TINGOLO, Kenya (AP) — A wave of outrage has grown in Kenya since word has spread that a 16-year-old girl was gang raped and thrown into a pit latrine in this western Kenyan town, with the alleged attackers told to cut grass at a police post, and then let go.
Nearly 1.4 million people have signed an online petition put up by the activist group Avaaz calling for prosecution of the young men and an investigation of the police who freed the suspects.
Kenya's political heavyweights are also speaking up. Supreme Court Chief Justice Willy Mutunga last weekend said he had forwarded the matter to the National Council for Administration of Justice for "immediate action." Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said that "as a woman and a mother I am outraged and angered by this inhumane, traumatizing and inexcusable violation."
The teen is currently confined to a wheelchair because of the physical trauma from the attack. She has undergone two surgeries — one for a fistula and another for spinal surgery, said Lydia Muthiani, the deputy executive director of the Coalition on Violence Against Women, a group that has taken up the case.
"She is doing very well. They are hopeful she will walk again," said Muthiani, who noted that the victim is still dealing with the psychological trauma of the rape and from time to time will shut down emotionally.
The attack happened in June but didn't get wider attention until Nairobi's Daily Nation newspaper wrote about it in early October.
Her mother spoke through tears at her home in Busia County. She told The Associated Press that the police at first said only that her daughter should be taken to a pharmacy and be prescribed pain killers.
Even if her physical and psychological trauma continues to heal, her life will forever be upended. Cultural traditions in this area mandate that a rape victim leave her home and move to another town where, in theory, people will not know that she has been raped.
Muthiani labeled rape an "invisible crime" in Kenya because it is underreported and rarely acted on judicially.
"We wouldn't know how big a problem rape is in essence just because we do not have all the numbers of reported cases, but from the number of cases that we do receive, it is a very, very high number," said Muthiani, who said studies have shown that one in six Kenyan women will experience some sort of sexual assault in their lifetime.
Muthiani said that one aid group that studied sexual violence during Kenya's 2007-08 election violence found that at least 3,000 women were raped during the months of violence. Muthiani said there have been only 11 convictions related to those 3,000 cases.
"When you have a statistic that low, what are you inspiring the public to do? The institutions that are supposed to protect and serve us, for instance police and prosecutors, have to start doing a better job. We have to put it out there that there is going to be punishment for people who sexually violate other people," she said.
Kenya's inspector general of police, David Kimaiyo, has tweeted in support of the victim from his personal Twitter account. Kimaiyo said the investigation into the attack is complete and that the file has been forwarded to prosecutors to be acted on.
Alfred Ouma, the chairman of a local council of elders in Busia County, said he wants "severe action" taken against the officers who initially received the rape complaint and "mishandled it."
The victim's grandmother told AP from her small grass hut home that the attackers must be found.
"I want those policemen that released the boys that they had in custody to arrest the parents of the boys who raped my granddaughter so that they can say where the boys are hiding," the grandmother said.
___
Associated Press reporter Andrew Njuguna contributed to this report. Straziuso reported from Nairobi, Kenya.
The old-model college professor could afford to write for free. Times have changed.
Photo by Shutterstock
Should writers work for free? What if those writers are academics?
That is a real question up for debate in several media outlets this past week. But I’d like to ask why we work for free and why we don’t shame organizations that expect us to.
The Internet has created a bottomless void that requires content. In a classic case of how expansion breeds stratified access, an increase in platforms that require writing has resulted in fewer outlets that pay writers to write. In the New York Times recently, Tim Kreider argued that he cannot afford to write for free. He encourages other writers to reject the freemium culture for the benefit of all who make a living by penning the word. In a column for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Sarah Kendzior says that journalists may find it beneficial to write for free occasionally, but that academics should never do the same, even though “[p]ublishers like to evoke academics’ professional status to justify not paying them.”
Kendzior’s argument might seem like backward logic: Why shouldn’t privileged elite academics give back to the public good by writing for free? Her larger point is about the profit structure of academic publishers, and it is a good one; but there is another argument to be made that’s more specific to the structural change of labor occurring in higher education. It is a reality largely hidden in plain sight as wars, government spying, and rising inequality dominate our national attention span, but the life of the mind is not the elite gig it once was.
Nearly two-thirds of all those teaching in colleges and universities aren’t the tenured professors in corduroy sports coats familiar from pop culture, inoculated from layoffs and depressed wages. They are instead adjuncts—who work on piecemeal teaching contracts for an average of $2,700 per class, per semester/quarter—and other non-tenure-track instructors. Even among the less precarious professoriate, there’s a push to dismantle tenure and replace it with term-limit contracts. Academics who write for free under these conditions are not doing it to prove their superstar bona fides. Many are writing for free hoping to build a career path where increasingly there is not one, doing work for which they have trained for a decade or more only to find an economy that isn’t much interested in paying a premium for expertise.
Withholding our creative contributions from causes and organizations that reflect our values does little to challenge systematic abuse.
Let’s get this out of the way: I have written for free. My membership in the club of Real Academics is constantly being negotiated, but early in my doctoral career I wrote for outlets without payment. Like Atlantic writer Ta-Nehesi Coates, I made my calculation relative to how I understood my social position. I am a black woman with a non-elite higher-education pedigree. When you are at Harvard or Yale, you do not need much else to be considered an expert on anything, really, whether you have studied it or not. You are at an Ivy League institution. We assume you can comment with gravitas on everything from global warming to Michelle Obama’s fashion choices. Without those types of Ivy League status baubles, it is hard to cultivate gravitas. Contributing to public discourse is even more complicated for women and minorities, both of whom are underrepresented in both old and new media. The op-ed pages of major news outlets, which are overwhelmingly white and male, are gatekeepers to Sunday news shows where experts influence public opinion. With the recent exception of Up With Chris Hayes on MSNBC, the Sunday-establishment television punditry has been a near whitewash, with a minority view of white men representing the views of an America that gets browner every year.
Like many minority scholars, I accept responsibility for countering this imbalance in who is deemed “expert.” But, like money, it takes status to make status. And there are few mainstream venues that invite women and people of color to speak on more than “women’s issues” or “race issues” but on issues germane to their actual expertise in a field of study. In many ways, gender, race, and class issues in academia become pipeline issues for media gatekeepers and the professional pundit class. How can academics who already exist at the margins shape discourse that always comes first for women and minorities, and also buck the structural trend of publishers expecting them to write for free? There is no easy answer.
The economics of demanding free content, in a field flush with more producers than paying outlets, is a formidable barrier. So are the economics of higher education, which produces more experts than dignified, full-pay work for experts. Working for prestige without accompanying cash is, in the end, a Faustian bargain. But so too is hunkering down amid the crumbling academic labor structure, especially for minority scholars who have long been underrepresented and systematically denied tenure. For them, public scholarship can be less about exposure than indemnity. How do we expand access to these voices without further marginalizing them?
I no longer write for free … unless I do. After a solid track record of payment for my content, a local alternative newspaper approached me a few months ago. It is a nonprofit that raises hell in a conservative Southern media market. I like hell-raisers. I have, on occasion, raised a little myself. I also like insurgent media. This newspaper could not afford to pay me, something the editor said upfront. I gladly gifted the paper the content. I had published the original essay at my own website first, making my ownership of it clear. The editor asked for the content, rather than assuming that because it was on the Internet it could be borrowed without my explicit permission. He explicitly expressed an understanding of the value of the work and that he was unable, not unwilling, to compensate me for it. In short, he respected my professionalism and my work. That the outlet also shares my values made the contribution a no-brainer for me. Judging by the reader mail I received after the paper published the essay, it sparked a meaningful conversation about an emotionally laden subject.
My choice to publish that essay for free is not the same as writing for free. I had choice and control. How do we give other academics and writers that same kind of choice and control? Individually, we can manage our own spaces. Be it in the form of blogs or e-books, the adjunctification of academic labor and media means exerting control over what we write. And, as Kendozier argues, we should demand respect for our work, even if respect is not always indicated as payment. Withholding our creative contributions from causes and organizations that reflect our values does little to challenge systematic abuse. However, expecting that our work be respected and only valuing gatekeepers that respect us can resist exploitation. More than writing for free, it is the assumption by gatekeepers that one should write for free that needs to be disrupted. The editor at that alternative newspaper could not afford to pay me, but that he expected that I should be paid worked very much in favor of my decision to write for free.
Ultimately, though, systematic abuses require systemic change. With the economics of labor against us, we have to appeal to cultural norms. Children working in factories can absolutely maximize profit returns, but we’ve (mostly) decided that child labor is a moral violation. In the same way, for-profit organizations that abuse labor to maximize profits should pay a price in legitimacy. That requires organizing, agitating, and writing about the hard choices faced by so many—even if, on occasion, we write about it for free.
Wireless device converts 'lost' energy into electric power
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Minnie Glymph minnie.glymph@duke.edu 919-660-8403 Duke University
Metamaterial cells designed by Duke engineers provide electric power as efficiently as solar panels
DURHAM, N.C. -- Using inexpensive materials configured and tuned to capture microwave signals, researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering have designed a power-harvesting device with efficiency similar to that of modern solar panels.
The device wirelessly converts the microwave signal to direct current voltage capable of recharging a cell phone battery or other small electronic device, according to a report appearing in the journal Applied Physics Letters in December 2013. (It is now available online.)
It operates on a similar principle to solar panels, which convert light energy into electrical current. But this versatile energy harvester could be tuned to harvest the signal from other energy sources, including satellite signals, sound signals or Wi-Fi signals, the researchers say.
The key to the power harvester lies in its application of metamaterials, engineered structures that can capture various forms of wave energy and tune them for useful applications.
Undergraduate engineering student Allen Hawkes, working with graduate student Alexander Katko and lead investigator Steven Cummer, professor of electrical and computer engineering, designed an electrical circuit capable of harvesting microwaves.
They used a series of five fiberglass and copper energy conductors wired together on a circuit board to convert microwaves into 7.3V of electrical energy. By comparison, Universal Serial Bus (USB) chargers for small electronic devices provide about 5V of power.
"We were aiming for the highest energy efficiency we could achieve," said Hawkes. "We had been getting energy efficiency around 6 to 10 percent, but with this design we were able to dramatically improve energy conversion to 37 percent, which is comparable to what is achieved in solar cells."
"It's possible to use this design for a lot of different frequencies and types of energy, including vibration and sound energy harvesting," Katko said. "Until now, a lot of work with metamaterials has been theoretical. We are showing that with a little work, these materials can be useful for consumer applications."
For instance, a metamaterial coating could be applied to the ceiling of a room to redirect and recover a Wi-Fi signal that would otherwise be lost, Katko said. Another application could be to improve the energy efficiency of appliances by wirelessly recovering power that is now lost during use.
"The properties of metamaterials allow for design flexibility not possible with ordinary devices like antennas," said Katko. "When traditional antennas are close to each other in space they talk to each other and interfere with each other's operation. The design process used to create our metamaterial array takes these effects into account, allowing the cells to work together."
With additional modifications, the researchers said the power-harvesting metamaterial could potentially be built into a cell phone, allowing the phone to recharge wirelessly while not in use. This feature could, in principle, allow people living in locations without ready access to a conventional power outlet to harvest energy from a nearby cell phone tower instead.
"Our work demonstrates a simple and inexpensive approach to electromagnetic power harvesting," said Cummer. "The beauty of the design is that the basic building blocks are self-contained and additive. One can simply assemble more blocks to increase the scavenged power."
For example, a series of power-harvesting blocks could be assembled to capture the signal from a known set of satellites passing overhead, the researchers explained. The small amount of energy generated from these signals might power a sensor network in a remote location such as a mountaintop or desert, allowing data collection for a long-term study that takes infrequent measurements.
###
The research was supported by a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative from the Army Research Office (Contract No. W911NF-09-1-0539).
CITATION: "A microwave metamaterial with integrated power harvesting functionality," Allen M. Hawkes, Alexander R. Katko, and Steven A. Cummer. Applied Physics Letters 103, 163901 (2013); doi: 10.1063/1.4824473
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Wireless device converts 'lost' energy into electric power
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Minnie Glymph minnie.glymph@duke.edu 919-660-8403 Duke University
Metamaterial cells designed by Duke engineers provide electric power as efficiently as solar panels
DURHAM, N.C. -- Using inexpensive materials configured and tuned to capture microwave signals, researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering have designed a power-harvesting device with efficiency similar to that of modern solar panels.
The device wirelessly converts the microwave signal to direct current voltage capable of recharging a cell phone battery or other small electronic device, according to a report appearing in the journal Applied Physics Letters in December 2013. (It is now available online.)
It operates on a similar principle to solar panels, which convert light energy into electrical current. But this versatile energy harvester could be tuned to harvest the signal from other energy sources, including satellite signals, sound signals or Wi-Fi signals, the researchers say.
The key to the power harvester lies in its application of metamaterials, engineered structures that can capture various forms of wave energy and tune them for useful applications.
Undergraduate engineering student Allen Hawkes, working with graduate student Alexander Katko and lead investigator Steven Cummer, professor of electrical and computer engineering, designed an electrical circuit capable of harvesting microwaves.
They used a series of five fiberglass and copper energy conductors wired together on a circuit board to convert microwaves into 7.3V of electrical energy. By comparison, Universal Serial Bus (USB) chargers for small electronic devices provide about 5V of power.
"We were aiming for the highest energy efficiency we could achieve," said Hawkes. "We had been getting energy efficiency around 6 to 10 percent, but with this design we were able to dramatically improve energy conversion to 37 percent, which is comparable to what is achieved in solar cells."
"It's possible to use this design for a lot of different frequencies and types of energy, including vibration and sound energy harvesting," Katko said. "Until now, a lot of work with metamaterials has been theoretical. We are showing that with a little work, these materials can be useful for consumer applications."
For instance, a metamaterial coating could be applied to the ceiling of a room to redirect and recover a Wi-Fi signal that would otherwise be lost, Katko said. Another application could be to improve the energy efficiency of appliances by wirelessly recovering power that is now lost during use.
"The properties of metamaterials allow for design flexibility not possible with ordinary devices like antennas," said Katko. "When traditional antennas are close to each other in space they talk to each other and interfere with each other's operation. The design process used to create our metamaterial array takes these effects into account, allowing the cells to work together."
With additional modifications, the researchers said the power-harvesting metamaterial could potentially be built into a cell phone, allowing the phone to recharge wirelessly while not in use. This feature could, in principle, allow people living in locations without ready access to a conventional power outlet to harvest energy from a nearby cell phone tower instead.
"Our work demonstrates a simple and inexpensive approach to electromagnetic power harvesting," said Cummer. "The beauty of the design is that the basic building blocks are self-contained and additive. One can simply assemble more blocks to increase the scavenged power."
For example, a series of power-harvesting blocks could be assembled to capture the signal from a known set of satellites passing overhead, the researchers explained. The small amount of energy generated from these signals might power a sensor network in a remote location such as a mountaintop or desert, allowing data collection for a long-term study that takes infrequent measurements.
###
The research was supported by a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative from the Army Research Office (Contract No. W911NF-09-1-0539).
CITATION: "A microwave metamaterial with integrated power harvesting functionality," Allen M. Hawkes, Alexander R. Katko, and Steven A. Cummer. Applied Physics Letters 103, 163901 (2013); doi: 10.1063/1.4824473
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Cameramen film as the Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-11M space ship carrying new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. The rocket carrying the Olympic flame successfully blasted off Thursday from earth ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Cameramen film as the Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-11M space ship carrying new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. The rocket carrying the Olympic flame successfully blasted off Thursday from earth ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
AP10ThingsToSee - A Voodoo devotee prays on top of a grave stone during Day of the Dead celebrations at the cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
Kellie Pickler, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs present the award for vocal group of the year at the 47th annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP)
A three-month-old Sumatran tiger cub named "Bandar" shows his displeasure after being dunked in the tiger exhibit moat for a swim reliability test at the National Zoo in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013. All cubs born at the zoo must take a swim test before being allowed to roam in the exhibit. Bandar passed his test. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi shouts to a police officer outside of a police academy compound were the trial of ousted President Mohammed Morsi is held in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Nov. 4 2013. After four months in secret detention, Egypt's deposed Islamist president defiantly rejected a court's authority to try him Monday, saying he was the country's "legitimate" leader and those that overthrew him should face charges instead. The trial was then adjourned until Jan. 8 after several interruptions.(AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
Here's your look at highlights from the weekly AP photo report, a gallery featuring a mix of front-page photography, the odd image you might have missed and lasting moments our editors think you should see.
This week's collection includes a Voodoo devotee praying on the Day of the Dead in Haiti, a tiger cub taking a swim reliability test, Golf star Tiger Woods making a shot from Asia to Europe on the Bosporus Bridge and a Russian rocket blasting off carrying the Olympic flame to the International Space Station.
___
This gallery contains photos published Nov. 1-7, 2013.
Follow AP photographers on Twitter: http://apne.ws/XZy6ny
The Archive: Previous "10 Things to See" galleries: http://apne.ws/13QUFKJ
___
See other recent AP photo galleries:
5 works from the art hoard found in Germany: http://apne.ws/17Ps4v7
Circus life for transgender Chileans: http://apne.ws/17Ps7Hq
A city rises from Syrian refugee camp: http://apne.ws/HIZQJ1
Images from the Day of the Dead celebrations: http://apne.ws/HJ05nb
India glitters ahead of Diwali: http://apne.ws/1iPqU4f
___
Follow AP Images on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Images
Visit AP Images online: http://www.apimages.com
___
This gallery was curated by photo editor Patrick Sison.
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The father of Bristol Palin's son is seeking at least equal custody.
Levi Johnston filed a petition for custody last month saying he wants 4-year-old Tripp to be in his mother's and father's lives equally.
The couple had agreed in 2010 that Palin would have primary physical custody and the two would share legal custody, according to Thomas Van Flein, Palin's attorney at that time. Johnston was given visitation and had agreed to pay child support.
Palin's current attorney, John Tiemessen, said that as of Oct. 15, the Child Support Services Division reported that Johnston owed about $66,000 in back support.
Palin and Johnston were thrust into the national spotlight as expectant, unwed teenagers in 2008, when Palin's mother, Sarah Palin, was tapped as the Republican vice presidential candidate.
Johnston and Bristol Palin had an on-off relationship before splitting for good. He has since married and has a daughter.
Bristol Palin has appeared in several reality series, including one for Lifetime that documented her life as a single mom.
Episode VII may still be in the throes of pre-production, but Lucasfilm has confirmed that the Star Wars saga will continue on December 18th, 2015, with shooting officially set to start in spring 2014 and leaving just 771 days left to speculate. ...
Contact: Mary Beckman mary.beckman@pnnl.gov 509-375-3688 DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
An international team of climate and social scientists say a new approach to climate preparedness is essential to help people adjust to coming changes
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Changes are already happening to Earth's climate due to the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and large-scale agriculture. As changes get more pronounced, people everywhere will have to adjust. In this week's issue of the journal Science, an international group of researchers urge the development of science needed to manage climate risks and capitalize on unexpected opportunities.
"Adapting to an evolving climate is going to be required in every sector of society, in every region of the globe. We need to get going, to provide integrated science if we are going to meet the challenge," said senior scientist Richard Moss of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "In this article, we describe the foundations for this research and suggest measures to establish it."
Climate preparedness research needs to integrate social and climate science, engineering, and other disciplines. It prepares for impacts by determining who and what are most vulnerable to changes and considering ways to adapt.
"Science for adaptation starts with understanding decision-making processes and information needs, determining where the vulnerabilities are, and then moves to climate modeling. A final step tracks whether adaptation is effective," said Moss, who is based at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a collaboration between PNNL in Richland, Wash. and the University of Maryland.
The article grew out of a workshop held in August 2012 at the Aspen Global Change Institute in Aspen, Colo., on how to improve support for decision-making in the face of a changing climate. The authors arrived at this approach to guide preparedness research based on the need to reduce the risks that climate change presents.
"The need to adapt and adjust is going to be global," said Moss. "We need a flexible, integrated approach that merges theoretical and problem-oriented sciences around four general challenges."
The four challenges are:
Understanding what information is needed to make decisions about adapting to climate change
Identifying vulnerabilities in society, the economy and the environment
Improving forecasts and climate models in ways that can address specific problems
Providing technology, management, and policy options for adapting
As an example of how practical and basic research can work together, Moss described work in the U.S. involving water utilities, university scientists, and private firms to pilot use of climate models and water utility modeling to design resilient water systems.
"This research is motivated by a practical challenge, ensuring reliable water supplies. Among the scientific advances that will be required is better integration of weather and climate models to improve decadal climate information to help people plan," Moss said.
Bringing together diverse disciplines at the Aspen workshop allowed the international team to explore all facets of adaptation, including less examined ones such as how scientific information is (and isn't) used in making decisions.
"Traditionally we think that what society needs is better predictions. But at this workshop, all of us climate and social scientists alike recognized the need to consider how decisions get implemented and that climate is only one of many factors that will determine how people will adapt," he said.
The focus on problem-solving could open up new sources of funding as well, sources such as non-governmental organizations, industry -- any group with specific problems that adaptation science could solve.
"We will make a virtue of necessity," said Moss.
###
Funding for the Aspen workshop was provided by NASA.
Reference: R.H. Moss, G.A. Meehl, M.C. Lemos, J.B. Smith, J.R. Arnold, J.C. Arnott, D. Behar, G.P. Brasseur, S.B. Broomell, A.J. Busalacchi, S. Dessai, K.L. Ebi, J.A. Edmonds, J. Furlow, L. Goddard, H.C. Hartmann, J.W. Hurrell, J.W. Katzenberger, D.M. Liverman, P.W. Mote, S.C. Moser, A. Kumar, R.S. Pulwarty, E.A. Seyller, B.L. Turner II, W.M. Washington, T.J. Wilbanks. Hell and High Water: Practice-Relevant Adaptation Science, Science November 8, 2013, doi:10.1126/science.1239569.
The Joint Global Change Research Institute is a unique partnership formed in 2001 between the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland. The PNNL staff associated with the center is world renowned for expertise in energy conservation and understanding of the interactions between climate, energy production and use, economic activity and the environment.
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. PNNL employs 4,500 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion, and has been managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by Ohio-based Battelle since the laboratory's inception in 1965. For more, visit the PNNL's News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Preparing for hell and high water
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Mary Beckman mary.beckman@pnnl.gov 509-375-3688 DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
An international team of climate and social scientists say a new approach to climate preparedness is essential to help people adjust to coming changes
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Changes are already happening to Earth's climate due to the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and large-scale agriculture. As changes get more pronounced, people everywhere will have to adjust. In this week's issue of the journal Science, an international group of researchers urge the development of science needed to manage climate risks and capitalize on unexpected opportunities.
"Adapting to an evolving climate is going to be required in every sector of society, in every region of the globe. We need to get going, to provide integrated science if we are going to meet the challenge," said senior scientist Richard Moss of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "In this article, we describe the foundations for this research and suggest measures to establish it."
Climate preparedness research needs to integrate social and climate science, engineering, and other disciplines. It prepares for impacts by determining who and what are most vulnerable to changes and considering ways to adapt.
"Science for adaptation starts with understanding decision-making processes and information needs, determining where the vulnerabilities are, and then moves to climate modeling. A final step tracks whether adaptation is effective," said Moss, who is based at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a collaboration between PNNL in Richland, Wash. and the University of Maryland.
The article grew out of a workshop held in August 2012 at the Aspen Global Change Institute in Aspen, Colo., on how to improve support for decision-making in the face of a changing climate. The authors arrived at this approach to guide preparedness research based on the need to reduce the risks that climate change presents.
"The need to adapt and adjust is going to be global," said Moss. "We need a flexible, integrated approach that merges theoretical and problem-oriented sciences around four general challenges."
The four challenges are:
Understanding what information is needed to make decisions about adapting to climate change
Identifying vulnerabilities in society, the economy and the environment
Improving forecasts and climate models in ways that can address specific problems
Providing technology, management, and policy options for adapting
As an example of how practical and basic research can work together, Moss described work in the U.S. involving water utilities, university scientists, and private firms to pilot use of climate models and water utility modeling to design resilient water systems.
"This research is motivated by a practical challenge, ensuring reliable water supplies. Among the scientific advances that will be required is better integration of weather and climate models to improve decadal climate information to help people plan," Moss said.
Bringing together diverse disciplines at the Aspen workshop allowed the international team to explore all facets of adaptation, including less examined ones such as how scientific information is (and isn't) used in making decisions.
"Traditionally we think that what society needs is better predictions. But at this workshop, all of us climate and social scientists alike recognized the need to consider how decisions get implemented and that climate is only one of many factors that will determine how people will adapt," he said.
The focus on problem-solving could open up new sources of funding as well, sources such as non-governmental organizations, industry -- any group with specific problems that adaptation science could solve.
"We will make a virtue of necessity," said Moss.
###
Funding for the Aspen workshop was provided by NASA.
Reference: R.H. Moss, G.A. Meehl, M.C. Lemos, J.B. Smith, J.R. Arnold, J.C. Arnott, D. Behar, G.P. Brasseur, S.B. Broomell, A.J. Busalacchi, S. Dessai, K.L. Ebi, J.A. Edmonds, J. Furlow, L. Goddard, H.C. Hartmann, J.W. Hurrell, J.W. Katzenberger, D.M. Liverman, P.W. Mote, S.C. Moser, A. Kumar, R.S. Pulwarty, E.A. Seyller, B.L. Turner II, W.M. Washington, T.J. Wilbanks. Hell and High Water: Practice-Relevant Adaptation Science, Science November 8, 2013, doi:10.1126/science.1239569.
The Joint Global Change Research Institute is a unique partnership formed in 2001 between the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland. The PNNL staff associated with the center is world renowned for expertise in energy conservation and understanding of the interactions between climate, energy production and use, economic activity and the environment.
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. PNNL employs 4,500 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion, and has been managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by Ohio-based Battelle since the laboratory's inception in 1965. For more, visit the PNNL's News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, talks to reporters after the Senate cleared a major hurdle and agreed to proceed to debate a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The bipartisan vote increases the chances that the Senate will pass the bill by week's end, but its prospects in the Republican-led House are dimmer. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, talks to reporters after the Senate cleared a major hurdle and agreed to proceed to debate a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The bipartisan vote increases the chances that the Senate will pass the bill by week's end, but its prospects in the Republican-led House are dimmer. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved legislation outlawing workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, demonstrating the nation's quickly evolving attitude toward gay rights nearly two decades after Congress rejected same-sex marriage.
Fifty-four members of the Democratic majority and 10 Republicans voted Thursday for the first major gay rights bill since Congress repealed the ban on gays in the military three years ago. The vote in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was 64-32.
Two opponents of a similar measure 17 years ago, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, the presidential nominee in 2008, and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, backed the measure this time.
"We are about to make history in this chamber," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and a chief sponsor of the bill, said shortly before the vote.
The enthusiasm of the bill's supporters was tempered by the reality that the Republican-led House, where conservatives have a firm grip on the agenda, is unlikely to even vote on the legislation. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, maintains his longstanding opposition to the measure, arguing that it is unnecessary and certain to create costly, frivolous lawsuits for businesses.
Outside conservative groups have cast the bill as anti-family.
President Barack Obama welcomed the vote and urged the House to act.
"One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do," Obama said in a statement. "Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it."
Gay rights advocates hailed Senate passage as a major victory in a momentous year for the issue. The Supreme Court in June granted federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples, though it avoided a sweeping ruling that would have paved the way for same-sex unions nationwide. Illinois is on the verge of becoming the 15th state to legalize gay marriage along with the District of Columbia.
Supporters called the bill the final step in a long congressional tradition of trying to stop discrimination, coming nearly 50 years after enactment of the Civil Rights Act and 23 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Now we've finished the trilogy," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a chief sponsor of the disabilities law, said at a Capitol Hill news conference.
The first openly gay senator, Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, called the vote a "tremendous milestone" that she will always remember throughout her time in the Senate.
Democrats echoed Obama in pushing for the House to act, with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois reminding the GOP leader of the history of his party.
"The Republican Party in the United States of America came into being in the 1980s over the issue of slavery, and the man who embodied the ideals of that Republican Party was none other than Abraham Lincoln, who gave his life for his country to end discrimination," Durbin said. "Keep that proud Republican tradition alive."
In the Senate, opponents of the legislation remained mute through three days of debate, with no lawmaker speaking out. That changed on Thursday, as Republican Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana said the legislation would force employers to violate their religious beliefs, a direct counter to rights embodied in the Constitution.
"There's two types of discrimination here we're dealing with, and one of those goes to the very fundamental right granted to every American through our Constitution, a cherished value of freedom of expression and religion," Coats said.
The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania that would have expanded the number of groups that are covered under the religious exemption. Opponents argued that it would undermine the core bill.
If the House fails to act on the bill, gay rights advocates are likely to press Obama to act unilaterally and issue an executive order barring anti-gay workplace discrimination by federal contractors.
Backers of the bill repeatedly described it as an issue of fairness.
"It is well past time that we, as elected representatives, ensure that our laws protect against discrimination in the workplace for all individuals, that we ensure ... some protections for those within the LGBT community," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who described the diversity in her state.
Murkowski's support underscored the generational shift. Seventeen years ago, when a bill dealing with discrimination based on sexual orientation failed by one vote in the Senate, the senator's father, Frank, voted against it. That was the same year that Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act.
Current federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race and national origin. But it doesn't stop an employer from firing or refusing to hire workers because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
The bill would bar employers with 15 or more workers from using a person's sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for making employment decisions, including hiring, firing, compensation or promotion. It would exempt religious institutions and the military.
By voice vote Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment from Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire that would prevent federal, state and local governments from retaliating against religious groups that are exempt from the law.
Likely Senate approval of the overall bill reflects the nation's growing tolerance of gays and the GOP's political calculation as it looks for support beyond its core base of older voters. A Pew Research survey in June found that more Americans said homosexuality should be accepted rather than discouraged by society by a margin of 60 percent to 31 percent. Opinions were more evenly divided 10 years ago.
Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have approved laws banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 17 of those also prohibit employers from discriminating based on gender identity.
About 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies have adopted nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation, according to the Human Rights Campaign. About 57 percent of those companies include gender identity.
Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., did not vote.
A quick heads up for you folks (OK, you few folks) out there sporting Google Glass. The November update — XE11 — is now available.
New this month is the ability to designate home and work locations on Glass — just like you can in Google Maps, the easier to find your way home or to work. (And, more important, to route you around any traffic.)
You'll also be getting personalized calendar search, so you can ask Glass to show you what's coming up.
There's a new setup scheme as well, but you'll need to do a hard-reset to see that.
And finally there's a new shortcut in the notification drawer of your phone for screencasting.
Google's also changed up the shortcut for initiating a search. Instead of long-pressing the touchpad, you'll need to tap it three times slowly when the display is off.
TORONTO (AP) — A new video that surfaced Thursday shows Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in a rambling rage, using threatening words including "kill" and "murder," as the saga that has gripped Canadians for months took yet another twist.
The mayor told reporters moments after the video was posted online that he was "extremely, extremely inebriated" in it and "embarrassed" by it. The context of the video is unknown and it's unclear who the target of Ford's wrath is. The video, which appeared at length on the Toronto Star's website and in clips on the Toronto Sun's website, prompted another round of calls for Ford to step down.
It's been a whirlwind of a week for Ford, who on Tuesday admitted to smoking crack in a "drunken stupor" about a year ago. Police said last week they had obtained a different, long-sought video that shows Ford smoking a crack pipe.
Police obtained that video in the course of a massive drug investigation into the mayor's friend and occasional driver.
Despite immense pressure from allies and critics, the mayor of North America's fourth largest city has refused to resign or take a leave of absence.
Ford said Thursday he made mistakes and "all I can do is reassure the people. I don't know what to say."
"When you are in that state ... I hope none of you have ever or will ever be in that state," Ford said.
"It's extremely embarrassing. The whole world is going to see it."
In the new video, a visibly agitated Ford paces around, waves his arms and rolls up his sleeves as he says he'll "make sure" the unknown person is dead.
Ford tells another person in the room, possibly the man filming the video, that he wants to "kill" someone in an expletive-laced rant. "Cause I'm going to kill that (expletive) guy," Ford says. "No holds barred brother. He dies or I die."
At one point he says "My brothers are, don't tell me we're liars, thieves, birds?" and then later refers to "80-year-old birds."
The Toronto Star that it purchased the video from "a source who filmed it from someone else's computer" and that "the person with the computer was there in the room."
City Councilor James Pasternak urged Ford to make a "dignified exit."
"The video is very disturbing," he said. "It's very upsetting, it's very sad."
City Councilor Giorgio Mammoliti, a Ford ally, urged the mayor to enter rehab and said in a statement he fears "that if the mayor does not get help now he will succumb to health issues related to addiction."
Ford lawyer Dennis Morris told The Associated Press the context of the video "is skeletal."
"What we have to do is find out when it was taken," he said. "Was it taken eight, 10 months ago or a short time ago? I'm going to try to find that out too. Maybe the Toronto Star knows better."
Asked if Ford told him about the tape, Morris said: "I can't comment, but I don't think we really know."
Earlier Thursday, Morris said he was in talks with the police for Ford to view the video that shows the mayor smoking crack, as city councilors stepped up their efforts to force him from office.
The mayor's travails were taking their toll on his supporters. Canada's finance minister became emotional when asked about Ford, a longtime friend.
Police are seeking to question Ford. Morris previously said Ford would be willing to go view the tape but would not answer questions.
Police have not charged Ford, saying the video didn't provide enough evidence against him. A police spokesman declined to comment.
Municipal law makes no provision for the mayor's forced removal from office unless he's convicted and jailed for a criminal offence.
City Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a member of Ford's executive committee, said Thursday he plans to amend a motion he has filed that would ask Ford to take a leave of absence. The amendment takes the unprecedented step of asking the province of Ontario to pass legislation to remove the mayor if he does not agree to take a leave of absence. The measure could be voted on next Wednesday.
The province, however, has no plans to step in and amend the law to allow Ford to be forced from office, Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey reaffirmed Thursday.
Premier Kathleen Wynne has said she's concerned that Ford's personal issues were making it difficult for the city to carry on normally. But she said it was up to police, the courts or the mayor to take action.
Ford acknowledged a drinking problem for the first time Sunday, saying on his radio show that he was "hammered" in public at a street festival in August and "out of control" drunk, carrying a half empty bottle of brandy around city hall after St. Patrick's Day last year. He then made his stunning confession to reporters Tuesday that he had smoked crack while drunk.
The mayor has called on police to release the tape, but police said they are prohibited from doing so because it is evidence before the courts. Police said the video will come out when Ford associate Alexander Lisi goes to trial on drug and extortion charges.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has also said police have a second tape, but he has declined to discuss what's on it. Police spokesman Mark Pugash told the AP the video released Thursday is not the tape Blair talked about.
The allegations about Ford smoking crack first emerged earlier this year when reporters from the Toronto Star and the U.S. website Gawker separately said they saw that video, but they did not obtain a copy.
___
Follow Rob Gillies on Twitter at —http://twitter.com/rgilliescanada
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010, AT 6:19 PM Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011, AT 3:07 PM Obama Gets Firsthand Look at a Tornado Damage
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010, AT 6:19 PM Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long. Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010, AT 6:19 PM Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long. Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long.
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Episode VII may still be in the throes of pre-production, but Lucasfilm has confirmed that the Star Wars saga will continue on December 18th, 2015, with shooting officially set to start in spring 2014 and leaving just 771 days left to speculate. ...
