japan catholic documentary religion spain king christianity word dictionary
The first known appearance of organized Christianity in Japan was the arrival of the Portuguese Catholics in 1549. Francis Xavier arrived in Japan with three Japanese Catholic converts intending to start a church in the Nagasaki area. The local Japanese people initially assumed that the foreigners were from India and that Christianity was a new "Indian faith". These mistaken impressions were due to already existing ties between the Portuguese and India; the Indian city of Goa was a central base for the Portuguese East India Company at the time, and a significant portion of the crew on board their ships were Indian Christians.[28] Later on, the Roman Catholic missionary activities were exclusively performed by Portuguese-sponsored Jesuits and Spanish-sponsored mendicant orders, such as the Franciscans and Dominicans. Francisco Xavier (a Catholic Saint),[29] Cosme de Torres (a Jesuit priest), and John Fernandez were the first who arrived in Kagoshima
with hopes to bring Christianity to Japan. Xavier and the Jesuit order
was held in good esteem and his efforts seemed to have been rewarded
with a thriving community of converts.[30] At baptism, these converts were given Portuguese "Christian names"
and encouraged to adopt Western culture. This practice contributed to
suspicions that the converts were in reality foreign agents working to
subvert social order.[note 1][30] Under Oda Nobunaga, the Jesuits enjoyed the favor of the shogunate, but the situation began to change once Toyotomi Hideyoshi's suspicions were aroused against Christianity.
anime pic pictures
http://i.stack.imgur.com/VS364.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/gkmDq.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/wFdwc.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/UXe1b.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/UdDVZ.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/PFRCc.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/SpR1y.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/DSgzu.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/gkmDq.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/wFdwc.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/UXe1b.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/UdDVZ.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/PFRCc.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/SpR1y.jpg
http://i.stack.imgur.com/DSgzu.jpg
JAPAN FOURTH IN SCIENCE, HIGHLY CITED PAPERS
Brussels, 15 Jul 2004
After the US, the UK is the second most productive country in the world when it comes to publishing scientific papers, according to a global analysis conducted by Sir David King, the UK government's chief scientific adviser. The combined effort of EU15 countries in this area outranks the US performance, he also found.
The analysis, based on data from US company Thomson ISI, showed that between 1997 and 2001, the US produced almost 35 per cent of all scientific papers, almost four times the number produced by second placed UK, with 9.43 per cent. Next came Japan with 9.23 per cent; followed by Germany (8.76 per cent); France (6.39 per cent); Canada (4.58 per cent) and Italy (4.05 per cent).
The survey also demonstrated that the combined effort of the 15 countries of the pre-enlargement EU represented 37.12 per cent of all scientific publications, putting it ahead of its American competitors.
Thomson ISI catalogues the world's research journals and assesses the impact of each paper according to the number of times it is cited by other academics.
Drawing on a study of 8000 journals from 31 countries for his research, Sir David noted that those 31 nations produced almost the entire top one per cent of most cited publications. Other countries to feature in this top tier include Switzerland, Israel, South Africa - the only African representative - and Iran, the sole Islamic nation.
Sir David's analysis also showed that the UK produced 12.8 per cent of the world's most cited papers, followed by Germany with 10.4 per cent and Japan with 6.9 per cent. The US produced 63 per cent of all high impact papers. However, analysis shows that that the US has lost almost three percentage points since the period 1993-97.
The top eight countries in the citation classification accounted for 84.5 per cent of the top one per cent of the world's most often cited scientific articles in the period from 1993 to 2001.
'There is a stark disparity between the first and second divisions in the scientific impact of nations,' wrote Sir David in the journal Nature, where the survey was published. 'Moreover, although my analysis includes only 31 of the world's 193 countries, these produce 97.5% of the world's most cited papers.'
The political implications of this state of affairs are 'difficult to exaggerate' he added. 'My key point in response to these statistics is that sustainable economic development in highly competitive world markets requires a direct engagement in the generation of knowledge.'
Sir David's study also showed that different countries have different strengths and weaknesses in the scientific field.
For example, the survey showed that France stood out in mathematics while the UK was strong in medicine and life and environmental sciences, but weak in physical sciences. China and India were shown to have developed their scientific base swiftly and successfully over a short period of time.
When output figures were related to the amount spent on research, the survey showed that the UK had the leadership in scientific productivity, ahead of the US, due to the significant cutbacks in private spending on research between 1980 and 1995, explained Sir David.
'Although many UK scientists campaigned against these cuts, they encouraged a level of resourcefulness among researchers, and approaches to industry and the EU that are now bearing fruit. Now that the present UK government is increasing funding and rebuilding infrastructure, the pruned plant of UK science is re-growing vigorously,' Sir David concluded.
After the US, the UK is the second most productive country in the world when it comes to publishing scientific papers, according to a global analysis conducted by Sir David King, the UK government's chief scientific adviser. The combined effort of EU15 countries in this area outranks the US performance, he also found.
The analysis, based on data from US company Thomson ISI, showed that between 1997 and 2001, the US produced almost 35 per cent of all scientific papers, almost four times the number produced by second placed UK, with 9.43 per cent. Next came Japan with 9.23 per cent; followed by Germany (8.76 per cent); France (6.39 per cent); Canada (4.58 per cent) and Italy (4.05 per cent).
The survey also demonstrated that the combined effort of the 15 countries of the pre-enlargement EU represented 37.12 per cent of all scientific publications, putting it ahead of its American competitors.
Thomson ISI catalogues the world's research journals and assesses the impact of each paper according to the number of times it is cited by other academics.
Drawing on a study of 8000 journals from 31 countries for his research, Sir David noted that those 31 nations produced almost the entire top one per cent of most cited publications. Other countries to feature in this top tier include Switzerland, Israel, South Africa - the only African representative - and Iran, the sole Islamic nation.
Sir David's analysis also showed that the UK produced 12.8 per cent of the world's most cited papers, followed by Germany with 10.4 per cent and Japan with 6.9 per cent. The US produced 63 per cent of all high impact papers. However, analysis shows that that the US has lost almost three percentage points since the period 1993-97.
The top eight countries in the citation classification accounted for 84.5 per cent of the top one per cent of the world's most often cited scientific articles in the period from 1993 to 2001.
'There is a stark disparity between the first and second divisions in the scientific impact of nations,' wrote Sir David in the journal Nature, where the survey was published. 'Moreover, although my analysis includes only 31 of the world's 193 countries, these produce 97.5% of the world's most cited papers.'
The political implications of this state of affairs are 'difficult to exaggerate' he added. 'My key point in response to these statistics is that sustainable economic development in highly competitive world markets requires a direct engagement in the generation of knowledge.'
Sir David's study also showed that different countries have different strengths and weaknesses in the scientific field.
For example, the survey showed that France stood out in mathematics while the UK was strong in medicine and life and environmental sciences, but weak in physical sciences. China and India were shown to have developed their scientific base swiftly and successfully over a short period of time.
When output figures were related to the amount spent on research, the survey showed that the UK had the leadership in scientific productivity, ahead of the US, due to the significant cutbacks in private spending on research between 1980 and 1995, explained Sir David.
'Although many UK scientists campaigned against these cuts, they encouraged a level of resourcefulness among researchers, and approaches to industry and the EU that are now bearing fruit. Now that the present UK government is increasing funding and rebuilding infrastructure, the pruned plant of UK science is re-growing vigorously,' Sir David concluded.
chinese kids better math chinadaily field medal olympiad question
My granddaughter, 10, was very happy the day before yesterday because
her mother and the mother of one of her classmates took them to a park
and a Pizza Hut to celebrate Children's Day. For a whole day, the two
girls played heartily -- no homework, no extra-curricular skills
training.
The happy life lasted only for one day. Yesterday, the routine resumed: doing homework till late at night and brushing up lessons learned at last weekend's English and "Olympic mathematics" courses.
Every time I went to my daughter's house in the evening, I saw my granddaughter sitting by the small desk in her room doing math exercises or writing a composition assigned by her teacher. On the white wall behind the desk is some graffiti she wrote. One sentence reads: "Why is the exercise endless?"
Poor girl!
But she is not the only unfortunate kid. Nearly all schoolchildren, at least in cities, suffer from the heavy burden of "studies". Although teachers have stopped giving after-school homework to primary school children - thanks to an order of the Ministry of Education, parents have been forcing their kids to attend various kinds of extra-curricular training courses - learning English, painting, music instrument, weiqi (go), "Olympic mathematics", and so on, every Saturday and Sunday.
Are these extra-curricular courses really necessary in children's education? The answer is definitely "No". Take the so-called "Olympic mathematics." These courses are very difficult for the children to grasp. Often, they are difficult even for adults.
Early last month, when well-known Russian mathematician Andrei Okunkov visited Nanjing, a local journalist showed him a question from a local "Olympic math" course. The winner of the prestigious Fields Medal thought for quite a few minutes before giving up. "Sorry, I feel a little bit muddled," he said.
In the past, there have been reports of university professors and
doctors failing to solve such questions. These cases prove beyond doubt
the absurdity of such courses for children. Parents know it, but they
still want their kids to undergo such courses. "They have to", they say.
"When other children attend such courses, my child cannot be left out."
That is the mentality of most parents. After the authorities banned schools from giving homework to children, schools started all kinds of extra-curricular courses. Some non-school organizations and teachers also began running such classes privately. They urged the parents: "Don't let your kid lose the race at the starting line."
Though there is no unified examination for primary school students to enter middle school and the government has decreed that they should be admitted to schools near their home, parents want their kids to attend "better quality" schools. These schools will test the applicants with higher-level examinations. And, whether a child can land a seat in a "better quality" school matters greatly for university admission.
Most parents want their kids to study out-of-school courses to be competitive. In such a situation, it is unrealistic to urge parents to stop sending their children to such courses. The only effective way is to ban these courses by law.
A few days ago, Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, planned to pass a law prohibiting parents from tracking their kids' Internet browsing "for the protection of the minors' privacy." Most netizens opposed the idea after it was reported online.
Whether right or wrong, I think a more urgent and practical necessity is a law banning all kinds of extra-curricular courses. This is essential to free our kids from the ridiculously heavy burden of "study" and allow them more time to play.
E-mail: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn
The happy life lasted only for one day. Yesterday, the routine resumed: doing homework till late at night and brushing up lessons learned at last weekend's English and "Olympic mathematics" courses.
Every time I went to my daughter's house in the evening, I saw my granddaughter sitting by the small desk in her room doing math exercises or writing a composition assigned by her teacher. On the white wall behind the desk is some graffiti she wrote. One sentence reads: "Why is the exercise endless?"
Poor girl!
But she is not the only unfortunate kid. Nearly all schoolchildren, at least in cities, suffer from the heavy burden of "studies". Although teachers have stopped giving after-school homework to primary school children - thanks to an order of the Ministry of Education, parents have been forcing their kids to attend various kinds of extra-curricular training courses - learning English, painting, music instrument, weiqi (go), "Olympic mathematics", and so on, every Saturday and Sunday.
Are these extra-curricular courses really necessary in children's education? The answer is definitely "No". Take the so-called "Olympic mathematics." These courses are very difficult for the children to grasp. Often, they are difficult even for adults.
Early last month, when well-known Russian mathematician Andrei Okunkov visited Nanjing, a local journalist showed him a question from a local "Olympic math" course. The winner of the prestigious Fields Medal thought for quite a few minutes before giving up. "Sorry, I feel a little bit muddled," he said.
That is the mentality of most parents. After the authorities banned schools from giving homework to children, schools started all kinds of extra-curricular courses. Some non-school organizations and teachers also began running such classes privately. They urged the parents: "Don't let your kid lose the race at the starting line."
Though there is no unified examination for primary school students to enter middle school and the government has decreed that they should be admitted to schools near their home, parents want their kids to attend "better quality" schools. These schools will test the applicants with higher-level examinations. And, whether a child can land a seat in a "better quality" school matters greatly for university admission.
Most parents want their kids to study out-of-school courses to be competitive. In such a situation, it is unrealistic to urge parents to stop sending their children to such courses. The only effective way is to ban these courses by law.
A few days ago, Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, planned to pass a law prohibiting parents from tracking their kids' Internet browsing "for the protection of the minors' privacy." Most netizens opposed the idea after it was reported online.
Whether right or wrong, I think a more urgent and practical necessity is a law banning all kinds of extra-curricular courses. This is essential to free our kids from the ridiculously heavy burden of "study" and allow them more time to play.
E-mail: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)