Marie-Antoinette's Dress
Embellished with silk embroidery, ribbon appliques, spangles and glass stones, follow the journey of Marie-Antoinette's lavish dress from ROM's vault to the gallery. Discover the delicate conservation methods, innovative mounting techniques and the mesmerizing history of the woman who once wore this dress.
Geological Perspectives on Climate Change
Throughout Earth’s history, mass extinctions of species were closely
related to physical and chemical changes in the atmosphere and the
oceans. These variations were controlled by heat from the sun, the
distribution of oceans and continents, the extent of ice sheets;
volcanic eruptions and asteroid impacts, air-borne particles, the
eruption of methane and greenhouse effects. Greenhouse episodes were amplified by carbon dioxide and methane
feedback effects from warming oceans and drying ve
Origin of the Elements of Life
Human beings are, by nature, curious about their beginnings. Often, such questions of "how we came to be" are confined to the origins of modern society, or the development of human beings as a species. In this lecture, Professor Timothy Beers will endeavour to take the discussion all the way back to the VERY beginning, to the origin of the primary elements required to construct life as we know it -- carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (O).Over the past few decades, astronomers and physicists ha
The Eighth H.W. Arndt Memorial Lecture: Rehabilitating the Unloved Dollar Standard
The international dollar standard is an accident of history that greatly facilitates international trade and exchange. But erratic U.S. monetary and financial policies, have upset the U.S. and a world economy thus makes foreigners unhappy. Paradoxically, the asymmetrical nature of the dollar standard also makes many Americans unhappy because they cannot control their own exchange rate. Although nobody loves the dollar standard, it is a remarkably robust institution that is too valuable to lose a
The Accidental Guerrilla:Â Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
In the first few years of the post-9/11 era, the established models for fighting ‘small wars' proved distressingly ineffective against resilient insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the insurgents fought Western armies to a stalemate, it was clear that a new approach was necessary. Dr David Kilcullen, a former Australian army officer, and one of the world's most influential experts on guerrilla warfare, became a key architect of the West's revamped military strategy. As the seni
Obesity as a Complex Problem
Obesity has increased dramatically across the world, and there is currently no solution to its control. While obesity is easily understood as the positive imbalance of energy intake and expenditure, this does not explain why it is easy to overeat and underexercise. Explanatory models that feed into energy balance include those of obesogenic environments, thrifty genotype, obesogenic behaviour, obesogenic culture, nutrition transition, political economic structures and biocultural interactions of
The Next 100 Years - A Forecast for the 21st Century
In his book The Next 100 Years, George Friedman offers a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century. He explains where and why future wars will erupt (and how they will be fought), which nations will gain and lose economic and political power, and how new technologies and cultural trends will alter the way we live in the new century.
Drawing on history and geopolitical patterns dating back hundreds of years, Friedman shows that w
State Your Position
To navigate, you must know roughly where you stand relative to your designation, so you can head in the right direction. In locations where landmarks are not available to help navigate (in deserts, on seas), objects in the sky are the only reference points. While celestial objects move fairly predictably, and rough longitude is not too difficult to find, it is not a simple matter to determine latitude and precise positions. In this activity, students investigate the uses and advantages of modern
How a Clash between our Genes & Modern Life is Making us Sick
This address introduces the ideas in Professor Greg Gibson's new book It Takes a Genome. The last two years have seen a revolution in genome scientists' ability to find the genes that influence whether a person is likely to suffer from any one of the major common chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, depression, or dementia. The shocking result, though, is that rather than a few dozen genes in each case, there are hundreds if not thousands in play, each of which contr
Waterwheel Work
Students learn the history of the waterwheel and common uses for water turbines today. They explore kinetic energy by creating their own experimental waterwheel from a two-liter plastic bottle. They investigate the transformations of energy involved in turning the blades of a hydro-turbine into work, and experiment with how weight affects the rotational rate of the waterwheel. Students also discuss and explore the characteristics of hydroelectric plants.
India and China: Can two tigers share a mountain?
To outsiders, India and China show some striking similarities. Both are ancient civilizations reincarnated as modern republics in the mid twentieth century, and are now rising powers. Both have nuclear weapons, burgeoning economies, expanding military budgets and large reservoirs of manpower, and seem to be vying for influence in the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, Africa, Central Asia and East Asia. Yet little attention is paid to the relationships between them. (From India and China: Conflict
The Missing Dimension of Stateness
While Professor Francis Fukuyama’s changing evaluation of the arguments
of his one-time Neocon colleagues has illuminated major issues about
American policy and the war in Iraq, his general thinking about weak
states and foreign intervention has received less attention in
Australia. In this lecture he continues his review of policies and
practices on international aid and the rebuilding of weak, failing and
failed states. As Professor Fukuyama has argued, “state-building is one
The Science of Making Profitable Decisions
In the modern information era, managers must recognize the competitive opportunities represented by decision–support tools. New family of systems – called Adaptive Business Intelligence systems – combine prediction and optimization techniques to assist decision makers in complex, rapidly changing environments.
Around 1919 & in Mexico City
Mexico furnished the era of social and cultural change that started ‘right around 1910’ with its first popular revolution. By 1919 Mexico City had become a refuge for the world’s radicals. To a despairing world, it offered a unique site to safely experiment with all sorts of enchantments.
In this culturally promiscuous capital not only the meaning of Mexico was at stake, but also the meanings of major modernist concepts –revolution, the popular, avant-garde, authenticity,
The National Interest, Strategic Non-violence, and the Independence of East Timor
Dr Fernandes provides a critical evaluation of what is often portrayed as a noble moment in Australia's history of overseas interventions. He shows that a series of Australian strategists and policymakers had argued that Australia's national interest required it to support the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. He shows how this conception of the national interest was challenged by a coalition of activists who maintained a long-running campaign of non-violent opposition to official policy. He
Virtual Learning Environments
Is the concept of 'virtual learning environment' just a popular label to describe any educational software? No, the concept includes several interesting features that justify the use of a specific label. We review these features in the first part of our contribution. Do these features guarantee pedagogical effects? No, we review in the second some potential contributions of virtual learning environments.Turning potential effects into actual outcomes is the challenge of designers.
Internet Scout Project
The Dung File is a collection of references relevant to the archaeological and paleoenvironmental analysis of coprolites and latrine fills, with a focus on North American research. Compiled by the University of Alberta's Alwynne B. Beaudoin, the Dung File includes ten sections: four to do with deposit origin; one devoted to theses; two on modern comparative studies; another listing articles from the popular press; and two broader categories including a section on procedural and analytical techni
Internet Scout Project
iEARN is an international nonprofit organization that connects over 15,000 schools in 100 countries through Internet networks. Using the Internet and other communications technologies, students and teachers conduct collaborative educational projects that meet curricular goals in Arts / Literature / Language Arts, Social Studies, and Math / Science / Environment. Participants choose from over 120 projects, which are designed and facilitated by teachers and students with the purpose of developing
22.52J Statistical Thermodynamics of Complex Liquids (MIT)
This course explores the theory of self-assembly in surfactant-water (micellar) and surfactant-water-oil (micro-emulsion) systems. It also introduces the theory of polymer solutions, as well as scattering techniques, light, x-ray, and neutron scattering applied to studies of the structure and dynamics of complex liquids, and modern theory of the liquid state relevant to structured (supramolecular) liquids.
Internet Scout Project
The University of South Carolina Library Web site offers the Online Science Books page. The site lists dozens of free online books from a variety of outside sources such as the National Academic Press, bibliomania.com, rheingold.com, and others. Books are categorized by various science subjects including astronomy, chemistry, environment, geology, marine science, physics, statistics, and biology. Included in these are a few science classics including Darwin�s The Origin of Species and Arist
