By: Monica Gupta,
on 7/2/2016
आरओ पानी – एक सच्चाई सुन रहा है ना तू क्यो R.O. रहा हूं मैं घर पर एक जानकार आई हुई थी. उन्होनें अपना नया घर बनवाया है. बातों बातों में उन्होनें पूछा कि आपने कौन सा R.O. लगवाया है. मैने मना किया क्योकि मेरा आर ओ के प्रति मन नही बन रहा था. कारण था […]
The post आरओ पानी – एक सच्चाई appeared first on Monica Gupta.
Add a Comment
By: Monica Gupta,
on 5/28/2016
मोबाईल फोन बनाम कैंसर का खतरा पहले मैगी फिर ब्रैड और अब मोबाईल … हे भगवान किस किस से बचे और कैसे बचे … थोडी देर पहले मणि मेरे लिए ब्रैड पकौडा बना कर लाई क्योकि मुझे बहुत पसंद है …. या था !!! मैने उसे बडा सा लेक्चर दे दिया कि क्या है […]
The post मोबाईल फोन बनाम कैंसर का खतरा appeared first on Monica Gupta.
Add a Comment
By: Monica Gupta,
on 5/12/2016
Odd Even Delhi aur mann ki baat ऑड ईवन दिल्ली और मेरे मन की बात Odd Even Delhi aur mann ki baat बधाई अरविंद केजरीवाल जी… !! ऑड ईवन की सबसे ईवन बात … अब दिल्ली सबसे प्रदूषित शहर नही रही और सबसे ऑड बात यह कि मीडिया ने इस खबर को कोई प्रमुखता नही […]
The post ऑड ईवन दिल्ली और मेरे मन की बात appeared first on Monica Gupta.
Add a Comment
By: Priscilla Yu,
on 3/19/2016
What do Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Brazil, and India have in common? They have banned the use of Roundup—the most heavily applied herbicide in the United States. Why have these nations acted against what is the most heavily used herbicide in the world today? This is because of growing reports of serious illness to farmworkers and their families.
The post Potential dangers of glyphosate weed killers appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Clare Hanson,
on 1/17/2016
After the West African Ebola epidemic of 2014, hardly anyone contests that the World Health Organization (WHO) made fatal mistakes during the crisis. It reacted too late and did too little to contain the outbreak before it got out of control. And it once again exposed its deeply entrenched dysfunctions that make it so difficult for the organization to live up to its role as the central standard setter, coordinator and crisis manager in global health
The post The exception should become the rule in the World Health Organization appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Amelia Carruthers,
on 12/16/2015
There are so many reports of agents that may cause cancer, that there is a temptation to dismiss them all. Tabloid newspapers have listed everything from babies, belts, biscuits, and bras, to skiing, shaving, soup, and space travel. It is also tempting to be drawn into debates about more esoteric candidates for causative agents like hair dyes, underarm deodorants, or pesticides.
The post Let’s refocus on cancer prevention appeared first on OUPblog.
By: JulieF,
on 10/26/2015
It is every human being’s right to enjoy a state of complete mental, physical, and social well being on this planet. However, health is also a right that is unequally distributed throughout the world due to lack of access to proper healthcare facilities and professionals, lack of sanitation, feeble vaccination delivery systems, and treatment-oriented healthcare systems rather than preventative systems.
The post Why global health matters appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Joe Hitchcock,
on 10/1/2015
Perhaps one of the most politically unpopular truths about violence is that it is young people who are most vulnerable to it, not the elderly or children, but youth. Global estimates from the World Health Organization are that, each year, 200,000 young people are murdered.
The post Youth violence appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Joe Couling,
on 6/12/2015
World Blood Donor Day 2015 is celebrated on 14 June each year. This Sunday, the theme is "Thank you for saving my life," a chance for everyone who has benefited from a blood donation to thank the donors that selflessly donated to the cause. The demand for blood is always high as the shelf life of donated blood is only 42 days.
The post World Blood Donor Day 2015: blood types [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Joe Couling,
on 4/10/2015
Today is the 60th anniversary of the polio vaccine being declared safe to use. The poliovirus was a major health concern for much of the twentieth century, but in the last sixty years huge gains have been made that have almost resulted in its complete eradication. The condition polio is caused by a human enterovirus called the poliovirus.
The post An interactive timeline of the history of polio appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Catherine Fehre,
on 11/21/2014
Electronic cigarettes are growing in popularity around the world. With the announcement of vape as our Word of the Year, we have put together a timeline of the history of e-cigarettes.
1963
Herbert A. Gilbert patents a non-tobacco cigarette that heats a nicotine solution and produced steam, but it is never manufactured.
1979
Dr. Norman Jacobson, one of the pioneers of the word “vaping,” develops the Favor cigarette, a way to inhale nicotine with no smoke.
2003
Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik first develops an electronic alternative to traditional cigarettes.
2004
The first e-cigarettes, a Chinese invention, comes from the Ruyan company.
2007
E-cigarettes enter the US market.
February 2012
Nicotine and Tobacco Research publishes a study, entitled “Electronic Cigarettes: Effective Nicotine Delivery After Acute Administration,” which explores nicotine intake with different electronic cigarette devices.
June 2013
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will regulate e-cigarettes as medicines from 2016 when new European tobacco laws come into force.
December 2013
Nicotine and Tobacco Research publishes a study, entitled “Secondhand Exposure to Vapors From Electronic Cigarettes.” It reveals that “using an e-cigarette in indoor environments may involuntarily expose non-users to nicotine, but not to toxic tobacco-specific combustion products.”
December 2013
“World leading tobacco experts argue that a recently published World Health Organization (WHO)-commissioned review of evidence on e-cigarettes contains important errors, misinterpretations, and misrepresentations, putting policy-makers and the public in danger of foregoing the potential public health benefits of e-cigarettes.”
September 2013
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urges the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “issue a rule to regulate all tobacco products, including cigars, little cigars, e-cigarettes and others.”
15 January 2014
The Chicago City Council voted to regulate electronic cigarettes the same as traditional cigarettes, which “prohibits the use of e-cigarettes in public places, requires stores selling them to keep them behind the counter, and prohibits their sale to minors.”
26 January 2014
The UK bans e-cigarettes for people under 18.
February 2014
The European Parliament approves regulations on e-cigarettes. “Beginning in mid-2016, advertising for e-cigarettes would be banned in the 28 nations of the European Union, as it already is for ordinary tobacco products. E-cigarettes would also be required to carry graphic health warnings and must be childproof. The amount of nicotine would be limited to 20 milligrams per milliliter, similar to ordinary cigarettes.”
March 2014
Journal of Psychiatric Research reports on e-cigarette use within different age groups and finds that “a notable proportion of adolescents and young adults who never smoked cigarettes had ever-used e-cigarettes. E-cigarette use was not consistently associated with attempting to quit tobacco among young adults. Adults most often reported e-cigarettes as a substitute for tobacco, although not always to quit. Reviewed studies showed a somewhat different pattern of e-cigarette use among young people (new e-cigarette users who had never used tobacco) versus adults (former or current tobacco users).”
14 April 2014
A US congressional report surveys the marketing tactics of e-cigarette companies, which directs sales towards youth, and calls on the FDA to set regulations for e-cigarette marketing.
24 April 2014
The FDA proposes regulations on e-cigarettes, which gives them authority over e-cigarettes and expands its’ authority over tobacco products. The AAP still urges the FDA to protect young people from the effects of e-cigarettes.
April 2014
A proposal from the FDA requires e-cigarettes to “undergo an agency review,” which would ban e-cigarette sales to minors and require e-cigarettes to have warning labels.
April 2014
The AAP releases a statement on the dangers of e-cigarette poisoning in children.
4 May 2014
The AAP surveyed a random sample of adults, and according to the research presented, “the vast majority of young adults who have used the devices believe they are less harmful than regular cigarettes…”
12 May 2014
Tobacco Control BMJ releases a study on e-cigarette use and individuals with mental health conditions.
May 2014
A study for Nicotine and Tobacco Research finds that the vapors from e-cigarettes contain “toxic and carcinogenic carbonyl compounds,” and the amount of formaldehyde in the vapors is similar to the amount reported in tobacco smoke.
2 June 2014
A study titled “Exposure to Electronic Cigarette Television Advertisements Among Youth and Young Adults”, found that “exposure of young people ages 12 to 17 to e-cigarette ads on TV increased 256% from 2011 to 2013. Young adult (ages 18 to 24) exposure increased 321% over the same period.”
25 June 2014
The White House alters the wording of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tobacco regulations, allowing the online sale of e-cigarettes.
26 June 2014
The British Medical Association (BMA) calls to ban e-cigarette use in public. Doctors and medical students decide that e-cigarettes may lead to nicotine addiction.
July 2014
The BBC bans the use of e-cigarettes in all its offices and studios.
August 2014
A study from Nicotine and Tobacco Research states that “there is a risk of thirdhand exposure to nicotine from e-cigarettes,” although the exposure levels differ depending on the brand of the devices used.
August 2014
A study from Nicotine and Tobacco Research states that “in 2013, over a quarter million never-smoking youth had used e-cigarettes. E-cigarette use was associated with increased intentions to smoke cigarettes.”
24 August 2014
The American Heart Association (AHA) calls on the FDA for more research on e-cigarettes, to apply the same regulations on e-cigarettes as tobacco and nicotine products, and to create new regulations to prevent access, sale, and marketing to youth.
26 August 2014
A World Health Organization (WHO) report states that e-cigarettes need regulation to “impede e-cigarette promotion to non-smokers and young people; minimize potential health risks to e-cigarette users and nonusers; prohibit unproven health claims about e-cigarettes; and protect existing tobacco control efforts from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.”
The WHO reports that “governments should ban the use of electronic cigarettes in public places and outlaw tactics to lure young users.”
4 September 2014
The New England Journal of Medicine’s findings state that “like conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes may function as a ‘gateway drug’ that can prime the brain to be more receptive to harder drugs.”
October 2014
A study for Nicotine and Tobacco Research states that “over 75% of US adults reported uncertainty or disapproval of the use of e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas. Current cigarette smokers, adults aware or have ever used e-cigarettes were more supportive to exempting e-cigarettes from smoking restrictions.”
Headline image credit: Vaping an electronic cigarette by Jon Williams. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.
The post A brief history of the e-cigarette appeared first on OUPblog.
It was another really TOUGH decision. You guys must be writers or something, because they were all good questions. Even the silly ones. ;D But I had to pick a winner, even though I will be answering many of your questions in the coming weeks. So without further ado...
The winner is: *drum roll* Vicki!!!
And her question was: "When do you show backstory and which character do you use to do it most effectively?"
I'm going to make you wait until next Monday for my answer. I know it's mean, but here's the update: I'm expecting to give birth in the next couple of weeks. SO, I may be behind in responding to comments and visiting blogs for a bit. Please hang in there and don't give up on me though! This isn't my first (or second) so I can confidently say I"ll be back. I will schedule posts to answer your questions in the meantime and I still love getting your comments! I always read each one.
.jpeg?picon=893)
By: Cher'ley,
on 7/24/2010
By: Megan,
on 8/6/2009
Operas are always full of intrigue, suspense, drama, romance—and characters with really great names like Figaro, Egisto, and Gorislava. In Who Married Figaro? A Book of Opera Characters, Joyce Bourne, co-author of the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, has written over 2,500 entries about the people behind all of those funny-sounding names. Yesterday, we posted a quiz about some of opera’s figures. The answers are below. How did you do?
1. Concepción,from Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole, would invite her lovers over while Torquemada was out of the house and suggest that “they hide in large clocks and when he finds them she passes them off as customers.”
2. Erda, featured in the Wagner operas Das Rheingold and Siegfried, was the mother of three Norns and nine Valkyries. “She rises from the earth only when she sees impending disaster.”
3. The Golden Cockerel from Rimsky-Korsakov’s play of the same name was only a fair-weather friend of the Tsar: the Cockerel “later pecks him on the head and kills him.”
4. Noye, from Noye’s Fludde, was the father of Sem, Ham, and Jaffett. Noye was told by God to “build an ark in which all his family and animals ride out the storm.” Noye’s Fludde also incorporates hymns sung by the audience.
5. Prunier “reads Magda’s hand and tells her that she may, like the swallow (la rondine) find a bright future, but there is also tragedy in store. Prunier is secretly in love with Magda’s maid Lisette.
6. Sportin’ Life sold dope to Bess “and, under its influence, she leaves for New York while Porgy is being questioned by the police.”
7. Tito Vespasiano,from La Clemenza di Tito, was “anxious that his people see him not as a dictator but as a clement ruler.”
8. Zoroastro “resolves the complications of the relationships between Orlando and his former love Angelica.”
9. Spalanzani invented the doll, Olympia, with whom Hoffmann later fell in love.
10. Nick Shadow from Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress took Tom Rakewell away from his fiancé, Anne, and led him “to a life of debauchery. When all Tom’s money is gone, they play cards” for Tom’s soul. Tom wins and “in anger Shadow condemns him to a life of insanity.”
By: Megan,
on 8/5/2009
Operas are always full of intrigue, suspense, drama, romance—and characters with really great names like Figaro, Egisto, and Gorislava. In Who Married Figaro? A Book of Opera Characters, Joyce Bourne, co-author of the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, has written over 2,500 entries about the people behind all of those funny-sounding names. Here’s a quiz about some of opera’s figures. Go ahead and see if you can get all the answers right in the comments. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the answers.
1. The clockmaker’s wife hid her many lovers inside of clocks to conceal them from her husband, Torquemada.
2. This earth goddess, mother of twelve, only leaves the earth to deal with disaster.
3. This very special bird has the job of warning Tsar Dodon of enemies.
4. The title character from the Britten opera that incorporates an audience sing-along and a well-known story from the Bible.
5. This character, from Puccini’s La Rondine, was a palm reader in love with a maid.
6. Gershwin’s seller of ‘happy-dust’ in Porgy and Bess.
7. Mozart’s Roman emperor who didn’t want to seem like a dictator.
8. The magician who helped to smooth over relationship complications in Handel’s Orlando.
9. This inventor made the mechanical doll that Hoffmann fell in love with in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
10. This ‘shadowy’ character was the devil in disguise, stole a soul after a lost game of cards and his signature aria is “I burn! I freeze!”.
By: Rebecca,
on 5/5/2009
Elvin Lim is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and author of The
Anti-intellectual Presidency, which draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents’ ability to communicate with the public. He also blogs at www.elvinlim.com. In the article below he looks at “swine flue”. Read his previous OUPblogs here.
“Swine flu” or a strand of influenza A subtype “H1N1?” Try as federal officials might, the media continues to resist their call to term the “swine flu” the new strain of “H1N1″ virus.
At a press conference last Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was at pains to say, “This really isn’t swine [flu], it’s H1N1 virus.” He also explained why: “and it is significant because there are a lot of hard-working families whose livelihood depends on us conveying this message.” (At least ten countries have placed bans on the import of pork even though the World Health Organization has attested that H1N1 is an air-borne and not a food-borne virus.)
The hegemony of “swine flu” over “H1N1″ is even more peculiar given that the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that the particular strand of H1N1 virus (which typically infect pigs) that is causing the current epidemic has not previously been reported in pigs and actually contains avian and human components. It was only on May 2, long after “swine flu” had gained rhetorical currency that the strain was found in pigs at a farm in Alberta, Canada. Even there the story has a twist - the pigs had gotten infected because of their contact with a farm worker who had recently returned from Mexico, and not the other way around - prompting some to suggest that the proper nomenclature ought to be “human flu” or “Mexican flu.”
But the media’s job is to transmit the news in the best way that rolls of one’s tongue, not deal with the fallout of their infelicitous use of words. To be fair, administration officials were slow to catch on. As late as April 26, two days before Vilsack’s press conference, the White House and Richard Besser of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) were still referring to the “swine flu.” Clearly, the pork lobbyists aren’t going to win this battle and the malapropistic epidemic will continue. Administration officials should know that if they really wanted a working alternative to “swine flu,” they would have to do a lot better than a robotic scientific abbreviation.
Our current malapropism has an ancient pedigree. The 1918-1920 H1N1 pandemic called the “Spanish Flu” didn’t start in Spain (and probably started in Kansas). This is ironic, because the “Spanish Flu” acquired its name only because Spain was a neutral country in WW1 and with no state censorship of news of the disease, was offering the most reliable information about it. This ended up generating the impression that the disease originated and was particularly widespread in Spain. Even when the media is not trying, it defines and shapes our reality.
Why does any of this matter? Because words characterize an issue in such a way as to insinuate a cause and to frame our reactions. Sometimes, words can even drive mass hysteria. Consider the “swine flu” outbreak in 1976, which claimed a single life at Fort Dix, NJ. Because this particular strain of virus looked a lot like the one that caused the “Spanish Flu” of 1918-1920 (also misleadingly named), public health officials convinced President Gerald Ford to commence a mass immunization program for all Americans. The use of a sledgehammer to crack a nut was not without consequences. Of the 40 million Americans immunized, about 500 developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralyzing neuromuscular disorder.
So let us pick our words carefully, lest our slovenly words presage our slovenly deeds.
Such a great question to ask. What is the worst thing that could happen! And making this list before we start writing! Bruised sounds intense with a great character arc.
Great question Lisa. And I love Sarah's answer. I can totally see why she chose Imogen as the POV character.
I love Sarah's answer. And I love kick ass characters. Literally, a kick ass character (marital arts results in kicking some asses, right?) :D
Thanks for sharing your insights and experience with us, Sarah! It's wonderful to meet you.
I like how you thought about your narrator--and knew it couldn't be anyone else. My most recent MS is just like that. Some of my earlier MS's I pushed the narrator to who I thought it should be instead of letting the story dictate it.
Great post! I think the wrong character as MC can ruin a book, or make it.
I'd love to see a post about unreliable narrators one day, because I'm currently planning a dual-unreliable-narrator book, and it's scaring the heck out of me!
Thanks so much, Laura! There's definitely some angst in the book, and hopefully readers will enjoy the character arc. I really appreciate your comment.
Hi Natalie, and thanks! I tried to apply the theory that "plot is character, character is plot" for this book.
Stina, I'm happy to report that there is much kicking in BRUISED. I'd love to know what you think if you decide to give it a read! :)
Nice to meet you, too! I hope my thoughts were helpful.
The same thing happens to me when I'm trying to figure out the beginning. Sometimes I have to start writing first, and then figure out which scene best sets up the characters and story. Kudos on figuring out your narrator in your most recent MS!
Thanks, Amy! Glad you liked it.
A dual-unreliable-narrator book sounds amazing. Have you read "Inexcusable" by Chris Lynch?
I love the premise of this book. So crucial and compelling--so many young people (and my-age people :)) confuse who we are with what we do. I'm going to add this to my TBR pile right now! It sounds great.
Martina
Love - first moments as defining moment - life is so big and endless at that age. You put it beautifully. I am DYING to read Bruised. Both my kids were in Martial Arts and it did consume our lives.
Sarah, what a great answer to my question! Thanks. And I also can't wait to read BRUISED. Great premise, great title, and I'm sure it'll be a great story :)
Thanks, Sarah. This is just what I needed today. :)
Thanks so much, Martina! I'm thrilled you're adding it to your TBR pile, and I hope you enjoy the book. Really appreciate your comment.
You are unbelievably sweet, Leslie. Thank you! :D
Thank you, Linda. What a nice thing to say. Glad I could help.
I'm so glad I got to answer it! You're the best :)
I like this story line. It's different and interesting. Glad I stopped in.
Thank you very much! I'm grateful Lisa invited me to answer the question.