Learn, Think, Create

Most of us do not entirely think about what we learn and create new concepts from the new knowledge. We are so busy focused on learning and trying to learn more and more, that we leave no room to actually think and make sense of what we learn. This diminishes creativity. As E.O. Wilson puts it: “we are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.”

More specifically I highly recommend that you watch this TEDx talk on Youtube "Forget what you know- Jacob Barnett at TEDxTeen". The boy is brilliant and I can actually relate. There are no limits to what you can think of. There is so much information in the world that the odds of matching thoughts with someone else are slight, as long as you “think like there is no box”. Turn Learn, Think, Create into a mantra and your life will never be the same again.

Last but not least, COPYRIGHT! It is important to protect your intellectual property. Once you created something new or you came up with a new idea, it is important to prototype it and then apply for copyright or patent it. Actually the mantra should be "Learn, Think, Create, Patent/Copyright".

Good luck!

Copyright

I am so proud to own copyright of an MLM compensation plan I recently created (see the certificate below). The testimonial letter reads: “This idea is protected by Section 2 (a) of the Namibian Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection Act, Act 6 of 1994 as amended. Any unauthorised modification, translation, reproduction and any other exploitation of this idea for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.”

Namibia is a signatory to many copyright conventions and treaties, including the Berne Convention of 1886, World Intellectual Property Organisation 1967 (WIPO) and the World Trade Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement 1994 (TRIPS). This means having something copyrighted in Namibia, it is protected in other member states as well. China is not a member of any of these treaties and probably that’s why they can make so many copied products.

I believe as a business person, one should create and maintain intellectual property, because it will be the only thing that sets you apart from other businesses. Although I have 100% equity in my business, I copyrighted the business concept to myself rather than to the business body. In case I decide to sell the business, the idea should continue to be mine and whoever buys the business will still owe me royalties. Under the law, the copyright belongs to me for life and additionally 50 years after death. I can licence it to someone if I decide to or I can pass it on to someone through inheritance Will.

The Namibia Ministry of Information and Communication Technology grants the copyright. You apply with the copy of the work you created, as well as a declaration that the copyright work is original work. The declaration is done before the commissioner of oaths (I swore before the Namibian Police).

The copyright owner or his /her exclusive licensee can take legal action against the infringer who violated the work. The owner should provide available evidence of infringement in any format possible as well as the original copyright certificate that proves that he/she indeed owns copyright of the infringed work.

Main Research Proposal

Since the pilot study observed high territoriality of the bird species to its nesting site, in situ implementation approach of the mitigation method shall be applied. In situ in this case means within their feeding range of 1.6km from their nest. The alternative nesting structures will be placed at 10m from nested power line poles, far enough for electromagnetism to be substantially reduced, but not too far from the original nesting site that it would become ex situ. Electromagnetic exposure has altered the behavior, physiology, endocrine system, and the immune function of birds, which generally resulted in negative repercussions on their reproduction or development. The sociable weaver species that live intimately with powerlines may therefore be in significant danger, although the effects on the species in not well documented, if at all.

In the main study, I will test the effectivity of two alternative nesting structures: dummy powerline poles and dummy trees. Dummy poles are isolated powerline poles (i.e. without electricity transmission wires), and provide the same structural support as functional real powerline poles. In addition, due to the lack of electromagnetism around the dummy poles, the birds are expected to prefer these structures to functional powerline. Dummy trees are models of the main tree species that the bird naturally nests on i.e. Acacia erioloba. A previous study by showed that the gap in sociable weaver distribution in some areas of South Africa highly coincided with the extensive clearance of the Acacia veld. Furthermore, during the pilot study a lack of trees was observed in the area. Therefore, tree models of Acacia erioloba are also a good fit as alternative nesting sites for the bird if not a better alternative.

The study will still be conducted in the Mariental District in Namibia from April to September 2014.

Pilot Study Results

I previously blogged about the pilot study plans, find out here http://juliaschallenges.blogspot.com/2014/01/pilot-study.html

I conducted the pilot study in the Mariental District of Namibia on a 15km powerline section, totaling to 175 powerline poles, of which 12 had nests on them. Most of these twelve poles had more than one nest on them. The result of the pilot study indicated high site fidelity of the sociable weaver to its nesting: the colonies came back to their exact nesting pole after I continuously removed their nests twice a week for six weeks. I only observed one pole out of the 12 nested poles (8.33%) to be a new nest which did not exist before the beginning of the study, which could possibly mean that adjacent colonies diverged, or that a new colony of the species settled in. Neither of the two possibilities are unexpected since the study took place during the species’ breeding period, September to May, and the birds are therefore expected to construct more nests than at other times. The photo below shows vegetation along the pilot study site. Trees are only found around farm houses and none are a natural or suitable nesting choice for the sociable weaver.

I'm happiest when

I'm out there in the wilderness.

Pilot Study

My bird research is still going on. I thought I would test all 12 of my potential mitigation measures this year but time is not on my side. 

I chose to test only two of the methods, artificial trees and fake poles. They will both act as alternative nesting structure for the birds as opposed to real powerlines. 

I will spend the nest 6 weeks in the field doing a pilot study that will determine the design and plan for the main study. The pilot study will:

• Find out whether or not the species under the study are territorial birds. 
• Assess the vegetation around the area where the birds' populations are highest, since I hypothesize that the reason birds nest on powerlines is because there is a lack of suitable trees. 
• Find out distances between nests in order to determine the extent of intra- and inter-specific competition. 

The result will then tell me in what manner I should plant dummy trees and poles in the field during the main study.

See images below for a dummy tree and dummy poles respectively.

Potential Mitigation Measures

The following are possible methods that I identified as mitigation measure for birds nesting on power linesand and a brief explanation why the methods were chosen as:

1. Dummy snakes

I found no other enemy of the Sociable Weaver to be more influential in the bird’s nesting behaviours than snakes. The study therefore assumes that any other scare device (such as scare crows) will be less effective compared to dummy snakes.

2. Artificial trees and Fake poles/pylons

One of the crucial factors in nest construction is the ability of the structure to support the nest. Therefore providing alternative support structures, such as artificial trees or fake poles, may reduce nesting on electrical poles and pylons.

3. Relocation of nests

In this case nests are moved away from distribution wires where they may pose a threat to power distribution, to the less sensitive parts of the poles/pylons. Relocation may also be from power lines to other support structures available/provided.

4. Anti-nesting devices

A Spanish electricity distribution company, Red Electrica, and a French one called Electricité de France (EDF) tested 7 different devices selected as anti-nesting devices on cat-head type pylons. Some proved to be best as ant-nesting devices (such as the T-shaped, crossed and parallel designs).

5. Reflective features or Laser beam technology

Reflective features include any device with an intense sunlight reflective surface (a nuisance to the birds) that is small enough to be fitted on and/or around electrical structures as anti-perching devices. These can be made at home or from recycled materials and are probably the cheapest option. Good examples would be CDs, cans and aluminium foil.

6. Bird control chemicals

The study identified four chemicals that can be possibly used to rid birds from poles and substations. These are 4-nitropyridine-N-oxide (Avitrol 100) or 4-aminopyridine (Avitrol 200), Methiocarb, Fenthion and Methyl anthranilate (MA). Although some of the above chemicals were proved to be naturally occuring and/or non-toxic, all chemicals shall be used with caution.

7. Other measures (least recommended)

     i. Bird deterrent fog/haze devices

     ii. Netting

     iii. Sticky gums or jells

     iv. Ultrasonic devices