There is increasing evidence to indicate that direct contact with natural environments has important positive health outcomes.1 Engagement with both wild and cultivated natural places improves self-esteem and mood,2–5 reduces stress and anxiety6 and fosters mental well-being.7,8 Furthermore, being physically active while exposed to nature (‘green exercise’) provides additive benefits for mental well-being above those received from contact with nature alone.4,9,10 These benefits are derived from all types of natural environments and from durations of exposure from 5 min upwards.9

Over half of the world's population and more than 70% of those in Europe reside in urban areas.11 Given the importance of nature for well-being, such changes in urbanization may be having a negative impact on health. Some urban living is associated with an increased prevalence of mental ill-health: one meta-analysis of 20 studies comparing mental illness in urban and rural areas found that urban dwellers were 38% more likely to develop a mental illness, 21% more likely to suffer from anxiety and 39% more likely to develop a mood disorder.12 The quantity and quality of available green space close to the home is also correlated with longevity and a decreased risk of mental ill health.13–16 People in urban areas with plentiful tree cover and green space have a lower prevalence of asthma, improved mental well-being, a reduction in stress, lower morbidity and cardiovascular disease risk, greater longevity of the elderly, improved cognitive function and healthier cortisol profiles.9,13–15,17–20 Less green space typical of deprived communities produces higher stress and flattened cortisol profiles21 and increased incidence of obesity.22

Gardening provides an opportunity for people residing in urban and rural areas to have regular contact with nature, be physically active and engage in green exercise. Home gardens and allotments have long been important for domestic food production and consumption; and in the mid-20th century, half of the nation's vegetable needs were produced via vegetable gardens.23 In addition, gardening can improve health; restoring physical, mental and spiritual health,24 improving mood,25,26 encouraging physical activity27 and increasing life satisfaction.28 Furthermore, Van den Berg and Custers5 found that gardening leads to greater reductions in stress following a stress test than reading indoors.

Many people in the UK do not have access to a private garden.29 There is also an increasing demand for allotment gardens. There are an estimated 3 million individual allotments gardens across Europe which are utilized by a variety of different populations and in the UK waiting lists for allotments are at a 40-year high having grown from 13 000 to 100 000 since the mid-1990s.30–32 Allotment gardening is different from traditional gardening as it is an activity in a public space separated from the home, requiring the renting of a plot and is focused on food production as well the relationships between people and the land.33–35 Recent studies have demonstrated that allotment gardening provides a number of environmental benefits including the support and regulation of ecosystem services.36–39 Allotment gardening also results in more sustainably produced food, promotes healthy eating and acts as an educational resource.30 Evidence also suggests that gardening on allotments improves general health, aids recovery from stress, increases life satisfaction, promotes social contact and provides opportunities for low to moderate–high intensity physical activity, all of which promote mental well-being.25,26,40–47 Simply ‘being’ on an allotment garden can improve health and well-being;48 with data from the European Quality of Life Survey indicating that people who grow their own food are happier than those who do not.49 Furthermore, compared with an indoor exercise class, allotment gardening results in significantly lower levels of stress.50 Allotment gardening might also play a key role in promoting health and well-being in the more vulnerable groups in society through the development of social support and cohesion.49,51 However, much evidence regarding the health benefits of allotment gardening is descriptive32 and little research has been conducted to assess the health benefits of allotment gardening specifically.

Additionally, there are few comparisons of the health of allotment gardeners with those who do not garden. A study by Van den Berg et al.32 found that allotment gardeners had a higher life satisfaction, reduced loneliness, fewer health complaints and better overall health and well-being than non-allotment gardeners. However, the response rate of allotment gardeners was low and it is conceivable that only those people who believed that they received benefits from allotment gardening responded. The non-gardener group was also small, not well-matched in relation to their allotment gardener counterparts and 64% had access to a garden at home and may therefore have been active gardeners. Furthermore, not all outcome measures were assessed using a validated scale. The aim of our study was to determine the effect of allotment gardening on self-esteem and mood as two key indicators of mental well-being and long-term disease risk9 and to compare the mental well-being of allotment gardeners with non-gardener controls.

Methodology

Participants

Two hundred and sixty-nine participants aged 55.6 ± 13.6 years volunteered to participate in the study, comprising 152 males (56%) and 117 females (44%). Participants consisted of both allotment gardeners (n = 136) and non-gardeners (n = 133) and were matched in terms of age and gender to within 10%. Participants were also closely matched in terms of main occupation, with the majority of participants in each group identifying themselves as employed.

Allotment gardeners were recruited from 10 allotment sites in North-Western England. All allotment gardeners were eligible for participation in the research; however, only one participant was permitted per allotment plot to prevent data duplication. The sites were predominantly situated within the Greater Manchester conurbation, in the South and West Manchester area. Two of the sites were in the towns of Glossop and Chapel-en-le-Frith, to the east of Manchester on the western edge of the Pennines, while one was also on the Southern edge of the Pennines. Non-gardeners were recruited from 10 local supermarkets and consisted of participants who did not partake in any gardening activities. These participants were identified by asking the question ‘do you garden’ and informing potential participants that the study required participants ‘that do not do anything in the garden’. Supermarkets were recruited based upon their distance from each of the allotment sites, with the closest supermarkets being approached initially. Of the 10 supermarkets recruited for the research, six were the nearest store to the allotment sites.52 The index of deprivation for the allotments and their surrounding areas ranged from 15.4 to 84.5%, indicating a large variation in participants in terms of income deprivation, employment deprivation, health and disability deprivation, education and skills training, barriers to housing, crime and living environment.53 All participants provided individual consent to take part in the study. Institutional ethical approval was granted

Procedure

In the spring–summer growing seasons of 2006–09, the allotment sites and supermarkets were visited. During the visits to the allotments, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing self-esteem, mood and general health at the start of their allotment session. At the end of the allotment session, participants completed a further questionnaire assessing self-esteem and mood. Participants were also asked to identify how long they had spent on the allotment in that particular session, in the previous 7 days and their length of tenure on the allotment. Allotment gardeners were also asked to identify what they liked about gardening on their allotment. This question was open-ended allowing gardeners to identify as many things as they wanted to. During visits to the supermarkets, non-gardeners were asked to complete a one-off questionnaire assessing self-esteem, mood and general health. Descriptive data were collected from all participants including sex, age, height and weight. Body mass index was calculated from height and weight by dividing weight in kilogram by height in metre square. Self-esteem, mood and general health were assessed using standardized and validated scales.

Instrumentation

Self-esteem is defined as a person's positive or negative attitude towards the self in totality54 and exhibits an inverse relationship with depression and anxiety55,56 in addition to being a risk factor for mental ill health.57,58 Self-esteem was assessed using the one-page 10-item Rosenberg self-esteem scale.59 The Rosenberg self-esteem scale is the mostly widely used and popular self-esteem measure. The instrument provides a self-report one-dimensional measure of self-esteem and consists of 10 statements each of which are scored on a four-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. An overall self-esteem score ranging from 10 to 40 is calculated with a higher score representing a better self-esteem.

Mood is defined as a ‘host of transient and fluctuating affective states that reflect how an individual feels in general, globally or at a particular moment in time’.60 Moods can be positive or negative, persist for long periods of time without specific cause and influence feelings of happiness, quality of life and ability to cope with stress.61,62 Mood was assessed using the 30-item Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire.63 The POMS questionnaire assesses mood under six subscale mood states: tension–anxiety, depression–dejection, anger–hostility, vigour–activity, fatigue–inertia and confusion–bewilderment. Each subscale is represented by five phrases, each of which is scored on a five-point Likert scale from ‘not at all’, to ‘extremely’. Scores for each of the subscales are generated and converted into normative values. A total mood disturbance (TMD) score is also generated by summing the five negative subscales (tension, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion) and subtracting the positive subscale of vigour. A higher TMD score indicates a worsened mood.

The General health questionnaire (GHQ) is a screening instrument designed to identify individuals who have mental health problems and breaks in normal function.64,65 The GHQ-12 was used to assess general health and consists of 12 questions categorizing healthy and abnormal functioning.65 Participants respond to each question on a four-point Likert scale from ‘not at all’ to ‘much more than usual’. An overall score from 0 to 36 is generated, with a higher score representing a greater level of psychological distress and abnormal functioning.65.

Data analysis

To analyse the effects of an allotment gardening session on self-esteem and mood, one-way ANOVA was used to compare pre-self-esteem and TMD scores across the 10 different allotment sites, while one-way MANOVA was used to compare pre-subscale mood scores across the different sites. Paired samples t-tests compared self-esteem and TMD scores pre- and post- the allotment session. One-way MANOVA compared pre–post subscale mood scores. Linear regression was used to examine the relationship between the time spent on the allotment in the last 7 days, during the allotment session and the length of tenure with the change in self-esteem and mood scores. Participant responses regarding what they liked most about their allotment were categorized. The occurrence of each category was summed to give the total number of allotment gardeners who identified that particular category as being what they liked about their allotment.

For the comparison of allotment gardeners and non-gardeners, independent t-tests were used to compare descriptive data, including height, weight and BMI; while a χ2 test was used to compare participants main occupation. Group differences in unadjusted mean scores for self-esteem, GHQ-12 and TMD were analysed using independent t-tests while group differences in unadjusted means for subscale mood were assessed using one-way MANOVA. The self-esteem, mood and GHQ-12 scores of allotment gardeners and non-gardeners were also compared using a covariate adjusted model (ANCOVA) controlling for participants' sex, age and occupation. Subscale mood scores were compared using one-way MANOVA with age, sex and occupation inserted as covariates. The pre-allotment session scores were used for allotment gardeners. IBM SPSS version 19.0 software was used for all statistical analysis66 and significance was accepted as P < 0.05 throughout. Missing data were labelled as missing within the database to allow all collected data to be included in the analysis. Data were only missing when a participant missed out a question on one of the scales within the questionnaire; preventing a score from being calculated. Of the 1079 data points collected in total for self-esteem, mood and general health, only 1.4% were missing; equating to 15 pieces of data. These 15 pieces of data were from eight different participants, the majority of which were gardeners (n = 7); and included self-esteem and mood measures.

One-way MANOVA revealed a significant difference between pre- and post-session subscale mood scores [F(6,128) = 7.893; P < 0.001], with a significant reduction in tension–anxiety (P < 0.001), depression–dejection (P < 0.0083), anger–hostility (P < 0.001) and confusion–bewilderment (P < 0.001) (Table 1). Paired samples t-test also revealed a significant difference between pre- and post-session TMD scores [t(133) = 4.42; P < 0.001]. The score decreased from the start to end of the allotment session, indicating an enhanced mood (Table 1).

Frequency and duration of allotment gardening

Allotment gardeners revealed that their average length of tenure on the allotment was 9.3 ± 11.9 years, ranging from <1 year to up to 60 years. In the last 7 days, participants had spent an average of 8.1 ± 6.2 h on their allotment plot (range from 0 to 40 h) and in the session monitored, spent 2.6 ± 1.7 h on their plot. The minimum time spent on the plot in the session of assessment was 0.33 h and the maximum was 8.1 h. Linear multiple regression revealed that neither the length of participants tenure (years) (SE: β = −0.054; P = 0.588; TMD: β = −0.008; P = 0.939), time spent on the allotment in the previous 7 days (SE: β = −0.035; P = 0.737; TMD: β = −0.016; P = 0.881) or time spent on the allotment in the current session (SE: β = −0.034; P = 0.735; TMD: β = −0.029; P = 0.770) significantly contributed to the variance in the change in self-esteem or TMD. Participants who had been gardening on their allotment over a long-term period experienced a similar magnitude of improvements in self-esteem and mood as participants who had been allotment gardening for a short time.

Enjoyment of allotment gardening

Participants identified six main themes related to what they enjoyed most about gardening on their allotment. The majority of participants (70%) reported that they enjoyed being outdoors and having contact with nature, followed by the sense of achievement derived from allotment gardening (50%) and the opportunity for restoration and stress relief (35%). Participants also reported enjoying the social interaction (31%), growing and eating the produce (19%) and the opportunities to be active (11%).

Comparison of allotment gardeners and non-gardeners

Table 2 contains descriptive data for allotment gardeners and non-gardeners. Independent t-tests revealed no significant differences between the allotment gardeners and non-gardeners in age or height (P > 0.05). However, the weight [t(267) = 2.14; P < 0.05] and BMI [t(259) = 2.80; P < 0.01] of non-gardeners were significantly greater than those of allotment gardeners (Table 2). A χ2 test also revealed no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the main occupation of non-gardeners and gardeners. In the non-gardener group, 57.9% of participants were employed (including self-employed), 33.8% retired, 3.8% did housework and 2.3% were both seeking employment or identified their employment status as ‘other’. In the gardeners group, 55.1% were employed, 41.2% retired, 2.9% did housework and 0.7% were seeking work.

Main findings of this study

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of allotment gardening on self-esteem and mood and to compare the mental well-being of allotment gardeners with non-gardener controls.

The findings first indicate that one session of allotment gardening can result in significant improvements in self-esteem and mood via reductions in tension, depression, anger and confusion. These findings are supported by previous research demonstrating the health and well-being benefits of participating in green exercise activities.4,9,10 With an increasing number of people residing in urban areas, a decline in the number of homes with gardens,29 and the increased risk for mental ill health associated with urban living;11,12 these findings are particularly important and suggest that allotment gardening might play an important role in promoting mental well-being in people residing in urban areas.

In addition to the improvements in self-esteem and mood resulting from a single session of allotment gardening; the findings of this study highlighted that the length of time spent on the allotment during the session and in the previous 7 days; and the length of participants' tenure did not significantly contribute to changes in self-esteem or mood. Thus, participants who attend an allotment for a short period just once per week can experience a similar magnitude of improvements in self-esteem and mood as participants who attend more regularly for longer periods of time.

We found that <30 min of allotment gardening produces a measureable and beneficial health affect. This finding is encouraging as participants are more likely to be able to fit short, occasional allotment sessions into their daily routines. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that the health and well-being benefits of allotment gardening do not deteriorate over time. The length of time spent allotment gardening by participants in the current study ranged from <1 year up to 60 years, yet this did not impact upon the magnitude of changes in self-esteem and mood received from one allotment session. Thus, allotment gardening could be used as a long-term tool for promoting and improving mental well-being.

The findings of this study also indicate that allotment gardeners have better mental well-being than their non-gardener controls. Allotment gardeners reported significantly higher levels of self-esteem and mood, with reduced levels on the POMS subscales of fatigue and depression and greater feelings of vigour. In addition, allotment gardeners achieved better scores on the GHQ, indicating a reduced level of psychological distress and abnormal functioning. These differences remained statistically significant after adjustment for age, sex and occupation. Given the fact that ∼1 in 4 adults suffer from a mental illness each year,67 this finding is particularly important. Allotment gardening could play a key role in promoting mental well-being in the general population, regardless of circumstance; and could therefore be used as a preventive health measure. However, the lengthy waiting lists for allotment plots throughout the UK,30 and the reduction in the availability of green spaces in urban areas are limiting the ability of people to have access to nature close to their homes. Community allotment plots might provide a feasible solution to this problem as they allow all people to access an allotment and to take part in green exercise; in addition to promoting social interaction, community inclusion and opportunities for healthy eating; all of which promote well-being.33–35 Local public authorities should therefore seek to provide community allotment plots in order to improve the health and well-being of their residents.

While this study was primarily focused on mental well-being outcomes, descriptive analyses revealed that non-gardeners had a significantly higher BMI than allotment gardeners. The average BMI for non-gardeners was 27.0 kg m2, compared with 25.5 kg m2 in gardeners. While both of these scores fall into the overweight category (25.0–29.9 kg m2); ∼68% of participants in the non-gardening group were overweight or obese, compared with only 47% in the gardener group. Higher incidence of overweight and obesity is associated with coronary heart disease and increased risk of type II diabetes. Approximately 12% of people with a BMI of >27.0 kg m2 have diabetes while hypertension is associated with a BMI of >25.0 kg m2.68 Thus, allotment gardening could help to reduce BMI and associated disease risk; promoting improved well-being. However, further research comparing measures of physical health and the physical health of gardeners when they take on an allotment would be required to confirm this hypothesis.

In addition to the questionnaires assessing health and well-being, allotment gardeners were asked what they enjoyed most about gardening on their allotment. The key themes were being outdoors; the sense of achievement; opportunities for restoration; social interaction; growing and eating produce and opportunities to be active. These are largely linked to the proposed health benefits of allotment gardening which include healthy eating, being active, improvements in physical and mental well-being and social interaction.30,40–50 Thus, participants seem to enjoy the aspects of allotment gardening which contribute to their health. The opportunities for social interaction offered by allotment gardening might be particularly important as the development of relationships promotes social capital.69 Social capital increases life expectancy, while a lack of social capital embodied by loneliness has the equivalent risk to health as consuming 15 cigarettes daily and is twice as harmful as obesity.67,69 Allotment gardening could contribute to a greener and healthier economy focused on the prevention of ill-health. This preventive approach could result in substantial savings to the UK economy, particularly in the treatment of health conditions such as mental illness, obesity, cardiovascular disease and loneliness.

Conclusions

Overall, the findings of this study indicate that one single session of allotment gardening can improve both self-esteem and mood, irrespective of how long participants spend on the allotment, whether they have attended in the last 7 days and their overall length of tenure. Furthermore, allotment gardeners have a better level of self-esteem and mood and a reduced level of abnormal psychological functioning than non-gardeners. Thus, in order to improve health and well-being, people in the UK should be encouraged to take part in short bouts of allotment gardening. Health organizations and policy makers should consider the potential of allotment gardening as long-term tool for combatting the increasing prevalence of ill-health and local public authorities should seek to provide community allotment plots to allow residents to have regular opportunities to partake in gardening activities.

academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/38/3/e336/2239844

Data Analysis Class Final ITS

Running Furmark GPU & CPU stress test on my laptop (Dell E7450).

heel kick abstraction of motion and built energy

This was the most useful chart for me in keeping track of my walking progress in 2014. This chart told me if I was ahead or behind of my goal.

For most of the year I was behind my goal. The furthest behind goal I got was on 6 June 2014 where my goal was to have walked 1290.6 miles and my actual was 1134.3 so I was 156.3 miles behind. F

From this chart, it is easy to see that i was getting behind (negative slope) the first part of the year and started catching up in the summer (positive slope). I ended up 8 miles ahead of my 3000 mile goal.

DeltaFitness2014

New Laminating Carts

before looking at others with judgement you must first judge yourself.

Big thanks to MONDO RODRIGUEZ for helping me out with this shot !

enjoy :]

BeautySchool_1st_55

Analysis of iron in water from Pacific surface region by the Flow Injection analysis in the Chemistry Lab.

BeautySchool_1st_56

(further information is available by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

History of the City St. Pölten

In order to present concise history of the Lower Austrian capital is in the shop of the city museum a richly illustrated full version on CD-ROM.

Tip

On the occasion of the commemoration of the pogroms of November 1938, the Institute for Jewish History of Austria its virtual Memorbuch (Memory book) for the destroyed St. Pölten Jewish community since 10th November 2012 is putting online.

Prehistory

The time from which there is no written record is named after the main materials used for tools and weapons: Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. Using the latest technologies, archaeologists from archaeological finds and aerial photographs can trace a fairly detailed picture of life at that time. Especially for the time from the settling down of the People (New Stone Age), now practicing agriculture and animal husbandry, in the territory of St. Pölten lively settlement activity can be proved. In particular, cemeteries are important for the research, because the dead were laid in the grave everyday objects and jewelry, the forms of burial changing over time - which in turn gives the archeology valuable clues for the temporal determination. At the same time, prehistory of Sankt Pölten would not be half as good documented without the construction of the expressway S33 and other large buildings, where millions of cubic meters of earth were moved - under the watchful eyes of the Federal Monuments Office!

A final primeval chapter characterized the Celts, who settled about 450 BC our area and in addition to a new culture and religion also brought with them the potter's wheel. The kingdom of Noricum influenced till the penetration of the Romans the development in our area.

Roman period, migrations

The Romans conquered in 15 BC the Celtic Empire and established hereinafter the Roman province of Noricum. Borders were protected by military camp (forts), in the hinterland emerged civilian cities, almost all systematically laid out according to the same plan. The civil and commercial city Aelium Cetium, as St. Pölten was called (city law 121/122), consisted in the 4th Century already of heated stone houses, trade and craft originated thriving urban life, before the Romans in the first third of the 5th Century retreated to Italy.

The subsequent period went down as the Migration Period in official historiography, for which the settlement of the Sankt Pöltner downtown can not be proved. Cemeteries witness the residence of the Lombards in our area, later it was the Avars, extending their empire to the Enns.

The recent archaeological excavations on the Cathedral Square 2010/2011, in fact, the previous knowledge of St.Pölten colonization not have turned upside down but enriched by many details, whose full analysis and publication are expected in the near future.

Middle Ages

With the submission of the Avars by Charlemagne around 800 AD Christianity was gaining a foothold, the Bavarian Benedictine monastery of Tegernsee establishing a daughter house here - as founder are mentioned the brothers Adalbert and Ottokar - equipped with the relics of St. Hippolytus. The name St. Ypolit over the centuries should turn into Sankt Pölten. After the Hungarian wars and the resettlement of the monastery as Canons Regular of St. Augustine under the influence of Passau St. Pölten received mid-11th Century market rights.

In the second half of the 20th century historians stated that records in which the rights of citizens were held were to be qualified as Town Charters. Vienna is indeed already in 1137 as a city ("civitas") mentioned in a document, but the oldest Viennese city charter dates only from the year 1221, while the Bishop of Passau, Konrad, already in 1159 the St. Pöltnern secured:

A St. Pöltner citizen who has to answer to the court, has the right to make use of an "advocate".

He must not be forced to rid himself of the accusation by a judgment of God.

A St. Pöltner citizen may be convicted only by statements of fellow citizens, not by strangers.

From the 13th Century exercised a city judge appointed by the lord of the city the high and low jurisdiction as chairman of the council meetings and the Municipal Court, Inner and Outer Council supported him during the finding of justice. Venue for the public verdict was the in the 13th Century created new marketplace, the "Broad Market", now the town hall square. Originally square-shaped, it was only later to a rectangle reduced. Around it arose the market district, which together with the monastery district, the wood district and the Ledererviertel (quarter of the leather goods manufacturer) was protected by a double city wall.

The dependence of St. Pölten of the bishop of Passau is shown in the municipal coat of arms and the city seal. Based on the emblem of the heraldic animal of the Lord of the city, so the Bishop of Passau, it shows an upright standing wolf holding a crosier in its paw.

Modern Times

In the course of the armed conflict between the Emperor Frederick III . and King Matthias of Hungary pledged the Bishop of Passau the town on the Hungarian king. From 1485 stood Lower Austria as a whole under Hungarian rule. The most important document of this period is the awarding of the city coat of arms by King Matthias Corvinus in the year 1487. After the death of the opponents 1490 and 1493 could Frederick's son Maximilian reconquer Lower Austria. He considered St. Pölten as spoils of war and had no intention of returning it to the diocese of Passau. The city government has often been leased subsequently, for instance, to the family Wellenstein, and later to the families Trautson and Auersperg.

That St. Pölten now was a princely city, found its expression in the coat of arms letter of the King Ferdinand I. from 1538: From now on, the wolf had no crosier anymore, and the from the viewer's point of view left half showed the reverse Austrian shield, so silver-red-silver.

To the 16th Century also goes back the construction of St. Pöltner City Hall. The 1503 by judge and council acquired house was subsequently expanded, rebuilt, extended and provided with a tower.

A for the urban history research important picture, painted in 1623, has captured scenes of the peasant uprising of 1597, but also allows a view to the city and lets the viewer read some of the details of the then state of construction. The economic inconveniences of that time were only exacerbated by the Thirty Years War, at the end of which a fifth of the houses were uninhabited and the citizenry was impoverished.

Baroque

After the successful defense against the Turks in 1683, the economy started to recover and a significant building boom began. Lower Austria turned into the land of the baroque abbeys and monasteries, as it is familiar to us today.

In St. Pölten, the change of the cityscape is closely connected to the Baroque architect Jakob Prandtauer. In addition to the Baroquisation of the interior of the cathedral, a number of buildings in St. Pölten go to his account, so the reconstruction of the castle Ochsenburg, the erection of the Schwaighof and of the core building of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Englische Fräuleins - English Maidens) - from 1706 the seat of the first school order of St.Pölten - as well as of several bourgeois houses.

Joseph Munggenast, nephew and co-worker of Prandtauer, completed the Baroquisation of the cathedral, he baroquised the facade of the town hall (1727) and numerous bourgeois houses and designed a bridge over the Traisen which existed until 1907. In the decoration of the church buildings were throughout Tyroleans collaborating, which Jakob Prandtauer had brought along from his homeland (Tyrol) to St. Pölten, for example, Paul Troger and Peter Widerin.

Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II: Their reforms in the city of the 18th Century also left a significant mark. School foundings as a result of compulsory education, the dissolution of the monasteries and hereinafter - from 1785 - the new role of St. Pölten as a bishop's seat are consequences of their policies.

1785 was also the year of a fundamental alteration of the old Council Constitution: The city judge was replaced by one magistrate consisting of five persons, at the head was a mayor. For the first mayor the painter Josef Hackl was chosen.

The 19th century

Despite the Napoleonic Wars - St. Pölten in 1805 and 1809 was occupied by the French - and despite the state bankruptcy of 1811, increased the number of businesses constantly, although the economic importance of the city for the time being did not go beyond the near vicinity.

Against the background of monitoring by the state secret police, which prevented any political commitment between the Congress of Vienna and the 1848 revolution, the citizens withdrew into private life. Sense of family, fostering of domestic music, prominent salon societies in which even a Franz Schubert socialized, or the construction of the city theater were visible signs of this attitude.

The economic upswing of the city did not begin until after the revolution of the year 1848. A prerequisite for this was the construction of the Empress Elisabeth Western Railway, moving Vienna, Linz, soon Salzburg, too, in a reachable distance. The city walls were pulled down, St. Pölten could unfold. The convenient traffic situation favored factory start-ups, and so arose a lace factory, a revolver factory, a soap factory or, for example, as a precursor of a future large-scale enterprise, the braid, ribbon and Strickgarnerzeugung (knitting yarn production) of Matthias Salcher in Harland.

In other areas, too, the Gründerzeit (years of rapid industrial expansion in Germany - and Austria) in Sankt Pölten was honouring its name: The city got schools, a hospital, gas lanterns, canalization, hot springs and summer bath.

The 20th century

At the beginning of the 20th Century the city experienced another burst of development, initiated by the construction of the power station in 1903, because electricity was the prerequisite for the settlement of large companies. In particular, the companies Voith and Glanzstoff and the main workshop of the Federal Railways attracted many workers. New Traisen bridge, tram, Mariazell Railway and other infrastructure buildings were erected; St. Pölten obtained a synagogue. The Art Nouveau made it repeatedly into the urban architecture - just think of the Olbrich House - and inspired also the painting, as exponents worth to be mentioned are Ernst Stöhr or Ferdinand Andri.

What the outbreak of the First World War in broad outlines meant for the monarchy, on a smaller scale also St. Pölten has felt. The city was heavily impacted by the deployment of army units, a POW camp, a military hospital and a sick bay. Industrial enterprises were partly converted into war production, partly closed. Unemployment, housing emergency and food shortages long after the war still were felt painfully.

The 1919 to mayor elected Social Democrat Hubert Schnofl after the war tried to raise the standard of living of the people by improving the social welfare and health care. The founding of a housing cooperative (Wohnungsgenossenschaft), the construction of the water line and the establishment of new factories were further attempts to stimulate the stiffening economy whose descent could not be stopped until 1932.

After the National Socialist regime had stirred false hopes and plunged the world into war, St. Pölten was no longer the city as it has been before. Not only the ten devastating bombings of the last year of the war had left its marks, also the restrictive persecution of Jews and political dissidents had torn holes in the structure of the population. Ten years of Russian occupation subsequently did the rest to traumatize the population, but at this time arose from the ruins a more modern St. Pölten, with the new Traisen bridge, district heating, schools.

This trend continued, an era of recovery and modernization made the economic miracle palpable. Already in 1972 was - even if largely as a result of incorporations - exceeded the 50.000-inhabitant-limit.

Elevation to capital status (capital of Lower Austria), 10 July 1986: No other event in this dimension could have become the booster detonation of an up to now ongoing development thrust. Since then in a big way new residential and commercial areas were opened up, built infrastructure constructions, schools and universities brought into being to enrich the educational landscape. East of the Old Town arose the governmental and cultural district, and the list of architects wears sonorous names such as Ernst Hoffmann (NÖ (Lower Austria) Landhaus; Klangturm), Klaus Kada (Festspielhaus), Hans Hollein (Shedhalle and Lower Austrian Provincial Museum), Karin Bily, Paul Katzberger and Michael Loudon ( NÖ State Library and NÖ State Archive).

European Diploma, European flag, badge of honor, Europe Price: Between 1996 and 2001, received St. Pölten numerous appreciations of its EU commitment - as a sort of recognition of the Council of Europe for the dissemination of the EU-idea through international town twinnings, a major Europe exhibition or, for example, the establishment and chair of the "Network of European medium-sized cities".

On the way into the 21st century

Just now happened and already history: What the St. Pöltnern as just experienced sticks in their minds, travelers and newcomers within a short time should be told. The theater and the hospital handing over to the province of Lower Austria, a new mayor always on the go, who was able to earn since 2004 already numerous laurels (Tags: polytechnic, downtown enhancement, building lease scheme, bus concept) - all the recent changes are just now condensed into spoken and written language in order to make, from now on, the history of the young provincial capital in the 3rd millennium nachlesbar (checkable).

www.st-poelten.gv.at/Content.Node/freizeit-kultur/kultur/...

Finance data on the computer

Someone came out with this visual poster of Twitter, weighted by followers. What are the patterns here? Why do they have large followings and what do the do on twitter? Does topic affect it? Gender? Promotion? Community leadership?

It's no surprise to me that daringfireball and majornelson are there. Mac and XBOX fans, yeah. Easy following. We have some TV types also. The two Twitter guys Ev and Biz might be an exception, it's their product.

Have fun! :)

Participants attending the Technical Meeting on Nuclear Power Cost Estimation and Analysis Methodologies held at the Agency headquarters in Vienna, Austria. 25 April 2018

Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA

Batman warns me to not look into this further. We both know I won't listen. The analysis showed that this strain of Venom was laced with some of Poison Ivy's DNA, which is why it worked very well on plants. He's thinking Bane, the man who broke his back. I'm thinking I'll find my answers elsewhere. He might not have noticed, but his urge to shield and protect me are because that harmless rose was emitting Fear pollen.

Diana F+ (Mr. Pink), 120 Kodak Portra 800. 22 Feb 2012.

Fox Commentators talking about the Pacers and Bobcats.

a fat roll caused the light leaks.

I've written a software that analysis the movement of the seesaw.

white: data from acceleromenter

red: fourier-transformed data from accelerometer

vertical light grey bars: extremes

green: intensity of movement

grey: beats per minute

light blue: regularity of the movement

blue: endurance

Please note: all data will be available as OSC messages on a local WIFI network at dockville festival. The art-exhibtion of Dockville opens on 2nd August. I will be at the festival area the following week. If you want to make some sound/music based on BumTschack Wippe please come by!

Nanayaa Appenteng, Project Lead, Knowledge Networks and Analysis - World Economic Forum Geneva

at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Jakob Polacsek

Analysis of iron in water from Pacific surface region by the Flow Injection analysis in the Chemistry Lab.

PHILIPPINE SEA (Nov. 2, 2020) Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force liaisons and Dr. Evan Nash, center, a Center of Naval Analysis representative, receive a tour from Lt. j.g. Alyson Hands, assistant public affairs officer, in the hangar bay of the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) during Keen Sword 21. Keen Sword is an example of the strength of U.S.-Japan Alliance, the foundation of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region for more than 60 years. The relationships built and maintained during these events are critical to our shared capability to respond to contingencies at a moment’s notice. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Oswald Felix Jr.)

Analysis of iron in water from Pacific surface region by the Flow Injection analysis in the Chemistry Lab.

'Material characterisation' is the use of external techniques to observe the internal structure of materials and their properties. Using a range of characterisation techniques, TWI can make accurate diagnoses using advanced microscopy and analysis facilities.

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f f f freezing pt1

Analysis Paralysis

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skin analysis system

New Furniture

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This is a mental health practitioner's perspective on hoarding that confirms much of what I've observed with my clients. Some common threads: perfectionism plays a large part in hoarders getting behind with what they do with their stuff thus prompting them to become overwhelmed and then giving up on any sort of housecleaning. Hoarders have an appreciation for things beyond their obvious uses and often are very creative, but seem to lack the organizing gene.

Some interesting insights on the hoarding brain, described as having too many branches on the tree. Meaning that there are multiple paths the mind is prompted to navigate when processing which also leads to overwhelm.

I attended a day long workshop with one of the writers and the take away message from that day was that hoarders have a perception problem. They do not see that their stuff is making their home a dumpster and that they are not actually rescuing anything by picking up one more thing from the "Free" pile on the street. My experience with one client is that she has an inability to know what is important because everything is important.

Some poignant insight about causes of hoarding include absence of warmth, acceptance and support in childhood leading the child to form attachments to things and endow those things with human emotions. Thus they can't throw an item away because there would be no one to look after it.

Little is discussed about treatment in the book. The authors have written other books to help practitioners in the field. This is largely an anecdotal book and the stories of hoarders do offer a lot of insight since you get the whole history.

I have a couple of bones to pick with the book. The authors mention the National Study Group of Chronic Disorganization which was started by one of my organizing colleagues. The authors believe the term "chronic disorganization" is a euphemism for hoarders. I think that's unfair; a case of a hammer seeing everything as a nail. Mental health practitioners are guilty of seeing every thing in pathological terms. Everyone who has clutter is not automatically a hoarder. Hoarders have an attachment to their stuff that goes beyond the utility of the item. Plenty of people with clutter would be happy to let it go once they found the things they really needed.

The authors also don't think that the members of the NSGCD go far enough to actually help hoarders. I think we're changing that especially since she told us how. Cognitive therapy is the prescribed mental health treatment for hoarders. This just means that someone sits with the hoarder and asks questions that would lead them through to a rational conclusion about why they are keeping an item.

In addition I like to keep the hoarder working on sorting their stuff for so long, they are sick of it and they vow never to let it get this bad again. Then I coach them on setting limits on the incoming stuff. I also let them talk about the stuff or if they prefer, they can ask me to talk about something—anything if they want to take their minds off it. I feel this raises their self-esteem to be able to relate to me on an intellectual topic rather than wallow in the shame of their mess. Higher self-esteem often results in a higher level of energy for the task at hand. This is the Amanda theory that will either make or break me in this work.

Cognitive therapy is all about getting the client to look at their feelings while sorting through stuff. Then helping them to get past their sticking points. The theory goes that when the emotion is worked through the therapist can help diminish it, but I had a therapist tell me yesterday that this isn't necessarily so. People just like to go on about their feelings about everything. Some therapists create a crisis around the stuff on purpose to light a fire under them. This is too messy for me. Therapists like emotional messes. I like to bypass all the guilt, blame, grief, etc., etc., in favor of just getting the job done. I have had clients tell me they appreciate this quiet efficiency. Others like the drama and I am there for that too, but I don't go looking for it.

I used the Tapor XML analysis tools to find the words that are used the most on the Adaptive Path blog.

Numbers 4 and 19 crack me up.

livingamongstus.com/shop/

Turning Technologies is part of the Youngstown Business Incubator, and is the fastest-growing private software company in the country. Its ResponseCard XR, being packed for shipping above, allows audiences to respond to a PowerPoint presentation.

A medical concept of the human body

i think Angel in A-Team is the guy in a pink suit ("You," probably) in Bad Habits.

They are addicted.

They chase a high.

They are observers.

When Ed meets them he disappears into thin air (after he purchases the magazine, "The Big Issue" and after his car crash).

They have thick eye makeup, as they should.

They split off from themselves (In the morning, Angel watches Angel die, Mr Pink dissolves to reveal Ed)

They can fly (Mr. Pink clearly can and, If that isn't the meaning of the repeated lyric"Angle to Fly," at least Angel flies away at the end)

They are girly (Angel appears to be a girl and Mr. Pink is glam).

They have partly obscured head (Angle wears a hoody, Mr. Pink starts out in a hair drier).

They lead to wild eyes stare into space; the lyric from Bad Habits describes how one half of Angel dies.

The live by night and disappear in the morning.

They like mirrors.

They are another side of Ed, or at least Mr. Pink clearly is. Angel was supposedly someone that Ed met in a homeless person's shelter but, I think back in his busking days, Ed used to stay in shelters himself.

I think this alter ego is also the second person who has the photograph of Ed Sheeran, in his hit song "Photograph," since just at the point where Ed sings "inside the necklace you got when you were 16," the official promotion video shows a picture of Ed Sheeran looking to be about 16, dressed up as a pirate, wearing a gold necklace with a locket. Ed seems to like pirates. He did pirate as a child and dressed dressed up as a similar pirate, complete with gold necklace and locket, at about he time of the release of Photograph, but few seem to have noticed that, judging by who owns the necklace and locket, he was singing a love song to the pirate side of himself. As a number of psychologists argue, we observe the images and words that represent ourselves from the point of view of another within ourselves.

A similar sort of self love can also be found in Lego House.

In Bad Habits, after popping a lot of balloons and just before seeing himself pop like a balloon, Mr. Pink pops a balloon in front of a vampire girl. To me he seems to be saying, "it (your ego) is just a balloon" (or photograph, or magazine) and, "It's okay. We are all vampirates really." The scary (vampire, pirate, prostitute) nature of our alter ego is as far as I know only hinted at by Ed, but claimed by Kitarou Nishida (1967).

The above image was made using FaceApp to morph an image of myself, as "Angel," and the images below

www.piqsels.com/en/public-domain-photo-ffbuv

www.nicepng.com/ourpic/u2w7a9a9q8q8q8q8_vinyl-car-sticker...

freesvg.org/pirates-hat

freesvg.org/gold-chain-curved-as-a-01

Should anyone wish that I cease and desist please leave a comment or email me via the email link at my homepage

nihonbunka.com

Nishida, Kitaro (1965/?) “Zettai mujunteki jikodōitsu” 絶対矛盾的自己同一 (Absolutely Contradictory Self-

identity), 西田幾多郎全集, Iwanami Shoten vol. 9. or free in html from

www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000182/files/1755.html

and free in Kindle form from

www.amazon.co.jp/%E7%B5%B6%E5%AF%BE%E7%9F%9B%E7%9B%BE%E7%...

754 環境が自己否定的に自己自身を主体化するということは、自己自身をメフィスト化することである。直観的世界の底には、悪魔が潜んでいるのである。That the environment should give a self-negating autonomy to the ourselves is the literal demonization (making a Mephistopheles) of ourselves. The devil hides at the bottom of the world of intuition (or pure sight).

Technical analysis of QQQQ

Materials are the building blocks of all functional structures. TWI's expertise lies in understanding the complex interactions that take place when basic materials are transformed into functional shapes and joined together in different working environments.

For more information www.twi.co.uk/technologies/material-properties/

If you wish to use this image each use should be accompanied by the credit line and notice, "Courtesy of TWI Ltd".

This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:

www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-209

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY: Crash Data Trends and Federal and State Requirements