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Monday 29 June 2015

Writer of the day- Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Early Life

Famed British author Charles Dickens was born Charles John Huffam Dickens on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, on the southern coast of England. He was the second of eight children. His father, John Dickens, was a naval clerk who dreamed of striking it rich. Charles Dickens’ mother, Elizabeth Barrow, aspired to be a teacher and school director. Despite his parents’ best efforts, the family remained poor. Nevertheless, they were happy in the early days. In 1816, they moved to Chatham, Kent, where young Charles and his siblings were free to roam the countryside and explore the old castle at Rochester.
In 1822, the Dickens family moved to Camden Town, a poor neighborhood in London. By then the family’s financial situation had grown dire, as John Dickens had a dangerous habit of living beyond the family’s means. Eventually, John was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when Charles was just 12 years old.Following his father’s imprisonment, Charles Dickens was forced to leave school to work at a boot-blacking factory alongside the River Thames. At the rundown, rodent-ridden factory, Dickens earned six shillings a week labeling pots of “blacking,” a substance used to clean fireplaces. It was the best he could do to help support his family. Looking back on the experience, Dickens saw it as the moment he said goodbye to his youthful innocence, stating that he wondered “how [he] could be so easily cast away at such a young age.” He felt abandoned and betrayed by the adults who were supposed to take care of him. These sentiments would later become a recurring theme in his writing.Much to his relief, Dickens was permitted to go back to school when his father received a family inheritance and used it to pay off his debts. But when Dickens was 15, his education was pulled out from under him once again. In 1827, he had to drop out of school and work as an office boy to contribute to his family’s income. As it turned out, the job became an early launching point for his writing career.
 Within a year of being hired, Dickens began freelance reporting at the law courts of London. Just a few years later, he was reporting for two major London newspapers. In 1833, he began submitting sketches to various magazines and newspapers under the pseudonym “Boz.” In 1836, his clippings were published in his first book, Sketches by Boz. Dickens’ first success caught the eye of Catherine Hogarth, whom he soon married. Catherine would grace Charles with a brood of 10 children before the couple separated in 1858.


Saturday 27 June 2015

Writer of the day- William Shakespeare


William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616). English poet and playwright –  Shakespeare is widely considered to be  the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd April 1564.
His father William was a successful local businessman and his mother Mary was the daughter of a landowner. Relatively prosperous, it is likely the family paid for Williams education, although there is no evidence he attended university.
In 1582 William, aged only 18, married an older woman named Anne Hathaway. They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet and Juliet. Their only son Hamnet died aged just 11.
After his marriage, information about the life of Shakespeare is sketchy but it seems he spent most of his time in London – writing and acting in his plays.
Due to some well timed investments Shakespeare was able to secure a firm financial background, leaving time for writing and acting. The best of these investments was buying some real estate near Stratford in 1605, which soon doubled in value.
It seemed Shakespeare didn’t mind being absent from his family – he only returned home during Lent when all the theatres were closed. It is generally thought that during the 1590s he wrote the majority of his sonnets. This was a time of prolific writing and his plays developed a good deal of interest and controversy. His early plays were mainly comedies (e.g. Much Ado about Nothing, A Midsummer’s Night Dream) and histories (e.g. Henry V)
By the early Seventeenth Century, Shakespeare had begun to write plays in the genre of tragedy. These plays, such as Hamlet, Othello and King Lear, often hinge on some fatal error or flaw in the lead character, and provide fascinating insights into the darker aspects of human nature. These later plays are considered Shakespeare’s finest achievements.
Some academics known as the “Oxfords” claim that Shakespeare never actually wrote any plays. They contend Shakespeare was actually just a successful businessman, and for authorship suggest names such as Edward de Vere. Nevertheless there is evidence of Shakespeare in theatres as he received a variety of criticism from people such as Ben Johnson and Robert Greene. When writing an introduction to Shakespeare’s First Folio of published plays in 1623, Johnson wrote of Shakespeare:
His plays have retained an enduring appeal throughout history and throughout the world. Some of his most popular plays include:
  • Twelfth Night
  • Henry V
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Macbeth
  • Hamlet
  • King Lear
  • Othello
Shakespeare died in 1664; it is not clear how he died although his vicar suggested it was from heavy drinking.

Saturday 20 June 2015

Click on image


World Refugee Day - 2015


World Refugee Day - 2015
World Refugee Day is held every year in June 20. According to UNHCR, there are more than 50 million refugees around the world, half of which are women and children.
For years, many countries and regions have been holding their own Refugee Days and even Weeks. One of the most widespread is Africa Refugee Day, which is celebrated on 20 June in several countries. The General Assembly therefore decided that 20 June would be celebrated as World Refugee Day.
For 24 years now, WFTO Member WEAVE amongst others has been working with refugee and displaced women artisans to support their weaving of traditional crafts and help them to access income. Their handicrafts are an important source of livelihoods providing employment and income for their family.


Friday 19 June 2015

Scientist of the day- William Budd

William Budd

William Budd was born on September 14, 1811 in North Tawton, Devonshire. Budd was born into a family of physicians. His father and seven of his ten brothers were medical professionals, Budd was initially apprenticed to his father and then went to Paris, France where he studied for four years. In 1838 he graduated with an MD from Edinburgh University where he shared a gold medal for an essay he wrote on rheumatism. Budd briefly served aboard the hospital ship HMS Dreadnought in Greenwich, where he nearly died from a bout of typhoid fever. Forced to resign due to his illness Budd went home to North Tawton, where he assisted his father in his country practice. There Budd began to study typhoid fever, a subject which was to become his life's work. In 1842 Budd emigrated to Bristol where he served as a physician at St. Peter's Hospital and the Bristol Royal Infirmary.

In 1847 Budd visited a patient suffering a fever in the Bristol suburb of Richmond Terrace. Budd diagnosed typhoid fever and his investigation revealed that of the 34 households of Richmond Terrace 13 had experienced cases of typhoid fever. Subsequent investigation revealed that those 13 households all shared the same well as a water supply and the rest of Richmond Terrace used different water sources. With this information Budd hypothesized that the well was the source of the infection. In 1849 when Budd took charge of the water supply for Bristol he concluded that it was responsible for the spread of cholera. Before Budd took control of the water supply a cholera epidemic had killed 2000 in Bristol. In 1866 an outbreak killed only 29. Budd was slow to publish his findings regarding the transmission of cholera waiting for microscopical results which eventually proved inconclusive, but before he published John Snow, a London physician, published his findings concerning the source of cholera spread. Budd honestly gave Snow credit for priority for the discovery that cholera was spread through contaminated water supplies.

In the days before the discovery of the organisms responsible for typhoid fever and cholera Budd's conclusions were greeted with skepticism. Today we know that typhoid fever is caused by the organism Salmonella typhi and cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae. Both organisms are spread by fecal contamination of water supplies in conditions of poor sanitation. Vibrio cholerae was disovered by Italian microbiologist Filippo Pacini who published in 1854, but it was not until after Budd's death that the causative organism for typhoid fever was discovered.

Budd died on January 9, 1880.

Wednesday 17 June 2015

2015 Theme: Attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems

The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) is observed worldwide on 17 June every year.  The focus this year is “attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems.”
The World Day to Combat Desertification has been observed since 1995 to promote public awareness relating to international cooperation to combat desertification and the effects of drought. 

In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared (General Assembly Resolution A/RES/49/115) June 17 the "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" to promote public awareness of the issue, and the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa.
Ever since, country Parties to the Convention, organizations of the United Nations System, international and non-governmental organizations and other interested stakeholders have celebrated this particular day with a series of outreach activities worldwide.
The World Day to Combat Desertification is a unique occasion to remind everybody that desertification can be effectively tackled, that solutions are possible, and that key tools to this aim lay in strengthened community participation and co-operation at all levels.
Country Parties and civil society organizations are invited to organize events to celebrate the World Day to Combat Desertification as an additional opportunity to increase awareness raising and participation in the process.

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Scientist of the day-Martin Swarzchild

Martin Swarzchild
Martin Swarzchild was born on May 31, 1912 in Potsdam, Germany to a German-Jewish family. His father, Karl, was the director of the Postdam observatory, which having been visited by Albert Einstein in 1913, was being outfitted to make oberservations to verify his general theory of relativity when World War I broke out. Karl enlisted in the German army and while he served in the German trenches on the eastern front he solved Einstein's equations for a point mass, we now call a black hole, and the distance of the event horizon above a non-rotating black hole is called the Swarzchild Radius. The even horizon of a black hole is the distance away from which nothing, not  even light can escape. Karl died in 1916 of pemphigus an autoimmune skin disease.
After his father's death his mother took Schwarzchild to Gottingen, Germany where he attended gymnasium school. Swarzchild attended Gottingen University first studying mathematics for a year, after which he went to Berlin University where he studied astronomy, after which he returned to Gottingen University where he finished his doctorate in astronomy in 1835. Because of Hitler's rise to power in Germany, Swarzchild took a fellowship in Oslo, Norway and after a month in England he emigrated to the united states in 1937, becoming a citizen in 1942. Swarzchild served in the United States Army Intelligence, earning the Legion of Merit and a Bronze Star. After fellowship at Harvard University and a lectureship at Columbia University, Swarzchild was appointed to a full professorship at Princeton University in 1947. He became the Higgins Professor of Astronomy in 1951.

Swarzchild's early research dealt with calibrating the size of the universe and determining its rate of expansion. He observed variable stars that were used as distance markers in determining the rate of the universe's expansion. He also researched stellar evolution (the life cycles of stars) and his text Structure and Evolution of Stars (1958) was a classic text on  the subject. He used early computers to work on astronomical problems. Using a balloon borne telescope Swarzchild was the first to observe the photoshphere (the outer layer) of the sun and the Andromeda Galaxy without atmospheric interference, demonstrating the potential for this type of observations now done by the Hubble Telescope.

Swarzchild retired in 1979 although he continued to work on galactic classification. In his life Swarzchild received numerous awards, including the Bruce Medal (1965), Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1969), and the National Medal of Science (1997).

Swarzchild died on April 10, 1997.

Monday 15 June 2015

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched on June 15, 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations.
The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.

Background

Currently, the world is undergoing significant demographic changes. Estimates indicate that by 2050, the global population of people above the age of 60 will exceed the number of younger people. These changes have led to a worldwide recognition of the problems and challenges that face the elderly. Research has shown that elderly abuse, neglect, violence, and exploitation is one of the biggest issues facing senior citizens around the world. World Health Organization data suggests that 4 to 6 per cent of elderly suffer from some form of abuse, a large percentage of which goes unreported.
The purpose of the WEAAD is to encourage communities to recognize the problem of elderly abuse, and for countries to create policies that foster respect for elders and provide them the tools to continue to be productive citizens.

Observances

The first WEAAD was observed in 2012, and was marked by meetings and conferences at the UN headquarters in New York.
In addition to the WEAAD, the UN also observes an International Day of Older Persons on October 1 every year to recognize the contributions of older persons and to examine issues that affect their lives.

Monday 8 June 2015

World Oceans Day


2015 Theme: Healthy oceans, healthy planet

The ocean is the heart of our planet. Like your heart pumping blood to every part of your body, the ocean connects people across the Earth, no matter where we live. The ocean regulates the climate, feeds millions of people every year, produces oxygen, is the home to an incredible array of wildlife, provides us with important medicines, and so much more! In order to ensure the health and safety of our communities and future generations, it’s imperative that we take the responsibility to care for the ocean as it cares for us.
This year, the theme is Healthy oceans, healthy planet. Unfortunately, human pressures, including overexploitation, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, destructive fishing, as well as unsustainable aquaculture practices, marine pollution, habitat destruction, alien species, climate change and ocean acidification are taking a significant toll on the world’s oceans and seas. 

Why do we celebrate World Oceans Day?


  • To remind everyone of the major part the Ocean has in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe.
  • To inform the public on the impact of the human actions on the Ocean.
  • To develop a worldwide movement of citizen, towards the Ocean.
  • To mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the World Ocean. They are a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere.
  • To celebrate together the beauty, the wealth and the promise of the Ocean.

 

 

Friday 5 June 2015

World Environment Day





Environment Day

World environment day is also known as the Environment Day, Eco Day or short form WED. It has been one of the great annual events for years which is being celebrated worldwide by the people aiming to protect the unique and life nurturing Nature on every 5th June.

World Environment Day History

World Environment Day (also called as WED) has been started celebrating as an annual event on every 5th of June since 1973 in order to raise the global awareness about the importance of the healthy and green environment in the human lives, to solve the environmental issues by implementing some positive environmental actions as well as to make aware common public worldwide that everyone is responsible for saving his environment and not only somebody, government or organizations working for it.
World environment day was first established to be celebrated every year by running some effective campaigns by the United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the conference on Human Environment began from 5th to 16th of June at United Nations in 1972. It was first time celebrated in 1973 with the particular theme “Only one Earth”. Since 1974, the celebration campaign of the world environment day is hosted in different cities of the world.
It is a big annual celebration started by the United Nations General Assembly to engage millions of people from different countries across the globe as well as draw attention of political and health organizations to implement some effective actions.

Why World Environment Day is Celebrated

World environment day annual celebration campaign was started to address the huge environmental issues like wastage and losses of food, deforestation, increasing global warming and so many. Every year celebration is planned according to the particular theme and slogan of the year to bring effectiveness in the campaign all through the world.
It is celebrated to successfully get carbon neutrality, focusing on the forest management, reducing greenhouse effects, promoting bio-fuels production by planting on degraded lands, use of hydro-power to enhance electricity production, encourage common public to use solar water heaters, energy production through solar sources, developing new drainage systems, promoting coral reefs and mangroves restoration in order to get prevented from flooding and erosion including other ways of environmental preservation. Some of the objectives of the world environment day campaign are mentioned below:
  • It is celebrated to make aware the common public about the environmental issues.
  • Encourage common people from different society and communities to actively participate in the celebration as well as become an active agent in developing environmental safety measures.
  • Let them know that community people are very essential to inhibit negative changes towards the environmental issues.
  • Encourage people to make their nearby surroundings safe and clean to enjoy safer, cleaner and more prosperous future.

World Environment Day Activities

Variety of activities are planned to celebrate this great event in different countries to encourage more people towards the celebration. Various news channels take part very actively in the celebration to cover the news and distribute messages about the celebration among common public through their news publications to bring effective and positive changes towards the environment to solve all the environmental issues. Some of the national and international level activities include street rallies, tree plantation, garbage recycling, surrounding areas clean-up, parades and so many activities in order to draw people attention towards wide range of environmental issues as well as bring difference.
People of all age groups actively involve during the celebration to save their planet in original form as gifted by the nature. Especially modern day youths hugely take part in the celebration through many activities such as clean up campaigns, art exhibitions, motivating people for tree-planting, dance activities, recycling garbage, film festivals, community events, essays writing, poster competitions, social media campaigns and lot more. Many awareness campaigns are also run at schools, colleges and other educational institutions to motivate students towards their environmental safety. The celebration takes place at national and international level by organizing various activities in the public places to aware common public about the real causes of environment status degradation as well as let them know what steps should be taken to solve such environmental issues.

World Environment Day Theme and Slogan

Each year celebration of the World Environment Day is based on the particular theme decided by the United Nations to make the celebration more effective by encouraging mass people worldwide to hugely take part in addressing environmental issues on global scale. Year wise list of the themes and slogans of world environment day are mentioned below:
  • The theme of the year 2015 would be “One World, One Environment”.
  • The theme of the year 2014 was “small island developing states” or “SIDS” and “Raise your voice, not the sea level”.
  • The theme of the year 2013 was “Think. Eat. Save.” And slogan was “Reduce Your Foodprint”.
  • The theme of the year 2012 was “Green Economy: Does it include you?”.
  • The theme of the year 2011 was “Forests: Nature at your Service”.
  • The theme of the year 2010 was “Many Species. One Planet. One Future”.
  • The theme of the year 2009 was “Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change”.
  • The theme and slogan of the year 2008 was “CO2, Kick the Habit – Towards a Low Carbon Economy”.
  • The theme of the year 2007 was “Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?”.
  • The theme of the year 2006 was “Deserts and Desertification” and slogan was “Don’t Desert Drylands!.”
  • The theme of the year 2005 was “Green Cities” and slogan was “Plan for the Planet!”.
  • The theme of the year 2004 was “Wanted! Seas and Oceans” and slogan was “Dead or Alive?”.
  • The theme of the year 2003 was “Water” and slogan was “Two Billion People are Dying for It!”.
  • The theme of the year 2002 was “Give Earth a Chance”.
  • The theme of the year 2001 was “Connect with the World Wide Web of Life”.
  • The theme of the year 2000 was “The Environment Millennium” and slogan was “Time to Act”.
  • The theme of the year 1999 was “Our Earth – Our Future” and slogan was “Just Save It!”.
  • The theme of the year 1998 was “For Life on Earth and slogan was “Save Our Seas”.
  • The theme of the year 1997 was “For Life on Earth”.
  • The theme of the year 1996 was “Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home”.
  • The theme of the year 1995 was “We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment”.
  • The theme of the year 1994 was “One Earth One Family”.
  • The theme of the year 1993 was “Poverty and the Environment and slogan was “Breaking the Vicious Circle”.
  • The theme of the year 1992 was “Only One Earth, Care and Share”.
  • The theme of the year 1991 was “Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership”.
  • The theme of the year 1990 was “Children and the Environment”.
  • The theme of the year 1989 was “Global Warming; Global Warning”.
  • The theme of the year 1988 was “When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last”.
  • The theme of the year 1987 was “Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof”.
  • The theme of the year 1986 was “A Tree for Peace”.
  • The theme of the year 1985 was “Youth: Population and the Environment”.
  • The theme of the year 1984 was “Desertification”.
  • The theme of the year 1983 was “Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy”.
  • The theme of the year 1982 was “Ten Years after Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)”.
  • The theme of the year 1981 was “Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains”.
  • The theme of the year 1980 was “A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development without Destruction”.
  • The theme of the year 1979 was “Only One Future for Our Children and slogan was “Development without Destruction”.
  • The theme of the year 1978 was “Development without Destruction”.
  • The theme of the year 1977 was “Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation”.
  • The theme of the year 1976 was “Water: Vital Resource for Life”.
  • The theme of the year 1975 was “Human Settlements”.
  • The theme of the year 1974 was “Only one Earth during Expo ’74”.
  • The theme of the year 1973 was “Only one Earth”.


Tuesday 2 June 2015

Scientist of the day-Igne Lehman

Igne Lehman

Lived 1888 – 1993.
Inge Lehmann overturned the idea that our planet’s metallic core is entirely molten liquid. She used mathematics to analyze the way energy released by earthquakes travels through the earth.
She discovered something eternally concealed from the naked eye – thousands of miles below our feet, at its center, the earth is solid. In fact, it has a solid inner core and a liquid outer core.
Inge Lehmann is also remarkable in that she is one of the longest lived scientists in history, living to 104 years of age.

Beginnings

Inge Lehmann was born in Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen, on May 13, 1888. Her father, Alfred Georg Ludvik Lehmann, was a psychologist and her mother, Ida Sophie Tørsleff, was a housewife. Both parents came from prominent families.
In 1928, Lehmann was appointed head of the Department of Seismology at the Royal Danish Geodetic Institute, with responsibility for running the Copenhagen, Ivigtut and Scoresbysund seismographic observatories.
Her job was administrative, but she made time for scientific research, including improving the coordination and analysis of measurements from Europe’s seismographic observatories. This was important, because it ensured data from the observatories could be better compared and interpreted. Lehmann’s actions to improve the trustworthiness of measurements lay at the heart of her later discovery.

Dreaming of a World Deep Below

The interior of our planet has long held a fascination for philosophers and story tellers.
Some have speculated that another inhabited world lies beneath our own.
In 1864, Jules Verne published Journey to the Center of the Earth, describing the fictional adventures of explorers traveling under our planet’s surface.
It was a best-seller.
People wondered if the world Verne had described below our own could be real.
We now know the solid core Inge Lehmann discovered:
  • is about the same temperature as the sun’s surface!
  • is made of iron-nickel alloy
  • is solid because of the enormous pressure from the outer layers of the earth pushing down on it
  • has a radius of 1220 km, making it somewhat smaller than the moon

The End

Inge Lehmann died at the age of 104 on February 21, 1993. She had not married and had no children. She left all of her possessions to The Danish Academy.