http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/160583 B. Information and communication technologies
9. An area where young people have an edge is the emerging information society driven by new technologies. Young people are often the leading innovators in the use and spread of information and communications technologies. They adapt quickly and are generally quite hungry for the great quantities of information, locally and globally, that can be provided through emerging information and communication technologies.
10. Information and communication technologies have become a significant factor in development, having a profound impact on the political, economic and social sectors of many countries. While many equate information and communication technologies primarily with mobile and more advanced technologies, a more useful definition of information and communication technologies includes all technologies that enable the handling of information and facilitate different forms of communication. By expanding the notion of information and communication technologies to include both older and newer technologies, from newspapers, radio and television to camcorders, computers and cell phones, the full impact of information and communication technologies on the social development of youth can be better understood. The distinction between old and new technologies may become outdated as radio, television, satellite technologies and the Internet are combined in innovative ways to reach a wide range of target audiences.
11. The proliferation of information and communication technologies presents both opportunities and challenges in terms of the social development and inclusion of youth. Young people often use the Internet to access entertainment and news sites and as a personal meeting space through chat programmes. They are also making use of possibilities provided by new technologies to advance their participation in a number of civic activities. There is also an increased emphasis on using information and communication technologies in the context of global youth priorities, such as access to education, employment and poverty eradication. Yet questions remain as to whether information and communication technologies can empower young people and improve their lives or whether they are deepening the already existing inequalities and divisions in the world. The important concerns of a global "digital divide” apply as much to youth as to any other age group.
12. There are still great disparities in the distribution and use of many forms of technology. For example, 331 per 1,000 people in Europe use the Internet, while approximately 15 per 1,000 in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, 37 per 1,000 in the Middle East and Africa and 92 per 1,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean use the Internet. While these data are not youth specific, young people are among the principle users of computers and are likely highly represented in these figures. It is also important to note that the disparity is not as great in the use of older forms of technology, such as radio and television, making these media extremely useful in information distribution. For example, while 813 per 1,000 people in Europe own radios, the corresponding figures are 198 per 1,000 in sub-Saharan Africa, 277 per 1,000 in the Middle East and North Africa and 410 per 1,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean.e
13. Lack of access to information and communication technologies has remained a major challenge to youth. Special efforts must be made for youth in rural areas to establish connectivity, given that rapid developments in wireless technology have made it possible to overcome the physical impediments of distance and topography, at a reasonable cost, that for long have limited the development of telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas. Shared access to these services can increase their impact. In the most remote and sparsely populated areas, existing market incentives may often provide insufficient stimulus to private investment and government funding may be required. The digital divide, characterized by highly unequal access to and use of information and communication technologies, manifests itself both at the international and domestic levels and therefore needs to be addressed by national policy makers, as well as the international community.
14. There is a growing effort to promote social action and community development among young people through electronic communications, "cyberparticipation ” and "e-citizenship”. Today, information and communication technologies and new media are becoming core components of youth civic engagement and activism. Given the existing connections between new media, the Internet and young people, it can be inferred that new media and information and communication technologies have enabled young people's activism at a general level and influenced the diverse forms it has taken. Most directly, information and communication technologies are used for communication and coordination of youth movements and for contributing to a sense of e-solidarity among individuals and groups with different agendas. Technology has also increased youth awareness of issues, problems and crises in other parts of the world. New technologies bring these issues to people in very direct ways and allow for instantaneous communication among activists. In many countries the Internet is the least-controlled medium for information, and it can be a powerful tool for activists and advocacy groups, contributing to increased transparency, the development of civil society and democracy. Lists servers, temporary and long-term web sites and collective online writing and editing of documents are common features of today's youth activism. Such tools are commonly used by young people to prepare and contribute their submissions to political processes and international meetings. Measures to improve access to the Internet and to increase information technology literacy at large should be encouraged. The effective use of technology should help to strengthen various forms of youth engagement.
15. When available, information and communication technologies have a potential to improve young people's access to better education. Many schools and vocational training centres are taking advantage of information and communication technologies to provide distance learning and to train teachers in new instructional methods. Digital opportunities are particularly effective in reaching rural communities that lack large libraries and other educational resources. Through information and communication technologies, curricula can be updated and distributed more effectively. Their usefulness of information and communication technologies in education depends on their proper delivery, but there are model practices of cost-effective and country-differentiated solutions to increase access to education through information and communication technologies. Technology is changing the way classrooms operate through integrating multimedia textbooks, online research, and student presentations that make the learning process more interactive and participatory.
16. Utilizing information and communication technologies to promote youth employment has expanded during the last decade. Local e-commerce may open significant livelihood opportunities for young people and smaller networks and provide young people with the opportunity to develop professionally without having to relocate from their families and support networks. At the grass-roots level, there are several examples of opportunities for entrepreneurship in information and communication technology among lower income youth. The worldwide expansion of mobile phone networks and the growth in the number of mobile phone subscribers has been phenomenal in recent years. The availability of mobile phone networks in many low and middle-income countries opens up many opportunities for young people. One common option is to purchase a mobile phone through a microcredit programme and to earn income by providing low cost phone calls to others. Literacy, skills, and accessibility to information and communication technologies are key to using them to provide employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth.
17. Many young people, however, are excluded from the information revolution; others are affected by the way information and communication technologies may challenge traditional forms of socialization. Others struggle to balance influences exerted by the family and local community with those exerted by the global and cross-cultural influences of information and communication technologies. The increased use of mobile phones, for instance, has affected the daily interactions of youth almost everywhere. Information and communication technologies can be an independent factor in the lives of young people, influencing behavioural and value patterns that differ from those of older generations. In this sense, information and communication technologies create a new landscape of socialization. The succession of generations as one of the central means of transmission of traditional practices can thus be eroded. In fact, the direction of socialization can be reversed as the younger generation teaches its elders to use the emerging technologies. However, information and communication technologies and the media do not preclude influence of such traditional actors as parents and schools. The emergence of a global media-driven youth culture as propelled by information and communication technologies thus creates conditions for two-directional socialization between generations and may overturn the common assumption that young people are not full members of society until they complete the process of socialization.
18. Some critics argue that information and communication technologies implicitly carry a cultural package of values associated with Western popular culture. Yet it should be emphasized that youth culture is very much a local phenomenon as well as a global one. Young people use, adapt and interpret global products in terms of their own local cultures and experiences, and in the process they create hybrid cultural forms whose meanings vary with local circumstances. While traditional, protectionist policies in limiting new media and information and communication technologies may no longer be realistic to implement, it may be equally inadequate to adopt a liberal approach that asserts young people's access to new media without any need for protection. To support youth in their use of information and communication technologies, a three-pronged strategy could be envisaged that aims at the adequate provision of media for young people, encourages participation by young people in the production of media in the formation of media policy and promotes education that emphasizes information and communication technology literacy as a significant dimension of contemporary citizenship.
]]> Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:49:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/160583 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556 http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/160581 CULTURAL CONTEXTS FOR LEARNING
Not since the 1930s has the ethnic composition of the nation's children been so diverse. Nonwhites now account for almost one-third of the U.S. population of children and youths (to age 18), with recent growth accounted for almost exclusively by Latinos and Asians--two groups that are themselves extremely diverse. Estimates of the number of students in U.S. schools with limited English proficiency range from 2.3 million (U.S. Department of Education, 1992) to much higher (Stanford Working Group, 1993). The current influx of new immigrant groups, some of whom also have relatively high rates of birth, will fuel continued growth in the number of students who enter school with little or no English proficiency and whose cultural and educational backgrounds may not correspond to the norms and expectations they encounter when they start formal schooling.
THE CHALLENGE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY
These trends pose new opportunities, but also serious challenges, to U.S. educational institutions, including the early childhood programs that lay the foundation for children's school experience and achievement. In California, for example, a recent study of more than 400 child care centers revealed that only 4 percent enrolled children from a single racial group (Chang, 1993). Nationwide, estimates suggest that 20 percent of the children enrolled in Head Start speak a language other than English (Kagan and Garcia, 1991).
Many of these children adapt successfully to school environments. In spite of unusually difficult circumstances, such as those frequently experienced by refugee children, some even exceed the academic norms of U.S.-born native speakers from advantaged environments (Laosa, 1990). But many others fare less well. On entering elementary school, large numbers of limited-English-proficient and bilingual students are placed in programs that assume relatively low levels of achievement and focus on remedial education (Independent Commission on Chapter 1, 1992; Stanford Working Group, 1993; U.S. Department of Education, 1993).
This occurs despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lau v. Nichols (1974) upholding requirements that schools open their instructional programs to students with limited English proficiency. Latino children, in particular, often begin school behind their white, non-Latino peers, and the variance widens as children go through school. Latino dropout rates, though declining, remain extremely high: in 1990 only 54.5 percent of 18- to 24-year- olds had a diploma or GED (General Equivalency Diploma) (Carter and Wilson, 1991). These inequities in different children's prospects for school success are a serious affront to the value that Americans place on equal opportunity and a grave problem for the future well-being of the society, which relies on an informed citizenry, a productive workforce, and the harmonious coexistence of multiple cultures.
From another perspective, teachers are confronted with classrooms of children they feel ill-prepared to teach. And parents whose backgrounds may leave them poorly equipped to feel confident as advocates for their children's schooling worry about how their children are faring in school, whether they are learning what they need to learn, and whether their adaptation into the classroom will alienate them from their home communities.
Yet little is understood about the derivation of this complex of concerns. Is it primarily different language, different culture, or different social class that determines which groups of children succeed or fail in the educational system? It is primarily an issue of difference--that a teacher faces a classroom of Russian immigrants? Or is it a problem of diversity--that many classrooms include children with multiple nationalities, languages, and social and economic backgrounds? Absent a clear understanding of the problem that is posed by the growing diversity of the nation's children, and of who perceives these demographic changes as a problem, efforts to identify appropriate adjustments in teacher training, classroom practices, schools' relations with parents, assessments, and other dimensions of schooling are likely to remain fragmented, if not ineffectual.
Today, efforts to define and address these issues are coinciding with growing pressures to raise performance standards for the nation's schools and to assess all students' progress towards meeting those standards. In 1990, the President and the 50 state governors recognized the importance of the preschool years for the success of school reform initiatives when they set the first of six national educational goals: "By the year 2000 all children in America will start school ready to learn." Efforts to assure that children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are prepared for school entry have, as a result, gained prominence during the past few years. For example:
• The National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association for Family Day Care have published curricula and handbooks focused on anti-bias curricula (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1989; National Association for Family Day Care, 1990).
• The National Association of State Boards of Education Task Force on Early Childhood Education has explicitly recommended that state boards of education encourage the use of children's home language and culture to foster the development of basic skills, including English acquisition (National Association of State Boards of Education, 1988).
• "Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs" (Head Start Bureau, 1991) reflects the culmination of a multiyear project aimed at improving Head Start's capacity to teach its increasingly diverse enrollment.
• Specific attention is being focused on the implications of the first national educational goal of school readiness for language minority children (see Prince and Lawrence, 1993).
All these efforts seek to ensure that children's first exposure to a "school-like" setting is a positive one. Whether this experience makes a child feel accepted or alienated is believed to set the stage for subsequent attitudes about and performance in school. The prevailing orientation within the early childhood community assumes that children whose language or cultural backgrounds differ from those found in most American schools will feel accepted only to the degree that their classroom experiences are adapted to be more compatible with their home culture and language. Others, however, believe that instructional programs must use universal principles of learning and instruction for all students. Fundamental questions are raised by this debate regarding appropriate and effective educational practices in a pluralistic society.
ORIGINS AND PURPOSE OF THE WORKSHOP
In light of the controversy about this subject, its significance for educational policy, and the complexity and changing dimensions of the issues that lie at the interface of early education and cultural diversity, the Forum on the Future of Children and Families and its successor, the Board on Children and Families, believed it was important to take stock of the small, but growing research literature that bears on the early education of culturally and linguistically diverse populations of children. Scholars of language and cognitive development are contributing to increased knowledge about the conditions that affect first- and second-language acquisition. Others who study early childhood education, bilingualism, and cross-cultural influences on development are learning about the influence of children's home environments on the expectations and skills with which they approach school, and about effective instructional practices for bilingual, immigrant, and other children who may face special challenges in the classroom. Much of this literature remains focused on elementary-age and older students, although its implications for preschool and kindergarten instruction are receiving increased attention.
The forum held a preliminary planning workshop in April 1993 to outline the most important tasks that could be accomplished on the topic of cultural diversity and early education. The participants highlighted the need to assess the scope and adequacy of the research base about the early education of culturally diverse populations of children and stressed the importance of deciphering its implications for educational policy and practice. This emphasis grew out of the participants' perceptions that much of what is presently known from both research and educational practice is based on the demographics of the past, in which most classrooms were at least linguistically, if not ethnically, homogeneous, and in which the backgrounds of teachers and students did not usually differ. If true, it is critical to initiate a discourse regarding what we know and don't know about preparing educators and educational institutions for the demographics of the present and future.
On the basis of the planning workshop, the Board on Children and Families convened a workshop, "Culture and Early Education: Assessing and Applying the Knowledge Base," on November 29-30, 1993. The workshop had two primary aims: to inform educators about the research base that is available to guide decisions about how best to educate children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and, in particular, to distinguish whether and how one might expect optimal early childhood education for diverse classrooms to differ from that for culturally homogeneous classrooms; and to urge more scholars, including those who conduct basic research on early learning processes, to address the vast agenda of unanswered questions regarding the early education of culturally and linguistically diverse groups of children.
The participants were selected to span the range of perspectives that presently exists regarding the most critical dimensions of diversity--linguistic, cultural, or class-linked, for example--in order to foster a wide-ranging discussion about "what matters" about diversity for early childhood settings. They had expertise in learning and instructional psychology, developmental psychology, early education, anthropology, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and program evaluation. The samples they studied included African American, Native American, Caribbean, Portuguese, Anglo, and Latino children from Central America, Mexico, and Puerto Rico; children from first-, second-, and third-generation immigrant families; and children living in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and other countries. Virtually every participant had spent substantial amounts of time in early childhood classrooms that serve diverse groups of children and many had worked directly with the families of the children they studied.
In preparation for the workshop, the participants were asked to prepare a set of remarks aimed at familiarizing each other with key aspects of their work, specifically to:
• discuss the theoretical assumptions that have guided their work,
• describe the primary questions that their research has addressed and the methods and samples they have used, and
• summarize their most important findings.
The participants were also asked to provide background papers describing their research, and these materials, many of which are cited in this report, enabled us to expand on the discussion that occurred at the workshop. In addition to the participants' presentations and background papers and the workshop discussions, this report draws on a commissioned review paper by Klenk and Parecki (1993).
THE ROLE AND MEANING OF CULTURE
The role of culture in learning and development has been a prevailing theme in developmental research for more than 50 years. Much of the earliest work was designed to test the assumption that human development, particularly cognitive and sensorimotor development, occurs in a universal, sequential fashion. Counter-evidence was often interpreted as demonstrating a deficiency within the culture, rather than as deriving from the investigator's failure to use tasks and methods that were relevant to the cultural groups being studied. As the field began to make culturally appropriate adjustments in methodology, the diversity of paths by which children achieve developmental milestones was revealed (Cole, 1992, Cole and Bruner, 1971).
During the 1960s and 1970s, efforts to understand the influence of culture on human development expanded from cross-cultural research on other continents to examinations of cultural variation within the United States. Early examples of this research tended to compare various ethnic able that has uniform effects on all families and children, the participants emphasized the importance of examining within-culture and individual differences in learning experiences and outcomes. Claude Goldenberg cautioned against treating culture as a "straitjacket that predetermines the learning experiences that children can benefit from." The participants were uniformly concerned that the use of culture as a organizing construct not be interpreted as a prescription for treating particular children (e.g., Haitians, Zuni, Vietnamese) in certain limited ways.
Generational, regional, socioeconomic, and gender differences within ethnic groups were specifically discussed. Kenji Hakuta, for example, noted that native language loss among Mexican American children increases across first-, second-, and third-generation children (Hakuta and D'Andrea, 1992). Luis Laosa discussed the wide variation associated with social class within ethnic and immigrant populations. His own research with Chicano families, for example, revealed significant differences in the teaching strategies used by high school graduates and nongraduates with their 5-year-old children (Laosa, 1978). With respect to immigrant families, he highlighted the need to consider the range of social and economic backgrounds that may characterize families from the same country or ethnic group (Laosa, 1990).
Some participants speculated that members of different cultural groups may have more shared than different values, including high aspirations for their children's school success, a clear recognition of the importance of educational achievement for their children's social and economic mobility, and a strong emphasis on the importance of hard work (see, e.g., Goldenberg, 1987). Others emphasized that local conditions under which different cultural groups are living will lead adult caregivers to emphasize different goals and aspirations (see, e.g., Levine, 1977). In situations in which a child's health is fragile or neighborhood violence threatens children's safety, keeping children confined and away from danger will likely be much higher on the list than promoting cognitive development.
Overall, the participants agreed that it is important to acknowledge variation in the extent to which home environments provide children with the materials and experiences that are broadly considered desirable for success in U.S. schools. They subscribed to the premise that children's adaptation to the norms and expectations of school environments can be affected by the culturally determined experiences to which they have been exposed at home. The important issue, as noted by Deborah Stipek, concerns "how these two contexts in which children learn can reinforce and complement each other."
ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT CHILDREN AND LEARNING
In addition to clarifying their views on the role and meaning of culture, the participants explored their shared views and assumptions about children and early learning:
• Children from all linguistic and cultural backgrounds are capable of achieving high standards and should be encouraged and taught to do so. Individual differences in English language proficiency or in cultural background should not affect a child's exposure to high-quality instruction, challenging curricula, and high expectations for academic success. Given that educational attainment is a cumulative process, practices and expectations that impede a child's progress during the preschool and early elementary years may be particularly detrimental.
• The contribution of children's cultural and linguistic backgrounds to their adjustment and success in school cannot be understood separately from the sociopolitical context within which discussions about culture and education are occurring in the United States. Despite the valued role of schools as an avenue for equal opportunity in this country, debates about whether and how schools should respond to the growing diversity of the school-age population often become mired in such controversial issues as immigration policy, access of immigrants to social and educational services, and U.S. language policy regarding the official status of English. This politically charged context underscores the critical importance of having a solid knowledge base with which to inform policy and practice.
• Academic success involves knowledge and skill acquisition, as well as motivational and social dimensions of learning. Although academic learning is a primary goal of education and the focus of educational reform efforts, ideas about how best to achieve this goal need to be broadened to include children's participation in learning, their self-confidence as students, and their capacity to work effectively with other children and with adults.
• All children can benefit from exposure to multilingual and multicultural learning environments. The growing linguistic and cultural diversity of the student population is often viewed as problematic, as an additional pressure placed on an already beleaguered school system. But, diversity is not inherently problematic. Early education settings can and should be designed to approach diversity as an asset that can be used in the preparation of all students for citizenship in an increasingly diverse society.
THE REPORT
This report reflects the participants' views on the most important issues that require better knowledge if early childhood classrooms are to offer children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds effective and meaningful learning experiences. It draws on their analysis, experience, and knowledge of the research on these issues. The goal was not to achieve unanimity of opinion, but rather to distinguish questions for which there is research evidence from those that are based primarily on values or ideology. The participants also began the process of deciphering the practical implications of the existing research and identifying promising directions for future research.
Several caveats about the scope of the report are in order. First, although much of what was discussed could be construed as having implications for policies regarding parent education, the focus of the workshop was limited to implications for group care and educational settings, including the ways in which those implications may affect parents. Second, substantial thought was given to culturally shaped aspects of children's home environments that hold meaning for early childhood settings. Variation in cultural aspects of schooling, while recognized as important by the participants, was not a focus of discussion. Finally, the extremely timely and controversial issue of assessment, particularly as a basis for placement at the end of early childhood in bilingual or mainstream classes, or in regular or special education classes, was not discussed: the complexity of the topic warranted more time than the workshop permitted.
The next three sections of the report are organized around the three questions that provided the structure for the workshop:
• What roles does culture play in shaping children's earliest learning opportunities and experiences at home?
• How do children's cultural and linguistic backgrounds affect the skills, knowledge, and expectations that they bring to school?
• What do we know about whether and how the nature, language, or content of instruction needs to vary to assure learning and motivation for children from differing linguistic and cultural backgrounds?
Many interesting and important questions that call for serious study were raised throughout the discussions. Several of them are noted in the final section that addresses future directions for research.
Readers familiar with this field of study will appreciate the caution with which the participants approached the existing research literature. People in the early childhood community seeking clear advice about educational practices are likely to be frustrated by the limited degree to which preschool children or preschool settings have been studied in terms of questions of culture and schooling. As reflected in this report, the workshop participants believe it is critical to identify the limits of what is presently known, as well as the potential of research in progress, to advance this field substantially.
]]> Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:33:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/160581 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556 http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/159213


This manual is the culmination of a remarkable international project that began twenty-six years ago under UNESCO�s Man and the Biosphere Programme, and then re-emerged six years ago under the auspices of UNESCO�s Social and Human Sciences Sector. It suggests how to create an atmosphere of trust between youth and adults in order for real communication to take place. It shows ways of assisting young people to be heard by those who are in positions to make official policy decisions that affect the quality of their lives. It is a guide on how to access children�s knowledge � both intuitive and based on experience � that is so often repressed or lost, yet that can be a precious insight into their daily realities and a powerful lever for improvement of urban life.



In taking the time to explore and apply the methods that have been developed in this research project, you will be sensitized to new ways of approaching poverty reduction and environmental design projects. You will also discover methods for involving local officials in such a way that they will remember to listen to all sub-groups in their population, particularly children and youth, and to include them in developing policies.



As a person continuously devoted to the compliance and enforcement of all human rights � civil, cultural, economic, political and social � I feel particularly committed to the guidance contained in this volume � guidance that encourages patience, perseverance and hope.



Putting into practice the methods described in Creating Better Cities for Children and Youth can help ensure that children�s rights are respected. I am therefore proud to offer it to the international community, with the firm belief that it can contribute to making this world a better place for current and future generations of children and youth.

]]> Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:36:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/159213 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556 http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158475 I love to see images from the 50’s and 60’s about what they thought the future might look like. Often these images were from magazines like Popular Science or comic books. Often they would say something like “The car of 2000 will drive itself!” and it might show a big car with tail fins zooming through the sky while a very traditional stereotype of a 1950’s family (mom in an apron, dad smoking a pipe and wearing a fedora) sat inside.
Of course things are not like that at all, although Lexus is heavily advertising a car that can parallel park itself.
So what will your business look like in your future? Let’s not peer into the far future but into the near future- 2007. Are you ready for it? What does 2007 hold? Here are some of my thoughts
• We’ll continue to see a surge in online video, in particular the opportunity by Google to use its newly acquired YouTube to combine video and advertising.
• Entertainment is going to be big as PlayStation 3 and the oddly named Wii have both been released and are fiercely battling for market share.
• The economy has been threatening to slump for a while but I think it will continue to stay strong for at least the first 2 quarters (and hopefully longer).
• Housing is an issue because foreclosures are on the rise so the once strong housing market will slump.
In many sectors, in spite of forecasts, I think it will be business as usual. Are you ready for it? What can you do?
My advice? Start planning! Get out your business plan and look at it to make sure you are on track. Update it if necessary. Also
• Start searching for two or three new markets or new products to introduce.
• Make sure you have a contingency plan in place in case the market does suddenly slump. Will you be ready if that happens?
• Plan to increase and diversify your marketing efforts and brainstorm ways that you might be able to create a potentially viral video marketing plan to help grow your business.
• If you don’t have any employees yet, think about whether or not this is the year that you think about getting one. Even if you don’t hire this year, it’s a good idea to look at the things you’ll need to have in place before you put out that help wanted sign… and you’ll want to uncover exactly what needs you want to staff to solve.
I know that 2007 is going to be a great year of business for me. I wish you the very best in your business through this coming year.
]]> Mon, 29 Jan 2007 02:32:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158475 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556 http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158411
Lightning is the discharge of the electrostatic charges that accumulate in ice crystals inside clouds. Usually, the ice would melt and fall as rain, but in a rare form of storm known as a thundersnow, the ice stays frozen thanks to super-cooled liquid drops inside the cloud. Lightning can then fall while it's snowing, but the snow itself acts as an acoustical insulator, so thunders will only be heard within one or two miles' distance.

Science Insider

BACKGROUND: Thundersnow is a thunderstorm that has snow reaching the surface instead of rain. Usually thunder and lightning are more commonly observed in warm seasons. A severe thundersnow occurs when the snow is accompanied by hail that is at least three-fourth of an inch in diameter, or when wind speeds reach at least 50 knots.

HOW STORMS DEVELOP: Storm clouds form as moisture evaporates from the earth into the atmosphere, where the droplets congregate and jostle against each other. The air cools off rapidly with altitude. Sometimes a cold front -- the boundary between where the cold air from one thunderstorm meets the air outside the storm for example ý will force the moist air upward into the colder air. This moist air cools off and the water vapor "condenses" into liquid drops, forming clouds. The process -- called the convective process by meteorologists -- continues: more and more water vapor turns into liquid, and the moist air warms up even more and rises higher and higher. A thunderstorm results.

WHAT CAUSES LIGHTNING? As more and more water droplets collide inside a cloud, their atoms bounce off each other more forcefully. This knocks off electrons. The ousted electrons gather at the lower portion of the cloud, giving it a negative charge, while the upper part of the cloud becomes positively charged. Eventually the growing negative charge becomes so intense that electrons on the Earth's surface are repelled and burrow deeper into the Earth. The Earth's surface becomes positively charged, and hence very attractive to the negative charge accumulating in the bottom of the cloud. All that is needed is a conductive path between cloud and Earth, in the form of ionized air.

TURBULENT FLOWS: A flow is the continuous movement of a fluid, like water or air, from one place to another. If the air molecules move smoothly in the same direction and at the same speed, this flow is said to be "laminar." Turbulence occurs when the molecules move in many different directions and at many different speeds, so turbulent flows are very common in Nature. How easily a fluid becomes turbulent depends on its viscosity: how much it resists movements. Air currents have low viscosity, so turbulence is quite common in the atmosphere. If you heat air at the bottom and cool it at the top, this convective process will cause it to become turbulent, much like water boiling in a pot. Changes in air pressure can also give rise to turbulent conditions. And when different air masses flow over each other at different speeds they can give rise to beautiful cloud formations.

]]> Mon, 29 Jan 2007 01:50:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158411 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556 http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158409 This page is based on a brief synopsis of the 2001 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the National Research Council's 2001 report Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions, as well as NCDC's own data resources. It was prepared by David Easterling and Tom Karl, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, N.C. 28801.

One of the most hotly debated topics on Earth is the issue of climate change, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) data centers are central to answering some of the most pressing global change questions that remain unresolved. The National Climatic Data Center contains the instrumental records that can precisely define the nature of climatic fluctuations at time scales of a up to a century. Among the diverse kinds of data platforms whose data contribute to NCDC's armamentarium are: Ships, buoys, weather stations, balloons, satellites, and aircraft. The National Oceanographic Data Center contains the subsurface data which reveal the ways that heat is distributed and redistributed over the planet. Knowing how these systems are changing and how they have changed in the past is crucial to understanding how they will change in the future. And, for climate information that extends from hundreds to thousands of years, the paleoclimatology program, also at the National Climatic Data Center, helps to provide longer term perspectives.

Internationally, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), is the most senior and authoritative body providing scientific advice to global policy makers. The IPCC met in full session in 1990, 1995 and in 2001. They address issues such as the buildup of greenhouse gases, evidence, attribution, and prediction of climate change, impacts of climate change, and policy options.

Listed below are a number of questions commonly addressed to climate scientists, and brief replies (based on IPCC reports and other research) in common, understandable language. This list will be periodically updated, as new scientific evidence comes to light.


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What is the greenhouse effect, and is it affecting our climate?
The greenhouse effect is unquestionably real and helps to regulate the temperature of our planet. It is essential for life on Earth and is one of Earth's natural processes. It is the result of heat absorption by certain gases in the atmosphere (called greenhouse gases because they effectively 'trap' heat in the lower atmosphere) and re-radiation downward of some of that heat. Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas, followed by carbon dioxide and other trace gases. Without a natural greenhouse effect, the temperature of the Earth would be about zero degrees F (-18°C) instead of its present 57°F (14°C). So, the concern is not with the fact that we have a greenhouse effect, but whether human activities are leading to an enhancement of the greenhouse effect.


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Are greenhouse gases increasing?
Human activity has been increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (mostly carbon dioxide from combustion of coal, oil, and gas; plus a few other trace gases). There is no scientific debate on this point. Pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide (prior to the start of the Industrial Revolution) were about 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv), and current levels are about 370 ppmv. The concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere today, has not been exceeded in the last 420,000 years, and likely not in the last 20 million years. According to the IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES), by the end of the 21st century, we could expect to see carbon dioxide concentrations of anywhere from 490 to 1260 ppm (75-350% above the pre-industrial concentration).


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Is the climate warming?
Yes. Global surface temperatures have increased about 0.6°C (plus or minus 0.2°C) since the late-19th century, and about 0.4°F (0.2 to 0.3°C) over the past 25 years (the period with the most credible data). The warming has not been globally uniform. Some areas (including parts of the southeastern U.S.) have, in fact, cooled over the last century. The recent warmth has been greatest over North America and Eurasia between 40 and 70°N. Warming, assisted by the record El Niño of 1997-1998, has continued right up to the present, with 2001 being the second warmest year on record after 1998.

Linear trends can vary greatly depending on the period over which they are computed. Temperature trends in the lower troposphere (between about 2,500 and 26,000 ft.) from 1979 to the present, the period for which Satellite Microwave Sounding Unit data exist, are small and may be unrepresentative of longer term trends and trends closer to the surface. Furthermore, there are small unresolved differences between radiosonde and satellite observations of tropospheric temperatures, though both data sources show slight warming trends. If one calculates trends beginning with the commencement of radiosonde data in the 1950s, there is a slight greater warming in the record due to increases in the 1970s. There are statistical and physical reasons (e.g., short record lengths, the transient differential effects of volcanic activity and El Niño, and boundary layer effects) for expecting differences between recent trends in surface and lower tropospheric temperatures, but the exact causes for the differences are still under investigation (see National Research Council report "Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change").

An enhanced greenhouse effect is expected to cause cooling in higher parts of the atmosphere because the increased "blanketing" effect in the lower atmosphere holds in more heat, allowing less to reach the upper atmosphere. Cooling of the lower stratosphere (about 49,000-79,500ft.) since 1979 is shown by both satellite Microwave Sounding Unit and radiosonde data, but is larger in the radiosonde data.

Relatively cool surface and tropospheric temperatures, and a relatively warmer lower stratosphere, were observed in 1992 and 1993, following the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. The warming reappeared in 1994. A dramatic global warming, at least partly associated with the record El Niño, took place in 1998. This warming episode is reflected from the surface to the top of the troposphere.

There has been a general, but not global, tendency toward reduced diurnal temperature range (DTR), (the difference between high and low daily temperatures) over about 50% of the global land mass since the middle of the 20th century. Cloud cover has increased in many of the areas with reduced diurnal temperature range. The overall positive trend for maximum daily temperature over the period of study (1950-93) is 0.1°C/decade, whereas the trend for daily minimum temperatures is 0.2°C/decade. This results in a negative trend in the DTR of -0.1°C/decade.

Indirect indicators of warming such as borehole temperatures, snow cover, and glacier recession data, are in substantial agreement with the more direct indicators of recent warmth. Evidence such as changes in glacier length is useful since it not only provides qualitative support for existing meteorological data, but glaciers often exist in places too remote to support meteorological stations, the records of glacial advance and retreat often extend back further than weather station records, and glaciers are usually at much higher alititudes that weather stations allowing us more insight into temperature changes higher in the atmosphere.

Large-scale measurements of sea-ice have only been possible since the satellite era, but through looking at a number of different satellite estimates, it has been determined that Arctic sea ice has decreased between 1973 and 1996 at a rate of -2.8 +/- 0.3%/decade. Although this seems to correspond to a general increase in temperature over the same period, there are lots of quasi-cyclic atmospheric dynamics (for example the Arctic Oscillation) which may also influence the extent and thickness of sea-ice in the Arctic. Sea-ice in the Antarctic has shown very little trend over the same period, or even a slight increase since 1979. Though extending the Antarctic sea-ice record back in time is more difficult due to the lack of direct observations in this part of the world.


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Are El Niños related to Global Warming?
El Niños are not caused by global warming. Clear evidence exists from a variety of sources (including archaeological studies) that El Niños have been present for hundreds, and some indicators suggest maybe millions, of years. However, it has been hypothesized that warmer global sea surface temperatures can enhance the El Niño phenomenon, and it is also true that El Niños have been more frequent and intense in recent decades. Recent climate model results that simulate the 21st century with increased greenhouse gases suggest that El Niño-like sea surface temperature patterns in the tropical Pacific are likely to be more persistent.


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Is the hydrological cycle (evaporation and precipitation) changing?
Overall, land precipitation for the globe has increased by ~2% since 1900, however, precipitation changes have been spatially variable over the last century. Instrumental records show that there has been a general increase in precipitation of about 0.5-1.0%/decade over land in northern mid-high latitudes, except in parts of eastern Russia. However, a decrease of about -0.3%/decade in precipitation has occurred during the 20th century over land in sub-tropical latitudes, though this trend has weakened in recent decades. Due to the difficulty in measuring precipitation, it has been important to constrain these observations by analyzing other related variables. The measured changes in precipitation are consistent with observed changes in streamflow, lake levels, and soil moisture (where data are available and have been analyzed).

Northern Hemisphere annual snow cover extent has consistently remained below average since 1987, and has decreased by about 10% since 1966. This is mostly due to a decrease in spring and summer snowfall over both the Eurasian and North American continents since the mid-1980s. However, winter and autumn snow cover extent has shown no significant trend for the northern hemisphere over the same period.

Improved satellite data shows that a general trend of increasing cloud amount over both land and ocean since the early 1980s, seems to have reversed in the early 1990s, and total cloud amount of land and ocean now appears to be decreasing. However, there are several studies that suggest regional cloudiness, perhaps especially in the thick precipitating clouds has increased over the 20th century.


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Is the atmospheric/oceanic circulation changing?
A rather abrupt change in the El Niño - Southern Oscillation behavior occurred around 1976/77 and the new regime has persisted. There have been relatively more frequent and presistent El Niño episodes rather than the cool La Niñas. This behavior is highly unusual in the last 120 years (the period of instrumental record). Changes in precipitation over the tropical Pacific are related to this change in the El Niño - Southern Oscillation, which has also affected the pattern and magnitude of surface temperatures. However, it is unclear as to whether this apparent change in the ENSO cycle is caused by global warming.


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Is the climate becoming more variable or extreme?
On a global scale there is little evidence of sustained trends in climate variability or extremes. This perhaps reflects inadequate data and a dearth of analyses. However, on regional scales, there is clear evidence of changes in variability or extremes.

In areas where a drought or excessive wetness usually accompanies an El Niño, these dry or wet spells have been more intense in recent years. Other than these areas, little evidence is available of changes in drought frequency or intensity.

In some areas where overall precipitation has increased (ie. the mid-high northern latitudes), there is evidence of increases in the heavy and extreme precipitation events. Even in areas such as eastern Asia, it has been found that extreme precipitation events have increased despite total precipitation remaining constant or even decreasing somewhat. This is related to a decrease in the frequency of precipitation in this region.

Many individual studies of various regions show that extra-tropical cyclone activity seems to have generally increased over the last half of the 20th century in the northern hemisphere, but decreased in the southern hemisphere. It is not clear whether these trends are multi-decadal fluctuations or part of a longer-term trend.

Where reliable data are available, tropical storm frequency and intensity show no significant long-term trend in any basin. There are apparent decadal-interdecadal fluctuations, but nothing which is conlusive in suggesting a longer-term component.

Global temperature extremes have been found to exhibit no significant trend in interannual variability, but several studies suggest a significant decrease in intra-annual variability. There has been a clear trend to fewer extremely low minimum temperatures in several widely-separated areas in recent decades. Widespread significant changes in extreme high temperature events have not been observed.

There is some indication of a decrease in day-to-day temperature variability in recent decades.


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How important are these changes in a longer-term context?
Paleoclimatic data are critical for enabling us to extend our knowledge of climatic variability beyond what is measured by modern instruments. Many natural phenomena are climate dependent (such as the growth rate of a tree for example), and as such, provide natural 'archives' of climate information. Some useful paleoclimate data can be found in sources as diverse as tree rings, ice cores, corals, lake sediments (including fossil insects and pollen data), speleothems (stalactites etc), and ocean sediments. Some of these, including ice cores and tree rings provide us also with a chronology due the nature of how they are formed, and so high resolution climate reconstruction is possible in these cases. However, there is not a comprehensive 'network' of paleoclimate data as there is with instrumental coverage, so global climate reconstructions are often difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, combining different types of paleoclimate records enables us to gain a near-global picture of climate changes in the past.

For the Northern Hemisphere summer temperature, recent decades appear to be the warmest since at least about 1000AD, and the warming since the late 19th century is unprecedented over the last 1000 years. Older data are insufficient to provide reliable hemispheric temperature estimates. Ice core data suggest that the 20th century has been warm in many parts of the globe, but also that the significance of the warming varies geographically, when viewed in the context of climate variations of the last millennium.

Large and rapid climatic changes affecting the atmospheric and oceanic circulation and temperature, and the hydrological cycle, occurred during the last ice age and during the transition towards the present Holocene period (which began about 10,000 years ago). Based on the incomplete evidence available, the projected change of 3 to 7°F (1.5 - 4°C) over the next century would be unprecedented in comparison with the best available records from the last several thousand years.


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Is sea level rising?
Global mean sea level has been rising at an average rate of 1 to 2 mm/year over the past 100 years, which is significantly larger than the rate averaged over the last several thousand years. Projected increase from 1990-2100 is anywhere from 0.09-0.88 meters, depending on which greenhouse gas scenario is used and many physical uncertainties in contributions to sea-level rise from a variety of frozen and unfrozen water sources.


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Can the observed changes be explained by natural variability, including changes in solar output?
Since our entire climate system is fundamentally driven by energy from the sun, it stands to reason that if the sun's energy output were to change, then so would the climate. Since the advent of space-borne measurements in the late 1970s, solar output has indeed been shown to vary. There appears to be confirmation of earlier suggestions of an 11 (and 22) year cycle of irradiance. With only 20 years of reliable measurements however, it is difficult to deduce a trend. But, from the short record we have so far, the trend in solar irradiance is estimated at ~0.09 W/m2 compared to 0.4 W/m2 from well-mixed greenhouse gases. There are many indications that the sun also has a longer-term variation which has potentially contributed to the century-scale forcing to a greater degree. There is though, a great deal of uncertainty in estimates of solar irradiance beyond what can be measured by satellites, and still the contribution of direct solar irradiance forcing is small compared to the greenhouse gas component. However, our understanding of the indirect effects of changes in solar output and feedbacks in the climate system is minimal. There is much need to refine our understanding of key natural forcing mechanisms of the climate, including solar irradiance changes, in order to reduce uncertainty in our projections of future climate change.

In addition to changes in energy from the sun itself, the Earth's position and orientation relative to the sun (our orbit) also varies slightly, thereby bringing us closer and further away from the sun in predictable cycles (called Milankovitch cycles). Variations in these cycles are believed to be the cause of Earth's ice-ages (glacials). Particularly important for the development of glacials is the radiation receipt at high northern latitudes. Diminishing radiation at these latitudes during the summer months would have enabled winter snow and ice cover to persist throughout the year, eventually leading to a permanent snow- or icepack. While Milankovitch cycles have tremendous value as a theory to explain ice-ages and long-term changes in the climate, they are unlikely to have very much impact on the decade-century timescale. Over several centuries, it may be possible to observe the effect of these orbital parameters, however for the prediction of climate change in the 21st century, these changes will be far less important than radiative forcing from greenhouse gases.


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What about the future?
Due to the enormous complexity of the atmosphere, the most useful tools for gauging future changes are 'climate models'. These are computer-based mathematical models which simulate, in three dimensions, the climate's behavior, its components and their interactions. Climate models are constantly improving based on both our understanding and the increase in computer power, though by definition, a computer model is a simplification and simulation of reality, meaning that it is an approximation of the climate system. The first step in any modeled projection of climate change is to first simulate the present climate and compare it to observations. If the model is considered to do a good job at representing modern climate, then certain parameters can be changed, such as the concentration of greenhouse gases, which helps us understand how the climate would change in response. Projections of future climate change therefore depend on how well the computer climate model simulates the climate and on our understanding of how forcing functions will change in the future.

The IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios determines the range of future possible greenhouse gas concentrations (and other forcings) based on considerations such as population growth, economic growth, energy efficiency and a host of other factors. This leads a wide range of possible forcing scenarios, and consequently a wide range of possible future climates.

According to the range of possible forcing scenarios, and taking into account uncertainty in climate model performance, the IPCC projects a global temperature increase of anywhere from 1.4 - 5.8°C from 1990-2100. However, this global average will integrate widely varying regional responses, such as the likelihood that land areas will warm much faster than ocean temperatures, particularly those land areas in northern high latitudes (and mostly in the cold season).

Precipitation is also expected to increase over the 21st century, particularly at northern mid-high latitudes, though the trends may be more variable in the tropics.

Snow extent and sea-ice are also projected to decrease further in the northern hemisphere, and glaciers and ice-caps are expected to continue to retreat
]]> Mon, 29 Jan 2007 01:40:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158409 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556 http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158407

FINGERPRINTS: Direct manifestations of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures
Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather
Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding
Glaciers melting
Arctic and Antarctic warming

HARBINGERS: Events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming.
Spreading disease
Earlier spring arrival
Plant and animal range shifts and population changes
Coral reef bleaching
Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding
Droughts and fires
The map of early warning signs clearly illustrates the global nature of climate changes. In its 2001 assessment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that, �an increasing body of observations gives a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system."

While North America and Europe—where the science is strongest—exhibit the highest density of indicators, scientists have made a great effort in recent years to document the early impacts of global warming on other continents. Our map update reflects this emerging knowledge from all parts of the world.

Although factors other than climate may have intensified the severity of some of the events on the map, scientists predict such problems will increase if emissions of heat-trapping gases are not brought under control.

You can purchase a copy of the map as a 3 feet by 2 feet display poster. Please note that the hard-copy versions of the map do not contain the recently added map points (points 90 - 156).

]]> Mon, 29 Jan 2007 01:24:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158407 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556 http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158405 Gradually the issue of global warming and future environmental and climatic disasters are beginning to catch the interest of nature loving individuals.

What is Global Warming.

Global Warming is the concept used to explain the gradual change in the climatic pattern and increased global temperatures of land, air and water bodies on earth. This is evident with gradual warming of the Polar regions of the world; Arctic and Antartic regions.

This effects are caused by the increase in the release of CFC's (Chloro Flouro Carbons) gases into the atmosphere. This gases of which CO2 is most prominent stays just before the ionosphere and forms a shield or a thin fim which causes the heat that arise from the land, air and water from activities on earth the remain within the atmosphere whilst directing much more heat from the area above it to the atmosphere. This causes increased heat and rising temperatures within the environment below...

This is to write a few.

The average temperature of the earth's surface has risen by 0.6 degrees C since the late 1800s. It is expected to increase by another 1.4 to 5.8 degrees C by the year 2100 -- a rapid and profound change" UNFCCC. According to UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre the temperature at the earth's surface is likely to increase significantly over the 21st century and ecosystems will experience the most rapid period of climate change since the end of the last ice age. "Evidence is getting stronger that most of the global warming that has occurred over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. This global temperature increase is likely to trigger serious consequences for humanity and other life forms alike..." European Commission DG Environment.
Increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide lead to increased temperatures, changes in precipitation and sea level rise. The first expected symptoms of a climate change-generated biodiversity crisis are range contractions and extinctions at lower elevational and latitudinal limits to species distributions. Robert J. Wilson et al. (2005) , Changes to the elevational limits and extent of species ranges associated with climate change - results of this research suggest that many species have already suffered climate-mediated habitat losses, threatening their long-term chances of survival.

Overview of international policy
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established already in 1988 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Its working groups comprise: WG I - The Science of Climate Change, WG II - Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, WG III - Mitigation of climate change and a Task Force on Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which entered into force on 21 March 1994 sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. It recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The Convention enjoys near universal membership, with 189 countries having ratified.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol commits Annex I Parties to individual, legally-binding targets to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Only Parties to the UNFCCC that have also become Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (i.e by ratifying, accepting, approving, or acceding to it) are bound by the Protocol’s commitments. 164 countries have ratified the Protocol. Of these, 35 countries and the EEC are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below levels specified for each of them in the treaty. The individual targets for Annex I Parties are listed in the Kyoto Protocol’s Annex B. These add up to a total cut in greenhouse-gas emissions of at least 5% from 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008-2012.

The EU is also taking serious steps to address its own greenhouse gas emissions. In March 2000 the Commission launched the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP). The ECCP led to the adoption of a range of new policies and measures, among which the Emissions Trading Scheme, which started its operation in January 2005.
]]> Mon, 29 Jan 2007 01:17:00 EST http://gossyomega.tigblog.org/post/158405 6.4530556 3.43555566.45305563.4355556