Hymn of the Pearl

Pearl

A pearl is a hard, rounded object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of mollusks, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes of pearls occur, see baroque pearl.
The finest quality pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries, and the word pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, and admirable.
Almost any shelled mollusk can, by natural processes, produce some kind of "pearl" when an irritating microscopic object becomes trapped within the mollusk's mantle folds, but virtually none of these "pearls" are considered to be gemstones.

Physical properties

The unique luster of pearls depends upon the reflection and refraction of light from the translucent layers. The thinner and more numerous the layers in the pearl, the finer the luster. The iridescence that pearls display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers, which breaks up light falling on the surface.
Pearls are often white or cream, but the color can vary quite a lot according to the natural color of the nacre in the various species of mollusk used. Thus pearls can also be black, or various pastel shades. In addition, pearls (especially freshwater pearls) can be dyed yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black.

Freshwater and saltwater pearls

Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Unionidae, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. These freshwater pearl mussels occur not only in hotter climates, but also in colder more temperate areas such as Scotland, see the freshwater pearl mussel. However, most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China.

Creation of a pearl

The difference between natural and cultured pearls focuses on whether the pearl was created spontaneously by nature — without human intervention, or with human aid. Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain bivalve mollusks: as a response to an irritant inside its shell, the mollusk creates a pearl to seal off the irritation.
The mantle of the mollusk deposits layers of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the minerals aragonite or calcite (both crystalline forms of calcium carbonate) held together by an organic horn-like compound called conchiolin. This combination of calcium carbonate and conchiolin is called nacre, or as most know it, mother-of-pearl.

Natural pearls

Natural pearls are nearly 100% nacre. It is thought that natural pearls form under a set of accidental conditions when a microscopic intruder or parasite enters a bivalve mollusk, and settles inside the shell. The mollusk, being irritated by the intruder, secretes the calcium carbonate substance called nacre to cover the irritant. This secretion process is repeated many times, thus producing a pearl.

Cultured pearls

Cultured pearls (nucleated and non-nucleated or tissue nucleated cultured pearls) and imitation pearls can be distinguished from natural pearls by X-ray examination. Nucleated cultured pearls are often 'pre-formed' as they tend to follow the shape of the implanted shell bead nucleus. Once the pre-formed beads are inserted into the oyster, it secretes a few layers of nacre around the outside surface of the implant before it is removed after six months or more.

Gemological identification

Natural and cultured pearls can be distinguished from imitation pearls using a microscope. Another method of testing for imitations is to rub the pearl against the surface of a front tooth. Imitation pearls are completely smooth, but natural and cultured pearls are composed of nacre platelets, which feel slightly gritty.

Value of a natural pearl

Quality natural pearls are very rare jewels. The actual value of a natural pearl is determined in the same way as it would be for other "precious" gems. The valuation factors include size, shape, quality of surface, orientation, and luster.
Single natural pearls are often sold as a collector's item, or set as centerpieces in unique jewelry. Very few matched strands of natural pearls exist, and those that do often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yachtsman and financier Cartier purchased the landmark Cartier store on Fifth Avenue in New York for $100 cash and a double strand of matched natural pearls valued at $1 million.

Origin of a natural pearl

Previously natural pearls were found in many parts of the world. Present day natural pearling is confined mostly to seas off Bahrain. Australia also has one of the world's last remaining fleets of pearl diving ships. Australian pearl divers dive for south sea pearl oysters to be used in the cultured south sea pearl industry. The catch of pearl oysters is similar to the numbers of oysters taken during the natural pearl days. Hence significant numbers of natural pearls are still found in the Australian Indian Ocean waters from wild oysters.

Different types of cultured pearls
Black pearls, frequently referred to as Black Tahitian Pearls, are highly valued because of their rarity.This is simply due to the fact that the black pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera is far more abundant than the elusive, rare, and larger south sea pearl oyster - Pinctada maxima, which cannot be found in lagoons, but which must be dived for in a rare number of deep ocean habitats. Black cultured pearls from the black pearl oyster — Pinctada margaritifera — are NOT south sea pearls, although they are often mistakenly described as black south sea pearls. In the absence of an official definition for the pearl from the black oyster, these pearls are usually referred to as "black Tahitian pearls". The correct definition of a south sea pearl — as described by CIBJO and the GIA — is a pearl produced by the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster. South sea pearls are the color of their host Pinctada maxima oyster — and can be white, silver, pink, gold, cream, and any combination of these basic colors, including overtones of the various colors of the rainbow displayed in the pearl nacre of the oyster shell itself.

Other "pearls"

Biologically speaking, under the right set of circumstances, almost any shelled mollusk can produce some kind of "pearl," however, most of these molluscan "pearls" have no luster or iridescence. One unusual example of calcareous concretions which nonetheless can sometimes have value, are the "pearls" which are found very rarely growing between the mantle and the shell of the queen conch or pink conch, Strombus gigas, a large sea snail or marine gastropod from the Caribbean Sea. These "pearls", which are pink in color, are a by-product of the conch fishing industry, and the best of them show some chatoyance.

The largest example of another "pearl"

The largest "pearl" known, was found in the Philippines in 1934. It is a naturally-occurring, non-nacreous, calcareous concretion from a giant clam. Because it did not grow in a pearl oyster it is not pearly, instead it has a porcellaneous surface, in other words it is glossy like a china plate. Gemologically speaking, it is not a pearl.

Pearls in jewelry

The value of the pearls in jewelry is determined by a combination of the luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry that are appropriate for the type of pearl under consideration. Among those attributes, luster is the most important differentiator of pearl quality according to jewelers. All factors being equal, however, the larger the pearl the more valuable it is. Large, perfectly round pearls are rare and highly valued. Teardrop-shaped pearls are often used in pendants.

An opera will be long enough to reach the breastbone or sternum of the wearer, and longer still, a pearl rope is any length that falls down farther than an opera.

Necklaces can also be classified as uniform, or graduated. In a uniform strand of pearls, all pearls are classified as the same size, but actually fall in a range. A uniform strand of akoya pearls, for example, will measure within 0.5 mm. So a strand will never be 7 mm, but will be 6.5-7 mm. Freshwater pearls, Tahitian pearls, and South Sea pearls all measure to a full millimeter when considered uniform. A graduated strand of pearls most often has at least 3 mm of differentiation from the ends to the center of the necklace. Popularized in the 1950s by the GIs bringing strands of cultured akoya pearls home from Japan, the graduated style was much more affordable as most pearls in any given strand were small.

Religious references

According to Rebbenu Bachya, the word Yahalom in the verse Exodus 28:18 means "pearl" and was the stone on the Hoshen representing the tribe of Zebulun. This is extremely disputed among scholars, particularly since the word in question in most manuscripts is actually Yasepheh - the word from which jasper derives.

In different translations of the Bible — the King James Version translates the sixth stone as diamond, the New International Version translates it as emerald, and the Vulgate translates it as jaspis — meaning jasper.

In a Christian New Testament parable, Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a "pearl of great price" in Matthew 13: 45-46. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."

Islamic references

In Islam, the Koran often mentions that dwellers of paradise will be adorned with pearls:
22:23 God will admit those who believe and work righteous deeds, to Gardens beneath which rivers flow: they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk.
35:33 Gardens of Eternity will they enter: therein will they be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk.
The Quran describes the wives of the people of Paradise as having eyes that are similar to pearls:
56:22-23 And [there will be] Houris with wide lovely eyes [as wives for the pious], Like unto preserved pearls.
The handsome young boys in paradise are similarly depicted:
52:24 Round about them will serve, [devoted] to them, youths [handsome] as Pearls well-guarded.

Hindu astrological belief in natural pearls

The Vedic tradition describes the sacred Nine Pearls which were first documented in the Garuda Purana, one of the books of the Hindu holy text Atharvaveda. Ayurveda contains references to pearl powder as a stimulant of digestion and to treat mental ailments. According to Marco Polo the kings of Malabar (now known as the Coromandel Coast) wore a necklace of 104 rubies and 104 precious pearls which was given from one generation of kings to the next. The reason was that every king had to say 104 prayers to his "idols" every morning and every evening. At least until the beginning of the 20th century it was a Hindu custom to present a completely new, undrilled pearl and pierce it during the ceremony.

Reading for purpose and pleasure

"Literacy is not just about recognising words - children will only read for pleasure when they respond to them"

Teaching our children to read is the basis of our education system. Literacy skills are not just important in themselves for later life, but essential for the proper teaching of other subjects in schools. Many of the past failures of education and the problems in our secondary schools stem, at least in part, from the fact that too many children left primary school without being able to read and write properly.
It is for this reason that this government has put so much emphasis over the past eight years on improving literacy standards. Thanks to the hard work of pupils and teachers, coupled with more investment in schools, we have seen dramatic progress since 1997. We need, however, to do even better.

As a government that is passionate about education, we are consistently interested in how we can improve the teaching of literacy and reading. My department is engaged in learning from the best practice found in our schools and in other countries. We certainly are not going to turn our backs on something that works.
This brings me to the recent media debate about phonics. There is no doubt that phonics, properly taught, plays an important part in teaching literacy skills. But there is a risk, and one fuelled by recent coverage of the Clackmannanshire study, that phonics is somehow seen as a magic bullet which will ensure that every child leaves primary school as an effective and enthusiastic reader.
Phonics is based on the simple premise that in order to learn to read a child must be able to recognise and combine the basic sounds, or phonemes, that make up the English language. But it is a big jump to suggest that teaching children phonics at an early stage in their education would, on its own, conquer the spectre of illiteracy for good, as some of its most enthusiastic supporters claim.

Mastery of phonics will, of course, enable a child to correctly "decode" all the regular words on the page. This means that they have the ability to turn the letters into sounds and the sounds into words. This is a critical first step in learning to read, and that is why it is at the heart of our national literacy strategy. We promote phonics as the first and foremost strategy that children employ as they encounter new words. But on its own it is simply not enough.

When we talk about reading, we are not just interested in teaching a child to decode. Reading is more than correctly identifying words on a page. It is also about understanding what has been written, and responding critically to the ideas, themes and events contained in the words. This is what we mean when we say that we want our children to read for purpose and pleasure.
Authoritative research shows that children learn to read best when clear and direct instruction in phonics is combined with a range of different teaching strategies that develop a child's ability to understand the context of what is written, instantly recognise frequently used words, and use and apply grammar correctly.

Between 1997 and 2000, the National Reading Panel, commissioned by the US Congress, assessed the full range of international research on the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read English. It is the most comprehensive overview of strategies to teach reading that currently exists. The panel's report, published in 2000, found that systematic phonics instruction is only one component - albeit a necessary one - of a total and effective reading programme.

Last year, 92% of 11-year-olds left primary school able to "read a range of text accurately and read independently with pace and fluency". But this government's aspiration is that children should leave primary school not only able to read fluently, but able to show understanding of significant ideas, themes and events. These are the skills children need to enable them successfully to access the secondary curriculum. Eighty-three per cent of 11-year-olds last year achieved this. That it is a big improvement on the 67% in 1997, but we are determined to see standards rise further.

There is more to do to support teachers in enabling children to read, to further develop their knowledge and understanding of phonics teaching, and to learn how this is most effectively combined with different reading strategies. That is why, in the primary national strategy, we are emphasising this within our major leadership programme, our new work with early years settings, and our intensive support for low-performing schools. But we are clear that the way forward is not a prescriptive and reductionist approach to phonics, to the exclusion of all else.

To make the most of education and fulfil their potential, the next generation will need secure phonics skills. But they also deserve to enjoy a wide range of literature and poetry, fiction and non-fiction writing; to develop a rich vocabulary; and to acquire the skills that enable them to make sense of, and respond to, what they read. This is what educating a child to be literate means.

Wonders of The World

Statues of Easter Island (10th - 16th Century)
Easter Island, Chile

Discovered on Easter Sunday, 1722 by Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen, this collection of 25 meter-high stone sculptures still puzzles historians and archaeologists as to its origins. It is believed that a society of Polynesian origin settled here in the 4th century and established a unique tradition of monumental sculpture. Between the 10th and 16th centuries, they erected the enormous stone figures, known as the Moai, which have long fascinated the entire world and endowed this island with a mythical atmosphere.

The Canopus Revelation

SYNOPSIS

The identification of the constellation Orion with the Egyptian god Osiris has become engrained in human consciousness, yet it is one of the biggest misunderstandings dominating the understanding of Egyptian mythology. Rather than the constellation Orion, it is the star Canopus that is linked with Osiris, as identified by ancient writers as well as early 20th century scholars, whose evidence has since been bullied into silence, if not oblivion.

Canopus, for Egypt the South polar star, is the second brightest star in the sky and interplays with Sirius in such a way that ancient accounts say they control time and evolution. Furthermore, Canopus was the star of the navigators, both ancient and modern, and was believed to allow access to the Afterlife - the domain of Osiris. Canopus was specifically identified with his Chest, his Ark, in which he was transformed from mere mortal to resurrected supergod; an image that has inspired Mankind ever since. The story has been at the origin of the Grail legend and alchemy, both of which have a specific link to Canopus - revealed here for the first time.

Canopus was therefore literally a "stargate", where man could communicate with and aspire to become gods - and enter into other dimensions. This book will reveal what the Egyptians actually believed as to what happened to the soul after death, when it entered into the Duat (or Nibiru), the crossing between life and the Afterlife, and the paths it the soul could chose. It will show how they coded this knowledge into their mythology and how ancient accounts and modern physics use the same symbolism… to describe the structure of the universe, the playground of the Egyptian gods and the souls of the deceased.

This book radically reinterprets the myth of Osiris in its proper context… what the ancient Egyptians believed would happen to the soul. Mankind is again on the brink of discovering this knowledge through modern science…

“This is a brave book. As if it were not risky enough to challenge the accepted established scientific Egyptological paradigm the author of 'The Canopus Revelation' has taken a long and incisive re-examination of the modern 'alternative' interpretations of Ancient Egypt. As a sceptical reader of modern writers such as Bauval and Hancock I found this book to be a thought-provoking breathe of very fresh air.

Live to Know

HIV Prevention and Risks

There are many steps you can take to help protect yourself against and prevent HIV and AIDS.

Sexual Prevention :

One of the main ways HIV transmission occurs is through vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Therefore, the best way to prevent being infected with the HIV virus is by practicing abstinence. This means to refrain from having sex. Having sex within a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with someone who has tested free of HIV is also considered to be safe.

If you do choose to be sexually active and are not in a committed, mutually monogamous relationship, it is imperative that you use condoms each and every time you have sex. While condoms cannot completely eliminate your risk of being infected with HIV, using them consistently and properly can significantly reduce your risk of infection.

Needle Risk :

It is possible to contract HIV by using contaminated needles. Most commonly, this refers to needles and syringes used for intravenous drugs. However, it can also include needles used in tattooing and piercing. For intravenous drug users, the best way to prevent being infected with HIV is to quit using drugs. Failing this, though, you can reduce your risk of infection by:

Never sharing or reusing needles for drug injection. Always safely disposing of your needles or taking them to a needle exchange center. If you are getting a tattoo or a piercing, be sure that the facility you go to only uses new, sterile needles. The facility should also dispose of used needles in a safe and sanitary manner.

Blood Contact :

One method of transmitting HIV is through contact with an infected person’s blood. Since the early 1980’s, all blood services and blood banks in North America have utilized rigorous screening procedures to ensure that all the blood they collect and distribute is free of the HIV virus. However, not all countries have the facilities or resources for this type of screening. If you are planning on donating blood, make sure the needles they use are new and sterile. If you are receiving blood, ask about the screening process of the blood being used in the procedure.

Health care workers are also at risk of being infected with HIV through direct contact with an infected person’s blood. People working in a health care setting should take the following precautions to lower their chances of accidental contact and infection:

Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water both before and after a procedure. Always use protective barriers (i.e. latex gloves, masks) when you are in direct contact with bodily fluids including blood. If possible, always use new, single-use disposable needles and syringes for all injections. Safely dispose of this injection equipment immediately after use. Promptly disinfect any contaminated equipment that is not disposable after use. If you think you may have come into contact with an infected person’s blood, it is a good idea to go for HIV testing.

HIV and Pregnancy :

Because it is possible to pass the HIV virus onto your unborn child, it is highly recommended that all pregnant women, regardless of whether they display any HIV symptoms, have an HIV test done during their pregnancy. Pregnant women who are HIV positive should discuss with their health care provider about starting treatment. Mother-to-child HIV transmission is also possible through breast milk. If you are HIV positive, discuss with your doctor the pros and cons of breastfeeding your child. You may be advised to avoid breastfeeding.

Sex with HIV :

In couples where both partners are infected with HIV, there may be a feeling that it is not necessary to use condoms when having sex or to take precautions. You’re both infected with the virus, anyways, right?

Although there is some debate, there is evidence to suggest that it is possible for an individual who is already infected with HIV to be re-infected with a different strain of HIV. This can cause issues with your treatment as you could be infected with an HIV strain that is resistant to certain medications. Aside from the possible risk of re-infection, there is also an increased risk of being infected with some other type of infection, most likely another sexually transmitted disease. This includes herpes, HPV, and Hepatitis B and C. Even if you and your partner are both HIV positive, it is still important to use condoms consistently and properly every time you have sex.

Source: Epigee Women's Health,

Teens turn deaf ear to risks of MP3 players

Teenagers seem to know that loud music can damage their hearing, yet most see no reason to lower the volume on their iPods, a small study suggests.
In focus-group discussions with students at two high schools in the Netherlands, researchers found that the teens were generally aware that blasting an MP3 player could harm their hearing. Yet most said they usually played their own device at maximum volume and had no plans to change that.

Like many teenagers, the students often denied their own personal risk. Most knew the general hazards of loud music, but believed they had a "low personal vulnerability" to hearing loss, the researchers report in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Given this, lead researcher Ineke Vogel told Reuters Health in an e-mail interview, "We strongly recommend parents to inform their children and to discuss with their children the use of MP3 players and the potential long- term, irreversible consequences for hearing capacity."

Parents can also look for signs of a problem, like when a child complains of ringing in the ears or sounds being "muffled," according to Vogel and co-researcher Dr. Hein Raat, who are both based at the University Medical Center Rotterdam.

Based on the focus-group discussions, though, many parents may be unaware of the hearing risks posed by MP3 players, the researchers note. Of the 73 students in the study, few said their parents had warned them that playing the devices too loud could harm their hearing.

It may also be necessary for MP3 manufacturers to make changes, the researchers note in their report.

Many students in the study said they did not know how to tell when their MP3 players were too loud. Volumes at or above 90 decibels (dB) are believed to be hazardous, Vogel's team notes, but noise levels need to reach 120 dB to 140 dB to become uncomfortable or painful.

Manufacturers, according to the researchers, could equip MP3 players with an indicator that displays the volume level in terms of decibels, along with a signal--such as a flashing light--that goes off when decibel levels reach the danger zone.

For now, Vogel and her colleagues recommend that, as a general "rule of thumb," MP3 users set the volume no higher than 60 percent of its full capacity when using "ear bud" style headphones, like those that come with iPods.

With over-the-ear headphones, they recommend 70 percent as the maximum.

Just as there are safety standards for occupational noise exposure, Vogel and her colleagues suggest that more long-range studies are needed to develop safety guidelines for "leisure time" noise exposure.

Human Cloning ? Why Not.

The Benefits of Human Cloning.

There are many ways in which in which human cloning is expected to benefit mankind. Below is a list that is far from complete.

Rejuvenation.

Dr. Richard Seed, one of the leading proponents of human cloning technology, suggests that it may someday be possible to reverse the aging process because of what we learn from cloning.

Human cloning technology could be used to reverse heart attacks.

Scientists believe that they may be able to treat heart attack victims by cloning their healthy heart cells and injecting them into the areas of the heart that have been damaged. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and several other industrialized countries.

There has been a breakthrough with human stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells can be grown to produce organs or tissues to repair or replace damaged ones. Skin for burn victims, brain cells for the brain damaged, spinal cord cells for quadriplegics and paraplegics, hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys could be produced. By combining this technology with human cloning technology it may be possible to produce needed tissue for suffering people that will be free of rejection by their immune systems. Conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart failure, degenerative joint disease, and other problems may be made curable if human cloning and its technology are not banned.

Infertility.

With cloning, infertile couples could have children. Despite getting a fair amount of publicity in the news current treatments for infertility, in terms of percentages, are not very successful. One estimate is that current infertility treatments are less than 10 percent successful. Couples go through physically and emotionally painful procedures for a small chance of having children. Many couples run out of time and money without successfully having children. Human cloning could make it possible for many more infertile couples to have children than ever before possible.

Plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery.

Because of human cloning and its technology the days of silicone breast implants and other cosmetic procedures that may cause immune disease should soon be over. With the new technology, instead of using materials foreign to the body for such procedures, doctors will be able to manufacture bone, fat, connective tissue, or cartilage that matches the patients tissues exactly. Anyone will able to have their appearance altered to their satisfaction without the leaking of silicone gel into their bodies or the other problems that occur with present day plastic surgery. Victims of terrible accidents that deform the face should now be able to have their features repaired with new, safer, technology. Limbs for amputees may be able to be regenerated.

Breast implants.

Most people are aware of the breast implant fiasco in which hundreds of thousands of women received silicone breast implants for cosmetic reasons. Many came to believe that the implants were making them ill with diseases of their immune systems. With human cloning and its technology breast augmentation and other forms of cosmetic surgery could be done with implants that would not be any different from the person's normal tissues.

Defective genes.

The average person carries 8 defective genes inside them. These defective genes allow people to become sick when they would otherwise remain healthy. With human cloning and its technology it may be possible to ensure that we no longer suffer because of our defective genes.

Down's syndrome.

Those women at high risk for Down's syndrome can avoid that risk by cloning.

Tay-Sachs disease.

This is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder could be prevented by using cloning to ensure that a child does not express the gene for the disorder.

Liver failure.

We may be able to clone livers for liver transplants.

Kidney failure.

We may be able to clone kidneys for kidney transplants. Tens of thousands of people are said to die each year for want of a kidney.

Leukemia.

We should be able to clone the bone marrow for children and adults suffering from leukemia. This is expected to be one of the first benefits to come from cloning technology.

Cancer.

We may learn how to switch cells on and off through cloning and thus be able to cure cancer. Scientists still do not know exactly how cells differentiate into specific kinds of tissue, nor to they understand why cancerous cells lose their differentiation. Cloning, at long last, may be the key to understanding differentiation and cancer.

Cystic fibrosis.

We may be able to produce effective genetic therapy against cystic fibrosis. Ian Wilmut and colleagues are already working on this problem.

Spinal cord injury.

We may learn to grow nerves or the spinal cord back again when they are injured. Quadriplegics might be able to get out of their wheelchairs and walk again. Christopher Reeves, the man who played Superman, might be able to walk again.

Testing for genetic disease.

Cloning technology can be used to test for and perhaps cure genetic diseases.

The above list only scratches the surface of what human cloning technology can do for mankind. The suffering that can be relieved is staggering. This new technology heralds a new era of unparalleled advancement in medicine if people will release their fears and let the benefits begin. Why should another child die from leukemia when if the technology is allowed we should be able to cure it in a few years time?

SHARK, The King of The Deep Blue Sea.

SHARK

Physical characteristics

Skeleton

The skeleton of a shark is very different from that of bony fish and terrestrial vertebrates. Sharks and other cartilaginous fish (skates and rays) have skeletons made from rubbery cartilage, a tissue lighter and more flexible than bone.
The general rule is that there is only one layer of tesserae in sharks, but the jaws of large specimens, such as the bull shark, tiger shark, and the great white shark, have been found to be covered with both two and three layers, and even more, depending on the body size. The jaws of a large white shark even had five layers.

Respiration

Like other fish, sharks extract oxygen from seawater as it passes over their gills. Shark gill slits are not covered like other fish, but are in a row behind its head. A modified slit called a spiracle is located just behind the eye; the spiracle assists the water intake during respiration and even plays a major role in bottom dwelling sharks, but is also reduced or missing in active pelagic sharks. While moving, water passes through the mouth of the shark and over the gills — this process is known as "ram ventilation". While at rest, most sharks pump water over their gills to ensure a constant supply of oxygenated water. A small subset of shark species that spend their life constantly swimming, a behaviour common in pelagic sharks, have lost the ability to pump water through their gills. These species are obligate ram ventilators and would presumably asphyxiate if unable to stay in motion. (Obligate ram ventilation is also true of some pelagic bony fish species.)

Osmoregulation

In contrast to bony fish, the blood and other tissue of sharks and Chondrichthyes in general is isotonic to their marine environments because of the high concentration of urea and trimethylamine oxide, allowing them to be in osmotic balance with the seawater. This adaptation prevents most sharks from surviving in fresh water, and they are therefore confined to a marine environment.

Teeth

The teeth of carnivorous sharks are not attached to the jaw, but embedded in the flesh, and in many species are constantly replaced throughout the shark's life; some sharks can lose 30,000 teeth in a lifetime. All sharks have multiple rows of teeth along the edges of their upper and lower jaws. New teeth grow continuously in a groove just inside the mouth and move forward from inside the mouth on a "conveyor belt" formed by the skin in which they are anchored. In some sharks rows of teeth are replaced every 8–10 days,

Tails

The tails (caudal fins) of sharks vary considerably between species and are adapted to the lifestyle of the shark. The tail provides thrust and so speed and acceleration are dependent on tail shape.

The tiger shark's tail has a large upper lobe which delivers the maximum amount of power for slow cruising or sudden bursts of speed.

Some tail adaptations have purposes other than providing thrust. The cookiecutter shark has a tail with broad lower and upper lobes of similar shape which are luminescent and may help to lure prey towards the shark.

Dermal denticles

Unlike bony fish, sharks have a complex dermal corset made of flexible collagenous fibres and arranged as a helical network surrounding their body.Their dermal teeth give them hydrodynamic advantages as they reduce turbulence when swimming.

Body temperature

A few of the larger species, such as the shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, and the great white, are mildly homeothermic - able to maintain their body temperature above the surrounding water temperature. This is possible because of the presence of the suprahepatic rete, a counter current exchange mechanism that reduces the loss of body heat.

Lifespan

Maximum shark ages vary by species. Most sharks live for 20 to 30 years, while the spiny dogfish lives a record lifespan of more than 100 years. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) have been hypothesized to also live over 100 years.

Evolution

The fossil record of sharks extends back over 450 million years - before land vertebrates existed and before many plants had colonised the continents. The first sharks looked very different from modern sharks. The majority of the modern sharks can be traced back to around 100 million years ago. Mostly only the fossilized teeth of sharks are found, although often in large numbers. In some cases pieces of the internal skeleton or even complete fossilized sharks have been discovered.

Instead of bones, sharks have cartilagenous skeletons, with a bone-like layer broken up into thousands of isolated apatite prisms. When a shark dies, the decomposing skeleton breaks up and the apatite prisms scatter.

Among the most ancient and primitive sharks is Cladoselache, from about 370 million years ago, which has been found within the Paleozoic strata of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

From about 300 to 150 million years ago, most fossil sharks can be assigned to one of two groups. One of these, the acanthuses, was almost exclusive to freshwater environments. By the time this group became extinct (about 220 million years ago) they had achieved worldwide distribution. The other group, the hybodonts, appeared about 320 million years ago and was mostly found in the oceans, but also in freshwater.
Modern sharks began to appear about 100 million years ago.

Classification

Sharks belong to the superorder Selachimorpha in the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. The Elasmobranchii also include rays and skates; the Chondrichthyes also include Chimaeras. It is currently thought that the sharks form a polyphyletic group: in particular, some sharks are more closely related to rays than they are to some other sharks.
There are more than 360 described species of sharks split across are eight orders of sharks.

Asexual reproduction

In December 2001, a pup was born from a female hammerhead shark who had not been in contact with a male shark for over three years. This has led scientists to believe that sharks can reproduce without the mating process.
After three years of research, this assumption was confirmed on May 23, 2007, after determining the shark born had no paternal DNA, ruling out any sperm-storage theory as previous thought. It is unknown as to the extent of this behaviour in the wild, and how many species of shark are capable of parthenogenesis. This observation in sharks made mammals the only remaining major vertebrate group in which the phenomenon of asexual reproduction has not been observed.

Shark senses

Sense of smell

Sharks have keen olfactory senses, located in the short duct (which is not fused, unlike bony fish) between the anterior and posterior nasal openings, with some species able to detect as little as one part per million of blood in seawater.

Sense of sight

Shark eyes are similar to the eyes of other vertebrates, including similar lenses, corneas and retinas, though their eyesight is well adapted to the marine environment with the help of a tissue called tapetum lucidum.

Sense of hearing

Sharks also have a sharp sense of hearing and can hear prey many miles away.

Electroreception

The Ampullae of Lorenzini are the electroreceptor organs of the shark, and they vary in number from a couple of hundred to thousands in an individual. Sharks use the Ampullae of Lorenzini to detect the electromagnetic fields that all living things produce. This helps sharks find its prey (mostly the hammer head). The shark has the greatest electricity sensitivity known in all animals.

Lateral line

This system is found in most fish, including sharks. It is used to detect motion or vibrations in the water. The shark uses this to detect the movements of other organisms, especially wounded fish. The shark can sense frequencies in the range of 25 to 50 Hz.

Behaviour

Studies on the behaviour of sharks have only recently been carried out leading to little information on the subject, although this is changing. The classic view of the shark is that of a solitary hunter, ranging the oceans in search of food; however, this is only true for a few species, with most living far more sedentary, benthic lives.

Shark intelligence

Despite the common myth that sharks are instinct-driven "eating machines", recent studies have indicated that many species possess powerful problem-solving skills, social complexity and curiosity. The brain-mass-to-body-mass ratios of sharks are similar to those of mammals and other higher vertebrate species.

Shark sleep

Some say a shark never sleeps. It is unclear how sharks sleep. Some sharks can lie on the bottom while actively pumping water over their gills, but their eyes remain open and actively follow divers. When a shark is resting, it does not use its nares, but rather its spiracles.

Habitat

A December 10, 2006 report by the Census of Marine Life group reveals that 70% of the world's oceans are shark-free. They have discovered that although many sharks live up to depths as low as 1,500 metres (5,000 ft), they fail to colonize deeper, putting them more easily within reach of fisheries and thus endangered status.

Shark attacks

Sharks rarely attack humans unless provoked. In 2006 the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) undertook an investigation into 96 alleged shark attacks, confirming 62 of them as unprovoked attacks and 16 as provoked attacks. The average number of fatalities per year between 2001 and 2006 from unprovoked shark attacks is 4.3.
Contrary to popular belief, only a few sharks are dangerous to humans. Out of more than 360 species, only four have been involved in a significant number of fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans: the great white, oceanic whitetip, tiger, and bull sharks.

Shark fishery

An estimate states that, every year, 26 to 73 million (median value is at 38 million) sharks are killed by people in commercial and recreational fishing. In the past, sharks were killed simply for the sport of landing a good fighting fish (such as the shortfin mako sharks). Shark skin is covered with dermal denticles, which are similar to tiny teeth, and was used for purposes similar to sandpaper. Other sharks are hunted for food (Atlantic thresher, shortfin mako and others), and some species for other products.
Sharks are a common seafood in many places around the world, including Japan and Australia.

Sharks generally reach sexual maturity slowly and produce very few offspring in comparison to other fish that are harvested. This has caused concern among biologists regarding the increase in effort applied to catching sharks over time, and many species are considered to be threatened.
Some organizations, such as the Shark Trust, campaign to limit shark fishing. According to Seafood Watch, sharks are currently on the list of fish that American consumers, who are sustainability minded, should avoid.

Sharks in cultural tradition

In ancient Greece, it was forbidden to eat shark flesh at women's festivals.
A popular myth is that sharks are immune to disease and cancer; however, this is untrue. There are both diseases and parasites that affect sharks. The evidence that sharks are at least resistant to cancer and disease is mostly anecdotal and there have been few, if any, scientific or statistical studies that have shown sharks to have heightened immunity to disease.

Brojen Was the first Asain Swimmer Who accross The English Channel.

Brojen Was the first Asain Swimmer Who accross The English Channel.

Brojen Das

Brojen Das (Bengali: ব্রজেন দাস) (b. 9 December 1927, d. 1998) was the first Asian to swim across the English Channel, and the first person to cross it four times.

Early life:

Born in the Kuchiamora village of Bikrampur, Munshiganj District in Bangladesh, Brojen Das had his primary education in his native village. He passed matriculation in 1946 from the KL Jubilee High School, Dhaka and Intermediate and Bachelor of Arts from Vidyasagar College, Kolkata.
Crossing of the English Channel

Brojen after his 5th crossing of the English Channel

Brojen meeting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, after his channel crossing, 1961 Please help improve this article by expanding this section.See talk page for details.

When first time he accrossed The English Channel

Achievements

Local

Champion in 100 meter Freestyle swimming Competition in West Bengal in 1952.
Champion in East Pakistan in 100, 200, 400, 1500 meter Freestyle swimming in 1953-1956.
Champion in Pakistan in 100 & 400 meter Freestyle Swimming in 1955.
Member of the Pakistan swimming team in 1956 World Olympic Games.

International

Italy, July 1958, Winner (placed 3rd) in the Capri Island to Naples 33 kilometer long distance Swimming Competition.
England, August 1958, secured first position among the male competitors in the Billy Butlin’s Channel Crossing Swimming Competition, 39 competitors from 23 nations participated in

the competition.

England, August 1959, successfully completed the Channel Crossing Swimming Competition to from France to England.
England, September 1959. successfully completed the Channel Swim from England to France.
England, August 1960, successfully completed the Channel Swim from France to England.
England, September 1961, crossed the Channel once again from France to England.
England, September 1961, created world record for the fastest swim across the English Channel from France to England.

Awards

Brojen Das receiving the Letona Trophy, 1986
1956: Awarded Dhaka University
1959: Pride of Performance award from the Pakistan government
1965: Induction into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
1986: Letona Trophy, i.e. "King of Channel" from the Channel Swimming Association of the United Kingdom

1976: National Sports Award, Bangladesh
1999: Swadhinata Padak (Independence Award), Bangladesh (posthumous)
Atish Dipankar Medal
Gold Medal, Kazi Mahabubullah Trust and Jahanara Jana Kalyan trust

Kuakata , a scenic sea beach on the south.

The most important attraction of the beach is that one can see both sunrise and sunset from some of its locations.

Kuakata (Bangla: কুয়াকাটা) :

The name Kuakata originated from the word kua, which means a well dug for drinking water. It is believed that the early rakhain settlers found it difficult to get fresh drinking water in the place and they had to dig (kata) wells (kuas) to solve the problem. The beach at Kuakata is 18km long and 3km wide. This sandy beach slopes into the Bay of Bengal. Other attractions at Kuakata include blue sky, huge expanse of water, the evergreen forest in surrounding areas, rows of coconut trees, boats of many different kinds and their colourful sails, and surfing waves. Kuakata is also a sanctuary for migratory winter birds.











Sunrise at Kuakata

Kuakata is a scenic sea beach in south-western Bangladesh. It is about 320 Kilometres south of Dhaka, the capital, and about 70 Kilometres from the Patuakhali District headquarters. On 13 September, 2007 government have announced red alert in Kuakata as caution for a possible Tsunami.

It is a famous destination for people around Bangladesh and from overseas. The most important attraction of the beach is that one can see both sunrise and sunset from some of its locations.The government and local business owners have made currently significant development. Not so long ago tourists were uncomfortable to visit Kuakata due to poor communication systems and dangerous road conditions. Beside that the local communities were not very supportive towards the tourists; resulting some unpleasant events in the beach area.

But now, those days seems gone from Kuakata beach. People are now more business concerned and communications are much better than before. A new Police station was build 4 years ago and Community awareness is in place.












Sunset at Kuakata

What is Generation gap?

Generation gap is a popular term used to describe wide differences in cultural norms between members of a younger generation and their elders. This can be defined as occurring "when older and younger people do not understand each other because of their different experiences, opinions, habits and behavior."[1] The term first came into prominence in Western countries during the 1960s, and described the cultural differences between the Baby Boomers and their parents. Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, during this era differences between the two generations grew significantly in comparison to previous times, particularly with respect to such matters as musical tastes, fashion, drug use, and politics. This may have been magnified by the unprecedented size of the young Baby Boomer generation, which gave it unprecedented power, influence, and willingness to rebel against societal norms.


Cultural effects
A seeming generation gap may be present between different generations, as well. Starting with the fear of childbirth, people may learn or otherwise impart a fear of children, fear of youth, and/or fear of elderly people. Whether favoring the perspective of adults or actually solely allowing the perspective of adults, society may seem to also foster gerontocracy, which pits elderly people against children, youth and adults, as well.


Technology and the Generation Gap
While the young are busy posting an apology to their readership on their blog, before they take an extended summer vacation with their family; the older generations are slow to make use of the latest gadgets and online tools, and are baffled by the reason one would want to post the date you will be absent from your house on the Net. The resulting clash is being called a new generation gap.

A survey1 and subsequent news articles suggest a generation gap exists when it comes to using online services and it's provoked some conflict between generations. While the younger generation has expressed impatience with the older generation's slowness to adopt the latest online product, the older generation is just as bewildered by young people who choose to publish their private information on the Internet. The frustration expressed among generations is considered a new generation gap - 2 one the pre-Baby Boomer generation would probably call payback.

Some oldsters express consternation when these young whippersnappers show off their expertise and remarkable agility when using electronic gadgets, while others view the way the young use technology as uncanny. I've even heard it rumored that developing one's skill on the Internet can rewire a teenager's brain, although others suggest it's the thumb.

Interesting, when I think about my own body aging, I believed it would be wrinkles and stubborn belly fat that would finally betray me, not my failure to sign up for Twitter, a service whose intended purpose is to answer the question, "Where you at?"

It is seen as a generational shift. The older generations, coached by their parents that privacy has value, don't always understand the attraction of such remarkable social networking tool as MySpace, Skype, or YouTube. As for the younger generations, they see the tools as fun and necessary, a quick means of getting an answer to a question. They don't view the tools as a malignant force guided by the suggestion, "Sure, the cell phone is annoying, but is it annoying enough?"

So, while the older generations discover social-networking tools and imagine the tug of a small hand on a pant leg, those who have grown up using new technologies search the globe for friends, contacts, and merchandise; for them lack of privacy is not so much an annoyance as part of the marketing package.3

Or perhaps it is just a question of preference: For example, in days gone by, when asked, "What is it about summer that you like most?" People might say, "Warmer weather, ice cream" or even "vacations." Netizens appear to be saying, "Why, the return of the mosquito. I miss that."

Although, no one suggests older adults aren't going online. They are and in large numbers. They game, bank and shop online. They create blogs, share pictures of their grandchildren and photos of their RV vacations. They purchase and download music and movies, almost like a kid, except they usually pay for it. In fact, when it comes to these activities, seniors may even have more money, their soft, padded rumps extended by a padded wallet; online marketers aren't ignoring this fact. It's just that the media wants to remind us that age is an issue for human beings, even in a virtual setting. You know, lest we forget.

Of course, another article I read on this topic was careful to stress that the suppliers of user-generated online content are not necessarily age restricted.4 All generations are generously included when describing the social networking phenomenon. These users are given their very own label; Generation C-C is for Content or in an update to that article, C is for Cash.5 But even that article acknowledges that youth is leading the way in the "haves" a profile/blog/website vs. the "have nots" a profile/blog/website.

In my career as a law librarian in an academic setting, a reportedly graying profession that is now attracting young, hip professionals,6 I witnessed my own demonstration of the widening gap between the generations when I attended a presentation on the Web page redesign for our campus library at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

The presentation included the results of a Web user survey. We were told by the presenter, who claimed he did not want to be generational, (or is that being a generationalist?) that the older generations were not as fast to pick up on the information on a Web site. They didn't see links as quickly, were not as sure of hand in their responses. In summary, the older group (mostly faculty) was not as comfortable with the Web design as the younger group (students).

It never occurred to me when I browsed the cosmetics counter at Macy's that I would do better hiding the ravages of age, not with face cream, but by practicing rapid fire instant messaging and mouse techniques.

Yet how will aging Gen-X'ers and Boomers, perhaps even a few Gen-Y'ers keep up as the youngest generation gains speed? The Internet Generation, born between 1994 and 2005, has never known a time before the Internet. How long will Generation Now tolerate the behavior of their elders before they race past those who drive in the slow lane of the information highway? And how will the old folks, those of us whose birth announcement did not include a video and a posting on the Web, cope?

I suppose the generations, like usual, will be forced to bridge the gap. After all, at least in the workforce, it is implied that our jobs may well depend on our ability to become lifelong technology learners. But for this essay, I have chosen to look to the past for my answer, where I personally experienced how a pre-Internet generation gentleman dealt with emerging technology.

Technology Issues that Dogged the Pre-Internet Generation

When I was a library student back in 1990, I took a job as a receptionist in a senior citizen's home to help pay for college. The home for seniors was euphemistically called an independent living facility, an irony that probably escaped the nursing home administration and its residence. One day sitting at my desk at the independent living facility, I received a visit from a nice old man of about ninety, Clyde, who came to my station and ask me for help with his technology problem. He explained to me that he had been given a tape player by his son because his son knew he loved to listen to music, but he couldn't get the darn thing to play.

What kind of music did Clyde listen to? Well, I once made the mistake of asking an elderly woman at the home if she liked big band music and she told me she didn't go for any of that "Modern stuff," so let's just say this gentleman's musical preferences were late 19th century, some early, very early, 20th century. But my music loving visitor, Clyde, former milk truck driver, married more than fifty years to the same woman, father of three, widower for around five years, had a small tech. issue. He couldn't figure out how to work this modern contraption he placed on my counter. So, feeling helpful, I gladly show him how use the tape player.

Every day afterward, Clyde would visit me during my shift at the desk and ask me if I would show him the steps to using his gadget. While I performed my demonstration, we would talk about music and gossip about people at the home, usually what resident was entering the nearby hospital or who had returned from a trip to the hospital.

If the resident was over the age of seventy, Clyde would discuss what a shame it was that someone so young was having health problems that required a hospital visit. If the person was over the age of eighty, he again voiced concern, "How awful, what bad luck." But if the resident had achieved the age of ninety and was gravely ill-had suffered a heart attack or a stroke-then Clyde's attitude changed, "Well," he would reply on hearing the news, "he has lived a good life."

I learned from Clyde that ninety is considered to be the cut off date for accepting the inevitability of death. So, if any of you assume there will be sympathy for the aches and pains of old age and you hover somewhere above ninety, your peer group will set you straight.

Some days we didn't discuss old people and their health at all and instead I would entertain Clyde with my latest dating failures, always good for a laugh. During our talk I would also show Clyde how to insert the tape into the player. Carefully, I showed him which buttons did what and how they were marked; I demonstrated how to use reverse, fast forward, eject and play. Now and then, I looked up from the machine to reassure myself that he watched what I did. He always seemed to be paying attention.

Finally, I would end my demonstration by patting the tape-player and saying something like, "There, see, it's easy." Music would tinkle from the player.

"How about that? It works. "Whoop. De doo!" Clyde would exclaim, and then he would shake his head at his lack of comprehension over a simple man-made gadget, smile sheepishly at me and say, "Thanks, I really should learn how to use this."

But he never seemed to quite get the hang of it. Old people, I guess. We all accept it as common place that the generations who pre-date the computer age appear to struggle with such things as cell phones, programming their VCR's and working other assorted electronic gizmos. Yet my grandfather, a man from the Greatest Generation, automobile test-driver and brake supervisor for Chrysler, found it no problem at all to take a car apart, place it on someone's roof and rebuild it, as a practical joke. (I'm sure at the time finding a car on your roof was a real hoot.)

I'm not sure I could take the auxiliary battery out of my Prius and replace it. Sure, you could argue, cars were simpler back then, no electronic do-dads, far fewer safety features. But is putting together a car truly less complicated than using the Internet? Seems to me that any tween can put up a Web page, add a fuzzy video or two and find an audience, but do you know any teenagers rebuilding a car for a lark?

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't believe past generations are really incapable of learning how to use an online product. But if that is true then what's really going on with the older generations and computers? Can they really be, as is suggested, technophobes? I've chosen not to believe it.

Confident that my geriatric visitor was capable of learning, I repeatedly taught Clyde everything he needed to know to use his tape machine by himself. I cared that he figured this out, especially after I invested so much time showing him how to use it. I wanted to wag a finger at him every time I saw him wobbling up to my station, recorder in hand, and say, "Become independent, you old cote." But Clyde was having none of that.

Clyde could safely be pegged a technophobe. Poor old man, he was "pre-tape player," and he would never be called an early adopter of a new technology. "Early adopter" is a term coined by technology marketing departments to increase desire for their product. If you use their product right away, that is, buy the product before anyone else has found a practical use for it, you to can be targeted as an "early adopter." iPhone Generation 2.0 is just around the corner, for example.

I admit at first I was somewhat amused that Clyde needed my help, even flattered. I suppose I felt that condescending superiority that comes from knowing something about technology that others do not. Nothing proves the worth of the young like a good technology trick. Something they can hold over the old folks to make them feel uneasy.

I'm older now myself, and technology has moved at a fast pace, so I've developed a new respect for that unease. But while some writers express their discomfort with technology by scoffing at those who uses social networking tools, viewing these people as narcissistic, I, as a parent of preschoolers, see no need to scoff; it doesn't surprise me that the young want to shout, "Look at me," even to an audience they cannot see. In fact, it seems pretty normal. Perhaps the older generations are just feeling a bit threatened. For them, it's as if the 1984 horror flick, Children of the Corn, has spawned a demon-seed hybrid, Wired Children of the Corn, and they fear being caught alone in the electronic cornfield. However, this is not a fear in my profession, for librarians have embraced technology in the library.

Many librarians, much like me only smarter and better organized, consider themselves early adopters of new products. How this translates to the profession is that these librarians are doing their very best to use technology to disprove the bun on top of the head image created by too many reruns of Marian the Librarian in the media.

Librarians yearn to be bunless, and they will go out of their way to dispel what they view as a negative stereotype. Sometimes they will flat out say this, that they are using technology to disprove the bun, and they post smiling, bun-free photos of themselves on their blogs and home pages. On other occasions, perhaps in order to appear more professional, they will claim they are using technology to reach out (i.e. using social networking services) to patrons who, for some reason or another, can't find their way to the library but manage to find the local shopping mall without any problem. Of course, sometimes they totally cave and build libraries in shopping malls.

At any rate, librarians are technology front runners, embracing new products and using them to introduce a new generation to the electronic library of the future. The coolness factor glossed upon librarians by their use of technology goes a long way in making up for their embarrassingly low salaries.

Yet, young as I was back then in 1990, in the pre-dawn hours of the Internet, I instinctively knew my elderly gentleman caller was not going to fall for any "master technology for lifelong learning" sales pitch.7

But although my friend Clyde didn't have much experience with electronic gadgetry, he had, over the years of delivering milk door to door, developed a few skills with people. I discovered that Clyde was a very pleasant person to while away my work hours with, and I came to enjoy our chats. Over time, like any friend, we became pretty comfortable with each other, enough to share confidences.

One day, I arrived at work still fuming at a friend from college who had, over beers the other night, pointed out some minor flaw in my character. I forget the details, but it centered on the fact that I couldn't handle my liquor, a common enough complaint of bar frequenters, I mean students, in Madison, Wisconsin.

At work, I vented my feelings of injustice to a sympathetic ear, my sparsely gray-haired technology-free buddy, who, after listening to my tirade about my friend's ridiculous claim sighed and said, 'I'm so glad I'm too old to care about these things."

It cooled me off immediately.

Such a nice thought. Imagine, eventually, we get too old to care what people think about us, which explains the whole black socks with white tennis shoes and plaid shorts combo that old men like to affect.

I applied what I had learned about Clyde to his problem with technology. After several more demonstrations of the workings of a tape player, it finally dawned on me that Clyde had no real need to learn how to use a portable tape player. He had his phonograph for that. Clyde was using technology in exactly the way he wished. He used it to strike up a friendly conversation with the pretty young college student that worked at the reception desk, and if it meant repeatedly acting confused about some odd piece of technology, then, "Whoop de doo, it worked."

I've taken a lesson from Clyde, because this may well be how the generations will bridge technology issues. Some will use the technology at hand, others will find uses for it unimagined by marketing departments, while yet others will take comfort in the habits of older technologies, unmoved by the latest gadget. Finally, a few, like Clyde, will use any gizmo as a bridge to a human connection. I guess you could say that those folks prefer to socially network in person, which is so 20th century, don't you think?

Social Networking & the Generation Gap on Campus Libraries

EMAIL: Recently, the link to an article titled Email is for old people8 was passed around via our email system to all us old folk, two years after the PEW study on Teens and Technology, so, speed of light on that tidbit of news. The conclusion of this study was that when the Internet Generation needs to communicate with old people, they email, but to contact friends, they text message or post to a communications network.

So email can be viewed as a bridge to communication between the generations, but I also think that email serves to connect people with a shared purpose, no matter what their age.

For example, one form of email especially important in the workplace, and which appears to have replaced the traditional printed memo for business communication, is a remarkable service called the group email. Group emailing is a service designed to facilitate sending announcements and meeting reminders to a mass audience. It's fast, it's simple, and so seamless in function that it can be done without taxing anyone's ability to put effort into their writing, making it a nearly perfect form of professional communication.

Still, as much as I enjoy this daily, sometimes hourly mailing feature, I find that I do occasionally forget to read group emails, much to the astonishment of my co-workers who love to send out important memos to their group on topics like, "Why does the elevator smell?" or "What's that fan doing in the hallway?"

Sometimes, reading these notices, I can't help but wonder what people did to communicate with a group before email. Did they stand at the water cooler and shout as their fellow co-workers walked past? Did they post a memo about how to keep stains from the carpet or rodents out of the breakroom? I wish I could recall, but I hear aging affects memory, so there you go.

I do know that I occasionally miss reading those practical work-related messages. This fact has been noted with amazement by my fellow librarians, who apparently sort and read everything sent to their inbox and view me as transparently lazy.

I suffer from another technology glitch with email. My spam filter is flawed. Sometimes it tosses relevant emails to my junk file; like my monthly free movie coupon. Sometimes it doesn't filter out those lottery winnings sent from the Ukraine.

Noting these minor issues, I've come to believe that email may not always be the best method of communication, even for the elderly.

In fact, I'm not sure email problems have anything to do with the age of the sender, or the gender, (if anyone wants to argue that point.)

In conclusion, I believe that every email sent carries two seductive features: First, you can avoid talking to a co-worker in person and still claim to be communicating efficiently. Second, you can claim you never saw an email and people believe you. I just can't decide if these features are a technology flaw or a selling point.

But perhaps text messaging is the solution. Let's see how that works.

IM CHAT ON CAMPUS: I quizzed a few college students in a less than official text messaging survey to see if they rely more on text messaging in college or email to communicate with each other and this is what I was told: The students used to chat when they were in high school, but now their friends are all on different schedules, and that makes connecting via IM more difficult.

Apparently, in order to communicate more effectively, they joined the grown ups, even when communicating with each other. They also use their cell phones. Sometimes I believe they hang out together and just talk, but it makes them feel terribly old fashioned.

IM CHAT FOR THE REFERENCE DESK. IM Chat is a new service rolled out on the library's Web site. It's activity can be counted, an important feature when putting together an annual usage report. However, those of us at the reference desk can't just ignore older technologies, for example, microfiche, the bane of libraries in the 80's, is still around. So, the desk phone still rings and the reference email inbox fills up-mostly with ads for products that old people can use to improve their waning sex drive or penny stock tips for their retirement. We also occasionally get a live visitor now and then at the desk. I believe we refer to this as face-to-face contact. Between all the reference services we offer, I find, despite my advancing years, that I can multitask. A custom I am told is restricted to the young.

So let me send a shout out to all those who have helped me develop this youthful skill, honed by years of working at the reference desk of a busy law firm library, strengthened by being a m.o.m. (mother of multiples) to two small girls born to the Internet generation. I can see from the list of latest Web 2.0 products that I will only continue to evolve my meager brain/thumb.

FACEBOOK: Recently discovered by the older set, librarians are flocking to FACEBOOK. I believe their communities or "friends" are usually other librarians rather than students, even in the public and academic setting. However, librarians have advanced the idea that this social networking tool is a way to reach out to the younger generations.9 Well, it's logical. After all, if early adopting sexual predators can develop the skills necessary to prowl the Internet and reach out to young people, librarians can too.

BLOGGING THE LIBRARY: There is evidence that blogs can be used to lure patrons to use library services. For example, public librarians reach out to teens using a variety of technology resources and get teens involved in their community libraries by asking them to help create the blog, wiki or podcast. Others events in the luring-teens-to-use-the-library arsenal include hosting gaming sessions in the library. But don't just rely on technology, for as the author of one article admonishes,10 for librarians it is essential to maintain as much face-to-face contact with teens as possible.

How quaint.

LIBRARIAN IMAGE & TECHNOLOGY: Buns in the hair, sexy, hot '50's style clothing and owl-shaped glasses for librarians sold during the Halloween season, shushing, frowning librarians, these images have but one thing in common: They are female images. If women dominated the field of carpentry, firefighting, and professional baseball the way they dominate professions as librarians, nurses and teachers, then baseball players would have an image problem that had nothing to do with the use of steroids.

Call me cynical, I hear it is a feature of my generation, but I don't think technological skills or networking skills alone will displace the bun, although it might raise our salaries. (I've noticed the IT folks on campus all make more than me.)

However, for those who care about their professional image as librarians, I do have a suggestion: Either you can grow older and learn to not care about the opinion of others, or encourage more men to join the field, but make sure they work out. Maybe you can lure these hunks to the profession with hot technology and games.

Generation gap: Who is to blame?

There always has been generation gap since the dawn of civilization. Old people act like a frog in the well. They are fully convinced with their ideas as ultimate and ideal. They ignore certain vital factors that are no longer valid in modern days.
NOWADAYS THE older people and the younger population complain of generation gap and of breaking down the communication between these twos. But who is to blame? I think both go amiss now and then.

There is a great hue and cry raised by the elders and the young both that the communication between them has broken down and they accuse each other for and bemoan this state of affairs. They attribute it to generation gap. Majority in the society carries along with this moroseness and never pauses to think the why and how of the problem.

The elders are more critical of the younger generation with a big inventory of complaints against the young and the young mostly tend to ignore the grumbling, mumbling and occasional loud protestations of the older generation. But now and then they do protest. They resent the petting attitude of the elders.

The generation gap, however, is a deeper malady than viewed superficially. There may be the following differences between the old and the young:

Of ideas on general conduct comprising dress, food habits etc.
Morality, marriage & career
Of tastes on art, music, literature, and in short total outlook.
Family unit breaking up and gradually losing the importance it once had. The central authority of the paternal figure becoming redundant.
Imposition of the self-righteous attitude of the older generation on the young.
Biological evolutionary difference

It is generally observed that the old behave like a frog in the well. They are fully convinced that the ideas they have had throughout their lives are the ultimate and ideal. They ignore certain vital factors that are no longer valid in the case of the modernity. There always has been generation gap since the dawn of civilization. The young have always deviated from the older standards and it was well that they did or there wouldn’t have been any progress today.

I was once travelling by train. I noticed a gentleman in western dress talking to a small group of co-passengers. He was very critical of the younger generation. He was giving full rein to his criticism condemning point by point everything the young did. As is usual in such situations, his audience was nodding their heads authenticating his criticism. Finding me indifferent to this, he confronted me why I didn’t comment as others did. I politely told him I enjoyed listening to his discourse. But he pressed me to express my opinion, which others hadn’t dared or bothered to do.

I told him after he had verified through catechism my eligibility to contribute to this important discussion that I was also educated and I apologized in advance as I differed from him. The purport of his discourse was that the young should do exactly as the elders do. I asked him with all humility at my command if he followed his own advice to the young. His dress, occasional sprinkling of English vocabulary in his Hindi narrative, for he was educated upto Sahitya Ratan, purely a Hindi degree, his travelling in a train rather than on camel’s back or by a bullock cart and numerous such acts were in total divergence from his ancestors’ way of life.

I added to his consternation that all this change was progress and the things he criticized in the young were manifestations of progress. But for this change, everything would stagnate. There is never a moment when change is not taking place.

The younger generation naturally differs in dress, food, habits etc, as all these were not available to the older generation. These changes are indicative of progress. With the passage of time when the society, right from the basic unit of the family through society and the entire humanity, is changing, how can the new generation be asked to stagnate or move backward to the ancestors’ way of life? In the olden days, in the Indian society the arranged marriage took place first and love between husband and the wife were thought to be a natural development.

It was in fact a rare accident as in most cases even incompatible marriages lasted a lifetime and many a husband and wife were martyred as a consequence. The moral standards differed in consonance with the contemporary situation, as human society is essentially a utilitarian one. The elders couldn’t have visualized what was to come in their lifetime i.e. live-in relationship, one night stand, car key pooling and fishing and things that are yet to come out in the open.

It will be generally agreed that most fathers want their offspring to adopt the same profession that they themselves followed without giving due weight to the aptitude of the offspring. This causes tension between the elders and the children. The younger generation is more intellectually evolved than the preceding one. But the ego of the older people does not permit them to accept this hard truth and they would always like to play the role of the destiny makers of the younger ones.

The modern age has a wider field and many times more job opportunities are available to the really deserving candidates. Hence the youth have to become deserving and must walk on the untrodden path to face a cutthroat competition. It won’t be wise to check them in this advance in the right direction.

People are fixated on the music of their youth. The film songs, for example, of one’s youth are still attractive and the later music is rarely appreciated. The same is the story about art and literature or the type of reading available in a given age. The tastes keep changing and no one should bemoan this change. It is unavoidable and can’t be stopped. The ways people relax also change from age to age. Traditions, culture, moral definitions keep changing. To criticize these changes is to expose oneself to ridicule and is unwise. If one persists in it, one widens the generation gap and certainly has no business to criticize the youth. Those who are young today will face the same predicament when their time comes.

The family unit is breaking up. The central authority is losing its power. Every member of the family earns or has to earn. One who earns won’t accept the authority of the other that is equal usually to that of the father. In olden days only the family head earned and the others lived on his income. Thus he held the baton of power. Now, he must surrender it to the young. If he doesn’t yield, there are bound to be conflicts and unrest in the family.

The older generation had few opportunities to come into contact with the western world. The earth was a big planet. Travels were slow made with animal power. Automobiles were rare. The people were content with whatever environment they had. But now the world has shrunk. A global environment is developing. It is natural for the young to learn newer ways of this rising global culture encompassing every aspect of human life. They can’t afford to follow the retrograde suggestions of their elders.

They have wider horizons to explore if they are to survive or lead a normal life from the existing standards of modern life. They must speak a language universal in its application and not be confined to their local language whatever it may be hence, the generation gap. They must eat Italian pizza, Chinese food or fast food and prefer coffee to the good old milk or lassi (yogurt). The leisurely ways of the old are gone. The younger generation must have speed, of motorbikes, cars, helicopters jet planes and rockets going into space. What can link them to the old bullock cart?

At least a quarter century separates the older generation from the younger one. In most cases the gap is of over half a century. Naturally an imperceptible biological evolution takes place and the nature wants the survival of the fittest. The young generation can’t survive if it doesn’t change. No power on earth can prevent the natural gap owing to this evolution. Nature equips each succeeding generation with mechanism to survive the rigors of the new environment.

The old have to leave early after having lived their lives. They would be wise not to interfere in the pace of development of the new. It was high time they stopped complaining. The young should see this predicament of the old and be tolerant and reverential towards them. It will ensure harmony in the society and add joy and peace to the daily life.

But every rose has a thorn. The younger generation should also be on their guard against the evils coming in train with the fast life. Stress, depression, frustration as a result of a race for ascendancy shouldn’t be ignored or they can rob them of the fruit of their labor and their dreams. The young are our future, the future of humanity, of the human race on mother earth.

Only they can save themselves by heeding early warning of the evils of the modern world and life based on their own assessment. The old can still tell them that they in their time faced these travails of transition and suffered now and then. They young should listen to the old but must take their own decisions with discretion and a balanced perspective. The coming generation will be better than each preceding one.