Friday, May 16, 2014

The Historic Struggle For Racial Equality

BY CLAUDINE L. FERRELL

In the 1960s, many Americans shared Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of equality achieved through non-violent means. They marched in Alabama and Washington, D.C. They led the Freedom Rides through the South. They planned programs to ease the burden of poverty for blacks and whites. They reasoned against their critics’ verbal assaults. They took the physical blows inflicted by some of their opponents.

 Commonwealth Professor of History James Farmer

Early in 1986, four of those men who shared Dr. Kings vision-James Farmer, Ralph Abemathy, Walter Fauntroy, and Andrew Young, all still active in their quest for an egalitarian America brought their stories to Mary Washington College and Frederickburg.

Listening to them speak on separate evenings in Dodd Auditorium were community residents who had once experienced the trials and tensions of the 1960s. And listening were MWC students. All were present because of James Farmer, who is cmrently Commonwealth Professor of History at MWC and is teaching a course called “The Historic Struggle for Racial Equality.”

Mr. Farmer’s decades of work in the civil rights struggle was the basis of his combination public lecture series and history course. Farmer’s experiences-in the Freedom Summer, with Ku Klux Klan assassination plots, with Dr. King and Malcolm X--served as the unifying thread of the series, the most recent in a seven-year line of programs offered by MWC’s Department of History and American Studies. The respect that Farmer is accorded brought to Dodd Auditorium three of the men who were compatriots in the struggle.

East Texas-born and educated, Farmer chose to study theology at “the black Athens,” Howard University in Washington, D.C. His studies at Howard from 1938 to 1941 led this young black man, already a pacifist, to an important decision. His final thesis was “A Critical Analysis of the Historical Interrelationship Between Religion and Racism.” This work confirmed not only his opposition to theories of God-ordained black inferiority but his earlier decision to refuse ordination rather than accept ministering to a segregated Methodist Episcopal Church. His goal, he told his father, would be to “destroy segregation” by relying on some form of “mass mobilization in the use of the Gandhi technique.”

In April 1942, Farmer and several pacifist and socialist friends, who shared an interest in Gandhi, founded CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), an organization built on the idea of a non-violent, directaction attack on discrimination. Next followed the “first organized civil rights sitin in American history.” The sit-in by 28 black and white men and women forced a Chicago coffee house to change its discriminatory policy. Yet most Americans, regardless of color, knew nothing about either the strategy of non-violent direct action or the tactic of sitting-in, until the 1960s made both staples of the evening news.

The ’60s were perfect for both Farmer and CORE to make an impact on American race relations. Farmer’s efforts at what he has called “the cutting edge of the movement” meant he endtu'ed the constant threat of death. Most Americans came to know Farmer during and following his participation in one of the first steps taken by the civil rights advocates in the ’60s: the Freedom Rides of 1961.

While Farmer had been studying at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, and then at Howard, a young Ralph Abernathy was studying at a Baptist boarding school in Linden, Ala. From there he went to Alabama State University and then to Morehouse School of Religion where he received an M.A. in sociology. After 18 months as an administrator at Alabama State and as pastor in Demopolis, Abernathy became pastor of Alabama’s oldest black congregation, Montgomery’s First Baptist Church.

The Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy

Like Farmer, Abernathy could not blind himself to the racial inequities around him. The result of his clear vision was his organization of the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott, which he led with Dr. King. The boycott lasted over a year and was successful in forcing a change in the city’s blacks-to-the-rear-of-the-bus policy. But before success was his, Abernathy’s home was bombed and his church dynamited, his personal possessions were sold in a public auction, and he was beaten until his attackers believed he was dead. This treatment was reason enough for the man, who today is pastor of Atlanta’s West Hunter Street Baptist Church, to assert to his MWC audience, “America has never been America to me.” Nevertheless, undeterred by his brutal treatment and that of other blacks in the South, the young Baptist minister joined Dr. King in 1957 in forming the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), in organizing and participating in numerous marches, and in enduring many stays in jail for their non-violent protests against discrimination.

When Dr. King was killed in 1968, Abernathy, his “civil rights twin,” succeeded him as president of the SCLC and oversaw the successful Poor People’s Campaign. Abernathy as “mayor” of Resurrection City, a city of the poor on the Mall in Washington, D.C., helped push Congress Congressman Wa/ter Fauntroy toward aiding the hungry, the ill, and the elderly.

Sharing this concern for the economics of discrimination, Walter Fauntroy told his audience that “the basic problem in America today” is not black inferiority or welfare cheats but rather “the flight of American capital abroad, taking millions of jobs.” It is a view, he noted with irony, that he shared with Alabama Governor George Wallace, a man against whom so many civil rights battles had been fought.

Fauntroy, a native of Washington, D.C., is a graduate of Virginia Union University and Yale University Divinity School. Like so many other black leaders throughout American history, he began his career as a pastor. And like so many, including two of his fellow MWC lect1u'ers, he continued that career while working in other, yet related, directions. While he continues to serve as pastor of his first church, New Bethel Baptist in Washington, his other causes have led him to fight a variety of battles. In the 1960s, Fauntroy was director of the Washington bureau of the SCLC and was national director of the Poor People’s Campaign.

After serving on the D.C. city council, Fauntroy in 1971 became the District’s first elected representative in Congress. He has served in that position ever since and is now fifth in seniority on the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs. A member of the Congressional Black Caucus and president of the National Black Leadership Roundtable, he is also chairman of the board of the SCLC. And in 1984 his multiple interests led him to work on issues and strategy for Jesse J ackson’s “Rainbow Coalition” presidential primary campaign.

Most recently Fauntroy has focused on South Africa, creating the “Free South Africa Movement.” His protests against apartheid led to his arrest in November 1984 outside the South African Embassy, and recently he took a fact-finding trip to South Africa to study the apartheid system firsthand. As he informed his MWC listeners-tying together the strings of his interest in and philosophy of discrimination-“Apartheid is, at heart, a labor control system that feeds on cheap labor and foreign investment.”

Fauntroy’s interest in a variety of racial, economic, and political subjects is shared by Andrew Young of Atlanta. Young, like the D.C. congressman, participated in the 1960s civil rights movement before beginning a political career. As Young has explained, “I have fought and will continue to fight for the inclusion of all in the economic mainstream of Atlanta as I have for the inclusion of all across the nation.”

When elected to represent Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District in 1972, Young became that state’s and the Deep South’s first black representative in over a century, a victory attributable to a coalition of black and white support since his district was 60 percent white. The coalition re-elected him twice, allowing Young to serve on the Banking and Currency Committee and on the powerful Rules Committee. It also gave him theopportunity to work on a variety of issues, including mass transit, foreign affairs, and civil rights. These issues, in ef- fect, link Young’s early and later careers.

A graduate of Howard University and the Hartford Theological Seminary, the young Georgian took part in most of the major civil rights protests in the 1960s. He worked with Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham and Selma. He worked on the Poor People’s Campaign and protested against the Vietnam War. He was active in voter registration, labor organization, economic development, and leadership training.

Young’s career, which also saw him serve as a pastor in Georgia and Alabama and for the National Council of Churches, took him to the United Nations in 1977. He was appointed ambassador by President Jimmy Carter, the former governor of Georgia. In 1982, he became mayor of one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing urban centers: Atlanta-a city of over 2,000,000 people, two-thirds of whom are black. Young oversees one of the country’s most successful cities in dealing with desegregation and integration. As he once noted, “The thing that separates Atlanta from most cities is that people here admit that racism is a problem and, as a result, are willing to talk about it.” In working on integration, the city recognized that success depended on “learning to accept and learning not to be threatened by cultural differences.”

Mayor Andrew Young

Four men. Farmer, Abernathy, Fauntroy, Young. They tired, as did black poet Langston Hughes, “of hearing people say / Let things take their course. / Tomorrow is another day.” And they brought to MWC and Fredericksburg their fight to make tomorrow now.

Claudine L. Ferrell, assistant professor of history, taught for several years in her native Texas and for one year at Kansas State University before corning to MWC in 1984. She teaches 20th Century U .S. History, Black History, and Legal/Constitutional History.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Patient Concerns Regarding Asthma, COPD and Regular Therapies: Results from a European Survey

Dario Olivieri, MD1, Alessio Amadasi2*, Andrea Bizzi2, Serena Paciotli2 and Martyn R. Partridge, MD3
1Dpt Clinical Sciences, Section of Respiratory Diseases, University of Parrna and scientific Committe Chiesi Foundation, Parma, Italy.
2Dpt. stiennfit Affairs, Chiesi Farmceutici Spa, Parma, Italy and 3 Imperial College London, N HLI Division at Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom
*Address for correspondence: a.amadasi@chiesgroup.com



Compliance with medication is often a problem in the management of longterm conditions such as asthma and COPD and this may reflect patients’ misconceptions regarding treatment, or undiscussed fears and concerns. The aim of the present study was to better understand patients’ view regarding their condition and regular therapy.

METHODS

A questionnaire-based survey was performed utilizing computer-assisted web interviews (CAWI) with 1022 patients with asthma and 719 patients with COPD in 5 European Countries.

Patient Concerns Regarding Asthma, COPD and Regular Therapies

Demographic characteristics of the respondents were determined in terms of age, sex, educational level, time since diagnosis and current therapy. The level of asthma control and of COPD severity were also assessed through the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ; 6-item version with FEV1 question omitted) and the modified Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea score, respectively.

 

CONCLUSIONS

Despite availability of effective medications, there is still significant impairment ofquality of life among those with asthma and COPD, with more than half ofthem reporting fears of seasonal worsening and about two thirds of COPD patients reporting strong limitations in physical activity. The data collected in the present study suggest that fears and misconceptions about regular therapy and low perception of immediate benefits are barriers that need to be addressed in order to improve adherence.

The survey has been executed by Kantar Health and supported by Chiesi Foundation

GENERAL CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS

DO has received honoraria forlecturing or ad hoc consultancies from Chiesi, GSK, OH Pharma, Pierre-Fabre, Boehringer lngelheim and Pfizer He has received research support from GSK, Zambon, Chiesi, Italian Ministry of Health and Italian Ministry for University and Research. AA, AB and SP are employees of Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.

MRP has received honoraria for lecturing or ad hoc consultancies from AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GSK, Boehringen Cipla, Novartis, Dr Reddys Laboratories, German Remedies and Teva. He has received research support from AstraZeneca and financial assistance with the production ofa book on the history of asthma charities from Novartis.

Sustainable Results from Heat Recovery Technology

Luc Jerry describes a saccessful oxy-fuel heat recovery project on float glass furnace at AGC Glass Europe .

Sustainable results from heat recovery technology


Glass producers are constantly looking for innovative ways to raise production efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and cut costs related to environmental regulations on emissions of NOX and CO2.

Several methods to decrease emissions have been investigated and applied for over a decade, including pretreating the batch to melt glass more efficiently, improving combustion control to reduce NOX and switching to natural gas for lower carbon emissions.

Sustainable results from heat recovery technology


Among the existing technologies, oxygen firing achieves these three goals at once. But although oxyfurnaces increase heat transfer and minimise emissions, 20%-30% of their energy input is lost in the flue gas. Now, Air Liquide and global glassmaker AGC Glass Europe have developed Alglass Heat Recovery to recover most of this lost heat by indirectly preheating fuel and oxygen (figure 1). This is the only current oxy-fuel technology to take advantage of this waste energy to improve combustion.

Using Alglass Heat Recovery with float glass is economically efficient because it simultaneously enhances the proven benefits of oxy-combustion, increases overall furnace efficiency, reduces CO2 and keeps NOX emissions low. This is a set of technologies, specifically designed and approved for safety and reliability. Among them is Alglass Sun, a specially designed concept burner with staged combustion (figure 2), which can accommodate reactants at either ambient or very high temperatures.

For each float glass furnace,eight to 10 burners are supplied with fuel and oxygen piping, connected to a series of exchangers and regulation equipment: Two air/fumes exchangers, a set of air/natural gas exchangers to preheat the natural gas to 45O°C, a set of air/O2 exchangers to increase the oxygen temperature to 55O°C and fuel and oxygen valve trains (figure 3).

After two successful pilot campaigns on an industrial scale, the technology was installed in one of AGC Glass Europe's float glass furnaces. Temperatures and fluid flow rates were tracked to optimise fuel consumption at each stage of the project and to evaluate the technology's efficiency. The first results, whether for cold reactants or hot reactants, were very promising. Compared with air firing, NOX emissions were reduced by a minimum of 75% and energy consumption was decreased to the targeted 25%. The bottom line is that despite the technical challenges involved, the furnace has efficiently produced good glass since start-up.

After several years of fruitful collaboration, AGC Glass Europe and Air Liquide are continuing to develop breakthrough technologies for efficient glass manufacturing, focusing on adapted solutions that adhere to local legislation and respect the environment, in addition to benefiting customers.

Sustainable results from heat recovery technology

Nuclear Energy Not Green, Say NGOs.

The bad effects of radiation remain for years, United Nations forum told.

By DAVE OPIYO
 
A group of foreign non governmental organisations yesterday caused a stir at the Unep headquarters when their representatives protested at the inclusion of nuclear power as “green energy”

They urged delegates attending the ongoing Global Environment Ministers’ Conference in Gigiri, Nairobi, to keep nuclear power “out of the Clean Development Mechanism”.

The NGOs said that this form of energy should 'not be allowed because it had severe health effects.

Kyoto Protocol

Clean Development Mechanism is under the Kyoto Protocol and allows industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries.

The demonstrator's plea comes ahead of a meeting of world governments to decide whether this form of energy is eligible as clean.

Mrs Kaisha Atakhanova, the chair of the Eco-Forum (Kazakhstan) said that her country had had Soviet nuclear activity for over 50 years. “Grandchildren of women who were exposed to radiation have severe defects, worse than the generation that was directly exposed,” she said.

Her sentiments were echoed by Mrs Sabine Bock, the director of Women in Europe for a Common Future, who, quoting previous studies, said: “Even a four-fold expansion of nuclear power by 2050 would provide only marginal reductions in green house gas emissions.”

Mrs Mildrid Mekandla, director of Earth Care Africa, Zimbabwe, said the cash to be used in investing in- nuclear power could be used to create millions of jobs, reduce emissions while at the same time fighting poverty and climate change.

Rural Areas to Get More Condoms

Rural Areas to Get More Condoms
By BORNICE BIOMNDO

The distribution of condoms in rural areas is to be stepped.

This follows the findings of the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey that more men are getting infected with HIV.

While the infection rate of women has remained constant, the rate of infection among men has risen, especially in rural areas.

Public Health and Sanitation minister Beth Mugo said the ministry’s new strategy included ensuring access to preventive measures and information, especially in remote areas.

“We want community service organisations to be major distributors of condoms and information materials,” the minister said in a statement.

The director of the National Aids and STI Control Programme, Dr Nicholas Muraguri, "fead the statement on her behalf during the official launch of Maanisha, an HIV programme initiated by Amref and funded by the Swedish and British governments.

Official launch

Dr Muraguri said that the government needed to form links with such initiatives to effectively reach the people.

At the same time, the National Aids Control Council chairperson, Prof Miriam Were, attributed the rise in the number of infections to the failure to involve men in the Aids war.

“Until we address them (men), we cannot keep clapping for the empowered woman", she said. `

The Maanisha programme is a five year plan to strengthen community based organisations through funding, training of personnel and provision of care kits.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Energise with Yoga; Stretch and Release

Yoga Stretch and Release

You know the ones .... you wake up and even your eyeballs feel tired! Perplexed you wonder how this can be - you went to bed early, have slept deeply for 9 hours (2 hours more than usual) and yet your body feels like you have gone 3 rounds with Ali (showing my age!).

I had one of those mornings today. Despite a full night’s sleep I woke up feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. After spending 5 fruitless minutes wondering why, it dawned on me that it didn’t really matter why... I just was exhausted. So instead of analysing, fighting or masking it (double espresso and a chocolate muffin - not that I would ever indulge in either!), or ignoring it, I decided to just accept the fact and work with it. Today my body, mind and heart are tired and I am going to embrace and accept this and go a little easier on myself.

The next time you have one of those mornings or moments, try the sequence below. A gentle stretch and a few deep breaths really do go a long way. After just 10 minutes you should feel better able to cope with the challenges of the day ahead.

Yoga Stretch and Release

The Benefits of Yoga for Teens

The Benefits of Yoga for Teens
Today’s teens are faced with more pressures than ever before. School, jobs, preparing for college and body image issues are just a few of a teenager’s daily events that can cause undue stress or anxiety. A regular yoga practice can help teenagers overcome stressful situations while providing their bodies with physical benefits. Lara Azzarito Ward is a local yoga expert and founder of Lotus Gardens, LLC, which is the first Yoga Alliance approved teacher training program in Connecticut. She is a certified 500 hour yoga instructor with more than 20 years of yoga teaching experience. Lara discusses the many physical and mental benefits that a regular yoga practice provides.

“Yoga helps teens build strength and learn proper body alignment," says Azzarito Ward. ‘A regular practice also helps promote a healthy body image, raises self esteem and promotes self acceptance by building confidence and strength.” Yoga strengthens the body and elongates the muscular structure while improving circulation. A regular practice improves sleep and stabilizes the nervous system, something that can benefit teens and adults alike.

As many adults have experienced, yoga not only benefits the body but the mind and spirit as well. Practicing yoga is an effective way to reduce stress in teens. "We live in a world where teenagers have a lot of pressure to excel," says Azzarito Ward. "Yoga can teach young people the coping, breathing and focusing skills that are important in everyday life." Proper breathing techniques are a central focus of a yoga practice. The deep breathing techniques learned in yoga expand respiratory function and bring a fresh supply of oxygen to the body which helps rid it of harmful toxins. Teenagers are typically multitasking and are bombarded with different types of media throughout the day making it hard to focus and slow down. "It is more important than ever to teach young people how to clear their minds and focus,” she says. "Meditation is a big part of a yoga practice which leads to improved learning, grade point averages and test taking skills. Not only will meditation and proper breathing help teenagers in their current daily lives, but it will build a foundation for how they will deal with stress and anxiety as adults" A regular practice also improves concentration, memory and attention.

Teenagers can benefit in many ways from a regular yoga practice. To find a certified yoga instructor or school for your teenaged son or daughter visit www.yogaalliance.com or call your local community centen For more information on local yoga expert, Lara Azzarito Ward, visit vvwvv.lotusgardensyoga.com. ##

by Clarissa Gonzales