research a country other than your own

                                       

                                      Italy

Italy the country of excellent wine, tasty olives and delicous pizza. The people are famous for eating spagethi, looking always trendy and producing a very good coffe. Italy is located in the South-Central Europe in the heart of mediterrean sea borderd by france, switzerland, austria and slovenia. Sardenga and Sicily are the two largest islands in the Mediterranean that are belonging to Italy. The territory of Italy covers 300,000 km² and with 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.

Italy is a parliamentary and democratic republic. It has a multi party system and the two main big parties are S. Berlusconi coalition(blue) and W. Veltroni coalition (red). The executive power is the council of ministers and the legislativ power consits of the houses of parliament and council of ministers. The third power is the judiciary. Furthermore all three branches are independent from each other. Italy has their democratic republic since 2 June 1946 and the constitution was promulgated on January 1, 1948 directly after 2WW. The current President of Italy is Giorgio Napolitano and current Prime Minister of Italy is Mario Monti. The president serves as a point of connection between the three branches: he is elected by the lawmakers, he appoints the executive, and is the president of the judiciary. The president is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Besides all the positiv aspects the country has also its negative sides. An important point is e.g. the growing of the population. Some countrys like e.g. India has to create plans how they can reduced the increase and Italy has to introduce a strategy growing the population rate.
First and faremost the birth rate is declining that is why the growing popultaion is stopping. That is follwing that the popultaion is becoming older and older. Although the expactation of life is increasing and the majority of the people is between 30 and 60 years old which are all good aspects Italy has a huge problem.

The three main cities in Itlay are Rome with 2,761,477 inhabitants, second Milan 1,324,110 and the last Naples with 959,574. Italy is famous for its huge amount of tourist attractions. in the following i will just list a few of them.

Canals of Venice:

• most beautiful in the night of a beautiful summerday, beacuse it is warm and cozy with all the lights and water surrounding you while sitting in a restaurant

Colosseum:

• located in Rome
• impressiv, amazing, historic sight
• largest building during the roman empire
• accomodate 55,000 people with 80 entrances

Santa Maria del Fiore:

• Florence cathedral
• engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi
• part of UNESCO Worl Heritage Site
• largest church, until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world

Piazza del Campo:

• principal public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany
• regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares
• renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity

Pompeii:

• is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania
• was partially destroyed and buried under ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79
• was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1749

Positano (Amalfi Coast)

• is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast, in Campania
• main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast

Lake Como (Italian Lake District)

• is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy
• has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy
• over 400 m (1320 ft) deep it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe

Leaning Tower of Pisa

• freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa
• height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the low side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the high side

Manarola (Cinque Terre)

• small town in the north of Italy
• is the second smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists

Towers of San Gimignano

• small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany
• mainly famous for its medieval architecture
• best chocolate ice cream in the whole world!

the lives they lived

Can mom stay with you?

This article published in the New York Times is about Irma Zielinksi and her relationship to the painting in which she posed in her wedding dress.

1. The main subject of this article is Irma Zielinksi a mother of three children. She was born in 1931 and her husband Joseph bought this portrait of her for a present.

2. Her children Sandra, Grace and John teased their mom often about the painting, because it was incredible huge and she was really curios about the painting and all the time they had friends over she highlighted it by a lamp. Grace said once that her mom was beautiful all the time even when she was in a dying condition she showed the nurse her portrait and that seemed that she was first really in love with her painting and second very proud of herself.

3. In my opinion she was a beautiful woman and knew what she wants to be and how she planed her life in an excellent way. I think she had a strong personality and could convince people very easily, because even when she was weak and skinny she had all the energy to show her portrait and made it something special. Another fact is that she left detailed wishes about some of her possessions but nothing about her painting. I think she did this in order to show their children the responsibility of their own decisions. But all of them had an excuse to not hang the picture in their houses. The only one who cared about this was Grace and she did a great job. She found a great place in a “well-preserved Queen Anne-style mansion with the fireplaces and the huge ceilings.”  Her mom would be very proud of her and I suggest that she was her little favorite kid.

4. This article was published in the New York Times because the people want to read a real story with a little hilarious touch. So it is the perfect article because it is actually about a sad fact which is death but the text is not filled with deep emotions it is calm, objective and illustrated with a lot of quotes. That is what people love to read. This combination and the fact about the woman who did everything she could to emphasize her portrait and show her proud about herself and that is what it makes hilarious.

5.  If I would write a more in-depth profile about Irma Zielinski I would firstly include all information about her look and her character from the article. Secondly I would interview the people who are standing close to her e.g. her mother, father, husband, children, and friends. I would ask questions like  “ What is your relationship to Irma? How close are you to each other? Did she ever had secrets or told you about this?” Furthermore it is interesting how she emerged and what things in live were the most important things to her.

sport



extreme skiing

This kind of sport is performed on long, steep slopes in dangerous forbidden terrains with at least 45 degrees descent and off-piste. As one of these conditions single mistakes at the wrong moment by some extreme skiers have led them to their deaths. Extreme skiing as an English term has changed since the 80s when the term "extreme skiing" was coined to now be classified under Big Mountain skiing and/or Freeskiing which encompasses all aspects and methods of descending off-piste terrain.

Skiers must make lightning-fast decisions throughout the run, lest they careen into a tree, a rock or off the side of the mountain itself. The slopes used for extreme skiing are sometimes not fit for climbing, let alone skiing. The first issue can be solved with helicopters, but extreme skiers embrace a belief that nearly every snow-covered landform is ski-able, and when they reach a portion that isn't, they just catch serious air and try to land on something that is.

The term "extreme skiing" for many people indicates any adrenaline-pumping form of skiing. It should be noted that the term, when used exactly, refers specifically to steep-hill skiing. However, as the practitioners of that sport have themselves taken on newer and bigger challenges, they have expanded the generic meaning of extreme skiing without breaking it, because the evolving hybrid forms still often contain the steep-slope element.
And there's not much these extreme pioneers haven't tried. Skiing off ramps and flipping twice before sticking the landing? Check. Skiing off the roof of a building and parachuting to safety? Doable. Soaring off a mountain top in a flying-squirrel body suit? It's been done. Making up the course of your run on the fly as you ski down virgin powder from a summit that could only be reached by helicopter? You could book that trip online right now if you wanted.
If those possibilities don't excite you, you may just need someone to ski beside you and inject adrenaline directly into your heart. And, given their lust for the next great ski high, that too may already be old-hat to some extreme skiers.

disease

brain tumor

Brain tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in the brain. Unlike other tumors, brain tumors spread by local extension and rarely metastasize outside the brain. A benign brain tumor is composed of non-cancerous cells and does not metastasize beyond the part of the brain where it originates. A brain tumor is considered malignant if it contains cancer cells, or if it is composed of harmless cells located in an area where it suppresses one or more vital functions. Each year, more than 17,000 brain tumors are diagnosed in the United States. About half of all primary brain tumors are benign, but in life-threatening locations. The rest are malignant and invasive.

causes and risk factors:

No one knows the exactcauses of brain tumors. It is clear that brain tumors are not contagious. Research has shown that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develo a brain tumor.

The following risk factors are associated with an increased chance of developing a primary brain tumor:

• Being male - In general, brain tumors are more common in males than females.
• Race - Brain tumors occur more often among white people than among people of other races.
• Age - Most brain tumors are detected in people who are 70 years old or older. However, brain tumors are the second most common cancer in children. Brain tumors are more common in children younger than 8 years old than in older children.
• Family history - People with family members who have gliomas may be more likely to develop this disease. 
• Radiation - Workers in the nuclear industry have an increased risk of developing a brain tumor.
• Formaldehyde - Pathologists and embalmers who work with formaldehyde have an increased risk of developing brain cancer. Scientists have not found an increased risk of brain cancer among other types of workers exposed to formaldehyde.
• Vinyl chloride - Workers who make plastics may be exposed to vinyl chloride. This chemical may increase the risk of brain tumors.
• Acrylonitrile - People who make textiles and plastics may be exposed to acrylonitrile. This exposure may increase the risk of brain cancer.
• cell phones-  Scientists are investigating whether cell phones may cause brain tumors. Studies thus far have not found an increased risk of brain tumors among people who use cell phones.

symptoms:

• Headaches 
• Nausea or vomiting
• Changes in speech, vision, or hearing
• Problems balancing or walking
• Changes in mood, personality, or ability to concentrate
• Problems with memory
• Muscle jerking or twitching
• Numbness or tingling in the arms or legs

diagnoses of brain tumors:

• Physical exam - The doctor checks general signs of health.
• Neurologic exam - The doctor checks for alertness, muscle strength, coordination, reflexes, and response to pain. The doctor also examines the eyes to look for swelling caused by a tumor pressing on the nerve that connects the eye and brain.
• CT scan - An x-ray machine linked to a computer takes a series of detailed pictures of the head. The patient may receive an injection of a special dye so the brain shows up clearly in the pictures. The pictures can show tumors in the brain.
• MRI - A powerful magnet linked to a computer makes detailed pictures of areas inside the body. These pictures are viewed on a monitor and can also be printed. Sometimes a special dye is injected to help show differences in the tissues of the brain. The pictures can show a tumor or other problem in the brain.
• Angiogram - Dye injected into the bloodstream flows into the blood vessels in the brain to make them show up on an x-ray. If a tumor is present, the doctor may be able to see it on the x-ray.
• Skull x-ray - Some types of brain tumors cause calcium deposits in the brain or changes in the bones of the skull. With an x-ray, the doctor can check for these changes.
• Spinal tap - The doctor may remove a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. This procedure is performed with local anesthesia. The doctor uses a long, thin needle to remove fluid from the spinal column. A spinal tap takes about 30 minutes. The patient must lie flat for several hours afterward to keep from getting a headache. A laboratory checks the fluid for cancer cells or other signs of problems.
• Myelogram - This is an x-ray of the spine. A spinal tap is performed to inject a special dye into the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient is tilted to allow the dye to mix with the fluid. This test helps the doctor detect a tumor in the spinal cord.
• Biopsy - The removal of tissue to look for tumor cells is called a biopsy. A pathologist looks at the cells under a microscope to check for abnormal cells. A biopsy can show cancer, tissue changes that may lead to cancer, and other conditions. A biopsy is the only sure way to diagnose a brain tumor. 

methods of treatment: 


There are several treatment options depending on the tumor type and stage, patients may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.
Surgery is the usual treatment for most brain tumors. It is performed under general anesthesia. The surgeon then makes an incision in the scalp and uses a special type of saw to remove a piece of bone from the skull. After removing part or all of the tumor, the surgeon covers the opening in the skull with that piece of bone or with a piece of metal or fabric. The surgeon then closes the incision in the scalp.
Radiation therapy
It uses high-energy rays to kill tumor cells. The radiation may come from x-rays, gamma rays, or protons. A large machine aims radiation at the tumor and the tissue close to it. Sometimes the radiation may be directed to the entire brain or to the spinal cord. The radiation kills tumor cells that may remain in the area.
Fractionation - Radiation therapy usually is given five days a week for several weeks. Giving the total dose of radiation over an extended period helps to protect healthy tissue in the area of the tumor. Hyperfractionation - The patient gets smaller doses of radiation two or three times a day instead of a larger amount once a day.
Stereotactic radiation therapy - Narrow beams of radiation are directed at the tumor from different angles. For this procedure, the patient wears a rigid head frame. The therapy may be given during a single visit or over several visits.
Chemotherapy
The use of drugs to kill cancer cells, is sometimes used to treat brain tumors. The drugs may be given by mouth or by injection. Either way, the drugs enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. 
For some patients with recurrent cancer of the brain, the surgeon removes the tumor and implants several wafers that contain chemotherapy. Each wafer is about the size of a dime. Over several weeks, the wafers dissolve, releasing the drug into the brain.

after treatment:

Regular followup is very important after treatment for a brain tumor. The doctor checks closely to make sure that the tumor has not returned. Checkups may include careful physical and neurologic exams. From time to time, the patient may have MRI or CT scans.

enviromental group and their operational area

Oilsands in Canada

 

About 15 years ago nobody knews where the little city called Fort McMurray was located or even if it existed. It is situated in Canada in the Athabasca oil sands and consits of a mixture of crude bitumen, silica sand, clay minerals and water. It is one of the largest reservoir in the world and the third major oil sand deposit in Alberta. It enfolds an area about 141,000 square kilometers and lies under a sparsely populated boreal forest and contain about 1,7 trillion barrels of bitumen in-place. With modern unconventional oil production technology you can filtrate at least 10% of the oil. But in this industry several serious enviromental problem rise. First of all they had to slash and burn the boreal forest, which is very important for clean air and of course for the animals living there. As a consequence they destroyed the habitat of the species and some animals died during this. Moreover the city is along nearby the peace river and cold lake deposits. So the garbadge and  the chemicals run into this river and polute it. From this it follows that the area around the river is polutet and the fish become deform. In addition the drinking water is poisioned and the people suffer from diseases like cancer while drinking it or eating the fish. A good impact is that a lot of people around this area find a new job but a bad fact is that more and more people from all over the world come there so that the city is crowded and burstet at the seams. It follows that the living area becomes bigger and so the habitats of the animals shrink. The more people in this city the more garbadge they produce the more enviromet is polutet and the more global warming is supportet because of traffic and industry. But the envirometal defence organisation trys to solve the river and air polution by install some filters in the oilmachines. Today there is less contamination and they do everything to save the surrounding world.

a recent natural disaster

Haiti- a massive earthquake destroys millions of life

On of the world poorest and least developed countries in world is Haiti. On Tuesday afternoon January 12, 2010 a big natural catastrophe happend there. The Caribbean slab, on which Haiti is located, is moving to the north American slab and as a consequence a massive earthquake with the magnitude of 7,0 occured. Besides this local tsunamies appeared as well. The initial quake was later followed by 12 aftershocks higher than the magnitude 5,0. It struck about 15 km south of the capital Port-au-Prince and wrecked the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings. About three million people were affected by the quake. The Haitian government reported that an estimated 316,000 people had died and 300,000 had been injured. About 100,000,000 people laying on the ground searching for food or water and want to be hospitalized. They have no home maybe lost family members, friends or relatives and are even badly wounded by there own.  You have to imaging that everything had been damaged Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks which hampered rescue and aid effort. As another consequence 4000 schools were damaged or destroyed and 600,000 people left their home area in Port-au-Prince and mostly statyed with host families. One and a half million people were living in camps, thousands of people were killed by cholera and 200,000 were infected. Many countries responded to appeal for humanitarian aid. Rescue teams are arriving, aid groups are trying their best, bodies are being identified, and some medical care is being given. Rescue teams from all over the world have joined the recovery effort, as the United States pledged $100 million in relief efforts. The Red Cross ventured an estimate of up to 50,000 deaths, as bodies at the local morgues overflowed into the streets. Most of the people got first aid, clean water and medical consultations. In the end about 40 new schools were built up and are running within 6 months. But you cannot say now that the people living there have started a normal live again.

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo

On July 6, 1907 in Coyacan a special artist come into the world. Her name is Frida Kahlo and perhaps best known for her self-portraits. Her mother was Mexican and her father German. That is whay she is realy  

influenced by indigenous Mexican culture, which is apparent in her use of bright colors and dramatic symbolism. Her work has been celebrated in Mexico as national and idigenous.
She had contracted polio in her early years at the edge of 6 which left her right leg thinner than the left. participatet in boxing and other sports. When she was only 18 years old sche had a very bad accident while riding a bus when a trolley car crashed it. As a consequenz she suffered serious injuries and had about 35 operations and had to spend 3 months in hospital to recover in a full body. The injuries also prevented Kahlo from having a child because of the medical complications and permanent damage.
After this accident she began a career as a painter. She painted to occupy her time during her temporary immobilization. She made a lot of self-portraits which became a dominant part of her life when she was immobile for three months after her accident. Kahlo once said, "I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best."
Moreover she had a volatile marriage with the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. She admired his work asked him for some advice about pursuing art as a career. But the marriage was often troubled and both had irritable temperaments and numerous extramarital affairs. Frida has affairs with men as well as with women. Riovera knwe of and tolerated her relationships with women but relationships with men made him jealous. Some other reasons began to rise and so they get divorced in 1939 but remarried in 1940. But their second marrrigae was as troubled as the first. 

Frida Kahlo died on July 13, 1954 a few days before her death she wrote in her diary: "I hope the exit is joyful — and I hope never to return — Frida". The official cause of death was given as a pulmonary embolism, although some suspected that she died from an overdose of painkiller that may or may not have been accidental. She had been very ill throughout the previous year and her right leg had been amputated at the knee. She made about 143 paintings. 55 are self-portraits which often incorporate symbolic portrayals of physical and psychological wounds.