text:
Guest Post In "The Beginning Was The Confusion" By Angelo Rubino
Today we are fortunate to have a post by Angelo Rubino of the University of Venice. His publications can be viewed here.
In The Beginning Was The Confusion By Angelo Rubino
In the paper
Angelo Rubino, 2011: What will a new generation of world climate research and computing facilities bring to climate long-term predictions? Theoretical and Applied Climatology. DOI: 10.1007/s00704-011-0448-2Online First™
I present a critical discussion which embraces the crucial aspects of the communication between climate scientists and lay persons, of the role confusing statements may exert on possible advancements in climate research, and of scientific priorities in climate science.
I start distinguishing between different applications of climate models and identifying confusing uses of the words "prediction" and "projection" in recent discussions on climate modeling.
In my opinion, increasing model resolution and complexity, although undoubtedly helpful for many applications related to a deeper understanding of the complex climate system and to substantial improvement of short-term forecasts, is not destined…..to tackle the impossibility of predicting prominent climate forcings and to facilitate result comparisons against observations.
Finally, I discuss possible alternative resource allocations, including a different employment policy for climate scientists.
A few years ago, in an essay appeared in the BAMS, Mishchenko et al. (2007) stated that
"The analysis by Hansen et al. (2005)… indicates that the current uncertainties in the TSI and aerosol forcings are so large that they preclude meaningful climate model evaluation by comparison with observed global temperature change".
The natural consequence of this statement should have been the (at least temporary) end of the discussion on climate projections, predictions, and the possibility of carrying out climate crucial experiments by means of numerical modelling.
Indeed, each result referring to the solution of a prognostic equation can be technically named prediction, in the sense that future values of the model variables are calculated starting from previous ones. However, as far as the specific task of numerical modeling (i.e., problem solving), but also the communication with lay persons is concerned, the word prediction possesses a particular meaning. In other words, the sense (the utility) of a prediction is to predict, verifiably, future events.
It is also obvious that, if a model is not (yet) able to perform predictions in this sense, it will be operatively useless to increase uncertainties by perturbing model conditions (obscurum per obscurium…) and hence, operatively, such perturbations should follow and not precede or substitute predictions.
Also, numerical climate simulations are and remain process studies, at least until new discoveries will definitively clarify still uncomprehended climate dynamics, clearly indicate magnitude and variability of climate forcings. and allow one to impose accurate initial conditions to the models. They are and will be important, fundamental and necessary for deepening our knowledge on the complexity of the climate system: process studies.
However, instead of disappearing from the zoo of climate nomenclature, the words "prediction", "projection", "forecast" etc. seem to recur with increasing frequency in the dedicated literature as well as in the media, while, as recently indicated by Bray and von Storch (2009), a considerable part of the scientists working with climate models seems not to be aware of the difference between the meaning of the word "prediction" (or "forecast") and the word "projection".
This is certainly to be excused. A certain touch of subjectivism seems to be inherent in the discussion since the beginning, as, for instance, the glossary of the IPCC third assessment report (2001) states that
"A climate prediction or climate forecast is the result of an attempt to produce a most likely description or estimate of the actual evolution of the climate in the future, e.g. at seasonal, interannual or long-term time scales",
"…projections are distinguished from climate predictions in order to emphasize that climate projections depend upon the emission/concentration/radiative forcing scenario used, which are based on assumptions, concerning, e.g., future socio-economic and technological developments, that may or may not be realized, and are therefore subject to substantial uncertainty".
The difference would be thus a matter of emphasis. Radiative forcing based on assumptions concerning human developments, which may or may not be realized, is, in the opinion of some climate scientists, substantially different from radiative forcing based on assumptions concerning volcanic eruptions or solar activity, which may or may not be realized.
A matter of taste, which seems to suggest to some climate scientists to rapidly move ahead:
"It is both necessary and possible to revolutionize climate prediction"
to meet societal needs like those aimed at achieving
"accurate and reliable estimates of changes in the probability of regional weather variations to develop science-based adaptation and mitigation strategies" (Shukla et al. 2010),
and at providing
"improved projections, predictions, and monitoring of multidecadal global to regional climate and coupled Earth system changes, including estimates of the frequency and intensity of regional extremes, their impacts and improved information on the assumptions, confidence, and uncertainty of all estimates…"
as well as
"improved early warning of famine, water shortages, pestilence, and disease in developing nations and the promotion of social and economic development in a changing climate…" (Shapiro et al. 2010).
The confusion is remarkable.
The costs of the announced revolution? Maybe a few billion $ for a 5 year project would suffice…
But is the goal to be achieved?
In point of fact, in March 2010, the UK Met Office decided to stop issuing a seasonal forecast for the UK four times a year. Instead, a monthly outlook, updated on a weekly basis, will be published. In an official note – see http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2010/pr20100305b.html), the Met Office explained that
"…although we can identify general patterns of weather, the science does not exist to allow an exact forecast beyond five days, or to absolutely promise a certain type of weather…"
I am thus convinced that the relevance of these topics and the possible confusion deriving from rather contrasting statements (sometimes even expressed by the same scientists, maybe also depending on the different arguments to be emphasized…) and different meanings given to the same words deserve a large discussion on epistemological aspects of climate science and on resources allocations.
It is possible, in fact, that climate research will profit from the proposed institution of a few multinational, very large centres for climate prediction devoted at producing long-term forecasts. As a possible intermediate task, however, I propose to
a) Concentrate energies, using part of the supercomputer resources already available for climate simulations, on a Interdisciplinary multi-year, large, multinational pilot modelling project aimed at predicting a complete ENSO cycle (IMMENSO);
b) Reconciling in situ and remote sensing measurements by initiating a truly open source, independent, major international project for the reassessment of global temperatures;
c) Deepen our knowledge of the circulation and of the distribution and variability of abyssal as well as Arctic and Antarctic water masses;
d) Implement a new employment policy for climate scientists.
As a concluding remark I also note that
Organization is important…But, in science, organization can also easily degenerate into hierarchization and conformism if not sustained by freedom. In the past, periods of strict control on research did not always correspond to expansive phases for science, and, often, fundamental developments and new discoveries arrived from personalities who were (and felt) profoundly free.
Mishchenko MI , Cairns B, Hansen JE , Travis LD , Kopp G, Schueler CF , Fafaul BA, Hooker RJ , Maring HB , Itchkawich T (2010) Accurate Monitoring of Terrestrial Aerosols and Total Solar Irradiance: Introducing the Glory Mission Bul. Amer Meteor Soc 88: 677–691.
Bray D, von Storch H (2009) 'Prediction' or 'projection'? The nomenclature of climate science. Sci Commun 30: 534–543.
Shukla J, Palmer TN, Hagedorn R, Hoskins B, Kinter J, Marotzke J, Miller M, Slingo J (2010) Climate prediction from weeks to decades in the 21st century: towards a new generation of world climate research and computing facilities for climate prediction. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 91: 1407–1412.
Shapiro MA, Shukla J, Brunet G, Nobre C, Béland M, Dole R, Trenberth K, Anthes R, Asrar G, Barrie L, Bougeault P, Brasseur G, Burridge D, Busalacchi A, Caughey J, Chen D, Church J, Enomoto T, Hoskins B, Hov Ø, Laing A, Le Treut H, Marotzke J, McBean G, Meehl G, Miller M, Mills B, Mitchell J, Moncrieff M, Nakazawa T, Olafsson H, Palmer T, Parsons D, Rogers D, Simmons A, Troccoli A, Toth Z, Uccellini L, Velden C, Wallace JM (2010) An earth-system prediction initiative for the twenty-first century. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 91: 1377–1388.
source of image
Comments Off on Guest Post In "The Beginning Was The Confusion" By Angelo Rubino
Filed under Climate Science Reporting, Guest Weblogs
Fall, Winter, And Spring Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Extent From The Rutgers University Global Snow Lab
There is an excellent, very informative presentation of Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent and long term trends and variability up to 2010 (Spring and Fall) and 2011 (Winter) from the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab.
As concluded in the 2007 IPCC WG1 report
"……..snow cover [has] declined on average in both hemispheres. "
The reality of the snow cover trends is more complex, however, as clearly illustrated in the figures presented below. Only the spring shows a decline, and, even then, its decline is dominated by the period prior to 1990.
source of top image in post [for January 2011]
Comments Off on Fall, Winter, And Spring Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Extent From The Rutgers University Global Snow Lab
Filed under Climate Change Metrics
by rpielke | May 29, 2011 · 1:19 pm
Interesting Late Season 2011 Ski Conditions At Aspen Colorado
Courtesy Photo/Aspen Daily News
A group of travelers dig out a wet slide blocking the road on Independence Pass, east of the summit. The road was blocked for about 20 minutes. It was the second slide encountered in a quarter of a mile [source of image]
I am going to post on the unuusal late 2010-2011 snow pack and water in an upcoming weblog post. In preparing that post, the news article of May 29 2011 from the Aspen Daily News is worth reading –
Summer skiing surprise
Excerpts read
"Heavy snows spoil weekend holiday plans in the West," read an Associated Press headline blasted across the nation Saturday morning.
"Don't tell that to the estimated 1,700 or so folks who rode the Silver Queen Gondola Saturday to make turns on the 71-inch base that still lingers at the top of Aspen Mountain, which reopened this weekend to the delight of skiers and snowboarders. With 25 runs and 136 acres of skiing in the offering, conditions resembled late March more than late May, at least at the top of the mountain."
"Amazing fact of the year: The base at the top of Aspen Mountain is larger than it was when the ski area shut down for the winter season on April 10, and is about double what it was on New Year's. It wasn't the biggest winter ever in terms of snow accumulation, but one could say it had a long tail, with one of the coldest and wettest springs on record."
"This year marks the third time in the last 20 or so years that Aspen Mountain opened for an early-summer second helping of skiing. The previous two times were in 2008 and 1995."
This article highlights the very late spring this year in this part of the USA.
Comments Off on Interesting Late Season 2011 Ski Conditions At Aspen Colorado
Filed under Climate Change Forcings & Feedbacks, Climate Change Metrics
Comment And Recommendation On Bill Ruddiman's View Of Early Human Effects On Climate
Real Climate had an interesting post by Bill Rudiman on April 15 2011 titled
An Emerging View on Early Land Use
Excerpts from his post include [highlight added]
"Historical data on land use extending back some 2000 years exists for two regions — Europe and China. In a 2009 paper, Jed Kaplan and colleagues reported evidence showing nearly complete deforestation in Europe at mid-range population densities, but very little additional clearance at higher densities. Embedded in this historical relationship was a trend from much greater per-capita clearance 2000 years ago to much smaller values in recent centuries. Similarly, a Holocene special-issue paper by Ruddiman and colleagues pointed to a pioneering study of early agriculture in China published in 1937 by J. L. Buck. Paired with reasonably well-constrained population estimates that extend back to the Han dynasty 2000 years ago, these data show a 4-fold decrease in per-capita land area cultivated in China from that time until the 1800′s."
"……an in-press paper by Fuller and colleagues on 'The contribution of rice agriculture and livestock pastoralism to prehistoric methane levels: an archeological assessment' assembled archeological evidence from hundreds of well-dated sites showing the spread of irrigated rice across southern Asia between 5000 and 1000 years ago. Based on modern regional relationships, they assumed that rice farming in each region subsequently filled in with the log of population density. Combining the first arrival of rice and the subsequent infilling, Fuller and colleagues projected the progressive increase in the total area of southern Asia devoted to irrigated rice.
Their estimate showed a rising exponential trend in total area that reached more than 35% of the modern value by 1000 years ago, even though the population in the rice-growing areas of Asia at that time was only 5-6% of modern levels. This mismatch again indicates much greater per-capita land use early in the historical era than in later pre-industrial time."
This recognition of major human landscape change thousands of years ago documents yet again why we need a broader perspective of its role within the climate system.
However, what is very puzzling about Ruddiman's post is that he does not discuss the role of concurrent effects on the water and energy fluxes and effects on weather and other aspects of climate. This includes the regional change in surface albedo, but also the effects on the net radiation received at the surface and its partitioning between sensible and latent heat fluxes. This need to consider the water and energy effects of landscape change on climate, in addition to the effects on the carbon, and other trace constituent budgets, is discussed, as just a few examples, in
Pielke Sr., R.A., 2001: Influence of the spatial distribution of vegetation and soils on the prediction of cumulus convective rainfall. Rev. Geophys., 39, 151-177.
Pielke, R.A. Sr., J. Adegoke, A. Beltran-Przekurat, C.A. Hiemstra, J. Lin, U.S. Nair, D. Niyogi, and T.E. Nobis, 2007: An overview of regional land use and land cover impacts on rainfall. Tellus B, 59, 587-601.
Mahmood, R., R.A. Pielke Sr., K.G. Hubbard, D. Niyogi, G. Bonan, P. Lawrence, B. Baker, R. McNider, C. McAlpine, A. Etter, S. Gameda, B. Qian, A. Carleton, A. Beltran-Przekurat, T. Chase, A.I. Quintanar, J.O. Adegoke, S. Vezhapparambu, G. Conner, S. Asefi, E. Sertel, D.R. Legates, Y. Wu, R. Hale, O.W. Frauenfeld, A. Watts, M. Shepherd, C. Mitra, V.G. Anantharaj, S. Fall,R. Lund, A. Nordfelt, P. Blanken, J. Du, H.-I. Chang, R. Leeper, U.S. Nair, S. Dobler, R. Deo, and J. Syktus, 2010: Impacts of land use land cover change on climate and future research priorities. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 37–46, DOI: 10.1175/2009BAMS2769.1
The abstract of the Pielke 2001 paper reads
"This paper uses published work to demonstrate the link between surface moisture and heat fluxes and cumulus convective rainfall. The Earth's surface role with respect to the surface energy and moisture budgets is examined. Changes in land surface properties are shown to influence the heat and moisture fluxes within the planetary boundary layer, convective available potential energy, and other measures of the deep cumulus cloud activity. The spatial structure of the surface heating, as influenced by landscape patterning, produces focused regions for deep cumulonimbus convection. In the tropics, and during midlatitude summers, deep cumulus convection has apparently been significantly altered as a result of landscape changes. These alterations in cumulus convection teleconnect to higher latitudes, which significantly alters the weather in those regions. The effect of tropical deforestation is most clearly defined in the winter hemisphere. In the context of climate, landscape processes are shown to be as much a part the climate system as are atmospheric processes."
The Ruddiman analysis needs to be extended to include other effects of early landscape conversion besides that of the greenhouse gas radiative effects.
source of image – Deforestation in Yunnan Province, China
Comments Off on Comment And Recommendation On Bill Ruddiman's View Of Early Human Effects On Climate
Filed under Climate Change Forcings & Feedbacks
My Experiences With A Lack Of Proper Diligence And Bias In The NSF Review Process For Climate Proposals
Recently, I requested information from NSF under the Freedom of Information Act regarding how my recent proposals on the effect of landscape processes on climate were handled. The reason for this request is given below. My experiences, however, may be of more general interest particularly in light of Judy Curry's post of May 25, 2011
and the ABC news investigative report
Shrimp on a Treadmill Among Research Items Skewered in New Report – Sen. Tom Coburn criticizes National Science Foundation' use of tax dollars.
I also have recommendations for the NSF to improve the process. As a preface, my research program has benefited by decades of NSF support. It is only in the last few years, unfortunately, as the climate issue has become so politicized that serious issues have developed in the objectivity of NSF with respect to funding climate studies. Those who manage funding of climate research at the NSF, unfortunately, seem to have become politicized just as much as most other areas of climate science.
This is a long post, so I have summarized the major experiences and findings here:
NSF does not retain a record of e-mail communications
NSF is cavalier in terms of the length of time proposals are under review.
NSF has decided to emphasize climate modeling and of funding multi-decadal climate predictions, at the expense of research which can be tested against real-world observations.
NSF penalizes scientists who criticize their performance.
My recommendations include:
Guarantee that the review process be completed within 6 months [my most recent land use and climate proposal was not even sent out for review until 10 months after its receipt!)
Retain all e-mail communications indefinitely (NSF staff can routinely delete e-mails, such that there is no record to check their accountability)
Require external independent assessments, by a subset of scientists who are outside of the NSF, of the reviews and manager decisions, including names of referees. This review should be on all accepted and rejected proposals ( as documented in the NSF letter at the end of this post, since they were so late sending out for review, they simply relied on referees of an earlier (rejected) proposal; this is laziness at best).
My concerns regarding the review process are similar to those reported in
McKitrick, Ross R. (2011) "Bias in the Peer Review Process: A Cautionary and Personal Account" in Climate Coup, Patrick J. Michaels ed., Cato Inst. Washington DC
and Toby Carlson as reported in the posts
Guest Post "Crisis in Academic Funding" By Toby N. Carlson
Perceptive Article On The Sad State Of Research Funding By Toby N. Carlson
where, with respect to funding agencies (of which NSF is a major one), Toby wrote
"They are bureaucracies that promote top-down science to suit political and administrative ends."
In my post
Comments On Numerical Modeling As The New Climate Science Paradigm
Dick Lindzen is quoted
"In brief, we have the new paradigm where simulation and programs have replaced theory and observation, where government largely determines the nature of scientific activity, and where the primary role of professional societies is the lobbying of the government for special advantage."
I have posted on the inadequacies in the NSF review process of climate proposals in
NSF Decision On Our Request For Reconsideration Of A Rejected NSF Proposal On The Role Of Land Use Change In The Climate System
Is The NSF Funding Process Working Correctly?
As I wrote in the second post above (on June 11 2011)
"I …. have a proposal still under consideration that was submitted on May 13 2009 (an NSF-accomplishment based proposal) but only sent out for review in late March 2010! "
That particular proposal, in the NSF pipeline for over 10 months before even being sent out for review was ultimately rejected.
Since that time, I was informed in a confidential communication that NSF conducted an internal review of whether I was being treated "fairly". Their conclusion, in this star chamber type of review, was that I was treated fairly [no surprise there]. However, I was also informed via a second very credible confidential source that I would never again be funded by the NSF due to my weblog. I have no way to know if this action would actually occur [since I do have one non-climate project funded by the NSF], the message that was transferred to me is very chilling. It is that unless you follow the NSF management position on climate, you will not be funded in this area (or in the future, perhaps not at all).
Upon being told this confidential information, I requested copies of e-mails and other information relevant to the internal review through the Freedom of Information Act. I have reproduced several of these e-mails below.
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:31:17 -0700 (MST)
Jensen, Leslie Subject: RE: NSF FOIA Request 2-17-11.pdf – Adobe Acrobat Professional
Dear Ms. Jensen
We have completed the documentation of my FOI request, but have not heard back from you. Please confirm its receipt and what the next step is. I would like to move forward to NSF revealing what was involved with the internal review.
Roger A. Pielke, Sr.,
On Mon, 21 Feb 2011, Jensen, Leslie A. wrote:
Dear Sir: we have received your Privacy Act identity form and we have 20 working days to respond to your request.
Leslie A. Jensen
FOIA/Privacy Act Officer
FOIA Public Liaison
On Tue, 22 Feb 2011, Jensen, Leslie A. wrote:
Dr. Pielke:
Please provide me with the grant number associated with the records that
you wish to receive? Thank you.
Leslie Jensen
I replied
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 06:12:51 -0700 (MST)
Subject: RE: NSF FOIA Request 2-17-11.pdf – Adobe Acrobat Professional
We have no grant numbers as the projects were not funded.
The issue is that I have been critical of their handling of the review process on several of my proposals in the last few years, and also on the focus of NSF funding on climate. According to a confidential source, in response the critiques I completed on my weblog, they performed an internal review to assess whether I was treated fairly or not. From my source, they concluded I was treated "fairly". I have also recently been informed from a confidential source that they object to my weblog comments and this is why I have not been funded.
My FOI request is for information including e-mails, and any other communications, on this internal review. My e-mails to Jay Fein and Tim Killen on this matter have been unanswered.
My weblog posts on the NSF review process (both on my proposals and their process) include
https://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/is-the-nsf-funding-process-working-correctly/
https://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/nsf-decision-on-our-request-for-reconsideration-of-a-rejected-nsf-proposal/
https://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/the-national-science-foundation-funds-multi-decadal-climate-predictions-without-an-ability-to-verify-their-skill/
https://pielkeclimatesci.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/diminishing-returns-from-multi-decadal-global-climate-model-simulations/
I would be glad to share with you my e-mails to Jay Fein and Tim Killen if you feel this would be needed.
Ms. Jensen replied
If your proposals received review – they were given a number – even if they were declined – that is the NSF process. I need those numbers to do a proper search for records.
Here are the rejected proposals
EAR 943628 "Collaborative Research: Sensitivity of weather and climate in the Eastern United States to historical land-cover changes since European settlement
AGS 940582 "The Role of Landscape Change in Central and Southern Florida on Weather and Climate"
AGS 840826 "Sensitivity of Weather and Climate in the Eastern United States to Historical Land-Cover Changes Since European Settlement.
Please let me know if you need anything further.
Roger A. Pielke Sr.
I then received a packet of e-mails from Leslie Jensen who is the FOIA Privacy Act Officer in the Office of the General Counsel of the National Science Foundation. She sent me mostly copies of e-mails that I had sent and that were sent to me! Except for several e-mails where Tim Killen, who recused himself due to his association with the University of Colorado, there was only one with significant information that was not already in my e-mails. That e-mail is reproduced below, and I will comment on it after the image.
However, I followed up with Ms. Jensen requesting further information
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 06:22:19 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: RE: NSF FOIA Request 2-1-11
I have rec'd the packet after being forwarded from the University. It is almost all a set of e-mails that I had sent and their replies to me plus reviews which I had also seen. Only a few others were provided.
There are e-mails to NSF that I had sent that were not included, however. That by itself is a concern, since it implies a rather cursory approach to following the FOIA request was made.
She replied
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:35:43 -0400
From: "Jensen, Leslie A." <xxxxxx>
If you can provide me with additional direction I would be happy to do another search. If there were emails from you in the privacy act protected grant file I would not necessarily re-send to you – for efficiency purposes only – no hidden agenda on my part. If you wish – I will have the entire grant file printed and sent to you.
I followed up with the e-mail below
I am also interested in e-mails within NSF from Thomas Torgersen, Walter Robinson and Jay Fein regarding interactions with me over the past 5 years. For example, there was a meeting with Ben Herman, Tom Chase, and I with Jay Fein, Walter Robinson and others several years ago at the NSF which must have had internal e-mail communications regarding our visit arranged through Jay Fein.
Ben Herman, Tom Chase and I met at the NSF because we felt (and still feel) our proposals have been handled inappropriately.
My weblog post
documents a subset of my concerns regarding the NSF process including interactions with Thomas Torgersen.
My concern was heightened in the last few months as I have been informed of issues through two sources [who want to remain confidential}.
One source informed me that I was internally reviewed to determine if I was being handled fairly (they concluded I was). Another source stated that I would no longer be funded at the NSF because of my weblog (presumably my criticisms of the NSF review process).
I cannot confirm the accuracy of these claims (and I was told through second persons each time). Nonetheless, if there is an opportunity through the FOIA process to determine if this information is correct or not, I would like to find out, as the sources are credible individuals.
Thank you for your time is looking into this issue.
On Fri, 15 Apr 2011, Jensen, Leslie A. wrote:
A proper search has been accomplished for all named individuals. Email is not a permanent record and meetings from several years ago would be deleted. The Foundation's email retention policy is repeated below:
Exchange Server: Most users have their mail delivered to their Exchange Server mailbox. If you haven't done anything special, that is where your mail is delivered and stored. In Outlook your mailbox is the folder that includes your name in the folder name (top folder in your Folder List). The Exchange Servers are backed up to tape nightly, and the tapes are retained for 14 days, then destroyed. Exchange Server has a feature that allows you to recover deleted messages (even after the trash is emptied). That feature is set to retain deleted messages for 5 days. When these features are combined, it means that 19 days after you delete a message and empty the trash, nobody can recover it.
With regard to your concern over improper handling of proposals NSF has a reconsideration policy: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf11001/gpg_4.jsp#IVD. In addition, I am providing the link to NSF's Office of the Inspector General
(OIG): http://www.nsf.gov/oig/hotline.jsp. The FOIA is only a records process. Your claims of improper procedures/policies would be handled outside of my office
My responding e-mail to her reads
This is quite surprising and disappointing. The deletion of such information appears to conflict with the intent of the FOIA, as I had understood it.
I have requested reconsideration of a proposal, as reported in the weblog post I sent you. The absence of e-mail documentation of how my appeal was handled was notably absent in the information that you sent to me in my FOIA request.
It appears that the FOIA as applied by NSF is essentially worthless.
The letter below, which was the one item that provided new information that the program manager has "drawn pretty heavily on reviewers of the two previous proposals" [which were rejected by the NSF] certainly suggests a lack of diligence and objectivity in completing the review process.
Thus, my experience with the climate related section of the NSF is that they have decided to control not only the quality of the science (which is an appropriate activity, of course), but also to limit what perspectives scientists have on climate (which is inappropriate).
My recommendations to help remedy the lack of diligence and biases at the NSF in climate science and include:
Guarantee that the review process be completed within 6 months.
Retain all e-mail communications indefinitely
Require external independent assessments of the review process including names of referees by a subset of scientists who are outside of the NSF. This review should be on all accepted and rejected proposals.
Comments Off on My Experiences With A Lack Of Proper Diligence And Bias In The NSF Review Process For Climate Proposals
Filed under Advocacy Masking As Science
New Paper "Econometrics And The Science Of Climate Change" By Tim Curtin
Tim Curtin has shared with us a new paper that has been accepted. It is
Econometrics and the Science of Climate Change
This has been accepted by the Economic Society of Australia for its annual conference, which this year will be in Canberra (ANU) from 11th to 14th July.
The paper includes the text
"This chapter has produced statistical and econometric analysis showing that the mainstream science of climate change has been too focussed on a single supposed causative agent, carbon dioxide emissions (about 30 GtCO2 p.a), to the serious neglect of the much larger volumes of anthropogenic water vapour produced by the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, both by direct creation of water vapour in the combustion process (18 GtH2O p.a.), and by the much larger volume of steam created by the power generation process (300 GtH2O). It is true that individual injections of water vapour to the atmosphere have a short residence time there before descending as precipitation (Kelly, 2010), but increases in the average level of [H2O] over a year remain significant.'
"The implications of full accounting for the radiative forcing attributable to anthropogenic water vapour are confounding. On the one hand, it is conceivable that it has been unwittingly included in the radiative forcing ascribed to rising [CO2e], while on the other it may be an addition to that forcing, which would mean that temperature projections are being understated. Alternatively, it may be that the forcing ascribed to positive feedbacks from rising evaporation due to the observed annual global temperature increase of 0.007C p.a., which raises the IPCC"s projected temperature increase from a doubling of [CO2e] to 3C from the 1C due to [CO2e] alone, despite lack of evidence for this effect, should be reassigned to anthropogenic water vapour."
Comments Off on New Paper "Econometrics And The Science Of Climate Change" By Tim Curtin
Filed under Climate Change Forcings & Feedbacks, Research Papers
New Paper "A Model Investigation Of Aerosol-Induced Changes In Boreal Winter Extratropical Circulation" By Ming Et Al 2011
This is the second paper in Yi Ming's study of the role of aerosols in altering major atmospheric circulation features. The first paper is discussed in my post
New Paper "A Model Investigation Of Aerosol-Induced Changes In Tropical Circulation" By Ming and Ramaswamy 2011
The second paper is
Yi Ming and V. Ramaswamy and Gang Chen, 2011. A Model Investigation of Aerosol-induced Changes in Boreal Winter Extratropical Circulation. J of Climate (in press).
The abstract read (emphasis added)
"We examine the key characteristics of the boreal winter extratropical circulation changes in response to anthropogenic aerosols, simulated with a coupled atmosphere-slab ocean general circulation model. The zonal-mean response [to aerosols] features a pronounced equatorward shift of the Northern Hemisphere subtropical jet owing to the mid-latitude aerosol cooling. The circulation changes also show strong zonal asymmetry. In particular, the cooling is more concentrated over the North Pacific than over the North Atlantic despite similar regional forcings. With the help of an idealized model, we demonstrate that the zonally asymmetrical response is linked tightly to the stationary Rossby waves excited by the anomalous diabatic heating over the tropical East Pacific. The altered wave pattern leads to a southeastward shift of the Aleutian low (and associated changes in winds and precipitation), while leaving the North Atlantic circulation relatively unchanged. Despite the rich circulation changes, the variations in the extratropical meridional latent heat transport are controlled strongly by the dependence of atmospheric moisture content on temperature. This suggests that one can project reliably the changes in extratropical zonal mean precipitation solely from the global-mean temperature change, even without a good knowledge of the detailed circulation changes caused by aerosols. On the other hand, such knowledge is indispensable for understanding zonally asymmetrical (regional) precipitation changes."
Excerpts from the conclusions reads
"Maximum aerosol forcing is centered over the NH low and mid-latitudes. During the boreal winter, the strong local aerosol forcing influences many of the key characteristics of the vigorous extratropical circulation by causing local cooling mainly over the source regions. Such a cooling enhances the meridional temperature gradient equatorward of the NH subtropical jet, but weakens it poleward. The end result is an equatorward shift of the jet."
"….the detailed spatial pattern of the aerosol-induced tropical circulation change….. plays a critical role in determining the extratropical response by altering stationary Rossby waves."
[source of image]
Comments Off on New Paper "A Model Investigation Of Aerosol-Induced Changes In Boreal Winter Extratropical Circulation" By Ming Et Al 2011


(Yicai Global) Oct. 12 -- Chinese tech titan Alibaba Group Holding has merged its two food delivery services Ele.me and Koubei into a single platform, Chief Executive Daniel Zhang has confirmed.
The two units will continue to operate independently but have officially merged into Alibaba Local Life Services, state-backed news outlet The Paper reported the CEO as saying.
Establishment of the new company means that Ele.me and Koubei will expand to other categories under the local life services umbrella such as shopping, beauty, karaoke and entertainment. Previously, the two platforms heavily focused on catering with Ele.me covering home delivery and Koubei providing a review platform.
Ele.me CEO Wang Lei will head up the combined unit and report to Zhang, while Koubei head Fan Chi will report to Wang. The combined entity boats some 3.5 million suppliers in 676 cities.
Alibaba revealed plans in its August to set up a holding company as a flagship for local life services. The Hangzhou-based firm has pumped in some USD3 billion in investments in the pair along with SoftBank Group and other investors.
Alibaba has not responded to reports in Reuters and Bloomberg that Ele.me is seeking to raise between USD3 billion and USD5 billion. Fundraising and valuation are not considerations for now., the company told The Paper.


Extraordinary Wii platformer with Wario being the perfect host. As ever he seems to have been used as a character where the Big N can experiment a bit more on the gameplay and the Shake of the title is used to wiggle Wario into action: be it shaking out coins or performing some on screen gynastics to get through a tight spot. Beautiful settings and backgrounds, but with such a high level of interaction its hard to know what cant be grabbed hold of on screen. Some superb side levels, particularly in the submarine. Say no more other than platforming at its finest, whatever the dimension.
Second hand. Includes full sticker sheet.


Building custom software applications for desktop, web, mobile devices and cloud si our daily routine. What about you?
We will help you with creating your next generation business applications, manufacturing execution and control systems, ERPs, CRMs, helpdesk or e-commerce applications, desktop CAD systems and even more.
We have a passion for technology challenges.
We are coding since 2011.
Our clients are Czech and international companies operating in various industries including manufacturing, information technology, construction, automotive, healthcare, culture, sport and e-commerce.
We have been working with a wide variety of companies - startups, small and medium enterprises or global corporations. We know that every client needs a different approach and has different expectations. We are flexible and always choose the way of cooperation to correspond with your business.
We arrange several meetings and discuss your current status, needs and requirements. We always try to understand your business priorities and your pain points.
We will discuss the vision of the project, its future goals and the best way of the cooperation. Together, we will complete a list of priorities, and possibly split the project in multiple phases.
Based on the previous discussions, we will choose the right technologies and suggest the optimal way of implementation, including integrations with other software systems and APIs.
We will lay out the foundation of the software project, create the base architecture of the solution and prepare everything for the development to begin.
The implementation itself is usually divided into sprints. At the end of each sprint, you can see the work that has been done. You can see your software growing and you know the status at any moment.
Even that all code is written, our job does not end. We will make sure that your software runs smoothly and without outages. And of course, we will continue delivering new features so the software fits your changing needs.
Your E-mail * This field is required.


Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal-576104, Karnataka, India.
Introduction: Nootropic drugs or cognitive enhancers are pharmacological agents that improve cognitive function and memory by various mechanisms. Drugs like piracetam, modafinil and citicoline have been used as nootropic agents.
Aim: To compare the relative efficacy of nootropics like piracetam, modafinil and citicoline on learning and memory in rats using the Morris water maze test.
Materials and Methods: A total of 30 Wistar rats were used for the study. The animals were divided into five groups (n=6). The groups I to V received gum acacia orally, scopolamine 2 mg/kg intraperitoneally, piracetam (52.5 mg/kg), modafinil (2.5 mg/kg), citicoline (25 mg/kg) respectively orally for twenty days. Learning and memory was evaluated using the Morris water maze test. The animals were trained in the Morris water maze on the last five days of dosing. Scopolamine 2 mg/kg was administered intraperitoneally to the above groups of animals (except Groups I and II) for induction of amnesia, 45 minutes before the behavioural test.
Results: Scopolamine induced marked impairment of memory evidenced by significant reduction (p<0.01) in the number of entries and time spent in the target quadrant when compared to the control group. There was significant (p<0.05) increase in the number of entries and time spent in target quadrant of the Morris water maze in the animals who were pretreated with piracetam, modafinil and citicoline, in comparison to the scopolamine treated group. Amongst the three nootropics, modafinil and citicoline showed significant (p<0.05) memory enhancement in comparison to piracetam.
Conclusion: Modafinil and citicoline can significantly reverse the memory impairment in scopolamine induced amnesia model in comparison to piracetam. However, further studies are warranted to confirm this result.


This topic contains 11 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by jibel 11 months, 2 weeks ago.
Which "Makulu" did you install? Flash, Shift or LinDoz?
This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by jibel.
For Shift first open "System Settings", then "Software Sources", then under "Mirrors" first click on "Main" and select the faster of the two mirrors. Then click on "Base", wait for some time and then select the fastest or closest mirror. After that click on "Update Cache".
Once the locales have been reinstalled, go back to "System Settings", select "Languages", then click on "Install/Remove Languages", click on "Add", then scroll down and select the version of French you need and click on "Install". The new language should now be shown in the list of the selected languages. It will probably say "some language packs are missing". Click on that, and then click on "Install Language Packs". This will now download and install the complete language pack for that Language. You can repeat that for the other installed languages. Once that is finished you can close that window.
Now back in the "Language Settings" window you can select your display language and region locale. After that logout and then back in, or reboot, and if you changed the display language to French, most things should now be shown in French.
For LinDoz the Procedure is similar, except that you can leave the terminal and "sudo apt install –reinstall locales" commands out.
I have make that this morning with success , for the French language that is OK , but I have an other trouble , your mail specific for makululu is not thunderbird I use it since 10 years ago…but not your own mail.
Install thunderbird via Synaptic package manager (I use it too). Then once installed, in "System Settings" click on "Preferred Applications", and under "Mail", select Thunderbird as the default mail client. Via Synaptic you can also remove the original mail client.
Installez thunderbird via le gestionnaire de paquets Synaptic (je l'utilise aussi). Puis, une fois installé, dans « Paramètres système » cliquez sur « Applications préférées », et sous « Mail », sélectionnez Thunderbird comme client de messagerie par défaut. Via Synaptic vous pouvez également supprimer le client de messagerie d'origine.
I haven't had any issues so far with the screensaver. Open System Settings and select "Screensaver". Now you can set the configuration of the screensaver the way you need.


Thanks , I've just been searching for info about this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I've found out so far. However, what about the conclusion? Are you positive in regards to the supply?
I read this paragraph completely on the topic of the resemblance of most up-to-date and earlier technologies, it's remarkable article.


text:
Q: UInt32 to Int32 If I have a VB.Net function that returns an Int32, but uses an unsigned int (UInt32) for calculations, etc.  How can I convert a variable "MyUintVar32" with a value of say "3392918397 into a standard Int32 in VB.Net?
In c# if I just do a "return (int)(MyUintVar32);", I get -902048899, not an error.
I've tried several different methods.  What is the difference in the way c# handles these conversions versus VB.Net?

A: I realize this is an old post, but the question has not been answered.  Other people my want to know:
Dim myUInt32 As UInt32 = 3392918397
Dim myInt32 As Int32 = Convert.ToInt32(myUInt32.ToString("X"), 16)

the reverse operation:
myUInt32 = Convert.ToUInt32(myInt32.ToString("X"), 16)

Also, one can create a union structure to easily convert between Int32 and UInt32:
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

<StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)> _
  Public Structure UnionInt32
  <FieldOffset(0)> _
  Public IntValue As Int32
  <FieldOffset(0)> _
  Public UIntValue As UInt32
End Structure

Dim MyUnionInt32 as UnionInt32
MyUnionInt32.UIntValue = 3392918397
Dim IntVal as Int32 = MyUnionInt32.UIntValue  '= -902048899

the reverse operation:
MyUnionInt32.IntValue = -902048000
Dim UIntVal as UInt32 = MyUnionInt32.UIntValue  '= 3392919296

Cheers, TENware

A: 3392918397 is too big to fit into a signed 32-bit integer, that's why it is coming out negative, because the most significant bit of 3392918397 is set.
1100 1010 0011 1011 1101 0011 0111 1101
If you want to maintain integers of this proportion inside a signed integer type, you'll need to use the next size up, a 64-bit signed integer.

A: It's not an optimal solution, but you can use BitConverter to get a byte array from the uint and convert the byte array to int.
Dim myUInt32 As UInt32 = 3392918397
Dim myInt32 As Int32 = BitConverter.ToInt32(BitConverter.GetBytes(myUInt32), 0)

A: You can't convert 3392918397 into an Int32 since that number is too large to fit in 31 bits.  Why not just change the function to return a UInt32?

A: Or after doing the Uint32 work check it against MAXINT and 0.
If > MAXINT and < 0 then you're ok.  If not you "overflowed" and should throw an exception.
I don't remember if MAXINT is defined.  You can use:  2^31 - 1 instead.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


So here we go again the liberal communists and path fists are on full attack against the coyote contest, this is the 3 rd year I have talked about this part 3.
For some reason all I see are a bunch of real lame comments about how stupid these people are, we make jokes about them call them names, but I don't ever see any real push back.
This all started for me 4 or 5 years ago with the law suit with the JMK coyote hunt in Crane Oregon, I hunted on that ranch for a couple years and saw the beginning of the assault on the contests, now there is no law against killing a coyote in most states, but as each year has come and gone we can't control our ego and all of a sudden there are thousands of dollars and prizes and trophy's on and on it went. No wonder people are sick of it, we just want them to shut up and leave us alone but then we shove our pictures blood and guts all over the place and wonder why there is a push back. I respect the fact that there are people out there who don't kill animals, who are uneasy at looking at some coyotes guts hanging out with some lame comment on it.
I've had a hunting forum for 12 years and our web page for almost the same it's locked up and private and I rarely post any blood and guts, I clean up my animals for pics and rarely post any comments other than here's a few pics.
Like most things in life we never like to police our own, we always use the excuse that it's none of our business ect ect. So guess what the liberals make it there business,.
So let's keep calling them stupid, let's make fun of them and call them names, let's keep on shoving our beliefs and lack of respect for them in there face, let's keep posting the guts and gore and stupid memes on public forums. Let's see how much money and prizes we can give out for the killing of an animal. The new age hunter and the commercialization of killing a coyote will be the end of the contest and don't think that will be the end, don't think just because we have a halfway normal guy in the White House all is well, the liberal communist is deeply entrenched in our society and they are not going to stop. Stop electing the fascist liberal communists to public office, throw these corrupted senators out of office, this is our last chance to protect our freedoms the battle has only started.
Here's a list of stupid comments I see.


text:
Year's End by Ted Kooser
Free «Year's End by Ted Kooser» UK Essay Paper
Ted Kooser's poem Year's End is a symbolic piece of writing that deals with the theme of natural cycles of life, love and death. By using "we" point of view instead of "I" the author appeals to humanity in general, seeing people as part of the Universe that functions according its own rhythms. People can try struggling with it but it is useless and Nature's rhythms are much more powerful, so the person will be absorbed by them anyway.
The poet uses a remarkable extended metaphor of a locker to demonstrate that Nature is organized and harmonious, so that each human has his or her own place in it even after death:
"Now the seasons are closing their files/on each of us, the heavy drawers/full of certificates rolling back/into the tree trunks, a few old papers/flocking away" ( Kooser).
By comparing seasons' end to the end of human life the poet reveals an idea that life is eternal in fact. When a person dies, it is just an end of one cycle and the beginning of the other, as new lives will continue living on the earth.
Likewise, falling in and out of love functions according to the same cycles of life and death. When one love ends, another one is born, which is quite in tune with nature. However, the speaker is implicitly frightened and lost because of these universal rules according to each everything in the Universe works. His insecurity is revealed through the symbol of read feather in the wind, which implies love. Because wind ( like death) is so much stronger than people's ability to control their lives, it is made clear that it is a fate of humanity to live a fragile life and have even more fragile feelings.
Related Free Literature Essays
The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky
Repression of Femininity in The Rain God by Arturo Islas
Robert Frost as a Modernist Poet
The Effect of Slavery in Uncle Tom's Cabin
Modernistic View of "A Rose for Emily "and "Barn Burning"
Fairy Tales as a Cultural Phenomenon
'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin
"Terrible" Effect in the Stories by Edgar Allan Poe
To Posterity by Petrarch
Destined to Witness: Growing up Black in Nazi Germany by Hans J. Massaquoi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We're almost half way through the January transfer window and Derby County are yet to make a signing.
We've seen three players - Max Lowe, Charles Vernam and Farrend Rawson - leave the club, although only Rawson's move was a permanent one.
The Rams are sitting pretty in the Championship as we head into the second-half of the season.
But Rowett may choose to strengthen his squad for the months ahead. Should he do so, then bringing players in on loan is an option.
Rowett brought in Sam Winnall from Sheffield Wednesday during the last transfer window, with Jacob Butterfield going the other way.
What are the rules regarding loans in the Championship?
Clubs are allowed to have eight players on loan, but can only field a maximum of five loan signings in any one game.
Derby County's January 2017 signings - where are they now?
52.4.1 A maximum of 5 Players registered on a Temporary Loan Transfer can be named in the Players listed on a team sheet for any individual match played under the auspices of The League. This maximum shall reduce to 4 Players where a Club names a Player on the team sheet who is registered on an Emergency Goalkeeper Loan.
The EFL scrapped the emergency loan system last season, meaning that loan deals can only be struck during the summer or January transfer window. This means moves will either be six-month or season-long deals.
What about international loan deals?
After Watford signed 10 players on loan from Udinese back in 2012 – and 14 loans in total – all EFL clubs agreed to change the regulations in international loans.
The limit on overseas temporary deals is now set at five (on any matchday).
And only four players can be signed from one specific club.
Are there any emergency loan deals?
Clubs can apply for an emergency loan signing for goalkeepers only, and there are strict regulations in place. This is how Plymouth Argyle ended up with Rams shot-stopper Kelle Roos.
Any club wishing to sign a goalkeeper on loan outside the window must provide written evidence that all the existing keepers have been certified unfit to play, that they are suspended, or called up to play for their country.


text:
Q: Get the date an Access table was created in VB.NET I am using VB.NET and need a way to get the date a table was created in MS Access.  It is shown in Access under table properties so I am guessing I can retrieve that data somehow.
Does anybody have any idea?
Regards,
Andrew

A: Use (DAO objects):
 CurrentDB.TableDefs("TableName").DateCreated

You would also need to have Microsoft DAO 3.6 Object Library reference added in your VB.net project.


text:
I swallowed my pride and went to a geriatrician. I'm glad I did
By Jane Gross
Eros Dervishi for STAT
NEW YORK — Checking in at the front desk of the geriatric clinic, I suddenly felt I had made a ghastly mistake.
At 68, I was the only one in the waiting room not accompanied by a caregiver — and one of the few not using a walker or a wheelchair.
"What was I thinking?'' I asked myself. Looking around, I saw my own feeble future spread out before me, a tableau of what the next 20 years would bring. The exhaustive intake form that I'd filled out at home — it asked (among other things) what I ate in a typical day, whether I needed help bathing, and whether I'd had my bone density tested — suddenly seemed more ominous than reassuring.
But I couldn't just leave. A spate of new health problems, requiring a gaggle of doctors with no connection to one another, had persuaded me to find the right person to quarterback my care, now and in the years to come.
My muddled brain: A fall, a concussion, and weeks of confusion
Plus, I had experienced nagging memory issues since a concussion last year. I wanted an Alzheimer's test. The idea terrified me. But I had to know.
Rationally, I knew this geriatric clinic at Mt. Sinai Hospital was the place to do all that. So I swallowed hard and sat down.
That intake form had taken hours to fill out; in one section, I had to review a catalog of 88 symptoms and say whether I'd had any of them in the past three months. (Among those I checked: weight change, blurry vision, excessive thirst, and fatigue.)
My appointment was just as thorough as the form.
At recent appointments with my internist, she began looking at her watch after 10 minutes and abruptly dismissed me after 15, the average length of a doctor's visit these days. By contrast, my geriatrician, Dr. Christine Chang, spent two hours with me, most of it talking.
The sense that Dr. Chang had all the time in the world was a first for me. So, too, was the participation of a nurse practitioner and a social worker, both part of her team. They asked questions I had never been asked before, but surely should have been: Was I sexually active? Did I have any mental health issues? Had I always been so skinny?
The contrast in approach and attitude highlights much of what is wrong with the American health care system. It also explains the dire shortage of geriatricians, who typically serve patients in their 80s and beyond, providing primary care and coordinating among necessary specialists.
There are only about 7,000 geriatricians practicing in the US, and their numbers are dwindling even as the need increases, with 20 percent of the population projected to be elderly in 2030.
Are we facing an Alzheimer's armageddon?
Sad to say, in America's fee-for-service system, it's procedures and prescriptions that are reimbursed, not discussion that may lead to a decision to do nothing. Thus, the better geriatricians do their jobs, the less they are paid, a problem compounded by the low rate of reimbursement from Medicare. The median compensation for geriatricians is $200,000 a year, the lowest of all medical specialties, although their reported job satisfaction is among the highest.
While I'm sure Dr. Chang would treat me aggressively when appropriate, her default approach was less-is-more — simple remedies before complicated ones and the less medication the better.
When I reported slight hearing loss, Dr. Chang suggested a week of drops to soften ear wax before considering a hearing aid that costs thousands of dollars and is not covered by Medicare. Knowing I had recently taken a terrible fall on my head, and still had dizzy spells, she tested my balance by having me walk heel-to-toe, first with my eyes open and then with eyes closed. Tai chi would help, Dr. Chang said, and the clinic offered free weekly classes (along with meditation and yoga) to patients, their caregivers, and clinic staff.
Dr. Chang actually "did'' only three things aside from routine measurements: administered a pneumonia vaccine; checked my vitamin D levels, protective against broken bones; and conducted a mini-mental state examination, a short cognitive test that helps diagnose Alzheimer's disease in its early stages.
Luckily, she had taken my blood pressure before the test because anxiety about the results must have sent it soaring.
Who among us, past a certain age, doesn't lose our glasses or walk from one room to next only to forget what we're doing there? That's normal aging, the experts say, but it always sets my heart pounding.
Sign up for Daily Recap
A roundup of STAT's top stories of the day.
Now I would find out if those worries were justified.
I wasn't sure I actually wanted to know.
Identifying drawings of a lion, a rhinoceros, and a camel was easy. Drawing a clock with its hands set at 11:10 went fine (after a slight pause to remember whether 11 is to the right or the left of 12).
Counting backward from 100 in intervals of seven (100, 93, 86, etc.) was daunting but doable. Listing as many farm animals as possible in 20 seconds was a snap; so was hearing words and then spelling them backwards.
The killer part was the recall test. I was given a list of half a dozen words at the start of the test. About 20 minutes later, after the animals and the numbers and whatnot had distracted me, I was asked to recite them. I remembered four (although damned if I know what they are now, more than a week later) but went blank on the other two.
Dr. Chang offered cues: "A kind of building?" Castle! "A flower?" Tulip!
The fact that I could respond to cues was reassuring, she said. It meant the words were stored in the file drawer of memory. If I'd had Alzheimer's disease, they would already be lost.
Was I relieved? Of course. But it took a while before I stopped trembling, before the bath of cold sweat subsided.
I stopped twice on the six-block walk home, sitting on a bench and trying to calm down. I told myself over and over that everything was OK.
And that if the time ever came when it wasn't, I'd be in good hands.
Jane Gross is a journalist in New York City.
Jane Gross
gross914@gmail.com
shanon jose says:
Conference Link: https://geriatrics-gerontology.global-summit.com/
Mya says:
I read this hoping to gain some helpful information to pass on to my grandparents and I think I found just that, so thank you!
I wanted to let you know that when you walk into another room and forget why you are there, it's because you weren't thinking about the reason as you stepped through the doorway. If you return to where you were when you decided to go into the other room, you'll usually remember what the reason was. A good friend told me this a long time ago and my doctor confirmed that is usually the case.
So, if you ever forget what you came into a room for, go back to where you were a moment before crossing the threshold. Saying to yourself "I need _____" as you walk into the room has helped me avoid the problem altogether. Our brains work in mysterious ways sometimes, but not always because there's something wrong with us. 🙂
Older Comments »
LGBT people more likely than counterparts to report memory…
By Andrew L. Yarrow
The White House's about-face on drug rebates is a loss for public health
By Peter J. Pitts
Opioid overdose should be treated like attempted suicide: with an emergency hold
By David A. Patterson Silver Wolf
Newborn screening saves lives. Congress needs to reauthorize the program
By R. Rodney Howell
We love primary care. Why are our trainees so discouraged by it?
By Barbara Ogur, Katherine Miller, and Russell Phillips


text:
State Government of Victoria beginning 8 April 1982 - period in office of Premier Cain [jnr], John ending on 10 August 1990
Previous period in this series for VIC | Next period in this series for VIC
Cain [jnr], John
Change of party leader
VIC 1 October 1988 John Cain [jnr] Australian Labor Party John Cain [jnr] Australian Labor Party
VIC 2 March 1985 John Cain [jnr] Australian Labor Party John Cain [jnr] Australian Labor Party
VIC 3 April 1982 Lindsay Hamilton Simpson Thompson Liberal Party John Cain [jnr] Australian Labor Party
Loss of general election (Thompson): Beginning of John Cain (junior)'s period in office (see note below); Premier Thompson called for a general election on 3 April 1982. At the election for the Legislative Assembly, there was a 3 percent swing against the government, and the Liberal Party lost 17 of the 41 seats it had won at the previous election in 1979. The Australian Labor Party won over 50 percent of the first preference vote and a majority of the seats in the Assembly. Premier Thompson tendered his resignation on 8 April 1982 and John Cain was commissioned to form an Australian Labor Party majority government.
John Cain (junior): The John Cain who held this period in office (1982-1990) was the son of John Cain (senior) who held the office of Premier and led Australian Labor Party governments from 14-18 September 1943, 21 November 1945 to 20 November 1947, and 17 December 1952 to 7 June 1955. In the notes to this page, John Cain (junior) will be referred to simply as 'Cain'.
Change of party leader (Cain): By mid-1990, the Cain government's financial problems with the Victorian Economic Development Commission and the State Bank of Victoria's links with the bankrupt merchant bank Tricontinental had been exacerbated by the collapse of the Pyramid Building Society. Coupled with the state's financial problems, hostility between the government and some sections of the union movement, and divisions within the Australian Labor Party caucus and cabinet, prompted Cain to resign as Premier on 10 August 1990. The context of Cain's resignation is dealt with in Strangio, pp 339-342, (see 'References', below), and note Cain's own assessment of divisions within the party in Cain, ch. 13 (see 'References', below).
The role of Tricontinental in the collapse of the Cain government is covered in Hugo Armstrong, 'The Tricontinental Affair', in Considine and Costar, pp 43-58 (see 'References', below); a more extended version is, Hugo Armstrong, Tricontinental: The Rise and Fall of a Merchant Bank, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1995, ISBN 0522846580), but note the review of this publication by Warren P Hogan, in Australian Economic History Review, 37 (2) July 1997: 167-170.
References: A survey of Cain's period in office can be found in Paul Strangio, 'John Cain Jnr: The Burden of History', in Strangio and Costar, pp 325-350, (see 'Sources', below). A comprehensive review of the Cain government is provided by Mark Considine and Brian Costar (editors), Trials in Power: Cain, Kirner and Victoria 1982-1992, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1992, ISBN 0522845371), and Cain himself produced a study of his period in office; see, John Cain, John Cain's Years: Power, Parties and Politics, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1995, ISBN 0522847072).
The Victorian Parliament under the Cain government is surveyed by Wright, pp 220-235 (see 'Sources', below). Information about the establishment of the Cain government is contained in the collections by Brian J Costar and Colin A Hughes (editors), Labor to Office: The Victorian State Election 1982, (Blackburn, Vic.: Drummond, 1983, ISBN 0909081735), and P R Hay, J. Halligan, J. Warhurst and B Costar (editors), Essays on Victorian Politics, (Warrnambool, Vic: Warrnambool Institute Press, 1985, ISBN 0949759066). The Australian Journal of Politics and History has given brief summaries of Victorian politics and government since 1956 in the 'Political Chronicle' section of the journal in issues of each annual volume. This publication can be viewed online through Wiley-Blackwell Journals at subscribing libraries.
Colin A Hughes, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1975-1984, (Rushcutters Bay, NSW: Australian National University Press, 1986, ISBN 008033038X); Colin A Hughes, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1985-1999, (Sydney: Federation Press, 2002, ISBN 1862874346); Paul Strangio and Brian Costar (editors), The Victorian Premiers 1856-2006, (Sydney: Federation Press, 2006, ISBN 9781862876019); Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel: A History of the Parliament of Victoria 1856-1990, (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0195533593). Victoria Hansard (Record of Parliamentary Debates) on line at: http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/hansard .
In consulting these sources, note the difference between ministries and periods in office.


text:
Colin Porlezza
Senior Assistant Professor of Digital Journalism, Institute of Media and Journalism; Università della Svizzera italiana
https://search.usi.ch/en/people/bdf33cedef6822a82a438fda562e9fda/porlezza-colin
Colin Porlezza is a Senior Assistant Professor in Digital Journalism at the Institute of Media and Journalism at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano, Switzerland. He also holds the post of an Honorary Senior research Fellow at the Department of Journalism at City, University of London. His fields of research include the datafication of journalism and, specifically, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism, media accountability and transparency, and journalism innovation. He recently concluded a Google DNI funded project called DMINR (Digital Mining In News and Retrieval), of which he was the principal investigator, that focused not only on the empirical analysis of the impact of AI on journalism, but it also included the development and design of a specific AI-driven tool for the verification of information. A follow-up project proposal, in which he is a co-investigator, has recently been funded with a HEIF (Higher Education Innovation Fund) award. At USI, he is currently carrying out a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation on journalism innovation called JoIn-DemoS.


text:
About Online Psychology Degree Guide
The Pros and Cons of a Career in Forensic Psychology
What Can I Do With a Bachelors Degree in Psychology?
What Can I Do with a Master's Degree in Psychology?
What Careers are in Experimental Psychology?
What Careers are in Sports Psychology?
onlinepsychologydegree.info is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.
How Can I Become a Psychiatrist?
Wondering how to become a psychiatrist with a psychology degree? If so, the bad news is a psychology degree won't be sufficient. Psychiatrists are medical professionals who need a doctorate from an accredited medical school. Psychiatrists have prescribing power to treat serious mental illnesses with both psychotherapy and oral drugs or injections. Psychiatrists need more advanced training than psychologists to prepare in-depth patient interventions. Psychiatrists follow a step-by-step route through college and medical school to reach their occupation.
Becoming a psychiatrist generally takes eight to 11 years beyond a bachelor's degree. In comparison, psychologists could practice after as little as five years of graduate studies. Psychiatrists have a deeper understanding of how the body and brain influence mental health. General practitioners usually refer patients with mental illness symptoms to psychiatrists. Psychiatrists and psychologists sometimes work together to provide a patient with well-rounded care. After all, clinicians with only a psychology degree can't provide both medical and psychological care though. Here's a closer look at how students can become board-certified psychiatrists.
What Psychiatrists are Trained to Do
Psychiatrists are mental health physicians who treat conditions that affect how patients feel, think, behave, and interact with others. They're trained to diagnose wide-ranging mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction, bulimia, anxiety, and depression. Psychiatrists interview patients about their symptoms to narrow down the vast number of potential diagnoses. Then, psychiatrists develop custom treatment plans to treat the condition holistically and with medicine. The following are common duties expected of psychiatrists.
Conduct physical exams and psychological testing
Collect patient information on behaviors and mental state
Collaborate with doctors, psychologists, and case managers
Counsel patients on an inpatient or outpatient basis
Choose suitable, FDA-approved drug treatment options
Carry out psychotherapy sessions from varied approaches
Consult with patients' families for couple or group therapy
Continually change treatment plans to boost patient progress
Complete administrative tasks like record keeping and billing
Conduct medical research to advance the psychiatry field
However, psychiatrists don't all work in the same capacity. Similar to psychology, psychiatry has different specializations to pick. Child and adolescent psychiatry focuses on treating young people under age 21 with early signs of mental illness. Forensic psychiatry is concerned with assessing the mental competency of criminal offenders for courtroom proceedings. Geriatric psychiatry assists older patients who experience abnormal aspects of aging from acute or chronic illness. Sleep psychiatry centers on treating disorders that interrupt patients' abilities to rest comfortably, including insomnia and hypersomnia. Addiction psychiatry only deals with patients who abuse substances and have co-morbid mental disorders.
Who Should Consider Becoming a Psychiatrist
Anyone asking how to become a psychiatrist with a psychology degree can qualify with hard work and determination. Psychiatrists need persistence to get through 12+ years of post-secondary training in total. Psychiatrists keep using their patience and endurance to guide reluctant patients through their feelings. Psychiatrists must be skilled communicators capable of talking issues out with diverse patients. Listening skills are included to truly hear patients' stories and concerns. Writing skills ensure psychiatrists keep detailed records of each patient session.
Psychiatrists are diagnostic problem-solvers with strong analytical skills to determine which mental illnesses patients have. Psychiatrists must be detail-oriented to review DSM-5 diagnosis criteria clearly and prescribe the right drugs. Leadership skills help psychiatrists manage staff like receptionists and psychiatric technicians in their private practices. Creativity is important for psychiatrists to prod pent-up memories and emotions out of patients. Psychiatrists need observational skills to watch patients' body language and read between the lines.
Above all, future psychiatrists must be extremely empathetic and friendly. Psychiatrists need to treat mentally ill patients with compassion rather than judgment or shame. Psychiatrists must have the emotional strength to address sensitive topics with kindness and understanding. Ethics are imperative for psychiatrists to keep patient sessions 100 percent confidential. Crisis intervention skills are needed to deescalate tense or even violent situations safely. Psychiatrists must be calm and even-tempered to maintain composure when controlling patient outbursts.
Great Reasons to Become a Psychiatrist
For 2020, the U.S. News & World Report ranked psychiatry the 34th best job nationwide. Highly rated 6.8/10, psychiatrists have America's 18th best health care career. Psychiatrists enjoy the intrinsic rewards of helping countless patients overcome serious mental illnesses. Psychiatrists prescribe much-needed treatments to relieve the distressing symptoms of emotional and behavioral disorders.
Psychiatrists are magical mood boosters who talk patients through difficulties for inner peace and life prosperity. In return, psychiatrists have the sixth-highest paying job with a median annual wage of $208,000. Most psychiatrists make between $75,590 and $253,370 each year. To compare, psychologists have average earnings of $87,450. Psychiatrists enjoy a profession that challenges their minds and feeds their finances.
How to become a psychiatrist involves planning out one's schooling and on-the-job training. Are the several years in higher education worth it? The Bureau of Labor Statistics says yes. From 2018 to 2028, the hiring of psychiatrists will skyrocket by 16 percent. Much faster-than-average job growth in psychiatry will add 4,500 new U.S. jobs. As positions for psychiatrists multiply to 33,200 in total, there will be a shortage.
The National Council for Behavioral Health predicts America will be short 15,600 psychiatrists by 2025. Medical school recruits are direly needed to help the one in five U.S. residents with mental illness. New psychiatrists are especially in-demand in low-income, rural areas. Psychiatrists also benefit from the ability to establish their private practices. Nearly one-fourth of psychiatrists are self-employed as their own bosses.
The First Steps to Becoming a Psychiatrist
Every psychiatrist's journey begins with college admission for a bachelor's degree. Getting an associate degree for a community college's cheaper 2+2 transfer pathway also works. Either route is open to high school graduates and GED recipients. Budding psychiatrists enjoy the most leeway when choosing their major and class schedules. Medical schools don't require a specific curriculum. Popularly, students follow how to become a psychiatrist with a psychology degree. Psychiatrists also often study the biological, mathematical, and physical sciences.
Accredited bachelor's degrees from A-Z or anthropology to zoology would count. For the first two years, undergrads take a variety of general education courses like literature and statistics. Afterward, bachelor's students take major-related classes geared toward their professional goals. Double-check that all medical school prerequisites are fulfilled. Taking at least one year of fundamental biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics courses is essential. Let's survey a few other suggested undergraduate courses for aspiring psychiatrists.
Lifespan Development
Research Methods/Design
Upperclassmen should supplement courses with hands-on, applied learning. Experience working in the mental health field makes med school applicants more likely to succeed. Apply for psychology-related internships with supervised patient care. Participate or lead psychology laboratory projects to apply learned experimental methods. Volunteer with charitable nonprofits like Project Hope, the Red Cross, RAINN, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Consider purchasing student tickets to the American Psychological Association's Convention too.
Early in their senior year, future psychiatrists must take the Medical College Admission Test. How to become a psychiatrist requires passing the MCAT with flying colors. Med schools look for solid GPAs, high MCAT scores, good interview marks, and an impressive resume. The MCAT is currently a 230-question, computer-based exam that costs $310. The seven-hour test can be taken up to seven times in total. In 2019, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reported an average accepted MCAT score of 128.
What Medical School Entails for Aspiring Psychiatrists
Once admitted, medical school traditionally takes four to five years. Future psychiatrists can select a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). The latter option prioritizes a holistic, whole-person approach. Medical school cohorts begin with two years of class seminars and lab practice. Expect courses like Disease Pathology, Pharmacology, and Neuroanatomy. During the third year, M.D. and D.O. students start clinical rotations called clerkships. Every student gets generalist medical training with practice in various specialties.
Which medical schools are the best for psychiatrists? According to CNBC, the top med schools include Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Columbia, and the Mayo Clinic. Yale, Pittsburgh, Duke, Cornell, and Northwestern are also top-notch psychiatry schools. Carefully choose a medical school with a strong psychiatry specialty program. It's best to select schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Consider other factors like price, location, class size, selectivity, academic rigor, and support services. Always contact the admissions office for a campus tour before enrolling.
The AAMC reported an average 2019-20 public medical school tuition rate of $37,556 in-state and $62,194 out-of-state. Private medical schools charge $60,665 per year on average. Becoming a psychiatrist doesn't have to leave students debt-ridden though. Medical schools offer financial aid programs like scholarships and grants. Professional organizations present funding like the Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarship and Physicians of Tomorrow Award. Armed Forces service members qualify for the full-tuition Health Professions Scholarship Program. Psychiatrists take advantage of loan forgiveness opportunities as well.
Medical school graduation isn't the end of the how to become a psychiatrist path though. The next step is completing one's residency. Residencies are when medical doctors specialize in the psychiatry trade. Residents can be matched to inpatient or outpatient psychiatric hospitals and clinics. Post-graduate residencies in psychiatry last at least four years. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is a great place to find residency matches. Residencies are available in diverse sub-fields, such as geriatric, forensic, child, and addiction.
How to Earn Licensing and Certification as a Psychiatrist
Before calling oneself a doctor, psychiatrists must pass the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination. This three-step process certifies a psychiatrist's knowledge and skills for patient mental health care. Graduates of any LCME- or AOA-accredited medical school can apply for $645 per step. New doctors begin with a computer-based exam of seven 60-minute blocks and 280 questions. Second, psychiatrists undergo a clinical skills evaluation to prove health promotion abilities. The third licensing step involves a two-day USLME test that splits 412 multiple-choice questions. If any step is failed, individuals can apply for three retakes in a 12-month time frame.
Besides standard licensure, there are several national board certifications offered for psychiatrists. Board certification isn't mandatory, yet it's highly recommended for professional credibility. For instance, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) has a $1,345 initial certification exam to prove specialty skills. The American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) has offered psychiatry credentials since 1960 with 200 test questions. The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) offers an added qualification for forensic psychiatrists. Investigate which certifications nearby hospitals or private practices require for hiring.
Start the Education Process to Practice Psychiatry
Overall, getting a job as a licensed and certified psychiatrist rarely happens before one's 30th birthday. Intensive psychiatry training lasts at least 12 years beyond high school. Medical school can't be skipped, so how to become a psychiatrist with a psychology degree alone isn't possible. Build atop a psychology degree with medical courses, clinical rotations, and a residency. Certification for psychiatrists doesn't end because renewals are required every decade. Psychiatrists earn good job security at psychiatric hospitals, drug rehabs, mental health clinics, universities, and private practices.
Uninterested in going through these rigorous training steps? Perhaps consider a career in counseling or psychology instead. Therapists and psychologists still work with clients who suffer from mental disorders. Psychiatric aides can assist mentally ill patients with only an associate's degree or certificate. Whichever mental health career is chosen, the need is great. Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that 26 percent of U.S. adults meet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Nearly 10 percent of Americans have a depressive disorder. Determine which career avenue suits one's aspirations. Following the long process of how to become a psychiatrist is just one option.
Are Psychologists and Psychiatrists Different?
What are the Differences Between Psychiatrists and Psychologists?
The 25 Most Influential Psychological Experiments in History
The 30 Most Influential Cognitive Psychologists Alive Today
Top 10 Most Affordable Online Master's in Clinical Psychology Degree Programs
Top 10 Online Master's in Forensic Psychology
Top 10 Self-Help Books About Loneliness
Top 25 Online Master's in Educational Psychology
Top 25 Online Master's in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Top 30 Affordable Online Psychology Degree Programs
Top 5 Online Doctorate in Educational Psychology
Top 50 Online Psychology Master's Degree Programs
Top 6 Most Affordable Online PhD/PsyD Programs in Clinical Psychology
Top Five Highest Paying Jobs in the Field of Psychology
50 Most Innovative University Psychology Departments
5 Best Online Ph.D. Marriage and Family Counseling Programs
5 Best Online Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology Programs
10 Most Affordable Counseling Psychology Online Programs
10 Most Affordable Online Industrial Organizational Psychology Programs
10 Most Affordable Online Developmental Psychology Online Programs
15 Most Affordable Online Sport Psychology Programs
10 Most Affordable School Psychology Online Degree Programs
50 Great Small Colleges for a Bachelor's in Psychology
30 Most Influential Neuroscientists Alive Today
Top 40 Websites for Psychology Students and Professionals
Top 30 Psychology Blogs
25 Celebrities With Animal Phobias
Your Phobias Illustrated (Infographic)
15 Inspiring TED Talks on Overcoming Challenges
20 Most Unethical Experiments in Psychology
10 Fascinating Facts About the Psychology of Color
15 Scariest Mental Disorders of All Time
15 Things to Know About Mental Disorders in Animals
10 Most Deranged Serial Killers of All Time
Online Psychology Degree Guide


The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain recently awarded more than $280,000 to 21 community service programs and organizations in central Connecticut.
The money went to improve education, health, the arts, economic development and human services in New Britain, Plainville, Southington and Berlin, according to the foundation.
Wheeler Clinic: $15,000 for a nutrition wellness program in Greater New Britain.
The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain manages philanthropic gifts of $5,000 and more in central Connecticut. It serves Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington.