-lancet-lights-with-dripstone-mouldings-connectingthem-into-one-window-of-two-divisions-each-of-twolights-with-an-open-quatrefoil-in-the-head-and-a-largerfoliated-opening-in-the-general-head-above-it-is-onlynecessary-to-reduce-the-quantity-of-solid-masonry-tomake-this-a-good-geometrical-window-windows-oftwo-lights-with-a-pierced-quatrefoil-in-the-head-are-progress-of-tracery-i-image340032161.html.

Limited, A. (no date b) vaulted centre painted ceiling roof Ely Cathedral Church Holy  Undivided Trinity principal Diocese County Cambridgeshire Country, Alamy Images. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-vaulted-centre-painted-ceiling-roof-ely-cathedral-church-holy-undivided-32096321.html.

[qka-withoutj]

"From an identity theory (IT) perspective, identities are internalized meanings attached to the self as a unique person, an occupant of a role, and/or as a member of a group (Burke and Stets 2009; Stets and Burke 2014a; Stets and Serpe 2013). Person, role, and group/social con- stitute three bases of identity."

[oliviasmedia201blog]

Post 4 - Children’s future parasocial relationships with media characters: the age of intelligent characters

This is an academic article from the Journal of Children and Media and written by multiple authors, published in 2016.

This article discusses how media characters are present around children all the time, through the use of digital media such as movies, television, video games as well as physical media like the products of the characters such as toys, clothing etc.

This leads to the parasocial relationships that children form with media characters. Although this article is mainly focused on children’s parasocial relationships we can apply these ideas generally to how people get attached to characters.

Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships that people have with characters in the media.

They also mention how these parasocial relationships can have a positive effect on children’s learning and using these media characters, especially in educational television shows to teach children. This can be useful in education.

The article then starts to discuss more in depth about parasocial relationships and attachment (see diagram).

There are three factors; attachment, character personification and social realism (Bond & Calvert, 2014).

It is important to note that this article discusses children’s parasocial relationships in relation to creating an intelligent character or intelligent agent design. I decided to pick out the concepts that related to media in a broader sense.

Attachment – it is important that the children have feelings of safety and comfort, this relies strongly on visual cues.

An example of The Polar Express, a film released in 2004 which a lot of children had a negative reaction to the characters because of their unusual and strange appearance (Noë, 2012, as cited in Brunick et al., 2016)

Children tend to like characters that are cartoon-like instead of the realistic human features.

Character personification – “Children need to feel that a character is person-like in order for a parasocial relationship to form” (Bond & Calvert, 2014a, as cited in Brunick et al., 2016). Trust is also an important part of character personification. The characters also need to be human-like and have similar needs and wants to that of an actual person.

Social realism – this concept discussed how children connect and learn better from media when they can connect it to real life experiences.

This was a useful source and explained concepts in a way that was understandable. I will apply the articles ideas to my research in future.

Brunick, K. L., Putnam, M. M., McGarry, L., Richards, M. N., & Calvert, S. L. (2016). Children’s future parasocial relationships with media characters: the age of intelligent characters. Journal of Children and Media, 10(2), 181–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2015.1127839

[literaturereviewhelp]

Introduction   The Australian Institute of health and Welfare (AIHW) reports measurement of health status is important for a population because health does not only influence how people feel, but how they go about their daily activities (AIHW, 2016). A larger percentage of Australians report their health as ‘good’ or ‘better’ but such self assessment could mean different things. According to AIHW (2016) however, health refers to much more that the simple presence or absence of disease but rather should reflect factors of the gene, environment and lifestyle, socioeconomic conditions and cultural influences as well as whether or not there exists health care services and programs of the best possible quality. The AIHW therefore, examines health from a diverse range of perspectives from the leading types of ill health to specific health inequalities and risks faced by the various population groups and the services available for prevention and treatment of illnesses. This paper seeks to highlight the various indicators of the health status of Australians and then provide a comparison of the health status of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian children. The report will rely on information provided by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet and the Australian Bureau of Statistics to make this evaluation and derive conclusions. The report will focus on the following three health status indicators: death rates, Diabetes prevalence, and body weight. 2.0 Reporting of health status in Australia 2.1 Death rates The age and cause of death are critical indicators of the health status of a given population. These factors give an indication on the success of interventions that have been implemented to improve disease outcomes, the changes within the populations health status and the disease processes as well as insight into any inequalities in the health status between population groups (AIHW, 2017b). In 2008, Australia recorded 74, 000 deaths among male Australian with the leading cause of death in this population group being ischaemic heart disease. Other major causes of death included lung cancer and stroke (AIHW, 2017b). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistic (2014a), there were about 147, 700 deaths in Australian population in 2013 a figure that was 600 more that the deaths in 2012. Averagely, the number of deaths has risen from 2003 by 1% every year for males and by 1.2% for females. However, although the number of deaths has been rising, the numbers have represented a sustained fall in the percentage of the whole Australian population. Read the full article