The Public Professor is a weekly column written by members of the faculty of the University of Lethbridge, on a wide range of topics from biology to history, geography to anthropology and more. To submit a question or comment to The Public Professor, email publicprof@lethbridgeherald.com.
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Revenue resources for government spending |
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Written by Christopher J. Nicol
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Friday, 24 July 2009 |
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In a “mixed economy” such as Canada’s, goods and services are provided by the private and public sectors. In the case of the public sector, the tax system supports the provision of goods and services by that sector. Governments at all levels raise revenues via the tax system, to provide those goods and services.
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The bright side of unrest in Iran |
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Written by Abdie Kazemipur
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Wednesday, 22 July 2009 |
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The post-election unrest in Iran is now about a month old. Despite the Iranian government's attempt to shut down most of communication channels - the print media, the Internet, cellphone services, text message system and the satellite TV channels - the world got a fairly detailed picture of what was happening there.
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Raymond centre of growth of Buddhism in southern Alberta |
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Written by John Harding
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Friday, 17 July 2009 |
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Many people would be surprised to learn that the small town of Raymond in southern Alberta for a time served as the centre of Buddhism in Canada. Although Buddhism is now more strongly associated with urban areas, the tradition took root in rural Alberta long before more recent waves of immigrants settled in Canada’s largest cities.
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What has led to the reduction of Alta. wildflowers? |
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Written by Dan Johnson
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Friday, 03 July 2009 |
The following question was submitted to the Public Professor column:
“Where have all the flowers gone? I mean, especially the provincial flower, the wild rose. We recently had a visit from a U.S. relative who has not been to Alberta for many years and he expressed his disappointment at the lack of wild flowers in this province now. He had been telling his wife, who had never been to Canada, how most of our roads were lined with a multitude of wild flowers in the spring. One of the first questions he asked me after his arrival was, ‘What happened to all the beautiful wild flowers I can remember seeing for miles along the roads in Alberta?’ I had never thought that much about it but he is right. Our ditches used to be filled with wild flowers, roses, butter cups, blue bells, buffalo beans and dozens more but they are all gone. We went for a drive and did manage to find a couple of very small wild rose bushes less than 24 inches tall, with three and four flowers on them, in the edge of a field. Could the loss of the flowers be a contributing factor to the loss of bees as well?” — Rick Wooley
The reduction in the number of roadside wildflowers you have noted is certainly a real change.
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The many prophets of ancient Mari |
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Written by James R. Linville
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Friday, 26 June 2009 |
Most societies throughout history have had prophets of various sorts, select individuals said to communicate with gods, spirits or ancestors about hidden or future matters. One of the oldest collections of ancient prophecy comes from a city called Mari (in modern Syria). Among the thousands of clay tablet documents found, there were approximately 50 letters referring to prophets. Their recipient was King Zimri-Lim, who reigned from around 1775 BCE to 1761 BCE.
These prophets would speak in the name of several deities, including Dagan, Marduk and the goddess Ishtar. They would advise the king about wars, diplomacy, building projects and religious matters. On occasion, the king would be criticized for shirking religious obligations. Prophets might receive their messages through “incubation,” or sleeping in temples to promote dreams. Trances or altered mental states could be induced in other ways, perhaps with the aid of alcohol or other intoxicants.
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