imanarrogantbitch

wonderful cosplay

2009-03-31T00:44:00.000-07:00

2007-12-05T08:12:00.001-08:00

Henry Merritt "Hank" Paulson Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is the United States Treasury Secretary and member of the International Monetary Fund Board of Governors. He previously served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs, one of the world's largest and most successful investment banks.
He was nominated by U.S. President George W. Bush to succeed John Snow as the Treasury Secretary on May 30, 2006. Secretary Paulson was officially sworn in at a ceremony held at the Treasury Department on the morning of July 10, 2006.

Career highlights
Paulson has been described as an avid nature lover.

Civic activities
On May 30, 2006, Treasury Secretary John W. Snow resigned. President Bush immediately nominated Paulson to head the Treasury department. On June 28, 2006, the United States Senate confirmed Paulson to serve in this position.
Paulson's three immediate predecessors as CEO of Goldman Sachs — Jon Corzine, Stephen Friedman, and Robert Rubin — each left the company to serve in government: Corzine as a U.S. Senator (later Governor of New Jersey), Friedman as chairman of the National Economic Council (later chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board), and Rubin as both chairman of the NEC and later Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton.

Treasury Secretary nomination
Paulson has quickly distinguished himself from his two Bush administration predecessors by listing the wide gap between the richest and poorest Americans as an issue on his list of the country's four major long-term economic issues to be addressed, highlighting the issue in one of his first public appearances as Secretary of Treasury.

Footnotes

Fortune Magazine: Hank Paulson's secret life
AP story: Paulson picks bird watching over golf
Derivatives Financier Henry Paulson Nominated To Head U.S. Treasury: Will His Derivatives Bubble Be An Economic Tsunami?

2007-12-04T08:55:00.001-08:00

Wanderlust (Middle High German: wandern, to wander, and Lust, desire) is a German loanword. It is commonly defined as a strong desire to travel, or by having an itch to get out and see the world.[1] Some consider it to be a simple linguistic compound of wander and lust.

Wanderlust in fiction
Wanderlust is used in the series of books Dragonlance to describe a genetic process that a race called "Kender" (Which are akin to wood elves or hobbits) go through, during which they are overpowered by an insatiable urge to leave behind any permanent location for residence and simply explore.

2007-12-03T11:12:00.001-08:00

Legend
50 p.d. or if not shown 50 p.r. (cinematographic works) 25 p.r. (photographic works) Signatories may grant longer terms.
Art. 7(2) Art. 7(4) Art. 7(6)
50 p.d. or if not published 50 p.r.(works of legal entities, cinematographic works, films or photographic works)
Art. 21, second and third paragraphs, ibid.
60 p.d. (posthumous works, photographs, cinematograph films, and sound recordings)
s. 24, s. 25, s. 26, s. 27, ibid.
50 p.d. (audiovisual works) 25 after completion (works of applied art and photographic works) Art. 106, ibid. Arts. 148 & 155, ibid.
50 p.d. (cinematograph films, photographs, computer programs, sound recordings, broadcasts, programme-carrying signals, published editions, state official texts)
s. 3(2)(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), s. 5, ibid.
50 p.d. (photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, and performances)
Art. 34, ibid.
95 p.d. or 120 p.r. whichever is shorter (anonymous works, pseudonymous works, or works made for hire, published since 1978) 95 p.d. for works published 1964-1977; 28 (if copyright not renewed) or 95 p.d. for works published 1923-1963 (Copyrights prior to 1923 have expired.)
17 USC 302(c) 17 USC 304
50 pma (non-photograph artistic works) 50 p.d. (photographs) 50 p.r. (Sound recordings) 50 p.d. (cinematograph films, broadcasts)
s. 6(3)(a), ibid. s. 6(3)(b), ibid. s. 16(2), ibid. s. 17(2), s. 18(2), ibid.

Table
Terms of protection were taken from a variety of sources, including WIPO, UNESCO and the University of Pennsylvania (see External links). Where no more specific information is available for a country, an indication of its probable minimum copyright term can be gained from its status as:

a signatory of the Berne Convention ("Berne"); minimum term of 50 pma, except for photographs.
a member of the WTO ("TRIPS"); minimum term of 50 pma.
a candidate for membership of the European Union ("EU"); term must be 70 pma before accession. Notes

Official text copyright
Rule of the shorter term

2007-12-02T08:04:00.001-08:00

Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving. It is the systematic search for the source of a problem so that it can be solved. Troubleshooting is often a process of elimination - eliminating potential causes of a problem. Troubleshooting is used in many fields such as system administration and electronics.
In general troubleshooting is the identification or diagnosis of "trouble" in a system. The problem or is initially described as symptoms of malfunction and troubleshooting is the process of determining the causes of these symptoms.
A system can be described in terms of its expected or intended behavior (usually, for artificial systems, its purpose). Events or inputs to the system are expected to generate specific results or outputs. (For example selecting the "print" option from various computer applications is intended to result in hardcopy emerging from some specific device). Any unexpected, particularly undesirable behavior is a symptom and troubleshooting is the process if isolating its specific cause or causes. Frequently the symptom is a failure to observe any results. (Nothing was printed, for example).
Most discussion of troubleshooting, and especially training in formal troubleshooting procedures, is extremely domain specific. The bulk of the material is relevant to a particular field of endeavor (such as automotive repair, computer hardware services, or software systems support). However, troubleshooting has common elements regardless of the specifics.
Any system can be described in terms of its components or subsystems. Each subsystem can be described in terms of its expected behavior. So the inputs to a system can be described as a cascade of inputs and results among the components of the system. (For example: selecting the "print" option in a computer application may cause the software to call on a separate utility, such as lpr on a UNIX system; that in turn might open, read and parse a number of configuration files which might direct it to perform some form of hostname address resolution via DNS, NIS, or LDAP, and then initiate a TCP/IP connection to a specific network device, and so on).
The domain specific knowlege that dominates the troubleshooting process is largely comprised of the understanding of these systems in terms of the interactions and dependencies among their subsystems and components. In particular the specialist can ennumerate the components and knows a set of procedures for testing many of them in isolation from the system as a whole. (For example the systems administrator may know which configuration files lpr is trying to parse and may read them manually, check their permissions, or may assume the identity of the user who is experiencing the problem and manually run an lpr command from the system's shell prompt; this may isolation the problem to the application's configuration, the user's preference settings, the workstation's configuration or network settings, the network's name services domain, or back to the printer's configuration or hardware).
Well-designed systems have designated "test points" or monitoring instrumentation. (For example most printers have indicator lights which change colors or blink, or LCD panels which display messages for detectable problems: paper jams, empty paper trays, network or other cable disconnection, etc. As another example UNIX and Linux systems support features for system call tracing through commands like truss, strace, and ktrace).
Usually troubleshooting is applied to something that has suddenly stopped working, since its previously working state forms the expectations about its continued behavior. So the initial focus is often on recent changes to the system or to the environment in which it exists. (For example a printer that "was working when it was plugged in over there"). However, there is a well known principle that correlation does not imply causality. (For example the failure of a device shortly after it's been plugged into a different outlet doesn't necessarily mean that the events were related. The failure could have been a matter of coincidence).
It's useful to consider the common experiences we have with light bulbs. Light bulbs "burn out" more or less at random; eventually the repeated heating and cooling of its filament, and fluctuations in the power supplied to it cause the filament to crack or vaporize. The same principle applies to most other electronic devices and similar principles apply to mechanical devices. Some failures are part of the normal wear-and-tear of components in a system.
A basic principle in troubleshooting is to start from the simplest and most probable possible problems first. This is illustrated by the old saying "When you see hoof prints, look for horses, not zebras", or to use another maxim, use the KISS principle. This principle results in the common complaint about help desks or manuals, that they sometimes first ask: "Is it plugged in and does that receptacle have power?", but this should not be taken as an affront, rather it should serve as a reminder or conditioning to always check the simple things first before calling for help.
A troubleshooter could check each component in a system one by one, substituting known good components for each potentially suspect one. However, this process of "serial substitution" can be considered degenerate when components are substituted without regards to a hypothesis concerning how their failure could result in the symptoms being diagnosed.
Efficient methodical troubleshooting starts with a clear understanding of the expected behavior of the system and the symptoms being observed. From there the troubleshooter forms hypotheses on potential causes, and devises (or perhaps references a standardized checklist) of tests to eliminate these prospective causes. Two common strategies used by troubleshooters are to check for frequently encountered or easily tested conditions first (for example, checking to ensure that a printer's light is on and that its cable is firmly seated at both ends), and to "bisect" the system (for example in a network printing system, checking to see if the job reached the server to determine whether a problem exists in the subsystems "towards" the user's end or "towards" the device).
This latter technique can be particular efficient in systems with long chains of serialized dependencies or interactions among its components. It's simply the application of a binary search across the range of dependences.
Simple and intermediate systems are characterized by lists or trees of dependencies among their components or subsystems. More complex systems contain cyclical dependencies or interactions (feedback loops). Such systems are less amenable to "bisection" troubleshooting techniques.
It also helps to start from a known good state, the best example being a computer reboot. A cognitive walkthrough is also a good thing to try. Comprehensive documentation produced by proficient technical writers is very helpful, especially if it provides a theory of operation for the subject device or system.
A common cause of problems is bad design, for example bad human factors design, where a device could be inserted backward or upside down due to the lack of an appropriate forcing function (behavior-shaping constraint), or a lack of error-tolerant design. This is especially bad if accompanied by habituation, where the user just doesn't notice the incorrect usage, for instance if two parts have different functions but share a common case so that it isn't apparent on a casual inspection which part is being used.
Troubleshooting can also take the form of a systematic checklist, troubleshooting procedure, flowchart or table that is made before a problem occurs. Developing troubleshooting procedures in advance allows sufficient thought about the steps to take in troubleshooting and organizing the troubleshooting into the most efficient troubleshooting process. Troubleshooting tables can be computerized to make them more efficient for users.

Reproducing Symptoms
Some of the most difficult troubleshooting issues related to symptoms which are only intermittent. In electronics this often is the result of components which are thermally sensitive (since resistence of a circuit varies with the temperature of the conductors in it). Compressed air can be used to cool specific spots on a circuit board and a heat gun can be used to raise the temperatures; thus troubleshooting of electronics systems frequently entails applying these tools in order to reproduce a problem. Another, extremely common, problem in electronic and electro-mechanical systems
In computer programming race conditions often lead to intermittent symptoms which are extremely difficult to reproduce; various techniques can be used to force the particular function or module to be called more rapidly then it would be in normal operation (analogous to "heating up" a component in a hardware circuit) while other techniques can be used to introduce greater delays in, or force syncronization among, other modules or interacting processes.
Steven Litt [1] defines intermittent issues thus:
In particular he asserts that there is a distinction between frequency of occurence and a "known procedure to consistently reproduce" an issue. For example knowing that an intermitten problem occurs "within" an hour of a particular stimulus or event ... but that sometimes it happens in five minutes and other times it takes almost an hour ... does not constitute a "known procedure" even if the stimulus does increase the frequency of observable exhibitions of the symptom.
Nevertheless, sometimes troubleshooters must resort to statistical methods ... and can only find procedures to increase the symptom's occurence to a point at which serial substitution or some other technique is feasible. In such cases, even when the symptom seems to disappear for significantly longer periods, there is a low confidence that the root cause has been found and that the problem is truly solved.

2007-12-01T09:18:00.001-08:00

A doctorate is an academic degree of, in many countries, the highest level, second only to the habilitation in those (primarily Central and Eastern European) countries that grant the latter. The term doctorate comes from the Latin doctor, meaning "teacher." It originated in Medieval Europe as a license to teach at a university. In this sense doctoral training was a form of apprenticeship to a guild. The traditional term of study before new teachers were admitted to the guild of "Masters of Arts", seven years, was the same as the term of apprenticeship for other occupations. Originally the terms "master" and "doctor" were synonymous, but over time the doctorate came to be regarded as a higher qualification than the master's degree.
The usage and meaning of the doctorate has changed over time, and it has also been subject to regional variations. For instance, until the early 20th century few faculty members in English-speaking universities held doctorates, except for very senior scholars and those in holy orders. After that time the German practice of requiring faculty candidates to have completed a "research doctorate" became widespread. Additionally, universities' shifts to "research oriented" education increased the importance of the doctorate. Today such a doctorate is generally a prerequisite for pursuing an academic career, although not everyone who receives a research doctorate becomes a member of a university. Many universities also award "honorary doctorates" to individuals who have been deemed worthy of special recognition, either for scholarly work or for other contributions to the university or to society.
Although the Ph.D. is almost universally accepted as the standard qualification for an academic career, it is a relatively new invention. The older-style doctorates (now usually called "Higher Doctorates" in the United Kingdom) take much longer to complete, since candidates must show themselves to be leading experts in their subjects. These doctorates are now becoming rare, and are often primarily awarded honoris causa. In France, the higher doctorate is the doctorat d'État. The latter was replaced for academic recruitment purposes by the "habilitation to direct theses". The Habilitation is still used for academic recruitment purposes in many countries within the EU and is a research doctorate involving either a new long thesis (a second book) or a portfolio of research publications. The Habilitation demonstrates independent and thorough research, experience in teaching and lecturing and, more recently, the ability to generate funding within the area of research. The "Habilitation" is regarded as a senior post-doctoral qualification, many years after the Ph.D., and is necessary for a Privatdozent position.
A similar system traditionally holds in Russia. Already in the Russian Empire the academic degree doctor of science (doctor nauk) marked the highest academic degree which can be achieved by an examination. This system was generally adopted by the USSR/Russia and many post-Soviet countries.

Types of doctorate
Research doctorates are awarded in recognition of academic research that is in principle publishable in a peer-refereed context (such as a research journal or monograph) and represents at least a modest contribution to human knowledge. The research is usually assessed by submission and defense of a thesis or dissertation, or of a suitable body of published work.
The most common example of this type is the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), which has become particularly widespread over the past century. Other examples include the Doctor of Engineering (EngD) in the United States and United Kingdom and the Doctor rerum naturalium (Dr.rer.nat.) in Germany.
Minimum periods for research doctorates vary considerably: In the UK and USA the minimum time for completing the course work toward a Ph.D. is usually three to four years following the completion of a master's degree, however there is an increasing trend in the UK for students obtaining first class honours degrees to progress straight into a Ph.D. programme. Although completions within this period are possible, most candidates take considerably longer: anywhere from five to ten years (including both course work and completion of the dissertation). During the late 1990s, the UK research councils introduced penalties (in the form of a reduction of future funding) for departments whose students regularly failed to submit their thesis within four years (full time) from initial registration. Students in the physical sciences typically have shorter completion times than students in the arts due to their better access to funding sources. In the USA, the research doctorate normally requires three to four years of coursework plus completion of a dissertation. Coursework is increasingly becoming a required component in research doctorates around the world.
Under European law, holders of research doctorates from any EU country are recognized in others.

Research doctorates
In some countries, especially the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Scandinavian and Commonwealth nations, there is a higher tier of research doctorates, awarded on the basis of a formally submitted portfolio of published research of a very high standard. Examples include the Doctor of Science and Doctor of Letters degrees found in the UK and some Commonwealth countries, and the Danish dr.theol. degree.
The German habilitation postdoctoral qualification is sometimes regarded as belonging to this category, even though, strictly speaking, the habilitation is not an academic degree, but rather a professional license to teach at a German university.
Higher doctorates are often also awarded honoris causa when a university wishes to formally recognize an individual's achievements and contributions to a particular field.

Higher doctorates

Main article: First professional degree Honorary doctorates

Country-specific practice
Doctoral programs are available in most Brazilian universities. The candidate is normally required to have received a Master's degree in a related field prior to getting a Doctor's degree. In a few cases however, some institutions may admit candidates who do not hold a Master's degree, based on their individual academic merit. A second and a third foreign language are also common requirements for those wishing to enroll in a doctoral program in Brazil. The admission process varies by institution. Some require candidates to take several tests prior to admission to the program and others base admissions on a research proposal application and interview only. In both instances however, a faculty member must agree prior to admission to supervise the applicant for the duration of the doctorate.
The requirements for the Doctor's degree usually include satisfactory performance in a minimum number of advanced graduate courses, passing an oral qualifying exam, and submitting a doctoral thesis that must represent an original and relevant contribution to existing knowledge in the field of study to which the thesis topic is related. The thesis is examined in a final public oral exam administered by a panel of at least five faculty members, two of whom must be necessarily external examiners. After completion of the program, which normally lasts around 4 years, the candidate is commonly awarded the degree of Doutor (Doctor) followed by the name of the main area of specialization in which his/her research was conducted, e.g. Doutor em Direito (Doctor of Laws), Doutor em Ciências da Computação (Doctor of Computer Sciences), Doutor em Filosofia (Doctor of Philosophy), Doutor em Economia (Doctor of Economics), Doutor em Engenharia (Doctor of Engineering), Doutor em Medicina (Doctor of Medicine), and so on. The generic title of Doutor em Ciências (Doctor of Sciences) is normally used to refer collectively to doctorates in the natural sciences (i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Biological and Life Sciences, etc.)
All graduate programs in Brazilian public universities are tuition-free as mandated by the Brazilian constitution. Several graduate students with good academic standing are additionally supported by institutional scholarships granted by federal government agencies like CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) and CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento do Pessoal de Ensino Superior). Personal scholarships are also provided by the various FAP's (Fundações de Amparo à Pesquisa) at the state level, especially FAPESP in the state of São Paulo, FAPERJ in the state of Rio de Janeiro and FAPEMIG in the state of Minas Gerais. Competition for graduate financial aid is very intense though and most scholarships support at most 2 years of Master's studies and 4 years of doctoral studies. The normal monthly stipend for doctoral students in Brazil is between 500 and 1000 USD.
A degree of Doutor usually enables an individual to apply for a junior faculty position equivalent to that of Assistant Professor in the United States. Progression to full professorship at the rank known as Professor Titular requires however that the candidate be successful in a competitive public exam and normally takes many years. In the federal university system, individuals who hold a doctorate and are admitted as junior faculty members may progress (usually by seniority) to the rank of Associate Professor and, then, become eligible to take the competitive exam for full professorship provided that a professorship is available. In the São Paulo state universities however, progression to the rank of Associate Professor and subsequent eligibility to apply for a full professorship is conditioned on an individual's obtaining first the qualification of Livre-docente, which is similar to the Habilitation in the German university system and requires, in addition to a previous doctoral degree, the submission of a second thesis or cumulative portfolio of peer-reviewed publications, a public lecture before a panel of experts (including external members from other universities), and also passing a written exam.

Brazil
Finland requires 45 weeks (1800 hours) of study for older students. This requirement has been removed during the Bologna process leaving the decision to individual students and their professors, but some fields recommend a requirement 70 course credits (1866,67 hours). Receiving the doctorate also requires a written thesis. Thesis can either be a monograph or it can be edited from a collection of 3 to 7 journal articles, including an introduction tying the individual parts.

Finland
In France, the doctorate (doctorat) is equivalent to the US Ph.D. : a research-only degree. It can be awarded in any field of study. The master's degree or the former DÉA is a prerequisite for pursuing doctoral program. The official requirement for completing a doctorate is three years, but most of the doctoral students take more than that time. The doctorate is nicknamed thesis (thèse) by the students (the thésards), as the redaction of a comprehensive thesis that constitutes the bulk of the doctorate's work.
Confusingly the title of doctor (docteur) is used only by the medical and pharmatical practitioners who hold not a doctorate but a doctor's state diploma (diplôme d'État de docteur), wich can be seen as equivalent to a first-degree or professional doctorate elsewhere. As they do not pursue research studies, they are not awarded a doctorate.
Fomerly two levels of doctorate existed : research doctorate (doctorat de troisième cycle) and higher doctorate (doctorat d'État). The latter became the habilitation, which is no longer a degree but an academic qualification.

France
In Germany, all doctorates bear the same level of merit. There are no first-degree doctorates as lawyers; medical doctors do not necessarily hold a doctorate, although it is much easier for medical students to earn the degree (it is completed in about one year within their course) than for those studying other disciplines (where the doctorate usually takes at least three years to complete). Apart from that, Germany uses different titles, which are written in front of the first name for addresses (within texts, the abbreviation "Dr." is common) and accompany the person's name (unlike in German-speaking Switzerland). This is a list of the types of doctorates encountered most often. For each title the subject is indicated in which it is mostly awarded. (There are exceptions from this, depending on the rules and traditions of the degree-awarding university.). Some believe that in Germany the title "Dr." is part of a person's name and that these people have a right to be addressed with the title. This misunderstanding comes forth from the fact that "Dr." is the only academic degree that can be mentioned in one's identity card. But this does not make it part of the name. In Southern Germany and Austria it is more common to address somebody with the title than in the North. It can also depend on the occasion and of course of the individual person whether to use the title or not. The proper expression is "Herr Doktor" (male) or "Frau Doktor" (female). Doktors may not address other Doktors with the title, because that would give the impression that one were preferring, or even insisting on, being called Doktor oneself, which could be seen as slightly pathetic. When officially writing to a person with several titles, it would be proper to begin with the "highest" title and eventually name several Dr.-titles, e.g. Prof. Dr. Dr. Schmidt. The actual addressing begins with Sehr geehrter Herr Professor / Sehr geehrte Frau Professor. There are different opinions on whether dropping the Herr or Frau in such occasions is appropriate.
Upon the completion of a second dissertation or Habilitationsschrift a senior doctorate (dr. habil.) is awarded. This senior doctorate is known as the Habilitation. It is not a degree, but an additional qualification. This or an equivalent professional experience is - traditionally - the necessary prerequisite for a position of Privatdozent and Professor. Now, with the BA/MA-model and the Juniorprofessoren to be introduced, this has already changed partially.

Dr. h.c. (Doctor honoris causa - honorary doctor), but: Dr.-Ing. E.h. (German: ehrenhalber)
Dr.-Ing. (Doktor Ingenieur - engineering, sometimes Computer Science)
Dr. iur. (Doctor iuris - law), also: Dr. jur. although this is not the correct spelling
Dr. iur. utr. (Doctor iuris utriusque - both Laws, secular and Canon Law, "Doktor beider Rechte" (weltliches und kanonisches Recht))
Dr. med. (Doctor medicinae - medicine), also Dr. med. dent. for dentists and Dr. med. vet. for veterinarians
Dr. oec. pub. (Doctor oconomiae publicae - business administration ("Betriebswirtschaftslehre") or macro- and micro-economics ("Volkswirtschaftslehre"))
Dr. theol. (Doctor theologiae - theology)
Dr. paed. (Doctor paed. - education ("Doktor der Pädagogik"))
Dr. phil. (Doctor philosophiae - most of the humanities)
Dr. rer. medic. (Doctor rerum medicarum - "Doktor der Medizinwissenschaften")
Dr. rer. nat. (Doctor rerum naturalium - literally "Doctor of natural things" - all natural sciences, mathematics and computer science)
Dr. rer. soc. (Doctor rerum socialium. - social sciences ("Doktor der Sozialwissenschaften"))
Dr. rer. pol. (Doctor rerum politicarum - economics, business administration, sociology and related subjects) Germany
The traditional academic system of The Netherlands provides four basic academic diplomas and degrees: propaedeuse, candidate, doctorandus (drs.) and doctor (dr.). After successful completion of the first year of University, the student is awarded the propaedeutic diploma (not a degree). The candidate degree, which was all but abolished by 1989, used to be attained after three years of academic study, after which the student was allowed to begin work on his doctorandus' thesis. The successful completion of this thesis allows one to use the doctorandus title, attainment of which means one's initial studies are finished. Those who choose to, and are hired as promovendus (research assistant), perform extensive research and write a doctoral dissertation (usually over the course of four years). Upon completion, a doctor's degree is awarded. This is the highest academic degree one can attain. In addition to these 'general' degrees, a number of specific titles for certain subjects are available, each of which is equivalent to the doctorandus degree: for law: meester ('master') (mr.), and for engineering: ingenieur ('engineer')(ir.).
In the last few years, the Dutch have incorporated the Anglo-Saxon system of academic degrees into their own. The old candidate's degree has been revived as bachelor's degree, the doctorandus' by the master's degree. This development has led the Eindhoven University of Technology to award a Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng), which replaced a post-master degree. Professional Doctorates are not commonly awarded by Dutch Universities.

The Netherlands
Polish system is similar to the one adopted in Germany, with Ph.D. as a first level doctorate and habilitation (habilitacja) as second. The award of the title of doktor (Ph.D.) is usually preceded by 4-5 years of doctoral study (a post-graduate study offered at most universities, with or without an obligation to teach some classes), but can also be obtained without a formal participation in the doctoral studies. In order to become a doktor habilitowany (i.e. being awarded second level doctorate) a candidate has to publish a dissertation, preceded with several years of deep field studies and have recognized research record. Only candidates with habilitation are eligible to become professors.
To become a doctor one needs to write a dissertation (varying in length), which then must be accepted by a panel of professors during a so-called defence of the dissertation (obrona pracy doktorskiej). There are several other requirements, like passing an exam in a foreign language and philosophy or economics (similar to the Russian system).
A prospective doctor must have also published some works (articles, books) beforehand, otherwise s/he would not be allowed to start the doctoral proceedings (przewód doktorski).
The title of a doctor is abbreviated as dr (without a full stop) before the surname of a person, e.g. dr Kowalski.
Doktor is also a common form of addressing a physician, but that does not indicate that the person actually holds a doctoral degree. Doctors of medicine have the abbreviation dr n. med. (doctor of medical studies) before or after their surname.
The title of dr inz. (doctor of engineering) is another specific doctoral titles. Dr n.hum. means doctor of humanities (incl. psychology and sociology), but is rarely used to differentiate from doctors of other fields. All other doctorates have no indications of their field.

Poland
In Portugal and in the African Countries of Portuguese Official Language it is common to use the title "Dr." (supposedly the abbreviation of "Doutor") in reference to people with "Licenciatura" degrees (a "Licenciatura" is something between a Bachelor and a Master Degree in most countries, and currently (Jan 2006) represents 4 or 5 years of graduate studies; except in the following Licenciaturas: Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Dental Medicine, which are six years long and the degree is equivalent to DPharm, DM/MD, etc. After the Bologna Process reform takes place in Portugal, it will have 3 to 4 years and be equivalent to any Bachelor degree in the E.U. countries that adopt this process). Some professionals have, however, different titles. For example: "Eng." (Engenheiro, Engineer), "Arq." (Arquitecto, Architect). The term Doctor" in Portugal is used for those with a PhD and, instead of the title "Dr.", use "Doutor" (the extended form) or "Professor Doutor" (because, usually, PhD's are university professors).

Doutor (Doctor) Portugal
The USSR and many post-Soviet countries, including Russian Federation, have two-stage research degree obtaining path, generally similar to the doctorate system in Europe. The first stage is named "Kandidat of <...> Sciences" (for instance, Kandidat of Medical Sciences, of Chemical Sciences, of Philological Sciences, and so on). The Kandidat of Sciences degree is usually recognised as equivalent of Philosophy Doctor (PhD) and require at least (and typically more than) three years of post-graduate research which finished by defence of a thesis. Additionally, a seeker of the degree has to pass three examinations (so-called "Kandidate's minimum"): in his/her special field, in one foreign language, and in philosophy. After an additional certification by the corresponding experts the Kandidat degree may be recognized internationally as an equivalent of Ph.D. (An unconditional Ph.D. equivalence has been recognized before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the additional certification in many countries has become required after the steep increase flow of post-Soviet emigration.)
The second stage, "Doctor of <...> Sciences", is equal to Professor Degree in Europe or North America. It requires many years of research experience and writing of a second dissertation. A position of Professor can be held only by a Doctor of Sciences.
The degrees of Kandidat and Doctor of Sciences are only awarded by the special governmental agency (Higher Attestation Commission); a university or a scientific institute where the thesis was defended can only recommend to award a seeker the sought degree.
Acceptance of Russian scientists holding the degree of Candidate into a research filed in North America created a confusing situation when Soviet Doctoral graduates are equalized in rights with their undersupervized.
Soviet scientists holding degree of Candidate take positions of Post doctoral fellows, Post doctoral research associates etc.

Russia
In Denmark there are five levels of degrees: Bachelor's, Candidate's (may be compared to Master), Magister (similar to an MPhil in the United Kingdom system; a degree by research, higher than a Master's but lower than a Ph.D.), Ph.D., and finally Dr., which is the higher doctorate.
These degrees (and in addition dr. ing.) were also used in Norway, which traditionally used the same system as Denmark. Besides dr. philos, which is awarded to people who don't follow an organized degree program, new candidates are no longer awarded these degrees, but are instead awarded a Ph.D. The new Ph.D. degree was introduced in the early 2000s.
The Ph.D. in Norway is not a lower-level research doctorate.

dr. med. - Medicine
dr. jur. - Law
dr. theol. - Theology
dr. phil. - Philosophy (humanities)
dr. polit. - Economics
dr. scient. - Science (natural sciences)
dr. techn. - Technology
dr. ling. merc. - Professional language Scandinavia

Slovakia and the Czech Republic
These degrees do not require completion of a thesis or dissertation and are awarded after completion of the required course of study.

Doctor of medicine (Medicinæ universæ doctor - MUDr.)
Doctor of dental medicine (Medicinæ dentalis doctor - MDDr., only in the Czech Republic)
Doctor of veterinary medicine (Medicinæ veterinariæ doctor - MVDr.) Professional doctorates
These degrees require the viva-voce defense of a written thesis/dissertation. They are written before the name, as "JUDr. Smith", or usually abbreviated "Dr. Smith".

Doctor of philosophy (Philosophiæ doctor - PhDr.)
Doctor of natural sciences (Rerum naturalium doctor - RNDr.)
Doctor of pharmacy (Pharmaciæ doctor - PharmDr.)
Doctor of laws (Juris utrisque doctor - JUDr.)
Doctor of paedeutics (Paedagogiæ doctor - PaedDr., no longer used in the Czech Republic)
Doctor of theology (Theologiæ doctor - ThDr.)
Doctor of economy (Rerum commercialum doctor - RCDr., no longer used)
Doctor of social sciences (Rerum societarum doctor - RSDr., deprecated - used by communist regime) First-degree doctorates
These degrees require the viva-voce defense of a written comprehensive thesis/dissertation. They are written after the name, that is, "Smith, PhD".

Candidate of sciences (Candidatus scientarum - CSc., since the 1990s replaced by common PhD.)
Doctor of philosophy (Philosophiae doctor - PhD., awarded since the 1990s; requires at least 3-year doctoral study) Research doctorates
Both Czech and Slovak orthography state that "philosophiae doctor" is abbreviated as "PhD." analogously to all of other degrees. However, perhaps under influence of international use of "Ph.D.", in the Czech law of scientific and academical degrees this foreign form is used. In fact, Czech lawgivers have enacted an orthographic mistake.

Doctor of sciences (Doctor scientarum - DrSc., in the Czech Republic DSc. if awarded after 2002; D(r)Sc. replaces its prerequisite PhD./CSc.)
Doctor of arts (Artes doctor - ArtD.)
Doctor of theology (Theologiae doctor - ThD.) Higher doctorates/Habilitation
Doctoral programs are available in all universities. According to the current study plan, the doctorate is a three-year long course.
During the first year, the student must obtain 20 lecture credits (200 hours aprox). During the second year, he/she is required to write and a "thesis project" and support it with a presentation. If the projects receives approval from the university, he/she will receive a "Diploma de Estudios Avanzados" (part qualified doctor). The student must write his/her thesis during the third and final school year. Once published, he/she will receive the doctorate.

Spain
All doctorates (except for those awarded honoris causa) granted by British universities are research doctorates in the sense described above, in that their main (and in many cases only) component is the submission of a thesis or portfolio of original research, examined by an expert panel appointed by the university.
Even the relatively new 'vocational doctorates' such as the Eng.D., Ed.D. and D.Clin.Psych. require the submission of a body of original research of a similar length to a Ph.D. thesis. In the case of the Eng.D., for example, this might comprise one or more technical reports on research projects undertaken by the candidate.
The Ph.D. itself is a comparatively recent introduction to the UK, dating from 1917. It was originally introduced in order to provide a similar level of graduate research training as was available in several other countries, notably Germany and the USA. Previously, the only doctorates available were the higher doctorates, awarded in recognition of an illustrious research career.
The universities of Oxford and Sussex denote the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with the postnominal initials D.Phil. The University of York also did this for some years, switching to the more conventional Ph.D. quite recently.

United Kingdom
Higher doctorates are awarded in recognition of a substantial body original research undertaken over the course of many years. Typically the candidate will submit a collection of work which has been previously published in a peer-refereed context. Most universities restrict candidacy to graduates or academic staff of several years' standing. The most common examples of these degrees are as follows:
Of these, the D.D. historically ranked highest, theology being the senior faculty in the mediaeval universities. The degree of Doctor of Canon Law was next in the order of precedence, but did not survive the Protestant reformation. The D.Mus. was, historically, in an anomalous situation, since a candidate was not required to be a member of Convocation (that is, to be a Master of Arts). The D.Litt. and D.Sc. are relatively recent innovations, dating from the latter part of the 19th century.

Doctor of Divinity/Divinitatis Doctor (D.D.)
Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.)
Doctor of Laws/Legum Doctor (LL.D.)
Doctor of Medicine/Medicinæ Doctor (D.M., M.D.)
Doctor of Music/Musicæ Doctor (D.Mus., Mus.D.)
Doctor of Letters/Litterarum Doctor (D.Litt., Litt.D.)
Doctor of Science/Scientiæ Doctor (D.Sc., Sc.D.)
Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.)
Doctor of Literature (D.Lit.) (London's eqivalent to the D.Litt.)
Doctor of Technology (D.Tech.)
Doctor of Governance (D.Gov.) Higher doctorates
Most British universities award degrees honoris causa in order to recognise individuals who have made a substantial contribution to a particular field. Usually an appropriate higher doctorate is used in these circumstances, depending on the achievements of the candidate. However, some universities, in order to differentiate between honorary and substantive doctorates, have introduced the degree of Doctor of the University (D.Univ.) for these purposes, and reserve the higher doctorates for formal academic research.

Honorary doctorates

United States
The most common type of research doctorate is a Ph.D. (Philosophiæ Doctor or Doctor of Philosophy), though there are many other types of research doctorates. Other research doctorates are sometimes regarded as less prestigious than the Ph.D.
The Doctor of Science degree (Sc.D. or D.Sc.) awarded by American universities is nearly always equivalent to the Ph.D. The Sc.D., which was first conferred in North America by Harvard University in 1872, is rarer than the Ph.D. (by comparison, the Ph.D. degree was first conferred in North America by Yale University in 1861, which established the first arts & sciences graduate school in North America in the 1840s.) However, the Sc.D. degree has long been awarded by leading institutions such as Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, etc. At many of these universities, the academic requirements for the Ph.D. and Sc.D. are identical.

Doctor of Applied Science (D.A.S.)
Doctor of Architecture (D.Arch.)
Doctor of Arts (D.A.)
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D.)
Doctor of Chemistry (D.Chem.)
Doctor of Comparative Law (D.C.L.)
Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.)
Doctor of Computer Science (D.C.S.)
Doctor of Criminal Justice (D.C.J.)
Doctor of Criminology (D.Crim.)
Doctor of Design (Dr.DES.)
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.)
Doctor of Engineering Science (D.E.Sc., Sc.D E.)
Doctor of Environmental Science and Engineering (D.Env.)
Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.)
Doctor of Forestry (D.F.)
Doctor of Geological Science (D.G.S.)
Doctor of Health and Safety (D.H.S.)
Doctor of Hebrew Literature/Letters (D.H.L.)
Doctor of Hebrew Studies (D.H.S.)
Doctor of Humane Letters (D.Hum.Litt.)
Doctor of Industrial Technology (D.I.T.)
Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D., J.S.D.)
Doctor of Library Science (D.L.S.)
Doctor of Literature and Philosophy (D.Litt. et Phil.)
Doctor of Medical Science (D.M.Sc.)
Doctor of Ministry (D.Min., D.M.)
Doctor of Modern Languages (D.M.L.)
Doctor of Music (D.Mus, Mus.Doc.)
Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A., A.Mus.D.)
Doctor of Musical Education (D.M.E.)
Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.Sc.)
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)
Doctor of Physical Education (D.P.E.)
Doctor of Professional Studies (D.P.S.)
Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.)
Doctor of Public Health (D.P.H.)
Doctor of Recreation (D.Rec./D.R.)
Doctor of Rehabilitation (Rh.D.)
Doctor of Religious Education (D.R.E.)
Doctor of Science (D.Sc., Sc. D.)
Doctor of Science in Dentistry (D.Sc.D.)
Doctor of Science and Hygiene (D.Sc.H.)
Doctor of Science in Veterinary Medicine (D.Sc.V.M.)
Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.)
Doctor of Social Science (D.S.Sc.)
Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.)
Doctor of Sacred Music (D.S.M.)
Doctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)
Doctor of Theology (Th.D.)
Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.) Research doctorate
In the United States, the first professional degrees in many clinical fields have the name "doctor" and are also known as "professional doctorates." Such fields include audiology, chiropractic, dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physical therapy, podiatry, psychology, veterinary medicine, and many others.
It is important to recognize that practitioners in these fields hold first-professional degrees, not graduate research degrees, and the level of research training is not academically equivalent to a Ph.D.[1] For example, professional doctoral education (such as medicine and law) does not generally require completion of a thesis/dissertation to graduate, a central component of Doctoral and most Master's level research degrees. There are some exceptions though, as some law schools and a small number of medical schools require that the candidate perform original research and write a formal research paper. Even when not a requirement, most medical students still conduct some form of academic research before residency, often leading to publication. The typical minimum term for such a degree (M.D.) is 4 years past postsecondary education. In addition, many academic fields allow individuals to pursue teaching and research careers within their field with a professional doctorate.
Not all fields have chosen to name (or rename as was the case in the field of law) their first professional degrees "doctorates". For example in accountancy it is the Master of Accountancy. Despite being named "masters" some masters degree programs may require about the same amount of time to complete as "professional doctorate" programs in other fields so the naming is somewhat arbitrary. For example, despite being a "masters" level degree, the first professional degree in architecture may require 3 to 3.5 years to complete. There is currently some debate in the architectural community to rename the degree to a "doctorate" in the manner that was done for the law degree decades ago.[2]
Titling of first professional degrees in the above-named fields as a "doctorate" is argued by some to be a uniquely American convention that is not utilized in most other countries. In many other countries, the "equivalent" degree is often a bachelor's or master's degree (for example, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Bachelor of Law). U.S. law schools used to name their law degree the LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) before renaming the degree to J.D. (Doctor of Jurisprudence). However, it should be noted that training for the M.D./D.O. is considerably longer in the U.S., which has a separate 4-year post-graduate school, thus a total of 8 years required, than in countries such as England where professional training is combined with the undergraduate education, to have a duration of 6 years total.

Professional doctorates (also called First Professional Degrees)
Other professional doctorates which are not 'first professional' as described above include post-Masters doctorates like the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), the Doctor of Health Science (D.H.Sc.), the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) and the Professional Doctorate (Prof.Doc.) or Doctor of Professional Studies (D.P.S. or D.Prof.). These generally require a Masters degree (such as a Master of Education or a Master of Business Administration) and perhaps some professional post-bachelors experience (5 to 10 years or more in some cases) in a relevant field as an entry condition. These are also known as "practitioner's doctorates" due to their applied focus and target group of advanced practitioners of various professions.
A post-Masters dissertation of a comparable or slightly shorter length than that required for a PhD is usually a requirement for graduation. Additionally, post-Masters taught courses are a common feature. PhD programmes offered in countries like the UK, Australia and most commonwealth countries are typically solely based on the successful completion of an academically-focused dissertation. The distinction from practitioner's doctorates is that the latter allow candidates to learn more advanced topics through taught courses.
The focus of a practitioner doctorate's dissertation is usually application, rather than creation, of theories. This focus appeals to non-academicians such as educators, teachers, business executives, leaders, civil servants and other practitioners who are more interested in the successful application of advanced theories in their respective professions rather than academic research into their field.
Generally, practitioner's doctorates as such are considered to be equivalent in academic standing to the PhD, though the latter is usually preferred for academic positions.

2007-11-30T08:32:00.001-08:00

In publishing and graphic design, lorem ipsum is standard placeholder text used to demonstrate the graphic elements of a document or visual presentation, such as font, typography, and layout. Lorem ipsum also serves as placeholder text in mock-ups of visual design projects before the actual words are inserted into the finished product. When used in this manner, it is often called greeking.
Even though using "lorem ipsum" often arouses curiosity due to its resemblance to classical Latin, it is not intended to have meaning. Where text is visible in a document, people tend to focus on the textual content rather than upon overall presentation, so publishers use lorem ipsum when displaying a typeface or design in order to direct the focus to presentation. "Lorem ipsum" also approximates a typical distribution of letters in English, which helps to shift the focus to presentation.
The most common lorem ipsum text reads as follows:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Variations

List of Latin phrases
Li Europan lingues
Etaoin shrdlu
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

2007-11-29T09:36:00.001-08:00

William I "the Lion" (known in Gaelic as Uilliam Garbh

Margaret (1193–1259), married Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent.
Isabella (1195–1253), married Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk.
Alexander II of Scotland (1198–1249), reigned 1214–49.
Marjorie (1200–44), married Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke.

2007-11-28T10:05:00.001-08:00

BT1 6DL, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
The Royal Belfast Academical Institution, commonly known as 'Inst.', is a voluntary non-denominational grammar school for boys, founded in 1810, in College Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). The school occupies an 8-acre site in the centre of the city on which its first buildings were erected; major additions in 1953, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1983, 1991, 2000 and 2003 provide modern and specialised facilities and account for half the present accommodation. In addition to 40 classrooms, there are 16 science laboratories, 2 lecture rooms, 2 gymnasia, Art and Music departments, Sixth Form Centre, Common Hall, Dining Hall and an indoor heated swimming pool. A new sports hall has been added and Christ Church, a state of the art facility containing a new library, careers suite and 3 IT suites, has recently been opened.
For the first three years boys normally follow a common curriculum: in the fourth year the curriculum is still general but certain options are introduced, and at the end of the 5th Form, boys sit the examination for the Northern Ireland G.C.S.E. Subjects studied at AS/A2 level in the sixth form include English Literature, Modern History, Geography, Economics, French, German, Spanish, Media Studies, Latin, Technology, Mathematics, Physics, Politics, Chemistry, Biology, Music and Art.
Rugby football and hockey are played in the winter; athletics, cricket and tennis occupy the summer months; badminton, fencing, shooting, rowing, squash and swimming (including water polo and life-saving) take place throughout the year. Teams representing the school take part not only in matches and activities within Northern Ireland, but also in events open to all schools in the United Kingdom.
There are numerous clubs and societies, a school orchestra, choir and band, a contingent of the Combined Cadet Force, Scout and Venture Scout units and a Community Service Group.
Over four-fifths of each year's leavers go on to university or to full-time courses in other institutions of higher and further education.
In addition to a large number of prizes throughout the school, endowed scholarships offered in the sixth form are tenable for travel or at university.
Candidates for admission to the Main School should be under 12 on July of the year of admission and applications must be received by mid-February. Boys who are regarded by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland as qualified for grammar school education have their tuition fee paid by their local Education and Library Board. There is an annual capital fee for the 2005/06 academic year of £690.50 and £45.75 stationery. For new pupils there is also an insurance charge of £15.75 and a refundable book deposit of £65. Scholarships are awarded to the school boys whose work shows outstanding progress during their school career.
The school motto is "Quaerere Verum" - To seek the truth.

History
Miss Janet Williamson replaced Mr Michael Ridley in January 2007. Her academic record includes a MA in Geography from St. Catherine's College, Oxford and a National Qualification for Headship. She attended Glenlola Girl's Grammar School in Bangor Northern Ireland, and was Headmistress at Antrim Grammar School for 6 years before joining the staff at RBAI.

Chairman of the Board of Governors - Sir Kenneth Bloomfield
Principal - Miss Janet Williamson
Vice Principals - Alan McKinstry B.Ed., P.G.Q.Dip. G.C. and Brian Todd B.A., M.Ed., P.G.C.E.
Dean (Head of Pastoral Care) - Eamon Foster B.A., M.Litt., P.G.C.E.
Head of English: Frank Ormsby, M.A.
Head of Mathematics: William Collins, B.Sc., M. Sc., Dip. Ed., Dip LBC
Head of Science: Dr Caroline Greer, B.Sc., Ph.D., P.G.C.E.
Head of Modern Languages: Dr Robert Cotter, M.A., P.G.C.E., M.Ed., M.Th., D.Phil (Oxon.)
Head of Geography: Neil McClements, B.Sc., P.G.C.E., PQH(NI) Senior staff

Dill - (House Colour - Red)
Jones - (House Colour - Yellow)
Kelvin - (House Colour - Green)
Pirrie - (House Colour - Blue)
Stevenson - (House Colour - Brown)
Larmor - (House Colour - Black) Houses

Lord Kelvin, physicist. (Kelvin house is named after him.)
Thomas Andrews, Chief designer at Harland and Wolff shipyards and RMS Titanic architect.
Lord Carswell of Killeen, Law Lord and former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.
Lord Lowry, former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.
John Miller Andrews, 2nd Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
Bowman Malcolm (1854–1933), railway civil and mechanical engineer
William Pirrie, Viscount Pirrie, Chairman of Harland and Wolff 1895-1924. Pirrie House is named in his memory.
Paul Smith, Founder of Celador, he was the creator of the popular game-show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'.
Mark Pollock, blind international rower and entrepreneur.
Sir Joseph Larmor, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge University 1903-1933
Baron Mawhinney of Peterborough, a member of the Cabinet until 1997 and a Member of Parliament until 2005, currently Chairman of the Football League.
Dawson Stelfox, the leader of the 1993 Irish Expedition to Mount Everest and the first Irishman to reach the summit.
Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, former Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Current Chairman of the Board of Governors.
Paul Rankin, television chef and owner of a chain of cafes in Belfast.
Tim Collins, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment in 2001 during Operation Telic. After his service in the Iraq war, he was promoted to a full Colonel. He has recently retired.
Sam Lee, Between 1891 and 1898 he won nineteen international caps for Ireland. Captained Ireland in the 1892-1893 season again in 1895-1896. In 1894 he was a member of Ireland's first Triple Crown triumph. 1904 he refereed the Scotland v England match.
Robin Thompson, captain British and Irish Lions rugby team 1955, South Africa
Michael Longley, poet
Derek Mahon, poet
R.B. McDowell, fellow of Trinity College Dublin, the most prominent 18th century historian in Ireland
Sir Donald Currie, shipping magnate and founder of the highly prestigious Currie Cup rugby competition held in South Africa
Charles Monteith, prominent London publisher, he became the first person to accept William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"
Lembit Öpik, Liberal Democrat MP and Spokesperson on Northern Ireland and Wales.
Stephen Nolan, BBC radio and television presenter.
David Johnson, U105 local radio presenter.
Kenneth Montgomery, principal conductor, Ulster Orchestra Sports and Societies
The school offers a wide selection of sports. Rugby Union is the dominant sport. Inst have won the Ulster Schools Cup outright 29 times along with 4 shared titles, putting them in second place to Methodist College Belfast's 30 victories. The school's coaches are Richard Hedley and Gavin Monteith. The school boasts the highest representation of British Lions and Irish Rugby players in the British Isles.
Unlike some other grammar schools in Ireland, which play Gaelic Games or Rugby to the exclusion of soccer, soccer is played at Inst with 3 senior teams regularly competing in league and cup competitions, although it is not played below 5th Form.

Sport
The Music Department is overseen by Philip Bolton, who in his time at the school has managed to create an award winning musical community.
Other notable figures in the music department are:
The music performed is of all varieties and styles. In one concert, a listener could be treated to choral, jazz, gospel, classical, modern classical, rock and alternative in the space of 2 hours. Concerts have a reputation of being incredibly different to other school performances, with plenty of visual aspects and also frequent light hearted humour.
Among public performances and TV recordings, the music department have two major concerts a year in November and March, along with the annual Carol Service, details may be found on the RBAI Official Website.

Mrs Ann Reid, a distinguished Violin Performer and Concert Pianist, who tutors both of these instruments in the school. She holds qualifications from the Royal Academy of Music, London. She accompanies much of the Music performances on the piano.
Mrs Antoinette McMichael, full time Music teacher in both Inchmarlo Preparatory and the main school. She has gathered much respect through her work in the preparatory department, for which she is the director of music, where the 2007 production is "The Little Shop of Horrors". Music
The school's debating society, more properly known as the Royal Academical Debating Society, is the oldest continuously extant body of its kind in Irelandand is overseen by Chris Leathley. The society meets regularly at both junior and senior level and aims to develop initiative, confidence, and an appreciation of the culture of debate and civilised argument. Debates are lively, sometimes controversial, and provide a platform for social, political and cultural debate articulated in a considered and eloquent manner. The inaugural RBAI Invitational Debating Tournament was held in January 2007, with teams from Bangor Grammar School, Victoria College, and St. Malachy's College taking part. The event was a great success, and will continue in future years. The school debating team won the Northern Ireland Schools Debating Championship in April 2007, defeating Thornhill College, Derry in the final at Stormont.

Debating
Another prominent society is that of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). With both RAF and Army sections the Inst CCF contingent is regarded by many as one of the strongest in the UK. The Army-section is the current holder of the Northern Ireland Cadet Championship Trophy for Team skills (having won the trophy ten times in the past eleven years). A member of the contingent is also the holder of the United Kingdom Land Forces, Cadet Leadership Course, best cadet award, making him the best cadet in the UK. Various other trophies are held, both individually and collectively for performance in military and civil skills.

Old Instonians
R.B.A.I. also has a preparatory department (Inchmarlo), founded in 1907 and now set in a 6 acre site on Cranmore Park, off the Malone Road in South Belfast. Inchmarlo House was the former home of Sir William Crawford, a Director of the York Street Flax Spinning Mill.
It employs 11 full-time staff and caters for boys aged between 4 and 11 whose standard uniform consists of traditional school-caps, shorts, knee-high socks, school-blazers and leather satchels. It constantly attains impressive results in the '11 plus' examination with 75% of pupils gaining an 'A' grade. Of those, approximately 99% (around 40) transfer to the main school every year.
The Headmaster of Inchmarlo Preparatory School is Alan Armstrong, and his Vice Principal is Malcolm Guy.

2007-11-27T07:49:00.001-08:00

Isabelle Poulenard (b. 5 July 1961 in Paris, France) is a soprano.
Her work has generally been focused on music of the French Baroque, however, she has performed and recorded George Frideric Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann. Her voice has been compared to that of Emma Kirkby.

2007-11-26T09:46:00.001-08:00

Danity Kane is an American R&B girl group signed to Bad Boy Records. Formed on the third installment of the Making the Band series, the quintet consists of Shannon Bex, Aundrea Fimbres, Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard, and Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgette.

History
In 2005, rapper and mogul "Sean "Diddy" Combs" returned with Making the Band 3, this time searching for the next female supergroup. With the help of choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, vocal coach Doc Holiday and talent manager Johnny Wright, he set out on a multi city search, subsequently finding 20 young singers. While seven girls remained, Diddy grew more and more unhappy with the level of talent throughout the season, and eventually decided not to form a band. He did however give a reprieve to three contestants who he felt deserved another chance (including Aubrey O'Day and Aundrea Fimbres) who all continued on to the following season.
Afterwards Diddy once again sent his team across the country to audition new girls for the group. Finally eighteen girls were chosen and moved into a loft in New York City. After weeks of dance and singing lessons, promotional appearances, and a performance in front of 20,000 at a Backstreet Boys concert at the Nissan Pavilions, eleven girls remained. The finalists were sent home for three months, told to polish up, and return for the final stretch in December 2005.
On the second season's finale on Thursday, December 8, 2005, five of the eleven were chosen: Aundrea Fimbres, Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Angelique Richard, Shannon Bex, and Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgette. The final five members of the group in place, Making the Band 3 tracked the development and struggles of the new band - from then on known as Danity Kane (a name, taken from a female anime superhero conceived by Dawn).

Making The Band 3
After months of recording the band's debut album, Danity Kane, was released to mixed reviews on August 22, 2006 in the United States. Produced by Timbaland, Scott Storch, Rodney Jerkins, Mario Winans and Ryan Leslie among others, the album sold over 90,000 copies in the first day of release, and over 234,000 in the first week of release. It eventually debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, knocking veteran Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics from the top spot and out-selling hip-hop duo OutKast. The album received a platinum certification from the RIAA in November 2006.

Debut: Danity Kane

After The Debut
During early February to May 2007 Danity Kane performed as an opening act, along with The Pussycat Dolls, on Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics Tour. In the meantime the band has intensified work on their as-yet-untitled second album, which was initally scheduled for a autumn 2007 release, however for an unknown reason the album has been pushed back and is now set for a Spring 2008 release. In a recent interview in Colorado, Aubrey and Dawn both said in recent interviews that recording will start in October.
Danity Kane will also be featured on We Invented The Remix Vol. 2 which includes many other Bad Boy artists.

Touring and New Album
In the summer of 2007, speculation by fans and the media circled the internet and entertainment news outlets concerning the possibility of Danity Kane splitting up. The rumors were fueled by quotes taken out of context (most notably when Aubrey O'Day was questioned by TMZ It was not until Wednesday July 25, 2007 that Danity Kane released an official statement on their group MySpace page stating that they were still together and working on their second album. The statement said:
Much love,
Danity Kane

Discography

Released: August 22, 2006
Chart Positions: #1 U.S., #2 U.S./R&B
U.S. Sales: 1.200,000+
RIAA Certification: Platinum
Released: Spring 2008
Chart Positions: TBA
U.S. Sales: TBA
RIAA Certification: TBA Albums

Singles

Awards

2007: Poptastic Awards - "Best Ringtone(for "Showstopper")"
2007: Soul Train Music Awards - "Best R&B/ Album Group, Band or Duo" Won

2007-11-25T09:43:00.001-08:00

Sophia is a small unincorporated community in central Randolph County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located along U.S. Highway 311, just northwest of the route's intersection of with I-73/I-74/US 220 and southeast of Archdale, North Carolina. It is the location of WGHP-TV's (Fox 8) television transmitter tower. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Sophia citizens protested the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) on its plan to route I-74 through the center of town, essentially removing the community from existence. After a hearing with locals, the NCDOT decided to shift the planned corridor about 1 mile to the north.
Coordinates: 35°49′23″N, 79°51′39″W
Archdale | Asheboro | High Point | Randleman
Franklinville | Liberty | Ramseur | Seagrove | Staley | Trinity
Sophia

2007-11-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

In political science, the initiative (also known as popular or citizen's initiative) provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance, or, in its minimal form, to simply oblige the executive or legislative bodies to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. It is a form of direct democracy. It has also been referred to as "minority initiative," thus relating it to minority influence . Furthermore, it is, in itself, a politically neutral tool, despite its name which refers it to the "people." It can be used as well for conservative proposal as for progressive ends.
The initiative may take the form of either the direct or indirect initiative. Under the direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a vote after being submitted by a petition. Under the indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then only put to a popular vote if not enacted by the legislature. In United States usage, a popular vote on a specific measure is referred to as a referendum only when originating with the legislature. Such a vote is known, when originating in the initiative process, as an "initiative," "ballot measure" or "proposition."
Show election
International relations

International relations theory
Political scientists
Comparative politics
Bureaucracy

Street-level bureaucracy
Executive
Judiciary
Legislature
Electoral systems
Voting

Allotment
By-election
Electoral fraud
Fixed-term election
General election
Indirect election
Local election
Referendum
Apportionment
Gerrymandering
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Political parties Brief history of popular initiative
In the United States the initiative is in use, at the level of state government, in 24 states and the District of Columbia [1], and is also in common use at the local and city government level. The initiative has been recognized in the US since at least 1777 when provision was made for it by the first constitution of Georgia.
The modern U.S. system of initiative and referendum originated in the state of Oregon in 1902, when the state's legislators adopted it by an overwhelming majority. The "Oregon System", as it was at first known, subsequently spread to many other states, and became one of the signature reforms of the Progressive Era (1890s-1920s). Well known U.S. initiatives include various measures adopted by voters in states such as Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts and Alaska.
The first attempt to get National ballot initiatives occurred in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44 was introduced by Rep. Elmer Fulton of Oklahoma. In 1977, both the Abourezk-Hatfield (National Voter Initiative) and Jagt Resolutions never got out of committee. Senator Mike Gravel (now a Presidential candidate) was part of that effort. Gravel since discovered a way to get a new proposal, the National Initiative for Democracy, into the Constitution without asking Congress. American citizens can now vote to ratify the National Initiative, much as citizens—not the existing 13 State Legislatures—ratified the Constitution at the Constitutional conventions.

2007-11-23T09:33:00.001-08:00

Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 27, 1945 near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives (1983–1995), Governor of Pennsylvania (1995–2001), Assistant to the President for Homeland Security (2001–2003), and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security (2003–2005).

Early life
He became Assistant District Attorney in Erie County, Pennsylvania in 1980 and prosecuted 86 cases in two years. In 1982 he successfully ran for a Pennsylvania House seat, and was re-elected six times. Ridge was notable as the first enlisted Vietnam combat veteran elected to the U.S. House. As of 2006, Ridge has never lost an election for public office.
In 1994, Ridge ran for governor of Pennsylvania, winning the election as a Republican. He was reelected in 1998 with 57 percent of the vote in a four-way race. Ridge's share of the vote was the highest for a Republican governor in Pennsylvania (where Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost 500,000) in more than half a century. Ridge served as Governor until his resignation to become the Director of Homeland Security in 2001.
As governor, he promoted "law and order" policies, supporting a three-strikes law and a faster death penalty process. He signed more than two hundred execution warrants, five times the number signed over a 25-year period by the two previous governors. On social issues, he opposed gay marriage, and, despite of being a Roman Catholic, supported abortion rights. His "law and order" stance did not spill over into his cabinet choices, however. The Governor nominated Dr. Peter J. Jannetta to be his secretary of health. Dr. Jannetta was known to the governor to have testified perjuriously in Court, the Pennsylvania Superior Court stating, "We have little difficulty in concluding that Dr. Jannetta's testimony at deposition was different than, or inconsistent with, the testimony at trial." Levy v Jannetta, CCP Allegheny County, GD 81-7689; appeal -J. A370017/92 Levy v Jannetta et al, No. 00150 Pittsburgh, 1992. settled, 1995." Dr. Jannetta served as Governor Ridge's health secretary for 6 months.
Over Ridge's tenure, the Commonwealth's budget grew by two to three percent per fiscal year and combined tax reductions totaled over $2 billion. Ridge created and grew a "Rainy Day" Fund balance to over $1 billion to be utilized during an economic downturn or recession.
Ridge pushed for legislation permitting competition among electric utilities and enhanced federal and state support for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). He also separated the Commonwealth's environmental regulatory and conservation programs into two new agencies; the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Ridge proposed the creation of public charter schools in Pennsylvania and in establishing alternate schools for disruptive students. He launched new academic standards that established academic expectations for what students were expected to know in different grades. Ridge also proposed a school choice demonstration program.
Ridge oversaw a number of e-government projects including renewing drivers' licenses and vehicle registrations to viewing historical documents and library catalogs. The Commonwealth's portal won several national awards. One of the nation's first electronic grant systems was put into place at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Ridge also created the Link-to-Learn initiative to increase the effective use of technology in public schools and universities.

Public service in Pennsylvania
Ridge served as a close advisor to GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush, a close friend from their simultaneous tenures as governors, during the 2000 presidential campaign. In return, Bush named Ridge to his short list for possible running mates, along with New York Governor George Pataki, Michigan Governor John Engler, former Senator John Danforth, and former American Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole.
However, Bush selected the man who was in charge of leading his search for the vice presidential nominee, former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, to be his running mate.
Ridge was also reportedly Colin Powell's choice to be Secretary of Defense in Bush's new cabinet. With his reputation as a former Congressman and a strong administrator as governor, in addition to his friendship with Bush and Powell, he was seen as a frontrunner for the post. But after much decrying by conservatives over his lack of defense experience, particularly by Republican primary candidate Gary Bauer, who decried Ridge as a "peacenik-type of congressman during the Reagan years" and Robert Novak who wrote of Ridge's lack of defense experience and his opposition to the Strategic Defense Initiative. There was also rumored to be a lot of animosity regarding the nomination between Powell and Dick Cheney regarding Ridge. With all of this Ridge promptly took his name out of the running and Donald Rumsfeld was eventually named as defense secretary.

2000 U.S. Presidential Election
Following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security within the White House, and named Ridge to head it. The charge to the nation's new director of homeland security was to develop and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to strengthen the United States against terrorist threats or attacks. In the words of President George W. Bush, he had the strength, experience, personal commitment and authority to accomplish this critical mission. Ridge formally resigned as Pennsylvania's governor on October 5, 2001.
In January 2003 and after the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Office of Homeland Security split into a Cabinet-level Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House Homeland Security Advisory Council. Ridge left the White House and became the first Secretary of Homeland Security. The Department's Mission "is to (A) prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; (B) reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism; and (C) minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States" (From H.R. 5005-8 the Homeland Security Act of 2002). The newly created Department was the most comprehensive reorganization of the Federal government since the National Security Act of 1947. The Department of Homeland Security consolidates 22 agencies and 180,000 employees, unifying once-fragmented Federal functions in a single agency dedicated to protecting America from terrorism. Ridge worked with the employees from combined agencies to strengthen borders, provide for intelligence analysis and infrastructure protection, improve the use of science and technology to counter weapons of mass destruction, and to create a comprehensive response and recovery division.

Homeland Security Advisor and Secretary
In February 2005, Tom Ridge was named to the board of Home Depot. Based on an article from the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Ridge's compensation was expected to be in the area of $100,000 per annum for this position. Since April 2005, Tom Ridge has also served on the board of Savi Technology, the primary technology provider for the wireless cargo-monitoring network for the United States Department of Defense.

Work in the private sector

Erie International Airport was renamed Tom Ridge Field in honor of Ridge.
Recently opened Environmental Center in Erie, Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle is named after Ridge. Ridge was instrumental in securing funds for the center.

2007-11-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

Territories of the United States are one type of political division of the United States, administered by the U.S. government but not any part of a U.S. state. These territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United States were still evolving. Territories can be classified by whether they are incorporated (part of the United States proper) and whether they have an organized government (through an Organic Act passed by the U.S. Congress). The organized incorporated territories of the United States existed from 1789 to 1959, through which 31 territories applied for and won statehood. The U.S. had no unincorporated territories (also called "overseas possessions" or "insular areas") until 1898, but continues to control several of them today.

Incorporated and unincorporated territories
An organized territory is a territory for which the United States Congress has enacted an Organic Act to formally set forth its system of government. Such territories can be incorporated or not, but only non-incorporated organized territories have existed since the Territory of Hawaii was admitted as a U.S. state in 1959.

Organized and unorganized territories
The provisions of an Organic Act typically include the establishment of a Bill of Rights for the territory, as well as the framework of a tripartite government. Such a territory is said to be organized. Historically, an organized territory differed from a state in that although the organic act allowed for limited self-government, a territory had no constitution and ultimate authority over the territory was held not by the territorial government but by the United States Congress. Some contemporary organized territories have constitutions, but such constitutions are distinct from state constitutions in that they do not qualify the territory for becoming a state of the union.

Form of government
See also: Organized incorporated territories of the United States
The first organized territory in the United States was the Northwest Territory, organized in 1787 by the passage of the Northwest Ordinance, which is the prototype for subsequent organic acts. In the following century and a half, 29 other territories were organized at one time or another. Historically, the organization of a territory by the passage of an organic act was typically a prelude to statehood. All of these were incorporated territories, meaning that they were fully part of the United States, though that distinction did not arise until the first non-incorporated territories were gained following the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Incorporated organized territories
In the current lexicon of the United States political insular areas, a "commonwealth" is considered a special case of an organized territory. At present, there are two—Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Neither of these, however, is an incorporated territory.
Additionally, Guam and the United States Virgin Islands are organized territories, but they are neither incorporated nor considered commonwealths. On the other hand, American Samoa is formally considered an unorganized territory, though it is self-governing under a 1967 constitution.

Non-incorporated organized territories
Most of the historic territories of the United States, including all the ones that eventually became U.S. states, were incorporated organized territories, that is, incorporated territories for which Congress established a local civil government. The distinction between unincorporated territories and incorporated territories did not arise until the 20th century, following the acquisition by the United States of possessions arising from the Spanish-American War, including the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Previously, the United States had acquired territory only through annexation, with all territories being de facto incorporated territories.
The distinction between incorporated and unincorporated territories was clarified in the 1937 United States Supreme Court case People of Puerto Rico v. Shell Oil Co., in which the Court determined that the Sherman Antitrust Act, which had referred only to "territories," applied to Puerto Rico even though it was not an incorporated territory of the United States. See also: Insular Cases, and Guano Islands Act.
In the contemporary sense, the term "unincorporated territory" refers primarily to insular areas. There is currently only one incorporated territory, Palmyra Atoll, which is not an organized territory. Conversely, a territory can be organized without being an incorporated territory, a contemporary example being Puerto Rico.
See organized incorporated territories of the United States and unincorporated territories of the United States for timelines.

History

Classification of current U.S. territories
none since 1959

Incorporated organized territories

Palmyra Atoll is privately owned by the Nature Conservancy and administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is an archipelago of about 50 small islands about 1.56 square miles (4 km²) in area that lies about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of Honolulu. The atoll was acquired by the United States in the 1898 annexation of the Republic of Hawaii. When the Territory of Hawaii was incorporated on April 30, 1900, Palmyra Atoll was incorporated as part of that territory. However, when Hawaii became a state in 1959, Palmyra Atoll was explicitly separated from the state, remaining an incorporated territory but receiving no new organized government. Incorporated unorganized territories

Guam
Northern Mariana Islands (commonwealth)
Puerto Rico (commonwealth)
United States Virgin Islands Unincorporated unorganized territories

Classification of former U.S. territories & administered areas
See Organized incorporated territories of the United States for a complete list.

Former incorporated organized territories of the United States

Line Islands (?–1979): Disputed claim with United Kingdom, all U.S. claims ceded to Kiribati upon its independence.
Panama Canal Zone (1903–1999): sovereignty returned to Panama under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties; the U.S. retains a military interest
Philippine Islands (1902–1935); Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946): Full independence in 1946.
Phoenix Islands (?–1979): Disputed claim with United Kingdom, all U.S. claims ceded to Kiribati upon its independence. Former unincorporated territories of the United States (incomplete)

Puerto Rico (April 11, 1899-May 1, 1900): civil government operations began
Philippines (April 11, 1899-July 4, 1901): civil government operations began
Cuba (April 11, 1899-May 20, 1902): sovereignty granted as Republic of Cuba
Guam (April 11, 1899-July 1, 1950): civil government operations began Former unincorporated territories of the United States under military government

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (1947–1986): included the Compact of Free Association nations (Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau) and the Northern Mariana Islands
Ryukyu Islands (1952–1972): returned to Japanese control, included some other minor islands under the Agreement Between the United States of America and Japan Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands. Other zones

Political divisions of the United States
Territorial evolution of the United States
Historic regions of the United States
Organized incorporated territories of the United States
Unincorporated territories of the United States
Insular area
Unorganized territory
Incorporated territory
Enabling act (United States)
Hawaiian Organic Act

2007-11-20T10:11:00.001-08:00

In ethics, cognitivism is the view that ethical sentences express propositions and can therefore be true or false (they are truth-apt), which noncognitivists deny.

General idea
But cognitivism can also agree with ethical irrealism or anti-realism. Ethical naturalism (or ethical realism) and ethical cognitivism are different meta-ethical theories. Cognitive irrealist theories accept that ethical sentences can be true or false, even if there exist no natural, physical or in any way real (or «worldly») entities or objects to make them true or false. In a similar way as there is no real entity to make true the sentence "If it had rained yesterday, the floor would have been wet." or any other counterfactual sentence (except for those who accept modal realism).
Crispin Wright, John Skorupski and some others defend normative cognitivist irrealism. Wright asserts the extreme implausibility of both J. L. Mackie's error-theory and expressivism (including S. Blackburn's quasi-realism) in view of everyday or sophisticated moral talk and argument. The same point is often expressed as the Frege-Geach problem. Skorupski distinguishes between receptive awareness, which is not possible in normative matters, and non-receptive awareness (including dialogical knowledge), which is possible in normative matters.
Hilary Putnam's book Ethics without ontology (Harvard, 2004) argues for a similar view, that ethical (and for that matter mathematical) sentences can be true and objective without there being any objects to make them so.
Cognitivism points to the semantic difference between imperative sentences and declarative sentences in normative subjects. Or to the different meanings and purposes of some superficially declarative sentences. For instance, if a teacher allows one of her students to go out by saying «You may go out.», this sentence is neither true or false. It gives a permission. But, in most situations, if one of the students asks one of his classmates whether she thinks that he may go out and she answers «Of course you may go out.», this sentence is either true or false. It does not give a permission, it states that there is a permission.
Another argument for ethical cognitivism stands on the close resemblance between ethics and other normative matters, such as games. As much as morality, games consist of norms (or rules), but it would be hard to accept that it be not true that the chessplayer who checkmates the other one wins the game. If statements about game rules can be true or false, why not ethical statements? One answer is that we may want ethical statements to be categorically true, while we only need statements about right action to be contingent on the acceptance of the rules of a particular game - that is, the choice to play the game according to a given set of rules.

2007-11-19T09:15:00.001-08:00

Martin Sheen (born August 3, 1940 as Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Captain Willard in the film Apocalypse Now and, most recently, as President Josiah Bartlet on the acclaimed and long-running television drama series The West Wing.

Early life
Sheen had wanted to act since he was very young, but his father disapproved. In spite of this, Sheen borrowed money from a priest and headed to New York City. While Sheen claims he deliberately flunked the entrance exam for the University of Dayton so that he could pursue his acting career, he still has an affinity for UD, and is seen drinking from a "Dayton Flyers" coffee mug during several episodes of The West Wing. Sheen has said that he was greatly influenced by the actor James Dean. Sheen developed a theater company with other actors in hopes that a production would earn him recognition. In 1963 he made an appearance in Nightmare, an episode from the TV science fiction series The Outer Limits. The following year he starred in the Broadway play The Subject Was Roses, which he recreated in the 1968 film of the same name. Sheen was a co-star in the controversial, Emmy-winning 1972 television movie That Certain Summer said to be the first television movie to portray homosexuality in a sympathetic, non-judgemental light. His next important feature film role was in 1973, when he starred with Sissy Spacek in the crime drama Badlands - which he has said in many interviews is his best film.
In 1974, Sheen portrayed a hot rod driver in the TV movie The California Kid, and that same year received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor in a television drama for his portrayal of Pvt. Eddie Slovik in the made-for-television film, The Execution of Private Slovik. The film told the World War II story of the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War. It was Sheen's performance in this film that ultimately led to Francis Ford Coppola choosing him for a starring role in 1979's Apocalypse Now which gained him wide recognition. On the set of Apocalypse Now, Sheen admitted that he wasn't in the greatest shape and was drinking heavily. On location Sheen had a heart attack and crawled out to a road for help.
Sheen has also done voiceovers as the narrator for the Eyewitness Movie series.

Career
Sheen received six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance on The West Wing, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in TV-Drama, as well as two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, and was part of the cast that received two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
In his acting career, Sheen has been nominated for twelve Emmy Awards, winning three. He has also earned eight nominations for Golden Globe Awards. Sheen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1500 Vine Street.

Awards
In light of the end of filming of "The West Wing", Sheen announced plans to further his education. "My plan is to read English literature, philosophy and theology in Galway, Republic of Ireland, where my late mother came from and where I'm also a citizen". He has since left the University after completing a semester.

NUI Galway
Martin Sheen is no stranger to politics, both as an actor and in real life. He has played U.S. President John F. Kennedy (in the miniseries Kennedy — The Presidential Years), Attorney General Robert Kennedy in the television special The Missiles of October, White House Chief of Staff A.J. McInnerney in The American President, sinister future president Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone, and fictional Democratic president Josiah Bartlet in the acclaimed television drama The West Wing.
Although he didn't attend college, Sheen credited the Marianists at University of Dayton as a major influence on his public activism. Sheen is known for his robust support of liberal political causes, such as United States military actions and a toxic-waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. Sheen has resisted calls to run for office, saying "There's no way that I could be the president. You can't have a pacifist in the White House … I'm an actor. This is what I do for a living."

Political activism
Sheen married art student Janet Templeton on December 23, 1961, and they have four children, three sons and a daughter, all of whom are actors: Emilio Estévez, Ramón Luis Estévez, Charlie Sheen and Renée Estévez.
Martin Sheen starred in the Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now, and his son, Charlie Sheen, also starred in a film about Vietnam: Platoon. Charlie Sheen once stated that he wanted to star in a film similar to one his father was in because he wanted to know what it feels like. They jointly parodied their respective previous roles in the 1993 movie Hot Shots Part Deux: their river patrol boats pased each other, at which point they both shouted, "I liked you in Wall Street!", a film they both starred in in 1987.
In the Spring of 1989, Sheen was named Honorary Mayor of Malibu, California. He promptly marked his appointment with a decree proclaiming the area "a nuclear-free zone, a sanctuary for [illegal] aliens and the homeless, and a protected environment for all life, wild and tame".

Filmography

2007-11-18T08:30:00.001-08:00

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Isle of Man
On the Isle of Man, politics takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Crown dependency, whereby the Chief Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the bicameral Tynwald. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom or the European Union. However, the Isle of Man is a Crown dependency, and the United Kingdom has responsibility for all external, citizenship, good governance, and defence affairs.
The island has no representation at either the UK or EU parliaments. The island is governed by Tynwald, said to be the world's oldest continuously existing parliament.

Lord of Mann: Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor: Sir Paul Haddacks
Deputy Governor: Michael Kerruish
Tynwald

President of Tynwald: Noel Cringle
Legislative Council
- President: Noel Cringle
  House of Keys
  - Speaker: Steve Rodan
    Government
    Council of Ministers
    - Chief Minister: Tony Brown
      Treasury Minister: Allan Bell
      Home Minister: Martyn Quayle
      Health Minister: Eddie Teare
      Education Minister: Annie Craine
      Industry Minister: David Cretney
      Tourism Minister: Adrian Earnshaw
      Transport Minister: David Anderson
      DAFF Minister: Phil Gawne
      DLGE Minister: John Shimmin
      Chief Secretary: Mary Williams
      Manx Judiciary
      - First Deemster: Michael Kerruish
        Second Deemster: David Doyle
        Deputy Deemster: Andrew Williamson
        Judge of Appeal: Geoffrey Tattersall
        High Bailiff: Michael Moyle
        Deputy High Bailiff: Alastair Montgomerie
        Attorney General: John Corlett
        Keys Constituencies
        Local Government
        Political parties
        Elections
        Officials of State
        Parish Captains Legislative branch
        
        For more details on this topic, see External relations of the Isle of Man. Intervention of the United Kingdom
        For other political parties see List of political parties in the Isle of Man. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in the Isle of Man.
        Most Manx politicians stand for election as independents rather than as representatives of political parties. Though political parties do exist, their influence is not nearly as strong as is the case in the United Kingdom. Consequently, much Manx legislation develops through consensus among the members of Tynwald, which contrasts with the much more adversarial nature of the UK parliament.
        The largest political party is the recently established Liberal Vannin Party, which promotes greater Manx independence and more accountability in Government. The LibVannin party has two members of Tynwald including Leader Peter Karran MHK.
        A Manx Labour Party also exists, unaffiliated to the UK Labour Party.
        A political pressure group Mec Vannin advocates the establishment of a sovereign republic.
        The island also formerly had a Manx National Party and a Manx Communist party. There are Manx members in the Celtic League, a political pressure group that advocates greater co-operation between and political autonomy for the Celtic nations.
        The main political issues include the Island's relationship with the finance sector, housing prices and shortages, and the Manx language.
        The vast majority of the members of the House of Keys are non-partisan (19), with two representatives from the Manx Labour Party and three from the Alliance for Progressive Government.
        
        Political parties and elections
        The lowest courts in the Isle of Man are presided over by the High Bailiff and the Deputy High Bailiff, along with lay Justices of the Peace. The High Court of Justice consists of three civil divisions and is presided over by a Deemster. Appeals are dealt with by the Staff of Government Division with final appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. The head of the Judiciary is the First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls. The other High & Appeal Court Judges are the Second Deemster, Deputy Deemster and Judge of Appeal, all of whom are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
        The Court of General Gaol Delivery is the criminal court for serious offences (effectively the equivalent of a Crown Court in England). It is theoretically not part of the High Court, but is effectively the criminal division of the court. The Second Deemster normally sits as the judge in this court. In 1992, His Honour Deemster Callow passed the last-ever sentence of death in a court in the British Islands (which was commuted to life imprisonment). Capital punishment in the Isle of Man was formally abolished by Tynwald in 1993 (although the last execution on the island took place in 1872).
        
        Work permits and immigration
        
        Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)

2007-11-17T07:12:00.001-08:00

Hero City (Russian: город-герой, gorod-geroy) is an honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during the Great Patriotic War (World War II) of 1941 to 1945. It was awarded to twelve cities of the Soviet Union. In addition the Brest Fortress was awarded an equivalent title of Hero-Fortress. This symbolic distinction for a city corresponds to the individual distinction Hero of the Soviet Union.
According to the statute, the hero city is issued the Order of Lenin, the Gold Star medal, and the certificate of the heroic deed (gramota) from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Also, the corresponding obelisk is installed in the city.

History
The fortress in Brest (Belarus) was located right on the recently established border between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. This border was drawn in the secret appendix to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and quickly established de-facto after the two countries invaded and divided Poland between them in September 1939, only weeks after their conclusion of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. As such, the fortress had little warning when the Axis invaded on 22 June 1941, and became the site of the first major fighting between Soviet frontier guards and the invading German forces of Army Group Centre. German artillery heavily shelled the fortress; the subsequent attempt to quickly take it with infantry failed, however, and the Germans started a lengthy siege. The Brest garrison, about 4,000 soldiers in the fortress itself, offered bitter resistance to the German assaults. Although they were initially surprised by the attack and outnumbered by a ratio of 10:1, and although they were cut off from the outside world and ran out of food, water and ammunition, the defenders fought and counter-attacked until the very last minute. The Germans deployed tanks, tear gas and flame throwers but could not break Soviet resistance. After the Germans had taken most of the ruined fortifications, taking heavy casualties, bloody fighting continued underground. The fighting ended only in late July. The actual front had by then already moved hundreds of kilometres further East. The fortress of Brest was awarded the title Hero-Fortress in 1965. Even after the fortress was officially taken, the few surviving defenders continued to hide in the basements and to harass the Germans for several months.

Brest Hero-Fortress
The city of Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, saw what is regarded as one of the greatest human tragedies of the entire War. Leningrad, one of the cities with a large amount of classical and baroque architecture on the Baltic Sea, was a city with a pre-war population of three million inhabitants. By August 1941, the Germans had reached the city's southern outskirts. Finnish forces had meanwhile recaptured the Karelian Isthmus North-West of the city, which they had lost after the Winter War in 1940.
The city was completely cut off from all land access on 8 September 1941. As the Gulf of Finland was blocked as well, Leningrad's only contact with the outer world was a vulnerable waterway across Lake Ladoga, as Finnish command didn't agree to German requests to advance beyond the River Svir and to conquer the rest of the Lake's coastline. Since taking the city seemed too costly to the Germans, in the light of bitter Soviet resistance, they instead began the Siege of Leningrad in order to starve the city to death. Soon, electricity, water and heating for civilian housing had to be shut down. All public transportation stopped in 1941-42 winter , but in 1942 city tramcars were relaunched (trolleys and buses were inoperable until end of the war).
Thousands of Leningrad citizens froze or starved to death in the first winter of the siege alone, dying at home in their beds or collapsing from exhaustion in the streets. Meanwhile, German artillery continued to bombard the city. Although the siege lasted for 900 days, the city did not surrender. During this siege, the starving population was driven to extreme measures to survive and some resorted to cannibalism 300,000 soldiers had perished in the defence and relief of Leningrad. Leningrad was awarded the title Hero City in 1945, being the first city to receive that distinction.

Stalingrad (Volgograd)
In early August 1941, the Black Sea port of Odessa, located in present-day Ukraine, was attacked and besieged by Romanian forces fighting alongside their German allies. The fierce battle in defence of the city lasted until 16 October, when the remaining Soviet troops, as well as 15,000 civilians were evacuated by sea. Partisan fighting continued, however, in the city's catacombs. Odessa was awarded the title Hero City in 1945.

Odessa
The Black Sea port of Sevastopol was a heavily defended fortress on the Crimean peninsula. German and Romanian troops had advanced to the outskirts of the city from the North and launched their attack on 30 October 1941. Having failed to take the city, Axis forces began a siege and heavy bombardment. A second Axis offensive against the city, launched in December 1941, failed as well, as the Soviet army and navy forces continued to fight fiercely. Eventually the city was taken in June 1942. It was liberated in bloody fighting in May 1944. Sevastopol was awarded the title Hero City in 1945.

Sevastopol
At the gates of the Soviet capital, the German invaders finally suffered their most decisive defeat of 1941. The advance of the German Army Group Centre came to a halt in late November 1941, in the outskirts of Moscow itself. The Soviet Government had by then been evacuated, yet Stalin remained in the city. Struggling between determination and despair, the city's population helped build defensive positions in the streets. The underground metro stations provided shelter during German air raids. General Georgy Zhukov, who assumed command of the city's defence, largely left close combat tactics to the local commanders on the city's approaches, and focused on concentrating fresh troops from Siberia for an eventual counter-attack. The Soviet counter-offensive was launched on 5 and 6 December 1941. In the freezing cold of an unusually harsh winter, Soviet forces, including well-equipped ski battalions, drove the exhausted Germans back out of reach of Moscow and consolidated their positions on 7 January 1942. The victory in the Battle of Moscow provided an important boost in morale for the Soviet population. Moscow was awarded the title Hero City in 1965.

Moscow
The capital of present-day Ukraine became the site of the largest encirclement battle in the summer of 1941. When the Germans commenced their offensive on 7 July, Soviet forces concentrated in the Kiev area were ordered to stand fast, and a breakout was prohibited. Defence of the pocket was fierce. Thousands of civilians volunteered to help defend the city. Eventually Kiev was taken on 19 September. Over 600,000 Soviet troops were taken captive when the pocket was cleared. The prolonged resistance effectively disrupted the German plans of blitzkrieg. However, in military terms, the battle was an awesome victory for the German Army and a disaster for the Soviets. It had a huge effect on morale, and Adolf Hitler praised the victory as the greatest battle in history.
During the German occupation of Kiev, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed or deported for slave labour. Kiev again became a battlefield when advancing Soviet forces pushed the Germans back West, liberating the city on 6 November 1943. Kiev was awarded the title Hero City in 1965.

Kiev
The city of Novorossiysk on the Eastern coast of the Black Sea provided a stronghold against the German summer offensive of 1942. Intense fighting in and around the city lasted from August until September 1942. The Soviets however retained possession of the Eastern part of the bay, which prevented the Germans from using the port for supply shipments. Novorossiysk was awarded the title Hero City in 1973.

Novorossiysk
Kerch, a port in the East of the Crimean peninsula, formed a bridgehead at the strait dividing Crimea from the Southern Russian mainland. After fierce fighting, it was taken by the Germans in November 1941. On 30 December 1941 the Soviets recaptured the city in a naval landing operation. In May 1942 the Germans occupied the city again, yet Soviet partisan forces held out in the cliffs near the city until October 1942. On 31 October 1943 another Soviet naval landing was launched. The largely ruined city was finally liberated on 11 April 1944. Kerch was awarded the title Hero City in 1973.

Kerch
The city of Minsk, capital of present-day Belarus, was encircled by advancing German forces in late June 1941. Trapped in a vast pocket, the Soviets defended their positions desperately. Their resistance was broken on 9 July, with over 300,000 Soviet troops taken captive. During the following three-year occupation, the Germans killed about 400,000 civilians in and around the city. The Minsk area became a centre for the Soviet partisan movement behind enemy lines. Minsk was awarded the title Hero City in 1974.

Tula
The city of Murmansk, located on the Kola Peninsula close to the Norwegian and Finnish borders, was a strategically important sea port and industrial city. It was the only Soviet port on the Northern coast that did not freeze in the winter, and was vital for the transport of supplies to the South. German forces, including 800 Finns under German command, launched an offensive against Murmansk on 29 June 1941. More than 180,000 grenades and inflammable shells were fired on the city itself. Fierce Soviet resistance in the tundra and several Soviet counter-attacks made an Axis breakthrough impossible, however. Axis forces discontinued their attacks in late October 1941, having failed to take Murmansk or to cut off the Karelian railway line. Murmansk was awarded the title Hero City in 1985.

2007-11-16T07:37:00.001-08:00

Editing of this article by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. If you cannot edit this article and you wish to make a change, you can discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or create an account.
The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Lahore قرارداد لاھور), commonly known as the Pakistan Resolution (قرارداد پاکستان Qarardad-e-Pakistan),
Khakrsar Movement
History of Pakistan
Pakistan Movement
Wikimedia Atlas of Pakistan, holding maps related to Pakistan.
The Pakistan Resolution, Government of Pakistan Official website. (Retrieved on 23 April 2006)
Lahore Resolution (1940) at Story of Pakistan website. (Retrieved on 23 April 2006)
Lahore Resolution at Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.(Retrieved on 23 April 2006)
Pakistan Resolution or Muslim League's Search For Survival

2007-11-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

The State of Alabama (IPA: /ˌɒ.ləˈbɒ.mə/), is located in the southern region of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland waterways. The state ranks 23rd in population with almost 4.5 million residents in 2000.
Until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship. In the years following the war, Alabama experienced significant recovery as the economy of the state transitioned from agriculture to diversified interests in heavy manufacturing, mineral extraction, education, and high technology. Today, the state is heavily invested in the aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication.
Alabama is officially nicknamed the Yellowhammer state, which is also the name of the state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie." The capital of Alabama is Montgomery, and the largest city is Birmingham (in Jefferson County).

Etymology of state name

Main article: Geography of Alabama Geography

Main article: List of Metropolitan areas of Alabama Urban areas
The climate of Alabama is described as temperate with an average annual temperature of 64°F (18°C). Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of the state with its close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the state, especially in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler. Sometimes Tornadoes occur - these are common throughout the state, although the peak season for tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state. Alabama shares the dubious distinction, with Kansas, of having reported more F5 tornadoes than any other state - according to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center for the period 1 January 1950 to 31 October 2006. An F5 tornado is the most powerful of its kind. Several long - tracked F5 tornadoes have contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities than any other state except for Texas and Mississippi. The Super Outbreak of March, 1974, badly affected Alabama. The north of the state - along the Tennessee Valley - is one of the area's in the US most vulnerable to violent tornadoes. The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, as distinct from the Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains. Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season (November and December) in addition to the Spring severe weather season.
Winters are generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the southeastern United States, with average January low temperatures around 40 °F in Mobile and around 32°F in Birmingham. Snow is a rare event in much of Alabama. Areas of the state north of Montgomery may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years. In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall.

Climate

Main article: History of Alabama History

Main article: Demographics of Alabama Demographics
The racial makeup of the state and comparison to the prior census:
The largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama: American (17.0%), English (7.8%), Irish (7.7%), German (5.7%), and Scots-Irish (2.0%). 'American' does not includes those reported as Native American.

Religion
According to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2005 total gross state product was $151 billion. This is an increase of 4.5% over 2004 and ranks Alabama number 15 in terms of state level GDP growth. The single largest increase came in the area of durable goods manufacturing.
Alabama as recently as 2003 had an annual budget deficit as high as $670 million, yet is one of only a few handful of states to turn around into large surpluses with its current state's budget surplus at nearly $1.2 Billion for fiscal year 2007, and estimated over $2.1 Billion for fiscal year 2008.

Economy
Alabama has five major interstate roads that cross it: I-65 runs north-south roughly through the middle of the state; I-59/I-20 travels from the central west border to Birmingham, where I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state and I-20 continues east towards Atlanta; I-85 goes from the border of Georgia and ends in Montgomery, providing a main thoroughfare to Atlanta; and I-10 traverses the southernmost portion of the state, running from west to east through Mobile. Another interstate road, I-22, is currently under construction. When completed (est. 2012), it will connect Birmingham with Memphis, Tennessee.
Major airports in Alabama include Birmingham International Airport (BHM), Dothan Regional Airport (DHN), Huntsville International Airport (HSV), Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Montgomery Regional Airport (IATA: MGM, ICAO: KMGM), Muscle Shoals - Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), and Tuscaloosa Regional Airport (TCL).

Transportation
Listed from north to south

Water ports

Main article: Government of Alabama Law and government
The foundational document for Alabama's government is the Alabama Constitution, which was ratified in 1901. At more than 770 amendments and 310,000 words, it is the world's longest constitution and is roughly forty times the length of the U.S. Constitution.
Alabama is divided into three equal branches:
The legislative branch is the Alabama Legislature, a bicameral assembly composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating, passing, or defeating state legislation.
The executive branch is responsible for the execution and oversight of laws. It is headed by the Governor of Alabama. Other members of executive branch include the cabinet, the Attorney General of Alabama, the Alabama Secretary of State, the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, the Alabama State Treasurer, and the Alabama State Auditor.
The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases. The highest court is the Supreme Court of Alabama.

State government
Alabama has 67 counties. Each county has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the Board of Commissioners, which usually also has executive authority in the county. Due to the restraints placed in the Alabama Constitution, all but 7 counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have little to no home rule. Instead, most counties in the state must lobby the Local Legislation Committee of the state legislature to get simple local policies such as waste disposal to land use zoning.
Alabama is an alcoholic beverage control state; the government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol.

List of Alabama county seats Local and county government
The current governor of the state is Bob Riley. The lieutenant governor is Jim Folsom Jr. The Democratic Party currently holds a large majority in both houses of the Legislature. Due to the Legislature's power to override a gubernatorial veto by a mere simple majority (most state Legislatures require a 2/3 majority to override a veto), the relationship between the executive and legislative branches can be easily strained when different parties control both branches.
During Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope. In 1874, the political coalition known as the Redeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans. After 1890, a coalition of whites passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise black residents. The state became part of the "Solid South," a one-party system in which the Democratic Party became essentially the only political party in every Southern state. For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally no Republican challenger running in the General Election. It was not until the 1980s that Republicans began to successfully challenge and win elections in local and state offices.
Alabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the American Civil Rights Movement, when it bureaucratically, and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social reform. The state's governor during the period, George Wallace, remains a notorious and controversial figure. However, in 2007, the Alabama legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering impact. The bill was signed in the Alabama state house which served as the first Capital of the Confederate States of America.

State politics
From 1876 through 1956, Alabama supported only Democratic presidential candidates, by large margins. 1960 was a curious election; the Democrats won with John F. Kennedy on the ballot, but the Democratic electors gave 6 of their 11 electoral votes as a protest to Harry Byrd. In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater carried the state. In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace over both Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. In 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped thereafter. Since 1980, the Republican party has become increasingly dominant in Alabama's federal elections. In local politics, by contrast, Democrats still control many offices, such as their large and long standing majority in the Alabama Legislature.
In 2004, George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote. The only 11 counties voting Democratic were Black Belt counties, where African Americans are in the majority.
The state's two current U.S. senators are Jefferson B. Sessions III and Richard C. Shelby, both from the Republican Party.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, the state is represented by seven members, five of whom are Republicans (Jo Bonner, Terry Everett, Mike D. Rogers, Robert Aderholt, and Spencer Bachus) and two Democrats (Bud Cramer and Artur Davis).
Further information: U.S. presidential election, 2004, in Alabama

Federal politics

Education

Main article: List of colleges and universities in Alabama Colleges and universities

Sports teams

The phrase The Heart of Dixie (originating from Alabama being the capital of the Confederate States during the Civil War). is required by state law to be included on standard state vehicle license plates, but has recently been reduced to a very small size and eclipsed by the phrase Stars Fell on Alabama. As of October 2006, Alabama also provides an alternative "God Bless America" license plate at no additional charge.
The song Sweet Home Alabama, originally performed by the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, was an answer to Neil Young's songs Southern Man and Alabama, both of which criticized white Southerners' attitudes and actions during the Civil Rights Movement. While this is often considered that band's signature song, Lynyrd Skynyrd actually hailed from Jacksonville, Florida, several hundred miles away, at the time of the recording in 1974.
The world's first Electric Trolley System was introduced in Montgomery in 1886.
911 and its use as the standard emergency number was invented and first used in Alabama. Miscellaneous topics

Alabama census statistical areas
Alabama Highway Patrol
Appalachia
Coat of arms of Alabama
Famous Alabamians
List of symphonies of Alabama
Music of Alabama
Scouting in Alabama
The Alabama Theatre See also

Alabama Shakespeare Festival
Birmingham Astronomical Society
Birmingham Museum of Art
USS Alabama
U.S. Space & Rocket Center/U.S. Space Camp Huntsville
Old State Bank
Rhea-McEntire House
Vulcan Park
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Alabama Symphony Orchestra Cultural sites

Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic
Alabama Sports Festival
Bayfest, Mobile's Music Festival
Big Spring Jam
City Stages Music Festival, Birmingham
GMAC Bowl
Jubilee City Fest
Mardi Gras, Mobile
Mobile Bay Jubilee
Papajohns.com Bowl (formerly the Birmingham Bowl)
Regions Charity Classic (formerly the Bruno's Memorial Classic)
Senior Bowl
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
Spirit of America Festival Venues

2007-11-14T07:35:00.000-08:00

George Pake (April 1, 1924 – March 4, 2004) was a physicist and research executive primarily known for helping found Xerox PARC. Pake earned his bachelors and masters degrees from the Carnegie Institute of Technology and his doctorate in physics at Harvard University in 1948.
After four years as a physics professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Pake became the head of the physics department at age 28. He later went on to become provost of the university from 1962 to 1970 before leaving to serve as founding director of Xerox PARC.
PARC assembled a first-rate collection of research talent, especially in the area of computer science. During Dr. Pake's years running Xerox PARC, the research center invented the laser printer and pioneered the use of a computer "desktop" which functioned by clicking on "icons." This has since become the computer industry standard.
If the Xerox Corporation never chose to open a computer division, it was through no lack of advocacy by George Pake.
Pake was a recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1987 and continued to visit PARC long after his 1986 retirement from Xerox.
George Pake died of multiple systems failure on March 4, 2004 in Tucson, Arizona.

2007-11-13T10:15:00.001-08:00

The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive Conservative Party to power, but with only a minority of seats in the House of Commons.
The Trudeau Liberals had become very unpopular during their last term in government because of large budget deficits, high inflation, and high unemployment. Although elections in Canada are normally held four years apart, Trudeau deferred calling an election until five years after the previous election in the hope that the Liberal Party would be able to recover some of the support that it had lost.
The effort was unsuccessful, however, and the Liberals lost 27 seats. Several high-profile cabinet ministers were defeated. Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader following the election.
The PC Party campaigned on the slogans, "Let's get Canada working again", and "It's time for a change - give the future a chance!" Canadians were not, however, sufficiently confident in the young Joe Clark to give him a majority in the House of Commons. Quebec, in particular, was unwilling to support Clark, and elected only two PC Members of Parliament (MPs) in the province's 75 ridings. Clark, relatively unknown when elected as PC leader at the 1976 PC Party convention, was seen as being bumbling and unsure. Clark had had problems with certain right-wing members of his caucus. In particular, when Clark's riding was merged into the riding of another PC MP during a redistribution of ridings, the other MP refused to step aside, and Clark ended up running in another riding. Also, when Clark undertook a tour of the Middle East Asia in order to show his ability to handle foreign affairs issues, his luggage was lost, and Clark appeared to be uncomfortable with the issues being discussed.
The Liberals tried to make leadership and Clark's inexperience the issue, arguing in their advertising that "This is no time for on-the-job training", and "We need tough leadership to keep Canada growing. A leader must be a leader."
The Social Credit Party of Canada, which had lost its mercurial leader, Réal Caouette, who died in 1976, struggled to remain relevant. After a series of interim leaders, including Caouette's son, the party turned to Fabien Roy, a popular member of the National Assembly of Quebec, who took the reins of the party just before the beginning of the campaign. The party won the tacit support of the separatist Parti Québécois, which formed the government of Quebec. Social Credit attempted to rally the separatist and nationalist vote: Canadian flags were absent at its campaign kick-off rally, and the party's slogan was C'est à notre tour ("It's our turn"), which was reminiscent of the popular separatist anthem Gens du pays that includes the chorus, "C'est à votre tour de vous laisser parler d'amour". The party focused its platform on constitutional change, promising to fight to abolish the federal government's never-used right to disallow any provincial legislation, and stating that each province has a "right to choose its own destiny within Canada".
The Socreds' support from the Parti Québécois was not welcome by everyone; for instance, Gilles Caouette publicly denounced what he called "péquistes déguisés en créditistes" ("Péquistes disguised as Socreds"). While the party did manage to somewhat increase its vote in Péquiste areas, it also lost many votes in areas of traditional Socred strength, with the end result being a drop from eleven to six seats and a slightly reduced share of the popular vote compared to the 1974 election. (See also: Social Credit Party candidates, 1979 Canadian federal election.)
Clark's minority government lasted less than nine months. It was defeated in the House of Commons in a vote of non-confidence over a budget bill that proposed to increase the excise tax on gasoline by 18 cents per Imperial gallon (about 4 cents per litre). This resulted in the 1980 election, in which the PCs were defeated by the resurgent Trudeau Liberals.

National results
xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote.

2007-11-12T07:39:00.001-08:00

Major broadcasters
Before the advent of digital television in the UK, five main television channels dominated British television. With the increasing popularity of digital television, all are expanding and offering a portfolio of digital-only channels to viewers.
The BBC is the world's oldest and biggest broadcaster, and is the country's first and largest public service broadcaster. The BBC is funded by a television licence fee that all households with a television must pay. Its analogue channels are BBC One and BBC Two. The BBC first began a television service, initially serving London only, in 1936. BBC Television was closed during World War II but reopened in 1946. The second station, BBC Two, was launched in 1964. As well as these two analogue services, the British Broadcasting Corporation now also offers digital services BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News 24, BBC Parliament, CBBC Channel, CBeebies, BBCi and has trialled BBC HD.
ITV (Independent Television) was the name given to the original commercial British television broadcasters, set up on a regional basis in 1955 to provide competition to the BBC. Almost all of these companies have now merged into a single business. Unlike the BBC, ITV funds itself by showing television commercials. Despite the proliferation of channels, ITV is still the UK's biggest commercial broadcaster in the country. Its flagship analogue channel is ITV1, though it also now runs digital-only television channels ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITV Play, CITV and Men & Motors.
These channels were launched in 1982, and although state owned, Channel 4 is funded by its commercial activities (including advertising). The situation is more complex with S4C, as the BBC produces some programming, and the channel also has Welsh language obligations. Channel 4 has expanded into digital television, now offering E4, More 4 and Film4 on all digital platforms. S4C has also expanded, offering S4C2 in Wales. S4C has announced that once the Wales digital switch over is completed it will become a Welsh language only channel and not broadcast anything in English. This is due to the fact that Channel 4 will be available to the whole of Wales for the first time and not only to those households lucky enough to live within the range of an English transmitter.
Five (previously known as Channel 5) was the final analogue broadcaster to be launched, in 1997. Its coverage is less than that of the other analogue broadcasters. RTL Group, Europe's largest television broadcaster, took full control of the channel in August 2005. Five launched two new channels, Five US and Five Life in October 2006.
All of these channels are also carried on satellite television, cable television and digital terrestrial television services.

Free-to-air analogue terrestrial networks
British television differs from other countries, such as the United States, such that programmes produced in Britain do not generally have a long 'season' run of around 20 weeks. Instead, programmes are produced in a series, a set of episodes varying in length, usually aired over a period of a few months.
Weekday programming on terrestrial channels begin with national news programmes (along with regional news updates) on BBC One and ITV 1, with children's programming on BBC Two and Five. Channel 4, on the other hand, has a variety of morning programmes, appealing to a wide audience, including horse racing and T4, Channel 4's teen to young adult orientated channel. The morning news finishes at 09:00 for BBC One and 9:25 for ITV 1. Following this, lifestyle programming is shown. Typically, this occurs on all channels by 11:00, continuing until 16:00. Also included is a lunch time news update on BBC One and ITV 1. Following this, further children's programming is shown on BBC One, and all channels will eventually switch to entertainment programming, including soaps and game shows. Between 18:00 and 20:00, BBC One, ITV 1, Channel 4 and five all shown early evening news, with BBC One and ITV 1 following this up with late evening news after 20:00.
Prime time programming is usually dominated by further soaps - including Eastenders on BBC One and Coronation Street and Emmerdale on ITV 1 - and entertainment programming. These entertainment programmes can vary throughout the year, however weekly dramas such as Holby City, are also fixed to scheduling. Because of this, the UK can often rely more heavily on TV guides, be it with the newspaper, online on as available on information services on the television: Ceefax/Teletext/BBCi as well as built in Electrionic Programme Guides.
Weekend programming traditionally contains further children's, lifestyle programming, as well as sporting events and the occasional afternoon film. There are further battles for viewers in the weekend prime time slot, often featuring reality or talent game shows in the evening. Morning and late evening news programmes still continue on BBC One and ITV 1, yet even these can be shifted about due to delays in sporting events.
After midnight, when late evening films are shown, channels 'close down'. Before 2000, the channels simply shut, displaying news in the form of Ceefax or a test card. However, recently programming has been shown continually. BBC channels will join BBC News 24 in a multichannel simulcast. ITV 1 switches to ITV Play, a phone-in competition service. Channel 4 will show wills and, depending on the time of year, they may show live feeds of Big Brother (in the Summer) and its spin-off Celebrity Big Brother (in January). Five may show sport, from around the world, including Boxing and football from European leagues.

Programming
BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting) operates a satellite television service and numerous television channels e.g. Sky One, Sky Two, Sky Three, Sky Movies, Sky Sports. It is owned by News Corporation.
Owned by the cable provider Virgin Media and operates several channels, e.g., Living, Bravo, Trouble. It also owns 50% of the UKTV company (The other 50% is owned by the BBC).
These six broadcasters dominate British television. The terrestrial networks all operate numerous digital channels and the bulk of viewing is on channels provided by these broadcasters. The most watched digital channels are owned by these networks also. There are other broadcasters who have secured a notable place on British television including Discovery Channel, Viacom International and EMAP, which all provide multiple channels.
No further analogue broadcasters are expected to be launched, and efforts are being made to popularise the uptake of digital television so that analogue television broadcasts can be discontinued and the bandwidth allocated can be reused. The analogue service is to be switched off over a 5 year plan starting in 2008 and finishing in 2012. 2008 will see ITV Border, ITV Westcountry and ITV Wales analogue service switched off. 2009: ITV Granada, ITV West, and STV. 2010: ITV Central, ITV Yorkshire and ITV Anglia, 2011: ITV Meridian, ITV London, ITV Tyne Tees and UTV, and finally 2012: ITV Channel Television.
With the passage of UK's Communications Act 2003, there are no longer any foreign-ownership restrictions in the UK's television programming services, cable and Direct-to-Home satellite television sectors. To counterbalance the removal of foreign-ownership restrictions for companies in the broadcasting sector, the UK government has increased the power of the regulatory body, which is called Ofcom.

Digital Networks

Main article: Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom Cable and satellite

List of British television channels
List of UK television series
Ofcom
BACC
BARB
Digital switchover in the United Kingdom

2007-11-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

NHS Shetland is one of the fourteen Scottish regions of the National Health Service. It provides healthcare services in the Shetland area. NHS Shetland is headquartered in Brevik House, Lerwick.
NHS Shetland operates two hospitals:

Gilbert Bain Hospital, Lerwick
Montfield Hospital, Lerwick

2007-11-10T10:31:00.001-08:00

Definition
In college football, if a defensive player gains possession of the ball during a play, between his own five-yard line and goal line, and the player's original momentum carries him into the end zone, there is no touchback. Instead, the ball is dead at the point where possession changed. In the National Football League, this rule applies only to pass interceptions (regardless of whether they occur inside the five-yard line).

American Football
In Canadian football, the failure to advance a kicked ball out of the goal area results in a single point being scored by the kickers, as well as possession by the receivers at their 35-yard line. A turn-over by fumble or interception in the defense's goal area results in a scrimmage on the 25-yard line with no points awarded. In the Canadian game the term touchback is not used.

2007-11-09T09:24:00.001-08:00

Mount Etna (also known as Mongibeddu in Sicilian and Mongibello in Italian, a combination of Latin mont- meaning mountain and the local word for beautiful) is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the largest active volcano in Europe, currently standing about 3,326 m (10,910 ft) high, though it should be noted that this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21.6 m (71 ft) lower now than it was in 1865. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km² (460 square miles) with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being nearly three times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius.
Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of eruption. Although it can occasionally be very destructive, it is not generally regarded as being particularly dangerous, and thousands of people live on its slopes and in the surrounding areas. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations.

Name and legends
Volcanic activity at Etna began about half a million years ago, with eruptions occurring beneath the sea off the then coastline of Sicily. 300,000 years ago, volcanism began occurring to the southwest of the present-day summit, before activity moved towards the present centre 170,000 years ago. Eruptions at this time built up the first major volcanic edifice, forming a strato-volcano in alternating explosive and effusive eruptions. The growth of the mountain was occasionally interrupted by major eruptions leading to the collapse of the summit to form calderas.
From about 35,000 to 15,000 years ago, Etna experienced some highly explosive eruptions, generating large pyroclastic flows which left extensive ignimbrite deposits. Ash from these eruptions has been found as far away as Rome, 800 km to the north.
Thousands of years ago, the eastern flank of the mountain experienced a catastrophic collapse, generating an enormous landslide in an event similar to that seen at Mount St. Helens in 1980. The landslide left a large depression in the side of the volcano, known as 'Valle del Bove' (Valley of the Ox). Research published in 2006 suggests that this occurred around 6000 BC, and caused a huge tsunami which left its mark in several places in the eastern Mediterranean. It may have been the reason that the settlement of Atlit Yam (Israel), now below sea level, was suddenly abandoned around that time. (Pareschi et al., Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, DOI:10.1029/2006GL027790)
The steep walls of the Valley have suffered subsequent collapse on numerous occasions. The strata exposed in the valley walls provide an important and easily accessible record of Etna's eruptive history.
The most recent collapse event at the summit of Etna is thought to have occurred about 2,000 years ago, forming what is known as the Piano Caldera. This caldera has been almost entirely filled by subsequent lava eruptions, but is still visible as a distinct break in the slope of the mountain near the base of the present-day summit cone.

Historical eruptions
Over the last 2000 years, activity at Etna has been generally effusive, with occasional explosive eruptions from the summit. Its most destructive eruption during this time occurred in March 1669, when an estimated 830,000,000 m³ of lava was ejected. The eruption was preceded by two months of increasingly powerful earthquakes centered on the southern slopes of the mountain, which eventually encouraged most villagers there to abandon their homes. On 11 March, a 9 km-long fissure opened up on the southern flank of the mountain, stretching from an elevation of 2,800 m down to 1,200 m. Activity steadily migrated downslope, and the largest vent eventually opened near the town of Nicolosi. The cinder cone built up at the erupting vent became known as Monti Rossi (red hills), and is still a prominent landmark today.
Nicolosi was quickly destroyed by lava flows, and two nearby small villages were also destroyed during the eruption's first day. The eruption was extremely voluminous, and a further four villages were destroyed in the following three days as the lava flowed south. In late March two larger towns were destroyed, and the lava reached the outskirts of Catania in early April.
At first, lava piled up against the city walls, which were strong enough to withstand the pressure of the flow. However, while the city was temporarily protected, lava flowed into its harbour and filled it in. On 30 April, lava flowed over the top of the city walls, which then gave way. Catanians built walls across major roads to halt the flow of the lava, which were fairly effective but did not prevent the destruction of the western side of the city.
During the eruption, Catania residents also attempted to divert the flows much further upstream. According to a possibly apocryphal tale, their efforts were met with armed resistance from the citizens of a town which would have been threatened by the diverted flow [1]. Whether this event really occurred or not, a law was subsequently passed to forbid the artificial diversion of lava flows. This law was only repealed in 1983.

Recent eruptions

Volcanic Seven Summits
Mountaineering

2007-11-08T10:08:00.001-08:00

The 2000-01 Scottish Premier League was won by Celtic. Rangers finished second. Both teams earned a place in the UEFA Champions League. Hibernian and Kilmarnock finished third and fourth and both therefore earned UEFA Cup berths. St Mirren were relegated in their first season in the top-flight since 1991-92.

Table

Scottish Cup winners gain 2nd UEFA Cup place (may be given to runners-up if Cup winners gain European place via league)

2007-11-07T07:38:00.001-08:00

German period: the Albertus Universität Königsberg ("Albertina")
The Albertina was closed and replaced with the Russophone Kaliningrad Pedagogical Institute. In 1967, the university was reinstated as Kaliningrad State University. Inside modern buildings, some remains of the old university structures may be seen.
During the celebrations of Kaliningrad's 450th anniversary in 2005, Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schröder announced that the university would be renamed into the Kant Russian State University.

Famous alumni of the "Albertina"

The alumni and faculty members of Immanuel Kant State University of Russia

2007-11-06T08:05:00.001-08:00

The Parramatta River, New South Wales, Australia, is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers. The river begins at confluence of Toongabbie Creek and Darling Mills Creek west of Paramatta and travels in an easterly direction to a line between Yurulbin (formerly Long Nose Point) and Manns Point near Balmain where is joins with the Lane Cove River to form Sydney Harbour, at this point still about 21 km from the ocean. The total catchment area of the river is approximately 130 km² and is tidal to Charles Street Weir in Parramatta approximately 30 km from Sydney Heads.

River governance

Transport

Main article: Parramatta River ferry services, Sydney Ferry services and wharves
The Parramatta River, along with Sydney Harbour, is the most significant waterway in Sydney. Since settlement, the river and the harbour have presented a formidable barrier to development north of the waterway - it literally cuts Sydney in half. As a result, the many crossings are extremely important to the life of the City. From east to west (including those crossing Sydney Harbour), they are:

Sydney Harbour Tunnel
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Gladesville Bridge
Mortlake Ferry (the last vehicular ferry operating on the river)
Ryde Bridge (now a dual bridge)
Old Meadowbank railway bridge (converted into a pedestrian and cyclist bridge)

Crossings

Ecological and environment issues
Until 1970 the river was an open drain for Sydney's industry and consequently the southern central embayments are contaminated with a range of heavy metals and chemicals. The Northern Bays are less affected as the Sydney Harbour Bridge was not completed until 1932 and so industrial development was already well established on the southern side of the Harbour.
Dr Gavin Birch of the University of Sydney has published a number of papers which show that Sydney Harbour is as contaminated as most other harbours in industrialised cities, that the main sediment contamination is in the southern central embayments (Blackwattle to Homebush Bays), that there are 5 particularly contaminated areas of Sydney Harbour, and that 4 of them are in the Parramatta river system.
The main contaminated areas of the Parramatta River are:
Water quality is monitored by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change for faecal coliforms and e. coli, but only as far west as Cabarita. the Department does not monitor water quality further west on the River, despite increasing development and the use of the river for recreational boating. In the areas monitored, the water quality is generally acceptable except after heavy rains.

Homebush Bay - dioxins, lead, phthalates, DDT, PAHs (coal tars) mainly originating from nearby chemical factories of Berger Paints, CSR Chemicals, ICI/Orica, and Union Carbide.
Iron Cove - various metals and chemicals with no clearly defined point source. Pollution may possibly enter through Iron Cove Creek and Hawthorne Canal.
Off former AGL site, now redeveloped as Breakfast Point. Water quality concerns
The Parramatta River is subject to a number of fishing bans because of its contaminated sediments. There is a complete fishing ban in Homebush Bay because of the dioxin contamination, and a complete commercial fishing ban throughout the rest of Sydney Harbour and its tributaries, including the Parramatta River.
The Parramatta River is one of the few significant coastal rivers in New South Wales which has not been the subject of a Healthy Rivers Commission Investigation. The Cooks River and Botany Bay have been subject to such an investigation. Some have campaigned for a Healthy Rivers Commission inquiry to bring together all the information on the state of the river and its sediments and fish and assist in watershed management.

Fishing
Major wetlands include:
There are significant stands of mangroves along the river west of Henley (on the North shore) and Mortlake (on the southern shore) and in the Lane Cove River. The mangroves have actually colonised areas that were previously salt marsh. Research into historical drawings and writings indicates that the mangroves were far fewer at English colonisation. Council information panels in Glades Bay explain that the bay's now extensive mangrove stands would once have been open water, sandy beaches and outcrops of rock. Land clearing and development has allowed soil and various nutrients to be washed into the river. This has provided an ideal environment for mangroves to colonise. The excessive siltation of the river is an ongoing problem.

Bicentennial Park Wetlands (nationally significant, JAMBA CAMBA)
Newington Wetlands (nationally significant, JAMBA CAMBA) Major wetlands and environmentally sensitive areas
Many areas of the river, particularly the swampy heads of bays, have been reclaimed, often being used as rubbish dumps before being converted into playing fields. Large sections of Meadowbank Park were created in this manner. Some industrial sites were also reclaimed heavily from the river, particularly in Homebush Bay. Most creeks leading into the bays have been channelised (lined with concrete walls and floor).

Reclamation
While some areas of the river with heavily contaminated sediments have not been remediated, there is significant remediation of sediments about to start in Homebush Bay. These include the dioxin contaminated sediments near the former Union Carbide plant and the lead contaminated sediments near the former Berger Paints plant. The former AGL site has been analysed, a remediation plan developed and approved, remediation completed and construction commenced on medium to high density residential development, but the sediments, which independent research shows to be contaminated with pollutants from the AGL operations, have not yet had the investigation stage finalised (as of 2000).
Other areas have had sediments covered with concrete to prevent the fish eating the benthos. Some of these companies claim that the contamination is best left alone, but environmentalists have argued that the contamination could be being passed up the food chain and claim that the companies are trying to avoid the costs incurred in pollution cleanup.

Remediation

Recreational activities
There are a number of sailing and yachting clubs on the River:
Sailing and rowing take place under an aquatic licence granted annually by Waterways.

Abbotsford 12ft Flying Squadron in Abbotsford
Concord & Ryde Sailing Club at Putney http://www.concordrydesailing.org
Parramatta River Sailing Club at Gladesville http://www.prsc.org.au/ Sailing
There are Sea Scouts at:

Rhodes: First Yaralla
Meadowbank: First Epping Foreshore walks and cycleways
Major heritage buildings on or near the foreshore include:

Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital (now Rivendell unit for Teenagers)
Callan Park, a former psychiatric hospital, with fine sandstone buildings
Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital, with many sandstone buildings in parklike surroundings on the southern side of Victoria Road. All the buildings on the Northern side were demolished and sold for redevelopment in about 1990.
Yaralla, the italianate mansion of Dame Edith Walker, a generous benefactor of the Concord Community, still preserved in magnificent and extensive grounds through a trust structure in favour of a hospital.
the Newington armaments depot with its armaments railway and concrete bunkers

2007-11-05T10:01:00.001-08:00

The Royal Highland Centre (or Royal Highland Showground) refers to the exhibition centre and showgrounds located to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, adjacent to Edinburgh Airport and the A8. Purchased by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) in the late 1950's, the Royal Highland Centre now welcomes over 1m visitors annually to a wide range of events. The largest event is the Royal Highland Show, which attracts over 150,000 visitors each year.
The future of the Showground is threatened by the proposed expansion of Edinburgh Airport, under a UK government white paper which foresees the need for the Royal Highland Centre site to be used for airport use by 2013. These expansion plans are vigorously opposed by the RHASS, who argue that the Royal Highland Centre and Edinburgh Airport were both established at the same time, and hence neither should take priority over the other in their land needs. Also, it is unlikely that a similar site with suitable transport links could be found for the Royal Highland Centre within central Scotland.
Coordinates: 55°56′27.59″N, 3°22′26.44″W

2007-11-04T10:09:00.001-08:00

Matthew Wilson (born 29th January, 1987) is a World Rally Championship driver from Cockermouth in Cumbria, England. He is the son of M-Sport boss and former WRC driver, Malcolm Wilson.
He competed in his first rally, the 2003 Malcolm Wilson Rally, as co-driver to his father, and together they won the event. His first WRC event was the Wales Rally GB in 2004, in which he finished in 13th place overall. He was one of only six drivers and co-drivers selected for the MSA British Rally Elite training scheme designed for young British drivers in 2005, and became the youngest ever winner of a British Rally Championship round in the same year when he won the Trackrod Rally aged 18 years, 8 months and 5 days. However, in April 2005, on a test day for the International Rally of Wales, he slid off the road on a sixth-gear corner whilst leading the event. He broke his right wrist and left forearm, as well as damaging his right knee. His co-driver, Scott Martin, also broke his left leg in the accident. Even now, almost two years on, when Matthew flexes his right knee, the screw that was fitted to assist the healing process is visible. When Wilson returned to rallying four months later, he finished second overall on the Gleanor Speyside Stages Rally. Despite months out of action due to the injury, he still finished seventh overall in the 2005 British Rally Championship driving for Eddie Stobart Motorsport, scoring 38 points.
Other events in 2005 included winning the Malcolm Wilson Rally, the McRae Stages Rally (a round of the Scottish Rally Championship) and the inaugural Rally Ireland, where he competed with current co-driver Michael Orr for the first time. 2006 was Matthew's first full season in the WRC, as a driver for the Stobart VK Ford team. He competed in all 16 rallies, and became the youngest ever world rally driver to win a stage (the Cordoba Stadium superspecial stage on Rally Argentina), and score championship points - when he finished eighth overall on that event. He finished 28th in the season's standings with one point, but was classified as a finisher in every event, an achievement no other driver managed in 2006.
It is well known in rallying that Malcolm Wilson has a five-year plan for Matthew, starting in 2006 and running right through until 2010. 2006 was intended as a 'learning' year, and Matthew was told to finish every rally, taking points as a bonus. In 2007, Matthew and co-driver Orr are only nominated for manufacturer points in the rallies that teammate Jari-Matti Latvala is not competing in, taking some pressure off Wilson.

2006 season results

Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo - 15th
Uddeholm Swedish Rally - 14th
Corona Rally Mexico - 17th
Rally Catalunya Costa Daurada - 15th
Rallye de France - 16th
Rally Argentina - 8th (scored first WRC stage win)
Rally d'Italia Sardegna - 34th
Acropolis Rally - 10th
OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland - 12th
Neste Oil Rally Finland - 10th
Rally Japan - 40th
Cyprus Rally - 10th
Rally of Turkey - 12th
Telstra Rally Australia - 27th
Rally New Zealand - 13th
Wales Rally GB - 12th

2007-11-03T08:21:00.001-07:00

Maltese registration plates are the number plates used within Malta to uniquely identify motor vehicles. Since 1995, the 3 letter 3 number system (ZZZ 999) has been in use in Malta for vehicle registration.
Special number plate series

Rental cars: all end with a K (e.g. XXK 001)
Taxis/Buses/Minibuses/Coaches: all end with a Y (e.g. XXY 001)
Tax free cars: all begin with a TF (e.g. TFX 001)
Government owned cars: all begin with a GV (e.g. GVX 001)
Police cars are registered using GVP as their letters (e.g. GVP 001)
Vehicles of the Armed Forces of Malta are registered using GVA as their letters (e.g. GVA 001)
Vehicles belonging to the department of health use GVH letters on their plates (e.g. GVH 001)
Diplomatic/Embassy vehicles use CD as their first 2 letters(ex.CDX 001)

2007-11-02T11:15:00.001-07:00

Frank Darabont (born on January 28, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has been involved in the production of two Academy Award-nominated films, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.

Filmmaking career

Buried Alive (1990) (TV) - director
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - director, screenwriter
The Green Mile (1999) - director, screenwriter, producer
The Majestic (2001) - director, producer
The Mist (2007) - director, screenwriter
Fahrenheit 451 (2008) - director , screenwriter

2007-11-01T10:37:00.001-07:00

Beatrice Wood (March 3, 1893 - March 12, 1998) was an American artist and ceramicist, who late in life was dubbed the "Mama of Dada," and served as a partial inspiration for the character of Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron's 1997 film, Titanic. Beatrice Wood died nine days after her 105th birthday in Ojai, California.

Childhood
During this time period, Wood was introduced to Marcel Duchamp, who in turn introduced her to her first great love interest, Henri-Pierre Roché, a man twice her age. She worked with Duchamp and Roché in the 1910s to create The Blind Man, a magazine that was one of the earliest manifestations of the Dada art movement in New York City.

Dada and the Avant-garde
Though she was involved with Roché, the two would often spend time with Duchamp, creating a love triangle. Biographies of Wood traditionally link Roché's novel (and the consequent film), Jules et Jim, with the relationship between Duchamp, Wood, and himself [2], [3]. Other sources link their triangle to Roché's unfinished novel, Victor, and Jules et Jim with the triangle between Roché, Franz Hessel and Helen Hessel [4]. Beatrice Wood commented on this topic on p. 136 of her 1985 autobiography, I Shock Myself:
Roché lived in Paris with his wife Denise, and had by now written Jules et Jim...Because the story concerns two young men who are close friends and a woman who loves them both, people have wondered how much was based on Roché, Marcel, and me. I cannot say what memories or episodes inspired Roché, but the characters bear only passing resemblance to those of us in real life!

Roché, Duchamp, and Jules et Jim
Wood was next introduced to the art patrons, Walter and Louise Arensberg (who would become her lifelong friends). They held regular gatherings in which artists, writers, and poets were invited for intellectual discussion. Besides herself, Duchamp, and Roché, the group included Man Ray and Francis Picabia. Beatrice Wood's relationship with them and others associated with the avant-garde movement of the early 20th century, earned her the designation "Mama of Dada." Beatrice did not stay at the academy because it was too academic for her

The Arensbergs and their circle
In her early forties, after a succession of failed artistic careers (most notably as an actress) and an annulled marriage, Beatrice moved back to Los Angeles, California.
It was at this time that she bought a pair of baroque plates with a luster glaze. She wanted to find a matching teapot to go along with it, but was unsuccessful. Deciding to make the teapot herself, she enrolled in a ceramic class at Hollywood High School. This hobby turned into a passion that would last over the next sixty years, as she developed a unique form of luster-glaze technique that proved successful.
In 1947, Beatrice felt that her career was established enough for her to build a home. She settled in Ojai, California in 1948 to be near the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti and became a life long member of the Theosophical Society - Adyar, events which would greatly influence her artistic philosophies. She also taught and lived at the Happy Valley School.
Ever the comedienne, when asked the secret to her incredible longevity, she would respond, "I owe it all to chocolate and young men."
In 1994, the Smithsonian Institution named Wood an "Esteemed American Artist."

Ojai, California
Books:

Clark, Garth, "Gilded Vessel: The Lustrous Life and Art of Beatrice Wood". Guild Publishing, 2001.
Wallace, Marlene, "Playing Chess With the Heart: Beatrice Wood at 100". San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.
Wood, Beatrice, "I Shock Myself: The Autobiography of Beatrice Wood". 1985. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2006.

2007-10-31T09:30:00.001-07:00

Structure and composition
At the end of the eighteenth century, conduct books became one of the dominant genres of literature. They integrated the styles and rhetorics of earlier genres, such as devotional writings, marriage manuals, recipe books, and works on household economy. Conduct books offered their readers a description of the ideal woman (or man or servant, depending on the audience) while at the same time dishing out practical advice. Thus not only did they dictate morality, but they also guided readers' choice of dress and outlined "proper" etiquette.

Genre: the conduct book
Political radicals at the end of the eighteenth century, such as Wollstonecraft, focused their reform efforts on education, because they believed that if people were educated correctly, Britain would experience a moral and political revolution. Religious Dissenters, especially, embraced this view and Wollstonecraft's philosophy in Thoughts and elsewhere resembles very closely that of the Dissenters she met at Newington Green, such as the theologian, educator and scientist Joseph Priestley and the minister Richard Price. Dissenters "were most concerned with molding children into people of good moral character and habits".

Pedagogical theory
Thoughts advocates several educational goals for women: independent thought, rationality, self-discipline, truthfulness, acceptance of one's social position, useful skills and faith in God.

Themes
Wollstonecraft envisions the "daughters" in her book as one day becoming mothers and teachers. She does not propose that women abandon these traditional roles because she believes that it is as pedagogues that women can most effectively improve society. Wollstonecraft, and other writers as diverse as the evangelical moralist Hannah More, the historian Catherine Macaulay and the feminist novelist Mary Hays, argued that since women were the primary caregivers of the family and educators of children, they should be given a sound education. They decried the traditional and what they saw as decadent "accomplishment"-based education, which focused on "skills" such as dancing.

Education of women
While Wollstonecraft's comments on female education hint at some of her more radical arguments in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the religious tone of the text, also found in Mary: A Fiction, is generally interpreted by scholars as conservative. The religion presented in Thoughts is one of the "pleasures of resignation", a belief that the afterlife is awaiting and that the world is ordered by God for the best.

Religion
Thoughts was moderately successful; it was reprinted in Dublin a year after its initial publication in London, extracts were published in The Lady's Magazine, and Wollstonecraft included excerpts from it in her own Female Reader (1789), an anthology of writings designed "for the Improvement of Young Women". The English Review noticed Thoughts favorably:
These thoughts are employed on various important situations and incidents in the ordinary life of females, and are, in general, dictated with great judgment. Mrs. Wollstonecraft appears to have reflected maturely on her subject; . . . while her manner gives authority, her good sense adds irresistible weight to almost all her precepts and remarks. We should therefore recommend these Thoughts as worthy the attention of those who are more immediately concerned in the education of young ladies.

Reception and legacy

Timeline of Mary Wollstonecraft See also

Modern reprints

Armstrong, Nancy. Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN 0195061608.
Jones, Vivien. "Mary Wollstonecraft and the literature of advice and instruction." The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Ed. Claudia Johnson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0521789524.
Jones, Vivien. "The Seductions of Conduct: Pleasure and Conduct Literature." Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century. Eds. Roy Porter and Marie Mulvey Roberts. London: Macmillan, 1996. ISBN 0814766447.
Kelly, Gary. Revolutionary Feminism: The Mind and Career of Mary Wollstonecraft. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. ISBN 0312129041.
Myers, Mitzi. "Pedagogy as Self-Expression in Mary Wollstonecraft: Exorcising the Past, Finding a Voice." The Private Self: Theory and Practice of Women's Autobiographical Writing. Ed. Shari Benstock. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988. ISBN 0807817910.
Poovey, Mary. The Proper Lady and the Woman Writer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984. ISBN 0226675289.
Richardson, Alan. "Mary Wollstonecraft on education." The Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft. Ed. Claudia Johnson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0521789524.
Sapiro, Virginia. A Vindication of Political Virtue: The Political Theory of Mary Wollstonecraft. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN 0226734919.
Sutherland, Kathryn. "Writings on Education and Conduct: Arguments for Female Improvement." Women and Literature in Britain 1700-1800. Ed. Vivien Jones. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0521586801.
Taylor, Barbara. Mary Wollstonecraft and the Feminist Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 0521661447.
Todd, Janet. Mary Wollstonecraft: A Revolutionary Life. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 2000. ISBN 0231121849.

2007-10-30T09:47:00.001-07:00

Thomas Calabro (born on February 3, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor. His most notable role was playing Dr. Michael Mancini on Melrose Place. He was the only cast member to stay on the show throughout its entire run from 1992 until 1999.
Calabro went to Fordham University where he got his "big break" when fellow student Denzel Washington had to drop out of the school's production of A Midsummer's Night Dream. Calabro took over the lead role of Oberon.

2007-10-29T10:23:00.001-07:00

Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath,

Name

Main article: History of Dublin History

Culture
The city has a world-famous literary history, having produced many prominent literary figures. Indeed, as birthplace of William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett, Dublin has produced three winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature - more than any other city in the world [6]. Other, perhaps equally influential, writers and playwrights from Dublin include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift and the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker. It is arguably most famous, however, as the town of James Joyce. Dubliners is a collection of short stories by Joyce about incidents and characters typical of residents of the city in the early part of the 20th century. His most celebrated work, Ulysses, is also set in Dublin and full of topographical detail. Additional widely celebrated writers from the city include J.M. Synge, Seán O'Casey, Brendan Behan, Maeve Binchy, and Roddy Doyle. Ireland's biggest libraries and literary museums are found in Dublin, including the National Print Museum of Ireland and National Library of Ireland.
There are several theatres within the city centre, and various world-famous actors have emerged from the Dublin theatrical scene, including Stephen Rea, Colin Farrell and Gabriel Byrne. The best known theatres include the Gaiety, the Abbey, the Olympia and the Gate. The Gaiety specialises in musical and operatic productions, and is popular for opening its doors after the evening theatre production to host a variety of live music, dancing, and films. The Abbey was founded in 1904 by a group that included Yeats with the aim of promoting indigenous literary talent. It went on to provide a breakthrough for some of the city's most famous writers, such as Synge, Yeats himself and George Bernard Shaw. The Gate was founded in 1928 to promote European and American Avante Guarde works. The largest theatre is the Mahony Hall in The Helix at Dublin City University in Glasnevin.
Dublin is also the focal point for much of Irish Art and the Irish artistic scene. The Book of Kells, a world-famous manuscript produced by Celtic Monks in A.D. 800 and example of Insular art, is on display in Trinity College. The Chester Beatty Library houses the famous collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and decorative arts assembled by American mining millionaire (and honourary Irish citizen) Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968). The collections date from 2700 B.C. onwards and are drawn from Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Work by local artists is often put on public display around St. Stephen's Green, the main public park in the city centre. Numerous large art galleries are found across the city, including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, The City Arts Centre, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, The Project Arts Centre and The Royal Hibernian Academy.
Three centres of the National Museum of Ireland are in Dublin.

Literature, Theatre and the Arts
There is a vibrant nightlife in Dublin and it is one of the most youthful cities in Europe - an estimated 50% of inhabitants are younger than 25. Furthermore in 2007, it was voted the friendliest city in Europe [7]. Like the rest of Ireland, there are pubs right across the city centre, on almost every street.The area around St. Stephen's Green - especially Harcourt Street, Camden Street, Wexford Street and Leeson Street - is a centre for some of the most popular nightclubs and pubs in Dublin. The most internationally notorious area for nightlife is the Temple Bar area south of the River Liffey. To some extent, the area has become a hot spot for stag and hen parties (particularly from Britain) and tourists, causing some locals to steer clear at night. Nonetheless, it was originally redeveloped as Dublin's cultural quarter and retains part of this spirit in the form of street performers, drummers, and many intimate small music venues such as the temple bar music centre. Live Music is popularly played on streets and at venues throughout Dublin in general and the city has produced several rock bands of international success, perhaps the most famous being Thin Lizzy and U2. The two best known cinemas in the city centre are the Savoy Cinema and the Cineworld Cinema, both north of the Liffey. Alternative and special-interest cinema can be found in the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar, and in the Screen Cinema on d'Olier Street. Numerous other cinemas are in the suburbs.

Nightlife and Entertainment
The headquarters of almost all of Ireland's sporting organisations are in Dublin, and the most popular sports in Dublin are those that are most popular throughout Ireland: Gaelic Football, Soccer, Rugby and Hurling.
The city is host to the 4th largest stadium in Europe[8], Croke Park, the 82,500-capacity headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association. It traditionally hosts Gaelic football and Hurling games during the summer months, as well as International rules football in alternating years. It also hosts concerts, with acts such as U2 and Robbie Williams having played there in recent years. The Dublin branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association play their league games at Parnell Park.
Lansdowne Road stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and is the venue for home games of both the Irish Rugby Team and the Republic's national soccer team. Until recently, it had an all-seating capacity of 36,000 for soccer and mixed standing and seating capacity of 49,000 for rugby[9]. As of June 2007, it is currently being demolished and will be replaced with a state-of-the-art 50,000 all-seated stadium by 2009. Accordingly,Rugby and Soccer home internationals have been temporarily moved to Croke Park.
Donnybrook Rugby Ground is the home of the Leinster Rugby team, which plays in the Magners League. They also play some important league and Heineken Cup matches at Lansdowne Road.
Dalymount Park, in Phibsboro and the traditional Home of Irish Soccer, is now used only for home games of local club Bohemian FC. Rivals Shelbourne FC play at Tolka Park, in Drumcondra, while St Patrick's Athletic play in Richmond Park in Inchicore on the south west edge of the city. Shamrock Rovers, Ireland's most successful club, are originally from Milltown but have spent the last two decades in search of a home, and hope to complete a new stadium in Tallaght in 2007. The other senior soccer clubs are University College Dublin F.C., based in Belfield, and the now defunct Dublin City F.C. (formerly Home Farm F.C.).
The National Aquatic Centre in Blanchardstown is the first building to open in the Sports Campus Ireland. There are several race courses in the Dublin area including Shelbourne Park (Greyhound racing) and Leopardstown (Horse racing). The world famous Dublin Horse Show takes place at the RDS, Ballsbridge, which hosted the Show Jumping World Championships in 1982. There are also Basketball, Handball, Hockey and Athletics stadia — most notably Morton Stadium in Santry, which held the athletics events of the 2003 Special Olympics.
The Dublin Marathon has been run since 1980.

Sport
Dublin is a popular shopping spot for people from across Ireland and increasingly for tourists, and this popularity was strengthened in 2005 with the opening of one of the largest shopping centres in Europe in Dundrum, a 15-minute tram ride from the city centre. This addition to the city suburbs complimented the shopping districts in the city centre, where the focus has traditionally been on Grafton Street and Henry Street and the adjacent Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Jervis Shopping Centre and newly refurbished Ilac Shopping Centre (all popular meet-up spots for decades). On Grafton street, the most famous shops include Brown Thomas and its sister shop BT2, being akin to Bloomingdales in New York City, for example. Brown Thomas also contains "mini-stores" such as Hermes and Chanel on its Wicklow Street frontage. This is Dublin's nearest equivalent to a Designer shopping street such as Bond Street in London or 5th Avenue in New York City.
Dublin also has a large range of department stores, such as Clerys on O'Connell Street, Arnotts on Henry Street, Brown Thomas on Grafton Street and Debenhams (formerly Roches Stores) on Henry Street.
A major €750m development for Dublin city centre has been given the green light. The development of the so-called Northern Quarter will see the construction of 47 new shops, 175 apartments and a four-star hotel. Dublin City Council gave Arnotts planning permission for the plans to change the area bounded by Henry Street, O'Connell Street, Abbey Street and Liffey Street. The redevelopment will also include 14 new cafes along with a 149-bed hotel. It is expected that work on the new area will start in the second half of 2008. Prince's street, which runs off O'Connell Street will become a full urban street and pedestrian thoroughfare.
There are many additional shopping centres throughout the suburbs such as Blanchardstown Centre, The Square in Tallaght (LUAS Red Line), Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Clondalkin, OmniPark in Santry, Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock and many more.

Shopping
Despite having a long tradition of emigration that continued up until the early 1990s, Dublin now has a sizeable number of immigrants. Foreign nationals in Dublin are primarily young and single[10] and the biggest numbers come from across the European Union, particularly The United Kingdom, Poland and Lithuania but also from right across the European continent. There are also considerable and growing numbers from outside Europe, particularly China, Nigeria, the Philippines, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and Russia. This immigration has stimulated a new diversity in Dublin that, while still relatively moderate when compared to other European capital cities such as Paris and London, has brought a new dimension to life in the city and looks set to grow considerably in the future. 10% of the Republic of Ireland's population is now made up of foreign nationals, and Dublin is home to a disproportionate number of new arrivals to the country - for example, 60% of Ireland's Asian population lives in Dublin even though less than 40% of the overall population live in the Greater Dublin Area [11].One tangible manifestation of this multiculturalism is in the spread of new ethnic food stores, notably on Parnell Street and Moore Street.

Multicultural Dublin
A north-south division has traditionally existed in Dublin for some time, with the dividing line being the River Liffey. The Northside is seen by some as working-class, while the Southside is seen as middle and upper middle class. But this is not a clear divide in reality by any means. Dublin postal districts have odd numbers for districts on the Northside — for example, Phibsboro is in Dublin 7 — and even numbers for the Southside — for example, Sandymount is in Dublin 4. An exception to the rule is Dublin 8, which straddles the river.
This division dates back some centuries, certainly to the point when the Earl of Kildare built his residence on the then less-regarded Southside. When asked why he was building on the Southside, he replied "Where I go, fashion follows me", and he was promptly followed by most other Irish peers.
The Northside/Southside divide is punctuated by examples of Dublin "sub-culture" stereotypes, with upper-middle class constituents seen as tending towards an accent and demeanour synonymous with (but not exclusive to) the Dublin 4 postcode on the Southside (see Dublin 4, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly), and working-class Dubliners seen as tending towards accents and demeanour associated with (but not exclusive to) Northside and inner-city Dublin neighbourhoods often exemplified by the works of modern writer Roddy Doyle.
This simplification of economic and social communities in Dublin ("Southside rich, liberal and snobby"/"Northside poor, industrial and common") does not survive more than a few real-world examples however. For example, the President of Ireland's residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, is on the Northside, although its postal district is Dublin 8, a "Southside" number. Similarly, some of Dublin's majority working-class suburbs such as Tallaght, Dolphin's Barn, Crumlin, Inchicore, Ringsend, Irishtown, Clondalkin and Ballyfermot, are south of the river while wealthier suburbs such as Castleknock, Clontarf, Glasnevin, Howth, Malahide, Portmarnock and Sutton are on the Northside. Areas of the north inner city such as Smithfield, the IFSC and Spencer Dock are also associated with affluence in recent times.
The north-south divide has mellowed considerably in the past number of years. This is primarily due to the favourable economic conditions currently in Ireland and the emergence of the Celtic Tiger economy in Ireland, and to pressure on housing stock. Correspondingly, Dublin has progressed to become one of the wealthiest cities in Europe.
The economic divide in Dublin is east-west as well as north-south, the east side generally being wealthier than the west. There are significant social divisions between the coastal suburbs in the east of the city, including those on the Northside, and the newer developments further to the west.

Northside and Southside
Dublin is the primary centre of education in Ireland, with three universities and several other higher education institutions. There are 20 third-level institutes in the city. The University of Dublin is the oldest university in Ireland dating from the 16th century. Its sole constituent college, Trinity College, was established by Royal Charter under Elizabeth I and was closed to Roman Catholics until Catholic Emancipation; the Catholic hierarchy then banned Roman Catholics from attending it until 1970. The National University of Ireland has its seat in Dublin, which is also the location of the associated constituent university of University College Dublin (UCD), the largest university in Ireland; although it is located in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, just outside the city boundary. Dublin City University (DCU) is the most recent university and specialises in business, engineering, and science courses, particularly with relevance to industry. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical school which is a recognised college of the NUI, it is situated at St. Stephen's Green in the city centre. The National University of Ireland, Maynooth, another constituent university of the NUI, is in neighbouring Co. Kildare, about 25 km from the city centre.
Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is a modern technical college and is the country's largest non-university third-level institution; it specialises in technical subjects but also offers many arts and humanities courses. It is soon to move to a new campus at Grangegorman. Two suburbs of Dublin, Tallaght and Blanchardstown have Institutes of Technology: Institute of Technology, Tallaght, and Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown.
The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (DLIADT) support training and research in art, design and media technology.
There are also various other smaller specialised colleges, including private ones:
The Gaiety School of Acting hosts both a two year intensive degree in acting and a three year undergraduate BA degree in acting in conjunction with Dublin City University, and Dublin Business School, located on Aungier Street. The New Media Technology College provides specialised courses in film, performing arts, information technology, photography, interactive media and music technology (including a Master's degree and FETAC courses). Education
The city of Dublin is the entire area administered by Dublin City Council, but can also refer to the contiguous suburban areas that run into the adjacent counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. This area is sometimes known as 'Urban Dublin' or the 'Dublin Metropolitan Area'.
The population of the administrative area controlled by Dublin City Council was 505,739 at the census of 2006. At the same census, the Dublin Region population was 1,186,159, and the Greater Dublin Area 1,661,185. The city's population is expanding rapidly, and the Greater Dublin Area is estimated by the CSO to reach 2.1 million by 2021). Today, approximately 40% of the population of Ireland live within a 100 km (60mi) fan radius of this east coast city.

Population

Economy and infrastructure
Dublin has been at the centre of Ireland's phenomenal economic growth over the last 10-15 years, a period (often of double-digit growth) referred to as the Celtic Tiger years. Living standards in the city have risen dramatically, although the cost of living has also soared. Dublin is now the planet's 16th most expensive city (8th most expensive city in Europe, excluding Russian cities) [12]. However, it has the fourth highest wages for a city in the world, ahead of both New York City and London, though behind Zürich, Geneva and Oslo. While this represents a slowdown relative to the early Celtic Tiger years, it is still stronger than growth in most other wealthy countries.

Industry, Employment and Standard of Living
Dublin's public transport is underdeveloped compared to other European capitals, since it does not have an underground system or single integrated rail network that serves the whole city. This is set to change under the government's Transport 21 plan, which will be fully completed in phases by 2015. The current public transport system is made up of hundreds of bus routes, five suburban rail lines (one electrified) and two light rail lines.
In 2002 around 46% of Greater Dublin's commuters walked, cycled or used public transport to get to work.. The public transport network is governed by the Dublin Transportation Office.

Public transport
The bulk of the public transport system in Dublin consists of nearly 200 daytime Dublin Bus routes operated by Bus Átha Cliath (identified by number and sometimes suffixed with a letter, e.g. 40, 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D) and 24 "Nitelink" late night services, which run on Thursday to Saturday nights, identified by a number suffixed with "N" e.g. 40N). Nitelinks also run midweek coming up to Christmas and around certain other festivals. Apart from some tourist buses, all Dublin Bus services are one-person operated, and daytime fares are determined by the number of fare stages travelled through. Fares are payable in coin and only the exact fare is acceptable — if passengers overpay, they are issued "change tickets", which must be presented at the Dublin Bus office in O'Connell Street to be converted to cash. Various pre-paid tickets and passes can be bought from Dublin Bus or its agents, and are processed by a validating machine on the right of the entrance door of the bus. Nitelink buses charge a flat fare regardless of the distance travelled. A number of smaller other bus companies provide services as well.
Dublin Bus is sometimes criticised by commuters for overcrowding and under-serviced routes. Under Transport 21, Dublin Bus's passenger-carrying capacity will increase by 60% in phases by 2015, through new and replacement bus acquisition.

The present – Bus
The Dublin Suburban Rail network consists of five lines serving mainly the Greater Dublin Area, though some trains go further to commuter towns such as Drogheda. One of these lines runs along Dublin Bay and is known as the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) line, and is the only electrified railway in the country. Over 80,000 people use the DART line every day.
Transport 21 will greatly expand the DART and Suburban rail system in Dublin. The single biggest project will be the Dublin Interconnector rail project, boring a tunnel under the city centre that will join Heuston station with Pearse station and a newly constructed Docklands station, via St Stephen's Green. The railway lines from heuston toward kildare (hazelhatch) and from the city centre to maynooth will be electrified, and the old line to navan re-opened and electrified. This will allow the creation of two separate but inter-connecting DART lines: one running from the north west (Dunboyne/Maynooth) through the city-centre to the south-east (Bray); and one running from south-west (Hazelhatch) through the city centre to the north-east (Howth/Balbriggin).
A two-line light rail/tram network called the Luas opened in 2004 to link the city centre with southern areas in the suburbs. It has proved popular in the areas it serves, although the lack of a link between the two lines is widely criticised. Transport 21 will join the two lines together in the city centre, one of seven Luas projects in the plan that will expand the network in the south and centre and introduce it to the west. It is estimated that around 80,000 people use the Luas daily.
In 2006 the Railway Procurement Agency announced that the Luas system reached profitability ahead of schedule, after only a year of operation. The Luas is the only mass transit in the country to operate without Government assistance, and among few in Europe to do so.

The present - Rail

Main article: Transport 21 Communications and media
Dublin is at the centre of Ireland's transport system. Dublin Port is the country's most important sea port. Dublin Airport is the busiest airport by far on the island, registering over 21 million passengers in 2006, making it the 16th busiest airport in Europe with flights to other airports in Ireland, Europe, North America and the Middle East. The route to London from Dublin Airport is the busiest air corridor in the European Union. The major mainline railway stations are Heuston Station that connects with the south and west (Ballina, Westport, Galway, Ennis, Limerick, Tralee, Cork and Waterford lines) and Connolly Station serving Sligo, Wexford and Belfast. These two stations are connected by the Luas red line. Dublin also has the busiest Bus Depot in the country which is called Busáras. From here, there are frequent departures to all areas of the Island.

National Transport
Dublin is the main hub of the country's road network. The M50 motorway (the busiest road in Ireland), a semi-ring road runs around the south, west and north of the city, connecting the most important national primary routes that fan out from the capital to the regions. A toll of €1.90 applies on the West-Link, two adjacent concrete bridges that tower high above the River Liffey near the village of Lucan. Construction of the M50 took almost 20 years, with the final section opening in June 2005. A court case regarding the destruction of medieval ruins at Carrickmines Castle delayed the final completion of the route. The M50 currently has two traffic lanes in each direction but work is underway between the N4 and N7 junctions to increase it to three. The National Roads Authority also intends to increase capacity at many of the motorway's busiest junctions by building triple-grade interchanges, on which work has begun.
To complete the ring road, an eastern bypass is proposed. The first half of this project, the Dublin Port Tunnel, has recently been completed. It opened on 20 December 2006 and caters mainly for heavy vehicles, with tolls being levied on lighter vehicles. From February 2007, 5 axle vehicles are prohibited from travelling within the city centre cordon between 07:00 and 19:00 Monday to Sunday (unless the vehicle has obtained a valid permit for necessary deliveries from the Dublin City Council HGV website).
Though originally intended to be a two-lane single bore catering specifically for HGV traffic, the Port Tunnel has been built to motorway standard as two separate tunnels for all traffic, although HGV traffic will not be tolled. The tunnels are deeper than originally planned to reduce disturbance to residential areas, and were built one kilometre longer and with more ancillary works to facilitate this.
The capital is surrounded by what have been termed by Dublin City Council an inner and outer orbital route. The inner orbital route runs roughly around the heart of the Georgian city from St. Stephen's Green to Mountjoy Square and from the King's Inns to St Patrick's Cathedral. The outer orbital route runs largely along the natural circle formed by Dublin's two canals, the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal, and the North and South Circular Roads.

Road network

Government
The City is governed by Dublin City Council (formerly called Dublin Corporation), which is presided over by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who is elected for a yearly term and resides in the Mansion House. Dublin City Council is based in two major buildings. Council meetings take place in the headquarters at Dublin City Hall, the former Royal Exchange taken over for city government use in the 1850s. Many of its administrative staff are based in the controversial Civic Offices on Wood Quay.
The City Council is a unicameral assembly of 52 members, elected every five years from Local Election Areas. The party with the majority of seats decides who sits on what committee, what policies are followed, and who becomes Lord Mayor. Chaired by the Lord Mayor, the Council passes an annual budget for spending on housing, traffic management, refuse, drainage, planning, etc. The Dublin City Manager is responsible for the implementation of decisions of the City Council.

City
The national parliament of the Republic of Ireland, the Oireachtas, consists of the President of Ireland and two houses, Dáil Éireann (Chamber of Deputies) and Seanad Éireann (Senate). All three are based in Dublin. The President of Ireland lives in Áras an Uachtaráin, the former residence of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State in the city's largest park, Phoenix Park. Both houses of the Oireachtas meet in Leinster House, a former ducal palace on the south side. The building has been the home of Irish parliaments since the creation of the Irish Free State on December 6, 1922.
The Irish Government is based in the Government Buildings, a large building designed by Sir Aston Webb, the architect who created the Edwardian facade of Buckingham Palace, as the Royal College of Science. In 1921 the House of Commons of Southern Ireland met here. Given its location next to Leinster House, the Irish Free State government took over part of the building to serve as a temporary home for some ministries. Both it and Leinster House, meant to be a temporary home of parliament, became permanent homes.
The old Irish Houses of Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland are in College Green.

National
Dublin enjoys a maritime temperate climate characterised by mild winters, cool summers, and a lack of temperature extremes. Contrary to popular belief, Dublin does not experience as high rainfall as the West of Ireland, which receives twice that of the capital city. Dublin has fewer rainy days, on average, than London. The average maximum January temperature is 8 °C (46 °F), the average maximum July temperature is 20 °C (68 °F). The sunniest months, on average, are May and June, with six hours of sunshine daily (though daylight in these months is a lot more). The wettest months, on average, are December and August, with 74 mm (2.9 inches) of rain. The driest month is April, with 45 mm (1.7 inches). The total average annual rainfall (and other forms of precipitation) is 762 mm (29.5 inches), lower than Sydney, New York City and even Dallas. Due to Dublin's high latitude, it experiences long summer days (around 19 hours of daylight) and short winter days (as short as nine hours). Like the rest of Ireland it is relatively safe from common natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis.
Strong winds from Atlantic storm systems can affect Dublin, though usually less severe than other parts of Ireland. Severe winds are most likely during mid-winter, but can occur anytime, especially between October and February. During one of the stormiest periods of recent times, a gust of 151 km/h (94 mph) was recorded at Casement Aerodrome on 24 December 1997.
An urban heat island effect means Dublin is a few degrees warmer than surrounding areas. There is also a slight temperature difference between the city centre and the city's suburbs, with the city centre slightly warmer, as it is more built up. There are slight differences between the city centre just 12 kilometres north.
The city is not noted for its temperature extremes due to its mild climate. The lowest recorded temperature was −15.6 °C and the highest 36 °C in July 2006. Typically, the coldest months are December, January and February. Temperatures in summer in recent years have been rising to substantially above average figures, e.g. 31 °C (88 °F) in July 2006, over 11 °C higher than the average maximum. Recent heat waves include the European heat wave of 2003 and European heat wave of 2006.
The main precipitation in winter is rain. The city can experience some snow showers during the months from November to April, but lying snow is rare (on average, only 4/5 days). Hail occurs more often than snow, and is most likely during the winter and spring months. Another rare type of weather is thunder and lightning, most common in summer.

Climate
Despite a number of high profile drug-related and gangland murders in recent years, Dublin is much safer than most other European capitals show that the overall headline crime rate for the metropolitan area per 1,000 of population is the highest in the country. During the 1980s and 1990s, a heroin epidemic swept through working class areas of the inner city and outlying suburbs. Dublin had 80 homicides from 2004 to the end of 2006. 32 were gang-related. In 2007, as of mid July, there have been 15 homicides, in which 4 were gangland shootings. Homicides in Dublin from 1/1/04 to 20/6/07 took place in many crime hotspots.

Crime

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Budapest, Hungary
Liverpool, England
Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan
San Jose, California, United States of America
Montreal,Canada Sister cities
See also: :Category:Visitor attractions in Dublin

Tourist attractions

See also

Pat Liddy, Dublin A Celebration — From the 1st to the 21st century (Dublin City Council, 2000) (ISBN 0-946841-50-0)
Maurice Craig, The Architecture of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1880 (Batsford, Paperback edition 1989) (ISBN 0-7134-2587-3)
Frank McDonald, Saving the City: How to Halt the Destruction of Dublin (Tomar Publishing, 1989) (ISBN 1-871793-03-3)
Edward McParland, Public Architecture in Ireland 1680–1760 (Yale University Press, 2001) (ISBN 0300090641
Hanne Hem, Dubliners, An Anthropologist's Account, Oslo, 1994
John Flynn and Jerry Kelleher, Dublin Journeys in America (High Table Publishing, 2003) (ISBN 0-9544694-1-0)

2007-10-28T09:31:00.001-07:00

Jean-Baptiste Dubos (December, 1670 – March 23, 1742) was a French author,
born in Beauvais. After studying theology, he gave it up in favour of public law and politics. He was employed by M. de Torcy, minister of foreign affairs, and by the regent and Cardinal Dubois in several secret missions, in which he acquitted himself with great success. He was rewarded with a pension and other advantages. Having obtained these, he retired from political life and devoted himself to history and literature. He gained such distinction as an author that in 1720 he was elected a member of the Académie française, of which, in 1723, he was appointed perpetual secretary in succession to Dacier. He died in Paris, repeating the well-known remark, "Death is a law, not a punishment."
His first work was L'Histoire des quatre Gordiens prouvée et illustrée par des médailles (Paris, 1695), which, in spite of its ingenuity, did not succeed in convincing most people. At the beginning of the war of 1701 he was charged with different negotiations (both in the Netherlands and England). In an attempt to persuade those countries to adopt a policy of peace, he published a work entitled Les Intéréts de l'Angleterre mal entendus dans la guerre présente (Amsterdam, 1703). This work contained indiscreet disclosures and predictions which were not fulfilled. The enemy took advantage of the work,and a wag took occasion to remark that the title ought to be read thus: Les Intérêts de l'Angleterre mal entendus par l'abbé Dubos. It is remarkable as containing a distinct prophecy of the revolt of the American colonies from Great Britain.
His next work was L'Histoire de la Ligue de Cambray (Paris, 1709, 1728 and 1785, 2 vols.), a full, clear and interesting history, which obtained the commendation of Voltaire. In 1734 he published his Histoire critique de l'établissement de la monarchie française dans les Gaules (3 vols. 4to)--a work the object of which was to prove that the Franks had entered Gaul, not as conquerors, but at the request of the nation, which, according to him, had called them in to govern it. But this system, though unfolded with a degree of skill and ability which at first procured it many zealous partisans, was victoriously refuted by Montesquieu at the end of the thirtieth book of the Esprit des lois.
His Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture, published for the first time in 1719 (2 vols, but often reprinted in three volumes), constitute one of the works in which the theory of the arts is explained with the utmost sagacity and discrimination. Like his history of the League of Cambray, it was highly praised by Voltaire. The work was rendered more remarkable by the fact that its author had no practical acquaintance with any one of the arts whose principles he discussed. Besides the works above enumerated, a manifesto of Maximilian II Emanuel, elector of Bavaria, against the emperor Leopold (relative to the succession in Spain) has been attributed to Dubos from the excellence of the style.

2007-10-27T09:36:00.001-07:00

A chapel is a holy place or area of worship, sometimes small and attached to a larger institution such as a large church, a synagogue, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, sometimes large and unattached to another building.
Architecturally, a chapel may be a part of a large church set aside for some specific use or purpose: for instance, Gothic cathedrals typically have a "Lady Chapel" in the apse, dedicated to Mary; parish churches may have a "Blessed Sacrament Chapel" attached to the main church where the Eucharist is kept between services.
In the Catholic Canon Law a chapel, technically called an "oratory," is a space dedicated to the celebration of services, particularly Mass, which is not a parish church. This may be a private chapel, for the use of one person or a select group (a bishop's private chapel, or the chapel of a convent, for instance); a semi-public oratory, which is partially available to the general public (a seminary chapel that welcomes visitors to services, for instance); or a public oratory (for instance, a hospital or university chapel).
The word chapel is in particularly common usage in England, and even more so in Wales, for many non-Anglican Protestant church buildings; and in Scotland and Ireland many ordinary Catholic churches are known to locals as "the chapel".
Chapels are generally non-denominational when part of a non-religious institution.

Notable chapels

In Britanny (France) each village even very small, has is own chapel. Nowadays, they are only in service once a year for the local "pardon" which celebrates the saint to whom the chapel is dedicated. To permit some pretty of them to be better known, in the area of Pontivy, each summer, modern art is presented in a twenty of chapels. See details on : [1]
Church
Sacri Monti

2007-10-26T09:03:00.001-07:00

For most everyday use of the term is in cartography. A contour map (topographic map) uses contour lines (often just called a "contour") to join points of equal elevation (height) and thus show valleys and hills, and the steepness of slopes.
More generally, a contour line (also level set, isopleth, isoline, isogram or isarithm) for a function of two variables is a curve connecting points where the function has a same particular value. The prefix iso-, from the Greek prefix ισος ("equal"), is used from descriptive names for map lines that join points of equal value. The gradient of the function is always perpendicular to the contour lines. When the lines are close together the length of the gradient is large: the variation is steep. If adjacent contour lines are of the same line width, the direction of the gradient cannot be determined from the contour lines alone. However if contour lines rotate through three or more widths, or if the lines are numerically labelled, then the direction of the gradient can also be determined from the contour lines.
That is, contour lines are curved or straight lines on a map describing the intersection of a real or hypothetical surface with one or more horizontal planes. The configuration of these contours allows map readers to infer relative gradient of a parameter and estimate that parameter at specific places. Contour lines may be either traced on a visible three-dimensional model of the surface, as when a photogrammetrist viewing a stereo-model plots elevation contours, or interpolated from estimated surface elevations, as when a computer program threads contours through a network of observation points ot area centroids. In the latter case, the method of interpolation affects the reliability of individual isolines and their portrayal of slope, pits and peaks (see Davis, 1986, Statistics and data analysis in geology).

Types of contour lines
Meteorological contour lines are based on generalization from point data received from weather stations. Weather stations are seldom exactly positioned at a contour line (when they are, this indicates a measurement precisely equal to the value of the contour). Instead, lines are drawn to best approximate the locations of exact values, based on the scattered information points available.
Meteorological countour maps may present collected data such as actual air pressure at a given time, or generalized data such as average pressure over a period of time, or forecast data such as predicted air pressure at some point in the future
Thermodynamic diagrams use multiple overlapping contour sets (including isobars and isotherms) to present a picture the major thermodynamic factors in a weather system.

Barometric pressure
An isotherm (from θερμη or thermē, meaning 'heat') is a line that connects points on a map that have the same temperature. Therefore, all points through which an isotherm passes have the same temperatures at the time indicated. Generally, isotherms representing 5 temperature differences are used, but any interval may be chosen.
An isogeotherm is a line of equal mean annual temperature. An isocheim is a line of equal mean winter temperature, and an isothere is a line of equal mean summer temperature.
An isohel (from έλιος or helios, meaning 'sun') is a line of equal or constant solar radiation.

Temperature and related subjects
An isohyet or isohyetal line (from ύετος or huetos, meaning 'rain') is a line joining points of equal precipitation on a map. A map with isohyets is called an isohyetal map.
An isohume is a line of constant relative humidity, while a isodrosotherm (from δροσος or drosos, meaning 'dew', and θερμη or therme, meaning 'heat') is a line of equal or constant dew point.
An isoneph is a line indicating equal cloud cover.
An isochalaz is a line of constant frequency of hail storms.
Snow cover is frequently shown as a contour-line map.

Precipitation and air moisture
An isotach (from ταχ or tach, meaning 'speed') is a line of constant wind speed. In general, an isogon is a line along which an angle is held constant. In meteorology, the term refers to a line of constant wind direction.

Wind

isopectic: ice formation location each winter
isotac: time of thawing Other terms

Physical geography and oceanography
Contours are one of several common methods used to denote elevation or altitude and depth. From these contours, a sense of the general terrain can be determined. They are used at a variety of scales, from large-scale engineering drawings and architectural plans, through topographic maps up to continental-scale maps.
"Contour line" is the most common usage in cartography, but isobath for underwater depths on bathymetric maps and isohypse for elevations are also used. The process of drawing isohypse contour lines on a map is called isopletion.

Elevation and depth
In general, an isogon is a line along which an angle is held constant. In geomagnetism, the term refers to a line of constant magnetic declination (variance of magnetic north from geographic north). Isogonic lines are lines connecting those parts where the declination of the Earth's magnetic field is the same in amount. They are similar to isoclinic lines, which are lines connecting points of equal magnetic inclination. The line drawn through the points of zero magnetic declination is called the agonic line.

Magnetism
Besides ocean depth, oceanographers use contour to describe diffuse variable phenomena much as meteorologists do with atmospheric phenomena. In particular, isobathytherms are lines showing depths of water with equal temperature, and isohalines show lines of equal ocean salinity.

Oceanography
In discussing pollution, density maps can be very useful in indicating sources and areas of greatest contamination. Contour maps are especially useful for diffuse forms or scales of pollution. Acid precipitation is indicated on maps with isoplats. Some of the most widespread applications of environmental science contour maps involve mapping of environmental noise, air pollution, soil contamination, thermal pollution and groundwater contamination.

Environmental science
In economics, contour lines can be used to describe features which vary quantitatively over space. An isochrone shows lines of equivalent drive time or travel time to a given location. An isotim shows equivalent transport costs from the source of a raw material, and an isodopane shows equivalent cost of travel time.
Isolines can also be used to delineate qualitative differences. An isogloss, for example, is used in mapping the geographic spread of linguistic features.
Contour lines are also used in non-geographic charts in economics. An isoquant is a line of equal production quantity, and an isocost shows equal production costs.

Social sciences
Various types of graphs in thermodynamics, engineering, and other sciences use isobars (for showing constant pressure), isotherms (for constant temperature), isochors (for constant specific volume), or other types of iso-lines (or curves), even though these graphs are usually not related to maps. Such iso-lines are useful for representing more than two dimensions (or quantities) on two-dimensional graphs. Common examples in thermodynamics are some types of phase diagrams.

Thermodymics, engineering, and other sciences

isochasm: aurora equal occurrence
isochor: volume
isodose: radiation intensity
isophene: biological events occurring with coincidence such as plants flowering
isophote: illuminance Other phenomena
The idea of lines that join points of equal value was rediscovered several times. In 1701, Edmond Halley used such lines (isogons) on a chart of magnetic variation. The Dutch engineer Nicholas Cruquius drew the bed of the river Merwede with lines of equal depth (isobaths) at intervals of 1 fathom in 1727, and Philippe Buache used them at 10-fathom intervals on a chart of the English Channel that was prepared in 1737 and published in 1752. The use of such lines to describe a land surface (contour lines) was studied theoretically by Ducarla in 1771, and Charles Hutton used them when calculating the volume of a hill in 1777. In 1791, a map of France by J. L. Dupain-Triel used contour lines at 20-metre intervals, hachures, spot-heights and a vertical section. In 1801, the chief of the Corps of Engineers, Haxo, used contour lines at the larger scale of 1:500 on a plan of his projects for Rocca d'Aufo.
When maps with contour lines became common, the idea spread to other applications. Perhaps the latest to develop are air quality and noise pollution contour maps, which first appeared in the USA, in approximately 1970, largely as a result of national legislation requiring spatial delineation of these parameters.

Technical construction factors
Most commonly contour lines are drawn in plan view. or as an observer in space would view the earth's surface: ordinary map form. However, some parameters can often be displayed in profile view showing a vertical profile of the parameter mapped. Some of the most common parameters mapped in profile are air pollutant concentrations and sound levels. In each of those cases it may be important to analyze (air pollutant concentrations or sound levels) at varying heights so as to determine the air quality or noise health effects on people at different elevations, for example, living on different floor levels of an urban apartment. One can see an example of vertical contours in the article on noise barriers. In actuality, both plan and profile view contour maps are used in air pollution and noise pollution studies.