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The Chinese gaming industry has rapidly evolved into one of the world’s largest markets, with over half a billion players and significant contributions to the global gaming economy. Representing roughly 25% of the worldwide video game industry revenue, China’s gaming ecosystem has surpassed the United States in market size and earned its reputation as the “Games Industry Capital of the World.” Beyond its economic influence, China’s role in esports and cultural exports through games underscores its growing importance on the global stage.
China has not always been a major factor in the industry, having been on the verge of economic recovery during the industry's formulative years in the 1970s and 1980s. China’s gaming journey began in the 1980s when the industry struggled amidst the nation’s economic recovery. During this period, black markets for game consoles and clones thrived due to high import costs, keeping foreign companies at bay. In 2000, China imposed a near-total ban on gaming consoles, citing concerns about gaming addiction among youths. The ban’s lifting in 2015 marked a turning point, allowing the industry to flourish in online and mobile games, capitalizing on free-to-play models. Despite rapid growth, challenges like copyright infringement and intellectual property theft have persisted as hurdles.
China’s gaming market is driven by giants like Tencent, NetEase, and miHoYo, whose influence extends worldwide. Tencent’s Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile, NetEase’s Identity V, and miHoYo’s Genshin Impact have succeeded phenomenally. These titles showcase China’s ability to innovate while integrating cultural and narrative depth into their games, captivating players globally.
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To establish a global foothold, Chinese gaming companies have employed strategies like localization, acquisitions, and collaborations with Western developers. Mobile gaming, due to its accessibility and scalability, has been a primary vehicle for international growth. Games tailored to regional preferences, such as culturally adaptive designs and multi-language support, further bolster their global appeal.
Despite its success, China’s gaming industry faces significant challenges in globalization. Regulatory barriers, such as stringent content approvals within China and international trade restrictions, complicate market entry. Additionally, cultural differences in gaming preferences and competition from established Western and Japanese developers require Chinese companies to innovate continuously while navigating complex international landscapes.
History
Broadly, the growth of the video game market in China is tied to expansion of its technology and digital economy from the 1990s to present day, which by 2016 represented over 30% of its gross domestic product.
Initial growth (1980s–2000)
At the time that the video game industry was being established in North America in the 1970s, China was in the midst of major political and economic reform following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. The country was technologically behind much of the rest of the world in terms of its media. Part of the reform was modernization of its media systems, helping to boost economic prosperity for citizens. As such, China saw little of arcade games or the first generation of home consoles, like the Atari 2600.
By the 1980s, China's economy had significantly improved. After the video game crash of 1983 which devastated the North American video game market, Japan became a dominant factor in the global market leading off the third generation of consoles such as Nintendo's Famicom. The first widely-available video games in 1980s China were arcade games. The number of arcades in China increased significantly during fall 1985.
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Consoles were introduced to China in the late 1980s and were primarily imported form Japan. However, importing these into China was costly, with a 130% tariff on hardware and games along with value-added taxes. Console systems were in high demand, but because of the high costs of importing, only few foreign companies did so. This created the video game clone grey market in China – manufacturing of reverse-engineered consoles and games at much lower costs than imported system, even if this required dubious or illegal copyright infringement. Outright copyright theft ("piracy") was also rampant in China due to the country's poor intellectual property controls. The sales of cloned console hardware and games outpaced that of legitimate imports, and further drove many foreign companies away since they could not compete with this area, such that by the 1990s, most video game systems in China were manufactured there. Xiaobawang Company created the first Chinese-produced console; it came with a keyboard and was intended both for gaming and educational purposes. By the end of 1993, over 60% of secondary school students in Beijing owned a gaming console.
As home ownership of computers in urban China increased after 1995, the Chinese PC games market grew significantly.
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Console games continued to grow in popularity through the 1990s, which created a broader concern in the media of video game addiction, with terms like "digital heroin" being used to describe video games. Even before the 1990s, there had been a broader stance in China that video games created negative effects on those that played them, which only grew during this decade. The impact on youth was particularly of concern, as video games were known to detract students from schoolwork, leaving them unprepared to enter China's college system. This situation was partially created by China's one-child policy, with sibling-less children having few others to interact with and little to do outside of school. The anti-addiction facet also discouraged foreign companies from trying to break into the Chinese market.
Chinese console ban (2000–2015)
The concerns about video game addiction and negative influence on the youth came to a head in June 2000. The State Council passed a bill crafted by seven ministries specifically aimed at video games. The bill established certain provisions on video game content and regulations on operations of Internet cafés and arcades. The most significant facet of this bill was a ban on the production, import, and sale of consoles and arcade machines. This ban was not absolute, as it allowed for some consoles to be released in China, notably Sony's PlayStation 2 in 2004 and several of Nintendo's consoles rebranded under the iQue partnership. However, with the restriction on game imports and their content, these consoles did not catch on in China. The ban did not include games available on personal computers (PC), and as a result, the PC video game market in China flourished over the next fifteen years. Internet cafés flourished, growing from 40,000 in 2000 to over 110,000 by 2002, and have remained numerous since.
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Online gaming readily led way to the rise of social network games in China around 2007–2008, given that players were accustomed to free-to-play nature of online gaming. The Chinese game Happy Farm (2008) was included in Wired list of "The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade" at #14, for its major influence on global social network games, particularly for having "inspired a dozen Facebook clones", the largest being Zynga's FarmVille. A number of other games have since used similar game mechanics, such as Sunshine Farm, Happy Farmer, Happy Fishpond, Happy Pig Farm, Farm Town, Country Story, Barn Buddy, Sunshine Ranch, and Happy Harvest, as well as parodies such as Jungle Extreme and Farm Villain.
This further prepared the China market for mobile games around 2012, where there are about one billion mobile phone subscriptions, according to a United Nations report, and after Apple secured deals to distribute their iPhones within China. Mobile devices in China are less expensive than computer or console hardware, and also provide Internet functionality; for many, they are the only form of Internet connectivity they have, making them popular gaming devices. Mobile games in China grew rapidly over the next several years, growing from about 10% of the Chinese video game market in 2012 to 41% in 2016. This expanded to more than 50% by 2018. Furthering the growth of the social and mobile game markets was the fact that the anti-addiction measures applied to online games did not apply to these types of titles; it was not until 2017 where renewed concerns about mobile titles like Honour of Kings led Tencent to implement a similar anti-addiction system for its portfolio.
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Social and mobile gaming significantly grew the Chinese video game market beyond earlier estimates. By 2013, the Chinese market for video games saw nearly a ten-fold growth since 2007, valued at of the global , with over 490 million players, counting only those on personal computers; since consoles were still banned, these numbers do not take console players into account.
Lifting of the console ban (2014–2017)
In 2014, China partially eased the restrictions on video game hardware by allowing game consoles to be manufactured in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone (FTZ) and sold in the rest of China subject to cultural inspections. In July 2015, the ban on video game consoles within the country was completely lifted. According to a statement from the country's Ministry of Culture, companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft – among others – were now allowed to manufacture and sell video game consoles anywhere in the country.
Microsoft and Sony quickly took advantage of the lifting of the ban, announcing sales of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms within the FTZ shortly after the 2014 announcement. Microsoft established a partnership with BesTV New Media Co, a subsidiary of the Shanghai Media Group, to sell Xbox One units in China, with units first shipping by September 2014. Sony worked with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Media in May 2014 to establish manufacturing in the FTZ, with the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita shipping into China by March 2015. CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Andrew House explained in September 2013 that the company intended to use the PlayStation Vita TV as a low-cost alternative for consumers in an attempt to penetrate the Chinese video game market. Both Microsoft and Sony have identified China as a key market for their next generation of consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 respectively.
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Popularity statistics
In order to gauge the popularity of online games, both in China and internationally, three benchmarks are commonly implemented. The first is peak concurrent users (PCU), which is the maximum numbers of players online simultaneously at a given time. A high PCU number signifies that a game has a large base of constant user participation, which is essential for the survival of an online world. The second statistic used is the daily active player base; this number is essentially a count of the number of disparate users who sign on in a given 24-hour period. This statistic differs from PCU simply because of its longer time span but the daily user base is still a good quantifier of popularity and usage.
The third statistic is simply the total number of registered users for a specific game or service, this statistic is significantly more problematic because most, if not all, online games do not limit the user to a single account or user name. For example, some games claim millions of registered users; a disingenuous statistic given that the most popular MMORPGs in China usually garner only 800,000 to one million peak concurrent users. Thus, while registered user numbers can be quite impressive, they are not as accurate a gauge of popularity as the other aforementioned statistics.
Investment
In 2010, there were 25 investments made into Chinese online gaming companies. Of the 25 investments 20 of these deal disclosed financial details. As a group these 20 deals combined for a total of US$137 million in investment.
Developers
China has domestically produced a number of games, including Arena of Valor, Westward Journey, The Incorruptible Warrior, and Crazy Mouse. There are a large number of domestically made massively multiplayer online role-playing game MMORPGs in China, although many generally remain unheard of outside of the country.
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China does have a small but growing indie game scene. The growth of China's indie game scene is considered to have been through hobbyist programmers starting around the 1990s and into the 2000s after the console ban where personal computer games became more popular. An early well-known indie developer, Coconut Island, was founded in the mid-2000s, and through its success, starting a number of game jams around the country starting in 2011, and eventually established the China Indie Game Alliance, one of the country's largest developer communities. Further interest in indie game development came with the popularity of mobile games in the country. The 2014 title Monument Valley developed by Ustwo in the United Kingdom is considered to have been an influential title as it was able to tell an emotional story through the game medium, and drew more interest in the indie game scene. Indie game development is challenged by the governmental approval process, requiring resources that many indie developers do not have. As with mainstream commercial games, indie games must be approved and get a license to be sold, or otherwise may be offered freely, which does not require a license. This has led to a black market around obtaining licenses, using non-China-controlled platforms like Steam to distribute games, or other questionable means to get their game into players' hands. As Valve has been working with Perfect World to create a China-specific client for Steam, which would be limited to games approached by the Chinese government, several indie developers fear this may harm the indie scene within China.
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Manufacturers
Most of the major video game systems in the world since the 1990s have been manufactured in China; by 2019, 96% of all video game consoles were manufactured in China, generally taking advantage of the net lower-income labor available in the country. Some of the larger manufacturers based in China or with factories within China creating video game consoles include Foxconn, Hosiden, and Flex. Because of this, trade relations between China and other countries can have an impact on video game console pricing. Around 2019, as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo were preparing their next generation systems, a trade war between the United States and China was threatening to create a 25% import tariff on electronic goods shipped into the U.S. from China, which would have significantly affected the prices of these new consoles. There had already been an impact on personal computer components prior, leading to speculation on the impact on consoles. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo jointly petitioned the U.S. government to not go through with this plan, in addition to other electronics vendors in the U.S. By January 2020, the U.S. government affirmed it had backed off this planned tariff. Despite this, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have all expressed plans to divest some of the Chinese manufacturing to other countries in southeast Asia such as Vietnam.
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China continued to expand its esports engagement alongside South Korea over the next several years, with its growth occurring alongside the growth of other online games in China. China became more involved with planning of the World Cyber Games along South Korea, who had founded the event in 2000. The growth was further fueled by China's large Internet companies investing in esports teams and players, establishing esport tournaments of their own, and acquiring Korea developers of popular esports games. These companies have also gained investment into foreign companies that have produced popular esports titles in China. Notably, Tencent initially acquired an investment into Riot Games in 2008, which produced League of Legends, and by 2015 had fully acquired the studio. Tencent has also invested into Activision Blizzard, which, through Blizzard Entertainment, distribute StarCraft, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm. The Alibaba Group and other e-commerce Chinese businesses have also invested heavily into the esports arena within China as early as 2006, but have made more inroads by establishing the World Electronic Sports Games in 2016 as a replacement for the World Cyber Games. Alibaba's efforts have centered on making the cities of Hangzhou and Changzhou esports centers in China.
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Due to both government encouragement and industry investment, the number of professional esports players in China grew from 50 in 2006 to over 1000 in 2016. In early 2019, China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security included both "professional gamer" and "professional gaming operator" as an officially recognized job on its Occupation Skill Testing Authority list; by July 2019, around 100,000 people had registers themselves as "professional gamers" under this, and were making an average of three times the average salary in China. The Ministry had stated they believe that the professional esports sector in China can have over 2 million jobs in five years. This expansive growth has led several local governments to offer incentives for bringing esports to their cities.
In esports, China has been the world leader in terms of tournament winnings, possessing some of the best talents in the world across multiple video games, as well as one of the largest pool of video gamers. As of 2017, half of the top 20 highest earning esports players in the world are Chinese.
In addition to talent, China is also one of the largest consumers of esports. The 2017 League of Legends World Championship, held in Beijing, drew an estimated 106 million viewers from online streaming services with 98% of them from China, a number on par with the television audience of the Super Bowl. The event was seen as China establishing its place in the global esports marketplace, and demonstrated how China and South Korea's leadership in this area has helped to expand esports popularity to other countries. China is estimated to have about 20% of the global revenue in esports, including sponsorships, merchandising and media rights, with an estimated of the global by 2019, having surpassed Europe and trailing only behind North America.
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Despite the popularity of esports in the country, it is still not exempt from the grasp of the government's censorship. This was most notable in the Blitzchung controversy in October 2019 where an American video game developer Blizzard Entertainment punished Ng Wai Chung (吳偉聰) (known as Blitzchung), a Hong Kongese esports player of the online video game Hearthstone, for voicing his support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests during an official streaming event. Despite the public's response, which included a boycott and a letter from United States Congress representatives, Blizzard did not remove the punishment but did slightly reduce it.
Intellectual property protection
As described above, China has had a history of a gray market of illegal imports and video game clones, both in hardware and software, as well as copyright theft/piracy as a result of poor intellectual property laws and enforcement in the latter part of the 20th century.
Chinese developers have been known to copy video games from foreign developers which resulted in multiple clones of established video game franchises. Some developers take inspiration from existing games and incorporate the designs, gameplay and mechanics to their own IPs. There have been multiple lawsuits filed by major video game companies such as the case filed by Riot Games against Moonton Technology for copying its characters featured in League of Legends. Riot itself has failed to have U.S. courts rule in their favor due to the copyright-taking happening outside of the United States, but through its partner Tencent, they have been successful in lawsuits filed in China. There have been reports where plagiarists are credited as the original creators. Analysts have attributed the rise in plagiarism to lack of knowledge of the original IPs due to non-releases of games in the Chinese Markets, delays or outright ban by the Chinese government.
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More recently, with the tech industry boom in China, the government has implemented stricter copyright controls and processes, but it is still considered to be weaker than intellectual copyright protections in Western nations, which poses a threat for foreign companies seeking to sell into China.
Because of the high amount of software piracy in China, many foreign game companies have been reluctant to enter the country's market with single player or console games. Instead, they have focused on selling online titles such as massively multiplayer online games as income from these titles comes largely from subscription fees or in game item purchases rather than the purchase price of the title itself.
Farming
As of December 2005, there were an estimated 100,000 Chinese employed as "farmers", video game players who work to acquire virtual currency or items in online games so they can be sold to other players for real currency.
Government oversight
Responsible agencies
Video games are regulated through the government and the Chinese Communist Party as with most mass media in China, but further, as video games are seen as a cultural benefit, additional agencies are involved in promoting the growth of video games.
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) was formed in 2008, superseding the Ministry of Information Industry, which was established in the late 1990s through the integration of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics Industry. The agency's primary goals include the regulation and promotion of Chinese telecommunications and software companies which include online gaming. MII is also responsible for a number of initiatives aimed at increasing the number and prominence of natively produced online games. One example of such involvement is the inclusion of online gaming in the 2006–2010 plan for software and information service development.
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National Radio and Television Administration
The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) was responsible for monitoring and regulating publication of print based media, electronic media, and audio-visual products (including online games). GAPP has also been instrumental in combating the growing problem of Internet addiction and game addiction in China by teaming up with eight other government outlets concerned with the growing effect of game play on China's youth. Towards this end, GAPP worked with other agencies, including the Central Civilization Office, Ministry of Education, Chinese Communist Youth League, Ministry of Information Industry, Ministry of Public Security, All China Women's Federation, and China's Care for the Next Generation Work Commission. GAPP also initiated the China National Online Game Publication Project in 2004. The intent of the project was to promote native game development through the use of government subsidies to game developers. The project had provided an estimated 300 million RMB to 16 Chinese game development companies by the end of its third year. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) affected the world of Chinese online games in 2004 by instating a blanket ban on computer game related commercials in the state-run media. The only company to directly contradict this ban is Chinese game provider The9, which teamed with Coca-Cola to jointly promote the release of the popular Western MMORPG World of Warcraft in 2005. Besides this instance, the online game market has thrived without much media promotion. The SARFT and GAPP were merged to form the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television in 2013, which was later transformed to the National Radio and Television Administration in 2018.
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Crime
The Beijing Reformatory for Juvenile Delinquents claimed in 2007 that a third of its detainees were influenced by violent online games or erotic websites when committing crimes such as robbery and rape. In a high-profile case from October 2004, 41-year-old Qiu Chengwei was sentenced to death for murdering 26-year-old Zhu Caoyuan over a dispute regarding the sale of a virtual weapon the two had jointly won in the game Legend of Mir 3. Also, in September 2007, a Chinese man in Guangzhou died after playing Internet video games for three consecutive days in an Internet cafe.
Content control and censorship
As with almost all mass media in the country, video games in China are subject to the national policies of censorship. Content in video games is overseen by SART/NRTA; publishers are required to obtain a license for the game in China from SART before publishing, which may be denied if the game contains elements deemed inappropriate. The process to submit games for a license and put them on sale following that is overseen by MOC. The State General Administration of Press and Publication and anti-porn and illegal publication offices have also played a role in screening games.
Examples of banned games have included:
Hearts of Iron (for "distorting history and damaging China's sovereignty and territorial integrity")
I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike (for "intentionally blackening China and the Chinese army's image")
Command & Conquer: Generals (for "smearing the image of China and the Chinese army")
Battlefield 4 (for "smearing the image of China and endangering national security")
In addition to banning games completely, several games have had their content screened to remove certain imagery deemed offensive or unfavorable. Common examples include skeletons or skulls being either fleshed out or removed entirely. Cases of which can be seen in Chinese versions of popular video games such as Dota 2 and World of Warcraft.
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With the formation of the Online Game Ethics Committee in December 2018, nine titles reportedly were classified as prohibited or to be withdrawn, but this has yet to be confirmed by reliable sources. These included Fortnite, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, H1Z1, Paladins, and Ring of Elysium. Eleven other titles were told that they needed to make corrective action to be sold within China, including Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, and League of Legends.
Publishing a title without having government approval can lead to a company being fined from five to ten times the revenues they earned from the game.
In addition to content control, the Chinese government has pushed technology companies, including video game distributors like Tencent, into allowing the government to have partial ownership of the companies that can be used to affect the content produced; in exchange, such companies may gain a competitive edge over others in interactions dealing with the government.
Along with guidelines to control and eliminate youth gaming issued in September 2021, the Chinese government has also issued a guidelines regarding the presentation of LGBT and "effimininacy" in video games are to be avoided.
Anti-addiction measures
China was one of the first countries to recognize the potential for addiction to the Internet, video games, and other digital media, and was the first country to formally classify Internet addiction a clinical disorder by recognizing Clinical Diagnostic Criteria for Internet Addiction in 2008. In 2015, the Chinese government also found that more than 500 million citizens over five years old, nearly half the population, suffered from some form of near-sightednessed, and while video games were not solely responsible for this, the government felt they needed to reduce the amount of time youth played video games.
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China has sought to deal with addiction to video games by its youth by enacting regulations to be implemented by video game publishers aimed to limit consecutive play time particularly for children. As early as 2005 China's Ministry of Culture has enacted several public health efforts to address gaming and internet related disorders. One of the first systems required by the government was launched in 2005 to regulate adolescents' Internet use, including limiting daily gaming time to 3 hours and requiring users' identification in online video games. In 2007, an "Online Game Anti-Addiction System" was implemented for minors, restricting their use to 3 hours or less per day. The ministry also proposed a "Comprehensive Prevention Program Plan for Minors’ Online Gaming Addiction" in 2013, to promulgate research, particularly on diagnostic methods and interventions. China's Ministry of Education in 2018 announced that new regulations would be introduced to further limit the amount of time spent by minors in online games. While these regulations were not immediately binding, most large Chinese publishers took steps to implement the required features. For example, Tencent restricted the amount of time that children could spend playing one of its online games, to one hour per day for children 12 and under, and two hours per day for children aged . This is facilitated by tracking players via their state-issued identification numbers. This has put some pressure on Western companies that publish via partners in China on how to apply these new anti-addiction requirements into their games, as outside of China, tracking younger players frequently raises privacy concerns. Specialized versions of games, developed by the Chinese partner, have been made to meet these requirements without affecting the rest of the world; Riot Games let its China-based studio implement the requirements into League of Legends for specialized release in China.
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A new law enacted in November 2019 limits children under 18 to less than 90 minutes of playing video games on weekdays and three hours on weekends, with no video game playing allowed between 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. These are set by requiring game publishers to enforce these limits based on user logins. Additionally, the law limits how much any player can spend on microtransactions, ranging from about $28 to $57 per month depending on the age of the player. In September 2020, the government implemented its own name-based authentication system to be made available to all companies to uphold these laws. Chinese regulators further reduced the amount of time minors are allowed to play online games in August 2021 to one hour each day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as on public holidays, from 8 to 9 pm. The measures also capped how much minors could spend on such games, with those between 8 and 16 limited to 200 yuan per month, and those between 16 and 18 to 400 yuan per month. Implementation measures were not described as part of this regulation. In September 2021, GAPP launched a website that allowed for any Chinese citizen to report on games that appeared to be in violation of these anti-addiction measures, classified between those that failed to perform proper identity checks, those that failed limit minors' hours, and those that failed to limit minors' spending within the game.
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Data privacy
Most of the large publishers in China routinely collect data on players and how they play their game. One primary reason is that this is information that may be mandated by the government due to its mass surveillance programs and for implementing systems such as for the anti-addiction measures. Secondly, many of these large companies not only provide video games but a range of media across the spectrum including online video, music, and books, and these companies couple that data to have better reach of targeted advertising as to increase revenues. There are fears, but no reported cases, of these large companies sharing data with the government from foreign users. These fears have had impacts for companies that are fully or partially controlled by Chinese companies. For example, Epic Games in 2018 released its own digital storefront, the Epic Games Store which came under some criticism by players in the West, partially due to fear that Epic would share their data with Tencent and subsequently to the Chinese government, and have called the Store spyware.
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Foreign ownership
With the rising success of online games from 2007 onwards, some foreign companies sought to invest full or partial ownership of Chinese companies to help capture a portion of the growing market. The Chinese government, concerned that these foreign companies would have influence on how the Chinese companies manage their video games, passed a law that banned any foreign company from investing or having any type of ownership in a Chinese company, with the General Administration of Press and Publication serving as the watchdog for such violations. This still allows for foreign companies to bring games into China, but only through operating agreements and partnerships with wholly owned Chinese companies. For example, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft, an extremely popular MMO in China, was run initially through The9 and later by NetEase, both companies making necessary changes to parts of the game to adhere to Chinese content regulations.
Content ratings
China introduced a pilot version of its first content rating system in December 2020, the "Online Game Age-Appropriateness Warning" system. It uses three color-based classifications, green for "8+" (games appropriate for ages 8 and up), blue for "12+", and yellow for "16+". Games with online components are required to display these labels on packaging, their website, registration pages, and other relevant materials, The rating system was developed by the Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association alongside Tencent and NetEase and 52 other organizations.
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Chinese Game Companies’ Strategies for Global Expansion
Chinese gaming companies have emerged as dominant players in the global gaming industry, driven largely by their strategic focus on mobile gaming. This approach has enabled them to expand rapidly into international markets, leveraging the ubiquity of smartphones and improved mobile internet infrastructure. Among these companies, Tencent and NetEase have led the charge by prioritizing mobile-first game development, utilizing technological innovation, and tailoring content to local markets. Their global success is a direct result of adaptive strategies that have allowed them to capture significant market share across continents.
Mobile gaming has become the largest segment of the global video game industry, with China playing a pivotal role in shaping its evolution. As of 2024, China accounts for more than 31% of global mobile gaming revenue, generating approximately $40 billion annually. Tencent’s Honor of Kings, one of the highest-grossing mobile games worldwide, is a prime example of this dominance. By the end of 2023, the game had surpassed 100 million daily active users globally, reinforcing its reputation as a flagship mobile title. Similarly, NetEase’s LifeAfter gained immense popularity with its survival-themed gameplay, resonating with players worldwide.
A key factor in Chinese companies’ mobile gaming success has been their global launch strategies, centered on meticulously tailored regional campaigns and localized game development. Tencent’s expansion of Honor of Kings into regions such as Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe exemplifies this approach. By June 2024, the game had been launched in over 160 countries, supporting 14 languages to enhance the gaming experience for players worldwide. This global expansion contributed to Honor of Kings generating approximately $1.48 billion in revenue in 2023, maintaining its position as the highest-grossing mobile game of the year.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video%20games%20in%20China
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Video games in China
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In the realm of esports, Tencent and NetEase have made substantial investments to develop robust infrastructures linked to their mobile games. The PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) exemplifies this effort, with the 2023 tournament attracting a peak viewership of 980,110 concurrent viewers during the grand finals, marking it as the fifth-highest PUBG Mobile event in the history of the esport. This level of engagement underscores the growing prominence of mobile gaming within the global esports arena. By integrating cross-platform capabilities and investing in esports, Chinese gaming companies have not only enhanced the gaming experience but also expanded their reach across diverse gaming communities, solidifying their positions in the global market.
Challenges for Chinese games
Domestic Challenges
The Chinese video game industry faces significant challenges within its domestic market. One of the most pressing issues is the increasingly stringent regulatory environment. The issuance of game licenses, known as "版号" (banhao), has declined sharply over the years. In 2022, only 468 domestic games were granted licenses, compared to 9368 in 2017, reflecting a steep reduction in the number of new games allowed into the market. This limited availability of licenses has raised the barrier to entry for smaller developers, creating a highly competitive environment dominated by larger companies such as Tencent and NetEase.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video%20games%20in%20China
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Video games in China
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Additionally, the Chinese government has implemented strict regulations to protect minors from excessive gaming. In 2021, new policies restricted minors to only three hours of online gaming per week, specifically from 8 PM to 9 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. These measures were introduced as part of efforts to combat gaming addiction, but they have significantly affected revenue streams for companies reliant on younger players. For instance, Tencent reported declines in its domestic gaming revenue in 2022, with year-over-year decreases of 1% in the first quarter and 7% in the third quarter.
The domestic gaming market has also experienced stagnation in user growth. By mid-2022, China’s gaming user base had reached 666 million, representing a slight decline of 0.13% year-over-year. This saturation, coupled with increasing development costs and rising competition, has made it increasingly difficult for companies to maintain profitability.
Localization and Cultural Barriers
As Chinese gaming companies expand abroad, localization has emerged as a critical challenge. Successful localization involves more than translating text into local languages; it requires adapting games to fit cultural preferences, aesthetic expectations, and regional gaming habits. For example, a storyline or gameplay mechanic that resonates with Chinese players might not appeal to audiences in Europe or the United States.
According to industry professionals, cultural differences often hinder the success of Chinese games in foreign markets. For instance, games that rely heavily on narrative elements may struggle if their storylines fail to connect with local audiences due to poor translation or cultural misalignment. Localization issues are compounded by the need to integrate local payment systems or comply with regional regulations, further increasing the complexity of overseas operations.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video%20games%20in%20China
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Video games in China
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Geopolitical and Policy Challenges
Geopolitical tensions have also created obstacles for Chinese gaming companies. Restrictions on Chinese technology companies in certain markets, particularly the United States, have made it harder for Chinese games to gain traction. Concerns over data privacy and security have led some governments to impose bans or restrictions on apps developed by Chinese firms. For instance, Tencent and NetEase have faced scrutiny in various countries, which has slowed their efforts to expand into these markets.
Moreover, the Chinese government’s tight control over the gaming industry extends beyond the domestic market. Companies are required to obtain approval for international partnerships and investments, adding another layer of complexity to their global operations. This regulatory oversight can delay projects and reduce the agility needed to compete in fast-moving international markets.
Adapting Through Innovation and Cultural Exports
In response to these challenges, Chinese gaming companies have increasingly sought to integrate cultural elements into their games to appeal to international audiences. For example, miHoYo’s Genshin Impact, which incorporates Chinese cultural themes through its music, characters, and storylines, has achieved global success, winning multiple awards such as the TGA Best Mobile Game. Similarly, companies like 37 Interactive Entertainment have infused traditional Chinese cultural elements, such as Peking Opera and the maritime Silk Road, into their games to differentiate themselves in the global market.
This strategy of leveraging cultural exports has not only helped Chinese games gain recognition abroad but has also positioned them as a medium for soft power, allowing international audiences to engage with Chinese culture through interactive experiences.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video%20games%20in%20China
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Video games in China
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Cultural impact
Video games have evolved from simple entertainment to significant cultural and diplomatic tools, embodying the concept of "soft power," a term introduced by Joseph Nye in the late 20th century. Soft power refers to the ability of a nation to influence others through cultural appeal and persuasion rather than coercion, contrasting with "hard power," which involves economic or military force. Video games, as a widely consumed form of storytelling and cultural representation, have become an effective medium for soft power, allowing countries to share narratives and cultural identities on both national and global scales. Recognizing their economic and cultural significance, governments have increasingly supported video game development as tools for public diplomacy.
In China, this approach aligns with efforts under Xi Jinping's leadership to communicate "China's stories" through various media, including video games, to foster national pride. This strategy enables China to present its values, narratives, and cultural landmarks globally. However, video games often undergo cultural scrutiny to ensure they align with national narratives. For example, "Marching Towards the Republic" (2003) was edited to match China's official historical perspective. Similarly, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) has banned certain historical palace dramas for allegedly promoting royal lifestyles contrary to traditional virtues.
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Video games in China
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China aims to maintain cultural integrity while seeking global recognition for its heritage. Controversies arise over historical portrayals, such as criticisms from Chinese audiences regarding perceived inaccuracies in the Korean drama "Jumong." Additionally, reactions to games like "The Prefect's Decision III," viewed as glamorizing Japanese invaders, highlight tensions in historical representation. China's relationship with territories depicted in "Hearts of Iron" led to its ban, underscoring concerns about historical narratives in video games. Chinese players have expressed dissatisfaction with the scarcity of historically based strategy games reflecting their history.
"Black Myth: Wukong," an action role-playing game inspired by the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West," exemplifies China's success in advancing video games. The game integrates traditional Chinese mythology with modern gaming mechanics, featuring Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, in a richly detailed world. It aims to entertain while educating players about Chinese culture through elements like Buddhist iconography and traditional architecture. This promotes non-Western narratives globally and challenges Western cultural dominance. Games like "Genshin Impact" and "Honor of Kings" demonstrate video games' potential as vessels of soft power by introducing global audiences to Chinese culture and history. Tencent's investments in series like "League of Legends" and "Arena of Valor" have established significant eSports communities worldwide. "Honor of Kings" has also gained international success, sparking interest in Chinese mythology. Research by Rong Chen, Yichen Guo, and Mengli Yu at Nankai University highlights the impact of Chinese cultural elements on player loyalty in video games.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward%20Crossland
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Edward Crossland
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Edward Crossland (June 30, 1827 – September 11, 1881) was a Confederate army officer in the American Civil War and later a United States representative from Kentucky. He commanded a brigade of cavalry in the Western Theater and served in several battles.
Crossland was born in Hickman County, Kentucky, to Samuel Crossland and his wife Elizabeth Harry. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1852. He began his practice at Clinton, Kentucky, and also served as sheriff of Hickman County in 1851 and 1852. Crossland was member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1857 and 1858.
In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, he became a captain in the Confederate Army's 1st Kentucky Infantry Regiment. He went to Northern Virginia with his regiment, and in December 1861 they fought in the Battle of Dranesville under J. E. B. Stuart. The regiment was then assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia, where it served until its one-year enlistment expired. Crossland had by then become a lieutenant colonel.
Following his discharge, Crossland was elected colonel of the 7th Kentucky Infantry and served with them in Mississippi. In 1864, the 7th Kentucky Infantry was mounted and assigned to Maj. Gen. Hylan B. Lyon's Brigade of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry Corps. Crossland served under Forrest until the war's end in May 1865. His last battle was at Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865.
In August 1867, Crossland was elected judge of the court of common pleas of the first judicial district of Kentucky for the term of six years. However, he resigned his office on November 1, 1870.
He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875). He then left Congress and practiced law in Mayfield, Kentucky. In August 1880, he was again elected judge of the circuit court for the first judicial district of Kentucky, and served until his death the following year at the age of 54. He was survived by his wife and five of their thirteen children.
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10673986
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazzaro%20Morelli
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Lazzaro Morelli
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Lazzaro Morelli (1619 – 1690) was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period.
Born in Ascoli Piceno, the son of the Florentine sculptor Fulgenzio Morelli, who also trained Lazzaro's cousin, the artist Giuseppe Giosafatti. Lazzaro initially came to Rome to work under Francesco Fiammingho (François Duquesnoy), but left that studio to work under Bernini.
He participated in Bernini's Funereal Monument for Pope Alexander VII Chigi, found in St. Peter's Basilica. He also was responsible for the Angel with the scourge, based on a sketch by Bernini; this is one of the angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome. He is said to have sculpted the horse and the lion for Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. Lazzaro also sculpted the statue of Benignity for the tomb monument of Clement X in St. Peter's. The tomb was designed by Mattia de' Rossi (1684) and the other sculptors who worked on this project were Ercole Ferrata (who sculpted the pope) and Giuseppe Mazzuoli (who sculpted the statue of Clemency). He also completed some of the saints in the roof-line of the external colonnades of Piazza San Pietro.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raver%2C%20Maharashtra
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Raver, Maharashtra
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Roads
The town is connected to its district headquarters, Jalgaon (), by road. The Ankleshwar-Burhanpur National Highway (previously SH4) runs through the city. It connects Raver to Burhanpur () in Madhya Pradesh & Ankaleshwar () in Gujarat. This highway has caused Savda and neighbouring villages to become an important banana transportation hub. Due to increasing traffic, the road was converted into a national highway. The town is also well-connected to other villages through major roads.
Rail
Raver Railway Station is from Raver in Jalgaon district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Railways connect the city to Mumbai and Delhi. The Raver Railway station is located on the Major Bhusawal-Khandwa line of the Bhusawal Division of Central Railway. 60 to 70 trains run through this line daily, of which only 10 to 12 stop at this station.
Air
The nearby airports are Jalgaon, Aurangabad, and Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport (Indore).
Demographics
India census, Raver has a population of 27,039. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Raver has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 58%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age. Raver has a mixed population of all castes including Hindus and Muslims. The Adivasi people living in the Satpura Hills include Tadvi (Bhilla), Pawara, Bhilala, and Pardhi.
Politics
Raver Lok Sabha constituency
Raver Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 48 Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian parliament) constituencies of Maharashtra state in western India. This constituency was created on 19 February 2008 as a part of the implementation of the Presidential notification based on the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission of India constituted on 12 July 2002. It first held elections in 2009 and its first member of parliament (MP) was Haribhau Jawale of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As of the 2014 elections, the current MP is Raksha Khadase, also of the BJP.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal%20observer%20theory
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Ideal observer theory
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Ideal observer theory is the meta-ethical view which claims that ethical sentences express truth-apt propositions about the attitudes of a hypothetical ideal observer. In other words, ideal observer theory states that ethical judgments should be interpreted as statements about the reactions that a neutral and fully informed observer would have; "x is good" means "an ideal observer would approve of x.
This makes ideal observer theory a subjectivist yet universalist form of cognitivism. Ideal observer theory stands in opposition to other forms of ethical subjectivism (e.g. moral relativism, and individualist ethical subjectivism), as well as to moral realism (which claims that moral propositions refer to objective facts, independent of anyone's attitudes or opinions), error theory (which denies that any moral propositions are true in any sense), and non-cognitivism (which denies that moral sentences express propositions at all).
Adam Smith and David Hume espoused versions of the ideal observer theory. Roderick Firth laid out a more sophisticated modern version. According to Firth, an ideal observer has the following specific characteristics: omniscience with respect to nonmoral facts, omnipercipience, disinterestedness, dispassionateness, consistency, and normalcy in all other respects. Notice that, by defining an Ideal Observer as omniscient with respect to nonmoral facts, Firth avoids circular logic that would arise from defining an ideal observer as omniscient in both nonmoral and moral facts. A complete knowledge of morality is not born of itself but is an emergent property of Firth's minimal requirements. There are also sensible restrictions to the trait of omniscience with respect to nonmoral facts. For instance, to make a moral judgment about a case of theft or murder on Earth it is not necessary to know about geological events in another solar system.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rania%2C%20Sirsa
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Rania, Sirsa
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Rania is a town and a municipal committee in Sirsa district located on the upper bank of Ghaggar River in the Indian state of Haryana. Rania Town is a grain market in Sirsa district. Nearby cities to Rania includes Sirsa and Ellenabad. It shares its RTO office with Ellenabad which is also has its headquarters in Ellenabad. Earlier it was a part of Ellenabad subdivision but later carved out separately as a subdivision in Sirsa district of Haryana. It is at a distance of 22 km each from Sirsa and Ellenabad in opposite direction on Haryana State Highway 32A i.e. Bhambhoor-Jiwan Nagar Road which connects to Haryana State Highway 32 (Ellenabad-Dabwali Road) in Jiwan Nagar on one end and Haryana State Highway 23 (Sirsa-Ellenabad Road) in Bhambhoor on the other end.
History
Rania, which means "queen", was formerly called Bhattian and ruled by a king known as the Bhatti Raja. It was renamed as a result of sati by Rania, Queen of Bhattian Riasayat's King after she heard a rumour that the king had been killed in a nearby village.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rania%2C%20Sirsa
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Rania, Sirsa
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During the first war of independence in 1857, Raja Nahar Singh the Jat ruler of Ballabhgarh, Rao Tula Ram ruler of Rewari and Nawab Nur Muhammad Khan of Rania all played key role.
There were significant number Muslims who left during Indo-Pakistan partition in 1947. There are many old buildings in the town including mosques and a fort which is still in use as the police station.
Rania town was a part of the old Punjab Region and became part of Haryana in 1966.
Geography
Rania is situated in the far west of Haryana on the Bhambhoor-Jeewan Nagar Road. The nearest airports are in Delhi and Chandigarh, both around away while the nearest railway stations are at Ellenabad and Sirsa. Sirsa city is approximately to the east. Other nearby cities are Ellenabad (), Mandi Dabwali () and Mandi Kalanwali (). The borders of Punjab are around away and those of Rajasthan distant. Some other villages and places near to the town are Jiwan Nagar, Kariwala, SantNagar (Jagmalera), Balasar Farm, Sultan Puria and the Ottu Dam, Tetarwal Farm House, Mohamad Puria.
Demographics
As of 2011 Indian Census, Rania had a total population of 25,123, of which 13,281 were males and 11,842 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 3,361. The total number of literates in Rania was 15,299, which constituted 60.9% of the population with male literacy of 66.2% and female literacy of 54.9%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Rania was 70.3%, of which male literacy rate was 77.1% and female literacy rate was 62.8%. The Scheduled Castes population was 6,474. Rania had 4874 households in 2011.
Languages
Hindi is the official language with Punjabi and English as additional official. Hindi and Punjabi are the most spoken languages of Rania.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newer%20Volcanics%20Province
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Newer Volcanics Province
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The Newer Volcanics Province is a geological area which is a volcanic field, formed by the East Australia hotspot across south-eastern Australia. It covers an area of , with over 400 small shield volcanoes and volcanic vents. The area contains the youngest volcanoes in Australia.
The volcanoes date from the Late-Pleistocene to Holocene ages. The area is characterised by flat lava flows, forming a plain above which rise numerous small scoria cones, tuff rings, and maars. The most recent eruptions in the region took place at Mount Schank and Mount Gambier, estimated about 5000 years BP, when several maars were formed and associated lava flows spread around the cones.
Volcanoes
Prominent volcanoes within the province include:
Mount Schank
Mount Napier
Mount Gambier (including Blue Lake)
Tower Hill
Mount Elephant
Mount Eccles (Budj Bim), with associated Tyrendarra lava flow
Mount Leura
Mount Noorat
Mount Buninyong
Lake Bullen Merri
Lake Purrumbete
Red Rock
Aboriginal Dreamtime connections
History
Three groups of Aboriginal Australians, the Kulin nation in central and western Victoria, the Maar nation on the southwest coast of Victoria and the Bunganditj nation on the South Australian border with Victoria, are the traditional owners of the lands that the NVP is situated on. These Indigenous Australians tell Dreamtime stories regarding volcanic activity on the Australian continent. These stories act as oral histories of natural events, and can be utilised by modern scientists to understand historical geological and seismic activity on the continent.
Budj Bim
The Gunditjmara people retell the story of their people who witnessed the creation of an important being known as Budj Bim, one of four giant beings who arrived in southeast Australia. While three of these beings strode out to other parts of the continent, one stayed in place; that was Budj Bim. His body transformed into the volcano later given the same name, and his teeth became the lava that transformed the landscape.
Theories and Disagreements
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City%20of%20Light%2C%20City%20of%20Dark
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City of Light, City of Dark
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City Of Light, City Of Dark is a comic book novel written by Newbery Medal-winning author Avi, and was the first book ever to be illustrated by Brian Floca. Additional Spanish translations were done by Jose Aranda and Anthony Trujillo. The book's title is probably inspired by the summer and winter solstices, the "lightest" and "darkest" days of the year. These two days also mark two pivotal events in the Kurbs' "ritual cycle of acknowledgment". Alternatively, since the story is set in New York, "City Of Light" could refer to one of the many cities of light.
Plot synopsis
An enigmatic race of beings known as the Kurbs are introduced at the story's outset. Except as serpentine extensions of shadow, they are rarely seen, and thrive only in darkness. Utilizing something called the Power, they are able to control the rhythm of day and night. When humans first arrived on Manhattan Island (a place of apparent significance to the Kurbs), a treaty was signed: the Ritual Cycle of Acknowledgment. The Kurbs would loan the island out for human use, and even share their source of power. But there were conditions: in synchronization with the summer and winter solstices, the source of Power would be ritualistically hidden somewhere on the island, and if it was not found in time, the Kurbs would reclaim the island, and everything would freeze. Over the years, the Power was hidden inside different objects, including an ear of corn, a musket ball, an oil lamp and, most recently, a subway token. A lineage of women were given the responsibility of carrying out the Ritual Cycle Of Acknowledgment, and were granted special powers through the Kurbs' source of Power, as well.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City%20of%20Light%2C%20City%20of%20Dark
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City of Light, City of Dark
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This system works for centuries until evil Mr. Underton tried to steal the Power a few years back, and lost his eyesight. Now he is close to stealing it once again, and if he succeeds, the Kurbs will take back the City, reducing it to a dark and frozen tundra. It's up to two kids named Carlos and Sarah to find the subway token with the Power and keep the City safe, despite secrets of Sarah's history that are entwined with the token. What ensues is a race against darkness. A race against the lies of the past. And most of all, a race against time.
Style
City Of Light, City Of Dark is both a comic book and a novel. It begins like an illustrated storybook: paragraphs of text are accompanied by frequent illustrations, establishing the backstory more quickly than would have been possible with sequential art alone. Comic book panels tell the rest of the story, occasionally helped along by the author's narrations, which are presented in the form of captions. This method of storytelling makes City Of Light, City Of Dark unique. Brian Floca's Franco-Belgian-inspired art style and frequent cross-hatching also give this modern fantasy an appropriately contemporary feel.
Controversy
The book was banned in October 2022 in the Frisco Independent School District of Texas.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.%20Frances%20Cabrini%20Church%20%28New%20Orleans%29
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St. Frances Cabrini Church (New Orleans)
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St. Frances Cabrini Church was a Roman Catholic parish church in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1963 until 2005, when it was extensively damaged by floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina. The church was designed in the modernist style by New Orleans architectural firm Curtis and Davis. Their design was intended to facilitate parishioners' participation in religious ceremonies. The church building did not re-open after Hurricane Katrina and was demolished in 2007 amid controversy over architectural preservation.
Early parish history
In 1952, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans purchased land in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans to serve the rapidly growing Roman Catholic population in that area of the city which was relatively new in the 1950s and 1960s. The parish was bordered by Bayou St. John to the west, the London Avenue Canal to the east, by Lake Pontchartrain on the north, and extended in a southerly direction into the Mid-City neighborhood of New Orleans. The archdiocese soon established St. Frances Xavier Cabrini School with a plan to construct a parish church thereafter. In the first several years of the parish, the parish church was a temporary quonset hut structure in a military style. Gerard Louis Frey was appointed pastor of the new parish.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans commissioned the New Orleans architectural firm of Curtis and Davis to design the new parish church. Pastor Gerard Louis Frey directed that the design should be consistent with the directives of the Second Vatican Council in that the design should facilitate participation of the congregation in religious services. While the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council had not been signed at the time of design, the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy from the Second Vatican Council was widely anticipated.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.%20Frances%20Cabrini%20Church%20%28New%20Orleans%29
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St. Frances Cabrini Church (New Orleans)
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The name of the parish and ultimately the church itself was to commemorate St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's visitation of New Orleans in 1892. The purpose of her visit was to help overcome the widespread hostility and prejudice in New Orleans against Italian immigrants and Italian Americans that resulted in the 1891 New Orleans lynchings and on-going discrimination.
Architectural design
Sidney Folse Jr. of Curtis and Davis was the lead architect in the project. Consistent with the directives of parish pastor Gerard Louis Frey, Folse's design was heavily influenced by the liturgical changes being proposed at the time by the Second Vatican Council, which had a further effect of encouraging modernist designs. These directives were intended to foster unity among worshipers in both a physical and symbolic way.
In the design, the church had three sets of pews extending out from the sanctuary, each set in an arched concrete canopy, suggestive of the Quonset hut structure of the original parish church. The arched concrete canopies made use of the pre-stressed thin shell concrete that architects Curtis and Davis used in other projects. There was an entrance at the end of each of the arched concrete canopies. The church seated 1500 attendees with all within of the altar.
The church sanctuary had an arched canopy, also of concrete, with four broadly spread columns that extended through the roof, tapering in the spire, which was in height. The cross at the top of the spire was thereby visible throughout the parish neighborhood that it served.
The exterior of the church at levels below the arched canopies were made of brick, in the same style as the mid-century modern homes that were typical of the Gentilly neighborhood of St. Frances Cabrini Parish. On the same property was the parish school, St. Frances Cabrini Elementary School, which was designed by Curtis and Davis, in 1957 prior to the church design.
Archbishop John Patrick Cody presided over the 1963 dedication of St. Frances Cabrini Church.
Awards and reception
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.%20Frances%20Cabrini%20Church%20%28New%20Orleans%29
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St. Frances Cabrini Church (New Orleans)
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Curtis and Davis received an Award of Merit by the Louisiana Architects Association for the church design. The firm also received honorable mention from the Church Architectural Guild of America.
A 2006 article in The New York Times stated that the church received mixed reviews from other architects. The article compared the structure to a giant kitchen appliance while also stating that it was an important local example of modernist design.
Philip Hannan, who became archbishop of New Orleans shortly after at the time the church was dedicated, was skeptical of the practicality of the design once construction was complete. In his autobiography, Hannan wrote:
"Every time a breeze would blow, the spire would wiggle and shake part of the curved roof loose, leading to continuous leaks. Cabrini's design may have won some national architectural awards, but that leaky roof was flawed and a maintenance nightmare."
Parish fate
St. Frances Cabrini Church was heavily damaged late August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, rendering it unusable. Floodwaters from the breach of the London Avenue Canal inundated the church. Following the disaster, there was contentious debate about restoration of the damaged structure. Preservationists favored restoration of the church. Others felt that the decline in the nearby population, the cost of restoration, and the need to construct a new building to keep the nearby Holy Cross High School in the Gentilly neighborhood of the section of New Orleans meant that the church should be demolished. The Archdiocese of New Orleans ultimately selected demolition, with the task of demolition being complete in 2007.
Following permanent closure of St. Frances Cabrini Church, the parish merged with neighboring parishes to form Transfiguration of the Lord Parish. Nearby Holy Cross High School had also been extensively damaged in Hurricane Katrina. Following demolition of St. Frances Cabrini Church, Holy Cross High School was re-built on the site of the church.
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10674347
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi%20Yamazaki
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Takashi Yamazaki
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is a Japanese filmmaker and visual effects supervisor. Known for his blockbusters featuring advanced visual effects, he is considered a leading figure in the Japanese film industry. Yamazaki is the recipient of multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, eight Japanese Academy Awards, five Nikkan Sports Film Awards, two Hochi Film Awards, and an Asian Film Award. His films have collectively grossed over worldwide.
Yamazaki found employment at visual effects and animation studio Shirogumi in 1986, and has remained there throughout his career. His first directorial features were the science fiction films Juvenile (2000) and Returner (2002), for which he became known as the "Japanese James Cameron". He later gained further notice in Japan by directing film adaptations of popular anime, novels, and manga, including Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), Space Battleship Yamato (2010), The Eternal Zero (2013), and Stand by Me Doraemon (2014); the latter two films both earned a total of nine awards at the 38th Japan Academy Film Prize. Yamazaki's career later advanced with The Great War of Archimedes, Dragon Quest: Your Story, Lupin III: The First (all 2019), and Stand by Me Doraemon 2 (2020).
His 2023 kaiju epic, Godzilla Minus One, became the most successful Japanese Godzilla film of all time and one of his highest-grossing films. Yamazaki and the visual effects team also became the first Japanese crew ever to receive the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. In 2024, Yamazaki was included in Gold House's annual list of 100 Most Impactful Asians. He is currently working on another Godzilla film and his Hollywood debut.
Early life
Takashi Yamazaki was born on June 12, 1964, in Matsumoto, Nagano, to Yoshisuke Yamazaki, a baker, and Kikuko. On his childhood, Yamazaki reflected: "My parents raised me by letting me do what I wanted freely. I think that has shaped a big part of who I am today". He also has a younger sister named Satsuki.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taobao
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Taobao
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In 2008, Taobao established a platform rule providing that customers had the right to return clothes sold on the platform within seven days of receipt without cause, and subsequently expanded the rule to cover other commodities. This rule became an influential standard in Chinese e-commerce and in 2014 was made an industry standard through the State Administration for Industry and Commerce's Administrative Measures for Online Trading.
In October 2010, Taobao beta-launched eTao as an independent search engine for online shopping to provide and merchant information from a number of major consumer e-commerce websites in China. Online shoppers would be able to use the site to compare prices across sellers. According to the Alibaba Group web site, eTao offers products from Amazon China, Dangdang, Gome, Yihaodian, Nike China and Vancl, as well as Taobao and Tmall.
In June 2011, Jack Ma, executive chairman and former chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, announced that Taobao would split into three different companies: Taobao Marketplace (a consumer-to-consumer platform), Tmall.com (a business-to consumer platform, then called Taobao Mall), and eTao (a search engine for online shopping). The move was said to be necessary for Taobao to “meet competitive threats that emerged in the past two years during which the Internet and e-commerce landscape has changed dramatically.”
In 2012 Taobao began to accept international Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards.
On 29 April 2013, Alibaba announced an investment of US$586 million in Sina Weibo. According to Reuters, the deal “should drive more web traffic to Alibaba's Taobao Marketplace”. On August 1, 2013, Alibaba launched Weibo for Taobao, which allows users to link Sina Weibo accounts with Taobao accounts.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alipay
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Alipay
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In 2013 Alipay launched a financial product platform called . Alipay partnered with Tianhong Asset Management to launch the it. Yu'e Bao offers an online money market account in which Alipay customers can deposit money and receive a higher interest rate than that available from banks. It soon became China's largest online money market fund and prompted competitors like Baidu and Tencent to introduce alternatives. Alibaba (the parent company of Alipay) reported having 152 million Yu'e Bao users in mid-2016, with 810 billion RMB (US$117 billion) in funds under management.
In 2015, Alipay's parent company was re-branded as Ant Financial Services Group.
In 2017, Alipay unveiled their facial recognition payment service.
In 2020, Alipay upgraded from a payment financial instrument to an open platform for digital life.
In 2021, the mandate by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to open up the "walled garden" ecosystems of the major tech companies has led to the introduction of interoperability of payment QR codes of Alipay and competing WeChat Pay and UnionPay's Cloud QuickPass platforms.
Services
Alipay states that it operates with more than 65 financial institutions including Visa and MasterCard to provide payment services for Taobao and Tmall as well as more than 460,000 online and local Chinese businesses.
Alipay is used in smartphones with their Alipay Wallet app. QR code payment codes are used for local in-store payments. The Alipay app also provides features such as credit card bill payments, bank account managements, P2P transfer, prepay mobile phone top-up, bus and train ticket purchases, food orders, vehicles for hire, insurance selections and a digital identification document storage. Alipay also allows online check-out on most Chinese-based websites such as Taobao and Tmall.
The Alipay app allows users to add their own services provided from different companies to create a more personalised experience.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alipay
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Alipay
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At the time it was implemented and integrated into Taobao, the mandatory escrow feature of Alipay was a major institutional innovation for e-commerce platforms. This was a major reason Taobao was able to outcompete eBay/EachNet in the Chinese market.
Regulatory history
Prior to Alipay, third-party payment was a legal grey area in China. In an effort to build trust with regulators, Alibaba informed regulators about the development of Alipay from the outset and provided regulators with monthly updates on its development. As Alipay's popularity increased, it became accepted by Chinese regulators. In 2010, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) issued administrative measures regarding non-financial payment services. These measures retroactively recognized the legal status of online third-party payment platforms like Alipay. In 2011, Alipay obtained a license to become one of the first licensed non-financial institutions to conduct payment operations.
The PBoC supported the growth of Yu'e Bao and similar funds with a permissive regulatory environment initially but began increasing regulation of such funds in 2017.
In September 2021, the Chinese government stated its intent to dismantle the Alipay super app into separate businesses due to concerns over "systemic financial risks" as Chinese e-commerce and fintech firms had begun to amass huge troves of user data for their operations. The move essentially split Ant Group's consumer lending businesses, credit card-like Huabei and micro-loan provider Jiebei, from Alipay's financial offerings.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon%20Matsa
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Typhoon Matsa
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Typhoon Matsa, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Gorio, was the second of eight Pacific tropical cyclones to make landfall on China during the 2005 Pacific typhoon season. The ninth tropical storm and fifth typhoon of the season, Matsa developed on July 30 to the east of the Philippines. Matsa intensified as it tracked northwestward, and attained peak 10-minute sustained winds of near Taiwan before weakening and striking the Chinese province of Zhejiang on August 5. The system continued northward into the Yellow Sea, and on August 7 Matsa became extratropical after again moving ashore along the Liaodong Peninsula. Matsa is a Laotian name for a lady fish.
In Taiwan, Matsa dropped torrential rainfall of up to , which caused mudslides and moderate damage across the island. Flooding from the rainfall contaminated some water supplies, leaving around 80,000 homes without water at one point; much of Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City) was without water for at least 5 days. As in Taiwan, the typhoon dropped heavy precipitation in the People's Republic of China, and in combination with strong winds destroyed about 59,000 houses and damaged more than of croplands. Throughout the country, Matsa caused 25 direct fatalities and ¥18 billion (2005 CNY, $2.23 billion 2005 USD) in damage.
Meteorological history
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon%20Matsa
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Typhoon Matsa
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The origin of Typhoon Matsa is traced to the formation of an area of convection about east of Yap in late July. The convection gradually consolidated over a weak low-level circulation, and at 0300 UTC on July 30 the system was first mentioned in the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) Significant Tropical Weather Outlook. Located within an area of moderate wind shear, the system continued to slowly organize, and by 1200 UTC on July 30 it was sufficiently organized for the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to classify it as a weak tropical depression while located about east of Yap. Shortly thereafter, the JTWC followed suit by issuing a tropical cyclone formation alert. The depression tracked steadily westward, followed by a turn to the northwest on July 31 under the influence of a mid-level ridge to its east. It continued to organize, and at 1200 UTC on July 31 it intensified into Tropical Storm Matsa; the depression was unofficially classified a tropical storm six hours earlier by the JTWC. Additionally, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) named the system Tropical Storm Gorio, due to its location within the administration's area of responsibility.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon%20Matsa
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Typhoon Matsa
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In Zhejiang, where Matsa made landfall, high storm tides occurred along the coastline. In some areas, water levels rose quickly, with some coastal homes experiencing flooding from the tide. Rough seas off of Ningbo capsized a fishing boat, leaving its three occupants missing. About two-thirds of the province reported more than of rainfall, resulting in flooding in low-lying areas as well as several mudslides, one of which killed two people. The combined effects of the winds and rains destroyed 21 reservoirs and more than of embankment, and damaged several water stations. Matsa damaged of crops, with around of cropland destroyed from the flooding. About 13,000 houses were destroyed in the province. Throughout Zhejiang, Matsa caused $8.9 billion (2005 CNY, $1.1 billion 2005 USD) in damage and five direct fatalities.
Heavy rainfall in Shanghai flooded 84 city streets; in some locations insufficient water drainage left homes and apartments flooded, with a total of 20,000 houses reporting flooding. The flooding also closed the city subway system for a few hours. Strong winds downed 2,700 trees and 400 power lines in the city. The typhoon damaged a construction site in the city, leaving three injured and one person killed. Throughout the city an estimated 15,000 houses were destroyed. Additionally, four people were electrocuted as a result of the flooding. In Shanghai alone, damage totaled $1.33 billion (2005 CNY, $164.5 million 2005 USD); seven people died in the city.
Despite the anticipated effects, Beijing experienced only light rainfall. Throughout China, over 31 million people were affected in over eight provinces. Typhoon Matsa left the agricultural industry severely impacted, with over damaged. The combination of its winds and flooding damaged around 200,000 buildings, including a total of 59,000 destroyed houses. Damage in the country totaled about $18 billion (2005 CNY, $2.23 billion 2005 USD).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon%20Matsa
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Typhoon Matsa
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Aftermath
Subsequent to the passage of the typhoon in Taiwan, large quantities of mud and impurities entered and polluted the Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City), the county's primary source of water. Severe cloudiness occurred in the water, and at one time the reservoir recorded 25,000 nephelometric turbidity units. Such facilities are unable to operate with mud in the water, and in response, the Taiwan Water Corporation established temporary water stations to alleviate the situation, and the Pingting Water Treatment Plant worked to treat the problem. Furthermore, officials drilled wells to accommodate the shortage. Water supply in the southern portion of Taoyuan County was restored by five days after the storm, with supply restored to the northern portion of the county by ten days after the passage of the typhoon. The same problem had occurred previously after Typhoon Mindulle in July 2004. As a result of the crop damage, the Taiwan Council of Agriculture opened its reserve of frozen vegetables to prevent overharvesting of the existing crops. Despite the measures, crop prices reached record levels, which led to groups calling out for the government to stabilize the price of foods. In reaction, a member of the Council of Agriculture remarked that "vegetable prices [were] expected to go back to normal gradually ... as supplies increase[d]." The passage of the typhoon left hundreds of residents in Hsinchu County isolated from the outside world for four days. As a result, officials deployed helicopters with rescue supplies and returned with the injured. Aid from one internal organization totaled $NT300,000 (2005 TWD, $9,500 2005 USD). Shortly after the effects of the typhoon ended on the island, work began to repair and rebuild the impacted bridges and roads. Electricians quickly began restoring power across northern Taiwan; by the day after the typhoon's passage, the number of houses without power decreased by 90%.
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10674650
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle%20of%20Araure
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Battle of Araure
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The Battle of Araure was fought during the short-lived Second Republic of Venezuela on 5 December 1813, in the city of Araure in Portuguesa State, Venezuela. Simon Bolivar's force defeated General José Ceballos.
Prelude
After the Admirable Campaign, Simón Bolívar had reconquered the capital Caracas in August 1813, but large area's of Venezuela remained under Royalist control.
The Spanish Governor of Coro Province, José Ceballos, had gathered 1,300 soldiers and advanced towards Valencia. He was joined by the 2,500 men under command of José Antonio Yáñez and defeated a Patriot force in the Battle of Tierrita Blanca on 10 November. Bolivar, summoned all the men that he could, and advanced to meet Ceballos, what occurred near a place called Araure.
The battle
The actual battle began early in the morning of 5 December and lasted for around six hours. It was clear that the Royalist troops were numerically superior to the Venezuelan Patriots. The Royalists had a total of 3,500 to 5,000 (depending upon the source) soldiers, while the patriots had some 3,000 men. Despite the superiority of the Royalists, the Patriots would go on to win the battle.
Bolivar would later tell his troops:
Your valor has earned yesterday a name for your corps, and through the midst of the fighting, when I saw you succeed, I named you the Victorious Battalion of Araure. You removed the enemy's flags in the moment of your victory; you have earned the famous, invincible call of Numancia.
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10674660
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apor%C3%A1
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Aporá
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Aporá is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.
The city population was 17 085 and its area is 572 km2 (29.36 inhabitants per km2) according to the 2002 census. Aporá was emancipated from the municipality of Inhambupe on 14 August 1958 by municipal Resolution 89, and Aporá was created by Resolution 1021, signed on the same date.
To the north it is bordered by Crisópolis, to the south and west by Inhambupe, to the east by Esplanada, the northeast by Acajutiba, the northwest by Olindina and the southeast by Entre Rios.
Folklore
Two books recounting histories, legends and stories about Aporá have been published. One was a work written by the pupils of the city's Golden College, titled "Basic Information on Aporá", and the other is called "Ao Lusco Fusco" (At Twilight), from author Selma Oliveira de Mendonça, in which she describes the origins of the name "Aporá" and presents traditional legends and customs of the city. A famous legend in the local folklore is the "Serpent of the Lagoon", the story of a newborn rejected by its mother, who throws it in a lagoon, and later summoned by a priest to come out of the waters, raising instead as a fire-breathing serpent that attacks the neglectful mother.
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10674663
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith%20Ellen%20Foster
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Judith Ellen Foster
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Judith Ellen Horton Foster (November 3, 1840 – August 11, 1910) was an American lecturer, temperance worker, suffragist, and lawyer. She is thought to be the first woman in Iowa who was actually engaged in practice and the fourth woman admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Iowa. In her time she was known as "The Iowa Lawyer".
Early life
Judith Ellen Horton was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on November 3, 1840. Her father was Rev. Jotham Horton (1798–1853), a Methodist preacher and abolitionist, and her mother was Judith Delano (1799–1847). On both parents' sides, she descended from the English Puritans who migrated to New England in the 1630s. Jotham Horton descended from Barnabas Horton (1600–1680) and his son Joseph Horton (1625–1696); the Hortons were originally from Leicestershire, England, and immigrated to America on the ship Swallow, captained by Jeremy Horton. They settled at Hampton, New Hampshire, but soon moved to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1640, and lastly at Southold, Long Island. Judith Delano descended from the De Lannoy family; the Fortune ship which replaced another ship, the Speedwell, arrived from England and sailed to Plymouth Colony in early July 1621, arriving on November 9, 1621, with Philippe De Lannoy among its passengers.
A radical abolitionist in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Jotham Horton withdrew and entered the antislavery Wesleyan Church. His eldest son, Jotham W. Horton, was killed by a mob on August 5, 1866, after the New Orleans Race Riot of July 30, 1866. At the time, he was pastor of the Coloseum Place Church.
Judith Horton was educated in public school and then at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, New York. Her parents died when she was still at the seminary, after which she went to live with her sister in Boston and became a teacher.
Career
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10674663
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith%20Ellen%20Foster
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Judith Ellen Foster
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After her second marriage in 1869, she studied law and was admitted to the bar at Clinton, Iowa, in 1872. She occasionally helped her husband in trial cases and is thought to be the first woman in Iowa who was actually engaged in practice. She was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Iowa on October 20, 1875, the fourth woman admitted to practice before that tribunal. At first, she practiced alone, but afterwards, formed a partnership with her husband. She followed the legal profession for a number of years. In her time, she was known as "The Iowa Lawyer".
Foster was a Methodist and joined the temperance workers when the crusade opened. Her home in Clinton was burned, presumably by opponents of temperance. As a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, she served as superintendent of the legislative department. Her knowledge of law enabled her to help the movement for the adoption of constitutional amendments in the various states aimed at securing the prohibition of the sale and manufacture of alcoholic liquors. She wrote a pamphlet on the legal bearings of the question. She was popular and successful as a lecturer: the DeWitt Observer reported on June 5, 1874, that "one of the best temperance lectures we ever listened to was delivered in the M. E. Church last Sabbath evening by Mrs. Foster of Clinton. The house was filled to overflowing. The audience was delighted with the lecture."
In 1887, Foster visited Europe, where she studied the temperance question. In England, she addressed large audiences. Returning to the United States, she took part in the International Council of Women in Washington. She published the Constitutional Amendment Manual (1882) and a number of pamphlets and magazine articles on temperance.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith%20Ellen%20Foster
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Judith Ellen Foster
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Foster was a pronounced suffragist. She maintained that no organization had the right to pledge the influence of its members to any other organization for any purpose. Her views naturally led her to affiliate with the Non-Partisan National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and she served that body for several years as corresponding secretary, having her office in Boston. She served her own state union as corresponding secretary and president for many years.
In 1900, Foster was with the Taft Commission in the Philippines to study the conditions of women and children there. Attorney General George W. Wickersham appointed her a member of a committee to investigate conditions in Federal prisons. As a representative of the American Red Cross, Foster and Clara Barton were sent to St. Petersburg by Secretary of State John Hay in 1902. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed her to study conditions of women and child workers throughout the nation. In 1907, she was appointed a special agent of the Department of Justice, and in 1908 she advocated the addition of a women's wing to the Federal prison at Fort Leavenworth.
For many years Foster was the president of the Women's Republican Association and an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Young Women's Christian Association.
Personal life
On March 14, 1860, she married Addison Avery Jr. (1837–1913) in Boston. They had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who died at the age of 5, and one son, William Horton Avery (1863–1946), who later changed the name to Foster. The marriage with Avery ended in divorce.
While in Chicago doing mission work, Horton met Elijah Caleb Foster (1844–1906), a lawyer. Horton moved to Clinton, Iowa, where on July 25, 1869, she married Foster. They had one son, Emory Miller Foster (1870–1907). Two daughters died young.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent%20curriculum
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Emergent curriculum
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The facilitator role for the teacher involves careful observations of the children and their play as well as flexibility and creativity in order to develop learning opportunities that align with their interests (Cassidy et al., 2003; Crowther, 2005; Jones & Reynolds, 2011; Stacey, 2009a/2011b; Machlachlan et al., 2013; Wein, 2008; Wright, 1997). Carolyn Edwards notes: “The teachers honestly do not know where the group will end up. Although this openness adds a dimension of difficulty to their work, it also makes it more exciting.” (Edwards, Gandini & Foreman, 1993, pp. 159). Teachers act as researchers who are constantly collecting data, implementing strategies and assessing their outcomes (MachLachlan et al., 2013; Stacey, 2009). Success in implementing emergent curriculum requires that the teacher have a curious disposition about children and their learning (Stacey, 2009).
It is the role of the teacher to be a participant-observer in the children's play (Wright, 1997). These programs give power to children's voices and are consistently scaffolding their learning (Stacey, 2009). The teacher is constantly going through the process of observing and documenting, planning learning experiences, implementing plans, documenting and beginning the cycle again (Crowther, 2005; MachLachlan et al., 2013; Stacey, 2009a/ 2011b).
In these emergent curriculum settings, teachers will often implement some educational initiatives For example, learning is viewed as a process-oriented experience where children are praised for their effort rather than the final product (Stacey, 2011; Wright, 1997). Additionally, children in these settings are given options and choice about how they wish to spend their time, choose their activities and utilize learning centres (Stacey, 2009). This is believed to develop curiosity, initiative, self-direction and persistence (MachLachlan et al., 2013).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent%20curriculum
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Emergent curriculum
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Changes in curriculum
Because the emergent curriculum is continually changing, developing and growing, teachers need to allot time to reflect on their observations and strategies implemented (Stacey 2009a/2011b). One way to engage in reflection is through discussion with colleagues (Stacey, 2009). Reflection allows the teacher to think about what happens next in the child's learning, how to proceed, and what to look for in future observations (Stacey, 2011).
Teachers must be aware of their own knowledge and where it is lacking. This type of environment can lead to investigations in an unlimited number of directions (Crowther, 2005). Teachers are also individuals with interests and passions, and sharing these with the class can provide a great opportunity to model knowledge and enthusiasm (MachLachlan et al., 2013).
Emergent curriculum programs are meant to be culturally responsive and inclusive in nature, so that all children are able to work at their own pace (Crowther, 2005). To help facilitate this, teachers follow the children's lead, expand on their interests, provide meaningful and developmentally appropriate materials, and promote independent learning skills (Crowther, 2005; Stacey, 2009; Wien, 2008).
Planning an emergent curriculum
Activities
Once teachers see an interest “emerging” among their students, they brainstorm ways to study the topic in depth.
From these observations and brainstorming, the teacher comes up with activities that complement and build upon the emerging interest, with opportunities for play at multiple ability levels.
Once activities have been implemented, the teacher observes the children's use of them, constantly modifying them to accommodate increasing interest or change in direction of the learning.
The teacher documents these observations and reflects on the effectiveness of the activities.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent%20curriculum
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Emergent curriculum
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Then the process begins again. The teacher may be at different levels of this planning cycle for multiple activities or learning outcomes at once (Cassidy et al., 2003; Crowther, 2005; Jones & Reynolds, 2011; Stacey, 2009a/2011b; Machlachlan et al., 2013; Wein, 2008; Wright, 1997).
Learning plans
In emergent curriculum settings, learning plans are often more of a loose outline. This because success in the program often generates spontaneous deterrence by students to plans to support engagement (MachLachlan et al., 2013; Stacey, 2009).
Webbing is often used for planning because of its flexible nature. A web doesn't show everything that will be learned, it shows many things that could be learned as well as connections to curriculum expectations (MachLachlan et al., 2013). However, it is important to use the web as a tool to open the teacher to possibilities not a “plan.” Teachers brainstorm many possibilities for study sparked from the particular interest, not as a plan but more as a ‘road map’ as one teacher put it:
To get a plan, we chose an idea and brainstormed ways that children could play it – hands-on activities we could provide. Putting all the activities on a web gives you a road map full of possible journeys. (Jones p. 129)
An idea for a curriculum topic may be sparked by things, people, events in the environment, issues that arise in the classroom, etc. (MachLachlan et al., 2013; Stacey, 2009).
For instance, a teacher may overhear a group of students having a discussion about insects that leads to the class sitting down and coming up with a web topic that explores all the possible directions the class could go in to learn about insects. Ideas may also be sparked by offering experiences like a walk in the neighborhood, visiting local businesses, or reading books.
Classrooms
For emergent curriculum, classrooms are often organized into core curriculum areas, where activities may have a curricular theme while following student interest (Crowther, 2005).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergent%20curriculum
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Emergent curriculum
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Documentation for planning
Use of webs and other graphic organizers can be a good way to demonstrate how the students are being exposed to curriculum expectations and brainstorm related ideas (MachLachlan et al., 2013; Stacey, 2009). Keeping track of interest paths that develop in the classroom can help teachers demonstrate the process of learning, revise and reflect on it and develop future directions (Stacey, 2009).
Each learning or interest centre in the classroom usually has its own plan, as well as activities facilitated by the teacher (Stacey, 2011).
Documentation for Students
Emergent curriculum involved students being collaborative partners in their learning (Stacey, 2009), therefore it is important to incorporate children in displaying and documenting their learning (; Stacey, 2009; Wright, 1997). Some strategies teachers can use for this are:
audio and visual recordings
samples of children's work
photos
learning logs
display boards (Stacey, 2009).
These approaches can help students develop pride in their work, show off skills to parents/guardians, and display their interests (Crowther, 2005). These processes are not static, rather these projects grow as learning develops (Crowther, 2005).
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10674680
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumitomo%20Electric%20Industries
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Sumitomo Electric Industries
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Sumitomo Electric produced optical fiber well ahead of other manufacturers, taking note of the product's great capacity for voluminous, speedy, and assured data transmission, ideal for the advanced information age that was to come. In 1986, Sumitomo Electric developed Z-fiber, pure silica core fiber with the world's lowest transmission loss. This has supported the construction of optical communication networks, such as its wide use in many submarine cables. Sumitomo Electric's optical fibers ranks among the best in optical transmission networks and optical communication devices.
Electronics
The Sumitomo Electric Group's electronics division supplies various products to manufacturers of smartphones, flat-screen televisions, and other highly advanced electronic goods. Products include base material, wiring, and components for compact and lightweight devices with high functionality, such as flexible printed circuits (FPCs), electronic wires, heat-shrinkable tubing, fine polymer products, and compound semiconductors. Capitalizing on compound semiconductor development and manufacturing-knowledge accumulated over many years, Sumitomo Electric succeeded in developing and mass-producing the world's first gallium nitride substances. Sumitomo Electric also continues to be the leading manufacturer of composite semiconductors (GaAs, GaN, InP), which are widely used in semiconductor lasers, LEDs, and mobile telecommunications devices.
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10674742
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward%20Cowie
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Edward Cowie
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Edward Cowie (born 17 August 1943) is an Australian composer, author, natural scientist, and painter.
Life
Edward Cowie was born in England in 1943, and spent most of his early life in the rural countryside of Suffolk and then The Cotswolds. This first-hand experience of nature was to have a profound influence on his life and work. In 1964, he began composition studies with Alexander Goehr and in 1971 he won a Chopin Fellowship to study with Witold Lutosławski in Poland. He also came under the influence of Michael Tippett, who remained a close friend and mentor.
Early recognition came with the 1975 BBC Proms commission Leviathan for large orchestra, and this was followed by a string of festival commissions and recordings. Major works from this period include Gesangbuch (1975-6), the Piano Concerto (1976-7) and Concerto for Orchestra (1982), as well as the opera Commedia (1976-7).
In 1983, Cowie was awarded the first Granada Composer Fellowship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. He remained with the orchestra for three years and worked with them as both composer and conductor. He subsequently worked as a conductor with several major orchestras and ensembles in Britain and Australia. Among works from this time are the Clarinet Concerto (1978), Choral Symphony (1983), Atlas (1986), Cello Concerto (1993, revised 2003) and several pieces inspired by the Australian folk-hero Ned Kelly.
In 1995, after twelve years in Australia he returned to England to live .
Cowie returned to Australia to live in 2023 and now lives and works in Armidale, NSW
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10674776
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egardus
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Egardus
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Egardus (; also Engardus or Johannes Echgaerd) was a European Medieval composer of ars subtilior. Almost no information survives about his life, and only three of his works are known. A certain "Johannes Ecghaerd", who held chaplaincies in Bruges and Diksmuide, may be a possible match for Egardus. The extant works—a canon and two Glorias—appear to be less complex than music by mid-century composers, possibly because they date from either very early or very late in Egardus' career.
Identity and career
Little is known with certainty about his life. The enigma of his biography stems from a difficulty in knowing whether he was Flemish or Italian. A northern origin is suggested by his name, a copy of one of his works in a Flemish manuscript, and a possible citation of his music by Thomas Fabri. But with only one other exception, all of his works are found in Northern Italian manuscripts, and that exception, a Polish manuscript, has strong Italian connections. The most important biographical research on the composer was conducted by Reinhard Strohm, who notes that it was more common for Northern works (and composers) to travel to Italy than the opposite.
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10674791
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-field%20electromagnetic%20ranging
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Near-field electromagnetic ranging
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Near-field electromagnetic ranging (NFER) refers to any radio technology employing the near-field properties of radio waves as a Real Time Location System (RTLS).
Overview
Near-field electromagnetic ranging is an emerging RTLS technology that employs transmitter tags and one or more receiving units. Operating within a half-wavelength of a receiver, transmitter tags must use relatively low frequencies (less than 30 MHz) to achieve significant ranging. Depending on the choice of frequency, NFER has the potential for range resolution of and ranges up to .
Technical Discussion
The phase relations between the EH components of an electro-magnetic field ((E and H are the components E=electric and H=magnetic)) vary with distance around small antennas. This was first discovered by Heinrich Hertz and is formulated with Maxwell's field theory.
Close to a small antenna, the electric and magnetic field components of a radio wave are 90 degrees out of phase. As the distance from the antenna increases, the EH phase difference decreases. Far from a small antenna in the far-field, the EH phase difference goes to zero. Thus a receiver that can separately measure the electric and magnetic field components of a near-field signal and compare their phases can measure the range to the transmitter.
Advantages
NFER technology is a different approach for locating systems. It has several inherent advantages over other RTLS systems.
First, no signal modulation is required, so baseband signals with an arbitrarily small bandwidth may be used for ranging.
Second, precise synchronization is not required between different receivers: in fact, a local range measurement can be made with just a single receiver.
Third, since EH phase differences are preserved when a signal is down-converted to baseband, high range precision may be achieved with relatively low time precision.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula%20One%3A%20Built%20to%20Win
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Formula One: Built to Win
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Formula One: Built to Win is a 1990 racing video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Winkysoft and published by SETA Corporation.
It was one of the first racing games to feature a career mode, multiple vehicles and an opportunity for the player to increase the performance of their in-game car through car tuning. These were unique elements for a racer of the NES era and a genre only truly revisited during the fifth generation of game consoles where games such as Gran Turismo became popular.
Races start out as single-lap events, but become double-lap events as the player begins racing against more experienced competition in places like Las Vegas, Nevada and Hawaii. With gameplay similar to Rad Racer and Pole Position, the driver races towards the back of the screen.
The names of the opponents are chosen partially at random; they can also vary because of the ranking level of the course and the type of vehicle used. Like in Rad Racer, the player can supercharge an automobile to go up to .
Gameplay
Once a username has been entered, the player must start the game driving a Mini Cooper without an international racing license. From there, the player must earn the rankings needed to acquire better performing vehicles and automobile parts. These cars consist of the Vector W2, the Ferrari F40 and finally a Formula-1 race car; most of the game is driven with these vehicles.
Drivers must also be prepared to negotiate their way through civilian traffic (green) and other racers (blue), both of which resemble the car that the player is currently driving. For example, the Mini Cooper-based opponents appear to be 1990 Volkswagen Beetles.
Managing a racing career
The player starts in New York and must work towards the West Coast. All of the tracks that make up the Formula One portion of the game are actual tracks from around the world. Elements from the 1990 and 1991 Formula One seasons were included in this game.
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10674821
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmons%20Tower
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Simmons Tower
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Simmons Bank Tower is a 40-story skyscraper located at 425 West Capitol Avenue in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. At high, it is the tallest building in Arkansas.
Construction
The new tower was born out of discussions between two ascending business executives, John Flake, a Little Rock real estate developer, and Jerry Maulden, president of Arkansas Power & Light (now Entergy). Construction began in 1984 on the $72 million building, and in 1986 the building was completed and dubbed The Capitol Tower. Currently, the namesake tenant, Simmons Bank, is headquartered in the tower with presence in various markets of Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Tennessee. Kelley Commercial Partners, the current name of the development firm of the tower, performs the management and leasing of the tower, and the Doyle Rogers Company is the special asset manager.
The building was renamed Simmons Tower in April 2014.
History
Once construction finished in 1986, the building was opened and named Capitol Tower. Upon completion it became the tallest building in Arkansas, taking the record by 92 feet (28 m) from its neighbor the Regions Center (formerly First National Bank Building) located across the street. The tower has held this record ever since.
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10674838
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward%20Rumsey
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Edward Rumsey
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Edward Rumsey (November 5, 1796 – April 6, 1868) was a United States representative from Kentucky.
Background
Rumsey was born to Dr. Edward Rumsey in Botetourt County, Virginia. When the younger Rumsey was still a child, Dr. Rumsey moved the family to Christian County, Kentucky. Studying under Daniel Barry, he completed preparatory studies in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He studied law under John J. Crittenden, with whom he became lifelong friends. He moved to Greenville, Kentucky where he was admitted to the bar and practiced in Muhlenberg and surrounding counties.
Biography
Rumsey was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1822. The major questions during his tenure were those connected to the Old Court-New Court controversy.
On January 5, 1832, Rumsey married Jane Merrihew Wing. The couple had two children.
Rumsey was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth Congress, serving from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839. On February 9, 1839, he gave an impassioned speech on the House floor regarding a resolution to recognize his uncle, James Rumsey, as the inventor of the steamboat and to present a gold medal to his cousin, his uncle's only child. The resolution unanimously passed the House, but failed in the Senate.
In spring 1838, both Rumsey's young children contracted scarlet fever and died. Overwhelmed with sorrow, he retired from public life at the end of his congressional term. After leaving Congress, he again resumed the practice of his profession. He died in Greenville, Kentucky in 1868 and was buried in the Old Caney Station Cemetery, near Greenville, Kentucky.
Honors
According to historian Otto Rothert, the town of Rumsey in McLean County, Kentucky was to be named after Edward Rumsey. Out of modesty, Rumsey declined, after which the citizens agreed to a compromise whereby the town would be called Rumsey and officially be named in honor of James Rumsey.
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10674841
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%20Shiji
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Li Shiji
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Li Shiji (594? – December 31, 669), courtesy name Maogong, posthumously known as Duke Zhenwu of Ying, was a Chinese military general and politician who lived in the early Tang dynasty. His original family name was Xú, but he was later given the family name of the Tang imperial clan, Li, by Emperor Gaozu, the Tang dynasty's founding emperor. Later, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Li Shiji was known as Li Ji (i.e. the "Shi" in his name was omitted) to avoid naming taboo because the personal name of Emperor Gaozong's predecessor, Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin), had the same Chinese character "Shi". Li Shiji is also referred to as Xu Maogong (his original family name and his courtesy name combined) and Xu Ji in the historical novels and .
Li Shiji was initially a follower of Li Mi, one of the rebel rulers rebelling against the preceding Sui dynasty, and he submitted to the Tang Empire after Li Mi did so, upon which Emperor Gaozu, impressed with his loyalty to Li Mi, granted him the imperial family name "Li". He later participated in destroying Xu Yuanlang and Fu Gongshi, two of the Tang Empire's competitors in the campaign to reunify China. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu's son and successor, Emperor Taizong, Li Shiji participated in the successful campaigns against the Göktürks and Xueyantuo, allowing the Tang Empire to become the dominant power in eastern Asia, and also served as a chancellor. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, he served as chancellor and the commander of the army against Goguryeo, destroying it in 668. He died the next year. He and Li Jing were considered the two most prominent early Tang generals.
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10674841
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%20Shiji
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Li Shiji
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Early life
Xu Shiji was probably born in 594. His clan was originally from Cao Province (, roughly modern Heze, Shandong), but late in the Sui dynasty moved to Hua Province (, roughly modern Anyang, Henan). Xu Shiji's father Xu Gai () was a member of the landed gentry, and both he and Xu Shiji were said to be generous, using the food yields of their land to help others regardless of whether those were related to them.
Service under Zhai Rang and Li Mi
Around 616, Zhai Rang gathered a group of men to resist the rule of Emperor Yang. Xu Shiji joined Zhai, and suggested to him that instead of pillaging the people of the region, which Zhai had done to maintain himself and his own men, it was inappropriate to be robbing people of their homeland. Rather, he suggested that, as there were plenty of travellers on the Grand Canal, they should rob travellers instead. Zhai agreed, and their pillaging raids instead targeted travellers and official messengers. Many people joined Zhai, and when the key Sui general Zhang Xutuo (), who had defeated many agrarian rebels, attacked, Xu killed Zhang in battle late in 616, allowing Zhai to become even more acclaimed. Around this time, he also became close friends with another general under Zhai, Shan Xiongxin (), swearing to be brothers and to die on the same day.
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10674841
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%20Shiji
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Li Shiji
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Meanwhile, Li Mi, the strategist for the Sui general Yang Xuangan, who unsuccessfully rebelled against Emperor Yang in 613, was visiting rebel generals in the region, seeking to sell his grand strategy to destroy Sui. As Li Mi was of noble birth, and there had been prophecies that the next emperor would be named Li, there began to be thoughts among the rebels that Li might be destined to be the next emperor. Xu Shiji and another close associate of Zhai's, Wang Bodang (), thus persuaded Zhai to support Li Mi as leader. Zhai agreed, and after the victory over Zhang, the rebels approached the eastern capital Luoyang and declared Li Mi their leader, with the title of Duke of Wei. Xu was given a major general title, while Zhai served as prime minister. After Xu achieved a victory over the Sui general Wang Shichong, whom Emperor Yang had sent to reinforce Luoyang, Li Mi created Xu the Duke of Donghai. At Xu's suggestion, Li Mi captured a major food storage—Liyang Storage (, in modern Hebi, Henan)—and after doing so, opened up the storage to allow people in the region suffering from famines to take food. As a result, more than 200,000 men joined Li Mi within about 10 days, and a number of commanderies submitted to him, including the major rebel generals Dou Jiande and Zhu Can.
In winter 617, with a conflict between Li Mi and Zhai intensifying, Li Mi set an ambush for Zhai at a feast held for him, killing him, his brother Zhai Hong (), his nephew Zhai Mohou (), and his strategist Wang Ruxin (). During the ambush, Xu was injured in his neck and nearly died. Li Mi, declared, however, that his intention was only to execute Zhai Rang, and no one other than the Zhai clan was to worry. He personally attended to Xu's injuries, and had Xu, Shan, and Wang Bodang take over Zhai's troops.
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10674841
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%20Shiji
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Li Shiji
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After Emperor Taizong took the throne, he made Li Shiji the commandant at Bing Prefecture (, roughly modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). In 629, when Emperor Taizong launched a major attack against Eastern Tujue's Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi (a.k.a. Jieli Khan or Illig Qaghan), commanded by Li Jing, Li Shiji was one of the major generals under Li Jing's command and was in charge of one of the four prongs of attack. In spring 630, after Li Shiji defeated Eastern Tujue forces at Baidao (, in modern Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) and after Li Jing defeated Ashina Duobi's main forces and forced Ashina Duobi to flee, he met with Li Jing and decided to, despite the fact that Ashina Duobi claimed to then seek peace, attack Ashina Duobi, defeating him again and capturing most of Ashina Duobi's remaining forces. (Ashina Duobi himself fled further and was later captured by forces under the command of Emperor Taizong's cousin Li Daozong the Prince of Rencheng County.)
Meanwhile, as Emperor Taizong's son Li Zhi the Prince of Jin was made the nominal commandant of Bing Prefecture (but did not actually report to Bing), Li Shiji's title became the secretary general of Bing, but he continued to effectively serve as commandant. In 637, as part of Emperor Taizong's scheme to bestow prefectures on his relatives and great generals and officials as their permanent domains, Li Shiji's title was changed to Duke of Ying, and he was given the post of prefect of Qi Prefecture (, roughly modern Huanggang, Hubei), to be inherited by his heirs, but Li Shiji remained at Bing and did not actually report to Qi. Soon, however, with many objections to the system, the strongest of which came from Zhangsun Wuji, Emperor Taizong cancelled the scheme, although Li Shiji's title remained Duke of Ying. In 641, when discussing about Li Shiji, whom historical accounts indicated that the people obeyed without complaints, Emperor Taizong made the comment:
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10674841
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%20Shiji
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Li Shiji
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In 643, when Emperor Taizong commissioned the Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion to commemorate the 24 great contributors to Tang rule, Li Shiji's was one of the portraits commissioned. In spring of that year, when Emperor Taizong's son Li You () the Prince of Qi, angry at his secretary general Quan Wanji (), killed Quan and then declared a rebellion, Emperor Taizong sent Li Shiji to attack Li You, although even before Li Shiji's forces arrived, Li You's subordinates captured him. Subsequently, in summer 643, when Li Chengqian the Crown Prince, was revealed to have plotted to overthrow Emperor Taizong, as he was fearful that Emperor Taizong would replace him with his brother Li Tai the Prince of Wei, Emperor Taizong had Li Shiji, along with other key officials Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Xiao Yu, as well as officials in charge of the supreme court, the legislative bureau, and the examination bureau, investigate. They confirmed Li Chengqian's guilt. Emperor Taizong thus deposed Li Chengqian and, believing that Li Tai's machinations were responsible for Li Chengqian's downfall, also demoted Li Tai and exiled them both, creating Li Zhi crown prince instead. Li Shiji was given the additional title as the new crown prince's head of household, and was also given a newly created title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin (), which title designated him as a chancellor de facto.
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10674841
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%20Shiji
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Li Shiji
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He then demoted Li Shiji to the post of the commandant of Die Prefecture (, roughly modern Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu). Li Shiji, after receiving the order, departed without hesitation. The modern historian Bo Yang, commenting on this incident, opined that this showed that, down inside, neither Li Shiji nor Emperor Taizong actually trusted each other, as Li Shiji was too capable for Emperor Taizong's liking. Another explanation is that the Taizong was playing an age-old trick to test Li Shiji's loyalty. While he's alive, he was able to handle Li Shiji; he was afraid that his son would not be able to do so after his death. He intentionally demoted Li Shiji to test his response. If Li Shiji showed any hesitation or unhappiness, he would have been executed and the new emperor would not have to deal with him. If Li Shiji didn't show any emotion about the demotion, the new emperor can promote him to show he liked him so Li Shiji would be loyal to him. This turned out to be a bad move. Years later, when Gaozong tried to make Wu Zetian () his empress against the opposition of most high officials, Li Shiji decisively put the issue in Wu Zetian's favor by saying that's an internal issue of Gaozong.) Nine days later, Emperor Taizong died and was succeeded by Li Zhi (as Emperor Gaozong).
During Emperor Gaozong's reign
Almost immediately after taking the throne, Emperor Gaozong promoted Li Shiji to be the general in charge of Luoyang. (As Emperor Gaozong also, at the same time, declared naming taboo was to be observed as to the characters shi and min (Emperor Taizong, as his name had two common characters, previously only ordered that naming taboo was to be observed against the use of shimin consecutively), thereafter, Li Shiji became known as Li Ji.) Almost as immediately, Emperor Gaozong repromoted him back to the post of chancellor de facto. He then further made him Puye (Executive State Secretary).
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10674867
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert%20Anderson%20%28Revolutionary%20War%29
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Robert Anderson (Revolutionary War)
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At the Battle of Cowpens, Anderson was a colonel under Brigadier General Andrew Pickens. Anderson also served under Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. He fought in the Battle of Eutaw Springs in which the British were victorious. Later, his regiment held the line against the British between Augusta, Georgia, and Ninety Six.
On the western frontier, he fought with Andrew Pickens against the Cherokees. A treaty signed in 1777 ceded most of the Cherokee lands in the present Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties.
After the war, Anderson was promoted to the rank of general in the state militia.
Political career
He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1791 to 1794 and from 1801 to 1802 from the Pendleton District. He was an elder of the Old Stone Church. In 1800, he was elector for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
He owned in the current Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties including his home, Westville, on the west side of the Seneca River across from Andrew Pickens' home, Hopewell.
Death and legacy
He died at his home on January 9, 1813. A flood prevented his burial at Old Stone Church, and he was buried on his estate. During the construction of Lake Hartwell, his body was reinterred at Old Stone Church.
The ghost town of Andersonville, the City of Anderson, and Anderson County were named for him.
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10674899
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%20J.%20Hecht
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Jacob J. Hecht
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Jacob J. Hecht (1924 – August 5, 1990), known occasionally as Rabbi JJ, was the assistant and translator of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Shneerson (the Lubavitcher Rebbe), and a leading Chabad rabbi, educator, writer and radio commentator.
Early life
Hecht was born in 1924 in Brownsville, Brooklyn. He was one of six brothers, all of whom became prominent Lubavitcher Chassidim. Hecht received rabbinical ordination from the Lubavitcher Yeshiva and, in 1947, was appointed head of Congregation Rabbi Meyer Simcha HaCohen in East Flatbush, a role he held for over four decades.
Leadership and Community Involvement
Hecht served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Meir Simcha Hakohen in East Flatbush and held the position of executive vice president of the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education for 44 years. Hecht co-founded the Hadar Hatorah Rabbinical College for Men with Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson and served as its dean. The yeshiva was later renamed in his memory. Additionally, Hecht served as vice president of the Iranian Jewish Children’s Fund and founded the Ivy League Torah Study Program.
Hecht was also the official translator for Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, providing live English translations of the Rebbe’s Yiddish radio discourses. He worked as a commentator on WEVD-AM radio.
Camp Emunah
In 1953, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson encouraged Hecht to purchase a facility and establish Camp Emunah, the first overnight Lubavitch children’s camp. Since its founding, the camp has expanded significantly, now offering more than half a dozen summer programs and hosting over 600 girls annually. Over the past 65 years, it has served more than 100,000 participants.
Author
He wrote two books: Brimstone and Fire and Essays on Judaism.
Personal life
Hecht was married to Chava Hecht (née Lasker) who was the longtime director of Camp Emunah in the Catskills. She died in February 2022 at the age of 95.
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10675152
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed%20Andrews
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Ed Andrews
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George Edward Andrews (April 5, 1859 – August 12, 1934) was an American professional baseball player. He was a right-handed second baseman and outfielder over parts of eight seasons (1884–1891) with the Philadelphia Quakers, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Brooklyn Ward's Wonders and Cincinnati Kelly's Killers. He was the National League stolen base champion in 1886 with Philadelphia. For his career, he compiled a .257 batting average, with 278 RBIs, 602 runs scored, and 205 stolen bases.
Early life
Eddy Andrews was born in Painesville, Ohio. His father had been a boat captain on the Great Lakes. Andrews was an alumnus of Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University). He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Playing career
Andrews played for the Philadelphia Quakers of the NL between 1884 and 1889. In 1886, the first year in which the stolen base was recorded, Andrews led the NL in the category. He married Mary Frances Kirby in 1888; she was friends with the daughters of Harry Wright, who was Andrews' manager in Philadelphia. In August 1889, he was purchased by the NL's Indianapolis Hoosiers.
Andrews was involved in the Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players, which was the first professional sports players union. The Brotherhood created the Players' League (PL) before the 1890 season; the league tried to compete with the NL as a major baseball league. Andrews played for the PL's Brooklyn Ward's Wonders. Other than John Montgomery Ward (the player who organized the PL), Andrews was the only player to own shares in the team. The league folded after a single season.
In 1891, Andrews' last year as a major league player, he participated in the final season of another league, the American Association. Andrews played for the league's Cincinnati Kelly's Killers until the team released him at the end of July. Andrews' release may have been precipitated by difficulties with manager King Kelly.
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10675159
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin%20Cronyn
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Benjamin Cronyn
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The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Cronyn (11 July 1802 – 21 September 1871) was the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Huron.
Cronyn was born in Kilkenny, Ireland and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. A member of the prominent Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy Cronyn family, he emigrated to Canada in 1832. He was posted to London, Ontario, where he completed the church building started by his predecessor. In 1844 he relocated the church to a better site, now occupied by St Paul's Cathedral. When the new Diocese of Huron was created in 1857 he was elected its first bishop and travelled to London, UK to be consecrated, the last Canadian bishop required to go to Britain to do so.
A noted Low Church cleric, he distrusted what he considered to be the romanizing tendencies of Toronto's Trinity College, in 1863, he founded Huron University College which in 1908 grew into the secularised University of Western Ontario.
He died in London, Ontario in 1871. He had married in Ireland Margaret Ann Bickerstaff of Lislea, Longford with whom he had seven children. On her death he was remarried to Martha Collins. He was father to Benjamin Cronyn, Jr. a former mayor of London, Ontario. He was the father-in-law of Edward Blake, Premier of Ontario and grandfather of politician Hume Cronyn, Sr. and great-grandfather of actor Hume Cronyn, Jr. and artist Hugh Verschoyle Cronyn GM.
In 1957, a biography, entitled Benjamin Cronyn: First Bishop of Huron, was written by The Very Reverend Alfred Henchman Crowfoot and was published by The Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Huron.
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10675318
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis%20at%20Potsdam
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Nemesis at Potsdam
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Nemesis at Potsdam: The Anglo-Americans and the Expulsion of the Germans is a 1977 book by Cuban-born American lawyer Alfred-Maurice de Zayas. Its title is drawn from Greek mythology; Nemesis is the Greek goddess of revenge. The book implies that at the Potsdam Conference (17 July to 2 August 1945) the victorious Allies of World War II took revenge on the Germans, resulting in significant territorial losses in Eastern Europe and the forced transfer of some 15 million Germans from their homelands in East Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia, East Brandenburg, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.
The book is the first English language scholarly study of the expulsion of Germans after World War II. It effectively broke a taboo in the English-speaking world, and also in Germany and Austria, thus facilitating subsequent research in the subject by other scholars. The book was dedicated to Victor Gollancz, whose seminal book Our Threatened Values had inspired the author when he was a student at Harvard. In chapter VI of the book de Zayas cites Gollancz' clear condemnation of the expulsions: "If the conscience of mankind ever again becomes sensitive, these expulsions will be remembered to the undying shame of all who committed or connived at them...The Germans were expelled, not just with an absence of over-nice consideration, but with the very maximum of brutality. (Our Threatened Values, p. 96). On the basis of US and British archival documents, de Zayas shows that the Western Allies were genuinely appalled at the manner in which the Germans were being expelled and that they lodged diplomatic protest notes in Warsaw and Prague—to no avail.
The theses of Nemesis at Potsdam have been condensed into a new book, 50 Theses on the Expulsion of the Germans from Central and Eastern Europe, published in 2012 in Verlag Inspiration, London and Berlin, ...Raymond Lohne, PhD, Columbia College Chicago.
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10675321
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan%20Domingo%20de%20Monteverde
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Juan Domingo de Monteverde
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Juan Domingo de Monteverde y Rivas (born Juan Domingo de Monteverde; 2 April 1773 15 September 1832), commonly known as Domingo de Monteverde, was a Spanish soldier, governor and Captain General of Venezuela from June 1812 to 8 August 1813. Monteverde was the leader of Spanish forces in the Venezuelan War of Independence from 1812 to 1813. Monteverde led the military campaign that culminated in the fall of the First Republic of Venezuela in 1812. One year later in 1813, Monteverde was defeated by Simón Bolívar during the Admirable Campaign.
Early life and campaigns in Venezuela
Monteverde was born in the Canarian town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on 2 April 1773. With well won prestige and the rank of Frigate Captain, he was sent to Venezuela from Puerto Rico. He arrived at Coro in early March 1812 along with other Spanish marines. Monteverde was ordered by the governor of Coro, with a small force of 1550 men with soldiers and officers, to aid the small town of Siquisique, which had sent Fr. Andrés Torellas with news that it intended to defect from the Republic. As a nineteenth-century historian described, "with Spaniards and residents of Coro, a priest named Torellas, a surgeon, ten thousand cartridges, a howitzer, and ten hundredweights of food." Monteverde's military force was not prepared to begin a successful military campaign. The scarcity of resources is understandable, considering how Spain found itself fighting the Peninsular War against the Napoleonic forces in order to regain control over its own territory, and had spent the previous decade fighting mostly as an ally of France. There were no resources to send to the New World, in fact, Spain had been asking for donations and increased revenues from America.
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10675342
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac%20Hodgson
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Isaac Hodgson
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Isaac Hodgson (15 November 1828 – 24 November 1867) was an English first-class cricketer, active 1847–66, who played for Sheffield and Yorkshire.
He also appeared for the North of England (1861-1864), Yorkshire with Stockton-on-Tees (1861), United England Eleven (1863), the Players (1863) and England (1863-1865) as well as county-level below first-class for Shropshire (on one match in 1866), Northumberland and Lincolnshire.
A slow left round-arm bowler, he took 174 first-class wickets at 15.80, with a best of seven for 23 against an All England XI. He also took six for 44 against Surrey, six for 63 against Cambridgeshire and five for 59 against the South of England. He took five wickets in an innings nine times, and twice claimed ten wickets in a match. A poor right-handed batsman, Hodgson scored 329 runs at 7.47, with a top score of 32 against the South of England.
"Yorkshire", said Richard Daft some years after Hodgson's death, "has always been rich in bowlers, and one of the best was Ike Hodgson. [Wilfred] Rhodes somewhat reminds me of him. Hodgson was perhaps a trifle faster, but he also used to bowl good slows with a break. He had a very good-natured grin, and I remember once that when at Bradford (August, 1864) he got me stumped by Ned Stephenson when I had made 80, he consoled me with a smile which was broad enough to put any man in a good humour."
Hodgson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, where he died just past his 39th birthday. It is believed that there exists an epitaph on his Bradford gravestone:
Isaac Hodgson, rest his soul,
Could never bat but always bowl.
Through many years the tourists' skill
Was subjugate to Ikey's will.
They took their stance with vain defiance
Against his subtle skill and science.
Progenitor, great Almus Pater,
Bowler divine, but batting hater.
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10675370
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Domino%20Principle
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The Domino Principle
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Development
The Domino Principle was based on the sixth novel by former actor Adam Kennedy. New American Library purchased the paperback rights for $250,000 and there was considerable interest in the film rights before publication. The novel came out in 1975. The Los Angeles Times praised the book's "power and originality". The New York Times praised Kennedy as "a fine writer who maintains suspense until the end."
In November 1975 Stanley Kramer announced he had purchased the rights for a reported $250,000. Kramer said the novel "is not only an exciting adventure but also stresses that such things could happen here."
In March 1976 Kramer announced he had signed a two picture deal with Lew Grade to make the film, the first of which was to be The Domino Principle with Gene Hackman and Candice Bergen, and the second of which was to be The Sheikhs of Araby, a comedy with Sid Caesar and Don Rickles. (That film would ultimately never be made.)
Kramer said he never identified who hired the assassin or their target because "that is not the point of the picture. The point I tried to make is that there are powerful, undetected forces that affect our destiny without even us suspecting they exist."
Filming
Filming took place in April and May 1976. On the first day of location filming in San Quentin Prison, a guard was stabbed by an inmate.
Hackman later said "we had a lot of problems on that film; I had arguments with Stanley Kramer." Hackman later read a published diary written by Kramer during the making of the film which described Hackman's behavior on set. The actor called the diary "embarrassing but I have to say it was accurate. And he was probably right in his remarks about me. The film we were making just wasn't worth the difficulties I was giving him. The truth is I was in trouble on that film and I got scared."
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10675505
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systolic%20hypertension
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Systolic hypertension
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In medicine, systolic hypertension is defined as an elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP).
If the systolic blood pressure is elevated (>140) with a normal (<90) diastolic blood pressure (DBP), it is called isolated systolic hypertension. Eighty percent of people with systolic hypertension are over the age of 65 years old. Isolated systolic hypertension is a specific type of widened (or high) pulse pressure.
Causes
Systolic hypertension may be due to reduced compliance of the aorta with increasing age. This increases the load on the ventricle and compromises coronary blood flow, eventually resulting in left ventricular hypertrophy, coronary ischemia, and heart failure.
Contemporary science shows an immersed boundary method of computational illustration of a single heartbeat. Applied to physiologic models, immersed boundary theory sees the heart as a great folded semisolid sail fielding and retrieving a viscous blood mass. The sail, likened to Windkessel effect physiology, gives and receives a load under time-ordered phases. Decreasing compliance of the sail heralds the onset of systolic hypertension.
Treatment
The goal of treating systolic hypertension is to delay and reduce the extent of damage to the heart, the cerebrovascular system, and the kidneys. This also decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease and morbidity. Lifestyle interventions are alternative solutions to treating systolic hypertension. Examples include a diet low in sodium (salt) and rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
A low sodium diet should contain a maximum sodium intake of 2.0 grams (approximately 5.0 grams of salt). Additional salt and processed foods should also be avoided.
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10675505
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systolic%20hypertension
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Systolic hypertension
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Clinical trials have also documented the beneficial effects of weight loss, increased physical activity, and limiting alcohol consumption. For hypertensive men, alcoholic drinks should be reduced to 14 units per week. For hypertensive women, alcoholic drinks should be reduced to 8 units per week. (1 unit corresponds to 1/8 liter of wine or 1/4 liter of beer).
In addition to lifestyle changes, medication can also be used to reduce systolic hypertension to safe levels.
Common medications used to treat systolic hypertension include a thiazide-type diuretic (TTD) or calcium channel blockers (CCB), or a combination of the two.
Goal
Based on these studies, treating to a systolic blood pressure of 140, as long as the diastolic blood pressure is 68 or more, seems safe. Corroborating this, a reanalysis of the SHEP data suggests allowing the diastolic to go below 70 may increase adverse effects.
A meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials found the lowest diastolic blood pressure for which cardiovascular outcomes improve is 85 mm Hg for untreated hypertensives and 80 mm Hg for treated hypertensives. The authors concluded "poor health conditions leading to low blood pressure and an increased risk for death probably explain the J-shaped curve". Interpreting the meta-analysis is difficult, but avoiding a diastolic blood pressure below 68–70 mm Hg seems reasonable because:
The low value of 85 mm Hg for treated hypertensives in the meta-analysis is higher than the value of 68–70 mm Hg that is suggested by the two major randomized controlled trials of isolated systolic hypertension
The two largest trials in the meta-analysis, Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program (HDFP) and Medical Research Council trial in mild hypertension (MRC1) were predominantly middle-aged subjects, all of whom had diastolic hypertension before treatment.
The independent contributions of diseases and factors other than hypertension versus effects of treatment are not clear in the meta-analysis.
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10675519
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon%20Bright
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Leon Bright
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Leon "Pop" Bright, Jr. (born May 19, 1955 in Starke, Florida) is a former Gridiron football player in the Canadian Football League for four years and in the National Football League for five years.
He played Jr high school ball at Thomas Jefferson Jr High, high school football at Merritt Island High School in Merritt Island, Florida and was on the 1972 Merritt Island High, Florida Class AAAA state championship team. Bright was named to the FHSAA's All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state of Florida's history.
He played college football at Florida State University where he still holds the record for most yards on a kickoff return, which resulted in a touchdown.
From 1977-1980, Bright played running back, wide receiver, defensive back, and kickoff returner for the BC Lions.
He also played for the New York Giants from 1981–1983, serving as the team's primary punt returner. He was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1984-1985.
Bright was selected to the Lions' 2004 50th Anniversary Dream Team. In 2006, he was the head coach for the Daytona Beach Thunder arena football team.
Leon also runs the Leon Bright Charitable Foundation. His foundation works with underprivileged kids and families.
He is the eldest of 10 children and also the eldest of 23 paternal grandchildren. Bright and wife, Tammy, currently reside in Volusia County, Florida. He has four children and four grandchildren.
| 1.953125
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10675787
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon%20Holgate
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Gideon Holgate
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Gideon Holgate (23 June 1839 – 11 July 1895) was an English first-class cricketer, who played twelve matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and several more for Lancashire between 1865 and 1867. Although there are several players who have done this, Holgate is unusual because he played for the two rivals in consecutive seasons.
Born in Sawley near Barnoldswick, now in Lancashire but then in Yorkshire, Holgate was a wicket-keeper, standing 5 ft. 7 inches tall and weighing 11 stone, he took 24 catches and completed 10 stumpings. He scored 455 runs as a right-handed middle order batsman, at an average of 13.78, with a top score of 65 against Surrey.
A professional, his first match for Lancashire was the County Club's second ever game against Birkenhead Park, at Birkenhead, on 15 and 16 July 1864. Batting at number 10 he scored 10 and a duck, took a catch and made a stumping. The following year he was playing for Yorkshire. In 1866, he played for both counties, as he did in the following year, when he played for Lancashire against Yorkshire on 20–22 June at Whalley, in the first Roses Match. By September in the third match between the two counties, at Middlesbrough, he played for Yorkshire.
He played for both counties again the following year, and in 1868 took a season playing for the United England Eleven, playing against local twenty-twos, and in other matches against odds.
He played for Accrington Cricket Club and was one of that Club's early captains. Holdgate died in July 1895 in Accrington.
His grandson, also Gideon, was secretary of the Lancashire League from February 1935 until his death, at his home in Clitheroe, on 16 November 1949. Academic and musician Kathy Hampson (born 1966) is also a distant relative.
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10675804
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus%20cordata
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Eucalyptus cordata
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Eucalyptus cordata, commonly known as the heart-leaved silver gum is a shrub to medium-sized tree that is endemic to Tasmania. It has smooth bark throughout, mostly only juvenile, more or less heart-shaped, glaucous leaves, glaucous flower buds arranged in groups of three, white flowers and cylindrical or hemispherical fruit.
Description
Eucalyptus cordata is a scraggy shrub or tree that typically grows to a height of between and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth greenish yellow to brown or grey bark throughout and has glaucous branchlets. Larger trees sometimes have rough bark on the lower part of the trunk. Its crown is mostly composed of juvenile leaves and adult leaves are usually only found at the top of the tallest trees. The leaves of young plants, coppice regrowth and mature plants have sessile leaves arranged in opposite pairs, the leaves egg-shaped to almost round, long and wide with wavy edges. Adult leaves, only present in the crown of tall trees, are arranged alternately, lance-shaped, long and wide on a flattened petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of three in leaf axils on a peduncle long, the individual buds sessile or on a very short pedicel. Mature buds are oval to club-shaped, green or glaucous, long and wide with a rounded, flattened or beaked operculum. Flowering has been observed in most months, with peaks between May and June, September and November, and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped, cylindrical or hemispherical capsule long and wide and sessile or on a very short pedicel.
Taxonomy and naming
Eucalyptus cordata was first formally described in 1806 by Jacques Labillardière who published the description in Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen. The specific epithet (cordata) is a Latin word meaning "heart-shaped" referring to the leaves.
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10675894
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central%20Algonquian%20languages
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Central Algonquian languages
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The Central Algonquian languages are commonly grouped together as a subgroup of the larger Algonquian family, itself a member of the Algic family. Though the grouping is often encountered in the literature, it is an areal grouping, not a genetic grouping. In other words, the languages are grouped together because they were spoken near one another, not because they are more closely related to one another than to other Algonquian languages. Within the Algonquian family, only Eastern Algonquian is a valid genealogical group.
Within the Central Algonquian grouping, Potawatomi and Chippewa, otherwise known as Ojibwe, are closely related and are generally grouped together as an Ojibwa-Potawatomi sub-branch. "Eastern Great Lakes" was first proposed by Richard Rhodes in 1988, and first discussed by Ives Goddard as "Core Central" in 1994. In Goddard's assessment, he divides the "Core Central" into the Ojibwa-Potawatomi and Miami–Illinois group, and the Sauk-Fox-Kickapoo and Shawnee group; the hypothesis for the subgroup was based on lexical and phonological innovations. David J. Costa in his 2003 book The Miami-Illinois Language agrees with Rhodes and Goddard that Central Algonquian has a specific language sub-branch that he refers to as "Eastern Great Lakes" but in his assessment Costa also states "...there seems to be no evidence that Miami-Illinois is closer to Ojibwe-Potawatomi than it is to Sauk-Fox-Kickapoo."
Family division
The languages are listed below along with dialects and subdialects. This classification follows Goddard (1996) and Mithun (1999).
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10675915
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl%20Blechen
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Carl Blechen
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Carl Eduard Ferdinand Blechen (29 July 1798 – 23 July 1840) was a German landscape painter and a professor at the Academy of Arts, Berlin. His distinctive style was characteristic of the Romantic ideals of natural beauty.
Life
Blechen was born in Cottbus. His father was a minor tax official from Regensburg, and his mother was a Sorb. From 1805 to 1815 he attended the Lyceum at the Oberkirche St.Nikolai in Cottbus. His parents could not afford to pay for any further education, so they apprenticed him to a banker and he was engaged in that profession until 1822, when an increasing interest in art led him to the Berlin Academy.
After a short study trip to Dresden and Saxon Switzerland, he returned to Berlin and obtained a position as a decorator for the Royal Theater on the Alexanderplatz. He married in 1824 and became a member of the Berlin Artists' Association in 1827. Later that year, he was dismissed from the Theater because of an ongoing dispute with singer Henriette Sontag. After that, he tried to support himself as a free-lance artist. In 1828, he took a study trip to the Baltic Sea, followed by a trip to Italy which produced hundreds of sketches that were later elaborated in his Berlin studio. He had been deeply impressed by the landscapes there and altered his entire manner of painting to reflect what he had seen.
Final years and illness
In 1831, upon the recommendation of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, he was appointed Professor of Landscape Painting at the Berlin Academy. Despite this appointment, King Frederick William III commissioned Blechen to paint The Interior of the Palm House on the Pfaueninsel Near Potsdam, an indoor scene rather than an outdoor landscape. In 1835 he became a full member of the Academy and took a study trip to Paris. It was then that the first symptoms of his mental illness appeared.
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10675915
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl%20Blechen
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Carl Blechen
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His condition deteriorated and he suffered severe bouts of depression that forced him to take a leave of absence from the Academy in 1836. The following year, he had to be admitted to a hospital. He was able to make one final trip to Dresden, where he made his last drawings. He died four years later, in Berlin, in a state of total mental derangement. He was buried in the Holy Trinity Cemetery (II), but the exact location is no longer known. He is commemorated with a plaque on the cemetery wall.
A street, a park and an elementary school in Cottbus were named after him. In 2008, the school building became part of the "", a major shopping center. Most of his works are in private collections. He was one of the first European painters to represent early industrialization as part of his landscapes.
Restitution cases
In 2005, the German Restitution Commission recommended that the German Federal Government restitute three paintings by Blechen to the heirs of Julius and Clara Freund, who were persecuted as Jews by the Nazi regime, and had fled to England in 1939.
In 2008, the Blechen "Scene of a forest with a castle, on the water front " was identified in a Sotheby's auction catalogue by the family of Alfred Sommerguth, a German Jewish art collector persecuted by the Nazis. Sommerguth had "fled to Cuba in 1941 at the age of 82, before reaching New York where he died a destitute in 1950". The painting was removed from the sale and returned to the heirs.
In 2012 the Blechen, “Hoehenzug mit blauen Schatten” (Mountain Range With Blue Shadows), was restituted to the heirs of Martha Liebermann, who took poison at the age of 85 to escape deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. Seized by the Nazis and intended for Adolf Hitler's planned “Fuehrermuseum, they were handed to the German government by the Allies after World War II on the understanding that they would be returned to the original owner. Instead, it was classified as "property of the Federal Republic of Germany" and kept.
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10675941
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel%20Mar%C3%ADa%20Mallarino
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Manuel María Mallarino
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Manuel María Mallarino Ibargüen (18 June 1808 – 6 January 1872) was the 8th Vice President of New Granada, and as such served as Acting President from 1855 to 1857.
Personal life
Manuel María was born on 18 June 1808 in Santiago de Cali, then part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, the oldest child of José María Mallarino y Vargas, a Spaniard natural of Cádiz of Italian descent, and Juana María de la Concepción Ibargüen (née Scarpetta Roo y Bedoya), a Criolla natural of Cali also of Italian descent. His two younger siblings were María Josefa and Francisco Antonio. He attended the University of Cauca graduating Juris Doctor on 17 July 1831. On 11 August 1836 he married María Mercedes Cabal, daughter of José Antonio Víctor Cabal Molina and María Petrona Borrero y Costa, and natural of Buga, in his father-in-law's hacienda in El Cerrito. Manuel María and María Mercedes had seven children: José María, Victor, Antonio, Susana, Gonzalo, Sofía, and Julio Daniel.
His nephews Carlos and Jorge Holguín Mallarino, sons of his sister María Josefa, became prominent Conservative party politicians who like him served in Congress and as Acting Presidents; Jorge went on to serve as the 10th President of Colombia.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1846–1848)
Mallarino served as the 21st, 23rd, and 25th Secretary of Foreign Affairs of New Granada during the Administration of President Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda. In 1846, Chancellor Mallarino was commissioned to negotiate and sign with the United States Chargé d'Affaires in New Granada, Benjamin Alden Bidlack, the Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty, an agreement of mutual cooperation between the United States and New Granada that granted the US significant transit rights over the Isthmus of Panama, as well as military powers to suppress social conflicts and independence struggles targeted against New Granada. However this treaty would later be recalled by the US to justify American involvement in the Separation of Panama from Colombia.
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10675944
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics%20at%20the%201956%20Summer%20Olympics%20%E2%80%93%20Men%27s%20high%20jump
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Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's high jump
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The men's high jump was an event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-eight contestants from 19 nations met on the morning of the first day of the athletic contests, on Friday November 23, 1956, and 22 cleared the qualifying height of 1.92 metres, to meet again in the afternoon. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Charles Dumas of the United States, the nation's second consecutive and 11th overall victory in the men's high jump. Chilla Porter's silver was Australia's second medal in the event (after a gold in 1948). Igor Kashkarov's bronze was the Soviet Union's first.
Summary
Charles Dumas, Chilla Porter and Igor Kashkarov cleared 2.06 metres on their first attempts. Stig Pettersson cleared it on his third. Dumas was in third place after a miss at 2.03m. At 2.08m, Dumas and Kashkarov cleared on their first attempt, while Porter dropped to third place by making it on his second. Pettersson did not clear the height. Dumas held the lead with a second attempt clearance of 2.10m while Porter made it on his last attempt. Kashkarov did not clear it and earned bronze. On his final attempt, Dumas set the final new Olympic record with 2.12 metres, while Porter couldn't clear that height and won silver.
Background
This was the 13th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1952 Games were bronze medalist José da Conceição of Brazil and eleventh-place finisher Peter Wells of Great Britain. Charles Dumas was the favorite, having broken the 7-foot mark at the U.S. trials with a 2.15 metres world record. Sweden's Bengt Nilsson was the 1954 European champion and the only non-American considered a contender for gold, but he "was injured shortly before leaving for Melbourne."
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10675964
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%20stability
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Ship stability
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Ship stability is an area of naval architecture and ship design that deals with how a ship behaves at sea, both in still water and in waves, whether intact or damaged. Stability calculations focus on centers of gravity, centers of buoyancy, the metacenters of vessels, and on how these interact.
History
Ship stability, as it pertains to naval architecture, has been taken into account for hundreds of years. Historically, ship stability calculations relied on rule of thumb calculations, often tied to a specific system of measurement. Some of these very old equations continue to be used in naval architecture books today. However, the advent of calculus-based methods of determining stability, particularly Pierre Bouguer's introduction of the concept of the metacenter in the 1740s ship model basin, allow much more complex analysis.
Master shipbuilders of the past used a system of adaptive and variant design. Ships were often copied from one generation to the next with only minor changes; by replicating stable designs, serious problems were usually avoided. Ships today still use this process of adaptation and variation; however, computational fluid dynamics, ship model testing and a better overall understanding of fluid and ship motions has allowed much more analytical design.
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10675964
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%20stability
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Ship stability
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Gyroscopes were first used to control a ship's roll in the late 1920s and early 1930s for warships and then passenger liners. The most ambitious use of large gyros to control a ship's roll was on an Italian passenger liner, the SS Conte di Savoia, in which three large Sperry gyros were mounted in the forward part of the ship. While it proved successful in drastically reducing roll in the westbound trips, the system had to be disconnected on the eastbound leg for safety reasons. This was because with a following sea (and the deep slow rolls this generated) the vessel tended to 'hang' with the system turned on, and the inertia it generated made it harder for the vessel to right herself from heavy rolls.
Gyro stabilizers consist of a spinning flywheel and gyroscopic precession that imposes boat-righting torque on the hull structure.
The angular momentum of the gyro's flywheel is a measure of the extent to which the flywheel will continue to rotate about its axis unless acted upon by an external torque. The higher the angular momentum, the greater the resisting force of the gyro to external torque (in this case more ability to cancel boat roll).
A gyroscope has three axes: a spin axis, an input axis, and an output axis. The spin axis is the axis about which the flywheel is spinning and is vertical for a boat gyro. The input axis is the axis about which input torques are applied. For a boat, the principal input axis is the longitudinal axis of the boat since that is the axis around which the boat rolls. The principal output axis is the transverse (athwartship) axis about which the gyro rotates or precesses in reaction to an input.
When the boat rolls, the rotation acts as an input to the gyro, causing the gyro to generate rotation around its output axis such that the spin axis rotates to align itself with the input axis. This output rotation is called precession and, in the boat case, the gyro will rotate fore and aft about the output or gimbal axis.
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10675964
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%20stability
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Ship stability
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Intact stability calculations are relatively straightforward and involve taking all the centers of mass of objects on the vessel which are then computed/calculated to identify the center of gravity of the vessel, and the center of buoyancy of the hull. Cargo arrangements and loadings, crane operations, and the design sea states are usually taken into account. The diagram at the right shows the center of gravity is well above the center of buoyancy, yet the ship remains stable. The ship is stable because as it begins to heel, one side of the hull begins to rise from the water and the other side begins to submerge. This causes the center of buoyancy to shift toward the side that is lower in the water. The job of the naval architect is to make sure that the center of buoyancy shifts outboard of the center of gravity as the ship heels. A line drawn from the center of buoyancy in a slightly heeled condition vertically will intersect the centerline at a point called the metacenter. As long as the metacenter is further above the keel than the center of gravity, the ship is stable in an upright condition.
Intact stability for ships at sea is governed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard the International Code on Intact Stability.
Damage stability (Stability in the damaged condition)
Damage stability calculations are much more complicated than intact stability. Software utilizing numerical methods are typically employed because the areas and volumes can quickly become tedious and long to compute using other methods.
The loss of stability from flooding may be due in part to the free surface effect. Water accumulating in the hull usually drains to the bilges, lowering the center of gravity and actually increasing the metacentric height. This assumes the ship remains stationary and upright. However, once the ship is inclined to any degree (a wave strikes it for example), the fluid in the bilge moves to the lower side. This results in a list.
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10675964
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%20stability
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Ship stability
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Stability is also reduced in flooding when, for example, an empty tank is filled with seawater. The lost buoyancy of the tank results in that section of the ship lowering into the water slightly. This creates a list unless the tank is on the centerline of the vessel.
In stability calculations, when a tank is filled, its contents are assumed to be lost and replaced by seawater. If these contents are lighter than seawater, (light oil for example) then buoyancy is lost and the section lowers slightly in the water accordingly.
For merchant vessels, and increasingly for passenger vessels, the damage stability calculations are of a probabilistic nature. That is, instead of assessing the ship for one compartment failure, a situation where two or even up to three compartments are flooded will be assessed as well.
This is a concept in which the chance that a compartment is damaged is combined with the consequences for the ship, resulting in a damage stability index number that has to comply with certain regulations.
Required stability
In order to be acceptable to classification societies such as the Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd's Register of Ships, Korean Register of Shipping and Det Norske Veritas, the blueprints of the ship must be provided for independent review by the classification society. Calculations must also be provided which follow a structure outlined in the regulations for the country in which the ship intends to be flagged.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%20stability
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Ship stability
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Within this framework different countries establish requirements that must be met. For U.S.-flagged vessels, blueprints and stability calculations are checked against the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations and International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea conventions (SOLAS). Ships are required to be stable in the conditions to which they are designed for, in both undamaged and damaged states. The extent of damage required to design for is included in the regulations. The assumed hole is calculated as fractions of the length and breadth of the vessel, and is to be placed in the area of the ship where it would cause the most damage to vessel stability.
In addition, United States Coast Guard rules apply to vessels operating in U.S. ports and in U.S. waters. Generally these Coast Guard rules concern a minimum metacentric height or a minimum righting moment. Because different countries may have different requirements for the minimum metacentric height, most ships are now fitted with stability computers that calculate this distance on the fly based on the cargo or crew loading. There are many commercially available computer programs used for this task.
Depending upon the class of vessel either a stability letter or stability booklet is required to be carried on board.
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10676028
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams%20in%20Pyongyang
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Trams in Pyongyang
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Pyongyang Tram is a public tram system in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. The first line of the current system opened in 1989. There are four lines in operation.
Overview
Before the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, there were three tramway systems in the Korean Peninsula: one each in Seoul, Busan and Pyongyang.
During the North Korean famine, the service of tram lines became sparse, and often trams would not run due to lack of drivers and shortage of electricity.
Unlike South Korea, personal ownership of automobiles in North Korea is very rare. North Koreans, especially those living in Pyongyang and other major cities, rely mainly on public transport. In Pyongyang, there are trolleybuses (the Pyongyang trolleybus system) and subways (the Pyongyang Metro), with these two serving as its main forms of public transport. However, as trolleybus lines became gradually overcrowded, the city decided to re-open tram-lines. The first line was opened on 15 April 1991.
A number of Tatra T4 trams and its trailer B4 were bought from Dresden, Magdeburg and Leipzig in 1997–1998.
From 14 October 2002, the section of Line 1 between P'yŏngyang-yŏk and Songyo was closed, as the bridge over Taedong River started to deteriorate, splitting Line 1 into two parts divided by the Taedong River. The section from Songyo to Songsin was eventually replaced by a trolleybus in 2014. The part crossing the bridge was replaced by a bus service. Demolition of the tracks between Songyo and Pyongyang Station was completed by 9 September 2003.
In 2008, the City Transportation Company of Prague sold 20 used T3s to Pyongyang Public Transportation Enterprise together with a shipment of tram-rails. These trams were built ranging from 1967 for the Tatra T3 in original modification, to 1987 for the T3SUCS modification.
After the closure of Songsin depot, an extension was added to Rangnang depot to house the trams transferred from that depot.
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10676091
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William%20O%27Neill%2C%201st%20Baron%20O%27Neill
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William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill
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Reverend William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill (4 March 1813 – 18 April 1883) was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer, clergyman and musical composer. Born William Chichester, he changed his surname to O'Neill in 1855.
Background and education
The eldest son of Reverend Edward Chichester, he was a member of the prominent Irish Chichester family headed by the Marquess of Donegall. He was the great-great-great-grandson of John Chichester, grandson of Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester, and younger brother of Arthur Chichester, 2nd Earl of Donegall. O'Neill was educated at Foyle College, Derry, Shrewsbury School and Trinity College Dublin, and was ordained in 1837.
Career
He was a prominent church organist and composer of church music, glees and songs.
When the Belfast Hospital for Sick Children was opened in 1878, Reverend O'Neill was appointed as the first president of the Medical Board. A marble dedication was installed in the hospital's surgical ward honouring him. This was a role he fulfilled with keen interest up until his death, at which time his son Robert Torrens took over the responsibility.
In 1855 he succeeded to the substantial O'Neill estates on the death of his relative John O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill (on whose death the viscountcy became extinct) and assumed by Royal licence the surname of O'Neill in lieu of Chichester the same year. In 1868 the O'Neill title was revived when he was raised to the peerage as Baron O'Neill, of Shane's Castle in the County Antrim.
Family
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10676139
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics%20at%20the%201956%20Summer%20Olympics%20%E2%80%93%20Men%27s%20long%20jump
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Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's long jump
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The men's long jump was an event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The qualifying stage and the final both were held on the second day of the track and field competition, on Saturday November 24, 1956. Thirty-two athletes from 21 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 15cm by Greg Bell of the United States, the nation's seventh consecutive and 12th overall victory in the event. Jorma Valkama's bronze medal was Finland's first medal in the men's long jump.
Summary
The number one qualifier was Henryk Grabowski, but he was unable to produce similar results in the final. The world record was not in the discussion, with world record holder Jesse Owens sitting in the stands more than 21 years after he had jumped 8.13m. Owens also set the Olympic record at 8.06m in 1936. #2 qualifier John Bennett took the first round lead with a 7.68m jump. Dmitriy Bondarenko was in second with a 7.44m and in the first Olympics for Nigeria, Karim Olowu was in third with 7.28m. In the second round, Gregory Bell hit the winner, . In the third round, Jorma Valkama jumped into bronze position with a 7.48m. In the fourth round Bell reaffirmed his position with a 7.77m.
Background
This was the 13th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1952 Games were bronze medalist Ödön Földessy of Hungary, tenth-place finisher Masaji Tajima of Japan, and eleventh-place finisher Neville Price of South Africa.
Israel, Liberia, Pakistan, Uganda, and Uruguay each made their first appearance in the event. The United States appeared for the 13th time, the only nation to have long jumpers at each of the Games thus far.
Competition format
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10676147
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright%20Agency%20%28Azerbaijan%29
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Copyright Agency (Azerbaijan)
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The Copyright Agency of Azerbaijan Republic () is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of regulation of activities related to protection of copyrights and intellectual property in Azerbaijan Republic. The committee is headed by Kamran Imanov.
History and structure
The Copyright Agency was established by the Presidential Decree on September 10, 1993.
The main functions of the agency are creation of favorable legal conditions for potential people seeking to make contributions to scientific research in the country, literature and art; protection of copyright, related to the intellectual property and conducting state policy in field of the international cultural exchange; representation of Azerbaijan in international events, encouraging cooperation with similar agencies abroad; state registration of scientific, cultural and art works, etc. Azerbaijan enacted Law on Copyright and Related Rights in 1996.
Azerbaijan is a member of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a party to the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the Geneva Phonograms Convention.
The agency was given the duty of protecting the folklore of Azerbaijan by President Ilham Aliyev.
In 2017 the head of agency stated that compared to 2005 figures, internet piracy level reduced from 61% to 29%.
All registered intellectual property can be found in the registry of the company. Nowadays 11.500 items were registered as intellectual property.
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10676154
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Emperor%20of%20the%20East
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The Emperor of the East
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The Emperor of the East is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger and first published in 1632. The play provides an interesting example of the treatment of the Roman Catholic sacrament of confession in English Renaissance theatre.
Performance
The Emperor of the East was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 11 March 1631. The play was performed by the King's Men at both of their theatres, the Blackfriars and the Globe; the company also acted the play at Court.
Publication
The play was published in quarto in 1632, printed by Thomas Harper for the bookseller John Waterson. Massinger dedicated the play to John Lord Mohun, Baron of Okehampton, one of his patrons. Mohun was the uncle of Massinger's friend Sir Aston Cockayne, who contributed a commendatory poem to the 1632 edition. Mohun was also the son-in-law of Lady Katherine Stanhope, to whom Massinger dedicated his play The Duke of Milan in 1623.
Sources
Massinger's primary source for the historical background of his plot was Sir Thomas Hawkins's The Holy Court (1626), a translation of Nicholas Caussin's La cour sainte.
The plot
In the play, Massinger dramatises the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, his elder sister and regent Pulcheria, and his wife and empress Eudocia; specifically, he deals with Eudocia's rumoured infidelity with the courtier Paulinus. Since the play is a tragicomedy and therefore concludes with a happy ending, Masssinger resolves his plot difficulties by having Theodosius masquerade as clergy and hear his wife's confession, which convinces him that she is innocent of infidelity. Given that Massinger was reputedly a Catholic, it might be considered surprising that he would exploit such a plot device; yet his contemporary dramatist James Shirley, another reputed Catholic, employs the same trick of clerical disguise and sacrament violation in his later play The Gentleman of Venice (1639).
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10676211
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy%20Dorrell
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Jimmy Dorrell
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Jimmy Dorrell is Executive Director of Mission Waco in Waco, TX and pastor of Church Under the Bridge. Dorrell is also a part-time professor at Baylor University and George W. Truett Theological Seminary and has authored three books.
Early life and education
He grew up in Conroe, TX and moved to Waco in 1968 to attend Baylor University where he majored in religion and received a BA in 1972. He graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with an M.Div. in 1978 and received his MA in Environmental Studies from Baylor in 1993. In 2001 he received his Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
Ministry
Dorrell is pastor of Church Under the Bridge and teaches classes at Baylor University and George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco. He has served on many boards including Teen Pregnancy Prevention Council, Parents as Teachers, Compassion Ministries of Waco, Waco Tribune Herald Board of Contributors, Census 2000 Special Housing Subcommittee Chair, Christian Community Development Association, and currently the Texas Christian Community Development Network. He has been honored through awards such as Family of the Year Award-Waco Conference of Christians & Jews, Hometown Hero Award, Citizen of the Year-National Association of Social Workers Waco Unit and Baylor University Alumni’s Abner V. McCall Humanitarian Award, Wacoan of the Year (2016), and Baylor University Distinguished Alumni (2016).
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10676251
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrasekhara%20Sutra
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Vajrasekhara Sutra
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The Vajraśekhara Sūtra is an important Buddhist tantra used in the Vajrayāna schools of Buddhism, but can refer to a number of different works. In particular a cycle of 18 texts studied by Amoghavajra, which included both Tattvasaṃgraha Tantra, and the Guhyasamaja Tantra, a Tibetan text which appears to be composed of two works grouped together and to further confuse matters in the Japanese Shingon school the is known by this name. In Tibetan it is considered to be the main representative of the Yogatantra class of texts.
Outline
The tantra begins with Vairocana Buddha preaching the Dharma to a great host of Bodhisattvas, including Vajrasattva, in the Pure Land of Akanishta. As he preaches the Dharma, Prince Sarvarthasiddhi, the esoteric name of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, is meditating under the Bodhi Tree. Enlightenment is imminent, but the Prince has still not attained it because he is still attached in some small way to his forsaken ascetic practices. Despairing over his inability to find Enlightenment, he is visited by Buddhist figures who were just now learning the Dharma from Vairocana.
These same deities proceed to teach him a more direct path to Enlightenment through tantric ritual. The tantra then details the rituals used to actualize the Dharma. These rituals help forming the basis of tantric ritual in Shingon Buddhism, including such practices as meditating upon the full moon and the use of certain mantras.
This tantra also introduces the Diamond Realm Mandala as a focus for meditative practices, and its use in the abhiseka ritual of initiation. As the prince has now experienced Enlightenment, he ascends to Mount Sumeru and constructs the Diamond Realm Mandala and initiates and converts the bodhisattvas gathered there, one by one, into tantric deities who constitute the Mandala.
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10676283
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dou%20Wei%20%28Tang%20dynasty%29
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Dou Wei (Tang dynasty)
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Dou Wei (died 25 July 618), courtesy name Wenwei, formally Duke Jing of Yan'an, was a Sui dynasty official who, after the founding of the Tang dynasty in June 618, briefly served as a chancellor until his death a month later.
Background
Dou Wei was from Fufeng Commandery (扶風, roughly modern Baoji, Shaanxi). His father Dou Chi (竇熾) served as a high-level official for both Northern Zhou and Sui and was a hereditary noble; Dou Wei was also an uncle of Lady Dou. Dou Wei was considered quiet and studious in his youth, much unlike his brothers and cousins who, as nobles, were far more interested in military matters. The Sui official Li Delin knew of his talent and recommended him as a junior official at the Palace Library, but while it was regular for junior officials there to be promoted regularly, Dou was not promoted, and remained at his post for more than a decade, during which he studied the archives and became even more knowledgeable than before.
During the Sui dynasty
Dou later served as a scribe for Yang Xiu the Prince of Shu, a son of Sui's founding emperor Emperor Wen, but when he saw that Yang Xiu was engaging in improper behavior, he resigned, and subsequently when Emperor Wen discovered Yang Xiu's improper deeds in 602 and subsequently deposed him, many of Yang Xiu's subordinates were punished, but Dou escaped punishment. In 608, during the reign of Emperor Wen's son Emperor Yang, he became a senior official at the legislative bureau (內史省, Neishi Sheng), but as he often pointed out problems with Emperor Yang's governance, he offended Emperor Yang and was demoted to be the director of civil service matters (考功郎中, Kaogong Langzhong), and subsequently was removed from governmental office altogether.
| 1.90625
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10676283
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dou%20Wei%20%28Tang%20dynasty%29
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Dou Wei (Tang dynasty)
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In 617, the general Li Yuan the Duke of Tang rebelled and captured the capital Chang'an, declaring Emperor Yang's grandson Yang You the Prince of Dai emperor (as Emperor Gong). Li Yuan's deceased wife Duchess Dou was a niece of Dou Wei's, and Li Yuan, who retained power as regent, retained Dou on staff. At that time, the government was in a state of flux, and with Dou being knowledgeable with ceremonies and governmental organization, Li Yuan entrusted to him the task of reorganizing the government as well as preparing the ceremonies to have Yang You yield the throne to Li Yuan. Li Yuan compared him to the Han dynasty official Shusun Tong (叔孫通), who organized the ceremonies for Emperor Gao of Han.
During the Tang dynasty
In spring 618, Emperor Yang was killed during a coup at Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) led by the general Yuwen Huaji, and when the news reached Chang'an, Li Yuan had Yang You yield the throne to him, establishing Tang dynasty as its Emperor Gaozu. He made Dou Wei the head of the legislative bureau (內史令, Neishi Ling), considered one of the posts for a chancellor. Dou became ill in July 618 and died. Emperor Gaozu posthumously created him the Duke of Yan'an.
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