%0 Book Section %B Selected Papers. Originally published in 2001 (Updated 2010, 2012). Draft Copy %D Submitted %T Evolution and Evolutionary Mechanisms Controlling Genetic Variation %A K.Lee Lerner %B Selected Papers. Originally published in 2001 (Updated 2010, 2012). Draft Copy %G eng %U harvard.academia.edu//kleelerner %0 Book Section %B Selected Papers. Originally published in February, 2013 (Updated: May, 2014). Draft Copy %D Submitted %T Disaster Relief and Recovery: The Role of Situational Awareness (Harvard, 2013) %A K.Lee Lerner %B Selected Papers. Originally published in February, 2013 (Updated: May, 2014). Draft Copy %G eng %U harvard.academia.edu//kleelerner %0 Book Section %B Selected Papers, Originally published in 2013 (Updated 2015). Draft Copy %D Submitted %T Disaster Relief and Recovery Shifting from Disaster to Recovery (Harvard 2013) %A K. Lee Lerner. %B Selected Papers, Originally published in 2013 (Updated 2015). Draft Copy %G eng %U harvard.academia.edu//kleelerner %0 Generic %D 2108 %T Introduction to Sociology %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Intorduction to Sociology is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: An Introduction to Sociology; Sociological Research; Culture; Socialization; Groups and Organization; Deviance, Crime, and Social Control; Media and Technology; Social Stratification in the United States; Global Inequality; Race and Ethnicity; Gender, Sex, and Sexuality; Aging and the Elderly; Marriage and Family; Religion; Education; Government and Politics; Work and the Economy; Health and Medicine; Population, Urbanization, and the Environment; Social Movements and Social Change.

 

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforintroductiontosociology(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Journal Article %J Scholars at Harvard (Open Scholar). Originally published online: March 6, 2012. Last revised: March 6 %D 2024 %T Notes on a Revolution: Remember the Alamo and the Texas Revolution (Draft, Revised) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Introduction

The story of the Alamo is at the heart of the story of Texas. Both its facts and myths are foundational to the identity of Texans and what distinguishes them from others. 

This is a selected collection of both published and unpublished writings, poems, photos, and primary source transcriptions drawn from thousands of pages of notes made while researching the Texas Revolution. Originally crafted as a potential graduate studies thesis or capstone project, it quickly focused on use, evaluation, and integration of primary sources in journalism and in academic publishing. I plan to update it annually while observing annual remembrance days commemorating the siege of the Alamo that begins February 23rd each year and ends on the anniversary of the battle and fall of the Alamo on March 6th. -- K. Lee Lerner, Cambridge , Mass. March 6, 2012.

(read more)

 

%B Scholars at Harvard (Open Scholar). Originally published online: March 6, 2012. Last revised: March 6 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Scholars at Harvard (OpenScholar). Originally published online: March 6, 2012. Last revised: March 6 %D 2024 %T Shadows of a Mighty Presence: Remembering the Alamo and the Texas Revolution (Poems). %A K.Lee Lerner %X

A compilation of selected poems about the Alamo and Texas Revolution

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%B Scholars at Harvard (OpenScholar). Originally published online: March 6, 2012. Last revised: March 6 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Scholars at Harvard (OpenScholar). Originally published online at Harvard Blogs hosted by the Berkman Klein Center For Internet & Society at Harvard University and Harvard Law School, March 6, 2023. Last revised: March 6 %D 2024 %T San Antonio, Texas --- Remember the Alamo and the Texas Revolution: Both the Heroic Sacrifice and Historical Uncertainties. (Revised) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

San Antonio, Texas.   No matter where I roam in this world, I have dual citizenship, for Texas is my country too.

Accordingly, each year, to commemorate the siege and sacrificial battle of the Alamo, the massacre at Goliad, and the victory at San Jacinto that secured independence for Texas, the American flag that usually flies in front Sibley is replaced by a Texas flag that once flew over the Alamo. If I am traveling, arrangements are made to continue the tradition.

Before dawn, on March 6, 1836, Mexican General and Dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna ordered his forces laying siege to the Alamo to attack without quarter. The brief battle that followed ended 13 days of defiance that brought glory to the Alamo's Texian defenders and gave life to a revolution that would forge the Republic of Texas.

As is not uncommon with dualling depictions of history, the truth of the Alamo lies somewhere between Texas nationalist mythology and distortions crafted to cynically recast and reframe narratives related to the Texas Revolution so that they falsely align with fashionable ideological agenda. Ironically, hypocritically, and gallingly, some of the most progressive reframing of narratives related to the Alamo rely on suppressing or dismissing the accounts of witnesses who were women, enslaved men, Tejanos, or Mexican soldiers.

This is nothing new, of course. History is always contested territory. As with many great battles in history, fact mixes with myth concerning the battle of the Alamo and other events critical to the Texas Revolution. In our contemporary culture wars, how people view the events and motivations of those who fought at the Alamo and in that revolution usually runs close to how they view the founding of America and the intentions of its founders.

An honest effort to understand the Alamo must be careful to stay close to the scant evidence available  (read more)

 

%B Taking Bearings. Scholars at Harvard (OpenScholar). Originally published online at Harvard Blogs hosted by the Berkman Klein Center For Internet & Society at Harvard University and Harvard Law School, March 6, 2023. Last revised: March 6 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2023 %T Vaccines chasing variants in a world increasingly blind to their rise and spread %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Most people are trying to put the COVID-19 pandemic, with all it tragedies, disruptions,  uncertainties, and inanities in the rear view mirror.  The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 global health emergency over on May 5th, and the U.S declared the public health emergency over on May 11th.  Budget realities mean that governments and public health agencies are scaling down testing, with WHO recently estimating a 90 percent reduction in global COVID-19-related variant testing and reporting compared to levels in November 2021 during the Omicron variant outbreak.

Yet, the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19 keeps evolving. Natural evolutionary mechanisms ensure that genetic mutations and changes keep creating new variants.

Not that every new variant is potentially more transmissible or lethal (in fact, most are not), but the combination of greatly reduced testing and sequencing combined with the evolution of highly mutated variants like the BA.2.86 variant discovered in July 2023 indicates a need to potentially shift vaccine strategies that have been primarily oriented to protecting against specific widely circulating variants.  (read more and download pdf copy here)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://www.academia.edu/105950977/Vaccines_chasing_variants_in_a_world_increasingly_blind_to_their_rise_and_spread_Taking_Bearings %N August %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2023 %T The baton is passed: The shame-stick of anti-science has changed hands. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Highly recommended and, if you care about science, essential reading:  'A Paper That Says Science Should Be Impartial Was Rejected by Major Journals. You Can’t Make This Up,' by Pamela Paul, published in The New York Times (link below and in comments).

Anti-intellectual, anti-liberal, and anti-science movements shift about over time with regard to who holds the shame-stick. In the U.S., that baton is now firmly in the hands of the progressivista Leftists who have gained an outsize influence in the Democratic party.

Science is inherently able to withstand and eventually overcome the arguments of those who allow partisan or trendy ideology to supersede evidence, but they can do substantial damage that crosses generations.  (read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/the-baton-is-passed-the-shame-stick-of-anti-science-has-changed-hands/ %N May %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. (Hosted by Harvard Law School and the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society ) %D 2023 %T Taking Bearings: Stories, Columns, and Essays %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The most currect index is available at: https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/index/

Select Index  (last updated 23 June,2023)

Editor’s note:  I recently undertook a large scale reorganization of this blog. I have been revising the format of photos and reposting hundreds of “Taking Bearings” essays along with reprints from other publications. When this task is complete, I will remove this note. If you are following a broken link to a missing entry, please contact me at  kleelerner at alumni.harvard.edu and I will repost the entry as quickly as possible.

K. Lee Lerner. “Russia and Ukraine edge toward a radiologic abyss.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2023:(June)

K. Lee Lerner. “Wave Particle Duality.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2023:(June)

K. Lee Lerner. “Layers of History.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2023:(May)

K. Lee Lerner. “The baton is passed: The shame-stick of anti-science has changed hands.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2023:(May)

K. Lee Lerner. “Rosalind Franklin’s contributions to the discovery of DNA’s structure revised. ” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2023:(April).

K. Lee Lerner. “Gun Policy update: Come and Read It.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2023:(March)

K. Lee Lerner. “San Antonio, Texas — Remember the Alamo: Both the Heroic Sacrifice and Historical Uncertainties.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2023:(March)

K. Lee Lerner. “Scattershooting with Presidential couplets…” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2023:(February)

K. Lee Lerner. “The forgotten threat of nuclear winter.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(January)

K. Lee Lerner. “Reading Caesar.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(November)

K. Lee Lerner. “Scattershooting on the science supporting, and perils of, vegetarianism and veganism Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(October)

K. Lee Lerner. “Briefing points: Explosions and gas leaks in the Baltic Sea.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(September)

K. Lee Lerner. “Honor due: Queen Elizabeth II.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(September)

K. Lee Lerner. “Who speaks for Earth? Renewable energy also carries costs and perils.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(August)

K. Lee Lerner. “Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant perils part of novel challenges regarding nuclear safety.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(August)

K. Lee Lerner. “Wikipedia Remains the Wild West.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(July)

K. Lee Lerner. “Happy Independence Day: In the land of the free, we still must choose to be free.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(July)

K. Lee Lerner. “U.S. Border Policies: It’s not just political power that’s at stake, it’s human lives.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(June)

K. Lee Lerner. “What does the data tell us about the “good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun” scenario.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. 2022:(June)

K. Lee Lerner. “Hispanic rejection of exploitive identity politics may save us all.”  Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(June)

K. Lee Lerner. “Policymakers must now assume that Iran has the enriched uranium it needs to build a nuclear weapon.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(June).

K. Lee Lerner. “Memorial Day Reflections.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Defense Challenges Multiply – Part 1.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Insurrection, Coup d’état, Revolution: Know the difference” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Iran’s nuclear capabilities: “I say it here, it comes out there.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(April).

K. Lee Lerner. “Putin’s take it or break it strategy in Ukraine and his perilous nuclear options.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(March)

K. Lee Lerner. “North Korean missile test reveals both increased capacity and Pyongyang’s smokescreen.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(March)

K. Lee Lerner. “Russian propaganda and western media cheerleading mask causes, perils, and probable outcomes in Ukraine.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(March).

K. Lee Lerner. “Iran’s nuclear breakout window narrows.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(March 9).

K. Lee Lerner. “Honor due: Alamo remembrance days begin” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(February 23).

K. Lee Lerner. “Navy T-28 Engine Failure: Life lessons linger 40 years after.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “Murano Glass: A Fusion of Science, Art, and Mystery.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “COVID is here to stay: Countries must decide how to adapt — Nature Editorial” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “Iran’s nuclear progress renders JCPOA moot” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “Scientific American does an asinine hit job on E. O. Wilson, calling him a racist” — Jerry Coyne” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “Myths Have Their Reasons. Isaac Ariail Reed, The Hedgehog Review” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2022:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “The Discredited Steele Dossier: A test of media ethics” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(November).

K. Lee Lerner. “Afghanistan — U.S. Withdrawal Debacle: Blood in the water over intelligence reports” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(August).

K. Lee Lerner. “Haiti Remembered” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(August).

K. Lee Lerner. “The 2020 Olympics Golden Moment” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(August).

K. Lee Lerner. “Hemingway: Burns and Novick’s Portrait of the Artist and the Man” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(April).

K. Lee Lerner. “Russian military buildup escalates tensions with Ukraine” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(August).

K. Lee Lerner. “Rest under Texas skies, Larry McMurtry.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(March).

K. Lee Lerner. “Remember Goliad!” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(March).

K. Lee Lerner. “What Does the End of a Pandemic Look Like?” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(March).

K. Lee Lerner. “Remember the Alamo, but also remember Joe” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2021:(March).

K. Lee Lerner. “Pensacola, Fla — Bravo Zulu Maximus: Chuck Yeager, No Bridge Too Low” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2020:(December).

K. Lee Lerner. “We Were a Force For Good” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2020:(October).

K. Lee Lerner. “The American Use of the Atomic Bomb to End WWII and Contemporary American Attitudes About the Use of Nuclear Weapons” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2020:(August)

K. Lee Lerner. “2019-nCoV Virus Outbreak and Epidemic:  Virus Identification, Classification, Molecular Biology, Epidemiology, Transmission and Epidemic Dynamics” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2020:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “The American Elimination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani: Strategic Implications, Asymmetrical Threat Risks, and U.S. Congressional Reporting Requirements” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2020:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “Move over, M! America now has its first-ever woman DCI” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2018:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “The Bear Gets a BOGO” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2017:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “Passages: A Legacy of Trains” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2015:(December)

K. Lee Lerner. “Guns and Gun Control” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2015:(December).

K. Lee Lerner. “French Police Raid Daesh Cell in Saint Denis: Alleged Jihadi and Planner of Terror Attacks in Paris Dead” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2015:(November).

K. Lee Lerner. “Rosalind Franklin deserves more credit for her role as a collaborator in the discovery of the structure of DNA, but she wasn’t the victim many assume.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2015:(October).

K. Lee Lerner. “Dark skies help bind us to the cosmos” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2015:(April).

K. Lee Lerner. “Chernobyl: The unknown war” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2014:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Pripyat, Ukraine –Pripyat and the Legacy of Chernobyl: Inside the Nuclear Exclusion Zone (Photo Essay)” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2014:(August).

K. Lee Lerner. “Kiev, Ukraine — Revolution And Rebellion In Ukraine” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2014:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine — Construction continues on New Safe Confinement (NSC) Dome” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2014:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Snowden’s Snow Job” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2014:(April).

K. Lee Lerner. “Fukushima — Inside the Nuclear Exclusion Zone” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2013:(April).

K. Lee Lerner. “Madhapur, India — Desertification creates Displacement Perils: Life around a dying lake.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2013:(March).

K. Lee Lerner.  “Maasai Mara, Kenya — Crossing the Sand River into bush country.” Taking Bearings.Harvard Blogs 2012:(June).

K. Lee Lerner.”Lack of clean water and sanitation plagues Nairobi slums.” Taking Bearings.Harvard Blogs 2012:(June)

K. Lee Lerner. “The Plight of the Zabbaleen: Who will be a President for ll the people of Egypt?” Taking Bearings.Harvard Blogs 2012:(May).

K. Lee Lerner.  ” CAIRO — Egypt’s Presidential Election Renews Protests in Tahrir Square” Taking Bearings.Harvard Blogs 2012:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Don’t Expect Journalism Ethics or the Law to Protect Your Privacy ” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2012:(May).

K. Lee Lerner. “Cambridge, Mass — Kissinger Returns to Harvard” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2012:(April).

K. Lee Lerner. “Paris — Hemingway’s Paris Shortcut: A Movable Feast’s Elusive Backdoor” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2011:(February).

K. Lee Lerner. “Viva Le Tour, Viva La France! Cycling Bédoin to Mont Ventoux Summit!.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2011:(February).

K. Lee Lerner. “Teaching Memories.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2009:(June).

K. Lee Lerner. “WAT THMEY, Cambodia — Legacy of the Khmer Rouge” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2008:(June).

K. Lee Lerner. “Chennai, India — 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Lingering Impacts and Recovery Efforts.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2007:(June).

K. Lee Lerner. “Cairo, Egypt — Women outcast by their families live on the outskirts of Cairo.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2006:(October).

K. Lee Lerner. “Athens — Parthenon stabilization and restoration efforts continue.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2006:(January).

K. Lee Lerner. “Hurricane Katrina Brings Waves of Destruction to U.S. Gulf Coast.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2005:(August).

K. Lee Lerner. “Nanotechnology: the genie is out of the bottle.” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2003:(December).

K. Lee Lerner. “Scientists proclaim great apes in peril” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2003:(December).

K. Lee Lerner. “The 2003 Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry: How the winners’ work advanced science and medicine” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2003:(October).

K. Lee Lerner. “Information Age Paradox: Are We Drowning with Oceans of Data at Home and the Workplace?” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2003:(September).

K. Lee Lerner. “Teaching Science: Can print, television, and Internet resources work together?” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2003:(August).

K. Lee Lerner. “Firenze — A Fusion of Art and Science” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 2003:(June).

K. Lee Lerner. “Tumult frees Russian soul from long Soviet nightmare (Editorial)” Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs 1991:(December).

 

 

 

 

 

 

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. (Hosted by Harvard Law School and the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society ) %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/index/ %0 Journal Article %J Cengage | Gale. The 41st edition, edited by Kathy Nehmah, is set for release in %D 2023 %T American Men & Women of Science, 21st through 41st edition. %A K.Lee Lerner %A Advisor %X

In publication since 1906, the venerable American Men and Women of Science remains without peer as a chronicle of scientific endeavor and achievement ..." -- WorldTrade Review Essays 

"The Cadillac of scientific biography" -- Booklist. Selected for collections at Princeton, Harvard,  MIT,  JPL/ Caltech; the Wellcome Trust Collection, and more 

K. Lee Lerner has served on the Advisory Board for American Men and Women of Science for the last 20 editions (21st through 40th edition;  2003-2022),  He is currently working as an advisor for the 41st edition due to be published in 2023.

 

First published as American Men of Science by J. McKeen Cattell in 1906, throughout its 116 year history American Men and Women of Science has recognized both men and women scientists who have made significant contributions in their field.  In 1971, the name of the series was changed to American Men and Women of Science.

 

American Men and Women of Science includes scientists selected for their contributions to science as measured by their publications in reputable scientific journals and media. Also included are those whose work cannot be published due to governmental or industrial security. Inclusion criteria include awards, grants and other forms of recognition, publication record, attainment of a position of substantial scientific responsibility, and nomination by peers in their respective fields. Scientists who are not citizens of the United States or Canada are included if a significant portion of their work was performed in North America.

%B Cengage | Gale. The 41st edition, edited by Kathy Nehmah, is set for release in %7 40th edition. %I Cengage | Gale %G eng %U https://www.academia.edu/kleelerner %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings, Harvard Blogs. %D 2022 %T Reading Caesar. Through the looking glass of history shine lessons for today. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Reading Julius Caesar is a wonderful exercise in propaganda detection and discussions about such detection in Caesar's commentaries are the quickest way to reveal a person' s depth of scholarly acquittance with the material. (download to read more)

 

%B Taking Bearings, Harvard Blogs. %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/reading-caesar-through-the-looking-glass-of-history-shine-lessons-for-today/ %N November 17 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %D 2022 %T Honor Due: Queen Elizabeth II %A K.Lee Lerner %X For all their flaws and imperfections, especially as judged by contemporary standards, and for whatever failings history may eventually affix to them, the institutions of the British monarchy and the leadership of Churchill saved western civilization during the Second World War. (download to read more) %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/561-2/ %N September 20 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %D 2022 %T Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant perils part of novel challenges regarding nuclear safety %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has posed novel problems related to nuclear safety for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Western intelligence communities, and media outlets because this is the first time a large scale shooting war has threatened multiple nuclear power plants. Early concerns about perils posed by radioactive materials stored at the damaged and decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant have now turned to fears about evident damage to the Zaporizhzhia (also spelled Zaporizhia) nuclear plant located on the Dnipro river-fed Kakhovka reservoir in a southern area of Ukraine now occupied by Russian forces.

 

The challenges include sifting sources for misinformation and disinformation.  (download to read more)

 

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-perils-part-of-novel-challenges-regarding-nuclear-safety/ %N August 9 %0 Journal Article %D 2022 %T K Lee Lerner: Select Bibliography %A K.Lee Lerner %X

A select bibliography of published works by K. Lee Lerner  (this document is due substantial revision to include both academic and general writing prior to 2003. I will be revising the format and reposting hundreds of Taking Bearing columns and related posts. When the task is complete I will remove this note.  If you recall a specific entry or are following a broken link to an entry, contact me at  kleelerner at alumni.harvard.edu and I will do my best to provide you with a copy. Cheers, Lee

%G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %D 2022 %T US Border Policy -- It's not just about power, it's about lives %A K.Lee Lerner %X The deaths in San Antonio of more than 50 migrants found in trailer-truck abandoned in Texas summer heat... Right now, vulnerable migrants are dehumanized into political footballs as the United States border policies swing between overly permissive and overly restrictive extremes... I would hope that people on both the left and right in American politics would look at this tragedy as a reminder that shaping a cogent and consistent border policy that maintains U.S. integrity, discourages illegal migration, and protects us from the worst in other societies is important. It is equally important to treat genuine asylum seekers with dignity and treat those who simply want to work with the basic protections and security green cards provide. In sum, we should strive for policies that are both humane and emblematic of a great nation substantially built by people from other lands. (download full text) %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/us_border_policies/ %N 28 June %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %D 2022 %T US Border Policy -- It's not just about power, it's about lives %A K.Lee Lerner %X The deaths in San Antonio of more than 50 migrants found in trailer-truck abandoned in Texas summer heat... Right now, vulnerable migrants are dehumanized into political footballs as the United States border policies swing between overly permissive and overly restrictive extremes... I would hope that people on both the left and right in American politics would look at this tragedy as a reminder that shaping a cogent and consistent border policy that maintains U.S. integrity, discourages illegal migration, and protects us from the worst in other societies is important. It is equally important to treat genuine asylum seekers with dignity and treat those who simply want to work with the basic protections and security green cards provide. In sum, we should strive for policies that are both humane and emblematic of a great nation substantially built by people from other lands. %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/us_border_policies/ %N 28 June %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2022 %T Policymakers must now assume that Iran has the enriched uranium it needs to build a nuclear weapon %A K.Lee Lerner %X Policymakers must now assume that Iran has the enriched uranium it needs to build a nuclear weapon. Containment is a failure as Iran’s breakout time is now essentially at zero. [Additional background for non-scientists is appended]. According to estimates prepared from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  reports and Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS),  Iran now has sufficient stores of highly enriched uranium (e.g., HEU or 60 percent enriched uranium ) to fashion a crude nuclear weapon. [1] As I predicted in March, Iran now has sufficient HEU, the required centrifuges, and the skill to rapidly increase enrichment of weapon-grade uranium (e.g., WGU or 90 percent enriched uranium) within a few weeks. [2] … (download to read more) %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/iran-now-has-the-enriched-uranium-it-needs-to-build-a-nuclear-weapon/ %N June 1 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2022 %T Reality intrusion on Iran nuclear talks - Iran's nuclear progress renders the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) essentially moot %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Reality intrusion on Iran nuclear talks: Iran's nuclear progress renders the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) essentially moot. Even with revisions proposed by the Biden Administration, recommitment to the JCPOA would provide little protection.

 

The JCPOA is intended to provide a one-year window of safety between Iran's commitment to build a nuclear weapon and the possession of sufficient enriched uranium to construct such a weapon. Iran has already reduced that window of time to weeks. (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/irans-nuclear-progress-renders-jcpoa-moot/ %N 11 January %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2022 %T Russian propaganda and western media cheerleading mask causes, perils, and probable outcomes in Ukraine %A K.Lee Lerner %X

March 22, 2022 Russian media is a tightly controlled instrument of state propaganda. Sadly, large segments of our western media are now independently engaged in cheerleading that often crossed into propaganda. The Ten Essential Techniques and Elements of Propaganda. Go ahead... test it against all sides in all wars. Although formulated for war, with some minor modifications the list is also applicable to political and culture war propaganda.

"1. We don’t want war; we are only defending ourselves.

2. Our adversary is solely responsible for this war.

3. Our adversary’s leader is inherently evil and resembles the devil… (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/taking-bearings-russian-propaganda-and-western-media-cheerleading-mask-causes-perils-and-probable-outcomes-in-ukraine/ %N March 22 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2022 %T North Korean missile test reveals both increased capacity and Pyongyang's smokescreen %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Based on reports by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Open Nuclear Network (ONN) and other open source intelligence,  here are 10 things you need to know about the North Korea missile program and the latest North Korean missile test:

1. With a flight duration of 71 minutes, the March 24, 2022 test, assumed to be a Hwasong-17 missile test, was the longest duration flight by a North Korean ICBM. The missile reached an estimated altitude of 3730 miles (6,000 km) and 3850 miles (6,200 km) according to respective reports from Japan and South Korea. The launch was nearly vertical, ranging only 730 miles (1,180 km) to fall into the Sea of Japan, but if the missile had been launched on a standard ballistic missile trajectory, the estimated range would reach across the continental United States. (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/north-korean-missile-test-reveals-both-increased-capacity-and-pyongyangs-smokescreen/ %N March 25 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2022 %T Putin's take it or break it strategy in Ukraine and his perilous nuclear options %A K.Lee Lerner %X Ten things to know about the war in Ukraine, including Putin's potential use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine: 
1. Time is now an ally of Ukraine. With Western logistical support, time is now on Ukraine's side. Until recently time was viewed as something that worked against Ukraine. Given Russia's superior numbers, the defeat and occupation of Ukraine was widely viewed (myself included)  as just a matter of time. The stout Ukrainian resistance combined with Russian Army and Air Force arrogance and incompetence have now, however, turned time into a Ukrainian asset. Absent substantial help from China, or Putin's use of tactical nuclear weapons (for political purposes his most viable WMD option) the war has devolved into one of attrition that gives a constantly resupplied Ukraine a fighting chance. 
2. Putin's WMD reasoning. A war of attrition increases the potential that Putin will resort to the use of a tactical nuclear weapon. How likely is it that Putin might pursue a nuclear option? If Putin is irrational then rational analysis will not yield medium or high confidence assessments of his potential decisions, but one way to approach this problem is to assess negative outcomes a rational Putin might weigh in deciding whether to use a nuclear device. 
3. Perilous options. Should Putin attempt the use of a tactical nuclear weapon, he not only faces the prospect that (1) subordinates may not follow orders, but also (2) that a nuclear weapon fizzles. If either of those things happen, it is the end of the Putin regime. 
4. A military plundered by corruption. How much confidence does Putin have in his command and control? …. 
5. How potent is the Russian nuclear threat? There is also great uncertainty regarding the state of Russian nuclear weapons. Given the state of Russian military infrastructure and performance, it is questionable whether the Russian have adequately maintained and replenished enriched uranium or plutonium stocks. Nuclear weapons also depend on other components that degrade with time… (download to read more) %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/putins_take_it_or_break_it_strategy_in_ukraine_and_his_perilous_nuclear_options/ %N March 26 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2022 %T Iran's Nuclear Breakout Window Narrows %A K.Lee Lerner %X

 

Iran's nuclear window narrows. Ten things you need to know about the nuclear capacity of the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to offer cogent analysis of Iran’s compliance with the existing Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and/or ongoing negotiations by the U.S. to adapt that agreement before joining it once again as a participating party.

Based on a recent International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Iran Verification and Monitoring Report of March 3, 2022 [1], and subsequent Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) analysis [2], Iran is continuing to advance its nuclear capabilities, hide nuclear research facilities, and thwart international inspections. (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/irans-nuclear-breakout-window-narrows/ %N March 9 %0 Journal Article %J Multiple Sources %D 2022 %T Frequently Cited Quotations %A K.Lee Lerner %X

 

Last Updated: 10 May, 2023

 

Frequently cited quotes from K Lee Lerner's books, papers, articles, and essays:

 

“Science produces the sea wall of reality that waves of quasi-religious. pseudo-intellectual, and postmodernist thought crash against.” -- K. Lee Lerner.  Scientific Thought

 

 

“Historians still labor over whether Travis literally drew a line in the sand with his sword. Scholarly sentiment has swayed back and forth over the years, but the truth is that we will never know for sure. I argue that it does not matter because Travis essentially drew a more important, and equally dramatic, metaphorical line in the sand for the men under his command with his triple underscoring of ‘Victory or Death.’” – K. Lee Lerner, "Remember the Alamo and the Texas Revolution: Both the Heroic Sacrifice and Historical Uncertainties." Scholars at Harvard (Open Scholar). Originally published online: March 6, 2012. Last revised: March 6, 2024. Available online at https://scholar.harvard.edu/kleelerner/papers/remember-alamo-and-texas-revolution and via Academia at https://www.academia.edu/27193976.

 

 

“Pseudoscience is almost always recognizable from a distance, and easy to confirm on close examination. Science is, however, not immune from hubris, and bad science can be tougher to spot. Those of us who make a living from science or science media must display scientific integrity. We must constantly test our assumptions and fight the siren song of consensus when our data tells us to be contrarian. We must remain independent of political or religious bias in evaluating our work. We must admit when we are wrong and remain willing to evolve when verifiable data demands change. We must admit when we are uncertain, remain humble in advances, and offer courageous and independent advice grounded in science.” ― K Lee Lerner

 

“Pseudoscience often relies on a witches' brew of scientific terms (e.g. "wavelength," "energy fields," "vibrations") half-baked into simplistic metaphors that do not correspond with testable reality. In some cases, pseudoscience simply relies on language that is deliberately vague and poorly defined to deceive. While outright lunacy is almost always easy to spot, the most dangerous of pseudoscientific meanderings are those filled with scientific terminology that, even for experts, can initially be daunting and impressive. Upon dissection, however, the terminology is invariably found to be misused, or used in a context far from accepted understanding. However convincing and artful, however much we may even wish the conclusions to be true, monuments built in such shifting sands cannot withstand the inevitable tests of time.” ― K Lee Lerner

 

“Facts count. Conspiracy theories, usually the refuge of the bitter or disempowered, range from factually challenged to wildly hallucinogenic. Conspiracy theories are not harmless entertainment, or a laudable facet of the freedom of speech. Conspiracy theories do both overt and tacit harm. Dangerous when they deal with public health issues, at a minimum, almost all are insults to the integrity of thousands of hard-working and honest people. In the extreme, conspiracy theories slander entire races, nations, or cultures.” ― K. Lee Lerner, Social Issues Primary Sources Collection

 

"Regarding hidden variables in quantum systems: Quantum theory makes no claim to impart any form of knowing or consciousness on the behavior of particles. Although it is trendy to borrow selected concepts from quantum theory to prop up many New Age interpretations of nature, quantum theory does not provide for and mystical mechanisms. The fact that quantum theory make accurate depictions and predictions of particle behavior does not mean that the mathematical constructs of quantum theory depict the actual physical reality of the quantum wave. Simply put, there is no demand that the universe present us with easy-to-understand mechanisms of action." K. Lee Lerner. Scientific Thought in Context.

 

“I have always believed there is great value in studying the flaws of mankind and men —even fictional characters. All of us are flawed. All of us are diminished by some form of prejudice and bias. If a fictional character is to be realistic, he must struggle with imperfections and weaknesses.” ― K. Lee Lerner, Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources

 

“There is unspeakable yet entirely preventable suffering in this world. The job of journalists and writers engaged with global issues is to articulate the unspeakable and give voice to solutions. -- K. Lee Lerner” ― K. Lee Lerner, Infectious Diseases: In Context

 

About the Alamo and the mythology surrounding commander, Lt. Col William Barret Travis' famous  "line in the sand," with reference to letter the Travis wrote on February 24, 1836: “Historians still labor over whether Travis literally drew a line in the sand with his sword. Scholarly sentiment has swayed back and forth over the years, but the truth is that we will never know for sure.  I argue that it does not matter because Travis essentially drew a more important, and equally dramatic, metaphorical line in the sand for himself and the men under his command with his triple underscoring of ‘Victory or Death’ in his letter from the Alamo dates 24 February, 1836.” – K. Lee Lerner

 

“I have always regretted instances in which I failed to live up to the highest standards of conduct or principles of compassion that I cherish and teach. Being human, I anticipate regretting future failures.” ― K. Lee Lerner

 

“Global experience -- whether gained from work, travel, or more challenging exploration -- shreds preconceptions and stereotypes, deepens appreciation of cultural similarities and diversity, and integrates local insights into the coverage of international issues." -- K. Lee Lerner. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, April 2010.” ― K Lee Lerner, Human Geography: People and the Environment

 

“Facts count. Conspiracy theories, usually the refuge of the bitter or disempowered, range from factually challenged to wildly hallucinogenic. Many conspiracy theories do both overt and tacit harm. Almost all are insults, intended or unintended, are insults to thousands of hard-working and honest people, and sometimes to entire races, nations, or cultures.” ― K Lee Lerner

 

“There is adventure in finding compelling stories and exploring complex issues in challenging environments, but there is also a responsibility to tell those stories accurately and objectively.” ― K. Lee Lerner, Human Geography: People and the Environment

 

“The nimble of mind long for the challenge of new discoveries. Weary minds cling to what is already known.” ― K. Lee Lerner, Scientific Thought in Context

 

“I'm an unabashed elitist. Everyone needs a good editor, and there is peril in worshiping amateurism and the unedited in science, art, and journalism.” ― K Lee Lerner

 

"We no longer live in a world of classic and formal divisions between man-made technology and the natural world, but rather in a world of increasing synthesis of technology and nature, a techno-natural world. An example of such blurring and blending exists if we plant crops in flood prone areas that are flood tolerant (or that thrive on flooding) but which also mitigate soil erosion and flash flooding. To effectively combat global warming and climate change, this blurring of technology and nature will be essential. To this mix we should, most often without any engineering compromise, also add in ethical and cultural value considerations." — K Lee Lerner, Climate Change in Context

 

 (more quotes)

 

Additional quote collections are available online at:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1437692.K_Lee_Lerner
https://www.wisefamousquotes.com/k-lee-lerner-quotes/
https://quotation.io/page/author/k-lee-lerner

 

 

%B Multiple Sources %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2021 %T The discredited Steele dossier, a test of media ethics %A K.Lee Lerner %X With regard to the Steele Dossier, the question I address is not the ultimate truth or falsity of those assertions.  My concern is the subsequent scrutiny laid on the dossier as well the subsequent use of unsubstantial claims to enhance ratings or advance partisan interests.  The who, what, when, where, and why regarding the media and political use the now discredited Steele Dossier is an story import for journalistic integrity. It hauntingly smacks of a publish-then-verify attitude that pumps ratings, or worse, a willingness to publish unverified and potentially unverifiable allegations because they support a preconceived partisan narrative.  Both practices should be anathematic to the ethical practice of journalism.  (download to read more) %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/the-discredited-steele-dossier-a-test-of-media-ethics/ %N November 21 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2021 %T What Does the End of a Pandemic Look Like? %A K.Lee Lerner %X

March 23, 2021

What does the end of a pandemic look like?

Expert opinion varies as to how the current COVID-19 global pandemic will end. Many questions still lack answers. 

Most public health experts argue that eradicating or eliminating the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is no longer possible. The probability is that, even with broad vaccination programs, the virus will remain endemic (i.e., persisting at some level in the human population), if not globally, at least regionally. 

Previously, only two viruses, the deadly smallpox virus and the rinderpest virus that causes disease in cattle, have been declared eradicated (i.e., removed from any presence in the general population and consigned to laboratories designed to house and study dangerous pathogens).  

Sadly, the chances are very slim–virtually nonexistent–that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be eradicated. Even if it were possible to vaccinate everyone, this would not eliminate the virus because of its zoonotic nature. Zoonotic viruses have an undiscovered animal reservoir that harbors the virus and allows it to exist, reproduce, and mutate outside the human body (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/what-does-the-end-of-a-pandemic-look-like/ %N March 03 %0 Journal Article %J harvard.academia.edu/KLeeLerner/Papers-and-Articles %D 2021 %T SARS-CoV- Omicron Variant Primer %A K.Lee Lerner %X As of today (November 30, 2021), the Delta variant remains the world's most prevalent mutation of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus first identified in January 2020 that is responsible for the global COViD-19 pandemic. The previously named B.1.1.529 variant now known as the Omicron variant was first reported by South African scientists on 9 November 2021 and then quickly visualized (see image below) by researchers at the Bambino Gesu hospital in Rome. This does not mean that the variant necessarily first arose in South Africa. Variants can also arise independently and spontaneously in multiple locations. On November 26, the WHO designated the Omicron variant a variant of concern (VOC) subject to special reporting and investigation. The Omicron variant is the most mutated form of SARS-CoV-2 yet sequenced <download to read more> %B harvard.academia.edu/KLeeLerner/Papers-and-Articles %G eng %U https://www.academia.edu/62030776/SARS_CoV_2_Omicron_Variant_Primer %N November %0 Journal Article %J Scholars at Harvard (scholar.harvard.edu/kleelerner). November %D 2021 %T SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Primer %A K.Lee Lerner %X As of today (November 30, 2021), the Delta variant remains the world's most prevalent mutation of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus first identified in January 2020 that is responsible for the global COViD-19 pandemic. The previously named B.1.1.529 variant now known as the Omicron variant was first reported by South African scientists on 9 November 2021 and then quickly visualized (see image below) by researchers at the Bambino Gesu hospital in Rome. This does not mean that the variant necessarily first arose in South Africa. Variants can also arise independently and spontaneously in multiple locations. On November 26, the WHO designated the Omicron variant a variant of concern (VOC) subject to special reporting and investigation. The Omicron variant is the most mutated form of SARS-CoV-2 yet sequenced. (more) %B Scholars at Harvard (scholar.harvard.edu/kleelerner). November %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Katherine H. Nemah and Jacqueline L. Longe, eds. Cengage | Gale %D 2021 %T Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 6th edition. %A K.Lee Lerner %A advisor and contributing subject matter expert %X

K. Lee Lerner served as editor-in-chief for the Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 3rd (2003), 4th (2008), and 5th editions (2014). He continued as a advisor and contributing subject matter expert for the 6th edition published in 2021.

Introduction by K, Lee Lerner

At its printing, the Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 6th Edition features the latest in vetted climate data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the most recent assessments made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other global monitoring agencies on topics ranging from atmospheric greenhouses gas levels to sea level rise. Key articles also include information and generalized predictions relating climate change to severe storms, floods, and draught for regions around the world including the impacts of climate change—both observed and predicted—in Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, North America, South America, and in small island nations. 

With a global pandemic of COVID-19 underway due to an outbreak of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, the editors have attempted to strengthen this edition's coverage of emerging diseases. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science includes updated articles on epidemics, pandemics, epidemiology, hepatitis variants, SARS, H1N1, H5N1, the MERS coronavirus in the Middle East, the H7N9 flu virus and a new article on the first six months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Because knowledge related to these diseases—especially COVID- 19—changes rapidly with science and medical advances, readers must always consult their personal health care provider to ensure that they have the latest information that applies to their individual needs. 

Advances in biotechnology, especially related to genome editing and related molecular genetic engineering technologies—including 2020 Nobel Prize winning work related to the development of CRISPR technologies—are expertly covered in Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 6th Edition more. -- K. Lee Lerner. Cambridge, Mass. October 2013.

%B (Katherine H. Nemah and Jacqueline L. Longe, eds. Cengage | Gale %7 6th %I Cengage Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2021 %T Hemingway: Burns and Novick's Portrait of the Artist and the Man %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Part I: Hemingway's enduring intimacy 

I am a scientist, an author, occasionally a journalist, and an editor of science and factual media. I'm not a literary scholar, but I have read all of Hemingway's published works and spent many days with his personal writings and photos preserved in the Hemingway archives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

Spelunking in the collection donated by Mary Welsh Hemingway was always one of my favorite personal diversions when in Boston. After making a reservation with a research librarian, I'd jump on the Red Line from Harvard to the JFK/UMass exit. That being sufficient "T" time, I would take a taxi back to my room at the Harvard Club in Back Bay or to the house I rented in Cambridge, just off campus on Kirkland Place.

It would be hard to mistake the Hemingway room, adorned as it is with a mounted antelope head from his 1933 safari, a lion-skin rug, and his portrait.

My explorations in the Hemingway collection were admittedly cursory. l followed my own interests and requested material related to Hemingway's coverage of the Spanish Civil War and WWII. I confess to an almost promiscuous voyeurism in viewing rarely seen writings and photos of someone whom I felt I already knew intimately. Great writers have the ability to span time, distance, and differences to make their readers intimate companions.

Six decades after his death, Hemingway still has legions of us who think we know him. We think we understand him, and we envy and try to emulate his life, his writing, or both. (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/hemingway_burns_and_novick_documentary_portrait_of_the_artist_and_man/ %N April 12 %0 Journal Article %J Scholars at Harvard (scholar.harvard.edu/kleelerner) %D 2020 %T The Early History of the SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak and Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic: December 2019 to May 5, 2020. A case study resource and primary source reader %A K.Lee Lerner %X

This is a highly curated timeline and set of references intended to memorialize the evolution of scientific research and knowledge during a period covering the first public emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 starting late in December 2019 through the early months (until June 2020) of what some became the global COVID-19 pandemic. It is designed to be a scholarly academic resource for journalists and others researching the history of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and COVID-19 pandemic. Although there are references early in this timeline to nCoV-2019 and/or the novel Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, the virus was soon officially named SARS-CoV-2 (also styled SARS-CoV2) and the disease associated with the virus was designated as COVID-19 (also styled as Covid-19). While in some cases updates and additional resources are found indented below main entries. Readers should note that many entries and comments refer to intermediate findings and data later discarded or modified by subsequent research. 
 
In creating this reference, I focused on essential articles from peer-reviewed journals but I have also added in some general news and opinion pieces that were important to understanding the evolution of government and public health policies (or the absence thereof). In general, I have avoided politics per se, but the timeline and archive should be useful to those wanting to provide context for stories (e.g., what was known and when). (more)

Full text .pdf copies of articles mentioned in this resources are available for download at scholar.harvard.edu/kleelerner/blog/pandemic-reader.

%B Scholars at Harvard (scholar.harvard.edu/kleelerner) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Library & Educator News, Cengage | Gale. September %D 2020 %T COVID-19: Understanding the Vaccine Approval Process %A K.Lee Lerner %X

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments, pharmaceutical companies, and teams of scientists have invested heavily in the research and testing of potential vaccines.

From foundational molecular analysis of the novel and highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) to advanced clinical trials of vaccines to ensure that they are both effective and safe, scientists have gathered and published an unprecedented amount of journal articles and data on the virus and the human immune response to it. <download to read more>

%B Library & Educator News, Cengage | Gale. September %G eng %U https://blog.gale.com/covid-19-understanding-the-vaccine-approval-process/ %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2020 %T Pensacola, Fla — Bravo Zulu Maximus: Chuck Yeager, No Bridge Too Low %A K. Lee Lerner. %X
Mortal flesh grounded
yet his spirit will live on
Now, like Sparta's myths,
his legend will grow with time
The voice and creed will live on

December 8, 2020

Pensacola FL-- Bravo zulu maximus for Chuck Yeager on his service, a life fully and well lived, and for his "no bridge too low" approach to all of it.

Today is a day for solitary reflection on life, and also probably a good bit of bourbon. A legendary icon and true American hero has passed. General Chuck Yeager, always a man among men–and for a time, THE man among men–died last night at age 97.

What the force is to the Jedi, Yeagerisms are to pilots. It is a force that binds us and training must be undertaken to properly use it. Yeager's way was THE way.

Yeager was a WWII hero who once shot down five enemy aircraft in a single day, and a legendary test pilot. As Yeager would dismissively say, he was the first pilot "confirmed to exceed the speed of sound and live to talk about it," but he was also the originator of Yeagerisms, and it was this quality and force of character that Tom Wolfe so aptly later captured and immortalized in The Right Stuff.

Every pilot who has ever kicked a rudder to line up at the top of a loop, landed a crippled plane, ejected from a flaming hunk of falling metal, or walked away from a crash understands Yeagerisms. No matter their personal titer of the right stuff, no matter their accent, they will invariably drawl out the tale in a way that shows they believe doing your duty or your job is the most important thing, but also that coolness while doing it is THE thing. (continued at continued at https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/chuck-yeager-no-bridge-too-low/ )

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/chuck-yeager-no-bridge-too-low/ %N Dec 8 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2020 %T Hydroxychloroquine and the allure and perils of abandoning evidence-based science and policy in times of crisis. (SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19 pandemic) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

In a disaster, the coronavirus pandemic providing a ready example, cries to abandon caution and gamble on solutions can lead to spectacular success and deadly failures.

President Trump continues to tout an antibiotic and anti-viral drug called hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19. More than just promoting the treatment, Trump urges its use, including prophylactic use. With regard to efficacy, Trump said, "It may work, it may not." Moreover, because the drug has proven relatively safe when used under other specific circumstances (e.g., treatment of malaria, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases), Trump asserts, "What is there to lose?" more

Originally published 22 March, 2020, Updated: 10 April, 2020.

 

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N Mar 22 %0 Journal Article %J (originally published as "2019-nCoV Virus Outbreak and Epidemic, with a derivative version also published in the Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 6th edition, Cengage | Gale, 2021) Scholars at Harvard (harvard.scholar.edu/kleelerner) %D 2020 %T SARS-CoV-2 Virus and COVID-19 Pandemic: Virus Identification, Classification, Molecular Biology, Epidemiology, Transmission and Epidemic Dynamics %A K.Lee Lerner %A BrendaWilmoth Lerner %X

Beginning in December 2019, a small cluster of cases of a pneumonia of unknown origin was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Genetic sequencing of samples taken from the respiratory tract secretions of those exhibiting the suspicious pneumonia revealed the causative agent as a previously unknown coronavirus, subsequently named the 2019-nCoV virus. The virus is now officially named SARS-CoV-2 (also styled SARS-CoV2). The disease associated with the virus is now known as COVID-19 (also styled as Covid-19). The disease outbreak is also commonly known as the novel coronavirus outbreak or COVID-19 pandemic.  (more)

 

 

%B (originally published as "2019-nCoV Virus Outbreak and Epidemic, with a derivative version also published in the Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 6th edition, Cengage | Gale, 2021) Scholars at Harvard (harvard.scholar.edu/kleelerner) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2020 %T The American Elimination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani: Strategic Implications, Asymmetrical Threat Risks, and U.S. Congressional Reporting Requirements %A K.Lee Lerner %X Any assessment of Soleimani's acts, expenditures, and influence in creating satellite militias across the Middle East over the past decade, especially with his expenditures made possible by the economic boost to the Iranian economy after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (hereafter referred to as the Iran nuclear agreement), will quickly dispel any assertions that recent escalations in tensions with Iran are the result of the U.S. pulling out of that deal. That's Tehran's line, and those who push it become pro-terrorist propagandists. The Iranian nuclear agreement, with the economic boost and cash it brought Iran–along with the Obama administration's weakness toward Iran–fueled the regional instability and terrorism orchestrated by Iran. 

Iran will, of course, threaten retaliation, and because they can only fight asymmetrically, Iran will probably mount a violent response, most likely through proxies, against innocent civilians or U.S. diplomatic missions. "Death to America" will once again be the chant du jour. In the end, however, allowing Iran to dictate or constrain our policy and actions by threat of asymmetrical warfare is capitulation to terror. 

Courage is required. We must see through those proxy smokescreens and hold Tehran accountable by ensuring that the price for such acts is ultimately too steep a price to pay even for a theocracy exhorting martyrdom... Cost versus benefit calculus must be made to apply to both sides.  (more) %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N Jan 3 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings %D 2020 %T The American Assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani: Strategic Implications, Asymmetrical Threat Risks, and U.S. Congressional Reporting Requirements %A K.Lee Lerner %X Any assessment of Soleimani's acts, expenditures, and influence in creating satellite militias across the Middle East over the past decade, especially with his expenditures made possible by the economic boost to the Iranian economy after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (hereafter referred to as the Iran nuclear agreement), will quickly dispel any assertions that recent escalations in tensions with Iran are the result of the U.S. pulling out of that deal. That's Tehran's line, and those who push it become pro-terrorist propagandists. The Iranian nuclear agreement, with the economic boost and cash it brought Iran–along with the Obama administration's weakness toward Iran–fueled the regional instability and terrorism orchestrated by Iran. 

Iran will, of course, threaten retaliation, and because they can only fight asymmetrically, Iran will probably mount a violent response, most likely through proxies, against innocent civilians or U.S. diplomatic missions. "Death to America" will once again be the chant du jour. In the end, however, allowing Iran to dictate or constrain our policy and actions by threat of asymmetrical warfare is capitulation to terror. 

Courage is required. We must see through those proxy smokescreens and hold Tehran accountable by ensuring that the price for such acts is ultimately too steep a price to pay even for a theocracy exhorting martyrdom. Cost versus benefit calculus must be made to apply to both sides. 
… 
Questions about presidential notifications to Congress are inherently contextual, and the requirements surrounding notifications to Congress rely on several factors, the first being whether an action is a Title 50 covert action that requires prior congressional notification...However, even if one determines that the U.S. structured the airstrikes on Soleimani to allow potential deniability if things went wrong (thus making the operation potentially classifiable as a covert operation), many exceptions exist to the Title 50 notification requirements.  "Traditional military activities" are exempt and, as defined under 50 U.S.C. 3093(e)(2), provide an exception that would apply in the killing of Soleimani.  This was an attack by U.S. military forces in a defined theater of operations (Iraq) against an Iranian military commander of a group designated an enemy and/or terrorist group. As the strike was conducted by U.S. armed forces under U.S. military command, the airstrikes count as traditional military activities. That makes the killing Title 10 action, not a Title 50 action. (See footnote 2.)  (continued… download to read more) %B Taking Bearings %G eng %0 Report %D 2019 %T LMG Editorial Guidelines %A K.Lee Lerner %A BrendaWilmoth Lerner %X

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LMG Content Standards

LMG carefully selects colleagues of high integrity who value their professional reputations. The work of others must be properly acknowledged and cited. All sources must be properly credited. Except as allowed by express instruction (i.e., use of OER  material),  with the exception of properly attributed quotes, all submissions must be original material. 

All contributions are subject to screening by analysis programs designed to identify similarities to material already in publication (both print and online). Plagiarism or artistic deception (e.g. altering photos or film) will not be tolerated and is treated as both academic fraud and, when accompanied by a demand for payment, potentially prosecuted as criminal fraud.

Corrections

LMG is responsible for the quality of its work. Although the format of corrections may vary across media platforms, it is longstanding LMG policy to admit errors and to clarify or correct published work as quickly and accurately as possible.

Unsolicited Submissions

LMG does not accept unsolicited samples of work, submissions, or proposals of any kind. Those who send unsolicited submissions waive their rights in all venues to claim subsequent intellectual property rights infringement or any form of damages against all recipients of unsolicited materal and their designated agents and affiliates.

General Business policies

In accepting and submitting any assignment, contributors acknowledge and reiterate their initial contractual agreement with us, agreeing to continue to abide by the following policies:

Employment Status: In accepting any assignment from any corporate entity of Lerner & Lerner, LLC., LMG, or any derivative therof, the person, persons, or entity accepting the assignment acknowledges that they are independent contractors, not employees of LMG unless they hold a separate and express employment agreement with LMG.

Subordinate to individual contracts and LMG policies, LMG supports the rights of various artists collectives and when applicable supports established union, guild, and other collective agreements, policies, and conventions for writers and artists.

Invoices and payments: Independent contractors should submit work as it is completed and submit an invoice for all work delivered. Please submit separate invoices for individual projects and SOWs as printable email attachments.

LMG accepts, via email, any style of invoice that specifies the following: Name, SSN or other Tax ID, Mailing Address, a brief outline of the work performed, a resonable specification of sums due. Failure to submit a proper invoice may delay payment. Unless we notify you of a reason for a delay, payments will normally be posted no later than 45 days after the assigned deadline date, submission date, or date the invoice your invoice is received, whichever date is later.

Payments are normally made in US currency via corporate check sent standard post. Contributors may request electronic payments in US Dollars ($), Pounds (£), Euros (€), Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars, or Hong Kong Dollars via online electronic transfer services. If, at its discretion, LMG agrees to the transfer, the contributor shall be responsible for all currency exchange, transfer, and electronic payment fees. LMG entities do not endorse any electronic payment service, nor can we indemnify colleagues for loss due electronic transfer procedures or failures beyond our control.

 

Advisors, Contributing Editors, Expert Authors for recent LMG projects include:

Katy Aisenberg

Katy Aisenberg (Cambridge, MA). Dr. M.K. Aisenberg holds a psychology doctorate from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and is a licensed clinical psychologist in Massachusetts. A published poet, she is a graduate of Princeton University and also holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in Modern Literature from the Johns Hopkins University. She has taught at Bentley College, Boston University, and Tufts University.

Aleszu Bajak

 

Aleszu Bajak (Cambridge, MA), a journalist covering international issues in science, energy, the environment, and health, serves as a contibuting advisor to LMG. Mr. Bajak was a 2013 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at M.I.T. and has served as a producer for the NPR talk show Science Friday. His work routinely appears in Nature, Science, New Scientist, and other respected publications.

Stephen A. Berger

Stephen A. Berger is the developer of GIDEON (Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Network), the world’s premier global infectious diseases database used by the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PROMED, and other infectious disease specialists and groups. In addition to serving on the GIDEON Board of Advisors, Dr. Berger is currently affiliated with the Tel Aviv Medical Center as both Director of Geographic Medicine and of Clinical Microbiology. He also serves as Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Tel-Aviv School of Medicine. He has been awarded the New York Medical College Teaching Award 5 times. Dr. Berger is the author of numerous articles and books, including Introduction to Infectious Diseases, The Healthy Tourist, and Viral Diseases: A Global Guide.

 

Wallace S. Broecker

Wallace S. Broecker, Newberry Professor of Geology, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, is a member of both the US National Academy of Science and the British Royal Society. In 1996, he received the National Science Medal. A member of the Columbia faculty since 1959, Dr. Broecker serves as the Newberry Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences and as member of The Earth Institute Academic Committee. His ongoing research interests include paleoclimatology, ocean chemistry, isotope dating and other important facets of environmental science. He has authored or co-authored close to 500 journal articles, textbooks, and books, including How to Build a Habitable Planet (1987) and Fixing Climate (2008) with Robert Kunzig. Among a list of honors and awards, Dr. Broecker is the recipient of the Alexander Agassiz Medal by the National Academy of Sciences, the Japanese Blue Planet Award, the Swedish Crafoord Award, and has been honored by both the Geological Society of America and Geological Society of London.

 

James Corbett

James Corbett, an alumnus of the London School of Economics and the University of London, is an author and journalist living in London. He is a regular contributor to outlets including the BBC World Service, The Guardian, The Observer and The Sunday Times and has reported from more than 20 countries across five continents, including Palestine, China and South Africa. He was formerly Contributing Editor of the award winning Observer Sport Monthly and London Correspondent of English language Egyptian newspaper, Al Ahram Weekly. He is regularly sought for his opinions by a range of broadcasters on his speciality subject, sport politics, including the BBC, al-Jazeera, ABC, SBS and CNN. He the author of four books, including a history of the England football team England Expects (Aurum Press 2006).

 

Antonio Farina

Antonio Farina M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at Universita’ di Bologna and has served as Visiting Associate Professor, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan, Visiting Professor at the Woman & Infants’ Hospital Division of Prenatal and Special Testing, Providence, RI, and as a Research Fellow at New England Medical Center, Division of Genetics, Boston, MA.

 

Thomas Hayden

Thomas Hayden is a journalist and lecturer at Stanford University. A former staff writer at both Newsweek and US News & World Report. his writing appears Nature, National Geographic, and other respected publications.

 

Angelia Herrin

Angelia Herrin, Editor, Director of Research and Special Projects at Harvard Business Review. Cambridge MA., A Knight Fellow in journalism at Stanford University, Ms. Herrin reported for Knight-Ridder newspapers and served as Washington, D.C., editor of USA Today.

 

Joseph Patterson Hyder

Joseph Patterson Hyder, J.D. is the managing partner for the Hyder Law Group in Jacksonville, Florida. An honors graduate with a degree in history from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Mr. Hyder was editor-in-chief Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy at the University of Tennessee Collage of Law. He has written extensively on international treaties and political issues.

 

Alexander I. Ioffe

Alexander I. Ioffe,Senior Scientist, Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia. Alexander I. Ioffe is a physicist who serves as Senior Scientist, Geological Institute. Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia. Dr. Ioffe has served as contributing advisor on a number of projects related to science and the environment.

 

David T. King, Jr.

David T. King, Jr., is a Professor, Dept. of Geology, Auburn University. Dr. King’s research interests include the effect of asteroid and comet impact upon Earth history and the stratigraphic record. Dr. King has been honored as the outstanding science/math faculty member and as an Auburn Alumni Association outstanding teacher.

 

Kathleen Koch

Kathleen Koch served as a special contributor for LMG's book Doomed: The Science Behind Disaster (at press). Her introduction to the book drew on her 18 years of experience as an award-winning correspondent for CNN. During that time, Ms. Koch faced down presidents, snipers, and just about every disaster imaginable. She covered the White House, Pentagon, Capitol Hill and State Department as well as disasters ranging from tornadoes and hurricanes to plane crashes and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Her work reporting on Hurricane Katrina and her two documentaries on her hometown&apos;s recovery from the storm earned her a Peabody Award and a New York Festivals gold medal. Ms. Koch is also author of the critically acclaimed book, Rising from Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered. Ms. Koch also has hands-on experience in disaster recovery. She volunteered in the Hurricane Sandy relief effort and led nationwide letter-writing campaigns to encourage disaster survivors in Japan and the Philippines. Ms. Koch is founder and executive director of LeadersLink, the first organization to harness and share elected officials' disaster lessons learned to help other communities better prevent, prepare for and recover from similar crises.

 

Kenneth T. LaPensee

Kenneth T. LaPensee PhD, MPH, has pursued a career in private industry for more than 30 years that has encompassed epidemiological and clinical research in therapy areas ranging from oncology and antibiotics to mental illness. He has served as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy (JMCP) specializing in the review of epidemiological, public health-related, and health care system-related journal submissions. For LernerMedia/LMG he has served as an expert author and/or advisor on a number of critically acclaimed books.

 

Christopher Lawrence

Christopher Lawrence is an author, professor of the history of medicine at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London , and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Dr. Lawrence is a contributing advisor for Scientific Thought: In Context and was editor along with Steven Shapin at Harvard of Science Incarnate: Historical Embodiments of Natural Knowledge (University Of Chicago Press, 1998)

 

Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner

Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, J.D., served as co-editor for volumes on the Environment; Gender Issues and Sexuality; Human and Civil Rights; Government, Politics, and Protest; and Immigration and Multiculturalism. Ms. Lerner is the Director, Pre-Law and an instructor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Florida. Prior to taking a post at UNL she worked as an author, editor, certified archaeologist, and an attorney in private practice as well as an Adjunct Professor at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, FL. She has taught courses at undergraduate, graduate, and law school level on topics including the U.S. Supreme Court, American Legal System, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, International Human Rights, Gender and the Law, Art Law, and Intellectual Property Licensing. Ms. Lerner served as graduate instructor in communications at Vanderbilt University, where she was also a University Fellow (2000-2002) and a Summer Fellow for the Vanderbilt Program in Social and Political Thought (2001). She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oglethorpe University where she was named as Outstanding Honors Student and received the Leo Bilanco Award for Outstanding History Graduate (co-recipient). (bio updated March 2017). Ms. Lerner is also the editor of several books including Global Viewpoints: Freedom of Expression and has written extensively on a range of legal, social, and science policy issues for a number of academic books.

 

Alicia Cafferty Lerner

Alicia Cafferty Lerner is an independent author and editor. A graduate of University College, Dublin, Ireland (M.A.) and Auburn University, she is a member of Sigma Tau Delta, the National English Honors Society. In addition to independently editing a series of books on global issues for younger students, Ms. Cafferty contributed to a number of Lerner & Lerner / LMG projects.

 

René Lynn

René Lynn, Department of Communications, San Antonio Independent School District. San Antonio, Texas. A graduate of the University of Texas School of Journalism, René Lynn is former journalist and media commentator who now works as a representative of the San Antonio Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas.

 

Lois N. Magner

Lois N. Magner, Professor Emerita of History, Purdue University. Professor Magner is the author of A History of Medicine.

 

Nancy E. Masters

Nancy E. Masters is a Distinguished Member in the International Association for Identification and a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Forensic Identification. She also serves as a Fellow of the Fingerprint Society of Great Britain. In 2004, the International Association for Identification awarded Masters the IAI’s highest honor, John A. Dondero Memorial Award.

 

Elisa Rennie

Elisa Rennie is a member of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Covering an array of global issues, she continue to serve as an independent copyeditor for international news and academic resource platforms. As degree candidate at Harvard University, she helps teach grammar and expository writing. A best-selling author. Her fiction writing is published under a nom de plume.
 

Rebecca De Los Rios

Rebecca De Los Rios was a senior advisor at the Pan American Health Organization, the Regional Office of the World Health Organization for the Americas (PAHO/WHO), and is a specialist in international public health issues. She was a leader in mainstreaming gender as an important criteria into public health policies, programs and interventions. As Head of the PAHO/WHO Research Grant Program, she designed and implemented the Multi-center Research Networks. As a PAHO/WHO Senior Advisor on International Cooperation, she had a leadership role in the formulation and adoption of the PAHO/WHO Policy on Cooperation for Health Development and the establishment of the PAHO/WHO knowledge exchange and peer learning platform to promote cooperation among countries.

 

 

Anna Marie Roos

Anna Marie Roos is an author and Research Associate at the Wellcome Trust Unit for the History of Medicine at Oxford University. She has previously served as a Visiting Fellow, Wellcome Trust Unit for the History and Understanding of Medicine and as an Associate Professor in the Department of History at University of Minnesota. She holds a Ph.D. in History and a B.A. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. In addition to writing on contemporary topics regarding culture and medicine, she has published extensively in the history of science including Luminaries in the Natural World: The Sun and the Moon in England, 1400-1720 (Peter Lang, 2001) and The Salt of the Earth : Natural Philosophy, Medicine, and Chymistry in England, 1650-1750 (Brill Academic Pubishers, 2007).

 

Joachim Schummer

Joachim Schummer, Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Karlsruhe, Germany, has served as a Lecturer and Research Fellow, University of Karlsruhe; Visiting Professor, University of South Carolina; Heisenberg Fellow, Technical University of Darmstadt; Visiting Fellow, Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University; and Visiting Professor, University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Writing on a range of topics from chemical warfare to environmental pollution, he was co-editor of The Public Image of Chemistry (World Scientific Publishing, Singapore, 2007). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology (Berkeley Electronic, CA, USA)

 

Yavor Shopov

Yavor Shopov is Professor of Geology & Geophysics University of Sofia, Bulgaria , Dr. Sopov has served as President, Commission on Physical Chemistry and Hydrogeology of Karst, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO).

 

Colette St. Clair

As a Managing Editor, Colette St. Clair represents LMGlobal in both Paris and Washington, D.C.. Ms. St. Clair manages project development and production in French-speaking areas of the world. A former journalist based in Paris and Washington, D.C., she produces both French and English news for an array of international media clients, including France24, Canal+, TF. and Radio France Internationale

 

Matthew Stanley

Matthew Stanley, a 2006-2007 Member of the School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University is also an Assistant Professor, Department of History Program in the History of Technology and Science at Iowa State University.

 

Constance K. Stein

Constance K. Stein, Associate Professor, SUNY Upstate Medical University. Syracuse, New York. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Dr. Stein is an Associate Professor, Pathology and Director of Cytogenetics, Assistant Director of Molecular Diagnostics, SUNY Upstate Medical University. Syracuse, New York.

 

Michael J Sullivan

Michael J Sullivan is Director of the Children’s Cancer Research Group, Christ Church School of Medicine University of Otago Christchurch, New Zealand. A former Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics, Dr. Sullivan (FRACP DCH PhD) has also written on a variety of medical topics for general audiences.

 

John (Jack) P. Woodall

John (Jack) P. Woodall (1935-2106). Director, Nucleus for the Investigation of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1998-2008. Jack Woodall is a graduate of Cambridge University and received his Ph.D. from the world-renowned London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London University. He served at the East African Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda; as director of the Rockefeller Foundation Belem Virus Laboratory in Brazil; as a Research Fellow at the Yale Arbovirus Research Unit, and then head of the Arbovirus Laboratory, New York State Health before being appointed director of the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) San Juan Laboratories in Puerto Rico. In 1981, he moved to the World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland, first in the Laboratory Unit, and then as Epidemiologist in the Division of Health Statistics. On retirement from WHO, Dr. Woodall he returned to direct the Arbovirus Laboratory for the New York State Health Department. In 1998 he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he is still based. Dr. Woodall has also served as a member of the WHO Gulf Emergency Task Force in support of the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) in Iraq; Leader of the WHO delegation to the Third Review Conference on the Biological Weapons Convention; and as editor of various publications for PAHO, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Dr. Woodall was a co-founder of ProMED-mail, the online global outbreak early warning system of the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), where he continues as Associate Editor. He is a member of the Biological Weapons Working Group of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Washington DC, and Board member, Sabin Vaccine Institute, Washington DC. Update: Jack Woodall, pioneer in the field of infectious diseases surveillance, was born on Jan 13, 1935, in Tianjin, China. He died on Oct 24, 2016, in Esher, Surrey, UK. Lancet Obit, Stat Obit

AP Teacher Advisors

 

 

Michael Bolsoni

Michael Bolsoni, an advisor for Human Geography: People and the Environment, began teaching AP Human Geography in 2001, the first year the national test was offered.  He has 13 years of teaching experience at the School of Environmental Studies and has traveled with students across the globe.  He is a content expert for the Kaplan AP Human Geography Guide and was an AP exam reader for several years. Mr. Bolsoni is currently an Assistant Principal in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public School District.

 

Linda L. Hammon

Linda L. Hammon, M.Ed., an advisor for Human Geography: People and the Environment, has more than 28 years experience teaching geography, including both 9th-grade Pre-AP Geography and AP Human Geography at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas.  She is currently teaching Cultural Geography, as an Adjunct Lecturer, at Texas State University in San Marcos. A consultant with the College Board for the last twelve years, she has also served as a reader for the APHG exam the last six years.  In 1993, she received the National Council for Geographic Education Distinguished Teaching Award.

 

Kelly W. Swanson

Kelly W. Swanson, an advisor for Human Geography: People and the Environment, teaches geography at Johnson Senior High School and Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota. In addition to his teaching work, Mr. Swanson serves on the standing committees of the United States Department of Education National Assessment in Educational Progress (NAEP) geography and the Praxis Geography committee.Author of the Kaplan AP Human Geography Guide, Mr. Swanson is an active member of the Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education (MAGE) and has spoken around the world on geographic issues and projects.

 

Ann Elizabeth Linsley

Ann Elizabeth Linsley, a College Board Southwest Region Distinguished Teacher (2006) and advisor for Human Geography: People and the Environment, is a teacher at Bellaire High School in the Houston Independent School District. With 25 years of experience teaching human and physical geography in PreAP, AP, and IB programs, Ms. Linsley is a teacher consultant for the College Board in AP Human Geography. In addition to serving as an AP Human Geography exam reader and table leader since 1999, Ms. Linley was a PolarTrec teacher to Antarctica (2007), NGS Teacher Fellow (2008) and a NOAA "Teacher in the Field." Ms. Linsley also serves as a teacher consultant for the National Geographic Society and the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education.

 

 

Past Editorial Interns

Shaquilla T. Harrigan 

Shaquilla T. Harrigan, is a graduate of Harvard College (Class 2016). Ms. Harrigann served as a paid summer editorial intern for LMG, offering key contributions to the production of  Human Geography: People and the Environment.

 

Adeline Wilmoth Lerner

Adeline Wilmoth Lerner (Ellie Lerner) studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and is a graduate of Auburn University.  After serving an internship at ZGF in Portland, she took a Masters's in  landscape architecture at North Carolina State University.  Ms. Lerner served as a paid summer editorial intern for LMG, with a primary focus on image selection offering for a range of science and factual projects.

 

%B lernermediagobal.co.uk %I LMG %C London Paris Cambridge %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2019 %T CDC Halts Research at Top U.S. Bioweapons Defense Lab %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Washington -- Officials at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Md. have temporarily suspended all biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) and biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) operations. USAMRIID conducts research into defensive countermeasures against biological warfare and is the only Department of Defense laboratory equipped to conduct research with the world's most lethal biological agents. 

After conducting on-site inspections in June, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) inspectors determined that USAMRIID labs failed to meet biosafety standards In July, the CDC issued a "cease and desist" order that suspended USAMRIID'S registration with the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP). Without FASP certification, labs are not allowed to possess or handle disease-causing select agents nor conduct toxins research. 

(more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N August 6 %0 Journal Article %D 2019 %T Journal: Selected Commentary, Features, and Photoessays by K. Lee Lerner %A K.Lee Lerner %X

"Journal" is a mix of professional and personal photos. In addition to working in some of Earth's most beautiful and challenging environments, access to restricted sites and the opportunity to work quietly in venues normally crowded with tourists is a cherished facet of LMG work. 

While representative, there is no attempt to create a detailed diary, per se. In general, personal photos taken while living/working in London, Paris, Provence, Italy, Cambridge/Harvard, Washington, Texas, and along the Gulf Coast are not included. (See Life Bits and other albums). Archival family photos are maintained in a select--access album. 

I have exercised editorial discretion with regard to publishing photos, especially for a diverse audience. In many cases, prior and existing confidentiality agreements limit what I can post, or require that I publish only excerpts of work in captions and associated stories. 

I carry a camera primarily to document and storyboard -- but I attempt to adhere to the ethical standards articulated by the National Press Photographers Association. Accordingly, news photos and video are unstaged and I attempt to remain unobtrusive and not alter the natural action of the subjects. Post-processing is limited to (1) cropping and rectifying (adjusting horizon lines) that does not alter meaning or essential context; (2) minor adjustments in exposure and lighting settings to enhance details without radically altering composition or natural colors; and (3) desaturating color photos to create black and white photos. 

©LMG. Except as noted, photos by K. Lee Lerner. All rights reserved.

%G eng %U https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10206340635690814&type=3 %0 Journal Article %J Thomson | Gale %D 2018 %T K. Lee Lerner, contributing editor of articles and books in the Macmillan Reference Library %X

As part of their continuous updating of the Gale Science In Context Resource Center (formerly the Gale Science Resource Center) since 2003, K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner have extensively updated and revised multiple online editions of books in the Macmillan Reference Library.

%B Thomson | Gale %I Macmillan Publishing 2003- %V Online editions %G eng %N 2013-2018 %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2018 %T Around the World, Women and Children Shoulder a Disproportionate Burden of the Pain and Suffering Caused by Disease, Disorder, and Dogma. [Photo Essay] %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Around the world, women and children shoulder a disproportionate burden of the pain and suffering caused by disease, disorder, and dogma. The struggle for women's rights is a struggle for human rights… [Photo Essay] (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N August %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2018 %T Move over, M! America now has its first-ever woman DCI %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Based on her intelligence, experience, demeanor, and capacity, I think Gina Haspel is the right person to be CIA Director. I was impressed with her testimony during confirmation hearings. I agree with her that "the C.I.A.'s post-Sept. 11 interrogation program " did damage to our officers and our standing in the world. " 

I do not equivocate on denouncing torture. Torture is the resort of the unskilled interrogator, the desperate, the sadistic and the cruel. I do not defend the policy of implementing Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT) post 9/11, nor rendition (all renditions are, btw, extraordinary) to black sites, but I understand why they were implemented. 

Arguments about their effectiveness are to me moot because, as I have written, in the long run torture does far more harm to the torturer. It should never be U.S. policy. 

As to the role DCI Haspel in running a black site prison while EITs were in practice. At the time, EITs were the law, and EITS were not considered torture. One can debate how severe or mild the EITs werecompared to other forms of torture routinely practiced in other parts of the world, but that begins to defend EITs in I ways I personally do not wish to defend them. It is straightforward enough to assert that they were the law and sanctioned by the DOJ as part of the post-9/11 reaction of a desperate, hurting, fearful and angry nation. 

While EITs were policy it was the CIA and officers within the CIA who led the push-back against use of EITs and lobbied for a reversal of DOJ policy and their eventual discard.

<download to read more>

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/move-over-m-america-now-has-its-first-ever-woman-dci/ %N May 18 %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Introductory Chemistry I and II (Advisory roles) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %E LMG-Staff %X

Advisors for Introductory college-level undergraduate courses and/or supplemental resources in Inorganic (Introductory) Chemistry I and II (online).

In partnership with subject matter experts, editors, instructors, and compliance experts.  at Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning, LMG's editorial teams contributed to the initial  development of prototype fully customizable undergraduate introductory courses in chemistry. 

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U http://www.intelluslearning.com/opencourses/courselist/ %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Microeconomics %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Macroeconomics is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Welcome to Economics!; Choice in a World of Scarcity; Demand and Supply; Labor and Financial Markets; Elasticity; Consumer Choices; Production, Costs, and Industry Structure; Perfect Competition; Monopoly; Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly; Monopoly and Antitrust Policy; Environmental Protection and Negative Externalities; Positive Externalities and Public Goods; Labor Markets and Income; Poverty and Economic Inequality; Information, Risk, and Insurance; Financial Markets; Public Economy; International Trade; Globalization and Protectionism.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforprinciplesofmicroeconomics(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Macroeconomics %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Macroeconomics is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Welcome to Economics; Choice in a World of Scarcity; Demand and Supply; Labor and Financial Markets; Elasticity; The Macroeconomic Perspective; Economic Growth; Unemployment; Inflation; The International Trade and Capital Flows; The Aggregate Demand/Aggregate Supply Model; The Keynesian Perspective; The Neoclassical Perspective; Money and Banking; Monetary Policy and Bank Regulation; Exchange Rates and International Capital Flows; Government Budgets and Fiscal Policy; The Impacts of Government Borrowing; Macroeconomic Policy Around the World; International Trade; Globalization and Protectionism.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforprinciplesofmacroeconomics(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellusAn introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource. (online) Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by L %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Environmental Science %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource suitable for both science and non-science majors. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Environmental Science is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. , Environmental Science draws science content from multiple disciplines and fuses emerging theories of sustainability with contemporary public policy issues. Topics include: Humanity and the Environment; The Evolution of Environmental Policy in the United States; Climate and Global Change; Biosphere; Conservation Biology and Biodiversity; Ecosystems and the Biosphere; Ecosystems; Population and Community Ecology; Water, Pollution, and Minerals; Environmental and Resource Economics; Modern Environmental Management; Sustainable Energy Systems; Problem-Solving, Metrics, and Tools for Sustainability; Ethics, Culture, and History; Sustainable Infrastructure

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforintroductiontoenvironmentalscience(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Microbiology %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for Biology majors and students concentrating in health sciences. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Microbiology is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: An Invisible World / How We See the Invisible World; The Cell; Prokaryotic Diversity; The Eukaryotes of Microbiology; Acellular Pathogens; Microbial Biochemistry; Microbial Metabolism; Microbial Growth; Biochemistry of the Genome; Mechanisms of Microbial Genetics; Modern Applications of Microbial Genetics; Control of Microbial Growth; Antimicrobial Drugs; Microbial Mechanisms of Pathogenicity / Disease and Epidemiology; Innate Nonspecific Host Defenses; Adaptive Specific Host Defenses; Diseases of the Immune System / Laboratory Analysis of the Immune Response; Skin and Eye Infections / Respiratory System Infections; Urogenital System Infections / Digestive System Infections; Circulatory and Lymphatic System Infections / Nervous System Infections; and Useful Information and Resources.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseformicrobiology(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus#tab %0 Generic %D 2018 %T College Biology for Non-Majors %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, College Biology for Non-majors is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Introduction to Biology; Chemistry of Life; Cell Structure and Function; How Cells Obtain Energy; Photosynthesis; Reproduction at the Cellular Level; The Cellular Basis of Inheritance; Patterns of Inheritance; Molecular Biology; Biotechnology; Evolution and Its Processes; Diversity of Life; Diversity of Microbes, Fungi, and Protists; Diversity of Plants; Diversity of Animals; The Body's Systems; The Immune system and Disease; Animal Reproduction and Development; Population and Community Ecology; andEcosystems and the Biosphere; Conservation and Biodiversity.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforbiologyfornon-majors(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus/tableofcontents#tab %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Introductory Psychology %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Introductory Psychology is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Introduction to Psychology; Psychological Research; Biopsychology; States of Consciousness; Sensation and Perception; Learning; Thinking and Intelligence; Memory; Lifespan Development; Emotion and Motivation; Personality; Social Psychology; Industrial-Organizational Psychology; Stress, Lifestyle, and Health; Psychological Disorders; and Therapy and Treatment.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforintroductorypsychology(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T U.S. History II (Second Semester) %E Adrienne W. Lerner %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

A college-level undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource (including extensive primary source material) providing an overview of the history of the United States. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, United States History II (Second Semester) is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Go West Young Man! Westward; Expansion, 1840-1900; Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business, 1870-1900; The Growing Pains of Urbanization, 1870-1900; Politics in the Gilded Age, 1870-1900; The Progressive Movement, 1890-1920; American Foreign Policy, 1890-1914; Americans and the Great War, 1914-1919; Redefining the Nation, 1919-1929; Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? The Great Depression, 1929-1932; Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1941; Fighting the Good Fight in World War II, 1941-1945; Post-War Prosperity and Cold War Fears, 1945-1960; America in the 1960s; Political Storms at Home and Abroad, 1968-1980; From Cold War to Culture Wars, 1980-2000; and The Challenges of the Twenty-First Century.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforunitedstateshistoryii(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T U.S. History I (First Semester) %E Adrienne W. Lerner %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

A college-level undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource (including extensive primary source material) providing an overview of the history of the United States. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, United States History I (First Semester) is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: The Americas, Europe, and Africa Before 1492; The Atlantic World, 1492–1650; Colonial Societies, 1500–1700; Rule Britannia! The English Empire, 1660–1763; Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774; America's War for Independence, 1775-1783; Creating Republican Governments, 1776–1790; The New Republic, 1790–1820; Industrial Transformation in the North, 1800–1850; Jacksonian Democracy, 1820–1840; Westward Expansion, 1800–1860; The Antebellum South, 1800–1860; Antebellum Idealism and Reform Impulses, 1820–1860; The Tumultuous 1850s; The Civil War, 1860–1865; The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforunitedstateshistoryi(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Introductory Astronomy %E K.Lee Lerner %E Lerner, Brenda Wimoth %E Elisabeth Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Introductory Astronomy is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: The Birth of Astronomy; Orbits and Gravity; Earth, Moon, and Sky; An Introduction to the Solar System; Cratered Worlds; Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System; Venus and Mars; The Giant Planets; Debris of the Solar System; Nuclear Powerhouse; Analyzing Starlight; Radiation and Spectra; Astronomical Instruments; A Celestial Census; Celestial Distances; Gas, and Dust in Space; The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets Outside the Solar System; Stars from Adolescence to Old Age; The Death of Stars; Black Holes and Curved Spacetime; The Milky Way Galaxy; Galaxies; The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies; Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes; The Big Bang; and Life in the Universe.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforintroductoryastronomy(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T College Biology II (Second Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Lee Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for intended for Biology majors and Pre-Meds, (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, College Biology for Majors II (Second Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Introduction to Animal Diversity; Invertebrates; Vertebrates; Basic Form and Function; Animal Nutrition and the Digestive System; The Nervous System / The Endocrine System; Sensory Systems / The Musculoskeletal System; The Circulatory System / The Respiratory System; The Immune System; Osmotic Regulation and Excretion; Animal Reproduction and Development; Seedless Plants; Seed Plants; Plant Form and Physiology; Plant Reproduction; Soil and Plant Nutrition; Ecology and the Biosphere; Population and Community Ecolog; Ecosystems; Conservation Biology and Biodiversity; and Useful Information and Resources

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforintroductiontomajorsbiology-2ndsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T College Biology I (First Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Lee Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for intended for Biology majors and Pre-Meds, (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, College Biology for Majors I (First Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: The Study of Life; The Chemical Foundation of Life / Biological Macromolecules; Cell Structure; Structure and Function of Plasma Membranes; Metabolism; Cellular Respiration; PhotosynthesisCell Communication; Cell Reproduction / Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction; Mendel's Experiments and Heredity / Modern Understandings of Inheritance; DNA Structure and Function; Genes and Proteins; Gene Expression; Biotechnology and Genomics; Evolution and the Origin of Species; The Evolution of Populations; Phylogenies and the History of Life; Viruses; Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea; Protists / Fungi; and Useful Information and Resources.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforintroductiontomajorsbiology-1stsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T College Physics II (Second Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elizabeth Lee Rennie %X

An algebra-based undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for introductory physics intended for Pre-Meds and other majors not requiring calculus-based physics. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner, who also served as an instructor and curriculum designer, and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, College Physics II (Second Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Electric Charge and Electric Field; Electric Potential and Electric Field; Electric Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law; Circuits and DC Instruments; Magnetism; Electromagnetic Induction, AC Circuits, and Electrical Technologies; Electromagnetic Waves; Geometric Optics; Vision and Optical Instruments; Wave Optics; Special Relativity; Introduction to Quantum Physics; Atomic Physics; Radioactivity and Nuclear Physics; Medical Applications of Nuclear Physics; Particle Physics; Frontiers of Physics; and Useful Information and Resources

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforcollegephysics-2ndsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T College Physics I (First Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elizabeth Lee Rennie %X

 An algebra-based undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for introductory physics intended for Pre-Meds and other majors not requiring calculus-based physics. (online) 

Produced by K. Lee Lerner, who also served as an instructor and curriculum designer, and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, College Physics I (First Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: The Nature of Science and Physics; Kinematics; Two-Dimensional Kinematics; Force and Newton's Laws of Motion; Friction, Drag, and Elasticity; Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation; Work, Energy, and Energy Resources; Linear Momentum and Collisions; Statics and Torque; Rotational Motion and Angular Momentum; Fluid Statics; Fluid Dynamics and Its Biological and Medical Applications; Temperature, Kinetic Theory, and the Gas Laws; Heat and Heat Transfer Methods; Thermodynamics; Oscillatory Motion and Waves; Physics of Hearing; and Useful Information and Resources.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforcollegephysics-1stsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T University Physics III (Third Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Lee Rennie %X

A calculus-based undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for science and engineering majors. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner, who also served as an instructor and curriculum designer, and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, University Physics III (Third Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Oscillations; Waves; SoundThe Nature of Light; Geometric Optics and Image Formation; Interference; Diffraction; Relativity; Photons and Matter Waves; Quantum Mechanics; Atomic Structure; Condensed Matter Physics; Nuclear Physics; Particle Physics and Cosmology; and Useful Information and Resources

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %0 Generic %D 2018 %T University Physics II (Second Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Lee Rennie %X

A calculus-based undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for science and engineering majors. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner, who also served as an instructor and curriculum designer, and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, University Physics II (Second Semester) is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Electric Charges and Fields, Gauss's Law, Electric Potential, Capacitance, Current and Resistance, Direct-Current Circuits, Magnetic Forces and Fields, Sources of Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetic Induction, Inductance, Alternating-Current Circuits, Electromagnetic Waves, and Useful Information and Resources.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforuniversityphysics-2ndsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T University Physics I (First Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E Lerner, Brenda Wimoth %E Elisabeth Lee Rennie %X

A calculus-based undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for science and engineering majors. (online). 

Produced by K. Lee Lerner, who also served as an instructor and curriculum designer, and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, University Physics I (First Semester) is a fully customizable undergraduate course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: Units and Measurement, Vectors, Motion Along a Straight Line, Motion in Two and Three Dimensions, Newton's Laws of Motion, Applications of Newton's Laws, Work and Kinetic Energy, Potential Energy and Conservation of Energy, Linear Momentum and Collisions, Fixed-Axis Rotation, Angular Momentum, Static Equilibrium and Elasticity, Gravitation, Fluid Mechanics, Temperature and Heat, The Kinetic Theory of Gases, The First Law of Thermodynamics, The Second Law of Thermodynamics, and Useful Information and Resources.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforuniversityphysics-1stsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Human Anatomy and Physiology II (Second Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Lee Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for Human Anatomy and Physiology intended for Pre-Meds, Biology majors, and students concentrating in health sciences. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Human Anatomy and Physiology II (Second Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: The Endocrine System, Blood, The Heart, Blood Vessels and Circulation, The Lymphatic and Immune System, The Respiratory System, The Digestive System, Metabolism and Nutrition, The Urinary System, Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance, The Reproductive System, Development and Inheritance, Useful Information and Resources.

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforanatomyandphysiology-2ndsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Generic %D 2018 %T Human Anatomy and Physiology I (First Semester) %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elisabeth Lee Rennie %X

An introductory undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource for Human Anatomy and Physiology intended for Pre-Meds, Biology majors, and students concentrating in health sciences. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, Human Anatomy and Physiology I (First Semester) is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: An Introduction to the Human Body, The Chemical Level of Organization, The Cellular Level of Organization, The Tissue Level of Organization, The Integumentary System, Bone Tissue and the Skeletal System, Axial Skeleton, The Appendicular Skeleton, Joints, Muscle Tissue, The Muscular System, The Nervous System and Nervous Tissue, Anatomy of the Nervous System, The Somatic Nervous System, The Autonomic Nervous System, The Neurological Exam

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforanatomyandphysiology-1stsemester(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus/tableofcontents#tab %0 Generic %D 2018 %T American Government %E Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %E Elizabeth Rennie %E Joseph Patterson Hyder %X

A college-level undergraduate course and/or supplemental resource (including extensive primary source material) providing an overview of the history, structure, and function of American government. (online)

Produced by K. Lee Lerner and curated by LMG's academic subject-matter experts and editorial teams, American Government is a fully customizable college-level course crafted in partnership with Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning editors, instructors, and compliance experts. Topics include: American Government and Civic Engagement, The Constitution and Its Origins, American Federalism,Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, The Politics of Public Opinion, Voting and Elections, The Media, Political Parties, Interest Groups and Lobbying, Congress, The Presidency, The Courts, State and Local Government, The Bureaucracy, Domestic Policy, Foreign Policy. 

%B Intellus Learning and Macmillan Learning. %G eng %U https://www.macmillanlearning.com/Catalog/product/intellusopencourseforamericangovernment(sixmonthsaccess)-firstedition-intellus %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2017 %T Patriots Proved on Inauguration Day %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Inauguration Day for the next President of the United States is a time when patriots are separated from the merely partisan. Once every four years, patriots set aside their partisan differences to celebrate a peaceful transition of the Presidency in the world's most powerful nation. We are called to show respect for the office, if not for the office holder. In so doing, we show respect for America, we embrace our Constitution, and our best hopes. We show respect for our fellow citizens and ourselves. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (Lodon, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2017 %T The Bear Gets a BOGO: The ICA on Russian Meddling in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

For those of you wondering why I recently took an impassioned interest in defending the Electoral College, the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA)  from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Russian meddling in the recent U.S. elections explains my combative stance. 

Whether intending to elect or defeat a foreign candidate or cause, influencing elections is an old game played globally by both Russian and U.S. intelligence agencies. Destabilizing institutions and reducing confidence in government are often key components. The ICA acknowledges that "Russia, like its Soviet predecessor, has a history of conducting covert influence campaigns focused on U.S. presidential elections" and that recent efforts, including "press placements to disparage candidates perceived as hostile to the Kremlin" were an escalated use of existing techniques.

For many us familiar with Russian tradecraft, the Bear's paw prints were abundant and easily visible months before the election.

Omitting classified supporting evidence that would reveal methods and sources, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA) cooperated to draft the ICA. Their joint conclusion -- based on evidence known by 29 December 2016 and offered with generally high confidence  -- was that Russian hacking, along with propaganda and disinformation efforts (including the creation and dissemination of fake news), were undertaken with the direct knowledge and approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials. The Russian effort, initially designed to "denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency" and eventually included efforts to "help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him" (about this last assertion, the NSA offered only moderate versus high confidence).

The Russian effort was part of a continuing and "longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order" by undermining "public faith in the U.S. democratic process."  (continued... (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (Lodon, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25 %D 2017 %T Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevail %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Auburn, Alabama — The most recent political football propelled a playful piece I wrote a few years back about about the differences between college and pro ball into the top 1% in terms of Academia readership within the last 30 days. 

Yet again, President Trump is able to manipulate media coverage and lead the unwashed about using division and diversion. Normally I'd just be amused, but we have fellow citizens in real peril in Puerto Rico, brave men and women in our Armed Forces poised on the brink of war with North Korea (fault for which spreads across administrations and decades), and there still no bipartisan effort to fix costs and coverage problems with health care. 

The Republic cracks under the tectonic tensions created by a right played as puppets by a lout-in-chief and a left devoted to polluting their own well by weakening, defaming, and destroying the best hope to defend and advance progressive enlightenment in a dangerous world. 

A feverish madness is now epidemic across the political spectrum. 
Instead of tackling important issues we have collectively engaged in reality television-like pedestrian spectacle across a number of issues. We continue to do so at peril to valid concerns (of both Left and Right) and the Republic itself. 

For me the solution is clear:  Stand (both literally and physically) beside those who kneel.

Peaceful protest is a fundamental First Amendment right secured with the American blood and treasure since the founding of the Republic. No matter how distasteful the display (whether kneeling or burning flags), patriots do not fear peaceful protest, and in fact protect the right to protest precisely when it is most uncomfortable or incompatible with their views. Protestors can do no injury to the memory or sacrifice of soldiers, but we can squander their sacrifice by seeking to compel behavior deemed as patriotic.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25 %D 2017 %T Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevailLerner, K. Lee. Stand beside those who kneel. First Amendment rights in the U.S. must prevail. Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25, 2017 %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Auburn, Alabama — The most recent political football propelled a playful piece I wrote a few years back about about the differences between college and pro ball into the top 1% in terms of Academia readership within the last 30 days. 

Yet again, President Trump is able to manipulate media coverage and lead the unwashed about using division and diversion. Normally I'd just be amused, but we have fellow citizens in real peril in Puerto Rico, brave men and women in our Armed Forces poised on the brink of war with North Korea (fault for which spreads across administrations and decades), and there still no bipartisan effort to fix costs and coverage problems with health care. 

The Republic cracks under the tectonic tensions created by a right played as puppets by a lout-in-chief and a left devoted to polluting their own well by weakening, defaming, and destroying the best hope to defend and advance progressive enlightenment in a dangerous world. 

A feverish madness is now epidemic across the political spectrum. 
Instead of tackling important issues we have collectively engaged in reality television-like pedestrian spectacle across a number of issues. We continue to do so at peril to valid concerns (of both Left and Right) and the Republic itself. 

For me the solution is clear:  Stand (both literally and physically) beside those who kneel.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge), September 25 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2017 %T Cambridge, Mass. — Harvard President Defends and Demands Free Speech %A K.Lee Lerner %X

It was grey, raining, and cool in Cambridge yesterday during Harvard's 366th Commencement, but Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust was on fire. Her Annual Report to the Alumni Association turned into a brave, brilliant, soaring -- and I hope game changing — defense of free speech and the role of the universities in both protecting and nurturing free speech on campus. 

Once again, Harvard sets the standard, and those who have shown intellectual cowardice on this issue should feel great shame. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N May %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World Heath And Global issues . Cengage | Worldmark %D 2016 %T Smallpox Eradication and Storage of Infectious Agents %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The eradication of smallpox is considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century. Specimens of smallpox virus are, however, still officially held in the United States and Russia.

 

Samples of variola DNA may also be recoverable from old medical samples, such as the century-old smallpox scabs discovered in an envelope tucked in a 19th century medical textbook in a New Mexico library in 2004. In 2014, U.S. official found more smallpox samples in a storage room on the National Institutes for Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared smallpox eradicated in 1980. The last confirmed naturally occurring smallpox case was in 1977/ Ali Maow Maalin, a hospital employee in Merca, Somalia, survived his bout with smallpox.

 

Following eradication, the World Health Organization requested that all laboratories in the world either destroy their smallpox virus stocks or transfer them to one of two reference laboratories, the Institute of Viral Preparations in Moscow or the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. The stocks of the Institute of Viral Preparations were transferred in 1994 to the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology of the Russian Federation in Siberia, now the WHO Collaborating Centre for Orthopoxvirus Diagnostics. (download to read more)

%B (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World Heath And Global issues . Cengage | Worldmark %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World Heath And Global issues . Cengage | Worldmark %D 2016 %T SARS, MERS, and the emergence of corona viruses %A K.Lee Lerner %X Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first viral highly transmissible emergent disease to appear among humans during the twenty-first century. Caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV), SARS is far more lethal than the pandemic 2009 H1N1 flu (caused by a Type A H1N1 influenza virus). Although less lethal than the H5N1 avian flu virus, the SARS virus is more transmissible among humans than the H5N1 virus. In 2012, a novel human coronavirus, now called Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), emerged in the Middle East to cause fatal human infections. MERS-CoV human infection is similar to SARS-CoV in having a high fatality rate and the ability to spread from person to person which resulted in secondary cases among close contacts including healthcare workers without travel history to the Middle East. Both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV viruses also have close genetic and physiological relationships with known bat coronaviruses. (download to read moe) %B (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World Heath And Global issues . Cengage | Worldmark %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2016 %T Washington — Is "American exceptionalism" now hubris? [February 2016] %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Washington --- Is "American exceptionalism" now hubris?

With socioeconomic indicators regarding quality-of-life issues portraying America as far from first, with America's civil discourse corrupted by the shameful shouting exhibitions in the Republican primaries, with Americans —both left and right -- increasingly drawn toward polarizing populist movements, and with American exceptionalism increasingly scorned globally --or cast in a negative light as an implicitly interventionist creed--a number of pieces recently published in the BBC and elsewhere have essentially asked, "is 'American exceptionalism' hubris?"   [more]

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %D 2016 %T Daesh (aka, Islamic State, ISIS, and/or ISIL) Use of Chemical Weapons in Iraq Raises Questions About Source %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently confirmed that laboratory tests of samples taken following Daesh attacks on Kurdish forces southwest of Erbil in August 2015 tested positive for sulphur mustard. (see Reuters dispatch by Anthony Deutsch, "Exclusive: Samples confirm Islamic State used mustard gas in Iraq - diplomat" < http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0VO1IC >)

Reuters reported that a OPCCW representative "speaking on condition of anonymity because the findings have not yet been released, said the result confirmed that chemical weapons had been used by Islamic State fighters."
This is the second documented use by Daesh/ISIS forces following tests that confirmed use of mustard gas by Daesh/ISIS forces in Syria.

As the Reuters dispatch also points out, the precursors and technology to make these weapons are easy enough to find or create in oil producing regions, and so it is possible ISIS is developing them de novo. More ominous would be if new weapons are be created from remnants of Syria’s former stockpile because it would mean faulty accounting for the weapons supposedly dismantled under international supervision back in 2014.

The Syrian stockpile was allegedly dismantled under international supervision as part of a deal to avoid potential US/UN intervention following the use of Sarin nerve gas by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against a rebellious area near Damascus in 2013. Assad denied he authorized use of chemical weapons. (more)

%G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2016 %T Monroeville, Alabama — Go Set a Watchman %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Monroeville, Alabama -- I have many doubts and concerns over the formulation and publication of "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee, but the release could not come at a better time. 

If we are to accept that the Atticus Finch found in "Go Set a Watchman" is not a discarded draft never intended for publication, but rather a deeper look into a more complex character, then the evolved 

I have many doubts and concerns over the formulation and publication of "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee, but the release could not come at a better time. 

If we are to accept that the Atticus Finch found in "Go Set a Watchman" is not a discarded draft never intended for publication, but rather a deeper look into a
more complex character, then the evolved.

Atticus Finch, formerly a respected paragon of virtue (especially as played by Gregory Peck in the movie version), is by contemporary standards deeply flawed by racism. 

Are we now forced to reevaluate Ms. Lee's fictional hero just as we have collectively undergone a spasm of reevaluation of reevaluate symbols and causes related to the Confederacy?

Was Atticus Finch a racist who should be condemned and stricken from study, or do we continue to laud him for overcoming ignorance, and at least during the events of Mockingbird — in a crucible of fire — for overcoming his own flaws to act honorably? 

Do we view him in the context of his times, or retroactively reinterpret him only by modern standards of enlightenment? 

I have always believed there is great value in studying the flaws of mankind and men —even fictional characters. All of us are flawed. All of us are diminished in some form by prejudice and bias. If a fictional character is to be realistic, he must struggle with imperfections and weaknesses.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds., Worldmark Global Health and Medicine Issues. Cengage %D 2016 %T Radiation Exposure %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Radiation exposure occurs any time that electromagnetic rays or fast-moving particles interacts with living tissue. Ionizing radiation is particularly damaging to tissue; examples include x rays, gamma radiation, and fast-moving subatomic particles such as neutrons. Biological damage caused by exposure to ionizing ranges from mild tissue burns to cancer, genetic damage, and ultimately, death.

While radiation in the form of heat, visible light, and even ultraviolet light is essential to life, the word "radiation" is often used to refer only to those emissions which can damage or kill living things. Such harm is specifically attributed to radioactive particles as well as the electromagnetic rays with frequencies higher than visible light (ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays). Harmful electromagnetic radiation is also known as ionizing radiation because it strips atoms of one or more of their electrons, leaving highly reactive ions called free radicals which can damage tissue or genetic material. (more)

 
%B Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds., Worldmark Global Health and Medicine Issues. Cengage %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2016 %T Saint Amant, La. — Louisiana Floods: Bridging stereotype and stigma %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Saint Amant, La. — A slow-moving tropical system dumped record rains across southeast Louisiana, with some places reporting more than two feet of rain over a three-day period in mid-August 2016. Cresting floodwaters from several rivers eclipsed previous records. Federal disaster officials characterized the rainfall as "historic," and President Obama declared a "major disaster."

Water rose so fast in some areas that emergency services and shelters also needed quick evacuation. Rescue helicopters plucked people from rooftops and dropped water during the day to stranded motorists cut off by floodwaters as a ragtag fleet of volunteers with small fishing boats, airboats, and hunting canoes joined state and federal rescue efforts to save neighbors from fast-rising waters. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N August %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2015 %T Fort Davis, Texas — Dark skies help bind us to the cosmos %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The Cosmos reveals

a canvas of past starlight

under dark night skies,

Prometheus stole fire

now we obscure divine light

 

Fort Davis, Texas -- More than 80 percent of Americans and 60 percent of Europeans are no longer able to see the Milky Way at night. According to the recently published World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, about one third of all people in the world cannot see the diffuse light of the Milky Way in the night sky due to obscuring atmospheric pollution -- including light pollution -- that creates sky glow. (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N (Aoril) %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2015 %T Paris — French Police Raid Daesh Cell in Saint Denis Alleged Jihadi and Planner of Terror Attacks in Paris Dead %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Paris — A few hours before dawn, local French anti-terrorist police barricaded Place Jean Jaurès and streets located near the Basilica Saint Denis. They raided a suspected terrorist hideout located on Rue du Corbillon. Police met armed resistance. Initially there were two waves of gunfire and explosions spaced at about 15 minute intervals, then a long pause. Heavy firing resumed about three hours later. Just before dawn there were large explosions and multiple bursts of gunfire. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2015 %T Who sees with the eyes of hatred? Hate crimes and the murders in Charleston, June 2015. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Suffering stunned sorrow and anguish, it is tempting to try to understand the unspeakably vile murder of innocent worshipers in a Charleston church in terms of ready-made labels. Most of America, and the world at large, will be tempted to see this as white-on-black hate crime, and in terms of lingering racial hatreds in the South. If so, the analysis is already scripted.

Regardless the deranged murder's motives, close examination of his muddy justifications will be -- as hate often is -- ultimately unfathomable. The only suspect is Dylan Roof, a 21-year-old white male, his Facebook page has a photo of him sporting the flags of Rhodesia and apartheid-era South Africa, a period in history that ended just as the alleged killer was born. His young eyes seem filled with old hatreds. With a shooter so young, we are forced to collectively ask, "Who creates these monsters?"  <more>

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N June %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2014 %T Cambridge, Mass -- Harvard's Texas Ranger %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cambridge, Mass. — The earliest Texas Rangers were hard men in a hard land. They saw the world in black and white, the word "alleged" having little meaning with regard to dispensing frontier justice -- which often consisted of a mere formality of trial before hanging. Among these rugged men rode one Ranger, Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry (1825-1903, with a more scholarly disposition and ties to Harvard. <more

Content ©LMG™ Photo Credit: Harper’s Weekly, February 9, 1861, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N (June) %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2014 %T Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine — Revolution And Rebellion In Ukraine %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine — In civil conflicts, even the terminology over who is rebel, traitor, or terrorist becomes contentious. Ultimately history, shaped by the victorious, will decide.

The West assumes the parties in this crisis are sharply polarized. Akin to the Spanish Civil War, while neighbors may differ with intense and lethal passions, the factions, fidelity, and goals are, at least at the outset, deeply nuanced. 

Several clocks count down toward renewed unrest. As in other revolutions or rebellions, the patience of the people who deposed the prior Ukrainian government is not endless. They seek tangible improvements in their daily lives from the interim government (and any subsequently elected government). 

History has shown us that once rebellion is in the blood, it becomes easier to take a second drink. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N May %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2014 %T Pripyat, Ukraine --Pripyat and the Legacy of Chernobyl: Inside the Nuclear Exclusion Zone (Photo Essay) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Pripyat, Ukraine — The now iconic Ferris wheel and rides at the never-used carnival built for 1986 Soviet May Day celebrations rest in the radioactively-poisoned town of Pripyat, the closest city to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant destroyed in the cataclysmic explosion in 1986.  Now a ghost town located just 3 km from the plant, the city was evacuated and subsequently abandoned Soviet clean up crews or "liquidators" — many who died or suffered deleterious health effects — briefly lived in Pripyat during early emergency containment operations at Chernobyl. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2014 %T Chernobyl: The unknown war %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Chernobyl Nuclear Exclusion Zone, Ukraine --  On the Ukrainian holiday commemorating victory over the Nazis in WWII, a return to the entombed, but still smoldering, reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant makes vivid another great war waged following the nuclear accident in 1986. The fight to contain the shattering explosion that exposed the nuclear core had all the hallmarks of war. It was brutal and costly, governments lied and blundered, and lives were devalued and sacrificed in a grisly calculus. 

Heroes fought bravely, but heroes were also thus anointed as poor compensation for unnecessary, and often unknowing, sacrifice. After the war was won--or more aptly a temporary truce with nature secured--those called to duty were cast adrift to lead uncertain lives. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2014 %T Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine -- Construction continues on New Safe Confinement (NSC) Dome %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine -- Construction continues on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) dome intended to cover the sarcophagus entombing the remains of the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant destroyed by explosion in 1986. 

Following the April 1986 accident, then Soviet Union threw "liquidators" (soldiers, miners, and impressed workers) into hastily construction of the original sarcophagus. Built with great loss of life due to radiation exposure and subsequent illness, Soviet engineers soon calculated the original containment building would last only about 30 years and would require constant maintenance to mitigate leaks. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N May %0 Journal Article %J taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2014 %T Cambridge, Mass — Harvard Kennedy School: Snowden's Snow Job. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cambridge, MA -- From the outset, Edward Snowden has deviated substantially from typical "whistleblower" behavior. 

At a Harvard Kennedy School of Government forum on NSA Secrecy and National Security held in April 2014, a select panel of national security experts, including John Deutch, Director of Central Intelligence from1995 to 96, discussed Snowden's revelations of NSA domestic spying using technology. Deutch characterized the NSA program cast into the public eye by Snowden as "very much in the interests of the United States and counter-terrorism." 

Other panel participants included moderator Graham Allison (Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs), Jane Harman (Director, President and CEO, Woodrow Wilson Center), J, Dina Temple-Raston (NPR Counterterrorism Correspondent and Harvard Neiman Fellow), David Sanger (Chief Washington Correspondent of the New York Times), and Joseph Nye (Dean, Harvard Kennedy School (1995-2004). 

The panel strongly agreed that Snowden's disclosures of U.S. technology and intelligence gathering capacity and protocols were extremely damaging to defense and the security of the United States, including security against both terrorism and criminal activity.
<more>
 

%B taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N April %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2014 %T Ten Reasons Why College Football is Superior to the Pro Game %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cambridge, Mass.-Every autumn a madness for football in America manifests in fans of both the pro and college game. In both cases, the fever does not subside until a new champion is crowned. Although the level of football played in the pros is substantially higher-and played by the bigger, faster, and most skilled of the post-college crop-college football holds distinct advantages over the professional game. Many football fans have both pro and college favorites but college football has an authenticity the pro game lacks, and its combination of intimate connection and passionate play is why college football is superior to the pro game. Here are 10 reasons why the collage game is superior to the pro game:  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N January %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2014 %T Chernobyl: The unknown war (REVIEW OF HBO SERIES PENDING) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Chernobyl Nuclear Exclusion Zone, Ukraine-On the Ukrainian holiday commemorating victory over the Nazis in WWII, a return to the entombed, but still smoldering, reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant makes vivid another great war waged following the nuclear accident in 1986. The fight to contain the shattering explosion that exposed the nuclear core had all the hallmarks of war. It was brutal and costly, governments lied and blundered, and lives were devalued and sacrificed in a grisly calculus. A rare view of the four reactors in operation the day of the accident at Chernobyl. The New Structure Confinement (NSC dome) being built to slide over the original sarcophagus shielding Reactor #4 damaged in the 1986 Chernobyl explosion is shown far left. Reactors 5 and 6 were built out of frame to the right of the cooling pond shown were never loaded with fuel or brought online. more

 

  %B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Washington — Syria's Use of Chemical Weapons: We Must Act %A K.Lee Lerner %X AUGUST 28, 2013

Washington — An attack on Syria may indeed spread the war -- and risks escalation and backlash -- but larger interests are at stake. Like it or not, the US is the world's sheriff in these matters.

A deeply flawed analysis recently published in the Guardian exposes the weakest of all arguments against the West taking action, that being because, "chemical weapons are far from being the greatest threat to Syria's people." 

The point is that WMD use is a threat to ALL humanity. (more)

Photo Credits:  Save the Children of Syria. TAHIR SQUARE, Egypt — While Egypt's Revolution has, at least for now, moved into a battle for ballots, the legacy of Arab Spring remains bloodied by bullets and bombs in Syria. The destruction, danger, and death in Syria is not new but groups in Egypt tried to raise awareness during the 2012 Egyptian Presidential campaign, both as a direct call to action and as warning of what might happen should civil war break out in Egypt. 25 May, 2012. ©LMG. Photo by K. Lee Lerner. All rights reserved. %B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Cambridge, Mass -- A Union of Higher Ideals (July 3, 2013) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cambridge, Mass. July 3, 2013 -- It's the sesquicentennial of Pickett's charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. 

Given the significant advantages enjoyed by the industrialized North, without a loss of resolve by the Union or significant foreign intervention on behalf of the South, the American Civil War was a "lost cause" for the Confederates from the outset. That the outnumbered and outgunned rebel soldiers earned early victories and thrust into Pennsylvania in 1863 owed significantly to superior military leadership. 

Both Union and Confederate soldiers fought and sacrificed, but during the war's early years, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, and others simply outmaneuvered vastly stronger Federal forces. 

Following failed attempts to break the Union army flanks at Gettysburg, it was, however, Lee's insistence on a charge designed to break the center of the Yankee lines that marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy.  <more

Photo: Memorial Hall, Harvard University.©LMG Photo by K. Lee Lerner. All Rights Reserved.

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Pétionville Internal Displacement Camp, Haiti — A Lesson in Dignity %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Pétionville Internal Displacement Camp, Haiti -- Unaccustomed to comfort, the young woman roused herself from the shade and shelter provided by her tent. She shifted her nursing baby to her left hip, and swept back the remaining bit of flap serving as her front door to step into the heat, dust, and din of Haiti. Displaced Haitian mothers still struggle to ensure their children have food and access to medical care, often spending a considerable amount of time each day traveling between aid distribution sites and clinics. Life in the displacement camps places an extra hardship on women, who are still expected to assume responsibility for domestic chores, cooking, and child care…" (more)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).
%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Santiago, Chile — Spanish Lessons %A K.Lee Lerner %X

SANTIAGO, Chile — Writing finished, a late night walkabout for a cerveza while working in Santiago, Chile, a few weeks ago ended with me sitting with a woman at a bar hosting a lusty karaoke night. That's karaoke with verses sung in Spanish, of course. 

My drinking companion, wearing a dress considerably too short for her age and the cool fall Chilean weather, first approached me outside the bar and offered me a successive series of services. There were no strings attached, just fees. (more)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster) %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Fukushima --Inside the Nuclear Disaster Exclusion Zone %A K.Lee Lerner %X

[Author's note: In April 2013, along with a half-dozen other journalists and writers from around the world, I was allowed access to photograph inside the media-restricted Fukushima exclusion zone. As a form of protest, a local official (identified and described below) unlocked gates to the contaminated zone then off limits. Accompanied by a translator, I was then allowed to take photos of the instrumentation used to monitor radiation levels, contaminated soil removal facilities, and other sites. I was in the zone for two hours, — a time calculated to offer a reasonably safe level of radiation exposure.  — K. Lee Lerner]

NAGADORO, Japan — Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initially reported the safe scram — execution of a nuclear plant’s emergency reactor shutdown plan — of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi plant located about 150 miles north of Tokyo. (more)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster) %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Iwate Prefecture, Japan — Tsunami Impact Zone (Photo essay) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Iwate Prefecture, Japan — A deadly wall of water sweeping inland submerged the bridge in the background and scrubbed tracks from the high-speed concrete railroad bed in Rikuzentakata, Japan. (more)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Rikuzentakata, Japan — 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan: Recovery, Reconstruction, and Radiation %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Rikuzentakata, Japan — A memorial Senbazuru (1000 origami cranes) hangs from a piling at the heavily damaged dock in Rikuzentakata, Japan. In the distance are remnants of a flood gate through which a deadly wall of water swept inland to claim the largest loss of life of any city lying in the broad band of destruction along the northwest coast of Japan. following the 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami. (read)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2013 %T Jakarta, Indonesia —Jakarta's Docks Serve as a Hub for Human Trafficking %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Jakarta, Indonesia — UNHCR and other agencies, including the International Organization of Migration (IOM), argue that displaced people are highly vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. Advocacy groups contend that maritime ports across Asia, including the docks of Jakarta, Indonesia, are ports to prostitution and work slavery for displaced people lured or taken from disaster zones and economically distressed areas of South Asia. At an international meeting to discuss security issues related to human trafficking and displaced populations. Both relief and law enforcement personnel agreed that displaced populations are at special risk for exploitation. UNHCR officials, granted anonymity due to the fact they were not authorized to speak to the press, said that Jakarta's dusty and dangerous docks serve as one of the main hubs for human trafficking in Asia. (more)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster %N April %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Madhapur, India --Desertification creates Displacement Perils: Life around a dying lake %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Madhapur, India — The remains of statues thrown into a lake in Madhapur, India, during Hindu festivals from years past lay scattered on the exposed lake bed. Local annual precipitation is now sufficient only to form temporary pools in the lowest parts of the lakebed. A decade ago, the lake supported local fishermen.  (more)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. (April 2013). Originally published as part of the project: Displaced by Disaster. Harvard University. %D 2013 %T Hyderabad, India --Indian Mujahideen Bomb Makers Linked to Recent Bombing %A K.Lee Lerner %X

HYDERABAD, INDIA-Now home to more than eight million people in the metropolitan area, Hyderabad, the capital city of the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, and nearby Secunderabad, have long experience with the plight of displaced people and the civic tensions displacements create. An area shared by Muslims and Hindus, deadly terrorist bombings in February 2013 again stirred religious and cultural tensions in an area where land disputes concerning displaced people continue over grants dating to the 1947 Indian partition with Pakistan (which eventually evolved into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh). (more)

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. (April 2013). Originally published as part of the project: Displaced by Disaster. Harvard University. %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster %N April %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2013 %T Geneva, Switzerland — Displaced by Disaster %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Geneva, Switzerland — With major disasters on the rise, media’s short attention span leaves millions alone on the road to recovery

Driven from their homes and communities, displaced people are vulnerable to violence, exploitation, poverty, and disease. In a chorus of languages that crosses continents, displaced people also lament that the media’s short attention span to their plight leaves them voiceless and alone on the road to recovery.

In contrast to the flow of media-enticing bloodshed provided by conflicts, the hardships and perils facing those displaced by natural disasters usually slip quickly from news headlines. Media attention inevitably shifts international attention from one natural disaster to another. (more

Note: Originally published as an academic paper submitted as part of the 'Displaced by Disaster' project for Harvard (See https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster).

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %U https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/displacedbydisaster %0 Journal Article %J A graduate school paper prepared for Disaster Relief and Recovery, Harvard University %D 2013 %T Disaster Relief and Recovery: The Role of Situational Awareness %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Analysis by specialists (medical, government, security personnel, etc.) enhances situational awareness, reduces situational analysis uncertainties, boosts the capacity to act and react with what Howitt and Leonard describe as situational anticipation, and enables crisis mangers to more quickly recognize and respond to novelty in crisis situations. more

%B A graduate school paper prepared for Disaster Relief and Recovery, Harvard University %G eng %0 Journal Article %J A graduate school paper prepared for Disaster Relief and Recovery, Harvard University %D 2013 %T Disaster Relief and Recovery: Shifting from Disaster to Recovery. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

After a disaster the role of the incident commanders and other decision makers, must eventually must shift from assisting coordination of emergency search, rescue, and relief operations to positioning resources and preparing personnel for integrated recovery operations. more

%B A graduate school paper prepared for Disaster Relief and Recovery, Harvard University %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2012 %T Nairobi, Kenya — The Economics of Poverty in Nairobi Slums %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Nairobi, Kenya — Both the Kiberia and Mathare slums of Nairobi, exist in the shadows of areas of relative affluence. An upward move from the shantytowns in both slums is procurement of a state built and subsidized apartment at the edge of the slum. 

Inside the slums, in some cases literally in the shadow of those tall apartment buildings a shadow economy exits. Based on both currency and barter, the economy helps residents to survive, but on thin margins and without hope to participate in the larger economy or contribute to sustained economic development. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2012 %T Nairobi, Kenya — Education costs contribute to generational poverty in Kibera and Mathare slums of Nairobi %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Nairobi, Kenya — In both the Kibera and Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya, life is hard and perilous. The slums are among Africa's largest. Depending on the number people displaced from rural areas by civil strife, disease, and grinding poverty, Kibera can rank among the world’s largest slums. Up to two million people live in challenging conditions.

Mothers walk children to school through streets littered with garbage and filled with violence. Regardless, children are also expected to venture out on their own to help gather the water and fuel needed for daily existence. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2012 %T Nairobi, Kenya — Lack of clean water and sanitation plague Nairobi slums %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Nairobi, Kenya — In both the Kiberia and Mathare slums of Nairobi, life is hard and perilous. The procurement and storage of clean water are consuming facets of daily life; and the sanitation infrastructure inadequate to prevent disease. Containers for storing clean water are coveted. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2012 %T Nairobi, Kenya — Al-Shabaab Terrorist Bombing in Kenya (June 2012) %A K.Lee Lerner %X Nairobi, Kenya— Based on forensics analysis provided by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), police officials in Kenya now say that a recent explosion in downtown Nairobi shopping mall, Sunday, was an act of terrorism. Originally thought to be an electrical explosion, officials now say a fertilizer-based bomb killed one person and injured 37 others. (more) %B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2012 %T Cairo, Egypt — The Plight of the Zabbaleen %A K.Lee Lerner %X CAIRO -- Living on the outskirts of Cairo, near scenes of sporadic fighting with Muslim factions since the 2011 Revolution, residents of the Zabballen Coptic Christian Community express fear that repression and clashes will increase if the Muslim Brotherhood and the more ultraconservative Salafis continue to gain political strength. 

The Zabbaleen, who characterize themselves as the "people of the trash," are a minority community of approximately 60,000 Coptic Christians who gather, process, and attempt to recycle waste generated in Cairo. (more) %B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N May %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2012 %T Tahrir Square, Cairo — Save the Children of Syria (Phot) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

TAHRIR SQUARE, Cairo — While Egypt's Revolution has, at least for now, moved into a battle for ballots, the legacy of Arab Spring remains bloodied by bullets and bombs in Syria.

The destruction, danger, and death in Syria is not new. groups in Egypt tried to raise awareness during the 2012 Egyptian Presidential campaign, both as a direct call to action and as warning of what might happen should civil war break out in Egypt. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2012 %T Cairo — Egyptian Military Guards Ballot Counting; Calculates Long-Term Strategy %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cairo -- Tight security protected a continuing presidential election ballot counting process in Cairo. While failing to secure the votes needed to avoid a runoff, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi's apparent first place finish in Egypt's first ever truly contested presidential election assured him a spot in the June runoff. Behind tight security, vote counting continued in Cairo on Friday to determine whether Pan-Arab Karama (dignity) Party's Hamdeen Sabbahi (also spelled Sabahi) or former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq will face Mursi.

Sabbahi , described as a Nasserite for his support of Gamal Nasser's mix of pan-Arab nationalism and socialism, remains popular across a spectrum of religious interests. Shafiq, a former air force officer, Minister of Aviation, and stop-gap Prime Minister in the final days before Hosni Mubarak's ouster is more polarizing. A Mursi-Shafiq showdown will put many of Egypt's Tahir Square revolutionaries "in the teeth of a tiger," i.e., faced with voting for an Islamist candidate anathematic to the liberalized democratic ideals of the revolution or an openly pro-Mubarack "feloul" (remnant) of the old regime.

Notably absent is Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (simply known as Sisi), without question as Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, the most powerful man in Egypt. Sisi holds the real power. He has operated a quiet campaign, primarily defending the interests of the Egyptian military, especially their perceived relationship as friend to the people and guardians of the revolution.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N May %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2012 %T Cairo — Egyptian Instability Imperils Antiquities and Infrastructure %A K.Lee Lerner %X

CAIRO — As the 2011 revolt spread from nearby Tahrir Square, revolutionary flames from a government building set ablaze licked perilously close to the Cairo (Egyptian) Museum that houses many of humanity's most cherished archaeological treasures and antiquities.

As the 2011 revolt spread from nearby Tahir Square, revolutionary flames from a government building set ablaze licked perilously close to the Cairo (Egyptian) Museum that houses many of humanity's most cherished archaeological treasures and antiquities.— K. Lee Lerner Egyptian Instability Imperils Antiquities and Infrastructure Egyptian Museum, Cairo.  ©LMG. Photo by K. Lee Lerner. All rights reserved. 



With its tourist industry subsequently decimated -- vividly evidenced by empty museum courtyards and cafes normally teaming with tourists -- a major challenge to whatever political faction ultimately controls still undefined presidential powers will be to restore stability to an increasingly troubled Egyptian economy.

Regardless the political countenance that will gaze upon Egypt, protection of antiquities is vital. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N May %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %D 2012 %T Cairo — Egypt's Presidential Election (May 2012) %A Lerner K. Lee %X

CAIRO, EGYPT--With voting set to start Wednesday, supporters of candidates and a spectrum of advocacy groups converge on Tahrir Square, the cradle of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, for last-minute campaigning and debates. Polls point to uncertainty over the outcome of Egypt's upcoming presidential election. Security forces stationed near the site are cautious and on alert as crowds grow nearing the first round of balloting. 

Although differing in aspirations for the revolution, Egyptians interviewed argued that the revolution's future was equally uncertain, hinging in part on which parties and leaders will first exercise post-military control of the country. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2012 %T Maasai Mara, Kenya —Crossing the Sand River into Bush Country %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Maasai Mara, Kenya — I have crossed the Sand River into bush country.

Among the great natural wonders of the world, the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya  (also spelled Masai Mara) and the Serengeti National  Park in Tanzania form a  contiguous savanna of open range grasses with clumps of umbrella-like acacia trees and scrub. 

Two flights by small prop planes from Nairobi were required to reach a short dirt airstrip located deep in the Mara.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/maasai-mara-kenya-crossing-the-sand-river-into-bush-country/ %N June %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) May %D 2012 %T Cairo, Egypt — Absentee Vote in Egyptian Presidential Race Boosts Islamists (May 2012) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

CAIRO — On the eve of a historic presidential election set to shape the future of Egypt's ongoing revolution, results from absentia ballots cast by Egyptians living abroad gave Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi, an early lead. During the 48 hour pre-voting "silent period" in which official campaigning is forbidden, pro-Islamist supporters received a boost when the Egyptian Foreign Ministries released absentia counts from 33 countries.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge) May %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). May 20 %D 2012 %T Cairo — Egypt's Presidential Election (May 2012) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

CAIRO, EGYPT--With voting set to start Wednesday, supporters of candidates and a spectrum of advocacy groups converge on Tahrir Square, the cradle of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, for last-minute campaigning and debates. Polls point to uncertainty over the outcome of Egypt's upcoming presidential election. Security forces stationed near the site are cautious and on alert as crowds grow nearing the first round of balloting. 

Although differing in aspirations for the revolution, Egyptians interviewed argued that the revolution's future was equally uncertain, hinging in part on which parties and leaders will first exercise post-military control of the country. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. LMG (London, Paris, Cambridge). May 20 %G eng %0 Generic %D 2012 %T Epidemiology: Introductory Reference Formulas and Primer %A K.Lee Lerner %X A one page (two sided) set of formulas and basic definitions for a first course in epidemiology covering essential concepts including β rate, R0, prevalence, cumulative Incidence:, absolute risk, cumulative Incidence, confidence Intervals, standard error, sample, confidence intervals, risk difference, relative risk, odds ratio, attributable risk, cohorts, case controls, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), mortality data,: healthcare disparities, case-control studies,, selection bias, recall bias, single or double blinded studies, ecological studies, cross sectional studies, selection controls, non-differential misclassification, differential exposure, detection bias. confounders, etc. (download to read more) %B Personal notes republished online at 
harvard.scholar.edu/kleelerner. Harvard University %G eng %0 Book Section %B Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner. Biotechnology %D 2012 %T Biological Weapons: Genetic Identification %A K.Lee Lerner %X The advent of molecular technologies and the application of genetic identification in clinical and forensic microbiology have greatly improved the capability of laboratories to detect and identify organisms used in biological weapons. Not only does this ability enhance national defense capabilities, but also the development and administration of countermeasures, including vaccines.

The genetic identification of microorganisms utilizes molecular technologies to evaluate specific regions of the genome and to determine the genus, species, or strain of a microorganism. This work grew out of the similar, highly successful applications in human identification using the same basic techniques. Thus, the genetic identification of microorganisms also has been referred to as microbial fingerprinting, and it is a key way in which bioinformatics can assist in the identification of pathogens….

Genetic technologies are especially useful in the detection of biological weapons. Of particular note is the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, which uses selected enzymes to make copies of genetic material. If the genetic material is unique to the microorganism (e.g., a gene encoding a toxin), then investigators can use PCR to detect a specific microorganism from among the other organisms present in the sample. Traditional PCR detects RNA at the end point of the process (the plateau stage), however advances in the technology led to real-time PCR detection. This gave scientists the ability to collect data in the exponential growth phase, making DNA and RNA quantitation more efficient and accurate, and facilitated the development of hand-held detectors. Hand-held PCR detectors used by United Nations inspectors in Iraq during their weapons inspections efforts of 2002/2003 were sensitive enough to detect a single living Bacillus anthracis bacterium (the agent of anthrax) in an average kitchen-sized room. (more) %B Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner. Biotechnology %I Cengage Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2011 %T Cambridge, Mass — Neglected Tropical Diseases Meeting Attracts Global Experts %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cambridge, Mass--The International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) – Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Meeting, held July 2011 in Cambridge, was the first global gathering of experts focusing on a group of diseases that globally afflict more than one billion people, yet receive only a fraction of the money and media attention directed towards AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis programs. 

Scott Halstead lectured on vaccine development and the global spread of Dengue at the conference. 
Discussions concerning the best use of funding and ways to spur awareness of NTD impacts, found 
passionate 
supporters
 who differed
 about 
whether 
basic 
science 
research, 
vaccine
 development, NGO treatment programs, or community- based public health programs should receive priority.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N July %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2011 %T Paris -- Hemingway’s Paris Shortcut. A Movable Feast’s Elusive Backdoor %A K.Lee Lerner %X

 

Paris -- Our apartment on Rue Vavin is right in heart of Hemingway’s Paris described in the middle portions of A Movable Feast (which covered the time Hemingway lived at 113 Rue Notre Dame des Champs). Gertrude Stein’s 27 Rue de Fleurus studio is one block over, and I walk by it almost daily to buy mandarins. The Jardin du Luxembourg and my pétanque courts are a mere 40 meters away.

Hemingway’s lean prose is offset by his expansion of time and distance.

In that expansion lies literary detail and significance, but in purely physical terms Hemingway’s walks are far shorter and the hills slighter in grade than they read in A Movable Feast and The Sun Also Rises.

I often take morning coffee at Le Select, and frequent the other “principal cafés,” le Dome, Le Rotund, and Le Coupole. All are still operating near the tortuous intersections of the Boulevard Montparnasse, with the Boulevard Raspail and Rue Vavin. All are an easy two minute walk.

For all the cafés and the tourists they attract, this side of the 6th is far quieter and more livable than the Senate/St. Germain side. Le Select can be crowded at times,  but a bit father up Rue Delambre lies a favorite of Henry Miller, the Café de la Liberté. It’s almost always quiet, and thus a good place have a conversation.

The walk to la Liberté on the Rue Delambre takes me past the spot where Hemingway first met Fitzgerald.  The Dingo Bar is gone, and but the old wooden bar remains inside a  trendy café. 

 (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N Feb %0 Journal Article %J An investigative article/paper prepared as part of graduate school graduate studies in news reporting, Harvard University %D 2011 %T Scientists Criticize FBI Amerithrax Probe of 2001 Anthrax Attacks %A K.Lee Lerner %X

On the heels of a National Academy of Sciences  report critical of the FBI's investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks that claimed five lives, prominent anthrax researchers are preparing to publicly slam, the evidence the bureau replied upon in posthumously blaming the attacks entirely on a civilian researcher in the Department of the Army. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI can also expect continued calls in Congress to establish a 9/11-like commission to investigate  the case.  more

Note: A full text copy of the NAS report mentioned in this article, "Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters" is available as a full text download.  more

%B An investigative article/paper prepared as part of graduate school graduate studies in news reporting, Harvard University %G eng %0 Book Section %B (Preprint) Originally published in World of Physics. Thomson | Gale. 2001. Updated and republished in Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds. Scientific Thought, Cengage | Gale. 2010. %D 2010 %T Chaos and Order %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Chaos and order, as used in chaos theory, are terms used to describe conditions of complex systems in which, out of seemingly random, disordered (aperiodic) processes, there arise processes that are deterministic and predictable. Accordingly, despite its name, chaos theory attempts to identify and quantify order in apparently unpredictable systems.

 

Along with quantum and relativity theories, chaos theory, with its inclusive concepts of chaos and order, is widely regarded as one of the great intellectual leaps of the twentieth century. (continued) %B (Preprint) Originally published in World of Physics. Thomson | Gale. 2001. Updated and republished in Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds. Scientific Thought, Cengage | Gale. 2010. %I Cengage | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Draft Copy. Originally published 2002, revised and published in Lerner BW, and K. Lee Lerner. Scientific Thought: In Context. Cengage | Gale %D 2010 %T Continental Drift and the Theory of Plate Tectonics %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Continental drift, in the context of the modern theory of plate tectonics, is explained by the movement of lithospheric plates over the asthenosphere (the molten, ductile, upper portion of the Earth's mantle). Precisely used, the term "continental drift" is actually rooted in antiquated concepts regarding the structure of the Earth. Today, geophysicists and geologists explain the movement or drift of the continents within the context of plate tectonic theory. The visible continents, a part of the lithospheric plates upon which they ride, shift slowly over time as a result of the forces driving plate tectonics. Moreover, plate tectonic theory is so robust in its ability to explain and predict geological processes that it is equivalent in many regards to the fundamental and unifying principles of evolution in biology, and nucleosynthesis in physics and chemistry. (more)

%B Draft Copy. Originally published 2002, revised and published in Lerner BW, and K. Lee Lerner. Scientific Thought: In Context. Cengage | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in World of Chemistry. Thomson | Gale. 2000. Updated and republished as part of a series of essays in Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds. Scientific Thought, Cengage Gale %D 2010 %T The Bohr Model of the Atom %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The Bohr model of atomic structure was developed by Danish physicist and Nobel laureate Niels Bohr (1885-1962). Published in 1913, Bohr's model improved the classical atomic models of physicists J. J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford by incorporating quantum theory. While working on his doctoral dissertation at Copenhagen University, Bohr studied physicist Max Planck's quantum theory of radiation. After graduation, Bohr worked in England with Thomson and subsequently with Rutherford. During this time Bohr developed his model of atomic structure.  (more)

%B (Preprint) Originally published in World of Chemistry. Thomson | Gale. 2000. Updated and republished as part of a series of essays in Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds. Scientific Thought, Cengage Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale. 2001, This draft updated %D 2010 %T Quasars: Beacons in the Cosmic Night %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The term quasar is used to describe quasi-stellar radio sources that are the most distant, energetic objects ever observed. Quasars are enigmatic. Despite their great distance from Earth, some are actually brighter than hundreds of galaxies combined, yet are physically smaller in size than our own solar system. Astronomers calculate that the first quasar identified, 3C273 (3rd Cambridge catalog, 273rd radio source) located in the constellation Virgo, is moving at the incredible speed of one-tenth the speed of light and, although dim to optical astronomers, is actually five trillion times as bright as the Sun. Many astronomers theorize that very distant quasars represent the earliest stages of galactic evolution. The observations and interpretation of quasars remain controversial and challenge many theories regarding the origin and age of the Universe. In particular, studies of the evolution and distribution of quasars boosted acceptance of Big Bang-based models of cosmology (i.e., theories concerning the creation of the Universe) over other scientific and philosophical arguments that relied on steady-state models of the Universe. (more)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale. 2001, This draft updated %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Draft Copy) Top Stories 2010. Cengage | Gale %D 2010 %T Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Subsequent Oil Spill (aka BP Oil Spill) in the Gulf of Mexico: Technological Failures, Crisis Response, and Engineering %A Atkins, William %A K.Lee Lerner %X

In April 2010, a oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, caused an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig operated by BP (formerly British Petroleum) and a vast oil spill into the Gulf waters that lasted for 87 days before being capped. The explosion killed 11 workers and injured 17. The incident is commonly called the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the Macondo blowout. Within 24 hours, the Coast Guard determined the incident had the potential to become a major environment disaster for the United States. more

%B (Draft Copy) Top Stories 2010. Cengage | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Carroll, A., McCoy, J.F., and O'Meara, M.A. Top Stories 2010. Cengage Gale, 2011. %D 2010 %T **Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Subsequent Oil Spill (aka BP Oil Spill) in the Gulf of Mexico: Technological Failures, Crisis Response, and Engineering Innovations (DRAFT COPY) %A Atkins, William %A K.Lee Lerner %X

In April 2010, a oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, caused an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig operated by BP (formerly British Petroleum) and a vast oil spill into the Gulf waters that lasted for 87 days before being capped. The explosion killed 11 workers and injured 17. The incident is commonly called the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the Macondo blowout. Within 24 hours, the Coast Guard determined the incident had the potential to become a major environment disaster for the United States. more

%B Carroll, A., McCoy, J.F., and O'Meara, M.A. Top Stories 2010. Cengage Gale, 2011. %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Global Issues in Context. (online) An overview article originally published in the Gale Global Issues in Context resource center and database, written by K. Lee Lerner in 2009 and updated by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, ca 2009-2018. %D 2009 %T Biological and Chemical Weapons %A K.Lee Lerner %X

This is a preprint of an overview article originally published in the Gale Global Issues in Context resource center and database, written by K. Lee Lerner in 2009 and updated by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, ca 2009-2018.

 

Biological warfare involves the delivery of toxins or microorganisms for the hostile purpose of inflicting disease on humans, animals, or plants. Biological warfare is as old as civilization. In early forms it involved drawing enemy troops into disease-ridden areas, using animal and plant toxins to poison arrows, spreading disease by polluting the environment (for example, catapulting the bodies of plague victims into enemy territory), or deliberately distributing items contaminated with highly infectious diseases, such as giving out blankets previously used by people infected with smallpox.

Biological weapons use payloads that contain microorganisms (or the toxic components of the microorganisms) that can cause infections or exposure. Examples of microorganisms include viruses (such as smallpox, Ebola, influenza), bacteria (such as Bacillus anthracis, and protozoa. The most prominent example of a toxic component is the variety of toxins that are produced and released from bacteria, such as neurotoxins produced by Clostridium.

The use of chemical weapons dates back centuries, when early combatants learned that smoke from burning sulfur caused discomfort when it drifted into enemy fortifications. The dawn of modern chemical warfare occurred during World War I (1914- 1918). On 15 April 1915, German forces released about 160 tons of chlorine gas into the wind near the Belgian village of Ypres. The clouds of the gas drifted into Allied

forces, killing some 5,000 soldiers. Two days later, another chlorine attack at the same village killed 5,000 more soldiers. During the remainder of World War I, German, French, and British forces used chlorine gas and such chemicals as Mustard Gas and Phosgene with increasing frequency. An estimated 113,000 tons of chemical weapons were used from 1915 to 1918, killing some 92,000 people and injuring over one million people. The horrors of chemical warfare during World War I prompted the drafting of the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which banned chemical and biological weapons of warfare. (read more here)

 

 

%B Global Issues in Context. (online) An overview article originally published in the Gale Global Issues in Context resource center and database, written by K. Lee Lerner in 2009 and updated by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, ca 2009-2018. %G eng %0 Book Section %B Weather and Natural Disasters %D 2009 %T Weather and Natural Disasters: Special Introductory Essay and Overview of Meteorological Science by K. Lee Lerner %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Weather starts with the Sun.

Weather plays an important role in our lives, and all forms of weather are produced by complex, constantly changing conditions in Earth's atmosphere. However, the driving force behind the weather is the Sun. The Sun continually generates energy, which escapes from its surface and flows through space. Solar energy travels 93 million miles (149 million kilometers) to reach Earth. It warms all of Earth's atmosphere, some parts more than others. The area of Earth that receives the Sun's rays most directly, the equatorial region, is heated the most. The poles, conversely, never receive sunlight directly. Sunlight strikes the poles only at a steep angle. Hence, they are warmed the least.

 

Another factor that determines how much solar energy strikes any particular part of Earth at any time is the season, a period of year characterized by certain weather conditions. Most places in the world have four seasons: winter, summer, spring, and fall. In winter, the Sun shines for the fewest hours per day and never gets very high in the sky. In summer, day is longer than night, and the Sun shines high in the sky. In spring and fall, the Sun rises to an intermediate height, and there are roughly the same number of hours of daylight as darkness.

 

The change in seasons is caused by a combination of Earth's tilt and its yearly journey around the Sun. Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4 degrees away from the perpendicular. At different points along Earth's orbit around the Sun, the Northern Hemisphere, the half of the earth which lies north of the equator (which includes the United States) is tilted either toward or away from the Sun. For instance, on or about June 21, the first day of summer, the Northern Hemisphere receives more sunlight than on any other day. On or about December 21, the first day of winter, the Southern Hemisphere, the half of the earth that lies south of the equator, receives its greatest amount of sunlight...

 

The uneven heating of the atmosphere sets the atmosphere in motion. Air moves through the atmosphere in such a way as to even out the distribution of heat around the planet, with warm air moving from the equator to cold areas at the poles and cold air back toward the equator. The movement of air between the equator and the poles is influenced by other factors as well, such as differences in composition of air over land and sea, and Earth's rotation. The result is a complex web of air currents whirling around the globe, the ingredients of weather. (more) K. Lee Lerner. Paris.

%B Weather and Natural Disasters %I Cengage | Gale %G eng %0 Online Database %D 2009 %T Global Issues In Context (GIC): An online news service and academic reference resource. %E K.Lee Lerner %E Lerner, Brenda Wimoth %X

 

[[{"fid":"554986","view_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"212.96875","width":"248.984375","style":"float: left;","alt":"Outstanding Academic Title","title":"Outstanding Academic Title","class":"media-element file-default "}}]]Outstanding Academic Title, 2010

2010 CODIE Award Finalist for Best Online News Service

2009 School Library 10 Best

GIC is an international news service and academic resource. K. Lee Lerner served as Editor-in-Chief and  Brenda Wilmoth Lerner served as a senior editor for GIC content development and they were instrumental in developing the "In Context" concept for Cengage. GIC was one of the first internet-based resources to be named an Outstanding Academic Title, a designation previously reserved for books. After the launch of of GIC in 2009 Lerner & Lerner, along with LMG subject matter experts, continued to serve as primary advisors and contributing editors for science and public health content until 2018. Global Issues in Context was named an Outstanding Academic Title in 2010; named to the  SL Journal Annual 10 Best List and in 2010 was an CODIE Award Finalist for Best Online News Service.​​​​​​

%B Thomson Reuters | Cengage Gale %G eng %U http://harvard.academia.edu/kleelerner %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2008 %T Siem Reap, Cambodia -- Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Epidemic %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Siem Reap, Cambodia — If all of the infectious diseases of mankind were listed in order of incidence, Dengue fever (also known as Breakbone Fever) would rank among the top ten. Yet, it’s officially a neglected disease, receiving less than one half of one percent of the funding spent on AIDs, malaria, and tuberculosis. 

Although standing water provides a ready breeding ground for many disease vectors, including the mosquitoes that transmit Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, agricultural rice paddies are also needed to sustain the population and provide for economic exports. In Siem Reap the paddies are in close proximity to the town. 

Workers also labor -- some clearing landmines -- in areas with high mosquito concentrations, increasing their risk of contracting Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever 

Dengue is endemic in at least 115 countries and spreading globally. There is no cure. Of the 30,000 to 50,000 people who die each year, children under five are especially vulnerable. Dengue perpetuates poverty, robbing millions of their economic health. In the poorest and most vulnerable regions, Dengue steals already slim chances to live a long, productive, and healthy life.  (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N June %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2008 %T Angkor Wat, Cambodia -- Archaeological restorations and aerial surveys %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Angkor Wat, Cambodia -- Archaeological restorations and aerial surveys. A photo essay.

 

(more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N June %0 Journal Article %D 2007 %T Encyclopedia of Biotechnology: Changing Life Through Science %E K.Lee Lerner %E BrendaWilmoth Lerner %X

At the core of the advances in biotechnology lies the science of molecular biology and genetics. Because theEncyclopedia of Biotechnology: Changing Life Through Science is designed for younger students and general readers, the editors have attempted to include simple explanations of sometimes advanced scientific principles. Despite the complexities of genetics, along with the fast pace of research and innovation, every effort has been made to set forth entries in everyday language and to provide generous explanations of the most important terms used by professional scientists.

Written by experts, teachers, and expert writers in fields of physics, molecular biology, genetics, and microbiology, every effort has been taken to explain scientific concepts clearly and simply, without sacrificing fundamental accuracy. The articles in the book are meant to be understandable by anyone with a curiosity about biotechnology. (moreK. Lee Lerner & Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, editors. Cairo, Egypt and London, U.K. October, 2006

%G eng %U https://harvard.academia.edu/KLeeLerner %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %D 2006 %T Moscow — Deadly Spy Games: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Moscow -- In November 2006, former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-KGB and FSB officer living in London who defected to British Intelligence in 2001, was killed after ingesting radioactive poison laced with polonium-210. 

Only advanced state-level agencies have the resources to manufacture polonium-210. More specifically, analysis of trace elements and decay rates have allowed British Atomic Weapons Establishment investigators to trace the specific polonium-210 used to kill Litvinenko to a reactor in Russia. 

Polonium-210 emits alpha particles at 803 kilo-electron volts (keV). Unlike gamma rays, alpha particles don't penetrate clothing or skin. In some ways, polonium is a perfect poison. It can be carried through airports and even skip past sophisticated radiation detectors. 

Dangerous when breathed, injected or ingested, polonium-210 poisons victims from the inside to produce a slow and tortured death, the exact kind of death one might intend for a defector deemed a traitor to his country by his former colleagues because it serves as punishment and warning. Those in the know, suspect, but unless one is looking for it, polonium-210 poisoning may slip past detection, with the victim's death attributed to industrial-strength rat poison. Investigative agencies are left in a murky fog of conflicting facts and enigmatic radioactive trails. 

While Russian intelligence services certainly had the motive and means, tracing polonium-210 to a reactor in Russia does not create and open and shut case. 

Polonium-210 is specifically manufactured inside nuclear reactors to reduce static electric buildup in components of nuclear reactors, but It also has commercial uses and is a component of products openly available. Static electrical charges allow dust to cling to objects. Polonium ionizes air passing over it, the charged air then binds with and electrically neutralizes dust, allowing it to be easily blown away.  (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs. %G eng %N Dec %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (DRAFT COPY) Originally published in: Lerner, KL and Lerner, BW. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. Thomson|Gale %D 2005 %T A Concise Guide to Use and Analysis of Primary Sources %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Primary sources allow readers and researchers to come as close as possible to understanding the perceptions and context of events and thus, to more fully appreciate how and why misconceptions occur. 
The definition of what constitutes a primary source is often the subject of scholarly debate and interpretation. Although primary sources come from a wide spectrum of resources, they are united by the fact that they individually provide insight into the historical milieu (context and environment) during which they were produced. Primary sources include materials such as newspaper articles, press dispatches, autobiographies, essays, letters, diaries, speeches, song lyrics, posters, works of art—and in the twenty-first century, web logs—that offer direct, first-hand insight or witness to events of their day.  (download to read more)

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (DRAFT COPY) Originally published in: Lerner, KL and Lerner, BW. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. Thomson|Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2005 %T U.S. Gulf Coast — Hurricane Katrina Brings Waves of Destruction to U.S. Gulf Coast %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Under mandatory evacuations, I sent Brenda and Ellie (the last child left at home) to Texas for both Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Katrina (2005). 

Ivan scored a direct hit, the eye passed right over Sibley. Katrina devastated the Mississippi coast and caused the levee breach that flooded New Orleans, but located in the northeast quadrant of Katrina, Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast to Pensacola also suffered severe damage.

I weathered both storms at Sibley with an array of pets that could not be evacuated. Most boats not anchored out were lost. Power was out for weeks with Ivan and about a week with Katrina. Until the National Guard found its footing -- resources after Katrina were justifiably concentrated on Mississippi and New Orleans -- it was time to fire up the motorcycle, strap a pistol to my hip, and help out wherever needed. (more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N Aug 29 %0 Online Database %D 2005 %T Science in Context (SCIC): An online science news, analysis, and reference resource. %E K.Lee Lerner %E Lerner, Brenda Wimoth %X

2007 CODIE Award: Best Online Science or Technology Site

Since 2003,  K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner have served as the principal science advisors and contributing editors for this respected online science educational resource.   Many of the articles in the collection come from other Lerner & Lerner works,  including the Gale Encyclopedia of Science, the RUSA and Outstanding Academic Title award-winning Environmental Encyclopedia, and Macmillan Science Reference Series articles. New news-driven contributions by K. Lee Lerner, serving as an author or contributing editor, are continuously added. SCIC, received a 2007 CODIE Award as Best Online Science or Technology Service, 

%B (formerly the Gale Science Resource Center) Thomson Reuters | Cengage Gale. %G eng %U https://harvard.academia.edu/KLeeLerner %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. Draft COPY Originally published in Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner, Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %D 2004 %T The British Intelligence Community: Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Security Service (MI5), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and other entities %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The intelligence community of the United Kingdom is both older and more complicated than that of the United States. MI5, or the Security Service, and MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, are the most well known components of the British intelligence structure, but these are just two parts of a vast intelligence apparatus. Communications intelligence is the responsibility of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which works closely with the Communications Electronics Security Group, while a number of agencies manage military intelligence under the aegis of the Ministry of Defense. London's Metropolitan Police, or Scotland Yard, has its own Special Branch concerned with intelligence. 

The "MI" by which the two principal British security services are known (MI5, or Security Service, and MI6, or Secret Intelligence Service) refers to their common origins in military intelligence. Both can trace their roots to the Secret Service Bureau, created in 1909 after a report by Parliament's Committee on Imperial Defense concluded that "an extensive system of German espionage exists in this country..." Working with the War Office, Admiralty, and various operatives and agents overseas, the bureau had both a Home Section and a Foreign Section--precursors, respectively, of MI5 and MI6. 

Command and control operates through no less than four entities: the Central Intelligence Machinery, the Ministerial Committee on the Intelligence Services, the Permanent Secretaries' Committee on the Intelligence Services, and the Joint Intelligence Committee. (more)

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. Draft COPY Originally published in Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner, Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) DRAFT COPY. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. North Korean Nuclear Program. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %D 2004 %T North Korean Nuclear and Missile Programs %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, also commonly known as North Korea) is a strict and isolationist dictatorship ruled by Kim Jong-un (1984-2013). Despite decades of international diplomatic efforts, superior U.S. military capacity, United Nations prohibitions, and attempts at both international aid and sanctions aimed at eliminating its nuclear and missile programs, North Korea continues to develop increasingly sophisticated nuclear weapons and higher capacity missiles.  (more)

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) DRAFT COPY. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. North Korean Nuclear Program. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) Draft Copy. Original version in: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %D 2004 %T SARS and Global Public Health Security %A BrendaWilmoth Lerner %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was the first emergent and highly transmissible viral disease to appear among humans during the twenty-first century. Caused by a coronavirus (SARS-CoV), SARS is far more lethal than the pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza (caused by a Type A H1N1 influenza virus). Although less lethal than the H5N1 avian flu virus, the SARS virus is more transmissible among humans than the H5N1 virus. 

The first known case of SARS was traced to a November 2002 case in Guangdong province, China. By mid-February 2003, Chinese health officials tracked more than 300 cases, including five deaths in Guangdong province from what was at the time described as an acute respiratory syndrome. Chinese health officials initially remained silent about the outbreak, and no special precautions were taken to limit travel or prevent the spread of the disease. The world health community, therefore, had no chance to institute early testing, isolation, and quarantine measures that might have prevented the subsequent global spread of the disease. 

Under a new generation of political leadership, Chinese officials subsequently apologized for a slow and inefficient response to the SARS outbreak. Allegations that officials covered up the extent of the spread of the disease caused the dismissal of several local administrators, including China's public health minister and the mayor of Beijing. 

In many regards, the SARS outbreak revealed what was effective in terms of public health responses, readiness, and resources. The outbreak also spurred reforms in the International Health Regulations (IHR) designed to increase both surveillance and reporting of infectious diseases and to enhance cooperation in preventing the international spread of disease. (more)

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) Draft Copy. Original version in: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Book Section %B (Draft Copy) subsequently published in Schlager, N. Science in Dispute. %D 2003 %T Arguments against Hidden Variables in Quantum Systems %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The standard model of quantum physics offers a theoretically and mathematically sound model of particle behavior that serves as an empirically validated middle-ground between the need for undiscovered hidden variables that determine particle behavior, and a mystical anthropocentric universe where it is the observations of humans that determine reality. Although the implications of the latter can be easily dismissed as New Age-like metaphysical nonsense, the debate over the existence of hidden variables in quantum theory remained a subject of serious scientific debate during the 20th century.

Based upon our everyday experience, well explained by the deterministic concepts of classical physics, it is intuitive that there be hidden variables to determine quantum states. Nature is not, however, obliged to act in accord with what is convenient or easy to understand. Although the existence and understanding of heretofore hidden variables might seemingly explain Albert Einstein’s “spooky” forces, the existence of such variables would simply provide the need to determine whether they, too, included their own hidden variables. Quantum theory breaks this never-ending chain of causality by asserting (with substantial empirical evidence) that there are no hidden variables. Moreover, quantum theory replaces the need for a deterministic evaluation of natural phenomena with an understanding of particles and particle behavior based upon statistical probabilities. (more)

%B (Draft Copy) subsequently published in Schlager, N. Science in Dispute. %I Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 2003 %T Firenze: A Fusion of Art and Science %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Firenze, Italia -- I regard spirituality as an intensely private matter . While I often have great personal respect for people of faith as well as the wisdom to be derived from religious thought, there is no place for the supernatural in science. What I define as spirituality, beyond the superficial observance of calendars and rituals, that comes closest to traditional conceptions of a soul is that part of you that can't helped but be moved by the dedication of people to life, work, and art undertaken as part of their faith. My personal list of spiritual places in this world would include the humanistic Pantheon in Paris, and the chairs in front of Newton's tomb at Westminster Abby where, for a good part of my life, I made an annual December pilgrimage to reflect on the year past over the "quod mortale fuit Isaaci Newtoni" and the achievements of others honored in scientist's corner.

If I had to pick one place that to me is incredibly moving to me, however, it would be Firenze. Although better known for its treasures of art and architecture, Florence portrays passion for the fusion of art and science like no other city in the world. (read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %N June 4 %0 Journal Article %J published as Iraq: Weapons Inspections and the Prelude to War. Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) Draft Copy (Redacted) Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Iraq: Prelude to War. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence %D 2003 %T Weapons Inspections and the Prelude to War with Iraq: The International Debate Over the Use and Effectiveness of Weapons Inspections. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001,...  U.S. officials asserted that Iraq's proven development and use of weapons of mass destruction made Iraq a potential source of those weapons for terrorists who could then use them against U.S. or other Western targets. 

During the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, Hussein ordered the use of chemical weapons against Iranian forces, and additionally used chemical weapons against civilians in rebellious areas of Iraq. .. After Iraqi forces were expelled by U.S. led western coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War, as a part of the agreements that prevented the occupation of Iraq and allowed Hussein to remain in power, Hussein agreed to destroy all weapons of mass destruction and forsake the future development of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Over a period of twelve years, 17 specific United Nations Security Council resolutions, weapons inspection programs, and economic sanctions against Iraq failed to secure Hussein's full compliance with U.N. resolutions and assure the international community that Iraq had indeed disposed of weapons of mass destruction and abandoned programs to develop new weapons of mass destruction. 

Hussein, in an effort to bolster his strong-man image that helped maintain his power in Iraq and influence in the region, played cat and mouse with international inspection teams. Fearing it would make him weak and vulnerable, Hussein refused to give up the appearance that his regime still might control weapons of mass destruction... Hussein's obstruction, pretense, and posturing resulted in highly polarized Western intelligence assessments of his warfare capacity and willingness to use WMD's... Hussein played a dangerous bluff -- bet on the lives of the Iraqi people -- that was ultimately called when the United States invaded and deposed him from power....

Addendum I: U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair's "Iraq War speech" to Parliament ... March 18, 2003. Addendum II:  A brief overview of the immediate aftermath of the invasion of Iraq. 
(read more)

%B published as Iraq: Weapons Inspections and the Prelude to War. Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) Draft Copy (Redacted) Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Iraq: Prelude to War. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. Draft Copy. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and BW Lerner, Applications of Number Theory in Cryptography. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. Thomson | Gale, %D 2003 %T Applications of Number Theory in Cryptography %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cryptography is a division of applied mathematics concerned with developing schemes and formula to enhance the privacy of communications through the use of codes. Cryptography allows its users, whether governments, military, businesses or individuals, to maintain privacy and confidentiality in their communications. The goal of every cryptographic scheme is to be crack proof (i.e., only able to be decoded and understood by authorized recipients). Cryptography is also a means to ensure the integrity and preservation of data from tampering. Modern cryptographic systems rely on functions associated with advanced mathematics, including a specialized branch of mathematics termed number theory that explores the properties of numbers and the relationships between numbers.  (more)

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. Draft Copy. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and BW Lerner, Applications of Number Theory in Cryptography. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. Thomson | Gale, %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) Draft Copy. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and BW Lerner. Weapons of Mass Destruction: Detection Methods. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale, %D 2003 %T Weapons of Mass Destruction: Detection Methods %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons are commonly detected by monitoring an array of activities common to their development and testing. Lack of access to weapons production facilities, which in the context of both state level and terrorist activities, offer special testing challenges and create the need for  sophisticated monitoring protocols as well as the capacity to detect weapons without access to suspect sites, while in transit, and/or while in component pre-assembly phases of development. WMD detection techniques and devices span and array of technologies. In the early 2000s, detection technology included devices like the Handheld Advanced Nucleic Acid Analyzer (HANAA) and techniques ranging from standard forensic laboratory testing to Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectroscopy (MALDI-MS). Autonomous Pathogen Detection System (APDS) and other deployable devices allowed rapid identification of biologic agents while portable devices were available that could identify chemicals in a vapor within minutes under challenging conditions. The genetic detection of biological agents is increasingly exquisite. Gene probe sensors can detect and identify bacteria based upon the presence of a stretch of genetic material that is unique to the microorganism. (more)

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) Draft Copy. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and BW Lerner. Weapons of Mass Destruction: Detection Methods. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale, %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. %D 2003 %T Weapon-Grade Plutonium and Uranium Tracking %A GILMAN L %A K.Lee Lerner %X

 

Weapon-grade (or "bomb-grade") uranium or plutonium is any alloy or oxide compound that contains enough of certain isotopes of these elements to serve as the active ingredient in a nuclear weapon. Some civilian weapon-grade materials are tracked by international organizations, especially the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), to prevent diversion to bombs. The goal is to prevent nuclear proliferation, that is, the possession of nuclear weapons by unauthorized nations and/or groups. 

Those states that already had nuclear weapons at the time of the treaty's creation—the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China—are not subject to IAEA safeguards. Only four states—Cuba, India, Israel, and Pakistan—have not signed the NPT and are not part of any international safeguard system. Of these four, India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear weapons. 

The IAEA tracks weapon-grade materials (or, in the case of plutonium, dilute materials that could be refined to weapons grade) in non-military nuclear fuel cycles in states that are signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968. 

EURATOM safeguards civil plutonium and uranium in the European countries, including materials not covered by mandatory IAEA safeguards under the NPT (i.e., those in the UK and France). The IAEA and EURATOM cooperatively safeguard European materials to avoid redundancy. 

Military nuclear materials are tracked only by the governments that own them. Because the tracking techniques employed internally by nuclear- weapons states vary from nation to nation and are always partly or wholly secret. (more)

%B Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) DRAFT COPY. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %D 2003 %T Soviet Union (USSR): Intelligence, Security, and the KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti or Committee of State Security) %A Ioffe, Alexander %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti or Committee of State Security) was the preeminent Soviet intelligence agency and Soviet equivalent of the American CIA. 
During the later Soviet period, the KGB served as organization primarily responsible intelligence and counterintelligence matters. Although the NKVD was tasked with internal security, the KBG role in political security and counterintelligence was so broad that its operations often touched on internal security matters. Even Soviet border guards were eventually placed under KGB supervision. 

The head of the KGB enjoyed an important position in the totalitarian regime hierarchy. In 1967, Andropov, then head of KGB and later Soviet premier, described the role of the KGB and other state security bodes as engaged in "a bitter and stubborn battle on all fronts, economic, political, and ideological. 

The KGB and Western intelligence services played a continual deadly game of "cat and mouse" (both as pursuers and the pursued) throughout the Cold War. KGB officers and operatives played an important role in the attempt to overthrow the government of the first (and last) president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev and was essentially abolished or devolved into successor agencies after the failure of the anti-Gorbachev putsch and the collapse of the USSR in 1991. 

The KGB's culture continue to heavily influence Russian politics and policy. After the fall of the Soviet Union, former KGB officer Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, became President of the successor, Russian Federation.  Moreover, the following Russian Federation agencies were created from within the KGB: the Federal Security Service (FSB); the Federal Agency of Government Intercommunication, which is responsible for communications between top state officials; the Guard Service, which guards top state officials; and the Outer Intelligence Service, which collects and processes all data coming from abroad. 

 (more

 

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) DRAFT COPY. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) DRAFT COPY. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Iranian Nuclear Program. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %D 2003 %T Iranian Nuclear and Missile Programs %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Iran's first nuclear technology was obtained as a gift from the United States under the Atoms for Peace program begun by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. Although intended to produce a source of power for energy and non-military uses, the technologies required to produce nuclear power and nuclear weapons largely overlap. For decades, there has been speculation about whether Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. The building blocks are clearly in place, but intelligence agencies in the United States, France, Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom vary in their estimates about how long it could take Iran to put the pieces together to produce a nuclear weapon.  

Both peaceful and military uses require enrichment technology and procedures that extract and concentrate uranium-235 (235U), an isotope capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction, from raw uranium ore that contains mostly 99 percent uranium-238 (238U), an isotope incapable of sustaining the chain reaction needed to produce a nuclear explosion. The percentage of enrichment required for use in weapons is much higher than the levels needed to produce nuclear reactor fuel. 

The Atoms for Peace program eventually came to be seen as a mistake by the United States, which has sought to recover the nuclear fuel dispersed around the world by the program. It has not always been able to do so because of political change. 

By 1979, when the United States-backed dictator of Iran, the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980), was overthrown by fundamentalist Islamist revolutionaries, Iran already had a sophisticated nuclear program. The existing technology was inherited by the new regime. 

Iran has consistently insisted that its nuclear facilities and activities are intended only for the peaceful production of nuclear energy. In 2002, however, Iranian dissidents publicized the existence of secret nuclear facilities they contended were part of secret Iranian program to produce nuclear weapons. The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began inspections of Iran's facilities later that year. (more)

%B Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. (online) DRAFT COPY. Originally: Lerner, K. Lee and B. Wilmoth Lerner. Iranian Nuclear Program. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Originally appeared as "Bioweapons Research" in Schlager, N. ed. Science in Dispute, Thomson | Gale %D 2002 %T Biological weapons, a genie already out of the bottle and awaiting a master: Evaluating arguments in favor of resuming research and development on biological weapons. %A K.Lee Lerner %X A contentious issue that forces us to confront humankind's deepest fears, the debate over whether the United States should resume research and development programs on biological weapons often disregards the fact that although the United States biological weapons programs formally ended in 1969-by then President Richard M. Nixon's executive order-research on potential biological weapons has never stopped-only the formal research dedicated to the weaponization 1 of agents. As abhorrent as the argument may be on a personal level, there are valid strategic reasons for the United States to abandon its current BWC policy and treaty obligations in order to openly resume formal research and development programs on the actual weaponization of biological agents. Renewed research and development on biological weapons does not demand that the United States begin to accumulate or stockpile such weapons and this article makes no such argument. Regardless, the evolution of political realities in the last half of the twentieth century clearly points toward the probability that, within the first half of the twenty-first century, biological weapons will surpass nuclear and chemical weapons in terms of potential threat to the citizens of the United States. An effective defense to biologic agents-and the development of strategic weapons that will deter attack on the United States-can only be obtained through limited but deliberate biological weapons research. (download to read more) %B Originally appeared as "Bioweapons Research" in Schlager, N. ed. Science in Dispute, Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Cengage | Gale %D 2002 %T Nervous system, embryological development %A K.Lee Lerner %X

This is a preprint of an article originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale. 2002.

The organs of the neural system develop from ectodermal cells, the outermost layer of embryonic germ cells. The covering of the neural system and the blood vessels that supply nervous tissue derive from the mesoderm.

Immediately after formation of the embryonic disk, a thickening occurs in the ectoderm along the longitudinal axis to form the neural plate. This plate then folds along its long axis to form a groove. The sides of the groove are neural folds, which fuse on the dorsal side to form the neural tube. The neural tube is divided into three basic layers, and the cell types in these layers take on the name of the layer in which they are located. The outermost layer of cells in the marginal layer becomes marginal layer cells. The middle layer, known as the mantle layer, gives rise to mantle cells. The innermost layer, the ependymal layer, forms ependymal cells. (download to read more)

%B Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Cengage | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) synthesis of articles originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Cengage | Gale %D 2002 %T Embryonic development and differentiation of ectodermal, endodermal, and mesodermal germ layers %A K.Lee Lerner %X

This is a preprint synthesis of articles "Ectoderm," "Endoderm," "Mesoderm," and "Notochord" originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale. 2002.


Ectoderm

Ectoderm is one of three principal germinal layers of cells that are formed early in embryonic development. Ectoderm comprises the outermost germinal layer from which the nervous system, eyes, ears, epidermis, and integumentary elements (glands, hair, and nails) develop. Membranes derived from ectoderm are in contact with endoderm derived structures at membranes of the mouth and anus.

In the embryonic disk, ectoderm and endoderm sandwich mesoderm, the third primitive germinal layer. When the embryonic disk ultimately folds into a tube, the basic "tube within a tube" plan of development becomes evident. A core endodermal tube establishes a primitive digestive pathway bounded by an oral orifice and an anal orifice. Around that innermost tube is an outer tube comprised of ectoderm. The ectoderm serves as a protective layer and the layer from which the nervous system and sense organs develop. Mesodermal cells fill the space between the inner (endodermal) and outer (ectodermal) tube. Mesodermal cells ultimately contribute to the muscles, organs, and other internal body structures.

About a week following fertilization, the human embryonic blastocyst is embedded in (download to read more)

%B (Preprint) synthesis of articles originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Cengage | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) synthesis of "Gametogenesis"  and "Germ cells and the germ cell line" originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale. 2002.  %D 2002 %T Gametogenesis, the production of haploid sex cells from the germ cell line %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Gametogenesis is the production of haploid sex cells (in humans, ovum and spermatozoa) that carry one-half of each parent's genetic complement. These cells arise from the germ cell line of each parent.

Germ cells and the germ cell line

Germ cells are one of two fundamental cell types in the human body. Germ cells are responsible for the production of sex cells or gametes (in humans, ovum and spermatozoa). Germ cells also constitute a cell line through which genes are passed from generation to generation.

The vast majority of cells in the body are somatic cells. Indeed, the term somatic cell encompasses all of the differentiated cell types, (e.g., vascular, muscular, cardiac, etc.) In addition, somatic cells may also contain undifferentiated stem cells (cells that, with regard to differentiation are still multipotential). Regardless, while the mechanism of genetic replication and cell division is via mitosis in somatic cells, in germ cells a series of meiotic divisions during gametogenesis produces male and female gametes (i.e., ovum and spermatozoa that upon fusion (fertilization) create a single celled zygote that is capable of creating a new organism (download to read more)

%B (Preprint) synthesis of "Gametogenesis"  and "Germ cells and the germ cell line" originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale. 2002.  %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale %D 2002 %T Nerve impulses and conduction of impulses %A K.Lee Lerner %X The nervous system governs a process of immediate, short-term communication and control that extends across various body systems. In contrast to the endocrine system, which achieves long-term control via chemical messengers (hormones), the nervous system relies on both chemicals and electricity to transmit an array of signals and commands. (download to read more) %B (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale %D 2002 %T Cell membrane transport %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Cell membrane transport is a process by which chemicals and other substances move across cell membranes. Animal cells are bound by an outer membrane that, in accord with the fluid mosaic model, consists of a phospholipid bilayer interspersed with proteins. These protein molecules act as receptor sites. There are a variety of channels in the membrane (as well as a number of internal cellular membranes) that partially partition the intercellular matrix. These internal membranes ultimately become continuous with the nuclear membrane. There are three principal means by which molecules can pass through the boundary cellular membrane; these are the mechanisms of outer cellular membrane transport. They are passive diffusion (also called gradient diffusion), facilitated diffusion, and active transport. (download to read more)

%B (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale %D 2002 %T Action potential %A K.Lee Lerner %X

An action potential is a series of electrical and underlying chemical changes that travels down the length of a neural cell (neuron). It represents a change in electrical potential from the resting potential of the neuronal cell membrane. The neural impulse is created by the controlled development of action potentials that sweep down the body (axon) of a neural cell.

 

There are two major control and communication systems in the human body, the endocrine system and the nervous system. In many respects, these two systems are complementary. Endocrine hormonal regulation creates long-term effects, while the nervous system is a mechanism for nearly immediate control (which includes homeostatic mechanisms such as blood pressure regulation). Action potentials are a central feature of this rapid communication in the body. (download to read more)

%B (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Draft Copy) Originally published in: Lerner, KL and Lerner, BW. World of Genetics.Thomson | Gale %D 2002 %T Wild Type %A K.Lee Lerner %X In descriptions of a given population of organisms, the alleles most commonly present (genotype), or the most commonly expressed set of characteristics (phenotype) is referred to as the wild type. Because the wild type (also often printed in a hyphenated form as "wild-type") represents the most common genotype, alleles that are not a part of that genotype are often considered mutant alleles. Accordingly, the designation of wild type is based upon a quantitative (numerical) representation or estimation of the norm (normal) or standard in a population. (download to read more) %B (Draft Copy) Originally published in: Lerner, KL and Lerner, BW. World of Genetics.Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Draft Copy) Originally published in: Lerner, KL and Lerner, BW. World of Genetics.Thomson | Gale %D 2002 %T Gene Mutations and Genetic Change %A K.Lee Lerner %X In a strict sense, mutations are changes in genes not caused by genetic recombination. A change in the base sequence of DNA, for example, represents a mutational change. Spontaneous mutations are mutations that occur at a given frequency without the need for an inducing agent of change (mutagenic agent). The term mutation is also used in a less technical sense to describe changes in the human genome (i.e., evolution) that result from a broad spectrum of processes that act to increase or decrease genetic variation within a population. (download to read more) %B (Draft Copy) Originally published in: Lerner, KL and Lerner, BW. World of Genetics.Thomson | Gale %I Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Edited by Neal Schlager. Published by Thomson | Gale %D 2002 %T K. Lee Lerner, contributing author: Science in Dispute %X

A collection of essays covering controversies in science.

K. Lee Lerner contributed essays regarding biological weapons research; the feasibility of physicists reaching a Grand Unified Theory with current technologies; the evolution of concepts of continental drift and plate tectonics; and the validity and mathematical confidence of statistical sampling used to compile census data.

%B Edited by Neal Schlager. Published by Thomson | Gale %I Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T Anatomical Nomenclature %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Over the centuries, anatomists developed a method of naming anatomical structures, and this has evolved into a standardized anatomical nomenclature that clarifies what part of the body is being discussed and where that part is located. A standardized language for describing body structures is also essential. (download to read more)

%B (Preprint) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Anatomy and Physiology. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (8 volumes). Edited by Neal Schlager. Published by Thomson | Gale %D 2001 %T K. Lee Lerner, contributing author: Science and Its Times %X

[[{"fid":555001,"view_mode":"default","type":"media","attributes":{"height":"316","width":"322","style":"float: left; width: 94px; height: 91px;","alt":"RUSA seal","title":"RUSA seal","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]*RUSA AWARD. K Lee Lerner was a substantial contributor to Science and its Times: the critically-acclaimed and RUSA award-winning series edited by Neil Schlager and published by Thomson | Gale.

Across the eight volumes in the series, K. Lee Lerner's contributions regarding the history of science and include articles titled: Science in the Ancient and Classical Worlds 2000 BC-699 AD; Astrology and Astronomy in the Ancient World; Medieval Science, Religion, and Astronomy; Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation; Enlightenment Age Advances in Dynamics and Celestial Mechanics; Eighteenth Century Astronomers Argue the Existence of God; The Cavendish Experiment Quest for a Gravitational Constant; Unification Nineteenth Century Advances in Electromagnetism; Einstein's Theories of Relativity; Development of Quantum Mechanics; QED Quantum Electrodynamics (QED); Arguments against Hidden Variables in Quantum Systems; A World Within: The Search for Subatomic Particles; The Development of RADAR and SONAR; Continental Drift and the Theory of Plate Tectonics; Life cycles of the stars; Nucleosynthesis and Stellar Evolution Bind Humanity to the Cosmos; Great Barringer Meteor Crater; Hubble Space Telescope; The Development of Radio Astronomy; Black holes; and Quasars- Beacons in the Cosmic Night.

K. Lee Lerner's contributions regarding the history of mathematics include articles titled: The Moscow and Rhind Papyruses; Eratosthenes calculates the circumference of Earth; Renaissance Advancements in Notation Enhance the Translation and Precision of Mathematics; Emergence of the Calculus; The Elaboration of the Calculus; Credit for Calculus - The Newton Leibniz feud; Mathematics and the Eighteenth Century Physical World; The Specialization of Mathematics and the Rise of Formalism; Establishment of the Field's Medal in Mathematics; Kepler's sphere-packing conjecture is finally proved; Bootstrap Statistics; Efron's Development of the Bootstrap; and Use of Number Theory in Cryptology.

Lerner's contributions regarding contemporary issues and developments in science and mathematics include articles on Relativity theory; Evolution and Evolutionary Mechanisms; Lysenkoism A Deadly Mix of Pseudoscience and Political Ideology, and an article related to cultural Science Wars

Also included among K. Lee Lerner's contribution to SAIT are volume/section overviews and conceptual framing essays, including: Science: A new understanding of nature 1900-1950; Mathematics. The organization of the mathematics community, 1900-1950; Mathematics. An overview of mathematics, 1950-2000.

%B (8 volumes). Edited by Neal Schlager. Published by Thomson | Gale %I Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %D 2001 %T Einstein's Theories of Relativity %A K.Lee Lerner %X

At the dawn of the twentieth century the classical laws of physics put forth by Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) in the late seventeenth century stood venerated and triumphant. The laws described with great accuracy the phenomena of everyday existence. A key assumption of Newtonian laws was a reliance upon an absolute frame of reference for natural phenomena. As a consequence of this assumption, scientists searched for an elusive "ether" through which light waves could pass. In one grand and sweeping "theory of special relativity," Albert Einstein was able to account for the seemingly conflicting and counter-intuitive predictions stemming from work in electromagnetic radiation, experimental determinations of the constancy of the speed of light, length contraction, time dilation, and mass enlargements. A decade later, Einstein once again revolutionized concepts of space and time with the publication of his "general theory of relativity." (more)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %D 2001 %T Einstein's Theories of RelativityLerner, K. Lee. The Emergence of the Calculus. DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, 2001 %A K.Lee Lerner %X

At the dawn of the twentieth century the classical laws of physics put forth by Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) in the late seventeenth century stood venerated and triumphant. The laws described with great accuracy the phenomena of everyday existence. A key assumption of Newtonian laws was a reliance upon an absolute frame of reference for natural phenomena. As a consequence of this assumption, scientists searched for an elusive "ether" through which light waves could pass. In one grand and sweeping "theory of special relativity," Albert Einstein was able to account for the seemingly conflicting and counter-intuitive predictions stemming from work in electromagnetic radiation, experimental determinations of the constancy of the speed of light, length contraction, time dilation, and mass enlargements. A decade later, Einstein once again revolutionized concepts of space and time with the publication of his "general theory of relativity." (more)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %G eng %0 Book Section %B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. %D 2001 %T QED -Quantum electrodynamics %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Quantum electrodynamics (QED), is a scientific theory that is also known as the quantum theory of light. QED describes the quantum properties (properties that are conserved and that occur in discrete amounts called quanta) and mechanics associated with the interaction of light (i.e., electromagnetic radiation) with matter. The practical value of QED rests upon its ability, as set of equations, to allow calculations related to the absorption and emission of light by atoms and to allow scientists to make very accurate predictions regarding the result of the interactions between photons and charged atomic particles such as electrons. QED is a fundamentally important scientific theory because it accounts for all observed physical phenomena except those associated with aspects of relativity theory and radioactive decay. (more)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. %I Thomson Gale, %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %D 2001 %T The Specialization of Mathematics and the Rise of Formalism %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Mathematics is the study of the relationships among, and operations performed on both tangible and abstract quantities. In its ancient origins, mathematics was concerned with magnitudes, geometries and other practical and measurable phenomena. During the 19th century, mathematics, and an increasing number of mathematicians, became enticed with relationships based on pure reason and upon the abstract ideas and deductions properly drawn from those relationships. In addition to advancing mathematical methods related to applications useful to science, engineering or economics (hence the term applied mathematics), the rise of the formalization of symbolic logic and abstract reasoning during the 19th century allowed mathematicians to develop the definitions, complex relations, and theorems of pure mathematics. Within both pure and applied mathematics, 19th century mathematicians took on increasingly specialized roles corresponding to the rapid compartmentalization and specialization of mathematics in general. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %D 2001 %T The Development of Quantum Mechanics %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Quantum mechanics describes the relationships between energy and matter on the atomic and subatomic scale. At the beginning of the 20th century, German physicist Maxwell Planck proposed that atoms absorb or emit electromagnetic radiation in bundles of energy termed quanta. This quantum concept seemed counter-intuitive to well-established Newtonian physics. Advancements associated with quantum mechanics (e.g., the uncertainty principle) also had profound implications with regard to the philosophical scientific arguments regarding the limitations of human knowledge…. Later in the 1920s, the concept of quantization and its application to physical phenomena was further advanced by more mathematically complex models based on the work of the French physicist Louis Victor de Broglie and Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger that depicted the particle and wave nature of electrons. De Broglie showed that the electron was not merely a particle but a wave form. This proposal led Schrodinger to publish his wave equation in 1926. Schroödinger's work described electrons as "standing wave" surrounding the nucleus and his system of quantum mechanics is called wave mechanics. German physicist Max Bornand English physicist P.A.M Dirac made further advances in defining the subatomic particles (principally the electron) as a wave rather than as a particle and in reconciling portions of quantum theory with relativity theory. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %V 2001 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %D 2001 %T Lysenkoism: A Deadly Mix of Pseudoscience and Political Ideology %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The disastrous effects of Lysenkoism -- a term used to describe the impact of Trofim Denisovich Lysenko's influence upon science and agriculture in the Soviet Union during the first half of the 20th century -- darkly illustrates the perils of intruding politics and ideology into the affairs of science. 

Despite the near medieval conditions in which the majority of the population of Czarist Russia lived, the achievements of pre-Revolutionary Russia in science rivaled those of Europe and America. In fact, achievement in science had been one of the few avenues to the aristocracy open to the non-nobility. The Revolution had sought to maintain this tradition, and win over the leaders of Russian science. From outset new communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky fought -- even in the midst of civil war and famine -- to make available considerable resources for scientific research.

In the political storms that ravaged the Soviet Union following the death of Lenin, the expulsion of Trotsky, and the rise of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Lysenko's pseudoscientific ideas that all organisms, given the proper conditions, have the capacity to be or do anything had certain attractive parallels with the social philosophies of Karl Marx (and the 20th century French philosopher Henri Bergson) that promoted the idea that man was largely a product of his own will. 

Beyond the absurdity and tragedy of rejecting of nearly a century of advancements in genetics, Stalin and Lysenko combined to exacerbate famine and other deprivations facing Soviet citizens. Moreover, the culture of Lysenkoism was another facet of  repression and persecution. Such was the fate of scientists who dared oppose Lysenko's Stalin-backed doctrines.

Enamored with the political acceptability and alleged scientific merit of Lysenko's ideas, Stalin took matters one step further by personally attacking modern genetics as counter-revolutionary or bourgeois science. While the rest of the scientific world could not conceive of understanding evolution without genetics, Stalin's Soviet Union used its political power to suppress rational scientific inquiry. Under Stalin, science was made to serve political ideology. (MORE)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %D 2001 %T Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation %A K.Lee Lerner %X

In 1687 English physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) published a law of universal gravitation in his influential work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy). In its simplest form, Newton's law of universal gravitation states that bodies with mass attract each other with a force that varies directly as the product of their masses and inversely as the square of the distance between them. This mathematically elegant law, however, offered a remarkably reasoned and profound insight into the mechanics of the natural world because revealed a cosmos bound together by the mutual gravitational attraction of its constituent particles. Moreover, along with Newton's laws of motion, the law of universal gravitation became the guiding model for the future development of physical law.

Newton's law of universal gravitation was derived from German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler's (1571-1630) laws of planetary motion, the concept of "action-at-a-distance," and Newton's own laws of motion. Building on Galileo's observations of falling bodies, Newton asserted that gravity is a universal property of all matter. Although the force of gravity can become infinitesimally small at increasing distances between bodies, all bodies of mass exert gravitational force on each other. Newton extrapolated that the force of gravity (later characterized by the gravitational field) extended to infinity and, in so doing, bound the universe together. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale, %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T The Cavendish Experiment and the Quest to Determine a Gravitational Constant %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The determination of a precise value for the gravitational constant (G) proved a frustrating, but fruitful, exercise for scientists since the constant was first described by English physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) in his influential 1687 work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy). In many ways as enigmatic as mathematicians' search for a proof to Fermat's last theorem (proved only in the last decade of the twentieth century), the determination of an exact value of the gravitational constant has eluded physicists for more than 300 years. The quest for "G" provides a continuing challenge to the experimental ingenuity of physicists and often spurs new generations of physicists to recapture the inventiveness and delicacy of measurement first embodied in the elegant experiments conducted by English physicist Henry Cavendish (1731-1810).

In Principia Newton put forth a grand synthesis of theory regarding the physical universe. According to Newtonian theory, the universe was bound together by the mutual gravitational attraction of its constituent particles. With regard to gravity, Newton formulated that the gravitational attraction between two bodies was directly proportional to the masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the masses. Accordingly, if one doubled a mass, one would double the gravitational attraction; if one doubled the distance between masses, one would reduce the gravitational attraction to one-fourth of its former value. What was missing from Newton's formulation, however, was a value for a gravitational constant that would accurately translate these fundamental qualitative relationships into experimentally verifiable numbers. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T Enlightenment Age Advances in Dynamics and Celestial Mechanics %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Using equations based on Newton's laws, 18th century mathematicians were able to develop the symbolism and formulae needed to advance the study of dynamics (the study of motion). An important consequence of these advancements allowed astronomers and mathematicians to more accurately and precisely calculate and describe the real and apparent motions of astronomical bodies (celestial mechanics) as well as to propose the dynamics related to the formation of the solar system. The refined analysis of celestial mechanics carried profound theological and philosophical ramifications in the Age of Enlightenment. Mathematicians and scientists, particularly those associated with French schools of mathematics, argued that if the small perturbations and anomalies in celestial motions could be completely explained by an improved understanding of celestial mechanics, i.e., that the solar system was really stable within defined limits, such a finding mooted the concept of a God required adjust the celestial mechanism. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T The Elaboration of the Calculus %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Many of the most influential advances in mathematics during the 18th century involved the elaboration of the calculus, a branch of mathematical analysis which describes properties of functions (curves) associated with a limit process. Although the evolution of the techniques included in the calculus spanned the history of mathematics, calculus was formally developed during the last decades of the 17th century by English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and, independently, by German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716). Although the logical underpinnings of calculus were hotly debated, the techniques of calculus were immediately applied to a variety of problems in physics, astronomy, and engineering. By the end of the 18th century, calculus had proved a powerful tool that allowed mathematicians and scientists to construct accurate mathematical models of physical phenomena ranging from orbital mechanics to particle dynamics.

Although it is clear that Newton made his discoveries regarding calculus years before Leibniz, most historians of mathematics assert that Leibniz independently developed the techniques, symbolism, and nomenclature reflected in his preemptory publications of the calculus in 1684 and 1686. The controversy regarding credit for the origin of calculus quickly became more than a simple dispute between mathematicians. Supporters of Newton and Leibniz often arguing along bitter and blatantly nationalistic lines and the feud itself had a profound influence on the subsequent development of calculus and other branches of mathematical analysis in England and in Continental Europe. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T The Emergence of the Calculus %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The Calculus describes a set of powerful analytical techniques, including differentiation and integration, that utilize the concept of a limit in the mathematical description of the properties of functions, especially curves. The formal development of the calculus in the later half of the 17th century, primarily through the independent work of English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), was the crowning mathematical achievement of the Scientific Revolution. The subsequent advancement of the calculus profoundly influenced the course and scope of mathematical and scientific inquiry. 

Important mathematical developments that laid the foundation for the calculus of Newton and Leibniz can be traced back to mathematical techniques first advanced in Ancient Greece and Rome. In addition to existing methods to determine the tangent to a circle, the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes (c.290-c.211B.C.), developed a technique to determine the tangent to a spiral, an important component of his water screw. 

The majority of other ancient fundamental advances ultimately related to the calculus were concerned with techniques that allowed the determination of areas under curves (principally the area and volume of curved shapes). In addition to their mathematical utility, these advancements both reflected and challenged prevailing philosophical notions regarding the concept of infinitely divisible time and space. Two centuries before the work of Archimedes, Greek philosopher and mathematician Zeno of Elea (c.495-c.430 B.C.) constructed a set of paradoxes that were fundamentally important in the development of mathematics, logic and scientific thought. Zeno's paradoxes reflected the idea that space and time could be infinitely subdivided into smaller and smaller portions and these paradoxes remained mathematically unsolvable in practical terms until the concepts of continuity and limits were introduced. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Draft Copy) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Genetics. Thomson | Gale. 2002. Updated and republished as part of a series of essays on modern scientific thought in: Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds %D 2001 %T Evolution and Evolutionary Mechanisms Controlling Genetic Variation %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Evolution is the process of biological change over time. Such changes, especially at the genetic level are accomplished by a complex set of evolutionary mechanisms that act to increase or decrease genetic variation. 

Evolutionary theory is the cornerstone of modern biology, and unites all the fields of biology under one theoretical umbrella to explain the changes in any given gene pool of a population over time.  Biological evolutionary theory is compatible with nucelosynthesis (the evolution of the elements) and current cosmological theories in physics regarding the origin and evolution of the universe. 

There is no currently accepted scientific data that is incompatible with the general postulates of evolutionary theory, and the mechanisms of evolution. Moreover, there is an abundance of observational and experimental data to support the theory and its subtle variations… 

Evolution requires genetic variation, and these variations or changes (mutations) can be beneficial, neutral or deleterious. In general, there are two major types of evolutionary mechanisms, those that act to increase genetic variation, and mechanisms that operate to decrease genetic variation. 

Mechanisms that increase genetic variation include mutation, recombination and gene flow…. 

...In contrast to mechanisms that operate to increase genetic variation, there are fewer mechanisms that operate to decrease genetic variation. Mechanisms that decrease genetic variation include genetic drift and natural selection. (more).

%B (Draft Copy) Originally published in K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds. World of Genetics. Thomson | Gale. 2002. Updated and republished as part of a series of essays on modern scientific thought in: Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T Eratosthenes calculates the circumference of Earth %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Of increasing importance in ancient and classical civilizations that had their territorial and cultural horizons consistently expanded by the march of armies and the alluring promise of wealth and trade, was the measurement of distance. Using elegant mathematical reasoning and limited empirical measurement, in approximately 240 B.C., Eratosthenes of Cyrene (now located in Libya) made an accurate measurement of the circumference of the Earth. In addition to providing evidence of scientific empiricism in the ancient world, this and other contributions to geodesy (the study of the shape and size of the Earth) spurred subsequent exploration and expansion. Ironically, centuries later the Greek mathematician and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy's erroneous rejection of Eratosthenes' mathematical calculations, along with other mathematical errors, resulted in the mathematical estimation of a smaller Earth that, however erroneous, made extended seagoing journeys and exploration seem more tactically achievable.

(more)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T Science in the Ancient and Classical Worlds 2000 B.C.- 699 A.D. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Throughout the course of human history, science and society have advanced in a dynamic and mutual embrace. Regardless of scholarly contentions regarding an exact definition of science, the history of science in the ancient world is a record of the first tentative steps toward a systemization of knowledge concerning the natural world. During the period 2000 B.C. to 699 A.D., as society became increasingly centered around stabilizing agricultural communities and cites of trade, the development of science nurtured necessary practical technological innovations and, at the same time, spurred the first rational explanations of the vastness and complexity of the cosmos. 

The archaeological record provides abundant evidence that our most ancient ancestors' struggle for daily survival drove an instinctive need to fashion tools from which they could gain physical advantage beyond the strength of the relatively frail human body. Along with an innate curiosity into the workings and meanings of the celestial panorama that painted the night skies, this visceral quest for survival made more valuable the skills of systematic observation, technological innovation, and a practical understanding of one's surroundings. From these fundamental skills evolved the necessary intellectual tools to do scientific inquiry. 

Although the wandering civilizations that predated the earliest settlements were certainly not scientifically or mathematically sophisticated by contemporary standards, their efforts ultimately produced a substantial base of knowledge that was fashioned into the science and philosophy practiced in ancient Babylonia, Egypt, China, and India... In the ancient world, the culmination of the intellectual advances of early man ultimately coalesced in the glorious civilizations of classical Greece and Rome. 

In these civilizations, the paths of development for science and society were clearly fused.... This quest for knowledge and for reasoned rational thought provided a tangible base for the development of modern science and society. 
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%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2001 %T Astrology and Astronomy in the Ancient World %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The first records of systematic astronomical or astrological observation and interpretation lie in the scattered remains of ancient Egyptian and Babylonian civilizations. The earliest evidence of the development of astronomy and astrology -- in the modern world distinctive representatives of science and pseudo-science -- establish that they share a common origin grounded in mankind's need and quest to understand the movements of the celestial sphere. Moreover, evidence suggests a early and strong desire to relate earthly everyday existence to the stars and to develop a cosmology (an understanding of the origin, structure and evolution of the universe) that bound intimately bound human society to a coherent and knowable universe.  (more)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Book Section %B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery %D 2001 %T History of Mathematics: Renaissance Advancements in Notation Enhance the Translation and Precision of Mathematics. %A K.Lee Lerner %X

During the Renaissance in Western Europe, a rediscovery and advancement of classical mathematics laid the foundation for the empiricism of the Science Revolution. One of the pillars of this intellectual reawakening in mathematics was the increased use of mathematical symbols that enabled scholars to more easily and accurately communicate with each other across geographical, national, and linguistic boarders.  more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery %I Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005." Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. Originally published in Schlager, N. Science and Its Times. Thomson | Gale %D 2000 %T The Development of RADAR and SONAR %A K.Lee Lerner %X Although they rely on two fundamentally different types of wave transmission, Radio Detection And Ranging (RADAR) and Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR) both are remote sensing systems with important military, scientific and commercial applications.   RADAR sends out electromagnetic waves,  active SONAR transmits acoustic (i.e., sound) waves.  In both systems these waves return echoes from certain features or targets that allow the determination of important properties and attributes of the target (i.e., shape, size, speed, distance, etc.).  Because electromagnetic waves are strongly attenuated (diminished) in water,  RADAR signals are mostly used for ground or atmospheric observations.  Because SONAR signals easily penetrate water, they are ideal for navigation and measurement under water  <download to read more> %B (Preprint) Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005." Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2005. Originally published in Schlager, N. Science and Its Times. Thomson | Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2000 %T Eighteenth Century Astronomers Argue the Existence of God %A K.Lee Lerner %X

At the dawn of the 18th century scientific and Western theology was based on the concept of an unchanging, immutable God ruling a static universe. For theologians, Newtonian physics and the rise of mechanistic explanations of the natural world held forth the promise of a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the Cosmos and, accordingly, of the nature of God. During the course of the 18th century, however, there was a major conceptual rift between science and theology that was reflected in a growing scientific disregard for understanding based upon divine revelation and growing acceptance of an understanding of Nature based upon natural theology. By the end of the 18th century, experimentation had replaced scripture as the determinant authority in science. Enlightenment thinking, spurred by advances in the physical sciences, sent sweeping changes across the political and social landscape.

Throughout the 18th century English physicist Sir Isaac Newton's (1642-1727) Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) first published in 1687, dominated the intellectual landscape.... Within his own lifetime Newton saw the rise and triumph of Newtonian physics, and the widespread acceptance of a mechanistic concept regarding the workings of the universe among philosophers and scientists.

Newtonian laws -- and a well-functioning clockwork universe -- depended upon the deterministic effects of gravity, electricity, and magnetism... Newton argued that God set the Cosmos in motion, and to account for small differences between predicted and observed results, God actively intervened from time to time to reset or "restore" the mechanism.

Theologians and scientists were deeply concerned about the moral implications of a scientific theories that explained everything as the inevitable consequence of mechanical principles. Accordingly, much effort was expended to reconcile Newtonian physics -- and a clockwork universe -- with conventional theology to provide an on-going and active role for God. Objective evidence regarding the universe was often sifted through theological filters that evaluated whether a set of facts of theories tended to prove or disprove the existence of God. Ironically, it was this interplay between religion and science that led many to subsequently insist on a strong scientific objectivity that largely discounted religious subjectivity. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2000 %T Medieval Religion, Science, and Astronomy %A K.Lee Lerner %X

During the European Dark Ages there was no coherent system of scientific or philosophical thought. Throughout Western Civilization, theological doctrine and dogma replaced the rational and logical inquiry of the ancient Greek scholars. During the 13th and 14th centuries, however, the rediscovery of Aristotle's (384-322 B.C.) philosophy, as preserved by Arabic scholars, renewed interest in the development of logic and scientific inquiry. The critical writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (1227-1274), Roger Bacon (1214-1294) and William Ockham (also spelled Occham, 1285-1347/49) regarding Aristotelian ideas ultimately laid the intellectual foundations for the 17th century Scientific Revolution by de-emphasizing the primacy of understanding based upon scriptural revelation or authority.

Although the origins of astronomy and cosmology predate the human written record, by the height of ancient Greek civilization the cause of natural phenomena was attributed to the collective whim of a pantheon of Gods. Although monotheistic in the same sense as was ancient Judaism, out of this pantheism (a theology that includes multiple Gods) arose the idea that there was an infinite being, Plato's (c. 428 - c.347 B.C.), "The One," and Aristotle's (384-322 B.C.) "prime mover.' Aristotle's influence over astronomy and cosmology was to extend for nearly two millennia and, as a set of philosophical and scientific explanations of the universe, Aristotle's assertions ultimately became integral to the tightly interwoven fabric of philosophy, science, and theology that came to dominate the late Medieval intellectual landscape. more

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J (Preprint) Originally published in Schlager, N. Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2000 %T The Moscow and Rhind Papyruses Shed Light on the Nature and Extent of Ancient Egyptian Mathematics Prior to the Development of More Formal Mathematical Theory in Greece %A K.Lee Lerner %X

The content of the Moscow and Rhind Papyruses shed considerable light on the nature and extent of ancient Egyptian mathematics. Both papyri provide vivid documentary evidence of geometrical reasoning in the Egyptian Twelfth Dynasty and insight into the practical applications of mathematics prior to the more formal development of mathematical theory in ancient Greece. A careful analysis of the mathematical presentation and content of the two documents, however, limits the claims of Egyptian influence upon the later rise of theory in Greek mathematics.


The physical archaeological record leaves little doubt as to the use and influence of mathematics on ancient Egyptian culture. Temples and other cultural artifacts provide extensive evidence of mathematical reasoning that predates the existing documentary record. The arrangement of pillars and stones in temple monuments, such as those found at Karnak, are lasting tribute to the careful calculations of ancient priests and astronomers in their attempt to provide accurate calendars based upon the movements of the Sun. 

Whatever the initial need for a written record, whether its first use was as a more portable means of recording and deciphering astronomical data, or whether the general rise of civilization provided a swelling and multifaceted need to record the methods of mathematical reasoning, the earliest existing documentary records embodied in the Moscow papyrus and the Rhind papyrus, disclose that the ancient Egyptians utilized considerable practical skill in the use and application of mathematics. (more)

%B (Preprint) Originally published in Schlager, N. Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %D 2000 %T Unification: Nineteenth-century Advances in Electromagnetism %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Advances in 19th century concepts of electromagnetism moved rapidly from experimental novelties to prominent and practical applications. At the start of the century gas and oil lamps burned in homes, but by the end of the century electric light bulbs illuminated an increasing number of electrified homes. By mid-century (1865) a telegraph cable connected the United States and England. Yet, within a few decades, even this magnificent technological achievement was eclipsed by advancements in electromagnetic theory that spurred the discovery and development of the radio waves that sparked a 20th century communications revolution. So rapid were the advances in electromagnetism that by the end of the 19th century high-energy electromagnetic radiation in the form of x-rays was used to diagnose injury. The mathematical unification of 19th century experimental work in electromagnetism profoundly shaped the relativity and quantum theories of 20th century physics.

In the late 18th and 19th centuries philosophical and religious ideas led many scientists to accept the argument that seemingly separate forces of nature (e.g., electricity, magnetism, light, etc.) shared a common and fundamental source. In addition, profound philosophical and scientific questions posed by Issac Newton's Optics (published in 1704) regarding the nature of light still dominated the 19th century intellectual landscape. Accordingly, in addition to a search for a common source of all natural phenomena, an elusive "ether" through which light could pass was thought necessary to explain the wave-like behavior of light.

The discovery of the relationship between electricity and magnetism at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century was hampered by a rift in the descriptions and models of nature used by mathematicians and experimentalists. To a significant extent, advances in electromagnetic theory during the 19th century mirrored unification of these approaches. The culmination of this merger coming with Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell's (1831-1879) development of a set of equations that accurately described electromagnetic phenomena better than any previous non-mathematical model.

The development of Maxwell's equations embodied the mathematical genius of the German mathematician Carl Fredrich Gauss (1777-1855), the reasonings and laboratory work of French scientist Andre Marie Ampere (1775-1836), the observations of Danish scientist Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851), and a wealth of experimental evidence provided by English physicist and chemist Micheal Faraday (1791-1867). (more)

%B DRAFT COPY subsequently published in Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Thomson Gale %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Draft Copy. Part of a series of essays identifying and explaining theories essential to understanding modern scientific thought. Originally Published %D 2000 %T Nucleosynthesis and Stellar Evolution Bind Humanity to the Cosmos %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Nucleosynthesis is the process of building nuclei of atoms heavier than hydrogen. The Big Bang produced hydrogen, helium, and some lithium, but all later creation of higher weight atoms has occurred in the hearts of stars via nucleosynthesis. All elements heavier than hydrogen of which Earth and humans are made were forged in stellar interiors by nucleosynthesis. 

Until the second half of the nineteenth century, astronomy was principally concerned with accurately describing the movements of planets and stars. Developments in the electromagnetic theory of light in the late nineteenth century along with the articulation of quantum and relativity theories in the early twentieth century, however, gave astronomers the tools they needed to probe the inner workings of the sun and other stars. In the first two-thirds of the century, astronomers and physicists unraveled the life cycles of most types of stars and reconciled the predictions of physical theory with astronomical observation. Insights into the birth and death of stars led to the stunning conclusion that Earth and all life upon it, including human beings, are in a direct and physical sense a product of stellar evolution. In astronomy, the term "evolution" is used to name the orderly process by which individual stars change as they age: stellar evolution is unrelated to biological evolution. more

%B Draft Copy. Part of a series of essays identifying and explaining theories essential to understanding modern scientific thought. Originally Published %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Originally published as a component of my M.Ed thesis focusing on fostering diversity in science education and career entry %D 1999 %T Reading To Promote Gender Equity in Secondary School Science And Math Classrooms %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Compared to their male counterparts, disproportionately fewer female students go on to take advanced or elective science at the secondary school level.  Consequently, disproportionately fewer women pursue university degrees or careers in mathematics, science and engineering.  Although more female students are taking elective secondary school math and science courses, these disproportions remain significant.  Based on a comprehensive survey of research and field reports, this paper outlines and evaluates the theory and methodology behind attempts -- particularly those emphasizing reading and writing skills -- to meet the specific needs of female students and asserts that addressing gender inequity is a “win-win” for teachers who desire to enhance education for all students. (more)

%B Originally published as a component of my M.Ed thesis focusing on fostering diversity in science education and career entry %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Originally published as a component of my M.Ed thesis focusing on fostering diversity in science education and career entry %D 1998 %T Simple Modifications To Expository Instruction That Promote Gender Equity in Secondary School Science And Math Classrooms %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Compared to their male counterparts, disproportionately fewer female students go on to take advanced or elective science at the secondary school level. Consequently, disproportionately fewer women pursue university degrees or careers in mathematics, science and engineering. Although more female students are taking elective secondary school math and science courses, these disproportions remain significant. Based on a comprehensive survey of research and field reports, this paper outlines and evaluates simple modifications to expository instruction-particularly those emphasizing reading and writing skills-that enable teachers to better meet the specific needs of female students. (more)

%B Originally published as a component of my M.Ed thesis focusing on fostering diversity in science education and career entry %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %D 1991 %T Tumult frees Russian soul from long Soviet nightmare (Editorial) %A K.Lee Lerner %X

Devoid of an industrial base, the Russian peoples labored through political purges and unworkable five-year plans in a desperate game of catch-up with the western world.

Suffering everything that befell them, the Russian devotion to their motherland remained strong.

The heroism and self-sacrifice of the Soviet peoples helped stop Hitler in his tracks. Yet for many soldiers returning from the West, reward for faithful service was a train ride to the gulag.

Twenty million people died. Stalingrad, Smolensk, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, and a hundred other cities lay pummeled. Galleries, libraries, and cathedrals were plundered or destroyed 

The Russian soul endured. (download to read more)

%B Taking Bearings. Harvard Blogs %G eng %U https://blogs.harvard.edu/kleelerner/taking-bearings-tumult-frees-russian-soul-from-long-soviet-nightmare-editorial/ %N December 28