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B'Elanna Torres
B'Elanna Torres is a main character in "" played by Roxann Dawson. She is portrayed as a half-human half-Klingon born in 2346 on the Federation colony Kessik IV. She was admitted to Starfleet academy but dropped out before graduating. Torres joined the Maquis in 2370 and was serving on the "Val Jean" when taken to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker alien using his station. After being used for medical experiments she was left in an Ocampa colony maintained by the same alien that had abducted the "Val Jean". That ship was destroyed in a space battle at the Array and she and what remained of that crew joined the USS "Voyager". On the ship she was given field commissioned rank of Lieutenant, junior grade and posted in engineering. In 2371, she was promoted to Chief Engineer. In 2377, she married Tom Paris and gave birth to their daughter Miral at the beginning of the next year, while "Voyager" was returning to the Alpha Quadrant.
The "Star Trek: Voyager Companion" describes B'Elanna as a young half-human half-Klingon in her twenties who is a member of the Maquis Rebellion.
The producers wanted to hire an actress who could portray B'Elanna's inner struggle between her human and Klingon halves. After Roxann Dawson read for the role, she became the first of the "Voyager" actors to be cast. Originally, Dawson's makeup differed from the final design; she explained that she had a much more pronounced Klingon forehead and nose and had to wear a set of Klingon teeth, which made her feel uncomfortable. She asked the producers and makeup artist Michael Westmore if they could perhaps make her more attractive and tone down the Klingon makeup. Eventually they came up with a design with which Roxann was happy, something she described as her "beauty monster makeup". Although B'Elanna's character was twenty-five years old when the series began, Dawson was actually thirty-six.
Dawson's initial reaction to the script of the first-season episode "" was one of doubt; she felt that it occurred too early in the series and that she did not know the character well enough to play her as two separate people. However, she used the episode to learn more about her character, and it became one of her favorite episodes. When the episode aired, she called her parents to ask their opinions, and they replied, "You were good, but the girl that played that Klingon was really great!", which Dawson took as a compliment.
During the fourth season, Dawson became pregnant with her first child. The writers decided they did not want B'Elanna to be pregnant as well, so for the duration of Dawson's pregnancy, she was given an engineering lab coat, which was used to help cover her growing pregnancy. During the episode "", the Hirogen had taken over "Voyager" and forced the crew to participate in holodeck recreations of various combat situations, to which B'Elanna's holodeck character is portrayed as pregnant in World War II with a Nazi officer's child.
During the fifth season, Dawson had a meeting with the producers and writers to discuss her character. Roxann explained to them that she felt B'Elanna had an extreme dark side that hadn't been explored, and from that discussion the episode "" was created. Dawson stated that after the episode aired she received fan mail praising the issues of depression and inner conflict raised in the episode, with which many people identified.
During the sixth season, Dawson got the chance to explore B'Elanna's Klingon heritage thanks to an episode originally conceived by Ronald D. Moore for "". In the episode "", B'Elanna has a near-death experience and travels to Grethor, the Klingon Hell, where she meets her mother Miral. She discovers that because of the dishonor B'Elanna has caused her family, her mother would spend eternity in Grethor. The episode explores some aspects of B'Elanna's character, and also gives further insight into Klingon mythology. Dawson believed the episode had many layers to it, and she believed it was essentially a coming-of-age story for B'Elanna and her final acceptance of her Klingon heritage.
During the seventh season, a pregnancy storyline was written in for B'Elanna's character. Jessica Gaona played the character's young iteration in the episode "". At the end of the series, Dawson described B'Elanna's character arc as that of an unruly young woman who matures over the course of seven years.
B'Elanna is portrayed as having been born in 2346 on the Federation colony Kessik IV. Torres had a troubled childhood; her human father, John Torres, and Klingon mother, Miral, often fought, and her father ultimately left the household when she was twelve years old. When she overheard her father discussing his unhappiness in the home of two Klingons, she attempted to run away. When she confronted him, she bitterly told him to leave. He returned to Earth days later, leaving her to be raised by her mother.
A mixture of Klingon and human genetics, Torres is shown as prone to aggressive outbursts. She once attacked her schoolmate Daniel Byrd after he repeatedly taunted her, calling her "Miss Turtlehead" due to her cranial ridges. Torres retained this aggressive behavior throughout her life, but she eventually learned to control it.
While in the academy, B'Elanna was constantly having trouble with the rules of Starfleet, resulting in her getting four disciplinary hearings and one suspension. But before dropping out, Torres was a valued member of the academy athletics team, competing as a decathlete; making the track and field coach furious in addition to the many other professors unhappy with her choice to leave the academy.
Torres dropped out of Starfleet Academy in 2365 at age 19. A few years later she became a member of the Maquis renegade group, and began developing a profound hatred of the Cardassians. Torres became associated with a Maquis captain named Chakotay, and was serving as chief engineer on his ship, the "Val Jean", when they were brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker.
During her time with the Maquis, Torres reprogrammed a Cardassian missile known as "". The missile, built with artificial intelligence, was originally targeted at Maquis installations. Torres reprogrammed it on a course for a Cardassian installation, but "Dreadnought" was swept into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker.
When both the USS "Voyager" crew and the "Val Jean" crew were taken to the Delta Quadrant, Harry Kim and Torres were transported to the Ocampa home world while their respective crews set out to look for them. Being the only two people from their region of the Alpha Quadrant, the two quickly formed a relationship and she nicknamed him "Starfleet" for his faith in the Federation and Starfleet. This relationship would carry on throughout the series as the two would more than occasionally work on tasks together, allowing Kim to prove his intelligence to the whole crew.
In 2371, B'Elanna Torres joined the "Voyager" crew with the rest of the Maquis from the "Val Jean", as Captain Kathryn Janeway offers them the opportunity. She was placed in the engineering department, which had no clear department head because the original chief engineer was killed during the trip to the Delta Quadrant; Captain Janeway promoted Torres to chief engineer based on "Voyager"s first officer Chakotay's recommendation. Initially, Torres was very outspoken in her disapproval of Captain Janeway's decision to destroy the Caretaker's array, which had the ability to send the "Voyager" back home from the Delta Quadrant, and carried a small grudge against the captain. Over the first few months, Torres began respecting the captain and her decisions based on Janeway's strong leadership and their shared interest in science.
Shortly after becoming chief engineer, Torres disobeys the captain's orders when "Voyager" encounters a race known as the Sikarians. The Sikarians have advanced transporter technology that could drastically shorten their 70-year journey, but Sikarian law prohibits the "Voyager" crew from obtaining it legitimately. Torres becomes involved with a small group of officers who obtain the technology on the Sikarian black market and perpetrate a failed attempt to integrate it into "Voyager"'s systems.
Torres, along with Tom Paris, was later kidnapped by the Vidiians. A Vidiian scientist extracts the Klingon DNA from Torres, splicing her into two separate people: one human, one Klingon. He believed the Klingon DNA had a specific biochemical property that could lead to a cure for the , a disease affecting his people. The human Torres is portrayed fraught with fear but having strong technical expertise, while the Klingon Torres is shown as aggressive and impatient. After her escape from the Vidiians the Klingon Torres suffered a fatal wound from the Vidiian energy weapon and died, but the used her DNA to restore the human Torres to her original half-human half-Klingon state.
In the episode "," it is revealed that Torres at the time had a romantic interest in Chakotay.
In 2373, Torres was the target of telepathically inspired dreams from a member of a race called the Enarans. The dreams were actually memories of a great massacre that took place on the Enaran homeworld and were the elder Enaran's method of making sure that the memory of this massacre lives on, even if in the mind of an alien.
Later that year, Vulcan engineer Vorik triggered Torres' mating instincts when he forcibly initiated a telepathic bond with her while he is experiencing the "pon farr". Torres and Tom Paris later became trapped on a planet together during an , and Torres attempted to get Paris to mate with her, but he resisted. Eventually, Vorik and Torres engaged in ritual battle to purge the blood fever.
Torres later began a relationship with Paris after a complicated and stormy courtship. During an incident in 2374, Torres confessed her love to him when they were left floating in space in environmental suits, with almost no hope of rescue (""). Although "Voyager" was soon able to rescue them, Torres realized that her courage in admitting her love had brought her one step closer to discovering what she considered true honor. Their relationship first flourished on screen during "". They married in 2377 and their honeymoon was aboard the "Delta Flyer."
When Torres and Paris conceived their child in 2377, she learned from that the child would have distinct Klingon cranial ridges as well as other Klingon traits. Torres, remembering painful events from her own childhood, urged the Doctor to perform gene therapy to reduce this phenotype, and even went so far as to reprogram him to do so. Paris and Captain Janeway both disagreed and prevented the Doctor from performing the genetic modifications. When Paris got her to open up, she admitted that she was afraid her husband would find living with two Klingons too difficult and leave her the way her father did. Once he allayed her fears, he admitted wanting even more children just like their mother, and Torres was shown as finally enjoying the pregnancy ("").
When a group of Klingon radicals spent time aboard "Voyager" (""), Torres began opening herself to more Klingon beliefs and, for the first time since childhood, was able to pray for her grandmother, L'Naal, and her great-grandmother, Krelik. When communications with Earth became available (""), she reached out to her estranged father, John Torres.
Torres and Paris's daughter, Miral Paris (named after B'Elanna's mother), was born at the beginning of 2378, during "Voyager"s trip through a Borg transwarp conduit back to the Alpha Quadrant. In an alternate timeline where "Voyager" made it home by different means, Miral was shown as an adult serving in Starfleet, with the rank of ensign.
Torres's birthdate—on September 2, 2014, the official Star Trek website published an archive article with information on the press release for the launch of the series. In the document, which includes character biographies, it confirms that when the series began (2371)—"B'Elanna is a beautiful 25-year-old woman who is half-human, half-Klingon..." This information would then place B'Elanna's birthdate at 2346.
The "Official Star Trek Voyager Companion" gives further evidence to Torres's age. This is a passage taken from the book: "B'ELANNA TORRES is a half-Klingon, half-human in her twenties who is frantically working at the consoles of the barely spaceworthy craft..."
In March 2019, Syfy rated B'Elanna as the 6th-greatest Klingon of the "Star Trek" franchise. In particular, they noted that she was an interesting character in the series, displaying both loyalty to the crew of the starship and brilliance as an engineer.
In 2017, Screen Rant ranked B'Elanna Torres as the 14th-most attractive person in the "Star Trek" universe.
In 2018, The Wrap ranked B'Elanna Torres as the 35th-best character of "Star Trek" overall. CBR ranked B'Elanna as the 14th-best Starfleet character of "Star Trek", in 2018. They note that the former Maquis member works as chief engineer on the USS "Voyager" spacecraft, and must struggle with her ambivalent emotions about her Klingon heritage while keeping the warp engines working in the Delta quadrant (cutoff from Federation starbases). In addition, CBR opined that the character enhanced other characters aboard the starship, and praised the actress who portrayed her for making B’Elanna Torres’s relationships more believable.
In 2019, B'Elanna Torres was ranked the 11th-sexiest "Star Trek" character by Syfy.
B’Elanna’s struggle to reconcile both sides of her Klingon/Human hybrid heritage has been praised by audiences of multi-ethnic backgrounds. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27084 |
Chakotay
Chakotay is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series "". Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he is First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS "Voyager". The character was suggested at an early stage of the development of the series. He is the first Native American main character in the "Star Trek" franchise. This was a deliberate move by the producers of the series, who sought to provide an inspiration as with Uhura in "" for African Americans. To develop the character, the producers sought the assistance of Jamake Highwater. Despite first being named as a Sioux, and later a Hopi, Chakotay was given no tribal affiliation at the start of the series, something that was later resolved in the episode "".
The character first appeared in the pilot episode of the series, "". The character continued to appear throughout the series in a main cast role, with his final appearance in the finale, "". He was featured in an ongoing storyline throughout the and seasons which featured the betrayal of his lover Seska (Martha Hackett) until her death in "". Following his experience with disconnected Borg in "", Chakotay was against an alliance with the Borg in "", nearly leading to the death of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Despite this, by the end of the series, the two characters were in a romantic relationship. In the set after the vessel's return to the Alpha Quadrant, Chakotay is promoted to Captain of the ship but the relationship with Seven is ended.
Reviewers of Chakotay were critical of the stereotypical nature of Chakotay's Native American heritage. This led to comparisons with Tonto from "The Lone Ranger", and that the inclusion of "Hollywood" versions of vision quests and meditation techniques were contrary to the character's in-universe tribal background. However, he was praised as a role model for Native American science fiction and called "ground-breaking", as well as the most prominent example of a Native American character within this genre.
The inclusion of a Native American character in "Star Trek: Voyager" was suggested at an early stage in the development of the series. The producers were looking for an ethnic background which had not been seen before as a main character in the franchise. It was hoped that a Native American character would prove to be an inspiration in the same way that the appearance of Uhura in "" later inspired Whoopi Goldberg and other African Americans. Executive producer Jeri Taylor said, "It seemed to us that Native Americans needed that same kind of role model and that same kind of boost ... the future looks good, you have purpose, you have worth, you have value, you will be leaders, you will be powerful. That was one character choice we had early on." Taylor's notes from the early production in July 1993 describe the character as "First Officer – a human native American male, a 'Queequeg' person who has renounced Earth and lives as an expatriate on another planet. A mystical, mysterious man with whom the Captain has some prior connection, not explained." A month later, this description was expanded with the line, "This man has made another choice – to re-enter the world of Starfleet." Chakotay was not the first Native American character to appear in the franchise, with "The Paradise Syndrome" in the of "Star Trek: The Original Series" showing a group of displaced humans following a Native-American-like culture.
The producers aimed to develop some conflict between the members of the crew to produce a scenario similar to the Bajoran / Starfleet relationship seen in "", but wanted the characters to share the same ideals. To do this, the Maquis were created – a group of Federation colonists from the Cardassian border in a disputed territory who were joined by some Starfleet officers who joined them to fight for their rights. The producers had the Maquis introduced in other "Star Trek" series before "Voyager" in four episodes; two in "" and two in "Deep Space Nine". It was a deliberate reference to the political situation in the West Bank.
In developing Chakotay, the producers sought the assistance of Jamake Highwater, a writer of more than 25 books of both fiction and nonfiction related to Native American myths and traditions. Highwater was a controversial choice of advisor, having been exposed by Hank Adams and Vine Deloria, Jr. as taking a fake Native American ancestry to sell books. Around September 21, 1993, Highwater gave seven pages of notes to producers regarding Chakotay's backstory, but his tribal ancestry was unresolved. By the end of that month, Michael Piller drafted the first version of the writer's bible for the series in which the character was named "Chakotoy". By the time Piller wrote the first draft of the story that eventually became the "Voyager" pilot "", the character was known as "Chakotay" and been made a Sioux. By the third draft of the story, submitted at the start of November, he had become a Hopi, but by the following February, he once again had no tribal affiliation.
Winrich Kolbe, the director of "Caretaker", was involved in casting the main cast for the series. He described the casting process for the part of Chakotay as difficult due to the lower numbers of Native Americans who were in the Screen Actors Guild. The casting process came down to two actors, and the producers decided on Robert Beltran, who until then was best known for appearing in the soap opera "Models Inc." and was of Mexican heritage. Beltran was not familiar with "Star Trek" before auditioning, and went along on the strength of the "Caretaker" script which showed the character becoming the second in command of "Voyager" after both their vessels are stranded in the Delta quadrant. Beltran explained the audition experience, "I felt neutral about the audition, didn't much care one way or the other. I went in the first time and wasn't really trying to get the part. They asked to see me again, and they wanted to see more of an edge to the character."
Chakotay was originally written as a "calm, stoic" character, but Beltran expanded on the character during the audition process, something that Kolbe credited him for. The writer's bible described Chakotay as a very traditional Native American with an altar and traditional art in his quarters. It also mentioned his spirit guide, something which was picked up in the media report in "TV Guide". Beltran wore a facial tattoo whilst playing Chakotay, which was applied with make-up. The design was created by Michael Westmore, who deliberately created it so it did not represent any particular tribal culture. The in-universe story of the tattoo and Chakotay's tribal origins were explained in the episode "".
Beltran gained the reputation on-set as a comedian. Following the and during a group interview with "The Washington Times", Beltran joked that he was asked to perform in "Hamlet" during the summer in Albuquerque, but had been asked to wear Chakotay's facial tattoo. During that time he worked on the Oliver Stone film "Nixon" (1995). During the period when "Voyager" was run by Taylor and Piller as the executive producers, Beltran gave feedback on the character which was taken into account. He later explained that this ended following the introduction of Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine onto the cast and Brannon Braga taking over from Taylor and Piller. Beltran felt that Chakotay was one of the characters alongside Harry Kim, Tuvok, and Neelix who were left behind by the new writers, who tended to concentrate on Janeway, Seven, and .
Beltran said that he was not aware of the effects of the interactions this was having with the crew, and described the situation, saying, "for me it was like, 'OK, you can fire me if you want to. Go ahead, and I'll leave.'" He compared his experience on "Voyager" to working in a car factory, and said that the repetitive scenes meant that it limited his creativity. Beltran explained that it did not affect his relationship with the other actors, and in the end, he felt the producers decided to keep him on the cast as it did not make "very much difference, except to a very, very small percentage of fans who maybe didn't like what I said."
In an interview to publicize the final episode of "Voyager", "Endgame", Beltran said, "We all had a great relationship with each other and we've all said how much we enjoy our crew. We have a terrific crew. But at the same time, I'm looking forward to what's next. It's exciting to know that something unknown is next." The final episode introduced a romance between Seven of Nine and Chakotay. Ryan found this confusing for the characters, as although it had been suggested in the episode "", the producers told the pair to forget about the relationship in the in-between episodes until the finale.
Chakotay's backstory was explained during the course of "Star Trek: Voyager". He was born in 2329 on a Federation colony near Cardassian space in the demilitarized zone. While young, he was looked after by his grandfather. At the age of 15, Chakotay visited Earth with his father, who sought to find his tribe's ancestral home in Central America and the descendants of the Rubber Tree People. He was resistant to this, and instead dreamed of going into space and had heroes such as John Kelly, a pioneering astronaut in the early 21st century. He chose to enter Starfleet Academy against his father's wishes, and his entry was sponsored by Captain Sulu.[A] He attended Starfleet Academy from 2344 to 2348, where he engaged in the sport of boxing. After graduating, he was assigned to a starship. One of his earliest away missions resulted in a diplomatic incident on Ktaria VII, and he was also on the team that made first contact with the Tarkannans.
He was assigned as an instructor in Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training and achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. Following the death of his father in 2368 while defending his colony from the Cardassians, Chakotay resigned his Starfleet commission and joined the Maquis. At the time of his resignation, one of his students was Ro Laren. After he joined the Maquis, he became captain of a vessel named the "Val Jean", with a crew which among others included his lover Seska (Martha Hackett), B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), and Tuvok (Tim Russ), who was actually Captain Janeway's Chief of Security, on an undercover mission to infiltrate the Maquis.
In the pilot episode of "Voyager", while the crew on the "Val Jean" seek to evade a Cardassian vessel captained by Gul Evek (Richard Poe) in the Badlands, the vessel is transported some 70,000 light years across the galaxy into the Delta Quadrant by the creature known as the Caretaker. After the Federation starship USS "Voyager" is also trapped in the Delta Quadrant and Tuvok was revealed to be a Starfleet agent, Chakotay agrees with Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to work together to find two of their missing crew. Following an attack by the Kazon, Chakotay destroyed the "Val Jean" to save "Voyager" and the Maquis crew joined the Federation ship. Chakotay was given a provisional rank of commander and named executive officer, the second-in-command of the vessel and the crew seeks to return home to the Alpha Quadrant.
The Kazon continue to be a hindrance during "Voyager" initial period in the Delta Quadrant, with Chakotay dismayed in "State of Flux" when Seska is revealed as a Cardassian spy who has been providing technology to the Kazon to seek an alliance. She escapes "Voyager" and sides with the Kazon-Nistrim, one of the factions within that species. Chakotay is rendered brain dead, but is made into a disembodied spirit able to possess other crewmembers in "". The incident occurs while Tuvok and he were investigating a dark matter nebula, and he sought to prevent the ship from returning there, as an alien species wants to feed on the crew's neural energy. After "Voyager" enters the nebula, Chakotay possesses Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and guides the ship out using a medicine wheel as a map. Shortly afterwards, The Doctor (Robert Picardo) is able to restore Chakotay's mind into his body. At the end of the first season, Chakotay supported Tuvok's aim of helping the former Maquis crew adapt better to life on "Voyager" in "", by showing them the enforcement techniques of the Maquis.
In the episode "Tattoo", Chakotay meets with an alien race who influenced the ancestors of his tribe. They perceived "Voyager" as a threat because they had thought his people had been wiped out. He was able to resolve the problem using the teachings of his father. The Kazon returned and attacked "Voyager" in "", where they stole a transporter control module. Chakotay took it upon himself to retrieve the device, recognising that Seska was behind it. He managed to destroy it, but was captured and tortured by the Kazon in the process. He was rescued by "Voyager", and shortly afterwards, he was contacted by Seska, who informed him that she had impregnated herself with his DNA. In "", Chakotay and Janeway are infected with a virus which requires them to quarantine themselves on a nearby planet. The two began to show signs of affection for each other, but their stay is short-lived after "Voyager" under the captaincy of Tuvok agrees a deal with the Vidiians for a cure. The pair agree to return to the status quo on "Voyager", but remain good friends.
Chakotay was contacted by Seska in "" to say that his son had been born, and the Kazon were threatening to condemn her to the life of a slave. "Voyager" attempted to extract Seska and the child, but it was a trap and resulted in the Kazon boarding the vessel and stranding the Federation/Maquis crew on a nearby planet. While Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeil), The Doctor, and Lon Suder (Brad Dourif), along with allied Talaxian forces, sought to retake "Voyager", Chakotay was instrumental in the crew's survival on the planet. He saved Kes (Jennifer Lien) from a local tribe, and built an alliance with them. The crew retook "Voyager", and in the process Seska was killed. The child was discovered not to be Chakotay's, but instead a Cardassian/Kazon hybrid and the son of the Kazon-Nistrim leader First Maje Culluh (Anthony De Longis).
The first indication that "Voyager" was approaching Borg space was shown in the episode "". While investigating a Federation distress call in a shuttlecraft, Chakotay was injured by the natives of a planet. Another group saves him, and Chakotay discovers that the colonists are former Borg whose access to the main hive-mind was disrupted. He is linked to a local hive-mind to help him to heal, and after being returned to "Voyager", he is forced against his will to reactivate the colonists' former Borg Cube. Chakotay is released from the new "cooperative" after the Cube self-destructs, leaving the planet with a hive-mind separate from the main collective. Chakotay is captured by the Voth scientist Gegen (Henry Woronicz) in "Distant Origin", who is seeking to prove his hypothesis that the Voth came from Earth. When Gegen is placed on trial by his people, Chakotay seeks to argue in his defense. Ultimately, Gegen is forced to back down to save "Voyager" after the Voth threaten to destroy the vessel. Before they depart, Chakotay gives a model globe of the Earth to Gegen as a present.
His experience with the disconnected Borg resulted in Chakotay being against a plan to ally with the Borg against Species 8472 in "", causing conflict between Captain Janeway and him. The alliance results in Seven of Nine and a number of other Borg drones being placed on "Voyager" and Janeway injured. Although he was ordered to continue with the alliance, Chakotay seeks to renegotiate the alliance, but Seven refuses any changes. When she opens a rift to Fluidic Space, Chakotay decompresses the cargo bay, sending all the Borg drones out into space with the exception of Seven. Later, when the Borg attempt to double-cross "Voyager", Chakotay activates his localised neural link, confusing Seven and allowing Torres to disable her link to the Collective permanently.
During the "Year of Hell", Chakotay is captured by the Krenim scientist Annorax (Kurtwood Smith) on a Time Ship. The two first attempt to work together as Annorax agrees to restore the now damaged "Voyager" if Chakotay complies with his demands. After Annorax wipes out a species, though, he helps to disable the ship, allowing Captain Janeway to destroy it by ramming "Voyager" into it. This results in the timeline being reset, and the events of the episode were undone. In "", he falls in love with Kellin (Virginia Madsen), a member of a xenophobic race who have developed a technology to prevent others from forming long-term memories of them. As such, he is informed that they were previously in love when she was on "Voyager" a month earlier, and rekindle their relationship despite Chakotay not remembering the earlier encounter. Another member of her race removes Kellin's memories of Chakotay and installs a virus to remove all records of their race. Chakotay takes to writing out his memories of Kellin on paper so that he will not forget them.
He was placed in command of "Voyager" after Seven was captured by the Borg in "Dark Frontier" and destroyed a transwarp conduit. Chakotay is later one of the members of the crew who were captured by Borg children in "" and was saved after Seven's intervention. Initially, Chakotay and Seven did not get along, but he would come to realise that he was mistaken in that opinion. Towards the end of the in "Human Error", Seven simulates a relationship with Chakotay on the holodeck. A Borg implant was preventing her from feeling strong emotions without any physical ill effects, which prevented her from seeking a romantic relationship with the real Chakotay. By the time of the series finale, "Endgame", The Doctor had managed to remove the implant, allowing Seven to pursue a relationship with Chakotay. The alternative future seen at the start of the episode showed that Seven and Chakotay were eventually married, but she died while "Voyager" was still travelling home. Chakotay died in 2394, following "Voyager" return, and Admiral Janeway visits his grave marker in that episode. This future was undone by the future Janeway travelling back in time to "Voyager" to return it to Earth sooner.
In the noncanonical , written by Christie Golden, Chakotay is promoted after the ship returns to Federation space, and becomes Captain of "Voyager". He and Seven of Nine break off their relationship. In "Old Wounds", the first of the "Spirit Walk" two-book series, the crew goes on their maiden cruise under Captain Chakotay and is joined by his sister, Sekaya, who's become a spiritual leader in their tribe. In the second book, "Enemy of my Enemy", Chakotay is replaced by a Founder who was previously pretending to be his first officer. Meanwhile, the real Chakotay and his sister are being held by a deranged Cardassian doctor, forcing Chakotay to undergo a spirit walk to save them both.
Janeway and Chakotay became romantically involved after their return from the Delta Quadrant, and following her death after her assimilation by the Borg in the "" novel "Before Dishonor", Chakotay resigns his commission and Afsarah Eden becomes the new Captain of "Voyager". However, in the very next novel by Kirsten Beyer, "Unworthy", Eden is promoted to fleet commander and Chakotay is restored as captain of "Voyager".
Some criticism was directed at Chakotay's character development during the series. James Lileks for the "Star Tribune" said that "Chakotay, the rock-solid First Officer, remained rock-solid", but also suggested that "[a]ll of the characters ended the series as they began."
Critics commented on the relationship between Janeway and Chakotay, with psychologist Richard Borofsky's views published in "The Boston Herald". He suggested that by several seasons into "Voyager", Chakotay had come to terms with his feelings for his Captain, but she was hesitant about entering into a relationship with a member of her crew. For the relationship to work in the future, it was said that Chakotay should not try to lead the relationship and Janeway needed to be more vulnerable. Following the end of "", the romance between Chakotay and Janeway was described in "The Chicago Tribune" as the one most wanted to be seen on screen in any of the "Star Trek" series, but that "it never panned out. Dang!" Chakotay's relationship with Seven was also commented on, and both UGO and io9 complained that the relationship appeared at random.
In 2016 Chakotay was ranked as the 11th most important character out of 100 of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" science fiction universe by "Wired" magazine. In 2018, CBR ranked Chakotay the 20th best Starfleet character of "Star Trek". In July 2019, Screen Rant ranked "" as one of the top five worst of the series, singling out Chakotay as a major problem in the show noting how he did not really fit in, and had poor development.
For his portrayal as Chakotay, Beltran won the Nosotros Golden Eagle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series in 1997. He was nominated in 1996 for the NCLR Bravo Award for Outstanding Television Series Actor in a Crossover Role, and the ALMA Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Television Series in a Crossover Role in 1998 and 1999.
Chakotay's inclusion in the main cast of "Voyager" was seen by critics as one of several who were used to highlight the diversity within the series. This was highlighted during the episode "", in which one scene showed Janeway, Tuvok, Harry Kim, and Chakotay in a single camera pan. Beltran's individual position was that he was "continually positioned as an exotic native other in relation to the white female Captain Janeway", and was used to "help the white protagonist and progress the internal narrative."
The placement of a character of indigenous peoples descent in science fiction was highlighted in the media. Drew Hayden Taylor said that Chakotay was "[p]erhaps the most well-known". Of Chakotay's origin, he said, "They never actually say what nation he is, but I do believe it's some Central American tribe." Hayden Taylor wrote in a later article in 2012 describing the rise of Native American characters in the "Twilight" film series that Chakotay was still the sole popular example of a Native American character in science fiction. Chakotay was also described as "the only First Nations role model around in a futuristic setting" in the 2005 book, ""Indian" Stereotypes in TV Science Fiction: First Nations' Voices Speak Out", but was also referred to as the "quintessential Tonto in outer space". A similar criticism was highlighted of the character in "Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War" (2008), which called Chakotay "a creature of white fantasies" and suggested that he was "far more stereotypical than Tonto" as "at least Tonto was heroic and saved the Lone Ranger once in awhile".
Although religion was referenced during the Star Trek franchise, such as in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?", it did not take a more prominent role until later in the series, with "" exploring the Bajorans' beliefs and "Voyager" concentrating on those of Chakotay. These included vision quests, and other interpretations of Native American culture which were described by critics as showing a "very Hollywood version of Plains-culture religion".
The appearance of a medicine wheel in the episode "Cathexis" was described by Sierra S. Adare as showing Chakotay as a "'good Indian' in the classic Pocahontas sense". Chakotay is seen attempting to introduce rituals and meditation techniques to other crew members, something they failed to understand. These were said to be contrary to the tribal history described in "Tattoo", which was said to say that Chakotay's tribe descended from a pre-Mayan culture in Central America. Adare attributed this to Euro-American/European writers writing inaccurate information into scripts. However, the appearance of the character was described as "groundbreaking". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27085 |
Maquis (Star Trek)
In the "Star Trek" science fiction franchise, the Maquis are a 24th-century paramilitary organization-terrorist group (like the World War II Maquis in the French Resistance and the Spanish Maquis that emerged in the Spanish Civil War) first introduced in the 1994 episode "The Maquis" of the television series "", and subsequently appearing in "" and "". The Maquis story debuted when three "Star Trek" television shows running from the late 1980s to 2001 took place in the same fictional science-fiction universe at the same time in the future (the 2360s-70s). As a result, the Maquis story was told across dozens of episodes with many more shows providing the context in the wider "Star Trek" narrative.
The Maquis are also featured in the comic book saga "" by Malibu Comics, who held the rights to "Deep Space Nine" comics in the 1990s. The Maquis are an important part of "Star Trek: Voyager", as the formative plot for the series is that a Federation and a Maquis crew are stranded together on the opposite side of the Galaxy. The Maquis are also in the book series "The Badlands" by Susan Wright, who also has written many other non-canon Trekiverse novels published by Pocket Books.
The concept of the Maquis was introduced by the creators of "Deep Space Nine" so that it could play a role in the upcoming "Voyager", which was scheduled to begin airing in 1995. As Jeri Taylor commented, "We knew that we wanted to include a renegade element in "Voyager", and that the show would involve a ship housing both Starfleet people and those idealistic freedom fighters that the Federation felt were outlaws [i.e., the Maquis]." Therefore, the creators of "Star Trek" decided to create a backstory for the Maquis in several episodes of "Deep Space Nine" and "The Next Generation", and named them after the French guerrilla fighters of the Second World War. The recurring characters of Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall) in "Deep Space Nine" and Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) in "The Next Generation" became members of the Maquis, and "Voyager" contained regular former Maquis characters such as Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), as well as recurring characters such as Seska (Martha Hackett).
In "Caretaker", the pilot episode of "Star Trek: Voyager", the titular starship pursues a Maquis ship into the Badlands before being teleported to the Delta Quadrant.
According to the fictional storyline of the "Star Trek" universe, the Maquis were formed in the 24th century after a peace treaty was enacted between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union, redesignating the demilitarized zone between the two powers, which resulted in the Federation ceding several of their colony worlds to the Cardassians. Although the colonists were offered free relocation to elsewhere in Federation territory, some insisted on remaining on the ceded worlds, effectively becoming Cardassian Union citizens. Some of these colonists subsequently formed the Maquis to protect themselves from Cardassian aggression, although they received no official support from the Federation, who feared breaking the peace treaty with the Cardassians, which would lead to war.
Nonetheless, various Federation members supported the Maquis' cause, and illegally helped to supply them with weapons and other technology that they could use in their struggle. In several cases, the Federation actually intervened in the war between the Maquis and the Cardassians, aiding the latter in recognition of the peace treaty. In one case, the Federation ship tracked a Maquis vessel to the Badlands with the intention of apprehending it, but an alien force transported both to the Delta Quadrant, on the opposite side of the Milky Way Galaxy. The two crews were forced to unite to survive against alien threats such as the Kazon and the Borg. In later years, when the Cardassians joined the Dominion to fight in the Dominion War against the Federation, the Dominion aided the Cardassian military in wiping out the Maquis, a prelude to their war against the Federation and its allies.
The Maquis provide moral challenges to existing characters such as Quark and Sisko on Deep Space Nine station. Quark is lured into selling weapons to the Maquis by an attractive Vulcan woman, showing how his desire for money unwittingly turned him into an illegal arms dealer. Sisko must navigate the internal politics of the Cardassians and Federation as he tries to uphold the peace treaty, in addition to being tested by his old friend trying to recruit him into the rebellion.
Cardassians were introduced on "Star Trek The Next Generation" in January 1991 with the episode "", which lays some of the foundation for the Federation settlements on the Cardassian border. "" aired in October 1991 introducing the experiences of living in Cardassian-occupied space. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" premiered in January 1993 and is primarily set within former Cardassian-occupied space. "The Next Generations"s "" aired in March 1994 and introduced the results of the Federation-Cardassian peace treaty and establishment of a new demilitarized zone with Federation colonists in Cardassian territory. The Maquis were then formally introduced one month later on "Deep Space Nine"s two-part episode "" and would then be the focus of many episodes of the franchise.
Various members of the Maquis are characters in "TNG", "DS9", and "Voyager", although membership is sometimes transitory and as revealed by the Maquis saga, for example some are revealed as Federation agents. The reveal of a character's identity is common plot device throughout the story line. Many episodes play on these questions
In the "Star Trek" science fiction franchise, the Maquis are known to use a diverse mix of older spacecraft from the United Federation of Planets. Three aspects are that the spacecraft are older, as much as several decades, there are a variety of types in service, and finally, they tend to be of Federation design. Although the spacecraft are old, the Maquis are known to upgrade them with advanced weaponry to take on larger Cardassian vessels such as the "Galor" class.
The Maquis Fighter seen in the DS9 episodes (The Maquis I & II) was designed by Jim Martin and the model for the special effect shots was built by Tony Meinenger. The fighter/transport used by Ro was also designed by Jim Martin, but that model was built by Greg Jein. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27086 |
Kes (Star Trek)
Kes is a fictional character on the American science fiction television show "". She is portrayed by actress Jennifer Lien. Set in the 24th century of the "Star Trek" universe, the series follows the crew of the starship USS "Voyager", stranded far from home and struggling to get back to Earth. Kes is a member of the Ocampa (a telepathic alien species with an average life expectancy of nine years) who joins the crew in the series' premiere episode along with her Talaxian boyfriend, Neelix. She subsequently works as 's medical assistant and develops her mental abilities with Tuvok's assistance.
Kes' storylines focus on her relationships with Neelix, the Doctor, Tuvok, Tom Paris, and Captain Janeway. Her psionic powers are also central and secondary themes of some episodes. Lien was removed from the series in the , but reprised her role in a episode, "". Kes has been featured in non-canon novels and short stories adapted from the show.
Critical response to Kes was mostly negative, though some critics praised Lien's performance. Although Kes' relationship with Neelix was panned, critics had a more mixed-to-positive reaction to her friendships with Tuvok and Tom Paris. Kes' relationships with members of "Voyager's" crew and her psionic powers attracted attention from academics.
Early development of "", including the Ocampa, began in July 1993. Producers initially imagined the Ocampa as an androgynous alien species. In later meetings, they agreed on the idea of the Ocampa having a short lifespan, similar to a mayfly. Kes was intended to live for only seven years, and changes in her appearance were planned for each season, emphasizing her age progression. The androgyny concept was dropped, as the first cast description identified Kes, who was initially named "Dah", as a female. Producers proposed a second Ocampa, shown near the end of his lifespan, as part of the main cast, though this idea was abandoned in favor of Neelix, who was a late addition to the series. Kes was initially created as a scout for "Voyager" journey through the Delta Quadrant, before Neelix assumed the role instead. Kes was then reimagined as a medical intern. In an August 1993 memo, series creator Jeri Taylor suggested Kes have a superhuman ability and be caught in a war between two factions. Producers debated the nature of the character's psionic powers, leading them to ask production associate Zayra Cabot and the Joan Pearce Research Associates to gather information on parapsychology. They later agreed to portray Kes with "some measure of telepathic ability" for the pilot episode (""), and planned to address it further in future episodes.
When casting Kes, "Caretaker" director Winrich Kolbe looked for an actress who was "fragile, but with a steely will underneath". The casting call was for only women in their early-twenties or younger. Producers hired Jennifer Lien based on their belief that she could embody the character's "somewhat childlike and fragile" qualities. Lien was one of the first cast members hired for the series; at the age of nineteen, she was the youngest actor on the show at the time of its debut. Lien only had a basic understanding of the "Star Trek" franchise prior to receiving the part. She said this allowed her to approach her performance without anxiety. She had auditioned for the show due to the opportunity to play a new alien species, and explained "it meant that anything could happen, offering me the chance to learn and grow as an actress". Jennifer Gatti was considered as a runner-up for Kes, and she would later guest star in the episode "".
Series creator Michael Piller was concerned the pilot was too "passionless" due to its focus on an action-adventure storyline over individual character development; he explained: "The biggest danger in the pilot was in creating a story that nobody cared about." Part of Kes' role in the episode, for Piller, was to encourage the audience to care about Neelix. The costumes in "Caretaker" were created by Robert Blackman. He said designing Kes' clothing was a challenge since producers were still unclear about the character and Lien was very introverted. Although he had difficulty with Lien, Blackman said the cast and crew enjoyed working with her. Kes' original costume was pastel colored and based on a sprite, but the producers rejected it after a wardrobe fitting.
The Ocampa prosthetics for "Caretaker" were designed by Michael Westmore. While the early scenes of "Caretaker" were filmed, Lien tested various combinations of wigs and prosthetics; cinematographer Marvin V. Rush filmed each version for series creator Rick Berman to receive his final approval. During the show's first two seasons, it took Lien three hours a day to get into her character's hair, make-up, and wardrobe. As the series progressed, Lien developed an allergic response to the ear prosthetics; starting with the episode "", Lien no longer wore the ear prosthetics and Kes was portrayed with longer hair to cover her ears and hide this.
The "Caretaker" script stated Kes was a "dazzling, ethereal beauty, waifish and fragile", with a "dignity – her bearing, an alertness in her look, that suggests a being of powerful intelligence". On the "Star Trek" official website, the character is identified as a "tough survivor and a bit of a rebel". In a 1996 interview, Lien characterized Kes as "strong and curious and intelligent" despite still being "a child in a way with the same fears and inhibitions and worries that we all have". She saw the character's lack of "cynicism or precociousness or pretentiousness or sarcasm" as different from typical young female roles. Although she found "this kind of diversity in a character" difficult to play, Lien enjoyed the process and said: "It's a joy to pretend to be this extraordinary creature, so open and everything so new."
Lien was not given information about her characters' future storylines prior to receiving the final copies of the scripts. Unlike the show's other actors, she did not campaign for changes to her character, explaining "I felt my contribution was more in the acting, and not in the writing". She viewed Kes' developing mental abilities as representing "her confidence in being able to choose a path for her life", and identified temptation as a key part in her character arc. Author Paul Ruditis summed up Kes through the paradoxical phrase "fragile power".
Kolbe said Kes and Neelix brought romance and comedy to the series. Lien and Neelix's actor Ethan Phillips said they enjoyed filming their scenes together. Writer Kenneth Biller wanted to establish the pair as living together and sexually active, but Taylor and Berman thought Kes looked too young for those storylines. Biller proposed scenes in which the characters talk about sex for the first time as a way to explore "the weirdness of alien sexuality". This discussion led to dialogue being included in the episode "Elogium". Despite this, the sexual relationship between Kes and Neelix is never clearly defined.
After Kes breaks up with Neelix in "", Phillips asked writers to provide closure for the couple in a subsequent episode. He believed the end of their relationship was too "muddy", since Kes was possessed by an alien, and thus unable to control her actions, during the break-up scene. The writers denied his request, saying: "No, let's just drop it, let's move on." Producers had planned a scene for the episode "" in which Kes and Neelix discuss the end of their romantic relationship, but it was removed due to time constraints. Berman discussed the couple during a 1997 interview, saying: "There was a relationship with Neelix that didn't work out that well."
Kes has a more parent-child relationship with Kathryn Janeway and , portrayed by Kate Mulgrew and Robert Picardo, respectively. Ruditis identified Kes' trust in Janeway as representing her desire to explore the universe. Picardo viewed Kes as the Doctor's "sounding board" and "emotional confessor" as she mentored him on being human. Following the removal of Kes in the , Picardo was concerned the Doctor would be relegated to the role as the comic relief. He suggested producers invert the Doctor's relationship with Kes to show him teaching former Borg drone Seven of Nine about humanity. A darker relationship between the Doctor and Kes was planned for the episode "". According to writer Joe Menosky, the Doctor's evil alter ego was going to be "perversely sexual and sadistic" and have a "psychosexual" attraction to Kes. Menosky drafted a scene in which the Doctor interacts with holograms of Kes on the holodeck, including performing surgery on one, but this was cut from the final episode. Unlike Neelix, Janeway, and the Doctor, Kes has few scenes with B'Elanna Torres. Roxann Dawson, who plays Torres, requested for further interaction between the two.
Lien was removed from "Star Trek: Voyager" during its fourth season to accommodate the introduction of Jeri Ryan, who plays Seven of Nine. Chakotay's actor Robert Beltran said changing a lead character mid-season was unusual for the "Star Trek" franchise, though Taylor believed it was typical for a show in its later seasons. There was speculation in the media that Harry Kim's actor Garrett Wang was going to be replaced instead, but that he was kept due to his appeal to a certain demographic and placement on "People"'s "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" list. Wang said: "The timing of that, right during our hiatus, certainly couldn't have hurt me in terms of them keeping me on the show."
Berman and Taylor chose to remove Kes since they felt the character was not properly developed over the course of the show. Executive producer Brannon Braga regarded this decision as a "failure of imagination on the writers' part". Braga requested freelance writer Bryan Fuller develop the concept for Kes' departure. Receiving a positive response during a pitch meeting, Fuller helped to rewrite the character's final episode "". He said he had "really bonded" with Kes during the episode's production.
Some of the series' writing staff were sorry that Kes was removed; Kenneth Biller stated:
I was a little bit regretful when Kes left the show, because I thought she was an interesting character to write for—from a science fiction standpoint—because she had certain... she had telepathic abilities, she had this very compressed lifespan, she had things about her character that often lent themselves to interesting storytelling [...] We lost something in losing the Kes character.
Mulgrew was also disappointed by Lien's departure, describing it as a "great sorrow to me on many levels", describing the departure as the "fracturing of an ensemble cast that was extremely special to me". Tim Russ, who portrays Tuvok, referred to the character's exit as "gracious" and "poignant".
After leaving "Voyager", Lien stopped acting to pursue an associate degree in health. Despite this, producers invited her back for an episode because they wanted to use Kes to advance the story. The concept for this episode, "", was developed by Braga and written by Fuller and Michael Taylor. "Cinefantastique"'s Anna L. Kaplan considered Fuller's involvement ironic due to his participation in "The Gift". Lien was uncomfortable with the original script, and requested that it be rewritten. She said it was difficult to play a different version of Kes and interact with the other characters who had changed since her last appearance. Lien did not have the same allergic response to the ear prosthetics since she did not have to wear them for the same length of time. During a 2010 interview with StarTrek.com, Lien said she preferred her performance in "The Gift" to that for "Fury", saying she made "a lot of poor acting choices" in the latter.
Kes was born in 2369 on Ocampa, a planet in the Delta Quadrant. As a part of the Ocampa species, she is telepathic and has a life expectancy of nine years. Prior the show's pilot episode, Kes lived with her people in an underground city constructed by a Nacene alien known as the Caretaker. He had cared for the Ocampa since inadvertently destroying their planet's ecosystem and atmosphere thousands of years ago; the Ocampa became completely insular and dependent upon him. The Caretaker had sealed the city away from the planet's surface to protect the Ocampa; however, Kes dreamed of leaving the Ocampa enclave to explore the galaxy and develop her psionic powers, with which her ancestors were rumored to have far more proficiency. Finding a way to Ocampa's surface, she was captured and tortured by the Kazon who hope to gain access to the Ocampa city and its resources; Neelix, a Talaxian, rescued her, and they became a couple.
When the Caretaker realizes he is dying, he abducts beings from the Alpha Quadrant in the hopes of finding a compatible mate with whom to produce offspring to ensure someone can continue protecting and caring for the Ocampa. In the show's pilot episode, the Caretaker kidnaps members of a Maquis crew and the Starfleet crew of the starship USS "Voyager". Kes helps the ships' captains, Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay, recover their missing crew members. Janeway encourages the Caretaker to allow the Ocampa to care for themselves; although he refers to the Ocampa as children and believes they are unable to survive by themselves, she says that they must be allowed to grow up and learn to care for themselves. When the Kazon attack and attempt to steal the Caretaker's technology, Janeway orders the destruction of his vessel. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the Maquis and Starfleet crew merge on their journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. Kes and Neelix decide to serve as guides to the stranded crews. The remaining Ocampa stay on the planet.
Aboard "Voyager", Kes starts a hydroponics garden to provide vegetables and fruit for the crew's meals. She also develops a friendship with while studying to become his medical assistant. She encourages him to develop a better set of social skills and pushes the crew to recognize him as more than just a hologram. In "", the Vidiians harvest Neelix's lungs, and Kes donates one of her own to save his life. During "Elogium", emanations from space-dwelling lifeforms cause Kes to prematurely enter the elogium, the Ocampa female reproductive state. This condition can only occur once during an Ocampa life cycle. Kes and Neelix disagree over the idea of having children. Neelix eventually agrees to being a father, but Kes decides against conceiving a child. After the ship moves away from the life forms, the Doctor determines that Kes has gone through a false alarm; she will be able to go through a true elogium in the future. Throughout the first two seasons, Neelix becomes jealous of Tom Paris' interest in Kes. Neelix and Paris resolve this tension in "" while nursing a reptilian humanoid baby together during an away mission.
During the first two seasons, Kes slowly develops her psionic powers. She has visions of a planet's destruction in "" and is able to resist a psychoactive trance to save the crew in "". "Voyager" discovers a second Ocampa colony in "", and its leader Tanis teaches Kes to see and control particles on the subatomic level. Kes was previously trained by Tuvok, who took a more cautious approach. Under Tanis' tutelage, Kes develops pyrokinesis, but she is unable to control the power and almost kills Tuvok by boiling his blood. After discovering that Tanis is collaborating with the Caretaker's first mate, Suspiria, to destroy "Voyager", Kes subdues him with her powers. Tuvok reminds Kes that she must learn to control, rather than fear, her darker impulses. Tiernan, a former dictator of the planet Illari, takes control of Kes' body in "Warlord". He uses her mental powers to stage a coup against his planet's leader. While under Tieran's influence, Kes breaks up with Neelix. The crew eventually free Kes from Tieran's control and kill him, though she is traumatized by the experience.
In "Darkling", Kes becomes attracted to Zahir, who is a part of a humanoid species called the Mikhal Travelers. She is interested in the Mikhal Travelers for their desire to explore space. The Doctor injures Zahir and kidnaps Kes after developing an evil alter ego while grafting new personalities into his program. Kes considers leaving "Voyager" to be with Zahir, but later decides against this. While exploring a Nechani holy site in "", Kes is shocked into a coma by its force field. The Nechani believe Kes is being punished for her sacrilegious behavior. After participating in a religious ritual, Janeway realizes she must rely on her own faith rather than technology to cure Kes. Going against her crew's advice, Janeway carries Kes into the shrine. The force field does not harm them, and Kes recovers.
In "Before and After", an episode in the , Kes lives short periods of her life in reverse order, starting with her death and ending with her birth. In this alternative timeline, she is romantically involved with Paris, and they have a daughter, Linnis, who marries and has a son with Harry Kim. During this timeline, Kes participates in "Voyager's" year-long battle with the Krenim, which takes place in the season four episode "Year of Hell". She is infected with particles from a chroniton torpedo during the Krenim attack; Paris speculates that this exposure to chroniton radiation is the reason why Kes is irregularly jumping back in time. When the Doctor brings Kes back to the present, she documents information about the Krenim and their future attack. At the end of the episode, Tuvok says Kes has seen only one possible future for "Voyager". During "", "Voyager" becomes entangled in a major conflict between the Borg and Species 8472. Partially due to her exposure to the powerful telepathic influx of Species 8472, Kes begins to evolve into a different state of being. In "The Gift", she realizes she can no longer remain aboard "Voyager", as her powers threaten to destroy the ship. She uses her newly acquired powers to hurl "Voyager" and its crew safely beyond Borg space, 9,500 light-years closer to Earth, before turning into living energy.
Kes revisits "Voyager" in "Fury", in which she is near the end of her life cycle and experiencing memory loss. She mistakenly believes that Janeway kidnapped her from Ocampa, and she travels back in time to negotiate with the Vidiians, promising to help them access the ship to harvest the crew members' organs if they take her younger self home. After this plan is stopped, the younger Kes creates a hologram to remind her future self about her affection for the crew and how much they had cared for her. After seeing the hologram, the older version of Kes says goodbye to the crew before taking her ship back to Ocampa.
Kes appears in non-canon novels and short stories adapted from "Star Trek: Voyager". In Christie Golden's 1997 book "Marooned", an alien kidnaps Kes, and during Greg Cox's 1997 novel "The Black Shore", she feels a "psychic call" when the crew takes shore leave on a planet. Kes is featured in the novels "Mosaic" (1996) and "Pathways" (1998) in which she accompanies an away team on an unknown planet and helps the crew escape a prison camp, respectively. Jennifer Lien contributes recipes for potato salad and a "good-karma lentil soup" for the 1999 cookbook based on the series. Written by Ethan Phillips and William J. Birnes, the book mentions that tubers are Kes' favorite food.
In Christie Golden's novel trilogy "Dark Matters", Kes is known as the "Entity", and gathers mutated dark matter. She has forgotten about her past aboard "Voyager" after turning into living energy, but slowly regains some memories over the course of the books. She does not contact the crew and is told she is a parallel-universe version of herself, separate from the one featured in "Fury". Tuvok, however, does briefly sense her presence before her departure. In Kirsten Beyer's 2012 novel "The Eternal Tide", Kes and Q Junior resurrect Janeway after she is assimilated by the Borg and subsequently killed. Q Junior teaches Kes how to pull Janeway's body back together and restore her to her most perfect state.
Kes also features in Heather Jarman's 2006 book "Evolution", the third installment of the trilogy "String Theory", in which she helps the Doctor and Q with the birth of an Ocampa-Nacene hybrid. When the Ocampan mother is unable to carry the baby to term, Kes merges with her to act as a surrogate. After giving birth to a boy, Kes takes him to Ocampa; a rainstorm on the planet hints at the recovery of its ecosystem. The novel retcons Kes' appearance in "Fury" as the manifestation of her dark side, formed as a side effect of a confrontation with a renegade Nacene. In Penny A. Proctor's short story "Restoration", included in the 2001 anthology "Strange New Worlds V", Kes sacrifices herself to revive Ocampa's ecosystem. The mirror universe version of Kes features in the "Star Trek: Mirror Universe" novel series.
Lien received some positive feedback for her performance. In a 1995 review of "Caretaker", "Variety"'s Kinsey Lowe praised Lien's performance as a "beguiling blend of naive wonder and fierce dedication". "Screen Rant"'s Alexandra August applauded Lien for trying "her best with what she was given", but felt she could not make Kes "very dynamic" as a character. Kes' removal in season four was praised by critics who believed the character was poorly developed. Rob Owen, writing for Albany's "Times Union", criticized Kes as "reduced to a subservient Nurse Chapel role". However, "The Virginian-Pilot"'s Larry Bonko was disappointed by Kes' exit, as he felt the character "gave the series heart".
"Screen Rant" contributors felt Kes had potential if her storylines focused more on her short lifespan and mental powers. Snellgrove cited Kes as an example of how certain "Star Trek: Voyager" character were underused. August felt she was not given enough screen time or character development to become interesting. Thompson described the Ocampa as one of the more fascinating species introduced on "Star Trek: Voyager", and wrote that Kes' departure was one of the five things that hurt the show.
Kes' romance with Neelix was the subject of criticism. Although the relationship was introduced in the pilot, Ruditis felt it was "somewhat undefined as the series progressed". TrekMovie.com's Matt Wright panned the couple as "borderline gross", and Thompson cited them as having the worst chemistry on the series. Thompson and Gizmodo's Tom Pritchard wrote that Kes would have benefited if Neelix was not included on the show. August criticized the frequency in which Kes' storylines revolved around her love life. Kes' relationship with other characters received a better response. Thompson praised Paris' attraction for Kes as "a good setup relationship to guide him into being a better and more responsible man for B'Elanna". August believed Tuvok and Kes could been an ideal couple if he was not already married.
Critics had a mostly negative response to Kes' storyline for "Elogium". Commentators questioned the plausibility of an Ocampa woman only giving birth once as it would cause an inevitable decrease in the species population. Writer David A. McIntee criticized the elogium as a poorly-done metaphor for puberty, PMS, teenage pregnancy, abortion, and menopause. On the other hand, "Bustle"'s Marie Southard Ospina praised the episode's depiction of a woman choosing to not have a baby without receiving judgement. Kes' return for "Fury" also received negative feedback from reviewers who found her characterization to be disappointing. "Den of Geek!"'s John Andrews likened the episode to a "sad yet compelling character study", although he believed Kes' shift in morality was not believable. August dislike the episode's version of Kes, describing it as "a ham-fisted way of undermining her entire journey after leaving "Voyager"".
Kes' relationship with "Voyager"'s crew was the focus of academic discussion. Cultural studies scholar Debra Bonita Shaw wrote Janeway only accepts Kes, Neelix, and Seven of Nine as her subordinates; to gain Janeway's acceptance, these characters must adhere to an established "structure of command" and help "Voyager" return home. Media studies scholar Aviva Dove-Viebahn was critical of the portrayal of Kes and Neelix as similar to "native informants", a character type that she described as "token and subjugated". However, Dove-Viebahn clarified that Kes had agency through her mental abilities, which are portrayed as stronger than the crew's scientific and medical technology. English literature professor David Greven criticized Kes' relationship with Tuvok, writing their differences in race and age was too uncomfortably similar to Uncle Tom's friendship with Little Eva in the 1852 novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
Scholars discussed her psionic powers in "Cold Fire". According to media studies scholar Marion Gymnich, the "Star Trek" franchise depicts telepathy with "infiltrations and mental intrusions". She cited Kes' loss of control in "Cold Fire" as an example of how "Star Trek" negatively portrays telepathic communication. Analyzing the scene in which Kes boils Tuvok's blood, Greven wrote that he becomes a monster similar to those in "Frankenstein", "The Phantom of the Opera", and "The Monster". Describing the sequence as one of the more disturbing in "Star Trek", Greven criticized the franchise for often changing "the differently-raced into monsters". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27087 |
List of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes
Created by Gene Roddenberry, the science fiction television series "" (which eventually acquired the retronym "Star Trek: The Original Series") starred William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, and DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy aboard the fictional Federation starship USS "Enterprise". The series originally aired from September 1966 through June 1969 on NBC.
This is the first television series in the "Star Trek" franchise, and comprises 79 regular episodes over the series' three seasons, along with the series' original pilot episode, "". The episodes are listed in order by original air date, which match the episode order in each season's original, remastered, and Blu-ray DVD box sets. The original, single-disc DVD releases placed the episodes by production order, with "The Cage" on the final disc. This list also includes the stardate on which the events of each episode took place within the fictional "Star Trek" universe.
After the series' cancellation, Paramount Television released "Star Trek" to television stations as a syndication package, where the series' popularity grew to become a "major phenomenon within popular culture". This popularity would eventually lead to the expansion of the "Star Trek" catalog, which as of 2017 includes six more television series and thirteen "Trek" motion pictures.
In 2006, CBS Paramount Domestic Television (now CBS Television Distribution) announced that each "Original Series" episode would be re-syndicated in high definition after undergoing , including both new and enhanced visual effects. (To date, the remastered episodes have only been broadcast in standard definition, though all three seasons are now available on the high-definition Blu-ray Disc format.) The remastered episodes began with "Balance of Terror" (along with, in some markets, "") during the weekend of September 16, 2006, and ended with "The Cage", which aired during the weekend of May 2, 2009. The remastered air dates listed below are based on the weekend each episode aired in syndication.
"Star Trek"s pilot episode, "The Cage", was completed between November 1964 and January 1965, and starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike, Majel Barrett as Number One, and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. The pilot was rejected by NBC as being "too cerebral" among other complaints. Jeffrey Hunter chose to withdraw from the role of Pike when creator Gene Roddenberry was asked to produce a second pilot episode ("Where No Man Has Gone Before") of which a slightly (but not significantly) edited version of the same name aired in 1966 as the third episode of the new series.
"The Cage" never aired during "Star Trek"s original run on NBC. It was presented by Roddenberry as a black-and-white workprint at various science fiction conventions over the years after "Star Trek"s cancellation but was not released on home video until 1986 when Paramount Home Video produced a "restored" release of "The Cage" (a combination of the original black-and-white footage and color portions of the Season 1 episode "") along with an introduction by Gene Roddenberry.
On October 4, 1988, Paramount Pictures aired a two-hour television special, hosted by Patrick Stewart, called "The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next", which featured, for the first time, a full-color television presentation of "The Cage". In some markets, the special did not air until October 15, 1988. In the United States, "The Cage" was first released to DVD in December 2001. It was later included on the final disc in both the original and "remastered" season 3 DVD box sets (listed with the original air date of October 15, 1988).
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" in its original form (production number 02a) had been forwarded to NBC, but only a re-edited version was aired, not as a pilot but as the third episode of the series (production number 02b). The original version was thought to be lost, but later appeared on bootleg VHS tapes at conventions, until a print of it was discovered in 2009 and subsequently released on home video under the title ""Where No Fan Has Gone Before" - The Restored, Unaired Alternate Pilot Episode" as part of the TOS season 3 box set on Blu-ray; it has not been released on DVD. This version remains unaired.
After Roddenberry's second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", received a more favorable response from NBC, "Star Trek" finally aired its first episode—"The Man Trap"—at 8:30PM on September 8, 1966. "Where No Man...", which eventually aired in a re-edited format as the series' third episode, retained only Spock as a character from "The Cage" but introduced William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, James Doohan as chief engineer Scotty, and George Takei as physicist (later helmsman) Sulu. Also joining the cast were DeForest Kelley as ship's surgeon Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy and Nichelle Nichols as the communications officer Uhura in "The Man Trap"; the first aired episode of the series.
Although her character of Number One was not retained from "The Cage", Majel Barrett returned to the series as a new character, nurse Christine Chapel, and made her first of many recurring appearances in "The Naked Time". Grace Lee Whitney appeared in eight episodes as yeoman Janice Rand, beginning with "The Man Trap". Whitney left the series after "The Conscience of the King", but would later make minor appearances in the , , , and "Star Trek" films as well as of the companion series "".
"Star Trek"s first season comprised 29 episodes, including the two-part episode "", which includes almost all of the footage from the original pilot, "The Cage". Other notable episodes include "Balance of Terror", which introduces the Romulans; "Space Seed", which introduces Khan Noonien Singh and serves as the basis for ""; "Errand of Mercy", in which the Klingons make their first appearance; and the critically acclaimed, Hugo-Award-winning episode "The City on the Edge of Forever", which features Kirk, Spock, and McCoy traveling into the past through the Guardian of Forever.
The show's 26-episode second season began in September 1967 with "Amok Time", which introduced actor Walter Koenig as Russian navigator Pavel Chekov, and granted viewers the first glimpse of Spock's homeworld, Vulcan. The season also includes such notable episodes as "", which introduces the evil "mirror universe"; "Journey to Babel", featuring the introduction of Spock's parents Sarek and Amanda; and the light-hearted "The Trouble with Tribbles", which would later be revisited in a 1973 episode of "" and a 1996 episode of "". The season ended with "", an attempt to launch a spin-off television series set in the 1960s.
After "Star Trek"s second season, NBC was prepared to cancel the show due to low ratings. Led by fans Bjo and John Trimble, "Trek" viewers inundated NBC with letters protesting the show's demise and pleading with the network to renew the series for another year. After NBC agreed to produce a third season, the network promised Gene Roddenberry that the show would air in a favorable timeslot (Mondays at 7:30 p.m.), but later changed the schedule so that "Trek" would air in the so-called "death slot"—Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. In addition to the "mismanaged" schedule, the show's budget was "seriously slashed" and Nichelle Nichols described the series' eventual cancellation as "a self-fulfilling prophecy".
"Star Trek"s final, 24-episode season began in September 1968 with "Spock's Brain". The third season also includes "The Tholian Web", where Kirk becomes trapped between universes; this episode would later be revisited by two 2005 episodes of the prequel series "". The last episode of the series, "Turnabout Intruder", aired on June 3, 1969, but "Star Trek" would eventually return to television in animated form when the debuted in September 1973.
The list below details the series' episodes in production order, including the original series pilot, "". While the "complete season" DVD releases (listed above) follow the original broadcast order, the original episodic DVD releases are numbered by production order.
"Star Trek" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One starting on July 12, 1969 with the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". The first episode broadcast in color was "" on November 15, 1969. The episodes were broadcast in a different order than in the United States and were originally aired in four seasons between 1969 and 1971. The BBC edited the episodes for broadcast by showing the title sequence first, then the teaser segment that aired before the titles in the United States, then the rest of the episode. These edited episodes aired until the 1990s, after which the BBC was supplied with NTSC videotape transfers of the first season instead of new film prints, resulting in a substandard picture, and with edits originally made for syndication in the United States. Viewer complaints led to the BBC obtaining film prints for the subsequent two seasons.
"" was first broadcast on Sky One in July 1990. Three episodes, "", "", and "", were not broadcast on the BBC until 1994, although "The Empath" was listed in the "Radio Times" as scheduled to broadcast on December 16, 1970 at 7:20 pm. Sky One was the first network to air these three episodes in the UK in 1990, although with the title sequence and teaser shown in the order as they were aired in the United States, whereas the rest of the episodes were broadcast as edited by the BBC. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27090 |
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS), originally aired as Star Trek and as The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, is an American animated science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired from September 8, 1973 to October 12, 1974 on NBC, spanning 22 episodes over two seasons. The second series in the "Star Trek" franchise, it is the first sequel to "". Set in the 23rd century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS "Enterprise" as it explores the Milky Way galaxy.
After the cancellation of "The Original Series" in 1969, the live action show proved popular in syndication and generated significant fan enthusiasm. This resulted in Roddenberry's decision to continue the series in animated form. Much of the original cast returned to provide voice-overs for their characters. Show writers David Gerrold and D. C. Fontana characterized "The Animated Series" as effectively a fourth season of "The Original Series". The adventures of the characters continued in cinematic form, the first being the 1979 film "".
"The Animated Series" was the original cast's last episodic portrayal of the characters until the "cartoon-like" graphics of the in 1992 as well as its sequel "" in 1993. Both appeared after the cast's final film together, "", released in December 1991. "The Animated Series" was critically acclaimed and was the first "Star Trek" series to win an Emmy Award when its second season won the 1975 Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment – Children's Series.
Lou Scheimer of Filmation was in talks with "Star Trek" producer Paramount Television, TV network NBC, and creator Gene Roddenberry to create an animated spin-off series while "The Original Series" was still on the air, during its third season (1968–69). Paramount's director of special programming Philip Mayer and Filmation writer/animator Don R. Christensen worked together to create a proposal for a series which would target a young audience and have an educational spin. The main cast of "Star Trek: The Original Series" would train the teenage crew of a ship called "Excalibur" about space exploration; the new teenage crew included a Vulcan named Steve, an African-American boy named Bob, and a Chinese boy named Stick.
However, due to the bitter relationship between Roddenberry and Paramount at the time, Scheimer was not able to get the two parties talking to each other in order to agree on a deal for several years. During this time, the project in its original form was phased out.
A deal was finally reached in early 1973, and publicly announced in early March 1973. Because of NBC's strong interest in the series, Roddenberry and Filmation were allotted very generous terms: a guaranteed minimum of two seasons with a combined 22 episodes, a budget of $75,000 per episode, and full creative control in Gene Roddenberry's hands.
Roddenberry and Filmation agreed that the series should be for all ages, rather than the children-oriented approach of the original proposal, and at Roddenberry's suggestion "The Original Series" script editor D. C. Fontana was hired as the series' story editor and associate producer. Despite the meager payment for writers ($1,300 per script, with no residuals), the opportunity to write a "Star Trek" episode without the special effects limitations of live action proved appealing, and many of "The Original Series" writers joined the staff. Fontana steered the series away from the romantic and sexual elements of "The Original Series", as she felt children would not be interested in them and she wanted "The Animated Series" to appeal to children as well as adults.
"The Animated Series" featured most of the original cast voicing their characters. The major exception was the character of Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), who did not appear in the series because the series' budget could not afford the complete cast. He was replaced by Lieutenant Arex, whose Edosian species had three arms and three legs; Lieutenant M'Ress, a female Caitian, sometimes stood in for Uhura as communications officer. Besides performing their characters Montgomery Scott and Christine Chapel, James Doohan and Majel Barrett also performed the voices of Arex and M'Ress, respectively.
Initially, Filmation was only going to use the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Doohan and Barrett. Doohan and Barrett would also perform the voices of Sulu and Uhura. Nimoy refused to voice Spock in the series unless Nichelle Nichols and George Takei were added to the cast, claiming that Sulu and Uhura were proof of the ethnic diversity of the 23rd century and should not be recast. Nimoy also took this stand as a matter of principle, as he knew of the financial troubles many of his "Star Trek" co-stars were facing after cancellation of the series. According to Scheimer, when Nimoy pointed out that the casting would cut the only two minority actors from the series, "We were horrified at our unintended slight, made all the worse because we were the one studio who had been championing diversity in its output." Koenig was not forgotten, as Filmation were able to assuage Nimoy's complaints on his account by buying a script from Koenig for one episode ("The Infinite Vulcan").
Voice recording began in June 1973, with the first three episodes recorded as an ensemble, i.e. all the voice actors for the episode in the room at the same time. Later episodes used the more typical model of recording the voice actors separately to work around their other commitments. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who were both touring in plays at the time, recorded their lines in whatever city they happened to be performing in and had the tapes shipped to the studio. Doohan and Barrett, besides providing the voices of their "Original Series" characters and newcomers Arex and M'Ress, performed virtually all of the "guest star" characters in the series, with exceptions such as Sarek, Cyrano Jones and Harry Mudd, who were performed by the original actors from "The Original Series". Other guest voice actors included Ed Bishop, who voiced the Megan Prosecutor in "The Magicks of Megas-tu", and Ted Knight, who voiced Carter Winston in "". Nichelle Nichols performed character voices in addition to Uhura in several episodes, including "The Time Trap" and "The Lorelei Signal".
Don Christensen, creator of the original proposal, remained involved as art director. Other animation staff included Reuben Timmins (who oversaw all shots involving the "Enterprise") and a young Bob Kline. The animators rotoscoped the animations for the "Enterprise" and the original cast from 35 mm film footage of "The Original Series". The chevrons were enlarged to make them easier to animate, but otherwise the crew's uniforms were unaltered from "The Original Series". Due to the hiring of nearly the entire regular cast of the original show, little money was left in the budget for the animation, so Filmation cut costs by using stock footage and shortcuts such as having a character put a hand to their mouth while speaking (thus eliminating the need to animate the lips) and silhouetting characters in action.
The animated series dispensed with the original series' theme music, composed by Alexander Courage, in favor of a new theme credited to Yvette Blais and Jeff Michael, but actually written by Filmation composer Ray Ellis. Ellis used the pseudonym Yvette Blais (the maiden name of his wife) due to complications with royalties and publishing companies, while Jeff Michael is a pseudonym for producer Norm Prescott, who received a pseudonymous credit and a cut of the royalties on all of Filmation's music as part of a standard deal for the time.
Similar to most animated series of the era, the 22 episodes of "TAS" were spread out over two brief seasons, with copious reruns of each episode. The director of the first season (16 episodes) was Hal Sutherland and Bill Reed directed the six episodes of season two, though the first four episodes of season two erroneously credit Sutherland.
All of this series' episodes were novelized by Alan Dean Foster and released in ten volumes under the "Star Trek Logs" banner. Initially, Foster adapted three episodes per book, but later editions saw the half-hour scripts expanded into full, novel-length stories.
"Star Trek: The Animated Series" was the only "Star Trek" series not to be produced with a cold open ("teaser"), instead starting directly with the title credits sequence. However, some overseas versions of the original live action series, such as those aired by the BBC in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s, were edited to run the teaser after the credits.
The series' writing benefited from a Writers Guild of America, East strike in 1973, which did not apply to animation. A few episodes were written by well-known science fiction authors:
In the original "Star Trek" series, the title character was given the name James T. Kirk. It was not until the animated series that writer David Gerrold expanded on the "T", giving us Captain James Tiberius Kirk. It was purely coincidental that he chose "Tiberius" (on Gene Roddenberry's first series "The Lieutenant", the principal character was William Tiberius Rice). According to Gerrold, he had been influenced by "I, Claudius", and had approached Roddenberry with his choice of middle name, but it was not until 2014 that he learned of its earlier use.
The animated series introduced a three-armed, three-legged alien member of the bridge crew with a long neck named Arex and a cat-like alien crew member named M'Ress. According to Roddenberry, budget limitations would have made it impossible for either alien species to appear in a live action series of the time.
The USS "Enterprise" in this series, while supposedly the same ship as from the original series, had a holodeck similar to the one later seen in "", which was set about eighty years later. It only appeared once, in Chuck Menville's "The Practical Joker", and was known as the "Rec Room". This feature was originally proposed for the original series but was never used.
A personal force field technology known as the life support belt was seen only in "Star Trek: The Animated Series". In addition to supplying the wearer with the appropriate atmosphere and environmental protection, it permitted the animators to simply draw the belt and yellow glow around the existing characters, instead of having to redraw them with an environmental suit. A version of the life support belt later appeared in an early "Star Trek: The Next Generation" novel, "The Peacekeepers", where they were referred to as "field-effect suits".
The episode "The Lorelei Signal" provides a rare instance in early "Star Trek" in which a female took temporary command of a starship. Due to the male crew members being incapacitated, Uhura assumes command of the "Enterprise" from Scotty. Other instances occurred on the first and last adventures filmed in the original series:
"The Lorelei Signal" and "The Infinite Vulcan", the latter written by Walter Koenig, are rare occurrences where Captain Kirk comes close to actually saying, "Beam me up, Scotty" (long erroneously believed to be a "Star Trek" catchphrase), when he commands "Beam us up, Scotty". "" arguably comes closer to it by having Kirk say "Scotty, beam me up".
An anti-pollution public service announcement was created for non-profit Keep America Beautiful featuring the "ST: TAS" characters and original cast voices. In the ad, the "Enterprise" encounters the "Rhombian Pollution Belt". The ad ran during Saturday morning network programming during the series' run.
At the end of the first season of "", all licenses for "Star Trek" spin-off fiction were renegotiated, and the animated series was essentially "decanonized" by Gene Roddenberry's office. Writers of the novels, comics and role-playing games were prohibited from using concepts from the animated series in their works. Among the facts established within the animated series that were called into question by the "official canon" issue was its identification of Robert April as the first captain of the USS "Enterprise" in the episode "The Counter-Clock Incident".
The "Star Trek Chronology" by production staffers Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda does not include the animated series, but does include certain events from "Yesteryear" and acknowledges Robert April as first captain of the "Enterprise". The timeline in "Voyages of the Imagination" dates the events of the series to 2269–2270, assuming the events of the show represented the final part of Kirk's five-year mission, and using revised Alan Dean Foster stardates. In the updated October 1999 edition of their book: "The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future", Michael and Denise Okuda state that:
David Gerrold, who contributed two stories to "TAS", stated in an interview his views on the canon issue:
Writer-producer D. C. Fontana discussed the "TAS" Canon issue in 2007:
Since Roddenberry's death in 1991, and the subsequent exit of Richard H. Arnold (who vetted the licensed tie-ins for Roddenberry's "Star Trek" office at Paramount during its later years), there have been several references to the animated series in the various live-action series. In the "" episode "", Kor referred to his ship, the "Klothos", which was first named in the "TAS" episode "". Other "DS9" episodes to make reference to the animated series include "", where Elim Garak mentions Edosian orchids (Arex is an Edosian) and "Tears of the Prophets" where a "Miranda"-class starship is called the USS "ShirKahr" (sic) after ShiKahr, the city from "Yesteryear". In the episode "Prophet Motive" the title of healer is resurrected from "Yesteryear" as well. Vulcan's Forge is also mentioned in "", in which Worf wants to honeymoon there with Jadzia Dax, as well as in episodes "", "" and "Kir'Shara" from "".
The "Star Trek: Enterprise" episodes "The Catwalk" and "" included references to "", the latter featuring a CGI rendition of a wild sehlat. The remastered Original Series episode "Amok Time" featured ShiKahr in the background as Spock beams up at the episode's ending, and the remastered version of "The Ultimate Computer" replaced the "Botany Bay"-style "Woden" with an automated grain carrier from "More Tribbles, More Troubles".
The 2009 film "Star Trek" also references "Yesteryear", featuring a nearly identical scene in which a young Spock is confronted by several other Vulcan children, who bully and provoke him for being part human.
The 2017 series "" episode "Context Is for Kings" has Spock's foster sister Michael Burnham state that their mother Amanda read "Alice in Wonderland" to them as children, as in the episode "Once Upon a Planet." The second season episode "Light and Shadows" expands on Amanda's reasons for doing so.
Carter Winston, from "", has a small but important role late in the 1984 tie-in novel "The Final Reflection" by John M. Ford. In recent years, references to "The Animated Series" have also cropped up again in the licensed books and comics. M'Ress and Arex, characters from the animated series, appear in the "" novels by Peter David, in which M'Ress and Arex are transported through time to the 24th Century, and are made officers on board the USS "Trident". (David's previous use of these characters, in TOS movie-era comics published by DC Comics, had been ended by Gene Roddenberry's office.)
A race introduced in the episode "The Jihad", represented by a character named M3 Green, is named the Nasat in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers e-book novellas. These stories feature a regular Nasat character, P8 Blue. The Vulcan city of ShiKahr also appears in many books. Paula Block, then of CBS Consumer Products, was responsible for approving proposals and all completed manuscripts for the licensed media tie-ins and granted many such uses of "TAS" material since Roddenberry's death.
Amarillo Design Bureau has—as part of its license for the Star Fleet Universe series of games—incorporated many aspects of "The Animated Series" into its works, not least being the inclusion of the Kzinti, although in a modified form. In addition FASA used elements from "The Animated Series" in its sourcebooks and modules for its .
"" producer Manny Coto has commented that had the show been renewed for a fifth season, the Kzinti would have been introduced. Starship designs were produced which closely resemble the Kzinti/Mirak ships from the "Star Fleet Universe", a gaming universe that includes the boardgame "Star Fleet Battles" and its PC analogue "".
On June 27, 2007, "Star Trek"s official site incorporated information from "The Animated Series" into its library section, with many pointing to this as evidence that the animated series is canon, though this has not been officially confirmed. Both David Gerrold and D. C. Fontana have stated that the animated series is essentially the fourth season that fans wanted originally.
In 1975, "Star Trek: The Animated Series" won an Emmy. The series is noted for the voice acting of actress Majel Barrett, who voiced various characters and the main computer. Majel also had roles in the live-action series for voice acting, but also as Number One, Nurse Christine Chapel, and Lwaxana Troi.
Through both seasons, "Star Trek: The Animated Series" faced the reverse situation of "The Original Series" with regard to its popularity: ratings were high, but skewed away from the young children which Saturday morning advertisers were trying to reach, being more popular with adults and older children.
"Star Trek: The Animated Series" was named the 96th best animated series by IGN. They declared that although the series suffered from technical limitations, its format allowed the writers far greater freedom and creativity than was possible in the original live-action series. In 2019, CBR ranked all 31 seasons of "Star Trek" television shows, placing season 1 of "TAS" at 23rd, and season 2 at 24th. Similarly to IGN, they commented that "The animation is definitely limited by today's standards, but the idea of an animated "Star Trek" makes perfect sense, since concerns over budget and scope would be very different. Although only two seasons long, we were given some memorable moments."
The comic "Star Trek vs Transformers" was inspired by "The Animated Series", and takes place in a similar universe.
In 2016, in a listing that included each "Star Trek" films and TV series separately, "The Animated Series" was ranked 11th by the "L.A. Times".
In 2019, Moviefone ranked "The Animated Series" the seventh best out of seven "Star Trek" TV series. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27092 |
Tom Paris
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Paris, played by Robert Duncan McNeill, is a character in the American science fiction television series "". In that show, which aired on UPN between 1995 and 2001, Paris serves as the chief helmsman and an auxiliary medic aboard the United Federation of Planets starship USS "Voyager", which must make its way home after being stranded on the opposite of the Galaxy as Earth with a motley collection of Starfleet, Maquis, and aliens as crew. The character's middle name, "Eugene", is a tribute to "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.
Tom Paris is the son of Starfleet Admiral Owen Paris and a scion of a family with a long history of illustrious service in Starfleet. Following in his family's tradition, Paris attended Starfleet Academy sometime in the 2350s and majored in astrophysics. A gifted pilot, he earned an assignment to the Academy's honor squadron.
His relationship with his father was not a good one; while Tom wanted to join the Federation Naval Patrol, Owen wanted him to enlist at Starfleet Academy. Admiral Paris often disapproved of his son's tendency to get into fights and his resulting punishments.
Soon after his graduation from Starfleet Academy, Tom crashed a shuttle he was piloting near Caldik Prime, killing three other Starfleet officers. Afraid he would lose his commission, Paris falsified records that would later reveal the cause of the accident as pilot error. His efforts to cover up the error succeeded, but overwhelmed by guilt and regret, he confessed. He was court martialed for his actions and dishonorably discharged from Starfleet. This caused a major rift between Paris and his father.
Following his discharge, Paris left San Francisco for Marseille, where he started spending his time drinking and playing pool in Sandrine's, a waterfront bar. There, Chakotay, a former Starfleet officer now serving with the Maquis, recruited him to serve as a mercenary pilot for the Maquis Rebellion against the Federation. This adventure went no better than his earlier stint in Starfleet as Paris was captured by Starfleet while piloting his first mission for the Maquis.
Tried and convicted of treason for aiding the Maquis Rebellion, Paris was sentenced to serve time in the Federation penal settlement near Auckland, New Zealand. Kathryn Janeway, captain of the starship USS "Voyager", obtained Paris's temporary release from the penal colony. Janeway, charged with finding and capturing the Maquis ship commanded by Chakotay, offered Paris early parole in exchange for serving as her informant on Chakotay and the Maquis.
Janeway and the crew of "Voyager", while searching for the Maquis ship, were thrown into the Delta Quadrant by a massive energy wave created by an alien known as the Caretaker. Once there, they successfully located the Maquis ship docked at the Caretaker's array. The survivors of the incident became stranded about 70,000 light-years from Earth. The Maquis ship was destroyed and its crew joined the Federation crew on "Voyager".
The marooning of "Voyager" in the Delta Quadrant provided Paris with a new beginning. Janeway gave Paris a field commission as a Starfleet lieutenant and made him chief helmsman of "Voyager". He had a rough start, however, as Starfleet and Maquis alike viewed Paris with suspicion. Paris worked hard to earn his crewmates' respect. During this time, he became best friends with Ensign Harry Kim, a young officer on his first mission who defied his crewmates to befriend Paris. Eventually Paris was accepted by the crew and became one of Janeway's valued officers.
Paris's duties were not limited to piloting "Voyager". On Janeway's orders, he trained as a field medic and assisted until the Doctor recruited Kes as his primary assistant. Following Kes's departure ("") Paris once again served regular duty shifts in sickbay.
In the episode "", while disobeying direct orders in order to do what he felt was morally right, Paris was reduced to ensign and thrown in "Voyager"s brig for 30 days. About a year later, after working diligently at his duties, he regained his former rank. This occurred just before the events of "Unimatrix Zero", during which it is revealed that he is fourth in the chain of command.
While serving on "Voyager", Paris nurtured a long-hidden talent for holo-programming, devising several programs for the entertainment of his fellow crewmembers. His most popular programs included a re-creation of Sandrine's bar, an Irish town called Fair Haven, and a 1930s-era sci-fi movie serial titled "Captain Proton".
Paris married Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres, "Voyager"s half-Klingon/half-Human chief engineer, in 2377. She gave birth to their daughter Miral Paris during the events that led to "Voyager"s return to the Alpha Quadrant and Earth.
Tom Paris at times displayed resentment toward his father, Owen Paris. This situation improved substantially over the course of the journey, due to Janeway's willingness to offer him redemption, and later to his relationship with B'Elanna Torres.
Paris also has a deep interest in 20th-century Earth pop culture, often utilizing such in his holo-programs. The knowledge helped the crew during time-travel incidents.
He became good friends with Harry Kim from the start and at times displayed protectiveness in the face of Harry's customary naiveté. In the first episode he rescues the ensign from Quark, a manipulative Ferengi. The only member of the crew with whom Paris initially had a somewhat difficult relationship was Chakotay because of their history in the Maquis. However, throughout "Voyager"s seven-year journey home, Paris and Chakotay reconciled (in part due to Paris having earned Chakotay's trust) and became good friends.
Paris was a full lieutenant at the very beginning of the series, then a lieutenant junior grade in the first-season episode "".
The writers planned to use the character of Nicolas Locarno as a template for Tom Paris, who was played by McNeill in the "" episode "The First Duty". "Voyager"s writers created an entirely new character sharing many of Locarno's attributes.
The Tom Paris character has two backstories. The original backstory, and the only one acknowledged onscreen, cast Paris as a disgraced officer dishonorably discharged from Starfleet for covering up pilot error following a shuttle accident on Caldik Prime. In her published novel, "Pathways", "Voyager" producer Jeri Taylor provided an alternative story much more similar to Locarno's, moving the accident to Paris' Starfleet Academy years and making his fellow cadets the victims of his recklessness.
An unproduced "Voyager" script was to have had a flashback to his time attending Starfleet Academy, and shown that Ro Laren, the Bajoran character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was among his classmates.
In the non-canonical "Voyager" relaunch novels, written by Christie Golden, Paris was promoted two steps in rank, like many of the "Voyager" crew, and is now a lieutenant commander. He serves as First Officer of "Voyager", under the command of now-Captain Chakotay.
In 2018, CBR ranked Tom Paris the 19th best Starfleet character of "Star Trek". In 2016, Tom Paris was ranked as the 26th most important character of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" science fiction universe by Wired magazine. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27094 |
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes (in his motion picture directorial debut) and based on the franchise "Star Trek". It is the eighth film in the "Star Trek" film series, as well as the second to star the cast of "". In the film, the crew of the USS "Enterprise"-E travel back in time from the 24th century to the mid-21st century in order to stop the cybernetic Borg from conquering Earth by changing their past.
After the release of "Star Trek Generations" in 1994, Paramount Pictures tasked writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore with developing the next film in the series. Braga and Moore wanted to feature the Borg in the plot, while producer Rick Berman wanted a story involving time travel. The writers combined the two ideas; they initially set the film during the European Renaissance, but changed the time period that the Borg corrupted to the mid-21st century, after fearing the Renaissance idea would be "too kitsch". After two better-known directors turned down the job, cast member Jonathan Frakes was chosen to direct to make sure the task fell to someone who understood "Star Trek".
The film's script required the creation of new starship designs, including a new USS "Enterprise". Production designer Herman Zimmerman and illustrator John Eaves collaborated to make a sleeker ship than its predecessor. Principal photography began with weeks of location shooting in Arizona and California, before production moved to new sets for the ship-based scenes. The Borg were redesigned to appear as though they were converted into machine beings from the inside-out; the new makeup sessions took four times as long as their appearances on the television series. Effects company Industrial Light & Magic rushed to complete the film's special effects in less than five months. Traditional optical effects techniques were supplemented with computer-generated imagery. Jerry Goldsmith and his son Joel collaborated to produce the film's score, though only Jerry was credited.
"Star Trek: First Contact" was released on November 22, 1996, and was the highest-grossing film on its opening weekend. It eventually made $92 million in the United States and Canada with an additional $54 million in other territories, combining a worldwide total of $146 million. Critical reception was mostly positive; critics including Roger Ebert considered it to be one of the best "Star Trek" films, and it was the most positively reviewed film in the franchise (93% of reviews were positive) until being marginally surpassed (94%) by the 2009 reboot film. The Borg and the special effects were lauded, while characterization was less evenly received. Scholarly analysis of the film has focused on Captain Jean-Luc Picard's parallels to Herman Melville's Ahab and the nature of the Borg. "First Contact" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup and won three Saturn Awards. It was followed by "" in 1998.
In the 24th century, Captain Jean Luc Picard awakens from a nightmare in which he relived his assimilation by the cybernetic Borg . He is contacted by Admiral Hayes, who informs him of a new Borg threat against Earth. Picard's orders are for his ship, , to patrol the Neutral Zone in case of Romulan aggression; Starfleet is worried that Picard is too emotionally involved with the Borg to join the fight.
Learning the fleet is losing the battle, the "Enterprise" crew disobeys orders and heads for Earth, where a single Borg Cube ship holds its own against a group of Starfleet vessels. "Enterprise" arrives in time to assist the crew of and its captain, the Klingon Worf. Picard takes control of the fleet and directs the surviving ships to concentrate their firepower on a seemingly unimportant point on the Borg ship. The Cube is destroyed after launching a smaller sphere ship towards the planet. "Enterprise" pursues the sphere into a temporal vortex. As the sphere disappears, "Enterprise" discovers Earth has been altered – it is now populated entirely by Borg. Realizing the Borg have used time travel to change the past, "Enterprise" follows the sphere through the vortex.
"Enterprise" arrives hundreds of years in its past on April 4, 2063, the day before humanity's first encounter with alien life after Zefram Cochrane's historic warp drive flight; the crew realizes the Borg are trying to prevent first contact. After destroying the Borg sphere, an away team transports down to Cochrane's ship, "Phoenix", in Montana. Picard has Cochrane's assistant Lily Sloane sent back to "Enterprise" for medical attention. The captain returns to the ship and leaves Commander William T. Riker on Earth to make sure "Phoenix"s flight proceeds as planned. While in the future Cochrane is seen as a hero, the real man is reluctant to assume the role the "Enterprise" crew describe.
A group of Borg invade "Enterprise"s lower decks and begin to assimilate its crew and modify the ship. Picard and a team attempt to reach engineering to disable the Borg with a corrosive gas, but are forced back; the android Data is captured in the melee. A frightened Sloane corners Picard with a weapon, but he gains her trust. The two escape the Borg-infested area of the ship by creating a diversion in the holodeck. Picard, Worf, and the ship's navigator, Lieutenant Hawk, travel outside the ship in space suits to stop the Borg from calling reinforcements by using the deflector dish. As the Borg continue to assimilate more decks, Worf suggests destroying the ship, but Picard angrily calls him a coward. Sloane confronts the captain and makes him realize he is acting irrationally. Picard orders an activation of the ship's self-destruct, then orders the crew to head for the escape pods while he stays behind to rescue Data.
As Cochrane, Riker, and engineer Geordi La Forge prepare to activate the warp drive on "Phoenix", Picard discovers that the Borg Queen has grafted human skin onto Data, giving him the sensation of touch he has long desired so that she can obtain the android's encryption codes to the "Enterprise" computer.
Although Picard offers himself to the Borg in exchange for Data's freedom, Data refuses to leave. He deactivates the self-destruct and fires torpedoes at "Phoenix". At the last moment the torpedoes miss, and the Queen realizes Data betrayed her. The android ruptures a coolant tank, and the corrosive vapor eats away the biological components of the Borg. With the Borg threat neutralized, Cochrane completes his warp flight. The next day the crew watches from a distance as an alien Vulcan ship, attracted by the "Phoenix" warp test, lands on Earth. Cochrane and Sloane greet the aliens. Having ensured the correction of the timeline, the "Enterprise" crew slip away and return to the 24th century.
"First Contact" is the first film in the "Star Trek" film series in which none of the main characters from "" appear. Rather, the main cast of "" play the following characters:
Several of "The Next Generation"s recurring characters also appeared in the film; Dwight Schultz reprised his role of Lieutenant Reginald Barclay and Patti Yasutake briefly appeared as Nurse . Whoopi Goldberg was not asked to return as Guinan, a wise bartender whose homeworld was destroyed by the Borg. Goldberg only learned about the decision through the newspapers. "What can I say? I wanted to do it because I didn't think you could do anything about the Borg without [my character]", she said, "but apparently you can, so they don't need me."
Michael Horton appears as a bloodied and stoic Starfleet Security Officer; his character would be given the name Lt. Daniels in the . Neal McDonough plays Lt. Hawk, the "Enterprise" helmsman who aids in the defense of the ship until he is assimilated and killed. McDonough was cavalier about his role as a disposable "redshirt", saying that since one of the characters in the deflector dish battle had to die, "that would be me".
The third draft of the script added cameos by two actors from the sister television series "", which was in its when the film was released. Robert Picardo appears as the "Enterprise"s Emergency Medical Hologram; Picardo played the holographic Doctor in "Voyager". He won the cameo after suggesting to producers that the "Enterprise" should have the same technology as "Voyager". Picardo's line "I'm a doctor, not a door stop", is an allusion to the "Star Trek" original series character Dr. Leonard McCoy. Picardo's fellow "Voyager" actor Ethan Phillips, who played Neelix, cameos as a nightclub maître d' in the holodeck scene. Phillips recalled that the producers wanted the fans to be left guessing whether he was the person who played Neelix or not, as he did not appear in the credits; "It was just kind of a goofy thing to do." During production, there were incorrect rumors that Avery Brooks would reprise his role as "" captain Benjamin Sisko. As with many "Star Trek" productions, new, disposable redshirt characters are killed off over the course of the plot.
In December 1992, Paramount Pictures executives approached "Star Trek: The Next Generation" producer Rick Berman and engaged him to create two films featuring the cast of the television series. Berman decided to develop two screenplays simultaneously, and prioritize the most promising one for the first film. The effort of writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore was chosen and developed into "Star Trek Generations". Two months after the release of "Generations", Paramount decided to produce the second feature for a winter holiday 1996 release. Paramount wanted Braga and Moore, who had written the "Generations" script and a number of "Next Generation" episodes, to pen the screenplay. Berman told Braga and Moore that he wanted them to think about doing a story involving time travel. Braga and Moore, meanwhile, wanted to use the Borg. "Right on the spot, we said maybe we can do both, the Borg and time travel," Moore recalled. The Borg had not been seen in full force since the fourth-season episode of "The Next Generation", "", and had never been heavily featured in the series due to budget constraints and the fear that they would lose their scare factor. "The Borg were really liked by the fans, and we liked them," Moore said. "They were fearsome. They were "unstoppable". Perfect foils for a feature story."
In deciding to combine the two story ideas, the writers decided that the time travel element could play out as the Borg attempt to prevent humanity from ever reaching space and becoming a threat. "Our goals at that point were to create a story that was wonderful and a script that was [...] producible within the budget confines of a "Star Trek" film", said Berman. One major question was identifying the time period to which the Borg would travel. Berman's suggestion was the Renaissance; the Borg would attempt to prevent the dawn of modern European civilization. The first story draft, titled "Star Trek: Renaissance", had the crew of the "Enterprise" track the Borg to their hive in a castle dungeon. The film would have featured sword fights alongside phasers in 15th-century Europe, while Data became Leonardo da Vinci's apprentice. Moore was afraid that it risked becoming campy and over-the-top, while Stewart refused to wear tights. Braga, meanwhile, wanted to see the "birth of "Star Trek"", when the Vulcans and humans first met; "that, to me, is what made the time travel story fresh", he said.
With the idea of "Star Trek"s genesis in mind, the central story became Cochrane's warp drive test and humanity's first contact. Drawing on clues from previous "Star Trek" episodes, Cochrane was placed in mid-21st-century Montana, where humans recover from a devastating world war. In the first script with this setting, the Borg attack Cochrane's lab, leaving the scientist comatose; Picard assumes Cochrane's place to continue the warp test and restore history. In this draft Picard has a love interest in the local photographer Ruby, while Riker leads the fight against the Borg on the "Enterprise". Another draft included John de Lancie's omnipotent character Q. Looking at the early scripts, the trio knew that serious work was needed. "It just didn't make sense [...] that Picard, the one guy who has a history with the Borg, never meets them," Braga recalled. Riker's and Picard's roles were swapped, and the planetside story was shortened and told differently. Braga and Moore focused the new arc on Cochrane himself, making the ideal future of "Star Trek" come from a flawed man. The idea of Borg fighting among period costumes coalesced into a "Dixon Hill" holographic novel sequence on the holodeck. The second draft, titled "Star Trek: Resurrection", was judged complete enough that the production team used it to plan expenses. The film was given a budget of $45 million, "considerably more" than "Generations" $35 million price tag; this allowed the production to plan a larger amount of action and special effects.
Braga and Moore intended the film to be easily accessible to any moviegoer and work as a stand-alone story, yet still satisfy the devoted "Star Trek" fans. Since much of Picard's role made a direct reference to his time as a Borg in "The Next Generation" episodes "The Best of Both Worlds", the opening dream sequence was added to explain what happened to him in the show. The pair discarded an opening which would have established what the main characters had been doing since the last film in favor of quickly setting the story. While the writers tried to preserve the idea of the Borg as a mindless collective in the original draft, Paramount head Jonathan Dolgen felt that the script was not dramatic enough. He suggested adding an individual Borg villain with whom the characters could interact, which led to the creation of the Borg Queen.
Cast member Frakes was chosen to direct. Frakes had not been the first choice for director; Ridley Scott and John McTiernan reportedly turned down the project. Stewart met a potential candidate and concluded that "they didn't know "Star Trek"". It was decided to stay with someone who understood the "gestalt of "Star Trek"", and Frakes was given the job. Frakes reported to work every day at 6:30 am. A major concern during the production was security—the script to "Generations" had been leaked online, and stronger measures were taken to prevent a similar occurrence. Some script pages were distributed on red paper to foil attempted photocopies or faxes; "We had real trouble reading them," Frakes noted.
Frakes had directed multiple episodes of "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager", but "First Contact" was his first feature film. Whereas Frakes had seven days of preparation followed by seven days of shooting for a given television episode, the director was given a ten-week preparation period before twelve weeks of filming, and had to get used to shooting for a 2.35:1 anamorphic ratio instead of the television standard 1.33:1. In preparation, he watched "Jaws", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "" and the works of James Cameron and Ridley Scott.
Throughout multiple script revisions a number of titles were considered, including "Star Trek: Borg", "Star Trek: Destinies", "Star Trek: Future Generations" and "Star Trek: Generations II". The planned title of "Resurrection" was scrapped when 20th Century Fox announced the title of the fourth "Alien" film as "Alien Resurrection"; the film was rebranded "First Contact" on May 3, 1996.
"First Contact" was the first "Star Trek" film to make significant use of computer-generated starship models, though physical miniatures were still used for the most important vessels. With the "Enterprise"-D destroyed during the events of "Generations", the task of creating a new starship fell to veteran "Star Trek" production designer Herman Zimmerman. The script's only guide on the appearance of the vessel was the line "the new "Enterprise" sleekly comes out of the nebula". Working with illustrator John Eaves, the designers conceived the new "Sovereign"-class "Enterprise"-E as "leaner, sleeker, and mean enough to answer any Borg threat you can imagine". Braga and Moore intended it to be more muscular and militaryesque. Eaves looked at the structure of previous "Enterprise" iterations, and designed a more streamlined, capable war vessel than the "Enterprise"-D, reducing the neck area of the ship and lengthening the nacelles. Eaves produced 30 to 40 sketches before he found a final design he liked and began making minor changes. Working from blueprints created by Paramount's Rick Sternbach, the model shop at effects house Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) fabricated a miniature over a five-month period. Hull patterns were carved out of wood, then cast and assembled over an aluminum armature. The model's panels were painted in an alternating matte and gloss scheme to add texture. The crew had multiple difficulties in prepping the miniature for filming; while the model shop originally wanted to save time by casting windows using a clear fiberglass, the material came out tacky. ILM instead cut the windows using a laser. Slides of the sets were added behind the window frames to make the interior seem more dimensional when the camera tracked past the ship.
In previous films, Starfleet's range of capital ships had been predominantly represented by the "Constitution"-class "Enterprise" and just five other ship classes: the "Miranda" class from "" (represented by the USS "Reliant"), the "Excelsior" and the "Oberth" class "Grissom" from "", and the "Galaxy" and "Nebula" classes from "The Next Generation". ILM supervisor John Knoll insisted that "First Contact"s space battle prove the breadth of Starfleet's ship configurations. "Starfleet would probably throw everything it could at the Borg, including ships we've never seen before", he reasoned. "And since we figured a lot of the background action in the space battle would need to be done with computer-generated ships that needed to be built from scratch anyway, I realized there was no reason not to do some new designs." Alex Jaeger was appointed visual effects art director to the film and assigned the task of creating four new starships. Paramount wanted ships that would look different from a distance, so the director devised multiple hull profiles. Knoll and Jaeger had decided that the ships had to obey certain "Star Trek" ship precedents, with a saucer-like primary hull and elongated warp nacelles in pairs. The "Akira" class featured the traditional saucer section and nacelles combined with a catamaran-style double hull; the "Norway" class was based on the USS "Voyager"; the "Saber" class was a smaller ship with nacelles trailing off the tips of its saucer section; and the "Steamrunner" class featured twin nacelles trailing off the saucer and connected by an engineering section in the rear. Each design was modeled as a three-dimensional digital wire-frame model for use in the film.
The film also required a number of smaller non-Starfleet designs. The warp ship "Phoenix" was conceived as fitting inside an old nuclear missile, meaning that the ship's nacelles had to fold into a space of less than . Eaves made sure to emphasize the mechanical aspect of the ship, to suggest it was a highly experimental and untested technology. The "Phoenix"s cockpit labels came from McDonnell-Douglas space shuttle manuals. Eaves considered the Vulcan ship a "fun" vessel to design. Only two major Vulcan ships had been previously seen in "Star Trek", including a courier vessel from "". Since the two-engine ship format had been seen many times, the artists decided to step away from the traditional ship layout, creating a more artistic than functional design. The ship incorporated elements of a starfish and a crab. Because of budget constraints, the full ship was realized as a computer-generated design. Only a boomerang-shaped landing foot was fabricated for the actors to interact with.
The "Enterprise" interior sets were mostly new designs. The bridge was designed to be comfortable-looking, with warm colors. Among the new additions was a larger holographic viewscreen that would operate only when activated, leaving a plain wall when disabled. New flatscreen computer monitors were used for displays, using less space and giving the bridge a cleaner look. The new monitors also allowed for video playback that could simulate interaction with the actors. The designers created a larger and less-spartan ready room, retaining elements from the television series; Zimmerman added a set of golden three-dimensional "Enterprise" models to a glass case in the corner. The observation lounge was similar to the design in the "Enterprise"-D; the set itself was re-used from the television show, the only such set not to be struck following the filming of "Generations", though it was expanded and underwent a color change. Engineering was simulated with a large, three-story set, corridors, a lobby, and the largest warp core in the franchise to date. For its Borg-corrupted state, the engineering section was outfitted with Borg drone alcoves, conduits and Data's "assimilation table" where he is interrogated by the Queen. Some existing sets were used to save money; sickbay was a redress of the same location from "Voyager", while the USS "Defiant" scenes used "Deep Space Nine"s standing set. Some set designs took inspiration from the "Alien" film series, "Star Wars" and "2001: A Space Odyssey".
The spacewalk scene on the "Enterprise" exterior was one of the most challenging sets to envision and construct for the film. The production had to design a space suit that looked practical rather than exaggerated. Fans were built into the helmets so that the actors would not get overheated, and neon lights built into the front so that the occupant's faces could be seen. When the actors first put the helmets on, the fully enclosed design made it hard to breathe; after a minute of wearing the suit Stewart became ill, and shooting was discontinued. The set for the ship's outer hull and deflector dish were built on gimbals at Paramount's largest sound stage, surrounded by bluescreen and rigged with wires for the zero gravity sequences. The stage was not large enough to accommodate a full-sized replica of the "Enterprise" dish, so Zimmerman had to scale down the plans by 15 percent.
The Starfleet uniforms were redesigned for the film by longtime "Star Trek" costumer Bob Blackman to give a more militaristic feel, with grey padded shoulders and colored undershirts. Since Blackman was also handling the costumes for the television series, non-Starfleet design clothes were delegated to Deborah Everton, a newcomer to "Star Trek" who was responsible for more than 800 costumes during production. Everton was tasked with updating the Borg's costumes to something new, but reminiscent of the television series. The bulky suits were made sleeker and outfitted with fiber optic lights. The time-travel aspect of the story also required period costumes for the mid 21st century and the 1940s "Dixon Hill" nightclub holodeck recreation. Everton enjoyed designing Woodard's costumes because the character went through many changes during the course of the film, switching from a utilitarian vest and pants in many shots to a glamorous dress during the holodeck scene.
Everton and makeup designers Michael Westmore, Scott Wheeler, and Jake Garber wanted to upgrade the pasty white look the Borg had retained since "The Next Generation"s second season, born out of a need for budget-conscious television design. "I wanted it to look like they were [assimilated or "Borgified"] from the inside out rather than the outside in," Everton said. Each Borg had a slightly different design, and Westmore designed a new one each day to make it appear that there was an army of Borg; in reality, between eight and twelve actors filled all the roles as the costumes and makeup were so expensive to produce. Background Borg were simulated by half-finished mannequins. Westmore reasoned that since the Borg had traveled the galaxy, they would have assimilated other races besides humans. In the television series, much of the Borg's faces had been covered by helmets, but for "First Contact" the makeup artist removed the head coverings and designed assimilated versions of familiar "Star Trek" aliens such as Klingons, Bolians, Romulans, Bajorans, and Cardassians. Each drone received an electronic eyepiece. The blinking lights in each eye were programmed by Westmore's son to repeat a production member's name in Morse code.
The makeup time for the Borg expanded from the single hour needed for television to five hours, in addition to the 30 minutes necessary to get into costume and 90 minutes to remove the makeup at the end of the day. While Westmore estimated that a fully staffed production would have around 50 makeup artists, "First Contact" had to make do with fewer than ten people involved in preparation, and at most 20 artists a day. Despite the long hours, Westmore's teams began to be more creative with the prosthetics even as they decreased their preparation times. "They were using two tubes, and then they were using three tubes, and then they were sticking tubes in the ears and up the nose," Westmore explained. "And we were using a very gooey caramel coloring, maybe using a little bit of it, but by the time we got to the end of the movie we had the stuff dripping down the side of [the Borg's] faces—it looked like they were leaking oil! So, at the very end [of the film], they're more ferocious."
The Borg Queen was a challenge because she had to be unique among Borg but still retain human qualities; Westmore was conscious of avoiding comparisons to films like "Alien". The final appearance involved pale gray skin and an elongated, oval head, with coils of wire rather than hair. Krige recalled the first day she had her makeup applied: "I saw everyone cringing. I thought, great; they made this, and they've scared themselves!" Frakes noted that the Queen ended up being alluring in a disturbing way, despite her evil behavior and appearance. Zimmerman, Everton and Westmore combined their efforts to design and create the Borgified sections of the "Enterprise" to build tension and to make the audience feel that "[they are being fed] the Borg".
Principal photography took a more leisurely pace than on "The Next Generation" because of a less hectic schedule; only four pages of script had to be filmed each day, as opposed to eight on the television series. "First Contact" saw the introduction of cinematographer Matthew F. Leonetti to the "Star Trek" franchise; Frakes hired him out of admiration for some of his previous work on films such as "Poltergeist" and "Strange Days". Leonetti was unfamiliar with the "Star Trek" mythos when Frakes approached him; to prepare for the assignment, he studied the previous four films in the franchise, each with a different cinematographer—"" (Donald Peterman), "" (Andrew Laszlo), "" (Hiro Narita), and "Generations" (John Alonzo). The cameraman also spent several days at the sets of "Voyager" and "Deep Space Nine" to observe filming.
Leonetti devised multiple lighting methods for the "Enterprise" interiors for ship standard operations, "Red alert" status, and emergency power. He reasoned that since the ship was being taken over by a foreign entity, it required more dramatic lighting and framing. While much of the footage was shot at 50–70 mm focal lengths using anamorphic lenses, 14 mm spherical lenses were used for Borg's-eye-view shots. Leonetti preferred shooting with long lenses to provide a more claustrophobic feel, but made sure the length did not flatten the image. Handheld cameras were used for battle sequences so that viewers were brought into the action and the camera could follow the movements of the actors. The Borg scenes were received positively by test-screening audiences, so once the rest of the film had been completed, a Borg assimilation scene of the "Enterprise" crew was added in using some of the money left in the budget to add action.
Since so many new sets had to be created, the production commenced filming with location photography. Four days were spent in the Titan Missile Museum, south of Tucson, Arizona—the disarmed nuclear missile was fitted with a fiberglass capsule shell to stand in for the "Phoenix"s booster and command module. The old missile silo provided a large set that the budget would have prohibited building from scratch, but the small size created difficulties. Each camera move was planned in advance to work around areas where the lighting would be added, and electricians and grips donned rock-climbing harnesses to move down the shaft and attach the lights. To give greater dimension to the rocket and lend the missile a futuristic appearance, Leonetti chose to offset the missile's metallic surface with complementary colors. Using different-colored gels made the rocket appear longer than it actually was; to complete the effect, shots from the "Phoenix"s nose downwards and from the engines up were filmed with a 30 mm lens to lengthen the missile.
After the completion of the "Phoenix" shots, the crew moved to two weeks of nighttime shooting in the Angeles National Forest. Zimmerman created a village of fourteen huts to stand in for Montana; the cast enjoyed the scenes as a chance to escape their uniforms and wear "normal" clothes. The last location shoot was at an art deco restaurant in Los Angeles' Union Station, which stood in for the Dixon Hill holonovel; Frakes wanted a sharp contrast with the dark, mechanical Borg scenes. While the cinematographer wanted to shoot the scene in black and white, Paramount executives deemed the test footage "too experimental" and the idea was dropped. The site made using high-wattage lights impractical, so Leonetti opted to use dimmer master lights near the ceiling and took advantage of a large window to shine diffused lights through. To give the scene a black-and-white feel, Leonetti made sure to use light without any coloration. "I like creating separation with lighting as opposed to using color," he explained. "You can't always rely on color because the actor might start to melt into the background." By separating the backlights, Leonetti made sure that the principal actors stood out of the backdrop. The shoot used a ten-piece orchestra, 15 stuntmen, and 120 extras to fill the seats. Among the nightclub patrons were Braga, Moore, and the film's stunt coordinator, Ronnie Rondell.
After location shooting was completed, shooting on the new Engineering set began May 3. The set lasted less than a day in its pristine condition before it was "Borgified". Filming then proceeded to the bridge. During normal operation scenes, Leonetti chose to cast crosslighting on the principals; this required the ceiling of the set to be removed and lighting grids to be situated around the sides. These lights were then directed towards the actors' faces at 90-degree angles. The set was lined with window paneling backed by red lights, which would blink intermittently during red-alert status. These lights were supplemented by what Leonetti called "interactive light"; these were off-stage, red-gelled lights that cast flashing rims on the bridge set and heads of the crew. For the Borg intrusion, the lighting originated solely from instrument panels and red-alert displays. The fill light on these scenes was reduced so that the cast would pass through dark spots on the bridge and interiors out of the limited range of these sources. Small 30- and 50-watt lights were used to throw localized shafts of light onto the sets.
Next came the action sequences and the battle for the "Enterprise", a phase the filmmakers dubbed "Borg Hell". Frakes directed the Borg scenes similar to a horror film, creating as much suspense as possible. To balance these elements he added more comedic elements to the Earth scenes, intended to momentarily relieve the audience of tension before building it up again. Leonetti reconfigured the lighting to reflect the takeover of the ship interiors. "When the ship gets Borgified, everything is changed into more of a squared-off, robotic look with sharp edges but rounded images," he explained. To give the corridor walls more shape, Leonetti lit them from underneath. Since the halls were so small and the ceilings would be visible in many of the shots, special attention was paid to hiding the light fixtures.
For the live-action spacewalk scenes, visual-effects supervisor Ronald B. Moore spent two weeks of bluescreen photography at the deflector set. Frakes regarded filming the scene to be the most tedious in the film because of the amount of preparation it took for each day's shoot. Since the rest of the "Enterprise"-E, as well as the backdrop of Earth, were to be added later in post-production, it became confusing to coordinate shots. Moore used a laptop with digital reproductions of the set to orient the crew and help Frakes understand what the finished shot would look like. A one-armed actor portrayed the Borg whose arm Worf slices off to accurately portray the effect intended, and the actors' shoes were fitted with lead weights to remind the actors they were to move slowly as if actually wearing gravity boots. McDonough recalled that he joined Stewart and Dorn in asking whether they could do the shots without the weights, as "they hired us because we are actors", but the production insisted on using them.
The last scene filmed was the film's first, Picard's Borg nightmare. One camera shot begins inside the iris of Picard's eyeball and pulls back to reveal the captain aboard a massive Borg ship. The shot continues to pull back and reveal the exterior of a Borg ship. The scene was inspired by a New York City production of "" in which the stage surrounded the audience, giving a sense of realism. The shot was filmed as three separate elements merged with digital effects. The crew used a 50 mm lens to make it easier for the effects team to dissolve the closeup shots with the other elements. Starting from Stewart's eye, the camera pulled back , requiring the key light to increase in intensity up to 1,000 foot-candles so that there was enough depth to keep the eye sharp. The surface of the stage proved too uneven to accomplish the smooth dolly pullback required by the effects team, who needed a steady shot to blend a computer-generated version of Picard's eye with the pullback. The dolly track was raised off the stage floor and layered with pieces of double-thick birch plywood, chosen for its smooth finish. The entire set for the scene was wide and high; gaps left by the dolly reveal were filled in later digitally. Principal photography finished on July 2, 1996, two days over schedule but still under budget. Shooting took a total of sixty days.
The majority of "First Contact"s effects were handled by Industrial Light & Magic under the supervision of John Knoll. Smaller effects sequences, such as phaser fire, computer graphics, and transporter effects, were delegated to a team led by visual-effects supervisor David Takemura. Accustomed to directing episodes for the television series, Frakes was frequently reminded by effects artist Terry Frazee to "think big, blow everything up". Most of the effects sequences were planned using low-resolution computer-generated animatics. These rough animated storyboards established length, action and composition, allowing the producers and director to ascertain how the sequences would play out before they were shot.
"First Contact" was the last film to feature a physical model of the "Enterprise". For the ship's dramatic introduction, the effects team combined motion control shots of the "Enterprise" model with a computer-generated background. Sequence supervisor Dennis Turner, who had created "Generations" energy ribbon and specialized in creating natural phenomena, was charged with creating the star cluster, modeled after the Eagle Nebula. The nebular columns and solid areas were modeled with basic wireframe geometry, with surface shaders applied to make the edges of the nebula glow. A particle render that ILM had devised for the earlier tornado film "Twister" was used to create a turbulent look within the nebula. Once the shots of the "Enterprise" had been captured, Turner inserted the ship into the computer-generated background and altered its position until the images matched up.
The opening beauty pass of the new "Enterprise" was the responsibility of visual-effects cinematographer Marty Rosenberg, who handled all the other miniatures, explosions, and some live-action bluescreen elements. Rosenberg had previously shot some of the "Enterprise"-D effects for "Generations", but had to adjust his techniques for the new model; the cinematographer used a 50 mm lens instead of the 35 mm used for "Generations" because the smaller lens made the new "Enterprise"s dish appear stretched out. Knoll decided to shoot the model from above and below as much as possible; side views made the ship appear too flat and elongated. Rosenberg preferred motion-control passes of ships over computer-generated versions, as it was much easier to capture a high level of detail with physical models rather than trying to recreate it by computer graphics.
For the Borg battle, Knoll insisted on closeup shots that were near the alien vessel, necessitating a physical model. ILM layered their model with an additional five inches of etched brass over a glowing neon lightbox for internal illumination. To make the Borg vessel appear even larger than it was, Knoll made sure that an edge of it was facing the camera like the prow of a ship and that the Cube broke the edges of the frame. To give the Cube greater depth and texture, Rosenberg shot the vessel with harsher light. "I created this really odd, raking three-quarter backlight coming from the right or left side, which I balanced out with nets and a couple of little lights. I wanted it to look scary and mysterious, so it was lit like a point, and we always had the camera dutched to it; we never just had it coming straight at us," he said. Small lights attached to the Cube's surface helped to create visual interest and convey scale; the model was deliberately shot with a slow, determined pacing to contrast with the Federation ships engaged in battle with the Borg. The impact of Federation weaponry on the Borg Cube was simulated using a model of the Cube. The model had specific areas which could be blown up multiple times without damaging the miniature. For the final explosion of the Cube, Rosenberg shot ten Cube miniatures with explosive-packed lightweight skins. The Cubes were suspended from pipes sixty feet above the camera on the ground. Safety glass was placed over the lens to prevent damage, while the camera was covered with plywood to protect it from bits of plastic that rained down after each explosion. The smaller Borg sphere was a model that was shot separately from the Cube and digitally added in post-production. The time-travel vortex the Sphere creates was simulated with a rocket re-entry effect; bowshock forms in front of the ship, then streams backwards at high speed. Interactive lighting was played across the computer-generated "Enterprise" model for when the ship is caught in the time vortex.
The miniature "Enterprise" was again used for the spacewalk sequence. Even on the large model, it was hard to make the miniature appear realistic in extreme close-up shots. To make the pullback shot work, the camera had to be within one eighth of an inch from the model. Painter Kim Smith spent several days on a tiny area of the model to add enough surface detail for the close-up, but even then the focus was barely adequate. To compensate, the crew used a wider-angle lens and shot at the highest f-stop they could. The live-action scenes of the spacewalking crew were then digitally added. Wide shots used footage of photo doubles walking across a large bluescreen draped across ILM's parking lot at night.
ILM was tasked with imagining what the immediate assimilation of an "Enterprise" crewmember would look like. Jaeger came up with a set of cables that sprang from the Borg's knuckles and buried themselves in the crewmember's neck. Wormlike tubes would course through the victim's body and mechanical devices break the skin. The entire transformation was created using computer-generated imagery. The wormlike geometry was animated over the actor's face, then blended in with the addition of a skin texture over the animation. The gradual change in skin tone was simulated with shaders.
Frakes considered the entrance of the Borg Queen—when her head, shoulders, and steel spine are lowered by cables and attached to her body—as the "signature visual effect in the film". The scene was difficult to execute, taking ILM five months to finish. Jaeger devised a rig that would lower the actress on the set, and applied a prosthetic spine over a blue suit so that ILM could remove Krige's lower body. This strategy enabled the filmmakers to incorporate as many live-action elements as possible without resorting to further digital effects. To make the prosthetics appear at the proper angle when her lower body was removed, Krige extended her neck forward so it appeared in line with the spine. Knoll did not want it to seem that the Queen was on a hard, mechanical rig; "we wanted her to have the appropriate 'float'," he explained. Using separate motion control passes on the set, Knoll shot the lower of the upper torso and the secondary sequence with Krige's entire body. A digital version of the Borg body suit was used for the lowering sequence, at which point the image was morphed back to the real shot of Krige's body. The animated claws of the suit were created digitally as well using a detailed model. As reference to the animators, the shot required Krige to realistically portray "the strange pain or satisfaction of being reconnected to her body".
Film composer Jerry Goldsmith scored "First Contact", his third "Star Trek" feature. Goldsmith wrote a sweeping main title which begins with Alexander Courage's "Star Trek" fanfare. Instead of composing a menacing theme to underscore the Borg, Goldsmith wrote a pastoral theme linked to humanity's hopeful first contact. The theme uses a four-note motif used in Goldsmith's "" score, which is used in "First Contact" as a friendship theme and general thematic link. A menacing march with touches of synthesizers was used to represent the Borg. In addition to composing new music, Goldsmith used music from his previous "Star Trek" scores, including his theme from "The Motion Picture". The Klingon theme from the same film is used to represent Worf.
Because of delays with Paramount's "The Ghost and the Darkness", the already-short four-week production schedule was cut to just three weeks. While Berman was concerned about the move, Goldsmith hired his son, Joel, to assist. The young composer provided additional music for the film, writing three cues based on his father's motifs and a total of 22 minutes of music. Joel used variations of his father's Borg music and the Klingon theme as Worf fights hand-to-hand (Joel said that he and his father decided to use the theme for Worf separately). When the Borg invade sickbay and the medical hologram distracts them, Joel wrote what critic Jeff Bond termed "almost Coplandesque" material of tuning strings and clarinet, but the cue was unused. While Joel composed many of the film's action cues, his father contributed to the spacewalk and "Phoenix" flight sequences. During the fight on the deflector dish, Goldsmith used low-register electronics punctuated by stabs of violent, dissonant strings.
In a break with "Star Trek" film tradition, the soundtrack incorporated two licensed songs: Roy Orbison's "Ooby Dooby" and Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride". GNP Crescendo president Neil Norman explained that the decision to include the tracks was controversial, but said that "Frakes did the most amazing job of integrating those songs into the story that we had to use them".
GNP released the "First Contact" soundtrack on December 2, 1996. The album contained 51 minutes of music, with 35 minutes of Jerry Goldsmith's score, 10 minutes of additional music by Joel Goldsmith, "Ooby Dooby" and "Magic Carpet Ride". The compact disc shipped with CD-ROM features only accessible if played on a personal computer, including interviews with Berman, Frakes, and Goldsmith.
On April 2, 2012, GNP Crescendo Records announced a limited-edition collector's CD featuring the complete score by Jerry Goldsmith (with additional music by Joel Goldsmith), newly remastered by recording engineer Bruce Botnick, with an accompanying 16-page booklet including informative notes by Jeff Bond and John Takis. The expanded album [GNPD 8079] runs 79 minutes and includes three tracks of alternates.
Frakes believes that the main themes of "First Contact"—and "Star Trek" as a whole—are loyalty, friendship, honesty, and mutual respect. This is evident in the film when Picard chooses to rescue Data rather than evacuate the ship with the rest of the crew. The film makes a direct comparison between Picard's hatred of the Borg and refusal to destroy the "Enterprise" and that of Captain Ahab in Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick". The moment marks a turning point in the film as Picard changes his mind, symbolized by his putting down his phaser. A similar "Moby-Dick" reference was made in "", and although Braga and Moore did not want to repeat it, they decided it worked so well they could not leave it out.
In "First Contact", the individually inscrutable and faceless Borg fulfil the role of the similarly unreadable whale in Melville's work. Picard, like Ahab, has been hurt by his nemesis, and author Elizabeth Hinds said it makes sense that Picard should "opt for the perverse alternative of remaining on board ship to fight" the Borg rather than take the only sensible option left, to destroy the ship. Several lines in the film refer to the 21st-century dwellers being primitive, with the people of the 24th century having evolved to a more utopian society. In the end, it is Lily (the 21st-century woman) who shows Picard (the 24th-century man) that his quest for revenge is the primitive behavior that humans had evolved to not use. Lily's words cause Picard to reconsider, and he quotes Ahab's words of vengeance, recognizing the death wish embedded therein.
The nature of the Borg in "First Contact" has been the subject of critical discussion. Author Joanna Zylinska notes that while other alien species are tolerated by humanity in "Star Trek", the Borg are viewed differently because of their cybernetic alterations and the loss of freedom and autonomy. Members of the crew who are assimilated into the Collective are subsequently viewed as "polluted by technology" and less than human. Zylinska draws comparisons between the technological distinction of humanity and machine in "Star Trek" and the work of artists such as Stelarc. Oliver Marchart drew parallels between the Borg's combination of many into an artificial One and Thomas Hobbes's concept of the Leviathan. The nature of perilous first contact between species, as represented by films such as "Independence Day", "Aliens" and "First Contact," is a marriage of classic fears of national invasion and the loss of personal identity.
1996 marked the 30th anniversary of the "Star Trek" franchise. The franchise was on rocky ground; ratings for "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" had shed millions of viewers, being bested by "" as the highest-rated syndicated series. Some fans remained upset Paramount cancelled "The Next Generation" at the height of its popularity, and "Generations" was a commercial success but not critically praised.
"First Contact" was heavily marketed, to an extent not seen since the release of "" in 1979. Several novelizations of the film were written for different age groups. Playmates Toys produced six and nine-inch action figures in addition to ship models and a phaser. Two "making of" television specials premiered on HBO and the Sci-Fi Channel, as well as being promoted during a 30th-anniversary television special on UPN. The theatrical trailer to the film was included on a "Best of Star Trek" music compilation, released at the same time as the "First Contact" soundtrack. Simon & Schuster Interactive developed a Borg-themed video game for Macintosh and Windows personal computers. The game, "", functioned as an interactive movie with scenes filmed at the same time as "First Contact" production. A video game adaptation of the film was also announced by Spectrum HoloByte, and would have taken the form of a real-time strategy game set entirely on the "Enterprise" during the Borg takeover, though it was never released. Paramount heavily marketed the film on the internet via a "First Contact" web site, which averaged 4.4 million hits a week during the film's opening run, the largest amount of traffic ever on a motion-picture site.
The film premiered on November 18, 1996 at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The main cast save Spiner were in attendance, as were Moore, Braga, Jerry Goldsmith, and producer Marty Hornstein. Other "Star Trek" actors present included DeForest Kelley, René Auberjonois, Avery Brooks, Colm Meaney, Armin Shimerman, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Roxann Dawson, Jennifer Lien, Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan Phillips, Tim Russ, Garrett Wang and Robert Picardo. After the screening, 1,500 guests crossed the street to the Hollywood Colonnade, where the interiors had been dressed to match settings from the film: the holodeck nightclub, part of the bridge, a "star room", the Borg hive and the "crash 'n' burn lounge". The film received a royal premiere in the United Kingdom, with the first screening attended by Charles, Prince of Wales.
"First Contact" opened in 2,812 theaters beginning November 22, grossing $30.7 million its first week and making it the top movie at the US box office. The film was knocked out of the top place the following week by "101 Dalmatians", earning $25.5 million. The film went on to gross $77 million in its first four weeks, remaining in the top-ten box office during that time. It closed with a US & Canadian gross of $92,027,888 and an international gross of $54 million for a total of $146 million worldwide.
"First Contact" opened in Britain on December 13, 1996 at number two and was the first "Star Trek" film not to reach number one in that market since "The Wrath of Khan". It was still a box office success, earning £8,735,340 to become the highest grossing film in the series in that territory until the release of the "Star Trek" reboot film in 2009. The film was the best-performing "Star Trek" film in international markets until 2009's "Star Trek" film, and Paramount's best showing in markets such as New Zealand, making $315,491 from 28 sites by year's end.
"First Contact" garnered positive reviews on release. Ryan Gilbey of "The Independent" considered the film wise to dispense with the cast of "The Original Series:" "For the first time, a "Star Trek" movie actually looks like something more ambitious than an extended TV show," he wrote. Conversely, critic Bob Thompson felt that "First Contact" was more in the spirit of the 1960s television series than any previous installment. "The Globe and Mail" Elizabeth Renzeti said that "First Contact" succeeded in improving on the "stilted" previous entry in the series, and that it featured a renewed interest in storytelling. Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, ""First Contact" does everything you'd want a "Star Trek" film to do, and it does it with cheerfulness and style." Adrian Martin of "The Age" noted that the film was geared towards pleasing fans: "Strangers to this fanciful world first delineated by Gene Roddenberry will just have to struggle to comprehend as best they can," he wrote, but "cult-followers will be in heaven". "The New York Times" Janet Maslin said that the "film's convoluted plot will boggle all but hard-core devotees" of the series, while "Variety"'s Joe Leydon wrote that the film did not require intimate knowledge of the series and that fans and non-fans alike would enjoy the film. While Renzetti considered the lack of old characters from the previous seven movies a welcome change, Maslin said that without the original stars, "The series now lacks [...] much of its earlier determination. It has morphed into something less innocent and more derivative than it used to be, something the noncultist is ever less likely to enjoy." Conversely, Roger Ebert called "First Contact" one of the best "Star Trek" films, and James Berardinelli found the film the most entertaining "Star Trek" feature in a decade; "It has single-handedly revived the "Star Trek" movie series, at least from a creative point of view," he wrote.
The film's acting met with mixed reception. Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" appreciated that guest stars Woodard and Cromwell were used in "inventive contrast" to their better-known images, as a "serious dramatic actress" and "dancing farmer in "Babe"", respectively. Lloyd Rose of "The Washington Post" felt that while Woodard and Cromwell managed to "take care of themselves", Frakes' direction of other actors was not inspired; Steve Persall of the "St. Petersburg Times" opined that only Cromwell received a choice role in the film, "so he steals the show by default". A couple of reviews noted that Data's interactions with the Borg Queen were among the most interesting parts of the film; critic John Griffin credited Spiner's work as providing "ambivalent frisson" to the feature. "Empire" magazine's Adam Smith wrote that some characters, particularly Troi and Crusher, were lost or ignored, and that the rapid pacing of the film left no time for those unfamiliar with the series to know or care about the characters. Likewise, Emily Carlisle of the BBC praised Woodard's, Spiner's, and Stewart's performances, but felt the film focused more on action than characterization. Stewart, whom Thompson and Renzetti considered overshadowed by William Shatner in the previous film, received praise from Richard Corliss of "Time": "As Patrick Stewart delivers [a] line with a majestic ferocity worthy of a Royal Shakespeare Company alumnus, the audience gapes in awe at a special effect more imposing than any ILM digital doodle. Here is real acting! In a "Star Trek" film!"
The special effects were generally praised. Jay Carr of "The Boston Globe" said that "First Contact" successfully updated "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's concept with more elaborate effects and action. Thompson's assessment mirrored Carr's; he agreed that the film managed to convey much of the original 1960s television show, and contained enough "special effects wonders and interstellar gunplay" to sate all types of viewers. Ebert wrote that while previous films had often looked "clunky" in the effects department, "First Contact" benefited from the latest in effects technology. A dissenting opinion was offered by Scott, who wrote that aside from the key effects sequences, Frakes "aims to distract Trekkers from the distinctly cheap-looking remainder".
Critics reacted favorably to the Borg, describing them as akin to creatures from "Hellraiser". Renzetti credited them with breathing "new life" into the crew of the "Enterprise" while simultaneously trying to kill them. The Borg Queen received special attention for her combination of horror and seduction; Ebert wrote that while the Queen "looks like no notion of sexy I have ever heard of", he was inspired "to keep an open mind". Carr said, "She proves that women with filmy blue skin, lots of external tubing and bad teeth can be sleekly seductive."
"Star Trek: First Contact" was first released on VHS in late 1997 as one of several titles expected to boost sluggish sales at video retailers. A LaserDisc version was also released. "First Contact" was among the first titles announced for the DVD-alternative rental system Digital Video Express in 1998. It was launched with five other test titles in the select markets of Richmond and San Francisco.
When Paramount announced its first slate of DVD releases in August 1998, "First Contact" was one of the first ten titles released in October, announced in a conscious effort to showcase effects-driven films. This version contained the feature and two trailers, but no other special features. The film was presented in its original 2.35:1 anamorphic aspect ratio, with a surround sound Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix.
A "First Contact" "Special Collector's Edition" two-disc set was released in 2005 at the same time as three other "Next Generation" films and ""s fourth season, marking the first time that every film and episode of the franchise was available on home video up to that point. In addition to the feature, presented with the same technical specifications as the previous release and a new DTS soundtrack, the first disc contains a director's commentary by Frakes and a track by Moore and Braga. As with other special-edition DVD releases, the disc includes a text track by Michael and Denise Okuda that provides production trivia and relevant facts about the "Star Trek" universe. The second disc contains six making-of featurettes, storyboards, and trailers.
Paramount announced that all four "Next Generation" films would be released on high-definition Blu-ray on September 22, 2009. In addition to the returning DVD extras, new special features for the Blu-ray version of "First Contact" include "Scene Deconstruction" featurettes and a new commentary by "Star Trek" (2009) co-producer Damon Lindelof and TrekMovie.com contributor Anthony Pascale.
"", a 2003 episode of "", depicts the consequences of the discovery of debris from the destroyed Borg sphere.
Notes
Bibliography | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27097 |
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Nicholas Meyer and based on the television series "". It is the second film in the "Star Trek" film series, and is a sequel to "" (1979). The plot features Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship USS "Enterprise" facing off against the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), a character who first appeared in the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "Space Seed". When Khan escapes from a 15-year exile to exact revenge on Kirk, the crew of the "Enterprise" must stop him from acquiring a powerful terraforming device named Genesis. The film is the beginning of a story arc that continues with the film "" (1984) and concludes with the film "" (1986).
After the lackluster critical response to the first film, series creator Gene Roddenberry was forced out of the sequel's production. Executive producer Harve Bennett wrote the film's original outline, which Jack B. Sowards developed into a full script. Meyer completed its final script in twelve days, without accepting a writing credit. Meyer's approach evoked the swashbuckling atmosphere of the original series, a theme reinforced by James Horner's musical score. Leonard Nimoy had not intended to have a role in the sequel, but was enticed back on the promise that his character would be given a dramatic death scene. Negative test audience reaction to Spock's death led to significant revisions of the ending over Meyer's objections. The production team used various cost-cutting techniques to keep within budget, including utilizing miniature models from past projects and reusing sets, effects footage, and costumes from the first film. Among the film's technical achievements is being the first feature film to contain a sequence created entirely with computer graphics.
"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" was released in North America on June 4, 1982, by Paramount Pictures. It was a box office success, earning (equivalent to about $M in ) worldwide and setting a world record for its first-day box office gross. Critical reaction to the film was positive; reviewers highlighted Khan's character, the film's pacing, and the character interactions as strong elements. Negative reactions focused on weak special effects and some of the acting. "The Wrath of Khan" is considered by many to be the best film in the "Star Trek" series, and is often credited with renewing substantial interest in the franchise.
In 2285, Admiral James T. Kirk oversees a simulator session of Captain Spock's trainees. In the simulation, Lieutenant Saavik commands the starship on a rescue mission to save the crew of the damaged ship "Kobayashi Maru", but is attacked by Klingon cruisers and critically damaged. The simulation is a no-win scenario designed to test the character of Starfleet officers. Later, Dr. McCoy joins Kirk on his birthday; seeing Kirk in low spirits, the doctor advises Kirk to get a new command and not grow old behind a desk.
Meanwhile, the starship "Reliant" is on a mission to search for a lifeless planet to test the Genesis Device, a technology designed to reorganize dead matter into habitable worlds. "Reliant" officers Commander Pavel Chekov and Captain Clark Terrell beam down to evaluate a planet they believe to be Ceti Alpha VI; once there, they are captured by the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh. Fifteen years prior (see "Space Seed"); Kirk exiled Khan and his fellow supermen to Ceti Alpha V after they attempted to take over his ship. After they were marooned, Ceti Alpha VI exploded devastating the surface of Ceti Alpha V, followed by the deaths of several of his people including his wife. For those reasons, Khan plans revenge. He implants Chekov and Terrell with indigenous eel larvae that render them susceptible to mind control, and uses them to capture "Reliant". Learning of the Genesis Device, Khan attacks space station "Regula I" where the device is being developed by Kirk's former lover, Dr. Carol Marcus, and their son, David.
Kirk assumes command of "Enterprise" after the ship, deployed on a training cruise, receives a distress call from "Regula I". En route, "Enterprise" is ambushed and crippled by "Reliant". Khan offers to spare Kirk's crew if they relinquish all material related to Genesis; Kirk instead stalls for time and remotely lowers "Reliant"s shields, enabling a counter-attack. Khan is forced to retreat and effect repairs, while "Enterprise" limps to "Regula I". Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik beam to the station and find Terrell and Chekov alive, along with the slaughtered members of Marcus's team. They soon find Carol and David hiding Genesis deep inside the nearby planetoid. Khan, having used Terrell and Chekov as spies, orders them to kill Kirk; Terrell resists the eel's influence and kills himself, while Chekov collapses as the eel leaves his body. Khan transports Genesis aboard the "Reliant", intending to maroon Kirk on the lifeless planetoid, but is tricked by Kirk and Spock's coded arrangements for a rendezvous. Kirk directs "Enterprise" into the nearby Mutara Nebula; conditions inside the nebula render shields useless and compromise targeting systems, making "Enterprise" and "Reliant" evenly matched. Spock notes that Khan's tactics indicate inexperience in three-dimensional combat, which Kirk exploits to disable "Reliant".
Mortally wounded, Khan activates Genesis, which will reorganize all matter in the nebula, including "Enterprise". Though Kirk's crew detects the activation and attempts to move out of range, they will not be able to escape the nebula in time without the ship's inoperable warp drive. Spock goes to restore warp power in the engine room, which is flooded with radiation. When McCoy tries to prevent Spock's entry, Spock incapacitates him with a Vulcan nerve pinch and performs a mind meld, telling him to "remember". Spock repairs the warp drive, and "Enterprise" escapes the explosion, which forms a new planet.
Before dying of radiation poisoning, Spock urges Kirk not to grieve, as his decision to sacrifice himself to save the ship's crew was a logical one. A space burial is held and Spock's coffin is shot into orbit around the new planet. The crew leaves to pick up "Reliant" marooned crew from Ceti Alpha V; Spock's coffin is shown having soft-landed on the surface of the Genesis planet.
"The Wrath of Khan"s cast includes all the major characters from the original television series, as well as new actors and characters.
After the release of "The Motion Picture", executive producer Gene Roddenberry wrote his own sequel. In his plot, the crew of the "Enterprise" travel back in time to set right a corrupted time line after Klingons use the Guardian of Forever to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This was rejected by Paramount executives, who blamed the tepid reception and costs of the first film on its plodding pace and the constant rewrites Roddenberry demanded. As a consequence, Roddenberry was removed from the production and, according to Shatner, "kicked upstairs" to the ceremonial position of executive consultant. Harve Bennett, a new Paramount television producer, was made producer for the next "Star Trek" film. According to Bennett, he was called in front of a group including Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner and asked if he thought he could make a better film than "The Motion Picture", which Bennett confessed he found "really boring". When Bennett replied in the affirmative, Charles Bluhdorn asked, "Can you make it for less than forty-five-fucking-million-dollars?" Bennett replied that "Where I come from, I can make five movies for that." Bennett realized he faced a serious challenge in developing the new "Star Trek" film, partly due to his never having seen the television series. Watching episodes of the show convinced Bennett that what the first picture lacked was a real villain; after seeing the episode "Space Seed", he decided that the character of Khan Noonien Singh was the perfect enemy for the new film. Bennett selected Robert Sallin, a director of television commercials and a college friend, to produce the film. Sallin's job would be to produce "Star Trek II" quickly and cheaply. Bennett also hired Michael Minor as art director to shape the direction of the film.
Bennett wrote his first film treatment in November 1980. In his version, entitled "The War of the Generations", Kirk investigates a rebellion on a distant world and discovers that his son is the leader of the rebels. Khan is the mastermind behind the plot, and Kirk and son join forces to defeat the tyrant. Bennett then hired Jack B. Sowards, an avid "Star Trek" fan, to turn his outline into a film-able script. Sowards wrote an initial script before a writer's strike in 1981. Sowards' draft, "The Omega Syndrome", involved the theft of the Federation's ultimate weapon, the "Omega system". Sowards was concerned that his weapon was too negative, and Bennett wanted something more uplifting "and as fundamental in the 23rd century as recombinant DNA is in our time", Minor recalled. Minor suggested to Bennett that the device be turned into a terraforming tool instead. At the story conference the next day, Bennett hugged Minor and declared that he had saved "Star Trek". In recognition of the Biblical power of the weapon, Sowards renamed the "Omega system" to the "Genesis Device".
By April 1981, Sowards had produced a draft that moved Spock's death to later in the story, because of fan dissatisfaction to the event after the script was leaked. Spock had originally died in the first act, in a shocking demise that Bennett compared to Janet Leigh's early death in "Psycho". This draft had a twelve-page face-to-face confrontation between Kirk and Khan. Sowards' draft also introduced a male character named Saavik. As pre-production began, Samuel A. Peeples, writer of the "Star Trek" episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", was invited to offer his own script. Peeples' draft replaced Khan with two new villains named Sojin and Moray; the alien beings are so powerful they almost destroy Earth by mistake. This script was considered inadequate; the aliens resembled too closely the villains on a typical "TOS" ("Star Trek: The Original Series") episode. Deadlines loomed for special effects production to begin (which required detailed storyboards based on a finished script), which did not exist.
Karen Moore, a Paramount executive, suggested that Nicholas Meyer, writer of "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" and director of "Time After Time", could help resolve the screenplay issues. Meyer had also never seen an episode of "Star Trek". He had the idea of making a list consisting of everything that the creative team had liked from the preceding drafts—"it could be a character, it could be a scene, it could be a plot, it could be a subplot, [...] it could be a line of dialogue"—so that he could use that list as the basis of a new screenplay made from all the best aspects of the previous ones. To offset fan expectation that Spock would die, Meyer had the character "killed" in the Kobayashi Maru simulator in the opening scene. The effects company required a completed script in just 12 days. Meyer wrote the screenplay uncredited and for no pay before the deadline, surprising the actors and producers, and rapidly produced subsequent rewrites as necessary. One draft, for example, had a baby in Khan's group, who is killed with the others in the Genesis detonation. Meyer later said:
Meyer described his script as "'Hornblower' in outer space", utilizing nautical references and a swashbuckling atmosphere. (Hornblower was an inspiration to Roddenberry and Shatner when making the show, although Meyer was unaware of this.) Sallin was impressed with Meyer's vision for the film: "His ideas brought dimension that broadened the scope of the material as we were working on it." Gene Roddenberry disagreed with the script's naval texture and Khan's Captain Ahab undertones, but was mostly ignored by the creative team.
As a gesture of good faith, Paramount changed the film's title from its original working title, "The Vengeance of Khan," as it was too close to the working title for Lucasfilm's upcoming "Star Wars" film. However, as soon as the name change was made, Lucasfilm also changed their "Revenge of the Jedi" title to "Return of the Jedi." An even earlier working title for the Trek film was "The Undiscovered Country", a title which would eventually be used for the of the franchise.
Meyer attempted to change the look of "Star Trek" to match the nautical atmosphere he envisioned while staying within budget. The "Enterprise", for example, was given a ship's bell, boatswain's call, and more blinking lights and signage. Meyer had a "No Smoking" sign added to the "Enterprise"s bridge, which he recalled "Everyone had a fit over [...] I said 'Why have they stopped smoking in the future? They've been smoking for four hundred years, you think it's going to stop in the next two?" The sign appeared in the first shot of the film, but was removed for all others appearing in the final cut.
To save money on set design, production designer Joseph Jennings used existing elements from "The Motion Picture" that had been left standing after filming was completed. Sixty-five percent of the film was shot on the same set; the bridge of the "Reliant" and the "bridge simulator" from the opening scene were redresses of the "Enterprise"s bridge. The Klingon bridge from "The Motion Picture" was redressed as the Regula I transporter room and the Enterprise's torpedo bay. The filmmakers stretched "The Wrath of Khan"s budget by reusing models and footage from the first film, including footage of "Enterprise" in spacedock. The original ship miniatures were used where possible, or modified to stand in as new constructions. The orbital office complex from "The Motion Picture" was inverted and retouched to become the Regula I space station. Elements of the cancelled "" television show, such as bulkheads, railings, and sets, were cannibalized and reused. A major concern for the designers was that "Reliant" should be easily distinguishable from "Enterprise". The ship's design was flipped after Bennett accidentally opened and approved the preliminary "Reliant" designs upside-down.
Designer Robert Fletcher was brought in to redesign existing costumes and create new ones. Fletcher decided on a scheme of "corrupt colors", using materials with colors slightly off from the pure color. "They're not colors you see today, so in a subtle way [they] indicate another time." Meyer did not like the Starfleet uniforms from either the television series or "The Motion Picture" and wanted them changed, but could not be discarded entirely because of the budget. Dye tests of the fabric showed that the old uniforms took three colors well: blue-gray, gold, and dark red. Fletcher decided to use the dark red due to the strong contrast it provided with the background. The resulting naval-inspired designs would be used in "Star Trek" films until "" (1996). The first versions of the uniforms had stiff black collars, but Sallin suggested changing it to a turtleneck, using a form of vertical quilting called "trapunto". The method creates a bas-relief effect to the material by stuffing the outlined areas with soft thread shot via air pressure through a hollow needle. By the time of "The Wrath of Khan"s production, the machines and needles needed to produce "trapunto" were rare, and Fletcher was only able to find one needle for the wardrobe department. The crew was so worried about losing or breaking the needle that one of the department's workers took it home with him as a security measure, leading Fletcher to think it had been stolen.
For Khan and his followers, Fletcher created a strong contrast with the highly organized Starfleet uniforms; his idea was that the exiles' costumes were made out of whatever they could find. Fletcher said, "My intention with Khan was to express the fact that they had been marooned on that planet with no technical infrastructure, so they had to cannibalize from the spaceship whatever they used or wore. Therefore, I tried to make it look as if they had dressed themselves out of pieces of upholstery and electrical equipment that composed the ship." Khan's costume was designed with an open chest to show Ricardo Montalbán's physique. Fletcher also designed smocks for the Regula I scientists, and civilian clothes for Kirk and McCoy that were designed to look practical and comfortable.
Principal photography began on November 9, 1981, and ended on January 29, 1982. "The Wrath of Khan" was more action-oriented than its predecessor, but less costly to make. The project was supervised by Paramount's television unit rather than its theatrical division. Bennett, a respected television veteran, made "The Wrath of Khan" on a budget of $12 million. The budget was initially lower at $8.5 million, but it rose when the producers were impressed by the first two weeks of footage. Meyer used camera and set tricks to spare the construction of large and expensive sets. For a scene taking place at Starfleet Academy, a forced perspective was created by placing scenery close to the camera to give the sense the set was larger than it really was. To present the illusion that the "Enterprise"s elevators moved between decks, corridor pieces were wheeled out of sight to change the hall configuration while the lift doors were closed. Background equipment such as computer terminals were rented when possible instead of purchased outright. Some designed props, such as a redesigned phaser and communicator, were vetoed by Paramount executives in favor of existing materials from "The Motion Picture".
The "Enterprise" was refurbished for its space shots, with its shiny exterior dulled down and extra detail added to the frame. Compared to the newly built "Reliant", the "Enterprise" was hated by the effects artists and cameramen; it took eight people to mount the model, and a forklift truck to move it. The "Reliant", meanwhile, was lighter and had less complex internal wiring. The ships were filmed on a blue screen with special film that does not register the color blue; the resulting shots could be added to effects shots or other footage. Any reflection of blue on the ship's hull would appear as a hole on the film; the gaps had to be patched frame by frame for the final film. The same camera used to film "Star Wars", the Dykstraflex, was used for shots of the "Enterprise" and other ships.
The barren desert surface of Ceti Alpha V was simulated on stage 8, the largest sound stage at Paramount's studio. The set was elevated 25 feet off the ground and covered in wooden mats, over which tons of colored sand and powder were dumped. A cyclorama was painted and wrapped around the set, while massive industrial fans created a sandstorm. The filming was uncomfortable for actors and crew alike. The spandex environmental suits Koenig and Winfield wore were unventilated, and the actors had to signal by microphone when they needed air. Filming equipment was wrapped in plastic to prevent mechanical troubles and everyone on set wore boots, masks, and coveralls as protection from flying sand.
Spock's death was shot over three days, during which no visitors were allowed on set. Spock's death was to be irrevocable, but Nimoy had such a positive experience during filming that he asked if he could add a way for Spock to return in a later film. The mind meld sequence was initially filmed without Kelley's prior knowledge of what was going on. Shatner disagreed with having a clear glass separation between Spock and Kirk during the death scene; he instead wanted a translucent divider allowing viewers to see only Spock's silhouette, but his objection was overruled. During Spock's funeral sequence Meyer wanted the camera to track the torpedo that served as Spock's coffin as it was placed in a long trough and slid into the launcher. The camera crew thought the entire set would have to be rebuilt to accommodate the shot, but Sallin suggested putting a dolly into the trough and controlling it from above with an offset arm. Scott's rendition of "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes was James Doohan's idea.
Spock's death in the film was widely reported during production. "Trekkies" wrote letters to protest, one paid for trade press advertisements urging Paramount to change the plot, and Nimoy even received death threats. Test audiences reacted badly to Spock's death and the film's ending's dark tone, so it was made more uplifting by Bennett. The scene of Spock's casket on the planet and Nimoy's closing monologue were added; Meyer objected, but did not stand in the way of the modifications. Nimoy did not know about the scene until he saw the film, but before it opened, the media reassured fans that "Spock will live" again. Due to time constraints, the casket scene was filmed in an overgrown corner of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, using smoke machines to add a primal atmosphere. The shoot lasted from midday to evening, as the team was well aware there would be no time for reshoots.
Special consideration was given during filming to allow for integration of the planned special effects. Television monitors standing in for computer displays were specially calibrated so that their refresh rate did not result in banding on film. Due to a loss of resolution and quality resulting from rephotographing an element in an optical printer, live action sequences for effects were shot in 65mm or VistaVision formats to compensate. When the larger prints were reduced through an anamorphic lens on the printer, the result was a Panavision composite.
With a short timeframe to complete "The Wrath of Khan"s special effects sequences, effects supervisor Jim Veilleux, Meyer, Jennings, Sallin and Minor worked to transform the written ideas for the script into concrete storyboards and visuals. The detailed sequences were essential to keep the film's effects from spiraling out of control and driving up costs, as had occurred with "The Motion Picture". Each special and optical effect, and the duration of the sequences, was listed. By the end of six weeks, the producers determined the basic look and construction of nearly all the effects; the resulting shots were combined with film footage five months later. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) produced many of the effects, and created the new models; the "Reliant" was the first non-"Constitution"-class Federation starship seen in the series. Originally, the "Reliant" was conceived as a "Constitution"-class starship identical to the "Enterprise", but it was felt audiences would have difficulty distinguishing between two alike ships. As the script called for the "Reliant" and "Enterprise" to inflict significant damage on each other, ILM developed techniques to illustrate the damage without physically harming the models. Rather than move the models on a bluescreen during shooting, the VistaVision camera was panned and tracked to give the illusion of movement. Damage to the "Enterprise" was cosmetic, and simulated with pieces of aluminum that were colored or peeled off. Phaser damage was created using stop motion. The script called for large-scale damage to the "Reliant", so larger versions of the ship's model were created to be blown up.
The battle in the nebula was a difficult sequence to accomplish without the aid of computer-generated models. The swirling nebula was created by injecting a latex rubber and ammonia mixture into a cloud tank filled with fresh and salt water. All the footage was shot at two frames per second to give the illusion of faster movement. The vibrant abstract colors of the nebula were simulated by lighting the tank using colored gels. Additional light effects such as auroras were created by the ILM animation department. Using matte work, the ships were physically stuck on a background plate to complete the shot. The destruction of the "Reliant"s engine nacelle was created by superimposing shots of the engine blowing apart and explosions over the model.
The scene in which Terrell kills Jedda, a Regula scientist, by vaporizing him with a phaser was filmed in two takes. Winfield and the related actors first played out the scene; this footage became the background plate. A blue screen was wheeled onto the set and actor John Vargas, the recipient of the phaser blast, acted out his response to being hit with the energy weapon. A phaser beam element was placed on top of the background plate, and Vargas' shots were optically dissolved into an airbrushed disintegration effect which matched Vargas' position in every frame.
The Ceti eel shots used several models, overseen by visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, who had just finished creature design for "Return of the Jedi". He tied a string to the eels to inch the models across the actors' faces before they entered the ear canal. The scene of a more mature eel's leaving Chekov's ear was simulated by threading a microfilament through the floor of the set up to Koenig's ear. The scene was filmed with three variations, which Ralston described as "a dry shot, one with some blood, and the "Fangoria" shot, with a lot of gore." Footage of a giant model of Koenig's ear was discarded from the theatrical release due to the visceral reaction it elicited in test audiences.
Additional optical effects were provided by Visual Concept Engineering (VCE), a small effects company headed by Peter Kuran; Kuran had previously worked at ILM and left after finishing "The Empire Strikes Back". VCE provided effects including phaser beams, the "Enterprise" reactor, additional sand on Ceti Alpha V, and an updated transporter effect. Meyer and the production staff were adamant about not using freeze frames for the transporter, as had been done in the original television series. Scenes were shot so that conversations would continue while characters were in mid-transport, although much of the matte work VCE created was discarded when the production decided not to have as much action during transports.
"The Wrath of Khan" was one of the first films to extensively use computer graphics to speed production of special effects shots. Computer graphics company Evans & Sutherland used the Digistar planetarium simulation computer to generate the fields of stars, based on a database of real stars, and with the novel ability to navigate around and fly into the stars at greater than light speed.
The models of the ships were composited atop the star fields. These star fields were also used before and during the opening credits. The Evans & Sutherland team also produced the vector graphics tactical displays seen on the "Enterprise" and the simulator bridge.
Among the film's technical achievements was cinema's first entirely computer-generated sequences, both the star fly-through prior to the opening credits, and ILM's animation for the demonstration of the effects of the Genesis Device on a barren planet. The first concept for the shot took the form of a laboratory demonstration, where a rock would be placed in a chamber and turned into a flower. Veilleux suggested the sequence's scope be expanded to show the Genesis effect taking over a planet. While Paramount appreciated the more dramatic presentation, they also wanted the simulation to be more impressive than traditional animation. Having seen research done by Lucasfilm's Computer Graphics group, Veilleux offered them the task. Introducing the novel technique of particle systems for the sixty-second sequence, the graphics team also paid great attention to detail such as ensuring that the stars visible in the background matched those visible from a real star light-years from Earth. The animators hoped it would serve as a "commercial" for the studio's talents. The studio would later branch off from Lucasfilm to form Pixar. The sequence would be reused in two sequels, "" and "", as well as in the unrelated LaserDisc-based stand-up video arcade game "Astron Belt".
Jerry Goldsmith had composed the music for "The Motion Picture", but was not an option for "The Wrath of Khan" given the reduced budget; Meyer's composer for "Time After Time", Miklós Rózsa, was likewise prohibitively expensive. Bennett and Meyer wanted the music for the film to go in a different direction, but had not decided on a composer by the time filming began. Meyer initially hoped to hire an associate named John Morgan, but Morgan lacked film experience, which would have troubled the studio.
Paramount's vice-president of music Joel Sill took a liking to a 28-year-old composer named James Horner, feeling that his demo tapes stood out from generic film music. Horner was introduced to Bennett, Meyer and Salin. Horner said that "[The producers] did not want the kind of score they had gotten before. They did not want a John Williams score, "per se". They wanted something different, more modern." When asked about how he landed the assignment, the composer replied that "the producers loved my work for "Wolfen", and had heard my music for several other projects, and I think, so far as I've been told, they liked my versatility very much. I wanted the assignment, and I met with them, we all got along well, they were impressed with my music, and that's how it happened." Horner agreed with the producers' expectations and agreed to begin work in mid-January 1982.
In keeping with the nautical tone, Meyer wanted music evocative of seafaring and swashbuckling, and the director and composer worked together closely, becoming friends in the process. As a classical music fan, Meyer was able to describe the effects and sounds he wanted in the music. While Horner's style was described as "echoing both the bombastic and elegiac elements of John Williams' "Star Wars" and Goldsmith's original "Star Trek" (The Motion Picture) scores," Horner was expressly told to not use any of Goldsmith's score. Instead Horner adapted the opening fanfare of Alexander Courage's "Star Trek" television theme. "The fanfare draws you in immediately — you know you're going to get a good movie," Horner said.
In comparison to the flowing main theme, Khan's leitmotif was designed as a percussive texture that could be overlaid with other music and emphasized the character's insanity. The seven-note brass theme was echoplexed to emphasize the character's ruminations about the past while on Ceti Alpha V, but does not play fully until "Reliant"s attack on the "Enterprise". Many elements drew from Horner's previous work (a rhythm that accompanies Khan's theme during the surprise attack borrows from an attack theme from "Wolfen", in turn influenced by Goldsmith's score for "Alien"). Musical moments from the original television series are also heard during investigation of the Regula space station and elsewhere.
To Horner, the "stuff underneath" the main story was what needed to be addressed by the score; in "The Wrath of Khan", this was the relationship between Kirk and Spock. The main theme serves as Kirk's theme, with a mellower section following that is the theme for the Starship "Enterprise". Horner also wrote a motif for Spock, to emphasize the character's depth: "By putting a theme over Spock, it warms him and he becomes three-dimensional rather than a collection of schticks." The difference in the short, French horn-based cues for the villain and longer melodies for the heroes helped to differentiate characters and ships during the battle sequences.
The soundtrack was Horner's first major film score, and was written in four and a half weeks. The resulting 72 minutes of music was then performed by a 91-piece orchestra. Recording sessions for the score began on April 12, 1982 at the Warner Bros. lot, The Burbank Studios and continued until April 15. A pickup session was held on April 30 to record music for the Mutara nebula battle, while another session held on May 3 was used to cover the recently changed epilogue. Horner used synthesizers for ancillary effects; at the time, science fiction films such as "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Thing" were eschewing the synthesizer in favor of more traditional orchestras. Craig Huxley performed his invented instrument—the Blaster Beam—during recording, as well as composing and performing electronic music for the Genesis Project video. While most of the film was "locked in" by the time Horner had begun composing music, he had to change musical cue orchestration after the integration of special effects caused changes in scene durations.
"The Wrath of Khan" features several recurring themes, including death, resurrection, and growing old. Upon writing his script, Meyer hit upon a link between Spock's death and the age of the characters. "This was going to be a story in which Spock died, so it was going to be a story about death, and it was only a short hop, skip, and a jump to realize that it was going to be about old age and friendship," Meyer said. "I don't think that any of [the other preliminary] scripts were about old age, friendship, and death." In keeping with the theme of death and rebirth symbolized by Spock's sacrifice and the Genesis Device, Meyer wanted to call the film "The Undiscovered Country", in reference to Prince Hamlet's description of death in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", but the title was changed during editing without his knowledge. Meyer disliked "Wrath of Khan", but it was chosen because the preferred "Vengeance of Khan" conflicted with Lucasfilm's forthcoming "Revenge of the Jedi" (renamed "Return of the Jedi" late in production).
Meyer added elements to reinforce the aging of the characters. Kirk's unhappiness about his birthday is compounded by McCoy's gift of reading glasses. The script stated that Kirk was 49, but Shatner was unsure about being specific about Kirk's age. Bennett remembers that Shatner was hesitant about portraying a middle-aged version of himself, and believed that with proper makeup he could continue playing a younger Kirk. Bennett convinced Shatner that he could age gracefully like Spencer Tracy; the producer did not know that Shatner had worked with Tracy on "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), and was fond of the actor. Meyer made sure to emphasize Kirk's parallel to Sherlock Holmes in that both characters waste away in the absence of their stimuli; new cases, in Holmes' case, and starship adventures in Kirk's.
Khan's pursuit of Kirk is central to the film's theme of vengeance, and "The Wrath of Khan" deliberately borrows heavily from Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick". To make the parallels clear to viewers, Meyer added a visible copy of "Moby-Dick" to Khan's dwelling. Khan liberally paraphrases Ahab, with "I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames before I give him up!". Khan also quotes Ahab's tirade at the end of the novel verbatim with his final lines: "To the last I grapple with thee; from Hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."
The film's novelization, written by Vonda N. McIntyre, stayed on the "New York Times" paperback bestsellers list for more than three weeks. Unlike the previous film, "Wrath of Khan" was not promoted with a toy line, although Playmates Toys created Khan and Saavik figures in the 1990s, and in 2007 Art Asylum crafted a full series of action figures to mark the film's 25th anniversary. In 2009, IDW Publishing released a comic adaptation of the film, and "Film Score Monthly" released an expanded score.
"The Wrath of Khan" opened on June 4, 1982 in 1,621 theaters in the United States. It made $14,347,221 in its opening weekend, at the time the largest opening weekend gross in history. It went on to earn $78,912,963 in the US, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 1982. It made $97,000,000 worldwide. Although the total gross of "The Wrath of Khan" was less than that of "The Motion Picture", it was more profitable due to its much lower production cost.
Critical response was positive. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of 54 critics have given the film a positive review, recording an average score of 8/10. After the lukewarm reaction to the first film, fan response to "The Wrath of Khan" was highly positive. The film's success was credited with renewing interest in the franchise. Mark Bernardin of "Entertainment Weekly" went further, calling "The Wrath of Khan" "the film that, by most accounts, saved "Star Trek" as we know it"; it is now considered one of the best films in the series. Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" called the film "wonderful dumb fun." Gene Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "a flat-out winner, full of appealing characters in engaging relationships in a futuristic film that has a delightfully old-fashioned sense of majesty about its characters and the predicaments they get into."
The film's pacing was praised by reviewers in "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" as being much swifter than its predecessor and closer to that of the television series. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" credited the film with a stronger story than "The Motion Picture" and stated the sequel was everything the first film should have been. "Variety" agreed that "The Wrath of Khan" was closer to the original spirit of "Star Trek" than its predecessor. Strong character interaction was cited as a strong feature of the film, as was Montalbán's portrayal of Khan. In 2016, "Playboy" ranked the film number four on its list of "15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals". "Popular Mechanics" would later rate Spock's death the tenth greatest scene in science fiction.
Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" and Derek Adams of "Time Out" complained about what were seen as tepid battle sequences and perceived melodrama. While Ebert and "TV Guide" felt that Spock's death was dramatic and well-handled, "The Washington Post"s Gary Arnold stated Spock's death "feels like an unnecessary twist, and the filmmakers are obviously well-prepared to fudge in case the public demands another sequel". Negative reviews of the film also focused on the acting, and "Empire" singled out the "dodgy coiffures" and "Santa Claus tunics" as elements of the film that had not aged well.
Christopher John reviewed "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" in "Ares Magazine" #13 and commented that "By not taking itself so seriously – that is, realizing the film should be an action adventure with elements of pathos and philosophy gently added – "The Wrath of Khan" succeeded brilliantly. For those who loved the series, it was a dream come true (to such an extent that many refuse to acknowledge the existence of the first film as part of the "Star Trek" epos)."
"The Wrath of Khan" won two Saturn Awards in 1982, for best actor (Shatner) and best direction (Meyer). The film was also nominated in the "best dramatic presentation" category for the 1983 Hugo Awards, but lost to "Blade Runner". "The Wrath of Khan" has influenced later movies: Meyer's rejected title for the film, "The Undiscovered Country", was finally put to use when Meyer directed the , which retained the nautical influences. Director Bryan Singer cited the film as an influence on "X2" and his abandoned sequel to "Superman Returns". The film is also a favorite of director J. J. Abrams, producer Damon Lindelof, and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the creative team behind the franchise relaunch film "Star Trek". Abrams' second entry in the relaunched film series, "Star Trek Into Darkness", drew significantly from "Wrath of Khan".
Paramount released "The Wrath of Khan" on RCA CED Videodisc in 1982 and on VHS and Betamax in 1983. The studio sold the VHS for $39.95, $40 below contemporary movie cassette prices and it sold a record 120,000 copies. The successful experiment was credited with instigating more competitive VHS pricing, an increase in the adoption of increasingly cheaper VHS players, and an industry-wide move away from rentals to sales as the bulk of videotape revenue.
Paramount released "The Wrath of Khan" on DVD in 2000; no special features were included on the disc. Montalbán drew hundreds of fans of the film to Universal City, California where he signed copies of the DVD to commemorate its release. In August 2002, the film was re-released in a highly anticipated two-disc "Director's Edition" format. In addition to remastered picture quality and 5.1 Dolby surround sound, the DVD set included director commentary, cast interviews, storyboards and the theatrical trailer. The expanded cut of the film was given a Hollywood premiere before the release of the DVD. Meyer stated that he didn't believe directors' cuts of films were necessarily better than the original but that the re-release gave him a chance to add elements that had been removed from the theatrical release by Paramount. The four hours of bonus content and expanded director's cut were favorably received.
The film's original theatrical cut was released on Blu-ray Disc in May 2009 to coincide with the new "Star Trek" feature, along with the other five films featuring the original crew in "Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection". Of all six original films, "Wrath of Khan" was the only one to be remastered in 1080p high-definition from the original negative. Nicholas Meyer stated that the "Wrath of Khan" negative "was in terrible shape," which is why it needed extensive restoration. All six films in the set have new 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio. The disc also features a new commentary track by director Nicholas Meyer and "" showrunner Manny Coto. On April 24, 2016, Paramount Pictures announced the Director's Edition of the film would be released for Blu-ray Disc on June 7, 2016. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27098 |
Q (Star Trek)
Q is a fictional character as well as the name of a race in "Star Trek" appearing in the "", "", and "" series, and in related media. The most familiar Q is portrayed by John de Lancie. He is an extra-dimensional being of unknown origin who possesses immeasurable power over time, space, the laws of physics, and reality itself, being capable of altering it to his whim. Despite his vast knowledge and experience spanning untold eons (and much to the exasperation of the object(s) of his obsession), he is not above practical jokes for his own personal amusement, for a Machiavellian and manipulative purpose, or to prove a point. He is said to be almost omnipotent, and he is continually evasive regarding his true motivations.
The name "Q" applies to the names of the individuals portrayed (all "male" and "female" characters refer to each other as "Q"), it also applies to the name of their race and to the "Q Continuum" itself – an alternate dimension accessible to only the Q and their "invited" guests. The true nature of the realm is said to be beyond the comprehension of "lesser beings" such as humans, therefore it is shown to humans only in ways they can understand; e.g., a run-down gas station in the 'middle of nowhere'.
Beginning with the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" of "", Q became a recurring character, with pronounced comedic and dramatic chemistry with Jean-Luc Picard. He serves as a major antagonist throughout "The Next Generation", playing a pivotal role in both the first and final episodes. Q is initially presented as a cosmic force judging humanity to see if it is becoming a threat to the universe, but as the series progresses, his role morphs more into one of a teacher to Picard and the human race generally – albeit often in seemingly destructive or disruptive ways, subject to his own amusement. Other times, notably during "Deja Q" and "Voyager", Q appears to the crew seeking assistance.
Gene Roddenberry chose the letter "Q" in honor of his friend, Janet Quarton.
Many "Star Trek" television episodes and novels have featured Q, and often have titles that play on the letter "Q".
1Note: Audiobook version available.
The character Q debuted in "Encounter at Farpoint", where he puts Captain Picard and the "Enterprise" crew on trial, arguing that humanity is a dangerous race and should be destroyed. When they later save the life of a kidnapped alien, Q agrees to defer judgment, though he hints that it will not be the last time the crew sees him.
In "Q Who", he offers to divest himself of his powers and guide humanity through uncharted regions and prepare it for unknown threats. Picard argues that Q's services are unneeded (and unwanted), and Q rebuts him by teleporting the USS "Enterprise" to a distant system for their first encounter with the Borg. Unable to resist the Borg, Picard must ask Q to save the ship. Q returns the "Enterprise" home and tells Picard that other men would rather have died than ask for help.
In "Déjà Q", Q is punished by the Q Continuum by being made mortal; his committing of an uncharacteristically selfless act (sacrificing his life so that a race attacking him will not destroy the "Enterprise") garners the return of his powers. In the same episode, Q says that Picard is "the closest thing in this universe that I have to a friend."
Toward the end of "The Next Generation", Q is less antagonistic toward Picard. In "", Q apparently saves Picard and helps him better understand himself, giving Picard a chance to avoid the accident that gave him an artificial heart only for Picard to choose dying as himself over living the tedious life he would have lived without the inspiration of his near-death experience (although whether Q actually appeared in this episode or was merely a hallucination Picard experienced during surgery is deliberately left ambiguous).
In the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "", Q pursues a rogue member of the Continuum, later named Quinn, who has been inadvertently released from his asteroid prison by the crew of that ship, and who seeks asylum on "Voyager". He demands that Q make him human, as he does not wish to be a member of the Continuum any more, but Q refuses, because Quinn intends to commit suicide if he becomes human. The two parties agree to allow Captain Janeway to mediate their dispute, and after Janeway eventually finds in favor of Quinn, he is made human and then commits suicide.
Later, in the "Voyager" episode "The Q and the Grey", Q reappears on the "Voyager", asking Janeway to bear his child. He eventually reveals that the uncertainty and instability caused by Quinn's suicide divided the Continuum, causing a civil war between Quinn's progressive followers (of which Q is a part) and the conservative traditionalists of the Continuum. Q believes that the birth of a new member of the Continuum could revitalize the Q by giving them something new to focus on after millennia of stagnation and boredom. Janeway refuses, and after she and her crew bring about a ceasefire in the Continuum, Q eventually mates with the female Q (Suzie Plakson) with whom he had been involved (referred to in "Star Trek" novels as 'Lady Q'), producing a son. Their progeny is born conscious and with all the power of any other Q, although lacking adult maturity. Q makes Janeway his godmother.
In the episode "", which is the last televised appearance of Q, he appears on "Voyager" with his immature, rebellious son, who appears as a human teenager (played by John de Lancie's real-life son Keegan de Lancie, and referred to in the novels as "Little Q" or "q"). Q asks Janeway to mentor his son, and the two adults agree that the boy will remain on "Voyager", without his powers, and either learn how to be a responsible, accountable, and productive inhabitant of the cosmos, or spend eternity as an amoeba. Eventually, the young Q comes around, but the Continuum is not entirely convinced, so in negotiation with Q, they come to an agreement. Q must eternally guard, observe, and accompany the boy to ensure his proper behavior.
The similarity between Q and Trelane, the alien encountered in the "Star Trek" episode "The Squire of Gothos", inspired writer Peter David to establish in his 1994 novel "Q-Squared" that Trelane is a member of the Continuum, and that Q is his godfather (with it being all-but-explicitly stated that Q is actually Trelane's biological father, although the truth of this is kept an official secret).
Q's past is expanded on in the trilogy "", which has Q and Picard travel through Q's past, witnessing Q's first encounter with the being that inspired his interest in testing other races. This being, known as 0, is similar to Q in power and abilities (although an injury of some sort prevents 0 travelling faster than light under his own power, even if he can still teleport short distances), but whereas Q has been shown to be more of a "merry prankster" throughout "Star Trek" canon, 0 is malevolent in his desires, using 'tests' as just an excuse to torture other races by changing the rules of his games so that the subjects will inevitably lose. Q ends up bringing him into the Milky Way galaxy through the Guardian of Forever, and 0 assembles other seemingly omnipotent beings from the original "Star Trek", including The One (the being who impersonated God in "") and (*) (the entity from "Day of the Dove", which thrived on violent conflict). However, although intrigued at 0's words about testing lesser races, Q loses his taste for 0's methods when 0's group provoke the Tkon Empire- an advanced civilisation millennia in the past- into decades of civil war and then blows up their sun just as they were about to exchange their dying old sun for a younger, fresher one, having completed their Great Endeavour despite the war. 0's group was later defeated in a battle with the Q Continuum, though the dinosaurs were left extinct as a result when Q diverted an asteroid from one of the combatants so that it would strike Earth instead. With Q having abstained from most of the conflict, he was thus put in charge of watching over Earth and its inhabitants as a possible rehabilitation project, while (*) escaped, The One was trapped at the heart of the galaxy having been reduced to just his head, and 0 was banished to just outside our galaxy and the galactic barrier erected to keep him out; as Picard observes, with 0's crippled state preventing him travelling faster than light, 0 was essentially reduced to a shipwrecked survivor cut off from the nearest inhabitable land and millennia away from anywhere else. 0 later returned from his banishment beyond the galaxy and sought revenge on Q, having manipulated a dying scientist to complete an artificial wormhole experiment, but was defeated when Picard was able to convince one of 0's old enemies to join forces with Q to stop his former mentor.
The novel "The Buried Age" which explores Picard's life between the destruction of the "Stargazer" and his appointment to the position of captain of the "Enterprise"-D ends with a cameo appearance by Q as he meets an alien woman who recently met Picard before she chose to ascend to a higher plane of existence, her tales of Picard inspiring Q's own interest in humanity. This novel also establishes why Q chose his name, as he wanted something that would be simple for humans to remember, also reasoning that, if he was ever asked why he was called 'Q', he could reply 'Because U will always be behind me'.
In the "Voyager" novel "The Eternal Tide", Q's son sacrifices himself to save the universe, inspired by the example of the resurrected Kathryn Janeway, prompting Q to declare himself her enemy (although he swiftly gets over this hostility 'off-screen').
In the "Star Trek" comic series based on the alternate timeline established in the 2009 film "Star Trek", Q visits that reality to take the crew of the "Enterprise" into their future. This allows them to interact with characters from the original timeline in the new history created by Spock's trip to the past. It also helps Q deal with a threat to the Continuum in the form of the Pah-Wraiths, which have all but destroyed the Bajoran Prophets in this timeline.
The 1996 computer game "" included live action segments directed by James L. Conway and featured John de Lancie as Q.
Q also appears during Holiday events in the Massively Multiplayer Online game "Star Trek Online" including the creation of a Christmas Village that player characters can be teleported to.
In 2009, Q was ranked as the 9th best character of all "Star Trek" by IGN.
In 2016, "Time" rated Q as the #10 best villain of the "Star Trek" franchise.
In 2017, Space.com rated Q as one of the "15 of the Most Bizarre Alien Species" of the "Star Trek" franchise.
In 2018, "The Wrap" said that Q would be at the top of the list if he was included with ranking 39 main cast characters of the "Star Trek" franchise prior to "".
In 2018, CBR ranked Q the #1 best "Star Trek" recurring character. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27100 |
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor. It originally aired from January 1995 to May 2001 on UPN, lasting for 172 episodes over seven seasons. The fifth series in the "Star Trek" franchise, it served as the fourth sequel to "". Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS "Voyager" as it attempts to return home after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy.
Paramount Pictures commissioned the series following the termination of "" to accompany the ongoing "". They wanted it to help launch UPN, their newly established network. Berman, Piller, and Taylor devised the series to chronologically overlap with "Deep Space Nine" and to maintain thematic continuity with elements that had been introduced in "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine." The complex relationship between Starfleet and ex-Federation colonists known as the Maquis was one such element and a persistent central theme. "Voyager" was the first "Star Trek" series to feature a female captain, Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), as the lead character. Berman served as head executive producer in charge of the overall production, assisted by a series of executive producers: Piller, Taylor, Brannon Braga, and Kenneth Biller.
Set in a different part of the galaxy from preceding "Star Trek" shows, "Voyager" gave the series' writers space to introduce new alien species as recurring characters, namely the Kazon, Vidiians, Hirogen, and Species 8472. During the later seasons, the Borg—a species created for "The Next Generation"—were introduced as the main antagonists. During "Voyager"'s run, various episode novelisations and tie-in video games were produced; after it ended, various novels continued the series narrative.
As "" ended, Paramount Pictures wanted to continue to have a second "Star Trek" TV series to accompany "". The studio also planned to start a new television network, and wanted the new series to help it succeed. This was reminiscent of Paramount's earlier plans to launch its own network by showcasing "" in 1977.
Initial work on "Star Trek: Voyager" began in 1993, when the seventh and final season of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the second season of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" were in production. Seeds for "Voyager"s backstory, including the development of the Maquis, were placed in several "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine" episodes. "Voyager" was shot on the stages "The Next Generation" had used, and where the "Voyager" pilot "" was shot in September 1994. Costume designer Robert Blackman decided that the uniforms of "Voyager"s crew would be the same as those on "Deep Space Nine".
"Star Trek: Voyager" was the first "Star Trek" series to use computer-generated imagery (CGI), rather than models, for exterior space shots. "Babylon 5" and "seaQuest DSV" had previously used CGI to avoid the expense of models, but the "Star Trek" television department continued using models because they felt they were more realistic. Amblin Imaging won an Emmy for "Voyager"s opening CGI title visuals, but the weekly episode exteriors were captured with hand-built miniatures of "Voyager", its shuttlecraft, and other ships. This changed when "Voyager" went fully CGI for certain types of shots midway through season three (late 1996). Foundation Imaging was the studio responsible for special effects during "Babylon 5"s first three seasons. Season three's "" was the first episode to use Foundation's effects exclusively. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" began using Foundation Imaging in conjunction with Digital Muse in season six. In its later seasons, "Voyager" featured visual effects from Foundation Imaging and Digital Muse. The digital effects were produced at standard television resolution and some have speculated that it cannot be re-released in HD format without re-creating the special effects. However, "Enterprise" has been released in HD, but the special effects were rendered in 480p and upscaled.
In the pilot episode, "", departs the Deep Space Nine space station on a mission into the treacherous Badlands. They are searching for a missing ship piloted by a team of Maquis rebels, which "Voyager"s security officer, the Vulcan Lieutenant Tuvok, has secretly infiltrated. While in the Badlands, "Voyager" is enveloped by a powerful energy wave that kills several of its crew, damages the ship, and strands it in the galaxy's Delta Quadrant, more than 70,000 light-years from Earth. The wave was not a natural phenomenon. In fact, it was used by an alien entity known as the Caretaker to pull "Voyager" into the Delta Quadrant. The Caretaker is responsible for the continued care of the Ocampa, a race of aliens native to the Delta Quadrant, and has been abducting other species from around the galaxy in an effort to find a successor.
The Maquis ship was also pulled into the Delta Quadrant, and eventually the two crews reluctantly agree to join forces after the Caretaker space station is destroyed in a pitched space battle with another local alien species, the Kazon. Chakotay, leader of the Maquis group, becomes "Voyager"s first officer. B'Elanna Torres, a half-human/half-Klingon Maquis, becomes chief engineer. Tom Paris, whom Janeway released from a Federation prison to help find the Maquis ship, is made "Voyager"s helm officer. Due to the deaths of the ship's entire medical staff, the Doctor, an emergency medical hologram designed only for short-term use, is employed as the ship's full-time chief medical officer. Delta Quadrant natives Neelix, a Talaxian scavenger, and Kes, a young Ocampa, are welcomed aboard as the ship's chef/morale officer and the Doctor's medical assistant, respectively.
Due to its great distance from Federation space, the Delta Quadrant is unexplored by Starfleet, and "Voyager" is truly going where no human has gone before. As they set out on their projected 75-year journey home, the crew passes through regions belonging to various species: the barbaric and belligerent Kazon; the organ-harvesting, disease-ravaged Vidiians; the nomadic hunter race the Hirogen; the fearsome Species 8472 from fluidic space; and most notably the Borg, whose home is the Delta Quadrant, so that "Voyager" has to move through large areas of Borg-controlled space in later seasons. They also encounter perilous natural phenomena, a nebulous area called the Nekrit Expanse ("", third season), a large area of empty space called the Void ("", fifth season), wormholes, dangerous nebulae and other anomalies.
"Voyager" is the third "Star Trek" series to feature Q, an omnipotent alien—and the second on a recurring basis, as Q made only one appearance on "". Starfleet Command learns of "Voyager"s survival when the crew discovers an ancient interstellar communications network, claimed by the Hirogen, into which they can tap. This relay network is later disabled, but due to the efforts of Earth-based Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, Starfleet eventually establishes regular contact in the season-six episode "", using a communications array and micro-wormhole technology.
In the first two episodes of the show's fourth season, Kes leaves the ship in the wake of an extreme transformation of her mental abilities, while Seven of Nine (known colloquially as Seven), a Borg drone who was assimilated as a six-year-old human girl, is liberated from the collective and joins the "Voyager" crew. As the series progresses, Seven begins to regain her humanity with the ongoing help of Captain Janeway, who shows her that emotions, friendship, love, and caring are more important than the sterile "perfection" the Borg espouse. The Doctor also becomes more human-like, due in part to a mobile holo-emitter the crew obtains in the third season which allows the Doctor to leave the confines of sickbay. He discovers his love of music and art, which he demonstrates in the episode "". In the sixth season, the crew discovers a group of adolescent aliens assimilated by the Borg, but prematurely released from their maturation chambers due to a malfunction on their Borg cube. As he did with Seven of Nine, the Doctor rehumanizes the children; , three of them eventually find a new adoptive home while the fourth, , chooses to stay aboard "Voyager."
Life for the "Voyager" crew evolves during their long journey. Traitors and are uncovered in the early months ("", ""); loyal crew members are lost late in the journey; and other wayward Starfleet officers are integrated into the crew. In the second season, the first child is born aboard the ship to Ensign Samantha Wildman; as she grows up, Naomi Wildman becomes great friends with her godfather, Neelix, and develops an unexpected and close relationship with Seven of Nine. Early in the seventh season, Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres marry after a long courtship, and Torres gives birth to their child, , in the series finale. Late in the seventh season, the crew finds a colony of Talaxians on a makeshift settlement in an asteroid field, and Neelix chooses to bid "Voyager" farewell and live once again among his people.
Over the course of the series, the "Voyager" crew finds various ways to reduce their 75-year journey by five decades: shortcuts, in the episodes "" and ""; technology boosts in "", "Dark Frontier", "" and "Hope and Fear"; a subspace corridor in ""; and a mind-powered push from a powerful former shipmate in "". Several other trip-shortening attempts are unsuccessful, as seen in the episodes "", "", "Future's End", "", and "". After traveling for seven years, the remainder of the journey is shortened to a few minutes, when "Voyager" is able to access a Borg transwarp conduit in the series finale, "".
The show's many visitations across time and space provide a range of performances ranging from cameos to almost being interwoven into much of the show, such as when being portrayed as a love interest or protagonist of one the show's regulars.
Source material:
As with other "Star Trek" series, the original "Star Trek"s Vulcans, Klingons, and Romulans appear in "Star Trek: Voyager". "Voyager" had appearances by several other races who initially appear in "The Next Generation": the Q, the Borg, Cardassians, Bajorans, Betazoids, and Ferengi, along with "Deep Space Nine"s Jem'Hadar (via hologram), as well as the Maquis resistance movement, previously established in episodes of "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine".
One notable connection between "Voyager" and "The Next Generation" appears regarding a wormhole and the Ferengi. In "The Next Generation" season-three episode "", bidding takes place for rights to a wormhole. The Ferengi send a delegation to the bidding. When the "Enterprise" and Ferengi vessel each send shuttles into the wormhole, they appear in the Delta Quadrant, where the Ferengi shuttle becomes trapped. In the "Voyager" season-three episode "False Profits", the Ferengi who were trapped have since landed on a nearby planet, and begun exploiting the inhabitants for profit.
In some cases, the actors play the same character as elsewhere, such as Dwight Schultz who plays Reginald Barclay. In other cases, the same actors play different characters.
In August 2015, the main cast members (except Jennifer Lien, who retired from acting in 2002) appeared together onstage in Las Vegas for the 20th anniversary of "Star Trek: Voyager" at the 2015 Las Vegas "Star Trek" convention.
Robert Duncan McNeill (Paris) and Roxann Dawson (Torres) have also directed episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise", while Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, and Andrew Robinson (Garak of "Deep Space Nine") all directed episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager".
The sets used for USS "Voyager" were reused for the "Deep Space Nine" episode "" for her sister ship USS "Bellerophon" (NCC-74705), both of which are "Intrepid"-class starships. The sickbay set of USS "Voyager" was also used as the "Enterprise"-E sickbay in the films "" and "". Additionally, the "Voyager" ready room and the engineering set were also used as rooms aboard the "Enterprise-"E in "Insurrection".
The series consists of 172 episodes, all 45 minutes in length, excluding advertisement breaks. Four episodes, "Caretaker", "Dark Frontier", "Flesh and Blood" and "Endgame" originally aired as 90 minute episodes (excluding advertisement breaks). In syndication these four episodes are each split into two episodes (45 minutes in length).
"Star Trek: Voyager" launched with UPN network with repeats entering into syndication. The two hour long debut "" was seen by 21.3 million people in January 1995.
The series is also available for streaming in the United States on CBS All Access, Hulu, Prime Video, and Netflix.
The series was released on DVD in 2004 and again in 2017. In addition to the episodes, the DVDs also include some extra videos related to the show. There was an extra bonus video with the DVD set from the store Best Buy in 2004. "Voyager" had releases of episodes on VHS format, such as a collectors set with a special display box for the tapes.
By the 2010s, the episodes were made available on various streaming services including the owners CBS All Access In 2016 Netflix made an agreement with CBS for worldwide distribution of all then existing 727 "Star Trek" episodes (including Voyager). "Voyager" has 172 episodes and has been reviewed as a binge watch, with the whole series taking about three months, as rate of two episodes per day on weekdays and three episodes per day on weekends. As of 2015 services known to carry the series include Netflix, Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, and CBS.com.
"Star Trek: Voyager" has not been remastered in high definition and there are no plans to do so, due to the costs of reassembling each episode from the film negatives and recreating visual effects.
Unlike "The Next Generation", where composer Jerry Goldsmith's theme from "" was reused, Goldsmith composed and conducted an entirely new main theme for "Voyager". As done with "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine", a soundtrack album of the series' pilot episode "Caretaker" and a CD single containing three variations of the main theme were released by Crescendo Records in 1995 between seasons one and two.
In 2017, La-La Land Records issued "Star Trek: Voyager Collection, Volume 1", a four-disc limited-edition release containing Goldsmith's theme music and tracks from Jay Chattaway's "Rise", "Night", the two-parter "Equinox", "Pathfinder", "Spirit Folk", "The Haunting of Deck Twelve", "Shattered", "The Void", and the two-parter "Scorpion"; Dennis McCarthy's "The 37's", the two-parter "Basics", "The Q and the Gray", "Concerning Flight", "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy", and the two-parters "Workforce" and "Year of Hell", David Bell's "Dark Frontier", and Paul Baillargeon's "Lifesigns".
"Voyager" won 20 different awards and was nominated for 70.
A total of 26 numbered books were released during the series' original run from 1995 to 2001. They include novelizations of the first episode, "Caretaker", "The Escape", "Violations", "Ragnarok", and novelizations of the episodes "Flashback", "Day of Honor", "Equinox" and "Endgame". Also, "unnumbered books", which are still part of the series, were released, though not part of the official release. These novels consist of episode novelizations except for "Caretaker", "Mosaic" (a biography of Kathryn Janeway), "Pathways" (a novel in which the biography of various crew members, including all of the senior staff, is given); and "The Nanotech War", a novel released in 2002, one year after the series' finale.
A series of novels focusing on the continuing adventures of "Voyager" following the television series finale was implemented in 2003, much as Pocket Books did with the novel series, which features stories placed after the finale of that show. In the relaunch, several characters are reassigned while others are promoted but stay aboard "Voyager". These changes include Janeway's promotion to admiral, Chakotay becoming captain of "Voyager" and breaking up with Seven of Nine, Tuvok leaving the ship to serve as tactical officer under William Riker, and Tom Paris's promotion to first officer on the "Voyager". The series also introduces several new characters.
The series began with "Homecoming" and "The Farther Shore" in 2003, a direct sequel to the series' finale, "Endgame". These were followed in 2004 by "Spirit Walk: Old Wounds" and "Spirit Walk: Enemy of My Enemy". Under the direction of a new author, 2009 brought forth two more additions to the series: "Full Circle" and "Unworthy". In 2011, another book by the same author called "Children of the Storm" was released. Other novels—some set during the relaunch period, others during the show's broadcast run—have been published.
Three video games based on the "Voyager" were released: "" for PC (2000) and PS2 (2001), the arcade game "" (2002) and "" (2003), a sequel to "Elite Force". The PS2 game "" (2006) also features the ship and characters from the show. "Voyager" was a graphic adventure video game developed by Looking Glass Technologies but it was cancelled in 1997.
"Voyager" is notable for being the most gender-balanced "Star Trek" series with the first female lead character and strong female supporting characters, with a review of the different series giving "Voyager" the highest Bechdel test rating.
In an article about "Voyager", Ian Grey wrote: "It was a rare heavy-hardware science fiction fantasy not built around a strong man, and more audaciously, it didn't seem to trouble itself over how fans would receive this. On "Voyager", female authority was assumed and unquestioned; women conveyed sexual power without shame and anger without guilt. Even more so than "Buffy", which debuted two years later, it was the most feminist show in American TV history."
About her years on "Voyager", Kate Mulgrew said: "The best thing was simply the privilege and the challenge of being able to take a shot at the first female captain, transcending stereotypes that I was very familiar with. I was able to do that in front of millions of viewers. That was a remarkable experience—and it continues to resonate."
In 2016, in a listing that included each "Star Trek" film and TV series separately, Voyager was ranked 6th by the "L.A. Times".
In 2017, Vulture ranked "Star Trek: Voyager" the 4th best live-action "Star Trek" television show, prior to "".
In 2019, Nerdist ranked this show the 5th best Star Trek series, in between "Enterprise" and "Star Trek: Discovery". Also in 2019, MovieFone ranked it the fifth best live-action Star Trek series.
In 2019, CBR ranked Season 5 the 4th best season of a "Star Trek" show, and Season 4, the 8th best.
In 2019, Popular Mechanics ranked "Star Trek: Voyager" the 36th best science fiction television show ever.
Citations | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27102 |
Beverly Crusher
Beverly Crusher is a character in the fictional "Star Trek" franchise. Debuting in the television series, "", Gates McFadden portrayed the character for all but the second of its seven seasons, as well as its spin-off feature films, "Star Trek Generations", "", "", and "".
She was the chief medical officer of the "Enterprise"-D and "Enterprise"-E.
Gates McFadden was reluctant to accept the role of Dr. Crusher because of her commitment to appear in the play "The Matchmaker" at the La Jolla Playhouse. During the second season, the character was written out of the series, with the explanation that she "was off heading up Starfleet Medical for the year." She was replaced by the louder, more outgoing Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur). Patrick Stewart was upset by McFadden's departure and played a large part in bringing about her return for the third season, upon which the character became more varied and richly developed, and was not afraid to go head-to-head with Picard.
Beverly Crusher was born Beverly Howard on October 13, 2324, in Copernicus City, Luna. Her ancestors were Scottish-Americans. Following the death of her parents when she was very young, she lived with her grandmother, Felisa Howard, on Arvada III, a colony planet until a moon collision caused the planet to flood, forcing its evacuation. Resourceful Felisa, with her granddaughter's aid, used herbs, grasses, tree chemicals, and roots as medicines when synthetic medicines ran out for the injured.
During her youth, Beverly was known as quiet, shy, and socially awkward. She was also very self-conscious about her bright red hair, and at the age of thirteen, attempted to dye it dark with disastrous results. She admits to Data later, in the episode "Offspring", that she was often ridiculed and unpopular in school and it had been very painful for her. She also admits that it brought back painful memories of those years when she saw her son Wesley going through similar ridicule as a child.
It was her grandmother's career as a healer and Beverly's own caring, high intelligence, and sensitivity that largely sparked Beverly's lifelong interest in medicine and healing the sick and wounded. The Arvada III disaster solidified Beverly's decision to be a doctor.
After Arvada III was evacuated, Beverly and Felisa then settled on Caldos II where Beverly lived until she entered Starfleet Academy.
Crusher attended Starfleet Academy from 2342 to 2350 during which she attended medical school. While attending the academy, she became romantically involved with fellow cadet Jack Crusher. They were introduced by their friend, Walker Keel. She graduated top of her class and married Jack in 2348. She had also been called "the Dancing Doctor" when she was at the academy and had won multiple awards at a dance competition in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2350, she started an internship with Dr. Dalen Quaice.
After marrying Jack, she returned to the academy while he left for the USS "Stargazer". A year later, she gave birth to a son named Wesley Crusher. Jack died on an away mission when Wesley was 5 years old. Captain Picard, who was commanding the "Stargazer" at the time, brought home the body of Jack. She never fully recovered from his death. Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard were also acquaintances while the character's husband was alive, as Picard and Jack Crusher were very good friends. At the beginning of the series, Picard and Dr. Crusher have not seen or heard from each other since Jack's death. "Encounter at Farpoint" is the first time Picard and Dr. Crusher's son Wesley truly meet face to face. Later in her life she realizes Picard has fallen in love with her.
As time goes by, both Crusher and Picard try to conceal their feelings from each other. Their relationship advances in "Attached", when the two are linked telepathically and their romantic feelings are revealed. At the end of this episode, Beverly tells Jean-Luc, "Perhaps we should be afraid", implying that she's not ready to take that step forward in their relationship.
However, only a handful of episodes later in "", it is revealed that neither Beverly or Jean-Luc has been able to let go of those feelings and they are back to where they started, trying to pretend the feelings don't exist and that they have no problem being "just friends" with one another.
In the series finale "", it is revealed that in an alternate future, Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard had been married and then divorced — still evidently having feelings for each other after so many years. Little information is given about the circumstances of their marriage or separation. In the present, during the episode, the two share a kiss. However that timeline, as well as that version of the future, is destroyed when Picard changes the past.
In the four "Next Generation" movies, the flirtation between Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard remains, though it is not as obvious as previous episodes and most certainly not part of the substantial movie plots. The most noteworthy moment between the two happens in one of the deleted scenes of the last "Next Generation" movie, "Star Trek Nemesis".
Following the television series and films, the relationship between Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard continued throughout the non-canonical "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Pocket Books series. Beverly and Jean-Luc have married, but still serve together on the "Enterprise"-E. They have a son named René Jacques Robert Francois Picard, named after Picard's older brother (Robert) and nephew (René).
The character has generally been positively received. Zack Handlen of "The A.V. Club" praised Gates McFadden's performance, as well as the inclusion of a strong, likable female character in the series, but lamented that the character's potential was never fully realized, saying she "should've been one of 's best characters" but that "too often, her character has been relegated to back-up roles, interjecting occasional medical jargon to give color to scenes, or else worrying to one side about whether or not Wesley was getting enough fun in his life."
McFadden left the series at the end of the first season and was replaced by Diana Muldaur as Doctor Katherine Pulaski at the beginning of the second. An official announcement stated McFadden had left the series to pursue other career options. McFadden herself got a call from her agent who told her the producers had decided to go in another direction with the character. Like the other cast members, McFadden was surprised. Thanks to a letter-writing campaign, support from Patrick Stewart, and a personal invitation from executive producer, Rick Berman, McFadden was brought back to the TNG cast for the third and subsequent seasons, with her only three appearances for season two being stock footage.
In an interview in May 2006, Berman revealed the actress was fired at end of the first season of "The Next Generation" because head writer Maurice Hurley "had a real bone to pick" and did not like her acting. After Hurley departed the show's writing staff, Berman brought the actress and character back.
In 2016, SyFy ranked Beverly Crusher as the fourth best of the six main-cast space doctors of the "Star Trek" franchise.
In 2017, IndieWire ranked Beverly fifth in a list of important characters on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", noting she was "pretty much flawless" and offered "valuable perspectives".
In 2019, ScreenRant suggested the character was ripe for a spin-off series, highlighting her relations with Picard and also the high potential of the character. In 2018, CBR ranked Beverly Crusher the 21st best Starfleet character of "Star Trek". In 2018, "The Wrap" placed Crusher as 14th out of 39 in a ranking of the franchise's best main characters prior to "".
In 2017, IndieWire ranked Crusher as the sixth best character on "Star Trek: The Next Generation". In 2016, Beverly Crusher was ranked as the 20th most important character of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" science fiction universe by "Wired" magazine.
In 2018, CBR ranked Beverly Crusher the 21st best member of Starfleet. In 2019, SyFy Wire recommended "" include Beverly Crusher, pointing out her long-time friendship with the titular character. They were critical of the lack of screen time the pair had, lamenting " It was not explored, it was ignored... and Beverly Crusher had almost nothing to do in the "TNG" films." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27103 |
Leonard McCoy
Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy is a character in the American science fiction franchise "Star Trek". McCoy was most famously portrayed by actor DeForest Kelley in the from 1966 to 1969, and he also appears in the , six "Star Trek" movies, the pilot episode of "", and in numerous books, comics, and video games. After Kelley's death, actor Karl Urban assumed the role of McCoy in the "Star Trek" reboot film in 2009.
McCoy was born in Atlanta, Georgia on 2227. The son of David, he attended the University of Mississippi and is a divorcé. McCoy later married Natira, the priestess of Yonada, characterized in the episode, "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky". In 2266, McCoy was posted as chief medical officer of the USS "Enterprise" under Captain James T. Kirk, who often calls him "Bones". McCoy and Kirk are good friends, even "brotherly". The passionate, sometimes cantankerous McCoy frequently argues with Kirk's other confidante, science officer Spock, and occasionally is prejudiced against Spock's Vulcan heritage. McCoy often plays the role of Kirk's conscience, offering a counterpoint to Spock's logic. McCoy is suspicious of technology, especially the transporter. As a physician, he prefers less intrusive treatment and believes in the body's innate recuperative powers. The character's nickname, "Bones", is a play on "sawbones", an epithet for physicians qualified as surgeons.
When Kirk orders McCoy's commission reactivated in "" (1979); a resentful McCoy complains of being "drafted". Spock transfers his "katra"—his knowledge and experience—into McCoy before dying in "" (1982). This causes mental anguish for McCoy, who in "" (1984) helps restore Spock's katra to his reanimated body. McCoy continues to serve on Kirk's crew aboard the captured Klingon ship in "" (1986). In "" (1989), McCoy (through the intervention of Spock's half-brother Sybok) reveals that he helped his father commit suicide to relieve him of his pain. Shortly after the suicide, a cure was found for his father's disease, and McCoy had carried the guilt about it with him until Sybok's intervention.
In "" (1991), McCoy and Kirk escape from a Klingon prison world, and the "Enterprise" crew stops a plot to prevent peace between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. Kelley reprised the role for the "Encounter at Farpoint" pilot episode of "" (1987), insisting upon no more than the minimum Screen Actors Guild payment for his appearance.
In the 1973 "" episode "", McCoy mentions he has a daughter, Joanna. Although Chekov's friend Irina in the original series episode "The Way to Eden" was originally written as McCoy's daughter, it was changed before the episode was shot.
In the 2009 "Star Trek" film, which takes place in an alternate, parallel reality, McCoy and Kirk become friends at Starfleet Academy, which McCoy joins after a divorce that he says "left [him] nothing but [his] bones." This line, improvised by Urban, explains how McCoy earned the nickname "Bones". McCoy later helps get Kirk posted aboard the USS "Enterprise". He later becomes the chief medical officer after Doctor Puri is killed during an attack by Nero. McCoy remains aboard to see the "Enterprise" defeat Nero and his crew, with Kirk becoming the commanding officer of the ship.
"The Guardian" called Urban's portrayal of McCoy in the 2009 film an "unqualified success", and "The New York Times" called the character "wild-eyed and funny". "Slate" said Urban came closer than the other actors to impersonating a character's original depiction.
Kelley had worked with "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry on previous television pilots, and he was Roddenberry's first choice to play the doctor aboard the USS "Enterprise". However, for the rejected pilot "" (1964), Roddenberry went with director Robert Butler's choice of John Hoyt to play Dr. Philip Boyce. For the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966), Roddenberry accepted director James Goldstone's decision to have Paul Fix play Dr. Mark Piper. Although Roddenberry wanted Kelley to play the character of ship's doctor, he did not put Kelley's name forward to NBC; the network never "rejected" the actor as Roddenberry sometimes suggested.
Kelley's first broadcast appearance as Doctor Leonard McCoy was in "The Man Trap" (1966). Despite his character's prominence, Kelley's contract granted him only a "featuring" credit; it was not until the second season that he was given "starring" credit, at the urging of producer Robert Justman. Kelley was apprehensive about "Star Trek"s future, telling Roddenberry that the show was "going to be the biggest hit or the biggest miss God ever made". Kelley portrayed McCoy throughout the original "Star Trek" series and voiced the character in the animated "Star Trek".
Kelley, who in his youth wanted to become a doctor like his uncle, but whose family could not pay for a medical education, in part drew upon his real-life experiences in creating McCoy: a doctor's "matter-of-fact" delivery of news of Kelley's mother's terminal cancer was the "abrasive sand" Kelley used in creating McCoy's demeanor. "Star Trek" writer D. C. Fontana said that while Roddenberry created the series, Kelley essentially created McCoy; everything done with the character was done with Kelley's input.
"Exquisite chemistry" among Kelley, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy manifested itself in their performances as McCoy, Captain James T. Kirk and science officer Spock, respectively. Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, referred to Kelley as her "sassy gentleman friend"; the friendship between the African-American Nichols and Southern Kelley was a real-life demonstration of the message Roddenberry hoped to convey through "Star Trek".
For the 2009 "Star Trek" film, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman saw McCoy as an "arbiter" in Kirk and Spock's relationship.While Spock represented "extreme logic, extreme science" and Kirk symbolized "extreme emotion and intuition", McCoy's role as "a very colorful doctor, essentially a very humanistic scientist" represented the "two extremes that often served as the glue that held the trio together". They chose to reveal that McCoy befriended Kirk first, explaining the "bias" in their friendship and why he would often be a "little dismissive" of Spock. Urban said the script was "very faithful" to the original character, including the "great compassion for humanity and that sense of irascibility" with which Kelley imbued the character.New Zealand-born Urban trained with a dialect coach to create McCoy's accent and reprised the role in its sequels "Star Trek Into Darkness" and "Star Trek Beyond".
McCoy is someone to whom Kirk unburdens himself, but is a foil to Spock. He is Kirk's "friend, personal bartender, confidant, counselor, and priest". Spock and McCoy's bickering became so popular that Roddenberry wrote in a 1968 memo "we simply didn't realize ... how much the fans loved the bickering between our Arrowsmith and our Alien". Urban said McCoy has a "sense of irascibility with real passion for life and doing the right thing", and that "Spock's logic and McCoy's moral standing gave Kirk the benefit of having three brains instead of just one."
Kelley said that his greatest thrill at "Star Trek" conventions was the number of people who told him they entered the medical profession because of the McCoy character. He received two or three letters a month from others reporting similar experiences. A friend observed that despite not becoming a doctor as he had hoped, Kelley's portrayal of McCoy had helped create many doctors. According to Kelley, "You can win awards and that sort of thing, but to influence the youth of the country ... is an award that is not handed out by the industry".
In a humor column for the "Canadian Medical Association Journal", the ethicist Michael Yeo described the character of McCoy as "TV’s only true physician" and "someone who has broken free from the yoke of ethics and practises the art and science of medicine beyond the stultifying opposition of paternalism and autonomy".
Twenty times on the original "Star Trek", McCoy declares someone or something deceased with the line, "He's dead", "He's dead, Jim", or something similar. The phrase so became a catchphrase of the character that Kelley joked that the line would appear on his tombstone—and it appeared in the first sentence of at least one obituary—but disliked repeating such lines and refused to say it in "" when Spock is near death, since the levity brought by the catchphrase seemed in poor taste for the gravitas of the moment. Kelley and James Doohan (Scotty) agreed to swap their lines, so McCoy warns Kirk against opening the engineering doors while Scotty says, "He's dead already".
University of Southern California literature professor Henry Jenkins cites Dr. McCoy's "He's dead, Jim" line as an example of fans actively participating in the creation of an underground culture in which they derive pleasure by repeating memorable lines as part of constructing new mythologies and alternative social communities.
Another of McCoy's catchphrases is his "I'm a doctor, (Jim) not a(n)..." statements, delivered by Kelley 11 times, and three times (by Karl Urban) in later films. McCoy repeats the line when he must perform some task beyond his medical skills, such as the "classic moment" when he is confronted with the unusual silicon-based Horta alien in "The Devil in the Dark" (1967), saying, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer."
Kelley himself parodied the phrase in a brief 1992 commercial for Trivial Pursuit's 10th Anniversary Edition, in which the question is asked "How many chambers are there in a human heart?" Kelley appears on screen and replies "How should I know? I'm an actor, not a doctor!".
In 2012, IGN ranked the character Doctor McCoy, as depicted in the original series, its films, and the 2009 film "Star Trek", as the 5th top character of the "Star Trek" universe, behind Data, Picard, Spock, and Kirk.
In 2016, Doctor McCoy was ranked as the fifth most important character of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" science fiction universe by "Wired" magazine.
In 2016, SyFy ranked McCoy 3rd of the six main-cast space doctors of the "Star Trek" Franchise.
In 2017, Screen Rant ranked the Reboot film (Kelvin timeline) McCoy, played by actor Karl Urban, as the 17th most attractive person in the "Star Trek" universe.
In 2018, "The Wrap" placed Doctor McCoy as 6th out 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of the "Star Trek" franchise. In 2018, CBR ranked McCoy as the 11th best Starfleet character of "Star Trek." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27105 |
Deanna Troi
Deanna Troi is a main character in the science-fiction television series "" and related TV series and films, portrayed by actress Marina Sirtis. Troi is half-human, half-Betazoid and has the psionic ability to sense emotions. She serves as the ship's counselor on USS "Enterprise"-D. Throughout most of the series, she holds the rank of lieutenant commander. In the seventh season, however, Troi takes the bridge officer's examination and is promoted to the rank of commander, but continues as counselor.
Troi appears in all four "Next Generation" theatrical films, and also made guest appearances on "", "", and "".
Her romantic interests, family, and personal life are plot elements in many "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episodes over the course of the series.
Deanna Troi was born on March 29, 2336, near Lake El-Nar, Betazed. Troi’s parents are Betazoid Ambassador Lwaxana Troi (portrayed by Majel Barrett) and deceased human Starfleet officer Lt. Ian Andrew Troi (portrayed by Amick Byram). An older sister, Kestra, died in a drowning accident during Troi’s infancy. Although Deanna Troi has little exposure to Earth culture, she attended Starfleet Academy from 2355 to 2359, as well as the University on Betazed, and earned an advanced degree in psychology.
Deanna Troi serves as the ship's counselor aboard the Starfleet starships USS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701-D) and "Enterprise"-E under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. In "", Troi leaves the "Enterprise" with her new husband William Riker, who has just been promoted to captain of the USS "Titan".
Troi's empathic abilities prove key to main shows, and other popular areas are her relationships and sexuality. In "", she gives birth to an alien child.
The Betazoid race has telepathic abilities. Due to her half-human heritage, Troi has only partial telepathic abilities, and as a result, is more of an empath with clairsentience. In "Star Trek: Nemesis", Troi has expanded her empathic abilities, as she is able to connect to another psychic and follow that empathic bond to its source. In this instance, her ability enables "Enterprise"-E to target and hit the Romulan vessel "Scimitar", despite the fact that it is cloaked. She is also able to communicate telepathically with her mother and other telepathic Betazoids or races with sufficient aptitude. Several species are resistant to the telepathy and empathy of Betazoids, such as the Ferengi, the Breen, and the Ulians.
Early in the series, Troi finds herself working with a former lover, the newly assigned first officer to USS "Enterprise", Commander William Riker. In season one, she meets a potential spouse in "". In later episodes, Troi has romantic involvements with several others, including a brief relationship with Klingon Starfleet officer Lieutenant Worf. A major exploration of their relationship begins with "", in which Worf encounters parallel universes where they are married with children. Another episode that explores a Troi-Worf relationship is "". However, in both cases, they are not revealed to be dating aboard the "real" ship, although both episodes are oriented towards exploring this concept. In "", the beginnings of real-world relationship are briefly explored, though this is abruptly dropped as Worf explores other love interests in "", and Troi's romantic relationship with Riker is rekindled through the "Next Generation" films.
As a main cast member, Troi appears in nearly every TNG episode, though particular episodes, starting with "The Child", feature her as the primary protagonist. Her name is included in the show title "Ménage à Troi", which is oriented towards an adventure her mother and she have (besides Data and Q, this is one of the few cases where a character's name is in the episode title). Other episodes principally about Troi include: "", "", "", and "".
She is addressed in various ways by fellow officers. Captain Picard calls her "Counselor", but when he is concerned about her, or in emergencies, he calls her "Deanna". Picard also refers to her as "Commander" in the pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint", which is consistent with her uniform's rank pips. Riker addresses her as "Lieutenant" a single time in the pilot episode; her service rank is not referred to again for several seasons. Doctor Crusher (one of her most noted female friends) usually calls her "Troi". Data very rarely calls her by her first name, usually calling her "Counselor Troi". Depending on the situation, Commander Riker calls her "Deanna" or "Imzadi", which means "beloved" in the Betazoid language.
In several episodes, Troi falls victim to aliens. In an episode of season four (""), the "Enterprise"’s crew loses a day's memory. As events unfold, Troi is taken over by an entity to communicate with the crew. She temporarily gains "superhuman" strength and effortlessly tosses Worf across the bridge, breaking his wrist. In the season-five episode, "Violations", the "Enterprise" encounters an alien species who are telepathic and specialize in being able to bring back lost memories. One of the aliens mentally assaults Deanna and also tries to physically assault her in her quarters. She is saved by Worf and one of his security teams. In the film, "Star Trek Nemesis", she is mentally violated by Shinzon's viceroy, who is also telepathic. This occurs in her quarters when she is with her new husband, Commander Riker; it also occurs in the "Star Trek: Nemesis" bonus deleted scenes, where she is attacked in the turbolift. She eventually is able to turn the tables on the viceroy using the same connection.
Troi is an avid connoisseur of chocolate, a fact that is significant in multiple episodes, including one in which she tells Commander Riker how to properly enjoy eating it. In the episode "", Beverly Crusher briefly describes Troi to Captain Picard to jog his memory and mentions that she "loves chocolate". She is known for ordering chocolate-flavored desserts in Ten-Forward, and her love for desserts is a common point of dialogue in many shows. She talks about this with a visiting-alien ambassador in "", who takes up her love for desserts as in their culture they do not have this type of food.
Dream-themed episodes include "", where Troi appears as cake in Data's dream and in "Night Terrors", her dreams help save the ship. The dreams a suitor thinks he is having about her in "Haven" become a major plot point in that episode.
Troi returns to the screen in an episode of "", titled "Nepenthe". In that episode, she is married to Will Riker and they have two children, Thad (deceased) and Kestra. When Jean-Luc Picard and his android companion Soji visit the Rikers' home, Deanna and her husband welcome them with open arms. Deanna and Will are both retired from Starfleet, although Will is described as being on "active reserve".
Marina Sirtis at first read for the role that would become Tasha Yar in 1986. She had, in total, five readings, all with Gene Roddenberry and other executives. Notably, Roddenberry took a liking to her almost immediately. Denise Crosby, who eventually won the role of Tasha, auditioned for the role of Deanna Troi. Marina Sirtis was said to have had a more "exotic" feel about her.
She was just about to return home, in debt and jobless, when she received the phone call alerting her that she had the role of Deanna Troi. She stated that if it had been an hour later, she would have missed that call and been on her way to England. Sirtis' US visa was expiring that day, and if she had stayed any longer, she could have run into legal trouble.
For Sirtis, "Star Trek" was her first big break. Prior to Deanna Troi, her acting career was going nowhere: "What they told us about "The Next Generation" when we first started was that we were guaranteed 26 episodes. So that was the longest job I've ever had." She knew little about the "Star Trek" franchise and at first just thought of it as a good means to pay her bills.
Initially, Sirtis/Troi's character was planned as a sexually attractive woman on the show. Gene Roddenberry intended her to have four breasts, before his wife told him this was a poor idea. Prior to filming, Sirtis was told to lose , but thought to herself that she had to drop even more, and was often wearing plunging necklines and form-fitting dresses. After six years, the producers decided to drop the "sexy and brainless" Troi and make her a stronger character: "I was thrilled when I got my regulation Starfleet uniform... it covered up my cleavage and I got all my brains back, because when you have cleavage, you can't have brains in Hollywood... I was allowed to do things that I hadn't been allowed to do for five or six years. I went on away teams, I was in charge of staff, I had my pips back, I had phasers, I had all the equipment again, and it was fabulous. I was absolutely thrilled."
One reviewer compared her to Doctor McCoy from the original "Star Trek" television series. In 2018, CBR ranked Counselor Troi as the 25th-best Starfleet character of "Star Trek", in 2018; they note her role as an empath aboard "Enterprise" 1701-D. In 2017, "IndieWire" ranked Troi as the 9th-best character on "Star Trek: The Next Generation".
In 2016, Troi was ranked as the 24th-most important character of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" universe by "Wired".
In 2017, Screen Rant ranked Troi the 12th-most attractive person in the "Star Trek" universe.
In 2018, CBR ranked Troi the 25th-best member of Starfleet.
In 2019, Troi was ranked the sixth-sexiest "Star Trek" character by SyFy.
In 2020, Tom's Guide recommended the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episodes "Ménage à Troi", "", and "Thine Own Self" as having some of the best moments for this character.
Besides being a regular in "The Next Generation" and its films, the Deanna Troi character appears in three episodes of "" ("", "", and "") together with Reginald Barclay, and also in the final episode of "", "These Are the Voyages...", with William Riker. The final episode of "Enterprise" was also Troi and Riker's last appearance, until she returned in "Star Trek: Picard". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27107 |
Geordi La Forge
Geordi La Forge is a fictional character who appeared in all seven seasons of the American science fiction television series "" and its four feature films. Portrayed by LeVar Burton, he served as helmsman of the USS "Enterprise"-D in the , then occupied the role of the chief engineer for the rest of the series and in the films. La Forge has been blind since his birth and uses technological devices that allow him to see – a VISOR in the series and the first film, replaced by ocular prosthetic implants in the last three films.
Gene Roddenberry created the character in honor of George La Forge, a quadriplegic fan of the , who died in 1975. He was not the first to honor La Forge in the "Star Trek" franchise; a character directly named for George La Forge was written into the 1980 "Star Trek" novel "The Galactic Whirlpool" by David Gerrold.
A casting call was placed with agencies for the role, which described him as friends with Data, and specified that La Forge should have "perfect diction and might even have a Jamaican accent" and instructed those agencies not to submit "any 'street' types."
LeVar Burton auditioned for the role in 1986. He had previously appeared in "Roots" and other major network shows. He stated that "years ago I was doing a TV movie called "Emergency Room" and it was a fairly miserable experience. But there was a producer on that show, a man named Bob Justman... six, seven years later, I get this call from Bob Justman and he’s working at Paramount on this new Star Trek series and he said I remember your love of the show, we’ve got this character, would you be interested in coming in and seeing us? And I said was [franchise creator] Gene Roddenberry involved? He said he is. And I said I’ll be right there." Roddenberry was very pleased with Burton at his first audition. Among the other actors considered for the role were Wesley Snipes, Reggie Jackson, Kevin Peter Hall, Clarence Gilyard, and Tim Russ, who would later play Tuvok on "".
Burton also commented that he was anxious about his role, because he feared that "ST:TNG" was going to flop: "At the beginning, you know, there was a lot of conversation in the press at what a bad idea this was [but] I thought that since Gene was involved we had a real good shot of making a good show that would carry on in that tradition of Star Trek."
Throughout the series, Burton was equipped with Geordi La Forge's trademark VISOR, which he found extremely unpleasant to wear: "It's pretty much a living hell. 85 to 90% of my vision is taken away when the VISOR goes on. I bumped into everything the first season—light stands, overhead microphones, cables at my feet—I tripped over it all. So it's a sort of conundrum. The blind man, who puts on the VISOR and sees much more than everyone else around him, when the actor actually does that he's turned into a blind person. Then there was the pain. In the second season, we re-designed the VISOR and made it heavier and the way we actually affixed it was that we screwed it, we literally screwed it into my head and so there were screws that we would turn and there were flanges on the inside that would press into my temples and so after fifteen or twenty minutes of that I got headaches. So I had a daily headache for about six years. Which was also no fun."
During the series, Burton's character was Chief Engineering Officer, and thus was often portrayed repairing machines or discovering new scientific phenomena. Burton commented how hard it sometimes was to deliver the Treknobabble used by La Forge in these scenes with a straight face: "Technobabble brings with it its own challenge. I'm not an engineer, I just played one on TV. The methodology that I found most successful was to really spit it out as fast as I possibly could. Giving the illusion that I knew what I was talking about when, in fact, I really didn't."
Asked about his favorite scenes, Burton answered that he especially liked holodeck adventures: "The Holmes and Watson episodes for Data and Geordi, the Robin Hood episode, you know, those were a lot of fun for us. I think the holodeck was a very cool concept, you know. You can create a three dimensional reality. I mean, how cool is that?"
Following the end of the series, Burton has stated how much he gained from "The Next Generation"; "When I got married my best man was Brent (Spiner, who portrayed the "ST:TNG" character Lieutenant Commander Data) and my groomsmen were Michael (Dorn, Lieutenant Worf) and Jonathan (Frakes, Commander Riker) and Patrick (Stewart, Captain Picard). No matter what, we will always be family to each other. I mean in every respect. There have been times when there have been feuds within the family, when it hasn't been all hugs and kisses. But we have stuck together."
In the "Star Trek" fictional universe, a VISOR is a device used by the blind to artificially provide them with a sense of sight. A thin, curved device worn over the face like a pair of sunglasses, the VISOR scans the electromagnetic spectrum, creating visual input, and transmits it into the brain of the wearer via the optic nerves. The sensors are located on the convex side, that covers the eyes and attaches at small input jacks implanted in the temples. The only VISOR seen on screen was used by Geordi La Forge, who was blind from birth. VISOR is an acronym for "Visual Instrument and Sight Organ Replacement"; however, the complete term never appeared in the series, but only in novelizations and other written tie-in products.
The VISOR also caused LaForge some persistent pain, which could not be treated without interfering with the device. Beverly Crusher and Katherine Pulaski, the two high-ranking doctors who served on the ship, were unfamiliar with the device when first meeting La Forge.
The device does not reproduce normal human vision, but does allow the character to "see" energy phenomena visible to the naked human eye while expanding the wearer's full perceived spectrum to 1 Hz — 100 PHz. This also allowed the character to see human vital signs such as heart rate and temperature, giving him the ability to monitor moods and even detect lies in humans (but not aliens). In the episode Heart of Glory, Captain Picard keys the main viewer to Geordi's visor allowing him to see the way he does. Seeing all the overlapping and different wavelengths was highly confusing to the Captain, prompting him to ask Geordi how he was able to differentiate between them all. Geordi's response made the comparison of a child hearing many different sounds at once and eventually being able to pick out what they needed; it is a learned talent.
In the episode , the access to Geordi's brain through the interface makes him a target of Romulan brainwashing.
In the episode , Geordi uses an experimental interface to his VISOR. In an environment too dangerous for humans to be in, Geordi sees, hears, feels and acts through a robot.
Twice in the series, Geordi refused to be granted natural vision, first by Commander Riker, who had been given extraordinary amounts of power by Q, because it would have come at the cost of Riker's humanity, and later by Doctor Katherine Pulaski.
Sometime between 2371 and 2373, before the time of the film "", Geordi's VISOR was replaced by cybernetic eyes, performing the same functions. On film, they are depicted using a combination of cosmetic contact lenses and CGI.
There was a short time period in "" where Geordi gained actual eyesight, due to the effects of fictional metaphasic radiation, in the atmosphere of the planet Ba'ku. However, the effects of the metaphasic radiation wore off after leaving the planet, and the cybernetic eyes were once again used in the film "Star Trek Nemesis".
"New Scientist" magazine reported on research as to whether a device similar to a VISOR can actually be created for blind or visually impaired people. Partial sight has been successfully restored to blind rats by installing an implant behind the retina.
Several types of visual prosthesis are in development or trials in humans, and one device has been approved for sale in the European market. , 16 blind people worldwide have had sight partially restored in a procedure where electrodes implanted in their brains take impulses from a camera to allow patients to see lights and outlines of objects. There is a device developed by NASA called a Joint Optical Reflective Display, or JORDY, that is presumably named for Geordi La Forge.
On August 14, 2012, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published an article stating the encoding of image information by the retina into patterns of action potentials has been replicated successfully by a prosthetic device and scientists have successfully restored full vision to blind mice. Scientists were able to mimic this ocular response using glasses, and speculate that a similar pair of glasses may be available for human use within two years.
LeVar Burton, who played the character of Geordi La Forge, disliked the VISOR prop because it restricted his peripheral vision – albeit less than its prototypes – and the constant pressure of the prop's arms on his temples caused headaches. In commentary for "Star Trek Generations", film writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga noted Burton also felt the prop limited him as an actor, as it denied him the use of his eyes in conveying emotion. The original prop was inspired by a one-piece women's hair clip brought to production by Michael Okuda during the initial conceptual development of the VISOR prop.
In the series, we learn that Geordi was born blind and wears a VISOR, an arc-shaped prosthetic attached at the temples that provides him with vision. Interfacing directly with his brain, the device enables him to "see" much of the electromagnetic spectrum – radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, and beyond, but not normal light perception, though it does allow Geordi to see the visible light section of the EM spectrum.
La Forge was born February 16, 2335 in Mogadishu, Somalia of the African Confederation on Earth to Silva La Forge, a Starfleet command track officer and eventual Captain of the USS "Hera" (NCC-62006) and Edward M. La Forge, a Starfleet exozoologist. He has also mentioned having a sister, Arianna. La Forge stated that with two parents in Starfleet he was an "army brat", frequently moving homes depending on where his parents were stationed around Earth (or other planets), which mirror's Burton own youth (he was born on an American base in Germany). He attended Zefram Cochrane High School and then Starfleet Academy from 2353 to 2357. In 2357, he was assigned as an ensign aboard the USS "Victory" under Captain Zimbata. After his first cruise, he was transferred to the USS "Hood" serving with then Lt. Commander William Riker for her 2361-64 cruise, during which he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade.
La Forge once impressed Captain Jean-Luc Picard by staying up all night to fix a shuttle craft that Picard mentioned had a superficial problem. Upon learning this, Picard decided he wanted Geordi on his next command which ended up being the "Enterprise"-D where Geordi was assigned to him as a helmsman. At the beginning of , he was promoted to Lieutenant and named Chief Engineer; in , he rose to Lieutenant Commander, a rank that he held for the duration of the series and movies.
In 2372, Geordi is transferred to the new "Sovereign" class starship "Enterprise"-E. When the ship travels back in time to the 21st century, he works alongside Dr. Zefram Cochrane and helps him successfully launch Earth's first warp-capable vessel and achieve first contact with the Vulcans.
During the Ba'ku incident, La Forge began to experience pain in his eyes after sojourning on the planet. Doctor Crusher removes his ocular implants to discover that his optic nerves have regenerated and he has gained normal sight. This effect is caused by the healing properties of the Ba'ku ring system and, at the time, it is speculated that the effect will fade after La Forge leaves Ba'ku. This diagnosis proved correct; La Forge again wears the implants in "".
During the non-canon events of the comic book mini-series "" (a prequel to the 2009 "Star Trek" film), Geordi (now a civilian) is reunited with Data and Picard during an effort to stop a massive supernova that threatens all of existence. Geordi ultimately designs the "Jellyfish", the advanced spacecraft that is piloted by Ambassador Spock in the film.
In the alternate timeline of "TNG" series finale "", La Forge has, by 2395, married "Leah" and had three children (Alandra, Brett, and Sydney) with her. He had left Starfleet and became a novelist. However, these events may never happen because of the divergence of the time line at the episode's end.
In the alternate 2390 future in ""s "", La Forge is a captain and the commanding officer of the USS "Challenger", doing his best to stop Harry Kim and Chakotay from altering the time line. He had micro-implants in his eyes, allowing him to see without wearing his visor. However, Kim and Chakotay succeed in their mission, erasing the alternate time line. Despite trying his best to stop them, La Forge is sympathetic to their actions and even offers a full pardon if they stop. When they refuse, La Forge is forced to attack, but wishes them good luck and says that in their place, he'd probably do the same. When the group's ship suffers a warp core breach and is going to explode, he offers to beam them aboard his ship so they can survive, but they refuse and tell him to move off to a safe distance which he does.
In the holographic alternate history depicted in "Future Imperfect", a fictitious La Forge had cloned eye implants and had no need of his VISOR.
Critics and fans have responded favorably to the character. Burton himself has complained on DVD featurettes about the lack of romantic interests for his character. At least one scholar, however, decries that out of seven principal black characters across the "Star Trek" series, only La Forge and Tuvok "really qualify as nerds, and neither of them compares with the extraordinary geekiness of the teenaged Wesley Crusher." According to Dr. Ron Eglash, the construction of the La Forge character stands up to the standards of Afrofuturism.
In David Greven's book "Gender and Sexuality in Star Trek" (2009), he described the use of the VISOR as a means to obscure the face of the character, describing it as a "surprisingly clunky symbol of blindness". However, he felt that the bionic eyes used in the film series were an improvement but followed a pattern of African American eye modifications in fantasy and science fiction films such as Halle Berry as Storm in "X-Men" (2000). Greven suggested that these changes were to create the impression that the wearer was alien in nature and to highlight the difference between that character/actor and the others in the film.
In 2018, TheWrap ranked Geordi as the 11th best main cast character of "Star Trek" shows, noting his ability to come up with technical solutions on short notice and his friendship with Data. In 2016, the character of Geordi was ranked as the 21st most important character of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" science fiction universe by Wired magazine. One of the noted episode with Geordi is "", which was ranked in 2016 by Hollywood Reporter as the 62nd greatest of the "Star Trek" franchise up to that time. They note that LeVar Burton has many great scenes as Geordi, with original cast veteran James Doohan reprising his famous character Scotty. Another noted Geordi episode, which they place as the 26th greatest episode of Star Trek, is "Elementary, Dear Data", where he is paired with Data and Pulaski on a holographic Sherlock Holmes inspired adventure on the holodeck of the Enterprise, with Daniel Davis playing the role of digital Moriarty.
In 2017, IndieWire rated Geordi as the 8th best character on "Star Trek: The Next Generation". CBR ranked La Forge as the 13th best Starfleet character of "Star Trek", in 2018; they note he had roles of starship helmsman and engineer aboard the Enterprise 1701-D. They note how he keeps the warp core running and enjoys using the spacecraft's holodeck.
In 2017, Screen Rant ranked La Forge the 9th most attractive person in the "Star Trek" universe. In 2018, "The Wrap" placed La Forge as 11th out 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of the "Star Trek" franchise prior to "".
In 2019, Screen Rant suggest that the Geordi character could be utilized for new "Star Trek" television show. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27108 |
Hoshi Sato
Hoshi Sato , played by Korean American actress Linda Park, is a fictional character in the science fiction television series "".
Sato, born in Kyoto, Japan on July 9, 2129, is the communications officer aboard the starship "Enterprise (NX-01)", and also a linguist who can speak more than forty languages (polyglotism), including Klingon. She is an acknowledged linguistic genius and expert at operating the universal translator, which was a key instrument in allowing cultures from different worlds to communicate.
Relatively little of Sato's background has been explored in the series. It is known that she briefly suffered from space sickness and is also claustrophobic. The fourth season episode "Observer Effect" revealed that Sato was once dishonourably discharged from Starfleet for running a floating poker game and breaking the arm of a Starfleet instructor who tried to break it up (she has a black belt in Aikido). She was subsequently allowed to rejoin Starfleet because of her exceptional linguistic skills.
Before posting to the "Enterprise", Sato taught linguistics in Brazil; it is not known whether she was an active Starfleet officer or was reactivated to serve under Jonathan Archer. She later (again, in "Observer Effect") expressed regret at leaving without saying goodbye to her students.
She appears to be very close to Captain Archer—he is often protective towards her and they appear to have some history that predates her posting to "Enterprise", but the full nature of their relationship has also yet to be explored.
The series' final episode, "These Are the Voyages...", reveals that Sato remains Archer's communications officer throughout his tenure as captain, and was considering resuming her teaching career in Brazil following the ship's decommissioning. The final episode also revealed that, after serving aboard "Enterprise" for ten years, she still wore an Ensign's insignia. As noted in the records aboard the USS "Defiant", Sato eventually achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
According to a computer bio screen, barely visible in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", and taken from the memory banks of the USS "Defiant", Sato was born in Kyoto, Japan. She was instrumental in the development of the universal translator. She eventually marries a man named Takashi Kimura, and retires from Starfleet with the rank of lieutenant commander.
In the Mirror Universe, Sato held the rank of Lieutenant. In addition to being the communications officer, she acted as the "Captain's Woman" (a combination yeoman/concubine) of and then Commander Jonathan Archer after Archer took control of the ISS "Enterprise".
After Archer used the USS "Defiant" to put down the rebellion, Sato poisoned him and took command of the ship, taking the Mirror Travis Mayweather as a new consort. Upon reaching Earth, she demanded Earth's surrender and proclaimed herself Empress.
Episodes in which Sato's character is expanded or plays a key role.
According to author David Greven, "Ensign Hoshi Sato is an Asian American linguist and the communications officer. Prone to fearful fits and generally seen as ineffectual in any terms other than the linguistic aspects of her job, Hoshi is the resident screamer."
In 2015, "Den of Geek" noted how Hoshi showed the importance of communication and the skill of her linguistic abilities. They recommended the episodes “” and “Vox Sola” as watches for the Hoshi character.
In 2018, "The Wrap" ranked Hoshi as the 37th-best character of "Star Trek" overall, noting her job as translator before the days of the universal translator technology.
In 2016, "W.I.R.E.D." magazine ranked Lt. Commander Hoshi Sato as the 27th-most important character of Starfleet within the "Star Trek" science fiction universe. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27109 |
Romulan
The Romulans () are a fictional extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise "Star Trek". They first appeared in the series "" (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent "Star Trek" releases, including: "", "", "", "", "" and "". They have also appeared in the "Star Trek" feature films "" (1989), "" (1991), "" (2002) and "Star Trek" (2009). They also appear in various other spin-off media, including books, comics, toys and games.
Writer Paul Schneider created the Romulans for use in the 1966 "" episode "Balance of Terror". As a basis, he considered what the ancient Roman Empire might have looked like had it developed to the point of spaceflight. Physically, the Romulans were presented as humanoid, but the show's make-up department gave them pointed ears to distinguish them from humans. In the series, which is set in the 23rd century, the Romulans were speculated as to having split from another alien species, the Vulcans, in the distant past. In contrast to the Vulcans, who were presented as peaceful and logic-oriented, the Romulans were depicted as militaristic, having founded an interstellar empire. The Romulans were used as antagonists for the series' protagonists, the starship USS "Enterprise", her crew, and their fictional government, the United Federation of Planets.
In 1987, the writers of "Star Trek: The Next Generation"—set in the 24th century—again used the Romulans as antagonists of the Federation. The show's designers gave the Romulans new costumes and added a V-shaped ridge on the foreheads of most Romulan characters, though with indications that Romulans without the ridges also existed. In the series, Star Trek: Enterprise, Romulans without ridges are depicted as passing for Vulcans (who do not have ridges either). The 2009 film, "Star Trek", depicted the Romulan homeworld, Romulus, being destroyed by a supernova in the year 2387. This film featured Romulans without the head ridges. The impact of Romulus' destruction forms a plot-theme in the "" series. Romulans in that series have included those with and without ridges, and a line about northern Romulans may have been intended to refer to these two groups.
The Romulans were devised for the episode "Balance of Terror". In 2014, "Balance of Terror" was rated the best episode in the franchise by Io9.
The Romulans were reused for the second-season episode "The Deadly Years" and the third-season episode "The Enterprise Incident".
After the launch of "" in 1987, the show's writers introduced the Romulans in the final episode of the first season, "", which aired in the U.S. in May 1988. The episode was written by Maurice Hurley, who later acknowledged rushing it, putting together a script in a day and a half. In the episode, which is set in the year 2364, the Starfleet ship USS "Enterprise"-D—whose crew are the series' main protagonists—responds to the disappearance of Federation colonies along the Neutral Zone, fearing that it reflects growing Romulan activity in the region. Investigating, the "Enterprise" crew encounter a Romulan spaceship; it is stated that this is the first encounter between the two peoples for 53 years. The Romulans reveal that they have had colonies destroyed on their side of the border too, and the two species agree to share information on the issue in future. In later episodes it is revealed that these colonies were destroyed by a previously unknown species, the Borg, whom the show's writers had devised as a new alien antagonist following dissatisfaction with their previous attempt, the Ferengi. Initial thoughts by the script-writers had proposed a multi-episode storyline in which the Federation and Romulan governments would co-operate to fight the Borg; ultimately only certain elements of this idea entered "The Neutral Zone" and the Borg would be introduced not in the first season, but in the second-season episode "Q Who".
New costumes were designed for the actors playing Romulans, created by the show's costume designer William Theiss.
The newly designed Romulan ship that appeared in "The Neutral Zone" was built as a miniature model by Greg Jein. The ship featured a newly designed Romulan crest, featuring a stylised bird of prey clutching two planets, Romulus and Remus, in its claws. Later in the series, this ship type would be explicitly referred to as a "warbird". In 1989, AMT released a plastic kit of the vessel, alongside other kits for a Ferengi ship and a Klingon bird of prey vessel.
The Romulans were re-used for the second-season episode "", written by Steve Gerber and Beth Woods and first aired in March 1989. In this episode, the "Enterprise"-D entered the Neutral Zone to answer a distress call and ends up in conflict with a Romulan vessel, with both spaceships being disabled by an alien computer virus. "Contagion" was the first episode in the "Star Trek" franchise in which the Romulan ship was given a name, in this case the Haakona. In the third-season episode "", written by David Kemper and Michael Piller and first screened in November 1989, the "Enterprise"-D is depicted rescuing a crashed Romulan ship. The episode introduced the Romulan character Tomalak, played by Andreas Katsulas, who would reappear in three further "Next Generation" episodes. It also further established the idea of a significant enmity between the Romulans and the Klingons, with the "Enterprise"'s Klingon officer, Worf (Michael Dorn), refusing to donate blood to save the life of an injured Romulan; the scriptwriters had debated whether to include this, with Dorn initially reticent.
Three episodes later, in "", written by Ronald D. Moore and first screened in January 1990, a Romulan admiral is presented as seeking to defect to the Federation. The episode is the first in the franchise to include images of Romulus itself and introduced the design of a Romulan scout vessel. "The Defector" also includes a reference to the Battle of Cheron, an incident in the 22nd century Earth-Romulan War that was previously mentioned in "Balance of Terror".
For "", the opening two-part episode of the third season of "", a Romulan link was introduced. The episode, which was written by Ira Steven Behr, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and Ronald D. Moore, featured the introduction of a new Starfleet ship, the USS "Defiant"; the scriptwriters included the idea that it had been equipped with a cloaking device by the Romulans in return for intelligence that the Federation gathered on another alien power, the Dominion. A Romulan character, T'Rul (Martha Hackett), was included to oversee the device's use aboard the "Defiant". The show's writers had initially planned on including T'Rul as a permanent fixture on the show but decided that she did not offer enough potential for new storylines.
The Romulans were reused later that season in "", where they are presented as attempting to destroy the Deep Space Nine space station as part of their plan to collapse the nearby wormhole and thus prevent a Dominion invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, the region of space where both the Federation and Romulans reside. Three episodes later, the follow-on episodes "Improbable Cause" and "" again featured the Romulans, in this case portraying a joint mission by the Romulan Tal Shiar and Cardassian Obsidian Order to fatally cripple the Dominion by eradicating its leaders, the Founders. For these episodes, new Tal Shiar outfits were designed; Moore related that this was partly his decision, for he "hated, underline hated, the Romulan costumes [introduced in the first season of "The Next Generation"]. Big shoulder pads, the quilting, I just loathed it." Costume designer Robert Blackman noted that his team created eight new Romulan uniforms, using the same fabric as the old ones but "dyed it down slightly, and we made them much sleeker and a little more menacing".
After "Star Trek: Nemesis" proved a financial failure and "Star Trek: Enterprise" was cancelled, the franchise's executive producer Rick Berman and screenwriter Erik Jendresen began developing a new film entitled "Star Trek: The Beginning", which was to be set during the 22nd century Earth–Romulan War. The project never materialised. Instead, the decision was made to reboot the series by creating a film using the characters of the original "Star Trek" series but played by new actors. Putting together a script for the new film, the director J. J. Abrams stated that he wanted Romulans to be the antagonists because they had featured less than the Klingons in the original "Star Trek" series. The film's writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, thought that it would feel backward to demonize the Klingons as villains again after they had been presented heroically in later "Star Trek" series; they also wanted to use Spock as a central character in the film and believed that the Romulan presence would continue Spock's story from his last chronological appearance in "".
In the reboot film, titled "Star Trek" and released in 2009, the planet Romulus is destroyed by a supernova in the year 2387. A Romulan mining ship, the "Narada", survives and travels back in time to the 23rd century; its commander, Nero (Eric Bana), is committed to destroying the planet Vulcan to punish Spock for failing to save Romulus. The actors playing Romulans in this film wore three prosthetics applied to their ears and foreheads, while Bana had a fourth prosthetic for the bitemark on his ear that extends to the back of his character's head. The film's Romulans lacked the 'V'-shaped ridges on the foreheads, which had been present in all of their depictions outside the original series. Neville Page wanted to honor that by having Nero's crew ritually scar themselves too, forming keloids reminiscent of the 'V'-ridges. It was abandoned as they did not pursue the idea enough.
"" centers around Picard's reaction to the destruction of Romulus. The series begins with Picard in self-imposed exile at his French vineyard following his resignation in protest to Starfleet's handling of Romulans and androids. Picard has two live-in Romulans at his estate. At least two groups of Romulans survived: one group formed the Romulan Free State, while the other group was evacuated to the planet of Vashti.
The Romulans have been the focus of a number of non-canon books, and have appeared or been mentioned in other non-canon media. Among their key appearances have been: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27110 |
Starship Enterprise
Enterprise or USS "Enterprise (often referred to as the "Starship "Enterprise") is the name of several fictional spacecraft, some of which are the main craft and setting for various television series and films in the "Star Trek" science fiction franchise. The most notable were Captain James T. Kirk's from the , and Captain Jean-Luc Picard's from "".
Two spacecraft with the name "Enterprise" predate the United Federation of Planets in "Star Trek"s fictional timeline.
Registry: USS "Enterprise" (XCV 330)
Class: "Declaration"
Service: circa 2130s
Captain: Unknown
This USS "Enterprise" (XCV 330) appears in "" (1979) among a series of illustrations depicting ships named "Enterprise". It also appears as a model in "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), together with models of the "Wright Flyer", a V-2 rocket, a Bell X-1, a Vostok-3KA capsule, a Space Shuttle orbiter, and some "Star Trek" universe starships. The 1979 "Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology" describes this "first interstellar liner" as a "Declaration"-class ship launched in 2123. Its length is given as , and it has a capacity of 100 crew and 850 passengers. The "Star Trek Maps" by New Eye Photography Editors, also published in 1979, listed this ship as a fusion drive probe that was Earth's first attempt to explore another star system. "The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture", published in 1980, describes the ship as "the very first starship U.S.S. "Enterprise"". A painting of this ship hangs on the wall of Earth's 602 Club in flashbacks that appeared in the "" episode "" (2003).
Registry: "Enterprise" (NX-01)
Class: NX
Service: 2151–2161 (10 years)
Captain: Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)
United Earth Starfleet's "Enterprise" is the main setting of "" (2001–2005). "Enterprise" was the first Earth built starship capable of reaching Warp 5. She was commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer and played an instrumental role in the founding of several proto-Federation alliances. "Enterprise" had significant engagements with the Klingons, Suliban, Xindi and the Romulans and playing a central role in the "Temporal Cold War." It is also featured as a model in "Star Trek Into Darkness".
Three ships named USS "Enterprise" are featured in the original "" television series and the through seventh "Star Trek" films.
Registry:
Class: "Constitution"
Service: 2245–2285 (40 years)
Captains: Robert April (James Doohan [voice]), Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter, Sean Kenney, Anson Mount), James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Willard Decker (Stephen Collins), Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
The Federation's first "Enterprise" is the main setting of the original series (1966–1969) and "" (1973–74). Having undergone an extensive rebuilding and refitting, "Enterprise" then appears in "" (1979) and "" (1982), before being destroyed in "" (1984). The bridge appears on the holodeck of the "Enterprise"-D in the "Next Generation" episode "". The ship also appears in the "Deep Space Nine" episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", and in the closing montage of the final "Enterprise" episode "These Are the Voyages...".
Details of the ship's appearance differed prior to the time period of the original series, including a transparent dome ceiling for the bridge that appeared in the 1965 pilot episode "", as shown in a flashback to Captain Pike's command in "" (1966). A significantly redesigned version of Captain Pike's "Enterprise" appears in ""s , set several years after the events of "The Cage". The new design for the "Enterprise", which more closely matches the aesthetic of "Discovery", debuted in 2018 at the conclusion of the .
When the "Enterprise" was reintroduced in the 1979 film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", the ship had just completed an extensive refit and redesign that included new slimmer warp nacelles, connected to the secondary hull by angled winglike struts. The updated design would be reused later for the "Enterprise"s replacement, an identical starship given the name "Enterprise" and registry number NCC-1701-A.
Registry:
Service: 2286–2293 (7 years)
Captains: James T. Kirk (William Shatner)
This ship first appears at the conclusion of "" (1986) and is the main setting in the subsequent "Star Trek" movies which use the original crew. The ship is ordered decommissioned at the end of "" (1991). Non-canon information concerning this ship includes paperwork included with the model kit, which indicated the ship was mothballed at the Memory Alpha ship museum, and the Shatnerverse novel "The Ashes of Eden" (1996), which depicted "Enterprise"-A's removal from the mothball fleet before being destroyed defending the planet Chal.
Registry: USS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701-B)
Class: "Excelsior"-class refit
Service: 2293–2329 (36 years)
Captains: John Harriman (Alan Ruck)
The "Enterprise"-B was launched at the beginning of the film "Star Trek Generations" (1994). During the ship's maiden voyage, the crew encountered an energy ribbon known as the Nexus, where James T. Kirk was officially declared missing and presumed dead. The design of the "Enterprise"-B is nearly identical to that of the USS "Excelsior", which first appeared in the 1984 film "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock." Differences between the "Enterprise" and the "Excelsior" include: flarings on the outside of the secondary hull, additional and larger impulse engines, and slight differences in the nacelles and bridge modules. Non-canon information concerning the "Enterprise"-B includes several licensed "Star Trek" novels in which Demora Sulu (Jacqueline Kim) followed Harriman as captain, as well as licensed guides such as the "Haynes Enterprise Manual", in which a list of the ship's captains includes Demora Sulu, William George, and Thomas Johnson Jr.
Three ships named "Enterprise" are featured in "" and four "TNG"-era films.
Registry: USS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701-C)
Class: "Ambassador"
Service: 2332–2344 (12 years)
Captains: Rachel Garrett (Tricia O'Neil)
This ship's first and only appearance is in the "Next Generation" episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" (1990). It was destroyed attempting to defend the Klingon outpost Narendra III from Romulan attack. Survivors included Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), whose alternate timeline version from "Yesterday's Enterprise" travels with the ship back in time to the battle over Narendra III. The actions of the "Enterprise"-C's crew became a catalyst for the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
Registry:
Class: "Galaxy"
Service: 2363–2371 (8 years)
Captains: Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox)
The main setting of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987–1994). During "Star Trek Generations", "Enterprise" was lost in 2371 after an attack by the Duras sisters' renegade Klingon Bird-of-Prey which caused extensive damage, leading to a warp core breach. Although the saucer section was safely separated before the breach, the shock wave from the exploding engineering hull threw it out of control, and caused it to crash-land beyond recovery on Veridian III. The ship also appears in the first "Deep Space Nine" episode "" and the final "Enterprise" episode "These Are the Voyages..."
Registry:
Class: "Sovereign"
Service: 2372–
Captain: Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)
The main setting for the films "" (1996), "" (1998), and "Star Trek Nemesis" (2002). As a "Sovereign" class vessel, it was the most advanced vessel in Starfleet, and an active participant in the Battle of Sector 001 and the Dominion War.
Registry: USS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701-D)
Class: "Galaxy" refit
Service: circa 2395
Captain: Full Admiral William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes)
In "", the final episode of "", "Enterprise"-D was shown in an alternate future where it had not crashed during the events of "Star Trek Generations", and instead had been made Admiral William T. Riker's personal flagship. A third warp nacelle allowed the ship to reach at least Warp 13, and the "Enterprise"-D had also been equipped with a spinal phaser lance, large phaser cannons on the saucer section, and cloaking ability, making it one of the most powerful starships seen in the "Star Trek" franchise.
Registry: USS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701-J)
Service: 26th century
Captain(s): Dax
The "Azati Prime" episode of "" involves time travel and features a scene in which "Enterprise"-J appears. "Enterprise"-J operates in a possible timeline during the 26th century. In this timeline, "Enterprise"-J participated in the Battle of Procyon V, a climactic battle in which the Federation successfully drove the invasive trans-dimensional beings known as the Sphere Builders back into their own realm. The ship's crew included a descendant of the Xindi scientist Degra.
Registry: USS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701-F)
Service: 2409–ongoing
Captain: Va'Kel Shon
One version of USS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701-F) appears in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game "Star Trek Online". Its design is based on the entry submitted by Adam Ihle for the 2011 "Design the next "Enterprise"" contest, a joint venture between Cryptic Studios, CBS, and Intel, which ran shortly before the game went "free to play." "Enterprise"-F made its first appearance in the mission "Boldly They Rode", at the point where USS "Enterprise"-F appears to help the player defeat the Dominion fleet surrounding Deep Space Nine.
The Mirror Universe first appeared in the original series as an alternate reality where the militaristic Terran Empire exists in place of the regular universe's United Federation of Planets (""). A montage in the opening credits of the "Star Trek: Enterprise" episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" shows the Terran Empire logo in use by at least World War II, with licensed novels putting the divergence before Shakespeare, or even classic Greek literature.
Registry: ISS "Enterprise" (NX-01)
Class: NX
Service: 2150s
Captains: Maximilian Forrest (Vaughn Armstrong), Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)
The "Star Trek: Enterprise" episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" features a Mirror Universe version of NX-01 "Enterprise". This ship is equipped with a cloaking device, deflector shields, a tractor beam, a prototype agony booth, and different exterior markings. It is commanded by Captain Maximilian Forrest, although for a brief time his first officer, Commander Jonathan Archer, takes command following a mutiny. This "Enterprise" is destroyed by the Tholians.
Registry: ISS "Enterprise" (NCC-1701)
Class: "Constitution"
Service: 2260s
Captains: Christopher Pike, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy)
A Mirror Universe "Enterprise" appears in the original "Star Trek" episode "". The ship is equipped with an agony booth and the mirror in the captain's quarters conceals Captain Kirk's deadly Tantalus device. ISS "Enterprise" was originally the same shooting model as the regular "Enterprise". The remastered version of "Mirror, Mirror" includes a CGI version of "Enterprise" with "ISS" markings on the hull and minor physical differences from USS "Enterprise", such as a larger deflector dish, a taller bridge, and altered nacelle details. The ship was also shown orbiting the planet in the opposite direction (clockwise instead of counter-clockwise).
The 2009 "Star Trek" film takes place in a new reality created when the Romulan character Nero traveled through time via an artificial black hole by red matter.
Registry:
Service: 2258–2263 (5 years)
Captains: Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), James T. Kirk (Chris Pine)
The main setting for the films "Star Trek" (2009), "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), and "Star Trek Beyond" (2016). "Enterprise" is shown during its construction phase at the Riverside Shipyard in Iowa during the first film. A brief shot of the NCC-1701 is seen as the shuttlecraft carrying Kirk and the new recruits into space departs the shipyard later on in the movie. At the end of "Star Trek Into Darkness", "Enterprise" started its five-year mission. The ship was later destroyed by Krall and his alien swarm attack during the events of "Star Trek Beyond".
Measurements of this ship's length have ranged from 295 meters to 910 meters. In an article about the 2009 film's visual effects, "Cinefex" wrote, "The reconfigured ship was a larger vessel than previous manifestations – approximately long compared to the ship of the original series", and quoted Industrial Light & Magic art director Alex Jaeger discussing the design's growth in size during early production of the film: "Once we got the ship built and started putting it in environments it felt too small. The shuttle bay gave us a clear relative scale – shuttlecraft initially appeared much bigger than we had imagined – so we bumped up the Enterprise scale, which gave her a grander feel and allowed us to include more detail."
A special feature on starships in the Blu-ray (BD) version of the movie gives the length as , which would be larger than the "Next Generation" D and E versions, making it the largest USS "Enterprise" in the franchise history (not counting the pre-Federation era "Enterprise" (XCV 330), seen only as a model). This would result in a height of 167m, and a beam of 339m.
Registry:
Class: "Constitution"
Service: 2263–ongoing
Captains: James T. Kirk (Chris Pine)
"Enterprise"-A first appears at the end of "Star Trek Beyond" after the destruction of the original "Enterprise" when the crew resume their five-year mission.
Sean Hargreaves stated that he was given the brief to "beef up the neck and arms" on the Ryan Church design, but went further to give the ship echoes of Matt Jefferies' original design.
According to "The Star Trek Encyclopedia", the registry number NCC-1701 was devised by Matt Jefferies, art director of the first "Star Trek" series, inspired by an old science fiction cover that Gene Roddenberry liked, with a starship flying through space. Jefferies, who was a pilot, based NCC on United States aircraft pre-1949 registration codes. In such pre-1949 usage, an "N" first letter refers to an aircraft registered in the United States. A "C" for a second letter refers to a civil aircraft. Jefferies added a second "C" because he thought it looked better.
The Franz Joseph "Blueprints", the book "The Making of Star Trek", and a handful of "Star Trek" novels state that NCC is an initialism for "Naval Construction Contract".
In an interview with the BBC, Jefferies explained that NC is the designation for U.S. commercial aircraft and the Soviet Union's space program used the CCCP designation. He concluded that any major future space projects would likely be a combined international effort, thus he invented the combined designation NCC. The 1701 had two functions, it represented the first (01) ship of a 17th federation cruiser design, and that the digits were unlikely to be misread, unlike 6, 8, or 9.
In Gene Roddenberry's original "Star Trek" pitch, the starship is described as a "United Space Ship", and in two episodes of "The Original Series" (TOS), Kirk refers to the "United Space Ship "Enterprise"".
In 1976, before "", Paramount had planned a "Star Trek" film to have been named "". Early in the production, Ralph McQuarrie had been hired to redesign the "Enterprise". The major feature of the redesign was to replace the cigar-shaped secondary hull with a larger, triangle-shaped "delta wing" section. McQuarrie's design was discarded in favor of keeping the general shape of the "Enterprise" intact for the redesign unveiled in "".
Three decades later, the McQuarrie design for the "Enterprise" was adopted as the basis for the design of the USS "Discovery" in "", a 2017 series that takes place ten years earlier than the original "Star Trek".
The captain's yacht is a large auxiliary starship built into the design of several Federation starship designs including the "Galaxy"-class and "Sovereign"-class. It was docked to the underside of the saucer section. On USS "Enterprise"-E, the name of the captain's yacht is the "Cousteau". In 2375, the crew of USS "Enterprise"-E used the "Cousteau" to travel to the surface of the Ba'ku homeworld.
Designer Andrew Probert came up with the concept of the captain's yacht while designing the USS "Enterprise"-D. Although it was never seen in use, it is labeled on the master systems display screen in main engineering, docked at the bottom of the saucer section almost directly opposite the main bridge. Probert suggested possible ways for the yacht to be used during the first season, including not showing the yacht but mentioning it in dialogue, but his ideas were rejected. The producers almost used the yacht in the episode "Samaritan Snare", but decided to use an "executive shuttlecraft" due to budgetary constraints. According to Patrick Stewart, the yacht would have been called the "Calypso". Producer Ronald D. Moore noted in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual" that real-life naval tradition would insist on calling such a craft the captain's gig, rather than the captain's yacht.
Rick Sternbach later designed similar craft for USS "Voyager" and USS "Equinox", known as the aeroshuttle and the waverider, respectively. As on the "Enterprise"-D, however, these vessels were only depicted on technical schematics and never seen in operation or referred to in dialog.
Gizmodo's Io9 blog ranked the original design of the as the best version of the "Enterprise", characterizing the original as still superior to eleven later versions of the "Enterprise" that had appeared in the "Star Trek" franchise. Conversely, in 2019, SyFy ranked the refit design of the "Enterprise" (NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A) as the franchise's best, ranking the original design as only the fourth best version of the starship.
"Time" described each iteration of the "Enterprise" as "a character in its own right". Over many decades, the starship has influenced real-life activities of NASA and the U.S. Navy:
Celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has spoken highly of the influence and legacy of the original "Enterprise" on other fictional spaceships. Drawing a parallel to comparing athletes between eras, he said of spaceship design, "What matters is not what they look like now, but what they looked to others at the time that they prevailed... There is only one spaceship that's earlier than [the original "Enterprise"], and that's the flying saucer from "The Day the Earth Stood Still". So, what matters here is, what did [the "Enterprise"] look like at the time it came out (1966) compared with anything that had been imagined before? And when you consider that, that is the most astonishing machine that has ever graced the screen." On the ship's influence upon scientists, Tyson wrote, "The "Enterprise" was the first ever spaceship represented in storytelling that was not designed to go from one place to another; [it was] only designed to explore. It was revolutionary in terms of what we would think space would, and should, be about."
NetDragon Websoft, a gaming and mobile Internet company in Fuzhou, China, based the architectural design of its headquarters building on the "Next Generation"-era "Enterprise" (primarily the "Enterprise"-E), under an official license from CBS. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27112 |
Secularism
Secularism may refer to any worldview or principle which defines the secular at a given context, and prioritizes, justifies or promotes it over the non-secular.
Secularism has a broad range of meaning. While its definition as the separation of religion from civic affairs and the state is the most common, it may connote anticlericalism, atheism, naturalism, banishment of religious symbols from the public sphere and much more.
As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life on principles taken solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion to other "temporal" and "this-worldly" things, with emphasis on nature, reason, science, and development.
In political terms, secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious dignitaries (the attainment of such is termed secularity). There are distinct traditions of secularism in the West, like the French and Anglo-American models, and beyond, as in India, where the emphasis is more on tolerance for all religions rather than separation. The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely, ranging from assertions that it is a crucial element of modernization, or that religion and traditional values are backward and divisive, to the claim that is the only guarantor of free religious exercise.
The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer George Holyoake in 1851. Holyoake invented the term secularism to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion, without actively dismissing or criticizing religious belief. An agnostic himself, Holyoake argued that "Secularism is not an argument against Christianity, it is one independent of it. It does not question the pretensions of Christianity; it advances others. Secularism does not say there is no light or guidance elsewhere, but maintains that there is light and guidance in secular truth, whose conditions and sanctions exist independently, and act forever. Secular knowledge is manifestly that kind of knowledge which is founded in this life, which relates to the conduct of this life, conduces to the welfare of this life, and is capable of being tested by the experience of this life."
Barry Kosmin of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture breaks modern secularism into two types: hard and soft secularism. According to Kosmin, "the hard secularist considers religious propositions to be epistemologically illegitimate, warranted by neither reason nor experience". However, in the view of soft secularism, "the attainment of absolute truth was impossible, and therefore, skepticism and tolerance should be the principle and overriding values in the discussion of science and religion".
According to Phil Zuckerman and John R. Shook, "one can find numerous formulations, articulations, and examples of ideas that could be fairly classified with secularism amidst the assertions of various ancient Indian, Greek, Chinese, and Roman philosophers". The departure from reliance on religious faith to reason and science marks the beginning of the secularization of education and society in history. Among the earliest documentations of a secular form of thought is seen in the Charvaka system of philosophy in India, which held direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, and sought to reject the prevailing religious practices of that time. According to Domenic Marbaniang, Secularism emerged in the West with the establishment of reason over religious faith as human reason was gradually liberated from unquestioned subjection to the dominion of religion and superstition. Secularism first appeared in the West in the classical philosophy and politics of ancient Greece, disappeared for a time after the fall of Greece, but resurfaced after a millennium and a half in the Renaissance and the Reformation. He writes:
An increasing confidence in human capabilities, reason, and progress, that emerged during the Italian Renaissance, together with an increasing distrust in organized and state supported religion during the Reformation, was responsible for the ushering of modernity during the Enlightenment, which brought all facets of human life including religion under the purview of reason and thus became responsible for the freeing of education, society, and state from the domination of religion; in other words, the development of modern secularism.
Harvey Cox explains that the Enlightenment hailed Nature as the "deep reality" that transcended the corrupted man-made institutions of men. Consequently, the rights of man were not considered as God-given, but as the de facto benefits of Nature as revealed by Reason.
Secularism draws its intellectual roots from Greek and Roman philosophers such as Zeno of Citium and Marcus Aurelius; from Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Denis Diderot, Voltaire, Baruch Spinoza, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine; and from more recent freethinkers
atheists such as Matthew W. Dillahunty, Robert Ingersoll, Bertrand Russell, and Christopher Hitchens.
In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the separation of religion and government (often termed the separation of church and state). This can refer to reducing ties between a government and a state religion, replacing laws based on scripture (such as Halakha, Dominionism, and Sharia law) with civil laws, and eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion. This is said to add to democracy by protecting the rights of religious minorities.
In his "On Temporal Authority (1523)", Martin Luther argued for the division of the church and the state. He specified two distinct powers: "weltliches Regiment" (German word for "the kingdom of the world", "the State"), and "geistliches Regiment" (German word for "the kingdom of God", "the Church"), and argued that citizens need only be subject to the ruler's edict as long as the edict conformed to God's divine will as revealed in the scriptures.
Scholars, such as Jacques Berlinerblau of the Program for Jewish Civilization at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, have argued that the separation of church and state is but one possible strategy to be deployed by secular governments. What all secular governments, from the democratic to the authoritarian, share is a concern about the relationship between the church and the state. Each secular government may find its own unique policy prescriptions for dealing with that concern (separation being one of those possible policies; French models, in which the state carefully monitors and regulates the church, being another).
A major impact on the idea of state religious liberty came from the writings of John Locke who, in his A Letter Concerning Toleration, argued in favor of religious toleration. He argued that government must treat all citizens and all religions equally, and that it can restrict actions, but not the religious intent behind them.
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh of the Sikh empire of the first half of the 19th century successfully established a secular rule in the Punjab. This secular rule respected members of all races and religions and it allowed them to participate without discrimination in Ranjeet Singh's darbar and he had Sikh, Muslim and Hindu representatives heading the darbar. Ranjit Singh also extensively funded education, religion, and arts of various different religions and languages.
Secularism is most often associated with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and it plays a major role in Western society. The principles, but not necessarily the practices, of separation of church and state in the United States and "Laïcité" in France draw heavily on secularism. Secular states also existed in the Islamic world during the Middle Ages (see Islam and secularism).
In accord with the belief in the separation of church and state, secularists tend to prefer that politicians make decisions for secular rather than religious reasons. In this respect, policy decisions pertaining to topics like abortion, contraception, embryonic stem cell research, same-sex marriage, and sex education are prominently focused upon by American secularist organizations such as the Center for Inquiry.
Some Christian fundamentalists and scholars (notably in the United States) oppose secularism, often claiming that there is a "radical secularist" ideology being adopted in our current day and they see secularism as a threat to "Christian rights" and national security.
It has been argued that in the US, the concept of secularism has frequently been misinterpreted. Jacques Berlinerblau wrote that "Secularism must be the most misunderstood and mangled ism in the American political lexicon", and that the religious right purposefully equated it to Atheism, Communism and other ideologies since the 1970's.
The most significant forces of religious fundamentalism in the contemporary world are Christian fundamentalism and Islamic fundamentalism. At the same time, one significant stream of secularism has come from religious minorities who see governmental and political secularism as integral to the preservation of equal rights.
Some of the well known states that are often considered "constitutionally secular" are the United States, France, Mexico South Korea, and Turkey although none of these nations have identical forms of governance with respect to religion. For example, in India, secularism includes state involvement in religions, while in France, secularism precludes state involvement in religion.
In studies of religion, modern democracies are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion (beliefs on religion generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions. Nevertheless, it has been claimed that surveys done by Pew Research Center show Americans as generally being more comfortable with religion playing a major role in public life, while in Europe the impact of the church on public life is declining.
Modern sociology has, since Max Weber, often been preoccupied with the problem of authority in secularized societies and with secularization as a sociological or historical process. Twentieth-century scholars, whose work has contributed to the understanding of these matters, include Carl L. Becker, Karl Löwith, Hans Blumenberg, M.H. Abrams, Peter L. Berger, Paul Bénichou and D.L. Munby, among others.
Some societies become increasingly secular as the result of social processes, rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement; this process is known as secularization.
Sociologist Peter L. Berger maintained that the modern world can no longer be described as being secular or becoming increasingly secular, instead it can best be described as being pluralistic.
George Holyoake's 1896 publication "English Secularism" describes secularism as follows:
Secularism is a code of duty pertaining to this life, founded on considerations purely human, and intended mainly for those who find theology indefinite or inadequate, unreliable or unbelievable. Its essential principles are three: (1) The improvement of this life by material means. (2) That science is the available Providence of man. (3) That it is good to do good. Whether there be other good or not, the good of the present life is good, and it is good to seek that good.
Holyoake held that secularism and secular ethics should take no interest at all in religious questions (as they were irrelevant), and was thus to be distinguished from strong freethought and atheism. In this he disagreed with Charles Bradlaugh, and the disagreement split the secularist movement between those who argued that anti-religious movements and activism was not necessary or desirable and those who argued that it was.
Contemporary ethical debate in the West is often described as "secular". The work of well known moral philosophers such as Derek Parfit and Peter Singer, and even the whole field of contemporary bioethics, have been described as explicitly secular or non-religious.
It can be seen by many of the organizations (NGOs) for secularism that they prefer to define "secularism" as the common ground for all life stance groups, religious or atheistic, to thrive in a society that honors freedom of speech and conscience. An example of that is the National Secular Society in the UK. This is a common understanding of what secularism stands for among many of its activists throughout the world. However, many scholars of Christianity and conservative politicians seem to interpret secularism more often than not, as an antithesis of religion and an attempt to push religion out of society and replace it with atheism or a void of values, nihilism. This dual aspect (as noted above in "Secular ethics") has created difficulties in political discourse on the subject. It seems that most political theorists in philosophy following the landmark work of John Rawl's "Theory of Justice" in 1971 and its following book, "Political Liberalism" (1993), would rather use the conjoined concept "overlapping consensus" rather than secularism. In the latter Rawls holds the idea of an overlapping consensus as one of three main ideas of political liberalism. He argues that the term "secularism" cannot apply; But what is a secular argument? Some think of any argument that is reflective and critical, publicly intelligible and rational, as a secular argument; [...], Nevertheless, a central feature of political liberalism is that it views all such arguments the same way it views religious ones, and therefore these secular philosophical doctrines do not provide public reasons. Secular concepts and reasoning of this kind belong to first philosophy and moral doctrine, and fall outside the domain of the political.Still, Rawl's theory is akin to Holyoake's vision of a tolerant democracy that treats all life stance groups alike. Rawl's idea it that it is in everybody's own interest to endorse "a reasonable constitutional democracy" with "principles of toleration". His work has been highly influential on scholars in political philosophy and his term, "overlapping consensus", seems to have for many parts replaced "secularism" among them. In textbooks on modern political philosophy, like Colin Farelly's, "An Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory", and Will Kymlicka's, "Contemporary Political Philosophy", the term secularism is not even indexed and in the former it can be seen only in one footnote. However, there is no shortage of discussion and coverage of the topic it involves. It is just called "overlapping consensus, pluralism", "multiculturalism" or expressed in some other way. In The "Oxford Handbook of Political Theory", there is one chapter called "Political secularism", by Rajeev Bhargava. It covers secularism in a global context, and starts with this sentence: "Secularism is a beleaguered doctrine."
"See also the references list in the article on secularization" | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27113 |
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table: carbon is above it; and germanium, tin, and lead are below it. It is relatively unreactive. Because of its high chemical affinity for oxygen, it was not until 1823 that Jöns Jakob Berzelius was first able to prepare it and characterize it in pure form. Its oxides form a family of anions known as silicates. Its melting and boiling points of 1414 °C and 3265 °C respectively are the second-highest among all the metalloids and nonmetals, being only surpassed by boron. Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs as the pure element in the Earth's crust. It is most widely distributed in dusts, sands, planetoids, and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide (silica) or silicates. More than 90% of the Earth's crust is composed of silicate minerals, making silicon the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust (about 28% by mass) after oxygen.
Most silicon is used commercially without being separated, and often with little processing of the natural minerals. Such use includes industrial construction with clays, silica sand, and stone. Silicates are used in Portland cement for mortar and stucco, and mixed with silica sand and gravel to make concrete for walkways, foundations, and roads. They are also used in whiteware ceramics such as porcelain, and in traditional quartz-based soda-lime glass and many other specialty glasses. Silicon compounds such as silicon carbide are used as abrasives and components of high-strength ceramics. Silicon is the basis of the widely used synthetic polymers called silicones.
The late 20th century to early 21st century has been described as the Silicon Age (also known as the Digital Age or Information Age) due to elemental silicon having a large impact on the modern world economy. The relatively small portion of very highly purified elemental silicon used in semiconductor electronics (< 10%) is essential to the metal–oxide–silicon (MOS) transistors and integrated circuit chips used in most modern technology (such as computers and cell phones, for example). The most widely used silicon device is the MOSFET (metal–oxide–silicon field-effect transistor), which has been manufactured in larger numbers than any other device in history. Free silicon is also used in the steel refining, aluminium-casting, and fine chemical industries (often to make fumed silica).
Silicon is an essential element in biology, although only traces are required by animals. However, various sea sponges and microorganisms, such as diatoms and radiolaria, secrete skeletal structures made of silica. Silica is deposited in many plant tissues.
Due to the abundance of silicon in the Earth's crust, natural silicon-based materials had been used for thousands of years. Silicon rock crystals were familiar to various ancient civilizations, such as the predynastic Egyptians who used it for beads and small vases, as well as the ancient Chinese. Glass containing silica was manufactured by the Egyptians since at least 1500 BC, as well as by the ancient Phoenicians. Natural silicate compounds were also used in various types of mortar for construction of early human dwellings.
In 1787, Antoine Lavoisier suspected that silica might be an oxide of a fundamental chemical element, but the chemical affinity of silicon for oxygen is high enough that he had no means to reduce the oxide and isolate the element. After an attempt to isolate silicon in 1808, Sir Humphry Davy proposed the name "silicium" for silicon, from the Latin "silex", "silicis" for flint, and adding the "-ium" ending because he believed it to be a metal. Most other languages use transliterated forms of Davy's name, sometimes adapted to local phonology (e.g. German "Silizium", Turkish "silisyum"). A few others use instead a calque of the Latin root (e.g. Russian "кремний", from "кремень" "flint"; Greek "πυριτιο" from "πυρ" "fire"; Finnish "pii" from "piikivi" "flint").
Gay-Lussac and Thénard are thought to have prepared impure amorphous silicon in 1811, through the heating of recently isolated potassium metal with silicon tetrafluoride, but they did not purify and characterize the product, nor identify it as a new element. Silicon was given its present name in 1817 by Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson. He retained part of Davy's name but added "-on" because he believed that silicon was a nonmetal similar to boron and carbon. In 1823, Jöns Jacob Berzelius prepared amorphous silicon using approximately the same method as Gay-Lussac (reducing potassium fluorosilicate with molten potassium metal), but purifying the product to a brown powder by repeatedly washing it. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27114 |
Scandium
Scandium is a chemical element with the symbol Sc and atomic number 21. A silvery-white metallic d-block element, it has historically been classified as a rare-earth element, together with yttrium and the lanthanides. It was discovered in 1879 by spectral analysis of the minerals euxenite and gadolinite from Scandinavia.
Scandium is present in most of the deposits of rare-earth and uranium compounds, but it is extracted from these ores in only a few mines worldwide. Because of the low availability and the difficulties in the preparation of metallic scandium, which was first done in 1937, applications for scandium were not developed until the 1970s, when the positive effects of scandium on aluminium alloys were discovered, and its use in such alloys remains its only major application. The global trade of scandium oxide is 15–20 tonnes per year.
The properties of scandium compounds are intermediate between those of aluminium and yttrium. A diagonal relationship exists between the behavior of magnesium and scandium, just as there is between beryllium and aluminium. In the chemical compounds of the elements in group 3, the predominant oxidation state is +3.
Scandium is a soft metal with a silvery appearance. It develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast when oxidized by air. It is susceptible to weathering and dissolves slowly in most dilute acids. It does not react with a 1:1 mixture of nitric acid (HNO3) and 48% hydrofluoric acid (HF), possibly due to the formation of an impermeable passive layer. Scandium turnings ignite in air with a brilliant yellow flame to form scandium oxide.
In nature, scandium is found exclusively as the isotope 45Sc, which has a nuclear spin of 7/2; this is its only stable isotope. Thirteen radioisotopes have been characterized with the most stable being 46Sc, which has a half-life of 83.8 days; 47Sc, 3.35 days; the positron emitter 44Sc, 4 h; and 48Sc, 43.7 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives less than 4 hours, and the majority of these have half-lives less than 2 minutes. This element also has five nuclear isomers, with the most stable being 44mSc ("t"1/2 = 58.6 h).
The isotopes of scandium range from 36Sc to 60Sc. The primary decay mode at masses lower than the only stable isotope, 45Sc, is electron capture, and the primary mode at masses above it is beta emission. The primary decay products at atomic weights below 45Sc are calcium isotopes and the primary products from higher atomic weights are titanium isotopes.
In Earth's crust, scandium is not rare. Estimates vary from 18 to 25 ppm, which is comparable to the abundance of cobalt (20–30 ppm). Scandium is only the 50th most common element on Earth (35th most abundant in the crust), but it is the 23rd most common element in the Sun. However, scandium is distributed sparsely and occurs in trace amounts in many minerals. Rare minerals from Scandinavia and Madagascar such as thortveitite, euxenite, and gadolinite are the only known concentrated sources of this element. Thortveitite can contain up to 45% of scandium in the form of scandium oxide.
The stable form of scandium is created in supernovas via the r-process. Also, in addition, scandium is created by cosmic ray spallation of the more abundant iron nuclei.
The world production of scandium is in the order of 15-20 tonnes per year, in the form of scandium oxide. The demand is about 50% higher, and both the production and demand keep increasing. In 2003, only three mines produced scandium: the uranium and iron mines in Zhovti Vody in Ukraine, the rare-earth mines in Bayan Obo, China, and the apatite mines in the Kola peninsula, Russia; since then many other countries have built scandium-producing facilities, including 5 tonnes/year (7.5 tonnes/year Sc2O3) by Nickel Asia Corporation and Sumitomo Metal Mining in the Philippines.
In the United States, NioCorp Development hopes to raise $1 billion toward opening a niobium mine at its Elk Creek site in southeast Nebraska which may be able to produce as much as 95 tonnes of scandium oxide annually. In each case scandium is a byproduct from the extraction of other elements and is sold as scandium oxide.
To produce metallic scandium, the oxide is converted to scandium fluoride and then reduced with metallic calcium.
Madagascar and the Iveland-Evje region in Norway have the only deposits of minerals with high scandium content, thortveitite (Sc,Y)2(Si2O7) but these are not being exploited. The mineral kolbeckite ScPO4·2H2O has a very high scandium content but is not available in any larger deposits.
The absence of reliable, secure, stable, long-term production has limited the commercial applications of scandium. Despite this low level of use, scandium offers significant benefits. Particularly promising is the strengthening of aluminium alloys with as little as 0.5% scandium. Scandium-stabilized zirconia enjoys a growing market demand for use as a high-efficiency electrolyte in solid oxide fuel cells.
Because of its rarity, scandium is among the most expensive elements. Price for pure scandium fluctuates between and US dollars per kilogram. Meanwhile, the limited market generates a variety of prices at any given time. In 2010, at the peak of the rare-earths shortage, the price of scandium rose to over US dollars per kilogram, and the widely commercially used scandium oxide (Sc2O3) was selling above US dollars per kilogram. Since then the limited demand coupled with steady production keeps the price at its 20-year average.
Scandium chemistry is almost completely dominated by the trivalent ion, Sc3+. The radii of M3+ ions in the table below indicate that the chemical properties of scandium ions have more in common with yttrium ions than with aluminium ions. In part because of this similarity, scandium is often classified as a lanthanide-like element.
The oxide and the hydroxide are amphoteric:
α- and γ-ScOOH are isostructural with their aluminium hydroxide oxide counterparts. Solutions of in water are acidic due to hydrolysis.
The halides ScX3, where X= Cl, Br, or I, are very soluble in water, but ScF3 is insoluble. In all four halides, the scandium is 6-coordinated. The halides are Lewis acids; for example, ScF3 dissolves in a solution containing excess fluoride ion to form [ScF6]3−. The coordination number 6 is typical for Sc(III). In the larger Y3+ and La3+ ions, coordination numbers of 8 and 9 are common. Scandium triflate is sometimes used as a Lewis acid catalyst in organic chemistry.
Scandium forms a series of organometallic compounds with cyclopentadienyl ligands (Cp), similar to the behavior of the lanthanides. One example is the chlorine-bridged dimer, [ScCp2Cl]2 and related derivatives of pentamethylcyclopentadienyl ligands.
Compounds that feature scandium in oxidation states other than +3 are rare but well characterized. The blue-black compound CsScCl3 is one of the simplest. This material adopts a sheet-like structure that exhibits extensive bonding between the scandium(II) centers. Scandium hydride is not well understood, although it appears not to be a saline hydride of Sc(II). As is observed for most elements, a diatomic scandium hydride has been observed spectroscopically at high temperatures in the gas phase. Scandium borides and carbides are non-stoichiometric, as is typical for neighboring elements.
Lower oxidation states (+2, +1, 0) have also been observed in organoscandium compounds.
Dmitri Mendeleev, who is referred to as the father of the periodic table, predicted the existence of an element "ekaboron", with an atomic mass between 40 and 48 in 1869. Lars Fredrik Nilson and his team detected this element in the minerals euxenite and gadolinite in 1879. Nilson prepared 2 grams of scandium oxide of high purity. He named the element scandium, from the Latin "Scandia" meaning "Scandinavia". Nilson was apparently unaware of Mendeleev's prediction, but Per Teodor Cleve recognized the correspondence and notified Mendeleev.
Metallic scandium was produced for the first time in 1937 by electrolysis of a eutectic mixture of potassium, lithium, and scandium chlorides, at 700–800 °C. The first pound of 99% pure scandium metal was produced in 1960. Production of aluminium alloys began in 1971, following a US patent. Aluminium-scandium alloys were also developed in the USSR.
Laser crystals of gadolinium-scandium-gallium garnet (GSGG) were used in strategic defense applications developed for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in the 1980s and 1990s.
In early 2018, evidence was gathered from spectrometer data of significant scandium, vanadium and yttrium abundances in red giant stars in the Nuclear Star Cluster (NSC) in the Galactic Center. Further research showed that this was an illusion caused by the relatively low temperature (below 3,500 K) of these stars masking the abundance signals, and that this phenomenon was observable in other red giants.
The addition of scandium to aluminium limits the grain growth in the heat zone of welded aluminium components. This has two beneficial effects: the precipitated Al3Sc forms smaller crystals than in other aluminium alloys, and the volume of precipitate-free zones at the grain boundaries of age-hardening aluminium alloys is reduced. Both of these effects increase the usefulness of the alloy. However, titanium alloys, which are similar in lightness and strength, are cheaper and much more widely used.
The alloy Al20Li20Mg10Sc20Ti30 is as strong as titanium, light as aluminium, and hard as ceramic.
The main application of scandium by weight is in aluminium-scandium alloys for minor aerospace industry components. These alloys contain between 0.1% and 0.5% of scandium. They were used in the Russian military aircraft, specifically the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 and MiG-29.
Some items of sports equipment, which rely on high-performance materials, have been made with scandium-aluminium alloys, including baseball bats and bicycle frames and components. Lacrosse sticks are also made with scandium. The American firearm manufacturing company Smith & Wesson produces semi-automatic pistols and revolvers with frames of scandium alloy and cylinders of titanium or carbon steel.
Dentists use erbium-chromium-doped yttrium-scandium-gallium garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) lasers for cavity preparation and in endodontics.
The first scandium-based metal-halide lamps were patented by General Electric and initially made in North America, although they are now produced in all major industrialized countries. Approximately 20 kg of scandium (as Sc2O3) is used annually in the United States for high-intensity discharge lamps. One type of metal-halide lamp, similar to the mercury-vapor lamp, is made from scandium triiodide and sodium iodide. This lamp is a white-light source with high color rendering index that sufficiently resembles sunlight to allow good color-reproduction with TV cameras. About 80 kg of scandium is used in metal-halide lamps/light bulbs globally per year.
The radioactive isotope 46Sc is used in oil refineries as a tracing agent. Scandium triflate is a catalytic Lewis acid used in organic chemistry.
Elemental scandium is considered non-toxic, though extensive animal testing of scandium compounds has not been done. The median lethal dose (LD50) levels for scandium chloride for rats have been determined as 755 mg/kg for intraperitoneal and 4 g/kg for oral administration. In the light of these results, compounds of scandium should be handled as compounds of moderate toxicity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27116 |
Selenium
Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, and also has similarities to arsenic. It rarely occurs in its elemental state or as pure ore compounds in the Earth's crust. Selenium – from Ancient Greek (selḗnē) "Moon" – was discovered in 1817 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, who noted the similarity of the new element to the previously discovered tellurium (named for the Earth).
Selenium is found in , where it partially replaces the sulfur. Commercially, selenium is produced as a byproduct in the refining of these ores, most often during production. Minerals that are pure selenide or selenate compounds are known but rare. The chief commercial uses for selenium today are glassmaking and pigments. Selenium is a semiconductor and is used in photocells. Applications in electronics, once important, have been mostly replaced with silicon semiconductor devices. Selenium is still used in a few types of DC power surge protectors and one type of fluorescent quantum dot.
Selenium salts are toxic in large amounts, but trace amounts are necessary for cellular function in many organisms, including all animals. Selenium is an ingredient in many multivitamins and other dietary supplements, including infant formula. It is a component of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase (which indirectly reduce certain oxidized molecules in animals and some plants). It is also found in three deiodinase enzymes, which convert one thyroid hormone to another. Selenium requirements in plants differ by species, with some plants requiring relatively large amounts and others apparently requiring none.
Selenium forms several allotropes that interconvert with temperature changes, depending somewhat on the rate of temperature change. When prepared in chemical reactions, selenium is usually an amorphous, brick-red powder. When rapidly melted, it forms the black, vitreous form, usually sold commercially as beads. The structure of black selenium is irregular and complex and consists of polymeric rings with up to 1000 atoms per ring. Black Se is a brittle, lustrous solid that is slightly soluble in CS2. Upon heating, it softens at 50 °C and converts to gray selenium at 180 °C; the transformation temperature is reduced by presence of halogens and amines.
The red α, β, and γ forms are produced from solutions of black selenium by varying the evaporation rate of the solvent (usually CS2). They all have relatively low, monoclinic crystal symmetries and contain nearly identical puckered Se8 rings with different arrangements, as in sulfur. The packing is most dense in the α form. In the Se8 rings, the Se-Se distance is 233.5 pm and Se-Se-Se angle is 105.7° . Other selenium allotropes may contain Se6 or Se7 rings.
The most stable and dense form of selenium is gray and has a hexagonal crystal lattice consisting of helical polymeric chains, where the Se-Se distance is 237.3 pm and Se-Se-Se angle is 130.1° . The minimum distance between chains is 343.6 pm. Gray Se is formed by mild heating of other allotropes, by slow cooling of molten Se, or by condensing Se vapor just below the melting point. Whereas other Se forms are insulators, gray Se is a semiconductor showing appreciable photoconductivity. Unlike the other allotropes, it is insoluble in CS2. It resists oxidation by air and is not attacked by nonoxidizing acids. With strong reducing agents, it forms polyselenides. Selenium does not exhibit the changes in viscosity that sulfur undergoes when gradually heated.
Owing to its use as a photoconductor in flat-panel x-ray detectors (see below), the optical properties of amorphous selenium (α-Se) thin films have been the subject of intense research.
Selenium has seven naturally occurring isotopes. Five of these, 74Se, 76Se, 77Se, 78Se, 80Se, are stable, with 80Se being the most abundant (49.6% natural abundance). Also naturally occurring is the long-lived primordial radionuclide 82Se, with a half-life of 9.2×1019 years. The non-primordial radioisotope 79Se also occurs in minute quantities in uranium ores as a product of nuclear fission. Selenium also has numerous unstable synthetic isotopes ranging from 64Se to 95Se; the most stable are 75Se with a half-life of 119.78 days and 72Se with a half-life of 8.4 days. Isotopes lighter than the stable isotopes primarily undergo beta plus decay to isotopes of arsenic, and isotopes heavier than the stable isotopes undergo beta minus decay to isotopes of bromine, with some minor neutron emission branches in the heaviest known isotopes.
Selenium compounds commonly exist in the oxidation states −2, +2, +4, and +6.
Selenium forms two oxides: selenium dioxide (SeO2) and selenium trioxide (SeO3). Selenium dioxide is formed by the reaction of elemental selenium with oxygen:
It is a polymeric solid that forms monomeric SeO2 molecules in the gas phase. It dissolves in water to form selenous acid, H2SeO3. Selenous acid can also be made directly by oxidizing elemental selenium with nitric acid:
Unlike sulfur, which forms a stable trioxide, selenium trioxide is thermodynamically unstable and decomposes to the dioxide above 185 °C:
Selenium trioxide is produced in the laboratory by the reaction of anhydrous potassium selenate (K2SeO4) and sulfur trioxide (SO3).
Salts of selenous acid are called selenites. These include silver selenite (Ag2SeO3) and sodium selenite (Na2SeO3).
Hydrogen sulfide reacts with aqueous selenous acid to produce selenium disulfide:
Selenium disulfide consists of 8-membered rings. It has an approximate composition of SeS2, with individual rings varying in composition, such as Se4S4 and Se2S6. Selenium disulfide has been used in shampoo as an antidandruff agent, an inhibitor in polymer chemistry, a glass dye, and a reducing agent in fireworks.
Selenium trioxide may be synthesized by dehydrating selenic acid, H2SeO4, which is itself produced by the oxidation of selenium dioxide with hydrogen peroxide:
Hot, concentrated selenic acid can react with gold to form gold(III) selenate.
Iodides of selenium are not well known. The only stable chloride is selenium monochloride (Se2Cl2), which might be better known as selenium(II) chloride; the corresponding bromide is also known. These species are structurally analogous to the corresponding disulfur dichloride. Selenium dichloride is an important reagent in the preparation of selenium compounds (e.g. the preparation of Se7). It is prepared by treating selenium with sulfuryl chloride (SO2Cl2). Selenium reacts with fluorine to form selenium hexafluoride:
In comparison with its sulfur counterpart (sulfur hexafluoride), selenium hexafluoride (SeF6) is more reactive and is a toxic pulmonary irritant.
Some of the selenium oxyhalides, such as selenium oxyfluoride (SeOF2) and selenium oxychloride (SeOCl2) have been used as specialty solvents.
Analogous to the behavior of other chalcogens, selenium forms hydrogen selenide, H2Se. It is a strongly odiferous, toxic, and colorless gas. It is more acidic than H2S. In solution it ionizes to HSe−. The selenide dianion Se2− forms a variety of compounds, including the minerals from which selenium is obtained commercially. Illustrative selenides include mercury selenide (HgSe), lead selenide (PbSe), zinc selenide (ZnSe), and copper indium gallium diselenide (Cu(Ga,In)Se2). These materials are semiconductors. With highly electropositive metals, such as aluminium, these selenides are prone to hydrolysis:
Alkali metal selenides react with selenium to form polyselenides, , which exist as chains.
Tetraselenium tetranitride, Se4N4, is an explosive orange compound analogous to tetrasulfur tetranitride (S4N4). It can be synthesized by the reaction of selenium tetrachloride (SeCl4) with .
Selenium reacts with cyanides to yield selenocyanates:
Selenium, especially in the II oxidation state, forms stable bonds to carbon, which are structurally analogous to the corresponding organosulfur compounds. Especially common are selenides (R2Se, analogues of thioethers), diselenides (R2Se2, analogues of disulfides), and selenols (RSeH, analogues of thiols). Representatives of selenides, diselenides, and selenols include respectively selenomethionine, diphenyldiselenide, and benzeneselenol. The sulfoxide in sulfur chemistry is represented in selenium chemistry by the selenoxides (formula RSe(O)R), which are intermediates in organic synthesis, as illustrated by the selenoxide elimination reaction. Consistent with trends indicated by the double bond rule, selenoketones, R(C=Se)R, and selenaldehydes, R(C=Se)H, are rarely observed.
Selenium (Greek σελήνη "selene" meaning "Moon") was discovered in 1817 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius and Johan Gottlieb Gahn. Both chemists owned a chemistry plant near Gripsholm, Sweden, producing sulfuric acid by the lead chamber process. The pyrite from the Falun Mine created a red precipitate in the lead chambers which was presumed to be an arsenic compound, so the pyrite's use to make acid was discontinued. Berzelius and Gahn wanted to use the pyrite and they also observed that the red precipitate gave off a smell like horseradish when burned. This smell was not typical of arsenic, but a similar odor was known from tellurium compounds. Hence, Berzelius's first letter to Alexander Marcet stated that this was a tellurium compound. However, the lack of tellurium compounds in the Falun Mine minerals eventually led Berzelius to reanalyze the red precipitate, and in 1818 he wrote a second letter to Marcet describing a newly found element similar to sulfur and tellurium. Because of its similarity to tellurium, named for the Earth, Berzelius named the new element after the Moon.
In 1873, Willoughby Smith found that the electrical resistance of grey selenium was dependent on the ambient light. This led to its use as a cell for sensing light. The first commercial products using selenium were developed by Werner Siemens in the mid-1870s. The selenium cell was used in the photophone developed by Alexander Graham Bell in 1879. Selenium transmits an electric current proportional to the amount of light falling on its surface. This phenomenon was used in the design of light meters and similar devices. Selenium's semiconductor properties found numerous other applications in electronics. The development of selenium rectifiers began during the early 1930s, and these replaced copper oxide rectifiers because they were more efficient. These lasted in commercial applications until the 1970s, following which they were replaced with less expensive and even more efficient silicon rectifiers.
Selenium came to medical notice later because of its toxicity to industrial workers. Selenium was also recognized as an important veterinary toxin, which is seen in animals that have eaten high-selenium plants. In 1954, the first hints of specific biological functions of selenium were discovered in microorganisms by biochemist, Jane Pinsent. It was discovered to be essential for mammalian life in 1957. In the 1970s, it was shown to be present in two independent sets of enzymes. This was followed by the discovery of selenocysteine in proteins. During the 1980s, selenocysteine was shown to be encoded by the codon UGA. The recoding mechanism was worked out first in bacteria and then in mammals (see SECIS element).
Native (i.e., elemental) selenium is a rare mineral, which does not usually form good crystals, but, when it does, they are steep rhombohedra or tiny acicular (hair-like) crystals. Isolation of selenium is often complicated by the presence of other compounds and elements.
Selenium occurs naturally in a number of inorganic forms, including selenide, selenate, and selenite, but these minerals are rare. The common mineral selenite is not a selenium mineral, and contains no selenite ion, but is rather a type of gypsum (calcium sulfate hydrate) named like selenium for the moon well before the discovery of selenium. Selenium is most commonly found as an impurity, replacing a small part of the sulfur in sulfide ores of many metals.
In living systems, selenium is found in the amino acids selenomethionine, selenocysteine, and methylselenocysteine. In these compounds, selenium plays a role analogous to that of sulfur. Another naturally occurring organoselenium compound is dimethyl selenide.
Certain soils are selenium-rich, and selenium can be bioconcentrated by some plants. In soils, selenium most often occurs in soluble forms such as selenate (analogous to sulfate), which are leached into rivers very easily by runoff. Ocean water contains significant amounts of selenium.
Anthropogenic sources of selenium include coal burning, and the mining and smelting of sulfide ores.
Selenium is most commonly produced from selenide in many sulfide ores, such as those of copper, nickel, or lead. Electrolytic metal refining is particularly productive of selenium as a byproduct, obtained from the anode mud of copper refineries. Another source was the mud from the lead chambers of sulfuric acid plants, a process that is no longer used. Selenium can be refined from these muds by a number of methods. However, most elemental selenium comes as a byproduct of refining copper or producing sulfuric acid. Since its invention, solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) production of copper produces an increasing share of the worldwide copper supply. This changes the availability of selenium because only a comparably small part of the selenium in the ore is leached with the copper.
Industrial production of selenium usually involves the extraction of selenium dioxide from residues obtained during the purification of copper. Common production from the residue then begins by oxidation with sodium carbonate to produce selenium dioxide, which is mixed with water and acidified to form selenous acid (oxidation step). Selenous acid is bubbled with sulfur dioxide (reduction step) to give elemental selenium.
About 2,000 tonnes of selenium were produced in 2011 worldwide, mostly in Germany (650 t), Japan (630 t), Belgium (200 t), and Russia (140 t), and the total reserves were estimated at 93,000 tonnes. These data exclude two major producers: the United States and China. A previous sharp increase was observed in 2004 from $4–$5 to $27/lb. The price was relatively stable during 2004–2010 at about US$30 per pound (in 100 pound lots) but increased to $65/lb in 2011. The consumption in 2010 was divided as follows: metallurgy – 30%, glass manufacturing – 30%, agriculture – 10%, chemicals and pigments – 10%, and electronics – 10%. China is the dominant consumer of selenium at 1,500–2,000 tonnes/year.
Researchers found that application of selenium fertilizer to lettuce crops decreased the accumulation of lead and cadmium. Peaches and pears given a foliar selenium spray contained higher levels selenium and also stayed firm and ripe longer when in storage. In low doses, selenium has shown a beneficial effect on plant resistance to various environmental stress factors including drought, UV-B, soil salinity, and cold or hot temperatures. However, it can damage plants at higher doses.
During the electrowinning of manganese, the addition of selenium dioxide decreases the power necessary to operate the electrolysis cells. China is the largest consumer of selenium dioxide for this purpose. For every tonne of manganese, an average 2 kg selenium oxide is used.
The largest commercial use of Se, accounting for about 50% of consumption, is for the production of glass. Se compounds confer a red color to glass. This color cancels out the green or yellow tints that arise from iron impurities typical for most glass. For this purpose, various selenite and selenate salts are added. For other applications, a red color may be desired, produced by mixtures of CdSe and CdS.
Selenium is used with bismuth in brasses to replace more toxic lead. The regulation of lead in drinking water applications such as in the US with the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, made a reduction of lead in brass necessary. The new brass is marketed under the name EnviroBrass. Like lead and sulfur, selenium improves the machinability of steel at concentrations around 0.15%. Selenium produces the same machinability improvement in copper alloys.
The lithium–selenium (Li–Se) battery is one of the most promising systems for energy storage in the family of lithium batteries. The Li–Se battery is an alternative to the lithium–sulfur battery, with an advantage of high electrical conductivity.
Copper indium gallium selenide is a material used in solar cells.
Amorphous selenium (α-Se) thin films have found application as photoconductors in flat panel x-ray detectors. These detectors use amorphous selenium to capture and convert incident x-ray photons directly into electric charge.
Selenium rectifiers were first used in 1933. Their use continued into the 1990s.
Small amounts of organoselenium compounds have been used to modify the catalysts used for the vulcanization for the production of rubber.
The demand for selenium by the electronics industry is declining. Its photovoltaic and photoconductive properties are still useful in photocopying, photocells, light meters and solar cells. Its use as a photoconductor in plain-paper copiers once was a leading application, but in the 1980s, the photoconductor application declined (although it was still a large end-use) as more and more copiers switched to organic photoconductors. Though once widely used, selenium rectifiers have mostly been replaced (or are being replaced) by silicon-based devices. The most notable exception is in power DC surge protection, where the superior energy capabilities of selenium suppressors make them more desirable than metal oxide varistors.
Zinc selenide was the first material for blue LEDs, but gallium nitride dominates that market. Cadmium selenide was an important component in quantum dots. Sheets of amorphous selenium convert X-ray images to patterns of charge in xeroradiography and in solid-state, flat-panel X-ray cameras. Ionized selenium (Se+24) is one of the active mediums used in X-ray lasers.
Selenium is a catalyst in some chemical reactions, but it is not widely used because of issues with toxicity. In X-ray crystallography, incorporation of one or more selenium atoms in place of sulfur helps with multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion and single wavelength anomalous dispersion phasing.
Selenium is used in the toning of photographic prints, and it is sold as a toner by numerous photographic manufacturers. Selenium intensifies and extends the tonal range of black-and-white photographic images and improves the permanence of prints.
75Se is used as a gamma source in industrial radiography.
In high concentrations, selenium acts as an environmental contaminant. Sources of pollution include waste materials from certain mining, agricultural, petrochemical, and industrial manufacturing operations. In Belews Lake North Carolina, 19 species of fish were eliminated from the lake due to 150-200 μg Se/L wastewater discharged from 1974 to 1986 from a Duke Energy coal-fired power plant. At the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in California, thousands of fish and waterbirds were poisoned by selenium in agricultural irrigation drainage.
Substantial physiological changes may occur in fish with high tissue concentrations of selenium. Fish affected by selenium may experience swelling of the gill lamellae, which impedes oxygen diffusion across the gills and blood flow within the gills. Respiratory capacity is further reduced due to selenium binding to hemoglobin. Other problems include degeneration of liver tissue, swelling around the heart, damaged egg follicles in ovaries, cataracts, and accumulation of fluid in the body cavity and head. Selenium often causes a malformed fish fetus which may have problems feeding or respiring, distortion of the fins or spine is also common. Adult fish may appear healthy despite their inability to produce viable offspring.
Selenium is bioaccumulated in aquatic habitats, this results in higher concentrations in organisms than the surrounding water. Organoselenium compounds can be concentrated over 200,000 times by zooplankton when water concentrations are in the 0.5 to 0.8 μg Se/L range. Inorganic selenium bioaccumulates more readily in phytoplankton than zooplankton. Phytoplankton can concentrate inorganic selenium by a factor of 3000. Further concentration through bioaccumulation occurs along the food chain, as predators consume selenium rich prey. It is recommended that a water concentration of 2 μg Se/L be considered highly hazardous to sensitive fish and aquatic birds. Selenium poisoning can be passed from parents to offspring through the egg, and selenium poisoning may persist for many generations. Reproduction of mallard ducks is impaired at dietary concentrations of 7 ug Se/L. Many benthic invertebrates can tolerate selenium concentrations up to 300 μg/L of Se in their diet.
Although it is toxic in large doses, selenium is an essential micronutrient for animals. In plants, it occurs as a bystander mineral, sometimes in toxic proportions in forage (some plants may accumulate selenium as a defense against being eaten by animals, but other plants, such as locoweed, require selenium, and their growth indicates the presence of selenium in soil). See more on plant nutrition below.
Selenium is a component of the unusual amino acids selenocysteine and selenomethionine. In humans, selenium is a trace element nutrient that functions as cofactor for reduction of antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidases and certain forms of thioredoxin reductase found in animals and some plants (this enzyme occurs in all living organisms, but not all forms of it in plants require selenium).
The glutathione peroxidase family of enzymes (GSH-Px) catalyze certain reactions that remove reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide and organic hydroperoxides:
The thyroid gland and every cell that uses thyroid hormone use selenium, which is a cofactor for the three of the four known types of thyroid hormone deiodinases, which activate and then deactivate various thyroid hormones and their metabolites; the iodothyronine deiodinases are the subfamily of deiodinase enzymes that use selenium as the otherwise rare amino acid selenocysteine. (Only the deiodinase iodotyrosine deiodinase, which works on the last breakdown products of thyroid hormone, does not use selenium.)
Selenium may inhibit Hashimoto's disease, in which the body's own thyroid cells are attacked as foreign. A reduction of 21% on TPO antibodies is reported with the dietary intake of 0.2 mg of selenium.
Increased dietary selenium reduces the effects of mercury toxicity, although it is effective only at low to modest doses of mercury. Evidence suggests that the molecular mechanisms of mercury toxicity includes the irreversible inhibition of selenoenzymes that are required to prevent and reverse oxidative damage in brain and endocrine tissues. An antioxidant, selenoneine, which is derived from selenium and has been found to be present in the blood of bluefin tuna, is the subject of scientific research regarding its possible roles in inflammatory and chronic diseases, methylmercury detoxification, and oxidative damages.
From about three billion years ago, prokaryotic selenoprotein families drive the evolution of selenocysteine, an amino acid. Selenium is incorporated into several prokaryotic selenoprotein families in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes as selenocysteine, where selenoprotein peroxiredoxins protect bacterial and eukaryotic cells against oxidative damage. Selenoprotein families of GSH-Px and the deiodinases of eukaryotic cells seem to have a bacterial phylogenetic origin. The selenocysteine-containing form occurs in species as diverse as green algae, diatoms, sea urchins, fish, and chickens. Selenium enzymes are involved in the small reducing molecules glutathione and thioredoxin. One family of selenium-bearing molecules (the glutathione peroxidases) destroys peroxide and repairs damaged peroxidized cell membranes, using glutathione. Another selenium-bearing enzyme in some plants and in animals (thioredoxin reductase) generates reduced thioredoxin, a dithiol that serves as an electron source for peroxidases and also the important reducing enzyme ribonucleotide reductase that makes DNA precursors from RNA precursors.
Trace elements involved in GSH-Px and superoxide dismutase enzymes activities, i.e. selenium, vanadium, magnesium, copper, and zinc, may have been lacking in some terrestrial mineral-deficient areas. Marine organisms retained and sometimes expanded their selenoproteomes, whereas the selenoproteomes of some terrestrial organisms were reduced or completely lost. These findings suggest that, with the exception of vertebrates, aquatic life supports selenium use, whereas terrestrial habitats lead to reduced use of this trace element. Marine fishes and vertebrate thyroid glands have the highest concentration of selenium and iodine. From about 500 million years ago, freshwater and terrestrial plants slowly optimized the production of "new" endogenous antioxidants such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C), polyphenols (including flavonoids), tocopherols, etc. A few of these appeared more recently, in the last 50–200 million years, in fruits and flowers of angiosperm plants. In fact, the angiosperms (the dominant type of plant today) and most of their antioxidant pigments evolved during the late Jurassic period.
The deiodinase isoenzymes constitute another family of eukaryotic selenoproteins with identified enzyme function. Deiodinases are able to extract electrons from iodides, and iodides from iodothyronines. They are, thus, involved in thyroid-hormone regulation, participating in the protection of thyrocytes from damage by H2O2 produced for thyroid-hormone biosynthesis. About 200 million years ago, new selenoproteins were developed as mammalian GSH-Px enzymes.
Dietary selenium comes from meat, nuts, cereals and mushrooms. Brazil nuts are the richest dietary source (though this is soil-dependent, since the Brazil nut does not require high levels of the element for its own needs).
The U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for teenagers and adults is 55 µg/day.
Selenium as a dietary supplement is available in many forms, including multi-vitamins/mineral supplements, which typically contain 55 or 70 µg/serving. Selenium-specific supplements typically contain either 100 or 200 µg/serving.
In June 2015 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published its final rule establishing the requirement of minimum and maximum levels of selenium in infant formula.
The selenium content in the human body is believed to be in the 13–20 milligram range.
Certain species of plants are considered indicators of high selenium content of the soil because they require high levels of selenium to thrive. The main selenium indicator plants are "Astragalus" species (including some locoweeds), prince's plume ("Stanleya" sp.), woody asters ("Xylorhiza" sp.), and false goldenweed ("Oonopsis" sp.)
Selenium may be measured in blood, plasma, serum, or urine to monitor excessive environmental or occupational exposure, to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized victims, or investigate a suspected case of fatal overdose. Some analytical techniques are capable of distinguishing organic from inorganic forms of the element. Both organic and inorganic forms of selenium are largely converted to monosaccharide conjugates (selenosugars) in the body prior to elimination in the urine. Cancer patients receiving daily oral doses of selenothionine may achieve very high plasma and urine selenium concentrations.
Although selenium is an essential trace element, it is toxic if taken in excess. Exceeding the Tolerable Upper Intake Level of 400 micrograms per day can lead to selenosis. This 400 µg Tolerable Upper Intake Level is based primarily on a 1986 study of five Chinese patients who exhibited overt signs of selenosis and a follow up study on the same five people in 1992. The 1992 study actually found the maximum safe dietary Se intake to be approximately 800 micrograms per day (15 micrograms per kilogram body weight), but suggested 400 micrograms per day to avoid creating an imbalance of nutrients in the diet and to accord with data from other countries. In China, people who ingested corn grown in extremely selenium-rich stony coal (carbonaceous shale) have suffered from selenium toxicity. This coal was shown to have selenium content as high as 9.1%, the highest concentration in coal ever recorded.
Signs and symptoms of selenosis include a garlic odor on the breath, gastrointestinal disorders, hair loss, sloughing of nails, fatigue, irritability, and neurological damage. Extreme cases of selenosis can exhibit cirrhosis of the liver, pulmonary edema, or death. Elemental selenium and most metallic selenides have relatively low toxicities because of low bioavailability. By contrast, selenates and selenites have an oxidant mode of action similar to that of arsenic trioxide and are very toxic. The chronic toxic dose of selenite for humans is about 2400 to 3000 micrograms of selenium per day. Hydrogen selenide is an extremely toxic, corrosive gas. Selenium also occurs in organic compounds, such as dimethyl selenide, selenomethionine, selenocysteine and methylselenocysteine, all of which have high bioavailability and are toxic in large doses.
On 19 April 2009, 21 polo ponies died shortly before a match in the United States Polo Open. Three days later, a pharmacy released a statement explaining that the horses had received an incorrect dose of one of the ingredients used in a vitamin/mineral supplement compound that had been incorrectly prepared by a compounding pharmacy. Analysis of blood levels of inorganic compounds in the supplement indicated the selenium concentrations were 10 to 15 times higher than normal in the blood samples, and 15 to 20 times higher than normal in the liver samples. Selenium was later confirmed to be the toxic factor.
Selenium poisoning of water systems may result whenever new agricultural runoff courses through normally dry, undeveloped lands. This process leaches natural soluble selenium compounds (such as selenates) into the water, which may then be concentrated in new "wetlands" as the water evaporates. Selenium pollution of waterways also occurs when selenium is leached from coal flue ash, mining and metal smelting, crude oil processing, and landfill. The resultant high selenium levels in waterways were found to cause congenital disorders in oviparous species, including wetland birds and fish. Elevated dietary methylmercury levels can amplify the harm of selenium toxicity in oviparous species.
In fish and other wildlife, selenium is necessary for life, but toxic in high doses. For salmon, the optimal concentration of selenium is about 1 microgram selenium per gram of whole body weight. Much below that level, young salmon die from deficiency; much above, they die from toxic excess.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the legal limit (permissible exposure limit) for selenium in the workplace at 0.2 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a Recommended exposure limit (REL) of 0.2 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday. At levels of 1 mg/m3, selenium is immediately dangerous to life and health.
Selenium deficiency can occur in patients with severely compromised intestinal function, those undergoing total parenteral nutrition, and in those of advanced age (over 90). Also, people dependent on food grown from selenium-deficient soil are at risk. Although New Zealand soil has low levels of selenium, adverse health effects have not been detected in the residents.
Selenium deficiency, defined by low (<60% of normal) selenoenzyme activity levels in brain and endocrine tissues, occurs only when a low selenium level is linked with an additional stress, such as high exposures to mercury or increased oxidant stress from vitamin E deficiency.
Selenium interacts with other nutrients, such as iodine and vitamin E. The effect of selenium deficiency on health remains uncertain, particularly in relation to Kashin-Beck disease. Also, selenium interacts with other minerals, such as zinc and copper. High doses of Se supplements in pregnant animals might disturb the Zn:Cu ratio and lead to Zn reduction; in such treatment cases, Zn levels should be monitored. Further studies are needed to confirm these interactions.
In the regions (e.g. various regions within North America) where low selenium soil levels lead to low concentrations in the plants, some animal species may be deficient unless selenium is supplemented with diet or injection. Ruminants are particularly susceptible. In general, absorption of dietary selenium is lower in ruminants than other animals, and is lower from forages than from grain. Ruminants grazing certain forages, e.g., some white clover varieties containing cyanogenic glycosides, may have higher selenium requirements, presumably because cyanide is released from the aglycone by glucosidase activity in the rumen and glutathione peroxidases is deactivated by the cyanide acting on the glutathione moiety. Neonate ruminants at risk of white muscle disease may be administered both selenium and vitamin E by injection; some of the WMD myopathies respond only to selenium, some only to vitamin E, and some to either.
It has been suggested that selenium supplementation may help prevent cancer incidence in people, but research has established there is no evidence to support such claims. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27117 |
Strontium
Strontium is the chemical element with the symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, strontium is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is exposed to air. Strontium has physical and chemical properties similar to those of its two vertical neighbors in the periodic table, calcium and barium. It occurs naturally mainly in the minerals celestine and strontianite, and is mostly mined from these.
Both strontium and strontianite are named after Strontian, a village in Scotland near which the mineral was discovered in 1790 by Adair Crawford and William Cruickshank; it was identified as a new element the next year from its crimson-red flame test color. Strontium was first isolated as a metal in 1808 by Humphry Davy using the then newly-discovered process of electrolysis. During the 19th century, strontium was mostly used in the production of sugar from sugar beet (see strontian process). At the peak of production of television cathode ray tubes, as much as 75 percent of strontium consumption in the United States was used for the faceplate glass. With the replacement of cathode ray tubes with other display methods, consumption of strontium has dramatically declined.
While natural strontium (which is mostly the isotope strontium-88) is stable, the synthetic strontium-90 is radioactive and is one of the most dangerous components of nuclear fallout, as strontium is absorbed by the body in a similar manner to calcium. Natural stable strontium, on the other hand, is not hazardous to health.
Strontium is a divalent silvery metal with a pale yellow tint whose properties are mostly intermediate between and similar to those of its group neighbors calcium and barium. It is softer than calcium and harder than barium. Its melting (777 °C) and boiling (1377 °C) points are lower than those of calcium (842 °C and 1484 °C respectively); barium continues this downward trend in the melting point (727 °C), but not in the boiling point (1900 °C). The density of strontium (2.64 g/cm3) is similarly intermediate between those of calcium (1.54 g/cm3) and barium (3.594 g/cm3). Three allotropes of metallic strontium exist, with transition points at 235 and 540 °C.
The standard electrode potential for the Sr2+/Sr couple is −2.89 V, approximately midway between those of the Ca2+/Ca (−2.84 V) and Ba2+/Ba (−2.92 V) couples, and close to those of the neighboring alkali metals. Strontium is intermediate between calcium and barium in its reactivity toward water, with which it reacts on contact to produce strontium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Strontium metal burns in air to produce both strontium oxide and strontium nitride, but since it does not react with nitrogen below 380 °C, at room temperature, it forms only the oxide spontaneously. Besides the simple oxide SrO, the peroxide SrO2 can be made by direct oxidation of strontium metal under a high pressure of oxygen, and there is some evidence for a yellow superoxide Sr(O2)2. Strontium hydroxide, Sr(OH)2, is a strong base, though it is not as strong as the hydroxides of barium or the alkali metals. All four dihalides of strontium are known.
Due to the large size of the heavy s-block elements, including strontium, a vast range of coordination numbers is known, from 2, 3, or 4 all the way to 22 or 24 in SrCd11 and SrZn13. The Sr2+ ion is quite large, so that high coordination numbers are the rule. The large size of strontium and barium plays a significant part in stabilising strontium complexes with polydentate macrocyclic ligands such as crown ethers: for example, while 18-crown-6 forms relatively weak complexes with calcium and the alkali metals, its strontium and barium complexes are much stronger.
Organostrontium compounds contain one or more strontium–carbon bonds. They have been reported as intermediates in Barbier-type reactions. Although strontium is in the same group as magnesium, and organomagnesium compounds are very commonly used throughout chemistry, organostrontium compounds are not similarly widespread because they are more difficult to make and more reactive. Organostrontium compounds tend to be more similar to organoeuropium or organosamarium compounds due to the similar ionic radii of these elements (Sr2+ 118 pm; Eu2+ 117 pm; Sm2+ 122 pm). Most of these compounds can only be prepared at low temperatures; bulky ligands tend to favor stability. For example, strontium dicyclopentadienyl, Sr(C5H5)2, must be made by directly reacting strontium metal with mercurocene or cyclopentadiene itself; replacing the C5H5 ligand with the bulkier C5(CH3)5 ligand on the other hand increases the compound's solubility, volatility, and kinetic stability.
Because of its extreme reactivity with oxygen and water, strontium occurs naturally only in compounds with other elements, such as in the minerals strontianite and celestine. It is kept under a liquid hydrocarbon such as mineral oil or kerosene to prevent oxidation; freshly exposed strontium metal rapidly turns a yellowish color with the formation of the oxide. Finely powdered strontium metal is pyrophoric, meaning that it will ignite spontaneously in air at room temperature. Volatile strontium salts impart a bright red color to flames, and these salts are used in pyrotechnics and in the production of flares. Like calcium and barium, as well as the alkali metals and the divalent lanthanides europium and ytterbium, strontium metal dissolves directly in liquid ammonia to give a dark blue solution of solvated electrons.
Natural strontium is a mixture of four stable isotopes: 84Sr, 86Sr, 87Sr, and 88Sr. Their abundance increases with increasing mass number and the heaviest, 88Sr, makes up about 82.6% of all natural strontium, though the abundance varies due to the production of radiogenic 87Sr as the daughter of long-lived beta-decaying 87Rb. Of the unstable isotopes, the primary decay mode of the isotopes lighter than 85Sr is electron capture or positron emission to isotopes of rubidium, and that of the isotopes heavier than 88Sr is electron emission to isotopes of yttrium. Of special note are 89Sr and 90Sr. The former has a half-life of 50.6 days and is used to treat bone cancer due to strontium's chemical similarity and hence ability to replace calcium. While 90Sr (half-life 28.90 years) has been used similarly, it is also an isotope of concern in fallout from nuclear weapons and nuclear accidents due to its production as a fission product. Its presence in bones can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukemia. The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident contaminated about 30,000 km2 with greater than 10 kBq/m2 with 90Sr, which accounts for 5% of the core inventory of 90Sr.
Strontium is named after the Scottish village of Strontian (Gaelic "Sròn an t-Sìthein"), where it was discovered in the ores of the lead mines.
In 1790, Adair Crawford, a physician engaged in the preparation of barium, and his colleague William Cruickshank, recognised that the Strontian ores exhibited properties that differed from those in other "heavy spars" sources. This allowed Adair to conclude on page 355 "... it is probable indeed, that the scotch mineral is a new species of earth which has not hitherto been sufficiently examined." The physician and mineral collector Friedrich Gabriel Sulzer analysed together with Johann Friedrich Blumenbach the mineral from Strontian and named it strontianite. He also came to the conclusion that it was distinct from the witherite and contained a new earth (neue Grunderde). In 1793 Thomas Charles Hope, a professor of chemistry at the University of Glasgow studied the mineral and proposed the name "strontites". He confirmed the earlier work of Crawford and recounted: "... Considering it a peculiar earth I thought it necessary to give it an name. I have called it Strontites, from the place it was found; a mode of derivation in my opinion, fully as proper as any quality it may possess, which is the present fashion." The element was eventually isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808 by the electrolysis of a mixture containing strontium chloride and mercuric oxide, and announced by him in a lecture to the Royal Society on 30 June 1808. In keeping with the naming of the other alkaline earths, he changed the name to "strontium".
The first large-scale application of strontium was in the production of sugar from sugar beet. Although a crystallisation process using strontium hydroxide was patented by Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut in 1849 the large scale introduction came with the improvement of the process in the early 1870s. The German sugar industry used the process well into the 20th century. Before World War I the beet sugar industry used 100,000 to 150,000 tons of strontium hydroxide for this process per year. The strontium hydroxide was recycled in the process, but the demand to substitute losses during production was high enough to create a significant demand initiating mining of strontianite in the Münsterland. The mining of strontianite in Germany ended when mining of the celestine deposits in Gloucestershire started. These mines supplied most of the world strontium supply from 1884 to 1941. Although the celestine deposits in the Granada basin were known for some time the large scale mining did not start before the 1950s.
During atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, it was observed that strontium-90 is one of the nuclear fission products with a relative high yield. The similarity to calcium and the chance that the strontium-90 might become enriched in bones made research on the metabolism of strontium an important topic.
Strontium commonly occurs in nature, being the 15th most abundant element on Earth (its heavier congener barium being the 14th), estimated to average approximately 360 parts per million in the Earth's crust and is found chiefly as the sulfate mineral celestine (SrSO4) and the carbonate strontianite (SrCO3). Of the two, celestine occurs much more frequently in deposits of sufficient size for mining. Because strontium is used most often in the carbonate form, strontianite would be the more useful of the two common minerals, but few deposits have been discovered that are suitable for development.
In groundwater strontium behaves chemically much like calcium. At intermediate to acidic pH Sr2+ is the dominant strontium species. In the presence of calcium ions, strontium commonly forms coprecipitates with calcium minerals such as calcite and anhydrite at an increased pH. At intermediate to acidic pH, dissolved strontium is bound to soil particles by cation exchange.
The mean strontium content of ocean water is 8 mg/l. At a concentration between 82 and 90 µmol/l of strontium, the concentration is considerably lower than the calcium concentration, which is normally between 9.6 and 11.6 mmol/l. It is nevertheless much higher than that of barium, 13 μg/l.
The three major producers of strontium as celestine as of 2015 are China (150,000 t), Spain (90,000 t), and Mexico (70,000 t); Argentina (10,000 t) and Morocco (2,500 t) are smaller producers. Although strontium deposits occur widely in the United States, they have not been mined since 1959.
A large proportion of mined celestine (SrSO4) is converted to the carbonate by two processes. Either the celestine is directly leached with sodium carbonate solution or the celestine is roasted with coal to form the sulfide. The second stage produces a dark-coloured material containing mostly strontium sulfide. This so-called "black ash" is dissolved in water and filtered. Strontium carbonate is precipitated from the strontium sulfide solution by introduction of carbon dioxide. The sulfate is reduced to the sulfide by the carbothermic reduction:
About 300,000 tons are processed in this way annually.
The metal is produced commercially by reducing strontium oxide with aluminium. The strontium is distilled from the mixture. Strontium metal can also be prepared on a small scale by electrolysis of a solution of strontium chloride in molten potassium chloride:
Consuming 75% of production, the primary use for strontium was in glass for colour television cathode ray tubes, where it prevented X-ray emission. This application for strontium has been declining because CRTs are being replaced by other display methods. This decline has a significant influence on the mining and refining of strontium. All parts of the CRT must absorb X-rays. In the neck and the funnel of the tube, lead glass is used for this purpose, but this type of glass shows a browning effect due to the interaction of the X-rays with the glass. Therefore, the front panel is made from a different glass mixture with strontium and barium to absorb the X-rays. The average values for the glass mixture determined for a recycling study in 2005 is 8.5% strontium oxide and 10% barium oxide.
Because strontium is so similar to calcium, it is incorporated in the bone. All four stable isotopes are incorporated, in roughly the same proportions they are found in nature. However, the actual distribution of the isotopes tends to vary greatly from one geographical location to another. Thus, analyzing the bone of an individual can help determine the region it came from. This approach helps to identify the ancient migration patterns and the origin of commingled human remains in battlefield burial sites.
87Sr/86Sr ratios are commonly used to determine the likely provenance areas of sediment in natural systems, especially in marine and fluvial environments. Dasch (1969) showed that surface sediments of Atlantic displayed 87Sr/86Sr ratios that could be regarded as bulk averages of the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of geological terranes from adjacent landmasses. A good example of a fluvial-marine system to which Sr isotope provenance studies have been successfully employed is the River Nile-Mediterranean system. Due to the differing ages of the rocks that constitute the majority of the Blue and White Nile, catchment areas of the changing provenance of sediment reaching the River Nile delta and East Mediterranean Sea can be discerned through strontium isotopic studies. Such changes are climatically controlled in the Late Quaternary.
More recently, 87Sr/86Sr ratios have also been used to determine the source of ancient archaeological materials such as timbers and corn in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. 87Sr/86Sr ratios in teeth may also be used to track animal migrations.
Strontium aluminate is frequently used in glow in the dark toys, as it is chemically and biologically inert.
Strontium carbonate and other strontium salts are added to fireworks to give a deep red colour. This same effect identifies strontium cations in the flame test. Fireworks consume about 5% of the world's production. Strontium carbonate is used in the manufacturing of hard ferrite magnets.
Strontium chloride is sometimes used in toothpastes for sensitive teeth. One popular brand includes 10% total strontium chloride hexahydrate by weight. Small amounts are used in the refining of zinc to remove small amounts of lead impurities. The metal itself has a limited use as a getter, to remove unwanted gases in vacuums by reacting with them, although barium may also be used for this purpose.
The ultra-narrow optical transition between the [Kr]5s2 1S0 electronic ground state and the metastable [Kr]5s5p 3P0 excited state of 87Sr is one of the leading candidates for the future re-definition of the second in terms of an optical transition as opposed to the current definition derived from a microwave transition between different hyperfine ground states of 133Cs. Current optical atomic clocks operating on this transition already surpass the precision and accuracy of the current definition of the second.
89Sr is the active ingredient in Metastron, a radiopharmaceutical used for bone pain secondary to metastatic bone cancer. The strontium is processed like calcium by the body, preferentially incorporating it into bone at sites of increased osteogenesis. This localization focuses the radiation exposure on the cancerous lesion.
90Sr has been used as a power source for radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). 90Sr produces approximately 0.93 watts of heat per gram (it is lower for the form of 90Sr used in RTGs, which is strontium fluoride). However, 90Sr has one third the lifetime and a lower density than 238Pu, another RTG fuel. The main advantage of 90Sr is that it is cheaper than 238Pu and is found in nuclear waste. The Soviet Union deployed nearly 1000 of these RTGs on its northern coast as a power source for lighthouses and meteorology stations.
Acantharea, a relatively large group of marine radiolarian protozoa, produce intricate mineral skeletons composed of strontium sulfate. In biological systems, calcium is substituted to a small extent by strontium.
In the human body, most of the absorbed strontium is deposited in the bones. The ratio of strontium to calcium in human bones is between 1:1000 and 1:2000, roughly in the same range as in the blood serum.
The human body absorbs strontium as if it were its lighter congener calcium. Because the elements are chemically very similar, stable strontium isotopes do not pose a significant health threat. The average human has an intake of about two milligrams of strontium a day. In adults, strontium consumed tends to attach only to the surface of bones, but in children, strontium can replace calcium in the mineral of the growing bones and thus lead to bone growth problems.
The biological half-life of strontium in humans has variously been reported as from 14 to 600 days, 1000 days, 18 years, 30 years and, at an upper limit, 49 years. The wide-ranging published biological half-life figures are explained by strontium's complex metabolism within the body. However, by averaging all excretion paths, the overall biological half-life is estimated to be about 18 years. The elimination rate of strontium is strongly affected by age and sex, due to differences in bone metabolism.
The drug strontium ranelate aids bone growth, increases bone density, and lessens the incidence of vertebral, peripheral, and hip fractures. However, strontium ranelate also increases the risk of venous thromboembolism, pulmonary embolism, and serious cardiovascular disorders, including myocardial infarction. Its use is therefore now restricted. Its beneficial effects are also questionable, since the increased bone density is partially caused by the increased density of strontium over the calcium which it replaces. Strontium also bioaccumulates in the body. Despite restrictions on strontium ranelate, strontium is still contained in some supplements. There is not much scientific evidence on risks of strontium chloride when taken by mouth. Those with a personal or family history of blood clotting disorders are advised to avoid strontium.
Strontium has been shown to inhibit sensory irritation when applied topically to the skin. Topically applied, strontium has been shown to accelerate the recovery rate of the epidermal permeability barrier (skin barrier). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27118 |
Silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin "", derived from the Proto-Indo-European "h₂erǵ": "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.
Silver has long been valued as a precious metal. Silver metal is used in many bullion coins, sometimes alongside gold: while it is more abundant than gold, it is much less abundant as a native metal. Its purity is typically measured on a per-mille basis; a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine". As one of the seven metals of antiquity, silver has had an enduring role in most human cultures.
Other than in currency and as an investment medium (coins and bullion), silver is used in solar panels, water filtration, jewellery, ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils (hence the term silverware), in electrical contacts and conductors, in specialized mirrors, window coatings, in catalysis of chemical reactions, as a colorant in stained glass and in specialised confectionery. Its compounds are used in photographic and X-ray film. Dilute solutions of silver nitrate and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides (oligodynamic effect), added to bandages and wound-dressings, catheters, and other medical instruments.
Silver is similar in its physical and chemical properties to its two vertical neighbours in group 11 of the periodic table, copper and gold. Its 47 electrons are arranged in the configuration [Kr]4d105s1, similarly to copper ([Ar]3d104s1) and gold ([Xe]4f145d106s1); group 11 is one of the few groups in the d-block which has a completely consistent set of electron configurations. This distinctive electron configuration, with a single electron in the highest occupied s subshell over a filled d subshell, accounts for many of the singular properties of metallic silver.
Silver is an extremely soft, ductile and malleable transition metal, though it is slightly less malleable than gold. Silver crystallizes in a face-centered cubic lattice with bulk coordination number 12, where only the single 5s electron is delocalized, similarly to copper and gold. Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in silver are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. This observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of silver.
Silver has a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a high polish, and which is so characteristic that the name of the metal itself has become a colour name. Unlike copper and gold, the energy required to excite an electron from the filled d band to the s-p conduction band in silver is large enough (around 385 kJ/mol) that it no longer corresponds to absorption in the visible region of the spectrum, but rather in the ultraviolet; hence silver is not a coloured metal. Protected silver has greater optical reflectivity than aluminium at all wavelengths longer than ~450 nm. At wavelengths shorter than 450 nm, silver's reflectivity is inferior to that of aluminium and drops to zero near 310 nm.
Very high electrical and thermal conductivity is common to the elements in group 11, because their single s electron is free and does not interact with the filled d subshell, as such interactions (which occur in the preceding transition metals) lower electron mobility. The electrical conductivity of silver is the greatest of all metals, greater even than copper, but it is not widely used for this property because of the higher cost. An exception is in radio-frequency engineering, particularly at VHF and higher frequencies where silver plating improves electrical conductivity because those currents tend to flow on the surface of conductors rather than through the interior. During World War II in the US, tons of silver were used in electromagnets for enriching uranium, mainly because of the wartime shortage of copper. Pure silver has the highest thermal conductivity of any metal, although the conductivity of carbon (in the diamond allotrope) and superfluid helium-4 are even higher. Silver also has the lowest contact resistance of any metal.
Silver readily forms alloys with copper and gold, as well as zinc. Zinc-silver alloys with low zinc concentration may be considered as face-centred cubic solid solutions of zinc in silver, as the structure of the silver is largely unchanged while the electron concentration rises as more zinc is added. Increasing the electron concentration further leads to body-centred cubic (electron concentration 1.5), complex cubic (1.615), and hexagonal close-packed phases (1.75).
Naturally occurring silver is composed of two stable isotopes, 107Ag and 109Ag, with 107Ag being slightly more abundant (51.839% natural abundance). This almost equal abundance is rare in the periodic table. The atomic weight is 107.8682(2) u; this value is very important because of the importance of silver compounds, particularly halides, in gravimetric analysis. Both isotopes of silver are produced in stars via the s-process (slow neutron capture), as well as in supernovas via the r-process (rapid neutron capture).
Twenty-eight radioisotopes have been characterized, the most stable being 105Ag with a half-life of 41.29 days, 111Ag with a half-life of 7.45 days, and 112Ag with a half-life of 3.13 hours. Silver has numerous nuclear isomers, the most stable being 108mAg ("t"1/2 = 418 years), 110mAg ("t"1/2 = 249.79 days) and 106mAg ("t"1/2 = 8.28 days). All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives of less than an hour, and the majority of these have half-lives of less than three minutes.
Isotopes of silver range in relative atomic mass from 92.950 u (93Ag) to 129.950 u (130Ag); the primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, 107Ag, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta decay. The primary decay products before 107Ag are palladium (element 46) isotopes, and the primary products after are cadmium (element 48) isotopes.
The palladium isotope 107Pd decays by beta emission to 107Ag with a half-life of 6.5 million years. Iron meteorites are the only objects with a high-enough palladium-to-silver ratio to yield measurable variations in 107Ag abundance. Radiogenic 107Ag was first discovered in the Santa Clara meteorite in 1978. The discoverers suggest the coalescence and differentiation of iron-cored small planets may have occurred 10 million years after a nucleosynthetic event. 107Pd–107Ag correlations observed in bodies that have clearly been melted since the accretion of the solar system must reflect the presence of unstable nuclides in the early solar system.
Silver is a rather unreactive metal. This is because its filled 4d shell is not very effective in shielding the electrostatic forces of attraction from the nucleus to the outermost 5s electron, and hence silver is near the bottom of the electrochemical series ("E"0(Ag+/Ag) = +0.799 V). In group 11, silver has the lowest first ionization energy (showing the instability of the 5s orbital), but has higher second and third ionization energies than copper and gold (showing the stability of the 4d orbitals), so that the chemistry of silver is predominantly that of the +1 oxidation state, reflecting the increasingly limited range of oxidation states along the transition series as the d-orbitals fill and stabilize. Unlike copper, for which the larger hydration energy of Cu2+ as compared to Cu+ is the reason why the former is the more stable in aqueous solution and solids despite lacking the stable filled d-subshell of the latter, with silver this effect is swamped by its larger second ionisation energy. Hence, Ag+ is the stable species in aqueous solution and solids, with Ag2+ being much less stable as it oxidizes water.
Most silver compounds have significant covalent character due to the small size and high first ionization energy (730.8 kJ/mol) of silver. Furthermore, silver's Pauling electronegativity of 1.93 is higher than that of lead (1.87), and its electron affinity of 125.6 kJ/mol is much higher than that of hydrogen (72.8 kJ/mol) and not much less than that of oxygen (141.0 kJ/mol). Due to its full d-subshell, silver in its main +1 oxidation state exhibits relatively few properties of the transition metals proper from groups 4 to 10, forming rather unstable organometallic compounds, forming linear complexes showing very low coordination numbers like 2, and forming an amphoteric oxide as well as Zintl phases like the post-transition metals. Unlike the preceding transition metals, the +1 oxidation state of silver is stable even in the absence of π-acceptor ligands.
Silver does not react with air, even at red heat, and thus was considered by alchemists as a noble metal along with gold. Its reactivity is intermediate between that of copper (which forms copper(I) oxide when heated in air to red heat) and gold. Like copper, silver reacts with sulfur and its compounds; in their presence, silver tarnishes in air to form the black silver sulfide (copper forms the green sulfate instead, while gold does not react). Unlike copper, silver will not react with the halogens, with the exception of fluorine gas, with which it forms the difluoride. While silver is not attacked by non-oxidizing acids, the metal dissolves readily in hot concentrated sulfuric acid, as well as dilute or concentrated nitric acid. In the presence of air, and especially in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, silver dissolves readily in aqueous solutions of cyanide.
The three main forms of deterioration in historical silver artifacts are tarnishing, formation of silver chloride due to long-term immersion in salt water, as well as reaction with nitrate ions or oxygen. Fresh silver chloride is pale yellow, becoming purplish on exposure to light; it projects slightly from the surface of the artifact or coin. The precipitation of copper in ancient silver can be used to date artifacts, as copper is nearly always a constituent of silver alloys.
Silver metal is attacked by strong oxidizers such as potassium permanganate () and potassium dichromate (), and in the presence of potassium bromide (). These compounds are used in photography to bleach silver images, converting them to silver bromide that can either be fixed with thiosulfate or redeveloped to intensify the original image. Silver forms cyanide complexes (silver cyanide) that are soluble in water in the presence of an excess of cyanide ions. Silver cyanide solutions are used in electroplating of silver.
The common oxidation states of silver are (in order of commonness): +1 (the most stable state; for example, silver nitrate, AgNO3); +2 (highly oxidising; for example, silver(II) fluoride, AgF2); and even very rarely +3 (extreme oxidising; for example, potassium tetrafluoroargentate(III), KAgF4). The +1 state is by far the most common, followed by the easily reducible +2 state. The +3 state requires very strong oxidising agents to attain, such as fluorine or peroxodisulfate, and some silver(III) compounds react with atmospheric moisture and attack glass. Indeed, silver(III) fluoride is usually obtained by reacting silver or silver monofluoride with the strongest known oxidizing agent, krypton difluoride.
Silver and gold have rather low chemical affinities for oxygen, lower than copper, and it is therefore expected that silver oxides are thermally quite unstable. Soluble silver(I) salts precipitate dark-brown silver(I) oxide, Ag2O, upon the addition of alkali. (The hydroxide AgOH exists only in solution; otherwise it spontaneously decomposes to the oxide.) Silver(I) oxide is very easily reduced to metallic silver, and decomposes to silver and oxygen above 160 °C. This and other silver(I) compounds may be oxidized by the strong oxidizing agent peroxodisulfate to black AgO, a mixed silver(I,III) oxide of formula AgIAgIIIO2. Some other mixed oxides with silver in non-integral oxidation states, namely Ag2O3 and Ag3O4, are also known, as is Ag3O which behaves as a metallic conductor.
Silver(I) sulfide, Ag2S, is very readily formed from its constituent elements and is the cause of the black tarnish on some old silver objects. It may also be formed from the reaction of hydrogen sulfide with silver metal or aqueous Ag+ ions. Many non-stoichiometric selenides and tellurides are known; in particular, AgTe~3 is a low-temperature superconductor.
The only known dihalide of silver is the difluoride, AgF2, which can be obtained from the elements under heat. A strong yet thermally stable and therefore safe fluorinating agent, silver(II) fluoride is often used to synthesize hydrofluorocarbons.
In stark contrast to this, all four silver(I) halides are known. The fluoride, chloride, and bromide have the sodium chloride structure, but the iodide has three known stable forms at different temperatures; that at room temperature is the cubic zinc blende structure. They can all be obtained by the direct reaction of their respective elements. As the halogen group is descended, the silver halide gains more and more covalent character, solubility decreases, and the color changes from the white chloride to the yellow iodide as the energy required for ligand-metal charge transfer (X−Ag+ → XAg) decreases. The fluoride is anomalous, as the fluoride ion is so small that it has a considerable solvation energy and hence is highly water-soluble and forms di- and tetrahydrates. The other three silver halides are highly insoluble in aqueous solutions and are very commonly used in gravimetric analytical methods. All four are photosensitive (though the monofluoride is so only to ultraviolet light), especially the bromide and iodide which photodecompose to silver metal, and thus were used in traditional photography. The reaction involved is:
The process is not reversible because the silver atom liberated is typically found at a crystal defect or an impurity site, so that the electron's energy is lowered enough that it is "trapped".
White silver nitrate, AgNO3, is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, especially the halides, and is much less sensitive to light. It was once called "lunar caustic" because silver was called "luna" by the ancient alchemists, who believed that silver was associated with the moon. It is often used for gravimetric analysis, exploiting the insolubility of the heavier silver halides which it is a common precursor to. Silver nitrate is used in many ways in organic synthesis, e.g. for deprotection and oxidations. Ag+ binds alkenes reversibly, and silver nitrate has been used to separate mixtures of alkenes by selective absorption. The resulting adduct can be decomposed with ammonia to release the free alkene.
Yellow silver carbonate, Ag2CO3 can be easily prepared by reacting aqueous solutions of sodium carbonate with a deficiency of silver nitrate. Its principal use is for the production of silver powder for use in microelectronics. It is reduced with formaldehyde, producing silver free of alkali metals:
Silver carbonate is also used as a reagent in organic synthesis such as the Koenigs-Knorr reaction. In the Fétizon oxidation, silver carbonate on celite acts as an oxidising agent to form lactones from diols. It is also employed to convert alkyl bromides into alcohols.
Silver fulminate, AgCNO, a powerful, touch-sensitive explosive used in percussion caps, is made by reaction of silver metal with nitric acid in the presence of ethanol. Other dangerously explosive silver compounds are silver azide, AgN3, formed by reaction of silver nitrate with sodium azide, and silver acetylide, Ag2C2, formed when silver reacts with acetylene gas in ammonia solution. In its most characteristic reaction, silver azide decomposes explosively, releasing nitrogen gas: given the photosensitivity of silver salts, this behaviour may be induced by shining a light on its crystals.
Silver complexes tend to be similar to those of its lighter homologue copper. Silver(III) complexes tend to be rare and very easily reduced to the more stable lower oxidation states, though they are slightly more stable than those of copper(III). For instance, the square planar periodate [Ag(IO5OH)2]5− and tellurate [Ag{TeO4(OH)2}2]5− complexes may be prepared by oxidising silver(I) with alkaline peroxodisulfate. The yellow diamagnetic [AgF4]− is much less stable, fuming in moist air and reacting with glass.
Silver(II) complexes are more common. Like the valence isoelectronic copper(II) complexes, they are usually square planar and paramagnetic, which is increased by the greater field splitting for 4d electrons than for 3d electrons. Aqueous Ag2+, produced by oxidation of Ag+ by ozone, is a very strong oxidising agent, even in acidic solutions: it is stabilized in phosphoric acid due to complex formation. Peroxodisulfate oxidation is generally necessary to give the more stable complexes with heterocyclic amines, such as [Ag(py)4]2+ and [Ag(bipy)2]2+: these are stable provided the counterion cannot reduce the silver back to the +1 oxidation state. [AgF4]2− is also known in its violet barium salt, as are some silver(II) complexes with "N"- or "O"-donor ligands such as pyridine carboxylates.
By far the most important oxidation state for silver in complexes is +1. The Ag+ cation is diamagnetic, like its homologues Cu+ and Au+, as all three have closed-shell electron configurations with no unpaired electrons: its complexes are colourless provided the ligands are not too easily polarized such as I−. Ag+ forms salts with most anions, but it is reluctant to coordinate to oxygen and thus most of these salts are insoluble in water: the exceptions are the nitrate, perchlorate, and fluoride. The tetracoordinate tetrahedral aqueous ion [Ag(H2O)4]+ is known, but the characteristic geometry for the Ag+ cation is 2-coordinate linear. For example, silver chloride dissolves readily in excess aqueous ammonia to form [Ag(NH3)2]+; silver salts are dissolved in photography due to the formation of the thiosulfate complex [Ag(S2O3)2]3−; and cyanide extraction for silver (and gold) works by the formation of the complex [Ag(CN)2]−. Silver cyanide forms the linear polymer {Ag–C≡N→Ag–C≡N→}; silver thiocyanate has a similar structure, but forms a zigzag instead because of the sp3-hybridized sulfur atom. Chelating ligands are unable to form linear complexes and thus silver(I) complexes with them tend to form polymers; a few exceptions exist, such as the near-tetrahedral diphosphine and diarsine complexes [Ag(L–L)2]+.
Under standard conditions, silver does not form simple carbonyls, due to the weakness of the Ag–C bond. A few are known at very low temperatures around 6–15 K, such as the green, planar paramagnetic Ag(CO)3, which dimerizes at 25–30 K, probably by forming Ag–Ag bonds. Additionally, the silver carbonyl [Ag(CO)] [B(OTeF5)4] is known. Polymeric AgLX complexes with alkenes and alkynes are known, but their bonds are thermodynamically weaker than even those of the platinum complexes (though they are formed more readily than those of the analogous gold complexes): they are also quite unsymmetrical, showing the weak "π" bonding in group 11. Ag–C "σ" bonds may also be formed by silver(I), like copper(I) and gold(I), but the simple alkyls and aryls of silver(I) are even less stable than those of copper(I) (which tend to explode under ambient conditions). For example, poor thermal stability is reflected in the relative decomposition temperatures of AgMe (−50 °C) and CuMe (−15 °C) as well as those of PhAg (74 °C) and PhCu (100 °C).
The C–Ag bond is stabilized by perfluoroalkyl ligands, for example in AgCF(CF3)2. Alkenylsilver compounds are also more stable than their alkylsilver counterparts. Silver-NHC complexes are easily prepared, and are commonly used to prepare other NHC complexes by displacing labile ligands. For example, the reaction of the bis(NHC)silver(I) complex with bis(acetonitrile)palladium dichloride or chlorido(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I):
Silver forms alloys with most other elements on the periodic table. The elements from groups 1–3, except for hydrogen, lithium, and beryllium, are very miscible with silver in the condensed phase and form intermetallic compounds; those from groups 4–9 are only poorly miscible; the elements in groups 10–14 (except boron and carbon) have very complex Ag–M phase diagrams and form the most commercially important alloys; and the remaining elements on the periodic table have no consistency in their Ag–M phase diagrams. By far the most important such alloys are those with copper: most silver used for coinage and jewellery is in reality a silver–copper alloy, and the eutectic mixture is used in vacuum brazing. The two metals are completely miscible as liquids but not as solids; their importance in industry comes from the fact that their properties tend to be suitable over a wide range of variation in silver and copper concentration, although most useful alloys tend to be richer in silver than the eutectic mixture (71.9% silver and 28.1% copper by weight, and 60.1% silver and 28.1% copper by atom).
Most other binary alloys are of little use: for example, silver–gold alloys are too soft and silver–cadmium alloys too toxic. Ternary alloys have much greater importance: dental amalgams are usually silver–tin–mercury alloys, silver–copper–gold alloys are very important in jewellery (usually on the gold-rich side) and have a vast range of hardnesses and colours, silver–copper–zinc alloys are useful as low-melting brazing alloys, and silver–cadmium–indium (involving three adjacent elements on the periodic table) is useful in nuclear reactors because of its high thermal neutron capture cross-section, good conduction of heat, mechanical stability, and resistance to corrosion in hot water.
The word "silver" appears in Old English in various spellings, such as "seolfor" and "siolfor". It is cognate with Old High German "silabar"; Gothic "silubr"; or Old Norse "silfr", all ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic "*silubra". The Balto-Slavic words for silver are rather similar to the Germanic ones (e.g. Russian серебро ["serebró"], Polish "srebro", Lithuanian "sidãbras"), as is the Celtiberian form "silabur". They may have a common Indo-European origin, although their morphology rather suggest a non-Indo-European "Wanderwort". Some scholars have thus proposed a Paleo-Hispanic origin, pointing to the Basque form "zilharr" as an evidence.
The chemical symbol Ag is from the Latin word for "silver", "argentum" (compare Ancient Greek ἄργυρος, "árgyros"), from the Proto-Indo-European root *"h₂erǵ-" (formerly reconstructed as "*arǵ-"), meaning "white" or "shining". This was the usual Proto-Indo-European word for the metal, whose reflexes are missing in Germanic and Balto-Slavic.
Silver was one of the seven metals of antiquity that were known to prehistoric humans and whose discovery is thus lost to history. In particular, the three metals of group 11, copper, silver, and gold, occur in the elemental form in nature and were probably used as the first primitive forms of money as opposed to simple bartering. However, unlike copper, silver did not lead to the growth of metallurgy on account of its low structural strength, and was more often used ornamentally or as money. Since silver is more reactive than gold, supplies of native silver were much more limited than those of gold. For example, silver was more expensive than gold in Egypt until around the fifteenth century BC: the Egyptians are thought to have separated gold from silver by heating the metals with salt, and then reducing the silver chloride produced to the metal.
The situation changed with the discovery of cupellation, a technique that allowed silver metal to be extracted from its ores. While slag heaps found in Asia Minor and on the islands of the Aegean Sea indicate that silver was being separated from lead as early as the 4th millennium BC, and one of the earliest silver extraction centres in Europe was Sardinia in the early Chalcolithic period, these techniques did not spread widely until later,
when it spread throughout the region and beyond. The origins of silver production in India, China, and Japan were almost certainly equally ancient, but are not well-documented due to their great age.
When the Phoenicians first came to what is now Spain, they obtained so much silver that they could not fit it all on their ships, and as a result used silver to weight their anchors instead of lead. By the time of the Greek and Roman civilizations, silver coins were a staple of the economy: the Greeks were already extracting silver from galena by the 7th century BC, and the rise of Athens was partly made possible by the nearby silver mines at Laurium, from which they extracted about 30 tonnes a year from 600 to 300 BC. The stability of the Roman currency relied to a high degree on the supply of silver bullion, mostly from Spain, which Roman miners produced on a scale unparalleled before the discovery of the New World. Reaching a peak production of 200 tonnes per year, an estimated silver stock of 10000 tonnes circulated in the Roman economy in the middle of the second century AD, five to ten times larger than the combined amount of silver available to medieval Europe and the Abbasid Caliphate around AD 800. The Romans also recorded the extraction of silver in central and northern Europe in the same time period. This production came to a nearly complete halt with the fall of the Roman Empire, not to resume until the time of Charlemagne: by then, tens of thousands of tonnes of silver had already been extracted.
Central Europe became the centre of silver production during the Middle Ages, as the Mediterranean deposits exploited by the ancient civilisations had been exhausted. Silver mines were opened in Bohemia, Saxony, Erzgebirge, Alsace, the Lahn region, Siegerland, Silesia, Hungary, Norway, Steiermark, Salzburg, and the southern Black Forest. Most of these ores were quite rich in silver and could simply be separated by hand from the remaining rock and then smelted; some deposits of native silver were also encountered. Many of these mines were soon exhausted, but a few of them remained active until the Industrial Revolution, before which the world production of silver was around a meagre 50 tonnes per year. In the Americas, high temperature silver-lead cupellation technology was developed by pre-Inca civilizations as early as AD 60–120; silver deposits in India, China, Japan, and pre-Columbian America continued to be mined during this time.
With the discovery of America and the plundering of silver by the Spanish conquistadors, Central and South America became the dominant producers of silver until around the beginning of the 18th century, particularly Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina: the last of these countries later took its name from that of the metal that composed so much of its mineral wealth. The silver trade gave way to a global network of exchange. As one historian put it, silver "went round the world and made the world go round." Much of this silver ended up in the hands of the Chinese. A Portuguese merchant in 1621 noted that silver "wanders throughout all the world... before flocking to China, where it remains as if at its natural center." Still, much of it went to Spain, allowing Spanish rulers to pursue military and political ambitions in both Europe and the Americas. "New World mines," concluded several historians, "supported the Spanish empire."
In the 19th century, primary production of silver moved to North America, particularly Canada, Mexico, and Nevada in the United States: some secondary production from lead and zinc ores also took place in Europe, and deposits in Siberia and the Russian Far East as well as in Australia were mined. Poland emerged as an important producer during the 1970s after the discovery of copper deposits that were rich in silver, before the centre of production returned to the Americas the following decade. Today, Peru and Mexico are still among the primary silver producers, but the distribution of silver production around the world is quite balanced and about one-fifth of the silver supply comes from recycling instead of new production.
Silver plays a certain role in mythology and has found various usage as a metaphor and in folklore. The Greek poet Hesiod's "Works and Days" (lines 109–201) lists different ages of man named after metals like gold, silver, bronze and iron to account for successive ages of humanity. Ovid's "Metamorphoses" contains another retelling of the story, containing an illustration of silver's metaphorical use of signifying the second-best in a series, better than bronze but worse than gold:
In folklore, silver was commonly thought to have mystic powers: for example, a bullet cast from silver is often supposed in such folklore the only weapon that is effective against a werewolf, witch, or other monsters. From this the idiom of a silver bullet developed into figuratively referring to any simple solution with very high effectiveness or almost miraculous results, as in the widely discussed software engineering paper "No Silver Bullet". Other powers attributed to silver include detection of poison and facilitation of passage into the mythical realm of fairies.
Silver production has also inspired figurative language. Clear references to cupellation occur throughout the Old Testament of the Bible, such as in Jeremiah's rebuke to Judah: "The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them." (Jeremiah 6:19–20) Jeremiah was also aware of sheet silver, exemplifying the malleability and ductility of the metal: "Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men." (Jeremiah 10:9)
Silver also has more negative cultural meanings: the idiom thirty pieces of silver, referring to a reward for betrayal, references the bribe Judas Iscariot is said in the New Testament to have taken from Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to turn Jesus of Nazareth over to soldiers of the high priest Caiaphas. Ethically, silver also symbolizes greed and degradation of consciousness; this is the negative aspect, the perverting of its value.
The abundance of silver in the Earth's crust is 0.08 parts per million, almost exactly the same as that of mercury. It mostly occurs in sulfide ores, especially acanthite and argentite, Ag2S. Argentite deposits sometimes also contain native silver when they occur in reducing environments, and when in contact with salt water they are converted to chlorargyrite (including horn silver), AgCl, which is prevalent in Chile and New South Wales. Most other silver minerals are silver pnictides or chalcogenides; they are generally lustrous semiconductors. Most true silver deposits, as opposed to argentiferous deposits of other metals, came from Tertiary period vulcanism.
The principal sources of silver are the ores of copper, copper-nickel, lead, and lead-zinc obtained from Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, China, Australia, Chile, Poland and Serbia. Peru, Bolivia and Mexico have been mining silver since 1546, and are still major world producers. Top silver-producing mines are Cannington (Australia), Fresnillo (Mexico), San Cristóbal (Bolivia), Antamina (Peru), Rudna (Poland), and Penasquito (Mexico). Top near-term mine development projects through 2015 are Pascua Lama (Chile), Navidad (Argentina), Jaunicipio (Mexico), Malku Khota (Bolivia), and Hackett River (Canada). In Central Asia, Tajikistan is known to have some of the largest silver deposits in the world.
Silver is usually found in nature combined with other metals, or in minerals that contain silver compounds, generally in the form of sulfides such as galena (lead sulfide) or cerussite (lead carbonate). So the primary production of silver requires the smelting and then cupellation of argentiferous lead ores, a historically important process. Lead melts at 327 °C, lead oxide at 888 °C and silver melts at 960 °C. To separate the silver, the alloy is melted again at the high temperature of 960 °C to 1000 °C in an oxidizing environment. The lead oxidises to lead monoxide, then known as litharge, which captures the oxygen from the other metals present. The liquid lead oxide is removed or absorbed by capillary action into the hearth linings.
Today, silver metal is primarily produced instead as a secondary byproduct of electrolytic refining of copper, lead, and zinc, and by application of the Parkes process on lead bullion from ore that also contains silver. In such processes, silver follows the non-ferrous metal in question through its concentration and smelting, and is later purified out. For example, in copper production, purified copper is electrolytically deposited on the cathode, while the less reactive precious metals such as silver and gold collect under the anode as the so-called "anode slime". This is then separated and purified of base metals by treatment with hot aerated dilute sulfuric acid and heating with lime or silica flux, before the silver is purified to over 99.9% purity via electrolysis in nitrate solution.
Commercial-grade fine silver is at least 99.9% pure, and purities greater than 99.999% are available. In 2014, Mexico was the top producer of silver (5,000 tonnes or 18.7% of the world's total of 26,800 t), followed by China (4,060 t) and Peru (3,780 t).
The earliest known coins were minted in the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor around 600 BC. The coins of Lydia were made of electrum, which is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, that was available within the territory of Lydia. Since that time, silver standards, in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of silver, have been widespread throughout the world until the 20th century. Notable silver coins through the centuries include the Greek drachma, the Roman denarius, the Islamic dirham, the karshapana from ancient India and rupee from the time of the Mughal Empire (grouped with copper and gold coins to create a trimetallic standard), and the Spanish dollar.
The ratio between the amount of silver used for coinage and that used for other purposes has fluctuated greatly over time; for example, in wartime, more silver tends to have been used for coinage to finance the war.
Today, silver bullion has the ISO 4217 currency code XAG, one of only four precious metals to have one (the others being palladium, platinum, and gold). Silver coins are produced from cast rods or ingots, rolled to the correct thickness, heat-treated, and then used to cut blanks from. These blanks are then milled and minted in a coining press; modern coining presses can produce 8000 silver coins per hour.
Silver prices are normally quoted in troy ounces. One troy ounce is equal to . The London silver fix is published every working day at noon London time. This price is determined by several major international banks and is used by London bullion market members for trading that day. Prices are most commonly shown as the United States dollar (USD), the Pound sterling (GBP), and the Euro (EUR).
The major use of silver besides coinage throughout most of history was in the manufacture of jewellery and other general-use items, and this continues to be a major use today. Examples include table silver for cutlery, for which silver is highly suited due to its antibacterial properties. Western concert flutes are usually plated with or made out of sterling silver; in fact, most silverware is only silver-plated rather than made out of pure silver; the silver is normally put in place by electroplating. Silver-plated glass (as opposed to metal) is used for mirrors, vacuum flasks, and Christmas tree decorations.
Because pure silver is very soft, most silver used for these purposes is alloyed with copper, with finenesses of 925/1000, 835/1000, and 800/1000 being common. One drawback is the easy tarnishing of silver in the presence of hydrogen sulfide and its derivatives. Including precious metals such as palladium, platinum, and gold gives resistance to tarnishing but is quite costly; base metals like zinc, cadmium, silicon, and germanium do not totally prevent corrosion and tend to affect the lustre and colour of the alloy. Electrolytically refined pure silver plating is effective at increasing resistance to tarnishing. The usual solutions for restoring the lustre of tarnished silver are dipping baths that reduce the silver sulfide surface to metallic silver, and cleaning off the layer of tarnish with a paste; the latter approach also has the welcome side effect of polishing the silver concurrently. A simple chemical approach to removal of the sulfide tarnish is to bring silver items into contact with aluminium foil whilst immersed in water containing a conducting salt, such as sodium chloride.
In medicine, silver is incorporated into wound dressings and used as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. Wound dressings containing silver sulfadiazine or silver nanomaterials are used to treat external infections. Silver is also used in some medical applications, such as urinary catheters (where tentative evidence indicates it reduces catheter-related urinary tract infections) and in endotracheal breathing tubes (where evidence suggests it reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia). The silver ion is bioactive and in sufficient concentration readily kills bacteria "in vitro". Silver ions interfere with enzymes in the bacteria that transport nutrients, form structures, and synthesise cell walls; these ions also bond with the bacteria's genetic material. Silver and silver nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare, and domestic application: for example, infusing clothing with nanosilver particles thus allows them to stay odourless for longer. Bacteria can, however, develop resistance to the antimicrobial action of silver. Silver compounds are taken up by the body like mercury compounds, but lack the toxicity of the latter. Silver and its alloys are used in cranial surgery to replace bone, and silver–tin–mercury amalgams are used in dentistry. Silver diammine fluoride, the fluoride salt of a coordination complex with the formula [Ag(NH3)2]F, is a topical medicament (drug) used to treat and prevent dental caries (cavities) and relieve dentinal hypersensitivity.
Silver is very important in electronics for conductors and electrodes on account of its high electrical conductivity even when tarnished. Bulk silver and silver foils were used to make vacuum tubes, and continue to be used today in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, circuits, and their components. For example, silver is used in high quality connectors for RF, VHF, and higher frequencies, particularly in tuned circuits such as cavity filters where conductors cannot be scaled by more than 6%. Printed circuits and RFID antennas are made with silver paints, Powdered silver and its alloys are used in paste preparations for conductor layers and electrodes, ceramic capacitors, and other ceramic components.
Silver-containing brazing alloys are used for brazing metallic materials, mostly cobalt, nickel, and copper-based alloys, tool steels, and precious metals. The basic components are silver and copper, with other elements selected according to the specific application desired: examples include zinc, tin, cadmium, palladium, manganese, and phosphorus. Silver provides increased workability and corrosion resistance during usage.
Silver is useful in the manufacture of chemical equipment on account of its low chemical reactivity, high thermal conductivity, and being easily workable. Silver crucibles (alloyed with 0.15% nickel to avoid recrystallisation of the metal at red heat) are used for carrying out alkaline fusion. Copper and silver are also used when doing chemistry with fluorine. Equipment made to work at high temperatures is often silver-plated. Silver and its alloys with gold are used as wire or ring seals for oxygen compressors and vacuum equipment.
Silver metal is a good catalyst for oxidation reactions; in fact it is somewhat too good for most purposes, as finely divided silver tends to result in complete oxidation of organic substances to carbon dioxide and water, and hence coarser-grained silver tends to be used instead. For instance, 15% silver supported on α-Al2O3 or silicates is a catalyst for the oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide at 230–270 °C. Dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde is conducted at 600–720 °C over silver gauze or crystals as the catalyst, as is dehydrogenation of isopropanol to acetone. In the gas phase, glycol yields glyoxal and ethanol yields acetaldehyde, while organic amines are dehydrated to nitriles.
The photosensitivity of the silver halides allowed for their use in traditional photography, although digital photography, which does not use silver, is now dominant. The photosensitive emulsion used in black-and-white photography is a suspension of silver halide crystals in gelatin, possibly mixed in with some noble metal compounds for improved photosensitivity, developing, and tuning. Colour photography requires the addition of special dye components and sensitisers, so that the initial black-and-white silver image couples with a different dye component. The original silver images are bleached off and the silver is then recovered and recycled. Silver nitrate is the starting material in all cases.
The use of silver nitrate and silver halides in photography has rapidly declined with the advent of digital technology. From the peak global demand for photographic silver in 1999 (267,000,000 troy ounces or 8304.6 metric tonnes) the market contracted almost 70% by 2013.
Nanosilver particles, between 10 and 100 nanometres in size, are used in many applications. They are used in conductive inks for printed electronics, and have a much lower melting point than larger silver particles of micrometre size. They are also used medicinally in antibacterials and antifungals in much the same way as larger silver particles. In addition, according to the European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON), silver nanoparticles are used both in pigments, as well as cosmetics.
Pure silver metal is used as a food colouring. It has the E174 designation and is approved in the European Union. Traditional Pakistani and Indian dishes sometimes include decorative silver foil known as "vark", and in various other cultures, silver "dragée" are used to decorate cakes, cookies, and other dessert items.
Photochromic lenses include silver halides, so that ultraviolet light in natural daylight liberates metallic silver, darkening the lenses. The silver halides are reformed in lower light intensities. Colourless silver chloride films are used in radiation detectors. Zeolite sieves incorporating Ag+ ions are used to desalinate seawater during rescues, using silver ions to precipitate chloride as silver chloride. Silver is also used for its antibacterial properties for water sanitisation, but the application of this is limited by limits on silver consumption. Colloidal silver is similarly used to disinfect closed swimming pools; while it has the advantage of not giving off a smell like hypochlorite treatments do, colloidal silver is not effective enough for more contaminated open swimming pools. Small silver iodide crystals are used in cloud seeding to cause rain.
Silver compounds have low toxicity compared to those of most other heavy metals, as they are poorly absorbed by the human body when digested, and that which does get absorbed is rapidly converted to insoluble silver compounds or complexed by metallothionein. However, silver fluoride and silver nitrate are caustic and can cause tissue damage, resulting in gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, falling blood pressure, cramps, paralysis, and respiratory arrest. Animals repeatedly dosed with silver salts have been observed to experience anaemia, slowed growth, necrosis of the liver, and fatty degeneration of the liver and kidneys; rats implanted with silver foil or injected with colloidal silver have been observed to develop localised tumours. Parenterally admistered colloidal silver causes acute silver poisoning. Some waterborne species are particularly sensitive to silver salts and those of the other precious metals; in most situations, however, silver does not pose serious environmental hazards.
In large doses, silver and compounds containing it can be absorbed into the circulatory system and become deposited in various body tissues, leading to argyria, which results in a blue-grayish pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Argyria is rare, and so far as is known, does not otherwise harm a person's health, though it is disfiguring and usually permanent. Mild forms of argyria are sometimes mistaken for cyanosis.
Metallic silver, like copper, is an antibacterial agent, which was known to the ancients and first scientifically investigated and named the oligodynamic effect by Carl Nägeli. Silver ions damage the metabolism of bacteria even at such low concentrations as 0.01–0.1 milligrams per litre; metallic silver has a similar effect due to the formation of silver oxide. This effect is lost in the presence of sulfur due to the extreme insolubility of silver sulfide.
Some silver compounds are very explosive, such as the nitrogen compounds silver azide, silver amide, and silver fulminate, as well as silver acetylide, silver oxalate, and silver(II) oxide. They can explode on heating, force, drying, illumination, or sometimes spontaneously. To avoid the formation of such compounds, ammonia and acetylene should be kept away from silver equipment. Salts of silver with strongly oxidising acids such as silver chlorate and silver nitrate can explode on contact with materials that can be readily oxidised, such as organic compounds, sulfur and soot. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27119 |
Samarium
Samarium is a chemical element with the symbol Sm and atomic number 62. It is a moderately hard silvery metal that slowly oxidizes in air. Being a typical member of the lanthanide series, samarium usually assumes the oxidation state +3. Compounds of samarium(II) are also known, most notably the monoxide SmO, monochalcogenides SmS, SmSe and SmTe, as well as samarium(II) iodide. The last compound is a common reducing agent in chemical synthesis. Samarium has no significant biological role but is only slightly toxic.
Samarium was discovered in 1879 by the French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran and named after the mineral samarskite from which it was isolated. The mineral itself was earlier named after a Russian mine official, Colonel Vassili Samarsky-Bykhovets, who thereby became the first person to have a chemical element named after him, albeit indirectly. Although classified as a rare-earth element, samarium is the 40th most abundant element in the Earth's crust and is more common than metals such as tin. Samarium occurs with concentration up to 2.8% in several minerals including cerite, gadolinite, samarskite, monazite and bastnäsite, the last two being the most common commercial sources of the element. These minerals are mostly found in China, the United States, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Australia; China is by far the world leader in samarium mining and production.
The major commercial application of samarium is in samarium–cobalt magnets, which have permanent magnetization second only to neodymium magnets; however, samarium compounds can withstand significantly higher temperatures, above , without losing their magnetic properties, due to the alloy's higher Curie point. The radioactive isotope samarium-153 is the active component of the drug samarium (153Sm) lexidronam (Quadramet), which kills cancer cells in the treatment of lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and osteosarcoma. Another isotope, samarium-149, is a strong neutron absorber and is therefore added to the control rods of nuclear reactors. It is also formed as a decay product during the reactor operation and is one of the important factors considered in the reactor design and operation. Other applications of samarium include catalysis of chemical reactions, radioactive dating and X-ray lasers.
Samarium is a rare earth metal having a hardness and density similar to those of zinc. With the boiling point of 1794 °C, samarium is the third most volatile lanthanide after ytterbium and europium; this property facilitates separation of samarium from the mineral ore. At ambient conditions, samarium normally assumes a rhombohedral structure (α form). Upon heating to 731 °C, its crystal symmetry changes into hexagonally close-packed ("hcp"), however the transition temperature depends on the metal purity. Further heating to 922 °C transforms the metal into a body-centered cubic ("bcc") phase. Heating to 300 °C combined with compression to 40 kbar results in a double-hexagonally close-packed structure ("dhcp"). Applying higher pressure of the order of hundreds or thousands of kilobars induces a series of phase transformations, in particular with a tetragonal phase appearing at about 900 kbar. In one study, the "dhcp" phase could be produced without compression, using a nonequilibrium annealing regime with a rapid temperature change between about 400 and 700 °C, confirming the transient character of this samarium phase. Also, thin films of samarium obtained by vapor deposition may contain the "hcp" or "dhcp" phases at ambient conditions.
Samarium (and its sesquioxide) are paramagnetic at room temperature. Their corresponding effective magnetic moments, below 2μB, are the 3rd lowest among the lanthanides (and their oxides) after lanthanum and lutetium. The metal transforms to an antiferromagnetic state upon cooling to 14.8 K. Individual samarium atoms can be isolated by encapsulating them into fullerene molecules. They can also be doped between the C60 molecules in the fullerene solid, rendering it superconductive at temperatures below 8 K. Samarium doping of iron-based superconductors – the most recent class of high-temperature superconductors – allows enhancing their transition temperature to 56 K, which is the highest value achieved so far in this series.
Freshly prepared samarium has a silvery luster. In air, it slowly oxidizes at room temperature and spontaneously ignites at 150 °C. Even when stored under mineral oil, samarium gradually oxidizes and develops a grayish-yellow powder of the oxide-hydroxide mixture at the surface. The metallic appearance of a sample can be preserved by sealing it under an inert gas such as argon.
Samarium is quite electropositive and reacts slowly with cold water and quite quickly with hot water to form samarium hydroxide:
Samarium dissolves readily in dilute sulfuric acid to form solutions containing the yellow to pale green Sm(III) ions, which exist as [Sm(OH2)9]3+ complexes:
Samarium is one of the few lanthanides that exhibit the oxidation state +2. The Sm2+ ions are blood-red in aqueous solution.
The most stable oxide of samarium is the sesquioxide Sm2O3. As many other samarium compounds, it exists in several crystalline phases. The trigonal form is obtained by slow cooling from the melt. The melting point of Sm2O3 is rather high (2345 °C) and therefore melting is usually achieved not by direct heating, but with induction heating, through a radio-frequency coil. The Sm2O3 crystals of monoclinic symmetry can be grown by the flame fusion method (Verneuil process) from the Sm2O3 powder, that yields cylindrical boules up to several centimeters long and about one centimeter in diameter. The boules are transparent when pure and defect-free and are orange otherwise. Heating the metastable trigonal Sm2O3 to 1900 °C converts it to the more stable monoclinic phase. Cubic Sm2O3 has also been described.
Samarium is one of the few lanthanides that form a monoxide, SmO. This lustrous golden-yellow compound was obtained by reducing Sm2O3 with samarium metal at elevated temperature (1000 °C) and pressure above 50 kbar; lowering the pressure resulted in an incomplete reaction. SmO has the cubic rock-salt lattice structure.
Samarium forms trivalent sulfide, selenide and telluride. Divalent chalcogenides SmS, SmSe and SmTe with cubic rock-salt crystal structure are also known. They are remarkable by converting from semiconducting to metallic state at room temperature upon application of pressure. Whereas the transition is continuous and occurs at about 20–30 kbar in SmSe and SmTe, it is abrupt in SmS and requires only 6.5 kbar. This effect results in spectacular color change in SmS from black to golden yellow when its crystals of films are scratched or polished. The transition does not change lattice symmetry, but there is a sharp decrease (~15%) in the crystal volume. It shows hysteresis, that is when the pressure is released, SmS returns to the semiconducting state at much lower pressure of about 0.4 kbar.
Samarium metal reacts with all the halogens, forming trihalides:
Their further reduction with samarium, lithium or sodium metals at elevated temperatures (about 700–900 °C) yields dihalides. The diiodide can also be prepared by heating SmI3, or by reacting the metal with 1,2-diiodoethane in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran at room temperature:
In addition to dihalides, the reduction also produces numerous non-stoichiometric samarium halides with a well-defined crystal structure, such as Sm3F7, Sm14F33, Sm27F64, Sm11Br24, Sm5Br11 and Sm6Br13.
As reflected in the table above, samarium halides change their crystal structures when one type of halide atoms is substituted for another, which is an uncommon behavior for most elements (e.g. actinides). Many halides have two major crystal phases for one composition, one being significantly more stable and another being metastable. The latter is formed upon compression or heating, followed by quenching to ambient conditions. For example, compressing the usual monoclinic samarium diiodide and releasing the pressure results in a PbCl2-type orthorhombic structure (density 5.90 g/cm3), and similar treatment results in a new phase of samarium triiodide (density 5.97 g/cm3).
Sintering powders of samarium oxide and boron, in vacuum, yields a powder containing several samarium boride phases, and their volume ratio can be controlled through the mixing proportion. The powder can be converted into larger crystals of a certain samarium boride using arc melting or zone melting techniques, relying on the different melting/crystallization temperature of SmB6 (2580 °C), SmB4 (about 2300 °C) and SmB66 (2150 °C). All these materials are hard, brittle, dark-gray solids with the hardness increasing with the boron content. Samarium diboride is too volatile to be produced with these methods and requires high pressure (about 65 kbar) and low temperatures between 1140 and 1240 °C to stabilize its growth. Increasing the temperature results in the preferential formations of SmB6.
Samarium hexaboride is a typical intermediate-valence compound where samarium is present both as Sm2+ and Sm3+ ions at the ratio 3:7. It belongs to a class of Kondo insulators, that is at high temperatures (above 50 K), its properties are typical of a Kondo metal, with metallic electrical conductivity characterized by strong electron scattering, whereas at low temperatures, it behaves as a non-magnetic insulator with a narrow band gap of about 4–14 meV. The cooling-induced metal-insulator transition in SmB6 is accompanied by a sharp increase in the thermal conductivity, peaking at about 15 K. The reason for this increase is that electrons themselves do not contribute to the thermal conductivity at low temperatures, which is dominated by phonons, but the decrease in electron concentration reduced the rate of electron-phonon scattering.
New research seems to show that it may be a topological insulator.
Samarium carbides are prepared by melting a graphite-metal mixture in an inert atmosphere. After the synthesis, they are unstable in air and are studied also under inert atmosphere. Samarium monophosphide SmP is a semiconductor with the bandgap of 1.10 eV, the same as in silicon, and high electrical conductivity of n-type. It can be prepared by annealing at 1100 °C an evacuated quartz ampoule containing mixed powders of phosphorus and samarium. Phosphorus is highly volatile at high temperatures and may explode, thus the heating rate has to be kept well below 1 °C/min. Similar procedure is adopted for the monarsenide SmAs, but the synthesis temperature is higher at 1800 °C.
Numerous crystalline binary compounds are known for samarium and one of the group-14, 15 or 16 element X, where X is Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb or Te, and metallic alloys of samarium form another large group. They are all prepared by annealing mixed powders of the corresponding elements. Many of the resulting compounds are non-stoichiometric and have nominal compositions SmaXb, where the b/a ratio varies between 0.5 and 3.
Samarium forms a cyclopentadienide Sm(C5H5)3 and its chloroderivatives Sm(C5H5)2Cl and Sm(C5H5)Cl2. They are prepared by reacting samarium trichloride with NaC5H5 in tetrahydrofuran. Contrary to cyclopentadienides of most other lanthanides, in Sm(C5H5)3 some C5H5 rings bridge each other by forming ring vertexes η1 or edges η2 toward another neighboring samarium atom, thereby creating polymeric chains. The chloroderivative Sm(C5H5)2Cl has a dimer structure, which is more accurately expressed as (η5-C5H5)2Sm(μ-Cl)2(η5-C5H5)2. There, the chlorine bridges can be replaced, for instance, by iodine, hydrogen or nitrogen atoms or by CN groups.
The (C5H5)− ion in samarium cyclopentadienides can be replaced by the indenide (C9H7)− or cyclooctatetraenide (C8H8)2− ring, resulting in Sm(C9H7)3 or KSm(η8-C8H8)2. The latter compound has a similar structure to that of uranocene. There is also a cyclopentadienide of divalent samarium, Sm(C5H5)2 – a solid that sublimates at about 85 °C. Contrary to ferrocene, the C5H5 rings in Sm(C5H5)2 are not parallel but are tilted by 40°.
Alkyls and aryls of samarium are obtained through a metathesis reaction in tetrahydrofuran or ether:
Here R is a hydrocarbon group and Me stands for methyl.
Naturally occurring samarium has a radioactivity of 128 Bq/g. It is composed of five stable isotopes: 144Sm, 149Sm, 150Sm, 152Sm and 154Sm, and two extremely long-lived radioisotopes, 147Sm (half-life "t"1/2 = 1.06 years) and 148Sm (7 years), with 152Sm being the most abundant (natural abundance 26.75%). 149Sm is listed by various sources either as stable or radioactive, but only a lower bound for its half-life is given.
The long-lived isotopes,146Sm, 147Sm, and 148Sm, primarily decay by emission of alpha particles to isotopes of neodymium. Lighter unstable isotopes of samarium primarily decay by electron capture to isotopes of promethium, while heavier ones convert through beta decay to isotopes of europium.
The alpha decay of 147Sm to 143Nd with a half-life of 1.06 years serve for samarium–neodymium dating.
The half-lives of 151Sm and 145Sm are 90 years and 340 days, respectively. All the remaining radioisotopes have half-lives that are less than 2 days, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 48 seconds. Samarium also has five nuclear isomers with the most stable being 141mSm (half-life 22.6 minutes), 143m1Sm ("t"1/2 = 66 seconds) and 139mSm ("t"1/2 = 10.7 seconds).
Detection of samarium and related elements was announced by several scientists in the second half of the 19th century; however, most sources give the priority to the French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran. Boisbaudran isolated samarium oxide and/or hydroxide in Paris in 1879 from the mineral samarskite ((Y,Ce,U,Fe)3(Nb,Ta,Ti)5O16) and identified a new element in it via sharp optical absorption lines. The Swiss chemist Marc Delafontaine announced a new element "decipium" (from meaning "deceptive, misleading") in 1878, but later in 1880–1881 demonstrated that it was a mixture of several elements, one being identical to the Boisbaudran's samarium. Although samarskite was first found in the remote Russian region of Urals, by the late 1870s its deposits had been located in other places making the mineral available to many researchers. In particular, it was found that the samarium isolated by Boisbaudran was also impure and contained comparable amount of europium. The pure element was produced only in 1901 by Eugène-Anatole Demarçay.
Boisbaudran named his element "samaria" after the mineral samarskite, which in turn honored Vassili Samarsky-Bykhovets (1803–1870). Samarsky-Bykhovets, as the Chief of Staff of the Russian Corps of Mining Engineers, had granted access for two German mineralogists, the brothers Gustav Rose and Heinrich Rose, to study the mineral samples from the Urals. In this sense samarium was the first chemical element to be named after a person. Later the name "samaria" used by Boisbaudran was transformed into "samarium", to conform with other element names, and samaria nowadays is sometimes used to refer to samarium oxide, by analogy with yttria, zirconia, alumina, ceria, holmia, etc. The symbol "Sm" was suggested for samarium; however an alternative "Sa" was frequently used instead until the 1920s.
Prior to the advent of ion-exchange separation technology in the 1950s, samarium had no commercial uses in pure form. However, a by-product of the fractional crystallization purification of neodymium was a mixture of samarium and gadolinium that acquired the name of "Lindsay Mix" after the company that made it. This material is thought to have been used for nuclear control rods in some early nuclear reactors. Nowadays, a similar commodity product has the name "samarium-europium-gadolinium" (SEG) concentrate. It is prepared by solvent extraction from the mixed lanthanides isolated from bastnäsite (or monazite). Since the heavier lanthanides have the greater affinity for the solvent used, they are easily extracted from the bulk using relatively small proportions of solvent. Not all rare-earth producers who process bastnäsite do so on a large enough scale to continue onward with the separation of the components of SEG, which typically makes up only one or two percent of the original ore. Such producers will therefore be making SEG with a view to marketing it to the specialized processors. In this manner, the valuable europium content of the ore is rescued for use in phosphor manufacture. Samarium purification follows the removal of the europium. , being in oversupply, samarium oxide is less expensive on a commercial scale than its relative abundance in the ore might suggest.
With the average concentration of about 8 parts per million (ppm), samarium is the 40th most abundant element in the Earth's crust. It is the fifth most abundant lanthanide and is more common than elements such as tin. Samarium concentration in soils varies between 2 and 23 ppm, and oceans contain about 0.5–0.8 parts per trillion. Distribution of samarium in soils strongly depends on its chemical state and is very inhomogeneous: in sandy soils, samarium concentration is about 200 times higher at the surface of soil particles than in the water trapped between them, and this ratio can exceed 1,000 in clays.
Samarium is not found free in nature, but, like other rare earth elements, is contained in many minerals, including monazite, bastnäsite, cerite, gadolinite and samarskite; monazite (in which samarium occurs at concentrations of up to 2.8%) and bastnäsite are mostly used as commercial sources. World resources of samarium are estimated at two million tonnes; they are mostly located in China, US, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Australia, and the annual production is about 700 tonnes. Country production reports are usually given for all rare-earth metals combined. By far, China has the largest production with 120,000 tonnes mined per year; it is followed by the US (about 5,000 tonnes) and India (2,700 tonnes). Samarium is usually sold as oxide, which at the price of about US$30/kg is one of the cheapest lanthanide oxides. Whereas mischmetal – a mixture of rare earth metals containing about 1% of samarium – has long been used, relatively pure samarium has been isolated only recently, through ion exchange processes, solvent extraction techniques, and electrochemical deposition. The metal is often prepared by electrolysis of a molten mixture of samarium(III) chloride with sodium chloride or calcium chloride. Samarium can also be obtained by reducing its oxide with lanthanum. The product is then distilled to separate samarium (boiling point 1794 °C) and lanthanum (b.p. 3464 °C).
Domination of samarium in minerals is unique. Minerals with essential (dominant) samarium include monazite-(Sm) and florencite-(Sm). They are very rare.
Samarium-151 is produced in nuclear fission of uranium with the yield of about
0.4% of the total number of fission events. It is also synthesized upon neutron capture by samarium-149, which is added to the control rods of nuclear reactors. Consequently, samarium-151 is present in spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.
One of the most important applications of samarium is in samarium–cobalt magnets, which have a nominal composition of SmCo5 or Sm2Co17. They have high permanent magnetization, which is about 10,000 times that of iron and is second only to that of neodymium magnets. However, samarium-based magnets have higher resistance to demagnetization, as they are stable to temperatures above 700 °C (cf. 300–400 °C for neodymium magnets). These magnets are found in small motors, headphones, and high-end magnetic pickups for guitars and related musical instruments. For example, they are used in the motors of a solar-powered electric aircraft, the Solar Challenger, and in the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless electric guitar and bass pickups.
Another important application of samarium and its compounds is as catalyst and chemical reagent. Samarium catalysts assist decomposition of plastics, dechlorination of pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as the dehydration and dehydrogenation of ethanol. Samarium(III) triflate (Sm(OTf)3, that is Sm(CF3SO3)3), is one of the most efficient Lewis acid catalysts for a halogen-promoted Friedel–Crafts reaction with alkenes. Samarium(II) iodide is a very common reducing and coupling agent in organic synthesis, for example in the desulfonylation reactions; annulation; Danishefsky, Kuwajima, Mukaiyama and Holton Taxol total syntheses; strychnine total synthesis; Barbier reaction and other reductions with samarium(II) iodide.
In its usual oxidized form, samarium is added to ceramics and glasses where it increases absorption of infrared light. As a (minor) part of mischmetal, samarium is found in "flint" ignition device of many lighters and torches.
Radioactive samarium-153 is a beta emitter with a half-life of 46.3 hours. It is used to kill cancer cells in the treatment of lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and osteosarcoma. For this purpose, samarium-153 is chelated with ethylene diamine tetramethylene phosphonate (EDTMP) and injected intravenously. The chelation prevents accumulation of radioactive samarium in the body that would result in excessive irradiation and generation of new cancer cells. The corresponding drug has several names including samarium (153Sm) lexidronam; its trade name is Quadramet.
Samarium-149 has high cross-section for neutron capture (41,000 barns) and is therefore used in the control rods of nuclear reactors. Its advantage compared to competing materials, such as boron and cadmium, is stability of absorption – most of the fusion and decay products of samarium-149 are other isotopes of samarium that are also good neutron absorbers. For example, the cross section of samarium-151 is 15,000 barns, it is on the order of hundreds of barns for 150Sm, 152Sm, and 153Sm, and is 6,800 barns for natural (mixed-isotope) samarium. Among the decay products in a nuclear reactor, samarium-149 is regarded as the second most important for the reactor design and operation after xenon-135.
Samarium hexaboride, abbreviated SmB6, has recently been shown to be a topological insulator with potential applications to quantum computing.
Samarium-doped calcium fluoride crystals were used as an active medium in one of the first solid-state lasers designed and constructed by Peter Sorokin (co-inventor of the dye laser) and Mirek Stevenson at IBM research labs in early 1961. This samarium laser emitted pulses of red light at 708.5 nm. It had to be cooled by liquid helium and thus did not find practical applications.
Another samarium-based laser became the first saturated X-ray laser operating at wavelengths shorter than 10 nanometers. It provided 50-picosecond pulses at 7.3 and 6.8 nm suitable for applications in holography, high-resolution microscopy of biological specimens, deflectometry, interferometry, and radiography of dense plasmas related to confinement fusion and astrophysics. Saturated operation meant that the maximum possible power was extracted from the lasing medium, resulting in the high peak energy of 0.3 mJ. The active medium was samarium plasma produced by irradiating samarium-coated glass with a pulsed infrared (wavelength ~1.05 μm).
The change in electrical resistivity in samarium monochalcogenides can be used in a pressure sensor or in a memory device triggered between a low-resistance and high-resistance state by external pressure, and such devices are being developed commercially. Samarium monosulfide also generates electric voltage upon moderate heating to about 150 °C that can be applied in thermoelectric power converters.
The analysis of relative concentrations of samarium and neodymium isotopes 147Sm, 144Nd, and 143Nd allows the determination of the age and origin of rocks and meteorites in samarium–neodymium dating. Both elements are lanthanides and have very similar physical and chemical properties. Therefore, Sm–Nd dating is either insensitive to partitioning of the marker elements during various geological processes, or such partitioning can well be understood and modeled from the ionic radii of the involved elements.
The Sm ion is a potential activator for use in warm-white light emitting diodes. It offers high luminous efficacy due to the narrow emission bands, however, the generally low quantum efficiency and insufficient absorption in the UV-A to blue spectral region hinders commercial application.
In recent years it has been demonstrated that nanocrystalline BaFCl:Sm as prepared by a co-precipitation can serve as a very efficient x-ray storage phosphor. The co-precipitation leads to nanocrystallites of the order of 100-200 nm in size and their sensitivity as x-ray storage phosphors is increased an astounding ∼500,000 times because of the specific arrangements and density of defect centres in comparison with microcrystalline samples prepared by sintering at high temperature. The mechanism is based on the reduction of Sm to Sm by trapping electrons that are created upon exposure to ionizing radiation in the BaFCl host. The D- F f-f luminescence lines can be very efficiently excited via the parity allowed 4f →4f 5d transition at around 417 nm. The latter wavelength is ideal for efficient excitation by blue-violet laser diodes as the transition is electric dipole allowed and thus relatively intense (400 l/(mol⋅cm)).
The phosphor has potential applications in personal dosimetry, dosimetry and imaging in radiotherapy, and medical imaging.
Samarium is used for ionosphere testing. A rocket spreads it as a red vapor at high altitude, and researchers tests how the atmosphere disperses it and how it impacts radio transmissions.
Samarium salts stimulate metabolism, but it is unclear whether this is the effect of samarium or other lanthanides present with it. The total amount of samarium in adults is about 50 μg, mostly in liver and kidneys and with about 8 μg/L being dissolved in the blood. Samarium is not absorbed by plants to a measurable concentration and therefore is normally not a part of human diet. However, a few plants and vegetables may contain up to 1 part per million of samarium. Insoluble salts of samarium are non-toxic and the soluble ones are only slightly toxic.
When ingested, only about 0.05% of samarium salts is absorbed into the bloodstream and the remainder is excreted. From the blood, about 45% goes to the liver and 45% is deposited on the surface of the bones where it remains for about 10 years; the balance 10% is excreted. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27121 |
Sámi people
The Sámi people (; also spelled Sami or Saami) are an indigenous Finno-Ugric people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula within the Murmansk Oblast of Russia. The Sámi have historically been known in English as Lapps or Laplanders. Sámi ancestral lands are not well-defined. Their traditional languages are the Sámi languages which are classified as a branch of the Uralic language family. The terms "Lapp" and "Lapland" are regarded as offensive by some Sámi people, who prefer the area's name in their own language, "".
Traditionally, the Sámi have pursued a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping, and sheep herding. Their best-known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding. Currently about 10% of the Sámi are connected to reindeer herding, providing them with meat, fur, and transportation. 2,800 Sámi people are actively involved in reindeer herding on a full-time basis in Norway. For traditional, environmental, cultural, and political reasons, reindeer herding is legally reserved for only Sámi people in some regions of the Nordic countries.
The Sámi refer to themselves as (the Sámis) or (of Sámi kin), the word being inflected into various grammatical forms. It has been proposed that Sámi (presumably borrowed from the Proto-Finnic word), (Finnish for 'Tavastia') (← Proto-Finnic , the second "ä" still being found in the archaic derivation ), and perhaps (Finnish for 'Finland') (← /, compare , supposedly borrowed from a Proto-Germanic source from Proto-Baltic , in turn borrowed from Proto-Finnic ) are of the same origin and ultimately borrowed from the Baltic word , meaning 'land'. The Baltic word is cognate with Slavic (), which also means 'land'. The Sámi institutions – notably the parliaments, radio and TV stations, theatres, etc. – all use the term "Sámi", including when addressing outsiders in Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, or English. In Norwegian, the Sámi are today referred to by the Norwegianized form .
The first probable historical mention of the Sámi, naming them , was by Tacitus, about AD 98. Variants of "Finn" or were in wide use in ancient times, judging from the names and () in classical Roman and Greek works. "Finn" (or variants, such as , 'striding Finn') was the name originally used by Norse speakers (and their proto-Norse speaking ancestors) to refer to the Sámi, as attested in the Icelandic Eddas and Norse sagas (11th to 14th centuries). The etymology is somewhat uncertain, but the consensus seems to be that it is related to Old Norse , from proto-Germanic ('to find'), the logic being that the Sámi, as hunter-gatherers "found" their food, rather than grew it. As Old Norse gradually developed into the separate Scandinavian languages, Swedes apparently took to using "Finn" to refer to inhabitants of what is now Finland, while the Sámi came to be called "Lapps". In Norway, however, Sámi were still called "Finns" at least until the modern era (reflected in toponyms like , , and ), and some northern Norwegians will still occasionally use "Finn" to refer to Sámi people, although the Sámi themselves now consider this to be an inappropriate term. Finnish immigrants to Northern Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries were referred to as Kvens to distinguish them from the Sámi "Finns". Ethnic Finns () are a distinct group from Sámi.
The word "Lapp" can be traced to Old Swedish , Icelandic (plural) of Finnish origin; compare Finnish "Lapp", "Lapland" (possibly meaning "wilderness in the north"), the original meaning being unknown. It is unknown how the word "Lapp" came into the Norse language, but one of the first written mentions of the term is in the by 12th-century Danish historian , who referred to "the two Lappias", although he still referred to the Sámi as s. In fact, Saxo never explicitly connects the Sámi with the "two Laplands". The term "Lapp" was popularized and became the standard terminology by the work of , (1673).
The Sámi are often known in other languages by the exonyms "Lap", "Lapp", or "Laplanders", although these are considered derogatory terms, while others accept at least the name "Lappland". Variants of the name "Lapp" were originally used in Sweden and Finland and, through Swedish, adopted by many major European languages: ; German, ; ; (); ; ; ; ; ; ; . In Russian the corresponding term is () and in Ukrainian ().
In Finland and Sweden, "Lapp" is common in place names, such as (), (South Karelia) and (North Savo) in Finland; and (Stockholm County), () and () in Sweden. As already mentioned, "Finn" is a common element in Norwegian (particularly Northern Norwegian) place names, whereas "Lapp" is exceedingly rare.
Terminological issues in Finnish are somewhat different. Finns living in Finnish Lapland generally call themselves , whereas the similar word for the Sámi people is . This can be confusing for foreign visitors because of the similar lives Finns and Sámi people live today in Lapland. is also a common family name in Finland. In Finnish, is the most commonly used word nowadays, especially in official contexts.
The Sámi people of Arctic Europe have lived and worked in an area that stretches over the northern parts of the regions currently known as Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Russian Kola Peninsula. They have inhabited the northern arctic and sub-arctic regions of Fennoscandia for 3,500 years. Before migrating to their present lands, it is believed by researchers that the ancestors of the Sámi lived in the Finno-Ugric homeland, believed to be located in modern Russia. The Sámi are counted among the Arctic peoples and are members of circumpolar groups such as the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat.
Petroglyphs and archeological findings such as settlements dating from about 10,000 BC can be found in Lapland and Finnmark, although these have not been demonstrated to be related to the Sámi people. These hunters and gatherers of the late Paleolithic and early Mesolithic were named Komsa by the researchers. What they called themselves is unknown.
The geographical distribution of the Sámi has evolved over the course of history. The Sámi populations most likely migrated from the Ural Mountains region, believed to be the original home of the Finno-Ugric languages, of which the Sámi languages are part. The presence in Sámi populations of Nganasan DNA up to plus or minus 25% and what is clearly the Siberian Y chromosome haplogroup supports this theory. From the Bronze Age the Sámi occupied the area off the coast of Finnmark and the Kola peninsula. This coincides with the arrival of the Siberian genome to Estonia and Finland, which probably corresponds to the introduction of the Finno-Ugric languages in the region
The Sámi have a complex relationship to the Scandinavians, the dominating peoples of Scandinavia who speak Scandinavian languages and who founded and thus dominated the kingdoms of Norway and Sweden in which most Sámi people live. While the Sámi have lived in Fennoscandia for around 3,500 years, Sámi settlement of Scandinavia does not predate Scandinavian settlement of Scandinavia, as sometimes popularly assumed. Scandinavians and their ancestors lived primarily in southern Scandinavia for millennia before the arrival on the peninsula of the Sámi from the Finno-Ugric homeland. For centuries the Sámi and the Scandinavians had relatively little contact; the Sámi primarily lived in the inland of northern Fennoscandia, while Scandinavians lived in southern Scandinavia and gradually colonised the Norwegian coast; from the 18th and especially the 19th century Norway and Sweden started to assert sovereignty more aggressively in the north, and targeted the Sámi with policies aimed at forced assimilation. Prior to the adoption of forced assimilation policies, the Norwegian and Swedish had largely ignored the Sámi and not interfered much in their way of life. From the 19th century Norwegian and Swedish authorities started to regard the Sámi as a "backward" and "primitive" people in need of being "civilized".
How far south the Sámi extended in the past has been debated among historians and archeologists for many years. The Norwegian historian Yngvar Nielsen, commissioned by the Norwegian government in 1889 to determine this question to settle contemporary questions of Sámi land rights, concluded that the Sámi had lived no farther south than Lierne in Nord-Trøndelag county until around 1500, when they started moving south, reaching the area around Lake Femund in the 18th century. This hypothesis is still accepted among many historians, but has been the subject of scholarly debate in the 21st century. In recent years, several archaeological finds indicate a Sámi presence in southern Norway in the Middle Ages, and southern Sweden, including finds in Lesja, in Vang, in Valdres and in Hol and Ål in Hallingdal. Proponents of the Sámi interpretations of these finds assume a mixed population of Norse and Sámi people in the mountainous areas of southern Norway in the Middle Ages.
Until the arrival of bubonic plague in northern Norway in 1349, the Sámi and the Norwegians occupied very separate economic niches. The Sámi hunted reindeer and fished for their livelihood. The Norwegians, who were concentrated on the outer islands and near the mouths of the fjords, had access to the major European trade routes so that, in addition to marginal farming in the Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark counties, they were able to establish commerce, supplying fish in trade for products from the south. The two groups co-existed using two different food resources. According to old Nordic texts, the Sea Sámi and the Mountain Sámi are two classes of the same people and not two different ethnic groups, as had been erroneously believed.
This social economic balance greatly changed when bubonic plague came to northern Norway in December 1349. The Norwegians were closely connected to the greater European trade routes, along which the plague traveled; consequently, they were infected and died at a far higher rate than Sámi in the interior. Of all the states in the region, Norway suffered the most from this plague. Depending on the parish, sixty to seventy-six percent of the northern Norwegian farms were abandoned following the plague, while land-rents, another possible measure of the population numbers, dropped down to 9–28% of pre-plague rents. Although the population of northern Norway is sparse compared to southern Europe, the disease spread just as fast. The method of movement of the plague-infested flea "(Xenopsylla cheopsis)" from the south was in wooden barrels holding wheat, rye, or wool, where the fleas could live, and even reproduce, for several months at a time. The Sámi ate fish and reindeer meat, and did not eat wheat or rye. They lived in communities detached from the Norwegians, and being only weakly connected to the European trade routes, they fared far better than the Norwegians.
Fishing has always been the main livelihood for the many Sámi living permanently in coastal areas. Archeological research shows that the Sámi have lived along the coast and once lived much farther south in the past, and they were also involved in work other than reindeer herding (e.g., fishing, agriculture, iron work). The fishing along the north Norwegian coast, especially in the Lofoten and Vesterålen islands, is quite productive with a variety of fish, and during medieval times, it was a major source of income for both the fisherman and the Norwegian monarchy. With such massive population drops caused by the Black Death, the tax revenues from this industry greatly diminished. Because of the huge economic profits that could be had from these fisheries, the local authorities offered incentives to the Sámi—faced with their own population pressures—to settle on the newly vacant farms. This started the economic division between the Sea Sámi ("sjøsamene"), who fished extensively off the coast, and the Mountain Sámi ("fjellsamene, innlandssamene"), who continued to hunt reindeer and small-game animals. They later herded reindeer. Even as late as the early 18th century, there were many Sámi who were still settling on these farms left abandoned from the 1350s. After many years of continuous migration, these Sea Sámi became far more numerous than the reindeer mountain Sámi, who today only make up 10% of all Sámi. In contemporary times, there are also ongoing consultations between the Government of Norway and the Sámi Parliament regarding the right of the coastal Sámi to fish in the seas on the basis of historical use and international law. State regulation of sea fisheries underwent drastic change in the late 1980s. The regulation linked quotas to vessels and not to fishers. These newly calculated quotas were distributed free of charge to larger vessels on the basis of the amount of the catch in previous years, resulting in small vessels in Sámi districts falling outside the new quota system to a large degree.
As the Sea Sámi settled along Norway's fjords and inland waterways, pursuing a combination of farming, cattle raising, trapping and fishing, the minority Mountain Sámi continued to hunt wild reindeer. Around 1500, they started to tame these animals into herding groups, becoming the well-known reindeer nomads, often portrayed by outsiders as following the traditional Sámi lifestyle. The Mountain Sámi had to pay taxes to three states, Norway, Sweden and Russia, as they crossed each border while following the annual reindeer migrations; this caused much resentment over the years. Between 1635–1659, the Swedish crown forced Swedish conscripts and Sámi cart drivers to work at a mine at Nasafjäll, causing many Sámis to emigrate from the area to avoid forced labour. As a result, the population of Pite and Lule Sámis decreased greatly.
For long periods of time, the Sámi lifestyle thrived because of its adaptation to the Arctic environment. Indeed, throughout the 18th century, as Norwegians of Northern Norway suffered from low fish prices and consequent depopulation, the Sámi cultural element was strengthened, since the Sámi were mostly independent of supplies from Southern Norway.
During the 19th century, the pressure of Christianization of the Sámi increased, with some Sámi adopting Laestadianism. With the introduction of seven compulsory years of school in 1889, the Sámi language and traditional way of life came increasingly under pressure from forced cultural normalization. Sámi people were occasionally subjected to eugenics through forced sterilization from 1934, during the reign of the social democrat Labour Party. Strong economic development of the north also ensued, giving Norwegian culture and language higher status.
On the Swedish and Finnish sides, the authorities were less militant, although the Sámi language was forbidden in schools and strong economic development in the north led to weakened cultural and economic status for the Sámi. From 1913 to 1920, the Swedish race-segregation political movement created a race-based biological institute that collected research material from living people and graves, and sterilized Sámi women. Throughout history, Swedish settlers were encouraged to move to the northern regions through incentives such as land and water rights, tax allowances, and military exemptions.
The strongest pressure took place from around 1900 to 1940, when Norway invested considerable money and effort to wipe out Sámi culture. Anyone who wanted to buy or lease state lands for agriculture in Finnmark had to prove knowledge of the Norwegian language and had to register with a Norwegian name. This caused the dislocation of Sámi people in the 1920s, which increased the gap between local Sámi groups (something still present today) that sometimes has the character of an internal Sámi ethnic conflict. In 1913, the Norwegian parliament passed a bill on "native act land" to allocate the best and most useful lands to Norwegian settlers. Another factor was the scorched earth policy conducted by the German army, resulting in heavy war destruction in northern Finland and northern Norway in 1944–45, destroying all existing houses, or "kota", and visible traces of Sámi culture. After World War II, the pressure was relaxed, though the legacy was evident into recent times, such as the 1970s law limiting the size of any house Sámi people were allowed to build.
The controversy over the construction of the hydro-electric power station in Alta in 1979 brought Sámi rights onto the political agenda. In August 1986, the national anthem ("Sámi soga lávlla") and flag (Sámi flag) of the Sámi people were created. In 1989, the first Sámi parliament in Norway was elected. In 2005, the Finnmark Act was passed in the Norwegian parliament giving the Sámi parliament and the Finnmark Provincial council a joint responsibility of administering the land areas previously considered state property. These areas (96% of the provincial area), which have always been used primarily by the Sámi, now belong officially to the people of the province, whether Sámi or Norwegian, and not to the Norwegian state.
The indigenous Sámi population is a mostly urbanised demographic, but a substantial number live in villages in the high arctic. The Sámi are still coping with the cultural consequences of language and culture loss related to generations of Sámi children taken to missionary and/or state-run boarding schools and the legacy of laws that were created to deny the Sámi rights (e.g., to their beliefs, language, land and to the practice of traditional livelihoods). The Sámi are experiencing cultural and environmental threats, including oil exploration, mining, dam building, logging, climate change, military bombing ranges, tourism and commercial development.
Sapmi is rich in precious metals, oil, and natural gas. Mining activities in Arctic Sapmi cause controversy when they are in grazing and calving areas. Mining projects are rejected by the Sámi Parliament in the Finnmark area. The Sámi Parliament demands that resources and mineral exploration should benefit mainly the local Sámi communities and population, as the proposed mines are in Sámi lands and will affect their ability to maintain their traditional livelihood. Mining locations even include ancient Sámi spaces that are designated as ecologically protected areas, such as the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve. In Russia's Kola Peninsula, vast areas have already been destroyed by mining and smelting activities, and further development is imminent. This includes oil and natural gas exploration in the Barents Sea. There is a gas pipeline that stretches across the Kola Peninsula. Oil spills affect fishing and the construction of roads. Power lines may cut off access to reindeer calving grounds and sacred sites.
In Kallak (Sámi: "Gállok") a group of indigenous and non-indigenous activists protested to stop the UK-based mining company Beowulf from carrying on a drilling program in reindeer winter grazing lands. There is often local opposition to new mining projects where environmental impacts are perceived to be very large. New modern mines eliminate the need for many types of jobs and new job creation. ILO Convention No. 169 would grant rights to the Sámi people to their land and give them power in matters that affect their future. Swedish taxes on minerals are low in an international comparison in order to increase mineral exploration. There are also few plans for mine reclamation.
In northern Finland, there has been a longstanding dispute over the destruction of forests, which prevents reindeer from migrating between seasonal feeding grounds and destroys supplies of lichen that grow on the upper branches of older trees. This lichen is the reindeer's only source of sustenance during the winter months, when snow is deep. The logging has been under the control of the state-run forest system. Greenpeace, reindeer herders, and Sámi organisations carried out a historic joint campaign, and in 2010, Sámi reindeer herders won some time as a result of these court cases. Industrial logging has now been pushed back from the most important forest areas either permanently or for the next 20 years, though there are still threats, such as mining and construction plans of holiday resorts on the protected shorelines of Lake Inari.
Government authorities and NATO have built bombing-practice ranges in Sámi areas in northern Norway and Sweden. These regions have served as reindeer calving and summer grounds for thousands of years, and contain many ancient Sámi sacred sites.
The Swedish government has allowed the world's largest onshore wind farm to be built in Piteå, in the Arctic region where the Eastern Kikkejaure village has its winter reindeer pastures. The wind farm will consist of more than 1,000 wind turbines and an extensive road infrastructure, which means that the feasibility of using the area for winter grazing in practice is impossible. Sweden has received strong international criticism, including by the UN Racial Discrimination Committee and the Human Rights Committee, that Sweden violates Sámi "landrättigheter" (land rights), including by not regulating industry. In Norway some Sámi politicians (for example – Aili Keskitalo) suggest giving the Sámi Parliament a special veto right on planned mining projects.
State regulation of sea fisheries underwent drastic change in the late 1980s. The regulation linked quotas to vessels and not to fishers. These newly calculated quotas were distributed free of cost to larger vessels on the basis of the amount of the catch in previous years, resulting in small vessels in Sámi districts falling outside the new quota system to a large degree.
The Sámi recently stopped a water-prospecting venture that threatened to turn an ancient sacred site and natural spring called Suttesaja into a large-scale water-bottling plant for the world market—without notification or consultation with the local Sámi people, who make up 70 percent of the population. The Finnish National Board of Antiquities has registered the area as a heritage site of cultural and historical significance, and the stream itself is part of the Deatnu/Tana watershed, which is home to Europe's largest salmon river, an important source of Sámi livelihood.
In Norway, government plans for the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta river in Finnmark in northern Norway led to a political controversy and the rallying of the Sámi popular movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a result, the opposition in the Alta controversy brought attention to not only environmental issues but also the issue of Sámi rights.
Reindeer have major cultural and economic significance for indigenous peoples of the North. The human-ecological systems in the North, like reindeer pastoralism, are sensitive to change, perhaps more than in virtually any other region of the globe, due in part to the variability of the Arctic climate and ecosystem and the characteristic ways of life of indigenous Arctic peoples.
The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster caused nuclear fallout in the sensitive Arctic ecosystems and poisoned fish, meat and berries. Lichens and mosses are two of the main forms of vegetation in the Arctic and are highly susceptible to airborne pollutants and heavy metals. Since many do not have roots, they absorb nutrients, and toxic compounds, through their leaves. The lichens accumulated airborne radiation, and 73,000 reindeer had to be killed as "unfit" for human consumption in Sweden alone. The government promised Sámi indemnification, which was not acted upon by government.
Radioactive wastes and spent nuclear fuel have been stored in the waters off the Kola Peninsula, including locations that are only "two kilometers" from places where Sámi live. There are a minimum of five "dumps" where spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste are being deposited in the Kola Peninsula, often with little concern for the surrounding environment or population.
The tourism industry in Finland has been criticized for turning Sámi culture into a marketing tool by promoting opportunities to experience "authentic" Sámi ceremonies and lifestyle. At many tourist locales, non-Sámi dress in inaccurate replicas of Sámi traditional clothing, and gift shops sell crude reproductions of Sámi handicraft. One popular "ceremony", crossing the Arctic Circle, actually has no significance in Sámi spirituality. To the Sámi, this is an insulting display of cultural exploitation.
The Sámi have for centuries, even today, been the subject of discrimination and abuse by the dominant cultures claiming possession of their lands. They have never been a single community in a single region of Lapland, which until recently was considered only a cultural region.
Norway has been criticized internationally for the politics of Norwegianization of and discrimination against the Sámi. On 8 April 2011, the UN Racial Discrimination Committee recommendations were handed over to Norway; these addressed many issues, including the position of students needing bilingual education in Sámi. One committee recommendation was that no language be allowed to be a basis for discrimination in the Norwegian anti-discrimination laws, and it recommended wording of Racial Discrimination Convention Article 1 contained in the Act. Further points of recommendation concerning the Sámi population in Norway included the incorporation of the racial Convention through the Human Rights Act, improving the availability and quality of interpreter services, and equality of the civil Ombudsman's recommendations for action. A new present status report was to have been ready by the end of 2012.
Even in Finland, where Sámi children, like all Finnish children, are entitled to day care and language instruction in their own language, the Finnish government has denied funding for these rights in most of the country, including even in Rovaniemi, the largest municipality in Finnish Lapland. Sámi activists have pushed for nationwide application of these basic rights.
As in the other countries claiming sovereignty over Sámi lands, Sámi activists' efforts in Finland in the 20th century achieved limited government recognition of the Sámis' rights as a recognized minority, but the Finnish government has maintained its legally enforced premise that the Sámi must prove their land ownership, an idea incompatible with and antithetical to the traditional reindeer-herding Sámi way of life. This has effectively allowed the Finnish government to take without compensation, motivated by economic gain, land occupied by the Sámi for centuries.
The Sámi have been recognized as an indigenous people in Norway (1990 according to ILO convention 169 as described below), and therefore, according to international law, the Sámi people in Norway are entitled special protection and rights. The legal foundation of the Sámi policy is:
The constitutional amendment states: "It is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to create conditions enabling the Sámi people to preserve and develop its language, culture and way of life." This provides a legal and political protection of the Sámi language, culture and society. In addition the "amendment implies a legal, political and moral obligation for Norwegian authorities to create an environment conducive to the Sámis themselves influencing on the development of the Sámi community" (ibid.).
The Sámi Act provides special rights for the Sámi people (ibid.):
In addition, the Sámi have special rights to reindeer husbandry.
The Norwegian Sámi Parliament also elects 50% of the members to the board of the Finnmark Estate, which controls 95% of the land in the county of Finnmark.
Norway has also accepted international conventions, declarations and agreements applicable to the Sámi as a minority and indigenous people including:
In 2007, the Norwegian Parliament passed the new Reindeer Herding Act acknowledging siida as the basic institution regarding land rights, organization, and daily herding management.
The Sametingslag was established as the Swedish Sámi Parliament as of 1 January 1993. Sweden recognised the existence of the "Sámi nation" in 1989, but the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, C169 has not been adopted.
The Compulsory School Ordinance states that Sámi pupils are entitled to be taught in their native language; however, a municipality is only obliged to arrange mother-tongue teaching in Sámi if a suitable teacher is available and the pupil has a basic knowledge of Sámi.
In 2010, after 15 years of negotiation, Laponiatjuottjudus, an association with Sámi majority control, will govern the UNESCO World Heritage Site Laponia. The reindeer-herding law will apply in the area as well.
In 1998, Sweden formally apologized for the wrongs committed against the Sámi.
Sámi is one of five national minority languages recognized by Swedish law.
The act establishing the Finnish Sámi Parliament (Finnish: Saamelaiskäräjät) was passed on November 9, 1973.
Finland recognized the Sámi as a "people" in 1995, but they have yet to ratify ILO Convention 169 Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.
Finland ratified the 1966 U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights though several cases have been brought before the U.N. Human Rights Committee. Of those, 36 cases involved a determination of the rights of individual Sámi in Finland and Sweden. The committee decisions clarify that Sámi are members of a minority within the meaning of Article 27 and that deprivation or erosion of their rights to practice traditional activities that are an essential element of their culture do come within the scope of Article 27. The case of J. Lansman versus Finland concerned a challenge by Sámi reindeer herders in northern Finland to the Finnish Central Forestry Board's plans to approve logging and construction of roads in an area used by the herdsmen as winter pasture and spring calving grounds.
Finland Sámi have had access to Sámi language instruction in some schools since the 1970s, and language rights were established in 1992. There are three Sámi languages spoken in Finland: North Sámi, Skolt Sámi and Inari Sámi. Of these languages, Inari Sámi, which is spoken by about 350 speakers, is the only one that is used entirely within the borders of Finland, mainly in the municipality of Inari.
Finland has denied any aboriginal rights or land rights to the Sámi people; in Finland, non-Sámi can herd reindeer.
Sámi people have had very little representation in Finnish national politics. In fact, as of 2007, Janne Seurujärvi, a Finnish Centre Party representative, was the first Sámi ever to be elected to the Finnish Parliament.
Russia has not adopted the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, C169. During the Soviet times the inhabitants of the Kola tundra were forcibly relocated to kolkhoz'es (collective communities) by the state; most Saami were settled at Lujávri (Lovozero).
The 1822 Statute of Administration of Non-Russians in Siberia asserted state ownership over all the land in Siberia and then "granted" possessory rights to the natives. Governance of indigenous groups, and especially collection of taxes from them, necessitated protection of indigenous peoples against exploitation by traders and settlers.
The 1993 Constitution, Article 69 states, "The Russian Federation guarantees the rights of small indigenous peoples in accordance with the generally accepted principles and standards of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation." For the first time in Russia, the rights of indigenous minorities were established in the 1993 Constitution.
The Russian Federation ratified the 1966 U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Section 2 explicitly forbids depriving a people of "its own means of subsistence." The Russian parliament (Duma) has adopted partial measures to implement it.
The Russian Federation lists distinct indigenous peoples as having special rights and protections under the Constitution and federal laws and decrees. These rights are linked to the category known since Soviet times as the "malochislennye narody" ("small-numbered peoples"), a term that is often translated as "indigenous minorities", which include Arctic peoples such as the Sámi, Nenets, Evenki, and Chukchi.
In April 1999, the Russian Duma passed a law that guarantees socio-economic and cultural development to all indigenous minorities, protecting traditional living places and acknowledging some form of limited ownership of territories that have traditionally been used for hunting, herding, fishing, and gathering activities. The law, however, does not anticipate the transfer of title in fee simply to indigenous minorities. The law does not recognize development rights, some proprietary rights including compensation for damage to the property, and limited exclusionary rights. It is not clear, however, whether protection of nature in the traditional places of inhabitation implies a right to exclude conflicting uses that are destructive to nature or whether they have the right to veto development.
The Russian Federation's Land Code reinforces the rights of numerically small peoples ("indigenous minorities") to use places they inhabit and to continue traditional economic activities without being charged rent. Such lands cannot be allocated for unrelated activities (which might include oil, gas, and mineral development or tourism) without the consent of the indigenous peoples. Furthermore, indigenous minorities and ethnic groups are allowed to use environmentally protected lands and lands set aside as nature preserves to engage in their traditional modes of land use.
Regional law, Code of the Murmansk Oblast, calls on the organs of state power of the oblast to facilitate the native peoples of the Kola North, specifically naming the Sámi, "in realization of their rights for preservation and development of their native language, national culture, traditions and customs." The third section of Article 21 states: "In historically established areas of habitation, Sámi enjoy the rights for traditional use of nature and [traditional] activities."
Throughout the Russian North, indigenous and local people have difficulties with exercising control over resources upon which they and their ancestors have depended for centuries. The failure to protect indigenous ways, however, stems not from inadequacy of the written law, but rather from the failure to implement existing laws. Violations of the rights of indigenous peoples continue, and oil, gas, and mineral development and other activities, (mining, timber cutting, commercial fishing, and tourism) that bring foreign currency into the Russian economy.
The life ways and economy of indigenous peoples of the Russian North are based upon reindeer herding, fishing, terrestrial and sea mammal hunting, and trapping. Many groups in the Russian Arctic are semi-nomadic, moving seasonally to different hunting and fishing camps. These groups depend upon different types of environment at differing times of the year, rather than upon exploiting a single commodity to exhaustion. Throughout northwestern Siberia, oil and gas development has disturbed pastureland and undermined the ability of indigenous peoples to continue hunting, fishing, trapping, and herding activities. Roads constructed in connection with oil and gas exploration and development destroy and degrade pastureland, ancestral burial grounds, and sacred sites and increase hunting by oil workers on the territory used by indigenous peoples.
In the Sámi homeland on the Kola Peninsula in northwestern Russia, regional authorities closed a fifty-mile (eighty-kilometer) stretch of the Ponoi River (and other rivers) to local fishing and granted exclusive fishing rights to a commercial company offering catch-and-release fishing to sport fishers largely from abroad. This deprived the local Sámi (see Article 21 of the Code of the Murmansk Oblast) of food for their families and community and of their traditional economic livelihood. Thus, closing the fishery to locals may have violated the test articulated by the U.N. Human Rights Committee and disregarded the Land Code, other legislative acts, and the 1992 Presidential decree. Sámi are not only forbidden to fish in the eighty-kilometer stretch leased to the Ponoi River Company but are also required by regional laws to pay for licenses to catch a limited number of fish outside the lease area. Residents of remote communities have neither the power nor the resources to demand enforcement of their rights. Here and elsewhere in the circumpolar north, the failure to apply laws for the protection of indigenous peoples leads to "criminalization" of local indigenous populations who cannot survive without "poaching" resources that should be accessible to them legally.
Although indigenous leaders in Russia have occasionally asserted indigenous rights to land and resources, to date there has been no serious or sustained discussion of indigenous group rights to ownership of land.
On 16 November 2005 in Helsinki, a group of experts, led by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway Professor Carsten Smith, submitted a proposal for a Nordic Sámi Convention to the annual joint meeting of the ministers responsible for Sámi affairs in Finland, Norway and Sweden and the presidents of the three Sámi Parliaments from the respective countries. This convention recognizes the Sámi as one indigenous people residing across national borders in all three countries. A set of minimum standards is proposed for the rights of developing the Sámi language and culture and rights to land and water, livelihoods and society. The convention has not yet been ratified in the Nordic countries.
To make up for past suppression, the authorities of Norway, Sweden and Finland now make an effort to build up Sámi cultural institutions and promote Sámi culture and language.
Duodji, the Sámi handicraft, originates from the time when the Sámis were self-supporting nomads, believing therefore that an object should first and foremost serve a purpose rather than being primarily decorative. Men mostly use wood, bone, and antlers to make items such as antler-handled scrimshawed sami knives, drums, and guksi (burl cups). Women used leather and roots to make items such as gákti (clothing), and birch- and spruce-root woven baskets.
Gakti are the traditional clothing worn by the Sámi people. The gákti is worn both in ceremonial contexts and while working, particularly when herding reindeer.
Traditionally, the gákti was made from reindeer leather and sinews, but nowadays, it is more common to use wool, cotton, or silk. Women's gákti typically consist of a dress, a fringed shawl that is fastened with 1–3 silver brooches, and boots/shoes made of reindeer fur or leather. Sámi boots (or "nutukas") can have pointed or curled toes and often have band-woven ankle wraps. Eastern Sámi boots have a rounded toe on reindeer-fur boots, lined with felt and with beaded details. There are different gákti for women and men; men's gákti have a shorter "jacket-skirt" than a women's long dress. Traditional gákti are most commonly in variations of red, blue, green, white, medium-brown tanned leather, or reindeer fur. In winter, there is the addition of a reindeer fur coat and leggings, and sometimes a poncho (luhkka) and rope/lasso.
The colours, patterns and the jewellery of the gákti indicate where a person is from, if a person is single or married, and sometimes can even be specific to their family. The collar, sleeves and hem usually have appliqués in the form of geometric shapes. Some regions have ribbonwork, others have tin embroidery, and some Eastern Sámi have beading on clothing or collar. Hats vary by sex, season, and region. They can be wool, leather, or fur. They can be embroidered, or in the East, they are more like a beaded cloth crown with a shawl. Some traditional shamanic headgear had animal hides, plaits, and feathers, particularly in East Sapmi.
The gákti can be worn with a belt; these are sometimes band-woven belts, woven, or beaded. Leather belts can have scrimshawed antler buttons, silver concho-like buttons, tassles, or brass/copper details such as rings. Belts can also have beaded leather pouches, antler needle cases, accessories for a fire, copper rings, amulets, and often a carved and/or scrimshawed antler handled knife. Some Eastern Sámi also have a hooded jumper (малиц) from reindeer skins with wool inside and above the knee boots.
A characteristic feature of Sámi musical tradition is the singing of "yoik". Yoiks are song-chants and are traditionally sung "a cappella", usually sung slowly and deep in the throat with apparent emotional content of sorrow or anger. Yoiks can be dedicated to animals and birds in nature, special people or special occasions, and they can be joyous, sad or melancholic. They often are based on syllablic improvisation. In recent years, musical instruments frequently accompany yoiks. The only traditional Sámi instruments that were sometimes used to accompany yoik are the "fadno" flute (made from reed-like "Angelica archangelica" stems) and hand drums (frame drums and bowl drums).
In addition to Duodji (Sámi handicraft), there is a developing area of contemporary Sámi visual art. Galleries such as Sámi Dáiddaguovddáš (Sami Center for Contemporary Art) are being established.
For many years there was a misconception that the Sámi were the only Indigenous people without a dance tradition in the world.
Sámi dance companies have emerged such as Kompani Nomad.
A book about the "lost" Sámi dance tradition called "Jakten på den försvunna samiska dansen" was recently published by Umeå University's Centre for Sami Research (CeSam). In the eastern areas of Sápmi the dance tradition has been more continuous and is continued by groups such as Johtti Kompani.
Reindeer husbandry has been and still is an important aspect of Sámi culture. Traditionally the Sámi lived and worked in reindeer herding groups called "siiddat", which consisted of several families and their herds. Members of the "siidda" helped each other with the management and husbandry of the herds. During the years of forced assimilation, the areas in which reindeer herding was an important livelihood were among the few where the Sámi culture and language survived.
Today in Norway and Sweden, reindeer husbandry is legally protected as an exclusive Sámi livelihood, such that only persons of Sámi descent with a linkage to a reindeer herding family can own, and hence make a living off, reindeer. Presently, about 2,800 people are engaged in reindeer herding in Norway. In Finland, reindeer husbandry is not exclusive and is practiced to a limited degree also by ethnic Finns. Legally, it is restricted to EU/EEA nationals resident in the area. In the north (Lapland), it plays a major role in the local economy, while its economic impact is lesser in the southern parts of the area (Province of Oulu).
Among the reindeer herders in Sámi villages, the women usually have a higher level of formal education in the area.
The Sámi have traditionally played both card games and board games, but few Sámi games have survived, in part because Christian missionaries and Laestadianists considered such games sinful. Only the rules of three Sámi board games have been preserved into modern times. "Sáhkku" is a running-fight board game where each player controls a set of soldiers (referred to as "women" and "men") that race across a board in a loop, attempting to eliminate the other player's soldiers. The game is related to South Scandinavian daldøs, Arabian tâb and Indian tablan. Sáhkku differs from these games in several respects, most notably the addition of a piece – "the king" – that changes gameplay radically. "Tablut" is a pure strategy game in the tafl family. The game features "Swedes" and a "Swedish king" whose goal is to escape, and an army of "Muscovites" whose goal is to capture the king. Tablut is the only tafl game where a relatively intact set of rules have survived into our time. Hence, all modern versions of tafl (commonly called "Hnefatafl" and marketed exclusively as "Norse" or "Viking" games) are based on the Sámi game of tablut. "Dablot Prejjesne" is a game related to alquerque which differs from most such games (e.g. draughts) by having pieces of three different ranks. The game's two sides are referred to as "Sámi" (king, prince, warriors) and "Finlenders" (landowners, landowner's son, farmers).
Sápmi is the name of the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Non-Sámi and many regional maps have often called this same region "Lapland" as there is considerable regional overlap between the two terms. The overlap is, however, not complete: "Lapland" covers only those parts of Sápmi that have fallen under Finnish jurisdiction, and most of the area having fallen under Swedish jurisdiction. The larger part of Sápmi is not covered by the term "Lapland". "Lapland" can be either misleading or offensive, or both, depending on the context and where this word is used, to the Sámi. Among the Sámi people, "Sápmi" is strictly used and acceptable.
Sápmi is located in Northern Europe, includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia and spans four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
There is no official geographic definition for the boundaries of Sápmi. However, the following counties and provinces are usually included:
The municipalities of Gällivare, Jokkmokk and Arjeplog in Swedish Lappland were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 as a "Laponian Area".
The Sami Domicile Area in Finland consists of the municipalities of Enontekiö, Utsjoki and Inari as well as a part of the municipality of Sodankylä.
The following towns and villages have a significant Sámi population or host Sámi institutions (Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish or Russian name in parentheses):
In the geographical area of Sápmi, the Sámi Specialist Library are a small population. According to some, the estimated total Sámi population is about 70,000. One problem when attempting to count the population of the Sámi is that there are few common criteria of what "being a Sámi" constitutes. In addition, there are several Sámi languages and additional dialects, and there are several areas in Sapmi where few of the Sámi speak their native language due to the forced cultural assimilation, but still consider themselves Sámi. Other identity markers are kinship (which can be said to, at some level or other, be of high importance for all Sámi), the geographical region of Sápmi where their family came from, and/or protecting or preserving certain aspects of Sámi culture.
All the Nordic Sámi Parliaments have included as the "core" criterion for registering as a Sámi the identity in itself—one must declare that one truly considers oneself a Sámi. Objective criteria vary, but are generally related to kinship and/or language.
Still, due to the cultural assimilation of the Sámi people that had occurred in the four countries over the centuries, population estimates are difficult to measure precisely. The population has been estimated to be between 80,000 and 135,000 across the whole Nordic region, including urban areas such as Oslo, Norway, traditionally considered outside Sápmi. The Norwegian state recognizes any Norwegian as Sámi if he or she has one great-grandparent whose home language was Sámi, but there is not, and has never been, any registration of the home language spoken by Norwegian people.
Roughly half of all Sámi live in Norway, but many live in Sweden, with smaller groups living in the far north of Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. The Sámi in Russia were forced by the Soviet authorities to relocate to a collective called Lovozero/Lujávri, in the central part of the Kola Peninsula.
There is no single Sámi language, but a group of ten distinct Sámi languages. Six of these languages have their own written standards. The Sámi languages are relatively closely related, but not mutually intelligible; for instance, speakers of Southern Sámi cannot understand Northern Sámi. Especially earlier, these distinct languages were referred to as "dialects", but today, this is considered misleading due to the deep differences between the varieties. Most Sámi languages are spoken in several countries, because linguistic borders do not correspond to national borders.
All Sámi languages are at some degree of endangerment, ranging from what UNESCO defines as "definitely endangered" to "extinct". This is due in part to historic laws prohibiting the use of Sámi languages in schools and at home in Sweden and Norway. Sámi languages, and Sámi song-chants, called yoiks, were illegal in Norway from 1773 until 1958. Then, access to Sámi instruction as part of schooling was not available until 1988. Special residential schools that would assimilate the Sámi into the dominant culture were established. These were originally run by missionaries, but later, controlled by the government. For example, in Russia, Sámi children were taken away when aged 1–2 and returned when aged 15–17 with no knowledge of their language and traditional communities. Not all Sámi viewed the schools negatively, and not all of the schools were brutal. However, being taken from home and prohibited from speaking Sámi has resulted in cultural alienation, loss of language, and lowered self-esteem.
The Sámi languages belong to the Uralic language family, linguistically related to Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian. Due to prolonged contact and import of items foreign to Sámi culture from neighboring Scandinavians, there are a number of Germanic loanwords in Sámi, particularly for "urban" objects. The majority of the Sámi now speak the majority languages of the countries they live in, i.e., Swedish, Russian, Finnish and Norwegian. Efforts are being made to further the use of Sámi languages among Sámi and persons of Sámi origin. Despite these changes, the legacy of cultural repression still exists. Many older Sámi still refuse to speak Sámi. In addition, Sámi parents still feel alienated from schools and hence do not participate as much as they could in shaping school curricula and policy.
In Norway, the name of the language is "samisk", and the name of the people is "Same"; in Finland, the name of the language is spelled "saame" and the name of the people "saamelainen".
American scientist Michael E. Krauss published in 1997 an estimate of Sámi population and their languages.
Kemi Sámi language became extinct in the 19th century.
Many Sámi do not speak any of the Sámi languages any more due to historical assimilation policies, so the number of Sámi living in each area is much higher.
Intelligence studies of Sámi have found them to score similarly to other Nordic populations.
Sápmi is traditionally divided into:
It should also be noted that many Sámi now live outside Sápmi, in large cities such as Oslo in Norway.
A division often used in Northern Sámi is based on occupation and the area of living. This division is also used in many historical texts:
According to the Norwegian Sámi Parliament, the Sámi population of Norway is 40,000. If all people who speak Sámi or have a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent who speaks or spoke Sámi are included, the number reaches 70,000. As of 2005, 12,538 people were registered to vote in the election for the Sámi Parliament in Norway. The bulk of the Sámi live in Finnmark and Northern Troms, but there are also Sámi populations in Southern Troms, Nordland and Trøndelag. Due to recent migration, it has also been claimed that Oslo is the municipality with the largest Sámi population. The Sámi are in a majority only in the municipalities of Guovdageaidnu-Kautokeino, Karasjohka-Karasjok, Porsanger, Deatnu-Tana and Unjargga-Nesseby in Finnmark, and Gáivuotna (Kåfjord) in Northern Troms. This area is also known as the Sámi core area. Sámi and Norwegian are equal as administrative languages in this area.
In Norway, Sweden and Finland Sámi are primarily Lutheran; Skolt Sámi of Finland and Sámi of Russia are primarily orthodox Christians.
According to the Swedish Sámi Parliament, the Sámi population of Sweden is about 20,000.
According to the Finnish Population Registry Center and the Finnish Sámi Parliament, the Sámi population living in Finland was 7,371 in 2003. As of 31 December 2006, only 1776 of them had registered to speak one of the Sámi languages as the mother tongue.
According to the 2002 census, the Sámi population of Russia was 1,991.
Since 1926, the number of identified Sámi in Russia has gradually increased:
There are an estimated 30,000 people living in North America who are either Sámi, or descendants of Sámi. Most have settled in areas that are known to have Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish immigrants. Some of these concentrated areas are Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Illinois, California, Washington, Utah and Alaska; and throughout Canada, including Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern Ontario, and the Canadian territories of the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and the territory now known as Nunavut.
Descendants of these Sámi immigrants typically know little of their heritage because their ancestors purposely hid their indigenous culture to avoid discrimination from the dominating Scandinavian or Nordic culture. Though some of these Sámi are diaspora that moved to North America in order to escape assimilation policies in their home countries. There were also several Sámi families that were brought to North America with herds of reindeer by the U.S. and Canadian governments as part of the "Reindeer Project" designed to teach the Inuit about reindeer herding. There is a long history of Sámi in Alaska.
Some of these Sámi immigrants and descendants of immigrants are members of the Sami Siida of North America.
Sápmi demonstrates a distinct semi-national identity that transcends the borders between Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. There is no movement for sovereign state, but they do seek greater autonomy in respective nation states.
The Sámi Parliaments ("Sámediggi" in Northern Sámi, "Sämitigge" in Inari Sámi, "Sää'mte'ǧǧ" in Skolt Sámi) founded in Finland (1973), Norway (1989) and Sweden (1993) are the representative bodies for peoples of Sámi heritage. Russia has not recognized the Sámi as a minority and, as a result, recognizes no Sámi parliament, even if the Sámi people there have formed an unrecognised Sámi Parliament of Russia. There is no single, unified Sámi parliament that spans across the Nordic countries. Rather, each of the aforementioned three countries has set up its own separate legislatures for Sámi people, even though the three Sámi Parliaments often work together on cross-border issues. In all three countries, they act as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sámi people. The parliaments have very weak political influence, far from autonomy. They are formally public authorities, ruled by the Scandinavian governments, but have democratically elected parliamentarians, whose mission is to work for the Sámi people and culture. Candidates' election promises often get into conflict with the institutions' submission under their governments, but as authorities, they have some influence over the government.
The main organisations for Sámi representation in Norway are the "siidas". They cover northern and central Norway.
The main organisations for Sámi representation in Sweden are the "siidas". They cover northern and central Sweden.
In contrast to Norway and Sweden, in Finland, a "siida" ("paliskunta" in Finnish) is a reindeer-herding corporation that is not restricted by ethnicity. There are indeed some ethnic Finns who practice reindeer herding, and in principle, all residents of the reindeer herding area (most of Finnish Lapland and parts of Oulu province) who are citizens of EEA countries, i.e., the European Union and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, are allowed to join a "paliskunta".
In 2010, the Sámi Council supported the establishment of a cultural center in Russia for Arctic peoples. The Center for Northern Peoples aims to promote artistic and cultural cooperation between the Arctic peoples of Russia and the Nordic countries, with particular focus on indigenous peoples and minorities.
Sápmi, the Sámi traditional lands, cross four national borders. Traditional summer and winter pastures sometimes lie on different sides of the borders of the nation-states. In addition to that, there is a border drawn for modern-day Sápmi. Some state that the rights (for reindeer herding and, in some parts, even for fishing and hunting) include not only modern Sápmi but areas that are beyond today's Sápmi that reflect older territories. Today's "borders" originate from the 14th to 16th centuries when land-owning conflicts occurred. The establishment of more stable dwelling places and larger towns originates from the 16th century and was performed for strategic defence and economic reasons, both by peoples from Sámi groups themselves and more southern immigrants.
Owning land within the borders or being a member of a "siida" (Sámi corporation) gives rights. A different law enacted in Sweden in the mid-1990s gave the right to anyone to fish and hunt in the region, something that was met with skepticism and anger amongst the "siidas".
Court proceedings have been common throughout history, and the aim from the Sámi viewpoint is to reclaim territories used earlier in history. Due to a major defeat in 1996, one "siida" has introduced a sponsorship "Reindeer Godfather" concept to raise funds for further battles in courts. These "internal conflicts" are usually conflicts between non-Sámi land owners and reindeer owners. Cases question the Sámi ancient rights to reindeer pastures. In 2010, Sweden was criticized for its relations with the Sámi in the Universal Periodic Review conducted by the Working Group of the Human Rights Council.
The question whether the fjeld's territory is owned by the governments (crown land) or by the Sámi population is not answered.
From an indigenous perspective, people "belong to the land", the land does not belong to people, but this does not mean that hunters, herders, and fishing people do not know where the borders of their territories are located as well as those of their neighbors.
Although the Sámi have considered themselves to be one people throughout history, the idea of Sápmi, a Sámi nation, first gained acceptance among the Sámi in the 1970s, and even later among the majority population. During the 1980s and 1990s, a flag was created, a national song was written, and the date of a national day was settled.
The Sámi flag was inaugurated during the Sámi Conference in Åre, Sweden, on 15 August 1986. It was the result of a competition for which many suggestions were entered. The winning design was submitted by the artist Astrid Båhl from Skibotn, Norway.
The motif (shown right) was derived from the shaman's drum and the poem "Päiven Pārne'" ("Sons of the Sun") by the South Sámi Anders Fjellner describing the Sámi as sons and daughters of the sun. The flag has the Sámi colours, red, green, yellow and blue, and the circle represents the sun (red) and the moon (blue).
The Sámi National Day falls on February 6 as this date was when the first Sámi congress was held in 1917 in Trondheim, Norway. This congress was the first time that Norwegian and Swedish Sámi came together across their national borders to work together to find solutions for common problems. The resolution for celebrating on 6 February was passed in 1992 at the 15th Sámi congress in Helsinki. Since 1993, Norway, Sweden and Finland have recognized February 6 as Sámi National Day.
"Sámi soga lávlla" ("Song of the Sámi People", lit. "Song of the Sámi Family") was originally a poem written by Isak Saba that was published in the newspaper "Sagai Muittalægje" for the first time on 1 April 1906. In August 1986, it became the national anthem of the Sámi. Arne Sørli set the poem to music, which was then approved at the 15th Sámi Conference in Helsinki in 1992. "Sámi soga lávlla" has been translated into all of the Sámi languages.
Widespread Shamanism persisted among the Sámi up until the 18th century. Most Sámi today belong to the state-run Lutheran churches of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Some Sámi in Russia belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, and similarly, some Skolt Sámi resettled in Finland are also part of an Eastern Orthodox congregation, with an additional small population in Norway.
Traditional Sámi religion was a type of polytheism. (See Sámi deities.) There was some diversity due to the wide area that is Sápmi, allowing for the evolution of variations in beliefs and practices between tribes. The old beliefs are closely connected to the land, animism, and the supernatural. Sámi spirituality is often characterized by pantheism, a strong emphasis on the importance of personal spirituality and its interconnectivity with one's own daily life, and a deep connection between the natural and spiritual "worlds". Among other roles, the Sámi shaman, or noaidi, enabled ritual communication with the supernatural through the use of tools such as drums, chants, sacred objects and fly agaric. Some practices within the Old Sámi religion included natural sacred sites such as mountains, springs, land formations, as well as man-made ones such as petroglyphs and labyrinths.
The Sámi cosmology divides the universe into three worlds. The upper world is related to the South, warmth, life, and the color white. It is also the dwelling of the gods. The middle world is like the Norse Midgard, it is the dwelling of humans and it is associated with the color red. The third world is the underworld and it is associated with the color black, it represents the north, the cold and it is inhabited by otters, loons, and seals and mythical animals.
Sámi religion shared some elements with Norse mythology, possibly from early contacts with trading Vikings (or vice versa). Through a mainly French initiative from Joseph Paul Gaimard as part of his La Recherche Expedition, Lars Levi Læstadius began research on Sámi mythology. His work resulted in Fragments of Lappish Mythology, since by his own admission, they contained only a small percentage of what had existed. The fragments were termed "Theory of Gods", "Theory of Sacrifice", "Theory of Prophecy, or short reports about rumorous Sami magic" and "Sami sagas". Generally, he claims to have filtered out the Norse influence and derived common elements between the South, North, and Eastern Sámi groups. The mythology has common elements with other traditional indigenous religions as well—such as those in Siberia and North America.
The term "Sámi religion" usually refers to the traditional religion, practiced by most Sámi until approximately the 18th century. Christianity was introduced by Roman Catholic missionaries as early as the 13th century. Increased pressure came after the Protestant Reformation, and rune drums were burned or sent to museums abroad. In this period, many Sámi practiced their traditional religion at home, while going to church on Sunday. Since the Sámi were considered to possess "witchcraft" powers, they were often accused of sorcery during the 17th century and were the subjects of witchcraft trials and burnings.
In Norway, a major effort to convert the Sámi was made around 1720, when Thomas von Westen, the "Apostle of the Sámi", burned drums, burned sacred objects, and converted people. Out of the estimated thousands of drums prior to this period, only about 70 are known to remain today, scattered in museums around Europe. Sacred sites were destroyed, such as sieidi (stones in natural or human-built formations), álda and sáivu (sacred hills), springs, caves and other natural formations where offerings were made.
In the far east of the Sámi area, the Russian monk Trifon converted the Sámi in the 16th century. Today, St. George's chapel in Neiden, Norway (1565), testifies to this effort.
Around 1840 Swedish Sámi Lutheran pastor and administrator Lars Levi Laestadius initiated among the Sámi a puritanical pietist movement emphasizing complete abstinence from alcohol. This movement is still very dominant in Sámi-speaking areas. Laestadius spoke many languages, and he became fluent and preached in Finnish and Northern Sámi in addition to his native Southern Sámi and Swedish, the language he used for scholarly publications.
Two great challenges Laestadius had faced since his early days as a church minister were the indifference of his Sámi parishioners, who had been forced by the Swedish government to convert from their shamanistic religion to Lutheranism, and the misery caused them by alcoholism. The spiritual understanding Laestadius acquired and shared in his new sermons "filled with vivid metaphors from the lives of the Sámi that they could understand, ... about a God who cared about the lives of the people" had a profound positive effect on both problems. One account from a Sámi cultural perspective recalls a new desire among the Sámi to learn to read and a "bustle and energy in the church, with people confessing their sins, crying and praying for forgiveness ... [Alcohol abuse] and the theft of [the Sa`mis'] reindeer diminished, which had a positive influence on the Sámi's relationships, finances and family life."
Today there are a number of Sámi who seek to return to the traditional Pagan values of their ancestors. There are also some Sámi who claim to be "noaidi" and offer their services through newspaper advertisements, in New Age arrangements, or for tourist groups. While they practice a religion based on that of their ancestors, widespread anti-pagan prejudice has caused these shamans to be generally not viewed as part of an unbroken Sámi religious tradition. Traditional Sámi beliefs are composed of three intertwining elements: animism, shamanism, and polytheism. Sámi animism is manifested in the Sámi's belief that all significant natural objects (such as animals, plants, rocks, etc.) possess a soul; and from a polytheistic perspective, traditional Sámi beliefs include a multitude of spirits. Many contemporary practitioners are compared to practitioners of neo-paganism, as a number of neopagan religions likewise combine elements of ancient pagan religions with more recent revisions or innovations, but others feel they are attempting to revive or reconstruct indigenous Sámi religions as found in historic, folkloric sources and oral traditions.
In 2012, County Governor of Troms approved Shamanic Association of Tromsø as a new religion.
A very different religious idea is represented by the numerous "wise men" and "wise women" found throughout the Sámi area. They often offer to heal the sick through rituals and traditional medicines and may also combine traditional elements, such as older Sámi teachings, with newer monotheistic inventions that Christian missionaries taught their ancestors, such as readings from the Bible.
Anthropologists have been studying the Sámi people for hundreds of years for their assumed physical and cultural differences from the rest of the Europeans. Recent genetic studies have indicated that the two most frequent maternal lineages of the Sámi people are the haplogroups V (neolithic in Europe and not found in Finland 1500 years ago) and U5b (ancient in Europe). "The Y-chromosomal variety in the Saami is also consistent with their European ancestry. It suggests that the large genetic separation of the Saami from other Europeans is best explained by assuming that the Saami are descendants of a narrow, distinctive subset of Europeans." Y-chromosome haplogroup N-VL29 makes up 20%, came from Siberia 3500 years ago or more likely much later. Y-chromosome N-Z1936 makes up 20%, likely came from Siberia with Sámi language later. This tallies with archeological evidence suggesting that several different cultural groups made their way to the core area of Sámi from 8000 to 6000 BC, presumably including some of the ancestors of present-day Sámi. The "Nganassan" autosomic component now makes up more than 25% in the Sámi, but was 50% in the 3500-year old Kola population. The Mesolithic "Western European Hunter-Gatherer" (WHG) component is close to 15%, while that of the Neolithic "European early farmer" (LBK) is 10%. 50% is the Bronze Age "Yamna" component, the earliest trace of which is observed in the Pit–Comb Ware culture in Estonia, but in a 2.5-fold lower percentage.
The Sámi have been found to be genetically unrelated to people of the Pitted Ware culture. The Pitted Ware culture are in turn genetically continuous with the original Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers.
The genetic makeup of Sámi people has been extensively studied for as long as such research has been in existence. Ethnographic photography of the Sámi began with the invention of the camera in the 19th century. This continued on into the 1920s and 1930s, when Sámi were photographed naked and anatomically measured by scientists, with the help of the local police—sometimes at gunpoint—to collect data that would justify their own racial theories. Thus, there is a degree of distrust by some in the Sámi community towards genetic research.
Examples of discriminatory actions include the Statens Institut for Rasbiologi compulsory sterilization project for Sámi women, which continued until 1975, and Sámi graves being plundered to provide research materials, of which their remains and artifacts from this period from across Sápmi can still be found in various state collections. In the late 19th century, colonial fascination with Arctic peoples led to human beings exhibited in human zoos. Sámi people were exhibited with their traditional lavvu tents, weapons, and sleds, beside a group of reindeer at Tierpark Hagenbeck and other zoos across the globe. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27122 |
Saarland
Saarland (, also , ; ) is a state of Germany in the west of the country. With an area of and population of 995,600 in 2015, it is the smallest German state in both area and population apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg. Saarbrücken is the state capital and largest city; other cities include Neunkirchen and Saarlouis. Saarland is mainly surrounded by the department of Moselle in France to the west and south and the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany to the north and east; it also shares a small border approximately 5 miles long with the canton of Remich in Luxembourg to the northwest.
Saarland was established in 1920 after World War I as the Territory of the Saar Basin, occupied and governed by France under a League of Nations mandate. The heavily industrialized region was economically valuable, due to the wealth of its coal deposits and location on the border between France and Germany. Saarland was returned to Nazi Germany in the 1935 Saar status referendum. Following World War II, the French military administration in Allied-occupied Germany organized the territory as the Saar Protectorate from 1947. After the 1955 Saar Statute referendum, it joined the Federal Republic of Germany as a state on 1 January 1957. Saarland used its own currency, the Saar franc, and postage stamps issued specially for the territory until 1959.
The region of the Saarland was settled by the Celtic tribes of Treveri and Mediomatrici. The most impressive relic of their time is the remains of a fortress of refuge at Otzenhausen in the north of the Saarland. In the 1st century BC, the Roman Empire made the region part of its province of Belgica. The Celtic population mixed with the Roman immigrants. The region gained wealth, which can still be seen in the remains of Roman villas and villages.
Roman rule ended in the 5th century, when the Franks conquered the territory. For the next 1,300 years the region shared the history of the Kingdom of the Franks, the Carolingian Empire and of the Holy Roman Empire. The region of the Saarland was divided into several small territories, some of which were ruled by sovereigns of adjoining regions. Most important of the local rulers were the counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken. Within the Holy Roman Empire these territories gained a wide range of independence, threatened, however, by the French kings, who sought, from the 17th century onwards, to incorporate all the territories on the western side of the river Rhine and repeatedly invaded the area in 1635, in 1676, in 1679 and in 1734, extending their realm to the Saar River and establishing the city and stronghold of Saarlouis in 1680.
It was not the king of France but the armies of the French Revolution who terminated the independence of the states in the region of the Saarland. After 1792 they conquered the region and made it part of the French Republic. While a strip in the west belonged to the Département Moselle, the centre in 1798 became part of the Département de Sarre, and the east became part of the Département du Mont-Tonnerre. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the region was divided again. Most of it became part of the Prussian Rhine Province. Another part in the east, corresponding to the present Saarpfalz district, was allocated to the Kingdom of Bavaria. A small part in the northeast was ruled by the Duke of Oldenburg.
On 31 July 1870, the French Emperor Napoleon III ordered an invasion across the River Saar to seize Saarbrücken. The first shots of the Franco-Prussian War 1870/71 were fired on the heights of Spichern, south of Saarbrücken. The Saar region became part of the German Empire which came into existence on 18 January 1871, during the course of this war.
In 1920 the Saargebiet was occupied by Britain and France under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. The occupied area included portions of the Prussian Rhine Province and the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate. In practice the region was administered by France. In 1920 this was formalized by a 15-year League of Nations mandate.
In 1933, a considerable number of communists and other political opponents of National Socialism fled to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany that remained outside national administration following the First World War. As a result, anti-Nazi groups agitated for the Saarland to remain under French administration. However, with most of the population being ethnically German, such views were considered suspect or even treasonous, and therefore found little support.
When the original 15-year term was over, a plebiscite was held in the territory on 13 January 1935: 90.8% of those voting favoured rejoining Germany.
Following the referendum Josef Bürckel was appointed on 1 March 1935 as the German Reich's commissioner for reintegration ("Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes"). When the reincorporation was considered accomplished, his title was changed (after 17 June 1936) to "Reichskommissar für das Saarland". In September 1939, in response to the German Invasion of Poland, French forces invaded the Saarland in a half-hearted offensive, occupying some villages and meeting little resistance, before withdrawing. A further change was made after 8 April 1940 to "Reichskommissar für die Saarpfalz"; finally, after 11 March 1941, he was made "Reichsstatthalter in der "Westmark"" (the region's new name, meaning "Western March or Border"). He died on 28 September 1944 and was succeeded by Willi Stöhr, who remained in office until the region fell to advancing American forces in March 1945.
After World War II, the Saarland came under French occupation and administration again, as the Saar Protectorate.
Under the Monnet Plan France attempted to gain economic control of the German industrial areas with large coal and mineral deposits that were not in Soviet hands: the Ruhr and the Saar area. Attempts to gain control of or permanently internationalize the Ruhr area (see International Authority for the Ruhr) were abandoned in 1951 with the German agreement to pool its coal and steel resources (see European Coal and Steel Community) in return for full political control of the Ruhr. The French attempt to gain economic control over the Saar was more successful at the time, with the final vestiges of French economic influence not ending until 1981. France did not annex the Saar or expel the local German population, as opposed to fate of Upper Silesia which was annexed by Poland in 1949 in accordance with the peace treaty between Poland and the GDR/East Germany (see also Allied-occupied Germany).
In his speech "Restatement of Policy on Germany", made in Stuttgart on 6 September 1946, United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes stated the U.S. motive in detaching the Saar from Germany: "The United States does not feel that it can deny to France, which has been invaded three times by Germany in 70 years, its claim to the Saar territory".
From 1945 to 1951, a policy of industrial disarmament was pursued in Germany by the Allies (see the industrial plans for Germany). As part of this policy, limits were placed on production levels, and industries in the Saar were dismantled just as in the Ruhr, although mostly in the period prior to its detachment (see also the 1949 letter from the UK Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin to the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, urging a reconsideration of the dismantling policy).
In 1948, the French government established the Saarland University under the auspices of the University of Nancy. It is the principal university in the "Bundesland", the other being HTW.
The Saar Protectorate was headed by a military governor from 30 August 1945: Gilbert Yves Edmond Grandval (1904 – 1981), who remained, on 1 January 1948, as High Commissioner, and January 1952 – June 1955 as the first of two French ambassadors, his successor being Éric de Carbonnel (1910 – 1965) until 1956.
Saarland, however, was allowed a regional administration very early, consecutively headed by:
In 1954, France and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) developed a detailed plan called the "Saarstatut" to establish an independent Saarland. It was signed as an agreement between the two countries on 23 October 1954 as one of the Paris Pacts, but a plebiscite held on 23 October 1955 rejected it by 67.7%.
On 27 October 1956, the Saar Treaty declared that Saarland should be allowed to join the Federal Republic of Germany, which it did on 1 January 1957. This was the last significant international border change in Europe until the fall of Communism over 30 years later.
The Saarland's unification with the Federal Republic of Germany was sometimes referred to as the ' ("little reunification", in contrast with the post-Cold War absorption of the GDR (')). After unification, the Saar franc remained as the territory's currency until West Germany's Deutsche Mark replaced it on 7 July 1959. The Saar Treaty established that French, not English as in the rest of West Germany, should remain the first foreign language taught in Saarland schools; this provision was still largely followed after it was no longer binding.
Since 1971, Saarland has been a member of SaarLorLux, a euroregion created from Saarland, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Rhineland Palatinate, and Wallonia.
The state borders France ("département" of Moselle, which forms part of the "région" of Grand Est) to the south and west, Luxembourg (Grevenmacher District) to the west and Rheinland-Pfalz to the north and the east.
It is named after the Saar River, a tributary of the Moselle River (itself a tributary of the Rhine), which runs through the state from the south to the northwest. One third of the land area of the Saarland is covered by forest, one of the highest percentages in Germany. The state is generally hilly; the highest mountain is the Dollberg with a height of 695.4 m (2281 feet).
Most inhabitants live in a city agglomeration on the French border, surrounding the capital of Saarbrücken.
See also List of places in Saarland.
Saarland is divided into six districts ("Landkreise" in German):
The following table shows the ten largest cities of Saarland:
Saarland is the most religious state in Germany. The adherents of the Catholic Church comprise 56.8% of the population, organised in the two dioceses of Trier (comprising the formerly Prussian part of Saarland) and Speyer (for the smaller eastern formerly Palatine part). 17.5% of the Saarlandic population adhere to the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), organised in the two Landeskirchen named Evangelical Church in the Rhineland and Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, both following the same former territorial partition. 25.7% are not affiliated with one of these churches.
Saarland has the highest concentration of Roman Catholics of any German state, and is the only state in which Catholics form an absolute majority (over 50%).
Except for the period between 1985 and 1999 – when the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) held a majority of seats in the Landtag (state diet) – the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has governed the Saarland, either alone or in coalition, continuously since the accession of the state to the Federal of Republic of Germany in 1957.
After the most recent state elections – held in 2012 following the collapse of the "Jamaica coalition" agreement of 2009 between the CDU, the liberal FDP, and the centre-left Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (The Greens) – the CDU and SPD, as the two largest parties in the Landtag, decided upon the formation of a "grand coalition" under the overall leadership of the current minister-president, Tobias Hans (CDU).
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 35.4 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 1.1% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 32,800 euros or 109% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 93% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the second lowest of all states in West Germany.
Important income sources are the automobile industry, steel industry, ceramic industry and computer science and information systems industry. In the past, coal mining was an important branch of industry.
The unemployment rate stood at 5.8% in October 2018 and was higher than the national average but below the EU28 average.
Saarland is home to the Saarland University and the administrative headquarters of the Franco-German University.
People in the Saarland speak Rhine Franconian (in the southeast, very similar to that dialect spoken in the western part of the Palatinate) and Moselle Franconian (in the northwest, very similar to that dialect spoken along the Moselle River and the cities of Trier or even in Luxembourg). Outside of the Saarland, specifically the Rhine-Franconian variant spoken in the state capital Saarbrücken is generally considered to be "the" Saarland dialect. The two dialect regions are mainly separated by the "das / dat" isogloss; in the northwestern portion of the state, including cities such as Saarlouis, standard German "das" is pronounced with a final [t] instead of an [s].
In general, both dialects are an integral part of Saarland identity and thus a strong source of local patriotism.
Both dialects, particularly in their respective Saarland flavour, share many characteristic features, some of which will be explained below.
Women and girls are often referred to using the neuter pronoun "es", with the pronunciation being something like "Ähs": Ähs hat mir's gesaat" (it told me so', instead of she told me so'; vs. High German: Sie hat es mir gesagt"). This stems from the word "Mädchen" (girl) being neuter in German ("es" is correct in German when referring to words like "Mädchen" but would not be used by itself in reference to a woman).
The conjunctive in Rhine Franconian is normally composed with the words "dääd" (High German "tät" = “would do”) or "gäng" (“would go”) as auxiliary verbs: "Isch dääd saan, dass..." (“I would say that...”) instead of the High German "Ich würde sagen, dass...".
Declension is rather different:
Diphthongs are less common than in Standard German. This is because the Standard German diphthongs "ei" and "au" are each the result of a merger of two Middle High German vowels – however, these mergers did not take place in the Saarland, and only one of the two merged vowels is pronounced as a diphthong. The front rounded vowels "ö", "ü", and "eu" are replaced by "e", "i", and "ei" respectively.
Both the Rhine Franconian and Moselle Franconian dialects (and Luxemburgish) have merged the palatal fricative sound as in "ich" with the post-alveolar fricative as in "frisch" 'fresh', causing minimal pairs such as "Kirche" 'church' and "Kirsche" 'cherry' to be pronounced in the same way.
French has had a considerable influence on the vocabulary, although the pronunciation of imported French words is usually quite different from their originals. Popular examples include "Trottwaa" (from "trottoir"), "Fissääl" (from "ficelle"), and the imperative or greeting "aalleh!" (from "allez!").
The English sentence 'My house is green' is pronounced almost the same in the Rhine Franconian variant: "Mei Haus is grien". The main difference lies in the pronunciation of the "r" sound.
Regional beer brewer Karlsberg has taken advantage of the Saarlandish dialect to create clever advertising for its staple product, UrPils. Examples include a trio of men enjoying a beer, flanked by baby carriages, the slogan reading ""Mutter schafft"" (meaning "Mom's at work" in Saarlandish, but plays on the High German word "Mutterschaft", or "motherhood"); another depicts a trio of men at a bar, with one realizing his beer has been drunk by one of the others, the slogan reading ""Kenner war's"" (meaning "It was no one" ["Keiner war es"] in Saarlandish, but playing on the High German word ""Kenner"", or "connoisseur", translating to "It was a connoisseur"); a third shows an empty beer crate in the middle of outer space, the text reading ""All"" (meaning "empty" in Saarlandish, but playing on the same High German word meaning "outer space").
The French language has a special standing in Saarland due to its geographical proximity with France. Today, a large part of the population is able to speak French, and it is compulsory at many schools. Saarbrücken is also home to a bilingual "Deutsch-Französisches Gymnasium" (German-French high school). In January 2014 the Saarland state government announced its aim of making the region fully bilingual in German and French by 2043.
The Saar competed in the qualifying section of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but failed after coming second to West Germany but ahead of Norway. It also competed as Saar in the 1952 Summer Olympics and the field handball world championships in the beginning of the 1950s. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27123 |
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein () is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig. Its capital city is Kiel; other notable cities are Lübeck and Flensburg.
Also known in more dated English as Sleswick-Holsatia, the region is called ' in Danish and pronounced . The Low German name is ', and the North Frisian name is "Slaswik-Holstiinj." Historically, the name can also refer to a larger region, containing both present-day Schleswig-Holstein and the former South Jutland County (Northern Schleswig; now part of the Region of Southern Denmark) in Denmark.
The term "Holstein" derives from Old Saxon "Holseta Land," ("Holz" and "Holt" mean wood in modern Standardised German and in literary English, respectively). Originally, it referred to the central of the three Saxon tribes north of the River Elbe: "Tedmarsgoi" (Dithmarschen), Holstein and "Sturmarii" (Stormarn). The area of the tribe of the Holsts was between the Stör River and Hamburg, and after Christianization, their main church was in Schenefeld. Saxon Holstein became a part of the Holy Roman Empire after Charlemagne's Saxon campaigns in the late eighth century. Since 811, the northern frontier of Holstein (and thus the Empire) was marked by the River Eider.
The term Schleswig comes from the city of Schleswig. The name derives from the Schlei inlet in the east and "vik" meaning inlet in Old Norse or settlement in Old Saxon, and linguistically identical (cognate) with the "-wick" or "-wich" element in place-names in Britain.
The Duchy of Schleswig or Southern Jutland was originally an integral part of Denmark, but was in medieval times established as a fief under the Kingdom of Denmark, with the same relation to the Danish Crown as for example Brandenburg or Bavaria vis-à-vis the Holy Roman Emperor. Around 1100, the Duke of Saxony gave Holstein, as it was his own country, to Count Adolf I of Schauenburg.
Schleswig and Holstein have at different times belonged in part or completely to either Denmark or Germany, or have been virtually independent of both nations. The exception is that Schleswig had never been part of Germany until the Second Schleswig War in 1864. For many centuries, the King of Denmark was both a Danish Duke of Schleswig and a German Duke of Holstein. Essentially, Schleswig was either integrated into Denmark or was a Danish fief, and Holstein was a German fief and once a sovereign state long ago. Both were for several centuries ruled by the kings of Denmark. In 1721, all of Schleswig was united as a single duchy under the king of Denmark, and the great powers of Europe confirmed in an international treaty that all future kings of Denmark should automatically become dukes of Schleswig, and consequently Schleswig would always follow the same order of succession as the one chosen in the Kingdom of Denmark. In the church, following the reformation, German was used in the southern part of Schleswig and Danish in the northern part. This would later prove decisive for shaping national sentiments in the population, as well as after 1814 when mandatory school education was introduced. The administration of both duchies was conducted in German, despite the fact that they were governed from Copenhagen (from 1523 by the "German Chancellery" which was in 1806 renamed "Schleswig-Holstein Chancellery").
The German national awakening that followed the Napoleonic Wars gave rise to a strong popular movement in Holstein and Southern Schleswig for unification with a new Prussian-dominated Germany. This development was paralleled by an equally strong Danish national awakening in Denmark and Northern Schleswig. This movement called for the complete reintegration of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark and demanded an end to discrimination against Danes in Schleswig. The ensuing conflict is sometimes called the Schleswig-Holstein Question. In 1848, King Frederick VII of Denmark declared that he would grant Denmark a liberal constitution and the immediate goal for the Danish national movement was to ensure that this constitution would give rights to all Danes, i.e. not only to those in the Kingdom of Denmark, but also to Danes (and Germans) living in Schleswig. Furthermore, they demanded protection for the Danish language in Schleswig (the dominant language in almost a quarter of Schleswig had changed from Danish to German since the beginning of the 19th century).
A liberal constitution for Holstein was not seriously considered in Copenhagen, since it was well known that the political élite of Holstein were more conservative than Copenhagen's. Representatives of German-minded Schleswig-Holsteiners demanded that Schleswig and Holstein be unified and allowed its own constitution and that Schleswig join Holstein as a member of the German Confederation. These demands were rejected by the Danish government in 1848, and the Germans of Holstein and southern Schleswig rebelled. This began the First Schleswig War (1848–51), which ended in a Danish victory at Idstedt.
In 1863, conflict broke out again when Frederick VII died without legitimate issue. According to the order of succession of Denmark and Schleswig, the crowns of both Denmark and Schleswig would pass to Duke Christian of Glücksburg, who became Christian IX. The transmission of the duchy of Holstein to the head of the (German-oriented) branch of the Danish royal family, the House of Augustenborg, was more controversial. The separation of the two duchies was challenged by the Augustenborg heir, who claimed, as in 1848, to be rightful heir of both Schleswig and Holstein. The promulgation of a common constitution for Denmark and Schleswig in November 1863 prompted Otto von Bismarck to intervene and Prussia and Austria declared war on Denmark. This was the Second War of Schleswig, which ended in Danish defeat. British attempts to mediate in the London Conference of 1864 failed, and Denmark lost Schleswig (Northern and Southern Schleswig), Holstein, and Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria.
Contrary to the hopes of German Schleswig-Holsteiners, the area did not gain its independence, but was annexed as a province of Prussia in 1867. Also following the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, section five of the Peace of Prague stipulated that the people of Northern Schleswig would be consulted in a referendum on whether to remain under Prussian rule or return to Danish rule. This condition, however, was never fulfilled by Prussia. During the decades of Prussian rule within the German Empire, authorities attempted a Germanisation policy in the northern part of Schleswig, which remained predominantly Danish. The period also meant increased industrialisation of Schleswig-Holstein and the use of Kiel and Flensburg as important Imperial German Navy locations. The northernmost part and west coast of the province saw a wave of emigration to America, while some Danes of North Schleswig emigrated to Denmark.
Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers arranged a plebiscite in northern and central Schleswig. The plebiscite was conducted under the auspices of an international commission which designated two voting zones to cover the northern and south-central parts of Schleswig. Steps were taken to also create a third zone covering a southern area, but zone III was cancelled again and never voted, as the Danish government asked the commission not to expand the plebiscite to this area.
In zone I covering Northern Schleswig (10 February 1920), 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% voted for Germany. In zone II covering central Schleswig (14 March 1920), the results were reversed; 80% voted for Germany and just 20% for Denmark. Only minor areas on the island of Föhr showed a Danish majority, and the rest of the Danish vote was primarily in the town of Flensburg.
On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig officially returned to Danish rule. The Danish/German border was the only one of the borders imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I which was never challenged by Adolf Hitler.
In 1937, the Nazis passed the so-called Greater Hamburg Act ("Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz"), where the nearby Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg was expanded, to encompass towns that had formerly belonged to the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. To compensate Prussia for these losses (and partly because Hitler had a personal dislike for Lübeck), the 711-year-long independence of the Hansestadt Lübeck came to an end, and almost all its territory was incorporated into Schleswig-Holstein.
After World War II, the Prussian province Schleswig-Holstein came under British occupation. On 23 August 1946, the military government abolished the province and reconstituted it as a separate "Land".
Because of the forced migrations of Germans between 1944 and 1950, the population of Schleswig-Holstein increased by 33% (860,000 people). A pro-Danish political movement arose in Schleswig, with transfer of the area to Denmark as an ultimate goal. This was supported neither by the British occupation administration nor the Danish government. In 1955, the German and Danish governments issued the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations confirming the rights of the ethnic minorities on both sides of the border. Conditions between the nationalities have since been stable and generally respectful.
Schleswig-Holstein lies on the base of Jutland Peninsula between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Strictly speaking, "Schleswig" refers to the German Southern Schleswig ( or "Landesteil Schleswig", ), whereas Northern Schleswig is in Denmark (South Jutland County, Region of Southern Denmark). The state of Schleswig-Holstein further consists of Holstein, as well as Lauenburg and the formerly independent city of Lübeck.
Schleswig-Holstein borders Denmark (Southern Denmark) to the north, the North Sea to the west, the Baltic Sea to the east, and the German states of Lower Saxony, Hamburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the south.
In the western part of the state, the lowlands have virtually no hills. The North Frisian Islands, as well as almost all of Schleswig-Holstein's North Sea coast, form the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park ("Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer") which is the largest national park in Central Europe. Germany's only high-sea island, Heligoland, is situated in the North Sea.
The Baltic Sea coast in the east of Schleswig-Holstein is marked by bays, fjords, and cliff lines. Rolling hills (the highest elevation is the Bungsberg at ) and many lakes are found, especially in the eastern part of Holstein called the Holstein Switzerland and the former Duchy of Lauenburg ("Herzogtum Lauenburg"). Fehmarn is the only island off the eastern coast. The longest river besides the Elbe is the Eider; the most important waterway is the Kiel Canal which connects the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
Schleswig-Holstein is divided into 11 "Kreise" (districts):
Furthermore, the four separate urban districts are:
Schleswig-Holstein has an aging population. Since 1972 there has been a decrease in the natural rate of population change. In 2016 the total fertility rate reached 1.61, highest value in 40 years (the average value being 1.4). In 2016 there were 25,420 births and 33,879 deaths, resulting in a natural decrease of -8,459.
The region has been strongly Protestant since the time of the Protestant Reformation. It is proportionally the most Protestant of the sixteen modern states. In 2018, members of the Evangelical Church in Germany make up 44.6% of the population, while members of the Catholic Church comprise 6.1%. 49.3% of the population is not religious or adherent of other religions.
Largest groups of foreign residents by 31 December 2018
Schleswig-Holstein combines Danish and German aspects of culture. The castles and manors in the countryside are the best example for this tradition; some dishes like Rødgrød (, literal English "red grits" or "red groats") are also shared, as well as surnames such as Hansen.
The most important festivals are the Kiel Week, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, an annual classic music festival all over the state, and the Lübeck Nordic Film Days, an annual film festival for movies from Scandinavian countries, held in Lübeck.
The annual Wacken Open Air festival is considered to be the largest heavy metal rock festival in the world.
The state's most important museum of cultural history is in Gottorf Castle in Schleswig.
The Wagnerian tenor Klaus Florian Vogt is from Schleswig - Holstein.
The coat of arms shows the symbols of the two duchies united in Schleswig-Holstein, i.e., the two lions for Schleswig and the leaf of a nettle for Holstein. Supposedly, Otto von Bismarck decreed that the two lions were to face the nettle because of the discomfort to their bottoms which would have resulted if the lions faced away from it.
The motto of Schleswig-Holstein is ""Up ewich ungedeelt"" (Middle Low German: "Forever undivided", modern High German: ""Auf ewig ungeteilt""). It goes back to the Vertrag von Ripen or Handfeste von Ripen (Danish: Ribe Håndfæstning) or Treaty of Ribe in 1460. Ripen (Ribe) is a historical small town at the North Sea coast in Northern Schleswig. See History of Schleswig-Holstein.
The anthem from 1844 is called "Wanke nicht, mein Vaterland" ("Don't falter, my fatherland"), but it is usually referred to with its first line ""Schleswig-Holstein meerumschlungen"" (i.e., "Schleswig-Holstein embraced by the seas") or "Schleswig-Holstein-Lied" (Schleswig-Holstein song).
The old city of Lübeck is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The official language of Schleswig-Holstein is German. In addition, Low German, Danish and North Frisian are recognized minority languages.
Historically, Low German (in Holstein and Southern Schleswig), Danish (in Schleswig), and North Frisian (in Western Schleswig) were widely spoken in Schleswig-Holstein. During the language change in the 19th century some Danish and North Frisian dialects in Southern Schleswig were replaced by Standard German.
Low German is still used in many parts of the state. Missingsch, a Low German dialect with heavy High German (Standard German) influence, is commonly spoken informally throughout the state, while a mixed language Petuh (mixture of High German and Danish) is used in and around Flensburg. Danish is used by the Danish minority in Southern Schleswig, and North Frisian is spoken by the North Frisians of the North Sea Coast and the Northern Frisian Islands in Southern Schleswig. The North Frisian dialect called Heligolandic ("Halunder") is spoken on the island of Heligoland.
As is the case throughout Germany, High German, introduced in the 16th century, has come to steadily replace local dialects for official purposes, and is today the predominant language of media, law and legislature. It is spoken by virtually all inhabitants in formal situations. Since the end of World War II and widespread adoption of TV, radio and other mass media, it has gradually come to supplant local dialects in urban areas as well.
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 62.7 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 1.9% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 30,400 euros or 101% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 95% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the lowest of all states in West Germany.
Schleswig-Holstein is a leader in the country's growing renewable energy industry. In 2014, Schleswig-Holstein became the first German state to cover 100% of its electric power demand with renewable energy sources (chiefly wind, solar, and biomass).
Located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, Schleswig-Holstein is also a popular tourist destination in Germany. Its islands, beaches and cities attract millions of tourists every year. It has the second highest tourism intensity among the German states, after Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The unemployment rate stood at 5.0% in October 2018 and was marginally higher than the German average.
Compulsory education starts for children who are six years old on 30 June. All children attend a "Grundschule", which is Germany's equivalent to primary school, for the first 4 years and then move on to a secondary school. In Schleswig-Holstein there are "Gemeinschaftsschulen", which is a new type of comprehensive school. The regional schools, which go by the German name "Regionalschule" have been done away with as of 1 January 2014. The option of a Gymnasium is still available.
There are three universities in Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg. Also, there are four public Universities of Applied Sciences in Flensburg, Heide, Kiel, and Lübeck. There is the Conservatory in Lübeck and the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts in Kiel. There are also three private institutions of higher learning.
Schleswig-Holstein has its own parliament and government which are located in the state capital Kiel. The Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein is elected by the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein.
The most recent Schleswig-Holstein state elections were held on 7 May 2017. The governing parties consisting of the Social Democrats, the Green Party, and the South Schleswig Voters' Association lost their majority. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27126 |
Sulfur
Sulfur (in British English, sulphur) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent, and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow, crystalline solid at room temperature.
Sulfur is the tenth most common element by mass in the universe, and the fifth most common on Earth. Though sometimes found in pure, native form, sulfur on Earth usually occurs as sulfide and sulfate minerals. Being abundant in native form, sulfur was known in ancient times, being mentioned for its uses in ancient India, ancient Greece, China, and Egypt. Historically and in literature sulfur is also called brimstone, which means "burning stone". Today, almost all elemental sulfur is produced as a byproduct of removing sulfur-containing contaminants from natural gas and petroleum. The greatest commercial use of the element is the production of sulfuric acid for sulfate and phosphate fertilizers, and other chemical processes. The element sulfur is used in matches, insecticides, and fungicides. Many sulfur compounds are odoriferous, and the smells of odorized natural gas, skunk scent, grapefruit, and garlic are due to organosulfur compounds. Hydrogen sulfide gives the characteristic odor to rotting eggs and other biological processes.
Sulfur is an essential element for all life, but almost always in the form of organosulfur compounds or metal sulfides. Three amino acids (cysteine, cystine, and methionine) and two vitamins (biotin and thiamine) are organosulfur compounds. Many cofactors also contain sulfur, including glutathione, thioredoxin, and iron–sulfur proteins. Disulfides, S–S bonds, confer mechanical strength and insolubility of the protein keratin, found in outer skin, hair, and feathers. Sulfur is one of the core chemical elements needed for biochemical functioning and is an elemental macronutrient for all living organisms.
Sulfur forms several polyatomic molecules. The best-known allotrope is octasulfur, cyclo-S8. The point group of cyclo-S8 is D4d and its dipole moment is 0 D. Octasulfur is a soft, bright-yellow solid that is odorless, but impure samples have an odor similar to that of matches. It melts at , boils at and sublimes easily. At , below its melting temperature, cyclo-octasulfur changes from α-octasulfur to the β-polymorph. The structure of the S8 ring is virtually unchanged by this phase change, which affects the intermolecular interactions. Between its melting and boiling temperatures, octasulfur changes its allotrope again, turning from β-octasulfur to γ-sulfur, again accompanied by a lower density but increased viscosity due to the formation of polymers. At higher temperatures, the viscosity decreases as depolymerization occurs. Molten sulfur assumes a dark red color above . The density of sulfur is about 2 g/cm3, depending on the allotrope; all of the stable allotropes are excellent electrical insulators.
Sulfur burns with a blue flame with formation of sulfur dioxide, which has a suffocating and irritating odor. Sulfur is insoluble in water but soluble in carbon disulfide and, to a lesser extent, in other nonpolar organic solvents, such as benzene and toluene. The first and second ionization energies of sulfur are 999.6 and 2252 kJ/mol, respectively. Despite such figures, the +2 oxidation state is rare, with +4 and +6 being more common. The fourth and sixth ionization energies are 4556 and 8495.8 kJ/mol, the magnitude of the figures caused by electron transfer between orbitals; these states are only stable with strong oxidants such as fluorine, oxygen, and chlorine.
Sulfur reacts with nearly all other elements with the exception of the noble gases, even with the notoriously unreactive metal iridium (yielding iridium disulfide). Some of those reactions need elevated temperatures.
Sulfur has 23 known isotopes, four of which are stable: 32S (), 33S (), 34S (), and 36S (). Other than 35S, with a half-life of 87 days and formed in cosmic ray spallation of 40Ar, the radioactive isotopes of sulfur have half-lives less than 3 hours.
When sulfide minerals are precipitated, isotopic equilibration among solids and liquid may cause small differences in the δ34S values of co-genetic minerals. The differences between minerals can be used to estimate the temperature of equilibration. The δ13C and δ34S of coexisting carbonate minerals and sulfides can be used to determine the pH and oxygen fugacity of the ore-bearing fluid during ore formation.
In most forest ecosystems, sulfate is derived mostly from the atmosphere; weathering of ore minerals and evaporites contribute some sulfur. Sulfur with a distinctive isotopic composition has been used to identify pollution sources, and enriched sulfur has been added as a tracer in hydrologic studies. Differences in the natural abundances can be used in systems where there is sufficient variation in the 34S of ecosystem components. Rocky Mountain lakes thought to be dominated by atmospheric sources of sulfate have been found to have characteristic 34S values from lakes believed to be dominated by watershed sources of sulfate.
32S is created inside massive stars, at a depth where the temperature exceeds 2.5×109 K, by the fusion of one nucleus of silicon plus one nucleus of helium. As this nuclear reaction is part of the alpha process that produces elements in abundance, sulfur is the 10th most common element in the universe.
Sulfur, usually as sulfide, is present in many types of meteorites. Ordinary chondrites contain on average 2.1% sulfur, and carbonaceous chondrites may contain as much as 6.6%. It is normally present as troilite (FeS), but there are exceptions, with carbonaceous chondrites containing free sulfur, sulfates and other sulfur compounds. The distinctive colors of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io are attributed to various forms of molten, solid, and gaseous sulfur.
It is the fifth most common element by mass in the Earth. Elemental sulfur can be found near hot springs and volcanic regions in many parts of the world, especially along the Pacific Ring of Fire; such volcanic deposits are currently mined in Indonesia, Chile, and Japan. These deposits are polycrystalline, with the largest documented single crystal measuring 22×16×11 cm. Historically, Sicily was a major source of sulfur in the Industrial Revolution. Lakes of molten sulfur up to ~200 m in diameter have been found on the sea floor, associated with submarine volcanoes, at depths where the boiling point of water is higher than the melting point of sulfur.
Native sulfur is synthesised by anaerobic bacteria acting on sulfate minerals such as gypsum in salt domes. Significant deposits in salt domes occur along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and in evaporites in eastern Europe and western Asia. Native sulfur may be produced by geological processes alone. Fossil-based sulfur deposits from salt domes were once the basis for commercial production in the United States, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. Currently, commercial production is still carried out in the Osiek mine in Poland. Such sources are now of secondary commercial importance, and most are no longer worked.
Common naturally occurring sulfur compounds include the sulfide minerals, such as pyrite (iron sulfide), cinnabar (mercury sulfide), galena (lead sulfide), sphalerite (zinc sulfide), and stibnite (antimony sulfide); and the sulfate minerals, such as gypsum (calcium sulfate), alunite (potassium aluminium sulfate), and barite (barium sulfate). On Earth, just as upon Jupiter's moon Io, elemental sulfur occurs naturally in volcanic emissions, including emissions from hydrothermal vents.
Common oxidation states of sulfur range from −2 to +6. Sulfur forms stable compounds with all elements except the noble gases.
Sulfur forms over 30 solid allotropes, more than any other element. Besides S8, several other rings are known. Removing one atom from the crown gives S7, which is more of a deep yellow than the S8. HPLC analysis of "elemental sulfur" reveals an equilibrium mixture of mainly S8, but with S7 and small amounts of S6. Larger rings have been prepared, including S12 and S18.
Amorphous or "plastic" sulfur is produced by rapid cooling of molten sulfur—for example, by pouring it into cold water. X-ray crystallography studies show that the amorphous form may have a helical structure with eight atoms per turn. The long coiled polymeric molecules make the brownish substance elastic, and in bulk this form has the feel of crude rubber. This form is metastable at room temperature and gradually reverts to crystalline molecular allotrope, which is no longer elastic. This process happens within a matter of hours to days, but can be rapidly catalyzed.
Sulfur polycations, S82+, S42+ and S162+ are produced when sulfur is reacted with mild oxidising agents in a strongly acidic solution. The colored solutions produced by dissolving sulfur in oleum were first reported as early as 1804 by C.F. Bucholz, but the cause of the color and the structure of the polycations involved was only determined in the late 1960s. S82+ is deep blue, S42+ is yellow and S162+ is red.
The radical anion S3− gives the blue color of the mineral lapis lazuli.
Treatment of sulfur with hydrogen gives hydrogen sulfide. When dissolved in water, hydrogen sulfide is mildly acidic:
Hydrogen sulfide gas and the hydrosulfide anion are extremely toxic to mammals, due to their inhibition of the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin and certain cytochromes in a manner analogous to cyanide and azide (see below, under "precautions").
Reduction of elemental sulfur gives polysulfides, which consist of chains of sulfur atoms terminated with S− centers:
This reaction highlights a distinctive property of sulfur: its ability to catenate (bind to itself by formation of chains). Protonation of these polysulfide anions produces the polysulfanes, H2Sx where x= 2, 3, and 4. Ultimately, reduction of sulfur produces sulfide salts:
The interconversion of these species is exploited in the sodium-sulfur battery.
The principal sulfur oxides are obtained by burning sulfur:
Multiple sulfur oxides are known; the sulfur-rich oxides include sulfur monoxide, disulfur monoxide, disulfur dioxides, and higher oxides containing peroxo groups.
Sulfur forms sulfur oxoacids, some of which cannot be isolated and are only known through the salts. Sulfur dioxide and sulfites () are related to the unstable sulfurous acid (H2SO3). Sulfur trioxide and sulfates () are related to sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Sulfuric acid and SO3 combine to give oleum, a solution of pyrosulfuric acid (H2S2O7) in sulfuric acid.
Thiosulfate salts (), sometimes referred as "hyposulfites", used in photographic fixing (hypo) and as reducing agents, feature sulfur in two oxidation states. Sodium dithionite (), contains the more highly reducing dithionite anion ().
Several sulfur halides are important to modern industry. Sulfur hexafluoride is a dense gas used as an insulator gas in high voltage transformers; it is also a nonreactive and nontoxic propellant for pressurized containers. Sulfur tetrafluoride is a rarely used organic reagent that is highly toxic. Sulfur dichloride and disulfur dichloride are important industrial chemicals. Sulfuryl chloride and chlorosulfuric acid are derivatives of sulfuric acid; thionyl chloride (SOCl2) is a common reagent in organic synthesis.
An important S–N compound is the cage tetrasulfur tetranitride (S4N4). Heating this compound gives polymeric sulfur nitride ((SN)x), which has metallic properties even though it does not contain any metal atoms. Thiocyanates contain the SCN− group. Oxidation of thiocyanate gives thiocyanogen, (SCN)2 with the connectivity NCS-SCN. Phosphorus sulfides are numerous, the most important commercially being the cages P4S10 and P4S3.
The principal ores of copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, and other metals are sulfides. These materials tend to be dark-colored semiconductors that are not readily attacked by water or even many acids. They are formed, both geochemically and in the laboratory, by the reaction of hydrogen sulfide with metal salts. The mineral galena (PbS) was the first demonstrated semiconductor and was used as a signal rectifier in the cat's whiskers of early crystal radios. The iron sulfide called pyrite, the so-called "fool's gold", has the formula FeS2. Processing these ores, usually by roasting, is costly and environmentally hazardous. Sulfur corrodes many metals through tarnishing.
Some of the main classes of sulfur-containing organic compounds include the following:
Compounds with carbon-sulfur multiple bonds are uncommon, an exception being carbon disulfide, a volatile colorless liquid that is structurally similar to carbon dioxide. It is used as a reagent to make the polymer rayon and many organosulfur compounds. Unlike carbon monoxide, carbon monosulfide is stable only as an extremely dilute gas, found between solar systems.
Organosulfur compounds are responsible for some of the unpleasant odors of decaying organic matter. They are widely known as the odorant in domestic natural gas, garlic odor, and skunk spray. Not all organic sulfur compounds smell unpleasant at all concentrations: the sulfur-containing monoterpenoid (grapefruit mercaptan) in small concentrations is the characteristic scent of grapefruit, but has a generic thiol odor at larger concentrations. Sulfur mustard, a potent vesicant, was used in World War I as a disabling agent.
Sulfur-sulfur bonds are a structural component used to stiffen rubber, similar to the disulfide bridges that rigidify proteins (see biological below). In the most common type of industrial "curing" or hardening and strengthening of natural rubber, elemental sulfur is heated with the rubber to the point that chemical reactions form disulfide bridges between isoprene units of the polymer. This process, patented in 1843, made rubber a major industrial product, especially in automobile tires. Because of the heat and sulfur, the process was named vulcanization, after the Roman god of the forge and volcanism.
Being abundantly available in native form, sulfur was known in ancient times and is referred to in the Torah (Genesis). English translations of the Bible commonly referred to burning sulfur as "brimstone", giving rise to the term "fire-and-brimstone" sermons, in which listeners are reminded of the fate of eternal damnation that await the unbelieving and unrepentant. It is from this part of the Bible that Hell is implied to "smell of sulfur" (likely due to its association with volcanic activity). According to the Ebers Papyrus, a sulfur ointment was used in ancient Egypt to treat granular eyelids. Sulfur was used for fumigation in preclassical Greece; this is mentioned in the "Odyssey". Pliny the Elder discusses sulfur in book 35 of his "Natural History", saying that its best-known source is the island of Melos. He mentions its use for fumigation, medicine, and bleaching cloth.
A natural form of sulfur known as "shiliuhuang" (石硫黄) was known in China since the 6th century BC and found in Hanzhong. By the 3rd century, the Chinese discovered that sulfur could be extracted from pyrite. Chinese Daoists were interested in sulfur's flammability and its reactivity with certain metals, yet its earliest practical uses were found in traditional Chinese medicine. A Song dynasty military treatise of 1044 AD described various formulas for Chinese black powder, which is a mixture of potassium nitrate (), charcoal, and sulfur. It remains an ingredient of black gunpowder.
Indian alchemists, practitioners of "the science of chemicals" (sanskrit rasaśāstra, रसशास्त्र), wrote extensively about the use of sulfur in alchemical operations with mercury, from the eighth century AD onwards. In the rasaśāstra tradition, sulfur is called "the smelly" (sanskrit gandhaka, गन्धक).
Early European alchemists gave sulfur a unique alchemical symbol, a triangle at the top of a cross. In traditional skin treatment, elemental sulfur was used (mainly in creams) to alleviate such conditions as scabies, ringworm, psoriasis, eczema, and acne. The mechanism of action is unknown—though elemental sulfur does oxidize slowly to sulfurous acid, which is (through the action of sulfite) a mild reducing and antibacterial agent.
In 1777, Antoine Lavoisier helped convince the scientific community that sulfur was an element, not a compound.
Sulfur deposits in Sicily were the dominant source for more than a century. By the late 18th century, about 2,000 tonnes per year of sulfur were imported into Marseilles, France, for the production of sulfuric acid for use in the Leblanc process. In industrializing Britain, with the repeal of tariffs on salt in 1824, demand for sulfur from Sicily surged upward. The increasing British control and exploitation of the mining, refining, and transportation of the sulfur, coupled with the failure of this lucrative export to transform Sicily's backward and impoverished economy, led to the Sulfur Crisis of 1840, when King Ferdinand II gave a monopoly of the sulfur industry to a French firm, violating an earlier 1816 trade agreement with Britain. A peaceful solution was eventually negotiated by France.
In 1867, elemental sulfur was discovered in underground deposits in Louisiana and Texas. The highly successful Frasch process was developed to extract this resource.
In the late 18th century, furniture makers used molten sulfur to produce decorative inlays in their craft. Because of the sulfur dioxide produced during the process of melting sulfur, the craft of sulfur inlays was soon abandoned. Molten sulfur is sometimes still used for setting steel bolts into drilled concrete holes where high shock resistance is desired for floor-mounted equipment attachment points. Pure powdered sulfur was used as a medicinal tonic and laxative. With the advent of the contact process, the majority of sulfur today is used to make sulfuric acid for a wide range of uses, particularly fertilizer.
"Sulfur" is derived from the Latin word ', which was Hellenized to ' in the erroneous belief that the Latin word came from Greek. This spelling was later reinterpreted as representing an /f/ sound and resulted in the spelling ', which appears in Latin toward the end of the Classical period. The true Greek word for sulfur, , is the source of the international chemical prefix "thio-". In 12th-century Anglo-French, it was '. In the 14th century, the erroneously Hellenized Latin ' was restored in Middle English '. By the 15th century, both full Latin spelling variants "sulfur" and "sulphur" became common in English. The parallel "f~ph" spellings continued in Britain until the 19th century, when the word was standardized as "sulphur". On the other hand, "sulfur" was the form chosen in the United States, whereas Canada uses both. The IUPAC adopted the spelling "sulfur" in 1990 or 1971, depending on the source cited, as did the Nomenclature Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1992, restoring the spelling "sulfur" to Britain. Oxford Dictionaries note that "in chemistry and other technical uses ... the "-f-" spelling is now the standard form for this and related words in British as well as US contexts, and is increasingly used in general contexts as well."
Sulfur may be found by itself and historically was usually obtained in this form; pyrite has also been a source of sulfur. In volcanic regions in Sicily, in ancient times, it was found on the surface of the Earth, and the ""Sicilian process"" was used: sulfur deposits were piled and stacked in brick kilns built on sloping hillsides, with airspaces between them. Then, some sulfur was pulverized, spread over the stacked ore and ignited, causing the free sulfur to melt down the hills. Eventually the surface-borne deposits played out, and miners excavated veins that ultimately dotted the Sicilian landscape with labyrinthine mines. Mining was unmechanized and labor-intensive, with pickmen freeing the ore from the rock, and mine-boys or "carusi" carrying baskets of ore to the surface, often through a mile or more of tunnels. Once the ore was at the surface, it was reduced and extracted in smelting ovens. The conditions in Sicilian sulfur mines were horrific, prompting Booker T. Washington to write "I am not prepared just now to say to what extent I believe in a physical hell in the next world, but a sulphur mine in Sicily is about the nearest thing to hell that I expect to see in this life."
Elemental sulfur was extracted from salt domes (in which it sometimes occurs in nearly pure form) until the late 20th century. Sulfur is now produced as a side product of other industrial processes such as in oil refining, in which sulfur is undesired. As a mineral, native sulfur under salt domes is thought to be a fossil mineral resource, produced by the action of anaerobic bacteria on sulfate deposits. It was removed from such salt-dome mines mainly by the Frasch process. In this method, superheated water was pumped into a native sulfur deposit to melt the sulfur, and then compressed air returned the 99.5% pure melted product to the surface. Throughout the 20th century this procedure produced elemental sulfur that required no further purification. Due to a limited number of such sulfur deposits and the high cost of working them, this process for mining sulfur has not been employed in a major way anywhere in the world since 2002.
Today, sulfur is produced from petroleum, natural gas, and related fossil resources, from which it is obtained mainly as hydrogen sulfide. Organosulfur compounds, undesirable impurities in petroleum, may be upgraded by subjecting them to hydrodesulfurization, which cleaves the C–S bonds:
The resulting hydrogen sulfide from this process, and also as it occurs in natural gas, is converted into elemental sulfur by the Claus process. This process entails oxidation of some hydrogen sulfide to sulfur dioxide and then the comproportionation of the two:
Owing to the high sulfur content of the Athabasca Oil Sands, stockpiles of elemental sulfur from this process now exist throughout Alberta, Canada. Another way of storing sulfur is as a binder for concrete, the resulting product having many desirable properties (see sulfur concrete). Sulfur is still mined from surface deposits in poorer nations with volcanoes, such as Indonesia, and worker conditions have not improved much since Booker T. Washington's days.
The world production of sulfur in 2011 amounted to 69 million tonnes (Mt), with more than 15 countries contributing more than 1 Mt each. Countries producing more than 5 Mt are China (9.6), US (8.8), Canada (7.1) and Russia (7.1). Production has been slowly increasing from 1900 to 2010; the price was unstable in the 1980s and around 2010.
Elemental sulfur is used mainly as a precursor to other chemicals. Approximately 85% (1989) is converted to sulfuric acid (H2SO4):
In 2010, the United States produced more sulfuric acid than any other inorganic industrial chemical. The principal use for the acid is the extraction of phosphate ores for the production of fertilizer manufacturing. Other applications of sulfuric acid include oil refining, wastewater processing, and mineral extraction.
Sulfur reacts directly with methane to give carbon disulfide, which is used to manufacture cellophane and rayon. One of the uses of elemental sulfur is in vulcanization of rubber, where polysulfide chains crosslink organic polymers. Large quantities of sulfites are used to bleach paper and to preserve dried fruit. Many surfactants and detergents (e.g. sodium lauryl sulfate) are sulfate derivatives. Calcium sulfate, gypsum, (CaSO4·2H2O) is mined on the scale of 100 million tonnes each year for use in Portland cement and fertilizers.
When silver-based photography was widespread, sodium and ammonium thiosulfate were widely used as "fixing agents". Sulfur is a component of gunpowder ("black powder").
Sulfur is increasingly used as a component of fertilizers. The most important form of sulfur for fertilizer is the mineral calcium sulfate. Elemental sulfur is hydrophobic (not soluble in water) and cannot be used directly by plants. Over time, soil bacteria can convert it to soluble derivatives, which can then be used by plants. Sulfur improves the efficiency of other essential plant nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. Biologically produced sulfur particles are naturally hydrophilic due to a biopolymer coating and are easier to disperse over the land in a spray of diluted slurry, resulting in a faster uptake.
The botanical requirement for sulfur equals or exceeds the requirement for phosphorus. It is an essential nutrient for plant growth, root nodule formation of legumes, and immunity and defense systems. Sulfur deficiency has become widespread in many countries in Europe. Because atmospheric inputs of sulfur continue to decrease, the deficit in the sulfur input/output is likely to increase unless sulfur fertilizers are used. Atmospheric inputs of sulfur decrease because of actions taken to limit acid rains.
Organosulfur compounds are used in pharmaceuticals, dyestuffs, and agrochemicals. Many drugs contain sulfur; early examples being antibacterial sulfonamides, known as "sulfa drugs". Sulfur is a part of many bacterial defense molecules. Most β-lactam antibiotics, including the penicillins, cephalosporins and monolactams contain sulfur.
Magnesium sulfate, known as Epsom salts when in hydrated crystal form, can be used as a laxative, a bath additive, an exfoliant, magnesium supplement for plants, or (when in dehydrated form) as a desiccant.
Elemental sulfur is one of the oldest fungicides and pesticides. "Dusting sulfur", elemental sulfur in powdered form, is a common fungicide for grapes, strawberry, many vegetables and several other crops. It has a good efficacy against a wide range of powdery mildew diseases as well as black spot. In organic production, sulfur is the most important fungicide. It is the only fungicide used in organically farmed apple production against the main disease apple scab under colder conditions. Biosulfur (biologically produced elemental sulfur with hydrophilic characteristics) can also be used for these applications.
Standard-formulation dusting sulfur is applied to crops with a sulfur duster or from a dusting plane. Wettable sulfur is the commercial name for dusting sulfur formulated with additional ingredients to make it water miscible. It has similar applications and is used as a fungicide against mildew and other mold-related problems with plants and soil.
Elemental sulfur powder is used as an "organic" (i.e., "green") insecticide (actually an acaricide) against ticks and mites. A common method of application is dusting the clothing or limbs with sulfur powder.
A diluted solution of lime sulfur (made by combining calcium hydroxide with elemental sulfur in water) is used as a dip for pets to destroy ringworm (fungus), mange, and other dermatoses and parasites.
Sulfur candles of almost pure sulfur were burned to fumigate structures and wine barrels, but are now considered too toxic for residences.
Small amounts of sulfur dioxide gas addition (or equivalent potassium metabisulfite addition) to fermented wine to produce traces of sulfurous acid (produced when SO2 reacts with water) and its sulfite salts in the mixture, has been called "the most powerful tool in winemaking". After the yeast-fermentation stage in winemaking, sulfites absorb oxygen and inhibit aerobic bacterial growth that otherwise would turn ethanol into acetic acid, souring the wine. Without this preservative step, indefinite refrigeration of the product before consumption is usually required. Similar methods go back into antiquity but modern historical mentions of the practice go to the fifteenth century. The practice is used by large industrial wine producers and small organic wine producers alike.
Sulfur dioxide and various sulfites have been used for their antioxidant antibacterial preservative properties in many other parts of the food industry. The practice has declined since reports of an allergy-like reaction of some persons to sulfites in foods.
Sulfur (specifically octasulfur, S8) is used in pharmaceutical skin preparations for the treatment of acne and other conditions. It acts as a keratolytic agent and also kills bacteria, fungi, scabies mites, and other parasites. Precipitated sulfur and colloidal sulfur are used, in form of lotions, creams, powders, soaps, and bath additives, for the treatment of acne vulgaris, acne rosacea, and seborrhoeic dermatitis.
Common adverse effects include irritation of the skin at the application site, such as dryness, stinging, itching and peeling.
Sulfur can be used to create decorative inlays in wooden furniture. After a design has been cut into the wood, molten sulfur is poured in and then scraped away so it is flush. Sulfur inlays were particularly popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, notably amongst Pennsylvania German cabinetmakers. The practice soon died out, as less toxic and flammable substances were substituted. However, some modern craftsmen have occasionally revived the technique in the creation of replica pieces.
Sulfur is an essential component of all living cells. It is either the seventh or eighth most abundant element in the human body by weight, about equal in abundance to potassium, and slightly greater than sodium and chlorine. A human body contains about 140 grams of sulfur.
In plants and animals, the amino acids cysteine and methionine contain most of the sulfur, and the element is present in all polypeptides, proteins, and enzymes that contain these amino acids. In humans, methionine is an essential amino acid that must be ingested. However, save for the vitamins biotin and thiamine, cysteine and all sulfur-containing compounds in the human body can be synthesized from methionine. The enzyme sulfite oxidase is needed for the metabolism of methionine and cysteine in humans and animals.
Disulfide bonds (S-S bonds) between cysteine residues in peptide chains are very important in protein assembly and structure. These covalent bonds between peptide chains confer extra toughness and rigidity. For example, the high strength of feathers and hair is due in part to the high content of S-S bonds with cysteine and sulfur. Eggs are high in sulfur to nourish feather formation in chicks, and the characteristic odor of rotting eggs is due to hydrogen sulfide. The high disulfide bond content of hair and feathers contributes to their indigestibility and to their characteristic disagreeable odor when burned.
Homocysteine and taurine are other sulfur-containing acids that are similar in structure, but not coded by DNA, and are not part of the primary structure of proteins. Many important cellular enzymes use prosthetic groups ending with -SH moieties to handle reactions involving acyl-containing biochemicals: two common examples from basic metabolism are coenzyme A and alpha-lipoic acid. Two of the 13 classical vitamins, biotin, and thiamine, contain sulfur, with the latter being named for its sulfur content.
In intracellular chemistry, sulfur operates as a carrier of reducing hydrogen and its electrons for cellular repair of oxidation. Reduced glutathione, a sulfur-containing tripeptide, is a reducing agent through its sulfhydryl (-SH) moiety derived from cysteine. The thioredoxins, a class of small proteins essential to all known life, use neighboring pairs of reduced cysteines to work as general protein reducing agents, with similar effect.
Methanogenesis, the route to most of the world's methane, is a multistep biochemical transformation of carbon dioxide. This conversion requires several organosulfur cofactors. These include coenzyme M, CH3SCH2CH2SO3−, the immediate precursor to methane.
Metalloproteins in which the active site is a transition metal complex bound to sulphur atoms are essential components of enzymes involved in electron transfer processes. Examples include blue copper proteins and nitrous oxide reductase. The function of these enzymes is dependent on the fact that the transition metal ion can undergo redox reactions.Other examples include iron–sulfur clusters as well as many copper, nickel, and iron proteins. Most pervasive are the ferrodoxins, which serve as electron shuttles in cells. In bacteria, the important nitrogenase enzymes contains an Fe–Mo–S cluster and is a catalyst that performs the important function of nitrogen fixation, converting atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia that can be used by microorganisms and plants to make proteins, DNA, RNA, alkaloids, and the other organic nitrogen compounds necessary for life.
The sulfur cycle was the first of the biogeochemical cycles to be discovered. In the 1880s, while studying Beggiatoa (a bacterium living in a sulfur rich environment), Sergei Winogradsky found that it oxidized hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as an energy source, forming intracellular sulfur droplets. Winogradsky referred to this form of metabolism as inorgoxidation (oxidation of inorganic compounds). He continued to study it together with Selman Waksman until the 1950s.
Sulfur oxidizers can use as energy sources reduced sulfur compounds, including hydrogen sulfide, elemental sulfur, sulfite, thiosulfate, and various polythionates (e.g., tetrathionate). They depend on enzymes such as sulfur oxygenase and sulfite oxidase to oxidize sulfur to sulfate. Some lithotrophs can even use the energy contained in sulfur compounds to produce sugars, a process known as chemosynthesis. Some bacteria and archaea use hydrogen sulfide in place of water as the electron donor in chemosynthesis, a process similar to photosynthesis that produces sugars and utilizes oxygen as the electron acceptor. The photosynthetic green sulfur bacteria and purple sulfur bacteria and some lithotrophs use elemental oxygen to carry out such oxidization of hydrogen sulfide to produce elemental sulfur (S0), oxidation state= 0. Primitive bacteria that live around deep ocean volcanic vents oxidize hydrogen sulfide in this way with oxygen; the giant tube worm is an example of a large organism that uses hydrogen sulfide (via bacteria) as food to be oxidized.
The so-called sulfate-reducing bacteria, by contrast, "breathe sulfate" instead of oxygen. They use organic compounds or molecular hydrogen as the energy source. They use sulfur as the electron acceptor, and reduce various oxidized sulfur compounds back into sulfide, often into hydrogen sulfide. They can grow on other partially oxidized sulfur compounds (e.g. thiosulfates, thionates, polysulfides, sulfites). The hydrogen sulfide produced by these bacteria is responsible for some of the smell of intestinal gases (flatus) and decomposition products.
Sulfur is absorbed by plants roots from soil as sulfate and transported as a phosphate ester. Sulfate is reduced to sulfide via sulfite before it is incorporated into cysteine and other organosulfur compounds.
Elemental sulfur is non-toxic, as are most of the soluble sulfate salts, such as Epsom salts. Soluble sulfate salts are poorly absorbed and laxative. When injected parenterally, they are freely filtered by the kidneys and eliminated with very little toxicity in multi-gram amounts.
When sulfur burns in air, it produces sulfur dioxide. In water, this gas produces sulfurous acid and sulfites; sulfites are antioxidants that inhibit growth of aerobic bacteria and a useful food additive in small amounts. At high concentrations these acids harm the lungs, eyes, or other tissues. In organisms without lungs such as insects or plants, sulfite in high concentration prevents respiration.
Sulfur trioxide (made by catalysis from sulfur dioxide) and sulfuric acid are similarly highly acidic and corrosive in the presence of water. Sulfuric acid is a strong dehydrating agent that can strip available water molecules and water components from sugar and organic tissue.
The burning of coal and/or petroleum by industry and power plants generates sulfur dioxide (SO2) that reacts with atmospheric water and oxygen to produce sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and sulfurous acid (H2SO3). These acids are components of acid rain, lowering the pH of soil and freshwater bodies, sometimes resulting in substantial damage to the environment and chemical weathering of statues and structures. Fuel standards increasingly require that fuel producers extract sulfur from fossil fuels to prevent acid rain formation. This extracted and refined sulfur represents a large portion of sulfur production. In coal-fired power plants, flue gases are sometimes purified. More modern power plants that use synthesis gas extract the sulfur before they burn the gas.
Hydrogen sulfide is as toxic as hydrogen cyanide, and kills by the same mechanism (inhibition of the respiratory enzyme cytochrome oxidase), though hydrogen sulfide is less likely to cause surprise poisonings from small inhaled amounts because of its disagreeable odor. Hydrogen sulfide quickly deadens the sense of smell and a victim may breathe increasing quantities without noticing the increase until severe symptoms cause death. Dissolved sulfide and hydrosulfide salts are toxic by the same mechanism. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27127 |
SAMPA
The Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet (SAMPA) is a computer-readable phonetic script using 7-bit printable ASCII characters, based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
It was originally developed in the late 1980s for six European languages by the EEC ESPRIT information technology research and development program. As many symbols as possible have been taken over from the IPA; where this is not possible, other signs that are available are used, e.g. [@] for schwa (IPA ), [2] for the vowel sound found in French "deux" (IPA ), and [9] for the vowel sound found in French "neuf" (IPA ).
Today, officially, SAMPA has been developed for all the sounds of the following languages:
The characters ["s{mp@] represent the pronunciation of the name SAMPA in English, with the initial symbol ["] indicating primary stress. Like IPA, SAMPA is usually enclosed in square brackets or slashes, which are not part of the alphabet proper and merely signify that it is phonetic as opposed to regular text.
SAMPA was developed in the late 1980s in the European Commission-funded ESPRIT project 2589 "Speech Assessment Methods" (SAM)—hence "SAM Phonetic Alphabet"—in order to facilitate email data exchange and computational processing of transcriptions in phonetics and speech technology.
SAMPA is a partial encoding of the IPA. The first version of SAMPA was the union of the sets of phoneme codes for Danish, Dutch, English, French, German and Italian; later versions extended SAMPA to cover other European languages. Since SAMPA is based on phoneme inventories, each SAMPA table is valid only in the language it was created for. In order to make this IPA encoding technique universally applicable, X-SAMPA was created, which provides "one single table" without language-specific differences.
SAMPA was devised as a hack to work around the inability of text encodings to represent IPA symbols. Consequently, as Unicode support for IPA symbols becomes more widespread, the necessity for a separate, computer-readable system for representing the IPA in ASCII decreases. However, text input relies on specific keyboard encodings or input devices. For this reason, SAMPA and X-SAMPA are still widely used in computational phonetics and in speech technology. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27129 |
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, country, jazz, and blues. She has released ten studio albums, four compilations, two live albums, and has contributed to a number of film soundtracks. Her most popular songs include "All I Wanna Do" (1994), "Strong Enough" (1994), "If It Makes You Happy" (1996), "Everyday Is a Winding Road" (1996), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997) (the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name), "My Favorite Mistake" (1998), "Picture" (2002) (duet with Kid Rock) and "Soak Up the Sun" (2002). She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Crow has garnered nine Grammy Awards (out of 32 nominations) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
As an actress, Crow has appeared on various television shows including "30 Rock", "Cop Rock", "GCB", "Cougar Town", Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, as well as "One Tree Hill".
Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri, the daughter of Bernice (née Cain), a piano teacher, and Wendell Wyatt Crow, a lawyer and trumpet player. Her great-grandfather was congressman Charles A. Crow (1873–1938). She has two older sisters, Kathy and Karen; and a younger brother, Steven.
While studying at Kennett High School, Crow was a majorette and an all-state track athlete, medaling in the 75-meter low hurdles. She also joined the 'pep club', the National Honor Society, and the National FFA Organization, and was crowned Paperdoll Queen in a celebrity-judged beauty contest during her senior year.
She then enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music composition, performance, and education from the School of Music. While at the university, she sang in the local band Cashmere. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity for Women, and the Omicron Delta Kappa Society as well as working as a 'Summer Welcome' orientation leader.
After graduating from the University of Missouri, Crow worked as a music teacher at Kellison Elementary School in Fenton, Missouri. Teaching during the day gave her the opportunity to sing in bands on the weekends. She was later introduced to local musician and record producer Jay Oliver. He had a studio in the basement of his parents' home in St. Louis and helped her by using her in advertising jingles. Her first jingle was a 'back to school' spot for the St Louis department store Famous-Barr. Soon after she sang in commercial jingles for McDonald's and Toyota. She was quoted in a "60 Minutes" segment as saying she made $40,000 on her McDonald's ad alone.
Crow toured with Michael Jackson as a backing vocalist during his Bad tour 1987–1989, and often performed with Jackson on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". She also recorded background vocals for Stevie Wonder, Belinda Carlisle, Jimmy Buffett, and Don Henley.
In 1989, Crow contributed backing vocals to the Neal Schon track "Smoke of the Revolution" from his album Late Nite.
Crow also sang in the short-lived Steven Bochco drama "Cop Rock" series finale in 1990 and her song "Heal Somebody" appeared in the film "Bright Angel". In 1991 her recording of "Welcome to the Real Life" featured on the soundtrack to the Brian Bosworth action film, "Stone Cold". Later that year her performance of "Hundreds of Tears" was included on the "Point Break" soundtrack and she sang a duet with Kenny Loggins on the track "I Would Do Anything", from his album "Leap of Faith".
In 1992, Crow recorded her first attempt at a debut album with Sting's record producer Hugh Padgham. The self-titled debut album was due to be released on September 22, 1992, but Crow and her label mutually decided that the album did not merit release. Crow described it as "too produced" and "slick". However, a handful of cassette copies of the album were leaked, along with press folders for album publicity. This album has been widely dispersed via file sharing networks and fan trading. In the meantime, Crow's songs were recorded by major artists such as Celine Dion, Tina Turner and Wynonna Judd.
She then began dating Kevin Gilbert and joined him in an ad hoc group of musicians known to themselves as the "Tuesday Music Club". The group existed as a casual songwriting collective prior to its association with Crow, but rapidly developed into a vehicle for her debut album after her arrival. Group members Gilbert, David Baerwald, and David Ricketts (both formerly of David & David), Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, and Dan Schwartz share songwriting credits with Crow on her debut album, "Tuesday Night Music Club", released in August 1993. Her relationship with Gilbert became acrimonious soon after the album was released, and disputes arose about songwriting credits. "Tuesday Night Music Club" featured many of the songs written by Crow's friends, including the second single, "Leaving Las Vegas". The album was slow to garner attention, until "All I Wanna Do" became an unexpected smash hit in October 1994. As she later stated in "People", she found an old poetry book in a used book store in the L.A. area and used a poem as lyrics in the song. The singles "Strong Enough" and "Can't Cry Anymore" were also released, with the first song ("Strong Enough") charting at No. 5 on "Billboard" and "Can't Cry Anymore" hitting the Top 40. "Tuesday Night Music Club" went on to sell more than 7 million copies in the U.S. and U.K. during the 1990s. The album also won Crow three Grammy Awards, in 1995: Record of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Performance.
Crow performed at the 1994 Woodstock Festival, and appeared in the "New Faces" section of "Rolling Stone" in 1994. She also supplied background vocals to the song "The Garden of Allah" from Don Henley's 1995 album "".
In 1996, Crow released her self-titled second album. She produced the album herself and also played a variety of instruments, from various guitars, bass or pedal steel to various organs and piano. The debut single, "If It Makes You Happy", became a radio success and netted her two Grammy awards for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Album. Other singles included "A Change Would Do You Good", "Home", and "Everyday Is a Winding Road". The album was banned from sale at Wal-Mart, because in the lyrics to "Love Is a Good Thing" Crow says that Wal-Mart sells guns to children. The album also features a protest song called "Redemption Day", which was covered by Johnny Cash on his last album "".
Crow performed at Another Roadside Attraction in 1997. Also in 1997, Crow contributed the theme song to the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies". Her song "Tomorrow Never Dies" was nominated for a Grammy Award and Best Original Song Golden Globe.
Crow collaborated on Scott Weiland's 1998 album, "12 Bar Blues". Also in 1998, Crow released "The Globe Sessions". During this period, she discussed in interviews having gone through a deep depression, and there was speculation about a brief affair with Eric Clapton. The debut single from this album, "My Favorite Mistake", was rumored to be about Clapton, but Crow says otherwise—that the song is about a philandering ex-boyfriend. Crow has refused to say who the song was about, telling "Billboard" magazine on the release of her album, "Oh, there will be just so much speculation, and because of that there's great safety and protection in the fact that people will be guessing so many different people and I'm the only person who will ever really know. I'm really private about who I've had relationships with, and I don't talk about them in the press. I don't even really talk about them with the people around me." Despite the difficulties in recording the album, Crow told the BBC in 2005 that, "My favorite single is 'My Favorite Mistake.' It was a lot of fun to record and it's still a lot of fun to play." The album won Best Rock Album at the 1999 Grammy Awards. It was re-released in 1999, with a bonus track, Crow's cover of the Guns N' Roses song "Sweet Child o' Mine", which was included on the soundtrack of the film "Big Daddy". The song won the 1999 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Other singles included "There Goes the Neighborhood", "Anything but Down", and "The Difficult Kind". Crow won the 2001 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "There Goes the Neighborhood". "The Globe Sessions" peaked at No. 5 on the "Billboard" 200 chart, achieving US sales of 2 million as of January 2008. Later in 1998, Crow took part in a live concert in tribute to Burt Bacharach, contributing vocals on "One Less Bell to Answer".
In 1999, Crow also made her acting debut as an ill-fated drifter in the suspense/drama "The Minus Man", which starred her then-boyfriend Owen Wilson as a serial killer. Also in 1999, she appeared in Prince's album "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic", singing backing vocals in the song "Baby Knows". Prince included a cover of her "Everyday Is a Winding Road" in the album. She also appeared in Zucchero Fornaciari's collection "Overdose d'amore/The Ballads" featuring the song "Blue" (co-written by Bono).
She also released a live album called "". The record featured Crow singing many of her hit singles with new musical spins and guest appearances by many other musicians including Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks, the Dixie Chicks, Keith Richards, and Eric Clapton. It included "There Goes the Neighborhood", which won the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
Crow had been involved with the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) since the late 1990s, performing at fund-raisers and befriending Sharon Monsky. In 2002, as a result of her friend Kent Sexton dying from scleroderma, she interrupted work on her new album "C'mon C'mon" to record the traditional hymn "Be Still, My Soul", to be played at his funeral. In November of that year it was released as a single, with the proceeds going to SRF.
Her fourth studio album, "C'mon, C'mon", was released in 2002, spawning the hit single "Soak Up the Sun". The second single, "Steve McQueen", won the Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy.
Crow opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, wearing a shirt that read "I don't believe in your war, Mr. Bush!" during a performance on "Good Morning America" and posting an open letter explaining her opposition on her website. At a performance with Kid Rock at the 45th annual Grammy Awards, she wore a large peace sign and a guitar strap with the words "No War". She showed support for injured soldiers in 2003 by playing her guitar and singing to individual patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
She recorded the song "Kiss That Girl" for the film "Bridget Jones's Diary". She also recorded a cover version of the Beatles' song "Mother Nature's Son" for the film "I Am Sam". Crow sang a duet with rock artist Kid Rock on the crossover hit single "Picture", from Kid Rock's 2001 album "Cocky". She also assisted him on the track "Run Off to L.A.".
Crow collaborated with Michelle Branch on the song "Love Me Like That" for Branch's second album, "Hotel Paper", released in 2003.
She was featured on the Johnny Cash album "" on the song "Field of Diamonds" as a background vocalist, and also played the accordion for the songs "Wayfaring Stranger" and "Mary of the Wild Moor".
In 2003, a greatest hits compilation called "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow" was released. It featured many of her hit singles, as well as some new tracks. Among them was the 1960s pop song, "The First Cut Is the Deepest" by Cat Stevens, which became her biggest radio hit since "All I Wanna Do". She also released the single "Light in Your Eyes", which received limited airplay. "The First Cut Is the Deepest" earned her two American Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Artist and Adult Contemporary Artist of the Year, respectively.
In 2004, Crow appeared as a musical theater performer in the Cole Porter biographical film "De-Lovely".
Her fifth studio album, "Wildflower", was released in September 2005. Although the album debuted at No. 2 on the "Billboard" charts, it received mixed reviews and was not as commercially successful as her previous albums. In December 2005, the album was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy, while Crow was nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for the first single "Good Is Good". However, she ultimately lost in both categories to Kelly Clarkson. The album got a new boost in 2006 when the second single was announced as "Always on Your Side", re-recorded with British musician Sting and sent off to radio, where it was quickly embraced at Adult Top 40. The collaboration with Sting resulted in a Grammy-nomination for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. As of January 2008, "Wildflower" has sold 949,000 units in the United States.
In 2006, Crow contributed "Real Gone", the opening track to the soundtrack for Disney and Pixar's 2006 animated film "Cars". Crow was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in mid-February 2006, her doctors stating that, "Prognosis for a full recovery is excellent."
Crow's first concert after her cancer diagnosis was on May 18 of that year in Orlando, Florida, where she played to over 10,000 information technology professionals at the SAP Sapphire Convention. Her first public appearance was on June 12, when she performed at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana.
She also appeared on "Larry King Live" on CNN on August 23, 2006. In this show, she talked about her comeback, her breakup with Lance Armstrong, her past job as Michael Jackson's backup singer, and her experience as a breast cancer survivor.
In late 2006, Crow was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the song "Try Not To Remember" (Best Original Song category) from the film "Home of the Brave".
In early 2007, Crow was scheduled to sing at an annual benefit concert for The Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital that sportscaster Bob Costas hosts every year. Her performance was opposed by Raymond Burke then a Catholic Archbishop due to her position on abortion. Burke resigned as chair of the medical center's board of governors when Crow's appearance was confirmed.
Crow wrote a foreword for the book "Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips", a book written by Kris Carr that was based on her 2007 documentary film "Crazy Sexy Cancer". Crow contributed her cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" on the soundtrack for the DreamWorks animated film "Bee Movie" in November 2007. She contributed background vocals to Ryan Adams's song "Two" from his album "Easy Tiger".
Crow returned with her sixth studio album "Detours", which was released on February 5, 2008. "Detours" debuted at No. 2 on the US "Billboard" 200 chart selling close to 92,000 copies in its first week and an additional 52,000 copies in its second week. In support of the new album, Crow launched a 25-date tour with James Blunt, and the lineup included reggae group Toots and the Maytals after being handpicked by Crow who said they are one of her favorite bands.
"Detours" was recorded at Crow's Nashville farm. Her son, Wyatt, makes an appearance on the song "Lullaby for Wyatt", which is featured in the movie "Grace Is Gone".
"Shine Over Babylon" was the first promotional single from the album (download only). The first official single released from the album was "Love Is Free", followed by "Out of Our Heads". As of 2010, "Detours" had sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide.
Crow endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election and later performed on the fourth and last day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Crow also recorded a studio version of "So Glad We Made It" for the "Team USA Olympic Soundtrack", in conjunction with the 2008 US Olympic team sponsors, AT&T. Crow also stated that she would donate $1 of each ticket purchased for her 2008 tour to the United Nations World Food Programme.
A&M Records re-released Crow's debut album, "Tuesday Night Music Club", as a deluxe version 2CD/DVD set on November 17, 2009. The released included the single "Killer Life", which charted moderately in adult album alternative radio. The bonus CD contains unreleased songs and B-sides, and a new mix of "I Shall Believe". The DVD features music videos for each of the album's singles.
In August 2008, Crow (in partnership with Western Glove Works) launched a jeans brand, Bootheel Trading Company.
On April 4, 2009, Crow, who practices transcendental meditation, took part in a benefit concert at the Radio City Music Hall in New York organized by the David Lynch Foundation supporting the Foundation's goal of teaching one million at-risk students to meditate. She and Ben Harper performed George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". Other performers at the concert included Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Mike Love, Moby, Eddie Vedder and Donovan.
In 2010, Crow contributed the original spoken-word track "My Name Is Mwamaroyi" to the Enough Project and Downtown Records' "Raise Hope for Congo" compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo's women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.
A&M Records released Crow's seventh studio album, "100 Miles from Memphis", on July 20, 2010. The album has a classic Memphis soul vibe and features the lead single "Summer Day". "100 Miles from Memphis" (released July 20 on A&M Records), the distance from her hometown to the music mecca, is an ode to her formative memories of music – and one that the label hopes can inspire young music fans to investigate the landscape beyond processed pop and Auto-Tune.
Later that year, she joined Loretta Lynn and country singer Miranda Lambert on an update of Lynn's song "Coal Miner's Daughter" for the 2010 album "". They later performed the song on the 44th Annual Country Music Awards in November.
In July 2011, Crow performed at the opening night of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Animal welfare campaigners had urged her not to, alleging animal cruelty at the event. Almost 13,000 people signed a petition calling on Crow not to perform.
On September 20, 2011, it was announced that Crow will write the music and lyrics for Diner, a new musical inspired by the critically acclaimed 1982 film. The show will come to Broadway in the fall of 2012, and will be directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall.
On October 11, 2011, William Shatner released the album "Seeking Major Tom", on which Crow sang the track "Mrs. Major Tom" by electronic music artist KIA, released in 2003 on the album "Adieu Shinjuku Zulu".
On September 21, 2012, Mailboat Records released "", an Americana double-CD that tells the life of fellow Missourian Mark Twain in spoken word and song. The project was a benefit for the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri. Crow sang the only period piece song on the project, Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer". The song was sung a cappella and accompanied the narrative describing the early days of Mark Twain's young family in Hartford, Connecticut. Other performers that joined the project, produced by Carl Jackson, included Jimmy Buffett, Clint Eastwood, Garrison Keillor, Brad Paisley, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, and others. AirPlay Direct reported the project as its most downloaded Americana album.
In September 2012, she was featured in a campaign called "30 Songs/30 Days" to support "", a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book.
Crow was invited by journalist Katie Couric to write the theme song for her new talk-show, "Katie". The song, titled "This Day", was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Original Song.
On November 1, 2012, Crow released an original song she called "Woman in the White House" that was made available for a free download. As the title suggests, the country-flavored tune defends the idea of a woman president. Mixed reviews from critics ranged from "sort of patronizing and gender essentialist" to "good-natured and well-intentioned". The song, praised for its tongue-in-cheek lyrics, was commented on by country singer Brad Paisley, who characterized it as "all in good fun". The song was later released for digital download on iTunes and a portion of the proceeds were donated to the American Red Cross to aid in the recovery effort in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Also in 2012, VH1 ranked Crow at No. 25 as one of the "100 Greatest Women in Music".
In 2011, Crow separated from her label, A&M Records. The singer followed Nashville neighbor Brad Paisley's advice and, after being introduced to producer Justin Niebank and several Nashville-based songwriters such as Chris DuBois, Luke Laird and Chris Stapleton, in 2013 she started her first country music project.
In 2013, Crow signed a recording contract with Warner Music Nashville and, a few months later, released "Easy", the first single from the upcoming album, which became her first top twenty country radio hit and her highest charting lead single since 2005. "Feels Like Home" was released on September 10, 2013, and debuted at number seven on the "Billboard" 200 with first-week sales of over 36,000 copies, becoming Crow's ninth top ten album.
Crow was one of the opening acts for George Strait's 2014 leg of "The Cowboy Rides Away Tour". Along with Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris and Carrie Underwood, she made an appearance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, paying tribute to Linda Ronstadt, who was one of the inductees of 2014. Crow, along with country band Gloriana, joined Rascal Flatts on their "Rewind Tour", which kicked off May 16, 2014.
The 40th anniversary celebration benefit concert of the Austin City Limits Festival was held on June 26, 2014. Crow hosted the event along with Jeff Bridges and performed with Kris Kristofferson, Gary Clark Jr., Alabama Shakes, as well her former guitarist Doyle Bramhall II. Crow sang on a rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" that appeared on Darius Rucker's Christmas album, "Home for the Holidays". In December 2015, she covered "A Hard Day's Night" at the John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert, and performed "Two More Bottles of Wine" with Vince Gill at another tribute concert: The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris.
Crow duets with Americana artist Rodney Crowell on the track "I'm Tied To Ya" from his album "Close Ties" which was released in March 2017. Crow's tenth studio album, "Be Myself", was released on April 21, 2017. It was co-produced by Crow, Jeff Trott and Tchad Blake, and is the first time the latter has appeared on one of Crow's studio albums since "The Globe Sessions" in 1998. It has been described by Crow as a return to the sound of her nineties work, and intentionally eschews the country-influenced sound of her previous album. She has said that she did not enjoy the political promotion system utilized by country radio, saying: "You do lots of free [shows] for radio stations in trade for getting played between three and four in the morning. And that's just not how other formats work, and that goes against my grain. I'm too old to allow that for myself, and to spend any night away from my kid for that is not justified." An extensive tour is planned in support of the album, as is a six-day "Outlaws" tour in July 2017 headlined by Willie Nelson and including artists such as Bob Dylan, Jason Isbell, Margo Price and Hayes Carll among others. In June 2018, Crow supported James Taylor on part of his American tour after original support Bonnie Raitt was forced to miss several shows due to health reasons. She then embarked on a "Greatest Hits" tour in the UK, concluding with a set at the Isle of Wight Festival on June 24.
Also currently in production is an album of duets, which is set to feature contributions from Don Henley, Jason Isbell, Maren Morris, Chris Stapleton, Joe Walsh, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Lucius (band), Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Kris Kristofferson, as well as Keith Richards, who will duet on a Rolling Stones cover. Also set to appear is a re-worked version of "Redemption Day", a song from Crow's 1996 self-titled record. This will feature vocals from Johnny Cash taken from his own cover of the song, which was released posthumously on his 2010 album "". While promoting her UK tour, Crow released "Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You" featuring St. Vincent and revealed that she intends for the duets project to be her final album, citing the impossibility of releasing something that could follow-up such a gathering of artists. She added that she will continue to write and tour and will potentially release short-form music akin to extended plays. Crow announced the title for this final album, "Threads", on May 22, 2019, alongside a new song "Live Wire" which features Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. She also stated that the album would be released August 30. The following week, Crow released another track, "Prove You Wrong" featuring Maren Morris and Stevie Nicks.
On June 25, 2019, "The New York Times Magazine" listed Sheryl Crow among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. Crow confirmed to BBC News that the master and safety back-ups for her first seven albums were lost in the fire, and said she was not informed of their destruction until she read the "Times" report.
Early in her career, Crow performed extensively with a 1962 Gibson Country Western guitar which was her personal favorite, but she eventually feared that it would not stand up to the rigors of continued touring and stage use, and in 1999 asked Gibson to build her a replica for use on stage. The manufacturer responded by introducing a "Sheryl Crow" model in their Signature Artist Series, which is essentially a re-creation of the square-shouldered 1962-era Country Western model. In 2013, Gibson also introduced a limited edition "Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo", a reissue of the slope-shouldered predecessor of the 1962-era Country Western.
Crow has had a number of high-profile romantic relationships. In the late '90s she dated musician Eric Clapton, 17 years her senior. She dated actor Owen Wilson. The song "Safe and Sound" on the album "C'mon C'mon" was dedicated to him and, according to the album's liner notes, was an account of their relationship. Crow began dating cyclist Lance Armstrong in 2003. The couple announced their engagement in September 2005, but jointly announced they had split on February 3, 2006.
After being diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive form of breast cancer, Crow underwent a lumpectomy at a Los Angeles facility on February 22, 2006, followed by seven weeks of radiation therapy. In August 2010, Crow partnered with her surgeon, Kristi Funk, to open the Sheryl Crow Imaging Center at Funk's Pink Lotus Breast Center. Crow had also suffered from deep depression.
In November 2011, Crow was diagnosed with a meningioma, the most common kind of brain tumor, usually benign, for which she continued to have regular follow-up exams.
In May 2007, Crow announced on her website that she had adopted a boy who was born the month before. In June 2010 Crow announced that she had adopted another boy born the previous April.
She and her sons live in West Nashville, Tennessee. She also owns a home in Destin, Florida. Crow also had a loft apartment in New York City in Lower Manhattan, which she owned from 1998 to 2017.
Crow was raised Presbyterian, but moved towards a more general affiliation and now describes herself as Christian.
Crow is known for her liberal political views, opposing the invasion of Iraq in 2003, supporting gun control measures, opposes military intervention in Syria, and supports fighting climate change.
Crow has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Missouri (her alma mater) and Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27152 |
Structuralist film theory
Structuralist film theory is a branch of film theory that is rooted in structuralism, itself based on structural linguistics.
Structuralist film theory emphasizes how films convey meaning through the use of codes and conventions not dissimilar to the way languages are used to construct meaning in communication. However, structuralist film theory differs from linguistic theory in that its codifications include a more apparent temporal aspect. In other words, the site of the study (the film) is moving in time and must be analyzed in a framework which can consider its temporality. To that end, structuralist film theory is dependent on a new kind of sign, first proposed by the Prague linguistic circle, dubbed the ostensive sign.
An example of this is understanding how the simple combination of shots can create an additional idea: the blank expression on a person's face, an appetizing meal, and then back to the person's face. While nothing in this sequence literally expresses hunger—or desire—the juxtaposition of the images convey that meaning to the audience. Unraveling this additional meaning can become quite complex. Lighting, angle, shot duration, juxtaposition, cultural context, and a wide array of other elements can actively reinforce or undermine a sequence's meaning. This is known as the Kuleshov effect. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27153 |
Epileptic seizure
A seizure, formally known as an epileptic seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with loss of consciousness (tonic-clonic seizure), to shaking movements involving only part of the body with variable levels of consciousness (focal seizure), to a subtle momentary loss of awareness (absence seizure). Most of the time these episodes last less than 2 minutes and it takes some time to return to normal. Loss of bladder control may occur.
Seizures may be provoked and unprovoked. Provoked seizures are due to a temporary event such as low blood sugar, alcohol withdrawal, low blood sodium, fever, brain infection, or concussion. Unprovoked seizures occur without a known or fixable cause such that ongoing seizures are likely. Unprovoked seizures may be triggered by stress or sleep deprivation. Diseases of the brain, where there has been at least one seizure and a long term risk of further seizures, are collectively known as epilepsy. Conditions that look like epileptic seizures but are not include: fainting, nonepileptic psychogenic event and tremor.
A seizure that lasts for more than a brief period is a medical emergency. Any seizure lasting longer than 5 minutes should be treated as status epilepticus. A first seizure generally does not require long-term treatment with anti-seizure medications unless a specific problem is found on electroencephalogram (EEG) or brain imaging. Typically it is safe to complete the work-up following a single seizure as an outpatient. In many, with what appears to be a first seizure, other minor seizures have previously occurred.
Up to 10% of people have at least one epileptic seizure. Provoked seizures occur in about 3.5 per 10,000 people a year while unprovoked seizures occur in about 4.2 per 10,000 people a year. After one seizure, the chance of experiencing a second is about 50%. Epilepsy affects about 1% of the population at any given time with about 4% of the population affected at some point in time. Nearly 80% of those with epilepsy live in developing countries. Many places require people to stop driving until they have not had a seizure for a specific period.
The signs and symptoms of seizures vary depending on the type. The most common type of seizure is convulsive (60%). Two-thirds of these begin as focal seizures and become generalized while one third begin as generalized seizures. The remaining 40% of seizures are non-convulsive, an example of which is absence seizure.
Focal seizures often begin with certain experiences, known as an aura. These may include sensory, visual, psychic, autonomic, olfactory or motor phenomena.
In a complex partial seizure a person may appear confused or dazed and can not respond to questions or direction. Focal seizure may become generalized.
Jerking activity may start in a specific muscle group and spread to surrounding muscle groups—known as a "Jacksonian march". Unusual activities that are not consciously created may occur. These are known as automatisms and include simple activities like smacking of the lips or more complex activities such as attempts to pick something up.
There are six main types of generalized seizures: tonic-clonic, tonic, clonic, myoclonic, absence, and atonic seizures. They all involve a loss of consciousness and typically happen without warning.
A seizure can last from a few seconds to more than five minutes, at which point it is known as status epilepticus. Most tonic-clonic seizures last less than two or three minutes. Absence seizures are usually around 10 seconds in duration.
After the active portion of a seizure, there is typically a period of confusion called the "postictal period" before a normal level of consciousness returns. This usually lasts 3 to 15 minutes but may last for hours. Other common symptoms include: feeling tired, headache, difficulty speaking, and abnormal behavior. Psychosis after a seizure is relatively common, occurring in between 6 and 10% of people. Often people do not remember what occurred during this time.
Seizures have a number of causes. Of those who have a seizure, about 25% have epilepsy. A number of conditions are associated with seizures but are not epilepsy including: most febrile seizures and those that occur around an acute infection, stroke, or toxicity. These seizures are known as "acute symptomatic" or "provoked" seizures and are part of the seizure-related disorders. In many the cause is unknown.
Different causes of seizures are common in certain age groups.
Dehydration can trigger epileptic seizures if it is severe enough. A number of disorders including: low blood sugar, low blood sodium, hyperosmolar nonketotic hyperglycemia, high blood sodium, low blood calcium and high blood urea levels may cause seizures. As may hepatic encephalopathy and the genetic disorder porphyria.
Both medication and drug overdoses can result in seizures, as may certain medication and drug withdrawal. Common drugs involved include: antidepressants, antipsychotics, cocaine, insulin, and the local anaesthetic lidocaine. Difficulties with withdrawal seizures commonly occurs after prolonged alcohol or sedative use, a condition known as delirium tremens.
Stress can induce seizures in people with epilepsy, and is a risk factor for developing epilepsy. Severity, duration, and time at which stress occurs during development all contribute to frequency and susceptibility to developing epilepsy. It is one of the most frequently self-reported triggers in patients with epilepsy.
Stress exposure results in hormone release that mediates its effects in the brain. These hormones act on both excitatory and inhibitory neural synapses, resulting in hyper-excitability of neurons in the brain. The hippocampus is known to be a region that is highly sensitive to stress and prone to seizures. This is where mediators of stress interact with their target receptors to produce effects.
Seizures may occur as a result of high blood pressure, known as hypertensive encephalopathy, or in pregnancy as eclampsia when accompanied by either seizures or a decreased level of consciousness. Very high body temperatures may also be a cause. Typically this requires a temperature greater than .
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) deliberately sets out to induce a seizure for the treatment of major depression.
Normally brain electrical activity is non-synchronous. In epileptic seizures, due to problems within the brain, a group of neurons begin firing in an abnormal, excessive, and synchronized manner. This results in a wave of depolarization known as a paroxysmal depolarizing shift.
Normally after an excitatory neuron fires it becomes more resistant to firing for a period of time. This is due in part from the effect of inhibitory neurons, electrical changes within the excitatory neuron, and the negative effects of adenosine. In epilepsy the resistance of excitatory neurons to fire during this period is decreased. This may occur due to changes in ion channels or inhibitory neurons not functioning properly. Forty-one ion-channel genes and over 1,600 ion-channel mutations have been implicated in the development of epileptic seizure. These ion channel mutations tend to confer a depolarized resting state to neurons resulting in pathological hyper-excitability. This long-lasting depolarization in individual neurons is due to an influx of Ca2+ from outside of the cell and leads to extended opening of Na+ channels and repetitive action potentials. The following hyperpolarization is facilitated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors or potassium (K+) channels, depending on the type of cell. Equally important in epileptic neuronal hyper-excitability, is the reduction in the activity of inhibitory GABAergic neurons, an effect known as disinhibition. Disinhibition may result from inhibitory neuron loss, dysregulation of axonal sprouting from the inhibitory neurons in regions of neuronal damage, or abnormal GABAergic signaling within the inhibitory neuron. Neuronal hyper-excitability results in a specific area from which seizures may develop, known as a "seizure focus". Following an injury to the brain, another mechanism of epilepsy may be the up regulation of excitatory circuits or down regulation of inhibitory circuits. These secondary epilepsies occur through processes known as epileptogenesis. Failure of the blood–brain barrier may also be a causal mechanism. While blood-brain barrier disruption alone does appear to cause epileptogenesis, it has been correlated to increased seizure activity. Furthermore, it has been implicated in chronic epileptic conditions through experiments inducing barrier permeability with chemical compounds. Disruption may lead to fluid leaking out of the blood vessels into the area between cells and driving epileptic seizures. Preliminary findings of blood proteins in the brain after a seizure support this theory.
Focal seizures begin in one hemisphere of the brain while generalized seizures begin in both hemispheres. Some types of seizures may change brain structure, while others appear to have little effect. Gliosis, neuronal loss, and atrophy of specific areas of the brain are linked to epilepsy but it is unclear if epilepsy causes these changes or if these changes result in epilepsy.
Seizure activity may be propagated through the brain's endogenous electrical fields. Proposed mechanisms that may cause the spread and recruitment of neurons include an increase in K+ from outside the cell, and increase of Ca2+ in the presynaptic terminals. These mechanisms blunt hyperpolarization and depolarizes nearby neurons, as well as increasing neurotransmitter release.
Seizures may be divided into provoked and unprovoked. Provoked seizures may also be known as "acute symptomatic seizures" or "reactive seizures". Unprovoked seizures may also be known as "reflex seizures". Depending on the presumed cause blood tests and lumbar puncture may be useful. Hypoglycemia may cause seizures and should be ruled out. An electroencephalogram and brain imaging with CT scan or MRI scan is recommended in the work-up of seizures not associated with a fever.
Seizure types are organized by whether the source of the seizure is localized (focal seizures) or distributed (generalized seizures) within the brain. Generalized seizures are divided according to the effect on the body and include tonic-clonic (grand mal), absence (petit mal), myoclonic, clonic, tonic, and atonic seizures. Some seizures such as epileptic spasms are of an unknown type.
Focal seizures (previously called "partial seizures") are divided into simple partial or complex partial seizure. Current practice no longer recommends this, and instead prefers to describe what occurs during a seizure.
Most people are in a postictal state (drowsy or confused) following a seizure. They may show signs of other injuries. A bite mark on the side of the tongue helps confirm a seizure when present, but only a third of people who have had a seizure have such a bite. When present in people thought to have had a seizure, this physical sign tentatively increases the likelihood that a seizure was the cause.
An electroencephalography is only recommended in those who likely had an epileptic seizure and may help determine the type of seizure or syndrome present. In children it is typically only needed after a second seizure. It cannot be used to rule out the diagnosis and may be falsely positive in those without the disease. In certain situations it may be useful to prefer the EEG while sleeping or sleep deprived.
Diagnostic imaging by CT scan and MRI is recommended after a first non-febrile seizure to detect structural problems inside the brain. MRI is generally a better imaging test except when intracranial bleeding is suspected. Imaging may be done at a later point in time in those who return to their normal selves while in the emergency room. If a person has a previous diagnosis of epilepsy with previous imaging repeat imaging is not usually needed with subsequent seizures.
In adults, testing electrolytes, blood glucose and calcium levels is important to rule these out as causes, as is an electrocardiogram. A lumbar puncture may be useful to diagnose a central nervous system infection but is not routinely needed. Routine antiseizure medical levels in the blood are not required in adults or children. In children additional tests may be required.
A high blood prolactin level within the first 20 minutes following a seizure may be useful to confirm an epileptic seizure as opposed to psychogenic non-epileptic seizure. Serum prolactin level is less useful for detecting partial seizures. If it is normal an epileptic seizure is still possible and a serum prolactin does not separate epileptic seizures from syncope. It is not recommended as a routine part of diagnosis epilepsy.
Differentiating an epileptic seizure from other conditions such as syncope can be difficult. Other possible conditions that can mimic a seizure include: decerebrate posturing, psychogenic seizures, tetanus, dystonia, migraine headaches, and strychnine poisoning. In addition, 5% of people with a positive tilt table test may have seizure-like activity that seems due to cerebral hypoxia. Convulsions may occur due to psychological reasons and this is known as a psychogenic non-epileptic seizure. Non-epileptic seizures may also occur due to a number of other reasons.
A number of measures have been attempted to prevent seizures in those at risk. Following traumatic brain injury anticonvulsants decrease the risk of early seizures but not late seizures.
In those with a history of febrile seizures, medications (both antipyretics and anticonvulsants) have not been found effective for prevention. Some, in fact, may cause harm.
There is no clear evidence that antiepileptic drugs are effective or not effective at preventing seizures following a craniotomy, following subdural hematoma, after a stroke, or after subarachnoid haemorrhage, for both people who have had a previous seizure, and those who have not.
Potentially sharp or dangerous objects should be moved from the area around a person experiencing a seizure so that the individual is not hurt. After the seizure, if the person is not fully conscious and alert, they should be placed in the recovery position. A seizure longer than five minutes, or two or more seizures occurring within the time of five minutes is a medical emergency known as status epilepticus. Contrary to a common misconception, bystanders should not attempt to force objects into the mouth of the person suffering a seizure, as doing so may cause injury to the teeth and gums.
Treatments of a person that is actively seizing follows a progression from initial response, through first line, second line, and third line treatments. The initial response involves ensuring the person is protected from potential harms (such as nearby objects) and managing their airway, breathing, and circulation. Airway management should include placing the person on their side, known as the recovery position, to prevent them from choking. If they are unable to breathe because something is blocking their airway, they may require treatments to open their airway.
The first line medication for an actively seizing person is a benzodiazepine, with most guidelines recommending lorazepam. Diazepam and midazolam are alternatives. This may be repeated if there is no effect after 10 minutes. If there is no effect after two doses, barbiturates or propofol may be used. Benzodiazepines given by a non-intravenous route appear better than those given by intravenous, as the intravenous takes longer to have an effect.
Second-line therapy for adults is phenytoin or fosphenytoin and phenobarbital for children. Third-line medications include phenytoin for children and phenobarbital for adults.
Ongoing anti-epileptic medications are not typically recommended after a first seizure except in those with structural lesions in the brain. They are generally recommended after a second one has occurred. Approximately 70% of people can obtain full control with continuous use of medication. Typically one type of anticonvulsant is preferred. Following a first seizure, while immediate treatment with an anti-seizure drug lowers the probability of seizure recurrence up to five years it does not change the risk of death and there are potential side effects.
In seizures related to toxins, up to two doses of benzodiazepines should be used. If this is not effective pyridoxine is recommended. Phenytoin should generally not be used.
There is a lack of evidence for preventative anti-epileptic medications in the management of seizures related to intracranial venous thrombosis.
Helmets may be used to provide protection to the head during a seizure. Some claim that seizure response dogs, a form of service dog, can predict seizures. Evidence for this, however, is poor. At present there is not enough evidence to support the use of cannabis for the management of seizures, although this is an ongoing area of research. There is low quality evidence that a ketogenic diet may help in those who have epilepsy and is reasonable in those who do not improve following typical treatments.
Following a first seizure, the risk of more seizures in the next two years is 40%–50%. The greatest predictors of more seizures are problems either on the electroencephalogram or on imaging of the brain. In adults, after 6 months of being seizure-free after a first seizure, the risk of a subsequent seizure in the next year is less than 20% regardless of treatment. Up to 7% of seizures that present to the emergency department (ER) are in status epilepticus. In those with a status epilepticus, mortality is between 10% and 40%. Those who have a seizure that is provoked (occurring close in time to an acute brain event or toxic exposure) have a low risk of re-occurrence, but have a higher risk of death compared to those with epilepsy.
Approximately 8-10% of people will experience an epileptic seizure during their lifetime. In adults, the risk of seizure recurrence within the five years following a new-onset seizure is 35%; the risk rises to 75% in persons who have had a second seizure. In children, the risk of seizure recurrence within the five years following a single unprovoked seizure is about 50%; the risk rises to about 80% after two unprovoked seizures. In the United States in 2011, seizures resulted in an estimated 1.6 million emergency department visits; approximately 400,000 of these visits were for new-onset seizures. The exact incidence of epileptic seizures in low-income and middle-income countries is unknown, however it probably exceeds that in high-income countries. This may be due to increased risks of traffic accidents, birth injuries, and malaria and other parasitic infections.
Epileptic seizures were first described in an Akkadian text from 2000 B.C. Early reports of epilepsy often saw seizures and convulsions as the work of “evil spirits”. The perception of epilepsy, however, began to change in the time of Ancient Greek medicine. The term "epilepsy" itself is a Greek word, which is derived from the verb "epilambanein", meaning "to seize, possess, or afflict". Although the Ancient Greeks referred to epilepsy as the “sacred disease”, this perception of epilepsy as a "spiritual" disease was challenged by Hippocrates in his work “"On The Sacred Disease"", who proposed that the source of epilepsy was from natural causes rather than supernatural ones.
Early surgical treatment of epilepsy was primitive in Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian medicine. The 19th century saw the rise of targeted surgery for the treatment of epileptic seizures, beginning in 1886 with localized resections performed by Sir Victor Horsley, a neurosurgeon in London. Another advancement was that of the development by the Montreal procedure by Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, which involved use of electrical stimulation among conscious patients to more accurately identify and resect the epileptic areas in the brain.
Seizures result in direct economic costs of about one billion dollars in the United States. Epilepsy results in economic costs in Europe of around 15.5 billion Euros in 2004. In India, epilepsy is estimated to result in costs of US$1.7 billion or 0.5% of the GDP. They make up about 1% of emergency department visits (2% for emergency departments for children) in the United States.
Many areas of the world require a minimum of six months from the last seizure before people can drive a vehicle.
Scientific work into the prediction of epileptic seizures began in the 1970s. Several techniques and methods have been proposed, but evidence regarding their usefulness is still lacking.
Two promising areas include gene therapy, and seizure detection and seizure prediction.
Gene therapy for epilepsy consists of employing vectors to deliver pieces of genetic material to areas of the brain involved in seizure onset.
Seizure prediction is a special case of seizure detection in which the developed systems is able to issue a warning before the clinical onset of the epileptic seizure. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27154 |
Svenska Akademiens ordlista
Svenska Akademiens ordlista (), abbreviated SAOL, is a glossary published every few years by the Swedish Academy. It is a single volume that is considered the final arbiter of Swedish spelling. Traditionally it carries the motto of the Swedish Academy, "Snille och Smak" ("Talent and Taste"), on its blue cloth cover.
Whenever a new edition comes out lively discussions about new and changed entries erupt around the country. In some instances the Academy has been ahead of its times and has later had to change entries back to older spellings. "Jos" – "juice" is probably the most well-known instance. In 2015, the fourteenth edition (containing entries) was published.
The history of SAOL is the history of orthography of the Swedish language. While Swedish spelling was an entirely personal business in the Catholic Middle Ages, its gradual standardization (known as Modern Swedish) started in 1526 with the translation of the New testament of the Bible ("Gustav Vasa Bible"), as part of the Lutheran reformation. The edition was revised in 1703, known as the Swedish Bible of Carolus XII. The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 with the task of caring for Swedish literature and language, including the publication of a grand dictionary. Spelling evolved slowly in the 18th century and was largely based on etymology: for instance, because of its historic relationship to English "heart" and German "Herz", "hjärta" was spelled "hjerta" in Swedish even though it's pronounced ; the word for "woman" (now "kvinna") was spelled "qvinna", similar to English "queen"; the question words "hvad", "hvar", "hvilken" had a silent H, like English "what", "where", "which" still have in most accents. In 1801 the Academy published an official orthography (Carl Gustaf af Leopold, "Afhandling om svenska stafsättet", 266 pages). A shorter version for schools was published by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, "Svensk Rättstafnings-Lära" in 1829.
Already in the 1750s, voices had been raised to adopt spelling to pronunciation, but this didn't resonate with the conservatively minded Academy. Public schools were made mandatory in Sweden by law in 1842 and the influence of school teachers increased, as did the pressure to reform Swedish spelling. The most radical reformists wanted to do away with all silent letters and change the remaining ones to a smaller subset of the alphabet. A similar reform movement for Danish, which at this time was the written language also in Norway, was led by Rasmus Rask (1787–1832) and his follower Niels Matthias Petersen (1791–1862). In 1869 a pan-Scandinavian orthography congress ("Nordiska rättstavningsmötet") gathered in Stockholm. Secretary for the Swedish section was Artur Hazelius, who in 1871 published the proceedings of the conference. The Academy was not pleased, and as a countermeasure Johan Erik Rydqvist (1800–1877) published the first edition of SAOL in 1874, based on the orthography in Leopold's work of 1801. A second edition followed in the same year and new ones in 1875, 1880 and the 5th edition in 1883, without much change.
To further reform, a Swedish orthographic society ("Svenska rättstavningssällskapet") was formed on November 28, 1885, chaired by linguist Adolf Noreen (1854–1925), and published a journal "Nystavaren. Tidskrift för rättskrivningsfrågor" (4 volumes, 1886–1898, edited by Otto Hoppe). There was continued opposition, not least from Academy member Esaias Tegnér Jr. (1843–1928). However, many of the proposed changes, albeit far from all, were introduced in the 6th edition of SAOL in 1889. Many words spelled with E were changed to Ä ("elf" → "älf", "hjerta" → "hjärta", "jern" → "järn"), and under Q it was stated that Q may at will be replaced with K. By a government resolution on November 16, 1889, the spelling used in this edition of SAOL was to be used for teaching in Swedish high schools ("allmänna läroverk") and teacher colleges ("seminarier"). This was a direct blow against the society's own dictionary published in 1886, and reform movement lost much of its momentum. In the 7th edition of SAOL in 1900, many of the old optional forms with Q were dropped.
In 1898, school teachers started to sign mass petitions for further reform. In 1903, the association of Swedish public school teachers ("Sveriges allmänna folkskollärarförening") requested a government ruling that it "would no longer be considered wrong" ("ej måtte betraktas som fel") to write TT instead of DT and V instead of F, FV and HV. More associations joined this petition in 1905. A government proposal to this effect was signed on April 7, 1906, by education minister Fridtjuv Berg (1851–1916), and put before the parliament of 1907. A protest against the reform signed by 40,000 concerned citizens was handed to the government in 1908, but had no effect. The liberal Fridtjuv Berg was a former school teacher and one of the founding members of the orthographic society.
The reform of 1906 was the most radical in the history of Swedish orthography. Spelling with dt, fv and hv is now commonly known as "old spelling" ("gammalstavning"). The new spelling was adopted in schools starting in 1907. It was used from the first edition of Selma Lagerlöf's geography textbook "Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige" (1906, "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils"). The proceedings of the Swedish parliament adopted the new spelling from the year 1913. After endless discussions through the 19th century, a new Swedish Bible translation was finally adopted in 1917, using the new spelling. Sweden's largest printed encyclopedia of all times, the 2nd edition of "Nordisk familjebok" was started in 1904 and used the old spelling through all 38 volumes until 1926. The Academy introduced the new spelling in the 8th edition of SAOL in 1923. The 9th edition appeared in 1950.
In the 10th edition in 1973, the Academy tried to launch new alternative spellings such as "jos" ("juice"), without attracting any significant number of followers. The 11th edition of SAOL appeared in 1986 and the 12th edition in 1998. While the letter Q in the 8th edition only listed the letter Q itself, the 11th edition also listed "quantum satis", "quenell", "quilt" and "quisling".
From the beginning of times, W had in Swedish been considered as a mere decoration of V. In Swedish typography, blackletter ("fraktur") used W where antiqua used V. With orthographic standardization and spelling reform, W was abandoned except for some proper names and a few loan words such as "whisky", "wobbler" (also spelled "visky" and "vobbler"), "whist" and "wienerbröd". In Swedish dictionaries and telephone books, V and W have been sorted as one letter. In the 13th edition of SAOL in 2006, the Academy broke with this tradition, listing W as a letter of its own. This change was sparked by a new influx of loan words such as "webb" ("World Wide Web"). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27155 |
Stockholm School of Economics
The Stockholm School of Economics (SSE; , HHS) is one of Europe's leading business schools. SSE offers BSc, MSc and MBA programs, along with highly regarded PhD- and Executive Education programs.
SSE's Master program in Finance is ranked no.18 worldwide as of 2018. The Masters in Management program is ranked no. 12 worldwide by the "Financial Times". QS ranks SSE no.26 among universities in the field of economics worldwide. The school is the only privately funded university in Sweden.
SSE is accredited by EQUIS and is a member of CEMS.
SSE has founded sister organizations: SSE Riga in Riga, Latvia, and SSE Russia in St Petersburg and Moscow, Russia. It also operates "the European Institute of Japanese Studies "(Japanese, kanji: 欧州日本研究所," "Japanese, romaji: Ōshū Nihon kenkyūjo), a research institute in Tokyo, Japan.
The Stockholm School of Economics was founded in 1909 on private initiative as a response to rapid industrialization and a growing need for well educated businessmen and company managers and has maintained close ties with the business community ever since. The foundation followed a substantial donation in 1903 by Knut Agathon Wallenberg. The name "handelshögskola" (roughly "college of commerce") was a parallel to the German term "Handelshochschule", used by a number of German institutions started in the years before, commencing with Handelshochschule Leipzig in 1898. The term "högskola" was at this time also established for specialised higher educational institutions outside the universities, such as the Royal Institute of Technology, "(Kungl.) Tekniska högskolan", which bore that name from 1877.
While founded as a business school, the subject of economics featured prominently in the research and curriculum of the school from the beginning.
The most well known scholars of the Stockholm School of Economics are arguably the economists Eli Heckscher (professor of economics and statistics 1909–1929, professor of economic history 1929–1945), and Bertil Ohlin (professors of economics). Heckscher is also known as the founder of economic history as an independent academic discipline and his work "Svenskt Arbete och Liv" is a fundamental work within this subject.
Ohlin was also a leading figure within the school of doctrine with the same name, the so-called Stockholm school; a group of leading Scandinavian economists influenced by Knut Wicksell, most of them active in Stockholm, either at the Stockholm School of Economics or the Stockholm University College. This school of doctrine was to have a profound influence on post-WWII Swedish economic policy and the development of the modern Scandinavian Welfare state. Heckscher and Ohlin jointly developed the so-called "Heckscher-Ohlin theory", the standard international mathematical model of international trade. Bertil Ohlin received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1977 (shared with British economist James Meade). Other prominent members of the Stockholm school were the Stockholm University professor Gustav Cassel, who developed standard economic theory of Purchasing power parity and economist Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations in New York City, United States.
The school is a full member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), a group of schools of public policy, public administration, and international studies.
For Master programmes, applicants have to have a GMAT score of over 600 and a TOEFL iBT score of over 100 in order to be considered suitable for applying.
In the academic year 2012/2013 the university received 3261 applications for the four Masters programmes which it offered at the time. Therefore, the according acceptance rate would have been low.
Stockholm School of Economics offers the following programs:
The MSc programs are all conducted in English.
The Master of Science in Business and Management is a two-year program. (120 ECTS credits) There are offered three specializations: International Business (CEMS), Management and Marketing & Media Management. Within their specialization, students write a Master's thesis worth 30 ECTS credits.
The MSc in International Business is a two-year program targeting students who see the world as their home and is fully integrated with CEMS MIM. The current CEMS Club Board is represented by Martina Mariani, Sebastian Schaaf and Julia Gerwien. The MSc Program in International Business takes part in the FT Masters in Management ranking. The latest ranking placed the program 12th out of 100 participating top international business schools.
The in Economics is a program designed for students with a background in economics or business. As well as the other master programs it is a two-year program with 120 ECTS. There are offered two specializations: Applied Economic Analysis and International Economics.
The MSc in Accounting, Valuation, and Financial Management is also a two-year program (120 ECTS). After a core of four courses in the first semester, students are allowed to choose between a limited number of courses in the second semester. In the third semester, students may apply for an exchange program, an executive trainee program, or free choice of electives. In the fourth and final semester, students work in pairs on a thesis. Students may also apply for a double degree with a CEMS Msc in International Management degree.
The SSE EMBA program was launched in 2001. Since 2001, the year the Financial Times began its Executive MBA ranking, the SSE Executive MBA has been the first in the Nordic league. Worldwide its average rank in the last three years was 56.
The SSE PhD Program was launched more than 60 years ago and has graduated more than 500 PhDs. There are three separate PhD programs at SSE:
Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) alumni are defined as previous students that have graduated from one of SSE's degree programs. Today, there are some 14 000 alumni in this network. In addition to the alumni are the so-called "SSE IFL Networkers," previous participants at IFL open or custom programs, these sum up to an additional 10 000.
SSE maintains contacts with its alumni in a number of different ways; both through direct and indirect contacts and through various types of communication channels. Contacts are administered through the "SSE Alumni Office."
Today, many alumni are involved in the school's advisory board, the alumni association's board, the Student Association "et al.", all aligned to SSE activities. Even more alumni return to the School as guest lectures, or sponsors of course projects, as suppliers of internship opportunities, or as recruiters from large companies.
Currently, if an alumnus wishes to connect with another SSE graduate, they have five primary options:
1. Attending the alumni events arranged by SSE Alumni Office
2. Networking through the "SSE Alumninet," a web portal open to holders of an SSE diploma. Alumninet had some 14 000 members as of January 2013, or through the official LinkedIn groups maintained by SSE
3. Membership in "the Alumni Association of the Stockholm School of Economics" – an alumni association sponsored and organized by alumni for Swedish-speaking graduates of SSE – or by joining "the American Friends of SSE" – an affiliated alumni group, based in the US.
4. Joining any of the unofficial alumni groups and networks, maintained by the alumni themselves, e.g. in the UK.
SSE has about 70 partner universities and each academic year, SSE sends over 180 students abroad on exchange and hosts over 180 exchange students from all over the world. The majority of the exchange places are part of the Master's program, but some places are offered at the Bachelor's level. The student exchange places are reserved for students from the SSE partner universities. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27156 |
Stockholm University
Stockholm University () is a public university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, it is one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
Stockholm University was granted university status in 1960, making it the fourth oldest Swedish university. As with other public universities in Sweden, Stockholm University's mission includes teaching and research anchored in society at large.
The initiative for the formation of Stockholm University was taken by the Stockholm City Council. The process was completed after a decision in December 1865 regarding the establishment of a fund and a committee to "establish a higher education institution in the capital". The nine members of the Committee were respected and prominent citizens whose work had helped the evolution of science and society.
The next important step was taken in October 1869, when the Stockholm University College Association was established. Several members of the committee became members of the association – including Professor Pehr Henrik Malmsten. The association's mission was to establish a college in Stockholm and would "not be dissolved until the college came into being and its future could be considered secure." The memorandum of the Stockholm University College was adopted in May 1877, and in the autumn semester of the following year, actual operations began.
In 1878, the university college "Stockholms högskola" started its operations with a series of lectures on natural sciences, open to curious citizens (a tradition still upheld by yearly publicly open lectures). Notable in the university's early history is the appointment of Sofia Kovalevskaya to hold a chair in the mathematics department in 1889, making her the third female professor in Europe. In 1904 the college became an official degree granting institution.
In 1960, the college was granted university status, becoming Sweden's fourth state university. The university premises were situated in central Stockholm at "Observatorielunden" but increased enrollment resulted in a lack of space, which required the university campus to be shifted to a bigger facility. Since 1970 most of the university operations are located at the main campus at Frescati north of the city center, the former Experimentalfältet, previously used by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.
Stockholm University is a state agency and is governed by decisions taken by the government and parliament. The university has the right, within the limits the government provides, to decide on many issues such as their internal organization, educational provision and the admission of students.
Education and research at Stockholm University is carried out within the natural sciences and the humanities/social sciences. Within these fields, there are four faculties with 56 departments, institutes and centers within the humanities, law, natural sciences and social sciences. Research and training also takes place at a number of centers and institutes with a separate governing board, but that organisationally belong to a department.
Stockholm University offers courses at both undergraduate and advanced level. There are 190 study programmes in total, including 75 master's programmes taught in English, and 1,700 courses to choose from within human science and science. Students can choose between studying one or more free-standing courses, that each may last between five weeks and one semester, or apply for a full study programme.
The university's researchers engage in governmental investigations, are active in the media, provide responses to proposed legislation and are included in several Nobel committees and international expert bodies.
Stockholm University Marine Research center (SMF) provides "Askö Laboratory", where Research on ecosystems, ecology and the impact of human interference is carried out. The field station was built in 1961 by Professor Lars Silén, Head of the Department of Zoology, and is now established as a renowned marine research center.
Tarfala research station belongs to the Department of Physical Geography. The station is located 1135 meters above sea level in Tarfaladalen, on the east side of Kebnekaise in arctic / alpine surroundings and conducts glaciological, hydrological, meteorological and climatological research. The station has the capacity to accommodate groups of up to 25 people and the staff consists of 2–5 people.
Tovetorp Zoological Research Station belongs to the Department of Zoology, and is located about 95 km southwest of Stockholm. It conducts research and training activities in ecology and ethology. Every year Tovetorp is visited by up to 600 students who live and study between 2–10 days on the station. On the research side, over 20 people work today with different research projects. The number of employees are currently 6 people.
Prior to 2008, Stockholm University had only one student union called Stockholm University Student Union "(Stockholm universitets studentkår, SUS)". However, since 2008 the computer and system science students and the teacher students have their own, independent, student unions called DISK and "The Teacher's College's Student Union" "(Lärarhögskolans studentkår)". The law students also have their own student union, as do journalism students ("Studentkåren vid JMK").
The future of the Teacher's College's Student Union is however not entirely safe, as Stockholm University's Student Union has declared it will begin talks with the Teacher's College's Student Union on transferring its members to it, as it already has a teacher's division. In contrast to common belief, DISK is not an abbreviation.
In the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2017, an annual publication of university rankings by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy/Academic Ranking of World Universities, Stockholm University was placed as the 74th overall best university worldwide.
The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2018 listed Stockholm University at position 134 on the list of the world's top universities. Times Higher Education World University Rankings are annual university rankings published by British Times Higher Education (THE) magazine.
In the QS World University Rankings, Stockholm University was ranked 200 overall in the world in 2018. Its subject rankings were: 107th in Arts & Humanities, 235th in Life Sciences & Medicine, 261st in Engineering and Technology, 150th in Natural Sciences, and 65th in Social Sciences and Management.
In the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2014, Stockholm University was placed at 140 on the list of universities in the world.
The main part of Stockholm University is in the Frescati area, which extends from the Bergius Botanical Garden in the north to Sveaplan in the south. It is located in the world's first national urban park and the area is characterized by nature, architecture and modern art, featuring such notable buildings as the Aula Magna (auditorium). Within Frescati, the areas Albano, the Bergius Botanical Garden, Frescati Backe, Frescati Hage, Kräftriket, Lilla Frescati and Sveaplan are located. The names of many of these areas have a history dating back to the late 1700s. After Gustav III's trip to Italy in 1783–84, several places at Brunnsviken were given Italian names. Stockholm University has another campus in Kista, which houses the Department of computer and systems sciences.
There are many ways to get to Stockholm University. The main campus Frescati is located near the underground railway station Universitetet metro station, on the red line of the Stockholm Metro. The commuter train line Roslagsbanan also stop close to the main campus, at Universitetet railway station. SL buses 50, 52, 540, 608, 624C, 628C, 639, 670, 676 och 680 can also be used to get to the campus.
The Computer Science campus, Kista, also is close to an underground station called Kista. It is also located close to the pendeltåg station Helenelund, only one or two stops (depending on bus line) from the bus station Torsnäsgatan located next to the campus area. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27157 |
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing all 32 boroughs of London, excluding the City of London.
The name derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became the public entrance to the police station, and over time the street and the Metropolitan Police became synonymous. "The New York Times" wrote in 1964 that, just as Wall Street gave its name to New York's financial district, Scotland Yard became the name for police activity in London. This building was acquired by hypermarkets operator Lulu Group International in 2015 and redeveloped into a luxury hotel, operated by Hyatt, which opened in December 2019.
The force moved from Great Scotland Yard in 1890, to a newly completed building on the Victoria Embankment, and the name "New Scotland Yard" was adopted for the new headquarters. An adjacent building was completed in 1906. A third building was added in 1940. In 1967, the MPS moved its headquarters from the three-building complex to a tall, newly constructed building on Broadway in Victoria. In summer 2013, it was announced that the force would move to the Curtis Green Building – which is the third building of New Scotland Yard's previous site (1890–1967) – and that the headquarters would be renamed Scotland Yard. In November 2016, MPS moved to its new headquarters, which continues to bear the name of "New Scotland Yard".
The Metropolitan Police Service is responsible for law enforcement within Greater London, excluding the square mile of the City of London, which is covered by the City of London Police. Additionally, the London Underground and National Rail networks are the responsibility of the British Transport Police. The Metropolitan Police was formed by Robert Peel with the implementation of the Metropolitan Police Act, passed by Parliament in 1829. Peel, with the help of Eugène-François Vidocq, selected the original site on Whitehall Place for the new police headquarters. The first two commissioners, Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne, along with various police officers and staff, occupied the building. Previously a private house, 4 Whitehall Place () backed onto a street called Great Scotland Yard.
By 1887, the Metropolitan Police headquarters had expanded from 4 Whitehall Place into several neighbouring addresses, including 3, 5, 21 and 22 Whitehall Place; 8 and 9 Great Scotland Yard, and several stables. Eventually, the service outgrew its original site, and new headquarters were built () on the Victoria Embankment, overlooking the River Thames, south of what is now the Ministry of Defence's headquarters. In 1888, during the construction of the new building, workers discovered the dismembered torso of a female; the case, known as the 'Whitehall Mystery', was never solved. In 1890, police headquarters moved to the new location, which was named New Scotland Yard. By this time, the Metropolitan Police had grown from its initial 1,000 officers to about 13,000 and needed more administrative staff and a bigger headquarters. Further increases in the size and responsibilities of the force required even more administrators and space. Therefore, new buildings were constructed and completed in 1906 and 1940, so that New Scotland Yard became a three-building complex. (). The first two buildings are now a Grade I listed structure known as the Norman Shaw Buildings.
The original building at 4 Whitehall Place still has a rear entrance on Great Scotland Yard. Stables for some of the mounted branch are still located at 7 Great Scotland Yard, across the street from the first headquarters.
In 2008, the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) bought the freehold of 10 Broadway for around £120 million.
10 Broadway was sold to the Abu Dhabi Financial Group in December 2014 for £370 million, and redevelopment plans for a six-building, mixed-use development were approved in February 2016. Ownership was officially passed from the MPA to the Abu Dhabi Financial Group when the relocation was completed on 31 October 2016; the building began demolition later that year.
In May 2013 the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the New Scotland Yard building on Broadway would be sold and the force's headquarters would be moved back to the Curtis Green Building on the Victoria Embankment. A competition was announced for architects to redesign the building prior to the Metropolitan Police moving to it in 2015. This building previously housed the Territorial Policing headquarters and is adjacent to the original New Scotland Yard (Norman Shaw North Building).
In December 2015 construction work on the exterior of the Curtis Green building was completed. On 31 October 2016, the Metropolitan Police staff left the building at 10 Broadway and moved to their new headquarters. The new New Scotland Yard building was to have been opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 23 March 2017, but that same day it was announced that the Royal opening would be postponed, due to the preceding day's terrorist attack at Westminster. The opening was re-arranged for 13 July 2017.
The Crime Museum (formerly known as the Black Museum with a full official title 'The Crime Museum of Scotland Yard'), founded in 1874, is a collection of criminal memorabilia kept at New Scotland Yard. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=27158 |
Satire
Satire is a genre of literature and performing arts, usually fiction and less frequently in non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.
A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony is militant", according to literary critic Northrup Frye— but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question.
Satire is found in many artistic forms of expression, including internet memes, literature, plays, commentary, television shows, and media such as lyrics.
The word "satire" comes from the Latin word "satur" and the subsequent phrase "lanx satura." "Satur" meant "full" but the juxtaposition with "lanx" shifted the meaning to "miscellany or medley": the expression "lanx satura" literally means "a full dish of various kinds of fruits".
The word "satura" as used by Quintilian, however, was used to denote only Roman verse satire, a strict genre that imposed hexameter form, a narrower genre than what would be later intended as "satire". Quintilian famously said that "satura," that is a satire in hexameter verses, was a literary genre of wholly Roman origin ("satura tota nostra est"). He was aware of and commented on Greek satire, but at the time did not label it as such, although today the origin of satire is considered to be Aristophanes' Old Comedy. The first critic to use the term "satire" in the modern broader sense was Apuleius.
To Quintilian, the satire was a strict literary form, but the term soon escaped from the original narrow definition. Robert Elliott writes:
The word "satire" derives from "satura", and its origin was not influenced by the Greek mythological figure of the "satyr". In the 17th century, philologist Isaac Casaubon was the first to dispute the etymology of satire from satyr, contrary to the belief up to that time.
Laughter is not an essential component of satire; in fact there are types of satire that are not meant to be "funny" at all. Conversely, not all humour, even on such topics as politics, religion or art is necessarily "satirical", even when it uses the satirical tools of irony, parody, and burlesque.
Even light-hearted satire has a serious "after-taste": the organizers of the Ig Nobel Prize describe this as "first make people laugh, and then make them think".
Satire and irony in some cases have been regarded as the most effective source to understand a society, the oldest form of social study. They provide the keenest insights into a group's collective psyche, reveal its deepest values and tastes, and the society's structures of power. Some authors have regarded satire as superior to non-comic and non-artistic disciplines like history or anthropology. In a prominent example from ancient Greece, philosopher Plato, when asked by a friend for a book to understand Athenian society, referred him to the plays of Aristophanes.
Historically, satire has satisfied the popular need to debunk and ridicule the leading figures in politics, economy, religion and other prominent realms of power. Satire confronts public discourse and the collective imaginary, playing as a public opinion counterweight to power (be it political, economic, religious, symbolic, or otherwise), by challenging leaders and authorities. For instance, it forces administrations to clarify, amend or establish their policies. Satire's job is to expose problems and contradictions, and it's not obligated to solve them. Karl Kraus set in the history of satire a prominent example of a satirist role as confronting public discourse.
For its nature and social role, satire has enjoyed in many societies a special freedom license to mock prominent individuals and institutions. The satiric impulse, and its ritualized expressions, carry out the function of resolving social tension. Institutions like the ritual clowns, by giving expression to the antisocial tendencies, represent a safety valve which re-establishes equilibrium and health in the collective imaginary, which are jeopardized by the repressive aspects of society.
The state of political satire in a given society reflects the tolerance or intolerance that characterizes it, and the state of civil liberties and human rights. Under totalitarian regimes any criticism of a political system, and especially satire, is suppressed. A typical example is the Soviet Union where the dissidents, such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov were under strong pressure from the government. While satire of everyday life in the USSR was allowed, the most prominent satirist being Arkady Raikin, political satire existed in the form of anecdotes that made fun of Soviet political leaders, especially Brezhnev, famous for his narrow-mindedness and love for awards and decorations.
Satire is a diverse genre which is complex to classify and define, with a wide range of satiric "modes".
Satirical literature can commonly be categorized as either Horatian, Juvenalian, or Menippean.
Horatian satire, named for the Roman satirist Horace (65–8 BCE), playfully criticizes some social vice through gentle, mild, and light-hearted humour. Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) wrote Satires to gently ridicule the dominant opinions and "philosophical beliefs of ancient Rome and Greece" (Rankin). Rather than writing in harsh or accusing tones, he addressed issues with humor and clever mockery. Horatian satire follows this same pattern of "gently [ridiculing] the absurdities and follies of human beings" (Drury).
It directs wit, exaggeration, and self-deprecating humour toward what it identifies as folly, rather than evil. Horatian satire's sympathetic tone is common in modern society.
A Horatian satirist's goal is to heal the situation with smiles, rather than by anger. Horatian satire is a gentle reminder to take life less seriously and evokes a wry smile. A Horatian satirist makes fun of general human folly rather than engaging in specific or personal attacks. Shamekia Thomas suggests, "In a work using Horatian satire, readers often laugh at the characters in the story who are the subject of mockery as well as themselves and society for behaving in those ways." Alexander Pope has been established as an author whose satire "heals with morals what it hurts with wit" (Green). Alexander Pope—and Horatian satire—attempt to teach.
Examples of Horatian satire:
Juvenalian satire, named for the writings of the Roman satirist Juvenal (late first century – early second century AD), is more contemptuous and abrasive than the Horatian. Juvenal disagreed with the opinions of the public figures and institutions of the Republic and actively attacked them through his literature. "He utilized the satirical tools of exaggeration and parody to make his targets appear monstrous and incompetent" (Podzemny). Juvenal's satire follows this same pattern of abrasively ridiculing societal structures. Juvenal also, unlike Horace, attacked public officials and governmental organizations through his satires, regarding their opinions as not just wrong, but evil.
Following in this tradition, Juvenalian satire addresses perceived social evil through scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule. This form is often pessimistic, characterized by the use of irony, sarcasm, moral indignation and personal invective, with less emphasis on humor. Strongly polarized political satire can often be classified as Juvenalian.
A Juvenal satirist's goal is generally to provoke some sort of political or societal change because he sees his opponent or object as evil or harmful. A Juvenal satirist mocks "societal structure, power, and civilization" (Thomas) by exaggerating the words or position of his opponent in order to jeopardize their opponent's reputation and/or power. Jonathan Swift has been established as an author who "borrowed heavily from Juvenal's techniques in [his critique] of contemporary English society" (Podzemny).
Examples of Juvenalian satire:
See Menippean satire.
In the history of theatre there has always been a conflict between engagement and disengagement on politics and relevant issue, between satire and grotesque on one side, and jest with teasing on the other. Max Eastman defined the spectrum of satire in terms of "degrees of biting", as ranging from satire proper at the hot-end, and "kidding" at the violet-end; Eastman adopted the term kidding to denote what is just satirical in form, but is not really firing at the target. Nobel laureate satirical playwright Dario Fo pointed out the difference between satire and teasing ("sfottò"). Teasing is the reactionary side of the comic; it limits itself to a shallow parody of physical appearance. The side-effect of teasing is that it humanizes and draws sympathy for the powerful individual towards which it is directed. Satire instead uses the comic to go against power and its oppressions, has a subversive character, and a moral dimension which draws judgement against its targets. Fo formulated an operational criterion to tell real satire from "sfottò", saying that real satire arouses an outraged and violent reaction, and that the more they try to stop you, the better is the job you are doing. Fo contends that, historically, people in positions of power have welcomed and encouraged good-humoured buffoonery, while modern day people in positions of power have tried to censor, ostracize and repress satire.
Teasing ("sfottò") is an ancient form of simple buffoonery, a form of comedy without satire's subversive edge. Teasing includes light and affectionate parody, good-humoured mockery, simple one-dimensional poking fun, and benign spoofs. Teasing typically consists of an impersonation of someone monkeying around with his exterior attributes, tics, physical blemishes, voice and mannerisms, quirks, way of dressing and walking, and/or the phrases he typically repeats. By contrast, teasing never touches on the core issue, never makes a serious criticism judging the target with irony; it never harms the target's conduct, ideology and position of power; it never undermines the perception of his morality and cultural dimension. "Sfottò" directed towards a powerful individual makes him appear more human and draws sympathy towards him. Hermann Göring propagated jests and jokes against himself, with the aim of humanizing his image.
Types of satire can also be classified according to the topics it deals with. From the earliest times, at least since the plays of Aristophanes, the primary topics of literary satire have been politics, religion and sex. This is partly because these are the most pressing problems that affect anybody living in a society, and partly because these topics are usually taboo. Among these, politics in the broader sense is considered the pre-eminent topic of satire. Satire which targets the clergy is a type of political satire, while religious satire is that which targets religious beliefs. Satire on sex may overlap with blue comedy, off-color humor and dick jokes.
Scatology has a long literary association with satire, as it is a classical mode of the grotesque, the grotesque body and the satiric grotesque. Shit plays a fundamental role in satire because it symbolizes death, the turd being "the ultimate dead object". The satirical comparison of individuals or institutions with human excrement, exposes their "inherent inertness, corruption and dead-likeness". The ritual clowns of clown societies, like among the Pueblo Indians, have ceremonies with filth-eating. In other cultures, sin-eating is an apotropaic rite in which the sin-eater (also called filth-eater), by ingesting the food provided, takes "upon himself the sins of the departed". Satire about death overlaps with black humor and gallows humor.
Another classification by topics is the distinction between political satire, religious satire and satire of manners. Political satire is sometimes called topical satire, satire of manners is sometimes called satire of everyday life, and religious satire is sometimes called philosophical satire. Comedy of manners, sometimes also called satire of manners, criticizes mode of life of common people; political satire aims at behavior, manners of politicians, and vices of political systems. Historically, comedy of manners, which first appeared in British theater in 1620, has uncritically accepted the social code of the upper classes. Comedy in general accepts the rules of the social game, while satire subverts them.
Another analysis of satire is the spectrum of his possible tones: wit, ridicule, irony, sarcasm, cynicism, the sardonic and invective.
The type of humour that deals with creating laughter at the expense of the person telling the joke is called reflexive humour. Reflexive humour can take place at dual levels of directing humour at self or at the larger community the self identifies with. The audience's understanding of the context of reflexive humour is important for its receptivity and success. Satire is found not only in written literary forms. In preliterate cultures it manifests itself in ritual and folk forms, as well as in trickster tales and oral poetry.
It appears also in graphic arts, music, sculpture, dance, cartoon strips, and graffiti. Examples are Dada sculptures, Pop Art works, music of Gilbert and Sullivan and Erik Satie, punk and rock music. In modern media culture, stand-up comedy is an enclave in which satire can be introduced into mass media, challenging mainstream discourse. Comedy roasts, mock festivals, and stand-up comedians in nightclubs and concerts are the modern forms of ancient satiric rituals.
One of the earliest examples of what we might call satire, The Satire of the Trades, is in Egyptian writing from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The text's apparent readers are students, tired of studying. It argues that their lot as scribes is not only useful, but far superior to that of the ordinary man. Scholars such as Helck think that the context was meant to be serious.
The Papyrus Anastasi I (late 2nd millennium BC) contains a satirical letter which first praises the virtues of its recipient, but then mocks the reader's meagre knowledge and achievements.
The Greeks had no word for what later would be called "satire", although the terms cynicism and parody were used. Modern critics call the Greek playwright Aristophanes one of the best known early satirists: his plays are known for their critical political and societal commentary, particularly for the political satire by which he criticized the powerful Cleon (as in "The Knights"). He is also notable for the persecution he underwent. Aristophanes' plays turned upon images of filth and disease. His bawdy style was adopted by Greek dramatist-comedian Menander. His early play "Drunkenness" contains an attack on the politician Callimedon.
The oldest form of satire still in use is the Menippean satire by Menippus of Gadara. His own writings are lost. Examples from his admirers and imitators mix seriousness and mockery in dialogues and present parodies before a background of diatribe. As in the case of Aristophanes plays, menippean satire turned upon images of filth and disease.
The first Roman to discuss satire critically was Quintilian, who invented the term to describe the writings of Gaius Lucilius. The two most prominent and influential ancient Roman satirists are Horace and Juvenal, who wrote during the early days of the Roman Empire. Other important satirists in ancient Latin are Gaius Lucilius and Persius. "Satire" in their work is much wider than in the modern sense of the word, including fantastic and highly coloured humorous writing with little or no real mocking intent. When Horace criticized Augustus, he used veiled ironic terms. In contrast, Pliny reports that the 6th-century-BC poet Hipponax wrote "satirae" that were so cruel that the offended hanged themselves.
In the 2nd century AD, Lucian wrote "True History", a book satirizing the clearly unrealistic travelogues/adventures written by Ctesias, Iambulus, and Homer. He states that he was surprised they expected people to believe their lies, and stating that he, like them, has no actual knowledge or experience, but shall now tell lies as if he did. He goes on to describe a far more obviously extreme and unrealistic tale, involving interplanetary exploration, war among alien life forms, and life inside a 200 mile long whale back in the terrestrial ocean, all intended to make obvious the fallacies of books like "Indica" and "The Odyssey".
Medieval Arabic poetry included the satiric genre "hija". Satire was introduced into Arabic prose literature by the author Al-Jahiz in the 9th century. While dealing with serious topics in what are now known as anthropology, sociology and psychology, he introduced a satirical approach, "based on the premise that, however serious the subject under review, it could be made more interesting and thus achieve greater effect, if only one leavened the lump of solemnity by the insertion of a few amusing anecdotes or by the throwing out of some witty or paradoxical observations. He was well aware that, in treating of new themes in his prose works, he would have to employ a vocabulary of a nature more familiar in "hija", satirical poetry." For example, in one of his zoological works, he satirized the preference for longer human penis size, writing: "If the length of the penis were a sign of honor, then the mule would belong to the (honorable tribe of) Quraysh". Another satirical story based on this preference was an "Arabian Nights" tale called "Ali with the Large Member".
In the 10th century, the writer Tha'alibi recorded satirical poetry written by the Arabic poets As-Salami and Abu Dulaf, with As-Salami praising Abu Dulaf's wide breadth of knowledge and then mocking his ability in all these subjects, and with Abu Dulaf responding back and satirizing As-Salami in return. An example of Arabic political satire included another 10th-century poet Jarir satirizing Farazdaq as "a transgressor of the Sharia" and later Arabic poets in turn using the term "Farazdaq-like" as a form of political satire.
The terms "comedy" and "satire" became synonymous after Aristotle's "Poetics" was translated into Arabic in the medieval Islamic world, where it was elaborated upon by Islamic philosophers and writers, such as Abu Bischr, his pupil Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes. Due to cultural differences, they disassociated comedy from Greek dramatic representation and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as "hija" (satirical poetry). They viewed comedy as simply the "art of reprehension", and made no reference to light and cheerful events, or troubled beginnings and happy endings, associated with classical Greek comedy. After the Latin translations of the 12th century, the term "comedy" thus gained a new semantic meaning in Medieval literature.
Ubayd Zakani introduced satire in Persian literature during the 14th century. His work is noted for its satire and obscene verses, often political or bawdy, and often cited in debates involving homosexual practices. He wrote the "Resaleh-ye Delgosha", as well as "Akhlaq al-Ashraf" ("Ethics of the Aristocracy") and the famous humorous fable "Masnavi Mush-O-Gorbeh" (Mouse and Cat), which was a political satire. His non-satirical serious classical verses have also been regarded as very well written, in league with the other great works of Persian literature. Between 1905 and 1911, Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi and other Iranian writers wrote notable satires.
In the Early Middle Ages, examples of satire were the songs by Goliards or vagants now best known as an anthology called Carmina Burana and made famous as texts of a composition by the 20th-century composer Carl Orff. Satirical poetry is believed to have been popular, although little has survived. With the advent of the High Middle Ages and the birth of modern vernacular literature in the 12th century, it began to be used again, most notably by Chaucer. The disrespectful manner was considered "unchristian" and ignored, except for the moral satire, which mocked misbehaviour in Christian terms. Examples are "Livre des Manières" by (~1178), and some of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales". Sometimes epic poetry (epos) was mocked, and even feudal society, but there was hardly a general interest in the genre.
Direct social commentary via satire returned with a vengeance in the 16th century, when farcical texts such as the works of François Rabelais tackled more serious issues (and incurred the wrath of the crown as a result).
Two major satirists of Europe in the Renaissance were Giovanni Boccaccio and François Rabelais. Other examples of Renaissance satire include "Till Eulenspiegel", "Reynard the Fox", Sebastian Brant's "Narrenschiff" (1494), Erasmus's "Moriae Encomium" (1509), Thomas More's "Utopia" (1516), and "Carajicomedia" (1519).
The Elizabethan (i.e. 16th-century English) writers thought of satire as related to the notoriously rude, coarse and sharp satyr play. Elizabethan "satire" (typically in pamphlet form) therefore contains more straightforward abuse than subtle irony. The French Huguenot Isaac Casaubon pointed out in 1605 that satire in the Roman fashion was something altogether more civilised. Casaubon discovered and published Quintilian's writing and presented the original meaning of the term (satira, not satyr), and the sense of wittiness (reflecting the "dishfull of fruits") became more important again. Seventeenth-century English satire once again aimed at the "amendment of vices" (Dryden).
In the 1590s a new wave of verse satire broke with the publication of Hall's "Virgidemiarum", six books of verse satires targeting everything from literary fads to corrupt noblemen. Although Donne had already circulated satires in manuscript, Hall's was the first real attempt in English at verse satire on the Juvenalian model. The success of his work combined with a national mood of disillusion in the last years of Elizabeth's reign triggered an avalanche of satire—much of it less conscious of classical models than Hall's — until the fashion was brought to an abrupt stop by censorship.
Satire ("Kataksh" or "Vyang") has played a prominent role in Indian and Hindi literature, and is counted as one of the "ras" of literature in ancient books. With the commencement of printing of books in local language in the nineteenth century and especially after India's freedom, this grew. Many of the works of Tulsi Das, Kabir, Munshi Premchand, village ministrels, Hari katha singers, poets, Dalit singers and current day stand up Indian comedians incorporate satire, usually ridiculing authoritarians, fundamentalists and incompetent people in power. In India, it has usually been used as a means of expression and an outlet for common people to express their anger against authoritarian entities. A popular custom in Northern India of "Bura na mano Holi hai" continues, in which comedians on the stage roast local people of importance (who are usually brought in as special guests).
The Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries advocating rationality, produced a great revival of satire in Britain. This was fuelled by the rise of partisan politics, with the formalisation of the Tory and Whig parties—and also, in 1714, by the formation of the Scriblerus Club, which included Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, John Gay, John Arbuthnot, Robert Harley, Thomas Parnell, and Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. This club included several of the notable satirists of early-18th-century Britain. They focused their attention on Martinus Scriblerus, "an invented learned fool... whose work they attributed all that was tedious, narrow-minded, and pedantic in contemporary scholarship". In their hands astute and biting satire of institutions and individuals became a popular weapon. The turn to the 18th century was characterized by a switch from Horatian, soft, pseudo-satire, to biting "juvenal" satire.
Jonathan Swift was one of the greatest of Anglo-Irish satirists, and one of the first to practise modern journalistic satire. For instance, In his "A Modest Proposal" Swift suggests that Irish peasants be encouraged to sell their own children as food for the rich, as a solution to the "problem" of poverty. His purpose is of course to attack indifference to the plight of the desperately poor. In his book "Gulliver's Travels" he writes about the flaws in human society in general and English society in particular. John Dryden wrote an influential essay entitled "A Discourse Concerning the Original and Progress of Satire" that helped fix the definition of satire in the literary world. His satirical "Mac Flecknoe" was written in response to a rivalry with Thomas Shadwell and eventually inspired Alexander Pope to write his satirical "The Rape of the Lock". Other satirical works by Pope include the "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot".
Alexander Pope (b. May 21, 1688) was a satirist known for his Horatian satirist style and translation of the "Iliad". Famous throughout and after the long 18th century, Pope died in 1744. Pope, in his "The Rape of the Lock", is delicately chiding society in a sly but polished voice by holding up a mirror to the follies and vanities of the upper class. Pope does not actively attack the self-important pomp of the British aristocracy, but rather presents it in such a way that gives the reader a new perspective from which to easily view the actions in the story as foolish and ridiculous. A mockery of the upper class, more delicate and lyrical than brutal, Pope nonetheless is able to effectively illuminate the moral degradation of society to the public. "The Rape of the Lock" assimilates the masterful qualities of a heroic epic, such as the "Iliad", which Pope was translating at the time of writing "The Rape of the Lock". However, Pope applied these qualities satirically to a seemingly petty egotistical elitist quarrel to prove his point wryly.
Daniel Defoe pursued a more journalistic type of satire, being famous for his "The True-Born Englishman" which mocks xenophobic patriotism, and "The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters"—advocating religious toleration by means of an ironical exaggeration of the highly intolerant attitudes of his time.
The pictorial satire of William Hogarth is a precursor to the development of political cartoons in 18th-century England. The medium developed under the direction of its greatest exponent, James Gillray from London. With his satirical works calling the king (George III), prime ministers and generals (especially Napoleon) to account, Gillray's wit and keen sense of the ridiculous made him the pre-eminent cartoonist of the era.
Ebenezer Cooke (1665–1732), author of "The Sot-Weed Factor" (1708), was among the first American colonialists to write literary satire. Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) and others followed, using satire to shape an emerging nation's culture through its sense of the ridiculous.
Several satiric papers competed for the public's attention in the Victorian era (1837–1901) and Edwardian period, such as "Punch" (1841) and "Fun" (1861).
Perhaps the most enduring examples of Victorian satire, however, are to be found in the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. In fact, in "The Yeomen of the Guard", a jester is given lines that paint a very neat picture of the method and purpose of the satirist, and might almost be taken as a statement of Gilbert's own intent:
Novelists such as Charles Dickens (1812-1870) often used passages of satiric writing in their treatment of social issues.
Continuing the tradition of Swiftian journalistic satire, Sidney Godolphin Osborne (1808-1889) was the most prominent writer of scathing "Letters to the Editor" of the London Times. Famous in his day, he is now all but forgotten. His maternal grandfather William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland was considered to be a possible candidate for the authorship of the Junius letters. If this were true, we can read Osborne as following in his grandfather's satiric "Letters to the Editor" path. Osborne's satire was so bitter and biting that at one point he received a public censure from Parliament's then Home Secretary Sir James Graham. Osborne wrote mostly in the Juvenalian mode over a wide range of topics mostly centered on British government's and landlords' mistreatment of poor farm workers and field laborers. He bitterly opposed the New Poor Laws and was passionate on the subject of Great Britain's botched response to the Irish Famine and its mistreatment of soldiers during the Crimean War.
Later in the nineteenth century, in the United States, Mark Twain (1835–1910) grew to become American's greatest satirist: his novel "Huckleberry Finn" (1884) is set in the antebellum South, where the moral values Twain wishes to promote are completely turned on their heads. His hero, Huck, is a rather simple but goodhearted lad who is ashamed of the "sinful temptation" that leads him to help a runaway slave. In fact his conscience, warped by the distorted moral world he has grown up in, often bothers him most when he is at his best. He is prepared to do good, believing it to be wrong.
Twain's younger contemporary Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) gained notoriety as a cynic, pessimist and black humorist with his dark, bitterly ironic stories, many set during the American Civil War, which satirized the limitations of human perception and reason. Bierce's most famous work of satire is probably "The Devil's Dictionary" (1906), in which the definitions mock cant, hypocrisy and received wisdom.
Karl Kraus is considered the first major European satirist since Jonathan Swift. In 20th-century literature, satire was used by English authors such as Aldous Huxley (1930s) and George Orwell (1940s), which under the inspiration of Zamyatin's Russian 1921 novel "We", made serious and even frightening commentaries on the dangers of the sweeping social changes taking place throughout Europe. Anatoly Lunacharsky wrote ‘Satire attains its greatest significance when a newly evolving class creates an ideology considerably more advanced than that of the ruling class, but has not yet developed to the point where it can conquer it. Herein lies its truly great ability to triumph, its scorn for its adversary and its hidden fear of it. Herein lies its venom, its amazing energy of hate, and quite frequently, its grief, like a black frame around glittering images. Herein lie its contradictions, and its power.’ Many social critics of this same time in the United States, such as Dorothy Parker and H. L. Mencken, used satire as their main weapon, and Mencken in particular is noted for having said that "one horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms" in the persuasion of the public to accept a criticism. Novelist Sinclair Lewis was known for his satirical stories such as "Main Street" (1920), "Babbitt" (1922), "Elmer Gantry" (1927; dedicated by Lewis to H. L. Menchen), and "It Can't Happen Here" (1935), and his books often explored and satirized contemporary American values. The film "The Great Dictator" (1940) by Charlie Chaplin is itself a parody of Adolf Hitler; Chaplin later declared that he would have not made the film if he had known about the concentration camps.
In the United States 1950s, satire was introduced into American stand-up comedy most prominently by Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl. As they challenged the taboos and conventional wisdom of the time, were ostracized by the mass media establishment as "sick comedians". In the same period, Paul Krassner's magazine "The Realist" began publication, to become immensely popular during the 1960s and early 1970s among people in the counterculture; it had articles and cartoons that were savage, biting satires of politicians such as Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the War on Drugs. This baton was also carried by the original National Lampoon magazine, edited by Doug Kenney and Henry Beard and featuring blistering satire written by Michael O'Donoghue, P.J. O'Rourke, and Tony Hendra, among others. Prominent satiric stand-up comedian George Carlin acknowledged the influence "The Realist" had in his 1970s conversion to a satiric comedian.
A more humorous brand of satire enjoyed a renaissance in the UK in the early 1960s with the satire boom, led by such luminaries as Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore, whose stage show "Beyond the Fringe" was a hit not only in Britain, but also in the United States. Other significant influences in 1960s British satire include David Frost, Eleanor Bron and the television program "That Was The Week That Was".
Joseph Heller's most famous work, "Catch-22" (1961), satirizes bureaucracy and the military, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest literary works of the twentieth century. Departing from traditional Hollywood farce and screwball, director and comedian Jerry Lewis used satire in his self-directed films "The Bellboy" (1960), "The Errand Boy" (1961) and "The Patsy" (1964) to comment on celebrity and the star-making machinery of Hollywood.
The film "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) starring Peter Sellers was a popular satire on the Cold War.
Contemporary popular usage of the term "satire" is often very imprecise. While satire often uses caricature and parody, by no means all uses of these or other humorous devices are satiric. Refer to the careful definition of satire that heads this article.
Satire is used on many UK television programmes, particularly popular panel shows and quiz shows such as "Mock the Week" (2005–ongoing) and "Have I Got News for You" (1990–ongoing). It is found on radio quiz shows such as "The News Quiz" (1977–ongoing) and "The Now Show" (1998–ongoing). One of the most watched UK television shows of the 1980s and early 1990s, the puppet show "Spitting Image" was a satire of the royal family, politics, entertainment, sport and British culture of the era. Court Flunkey from "Spitting Image" is a caricature of James Gillray, intended as a homage to the father of political cartooning. Created by DMA Design in 1997, satire features prominently in the British video game series "Grand Theft Auto".
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "South Park" (1997–ongoing) relies almost exclusively on satire to address issues in American culture, with episodes addressing racism, anti-Semitism, militant atheism, homophobia, sexism, environmentalism, corporate culture, political correctness and anti-Catholicism, among many other issues.
Australian Chris Lilley produces comedy art in the style of mockumentaries ("", "Summer Heights High", "Angry Boys") and his work is often described as complex social satire.
Stephen Colbert's television program, "The Colbert Report" (2005–14), is instructive in the methods of contemporary American satire. Colbert's character is an opinionated and self-righteous commentator who, in his TV interviews, interrupts people, points and wags his finger at them, and "unwittingly" uses a number of logical fallacies. In doing so, he demonstrates the principle of modern American political satire: the ridicule of the actions of politicians and other public figures by taking all their statements and purported beliefs to their furthest (supposedly) logical conclusion, thus revealing their perceived hypocrisy or absurdity.
The American sketch comedy television show "Saturday Night Live" is also known for its satirical impressions and parodies of prominent persons and politicians, among some of the most notable, their parodies of U.S. political figures Hillary Clinton and of Sarah Palin.
Other political satire includes various political causes in the past, including the relatively successful Polish Beer-Lovers' Party and the joke political candidates Molly the Dog and Brian Miner.
In the United Kingdom, a popular modern satirist was the late Sir Terry Pratchett, author of the internationally best-selling "Discworld" book series. One of the most well-known and controversial British satirists is Chris Morris, co-writer and director of "Four Lions".
In Canada, satire has become an important part of the comedy scene. Stephen Leacock was one of the best known early Canadian satirists, and in the early 20th century, he achieved fame by targeting the attitudes of small town life. In more recent years, Canada has had several prominent satirical television series and radio shows. Some, including "CODCO", "The Royal Canadian Air Farce", "This Is That", and "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" deal directly with current news stories and political figures, while others, like "History Bites" present contemporary social satire in the context of events and figures in history. The Beaverton is a Canadian news satire site similar to The Onion. Canadian songwriter Nancy White uses music as the vehicle for her satire, and her comic folk songs are regularly played on CBC Radio.
Cartoonists often use satire as well as straight humour. Al Capp's satirical comic strip "Li'l Abner" was censored in September 1947. The controversy, as reported in "Time", centred on Capp's portrayal of the US Senate. Said Edward Leech of Scripps-Howard, "We don't think it is good editing or sound citizenship to picture the Senate as an assemblage of freaks and crooks... boobs and undesirables." Walt Kelly's "Pogo" was likewise censored in 1952 over his overt satire of Senator Joe McCarthy, caricatured in his comic strip as "Simple J. Malarky". Garry Trudeau, whose comic strip "Doonesbury" focuses on satire of the political system, and provides a trademark cynical view on national events. Trudeau exemplifies humour mixed with criticism. For example, the character Mark Slackmeyer lamented that because he was not legally married to his partner, he was deprived of the "exquisite agony" of experiencing a nasty and painful divorce like heterosexuals. This, of course, satirized the claim that gay unions would denigrate the sanctity of heterosexual marriage.
Like some literary predecessors, many recent television satires contain strong elements of parody and caricature; for instance, the popular animated series "The Simpsons" and "South Park" both parody modern family and social life by taking their assumptions to the extreme; both have led to the creation of similar series. As well as the purely humorous effect of this sort of thing, they often strongly criticise various phenomena in politics, economic life, religion and many other aspects of society, and thus qualify as satirical. Due to their animated nature, these shows can easily use images of public figures and generally have greater freedom to do so than conventional shows using live actors.
News satire is also a very popular form of contemporary satire, appearing in as wide an array of formats as the news media itself: print (e.g. "The Onion", "Waterford Whispers News", "Private Eye"), radio (e.g. "On the Hour"), television (e.g. "The Day Today", "The Daily Show", "Brass Eye") and the web (e.g. "Faking News", "El Koshary Today", "Babylon Bee", "The Beaverton", "The Daily Bonnet" and "The Onion"). Other satires are on the list of satirists and satires. Another internet-driven form of satire is to lampoon bad internet performers. An example of this is the Internet meme character Miranda Sings.
In an interview with "Wikinews", Sean Mills, President of "The Onion", said angry letters about their news parody always carried the same message. "It's whatever affects that person", said Mills. "So it's like, 'I love it when you make a joke about murder or rape, but if you talk about cancer, well my brother has cancer and that's not funny to me.' Or someone else can say, 'Cancer's "hilarious", but don't talk about rape because my cousin got raped.' Those are rather extreme examples, but if it affects somebody personally, they tend to be more sensitive about it."
Zhou Libo, a comedian from Shanghai, is the most popular satirist in China. His humour has interested middle-class people and has sold-out shows ever since his rise to fame.
Paweł Kuczyński is a polish artist that has been awarded many prices for his works on political satyre. His topics range from the absurdity of war to the absorbing power of today's technology.
Literary satire is usually written out of earlier satiric works, reprising previous conventions, commonplaces, stance, situations and tones of voice. Exaggeration is one of the most common satirical techniques. Contrarily diminution is also a satirical technique.
For its nature and social role, satire has enjoyed in many societies a special freedom license to mock prominent individuals and institutions. In Germany and Italy satire is protected by the constitution.
Since satire belongs to the realm of art and artistic expression, it benefits from broader lawfulness limits than mere freedom of information of journalistic kind. In some countries a specific "right to satire" is recognized and its limits go beyond the "right to report" of journalism and even the "right to criticize". Satire benefits not only of the protection to freedom of speech, but also to that to culture, and that to scientific and artistic production.
In September 2017 The Juice Media received an e-mail from the Australian National Symbols Officer requesting that the use of a satirical logo, called the "Coat of Harms" based on the Australian Coat of Arms, no longer be used as they had received complaints from the members of the public. Coincidentally 5 days later a Bill was proposed to Australian parliament to amend the Criminal Code Act 1995. If passed, those found to be in breach of the new amendment can face 2–5 years imprisonment.
As of June 2018, the Criminal Code Amendment (Impersonating a Commonwealth Body) Bill 2017 was before the Australian Senate with the third reading moved May 10, 2018.
Descriptions of satire's biting effect on its target include 'venomous', 'cutting', 'stinging', vitriol. Because satire often combines anger and humor, as well as the fact that it addresses and calls into question many controversial issues, it can be profoundly disturbing.
Because it is essentially ironic or sarcastic, satire is often misunderstood. A typical misunderstanding is to confuse the satirist with his persona.
Common uncomprehending responses to satire include revulsion (accusations of poor taste, or that "it's just not funny" for instance) and the idea that the satirist actually does support the ideas, policies, or people he is attacking. For instance, at the time of its publication, many people misunderstood Swift's purpose in "A Modest Proposal", assuming it to be a serious recommendation of economically motivated cannibalism.
Some critics of Mark Twain see "Huckleberry Finn" as racist and offensive, missing the point that its author clearly intended it to be satire (racism being in fact only one of a number of Mark Twain's known concerns attacked in "Huckleberry Finn"). This same misconception was suffered by the main character of the 1960s British television comedy satire "Till Death Us Do Part". The character of Alf Garnett (played by Warren Mitchell) was created to poke fun at the kind of narrow-minded, racist, little Englander that Garnett represented. Instead, his character became a sort of anti-hero to people who actually agreed with his views. (The same situation occurred with Archie Bunker in American TV show "All in the Family", a character derived directly from Garnett.)
The Australian satirical television comedy show "The Chaser's War on Everything" has suffered repeated attacks based on various perceived interpretations of the "target" of its attacks. The "Make a Realistic Wish Foundation" sketch (June 2009), which attacked in classical satiric fashion the heartlessness of people who are reluctant to donate to charities, was widely interpreted as an attack on the Make a Wish Foundation, or even the terminally ill children helped by that organisation. Prime Minister of the time Kevin Rudd stated that The Chaser team "should hang their heads in shame". He went on to say that "I didn't see that but it's been described to me. ...But having a go at kids with a terminal illness is really beyond the pale, absolutely beyond the pale." Television station management suspended the show for two weeks and reduced the third season to eight episodes.
The romantic prejudice against satire is the belief spread by the romantic movement that satire is something unworthy of serious attention; this prejudice has held considerable influence to this day. Such prejudice extends to humour and everything that arouses laughter, which are often underestimated as frivolous and unworthy of serious study. For instance, humor is generally neglected as a topic of anthropological research and teaching.
Because satire criticises in an ironic, essentially indirect way, it frequently escapes censorship in a way more direct criticism might not. Periodically, however, it runs into serious opposition, and people in power who perceive themselves as attacked attempt to censor it or prosecute its practitioners. In a classic example, Aristophanes was persecuted by the demagogue Cleon.
In 1599, the Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift and the Bishop of London Richard Bancroft, whose offices had the function of licensing books for publication in England, issued a decree banning verse satire. The decree, now known as the Bishops' Ban of 1599, ordered the burning of certain volumes of satire by John Marston, Thomas Middleton, Joseph Hall, and others; it also required histories and plays to be specially approved by a member of the Queen's Privy Council, and it prohibited the future printing of satire in verse.
The motives for the ban are obscure, particularly since some of the books banned had been licensed by the same authorities less than a year earlier. Various scholars have argued that the target was obscenity, libel, or sedition. It seems likely that lingering anxiety about the Martin Marprelate controversy, in which the bishops themselves had employed satirists, played a role; both Thomas Nashe and Gabriel Harvey, two of the key figures in that controversy, suffered a complete ban on all their works. In the event, though, the ban was little enforced, even by the licensing authority itself.
In 2005, the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy caused global protests by offended Muslims and violent attacks with many fatalities in the Near East. It was not the first case of Muslim protests against criticism in the form of satire, but the Western world was surprised by the hostility of the reaction: Any country's flag in which a newspaper chose to publish the parodies was being burnt in a Near East country, then embassies were attacked, killing 139 people in mainly four countries; politicians throughout Europe agreed that satire was an aspect of the freedom of speech, and therefore to be a protected means of dialogue. Iran threatened to start an International Holocaust Cartoon Competition, which was immediately responded to by Jews with an Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest.
In 2006 British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen released "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", a "mockumentary" that satirized everyone, from high society to frat boys. The film was criticized by many. Although Baron Cohen is Jewish, some complained that it was antisemitic, and the government of Kazakhstan boycotted the film. The film itself had been a reaction to a longer quarrel between the government and the comedian.
In 2008, popular South African cartoonist and satirist Jonathan Shapiro (who is published under the pen name Zapiro) came under fire for depicting then-president of the ANC Jacob Zuma in the act of undressing in preparation for the implied rape of 'Lady Justice' which is held down by Zuma loyalists. The cartoon was drawn in response to Zuma's efforts to duck corruption charges, and the controversy was heightened by the fact that Zuma was himself acquitted of rape in May 2006. In February 2009, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, viewed by some opposition parties as the mouthpiece of the governing ANC, shelved a satirical TV show created by Shapiro, and in May 2009 the broadcaster pulled a documentary about political satire (featuring Shapiro among others) for the second time, hours before scheduled broadcast. Apartheid South Africa also had a long history of censorship.
On December 29, 2009, Samsung sued Mike Breen, and the "Korea Times" for $1 million, claiming criminal defamation over a satirical column published on Christmas Day, 2009.
On April 29, 2015, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) requested Kent Police investigate the BBC, claiming that comments made about Party leader Nigel Farage by a panelist on the comedy show "Have I Got News For You" might hinder his chances of success in the general election (which would take place a week later), and claimed the BBC breached the Representation of the People Act. Kent Police rebuffed the request to open an investigation, and the BBC released a statement, "Britain has a proud tradition of satire, and everyone knows that the contributors on "Have I Got News for You" regularly make jokes at the expense of politicians of all parties."
Satire is occasionally prophetic: the jokes precede actual events. Among the eminent examples are:
In June 2019, Punocracy, "Nigeria"'s foremost satire platform organised a nationwide writing competition for youth in the country with the objective to make satire a widely accepted and understood tool of socio-political commentary. Some of the entries addressed issues like "gender violence", "political corruption", religious hypocrisy, "internet fraud", educational decay and so on. The group also declared November 9 as World Satire Day with the idea of "trying to fight against the ills in the society not by ammunition but by humour, sarcasm etcetera". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26791 |
List of science fiction and fantasy artists
This is a list of science fiction and fantasy artists, notable and well-known 20th- and 21st-century artists who have created book covers or interior illustrations for books, or who have had their own books or comic books of fantastic art with science fiction or fantasy themes published. Artists known exclusively for their work in comic books are not included. Many of the artists are known for their work in both the fantasy and sf fields. Artists who have won the Hugo Award, the World Fantasy Award, or the Chesley Award are noted, as are inductees into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26794 |
Saxophone
The saxophone (referred to colloquially as the sax) is a family of woodwind instruments usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece. Although most saxophones are made from brass, they are categorized as woodwind instruments, because sound is produced by an oscillating reed (traditionally made out of woody cane) rather than lips vibrating in a mouthpiece cup as with the brass instrument family. As with the other woodwind instruments, the pitch of the note being played is controlled by covering holes in the body tube to control the resonant frequency of the air column by changing the effective length of the tube.
The player covers or uncovers the holes by pressing keys.
The saxophone is used in classical music (such as concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, and, occasionally, orchestras), military bands, marching bands, jazz (such as big bands and jazz combos), and contemporary music. The saxophone is also used as a solo and melody instrument or as a member of a horn section in some styles of rock and roll and popular music. Saxophone players are called "saxophonists".
Since the first saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in the early 1840s, saxophones have been produced in a variety of series distinguished by transpositions within instrument sets and tuning standard. Sax patented the saxophone on 28 June 1846, in two groups of seven instruments each. Each series consisted of instruments ranked by pitch, in alternating transposition. The series pitched in B and E soon became dominant and most saxophones encountered today are from this series. Instruments from the series pitched in C and F never gained a foothold and constituted only a small percentage of instruments made by Sax. "High Pitch" (also marked "H" or "HP") saxophones tuned sharper than the (concert) A = 440 Hz standard were produced into the early twentieth century for sonic qualities suited for outdoor uses, but are not playable to modern tuning and are considered obsolete. "Low Pitch" (also marked "L" or "LP") saxophones are equivalent in tuning to modern instruments. C soprano and C melody saxophones were produced for the casual market as parlor instruments during the early twentieth century. Saxophones in F were introduced during the late 1920s but never gained acceptance. The modern saxophone family consists entirely of instruments in the B – E series, historical and experimental instruments notwithstanding. The saxophones with widest use and availability are the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones.
In the "keyed" (below overtone-produced "altissimo") ranges of the various saxophones, the pitch is controlled by "keys" with shallow "cups" in which are fastened leather "pads" that seal "toneholes", controlling the resonant length, and thereby frequency, of the air column within the "bore". Small holes called "vents", located between the toneholes and the mouthpiece, are opened by an "octave key" to raise the pitch one octave by eliminating the fundamental frequency, leaving the first harmonic as the frequency defining the pitch. Most modern saxophones are keyed to produce a low B (relative to the instrument's transposition) with all keys closed; modern baritone saxophones commonly play a low A and altos keyed to low A have been produced in the past. The highest keyed note has traditionally been F two and a half octaves above low B, while the keyed range is extended to F on most recent performance-class instruments. A high G key is most common on modern soprano saxophones. Notes above F are considered part of the altissimo register of any saxophone, and can be produced using advanced embouchure techniques and fingering combinations. Keywork facilitating altissimo playing is a feature of modern saxophones. Modern saxophone players have extended the range to over four octaves on tenor and alto. Music for most saxophones is usually notated using treble clef.
Because all saxophones use the same key arrangement and fingering to produce a given notated pitch, it is not difficult for a competent player to switch among the various sizes when the music has been suitably transposed, and many do so. Since the baritone and alto are pitched in E, players can read concert pitch music notated in the bass clef by reading it as if it were treble clef and adding three sharps to the key signature. This process, referred to as "clef substitution", makes it possible for the Eb instruments to play from parts written for baritone horn, bassoon, euphonium, string bass, trombone, or tuba. This can be useful if a band or orchestra lacks one of those instruments.
The "straight" soprano and sopranino saxophones consist of a straight conical tube with a flared "bell" at the end opposite the mouthpiece. Alto and larger saxophones include a detachable curved "neck" above the highest tone hole, directing the mouthpiece to the player's mouth and, with rare exceptions, a U-shaped "bow" that directs the bore upward and a curve in the throat of the bell directing it forward. The set of curves near the bell has become a distinctive feature of the saxophone family, to the extent that soprano and even sopranino saxes are sometimes made in the curved style. The baritone, bass, and contrabass saxophones accommodate the length of the bore with extra bows and right-angle bends between the main body and the mouthpiece.
The left hand operates keys from the upper part of the body tube while the right hand operates keys from the lower part. The right thumb sits under a "thumb hook" and left thumb is placed on a "thumb rest" to stabilize and balance the saxophone, while the weight of most saxophones is shared by the right thumb and a neckstrap attached to a "strap ring" on the rear of the body of the instrument. With the smaller instruments, relatively more of the weight is supported by the thumb. The left thumb operates the octave key.
Keys consist of the cups, levers, and pivots that control the position of the pads over the toneholes. At rest, some keys are open and some are closed, held in position by springs that are overridden by finger or hand ("palm" keys) pressure. The keys are activated by pressure on "key touches", either directly on the pad cup or connected to it with levers, either directly or with joints called "linkages." The levers between the key cups and the pivots are called "key arms".
The fingering for the saxophone is a combination of that of the oboe with the Boehm system and is similar to the flute or upper register of the clarinet. The "stack" keys are operated by the first, second, and third fingers on each hand with slightly concave button-style key touches ("key buttons") operating with the same motion as the pad cups that they control. The stack keys are linked to higher stack keys with "regulation bar" and "bridge arm" linkages. Key buttons are advantageous for operating keys with direct downward finger pressure but provide disadvantages operating keys with other finger and hand motions, hence, their use on keys operated with such motions has diminished with the evolution of saxophone designs.
Palm keys and the "front F" key operated by the left hand, and the "high F", "high F" and "high G" keys operated by the right hand, control the upper end of the keyed range and are used to vent altissimo notes. "Chromatic" keys operated by the right hand provide alternate fingerings for F, B, and C within the stack range. The fourth fingers of the right and left hands open keys to raise pitch by a semitone as well as close keys towards the lower range of the instrument, with the lowest pitch "bell keys" operated by the left hand. The keys operated by the fourth fingers are referred to as "table" keys. Instruments that play to low A have a left thumb key for that note.
On saxophones produced since the early 1920s the G key operated from the left hand table is closed by closing keys on the lower stack regardless of pressure on the G actuating mechanism ("F-linked", or "stack-linked", G mechanism). That feature vastly increases the speed and playability of certain intervals to the point that saxophones with "direct G" action, in which the key stays open when the lower stack keys are depressed, are considered obsolete. Modern left hand tables also "articulate" the G key with the low C, B, and B keys to open it when any of those keys are depressed and the right hand stack keys are not. That also provides significant advantages for playing certain intervals near the lower range of the instrument. Some players willingly forego the benefits of the articulated G to play vintage instruments, but a front F key and a stack-linked G key are regarded as critical features by serious players.
From the earliest days of the saxophone the body and key cups have been made from sheet brass stock, owing to its workability in forming complex shapes. Mechanical keywork is assembled from components either hand-tooled or machined from other forms of brass stock. King introduced saxophones with necks and bells of sterling silver during the 1930s and continued that "silversonic" scheme into the early 1960s. Yanagisawa revived the scheme during the 1980s and later introduced entire instruments of sterling silver.
Keilwerth and P. Mauriat have used nickel silver, a copper-nickel-zinc alloy more commonly used for flutes, for the bodies of some saxophone models.
For visual and tonal effect, higher copper variants of brass are sometimes substituted for the more common "yellow brass" and "cartridge brass." Yanagisawa made its 902 and 992 series saxophones with the high copper alloy phosphor bronze to achieve a darker, more "vintage" tone than the brass 901 and 991 models. Other saxophones made of high copper alloys are sold under various brands.
Other materials are used for some mechanical parts and keywork. Since 1920, most saxophones have replaceable key buttons operating the stack keys, usually made from either plastic or mother of pearl. Some saxophones are made with abalone, stone, or wood key buttons. On some premium models, the key button material is used to form the convex key touches for other keys. The rods and screw pins that the keywork's hinges pivot on, and the needle and leaf springs that hold keys in their rest position, are usually made of blued or stainless steel. Mechanical buffers of felt, cork, leather, and various synthetic materials are used to reduce friction, to minimize mechanical noise from movement of keys, and to optimize the action of the keywork for positive pad sealing, intonation, speed, and "feel." Nickel silver is sometimes used for hinges for its advantages of mechanical durability, although the most common material for such applications has remained brass. Saxophones with high copper bodies still have brass keywork owing to its more suitable mechanical properties relative to those alloys.
Before final assembly, manufacturers usually apply a finish to the surface of the horn. The most common finish is a thin coating of clear or colored acrylic lacquer. The lacquer serves to protect the brass from oxidation and maintains its shiny appearance. Silver or gold plating are offered as premium options on some models. Some silver plated saxophones are also lacquered. Plating saxophones with gold is an expensive process because an underplating of silver is required for the gold to adhere to. Nickel plating has been used on the bodies of early budget model saxophones and is commonly used on keywork when a more durable finish than lacquer is desired, mostly with student model saxophones. Chemical surface treatment of the base metal has come into use as an alternative to the lacquer and plating finishes in recent years. Some saxophonists, retailers, and repair technicians argue that the type of lacquer or plating (or absence of lacquer) may be a factor affecting the instrument's tone quality.
The saxophone uses a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. Each size of saxophone (alto, tenor, etc.) uses a different size of reed and mouthpiece.
Most saxophonists use reeds made from "Arundo donax" cane, but since middle of the twentieth century some have also been made of fiberglass and other composite materials. Saxophone reeds are proportioned slightly differently from clarinet reeds, being wider for the same length. Reeds are commercially available in a vast array of brands, styles, and strengths. Saxophonists experiment with reeds of different strength (hardnesses) and material to find which strength and cut suits their mouthpiece, embouchure, physiology, and playing style.
Mouthpiece design has a profound impact on tone. Different mouthpiece design characteristics and features tend to be favored for different styles. Early mouthpieces were designed to produce a "warm" and "round" sound for classical playing. Among classical mouthpieces, those with a concave ("excavated") "chamber" are more true to Adolphe Sax's original design; these provide a softer or less piercing tone favored by the Raschèr school of classical playing. Saxophonists who follow the French school of classical playing, influenced by Marcel Mule, generally use mouthpieces with smaller chambers for a somewhat "brighter" sound with relatively more upper harmonics. The use of the saxophone in dance orchestras and jazz ensembles from the 1920s onward placed emphasis on "dynamic range" and projection, leading to innovation in mouthpiece chamber shapes and "tip" designs, as well as metal construction. At the opposite extreme from the classical mouthpieces are those with a small chamber and a low clearance above the reed between the tip and the chamber, called high "baffle". These produce a bright sound with maximum projection, suitable for having a sound stand out among amplified instruments and are commonly used in modern pop and smooth jazz.
Mouthpieces come in a wide variety of materials, including vulcanized rubber (sometimes called hard rubber or ebonite), plastic, and metals such as bronze or surgical steel. Less common materials that have been used include wood, glass, crystal, porcelain, and bone. Recently, Delrin has been added to the stock of mouthpiece materials.
The effect of mouthpiece materials on tone of the saxophone has been the subject of much debate. According to Larry Teal, the mouthpiece material has little, if any, effect on the sound, and the physical dimensions give a mouthpiece its tone color. There are examples of "dark" sounding metal pieces and "bright" sounding hard rubber pieces. The lower rigidity of hard rubber relative to metal restricts some design characteristics affecting tone and response more than with metal. The extra bulk required near the tip with hard rubber affects mouth position and airflow characteristics. Recently, increased mass of the mouthpiece over the "shank", which fits over the neck cork, has become a design feature to enhance the integrity of the harmonic series by stabilizing the mouthpiece/neck connection. Shank weights (large rings of brass over the shank) are used with some Delrin mouthpieces to increase "resonance and projection." Other "hybrid" designs with a hard rubber body and a substantial metal shank have a similar mass distribution, although its contribution to sound characteristics is not highlighted in product descriptions.
The saxophone was designed around 1840 by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker, flautist, and clarinetist. Born in Dinant and originally based in Brussels, he moved to Paris in 1842 to establish his musical instrument business. Before working on the saxophone, he made several improvements to the bass clarinet by improving its keywork and acoustics and extending its lower range. Sax was also a maker of the ophicleide, a large conical brass instrument in the bass register with keys similar to a woodwind instrument. His experience with these two instruments allowed him to develop the skills and technologies needed to make the first saxophones.
As an outgrowth of his work improving the bass clarinet, Sax began developing an instrument with the projection of a brass instrument and the agility of a woodwind. He wanted it to overblow at the octave, unlike the clarinet, which rises in pitch by a twelfth when overblown. An instrument that overblows at the octave has identical fingering for both registers.
Sax created an instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece and conical brass body. Having constructed saxophones in several sizes in the early 1840s, Sax applied for, and received, a 15-year patent for the instrument on 28 June 1846. The patent encompassed 14 versions of the fundamental design, split into two categories of seven instruments each, and ranging from sopranino to contrabass. A limited number of instruments in the series pitched in F and C were produced by Sax, but the series pitched in E and B quickly became the standard. All the instruments were given an initial written range from the B below the treble staff to the E one half-step below the third ledger line above staff, giving each saxophone a range of two and a half octaves. Sax's patent expired in 1866. Thereafter, numerous other instrument manufacturers implemented their own improvements to the design and keywork.
Sax's original keywork, which was based on the "Triebert system 3" oboe for the left hand and the "Boehm" clarinet for the right, was simplistic and made certain legato passages and wide intervals extremely difficult to finger; that system would later evolve with extra keys, linkage mechanisms, and alternate fingerings to make some intervals less difficult.
Early in the development of the saxophone the upper keyed range was extended to E, then F above the staff; 1880s era sheet music for saxophone was written for the range of low B to F. In 1887 the Buffet-Crampon company obtained a patent for extending the bell and adding an extra key to extend the range downwards by one semitone to B. This extension is currently standard in most modern designs, with the notable exception of baritone saxophones further extended and keyed to low A. The upper range to F would remain the standard for nearly a century until the altissimo F key became common on modern saxophones.
In the 1840s and 1850s, Sax's invention gained use in small classical ensembles (both all-saxophone and mixed), as a solo instrument, and in French and British military bands. Saxophone method books were published and saxophone instruction was offered at conservatories in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy. By 1856 the French "Garde Republicaine" band included eight saxophones, making it the large ensemble that featured the instrument most prominently. The saxophone was used experimentally in orchestral scores, but never came into widespread use as an orchestral instrument. In 1853-54 the orchestra of Louis Antoine Jullien featured a soprano saxophone on a concert tour of the United States.
After an early period of interest and support from classical music communities in Europe, their interest in the instrument waned in the late nineteenth century. Saxophone teaching at the Paris Conservatory was suspended from 1870 to 1900 and classical saxophone repertoire stagnated during that period. But it was during this same period that the saxophone began to be promoted in the United States, largely through the efforts of Patrick Gilmore, leader of the "22nd Regiment band", and Edward A. Lefebre, a Dutch emigre and saxophonist with family business associations with Sax. Lefebre settled in New York in early 1872 after he arrived as a clarinetist with a British opera company. Gilmore organized the World Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival taking place in Boston that summer. The Garde Republicaine band performed and Lefebre was a clarinetist with the Great Festival Orchestra for that event. In the fall of 1873 Gilmore was reorganizing the 22nd Regiment band under the influence of the Garde Republicaine band and recruited Lefebre, who had established a reputation in New York as a saxophonist over the previous year. Gilmore's band soon featured a soprano-alto-tenor-baritone saxophone section, which also performed as a quartet. The Gilmore-Lefebre association lasted until Gilmore's death in 1892, during which time Lefebre also performed in smaller ensembles of various sizes and instrumentation, and worked with composers to increase light classical and popular repertoire for saxophone.
Lefebre's later promotional efforts were extremely significant in broadening adoption of the saxophone. Starting towards the end of the 1880s he consulted with the brass instrument manufacturer C.G. Conn to develop and start production of improved saxophones to replace the costly, scantly available, and mechanically unreliable European instruments in the American market. The early 1890s saw regular production of saxophones commence at Conn and its offshoot Buescher Manufacturing Company, which dramatically increased availability of saxophones in the US. Lefebre worked with the music publisher Carl Fischer to distribute his transcriptions, arrangements, and original works for saxophone, and worked with the Conn Conservatory to further saxophone pedagogy in the US. Lefebre's associations with Conn and Fischer lasted into the first decade of the twentieth century and Fischer continued to publish new arrangements of Lefebre's works posthumously.
While the saxophone remained marginal and regarded mainly as a novelty instrument in the classical music world, many new musical niches were established for it during the early decades of the twentieth century. Its early use in Vaudeville and ragtime bands around the turn of the century laid the groundwork for its use in dance orchestras and eventually jazz. As the market for saxophones grew in the US, the manufacturing industry grew; the Martin Band Instrument Company started producing saxophones between 1905 and 1912, and the Cleveland Band Instrument Company started producing saxophones under contract to the H. N. White Company in 1916. The saxophone was promoted for the casual market with introduction of the C-soprano and C-melody (between alto and tenor) saxophones to play in key with pianos from the same sheet music. Production of such instruments stopped during the Great Depression. During the 1920s the saxophone came into use as a jazz instrument, fostered by the influences of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Starting in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the modern era of classical saxophone was launched largely through the efforts of Marcel Mule and Sigurd Raschèr, and classical repertoire for the instrument expanded rapidly.
The use of the saxophone for more dynamic and more technically demanding styles of playing added incentive for improvements in keywork and acoustic design. Early saxophones had two separate octave keys operated by the left thumb to control the two octave vents required on alto and larger saxophones. A substantial advance in keywork around the turn of the century was the development of mechanisms by which the left thumb operates the two octave vents with a single octave key. Ergonomic design of keywork evolved rapidly during the 1920s and 1930s. The front F mechanism supporting alternate fingerings for high E and F, and stack-linked G key action, became standard during the 1920s, followed by improvements to the left hand table key mechanisms controlling the G and bell keys. New bore designs during the 1920s and 1930s resulted from the quest for improved intonation, dynamic response, and tonal qualities. The 1920s were also the era of design experiments such as the Buescher straight altos and tenors, the King "Saxello" soprano, the C.G. Conn "mezzo-soprano" saxophone keyed in F, and the "Conn-O-Sax" saxophone – English horn hybrid.
The modern layout of the saxophone emerged during the 1930s and 1940s, first with right-side bell keys introduced by C. G. Conn on baritones, then by King on altos and tenors. The mechanics of the left hand table were revolutionized by Selmer with their Balanced Action instruments in 1936, capitalizing on the right-side bell key layout. In 1948 Selmer introduced their Super Action saxophones with offset left and right hand stack keys. Between 30 and 40 years after Selmer devised their final layout it had been adopted for virtually every saxophone being produced, from student to professional models.
The high F key was also first introduced as an option on the Balanced Action model, although it took several decades for it to gain acceptance because of perceived deleterious effects on intonation in its early implementations.
The saxophone first gained popularity in military bands. Although the instrument was initially ignored in Germany, French and Belgian military bands were quick to include the instrument in their ensembles. Most French and Belgian military bands incorporate at least a quartet of saxophones, comprising an E baritone, B tenor, E alto and B soprano. These four instruments have proved the most popular of all of Sax's creations, with the E contrabass and B bass usually considered impractically large and the E sopranino insufficiently powerful. British military bands tend to include at minimum two saxophonists, on the alto and tenor.
The saxophone was introduced into the concert band, which usually calls for an E alto saxophone, a B tenor saxophone, and an E baritone saxophone. A concert band may include two altos, one tenor, and one baritone. A B soprano saxophone is also used, in which case it is played by the first alto saxophonist. A bass saxophone in B is used in some concert band music (especially music by Percy Grainger).
Saxophones are used in chamber music, such as saxophone quartets and other chamber combinations of instruments. The classical saxophone quartet consists of a B soprano saxophone, E alto saxophone, B tenor saxophone, and E baritone saxophone (SATB). On occasion, the soprano is replaced with a second alto sax (AATB); a few professional saxophone quartets have featured non-standard instrumentation, such as James Fei's Alto Quartet (four altos).
There is a repertoire of classical compositions and arrangements for the SATB instrumentation dating back to the nineteenth century, particularly by French composers who knew Sax. However, the largest body of chamber works for saxophone are from the modern era of classical saxophone initiated by Marcel Mule in 1928. Sigurd Raschèr followed as a soloist in orchestral works, starting in 1931, and also figured prominently in development of modern classical saxophone repertoire. The Mule quartet is often considered the prototype for quartets due the level of virtuosity demonstrated by its members and its central role in the development of modern quartet repertoire. However, organized quartets existed before Mule's ensemble, the prime example being the quartet headed by Edward A. Lefebre (1834–1911), which was a subset of Patrick Gilmore's 22nd Regiment band between 1873 and 1893.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the saxophone found increased popularity in symphony orchestras. The instrument has also been used in genres such as opera and choral music. Many musical theatre scores include parts for saxophone, sometimes doubling another woodwind or brass instrument.
Coincident with the more widespread availability of saxophones in the US around the turn of the century was the rise of ragtime music. The bands featuring the syncopated Latin- and African-American rhythmic influences of ragtime were an exciting new feature of the American cultural landscape and provided the groundwork for new styles of dancing. Two of the best known ragtime-playing brass bands with saxophones were those led by W. C. Handy and James R. Europe. Europe's 369th Infantry Regiment Band popularized ragtime in France during its 1918 tour. The rise of dance bands into the 1920s followed from the popularity of ragtime. The saxophone was also used in Vaudeville entertainment during the same period. Ragtime, Vaudeville, and dance bands introduced much of the American public to the saxophone. Rudy Wiedoeft became the best known individual saxophone stylist and virtuoso during this period leading into the "saxophone craze" of the 1920s. Following it, the saxophone became featured in music as diverse as the "sweet" music of Paul Whiteman and Guy Lombardo, jazz, swing, and large stage show bands.
The rise of the saxophone as a jazz instrument followed its widespread adoption in dance bands during the early 1920s. The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, formed in 1923, featured arrangements to back up improvisation, bringing the first elements of jazz to the large dance band format. Following the innovations of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Jean Goldkette's Victor Recording Orchestra featured jazz solos with saxophones and other instruments. The association of dance bands with jazz would reach its peak with the swing music of the 1930s. The large show band format, influenced by the 1930s swing bands, would be used as backing for popular vocalists and stage shows in the post World War II era, and provided a foundation for big band jazz. Show bands with saxophone sections became a staple of television talk shows (such as the Tonight Show that featured bands led by Doc Severinsen and Branford Marsalis) and Las Vegas stage shows. The swing era fostered the later saxophone styles that permeated bebop and rhythm and blues in the early postwar era.
Coleman Hawkins established the tenor saxophone as a jazz solo instrument during his stint with Fletcher Henderson from 1923 to 1934. Hawkins' arpeggiated, rich-toned, vibrato-laden style was the main influence on swing era tenor players before Lester Young, and his influence continued with other big-toned tenor players into the era of modern jazz. Among the tenor players directly influenced by him were Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas. Hawkins' bandmate Benny Carter and Duke Ellington's alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges became influential on swing era alto styles, while Harry Carney brought the baritone saxophone to prominence with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The New Orleans player Sidney Bechet gained recognition for playing the soprano saxophone during the 1920s, but the instrument did not come into wide use until the modern era of jazz.
As Chicago style jazz evolved from New Orleans jazz in the 1920s, one of its defining features was the addition of saxophones to the ensemble. The small Chicago ensembles offered more improvisational freedom than did the New Orleans or large band formats, fostering the innovations of saxophonists Jimmy Dorsey (alto), Frankie Trumbauer (c-melody), Bud Freeman (tenor) and Stump Evans (baritone). Dorsey and Trumbauer became important influences on tenor saxophonist Lester Young.
Lester Young's approach on tenor saxophone differed from Hawkins', emphasizing more melodic "linear" playing that wove in and out of the chordal structure and longer phrases that differed from those suggested by the tune. He used vibrato less, fitting it to the passage he was playing. His tone was smoother and darker than that of his 1930s contemporaries. Young's playing was a major influence on the modern jazz saxophonists Al Cohn, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Charlie Parker, and Art Pepper.
The influence of Lester Young with the Count Basie Orchestra in the late 1930s and the popularity of Hawkins' 1939 recording of "Body and Soul" marked the saxophone as an influence on jazz equal to the trumpet, which had been the defining instrument of jazz since its beginnings in New Orleans. But the greatest influence of the saxophone on jazz was to occur a few years later when alto saxophonist Charlie Parker became an icon of the bebop revolution that influenced generations of jazz musicians. The small-group format of bebop and post-bebop jazz ensembles gained ascendancy in the 1940s as musicians used the harmonic and melodic freedom pioneered by Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell in extended jazz solos.
During the 1950s, prominent alto players included Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Jackie McLean, Lou Donaldson, Sonny Criss and Paul Desmond, while prominent tenor players included Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Lucky Thompson, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Paul Gonsalves. Serge Chaloff, Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams and Leo Parker brought the baritone saxophone to prominence as a solo instrument. Steve Lacy renewed attention to the soprano saxophone in the context of modern jazz and John Coltrane boosted the instrument's popularity during the 1960s. Smooth jazz musician Kenny G also uses the soprano sax as his principal instrument.
Saxophonists such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Sam Rivers, and Pharoah Sanders defined the forefront of creative exploration with the avant-garde movement of the 1960s. The new realms offered with Modal, harmolodic, and free jazz were explored with every device that saxophonists could conceive of. Sheets of sound, tonal exploration, upper harmonics, and multiphonics were hallmarks of the creative possibilities that saxophones offered. One lasting influence of the avant-garde movement is the exploration of non-Western ethnic sounds on the saxophone, for example, the African-influenced sounds used by Sanders and the Indian-influenced sounds used by Coltrane. The devices of the avant-garde movement have continued to be influential in music that challenges the boundaries between avant-garde and other categories of jazz, such as that of alto saxophonists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby.
Some ensembles such as the World Saxophone Quartet use the soprano-alto-tenor-baritone (SATB) format of the classical saxophone quartet for jazz. In the 1990s, World Saxophone Quartet founder Hamiet Bluiett formed the quartet Baritone Nation (four baritones).
The "jump swing" bands of the 1940s gave rise to rhythm and blues, featuring horn sections and exuberant, strong-toned, heavily rhythmic styles of saxophone playing with a melodic sense based on blues tonalities. Illinois Jacquet, Sam Butera, Arnett Cobb, and Jimmy Forrest were major influences on R&B tenor styles and Louis Jordan, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Earl Bostic, and Bull Moose Jackson were major influences on alto. The R&B saxophone players influenced later genres including rock and roll, ska, soul, and funk. Horn section work continued with Johnny Otis and Ray Charles featuring horn sections and the Memphis Horns, the Phenix Horns, and Tower of Power achieving distinction for their section playing. Horn sections were added to the Chicago and West Coast blues bands of Lowell Fulson, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and Guitar Slim. Rock and soul fusion bands such as Chicago, The Electric Flag, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears featured horn sections. Bobby Keys and Clarence Clemons became influential rock and roll saxophone stylists. Junior Walker, King Curtis and Maceo Parker became influential soul and funk saxophone stylists, influencing the more technical jazz-fusion sounds of Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer and pop-jazz players such as Candy Dulfer.
A number of experimental saxophones and saxophone-related instruments have appeared since Sax's original work, most with no lasting impact. During the early 1920s Reiffel & Husted of Chicago produced a slide soprano saxophone.
During the 1920s some straight alto and tenor saxophones were produced by Buescher, which proved cumbersome to handle and difficult to transport. Buescher custom produced one straight baritone saxophone as novelty instrument for a vaudeville performer.
C.G. Conn introduced two new variants in 1928–1929, the "Conn-O-Sax" and the mezzo-soprano saxophone keyed in F. The Conn-O-Sax is a straight-conical bore instrument in F (one step above the E alto) with a slightly curved neck and spherical bell. This instrument, which combines a saxophone bore and keys with a bell shaped similar to that of a heckelphone, was intended to imitate the timbre of the English horn and was produced only in 1929 and 1930. The instrument has a key range from low A to high G. Fewer than 100 Conn-O-Saxes are in existence and they are highly sought by collectors. The Conn mezzo-soprano experienced a similarly short production run as the economics of the Great Depression curtailed the market for what were regarded as novelty instruments. Most were expended by Conn as objects of repair training exercises.
The most successful of the unusual 1920s designs was the King "Saxello", essentially a straight B soprano, but with a slightly curved neck and tipped bell, made by the H. N. White Company. Such instruments now command prices up to US$4,000. Its lasting influence is shown in the number of companies, including Keilwerth, Rampone & Cazzani ("altello" model), L.A. Sax and Sax Dakota USA, marketing straight-bore, tipped-bell soprano saxophones as saxellos (or "saxello sopranos").
Interest in two 1920s variants was revived by jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who called his straight Buescher alto a "stritch" and his Saxello a "manzello.". The Buescher straight alto was a production instrument while the manzello was in fact a Saxello with a custom-made large bell and modified keywork. More recently, the mezzo-soprano, or a modern variant of it, came into use by jazz musicians Anthony Braxton, James Carter, Vinny Golia, and Joe Lovano.
Some of the 1920s experimental designs, in addition to the Saxello, provide the basis for similar instruments produced during the modern era. Straight altos and tenors have been revived by Keilwerth, L.A. Sax and Sax Dakota USA. A mezzo-soprano in the key of G has been produced by Danish woodwind technician Peter Jessen, most notably played by Joe Lovano. This instrument is more in the timbral quality of Bb soprano saxophone.
The "contralto" saxophone, similar in size to the orchestral c-soprano, was developed in the late 20th century by California instrument maker Jim Schmidt. This instrument has a larger bore and a new fingering system, and does not resemble the orchestral instrument except for its key and register.
Benedikt Eppelsheim, of Munich, Germany has introduced recent innovations at the upper and lower ends of the saxophone range. The soprillo sax is a piccolo-sized straight instrument with the upper speaker hole built into the mouthpiece. The instrument, which extends Sax's original family, is pitched a full octave higher than the B soprano sax.
The tubax, developed in 1999 by Eppelsheim, plays the same range and with the same fingering as the E contrabass saxophone; its bore, however, is narrower than that of a contrabass saxophone, resulting in a more compact instrument with a "reedier" tone (akin to the double-reed contrabass sarrusophone). It can be played with the smaller (and more commonly available) baritone saxophone mouthpiece and reeds. Eppelsheim has also produced subcontrabass tubaxes in C and B, the latter being the lowest saxophone ever made.
Among the 2000s developments is the aulochrome, a double soprano saxophone invented by Belgian instrument maker François Louis in 2001.
Since the 1950s, saxophones with non-metallic bodies have occasionally been in production. Such instruments have failed to gain acceptance over a number of issues including durability, repairability, and deficiencies in key action and tone. The best known of these efforts is the 1950s Grafton acrylic alto saxophone used briefly by Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman. It had a production run of over 10 years as a budget model saxophone. The polycarbonate Vibratosax is in production as a low cost alternative to metal saxophones. Wooden Sawat saxophones are made in Thailand on a small scale. Opinions vary on the significance of body materials to sound.
The fingering scheme of the saxophone, which has had only minor changes since the instrument's original invention, has presented inherent acoustic problems related to closed keys below the first open tonehole that affect response of, and slightly muffle, some notes. There is also a lack of tactile consistency between key centers, requiring extra effort from the player to adjust modes of muscle memory when moving between key centers. Two efforts to remedy the acoustic problems and awkward aspects of the original fingering system are noteworthy.
The Leblanc Rationale and System saxophones have key mechanics designed to remedy the acoustic problems associated with closed keys below the first open tonehole. They also enable players to make half-step shifts of scales by depressing one key while keeping the rest of the fingering consistent with that of the fingering a half step away. Some Leblanc System features were built into the Vito Model 35 saxophones of the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the advantages of that system, acceptance was impaired by the expense and mechanical reliability issues related to the complexity of certain key mechanisms.
The chromatic, or linear fingering, saxophone is a project of instrument designer and builder Jim Schmidt, developing a horn maximizing tactile and logical consistency between every interval regardless of the key, and avoiding the acoustic problems associated closed keys below the first open tone hole. Several working prototypes have been built and presented at trade shows. Production of this original and expensive saxophone is on an individual order basis.
Inexpensive keyless folk versions of the saxophone made of bamboo (recalling a chalumeau) were developed in the 20th century by instrument makers in Hawaii, Jamaica, Thailand, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Argentina. The Hawaiian instrument, called a xaphoon, was invented during the 1970s and is also marketed as a "bamboo sax", although its cylindrical bore more closely resembles that of a clarinet, and its lack of any keywork makes it more akin to a recorder. Jamaica's best known exponent of a similar type of homemade bamboo "saxophone" was the mento musician and instrument maker 'Sugar Belly' (William Walker). In the Minahasa region of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, there exist entire bands made up of bamboo "saxophones" and "brass" instruments of various sizes. These instruments are imitations of European instruments, made using local materials. Similar instruments are produced in Thailand.
In Argentina, Ángel Sampedro del Río and Mariana García have produced bamboo saxophones of various sizes since 1985, the larger of which have bamboo keys to allow for the playing of lower notes.
Many synthesizer wind controllers are played and fingered like a saxophone. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26795 |
Sackbut
A sackbut is a type of trombone from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, characterised by a telescopic slide that is used to vary the length of the tube to change pitch. Unlike the earlier slide trumpet from which it evolved, the sackbut possesses a U-shaped slide, with two parallel sliding tubes, which allows for playing scales in a lower range.
Records of the term "trombone" predates the term "sackbut" by two decades, and evidence for the German term "Posaune" is even older. "Sackbut", originally a French term, was used in England until the instrument fell into disuse in the eighteenth century; when it returned, the Italian term "trombone" became dominant. In modern English, an older trombone or its replica is called a sackbut.
An older instrument generally differs from modern trombones by its smaller, more cylindrically-proportioned bore, and its less-flared bell. The bell section was more resonant (since it did not contain the tuning slide and was loosely stayed rather than firmly braced to itself). These traits produce a "covered, blended sound which was a timbre particularly effective for working with voices... zincks and crumhorns", as in an alta capella.
The revived instrument had changed in specific ways. In the mid-18th century, the bell flare increased, crooks fell out of use, and flat, removable stays were replaced by tubular braces. The new shape produced a stronger sound, suitable to open-air performance in the marching bands where trombones became popular again in the 19th century. Before the early 19th century, most trombones adjusted tuning with a crook on the joint between the bell and slide or, more rarely, between the mouthpiece and the slide, rather than the modern tuning slide on the bell curve, whose cylindrical sections prevent the instrument from flaring smoothly through this section. Older trombones also generally don't have water keys, stockings, a leadpipe, or a slide lock, but as these parts are not critical to sound, replicas may include them. Bore size remained variable, as it still is today.
The first reference to a slide instrument was probably "trompette des ménestrels", first found in Burgundy in the 1420s and later in other regions of Europe. The name distinguished the instrument from the "trompettes de guerre" (war trumpets), which were of fixed length.
The next word to appear in the 15th century that implied a slide was the "sackbutt" group of words. There are two theories for the sources: it is either derived from the Middle French "sacquer" (to pull) and "bouter" (to push) or from the Spanish "sacar" (to draw or pull) and "bucha" (a tube or pipe). The term survives in numerous English spelling variations including sacbutt, sackbutte, sagbut, shagbolt, sacabushe, shakbusse and shakbusshe.
Closely related to "sackbutt" was the name used in France: "sacqueboute" and in Spain, where it was "sacabuche". These terms were used in England and France until the 18th century.
In Scotland in 1538 the slide instrument is referred to as "draucht trumpet" (drawn trumpet) as opposed to a "weir trumpet" (war trumpet), which had a fixed length.
In Germany, the original word was "Posaune", appearing about 1450 and is still used today. This (as well as "bason") derives from "busine," which is Latinate and meant straight trumpet.
In Italy it was (and remains) "trombone", which derived from trumpet in the Latin "tromba" or "drompten", used in the Low Countries. The first records of it being used are around 1440, but it is not clear whether this was just a nickname for a trumpet player. In 1487 a writer links the words "trompone" and "sacqueboute" and mentions the instrument as playing the contratenor part in a danceband.
The trombone developed from the trumpet. Up until 1375 trumpets were simply a long straight tube with a bell flare.
There are various uses of "sackbut"-like words in the Bible, which has led to a faulty translation from the Latin bible that suggested the trombones date back as far as 600 BC, but there is no evidence of slides at this time.
From 1375 the iconography sees trumpets being made with bends, and some in 'S' shapes. Around 1400 we see the "loop"-shaped trumpet appear in paintings and at some point in the 15th century, a single slide was added. This slide trumpet was known as a "trompette des ménestrels" in the alta capella bands.
The earliest clear evidence of a double slide instrument is in a fresco painting by Filippino Lippi in Rome, "The Assumption of the Virgin", dating from 1488–93.
From the 15th to the 19th centuries, the instrument designs changed very little overall, apart from a slight widening of the bell in classical era. Since the 19th century, trombone bore sizes and bells have increased significantly.
It was one of the most important instruments in Baroque polychoral works, along with the cornett and organ.
Sackbuts come in several sizes. According to Michael Praetorius, these were:
The pitch of the trombones has (notionally) moved up a semi-tone since the 17th century, and this is explained in the section on pitch.
Because the tenor instrument is described as "Gemeine" (common or ordinary), this is probably the most widely used trombone.
The basses, due to their longer slides, have a hinged handle on the slide stay, which is used to reach the long positions.
The giant Octav-Posaun / double bass trombone / contra-bass trombone in the style of those made in 16th/17th centuries is represented by only a few existing instruments. There is an original instrument made by Georg Nicolaus Öller built in Stockholm in 1639 and housed in the Scenkonstmuseet. In addition, Ewald Meinl has made a modern copy of this instrument, and it is currently owned and played by Wim Becu.
The bore size of renaissance/baroque trombones is approximately and the bell rarely more than in diameter. This compares with modern tenor trombones, which commonly have bores to and bells to .
Modern reproductions of sackbuts sacrifice some authenticity to harness manufacturing techniques and inventions that make them more comfortable for modern players, while retaining much of the original character of the old instruments.
Some original instruments could be disassembled into the constituent straight tubes, bowed tubes, bell flare, and stays, with ferrules at the joints. Mersenne has a diagram. (Little imagination is needed to see how it could be reassembled—with an extra tube—into something approaching a natural trumpet.) There is a debate as to whether they used tight fittings, wax or another joining substance. Modern sackbut reproductions are usually soldered together. Some modern sackbut reproductions use glue as a compromise to give a loose fitting for high resonance without risk of falling apart.
Tuning slides came in during the very late 18th century. Early trombonists adjusted pitch with the slide, and by adding variously shaped and sized crooks. Modern reproductions often have a bell bow tuning slide or telescopic slide between the slide and bell sections. Crooks are still used, as are variously sized bell bow sections for larger changes.
The stays on period sackbuts are flat. While the bell stay remained flat, from about 1660 the slide stays became tubular. On many modern reproductions round slide stays are much more comfortable to play and easier to make.
A loose connection between the bell stay and the bell is thought key to a resonant bell, and thus a better sackbut sound. Original instruments have a hinge joint. Modern copies with a tuning slide in the bell can need more support for operation of the slide, so either an extra stay by the tuning slide is provided or a joint without play in only one axis is employed.
The original way to make the slide tubes was to roll a flat piece of metal around a solid cylinder mandrel, and the joining edges soldered together. Modern manufacturers now draw the tubes. They also tend to have stockings, which were only invented around 1850. In addition, modern made slides are usually made of nickel silver with chrome plating, giving a smoother finish and quieter action than simply the brass that would have originally been used.
The water key was added in the 19th century, but modern reproductions often have them.
Until some time in the 18th century, the trombone was in A and the pitch of that A was about a half-step higher than it is today—460–480 Hz. There was a transition around the 18th century when trombones started to be thought of in B at around 440 Hz. This change did not require a change in the instrument, merely a new set of slide positions for each note. But it does mean that the baroque and renaissance repertoire was intended to be played at the higher pitch. There are many examples of evidence for this:
The tenor trombones that survive are pitched closest to B at A=440 Hz, which is the same as A at A=466 Hz. So what we now think of as a tenor trombone with B in first position, pitched at A=440 was actually thought of as a trombone in A (in first position), pitched at A=466. Surviving basses in D at A=466 (E at 440)—for example: Ehe, 1612 (Leipzig) and Hainlein, c.1630 (Nuremberg) confirm Praetorius' description. It is also worth noting that Rognoni's "Suzanne ung jour" setting descends repeatedly to BB, which is a tone lower than the lowest note playable on a bass in F; on a bass in D, it falls in (modern) fifth position.
Many groups now perform at A=466 Hz for the sake of greater historical accuracy.
The sackbut was described as suitable for playing with the 'loud' ensembles in the outdoors, as well as the 'soft' ensembles inside.
The alta capella bands are seen in drawings as entertaining outside with ensembles including shawms, trumpets and trombones. When pushed, sackbuts can easily make a loud and brassy sound.
The sackbut also responds very well to rather soft playing—more so than a modern trombone. The sound is characterized by a more delicate, vocal timbre. The flat rims and shallow cups of the older mouthpieces are instrumental in providing the player with a much wider palette of articulations and tonal colours. This flexibility lends itself to a vocal style of playing and facilitates very characterful phrasing.
Mersenne wrote in 1636, "It should be blown by a skillful musician so that it may not imitate the sounds of the trumpet, but rather assimilate itself to the sweetness of the human voice, lest it should emit a warlike rather than a peaceful sound."
The Lorenzo da Lucca was said to have had "in his playing a certain grace and lightness with a manner so pleasing".
Musicians of the 16th and 17th centuries benefited from a broader base of skills than the average performer today.
These traditions continued into the baroque with musicians expected to give expression to the written music by ornamenting with a mixture of one-note “graces” and whole passage “divisions” (also known as “diminutions”). The suggestions for producing effective ornaments without disrupting the line and harmony are discussed alongside countless examples in the 16th and early 17th century Italian division tutors. Graces such as the accento, portar della voce, tremolo, groppo, trillo, esclamationo and intonatio are all to be considered by performers of any music in this period.
“Cornetts and trombones...play divisions that are neither scrappy, nor so wild and involved that they spoil the underlying melody and the composer's design: but are introduced at such moments and with such vivacity and charm that they give the music the greatest beauty and spirit”
Bottrigari, Venice 1594
Along with the improvisation, many of these tutors discuss articulation. Francesco Rognoni in 1620 describes the tonguing as the most important part of producing “a good and beautiful effect in playing wind instruments, and principally the cornett” (which of course had a very similar role to the trombone). The treatises discuss the various strengths of consonants from “le” through “de” to “te”. But the focus of the text is for playing rapid notes “similar to the gorgia of the human voice” with “soft and smooth” double tonguing (“lingua riversa”) using “le re le re”. This is opposed to using “te che te che,” which is described as “harsh, barbarous and displeasing”. The natural ‘pairing’ of notes these articulations provide is similar to the instructions for string players who are instructed to slur (“lireggiar”) pairs of eighth notes with one bow stroke per quarter beat.
Another integral part of the early music sound-world is the musical temperament. Music in the middle-ages favours intervals of the fourth and fifth, which is why Pythagorean tuning was used. The interval of a third was used as a clash until the Renaissance, when it became consonant in compositions, which went hand-in-hand with the widespread use of meantone temperament. During the 17th century, Well temperament began to become more and more popular as the range of keys increased. Temperament affects the colour of a composition, and therefore modern performances, typically employing equal temperament, may not be true representations of the composers' intentions.
These old tunings are the result of the natural harmonic series of a brass instrument such as the sackbut.
As the bell is smaller than a modern trombone, the harmonic series is closer to a perfect harmonic series, which is the basis for just tuning. Without adjusting the slide, the first to second harmonic is a perfect octave, second to third harmonic is a fifth slightly wider than equal temperament and fourth to fifth harmonic is a major third slightly narrower than in equal temperament. These adjusted intervals make chords ring and are the basis of meantone. In fact, Daniel Speer says “Once you have found a good C (third position), this is also the place you will find your F.” Playing a sounding C and F in exactly the same position on a modern orchestra sounds out of tune, but it tunes perfectly well on in a sackbut choir if everyone plays natural harmonics.
Plenty of musical understanding can be gathered from reading the original music print. Publishers such as SPES and Arnaldo Forni Edition provide facsimile copies of plenty of music for trombone from this era. To read these it one needs to become familiar with the old clefs, time signatures, ligatures and notational conventions of the era.
The sound of sackbuts (and trombones) has long been thought especially solemn and noble, had an association with death and the afterlife. The instrument was a symbol of divine presence, the voice of the angels and instrument of judgment. This symbolism can be seen, for instance, in "L'Orfeo", "Alceste", "The Magic Flute", the "Death March" from "Saul", and funeral aequales.
This association was probably encouraged by the lack of distinction made between natural horns, slide trumpets, and trombones in this Renaissance; they were used and often named interchangeably. Martin Luther's 1534 translation of the Bible into German renders the Greek "shophar" and "salpigx" to "Posaune". "Posaune" at the time could refer to a natural horn or other brass instrument, but it later came to mean exclusively "trombone" (similarly, English translations generally have "trumpet", and only occasionally "horn" or "shofar"). This gives the later reader of the Luther Bible texts such as: “…we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trombone; for the trombone shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
The sackbut replaced the slide trumpet in the 15th century alta capella wind bands that were common in towns throughout Europe playing courtly dance music. See Waits.
Another key use of the trombone was in ceremonies, in conjunction with the trumpet. In many towns in Germany and Northern Italy, 'piffari' bands were employed by local governments throughout the 16th century to give regular concerts in public squares and would lead processions for festivals. Piffari usually contained a mix of wind, brass and percussion instruments and sometimes viols.
Venice's doge had his own piffari company and they gave an hour-long concert in the Piazza each day, as well as sometimes performing for services in St. Mark's. Each of the six confraternities in Venice also had their own independent piffari groups too, which would all play at a lavish procession on the feast of Corpus Domini. These groups are in addition to the musicians employed by St. Mark's to play in the balconies with the choir (the piffari would play on the main level).
It also was used in church music both for instrumental service music and as a doubling instrument for choral music. The treble and high alto parts were most often played by cornetts or shawms, with the violin sometimes replacing the cornett in 17th century Italian music.
The first record of trombones being used in churches was in Innsbruck 1503. Seville Cathedral's records show employment of trombonists in 1526, followed by several other Spanish cathedrals during the 16th century, used not only for ceremonial music and processionals, but also for accompaniment of the liturgical texts as well, doubling voices.
The sacred use of trombones was brought to a fine art by the Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli and their contemporaries c.1570-1620 Venice and there is also evidence of trombonists being employed in churches and cathedrals in Italy at times during the second half of the 16th century in Bologna, Rome, Padua, Mantua and Modena.
Since ensembles had flexible instrumentation at this time, there is relatively little music before Giovanni Gabrieli's publication "Symphoniae sacrae" (1597) that specifically mentions trombones. The only example currently known is the music by Francesco Corteccia for the Medici wedding 1539.
The 17th century brings two pieces of real solo trombone repertoire.
Giovanni Martino Cesare wrote "La Hieronyma," (Musikverlag Max Hieber, MH6012) the earliest known piece for accompanied solo trombone. It comes from Cesare's collection "Musicali Melodie per voci et instrumenti a una, due, tre, quattro, cinque, e sei" published in Munich 1621 of 28 pieces for a mixture of violins, cornetts, trombone, vocal soloists and organ continuo. The collection also contains "La Bavara" for four trombones.
The other solo trombone piece of the 17th century, "Sonata trombone & basso" (modern edition by H Weiner, Ensemble Publications), was written around 1665. This anonymous piece is also known as the 'St. Thomas Sonata' because it was kept in the library of the Saint Thomas Augustinian Monastery in Brno, Czech Republic.
Francesco Rognoni was another composer who specified the trombone in a set of divisions (variations) on the well-known song "Suzanne ung jour" (London Pro Musica, REP15). Rognoni was a master violin and gamba player whose treatise "Selva di Varie passaggi secondo l'uso moderno" (Milan 1620 and facsimile reprint by Arnaldo Forni Editore 2001) details improvisation of diminutions and Suzanne is given as one example. Although most diminutions are written for organ, string instruments or cornett, Suzanne is "per violone over Trombone alla bastarda". With virtuosic semiquaver passages across the range of the instrument, it reflects Praetorius' comments about the large range of the tenor and bass trombones, and good players of the Quartposaune (bass trombone in F) could play fast runs and leaps like a viola bastarda or cornetto. The term "bastarda" describes a technique that made variations on all the different voices of a part song, rather than just the melody or the bass: "considered illegitimate because it was not polyphonic".
In the 17th century, a considerable repertoire of chamber music using sackbut with various combinations of violins, cornetts and dulcians, often with continuo, appeared. Composers included Dario Castello, Giovanni Battista Fontana, Giovanni Paolo Cima, Andrea Cima, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Matthias Weckmann.
Antonio Bertali wrote several trio sonatas for 2 violins, trombone and bass continuo in the mid-17th century. One such "Sonata a 3" is freely available in facsimile form from the Düben Collection website hosted by Uppsala universitet. A "Sonata a3 in C" is published by Musica Rara and attributed to Biber, although the authorship is unclear and it is more likely to have been written by Bertali.
Dario Castello, a wind player at St. Mark's Venice in the early 17th century had two books of "Sonate Concertate" published in 1621 and 1629. The sonatas of 1-4 parts with bass continuo often specify trombones, as well as cornett, violin and bassoon. The numerous reprints during the 17th century affirm his popularity then, as perhaps now.
Giuseppe Scarani joined St. Mark's Venice in 1629 as a singer and in the following year published "Sonate concertate", a volume of works for 2 or 3 (unspecified) instruments (and b.c.). The title has been suggested was chosen to try and capture some of Castello's success.
Tiburtio Massaino wrote a Canzona for eight trombones, published in Raverio's 1608 collection.
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer wrote several sonatas that included trombones—such as his "Sonata à 7" for two cornetts, two trumpets, three trombones, and basso continuo.
Daniel Speer published a four-part sonata in "Neu-gebachene Taffel-Schnitz" (1685). In 1687, Speer published the first written instruction in sackbut (and several other instruments) playing: "Grund-richtiger/kurtz/leicht und noethiger Unterricht der Musicalischen Kunst". The second edition in 1697 provides two three part sonatas for trombones.
An English work of note from this period is Matthew Locke's "Music for His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts", a suite for Charles II's coronation 1661.
Non-serious music, often based on dances for festive occasions, rarely had specified instrumentation. Often you find something like "per diversi musici". Indeed, the groups that would perform them would often be full of multi-instrumentalists.
Johann Pezel wrote for Stadtpfeifer with his "Hora decima musicorum" (1670), containing sonatas, as well as "Fünff-stimmigte blasende Music" (1685) with five-part intradas and dance pieces.
Well known pieces from Germany includes Samuel Scheidt's "Ludi Musici" (1621) and Johann Hermann Schein's "Banchetto musicale" (1617).
The first English piece scored for trombone is John Adson's "Courtly Masquing Ayres" (1611). Another light collection suitable for including trombones is Anthony Holborne's "Pavans, Galliards, Allmains, and other short Aeirs both Grave and Light in Five Parts for Viols, Violins or Other Musicall Winde Instruments" (1599).
Trombonists were in the regular ensemble at St. Mark's Venice from its formation in 1568 until they left the payroll in 1732. The first two ensemble directors—"maestro di concerti"—Girolamo Dalla Casa (1568–1601) and Giovanni Bassano (1601–1617)—were cornett players and the nucleus of the group was two cornetts and two trombones, although for the larger ceremonies many extra players were hired. During a mass attended by the Doge, evidence suggests they would have played a canzona in the Gradual after the Epistle and the Agnus Dei, a sonata in the Offertory as well as reinforcing vocal parts or substituting for absent singers.
This ensemble was used extensively by Giovanni Gabrieli in pieces substantially for brass, voices and organ in Venice up until his death in 1612. He was greatly influential in Venetian composers in other churches and confraternities, and his early baroque and cori spezzati style is seen in contemporaries like Giovanni Picchi and Giovanni Battista Grillo.
It is suggested that Monteverdi wrote his "Vespro della Beata Vergine" (1610) as a pitch for employment at St. Mark's as successor to Giovanni Gabrieli. In addition to the Magnificat, two movements specify trombones: the opening "Deus in adiutorium" is for six voices, two violins, two cornetts, three trombones, five viole da braccio and basso continuo; Sonata sopra "Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis" is for soprano, two violins, two cornetts, three trombones (one of which can be a viola da braccio) and basso continuo. Monteverdi also leaves the option to use trombones as part of the "sex instrumentis" of the "Dixit Dominus" and in the instrumental "Ritornello a 5" between verses of "Ave maris stella".
From around 1617, when the "maestro de' concerti" at St. Marks changed to violinist Francesco Bonfante and correspondingly the ensemble changed from basically a brass ensemble to being more evenly mixed with brass, wind and string instruments.
Monteverdi arrived at St. Mark's in 1613 and it is unsurprising that he includes trombones and strings for several more sacred works during his time here, published in his "Selva morale e spirituale" 1641. Of the c.40 items in this collection, six specify three or four trombones (or viola da braccio, ad lib): SV268 Beatus vir I, SV263 Dixit Dominus I, SV263 Dixit Dominus II, SV261 Et iterum venturus est, SV258 Gloria in excelsis Deo, SV281 Magnificat I. Each is for 3-8 voices with 3 violins (apart from SV261), the trombones/violas and basso continuo. Monteverdi also specified trombones in two more sacred works: SV198 Laetatus sum (i) (1650) for 6 voices, 2 violins, 2 trombones and bassoon and SV272 Laudate Dominum omnes gentes I (1641) for 5 voices ‘concertato’, 4 voice chorus ad lib, 4 viola da braccio or trombones and basso continuo.
A prolific composer for trombones in Germany in the 17th century was Heinrich Schütz. His "Fili me, Absalon" (SWV 269) and "Attendite, popule meus" (SWV 270), are both scored for bass voice, four trombones (of which two are optionally violins) and basso continuo, are well known. They are part of his first "Symphoniae Sacrae" collection dating from 1629 and commentators have noted that the style reflects his studies in Venice with Giovanni Gabrieli 1609-1612. Other pieces that specify trombones (according to Grove) are (grouped by the collection they were published in): Concert mit 11 Stimmen (1618): SWV 21, in "Psalmen Davids" (Psalms of David) Op. 2 (1619): SWV 38, 40-46, Symphoniae sacrae I Op.6 (1629): SWV 259, 269-271, 274, Symphoniae sacrae II Op.10 (1647): SWV 344, Symphoniae sacrae III Op. 12 (1650): SWV 398a, Historia (1664): SWV 435, 448, 449, 453, 461, 452, 466-470, 473, 474-476, Schwanengesang Psalm 119 (1671): SWV 500, although many others are suitable for trombones too.
Johann Hermann Schein specified trombones in some of his sacred vocal works in the "Opella nova, ander Theil, geistlicher Concerten" collection (Leipzig, 1626). For example, "Uns ist ein Kind geboren" is scored for violino, traversa, alto trombone, tenor voice, fagotto and basso continuo. "Mach dich auf, werde licht, Zion" uses Canto 1: violino, cornetto, flauto picciolo e voce, Canto 2: voce e traversa, Alto: Trombone e Voce, Tenore: Voce e Trombone, Basso: Fagotto Trombone e Voce and Basso Continuo, during which solos for each of the trombonists are specified. Of particular interest is "Maria, gegrüsset seist du, Holdselige," which uses soprano and tenor voices, alto trombone, 2 tenor trombones and on the bass line "trombone grosso," which goes down to pedal A, and a couple of diatonic scale passages from bottom C.
German composer Johann Rudolf Ahle wrote some notable sacred pieces for voices and trombones. "Höre, Gott" uses five favoriti singers, two ripieno choirs (which double other parts at intense moments) and seven trombones, with basso continuo. And his most famous "Neu-gepflanzte Thüringische Lust-Garten.." (1657–65) contains several sacred works with 3 or 4 trombones, including "Magnificat a 8" for SATB soloists, cornett, 3 trombones and continuo and "Herr nun lässestu deinen Diener a 5" for bass, 4 trombones and continuo.
Dieterich Buxtehude specifies trombones in a few sacred concertos using style derived from polychoral Venetian works and one secular piece. For example, "Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen" (BuxWV33 from CW v, 44) is scored for SSB voices, 2 violins, 2 violas, trombones, 2 cornetts, 2 trumpets, bassoon and basso continuo.
There are a few vocal works involving trombones in works by Andreas Hammerschmidt. These include "Lob- und Danck Lied aus dem 84. Psalm" for 9 voices, 5 trumpets, 3 trombones, 5 violas and basso continuo (Freiberg, 1652). There is also "Hochzeitsgesang für Daniel Sartorius: Es ist nicht gut, dass der Mensch allein sei" for 5 voices, 2 violins, 2 trombones, bassoon and basso continuo.
Johann Schelle has numerous sacred vocal works that use trombones. For instance "Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar" is scored for soprano, tenor, SSATB choir, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cornetts, 3 trombones, 2 trumpets, timpani, basso continuo, and "Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele" is for two choirs of SSATB and similar instruments to the previous work.
The lesser known Austrian composer Christoph Strauss, Kapellmeister to the Habsburg Emperor Mathias 1616-1620, wrote two important collections for trombones, cornetts and voices. His motets published in Nova ac diversimoda sacrarum cantionum composition, seu motettae (Vienna, 1613) are in a similar tradition to Gabrieli's music. Of the sixteen motets in the collection, all are titled "concerto" apart from the "sonata" "Expectans Expectavi Dominum" for 6 trombones, cantus voice and tenor voice. In 1631 he published a number of masses, which were much more baroque, with basso continuo, rhetorical word painting and obligato usage of instruments.
Later in the 17th century, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber composed sacred works for voices and orchestra featuring trombones. His "Requiem" mass (1692) uses an orchestra of strings, 3 trombones and basso continuo. A similar ensemble accompanies 8 vocal lines in his "Lux perpetua" (c1673), and three more similar works in the 1690s.
Monteverdi ushers sackbuts into the first great opera, 'L'Orfeo' 1607. The orchestra at the first performance, as shown in the first publication, the list of "stromenti" at the front of the score specifies four trombones, but at one point in Act 3, however, the score calls for five trombones.
There is relatively little repertoire for the trombone in the late baroque.
Johann Sebastian Bach uses trombones in fourteen of his church cantatas—BWV 2, 3, 4, 21, 23, 25, 28, 38, 64, 68, 96, 101, 121, 135—as well as motet BWV 118. He uses the trombone sound to reflect the (by now) archaic sounds of the Renaissance trombones doubling voices (with cornett playing the soprano line), yet he also uses them independently, which John Eliot Gardiner says prepares the way for their use in Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The cantatas were either composed in Leipzig during 1723-1725, or (for BWV 4, 21 & 23) the trombone parts were added to the existing cantata during the same period. The cornett and trombone parts would have been played by the Stadtpfeifer.
In England, George Frideric Handel includes trombones in three of his oratorios: "Saul" (1738), "Israel in Egypt" (1738) and "Samson" (1741). There are no other documented groups or performances with trombone players in England at this time, and it has been suggested that the premiers took place with a visiting group from Germany, as was the custom in Paris at this time.
Vienna's Imperial court used trombones in church music:
Johann Joseph Fux was Hofkapellmeister in Vienna from 1715 until 1741. Many of his masses use the choir strengthened by strings, cornetts and trombones, often with independent moments for the instrumentalists and sometimes. "Missa SS Trinitatis" uses two choirs, which again points to the traditions going back to Gabrieli. His highly successful Requiem is for five vocal parts, two cornetts, two trombones, strings and continuo. He also uses the trombone in smaller motets and antiphons, such as his setting of "Alma Redemptoris mater" for soprano, alto trombone, strings and continuo. Some of his chamber music involves trombones, as do many of his operas, used as an obbligato instrument.
Also in the Vienna court was Antonio Caldara, vice-kapellmeister 1717–1736. Among his output are two Holy Week settings as Da Capo arias: "Deh sciogliete, o mesti lumi" for soprano, unison violins, bassoon, two trombones and organ and "Dio, qual sia" for soprano, trombone, bassoon and basso continuo.
Again this period suffers from a lack of trombone players. Most of these works derive from Vienna and Salzburg.
Joseph Haydn uses trombones in "Il rotorno di Tobia", "Die sieben letzten Worte", "The Creation", "Die Jahreszeiten", "Der Sturm", "Orfeo ed Euridice" and secular cantata choruses.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart uses trombones in connection with death or the supernatural. This includes the Requiem (K626, 1791), Great Mass in C minor (K423, 1783), "Coronation Mass (C major)" (K317, 1779), several other masses, "Vesperae Solennes de Confessore" (K339, 1780), "Vesperae de Dominica", his arrangement of Handel's "Messiah" plus two of his three great operas: "Don Giovanni" (K527, 1787) and "Die Zauberflöte" (K620, 1791). Mozart's first use of the trombone was an obligato line in the oratorio "Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots" (K35, 1767)
Christoph Willibald Gluck includes trombones in five of his operas: "Iphigénie en Aulide" (1774), Orfeo ed Euridice (1774), "Alceste" (1776), "Iphigénie en Tauride" (1779) and "Echo et Narcisse" (1779), as well as ballet "Don Juan" (1761).
Some chamber music in this period includes trombone in an obligato role with voice, and also as a concerto instrument with string orchestra. Composers include the likes of Leopold Mozart, Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Johann Albrechtsberger, Michael Haydn and Johann Ernst Eberlin.
For works for trombone post-1800, please see trombone.
Many groups specializing in period music make frequent and prominent use of the sackbut.
External links:
Plenty of recordings of the authentic sackbut are now available from the groups such as Concerto Palatino, HMSC, Gabrieli Consort and the Toulouse Sacqueboutiers. For a closer examination of the instrument, here are some recommended recordings where the sackbut is heavily featured in a "solo" capacity.
The earliest instruments:
Other notable sackbuts:
For more information, see Herbert (2006). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26797 |
Saxhorn
The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is also known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a characteristic mellow tone quality and blends well with other brass.
The saxhorns form a family of seven brass instruments (although at one point ten different sizes seem to have existed). Designed for band use, they are pitched alternately in E and B, like the saxophone group.
Modern saxhorns still manufactured and in use:
Historically, much confusion exists as to the nomenclature of the various instruments in different languages.
The following table lists the members of the saxhorn family as described in the orchestration texts of Hector Berlioz and Cecil Forsyth, the J. Howard Foote catalog of 1893, and modern names. The modern instrument names continue to exhibit inconsistency, denoted by a "/" between the two names in use. In the table "Pitch" means the concert pitch of notational Middle C on each instrument (2nd partial, no valves depressed) in scientific pitch notation.
This list is not exhaustive of historic nomenclature for the saxhorns, for which there may exist no comprehensive and authoritative source.
The saxhorn is based on the same three-valve system as most other valved brass instruments. Each member of the family is named after the root note produced by the second partial with no valves actuated. Each member nominally possesses or possessed the typical three-valve brass range from the note one tritone below that root note (second partial, all valves actuated) to the note produced by eighth partial with no valves actuated, i.e., the note two octaves above the root note.
All the modern members of the family are transposing instruments written in the treble clef with the root note produced by the second partial with no valves actuated being written as middle C, though the baritone horn often plays bass clef parts, especially in concert band music and when playing parts written for the trombone.
Developed during the mid-to-late 1830s, the saxhorn family was patented in Paris in 1845 by Adolphe Sax. During the 19th century, the debate as to whether the saxhorn family was truly new, or rather a development of previously existing instruments, was the subject of prolonged lawsuits.
Throughout the mid-1850s, Sax continued to experiment with the instrument's valve pattern.
The Trojan March ("Marche Troyenne") of the Berlioz opera Les Troyens (185658) features an on-stage band which includes a family of saxhorns.
Saxhorns were popularized by the distinguished Distin Quintet, who toured Europe during the mid-19th century. This family of musicians, publishers and instrument manufacturers had a significant impact on the growth of the brass band movement in Britain during the mid- to late-19th century.
The saxhorn was the most common brass instrument in American Civil War bands. The over-the-shoulder variety of the instrument was used, as the backward-pointing bell of the instrument allowed troops marching behind the band to hear the music.
Contemporary works featuring this instrument are Désiré Dondeyne's "Tubissimo" for bass tuba or saxhorn and piano (1983) and Olivier Messiaen's "Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum" (1964). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26798 |
Sonic Team
The initial team, formed in 1990, was composed of staff from Sega's Consumer Development division, including programmer Yuji Naka, artist Naoto Ohshima, and level designer Hirokazu Yasuhara. The team took the name Sonic Team in 1991 with the release of their first game, "Sonic the Hedgehog," for the Sega Genesis. The game was a major success and contributed to millions of Genesis sales. The next "Sonic" games were developed by Naka and Yasuhara in America at Sega Technical Institute, while Ohshima worked on "Sonic CD" in Japan. Naka returned to Japan in late 1994 to become the head of CS3, later renamed R&D No. 8. During this time, the division took on the Sonic Team brand but developed games that do not feature Sonic, such as "Nights into Dreams" (1996) and "Burning Rangers" (1998).
Following the release of "Sonic Adventure" in 1998, some Sonic Team staff moved to the United States to form Sonic Team USA and develop "Sonic Adventure 2" (2001). With Sega's divestiture of its studios into separate companies, R&D No. 8 became SONICTEAM Ltd. in 2000, with Naka as CEO and Sonic Team USA as its subsidiary. Sega's financial troubles led to several major structural changes in the early 2000s; the United Game Artists studio was absorbed by Sonic Team in 2003, and Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA in 2004. After Sammy Corporation purchased Sega in 2004, Sonic Team was reincorporated to become Sega's GE1 research and development department, later renamed CS2.
Naka departed Sonic Team during the development of "Sonic the Hedgehog" (2006), and Sega Studios USA was merged back into Sonic Team in 2008. The following decade was marked by "Sonic" titles of varying reception, with department head Takashi Iizuka acknowledging that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping over quality.
In 1983, programmer Yuji Naka was hired into Sega's Consumer Development division. His first project was "Girl's Garden", which he and Hiroshi Kawaguchi created as part of their training process. For his next game, "Phantasy Star" (1987) for the Master System, Naka created pseudo-3D animation effects. He met artist Naoto Ohshima while working on the game.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, a rivalry formed between Sega and Nintendo due to the release of their 16-bit video game consoles: the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Sega needed a mascot character that would be as synonymous with their brand as Mario was with Nintendo. Sega wanted a killer app and character that could appeal to an older demographic than preteens, demonstrate the capabilities of the Genesis, and ensure commercial success in North America.
Some sources indicate Sega of Japan held an internal competition to submit characters designs for a mascot, while designer Hirokazu Yasuhara said the direction was given only to himself, Ohshima, and Naka. Ohshima designed a blue hedgehog named Sonic, who was inserted into a prototype game created by Naka. The Sonic design was refined to be less aggressive and appeal to a wider audience before the division began development on their platform game "Sonic the Hedgehog". According to Ohshima, Sega was looking for a game that would sell well in the United States as well as in Japan. Ohshima and Naka already had the game and character ready, with Ohshima having worked with Sega's toy and stationery department on design ideas. Ohshima claims that the progress they had already made encouraged the company to select their proposal, as theirs was the only team to have put in a high amount of time and effort. This left him confident their proposal would be selected.
The "Sonic the Hedgehog" project began with just Naka and Ohshima, but grew to involve two programmers, two sound engineers, and three designers. Yasuhara joined to supervise Naka and Ohshima and develop levels, and became the lead designer. He satisfied Naka's request for a simple, one-button design by having Sonic do damage by jumping. "Sonic the Hedgehog" was released in 1991 and proved a major success, contributing to millions of sales of the Genesis. The development team took the name Sonic Team for the game's release. Naka has referred to Sonic Team as only a "team name" at this point.
Shortly after the release of "Sonic the Hedgehog", Naka, Yasuhara, and a number of other Japanese developers relocated to California to join Sega Technical Institute (STI), a development division established by Mark Cerny intended as an elite studio combining the design philosophies of American and Japanese developers. While Naka and Yasuhara developed "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" with STI, Ohshima worked on "Sonic CD," a sequel for the Sega CD add-on. Though Naka was not directly involved in the "Sonic CD" development, he exchanged design ideas with Ohshima.
Following the release of "Sonic & Knuckles" in 1994, Yasuhara quit, citing differences with Naka. Naka returned to Japan, having been offered a role as a producer. He was placed in charge of Sega's Consumer Development Department 3, also known as CS3. Naka was reunited with Ohshima and brought with him Takashi Iizuka, who had also worked with Naka's team at STI. In the mid-1990s, Sonic Team started work on new intellectual property, leading to the creation of "Nights into Dreams" (1996) and "Burning Rangers" (1998) for the Sega Saturn. Naka stated that the release of "Nights" is when Sonic Team was truly formed as a brand.
The Saturn did not achieve the commercial success of the Genesis, so Sega focused its efforts on a new console, the Dreamcast, which debuted in Japan in 1998. The Dreamcast was seen as opportunity for Sonic Team to revisit the "Sonic" series, which had stalled in recent years. Sonic Team was originally creating a fully 3D "Sonic" game for the Saturn, but development moved to the Dreamcast to align with Sega's plans. Takashi Iizuka led the project; Iizuka had long wanted to create a "Sonic" role-playing video game and felt the Dreamcast was powerful enough to achieve his vision. The game became "Sonic Adventure", launched in 1998, which became the bestselling Dreamcast game.
Around this time, CS3 was renamed to Sega Research and Development Department 8 (R&D #8). While sometimes referred to as AM8 or "Sega-AM8", based on the R&D structure being titled the Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development (AM) teams, Sonic Team focused solely on home console games. Until 2000, media referred to Sonic Team's designation as both R&D #8 and AM8.
In 1999, shortly after the release of "Sonic Adventure", twelve Sonic Team members relocated to San Francisco to establish Sonic Team USA, while others remained in Japan. Shortly afterward, a number of key employees—including Ohshima—left Sega to form a new studio, Artoon. Sonic Team achieved success in the arcade game market in 1999 with the launch of rhythm game "Samba de Amigo", released the following year for the Dreamcast. The studio also began developing online games; in 1999, they released "ChuChu Rocket!", a puzzle game that made use of the Dreamcast's online capabilities. In 2000, Sonic Team launched the role-playing game "Phantasy Star Online" to critical and commercial success.
Sega began to restructure its studios as part of the dissolution of Sega Enterprises and spun off its software divisions into subsidiary companies. When the departments took new names, Naka felt it important to preserve the Sonic Team brand name, and the division's new legal name as a company was SONICTEAM, Ltd. Naka was installed as the CEO, and Sonic Team USA became a subsidiary of the new company.
Despite a number of well-received games, Sega discontinued the Dreamcast in 2001 and exited the hardware business. Sega transitioned into a third-party developer and began developing games for multiple platforms. From 2000, Sonic Team in Japan began to release fewer games, with a few releases such as the puzzle game "Puyo Pop" and the action game "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg". The company changes and lack of a Sega console affected Sonic Team; according to Naka, in a 2006 interview, "Our approach was always to create strategic title concepts, which included the hardware. We do somewhat miss the idea of being able to address these constant challenges."
Early in 2003, Sega president Hideki Sato and COO Tetsu Kamaya announced they were stepping down from their roles, with Sato being replaced by Hisao Oguchi, the head of Hitmaker. As part of Oguchi's restructuring plan, he announced his intention to consolidate Sega's studios into "four or five core operations." Sonic Team was financially solvent and absorbed United Game Artists, another Sega subsidiary led by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and known for the music games "Space Channel 5" (1999) and "Rez" (2001).
In 2004, Japanese company Sammy acquired a controlling interest in Sega and formed Sega Sammy Corporation. Prior to the merger, Sega began the process of re-integrating its subsidiaries into the main company. Sonic Team USA became Sega Studios USA, while SONICTEAM Ltd. became Sega's Global Entertainment 1 research and development division (GE1). The team is still referred to as Sonic Team. Naka announced his departure on 8 May 2006 and formed a new studio, Prope, to focus on creating original games. In a 2012 interview, Naka stated that a reason that he left the company was that he would have been required to continue making "Sonic" games, and he no longer wished to do that. He left Sonic Team during the development of the 2006 game "Sonic the Hedgehog" (2006), released as part of the 15-year anniversary of the "Sonic" franchise. Noted for its bugs and design flaws, "Sonic the Hedgehog" was panned, as was "Sonic Unleashed" (2008). Both games were released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; Sonic Team also developed a series of "Sonic" games for the Wii and Nintendo DS, such as 2007's "Sonic and the Secret Rings".
By 2010, Sonic Team became CS Research and Development No. 2 (CS2), Sega Studios USA was reintegrated into the Japanese team, and Iizuka was installed as the head of the department. After a series of poorly received "Sonic" releases, Sonic Team refocused on speed and more traditional side-scrolling in "" and "", "Sonic Generations", and "Sonic Colors", which all received better reviews. In 2015, Iizuka recognized in an interview with "Polygon" that Sonic Team had prioritized shipping games over quality, and had not had enough involvement in later third-party "Sonic" games, such as "". He hoped the Sonic Team logo would stand as a "mark of quality"; he planned to release quality games and expand the "Sonic" brand, while retaining the modern Sonic design. In another interview, Iizuka stated that Sonic Team was not involved in the "Sonic Boom" and that they were developed by "Sega of America from back in the day". Sonic Team's first "Sonic" game exclusive to smartphones, "Sonic Runners", was released in 2015. An endless runner, it was designed to have more replay value than other games in the genre. "Sonic Runners" received mixed reviews and was unprofitable, resulting in its discontinuation a year later.
In 2017, Sonic Team developed and released "Sonic Forces", and oversaw the development of "Sonic Mania" by Christian Whitehead. "Forces" was aimed at a broad audience of young and adult players, while "Mania" was focused on fans of the original Genesis games. "Mania" became the best reviewed "Sonic" game in fifteen years following nearly two decades of mixed reviews for the franchise. At SXSW in March 2019, Iizuka confirmed Sonic Team was also working on a new "Sonic" title.
Sega Studios USA, formerly Sonic Team USA, was a division of Sega and of Sonic Team while Sonic Team was a subsidiary company. It was founded when twelve Sonic Team members, including Takashi Iizuka, relocated to San Francisco, California, in 1999, and were set as a subsidiary of SonicTeam Ltd. by 2000. The team worked on game development, translation, and market studies in the United States, until they returned to Japan and merged back into Sonic Team in 2008.
Sonic Team USA translated "Sonic Adventure" and tested "ChuChu Rocket!" in America before beginning work on "Sonic Adventure 2". They took inspiration from their location in San Francisco, as well as Yosemite National Park and other areas of the United States. "Sonic Adventure 2" was released on 20 June 2001, and was ported to the GameCube. The next Sonic Team USA project was "Sonic Heroes" (2003), the first "Sonic" game developed for multiple platforms. Sonic Team USA took a different approach with "Heroes" from the "Sonic Adventure" games, focusing on gameplay more similar to the Genesis games to which even casual gamers could adapt.
After SonicTeam Ltd. merged back into Sega in 2004, Sonic Team USA was renamed Sega Studios USA. The division's next project was "Shadow the Hedgehog", released in 2005, a spin-off starring Shadow. Unlike previous games, "Shadow the Hedgehog" was targeted at older players and featured different gameplay styles, including the use of guns and different endings to the game. "Shadow the Hedgehog" was critically panned for its mature themes and level design, but was a commercial success, selling at least 1.59 million units.
The final Sega Studios USA game was "", the sequel to "Nights into Dreams" and the first "Nights" game since the cancellation of "Air Nights" in 2000. Iizuka felt it was important to retain the original game's concepts while developing new mechanics, and released it on the Wii, a more family-oriented console. "Journey of Dreams" was also designed to have a more European feel, in contrast to the "Sonic" games, which were more American. The sound and CGI were completed by Sonic Team in Japan, while Sega Studios USA handled the rest of the development for the 2007 release.
Sega Studios USA oversaw the development of "Sonic Rivals" (2006) and "Sonic Rivals 2" (2007) by Backbone Entertainment. In 2008, Sega Studios USA merged with Sonic Team, making Iizuka the head of Sonic Team and a vice president of product development for Sega. In 2016, Iizuka relocated to Los Angeles to oversee development with the goal of making Sega's studios in Los Angeles "a centralized hub for the global brand".
Sonic Team has developed a number of video games, with many of them becoming bestsellers. The studio is best known for its "Sonic the Hedgehog" series of platform games, which account for the majority of Sonic Team's work; the 1991 release of "Sonic the Hedgehog" is considered one of the most important moments in video game history, as it propelled Genesis sales and displaced Nintendo as the leading video game company. Sonic Team have also developed a wide variety of other games, including action games such as "Nights into Dreams", "Burning Rangers", and "Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg," the online puzzle game "ChuChu Rocket!", the online role-playing game "Phantasy Star Online," and the music game "Samba de Amigo". "Phantasy Star Online" is credited for introducing online RPGs to consoles and was the first online RPG for many players. According to Sean Smith of "Retro Gamer", few companies could claim to have released as many AAA games over such a long period, especially between 1991 and 2000. Some Sonic Team games, such as the original "Sonic" games for the Genesis and "Nights", are considered some of the best video games ever made. Iizuka has said Sonic Team would be open to developing a third "Nights" game or a sequel to "Knuckles' Chaotix" (1995), if Sega were to commission them.
Sega and Sonic Team have been criticized for their handling of "Sonic the Hedgehog" after the beginning of the 3D era of video games. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of "Eurogamer" described the 3D Sonic games as "20-odd years of slowly accumulating bullshit", and that unlike Sonic's main competitor, Nintendo's "Mario" series, "Sonic" in 3D never had a "transcendental hit". Zolani Stewart of "Kotaku" argued that Sonic's portrayal starting with "Sonic Adventure" with the addition of voice acting and a greater focus on plot and character narrative changed Sonic into "a flat, lifeless husk of a character, who spits out slogans and generally has only one personality mode, the radical attitude dude, the sad recycled image of vague '90s cultural concept." Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen and "Sonic Mania" developer Christian Whitehead said they felt the number of additional characters added to the series was problematic, with Whitehead describing the characters as "padding". In 2015, Sega CEO Haruki Satomi acknowledged that Sega had "partially betrayed" the trust of the longtime fans of their games and hoped to focus on quality over quantity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26800 |
Sex
Organisms of many species are specialized into male and female varieties, each known as a sex. Sexual reproduction involves the combining and mixing of genetic traits: specialized cells known as gametes combine to form offspring that inherit traits from each parent. The gametes produced by an organism define its sex: males produce small gametes (e.g. spermatozoa, or sperm, in animals) while females produce large gametes (ova, or egg cells). Individual organisms which produce both male and female gametes are termed hermaphroditic. Gametes can be identical in form and function (known as isogamy), but, in many cases, an asymmetry has evolved such that two different types of gametes (heterogametes) exist (known as anisogamy).
Physical differences are often associated with the different sexes of an organism; these sexual dimorphisms can reflect the different reproductive pressures the sexes experience. For instance, mate choice and sexual selection can accelerate the evolution of physical differences between the sexes.
Among humans and other mammals, males typically carry an X and a Y chromosome (XY), whereas females typically carry two X chromosomes (XX), which are a part of the XY sex-determination system. Humans may also be intersex. Other animals have various sex-determination systems, such as the ZW system in birds, the X0 system in insects, and various environmental systems, for example in reptiles and crustaceans. Fungi may also have more complex allelic mating systems, with sexes not accurately described as male, female, or hermaphroditic.
One of the basic properties of life is reproduction, the capacity to generate new individuals, and sex is an aspect of this process. Life has evolved from simple stages to more complex ones, and so have the reproduction mechanisms. Initially the reproduction was a replicating process that consists in producing new individuals that contain the same genetic information as the original or parent individual. This mode of reproduction is called "asexual", and it is still used by many species, particularly unicellular, but it is also very common in multicellular organisms, including many of those with sexual reproduction. In sexual reproduction, the genetic material of the offspring comes from two different individuals. As sexual reproduction developed by way of a long process of evolution, intermediates exist. Bacteria, for instance, reproduce asexually, but undergo a process by which a part of the genetic material of an individual donor is transferred to another recipient.
Disregarding intermediates, the basic distinction between asexual and sexual reproduction is the way in which the genetic material is processed. Typically, prior to an asexual division, a cell duplicates its genetic information content, and then divides. This process of cell division is called mitosis. In sexual reproduction, there are special kinds of cells that divide without prior duplication of its genetic material, in a process named meiosis. The resulting cells are called gametes, and contain only half the genetic material of the parent cells. These gametes are the cells that are prepared for the sexual reproduction of the organism. Sex comprises the arrangements that enable sexual reproduction, and has evolved alongside the reproduction system, starting with similar gametes (isogamy) and progressing to systems that have different gamete types, such as those involving a large female gamete (ovum) and a small male gamete (sperm).
In complex organisms, the sex organs are the parts that are involved in the production and exchange of gametes in sexual reproduction. Many species, both plants and animals, have sexual specialization, and their populations are divided into male and female individuals. Conversely, there are also species in which there is no sexual specialization, and the same individuals both contain masculine and feminine reproductive organs, and they are called hermaphrodites. This is very frequent in plants.
Sexual reproduction first probably evolved about a billion years ago within ancestral single-celled eukaryotes. The reason for the evolution of sex, and the reason(s) it has survived to the present, are still matters of debate. Some of the many plausible theories include: that sex creates variation among offspring, sex helps in the spread of advantageous traits, that sex helps in the removal of disadvantageous traits, and that sex facilitates repair of germ-line DNA.
Sexual reproduction is a process specific to eukaryotes, organisms whose cells contain a nucleus and mitochondria. In addition to animals, plants, and fungi, other eukaryotes (e.g. the malaria parasite) also engage in sexual reproduction. Some bacteria use conjugation to transfer genetic material between cells; while not the same as sexual reproduction, this also results in the mixture of genetic traits.
The defining characteristic of sexual reproduction in eukaryotes is the difference between the gametes and the binary nature of fertilization. Multiplicity of gamete types within a species would still be considered a form of sexual reproduction. However, no third gamete type is known in multicellular plants or animals.
While the evolution of sex dates to the prokaryote or early eukaryote stage, the origin of chromosomal sex determination may have been fairly early in eukaryotes (see evolution of anisogamy). The ZW sex-determination system is shared by birds, some fish and some crustaceans. XY sex determination is used by most mammals, but also some insects, and plants ("Silene latifolia"). The X0 sex-determination is found in most arachnids, insects such as silverfish (Apterygota), dragonflies (Paleoptera) and grasshoppers (Exopterygota), and some nematodes, crustaceans, and gastropods.
No genes are shared between the avian ZW and mammal XY chromosomes, and from a comparison between chicken and human, the Z chromosome appeared similar to the autosomal chromosome 9 in human, rather than X or Y, suggesting that the ZW and XY sex-determination systems do not share an origin, but that the sex chromosomes are derived from autosomal chromosomes of the common ancestor of birds and mammals.
A paper from 2004 compared the chicken Z chromosome with platypus X chromosomes and suggested that the two systems are related.
Sexual reproduction in eukaryotes is a process whereby organisms produce offspring that combine genetic traits from both parents. Chromosomes are passed on from one generation to the next in this process. Each cell in the offspring has half the chromosomes of the mother and half of the father. Genetic traits are contained within the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of chromosomes—by combining one of each type of chromosomes from each parent, an organism is formed containing a doubled set of chromosomes. This double-chromosome stage is called "diploid", while the single-chromosome stage is "haploid". Diploid organisms can, in turn, form haploid cells (gametes) that randomly contain one of each of the chromosome pairs, via meiosis. Meiosis also involves a stage of chromosomal crossover, in which regions of DNA are exchanged between matched types of chromosomes, to form a new pair of mixed chromosomes. Crossing over and fertilization (the recombining of single sets of chromosomes to make a new diploid) result in the new organism containing a different set of genetic traits from either parent.
In many organisms, the haploid stage has been reduced to just gametes specialized to recombine and form a new diploid organism. In plants the diploid organism produces haploid spores that undergo cell division to produce multicellular haploid organisms known as gametophytes that produce haploid gametes at maturity. In either case, gametes may be externally similar, particularly in size (isogamy), or may have evolved an asymmetry such that the gametes are different in size and other aspects (anisogamy). By convention, the larger gamete (called an ovum, or egg cell) is considered female, while the smaller gamete (called a spermatozoon, or sperm cell) is considered male. An individual that produces exclusively large gametes is female, and one that produces exclusively small gametes is male. An individual that produces both types of gametes is a hermaphrodite; in some cases hermaphrodites are able to self-fertilize and produce offspring on their own, without a second organism.
Most sexually reproducing animals spend their lives as diploid, with the haploid stage reduced to single-cell gametes. The gametes of animals have male and female forms—spermatozoa and egg cells. These gametes combine to form embryos which develop into a new organism.
The male gamete, a spermatozoon (produced in vertebrates within the testes), is a small cell containing a single long flagellum which propels it. Spermatozoa are extremely reduced cells, lacking many cellular components that would be necessary for embryonic development. They are specialized for motility, seeking out an egg cell and fusing with it in a process called fertilization.
Female gametes are egg cells (produced in vertebrates within the ovaries), large immobile cells that contain the nutrients and cellular components necessary for a developing embryo. Egg cells are often associated with other cells which support the development of the embryo, forming an egg. In mammals, the fertilized embryo instead develops within the female, receiving nutrition directly from its mother.
Animals are usually mobile and seek out a partner of the opposite sex for mating. Animals which live in the water can mate using external fertilization, where the eggs and sperm are released into and combine within the surrounding water. Most animals that live outside of water, however, use internal fertilization, transferring sperm directly into the female to prevent the gametes from drying up.
In most birds, both excretion and reproduction is done through a single posterior opening, called the cloaca—male and female birds touch cloaca to transfer sperm, a process called "cloacal kissing". In many other terrestrial animals, males use specialized sex organs to assist the transport of sperm—these male sex organs are called intromittent organs. In humans and other mammals this male organ is the penis, which enters the female reproductive tract (called the vagina) to achieve insemination—a process called sexual intercourse. The penis contains a tube through which semen (a fluid containing sperm) travels. In female mammals the vagina connects with the uterus, an organ which directly supports the development of a fertilized embryo within (a process called gestation).
Because of their motility, animal sexual behavior can involve coercive sex. Traumatic insemination, for example, is used by some insect species to inseminate females through a wound in the abdominal cavity—a process detrimental to the female's health.
Like animals, plants have specialized male and female gametes. Within seed plants, male gametes are produced by extremely reduced multicellular gametophytes known as pollen. The female gametes of seed plants are contained within ovules; once fertilized by male gametes produced by pollen these form seeds which, like eggs, contain the nutrients necessary for the development of the embryonic plant.
Many plants have flowers and these are the sexual organs of those plants. Flowers are usually hermaphroditic, producing both male and female gametes. The female parts, in the center of a flower, are the pistils, each unit consisting of a carpel, a style and a stigma. One or more of these reproductive units may be merged to form a single compound pistil. Within the carpels are ovules which develop into seeds after fertilization. The male parts of the flower are the stamens: these consist of long filaments arranged between the pistil and the petals that produce pollen in anthers at their tips. When a pollen grain lands upon the stigma on top of a carpel's style, it germinates to produce a pollen tube that grows down through the tissues of the style into the carpel, where it delivers male gamete nuclei to fertilize an ovule that eventually develops into a seed.
In pines and other conifers the sex organs are conifer cones and have male and female forms. The more familiar female cones are typically more durable, containing ovules within them. Male cones are smaller and produce pollen which is transported by wind to land in female cones. As with flowers, seeds form within the female cone after pollination.
Because plants are immobile, they depend upon passive methods for transporting pollen grains to other plants. Many plants, including conifers and grasses, produce lightweight pollen which is carried by wind to neighboring plants. Other plants have heavier, sticky pollen that is specialized for transportation by animals. The plants attract these insects or larger animals such as humming birds and bats with nectar-containing flowers. These animals transport the pollen as they move to other flowers, which also contain female reproductive organs, resulting in pollination.
Most fungi reproduce sexually, having both a haploid and diploid stage in their life cycles. These fungi are typically isogamous, lacking male and female specialization: haploid fungi grow into contact with each other and then fuse their cells. In some of these cases, the fusion is asymmetric, and the cell which donates only a nucleus (and not accompanying cellular material) could arguably be considered "male". Fungi may also have more complex allelic mating systems, with other sexes not accurately described as male, female, or hermaphroditic.
Some fungi, including baker's yeast, have mating types that create a duality similar to male and female roles. Yeast with the same mating type will not fuse with each other to form diploid cells, only with yeast carrying the other mating type.
Many species of higher fungi produce mushrooms as part of their sexual reproduction. Within the mushroom diploid cells are formed, later dividing into haploid spores. The height of the mushroom aids the dispersal of these sexually produced offspring.
The most basic sexual system is one in which all organisms are hermaphrodites, producing both male and female gametes. This is true of some animals (e.g. snails) and the majority of flowering plants. In many cases, however, specialization of sex has evolved such that some organisms produce only male or only female gametes. The biological cause for an organism developing into one sex or the other is called "sex determination". The cause may be genetic or non-genetic. Within animals and other organisms that have genetic sex determination systems, the determining factor may be the presence of a sex chromosome or other genetic differences. In plants also, such as the liverwort "Marchantia polymorpha" and the flowering plant genus "Silene" that have sexual dimorphism (dioicy or dioicy, respectively), sex may be determined by sex chromosomes. Non-genetic systems may use environmental cues, such as the temperature during early development in crocodiles, to determine the sex of the offspring.
In the majority of species with sex specialization, organisms are either male (producing only male gametes) or female (producing only female gametes). Exceptions are common—for example, the roundworm "C. elegans" has an hermaphrodite and a male sex (a system called androdioecy).
Sometimes an organism's development is intermediate between male and female, a condition called intersex. Sometimes intersex individuals are called "hermaphrodite"; but, unlike biological hermaphrodites, intersex individuals are unusual cases and are not typically fertile in both male and female aspects.
In genetic sex-determination systems, an organism's sex is determined by the genome it inherits. Genetic sex-determination usually depends on asymmetrically inherited sex chromosomes which carry genetic features that influence development; sex may be determined either by the presence of a sex chromosome or by how many the organism has. Genetic sex-determination, because it is determined by chromosome assortment, usually results in a 1:1 ratio of male and female offspring.
Humans and other mammals have an XY sex-determination system: the Y chromosome carries factors responsible for triggering male development. The "default sex," in the absence of a Y chromosome, is female-like. Thus, XX mammals are female and XY are male. In humans, biological sex is determined by five factors present at birth: the presence or absence of a Y chromosome (which alone determines the individual's "genetic sex"), the type of gonads, the sex hormones, the internal reproductive anatomy (such as the uterus in females), and the external genitalia.
XY sex determination is found in other organisms, including the common fruit fly and some plants. In some cases, including in the fruit fly, it is the number of X chromosomes that determines sex rather than the presence of a Y chromosome (see below).
In birds, which have a ZW sex-determination system, the opposite is true: the W chromosome carries factors responsible for female development, and default development is male. In this case ZZ individuals are male and ZW are female. The majority of butterflies and moths also have a ZW sex-determination system. In both XY and ZW sex determination systems, the sex chromosome carrying the critical factors is often significantly smaller, carrying little more than the genes necessary for triggering the development of a given sex.
Many insects use a sex determination system based on the number of sex chromosomes. This is called X0 sex-determination—the 0 indicates the absence of the sex chromosome. All other chromosomes in these organisms are diploid, but organisms may inherit one or two X chromosomes. In field crickets, for example, insects with a single X chromosome develop as male, while those with two develop as female. In the nematode "C. elegans" most worms are self-fertilizing XX hermaphrodites, but occasionally abnormalities in chromosome inheritance regularly give rise to individuals with only one X chromosome—these X0 individuals are fertile males (and half their offspring are male).
Other insects, including honey bees and ants, use a haplodiploid sex-determination system. In this case, diploid individuals are generally female, and haploid individuals (which develop from unfertilized eggs) are male. This sex-determination system results in highly biased sex ratios, as the sex of offspring is determined by fertilization rather than the assortment of chromosomes during meiosis.
For many species, sex is not determined by inherited traits, but instead by environmental factors experienced during development or later in life. Many reptiles have temperature-dependent sex determination: the temperature embryos experience during their development determines the sex of the organism. In some turtles, for example, males are produced at lower incubation temperatures than females; this difference in critical temperatures can be as little as 1–2 °C.
Many fish change sex over the course of their lifespan, a phenomenon called sequential hermaphroditism. In clownfish, smaller fish are male, and the dominant and largest fish in a group becomes female. In many wrasses the opposite is true—most fish are initially female and become male when they reach a certain size. Sequential hermaphrodites may produce both types of gametes over the course of their lifetime, but at any given point they are either female or male.
In some ferns the default sex is hermaphrodite, but ferns which grow in soil that has previously supported hermaphrodites are influenced by residual hormones to instead develop as male.
Many animals and some plants have differences between the male and female sexes in size and appearance, a phenomenon called sexual dimorphism. Sex differences in humans include, generally, a larger size and more body hair in men; women have breasts, wider hips, and a higher body fat percentage. In other species, the differences may be more extreme, such as differences in coloration or bodyweight.
Sexual dimorphisms in animals are often associated with sexual selection—the competition between individuals of one sex to mate with the opposite sex. Antlers in male deer, for example, are used in combat between males to win reproductive access to female deer. In many cases the male of a species is larger than the female. Mammal species with extreme sexual size dimorphism tend to have highly polygynous mating systems—presumably due to selection for success in competition with other males—such as the elephant seals. Other examples demonstrate that it is the preference of females that drive sexual dimorphism, such as in the case of the stalk-eyed fly.
Other animals, including most insects and many fish, have larger females. This may be associated with the cost of producing egg cells, which requires more nutrition than producing sperm—larger females are able to produce more eggs. For example, female southern black widow spiders are typically twice as long as the males. Occasionally this dimorphism is extreme, with males reduced to living as parasites dependent on the female, such as in the anglerfish. Some plant species also exhibit dimorphism in which the females are significantly larger than the males, such as in the moss "Dicranum" and the liverwort "Sphaerocarpos". There is some evidence that, in these genera, the dimorphism may be tied to a sex chromosome, or to chemical signalling from females.
In birds, males often have a more colourful appearance and may have features (like the long tail of male peacocks) that would seem to put the organism at a disadvantage (e.g. bright colors would seem to make a bird more visible to predators). One proposed explanation for this is the handicap principle. This hypothesis says that, by demonstrating he can survive with such handicaps, the male is advertising his genetic fitness to females—traits that will benefit daughters as well, who will not be encumbered with such handicaps. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26805 |
Star
A star is an astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance from Earth. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and asterisms, the brightest of which gained proper names. Astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provide standardized stellar designations. The observable Universe contains an estimated stars, but most are invisible to the naked eye from Earth, including all stars outside our galaxy, the Milky Way.
For most of its active life, a star shines due to thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium in its core, releasing energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space. Almost all naturally occurring elements heavier than helium are created by stellar nucleosynthesis during the star's lifetime, and for some stars by supernova nucleosynthesis when it explodes. Near the end of its life, a star can also contain degenerate matter. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, metallicity (chemical composition), and many other properties of a star by observing its motion through space, its luminosity, and spectrum respectively. The total mass of a star is the main factor that determines its evolution and eventual fate. Other characteristics of a star, including diameter and temperature, change over its life, while the star's environment affects its rotation and movement. A plot of the temperature of many stars against their luminosities produces a plot known as a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (H–R diagram). Plotting a particular star on that diagram allows the age and evolutionary state of that star to be determined.
A star's life begins with the gravitational collapse of a gaseous nebula of material composed primarily of hydrogen, along with helium and trace amounts of heavier elements. When the stellar core is sufficiently dense, hydrogen becomes steadily converted into helium through nuclear fusion, releasing energy in the process. The remainder of the star's interior carries energy away from the core through a combination of radiative and convective heat transfer processes. The star's internal pressure prevents it from collapsing further under its own gravity. A star with mass greater than 0.4 times the Sun's will expand to become a red giant when the hydrogen fuel in its core is exhausted. In some cases, it will fuse heavier elements at the core or in shells around the core. As the star expands it throws a part of its mass, enriched with those heavier elements, into the interstellar environment, to be recycled later as new stars. Meanwhile, the core becomes a stellar remnant: a white dwarf, a neutron star, or, if it is sufficiently massive, a black hole.
Binary and multi-star systems consist of two or more stars that are gravitationally bound and generally move around each other in stable orbits. When two such stars have a relatively close orbit, their gravitational interaction can have a significant impact on their evolution. Stars can form part of a much larger gravitationally bound structure, such as a star cluster or a galaxy.
Historically, stars have been important to civilizations throughout the world. They have been part of religious practices and used for celestial navigation and orientation. Many ancient astronomers believed that stars were permanently affixed to a heavenly sphere and that they were immutable. By convention, astronomers grouped stars into constellations and used them to track the motions of the planets and the inferred position of the Sun. The motion of the Sun against the background stars (and the horizon) was used to create calendars, which could be used to regulate agricultural practices. The Gregorian calendar, currently used nearly everywhere in the world, is a solar calendar based on the angle of the Earth's rotational axis relative to its local star, the Sun.
The oldest accurately dated star chart was the result of ancient Egyptian astronomy in 1534 BC. The earliest known star catalogues were compiled by the ancient Babylonian astronomers of Mesopotamia in the late 2nd millennium BC, during the Kassite Period (c. 1531–1155 BC).
The first star catalogue in Greek astronomy was created by Aristillus in approximately 300 BC, with the help of Timocharis. The star catalog of Hipparchus (2nd century BC) included 1020 stars, and was used to assemble Ptolemy's star catalogue. Hipparchus is known for the discovery of the first recorded "nova" (new star). Many of the constellations and star names in use today derive from Greek astronomy.
In spite of the apparent immutability of the heavens, Chinese astronomers were aware that new stars could appear. In 185 AD, they were the first to observe and write about a supernova, now known as the SN 185. The brightest stellar event in recorded history was the SN 1006 supernova, which was observed in 1006 and written about by the Egyptian astronomer Ali ibn Ridwan and several Chinese astronomers. The SN 1054 supernova, which gave birth to the Crab Nebula, was also observed by Chinese and Islamic astronomers.
Medieval Islamic astronomers gave Arabic names to many stars that are still used today and they invented numerous astronomical instruments that could compute the positions of the stars. They built the first large observatory research institutes, mainly for the purpose of producing "Zij" star catalogues. Among these, the "Book of Fixed Stars" (964) was written by the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, who observed a number of stars, star clusters (including the Omicron Velorum and Brocchi's Clusters) and galaxies (including the Andromeda Galaxy). According to A. Zahoor, in the 11th century, the Persian polymath scholar Abu Rayhan Biruni described the Milky Way galaxy as a multitude of fragments having the properties of nebulous stars, and also gave the latitudes of various stars during a lunar eclipse in 1019.
According to Josep Puig, the Andalusian astronomer Ibn Bajjah proposed that the Milky Way was made up of many stars that almost touched one another and appeared to be a continuous image due to the effect of refraction from sublunary material, citing his observation of the conjunction of Jupiter and Mars on 500 AH (1106/1107 AD) as evidence.
Early European astronomers such as Tycho Brahe identified new stars in the night sky (later termed "novae"), suggesting that the heavens were not immutable. In 1584, Giordano Bruno suggested that the stars were like the Sun, and may have other planets, possibly even Earth-like, in orbit around them, an idea that had been suggested earlier by the ancient Greek philosophers, Democritus and Epicurus, and by medieval Islamic cosmologists such as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. By the following century, the idea of the stars being the same as the Sun was reaching a consensus among astronomers. To explain why these stars exerted no net gravitational pull on the Solar System, Isaac Newton suggested that the stars were equally distributed in every direction, an idea prompted by the theologian Richard Bentley.
The Italian astronomer Geminiano Montanari recorded observing variations in luminosity of the star Algol in 1667. Edmond Halley published the first measurements of the proper motion of a pair of nearby "fixed" stars, demonstrating that they had changed positions since the time of the ancient Greek astronomers Ptolemy and Hipparchus.
William Herschel was the first astronomer to attempt to determine the distribution of stars in the sky. During the 1780s, he established a series of gauges in 600 directions and counted the stars observed along each line of sight. From this he deduced that the number of stars steadily increased toward one side of the sky, in the direction of the Milky Way core. His son John Herschel repeated this study in the southern hemisphere and found a corresponding increase in the same direction. In addition to his other accomplishments, William Herschel is also noted for his discovery that some stars do not merely lie along the same line of sight, but are also physical companions that form binary star systems.
The science of stellar spectroscopy was pioneered by Joseph von Fraunhofer and Angelo Secchi. By comparing the spectra of stars such as Sirius to the Sun, they found differences in the strength and number of their absorption lines—the dark lines in stellar spectra caused by the atmosphere's absorption of specific frequencies. In 1865, Secchi began classifying stars into spectral types. However, the modern version of the stellar classification scheme was developed by Annie J. Cannon during the 1900s.
The first direct measurement of the distance to a star (61 Cygni at 11.4 light-years) was made in 1838 by Friedrich Bessel using the parallax technique. Parallax measurements demonstrated the vast separation of the stars in the heavens. Observation of double stars gained increasing importance during the 19th century. In 1834, Friedrich Bessel observed changes in the proper motion of the star Sirius and inferred a hidden companion. Edward Pickering discovered the first spectroscopic binary in 1899 when he observed the periodic splitting of the spectral lines of the star Mizar in a 104-day period. Detailed observations of many binary star systems were collected by astronomers such as Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and S. W. Burnham, allowing the masses of stars to be determined from computation of orbital elements. The first solution to the problem of deriving an orbit of binary stars from telescope observations was made by Felix Savary in 1827.
The twentieth century saw increasingly rapid advances in the scientific study of stars. The photograph became a valuable astronomical tool. Karl Schwarzschild discovered that the color of a star and, hence, its temperature, could be determined by comparing the visual magnitude against the photographic magnitude. The development of the photoelectric photometer allowed precise measurements of magnitude at multiple wavelength intervals. In 1921 Albert A. Michelson made the first measurements of a stellar diameter using an interferometer on the Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory.
Important theoretical work on the physical structure of stars occurred during the first decades of the twentieth century. In 1913, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram was developed, propelling the astrophysical study of stars. Successful models were developed to explain the interiors of stars and stellar evolution. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin first proposed that stars were made primarily of hydrogen and helium in her 1925 PhD thesis. The spectra of stars were further understood through advances in quantum physics. This allowed the chemical composition of the stellar atmosphere to be determined.
With the exception of supernovae, individual stars have primarily been observed in the Local Group, and especially in the visible part of the Milky Way (as demonstrated by the detailed star catalogues available for our
galaxy). But some stars have been observed in the M100 galaxy of the Virgo Cluster, about 100 million light years from the Earth.
In the Local Supercluster it is possible to see star clusters, and current telescopes could in principle observe faint individual stars in the Local Group (see Cepheids). However, outside the Local Supercluster of galaxies, neither individual stars nor clusters of stars have been observed. The only exception is a faint image of a large star cluster containing hundreds of thousands of stars located at a distance of one billion light years—ten times further than the most distant star cluster previously observed.
In February 2018, astronomers reported, for the first time, a signal of the reionization epoch, an indirect detection of light from the earliest stars formed—about 180 million years after the Big Bang.
In April, 2018, astronomers reported the detection of the most distant "ordinary" (i.e., main sequence) star, named Icarus (formally, MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1), at 9 billion light-years away from Earth.
In May 2018, astronomers reported the detection of the most distant oxygen ever detected in the Universe—and the most distant galaxy ever observed by Atacama Large Millimeter Array or the Very Large Telescope—with the team inferring that the signal was emitted 13.3 billion years ago (or 500 million years after the Big Bang). They found that the observed brightness of the galaxy is well-explained by a model where the onset of star formation corresponds to only 250 million years after the Universe began, corresponding to a redshift of about 15.
The concept of a constellation was known to exist during the Babylonian period. Ancient sky watchers imagined that prominent arrangements of stars formed patterns, and they associated these with particular aspects of nature or their myths. Twelve of these formations lay along the band of the ecliptic and these became the basis of astrology. Many of the more prominent individual stars were also given names, particularly with Arabic or Latin designations.
As well as certain constellations and the Sun itself, individual stars have their own myths. To the Ancient Greeks, some "stars", known as planets (Greek πλανήτης (planētēs), meaning "wanderer"), represented various important deities, from which the names of the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were taken. (Uranus and Neptune were also Greek and Roman gods, but neither planet was known in Antiquity because of their low brightness. Their names were assigned by later astronomers.)
Circa 1600, the names of the constellations were used to name the stars in the corresponding regions of the sky. The German astronomer Johann Bayer created a series of star maps and applied Greek letters as designations to the stars in each constellation. Later a numbering system based on the star's right ascension was invented and added to John Flamsteed's star catalogue in his book ""Historia coelestis Britannica"" (the 1712 edition), whereby this numbering system came to be called "Flamsteed designation" or "Flamsteed numbering".
The only internationally recognized authority for naming celestial bodies is the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The International Astronomical Union maintains the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) which catalogs and standardizes proper names for stars. A number of private companies sell names of stars, which the British Library calls an unregulated commercial enterprise. The IAU has disassociated itself from this commercial practice, and these names are neither recognized by the IAU, professional astronomers, nor the amateur astronomy community. One such star-naming company is the International Star Registry, which, during the 1980s, was accused of deceptive practice for making it appear that the assigned name was official. This now-discontinued ISR practice was informally labeled a scam and a fraud, and the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection issued a violation against ISR for engaging in a deceptive trade practice.
Although stellar parameters can be expressed in SI units or CGS units, it is often most convenient to express mass, luminosity, and radii in solar units, based on the characteristics of the Sun. In 2015, the IAU defined a set of "nominal" solar values (defined as SI constants, without uncertainties) which can be used for quoting stellar parameters:
The solar mass M⊙ was not explicitly defined by the IAU due to the large relative uncertainty (10−4) of the Newtonian gravitational constant G. However, since the product of the Newtonian gravitational constant and solar mass
together (GM⊙) has been determined to much greater precision, the IAU defined the "nominal" solar mass parameter to be:
However, one can combine the nominal solar mass parameter with the most recent (2014) CODATA estimate of the Newtonian gravitational constant G to derive the solar mass to be approximately 1.9885 × 1030 kg. Although the exact values for the luminosity, radius, mass parameter, and mass may vary slightly in the future due to observational uncertainties, the 2015 IAU nominal constants will remain the same SI values as they remain useful measures for quoting stellar parameters.
Large lengths, such as the radius of a giant star or the semi-major axis of a binary star system, are often expressed in terms of the astronomical unit—approximately equal to the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun (150 million km or approximately 93 million miles). In 2012, the IAU defined the astronomical constant to be an exact length in meters: 149,597,870,700 m.
Stars condense from regions of space of higher matter density, yet those regions are less dense than within a vacuum chamber. These regions—known as "molecular clouds"—consist mostly of hydrogen, with about 23 to 28 percent helium and a few percent heavier elements. One example of such a star-forming region is the Orion Nebula. Most stars form in groups of dozens to hundreds of thousands of stars.
Massive stars in these groups may powerfully illuminate those clouds, ionizing the hydrogen, and creating H II regions. Such feedback effects, from star formation, may ultimately disrupt the cloud and prevent further star formation.
All stars spend the majority of their existence as "main sequence stars", fueled primarily by the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium within their cores. However, stars of different masses have markedly different properties at various stages of their development. The ultimate fate of more massive stars differs from that of less massive stars, as do their luminosities and the impact they have on their environment. Accordingly, astronomers often group stars by their mass:
The formation of a star begins with gravitational instability within a molecular cloud, caused by regions of higher density—often triggered by compression of clouds by radiation from massive stars, expanding bubbles in the interstellar medium, the collision of different molecular clouds, or the collision of galaxies (as in a starburst galaxy). When a region reaches a sufficient density of matter to satisfy the criteria for Jeans instability, it begins to collapse under its own gravitational force.
As the cloud collapses, individual conglomerations of dense dust and gas form "Bok globules". As a globule collapses and the density increases, the gravitational energy converts into heat and the temperature rises. When the protostellar cloud has approximately reached the stable condition of hydrostatic equilibrium, a protostar forms at the core. These pre-main-sequence stars are often surrounded by a protoplanetary disk and powered mainly by the conversion of gravitational energy. The period of gravitational contraction lasts about 10 to 15 million years.
Early stars of less than 2 are called T Tauri stars, while those with greater mass are Herbig Ae/Be stars. These newly formed stars emit jets of gas along their axis of rotation, which may reduce the angular momentum of the collapsing star and result in small patches of nebulosity known as Herbig–Haro objects.
These jets, in combination with radiation from nearby massive stars, may help to drive away the surrounding cloud from which the star was formed.
Early in their development, T Tauri stars follow the Hayashi track—they contract and decrease in luminosity while remaining at roughly the same temperature. Less massive T Tauri stars follow this track to the main sequence, while more massive stars turn onto the Henyey track.
Most stars are observed to be members of binary star systems, and the properties of those binaries are the result of the conditions in which they formed. A gas cloud must lose its angular momentum in order to collapse and form a star. The fragmentation of the cloud into multiple stars distributes some of that angular momentum. The primordial binaries transfer some angular momentum by gravitational interactions during close encounters with other stars in young stellar clusters. These interactions tend to split apart more widely separated (soft) binaries while causing hard binaries to become more tightly bound. This produces the separation of binaries into their two observed populations distributions.
Stars spend about 90% of their existence fusing hydrogen into helium in high-temperature and high-pressure reactions near the core. Such stars are said to be on the main sequence, and are called dwarf stars. Starting at zero-age main sequence, the proportion of helium in a star's core will steadily increase, the rate of nuclear fusion at the core will slowly increase, as will the star's temperature and luminosity.
The Sun, for example, is estimated to have increased in luminosity by about 40% since it reached the main sequence 4.6 billion (4.6 × 109) years ago.
Every star generates a stellar wind of particles that causes a continual outflow of gas into space. For most stars, the mass lost is negligible. The Sun loses 10−14 every year, or about 0.01% of its total mass over its entire lifespan. However, very massive stars can lose 10−7 to 10−5 each year, significantly affecting their evolution. Stars that begin with more than 50 can lose over half their total mass while on the main sequence.
The time a star spends on the main sequence depends primarily on the amount of fuel it has and the rate at which it fuses it. The Sun is expected to live 10 billion (1010) years. Massive stars consume their fuel very rapidly and are short-lived. Low mass stars consume their fuel very slowly. Stars less massive than 0.25 , called red dwarfs, are able to fuse nearly all of their mass while stars of about 1 can only fuse about 10% of their mass. The combination of their slow fuel-consumption and relatively large usable fuel supply allows low mass stars to last about one trillion (1012) years; the most extreme of 0.08 ) will last for about 12 trillion years. Red dwarfs become hotter and more luminous as they accumulate helium. When they eventually run out of hydrogen, they contract into a white dwarf and decline in temperature. However, since the lifespan of such stars is greater than the current age of the universe (13.8 billion years), no stars under about 0.85 are expected to have moved off the main sequence.
Besides mass, the elements heavier than helium can play a significant role in the evolution of stars. Astronomers label all elements heavier than helium "metals", and call the chemical concentration of these elements in a star, its metallicity. A star's metallicity can influence the time the star takes to burn its fuel, and controls the formation of its magnetic fields, which affects the strength of its stellar wind. Older, population II stars have substantially less metallicity than the younger, population I stars due to the composition of the molecular clouds from which they formed. Over time, such clouds become increasingly enriched in heavier elements as older stars die and shed portions of their atmospheres.
As stars of at least 0.4 exhaust their supply of hydrogen at their core, they start to fuse hydrogen in a shell outside the helium core. Their outer layers expand and cool greatly as they form a red giant. In about 5 billion years, when the Sun enters the helium burning phase, it will expand to a maximum radius of roughly , 250 times its present size, and lose 30% of its current mass.
As the hydrogen shell burning produces more helium, the core increases in mass and temperature. In a red giant of up to 2.25 , the mass of the helium core becomes degenerate prior to helium fusion. Finally, when the temperature increases sufficiently, helium fusion begins explosively in what is called a helium flash, and the star rapidly shrinks in radius, increases its surface temperature, and moves to the horizontal branch of the HR diagram. For more massive stars, helium core fusion starts before the core becomes degenerate, and the star spends some time in the red clump, slowly burning helium, before the outer convective envelope collapses and the star then moves to the horizontal branch.
After the star has fused the helium of its core, the carbon product fuses producing a hot core with an outer shell of fusing helium. The star then follows an evolutionary path called the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) that parallels the other described red giant phase, but with a higher luminosity. The more massive AGB stars may undergo a brief period of carbon fusion before the core becomes degenerate.
During their helium-burning phase, a star of more than 9 solar masses expands to form first a blue and then a red supergiant. Particularly massive stars may evolve to a Wolf-Rayet star, characterised by spectra dominated by emission lines of elements heavier than hydrogen, which have reached the surface due to strong convection and intense mass loss.
When helium is exhausted at the core of a massive star, the core contracts and the temperature and pressure rises enough to fuse carbon (see Carbon-burning process). This process continues, with the successive stages being fueled by neon (see neon-burning process), oxygen (see oxygen-burning process), and silicon (see silicon-burning process). Near the end of the star's life, fusion continues along a series of onion-layer shells within a massive star. Each shell fuses a different element, with the outermost shell fusing hydrogen; the next shell fusing helium, and so forth.
The final stage occurs when a massive star begins producing iron. Since iron nuclei are more tightly bound than any heavier nuclei, any fusion beyond iron does not produce a net release of energy.
As a star's core shrinks, the intensity of radiation from that surface increases, creating such radiation pressure on the outer shell of gas that it will push those layers away, forming a planetary nebula. If what remains after the outer atmosphere has been shed is less than roughly 1.4 , it shrinks to a relatively tiny object about the size of Earth, known as a white dwarf. White dwarfs lack the mass for further gravitational compression to take place. The electron-degenerate matter inside a white dwarf is no longer a plasma, even though stars are generally referred to as being spheres of plasma. Eventually, white dwarfs fade into black dwarfs over a very long period of time.
In massive stars, fusion continues until the iron core has grown so large (more than 1.4 ) that it can no longer support its own mass. This core will suddenly collapse as its electrons are driven into its protons, forming neutrons, neutrinos, and gamma rays in a burst of electron capture and inverse beta decay. The shockwave formed by this sudden collapse causes the rest of the star to explode in a supernova. Supernovae become so bright that they may briefly outshine the star's entire home galaxy. When they occur within the Milky Way, supernovae have historically been observed by naked-eye observers as "new stars" where none seemingly existed before.
A supernova explosion blows away the star's outer layers, leaving a remnant such as the Crab Nebula. The core is compressed into a neutron star, which sometimes manifests itself as a pulsar or X-ray burster. In the case of the largest stars, the remnant is a black hole greater than 4 . In a neutron star the matter is in a state known as neutron-degenerate matter, with a more exotic form of degenerate matter, QCD matter, possibly present in the core. Within a black hole, the matter is in a state that is not currently understood.
The blown-off outer layers of dying stars include heavy elements, which may be recycled during the formation of new stars. These heavy elements allow the formation of rocky planets. The outflow from supernovae and the stellar wind of large stars play an important part in shaping the interstellar medium.
The post–main-sequence evolution of binary stars may be significantly different from the evolution of single stars of the same mass. If stars in a binary system are sufficiently close, when one of the stars expands to become a red giant it may overflow its Roche lobe, the region around a star where material is gravitationally bound to that star, leading to transfer of material to the other. When the Roche lobe is violated, a variety of phenomena can result, including contact binaries, common-envelope binaries, cataclysmic variables, and type Ia supernovae.
Stars are not spread uniformly across the universe, but are normally grouped into galaxies along with interstellar gas and dust. A typical galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars, and there are more than 2 trillion (1012) galaxies. Overall, there are as many as an estimated stars (more stars than all the grains of sand on planet Earth). While it is often believed that stars only exist within galaxies, intergalactic stars have been discovered.
A multi-star system consists of two or more gravitationally bound stars that orbit each other. The simplest and most common multi-star system is a binary star, but systems of three or more stars are also found. For reasons of orbital stability, such multi-star systems are often organized into hierarchical sets of binary stars. Larger groups called star clusters also exist. These range from loose stellar associations with only a few stars, up to enormous globular clusters with hundreds of thousands of stars. Such systems orbit their host galaxy.
It has been a long-held assumption that the majority of stars occur in gravitationally bound, multiple-star systems. This is particularly true for very massive O and B class stars, where 80% of the stars are believed to be part of multiple-star systems. The proportion of single star systems increases with decreasing star mass, so that only 25% of red dwarfs are known to have stellar companions. As 85% of all stars are red dwarfs, most stars in the Milky Way are likely single from birth.
The nearest star to the Earth, apart from the Sun, is Proxima Centauri, which is 39.9 trillion kilometres, or 4.2 light-years. Travelling at the orbital speed of the Space Shuttle (8 kilometres per second—almost 30,000 kilometres per hour), it would take about 150,000 years to arrive. This is typical of stellar separations in galactic discs. Stars can be much closer to each other in the centres of galaxies and in globular clusters, or much farther apart in galactic halos.
Due to the relatively vast distances between stars outside the galactic nucleus, collisions between stars are thought to be rare. In denser regions such as the core of globular clusters or the galactic center, collisions can be more common. Such collisions can produce what are known as blue stragglers. These abnormal stars have a higher surface temperature than the other main sequence stars with the same luminosity of the cluster to which it belongs.
Almost everything about a star is determined by its initial mass, including such characteristics as luminosity, size, evolution, lifespan, and its eventual fate.
Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. Some stars may even be close to 13.8 billion years old—the observed age of the universe. The oldest star yet discovered, HD 140283, nicknamed Methuselah star, is an estimated 14.46 ± 0.8 billion years old. (Due to the uncertainty in the value, this age for the star does not conflict with the age of the Universe, determined by the Planck satellite as 13.799 ± 0.021).
The more massive the star, the shorter its lifespan, primarily because massive stars have greater pressure on their cores, causing them to burn hydrogen more rapidly. The most massive stars last an average of a few million years, while stars of minimum mass (red dwarfs) burn their fuel very slowly and can last tens to hundreds of billions of years.
When stars form in the present Milky Way galaxy they are composed of about 71% hydrogen and 27% helium, as measured by mass, with a small fraction of heavier elements. Typically the portion of heavy elements is measured in terms of the iron content of the stellar atmosphere, as iron is a common element and its absorption lines are relatively easy to measure. The portion of heavier elements may be an indicator of the likelihood that the star has a planetary system.
The star with the lowest iron content ever measured is the dwarf HE1327-2326, with only 1/200,000th the iron content of the Sun. By contrast, the super-metal-rich star μ Leonis has nearly double the abundance of iron as the Sun, while the planet-bearing star 14 Herculis has nearly triple the iron. There also exist chemically peculiar stars that show unusual abundances of certain elements in their spectrum; especially chromium and rare earth elements. Stars with cooler outer atmospheres, including the Sun, can form various diatomic and polyatomic molecules.
Due to their great distance from the Earth, all stars except the Sun appear to the unaided eye as shining points in the night sky that twinkle because of the effect of the Earth's atmosphere. The Sun is also a star, but it is close enough to the Earth to appear as a disk instead, and to provide daylight. Other than the Sun, the star with the largest apparent size is R Doradus, with an angular diameter of only 0.057 arcseconds.
The disks of most stars are much too small in angular size to be observed with current ground-based optical telescopes, and so interferometer telescopes are required to produce images of these objects. Another technique for measuring the angular size of stars is through occultation. By precisely measuring the drop in brightness of a star as it is occulted by the Moon (or the rise in brightness when it reappears), the star's angular diameter can be computed.
Stars range in size from neutron stars, which vary anywhere from 20 to in diameter, to supergiants like Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation, which has a diameter about 1,000 times that of our sun. Betelgeuse, however, has a much lower density than the Sun.
The motion of a star relative to the Sun can provide useful information about the origin and age of a star, as well as the structure and evolution of the surrounding galaxy. The components of motion of a star consist of the radial velocity toward or away from the Sun, and the traverse angular movement, which is called its proper motion.
Radial velocity is measured by the doppler shift of the star's spectral lines, and is given in units of km/s. The proper motion of a star, its parallax, is determined by precise astrometric measurements in units of milli-arc seconds (mas) per year. With knowledge of the star's parallax and its distance, the proper motion velocity can be calculated. Together with the radial velocity, the total velocity can be calculated. Stars with high rates of proper motion are likely to be relatively close to the Sun, making them good candidates for parallax measurements.
When both rates of movement are known, the space velocity of the star relative to the Sun or the galaxy can be computed. Among nearby stars, it has been found that younger population I stars have generally lower velocities than older, population II stars. The latter have elliptical orbits that are inclined to the plane of the galaxy. A comparison of the kinematics of nearby stars has allowed astronomers to trace their origin to common points in giant molecular clouds, and are referred to as stellar associations.
The magnetic field of a star is generated within regions of the interior where convective circulation occurs. This movement of conductive plasma functions like a dynamo, wherein the movement of electrical charges induce magnetic fields, as does a mechanical dynamo. Those magnetic fields have a great range that extend throughout and beyond the star. The strength of the magnetic field varies with the mass and composition of the star, and the amount of magnetic surface activity depends upon the star's rate of rotation. This surface activity produces starspots, which are regions of strong magnetic fields and lower than normal surface temperatures. Coronal loops are arching magnetic field flux lines that rise from a star's surface into the star's outer atmosphere, its corona. The coronal loops can be seen due to the plasma they conduct along their length. Stellar flares are bursts of high-energy particles that are emitted due to the same magnetic activity.
Young, rapidly rotating stars tend to have high levels of surface activity because of their magnetic field. The magnetic field can act upon a star's stellar wind, functioning as a brake to gradually slow the rate of rotation with time. Thus, older stars such as the Sun have a much slower rate of rotation and a lower level of surface activity. The activity levels of slowly rotating stars tend to vary in a cyclical manner and can shut down altogether for periods of time. During
the Maunder Minimum, for example, the Sun underwent a
70-year period with almost no sunspot activity.
One of the most massive stars known is Eta Carinae, which,
with 100–150 times as much mass as the Sun, will have a lifespan of only several million years. Studies of the most massive open clusters suggests as an upper limit for stars in the current era of the universe. This
represents an empirical value for the theoretical limit on the mass of forming stars due to increasing radiation pressure on the accreting gas cloud. Several stars in the R136 cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud have been measured with larger masses, but
it has been determined that they could have been created through the collision and merger of massive stars in close binary systems, sidestepping the 150 limit on massive star formation.
The first stars to form after the Big Bang may have been larger, up to 300 , due
to the complete absence of elements heavier than lithium in their composition. This generation of supermassive population III stars is likely to have existed in the very early universe (i.e., they are observed to have a high redshift), and may have started the production of chemical elements heavier than hydrogen that are needed for the later formation of planets and life. In June 2015, astronomers reported evidence for Population III stars in the Cosmos Redshift 7 galaxy at .
With a mass only 80 times that of Jupiter (), 2MASS J0523-1403 is the smallest known star undergoing nuclear fusion in its core. For
stars with metallicity similar to the Sun, the theoretical minimum mass the star can have and still undergo fusion at the core, is estimated to be about 75 . When the metallicity is very low, however, the minimum star size seems to be about 8.3% of the solar mass, or about 87 . Smaller bodies called brown dwarfs, occupy a poorly defined grey area between stars and gas giants.
The combination of the radius and the mass of a star determines its surface gravity. Giant stars have a much lower surface gravity than do main sequence stars, while the opposite is the case for degenerate, compact stars such as white dwarfs. The surface gravity can influence the appearance of a star's spectrum, with higher gravity causing a broadening of the absorption lines.
The rotation rate of stars can be determined through spectroscopic measurement, or more exactly determined by tracking their starspots. Young stars can have a rotation greater than 100 km/s at the equator. The B-class star Achernar, for example, has an equatorial velocity of about 225 km/s or greater, causing its equator to bulge outward and giving it an equatorial diameter that is more than 50% greater than between the poles. This rate of rotation is just below the critical velocity of 300 km/s at which speed the star would break apart. By contrast, the Sun rotates once every 25–35 days depending on latitude, with an equatorial velocity of 1.93 km/s. A main sequence star's magnetic field and the stellar wind serve to slow its rotation by a significant amount as it evolves on the main sequence.
Degenerate stars have contracted into a compact mass, resulting in a rapid rate of rotation. However they have relatively low rates of rotation compared to what would be expected by conservation of angular momentum—the tendency of a rotating body to compensate for a contraction in size by increasing its rate of spin. A large portion of the star's angular momentum is dissipated as a result of mass loss through the stellar wind. In spite of this, the rate of rotation for a pulsar can be very rapid. The pulsar at the heart of the Crab nebula, for example, rotates 30 times per second. The rotation rate of the pulsar will gradually slow due to the emission of radiation.
The surface temperature of a main sequence star is determined by the rate of energy production of its core and by its radius, and is often estimated from the star's color index. The temperature is normally given in terms of an effective temperature, which is the temperature of an idealized black body that radiates its energy at the same luminosity per surface area as the star. Note that the effective temperature is only a representative of the surface, as the temperature increases toward the core. The temperature in the core region of a star is several million kelvins.
The stellar temperature will determine the rate of ionization of various elements, resulting in characteristic absorption lines in the spectrum. The surface temperature of a star, along with its visual absolute magnitude and absorption features, is used to classify a star (see classification below).
Massive main sequence stars can have surface temperatures of 50,000 K. Smaller stars such as the Sun have surface temperatures of a few thousand K. Red giants have relatively low surface temperatures of about 3,600 K; but they also have a high luminosity due to their large exterior surface area.
The energy produced by stars, a product of nuclear fusion, radiates to space as both electromagnetic radiation and particle radiation. The particle radiation emitted by a star is manifested as the stellar wind, which
streams from the outer layers as electrically charged protons and alpha and beta particles. Although almost massless, there also exists a steady stream of neutrinos emanating from the star's core.
The production of energy at the core is the reason stars shine so brightly: every time two or more atomic nuclei fuse together to form a single atomic nucleus of a new heavier element, gamma ray photons are released from the nuclear fusion product. This energy is converted to other forms of electromagnetic energy of lower frequency, such as visible light, by the time it reaches the star's outer layers.
The color of a star, as determined by the most intense frequency of the visible light, depends on the temperature of the star's outer layers, including its photosphere. Besides
visible light, stars also emit forms of electromagnetic radiation that are invisible to the human eye. In fact, stellar electromagnetic radiation spans the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from the longest wavelengths of radio waves through infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, to the shortest of X-rays, and gamma rays. From the standpoint of total energy emitted by a star, not all components of stellar electromagnetic radiation are significant, but all frequencies provide insight into the star's physics.
Using the stellar spectrum, astronomers can also determine the surface temperature, surface gravity, metallicity and rotational velocity of a star. If the distance of the star is found, such as by measuring the parallax, then the luminosity of the star can be derived. The mass, radius, surface gravity, and rotation period can then be estimated based on stellar models. (Mass can be calculated for stars in binary systems by measuring their orbital velocities and distances. Gravitational microlensing has been used to measure the mass of a single star.) With these parameters, astronomers can also estimate the age of the star.
The luminosity of a star is the amount of light and other forms of radiant energy it radiates per unit of time. It has units of power. The luminosity of a star is determined by its radius and surface temperature. Many stars do not radiate uniformly across their entire surface. The rapidly rotating star Vega, for example, has a higher energy flux (power per unit area) at its poles than along its equator.
Patches of the star's surface with a lower temperature and luminosity than average are known as starspots. Small, "dwarf" stars such as our Sun generally have essentially featureless disks with only small starspots. "Giant" stars have much larger, more obvious starspots, Red
dwarf flare stars such as UV Ceti may also possess prominent starspot features.
The apparent brightness of a star is expressed in terms of its apparent magnitude. It is a function of the star's luminosity, its distance from Earth, the extinction effect of interstellar dust and gas, and the altering of the star's light as it passes through Earth's atmosphere. Intrinsic or absolute magnitude is directly related to a star's luminosity, and is what the apparent magnitude a star would be if the distance between the Earth and the star were 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years).
Both the apparent and absolute magnitude scales are logarithmic units: one whole number difference in magnitude is equal to a brightness variation of about 2.5 times (the 5th root of 100 or approximately 2.512). This means that a first magnitude star (+1.00) is about 2.5 times brighter than a second magnitude (+2.00) star, and about 100 times brighter than a sixth magnitude star (+6.00). The faintest stars visible to the naked eye under good seeing conditions are about magnitude +6.
On both apparent and absolute magnitude scales, the smaller the magnitude number, the brighter the star; the larger the magnitude number, the fainter the star. The brightest stars, on either scale, have negative magnitude numbers. The variation in brightness (Δ"L") between two stars is calculated by subtracting the magnitude number of the brighter star ("m"b) from the magnitude number of the fainter star ("m"f), then using the difference as an exponent for the base number 2.512; that is to say:
Relative to both luminosity and distance from Earth, a star's absolute magnitude ("M") and apparent magnitude ("m") are not equivalent; for example, the bright star Sirius has an apparent magnitude of −1.44, but it has an absolute magnitude of +1.41.
The Sun has an apparent magnitude of −26.7, but its absolute magnitude is only +4.83. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky as seen from Earth, is approximately 23 times more luminous than the Sun, while Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky with an absolute magnitude of −5.53, is approximately 14,000 times more luminous than the Sun. Despite Canopus being vastly more luminous than Sirius, however, Sirius appears brighter than Canopus. This is because Sirius is merely 8.6 light-years from the Earth, while Canopus is much farther away at a distance of 310 light-years.
As of 2006, the star with the highest known absolute magnitude is LBV 1806-20, with a magnitude of −14.2. This star is at least 5,000,000 times more luminous than the Sun. The least luminous stars that are currently known are located in the NGC 6397 cluster. The faintest red dwarfs in the cluster were magnitude 26, while a 28th magnitude white dwarf was also discovered. These faint stars are so dim that their light is as bright as a birthday candle on the Moon when viewed from the Earth.
The current stellar classification system originated in the early 20th century, when stars were classified from "A" to "Q" based on the strength of the hydrogen line. It was thought that the hydrogen line strength was a simple linear function of temperature. Instead, it was more complicated: it strengthened with increasing temperature, peaked near 9000 K, and then declined at greater temperatures. The classifications were since reordered by temperature, on which the modern scheme is based.
Stars are given a single-letter classification according to their spectra, ranging from type "O", which are very hot, to "M", which are so cool that molecules may form in their atmospheres. The main classifications in order of decreasing surface temperature are: "O, B, A, F, G, K", and "M". A variety of rare spectral types are given special classifications. The most common of these are types "L" and "T", which classify the coldest low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. Each letter has 10 sub-divisions, numbered from 0 to 9, in order of decreasing temperature. However, this system breaks down at extreme high temperatures as classes "O0" and "O1" may not exist.
In addition, stars may be classified by the luminosity effects found in their spectral lines, which correspond to their spatial size and is determined by their surface gravity. These range from "0" (hypergiants) through "III" (giants) to "V" (main sequence dwarfs); some authors add "VII" (white dwarfs). Main sequence stars fall along a narrow, diagonal band when graphed according to their absolute magnitude and spectral type. The Sun is a main sequence "G2V" yellow dwarf of intermediate temperature and ordinary size.
Additional nomenclature, in the form of lower-case letters added to the end of the spectral type to indicate peculiar features of the spectrum. For example, an ""e"" can indicate the presence of emission lines; ""m"" represents unusually strong levels of metals, and ""var"" can mean variations in the spectral type.
White dwarf stars have their own class that begins with the letter "D". This is further sub-divided into the classes "DA", "DB", "DC", "DO", "DZ", and "DQ", depending on the types of prominent lines found in the spectrum. This is followed by a numerical value that indicates the temperature.
Variable stars have periodic or random changes in luminosity because of intrinsic or extrinsic properties. Of the intrinsically variable stars, the primary types can be subdivided into three principal groups.
During their stellar evolution, some stars pass through phases where they can become pulsating variables. Pulsating variable stars vary in radius and luminosity over time, expanding and contracting with periods ranging from minutes to years, depending on the size of the star. This category includes Cepheid and Cepheid-like stars, and long-period variables such as Mira.
Eruptive variables are stars that experience sudden increases in luminosity because of flares or mass ejection events. This group includes protostars, Wolf-Rayet stars, and flare stars, as well as giant and supergiant stars.
Cataclysmic or explosive variable stars are those that undergo a dramatic change in their properties. This group includes novae and supernovae. A binary star system that includes a nearby white dwarf can produce certain types of these spectacular stellar explosions, including the nova and a Type 1a supernova. The explosion is created when the white dwarf accretes hydrogen from the companion star, building up mass until the hydrogen undergoes fusion. Some novae are also recurrent, having periodic outbursts of moderate amplitude.
Stars can also vary in luminosity because of extrinsic factors, such as eclipsing binaries, as well as rotating stars that produce extreme starspots. A notable example of an eclipsing binary is Algol, which regularly varies in magnitude from 2.1 to 3.4 over a period of 2.87 days.
The interior of a stable star is in a state of hydrostatic equilibrium: the forces on any small volume almost exactly counterbalance each other. The balanced forces are inward gravitational force and an outward force due to the pressure gradient within the star. The pressure gradient is established by the temperature gradient of the plasma; the outer part of the star is cooler than the core. The temperature at the core of a main sequence or giant star is at least on the order of 107 K. The resulting temperature and pressure at the hydrogen-burning core of a main sequence star are sufficient for nuclear fusion to occur and for sufficient energy to be produced to prevent further collapse of the star.
As atomic nuclei are fused in the core, they emit energy in the form of gamma rays. These photons interact with the surrounding plasma, adding to the thermal energy at the core. Stars on the main sequence convert hydrogen into helium, creating a slowly but steadily increasing proportion of helium in the core. Eventually the helium content becomes predominant, and energy production ceases at the core. Instead, for stars of more than 0.4 , fusion occurs in a slowly expanding shell around the degenerate helium core.
In addition to hydrostatic equilibrium, the interior of a stable star will also maintain an energy balance of thermal equilibrium. There is a radial temperature gradient throughout the interior that results in a flux of energy flowing toward the exterior. The outgoing flux of energy leaving any layer within the star will exactly match the incoming flux from below.
The radiation zone is the region of the stellar interior where the flux of energy outward is dependent on radiative heat transfer, since convective heat transfer is inefficient in that zone. In this region the plasma will not be perturbed, and any mass motions will die out. If this is not the case, however, then the plasma becomes unstable and convection will occur, forming a convection zone. This can occur, for example, in regions where very high energy fluxes occur, such as near the core or in areas with high opacity (making radiatative heat transfer inefficient) as in the outer envelope.
The occurrence of convection in the outer envelope of a main sequence star depends on the star's mass. Stars with several times the mass of the Sun have a convection zone deep within the interior and a radiative zone in the outer layers. Smaller stars such as the Sun are just the opposite, with the convective zone located in the outer layers. Red dwarf stars with less than 0.4 are convective throughout, which prevents the accumulation of a helium core. For most stars the convective zones will also vary over time as the star ages and the constitution of the interior is modified.
The photosphere is that portion of a star that is visible to an observer. This is the layer at which the plasma of the star becomes transparent to photons of light. From here, the energy generated at the core becomes free to propagate into space. It is within the photosphere that sun spots, regions of lower than average temperature, appear.
Above the level of the photosphere is the stellar atmosphere. In a main sequence star such as the Sun, the lowest level of the atmosphere, just above the photosphere, is the thin chromosphere region, where spicules appear and stellar flares begin. Above this is the transition region, where the temperature rapidly increases within a distance of only . Beyond this is the corona, a volume of super-heated plasma that can extend outward to several million kilometres. The existence of a corona appears to be dependent on a convective zone in the outer layers of the star. Despite its high temperature, and the corona emits very little light, due to its low gas density. The corona region of the Sun is normally only visible during a solar eclipse.
From the corona, a stellar wind of plasma particles expands outward from the star, until it interacts with the interstellar medium. For the Sun, the influence of its solar wind extends throughout a bubble-shaped region called the heliosphere.
A variety of nuclear fusion reactions take place in the cores of stars, that depend upon their mass and composition. When nuclei fuse, the mass of the fused product is less than the mass of the original parts. This lost mass is converted to electromagnetic energy, according to the mass–energy equivalence relationship "E" = "mc"2.
The hydrogen fusion process is temperature-sensitive, so a moderate increase in the core temperature will result in a significant increase in the fusion rate. As a result, the core temperature of main sequence stars only varies from 4 million kelvin for a small M-class star to 40 million kelvin for a massive O-class star.
In the Sun, with a 10-million-kelvin core, hydrogen fuses to form helium in the proton–proton chain reaction:
These reactions result in the overall reaction:
where e+ is a positron, γ is a gamma ray photon, νe is a neutrino, and H and He are isotopes of hydrogen and helium, respectively. The energy released by this reaction is in millions of electron volts, which is actually only a tiny amount of energy. However enormous numbers of these reactions occur constantly, producing all the energy necessary to sustain the star's radiation output. In comparison, the combustion of two hydrogen gas molecules with one oxygen gas molecule releases only 5.7 eV.
In more massive stars, helium is produced in a cycle of reactions catalyzed by carbon called the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle.
In evolved stars with cores at 100 million kelvin and masses between 0.5 and 10 , helium can be transformed into carbon in the triple-alpha process that uses the intermediate element beryllium:
For an overall reaction of:
In massive stars, heavier elements can also be burned in a contracting core through the neon-burning process and oxygen-burning process. The final stage in the stellar nucleosynthesis process is the silicon-burning process that results in the production of the stable isotope iron-56. Any further fusion would be an endothermic process that consumes energy, and so further energy can only be produced through gravitational collapse.
The table at the left shows the amount of time required for a star of 20 to consume all of its nuclear fuel. As an O-class main sequence star, it would be 8 times the solar radius and 62,000 times the Sun's luminosity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26808 |
StarCraft (video game)
StarCraft is a 1998 military science fiction real-time strategy game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. The game spawned the StarCraft franchise, and became the first game of the video game series. A Classic Mac OS version was released in 1999, and a Nintendo 64 adaptation, co-developed with Mass Media, was released in 2000.
Blizzard started work on the game shortly after "", another real-time strategy game, was released in 1995. The first incarnation debuted at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo, where it was unfavorably compared to "Warcraft II". As a result, the project was entirely overhauled before being showcased to the public in early 1997, at which time it received a far more positive response. The game's multiplayer is particularly popular in South Korea, as of 2006, where players and teams participate in , earn sponsorships, and compete in televised tournaments.
Set in a fictitious future timeline during the 25th century AD in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy known as the "Koprulu Sector", the game revolves around three intelligent species fighting for dominance: the Terrans are humans exiled from Earth who are now skilled at adapting to any situation; the Zerg are a race of insectoid aliens in pursuit of genetic perfection and obsessed with assimilating other races; the Protoss are a humanoid species with advanced technology and psionic abilities who are attempting to preserve their civilization and strict philosophy about their way of life from the Zerg.
Many journalists of the video game industry have praised "StarCraft" as one of the most important, and one of the greatest video games of all time. The game is also said to have raised the bar for developing real-time strategy (RTS) games. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide by February 2009, "StarCraft" became one of the best-selling games for the personal computer. It has been praised for pioneering the use of unique "factions" in RTS gameplay, and for having a compelling story.
"StarCraft" has had its storyline adapted and expanded through a series of novels published between 2000 and 2016, the expansion pack "", and two officially authorized add-ons, and "Retribution". A sequel, "", was released in July 2010, which generated two expansion packs and a campaign pack between 2013 and 2016, while of the original and its expansion pack was released in August 2017. The original game, along with the expansion, was released for free in April 2017.
Blizzard Entertainment's use of three distinct races in "StarCraft" is widely credited with revolutionizing the real-time strategy genre. All units are unique to their respective races, and while rough comparisons can be drawn between certain types of units in the technology tree, every unit performs differently and requires different tactics for a player to succeed.
The psionic and technologically adept Protoss have access to powerful units and machinery and advanced technologies such as energy shields and localized warp capabilities, powered by their psionic traits. However, their forces have lengthy and expensive manufacturing processes, encouraging players to follow a strategy of the quality of their units over the quantity. The insectoid Zerg possess entirely organic units and structures, which can be produced quickly and at a far cheaper cost to resources, but are accordingly weaker, relying on sheer numbers and speed to overwhelm enemies. The humanoid Terrans provide a middle ground between the other two races, providing units that are versatile and flexible. They have access to a range of more ballistic military technologies and machinery, such as tanks and nuclear weapons.
Although each race is unique in its composition, no race has an innate advantage over the other. Each species is balanced out so that while they have different strengths, powers, and abilities, their overall strength is the same. The balance stays complete via infrequent patches (game updates) provided by Blizzard.
"StarCraft" features artificial intelligence that scales in difficulty, although the player cannot change the difficulty level in the single-player campaigns. Each campaign starts with enemy factions running easy AI modes, scaling through the course of the campaign to the hardest AI modes. In the level editor provided with the game, a designer has access to four levels of AI difficulties: "easy", "medium", "hard", and "insane", each setting differing in the units and technologies allowed to an AI faction and the extent of the AI's tactical and strategic planning. The single-player campaign consists of thirty missions, split into ten for each race.
Each race relies on two resources to sustain their game economies and to build their forces: minerals and vespene gas. Minerals are needed for all units and structures, and they are obtained by using a worker unit to harvest the resource directly from mineral nodes scattered around the battlefield. Players require vespene gas to construct advanced units and buildings, and they acquire it by constructing a gas extraction building on top of a geyser and using worker units to extract the gas from it. In addition, players need to regulate the supplies for their forces to ensure that they can construct the number of units they need. Although the nature of the supply differs between the races—Terrans use physical supplies held in depots, Protoss use psionic energy channeled from their homeworld via pylons, and Zerg are regulated by the number of controlling overlord units present—the supply mechanic essentially works in exactly the same way for each race (just with differing impacts on gameplay), allowing players to create new units when there are sufficient resources to sustain them.
Protoss and Zerg building construction is limited to specific locations: Protoss buildings need to be linked to a power grid, while almost every Zerg structure must be placed on a carpet of biomass, called "creep", that is produced by certain structures. Terran buildings are far less limited, with certain primary base structures possessing the ability to take off and fly slowly to a new location. Terran buildings, however, require the worker unit to continue construction on the building until it is completed. Also, once a Terran building has taken a certain amount of damage, it will catch fire and can eventually burn to the ground without further enemy action if repairs are not performed by a worker unit. The Protoss, by contrast, only require a worker unit to begin the process of transporting a building to the theater of operations via warp, and their buildings' shields (but not their structure) are regenerative. The Zerg worker unit physically transforms into the structure created, which is capable of slowly healing itself.
Multiplayer on "StarCraft" is powered through Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net Internet service. Through this, a maximum of eight players can compete in a variety of game modes, including simply destroying all other players (which may be competitive, as in Ladder play, or non-ranked, as in melee play), to king of the hill and capture the flag objective-based games. In addition, the game incorporates a variety of specialized scenarios for different types of game, such as simulating a football game, using the Terran hoverbike unit to conduct a bike race, or hosting a Zerg hunting competition. "StarCraft" is also one of the few games that include a spawn installation, which allows for limited multiplayer. It must be installed from a disc, and requires a product key to work just as the full version does. However, one product key can support up to eight spawned installations with access to Battle.net. Limitations of a spawned installation include the inability to play single-player missions, create multiplayer games, or use the campaign editor. Newer releases of the game available through Battle.net or discs that include the Windows Vista label don't support the spawn installation.
"StarCraft" takes place in a science fiction universe created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney for Blizzard Entertainment. According to the story presented in the game's manual, the overpopulation of Earth in the early 24th century has caused the international governing body, known as United Powers League (which was later succeeded by United Earth Directorate), to exile certain members of the human race, such as criminals, the cybernetically enhanced, and genetic mutants, to colonize the far reaches of the galaxy. An attempt to colonize a nearby solar system goes wrong, resulting in humanity's arrival in the Koprulu Sector. In the distant Koprulu Sector of the galaxy, the exiles form several governments, but quickly fall into conflict with each other. One government, the Confederacy of Man, eventually emerges as the strongest faction, but its oppressive nature and brutal methods of suppressing dissidents stir up major rebel opposition in the form of a terrorist group called the Sons of Korhal. Just prior to the beginning of the game, in December 2499, an alien race possessing advanced technology and psionic power, the Protoss, makes first contact with humanity by destroying a Confederate colony world without any prior warning. Soon after this, the Terrans discover that a second alien race, the insectoid Zerg, has been stealthily infesting the surface of several of the Terran colonies, and that the Protoss are destroying the planets to prevent the Zerg from spreading. With the Confederacy threatened by two alien races and internal rebellion, it begins to crumble.
The player assumes the role of three nameless characters over the course of the game. In the first act, the player acts as the Confederate magistrate of an outlying colony world of Mar Sara, threatened by both the Zerg and the Protoss, and is forced through events to join the rebel Sons of Korhal under its leader Arcturus Mengsk. Mengsk's campaign is accompanied by Jim Raynor, a morally conscious law enforcement officer from Mar Sara, and Sarah Kerrigan, a psychic assassin and Mengsk's second-in-command. The second episode of the game sees the player as a cerebrate, a commander within the Zerg Swarm. The player is ruled over by the Zerg Overmind — the manifestation of the collective consciousness of the Swarm and the game's primary antagonist — and is given advice from other cerebrates of higher rank and status while accomplishing the objectives of the Swarm. In the final part of "StarCraft", the player is a newly appointed Executor within the Protoss military reporting to Aldaris, a representative of the Protoss government. Aldaris is at odds with Tassadar — the former occupant of the player's position — over his association with Zeratul, a member of a heretical group known as dark templar.
The story of "StarCraft" is presented through its instruction manual, the briefings to each mission, and conversations within the missions themselves, along with the use of cinematic cutscenes at key points. The game itself is split into three episodes, one for the player to command each race. In the first segment of the game, the player and Jim Raynor are attempting to control the colony of Mar Sara in the wake of the Zerg attacks on other Terran worlds. After the Confederacy arrests Raynor for destroying Confederate property, despite the fact that it had been infested by the Zerg, the player joins Arcturus Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal. Raynor, who is freed by Mengsk's troops, also joins and frequently accompanies the player on missions. Mengsk then begins to use Confederate technology captured on Mar Sara to lure the Zerg to Confederate installations and further his own goals. After forcing Confederate general Edmund Duke to join him, Mengsk sacrifices his own second-in-command, Sarah Kerrigan, to ensure the destruction of the Confederacy by luring the Zerg to the Confederate capital Tarsonis. Raynor is outraged by Mengsk's true aims of obtaining power at any cost and deserts, taking with him a small army of the former colonial militia of Mar Sara. Mengsk reorganizes what remains of the Terran population into the Terran Dominion, crowning himself as emperor.
The second campaign reveals that Kerrigan was not killed by the Zerg, but rather is captured and infested in an effort to incorporate her psionic traits into the Zerg gene pool. She emerges with far more psionic powers and physical strength, her DNA completely altered. Meanwhile, the Protoss commander Tassadar discovers that the Zerg's cerebrates cannot be killed by conventional means, but that they can be harmed by the powers wielded by the heretical dark templar. Tassadar allies himself with the dark templar prelate Zeratul, who assassinates Zasz, one of the Zerg's cerebrates in their hive clusters on Char. The cerebrate's death results in its forces running amok through the Zerg hives, but briefly links the minds of Zeratul and the Zerg Overmind, allowing the Overmind to finally learn the location of the Protoss homeworld Aiur, which the Overmind has been seeking for millennia. The main Zerg swarm promptly invades Aiur, while Kerrigan is dispatched to deal with Tassadar, and despite facing heavy Protoss resistance, the Overmind is able to embed itself into the crust of the planet.
The final episode of the game sees Aldaris and the Protoss government branding Tassadar a traitor and a heretic for conspiring with the dark templar. The player (later hinted to be Artanis) initially serves Aldaris in defending Aiur from the Zerg invasion, but while on a mission to arrest Tassadar, the player joins him instead. A Protoss civil war erupts, pitting Tassadar, Zeratul, and their allies against the Protoss establishment. The dark templar prove their worth when they use their energies to slay two more of the Zerg cerebrates on Aiur, and the Conclave reconciles with them. Aided by Raynor's forces—who sided with Tassadar back on Char—the Protoss break through the Overmind's weakened defenses and destroy the Overmind's outer shell, but take heavy casualties in the process. Tassadar channels his own psionic energies in combination with those of the dark templar through the hull of his command ship and crashes it into the Overmind, sacrificing himself in order to destroy it.
Blizzard Entertainment began development on "StarCraft" in 1995, shortly after the release of highly successful "". Using the "Tides of Darkness" game engine as a base, "StarCraft" made its debut at E3 1996. The version of the game displayed, assembled by the team's lead programmer Bob Fitch, received a rather weak response from the convention and was criticized by many for being ""Warcraft" in space." As a consequence the entire project was overhauled, bringing the focus onto creating three distinct species. Bill Roper, one of the game's producers, stated this would be a major departure from the "Warcraft" approach, comparing its two equal sides to those of chess and stating that "StarCraft" would allow players to "develop very unique strategies based on which species is being played, and will require players to think of different strategies to combat the other two species." The hand-drawn graphics seen in the E3 version were also replaced with rendered graphics. In early 1997, the new version of "StarCraft" was unveiled, receiving a far more positive response.
However, the game was still marred by technical difficulties, so Bob Fitch completely redesigned the "Warcraft II" engine within two months to ensure that many of the features desired by the designers, such as the abilities for units to burrow and cloak, could be implemented. Later improvements to the game included pre-rendered sprites and backgrounds, constructed using 3D Studio Max. An isometric in-game view was also adopted, in contrast to "Warcraft II"s 3/4s birdseye perspective. In addition, the game utilized high quality music, composed by Blizzard's resident composers, and professional voice actors were hired.
Despite the progress, "StarCraft" was slow to emerge. The continual delays inspired a group of "StarCraft" fans on the official forums who labeled themselves "Operation: Can't Wait Any Longer" to write a series of fictional stories in which the members of Operation CWAL attempted to retrieve the beta version of "StarCraft" from Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California. To pay homage to their presence on the forums and enthusiasm for the game, Blizzard Entertainment later incorporated the group's name into "StarCraft" as a cheat code to speed up the production of units and gave the group thanks in the game's credits. The game was released for Windows on March 31, 1998, with the Classic Mac OS version following a year later in 1999. Development on a Nintendo 64 version, "StarCraft 64", began in 1999, converted from PC by Mass Media Interactive Entertainment—a subsidiary of THQ—and published by Nintendo. "StarCraft 64" was released on June 13, 2000 in the US and Europe. It was also released in Australia on May 25, 2001.
The musical score to "StarCraft" was composed by Blizzard Entertainment's composers. Glenn Stafford composed the Terran and Protoss in-game themes, while Derek Duke, who was a contracted composer at the time, wrote all the in-game music for the Zerg. The cinematic scores were composed by Stafford and Hayes. Hayes also collaborated with Stafford on one of the Protoss in-game tracks. Tracy W. Bush provided additional support in composing. The musical score of the game was received well by reviewers, who have described it as "appropriately melodic and dark" and "impressive", with one reviewer noting that some of the music owed much of its inspiration to Jerry Goldsmith's score for the film "Alien". The first official game soundtrack, "StarCraft: Game Music Vol. 1", was released in 2000, comprising tracks from both "StarCraft" and "", as well as a sizable portion of remix tracks and music inspired by "StarCraft", created by several South Korean disc jockeys. The soundtrack was distributed by Net Vision Entertainment. In September 2008, Blizzard Entertainment announced that a second soundtrack, "StarCraft Original Soundtrack", had been released on iTunes. This soundtrack consisted entirely of the original music from "StarCraft" and "Brood War", both from in-game themes to music used in the cinematic cut scenes.
Before the release of "StarCraft", Blizzard Entertainment released a free-to-download game demo entitled "Loomings", comprising three missions and a tutorial. The prequel was made available for the full game in October 1999 as a custom map campaign, adding two extra missions and hosting it on Battle.net. In addition, the full release of "StarCraft" included a secondary campaign entitled "Enslavers". Consisting of five missions played as both the Terrans and the Protoss, "Enslavers" is set in the second campaign in "StarCraft" and follows the story of a Terran smuggler who manages to take control of a Zerg cerebrate and is pursued by both the Protoss and Terran Dominion. "Enslavers" acts as an exemplar single-player campaign for the game's level editor, highlighting how to use the features of the program.
"StarCraft"s first expansion, Insurrection, was released for Windows on July 31, 1998. The expansion was developed by Aztech New Media and authorized by Blizzard Entertainment. Its story focused on a separate Confederate colony alluded to in the manual to "StarCraft", following a group of Terran colonists and a Protoss fleet in their fight against the Zerg and a rising local insurgency. "Insurrection" was not received well, being criticized by reviewers for lacking the quality of the original game. "Insurrection" was followed within a few months by a second expansion, Retribution. Developed by Stardock, published by WizardWorks and authorized by Blizzard Entertainment, "Retribution" follows all three races attempting to seize control of a powerful crystal on a Terran Dominion colony. The expansion was not received with critical support, instead being regarded as average but at least challenging. After the release of "Retribution", Blizzard Entertainment announced a new official expansion pack that would continue on the story of "StarCraft". "" was consequently created, developed jointly by Blizzard Entertainment and Saffire. "Brood War" continues the story of "StarCraft" from days after its conclusion, and was released for both Windows and Mac to critical praise on December 18, 1998 in the US and in March 1999 in Europe.
Before Insurrection, an unauthorized expansion pack, called Stellar Forces, was published by Micro Star but was recalled weeks later when Blizzard won the court case against it. It consisted of 22 single player maps and 32 multi-player maps which are considered to be rather plain.
In 2000, "StarCraft 64" was released In North America for the Nintendo 64, co-developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Mass Media Inc. and published by Nintendo. The game featured all of the missions from both "StarCraft" and the expansion "Brood War", as well as some exclusive missions, such as two different tutorials and a new secret mission, "Resurrection IV". Blizzard Entertainment had previously considered a PlayStation port of the game, but it was decided that the game would instead be released on the Nintendo 64. "Resurrection IV" is set after the conclusion of "Brood War", and follows Jim Raynor embarking on a mission to rescue the "Brood War" character Alexei Stukov, a vice admiral from Earth who has been captured by the Zerg. The "Brood War" missions required the use of a Nintendo 64 memory Expansion Pak to run. In addition, "StarCraft 64" features a split screen cooperative mode, also requiring the expansion pak, allowing two players to control one force in-game. "StarCraft 64" lacked the online multiplayer capabilities and speech in mission briefings. In addition, cut scenes were shortened.
A remastered edition of the game, "", released August 14, 2017, preserves the gameplay of the original while adding support for ultra-high-definition graphics, Blizzard's modern online features, and re-recorded audio (soundtrack and sound effects).
On June 8, 2019, as part of the grand finals of the third season of the KSL, Blizzard announced a graphics overhaul pack for the game by Carbot Animations, the producers of multiple Blizzard-related parody animations, including their first and longest-running one, the "StarCrafts" series. As a graphical overhaul, its effect applies to all game modes and menus in "StarCraft: Remastered". It was released on July 10, 2019 as "StarCraft: Cartooned" alongside an announcer pack featuring South Korean YouTuber and children's television host Hyejin "Hey Jini" Kang.
"StarCraft" was released internationally on March 31, 1998 and became the best-selling PC game for that year, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. In the United States, it was the best-selling computer game of 1998, with 746,365 units sold. It was the country's 14th best-selling release of the period between 1993 and 1999, selling 916,000 copies. By April 1999, South Korean players had purchased almost 300,000 units of the game. "StarCraft"s worldwide sales reached 4 million units by July 2001; South Korea accounted for 50% of these copies. By May 2007, "StarCraft" had sold over 9.5 million copies across the globe, with 4.5 million of these being sold in South Korea. Since the initial release of "StarCraft", Blizzard Entertainment reported that its Battle.net online multiplayer service grew by 800 percent.
Generally, "StarCraft" was received positively by critics, with many contemporary reviewers noting that while the game may not have deviated significantly from the status quo of most real-time strategy games, it was one of the best to have applied the formula. In addition, "StarCraft"s pioneering use of three distinct, unique, and balanced races over two equal sides was praised by critics, with GameSpot commenting that this helped the game to "avoid the problem that has plagued every other game in the genre". Many critics also praised the strength of the story accompanying the game, with some reviewers being impressed by how well the story was folded into the gameplay. The game's voice acting in particular was praised; GameSpot later hailed the voice work in the game as one of the ten best in the industry at the time. Equally, the multiplayer aspects of the game were positively received. "StarCraft" has received multiple awards, including being named as one of the best games of all time by GameSpot, IGN, and "Game Informer". According to Blizzard Entertainment, "StarCraft" has won 37 awards and has received a star on the floor of the Metreon as part of the Walk of Game in San Francisco in early 2006.
"Next Generation" reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it five stars out of five, and stated that "The quality of the play balancing and the elegance of the design mean that "StarCraft" sets a new high watermark for all real-time strategy games."
The reviewer from the online second volume of "Pyramid" stated that "One of the most hotly anticipated computer games of the last two years, Blizzard Entertainment's "Starcraft" has had a tremendous amount of hype to live up to. The fact that it "does" live up to the high expectations set for it may be the only recommendation it needs."
Although at the time "StarCraft"s graphics and audio were praised by critics, later reviews have noted that the graphics do not compare to more modern games. The capacity for the game's artificial intelligence to navigate units to waypoints also faced some heavy criticism, with "PC Zone" stating that the inability for developers to make an effective pathfinding system was "the single most infuriating element of the real-time strategy genre". In addition, several reviewers expressed concern over some familiarities between the unit structures of each race, as well as over the potential imbalance of players using rushing tactics early in multiplayer games. Blizzard Entertainment has strived to balance rush tactics in later updates. The Nintendo 64 version of the game was not received as positively by reviewers, and was criticized for poor graphics in comparison to the PC version. However, critics did praise the game and Mass Media for using effective controls on the gamepad and maintaining the high quality audio.
"Starcraft" won the Origins Award for Best Strategy Computer Game of 1998.
In 1998, "PC Gamer" declared it the 5th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "a strategy game that continues to evolve and surprise many months after its release, and that currently represents the state of the genre's art".
With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide by February 2009, "StarCraft" became one of the best-selling games for the personal computer. It has been praised for pioneering the use of unique "factions" in RTS gameplay, and for having a compelling story.
GameSpot described "StarCraft" as "The defining game of its genre. It is the standard by which all real-time strategy games are judged." IGN stated that "StarCraft" "is hands down one of the best, if not the best, real-time strategy games ever created." "StarCraft" is frequently included in the industry's best games rankings, for example it ranked 37 in "Edge"s top 100 games of all time. "StarCraft" has even been taken into space, as Daniel Barry took a copy of the game with him on the Space Shuttle mission STS-96 in 1999. "StarCraft"s popularity resulted in "Guinness World Records" awarding the game four world records, including "Best Selling PC Strategy Game," "Largest Income in Professional Gaming," and "Largest Audience for a Game Competition" when 120,000 fans turned out to watch the final of the SKY proleague season 2005 in Busan, South Korea. Researchers have shown that the audience for watching "StarCraft" games is diverse and that "StarCraft" uses instances of information asymmetry to make the game more entertaining for spectators. In addition, "StarCraft" has been the subject of an academic course; the University of California, Berkeley offered a student-run introductory course on theory and strategy in spring 2009.
After its release, "StarCraft" rapidly grew in popularity in South Korea, eventually making its way to become the country's national e-sport after establishing a successful pro-gaming scene. Professional gamers in South Korea are media celebrities, and "StarCraft" games are broadcast over three television channels dedicated to the professional gaming scene. Professional gamers in South Korea have gained television contracts, sponsorships, and tournament prizes, allowing one of the most famous players, Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan, to gain a fan club of over half a million people. One player, Lee Yun-yeol, reported earnings in 2005 of .
"StarCraft" was part of the United States Air Force's Air and Space Basic Course, used to teach newly active officers about crisis planning under stress and joint service teamwork. Other efforts to make more 'realistic' current-day battle software led to distractions when simulated hardware didn't align with the real hardware active duty officers knew about. The science fiction setting allowed students to focus on the battle tactics.
The annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment hosts a competition for AIs playing the game. As of 2015, humans still win.
In 2014, an unofficial version for the Pandora handheld and the ARM architecture became available by static recompilation and reverse engineering of the original x86 version.
The original game, along with the expansion, was released for free in April 2017.
The storyline of "StarCraft" has been adapted into several novels. The first novel, "Uprising", which was written by Blizzard employee Micky Neilson and published in December 2000, acts as a prequel to the events of "StarCraft". Other novels—"Liberty's Crusade" by Jeff Grubb and Aaron Rosenberg's "Queen of Blades"—retell the story of the game from different perspectives. At BlizzCon 2007, "StarCraft" creator Chris Metzen stated that he hoped to novelize the entirety of "StarCraft" and its expansion "Brood War" into a definitive text-based story. Later novels, such as Gabriel Mesta's "Shadow of the Xel'Naga" and Christie Golden's "The Dark Templar Saga", further expand the storyline, creating the setting for "".
A number of action figures and collectable statues based upon the characters and units in "StarCraft" have been produced by ToyCom. A number of model kits, made by Academy Hobby Model Kits, were also produced, displaying 1/30 scale versions of the marine and the hydralisk. In addition, Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with Fantasy Flight Games to create a board game with detailed sculptures of game characters. Blizzard Entertainment also licensed Wizards of the Coast to produce an Alternity based game entitled "StarCraft Adventures". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26809 |
Skepticism
Skepticism (American English and Canadian English) or scepticism (British English and Australian English) is generally a questioning attitude or doubt towards one or more items of putative knowledge or belief or dogma. It is often directed at domains, such as the supernatural, morality (moral skepticism), theism (skepticism about the existence of God), or knowledge (skepticism about the possibility of knowledge, or of certainty). Formally, skepticism as a topic occurs in the context of philosophy, particularly epistemology, although it can be applied to any topic such as politics, religion, and pseudoscience.
Philosophical skepticism comes in various forms. Radical forms of skepticism deny that knowledge or rational belief is possible and urge us to suspend judgment on many or all controversial matters. More moderate forms of skepticism claim only that nothing can be known with certainty, or that we can know little or nothing about the big questions in life, such as whether God exists or whether there is an afterlife. Religious skepticism is "doubt concerning basic religious principles (such as immortality, providence, and revelation)". Scientific skepticism concerns testing beliefs for reliability, by subjecting them to systematic investigation using the scientific method, to discover empirical evidence for them.
In ordinary usage, skepticism (US) or scepticism (UK) (Greek: 'σκέπτομαι' "skeptomai", to search, to think about or look for; see also spelling differences) can refer to:
In philosophy, skepticism can refer to:
As a philosophical school or movement, skepticism arose both in ancient Greece and India. In India the Ajñana school of philosophy espoused skepticism. It was a major early rival of Buddhism and Jainism, and a major influence on Buddhism. Two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, Sariputta and Moggallāna, were initially the students of the Ajñana philosopher Sanjaya Belatthiputta, and a strong element of skepticism is found in Early Buddhism, most particularly in the Aṭṭhakavagga sutra. Since skepticism is a philosophical attitude and a style of philosophising rather than a position, the Ajñanins may have influenced other skeptical thinkers of India such as Nagarjuna, Jayarāśi Bhaṭṭa, and Shriharsha.
In Greece philosophers as early as Xenophanes (c. 570 – c. 475 BC) expressed skeptical views, as did Democritus
and a number of Sophists. Gorgias, for example, reputedly argued that nothing exists, that even if there were something we could not know it, and that even if we could know it we could not communicate it. The Heraclitean philosopher Cratylus refused to discuss anything and would merely wriggle his finger, claiming that communication is impossible since meanings are constantly changing. Socrates also had skeptical tendencies, claiming that he knew nothing, or at least nothing worthwhile.
There were two major schools of skepticism in the ancient Greek and Roman world. The first was Pyrrhonism, was founded by Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360–270 BCE). The second was Academic Skepticism, so-called because its two leading defenders, Arcesilaus (c. 315–240 BCE) who initiated the philosophy, and Carneades (c. 217–128 BCE), the philosophy's most famous proponent, were heads of Plato's Academy. Pyrrhonism's aims are psychological. It urges suspension of judgment ("epoche") to achieve mental tranquility ("ataraxia"). The Academic Skeptics denied that knowledge is possible. The Academic Skeptics claimed that some beliefs are more reasonable or probable than others, whereas Pyrrhonian skeptics argue that equally compelling arguments can be given for or against any disputed view. Nearly all the writings of the ancient skeptics are now lost. Most of what we know about ancient skepticism is from Sextus Empiricus, a Pyrrhonian skeptic who lived in the second or third century CE. His works contain a lucid summary of stock skeptical arguments.
Ancient skepticism faded out during the late Roman Empire, particularly after Augustine (354–430 CE) attacked the skeptics in his work "Against the Academics" (386 CE). There was little knowledge of, or interest in, ancient skepticism in Christian Europe during the Middle Ages. Interest revived during the Renaissance and Reformation, particularly after the complete writings of Sextus Empiricus were translated into Latin in 1569. A number of Catholic writers, including Francisco Sanches (c. 1550–1623), Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655), and Marin Mersenne (1588–1648) deployed ancient skeptical arguments to defend moderate forms of skepticism and to argue that faith, rather than reason, must be the primary guide to truth. Similar arguments were offered later (perhaps ironically) by the Protestant thinker Pierre Bayle in his influential Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697–1702).
The growing popularity of skeptical views created an intellectual crisis in seventeenth-century Europe. One major response was offered by the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes (1596–1650). In his classic work, "Meditations of First Philosophy" (1641), Descartes sought to refute skepticism, but only after he had formulated the case for skepticism as powerfully as possible. Descartes argued that no matter what radical skeptical possibilities we imagine there are certain truths (e.g., that thinking is occurring, or that I exist) that are absolutely certain. Thus, the ancient skeptics were wrong to claim that knowledge is impossible. Descartes also attempted to refute skeptical doubts about the reliability of our senses, our memory, and other cognitive faculties. To do this, Descartes tried to prove that God exists and that God would not allow us to be systematically deceived about the nature of reality. Many contemporary philosophers question whether this second stage of Descartes' critique of skepticism is successful.
In the eighteenth century a powerful new case for skepticism was offered by the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711–1776). Hume was an empiricist, claiming that all genuine ideas can be traced back to original impressions of sensation or introspective consciousness. Hume argued forcefully that on empiricist grounds there are no sound reasons for belief in God, an enduring self or soul, an external world, causal necessity, objective morality, or inductive reasoning. In fact, he argued that "Philosophy would render us entirely Pyrrhonian, were not Nature too strong for it." As Hume saw it, the real basis of human belief is not reason, but custom or habit. We are hard-wired by nature to trust, say, our memories or inductive reasoning, and no skeptical arguments, however powerful, can dislodge those beliefs. In this way, Hume embraced what he called a "mitigated" skepticism, while rejecting an "excessive" Pyrrhonian skepticism that he saw as both impractical and psychologically impossible.
Hume's skepticism provoked a number of important responses. Hume's Scottish contemporary, Thomas Reid (1710–1796), challenged Hume's strict empiricism and argued that it is rational to accept "common-sense" beliefs such as the basic reliability of our senses, our reason, our memories, and inductive reasoning, even though none of these things can be proved. In Reid's view, such common-sense beliefs are foundational and require no proof in order to be rationally justified. Not long after Hume's death, the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) argued that human moral awareness makes no sense unless we reject Hume's skeptical conclusions about the existence of God, the soul, free will, and an afterlife. According to Kant, while Hume was right to claim that we cannot strictly "know" any of these things, our moral experience entitles us to believe in them.
Today, skepticism continues to be a topic of lively debate among philosophers.
Religious skepticism generally refers to doubting given religious beliefs or claims. Historically, religious skepticism can be traced back to Xenophanes, who doubted many religious claims of his time. Modern religious skepticism typically emphasizes scientific and historical methods or evidence, with Michael Shermer writing that skepticism is a process for discovering the truth rather than general non-acceptance. For example, a religious skeptic might believe that Jesus existed while questioning claims that he was the messiah or performed miracles (see historicity of Jesus). Religious skepticism is not the same as atheism or agnosticism, though these often do involve skeptical attitudes toward religion and philosophical theology (for example, towards divine omnipotence). Religious people are generally skeptical about claims of other religions, at least when the two denominations conflict concerning some stated belief. Additionally, they may also be skeptical of the claims made by atheists. The historian Will Durant writes that Plato was "as skeptical of atheism as of any other dogma".
A scientific or empirical skeptic is one who questions beliefs on the basis of scientific understanding and empirical evidence.
Scientific skepticism may discard beliefs pertaining to "purported phenomena" not subject to reliable observation and thus not systematic or testable empirically. Most scientists, being scientific skeptics, test the reliability of certain kinds of claims by subjecting them to a systematic investigation using some type of the scientific method. As a result, a number of claims are considered as "pseudoscience", if they are found to improperly apply or ignore the fundamental aspects of the scientific method.
Professional skepticism is an important concept in auditing. It requires an auditor to have a "questioning mind", to make a critical assessment of evidence, and to consider the sufficiency of the evidence. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26810 |
Stagflation
In economics, stagflation or recession-inflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. It presents a dilemma for economic policy, since actions intended to lower inflation may exacerbate unemployment.
The term, a portmanteau of "stagnation" and "inflation", is generally attributed to Iain Macleod, a British Conservative Party politician who became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1970. Macleod used the word in a 1965 speech to Parliament during a period of simultaneously high inflation and unemployment in the United Kingdom. Warning the House of Commons of the gravity of the situation, he said:
Macleod used the term again on 7 July 1970, and the media began also to use it, for example in "The Economist" on 15 August 1970, and "Newsweek" on 19 March 1973.
John Maynard Keynes did not use the term, but some of his work refers to the conditions that most would recognise as stagflation. In the version of Keynesian macroeconomic theory that was dominant between the end of World War II and the late 1970s, inflation and recession were regarded as mutually exclusive, the relationship between the two being described by the Phillips curve. Stagflation is very costly and difficult to eradicate once it starts, both in social terms and in budget deficits.
The term "stagflation", a portmanteau of "stagnation" and "inflation", was first coined during a period of inflation and unemployment in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom experienced an outbreak of inflation in the 1960s and 1970s. Inflation rose in the 1960s and 1970s, UK policy makers failed to recognize the primary role of monetary policy in controlling inflation. Instead, they attempted to use non-monetary policies and devices to respond to the economic crisis. Policy makers also made "inaccurate estimates of the degree of excess demand in the economy, [which] contributed significantly to the outbreak of inflation in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s.
Stagflation was not limited to the United Kingdom, however. Economists have shown that stagflation was prevalent among seven major market economies from 1973 to 1982. After inflation rates began to fall in 1982, economists' focus shifted from the causes of stagflation to the "determinants of productivity growth and the effects of real wages on the demand for labor".
Economists offer two principal explanations for why stagflation occurs. First, stagflation can result when the economy faces a supply shock, such as a rapid increase in the price of oil. An unfavorable situation like that tends to raise prices at the same time as it slows economic growth by making production more costly and less profitable.
Second, the government can cause stagflation if it creates policies that harm industry while growing the money supply too quickly. These two things would probably have to occur simultaneously because policies that slow economic growth do not usually cause inflation, and policies that cause inflation do not usually slow economic growth.
Both explanations are offered in analyses of the 1970s stagflation in the West. It began with a huge rise in oil prices, but then continued as central banks used excessively stimulative monetary policy to counteract the resulting recession, causing a price/wage spiral.
Up to the 1960s, many Keynesian economists ignored the possibility of stagflation, because historical experience suggested that high unemployment was typically associated with low inflation, and vice versa (this relationship is called the Phillips curve). The idea was that high demand for goods drives up prices, and also encourages firms to hire more; and likewise high employment raises demand. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, when stagflation occurred, it became obvious that the relationship between inflation and employment levels was not necessarily stable: that is, the Phillips relationship could shift. Macroeconomists became more skeptical of Keynesian theories, and Keynesians themselves reconsidered their ideas in search of an explanation for stagflation.
The explanation for the shift of the Phillips curve was initially provided by the monetarist economist Milton Friedman, and also by Edmund Phelps. Both argued that when workers and firms begin to expect more inflation, the Phillips curve shifts up (meaning that more inflation occurs at any given level of unemployment). In particular, they suggested that if inflation lasted for several years, workers and firms would start to take it into account during wage negotiations, causing workers' wages and firms' costs to rise more quickly, thus further increasing inflation. While this idea was a severe criticism of early Keynesian theories, it was gradually accepted by most Keynesians, and has been incorporated into New Keynesian economic models.
Neo-Keynesian theory distinguished two distinct kinds of inflation: demand-pull (caused by shifts of the aggregate demand curve) and cost-push (caused by shifts of the aggregate supply curve). Stagflation, in this view, is caused by cost-push inflation. Cost-push inflation occurs when some force or condition increases the costs of production. This could be caused by government policies (such as taxes) or from purely external factors such as a shortage of natural resources or an act of war.
Contemporary Keynesian analyses argue that stagflation can be understood by distinguishing factors that affect aggregate demand from those that affect aggregate supply. While monetary and fiscal policy can be used to stabilise the economy in the face of aggregate demand fluctuations, they are not very useful in confronting aggregate supply fluctuations. In particular, an adverse shock to aggregate supply, such as an increase in oil prices, can give rise to stagflation.
Supply theories are based on the neo-Keynesian cost-push model and attribute stagflation to significant disruptions to the supply side of the supply-demand market equation, such as when there is a sudden real or relative scarcity of key commodities, natural resources, or natural capital needed to produce goods and services. Other factors may also cause supply problems, for example, social and political conditions such as policy changes, acts of war, extremely restrictive government control of production. In this view, stagflation is thought to occur when there is an adverse supply shock (for example, a sudden increase in the price of oil or a new tax) that causes a subsequent jump in the "cost" of goods and services (often at the wholesale level). In technical terms, this results in contraction or negative shift in an economy's aggregate supply curve.
In the resource scarcity scenario (Zinam 1982), stagflation results when economic growth is inhibited by a restricted supply of raw materials. That is, when the actual or relative supply of basic materials (fossil fuels (energy), minerals, agricultural land in production, timber, etc.) decreases and/or cannot be increased fast enough in response to rising or continuing demand. The resource shortage may be a real physical shortage, or a relative scarcity due to factors such as taxes or bad monetary policy influencing the "cost" or availability of raw materials. This is consistent with the cost-push inflation factors in neo-Keynesian theory (above). The way this plays out is that after supply shock occurs, the economy first tries to maintain momentum. That is, consumers and businesses begin paying higher prices to maintain their level of demand. The central bank may exacerbate this by increasing the money supply, by lowering interest rates for example, in an effort to combat a recession. The increased money supply props up the demand for goods and services, though demand would normally drop during a recession.
In the Keynesian model, higher prices prompt increases in the supply of goods and services. However, during a supply shock (i.e., scarcity, "bottleneck" in resources, etc.), supplies do not respond as they normally would to these price pressures. So, inflation jumps and output drops, producing stagflation.
Following Richard Nixon's imposition of wage and price controls on 15 August 1971, an initial wave of cost-push shocks in commodities were blamed for causing spiraling prices. The second major shock was the 1973 oil crisis, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) constrained the worldwide supply of oil. Both events, combined with the overall energy shortage that characterized the 1970s, resulted in actual or relative scarcity of raw materials. The price controls resulted in shortages at the point of purchase, causing, for example, queues of consumers at fuelling stations and increased production costs for industry.
Through the mid-1970s, it was alleged that none of the major macroeconomic models (Keynesian, New Classical, and monetarist) were able to explain stagflation.
Later, an explanation was provided based on the effects of adverse supply shocks on both inflation and output. According to Blanchard (2009), these adverse events were one of two components of stagflation; the other was "ideas"—which Robert Lucas, Thomas Sargent, and Robert Barro were cited as expressing as "wildly incorrect" and "fundamentally flawed" predictions (of Keynesian economics) which, they said, left stagflation to be explained by "contemporary students of the business cycle". In this discussion, Blanchard hypothesizes that the recent oil price increases could trigger another period of stagflation, although this has not yet happened (pg. 152).
A purely neoclassical view of the macroeconomy rejects the idea that monetary policy can have real effects. Neoclassical macroeconomists argue that real economic quantities, like real output, employment, and unemployment, are determined by real factors only. Nominal factors like changes in the money supply only affect nominal variables like inflation. The neoclassical idea that nominal factors cannot have real effects is often called "monetary neutrality" or also the "classical dichotomy".
Since the neoclassical viewpoint says that real phenomena like unemployment are essentially unrelated to nominal phenomena like inflation, a neoclassical economist would offer two separate explanations for 'stagnation' and 'inflation'. Neoclassical explanations of stagnation (low growth and high unemployment) include inefficient government regulations or high benefits for the unemployed that give people less incentive to look for jobs. Another neoclassical explanation of stagnation is given by real business cycle theory, in which any decrease in labour productivity makes it efficient to work less. The main neoclassical explanation of inflation is very simple: it happens when the monetary authorities increase the money supply too much.
In the neoclassical viewpoint, the real factors that determine output and unemployment affect the aggregate supply curve only. The nominal factors that determine inflation affect the aggregate demand curve only. When some adverse changes in real factors are shifting the aggregate supply curve left at the same time that unwise monetary policies are shifting the aggregate demand curve right, the result is stagflation.
Thus the main explanation for stagflation under a classical view of the economy is simply policy errors that affect both inflation and the labour market. Ironically, a very clear argument in favour of the classical explanation of stagflation was provided by Keynes himself. In 1919, John Maynard Keynes described the inflation and economic stagnation gripping Europe in his book "The Economic Consequences of the Peace". Keynes wrote:
Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. [...] Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.
Keynes explicitly pointed out the relationship between governments printing money and inflation.
The inflationism of the currency systems of Europe has proceeded to extraordinary lengths. The various belligerent Governments, unable, or too timid or too short-sighted to secure from loans or taxes the resources they required, have printed notes for the balance.
Keynes also pointed out how government price controls discourage production.
The presumption of a spurious value for the currency, by the force of law expressed in the regulation of prices, contains in itself, however, the seeds of final economic decay, and soon dries up the sources of ultimate supply. If a man is compelled to exchange the fruits of his labours for paper which, as experience soon teaches him, he cannot use to purchase what he requires at a price comparable to that which he has received for his own products, he will keep his produce for himself, dispose of it to his friends and neighbours as a favour, or relax his efforts in producing it. A system of compelling the exchange of commodities at what is not their real relative value not only relaxes production, but leads finally to the waste and inefficiency of barter.
Keynes detailed the relationship between German government deficits and inflation.
In Germany the total expenditure of the Empire, the Federal States, and the Communes in 1919–20 is estimated at 25 milliards of marks, of which not above 10 milliards are covered by previously existing taxation. This is without allowing anything for the payment of the indemnity. In Russia, Poland, Hungary, or Austria such a thing as a budget cannot be seriously considered to exist at all. Thus the menace of inflationism described above is not merely a product of the war, of which peace begins the cure. It is a continuing phenomenon of which the end is not yet in sight.
While most economists believe that changes in money supply can have some real effects in the short run, neoclassical and neo-Keynesian economists tend to agree that there are no long-run effects from changing the money supply. Therefore, even economists who consider themselves neo-Keynesians usually believe that in the long run, money is neutral. In other words, while neoclassical and neo-Keynesian models are often seen as competing points of view, they can also be seen as two descriptions appropriate for different time horizons. Many mainstream textbooks today treat the neo-Keynesian model as a more appropriate description of the economy in the short run, when prices are 'sticky', and treat the neoclassical model as a more appropriate description of the economy in the long run, when prices have sufficient time to adjust fully.
Therefore, while mainstream economists today might often attribute short periods of stagflation (not more than a few years) to adverse changes in supply, they would not accept this as an explanation of very prolonged stagflation. More prolonged stagflation would be explained as the effect of inappropriate government policies: excessive regulation of product markets and labor markets leading to long-run stagnation, and excessive growth of the money supply leading to long-run inflation.
Political economists Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler have proposed an explanation of stagflation as part of a theory they call differential accumulation, which says firms seek to beat the average profit and capitalisation rather than maximise. According to this theory, periods of mergers and acquisitions oscillate with periods of stagflation. When mergers and acquisitions are no longer politically feasible (governments clamp down with anti-monopoly rules), stagflation is used as an alternative to have higher relative profit than the competition. With increasing mergers and acquisitions, the power to implement stagflation increases.
Stagflation appears as a societal crisis, such as during the period of the oil crisis in the 70s and in 2007 to 2010. Inflation in stagflation, however, does not affect all firms equally. Dominant firms are able to increase their own prices at a faster rate than competitors. While in the aggregate no one appears to profit, differentially dominant firms improve their positions with higher relative profits and higher relative capitalisation. Stagflation is not due to any actual supply shock, but because of the societal crisis that hints at a supply crisis. It is mostly a 20th and 21st century phenomenon that has been mainly used by the "weapondollar-petrodollar coalition" creating or using Middle East crises for the benefit of pecuniary interests.
Demand-pull stagflation theory explores the idea that stagflation can result exclusively from monetary shocks without any concurrent supply shocks or negative shifts in economic output potential. Demand-pull theory describes a scenario where stagflation can occur following a period of monetary policy implementations that cause inflation. This theory was first proposed in 1999 by Eduardo Loyo of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Supply-side economics emerged as a response to US stagflation in the 1970s. It largely attributed inflation to the ending of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 and the lack of a specific price reference in the subsequent monetary policies (Keynesian and Monetarism). Supply-side economists asserted that the contraction component of stagflation resulted from an inflation-induced rise in real tax rates (see bracket creep)
Adherents to the Austrian School maintain that creation of new money ex nihilo benefits the creators and early recipients of the new money relative to late recipients. Money creation is not wealth creation; it merely allows early money recipients to outbid late recipients for resources, goods, and services.
Since the actual producers of wealth are typically late recipients, increases in the money supply weakens wealth formation and undermines the rate of economic growth. Says Austrian economist Frank Shostak:
"The increase in the money supply rate of growth coupled with the slowdown in the rate of growth of goods produced is what the increase in the rate of price inflation is all about. (Note that a price is the amount of money paid for a unit of a good.) What we have here is a faster increase in price inflation and a decline in the rate of growth in the production of goods. But this is exactly what stagflation is all about, i.e., an increase in price inflation and a fall in real economic growth. Popular opinion is that stagflation is totally made up. It seems therefore that the phenomenon of stagflation is the normal outcome of loose monetary policy. This is in agreement with [Phelps and Friedman (PF)]. Contrary to PF, however, we maintain that stagflation is not caused by the fact that in the short run people are fooled by the central bank. Stagflation is the natural result of monetary pumping which weakens the pace of economic growth and at the same time raises the rate of increase of the prices of goods and services."
In 1984, journalist and activist Jane Jacobs proposed the failure of major macroeconomic theories to explain stagflation was due to their focus on the nation as the salient unit of economic analysis, rather than the city. She proposed that the key to avoiding stagflation was for a nation to focus on the development of "import-replacing cities" that would experience economic ups and downs at different times, providing overall national stability and avoiding widespread stagflation. According to Jacobs, import-replacing cities are those with developed economies that balance their own production with domestic imports—so they can respond with flexibility as economic supply and demand cycles change. While lauding her originality, clarity, and consistency, urban planning scholars have criticized Jacobs for not comparing her own ideas to those of major theorists (e.g., Adam Smith, Karl Marx) with the same depth and breadth they developed, as well as a lack of scholarly documentation. Despite these issues, Jacobs' work is notable for having widespread public readership and influence on decision-makers.
Stagflation undermined support for the Keynesian consensus.
Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker very sharply increased interest rates from 1979–1983 in what was called a "disinflationary scenario". After U.S. prime interest rates had soared into the double-digits, inflation did come down; these interest rates were the highest long-term prime interest rates that had ever existed in modern capital markets. Volcker is often credited with having stopped at least the inflationary side of stagflation, although the American economy also dipped into recession. Starting in approximately 1983, growth began a recovery. Both fiscal stimulus and money supply growth were policy at this time. A five- to six-year jump in unemployment during the Volcker disinflation suggests Volcker may have trusted unemployment to self-correct and return to its natural rate within a reasonable period. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26818 |
Soundness
In logic, more precisely in deductive reasoning, an argument is sound if it is both valid in form and its premises are true. Soundness also has a related meaning in mathematical logic, wherein logical systems are sound if and only if every formula that can be proved in the system is logically valid with respect to the semantics of the system
In deductive reasoning, a sound argument is an argument that is both valid and true. An argument is valid if, assuming its premises are true, the conclusion "must" be true. An example of a sound argument the following well-known syllogism:
Because of the logical necessity of the conclusion, this argument is valid; and because the argument is valid and its premises are true, the argument is sound.
However, an argument can be valid without being sound. For example:
This argument is valid because, assuming the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. However, the premises are false. For an argument to be sound, the argument must be valid "and" its premises must be true.
In mathematical logic, a logical system has the soundness property if and only if every formula that can be proved in the system is logically valid with respect to the semantics of the system.
In most cases, this comes down to its rules having the property of "preserving truth". The converse of soundness is known as completeness.
A logical system with syntactic entailment formula_1 and semantic entailment formula_2 is sound if for any sequence formula_3 of sentences in its language, if formula_4, then formula_5. In other words, a system is sound when all of its theorems are tautologies.
Soundness is among the most fundamental properties of mathematical logic. The soundness property provides the initial reason for counting a logical system as desirable. The completeness property means that every validity (truth) is provable. Together they imply that all and only validities are provable.
Most proofs of soundness are trivial. For example, in an axiomatic system, proof of soundness amounts to verifying the validity of the axioms and that the rules of inference preserve validity (or the weaker property, truth). If the system allows Hilbert-style deduction, it requires only verifying the validity of the axioms and one rule of inference, namely modus ponens. (and sometimes substitution)
Soundness properties come in two main varieties: weak and strong soundness, of which the former is a restricted form of the latter.
Soundness of a deductive system is the property that any sentence that is provable in that deductive system is also true on all interpretations or structures of the semantic theory for the language upon which that theory is based. In symbols, where "S" is the deductive system, "L" the language together with its semantic theory, and "P" a sentence of "L": if ⊢"S" "P", then also ⊨"L" "P".
Strong soundness of a deductive system is the property that any sentence "P" of the language upon which the deductive system is based that is derivable from a set Γ of sentences of that language is also a logical consequence of that set, in the sense that any model that makes all members of Γ true will also make "P" true. In symbols where Γ is a set of sentences of "L": if Γ ⊢"S" "P", then also Γ ⊨"L" "P". Notice that in the statement of strong soundness, when Γ is empty, we have the statement of weak soundness.
If "T" is a theory whose objects of discourse can be interpreted as natural numbers, we say "T" is "arithmetically sound" if all theorems of "T" are actually true about the standard mathematical integers. For further information, see ω-consistent theory.
The converse of the soundness property is the semantic completeness property. A deductive system with a semantic theory is strongly complete if every sentence "P" that is a semantic consequence of a set of sentences Γ can be derived in the deduction system from that set. In symbols: whenever , then also . Completeness of first-order logic was first explicitly established by Gödel, though some of the main results were contained in earlier work of Skolem.
Informally, a soundness theorem for a deductive system expresses that all provable sentences are true. Completeness states that all true sentences are provable.
Gödel's first incompleteness theorem shows that for languages sufficient for doing a certain amount of arithmetic, there can be no consistent and effective deductive system that is complete with respect to the intended interpretation of the symbolism of that language. Thus, not all sound deductive systems are complete in this special sense of completeness, in which the class of models (up to isomorphism) is restricted to the intended one. The original completeness proof applies to "all" classical models, not some special proper subclass of intended ones. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26819 |
Syllabary
In the linguistic study of written languages, a syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent the syllables or (more frequently) moras which make up words.
A symbol in a syllabary, called a syllabogram, typically represents an (optional) consonant sound (simple onset) followed by a vowel sound (nucleus)—that is, a CV or V syllable—but other phonographic mappings, such as CVC, CV- tone, and C (normally nasals at the end of syllables), are also found in syllabaries.
A writing system using a syllabary is "complete" when it covers all syllables in the corresponding spoken language without requiring complex orthographic / graphemic rules, like implicit codas ( ⇒ /C1VC2/) silent vowels ( ⇒ /C1V1C2/) or echo vowels ( ⇒ /C1V1C2/). This loosely corresponds to "shallow" orthographies in alphabetic writing systems.
"True" syllabograms are those that encompass all parts of a syllable, i.e. initial onset, medial nucleus and final coda, but since onset and coda are optional in at least some languages, there are "middle" (nucleus), "start" (onset-nucleus), "end" (nucleus-coda) and "full" (onset-nucleus-coda) true syllabograms. Most syllabaries only feature one or two kinds of syllabograms and form other syllables by graphemic rules.
Syllabograms, hence syllabaries, are "pure", "analytic" or "arbitrary" if they do not share graphic similarities that correspond to phonic similarities, e.g. the symbol for "ka" does not resemble in any predictable way the symbol for "ki", nor the symbol for "a".
Otherwise they are "synthetic", if they vary by onset, rime, nucleus "or" coda, or "systematic", if they vary by all of them.
Some scholars, e.g. Daniels, reserve the general term for analytic syllabaries and invent other terms (abugida, abjad) as necessary. Some systems provide katakana language conversion.
Languages that use syllabic writing include Japanese, Cherokee, Vai, the Yi languages of eastern Asia, the English-based creole language Ndyuka, Shaozhou Tuhua, and the ancient language Mycenaean Greek (Linear B). In addition, the undecoded Cretan Linear A is also believed by some to be a syllabic script, though this is not proven.
Chinese characters, the cuneiform script used for Sumerian, Akkadian and other languages, and the former Maya script are largely syllabic in nature, although based on logograms. They are therefore sometimes referred to as "logosyllabic".
The contemporary Japanese language uses two syllabaries together called kana (in addition to the non-syllabic systems kanji and romaji), namely hiragana and katakana, which were developed around 700. Because Japanese uses mainly CV (consonant + vowel) syllables, a syllabary is well suited to write the language. As in many syllabaries, vowel sequences and final consonants are written with separate glyphs, so that both "atta" and "kaita" are written with three kana: あった ("a-t-ta") and かいた ("ka-i-ta"). It is therefore sometimes called a "moraic" writing system.
Languages that use syllabaries today tend to have simple phonotactics, with a predominance of monomoraic (CV) syllables. For example, the modern Yi script is used to write languages that have no diphthongs or syllable codas; unusually among syllabaries, there is a separate glyph for every consonant-vowel-tone combination (CVT) in the language (apart from one tone which is indicated with a diacritic).
Few syllabaries have glyphs for syllables that are not monomoraic, and those that once did have simplified over time to eliminate that complexity.
For example, the Vai syllabary originally had separate glyphs for syllables ending in a coda "(doŋ)," a long vowel "(soo)," or a diphthong "(bai)," though not enough glyphs to distinguish all CV combinations (some distinctions were ignored). The modern script has been expanded to cover all moras, but at the same time reduced to exclude all other syllables. Bimoraic syllables are now written with two letters, as in Japanese: diphthongs are written with the help of V or "h"V glyphs, and the nasal coda is written with the glyph for "ŋ", which can form a syllable of its own in Vai.
In Linear B, which was used to transcribe Mycenaean Greek, a language with complex syllables, complex consonant onsets were either written with two glyphs or simplified to one, while codas were generally ignored, e.g. "ko-no-so" for "Knōsos", "pe-ma" for "sperma."
The Cherokee syllabary generally uses dummy vowels for coda consonants, but also has a segmental grapheme for /s/, which can be used both as a coda and in an initial /sC/ consonant cluster.
The languages of India and Southeast Asia, as well as the Ethiopian Semitic languages, have a type of alphabet called an "abugida" or "alphasyllabary". In these scripts, unlike in pure syllabaries, syllables starting with the same consonant are generally expressed with graphemes based in a regular way on a common graphical elements. Usually each character representing a syllable consists of several elements which designate the individual sounds of that syllable.
In the 19th century these systems were called "syllabics", a term which has survived in the name of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics (also an abugida).
In a true syllabary there may be graphic similarity between characters that share a common consonant or vowel sound, but it is not systematic or at all regular. For example, the characters for 'ke', 'ka', and 'ko' in Japanese hiragana have no similarity to indicate their common "k" sound (these being: け, か and こ). Compare this with Devanagari, an abugida, where the characters for 'ke', 'ka' and 'ko' are के, का and को respectively, with क indicating their common "k" sound.
English, along with many other Indo-European languages like German and Russian, allows for complex syllable structures, making it cumbersome to write English words with a syllabary. A "pure" syllabary based on English would require a separate glyph for every possible syllable. Thus one would need separate symbols for "bag", "beg", "big", "bog", "bug", "bad", "bed", "bid", "bod", "bud", "bead", "bide", "bode", etc. Since English has well over 10,000 different possibilities for individual syllables, a syllabary would be poorly suited to represent the English language. However, such pure systems are rare. A workaround to this problem, common to several syllabaries around the world (including English loanwords in Japanese), is to write an echo vowel, as if the syllable coda were a second syllable: "ba-gu" for "bag", etc. Another common approach is to simply ignore the coda, so that "bag" would be written "ba". This obviously would not work well for English, but was done in Mycenaean Greek when the root word was two or three syllables long and the syllable coda was a weak consonant such as "n" or "s" (example: χρυσός "chrysos" written as "ku-ru-so"). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26820 |
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s.
Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns, as on the early compositions "It's Gonna Rain" (1965) and "Come Out" (1966), and the use of simple, audible processes, as on "Pendulum Music" (1968) and "Four Organs" (1970). The 1978 recording "Music for 18 Musicians" would help entrench minimalism as a movement. Reich's work took on a darker character in the 1980s with the introduction of historical themes as well as themes from his Jewish heritage, notably "Different Trains" (1988).
Reich's style of composition has influenced many contemporary composers and groups, especially in the US. Writing in "The Guardian", music critic Andrew Clements suggested that Reich is one of "a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history".
Reich was born in New York City to the Broadway lyricist June Sillman and Leonard Reich. When he was one year old, his parents divorced, and Reich divided his time between New York and California. He is the half-brother of writer Jonathan Carroll. He was given piano lessons as a child and describes growing up with the "middle-class favorites", having no exposure to music written before 1750 or after 1900. At the age of 14 he began to study music in earnest, after hearing music from the Baroque period and earlier, as well as music of the 20th century. Reich studied drums with Roland Kohloff in order to play jazz. While attending Cornell University, he minored in music and graduated in 1957 with a B.A. in Philosophy. Reich's B.A. thesis was on Ludwig Wittgenstein; later he would set texts by that philosopher to music in "Proverb" (1995) and "You Are (variations)" (2006).
For a year following graduation, Reich studied composition privately with Hall Overton before he enrolled at Juilliard to work with William Bergsma and Vincent Persichetti (1958–1961). Subsequently, he attended Mills College in Oakland, California, where he studied with Luciano Berio and Darius Milhaud (1961–1963) and earned a master's degree in composition. At Mills, Reich composed "Melodica" for melodica and tape, which appeared in 1986 on the three-LP release "Music from Mills".
Reich worked with the San Francisco Tape Music Center along with Pauline Oliveros, Ramon Sender, Morton Subotnick, Phil Lesh and Terry Riley. He was involved with the premiere of Riley's "In C" and suggested the use of the eighth note pulse, which is now standard in performance of the piece.
Reich's early forays into composition involved experimentation with twelve-tone composition, but he found the rhythmic aspects of the number twelve more interesting than the pitch aspects. Reich also composed film soundtracks for "Plastic Haircut" (1963), "Oh Dem Watermelons" (1965), and "Thick Pucker" (1965), three films by Robert Nelson. The soundtrack of "Plastic Haircut", composed in 1963, was a short tape collage, possibly Reich's first. The "Watermelons" soundtrack used two 19th-century minstrel tunes as its basis, and used repeated phrasing together in a large five-part canon. The music for "Thick Pucker" arose from street recordings Reich made walking around San Francisco with Nelson, who filmed in black and white 16mm. This film no longer survives. A fourth film from 1965, about 25 minutes long and tentatively entitled "Thick Pucker II", was assembled by Nelson from outtakes of that shoot and more of the raw audio Reich had recorded. Nelson was not happy with the resulting film and never showed it.
Reich was influenced by fellow minimalist Terry Riley, whose work "In C" combines simple musical patterns, offset in time, to create a slowly shifting, cohesive whole. Reich adopted this approach to compose his first major work, "It's Gonna Rain". Composed in 1965, the piece used a fragment of a sermon about the end of the world given by a black Pentecostal street-preacher known as Brother Walter. Reich built on his early tape work, transferring the last three words of the fragment, "it's gonna rain!", to multiple tape loops which gradually move out of phase with one another.
The 13-minute "Come Out" (1966) uses similarly manipulated recordings of a single spoken line given by Daniel Hamm, one of the falsely accused Harlem Six, who was severely injured by police. The survivor, who had been beaten, punctured a bruise on his own body to convince police about his beating. The spoken line includes the phrase "to let the bruise’s blood come out to show them." Reich rerecorded the fragment "come out to show them" on two channels, which are initially played in unison. They quickly slip out of sync; gradually the discrepancy widens and becomes a reverberation. The two voices then split into four, looped continuously, then eight, and continues splitting until the actual words are unintelligible, leaving the listener with only the speech's rhythmic and tonal patterns.
"Melodica" (1966) takes the phase looping idea of his previous works and applies it to instrumental music. Steve Reich took a simple melody, which he played on a melodica, then recorded it. He then sets the melody to two separate channels, and slowly moves them out of phase, creating an intricate interlocking melody. This piece is very similar to "Come Out" in rhythmic structure, and are an example of how one rhythmic process can be realized in different sounds to create two different pieces of music. Reich was inspired to compose this piece from a dream he had on May 22, 1966, and put the piece together in one day. "Melodica" was the last piece Reich composed solely for tape, and he considers it his transition from tape music to instrumental music.
Reich's first attempt at translating this phasing technique from recorded tape to live performance was the 1967 "Piano Phase", for two pianos. In "Piano Phase" the performers repeat a rapid twelve-note melodic figure, initially in unison. As one player keeps tempo with robotic precision, the other speeds up very slightly until the two parts line up again, but one sixteenth note apart. The second player then resumes the previous tempo. This cycle of speeding up and then locking in continues throughout the piece; the cycle comes full circle three times, the second and third cycles using shorter versions of the initial figure. "Violin Phase", also written in 1967, is built on these same lines. "Piano Phase" and "Violin Phase" both premiered in a series of concerts given in New York art galleries.
A similar, lesser known example of this so-called process music is "Pendulum Music" (1968), which consists of the sound of several microphones swinging over the loudspeakers to which they are attached, producing feedback as they do so. "Pendulum Music" has never been recorded by Reich himself, but was introduced to rock audiences by Sonic Youth in the late 1990s.
Reich also tried to create the phasing effect in a piece "that would need no instrument beyond the human body". He found that the idea of phasing was inappropriate for the simple ways he was experimenting to make sound. Instead, he composed "Clapping Music" (1972), in which the players do not phase in and out with each other, but instead one performer keeps one line of a 12-eighth-note-long (12-quaver-long) phrase and the other performer shifts by one eighth note beat every 12 bars, until both performers are back in unison 144 bars later.
The 1967 prototype piece "Slow Motion Sound" was not performed although Chris Hughes performed it 27 years later as "Slow Motion Blackbird" on his Reich-influenced 1994 album "Shift". It introduced the idea of slowing down a recorded sound until many times its original length without changing pitch or timbre, which Reich applied to "Four Organs" (1970), which deals specifically with augmentation. The piece has maracas playing a fast eighth note pulse, while the four organs stress certain eighth notes using an 11th chord. This work therefore dealt with repetition and subtle rhythmic change. It is unique in the context of Reich's other pieces in being linear as opposed to cyclic like his earlier works – the superficially similar "Phase Patterns", also for four organs but without maracas, is (as the name suggests) a phase piece similar to others composed during the period. "Four Organs" was performed as part of a Boston Symphony Orchestra program, and was Reich's first composition to be performed in a large traditional setting.
In 1970, Reich embarked on a five-week trip to study music in Ghana, during which he learned from the master drummer Gideon Alorwoyie. Reich also studied Balinese gamelan in Seattle in 1973 and 1974. From his African experience, as well as A. M. Jones's "Studies in African Music" about the music of the Ewe people, Reich drew inspiration for his 90-minute piece "Drumming", which he composed shortly after his return. Composed for a nine-piece percussion ensemble with female voices and piccolo, "Drumming" marked the beginning of a new stage in his career, for around this time he formed his ensemble, Steve Reich and Musicians, and increasingly concentrated on composition and performance with them. Steve Reich and Musicians, which was to be the sole ensemble to interpret his works for many years, still remains active with many of its original members.
After "Drumming", Reich moved on from the "phase shifting" technique that he had pioneered, and began writing more elaborate pieces. He investigated other musical processes such as augmentation (the temporal lengthening of phrases and melodic fragments). It was during this period that he wrote works such as "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ" (1973) and "Six Pianos" (1973).
In 1974, Reich began writing "Music for 18 Musicians". This piece involved many new ideas, although it also hearkened back to earlier pieces. It is based on a cycle of eleven chords introduced at the beginning (called "Pulses"), followed by a small section of music based on each chord ("Sections I-XI"), and finally a return to the original cycle ("Pulses"). This was Reich's first attempt at writing for larger ensembles. The increased number of performers resulted in more scope for psychoacoustic effects, which fascinated Reich, and he noted that he would like to "explore this idea further". Reich remarked that this one work contained more harmonic movement in the first five minutes than any other work he had written. Steve Reich and Musicians made the premier recording of this work on ECM Records.
Reich explored these ideas further in his frequently recorded pieces "Music for a Large Ensemble" (1978) and "Octet" (1979). In these two works, Reich experimented with "the human breath as the measure of musical duration ... the chords played by the trumpets are written to take one comfortable breath to perform". Human voices are part of the musical palette in "Music for a Large Ensemble" but the wordless vocal parts simply form part of the texture (as they do in "Drumming"). With "Octet" and his first orchestral piece "Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards" (also 1979), Reich's music showed the influence of Biblical cantillation, which he had studied in Israel since the summer of 1977. After this, the human voice singing a text would play an increasingly important role in Reich's music.
In 1974 Reich published the book "Writings About Music", containing essays on his philosophy, aesthetics, and musical projects written between 1963 and 1974. An updated and much more extensive collection, "Writings On Music (1965–2000)", was published in 2002.
Reich's work took on a darker character in the 1980s with the introduction of historical themes as well as themes from his Jewish heritage. "Tehillim" (1981), Hebrew for "psalms", is the first of Reich's works to draw explicitly on his Jewish background. The work is in four parts, and is scored for an ensemble of four women's voices (one high soprano, two lyric sopranos and one alto), piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, six percussion (playing small tuned tambourines without jingles, clapping, maracas, marimba, vibraphone and crotales), two electronic organs, two violins, viola, cello and double bass, with amplified voices, strings, and winds. A setting of texts from Psalms 19:2–5 (19:1–4 in Christian translations), 34:13–15 (34:12–14), 18:26–27 (18:25–26), and 150:4–6, "Tehillim" is a departure from Reich's other work in its formal structure; the setting of texts several lines long rather than the fragments used in previous works makes melody a substantive element. Use of formal counterpoint and functional harmony also contrasts with the loosely structured minimalist works written previously.
"Different Trains" (1988), for string quartet and tape, uses recorded speech, as in his earlier works, but this time as a melodic rather than a rhythmic element. In "Different Trains", Reich compares and contrasts his childhood memories of his train journeys between New York and California in 1939–1941 with the very different trains being used to transport contemporaneous European children to their deaths under Nazi rule. The Kronos Quartet recording of "Different Trains" was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 1990. The composition was described by Richard Taruskin as "the only adequate musical response—one of the few adequate artistic responses in any medium—to the Holocaust", and he credited the piece with earning Reich a place among the great composers of the 20th century.
In 1993, Reich collaborated with his wife, the video artist Beryl Korot, on an opera, "The Cave", which explores the roots of Judaism, Christianity and Islam through the words of Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans, echoed musically by the ensemble. The work, for percussion, voices, and strings, is a musical documentary, named for the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, where a mosque now stands and Abraham is said to have been buried.
Reich and Korot collaborated on the opera "Three Tales", which concerns the "Hindenburg" disaster, the testing of nuclear weapons on Bikini Atoll, and other more modern concerns, specifically Dolly the sheep, cloning, and the technological singularity.
Reich used sampling techniques for pieces like "Three Tales" and "City Life" from 1994. Reich returned to composing purely instrumental works for the concert hall, starting with "Triple Quartet" in 1998 written for the Kronos Quartet that can either be performed by string quartet and tape, three string quartets or 36-piece string orchestra. According to Reich, the piece is influenced by Bartók's and Alfred Schnittke's string quartets, and Michael Gordon's "Yo Shakespeare".
The instrumental series for the concert hall continued with "Dance Patterns" (2002), "Cello Counterpoint" (2003), and sequence of works centered around Variations: "You Are (Variations)" (2004), a work which looks back to the vocal writing of works like "Tehillim" or "The Desert Music", "Variations for Vibes, Pianos, and Strings" in 2005, for the London Sinfonietta and "Daniel Variations" (2006).
in 2002 Reich was invited by Walter Fink to the annual Komponistenporträt of the Rheingau Musik Festival, as the 12th composer featured.
In an interview with "The Guardian", Reich stated that he continued to follow this direction with his piece "Double Sextet" (2007), which was commissioned by eighth blackbird, an American ensemble consisting of the instrumental quintet (flute, clarinet, violin or viola, cello and piano) of Schoenberg's piece "Pierrot Lunaire" (1912) plus percussion. Reich states that he was thinking about Stravinsky's "Agon" (1957) as a model for the instrumental writing.
December 2010 Nonesuch Records and Indaba Music held a community remix contest in which over 250 submissions were received, and Steve Reich and Christian Carey judged the finals. Reich spoke in a related BBC interview that once he composed a piece he would not alter it again himself; "When it's done, it's done," he said. On the other hand, he acknowledged that remixes have an old tradition e.g. famous religious music pieces where melodies were further developed into new songs.
Reich premiered a piece, "WTC 9/11", written for String Quartet and Tape (a similar instrumentation to that of "Different Trains") in March 2011. It was performed by the Kronos Quartet, at Duke University, North Carolina, US.
On March 5, 2013, the London Sinfonietta, conducted by Brad Lubman, at the Royal Festival Hall in London gave the world premiere of "Radio Rewrite" for ensemble with 11 players, inspired by the music of Radiohead. The programme also included "Double Sextet" for ensemble with 12 players, "Clapping Music", for two people and four hands featuring Reich himself alongside percussionist Colin Currie, "Electric Counterpoint", with electric guitar by Mats Bergstrom accompanied by a layered soundtrack, as well as two of Reich's small ensemble pieces, one for acoustic instruments, the other for electric instruments and tape.
"Music for Ensemble and Orchestra" was premiered on November 4, 2018 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Susanna Mälkki at Walt Disney Concert Hall, marking Reich's return to writing for orchestra after an interval of more than thirty years.
In 2005, Reich was awarded the Edward MacDowell Medal.
Reich was awarded with the Praemium Imperiale Award in Music in October 2006.
On January 25, 2007, Reich was named 2007 recipient of the Polar Music Prize with jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins.
On April 20, 2009, Reich was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Music, recognizing "Double Sextet", first performed in Richmond March 26, 2008. The citation called it "a major work that displays an ability to channel an initial burst of energy into a large-scale musical event, built with masterful control and consistently intriguing to the ear".
In May 2011 Steve Reich received an honorary doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music.
In 2012, Steve Reich received the Gold Medal in Music by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
In 2013 Reich received the US$400,000 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in contemporary music for bringing a new conception of music, based on the use of realist elements from the realm of daily life and others drawn from the traditional music of Africa and Asia.
In September 2014, Reich was awarded the "Leone d'Oro" (Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Music) from the Venice Biennale.
In March 2016, Reich was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Royal College of Music in London.
The American composer and critic Kyle Gann has said that Reich "may ... be considered, by general acclamation, America's greatest living composer". Reich's style of composition has influenced many other composers and musical groups, including John Adams, the progressive rock band King Crimson, the new-age guitarist Michael Hedges, the art-pop and electronic musician Brian Eno, the experimental art/music group The Residents, the electronic group Underworld, the composers associated with the Bang on a Can festival (including David Lang, Michael Gordon, and Julia Wolfe), and numerous indie rock musicians including songwriters Sufjan Stevens and Matthew Healy of the 1975, and instrumental ensembles Tortoise, The Mercury Program (themselves influenced by Tortoise), and Godspeed You! Black Emperor (who titled an unreleased song "Steve Reich").
John Adams commented, "He didn't reinvent the wheel so much as he showed us a new way to ride." He has also influenced visual artists such as Bruce Nauman, and many notable choreographers have made dances to his music, Eliot Feld, Jiří Kylián, Douglas Lee and Jerome Robbins among others; he has expressed particular admiration of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's work set to his pieces.
In featuring a sample of Reich's "Electric Counterpoint" (1987) the British ambient techno act the Orb exposed a new generation of listeners to the composer's music with its 1990 production "Little Fluffy Clouds". In 1999 the album "Reich Remixed" featured "re-mixes" of a number of Reich's works by various electronic dance-music producers, such as DJ Spooky, Kurtis Mantronik, Ken Ishii, and Coldcut among others.
Reich's "Cello Counterpoint" (2003) was the inspiration for a series of commissions for solo cello with pre-recorded cellos made by Ashley Bathgate in 2017 including new works by Emily Cooley and Alex Weiser.
Reich often cites Pérotin, J. S. Bach, Debussy, Bartók, and Stravinsky as composers whom he admires and who greatly influenced him when he was young. Jazz is a major part of the formation of Reich's musical style, and two of the earliest influences on his work were vocalists Ella Fitzgerald and Alfred Deller, whose emphasis on the artistic capabilities of the voice alone with little vibrato or other alteration was an inspiration to his earliest works. John Coltrane's style, which Reich has described as "playing a lot of notes to very few harmonies", also had an impact; of particular interest was the album "Africa/Brass", which "was basically a half-an-hour in F." Reich's influence from jazz includes its roots, also, from the West African music he studied in his readings and visit to Ghana. Other important influences are Kenny Clarke and Miles Davis, and visual artist friends such as Sol LeWitt and Richard Serra. Reich has also stated that he admires the music of the band Radiohead, which led to his composition "Radio Rewrite". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26822 |
Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk-rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. One of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, their biggest hits—including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969), and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide.
Simon and Garfunkel met in elementary school in Queens, New York, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize together and began writing material. By 1957, under the name Tom & Jerry, the teenagers had their first minor success with "Hey Schoolgirl", a song imitating their idols the Everly Brothers. In 1963, aware of a growing public interest in folk music, they regrouped and were signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel. Their debut, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.," sold poorly, and they once again disbanded; Simon returned to a solo career, this time in England. In June 1965, a new version of "The Sound of Silence" overdubbed with electric guitar and drums became a major U.S. AM radio hit, reaching number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The duo reunited to release a second studio album, "Sounds of Silence," and tour colleges nationwide. On their third release, "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" (1966), the duo assumed more creative control. Their music was featured in the 1967 film "The Graduate", giving them further exposure. Their next album "Bookends" (1968) topped the "Billboard" 200 chart and included the number-one single "Mrs. Robinson" from the film.
The duo's often rocky relationship led to artistic disagreements and their breakup in 1970. Their final studio album, "Bridge over Troubled Water", was released that year and became their most successful, becoming one of the world's best-selling albums. After their breakup, Simon released a number of acclaimed albums, including 1986's "Graceland". Garfunkel released solo hits such as "All I Know" and briefly pursued an acting career, with leading roles in two Mike Nichols films, "Catch-22" and "Carnal Knowledge", and in Nicolas Roeg's 1980 "Bad Timing." The duo have reunited several times, most famously in 1981 for "The Concert in Central Park", which attracted more than 500,000 people, one of the largest concert attendances in history.
Simon & Garfunkel won 10 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. "Bridge over Troubled Water" is ranked at number 51 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Richie Unterberger described them as "the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s" and one of the most popular artists from the decade. They are among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 100 million records.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in their predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, New York, three blocks away from one another. They attended the same schools: Public School 164 in Kew Gardens Hills, Parsons Junior High School, and Forest Hills High School. They were both fascinated by music; both listened to the radio and were taken with rock and roll as it emerged, particularly the Everly Brothers. Simon first noticed Garfunkel when Garfunkel was singing in a fourth grade talent show, which Simon thought was a good way to attract girls; he hoped for a friendship, which started in 1953, when they appeared in a sixth grade adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland". They formed a streetcorner doo-wop group called the Peptones with three friends and learned to harmonize. They began performing as a duo at school dances.
Simon and Garfunkel moved to Forest Hills High School, where in 1956 they wrote their first song, "The Girl for Me"; Simon's father sent a handwritten copy to the Library of Congress to register a copyright. While trying to remember the lyrics to the Everly Brothers song "Hey Doll Baby", they wrote "Hey Schoolgirl", which they recorded for $25 at Sanders Recording Studio in Manhattan. While recording they were overheard by promoter Sid Prosen, who signed them to his independent label Big Records after speaking to their parents. They were 15.
Under Big Records, Simon and Garfunkel assumed the name Tom & Jerry; Garfunkel named himself Tom Graph, a reference to his interest in mathematics, and Simon Jerry Landis, after the surname of a girl he had dated. Their first single, "Hey Schoolgirl", was released with the B-side "Dancin' Wild" in 1957. Prosen, using the payola system, bribed DJ Alan Freed $200 to play the single on his radio show, where it became a nightly staple. "Hey Schoolgirl" attracted regular rotation on nationwide AM pop stations, leading it to sell over 100,000 copies and to land on "Billboard" charts at number 49. Prosen promoted the group heavily, getting them a headlining spot on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" alongside Jerry Lee Lewis. Simon and Garfunkel shared approximately $4,000 from the song – earning two percent each from royalties, the rest staying with Prosen. They released two more singles on Big Records ("Our Song" and "That's My Story") neither of them successful.
After graduating from Forest Hills High School in 1958, the pair continued their education should a music career not unfold. Simon studied English at Queens College, City University of New York, and Garfunkel studied architecture before switching to art history at Columbia College, Columbia University. While still with Big Records as a duo, Simon released a solo single, "True or False", under the name "True Taylor". This upset Garfunkel, who regarded it as a betrayal; the emotional tension from the incident occasionally surfaced throughout their relationship.
Simon and Garfunkel continued recording as solo artists: Garfunkel composed and recorded "Private World" for Octavia Records, and—under the name Artie Garr—"Beat Love" for Warwick; Simon recorded with the Mystics and Tico & The Triumphs, and wrote and recorded under the names Jerry Landis and Paul Kane. Simon also wrote and performed demos for other artists, working for a while with Carole King and Gerry Goffin.
After graduating in 1963, Simon joined Garfunkel, who was still at Columbia University, to perform again as a duo, this time with a shared interest in folk music. Simon enrolled part-time in Brooklyn Law School. By late 1963, billing themselves as Kane & Garr, they performed at Gerde's Folk City, a Greenwich club that hosted Monday night open mic performances. They performed three new songs—"Sparrow", "He Was My Brother", and "The Sound of Silence"—and attracted the attention of Columbia Records staffer Tom Wilson, a prominent A&R man and producer (who would later become a key architect of Bob Dylan's transition from folk to rock). As a "star producer" for the label, he wanted to record "He Was My Brother" with a new British act, the Pilgrims. Simon convinced Wilson to let him and Garfunkel audition in the studio, where they performed "The Sound of Silence". At Wilson's urging, Columbia signed them.
Simon & Garfunkel's debut studio album, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.", produced by Wilson, was recorded over three sessions in March 1964 and released in October. It contains five compositions by Simon, three traditional folk songs, and four folk-influenced singer-songwriter songs. Simon was adamant that they would no longer use stage names. Columbia set up a promotional showcase at Folk City on March 31, 1964, the duo's first public concert as Simon & Garfunkel. The showcase, as well as other scheduled performances, did not go well.
"Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." sold only 3,000 copies on release. Simon moved to England, where he toured small folk clubs and befriended folk artists such as Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, Al Stewart, and Sandy Denny. He also met Kathy Chitty, who became the object of his affection and is the Kathy in "Kathy's Song" and "America".
A small music publishing company, Lorna Music, licensed "Carlos Dominguez", a single Simon had recorded two years prior as Paul Kane, for a cover by Val Doonican that sold well. Simon visited Lorna to thank them, and the meeting resulted in a publishing and recording contract. He signed to the Oriole label and released "He Was My Brother" as a single. Simon invited Garfunkel to stay for the summer of 1964.
Near the end of the season, Garfunkel returned to Columbia for class. Simon also returned to the US, and resumed his studies at Brooklyn Law School for one semester, partially at his parents' insistence. He returned to England in January 1965, now certain that music was his calling. In the meantime, his landlady, Judith Piepe, had compiled a tape from his work at Lorna and sent it to the BBC in hopes they would play it. The demos aired on the "Five to Ten" morning show, and were instantly successful. Oriole had folded into CBS by that point, and hoped to record a new Simon album.
Simon recorded his first solo album, "The Paul Simon Songbook," in June 1965, featuring future Simon & Garfunkel staples including "I Am a Rock" and "April Come She Will". CBS flew Wilson over to produce the record, and he stayed at Simon's flat. The album was released in August; although sales were poor, Simon felt content with his future in England. Garfunkel graduated in 1965, returning to Columbia University to do a master's degree in mathematics.
In the United States, Dick Summer, a late-night DJ at WBZ in Boston, played "The Sound of Silence"; it became popular with a college audience. It was picked up the next day along the East Coast of the United States, down to Cocoa Beach, Florida. When Wilson heard about this new wave of interest, he took inspiration from the success of the folk-rock hybrid that he and Dylan had created with "Like a Rolling Stone", and crafted a rock remix of the song using studio musicians. The remix was issued in September 1965, where it reached the "Billboard" Hot 100. Wilson did not inform the duo of his plan, and Simon was "horrified" when he first heard it.
By January 1966, "The Sound of Silence" had topped the Hot 100, selling over one million copies. Simon reunited with Garfunkel in New York, leaving Chitty and his friends in England behind. CBS demanded a new album, to be called "Sounds of Silence", to ride the wave of the hit. Recorded in three weeks, and consisting of rerecorded songs from "The Paul Simon Songbook" plus four new tracks, "Sounds of Silence" was rush-released in mid-January 1966, peaking at number 21 "Billboard" Top LPs chart. A week later, "Homeward Bound" was released as a single, entering the USA top ten, followed by "I Am a Rock" peaking at number three. The duo supported the recordings with a nationwide tour of America, while CBS continued their promotion by re-releasing "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.", which charted at number 30. Despite the success, the duo received critical derision, as many considered them a manufactured imitation of folk music.
As they considered "The Sounds of Silence" a "rush job" to capitalize on their sudden success, Simon & Garfunkel spent more time crafting the follow-up. It was the first time Simon insisted on total control in aspects of recording. Work began in 1966 and took nine months. Garfunkel considered the recording of "Scarborough Fair" to be the point at which they stepped into the role of producer, as they were constantly beside engineer Roy Halee mixing. "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" was issued in October 1966, following the release of several singles and sold-out college campus shows. The duo resumed their college circuit tour eleven days later, crafting an image that was described as "alienated", "weird", and "poetic". Manager Mort Lewis also was responsible for this public perception, as he withheld them from television appearances unless they were allowed to play an uninterrupted set or choose the setlist. Simon, then 26, felt he had "made it" into an upper echelon of rock and roll while retaining artistic integrity; according to his biographer Marc Eliot, this made him "spiritually closer to Bob Dylan than to, say, Bobby Darin". The duo chose William Morris as their booking agency after a recommendation from Wally Amos, a mutual friend of Wilson.
During the sessions for "Parsley", Simon and Garfunkel recorded "A Hazy Shade of Winter"; it was released as a single, peaking at number 13 on the national charts. Similarly, they recorded "At the Zoo" for single release in early 1967; it charted at number 16. Simon began work for their next album around this time, telling "High Fidelity" that "I'm not interested in singles anymore". He developed writer's block, which led to no new album on the horizon for 1967. Artists at the time were expected to release two or three albums each year, and the lack of productivity worried Columbia executives. Amid concerns for Simon's idleness, Columbia Records chairman Clive Davis arranged for up-and-coming producer John Simon to kick-start the recording. Simon was distrustful of label executives; on one occasion, he and Garfunkel recorded a meeting with Davis, who was giving a "fatherly talk" on speeding up production, to laugh at it later. The rare television appearances at this time saw the duo performing on network broadcasts as "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Mike Douglas Show", and "The Andy Williams Show" in 1966, and twice on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" in 1967.
Meanwhile, director Mike Nichols, then filming "The Graduate", had become fascinated with Simon & Garfunkel's records, listening to them extensively before and after filming. He met Davis to ask for permission to license Simon & Garfunkel music for his film. Davis viewed it as a perfect fit and envisioned a bestselling soundtrack album. Simon was not as receptive and was cautious of "selling out". However, after meeting Nichols and being impressed by his wit and the script, he agreed to write new songs for the film. Leonard Hirshan, a powerful agent at William Morris, negotiated a deal that paid Simon $25,000 to submit three songs to Nichols and producer Lawrence Turman. When Nichols was not impressed by Simon's songs "Punky's Dilemma" and "Overs", Simon and Garfunkel offered another, incomplete song, which became "Mrs. Robinson"; Nichols loved it.
Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album, "Bookends", was recorded in fits and starts from late 1966 to early 1968. Although the album had long been planned, work did not begin in earnest until late 1967. The duo were signed under an older contract that specified the label pay for sessions, and Simon & Garfunkel took advantage of this, hiring viola and brass players and percussionists. The record's brevity reflects its concise and perfectionist production; the team spent over 50 hours recording "Punky's Dilemma", for example, and rerecorded vocal parts, sometimes note by note, until they were satisfied. Garfunkel's songs and voice took a lead role on some of the songs, and the harmonies for which the duo was known gradually disappeared. For Simon, "Bookends" represented the end of the collaboration and became an early indicator of his intentions to go solo.
Prior to release, the band helped put together and performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, which signaled the beginning of the Summer of Love on the West Coast. "Fakin' It" was issued as a single that summer and found only modest success on AM radio; the duo were much more focused on the rising FM format, which played album tracks and treated their music with respect. In January 1968, the duo appeared on a Kraft Music Hall special, "Three for Tonight", performing ten songs, largely taken from their previous album. "Bookends" was released by Columbia Records in April 1968, 24 hours before the assassination of civil rights movement activist Martin Luther King Jr., which spurred nationwide outrage and riots. The album debuted on the "Billboard" Top LPs in the issue dated April 27, 1968, climbing to number one and staying at that position for seven non-consecutive weeks; it remained on the chart as a whole for 66 weeks. "Bookends" received such heavy orders weeks in advance of its release that Columbia was able to apply for award certification before copies left the warehouse, a fact it touted in magazine ads. The album became the duo's bestselling to date, helped by the attention for the "Graduate" soundtrack ten weeks earlier, creating an initial combined sales figure of over five million units.
Davis had predicted this, and suggested raising the list price of "Bookends" by one dollar to $5.79, above the then standard retail price, to compensate for a large poster included in vinyl copies. Simon scoffed and viewed it as charging a premium on "what was sure to be that year's best-selling Columbia album". According to biographer Marc Eliot, Davis was "offended by what he perceived as their lack of gratitude for what he believed was his role in turning them into superstars". Rather than implement Davis' plan, Simon & Garfunkel signed a contract extension with Columbia that guaranteed them a higher royalty rate. At the 1969 Grammy Awards, the lead single "Mrs. Robinson" became the first rock and roll song to receive Record of the Year, and also won Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.
"Bookends", alongside the "Graduate" soundtrack, made Simon & Garfunkel the biggest rock duo in the world. Simon was approached by producers to write music for films or license songs; he turned down Franco Zeffirelli, who was preparing to film "Brother Sun, Sister Moon", and John Schlesinger, who was preparing to film "Midnight Cowboy". In addition to Hollywood proposals, Simon declined a request by producers from the Broadway show "Jimmy Shine" (starring Simon's friend Dustin Hoffman, also the lead in "Midnight Cowboy"). He collaborated briefly with Leonard Bernstein on a sacred mass before withdrawing from the project due to "finding it perhaps too far afield from his comfort zone".
Garfunkel began acting, and played Captain Nately in the Nichols film "Catch-22" based on the novel of the same name. Simon was to play the character of Dunbar, but screenwriter Buck Henry felt the film was already crowded with characters and wrote Simon's part out. Filming began in January 1969 and lasted about eight months, longer than expected. The production endangered the duo's relationship; Simon had completed no new songs, and the duo planned to collaborate after filming ended. Following the end of filming in October, the first performance of what was planned to be their last tour took place in Ames, Iowa. The US leg of the tour ended in the sold-out Carnegie Hall on November 27. Meanwhile, the duo, working with director Charles Grodin, produced an hourlong CBS special, "Songs of America", a mixture of scenes featuring notable political events and leaders concerning the US, such as the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy's funeral procession, Cesar Chavez and the Poor People's March. It was broadcast only once, due to tension at the network regarding its content.
"Bridge over Troubled Water", Simon & Garfunkel's final studio album, was released in January 1970 and charted in over 11 countries, topping the charts in 10, including the "Billboard" Top LP's chart in the US and the UK Albums Chart. It was the best-selling album in 1970, 1971 and 1972 and was at that time the best-selling album of all time. It was also CBS Records' best-selling album before the release of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in 1982. The album topped the "Billboard" charts for 10 weeks and stayed in the charts for 85 weeks. In the United Kingdom, the album topped the charts for 35 weeks, and spent 285 weeks in the top 100, from 1970 to 1975. It has since sold over 25 million copies worldwide. "Bridge over Troubled Water", the lead single, reached number one in five countries and became the duo's biggest seller. The song has been covered by over 50 artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Michael W. Smith and Josh Groban. "Cecilia", the follow-up, reached number four in the US, and "El Condor Pasa" hit number 18. A brief British tour followed the album release, and the duo's last concert as Simon & Garfunkel took place at Forest Hills Stadium. In 1971, the album won six awards at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.
The recording of "Bridge over Troubled Water" was difficult and Simon and Garfunkel's relationship had deteriorated. "At that point, I just wanted out," Simon later said. At the urging of his wife, Peggy Harper, Simon called Davis to confirm the duo's breakup. For the next several years, they spoke only two or three times a year.
In the 1970s, the duo reunited several times. Their first reunion was a benefit concert for presidential candidate George McGovern at New York's Madison Square Garden in June 1972. In 1975, they reconciled when they visited a recording session with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson. For the rest of the year, they attempted to make the reunion work, but their collaboration only yielded one song, "My Little Town", that was featured on Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" and Garfunkel's "Breakaway", both released in 1975. The song peaked at number nine on the Hot 100. In 1975, Garfunkel joined Simon for a medley of three songs on "Saturday Night Live," guest-hosted by Simon. In 1977, Garfunkel joined Simon for a brief performance of their old songs on "The Paul Simon Special", and later that year they recorded a cover of Sam Cooke's "(What a) Wonderful World" with James Taylor. Old tensions appeared to dissipate upon Garfunkel's return to New York in 1978, when the duo began interacting more often. On May 1, 1978, Simon joined Garfunkel for a concert held at Carnegie Hall to benefit the hearing disabled.
By 1980, the duo's solo careers were not doing well. To help alleviate New York's economic decline, concert promoter Ron Delsener suggested a free concert in Central Park. Delsener contacted Simon with the idea of a Simon & Garfunkel reunion, and once Garfunkel had agreed, plans were made. The concert, held on September 19, 1981 attracted more than 500,000 people, at that time the largest ever concert attendance. Warner Bros. Records released a live album of the show, "The Concert in Central Park", which went double platinum in the US. A 90-minute recording of the concert was sold to Home Box Office (HBO) for over $1 million. The concert created a renewed interest in Simon & Garfunkel's work. They had several "heart-to-heart talks", attempting to put their disagreements behind them. The duo undertook a world tour beginning in May 1982, but their relationship grew contentious: for the majority of the tour, they did not speak to one another.
Warner Bros. pushed for the duo to extend the tour and release a new studio album. Simon had new material ready, and, according to Simon, "Artie made a persuasive case that he could make it into a natural duo record." However, the duo quarrelled again; Garfunkel refused to learn the songs in the studio and would not give up his longstanding cannabis and cigarette habits, despite Simon's requests. Instead, the material became Simon's 1983 album "Hearts and Bones". A spokesperson said: "Paul simply felt the material he wrote is so close to his own life that it had to be his own record. Art was hoping to be on the album, but I'm sure there will be other projects that they will work on together." Another rift opened when the lengthy recording of Simon's 1986 album "Graceland" prevented Garfunkel from working with engineer Roy Halee on his Christmas album "The Animals' Christmas" (1985). In 1986, Simon said he and Garfunkel remained friends and got on well, "like when we were 10 years old", when they were not working together.
In 1990, Simon and Garfunkel were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Garfunkel thanked Simon, calling him "the person who most enriched my life by putting those songs through me"; Simon responded, "Arthur and I agree about almost nothing. But it's true, I have enriched his life quite a bit." After performing three songs, the duo left without speaking. In August 1991, Simon staged his own concert in Central Park, released as a live album, "Paul Simon's Concert in the Park," a few months later. He declined an offer from Garfunkel to perform with him at the park.
By 1993, their relationship had thawed, and Simon invited Garfunkel on an international tour. Following a 21-date sold-out run at the Paramount Theater in New York and an appearance at that year's Bridge School Benefit in California, they toured the Far East. They became acrimonious again for the rest of the decade. Simon thanked Garfunkel at his 2001 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist: "I regret the ending of our friendship. I hope that some day before we die we will make peace with each other," adding after a pause, "No rush."
In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, for which the promoters convinced them to open with a performance of "The Sound of Silence". The performance was satisfying for both, and they planned a full-scale reunion tour. The Old Friends tour began in October 2003 and played to sold-out audiences across the United States for 40 dates until mid-December, earning an estimated $123 million. A second U.S. leg commenced in June, 2004, consisting of 20 cities. Following a 12-city run in Europe in 2004, they ended their nine-month tour with a free concert along Via dei Fori Imperiali, in front of the Colosseum in Rome, on 31 July 2004. It attracted 600,000 fans, more than their Concert in Central Park. In 2005, Simon and Garfunkel performed three songs for a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert in Madison Square Garden, including a performance with singer Aaron Neville.
In February 2009, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for three songs during Simon's two-night engagement at New York's Beacon Theatre. This led to a reunion tour of Asia and Australia in June and July, 2009. On October 29, 2009, they performed five songs at the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert at Madison Square Garden. Their headlining set at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was difficult for Garfunkel, who had vocal problems. "I was terrible, and crazy nervous. I leaned on Paul Simon and the affection of the crowd," he told "Rolling Stone" several years later. Garfunkel was diagnosed with vocal cord paresis, and the remaining tour dates were cancelled. His manager, John Scher, informed Simon's camp that Garfunkel would be ready within a year, which did not happen, damaging relations between the two. Simon continued to publicly wish Garfunkel better health and praised his "angelic" voice. Garfunkel regained his vocal strength over the course of the next four years, performing shows in a Harlem theater and to underground audiences.
In 2014, Garfunkel told "Rolling Stone" that he believed he and Simon would tour again, but said: "I know that audiences all over the world like Simon and Garfunkel. I'm with them. But I don't think Paul Simon's with them." Asked about a reunion in 2016, Simon said: "Quite honestly, we don't get along. So it's not like it's fun. If it was fun, I'd say, OK, sometimes we'll go out and sing old songs in harmony. That's cool. But when it's not fun, you know, and you're going to be in a tense situation, well, then I have a lot of musical areas that I like to play in. So that'll never happen again. That's that." In February 2018, Simon announced his retirement from touring.
Over the course of their career, Simon & Garfunkel's music gradually moved from a basic folk rock sound to incorporate more experimental elements for the time, including Latin and gospel music. Their music, according to "Rolling Stone", struck a chord among lonely, alienated young adults near the end of the decade.
Simon & Garfunkel received criticism at the height of their success. In 1968, "Rolling Stone" critic Arthur Schmidt described their music as "questionable ... it exudes a sense of process, and it is slick, and nothing too much happens." "New York Times" critic Robert Shelton said that the duo had "a kind of Mickey Mouse, timid, contrived" approach. According to Richie Unterberger of AllMusic, their clean sound and muted lyricism "cost them some hipness points during the psychedelic era ... the pair inhabited the more polished end of the folk-rock spectrum and was sometimes criticized for a certain collegiate sterility." He noted that some critics regard Simon's later solo work as superior to Simon & Garfunkel.
According to "Pitchfork", though Simon & Garfunkel were highly regarded folk act "distinguished by their intuitive harmonies and Paul Simon's articulate songwriting", they were more conservative than the folk music revivalists of Greenwich Village. By the late 1960s, they had become the "folk establishment ... primarily unthreatening and accessible, which forty years later makes them an ideal gateway act to the weirder, harsher, more complex folkies of the 60s counterculture". However, their later albums explored more ambitious production techniques and incorporated elements of gospel, rock, R&B, and classical, revealing a "voracious musical vocabulary".
The Grammy Awards are held annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Simon & Garfunkel have won 9 total competitive awards, 4 Hall of Fame awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26823 |
State Street Corporation
State Street Corporation is an American financial services and bank holding company headquartered at One Lincoln Street in Boston with operations worldwide. It is the second-oldest continually operating United States bank; its predecessor, Union Bank, was founded in 1792. State Street is ranked 15th on the list of largest banks in the United States by assets. It is one of the largest asset management companies in the world with US$2.511 trillion under management and US$31.62 trillion under custody and administration. It is the second largest custodian bank in the world.
The company is ranked 247th on the Fortune 500 as of 2019. The company is on the list of the banks that are too big to fail published by the Financial Stability Board.
The company is named after State Street in Boston, which was known as the "Great Street to the Sea" in the 18th century as Boston became a flourishing maritime capital. The company's logo includes a clipper to reflect the maritime industry in Boston during this time.
State Street Bank and Trust Company, also known as Global Services, is the investment servicing division of State Street. It provides asset owners and managers with custodian bank services (safekeeping, corporate actions), fund accounting (pricing and valuation), and administration (financial reporting, tax, compliance, and legal) services. Global Services handles assets from many classes, including stocks, derivatives, exchange-traded funds, fixed income assets, private equity, and real estate. State Street administers 40% of the assets under administration in the US mutual fund market. Global Services also provides outsourcing for operations activities and handles US$10.2 trillion of middle-office assets.
State Street Global Advisors dates back to 1978. It provides asset management, investment management, research, and advisory services to corporations, mutual funds, insurance companies, and other institutional investors. Global Advisors develops both passive management and active management strategies using both quantitative and fundamental approaches.
In 1993, the company created the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF, the first exchange-traded fund (ETF), and is now one of the largest ETF providers worldwide.
Trading on SPDR began January 29, 1993.
Global Markets is State Street's securities business. It offers research, trading, and securities lending services for foreign exchange, stocks, fixed income, and derivatives. To avoid a conflict of interest, the company does not run proprietary trading books. Global Markets maintains trading desks in Boston, London, Sydney, Toronto, and Tokyo.
The company traces its roots to Union Bank, which received a charter in 1792 from Massachusetts Governor John Hancock. It was the third bank to be chartered in Boston and its office was at the corner of State and Exchange Streets. In 1865, Union Bank received a national charter and became the National Union Bank of Boston. The bank later built a headquarters at Washington and State streets.
State Street Deposit & Trust Co opened in 1891. It became the custodian of the first U.S. mutual fund in 1924, the Massachusetts Investors Trust (now MFS Investment Management).
State Street and National Union merged in 1925. The merged bank took the State Street name, but National Union was the nominal survivor, and it operated under National Union's charter, thus giving the current entity its rank among the oldest banks in the United States.
The company merged with Second National Bank in 1955 and with the Rockland-Atlas National Bank in 1961.
In 1966, the company completed construction of the State Street Bank Building, a new headquarters building, the first high-rise office tower in downtown Boston.
In 1972, the company opened its first international office in Munich.
In 1973, as a 50/50 joint venture with DST Systems, the company formed Boston Financial Data Services, a provider of shareholder record-keeping, intermediary and investor services, and regulatory compliance. More than 100 top staff from IBM were hired by State Street as it set about implementing IBM mainframe computer systems.
In 1975, William Edgerly became president and chief executive officer of the bank and shifted the company's strategy from commercial banking to investments and securities processing.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the company opened offices in Montreal, Toronto, Dublin, London, Paris, Dubai, Sydney, Wellington, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
By 1992, most of State Street's revenue came from fees for holding securities, settling trades, keeping records, and performing accounting. In 1994, the company formed State Street Global Advisors, a global asset management business.
In 1995, State Street acquired Investors Fiduciary Trust of Kansas City for $162 million from DST Systems and Kemper Financial Services. In 1996, Bank of New York acquired the unit investment trust servicing business of Investors Fiduciary Trust Co., Kansas City, Mo.
In 1999, State Street sold its retail and commercial banking businesses to Citizens Financial Group.
In 1990, State Street Bank Luxembourg was founded, and is the largest player in the country's fund industry by assets.
In 2003, the company acquired the securities services division of Deutsche Bank for $1.5 billion. The company also sold its corporate trust business to U.S. Bancorp for $725 million. Also in 2003, State Street sold its private asset management business to U.S. Trust.
In July 2007, the company acquired Investors Bank & Trust for $4.5 billion.
In October 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury invested $2 billion in the company as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and in July 2009, the company became the first major financial firm to repay the Treasury.
In 2010, the company acquired Mourant International Finance Administration. It also acquired the securities services group of Intesa Sanpaolo for $1.87 billion. In December 2010, the company announced that it would be retrenching 5% of its workforce and effectively reducing the hourly wages of remaining employees by 10% via increased standard work hours.
In November 2011, the company was named as amongst the world's 29 systemic banks.
In 2012, the company acquired Goldman Sachs Administration Services, a hedge fund administrator, for $550 million.
In November 2014, the company sold SSARIS Advisors, its hedge fund unit, to senior management.
In 2016, State Street launched a program called Beacon, focused on cutting costs and improving reporting technology. Their main focus was to shrink their US workforce in order to bolster profits in excess of $2.5 billion (2018 figures). Also in 2016, the company acquired the asset management business of General Electric.
In 2017, the company announced that Jay Hooley, the chief executive officer of the company, would retire.
In 2018, State Street completed its acquisition of Charles River Development, a Burlington, Massachusetts provider of investment management software. The deal closed October 1, 2018, at a cost of approximately $2.6 billion that will be financed by the suspension of share repurchases and the issuing of common and preferred equity. News of the acquisition led to a drop in State Street shares of nearly 10% with share prices remaining flat since the purchase.
In January 2019, State Street announced that it planned to lay off 1,500 employees, increasing the number to 2,300 in July. The company is shifting their workforce from the United States to countries like China, India and Poland and is operating under a hiring freeze. Offsetting this is increased overseas hiring, resulting in a 3K+ net gain of employment.
In 2009, California alleged on behalf of its pension funds CalPERS and CalSTRS that State Street had committed fraud on currency trades handled by the custodian bank. In October 2011, two executives from State Street Global Markets left the company following charges over the pricing of a fixed income transaction. In April 2016, they were charged by the United States Department of Justice.
On February 28, 2012, State Street Global Advisors entered into a consent order with the Massachusetts Securities Division. The Division was investigating the firm's role as the investment manager of a $1.65 billion (USD) hybrid collateralized debt obligation. The investigation resulted in a fine of $5 million (USD) for the non-disclosure of certain initial investors taking a short position on portions of the CDO.
During the May 2012 annual shareholders meeting, chairman and chief executive Jay Hooley was shouted down on numerous occasions by protesters in relation to the outsourcing and other grievances.
On January 18, 2017, State Street agreed to pay $64.6 million to resolve U.S. investigations into what prosecutors said was a scheme to defraud six clients through secret commissions on billions of dollars of trades.
In 2018 former employee of State Street, Edward Pennings was sentenced to six months in prison for his role in the scheme. Employee Ross McLellan was also sentenced in the United States to 18 months in prison.
In March 2017, State Street Global Advisors commissioned a statue called "Fearless Girl" by Kristen Visbal and placed it temporarily in the Financial District, Manhattan, in front of the Wall Street icon "Charging Bull". The statue is an advertisement for an index fund which comprises gender diverse companies that have a higher percentage of women among their senior leadership. While some have seen it as an encouragement of women in business, some women criticized the statue as "corporate feminism" that violated their own feminist principles. In October 2017, the company paid $5 million to settle a lawsuit charging that it had paid certain female and African-American executives less than their male and European-American peers. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26824 |
Spanish language
Spanish (), or Castilian (, ), is a Romance language that originated in the Iberian Peninsula and today is a global language with more than 483 million native speakers, mainly in Spain and the Americas. It is the world's second-most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese, and the world's fourth-most spoken language, after English, Mandarin Chinese and Hindi.
Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo, a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile, in the 13th century. Beginning in 1492, the Spanish language was taken to the viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania and the Philippines.
A 1949 study by Italian-American linguist Mario Pei, analyzing the degree of difference from a language's parent (Latin, in the case of Romance languages) by comparing phonology, inflection, syntax, vocabulary, and intonation, indicated the following percentages (the higher the percentage, the greater the distance from Latin): In the case of Spanish, it is one of the closest Romance languages to Latin (20% distance), only behind Sardinian (8% distance) and Italian (12% distance). Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is derived from Latin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek.
Spanish vocabulary has been in contact with Arabic from an early date, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula and around 8% of its vocabulary has an Arabic lexical root. It has also had small influences from Basque, Iberian, Celtiberian, Visigothic, and other neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. Additionally, it has absorbed vocabulary from other languages, particularly other Romance languages—French, Italian, Andalusi Romance, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, Occitan, and Sardinian—as well as from Quechua, Nahuatl, and other indigenous languages of the Americas.
Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is also used as an official language by the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Union of South American Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the African Union and many other international organizations.
Despite its large number of speakers, the Spanish language does not feature prominently in scientific writing, though it is better represented in the humanities. 75% of scientific production in Spanish is divided into three thematic areas: social sciences, medical sciences and arts/humanities. Spanish is the third most used language on the internet after English and Chinese.
It is estimated that there are more than 437 million people who speak Spanish as a native language, which qualifies it as second on the lists of languages by number of native speakers. Instituto Cervantes claims that there are an estimated 477 million Spanish speakers with native competence and 572 million Spanish speakers as a first or second language—including speakers with limited competence—and more than 21 million students of Spanish as a foreign language.
Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, and 18 countries and one territory in the Americas. Speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. It is also an optional language in the Philippines as it was a Spanish colony from 1569 to 1899. In the European Union, Spanish is the mother tongue of 8% of the population, with an additional 7% speaking it as a second language. The country with the largest number of native speakers is Mexico. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States. In 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over, 38 million speak Spanish at home.
According to a 2011 paper by U.S. Census Bureau Demographers Jennifer Ortman and Hyon B. Shin, the number of Spanish speakers is projected to rise through 2020 to anywhere between 39 million and 43 million, depending on the assumptions one makes about immigration. Most of these Spanish speakers will be Hispanic, with Ortman and Shin projecting between 37.5 million and 41 million Hispanic Spanish speakers by 2020.
In Spain and in some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only (Spanish) but also (Castilian), the language from the kingdom of Castile, contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician, Basque, Asturian, Catalan, Aragonese and Occitan.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term to define the official language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to (lit. "the other Spanish languages"). Article III reads as follows:
The Spanish Royal Academy, on the other hand, currently uses the term in its publications, but from 1713 to 1923 called the language .
The (a language guide published by the Spanish Royal Academy) states that, although the Spanish Royal Academy prefers to use the term in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— and —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid.
The term "castellano" (Castillian), comes from the Latin word "castellanus", which means "from Castilla", the medieval kingdom located in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula, where this language originated.
Different etymologies have been suggested for the term "español" (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, "español" (Spanish) derives from the Provençal word "espaignol" and that, in turn, derives from the Medieval Latin word "Hispaniolus", which means "from —or pertaining to— Hispania". The Latin form comes from the Latin name of the province of HĬSPĀNĬA that included the current territory of the Iberian Peninsula. In late Latin, the /H/ was silent and /Ĭ/ evolved into a short /e/, resulting in the word ESPAŇOL(U).
There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Some philologists argue that "español" comes from Occitan "espaignon". On the other hand, Spanish philologist Menéndez Pidal suggested that the classic "hispanus" or "hispanicus" took the suffix "-one" from Vulgar Latin, as it happened with other words such as "bretón" (Breton) or "sajón" (Saxon). The term "hispanione" evolved into the Old Spanish "españón", which eventually, became "español".
The Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin, which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War, beginning in 210 BC. Previously, several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages)—some related to Latin via Indo-European, and some that are not related at all—were spoken in the Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Basque (still spoken today), Iberian, Celtiberian and Gallaecian.
The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era, the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages—Mozarabic (Andalusi Romance), Navarro-Aragonese, Leonese, Catalan, Portuguese, Galician, Occitan, and later, French and Italian. Spanish also borrowed a considerable number of words from Arabic, as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the migration of tribes and a period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin, the form of Latin in use at that time.
According to the theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal, local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos, and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo, where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese, and, according to some authors, was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus, much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic-derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language was developed in the cities of Toledo, in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid, from the 1570s.
The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages, including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin > Spanish ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short and —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in the following table:
Spanish is marked by the palatalization of the Latin double consonants and (thus Latin
The consonant written or in Latin and pronounced in Classical Latin had probably "fortified" to a bilabial fricative in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with the consonant written "b" (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic and , with some exceptions in Caribbean Spanish.
Peculiar to Spanish (as well as to the neighboring Gascon dialect of Occitan, and attributed to a Basque substratum) was the mutation of Latin initial into whenever it was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and from neighboring Romance languages, there are many -/-doublets in modern Spanish: and (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), and (both Spanish for "smith"), and (both Spanish for "iron"), and and (both Spanish for "deep", but means "bottom" while means "deep"); (Spanish for "to make") is cognate to the root word of (Spanish for "to satisfy"), and ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of (Spanish for "satisfied").
Compare the examples in the following table:
Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table:
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent a dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants, known in Spanish as the , which resulted in the distinctive velar pronunciation of the letter and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental ("th-sound") for the letter (and for before or ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of the Old Spanish sibilants) for details.
The , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija, was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I, she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to the grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire."
From the sixteenth century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America. Miguel de Cervantes, author of "Don Quixote", is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called ("the language of Cervantes").
In the twentieth century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City. For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language.
Most of the grammatical and typological features of Spanish are shared with the other Romance languages. Spanish is a fusional language. The noun and adjective systems exhibit two genders and two numbers. In addition, articles and some pronouns and determiners have a neuter gender in their singular form. There are about fifty conjugated forms per verb, with 3 tenses: past, present, future; 2 aspects for past: perfective, imperfective; 4 moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative; 3 persons: first, second, third; 2 numbers: singular, plural; 3 verboid forms: infinitive, gerund, and past participle. Verbs express T-V distinction by using different persons for formal and informal addresses. (For a detailed overview of verbs, see Spanish verbs and Spanish irregular verbs.)
Spanish syntax is considered right-branching, meaning that subordinate or modifying constituents tend to be placed after their head words. The language uses prepositions (rather than postpositions or inflection of nouns for case), and usually—though not always—places adjectives after nouns, as do most other Romance languages.
The language is classified as a subject–verb–object language; however, as in most Romance languages, constituent order is highly variable and governed mainly by topicalization and focus rather than by syntax. It is a "pro-drop", or "null-subject" language—that is, it allows the deletion of subject pronouns when they are pragmatically unnecessary. Spanish is described as a "verb-framed" language, meaning that the "direction" of motion is expressed in the verb while the "mode" of locomotion is expressed adverbially (e.g. "subir corriendo" or "salir volando"; the respective English equivalents of these examples—'to run up' and 'to fly out'—show that English is, by contrast, "satellite-framed", with mode of locomotion expressed in the verb and direction in an adverbial modifier).
Subject/verb inversion is not required in questions, and thus the recognition of declarative or interrogative may depend entirely on intonation.
The Spanish phonemic system is originally descended from that of Vulgar Latin. Its development exhibits some traits in common with the neighboring dialects—especially Leonese and Aragonese—as well as other traits unique to Castilian. Castilian is unique among its neighbors in the aspiration and eventual loss of the Latin initial sound (e.g. Cast. vs. Leon. and Arag. ). The Latin initial consonant sequences , , and in Spanish typically become (originally pronounced ), while in Aragonese they are preserved, and in Leonese they present a variety of outcomes, including , , and . Where Latin had before a vowel (e.g. ) or the ending , (e.g. ), Old Spanish produced , that in Modern Spanish became the velar fricative (, , where neighboring languages have the palatal lateral (e.g. Portuguese , ; Catalan , ).
The Spanish phonemic inventory consists of five vowel phonemes (, , , , ) and 17 to 19 consonant phonemes (the exact number depending on the dialect). The main allophonic variation among vowels is the reduction of the high vowels and to glides— and respectively—when unstressed and adjacent to another vowel. Some instances of the mid vowels and , determined lexically, alternate with the diphthongs and respectively when stressed, in a process that is better described as morphophonemic rather than phonological, as it is not predictable from phonology alone.
The Spanish consonant system is characterized by (1) three nasal phonemes, and one or two (depending on the dialect) lateral phoneme(s), which in syllable-final position lose their contrast and are subject to assimilation to a following consonant; (2) three voiceless stops and the affricate ; (3) three or four (depending on the dialect) voiceless fricatives; (4) a set of voiced obstruents—, , , and sometimes —which alternate between approximant and plosive allophones depending on the environment; and (5) a phonemic distinction between the "tapped" and "trilled" "r"-sounds (single and double in orthography).
In the following table of consonant phonemes, is marked with an asterisk (*) to indicate that it is preserved only in some dialects. In most dialects it has been merged with in the merger called . Similarly, is also marked with an asterisk to indicate that most dialects do not distinguish it from (see ), although this is not a true merger but an outcome of different evolution of sibilants in Southern Spain.
The phoneme is in parentheses () to indicate that it appears only in loanwords. Each of the voiced obstruent phonemes , , , and appears to the right of a "pair" of voiceless phonemes, to indicate that, while the "voiceless" phonemes maintain a phonemic contrast between plosive (or affricate) and fricative, the "voiced" ones alternate allophonically (i.e. without phonemic contrast) between plosive and approximant pronunciations.
Spanish is classified by its rhythm as a syllable-timed language: each syllable has approximately the same duration regardless of stress.
Spanish intonation varies significantly according to dialect but generally conforms to a pattern of falling tone for declarative sentences and wh-questions (who, what, why, etc.) and rising tone for yes/no questions. There are no syntactic markers to distinguish between questions and statements and thus, the recognition of declarative or interrogative depends entirely on intonation.
Stress most often occurs on any of the last three syllables of a word, with some rare exceptions at the fourth-last or earlier syllables. The "tendencies" of stress assignment are as follows:
In addition to the many exceptions to these tendencies, there are numerous minimal pairs that contrast solely on stress such as ('sheet') and ('savannah'); ('boundary'), ('[that] he/she limits') and ('I limited'); ('liquid'), ('I sell off') and ('he/she sold off').
The orthographic system unambiguously reflects where the stress occurs: in the absence of an accent mark, the stress falls on the last syllable unless the last letter is , , or a vowel, in which cases the stress falls on the next-to-last (penultimate) syllable. Exceptions to those rules are indicated by an acute accent mark over the vowel of the stressed syllable. (See Spanish orthography.)
Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries worldwide. It is estimated that the combined total number of Spanish speakers is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in terms of native speakers.
Spanish is the third most spoken language by total number of speakers (after Mandarin and English). Internet usage statistics for 2007 also show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the Internet, after English and Mandarin.
In Europe, Spanish is an official language of Spain, the country after which it is named and from which it originated. It is widely spoken in Gibraltar, and also commonly spoken in Andorra, although Catalan is the official language there.
Spanish is also spoken by small communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. Spanish is an official language of the European Union. In Switzerland, which had a massive influx of Spanish migrants in the 20th century, Spanish is the native language of 2.2% of the population.
Most Spanish speakers are in Hispanic America; of all countries with a majority of Spanish speakers, only Spain and Equatorial Guinea are outside the Americas. Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either "de facto" or "de jure"—of Argentina, Bolivia (co-official with Quechua, Aymara, Guarani, and 34 other languages), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní), Peru (co-official with Quechua, Aymara, and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Spanish has no official recognition in the former British colony of Belize; however, per the 2000 census, it is spoken by 43% of the population. Mainly, it is spoken by the descendants of Hispanics who have been in the region since the seventeenth century; however, English is the official language.
Due to their proximity to Spanish-speaking countries, Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil have implemented Spanish language teaching into their education systems. The Trinidad government launched the "Spanish as a First Foreign Language" (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President, making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law was revoked by Michel Temer after impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken.
According to 2006 census data, 44.3 million people of the U.S. population were Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin; 38.3 million people, 13 percent of the population over five years old speak Spanish at home. The Spanish language has a long history of presence in the United States due to early Spanish and, later, Mexican administration over territories now forming the southwestern states, also Louisiana ruled by Spain from 1762 to 1802, as well as Florida, which was Spanish territory until 1821.
Spanish is by far the most common second language in the US, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico. The language also has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Phoenix; as well as more recently, Chicago, Las Vegas, Boston, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Nashville, Orlando, Tampa, Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration.
In Africa, Spanish is official (along with Portuguese and French) in Equatorial Guinea, as well as an official language of the African Union. In Equatorial Guinea, Spanish is the predominant language when native and non-native speakers (around 500,000 people) are counted, while Fang is the most spoken language by number of native speakers.
Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in North Africa, which include the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the Plazas de soberanía, and the Canary Islands archipelago (population 2,000,000), located some off the northwest coast of mainland Africa. In northern Morocco, a former Spanish protectorate that is also geographically close to Spain, approximately 20,000 people speak Spanish as a second language, while Arabic is the "de jure" official language. A small number of Moroccan Jews also speak the Sephardic Spanish dialect Haketia (related to the Ladino dialect spoken in Israel). Spanish is spoken by some small communities in Angola because of the Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned in time for their country's independence.
In Western Sahara, formerly Spanish Sahara, Spanish was officially spoken during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Today, Spanish in this disputed territory is maintained by populations of Sahrawi nomads numbering about 500,000 people, and is de facto official alongside Arabic in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, although this entity receives limited international recognition.
Spanish and Philippine Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization (1565–1898), it was the language of government, trade and education, and spoken as a first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos. In the mid-nineteenth century, the colonial government set up a free public education system with Spanish as the medium of instruction. This increased use of Spanish throughout the islands led to the formation of a class of Spanish-speaking intellectuals called the "Ilustrados". By the time of Philippine independence in 1898, around 70% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, with 10% speaking it as their first and only language and about 60% of the population spoke it as their second or third language.
Despite American administration after the defeat of Spain in the Spanish–American War in 1898, the usage of Spanish continued in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration. Gradually, however, the American government began increasingly promoting the use of English, and it characterized Spanish as a negative influence of the past. Eventually, by the 1920s, English became the primary language of administration and education. But despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines when it became independent in 1946, alongside English and Filipino, a standardized version of Tagalog.
Spanish was removed from official status in 1973 under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, but regained its status as an official language two months later under Presidential Decree No. 155, dated 15 March 1973. It remained an official language until 1987, with the ratification of the present constitution, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. In 2010, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo encouraged the reintroduction of Spanish-language teaching in the Philippine education system. But by 2012, the number of secondary schools at which the language was either a compulsory subject or an elective had become very limited. Today, despite government promotions of Spanish, less than 0.5% of the population report being able to speak the language proficiently. Aside from standard Spanish, a Spanish-based creole language—Chavacano—developed in the southern Philippines. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. Speakers of the Zamboangueño variety of Chavacano were numbered about 360,000 in the 2000 census. The local languages of the Philippines also retain Spanish influence, with many words being derived from Mexican Spanish, owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, and then directly from Madrid until 1898.
Philippine Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language in the Philippines. The variant is very similar to Mexican Spanish, because of Mexican and Latin American emigration to the Spanish East Indies over the years.
From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines, which were a part of the Spanish East Indies, were governed by the Captaincy General of the Philippines as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain centered in Mexico. It was only administered directly from Spain in 1821 after Mexico gained its independence that same year. Since the Philippines was a former territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain for most of the Spanish colonial period, Spanish as was spoken in the Philippines had a greater affinity to American Spanish rather than to Peninsular Spanish.
Chavacano or Chabacano [tʃaβaˈkano] is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speakers. Other currently existing varieties are found in Cavite City and Ternate, located in the Cavite province on the island of Luzon.[4] Chavacano is the only Spanish-based creole in Asia.
Spanish is also the official language and the most spoken on Easter Island which is geographically part of Polynesia in Oceania and politically part of Chile. Easter Island's traditional language is Rapa Nui, an Eastern Polynesian language.
Spanish loan words are present in the local languages of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Marshall Islands and Micronesia, all of which formerly comprised the Spanish East Indies.
The following table shows the number of Spanish speakers in some 79 countries.
There are important variations (phonological, grammatical, and lexical) in the spoken Spanish of the various regions of Spain and throughout the Spanish-speaking areas of the Americas.
The variety with the most speakers is Mexican Spanish. It is spoken by more than twenty percent of the world's Spanish speakers (more than 112 million of the total of more than 500 million, according to the table above). One of its main features is the reduction or loss of unstressed vowels, mainly when they are in contact with the sound /s/.
In Spain, northern dialects are popularly thought of as closer to the standard, although positive attitudes toward southern dialects have increased significantly in the last 50 years. Even so, the speech of Madrid, which has typically southern features such as yeísmo and s-aspiration, is the standard variety for use on radio and television. However, the variety used in the media is that of Madrid's educated classes, where southern traits are less evident, in contrast with the variety spoken by working-class Madrid, where those traits are pervasive. The educated variety of Madrid is indicated by many as the one that has most influenced the written standard for Spanish.
The four main phonological divisions are based respectively on (1) the phoneme ("theta"), (2) the debuccalization of syllable-final , (3) the sound of the spelled , (4) and the phoneme ("turned "y""),
The main morphological variations between dialects of Spanish involve differing uses of pronouns, especially those of the second person and, to a lesser extent, the object pronouns of the third person.
Virtually all dialects of Spanish make the distinction between a formal and a familiar register in the second-person singular and thus have two different pronouns meaning "you": in the formal and either or in the familiar (and each of these three pronouns has its associated verb forms), with the choice of or varying from one dialect to another. The use of (and/or its verb forms) is called . In a few dialects, all three pronouns are used, with , , and denoting respectively formality, familiarity, and intimacy.
In , is the subject form (, "you say") and the form for the object of a preposition (, "I am going with you"), while the direct and indirect object forms, and the possessives, are the same as those associated with : ("You know your friends respect you").
The verb forms of "general voseo" are the same as those used with except in the present tense (indicative and imperative) verbs. The forms for generally can be derived from those of (the traditional second-person familiar "plural") by deleting the glide , or , where it appears in the ending: > ; > , () > (), () > () .
In Chilean on the other hand, almost all verb forms are distinct from their standard -forms.
The use of the pronoun with the verb forms of () is called "pronominal ". Conversely, the use of the verb forms of with the pronoun ( or ) is called "verbal ".
In Chile, for example, "verbal voseo" is much more common than the actual use of the pronoun "vos", which is usually reserved for highly informal situations.
And in Central American , one can see even further distinction.
Although is not used in Spain, it occurs in many Spanish-speaking regions of the Americas as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular familiar pronoun, with wide differences in social consideration. Generally, it can be said that there are zones of exclusive use of (the use of ) in the following areas: almost all of Mexico, the West Indies, Panama, most of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and coastal Ecuador.
Areas of generalized include Argentina, Nicaragua, eastern Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Colombian departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, Quindio and Valle del Cauca.
functions as formal and informal second person plural in over 90% of the Spanish-speaking world, including all of Hispanic America, the Canary Islands, and some regions of Andalusia. In Seville, Huelva, Cadiz, and other parts of western Andalusia, the familiar form is constructed as , using the traditional second-person plural form of the verb. Most of Spain maintains the formal/familiar distinction with and respectively.
is the usual second-person singular pronoun in a formal context, but it is used jointly with the third-person singular voice of the verb. It is used to convey respect toward someone who is a generation older or is of higher authority ("you, sir"/"you, ma'am"). It is also used in a "familiar" context by many speakers in Colombia and Costa Rica and in parts of Ecuador and Panama, to the exclusion of or . This usage is sometimes called in Spanish.
In Central America, especially in Honduras, is often used as a formal pronoun to convey respect between the members of a romantic couple. is also used that way between parents and children in the Andean regions of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.
Most speakers use (and the prefers) the pronouns and for "direct" objects (masculine and feminine respectively, regardless of animacy, meaning "him", "her", or "it"), and for "indirect" objects (regardless of gender or animacy, meaning "to him", "to her", or "to it"). The usage is sometimes called "etymological", as these direct and indirect object pronouns are a continuation, respectively, of the accusative and dative pronouns of Latin, the ancestor language of Spanish.
Deviations from this norm (more common in Spain than in the Americas) are called "", "", or "", according to which respective pronoun, , , or , has expanded beyond the etymological usage ( as a direct object, or or as an indirect object).
Some words can be significantly different in different Hispanophone countries. Most Spanish speakers can recognize other Spanish forms even in places where they are not commonly used, but Spaniards generally do not recognize specifically American usages. For example, Spanish , and (respectively, 'butter', 'avocado', 'apricot') correspond to (word used for lard in Peninsular Spanish), , and , respectively, in Argentina, Chile (except ), Paraguay, Peru (except and ), and Uruguay.
Spanish is closely related to the other West Iberian Romance languages, including Asturian, Aragonese, Galician, Ladino, Leonese, Mirandese and Portuguese.
It is generally acknowledged that Portuguese and Spanish speakers can communicate in written form, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility.
Mutual intelligibility of the "written" Spanish and Portuguese languages is remarkably high, and the difficulties of the spoken forms are based more on phonology than on grammatical and lexical dissimilarities. "Ethnologue" gives estimates of the lexical similarity between related languages in terms of precise percentages. For Spanish and Portuguese, that figure is 89%. Italian, on the other hand its phonology similar to Spanish, but has a lower lexical similarity of 82%. Mutual intelligibility between Spanish and French or between Spanish and Romanian is lower still, given lexical similarity ratings of 75% and 71% respectively. And comprehension of Spanish by French speakers who have not studied the language is much lower, at an estimated 45%. In general, thanks to the common features of the writing systems of the Romance languages, interlingual comprehension of the written word is greater than that of oral communication.
The following table compares the forms of some common words in several Romance languages:
1. Also in early modern Portuguese (e.g. "The Lusiads"), and in Galician.
2. Alternatively in French.
3. Also in Southern Italian dialects and languages.
4. Medieval Catalan (e.g. "Llibre dels fets").
5. Depending on the written norm used (see Reintegrationism).
6. From Basque "esku", "hand" + "erdi", "half, incomplete". Notice that this negative meaning also applies for Latin "sinistra(m)" ("dark, unfortunate").
7. Romanian "caș" (from Latin ) means a type of cheese. The universal term for cheese in Romanian is "brânză" (from unknown etymology).
Judaeo-Spanish, also known as Ladino, is a variety of Spanish which preserves many features of medieval Spanish and Portuguese and is spoken by descendants of the Sephardi Jews who were expelled from Spain in the 15th century. Conversely, in Portugal the vast majority of the Portuguese Jews converted and became 'New Christians'. Therefore, its relationship to Spanish is comparable with that of the Yiddish language to German. Ladino speakers today are almost exclusively Sephardi Jews, with family roots in Turkey, Greece, or the Balkans, and living mostly in Israel, Turkey, and the United States, with a few communities in Hispanic America. Judaeo-Spanish lacks the Native American vocabulary which was acquired by standard Spanish during the Spanish colonial period, and it retains many archaic features which have since been lost in standard Spanish. It contains, however, other vocabulary which is not found in standard Spanish, including vocabulary from Hebrew, French, Greek and Turkish, and other languages spoken where the Sephardim settled.
Judaeo-Spanish is in serious danger of extinction because many native speakers today are elderly as well as elderly "olim" (immigrants to Israel) who have not transmitted the language to their children or grandchildren. However, it is experiencing a minor revival among Sephardi communities, especially in music. In the case of the Latin American communities, the danger of extinction is also due to the risk of assimilation by modern Castilian.
A related dialect is Haketia, the Judaeo-Spanish of northern Morocco. This too tended to assimilate with modern Spanish, during the Spanish occupation of the region.
Spanish is written in the Latin script, with the addition of the character (, representing the phoneme , a letter distinct from , although typographically composed of an with a tilde). Formerly the digraphs (, representing the phoneme ) and (, representing the phoneme ), were also considered single letters. However, the digraph (, 'strong r', , 'double r', or simply ), which also represents a distinct phoneme , was not similarly regarded as a single letter. Since 1994 and have been treated as letter pairs for collation purposes, though they remained a part of the alphabet until 2010. Words with are now alphabetically sorted between those with and , instead of following as they used to. The situation is similar for .
Thus, the Spanish alphabet has the following 27 letters:
Since 2010, none of the digraphs () is considered a letter by the Spanish Royal Academy.
The letters and are used only in words and names coming from foreign languages (, etc.).
With the exclusion of a very small number of regional terms such as (see Toponymy of Mexico), pronunciation can be entirely determined from spelling. Under the orthographic conventions, a typical Spanish word is stressed on the syllable before the last if it ends with a vowel (not including ) or with a vowel followed by or an ; it is stressed on the last syllable otherwise. Exceptions to this rule are indicated by placing an acute accent on the stressed vowel.
The acute accent is used, in addition, to distinguish between certain homophones, especially when one of them is a stressed word and the other one is a clitic: compare ('the', masculine singular definite article) with ('he' or 'it'), or ('you', object pronoun) with ('tea'), (preposition 'of') versus ('give' [formal imperative/third-person present subjunctive]), and (reflexive pronoun) versus ('I know' or imperative 'be').
The interrogative pronouns (, , , , etc.) also receive accents in direct or indirect questions, and some demonstratives (, , , etc.) can be accented when used as pronouns. Accent marks used to be omitted on capital letters (a widespread practice in the days of typewriters and the early days of computers when only lowercase vowels were available with accents), although the advises against this and the orthographic conventions taught at schools enforce the use of the accent.
When is written between and a front vowel or , it indicates a "hard g" pronunciation. A diaeresis indicates that it is not silent as it normally would be (e.g., , 'stork', is pronounced ; if it were written *, it would be pronounced *).
Interrogative and exclamatory clauses are introduced with inverted question and exclamation marks ( and , respectively).
The Royal Spanish Academy (), founded in 1713, together with the 21 other national ones (see Association of Spanish Language Academies), exercises a standardizing influence through its publication of dictionaries and widely respected grammar and style guides.
Because of influence and for other sociohistorical reasons, a standardized form of the language (Standard Spanish) is widely acknowledged for use in literature, academic contexts and the media.
The Association of Spanish Language Academies (, or ) is the entity which regulates the Spanish language. It was created in Mexico in 1951 and represents the union of all the separate academies in the Spanish-speaking world. It comprises the academies of 23 countries, ordered by date of Academy foundation: Spain (1713), Colombia (1871), Ecuador (1874), Mexico (1875), El Salvador (1876), Venezuela (1883), Chile (1885), Peru (1887), Guatemala (1887), Costa Rica (1923), Philippines (1924), Panama (1926), Cuba (1926),
Paraguay (1927), Dominican Republic (1927), Bolivia (1927), Nicaragua (1928), Argentina (1931), Uruguay (1943), Honduras (1949), Puerto Rico (1955), United States (1973) and Equatorial Guinea (2016).
The (Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. This organization has branched out in over 20 different countries, with 75 centers devoted to the Spanish and Hispanic American cultures and Spanish language. The ultimate goals of the Institute are to promote universally the education, the study, and the use of Spanish as a second language, to support methods and activities that help the process of Spanish-language education, and to contribute to the advancement of the Spanish and Hispanic American cultures in non-Spanish-speaking countries. The institute's 2015 report "El español, una lengua viva" (Spanish, a living language) estimated that there were 559 million Spanish speakers worldwide. Its latest annual report "El español en el mundo 2018" (Spanish in the world 2018) counts 577 million Spanish speakers worldwide. Among the sources cited in the report is the U.S. Census Bureau, which estimates that the U.S. will have 138 million Spanish speakers by 2050, making it the biggest Spanish-speaking nation on earth, with Spanish the mother tongue of almost a third of its citizens.
Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, the World Trade Organization, the Organization of American States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the African Union, the Union of South American Nations, the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, the Latin Union, the Caricom, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and numerous other international organizations. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26825 |
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin "natrium") and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope is 23Na. The free metal does not occur in nature, and must be prepared from compounds. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and exists in numerous minerals such as feldspars, sodalite, and rock salt (NaCl). Many salts of sodium are highly water-soluble: sodium ions have been leached by the action of water from the Earth's minerals over eons, and thus sodium and chlorine are the most common dissolved elements by weight in the oceans.
Sodium was first isolated by Humphry Davy in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. Among many other useful sodium compounds, sodium hydroxide (lye) is used in soap manufacture, and sodium chloride (edible salt) is a de-icing agent and a nutrient for animals including humans.
Sodium is an essential element for all animals and some plants. Sodium ions are the major cation in the extracellular fluid (ECF) and as such are the major contributor to the ECF osmotic pressure and ECF compartment volume. Loss of water from the ECF compartment increases the sodium concentration, a condition called hypernatremia. Isotonic loss of water and sodium from the ECF compartment decreases the size of that compartment in a condition called ECF hypovolemia.
By means of the sodium-potassium pump, living human cells pump three sodium ions out of the cell in exchange for two potassium ions pumped in; comparing ion concentrations across the cell membrane, inside to outside, potassium measures about 40:1, and sodium, about 1:10. In nerve cells, the electrical charge across the cell membrane enables transmission of the nerve impulse—an action potential—when the charge is dissipated; sodium plays a key role in that activity.
Sodium at standard temperature and pressure is a soft silvery metal that combines with oxygen in the air and forms grayish white sodium oxide unless immersed in oil or inert gas, which are the conditions it is usually stored in. Sodium metal can be easily cut with a knife and is a good conductor of electricity and heat because it has only one electron in its valence shell, resulting in weak metallic bonding and free electrons, which carry energy. Due to having low atomic mass and large atomic radius, sodium is third-least dense of all elemental metals and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being lithium and potassium. The melting (98 °C) and boiling (883 °C) points of sodium are lower than those of lithium but higher than those of the heavier alkali metals potassium, rubidium, and caesium, following periodic trends down the group. These properties change dramatically at elevated pressures: at 1.5 Mbar, the color changes from silvery metallic to black; at 1.9 Mbar the material becomes transparent with a red color; and at 3 Mbar, sodium is a clear and transparent solid. All of these high-pressure allotropes are insulators and electrides.
In a flame test, sodium and its compounds glow yellow because the excited 3s electrons of sodium emit a photon when they fall from 3p to 3s; the wavelength of this photon corresponds to the D line at about 589.3 nm. Spin-orbit interactions involving the electron in the 3p orbital split the D line into two, at 589.0 and 589.6 nm; hyperfine structures involving both orbitals cause many more lines.
Twenty isotopes of sodium are known, but only 23Na is stable. 23Na is created in the carbon-burning process in stars by fusing two carbon atoms together; this requires temperatures above 600 megakelvins and a star of at least three solar masses. Two radioactive, cosmogenic isotopes are the byproduct of cosmic ray spallation: 22Na has a half-life of 2.6 years and 24Na, a half-life of 15 hours; all other isotopes have a half-life of less than one minute. Two nuclear isomers have been discovered, the longer-lived one being 24mNa with a half-life of around 20.2 milliseconds. Acute neutron radiation, as from a nuclear criticality accident, converts some of the stable 23Na in human blood to 24Na; the neutron radiation dosage of a victim can be calculated by measuring the concentration of 24Na relative to 23Na.
Sodium atoms have 11 electrons, one more than the stable configuration of the noble gas neon. The first and second ionization energies are 495.8 kJ/mol and 4562 kJ/mol), respectively. As a result, sodium usually forms ionic compounds involving the Na+ cation.
Metallic sodium is generally less reactive than potassium and more reactive than lithium. Sodium metal is highly reducing, with the standard reduction potential for the Na+/Na couple being −2.71 volts, though potassium and lithium have even more negative potentials.
Sodium compounds are of immense commercial importance, being particularly central to industries producing glass, paper, soap, and textiles. The most important sodium compounds are table salt (NaCl), soda ash (Na2CO3), baking soda (NaHCO3), caustic soda (NaOH), sodium nitrate (NaNO3), di- and tri-sodium phosphates, sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3·5H2O), and borax (Na2B4O7·10H2O). In compounds, sodium is usually ionically bonded to water and anions and is viewed as a hard Lewis acid.
Most soaps are sodium salts of fatty acids. Sodium soaps have a higher melting temperature (and seem "harder") than potassium soaps.
Like all the alkali metals, sodium reacts exothermically with water. The reaction produces caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and flammable hydrogen gas. When burned in air, it forms primarily sodium peroxide with some sodium oxide.
Sodium tends to form water-soluble compounds, such as halides, sulfates, nitrates, carboxylates and carbonates. The main aqueous species are the aquo complexes [Na(H2O)"n"]+, where "n" = 4–8; with "n" = 6 indicated from X-ray diffraction data and computer simulations.
Direct precipitation of sodium salts from aqueous solutions is rare because sodium salts typically have a high affinity for water. An exception is sodium bismuthate (NaBiO3). Because of the high solubility of its compounds, sodium salts are usually isolated as solids by evaporation or by precipitation with an organic antisolvent, such as ethanol; for example, only 0.35 g/L of sodium chloride will dissolve in ethanol. Crown ethers, like 15-crown-5, may be used as a phase-transfer catalyst.
Sodium content of samples is determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry or by potentiometry using ion-selective electrodes.
Like the other alkali metals, sodium dissolves in ammonia and some amines to give deeply colored solutions; evaporation of these solutions leaves a shiny film of metallic sodium. The solutions contain the coordination complex (Na(NH3)6)+, with the positive charge counterbalanced by electrons as anions; cryptands permit the isolation of these complexes as crystalline solids. Sodium forms complexes with crown ethers, cryptands and other ligands. For example, 15-crown-5 has a high affinity for sodium because the cavity size of 15-crown-5 is 1.7–2.2 Å, which is enough to fit the sodium ion (1.9 Å). Cryptands, like crown ethers and other ionophores, also have a high affinity for the sodium ion; derivatives of the alkalide Na− are obtainable by the addition of cryptands to solutions of sodium in ammonia via disproportionation.
Many organosodium compounds have been prepared. Because of the high polarity of the C-Na bonds, they behave like sources of carbanions (salts with organic anions). Some well-known derivatives include sodium cyclopentadienide (NaC5H5) and trityl sodium ((C6H5)3CNa). Sodium naphthalenide, Na+[C10H8•]−, a strong reducing agent, forms upon mixing Na and naphthalene in ethereal solutions.
Sodium forms alloys with many metals, such as potassium, calcium, lead, and the group 11 and 12 elements. Sodium and potassium form KNa2 and NaK. NaK is 40–90% potassium and it is liquid at ambient temperature. It is an excellent thermal and electrical conductor. Sodium-calcium alloys are by-products of the electrolytic production of sodium from a binary salt mixture of NaCl-CaCl2 and ternary mixture NaCl-CaCl2-BaCl2. Calcium is only partially miscible with sodium. In a liquid state, sodium is completely miscible with lead. There are several methods to make sodium-lead alloys. One is to melt them together and another is to deposit sodium electrolytically on molten lead cathodes. NaPb3, NaPb, Na9Pb4, Na5Pb2, and Na15Pb4 are some of the known sodium-lead alloys. Sodium also forms alloys with gold (NaAu2) and silver (NaAg2). Group 12 metals (zinc, cadmium and mercury) are known to make alloys with sodium. NaZn13 and NaCd2 are alloys of zinc and cadmium. Sodium and mercury form NaHg, NaHg4, NaHg2, Na3Hg2, and Na3Hg.
Because of its importance in human health, salt has long been an important commodity, as shown by the English word "salary", which derives from "salarium", the wafers of salt sometimes given to Roman soldiers along with their other wages. In medieval Europe, a compound of sodium with the Latin name of "sodanum" was used as a headache remedy. The name sodium is thought to originate from the Arabic "suda", meaning headache, as the headache-alleviating properties of sodium carbonate or soda were well known in early times. Although sodium, sometimes called "soda", had long been recognized in compounds, the metal itself was not isolated until 1807 by Sir Humphry Davy through the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. In 1809, the German physicist and chemist Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert proposed the names "Natronium" for Humphry Davy's "sodium" and "Kalium" for Davy's "potassium". The chemical abbreviation for sodium was first published in 1814 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in his system of atomic symbols, and is an abbreviation of the element's New Latin name "natrium", which refers to the Egyptian "natron", a natural mineral salt mainly consisting of hydrated sodium carbonate. Natron historically had several important industrial and household uses, later eclipsed by other sodium compounds.
Sodium imparts an intense yellow color to flames. As early as 1860, Kirchhoff and Bunsen noted the high sensitivity of a sodium flame test, and stated in Annalen der Physik und Chemie:
In a corner of our 60 m3 room farthest away from the apparatus, we exploded 3 mg of sodium chlorate with milk sugar while observing the nonluminous flame before the slit. After a while, it glowed a bright yellow and showed a strong sodium line that disappeared only after 10 minutes. From the weight of the sodium salt and the volume of air in the room, we easily calculate that one part by weight of air could not contain more than 1/20 millionth weight of sodium.
The Earth's crust contains 2.27% sodium, making it the seventh most abundant element on Earth and the fifth most abundant metal, behind aluminium, iron, calcium, and magnesium and ahead of potassium. Sodium's estimated oceanic abundance is 1.08 milligrams per liter. Because of its high reactivity, it is never found as a pure element. It is found in many minerals, some very soluble, such as halite and natron, others much less soluble, such as amphibole and zeolite. The insolubility of certain sodium minerals such as cryolite and feldspar arises from their polymeric anions, which in the case of feldspar is a polysilicate.
Atomic sodium has a very strong spectral line in the yellow-orange part of the spectrum (the same line as is used in sodium vapour street lights). This appears as an absorption line in many types of stars, including the Sun. The line was first studied in 1814 by Joseph von Fraunhofer during his investigation of the lines in the solar spectrum, now known as the Fraunhofer lines. Fraunhofer named it the 'D' line, although it is now known to actually be a group of closely spaced lines split by a fine and hyperfine structure.
The strength of the D line means it has been detected in many other astronomical environments. In stars, it is seen in any whose surfaces are cool enough for sodium to exist in atomic form (rather than ionised). This corresponds to stars of roughly F-type and cooler. Many other stars appear to have a sodium absorption line, but this is actually caused by gas in the foreground interstellar medium. The two can be distinguished via high-resolution spectroscopy, because interstellar lines are much narrower than those broadened by stellar rotation.
Sodium has also been detected in numerous Solar System environments, including Mercury's atmosphere, the exosphere of the Moon, and numerous other bodies. Some comets have a sodium tail, which was first detected in observations of Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. Sodium has even been detected in the atmospheres of some extrasolar planets via transit spectroscopy.
Employed only in rather specialized applications, only about 100,000 tonnes of metallic sodium are produced annually. Metallic sodium was first produced commercially in the late 19th century by carbothermal reduction of sodium carbonate at 1100 °C, as the first step of the Deville process for the production of aluminium:
The high demand for aluminium created the need for the production of sodium. The introduction of the Hall–Héroult process for the production of aluminium by electrolysing a molten salt bath ended the need for large quantities of sodium. A related process based on the reduction of sodium hydroxide was developed in 1886.
Sodium is now produced commercially through the electrolysis of molten sodium chloride, based on a process patented in 1924. This is done in a Downs cell in which the NaCl is mixed with calcium chloride to lower the melting point below 700 °C. As calcium is less electropositive than sodium, no calcium will be deposited at the cathode. This method is less expensive than the previous Castner process (the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide).
The market for sodium is volatile due to the difficulty in its storage and shipping; it must be stored under a dry inert gas atmosphere or anhydrous mineral oil to prevent the formation of a surface layer of sodium oxide or sodium superoxide.
Though metallic sodium has some important uses, the major applications for sodium use compounds; millions of tons of sodium chloride, hydroxide, and carbonate are produced annually. Sodium chloride is extensively used for anti-icing and de-icing and as a preservative; examples of the uses of sodium bicarbonate include baking, as a raising agent, and sodablasting. Along with potassium, many important medicines have sodium added to improve their bioavailability; though potassium is the better ion in most cases, sodium is chosen for its lower price and atomic weight. Sodium hydride is used as a base for various reactions (such as the aldol reaction) in organic chemistry, and as a reducing agent in inorganic chemistry.
Metallic sodium is used mainly for the production of sodium borohydride, sodium azide, indigo, and triphenylphosphine. A once-common use was the making of tetraethyllead and titanium metal; because of the move away from TEL and new titanium production methods, the production of sodium declined after 1970. Sodium is also used as an alloying metal, an anti-scaling agent, and as a reducing agent for metals when other materials are ineffective. Note the free element is not used as a scaling agent, ions in the water are exchanged for sodium ions. Sodium plasma ("vapor") lamps are often used for street lighting in cities, shedding light that ranges from yellow-orange to peach as the pressure increases. By itself or with potassium, sodium is a desiccant; it gives an intense blue coloration with benzophenone when the desiccate is dry. In organic synthesis, sodium is used in various reactions such as the Birch reduction, and the sodium fusion test is conducted to qualitatively analyse compounds. Sodium reacts with alcohol and gives alkoxides, and when sodium is dissolved in ammonia solution, it can be used to reduce alkynes to trans-alkenes. Lasers emitting light at the sodium D line are used to create artificial laser guide stars that assist in the adaptive optics for land-based visible-light telescopes.
Liquid sodium is used as a heat transfer fluid in some types of nuclear reactors because it has the high thermal conductivity and low neutron absorption cross section required to achieve a high neutron flux in the reactor. The high boiling point of sodium allows the reactor to operate at ambient (normal) pressure, but the drawbacks include its opacity, which hinders visual maintenance, and its explosive properties. Radioactive sodium-24 may be produced by neutron bombardment during operation, posing a slight radiation hazard; the radioactivity stops within a few days after removal from the reactor. If a reactor needs to be shut down frequently, NaK is used; because NaK is a liquid at room temperature, the coolant does not solidify in the pipes. In this case, the pyrophoricity of potassium requires extra precautions to prevent and detect leaks. Another heat transfer application is poppet valves in high-performance internal combustion engines; the valve stems are partially filled with sodium and work as a heat pipe to cool the valves.
In humans, sodium is an essential mineral that regulates blood volume, blood pressure, osmotic equilibrium and pH. The minimum physiological requirement for sodium is estimated to range from about 120 milligrams per day in newborns to 500 milligrams per day over the age of 10.
Sodium chloride is the principal source of sodium in the diet, and is used as seasoning and preservative in such commodities as pickled preserves and jerky; for Americans, most sodium chloride comes from processed foods. Other sources of sodium are its natural occurrence in food and such food additives as monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium nitrite, sodium saccharin, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and sodium benzoate.
The U.S. Institute of Medicine set its Tolerable Upper Intake Level for sodium at 2.3 grams per day, but the average person in the United States consumes 3.4 grams per day. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1.5 g of sodium per day.
Studies have found that lowering sodium intake by 2 g per day tends to lower systolic blood pressure by about two to four mm Hg. It has been estimated that such a decrease in sodium intake would lead to between 9 and 17% fewer cases of hypertension.
Hypertension causes 7.6 million premature deaths worldwide each year. (Note that salt contains about 39.3% sodiumthe rest being chlorine and trace chemicals; thus, 2.3 g sodium is about 5.9 g, or 5.3 ml, of saltabout one US teaspoon.)
One study found that people with or without hypertension who excreted less than 3 grams of sodium per day in their urine (and therefore were taking in less than 3 g/d) had a "higher" risk of death, stroke, or heart attack than those excreting 4 to 5 grams per day. Levels of 7 g per day or more in people with hypertension were associated with higher mortality and cardiovascular events, but this was not found to be true for people without hypertension. The US FDA states that adults with hypertension and prehypertension should reduce daily intake to 1.5 g.
The renin–angiotensin system regulates the amount of fluid and sodium concentration in the body. Reduction of blood pressure and sodium concentration in the kidney result in the production of renin, which in turn produces aldosterone and angiotensin, which stimulates the reabsorption of sodium back into the bloodstream. When the concentration of sodium increases, the production of renin decreases, and the sodium concentration returns to normal. The sodium ion (Na+) is an important electrolyte in neuron function, and in osmoregulation between cells and the extracellular fluid. This is accomplished in all animals by Na+/K+-ATPase, an active transporter pumping ions against the gradient, and sodium/potassium channels. Sodium is the most prevalent metallic ion in extracellular fluid.
Unusually low or high sodium levels in humans are recognized in medicine as hyponatremia and hypernatremia. These conditions may be caused by genetic factors, ageing, or prolonged vomiting or diarrhea.
In C4 plants, sodium is a micronutrient that aids metabolism, specifically in regeneration of phosphoenolpyruvate and synthesis of chlorophyll. In others, it substitutes for potassium in several roles, such as maintaining turgor pressure and aiding in the opening and closing of stomata. Excess sodium in the soil can limit the uptake of water by decreasing the water potential, which may result in plant wilting; excess concentrations in the cytoplasm can lead to enzyme inhibition, which in turn causes necrosis and chlorosis. In response, some plants have developed mechanisms to limit sodium uptake in the roots, to store it in cell vacuoles, and restrict salt transport from roots to leaves; excess sodium may also be stored in old plant tissue, limiting the damage to new growth. Halophytes have adapted to be able to flourish in sodium rich environments.
Sodium forms flammable hydrogen and caustic sodium hydroxide on contact with water; ingestion and contact with moisture on skin, eyes or mucous membranes can cause severe burns. Sodium spontaneously explodes in the presence of water due to the formation of hydrogen (highly explosive) and sodium hydroxide (which dissolves in the water, liberating more surface). However, sodium exposed to air and ignited or reaching autoignition (reported to occur when a molten pool of sodium reaches about 290 °C) displays a relatively mild fire. In the case of massive (non-molten) pieces of sodium, the reaction with oxygen eventually becomes slow due to formation of a protective layer. Fire extinguishers based on water accelerate sodium fires; those based on carbon dioxide and bromochlorodifluoromethane should not be used on sodium fire. Metal fires are Class D, but not all Class D extinguishers are workable with sodium. An effective extinguishing agent for sodium fires is Met-L-X. Other effective agents include Lith-X, which has graphite powder and an organophosphate flame retardant, and dry sand. Sodium fires are prevented in nuclear reactors by isolating sodium from oxygen by surrounding sodium pipes with inert gas. Pool-type sodium fires are prevented using diverse design measures called catch pan systems. They collect leaking sodium into a leak-recovery tank where it is isolated from oxygen. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26826 |
Suriname
Suriname (, , sometimes spelled Surinam), officially known as the Republic of Suriname ( ), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil to the south. At just under , it is the smallest sovereign state in South America. Suriname has a population of approximately , most of whom live on the country's north coast, in and around the capital and largest city, Paramaribo.
The country is a tropical country, whose geography is dominated by forests. These forests are important to Suriname's contribution to mitigating climate change, as the first country to reach carbon neutrality. The economy of Suriname is heavily dependent on the exports of bauxite, gold, petroleum and agricultural products.
Suriname was long inhabited by various indigenous people before being invaded and contested by European powers from the 16th century, eventually coming under Dutch rule in the late 17th century. As the chief sugar colony during the Dutch colonial period, it was primarily a plantation economy dependent on African slaves and, after abolition of slavery in 1863, indentured servants from Asia. Suriname was ruled by the Dutch-chartered company Society of Suriname between 1683 and 1795. In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 25 November 1975, the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state, nonetheless maintaining close economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to its former colonizer.
Suriname is considered to be a culturally Caribbean country, and is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). While Dutch is the official language of government, business, media, and education, Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole language, is a widely used "lingua franca". Suriname is the only sovereign nation outside Europe where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population. The people of Suriname are among the most diverse in the world, spanning a multitude of ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups.
The name "Suriname" may derive from an indigenous people called "Surinen," who inhabited the area at the time of European contact. It may also be derived from a corruption of the name ""Surryham"" which was the name given to the Suriname River by Lord Willoughby in honour of the Earl of Surrey when an English colony was established under a grant from King Charles II.
British settlers, who founded the first European colony at Marshall's Creek along the Suriname River, spelled the name as "Surinam".
When the territory was taken over by the Dutch, it became part of a group of colonies known as Dutch Guiana. The official spelling of the country's English name was changed from "Surinam" to "Suriname" in January 1978, but "Surinam" can still be found in English. A notable example is Suriname's national airline, Surinam Airways. The older English name is reflected in the English pronunciation, . In Dutch, the official language of Suriname, the pronunciation is , with the main stress on the third syllable and a schwa terminal vowel.
Indigenous settlement of Suriname dates back to 3,000 BC. The largest tribes were the Arawak, a nomadic coastal tribe that lived from hunting and fishing. They were the first inhabitants in the area. The Carib also settled in the area and conquered the Arawak by using their superior sailing ships. They settled in Galibi ("Kupali Yumï," meaning "tree of the forefathers") at the mouth of the Marowijne River. While the larger Arawak and Carib tribes lived along the coast and savanna, smaller groups of indigenous people lived in the inland rainforest, such as the Akurio, Trió, Warrau, and Wayana.
Beginning in the 16th century, French, Spanish and English explorers visited the area. A century later, Dutch and English settlers established plantation colonies along the many rivers in the fertile Guiana plains. The earliest documented colony in Guiana was an English settlement named Marshall's Creek along the Suriname River. After that there was another short-lived English colony called Willoughbyland that lasted from 1650 to 1674.
Disputes arose between the Dutch and the English for control of this territory. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda, the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of Suriname they had gained from the English. The English were able to keep New Amsterdam, the main city of the former colony of New Netherland in North America on the mid-Atlantic coast. Already a cultural and economic hub in those days, they renamed it after the Duke of York: New York City.
In 1683, the Society of Suriname was founded by the city of Amsterdam, the Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck family, and the Dutch West India Company. The society was chartered to manage and defend the colony. The planters of the colony relied heavily on African slaves to cultivate, harvest and process the commodity crops of coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton plantations along the rivers. Planters' treatment of the slaves was notoriously bad—historian C. R. Boxer wrote that "man's inhumanity to man just about reached its limits in Surinam"—and many slaves escaped the plantations. In November 1795, the Society was nationalized by the Batavian Republic and from then on, the Batavian Republic and its legal successors (the Kingdom of Holland and the Kingdom of the Netherlands) governed the territory as a national colony, barring a period of British occupation between 1799 and 1802, and between 1804 and 1816.
With the help of the native South Americans living in the adjoining rain forests, these runaway slaves established a new and unique culture in the interior that was highly successful in its own right. They were known collectively in English as Maroons, in French as "Nèg'Marrons" (literally meaning "brown negroes", that is "pale-skinned negroes"), and in Dutch as "Marrons." The Maroons gradually developed several independent tribes through a process of ethnogenesis, as they were made up of slaves from different African ethnicities. These tribes include the Saramaka, Paramaka, Ndyuka or Aukan, Kwinti, Aluku or Boni, and Matawai.
The Maroons often raided plantations to recruit new members from the slaves and capture women, as well as to acquire weapons, food and supplies. They sometimes killed planters and their families in the raids; colonists built defenses, which were so important they were shown on 18th-century maps, but these were not sufficient.
The colonists also mounted armed campaigns against the Maroons, who generally escaped through the rain forest, which they knew much better than did the colonists. To end hostilities, in the 18th century the European colonial authorities signed several peace treaties with different tribes. They granted the Maroons sovereign status and trade rights in their inland territories, giving them autonomy.
From 1861 to 1863, with the American Civil War underway, and enslaved people escaping to Southern territory controlled by the Union, United States President Abraham Lincoln and his administration looked abroad for places to relocate people who were freed from enslavement and who wanted to leave the United States. It opened negotiations with the Dutch government regarding African-American emigration to and colonization of the Dutch colony of Suriname. Nothing came of the idea, and the idea was dropped after 1864.
The Netherlands abolished slavery in Suriname in 1863, under a gradual process that required enslaved people to work on plantations for 10 transition years for minimal pay, which was considered as partial compensation for their masters. After 1873, most freedmen largely abandoned the plantations where they had worked for several generations in favor of the capital city, Paramaribo.
As a plantation colony, Suriname had an economy dependent on labor-intensive commodity crops. To make up for a shortage of labor, the Dutch recruited and transported contract or indentured laborer from the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) and India (the latter through an arrangement with the British, who then ruled the area). In addition, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, small numbers of laborers, mostly men, were recruited from China and the Middle East.
Although Suriname's population remains relatively small, because of this complex colonization and exploitation, it is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries in the world.
During World War II, on 23 November 1941, under an agreement with the Netherlands government-in-exile, the United States occupied Suriname to protect the bauxite mines to support the Allies' war effort. In 1942, the Dutch government-in-exile began to review the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies in terms of the post-war period.
In 1954, Suriname became one of the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands. In this construction, the Netherlands retained control of its defense and foreign affairs. In 1974, the local government, led by the National Party of Suriname (NPS) (whose membership was largely Creole, meaning ethnically African or mixed African-European) started negotiations with the Dutch government leading towards full independence, which was granted on 25 November 1975. A large part of Suriname's economy for the first decade following independence was fueled by foreign aid provided by the Dutch government.
The first President of the country was Johan Ferrier, the former governor, with Henck Arron (the then leader of the NPS) as Prime Minister. In the years leading up to independence, nearly one-third of the population of Suriname emigrated to the Netherlands, amidst concern that the new country would fare worse under independence than it had as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Surinamese politics did degenerate into ethnic polarisation and corruption soon after independence, with the NPS using Dutch aid money for partisan purposes. Its leaders were accused of fraud in the 1977 elections, in which Arron won a further term, and the discontent was such that a large portion of the population fled to the Netherlands, joining the already significant Surinamese community there.
On 25 February 1980, a military coup overthrew Arron's government. It was initiated by a group of 16 sergeants, led by Dési Bouterse. Opponents of the military regime attempted counter-coups in April 1980, August 1980, 15 March 1981, and again on 12 March 1982. The first counter attempt was led by Fred Ormskerk, the second by Marxist-Leninists, the third by Wilfred Hawker, and the fourth by Surendre Rambocus.
Hawker escaped from prison during the fourth counter-coup attempt, but he was captured and summarily executed. Between 2 am and 5 am on 7 December 1982, the military, under the leadership of Dési Bouterse, rounded up 13 prominent citizens who had criticized the military dictatorship and held them at Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo. The dictatorship had all these men executed over the next three days, along with Rambocus and Jiwansingh Sheombar (who was also involved in the fourth counter-coup attempt).
National elections were held in 1987. The National Assembly adopted a new constitution that allowed Bouterse to remain in charge of the army. Dissatisfied with the government, Bouterse summarily dismissed the ministers in 1990, by telephone. This event became popularly known as the "Telephone Coup". His power began to wane after the 1991 elections.
The brutal civil war between the Suriname army and Maroons loyal to rebel leader Ronnie Brunswijk, begun in 1986, continued and its effects further weakened Bouterse's position during the 1990s. Due to the civil war, more than 10,000 Surinamese, mostly Maroons, fled to French Guiana in the late 1980s.
In 1999, the Netherlands tried Bouterse "in absentia" on drug smuggling charges. He was convicted and sentenced to prison but remained in Suriname.
On 19 July 2010, the former dictator Dési Bouterse returned to power when he was elected as the new President of Suriname. Before his election in 2010, he, along with 24 others, had been charged with the murders of 15 prominent dissidents in the December murders. However, in 2012, two months before the verdict in the trial, the National Assembly extended its amnesty law and provided Bouterse and the others with amnesty of these charges. He was reelected on 14 July 2015. However, Bouterse was convicted by a Surinamese court on 29 November 2019 and given a 20-year sentence for his role in the 1982 killings.
The Republic of Suriname is a representative democratic republic, based on the Constitution of 1987. The legislative branch of government consists of a 51-member unicameral National Assembly, simultaneously and popularly elected for a five-year term.
In the elections held on Tuesday, 25 May 2010, the "Megacombinatie" won 23 of the National Assembly seats followed by "Nationale Front" with 20 seats. A much smaller number, important for coalition-building, went to the "A‑combinatie" and to the "Volksalliantie." The parties held negotiations to form coalitions. Elections were held on 25 May 2015, and the National Assembly again elected Desire Bouterse as President.
The President of Suriname is elected for a five-year term by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly. If at least two-thirds of the National Assembly cannot agree to vote for one presidential candidate, a People's Assembly is formed from all National Assembly delegates and regional and municipal representatives who were elected by popular vote in the most recent national election. The president may be elected by a majority of the People's Assembly called for the special election.
As head of government, the president appoints a sixteen-minister cabinet. A vice president, is normally elected for a five-year term at the same time as the president, by a simple majority in the National Assembly or People's Assembly. There is no constitutional provision for removal or replacement of the president, except in the case of resignation.
The judiciary is headed by the High Court of Justice of Suriname (Supreme Court). This court supervises the magistrate courts. Members are appointed for life by the president in consultation with the National Assembly, the State Advisory Council, and the National Order of Private Attorneys.
President Dési Bouterse was convicted and sentenced in the Netherlands to 11 years of imprisonment for drug trafficking. He is the main suspect in the court case concerning the 'December murders,' the 1982 assassination of opponents of military rule in Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo. These two cases still strain relations between the Netherlands and Suriname.
Due to Suriname's Dutch colonial history, Suriname had a long-standing special relationship with the Netherlands. The Dutch government has stated that it will only maintain limited contact with the president.
Bouterse was elected as president of Suriname in 2010. The Netherlands in July 2014 dropped Suriname as a member of its development program.
Since 1991, the United States has maintained positive relations with Suriname. The two countries work together through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Suriname also receives military funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.
European Union relations and cooperation with Suriname are carried out both on a bilateral and a regional basis. There are ongoing EU-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and EU-CARIFORUM dialogues. Suriname is party to the Cotonou Agreement, the partnership agreement among the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union.
On 17 February 2005, the leaders of Barbados and Suriname signed the "Agreement for the deepening of bilateral cooperation between the Government of Barbados and the Government of the Republic of Suriname." On 23–24 April 2009, both nations formed a Joint Commission in Paramaribo, Suriname, to improve relations and to expand into various areas of cooperation. They held a second meeting toward this goal on 3–4 March 2011, in Dover, Barbados. Their representatives reviewed issues of agriculture, trade, investment, as well as international transport.
In the late 2000s, Suriname intensified development cooperation with other developing countries. China's South-South cooperation with Suriname has included a number of large-scale infrastructure projects, including port rehabilitation and road construction. Brazil signed agreements to cooperate with Suriname in education, health, agriculture, and energy production.
The Armed Forces of Suriname have three branches: the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. The President of the Republic, Dési Bouterse, is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ("Opperbevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten"). The President is assisted by the Minister of Defence. Beneath the President and Minister of Defence is the Commander of the Armed Forces ("Bevelhebber van de Strijdkrachten"). The Military Branches and regional Military Commands report to the Commander.
After the creation of the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Army was entrusted with the defense of Suriname, while the defense of the Netherlands Antilles was the responsibility of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The army set up a separate "Troepenmacht in Suriname" (Forces in Suriname, TRIS). Upon independence in 1975, this force was turned into the "Surinaamse Krijgsmacht" (SKM):, Surinamese Armed Forces. On 25 February 1980, a group of 15 non-commissioned officers and one junior SKM officer, under the leadership of sergeant major Dési Bouterse, overthrew the Government. Subsequently, the SKM was rebranded as "Nationaal Leger" (NL), National Army.
In 1965 the Dutch and Americans used Suriname's Coronie site for multiple Nike Apache sounding rocket launches.
The country is divided into ten administrative districts, each headed by a district commissioner appointed by the president, who also has the power of dismissal. Suriname is further subdivided into 62 resorts (ressorten).
Suriname is the smallest independent country in South America. Situated on the Guiana Shield, it lies mostly between latitudes 1° and 6°N, and longitudes 54° and 58°W. The country can be divided into two main geographic regions. The northern, lowland coastal area (roughly above the line Albina-Paranam-Wageningen) has been cultivated, and most of the population lives here. The southern part consists of tropical rainforest and sparsely inhabited savanna along the border with Brazil, covering about 80% of Suriname's land surface.
The two main mountain ranges are the Bakhuys Mountains and the Van Asch Van Wijck Mountains. Julianatop is the highest mountain in the country at above sea level. Other mountains include Tafelberg at , Mount Kasikasima at , Goliathberg at and Voltzberg at .
Suriname's forest cover is 90.2%, the highest of any nation in the world.
Suriname is situated between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is shared with Brazil and the northern border is the Atlantic coast. The southernmost borders with French Guiana and Guyana are disputed by these countries along the Marowijne and Corantijn rivers, respectively, while a part of the disputed maritime boundary with Guyana was arbitrated by a tribunal convened under the rules set out in of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on 20 September 2007.
Lying 2 to 5 degrees north of the equator, Suriname has a very hot and wet tropical climate, and temperatures do not vary much throughout the year. Average relative humidity is between 80% and 90%. Its average temperature ranges from 29 to 34 degrees Celsius (84 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit). Due to the high humidity, actual temperatures are distorted and may therefore feel up to 6 degrees Celsius (11 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than the recorded temperature. The year has two wet seasons, from April to August and from November to February. It also has two dry seasons, from August to November and February to April.
Located in the upper Coppename River watershed, the Central Suriname Nature Reserve has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unspoiled forests and biodiversity. There are many national parks in the country including Galibi National Reserve along the coast; Brownsberg Nature Park and Eilerts de Haan Nature Park in central Suriname; and the Sipaliwani Nature Reserve on the Brazilian border. In all, 16% of the country's land area is national parks and lakes, according to the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
Suriname's democracy gained some strength after the turbulent 1990s, and its economy became more diversified and less dependent on Dutch financial assistance. Bauxite (aluminium ore) mining used to be a strong revenue source. The discovery and exploitation of oil and gold has added substantially to Suriname's economic independence. Agriculture, especially rice and bananas, remains a strong component of the economy, and ecotourism is providing new economic opportunities. More than 80% of Suriname's land-mass consists of unspoiled rain forest; with the establishment of the Central Suriname Nature Reserve in 1998, Suriname signalled its commitment to conservation of this precious resource. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve became a World Heritage Site in 2000.
The economy of Suriname was dominated by the bauxite industry, which accounted for more than 15% of GDP and 70% of export earnings up to 2016. Other main export products include rice, bananas and shrimp. Suriname has recently started exploiting some of its sizeable oil and gold reserves. About a quarter of the people work in the agricultural sector. The Surinamese economy is very dependent on commerce, its main trade partners being the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, and Caribbean countries, mainly Trinidad and Tobago and the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles.
After assuming power in the fall of 1996, the Wijdenbosch government ended the structural adjustment program of the previous government, claiming it was unfair to the poorer elements of society. Tax revenues fell as old taxes lapsed and the government failed to implement new tax alternatives. By the end of 1997, the allocation of new Dutch development funds was frozen as Surinamese Government relations with the Netherlands deteriorated. Economic growth slowed in 1998, with decline in the mining, construction, and utility sectors. Rampant government expenditures, poor tax collection, a bloated civil service, and reduced foreign aid in 1999 contributed to the fiscal deficit, estimated at 11% of GDP. The government sought to cover this deficit through monetary expansion, which led to a dramatic increase in inflation. It takes longer on average to register a new business in Suriname than virtually any other country in the world (694 days or about 99 weeks).
According to the 2012 census, Suriname had a population of 541,638 inhabitants. The Surinamese populace is characterized by its high level of diversity, wherein no particular demographic group constitutes a majority. This is a legacy of centuries of Dutch rule, which entailed successive periods of forced, contracted, or voluntary migration by various nationalities and ethnic groups from around the world.
The largest ethnic group are the Afro-Surinamese which form about 37% of the population, and are usually divided into two groups: the Creoles and the Maroons. Surinamese Maroons, whose ancestors are mostly runaway slaves that fled to the interior, comprise 21.7% of the population; they are divided into five main groups: Ndyuka (Aucans), Kwinti, Matawai, Saramaccans and Paramaccans. Surinamese Creoles, mixed people descending from African slaves and mostly Dutch Europeans, form 15.7% of the population. East Indians, who form 27% of the population, are the second largest group. They are descendants of 19th-century contract workers from India, hailing mostly from the modern Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Eastern Uttar Pradesh along the Nepali border. Javanese make up 14% of the population, and like the East Indians, descend largely from workers contracted from the island of Java in the former Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia). 13.4% of the population identifies as being of mixed ethnic heritage.
Other sizeable groups include the Chinese, originating from 19th-century contract workers and some recent migration, who number over 40,000 ; Lebanese, primarily Maronites; Jews of Sephardic and Ashkenazi origin, whose center of population was the community of Jodensavanne; and Brazilians, many of them laborers mining for gold.
A small but influential number of Europeans remain in the country, comprising about 1 percent of the population. They are descended mostly from Dutch 19th-century immigrant farmers, known as "Boeroes" (derived from "boer", the Dutch word for "farmer"), and to a lesser degree other European groups, such as Portuguese from Madeira. Many Boeroes left after independence in 1975.
Various indigenous peoples make up 3.7% of the population, with the main groups being the Akurio, Arawak, Kalina (Caribs), Tiriyó and Wayana. They live mainly in the districts of Paramaribo, Wanica, Para, Marowijne and Sipaliwini.
The vast majority of Suriname's inhabitants (about 90%) live in Paramaribo or on the coast.
The choice of becoming Surinamese or Dutch citizens in the years leading up to Suriname's independence in 1975 led to a mass migration to the Netherlands. This migration continued in the period immediately after independence and during military rule in the 1980s and for largely economic reasons extended throughout the 1990s. The Surinamese community in the Netherlands numbered 350,300 (including children and grandchildren of Suriname migrants born in The Netherlands); this is compared to approximately 566,000 Surinamese in Suriname itself.
According to the International Organization for Migration, around 272,600 people from Suriname lived in other countries in the late 2010s, in particular in the Netherlands (ca 192,000), the French Republic (ca 25,000, most of them in French Guiana), the United States (ca 15,000), Guyana (ca 5,000), Aruba (ca 1,500), and Canada (ca 1,000).
Suriname's religious makeup is heterogeneous and reflective of the country's multicultural character.
According to the 2012 census, 48.4% were Christians; 26.7% of Surinamese were Protestants (11.18% Pentecostal, 11.16% Moravian, and 4.4% of various other Protestant denominations) and 21.6% were Catholics. Hindus formed the second-largest religious group in Suriname, comprising 22.3% of the population, the third largest proportion of any country in the Western Hemisphere after Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, both of which also have large proportions of Indians. Almost all practitioners of Hinduism are found among the Indo-Surinamese population. Muslims constitute 13.9% of the population, the highest proportion of Muslims in the Americas; they are largely of Javanese or Indian descent. Other religious groups include Winti (1.8%), an Afro-American religion practiced mostly by those of Maroon ancestry; Javanism (0.8%), a syncretic faith found among some Javanese Surinamese; and various indigenous folk traditions that are often incorporated into one of the larger religions (usually Christianity). In the 2012 census, 7.5% of the population declared they had "no religion", while a further 3.2% left the question unanswered.
Dutch is the sole official language, and is the language of education, government, business, and the media. Over 60% of the population speaks Dutch as a mother tongue, and most of the rest speaks it as a second language. In 2004, Suriname became an associate member of the Dutch Language Union. It is the only Dutch-speaking country in South America as well as the only independent nation in the Americas where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population, and one of the two non-Romance-speaking countries in South America, the other being English-speaking Guyana.
In Paramaribo, Dutch is the main home language in two-thirds of the households. The recognition of ""Surinaams-Nederlands"" (""Surinamese Dutch"") as a national dialect equal to ""Nederlands-Nederlands"" (""Dutch Dutch"") and ""Vlaams-Nederlands"" (""Flemish Dutch"") was expressed in 2009 by the publication of the "Woordenboek Surinaams Nederlands" ("Surinamese–Dutch Dictionary"). It is the most commonly spoken language in urban areas; only in the interior of Suriname (namely parts of Sipaliwini and Brokopondo) is Dutch seldom spoken.
Sranan Tongo, a local creole language originally spoken by the Creole population group, is the most widely used vernacular language in day-to-day life and business. It and Dutch are considered to be the two principal languages of Surinamese diglossia; both are further influenced by other spoken languages which are spoken primarily within ethnic communities. Sranan Tongo is often used interchangeably with Dutch depending on the formality of the setting, where Dutch is seen as a prestige dialect and Sranan Tongo the common vernacular.
Caribbean Hindustani or Sarnami, a dialect of Bhojpuri, is the fourth-most used language (after English), spoken by the descendants of South Asian contract workers from then British India. The Javanese language is used by the descendants of Javanese contract workers, and is common in Suriname. The Maroon languages, somewhat intelligible with Sranan, include Saramaka, Paramakan, Ndyuka (also called "Aukan"), Kwinti and Matawai. Amerindian languages, spoken by Amerindians, include Carib and Arawak. Hakka and Cantonese are spoken by the descendants of the Chinese contract workers. Mandarin is spoken by some few recent Chinese immigrants. English, Spanish, and Portuguese are also used as second languages.
The national capital, Paramaribo, is by far the dominant urban area, accounting for nearly half of Suriname's population and most of its urban residents; indeed, its population is greater than the next nine largest cities combined. Most municipalities are located within the capital's metropolitan area, or along the densely populated coastline.
Owing to the country's multicultural heritage, Suriname celebrates a variety of distinct ethnic and religious festivals.
There are several Hindu and Islamic national holidays like Diwali (deepavali), Phagwa and Eid ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-adha. These holidays do not have fixed dates on the Gregorian calendar, as they are based on the Hindu and Islamic calendars, respectively.
There are several holidays which are unique to Suriname. These include the Indian, Javanese and Chinese arrival days. They celebrate the arrival of the first ships with their respective immigrants.
New Year's Eve in Suriname is called "Oud jaar", "Owru Yari", or "old year". It is during this period that the Surinamese population goes to the city's commercial district to watch "demonstrational fireworks". The bigger stores invest in these firecrackers and display them out in the streets. Every year the length of them is compared, and high praises are given for the company that has imported the largest ribbon.
These celebrations start at 10 in the morning and finish the next day. The day is usually filled with laughter, dance, music, and drinking. When the night starts, the big street parties are already at full capacity. The most popular fiesta is the one that is held at café 't Vat in the main tourist district. The parties there stop between 10 and 11 at night, after which people go home to light their pagaras (red-firecracker-ribbons) at midnight.
After 12, the parties continue and the streets fill again until daybreak.
The major sports in Suriname are football, basketball, and volleyball. The Suriname Olympic Committee is the national governing body for sports in Suriname. The major mind sports are chess, draughts, bridge and troefcall.
Many Suriname-born football players and Dutch-born football players of Surinamese descent, like Gerald Vanenburg, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Aron Winter, Georginio Wijnaldum, Virgil van Dijk and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink have turned out to play for the Dutch national team. In 1999, Humphrey Mijnals, who played for both Suriname and the Netherlands, was elected Surinamese footballer of the century. Another famous player is André Kamperveen, who captained Suriname in the 1940s and was the first Surinamese to play professionally in the Netherlands.
The most famous international track & field athlete from Suriname is Letitia Vriesde, who won a silver medal at the 1995 World Championships behind Ana Quirot in the 800 metres, the first medal won by a South American female athlete in World Championship competition. In addition, she also won a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships and won several medals in the 800 and 1500 metres at the Pan-American Games and Central American and Caribbean Games. Tommy Asinga also received acclaim for winning a bronze medal in the 800 metres at the 1991 Pan American Games.
Swimmer Anthony Nesty is the only Olympic medalist for Suriname. He won gold in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and he won bronze in the same discipline at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, he now lives in Gainesville, Florida, and is the coach of the University of Florida, mainly coaching distance swimmers.
Cricket is popular in Suriname to some extent, influenced by its popularity in the Netherlands and in neighbouring Guyana. The Surinaamse Cricket Bond is an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Suriname and Argentina are the only ICC associates in South America, although Guyana is represented on the West Indies Cricket Board, a full member. The national cricket team was ranked 47th in the world and sixth in the ICC Americas region as of June 2014, and competes in the World Cricket League (WCL) and ICC Americas Championship. Iris Jharap, born in Paramaribo, played women's One Day International matches for the Dutch national side, the only Surinamese to do so.
In the sport of badminton the local heroes are Virgil Soeroredjo & Mitchel Wongsodikromo and also Crystal Leefmans. All winning medals for Suriname at the Carebaco Caribbean Championships, the Central American and Caribbean Games (CACSO Games) and also at the South American Games, better known as the ODESUR Games. Virgil Soeroredjo also participated for Suriname at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, only the second badminton player, after Oscar Brandon, for Suriname to achieve this. Current National Champion Sören Opti was the third Surinamese badminton player to participate at the Summer Olympics in 2016.
Multiple time K-1 kickboxing world champions Ernesto Hoost and Remy Bonjasky were born in Suriname or are of Surinamese descent. Other kickboxing world-champions include Rayen Simson, Melvin Manhoef, Tyrone Spong and Regian Eersel.
Suriname also has a national korfball team, with korfball being a Dutch sport. Vinkensport is also practised.
Suriname, along with neighboring Guyana, is one of only two countries on the mainland South American continent that drive on the left, although many vehicles are left hand drive as well as right hand drive. One explanation for this practice is that at the time of its colonization of Suriname, the Netherlands itself used left-hand traffic, also introducing the practice in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Another is that Suriname was first colonized by the British, and for practical reasons, this was not changed when it came under Dutch administration. Although the Netherlands converted to driving to the right at the end of the 18th century, Suriname did not.
Airlines with departures from Suriname:
Airlines with arrivals in Suriname:
Other national companies with an air operator certification:
The Global Burden of Disease Study provides an on-line data source for analyzing updated estimates of health for 359 diseases and injuries and 84 risk factors from 1990 to 2017 in most of the world's countries. Comparing Suriname with other Caribbean nations show that in 2017 the age-standardized death rate for all causes was 793 (males 969, females 641) per 100,000, far below the 1219 of Haiti, somewhat below the 944 of Guyana but considerably above the 424 of Bermuda. In 1990 the death rate was 960 per 100,000. Life expectancy in 2017 was 72 years (males 69, females 75). The death rate for children < 5 years was 581 per 100,000 compared to 1308 in Haiti and 102 in Bermuda. In 1990 and 2017, leading causes of age-standardized death rates were cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes/chronic kidney disease.
Education in Suriname is compulsory until the age of 12, and the nation had a net primary enrollment rate of 94% in 2004. Literacy is very common, particularly among men. The main university in the country is the Anton de Kom University of Suriname.
From elementary school to high school there are 13 grades. The elementary school has six grades, middle school four grades and high school three grades. Students take a test in the end of elementary school to determine whether they will go to the MULO (secondary modern school) or a middle school of lower standards like LBO. Students from the elementary school wear a green shirt with jeans, while middle school students wear a blue shirt with jeans.
Students going from the second grade of middle school to the third grade have to choose between the business or science courses. This will determine what their major subjects will be. In order to go on to study math and physics, the student must have a total of 12 points. If the student has fewer points, he/she will go into the business courses or fail the grade.
Due to the variety of habitats and temperatures, biodiversity in Suriname is considered high. In October 2013, 16 international scientists researching the ecosystems during a three-week expedition in Suriname's Upper Palumeu River Watershed catalogued 1,378 species and found 60—including six frogs, one snake, and 11 fish—that may be previously unknown species. According to the environmental non-profit Conservation International, which funded the expedition, Suriname's ample supply of fresh water is vital to the biodiversity and healthy ecosystems of the region.
Snakewood ("Brosimum guianense"), a shrub-like tree, is native to this tropical region of the Americas. Customs in Suriname report that snakewood is often illegally exported to French Guiana, thought to be for the crafts industry.
On 21 March 2013, Suriname's REDD+ Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP 2013) was approved by the member countries of the Participants Committee of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
As in other parts of Central and South America, indigenous communities have increased their activism to protect their lands and preserve habitat. In March 2015, the "Trio and Wayana communities presented a declaration of cooperation to the National Assembly of Suriname that announces an indigenous conservation corridor spanning 72,000 square kilometers (27,799 square miles) of southern Suriname. The declaration, led by these indigenous communities and with the support of Conservation International (CI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Guianas, comprises almost half of the total area of Suriname." This area includes large forests and is considered "essential for the country's climate resilience, freshwater security, and green development strategy."
Traditionally, "De Ware Tijd" was the major newspaper of the country, but since the '90s "Times of Suriname, De West" and "Dagblad Suriname" have also been well-read newspapers; all publish primarily in Dutch.
Suriname has twenty-four radio stations, most of them also broadcast through the Internet. There are twelve television sources:
ABC (Ch. 4–1, 2), RBN (Ch. 5–1, 2), Rasonic TV (Ch. 7), STVS (Ch. 8–1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), Apintie (Ch. 10–1), ATV (Ch. 12–1, 2, 3, 4), Radika (Ch. 14), SCCN (Ch. 17–1, 2, 3), Pipel TV (Ch. 18–1, 2), Trishul (Ch. 20–1, 2, 3, 4), Garuda (Ch. 23–1, 2, 3), Sangeetmala (Ch. 26), Ch. 30, Ch. 31, Ch.32, Ch.38, SCTV (Ch. 45). Also listened to is mArt, a broadcaster from Amsterdam founded by people from Suriname. Kondreman is one of the popular cartoons in Suriname.
There are also three major news sites: Starnieuws, Suriname Herald and GFC Nieuws.
In 2012, Suriname was ranked joint 22nd with Japan in the worldwide Press Freedom Index by the organization Reporters Without Borders. This was ahead of the US (47th), the UK (28th), and France (38th).
Most tourists visit Suriname for the biodiversity of the Amazonian rain forests in the south of the country, which are noted for their flora and fauna. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve is the biggest and one of the most popular reserves, along with the Brownsberg Nature Park which overlooks the Brokopondo Reservoir, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. In 2008, the Berg en Dal Eco & Cultural Resort opened in Brokopondo. Tonka Island in the reservoir is home to a rustic eco-tourism project run by the Saramaccaner Maroons. Pangi wraps and bowls made of calabashes are the two main products manufactured for tourists. The Maroons have learned that colorful and ornate pangis are popular with tourists. Other popular decorative souvenirs are hand-carved purple-hardwood made into bowls, plates, canes, wooden boxes, and wall decors.
There are also many waterfalls throughout the country. Raleighvallen, or Raleigh Falls, is a nature reserve on the Coppename River, rich in bird life. Also are the Blanche Marie Falls on the Nickerie River and the Wonotobo Falls. Tafelberg Mountain in the centre of the country is surrounded by its own reserve – the Tafelberg Nature Reserve – around the source of the Saramacca River, as is the Voltzberg Nature Reserve further north on the Coppename River at Raleighvallen. In the interior are many Maroon and Amerindian villages, many of which have their own reserves that are generally open to visitors.
Suriname is one of the few countries in the world where at least one of each biome that the state possesses has been declared a wildlife reserve. Around 30% of the total land area of Suriname is protected by law as reserves.
Other attractions include plantations such as Laarwijk, which is situated along the Suriname River. This plantation can be reached only by boat via Domburg, in the north central Wanica District of Suriname.
Crime rates continue to rise in Paramaribo and armed robberies are not uncommon. According to the current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of the 2018 report's publication, Suriname has been assessed as Level 1: exercise normal precautions.
The Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge is a bridge over the river Suriname between Paramaribo and Meerzorg in the Commewijne district. The bridge was built during the tenure of President Jules Albert Wijdenbosch (1996–2000) and was completed in 2000. The bridge is high, and long. It connects Paramaribo with Commewijne, a connection which previously could only be made by ferry. The purpose of the bridge was to facilitate and promote the development of the eastern part of Suriname. The bridge consists of two lanes (one lane each way) and is not accessible to pedestrians.
The construction of the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral started on 13 January 1883. Before it became a cathedral it was a theatre. The theatre was built in 1809 and burned down in 1820.
Suriname is one of the few countries in the world where a synagogue is located next to a mosque.
The two buildings are located next to each other in the centre of Paramaribo and have been known to share a parking facility during their respective religious rites, should they happen to coincide with one another.
A relatively new landmark is the Hindu Arya Dewaker temple in the Johan Adolf Pengelstraat in Wanica, Paramaribo, which was inaugurated in 2001. A special characteristic of the temple is that it does not have images of the Hindu divinities, as they are forbidden in the Arya Samaj, the Hindu movement to which the people who built the temple belong. Instead, the building is covered by many texts derived from the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures. The beautiful architecture makes the temple a tourist attraction. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26828 |
Category of sets
In the mathematical field of category theory, the category of sets, denoted as Set, is the category whose objects are sets. The arrows or morphisms between sets "A" and "B" are the total functions from "A" to "B", and the composition of morphisms is the composition of functions.
Many other categories (such as the category of groups, with group homomorphisms as arrows) add structure to the objects of the category of sets and/or restrict the arrows to functions of a particular kind.
The axioms of a category are satisfied by Set because composition of functions is associative, and because every set "X" has an identity function "idX : X → X" which serves as identity element for function composition.
The epimorphisms in Set are the surjective maps, the monomorphisms are the injective maps, and the isomorphisms are the bijective maps.
The empty set serves as the initial object in Set with empty functions as morphisms. Every singleton is a terminal object, with the functions mapping all elements of the source sets to the single target element as morphisms. There are thus no zero objects in Set.
The category Set is complete and co-complete. The product in this category is given by the cartesian product of sets. The coproduct is given by the disjoint union: given sets "A""i" where "i" ranges over some index set "I", we construct the coproduct as the union of "A""i"×{"i"} (the cartesian product with "i" serves to ensure that all the components stay disjoint).
Set is the prototype of a concrete category; other categories are concrete if they are "built on" Set in some well-defined way.
Every two-element set serves as a subobject classifier in Set. The power object of a set "A" is given by its power set, and the exponential object of the sets "A" and "B" is given by the set of all functions from "A" to "B". Set is thus a topos (and in particular cartesian closed and exact in the sense of Barr).
Set is not abelian, additive nor preadditive.
Every non-empty set is an injective object in Set. Every set is a projective object in Set (assuming the axiom of choice).
The finitely presentable objects in Set are the finite sets. Since every set is a direct limit of its finite subsets, the category Set is a locally finitely presentable category.
If "C" is an arbitrary category, the contravariant functors from "C" to Set are often an important object of study. If "A" is an object of "C", then the functor from "C" to Set that sends "X" to Hom"C"("X","A") (the set of morphisms in "C" from "X" to "A") is an example of such a functor. If "C" is a small category (i.e. the collection of its objects forms a set), then the contravariant functors from "C" to Set, together with natural transformations as morphisms, form a new category, a functor category known as the category of presheaves on "C".
In Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory the collection of all sets is not a set; this follows from the axiom of foundation. One refers to collections that are not sets as proper classes. One cannot handle proper classes as one handles sets; in particular, one cannot write that those proper classes belong to a collection (either a set or a proper class). This is a problem because it means that the category of sets cannot be formalized straightforwardly in this setting. Categories like Set whose collection of objects forms a proper class are known as large categories, to distinguish them from the small categories whose objects form a set.
One way to resolve the problem is to work in a system that gives formal status to proper classes, such as NBG set theory. In this setting, categories formed from sets are said to be "small" and those (like Set) that are formed from proper classes are said to be "large".
Another solution is to assume the existence of Grothendieck universes. Roughly speaking, a Grothendieck universe is a set which is itself a model of ZF(C) (for instance if a set belongs to a universe, its elements and its powerset will belong to the universe). The existence of Grothendieck universes (other than the empty set and the set formula_1 of all hereditarily finite sets) is not implied by the usual ZF axioms; it is an additional, independent axiom, roughly equivalent to the existence of strongly inaccessible cardinals. Assuming this extra axiom, one can limit the objects of Set to the elements of a particular universe. (There is no "set of all sets" within the model, but one can still reason about the class "U" of all inner sets, i.e., elements of "U".)
In one variation of this scheme, the class of sets is the union of the entire tower of Grothendieck universes. (This is necessarily a proper class, but each Grothendieck universe is a set because it is an element of some larger Grothendieck universe.) However, one does not work directly with the "category of all sets". Instead, theorems are expressed in terms of the category Set"U" whose objects are the elements of a sufficiently large Grothendieck universe "U", and are then shown not to depend on the particular choice of "U". As a foundation for category theory, this approach is well matched to a system like Tarski–Grothendieck set theory in which one cannot reason directly about proper classes; its principal disadvantage is that a theorem can be true of all Set"U" but not of Set.
Various other solutions, and variations on the above, have been proposed.
The same issues arise with other concrete categories, such as the category of groups or the category of topological spaces. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26829 |
Slovakia
Slovakia (; ), officially the Slovak Republic (, ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's territory spans about and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5.4 million and consists mostly of ethnic Slovaks. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, and the second-largest city is Košice. The official language is Slovak.
The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. In the 7th century they played a significant role in the creation of Samo's Empire and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra, which was later conquered by the Principality of Moravia to establish Great Moravia. In the 10th century, after the dissolution of Great Moravia, the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary, which would become the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, much of the territory was destroyed by the Mongols during their invasion of Central and Eastern Europe. The area was recovered largely thanks to Béla IV of Hungary who also settled Germans who became an important ethnic group in the area, especially in what are today parts of central and eastern Slovakia. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Czechoslovak National Council established Czechoslovakia (1918–1939). A separate (First) Slovak Republic (1939–1945) existed during World War II as a totalitarian, clero-fascist one-party client state of Nazi Germany. At the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia was re-established as an independent country. After a "coup" in 1948 Czechoslovakia became a totalitarian one-party socialist state under a communist administration, during which the country was part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc. Attempts to liberalize communism in Czechoslovakia culminated in the Prague Spring, which was crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. In 1989, the Velvet Revolution ended the Communist rule in Czechoslovakia peacefully. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce.
Slovakia is a high-income advanced economy with a very high Human Development Index, a very high standard of living and performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance and peacefulness. The country maintains a combination of a market economy with a comprehensive social security system. Citizens of Slovakia are provided with universal health care, free education and one of the longest paid parental leaves in the OECD. The country joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 and joined the Eurozone on 1 January 2009. Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. As part of Eurozone, Slovak legal tender is the euro, the world's 2nd-most-traded currency. Slovakia is the world's largest per-capita car producer with a total of 1,110,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2019 alone and the 5th largest car producer in the European Union, representing 43% of Slovakia's total industrial output.
The first written mention of name "Slovakia" is in 1586 (). It derives from the Czech word "Slováky"; previous German forms were "Windischen landen" and "Windenland" (the 15th century). The native name "Slovensko" (1791) derives from an older name of Slovaks, "Sloven", which may indicate its origin before the 15th century. The original meaning was geographic (not political), since Slovakia was a part of the multiethnic Kingdom of Hungary and did not form a separate administrative unit in this period.
The oldest surviving human artefacts from Slovakia are found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom and are dated at 270,000 BCE, in the Early Paleolithic era. These ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia.
Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era (200,000–80,000 BCE) come from the Prévôt (Prepoštská) cave in Bojnice and from other nearby sites. The most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium (c. 200,000 BCE), discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia.
Archaeologists have found prehistoric human skeletons in the region, as well as numerous objects and vestiges of the Gravettian culture, principally in the river valleys of Nitra, Hron, Ipeľ, Váh and as far as the city of Žilina, and near the foot of the Vihorlat, Inovec, and Tribeč mountains, as well as in the Myjava Mountains. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth bone (22,800 BCE), the famous Venus of Moravany. The statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina, and Radošina. These findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe.
During the Bronze Age, the geographical territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BCE. Major cultural, economic, and political development can be attributed to the significant growth in production of copper, especially in central Slovakia (for example in Špania Dolina) and northwest Slovakia. Copper became a stable source of prosperity for the local population.
After the disappearance of the Čakany and Velatice cultures, the Lusatian people expanded building of strong and complex fortifications, with the large permanent buildings and administrative centres. Excavations of Lusatian hill forts document the substantial development of trade and agriculture at that period. The richness and diversity of tombs increased considerably. The inhabitants of the area manufactured arms, shields, jewellery, dishes, and statues.
The arrival of tribes from Thrace disrupted the people of the Kalenderberg culture, who lived in the hamlets located on the plain (Sereď) and in the hill forts like Molpír, near Smolenice, in the Little Carpathians. During Hallstatt times, monumental burial mounds were erected in western Slovakia, with princely equipment consisting of richly decorated vessels, ornaments and decorations. The burial rites consisted entirely of cremation. Common people were buried in flat urnfield cemeteries.
A special role was given to weaving and the production of textiles. The local power of the "Princes" of the Hallstatt period disappeared in Slovakia during the century before the middle of first millennium BC, after strife between the Scytho-Thracian people and locals, resulting in abandonment of the old hill-forts. Relatively depopulated areas soon caught the interest of emerging Celtic tribes, who advanced from the south towards the north, following the Slovak rivers, peacefully integrating into the remnants of the local population.
From around 500 BCE, the territory of modern-day Slovakia was settled by Celts, who built powerful "oppida" on the sites of modern-day Bratislava and Devín. Biatecs, silver coins with inscriptions in the Latin alphabet, represent the first known use of writing in Slovakia. At the northern regions, remnants of the local population of Lusatian origin, together with Celtic and later Dacian influence, gave rise to the unique Púchov culture, with advanced crafts and iron-working, many hill-forts and fortified settlements of central type with the coinage of the "Velkobysterecky" type (no inscriptions, with a horse on one side and ahead on the other). This culture is often connected with the Celtic tribe mentioned in Roman sources as Cotini.
From 2 AD, the expanding Roman Empire established and maintained a series of outposts around and just south of the Danube, the largest of which were known as Carnuntum (whose remains are on the main road halfway between Vienna and Bratislava) and Brigetio (present-day Szőny at the Slovak-Hungarian border). Such Roman border settlements were built on the present area of Rusovce, currently a suburb of Bratislava. The military fort was surrounded by a civilian vicus and several farms of the villa rustica type. The name of this settlement was Gerulata. The military fort had an auxiliary cavalry unit, approximately 300 horses strong, modelled after the Cananefates. The remains of Roman buildings have also survived in Devín Castle (present-day downtown Bratislava), the suburbs of Dúbravka and Stupava, and Bratislava Castle Hill.
Near the northernmost line of the Roman hinterlands, the Limes Romanus, there existed the winter camp of Laugaricio (modern-day Trenčín) where the Auxiliary of Legion II fought and prevailed in a decisive battle over the Germanic Quadi tribe in 179 CE during the Marcomannic Wars. The Kingdom of Vannius, a kingdom founded by the Germanic Suebi tribes of Quadi and Marcomanni, as well as several small Germanic and Celtic tribes, including the Osi and Cotini, existed in western and central Slovakia from 8–6 BCE to 179 CE.
In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the Huns began to leave the Central Asian steppes. They crossed the Danube in 377 AD and occupied Pannonia, which they used for 75 years as their base for launching looting-raids into Western Europe. However, Attila's death in 453 brought about the disappearance of the Hun tribe. In 568, a Turko-Mongol tribal confederacy, the Avars, conducted its invasion into the Middle Danube region. The Avars occupied the lowlands of the Pannonian Plain and established an empire dominating the Carpathian Basin.
In 623, the Slavic population living in the western parts of Pannonia seceded from their empire after a revolution led by Samo, a Frankish merchant. After 626, the Avar power started a gradual decline but its reign lasted to 804.
The Slavic tribes settled in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th century. Western Slovakia was the centre of Samo's empire in the 7th century. A Slavic state known as the Principality of Nitra arose in the 8th century and its ruler Pribina had the first known Christian church of the territory of present-day Slovakia consecrated by 828. Together with neighbouring Moravia, the principality formed the core of the Great Moravian Empire from 833. The high point of this Slavonic empire came with the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in 863, during the reign of Duke Rastislav, and the territorial expansion under Duke Svätopluk I.
Great Moravia arose around 830 when Mojmír I unified the Slavic tribes settled north of the Danube and extended the Moravian supremacy over them. When Mojmír I endeavoured to secede from the supremacy of the king of East Francia in 846, King Louis the German deposed him and assisted Mojmír's nephew Rastislav (846–870) in acquiring the throne. The new monarch pursued an independent policy: after stopping a Frankish attack in 855, he also sought to weaken the influence of Frankish priests preaching in his realm. Duke Rastislav asked the Byzantine Emperor Michael III to send teachers who would interpret Christianity in the Slavic vernacular.
Upon Rastislav's request, two brothers, Byzantine officials and missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius came in 863. Cyril developed the first Slavic alphabet and translated the Gospel into the Old Church Slavonic language. Rastislav was also preoccupied with the security and administration of his state. Numerous fortified castles built throughout the country are dated to his reign and some of them (e.g., "Dowina", sometimes identified with Devín Castle) are also mentioned in connection with Rastislav by Frankish chronicles.
During Rastislav's reign, the Principality of Nitra was given to his nephew Svätopluk as an appanage. The rebellious prince allied himself with the Franks and overthrew his uncle in 870. Similarly to his predecessor, Svätopluk I (871–894) assumed the title of the king ("rex"). During his reign, the Great Moravian Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, when not only present-day Moravia and Slovakia but also present-day northern and central Hungary, Lower Austria, Bohemia, Silesia, Lusatia, southern Poland and northern Serbia belonged to the empire, but the exact borders of his domains are still disputed by modern authors. Svatopluk also withstood attacks of the Magyar tribes and the Bulgarian Empire, although sometimes it was he who hired the Magyars when waging war against East Francia.
In 880, Pope John VIII set up an independent ecclesiastical province in Great Moravia with Archbishop Methodius as its head. He also named the German cleric Wiching the Bishop of Nitra.
After the death of Prince Svatopluk in 894, his sons Mojmír II (894–906?) and Svatopluk II succeeded him as the Prince of Great Moravia and the Prince of Nitra respectively. However, they started to quarrel for domination of the whole empire. Weakened by an internal conflict as well as by constant warfare with Eastern Francia, Great Moravia lost most of its peripheral territories.
In the meantime, the semi-nomadic Magyar tribes, possibly having suffered defeat from the similarly nomadic Pechenegs, left their territories east of the Carpathian Mountains, invaded the Carpathian Basin and started to occupy the territory gradually around 896. Their armies' advance may have been promoted by continuous wars among the countries of the region whose rulers still hired them occasionally to intervene in their struggles.
It is not known what happened with both Mojmír II and Svatopluk II because they are not mentioned in written sources after 906. In three battles (4–5 July and 9 August 907) near Bratislava, the Magyars routed Bavarian armies. Some historians put this year as the date of the break-up of the Great Moravian Empire, due to the Hungarian conquest; other historians take the date a little bit earlier (to 902).
Great Moravia left behind a lasting legacy in Central and Eastern Europe. The Glagolitic script and its successor Cyrillic were disseminated to other Slavic countries, charting a new path in their sociocultural development. The administrative system of Great Moravia may have influenced the development of the administration of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Following the disintegration of the Great Moravian Empire at the turn of the 10th century, the Hungarians annexed the territory comprising modern Slovakia. After their defeat on the Lech River they abandoned their nomadic ways; they settled in the centre of the Carpathian valley, adopted Christianity and began to build a new state—the Hungarian kingdom.
From the 11th century, when the territory inhabited by the Slavic-speaking population of Danubian Basin was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary, until 1918, when the Austro-Hungarian empire collapsed, the territory of modern Slovakia was an integral part of the Hungarian state. The ethnic composition became more diverse with the arrival of the Carpathian Germans in the 13th century, and the Jews in the 14th century.
A significant decline in the population resulted from the invasion of the Mongols in 1241 and the subsequent famine. However, in medieval times the area of the present-day Slovakia was characterised by German and Jewish immigration, burgeoning towns, construction of numerous stone castles, and the cultivation of the arts. In 1465, King Matthias Corvinus founded the Hungarian Kingdom's third university, in Pressburg (Bratislava, Pozsony), but it was closed in 1490 after his death. Hussites also settled in the region after the Hussite Wars.
Owing to the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Hungarian territory, Bratislava was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536, ahead of the old Hungarian capital of Buda falling in 1541. It became part of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, marking the beginning of a new era. The territory comprising modern Slovakia, then known as Upper Hungary, became the place of settlement for nearly two-thirds of the Magyar nobility fleeing the Turks and far more linguistically and culturally Hungarian than it was before. Partly thanks to old Hussite families, and Slovaks studying under Martin Luther, the region then experienced a growth in Protestantism. For a short period in the 17th century, most Slovaks were Lutherans. They defied the Catholic Habsburgs and sought protection from neighbouring Transylvania, a rival continuation of the Magyar state that practised religious tolerance and normally had Ottoman backing. Upper Hungary, modern Slovakia, became the site of frequent wars between Catholics in the west territory and Protestants in the east, also against Turks, the frontier was on a constant state of military alert and heavily fortified by castles and citadels often manned by Catholic German and Slovak troops on the Habsburg side. By 1648, Slovakia was not spared the Counter-Reformation, which brought the majority of its population from Lutheranism back to Roman Catholicism. In 1655, the printing press at the Trnava university produced the Jesuit Benedikt Szöllősi's Cantus Catholici, a Catholic hymnal in the Slovak language that reaffirmed links to the earlier works of Cyril and Methodius.
The Ottoman wars, the rivalry between Austria and Transylvania, and the frequent insurrections against the Habsburg Monarchy inflicted a great deal of devastation, especially in the rural areas. In the Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) a Turkish army led by the Grand Vizier decimated Slovakia. Even so, Thököly's kuruc rebels from the Principality of Upper Hungary fought alongside the Turks against the Austrians and Poles at the Battle of Vienna of 1683 led by John III Sobieski. As the Turks withdrew from Hungary in the late 17th century, the importance of the territory comprising modern Slovakia decreased, although Pressburg retained its status as the capital of Hungary until 1848 when it was transferred back to Buda.
During the revolution of 1848–49, the Slovaks supported the Austrian Emperor, hoping for independence from the Hungarian part of the Dual Monarchy, but they failed to achieve their aim. Thereafter relations between the nationalities deteriorated (see Magyarization), culminating in the secession of Slovakia from Hungary after World War I.
In late October 1918, the Czech nationalist Tomáš Masaryk declared the "independence" for the territories of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Upper Hungary and Carpathian Ruthenia and proclaimed a common state, Czechoslovakia. The Slovaks were not consulted. In 1919, during the chaos following the break-up of Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia was formed with numerous Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians and Ruthenians within the newly set borders. The borders were set by the Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Trianon. In the peace following the World War, Czechoslovakia emerged as a sovereign European state. It provided what were at the time rather extensive rights to its minorities, at least on paper.
During the Interwar period, democratic Czechoslovakia was allied with France, and also with Romania and Yugoslavia (Little Entente); however, the Locarno Treaties of 1925 left East European security open. Both Czechs and Slovaks enjoyed a period of relative prosperity. There was progress in not only the development of the country's economy but also culture and educational opportunities. Yet the Great Depression caused a sharp economic downturn, followed by political disruption and insecurity in Europe.
In the 1930s Czechoslovakia came under continuous pressure from the revisionist governments of Germany, Hungary and Poland who used the aggrieved minorities in the country as a useful vehicle. Revision of the borders was called for, as Czechs constituted only 43% of the population. Eventually, this pressure led to the Munich Agreement of September 1938, which allowed the majority ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland, borderlands of Czechoslovakia, to join with Germany. The remaining minorities stepped up their pressures for autonomy and the State became federalised, with Diets in Slovakia and Ruthenia. The remainder of Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho-Slovakia and promised a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy. This, however, failed to materialize. Parts of southern and eastern Slovakia were also reclaimed by Hungary at the First Vienna Award of November 1938.
After the Munich Agreement and its Vienna Award, Nazi Germany threatened to annex part of Slovakia and allow the remaining regions to be partitioned by Hungary or Poland unless independence was declared. Thus, Slovakia seceded from Czecho-Slovakia in March 1939 and allied itself, as demanded by Germany, with Hitler's coalition. Secession had created the first Slovak state in history. The government of the First Slovak Republic, led by Jozef Tiso and Vojtech Tuka, was strongly influenced by Germany and gradually became a puppet regime in many respects.
Meanwhile, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile sought to reverse the Munich Agreement and the subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia and to return the Republic to its 1937 boundaries. The government operated from London and it was ultimately considered, by those countries that recognised it, the legitimate government for Czechoslovakia throughout the Second World War.
As part of the Holocaust in Slovakia, 75,000 Jews out of 80,000 who remained on Slovak territory after Hungary had seized southern regions were deported and taken to German death camps. Thousands of Jews, Gypsies and other politically undesirable people remained in Slovak forced labor camps in Sereď, Vyhne, and Nováky. Tiso, through the granting of presidential exceptions, allowed between 1,000 and 4,000 people crucial to the war economy to avoid deportations.
Under Tiso's government and Hungarian occupation, the vast majority of Slovakia's pre-war Jewish population (between 75,000–105,000 individuals including those who perished from the occupied territory) were murdered. The Slovak state paid Germany 500 RM per every deported Jew for "retraining and accommodation" (a similar but smaller payment of 30 RM was paid by Croatia).
After it became clear that the Soviet Red Army was going to push the Nazis out of eastern and central Europe, an anti-Nazi resistance movement launched a fierce armed insurrection, known as the Slovak National Uprising, near the end of summer 1944. A bloody German occupation and a guerilla war followed. Germans and their local collaborators completely destroyed 93 villages and massacred thousands of civilians, often hundreds at a time. The territory of Slovakia was liberated by Soviet and Romanian forces by the end of April 1945.
After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and Jozef Tiso was executed in 1947 for collaboration with the Nazis. More than 80,000 Hungarians and 32,000 Germans were forced to leave Slovakia, in a series of population transfers initiated by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference. Out of about 130,000 Carpathian Germans in Slovakia in 1938, by 1947 only some 20,000 remained.
As a result of the Yalta Conference, Czechoslovakia came under the influence and later under direct occupation of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact, after a coup in 1948. Eight thousand two hundred and forty people went to forced labour camps in 1948–1953.
The country was invaded by the Warsaw Pact forces (People's Republic of Bulgaria, People's Republic of Hungary, People's Republic of Poland, and Soviet Union, with the exception of Socialist Republic of Romania and People's Socialist Republic of Albania) in 1968, ending a period of liberalisation under the leadership of Alexander Dubček. 137 Czechoslovakian civilians were killed and 500 seriously wounded during the occupation. In 1969 Czechoslovakia became a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic. Czechoslovakia became a puppet state of the Soviet Union. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was never part of the Soviet Union and remained independent to a degree.
Borders with the West were protected by the Iron Curtain. About 600 people, men, women, and children, were killed on the Czechoslovak border with Austria and West Germany between 1948 and 1989.
The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989, during the peaceful Velvet Revolution, was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states. The word "socialist" was dropped in the names of the two republics, with the Slovak Socialist Republic renamed as Slovak Republic. On 17 July 1992, Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, declared itself a sovereign state, meaning that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government. Throughout the autumn of 1992, Mečiar and Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus negotiated the details for disbanding the federation. In November, the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country officially on 31 December 1992.
The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic went their separate ways after 1 January 1993, an event sometimes called the Velvet Divorce. Slovakia has, nevertheless, remained a close partner with the Czech Republic. Both countries co-operate with Hungary and Poland in the Visegrád Group. Slovakia became a member of NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2009, Slovakia adopted the Euro as its national currency.
Slovakia lies between latitudes 47° and 50° N, and longitudes 16° and 23° E. The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Among these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Fatra-Tatra Area (including Tatra Mountains, Greater Fatra and Lesser Fatra), Slovak Ore Mountains, Slovak Central Mountains or Beskids. The largest lowland is the fertile Danubian Lowland in the southwest, followed by the Eastern Slovak Lowland in the southeast. Forests cover 41% of Slovak land surface.
The Tatra Mountains, with 29 peaks higher than AMSL, are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. The Tatras occupy an area of , of which the greater part lies in Slovakia. They are divided into several parts.
To the north, close to the Polish border, are the High Tatras which are a popular hiking and skiing destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well as the highest point in Slovakia, the Gerlachovský štít at and the country's highly symbolic mountain Kriváň. To the west are the Western Tatras with their highest peak of Bystrá at and to the east are the Belianske Tatras, smallest by area.
Separated from the Tatras proper by the valley of the Váh river are the Low Tatras, with their highest peak of Ďumbier at .
The Tatra mountain range is represented as one of the three hills on the coat of arms of Slovakia.
There are 9 national parks in Slovakia, covering 6.5% of Slovak land surface.
Slovakia has hundreds of caves and caverns under its mountains, of which 30 are open to the public. Most of the caves have stalagmites rising from the ground and stalactites hanging from above. There are currently five Slovak caves under UNESCO's World Heritage Site status. They are Dobšinská Ice Cave, Domica, Gombasek Cave, Jasovská Cave and Ochtinská Aragonite Cave. Other caves open to the public include Belianska Cave, Demänovská Cave of Liberty, Demänovská Ice Cave or Bystrianska Cave.
Most of the rivers arise in the Slovak mountains. Some only pass through Slovakia, while others make a natural border with surrounding countries (more than ). For example, the Dunajec () to the north, the Danube () to the south or the Morava () to the West. The total length of the rivers on Slovak territory is .
The longest river in Slovakia is the Váh (), the shortest is the Čierna voda. Other important and large rivers are the Myjava, the Nitra (), the Orava, the Hron (), the Hornád (), the Slaná (), the Ipeľ (, forming the border with Hungary), the Bodrog, the Laborec, the Latorica and the Ondava.
The biggest volume of discharge in Slovak rivers is during spring, when the snow melts from the mountains. The only exception is the Danube, whose discharge is the greatest during summer when the snow melts in the Alps. The Danube is the largest river that flows through Slovakia.
The Slovak climate lies between the temperate and continental climate zones with relatively warm summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters. Temperature extremes are between although temperatures below are rare. The weather differs from the mountainous north to the plains in the south.
The warmest region is Bratislava and Southern Slovakia where the temperatures may reach in summer, occasionally to in Hurbanovo. During night, the temperatures drop to . The daily temperatures in winter average in the range of to . During night it may be freezing, but usually not below .
In Slovakia, there are four seasons, each season (spring, summer, autumn and winter) lasts three months. The dry continental air brings in the summer heat and winter frosts. In contrast, oceanic air brings rainfalls and reduces summer temperatures. In the lowlands and valleys, there is often fog, especially in winter.
Spring starts with 21 March and is characterised by colder weather with an average daily temperature of in the first weeks and about in May and in June. In Slovakia, the weather and climate in the spring are very unstable.
Summer starts on 22 June and is usually characterised by hot weather with daily temperatures exceeding . July is the warmest month with temperatures up to about , especially in regions of southern Slovakia—in the urban area of Komárno, Hurbanovo or Štúrovo. Showers or thunderstorms may occur because of the summer monsoon called Medardova kvapka (Medard drop—40 days of rain). Summer in Northern Slovakia is usually mild with temperatures around (less in the mountains).
Autumn in Slovakia starts on 23 September and is mostly characterised by wet weather and wind, although the first weeks can be very warm and sunny. The average temperature in September is around , in November to . Late September and early October is a dry and sunny time of year (so-called Indian Summer).
Winter starts on 21 December with temperatures around . In December and January, it is usually snowing, these are the coldest months of the year. At lower altitudes, snow does not stay the whole winter, it changes into the thaw and frost. Winters are colder in the mountains, where the snow usually lasts until March or April and the night temperatures fall to and colder.
Slovakia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 19 May 1993, and became a party to the convention on 25 August 1994. It has subsequently produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which was received by the convention on 2 November 1998.
The biodiversity of Slovakia comprises animals (such as annelids, arthropods, molluscs, nematodes and vertebrates), fungi (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Zygomycota), micro-organisms (including Mycetozoa), and plants. The geographical position of Slovakia determines the richness of the diversity of fauna and flora. More than 11,000 plant species have been described throughout its territory, nearly 29,000 animal species and over 1,000 species of protozoa. Endemic biodiversity is also common.
Slovakia is located in the biome of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. As the altitude changes, the vegetation associations and animal communities are forming height levels (oak, beech, spruce, scrub pine, alpine meadows and subsoil). Forests cover 44% of the territory of Slovakia. In terms of forest stands, 60% are broadleaf trees and 40% are coniferous trees. The occurrence of animal species is strongly connected to the appropriate types of plant associations and biotopes.
Over 4,000 species of fungi have been recorded from Slovakia. Of these, nearly 1,500 are lichen-forming species. Some of these fungi are undoubtedly endemic, but not enough is known to say how many. Of the lichen-forming species, about 40% have been classified as threatened in some way. About 7% are apparently extinct, 9% endangered, 17% vulnerable, and 7% rare. The conservation status of non-lichen-forming fungi in Slovakia is not well documented, but there is a red list for its larger fungi.
Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system. The last parliamentary elections were held on 29 February 2020 and two rounds of presidential elections took place on 16 and 30 March 2019.
The Slovak head of state and the formal head of the executive is the president (currently Zuzana Čaputová, the first female president), though with very limited powers. The president is elected by direct, popular vote under the two-round system for a five-year term. Most executive power lies with the head of government, the prime minister (currently Igor Matovič), who is usually the leader of the winning party, but he or she needs to form a majority coalition in the parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president. The remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic ("Národná rada Slovenskej republiky"). Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation.
Slovakia's highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia ("Ústavný súd"), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament.
The Constitution of the Slovak Republic was ratified 1 September 1992, and became effective 1 January 1993. It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements. The civil law system is based on Austro-Hungarian codes. The legal code was modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge the Marxist–Leninist legal theory. Slovakia accepts the compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction with reservations.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs () is responsible for maintaining the Slovak Republic's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The ministry's director is Miroslav Lajčák. The ministry oversees Slovakia's affairs with foreign entities, including bilateral relations with individual nations and its representation in international organizations.
Slovakia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004 and the Eurozone in 2009.
Slovakia is a member of the United Nations (since 1993) and participates in its specialized agencies. The country was, on 10 October 2005, elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007. It is also a member of the Schengen Area, the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and part of the Visegrád Four (V4: Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland).
In 2020, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 181 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world.
Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries, primarily through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of December 2013, Slovakia maintained 90 missions abroad, including 64 embassies, seven missions to multilateral organisations, nine consulates-general, one consular office, one Slovak Economic and Cultural Office and eight Slovak Institutes. There are 44 embassies and 35 honorary consulates in Bratislava.
Slovakia and the United States retain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the military and law enforcement areas. The U.S. Department of Defense programs has contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have their roots in Slovakia, and many retain strong cultural and familial ties to the Slovak Republic. President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the original Czechoslovak state on 28 October 1918.
The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic number 14,000 uniformed personnel. Slovakia joined NATO in March 2004. The country has been an active participant in US- and NATO-led military actions. There is a joint Czech-Slovak peacekeeping force in Kosovo. From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organisation and compulsory military service was abolished.
Slovak Ground Forces are made up of two active mechanised infantry brigades. The Air and Air Defence Forces comprise one wing of fighters, one wing of utility helicopters, and one SAM brigade. Training and support forces comprise a National Support Element (Multifunctional Battalion, Transport Battalion, Repair Battalion), a garrison force of the capital city Bratislava, as well as a training battalion, and various logistics and communication and information bases. Miscellaneous forces under the direct command of the General Staff include the 5th Special Forces Regiment.
The US State Department in 2017 reported:
The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. The most significant human rights issues included incidents of interference with privacy; corruption; widespread discrimination against Roma minority; and security force violence against ethnic and racial minorities government actions and rhetoric did little to discourage. The government investigated reports of abuses by members of the security forces and other government institutions, although some observers questioned the thoroughness of these investigations. Some officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Two former ministers were convicted of corruption during the year.
Human rights in Slovakia are guaranteed by the Constitution of Slovakia from the year 1992 and by multiple international laws signed in Slovakia between 1948 and 2006.
According to the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Romani people in Slovakia "endure racism in the job market, housing and education fields and are often subjected to forced evictions, vigilante intimidation, disproportionate levels of police brutality and more subtle forms of discrimination."
Slovakia is divided into 8 "krajov" (singular—"kraj", usually translated as "region"), each of which is named after its principal city. Regions have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy since 2002. Their self-governing bodies are referred to as Self-governing (or autonomous) Regions (sg. "samosprávny kraj", pl. "samosprávne kraje") or Upper-Tier Territorial Units (sg. "vyšší územný celok", pl. "vyššie územné celky", abbr. VÚC).
The "kraje" are subdivided into many "okresy" (sg. "okres", usually translated as districts). Slovakia currently has 79 districts.
The "okresy" are further divided into "obcí" (sg. "obec", usually translated as "municipality"). There are currently 2,890 municipalities.
In terms of economics and unemployment rate, the western regions are richer than eastern regions. Bratislava is the third-richest region of the European Union by GDP (PPP) per capita (after Hamburg and Luxembourg City); GDP at purchasing power parity is about three times higher than in other Slovak regions.
The Slovak economy is a developed, high-income economy, with the GDP per capita equalling 78% of the average of the European Union in 2018. The country has difficulties addressing regional imbalances in wealth and employment. GDP per capita ranges from 188% of EU average in Bratislava to 54% in Eastern Slovakia. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes.
The OECD in 2017 reported:
The Slovak Republic continues exhibiting robust economic performance, with strong growth backed by a sound financial sector, low public debt and high international competitiveness drawing on large inward investment.
In 2020, Slovakia was ranked by the International Monetary Fund as the 38th richest country in the world (out of 187 countries), with purchasing power parity per capita GDP of $38,321. The country used to be dubbed the "Tatra Tiger". Slovakia successfully transformed from a centrally planned economy to a market-driven economy. Major privatisations are completed, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has risen.
The Slovak economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe and 3rd-fastest in eurozone (2017). In 2007, 2008 and 2010 (with GDP growth of 10.5%, 6% and 4%, retrospectively). In 2016, more than 86% of Slovak exports went to European Union, and more than 50% of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states.
The ratio of government debt to GDP in Slovakia reached 49.4% by the end of 2018, far below the OECD average.
Unemployment, peaking at 19% at the end of 1999, decreased to 4,9% in 2019, lowest recorded rate in Slovak history.
Slovakia adopted the Euro currency on 1 January 2009 as the 16th member of the Eurozone. The euro in Slovakia was approved by the European commission on 7 May 2008. The Slovak koruna was revalued on 28 May 2008 to 30.126 for 1 euro, which was also the exchange rate for the euro.
The Slovak government encourages foreign investment since it is one of the driving forces of the economy. Slovakia is an attractive country for foreign investors mainly because of its low wages, low tax rates, well educated labour force, favourable geographic location in the heart of Central Europe, strong political stability and good international relations reinforced by the country's accession to the European Union. Some regions, mostly at the east of Slovakia have failed to attract major investment, which has aggravated regional disparities in many economic and social areas. Foreign direct investment inflow grew more than 600% from 2000 and cumulatively reached an all-time high of $17.3 billion in 2006, or around $22,000 per capita by the end of 2008.
Slovakia ranks 45th out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business, according to the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Report and 57th out of the 63 countries in terms of competitive economy, according to the 2020 World Competitiveness Yearbook Report.
Although Slovakia's GDP comes mainly from the tertiary (services) sector, the industrial sector also plays an important role within its economy. The main industry sectors are car manufacturing and electrical engineering. Since 2007, Slovakia has been the world's largest producer of cars per capita, with a total of 1,090,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2018 alone. 275,000 people are employed directly and indirectly
by the automotive industry. There are currently four automobile assembly plants: Volkswagen's in Bratislava (models: Volkswagen Up, Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, Audi Q8, Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus), PSA Peugeot Citroën's in Trnava (models: Peugeot 208, Citroën C3 Picasso), Kia Motors' Žilina Plant (models: Kia Cee'd, Kia Sportage, Kia Venga) and Jaguar Land Rover's in Nitra (model: Land Rover Discovery). Hyundai Mobis in Žilina is the largest suppliers for the automotive industry in Slovakia.
From electrical engineering companies, Foxconn has a factory at Nitra for LCD TV manufacturing, Samsung at Galanta for computer monitors and television sets manufacturing. Slovnaft based in Bratislava with 4,000 employees, is an oil refinery with a processing capacity of 5.5 - 6 million tonnes of crude oil, annually. Steel producer U. S. Steel in Košice is the largest employer in the east of Slovakia with 12,000 employees.
ESET is an IT security company from Bratislava with more than 1,000 employees worldwide at present. Their branch offices are in the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Poland. In recent years, service and high-tech-oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava. Many global companies, including IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AT&T, SAP, and Accenture, have built outsourcing and service centres here. Reasons for the influx of multi-national corporations include proximity to Western Europe, skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities. Other large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include Amazon, Slovak Telekom, Orange Slovensko, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Tatra banka, Doprastav, Hewlett-Packard Slovakia, Henkel Slovensko, Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, Microsoft Slovakia, Mondelez Slovakia, Whirlpool Slovakia and Zurich Insurance Group Slovakia.
Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a crossroads for international trade traffic. Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway, have crossed territory of present-day Bratislava. Today, Bratislava is the road, railway, waterway and airway hub.
In 2012, Slovakia produced a total of 28,393 GWh of electricity while at the same time consumed 28 786 GWh. The slightly higher level of consumption than the capacity of production (- 393 GWh) meant the country was not self-sufficient in energy sourcing. Slovakia imported electricity mainly from the Czech Republic (9,961 GWh—73.6% of total import) and exported mainly to Hungary (10,231 GWh—78.2% of total export).
Nuclear energy accounts for 53.8% of total electricity production in Slovakia, followed by 18.1% of thermal power energy, 15.1% by hydro power energy, 2% by solar energy, 9.6% by other sources and the rest 1.4% is imported.
The two nuclear power-plants in Slovakia are in Jaslovské Bohunice and Mochovce, each of them containing two operating reactors. Before the accession of Slovakia to the EU in 2004, the government agreed to turn-off the V1 block of Jaslovské Bohunice power-plant, built-in 1978. After deactivating the last of the two reactors of the V1 block in 2008, Slovakia stopped being self-dependent in energy production. Currently there is another block (V2) with two active reactors in Jaslovské Bohunice. It is scheduled for decommissioning in 2025. Two new reactors are under construction in Mochovce plant. The nuclear power production in Slovakia occasionally draws the attention of Austrian green-energy activists who organise protests and block the borders between the two countries.
There are four main highways D1 to D4 and eight expressways R1 to R8. Many of them are still under construction.
The D1 motorway connects Bratislava to Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina and beyond, while the D2 motorway connects it to Prague, Brno and Budapest in the north–south direction. A large part of D4 motorway (an outer bypass), which should ease the pressure on Bratislava's highway system, is scheduled to open in 2020. The A6 motorway to Vienna connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on 19 November 2007.
Slovakia has four international airports. Bratislava's M. R. Štefánik Airport is the main and largest international airport. It is located northeast of the city centre. It serves civil and governmental, scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights. The current runways support the landing of all common types of aircraft currently used. The airport has enjoyed rapidly growing passenger traffic in recent years; it served 279,028 passengers in 2000 and 2,292,712 in 2018. Košice International Airport is an airport serving Košice. It is the second-largest international airport in Slovakia. The Poprad–Tatry Airport is the third busiest airport, the airport is located 5 km east—northeast of ski resort town Poprad. It is an airport with one of the highest elevations in Central Europe, at 718 m, which is 150 m higher than Innsbruck Airport in Austria. The Sliač Airport is the smallest international airport and currently operates only summer charter flights to popular sea resort destinations.
Railways of Slovak Republic provides railway transport services on national and international lines.
The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal.
Additionally, tourist boats operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín, Vienna and elsewhere. The Port of Komárno is the second largest port in Slovakia with an area of over 20 hectares and is located approximately 100 km east of Bratislava. It lies at the confluence of two rivers - the Danube and Váh.
Slovakia features natural landscapes, mountains, caves, medieval castles and towns, folk architecture, spas and ski resorts. More than 5,4 million tourists visited Slovakia in 2017, and the most attractive destinations are the capital of Bratislava and the High Tatras. Most visitors come from the Czech Republic (about 26%), Poland (15%) and Germany (11%).
Slovakia contains many castles, most of which are in ruins. The best known castles include Bojnice Castle (often used as a filming location), Spiš Castle, (on the UNESCO list), Orava Castle, Bratislava Castle, and the ruins of Devín Castle. Čachtice Castle was once the home of the world's most prolific female serial killer, the 'Bloody Lady', Elizabeth Báthory.
Slovakia's position in Europe and the country's past (part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg monarchy and Czechoslovakia) made many cities and towns similar to the cities in the Czech Republic (such as Prague), Austria (such as Salzburg) or Hungary (such as Budapest). A historical centre with at least one square has been preserved in many towns. Large historical centers can be found in Bratislava, Trenčín, Košice, Banská Štiavnica, Levoča, and Trnava. Historical centres have been going through a restoration in recent years.
Historical churches can be found in virtually every village and town in Slovakia. Most of them are built in the Baroque style, but there are also many examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, for example Banská Bystrica, Bardejov and Spišská Kapitula. The Basilica of St. James in Levoča with the tallest wood-carved altar in the world and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Žehra with medieval frescos are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The St. Martin's Concathedral in Bratislava served as the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary. The oldest sacral buildings in Slovakia stem from the Great Moravian period in the 9th century.
Very precious structures are the complete wooden churches of northern and northern-eastern Slovakia. Most were built from the 15th century onwards by Catholics, Lutherans and members of eastern-rite churches.
Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in folk costumes, ceramic objects, crystal glass, carved wooden figures, črpáks (wooden pitchers), fujaras (a folk instrument on the UNESCO list) and valaškas (a decorated folk hatchet) and above all products made from corn husks and wire, notably human figures. Souvenirs can be bought in the shops run by the state organisation ÚĽUV ("Ústredie ľudovej umeleckej výroby"—Centre of Folk Art Production). "Dielo" shop chain sells works of Slovak artists and craftsmen. These shops are mostly found in towns and cities.
Prices of imported products are generally the same as in the neighbouring countries, whereas prices of local products and services, especially food, are usually lower.
The Slovak Academy of Sciences has been the most important scientific and research institution in the country since 1953. Slovaks have made notable scientific and technical contributions during history. Slovakia is currently in the negotiation process of becoming a member of the European Space Agency. Observer status was granted in 2010, when Slovakia signed the General Agreement on Cooperation in which information about ongoing education programmes was shared and Slovakia was invited to various negotiations of the ESA. In 2015, Slovakia signed the European Cooperating State Agreement based on which Slovakia committed to the finance entrance programme named PECS (Plan for the European Cooperating States) which serves as preparation for full membership. Slovak research and development organizations can apply for funding of projects regarding space technologies advancement. Full membership of Slovakia in the ESA is expected in 2020 after signing the ESA Convention. Slovakia will be obliged to set state budget inclusive ESA funding.
The population is over 5.4 million and consists mostly of Slovaks. The average population density is 110 inhabitants per km². According to the 2011 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovaks (80.7%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (8.5%). Other ethnic groups include Roma (2%), Czechs (0.6%), Rusyns (0.6%) and others or unspecified (7.6%). Unofficial estimates on the Roma population are much higher, around 5.6%.
In 2018 the median age of the Slovak population was 41 years.
The largest waves of Slovak emigration occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1990 US census, 1.8 million people self-identified as having Slovak ancestry.
The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family. Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern regions, and Rusyn is used in some parts of the Northeast. Minority languages hold co-official status in the municipalities in which the size of the minority population meets the legal threshold of 15% in two consecutive censuses.
Slovakia is ranked among the top EU countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages. In 2007, 68% of the population aged from 25 to 64 years claimed to speak two or more foreign languages, finishing 2nd highest in the European Union. The best known foreign language in Slovakia is Czech. Eurostat report also shows that 98.3% of Slovak students in the upper secondary education take on two foreign languages, ranking highly over the average 60.1% in the European Union.
The deaf community uses the Slovak Sign Language. Even though spoken Czech and Slovak are similar, the Slovak Sign language is not particularly close to Czech Sign Language.
The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. In 2011, 62.0% of Slovaks identified themselves as Roman Catholics, 8.9% as Protestants, 3.8% as Greek Catholics, 0.9% as Orthodox, 13.4% identified themselves as atheists or non-religious, and 10.6% did not answer the question about their belief. In 2004, about one third of the church members regularly attended church services. The Slovak Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern rite sui iuris Catholic Church. Before World War II, an estimated 90,000 Jews lived in Slovakia (1.6% of the population), but most were murdered during the Holocaust. After further reductions due to postwar emigration and assimilation, only about 2,300 Jews remain today (0.04% of the population).
There are 18 state-registered religions in Slovakia, of which 16 are Christian, one is Jewish, and one is Bahá'í. In 2016, a two-third majority of the Slovak parliament passed a new bill that will obstruct Islam and other religious organisations from becoming state-recognised religions by doubling the minimum followers threshold from 25,000 to 50,000; however, Slovak president Andrej Kiska vetoed the bill. In 2010, there were an estimated 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia representing less than 0.1% of the country's population. Slovakia is the only member state of the European Union without a mosque.
The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Slovak secondary education the 30th in the world (placing it just below the United States and just above Spain).
Education in Slovakia is compulsory from age 6 to 16. The education system consists of elementary school which is divided into two parts, the first grade (age 6–10) and the second grade (age 10–15) which is finished by taking nationwide testing called Monitor, from Slovak language and math. Parents may apply for social assistance for a child that is studying on an elementary school or a high-school. If approved, the state provides basic study necessities for the child. Schools provide books to all their students with usual exceptions of books for studying a foreign language and books which require taking notes in them, which are mostly present in the first grade of elementary school.
After finishing elementary school, students are obliged to take one year in high school.
After finishing high school, students can go to university and are highly encouraged to do so. Slovakia has a wide range of universities. The biggest university is Comenius University, established in 1919. Although it's not the first university ever established on Slovak territory, it's the oldest university that is still running. Most universities in Slovakia are public funded, where anyone can apply. Every citizen has a right to free education in public schools.
Slovakia has several privately funded universities, however public universities consistently score better in the ranking than their private counterparts. Universities have different criteria for accepting students. Anyone can apply to any number of universities.
Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture. The prime example is a Slovak national anthem, ""Nad Tatrou sa blýska"", which is based on a melody from ""Kopala studienku"" folk song.
The manifestation of Slovak folklore culture is the ""Východná"" Folklore Festival. It is the oldest and largest nationwide festival with international participation, which takes place in Východná annually. Slovakia is usually represented by many groups but mainly by SĽUK ("Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív—Slovak folk art collective"). SĽUK is the largest Slovak folk art group, trying to preserve the folklore tradition.
An example of wooden folk architecture in Slovakia can be seen in the well-preserved village of Vlkolínec which has been the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. The Prešov Region preserves the world's most remarkable folk wooden churches. Most of them are protected by Slovak law as cultural heritage, but some of them are on the UNESCO list too, in Bodružal, Hervartov, Ladomirová and Ruská Bystrá.
The best known Slovak hero, found in many folk mythologies, is Juraj Jánošík (1688–1713) (the Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood). The legend says he was taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Jánošík's life was depicted in a list of literary works and many movies throughout the 20th century. One of the most popular is a film "Jánošík" directed by Martin Frič in 1935.
Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, arts and crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art. The Slovak National Gallery founded in 1948, is the biggest network of galleries in Slovakia. Two displays in Bratislava are situated in Esterházy Palace ("Esterházyho palác") and the Water Barracks ("Vodné kasárne"), adjacent one to another. They are located on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town.
The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961 is the second biggest Slovak gallery of its kind. It stores about 35,000 pieces of Slovak international art and offers permanent displays in Pálffy Palace and Mirbach Palace, located in the Old Town. Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is situated near Čunovo waterworks (part of Gabčíkovo Waterworks). Other major galleries include: Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art (Warhol's parents were from Miková), East Slovak Gallery, Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery, Zvolen Castle.
For a list of notable Slovak writers and poets, see List of Slovak authors.
Christian topics include poem Proglas as a foreword to the four Gospels, partial translations of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic, "Zakon sudnyj ljudem".
Medieval literature, in the period from the 11th to the 15th centuries, was written in Latin, Czech and Slovakised Czech. Lyric (prayers, songs and formulas) was still controlled by the Church, while epic was concentrated on legends. Authors from this period include Johannes de Thurocz, author of the Chronica Hungarorum and Maurus, both of them Hungarians. The worldly literature also emerged and chronicles were written in this period.
Two leading persons codified the Slovak language. The first was Anton Bernolák whose concept was based on the western Slovak dialect in 1787. It was the codification of the first-ever literary language of Slovaks. The second was Ľudovít Štúr, whose formation of the Slovak language took principles from the central Slovak dialect in 1843.
Slovakia is also known for its polyhistors, of whom include Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Matej Bel, Ján Kollár, and its political revolutionaries and reformists, such Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Alexander Dubček.
Traditional Slovak cuisine is based mainly on pork, poultry (chicken is the most widely eaten, followed by duck, goose, and turkey), flour, potatoes, cabbage, and milk products. It is relatively closely related to Hungarian, Czech, Polish and Austrian cuisine. On the east it is also influenced by Ukrainian, including Lemko and Rusyn. In comparison with other European countries, "game meat" is more accessible in Slovakia due to vast resources of forest and because hunting is relatively popular. Boar, rabbit, and venison are generally available throughout the year. Lamb and goat are eaten but are not widely popular.
The traditional Slovak meals are bryndzové halušky, bryndzové pirohy and other meals with potato dough and bryndza. Bryndza is a salty cheese made of sheep milk, characterised by a strong taste and aroma. Bryndzové halušky especially is considered a national dish, and is very commonly found on the menu of traditional Slovak restaurants.
A typical soup is a sauerkraut soup ("kapustnica"). A blood sausage called "krvavnica", made from any parts of a butchered pig is also a specific Slovak meal.
Wine is enjoyed throughout Slovakia. Slovak wine comes predominantly from the southern areas along the Danube and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and mountainous to grow grapevines. Traditionally, white wine was more popular than red or rosé (except in some regions), and sweet wine more popular than dry, but in recent years tastes seem to be changing. Beer (mainly of the pilsener style, though dark lagers are also consumed) is also popular.
Sporting activities are practised widely in Slovakia, many of them on a professional level. Ice hockey and football have traditionally been regarded as the most popular sports in Slovakia, though tennis, handball, basketball, volleyball, whitewater slalom, cycling and athletics are also popular.
One of the most popular team sports in Slovakia is ice hockey. Slovakia became a member of the IIHF on 2 February 1993 and since then has won 4 medals in Ice Hockey World Championships, consisting of 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. The most recent success was a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki. The Slovak national hockey team made five appearances in the Olympic games, finishing 4th in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The country has 8,280 registered players and is ranked 7th in the IIHF World Ranking at present. Before 2012, the Slovak team HC Slovan Bratislava participated in the Kontinental Hockey League, considered the strongest hockey league in Europe, and the second-best in the world.
Slovakia hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship, where Finland won the gold medal and 2019 IIHF World Championship, where Finland also won the gold medal. Both competitions took place in Bratislava and Košice.
Association football is the most popular sport in Slovakia, with over 400,000 registered players. Since 1993, the Slovak national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once, in 2010. They progressed to the last 16, where they were defeated by the Netherlands. The most notable result was the 3–2 victory over Italy. In 2016, the Slovak national football team qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, under head coach Ján Kozák. This helped the team reach its best-ever position of 14th in the FIFA World Rankings.
In club competitions, only three teams have qualified for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, namely MFK Košice in 1997–98, FC Artmedia Bratislava in 2005–06 season, and MŠK Žilina in 2010–11. FC Artmedia Bratislava has been the most successful team, finishing 3rd at the Group Stage of the UEFA Cup, therefore qualifying for the knockout stage. They remain the only Slovak club that has won a match at the group stage. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26830 |
Scientific method
The scientific method is an empirical method of acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century. It involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation. It involves formulating hypotheses, via induction, based on such observations; experimental and measurement-based testing of deductions drawn from the hypotheses; and refinement (or elimination) of the hypotheses based on the experimental findings. These are "principles" of the scientific method, as distinguished from a definitive series of steps applicable to all scientific enterprises.
Though diverse models for the scientific method are available, there is in general a continuous process that includes observations about the natural world. People are naturally inquisitive, so they often come up with questions about things they see or hear, and they often develop ideas or hypotheses about why things are the way they are. The best hypotheses lead to predictions that can be tested in various ways. The most conclusive testing of hypotheses comes from reasoning based on carefully controlled experimental data. Depending on how well additional tests match the predictions, the original hypothesis may require refinement, alteration, expansion or even rejection. If a particular hypothesis becomes very well supported, a general theory may be developed.
Although procedures vary from one field of inquiry to another, they are frequently the same from one to another. The process of the scientific method involves making conjectures (hypotheses), deriving predictions from them as logical consequences, and then carrying out experiments or empirical observations based on those predictions. A hypothesis is a conjecture, based on knowledge obtained while seeking answers to the question. The hypothesis might be very specific, or it might be broad. Scientists then test hypotheses by conducting experiments or studies. A scientific hypothesis must be falsifiable, implying that it is possible to identify a possible outcome of an experiment or observation that conflicts with predictions deduced from the hypothesis; otherwise, the hypothesis cannot be meaningfully tested.
The purpose of an experiment is to determine whether observations agree with or conflict with the predictions derived from a hypothesis. Experiments can take place anywhere from a garage to CERN's Large Hadron Collider. There are difficulties in a formulaic statement of method, however. Though the scientific method is often presented as a fixed sequence of steps, it represents rather a set of general principles. Not all steps take place in every scientific inquiry (nor to the same degree), and they are not always in the same order.
Important debates in the history of science concern rationalism, especially as advocated by René Descartes; inductivism and/or empiricism, as argued for by Francis Bacon, and rising to particular prominence with Isaac Newton and his followers; and hypothetico-deductivism, which came to the fore in the early 19th century.
The term "scientific method" emerged in the 19th century, when a significant institutional development of science was taking place and terminologies establishing clear boundaries between science and non-science, such as "scientist" and "pseudoscience", appeared. Throughout the 1830s and 1850s, by which time Baconianism was popular, naturalists like William Whewell, John Herschel, John Stuart Mill engaged in debates over "induction" and "facts" and were focused on how to generate knowledge. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a debate over realism vs. antirealism was conducted as powerful scientific theories extended beyond the realm of the observable.
The term "scientific method" came into popular use in the twentieth century, popping up in dictionaries and science textbooks, although there was little scientific consensus over its meaning. Although there was a growth through the middle of the twentieth century, by the 1960s and 1970s numerous influential philosophers of science such as Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend had questioned the universality of the "scientific method" and in doing so largely replaced the notion of science as a homogeneous and universal method with that of it being a heterogeneous and local practice. In particular, Paul Feyerabend, in the 1975 first edition of his book "Against Method", argued against there being any universal rules of science. Later examples include physicist Lee Smolin's 2013 essay "There Is No Scientific Method" and historian of science Daniel Thurs's chapter in the 2015 book "Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science", which concluded that the scientific method is a myth or, at best, an idealization. Philosophers Robert Nola and Howard Sankey, in their 2007 book "Theories of Scientific Method", said that debates over scientific method continue, and argued that Feyerabend, despite the title of "Against Method", accepted certain rules of method and attempted to justify those rules with a metamethodology.
The scientific method is the process by which science is carried out. As in other areas of inquiry, science (through the scientific method) can build on previous knowledge and develop a more sophisticated understanding of its topics of study over time. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26833 |
Shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug. Shotguns come in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from 5.5 mm (.22 inch) bore up to bore, and in a range of firearm operating mechanisms, including breech loading, single-barreled, double or combination gun, pump-action, bolt-, and lever-action, revolver, semi-automatic, and even fully automatic variants.
A shotgun was originally a smoothbore firearm, which means that the inside of the barrel is not rifled but later rifled shotgun barrels and slugs become available. Preceding smoothbore firearms, such as the musket, were widely used by armies in the 18th century. The direct ancestor to the shotgun, the blunderbuss, was also used in a similar variety of roles from self-defense to riot control. It was often used by cavalry troops because of its generally shorter length and ease of use, as well as by coachmen for its substantial power. In the 19th century, however, these weapons were largely replaced on the battlefield with breechloading rifled firearms, which were more accurate over longer ranges. The military value of shotguns was rediscovered in the First World War, when American forces used 12-gauge pump action shotguns in close-quarters trench fighting to great effect. Since then, it has been used in a variety of roles in civilian, law enforcement, and military applications.
The shot pellets from a shotgun spread upon leaving the barrel, and the power of the burning charge is divided among the pellets, which means that the energy of any one ball of shot is fairly low. In a hunting context, this makes shotguns useful primarily for hunting birds and other small game. However, in a military or law enforcement context, the large number of projectiles makes the shotgun useful as a close quarters combat weapon or a defensive weapon. Militants or insurgents may use shotguns in asymmetric engagements, as shotguns are commonly owned civilian weapons in many countries. Shotguns are also used for target shooting sports such as skeet, trap, and sporting clays. These involve shooting clay disks, known as clay pigeons, thrown in various ways.
Shotguns come in a wide variety of forms, from very small up to massive punt guns, and in nearly every type of firearm operating mechanism. The common characteristics that make a shotgun unique center on the requirements of firing shot. These features are the features typical of a shotgun shell, namely a relatively short, wide cartridge, with straight walls, and operating at a relatively low pressure.
Ammunition for shotguns is referred to in the US as shotgun shells, shotshells, or just shells (when it is not likely to be confused with artillery shells). The term cartridges is standard usage in the United Kingdom.
The shot is usually fired from a smoothbore barrel; another configuration is the rifled slug barrel, which fires more accurate solitary projectiles.
The typical use of a shotgun is against small and fast moving targets, often while in the air. The spreading of the shot allows the user to point the shotgun close to the target, rather than having to aim precisely as in the case of a single projectile. The disadvantages of shot are limited range and limited penetration of the shot, which is why shotguns are used at short ranges, and typically against smaller targets. Larger shot sizes, up to the extreme case of the single projectile slug load, result in increased penetration, but at the expense of fewer projectiles and lower probability of hitting the target.
Aside from the most common use against small, fast moving targets, the shotgun has several advantages when used against still targets. First, it has enormous stopping power at short range, more than nearly all handguns and many rifles. Though many believe the shotgun is a great firearm for inexperienced shooters, the truth is, at close range, the spread of shot is not very large at all, and competency in aiming is still required. A typical self-defense load of buckshot contains 8–27 large lead pellets, resulting in many wound tracks in the target. Also, unlike a fully jacketed rifle bullet, each pellet of shot is less likely to penetrate walls and hit bystanders (though in the case of traditional 00-Buck, overpenetration of soft and hard targets may be an issue). It is favored by law enforcement for its low penetration and high stopping power.
On the other hand, the hit potential of a defensive shotgun is often overstated. The typical defensive shot is taken at very close ranges, at which the shot charge expands no more than a few centimeters. This means the shotgun must still be aimed at the target with some care. Balancing this is the fact that shot spreads further upon entering the target, and the multiple wound channels are far more likely to produce a disabling wound than a rifle or handgun.
Some of the most common uses of shotguns are the sports of skeet shooting, trap shooting, and sporting clays. These involve shooting clay discs, also known as clay pigeons, thrown in by hand and by machine. Both skeet and trap competitions are featured at the Olympic Games.
The shotgun is popular for bird hunting (called "game-shooting" in the UK, where "hunting" refers to hunting mammals with a pack of hounds), it is also used for more general forms of hunting especially in semi-populated areas where the range of rifle bullets may pose a hazard. Use of a smooth bore shotgun with a rifled slug or, alternatively, a rifled barrel shotgun with a sabot slug, improves accuracy to or more. This is well within the range of the majority of kill shots by experienced hunters using shotguns.
However, given the relatively low muzzle velocity of slug ammunition, typically around 500 m/s (about 1600 feet per second), and the blunt, poorly streamlined shape of typical slugs (which cause them to lose velocity very rapidly, compared to rifle bullets), a hunter must pay close attention to the ballistics of the particular ammunition used to ensure an effective and humane kill shot.
At any reasonable range, shotgun slugs make effective lethal wounds due to their tremendous mass, reducing the length of time that an animal might suffer. For example, a typical 12 gauge shotgun slug is a blunt piece of metal that could be described as an 18 mm (.729 inch) caliber that weighs 28 grams (432 grains). For comparison, a common deer-hunting rifle round is a 7.62 mm (.308 inch) slug weighing 9.7 grams (150 grains), but the dynamics of the rifle cartridge allow for a different type of wound, and a much further reach.
Shotguns are often used with rifled barrels in locations where it is not lawful to hunt with a rifle. Typically, a sabot slug is used in these barrels for maximum accuracy and performance. Shotguns are often used to hunt whitetail deer in the thick brush and briers of the Southeastern and upper Midwestern United States, where, due to the dense cover, ranges tend to be close – 25m or less.
Sabot slugs are essentially very large hollow point bullets, and are streamlined for maximum spin and accuracy when shot through a rifled barrel. They have greater ranges than older Foster and Brenneke-type slugs.
People often use semiautomatic or pump action shotguns for hunting waterfowl to small game.
In the US and Canada, shotguns are widely used as a support weapon by police forces. One of the rationales for issuing shotguns is that, even without much training, an officer will probably be able to hit targets at close to intermediate range, due to the "spreading" effect of buckshot. This is largely a myth, as the spread of buckshot at 25 feet averages 8 inches, which is still very capable of missing a target. Some police forces are replacing shotguns in this role with carbine rifles such as AR-15s. Shotguns are also used in roadblock situations, where police are blocking a highway to search cars for suspects. In the US, law enforcement agencies often use riot shotguns, especially for crowd and riot control where they may be loaded with less-lethal rounds such as rubber bullets or bean bags. Shotguns are also often used as breaching devices to defeat locks.
Shotguns are common weapons in military use, particularly for special purposes. Shotguns are found aboard naval vessels for shipboard security, because the weapon is very effective at close range as a way of repelling enemy boarding parties. In a naval setting, stainless steel shotguns are often used, because regular steel is more prone to corrosion in the marine environment. Shotguns are also used by military police units. U.S. Marines have used shotguns since their inception at the squad level, often in the hands of NCOs, while the U.S. Army often issued them to a squad's point man. Shotguns were modified for and used in the trench warfare of WWI, in the jungle combat of WWII and the Vietnam War. Shotguns were also used in the Iraq War, being popular with soldiers in urban combat environments. Some U.S. units in Iraq used shotguns with special frangible breaching rounds to blow the locks off doors when making a surprise entry into a dwelling.
Shotguns are a popular means of home defense for many of the same reasons they are preferred for close-quarters tasks in law enforcement and the military.
Compared to handguns, shotguns are heavier, larger, and not as maneuverable in close quarters (which also presents a greater retention problem), but do have these advantages:
The wide range of forms the shotgun can take leads to some significant differences between what is technically a shotgun and what is legally considered a shotgun. A fairly broad attempt to define a shotgun is made in the United States Code (18 USC 921), which defines the shotgun as "a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger." It is even more broadly defined in English law: "a smooth bore gun not being an air gun" (s.1(3)(a) Firearms Act 1968).
A rifled slug, with finned rifling designed to enable the projectile to be safely fired through a choked barrel, is an example of a single projectile. Some shotguns have rifled barrels and are designed to be used with a "saboted" bullet, one which is typically encased in a two-piece plastic ring ("sabot") designed to peel away after it exits the barrel, leaving the bullet, now spinning after passing through the rifled barrel, to continue toward the target. These shotguns, although they have rifled barrels, still use a shotgun-style shell instead of a rifle cartridge and may in fact still fire regular multipellet shotgun shells, but the rifling in the barrel will affect the shot pattern. The use of a rifled barrel blurs the distinction between rifle and shotgun, and in fact the early rifled shotgun barrels went by the name "Paradox" for just that reason. Hunting laws may differentiate between smooth barreled and rifled barreled guns.
Combat shotgun is a shotgun designed for offensive purposes, typically for the military.
Riot shotgun has long been a synonym for a shotgun, especially a short-barrelled shotgun. During the 19th and early 20th century, these were used to disperse protesters, rioters and revolutionaries. The wide spray of the shot ensured a large group would be hit, but the light shot would ensure more wounds than fatalities. When the ground was paved, police officers would often ricochet the shot off the ground, slowing down the shot and spreading pattern even further. To this day specialized police and defensive shotguns are called riot shotguns. The introduction of rubber bullets and bean bag rounds ended the practice of using shot for the most part, but riot shotguns are still used to fire a variety of less-lethal rounds for riot control.
A sawed-off shotgun (or "sawn-off") refers to a shotgun whose barrel has been shortened, leaving it more maneuverable, easier to use at short range and more readily concealed. Many countries establish a legal minimum barrel length that precludes easy concealment (this length is in the U.S. and 24 inches in the UK). The sawed-off shotgun is sometimes known as a "lupara" (in Italian a generic reference to the word ""lupo"" ("wolf")) in Southern Italy and Sicily.
Coach guns are similar to sawn-off shotguns, except they are manufactured with a 46 cm (18") barrel and are legal for civilian ownership in some jurisdictions. Coach guns are also more commonly associated with the American Old West or Australian Colonial period, and often used for hunting in bush, scrub, or marshland where a longer barrel would be unwieldy or impractical.
Snake Charmer shotguns are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control. They have short barrels and either a full-size stocks or pistol grips, depending on legislation in intended markets. The overall length of these weapons is frequently less than , with some measuring up at less than . These weapons are typically single-shot break-action .410 "gauge" (caliber), which may or may not hold extra shot-shells in the butt-stock. They typically have a cylinder bore and sometimes are available in modified choke as well. Snake Charmers are popular for "home defense" purposes and as "survival" weapons.
Other examples include a variety of .410 / rifle "survival" guns manufactured in over/under designs. In the combination gun arrangement, a rimfire or centrefire rifle barrel is located beneath the barrel of a .410 gauge shotgun. Generally, there is one manually cocked external hammer and an external selection lever to select which caliber of cartridge to fire. A notable example is the Springfield Armory M6 Scout, a .410 / .22 issued to United States Air Force personnel as a "survival" gun in the event of a forced landing or accident in a wilderness area. Variants have been used by Israeli, Canadian, and American armed forces. Shotgun-rifle combination guns with two, three, and occasionally even four barrels are available from a number of makers, primarily European. These provided flexibility, enabling the hunter to effectively shoot at flushing birds or more distant small mammals while only carrying one gun.
Most early firearms, such as the blunderbuss, arquebus, and musket had large diameter, smoothbore barrels, and could fire shot as well as solid balls. A firearm intended for use in wing shooting of birds was known as a fowling piece. The 1728 " Cyclopaedia" defines a "fowling piece" as:
For example, the Brown Bess musket, in service with the British army from 1722 to 1838, had a 19 mm (.75 inch) smoothbore barrel, roughly the same as a 10 gauge shotgun, and was long, just short of the above recommended 168 cm (5 feet). On the other hand, records from the Plymouth colony show a maximum length of 137 cm (4 feet) for fowling pieces, shorter than the typical musket.
Shot was also used in warfare; the buck and ball loading, combining a musket ball with three or six buckshot, was used throughout the history of the smoothbore musket. The first recorded use of the term "shotgun" was in 1776 in Kentucky. It was noted as part of the "frontier language of the West" by James Fenimore Cooper.
With the adoption of smaller bores and rifled barrels, the shotgun began to emerge as a separate entity. Shotguns have long been the preferred method for sport hunting of birds, and the largest shotguns, the punt guns, were used for commercial hunting. The double-barreled shotgun has changed little since the development of the boxlock action in 1875. Modern innovations such as interchangeable chokes and subgauge inserts make the double-barreled shotgun the shotgun of choice in skeet, trap shooting, and sporting clays, as well as with many hunters.
As wing shooting has been a prestige sport, specialty gunsmiths such as Krieghoff or Perazzi have produced fancy double-barrel guns for wealthy European and American hunters. These weapons can cost US$5,000 or more; some elaborately decorated presentation guns have sold for up to US$100,000.
During its long history, the shotgun has been favored by bird hunters, guards, and law enforcement officials. The shotgun has fallen in and out of favor with military forces several times in its long history. Shotguns and similar weapons are simpler than long-range rifles, and were developed earlier. The development of more accurate and deadlier long-range rifles minimized the usefulness of the shotgun on the open battlefields of European wars. But armies have "rediscovered" the shotgun for specialty uses many times.
During the 19th century, shotguns were mainly employed by cavalry units. Both sides of the American Civil War employed shotguns. U.S. cavalry used the shotgun extensively during the Indian Wars in the latter half of the 19th century. Mounted units favored the shotgun for its moving target effectiveness, and devastating close-range firepower. The shotgun was also favored by citizen militias and similar groups.
With the exception of cavalry units, the shotgun saw less and less use throughout the 19th century on the battlefield. As a defense weapon it remained popular with guards and lawmen, however, and the shotgun became one of many symbols of the American Old West. Lawman Cody Lyons killed two men with a shotgun; his friend Doc Holliday's only confirmed kill was with a shotgun. The weapon both these men used was the short-barreled version favored by private strongbox guards on stages and trains. These guards, called express messengers, became known as shotgun messengers, since they rode with the weapon (loaded with buckshot) for defense against bandits. Passenger carriages carrying a strongbox usually had at least one private guard armed with a shotgun riding in front of the coach, next to the driver. This practice has survived in American slang; the term "riding shotgun" is used for the passenger who sits in the front passenger seat. The shotgun was a popular weapon for personal protection in the American Old West, requiring less skill on the part of the user than a revolver.
The origins of the hammerless shotgun are European but otherwise obscure. The earliest breechloading shotguns originated in France and Belgium in the early 19th century (see also the history of the Pinfire) and a number of them such as those by Robert and Chateauvillard from the 1830s and 1840s did not use hammers. In fact during these decades a wide variety of ingenious weapons, including rifles, adopted what is now often known as a 'needle-fire' method of igniting the charge, where a firing pin or a longer sharper needle provided the necessary impact. The most widely used British hammerless needle-fire shotgun was the unusual hinged-chamber fixed-barrel breech-loader by Joseph Needham, produced from the 1850s. By the 1860s hammerless guns were increasingly used in Europe both in war and sport although hammer guns were still very much in the majority. The first significant encroachment on hammer guns was a hammerless patent which could be used with a conventional side-lock. This was British gunmaker T Murcott's 1871 action nicknamed the 'mousetrap' on account of its loud snap action. However, the most successful hammerless innovation of the 1870s was Anson and Deeley's boxlock patent of 1875. This simple but ingenious design only used four moving parts allowing the production of cheaper and reliable shotguns.
Daniel Myron LeFever is credited with the invention of the American hammerless shotgun. Working for Barber & LeFever in Syracuse, N.Y. he introduced his first hammerless shotgun in 1878. This gun was cocked with external cocking levers on the side of the breech. He went on to patent the first truly automatic hammerless shotgun in 1883. This gun automatically cocked itself when the breech was closed. He later developed the mechanism to automatically eject the shells when the breech was opened.
One of the men most responsible for the modern development of the shotgun was prolific gun designer John Browning. While working for Winchester Firearms, Browning revolutionized shotgun design. In 1887, Browning introduced the Model 1887 Lever Action Repeating Shotgun, which loaded a fresh cartridge from its internal magazine by the operation of the action lever. Before this time most shotguns were the 'break open' type.
This development was greatly overshadowed by two further innovations he introduced at the end of the 19th century. In 1893, Browning produced the Model 1893 Pump Action Shotgun, introducing the now familiar pump action to the market. And in 1900, he patented the Browning Auto-5, America's first semi-automatic shotgun. The first semi-automatic shotgun in the world was patented in 1891-1893 by the Clair brothers of France. The Browning Auto-5 remained in production until 1998.
The decline in military use of shotguns reversed in World War I. American forces under General Pershing employed 12-gauge pump action shotguns when they were deployed to the Western front in 1917. These shotguns were fitted with bayonets and a heat shield so the barrel could be gripped while the bayonet was deployed. Shotguns fitted in this fashion became known as "trench guns" by the United States Army. Those without such modifications were known as "riot guns". After World War I, the United States military began referring to all shotguns as "riot guns".
Due to the cramped conditions of trench warfare, the American shotguns were extremely effective. Germany even filed an official diplomatic protest against their use, alleging they violated the laws of warfare. The judge advocate general reviewed the protest, and it was rejected because the Germans protested use of lead shot (which would have been illegal) but military shot was plated. This is the only occasion the legality of the shotgun's use in warfare has been questioned.
During World War II, the shotgun was not heavily used in the war in Europe by official military forces. However, the shotgun was a favorite weapon of Allied-supported partisans, such as the French Resistance. By contrast, in the Pacific theater, thick jungles and heavily fortified positions made the shotgun a favorite weapon of the United States Marines. Marines tended to use pump shotguns, since the pump action was less likely to jam in the humid and dirty conditions of the Pacific campaign. Similarly, the United States Navy used pump shotguns to guard ships when in port in Chinese harbors (e.g., Shanghai). The United States Army Air Forces also used pump shotguns to guard bombers and other aircraft against saboteurs when parked on airbases across the Pacific and on the West Coast of the United States. Pump and semi-automatic shotguns were used in marksmanship training, particularly for bomber gunners. The most common pump shotguns used for these duties were the 12 gauge Winchester Model 97 and Model 12. The break-open action, single barrel shotgun was used by the British Home Guard and U.S. home security forces. Notably, industrial centers (such as the Gopher State Steel Works) were guarded by National Guard soldiers with Winchester Model 37 12 gauge shotguns.
Since the end of World War II, the shotgun has remained a specialty weapon for modern armies. It has been deployed for specialized tasks where its strengths were put to particularly good use. It was used to defend machine gun emplacements during the Korean War, American and French jungle patrols used shotguns during the Vietnam War, and shotguns saw extensive use as door breaching and close quarter weapons in the early stages of the Iraq War, and saw limited use in tank crews. Many modern navies make extensive use of shotguns by personnel engaged in boarding hostile ships, as any shots fired will almost certainly be over a short range. Nonetheless, shotguns are far less common in military use than rifles, carbines, submachineguns, or pistols.
On the other hand, the shotgun has become a standard in law enforcement use. A variety of specialty less-lethal or non-lethal ammunitions, such as tear gas shells, bean bags, flares, explosive sonic stun rounds, and rubber projectiles, all packaged into 12 gauge shotgun shells, are produced specifically for the law enforcement market. Recently, Taser International introduced a self-contained electronic weapon which is fired from a standard 12 gauge shotgun.
The shotgun remains a standard firearm for hunting throughout the world for all sorts of game from birds and small game to large game such as deer. The versatility of the shotgun as a hunting weapon has steadily increased as slug rounds and more advanced rifled barrels have given shotguns longer range and higher killing power. The shotgun has become a ubiquitous firearm in the hunting community.
Action is the term for the operating mechanism of a gun. There are many types of shotguns, typically categorized by the number of barrels or the way the gun is reloaded.
For most of the history of the shotgun, the break-action breech loading double was the most common type, typically divided into two subtypes: the traditional "side by side" shotgun features two barrels mounted one beside the other (as the name suggests), whereas the "over and under" shotgun has the two barrels mounted one on top of the other. Side by side shotguns were traditionally used for hunting and other sporting pursuits (early long barreled side-by side shotguns were known as "fowling pieces" for their use hunting ducks and other birds), whereas over and under shotguns are more commonly associated with recreational use (such as clay pigeon and skeet shooting). Both types of double-barrel shotgun are used for hunting and sporting use, with the individual configuration largely being a matter of personal preference.
Another, less commonly encountered type of break-action shotgun is the combination gun, which is an over and under design with one shotgun barrel and one rifle barrel (more often rifle on top, but rifle on bottom was not uncommon). There is also a class of break action guns called "drillings", which contain three barrels, usually two shotgun barrels of the same gauge and a rifle barrel, though the only common theme is that at least one barrel be a shotgun barrel. The most common arrangement was essentially a side-by-side shotgun with the rifle barrel below and centered. Usually a drilling containing more than one rifle barrel would have both rifle barrels in the same caliber, but examples do exist with different caliber barrels, usually a .22 long rifle and a centerfire cartridge. Although very rare, drillings with three and even four (a "vierling") shotgun barrels were made.
In pump-action shotguns, a sliding forearm handle (the "pump") works the action, extracting the spent shell and inserting a new one while cocking the hammer or striker as the pump is worked. A pump gun is typically fed from a tubular magazine underneath the barrel, which also serves as a guide for the pump. The rounds are fed in one by one through a port in the receiver, where they are lifted by a lever called the "elevator" and pushed forward into the chamber by the bolt. A pair of latches at the rear of the magazine hold the rounds in place and facilitate feeding of one shell at a time. If it is desired to load the gun fully, a round may be loaded through the ejection port directly into the chamber, or cycled from the magazine, which is then topped off with another round. Well-known examples include the Winchester Model 1897, Remington 870 and Mossberg 500/590.
Pump-action shotguns are common hunting, fowling and sporting shotguns. Hunting models generally have a barrel between 600 and 700 mm (24"-28"). Tube-fed models designed for hunting often come with a dowel rod or other stop that is inserted into the magazine and reduces the capacity of the gun to three shells (two in the magazine and one chambered) as is mandated by U.S. federal law when hunting migratory birds. They can also easily be used with an empty magazine as a single-shot weapon, by simply dropping the next round to be fired into the open ejection port after the spent round is ejected. For this reason, pump-actions are commonly used to teach novice shooters under supervision, as the trainer can load each round more quickly than with a break-action, while unlike a break-action the student can maintain his grip on the gun and concentrate on proper handling and firing of the weapon.
Pump action shotguns with shorter barrels and little or no barrel choke are highly popular for use in home defense, military and law enforcement, and are commonly known as riot guns. The minimum barrel length for shotguns in most of the U.S. is , and this barrel length (sometimes to increase magazine capacity and/or ensure the gun is legal regardless of measuring differences) is the primary choice for riot shotguns. The shorter barrel makes the weapon easier to maneuver around corners and in tight spaces, though slightly longer barrels are sometimes used outdoors for a tighter spread pattern or increased accuracy of slug projectiles. Home-defense and law enforcement shotguns are usually chambered for 12-gauge shells, providing maximum shot power and the use of a variety of projectiles such as buckshot, rubber, sandbag and slug shells, but 20-gauge (common in bird-hunting shotguns) or .410 (common in youth-size shotguns) are also available in defense-type shotgun models allowing easier use by novice shooters.
A riot shotgun has many advantages over a handgun or rifle. Compared to "defense-caliber" handguns (chambered for 9mm Parabellum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .45 ACP and similar), a shotgun has far more power and damage potential (up to 10 times the muzzle energy of a .45 ACP cartridge), allowing a "one-shot stop" that is more difficult to achieve with typical handgun loads. Compared to a rifle, riot shotguns are easier to maneuver due to the shorter barrel, still provide better damage potential at indoor distances (generally 3–5 meters/yards), and reduce the risk of "overpenetration"; that is, the bullet or shot passing completely through the target and continuing beyond, which poses a risk to those behind the target through walls. The wide spread of the shot reduces the importance of shot placement compared to a single projectile, which increases the effectiveness of "point shooting" – rapidly aiming simply by pointing the weapon in the direction of the target. This allows easy, fast use by novices.
"See article: Mare's Leg"
Early attempts at repeating shotguns invariably centred around either bolt-or lever-action designs, drawing inspiration from contemporary repeating rifles, with the earliest successful repeating shotgun being the lever-action Winchester M1887, designed by John Browning at the behest of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.
Lever shotguns, while less common, were popular in the late 19th century with the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1901 being prime examples. Initially very popular, demand waned after the introduction of pump-action shotguns around the start of the 20th century, and production was eventually discontinued in 1920.
One major issue with lever-actions (and to a lesser extent pump-actions) was that early shotgun shells were often made of paper or similar fragile materials (modern hulls are plastic or metal). As a result, the loading of shells, or working of the action of the shotgun, could often result in cartridges getting crushed and becoming unusable, or even damaging the gun.
Lever shotguns have seen a return to the gun market in recent years, however, with Winchester producing the Model 9410 (chambering the .410 gauge shotgun shell and using the action of the Winchester Model 94 series lever-action rifle, hence the name), and a handful of other firearm manufacturers (primarily Norinco of China and ADI Ltd. of Australia) producing versions of the Winchester Model 1887/1901 designed for modern 12-gauge smokeless shotshells with more durable plastic casings. There has been a notable uptick in lever-action shotgun sales in Australia since 1997, when pump-actions were effectively outlawed.
Bolt-action shotguns, while uncommon, do exist. One of the best-known examples is a 12-gauge manufactured by Mossberg featuring a 3-round magazine, marketed in Australia just after changes to the gun laws in 1997 heavily restricted the ownership and use of pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns. They were not a huge success, as they were somewhat slow and awkward to operate, and the rate of fire was noticeably slower (on average) than a double-barrelled gun. The Rifle Factory Ishapore in India also manufactured a single-shot .410 bore shotgun based on the SMLE Mk III* rifle. The Russian Berdana shotgun was effectively a single-shot bolt-action rifle that became obsolete, and was subsequently modified to chamber 16-gauge shotgun shells for civilian sale. The U.S. military M26 is also a bolt-action weapon. Bolt-action shotguns have also been used in the "goose gun" application, intended to kill birds such as geese at greater range. Typically, goose guns have long barrels (up to 36 inches), and small bolt-fed magazines. Bolt-action shotguns are also used in conjunction with slug shells for the maximum possible accuracy from a shotgun.
In Australia, some straight-pull bolt-action shotguns, such as the Turkish-made Pardus BA12 and Dickinson T1000, the American C-More Competition M26, as well as the indigenous-designed SHS STP 12, have become increasingly popular alternatives to lever-action shotguns, largely due to the better ergonomics with less stress on the shooter's trigger hand and fingers when cycling the action.
Colt briefly manufactured several revolving shotguns that were met with mixed success. The Colt Model 1839 Shotgun was manufactured between 1839 and 1841. Later, the Colt Model 1855 Shotgun, based on the Model 1855 revolving rifle, was manufactured between 1860 and 1863. Because of their low production numbers and age they are among the rarest of all Colt firearms.
The Armsel Striker was a modern take on the revolving shotgun that held 10 rounds of 12 Gauge ammunition in its cylinder. It was copied by Cobray as the Streetsweeper.
Taurus manufactures a carbine variant of the Taurus Judge revolver along with its Australian partner company, Rossi known as the "Taurus/Rossi Circuit Judge". It comes in the original combination chambering of .410 bore and .45 Long Colt, as well as the .44 Remington Magnum chambering. The rifle has small blast shields attached to the cylinder to protect the shooter from hot gases escaping between the cylinder and barrel.
The MTs255 () is a shotgun fed by a 5-round internal revolving cylinder. It is produced by the TsKIB SOO, Central Design and Research Bureau of Sporting and Hunting Arms. They are available in 12, 20, 28 and 32 gauges, and .410 bore.
Gas, inertia, or recoil operated actions are other popular methods of increasing the rate of fire of a shotgun; these are generally referred to as autoloaders or semi-automatics. Instead of having the action manually operated by a pump or lever, the action automatically cycles each time the shotgun is fired, ejecting the spent shell and reloading a fresh one into the chamber. The first successful semi-automatic shotgun was John Browning's Auto-5, first produced by Fabrique Nationale beginning in 1902. Other well-known examples include the Remington 1100, Benelli M1, and Saiga-12.
Some, such as the Franchi SPAS-12 and Benelli M3, are capable of switching between semi-automatic and pump action. These are popular for two reasons; first, some jurisdictions forbid the use of semi-automatic actions for hunting, and second, lower-powered rounds, like "reduced-recoil" buckshot shells and many less-lethal cartridges, have insufficient power to reliably cycle a semi-automatic shotgun.
Fully automatic shotguns, such as Auto Assault-12 (AA-12) also exist, but they're still rare.
In addition to the commonly encountered shotgun actions already listed, there are also shotguns based on the Martini-Henry rifle design, originally designed by British arms maker W.W. Greener.
Some of the more interesting advances in shotgun technology include the versatile NeoStead 2000 and fully automatics such as the Pancor Jackhammer or Auto-Assault 12.
In 1925, Rodolfo Cosmi produced the first working hybrid prototype semi-automatic shotgun, which had an 8-round magazine located in the stock. While it reloaded automatically after each shot like a semi-automatic, it had a break-action to load the first shell. This design has only been repeated once, by Beretta with their UGB25 automatic shotgun. The user loads the first shell by breaking the gun in the manner of a break-action shotgun, then closes it and inserts the second shell into a clip on the gun's right side. The spent hulls are ejected downwards. The guns combine the advantages of the break action (they can be proven to be safe by breaking open, there are no flying hulls) with those of the semi-automatic (low recoil, low barrel axis position hence low muzzle flip).
The French firearm manufacturer Verney-Carron produces the Véloce shotgun, a lever-release blowback firearm like the similarly designed SpeedLine rifle. The Véloce is in essence an inertia-driven semi-automatic shotgun, but after blowback the bolt is trapped by a bolt stop and will not return to battery unless the bolt stop is manually released by depressing a thumb lever near the tang of the gunstock. This design makes the gun technically not really a self-loading weapon, and Verney-Carron described it as a "manual repeating shotgun".
The gauge number is determined by the weight, in fractions of a pound, of a solid sphere of lead with a diameter equal to the inside diameter of the barrel. So, a 10 gauge shotgun nominally should have an inside diameter equal to that of a sphere made from one-tenth of a pound of lead. Each gauge has a set caliber. By far the most common gauges are 12 (0.729 in, 18.5 mm diameter) and 20 (0.614 in, 15.6 mm), although 67 (.410 in diameter), 32, 28, 24, 16, and 10 (19.7 mm) gauge also exist.
Different gauges have different typical applications. Twelve gauge shotguns are common for hunting geese, large ducks, or other big larger gamebirds; professional skeet and trap shooting; military applications; and home-defense applications. Sixteen gauge shotguns were once common for hunters who wanted to use only a single shotgun for gamebirds normally pursued with twelve or twenty gauge shotguns, but have become rarer in recent years. Twenty gauge shotguns are often used for gamebirds such as doves, smaller ducks, and quail. Twenty-eight gauge shotguns are not common, but are classic quail-hunting guns. .410 shotguns are typically used for squirrel hunting or for sportsmen seeking the challenge of killing game with a smaller load.
Other, less common shotgun cartridges have their own unique uses. Ammunition manufacturer CCI produces 9 mm (.355 in.) and several other popular pistol calibers up to .45 ACP as well as .22 (5.5 mm) for firing from handguns. These are commonly called snake shot cartridges. Larger gauges, up to 4 bore, too powerful to shoulder, have been built, but were generally affixed to small boats and referred to as punt guns. These were used for commercial waterfowl hunting, to kill large numbers of birds resting on the water.
Handguns have also been produced that are capable of firing either .45 (Long) Colt or .410 shotgun shells from the same chamber; they are commonly known as "snake guns". Derringers such as the "Snake Slayer and Cowboy Defender" are popular among some outdoors-men in the South and Southwest regions of the United States. There are also some revolvers, such as the Taurus Judge and Smith & Wesson Governor, that are capable of shooting the .45LC/.410 rounds; but as with derringers they are not considered shotguns.
The .410 bore (10.4 mm) is unusual, being measured in inches, and would be approximately 67 "real" gauge, though its short hull versions are nominally called 36 gauge in Europe. It uses a relatively small charge of shot. It is used for hunting and for skeet. Because of its very light recoil (approx 10 N), it is often used as a beginner's gun. However, the small charge and typically tight choke make it more difficult to hit targets. It is also frequently used by expert shooters because of the difficulty, especially in expensive side by side and over/under models for hunting small bird game such as quail and doves. Inexpensive bolt-action .410 shotguns are a very common first hunting shotgun among young pre-teen hunters, as they are used mostly for hunting squirrels, while additionally teaching bolt-action manipulation skills that will transfer easily later to adult-sized hunting rifles. Most of these young hunters move up to a 20-gauge within a few years, and to 12 gauge shotguns and full-size hunting rifles by their late teens. Still, many who are particularly recoil-averse choose to stay with 20-gauge shotguns all their adult life, as it is a suitable gauge for many popular hunting uses.
A recent innovation is the back-boring of barrels, in which the barrels are bored out slightly larger than their actual gauge. This reduces the compression forces on the shot when it transitions from the chamber to the barrel. This leads to a slight reduction in perceived recoil, and an improvement in shot pattern due to reduced deformation of the shot.
Most shotguns are used to fire "a number of ball shot", in addition to slugs and sabots. The ball shot or pellets is for the most part made of lead but this has been partially replaced by bismuth, steel, tungsten-iron, tungsten-nickel-iron and even tungsten polymer loads. Non-toxic loads are required by Federal law for waterfowl hunting in the US, as the shot may be ingested by the waterfowl, which some authorities believe can lead to health problems due to the lead exposure. Shot is termed either birdshot or buckshot depending on the shot size. Informally, birdshot pellets have a diameter smaller than and buckshot are larger than that. Pellet size is indicated by a number; for bird shot this ranges from the smallest 12 (1.2 mm, 0.05 in) to 2 (3.8 mm, 0.15 in) and then BB (4.6 mm, 0.18 in).
For buckshot, the numbers usually start at 4 (6.1 mm, 0.24 in) and go down to 1, 0, 00 ("double aught"), 000, and finally 0000 (9.7 mm, .38 in). A different informal distinction is that "bird shot" pellets are small enough that they can be measured into the cartridge by weight, and simply poured in, whereas "buckshot" pellets are so large they must be stacked inside the cartridge in a fixed geometric arrangement in order to fit. The diameter in hundredths of an inch of bird shot sizes from #9 to #1 can be obtained by subtracting the shot size from 17. Thus, #4 bird shot is 17 – 4 = 13 = in diameter. Different terminology is used outside the United States. In England and Australia, for example, 00 buckshot cartridges are commonly referred to as "S.G." (small game) cartridges.
Shot, small and round and delivered without spin, is ballistically inefficient. As the shot leaves the barrel it begins to disperse in the air. The resulting cloud of pellets is known as the shot pattern, or shotgun shot spread. The ideal pattern would be a circle with an even distribution of shot throughout, with a density sufficient to ensure enough pellets will intersect the target to achieve the desired result, such as a kill when hunting or a break when shooting clay targets. In reality the pattern is closer to a Gaussian, or normal distribution, with a higher density in the center that tapers off at the edges. Patterns are usually measured by firing at a diameter circle on a large sheet of paper placed at varying distances. The hits inside the circle are counted, and compared to the total number of pellets, and the density of the pattern inside the circle is examined. An "ideal" pattern would put nearly 100% of the pellets in the circle and would have no voids—any region where a target silhouette will fit and not cover 3 or more holes is considered a potential problem.
A constriction in the end of the barrel known as the choke is used to tailor the pattern for different purposes. Chokes may either be formed as part of the barrel at the time of manufacture, by squeezing the end of the bore down over a mandrel, or by threading the barrel and screwing in an interchangeable choke tube. The choke typically consists of a conical section that smoothly tapers from the bore diameter down to the choke diameter, followed by a cylindrical section of the choke diameter. Briley Manufacturing, a maker of interchangeable shotgun chokes, uses a conical portion about 3 times the bore diameter in length, so the shot is gradually squeezed down with minimal deformation. The cylindrical section is shorter, usually . The use of interchangeable chokes has made it easy to tune the performance of a given combination of shotgun and shotshell to achieve the desired performance.
The choke should be tailored to the range and size of the targets. A skeet shooter shooting at close targets might use 127 micrometres (0.005 inches) of constriction to produce a diameter pattern at a distance of . A trap shooter shooting at distant targets might use 762 micrometres (0.030 inches) of constriction to produce a diameter pattern at . Special chokes for turkey hunting, which requires long range shots at the small head and neck of the bird, can go as high as 1500 micrometres (0.060 inches). The use of too much choke and a small pattern increases the difficulty of hitting the target, whereas the use of too little choke produces large patterns with insufficient pellet density to reliably break targets or kill game. "Cylinder barrels" have no constriction. See also: Slug barrel
Other specialized choke tubes exist as well. Some turkey hunting tubes have constrictions greater than "Super Full", or additional features like porting to reduce recoil, or "straight rifling" that is designed to stop any spin that the shot column might acquire when traveling down the barrel. These tubes are often extended tubes, meaning they project beyond the end of the bore, giving more room for things like a longer conical section. Shot spreaders or diffusion chokes work opposite of normal chokes—they are designed to spread the shot more than a cylinder bore, generating wider patterns for very short range use. A number of recent spreader chokes, such as the Briley "Diffusion" line, actually use rifling in the choke to spin the shot slightly, creating a wider spread. The Briley Diffusion uses a 1 in 36 cm twist, as does the FABARM Lion Paradox shotgun.
Oval chokes, which are designed to provide a shot pattern wider than it is tall, are sometimes found on combat shotguns, primarily those of the Vietnam War era. They were available for aftermarket addition in the 1970s from companies like A & W Engineering. Military versions of the Ithaca 37 with "duckbill" choke were used in limited numbers during the Vietnam War by US Navy Seals. It arguably increased effectiveness in close range engagements against multiple targets. Two major disadvantages plagued the system. One was erratic patterning. The second was that the shot would spread too quickly providing a limited effective zone.
Offset chokes, where the pattern is intentionally slightly off of center, are used to change the point of impact. For instance, an offset choke can be used to make a double barrelled shotgun with poorly aligned barrels hit the same spot with both barrels.
Shotguns generally have longer barrels than modern rifles. Unlike rifles, however, the long shotgun barrel is not for ballistic purposes; shotgun shells use small powder charges in large diameter bores, and this leads to very low muzzle pressures (see internal ballistics) and very little velocity change with increasing barrel length. According to Remington, modern powder in a shotgun burns completely in 25 (9.8425 in) to 36 (14.173 in) cm barrels.
Since shotguns are generally used for shooting at small, fast moving targets, it is important to "lead" the target by firing slightly ahead of the target, so that when the shot reaches the range of the target, the target will have moved into the pattern. On uphill shooting, this means to shoot "above" the target. Conversely, on downhill shooting, this means to shoot "below" the target, which is somewhat counterintuitive for many beginning hunters. Depending on the barrel length, the amount of "lead" employed will vary for different barrel lengths, and must be learned by experience.
Shotguns made for close ranges, where the angular speed of the targets is great (such as skeet or upland bird hunting), tend to have shorter barrels, around . Shotguns for longer range shooting, where angular speeds are small (trap shooting; quail, pheasant, and waterfowl hunting), tend to have longer barrels, 28 to . The longer barrels have more angular momentum, and will therefore swing more slowly but more steadily. The short, low angular momentum barrels swing faster, but are less steady. These lengths are for pump or semi-auto shotguns; break open guns have shorter overall lengths for the same barrel length, and so will use longer barrels. The break open design saves between in overall length, but in most cases pays for this by having two barrels, which adds weight at the muzzle. Barrels for shotguns have been getting longer as modern steels and production methods make the barrels stronger and lighter; a longer, lighter barrel gives the same inertia for less overall weight.
Shotguns for use against larger, slower targets generally have even shorter barrels. Small game shotguns, for hunting game like rabbits and squirrels, or shotguns for use with buckshot for deer, are often .
Shotguns intended for all-round hunting are a compromise, but a barrel pump-action 12-gauge shotgun with a modified choke can serve admirably for use as one gun intended for general all-round hunting of small-game such as quails, rabbits, pheasants, doves, and squirrels in semi-open wooded or farmland areas in many parts of the eastern US (Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee) where dense brush is less of a hindrance and the ability to have more reach is important. For hunting in dense brush, shorter barrel lengths are often preferred when hunting the same types of game.
Shotguns are well suited for the use caliber conversion sleeves, allowing most single- and double-barrel shotguns to fire a wide range of ammunition. The X Caliber system consists of eight adapter sleeves that allow the 12 gauge models to fire: .380 ACP, 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt, .410 gauge and 20 gauge ammunition. The X caliber 12 gauge adapter sleeves also come in .22 Long Rifle, .223 Remington, 7.62x39mm and .308 Winchester as well. They even make four adapter sleeves that allow the 20 gauge models to fire: 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .45 ACP, .45 Long Colt, and .410 gauge ammunition.
The extremely large caliber of shotgun shells has led to a wide variety of different ammunition.
Shotshells are the most commonly used round, filled with lead or lead substitute pellets.
Of this general class, the most common subset is birdshot, which uses a large number (from dozens to hundreds) of small pellets, meant to create a wide "kill spread" to hunt birds in flight. Shot shells are described by the size and number of the pellets within, and numbered in reverse order (the smaller the number, the bigger the pellet size, similar to bore gauge). Size nine (#9) shot is the smallest size normally used for hunting and is used on small upland game birds such as dove and quail. Larger sizes are used for hunting larger upland game birds and waterfowl.
Buckshot is similar to but larger than birdshot, and was originally designed for hunting larger game, such as deer (hence the name). While the advent of new, more accurate slug technologies is making buckshot less attractive for hunting, it is still the most common choice for police, military, and home defense uses. Like birdshot, buckshot is described by pellet size, with larger numbers indicating smaller shot. From the smallest to the largest, buckshot sizes are: #4, (called "number four"), #1, 0 ("one-aught"), 00 ("double-aught"), 000 ("triple-aught") and 0000 ("four-aught"). A typical round for defensive use would be a 12 gauge length 00 buck shell, which contains 9 pellets roughly 8.4 mm (.33 inch) in diameter, each comparable to a .38 Special bullet in damage potential. New "tactical" buckshot rounds, designed specifically for defensive use, use slightly fewer shot at lower velocity to reduce recoil and increase controllability of the shotgun. There are some shotgun rounds designed specifically for police use that shoot effectively from with a 20" diameter grouping of the balls.
Slug rounds are rounds that fire a single solid slug. They are used for hunting large game, and in certain military and law enforcement applications. Modern slugs are moderately accurate, especially when fired from special rifled slug barrels. They are often used in "shotgun-only" hunting zones near inhabited areas, where rifles are prohibited due to their greater range.
Sabots are a common type of slug round. While some slugs are exactly that—a 12-gauge metal projectile in a cartridge—a sabot is a smaller but more aerodynamic projectile surrounded by a "shoe" of some other material. This "sabot" jacket seals the barrel, increasing pressure and acceleration, while also inducing spin on the projectile in a rifled barrel. Once the projectile clears the barrel, the sabot material falls away, leaving an unmarked, aerodynamic bullet to continue toward the target. The advantages over a traditional slug are increased shot power, increased bullet velocity due to the lighter-mass bullet, and increased accuracy due to the velocity and the reduction in deformation of the slug itself. Disadvantages versus a traditional slug include lower muzzle momentum due to reduced mass, reduced damage due to smaller bullet diameter, and significantly higher per-unit cost.
The unique properties of the shotgun, such as large case capacity, large bore, and the lack of rifling, has led to the development of a large variety of specialty shells, ranging from novelties to high tech military rounds.
Brenneke and Foster type slugs have the same basic configuration as normal slugs, but have increased accuracy. The hollowed rear of the Foster slug improves accuracy by placing more mass in the front of the projectile, therefore inhibiting the "tumble" that normal slugs may generate. The Brenneke slug takes this concept a bit further, with the addition of a wad that stays connected to the projectile after discharge, increasing accuracy. Both slugs are commonly found with fins or rib, which are meant to allow the projectile to safely squeeze down during passage through chokes, but they do not increase stability in flight.
Flechette rounds contain aerodynamic darts, typically from 8 to 20 in number. The flechette provide greatly extended range due to their aerodynamic shape, and improved penetration of light armor. American troops during the Vietnam War packed their own flechette shotgun rounds, called "beehive rounds", after the similar artillery rounds. However, terminal performance was poor due to the very light weight of the flechettes, and their use was quickly dropped.
Grenade rounds use exploding projectiles to increase long range lethality. These are currently experimental, but the British FRAG-12, which comes in High Explosive (HE), High Explosive Armor-piercing (HEAP) and High Explosive Fragmenting Antipersonnel (HEFA) forms, is under consideration by military forces.
Flexible baton rounds, commonly called "bean bags", fire a fabric bag filled with birdshot or a similar loose, dense substance. The "punch" effect of the bag is useful for knocking down targets; the rounds are used by police to subdue violent suspects. The bean bag round is by far the most common less-lethal round used. Due to the large surface area of these rounds, they lose velocity rapidly, and must be used at fairly short ranges to be effective, though use at extremely short ranges, under , can result in broken bones or other serious or lethal injuries. The rounds can also fly in a frisbee-like fashion and cut the person or animal being fired at. For this reason, these types of rounds are referred to as less-lethal, as opposed to less-than-lethal.
Gas shells spray a cone of gas for several meters. These are primarily used by riot police. They normally contain pepper gas or tear gas. Other variations launch a gas-grenade-like projectile.
Rock salt shells are hand loaded with coarse rock salt crystals, replacing the standard lead or steel shot. Rock salt shells could be seen as the forerunners of modern less-lethal rounds. In the United States, rock salt shells were and are sometimes still used by rural civilians to defend their property. The brittle salt was unlikely to cause serious injury at long ranges, but would cause painful stinging injuries and served as a warning. British gamekeepers have used rock salt shells to deter poachers. Rather than get into a physical confrontation, they stalk the poachers, making themselves known by a loud shout of "Run!" just before firing, to avoid hitting the now-fleeing subject in the eyes.
Rubber slugs or rubber buckshot are similar in principle to the bean bag rounds. Composed of flexible rubber or plastic and fired at low velocities, these rounds are probably the most common choice for riot control.
Taser International announced in 2007 a new 12 gauge eXtended Range Electronic Projectile or XREP, which contains a small electroshock weapon unit in a carrier that can be fired from a standard 12 gauge shotgun. The XREP projectile is fin stabilized, and travels at an initial velocity of 100 m/s (300 ft/s). Barbs on the front attach the electroshock unit to the target, with a tassel deploying from the rear to widen the circuit. A twenty-second burst of electrical energy is delivered to the target. This product was expected to be released to market in 2008. They were used—despite still being subject to testing, in breach of the supplier's license—by Northumbria police in their standoff with Raoul Moat in 2010.
Breaching rounds, often called frangible, Disintegrator, or Hatton rounds, are designed to destroy door locking mechanisms without risking lives. They are constructed of a very brittle substance that transfers most of the energy to the primary target but then fragment into much smaller pieces or dust so as not to injure unseen targets such as hostages or non-combatants that may be standing behind a breached door.
Bird bombs are low-powered rounds that fire a firecracker that is fused to explode a short time after firing. They are designed to scare animals, such as birds that congregate on airport runways.
Screechers fire a pyrotechnic whistle that emits a loud whistling sound for the duration of its flight. These are also used to scare animals.
Blank shells contain only a small amount of powder and no actual load. When fired, the blanks provide the sound and flash of a real load, but with no projectile. These may be used for simulation of gunfire, scaring wildlife, or as power for a launching device such as the Mossberg #50298 marine line launcher.
Stinger is a type of shotgun shell which contains sixteen 00-buck balls made of Zytel, and is designed as a non-lethal ammunition ideally used in small spaces.
Bolo rounds are made of two or more slugs molded onto steel wire. When fired, the slugs separate, pulling the wire taut creating a flying blade, which could theoretically decapitate people and animals or amputate limbs. However, many active shotgun users consider this to be overstated, and view bolo shells as being less effective than conventional ammunition. Bolo shell rounds are banned in many locations (including the US states of Florida and Illinois) due to concerns about their potential lethality. The round is named in reference to bolas, which use two or more weighted balls on a rope to trap cattle or game.
Dragon's breath usually refers to a zirconium-based pyrotechnic shotgun round. When fired, a gout of flame erupts from the barrel of the gun (up to 20 ft). The visual effect it produces is impressive, similar to that of a short ranged flamethrower. However, it has few tactical uses, mainly distraction/disorientation.
Flare rounds are sometimes carried by hunters for safety and rescue purposes. They are available in low and high altitude versions. Some brands claim they can reach a height of up to .
Globally, shotguns are generally not as heavily regulated as rifles or handguns, likely because they lack the range of rifles and are not easily concealable as handguns are; thus, they are perceived as a lesser threat by legislative authorities. The one exception is a sawed-off shotgun, especially a lupara, as it is more easily concealed than a normal shotgun.
Within Australia, all shotguns manufactured after 1 January 1901 are considered firearms and are subject to registration and licensing. Most shotguns (including break-action, bolt-action and lever-action shotguns) are classed as "Category A" weapons and, as such, are comparatively easy to obtain a licence for, given a legally recognised "legitimate reason" (compare to the British requirement for "good reason" for a FAC), such as sport shooting or hunting. However, pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns are classed as "Category C" (magazine capacity no more than 5 rounds) or "Category D" (magazine capacity more than 5 rounds) weapons; a licence for this type of firearm is, practically speaking, unavailable to the average citizen due to the difficulty and red tape of acquiring one. For more information, see Gun politics in Australia.
Canada has three classifications of firearms: non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited. Shotguns are found in all three classes.
All non-restricted shotguns must have an overall length of at least . Semi-automatic shotguns must also have a barrel length of more than and have a capacity of 5 shells or less in the magazine to remain non-restricted. All other shotgun action types (pump/slide, break open, lever, bolt) do not have a magazine limit restriction or a minimum barrel length provided the overall length of the firearm remains more than and the barrel was produced by an approved manufacturer. Shotgun barrels may only be reduced in length to a minimum of . Non-restricted shotguns may be possessed with any Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) or Possession-Only License (POL) and may be transported throughout the country without special authorization and may be used for hunting certain species at certain times of the year.
Semi-automatic shotguns with a barrel length of less than are considered restricted and any shotgun that has been altered so its barrel length is less than or if its overall length is less than is considered prohibited. Restricted and prohibited shotguns may be possessed with a PAL or POL that has been endorsed for restricted or prohibited grandfathered firearms. These shotguns require special Authorization to Transport (ATT).
The Canadian Firearms Registry was a government-run registry of all legally owned firearms in Canada. The government provided amnesty from prosecution to shotgun and rifle owners if they fail to register non-restricted shotguns and rifles. The long gun portion of the registry was scrapped in 2011.
See online for an official Canadian list of non-restricted and restricted and prohibited firearms.
In the United Kingdom, a Shotgun Certificate (SGC) is required to possess a "Section 2" shotgun. These cost £50 and can only be denied if the chief of police in the area believes and can prove that the applicant poses a real danger to the public, or if the applicant has been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term of three years or more or if the applicant cannot securely store a shotgun (gun clamps, wire locks and locking gun cabinets are considered secure). The round number restrictions apply only to the magazine, not the chamber, so it is legal to have a single-barreled semi-auto or pump-action shotgun that holds three rounds in total, or a shotgun with separate chambers (which would need to also be multi-barrelled). For a shotgun to qualify as a section 2 shotgun, it must meet the following criteria:
(a) has a barrel not less than in length and does not have any barrel with a bore more than in diameter;
(b) either has no magazine or has a non-detachable magazine not capable of holding more than two cartridges;
(c) is not a revolver gun.
Prior to a SGC being issued an interview is conducted with the local Firearms Officer, in the past this was a duty undertaken by the local police although more recently this function has been "contracted out" to civilian staff. The officer will check the location and suitability of the gun safe that is to be used for storage and conduct a general interview to establish the reasons behind the applicant requiring a SGC.
An SGC holder can own any number of shotguns meeting these requirements so long as he/she can store them securely. No certificate is required to own shotgun ammunition, but one is required to buy it. There is no restriction on the amount of shotgun ammunition that can be bought or owned. There are also no rules regarding the storage of ammunition.
However, shotgun ammunition which contains fewer than 6 projectiles requires a section 1 Firearms Certificate (FAC). Shotguns with a magazine capacity greater than 2 rounds are also considered to be section 1 firearms and, as such, require an FAC to own. An FAC costs £50 but is much more restrictive than an SGC. The applicant must nominate two referees who are known to the applicant to vouch for his or her character; a new 'variation' is required for each new caliber of gun to be owned; limits are set on how much ammunition a person can own at any one time; and an FAC can be denied if the applicant does not have sufficient 'good reason'. 'Good reason' generally means hunting, collecting, or target shooting – though other reasons may be acceptable. Personal defense is not an acceptable reason.
Any pump-action or semi-automatic smooth-bore gun (such as a shotgun) with a barrel length of less than 24 inches or total length of less than 40 inches is considered to be a section 5 firearm, that is, one that is subject to general prohibition, unless it is chambered for .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
In the US, federal law prohibits shotguns from being capable of holding more than three shells including the round in the chamber when used for hunting migratory gamebirds such as doves, ducks, and geese. For other uses, a capacity of any number of shells is generally permitted. Most magazine-fed shotguns come with a removable magazine plug to limit capacity to 2, plus one in the chamber, for hunting migratory gamebirds. Certain states have restrictions on magazine capacity or design features under hunting or assault weapon laws.
Shotguns intended for defensive use have barrels as short as for private use (the minimum shotgun barrel length allowed by law in the United States without federal registration. Barrel lengths of less than as measured from the breechface to the muzzle when the weapon is in battery, or have an overall length of less than are classified as short barreled shotguns (SBS) under the 1934 National Firearms Act and are regulated. A similar short barreled weapon having a pistol grip may be classified as an AOW or "Any Other Weapon" or "Firearm," depending on barrel length. A shotgun is defined as a weapon (with a buttstock) designed to be fired from the shoulder. The classification varies depending on how the weapon was originally manufactured.
Shotguns used by military, police, and other government agencies are regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934; however, they are exempt from transfer taxes. These weapons commonly have barrels as short as so that they are easier to handle in confined spaces. Non-prohibited private citizens may own short-barreled shotguns by passing extensive background checks (state and local laws may be more restrictive) as well as paying a $200 federal tax and being issued a stamp. Defensive shotguns sometimes have no buttstock or will have a folding stock to reduce overall length even more when required. AOWs transfer with a $5 tax stamp from the BATFE. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26838 |
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan (; ) is a prairie and boreal province in western Canada, the only province without a natural border. It has an area of , nearly 10 percent of which () is fresh water, composed mostly of rivers, reservoirs, and the province's 100,000 lakes.
Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota. As of Q1 2020, Saskatchewan's population was estimated at 1,181,987. Residents primarily live in the southern prairie half of the province, while the northern boreal half is mostly forested and sparsely populated. Of the total population, roughly half live in the province's largest city Saskatoon, or the provincial capital Regina. Other notable cities include Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current, North Battleford, Melfort, and the border city Lloydminster (partially within Alberta).
Saskatchewan is a landlocked province with large distances to moderating bodies of waters. As a result, its climate is extremely continental, rendering severe winters throughout the province. Southern areas have very warm or hot summers. Midale and Yellow Grass (both near the U.S. border) are tied for the highest ever recorded temperatures in Canada, with observed at both locations on July 5, 1937. In winter, temperatures below are possible even in the south during extreme cold snaps.
Saskatchewan has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups. Europeans first explored the area in 1690 and first settled in the area in 1774. It became a province in 1905, carved out from the vast North-West Territories, which had until then included most of the Canadian Prairies. In the early 20th century the province became known as a stronghold for Canadian social democracy; North America's first social-democratic government was elected in 1944. The province's economy is based on agriculture, mining, and energy.
The former Lieutenant Governor, Thomas Molloy, died in office on July 2, 2019. On July 17, 2019, the federal government announced the appointment of Russell Mirasty, former Assistant Commissioner with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as the new Lieutenant Governor. The current premier is Scott Moe.
In 1992, the federal and provincial governments signed a historic land claim agreement with First Nations in Saskatchewan. The First Nations received compensation and were permitted to buy land on the open market for the bands; they have acquired about , now reserve lands. Some First Nations have used their settlement to invest in urban areas, including Saskatoon.
Its name derived from the Saskatchewan River. The river was known as ("swift flowing river") in the Cree language. Henday's spelling was Keiskatchewan, with the modern rendering, Saskatchewan, being officially adopted in 1882 when a portion of the present-day province was designated a provisional district of the North West Territories. Achieved provincial status in 1905.
As Saskatchewan's borders largely follow the geographic coordinates of longitude and latitude, the province is roughly a quadrilateral, or a shape with four sides. However, the 49th parallel boundary and the 60th northern border appear curved on globes and many maps. Additionally, the eastern boundary of the province is partially crooked rather than following a line of longitude, as correction lines were devised by surveyors prior to the homestead program (1880–1928).
Saskatchewan is part of the Western Provinces and is bounded on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the north-east by Nunavut, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota. Saskatchewan has the distinction of being the only Canadian province for which no borders correspond to physical geographic features (i.e. they are all parallels and meridians). Along with Alberta, Saskatchewan is one of only two land-locked provinces.
The overwhelming majority of Saskatchewan's population is located in the southern third of the province, south of the 53rd parallel.
Saskatchewan contains two major natural regions: the Boreal Forest in the north and the Prairies in the south. They are separated by an aspen parkland transition zone near the North Saskatchewan River on the western side of the province, and near to south of the Saskatchewan River on the eastern side. Northern Saskatchewan is mostly covered by forest except for the Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes, the largest active sand dunes in the world north of 58°, and adjacent to the southern shore of Lake Athabasca. Southern Saskatchewan contains another area with sand dunes known as the "Great Sand Hills" covering over . The Cypress Hills, located in the southwestern corner of Saskatchewan and Killdeer Badlands (Grasslands National Park), are areas of the province that were unglaciated during the last glaciation period, the Wisconsin glaciation.
The province's highest point, at , is located in the Cypress Hills less than 2 km from the provincial boundary with Alberta. The lowest point is the shore of Lake Athabasca, at . The province has 14 major drainage basins made up of various rivers and watersheds draining into the Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Saskatchewan receives more hours of sunshine than any other Canadian province. The province lies far from any significant body of water. This fact, combined with its northerly latitude, gives it a warm summer, corresponding to its humid continental climate (Köppen type "Dfb") in the central and most of the eastern parts of the province, as well as the Cypress Hills; drying off to a semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen type "BSk") in the southwestern part of the province. Drought can affect agricultural areas during long periods with little or no precipitation at all. The northern parts of Saskatchewan – from about La Ronge northward – have a subarctic climate (Köppen "Dfc") with a shorter summer season. Summers can get very hot, sometimes above during the day, and with humidity decreasing from northeast to southwest. Warm southern winds blow from the plains and intermontane regions of the Western United States during much of July and August, very cool or hot but changeable air masses often occur during spring and in September. Winters are usually bitterly cold, with frequent Arctic air descending from the north. with high temperatures not breaking for weeks at a time. Warm chinook winds often blow from the west, bringing periods of mild weather. Annual precipitation averages 30 to 45 centimetres (12 to 18 inches) across the province, with the bulk of rain falling in June, July, and August.
Saskatchewan is one of the most tornado-active parts of Canada, averaging roughly 12 to 18 tornadoes per year, some violent. In 2012, 33 tornadoes were reported in the province. The Regina Cyclone took place in June 1912 when 28 people died in an F4 Fujita scale tornado. Severe and non-severe thunderstorm events occur in Saskatchewan, usually from early spring to late summer. Hail, strong winds and isolated tornadoes are a common occurrence.
The hottest temperature ever recorded anywhere in Canada happened in Saskatchewan. The temperature rose to in Midale and Yellow Grass. The coldest ever recorded in the province was in Prince Albert, which is north of Saskatoon.
The effects of climate change in Saskatchewan are now being observed in parts of the province. There is evidence of reduction of biomass in Saskatchewan's boreal forests (as with those of other Canadian prairie provinces) is linked by researchers to drought-related water stress, stemming from global warming, most likely caused by greenhouse gas emissions. While studies, as early as 1988 (Williams, et al., 1988) have shown climate change will affect agriculture, whether the effects can be mitigated through adaptations of cultivars, or crops, is less clear. Resiliency of ecosystems may decline with large changes in temperature. The provincial government has responded to the threat of climate change by introducing a plan to reduce carbon emissions, "The Saskatchewan Energy and Climate Change Plan", in June 2007.
Saskatchewan has been populated by various indigenous peoples of North America, including members of the Sarcee, Niitsitapi, Atsina, Cree, Saulteaux, Assiniboine (Nakoda), Lakota and Sioux. The first known European to enter Saskatchewan was Henry Kelsey in 1690, who travelled up the Saskatchewan River in hopes of trading fur with the region's indigenous peoples. The first permanent European settlement was a Hudson's Bay Company post at Cumberland House, founded in 1774 by Samuel Hearne. In 1762 the south of the province was part of the Spanish Louisiana until 1802.
In 1803 the Louisiana Purchase transferred from France to the United States part of what is now Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1818 the U.S. ceded the area to Britain. Most of what is now Saskatchewan was part of Rupert's Land and controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, which claimed rights to all watersheds flowing into Hudson Bay, including the Saskatchewan River, Churchill, Assiniboine, Souris, and Qu'Appelle River systems.
In the late 1850s and early 1860s, scientific expeditions led by John Palliser and Henry Youle Hind explored the prairie region of the province.
In 1870, Canada acquired the Hudson's Bay Company's territories and formed the North-West Territories to administer the vast territory between British Columbia and Manitoba. The Crown also entered into a series of numbered treaties with the indigenous peoples of the area, which serve as the basis of the relationship between First Nations, as they are called today, and the Crown. Since the late twentieth century, land losses and inequities as a result of those treaties have been subject to negotiation for settlement between the First Nations in Saskatchewan and the federal government, in collaboration with provincial governments.
In 1876, following their defeat of United States Army forces at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana Territory in the United States, the Lakota Chief Sitting Bull led several thousand of his people to Wood Mountain. Survivors and descendants founded Wood Mountain Reserve in 1914.
The North-West Mounted Police set up several posts and forts across Saskatchewan, including Fort Walsh in the Cypress Hills, and Wood Mountain Post in south-central Saskatchewan near the United States border.
Many Métis people, who had not been signatories to a treaty, had moved to the Southbranch Settlement and Prince Albert district north of present-day Saskatoon following the Red River Rebellion in Manitoba in 1870. In the early 1880s, the Canadian government refused to hear the Métis' grievances, which stemmed from land-use issues. Finally, in 1885, the Métis, led by Louis Riel, staged the North-West Rebellion and declared a provisional government. They were defeated by a Canadian militia brought to the Canadian prairies by the new Canadian Pacific Railway. Riel, who surrendered and was convicted of treason in a packed Regina courtroom, was hanged on November 16, 1885. Since then, the government has recognized the Métis as an aboriginal people with status rights and provided them with various benefits.
The national policy set by the federal government, the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Hudson's Bay Company and associated land companies encouraged immigration. The "Dominion Lands Act" of 1872 permitted settlers to acquire one quarter of a square mile of land to homestead and offered an additional quarter upon establishing a homestead. In 1874, the North-West Mounted Police began providing police services. In 1876, the "North-West Territories Act" provided for appointment, by the Ottawa, of a Lieutenant Governor and a Council to assist him.
Highly optimistic advertising campaigns promoted the benefits of prairie living. Potential immigrants read leaflets information painted Canada as a veritable garden of Eden and downplayed the need for agricultural expertise. Ads in "The Nor'-West Farmer" by the Commissioner of Immigration implied that western land was blessed with water, wood, gold, silver, iron, copper, and cheap coal for fuel, all of which were readily at hand. Reality was far harsher, especially for the first arrivals who lived in sod houses. However eastern money poured in and by 1913, long term mortgage loans to Saskatchewan farmers had reached $65 million.
The dominant groups comprised British settlers from eastern Canada and Britain, who comprised about half of the population during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They played the leading role in establishing the basic institutions of plains society, economy and government.
Gender roles were sharply defined. Men were primarily responsible for breaking the land; planting and harvesting; building the house; buying, operating and repairing machinery; and handling finances. At first, there were many single men on the prairie, or husbands whose wives were still back east, but they had a hard time. They realized the need for a wife. In 1901, there were 19,200 families, but this surged to 150,300 families only 15 years later. Wives played a central role in settlement of the prairie region. Their labor, skills, and ability to adapt to the harsh environment proved decisive in meeting the challenges. They prepared bannock, beans and bacon, mended clothes, raised children, cleaned, tended the garden, helped at harvest time and nursed everyone back to health. While prevailing patriarchal attitudes, legislation, and economic principles obscured women's contributions, the flexibility exhibited by farm women in performing productive and nonproductive labor was critical to the survival of family farms, and thus to the success of the wheat economy.
On September 1, 1905, Saskatchewan became a province, with inauguration day held September 4. Its political leaders at the time proclaimed its destiny was to become Canada's most powerful province. Saskatchewan embarked on an ambitious province-building program based on its Anglo-Canadian culture and wheat production for the export market. Population quintupled from 91,000 in 1901 to 492,000 to 1911, thanks to heavy immigration of farmers from the Ukraine, U.S., Germany and Scandinavia. Efforts were made to assimilate the newcomers to British Canadian culture and values.
In the 1905 provincial elections, Liberals won 16 of 25 seats in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan government bought out Bell Telephone Company in 1909, with the government owning the long-distance lines and left local service to small companies organized at the municipal level. Premier Walter Scott preferred government assistance to outright ownership because he thought enterprises worked better if citizens had a stake in running them; he set up the Saskatchewan Cooperative Elevator Company in 1911. Despite pressure from farm groups for direct government involvement in the grain handling business, the Scott government opted to loan money to a farmer-owned elevator company. Saskatchewan in 1909 provided bond guarantees to railway companies for the construction of branch lines, alleviating the concerns of farmers who had trouble getting their wheat to market by wagon. The Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association, was the dominant political force in the province until the 1920s; it had close ties with the governing Liberal party. In 1913, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association was established with three goals: to watch over legislation; to forward the interests of the stock growers in every honourable and legitimate way; and to suggest to parliament legislation to meet changing conditions and requirements.
Immigration peaked in 1910, and in spite of the initial difficulties of frontier life – distance from towns, sod homes, and backbreaking labour – new settlers established a European-Canadian style of prosperous agrarian society. The long-term prosperity of the province depended on the world price of grain, which headed steadily upward from the 1880s to 1920, then plunged down. Wheat output was increased by new strains, such as the "Marquis wheat" strain which matured 8 days sooner and yielded 7 more bushels per acre (0.72 m3/ha) than the previous standard, "Red Fife". The national output of wheat soared from in 1896, to in 1901, reaching by 1921.
Urban reform movements in Regina were based on support from business and professional groups. City planning, reform of local government, and municipal ownership of utilities were more widely supported by these two groups, often through such organizations as the Board of Trade. Church-related and other altruistic organizations generally supported social welfare and housing reforms; these groups were generally less successful in getting their own reforms enacted.
The province responded to the First World War in 1914 with patriotic enthusiasm and enjoyed the resultant economic boom for farms and cities alike. Emotional and intellectual support for the war emerged from the politics of Canadian national identity, the rural myth, and social gospel progressivism The Church of England was especially supportive. However, there was strong hostility toward German-Canadian farmers. Recent Ukrainian immigrants were enemy aliens because of their citizenship in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A small fraction were taken to internment camps. Most of the internees were unskilled unemployed labourers who were imprisoned "because they were destitute, not because they were disloyal".
The price of wheat tripled and acreage seeded doubled. The wartime spirit of sacrifice intensified social reform movements that had predated the war and now came to fruition. Saskatchewan gave women the right to vote in 1916 and at the end of 1916 passed a referendum to prohibit the sale of alcohol.
In the late 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan, imported from the United States and Ontario, gained brief popularity in nativist circles in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Klan, briefly allied with the provincial Conservative party because of their mutual dislike for Premier James G. "Jimmy" Gardiner and his Liberals (who ferociously fought the Klan), enjoyed about two years of prominence. It declined and disappeared, subject to widespread political and media opposition, plus internal scandals involving the use of the organization's funds.
In 1970, the first annual Canadian Western Agribition was held in Regina. This farm-industry trade show, with its strong emphasis on livestock, is rated as one of the five top livestock shows in North America, along with those in Houston, Denver, Louisville and Toronto.
The province celebrated the 75th anniversary of its establishment in 1980, with Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, presiding over the official ceremonies. In 2005, 25 years later, her sister, Queen Elizabeth II, attended the events held to mark Saskatchewan's centennial.
Since the late 20th century, First Nations have become more politically active in seeking justice for past inequities, especially related to the taking of indigenous lands by various governments. The federal and provincial governments have negotiated on numerous land claims, and developed a program of "Treaty Land Entitlement", enabling First Nations to buy land to be taken into reserves with money from settlements of claims.
"In 1992, the federal and provincial governments signed a historic land claim agreement with Saskatchewan First Nations. Under the Agreement, the First Nations received money to buy land on the open market. As a result, about 761,000 acres have been turned into reserve land and many First Nations continue to invest their settlement dollars in urban areas", including Saskatoon. The money from such settlements has enabled First Nations to invest in businesses and other economic infrastructure.
According to the Canada 2011 Census, the largest ethnic group in Saskatchewan is German (28.6%), followed by English (24.9%), Scottish (18.9%), Canadian (18.8%), Irish (15.5%), Ukrainian (13.5%), French (Fransaskois) (12.2%), First Nations (12.1%), Norwegian (6.9%), and Polish (5.8%).
Historically, Saskatchewan's economy was primarily associated with agriculture, with wheat being the precious symbol on the province's flag. Increasing diversification has resulted in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting only making up 8.9% of the province's GDP in 2018. Saskatchewan grows a large portion of Canada's grain.[49] In 2017, the production of canola surpassed the production of wheat, which is Saskatchewan's most familiar crop and the one most often associated with the province. Total net income from farming was $3.3 billion in 2017, which was $0.9 billion less than the income in 2016. Other grains such as flax, rye, oats, peas, lentils, canary seed, and barley are also produced in the province. Saskatchewan is the world's largest exporter of mustard seed.[50] Beef cattle production by a Canadian province is only exceeded by Alberta. In the northern part of the province, forestry is also a significant industry.
Mining is a major industry in the province, with Saskatchewan being the world's largest exporter of potash and uranium. Oil and natural gas production is also a very important part of Saskatchewan's economy, although the oil industry is larger. Among Canadian provinces, only Alberta exceeds Saskatchewan in overall oil production. Heavy crude is extracted in the Lloydminster-Kerrobert-Kindersley areas. Light crude is found in the Kindersley-Swift Current areas as well as the Weyburn-Estevan fields. Natural gas is found almost entirely in the western part of Saskatchewan, from the Primrose Lake area through Lloydminster, Unity, Kindersley, Leader, and around Maple Creek areas.
A list of the companies includes The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (defunct in December 2017), Federated Cooperatives Ltd. and IPSCO.
Major Saskatchewan-based Crown corporations are Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), SaskTel, SaskEnergy (the province's main supplier of natural gas), and SaskPower. Bombardier runs the NATO Flying Training Centre at 15 Wing, near Moose Jaw. Bombardier was awarded a long-term contract in the late 1990s for $2.8 billion from the federal government for the purchase of military aircraft and the running of the training facility. SaskPower since 1929 has been the principal supplier of electricity in Saskatchewan, serving more than 451,000 customers and managing $4.5 billion in assets. SaskPower is a major employer in the province with almost 2,500 permanent full-time staff located in 71 communities.
The Tabulated Data covers each fiscal year (e.g. 2015–2016 covers April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016). All data is in $1,000s.
1 These values reflect the estimated population at the beginning of the fiscal year.
2 These values reflect the debt of the General Revenue Fund alone at the end of the fiscal year.
3 These values reflect the combined debt of the three major Government Service Enterprises (Crown Corporations) at the end of the fiscal year. As of March 31, 2016, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, and SaskTel accounted for 88.4% of Crown Debt.
4 The highest rate of provincial corporate income tax was reduced from 17% to 14% on July 1, 2006. It was further reduced to 13% on July 1, 2007, and finally to 12% on July 1, 2008. The tax on paid-up capital was reduced from 0.6% to 0.3% on July 1, 2006, to 0.15% on July 1, 2007, and abolished altogether on July 1, 2008. These displayed values were obtained by adding the corporate income tax for each year with the corporate capital tax.
5 The Provincial Sales Tax (PST) rate was reduced from 7% to 5% on October 28, 2006.
6 These values are the credit ratings from Standard & Poor's as of the end of the Fiscal Year.
"Source: Government of Saskatchewan."
Publicly funded elementary and secondary schools in the province are administered by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. Public elementary and secondary schools either operate as secular or as a separate schools. Nearly all school divisions, except one operate as an English first language school board. The Division scolaire francophone No. 310 is the only school division that operates French first language schools. In addition to elementary and secondary schools, the province is also home to several post-secondary institutions.
The first education on the prairies took place within the family groups of the First Nation and early fur trading settlers. There were only a few missionary or trading post schools established in Rupert's Land – later known as the North West Territories. The first 76 North-West Territories school districts and the first Board of Education meeting formed in 1886. The pioneering boom formed ethnic bloc settlements. Communities were seeking education for their children similar to the schools of their home land. Log cabins, and dwellings were constructed for the assembly of the community, school, church, dances and meetings.
The prosperity of the Roaring Twenties and the success of farmers in proving up on their homesteads helped provide funding to standardize education. Textbooks, normal schools for educating teachers, formal school curricula and state of the art school house architectural plans provided continuity throughout the province. English as the school language helped to provide economic stability because one community could communicate with another and goods could be traded and sold in a common language. The number of one-room schoolhouse districts across Saskatchewan totalled approximately 5,000 at the height of this system of education in the late 1940s.
Following World War II, the transition from many one-room schoolhouses to fewer and larger consolidated modern technological town and city schools occurred as a means of ensuring technical education. School buses, highways, and family vehicles create ease and accessibility of a population shift to larger towns and cities. Combines and tractors mean the farmer could manage more than a quarter section of land, so there was a shift from family farms and subsistence crops to cash crops grown on many sections of land. School vouchers have been newly proposed as a means of allowing competition between rural schools and making the operation of co-operative schools practicable in rural areas.
Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health is responsible for policy direction, sets and monitors standards, and provides funding for regional health authorities and provincial health services. Saskatchewan's medical health system is widely and inaccurately characterized as "socialized medicine": medical practitioners in Saskatchewan, as in other Canadian provinces, are not civil servants but remit their accounts to the publicly funded Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Plan rather than to patients (i.e. a single-payer system).
Saskatchewan medical health system has faced criticism due to a lack of accessibility to the midwifery program. According to Leanne Smith, the director for maternal services in the Saskatoon Health Region declared half of the women who apply for the midwifery program are turned away. Ministry of Health data shows midwives saw 1,233 clients in the 2012–13 fiscal year (which runs April to March). But in that fourth quarter, 359 women were still on waiting lists for immediate or future care. The provincial Health Ministry received 47 letters about midwifery services in 2012, most of which asked for more midwives. As a continuing problem in the Saskatchewan health care system, more pressure has been placed to recruit more midwives for the province.
Saskatchewan has the same form of government as the other Canadian provinces with a lieutenant-governor (who is the representative of the Queen in Right of Saskatchewan), premier, and a unicameral legislature.
During the 20th century, Saskatchewan was one of Canada's more left-wing provinces, reflecting the slant of its many rural citizens which distrusted the distant capital government and which favored a strong local government to attend to their issues. In 1944 Tommy Douglas became premier of the first avowedly socialist regional government in North America. Most of his Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) represented rural and small-town ridings. Under his Cooperative Commonwealth Federation government, Saskatchewan became the first province to have Medicare. In 1961, Douglas left provincial politics to become the first leader of the federal New Democratic Party. In the 21st century, Saskatchewan began to drift to the right-wing, generally attributed to the province's economy shifting toward oil and gas production. In the 2015 federal election, the Conservative Party of Canada won ten of the province's fourteen seats, followed by the New Democratic Party with three and the Liberal Party of Canada with one; in the 2019 election, the Conservatives won in all of Saskatchewan's 14 seats, sweeping their competition.
Provincial politics in Saskatchewan is dominated by the social-democratic Saskatchewan New Democratic Party and the centre-right Saskatchewan Party, with the latter holding the majority in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan since 2007. The current Premier of Saskatchewan is Scott Moe, who took over the leadership of the Saskatchewan Party in 2018 following the resignation of Brad Wall. Numerous smaller political parties also run candidates in provincial elections, including the Green Party of Saskatchewan, Liberal Party of Saskatchewan, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan, but none is currently represented in the Legislative Assembly (federal Conservatives and Liberals generally favour the Saskatchewan Party in provincial elections).
No Prime Minister of Canada has been born in Saskatchewan, but two (William Lyon Mackenzie King and John Diefenbaker) represented the province in the House of Commons of Canada during their tenures as head of government.
Transportation in Saskatchewan includes an infrastructure system of roads, highways, freeways, airports, ferries, pipelines, trails, waterways and railway systems serving a population of approximately 1,003,299 (according to 2007 estimates) inhabitants year-round. It is funded primarily with local and federal government funds. The Saskatchewan Department of Highways and Transportation estimates 80% of traffic is carried on the 5,031-kilometre principal system of highways.
The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure operates over of highways and divided highways. There are also municipal roads which comprise different surfaces. Asphalt concrete pavements comprise almost , granular pavement almost , non structural or thin membrane surface TMS are close to and finally gravel highways make up over through the province. In the northern sector, ice roads which can only be navigated in the winter months comprise another approximately of travel.
Saskatchewan has over 250,000 kilometres (150,000 mi) of roads and highways, the highest length of road surface of any Canadian province. The major highways in Saskatchewan are the Trans Canada expressway, Yellowhead Highway northern Trans Canada route, Louis Riel Trail, CanAm Highway, Red Coat Trail, Northern Woods and Water route, and Saskota travel route.
The first Canadian transcontinental railway was constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1881 and 1885. After the great east-west transcontinental railway was built, north-south connector branch lines were established. The 1920s saw the largest rise in rail line track as the CPR and CNR fell into competition to provide rail service within ten kilometres. In the 1960s there were applications for abandonment of branch lines. Today the only two passenger rail services in the province are "The Canadian" and Winnipeg–Churchill train, both operated by Via Rail. "The Canadian" is a transcontinental service linking Toronto with Vancouver.
The main Saskatchewan waterways are the North Saskatchewan River or South Saskatchewan River routes. In total, there are 3,050 bridges maintained by the Department of Highways in Saskatchewan. There are currently twelve ferry services operating in the province, all under the jurisdiction of the Department of Highways.
The Saskatoon Airport (YXE) was initially established as part of the Royal Canadian Air Force training program during World War II. It was renamed the "John G. Diefenbaker Airport" in the official ceremony, June 23, 1993. "Roland J. Groome Airfield" is the official designation for the Regina International Airport (YQR) as of August 3, 2005; the airport was established in 1930. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), twenty Service Flying Training Schools (RAF) were established at various Saskatchewan locations in World War II. 15 Wing Moose Jaw is home to the Canadian Forces formation aerobatics team, the "Snowbirds".
Airlines offering service to Saskatchewan are Air Canada, WestJet Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Transwest Air, Sunwing Airlines, Norcanair Airlines, La Ronge Aviation Services Ltd, La Loche Airways, Osprey Wings Ltd, Buffalo Narrows Airways Ltd, Île-à-la-Crosse Airways Ltd, Voyage Air, Pronto Airways, Venture Air Ltd, Pelican Narrows Air Service, Jackson Air Services Ltd, and Northern Dene Airways Ltd.
The Government of Canada has agreed to contribute $20 million for two new interchanges in Saskatoon. One of them being at the Sk Hwy 219/Lorne Ave intersection with Circle Drive, the other at the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge (Idylwyld Freeway) and Circle Drive. This is part of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative to improve access to the Canadian National Railway's intermodal freight terminal thereby increasing Asia-Pacific trade. Also, the Government of Canada will contribute $27 million to Regina to construct a Canadian Pacific Railway CPR intermodal facility and improve infrastructure transportation to the facility from both national highway networks, Sk Hwy 1, the TransCanada Highway and Sk Hwy 11, Louis Riel Trail. This also is part of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative to improve access to the CPR terminal and increase Asia-Pacific trade.
Saskatchewan is home to a number of museums. The Royal Saskatchewan Museum serves as the provincial museum of the province. Other museums include Diefenbaker House, Evolution of Education Museum, Museum of Antiquities, the RCMP Heritage Centre, Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections, Saskatchewan Science Centre, Saskatchewan Western Development Museum, and the T.rex Discovery Centre.
The province is home to several art galleries, including MacKenzie Art Gallery, and Remai Modern. The province is also home to several performing arts centres including the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina, and TCU Place in Saskatoon. PAVED Arts, a new media artist-run space, is also located in Saskatoon. The province is presently home to several concert orchestras, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra. The Regina Symphony Orchestra is at the Conexus Arts Centre, while the Saskatoon perform at TCU Place.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders Canadian football team is the province's professional football franchise (playing in the Canadian Football League), and are extremely popular across Saskatchewan. The team's fans are also found to congregate on game days throughout Canada, and collectively they are known as "Rider Nation". The province's other major sport franchise is the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League. In their first year of competition, 2016, the Rush won both their Division Title and the League Championship.
Hockey is the most popular sport in the province. More than 490 NHL players have been born in Saskatchewan, the highest per capita output of any Canadian province, U.S. state, or European country. Notable NHL figures born in Saskatchewan include Keith Allen, Gordie Howe, Bryan Trottier, Bernie Federko, Clark Gillies, Fern Flaman, Bert Olmstead, Harry Watson, Elmer Lach, Max Bentley, Sid Abel, Doug Bentley, Eddie Shore, Clint Smith, Bryan Hextall, Johnny Bower, Emile Francis, Glenn Hall, Chuck Rayner, Brad McCrimmon, Patrick Marleau, Dave Manson, Theo Fleury, Terry Harper, Wade Redden, Brian Propp, Scott Hartnell, Ryan Getzlaf, and Chris Kunitz. Saskatchewan does not have an NHL or minor professional franchise, but five teams in the junior Western Hockey League are located in the province: the Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and Swift Current Broncos.
In 2015, Budweiser honoured Saskatchewan for their abundance of hockey players by sculpting a 12-foot-tall hockey player monument in ice for Saskatchewan's capital city of Regina. The company then filmed this frozen monument for a national television commercial, thanking the province for creating so many goal scorers throughout hockey's history. Budweiser also gifted the “hockey player” province a trophy made of white birch—Saskatchewan's provincial tree—which bears the name of every pro player in history. Sitting atop the trophy was a golden Budweiser Red Light, synched to every current Saskatchewan player in the pros. This trophy can currently be seen at Victoria Bar in Regina.
Historically, Saskatchewan has been one of the strongest curling provinces. Teams from Saskatchewan have finished in the top three places at 38 briers and Saskatchewan has more women's championships than any other province with 11. Notable curlers from Saskatchewan include Sandra Schmirler, Ernie Richardson, and Vera Pezer. In a 2019 TSN poll, experts ranked Schmirler's Saskatchewan team, which won a gold medal at the 1998 Olympics, as the greatest women's team in Canada's history.
The flag of Saskatchewan was officially adopted on September 22, 1969. The flag features the provincial shield in the upper quarter nearest the staff, with the floral emblem, the Prairie Lily, in the fly. The upper green (in forest green) half of the flag represents the northern Saskatchewan forest lands, while the golden lower half of the flag symbolizes the southern wheat fields and prairies. A province-wide competition was held to design the flag, and drew over 4,000 entries. The winning design was by Anthony Drake, then living in Hodgeville.
In 2005, Saskatchewan Environment held a province-wide vote to recognize Saskatchewan's centennial year, receiving more than 10,000 online and mail-in votes from the public. The walleye was the overwhelming favourite of the six native fish species nominated for the designation, receiving more than half the votes cast. Other species in the running were the lake sturgeon, lake trout, lake whitefish, northern pike and yellow perch.
Saskatchewan's other symbols include the tartan, the license plate, and the provincial flower. Saskatchewan's official tartan was registered with the Court of Lord Lyon King of Arms in Scotland in 1961. It has seven colours: gold, brown, green, red, yellow, white and black. The provincial licence plates display the slogan "Land of Living Skies". The provincial flower of Saskatchewan is the Western Red Lily.
In 2005, Saskatchewan celebrated its centennial. To honour it, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a commemorative five-dollar coin depicting Canada's wheat fields as well as a circulation 25-cent coin of a similar design. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Regina, Saskatoon, and Lumsden, and the Saskatchewan-reared Joni Mitchell issued an album in Saskatchewan's honour. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26840 |
Socialism
Socialism is a political, social, and economic philosophy encompassing a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers' self-management of enterprises. It includes the political theories and movements associated with such systems. Social ownership can be public, collective, cooperative or of equity. While no single definition encapsulates many types of socialism, social ownership is the one common element.
Socialist systems are divided into non-market and market forms. Non-market socialism substitutes factor markets and money for integrated economic planning and engineering or technical criteria based on calculation performed in-kind, thereby producing a different economic mechanism that functions according to different economic laws and dynamics than those of capitalism. A non-market socialist system therefore eliminates the inefficiencies and crises traditionally associated with capital accumulation and the profit system in capitalism. The socialist calculation debate, originated by the economic calculation problem, concerns the feasibility and methods of resource allocation for a planned socialist system. By contrast, market socialism retains the use of monetary prices, factor markets and in some cases the profit motive, with respect to the operation of socially owned enterprises and the allocation of capital goods between them. Profits generated by these firms would be controlled directly by the workforce of each firm or accrue to society at large in the form of a social dividend.
Socialist politics has been both internationalist and nationalist in orientation; organised through political parties and opposed to party politics; at times overlapping with trade unions and at other times independent and critical of them; and present in both industrialised and developing nations. Social democracy originated within the socialist movement, supporting economic and social interventions to promote social justice. While retaining socialism as a long-term goal, since the post-war period it has come to embrace a Keynesian mixed economy within a predominantly developed capitalist market economy and liberal democratic polity that expands state intervention to include income redistribution, regulation and a welfare state. Economic democracy proposes a sort of market socialism, with more democratic control of companies, currencies, investments and natural resources.
The socialist political movement includes a set of political philosophies that originated in the revolutionary movements of the mid-to-late 18th century and out of concern for the social problems that were associated with capitalism. By the late 19th century, after the work of Karl Marx and his collaborator Friedrich Engels, socialism had come to signify opposition to capitalism and advocacy for a post-capitalist system based on some form of social ownership of the means of production. By the 1920s, communism and social democracy had become the two dominant political tendencies within the international socialist movement, with socialism itself becoming the most influential secular movement of the 20th century. While the emergence of the Soviet Union as the world's first nominally socialist state led to socialism's widespread association with the Soviet economic model, some economists and intellectuals argued that in practice the model functioned as a form of state capitalism or a non-planned administrative or command economy. Socialist parties and ideas remain a political force with varying degrees of power and influence on all continents, heading national governments in many countries around the world. Today, many socialists have also adopted the causes of other social movements such as environmentalism, feminism and progressivism.
For Andrew Vincent, "[t]he word 'socialism' finds its root in the Latin "sociare", which means to combine or to share. The related, more technical term in Roman and then medieval law was "societas". This latter word could mean companionship and fellowship as well as the more legalistic idea of a consensual contract between freemen".
"Socialism" was coined by Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the founders of what would later be labelled utopian socialism. Simon contrasted it to the liberal doctrine of individualism that emphasized the moral worth of the individual whilst stressing that people act or should act as if they are in isolation from one another. The original utopian socialists condemned this doctrine of individualism for failing to address social concerns during the Industrial Revolution, including poverty, oppression and vast inequalities in wealth. They viewed their society as harming community life by basing society on competition. They presented socialism as an alternative to liberal individualism based on the shared ownership of resources. Saint-Simon proposed economic planning, scientific administration and the application of scientific understanding to the organisation of society. By contrast, Robert Owen proposed to organise production and ownership via cooperatives.
"Socialism" is also attributed in France to Pierre Leroux and Marie Roch Louis Reybaud while in Britain it is associated to Owen, who became one of the fathers of the cooperative movement. The definition and usage of "socialism" settled by the 1860s, replacing "associationist", "co-operative" and "mutualist" that had been used as synonyms while "communism" fell out of use during this period. An early distinction between communism and socialism was that the latter aimed to only socialise production while the former aimed to socialise both production and consumption (in the form of free access to final goods). By 1888, Marxists employed "socialism" in place of "communism" as the latter had come to be considered an old-fashion synonym for "socialism". It was not until after the Bolshevik Revolution that "socialism" was appropriated by Vladimir Lenin to mean a stage between capitalism and communism. He used it to defend the Bolshevik program from Marxist criticism that Russia's productive forces were not sufficiently developed for communism. The distinction became salient in 1918 after the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party renamed itself to the All-Russian Communist Party, interpreting "communism" specifically to mean socialists who supported the politics and theories of Bolshevism, Leninism and later that of Marxism–Leninism, although communist parties continued to describe themselves as socialists dedicated to socialism.
In Christian Europe, communists were believed to have adopted atheism. In Protestant England, "communism" was too close to the Roman Catholic communion rite, hence "socialist" was the preferred term. Engels argued that in 1848, when "The Communist Manifesto" was published, socialism was respectable on in Europe while communism was not. The Owenites in England and the Fourierists in France were considered respectable socialists while working-class movements that "proclaimed the necessity of total social change" denoted themselves "communists". This branch of socialism produced the communist work of Étienne Cabet in France and Wilhelm Weitling in Germany. British moral philosopher John Stuart Mill discussed a form of economic socialism within a liberal context that would later be known as liberal socialism. In later editions of his "Principles of Political Economy" (1848), Mill further argued that "as far as economic theory was concerned, there is nothing in principle in economic theory that precludes an economic order based on socialist policies" and promoted substituting capitalist businesses with worker cooperatives. While democrats looked to the Revolutions of 1848 as a democratic revolution which in the long run ensured liberty, equality and fraternity, Marxists denounced it as a betrayal of working-class ideals by a bourgeoisie indifferent to the proletariat.
Socialist models and ideas espousing common or public ownership have existed since antiquity. The economy of the 3rd century BCE Mauryan Empire of India was described as "a socialized monarchy" and "a sort of state socialism". Elements of socialist thought were discerned in the politics of classical Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Mazdak the Younger (died c. 524 or 528 CE), a Persian communal proto-socialist, instituted communal possessions and advocated the public good. Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, a Companion of Muhammad, is credited by multiple authors as a principal antecedent of Islamic socialism. The teachings of Jesus are frequently described as socialist, especially by Christian socialists. records that in the early church in Jerusalem "[n]o one claimed that any of their possessions was their own", although the pattern soon disappears from church history except within monasticism. Christian socialism was one of the founding threads of the British Labour Party and is claimed to begin with the uprising of Wat Tyler and John Ball in the 14th century CE. After the French Revolution, activists and theorists such as François-Noël Babeuf, Étienne-Gabriel Morelly, Philippe Buonarroti and Auguste Blanqui influenced the early French labour and socialist movements. In Britain, Thomas Paine proposed a detailed plan to tax property owners to pay for the needs of the poor in "Agrarian Justice" while Charles Hall wrote "The Effects of Civilization on the People in European States", denouncing capitalism's effects on the poor of his time. This work influenced the utopian schemes of Thomas Spence.
The first self-conscious socialist movements developed in the 1820s and 1830s. Fourierists, Owenites and Saint-Simonians and provided a series of analyses and interpretations of society. Especially the Owenites overlapped with other working-class movements such as the Chartists in the United Kingdom. The Chartists gathered significant numbers around the People's Charter of 1838 which sought democratic reforms focused on the extension of suffrage to all male adults. Leaders in the movement called for a more equitable distribution of income and better living conditions for the working classes. The first trade unions and consumer cooperative societies followed the Chartist movement. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon proposed his philosophy of mutualism in which "everyone had an equal claim, either alone or as part of a small cooperative, to possess and use land and other resources as needed to make a living". Other currents inspired Christian socialism "often in Britain and then usually coming out of left liberal politics and a romantic anti-industrialism" which produced theorists such as Edward Bellamy, Charles Kingsley and Frederick Denison Maurice.
The first advocates of socialism favoured social levelling in order to create a meritocratic or technocratic society based on individual talent. Henri de Saint-Simon was fascinated by the potential of science and technology and advocated a socialist society that would eliminate the disorderly aspects of capitalism based on equal opportunities. He sought a society in which each person was ranked according to his or her capacities and rewarded according to his or her work. His key focus was on administrative efficiency and industrialism and a belief that science was essential to progress. This was accompanied by a desire for a rationally organised economy based on planning and geared towards large-scale scientific and material progress. Other early socialist thinkers such as Charles Hall and Thomas Hodgkin based their ideas on David Ricardo's economic theories. They reasoned that the equilibrium value of commodities approximated prices charged by the producer when those commodities were in elastic supply and that these producer prices corresponded to the embodied labour—the cost of the labour (essentially the wages paid) that was required to produce the commodities. The Ricardian socialists viewed profit, interest and rent as deductions from this exchange-value.
West European social critics, including Louis Blanc, Charles Fourier, Charles Hall, Robert Owen, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Saint-Simon were the first modern socialists who criticised the poverty and inequality of the Industrial Revolution. They advocated reform, Owen advocating the transformation of society to small communities without private property. Owen's contribution to modern socialism was his claim that individual actions and characteristics were largely determined by their social environment. On the other hand, Fourier advocated Phalanstères (communities that respected individual desires, including sexual preferences), affinities and creativity and saw that work has to be made enjoyable for people. Owen and Fourier's ideas were practiced in intentional communities around Europe and North America in the mid-19th century.
The Paris Commune was a government that ruled Paris from 18 March (formally, from 28 March) to 28 May 1871. The Commune was the result of an uprising in Paris after France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War. The Commune elections were held on 26 March. They elected a Commune council of 92 members, one member for each 20,000 residents. Despite internal differences, the council began to organise public services. It reached a consensus on certain policies that tended towards a progressive, secular and highly democratic social democracy.
Because the Commune was able to meet on fewer than 60 days in total, only a few decrees were actually implemented. These included the separation of church and state; the remission of rents owed for the period of the siege (during which payment had been suspended); the abolition of night work in the hundreds of Paris bakeries; the granting of pensions to the unmarried companions and children of National Guards killed on active service; and the free return of all workmen's tools and household items valued up to 20 francs that had been pledged during the siege. The Commune was concerned that skilled workers had been forced to pawn their tools during the war; the postponement of commercial debt obligations and the abolition of interest on the debts; and the right of employees to take over and run an enterprise if it were deserted by its owner. The Commune nonetheless recognised the previous owner's right to compensation.
In 1864, the First International was founded in London. It united diverse revolutionary currents, including socialists such as the French followers of Proudhon, Blanquists, Philadelphes, English trade unionists and social democrats. In 1865 and 1866, it held a preliminary conference and had its first congress in Geneva, respectively. Due to their wide variety of philosophies, conflict immediately erupted. The first objections to Marx came from the mutualists who opposed state socialism. Shortly after Mikhail Bakunin and his followers joined in 1868, the First International became polarised into camps headed by Marx and Bakunin. The clearest differences between the groups emerged over their proposed strategies for achieving their visions. The First International became the first major international forum for the promulgation of socialist ideas.
Bakunin's followers were called collectivists and sought to collectivise ownership of the means of production while retaining payment proportional to the amount and kind of labour of each individual. Like Proudhonists, they asserted the right of each individual to the product of his labour and to be remunerated for his particular contribution to production. By contrast, anarcho-communists sought collective ownership of both the means and the products of labour. Errico Malatesta put it: "[I]nstead of running the risk of making a confusion in trying to distinguish what you and I each do, let us all work and put everything in common. In this way each will give to society all that his strength permits until enough is produced for every one; and each will take all that he needs, limiting his needs only in those things of which there is not yet plenty for every one". Anarcho-communism as a coherent economic-political philosophy was first formulated in the Italian section of the First International by Malatesta, Carlo Cafiero, Emilio Covelli, Andrea Costa and other ex-Mazzinian republicans. Out of respect for Bakunin, they did not make their differences with collectivist anarchism explicit until after his death.
Syndicalism emerged in France inspired in part by Proudhon and later by Pelloutier and Georges Sorel. It developed at the end of the 19th century out of the French trade-union movement ("syndicat" is the French word for trade union). It was a significant force in Italy and Spain in the early 20th century until it was crushed by the fascist regimes in those countries. In the United States, syndicalism appeared in the guise of the Industrial Workers of the World, or "Wobblies", founded in 1905. Syndicalism is an economic system that organises industries into confederations (syndicates) and the economy is managed by negotiation between specialists and worker representatives of each field, comprising multiple non-competitive categorised units. Syndicalism is a form of communism and economic corporatism, but also refers to the political movement and tactics used to bring about this type of system. An influential anarchist movement based on syndicalist ideas is anarcho-syndicalism. The International Workers Association is an international anarcho-syndicalist federation of various labour unions.
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation established to advance socialism via gradualist and reformist means. The society laid many foundations of the Labour Party and subsequently affected the policies of states emerging from the decolonisation of the British Empire, most notably India and Singapore. Originally, the Fabian Society was committed to the establishment of a socialist economy, alongside a commitment to British imperialism as a progressive and modernising force. Later, the society functioned primarily as a think tank and is one of fifteen socialist societies affiliated with the Labour Party. Similar societies exist in Australia (the Australian Fabian Society), in Canada (the Douglas-Coldwell Foundation and the now disbanded League for Social Reconstruction) and in New Zealand.
Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influential in the first quarter of the 20th century. Inspired by medieval guilds, theorists such as Samuel George Hobson and G. D. H. Cole advocated the public ownership of industries and their workforces' organisation into guilds, each of which under the democratic control of its trade union. Guild socialists were less inclined than Fabians to invest power in a state. At some point, like the American Knights of Labor, guild socialism wanted to abolish the wage system.
As the ideas of Marx and Engels gained acceptance, particularly in central Europe, socialists sought to unite in an international organisation. In 1889 (the centennial of the French Revolution), the Second International was founded, with 384 delegates from twenty countries representing about 300 labour and socialist organisations. It was termed the Socialist International and Engels was elected honorary president at the third congress in 1893. Anarchists were banned, mainly due to pressure from Marxists. It has been argued that at some point the Second International turned "into a battleground over the issue of libertarian versus authoritarian socialism. Not only did they effectively present themselves as champions of minority rights; they also provoked the German Marxists into demonstrating a dictatorial intolerance which was a factor in preventing the British labour movement from following the Marxist direction indicated by such leaders as H. M. Hyndman".
Reformism arose as an alternative to revolution. Eduard Bernstein was a leading social democrat in Germany who proposed the concept of evolutionary socialism. Revolutionary socialists quickly targeted reformism: Rosa Luxemburg condemned Bernstein's "Evolutionary Socialism" in her 1900 essay "Social Reform or Revolution?" Revolutionary socialism encompasses multiple social and political movements that may define "revolution" differently. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) became the largest and most powerful socialist party in Europe, despite working illegally until the anti-socialist laws were dropped in 1890. In the 1893 elections, it gained 1,787,000 votes, a quarter of the total votes cast, according to Engels. In 1895, the year of his death, Engels emphasised "The Communist Manifesto"'s emphasis on winning, as a first step, the "battle of democracy".
In Argentina, the Socialist Party of Argentina was established in the 1890s led by Juan B. Justo and Nicolás Repetto, among others. It was the first mass party in the country and in Latin America. The party affiliated itself with the Second International. Between 1924 and 1940, it was a member of the Labour and Socialist International.
In 1904, Australians elected Chris Watson as the first Australian Labor Party Prime Minister, becoming the first democratically elected socialist. In 1909, the first Kibbutz was established in Palestine by Russian Jewish Immigrants. The Kibbutz Movement expanded through the 20th century following a doctrine of Zionist socialism. The British Labour Party first won seats in the House of Commons in 1902. The International Socialist Commission (ISC, also known as Berne International) was formed in February 1919 at a meeting in Bern by parties that wanted to resurrect the Second International.
By 1917, the patriotism of World War I changed into political radicalism in Australia, most of Europe and the United States. Other socialist parties from around the world who were beginning to gain importance in their national politics in the early 20th century included the Italian Socialist Party, the French Section of the Workers' International, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and the Socialist Party in Argentina, the Socialist Workers' Party in Chile and the Socialist Party of America in the United States.
In February 1917, revolution exploded in Russia. Workers, soldiers and peasants established soviets (councils), the monarchy fell and a provisional government convened pending the election of a constituent assembly. In April of that year, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik faction of socialists in Russia and known for his profound and controversial expansions of Marxism, was allowed to cross Germany to return from exile in Switzerland.
Lenin had published essays on his analysis of imperialism, the monopoly and globalisation phase of capitalism, as well as analyses on social conditions. He observed that as capitalism had further developed in Europe and America, the workers remained unable to gain class consciousness so long as they were too busy working to pay their expenses. He therefore proposed that the social revolution would require the leadership of a vanguard party of class-conscious revolutionaries from the educated and politically active part of the population.
Upon arriving in Petrograd, Lenin declared that the revolution in Russia had only begun, and that the next step was for the workers' soviets to take full authority. He issued a thesis outlining the Bolshevik programme, including rejection of any legitimacy in the provisional government and advocacy for state power to be administered through the soviets. The Bolsheviks became the most influential force. On 7 November, the capitol of the provisional government was stormed by Bolshevik Red Guards in what afterwards became known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. The provisional government ended and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic—the world's first constitutionally socialist state—was established. On 25 January 1918, Lenin declared "Long live the world socialist revolution!" at the Petrograd Soviet and proposed an immediate armistice on all fronts and transferred the land of the landed proprietors, the crown and the monasteries to the peasant committees without compensation.
The day after assuming executive power on 25 January, Lenin wrote "Draft Regulations on Workers' Control", which granted workers control of businesses with more than five workers and office employees and access to all books, documents and stocks and whose decisions were to be "binding upon the owners of the enterprises". Governing through the elected soviets and in alliance with the peasant-based Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, the Bolshevik government began nationalising banks and industry; and disavowed the national debts of the deposed Romanov royal régime. It sued for peace, withdrawing from World War I and convoked a Constituent Assembly in which the peasant Socialist-Revolutionary Party (SR) won a majority.
The Constituent Assembly elected SR leader Victor Chernov President of a Russian republic, but rejected the Bolshevik proposal that it endorse the Soviet decrees on land, peace and workers' control and acknowledge the power of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. The next day, the Bolsheviks declared that the assembly was elected on outdated party lists and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets dissolved it. In March 1919, world communist parties formed Comintern (also known as the Third International) at a meeting in Moscow.
Parties which did not want to be a part of the resurrected Second International (ISC) or Comintern formed the International Working Union of Socialist Parties (IWUSP, also known as Vienna International/Vienna Union/Two-and-a-Half International) on 27 February 1921 at a conference in Vienna. The ISC and the IWUSP joined to form the Labour and Socialist International (LSI) in May 1923 at a meeting in Hamburg Left-wing groups which did not agree to the centralisation and abandonment of the soviets by the Bolshevik Party led left-wing uprisings against the Bolsheviks—such groups included Socialist Revolutionaries, Left Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and anarchists.
Within this left-wing discontent, the most large-scale events were the worker's Kronstadt rebellion and the anarchist led Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine uprising which controlled an area known as the Free Territory.
The Bolshevik Russian Revolution of January 1918 launched communist parties in many countries and concomitant revolutions from 1917–1923. Few communists doubted that the Russian experience depended on successful, working-class socialist revolutions in developed capitalist countries. In 1919, Lenin and Trotsky organised the world's communist parties into an international association of workers—the Communist International (Comintern), also called the Third International.
The Russian Revolution influenced uprisings in other countries. The German Revolution of 1918–1919 replaced Germany's imperial government with a republic. The revolution lasted from November 1918 until the establishment of the Weimar Republic in August 1919. It included an episode known as the Bavarian Soviet Republic and the Spartacist uprising. In Italy, the events known as the "Biennio Rosso" were characterised by mass strikes, worker demonstrations and self-management experiments through land and factory occupations. In Turin and Milan, workers' councils were formed and many factory occupations took place led by anarcho-syndicalists organised around the Unione Sindacale Italiana.
By 1920, the Red Army under Trotsky had largely defeated the royalist White Armies. In 1921, War Communism was ended and under the New Economic Policy (NEP) private ownership was allowed for small and medium peasant enterprises. While industry remained largely state-controlled, Lenin acknowledged that the NEP was a necessary capitalist measure for a country unready for socialism. Profiteering returned in the form of "NEP men" and rich peasants (kulaks) gained power. Trotsky's role was questioned by other socialists, including ex-Trotskyists. In the United States, Dwight Macdonald broke with Trotsky and left the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party by noting the Kronstadt rebellion, which Trotsky and the other Bolsheviks had brutally repressed. He then moved towards democratic socialism and anarchism.
A similar critique of Trotsky's role in the Kronstadt rebellion was raised by American anarchist Emma Goldman. In her essay "Trotsky Protests Too Much", she states, "I admit, the dictatorship under Stalin's rule has become monstrous. That does not, however, lessen the guilt of Leon Trotsky as one of the actors in the revolutionary drama of which Kronstadt was one of the bloodiest scenes".
In 1922, the fourth congress of the Communist International took up the policy of the United Front. It urged communists to work with rank and file social democrats while remaining critical of their leaders. They criticised those leaders for betraying the working class by supporting the capitalists' war efforts. The social democrats pointed to the dislocation caused by revolution and later the growing authoritarianism of the communist parties. The Labour Party rejected the Communist Party of Great Britain's application to affiliate to them in 1920.
On seeing the Soviet State's growing coercive power in 1923, a dying Lenin said Russia had reverted to "a bourgeois tsarist machine... barely varnished with socialism". After Lenin's death in January 1924, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—then increasingly under the control of Joseph Stalin—rejected the theory that socialism could not be built solely in the Soviet Union in favour of the concept of "Socialism in One Country". Despite the marginalised Left Opposition's demand for the restoration of Soviet democracy, Stalin developed a bureaucratic, authoritarian government that was condemned by democratic socialists, anarchists and Trotskyists for undermining the Revolution's ideals.
In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was established and was ruled by the Mongolian People's Party. The Russian Revolution and its aftermath motivated national communist parties elsewhere that gained political and social influence, in France, the US, Italy, China, Mexico, the Brazil, Chile and Indonesia.
In Spain in 1936, the national anarcho-syndicalist trade union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance. Their abstention led to a right-wing election victory. In 1936, the CNT changed its policy and anarchist votes helped return the popular front to power. Months later, the former ruling class attempted a coup, sparking the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939).
In response to the army rebellion, an anarchist-inspired movement of peasants and workers, supported by armed militias, took control of Barcelona and of large areas of rural Spain where they collectivised the land. The Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began with the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly libertarian socialist organisational principles in some areas for two to three years, primarily Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia and parts of Levante.
Much of Spain's economy came under worker control. In anarchist strongholds like Catalonia the figure was as high as 75%, but lower in areas with heavy Communist Party influence, which actively resisted attempts at collectivisation. Factories were run through worker committees, agrarian areas became collectivised and run as libertarian communes. Anarchist historian Sam Dolgoff estimated that about eight million people participated directly or indirectly in the Spanish Revolution.
Trotsky's Fourth International was established in France in 1938 when Trotskyists argued that the Comintern or Third International had become irretrievably "lost to Stalinism" and thus incapable of leading the working class to power. The rise of Nazism and the start of World War II led to the dissolution of the LSI in 1940. After the War, the Socialist International was formed in Frankfurt in July 1951 as its successor.
After World War II, social democratic governments introduced social reform and wealth redistribution via welfare and taxation. Social democratic parties dominated post-war politics in countries such as France, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Belgium and Norway. At one point, France claimed to be the world's most state-controlled capitalist country. It nationalised public utilities including Charbonnages de France (CDF), Électricité de France (EDF), Gaz de France (GDF), Air France, Banque de France and Régie Nationale des Usines Renault.
In 1945, the British Labour Party led by Clement Attlee was elected based on a radical socialist programme. The Labour government nationalised industries including mines, gas, coal, electricity, rail, iron, steel and the Bank of England. British Petroleum was officially nationalised in 1951. Anthony Crosland said that in 1956 25% of British industry was nationalised and that public employees, including those in nationalised industries, constituted a similar proportion of the country's workers. The Labour Governments of 1964–1970 and 1974–1979 intervened further. It re-nationalised British Steel (1967) after the Conservatives had denationalised it and nationalised British Leyland (1976). The National Health Service provided taxpayer-funded health care to everyone, free at the point of service. Working-class housing was provided in council housing estates and university education became available via a school grant system.
During most of the post-war era, Sweden was governed by the Swedish Social Democratic Party largely in cooperation with trade unions and industry. In Sweden, the Swedish Social Democratic Party held power from 1936 to 1976, 1982 to 1991, 1994 to 2006 and 2014 through 2023, most recently in a minority coalition. Tage Erlander was the first leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SSDP). He led the government from 1946 to 1969, the longest uninterrupted parliamentary government. These governments substantially expanded the welfare state. Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme identified as a democratic socialist and was described as a "revolutionary reformist".
The Norwegian Labour Party was established in 1887 and was largely a trade union federation. The party did not proclaim a socialist agenda, elevating universal suffrage and dissolution of the union with Sweden as its top priorities. In 1899, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions separated from the Labour party. Around the Russian Revolution, the Labour Party moved to the left and joined the Communist International from 1919 through 1923. Thereafter the party still regarded itself as revolutionary. The party's left-wing broke away and established the Communist Party of Norway, while the Labour Party gradually adopted a reformist line around 1930. In 1935, Johan Nygaardsvold established a coalition that lasted until 1945.
From 1946 to 1962, the Norwegian Labour Party held an absolute majority in the parliament led by Einar Gerhardsen, who remained Prime Minister for seventeen years. Although the party abandoned most of its pre-war socialist ideas, under Gerhardsen the welfare state expanded to ensure the universal provision of basic human rights and stabilise the economy. In the first post-war election, the Communist Party took 12% of the votes, but largely vanished during the Cold War. In the 1950s, popular socialism emerged in Nordic countries. It placed itself between communism and social democracy. In the early 1960s, the Socialist Left Party challenged the Labour Party from the left. In the 1970s, a more radical socialist party, the Worker's Communist Party (AKP), broke from the Socialist Left Party and had notable influence in student associations and some trade unions. The AKP identified with Communist China and Albania, rather than the Soviet Union.
In countries like Sweden, the Rehn–Meidner model allowed capitalists owning productive and efficient firms to retain profits at the expense of the firms' workers, exacerbating inequality and causing workers to agitate for a share of the profits in the 1970s. At that time, women working in the state sector began to demand better wages. Rudolf Meidner established a study committee that came up with a 1976 proposal to transfer "excess" profits into worker-controlled investment funds, with the intention that firms would create jobs and pay higher wages rather than reward company owners and managers. Capitalists immediately labeled this proposal as socialism and launched an unprecedented opposition—including calling off the class compromise established in the 1938 Saltsjöbaden Agreement.
Nordic social democratic parties are some of the oldest such parties and operate in Sweden, Norway and two in Iceland and Denmark. Countries or political systems that have long been dominated by social democratic parties are sometimes labelled social democratic.
The Nordic model is a form of economic-political system common to the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). The Nordic model has three main ingredients, namely peaceful, institutionalised negotiation between employers and trade unions; active, predictable and measured macroeconomic policy; and universal welfare and free education. In Norway and Sweden, the welfare system is governmental whereas in Denmark, Finland and Iceland, trade unions play a greater role. The Nordic model is often labelled social democratic, in contrast with the conservative continental model and the liberal Anglo-American model. Major reforms in the Nordic countries are the results of consensus and compromise across the political spectrum. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, key reforms were implemented under social democratic cabinets while in Finland and Iceland centre-right parties dominated during the implementation of the model. Since World War II, Nordic countries have largely maintained a mixed economy. These countries have been characterised by labour force participation, gender equality, egalitarian and universal benefits, redistribution of wealth and expansionary fiscal policy.
The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first spacecraft and the first astronaut. The Soviet economy was the modern world's first centrally planned economy. It adopted state ownership of industry managed through Gosplan (the State Planning Commission), Gosbank (the State Bank) and the Gossnab (State Commission for Materials and Equipment Supply).
Economic planning was conducted through serial Five-Year Plans. The emphasis was on development of heavy industry. The nation became one of the world's top manufacturers of basic and heavy industrial products, while deemphasizing light industrial production and consumer durables. Modernisation brought about a general increase in the standard of living.
The Eastern Bloc was the group of Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact, including Poland, the German Democratic Republic, the Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Albania and Yugoslavia. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the Communist government, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's denunciation of the excesses of Stalin's regime during the Twentieth Communist Party Congress in 1956 as well as the Hungarian revolt, produced disunity within Western European communist and socialist parties.
In the post-war years, socialism became increasingly influential in many then-developing countries. Embracing Third World socialism, countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America often nationalised industries.
The Chinese Revolution was the second stage in the Chinese Civil War, which ended with the establishment of the People's Republic of China led by the Chinese Communist Party. The then-Chinese Kuomintang Party in the 1920s incorporated Chinese socialism as part of its ideology.
The emergence of this new political entity in the frame of the Cold War was complex and painful. Several tentative efforts were made to organise newly independent states in order to establish a common front to limit the United States' and the Soviet Union's influence on them. This led to the Sino-Soviet split. The Non-Aligned Movement gathered around the figures of Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Sukarno of Indonesia, Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. After the 1954 Geneva Conference which ended the French war in Vietnam, the 1955 Bandung Conference gathered Nasser, Nehru, Tito, Sukarno and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. As many African countries gained independence during the 1960s, some of them rejected capitalism in favour of African socialism as defined by Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Léopold Senghor of Senegal, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Sékou Touré of Guinea.
The Cuban Revolution (1953–1959) was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement and its allies against the government of Fulgencio Batista. Castro's government eventually adopted communism, becoming the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965.
In Indonesia, a right-wing military regime led by Suharto killed between 500,000 and one million people in 1965 and 1966, mainly to crush the growing influence of the Communist Party and other leftist groups, with support from the United States, which provided kill lists containing thousands of names of suspected high-ranking Communists.
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms on issues such as gay rights, abortion, gender roles and drugs in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist approach to social justice and focused mostly on labour unionisation and questions of social class. The New Left rejected involvement with the labour movement and Marxism's historical theory of class struggle.
In the United States, the New Left was associated with the Hippie movement and anti-war college campus protest movements as well as the black liberation movements such as the Black Panther Party. While initially formed in opposition to the "Old Left" Democratic Party, groups composing the New Left gradually became central players in the Democratic coalition.
The protests of 1968 represented a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, predominantly characterised by popular rebellions against military, capitalist and bureaucratic elites who responded with an escalation of political repression. These protests marked a turning point for the civil rights movement in the United States which produced revolutionary movements like the Black Panther Party. The prominent civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. organised the "Poor People's Campaign" to address issues of economic justice, while personally showing sympathy with democratic socialism. In reaction to the Tet Offensive, protests also sparked a broad movement in opposition to the Vietnam War all over the United States and even into London, Paris, Berlin and Rome. In 1968, the International of Anarchist Federations was founded during an international anarchist conference held in Carrara by the three existing European federations of France, the Italian and the Iberian Anarchist Federation as well as the Bulgarian federation in French exile.
Mass socialist or communist movements grew not only in the United States, but also in most European countries. The most spectacular manifestation of this were the May 1968 protests in France in which students linked up with strikes of up to ten million workers and for a few days the movement seemed capable of overthrowing the government.
In many other capitalist countries, struggles against dictatorships, state repression and colonisation were also marked by protests in 1968, such as the beginning of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City and the escalation of guerrilla warfare against the military dictatorship in Brazil. Countries governed by communist parties had protests against bureaucratic and military elites. In Eastern Europe there were widespread protests that escalated particularly in the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia. In response, Soviet Union occupied Czechoslovakia, but the occupation was denounced by the Italian and French communist parties and the Communist Party of Finland. Few western European political leaders defended the occupation, among them the Portuguese communist secretary-general Álvaro Cunhal. along with the Luxembourg party and conservative factions of the Communist Party of Greece.
In the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a social-political youth movement mobilised against "bourgeois" elements which were seen to be infiltrating the government and society at large, aiming to restore capitalism. This movement motivated Maoism-inspired movements around the world in the context of the Sino-Soviet split.
In the 1960s, a socialist tendency within the Latin American Catholic church appeared and was known as liberation theology It motivated the Colombian priest Camilo Torres Restrepo to enter the ELN guerrilla. In Chile, Salvador Allende, a physician and candidate for the Socialist Party of Chile, was elected president in 1970. In 1973, his government was ousted by the United States-backed military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, which lasted until the late 1980s. Pinochet's regime was a leader of Operation Condor, a U.S.-backed campaign of repression and state terrorism carried out by the intelligence services of the Southern Cone countries of Latin America to eliminate suspected Communist subversion. In Jamaica, the democratic socialist Michael Manley served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992. According to opinion polls, he remains one of Jamaica's most popular Prime Ministers since independence. The Nicaraguan Revolution encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to violently oust the dictatorship in 1978–1979, the subsequent efforts of the FSLN to govern Nicaragua from 1979 until 1990 and the socialist measures which included wide-scale agrarian reform and educational programs. The People's Revolutionary Government was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 in Grenada which was overthrown by armed forces of the United States in 1983. The Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992) was a conflict between the military-led government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or umbrella organisation of five socialist guerrilla groups. A coup on 15 October 1979 led to the killings of anti-coup protesters by the government as well as anti-disorder protesters by the guerrillas, and is widely seen as the tipping point towards the civil war.
In Italy, Autonomia Operaia was a leftist movement particularly active from 1976 to 1978. It took an important role in the autonomist movement in the 1970s, aside earlier organisations such as Potere Operaio (created after May 1968) and Lotta Continua. This experience prompted the contemporary socialist radical movement autonomism. In 1982, the newly elected French socialist government of François Mitterrand made nationalisations in a few key industries, including banks and insurance companies. Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s in various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant for a Western European country and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Outside Western Europe, it is sometimes called neocommunism. Some communist parties with strong popular support, notably the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) adopted Eurocommunism most enthusiastically and the Communist Party of Finland was dominated by Eurocommunists. The French Communist Party (PCF) and many smaller parties strongly opposed Eurocommunism and stayed aligned with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the end of the Soviet Union.
In the late 1970s and in the 1980s, the Socialist International (SI) had extensive contacts and discussion with the two powers of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union, about east–west relations and arms control. Since then, the SI has admitted as member parties the Nicaraguan FSLN, the left-wing Puerto Rican Independence Party, as well as former communist parties such as the Democratic Party of the Left of Italy and the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO). The SI aided social democratic parties in re-establishing themselves when dictatorship gave way to democracy in Portugal (1974) and Spain (1975). Until its 1976 Geneva Congress, the SI had few members outside Europe and no formal involvement with Latin America.
After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the faction known as the Gang of Four, who were blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping took power and led the People's Republic of China to significant economic reforms. The Communist Party of China loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives and the communes were disbanded in favour of private land leases, thus China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy named as "socialism with Chinese characteristics" which maintained state ownership rights over land, state or cooperative ownership of much of the heavy industrial and manufacturing sectors and state influence in the banking and financial sectors. China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982. President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji led the nation in the 1990s. Under their administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%. At the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in December 1986, reformist politicians replaced the "old guard" government with new leadership. The reformers were led by 71-year-old Nguyen Van Linh, who became the party's new general secretary. Linh and the reformers implemented a series of free market reforms—known as "" ("Renovation")—which carefully managed the transition from a planned economy to a "socialist-oriented market economy". Mikhail Gorbachev wished to move the Soviet Union towards of Nordic-style social democracy, calling it "a socialist beacon for all mankind". Prior to its dissolution in 1991, the economy of the Soviet Union was the second largest in the world after the United States. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economic integration of the Soviet republics was dissolved and overall industrial activity declined substantially. A lasting legacy remains in the physical infrastructure created during decades of combined industrial production practices, and widespread environmental destruction. The transition to capitalism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, which was accompanied by Washington Consensus-inspired "shock therapy", resulted in a steep fall in the standard of living. The region experienced rising economic inequality and poverty a surge in excess mortality and a decline in life expectancy, which was accompanied by the entrenchment of a newly established business oligarchy in the former. The average post-communist country had returned to 1989 levels of per-capita GDP by 2005, although some are still far behind that. These developments led to increased nationalist sentiment and nostalgia for the Communist era.
Many social democratic parties, particularly after the Cold War, adopted neoliberal market policies including privatisation, deregulation and financialisation. They abandoned their pursuit of moderate socialism in favour of economic liberalism. By the 1980s, with the rise of conservative neoliberal politicians such as Ronald Reagan in the United States, Margaret Thatcher in Britain, Brian Mulroney in Canada and Augusto Pinochet in Chile, the Western welfare state was attacked from within, but state support for the corporate sector was maintained. Monetarists and neoliberals attacked social welfare systems as impediments to private entrepreneurship. In the United Kingdom, Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock made a public attack against the entryist group Militant at the 1985 Labour Party conference. Labour ruled that Militant was ineligible for affiliation with the party and it gradually expelled Militant supporters. The Kinnock leadership had refused to support the 1984–1985 miner's strike over pit closures, a decision that the party's left wing and the National Union of Mineworkers blamed for the strike's eventual defeat. In 1989 at Stockholm, the 18th Congress of the Socialist International adopted a new Declaration of Principles, saying: Democratic socialism is an international movement for freedom, social justice, and solidarity. Its goal is to achieve a peaceful world where these basic values can be enhanced and where each individual can live a meaningful life with the full development of his or her personality and talents, and with the guarantee of human and civil rights in a democratic framework of society.
In the 1990s, the British Labour Party under Tony Blair enacted policies based on the free market economy to deliver public services via the private finance initiative. Influential in these policies was the idea of a "Third Way" which called for a re-evaluation of welfare state policies. In 1995, the Labour Party re-defined its stance on socialism by re-wording Clause IV of its constitution, defining socialism in ethical terms and removing all references to public, direct worker or municipal ownership of the means of production. The Labour Party stated: "The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that, by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create, for each of us, the means to realise our true potential, and, for all of us, a community in which power, wealth, and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few".
African socialism has been and continues to be a major ideology around the continent. Julius Nyerere was inspired by Fabian socialist ideals. He was a firm believer in rural Africans and their traditions and ujamaa, a system of collectivisation that according to Nyerere was present before European imperialism. Essentially he believed Africans were already socialists. Other African socialists include Jomo Kenyatta, Kenneth Kaunda, Nelson Mandela and Kwame Nkrumah. Fela Kuti was inspired by socialism and called for a democratic African republic. In South Africa the African National Congress (ANC) abandoned its partial socialist allegiances after taking power and followed a standard neoliberal route. From 2005 through to 2007, the country was wracked by many thousands of protests from poor communities. One of these gave rise to a mass movement of shack dwellers, Abahlali baseMjondolo that despite major police suppression continues to work for popular people's planning and against the creation of a market economy in land and housing.
In Asia, states with socialist economies—such as the People's Republic of China, North Korea, Laos and Vietnam—have largely moved away from centralised economic planning in the 21st century, placing a greater emphasis on markets. Forms include the Chinese socialist market economy and the Vietnamese socialist-oriented market economy. They use state-owned corporate management models as opposed to modelling socialist enterprise on traditional management styles employed by government agencies. In China living standards continued to improve rapidly despite the late-2000s recession, but centralised political control remained tight. Brian Reynolds Myers in his book "The Cleanest Race", later supported by other academics, dismisses the idea that "Juche" is North Korea's leading ideology, regarding its public exaltation as designed to deceive foreigners and that it exists to be praised and not actually read, pointing out that North Korea's constitution of 2009 omits all mention of communism.
Although the authority of the state remained unchallenged under "Đổi Mới", the government of Vietnam encourages private ownership of farms and factories, economic deregulation and foreign investment, while maintaining control over strategic industries. The Vietnamese economy subsequently achieved strong growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction, exports and foreign investment. However, these reforms have also caused a rise in income inequality and gender disparities.
Elsewhere in Asia, some elected socialist parties and communist parties remain prominent, particularly in India and Nepal. The Communist Party of Nepal in particular calls for multi-party democracy, social equality and economic prosperity. In Singapore, a majority of the GDP is still generated from the state sector comprising government-linked companies. In Japan, there has been a resurgent interest in the Japanese Communist Party among workers and youth. In Malaysia, the Socialist Party of Malaysia got its first Member of Parliament, Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj, after the 2008 general election. In 2010, there were 270 kibbutzim in Israel. Their factories and farms account for 9% of Israel's industrial output, worth US$8 billion and 40% of its agricultural output, worth over $1.7 billion. Some Kibbutzim had also developed substantial high-tech and military industries. Also in 2010, Kibbutz Sasa, containing some 200 members, generated $850 million in annual revenue from its military-plastics industry.
The United Nations "World Happiness Report 2013" shows that the happiest nations are concentrated in Northern Europe, where the Nordic model is employed, with Denmark topping the list. This is at times attributed to the success of the Nordic model in the region that has been labelled social democratic in contrast with the conservative continental model and the liberal Anglo-American model. The Nordic countries ranked highest on the metrics of real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption.
The objectives of the Party of European Socialists, the European Parliament's socialist and social democratic bloc, are now "to pursue international aims in respect of the principles on which the European Union is based, namely principles of freedom, equality, solidarity, democracy, respect of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and respect for the Rule of Law". As a result, today the rallying cry of the French Revolution—"Liberté, égalité, fraternité"—is promoted as essential socialist values. To the left of the PES at the European level is the Party of the European Left (PEL), also commonly abbreviated "European Left"), which is a political party at the European level and an association of democratic socialist, socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of running in the 2004 European Parliament elections. PEL was founded on 8–9 May 2004 in Rome. Elected MEPs from member parties of the European Left sit in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European parliament.
The socialist Left Party in Germany grew in popularity due to dissatisfaction with the increasingly neoliberal policies of the SPD, becoming the fourth biggest party in parliament in the general election on 27 September 2009. Communist candidate Dimitris Christofias won a crucial presidential runoff in Cyprus, defeating his conservative rival with a majority of 53%. In Ireland, in the 2009 European election Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party took one of three seats in the capital Dublin European constituency.
In Denmark, the Socialist People's Party (SF) more than doubled its parliamentary representation to 23 seats from 11, making it the fourth largest party. In 2011, the Social Democrats, Socialist People's Party and the Danish Social Liberal Party formed government, after a slight victory over the main rival political coalition. They were led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and had the Red-Green Alliance as a supporting party.
In Norway, the Red-Green Coalition consists of the Labour Party (Ap), the Socialist Left Party (SV) and the Centre Party (Sp) and governed the country as a majority government from the 2005 general election until 2013.
In the Greek legislative election of January 2015, the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) led by Alexis Tsipras won a legislative election for the first time while the Communist Party of Greece won 15 seats in parliament. SYRIZA has been characterised as an anti-establishment party, whose success has sent "shock-waves across the EU".
In the United Kingdom, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers put forward a slate of candidates in the 2009 European Parliament elections under the banner of No to EU – Yes to Democracy, a broad left-wing alter-globalisation coalition involving socialist groups such as the Socialist Party, aiming to offer an alternative to the "anti-foreigner" and pro-business policies of the UK Independence Party. In the following May 2010 United Kingdom general election, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, launched in January 2010 and backed by Bob Crow, the leader of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT), other union leaders and the Socialist Party among other socialist groups, stood against Labour in 40 constituencies. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition contested the 2011 local elections, having gained the endorsement of the RMT June 2010 conference, but gained no seats. Left Unity was also founded in 2013 after the film director Ken Loach appealed for a new party of the left to replace the Labour Party, which he claimed had failed to oppose austerity and had shifted towards neoliberalism. In 2015, following a defeat at the 2015 United Kingdom general election, self-described socialist Jeremy Corbyn took over from Ed Miliband as leader of the Labour Party.
In France, Olivier Besancenot, the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) candidate in the 2007 presidential election, received 1,498,581 votes, 4.08%, double that of the communist candidate. The LCR abolished itself in 2009 to initiate a broad anti-capitalist party, the New Anticapitalist Party, whose stated aim is to "build a new socialist, democratic perspective for the twenty-first century".
On 25 May 2014, the Spanish left-wing party Podemos entered candidates for the 2014 European parliamentary elections, some of which were unemployed. In a surprise result, it polled 7.98% of the vote and thus was awarded five seats out of 54 while the older United Left was the third largest overall force obtaining 10.03% and 5 seats, 4 more than the previous elections.
The government of Portugal established on 26 November 2015 was a Socialist Party (PS) minority government led by prime minister António Costa, who succeeded in securing support for a Socialist minority government by the Left Bloc (B.E.), the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the Ecologist Party "The Greens" (PEV).
All around Europe and in some places of Latin America there exists a social centre and squatting movement mainly inspired by autonomist and anarchist ideas.
According to a 2013 article in "The Guardian", "[c]ontrary to popular belief, Americans don't have an innate allergy to socialism. Milwaukee has had several socialist mayors (Frank Zeidler, Emil Seidel and Daniel Hoan), and there is currently an independent socialist in the US Senate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont". Sanders, once mayor of Vermont's largest city, Burlington, has described himself as a democratic socialist and has praised Scandinavian-style social democracy. In 2016, Sanders made a bid for the Democratic Party presidential candidate, thereby gaining considerable popular support, particularly among the younger generation, but lost the nomination to Hillary Clinton. As of 2019, the Democratic Socialists of America have two members in Congress, and various members in state legislatures and city councils. According to a 2018 Gallup poll, 37% of American adults have a positive view of socialism, including 57% of Democrat-leaning voters and 16% of Republican-leaning voters. A 2019 YouGov poll found that 7 out of 10 millennials would vote for a socialist presidential candidate, and 36% had a favorable view of communism. An earlier 2019 Harris Poll found that socialism is more popular with women than men, with 55% of women between the ages of 18 and 54 preferring to live in a socialist society while a majority of men surveyed in the poll chose capitalism over socialism.
Anti-capitalism, anarchism and the anti-globalisation movement rose to prominence through events such as protests against the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 in Seattle. Socialist-inspired groups played an important role in these movements, which nevertheless embraced much broader layers of the population and were championed by figures such as Noam Chomsky. In Canada, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the precursor to the social democratic New Democratic Party (NDP), had significant success in provincial politics. In 1944, the Saskatchewan CCF formed the first socialist government in North America. At the federal level, the NDP was the Official Opposition, from 2011 through 2015.
In their "Johnson" linguistics column, "The Economist" opines that in the 21st century United States, the term "socialism", without clear definition, has become a pejorative used by conservatives to attack liberal and progressive policies, proposals, and public figures.
For the "Encyclopedia Britannica", "the attempt by Salvador Allende to unite Marxists and other reformers in a socialist reconstruction of Chile is most representative of the direction that Latin American socialists have taken since the late 20th century. [...] Several socialist (or socialist-leaning) leaders have followed Allende's example in winning election to office in Latin American countries". The success of the Workers' Party () of Brazil, formed in 1980 and governing Brazil from 2003 to 2016, was the first major breakthrough for this trend.
Foro de São Paulo is a conference of leftist political parties and other organisations from Latin America and the Caribbean. It was launched by the Workers' Party in 1990 in the city of São Paulo, after the PT approached other parties and social movements of Latin America and the Caribbean with the objective of debating the new international scenario after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the consequences of the implementation of what were taken as neoliberal policies adopted at the time by contemporary right-leaning governments in the region, the stated main objective of the conference being to argue for alternatives to neoliberalism. Among its members have been socialist and social-democratic parties in government in the region such as Bolivia's Movement for Socialism, the Communist Party of Cuba, Ecuador's PAIS Alliance, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, the Socialist Party of Chile, Uruguay's Broad Front, Nicaragua's Sandinista National Liberation Front, El Salvador's Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front and members of Argentina's Frente de Todos.
In the first decade of the 21st century, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Bolivian President Evo Morales and Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa referred to their political programmes as socialist, and Chávez adopted the term "socialism of the 21st century". After winning re-election in December 2006, Chávez said: "Now more than ever, I am obliged to move Venezuela's path towards socialism". Chávez was also reelected in October 2012 for his third six-year term as president, but he died in March 2013 from cancer. After Chávez's death on 5 March 2013, Vice President from Chavez's party Nicolás Maduro assumed the powers and responsibilities of the President. A special election was held on 14 April of the same year to elect a new president, which Maduro won by a tight margin as the candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and he was formally inaugurated on 19 April. "Pink tide" is a term used in political analysis, in the media and elsewhere to describe the perception that leftist ideology in general and left-wing politics in particular were increasingly influential in Latin America in the 2000s. Some of the "pink tide" governments were criticised for turning from socialism to populism and authoritarianism. The "pink tide" was followed in the 2010s by a "conservative wave" as right-wing governments came to power in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, and Venezula and Nicaragua experienced political crises. However, socialism saw a resurgence in 2018–19 after successive electoral victories of left-wing and centre-left candidates in Mexico, Panama, and Argentina.
Australia saw an increase in interest of socialism in the early 21st century, especially amongst youth. It is strongest in Victoria, where three socialist parties have merged into the Victorian Socialists, who aim to address problems in housing and public transportation.
In New Zealand, socialism emerged within the budding trade union movement during the late 19th century and early 20th century. In July 1916, several left-wing political organisations and trade unions merged to form the New Zealand Labour Party. While Labour traditionally had a socialist orientation, the party shifted towards a more social democratic orientation during the 1920s and 1930s. Following the 1935 general election, the First Labour Government pursued socialist policies such as nationalising industry, broadcasting, transportation, and implementing a Keynesian welfare state. However, the party did not seek to abolish capitalism, instead opting for a mixed economy. Labour's welfare state and mixed economy were not challenged until the 1980s. During the 1980s, the Fourth Labour Government implemented a raft of neoliberal economic reforms known as Rogernomics which saw New Zealand society and the economy shift towards a more free market model. Labour's abandonment of its traditional values fractured the party. Successive Labour governments have since pursued centre-left social and economic policies while maintaining a free-market economy. The current Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern formerly served as President of the International Union of Socialist Youth. Ardern is a self-described social democrat who has criticized capitalism as a "blatant failure" due to high levels of homelessness and low wages. New Zealand still has a small socialist scene, mainly dominated by Trotskyist groups.
Melanesian socialism developed in the 1980s, inspired by African socialism. It aims to achieve full independence from Britain and France in Melanesian territories and creation of a Melanesian federal union. It is very popular with the New Caledonia independence movement.
The Progressive Alliance is a political international founded on 22 May 2013 by political parties, the majority of whom are current or former members of the Socialist International. The organisation states the aim of becoming the global network of "the progressive, democratic, social-democratic, socialist and labour movement".
Early socialist thought took influences from a diverse range of philosophies such as civic republicanism, Enlightenment rationalism, romanticism, forms of materialism, Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant), natural law and natural rights theory, utilitarianism and liberal political economy. Another philosophical basis for a lot of early socialism was the emergence of positivism during the European Enlightenment. Positivism held that both the natural and social worlds could be understood through scientific knowledge and be analysed using scientific methods. This core outlook influenced early social scientists and different types of socialists ranging from anarchists like Peter Kropotkin to technocrats like Saint Simon.
The fundamental objective of socialism is to attain an advanced level of material production and therefore greater productivity, efficiency and rationality as compared to capitalism and all previous systems, under the view that an expansion of human productive capability is the basis for the extension of freedom and equality in society. Many forms of socialist theory hold that human behaviour is largely shaped by the social environment. In particular, socialism holds that social mores, values, cultural traits and economic practices are social creations and not the result of an immutable natural law. The object of their critique is thus not human avarice or human consciousness, but the material conditions and man-made social systems (i.e. the economic structure of society) that gives rise to observed social problems and inefficiencies. Bertrand Russell, often considered to be the father of analytic philosophy, identified as a socialist. Russell opposed the class struggle aspects of Marxism, viewing socialism solely as an adjustment of economic relations to accommodate modern machine production to benefit all of humanity through the progressive reduction of necessary work time.
Socialists view creativity as an essential aspect of human nature and define freedom as a state of being where individuals are able to express their creativity unhindered by constraints of both material scarcity and coercive social institutions. The socialist concept of individuality is intertwined with the concept of individual creative expression. Karl Marx believed that expansion of the productive forces and technology was the basis for the expansion of human freedom and that socialism, being a system that is consistent with modern developments in technology, would enable the flourishing of "free individualities" through the progressive reduction of necessary labour time. The reduction of necessary labour time to a minimum would grant individuals the opportunity to pursue the development of their true individuality and creativity.
Socialists argue that the accumulation of capital generates waste through externalities that require costly corrective regulatory measures. They also point out that this process generates wasteful industries and practices that exist only to generate sufficient demand for products to be sold at a profit (such as high-pressure advertisement), thereby creating rather than satisfying economic demand.
Socialists argue that capitalism consists of irrational activity, such as the purchasing of commodities only to sell at a later time when their price appreciates, rather than for consumption, even if the commodity cannot be sold at a profit to individuals in need and therefore a crucial criticism often made by socialists is that "making money", or accumulation of capital, does not correspond to the satisfaction of demand (the production of use-values). The fundamental criterion for economic activity in capitalism is the accumulation of capital for reinvestment in production, but this spurs the development of new, non-productive industries that do not produce use-value and only exist to keep the accumulation process afloat (otherwise the system goes into crisis), such as the spread of the financial industry, contributing to the formation of economic bubbles.
Socialists view private property relations as limiting the potential of productive forces in the economy. According to socialists, private property becomes obsolete when it concentrates into centralised, socialised institutions based on private appropriation of revenue"—"but based on cooperative work and internal planning in allocation of inputs—until the role of the capitalist becomes redundant. With no need for capital accumulation and a class of owners, private property in the means of production is perceived as being an outdated form of economic organisation that should be replaced by a free association of individuals based on public or common ownership of these socialised assets. Private ownership imposes constraints on planning, leading to uncoordinated economic decisions that result in business fluctuations, unemployment and a tremendous waste of material resources during crisis of overproduction.
Excessive disparities in income distribution lead to social instability and require costly corrective measures in the form of redistributive taxation, which incurs heavy administrative costs while weakening the incentive to work, inviting dishonesty and increasing the likelihood of tax evasion while (the corrective measures) reduce the overall efficiency of the market economy. These corrective policies limit the incentive system of the market by providing things such as minimum wages, unemployment insurance, taxing profits and reducing the reserve army of labour, resulting in reduced incentives for capitalists to invest in more production. In essence, social welfare policies cripple capitalism and its incentive system and are thus unsustainable in the long-run. Marxists argue that the establishment of a socialist mode of production is the only way to overcome these deficiencies. Socialists and specifically Marxian socialists argue that the inherent conflict of interests between the working class and capital prevent optimal use of available human resources and leads to contradictory interest groups (labour and business) striving to influence the state to intervene in the economy in their favour at the expense of overall economic efficiency.
Early socialists (utopian socialists and Ricardian socialists) criticised capitalism for concentrating power and wealth within a small segment of society. In addition, they complained that capitalism does not use available technology and resources to their maximum potential in the interests of the public.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels argued that socialism would emerge from historical necessity as capitalism rendered itself obsolete and unsustainable from increasing internal contradictions emerging from the development of the productive forces and technology. It was these advances in the productive forces combined with the old social relations of production of capitalism that would generate contradictions, leading to working-class consciousness.
Marx and Engels held the view that the consciousness of those who earn a wage or salary (the working class in the broadest Marxist sense) would be moulded by their conditions of wage slavery, leading to a tendency to seek their freedom or emancipation by overthrowing ownership of the means of production by capitalists and consequently, overthrowing the state that upheld this economic order. For Marx and Engels, conditions determine consciousness and ending the role of the capitalist class leads eventually to a classless society in which the state would wither away. The Marxist conception of socialism is that of a specific historical phase that would displace capitalism and precede communism. The major characteristics of socialism (particularly as conceived by Marx and Engels after the Paris Commune of 1871) are that the proletariat would control the means of production through a workers' state erected by the workers in their interests. Economic activity would still be organised through the use of incentive systems and social classes would still exist, but to a lesser and diminishing extent than under capitalism.
For orthodox Marxists, socialism is the lower stage of communism based on the principle of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution" while upper stage communism is based on the principle of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need", the upper stage becoming possible only after the socialist stage further develops economic efficiency and the automation of production has led to a superabundance of goods and services. Marx argued that the material productive forces (in industry and commerce) brought into existence by capitalism predicated a cooperative society since production had become a mass social, collective activity of the working class to create commodities but with private ownership (the relations of production or property relations). This conflict between collective effort in large factories and private ownership would bring about a conscious desire in the working class to establish collective ownership commensurate with the collective efforts their daily experience.
Socialists have taken different perspectives on the state and the role it should play in revolutionary struggles, in constructing socialism and within an established socialist economy.
In the 19th century, the philosophy of state socialism was first explicitly expounded by the German political philosopher Ferdinand Lassalle. In contrast to Karl Marx's perspective of the state, Lassalle rejected the concept of the state as a class-based power structure whose main function was to preserve existing class structures. Lassalle also rejected the Marxist view that the state was destined to "wither away". Lassalle considered the state to be an entity independent of class allegiances and an instrument of justice that would therefore be essential for achieving socialism.
Preceding the Bolshevik-led revolution in Russia, many socialists including reformists, orthodox Marxist currents such as council communism, anarchists and libertarian socialists criticised the idea of using the state to conduct central planning and own the means of production as a way to establish socialism. Following the victory of Leninism in Russia, the idea of "state socialism" spread rapidly throughout the socialist movement and eventually state socialism came to be identified with the Soviet economic model.
Joseph Schumpeter rejected the association of socialism and social ownership with state ownership over the means of production because the state as it exists in its current form is a product of capitalist society and cannot be transplanted to a different institutional framework. Schumpeter argued that there would be different institutions within socialism than those that exist within modern capitalism, just as feudalism had its own distinct and unique institutional forms. The state, along with concepts like property and taxation, were concepts exclusive to commercial society (capitalism) and attempting to place them within the context of a future socialist society would amount to a distortion of these concepts by using them out of context.
Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists. However, visions of imaginary ideal societies, which competed with revolutionary social democratic movements, were viewed as not being grounded in the material conditions of society and as reactionary. Although it is technically possible for any set of ideas or any person living at any time in history to be a utopian socialist, the term is most often applied to those socialists who lived in the first quarter of the 19th century who were ascribed the label "utopian" by later socialists as a negative term in order to imply naivete and dismiss their ideas as fanciful or unrealistic.
Religious sects whose members live communally such as the Hutterites are not usually called "utopian socialists", although their way of living is a prime example. They have been categorised as religious socialists by some. Similarly, modern intentional communities based on socialist ideas could also be categorised as "utopian socialist".
For Marxists, the development of capitalism in Western Europe provided a material basis for the possibility of bringing about socialism because according to "The Communist Manifesto" "[w]hat the bourgeoisie produces above all is its own grave diggers", namely the working class, which must become conscious of the historical objectives set it by society.
Revolutionary socialists believe that a social revolution is necessary to effect structural changes to the socioeconomic structure of society. Among revolutionary socialists there are differences in strategy, theory and the definition of "revolution". Orthodox Marxists and left communists take an impossibilist stance, believing that revolution should be spontaneous as a result of contradictions in society due to technological changes in the productive forces. Lenin theorised that under capitalism the workers cannot achieve class consciousness beyond organising into trade unions and making demands of the capitalists. Therefore, Leninists advocate that it is historically necessary for a vanguard of class conscious revolutionaries to take a central role in coordinating the social revolution to overthrow the capitalist state and eventually the institution of the state altogether. "Revolution" is not necessarily defined by revolutionary socialists as violent insurrection, but as a complete dismantling and rapid transformation of all areas of class society led by the majority of the masses: the working class.
Reformism is generally associated with social democracy and gradualist democratic socialism. Reformism is the belief that socialists should stand in parliamentary elections within capitalist society and if elected use the machinery of government to pass political and social reforms for the purposes of ameliorating the instabilities and inequities of capitalism.
Socialist economics starts from the premise that "individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Furthermore, everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as whole, therefore, should own or at least control property for the benefit of all its members".
The original conception of socialism was an economic system whereby production was organised in a way to directly produce goods and services for their utility (or use-value in classical and Marxian economics), with the direct allocation of resources in terms of physical units as opposed to financial calculation and the economic laws of capitalism (see law of value), often entailing the end of capitalistic economic categories such as rent, interest, profit and money. In a fully developed socialist economy, production and balancing factor inputs with outputs becomes a technical process to be undertaken by engineers.
Market socialism refers to an array of different economic theories and systems that use the market mechanism to organise production and to allocate factor inputs among socially owned enterprises, with the economic surplus (profits) accruing to society in a social dividend as opposed to private capital owners. Variations of market socialism include libertarian proposals such as mutualism, based on classical economics, and neoclassical economic models such as the Lange Model. However, some economists such as Joseph Stiglitz, Mancur Olson and others not specifically advancing anti-socialists positions have shown that prevailing economic models upon which such democratic or market socialism models might be based have logical flaws or unworkable presuppositions.
The ownership of the means of production can be based on direct ownership by the users of the productive property through worker cooperative; or commonly owned by all of society with management and control delegated to those who operate/use the means of production; or public ownership by a state apparatus. Public ownership may refer to the creation of state-owned enterprises, nationalisation, municipalisation or autonomous collective institutions. Some socialists feel that in a socialist economy, at least the "" of the economy must be publicly owned. However, economic liberals and right libertarians view private ownership of the means of production and the market exchange as natural entities or moral rights which are central to their conceptions of freedom and liberty and view the economic dynamics of capitalism as immutable and absolute, therefore they perceive public ownership of the means of production, cooperatives and economic planning as infringements upon liberty.
Management and control over the activities of enterprises are based on self-management and self-governance, with equal power-relations in the workplace to maximise occupational autonomy. A socialist form of organisation would eliminate controlling hierarchies so that only a hierarchy based on technical knowledge in the workplace remains. Every member would have decision-making power in the firm and would be able to participate in establishing its overall policy objectives. The policies/goals would be carried out by the technical specialists that form the coordinating hierarchy of the firm, who would establish plans or directives for the work community to accomplish these goals.
The role and use of money in a hypothetical socialist economy is a contested issue. According to the Austrian school economist Ludwig von Mises, an economic system that does not use money, financial calculation and market pricing would be unable to effectively value capital goods and coordinate production and therefore these types of socialism are impossible because they lack the necessary information to perform economic calculation in the first place. Socialists including Karl Marx, Robert Owen, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and John Stuart Mill advocated various forms of labour vouchers or labour credits, which like money would be used to acquire articles of consumption, but unlike money they are unable to become capital and would not be used to allocate resources within the production process. Bolshevik revolutionary Leon Trotsky argued that money could not be arbitrarily abolished following a socialist revolution. Money had to exhaust its "historic mission", meaning it would have to be used until its function became redundant, eventually being transformed into bookkeeping receipts for statisticians and only in the more distant future would money not be required for even that role.
A planned economy is a type of economy consisting of a mixture of public ownership of the means of production and the coordination of production and distribution through economic planning. A planned economy can be either decentralised or centralised. Enrico Barone provided a comprehensive theoretical framework for a planned socialist economy. In his model, assuming perfect computation techniques, simultaneous equations relating inputs and outputs to ratios of equivalence would provide appropriate valuations in order to balance supply and demand.
The most prominent example of a planned economy was the economic system of the Soviet Union and as such the centralised-planned economic model is usually associated with the communist states of the 20th century, where it was combined with a single-party political system. In a centrally planned economy, decisions regarding the quantity of goods and services to be produced are planned in advance by a planning agency (see also the analysis of Soviet-type economic planning). The economic systems of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc are further classified as "command economies", which are defined as systems where economic coordination is undertaken by commands, directives and production targets. Studies by economists of various political persuasions on the actual functioning of the Soviet economy indicate that it was not actually a planned economy. Instead of conscious planning, the Soviet economy was based on a process whereby the plan was modified by localised agents and the original plans went largely unfulfilled. Planning agencies, ministries and enterprises all adapted and bargained with each other during the formulation of the plan as opposed to following a plan passed down from a higher authority, leading some economists to suggest that planning did not actually take place within the Soviet economy and that a better description would be an "administered" or "managed" economy.
Although central planning was largely supported by Marxist–Leninists, some factions within the Soviet Union before the rise of Stalinism held positions contrary to central planning. Leon Trotsky rejected central planning in favour of decentralised planning. He argued that central planners, regardless of their intellectual capacity, would be unable to coordinate effectively all economic activity within an economy because they operated without the input and tacit knowledge embodied by the participation of the millions of people in the economy. As a result, central planners would be unable to respond to local economic conditions. State socialism is unfeasible in this view because information cannot be aggregated by a central body and effectively used to formulate a plan for an entire economy, because doing so would result in distorted or absent price signals.
A self-managed, decentralised economy is based on autonomous self-regulating economic units and a decentralised mechanism of resource allocation and decision-making. This model has found support in notable classical and neoclassical economists including Alfred Marshall, John Stuart Mill and Jaroslav Vanek. There are numerous variations of self-management, including labour-managed firms and worker-managed firms. The goals of self-management are to eliminate exploitation and reduce alienation. Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influential in the first quarter of the 20th century. It was strongly associated with G. D. H. Cole and influenced by the ideas of William Morris.
One such system is the cooperative economy, a largely free market economy in which workers manage the firms and democratically determine remuneration levels and labour divisions. Productive resources would be legally owned by the cooperative and rented to the workers, who would enjoy usufruct rights. Another form of decentralised planning is the use of cybernetics, or the use of computers to manage the allocation of economic inputs. The socialist-run government of Salvador Allende in Chile experimented with Project Cybersyn, a real-time information bridge between the government, state enterprises and consumers. Another, more recent variant is participatory economics, wherein the economy is planned by decentralised councils of workers and consumers. Workers would be remunerated solely according to effort and sacrifice, so that those engaged in dangerous, uncomfortable and strenuous work would receive the highest incomes and could thereby work less. A contemporary model for a self-managed, non-market socialism is Pat Devine's model of negotiated coordination. Negotiated coordination is based upon social ownership by those affected by the use of the assets involved, with decisions made by those at the most localised level of production.
Michel Bauwens identifies the emergence of the open software movement and peer-to-peer production as a new alternative mode of production to the capitalist economy and centrally planned economy that is based on collaborative self-management, common ownership of resources and the production of use-values through the free cooperation of producers who have access to distributed capital.
Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, private property and capitalism in favour of common ownership of the means of production. Anarcho-syndicalism was practised in Catalonia and other places in the Spanish Revolution during the Spanish Civil War. Sam Dolgoff estimated that about eight million people participated directly or at least indirectly in the Spanish Revolution.
The economy of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia established a system based on market-based allocation, social ownership of the means of production and self-management within firms. This system substituted Yugoslavia's Soviet-type central planning with a decentralised, self-managed system after reforms in 1953.
The Marxian economist Richard D. Wolff argues that "re-organising production so that workers become collectively self-directed at their work-sites" not only moves society beyond both capitalism and state socialism of the last century, but would also mark another milestone in human history, similar to earlier transitions out of slavery and feudalism. As an example, Wolff claims that Mondragon is "a stunningly successful alternative to the capitalist organisation of production".
State socialism can be used to classify any variety of socialist philosophies that advocates the ownership of the means of production by the state apparatus, either as a transitional stage between capitalism and socialism, or as an end-goal in itself. Typically it refers to a form of technocratic management, whereby technical specialists administer or manage economic enterprises on behalf of society (and the public interest) instead of workers' councils or workplace democracy.
A state-directed economy may refer to a type of mixed economy consisting of public ownership over large industries, as promoted by various Social democratic political parties during the 20th century. This ideology influenced the policies of the British Labour Party during Clement Attlee's administration. In the biography of the 1945 United Kingdom Labour Party Prime Minister Clement Attlee, Francis Beckett states: "[T]he government... wanted what would become known as a mixed economy".
Nationalisation in the United Kingdom was achieved through compulsory purchase of the industry (i.e. with compensation). British Aerospace was a combination of major aircraft companies British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley and others. British Shipbuilders was a combination of the major shipbuilding companies including Cammell Laird, Govan Shipbuilders, Swan Hunter and Yarrow Shipbuilders, whereas the nationalisation of the coal mines in 1947 created a coal board charged with running the coal industry commercially so as to be able to meet the interest payable on the bonds which the former mine owners' shares had been converted into.
Market socialism consists of publicly owned or cooperatively owned enterprises operating in a market economy. It is a system that uses the market and monetary prices for the allocation and accounting of the means of production, thereby retaining the process of capital accumulation. The profit generated would be used to directly remunerate employees, collectively sustain the enterprise or finance public institutions. In state-oriented forms of market socialism, in which state enterprises attempt to maximise profit, the profits can be used to fund government programs and services through a social dividend, eliminating or greatly diminishing the need for various forms of taxation that exist in capitalist systems. Neoclassical economist Léon Walras believed that a socialist economy based on state ownership of land and natural resources would provide a means of public finance to make income taxes unnecessary. Yugoslavia implemented a market socialist economy based on cooperatives and worker self-management.
Mutualism is an economic theory and anarchist school of thought that advocates a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labour in the free market. Integral to the scheme was the establishment of a mutual-credit bank that would lend to producers at a minimal interest rate, just high enough to cover administration. Mutualism is based on a labour theory of value that holds that when labour or its product is sold, in exchange it ought to receive goods or services embodying "the amount of labour necessary to produce an article of exactly similar and equal utility".
The current economic system in China is formally referred to as a socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics. It combines a large state sector that comprises the commanding heights of the economy, which are guaranteed their public ownership status by law, with a private sector mainly engaged in commodity production and light industry responsible from anywhere between 33% to over 70% of GDP generated in 2005. Although there has been a rapid expansion of private-sector activity since the 1980s, privatisation of state assets was virtually halted and were partially reversed in 2005. The current Chinese economy consists of 150 corporatised state-owned enterprises that report directly to China's central government. By 2008, these state-owned corporations had become increasingly dynamic and generated large increases in revenue for the state, resulting in a state-sector led recovery during the 2009 financial crises while accounting for most of China's economic growth. However, the Chinese economic model is widely cited as a contemporary form of state capitalism, the major difference between Western capitalism and the Chinese model being the degree of state-ownership of shares in publicly listed corporations.
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has adopted a similar model after the Doi Moi economic renovation, but slightly differs from the Chinese model in that the Vietnamese government retains firm control over the state sector and strategic industries, but allows for private-sector activity in commodity production.
The major socialist political movements are described below. Independent socialist theorists, utopian socialist authors and academic supporters of socialism may not be represented in these movements. Some political groups have called themselves socialist while holding views that some consider antithetical to socialism. The term "socialist" has also been used by some politicians on the political right as an epithet against certain individuals who do not consider themselves to be socialists and against policies that are not considered socialist by their proponents.
There are many variations of socialism and as such there is no single definition encapsulating all of socialism. However, there have been common elements identified by scholars. In his "Dictionary of Socialism" (1924), Angelo S. Rappoport analysed forty definitions of socialism to conclude that common elements of socialism include: general criticisms of the social effects of private ownership and control of capital—as being the cause of poverty, low wages, unemployment, economic and social inequality and a lack of economic security; a general view that the solution to these problems is a form of collective control over the means of production, distribution and exchange (the degree and means of control vary amongst socialist movements); an agreement that the outcome of this collective control should be a society based upon social justice, including social equality, economic protection of people and should provide a more satisfying life for most people. In "The Concepts of Socialism" (1975), Bhikhu Parekh identifies four core principles of socialism and particularly socialist society: sociality, social responsibility, cooperation and planning. In his study "Ideologies and Political Theory" (1996), Michael Freeden states that all socialists share five themes: the first is that socialism posits that society is more than a mere collection of individuals; second, that it considers human welfare a desirable objective; third, that it considers humans by nature to be active and productive; fourth, it holds the belief of human equality; and fifth, that history is progressive and will create positive change on the condition that humans work to achieve such change.
Anarchism is a political philosophy that advocates stateless societies often defined as self-governed voluntary institutions, but that several authors have defined as more specific institutions based on non-hierarchical free associations. Anarchism holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary or harmful. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26847 |
Sabine River (Texas–Louisiana)
The Sabine River () is a river, long, in the Southern U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. From the 32nd parallel north and downstream, it serves as part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. Over the first half of the 19th century, the river formed part of the Spanish–American, Mexican–American, and Texan–American international boundaries. The upper reaches of the river flow through the prairie country of northeast Texas. Along much of its lower reaches, it flows through the pine forests along the Texas–Louisiana border, and the bayou country near the Gulf Coast.
The river drains an area of , of which are in Texas and in Louisiana. It flows through an area of abundant rainfall and discharges the largest volume of any river in Texas. The name Sabine (Sp: "Río de Sabinas") comes from the Spanish word for cypress, in reference to the extensive growth of bald cypresses along the lower river. The river flows through an important petroleum-producing region, and the lower river near the Gulf is among the most industrialized areas of the southeastern United States. The river was often described as the dividing line between the Old South and the New Southwest.
The Sabine rises in northeast Texas by the union of three branches: the Cowleech Fork, Caddo Fork, and South Fork. The Cowleech Fork rises in northwestern Hunt County and flows southeast for . The Caddo Fork, shown as "Caddo Creek" on federal maps, rises in two tributary forks, the East Caddo Fork and the West Caddo Fork, in northwestern Hunt County. The South Fork rises in the southwestern corner of Hunt County and flows east for , joining the Caddo Fork and Cowleech Fork in southeastern Hunt County. The confluence of the forks is now submerged in the Lake Tawakoni reservoir. The combined river flows southeast across northeast Texas and is joined by a fourth branch, Lake Fork Creek, downstream from the reservoir.
In northeast Texas, the river flows past Mineola, Gladewater, Big Sandy, and Longview, the largest city on the river, to southwest of Shreveport at the 32nd parallel north, where it establishes the Texas-Louisiana boundary. It flows south, forming the state line for the remainder of its course. It is impounded west of Leesville, Louisiana, to form the Toledo Bend Reservoir, with the Sabine National Forest along its western bank. South of the reservoir, it passes through the bayou country, surrounded by wetlands, as well as widespread industrial areas near the Gulf Coast. Approximately south of Orange, it meets the Neches River from the west to form the and Sabine Lake, which drains through Sabine Pass to the Gulf of Mexico. The city of Port Arthur, Texas, sits along the western shore of Sabine Lake
Archeological evidence indicates the valley of the river has been inhabited for as long as 12,000 years by indigenous peoples. Starting in the eighth century, the Caddo inhabited the area, building extensive earthwork mounds in complexes expressing their cosmology. The Caddo culture flourished until the late 13th century. Descendants of the Caddo were living along the river when the first European explorers arrived in the 16th century.
The river was named in 1716 by Spanish explorer Domingo Ramón, and appeared as "Río de Sabinas" on a 1721 map. The river was used by French traders, and at various times, the river was claimed by both Spain and France. After the acquisition by Spain of the French territory of Louisiana in 1763, following France's defeat by Great Britain in the Seven Years' War, the capital of the Spanish province of Texas was established on the east side of the river, near present-day Robeline, Louisiana.
After acquiring the French territory west of the Mississippi River in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the United States started to exert control in this area. It was at war with Native Americans in Louisiana along the Sabine River from 1836 to 1837, in the period when it was trying to remove the Indians to Indian Territory from the Southeast.
The Sabine River was too deep to ford, and proved to be navigable. Early travelers and settlers would have to swim the river on horseback and cattle would have to be driven into the river to swim across. Ferries were later put into service. By the 1840s, steamboats were travelling from Logansport to Sabine Lake.
Recorded ferry use began 1794, when Louis Chabinan (Sharben), his wife Margarite LaFleur, and their four children settled on the east bank of the Sabine River on land purchased from Vicinte Michele. Chabinan built a ferry landing on the river called "Paso del Chaland." Louisiana State Highway 6 (La 6) and Texas State Highway 21 now meet near here, at the site of the present-day Pendleton Bridge. In 1796, Chabinan was drowned after being kicked by a horse and falling into the Sabine.
Michel Crow married his widow and ran the ferry, until he sold it to James Gaines "circa" 1819; it was renamed Gaines Ferry. This ferry was in service until 1937, when it was replaced by the Pendleton Bridge, built during the Great Depression. Crow also operated a ferry he had started upriver, a 120-foot crossing started in 1796. It linked what became known as Carter's Ferry Road, now Texas FM 276. Carter's ferry was 25 miles from San Augustine and 15 miles from Many, Louisiana. Crow sold the ferry to Carter, who became the namesake. Farther north, and just above Bayou Lanan, was Williamson Ferry.
Other ferries on the Sabine River:
The main Sabine River crossings were the El Camino Real (King's Highway) from Natchitoches, or "Upper Route" from Shreveport; and the "Lower" Route, from Opelousas called "The Old Beef Trail". It was used to drive thousands of cattle from Texas to Alexandria, Louisiana, for shipment to cities such as New Orleans. Hickman Ferry was a shipping point for areas as far west as Burkeville. Sabine River ports from Sabine Pass in river mileage were "Belgrade", 171 miles; "Stark's Landing" 191 miles; "Loftin Ferry", and "Bayou Lanacoco" 220 miles; "Hickman's Ferry" 252 miles; "Burnham's Landing" 261 miles; and "Burr's Ferry" 281 miles.
The area's geography remained one of the least understood in the region. Various Spanish maps had errors in the naming of the Sabine and Neches, and sometimes showed them flowing independently into the Gulf of Mexico. After the Louisiana Purchase by the United States in 1803, a dispute over the boundary between the U.S. and Spain led to an agreement on November 6, 1806, negotiated by Gen.James Wilkinson and Lt. Col. Simón de Herrera, to establish a neutral territory on both sides of the river. Neither country would put military troops or civil police there.
The indefinite boundary was resolved by the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, which established the Sabine River as the boundary from the Gulf to the 32nd parallel. The Spanish delay in the ratification of the treaty, and Mexico gaining independence in 1821, reignited the boundary dispute. The United States, at the insistence of Anthony Butler, claimed for a while that the names of the Sabine and Neches had been reversed, thus they claimed that the treaty established the boundary at the Neches. The first Anglo-American settlers began arriving in the region in the 1820s, soon outnumbering the Mexicans by ten to one. After the independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in 1836, the boundary between the U.S. and Texas was firmly established at the Sabine in accordance with the Adams-Onis Treaty. The river served as the western boundary of the United States until it annexed Texas in 1845.
In 1843, Capt. John Clemmons made the first trip up the Sabine in the steamboat "Sabine." Steamboats carried passengers, as well as commodities such as cotton, from as far north as Logansport, Louisiana, down to Sabine Pass.
The pirate Jean Lafitte made many trips up the Sabine and reportedly started the colony of Shacklefoot on the Texas side of the Sabine River, south of Carter's ferry up Bayou Patroon.
During the American Civil War, on September 8, 1863, a small Confederate force thwarted a Union invasion of Texas at the Second Battle of Sabine Pass, fought at the mouth of the river.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the middle course of the river was an area of widespread logging. The discovery of petroleum at nearby Spindletop led to the river basin becoming the scene of widespread oil drilling. The lower river became heavily industrialized, developed with many oil refineries and chemical plants. Such alteration to the wetlands resulted in a degradation of the water quality. Since the late 20th century, there have been federal, state, and local efforts to restore the quality of the river. In addition, draining of wetlands and dredging of bayous has caused decline in the acreage of wetlands, resulting in coastal erosion, and making the area much more vulnerable to hurricane damage.
The lower river, south of Orange to Sabine Lake, forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway, carrying barge traffic and some pleasure boats.
As a young man, Captain Bill McDonald of the Texas Rangers operated a small store at Brown's Bluff (modern-day Elderville) on the Sabine in Gregg County, Texas.
Hadden's Ferry was the site of the ground-breaking ceremony held on October 5, 1961, for the 181,600-acre Toledo Bend Reservoir. Dedicated October 11, 1969, the reservoir is the largest man-made lake in the South. Flooding of lands along the Sabine River behind the dam inundated all the ferry sites within its boundary.
The 1970 Louisiana Legislature passed Acts 90 and 117, creating the Sabine River Diversion Canal, for the purpose of supplying fresh river water to businesses in Lake Charles, Sulphur, Westlake, and what was Mossville (now the Sasol complex), as well as to farmers along the canal, with a total capacity of a day. The canal was completed by the Louisiana Department of Public Works in 1981. The canal is long, with about of underground pipe, and begins on the Old Sabine River north of Niblett's Bluff. Pump station #1 is located 2 miles east of the river. The canal continues running east, piped under roadways such as Louisiana Highway 109 north of Vinton, the Edgerly Big Woods road, and Highway 388, which runs to Dequincy.
Just east of Louisiana Highway 27, the canal forks to the south, running around southern Sulphur. The canal is piped under Louisiana Highway 108, at pumping station #4, providing river water to the business area known as City Service in Westlake, and companies such as Equistar, which has a daily contract for 734,400 gallons a day. Other customers and their gallons of use per day are the city of Westlake (8,640,000 gallons), Air Liquide (129,600), Air Products (1,728,000), CITGO (20,160,000), Phillips 66 (3,600,000), The Axiall subsidiary Eagle US 2 LLC (20,160,000), Entergy (21,600,000), Lake Charles Co-Gen (14,400,000), Louisiana Pigment (3,038,400) that produces Titanium White, another LyondellBasell company (720,000), and Matheson Tri-Gas (175,680).
The main canal continues east, crossing under Highway 27 and joined by the Houston River canal at pumping station #2, continuing to old Mossville. There it tees to the left, providing water to the Krause and Managan canal supplying the Nelson Industrial Steam Company (Nisco), which supplies steam and electricity to area businesses. The right tee of the canal terminates at pumping station #3 on what was 8th street in Mossville, now the Sasol complex, providing 46,080,000 gallons of river water for a total daily contract use of 141,166,000 gallons of river water a day.
Up to 450,000 gallons (about 11,000 bls) of crude oil spilled over the Sabine River when the tanker "Eagle Otome", which was carrying the shipment, struck two chemical-carrying barges due to loss of engine power on January 24, 2010, at 10 am local time.
Severe flooding during the first week of March 2016 was the result of record rainfalls in northern Louisiana and the Sabine River basin, of 18 to more than 24 inches. Toledo Bend Reservoir is considered at "full pool" at 172 ft; before the rains started, it was at 171.5 ft. On March 10, the level reached a record 174.36 ft, and 9 of the 11 gates were opened to 22 ft (two gates were out of commission for repairs). Lake Tawakoni, east of Dallas on the Sabine River, was 2 feet above full pool and Lake Fork Reservoir was 1 1/2 feet above full pool.
When the reservoir level dropped to 173.69 ft, 9 gates were in operation at 20 ft. The previous record level of 173.93 ft was on May 18, 1989. At that time, the spillway gates were opened to 9 ft. The maximum height is 28 ft and with nine 9 gates open, the discharge rate is over 190,000 ft3 per second, which is equivalent to the flow over Niagara Falls.
The peak water flow from the dam was nearly 208,000 ft3 per second for 31 hours, equating to 1.5 million gallons per second. Catastrophic flooding was predicted to be from 2 to 5 ft above record floods of 1884 and 1889.
During peak flooding, Deweyville, Texas was surrounded by water, accessible only by air or boat. The flood stage is 24 ft, but reached 33.24 ft on March 10, 2016, which was 9.24 ft above flood stage.
A group of Texas residents who suffered damage in the flooding met March 17, 2016, to discuss a class-action suit against the Sabine River Authority (SRA), based on their belief that it had mismanaged water release. The issue is under review by counsel.
According to local ABC affiliate KBMT-TV, SRA spokesperson Ann Galassi stated that the SRA has guidelines it has to follow and those cannot be altered based on weather forecasts. She said that the guidelines are designed to protect the infrastructure of the dam. After the record flood event, the regulatory commission could possibly review the guidelines, and she said that the SRA would welcome that. The SRA of Texas states, "The Authority was created as a conservation and reclamation district with responsibilities to control, store, preserve, and distribute the waters of the Sabine River and its tributary streams for useful purposes." The site also states, "Toledo Bend Project-since its inception and original development over 50 years ago-has never been a flood-control facility. Rather, the project is regulated, as set forth in the project license, to accommodate a number of public benefits, including water supply, recreation, and hydropower production.". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26849 |
Synergy
Synergy is the creation of a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term "synergy" comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together".
The words "synergy" and "synergetic" have been used in the field of physiology since at least the middle of the 19th century:
SYN'ERGY, "Synergi'a", "Synenergi'a", (F.) "Synergie"; from "συν", 'with', and "εργον", 'work'. A correlation or concourse of action between different organs in health; and, according to some, in disease.
In 1896, applied the term "synergy" to social psychology by writing "La synergie sociale", in which he argued that Darwinian theory failed to account of "social synergy" or "social love", a collective evolutionary drive. The highest civilizations were the work not only of the elite but of the masses too; those masses must be led, however, because the crowd, a feminine and unconscious force, cannot distinguish between good and evil.
In 1909, Lester Frank Ward defined synergy as the universal constructive principle of nature:
I have characterized the social struggle as centrifugal and social solidarity as centripetal. Either alone is productive of evil consequences. Struggle is essentially destructive of the social order, while communism removes individual initiative. The one leads to disorder, the other to degeneracy. What is not seen—the truth that has no expounders—is that the wholesome, constructive movement consists in the properly ordered combination and interaction of both these principles. This is "social synergy", which is a form of cosmic synergy, the universal constructive principle of nature.
In the natural world, synergistic phenomena are ubiquitous, ranging from physics (for example, the different combinations of quarks that produce protons and neutrons) to chemistry (a popular example is water, a compound of hydrogen and oxygen), to the cooperative interactions among the genes in genomes, the division of labor in bacterial colonies, the synergies of scale in multi-cellular organisms, as well as the many different kinds of synergies produced by socially-organized groups, from honeybee colonies to wolf packs and human societies: compare stigmergy, a mechanism of indirect coordination between agents or actions that results in the self-assembly of complex systems. Even the tools and technologies that are widespread in the natural world represent important sources of synergistic effects. The tools that enabled early hominins to become systematic big-game hunters is a primordial human example.
In the context of organizational behavior, following the view that a cohesive group is more than the sum of its parts, synergy is the ability of a group to outperform even its best individual member. These conclusions are derived from the studies conducted by Jay Hall on a number of laboratory-based group ranking and prediction tasks. He found that effective groups actively looked for the points in which they disagreed and in consequence encouraged conflicts amongst the participants in the early stages of the discussion. In contrast, the ineffective groups felt a need to establish a common view quickly, used simple decision making methods such as averaging, and focused on completing the task rather than on finding solutions they could agree on.
In a technical context, its meaning is a construct or collection of different elements working together to produce results not obtainable by any of the elements alone. The elements, or parts, can include people, hardware, software, facilities, policies, documents: all things required to produce system-level results. The value added by the system as a whole, beyond that contributed independently by the parts, is created primarily by the relationship among the parts, that is, how they are interconnected. In essence, a system constitutes a set of interrelated components working together with a common objective: fulfilling some designated need.
If used in a business application, synergy means that teamwork will produce an overall better result than if each person within the group were working toward the same goal individually. However, the concept of group cohesion needs to be considered. Group cohesion is that property that is inferred from the number and strength of mutual positive attitudes among members of the group. As the group becomes more cohesive, its functioning is affected in a number of ways. First, the interactions and communication between members increase. Common goals, interests and small size all contribute to this. In addition, group member satisfaction increases as the group provides friendship and support against outside threats.
There are negative aspects of group cohesion that have an effect on group decision-making and hence on group effectiveness. There are two issues arising. The risky shift phenomenon is the tendency of a group to make decisions that are riskier than those that the group would have recommended individually. Group Polarisation is when individuals in a group begin by taking a moderate stance on an issue regarding a common value and, after having discussed it, end up taking a more extreme stance.
A second, potential negative consequence of group cohesion is group think. Group think is a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in cohesive group, when the members' striving for unanimity overrides their motivation to appraise realistically the alternative courses of action. Studying the events of several American policy "disasters" such as the failure to anticipate the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941) and the Bay of Pigs Invasion fiasco (1961), Irving Janis argued that they were due to the cohesive nature of the committees that made the relevant decisions.
That decisions made by committees lead to failure in a simple system is noted by Dr. Chris Elliot. His case study looked at IEEE-488, an international standard set by the leading US standards body; it led to a failure of small automation systems using the IEEE-488 standard (which codified a proprietary communications standard HP-IB). But the external devices used for communication were made by two different companies, and the incompatibility between the external devices led to a financial loss for the company. He argues that systems will be safe only if they are designed, not if they emerge by chance.
The idea of a systemic approach is endorsed by the United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive. The successful performance of the health and safety management depends upon the analyzing the causes of incidents and accidents and learning correct lessons from them. The idea is that all events (not just those causing injuries) represent failures in control, and present an opportunity for learning and improvement. UK Health and Safety Executive, "Successful health and safety management" (1997): this book describes the principles and management practices, which provide the basis of effective health and safety management. It sets out the issues that need to be addressed, and can be used for developing improvement programs, self-audit, or self-assessment. Its message is that organizations must manage health and safety with the same degree of expertise and to the same standards as other core business activities, if they are to effectively control risks and prevent harm to people.
The term synergy was refined by R. Buckminster Fuller, who analyzed some of its implications more fully and coined the term synergetics.
Synergy of various kinds has been advanced by Peter Corning as a causal agency that can explain the progressive evolution of complexity in living systems over the course of time. According to the Synergism Hypothesis, synergistic effects have been the drivers of cooperative relationships of all kinds and at all levels in living systems. The thesis, in a nutshell, is that synergistic effects have often provided functional advantages (economic benefits) in relation to survival and reproduction that have been favored by natural selection. The cooperating parts, elements, or individuals become, in effect, functional “units” of selection in evolutionary change. Similarly, environmental systems may react in a non-linear way to perturbations, such as climate change, so that the outcome may be greater than the sum of the individual component alterations. Synergistic responses are a complicating factor in environmental modeling.
Pest synergy would occur in a biological host organism population, where, for example, the introduction of parasite A may cause 10% fatalities, and parasite B may also cause 10% loss. When both parasites are present, the losses would normally be expected to total less than 20%, yet, in some cases, losses are significantly greater. In such cases, it is said that the parasites in combination have a synergistic effect.
Mechanisms that may be involved in the development of synergistic effects include:
More mechanisms are described in an exhaustive 2009 review.
Toxicological synergy is of concern to the public and regulatory agencies because chemicals individually considered safe might pose unacceptable health or ecological risk in combination. Articles in scientific and lay journals include many definitions of chemical or toxicological synergy, often vague or in conflict with each other. Because toxic interactions are defined relative to the expectation under "no interaction", a determination of synergy (or antagonism) depends on what is meant by "no interaction". The United States Environmental Protection Agency has one of the more detailed and precise definitions of toxic interaction, designed to facilitate risk assessment. In their guidance documents, the no-interaction default assumption is dose addition, so synergy means a mixture response that exceeds that predicted from dose addition. The EPA emphasizes that synergy does not always make a mixture dangerous, nor does antagonism always make the mixture safe; each depends on the predicted risk under dose addition.
For example, a consequence of pesticide use is the risk of health effects. During the registration of pesticides in the United States exhaustive tests are performed to discern health effects on humans at various exposure levels. A regulatory upper limit of presence in foods is then placed on this pesticide. As long as residues in the food stay below this regulatory level, health effects are deemed highly unlikely and the food is considered safe to consume.
However, in normal agricultural practice, it is rare to use only a single pesticide. During the production of a crop, several different materials may be used. Each of them has had determined a regulatory level at which they would be considered individually safe. In many cases, a commercial pesticide is itself a combination of several chemical agents, and thus the safe levels actually represent levels of the mixture. In contrast, a combination created by the end user, such as a farmer, has rarely been tested in that combination. The potential for synergy is then unknown or estimated from data on similar combinations. This lack of information also applies to many of the chemical combinations to which humans are exposed, including residues in food, indoor air contaminants, and occupational exposures to chemicals. Some groups think that the rising rates of cancer, asthma, and other health problems may be caused by these combination exposures; others have alternative explanations. This question will likely be answered only after years of exposure by the population in general and research on chemical toxicity, usually performed on animals. Examples of pesticide synergists include Piperonyl butoxide and MGK 264.
Human synergy relates to human interaction and teamwork. For example, say person A alone is too short to reach an apple on a tree and person B is too short as well. Once person B sits on the shoulders of person A, they are tall enough to reach the apple. In this example, the product of their synergy would be one apple. Another case would be two politicians. If each is able to gather one million votes on their own, but together they were able to appeal to 2.5 million voters, their synergy would have produced 500,000 more votes than had they each worked independently. A song is also a good example of human synergy, taking more than one musical part and putting them together to create a song that has a much more dramatic effect than each of the parts when played individually.
A third form of human synergy is when one person is able to complete two separate tasks by doing one action, for example, if a person were asked by a teacher and his boss at work to write an essay on how he could improve his work. A more visual example of this synergy is a drummer using four separate rhythms to create one drum beat.
Synergy usually arises when two persons with different complementary skills cooperate. In business, cooperation of people with organizational and technical skills happens very often. In general, the most common reason why people cooperate is that it brings a synergy. On the other hand, people tend to specialize just to be able to form groups with high synergy (see also division of labor and teamwork).
Example: Two teams in System Administration working together to combine technical and organizational skills in order to better the client experience, thus creating synergy. Counter-examples can be found in books like The Mythical Man-Month, in which the addition of additional team members is shown to have negative effects on productivity.
Organismic computing is an approach to improving group efficacy by increasing synergy in human groups via technological means.
When synergy occurs in the work place, the individuals involved get to work in a positive and supportive working environment. When individuals get to work in environments such as these, the company reaps the benefits. The authors of "Creating the Best Workplace on Earth" Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, state that "highly engaged employees are, on average, 50% more likely to exceed expectations that the least-engaged workers. And companies with highly engaged people outperform firms with the most disengaged folks- by 54% in employee retention, by 89% in customer satisfaction, and by fourfold in revenue growth (Goffee & Jones, pg. 100)." Also, those that are able to be open about their views on the company, and have confidence that they will be heard, are likely to be a more organized employee who helps his/ her fellow team members succeed.
Corporate synergy occurs when corporations interact congruently. A corporate synergy refers to a financial benefit that a corporation
expects to realize when it merges with or acquires another corporation. This type of synergy is a nearly ubiquitous feature of a corporate acquisition and is a negotiating point between the buyer and seller that impacts the final price both parties agree to. There are distinct types of corporate synergies, as follows.
A marketing synergy refers to the use of information campaigns, studies, and scientific discovery or experimentation for research or development. This promotes the sale of products for varied use or off-market sales as well as development of marketing tools and in several cases exaggeration of effects. It is also often a meaningless buzzword used by corporate leaders.
A revenue synergy refers to the opportunity of a combined corporate entity to generate more revenue than its two predecessor stand-alone companies would be able to generate. For example, if company A sells product X through its sales force, company B sells product Y, and company A decides to buy company B then the new company could use each sales person to sell products X and Y, thereby increasing the revenue that each sales person generates for the company.
In media revenue, synergy is the promotion and sale of a product throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, e.g. films, soundtracks, or video games.
Financial synergy gained by the combined firm is a result of number of benefits which flow to the entity as a consequence of acquisition and merger. These benefits may be:
This is when a firm having number of cash extensive projects acquires a firm which is cash-rich, thus enabling the new combined firm to enjoy the profits from investing the cash of one firm in the projects of the other.
If two firms have no or little capacity to carry debt before individually, it is possible for them to join and gain the capacity to carry the debt through decreased gearing (leverage). This creates value for the firm, as debt is thought to be a cheaper source of finance.
It is possible for one firm to have unused tax benefits which might be offset against the profits of another after combination, thus resulting in less tax being paid. However this greatly depends on the tax law of the country.
Synergy in management and in relation to teamwork refers to the combined effort of individuals as participants of the team. The condition that exists when the organization's parts interact to produce a joint effect that is greater than the sum of the parts acting alone. Positive or negative synergies can exist. In these cases, positive synergy has positive effects such as improved efficiency in operations, greater exploitation of opportunities, and improved utilization of resources. Negative synergy on the other hand has negative effects such as: reduced efficiency of operations, decrease in quality, underutilization of resources and disequilibrium with the external environment.
A cost synergy refers to the opportunity of a combined corporate entity to reduce or eliminate expenses associated with running a business. Cost synergies are realized by eliminating positions that are viewed as duplicate within the merged entity. Examples include the headquarters office of one of the predecessor companies, certain executives, the human resources department, or other employees of the predecessor companies. This is related to the economic concept of economies of scale.
The synergistic action of the economic players lies within the economic phenomenon's profundity. The synergistic action gives different dimensions to competitiveness, strategy and network identity becoming an unconventional "weapon" which belongs to those who exploit the economic systems’ potential in depth.
The synergistic gravity equation (SYNGEq), according to its complex “title”, represents a synthesis of the endogenous and exogenous factors which determine the private and non-private economic decision makers to call to actions of synergistic exploitation of the economic network in which they operate. That is to say, SYNGEq constitutes a big picture of the factors/motivations which determine the entrepreneurs to contour an active synergistic network. SYNGEq includes both factors which character is changing over time (such as the competitive conditions), as well as classics factors, such as the imperative of the access to resources of the collaboration and the quick answers. The synergistic gravity equation (SINGEq) comes to be represented by the formula:
∑SYN.Act = ∑R-*I(CRed+COOP++AUnimit.)*V(Cust.+Info.)*cc
where:
The synergistic network represents an integrated part of the economic system which, through the coordination and control functions (of the undertaken economic actions), agrees synergies. The networks which promote synergistic actions can be divided in horizontal synergistic networks and vertical synergistic networks.
The synergy effects are difficult (even impossible) to imitate by competitors and difficult to reproduce by their authors because these effects depend on the combination of factors with time-varying characteristics. The synergy effects are often called "synergistic benefits", representing the direct and implied result of the developed/adopted synergistic actions.
Synergy can also be defined as the combination of human strengths and computer strengths, such as advanced chess. Computers can process data much more quickly than humans, but lack the ability to respond meaningfully to arbitrary stimuli.
Etymologically, the "synergy" term was first used around 1600, deriving from the Greek word “synergos”, which means “to work together” or “to cooperate”. If during this period the synergy concept was mainly used in the theological field (describing “the cooperation of human effort with divine will”), in the 19th and 20th centuries, "synergy" was promoted in physics and biochemistry, being implemented in the study of the open economic systems only in the 1960 and 1970s.
In 1938, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote an essay titled "On Fairy Stores", delivered at an Andrew Lang Lecture, and reprinted in his book, "The Tolkien Reader", published in 1966. In it, he made two references to synergy, although he did not use that term. He wrote:
Faerie cannot be caught in a net of words; for it is one of its qualities to be indescribable, though not imperceptible. It has many ingredients, but analysis will not necessarily discover the secret of the whole.
And more succinctly, in a footnote, about the "part of producing the web of an intricate story", he wrote:
It is indeed easier to unravel a single "thread" — an incident, a name, a motive — than to trace the history of any "picture" defined by many threads. For with the picture in the tapestry a new element has come in: the picture is greater than, and not explained by, the sum of the component threads.
Synergy, a book: DION, Eric (2017), "Synergy; A Theoretical Model of Canada's Comprehensive Approach", iUniverse, 308 pp.
The informational synergies which can be applied also in media involve a compression of transmission, access and use of information’s time, the flows, circuits and means of handling information being based on a complementary, integrated, transparent and coordinated use of knowledge.
In media economics, synergy is the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate, e.g. films, soundtracks or video games. Walt Disney pioneered synergistic marketing techniques in the 1930s by granting dozens of firms the right to use his Mickey Mouse character in products and ads, and continued to market Disney media through licensing arrangements. These products can help advertise the film itself and thus help to increase the film's sales. For example, the Spider-Man films had toys of webshooters and figures of the characters made, as well as posters and games. The NBC sitcom 30 Rock often shows the power of synergy, while also poking fun at the use of the term in the corporate world. There are also different forms of synergy in popular card games like , Yu-Gi-Oh!, Cardfight!! Vanguard, and Future Card Buddyfight.
When multiple sources of information taken together provide more information than the sum of the information provided by each source alone, there is said to be a synergy in the sources. This in contrast to the case in which the sources provide less information, in which case there is said to be a redundancy in the sources. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26859 |
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences (sentence structure) in a given language, usually including word order. The term "syntax" is also used to refer to the study of such principles and processes. The goal of many syntacticians is to discover the syntactic rules common to all languages.
The word "syntax" comes from Ancient Greek: "coordination", which consists of "syn", "together", and "táxis", "an ordering".
One basic description of a language's syntax is the sequence in which the subject (S), verb (V), and object (O) usually appear in sentences. Over 85% of languages usually place the subject first, either in the sequence SVO or the sequence SOV. The other possible sequences are VSO, VOS, OVS, and OSV, the last three of which are rare. In most generative theories of syntax, these surface differences arise from a more complex clausal phrase structure, and each order may be compatible with multiple derivations.
The "Aṣṭādhyāyī" of Pāṇini (c. 4th century BC in Ancient India), is often cited as an example of a premodern work that approaches the sophistication of a modern syntactic theory (as works on grammar were written long before modern syntax came about). In the West, the school of thought that came to be known as "traditional grammar" began with the work of Dionysius Thrax.
For centuries, a framework known as (first expounded in 1660 by Antoine Arnauld in a book of the same title) dominated work in syntax: as its basic premise the assumption that language is a direct reflection of thought processes and therefore there is a single, most natural way to express a thought.
However, in the 19th century, with the development of historical-comparative linguistics, linguists began to realize the sheer diversity of human language and to question fundamental assumptions about the relationship between language and logic. It became apparent that there was no such thing as the most natural way to express a thought, and therefore logic could no longer be relied upon as a basis for studying the structure of language.
The Port-Royal grammar modeled the study of syntax upon that of logic. (Indeed, large parts of the Port-Royal Logic were copied or adapted from the "Grammaire générale".) Syntactic categories were identified with logical ones, and all sentences were analyzed in terms of "subject – copula – predicate". Initially, this view was adopted even by the early comparative linguists such as Franz Bopp.
The central role of syntax within theoretical linguistics became clear only in the 20th century, which could reasonably be called the "century of syntactic theory" as far as linguistics is concerned. (For a detailed and critical survey of the history of syntax in the last two centuries, see the monumental work by Giorgio Graffi (2001).)
There are a number of theoretical approaches to the discipline of syntax. One school of thought, founded in the works of Derek Bickerton, sees syntax as a branch of biology, since it conceives of syntax as the study of linguistic knowledge as embodied in the human mind. Other linguists (e.g., Gerald Gazdar) take a more Platonistic view, since they regard syntax to be the study of an abstract formal system. Yet others (e.g., Joseph Greenberg) consider syntax a taxonomical device to reach broad generalizations across languages.
Dependency grammar is an approach to sentence structure where syntactic units are arranged according to the dependency relation, as opposed to the constituency relation of phrase structure grammars. Dependencies are directed links between words. The (finite) verb is seen as the root of all clause structure and all the other words in the clause are either directly or indirectly dependent on this root. Some prominent dependency-based theories of syntax are:
Lucien Tesnière (1893–1954) is widely seen as the father of modern dependency-based theories of syntax and grammar. He argued vehemently against the binary division of the clause into subject and predicate that is associated with the grammars of his day (S → NP VP) and which remains at the core of most phrase structure grammars. In the place of this division, he positioned the verb as the root of all clause structure.
Categorial grammar is an approach that attributes the syntactic structure not to rules of grammar, but to the properties of the syntactic categories themselves. For example, rather than asserting that sentences are constructed by a rule that combines a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP) (e.g., the phrase structure rule S → NP VP), in categorial grammar, such principles are embedded in the category of the head word itself. So the syntactic category for an intransitive verb is a complex formula representing the fact that the verb acts as a function word requiring an NP as an input and produces a sentence level structure as an output. This complex category is notated as (NP\S) instead of V. NP\S is read as "a category that searches to the left (indicated by \) for an NP (the element on the left) and outputs a sentence (the element on the right)." The category of transitive verb is defined as an element that requires two NPs (its subject and its direct object) to form a sentence. This is notated as (NP/(NP\S)) which means "a category that searches to the right (indicated by /) for an NP (the object), and generates a function (equivalent to the VP) which is (NP\S), which in turn represents a function that searches to the left for an NP and produces a sentence."
Tree-adjoining grammar is a categorial grammar that adds in partial tree structures to the categories.
Theoretical approaches to syntax that are based upon probability theory are known as stochastic grammars. One common implementation of such an approach makes use of a neural network or connectionism.
Functionalist models of grammar study the form–function interaction by performing a structural and a functional analysis.
The hypothesis of generative grammar is that language is a biological structure. The difference between structural–functional and generative models is that, in generative grammar, the object is placed into the verb phrase. Generative grammar is meant to be used to describe all human language and to predict whether any given utterance in a hypothetical language would sound correct to a speaker of that language (versus constructions which no human language would use). This approach to language was pioneered by Noam Chomsky. Most generative theories (although not all of them) assume that syntax is based upon the constituent structure of sentences. Generative grammars are among the theories that focus primarily on the form of a sentence, rather than its communicative function.
Among the many generative theories of linguistics, the Chomskyan theories are:
Other theories that find their origin in the generative paradigm are:
The Cognitive Linguistics framework stems from generative grammar, but adheres to evolutionary rather than Chomskyan linguistics. Cognitive models often recognise the generative assumption that the object belongs to the verb phrase. Cognitive frameworks include: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26860 |
Pole weapon
A pole weapon or pole arm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Because many pole weapons were adapted from agricultural implements or other tools in fairly large amount of abundance, and contain relatively little metal, they were cheap to make and readily available. When warfare breaks out and the belligerents have a poorer class who cannot pay for dedicated weapons made for war, military leaders often resort to the appropriation of tools as cheap weapons. The cost of training was minimal, since these conscripted farmers had spent most of their lives in the familiar use of these "weapons" in the fields. This made polearms the favored weapon of peasant levies and peasant rebellions the world over.
Pole arms can be divided into three broad categories: those designed for extended reach and thrusting tactics used in pike square or phalanx combat; those designed to increase leverage (thanks to hands moving freely on a pole) to maximize centrifugal force against cavalry; and those designed for throwing tactics used in skirmish line combat. Because their versatility, high effectiveness and cheap cost, polearms experimentation led to many variants and were the most frequently used weapons on the battlefield: bills, spears, glaives, guandaos, pudaos, poleaxes, halberds, harpoons, sovnyas, tridents, naginatas, war scythes and javelins are all varieties of pole arms.
Pole arms were common weapons on post-classical battlefields of Asia and Europe. Their range and impact force made them effective weapons against armored warriors on horseback, because they could be dismounted and/or penetrate said armor. The Renaissance saw a plethora of different varieties. Pole arms in modern times are largely constrained to ceremonial military units such as the Papal Swiss Guard or Yeomen of the Guard, or traditional martial arts. Chinese martial arts in particular have preserved a wide variety of weapons and techniques.
The classification of pole weapons can be difficult, and European weapon classifications in particular can be confusing. This can be due to a number of factors, including uncertainty in original descriptions, changes in weapons or nomenclature through time, mistranslation of terms, and the well-meaning inventiveness of later experts. For example, the word "halberd" is also used to translate the Chinese ji and also a range of medieval Scandinavian weapons as described in sagas, such as the atgeir. As well, all pole arms developed from three early tools (the axe, the scythe, and the knife) and one weapon, the spear.
In the words of the arms expert Ewart Oakeshott,
While men-at-arms may have been armed with custom designed military weapons, militias were often armed with whatever was available. These may or may not have been mounted on poles and described by one of more names. The problems with precise definitions can be inferred by a contemporary description of Royalist infantry which were engaged in the Battle of Birmingham (1643) during the first year of English Civil War (in the early modern period). The infantry regiment that accompanied Prince Rupert's cavalry were armed:
The dagger-axe, or "gee" (Chinese: 戈; pinyin: gē; Wade–Giles: ko; sometimes confusingly translated "halberd") is a type of weapon that was in use from Shang dynasty until at least Han dynasty China. It consists of a dagger-shaped blade made of bronze (or later iron) mounted by the tang to a perpendicular wooden shaft: a common Bronze Age infantry weapon, also used by charioteers. Some dagger axes include a spear-point. There is a (rare) variant type with a divided two-part head, consisting of the usual straight blade and a scythe-like blade. Other rarities include archaeology findings with 2 or sometimes 3 blades stacked in line on top of a pole, but were generally thought as ceremonial pole arms. Though the weapon saw frequent use in ancient China, the use of the dagger-axe decreased dramatically after the Qin and Han dynasties. The Ji combines the dagger axe with a spear. By the medieval Chinese dynasties, with the decline of chariot warfare, the use of the dagger-axe was almost nonexistent.
The ji (Chinese: 戟) was created by combining the dagger-axe with a spear. It was used as a military weapon at least as early as the Shang dynasty until the end of the Northern and Southern dynasties.
The ngao or ngau (ง้าว,ของ้าว) is a Thai pole arm that was traditionally used by elephant-riding infantry and is still used by practitioners of krabi krabong. Known in Malay as a "dap", it consists of a wooden shaft with a curved blade fashioned onto the end, and is similar in design to the Korean woldo. Usually, it also had a hook (ขอ) between the blade and shaft used for commanding the elephant. The elephant warrior used the ngao like a blade from atop an elephant or horse during battle.
The Danish Axe is a weapon with a heavy crescent-shaped head mounted on a haft in length. Originally a Viking weapon, it was adopted by the Anglo-Saxons and Normans in the 11th century, spreading through Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries. Variants of this basic weapon continued in use in Scotland and Ireland into the 16th century. A form of 'Long Axe'.
In the 13th century, variants on the Danish axe are seen. Described in English as a "sparth" (from the Old Norse ) or "pale-axe", the weapon featured a larger head with broader blade, the rearward part of the crescent sweeping up to contact (or even be attached to) the haft.
In Ireland, this axe was known as a "Sparr Axe". Originating in either Western Scotland or Ireland, the "sparr" was widely used by the galloglass. Although sometimes said to derive from the Irish for a joist or beam, a more likely definition is as a variant of sparth. Although attempts have been made to suggest that the sparr had a distinctive shaped head, illustrations and surviving weapons show there was considerable variation and the distinctive feature of the weapon was its long haft.
A fauchard is a type of pole arm which was used in medieval Europe from the 11th through the 14th centuries. The design consisted of a curved blade put atop a pole. The blade bore a moderate to strong curve along its length; however, unlike a bill or guisarme, the cutting edge was on the convex side.
A guisarme (sometimes gisarme, giserne or bisarme) was a pole weapon used in Europe primarily between 1000 and 1400. It was used primarily to dismount knights and horsemen. Like most pole arms it was developed by peasants by combining hand tools with long poles, in this case by putting a pruning hook onto a spear shaft. While hooks are fine for dismounting horsemen from mounts, they lack the stopping power of a spear especially when dealing with static opponents. While early designs were simply a hook on the end of a long pole, later designs implemented a small reverse spike on the back of the blade. Eventually weapon makers incorporated the usefulness of the hook in a variety of different pole arms and "guisarme" became a catch-all for any weapon that included a hook on the blade. Ewart Oakeshott has proposed an alternative description of the weapon as a crescent shaped socketed axe.
A glaive is a pole arm consisting of a single-edged tapering blade similar in shape to a modern kitchen knife on the end of a pole. The blade was around long, on the end of a pole long. However, instead of having a tang like a sword or naginata, the blade is affixed in a socket-shaft configuration similar to an axe head, both the blade and shaft varying in length. Illustrations in the 13th century Maciejowski Bible show a short staffed weapon with a long blade used by both infantry and cavalry. Occasionally glaive blades were created with a small hook or spike on the reverse side. Such glaives are named glaive-guisarme.
A voulge (occasionally called a pole cleaver) is a curved blade attached to a pole by binding the lower two-thirds of the blade to the side of the pole, to form a sort of axe. Looks very similar to a glaive.
A svärdstav (literally sword-staff) is a Swedish medieval pole arm that consists of a two-edged sword blade attached to a staff. The illustrations often show the weapon being equipped with sword-like quillons. The illustrations sometimes show a socket mount and reinforcing langets being used, but sometimes they are missing; it is possible this weapon was sometimes manufactured by simply attaching an old sword blade onto a long pole on its tang, not unlike the naginata.
A naginata (なぎなた or 薙刀) is a Japanese pole arm that was traditionally used by members of the samurai class. A naginata consists of a wood shaft with a curved blade on the end; it is descended from the Chinese guan dao. Usually it also had a sword-like guard (tsuba) between the blade and shaft. It was mounted with a tang and held in place with a pin or pins, rather than going over the shaft using a socket.
The Korean woldo was a variation of the Chinese guan dao. It was originally used by the medieval Shilla warriors. Wielding the woldo took time due to its weight, but in the hands of a trained soldier, the woldo was a fearsome, agile weapon famous for enabling a single soldier to cut down ranks of infantrymen. The woldo was continually in use for the military in Korea with various modifications made over the decades. Unlike the Chinese with the guan dao, the Koreans found the woldo unwieldy on horseback, and thus, it was specifically tailored to the needs of infantrymen. The Joseon government implemented rigorous training regimens requiring soldiers to be proficient with swordsmanship, and the use of the woldo. Though it was never widely used as a standard weapon, the woldo saw action on many fronts and was considered by many Korean troops to be a versatile weapon. Recently, a contemporary revival in various martial arts in Korea has brought interest into the application of the woldo and its history.
A guandao or kwan tou is a type of Chinese pole weapon. In Chinese, it is properly called a yanyue dao (偃月刀), 'reclining moon blade'. Some believed it comes from the late Han Era and was supposedly used by the late Eastern Han Dynasty general Guan Yu, but archaeological findings have shown that Han dynasty armies generally used straight, single-edged blades, and curved blades came several centuries later. There is no reason to believe their pole arms had curved blades on them. Besides, historical accounts of the Three Kingdoms era describe Guan Yu thrusting his opponents down (probably with a spear-like pole arm) in battle, not cutting them down with a curved blade. The guandao is also known as the "chun qiu da dao" ('spring autumn great knife'), again probably related to the depiction of Guan Yu in the Ming dynasty novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but possibly a Ming author's invention. It consists of a heavy blade mounted atop a wooden or metal pole with a pointed metal counter weight used for striking and stabbing on the opposite end.
The blade is very deep and curved on its face, resembling a Chinese saber, or dao. Variant designs include rings along the length of the straight back edge, as found in the nine-ring guandao. The "elephant" guandao's tip curls into a rounded spiral, while the dragon head guandao features a more ornate design.
A "podao", 'long-handled sabre', is a Chinese pole arm, also known as the zhan ma dao ('horsecutter sabre'), which has a lighter blade and a ring at the end. A podao is an infantryman's weapon, mainly used for cutting the legs off oncoming charging horses to bring down the riders.
In the Song dynasty, several weapons were referred to as "ji", but they were developed from spears, not from ancient "ji". One variety was called the "qinglong ji" (), and had a spear tip with a crescent blade on one side. Another type was the "fangtian ji" (), which had a spear tip with crescent blades on both sides. They had multiple means of attack: the side blade or blades, the spear tip, plus often a rear counterweight that could be used to strike the opponent. The way the side blades were fixed to the shaft differs, but usually there were empty spaces between the pole and the side blade. The wielder could strike with the shaft, with the option of then pulling the weapon back to hook with a side blade; or, he could slap his opponent with the flat side of the blade to knock him off his horse.
A corseque has a three-bladed head on a haft which, like the partisan, is similar to the winged spear or spetum in the later Middle Ages. It was popular in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Surviving examples have a variety of head forms but there are two main variants, one with the side blades (known as flukes or wings) branching from the neck of the central blade at 45 degrees, the other with hooked blades curving back towards the haft. The corseque is usually associated with the rawcon, ranseur and runka. Another possible association is with the "three-grayned staff" listed as being in the armoury of Henry VIII in 1547 (though the same list also features 84 rawcons, suggesting the weapons were not identical in 16th century English eyes). Another modern term used for particularly ornate-bladed corseques is the "chauve-souris".
A halberd (or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries but has continued in use as a ceremonial weapon to the present day. First recorded as "hellembart" in 1279, the word "halberd" possibly comes from the German words "Halm" (staff) or "Helm" (helmet), and "Barte" (axe). The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It always has a hook or thorn on the back side of the axe blade for grappling mounted combatants. Early forms are very similar in many ways to certain forms of voulge, while 16th century and later forms are similar to the pollaxe. The Swiss were famous users of the halberd in the medieval and renaissance eras, with various cantons evolving regional variations of the basic form.
In the 14th century, the basic long axe gained an armour piercing spike on the back and another on the end of the haft for thrusting. This is similar to the pollaxe of 15th century. The poleaxe emerged in response to the need for a weapon that could penetrate plate armour and featured various combinations of an axe-blade, a back-spike and a hammer. It was the favoured weapon for men-at-arms fighting on foot into the sixteenth century.
See also Bec de corbin, lucerne hammer | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24873 |
Personal jurisdiction
Personal jurisdiction is a court's jurisdiction over the "parties" to a lawsuit, as opposed to subject-matter jurisdiction, which is jurisdiction over the "law and facts" involved in the suit. If a court does not have "personal" jurisdiction over a party, its rulings or decrees cannot be enforced upon that party, except by comity; i.e., to the extent that the sovereign which has jurisdiction over the party allows the court to enforce them upon that party. A court that has "personal" jurisdiction has both the authority to rule on the law and facts of a suit and the power to enforce its decision upon a party to the suit. In some cases, territorial jurisdiction may also constrain a court's reach, such as preventing hearing of a case concerning events occurring on foreign territory between two citizens of the home jurisdiction.
Since there is no world government which all countries recognize to arbitrate disputes over jurisdiction, sovereign powers can find themselves in conflict over which is the more appropriate venue to hear a case, or which country's laws should apply. These conflicts are sometimes resolved "de facto" by physical factors, such as which country has physical possession of a defendant or property, or sometimes by use of physical police or military force to seize people or property. A country with loose rule of law – for example an absolute monarchy with no independent judiciary – may arbitrarily choose to assert jurisdiction over a case without citing any particular justification. Such assertion can cause problems, such as encouraging other countries to take arbitrary actions over foreign citizens and property, or even provoking skirmishes or armed conflict.
In practice, many countries operate by one or another principles, either in written law or in practice, which communicate when the country will and will not assert jurisdiction:
Different principles are applied by different countries, and different principles may be applied by the same country in different circumstances. Determination of whether or not a court has jurisdiction to hear a case is the first stage of a conflict of laws proceeding, potentially followed by choice of law to determine which jurisdiction's laws apply. Executive prosecutorial authority and foreign policy also play a role in scope and practical impact of jurisdiction choices.
Any assertion of jurisdiction based on anything other than the territorial principle is known as extraterritorial jurisdiction. Prosecution of a case against an out-of-territory defendant is known as assertion of long-arm jurisdiction.
When a person commits a crime in a foreign country against the laws of that country, usually the host country is responsible for prosecution. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations requires that the host country notify the foreign embassy, potentially allowing the foreign country to assist in legal defense and monitor conditions of detention. (Most countries protect their citizens against foreign powers in general.)
Foreign diplomats enjoy diplomatic immunity in many countries based on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations or bilateral agreement, and foreign military personnel may be subject to the jurisdiction of their home country based on a status of forces agreement or Visiting Forces Agreement.
If a person is not physically present in the country which wishes to prosecute a case, that country may either wait until the person enters the national territory, or pursue extradition by legal or extralegal means, and with or without a general extradition treaty. Some countries (like China) prefer to prosecute their own citizens for crimes committed abroad rather than extradite them. Other countries defer to the host country.
When a crime is committed outside the territory of any country, such as in Antarctica, on watercraft in international waters, on aircraft in international airspace, and on spacecraft, jurisdiction is usually determined by the nationality of defendants or victims, or by the flag state of the vessel. This is determined by the admiralty law of the countries involved and in international agreements.
The concept of personal jurisdiction in English law has its origin in the idea that a monarch could not exercise power over persons or property located outside of his or her kingdom. To some degree, this was a "de facto" rule; the monarch's men could not arrest people or seize property outside the kingdom without risking physical conflict with the soldiers and police of other kingdoms. Slowly this principle was incorporated into written law, but problems arose in cases where property owners could not be sued because they had left the kingdom or had died and therefore were not present within the kingdom at the time they were being sued. To solve this problem, the courts created another type of jurisdiction, called "quasi in rem", that is, jurisdiction over the land itself, even if the person who owned the land was not in the country. However, this jurisdiction was limited to the settlement of debts owed by the owner of the land.
In the United States, the exercise of personal jurisdiction by a court must both comply with Constitutional limitations, and be authorized by a statute. In the United Kingdom, the exercise of personal jurisdiction does not need a statutory basis, since the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution.
The intersection of American federalism and the rules and theories of jurisdiction inherited from the common law of England has resulted in a highly complex body of law respecting personal jurisdiction in the United States. These rules limit both state and federal courts in their ability to hear cases.
Three fundamentals of personal jurisdiction constrain the ability of courts in the United States to bind individuals or property to its decisions: consent, power, and notice.
The United States legal system is an adversarial system. Civil suits cannot be initiated by third parties, but must be filed by the aggrieved party who seeks redress. Generally, the action is initiated in the jurisdiction where the event occurred, where the defendant can be served or where the parties have agreed to have the case located. The filing of a complaint or "prayer for relief" is a voluntary action by the person aggrieved, and as a necessity of this request, the person seeking relief consents to be bound by the judgment of the court. The doctrine of consent is also extended to defendants who attend and litigate actions without challenging the court's personal jurisdiction. Consent may also derive from a pre-litigation agreement by the parties, such as a forum selection clause in a contract (not to be confused with a choice of law clause). Doctrines such as claim preclusion prevent re-litigation of failed complaints in alternative forums. Claim preclusion does not, however, prevent the refiling of a claim that was filed in a court that did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
In cases where a defendant challenges personal jurisdiction, a court may still exercise personal jurisdiction if it has independent power to do so. This power is founded in the inherent nature of the State: sovereignty over affairs within its territory.
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution preserve the right of the individual to "due process". Due process requires that notice be given in a manner "reasonably calculated" to inform a party of the action affecting him. Originally, "Notice" (and the power of the State) was often exercised more forcefully, the defendant in a civil case sometimes being seized and brought before the court under a writ of "capias ad respondendum". Notice in such a case is inferred from consent of the defendant to go with the officer. Nowadays, when exercising power over an individual without consent, notice is usually given by formal delivery of suitable papers to the defendant (service of process).
Originally, jurisdiction over parties in the United States was determined by strict interpretation of the geographic boundaries of each state's sovereign power. In "Pennoyer v. Neff", the Supreme Court discussed that though each state ceded certain powers (e.g. foreign relations) to the Federal Government or to no entity at all (e.g. the powers that are eliminated by the protections of the bill of rights), the states retained all the other powers of sovereignty, including the exclusive power to regulate the affairs of individuals and property within its territory. Necessarily following from this, one state's exercise of power could not infringe upon the sovereignty of another state. Thus, Constitutional limitations applied to the validity of state court judgments.
Three types of jurisdiction developed, collectively termed territorial jurisdiction because of their reliance upon territorial control: "in personam" jurisdiction, "in rem" jurisdiction, and "quasi in rem" jurisdiction. Some sources refer to all three types of territorial jurisdiction as personal jurisdiction, since most actions against property (in rem jurisdiction) bear, in the end, upon the rights and obligations of persons. Others continue to recognize the traditional distinction between personal jurisdiction and jurisdiction over property, even after "Shaffer v. Heitner" (discussed below).
In personam jurisdiction referred to jurisdiction over a particular person (or entity, such as a company). "In personam" jurisdiction, if held by a state court, permitted that court to rule upon any case over which it otherwise held jurisdiction. Under territorial jurisdiction, pure "in personam" jurisdiction could only be established by serving notice upon the individual while that individual was within the territory of the state.
In rem jurisdiction referred to jurisdiction over a particular piece of property, most commonly real estate or land. Certain cases, notably government suits for unpaid property taxes, proceed not against an individual but against their property directly. Under territorial jurisdiction, "in rem" jurisdiction could be exercised by the courts of a state by seizing the property in question. Since an actual tract of land could not literally be brought into a courtroom as a person could, this was effected by giving notice upon the real property itself. "In rem" jurisdiction was thus supported by the assumption that the owner of that property, having a concrete economic interest in the property, had a duty to look after the affairs of their property, and would be notified of the pending case by such seizure. "In rem" jurisdiction was limited to deciding issues regarding the specific property in question.
Quasi in rem jurisdiction involved the seizure of property held by the individual against whom the suit was brought, and attachment of that property to the case in question. This form of territorial jurisdiction developed from the rationale of "in rem" jurisdiction, namely that seizure of the property was reasonably calculated to inform an individual of the proceedings against them.
Once a valid judgment was obtained against an individual, however, the plaintiff could pursue recovery against the assets of the defendant regardless of their location, as other states were obligated by the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution to recognize such a judgment (i.e. had ceded their power to refuse comity to fellow states of the Union). Violations by a rogue state could be checked via collateral attack: when a plaintiff sought recovery against a defendant's assets in another state, that state could refuse judgment on the grounds that the original judgment was invalid.
Following "Pennoyer", extreme applications of territorial jurisdiction revealed imperfections in the doctrine, and societal changes began to present new problems as the United States' national economy became more integrated by increasingly efficient multi-state transportation technology and business practices.
While determining the physical location of an individual for the purposes of "in personam" jurisdiction was easy enough, applying the same principle to non-physical entities became difficult. Courts were presented with the question of where a company was present and amenable to service for the purpose of "in personam" jurisdiction over the company.
Extension of "quasi in rem" jurisdiction led to extreme results that threatened the justification for the jurisdiction. Bearing in mind that territorial jurisdiction existed in a pre-industrial society where transportation across the country was difficult, long, and potentially treacherous, and consider the hypothetical wherein Alice owes Bob money, and Bob owes Carmel, a resident of New York, money. Carmel seeks to recover on Bob's debt to Carmel, however cannot do so because Bob avoids Carmel by travelling to California. Alice, however, happens to travel through New York. Carmel serves notice upon Alice, and attaches Alice's debt to Bob (considered to be property within the state) to the proceeding. Alice can no more certainly provide notice to Bob in California than Carmel could provide, and the transient and involuntary exposure of Bob to being hauled into court in New York by this attachment seems to erode the original rationale of "quasi in rem" jurisdiction.
The US Supreme Court largely abolished the exercise of jurisdiction on the basis of "quasi in rem" in "Shaffer v. Heitner", except in exceptional circumstances, which sometimes would arise while dealing with real property such as land, and when the owner of the land cannot be found.
In the modern era, the reach of personal jurisdiction has been expanded by judicial re-interpretation and legislative enactments. Under the new and current doctrine, a state court may only exert personal jurisdiction over an individual or entity with "sufficient minimal contacts" with the forum state such that the particular suit "does not offend 'traditional notions of fair play and justice.'" The "minimum contacts" must be purposefully directed towards the state by the defendant. This jurisdiction was initially limited to the particulars of the "International Shoe Co. v. Washington" holding, that is to jurisdictional inquiries regarding companies, but was soon extended to apply to all questions of personal jurisdiction. When an individual or entity has no "minimum contacts" with a forum State, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits that State from acting against that individual, or entity. The lack of "minimum contacts" with the owner of property also constitutionally prohibits action against that property (in rem jurisdiction) even when the property is located within the forum state.
What constitutes sufficient "minimum contacts" has been delineated in numerous cases which followed the International Shoe decision. For example, in "Hanson v. Denckla", the Court proclaimed the "unilateral activity of those who claim some relationship with a nonresident cannot satisfy the requirement of contact with the forum State. The application of that rule will vary with the nature and quality of the defendant's activity, but it is essential in each case that there be some act by which the defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protection of its laws."
The additional requirement of "'purposeful availment' ensures that a defendant will not be hauled into a jurisdiction solely as a result of 'random,' 'fortuitous,' or 'attenuated' contacts, or of the unilateral activity of another party or a third person". Jurisdiction may, however, be exercised, under some circumstances, even though the defendant never physically entered the forum State.
In addition, the claim must arise from those contacts that the defendant had with the forum state. In addition to the minimum contacts test asserted in International Shoe, the assertion of specific personal jurisdiction must be reasonable. The Court in "World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson" asserted a five-part test for determining if the assertion of personal jurisdiction in a forum state was reasonable. This test considers: the burden on the defendant from litigating in the forum state; the interest of the forum state in having the case adjudicated there; the interests of the plaintiff in adjudicating in the forum state; the interests of the inter-state judiciary—that is, that a court's assertion of personal jurisdiction over an out-of state defendant would not overreach and preempt the interests and judicial sovereignty of another state; and the interests in preserving the judicial integrity of the several states—that is, ensuring one court's assertion of personal jurisdiction over an out of state defendant does not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In another recent case of "Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S. A. v. Brown", Justice Ginsburg held that for the exercise of general jurisdiction in personam, the defendant must be "essentially at home." This applies when the defendant has contacts with the forum state, but the claim that arises is not related to those contacts. For example, if Harrods (a British store) sets up an office in California to export and sell goods there, and because of that someone gets injured, it would be amenable to suit in California for that injury. On the other hand, if someone is injured in Harrods in London and for some reason finds that California law is more favorable and decides to sue in California, the suit would not be maintainable since the contacts that Harrods has is not continuous and systematic, and they are not "essentially at home" in California.
This holding was reaffirmed in 2014 by the Supreme Court in "Daimler AG v. Bauman".
While the "Pennoyer" and later "Shoe" doctrines limit the maximum power of a sovereign state, courts must also have authorization to exercise the state's power; an individual state may choose to not grant its courts the full power that the state is Constitutionally permitted to exercise. Similarly, the jurisdiction of Federal courts (other than the Supreme Court) are statutorily-defined. Thus, a particular exercise of personal jurisdiction must not only be permitted by Constitutional doctrine, but be statutorily authorized as well. Under "Pennoyer", personal jurisdiction was authorized by statutes authorizing service of process, but these methods of service often lacked because they required such service to be effected by officers of the state, such as sheriffs – an untenable method for defendants located outside of the state but still subject to jurisdiction due to their contacts with the state. Subsequent to the development of the "Shoe" Doctrine, states have enacted so-called long-arm statutes, by which courts in a state can serve process and thus exercise jurisdiction over a party located outside the state. The doctrine of International Shoe applies only in cases where there is no presence in the forum state. For example, if A committed a tort in State X. He is sued by B and B serves him with process just before he leaves State X before the flight was took off, the service would be valid and State X would have jurisdiction over A. If A did not comply with the final judgement passed by the courts of State X, B could enforce that judgement in the state where A resides under the full faith and credit clause of the US Constitution. There was one case where a defendant was served while the airplane was in the air over the forum State, and the federal district court held that this was valid service, since at law the territory of a state includes the airspace above the State.
Venue and personal jurisdiction are closely related for practical purposes. A lawyer should usually perform joint analysis of personal jurisdiction and venue issues. Personal jurisdiction is largely a constitutional requirement, though also shaped by state long-arm statutes and Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, while venue is purely statutory.
It is possible for either venue or personal jurisdiction to preclude a court from hearing a case. Consider these examples:
[ Official Website of the Supreme Court of the United States] | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24875 |
Pell's equation
Pell's equation (also called the Pell–Fermat equation) is any Diophantine equation of the form
where "n" is a given positive nonsquare integer and integer solutions are sought for "x" and "y". In Cartesian coordinates, the equation has the form of a hyperbola; solutions occur wherever the curve passes through a point whose "x" and "y" coordinates are both integers, such as the trivial solution with "x" = 1 and "y" = 0. Joseph Louis Lagrange proved that, as long as "n" is not a perfect square, Pell's equation has infinitely many distinct integer solutions. These solutions may be used to accurately approximate the square root of "n" by rational numbers of the form "x/y".
This equation was first studied extensively in India, starting with Brahmagupta, who found an integer solution to formula_2 in his "Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta" in 628. Bhaskara II in the twelfth century and Narayana Pandit in the fourteenth century both found general solutions to Pell's equation and other quadratic indeterminate equations. Bhaskara II is generally credited with developing the "chakravala" method, building on the work of Jayadeva and Brahmagupta. Solutions to specific examples of Pell's equation, such as the Pell numbers arising from the equation with "n" = 2, had been known for much longer, since the time of Pythagoras in Greece and a similar date in India. The name of Pell's equation arose from Leonhard Euler mistakenly attributing Lord Brouncker's solution of the equation to John Pell. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24877 |
Telephone card
A telephone card, calling card or phonecard for short, is a credit card-size plastic or paper card, used to pay for telephone services (often international or long-distance calling). It is not necessary to have the physical card except with a stored-value system; knowledge of the access telephone number to dial and the PIN is sufficient. Standard cards which can be purchased and used without any sort of account facility give a fixed amount of credit and are discarded when used up; rechargeable cards can be topped up, or collect payment in arrears. The system for payment and the way in which the card is used to place a telephone call vary from card to card.
Calling cards usually come equipped with PIN for user protection and security. Most companies require user to enter the PIN before granting access to the calling card's funds. PINs often are printed on a piece of paper found inside the calling card's packaging. Once the users makes their first call, some companies offer the option of eliminating the PIN altogether to speed up the calling process. Companies that sell virtual calling cards online typically PIN via email.
A stored-value phone card stores the available credit balance in a analog or digital memory physically embedded in the card. This balance can be read by a public payphone when the card is inserted into the card reader. This is superficially similar to a bank automated teller machine, but a stored-value card is more closely analogous to a change purse. While ATMs (as well as the remote memory systems discussed below) use the card merely to identify the associated account and record changes in a central database, stored-value systems make a physical alteration to the card, or write data to an embedded chip or magnetic stripe to reflect the new balance after a call.
Used primarily for payphones, stored-value systems avoid the time lag and expense of communication with a central database, which would have been technically complex before the 1990s.
There are several ways in which the value can be encoded on the card:
The earliest system used a magnetic stripe as information carrier, similar to the technology of ATMs and key cards. The first magnetic strip phonecard, manufactured by SIDA, was issued in 1976 in Italy.
The next technology used optical storage. Optical phonecards get their name from optical structure embossed inside the cards. This optical structure is heated and destroyed after use of the units. Visible marks are left on the top of the cards, so that the user can see the balance of remaining units. Optical cards were produced by Landis+Gyr and Sodeco from Switzerland and were popular early phonecards in many countries with first optical phonecards successfully introduced in 1977 in Belgium. Such technology was very secure and not easily hackable but chip cards phased out the optical phone cards around the world and the last Landis+Gyr factory closed in May 2006 when optical phonecards were still in use in few countries like Austria, Israel and Egypt.
The third system of stored-value phone cards are smart cards and use an embedded microchip. These were first launched on a large scale in 1986 in Germany by Deutsche Bundespost after three years of testing, and in France by France Télécom. Many other countries followed suit, including Ireland in 1990 and the UK circa 1994–1995, which phased out the old green Landis+Gyr cards in favor of the chip (smart) cards. The initial microchips were easy to hack, typically by scratching off the programming-voltage contact on the card, which rendered the phone unable to reduce the card's value after a call. But by the mid-to-late 1990s, highly secure technology aided the spread of chip phonecards worldwide.
Making a remote memory prepaid or calling card call requires the user to make two calls. It is necessary to dial an access telephone number to connect to the calling card system. There are several methods. One is via a toll-free number, with larger companies offering this internationally. Access through a local number has become increasingly popular in recent years. Toll-free calls are paid for by the recipient (the calling card company), which passes on the cost through higher call charges; total cost of a call to the user is often lower using a local number. When travelling through several local areas a toll-free service may be preferable.
Once connected to the access number, the account is identified by keying in a PIN (the most popular method) or by swiping a card with embedded chip or magnetic stripe. After validation the balance remaining on the card may be announced, and the desired number may be keyed in. The available minutes may be announced, and the call is connected. Many cards make a verbal announcement if credit is running out.
Prepaid or calling cards are usually much cheaper than other telephone services, particularly for travelers who do not have easy access to other services. Hotel telephones can be very expensive, particularly for long-distance calls. Cellular services are flexible, but may attract high roaming charges away from the home area.
The second main technology of phonecards is remote memory, which uses a toll or toll-free access number to reach the database and check for balance on product.
The first public prepaid remote memory phonecard was issued in the United States in December 1980 by Phone Line. As telecom industries around the world became deregulated, remote memory cards were issued in various countries. Remote memory phonecards can be used from any tone-mode phone and do not require special card readers. Since remote memory cards are more accessible and have lower costs, remote memory phone cards have proliferated. However, the utility of these cards is reduced by the large number of digits that need to be entered during usage. To call a long-distance number, the user first dials the local access number, then keys in the secret code, followed by the actual long-distance number. Based on the long-distance number entered, the time remaining on the card is announced, and the call is finally processed through.
Remote memory phonecards are in essence text; requiring an access number, a unique PIN and instructions. Therefore, the instructions can be printed on virtually anything, or can be delivered via e-mail or the Internet. Currently many websites post phone card details through e-mail.
Phone cards are available in most countries in retail stores, retail chains and commonly post offices or corner stores. In general, remote memory phonecards can be issued by any company and come in countless varieties. They can focus on calling to certain countries or regions and have specific features such as rechargeability, pinless dial, speed dial and more. Phone cards may have connection fees, taxes and maintenance fees, all influencing the rates.
Since the early 2000s calling card service providers have introduced calling accounts not associated with a physical card. Calling accounts can be purchased over the Internet using credit cards and are instantly delivered to the customer via e-mail. This e-mail contains the PIN and instructions for using the service. The service may be prepaid, or may take payment from a credit card or by direct debit. Some prepaid card companies allow accounts to be recharged online manually or automatically via a method called auto-top-up.
Some virtual cards offer PINless Dialing, either by dialling a number unique to the customer, or by recognising the telephone number which originated the call by Caller ID and relating it to the appropriate account. Some virtual phone cards allow customers to view their call detail reports (CDRs) online by logging into their account.
The virtual phonecard has become a multi-billion US dollar industry as of 2009, with a number of large corporations and smaller Dot Com companies. While long-distance inland calls have been offered by calling cards, by the mid-2000s conventional carriers reduced their rates to be competitive; however in many countries calling-card type indirect services can be much cheaper than normal calls.
Telecom companies have placed advertising on phonecards, or featured celebrity portraits, artwork, or attractive photography. As the supply of any one design is limited, this has led some people to collect disposable phonecards. Due to a large number of phonecards, collectors prefer to specialize and collect cards in a certain way. Some collect phonecards that have only one specific chip type or were issued in the same country, while others prefer to get one of everything. Online clubs and catalogs provide collectors with detailed information on phonecards. In addition, these clubs include forums to assist with discussions between collectors.
Most modern telephones, both mobile and fixed, have memory locations in which telephone numbers can be stored. Some telephones have facilities to make calls through a calling card service whose access details and PIN are also stored in the telephone's memory. This may be implemented in different ways, often by pressing one button before making a call; some telephones support "chain dialing", allowing additional numbers to be dialed when on a call (e.g., dial a PIN and a second number after connecting to an access number). So long as long enough sequences can be stored it is possible to store an access number, pause, PIN, and ultimate telephone number in a single normal phone memory location. Software applications which add calling card support are available for a small charge or free for some smartphones. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24879 |
CD-i
The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was mostly developed and marketed by Dutch company Philips. It was created as an extension of CDDA and CD-ROM and specified in the "Green Book", co-developed by Philips and Sony, to combine audio, text and graphics. The two companies initially expected to impact the education/training, point of sale, and home entertainment industries, but CD-i eventually became best known for its video games.
CD-i media physically have the same dimensions as CD, but with up to 744 MiB of digital data storage, including up to 72 minutes of full motion video. CD-i players were usually standalone boxes that connect to a standard television; some less common setups included integrated CD-i television sets and expansion modules for personal computers. Most players were created by Philips; the format was licensed by Philips and Microware for use by other manufacturers, notably Sony who released professional CD-i players under the "Intelligent Discman" brand. Unlike CD-ROM drives, CD-i players are complete computer systems centered around dedicated Motorola 68000-based microprocessors and its own operating system called CD-RTOS.
Media released on the format included video games and "edutainment" and multimedia reference titles, such as interactive encyclopedias and museum tours – which were popular before public Internet access was widespread – as well as business software. Philips's CD-i system also implemented Internet features, including subscriptions, web browsing, downloading, e-mail, and online play. Philips's aim with its players was to introduce interactive multimedia content for the general public by combining features of a CD player and games console, but at a lower price than a personal computer with a CD-ROM drive.
Authoring kits for the format were released first in 1988, and the first player aimed for home consumers, Philips's CDI 910/205, at the end of 1991, initially priced around US$1,000 (), and capable of playing interactive CD-i discs, Audio CDs, CD+G (CD+Graphics), Karaoke CDs, Photo CDs and Video CDs (VCDs), though the latter required an optional "Digital Video Card" to provide MPEG-1 decoding. Initially marketed to consumers as "home entertainment systems", and in later years as a "gaming platform", CD-i did not manage to find enough success in the market, and was mostly abandoned by Philips in 1996. The format continued to be supported for licensees for a few more years after.
Development of the "Compact Disc-Interactive" format began in 1984 (two years after the launch of Compact Disc) and it was first publicly announced by Philips and Sony – two of the largest electronics companies of the time – at Microsoft's CD-ROM Conference in Seattle in March 1986. Microsoft's CEO Bill Gates had no idea beforehand that the format was under development. The "Green Book", formally known as the "CD-i Full Functional Specification", defined the format for interactive, multimedia compact discs designed for CD-i players. The "Green Book" specification also defines a whole hardware set built around the Motorola 68000 microprocessor family, and an operating system called CD-RTOS based on OS-9, a product of Microware. The standard was originally not freely available and had to be licensed from Philips. However, the 1994 version of the standard was eventually made available free by Philips.
CD-i discs conform to the "Red Book" specification of audio CDs (CD-DA). Tracks on a CD-i's program area can be CD-DA tracks or CD-i tracks, but the first track must always be a CD-i track, and all CD-i tracks must be grouped together at the beginning of the area. CD-i tracks are structured according to the CD-ROM XA specification (using either Mode 2 Form 1 or Mode 2 Form 2 modes), and have different classes depending on their contents ("data", "video", "audio", "empty" and "message"). "Message" sectors contain audio data to warn users of CD players that the track they are trying to listen to is a CD-i track and not a CD-DA track. The CD-i specification also specifies a file system similar to (but not compatible with) ISO 9660 to be used on CD-i tracks, as well as certain specific files that are required to be present in a CD-i compatible disc. Compared to the "Yellow Book" (specification for CD-ROM), the "Green Book" CD-i standard solves synchronisation problems by interleaving audio and video information on a single track.
The format quickly gained interest from large manufacturers, and received backing from many particularly Matsushita. Although a joint effort, Philips eventually took over the majority of CD-i development at the expense of Sony. Philips invested many millions in developing titles and players based on the CD-i specification. Initially branded "CD-I", the name was changed in 1991 to "CD-i" with a lowercase i.
The CD-i Ready format is a type of bridge format, also designed by Philips, that defines discs compatible with CD Digital audio players and CD-i players. This format puts CD-i software and data into the pregap of Track 1.
The CD-i Bridge format, defined in Philips' White Book, is a transitional format allowing bridge discs to be played both on CD-ROM drives and on CD-i players.
The CD-i Digital Video format was launched in 1993 containing movies that could be played on CD-i players with a Digital Video Cartridge add-on. The format was incompatible with Video CD (VCD), although a CD-i unit with the DVC could play both formats. Only about 20 movies were released on the format and it was stopped in 1994 in favor of VCD.
Applications were developed using authoring software produced by OptImage. This included OptImage's Balboa Runtime Libraries and MediaMogul. The second company that produced authoring software was Script Systems; they produced ABCD-I. Much of the CD-i software were promoted and/or published by American Interactive Media (AIM), a joint venture between Philips and its subsidiary PolyGram formed in Los Angeles in 1986, before its public debut, to publish CD-i based consumer software. Similarly in Europe, Philips Interactive Media was launched.
Philips at first marketed CD-i as a family entertainment product, and avoided mentioning video games to not compete against game consoles. Early software releases focused heavily on educational, music, and self-improvement titles, with only a few games, many of them adaptations of board games such as "Connect Four". However, the system was handily beaten in the market for multimedia devices by cheap low-end PCs, and the games were the best-selling software. By 1993 Philips encouraged MS-DOS and console developers to create games, introduced a $250 peripheral with more memory and support for full-motion video, and added to new consoles a second controller port for multiplayer games.
The attempts to develop a foothold in the games market were unsuccessful, as the system was designed strictly as a multimedia player and thus was under-powered compared to other gaming platforms on the market in most respects. Earlier CD-i games included entries in popular Nintendo franchises, although those games were not developed by Nintendo. Specifically, a "Mario" game (titled "Hotel Mario"), and three "Legend of Zelda" games were released: "", "" and "Zelda's Adventure". Nintendo and Philips had established an agreement to co-develop a CD-ROM enhancement for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System due to licensing disagreements with Nintendo's previous partner Sony (an agreement that produced a prototype console called the SNES-CD). While Philips and Nintendo never released such a CD-ROM add-on, Philips was still contractually allowed to continue using Nintendo characters.
As announced at CES 1992, large number of full motion video titles such as "Dragon's Lair" and "Mad Dog McCree" appeared on the system. One of these, "", is considered one of the stronger CD-i titles and was later ported to PC. The February 1994 issue of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" remarked that the CD-i's full motion video capabilities were its strongest point, and that nearly all of its best software required the MPEG upgrade card.
Philips also released several versions of popular TV game shows for the CD-i, including versions of "Jeopardy!" (hosted by Alex Trebek), "Name That Tune" (hosted by Bob Goen), and two versions of "The Joker's Wild" (one for adults hosted by Wink Martindale and one for kids hosted by Marc Summers). All CD-i games in North America (with the exception of "Name That Tune") had Charlie O'Donnell as announcer. The Netherlands also released its version of "Lingo" on the CD-i in 1994.
In 1993, American musician Todd Rundgren created the first music-only fully interactive CD, "No World Order", for the CD-i. This application allows the user to completely arrange the whole album in their own personal way with over 15,000 points of customization. Dutch eurodance duo 2 Unlimited released a CD-i compilation album in 1994 called "Beyond Limits" which contains standard CD tracks as well as CD-i-exclusive media on the disc.
CD-i has a series of learning games ("edutainment") targeted at children from infancy to adolescence. Those intended for a younger audience included "Busytown", "The Berenstain Bears" and various others which usually had vivid cartoon-like settings accompanied by music and logic puzzles.
By mid-1996 the U.S. market for CD-i software had dried up and Philips had given up on releasing titles there, but continued to publish CD-i games in Europe, where the system still held some popularity from a video gaming perspective. With the home market exhausted, Philips tried with some success to position the technology as a solution for kiosk applications and industrial multimedia.
Some homebrew developers have released video games on the CD-i format in later years, such as "Frog Feast" (2005) and "Super Quartet" (2018).
CD-i compatible models were released (as of April 1995) in the U.S., Canada, Benelux, France, Germany, the UK, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. It was reported to be released further in Brazil, India and Australia in the "coming months", with plans to also introduce it in China, South Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In addition to consumer models, professional and development players were sold by Philips Interactive Media Systems and their VARs. The first CD-i system was produced by Philips in collaboration with Kyocera in 1988 – the Philips 180/181/182 modular system. Philips marketed several CD-i player models as shown below.
There also exist a number of hard-to-categorize models, such as the FW380i, an integrated mini-stereo and CD-i player; the 21TCDi30, a television with a built-in CD-i device; the CD-i/PC 2.0, a CD-i module with an ISA interface for IBM-compatible 486 PCs.
In addition to Philips, several manufacturers produced CD-i players some of which were still on sale years after Philips itself abandoned the format. Manufacturers included:
Before the actual commercial debut of the CD-i format, some other companies had interest in building players and some made prototypes, but were never released – this includes Panasonic (who were originally a major backer of the format), Pioneer, JVC, Toshiba, Epson, Ricoh, Fujitsu, Yamaha. In addition, Sanyo showed a prototype portable CD-i player in 1992.
Recognizing the growing need among marketers for networked multimedia, Philips partnered in 1992 with Amsterdam-based CDMATICS to develop TeleCD-i (also TeleCD). In this concept, the CD-i player is connected to a network such as PSTN or Internet, enabling data-communication and rich media presentation. Dutch grocery chain Albert Heijn and mail-order company were early adopters and introduced award-winning TeleCD-i applications for their home-shopping and home-delivery services. CDMATICS also developed the special Philips TeleCD-i Assistant and a set of software tools to help the worldwide multimedia industry to develop and implement TeleCD-i. TeleCD-i is the world's first networked multimedia application at the time of its introduction. In 1996, Philips acquired source code rights from CDMATICS.
Internet services on the CD-i devices were facilitated by the use of an additional hardware modem and "CD-Online" disc (renamed Web-i in the US), which Philips initially released in Britain in 1995 for $150 US. This service provided the CD-i with full internet access (with a 14.4k modem), including online shopping, email, and support for networked multiplayer gaming on select CD-i games. The service required a CD-i player with DV cartridge, and an "Internet Starter Kit" which initially retailed for £99.99. It was advertized as bringing "full Internet access to the living room on TV screens". Andy Stout, a writer for the official CD-i magazine, explained CD-Online: The CD-Online service went live in the UK on October 25, 1995 and in March 1996 in the Netherlands (for 399 guilders), and also released in Belgium. The system was reportedly scheduled to launch in the US as "Web-i" in August 1996. The domain cd-online.co.uk, which was used for the British CD-Online service, went offline in 2000.
Only one game was released that supported CD-Online, the First-person shooter game RAM Raid. RAM Raid was the first worldwide enabled online multiplayer game. Players from any country in the world could compete against each other as long as they had a copy of the game.
Philips had invested heavily in the CD-i format and system, and it was often compared with the Commodore CDTV as a single combination of computer, CD, and television. The product was touted as a single machine for home entertainment connected to a standard TV and controlled by a regular remote control – although the format was noted to have various non-entertainment business opportunities too, such as travel and tourism or the military. In 1990, Peugeot used CD-i for its point of sale application promoting its then-new 605 automobile, and it was also at the time used by fellow car manufacturer Renault for staff training programmes, and in Japan by the Ministry of Trade and Industry for an exhibition there. A Philips executive, Gaston Bastiaens, quoted in 1990 "CD-I will be 'the medium' for entertainment, education and information in the 90's.". Sony introduced its three portable CD-i players in June 1990, pitching them as "picture books with sound".
The ambitious CD-i format had initially created much interest after its 1986 announcement, both in the west and in Japan, buoyed by the success of the CD. However, after repeated delays (hardware were first intended to be ready and shipped by Christmas 1987) interest was slowly lost. Electronic Arts for instance was enthusiastic about CD-i and formed a division for the development of video game titles on the format, but it was eventually halted with the intention of resuming when CD-i players would reach the market. The company eventually never resumed CD-i software development when it was released. The delay also gave more attention to the hyped Digital Video Interactive (DVI) in 1987, which demonstrated full screen, full motion video (FMV) using a compression chip on an IBM PC/AT computer. Amid the attention around its potential rival DVI, Philips and Sony decided to find a way to add full screen FMV abilities to the CD-i standard, causing further delay. Meanwhile, the Microsoft-backed CD-ROM standard was improving and solved certain video playback issues that were present on the CD-i – CD-ROM format products were already on the market by 1987. At the end, CD-ROM standard benefited from the CD-i and DVI mishaps, and by the time CD-i players for consumers were released in 1991, CD-ROM had already become known and established. Ron Gilbert commented in early 1990 "The CD-I specifications look great, but where are the machines? If they'd come out four years ago, they'd have been hot, but now they're behind the times." Another reason that led to fading interest pre-launch was the fact CD-i players would not launch with FMV but instead receive it later through a purchasable add-on cartridge (it was originally expected to come built-in) – as well as the obsolete Motorola processor, OS-9 software, and a launch price considered high.
Although Philips had aggressively promoted their CD-i products in the U.S., by August 1993 "Computer Gaming World" reported that "skepticism persists about its long-term prospects" compared to other platforms like IBM PC compatibles, Apple Macintosh, and Sega Genesis. The magazine stated in January 1994 that despite Philips' new emphasis on games "CD-i is still not the answer for hardcore gamers", but the console "may yet surprise us all in the future". It recommended the CD-i with video cartridge for those needing to buy a new console as "The price is right and there is more software to support it", but 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was probably better for those who could wait a few months. The "Electronic Entertainment" August 1994 issue noted that the CD-i, along with the Atari Jaguar, neither have an "effective, let alone innovative" game library to compete against the then newly released Sega CD.
After being outsold in the market by cheaper multimedia PCs, in 1994 Philips attempted to emphasize CD-i as a game playing machine, but this did not help the situation. An early 1995 review of the system in "GamePro" stated that "inconsistent game quality puts the CD-i at a disadvantage against other high-powered game producers." A late 1995 review in "Next Generation" criticized both Philips's approach to marketing the CD-i and the hardware itself ("The unit excels at practically nothing except FMV, and then only with the addition of a $200 digital video cartridge"). The magazine noted that while Philips had not yet officially discontinued the CD-i, it was dead for all intents and purposes, citing as evidence the fact that though Philips had a large booth at the 1995 Electronic Entertainment Expo, there was no CD-i hardware or software on display. "Next Generation" scored the console one out of five stars. Another trouble for Philips in 1995 was the formation of HDCD, which promised better quality video compared to Video CD's (VCD) MPEG-1 compression method – Philips had heavily promoted the CD-i's VCD playing capabilities. Philips Media consolidated its CD-i activities from its Los Angeles office in March 1996. It was reported in October 1996 that Philips was ready to "call it quits" in the American market.
In October 1994, Philips claimed an installed base of one million units for the CD-i. In 1996, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that total US sales amounted to 400,000 units. In the Netherlands, about 60,000 CD-i players were sold by the end of December 1994.
Although extensively marketed by Philips, notably via infomercial, consumer interest in CD-i titles remained low. By 1994, sales of CD-i systems had begun to slow, and in 1998 the product line was dropped. Plans for a second generation CD-i system were certainly present and Argonaut Software was even designated to design chip sets for the successor to the CD-i. However, the then president Cor Boonstra saw no interest in the media area for Philips and so Philips sold everything, including the media subsidiary Polygram. The Dutch half of Philips Media was sold to Softmachine, which released "The Lost Ride" on the CD-i as the last product for the CD-i. Philips then also sold its French half of the gaming subsidiary, Philips Media BV, to French publisher Infogrames in 1997 along with the entire CD-i library. A CD-ROM add-on for the Super NES, which was announced for development with Nintendo in 1991, was never made. The very last CD-i game thus, was made by Infogrames who released Solar Crusade in 1999.
After its discontinuation, retrospectively, the CD-i was overwhelmingly panned by critics who blasted its graphics, games, and controls. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates admitted that initially he "was worried" about the CD-i due to Philips's heavy support for the device and its two-pronged attack on both the games console and PC markets, but that in retrospect "It was a device that kind of basically got caught in the middle. It was a terrible game machine, and it was a terrible PC." The CD-i's various controllers were ranked the fifth worst video game controller by IGN editor Craig Harris. "PC World" ranked it as fourth on their list of "The 10 Worst Video Game Systems of All Time". Gamepro.com listed it as number four on their list of "The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time." In 2008, CNET listed the system on its list of the worst game console(s) ever. In 2007, GameTrailers ranked the Philips CD-i as the fourth worst console of all time in its Top 10 Worst Console lineup.
In later retrospective years, the CD-i has become (unpopularly) best known for its video games, particularly those from the Nintendo-licensed "The Legend of Zelda" series, considered by many to be of poor taste. Games that were most heavily criticized include "Hotel Mario", "", "", and "Zelda's Adventure". EGM's Seanbaby rated "The Wand of Gamelon" as one of the worst video games of all time. However, "" was positively received by critics and has often been held up as the standout title for the CD-i. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24883 |
Peppered moth
The peppered moth ("Biston betularia") is a temperate species of night-flying moth. Peppered moth evolution is an example of population genetics and natural selection.
The caterpillars of the peppered moth not only mimic the form but also the colour of a twig. Recent research indicates that the caterpillars can sense the twig's colour with their skin and match their body colour to the background to protect themselves from predators.
The wingspan ranges from 45 mm to 62 mm (median 55 mm). It is relatively stout-bodied, with forewings relatively narrow-elongate. The wings are white, "peppered" with black, and with more-or-less distinct cross lines, also black. The black speckling varies in amount, in some examples it is almost absent, whilst in others it is so dense that the wings appear to be black sprinkled with white. The antennae of males are strongly bipectinate.
"Biston betularia" is found in China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan,
Tibet), Russia, Mongolia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Europe and North America.
In Great Britain and Ireland, the peppered moth is univoltine ("i.e.", it has one generation per year), whilst in south-eastern North America it is bivoltine (two generations per year). The lepidopteran life cycle consists of four stages: ova (eggs), several larval instars (caterpillars), pupae, which overwinter live in the soil, and imagines (adults). During the day, the moths typically rest on trees, where they are preyed on by birds.
The caterpillar is a twig mimic, varying in colour between green and brown. On a historical note, it was one of the first animals to be identified as being camouflaged with countershading to make it appear flat (shading being the main visual cue that makes things appear solid), in a paper by Edward Bagnall Poulton in 1887. Research indicates that the caterpillars can sense the twig's colour with their skin and match their body colour to the background to protect themselves from predators, an ability to camouflage themselves also found in cephalopods, chameleons and some fish, although this colour change is rather slower in the caterpillars.
It goes into the soil late in the season, where it pupates in order to spend the winter. The imagines emerge from the pupae between late May and August, the males slightly before the females (this is common and expected from sexual selection). They emerge late in the day and dry their wings before flying that night.
The males fly every night of their lives in search of females, whereas the females only fly on the first night. Thereafter, the females release pheromones to attract males. Since the pheromone is carried by the wind, males tend to travel up the concentration gradient, i.e., toward the source. During flight, they are subject to predation by bats. The males guard the female from other males until she lays the eggs. The female lays about 2,000 pale-green ovoid eggs about 1 mm in length into crevices in bark with her ovipositor.
A mating pair or a lone individual will spend the day hiding from predators, particularly birds. In the case of the former, the male stays with the female to ensure paternity. The best evidence for resting positions is given by data collected by the peppered moth researcher Michael Majerus, and it is given in the accompanying charts. These data were originally published in Howlett and Majerus (1987), and an updated version published in Majerus (1998), who concluded that the moths rest in the upper part of the trees. Majerus notes:
Creationist critics of the peppered moth have often pointed to a statement made by Clarke "et al". (1985): "... In 25 years we have only found two "betularia" on the tree trunks or walls adjacent to our traps, and none elsewhere". The reason now seems obvious. Few people spend their time looking for moths up in the trees. That is where peppered moths rest by day.
From their original data, Howlett and Majerus (1987) concluded that peppered moths generally rest in unexposed positions, using three main types of site. Firstly, a few inches below a branch-trunk joint on a tree trunk where the moth is in shadow; secondly, on the underside of branches and thirdly on foliate twigs. The above data would appear to support this.
Further support for these resting positions is given from experiments watching captive moths taking up resting positions in both males (Mikkola, 1979; 1984) and females (Liebert and Brakefield, 1987).
Majerus, "et al.", (2000) have shown that peppered moths are cryptically camouflaged against their backgrounds when they rest in the boughs of trees. It is clear that in human visible wavelengths, "typica" are camouflaged against lichens and "carbonaria" against plain bark. However, birds are capable of seeing ultraviolet light that humans cannot see. Using an ultraviolet-sensitive video camera, Majerus et al. showed that "typica" reflect ultraviolet light in a speckled fashion and are camouflaged against crustose lichens common on branches, both in ultraviolet and human-visible wavelengths. However, "typica" are not as well camouflaged against foliose lichens common on tree trunks; though they are camouflaged in human wavelengths, in ultraviolet wavelengths, foliose lichens do not reflect ultraviolet light.
During an experiment in Cambridge over the seven years 2001–2007 Majerus noted the natural resting positions of peppered moths, and of the 135 moths examined over half were on tree branches, mostly on the lower half of the branch, 37% were on tree trunks, mostly on the north side, and only 12.6% were resting on or under twigs.
There are several melanic and non-melanic morphs of the peppered moth. These are controlled genetically. A particular colour morph can be indicated in a standard way by following the species name in the form "morpha "morph name"". The use of "form" in the method of "Biston betularia" f. "formname" in detailing these variations is also a widespread practice.
These forms are often accidentally elevated to subspecies status when they appear in literature. Not adding the "f." (forma) or morpha implies that the taxon is a subspecies instead of a form, as in "Biston betularia carbonaria" instead of "Biston betularia f. carbonaria". Rarely, forms have been elevated to species status, as in "Biston carbonaria". Either of these two circumstances might lead to the erroneous belief that speciation was involved in the observed evolution of the peppered moth. This is not the case; individuals of each morph interbreed and produce fertile offspring with individuals of all other morphs; hence there is only one peppered moth species.
By contrast, different subspecies of the same species can theoretically interbreed with one another and will produce fully fertile and healthy offspring, but in practice do not, as they live in different regions or reproduce in different seasons. Full-fledged species are either unable to produce fertile and healthy offspring, or do not recognize each other's courtship signals, or both.
European breeding experiments have shown that in "Biston betularia betularia", the allele for melanism producing morpha "carbonaria" is controlled by a single locus. The melanic allele is dominant to the non-melanic allele. This situation is, however, somewhat complicated by the presence of three other alleles that produce indistinguishable morphs of morpha "medionigra". These are of intermediate dominance, but this is not complete (Majerus, 1998).
In continental Europe, there are three morphs: the white morph typica (syn. morpha/f. "betularia"), the dark melanistic morph carbonaria (syn. "doubledayaria"), and an intermediate form medionigra.
In Britain, the typical white morph is known as typica, the melanic morph is carbonaria, and the intermediate phenotype is named insularia.
In North America, the melanic black morph is morpha swettaria. In "Biston betularia cognataria", the melanic allele (producing morpha "swettaria") is similarly dominant to the non-melanic allele. There are also some intermediate morphs. In Japan, no melanic morphs have been recorded; they are all morpha "typica".
The evolution of the peppered moth over the last two hundred years has been studied in detail.
At the start of this period, the vast majority of peppered moths had light coloured wing patterns which effectively camouflaged them against the light-coloured trees and lichens upon which they rested. However, due to widespread pollution during the Industrial Revolution in England, many of the lichens died out, and the trees which peppered moths rested on became blackened by soot, causing most of the light-coloured moths, or "typica", to die off due to predation. At the same time, the dark-coloured, or melanic, moths, "carbonaria", flourished because they could hide on the darkened trees.
Since then, with improved environmental standards, light-coloured peppered moths have again become common, and the dramatic change in the peppered moth's population has remained a subject of much interest and study. This has led to the coining of the term "industrial melanism" to refer to the genetic darkening of species in response to pollutants. As a result of the relatively simple and easy-to-understand circumstances of the adaptation, the peppered moth has become a common example used in explaining or demonstrating natural selection to laypeople and classroom students through simulations.
The first "carbonaria" morph was recorded by Edleston in Manchester in 1848, and over the subsequent years it increased in frequency. Predation experiments, particularly by Bernard Kettlewell, established that the agent of selection was birds who preyed on the "carbonaria" morph. Subsequent experiments and observations have supported the initial evolutionary explanation of the phenomenon.
The evolution of the industrial melanism mutation has been shown to be due to the insertion of a transposable element into the first intron of the "cortex" gene, resulting in an increase in the abundance of the "cortex" transcript, which is expressed in developing wings. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24884 |
Power Macintosh
The Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. as part of its Macintosh brand from March 1994 until August 2006.
Described by MacWorld Magazine as "The most important technical evolution of the Macintosh since the Mac II debuted in 1987," the Power Macintosh was Apple's first computer to use a PowerPC processor. Software written for the Motorola 68030 and 68040 processors that were used in Macintoshes up to that point would not run on the PowerPC natively, so a Mac 68k emulator was included with System 7.1.2. While the emulator provided good compatibility with existing Macintosh software, performance was about one-third slower than comparable Macintosh Quadra machines.
The Power Macintosh replaced the Quadra in Apple's lineup, and were initially sold in the same enclosures. Over the next twelve years, the Power Macintosh evolved through a succession of enclosure designs, a rename to "Power Mac", five major generations of PowerPC chips, and a great deal of press coverage, design accolades, and controversy about performance claims. The Power Mac was discontinued as part of Apple's transition to Intel processors, making way for its replacement, the Mac Pro.
The first Power Macintosh models were released in March 1994, but the development of Power Macintosh technology dates back to mid-1988.
Jean-Louis Gassée, president of Apple's product division, started the "Jaguar" project with the goal of creating a computer that would not only be the fastest desktop computer on the market, but would also accept commands by talking to the computer. This was originally envisioned to be a new computer line altogether, not a Macintosh, and the Jaguar team was initially kept independent of the Macintosh team. This separation included operating system development, with the newly-conceived "Pink" being the platform for the new computer. Jaguar was also not intended to be a high-volume, mainstream system. Gassée's preference, as it was with the upcoming Macintosh IIfx, was to create a product that would compete in the high-end workstation market, previously not an area of strength for Apple. The decision to use RISC architecture was representative of a shift in the computer industry in 1987 and 1988, where RISC-based systems from Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard and IBM were significantly outpacing the performance offered by systems based on Motorola's 68020 and 68030 processors and Intel's 80386 and 80486 CPUs. Initially, Apple invested considerable time and effort in an attempt to create their own RISC CPU in a project code-named "Aquarius", even to a point where a Cray-1 supercomputer was purchased to assist with designing the chip. The company lacked the financial and manufacturing resources to produce a working product and the project was cancelled in 1989.
By early 1990, Apple was in contact with a number of RISC vendors to find a suitable hardware partner. The team that had created the IIfx independently started experimenting with creating a new Macintosh product that would combine a Motorola 68030 processor with an AMD Am29000 (29k) RISC chip. Apple had already released a product built on the 29k called "Macintosh Display Card 8•24 GC", a so-called "Macintosh Toolbox accelerator" NuBus card that provided significantly faster drawing routines than those included on the Macintosh ROM. The team's experiments resulted in a 68020 emulator implemented in RISC, but the 29k project was dropped in mid-1990 due to financial infeasibility.
Apple had initially looked at processors such as those from MIPS Technologies, Sun, and Acorn Computers (whose ARM architecture RISC processors would end up being used in the 1993 Apple Newton, 2001 iPod, and 2007 iPhone), as well as the Intel i860. Negotiations with Sun included the condition that Sun would use the Macintosh interface for its SPARC workstation computers in exchange for Apple using Sun's SPARC processors in Macintosh workstations; the deal fell through due to Apple's concern that Sun could not produce enough processors. Negotiations with MIPS to use the R4000 processor also included the condition that the Macintosh interface would be available as an alternative to Advanced Computing Environment. This deal also fell through due to Microsoft being a major partner in the ACE Consortium, as well as concerns about manufacturing capability. The Intel i860 was eliminated from consideration due to its high complexity. Apple did not consider IBM's POWER1 processor as an option, believing that IBM would not be willing to license it to third parties.
In mid-1990, Apple chose the Motorola 88110, an as yet unfinished chip that combined the 88100 CPU and 88200 FPU into a single package. For the rest of the year, Apple's engineers developed a 68k emulator that would work with this future chip. This project became known as "RLC", short form "RISC LC", a play on the name of Apple's upcoming Macintosh LC computer. By January 1991, the engineering team had produced a prototype of a Macintosh LC with its 68020 CPU being swapped out for an 88100 and a 68020 emulator. This prototype was able to use an unmodified Macintosh Toolbox ROM and could boot into System 7. A few months later, a second prototype was created, utilizing a Macintosh IIsi case with the now-completed Motorola 88100 chip.
Jaguar wasn't initially intended to be a high-volume mainstream system. Instead, mass-market RISC systems would follow sometime later. After Gassée left Apple in early 1990, the goal of the Jaguar project was refocused to be a mainstream Macintosh system instead of a new platform. The Jaguar project was folded into the Macintosh team in early 1991. While the Jaguar project itself never came to fruition, and Taligent never resulted in a functional operating system, many of the elements originally developed by the Jaguar hardware and software teams were brought to market in mid-1993 with the Centris 660AV and Quadra 840AV, including the Apple Adjustable Keyboard, Apple AudioVision 14 Display, GeoPort, and PlainTalk. The new case designs introduced with the Centris 610 and Quadra 800 had also originated in the Jaguar team.
By mid-1991, there was internal concern at Apple that the 88100 may not be the correct processor to move forward with as no other computer manufacturers had committed to using the processor. Using IBM's POWER was again considered, but it was a seven-chip design at the time, which was not desirable from a cost perspective. Engineers from Apple and IBM's Advanced Workstations and Systems Division met in Austin, Texas to discuss creating a single-chip version of IBM's POWER1 RISC architecture. Motorola was also present at Apple's request. IBM had already been working on such a chip, called the RISC Single Chip (RSC), in an effort to reduce production cost of their entry-level RS/6000 workstation systems. In these meetings, a number of changes were proposed to RSC that would facilitate lower costs, lower power usage, and higher yield production suitable for both the Macintosh and future RS/6000 products.
In early July, executives at the three companies reached an agreement which was formally announced to the public in October. In addition to the new RISC architecture, which was given the name PowerPC, this "AIM alliance" had several goals, including creating an operating system based on Pink, an object-oriented scripting language called ScriptX, and a cross-platform media player called the Kaleida Media Player. Of the alliance, John Sculley said, "The Macintosh strategy paid off very well for us in the 1980s, but we didn't think we could establish the next generation of computing by using that model in the 1990s. Working with IBM, and making it available to everyone, we can have a much wider impact with these technologies than we did with the Macintosh."
Development of the PowerPC 601 chip started in October 1991 and was completed in 21 months, with volume production starting in July 1993. The first computers to ship with a PowerPC chip were a line of IBM RS/6000 workstations in September 1993. Many Macintosh application developers used these machines for development of the initial PowerPC ports of their products, as Macintosh-based PowerPC development tools were not ready. The PowerPC 603 (which focused on lowering power usage) and 604 (which focused on high performance) projects were also underway at the same time.
In July 1992, the decision was made to scale back the ambition of the initial system software release; instead of attempting to create a completely new kernel, Apple focused on producing a version of System 7 where portions of the existing Macintosh Toolbox ROM were rewritten to use native PowerPC code instead of emulating a 680x0. This provided a significant performance boost for certain highly utilized parts of the operating system, particularly QuickDraw.
The first public demonstration of the new Power Macintosh — specifically, a prototype of what would become the Power Macintosh 6100 – was at an Apple Pacific sales meeting in Hawaii in October 1992. The demo was a success, and in the following months, the product plan expanded to include three models: the entry-level 6100, a mid-range 7100 housed in the Macintosh IIvx's desktop case, and a high-end 8100 based on the Quadra 800's mini-tower case. A fourth project, the Macintosh Processor Upgrade Card, was started in July 1993 with the goal of providing a straightforward upgrade path to owners of Centris- and Quadra-based Macintosh computers. The importance of this was especially significant for the Quadra 700, 900 and 950, which were not going to receive full logic board replacements. Computers upgraded in this fashion received new names such as "Power Macintosh Q650" and "Power Macintosh 900".
The original plan was to release the first Power Macintosh machine on January 24, 1994, exactly ten years after the release of the first Macintosh. Ian Diery, who was EVP and general manager of the Personal Computer Division at the time, moved the release date back to March 14 in order to give manufacturing enough time to build enough machines to fill the sales channels, and to ensure that the Macintosh Processor Upgrade Card would be available at the same time. This was a departure from prior practice at Apple; they had typically released upgrade packages months after the introduction of new Macintoshes.
The Power Macintosh was formally introduced at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan on March 14. Pre-orders for the new Power Macintosh models were brisk, with an announced 150,000 machines already having been sold by that date. MacWorld's review of the 6100/60 noted that "Not only has Apple finally regained the performance lead it lost about eight years ago when PCs appeared using Intel's 80386 CPU, but it has pushed far ahead." Performance of 680x0 software is slower due to the emulation layer, but MacWorld's benchmarks showed noticeably faster CPU, disk, video and floating point performance than the Quadra 610 it replaced. By January 1995, Apple had sold 1 million Power Macintosh systems.
Speed-bumped versions of the Power Macintosh line were introduced at the beginning of 1995, followed in April by the first PowerPC 603 models: an all-in-one model called the Power Macintosh 5200 LC and a replacement for the Quadra 630 called the Power Macintosh 6200. Performa variants of these machines were sold as well, continuing the practice of re-branding other Macintosh models for sale in department stores and big-box electronics retailers. While the 5200 LC was well-received by critics for its design, performance, and cost, both it and the 6200 suffered from stability issues (and in the case of the 5200, display issues as well) that could only be solved by bringing the machine to an Apple dealer for replacement parts.
By mid-1995, the burgeoning Power Macintosh line had all but completely supplanted every prior Macintosh line, with only the high-end Quadra 950 and two low-cost education models (the all-in-one Macintosh LC 580 and desktop LC 630) remaining in production. The competitive marketplace for "accelerator cards" that had existed for earlier Macintosh systems largely disappeared due to the comparatively low price of Apple's Macintosh Processor Upgrade Card (US$600). DayStar Digital sold upgrade cards for the IIci and various Quadra models, and full motherboard replacements were available from Apple as well. Macintosh clones from companies like DayStar Digital and Power Computing were also coming to the market at this time, undercutting Apple's prices.
When the Power Macintosh was introduced, it included the same internal and external expansion connections as other Macintosh models, all of which (save for audio input and output) were either wholly proprietary to, or largely exclusive to Apple computers. Over the next five years, Apple replaced all these ports with industry-standard connectors.
The first generation of Power Macintoshes had shipped with NuBus, but by the end of 1993 it was becoming clear that Intel's PCI bus was going to be the widely adopted future of internal expansion. Apple's position as a relatively small player in the larger personal computer market meant that few device manufacturers invested in creating both NuBus- and PCI-compatible versions of their cards. The first PCI-based system was the range-topping Power Macintosh 9500, introduced in May 1995. This was followed shortly afterwards by the introduction of the "Power Surge" line of second-generation Power Macintosh systems – the Power Macintosh 7200, 7500 and 8500. The 8500 and 9500 were built around the new PowerPC 604, offering speeds starting at 120 MHz. InfoWorld's review of the 8500 showed a speed improvement in their "business applications suite" benchmark from 10 minutes with the 8100/100, to 7:37 for the 8500/120. They also noted that the 8500 runs an average of 24 to 44 percent faster than a similarly-clocked Intel Pentium chip, increasing to double on graphics and publishing tasks.
The transition to PCI continued into 1996, with the introduction of the all-in-one 5400, desktop 6300/160 (usually sold as a Performa 6360), and mini-tower 6400 models. The success of the Macintosh clone market also prompted Apple to produce its own inexpensive machine using parts and production techniques that were common in both the clone market and the Wintel desktop market at the time. The Power Macintosh 4400 (sold as a 7220 in Asia and Australia) employed bent sheet metal instead of plastic for its case internals, and included a standard ATX power supply.
Alongside the transition to PCI, Apple began a gradual transition away from SCSI hard disks to IDE as a cost-saving measure, both for themselves and for users who wanted to upgrade their hard drives. The low-end 5200 and 6200 were the first to adopt IDE internal drives, though Apple's proprietary 25-pin external SCSI connector remained. The beige Power Macintosh G3 models being the last to include SCSI drives as standard, and it was the last Macintosh to include the external SCSI connector. When the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) was introduced in early 1999, the port was replaced by two FireWire 400 ports. The Blue and White G3 was also the last Macintosh to include Apple Desktop Bus ports, a proprietary technology created by Steve Wozniak to connect keyboards, mice and software protection dongles such as those from Avid Technology. Two USB ports were also included, making this the only Power Macintosh to include both ADB and USB.
Another port that was retired during this time is the Apple Attachment Unit Interface. This was a proprietary version of the industry-standard Attachment Unit Interface connector for 10BASE5 Ethernet that Apple had created to avoid confusion with the 15-pin connector that Apple used for connecting external displays. The AAUI port required a costly external transceiver to connect to a network. By the early 1990s, the networking industry was coalescing around the 10BASE-T connector, leading Apple to include this port alongside AAUI in mid-1995, starting with the Power Macintosh 9500. The Power Macintosh G3 excluded the AAUI port.
The Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) was released in the second half of 1999; it was the first Power Macintosh to include only industry-standard internal and external expansion. For some years afterwards, a number of third parties created dongles that provided backwards compatibility to users of newer Power Mac systems with old hardware. This included companies like Griffin Technology, MacAlly Perhiperals, Rose Electronics and many others. In some cases, these companies produced adapters that matched the aesthetic design of the Power Mac.
Shortly after Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1997, Jony Ive was appointed senior vice president of industrial design. Building on the critical and commercial success of the iMac, Ive and his team created an entirely new case design for the Power Macintosh G3, combining many of the aesthetic principles of the iMac (curves, translucent plastics, use of color) with the ease-of-access characteristics of the company's popular "Outrigger" Macintosh models from previous years. The result was the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White), a machine that received considerable plaudits from reviewers, including PC Magazine's Technical Excellence Award for 1999. "The Power Mac provides the fastest access to the insides of a computer we've ever seen," they wrote. "Just lift a handle and a hinged door reveals everything inside." This case design, code-named "El Capitan", was retained through the entire lifetime of the Power Mac G4. The introduction of the Blue and White G3 mini-tower also marked the end of the desktop and all-in-one Power Macintosh case designs, the latter being replaced by the iMac.
A second model called the Power Mac G4 Cube was introduced in 2000, which fitted the specifications of a mid-range Power Mac G4 into a cube less than 9" in each axis. This model was on sale for about a year before being discontinued, and was not considered a sales success (150,000 units were sold, about one-third of Apple's projections), but the distinctive design of both the computer and its accompanying Harman Kardon speakers prompted the Museum of Modern Art in New York City to retain them in their collection.
The PowerPC chips in the G3 and G4 became a central part of Apple's branding and marketing for the Power Macintosh. For example, the Blue and White G3 features the letters "G3" on the side that are fully one-third the height of the entire case, a significant departure from the small labels typically used on prior Macintosh computers. And when the Power Mac G4 was introduced, print ads included pictures of the G4 chip and mentioned its AltiVec instruction set by its own marketing name, "Velocity Engine". A related element of Apple's marketing strategy, especially after mid-2001, was to highlight what they described as the "Megahertz myth", challenging the belief that a processor's clock speed is directly correlated with performance. This had become important with the introduction of Intel's Pentium 4, which featured significantly higher clock speeds than competing chips from Sun, IBM, and AMD, but without a corresponding performance benefit.
The company's public presentations -- Stevenotes in particular—often featured lengthy segments pitting a high-powered Compaq or Dell computer against the Power Macintosh in a series of benchmarks and scripted tasks, usually in Adobe Photoshop. These presentations often showed the Power Macintosh besting Intel's Pentium chips by margins significantly exceeding 50%, but independent benchmarks did not bear this out. InfoWorld reviewer Jennifer Plonka reported that the 400 MHz G3 was 11% slower than a comparably-specced Pentium II-450 in an Office applications suite test, while Photoshop 5.0 was faster by 26%. And in 2003, Maximum PC ran a variety of gaming, Photoshop and LightWave 3D benchmarks, and reported that the Dual 1.25 GHz G4 system was about half the speed of a dual-processor Intel Xeon Prestonia 2.8 GHz system. A related criticism leveled at Power Mac systems from this time, particularly the G4 Mirrored Drive Doors, was the increased fan noise level compared to older systems.
By the time the Power Mac G5 was unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in July 2003, Apple's desktop range had fallen significantly behind competing computers in performance. The G5 closed much of this gap by moving to the PowerPC 970 processor with clock speeds up to 2.0 GHz, and a full 64-bit architecture. It also introduced a significantly revised enclosure design, replacing the use of plastics with anodized aluminum alloy.
Reviews were generally positive. InfoWorld described the G5 as "Apple's best work yet", and said it "delivers on the present need for rapid computing, deep multitasking, and responsive user interfaces — as well as the future need for mainstream computers that rapidly process and analyze massive data sets." PC Magazine again awarded the Power Mac G5 with its Award for Technical Excellence for 2003. However, the G5's heavy weight (10 pounds more than the previous year's Quicksilver Power Mac G4), limited internal expansion options, issues with ground loop, and noise in the single-processor models' power supply units resulted in significant criticism of the product. Apple also continued to make unsubstantiated performance claims about the new Power Mac. This resulted in the Advertising Standards Authority for the United Kingdom banning Apple from using the phrase "the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer" to describe the Power Mac G5 after independent tests carried out by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre determined the claim to be false. Another claim made by Steve Jobs at the 2003 Worldwide Developers Conference was that the company would be selling a 3 GHz G5 by mid-2004; this never happened.
Three generations of Power Mac G5 were released before it was discontinued during Apple's transition to Intel processors. The announcement of the transition came in mid-2005, but the third generation of G5 systems was introduced towards the end of 2005. Most notably in this generation was the introduction of a Quad-core 2.5 GHz system. Not only was this the first Apple computer with four processing cores, it was the first to incorporate PCI Express instead of PCI-X for internal expansion. It also required an IEC 60320 C19 power connector that was more common on rackmounted server hardware, instead of the industry-standard C13 connector used with personal computers.
The official end to the Power Macintosh line came at the 2006 Worldwide Developers Conference, where Phil Schiller introduced its replacement, the Mac Pro. The G5's enclosure design was retained for the Mac Pro and continued to be used for seven more years, making it among the longest-lived designs in Apple's history.
The Power Macintosh models can be broadly classified into two categories, depending on whether they were released before or after Apple introduced its "four quadrant" product strategy in 1998. Before the introduction of the Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) in 1999, Apple had shipped Power Macintosh-labelled machines in nine different form factors, some of which were carry-overs from pre-PowerPC product lines, such as the Quadra/Centris 610 and the IIvx. This was reduced to one model in the new product strategy, with the exception of the Power Mac G4 Cube in 2000 and 2001.
Apple named Power Macintosh models from this period after the first pre-PowerPC model of Macintosh to use a particular form factor, followed by a slash and the speed of the CPU. For example, the Power Macintosh 6300/120 uses the Quadra 630's form factor and has a CPU.
Machines with "AV" in their name denote variants that include extended audio-video capabilities.
Machines with "PC Compatible" in their name include a separate card with an x86-compatible CPU; these models are therefore capable of running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications, typically Windows 3.1.
Machines with "MP" in their name denote machines that include two CPUs.
These early models had two distinct generations. The first generation uses the PowerPC 601 and 603 processors and used the old NuBus expansion slots, while the second generation uses the faster 603e, 604 and 604e chips as well as industry-standard PCI expansion slots. The second generation also makes use of Open Firmware, allowing them to more easily boot alternate operating systems (including OS X via XPostFacto), though use of various hacks was still necessary.
The PM 4400 is a desktop case with a height of , suitable for horizontal placement with a monitor on top.
The PM 5200 is an all-in-one form factor with specifications and internal designs similar to the Quadra 630. Collectively these machines are sometimes referred to as the "Power Macintosh/Performa 5000 series".
The Centris 610 form factor is a low-profile "pizza-box" design with a height of , intended to be placed on a desktop with a monitor on top.
The Quadra 630 form factor is a horizontally-oriented design with a height of , suitable for placing a monitor on top.
The Performa 6400 form factor is a mini-tower design, suitable for being placed beside a monitor.
The IIvx form factor is a horizontally-oriented desktop form factor with a height of , suitable for placing a monitor on top.
The PM 7500 form factor is a horizontally-oriented desktop design with a height of , suitable for placing a monitor on top.
The Quadra 800 form factor is a mini-tower design, with a width of .
The PM 9600 form factor is a mini-tower design with a width of .
Starting with the Power Macintosh G3, Apple changed its product naming to include the generation of PowerPC CPU, with the name of the form factor or a key feature afterwards in brackets. The Power Mac G5's name was changed to incorporate the time period in which the model was released. The all-in-one models would eventually be spun off into the iMac line, whilst the compact form factor models would be spun off into the Mac Mini.
The Power Mac brand name was used for Apple's high-end tower style computers, targeted primarily at businesses and creative professionals, in differentiation to their more compact "iMac" line (intended for home use) and the "eMac" line (for the education markets). They were usually equipped with Apple's newest technologies, and commanded the highest prices among Apple desktop models. Some Power Mac G4 and G5 models were offered in dual-processor configurations.
Prior to the "Power Mac" name change, certain "Power Macintosh" models were otherwise identical to their lower-cost re-branded siblings sold as the Macintosh LC and Macintosh Performa, as well as the dedicated Apple Workgroup Server and Macintosh Server G3 & G4 lines. Other past Macintosh lines which used PowerPC processors include the PowerBook 5300 and later models, iMac, iBook and Xserve as well as the Apple Network Server, which was technically not a Macintosh.
Apple positioned the Power Macintosh as a high-end personal computer aimed at businesses and creative professionals with an advertising campaign consisting of several television commercials and print ads. The television commercials used the slogan ""The Future Is Better Than You Expected"", featuring the first three Power Macintosh computers to showcase special features such as networking and MS-DOS compatibility.
In 1993 and 1994, a television advertising campaign created by BBDO aired with the slogan "It does more, it costs less, it's that simple." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24886 |
Promoter (genetics)
In genetics, a promoter is a sequence of DNA to which proteins bind that initiate transcription of a single RNA from the DNA downstream of it. This RNA may encode a protein, or can have a function in and of itself, such as tRNA, mRNA, or rRNA. Promoters are located near the transcription start sites of genes, upstream on the DNA (towards the 5' region of the sense strand).
Promoters can be about 100–1000 base pairs long.
For transcription to take place, the enzyme that synthesizes RNA, known as RNA polymerase, must attach to the DNA near a gene. Promoters contain specific DNA sequences such as response elements that provide a secure initial binding site for RNA polymerase and for proteins called transcription factors that recruit RNA polymerase. These transcription factors have specific activator or repressor sequences of corresponding nucleotides that attach to specific promoters and regulate gene expression.
Promoters represent critical elements that can work in concert with other regulatory regions (enhancers, silencers, boundary elements/insulators) to direct the level of transcription of a given gene.
A promoter is induced in response to changes in abundance or conformation of regulatory proteins in a cell, which enable activating transcription factors to recruit RNA polymerase.
As promoters are typically immediately adjacent to the gene in question, positions in the promoter are designated relative to the transcriptional start site, where transcription of DNA begins for a particular gene (i.e., positions upstream are negative numbers counting back from -1, for example -100 is a position 100 base pairs upstream).
In the cell nucleus, it seems that promoters are distributed preferentially at the edge of the chromosomal territories, likely for the co-expression of genes on different chromosomes. Furthermore, in humans, promoters show certain structural features characteristic for each chromosome.
In bacteria, the promoter contains two short sequence elements approximately 10 (Pribnow Box) and 35 nucleotides "upstream" from the transcription start site.
The above promoter sequences are recognized only by RNA polymerase holoenzyme containing sigma-70. RNA polymerase holoenzymes containing other sigma factors recognize different core promoter sequences.
for -10 sequence
Eukaryotic promoters are diverse and can be difficult to characterize, however, recent studies show that they are divided in more than 10 classes.
Gene promoters are typically located upstream of the gene and can have regulatory elements several kilobases away from the transcriptional start site (enhancers). In eukaryotes, the transcriptional complex can cause the DNA to bend back on itself, which allows for placement of regulatory sequences far from the actual site of transcription. Eukaryotic RNA-polymerase-II-dependent promoters can contain a TATA element (consensus sequence TATAAA), which is recognized by the general transcription factor TATA-binding protein (TBP); and a B recognition element (BRE), which is recognized by the general transcription factor TFIIB. The TATA element and BRE typically are located close to the transcriptional start site (typically within 30 to 40 base pairs).
Eukaryotic promoter regulatory sequences typically bind proteins called transcription factors that are involved in the formation of the transcriptional complex. An example is the E-box (sequence CACGTG), which binds transcription factors in the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family (e.g. BMAL1-Clock, cMyc). Some promoters that are targeted by multiple transcription factors might achieve a hyperactive state, leading to increased transcriptional activity.
Bidirectional promoters are short (<1 kbp) intergenic regions of DNA between the 5' ends of the genes in a bidirectional gene pair. A “bidirectional gene pair” refers to two adjacent genes coded on opposite strands, with their 5' ends oriented toward one another. The two genes are often functionally related, and modification of their shared promoter region allows them to be co-regulated and thus co-expressed. Bidirectional promoters are a common feature of mammalian genomes. About 11% of human genes are bidirectionally paired.
Bidirectionally paired genes in the Gene Ontology database shared at least one database-assigned functional category with their partners 47% of the time. Microarray analysis has shown bidirectionally paired genes to be co-expressed to a higher degree than random genes or neighboring unidirectional genes. Although co-expression does not necessarily indicate co-regulation, methylation of bidirectional promoter regions has been shown to downregulate both genes, and demethylation to upregulate both genes. There are exceptions to this, however. In some cases (about 11%), only one gene of a bidirectional pair is expressed. In these cases, the promoter is implicated in suppression of the non-expressed gene. The mechanism behind this could be competition for the same polymerases, or chromatin modification. Divergent transcription could shift nucleosomes to upregulate transcription of one gene, or remove bound transcription factors to downregulate transcription of one gene.
Some functional classes of genes are more likely to be bidirectionally paired than others. Genes implicated in DNA repair are five times more likely to be regulated by bidirectional promoters than by unidirectional promoters. Chaperone proteins are three times more likely, and mitochondrial genes are more than twice as likely. Many basic housekeeping and cellular metabolic genes are regulated by bidirectional promoters.
The overrepresentation of bidirectionally paired DNA repair genes associates these promoters with cancer. Forty-five percent of human somatic oncogenes seem to be regulated by bidirectional promoters – significantly more than non-cancer causing genes. Hypermethylation of the promoters between gene pairs WNT9A/CD558500, CTDSPL/BC040563, and KCNK15/BF195580 has been associated with tumors.
Certain sequence characteristics have been observed in bidirectional promoters, including a lack of TATA boxes, an abundance of CpG islands, and a symmetry around the midpoint of dominant Cs and As on one side and Gs and Ts on the other. A motif with the consensus sequence of TCTCGCGAGA, also called the CGCG element, was recently shown to drive PolII-driven bidirectional transcription in CpG islands. CCAAT boxes are common, as they are in many promoters that lack TATA boxes. In addition, the motifs NRF-1, GABPA, YY1, and ACTACAnnTCCC are represented in bidirectional promoters at significantly higher rates than in unidirectional promoters. The absence of TATA boxes in bidirectional promoters suggests that TATA boxes play a role in determining the directionality of promoters, but counterexamples of bidirectional promoters do possess TATA boxes and unidirectional promoters without them indicates that they cannot be the only factor.
Although the term "bidirectional promoter" refers specifically to promoter regions of mRNA-encoding genes, luciferase assays have shown that over half of human genes do not have a strong directional bias. Research suggests that non-coding RNAs are frequently associated with the promoter regions of mRNA-encoding genes. It has been hypothesized that the recruitment and initiation of RNA polymerase II usually begins bidirectionally, but divergent transcription is halted at a checkpoint later during elongation. Possible mechanisms behind this regulation include sequences in the promoter region, chromatin modification, and the spatial orientation of the DNA.
A subgenomic promoter is a promoter added to a virus for a specific heterologous gene, resulting in the formation of mRNA for that gene alone. Many positive-sense RNA viruses produce these subgenomic mRNAs (sgRNA) as one of the common infection techniques used by these viruses and generally transcribe late viral genes. Subgenomic promoters range from 24 nucleotide (Sindbis virus) to over 100 nucleotides (Beet necrotic yellow vein virus) and are usually found upstream of the transcription start.
A wide variety of algorithms have been developed to facilitate detection of promoters in genomic sequence, and promoter prediction is a common element of many gene prediction methods. A promoter region is located before the -35 and -10 Consensus sequences. The closer the promoter region is to the consensus sequences the more often transcription of that gene will take place. There is not a set pattern for promoter regions as there are for consensus sequences.
Changes in promoter sequences are critical in evolution as indicated by the relatively stable number of genes in many lineages. For instance, most vertebrates have roughly the same number of protein-coding genes (about 20,000) which are often highly conserved in sequence, hence much of evolutionary change must come from changes in gene expression.
Given the short sequences of most promoter elements, promoters can rapidly evolve from random sequences. For instance, in "E. coli", ~60% of random sequences can evolve expression levels comparable to the wild-type lac promoter with only one mutation, and that ~10% of random sequences can serve as active promoters even without evolution.
Other recent studies suggest that promoters of genes may be the primary cause of diabetes. Promoters of genes associated with diabetes by Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) show specific DNA patterns for each phenotype. This observation indicates that the promoters of these genes use specific transcription factors for each diabetes phenotype.
The initiation of the transcription is a multistep sequential process that involves several mechanisms: promoter location, initial reversible binding of RNA polymerase, conformational changes in RNA polymerase, conformational changes in DNA, binding of nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) to the functional RNA polymerase-promoter complex, and nonproductive and productive initiation of RNA synthesis.
The promoter binding process is crucial in the understanding of the process of gene expression.
Although RNA polymerase holoenzyme shows high affinity to non-specific sites of the DNA, this characteristic does not allow us to clarify the process of promoter location. This process of promoter location has been attributed to the structure of the holoenzyme to DNA and sigma 4 to DNA complexes.
Most diseases are heterogeneous in cause, meaning that one "disease" is often many different diseases at the molecular level, though symptoms exhibited and response to treatment may be identical. How diseases of different molecular origin respond to treatments is partially addressed in the discipline of pharmacogenomics.
Not listed here are the many kinds of cancers involving aberrant transcriptional regulation owing to creation of chimeric genes through pathological chromosomal translocation. Importantly, intervention in the number or structure of promoter-bound proteins is one key to treating a disease without affecting expression of unrelated genes sharing elements with the target gene. Some genes whose change is not desirable are capable of influencing the potential of a cell to become cancerous.
In humans, about 70% of promoters located near the transcription start site of a gene (proximal promoters) contain a CpG island. CpG islands are generally 200 to 2000 base pairs long, have a C:G base pair content >50%, and have regions of DNA where a cytosine nucleotide is followed by a guanine nucleotide and this occurs frequently in the linear sequence of bases along its 5' → 3' direction.
Distal promoters also frequently contain CpG islands, such as the promoter of the DNA repair gene "ERCC1", where the CpG island-containing promoter is located about 5,400 nucleotides upstream of the coding region of the "ERCC1" gene. CpG islands also occur frequently in promoters for functional noncoding RNAs such as microRNAs.
In humans, DNA methylation occurs at the 5' position of the pyrimidine ring of the cytosine residues within CpG sites to form 5-methylcytosines. The presence of multiple methylated CpG sites in CpG islands of promoters causes stable silencing of genes. Silencing of a gene may be initiated by other mechanisms, but this is often followed by methylation of CpG sites in the promoter CpG island to cause the stable silencing of the gene.
Generally, in progression to cancer, hundreds of genes are silenced or activated. Although silencing of some genes in cancers occurs by mutation, a large proportion of carcinogenic gene silencing is a result of altered DNA methylation (see DNA methylation in cancer). DNA methylation causing silencing in cancer typically occurs at multiple CpG sites in the CpG islands that are present in the promoters of protein coding genes.
Altered expressions of microRNAs also silence or activate many genes in progression to cancer (see microRNAs in cancer). Altered microRNA expression occurs through hyper/hypo-methylation of CpG sites in CpG islands in promoters controlling transcription of the microRNAs.
Silencing of DNA repair genes through methylation of CpG islands in their promoters appears to be especially important in progression to cancer (see methylation of DNA repair genes in cancer).
The usage of the term canonical sequence to refer to a promoter is often problematic, and can lead to misunderstandings about promoter sequences. Canonical implies perfect, in some sense.
In the case of a transcription factor binding site, there may be a single sequence that binds the protein most strongly under specified cellular conditions. This might be called canonical.
However, natural selection may favor less energetic binding as a way of regulating transcriptional output. In this case, we may call the most common sequence in a population the wild-type sequence. It may not even be the most advantageous sequence to have under prevailing conditions.
Recent evidence also indicates that several genes (including the proto-oncogene c-myc) have G-quadruplex motifs as potential regulatory signals.
Some cases of many genetic diseases are associated with variations in promoters or transcription factors.
Examples include:
Some promoters are called constitutive as they are active in all circumstances in the cell, while others are regulated, becoming active in the cell only in response to specific stimuli.
When referring to a promoter some authors actually mean promoter + operator; i.e., the lac promoter is IPTG inducible, meaning that besides the lac promoter, the lac operator is also present. If the lac operator were not present the IPTG would not have an inducible effect.
Another example is the Tac-Promoter system (Ptac). Notice how tac is written as a tac promoter, while in fact tac is actually both a promoter and an operator. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24888 |
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster graphics editing, but in digital art as a whole. The software's name has thus become a generic trademark, leading to its usage as a verb (e.g. "to photoshop an image", "photoshopping", and "photoshop contest") although Adobe discourages such use. Photoshop can edit and compose raster images in multiple layers and supports masks, alpha compositing and several color models including RGB, CMYK, CIELAB, spot color, and duotone. Photoshop uses its own PSD and PSB file formats to support these features. In addition to raster graphics, Photoshop has limited abilities to edit or render text and vector graphics (especially through clipping path for the latter), as well as 3D graphics and video. Its feature set can be expanded by plug-ins; programs developed and distributed independently of Photoshop that run inside it and offer new or enhanced features.
Photoshop's naming scheme was initially based on version numbers. However, in October 2002 (following the introduction of Creative Suite branding), each new version of Photoshop was designated with "CS" plus a number; e.g., the eighth major version of Photoshop was Photoshop CS and the ninth was Photoshop CS2. Photoshop CS3 through CS6 were also distributed in two different editions: Standard and Extended. With the introduction of the Creative Cloud branding in June 2013 (and in turn, the change of the "CS" suffix to "CC"), Photoshop's licensing scheme was changed to that of software as a service rental model. Historically, Photoshop was bundled with additional software such as Adobe ImageReady, Adobe Fireworks, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Device Central and Adobe Camera RAW.
Alongside Photoshop, Adobe also develops and publishes Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Lightroom, Photoshop Express, Photoshop Fix, Photoshop Sketch and Photoshop Mix. As of November 2019, Adobe has also released a full version of Photoshop for the iPad, and while initially limited, Adobe plans to bring more features to Photoshop for iPad. Collectively, they are branded as "The Adobe Photoshop Family".
Photoshop was developed in 1987 by two brothers Thomas and John Knoll, who sold the distribution license to Adobe Systems Incorporated in 1988. Thomas Knoll, a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan, began writing a program on his Macintosh Plus to display grayscale images on a monochrome display. This program (at that time called Display) caught the attention of his brother John, an Industrial Light & Magic employee, who recommended that Thomas turn it into a full-fledged image editing program. Thomas took a six-month break from his studies in 1988 to collaborate with his brother on the program. Thomas renamed the program ImagePro, but the name was already taken. Later that year, Thomas renamed his program Photoshop and worked out a short-term deal with scanner manufacturer Barneyscan to distribute copies of the program with a slide scanner; a "total of about 200 copies of Photoshop were shipped" this way.
During this time, John traveled to Silicon Valley and gave a demonstration of the program to engineers at Apple and Russell Brown, art director at Adobe. Both showings were successful, and Adobe decided to purchase the license to distribute in September 1988. While John worked on plug-ins in California, Thomas remained in Ann Arbor writing code. "Photoshop" 1.0 was released on February 19, 1990 for Macintosh exclusively. The Barneyscan version included advanced color editing features that were stripped from the first Adobe shipped version. The handling of color slowly improved with each release from Adobe and Photoshop quickly became the industry standard in digital color editing. At the time Photoshop 1.0 was released, digital retouching on dedicated high-end systems (such as the Scitex) cost around $300 an hour for basic photo retouching. The list price of Photoshop 1.0 for Macintosh in 1990 was $895.
Photoshop was initially only available on Macintosh. In 1993, Adobe chief architect Seetharaman Narayanan ported Photoshop to Microsoft Windows. The Windows port led to Photoshop reaching a wider mass market audience as Microsoft's global reach expanded within the next few years.
Photoshop files have default file extension as .PSD, which stands for "PhotoShop Document". A PSD file stores an image with support for most imaging options available in Photoshop. These include layers with masks, transparency, text, alpha channels and spot colors, clipping paths, and duotone settings. This is in contrast to many other file formats (e.g., .JPG or .GIF) that restrict content to provide streamlined, predictable functionality. A PSD file has a maximum height and width of 30,000 pixels, and a length limit of two gigabytes.
Photoshop files sometimes have the file extension .PSB, which stands for "PhotoShop Big" (also known as "large document format"). A PSB file extends the PSD file format, increasing the maximum height and width to 300,000 pixels and the length limit to around 4 Exabytes. The dimension limit was apparently chosen arbitrarily by Adobe, not based on computer arithmetic constraints (it is not close to a power of two, as is 30,000) but for ease of software testing. PSD and PSB formats are documented.
Because of Photoshop's popularity, PSD files are widely used and supported to some extent by most competing software, including Open-source / Free software such as GIMP. The .PSD file format can be exported to and from Adobe's other apps like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, and After Effects.
Photoshop functionality can be extended by add-on programs called Photoshop plugins (or plug-ins). Adobe creates some plugins, such as Adobe Camera Raw, but third-party companies develop most plugins, according to Adobe's specifications. Some are free and some are commercial software.
Most plugins work with only Photoshop or Photoshop-compatible hosts, but a few can also be run as standalone applications.
There are various types of plugins, such as filter, export, import, selection, color correction, and automation. The most popular plugins are the filter plugins (also known as a 8bf plugins), available under the Filter menu in Photoshop.
Filter plugins can either modify the current image or create content. Below are some popular types of plugins, and some well-known companies associated with them:
Adobe Camera Raw (also known as ACR and Camera Raw) is a special plugin, supplied free by Adobe, used primarily to read and process raw image files so that the resulting images can be processed by Photoshop. It can also be used from within Adobe Bridge.
Upon loading Photoshop, a sidebar with a variety of tools with multiple image-editing functions appears to the left of the screen. These tools typically fall under the categories of drawing; painting; measuring and navigation; selection; typing; and retouching. Some tools contain a small triangle in the bottom right of the toolbox icon. These can be expanded to reveal similar tools. While newer versions of Photoshop are updated to include new tools and features, several recurring tools that exist in most versions are discussed below.
Photoshop includes a few versions of the "pen" tool. The pen tool creates precise paths that can be manipulated using anchor points. The "free form pen" tool allows the user to draw paths freehand, and with the "magnetic pen" tool, the drawn path attaches closely to outlines of objects in an image, which is useful for isolating them from a background.
The Clone Stamp tool duplicates one part of an image to another part of the same image by way of a brush. The duplication is either in full or in part depending on the mode. The user can also clone part of one layer to another layer. The Clone Stamp tool is useful for duplicating objects or removing a defect in an image.
Photoshop provides an array of shape tools including rectangles, rounded rectangles, ellipses, polygons and lines. These shapes can be manipulated by the pen tool, direct selection tool etc. to make vector graphics. In addition, Photoshop provides its own shapes like animals, signs and plants.
The "eyedropper" tool selects a color from an area of the image that is clicked, and samples it for future use. The "hand" tool navigates an image by moving it in any direction, and the "zoom" tool enlarges the part of an image that is clicked on, allowing for a closer view.
Selection tools are used to select all or any part of a picture to perform cut, copy, edit, or retouching operations.
The "crop" tool can be used to select a particular area of an image and discard the portions outside the chosen section. This tool assists in creating a focus point on an image and unnecessary or excess space. Cropping allows enhancement of a photo's composition while decreasing the file size. The "crop" tool is in the tools palette, which is located on the right side of the document. By placing the cursor over the image, the user can drag the cursor to the desired area. Once the Enter key is pressed, the area outside the rectangle will be cropped. The area outside the rectangle is the discarded data, which allows for the file size to be decreased. The "crop" tool can alternatively be used to extend the canvas size by clicking and dragging outside the existing image borders.
The "slice" and "slice select" tools, like the crop tool, are used in isolating parts of images. The "slice" tool can be used to divide an image into different sections, and these separate parts can be used as pieces of a web page design once HTML and CSS are applied. The "slice select" tool allows sliced sections of an image to be adjusted and shifted.
The move tool can be used to drag the entirety of a single layer or more if they are selected. Alternatively, once an area of an image is highlighted, the "move" tool can be used to manually relocate the selected piece to anywhere on the canvas.
The "marquee" is a tool that can make selections that are a single row, single column, rectangular and elliptical. An area that has been selected can be edited without affecting the rest of the image. This tool can also crop an image; it allows for better control. In contrast to the "crop" tool, the "marquee" tool allows for more adjustments to the selected area before cropping. The only "marquee" tool that does not allow cropping is the elliptical. Although the single row and column "marquee" tools allow for cropping, they are not ideal, because they only crop a line. The "rectangular marquee" tool is the preferred option. Once the tool has been selected, dragging the tool across the desired area will select it. The selected area will be outlined by dotted lines, referred to as "marching ants". To set a specific size or ratio, the tool options bar provides these settings. Before selecting an area, the desired size or ratio must be set by adjusting the width and height. Any changes such as color, filters, location, etc. should be made before cropping. To crop the selection, the user must go to the image tab and select crop.
The "lasso" tool is similar to the "marquee" tool, however, the user can make a custom selection by drawing it freehand. There are three options for the "lasso" tool – regular, polygonal, and magnetic. The regular "lasso" tool allows the user to have drawing capabilities. Photoshop will complete the selection once the mouse button is released. The user may also complete the selection by connecting the end point to the starting point. The "marching ants" will indicate if a selection has been made. The "polygonal lasso" tool will draw only straight lines, which makes it an ideal choice for images with many straight lines. Unlike the regular "lasso" tool, the user must continually click around the image to outline the shape. To complete the selection, the user must connect the end point to the starting point just like the regular lasso tool. "Magnetic lasso" tool is considered the smart tool. It can do the same as the other two, but it can also detect the edges of an image once the user selects a starting point. It detects by examining the color pixels as the cursor move over the desired area. Closing the selection is the same as the other two, which should also should display the "marching ants" once the selection has been closed.
The "quick selection" tool selects areas based on edges, similarly to the "magnetic lasso" tool. The difference between this tool and the "lasso" tool is that there is no starting and ending point. For this reason, the selected area can be added onto as much as possible without starting over. By dragging the cursor over the desired area, the "quick selection" tool detects the edges of the image. The "marching ants" allow the user to know what is currently being selected. Once the user is done, the selected area can be edited without affecting the rest of the image. One of the features that makes this tool especially user friendly is that the SHIFT key is not needed to add more to the selection; by default, extra mouse clicks will be added to the selection rather than creating a new selection.
The "magic wand" tool selects areas based on pixels of similar values. One click will select all neighboring pixels of similar value within a tolerance level set by the user. If the "eyedropper" tool is selected in the options bar, then the magic wand can determine the value needed to evaluate the pixels; this is based on the sample size setting in the "eyedropper" tool. This tool is inferior to the quick selection tool which works much the same but with much better results and more intuitive controls. The user must decide what settings to use or if the image is right for this tool.
The "Eraser" tool erases content based on the active layer. If the user is on the text layer, then any text across which the tool is dragged will be erased. The eraser will convert the pixels to transparent, unless the background layer is selected. The size and style of the eraser can be selected in the options bar. This tool is unique in that it can take the form of the paintbrush and pencil tools. In addition to the straight eraser tool, there are two more available options – background eraser and magic eraser. The "background eraser" deletes any part of the image that is on the edge of an object. This tool is often used to extract objects from the background. The "magic eraser" tool deletes based on similar colored pixels. It is very similar to the "magic wand" tool. This tool is ideal for deleting areas with the same color or tone that contrasts with the rest of the image.
In Adobe CS5 Extended edition, video editing is comprehensive and efficient with a broad compatibility of video file formats such as "MOV", "AVI" and "MPEG-4" formats and easy workflow. Using simple combinations of keys video layers can easily be modified, with other features such as adding text and creating animations using single images.
With the Extended version of Photoshop CS5, 2D elements of an artwork can easily become three-dimensional with the click of a button. Extrusions of texts, an available library of materials for three-dimensional, and even wrapping two-dimensional images around 3D geometry.
Third-party plugins have also been added to the most recent version of Photoshop where technologies such as the iPad have integrated the software with different types of applications. Applications like the Adobe Eazel painting app allows the user to easily create paintings with their fingertips and use an array of different paint from dry to wet in order to create rich color blending. In October 2018, it was announced that the full Photoshop engine will be released for iPad next year. The program will feature cloud syncing with other devices and a simpler interface than the desktop version.
With the Camera Raw plug-in, raw images can be processed without the use of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, along with other image file formats such as "JPEG", "TIFF", or "PNG". The plug-in allows users to remove noise without the side-effect of over-sharpening, add grain, and even perform post-crop vignetting.
From version 14.1, users can create and edit designs for 3D printing. Artists can add color, adjust the shape or rotate the angles of imported models, or design original 3D models from scratch.
The Color Replacement Tool allows the user to change the color, while maintaining the highlights and shadows of the original image, of pieces of the image. By selecting Brushs and right clicking, the Color Replacement Tool is the third option down. What is important to note with this tool is the foreground color. The foreground color is what will be applied when painting along the chosen part of the image with the Color Replacement tool.
"Photoshop" and derivatives such as "Photoshopped" (or just "Shopped") have become verbs that are sometimes used to refer to images edited by Photoshop, or any image manipulating program. Such derivatives are discouraged by Adobe because, in order to maintain validity and protect the trademark from becoming generic, trademarks must be used as proper nouns.
Photoshop's naming scheme was initially based on version numbers, from version 0.07 (codename "Bond"; double-oh-seven), through version 0.87 (codename "Seurat" which was the first commercial version, sold as "Barneyscan XP"), version 1.0 (February 1990) all the way to version 7.0.1. Adobe published 7 major and many minor versions before the October 2003 introduction of version 8.0 which brought with it the Creative Suite branding.
Notable milestone features would be: Filters, Colour Separation, Virtual Memory (1.0), Paths, CMYK color (2.0), 16-bits-per-channel support, availability on Microsoft Windows (2.5), Layers, tabbed Palettes (3.0), Adjustments, Actions, Freeform Transform, PNG support (4.0), Editable Type, Magnetic Lasso and Pen, Freeform Pen, Multiple Undo, Layer Effects (5.0), Save For Web (5.5), Vector Shapes, revised User Interface (6.0), Vector Text, Healing Brush, Spell Check (7.0), Camera RAW (7.0.1).
In February 2013 Adobe donated the source code of the 1990 1.0.1 version of Photoshop to the Computer History Museum.
The first Photoshop CS was commercially released in October 2003 as the eighth major version of Photoshop. Photoshop CS increased user control with a reworked file browser augmenting search versatility, sorting and sharing capabilities and the Histogram Palette which monitors changes in the image as they are made to the document. Match Color was also introduced in CS, which reads color data to achieve a uniform expression throughout a series of pictures.
Photoshop CS2, released in May 2005, expanded on its predecessor with a new set of tools and features. It included an upgraded Spot Healing Brush, which is mainly used for handling common photographic problems such as blemishes, red-eye, noise, blurring and lens distortion. One of the most significant inclusions in CS2 was the implementation of Smart Objects, which allows users to scale and transform images and vector illustrations without losing image quality, as well as create linked duplicates of embedded graphics so that a single edit updates across multiple iterations.
Adobe responded to feedback from the professional media industry by implementing non-destructive editing as well as the producing and modifying of 32-Bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) images, which are optimal for 3D rendering and advanced compositing. FireWire Previews could also be viewed on a monitor via a direct export feature.
Photoshop CS2 brought the Vanishing Point and Image Warping tools. Vanishing Point makes tedious graphic and photo retouching endeavors much simpler by letting users clone, paint and transform image objects while maintaining visual perspective. Image Warping makes it easy to digitally distort an image into a shape by choosing on-demand presets or by dragging control points.
The File Browser was upgraded to Adobe Bridge, which functioned as a hub for productivity, imagery and creativity, providing multi-view file browsing and smooth cross-product integration across Adobe Creative Suite 2 software. Adobe Bridge also provided access to Adobe Stock Photos, a new stock photography service that offered users one-stop shopping across five elite stock image providers to deliver high-quality, royalty-free images for layout and design.
Camera Raw version 3.0 was a new addition in CS2, and it allowed settings for multiple raw files to be modified simultaneously. In addition, processing multiple raw files to other formats including JPEG, TIFF, DNG or PSD, could be done in the background without executing Photoshop itself.
Photoshop CS2 brought a streamlined interface, making it easier to access features for specific instances. In CS2 users were also given the ability to create their own custom presets, which was meant to save time and increase productivity.
CS2 activation servers' shutdown: In January 2013, Adobe Photoshop CS2 (9.0), with some other CS2 products, was released with an official serial number, due to the technical glitch in Adobe's CS2 activation servers (see Creative Suite 1 and 2).
CS3 improves on features from previous versions of Photoshop and introduces new tools. One of the most significant is the streamlined interface which allows increased performance, speed, and efficiency. There is also improved support for Camera RAW files which allow users to process images with higher speed and conversion quality. CS3 supports over 150 RAW formats as well as JPEG, TIFF and PDF. Enhancements were made to the Black and White Conversion, Brightness and Contrast Adjustment and Vanishing Point Module tools. The Black and White adjustment option improves control over manual grayscale conversions with a dialog box similar to that of Channel Mixer. There is more control over print options and better management with Adobe Bridge. The Clone Source palette is introduced, adding more options to the clone stamp tool. Other features include the nondestructive Smart Filters, optimizing graphics for mobile devices, Fill Light and Dust Busting tools. Compositing is assisted with Photoshop's new Quick Selection and Refine Edge tools and improved image stitching technology.
CS3 Extended includes everything in CS3 and additional features. There are tools for 3D graphic file formats, video enhancement and animation, and comprehensive image measurement and analysis tools with DICOM file support. The 3D graphic formats allow 3D content to be incorporated into 2D compositions. As for video editing, CS3 supports layers and video formatting so users can edit video files per frame.
CS3 and CS3 Extended were released in April 2007 to the United States and Canada. They were also made available through Adobe's online store and Adobe Authorized Resellers. Both CS3 and CS3 Extended are offered as either a stand-alone application or feature of Adobe Creative Suite. Both products are compatible with Intel-based Macs and PowerPCs, supporting Windows XP and Windows Vista. CS3 is the first release of Photoshop that will run natively on Macs with Intel processors: previous versions can only run through the translation layer Rosetta, and will not run at all on Macs running Mac OS X 10.7 or later.
CS4 features smoother panning and zooming, allowing faster image editing at a high magnification. The interface is more simplified with its tab-based interface making it cleaner to work with. Photoshop CS4 features a new 3D engine allowing the conversion of gradient maps to 3D objects, adding depth to layers and text, and getting print-quality output with the new ray-tracing rendering engine. It supports common 3D formats; the new Adjustment and Mask Panels; Content-aware scaling (seam carving); Fluid Canvas Rotation and File display options. The Content-aware scaling allows users to intelligently size and scale images, and the Canvas Rotation tool makes it easier to rotate and edit images from any angle.
Adobe released Photoshop CS4 Extended, which has the features of Adobe Photoshop CS4, plus capabilities for scientific imaging, 3D, motion graphics, accurate image analysis and high-end film and video users. The faster 3D engine allows users to paint directly on 3D models, wrap 2D images around 3D shapes and animate 3D objects. As the successor to Photoshop CS3, Photoshop CS4 is the first x64 edition of Photoshop on consumer computers for Windows. The color correction tool has also been improved significantly.
CS4 and CS4 Extended were released on October 15, 2008. They were also made available through Adobe's online store and Adobe Authorized Resellers. Both CS4 and CS4 Extended are offered as either a stand-alone application or feature of Adobe Creative Suite. Both products are compatible with Intel-based Mac OS X and PowerPCs, supporting Windows XP and Windows Vista.
Photoshop CS5 was launched on April 12, 2010. In a video posted on its official Facebook page, the development team revealed the new technologies under development, including three-dimensional brushes and warping tools.
In May 2011, Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 (CS5.5) was released, with new versions of some of the applications. Its version of Photoshop, 12.1, is identical to the concurrently released update for Photoshop CS5, version 12.0.4, except for support for the new subscription pricing that was introduced with CS5.5.
CS5 introduces new tools such as the Content-Aware Fill, Refine Edge, Mixer Brush, Bristle Tips and Puppet Warp. The community also had a hand in the additions made to CS5 as 30 new features and improvements were included by request. These include automatic image straightening, the Rule-of-Thirds cropping tool, color pickup, and saving a 16-bit image as a JPEG. Another feature includes the Adobe Mini Bridge, which allows for efficient file browsing and management.
CS5 Extended includes everything in CS5 plus features in 3D and video editing. A new materials library was added, providing more options such as Chrome, Glass, and Cork. The new Shadow Catcher tool can be used to further enhance 3D objects. For motion graphics, the tools can be applied to over more than one frame in a video sequence.
CS5 and CS5 Extended were made available through Adobe's online store, Adobe Authorized Resellers and Adobe direct sales. Both CS5 and CS5 Extended are offered as either a stand-alone application or a feature of Adobe Creative Suite 5. Both products are compatible with Intel-based Mac OS X and Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
Photoshop CS6, released in May 2012, added new creative design tools and provided a redesigned interface with a focus on enhanced performance. New features have been added to the Content-Aware tool such as the Content-Aware Patch and Content-Aware Move.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 brought a suite of tools for video editing. Color and exposure adjustments, as well as layers, are among a few things that are featured in this new editor. Upon completion of editing, the user is presented with a handful of options of exporting into a few popular formats.
CS6 brings the "straighten" tool to Photoshop, where a user simply draws a line anywhere on an image, and the canvas will reorient itself so that the line drawn becomes horizontal, and adjusts the media accordingly. This was created with the intention that users will draw a line parallel to a plane in the image, and reorient the image to that plane to more easily achieve certain perspectives.
CS6 allows background saving, which means that while another document is compiling and archiving itself, it is possible to simultaneously edit an image. CS6 also features a customizable auto-save feature, preventing any work from being lost.
With version 13.1.3, Adobe dropped support for Windows XP (including Windows XP Professional x64 Edition); thus, the last version that works on Windows XP is 13.0.1. Adobe also announced that CS6 will be the last suite sold with perpetual licenses in favor of the new Creative Cloud subscriptions, though they will continue to provide OS compatibility support as well as bug fixes and security updates as necessary.
Starting January 9, 2017, CS6 is no longer available for purchase, making a Creative Cloud license the only purchase option going forward.
Photoshop CC (14.0) was launched on June 18, 2013. As the next major version after CS6, it is only available as part of a Creative Cloud subscription. Major features in this version include new Smart Sharpen, Intelligent Upsampling, and Camera Shake Reduction for reducing blur caused by camera shake. Editable Rounded Rectangles and an update to Adobe Camera Raw (8.0) were also included.
Since the initial launch, Adobe has released two additional feature-bearing updates. The first, version 14.1, was launched on September 9, 2013. The major features in this version were Adobe Generator, a Node.js-based platform for creating plug-ins for Photoshop. Photoshop 14.1 shipped with two plug-ins, one to automatically generate image assets based on an extension in the layer name, and another to automatically generate assets for Adobe Edge Reflow.
Version 14.2 was released on January 15, 2014. Major features include Perspective Warp, Linked Smart Objects, and 3D Printing support.
Photoshop CC 2014 (15.0) was released on June 18, 2014. CC 2014 features improvements to content-aware tools, two new blur tools (spin blur and path blur) and a new focus mask feature that enables the user to select parts of an image based on whether they are in focus or not. Other minor improvements have been made, including speed increases for certain tasks.
Photoshop CC 2015 was released on June 15, 2015. Adobe added various creative features including Adobe Stock, which is a library of custom stock images. It also includes and have the ability to have more than one layer style. For example, in the older versions of Photoshop, only one shadow could be used for a layer but in CC 2015, up to ten are available. Other minor features like Export As, which is a form of the Save For Web in CC 2014 were also added. The updated UI as of November 30, 2015 delivers a cleaner and more consistent look throughout Photoshop, and the user can quickly perform common tasks using a new set of gestures on touch-enabled devices like Microsoft Surface Pro. CC 2015 also marks the 25th anniversary of Photoshop.
Photoshop CC 2017 was released on November 2, 2016. It introduced a new template selector when creating new documents, the ability to search for tools, panels and help articles for Photoshop, support for SVG OpenType fonts and other small improvements. In December 2016, a minor update was released to include support for the MacBook Pro Touch Bar.
Photoshop CC 2018 (version 19) was released on October 18, 2017. It featured an overhaul to the brush organization system, allowing for more properties (such as color and opacity) to be saved per-brush and for brushes to be categorized in folders and sub-folders. It also added brush stroke smoothing, and over 1000 brushes created by Kyle T. Webster (following Adobe's acquisition of his website, KyleBrush.com). A Curvature Pen tool, similar to the one in Illustrator, was added, allowing for faster creation of Bézier paths. Other additions were Lightroom Photo access, Variable font support, select subject, copy-paste layers, enhanced tooltips, 360 panorama and HEIF support, PNG compression, increased maximum zoom level, symmetry mode, algorithm improvements to Face-aware and selection tools, color and luminance range masking, improved image resizing, and performance improvements to file opening, filters, and brush strokes.
Photoshop CC 2019 was released on October 15, 2018. Beginning with Photoshop CC 2019 (version 20.0), the 32-bit version of Windows is no longer supported. This version Introduced a new tool called Frame Tool to create placeholder frames for images. It also added multiple undo mode, auto-commitment, prevent accidental panel moves with lock work-space. Live blend mode previews are added, allowing for faster scrolling over different blend mode options in the layers panel. Other additions were Color Wheel, Transform proportionally without Shift key, Distribute spacing like in Illustrator, ability to see longer layer names, match font with Japanese fonts, flip document view, scale UI to font, reference point hidden by default, new compositing engine, which provides a more modern compositing architecture is added which is easier to optimize on all platforms.
Photoshop 2020 was released on November 4, 2019. Version 21 has many new and enhanced features like the new object selection tool for better automate complex selections, new properties panel, enhanced transform warp, new keyboard shortcuts for paint & brush and background image removal option. It added several improvements to the new content-aware fill and to the new document tab. Also added were animated GIF support, improved lens blur performance and one-click zoom to a layer's contents. It introduced new swatches, gradients, patterns, shapes and stylistic sets for OpenType fonts. With this version users now can easily convert smart objects to layers and also can adjust 32-bit layers for brightness/contrast and curves. Presets are now more intuitive to use and easier to organize.
With the February 2020 update (version 21.1.0) Photoshop now can iteratively fill multiple areas of an image without having to leave content-aware fill workspace. This version improved GPU based lens blur quality and provided performance improvements such as accelerate your workflow with smoother panning, zooming and navigating documents.
Version 21 was the first version where the iPad version was released. With Photoshop on the iPad, combined with the new Cloud PSD file format, a user can save cloud documents and work across Windows, Mac and iPad. Photoshop on the iPad does not have all the features of the desktop Photoshop. Adobe promises to update Photoshop on the iPad at "a much more aggressive pace than it has with its current Creative Cloud apps for the desktop". Adobe has provided a timeline for enhancing Photoshop on the iPad to have more of the features of desktop Photoshop.
With the June 2020 update, Photoshop added faster portrait selection, Adobe Camera Raw improvements, auto-activated Adobe Fonts, rotatable patterns, and improved Match Font.
Photoshop Mix is an application designed as a replacement for Photoshop Touch specifically for tablets and touchscreen devices. It includes many of the features of the personal computer version, including layers, selection tools, adjustments, and filters. Edited files could be synced with Adobe Creative Cloud. Photoshop Mix is available on iOS and Android. It has 2 siblings, Photoshop Fix (a Photo Correction app), and Photoshop Sketch (a light drawing tool). All require iOS 9.0 or later. Android versions could be installed on any Android handset (4.0 and up) and tablets (3.1 and up). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24893 |
PaintShop Pro
PaintShop Pro (PSP) is a raster and vector graphics editor for Microsoft Windows. It was originally published by Jasc Software. In October 2004, Corel purchased Jasc Software and the distribution rights to Paint Shop Pro. PSP functionality can be extended by Photoshop-compatible plugins.
The X-numbered editions have been sold in two versions: PaintShop Pro, which is the basic editing program, and PaintShop Pro Ultimate, which bundles in other standalone programs, additional artistic tools and/or plugins. The particular bundled programs have varied with each numbered version and have not been sold by Corel as separate products.
PSP comes with an interface for automating tasks with scripts written in Python.
Originally called simply Paint Shop, the first version, 1.0, was a basic picture converter between BMP, GIF and PCX formats, conceived by Robert Voit . It was released by Robert Voit in August 1990. Paint Shop was originally distributed as shareware and is still available at many download sites (4.12 being a popular version). Most newer versions are only commercially available although some have been distributed in the United Kingdom in computer magazine CDs after they became obsolete.
Paint Shop Pro 5 added support for layers as well as CMYK and HSL colour modes, included JASC Animation Shop for creating animations and in fact was marketed as "Paint Shop Pro 5.0 with Animation Shop". PaintShop Pro X6 was the first to be available as a native 64 bit version (purchase includes both versions). PaintShop Pro X7 includes content-aware features such as "Magic Fill" and "Smart Edge" as well as support for XMP sidecar files that preserve edit settings for raw formats.
From 2006 to 2011 (versions XI to X3), PaintShop Pro was marketed as "Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo". Having dropped the "Photo" part of the name in version X4, Paintshop Pro X5 was derived from Ulead Photo Explorer after Corel's acquisition of Ulead.
On November 28, 2007, Corel announced that the office in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, where Paint Shop Pro was created, would be shut down, with development moving to offices in California and China.
Picture tubes are graphic images with no background. They are often used as a starting point for complex images; that is, they are combined with other image elements to produce a final work. Tubes can also be regarded as graphic brushes based on a pre-created image; this was their original use. Instead of leaving a trace of color on the canvas, they would leave a trail of images. Popular tube subjects include alphabets, humans (also known as dollz), animal and toy figures, flowers, love messages and seasonal symbols.
The tube system originated with PSP Pro version 5. Native tube files may be in .tub, .psp, .pspimage, and .psptube formats. XnView, IrfanView, and TubeEx are separate graphics programs that can convert tube files (.tub) to .png.
PaintShop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate was released towards the end of life of PaintShop Pro Photo X2, in September 2008. It included 150 additional picture frames and Picture Tubes, the programs Background Remover, Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4, and Photorecovery, as well as RAW support for 250 cameras and a 2GB flash drive.
Subsequent Ultimate editions were released contemporaneously with the basic version. PaintShop Pro X4 Ultimate included Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0, a voucher for 21 images from Fotolia at high quality, and additional Picture Tubes. X5 Ultimate included Reallusion FaceFilter Studio 2.0, NIK Color Efex Pro 3.0, and "over 100 unique brushes, textures and royalty-free backgrounds". PaintShop Pro X6 Ultimate includes Athentech Imaging's Perfectly Clear and Reallusion's FaceFilter3 Standard. PaintShop Pro X7 Ultimate includes those same two items.
The bundled extras cannot be installed unless that version of the PaintShop program is already installed. However, once a bundled extra such as a plugin has been installed, the installed files can be copied to other versions, e.g., a plugin installed under X5 can be copied to X6 and even if X5 is then uninstalled, the plugin will continue to work under X6. Corel releases a new X version roughly annually, so this ability to copy means PSP users do not have to choose between updating or continued use of Ultimate add-ons from previous versions.
Versions X through to X8 install a third party program named PSIService.exe, a Windows service called ProtexisLicensing. Written by Protexis, this runs in the background and collects licensing information. This program communicates with a remote host. Manually disabling the Protexis Licensing service may cause Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo to cease functioning. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24894 |
Persuasion
Persuasion is an umbrella term of influence. Persuasion can attempt to influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviors.
In business,
persuasion is a process aimed at changing a person's (or a group's) attitude or behaviour toward some event, idea, object, or other person(s), by using written, spoken words or visual tools to convey information, feelings, or reasoning, or a combination thereof. Persuasion is also an often used tool in the pursuit of personal gain, such as election campaigning, giving a sales pitch, or in trial advocacy. Persuasion can also be interpreted as using one's personal or positional resources to change people's behaviors or attitudes.
Systematic persuasion is the process through which attitudes or beliefs are leveraged by appeals to logic and reason. Heuristic persuasion on the other hand is the process through which attitudes or beliefs are leveraged by appeals to habit or emotion.
Persuasion began with the Greeks, who emphasized rhetoric and elocution as the highest standard for a successful politician. All trials were held in front of the Assembly, and both the prosecution and the defense rested, as they often do today, on the persuasiveness of the speaker. Rhetoric was the ability to find the available means of persuasion in any instance.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle listed four reasons why one should learn the art of persuasion:
Aristotle's rhetorical proofs:
Humans attempt to explain the actions of others through either dispositional attribution or situational attribution.
Dispositional attribution, also referred to as internal attribution, attempts to point to a person's traits, abilities, motives, or dispositions as a cause or explanation for their actions. A citizen criticizing a president by saying the nation is lacking economic progress and health because the president is either lazy or lacking in economic intuition is utilizing a dispositional attribution.
Situational attribution, also referred to as external attribution, attempts to point to the context around the person and factors of his surroundings, particularly things that are completely out of his control. A citizen claiming that a lack of economic progress is not a fault of the president but rather the fact that he inherited a poor economy from the previous president is situational attribution.
A fundamental attribution error occurs when people wrongly attribute either a shortcoming or accomplishment to internal factors, and disregarding any external factors. In general, people tend to make dispositional attributions more often than situational attributions when trying to explain or understand a person's behavior. This happens when we are much more focused on the individual because we do not know much about their situation or context. When trying to persuade others to like us or another person, we tend to explain positive behaviors and accomplishments with dispositional attribution, but our own negative behaviors and shortcomings with situational attributions.
The theory of planned behaviour is the foremost theory of behaviour change. It has support from meta-analyses which reveals it can predict around 30% of behaviour. Theories, by nature however, prioritise internal validity, over external validity. They are coherent and therefore make for an easily reappropriated story. On the other hand, they will correspond more poorly with the evidence, and mechanics of reality, than a straightforward itemisation of the behaviour change interventions (techniques) by their individual efficacy.
These behaviour change interventions have been categorised by behaviour scientists. A mutually exclusive, comprehensively exhaustive (MECE) translation of this taxonomy, in decreasing order of effectiveness are:
A typical instantiations of these techniques in therapy isexposure / response prevention for OCD.
Conditioning plays a huge part in the concept of persuasion. It is more often about leading someone into taking certain actions of their own, rather than giving direct commands. In advertisements for example, this is done by attempting to connect a positive emotion to a brand/product logo. This is often done by creating commercials that make people laugh, using a sexual undertone, inserting uplifting images and/or music etc. and then ending the commercial with a brand/product logo. Great examples of this are professional athletes. They are paid to connect themselves to things that can be directly related to their roles; sport shoes, tennis rackets, golf balls, or completely irrelevant things like soft drinks, popcorn poppers and panty hose. The important thing for the advertiser is to establish a connection to the consumer.
This conditioning is thought to affect how people view certain products, knowing that most purchases are made on the basis of emotion. Just like you sometimes recall a memory from a certain smell or sound, the objective of some ads is solely to bring back certain emotions when you see their logo in your local store. The hope is that repeating the message several times makes consumers more likely to purchase the product because they already connect it with a good emotion and positive experience.
Stefano DellaVigna and Matthew Gentzkow did a comprehensive study on the effects of persuasion in different domains. They discovered that persuasion has little or no effect on advertisement; however, there was a substantial effect of persuasion on voting if there was face-to-face contact.
Leon Festinger originally proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance in 1957. He theorized that human beings constantly strive for mental consistency. Our cognition (thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes) can be in agreement, unrelated, or in disagreement with each other. Our cognition can also be in agreement or disagreement with our behaviors. When we detect conflicting cognition, or dissonance, it gives us a sense of incompleteness and discomfort. For example, a person who is addicted to smoking cigarettes but also suspects it could be detrimental to his health suffers from cognitive dissonance.
Festinger suggests that we are motivated to reduce this dissonance until our cognition is in harmony with itself. We strive for mental consistency. There are four main ways we go about reducing or eliminating our dissonance:
Revisiting the example of the smoker, he can either quit smoking, reduce the importance of his health, convince himself he is not at risk, or that the reward of smoking is worth the cost of his health.
Cognitive dissonance is powerful when it relates to competition and self-concept. The most famous example of how cognitive dissonance can be used for persuasion comes from Festinger and Carlsmith's 1959 experiment in which participants were asked to complete a very dull task for an hour. Some were paid $20, while others were paid $1, and afterwards they were instructed to tell the next waiting participants that the experiment was fun and exciting. Those who were paid $1 were much more likely to convince the next participants that the experiment really was enjoyable than those who received $20. This is because $20 is enough reason to participate in a dull task for an hour, so there is no dissonance. Those who received $1 experienced great dissonance, so they had to truly convince themselves that the task actually was enjoyable to avoid feeling taken advantage of, and therefore reduce their dissonance.
Persuasion has traditionally been associated with two routes.
The Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) forms a new facet of the route theory. It holds that the probability of effective persuasion depends on how successful the communication is at bringing to mind a relevant mental representation, which is the elaboration likelihood. Thus if the target of the communication is personally relevant, this increases the elaboration likelihood of the intended outcome and would be more persuasive if it were through the central route. Communication which does not require careful thought would be better suited to the peripheral route.
Functional theorists attempt to understand the divergent attitudes individuals have towards people, objects or issues in different situations. There are four main functional attitudes:
When communication targets an underlying function, its degree of persuasiveness influences whether individuals change their attitude after determining that another attitude would more effectively fulfill that function.
A vaccine introduces a weak form of a virus that can easily be defeated to prepare the immune system should it need to fight off a stronger form of the same virus. In much the same way, the theory of inoculation suggests that a certain party can introduce a weak form of an argument that is easily thwarted in order to make the audience inclined to disregard a stronger, full-fledged form of that argument from an opposing party.
This often occurs in negative advertisements and comparative advertisements—both for products and political causes. An example would be a manufacturer of a product displaying an ad that refutes one particular claim made about a rival's product, so that when the audience sees an ad for said rival product, they refute the product claims automatically.
Narrative transportation theory proposes that when people lose themselves in a story, their attitudes and intentions change to reflect that story. The mental state of narrative transportation can explain the persuasive effect of stories on people, who may experience narrative transportation when certain contextual and personal preconditions are met, as Green and Brock postulate for the transportation-imagery model. Narrative transportation occurs whenever the story receiver experiences a feeling of entering a world evoked by the narrative because of empathy for the story characters and imagination of the story plot.
Social judgment theory suggests that when people are presented with an idea or any kind of persuasive proposal, their natural reaction is to immediately seek a way to sort the information subconsciously and react to it. We evaluate the information and compare it with the attitude we already have, which is called the initial attitude or anchor point.
When trying to sort incoming persuasive information, an audience evaluates whether it lands in their latitude of acceptance, latitude of non-commitment or indifference, or the latitude of rejection. The size of these latitudes varies from topic to topic. Our "ego-involvement" generally plays one of the largest roles in determining the size of these latitudes. When a topic is closely connected to how we define and perceive ourselves, or deals with anything we care passionately about, our latitudes of acceptance and non-commitment are likely to be much smaller and our attitude of rejection much larger. A person's anchor point is considered to be the center of his latitude of acceptance, the position that is most acceptable to him.
An audience is likely to distort incoming information to fit into their unique latitudes. If something falls within the latitude of acceptance, the subject tends to assimilate the information and consider it closer to his anchor point than it really is. Inversely, if something falls within the latitude of rejection, the subject tends to contrast the information and convince himself the information is farther away from his anchor point than it really is.
When trying to persuade an individual target or an entire audience, it is vital to first learn the average latitudes of acceptance, non-commitment, and rejection of your audience. It is ideal to use persuasive information that lands near the boundary of the latitude of acceptance if the goal is to change the audience's anchor point. Repeatedly suggesting ideas on the fringe of the acceptance latitude makes people gradually adjust their anchor points, while suggesting ideas in the rejection latitude or even the non-commitment latitude does not change the audience's anchor point.
Persuasion methods are also sometimes referred to as "persuasion tactics" or "persuasion strategies".
There is the usage of force in persuasion, which does not have any scientific theories, except for its use to make demands. The use of force is then a precedent to the failure of less direct means of persuasion. Application of this strategy can be interpreted as a threat since the persuader does not give options to his or her request.
Robert Cialdini, in "Influence", his book on persuasion, defined six "influence cues or weapons of influence": Influence is the process of changing.
The principle of reciprocity states that when a person provides us with something, we attempt to repay him or her in kind. Reciprocation produces a sense of obligation, which can be a powerful tool in persuasion. The reciprocity rule is effective because it can be overpowering and instill in us a sense of obligation. Generally, we have a dislike for individuals who neglect to return a favor or provide payment when offered a free service or gift. As a result, reciprocation is a widely held principle. This societal standard makes reciprocity extremely powerful persuasive technique, as it can result in unequal exchanges and can even apply to an uninvited first favor. Reciprocity applies to the marketing field because of its use as a powerful persuasive technique. The marketing tactic of "free samples" demonstrates the reciprocity rule because of the sense of obligation that the rule produces. This sense of obligation comes from the desire to repay the marketer for the gift of a "free sample."
Consistency is an important aspect of persuasion because it:
Consistency allows us to more effectively make decisions and process information. The concept of consistency states that someone who commits to something, orally or in writing, is more likely to honor that commitment. This is especially true for written commitments, as they appear psychologically more concrete and can create hard proof. Someone who commits to a stance tends to behave according to that commitment. Commitment is an effective persuasive technique, because once you get someone to commit, they are more likely to engage in self-persuasion, providing themselves and others with reasons and justifications to support their commitment in order to avoid dissonance. Cialdini notes Vietnamese brainwashing of American prisoners of war to rewrite their self-image and gain automatic unenforced compliance. Another example is children being made to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance each morning and why marketers make you close popups by saying "I’ll sign up later" or "No thanks, I prefer not making money".
We, as humans, are influenced by others around us; we want to do what everyone else is. People often base their actions and beliefs on what others around them are doing, how others act or what others believe.
"The power of the crowd" is very effective. We all want to know what others are doing around us. We are so obsessed with what others do and how others act, that we then try to be just like other people. Cialdini gives an example that is somewhat like this: In a phone–a–thon, the host says something like, "Operators are waiting, please call now." The only context you have from that statement is that the operators are waiting and not busy. Rather the host may say: "If operators are busy, please call again." This is the technique of social proof. Just by changing three words, it sounds like the lines are busy and other people are calling, so it must be a worthwhile organization.
Social proof is most effective when people are uncertain or when there are similarities in a situation. In uncertain or ambiguous situations, when multiple possibilities create choices we must make, people are likely to conform to what others do. We become more influenced by people around us in situations that present a decision. The other effective situation for social proofing is when there are similarities. We are more prone to change or conform around people who are similar to us. If someone who is similar to you is being controlling and a leader, you are more likely to listen and follow what they say.
This principle is simple and concise. People say "yes" to people that they like. Two major factors contribute to overall likeness. The first is physical attractiveness. People who are physically attractive seem more persuasive. They get what they want and they can easily change others' attitudes. This attractiveness is proven to send favorable messages/impressions of other traits that a person may have, such as talent, kindness, and intelligence. The second factor is similarity. We are more easily persuaded by people we see as similar to ourselves.
We have the tendency to believe that if an expert says something, then it must be true. People like to listen to those who are knowledgeable and trustworthy, so if you can be those two things, then you are already on your way to getting people to believe and listen to you.
In the Milgram study, a series of experiments begun in 1961, a "teacher" and a "learner" were placed in two different rooms. The "learner" was attached to an electric harness that could administer shock. The "teacher" was told by a supervisor, dressed in a white scientist's coat, to ask the learner questions and punish him when he got a question wrong. The teacher was instructed by the study supervisor to deliver an electric shock from a panel under the teacher's control. After delivery, the teacher had to up the voltage to the next notch. The voltage went up to 450 volts. The catch to this experiment was that the teacher did not know that the learner was an actor faking the pain sounds he heard and was not actually being harmed. The experiment was being done to see how obedient we are to authority. "When an authority tells ordinary people it is their job to deliver harm, how much suffering will each subject be willing to inflict on an entirely innocent other person if the instructions come 'from above'?." In this study the results show that most teachers were willing to give as much pain as was available to them. The conclusion was that people are willing to bring pain upon others when they are directed to do so by some authority figure.
Scarcity could play an important role in the process of persuasion. When something has limited availability, people assign it more value. According to Cialdini, "people want more of what they cannot have." When scarcity is an issue, the context matters. This means that within certain contexts, scarcity "works" better. To get people to believe that something is scarcer, marketers explain what about that certain product provides what no other product does. Marketers also get people to believe something is scarce by telling them what they will lose, not what they will gain—using statements like, "You will lose $5," rather than, "Save $5."
There are two major reasons why the scarcity principle works:
When this happens, we assign the scarce item or service more value simply because it is harder to acquire.
This principle is that we all want things that are out of our reach. If we see something is easily available, we do not want it as much as something that is very rare.
Individuals high on the Machiavellianism trait have tendencies to engage in manipulation and deceit to gain self benefits for themselves.
In their book "The Art of Woo", G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa present a four-step approach to strategic persuasion. They explain that persuasion means to win others over, not to defeat them. Thus it is important to see the topic from different angles in order to anticipate the reaction others have to a proposal.
By appeal to reason:
By appeal to emotion:
Aids to persuasion:
Other techniques:
Coercive techniques, some of which are highly controversial or not scientifically proven effective:
It is through a basic cultural personal definition of persuasion that everyday people understand how others are attempting to influence them and then how they influence others. The dialogue surrounding persuasion is constantly evolving because of the necessity to use persuasion in everyday life. Persuasion tactics traded in society have influences from researchers, which may sometimes be misinterpreted.
To keep evolutionary advantage, in the sense of wealth and survival, you must persuade and not be persuaded. To understand cultural persuasion, researchers gather knowledge from domains such as "buying, selling, advertising, and shopping, as well as parenting and courting."
Methods of persuasion vary by culture, both in prevalence and effectiveness. For example, advertisements tend to appeal to different values according to whether they are used in collectivistic or individualistic cultures.
The Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM) was created by Friestad and Wright in 1994. This framework allows the researchers to analyze the process of gaining and using everyday persuasion knowledge. The researchers suggest the necessity of including "the relationship and interplay between everyday folk knowledge and scientific knowledge on persuasion, advertising, selling, and marketing in general."
To educate the general population about research findings and new knowledge about persuasion, a teacher must draw on their pre-existing beliefs from folk persuasion to make the research relevant and informative to lay people, which creates "mingling of their scientific insights and commonsense beliefs."
As a result of this constant mingling, the issue of persuasion expertise becomes messy. Expertise status can be interpreted from a variety of sources like job titles, celebrity, or published scholarship.
It is through this multimodal process that we create concepts like, "Stay away from car salesmen, they will try to trick you." The kind of persuasion techniques blatantly employed by car salesmen creates an innate distrust of them in popular culture. According to Psychology Today, they employ tactics ranging from making personal life ties with the customer to altering reality by handing the customer the new car keys before the purchase.
Campbell proposed and empirically demonstrated that some persuasive advertising approaches lead consumers to infer manipulative intent on the marketer's part. Once consumers infer manipulative intent, they are less persuaded by the marketer, as indicated by attenuated advertising attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions.Cambpell and Kirmani developed an explicit model of the conditions under which consumers use persuasion knowledge in evaluating influence agents such as salespersons.
An article showed that EEG measures of anterior prefrontal asymmetry might be a predictor of persuasion. Research participants were presented with arguments that favored and arguments that opposed the attitudes they already held. Those whose brain was more active in left prefrontal areas said that they paid the most attention to statements with which they agreed while those with a more active right prefrontal area said that they paid attention to statements that disagreed. This is an example of defensive repression, the avoidance or forgetting of unpleasant information. Research has shown that the trait of defensive repression is related to relative left prefrontal activation. In addition, when pleasant or unpleasant words, probably analogous to agreement or disagreement, were seen incidental to the main task, an fMRI scan showed preferential left prefrontal activation to the pleasant words.
One way therefore to increase persuasion would seem to be to selectively activate the right prefrontal cortex. This is easily done by monaural stimulation to the contralateral ear. The effect apparently depends on selective attention rather than merely the source of stimulation. This manipulation had the expected outcome: more persuasion for messages coming from the left. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24897 |
Prime Minister of Israel
The prime minister of Israel (, "Rosh HaMemshala", "lit." Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: ; , "Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma") is the head of government and chief executive of Israel.
Israel is a republic with a president as head of state. However, the president's powers are largely ceremonial; the prime minister holds the executive power. The official residence of the prime minister, "Beit Aghion," is in Jerusalem. The current prime minister is Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud, the ninth person to hold the position (excluding caretakers).
Following an election, the president nominates a member of the Knesset to become prime minister after asking party leaders whom they support for the position. The nominee has 42 days to put together a viable coalition. He then presents a government platform and must receive a vote of confidence from the Knesset to become prime minister. In practice, the prime minister is usually the leader of the largest party in the governing coalition. Between 1996 and 2001, the prime minister was directly elected, separately from the Knesset.
Unlike most prime ministers in parliamentary republics, the prime minister is both "de jure" and "de facto" chief executive. This is because the Basic Laws of Israel explicitly vest executive power in the government, of which the prime minister is the leader.
The office of Prime Minister came into existence on 14 May 1948, the date of the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, when the provisional government was created. David Ben-Gurion, leader of Mapai and head of the Jewish Agency, became Israel's first prime minister. The position became permanent on 8 March 1949, when the first government was formed. Ben-Gurion retained his role until late 1953, when he resigned to settle in the Kibbutz of Sde Boker. He was replaced by Moshe Sharett. However, Ben-Gurion returned in a little under two years to reclaim his position. He resigned for a second time in 1963, breaking away from Mapai to form Rafi. Levi Eshkol took over as head of Mapai and prime minister. He became the first prime minister to head the country under the banner of two parties when Mapai formed the Alignment with Ahdut HaAvoda in 1965. In 1968 he also became the only party leader to command an absolute majority in the Knesset, after Mapam and Rafi merged into the Alignment, giving it 63 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
On 26 February 1969, Eshkol became the first prime minister to die in office. He was temporarily replaced by Yigal Allon, whose stint lasted less than a month, as the party persuaded Golda Meir to return to political life and become prime minister in March 1969. Meir was Israel's first woman prime minister, and the third in the world (after Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Indira Gandhi).
Meir resigned in 1974 after the Agranat Commission published its findings on the Yom Kippur War, even though it had absolved her of blame. Yitzhak Rabin took over, though he also resigned towards the end of the eighth Knesset's term following a series of scandals. Those included the suicide of Housing Minister Avraham Ofer after police began investigating allegations that he had used party funds illegally, and the affair involving Asher Yadlin (the governor-designate of the Bank of Israel), who was sentenced to five years in prison for having accepted bribes. Rabin's wife, Leah, was also found to have had an overseas bank account, which was illegal in Israel at the time.
Menachem Begin became the first right-wing prime minister when his Likud won the 1977 elections, and retained the post in the 1981 elections. He resigned in 1983 for health reasons, passing the reins of power to Yitzhak Shamir.
After the 1984 elections had proved inconclusive with neither the Alignment nor Likud able to form a government, a national unity government was formed with a rotating prime ministership – Shimon Peres took the first two years, and was replaced by Shamir midway through the Knesset term. Although the 1988 elections produced another national unity government, Shamir was able to take the role alone. Peres made an abortive bid to form a left-wing government in 1990, but failed, leaving Shamir in power until 1992. Rabin became prime minister for the second time when he led Labour to victory in the 1992 elections. After his assassination on 4 November 1995, Peres took over as prime minister.
During the thirteenth Knesset (1992–1996) it was decided to hold a separate ballot for prime minister modeled after American presidential elections. This system was instituted in part because the Israeli electoral system makes it all but impossible for one party to win a majority. While only two parties—Mapai/Labour and Likud—had ever led governments, the large number of parties or factions in a typical Knesset usually prevents one party from winning the 61 seats needed for a majority.
In 1996, when the first such election took place, the outcome was a surprise win for Benjamin Netanyahu after election polls predicted that Peres was the winner. However, in the Knesset election held at the same time, Labour won more votes than any other party (27%). Thus Netanyahu, despite his theoretical position of power, needed the support of the religious parties to form a viable government.
Ultimately Netanyahu failed to hold the government together, and early elections for both prime minister and the Knesset were called in 1999. Although five candidates intented to run, the three representing minor parties (Benny Begin of Herut – The National Movement, Azmi Bishara of Balad and Yitzhak Mordechai of the Centre Party) dropped out before election day, and Ehud Barak beat Netanyahu in the election. However, the new system again appeared to have failed; although Barak's One Israel alliance (an alliance of Labour, Gesher and Meimad) won more votes than any other party in the Knesset election, they garnered only 26 seats, the lowest ever by a winning party or alliance. Barak needed to form a coalition with six smaller parties to form a government.
In early 2001, Barak resigned following the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada. However, the government was not brought down, and only elections for prime minister were necessary. In the election itself, Ariel Sharon of Likud comfortably beat Barak, taking 62.4% of the vote. However, because Likud only had 21 seats in the Knesset, Sharon had to form a national unity government. Following Sharon's victory, it was decided to do away with separate elections for prime minister and return to the previous system.
The 2003 elections were carried out in the same manner as prior to 1996. Likud won 38 seats, the highest by a party for over a decade, and as party leader Sharon was duly appointed Prime Minister. However, towards the end of his term and largely as a result of the deep divisions within Likud over Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, Sharon broke away from his party to form Kadima, managing to maintain his position as prime minister and also becoming the first prime minister not to be a member of either Labour or Likud (or their predecessors). However, he suffered a stroke in January 2006, in the midst of election season, leading Ehud Olmert to become acting prime minister in the weeks leading to the elections. He was voted by the cabinet to be interim prime minister just after the 2006 elections, when Sharon had reached 100 days of incapacitation. He thus became Israel's third interim prime minister, only days before forming his own new government as the official Prime Minister of Israel.
In 2008, amid accusations of corruption and challenges from his own party, Olmert resigned. However his successor Tzipi Livni was unable to form a coalition government. In the election in the following year, while Kadima won the most seats, it was the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu who was given the task of forming a government. He was able to do so, thus beginning his second term as Prime Minister of Israel.
In the 2013 election, the Likud Yisrael Beiteinu alliance emerged as the largest faction. After forming a coalition, Netanyahu secured his third prime ministership.
If the prime minister dies in office, the cabinet chooses an interim prime minister to run the government until a new government is placed in power. Yigal Allon served as interim prime minister following Levi Eshkol's death, as did Shimon Peres following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
According to Israeli law, if a prime minister is temporarily incapacitated rather than dies (as was the case following Ariel Sharon's stroke in early 2006), power is transferred to the acting prime minister, until the prime minister recovers (Ehud Olmert took over from Sharon), for up to 100 days. If the prime minister is declared permanently incapacitated, or that period expires, the president of Israel oversees the process of assembling a new governing coalition, and in the meantime the acting prime minister or other incumbent minister is appointed by the cabinet to serve as interim prime minister.
In the case of Sharon, elections were already due to occur within 100 days of the beginning of his coma; thus, the post-election coalition-building process pre-empted the emergency provisions for the selection of a new prime minister. Nevertheless, Olmert was appointed interim prime minister on 16 April 2006, after the elections, just days before he had formed a government on 4 May 2006, to become the official prime minister.
Aside from the position of Acting Prime Minister, there are also vice prime ministers and deputy prime ministers.
During his term of office, the prime minister lives in Jerusalem. Since 1974, the official residence of the prime minister is Beit Aghion, at the corner of Balfour and Smolenskin streets in Rehavia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24898 |
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (, ), is the head of state of France in the French Fifth Republic. In French terms, the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country.
The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, as well as their relation with the prime minister and Government of France, have over time differed with the various constitutional documents since the French Second Republic. The president of the French Republic is also the "ex officio" co-prince of Andorra, grand master of the Legion of Honour and of the National Order of Merit. The officeholder is also honorary proto-canon of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome (although some have rejected the title in the past).
The current president of the French Republic is Emmanuel Macron, who succeeded François Hollande on 14 May 2017.
The presidency of France was first publicly proposed during the July Revolution of 1830, when it was offered to the Marquis de Lafayette. He demurred in favour of Prince Louis Phillipe, who became King of the French. Eighteen years later, during the opening phases of the Second Republic, the title was created for a popularly elected head of state, the first of whom was Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, nephew of Emperor Napoleon. Bonaparte served in that role until he staged an auto coup against the republic, proclaiming himself Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.
Under the Third Republic and Fourth Republic, which were parliamentary systems, the office of President of the Republic was a largely ceremonial and powerless one. The Constitution of the Fifth Republic greatly increased the president's powers. A 1962 referendum changed the constitution, so that the president would be directly elected by universal suffrage and not by the Parliament.
In 2000, a referendum shortened the presidential term from seven years to five years. A maximum of two consecutive terms was imposed after the 2008 constitutional reform.
Since the referendum on the direct election of the president of the French Republic in 1962, the officeholder has been directly elected by universal suffrage; they were previously elected by an electoral college.
After the referendum in 2000 on the reduction of the mandate of the president of the French Republic, the length of the term was reduced to five years from the previous seven; the first election to a shorter term was held in 2002. President Jacques Chirac was first elected in 1995 and again in 2002. At that time there was no limit on the number of terms, so Chirac could have run again, but chose not to. He was succeeded by Nicolas Sarkozy on 16 May 2007.
Following a further change, the constitutional law of 2008 on the modernisation of the institutions of the Fifth Republic, a president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac are the only presidents to date who have served a full two terms (14 years for the former, 12 years for the latter).
In order to be admitted as an official candidate, potential candidates must receive signed nominations (informally known as , for "sponsors") from more than 500 elected officials, mostly mayors. These officials must be from at least 30 "départements" or overseas collectivities, and no more than 10% of them should be from the same "département" or collectivity. Furthermore, each official may nominate only one candidate. There are exactly 45,543 elected officials, including 33,872 mayors.
Spending and financing of campaigns and political parties are highly regulated. There is a cap on spending (at approximately €20 million) and government public financing of 50% of spending if the candidate scores more than 5%. If the candidate receives less than 5% of the vote, the government funds €8,000,000 to the party (€4,000,000 paid in advance). Advertising on TV is forbidden, but official time is given to candidates on public TV. An independent agency regulates election and party financing.
French presidential elections are conducted using run-off voting, which ensures that the elected president always obtains a majority: if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round of voting, the two highest-scoring candidates arrive at a run-off. After a new president is elected, they go through a solemn investiture ceremony called a ("handing over of powers").
The French Fifth Republic is a semi-presidential system. Unlike many other European presidents, the French president is quite powerful. Although the prime minister of France, through their Government as well as the Parliament, oversees much of the nation's actual day-to-day affairs (especially in domestic issues), the French president wields significant influence and authority, especially in the fields of national security and foreign policy.
The president's greatest power is the ability to choose the prime minister. However, since the French National Assembly has the sole power to dismiss the prime minister's government, the president is forced to name a prime minister who can command the support of a majority in the assembly. They have also the duty of arbitrating the functioning of governmental authorities for efficient service, as the Head of State of France.
Since 2002, the mandate of the president and the Assembly are both five years, and the two elections are close to each other. Therefore, the likelihood of a is lower. Among the powers of the government:
All decisions of the president must be countersigned by the prime minister, except dissolving the French National Assembly, choice of prime minister, dispositions of Article 19.
The constitutional attributions of the president are defined in Title II of the Constitution of France.
Article 5: The president of the Republic shall see that the Constitution is observed. He shall ensure, by his arbitration, the proper functioning of the public authorities and the continuity of the State. He shall be the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity and observance of treaties.
Article 8: The president of the Republic shall appoint the prime minister. He shall terminate the appointment of the prime minister when the latter tenders the resignation of the Government. On the proposal of the prime minister, he shall appoint the other members of the Government and terminate their appointments.
Article 9: The president of the Republic shall preside over the Council of Ministers.
Article 10: The president of the Republic shall promulgate Acts of Parliament within fifteen days following the final adoption of an Act and its transmission to the Government. He may, before the expiry of this time limit, ask Parliament to reconsider the Act or sections of the Act. Reconsideration shall not be refused. "While the president has to sign all acts adopted by parliament into law, he cannot refuse to do so and exercise a kind of right of veto; his only power in that matter is to ask for a single reconsideration of the law by parliament and this power is subject to countersigning by the Prime minister."
Article 11: The president could submit laws to the people in a referendum with advice and consent of the cabinet.
Article 12: The president of the Republic may, after consulting the prime minister and the presidents of the assemblies, declare the National Assembly dissolved. A general election shall take place not less than twenty days and not more than forty days after the dissolution. The National Assembly shall convene as of right on the second Thursday following its election. Should it so convene outside the period prescribed for the ordinary session, a session shall be called by right for a fifteen-day period. No further dissolution shall take place within a year following this election.
Article 13: The president of the Republic shall sign the ordinances and decrees deliberated upon in the Council of Ministers. He shall make appointments to the civil and military posts of the State. [...]
Article 14: The president of the Republic shall accredit ambassadors and envoys extraordinary to foreign powers; foreign ambassadors and envoys extraordinary shall be accredited to him.
Article 15: The president of the Republic shall be commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He shall preside over the higher national defence councils and committees.
Article 16: Where the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the Nation, the integrity of its territory or the fulfilment of its international commitments are under serious and immediate threat, and where the proper functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted, the president of the Republic shall take the measures required by these circumstances, after formally consulting the prime minister, the presidents of the assemblies and the Constitutional Council. He shall inform the Nation of these measures in a message. The measures must stem from the desire to provide the constitutional public authorities, in the shortest possible time, with the means to carry out their duties. The Constitutional Council shall be consulted with regard to such measures. Parliament shall convene as of right. The National Assembly shall not be dissolved during the exercise of the emergency powers.
"Article 16, allowing the president a limited form of rule by decree for a limited period of time in exceptional circumstance, has been used only once, by Charles de Gaulle during the Algerian War, from 23 April to 29 September 1961."
Article 17: The president of the Republic has the right to grant pardon.
Article 18: The president of the Republic shall communicate with the two assemblies of Parliament by means of messages, which he shall cause to be read and which shall not be the occasion for any debate. He can also give an address in front of the Congress of France in Versailles. Outside sessions, Parliament shall be convened especially for this purpose.
Article 19: Acts of the president of the Republic, other than those provided for under articles 8 (first paragraph), 11, 12, 16, 18, 54, 56 and 61, shall be countersigned by the prime minister and, where required, by the appropriate ministers.
Article 49 Para 3 allows the president to adopt a law on his authority. To this end, the prime minister goes before the Lower and Upper houses, reads out the bill to the legislators and closes with "the administration engages its responsibility" on the foregoing. Deprived of Gaullist party support halfway into his seven-year term spanning 1974 to 1981, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing relied heavily on this provision to stalemate Paris mayor Jacques Chirac's attempt to bring him back under Gaullist control.
There is a tradition of so-called "presidential amnesties", which are something of a misnomer: after the election of a president, and of a National Assembly of the same party, parliament traditionally votes a law granting amnesty for some petty crimes. This practice has been increasingly criticized, particularly because it is believed to inspire people to commit traffic offences in the months preceding the election. Such an amnesty law may also authorize the president to designate individuals who have committed certain categories of crimes to be offered amnesty, if certain conditions are met. Such individual measures have been criticized for the political patronage that they allow. Still, it is argued that such amnesty laws help reduce prison overpopulation. An amnesty law was passed in 2002; none have yet been passed .
The difference between an amnesty and a presidential pardon is that the former clears all subsequent effects of the sentencing, as though the crime had not been committed, while pardon simply relieves the sentenced individual from part or all of the remainder of the sentence.
Articles 67 and 68 organize the regime of criminal responsibility of the president. They were reformed by a 2007 constitutional act in order to clarify a situation that previously resulted in legal controversies.
The president of the Republic enjoys immunity during their term: they cannot be requested to testify before any jurisdiction, they cannot be prosecuted, etc. However, the statute of limitation is suspended during their term, and enquiries and prosecutions can be restarted, at the latest one month after they leave office.
The president is not deemed personally responsible for their actions in their official capacity, except where their actions are indicted before the International Criminal Court (France is a member of the ICC and the president is a French citizen as another following the Court's rules) or where impeachment is moved against them. Impeachment can be pronounced by the Republican High Court, a special court convened from both houses of Parliament on the proposal of either House, should the president have failed to discharge their duties in a way that evidently precludes the continuation of their term.
Upon the death, removal, or resignation of the president, the Senate's president takes over as acting president. Alain Poher is the only person to have served in this temporary position, and has done so twice: the first time in 1969 after Charles de Gaulle's resignation and a second time in 1974 after Georges Pompidou's death. In this situation, the president of the Senate becomes Acting President of the Republic; they do not become the new president of the Republic as elected and therefore do not have to resign from their position as President of the Senate. In spite of his title as Acting President of the Republic, Poher is regarded in France as a former president and is listed in the presidents' gallery on the official presidential website. This is in contrast to acting presidents from the Third Republic.
The first round of a new presidential election must be organized no sooner than twenty days and no later than thirty-five days following the vacancy of the presidency. Fifteen days can separate the first and second rounds of a presidential election; this means that the president of the Senate can only act as President of the Republic for a maximum period of fifty days. During this interim period, acting presidents are not allowed to dismiss the national assembly, nor are they allowed to call for a referendum or initiate any constitutional changes.
If there is no president of the Senate, the powers of the president of the republic are exercised by the , meaning the Cabinet. This has been interpreted by some constitutional academics as meaning first the prime minister and, if he is himself not able to act, the members of the cabinet in the order of the list of the decree that nominated them. This is in fact unlikely to happen, because if the president of the Senate is not able to act, the Senate will normally name a new president of the Senate, who will act as President of the Republic.
During the Third French Republic the president of the Council of Ministers acted as President whenever the office was vacant. According to article 7 of the Constitution, if the presidency becomes vacant for any reason, or if the president becomes incapacitated, upon the request of the , the Constitutional Council may rule, by a majority vote, that the presidency is to be temporarily assumed by the president of the Senate. If the Council rules that the incapacity is permanent, the same procedure as for the resignation is applied, as described above.
If the president cannot attend meetings, including meetings of the Council of Ministers, he can ask the prime minister to attend in his stead (Constitution, article 21). This clause has been applied by presidents travelling abroad, ill, or undergoing surgery.
During the Second French Republic, there was a vice president. The only person to ever hold the position was Henri Georges Boulay de la Meurthe.
Four French presidents have died in office:
The president of the Republic is paid a salary according to a pay grade defined in comparison to the pay grades of the most senior members of the French Civil Service ("out of scale", "hors échelle", those whose pay grades are known as letters and not as numeric indices). In addition he is paid a residence stipend of 3%, and a function stipend of 25% on top of the salary and residence indemnity. This gross salary and these indemnities are the same as those of the prime minister, and are 50% higher than the highest paid to other members of the government, which is itself defined as twice the average of the highest (pay grade G) and the lowest (pay grade A1) salaries in the "out of scale" pay grades. Using the 2008 "out of scale" pay grades, it amounts to a monthly pay of 20,963 euros, which fits the 19,000 euros quoted to the press in early 2008. Using the pay grades starting from 1 July 2009, this amounts to a gross monthly pay of 21,131 €.
The salary and the residence stipend are taxable for income tax.
The official residence and office of the president is the Élysée Palace in Paris. Other presidential residences include:
There are three living former French presidents:
According to French law, former presidents of the Republic have guaranteed lifetime pension defined according to the pay grade of the Councillors of State, a courtesy diplomatic passport, and, according to the French Constitution (Article 56), membership of the Constitutional Council.
They also get personnel, an apartment and/or office, and other amenities, though the legal basis for these is disputed. In 2008, according to an answer by the services of the prime minister to a question from René Dosière, a member of the National Assembly, the facilities comprised: a security detail, a car with a chauffeur, first class train tickets and an office or housing space, as well as a two people service the space. In addition, funds are available for seven permanent assistants.
President Hollande announced a reform of the system in 2016. Former presidents of France will no longer receive a car with chauffeur; the personnel in their living space were cut as well. Additionally, the number of assistants available for their use has been reduced, but a state flat or house remains available for former officeholders. Train tickets are also available if the trip is justified by the office of the former officeholder as part of official business. The security personnel around former presidents of France remained unchanged.
The most recent president of the French Republic to die was Jacques Chirac (served 1995–2007) on 26 September 2019, aged 86. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24899 |
Plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives.
Plastic explosives are especially suited for explosive demolition. Common plastic explosives include Semtex and C-4. The first manufactured plastic explosive was gelignite in 1875, invented by Alfred Nobel.
Plastic explosives are especially suited for explosive demolition of obstacles and fortifications by engineers, combat engineers and criminals as they can be easily formed into the best shapes for cutting structural members and have a high enough velocity of detonation and density for metal cutting work.
Early use of plastic explosives was in the warhead of the Petard demolition mortar of the British Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE); said mortar was used to destroy concrete fortifications encountered during Operation Overlord (D-Day). The original use of Nobel 808 supplied by the SOE was for sabotage of German installations and railways in Occupied Europe.
They are generally not used for disciplinary
blasting as they tend to be significantly more expensive than other materials that perform just as well in this application. A common commercial use of plastic explosives is for shock hardening high manganese percentage steel, a material typically used for train rail components and earth digging implements.
Reactive armor in tanks uses plastic explosives sandwiched between two plates of steel. Incoming high explosive anti-tank rounds pierce the outer steel plate, then detonate the plastic explosive. This absorbs the energy from the incoming tank round and shields the tank.
The first plastic explosive was gelignite, invented by Alfred Nobel in 1875. Prior to World War I, the British explosives chemist Oswald Silberrad obtained British and U.S. patents for a series of plastic explosives called "Nitrols", composed of nitrated aromatics, collodion, and oxidising inorganic salts. The language of the patents indicate that at this time, Silberrad saw no need to explain to "those versed in the art" either what he meant by plasticity or why it may be advantageous, as he only explains why his plastic explosive is superior to others of that type.
One of the simplest plastic explosives was Nobel's Explosive No. 808, also known as "Nobel 808" (often just called "Explosive 808" in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War), developed by the British company Nobel Chemicals Ltd well before World War II. It had the appearance of green plasticine with a distinctive smell of almonds. During World War II it was extensively used by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) at Aston House for sabotage missions. It is also the explosive used in HESH anti-tank shells and was an essential factor in the devising of the Gammon grenade. Captured SOE-supplied Nobel 808 was the explosive used in the failed 20 July plot assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in 1944.
During and after World War II several new RDX-based explosives were developed, including Compositions C, C2, and eventually C3. Together with RDX, these incorporate various plasticizers to decrease sensitivity and make the composition plastic. The origin of the obsolete term "plastique" dates back to the Nobel 808 explosive introduced to the U.S. by the British in 1940. The samples of explosives brought to the U.S. by the Tizard Mission had already been packaged by the SOE ready for dropping via parachute container to the French Resistance and were therefore labeled in French, as "Explosif Plastique". It is still referred to by this name in France and also by some Americans.
The British used a plastic explosive during World War II as a demolition charge. The specific explosive, Composition C, was 88.3% RDX and 11.7% non-oily, non-explosive plasticizer. The material was plastic between 0 and 40 degrees C, but was brittle at colder temperatures and gummy at higher temperatures. Composition C was superseded by Composition C2, which used a mixture of 80% RDX and 20% plasticizer. Composition C2 had a wider temperature range at which it remained plastic, from −30 to 52 degrees C. Composition C2 was replaced by Composition C3, which was a mixture of 77% RDX and 23% explosive plasticizer. C3 was effective but proved to be too brittle in cold weather and was replaced with C4. There are three classes of C4, with varying amounts of RDX and polyisobutylene. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24900 |
Post-structuralism
Post-structuralism is the literary and philosophical work that both builds upon and rejects ideas within the intellectual project that preceded it: structuralism.
Structuralism proposes that one may understand human culture by means of a structure modeled on language (structural linguistics). This understanding differs from concrete reality and from abstract ideas, instead as "third order" that mediates between the two. Post-structuralist authors all present different critiques of structuralism, but common themes include the rejection of the self-sufficiency of structuralism, and an interrogation of the binary oppositions that constitute its structures. Building upon structuralist conceptions of reality mediated by the interrelationship between signs, a post-structuralist critique might suggest that to build meaning out of such an interpretation one must (falsely) assume that the definitions of these signs are both valid and fixed, and that the author employing structuralist theory is somehow above and apart from these structures they are describing so as to be able to wholly appreciate them. The rigidity, tendency to categorize, and intimation of universal truths found in structuralist thinking is then a common target of post-structuralist thought.
Post-structuralism discards the idea of interpreting media or the world within pre-established, socially constructed structures.
Writers whose works are often characterised as post-structuralist include: Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Judith Butler, Jean Baudrillard and Julia Kristeva , although many theorists who have been called "post-structuralist" have rejected the label.
Structuralism as an intellectual movement in France in the 1950s and 1960s studied underlying structures in cultural products (such as texts) and used analytical concepts from linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and other fields to interpret those structures. Structuralism posits the concept of binary opposition, in which frequently-used pairs of opposite but related words (concepts) are often arranged in a hierarchy, for example: Enlightenment/Romantic, male/female, speech/writing, rational/emotional, signified/signifier, symbolic/imaginary.
Post-structuralism rejects the structuralist notion that the dominant word in a pair is dependent on its subservient counterpart and instead argues that founding knowledge either on pure experience (phenomenology) or on systematic structures (structuralism) is impossible because history and culture condition the study of underlying structures and these are subject to biases and misinterpretations. Deleuze and others saw this impossibility not as a failure or loss, but rather as a cause for "celebration and liberation". A post-structuralist approach argues that to understand an object (a text, for example), one must study both the object itself and the systems of knowledge that produced the object. The uncertain boundaries between structuralism and post-structuralism become further blurred by the fact that scholars rarely label themselves as post-structuralists. Some scholars associated with structuralism, such as Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, also became noteworthy in post-structuralism.
Some observers from outside the post-structuralist camp have questioned the rigour and legitimacy of the field. American philosopher John Searle
suggested in 1990: "The spread of 'poststructuralist' literary theory is perhaps the best-known example of a silly but non-catastrophic phenomenon." Similarly, physicist Alan Sokal in 1997 criticized "the postmodernist/poststructuralist gibberish that is now hegemonic in some sectors of the American academy". Literature scholar Norman Holland in 1992 saw post-structuralism as flawed due to reliance on Saussure's linguistic model, which was seriously challenged by the 1950s and was soon abandoned by linguists: "Saussure's views are not held, so far as I know, by modern linguists, only by literary critics and the occasional philosopher. [Strict adherence to Saussure] has elicited wrong film and literary theory on a grand scale. One can find dozens of books of literary theory bogged down in signifiers and signifieds, but only a handful that refers to Chomsky."
David Foster Wallace wrote:
Post-structuralism emerged in France during the 1960s as a movement critiquing structuralism. According to J. G. Merquior a love–hate relationship with structuralism developed among many leading French thinkers in the 1960s.
In a 1966 lecture "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences", Jacques Derrida presented a thesis on an apparent rupture in intellectual life. Derrida interpreted this event as a "decentering" of the former intellectual cosmos. Instead of progress or divergence from an identified centre, Derrida described this "event" as a kind of "play."
In 1967, Barthes published "The Death of the Author" in which he announced a metaphorical event: the "death" of the author as an authentic source of meaning for a given text. Barthes argued that any literary text has multiple meanings and that the author was not the prime source of the work's semantic content. The "Death of the Author," Barthes maintained, was the "Birth of the Reader," as the source of the proliferation of meanings of the text.
The period was marked by the rebellion of students and workers against the state in May 1968.
Barthes in his work, "Elements of Semiology" (1967), advanced the concept of the "metalanguage". A metalanguage is a systematized way of talking about concepts like meaning and grammar beyond the constraints of a traditional (first-order) language; in a metalanguage, symbols replace words and phrases. Insofar as one metalanguage is required for one explanation of the first-order language, another may be required, so metalanguages may actually replace first-order languages. Barthes exposes how this structuralist system is regressive; orders of language rely upon a metalanguage by which it is explained, and therefore deconstruction itself is in danger of becoming a metalanguage, thus exposing all languages and discourse to scrutiny. Barthes' other works contributed deconstructive theories about texts.
The occasional designation of Post-structuralism as a movement can be tied to the fact that mounting criticism of Structuralism became evident at approximately the same time that Structuralism became a topic of interest in universities in the United States. This interest led to a colloquium at Johns Hopkins University in 1966 titled "The Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man", to which such French philosophers as Derrida, Barthes, and Lacan were invited to speak.
Derrida's lecture at that conference, "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Human Sciences", was one of the earliest to propose some theoretical limitations to Structuralism, and to attempt to theorize on terms that were clearly no longer structuralist.
The element of "play" in the title of Derrida's essay is often erroneously interpreted in a linguistic sense, based on a general tendency towards puns and humour, while social constructionism as developed in the later work of Michel Foucault is said to create play in the sense of strategic agency by laying bare the levers of historical change. Many see the importance of Foucault's work to be in its synthesis of this social/historical account of the operation of power (see governmentality).
The following are often said to be post-structuralists, or to have had a post-structuralist period: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24902 |
Peace process
A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict.
Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or inter-state dispute from escalating into military conflict. The United Nations Department of Peace Operations (UNDPO) terms the prevention of disputes from escalating into armed conflicts as "conflict prevention". In 2007, the United Nations Secretary-General's Policy Committee classed both initial prevention of an armed conflict and prevention of the repeat of a solved conflict as peacebuilding.
For peace processes to resolve an armed conflict, Izumi Wakugawa, advisor to the Japan-based International Peace Cooperation Program, suggests a definition of a peace process as "a mixture of politics, diplomacy, changing relationships, negotiation, mediation, and dialogue in both official and unofficial arenas", which he attributes to Harold H. Saunders of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Wakugawa categorises these processes into two stages: the ceasing of armed conflict and the processes of sociological reorganisation.
Non-military processes for stopping an armed conflict stage are generally classed as peacemaking. Military methods by globally organised military forces of stopping a local armed conflict are typically classed as peace enforcement.
The prevention of the repeat of a solved conflict (as well as the preventing of an armed conflict from occurring at all) is usually classed as peacebuilding. UNDPO defines peacebuilding to include "measures [that] address core issues that effect the functioning of society and the State". The use of neutral military forces to sustain ceasefires during this phase, typically by United Nations peacekeeping forces, can be referred to as peacekeeping.
The terms "peacemaking", "peacekeeping" and "peacebuilding" tend to be used broadly, with their meanings defined in terms of the phases of various peace process mechanisms blurring and overlapping in practice.
The construction of international institutions, especially during the twentieth century, has to a large degree been motivated by the desire to provide a broad global context of peacebuilding. This includes the League of Nations and the United Nations, and regional institutions such as the European Union. Institutions involved in encouraging or overseeing some of the steps in specific peace processes include the United Nations Department of Peace Operations.
Many specific can comprise the elements of peace processes. The Peace Accords Matrix of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, United States, lists some of these as amnesties, ceasefires, arms embargoes, truth and reconciliation commissions and reforms of the constitution, or of military, police, judicial or educational institutions or of the media. Other mechanisms include prisoner exchanges, confidence-building measures, humanitarian corridors, peace treaties and transitional justice.
According to Neville Melvin Gertze of Namibia, speaking at an October 2019 meeting of the United Nations Security Council, peace agreements that are the result of negotiations including women are 35 percent more likely to last at least 15 years than those which are the result of men-only negotiations. At the same meeting, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated that women were excluded from peace processes, attacks against women human rights defenders had increased, and only a "tiny percentage" of funding for peacebuilding was given to women's organisations. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24903 |
Product topology
In topology and related areas of mathematics, a product space is the Cartesian product of a family of topological spaces equipped with a natural topology called the product topology. This topology differs from another, perhaps more obvious, topology called the box topology, which can also be given to a product space and which agrees with the product topology when the product is over only finitely many spaces. However, the product topology is "correct" in that it makes the product space a categorical product of its factors, whereas the box topology is too fine; in that sense the product topology is the natural topology on the Cartesian product.
Given "X", also known as the product space, such that
is the Cartesian product of the topological spaces "Xi", indexed by formula_2, and the canonical projections "pi" : "X" → "Xi", the product topology on "X" is defined to be the coarsest topology (i.e. the topology with the fewest open sets) for which all the projections "pi" are continuous. The product topology is sometimes called the Tychonoff topology.
The open sets in the product topology are unions (finite or infinite) of sets of the form formula_3, where each "Ui" is open in "Xi" and "U""i" ≠ "X""i" for only finitely many "i". In particular, for a finite product (in particular, for the product of two topological spaces), the set of all Cartesian products between one basis element from each "Xi" gives a basis for the product topology of formula_4. That is, for a finite product, the set of all formula_3, where formula_6 is an element of the (chosen) basis of formula_7, is a basis for the product topology of formula_4.
The product topology on "X" is the topology generated by sets of the form "pi"−1("Ui"), where "i" is in "I " and "Ui" is an open subset of "Xi". In other words, the sets {"pi"−1("Ui")} form a subbase for the topology on "X". A subset of "X" is open if and only if it is a (possibly infinite) union of intersections of finitely many sets of the form "pi"−1("Ui"). The "pi"−1("Ui") are sometimes called open cylinders, and their intersections are cylinder sets.
In general, the product of the topologies of each "Xi" forms a basis for what is called the box topology on "X". In general, the box topology is finer than the product topology, but for finite products they coincide.
If one starts with the standard topology on the real line R and defines a topology on the product of "n" copies of R in this fashion, one obtains the ordinary Euclidean topology on R"n".
The Cantor set is homeomorphic to the product of countably many copies of the discrete space {0,1} and the space of irrational numbers is homeomorphic to the product of countably many copies of the natural numbers, where again each copy carries the discrete topology.
Several additional examples are given in the article on the initial topology.
The product space "X", together with the canonical projections, can be characterized by the following universal property: If "Y" is a topological space, and for every "i" in "I", "fi" : "Y" → "Xi" is a continuous map, then there exists "precisely one" continuous map "f" : "Y" → "X" such that for each "i" in "I" the following diagram commutes:
This shows that the product space is a product in the category of topological spaces. It follows from the above universal property that a map "f" : "Y" → "X" is continuous if and only if "fi" = "pi" ∘ "f" is continuous for all "i" in "I". In many cases it is easier to check that the component functions "fi" are continuous. Checking whether a map "f" : "Y" → "X" is continuous is usually more difficult; one tries to use the fact that the "pi" are continuous in some way.
In addition to being continuous, the canonical projections "pi" : "X" → "Xi" are open maps. This means that any open subset of the product space remains open when projected down to the "Xi". The converse is not true: if "W" is a subspace of the product space whose projections down to all the "Xi" are open, then "W" need not be open in "X". (Consider for instance "W" = R2 \ (0,1)2.) The canonical projections are not generally closed maps (consider for example the closed set formula_9 whose projections onto both axes are R \ {0}).
The product topology is also called the "topology of pointwise convergence" because of the following fact: a sequence (or net) in "X" converges if and only if all its projections to the spaces "X""i" converge. In particular, if one considers the space "X" = R"I" of all real valued functions on "I", convergence in the product topology is the same as pointwise convergence of functions.
Any product of closed subsets of "Xi" is a closed set in "X".
An important theorem about the product topology is Tychonoff's theorem: any product of compact spaces is compact. This is easy to show for finite products, while the general statement is equivalent to the axiom of choice.
One of many ways to express the axiom of choice is to say that it is equivalent to the statement that the Cartesian product of a collection of non-empty sets is non-empty. The proof that this is equivalent to the statement of the axiom in terms of choice functions is immediate: one needs only to pick an element from each set to find a representative in the product. Conversely, a representative of the product is a set which contains exactly one element from each component.
The axiom of choice occurs again in the study of (topological) product spaces; for example, Tychonoff's theorem on compact sets is a more complex and subtle example of a statement that is equivalent to the axiom of choice, and shows why the product topology may be considered the more useful topology to put on a Cartesian product. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24910 |
Playdia
The (developed under the codename "BA-X") is a fifth-generation home video game console released exclusively in Japan in 1994 at the initial price of ¥24,800. It was intended for a young audience and, like many consoles of the era (e.g. the LaserActive and the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer), was marketed more as a multimedia home entertainment system than as a dedicated gaming console, with anime quiz software and edutainment making up most of the game library. The Playdia uses a single infrared joypad with simple controls. Bandai, the Playdia's manufacturer, was the only software publisher to support this console (except for VAP who published "Ie Naki Ko - Suzu no Sentaku" instead of Bandai). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24913 |
People's Liberation Army Navy
The People's Liberation Army Navy (), also known as the Chinese Navy, PLA Navy or PLAN, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of China and, by default, the national armed forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLAN can trace its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese Civil War and was established on 23 April 1949. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union provided assistance to the PLAN in the form of naval advisers and export of equipment and technology. Until the late 1980s, the PLAN was largely a riverine and littoral force (brown-water navy). However, by the 1990s, following the fall of the Soviet Union and a shift towards a more forward-oriented foreign and security policy, the leaders of the Chinese military were freed from worrying over land border disputes. Having traditionally been subordinated to the PLA Ground Force, PLAN leaders were able to advocate for a renewed attention towards the seas.
In 2008, China confirmed plans to operate a small fleet of aircraft carriers in the near future, but for the purpose of regional defence as opposed to "global reach". By 2009, with the advancements in naval techonology, the PLAN was recognized to have reached the status of a green-water navy. Chinese military officials have also outlined plans to operate in the first and second island chains, and are working towards blue water capability. Chinese strategists term the development of the PLAN from a green-water navy into "a regional blue-water defensive and offensive navy."
The People's Liberation Army Navy is composed of five branches; the Submarine Force, the Surface Force, the Coastal Defense Force, the Marine Corps and the Naval Air Force. With a personnel strength of 240,000 personnel, including 15,000 marines and 26,000 naval air force personnel, it is the second largest navy in the world in terms of tonnage, only behind the United States Navy, and has the largest number of major combatants of any navy.
The PLAN traces its lineage to units of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) who defected to the People's Liberation Army towards the end of the Chinese Civil War. In 1949, Mao Zedong asserted that "to oppose imperialist aggression, we must build a powerful navy". During the Landing Operation on Hainan Island, the communists used wooden junks fitted with mountain guns as both transport and warships against the ROCN. The navy was established in 23 April 1949 by consolidating regional naval forces under Joint Staff Department command in Jiangyan (now in Taizhou, Jiangsu). The Naval Academy was set up at Dalian on 22 November 1949, mostly with Soviet instructors. It then consisted of a motley collection of ships and boats acquired from the Kuomintang forces. The Naval Air Force was added two years later. By 1954 an estimated 2,500 Soviet naval advisers were in China—possibly one adviser to every thirty Chinese naval personnel—and the Soviet Union began providing modern ships. With Soviet assistance, the navy reorganized in 1954 and 1955 into the North Sea Fleet, East Sea Fleet, and South Sea Fleet, and a corps of admirals and other naval officers was established from the ranks of the ground forces. In shipbuilding the Soviets first assisted the Chinese, then the Chinese copied Soviet designs without assistance, and finally the Chinese produced vessels of their own design. Eventually Soviet assistance progressed to the point that a joint Sino-Soviet Pacific Ocean fleet was under discussion.
Through the upheavals of the late 1950s and 1960s the Navy remained relatively undisturbed. Under the leadership of Minister of National Defense Lin Biao, large investments were made in naval construction during the frugal years immediately after the Great Leap Forward. During the Cultural Revolution, a number of top naval commissars and commanders were purged, and naval forces were used to suppress a revolt in Wuhan in July 1967, but the service largely avoided the turmoil affecting the country. Although it paid lip service to Mao and assigned political commissars aboard ships, the Navy continued to train, build, and maintain the fleets as well the coastal defense and aviation arms, as well as in the performance of its mission.
In the 1970s, when approximately 20 percent of the defence budget was allocated to naval forces, the Navy grew dramatically. The conventional submarine force increased from 35 to 100 boats, the number of missile-carrying ships grew from 20 to 200, and the production of larger surface ships, including support ships for oceangoing operations, increased. The Navy also began development of nuclear attack submarines (SSN) and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN).
In the 1980s, under the leadership of Chief Naval Commander Liu Huaqing, the navy developed into a regional naval power, though naval construction continued at a level somewhat below the 1970s rate. Liu Huaqing was an Army Officer who spent most of his career in administrative positions involving science and technology. It was not until 1988 that the People's Liberation Army Navy was led by a Naval Officer. Liu was also very close to Deng Xiaoping as his modernization efforts were very much in keeping with Deng's national policies. While under his leadership Naval construction yards produced fewer ships than the 1970s, greater emphasis was placed on technology and qualitative improvement. Modernization efforts also encompassed higher educational and technical standards for personnel; reformulation of the traditional coastal defense doctrine and force structure in favor of more green-water operations; and training in naval combined-arms operations involving submarine, surface, naval aviation, and coastal defense forces. Examples of the expansion of China's capabilities were the 1980 recovery of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the Western Pacific by a twenty-ship fleet, extended naval operations in the South China Sea in 1984 and 1985, and the visit of two naval ships to three South Asian nations in 1985. In 1982 the navy conducted a successful test of an underwater-launched ballistic missile. The navy also had some success in developing a variety of surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missiles, improving basic capabilities.
In 1986 the Navy's order of battle included two "Xia"-class SSBNs armed with twelve CSS-N-3 missiles and three Han-class SSNs armed with six SY-2 cruise missiles. In the late 1980s, major deficiencies reportedly remained in antisubmarine warfare, mine warfare, naval electronics (including electronic countermeasures equipment), and naval aviation capabilities.
The PLA Navy was ranked in 1987 as the third largest navy in the world, although naval personnel had comprised only 12 percent of PLA strength. In 1987 the Navy consisted (as it does now) of the naval headquarters in Beijing; three fleet commands – the North Sea Fleet, based at Qingdao, Shandong; the East Sea Fleet, based at Ningbo; and the South Sea Fleet, based at Zhanjiang, Guangdong – and about 1,000 ships of which only approximately 350 are ocean going. The rest are small patrol or support craft. The 350,000-person Navy included Naval Air Force units of 34,000 men, the Coastal Defense Forces of 38,000, and the Marine Corps of 56,500. Navy Headquarters, which controlled the three fleet commands, was subordinate to the PLA General Staff Department. In 1987, China's 1,500 km coastline was protected by approximately 70 diesel-powered Romeo- and Whiskey-class submarines, which could remain at sea only a limited time. Inside this protective ring and within range of shore-based aircraft were destroyers and frigates mounting Styx anti-ship missiles, depth-charge projectors, and guns up to 130 mm. Any invader penetrating the destroyer and frigate protection would have been swarmed by almost 900 fast-attack craft. Stormy weather limited the range of these small boats, however, and curtailed air support. Behind the inner ring were Coastal Defense Force personnel operating naval shore batteries of Styx missiles and guns, backed by ground force units deployed in depth.
As the 21st century approached, the PLAN began to transition to an off-shore defensive strategy that entailed more out-of-area operations away from its traditional territorial waters. Between 1989 and 1993, the training ship "Zhenghe" paid ports visits to Hawaii, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. PLAN vessels visited Vladivostok in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. PLAN task groups also paid visits to Indonesia in 1995; North Korea in 1997; New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines in 1998; Malaysia, Tanzania, South Africa, the United States, and Canada in 2000; and India, Pakistan, France, Italy, Germany, Britain, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand in 2001. In March 1997, the "Luhu"-class guided missile destroyer "Harbin", the "Luda"-class guided missile destroyer "Zhuhai", and the replenishment oiler "Nancang" began the PLA Navy's first circumnavigation of the Pacific Ocean, a 98-day voyage with port visits to Mexico, Peru, Chile, and the United States, including Pearl Harbor and San Diego. The flotilla was under the command of Vice Admiral Wang Yongguo, the commander-in-chief of the South Sea Fleet.
The "Luhu"-class guided missile destroyer "Qingdao" and the replenishment oiler "Taicang" completed the PLA Navy's first circumnavigation of the world "(pictured)", a 123-day voyage covering between 15 May – 23 September 2002. Port visits included Changi, Singapore; Alexandria, Egypt; Aksis, Turkey; Sevastopol, Ukraine; Piraeus, Greece; Lisbon, Portugal; Fortaleza, Brazil; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Callao, Peru; and Papeete in French Polynesia. The PLA naval vessels participated in naval exercises with the French frigates "Nivôse" and "Prairial", as well as exercises with the Peruvian Navy. The flotilla was under the command of Vice Admiral Ding Yiping, the commander-in-chief of the North Sea Fleet, and Captain Li Yujie was the commanding officer of the "Qingdao". Overall, between 1985 and 2006, PLAN naval vessels visited 18 Asian-Pacific nations, 4 South American nations, 8 European nations, 3 African nations, and 3 North American nations. In 2003, the PLAN conducted its first joint naval exercises during separate visits to Pakistan and India. Bi-lateral naval exercises were also carried out with exercises with the French, British, Australian, Canadian, Philippine, and United States navies.
On 26 December 2008, the PLAN dispatched a task group consisting of the guided missile destroyer "Haikou" (flagship), the guided missile destroyer "Wuhan", and the supply ship "Weishanhu" to the Gulf of Aden to participate in anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia. A team of 16 Chinese Special Forces members from its Marine Corps armed with attack helicopters were on board. Since then, China has maintained a three-ship flotilla of two warships and one supply ship in the Gulf of Aden by assigning ships to the Gulf of Aden on a three monthly basis. Other recent PLAN incidents include the 2001 Hainan Island incident, a major submarine accident in 2003, and naval incidents involving the U.S. MSC-operated ocean surveillance ships and during 2009. At the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the PLAN, 52 to 56 vessels were shown in manoeuvres off Qingdao in April 2009 including previously unseen nuclear submarines. The demonstration was seen as a sign of the growing status of China, while the CMC Chairman, Hu Jintao, indicated that China is neither seeking regional hegemony nor entering an arms race. Predictions by Western analysts that the PLAN would outnumber the USN submarine force as early as 2011 have failed to come true because the PRC curtailed both imports and domestic production of submarines.
Beginning in 2009, China ordered 4 Zubr-class LCAC from Ukraine and bought 4 more from the Hellenic Navy (Greece). These hovercraft/LCACs are built to send troops and armored vehicles (tanks, etc.) onto beaches in a fast manner, acting as a landing craft, and were viewed to be a direct threat to Taiwan's pro-independence movement as well as the conflict over Senkaku Islands. China is continually shifting the power balance in Asia by building up Navy's Submarines, Amphibious warfare and surface warfare capabilities.
Between 5–12 July 2013, a seven-ship task force from the Northern Fleet joined warships from the Russian Pacific Fleet to participate in Joint Sea 2013, bilateral naval maneuvers held in the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan. To date, Joint Sea 2013 was the largest naval drills yet undertaken by the People's Liberation Army Navy with a foreign navy.
On 2 April 2015, during the violent aftermath of a coup d'état in Yemen and amid an international bombing campaign, the PLAN helped 10 countries get their citizens out of Yemen safely, evacuating them aboard a missile frigate from the besieged port city of Aden. The operation was described by Reuters as "the first time that China's military has helped other countries evacuate their people during an international crisis".
China's participation on international maritime excises is also increasing. In RIMPAC 2014, China was invited to send ships from their People's Liberation Army Navy; marking not only the first time China participated in a RIMPAC exercise, but also the first time China participated in a large-scale United States-led naval drill. On 9 June 2014, China confirmed it would be sending four ships to the exercise, a destroyer, frigate, supply ship, & hospital ship. In April 2016, the People's Republic of China was also invited to RIMPAC 2016 despite the tension in South China Sea.
PRC military expert Yin Zhuo has said that due to present weaknesses in the PLAN's ability to replenish their ships at sea, their future aircraft carriers will be forced to operate in pairs.
In a TV interview, Zhang Zhaozhong suggest otherwise, saying China is "unlikely to put all her eggs in one basket" and that the navy will likely rotate between carriers rather than deploy them all at once.
The PLAN is organized into several departments for purposes of command, control and coordination. Main operating forces are organized into fleets, each with its own headquarters, a commander (a Rear Admiral or Vice Admiral) and a Political Commisar. All PLAN headquarters are subordinate to the PLA Joint Staff Department and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
The People's Liberation Army Navy is divided into three fleets:
Each fleet consists of surface forces (destroyers, frigates, amphibious vessels etc.), submarine forces, coastal defence units, and aircraft.
The People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force is one of five branches in the navy and consists of all submarines both nuclear-powered and conventionally-powered in service with the PLAN. They are organised into flotillas spread across the three main fleets.
The PRC is the last of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council which has not conducted an operational ballistic missile submarine patrol, because of institutional problems. It operates a fleet of 68 submarines.
The People's Liberation Army Surface Force is one of five branches in the navy and consists of all surface warfare ships in service with the PLAN. They are organised into flotillas spread across the three main fleets.
The PLAN Coastal Defence Force is a land-based fighting force and branch of the PLAN with a strength of around 25,000 personnel. Also known as the coastal defense troops, they serve to defend China's coastal areas from invasion via amphibious landings or air-attack. Throughout the 1960s to 1980s, the Coastal Defense Force was focused on defending China's coast from a possible Soviet sea-borne invasion. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the threat of an amphibious invasion of China has diminished and therefore the branch is often considered to no-longer to be a vital component of the PLAN, especially as the surface warships of the PLAN continue to improve in terms of anti-ship and air-defence capabilities.
Today the primary weapons of the coastal defense troops are the HY-2, YJ-82, and C-602 anti-ship missiles.
The PLAN Marine Corps was originally established in the 1950s and then re-established in 1979 under PLAN organisation. It consists of around 12,000 marines organised into two 6000-man brigades and is based in the South China Sea with the South Sea Fleet. The Marine Corps are considered elite troops, and are rapid mobilization forces trained primarily in amphibious warfare and as Paratroopers to establish a beachhead or act as a fighting spearhead during operations against enemy targets. The marines are equipped with the standard Type 95 Assault Rifle as well as other small arms and personnel equipment, and a blue/littoral camouflage uniform as standard. The marines are also equipped with armoured fighting vehicles (including amphibious light tanks such as the Type 63), artillery, and anti-aircraft artillery systems and short range surface-to-air missiles.
With the PLAN's accelerating efforts to expand its capabilities beyond territorial waters, it would be likely for the Marine Corps to play a greater role in terms of being an offshore expeditionary force similar to the USMC and Royal Marines.
The People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force is the "air force" of the PLAN and has a strength of around 25,000 personnel and 690 aircraft. It operates similar aircraft to the People's Liberation Army Air Force, including fighter aircraft, bombers, strike aircraft, tankers, reconnaissance aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, transport aircraft, and helicopters of various roles. The PLA Naval Air Force has traditionally received older aircraft than the PLAAF and has taken less ambitious steps towards mass modernization. Advancements in new technologies, weaponry and aircraft acquisition were made after 2000. With the introduction of China's first aircraft carrier, Liaoning the Naval Air Force is for the first time conducting aircraft carrier operations. Naval Air Bases includes:
The PLAN is complemented by paramilitary maritime services such as the China Coast Guard. The Chinese Coast Guard was previously not under an independent command, considered part of the armed police, under the local (provincial) border defense force command, prior to its reorganization and consolidation as an unified service. It was formed from the integration of several formerly separate services (such as China Marine Surveillance (CMS), Hai Guang, People's Armed Police and sea militia). The CMS performed mostly coastal and ocean search and rescue or patrols. The CMS received quite a few large patrol ships that significantly enhanced their operations, while Hai Guang, militia, police and other services operated hundreds of small patrol craft. For maritime patrol services, these craft are usually quite well armed with machine guns and 37mm antiaircraft guns. In addition, these services operated their own small aviation units to assist their maritime patrol capabilities, with Hai Guang and CMS operating a handful of Harbin Z-9 helicopters, and a maritime patrol aircraft based on the Harbin Y-12 STOL transport.
Every coastal province has 1 to 3 Coast Guard squadrons:
The ranks in the People's Liberation Army Navy are similar to those of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force. The current system of officer ranks and insignia dates from 1988 and is a revision of the ranks and insignia used from 1955 to 1965. The rank of Hai Jun Yi Ji Shang Jiang (First Class Admiral) was never held and was abolished in 1994. With the official introduction of the Type 07 uniforms all officer insignia are on either shoulders or sleeves depending on the type of uniform used. The current system of enlisted ranks and insignia dates from 1998.
The People's Liberation Army Navy has become more prominent in recent years owing to a change in Chinese strategic priorities. The new strategic threats include possible conflict with the United States and/or a resurgent Japan in areas such as the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea. As part of its overall program of naval modernization, the PLAN has a long-term plan of developing a blue water navy. Robert D. Kaplan has said that it was the collapse of the Soviet Union that allowed China to transfer resources from its army to its navy and other force projection assets. China is constructing a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, Hainan. In December 2007 the first Type 094 submarine was moved to Sanya.
The Daily Telegraph on 1 May 2008 reported that tunnels were being built into hillsides which could be capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites. According to the Western news media the base is reportedly to help China project seapower well into the Pacific Ocean area, including challenging United States naval power.
During a 2008 interview with the BBC, Major General Qian Lihua, a senior Chinese defense official, stated that the PLAN aspired to possess a small number of aircraft carriers to allow it to expand China's air defense perimeter. According to Qian the important issue was not whether China had an aircraft carrier, but what it did with it. On 13 January 2009, Adm. Robert F. Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, called the PLAN's modernization "aggressive," and that it raised concerns in the region. On 15 July 2009, Senator Jim Webb of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee declared that only the "United States has both the stature and the national power to confront the obvious imbalance of power that China brings" to situations such as the claims to the Spratly and Paracel islands.
Ronald O'Rourke of the Congressional Research Service wrote that the PLAN "continues to exhibit limitations or weaknesses in several areas, including capabilities for sustained operations by larger formations in distant waters, joint operations with other parts of China’s military, C4ISR systems, anti-air warfare (AAW), antisubmarine warfare (ASW), MCM, and a dependence on foreign suppliers for certain key ship components." In 1998 China purchased the discarded Ukrainian ship Varyag and began retrofitting it for naval deployment. On 25 September 2012, the People's Liberation Army Navy took delivery of China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. The 60,000 ton ship can accommodate 33 fixed wing aircraft. It is widely speculated that these aircraft will be the J15 fighter (the Chinese version of Russia's SU-33).
In September 2015, satellite images showed that China may have started constructing its first indigenous Type 001A aircraft carrier. At the time, the layout suggested to be displacement 50,000 ton and a hull to have a length of about 240 m and a beam of about 35 m. The incomplete bow suggests a length of at least 270 m for the completed hull. In April 2017 the carrier was launched.
Japan has raised concerns about the PLAN's growing capability and the lack of transparency as its naval strength keeps on expanding. China has reportedly entered into service the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile called DF-21D. The potential threat from the DF-21D against U.S. aircraft carriers has reportedly caused major changes in U.S. strategy.
In June 2017 China launched a new type of large destroyer, the Type 055 destroyer. The new destroyer is, with its dimension of 180 meter and over 12,000 tons fully loaded, the second largest destroyer class in the world after the American Zumwalt-class destroyer.
The Spratly Islands dispute is a territorial dispute over the ownership of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands located in the South China Sea. States staking claims to various islands are Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and People's Republic of China. All except Brunei occupy some of the islands in dispute. The People's Republic of China conducted naval patrols in the Spratly Islands and established a permanent base.
On 14 March 1988, Chinese and Vietnamese naval forces clashed over Johnson South Reef in the Spratly Islands, which involved three PLAN frigates/
In February 2011, the Chinese frigate "Dongguan" fired three shots at Philippine fishing boats in the vicinity of Jackson atoll. The shots were fired after the frigate instructed the fishing boats to leave, and one of those boats experienced trouble removing its anchor. In May 2011, the Chinese patrol boats attacked and cut the cable of Vietnamese oil exploration ships near Spratly islands. The incidence sparked several anti-China protests in Vietnam. In June, the Chinese navy conducted three days of exercises, including live fire drills, in the disputed waters. This was widely seen as a warning to Vietnam, which had also conducted live fire drills near the Spratly Islands. Chinese patrol boats fired repeated rounds at a target on an apparently uninhabited island, as twin fighter jets streaked in tandem overhead. 14 vessels participated in the maneuvers, staging antisubmarine and beach landing drills aimed at "defending atolls and protecting sea lanes."
In May 2013, the Chinese navy's three operational fleets deployed together for the first time since 2010. This combined naval maneuvers in the South China Sea coincided with the ongoing Spratly Islands dispute between China and the Philippines as well as deployment of the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group Eleven to the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
The Senkaku Islands dispute concerns a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, the Senkaku Islands in Japan, and Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. Aside from a 1945 to 1972 period of administration by the United States, the archipelago has been controlled by Japan since 1895. The People's Republic of China disputed the proposed U.S. handover of authority to Japan in 1971 and has asserted its claims to the islands since that time. Taiwan also has claimed these islands. The disputed territory is close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds, and it may have major oil reserves in the area.
On some occasions, ships and planes from various Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese government and military agencies have entered the disputed area. In addition to the cases where they escorted fishing and activist vessels, there have been other incursions. In an eight-month period in 2012, over forty maritime incursions and 160 aerial incursions occurred. For example, in July 2012, three Chinese patrol vessels entered the disputed waters around the islands.
Military escalation continued in 2013. In February, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera claimed that a Chinese frigate had locked weapons-targeting radar onto a Japanese destroyer and helicopter on two occasions in January. A Chinese Jiangwei II class frigate and a Japanese destroyer were three kilometers apart, and the crew of the latter vessel went to battle stations. The Chinese state media responded that their frigates had been engaged in routine training at the time. In late February 2013, U.S. intelligence detected China moving road-mobile ballistic missiles closer to the coast near the disputed islands, including medium-range DF-16 anti-ship ballistic missiles. In May, a flotilla of Chinese warships from its North Sea Fleet deployed from Qingdao for training exercises western North Pacific Ocean. It is not known if this deployment is related to the ongoing islands dispute between China and Japan.
On 22 July 2011, following its Vietnam port-call, the Indian amphibious assault vessel was reportedly contacted 45 nautical miles from the Vietnamese coast in the disputed South China Sea by a party identifying itself as the Chinese Navy and stating that the Indian warship was entering Chinese waters. According to a spokesperson for the Indian Navy, since there were no Chinese ships or aircraft were visible, the INS "Airavat" proceeded on her onward journey as scheduled. The Indian Navy further clarified that "[t]here was no confrontation involving the INS "Airavat". India supports freedom of navigation in international waters, including in the South China Sea, and the right of passage in accordance with accepted principles of international law. These principles should be respected by all."
On 11 July 2012, the Chinese frigate "Dongguan" ran aground on Hasa Hasa Shoal ("pictured") located 60 nmi west of Rizal, which was within the Philippines' 200 nmi-EEZ. By 15 July, the frigate had been refloated and was returning to port with no injuries and only minor damage. During this incident, the 2012 ASEAN summit took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, amid the rising regional tensions.
On 18 December 2008, Chinese authorities deployed People's Liberation Army Navy vessels to escort Chinese shipping in the Gulf of Aden. This deployment came after a series of attacks and attempted hijackings on Chinese vessels by Somali pirates. Reports suggest two destroyers (Type 052C 171 Haikou and Type 052B 169 Wuhan) and a supply ship are the ones being used. This move was welcomed by the international community as the warships complement a multinational fleet already operating along the coast of Africa. Since this operation PLAN has sought the leadership of the ‘Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE)' body, which would require an increase in the number of ships contributing to the anti-piracy fleet. This is the first time Chinese warships have deployed outside the Asia-Pacific region for a military operation since Zheng He's expeditions in the 15th century.
Since then more than 30 People's Liberation Army Navy ships has deployed to the Gulf of Aden in 18 Escort Task Groups.
In the lead-up to the Libyan Civil War, the "Xuzhou" (530) was deployed from anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden to help evacuate Chinese nationals from Libya.
During the Yemen conflict in 2015, the Chinese Navy diverted their frigates carrying out anti-piracy operations in Somalia to evacuate at least 600 Chinese and 225 foreign citizens working in Yemen. The majority of non-Chinese evacuees were 176 Pakistani citizens, although there were smaller numbers from other countries, such as Ethiopia, Singapore, the UK, Italy and Germany. Despite the evacuations the Chinese embassy in Yemen continued to operate.
As of 2018, the Chinese navy operates over 496 combat ships and 232 various auxiliary vessels and counts 255,000 seamen in its ranks. The Chinese Navy also employ more than 710 naval aircraft including fighters, bombers and electronic warfare aircraft. China has large amount of artillery, torpedoes, and missiles included in their combat assets.
All ships and submarines currently in commission with the People's Liberation Army Navy were built in China, with the exception of the Sovremenny-class destroyers, Kilo-class submarines and the aircraft carrier Liaoning. Those vessels were either imported from, or originated from Russia or Ukraine. As of 2008, English-language official Chinese state media no longer uses the term "People's Liberation Army Navy", instead the term "Chinese Navy" along with the usage of the unofficial prefix "CNS" for "Chinese Navy Ship" is now employed.
China employs a wide range of Navy combatants including aircraft carriers, amphibious warfare ships and destroyers. The Chinese Navy is undergoing modernization rapidly with nearly half of Chinese Navy combat ships are modern and built after 2010. China's state-owned shipyards have built 83 ships in just eight years with unprecedented speed. China has its own independent maritime missile defense and naval combat system similar to US Aegis.
China operates carrier-based fighter aircraft to secure land, air and sea targets. Chinese Navy also operate wide range of helicopter for battlefield logistics, reconnaissance, patrol and medical evacuation.
The unique QBS-06 is an underwater assault rifle with 5.8x42 DBS-06, and is used by Naval frogmen. It is based on the Soviet APS.
Chinese is developing advanced naval weaponry such as railgun. In early February 2018, pictures of what is claimed to be a Chinese railgun were published online. In the pictures the gun is mounted on the bow of a Type 072III-class landing ship "Haiyangshan". Media is suggesting that the system is or soon will be ready for testing. In March 2018, it was reported that China had confirmed that it had begun testing its electromagnetic rail gun at sea.
The PLAN's ambitions include operating out to the first and second island chains, as far as the South Pacific near Australia, and spanning to the Aleutian islands, and operations extending to the Straits of Malacca near the Indian Ocean. The future PLAN fleet will be composed of a balance of combatant assets aimed at maximising the PLAN's fighting effectiveness. On the high end, there would be modern destroyers equipped with long-range air defense missiles (Type 052B, Type 052C, Type 052D, Type 051C and Type 055); destroyers armed with supersonic anti-ship missiles ("Sovremenny" class); advanced nuclear-powered attack and ballistic missile submarines (Type 093, Type 095, Type 094, Type 096); advanced conventional attack submarines ("Kilo" and "Yuan" classes); aircraft carriers (Type 001A, Type 002 and Type 003) and large amphibious warfare vessels (Type 071 and Type 075) capable of mobilizing troops at long distances. On the medium and low end, there would be more economical multi-role capable frigates and destroyers ("Luhu", "Jiangwei II" and "Jiangkai" classes); corvettes ("Jiangdao" class); fast littoral missile attack craft ("Houjian", "Houxin" and "Houbei" classes); various landing ships and light craft; and conventionally powered coastal patrol submarines ("Song" class). The obsolete combat ships (based on 1960s designs) will be phased out in the coming decades as more modern designs enter full production. It may take a decade for the bulk of these older ships to be retired. Until then, they will serve principally on the low end, as multi-role patrol/escort platforms. Their use could be further enhanced in the future by being used as fast transports or fire support platforms. This system of phasing out would see a reversal in the decline in quantity of PLAN vessels by 2015, and cuts in inventory after the end of the Cold War could be made up for by 2020.
During 2001–2006 there has been a rapid building and acquisition program. There were more than a dozen new classes of ships built in these last five years, totaling some 60 brand new ships (including landing ships and auxiliaries). Simultaneously, dozens of other ships have been either phased out of service or refitted with new equipment. Submarines play a significant role in the development of the PLAN's future fleet. This is made evident by the construction of a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, the Type 094 and the Type 093 nuclear attack submarine. This will provide the PLAN with a more modern response for the need of a seaborne nuclear deterrent. The new submarines will also be capable of performing conventional strike and other special warfare requirements.
The European Union has provided much of the propulsion technology for the PLAN's modernization.
Ronald O'Rourke of the Congressional Research Service reported that the long-term goals of PLAN planning include:
During the military parade on the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the YJ-62 naval cruise missile made its first public appearance; the YJ-62 represents the next generation in naval weapons technology in the PLA.
Next indigenous Type 002 class aircraft carrier to be a 70,000 ton displacement. A Chinese website stated that the PLAN is going to build a 110,000 ton Type 003 aircraft carrier, essentially a larger version of the "Liaoning" and its pattern indigenous carriers.
The PLA Navy plans to establish three aircraft carrier battle groups by 2020. The "Liaoning" and China's first two domestically built carriers, currently under construction, will be part of the battle groups. One of the battle groups is to be deployed in the East China Sea, while the other two are to be deployed to the South China Sea.
The PLAN may also operate from Gwadar or Seychelles for anti-piracy missions and to protect vital trade routes which may endanger China's energy security in the case of a conflict. In 2016, China established her first overseas naval base in Djibouti, which provided necessary support for Chinese fleet and troops.
China has reportedly begun testing designs for arsenal ships.
Currently the U.S. Navy is defining PLAN as its main potential adversary. Part of the debate is fueled in the US by US Navy funding requirements. While U.S. Navy decided to build a new class of small, cheap, numerous Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), the Chinese Navy met the same requirement with small, cheap, numerous catamaran Type 022 missile boats. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24918 |
Patrick Macnee
Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British-American film and television actor. He played the role of secret agent John Steed in the British television series "The Avengers."
The elder of two sons, Macnee was born in Paddington, London, England on 6 February 1922; to Daniel Macnee (1878−1952) and Dorothea Mabel Macnee (née Henry) (1896−1984). His father, who was a grandson of the Scottish artist Sir Daniel Macnee, trained race horses in Lambourn, and was known for his dress sense; he had served as an officer in the Yorkshire Dragoons in the First World War. His maternal grandmother was Frances Alice Hastings (1870−1945), who was the daughter of Vice-Admiral George Fowler Hastings and granddaughter of Hans Francis Hastings, 12th Earl of Huntingdon. His younger brother James, known as Jimmy, was born five years later.
Macnee's parents separated after his mother began to identify as a lesbian. His father later moved to India, and his mother began to live with her wealthy partner, Evelyn Spottswood, whose money came from the Dewar's whisky business. Macnee referred to her in his autobiography as "Uncle Evelyn", and she helped pay for his schooling. He was educated at Summer Fields School and Eton College, where he was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was one of the guard of honour for King George V at St George's Chapel in 1936. He was later expelled from Eton for selling pornography and being a bookmaker for his fellow students.
Macnee studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, but shortly before he was to perform in his first West End leading role, which would have had him acting alongside Vivien Leigh, he was called up for the United Kingdom Armed Forces. He joined the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman in October 1942 and was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in June 1943, becoming a navigator on Motor Torpedo Boats in the English Channel and North Sea. Reassigned as first lieutenant on a second MTB, Macnee caught bronchitis just before D-Day; while he was recuperating in hospital, his boat and crew were lost in action. Two of the crew received the Distinguished Service Medal. He left the Navy in 1946 as a lieutenant.
Macnee nurtured his acting career in Canada early on, but he also appeared as an uncredited extra in the British films "Pygmalion" (1938), "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (1943) and Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet" (1948), as well as some live TV dramas for the BBC, before graduating to credited parts in such films as "Scrooge" (US: "A Christmas Carol", 1951), as the young Jacob Marley, the Gene Kelly vehicle "Les Girls" (1957), as an Old Bailey barrister, and the war film "The Battle of the River Plate" (1956). Between these occasional movie roles, Macnee spent the better part of the 1950s working in dozens of small parts in American and Canadian television and theatre, including an appearance in an episode of "The Twilight Zone" in 1959 ("Judgment Night"). Disappointed in his limited career development, in the late 1950s Macnee was daily smoking 80 cigarettes and drinking a bottle of whisky.
Not long before his career-making role in "The Avengers", Macnee took a break from acting and served as one of the London-based producers for the classic documentary series "The Valiant Years", based on the Second World War memoirs of Winston Churchill.
While working in London on the Churchill series, Macnee was offered the part in "The Avengers" (1961−69), (originally intended to be known as "Jonathan Steed"), for which he became best known. The series was originally conceived as a vehicle for Ian Hendry, who played the lead role of Dr. David Keel in a sequel to an earlier series, "Police Surgeon" (1960), while John Steed was his assistant. Macnee, though, became the lead after Hendry's departure at the end of the first season. Macnee played opposite a succession of glamorous female partners; Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, and Linda Thorson. Of the 161 completed episodes, Macnee appeared in all but two, both of which from the first season.
Although Macnee evolved in the role as the series progressed, the key elements of Steed's persona and appearance were there from very early on: the slightly mysterious demeanour and, increasingly, the light, suave, flirting tone with ladies (and always with his female assistants). Finally, from the episodes with Blackman onwards, the trademark bowler hat and umbrella completed the image. Though it was traditionally associated with London "city gents", the ensemble of suit, umbrella and bowler had developed in the post-war years as mufti for ex-servicemen attending Armistice Day ceremonies. Steed's sartorial style may also have been drawn from Macnee's father. Macnee, alongside designer Pierre Cardin, adapted the look into a style all his own, and he went on to design several outfits himself for Steed based on the same basic theme. Steed was also the central character of "The New Avengers" (1976–77), in which he was teamed with agents named Purdey (Joanna Lumley) and Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt).
Macnee insisted on, and was proud of, never carrying a gun in the original series; when asked why, he explained, "I'd just come out of a World War in which I'd seen most of my friends blown to bits." Lumley later said she did all the gun-slinging in "The New Avengers" for the same reason.
When asked in June 1982 which "Avengers" female lead was his favourite, Macnee declined to give a specific answer. "Well, I'd rather not say. To do so would invite trouble," he told "TV Week" magazine. Macnee did provide his evaluation of the female leads. Of Honor Blackman he said, "She was wonderful, presenting the concept of a strong-willed, independent and liberated woman just as that sort of woman was beginning to emerge in society." Diana Rigg was "One of the world's great actresses. A superb comedienne. I'm convinced that one day she'll be Dame Diana" (his prediction came true in 1994). Linda Thorson was "one of the sexiest women alive" while Joanna Lumley was "superb in the role of Purdey. An actress who is only now realising her immense potential."
Macnee co-wrote two original novels based upon "The Avengers" during the 1960s, titled "Dead Duck" and "Deadline." He hosted a documentary, "The Avengers: The Journey Back" (1998), directed by Clyde Lucas.
For the critically lambasted film version of "The Avengers" (1998), he lent his voice in a cameo as "Invisible Jones". The character of Steed was taken over by Ralph Fiennes.
Macnee's other significant roles included playing Sir Godfrey Tibbett opposite Roger Moore in the James Bond film "A View to a Kill" (1985), as Major Crossley in "The Sea Wolves" (again with Moore), guest roles in "Encounter," "Alias Smith and Jones" (for Glen Larson), "Magnum, P.I.", "Hart to Hart," "Murder, She Wrote," and "The Love Boat." Although his best known part was heroic, many of his television appearances were as villains; among them were his roles of both the demonic Count Iblis and his provision of the character voice of the Cylons' Imperious Leader in "Battlestar Galactica," also for Glen Larson, for which he also supplied the show's introductory voiceover. He also presented the American paranormal series "Mysteries, Magic and Miracles." Macnee appeared on Broadway as the star of Anthony Shaffer's mystery "Sleuth" in 1972–73. He subsequently headlined the national tour of that play.
Macnee reunited with Diana Rigg in her short-lived NBC sitcom, "Diana" (1973) in a single episode. Other television appearances include a guest appearance on "Columbo" in the episode "Troubled Waters" (1975); and playing Major Vickers in "For the Term of His Natural Life" (1983). He had recurring roles in the crime series "Gavilan" with Robert Urich and in the short-lived satire on big business, "Empire" (1984), as Dr. Calvin Cromwell. Macnee also narrated the documentary "Ian Fleming: 007's Creator" (2000).
Macnee featured prominently in two editions of the long-running British television series "This Is Your Life": in 1978, when he and host Eamonn Andrews, both dressed as Steed, surprised Ian Hendry, and in 1984 when he was the edition's unsuspecting subject.
He also appeared in several cult films: in "The Howling" (1981), as 'Dr George Waggner' (named whimsically after the director of "The Wolf Man", 1941) and as Sir Denis Eton-Hogg in the rockumentary comedy "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984). He played Dr. Stark in "The Creature Wasn't Nice" (1981), also called "Spaceship" and "Naked Space". Macnee played the role of actor David Mathews in the made-for-television movie "Rehearsal for Murder" (1982), which starred Robert Preston and Lynn Redgrave. The movie was from a script written by "Columbo" co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link. He took over Leo G. Carroll's role as the head of U.N.C.L.E. His character being Sir John Raleigh in "" (1983), produced by Michael Sloan. He was featured in the science fiction television movie "Super Force" (1990) as E. B. Hungerford (the series which followed only featured Macnee's voice as a Max Headroom-style computer simulation of his character), as a supporting character in the parody film "Lobster Man From Mars" (1989) as Prof. Plocostomos and in "The Return of Sam McCloud" (1989), a TV film, as Tom Jamison. He made an appearance in "Frasier" (2001), and several episodes of the American science-fiction series "Nightman" as Dr. Walton, a psychiatrist who would advise Johnny/Nightman. Macnee appeared in two episodes of the series "" (1993–94) and was a retired agent in a handful of instalments of "Spy Game" (1997–98).
Macnee made numerous TV commercials including one around 1990 for Swiss Chalet, the Canadian restaurant chain, and a year or so before, a commercial for the Sterling Motor Car Company. Over the James Bond theme, the car duels with a motorcycle assailant at high speed through mountainous territory, ultimately eludes the foe, and reaches its destination. Macnee steps out of the car and greets viewers with a smile, saying, "I suppose you were expecting someone else". Macnee was the narrator for several "behind-the-scenes" featurettes for the James Bond series of DVDs and recorded numerous audio books, including the releases of many novels by Jack Higgins. He also recorded the children's books "The Musical Life of Gustav Mole" and its sequel, "The Lost Music (Gustav Mole's War on Noise)," both written by Michael Twinn.
Macnee featured in two pop videos: as Steed in original "Avengers" footage in The Pretenders' video for their song "Don't Get Me Wrong" (1986) and in the promotion for Oasis's "Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996), as the band's driver, a role similar to that which he played in the James Bond film "A View To A Kill" (1985). In 1990 his recording with his "Avengers" co-star Honor Blackman, called "Kinky Boots" (1964), reached the UK Singles Chart after being played on Simon Mayo's BBC Radio One breakfast show.
Macnee appeared in "Magnum, P.I." (1984) as a retired, but delusional, British agent, who believed he was Sherlock Holmes, in a season four episode titled "Holmes Is Where the Heart Is". He played both Holmes and Dr. Watson on several occasions. He played Watson three times: once alongside Roger Moore's Sherlock Holmes in a TV film, "Sherlock Holmes in New York" (1976), and twice with Christopher Lee, first in "Incident at Victoria Falls" (1991), and then in "Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady" (1992). He played Holmes in another TV film, "The Hound of London" (1993), along with the 1996 TV film "Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Temporal Nexus" . He is thus one of only a very small number of actors to have portrayed both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on screen.
Macnee married his first wife, Barbara Douglas (1921–2012), in 1942. They had two children, Rupert and Jenny, and a grandson, Christopher ("Kit"). After they were divorced in 1956, his second marriage (1965−1969) was to actress Katherine Woodville. His third marriage was to Baba Majos de Nagyzsenye, daughter of opera singer Ella Némethy. It lasted from 1988 until her death in 2007. Macnee became a US citizen in 1959. He dictated his autobiography, which he entitled "Blind in One Ear: The Avenger Returns" (1988), to Marie Cameron. Later in life, Macnee was an enthusiastic nudist.
On 25 June 2015, Macnee died at Rancho Mirage, California, his home for the previous four decades, at the age of 93. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24921 |
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over seven hundred students and fellows. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its founding, as well as extensive gardens. Its members are termed "Valencians".
Pembroke has a level of academic performance among the highest of all the Cambridge colleges; in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Pembroke was placed second in the Tompkins Table.
Pembroke is home to the first chapel designed by Sir Christopher Wren and is one of the six Cambridge colleges to have educated a British prime minister, in Pembroke's case William Pitt the Younger. The college library, with a Victorian neo-gothic clock tower, is endowed with an original copy of the first encyclopaedia to contain printed diagrams.
The college's current master is Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury.
Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke (1303–1377), a member of the de Châtillon family of France, founded Pembroke College, Cambridge. On Christmas Eve 1347, Edward III granted Marie de St Pol, widow of the Earl of Pembroke, the licence for the foundation of a new educational establishment in the young university at Cambridge. The "Hall of Valence Mary" ("Custos & Scolares Aule Valence Marie in Cantebrigg'"), as it was originally known, was thus founded to house a body of students and fellows. The statutes were notable in that they both gave preference to students born in France who had already studied elsewhere in England, and that they required students to report fellow students if they indulged in excessive drinking or visited disreputable houses.
The college was later renamed Pembroke Hall, and finally became Pembroke College in 1856.
Marie was closely involved with College affairs in the thirty years up to her death in 1377. She seems to have been something of a disciplinarian: the original Foundation documents had strict penalties for drunkenness and lechery, required that all students' debts were settled within two weeks of the end of term, and gave strict limits on numbers at graduation parties.
In 2015, the college received a bequest of £34 million from the estate of American inventor and Pembroke alumnus Ray Dolby, thought to be the largest single donation to a college in the history of Cambridge University.
The first buildings comprised a single court (now called Old Court) containing all the component parts of a college – chapel, hall, kitchen and buttery, master's lodgings, students' rooms – and the statutes provided for a manciple, a cook, a barber and a laundress. Both the founding of the college and the building of the city's first college Chapel (1355) required the grant of a papal bull.
The original court was the university's smallest at only by , but was enlarged to its current size in the nineteenth century by demolishing the south range.
The college's gatehouse is the oldest in Cambridge.
The original Chapel now forms the Old Library and has a striking seventeenth-century plaster ceiling, designed by Henry Doogood, showing birds flying overhead. Around the Civil War, one of Pembroke's fellows and Chaplain to the future Charles I, Matthew Wren, was imprisoned by Oliver Cromwell. On his release after eighteen years, he fulfilled a promise by hiring his nephew Christopher Wren to build a great Chapel in his former college. The resulting Chapel was consecrated on St Matthew's Day, 1665, and the eastern end was extended by George Gilbert Scott in 1880, when it was consecrated on the Feast of the Annunciation.
An increase in membership over the last 150 years saw a corresponding increase in building activity. The Hall was rebuilt in 1875–6 to designs by Alfred Waterhouse after he had declared the medieval Hall unsafe. As well as the Hall, Waterhouse designed a new range of rooms, Red Buildings (1871–72), in French Renaissance style, designed a new Master's Lodge on the site of Paschal Yard (1873, later to become N staircase), pulled down the old Lodge and the south range of Old Court to open a vista to the Chapel, and finally designed a new Library (1877–78) in the continental Gothic style. The construction of the new library was undertaken by Rattee and Kett.
Waterhouse was dismissed as architect in 1878 and succeeded by George Gilbert Scott, who, after extending the Chapel, provided additional accommodation with the construction of New Court in 1881, with letters on a series of shields along the string course above the first floor spelling out the text from Psalm 127:1, ("Except the Lord build the house, their labour is but vain that build it").
Building work continued into the 20th century with W. D. Caröe as architect. He added Pitt Building (M staircase) between Ivy Court and Waterhouse's Lodge, and extended New Court with the construction of O staircase on the other side of the Lodge. He linked his two buildings with an arched stone screen, Caröe Bridge, along Pembroke Street in a late Baroque style, the principal function of which was to act as a bridge by which undergraduates might cross the Master's forecourt at first-floor level from Pitt Building to New Court without leaving the College or trespassing in what was then the Fellows' Garden.
In 1926, as the Fellows had become increasingly disenchanted with Waterhouse's Hall, Maurice Webb was brought in to remove the open roof, put in a flat ceiling and add two storeys of sets above. The wall between the Hall and the Fellows' Parlour was taken down, and the latter made into a High Table dais. A new Senior Parlour was then created on the ground floor of Hitcham Building. The remodelling work was completed in 1949 when Murray Easton replaced the Gothic tracery of the windows with a simpler design in the style of the medieval Hall.
In 1933 Maurice Webb built a new Master's Lodge in the south-east corner of the College gardens, on land acquired from Peterhouse in 1861. Following the war, further accommodation was created with the construction in 1957 of Orchard Building, so called because it stands on part of the Foundress's orchard. Finally, in a move to accommodate the majority of junior members on the College site rather than in hostels in the town, in the 1990s Eric Parry designed a new range of buildings on the site of the Master's Lodge, with a new Lodge at the west end. "Foundress Court" was opened in 1997 in celebration of the College's 650th Anniversary. In 2001 the Library was extended to the east and modified internally.
In 2017, Pembroke College launched a new campaign of extension called the "Time and the place" (or the Mill Lane project), on the other side of Trumpington Street. This project will enlarge the size of the College by a third, with new social spaces, rooms and offices.
Pembroke's enclosed grounds include garden areas. Highlights include "The Orchard" (a patch of semi-wild ground in the centre of the college), an impressive row of Plane Trees and a bowling green, re-turfed in 1996, which is reputed to be among the oldest in continual use in Europe.
The arms of Pembroke College were officially recorded in 1684. The formal blazon combines the arms of De Valence (bars), dimidiated with the arms of St. Pol (vair). It is described as :
Pembroke holds Formal Hall on every evening. Students of the college must wear gowns and arrive on time for Latin Grace, which starts the dinner. Like many Cambridge colleges, Pembroke also has its annual May Ball.
According to popular legends, Pembroke is inhabited by ghosts occupying the Ivy Court.
Pembroke College has both graduate and undergraduate students, termed Valencians, after the College's original name, and its recreational rooms named as "parlours" rather than the more standard "combination room". The undergraduate student body is represented by the Junior Parlour Committee (JPC). The graduate community is represented by the Graduate Parlour Committee (GPC). In March 2016, the Junior Parlour Committee was featured in national newspapers after it cancelled the theme of an "Around The World in 80 Days" dance party.
There are many clubs and societies organised by the students of the college, such as the boat club Pembroke College Boat Club and the college's dramatic society the Pembroke Players, which has been made famous by alumni such as Peter Cook, Eric Idle, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Clive James and Bill Oddie and is now in its 60th year.
Pembroke is the only Cambridge college to have an International Programmes Department, providing opportunities for international students to spend a semester (mid-January to mid-June), or part of the summer, in Cambridge. The Spring Semester Programme is a competitive programme for academically outstanding students who wish to follow a regular Cambridge degree course as fully matriculated members of the University. There are around thirty places each year.
In the summer the College offers the eight-week Pembroke-King's Programme (PKP). As well as the academic content, trips are made to locales such as London, and the programme has a series of formal halls, which are described as "three-course candlelit meals" serving "interesting" fare in Pembroke's historic dining hall. The Pembroke-King's Programme is also the programme for which the prestigious Thouron Prize is awarded, fully supporting nine American undergraduates from Harvard, Yale, and UPenn.
Pembroke College, the former women's college at Brown University in the United States, was named for the principal building on the women's campus, Pembroke Hall, which was itself named in honour of the Pembroke College (Cambridge) alumnus Roger Williams, a co-founder of Rhode Island.
In 1865 Pembroke College donated land for the formation of the Suffolk memorial to Prince Albert. The land at Framlingham in the county of Suffolk was used to build a school, The Albert Memorial College. The school today is known as Framlingham College and one of its seven houses is named Pembroke House in recognition of the contribution Pembroke College has made to the School.
In 1981, a decade after the merger of Pembroke College into Brown University, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women was named in honour of Pembroke College and the history of women's efforts to gain access to higher education. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24927 |
Prime ideal
Primitive ideals are prime, and prime ideals are both primary and semiprime.
An ideal of a commutative ring is prime if it has the following two properties:
This generalizes the following property of prime numbers: if is a prime number and if divides a product of two integers, then divides or divides . We can therefore say
One use of prime ideals occurs in algebraic geometry, where varieties are defined as the zero sets of ideals in polynomial rings. It turns out that the irreducible varieties correspond to prime ideals. In the modern abstract approach, one starts with an arbitrary commutative ring and turns the set of its prime ideals, also called its spectrum, into a topological space and can thus define generalizations of varieties called schemes, which find applications not only in geometry, but also in number theory.
The introduction of prime ideals in algebraic number theory was a major step forward: it was realized that the important property of unique factorisation expressed in the fundamental theorem of arithmetic does not hold in every ring of algebraic integers, but a substitute was found when Richard Dedekind replaced elements by ideals and prime elements by prime ideals; see Dedekind domain.
The notion of a prime ideal can be generalized to noncommutative rings by using the commutative definition "ideal-wise". Wolfgang Krull advanced this idea in 1928. The following content can be found in texts such as Goodearl's and Lam's. If is a (possibly noncommutative) ring and is an ideal in other than itself, we say that is prime if for any two ideals and of :
It can be shown that this definition is equivalent to the commutative one in commutative rings. It is readily verified that if an ideal of a noncommutative ring satisfies the commutative definition of prime, then it also satisfies the noncommutative version. An ideal satisfying the commutative definition of prime is sometimes called a completely prime ideal to distinguish it from other merely prime ideals in the ring. Completely prime ideals are prime ideals, but the converse is not true. For example, the zero ideal in the ring of matrices over a field is a prime ideal, but it is not completely prime.
This is close to the historical point of view of ideals as ideal numbers, as for the ring formula_22 " is contained in " is another way of saying " divides ", and the unit ideal represents unity.
Equivalent formulations of the ideal being prime include the following properties:
Prime ideals in commutative rings are characterized by having multiplicatively closed complements in , and with slight modification, a similar characterization can be formulated for prime ideals in noncommutative rings. A nonempty subset is called an m-system if for any and in , there exists in such that "arb" is in . The following item can then be added to the list of equivalent conditions above:
Prime ideals can frequently be produced as maximal elements of certain collections of ideals. For example: | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24928 |
PC-FX
The is a 32-bit home video game console made by NEC Home Electronics. It was released in Japan on December 23, 1994, just weeks after Sony's PlayStation and a month after the Sega Saturn. It is the successor to the PC Engine, known as TurboGrafx-16 in North America.
Unlike its predecessor, the PC-FX was only released in Japan. The console is shaped like a tower PC and was meant to be similarly upgradeable. However the PC-FX lacked a 3D polygon-based graphics chip which rendered the system underpowered in comparison to its competitors. It was also expensive and lacked developer support, and as a result it was unable to compete effectively with its fifth generation peers. The PC-FX was NEC's last home video game console, and was discontinued in February 1998. It was also a commercial failure.
NEC launched the PC-FX as the successor to its well received 4th generation system, the PC-Engine.
The PC-FX was based on a 32-bit system architecture named "Tetsujin" or "Iron Man", developed in-house by NEC. NEC demonstrated Iron Man at a number of trade shows and events during 1992, and by the middle of the year were discussing an imminent release of an Iron Man-based video game system with many third party developers. At the time, the earlier PC Engine was still quite popular in Japan, and opinions on the Iron Man technology were mixed. Many were uninterested in switching to more powerful hardware while the PC Engine market was still growing, and as a result NEC halted work on the Iron Man project, instead opting for more modifications to the PC Engine technology.
When NEC decided to release the PC-FX, the specs were relatively unchanged from the originally unveiled Iron Man architecture. The most significant difference was the addition of a new 32-bit V-810 RISC CPU.
The console was announced in late 1993. In a special Game Machine Cross Review in May 1995, "Famicom Tsūshin" would score the PC-FX console an 18 out of 40.
Unusual for a fifth generation console, the PC-FX does not have a polygon graphics processor. NEC's reasoning for this was that polygon processors of the time were relatively low-powered, resulting in figures having a blocky appearance, and that it would be better for games to use pre-rendered polygon graphics instead. The shining quality of the PC-FX was the ability to decompress 30 JPEG pictures per second while playing digitally recorded audio (essentially a form of Motion JPEG). This resulted in the PC-FX having superior full motion video quality over all other fifth generation consoles.
The system's target audience was roughly five years older than that of the PC Engine, in hopes that PC Engine fans would be brought over to the successor console. In an interview roughly a year before the system launch, a representative stated that though NEC had not entirely ruled out the possibility of a release outside Japan, they had concluded that unless additional non-gaming uses were developed for the PC-FX, it would sell poorly in the USA due to its high price.
NEC directed Hudson Soft, with whom they continued their partnership over the PC Engine, to develop only games based on popular anime franchises and using prerendered animated footage. Though this policy played to the hardware's strengths, it barred Hudson Soft from bringing successful PC Engine series such as Bomberman and Bonk to the PC-FX.
Unlike nearly any other console (except for the 3DO and CD-i), the PC-FX was also available as an internal PC card for NEC PC-98 and AT/IBM PC compatibles. This PC card came with two CDs of software to help the user program games for the PC-FX. However, compatibility issues prevented games developed with this software from actually running on the console.
The PC-FX was discontinued in early 1998. It sold only 400,000 units over its lifetime.
The PC-FX uses CD-ROMs as its storage medium, following on from the expansion released for its predecessor, which originally used HuCards. The game controller is virtually identical to a DUO-RX controller, but the rapid fire switches have been replaced with mode A/B switches. Peripherals include a PC-FX mouse, which is supported by strategy games like "Farland Story FX" and "Power DoLLS FX".
The PC-FX's computer-like design was unusual for consoles at the time. It stands upright like a tower computer while other contemporary consoles lay flat. Another interesting feature is its three expansion ports. Also, similar to the 3DO, it featured a built in power supply.
The PC-FX includes an HU 62 series 32-bit system board, an LSI chip, and a 32-bit V-810 RISC CPU. The system can display 16.77 million colors (the same amount as the PlayStation).
There were 62 games released for the system. The launch titles were "", "Battle Heat" and "Team Innocent" on December 23, 1994 and the final game released was "First Kiss Story" on April 24, 1998. The system and all titles were only released in Japan. A number of demo discs were also released with publications which allowed the user to play the disc in a CD equipped PC-Engine or the PC-FX.
There was no copy protection on any of the PC-FX games, because at the time the system was released, the high price of CD-R drives made piracy expensive.
The system has a reputation for having a higher percentage of adults-only video games than other home consoles, in part thanks to its small library of games. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24929 |
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (psychological therapy or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction with adults, to help a person change behavior and overcome problems in desired ways. Psychotherapy aims to improve an individual's well-being and mental health, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions, and to improve relationships and social skills. There is also a range of psychotherapies designed for children and adolescents, which typically involve play, such as sandplay. Certain psychotherapies are considered evidence-based for treating some diagnosed mental disorders. Others have been criticized as pseudoscience.
There are over a thousand different psychotherapy techniques, some being minor variations, while others are based on very different conceptions of psychology, ethics (how to behave professionally), or techniques. Most involve one-to-one sessions, between the client and therapist, but some are conducted with groups, including families.
Psychotherapists may be mental health professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, or professional counselors. Psychotherapists may also come from a variety of other backgrounds, and depending on the jurisdiction may be legally regulated, voluntarily regulated or unregulated (and the term itself may be protected or not).
The term "psychotherapy" is derived from Ancient Greek "" ( meaning "breath; spirit; soul") and "therapeia" ( "healing; medical treatment"). The "Oxford English Dictionary" defines it now as "The treatment of disorders of the mind or personality by psychological methods...", however, in earlier use it denoted the treatment of disease through hypnotic suggestion.
The American Psychological Association adopted a resolution on the effectiveness of psychotherapy in 2012 based on a definition developed by John C. Norcross: "Psychotherapy is the informed and intentional application of clinical methods and interpersonal stances derived from established psychological principles for the purpose of assisting people to modify their behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and/or other personal characteristics in directions that the participants deem desirable". Influential editions of a work by psychiatrist Jerome Frank defined psychotherapy as a healing relationship using socially authorized methods in a series of contacts primarily involving words, acts and rituals—regarded as forms of persuasion and rhetoric.
Some definitions of counseling overlap with psychotherapy (particularly in non-directive client-centered approaches), or counseling may refer to guidance for everyday problems in specific areas, typically for shorter durations with a less medical or 'professional' focus. Somatotherapy refers to the use of physical changes as injuries and illnesses, and sociotherapy to the use of a person's social environment to effect therapeutic change. Psychotherapy may address spirituality as a significant part of someone's mental / psychological life, and some forms are derived from spiritual philosophies, but practices based on treating the spiritual as a separate dimension are not necessarily considered as traditional or 'legitimate' forms of psychotherapy.
Historically, psychotherapy has sometimes meant "interpretative" (i.e. Freudian) methods, namely psychoanalysis, in contrast with other methods to treat psychiatric disorders such as behavior modification.
Psychotherapy is often dubbed as a "talking therapy", particularly for a general audience, though not all forms of psychotherapy rely on verbal communication. Children or adults who do not engage in verbal communication (or not in the usual way) are not excluded from psychotherapy; indeed some types are designed for such cases.
Psychotherapy may be delivered in person (one on one, or with couples, or in groups), over the phone, via telephone counseling, or via the internet.
It has not been established whether the effectiveness of psychotherapy administered online, over video chat for instance, is comparable to that delivered within in-person meetings: "Clear, consistent trends from empirical research are lacking regarding the efficacy of online therapy" - Australian Counselling Association.
The Victoria Government's Health Agency has awarded no mental health app with scores greater than 3 stars out of 5 for effectiveness. One reason for this is that online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy programs have poor "adherence" compared to face-to-face programs. That means that many users do not "stick to" the program as prescribed. They may uninstall the app or skip days, for instance.
According to the American Psychological Association, experts suggests that those who have had two depressive episodes in recent years, or three episodes over their life, should be treated on an ongoing basis to prevent recurrent depression: "At least 60% of individuals who have had one depressive episode will have another, 70% of individuals who have had two depressive episodes will have a third, and 90% of individuals with three episodes will have a fourth episode."
Psychotherapists traditionally may be: mental health professionals like psychologists and psychiatrists; professionals from other backgrounds (family therapists, social workers, nurses, etc.) who have trained in a specific psychotherapy; or (in some cases) academic or scientifically-trained professionals.
Psychiatrists are trained first as physicians, and—as such—they may prescribe prescription medication; and specialist psychiatric training begins after medical school in psychiatric residencies: however, their specialty is in mental disorders or forms of mental illness. Clinical psychologists have specialist doctoral degrees in psychology with some clinical and research components. Other clinical practitioners, social workers, mental health counselors, pastoral counselors, and nurses with a specialization in mental health, also often conduct psychotherapy. Many of the wide variety of psychotherapy training programs and institutional settings are multi-professional. In most countries, psychotherapy training are all at a post-graduate level, often at a master's degree (or doctoral) level, over a 4-year period, with significant supervised practice and clinical placements. Such professionals doing specialized psychotherapeutic work also require a program of continuing professional education after basic professional training.
There is a 2013 listing of the extensive professional competencies of a European psychotherapist, developed by the European Association of Psychotherapy (EAP).
As sensitive and deeply personal topics are often discussed during psychotherapy, therapists are expected, and usually legally bound, to respect client or patient confidentiality. The critical importance of client confidentiality—and the limited circumstances in which it may need to be broken for the protection of clients or others—is enshrined in the regulatory psychotherapeutic organizations' codes of ethical practice. Examples of when it is typically accepted to break confidentiality include when the therapist has knowledge that a child or elder is being physically abused; when there is a direct, clear and imminent threat of serious physical harm to self or to a specific individual.
As of 2015, there are still a lot of variations between different European countries about the regulation and delivery of psychotherapy. Several countries have no regulation of the practice or no protection of the title. Some have a system of voluntary registration, with independent professional organizations, while other countries attempt to restrict the practice of psychotherapy to 'mental health professionals' (psychologists and psychiatrists) with state-certified training. The titles that are protected also vary. The European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) established the 1990 Strasbourg Declaration on Psychotherapy, which is dedicated to establishing an independent profession of psychotherapy in Europe, with pan-European standards. The EAP has already made significant contacts with the European Union & European Commission towards this end.
Given that the European Union has a primary policy about the free movement of labor within Europe, European legislation can overrule national regulations that are, in essence, forms of restrictive practices.
In Germany, the practice of psychotherapy for adults is restricted to qualified psychologists and physicians (including psychiatrists) who have completed several years of specialist practical training and certification in psychotherapy. As psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy meet the requirements of German health insurance companies, mental health professionals regularly opt for one of these three specializations in their postgraduate training. For psychologists, this includes three years of full-time practical training (4.200 hours), encompassing a year-long internship at an accredited psychiatric institution, six months of clinical work at an outpatient facility, 600 hours of supervised psychotherapy in an outpatient setting, and at least 600 hours of theoretical seminars. Social workers may complete the specialist training for child and teenage clients. Similarly in Italy, the practice of psychotherapy is restricted to graduates in psychology or medicine who have completed four years of recognised specialist training. Sweden has a similar restriction on the title "psychotherapist", which may only be used by professionals who have gone through a post-graduate training in psychotherapy and then applied for a licence, issued by the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Legislation in France restricts the use of the title "psychotherapist" to professionals on the National Register of Psychotherapists, which requires a training in clinical psychopathology and a period of internship which is only open to physicians or titulars of a master's degree in psychology or psychoanalysis.
Austria and Switzerland (2011) have laws that recognize multi-disciplinary functional approaches.
In the United Kingdom, the government and Health and Care Professions Council considered mandatory legal registration but decided that it was best left to professional bodies to regulate themselves, so the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) launched an Accredited Voluntary Registers scheme. Counseling and psychotherapy are not protected titles in the United Kingdom. Counsellors and psychotherapists who have trained and qualify to a certain standard (usually a level 4 Diploma) can apply to be members of the professional bodies who are listed on the PSA Accredited Registers.
In some states, counselors or therapists must be licensed to use certain words and titles on self-identification or advertising. In some other states, the restrictions on practice are more closely associated with the charging of fees. Licensing and regulation are performed by various states. Presentation of practice as licensed, but without such a license, is generally illegal. Without a license, for example, a practitioner cannot bill insurance companies. Information about state licensure is provided by the American Psychological Association.
In addition to state laws, the American Psychological Association requires its members to adhere to its published "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct". The American Board of Professional Psychology examines and certifies "psychologists who demonstrate competence in approved specialty areas in professional psychology".
Psychotherapy can be said to have been practiced through the ages, as medics, philosophers, spiritual practitioners and people in general used psychological methods to heal others.
In the Western tradition, by the 19th century, a moral treatment movement (then meaning morale or mental) developed based on non-invasive non-restraint therapeutic methods. Another influential movement was started by Franz Mesmer (1734–1815) and his student Armand-Marie-Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis of Puységur (1751–1825). Called Mesmerism or animal magnetism, it would have a strong influence on the rise of dynamic psychology and psychiatry as well as theories about hypnosis. In 1853 Walter Cooper Dendy introduced the term "psycho-therapeia" regarding how physicians might influence the mental states of sufferers and thus their bodily ailments, for example by creating opposing emotions to promote mental balance. Daniel Hack Tuke cited the term and wrote about "psycho-therapeutics" in 1872, in which he also proposed making a science of animal magnetism. Hippolyte Bernheim and colleagues in the "Nancy School" developed the concept of "psychotherapy" in the sense of using the mind to heal the body through hypnotism, yet further. Charles Lloyd Tuckey's 1889 work, "Psycho-therapeutics, or Treatment by Hypnotism and Suggestion" popularized the work of the Nancy School in English. Also in 1889 a clinic used the word in its title for the first time, when Frederik van Eeden and Albert Willem in Amsterdam renamed theirs "Clinique de Psycho-thérapeutique Suggestive" after visiting Nancy. During this time, travelling stage hypnosis became popular, and such activities added to the scientific controversies around the use of hypnosis in medicine. Also in 1892, at the second congress of experimental psychology, van Eeden attempted to take the credit for the term psychotherapy and to distance the term from hypnosis. In 1896, the German journal Zeitschrift für Hypnotismus, Suggestionstherapie, Suggestionslehre und verwandte psychologische Forschungen changed its name to Zeitschrift für Hypnotismus, Psychotherapie sowie andere psychophysiologische und psychopathologische Forschungen, which is probably the first journal to use the term. Thus psychotherapy initially meant "the treatment of disease by psychic or hypnotic influence, or by suggestion".
Sigmund Freud visited the Nancy School and his early neurological practice involved the use of hypnotism. However following the work of his mentor Josef Breuer—in particular a case where symptoms appeared partially resolved by what the patient, Bertha Pappenheim, dubbed a "talking cure"—Freud began focusing on conditions that appeared to have psychological causes originating in childhood experiences and the unconscious mind. He went on to develop techniques such as free association, dream interpretation, transference and analysis of the id, ego and superego. His popular reputation as the father of psychotherapy was established by his use of the distinct term "psychoanalysis", tied to an overarching system of theories and methods, and by the effective work of his followers in rewriting history. Many theorists, including Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Karen Horney, Anna Freud, Otto Rank, Erik Erikson, Melanie Klein and Heinz Kohut, built upon Freud's fundamental ideas and often developed their own systems of psychotherapy. These were all later categorized as "psychodynamic", meaning anything that involved the psyche's conscious/unconscious influence on external relationships and the self. Sessions tended to number into the hundreds over several years.
Behaviorism developed in the 1920s, and behavior modification as a therapy became popularized in the 1950s and 1960s. Notable contributors were Joseph Wolpe in South Africa, M.B. Shipiro and Hans Eysenck in Britain, and John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner in the United States. Behavioral therapy approaches relied on principles of operant conditioning, classical conditioning and social learning theory to bring about therapeutic change in observable symptoms. The approach became commonly used for phobias, as well as other disorders.
Some therapeutic approaches developed out of the European school of existential philosophy. Concerned mainly with the individual's ability to develop and preserve a sense of meaning and purpose throughout life, major contributors to the field (e.g., Irvin Yalom, Rollo May) and Europe (Viktor Frankl, Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss, R.D.Laing, Emmy van Deurzen) attempted to create therapies sensitive to common "life crises" springing from the essential bleakness of human self-awareness, previously accessible only through the complex writings of existential philosophers (e.g., Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gabriel Marcel, Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche). The uniqueness of the patient-therapist relationship thus also forms a vehicle for therapeutic inquiry. A related body of thought in psychotherapy started in the 1950s with Carl Rogers. Based also on the works of Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of human needs, Rogers brought person-centered psychotherapy into mainstream focus. The primary requirement was that the client be in receipt of three core "conditions" from his counselor or therapist: unconditional positive regard, sometimes described as "prizing" the client's humanity; congruence [authenticity/genuineness/transparency]; and empathic understanding. This type of interaction was thought to enable clients to fully experience and express themselves, and thus develop according to their innate potential. Others developed the approach, like Fritz and Laura Perls in the creation of Gestalt therapy, as well as Marshall Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication, and Eric Berne, founder of transactional analysis. Later these fields of psychotherapy would become what is known as humanistic psychotherapy today. Self-help groups and books became widespread.
During the 1950s, Albert Ellis originated rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Independently a few years later, psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck developed a form of psychotherapy known as cognitive therapy. Both of these included relatively short, structured and present-focused techniques aimed at identifying and changing a person's beliefs, appraisals and reaction-patterns, by contrast with the more long-lasting insight-based approach of psychodynamic or humanistic therapies. Beck's approach used primarily the socratic method, and links have been drawn between ancient stoic philosophy and these cognitive therapies.
Cognitive and behavioral therapy approaches were increasingly combined and grouped under the umbrella term cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in the 1970s. Many approaches within CBT are oriented towards active/directive yet collaborative empiricism (a form of reality-testing), and assessing and modifying core beliefs and dysfunctional schemas. These approaches gained widespread acceptance as a primary treatment for numerous disorders. A "third wave" of cognitive and behavioral therapies developed, including acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behavior therapy, which expanded the concepts to other disorders and/or added novel components and mindfulness exercises. However the "third wave" concept has been criticized as not essentially different from other therapies and having roots in earlier ones as well. Counseling methods developed include solution-focused therapy and systemic coaching.
Postmodern psychotherapies such as narrative therapy and coherence therapy do not impose definitions of mental health and illness, but rather see the goal of therapy as something constructed by the client and therapist in a social context. Systemic therapy also developed, which focuses on family and group dynamics—and transpersonal psychology, which focuses on the spiritual facet of human experience. Other orientations developed in the last three decades include feminist therapy, brief therapy, somatic psychology, expressive therapy, applied positive psychology and the human givens approach. A survey of over 2,500 US therapists in 2006 revealed the most utilized models of therapy and the ten most influential therapists of the previous quarter-century.
There are hundreds of psychotherapy approaches or schools of thought. By 1980 there were more than 250; by 1996 more than 450; and at the start of the 21st century there were over a thousand different named psychotherapies—some being minor variations while others are based on very different conceptions of psychology, ethics (how to live) or technique. In practice therapy is often not of one pure type but draws from a number of perspectives and schools—known as an integrative or eclectic approach. The importance of the therapeutic relationship, also known as therapeutic alliance, between client and therapist is often regarded as crucial to psychotherapy. Common factors theory addresses this and other core aspects thought to be responsible for effective psychotherapy.
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), a Viennese neurologist who studied with Jean-Martin Charcot in 1885, is often considered the father of modern psychotherapy. His methods included analyzing his patient's dreams in search of important hidden insights into their unconscious minds. Other major elements of his methods, which changed throughout the years, included identification of childhood sexuality, the role of anxiety as a manifestation of inner conflict, the differentiation of parts of the psyche (id, ego, superego), transference and countertransference (the patient's projections onto the therapist, and the therapist's emotional responses to that). Some of his concepts were too broad to be amenable to empirical testing and invalidation, and he was critiqued for this by Jaspers. Numerous major figures elaborated and refined Freud's therapeutic techniques including Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, and others. Since the 1960s, however, the use of Freudian-based analysis for the treatment of mental disorders has declined substantially. Different types of psychotherapy have been created along with the advent of clinical trials to test them scientifically. These incorporate subjective treatments (after Beck), behavioral treatments (after Skinner and Wolpe) and additional time-constrained and centered structures, for example, interpersonal psychotherapy. In youth issue and in schizophrenia, the systems of family treatment hold esteem. A portion of the thoughts emerging from therapy are presently pervasive and some are a piece of the tool set of ordinary clinical practice. They are not just medications, they additionally help to understand complex conduct.
Therapy may address specific forms of diagnosable mental illness, or everyday problems in managing or maintaining interpersonal relationships or meeting personal goals. A course of therapy may happen before, during or after pharmacotherapy (e.g. taking psychiatric medication).
Psychotherapies are categorized in several different ways. A distinction can be made between those based on a medical model and those based on a humanistic model. In the medical model, the client is seen as unwell and the therapist employs their skill to help the client back to health. The extensive use of the DSM-IV, the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders in the United States is an example of a medically exclusive model. The humanistic or non-medical model in contrast strives to depathologise the human condition. The therapist attempts to create a relational environment conducive to experiential learning and help build the client's confidence in their own natural process resulting in a deeper understanding of themselves. The therapist may see themselves as a facilitator/helper.
Another distinction is between individual one-to-one therapy sessions, and group psychotherapy, including couples therapy and family therapy.
Therapies are sometimes classified according to their duration; a small number of sessions over a few weeks or months may be classified as brief therapy (or short-term therapy), others, where regular sessions take place for years, may be classified as long-term.
Some practitioners distinguish between more "uncovering" (or "depth") approaches and more "supportive" psychotherapy. Uncovering psychotherapy emphasizes facilitating the client's insight into the roots of their difficulties. The best-known example is classical psychoanalysis. Supportive psychotherapy by contrast stresses strengthening the client's coping mechanisms and often providing encouragement and advice, as well as reality-testing and limit-setting where necessary. Depending on the client's issues and situation, a more supportive or more uncovering approach may be optimal.
Most forms of psychotherapy use spoken conversation. Some also use various other forms of communication such as the written word, artwork, drama, narrative story or music. Psychotherapy with children and their parents often involves play, dramatization (i.e. role-play), and drawing, with a co-constructed narrative from these non-verbal and displaced modes of interacting.
There are also different formats for delivering some therapies, as well as the usual face to face: for example via telephone or via online interaction. There have also been developments in computer-assisted therapy, such as virtual reality therapy for behavioral exposure, multimedia programs to each cognitive techniques, and handheld devices for improved monitoring or putting ideas into practice.
These psychotherapies, also known as "experiential", are based on humanistic psychology and emerged in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis, being dubbed the "third force". They are primarily concerned with the human development and needs of the individual, with an emphasis on subjective meaning, a rejection of determinism, and a concern for positive growth rather than pathology. Some posit an inherent human capacity to maximize potential, "the self-actualizing tendency"; the task of therapy is to create a relational environment where this tendency might flourish. Humanistic psychology can, in turn, be rooted in existentialism—the belief that human beings can only find meaning by creating it. This is the goal of existential therapy. Existential therapy is in turn philosophically associated with phenomenology.
Person-centered therapy, also known as client-centered, focuses on the therapist showing openness, empathy and "unconditional positive regard", to help clients express and develop their own self.
Gestalt therapy, originally called "concentration therapy", is an existential/experiential form that facilitates awareness in the various contexts of life, by moving from talking about relatively remote situations to action and direct current experience. Derived from various influences, including an overhaul of psychoanalysis, it stands on top of essentially four load-bearing theoretical walls: phenomenological method, dialogical relationship, field-theoretical strategies, and experimental freedom.
A briefer form of humanistic therapy is the human givens approach, introduced in 199899. It is a solution-focused intervention based on identifying emotional needs—such as for security, autonomy and social connection—and using various educational and psychological methods to help people meet those needs more fully or appropriately.
Insight-oriented psychotherapies focus on revealing or interpreting unconscious processes. Most commonly referring to psychodynamic therapy, of which psychoanalysis is the oldest and most intensive form, these applications of depth psychology encourage the verbalization of all the patient's thoughts, including free associations, fantasies, and dreams, from which the analyst formulates the nature of the past and present unconscious conflicts which are causing the patient's symptoms and character problems.
There are six main schools of psychoanalysis, which all influenced psychodynamic theory: Freudian, ego psychology, object relations theory, self psychology, interpersonal psychoanalysis, and relational psychoanalysis. Techniques for analytic group therapy have also developed.
Behavior therapies use behavioral techniques, including applied behavior analysis (also known as behavior modification), to change maladaptive patterns of behavior to improve emotional responses, cognitions, and interactions with others. Functional analytic psychotherapy is one form of this approach. By nature, behavioral therapies are empirical (data-driven), contextual (focused on the environment and context), functional (interested in the effect or consequence a behavior ultimately has), probabilistic (viewing behavior as statistically predictable), monistic (rejecting mind-body dualism and treating the person as a unit), and relational (analyzing bidirectional interactions).
Cognitive therapy focuses directly on changing the thoughts, in order to improve the emotions and behaviors.
Cognitive behavioral therapy attempts to combine the above two approaches, focused on the construction and reconstruction of people's cognitions, emotions and behaviors. Generally in CBT, the therapist, through a wide array of modalities, helps clients assess, recognize and deal with problematic and dysfunctional ways of thinking, emoting and behaving.
The concept of "third wave" psychotherapies reflects an influence of Eastern philosophy in clinical psychology, incorporating principles such as meditation into interventions such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy for borderline personality disorder.
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a relatively brief form of psychotherapy (deriving from both CBT and psychodynamic approaches) that has been increasingly studied and endorsed by guidelines for some conditions. It focuses on the links between mood and social circumstances, helping to build social skills and social support. It aims to foster adaptation to current interpersonal roles and situations.
Other types include reality therapy/choice theory, multimodal therapy, and therapies for specific disorders including PTSD therapies such as cognitive processing therapy and EMDR; substance abuse therapies such as relapse prevention and contingency management; OCD therapies such as exposure and response prevention; and co-occurring disorders therapies such as Seeking Safety.
Systemic therapy seeks to address people not just individually, as is often the focus of other forms of therapy, but in relationship, dealing with the interactions of groups, their patterns and dynamics (includes family therapy and marriage counseling). Community psychology is a type of systemic psychology.
The term group therapy was first used around 1920 by Jacob L. Moreno, whose main contribution was the development of psychodrama, in which groups were used as both cast and audience for the exploration of individual problems by reenactment under the direction of the leader. The more analytic and exploratory use of groups in both hospital and out-patient settings was pioneered by a few European psychoanalysts who emigrated to the US, such as Paul Schilder, who treated severely neurotic and mildly psychotic out-patients in small groups at Bellevue Hospital, New York. The power of groups was most influentially demonstrated in Britain during the Second World War, when several psychoanalysts and psychiatrists proved the value of group methods for officer selection in the War Office Selection Boards. A chance to run an Army psychiatric unit on group lines was then given to several of these pioneers, notably Wilfred Bion and Rickman, followed by S. H. Foulkes, Main, and Bridger. The Northfield Hospital in Birmingham gave its name to what came to be called the two "Northfield Experiments", which provided the impetus for the development since the war of both social therapy, that is, the therapeutic community movement, and the use of small groups for the treatment of neurotic and personality disorders. Today group therapy is used in clinical settings and in private practice settings.
Expressive psychotherapy is a form of therapy that utilizes artistic expression (via improvisational, compositional, re-creative, and receptive experiences) as its core means of treating clients. Expressive psychotherapists use the different disciplines of the creative arts as therapeutic interventions. This includes the modalities dance therapy, drama therapy, art therapy, music therapy, writing therapy, among others. This may include techniques such as affect labeling. Expressive psychotherapists believe that often the most effective way of treating a client is through the expression of imagination in creative work and integrating and processing what issues are raised in the act.
Also known as post-structuralist or constructivist. Narrative therapy gives attention to each person's "dominant story" by means of therapeutic conversations, which also may involve exploring unhelpful ideas and how they came to prominence. Possible social and cultural influences may be explored if the client deems it helpful. Coherence therapy posits multiple levels of mental constructs that create symptoms as a way to strive for self-protection or self-realization. Feminist therapy does not accept that there is one single or correct way of looking at reality and therefore is considered a postmodernist approach.
Transpersonal psychology addresses the client in the context of a spiritual understanding of consciousness. Positive psychotherapy (PPT) (since 1968) is a method in the field of humanistic and psychodynamic psychotherapy and is based on a positive image of humans, with a health-promoting, resource-oriented and conflict-centered approach.
Hypnotherapy is undertaken while a subject is in a state of hypnosis. Hypnotherapy is often applied in order to modify a subject's behavior, emotional content, and attitudes, as well as a wide range of conditions including: dysfunctional habits, anxiety, stress-related illness, pain management, and personal development.
Body psychotherapy, part of the field of somatic psychology, focuses on the link between the mind and the body and tries to access deeper levels of the psyche through greater awareness of the physical body and emotions. There are various "body-oriented" approaches, such as Reichian (Wilhelm Reich) character-analytic vegetotherapy and orgonomy; neo-Reichian bioenergetic analysis; somatic experiencing; integrative body psychotherapy; Ron Kurtz's Hakomi psychotherapy; sensorimotor psychotherapy; Biosynthesis psychotherapy; and Biodynamic psychotherapy. These approaches are not to be confused with body work or body-therapies that seek to improve primarily physical health through direct work (touch and manipulation) on the body, rather than through directly psychological methods.
Some non-Western indigenous therapies have been developed. In African countries this includes harmony restoration therapy, meseron therapy and systemic therapies based on the Ubuntu philosophy.
Integrative psychotherapy is an attempt to combine ideas and strategies from more than one theoretical approach. These approaches include mixing core beliefs and combining proven techniques. Forms of integrative psychotherapy include multimodal therapy, the transtheoretical model, cyclical psychodynamics, systematic treatment selection, cognitive analytic therapy, internal family systems model, multitheoretical psychotherapy and conceptual interaction. In practice, most experienced psychotherapists develop their own integrative approach over time.
Psychotherapy needs to be adapted to meet the developmental needs of children. Depending on age, it is generally held to be one part of an effective strategy to help the needs of a child within the family setting. Child psychotherapy training programs necessarily include courses in human development. Since children often do not have the ability to articulate thoughts and feelings, psychotherapists will use a variety of media such as musical instruments, sand and toys, crayons, paint, clay, puppets, bibliocounseling (books), or board games. The use of play therapy is often rooted in psychodynamic theory, but other approaches also exist.
In addition to therapy for the child, sometimes instead of it, children may benefit if their parents work with a therapist, take parenting classes, attend grief counseling, or take other action to resolve stressful situations that affect the child. Parent management training is a highly effective form of psychotherapy that teaches parenting skills to reduce their child's behavior problems.
In many cases a different psychotherapist will work with the care taker of the child, while a colleague works with the child. Therefore, contemporary thinking on working with the younger age group has leaned towards working with parent and child simultaneously, as well as individually as needed.
Research on computer-supported and computer-based interventions has increased significantly over the course of the last two decades. The following applications frequently have been investigated:
There is considerable controversy about whether, or when, psychotherapy efficacy is best evaluated by randomized controlled trials or more individualized idiographic methods.
One issue with trials is what to use as a placebo treatment group or non-treatment control group. Often, this group includes patients on a waiting list, or those receiving some kind of regular non-specific contact or support. Researchers must consider how best to match the use of inert tablets or sham treatments in placebo-controlled studies in pharmaceutical trials. Several interpretations and differing assumptions and language remain. Another issue is the attempt to standardize and manualize therapies and link them to specific symptoms of diagnostic categories, making them more amenable to research. Some report that this may reduce efficacy or gloss over individual needs. Fonagy and Roth's opinion is that the benefits of the evidence-based approach outweighs the difficulties.
There are several formal frameworks for evaluating whether a psychotherapist is a good fit for a patient. One example is the Scarsdale Psychotherapy Self-Evaluation (SPSE). However, some scales, such as the SPS, elicit information specific to certain schools of psychotherapy alone (e.g. the superego).
Many psychotherapists believe that the nuances of psychotherapy cannot be captured by questionnaire-style observation, and prefer to rely on their own clinical experiences and conceptual arguments to support the type of treatment they practice. Psychodynamic therapists in particular believe that evidence-based approaches are not appropriate to their methods or assumptions, though some have increasingly accepted the challenge to implement evidence-based approaches in their methods.
Large-scale international reviews of scientific studies have concluded that psychotherapy is effective for numerous conditions.
One line of research consistently finds that supposedly different forms of psychotherapy show similar effectiveness. According to The Handbook of Counseling Psychology: "Meta-analyses of psychotherapy studies have consistently demonstrated that there are no substantial differences in outcomes among treatments". The handbook states that there is "little evidence to suggest that any one psychological therapy consistently outperforms any other for any specific psychological disorders. This is sometimes called the Dodo bird verdict after a scene/section in Alice in Wonderland where every competitor in a race was called a winner and is given prizes".
Further analyses seek to identify the factors that the psychotherapies have in common that seem to account for this, known as common factors theory; for example the quality of the therapeutic relationship, interpretation of problem, and the confrontation of painful emotions.
Outcome studies have been critiqued for being too removed from real-world practice in that they use carefully selected therapists who have been extensively trained and monitored, and patients who may be non-representative of typical patients by virtue of strict inclusionary/exclusionary criteria. Such concerns impact the replication of research results and the ability to generalize from them to practicing therapists.
However, specific therapies have been tested for use with specific disorders, and regulatory organizations in both the UK and US make recommendations for different conditions.
The Helsinki Psychotherapy Study was one of several large long-term clinical trials of psychotherapies that have taken place. Anxious and depressed patients in two short-term therapies (solution-focused and brief psychodynamic) improved faster, but five years long-term psychotherapy and psychoanalysis gave greater benefits. Several patient and therapist factors appear to predict suitability for different psychotherapies.
Meta-analyses have established that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy are equally effective in treating depression.
A 2014 meta analysis over 11,000 patients reveals that Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is of comparable effectiveness to CBT for depression but is inferior to the latter for eating disorders. For children and adolescents, interpersonal psychotherapy and CBT are the best methods according to a 2014 meta analysis of almost 4000 patients.
It is not yet understood how psychotherapies can succeed in treating mental illnesses. Different therapeutic approaches may be associated with particular theories about what needs to change in a person for a successful therapeutic outcome.
In general, processes of emotional arousal and memory have long been held to play an important role. One theory combining these aspects proposes that permanent change occurs to the extent that the neuropsychological mechanism of memory reconsolidation is triggered and is able to incorporate new emotional experiences.
Patient adherence to a course of psychotherapy—continuing to attend sessions or complete tasks—is a major issue.
The dropout level—early termination—ranges from around 30% to 60%, depending partly on how it is defined. The range is lower for research settings for various reasons, such as the selection of clients and how they are inducted. Early termination is associated on average with various demographic and clinical characteristics of clients, therapists and treatment interactions. The high level of dropout has raised some criticism about the relevance and efficacy of psychotherapy.
Most psychologists use between-session tasks in their general therapy work, and cognitive behavioral therapies in particular use and see them as an "active ingredient". It is not clear how often clients do not complete them, but it is thought to be a pervasive phenomenon.
From the other side, the adherence of therapists to therapy protocols and techniques—known as "treatment integrity" or "fidelity"—has also been studied, with complex mixed results. In general, however, it is a hallmark of evidence-based psychotherapy to use fidelity monitoring as part of therapy outcome trials and ongoing quality assurance in clinical implementation.
Research on adverse effects of psychotherapy has been limited for various reasons, yet they may be expected to occur in 5% to 20% of patients. Problems include deterioration of symptoms or developing new symptoms, strains in other relationships, and therapy dependence. Some techniques or therapists may carry more risks than others, and some client characteristics may make them more vulnerable. Side-effects from properly conducted therapy should be distinguished from harms caused by malpractice.
Some critics are skeptical of the healing power of psychotherapeutic relationships. Some dismiss psychotherapy altogether in the sense of a scientific discipline requiring professional practitioners, instead favoring either nonprofessional help or biomedical treatments. Others have pointed out ways in which the values and techniques of therapists can be harmful as well as helpful to clients (or indirectly to other people in a client's life).
Many resources available to a person experiencing emotional distress—the friendly support of friends, peers, family members, clergy contacts, personal reading, healthy exercise, research, and independent coping—all present considerable value. Critics note that humans have been dealing with crises, navigating severe social problems and finding solutions to life problems long before the advent of psychotherapy.
On the other hand, some argue psychotherapy is under-utilized and under-researched by contemporary psychiatry despite offering more promise than stagnant medication development. In 2015, the US National Institute of Mental Health allocated only 5.4% of its budget to new clinical trials of psychotherapies (medication trials are largely funded by pharmaceutical companies), despite plentiful evidence they can work and that patients are more likely to prefer them.
Some Christians, such as theologian Thomas C. Oden, have argued that successful therapeutic relationships, based on true acceptance of the client as a human being without contingency, require a theological assumption, an ontological acceptance of God.
Further critiques have emerged from feminist, constructionist and discourse-analytical sources. Key to these is the issue of power. In this regard there is a concern that clients are persuaded—both inside and outside the consulting room—to understand themselves and their difficulties in ways that are consistent with therapeutic ideas. This means that alternative ideas (e.g., feminist, economic, spiritual) are sometimes implicitly undermined. Critics suggest that we idealize the situation when we think of therapy only as a helping relationship—arguing instead that it is fundamentally a political practice, in that some cultural ideas and practices are supported while others are undermined or disqualified, and that while it is seldom intended, the therapist–client relationship always participates in society's power relations and political dynamics. A noted academic who espoused this criticism was Michel Foucault. For these reasons it also needs to reflect the role of cultural beliefs and expectations in the treatment process. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24931 |
Polywater
Polywater was a hypothesized polymerized form of water that was the subject of much scientific controversy during the late 1960s. By 1969 the popular press had taken notice and sparked fears of a "polywater gap" in the US.
Increased press attention also brought with it increased scientific attention, and as early as 1970 doubts about its authenticity were being circulated. By 1973 it was found to be illusory, being just water with any number of common organic compounds contaminating it.
Today, polywater is best known as an example of pathological science.
In 1961, the Soviet physicist Nikolai Fedyakin, working at the Technological Institute of Kostroma, Russia, performed measurements on the properties of water which had been condensed in, or repeatedly forced through, narrow quartz capillary tubes. Some of these experiments resulted in what was seemingly a new form of water with a higher boiling point, lower freezing point, and much higher viscosity than ordinary water – about that of a syrup.
Boris Derjaguin, director of the laboratory for surface physics at the Institute for Physical Chemistry in Moscow, heard about Fedyakin's experiments. He improved on the method to produce the new water, and though he still produced very small quantities of this mysterious material, he did so substantially faster than Fedyakin did. Investigations of the material properties showed a substantially lower freezing point of −40 °C or less, a boiling point of 150 °C or greater, a density of approx. 1.1 to 1.2 g/cm³, and increased expansion with increasing temperature. The results were published in Soviet science journals, and short summaries were published in "Chemical Abstracts" in English, but Western scientists took no notice of the work.
In 1966, Derjaguin travelled to England for the "Discussions of the Faraday Society" in Nottingham. There, he presented the work again, and this time English scientists took note of what he referred to as "anomalous water". English scientists then started researching the effect as well, and by 1968 it was also under study in the United States.
By 1969, the concept had spread to newspapers and magazines. There was fear by the United States military that there was a so-called "polywater gap" with the Soviet Union, a popular media term indicating a possible capability "gap", or discrepancy, between the US and the USSR, popularized by media hype of the "bomber gap", the "missile gap", and the "cruiser gap", during periods when the USSR appeared to be outstripping the US in numbers of these respective weapons. Likely entering the US vernacular after Watergate, "gap" also became widely used.
A scientific furore followed. Some experiments carried
out were able to reproduce Derjaguin's findings, while others failed. Several theories were advanced to explain the phenomenon. Some proposed it was the cause for increasing resistance on trans-Atlantic phone cables, while others predicted that if polywater were to contact ordinary water, it would convert that water into polywater, echoing the doomsday scenario in Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Cat's Cradle". By the 1970s, polywater was well known in the general population.
During this time, several people questioned the authenticity of what had come to be known in the West as polywater. The main concern was contamination of the water, but the papers went to great lengths to note the care taken to avoid this. Denis Rousseau and Sergio Porto of Bell Labs carried out infrared spectrum analysis, which showed polywater to be mostly chlorine and sodium.
Denis Rousseau undertook an experiment with his own sweat after playing a handball game at the lab and found it had identical properties. He then published a paper suggesting polywater was nothing more than water with small amounts of biological impurities.
Another wave of research followed, this time more tightly controlled. Invariably, polywater could no longer be made. Chemical analysis found the samples of polywater to be contaminated with other substances (explaining the changes in melting and boiling points due to colligative properties), and examination of polywater by electron microscopy showed it also contained small particles of various solids – from silica to phospholipids, explaining its greater viscosity.
When the experiments which had initially produced polywater were repeated with thoroughly cleaned glassware, the anomalous properties of the resulting water vanished, and even the scientists who had originally advanced the case for polywater agreed it did not exist. This took a few years longer in the Soviet Union, where scientists still clung to the idea.
In August 1973, Derjaguin and N. V. Churaev published a letter in the journal "Nature" in which they wrote; "these [anomalous] properties should be attributed to impurities rather than to the existence of polymeric water molecules".
Denis Rousseau used polywater as a classic example of pathological science and has since written on other examples as well.
It has been suggested that polywater should have been dismissed on theoretical grounds. The laws of thermodynamics predicted that, since polywater had a higher boiling point than ordinary water, it meant it was more stable, and thus all of Earth's water should have turned spontaneously into polywater, instead of just part of it. Richard Feynman remarked that if such a material existed, then an animal would exist that would ingest water and excrete polywater, using the energy released on the process to survive.
The story "Polywater Doodle" by Howard L. Myers (writing under the pseudonym "Dr. Dolittle") appeared in the February 1971 issue of "Analog Science Fiction and Fact". It features an animal composed entirely of polywater, with the metabolism described by Richard Feynman. (The title of the story is a pun on "Polly Wolly Doodle".)
Polywater is the central idea of the 1972 espionage/thriller novel "A Report from Group 17" by Robert C. O'Brien. The story revolves around the use of a type of polywater to make people controllable and incapable of independent thought or action.
The episodes "The Naked Time" ("") and its sequel, "The Naked Now" ("") involve forms of polywater intoxication. In the original episode, a scientific research outpost falls victim to polywater, which causes the crew to become so incapacitated that they all died after shutting off environmental controls in the compound. In the sequel, a Starfleet vessel is discovered adrift, its crew frozen in various states due to polywater intoxication.
In Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Cat's Cradle", ice-nine was a form of water that was solid at room temperature, and solidified any water that it contacted, giving it the capability to destroy all life on Earth. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24933 |
Pathological science
Pathological science is an area of research where "people are tricked into false results ... by subjective effects, wishful thinking or threshold interactions." The term was first used by Irving Langmuir, Nobel Prize–winning chemist, during a 1953 colloquium at the Knolls Research Laboratory. Langmuir said a pathological science is an area of research that simply will not "go away"—long after it was given up on as "false" by the majority of scientists in the field. He called pathological science "the science of things that aren't so."
Bart Simon lists it among practices pretending to be science: "categories ... such as ... pseudoscience, amateur science, deviant or fraudulent science, bad science, junk science, and popular science ... pathological science, cargo-cult science, and voodoo science." Examples of pathological science include Martian canals, N-rays, polywater, and cold fusion. The theories and conclusions behind all of these examples are currently rejected or disregarded by the majority of scientists.
Pathological science, as defined by Langmuir, is a psychological process in which a scientist, originally conforming to the scientific method, unconsciously veers from that method, and begins a pathological process of wishful data interpretation (see the observer-expectancy effect and cognitive bias). Some characteristics of pathological science are:
Langmuir never intended the term to be rigorously defined; it was simply the title of his talk on some examples of "weird science". As with any attempt to define the scientific endeavor, examples and counterexamples can always be found.
In science communication and academic publishing, hype in science is the exaggeration and sensationalism of scientific discoveries when publicizing results in the news media.
Langmuir discussed the issue of N-rays as an example of pathological science. It is still considered a traditional case of pathological science.
In 1903, Prosper-René Blondlot was working on X-rays (as were many physicists of the era) and noticed a new visible radiation that could penetrate aluminium. He devised experiments in which a barely visible object was illuminated by these N-rays, and thus became "more visible". Blondlot claimed that N-rays were causing a small visual reaction, too small to be seen under normal illumination, but just visible when most normal light sources were removed and the target was just barely visible to begin with.
N-rays became the topic of some debate within the science community. After a time, physicist Robert W. Wood decided to visit Blondlot's lab, which had moved on to the physical characterization of N-rays. An experiment passed the rays from a 2 mm slit through an aluminum prism, from which he was measuring the index of refraction to a precision that required measurements accurate to within 0.01 mm. Wood asked how it was possible that he could measure something to 0.01 mm from a 2 mm source, a physical impossibility in the propagation of any kind of wave. Blondlot replied, "That's one of the fascinating things about the N-rays. They don't follow the ordinary laws of science that you ordinarily think of." Wood then asked to see the experiments being run as usual, which took place in a room required to be very dark so the target was barely visible. Blondlot repeated his most recent experiments and got the same results—despite the fact that Wood had reached over and covertly sabotaged the N-ray apparatus by removing the prism.
Langmuir offered additional examples of what he regarded as pathological science in his original speech:
A 1985 version of Langmuir's speech offered more examples, although at least one of these (polywater) occurred entirely after Langmuir's death in 1957:
Since Langmuir's original talk, a number of newer examples of what appear to be pathological science have appeared. Denis Rousseau, one of the main debunkers of polywater, gave an update of Langmuir in 1992, and he specifically cited as examples the cases of polywater, Fleischmann's cold fusion and Jacques Benveniste's "infinite dilution".
Polywater was a form of water which appeared to have a much higher boiling point and much lower freezing point than normal water. During the 1960s, many articles were published on the subject, and research on polywater was done around the world with mixed results. Eventually it was determined that many of the properties of polywater could be explained by biological contamination. When more rigorous cleaning of glassware and experimental controls were introduced, polywater could no longer be produced. It took several years for the concept of polywater to die in spite of the later negative results.
In 1989, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons announced the discovery of a simple and cheap procedure to obtain room-temperature nuclear fusion. Although there were many instances where successful results were reported they lacked consistency and hence cold fusion came to be considered to be an example of pathological science. Two panels convened by the US Department of Energy, one in 1989 and a second in 2004, did not recommend a dedicated federal program for cold fusion research. A small number of researchers continue working on the field.
Jacques Benveniste was a French immunologist who in 1988 published a paper in the prestigious scientific journal "Nature" describing the action of very high dilutions of anti-IgE antibody on the degranulation of human basophils, findings which seemed to support the concept of homeopathy. Biologists were puzzled by Benveniste's results, as only molecules of water, and no molecules of the original antibody, remained in these high dilutions. Benveniste concluded that the configuration of molecules in water was biologically active. Subsequent investigations have not supported Benveniste's findings. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24935 |
Pneumatic tube
Pneumatic tubes (or capsule pipelines; also known as pneumatic tube transport or PTT) are systems that propel cylindrical containers through networks of tubes by compressed air or by partial vacuum. They are used for transporting solid objects, as opposed to conventional pipelines, which transport fluids. Pneumatic tube networks gained acceptance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for offices that needed to transport small, urgent packages (such as mail, paperwork, or money) over relatively short distances (within a building or, at most, within a city). Some installations grew to great complexity, but were mostly superseded. In some settings, such as hospitals, they remain widespread and have been further extended and developed in the 21st century.
A small number of pneumatic transportation systems were also built for larger cargo, to compete with more standard train and subway systems. However, these never gained popularity.
Pneumatic transportation was invented by William Murdoch around 1799. The Victorians were the first to use "capsule pipelines" to transmit telegrams, to nearby buildings from telegraph stations. The system is known as pneumatic dispatch.
In 1854 Josiah Latimer Clark was issued a patent "for conveying letters or parcels between places by the pressure of air and vacuum." In 1853 he installed a pneumatic system between the London Stock Exchange in Threadneedle Street, London, and the offices of the Electric Telegraph Company in Lothbury. The Electric Telegraph Company used the system to acquire stock prices and other financial information to pass to subscribers of their service over their telegraph wires. The advantage of the pneumatic system was that without it the company would have had to employ runners to carry messages between the two buildings, or else employ trained telegraph operators within the Stock Exchange. In the mid-1860s, the company installed similar systems to local stock exchanges in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester. After the telegraphs were nationalised in Britain, the pneumatic system continued to be expanded under Post Office Telegraphs. By 1880 there were over 21 miles of tube in London. A tube was laid between the Aberdeen fish market office and the head post office to facilitate the rapid sale of a very perishable commodity.
While they are commonly used for small parcels and documents–including as cash carriers at banks or supermarkets–they were originally proposed in the early 19th century for transport of heavy freight. It was once envisaged that networks of these massive tubes might be used to transport people.
The technology is still used on a smaller scale. While its use for communicating information has been superseded, pneumatic tubes are widely used for transporting small objects, where convenience and speed in a local environment are important.
In the United States, drive-up banks often use pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents between cars and tellers. Some U.S. hospitals have a computer-controlled pneumatic tube system to deliver drugs, documents and specimens to and from laboratories and nurses' stations. Many factories use them to deliver parts quickly across large campuses. Many larger stores use systems to securely transport excess cash from checkout stands to back offices, and to send change back to cashiers. NASA's original Mission Control Center had pneumatic tubes connecting controller consoles with staff support rooms.
Pneumatic tube systems are used in science, to transport samples during neutron activation analysis. Samples must be moved from the nuclear reactor core, in which they are bombarded with neutrons, to the instrument that records the resulting radiation. As some of the radioactive isotopes in the sample can have very short half-lives, speed is important. These systems may be automated, with a magazine of sample tubes that are moved into the reactor core in turn for a predetermined time, before being moved to the instrument station and finally to a container for storage and disposal.
Until it closed in early 2011, a McDonald's in Edina, Minnesota claimed to be the "World's Only Pneumatic Air Drive-Thru," sending food from their strip-mall location to a drive-through in the middle of a parking lot.
Technology editor Quentin Hardy notes that renewed interest in transmission of data by pneumatic tube accompanies discussions of digital network security, and he cites research into London's forgotten pneumatic network.
Pneumatic post or pneumatic mail is a system to deliver letters through pressurized air tubes. It was invented by the Scottish engineer William Murdoch in the 19th century and was later developed by the London Pneumatic Despatch Company. Pneumatic post systems were used in several large cities starting in the second half of the 19th century (including an 1866 London system powerful and large enough to transport humans during trial runs – though not intended for that purpose), but later were largely abandoned.
A major network of tubes in Paris was in use until 1984, when it was abandoned in favor of computers and fax machines. In Prague, in the Czech Republic, the network extended approximately .
Pneumatic post stations usually connect post offices, stock exchanges, banks and ministries. Italy was the only country to issue postage stamps (between 1913 and 1966) specifically for pneumatic post. Austria, France, and Germany issued postal stationery for pneumatic use.
Typical applications are in banks, hospitals and supermarkets. Many large retailers used pneumatic tubes to transport cheques or other documents from cashiers to the accounting office.
In 1812, George Medhurst first proposed, but never implemented, blowing passenger carriages through a tunnel. Precursors of pneumatic tube systems for passenger transport, the atmospheric railway (for which the tube was laid between the rails, with a piston running in it suspended from the train through a sealable slot in the top of the tube) were operated as follows:
In 1861, the "London Pneumatic Despatch Company" built a system large enough to move a person, although it was intended for parcels. The inauguration of the new Holborn Station on 10 October 1865 was marked by having the Duke of Buckingham, the chairman, and some company directors blown through the tube to Euston (a five-minute trip).
The Crystal Palace pneumatic railway was exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1864. This was a prototype for a proposed "Waterloo and Whitehall Railway" that would have run under the River Thames linking Waterloo and Charing Cross. Digging commenced in 1865 but was halted in 1868 due to financial problems.
In 1867 at the American Institute Fair in New York, Alfred Ely Beach demonstrated a long, diameter pipe that was capable of moving 12 passengers plus a conductor. In 1869, the Beach Pneumatic Transit Company of New York secretly constructed a long, diameter pneumatic subway line under Broadway, to demonstrate the possibilities of the new transport mode. The line only operated for a few months, closing after Beach was unsuccessful in getting permission to extend it – Boss Tweed, a corrupt influential politician, did not want it to go ahead as he was intending to personally invest into competing schemes for an elevated rail line.
In the 1960s, Lockheed and MIT with the United States Department of Commerce conducted feasibility studies on a vactrain system powered by ambient atmospheric pressure and "gravitational pendulum assist" to connect cities on the country's East Coast. They calculated that the run between Philadelphia and New York City would average 174 meters per second, that is 626 km/h (388 mph). When those plans were abandoned as too expensive, Lockheed engineer L.K. Edwards founded Tube Transit, Inc. to develop technology based on "gravity-vacuum transportation". In 1967 he proposed a "Bay Area Gravity-Vacuum Transit" for California that would run alongside the then-under construction BART system. It was never built.
Research into trains running in partially evacuated tubes, such as the Vactrain and Hyperloop, is continuing.
In large retail stores, pneumatic tube systems were used to transport sales slips and money from the salesperson to a centralized tube room, where cashiers could make change, reference credit records, and so on.
Many banks with drive-throughs also use pneumatic tubes to transfer input from customers to a teller.
Some large corporations such as Costco have used pneumatic tubes in the past to transfer money from the food court to the main cashiers.
Many hospitals have pneumatic tube systems which send samples to laboratories. Blood preservations are transported, where weight and transport duration matter as well as preventing haemolysis caused by centrifugal and accelerating forces. Pneumatic tube systems are also used in hospitals to transport X-rays, patient documents, general documents, drugs and test results.
The pneumatic tube system handle the heavy liter IV bags with significantly fewer jams compared to the systems. Some pharmacies have unlisted tube station number(s) for the outbound station traffic. The pharmacy has limited outbound capacity with its published tube station, because the patient floors send vast numbers of prescriptions to the inbound tube station.
Pneumatic tube systems are used in production plants. Uses include conveying spare parts, measuring instruments, tools or work pieces alongside conveyor belts or in the production process. In industrial laboratories samples are transported through the pneumatic tube systems. These can be conveyed in any physical state (solid, liquid, gas) and at any temperature. For example, the industrial company ThyssenKrupp sends steel samples through pneumatic tubes at a rate of per second from the furnace to the laboratory.
Modern systems (for smaller, i.e. “normal”, tube diameters as used in the transport of small capsules) reach speeds of around per second, though some historical systems already achieved speeds of per second. At the same time, varying air pressures allow capsules to brake slowly, removing the jarring arrival that used to characterise earlier systems and make them unsuitable for fragile contents.
Very powerful systems can transport items with a weight of up to and a diameter of up to . More than 100 lines and 1000 stations can be connected.
Further, modern systems can be computer-controlled for tracking of any specific capsule and managing priority deliveries as well as system efficiency. With this technology, time-critical items can be transported, such as tissue samples taken during a surgery in a hospital. RFID chips within in the capsules gather data – e. g. about the location of the carrier, its transport speed or its destination. The systems collect and save these data to help users optimize their internal processes and turnaround times. The facilities can be linked to the company's software systems, e.g. laboratory information systems, for full integration into company logistical management and production chains. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24936 |
Patrilineality
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, rights, names or titles by persons related through male kin.
A patriline ("father line") is a person's father, and additional ancestors, as traced only through males.
In the Bible, family and tribal membership appears to be transmitted through the father. For example, a person is considered to be a priest or Levite, if his father is a priest or Levite, and the members of all the twelve tribes are called Israelites because their father is Israel (Jacob). Because of this they are called the "chosen people" by virtue of being "sons of Israel"; that is, the biological male descendants of Israel, who is referred to as their "father" in the sense that he is their lineal male ancestor.
Patrilineal or agnatic succession gives priority to or restricts inheritance of a throne or fief to heirs, male or female, descended from the original title holder through males only. Traditionally, agnatic succession is applied in determining the names and membership of European dynasties. The prevalent forms of dynastic succession in Europe, Asia and parts of Africa (but see the Rain Queen) were male-preference primogeniture, agnatic primogeniture or agnatic seniority until after World War II.
By the 21st century most ongoing European monarchies had replaced their traditional agnatic succession with absolute primogeniture, meaning that the first child born to a monarch inherits the throne, regardless of the child's sex. However, there is a change of dynasty.
Variations of Salic law, generally understood in modern times to mean exclusion of women as hereditary monarchs, restricted succession to thrones and inheritance of fiefs or land to men in parts of medieval and later Europe. Once common, strict Salic inheritance has been officially revoked in all extant European monarchies except the Principality of Liechtenstein.
The fact that human Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) is paternally inherited enables patrilines and agnatic kinships of men to be traced through genetic analysis.
Y-chromosomal Adam (Y-MRCA) is the patrilineal most recent common ancestor from whom all Y-DNA in living men is descended. An identification of a very rare and previously unknown Y-chromosome variant in 2012 led researchers to estimate that Y-chromosomal Adam lived 338,000 years ago (237,000 to 581,000 years ago with 95% confidence), judging from molecular clock and genetic marker studies. Before this discovery, estimates of the date when Y-chromosomal Adam lived were much more recent, estimated to be tens of thousands of years. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24942 |
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics (from the , from the ) is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of seven large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of the Earth's lithosphere, since tectonic processes began on Earth between 3.3 and 3.5 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of continental drift, an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century. The geoscientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor spreading was validated in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet (the crust and upper mantle), is broken into tectonic plates. The Earth's lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates. Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of boundary: convergent, divergent, or transform. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate boundaries (or faults). The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually.
Tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its own kind of crust. Along convergent boundaries, subduction, or one plate moving under another, carries the lower one down into the mantle; the material lost is roughly balanced by the formation of new (oceanic) crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading. In this way, the total surface of the lithosphere remains the same. This prediction of plate tectonics is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle. Earlier theories, since disproven, proposed gradual shrinking (contraction) or gradual expansion of the globe.
Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earth's lithosphere has greater mechanical strength than the underlying asthenosphere. Lateral density variations in the mantle result in convection; that is, the slow creeping motion of Earth's solid mantle. Plate movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the motion of the seafloor away from spreading ridges due to variations in topography (the ridge is a topographic high) and density changes in the crust (density increases as newly formed crust cools and moves away from the ridge). At subduction zones the relatively cold, dense oceanic crust is "pulled" or sinks down into the mantle over the downward convecting limb of a mantle cell. Another explanation lies in the different forces generated by tidal forces of the Sun and Moon. The relative importance of each of these factors and their relationship to each other is unclear, and still the subject of much debate.
The outer layers of the Earth are divided into the lithosphere and asthenosphere. The division is based on differences in mechanical properties and in the method for the transfer of heat. The lithosphere is cooler and more rigid, while the asthenosphere is hotter and flows more easily. In terms of heat transfer, the lithosphere loses heat by conduction, whereas the asthenosphere also transfers heat by convection and has a nearly adiabatic temperature gradient. This division should not be confused with the "chemical" subdivision of these same layers into the mantle (comprising both the asthenosphere and the mantle portion of the lithosphere) and the crust: a given piece of mantle may be part of the lithosphere or the asthenosphere at different times depending on its temperature and pressure.
The key principle of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere exists as separate and distinct "tectonic plates", which ride on the fluid-like (visco-elastic solid) asthenosphere. Plate motions range up to a typical 10–40 mm/year (Mid-Atlantic Ridge; about as fast as fingernails grow), to about 160 mm/year (Nazca Plate; about as fast as hair grows). The driving mechanism behind this movement is described below.
Tectonic lithosphere plates consist of lithospheric mantle overlain by one or two types of crustal material: oceanic crust (in older texts called "sima" from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust ("sial" from silicon and aluminium). Average oceanic lithosphere is typically thick; its thickness is a function of its age: as time passes, it conductively cools and subjacent cooling mantle is added to its base. Because it is formed at mid-ocean ridges and spreads outwards, its thickness is therefore a function of its distance from the mid-ocean ridge where it was formed. For a typical distance that oceanic lithosphere must travel before being subducted, the thickness varies from about thick at mid-ocean ridges to greater than at subduction zones; for shorter or longer distances, the subduction zone (and therefore also the mean) thickness becomes smaller or larger, respectively. Continental lithosphere is typically about 200 km thick, though this varies considerably between basins, mountain ranges, and stable cratonic interiors of continents.
The location where two plates meet is called a "plate boundary". Plate boundaries are commonly associated with geological events such as earthquakes and the creation of topographic features such as mountains, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, and oceanic trenches. The majority of the world's active volcanoes occur along plate boundaries, with the Pacific Plate's Ring of Fire being the most active and widely known today. These boundaries are discussed in further detail below. Some volcanoes occur in the interiors of plates, and these have been variously attributed to internal plate deformation and to mantle plumes.
As explained above, tectonic plates may include continental crust or oceanic crust, and most plates contain both. For example, the African Plate includes the continent and parts of the floor of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The distinction between oceanic crust and continental crust is based on their modes of formation. Oceanic crust is formed at sea-floor spreading centers, and continental crust is formed through arc volcanism and accretion of terranes through tectonic processes, though some of these terranes may contain ophiolite sequences, which are pieces of oceanic crust considered to be part of the continent when they exit the standard cycle of formation and spreading centers and subduction beneath continents. Oceanic crust is also denser than continental crust owing to their different compositions. Oceanic crust is denser because it has less silicon and more heavier elements ("mafic") than continental crust ("felsic"). As a result of this density stratification, oceanic crust generally lies below sea level (for example most of the Pacific Plate), while continental crust buoyantly projects above sea level (see the page isostasy for explanation of this principle).
Three types of plate boundaries exist, with a fourth, mixed type, characterized by the way the plates move relative to each other. They are associated with different types of surface phenomena. The different types of plate boundaries are:
It has generally been accepted that tectonic plates are able to move because of the relative density of oceanic lithosphere and the relative weakness of the asthenosphere. Dissipation of heat from the mantle is acknowledged to be the original source of the energy required to drive plate tectonics through convection or large scale upwelling and doming. The current view, though still a matter of some debate, asserts that as a consequence, a powerful source of plate motion is generated due to the excess density of the oceanic lithosphere sinking in subduction zones. When the new crust forms at mid-ocean ridges, this oceanic lithosphere is initially less dense than the underlying asthenosphere, but it becomes denser with age as it conductively cools and thickens. The greater density of old lithosphere relative to the underlying asthenosphere allows it to sink into the deep mantle at subduction zones, providing most of the driving force for plate movement. The weakness of the asthenosphere allows the tectonic plates to move easily towards a subduction zone. Although subduction is thought to be the strongest force driving plate motions, it cannot be the only force since there are plates such as the North American Plate which are moving, yet are nowhere being subducted. The same is true for the enormous Eurasian Plate. The sources of plate motion are a matter of intensive research and discussion among scientists. One of the main points is that the kinematic pattern of the movement itself should be separated clearly from the possible geodynamic mechanism that is invoked as the driving force of the observed movement, as some patterns may be explained by more than one mechanism. In short, the driving forces advocated at the moment can be divided into three categories based on the relationship to the movement: mantle dynamics related, gravity related (main driving force accepted nowadays), and earth rotation related.
For much of the last quarter century, the leading theory of the driving force behind tectonic plate motions envisaged large scale convection currents in the upper mantle, which can be transmitted through the asthenosphere. This theory was launched by Arthur Holmes and some forerunners in the 1930s and was immediately recognized as the solution for the acceptance of the theory as originally discussed in the papers of Alfred Wegener in the early years of the century. However, despite its acceptance, it was long debated in the scientific community because the leading theory still envisaged a static Earth without moving continents up until the major breakthroughs of the early sixties.
Two- and three-dimensional imaging of Earth's interior (seismic tomography) shows a varying lateral density distribution throughout the mantle. Such density variations can be material (from rock chemistry), mineral (from variations in mineral structures), or thermal (through thermal expansion and contraction from heat energy). The manifestation of this varying lateral density is mantle convection from buoyancy forces.
How mantle convection directly and indirectly relates to plate motion is a matter of ongoing study and discussion in geodynamics. Somehow, this energy must be transferred to the lithosphere for tectonic plates to move. There are essentially two main types of forces that are thought to influence plate motion: friction and gravity.
Lately, the convection theory has been much debated, as modern techniques based on 3D seismic tomography still fail to recognize these predicted large scale convection cells. Alternative views have been proposed.
In the theory of plume tectonics followed by numerous researchers during the 1990s, a modified concept of mantle convection currents is used. It asserts that super plumes rise from the deeper mantle and are the drivers or substitutes of the major convection cells. These ideas find their roots in the early 1930s in the works of Beloussov and van Bemmelen, which were initially opposed to plate tectonics and placed the mechanism in a fixistic frame of verticalistic movements. Van Bemmelen later on modulated on the concept in his "Undulation Models" and used it as the driving force for horizontal movements, invoking gravitational forces away from the regional crustal doming.
The theories find resonance in the modern theories which envisage hot spots or mantle plumes which remain fixed and are overridden by oceanic and continental lithosphere plates over time and leave their traces in the geological record (though these phenomena are not invoked as real driving mechanisms, but rather as modulators).
The mechanism is nowadays still advocated for example to explain the break-up of supercontinents during specific geological epochs. It has also still numerous followers also amongst the scientists involved in the theory of Earth expansion
Another theory is that the mantle flows neither in cells nor large plumes but rather as a series of channels just below the Earth's crust, which then provide basal friction to the lithosphere. This theory, called "surge tectonics", became quite popular in geophysics and geodynamics during the 1980s and 1990s. Recent research, based on three-dimensional computer modeling, suggests that plate geometry is governed by a feedback between mantle convection patterns and the strength of the lithosphere.
Forces related to gravity are invoked as secondary phenomena within the framework of a more general driving mechanism such as the various forms of mantle dynamics described above. In moderns views, gravity is invoked as the major driving force, through slab pull along subduction zones.
Gravitational sliding away from a spreading ridge: According to many authors, plate motion is driven by the higher elevation of plates at ocean ridges. As oceanic lithosphere is formed at spreading ridges from hot mantle material, it gradually cools and thickens with age (and thus adds distance from the ridge). Cool oceanic lithosphere is significantly denser than the hot mantle material from which it is derived and so with increasing thickness it gradually subsides into the mantle to compensate the greater load. The result is a slight lateral incline with increased distance from the ridge axis.
This force is regarded as a secondary force and is often referred to as "ridge push". This is a misnomer as nothing is "pushing" horizontally and tensional features are dominant along ridges. It is more accurate to refer to this mechanism as gravitational sliding as variable topography across the totality of the plate can vary considerably and the topography of spreading ridges is only the most prominent feature. Other mechanisms generating this gravitational secondary force include flexural bulging of the lithosphere before it dives underneath an adjacent plate which produces a clear topographical feature that can offset, or at least affect, the influence of topographical ocean ridges, and mantle plumes and hot spots, which are postulated to impinge on the underside of tectonic plates.
Slab-pull: Current scientific opinion is that the asthenosphere is insufficiently competent or rigid to directly cause motion by friction along the base of the lithosphere. Slab pull is therefore most widely thought to be the greatest force acting on the plates. In this current understanding, plate motion is mostly driven by the weight of cold, dense plates sinking into the mantle at trenches. Recent models indicate that trench suction plays an important role as well. However, the fact that the North American Plate is nowhere being subducted, although it is in motion, presents a problem. The same holds for the African, Eurasian, and Antarctic plates.
Gravitational sliding away from mantle doming: According to older theories, one of the driving mechanisms of the plates is the existence of large scale asthenosphere/mantle domes which cause the gravitational sliding of lithosphere plates away from them (see the paragraph on Mantle Mechanisms). This gravitational sliding represents a secondary phenomenon of this basically vertically oriented mechanism. It finds its roots in the Undation Model of van Bemmelen. This can act on various scales, from the small scale of one island arc up to the larger scale of an entire ocean basin.
Alfred Wegener, being a meteorologist, had proposed tidal forces and centrifugal forces as the main driving mechanisms behind continental drift; however, these forces were considered far too small to cause continental motion as the concept was of continents plowing through oceanic crust. Therefore, Wegener later changed his position and asserted that convection currents are the main driving force of plate tectonics in the last edition of his book in 1929.
However, in the plate tectonics context (accepted since the seafloor spreading proposals of Heezen, Hess, Dietz, Morley, Vine, and Matthews (see below) during the early 1960s), the oceanic crust is suggested to be in motion "with" the continents which caused the proposals related to Earth rotation to be reconsidered. In more recent literature, these driving forces are:
Forces that are small and generally negligible are:
For these mechanisms to be overall valid, systematic relationships should exist all over the globe between the orientation and kinematics of deformation and the geographical latitudinal and longitudinal grid of the Earth itself. Ironically, these systematic relations studies in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century underline exactly the opposite: that the plates had not moved in time, that the deformation grid was fixed with respect to the Earth equator and axis, and that gravitational driving forces were generally acting vertically and caused only local horizontal movements (the so-called pre-plate tectonic, "fixist theories"). Later studies (discussed below on this page), therefore, invoked many of the relationships recognized during this pre-plate tectonics period to support their theories (see the anticipations and reviews in the work of van Dijk and collaborators).
Of the many forces discussed in this paragraph, tidal force is still highly debated and defended as a possible principal driving force of plate tectonics. The other forces are only used in global geodynamic models not using plate tectonics concepts (therefore beyond the discussions treated in this section) or proposed as minor modulations within the overall plate tectonics model.
In 1973, George W. Moore of the USGS and R. C. Bostrom presented evidence for a general westward drift of the Earth's lithosphere with respect to the mantle. He concluded that tidal forces (the tidal lag or "friction") caused by the Earth's rotation and the forces acting upon it by the Moon are a driving force for plate tectonics. As the Earth spins eastward beneath the moon, the moon's gravity ever so slightly pulls the Earth's surface layer back westward, just as proposed by Alfred Wegener (see above). In a more recent 2006 study, scientists reviewed and advocated these earlier proposed ideas. It has also been suggested recently in that this observation may also explain why Venus and Mars have no plate tectonics, as Venus has no moon and Mars' moons are too small to have significant tidal effects on the planet. In a recent paper, it was suggested that, on the other hand, it can easily be observed that many plates are moving north and eastward, and that the dominantly westward motion of the Pacific Ocean basins derives simply from the eastward bias of the Pacific spreading center (which is not a predicted manifestation of such lunar forces). In the same paper the authors admit, however, that relative to the lower mantle, there is a slight westward component in the motions of all the plates. They demonstrated though that the westward drift, seen only for the past 30 Ma, is attributed to the increased dominance of the steadily growing and accelerating Pacific plate. The debate is still open.
The vector of a plate's motion is a function of all the forces acting on the plate; however, therein lies the problem regarding the degree to which each process contributes to the overall motion of each tectonic plate.
The diversity of geodynamic settings and the properties of each plate result from the impact of the various processes actively driving each individual plate. One method of dealing with this problem is to consider the relative rate at which each plate is moving as well as the evidence related to the significance of each process to the overall driving force on the plate.
One of the most significant correlations discovered to date is that lithospheric plates attached to downgoing (subducting) plates move much faster than plates not attached to subducting plates. The Pacific plate, for instance, is essentially surrounded by zones of subduction (the so-called Ring of Fire) and moves much faster than the plates of the Atlantic basin, which are attached (perhaps one could say 'welded') to adjacent continents instead of subducting plates. It is thus thought that forces associated with the downgoing plate (slab pull and slab suction) are the driving forces which determine the motion of plates, except for those plates which are not being subducted. This view however has been contradicted by a recent study which found that the actual motions of the Pacific Plate and other plates associated with the East Pacific Rise do not correlate mainly with either slab pull or slab push, but rather with a mantle convection upwelling whose horizontal spreading along the bases of the various plates drives them along via viscosity-related traction forces. The driving forces of plate motion continue to be active subjects of on-going research within geophysics and tectonophysics.
Around the start of the twentieth century, various theorists unsuccessfully attempted to explain the many geographical, geological, and biological continuities between continents. In 1912 the meteorologist Alfred Wegener described what he called continental drift, an idea that culminated fifty years later in the modern theory of plate tectonics..
Wegener expanded his theory in his 1915 book "The Origin of Continents and Oceans". Starting from the idea (also expressed by his forerunners) that the present continents once formed a single land mass (later called Pangea), Wegener suggested that these separated and drifted apart, likening them to "icebergs" of low density granite floating on a sea of denser basalt. Supporting evidence for the idea came from the dove-tailing outlines of South America's east coast and Africa's west coast, and from the matching of the rock formations along these edges. Confirmation of their previous contiguous nature also came from the fossil plants "Glossopteris" and "Gangamopteris", and the therapsid or mammal-like reptile "Lystrosaurus", all widely distributed over South America, Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia. The evidence for such an erstwhile joining of these continents was patent to field geologists working in the southern hemisphere. The South African Alex du Toit put together a mass of such information in his 1937 publication "Our Wandering Continents", and went further than Wegener in recognising the strong links between the Gondwana fragments.
Wegener's work was initially not widely accepted, in part due to a lack of detailed evidence. The Earth might have a solid crust and mantle and a liquid core, but there seemed to be no way that portions of the crust could move around. Distinguished scientists, such as Harold Jeffreys and Charles Schuchert, were outspoken critics of continental drift.
Despite much opposition, the view of continental drift gained support and a lively debate started between "drifters" or "mobilists" (proponents of the theory) and "fixists" (opponents). During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, the former reached important milestones proposing that convection currents might have driven the plate movements, and that spreading may have occurred below the sea within the oceanic crust. Concepts close to the elements now incorporated in plate tectonics were proposed by geophysicists and geologists (both fixists and mobilists) like Vening-Meinesz, Holmes, and Umbgrove.
One of the first pieces of geophysical evidence that was used to support the movement of lithospheric plates came from paleomagnetism. This is based on the fact that rocks of different ages show a variable magnetic field direction, evidenced by studies since the mid–nineteenth century. The magnetic north and south poles reverse through time, and, especially important in paleotectonic studies, the relative position of the magnetic north pole varies through time. Initially, during the first half of the twentieth century, the latter phenomenon was explained by introducing what was called "polar wander" (see apparent polar wander) (i.e., it was assumed that the north pole location had been shifting through time). An alternative explanation, though, was that the continents had moved (shifted and rotated) relative to the north pole, and each continent, in fact, shows its own "polar wander path". During the late 1950s it was successfully shown on two occasions that these data could show the validity of continental drift: by Keith Runcorn in a paper in 1956, and by Warren Carey in a symposium held in March 1956.
The second piece of evidence in support of continental drift came during the late 1950s and early 60s from data on the bathymetry of the deep ocean floors and the nature of the oceanic crust such as magnetic properties and, more generally, with the development of marine geology which gave evidence for the association of seafloor spreading along the mid-oceanic ridges and magnetic field reversals, published between 1959 and 1963 by Heezen, Dietz, Hess, Mason, Vine & Matthews, and Morley.
Simultaneous advances in early seismic imaging techniques in and around Wadati–Benioff zones along the trenches bounding many continental margins, together with many other geophysical (e.g. gravimetric) and geological observations, showed how the oceanic crust could disappear into the mantle, providing the mechanism to balance the extension of the ocean basins with shortening along its margins.
All this evidence, both from the ocean floor and from the continental margins, made it clear around 1965 that continental drift was feasible and the theory of plate tectonics, which was defined in a series of papers between 1965 and 1967, was born, with all its extraordinary explanatory and predictive power. The theory revolutionized the Earth sciences, explaining a diverse range of geological phenomena and their implications in other studies such as paleogeography and paleobiology.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, geologists assumed that the Earth's major features were fixed, and that most geologic features such as basin development and mountain ranges could be explained by vertical crustal movement, described in what is called the geosynclinal theory. Generally, this was placed in the context of a contracting planet Earth due to heat loss in the course of a relatively short geological time.
It was observed as early as 1596 that the opposite coasts of the Atlantic Ocean—or, more precisely, the edges of the continental shelves—have similar shapes and seem to have once fitted together.
Since that time many theories were proposed to explain this apparent complementarity, but the assumption of a solid Earth made these various proposals difficult to accept.
The discovery of radioactivity and its associated heating properties in 1895 prompted a re-examination of the apparent age of the Earth. This had previously been estimated by its cooling rate under the assumption that the Earth's surface radiated like a black body. Those calculations had implied that, even if it started at red heat, the Earth would have dropped to its present temperature in a few tens of millions of years. Armed with the knowledge of a new heat source, scientists realized that the Earth would be much older, and that its core was still sufficiently hot to be liquid.
By 1915, after having published a first article in 1912, Alfred Wegener was making serious arguments for the idea of continental drift in the first edition of "The Origin of Continents and Oceans". In that book (re-issued in four successive editions up to the final one in 1936), he noted how the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa looked as if they were once attached. Wegener was not the first to note this (Abraham Ortelius, Antonio Snider-Pellegrini, Eduard Suess, Roberto Mantovani and Frank Bursley Taylor preceded him just to mention a few), but he was the first to marshal significant fossil and paleo-topographical and climatological evidence to support this simple observation (and was supported in this by researchers such as Alex du Toit). Furthermore, when the rock strata of the margins of separate continents are very similar it suggests that these rocks were formed in the same way, implying that they were joined initially. For instance, parts of Scotland and Ireland contain rocks very similar to those found in Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Furthermore, the Caledonian Mountains of Europe and parts of the Appalachian Mountains of North America are very similar in structure and lithology.
However, his ideas were not taken seriously by many geologists, who pointed out that there was no apparent mechanism for continental drift. Specifically, they did not see how continental rock could plow through the much denser rock that makes up oceanic crust. Wegener could not explain the force that drove continental drift, and his vindication did not come until after his death in 1930.
As it was observed early that although granite existed on continents, seafloor seemed to be composed of denser basalt, the prevailing concept during the first half of the twentieth century was that there were two types of crust, named "sial" (continental type crust) and "sima" (oceanic type crust). Furthermore, it was supposed that a static shell of strata was present under the continents. It therefore looked apparent that a layer of basalt (sial) underlies the continental rocks.
However, based on abnormalities in plumb line deflection by the Andes in Peru, Pierre Bouguer had deduced that less-dense mountains must have a downward projection into the denser layer underneath. The concept that mountains had "roots" was confirmed by George B. Airy a hundred years later, during study of Himalayan gravitation, and seismic studies detected corresponding density variations. Therefore, by the mid-1950s, the question remained unresolved as to whether mountain roots were clenched in surrounding basalt or were floating on it like an iceberg.
During the 20th century, improvements in and greater use of seismic instruments such as seismographs enabled scientists to learn that earthquakes tend to be concentrated in specific areas, most notably along the oceanic trenches and spreading ridges. By the late 1920s, seismologists were beginning to identify several prominent earthquake zones parallel to the trenches that typically were inclined 40–60° from the horizontal and extended several hundred kilometers into the Earth. These zones later became known as Wadati–Benioff zones, or simply Benioff zones, in honor of the seismologists who first recognized them, Kiyoo Wadati of Japan and Hugo Benioff of the United States. The study of global seismicity greatly advanced in the 1960s with the establishment of the Worldwide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) to monitor the compliance of the 1963 treaty banning above-ground testing of nuclear weapons. The much improved data from the WWSSN instruments allowed seismologists to map precisely the zones of earthquake concentration worldwide.
Meanwhile, debates developed around the phenomenon of polar wander. Since the early debates of continental drift, scientists had discussed and used evidence that polar drift had occurred because continents seemed to have moved through different climatic zones during the past. Furthermore, paleomagnetic data had shown that the magnetic pole had also shifted during time. Reasoning in an opposite way, the continents might have shifted and rotated, while the pole remained relatively fixed. The first time the evidence of magnetic polar wander was used to support the movements of continents was in a paper by Keith Runcorn in 1956, and successive papers by him and his students Ted Irving (who was actually the first to be convinced of the fact that paleomagnetism supported continental drift) and Ken Creer.
This was immediately followed by a symposium in Tasmania in March 1956. In this symposium, the evidence was used in the theory of an expansion of the global crust. In this hypothesis, the shifting of the continents can be simply explained by a large increase in the size of the Earth since its formation. However, this was unsatisfactory because its supporters could offer no convincing mechanism to produce a significant expansion of the Earth. Certainly there is no evidence that the moon has expanded in the past 3 billion years; other work would soon show that the evidence was equally in support of continental drift on a globe with a stable radius.
During the thirties up to the late fifties, works by Vening-Meinesz, Holmes, Umbgrove, and numerous others outlined concepts that were close or nearly identical to modern plate tectonics theory. In particular, the English geologist Arthur Holmes proposed in 1920 that plate junctions might lie beneath the sea, and in 1928 that convection currents within the mantle might be the driving force. Often, these contributions are forgotten because:
In 1947, a team of scientists led by Maurice Ewing utilizing the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's research vessel "Atlantis" and an array of instruments, confirmed the existence of a rise in the central Atlantic Ocean, and found that the floor of the seabed beneath the layer of sediments consisted of basalt, not the granite which is the main constituent of continents. They also found that the oceanic crust was much thinner than continental crust. All these new findings raised important and intriguing questions.
The new data that had been collected on the ocean basins also showed particular characteristics regarding the bathymetry. One of the major outcomes of these datasets was that all along the globe, a system of mid-oceanic ridges was detected. An important conclusion was that along this system, new ocean floor was being created, which led to the concept of the "Great Global Rift". This was described in the crucial paper of Bruce Heezen (1960), which would trigger a real revolution in thinking. A profound consequence of seafloor spreading is that new crust was, and still is, being continually created along the oceanic ridges. Therefore, Heezen advocated the so-called "expanding Earth" hypothesis of S. Warren Carey (see above). So, still the question remained: how can new crust be continuously added along the oceanic ridges without increasing the size of the Earth? In reality, this question had been solved already by numerous scientists during the forties and the fifties, like Arthur Holmes, Vening-Meinesz, Coates and many others: The crust in excess disappeared along what were called the oceanic trenches, where so-called "subduction" occurred. Therefore, when various scientists during the early sixties started to reason on the data at their disposal regarding the ocean floor, the pieces of the theory quickly fell into place.
The question particularly intrigued Harry Hammond Hess, a Princeton University geologist and a Naval Reserve Rear Admiral, and Robert S. Dietz, a scientist with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey who first coined the term "seafloor spreading". Dietz and Hess (the former published the same idea one year earlier in "Nature", but priority belongs to Hess who had already distributed an unpublished manuscript of his 1962 article by 1960) were among the small handful who really understood the broad implications of sea floor spreading and how it would eventually agree with the, at that time, unconventional and unaccepted ideas of continental drift and the elegant and mobilistic models proposed by previous workers like Holmes.
In the same year, Robert R. Coats of the U.S. Geological Survey described the main features of island arc subduction in the Aleutian Islands. His paper, though little noted (and even ridiculed) at the time, has since been called "seminal" and "prescient". In reality, it actually shows that the work by the European scientists on island arcs and mountain belts performed and published during the 1930s up until the 1950s was applied and appreciated also in the United States.
If the Earth's crust was expanding along the oceanic ridges, Hess and Dietz reasoned like Holmes and others before them, it must be shrinking elsewhere. Hess followed Heezen, suggesting that new oceanic crust continuously spreads away from the ridges in a conveyor belt–like motion. And, using the mobilistic concepts developed before, he correctly concluded that many millions of years later, the oceanic crust eventually descends along the continental margins where oceanic trenches—very deep, narrow canyons—are formed, e.g. along the rim of the Pacific Ocean basin. The important step Hess made was that convection currents would be the driving force in this process, arriving at the same conclusions as Holmes had decades before with the only difference that the thinning of the ocean crust was performed using Heezen's mechanism of spreading along the ridges. Hess therefore concluded that the Atlantic Ocean was expanding while the Pacific Ocean was shrinking. As old oceanic crust is "consumed" in the trenches (like Holmes and others, he thought this was done by thickening of the continental lithosphere, not, as now understood, by underthrusting at a larger scale of the oceanic crust itself into the mantle), new magma rises and erupts along the spreading ridges to form new crust. In effect, the ocean basins are perpetually being "recycled," with the creation of new crust and the destruction of old oceanic lithosphere occurring simultaneously. Thus, the new mobilistic concepts neatly explained why the Earth does not get bigger with sea floor spreading, why there is so little sediment accumulation on the ocean floor, and why oceanic rocks are much younger than continental rocks.
Beginning in the 1950s, scientists like Victor Vacquier, using magnetic instruments (magnetometers) adapted from airborne devices developed during World War II to detect submarines, began recognizing odd magnetic variations across the ocean floor. This finding, though unexpected, was not entirely surprising because it was known that basalt—the iron-rich, volcanic rock making up the ocean floor—contains a strongly magnetic mineral (magnetite) and can locally distort compass readings. This distortion was recognized by Icelandic mariners as early as the late 18th century. More important, because the presence of magnetite gives the basalt measurable magnetic properties, these newly discovered magnetic variations provided another means to study the deep ocean floor. When newly formed rock cools, such magnetic materials recorded the Earth's magnetic field at the time.
As more and more of the seafloor was mapped during the 1950s, the magnetic variations turned out not to be random or isolated occurrences, but instead revealed recognizable patterns. When these magnetic patterns were mapped over a wide region, the ocean floor showed a zebra-like pattern: one stripe with normal polarity and the adjoining stripe with reversed polarity. The overall pattern, defined by these alternating bands of normally and reversely polarized rock, became known as magnetic striping, and was published by Ron G. Mason and co-workers in 1961, who did not find, though, an explanation for these data in terms of sea floor spreading, like Vine, Matthews and Morley a few years later.
The discovery of magnetic striping called for an explanation. In the early 1960s scientists such as Heezen, Hess and Dietz had begun to theorise that mid-ocean ridges mark structurally weak zones where the ocean floor was being ripped in two lengthwise along the ridge crest (see the previous paragraph). New magma from deep within the Earth rises easily through these weak zones and eventually erupts along the crest of the ridges to create new oceanic crust. This process, at first denominated the "conveyer belt hypothesis" and later called seafloor spreading, operating over many millions of years continues to form new ocean floor all across the 50,000 km-long system of mid-ocean ridges.
Only four years after the maps with the "zebra pattern" of magnetic stripes were published, the link between sea floor spreading and these patterns was correctly placed, independently by Lawrence Morley, and by Fred Vine and Drummond Matthews, in 1963, now called the Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis. This hypothesis linked these patterns to geomagnetic reversals and was supported by several lines of evidence:
By explaining both the zebra-like magnetic striping and the construction of the mid-ocean ridge system, the seafloor spreading hypothesis (SFS) quickly gained converts and represented another major advance in the development of the plate-tectonics theory. Furthermore, the oceanic crust now came to be appreciated as a natural "tape recording" of the history of the geomagnetic field reversals (GMFR) of the Earth's magnetic field. Today, extensive studies are dedicated to the calibration of the normal-reversal patterns in the oceanic crust on one hand and known timescales derived from the dating of basalt layers in sedimentary sequences (magnetostratigraphy) on the other, to arrive at estimates of past spreading rates and plate reconstructions.
After all these considerations, Plate Tectonics (or, as it was initially called "New Global Tectonics") became quickly accepted in the scientific world, and numerous papers followed that defined the concepts:
The Plate Tectonics Revolution was the scientific and cultural change which developed from the acceptance of the plate tectonics theory. The event was a paradigm shift and scientific revolution.
Continental drift theory helps biogeographers to explain the disjunct biogeographic distribution of present-day life found on different continents but having similar ancestors. In particular, it explains the Gondwanan distribution of ratites and the Antarctic flora.
Reconstruction is used to establish past (and future) plate configurations, helping determine the shape and make-up of ancient supercontinents and providing a basis for paleogeography.
Current plate boundaries are defined by their seismicity. Past plate boundaries within existing plates are identified from a variety of evidence, such as the presence of ophiolites that are indicative of vanished oceans.
Tectonic motion is believed to have begun around 3 to 3.5 billion years ago.
Various types of quantitative and semi-quantitative information are available to constrain past plate motions. The geometric fit between continents, such as between west Africa and South America is still an important part of plate reconstruction. Magnetic stripe patterns provide a reliable guide to relative plate motions going back into the Jurassic period. The tracks of hotspots give absolute reconstructions, but these are only available back to the Cretaceous. Older reconstructions rely mainly on paleomagnetic pole data, although these only constrain the latitude and rotation, but not the longitude. Combining poles of different ages in a particular plate to produce apparent polar wander paths provides a method for comparing the motions of different plates through time. Additional evidence comes from the distribution of certain sedimentary rock types, faunal provinces shown by particular fossil groups, and the position of orogenic belts.
The movement of plates has caused the formation and break-up of continents over time, including occasional formation of a supercontinent that contains most or all of the continents. The supercontinent Columbia or Nuna formed during a period of and broke up about . The supercontinent Rodinia is thought to have formed about 1 billion years ago and to have embodied most or all of Earth's continents, and broken up into eight continents around . The eight continents later re-assembled into another supercontinent called Pangaea; Pangaea broke up into Laurasia (which became North America and Eurasia) and Gondwana (which became the remaining continents).
The Himalayas, the world's tallest mountain range, are assumed to have been formed by the collision of two major plates. Before uplift, they were covered by the Tethys Ocean.
Depending on how they are defined, there are usually seven or eight "major" plates: African, Antarctic, Eurasian, North American, South American, Pacific, and Indo-Australian. The latter is sometimes subdivided into the Indian and Australian plates.
There are dozens of smaller plates, the seven largest of which are the Arabian, Caribbean, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Nazca, Philippine Sea, and Scotia.
The current motion of the tectonic plates is today determined by remote sensing satellite data sets, calibrated with ground station measurements.
The appearance of plate tectonics on terrestrial planets is related to planetary mass, with more massive planets than Earth expected to exhibit plate tectonics. Earth may be a borderline case, owing its tectonic activity to abundant water (silica and water form a deep eutectic).
Venus shows no evidence of active plate tectonics. There is debatable evidence of active tectonics in the planet's distant past; however, events taking place since then (such as the plausible and generally accepted hypothesis that the Venusian lithosphere has thickened greatly over the course of several hundred million years) has made constraining the course of its geologic record difficult. However, the numerous well-preserved impact craters have been utilized as a dating method to approximately date the Venusian surface (since there are thus far no known samples of Venusian rock to be dated by more reliable methods). Dates derived are dominantly in the range , although ages of up to have been calculated. This research has led to the fairly well accepted hypothesis that Venus has undergone an essentially complete volcanic resurfacing at least once in its distant past, with the last event taking place approximately within the range of estimated surface ages. While the mechanism of such an impressive thermal event remains a debated issue in Venusian geosciences, some scientists are advocates of processes involving plate motion to some extent.
One explanation for Venus's lack of plate tectonics is that on Venus temperatures are too high for significant water to be present. The Earth's crust is soaked with water, and water plays an important role in the development of shear zones. Plate tectonics requires weak surfaces in the crust along which crustal slices can move, and it may well be that such weakening never took place on Venus because of the absence of water. However, some researchers remain convinced that plate tectonics is or was once active on this planet.
Mars is considerably smaller than Earth and Venus, and there is evidence for ice on its surface and in its crust.
In the 1990s, it was proposed that Martian Crustal Dichotomy was created by plate tectonic processes. Scientists today disagree, and think that it was created either by upwelling within the Martian mantle that thickened the crust of the Southern Highlands and formed Tharsis or by a giant impact that excavated the Northern Lowlands.
Valles Marineris may be a tectonic boundary.
Observations made of the magnetic field of Mars by the "Mars Global Surveyor" spacecraft in 1999 showed patterns of magnetic striping discovered on this planet. Some scientists interpreted these as requiring plate tectonic processes, such as seafloor spreading. However, their data fail a "magnetic reversal test", which is used to see if they were formed by flipping polarities of a global magnetic field.
Some of the satellites of Jupiter have features that may be related to plate-tectonic style deformation, although the materials and specific mechanisms may be different from plate-tectonic activity on Earth. On 8 September 2014, NASA reported finding evidence of plate tectonics on Europa, a satellite of Jupiter—the first sign of subduction activity on another world other than Earth.
Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, was reported to show tectonic activity in images taken by the "Huygens" probe, which landed on Titan on January 14, 2005.
On Earth-sized planets, plate tectonics is more likely if there are oceans of water. However, in 2007, two independent teams of researchers came to opposing conclusions about the likelihood of plate tectonics on larger super-Earths with one team saying that plate tectonics would be episodic or stagnant and the other team saying that plate tectonics is very likely on super-earths even if the planet is dry.
Consideration of plate tectonics is a part of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and extraterrestrial life.
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Philips Videopac+ G7400
The Philips Videopac+ G7400 is a third-generation home video game console released in limited quantities in 1983, and only in Europe; an American release as the Odyssey³ Command Center was planned but never occurred. The G7400 was the successor to the Philips Videopac G7000, the European counterpart to the American Magnavox Odyssey². The system featured excellently tailored background and foreground graphics.
The G7400 could play three types of games: all normal G7000 games, special G7000 games with additional high-res background graphics that would appear only when played on the G7400, and G7400-only games with high-res sprites and backgrounds.
There were plans to release the G7400 in the United States as the Odyssey³ and later as the Odyssey³ Command Center; the system was demonstrated at the 1983 Consumer Electronics Show, and some prototypes have been found. The Odyssey³ was never released, mostly because company executives concluded that it was not technologically advanced enough to compete in the marketplace. Also, the video game crash of 1983 ended all lingering hopes for a release.
The Odyssey³ was to feature a real mechanical keyboard, unlike the membrane keyboard found in the G7000 and Odyssey², as well as a built-in joystick holder for dual-joystick games. Prototypes for a 300 baud modem and a speech synthesizer are known to have been made, and a laserdisc interface was planned to allow even more advanced games. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24946 |
Pong
Pong is a table tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games and created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell based the game's concept on an electronic ping-pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. In response, Magnavox later sued Atari for patent infringement. Bushnell and Atari co-founder Ted Dabney were surprised by the quality of Alcorn's work and decided to manufacture the game.
"Pong" was the first commercially successful video game, and it helped to establish the video game industry along with the Magnavox Odyssey. Soon after its release, several companies began producing games that closely mimicked its gameplay. Eventually, Atari's competitors released new types of video games that deviated from "Pong"'s original format to varying degrees, and this, in turn, led Atari to encourage its staff to move beyond "Pong", as well and to produce more innovative games themselves.
Atari has released several sequels to "Pong" that built upon the original's gameplay by adding new features. During the 1975 Christmas season, Atari released a home version of "Pong" exclusively through Sears retail stores. The home version was also a commercial success and led to numerous clones. The game has been remade on numerous home and portable platforms following its release. "Pong" is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., due to its cultural impact.
"Pong" is a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis. The player controls an in-game paddle by moving it vertically across the left or right side of the screen. They can compete against another player controlling a second paddle on the opposing side. Players use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth. The goal is for each player to reach eleven points before the opponent; points are earned when one fails to return the ball to the other.
"Pong" was the first game developed by Atari. After producing "Computer Space", Bushnell decided to form a company to produce more games by licensing ideas to other companies. The first contract was with Bally Manufacturing Corporation for a driving game. Soon after the founding, Bushnell hired Allan Alcorn because of his experience with electrical engineering and computer science; Bushnell and Dabney also had previously worked with him at Ampex. Prior to working at Atari, Alcorn had no experience with video games. To acclimate Alcorn to creating games, Bushnell gave him a project secretly meant to be a warm-up exercise. Bushnell told Alcorn that he had a contract with General Electric for a product, and asked Alcorn to create a simple game with one moving spot, two paddles, and digits for score keeping. In 2011, Bushnell stated that the game was inspired by previous versions of electronic tennis he had played before; Bushnell played a version on a PDP-1 computer in 1964 while attending college. However, Alcorn has claimed it was in direct response to Bushnell's viewing of the Magnavox Odyssey's Tennis game. In May 1972, Bushnell had visited the Magnavox Profit Caravan in Burlingame, California where he played the Magnavox Odyssey demonstration, specifically the table tennis game. Though he thought the game lacked quality, seeing it prompted Bushnell to assign the project to Alcorn.
Alcorn first examined Bushnell's schematics for "Computer Space", but found them to be illegible. He went on to create his own designs based on his knowledge of transistor–transistor logic and Bushnell's game. Feeling the basic game was too boring, Alcorn added features to give the game more appeal. He divided the paddle into eight segments to change the ball's angle of return. For example, the center segments return the ball a 90° angle in relation to the paddle, while the outer segments return the ball at smaller angles. He also made the ball accelerate the longer it remained in play; missing the ball reset the speed. Another feature was that the in-game paddles were unable to reach the top of the screen. This was caused by a simple circuit that had an inherent defect. Instead of dedicating time to fixing the defect, Alcorn decided it gave the game more difficulty and helped limit the time the game could be played; he imagined two skilled players being able to play forever otherwise.
Three months into development, Bushnell told Alcorn he wanted the game to feature realistic sound effects and a roaring crowd. Dabney wanted the game to "boo" and "hiss" when a player lost a round. Alcorn had limited space available for the necessary electronics and was unaware of how to create such sounds with digital circuits. After inspecting the sync generator, he discovered that it could generate different tones and used those for the game's sound effects. To construct the prototype, Alcorn purchased a $75 Hitachi black-and-white television set from a local store, placed it into a wooden cabinet, and soldered the wires into boards to create the necessary circuitry. The prototype impressed Bushnell and Dabney so much that they felt it could be a profitable product and decided to test its marketability.
In August 1972, Bushnell and Alcorn installed the "Pong" prototype at a local bar, "Andy Capp's Tavern". They selected the bar because of their good working relation with the bar's owner and manager, Bill Gaddis; Atari supplied pinball machines to Gaddis. Bushnell and Alcorn placed the prototype on one of the tables near the other entertainment machines: a jukebox, pinball machines, and "Computer Space". The game was well received the first night and its popularity continued to grow over the next one and a half weeks. Bushnell then went on a business trip to Chicago to demonstrate "Pong" to executives at Bally and Midway Manufacturing; he intended to use "Pong" to fulfill his contract with Bally, rather than the driving game. A few days later, the prototype began exhibiting technical issues and Gaddis contacted Alcorn to fix it. Upon inspecting the machine, Alcorn discovered that the problem was the coin mechanism was overflowing with quarters.
After hearing about the game's success, Bushnell decided there would be more profit for Atari to manufacture the game rather than license it, but the interest of Bally and Midway had already been piqued. Bushnell decided to inform each of the two groups that the other was uninterested—Bushnell told the Bally executives that the Midway executives did not want it and vice versa—to preserve the relationships for future dealings. Upon hearing Bushnell's comment, the two groups declined his offer. Bushnell had difficulty finding financial backing for "Pong"; banks viewed it as a variant of pinball, which at the time the general public associated with the Mafia. Atari eventually obtained a line of credit from Wells Fargo that it used to expand its facilities to house an assembly line. The company announced "Pong" on 29 November 1972. Management sought assembly workers at the local unemployment office, but was unable to keep up with demand. The first arcade cabinets produced were assembled very slowly, about ten machines a day, many of which failed quality testing. Atari eventually streamlined the process and began producing the game in greater quantities. By 1973, they began shipping "Pong" to other countries with the aid of foreign partners.
After the success of "Pong", Bushnell pushed his employees to create new products. In 1974, Atari engineer Harold Lee proposed a home version of "Pong" that would connect to a television: "Home Pong". The system began development under the codename "Darlene", named after an employee at Atari. Alcorn worked with Lee to develop the designs and prototype and based them on the same digital technology used in their arcade games. The two worked in shifts to save time and money; Lee worked on the design's logic during the day, while Alcorn debugged the designs in the evenings. After the designs were approved, fellow Atari engineer Bob Brown assisted Alcorn and Lee in building a prototype. The prototype consisted of a device attached to a wooden pedestal containing over a hundred wires, which would eventually be replaced with a single chip designed by Alcorn and Lee; the chip had yet to be tested and built before the prototype was constructed. The chip was finished in the latter half of 1974, and was, at the time, the highest-performing chip used in a consumer product.
Bushnell and Gene Lipkin, Atari's vice-president of sales, approached toy and electronic retailers to sell "Home Pong", but were rejected. Retailers felt the product was too expensive and would not interest consumers. Atari contacted the Sears Sporting Goods department after noticing a Magnavox Odyssey advertisement in the sporting goods section of its catalog. Atari staff discussed the game with a representative, Tom Quinn, who expressed enthusiasm and offered the company an exclusive deal. Believing they could find more favorable terms elsewhere, Atari's executives declined and continued to pursue toy retailers. In January 1975, Atari staff set up a "Home Pong" booth at the American Toy Fair (a trade fair) in New York City, but was unsuccessful in soliciting orders due to high price of the unit.
While at the show, they met Quinn again, and, a few days later, set up a meeting with him to obtain a sales order. In order to gain approval from the Sporting Goods department, Quinn suggested Atari demonstrate the game to executives in Chicago. Alcorn and Lipkin traveled to the Sears Tower and, despite a technical complication in connection with an antenna on top of the building which broadcast on the same channel as the game, obtained approval. Bushnell told Quinn he could produce 75,000 units in time for the Christmas season; however, Quinn requested double the amount. Though Bushnell knew Atari lacked the capacity to manufacture 150,000 units, he agreed. Atari acquired a new factory through funding obtained by venture capitalist Don Valentine. Supervised by Jimm Tubb, the factory fulfilled the Sears order. The first units manufactured were branded with Sears' "Tele-Games" name. Atari later released a version under its own brand in 1976.
The success of "Pong" attracted the attention of Ralph Baer, the inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey, and his employer, Sanders Associates. Sanders had an agreement with Magnavox to handle the Odyssey's sublicensing, which included dealing with infringement on its exclusive rights. However, Magnavox had not pursued legal action against Atari and numerous other companies that released "Pong" clones. Sanders continued to apply pressure, and in April 1974 Magnavox filed suit against Atari, Allied Leisure, Bally Midway and Chicago Dynamics. Magnavox argued that Atari had infringed on Baer's patents and his concept of electronic ping-pong based on detailed records Sanders kept of the Odyssey's design process dating back to 1966. Other documents included depositions from witnesses and a signed guest book that demonstrated Bushnell had played the Odyssey's table tennis game prior to releasing "Pong". In response to claims that he saw the Odyssey, Bushnell later stated that, "The fact is that I absolutely did see the Odyssey game and I didn't think it was very clever."
After considering his options, Bushnell decided to settle with Magnavox out of court. Bushnell's lawyer felt they could win; however, he estimated legal costs of US$1.5 million, which would have exceeded Atari's funds. Magnavox offered Atari an agreement to become a licensee for US$700,000. Other companies producing ""Pong" clones"—Atari's competitors—would have to pay royalties. In addition, Magnavox would obtain the rights to Atari products developed over the next year. Magnavox continued to pursue legal action against the other companies, and proceedings began shortly after Atari's settlement in June 1976. The first case took place at the district court in Chicago, with Judge John Grady presiding. To avoid Magnavox obtaining rights to its products, Atari decided to delay the release of its products for a year, and withheld information from Magnavox's attorneys during visits to Atari facilities.
The "Pong" arcade games manufactured by Atari were a great success. The prototype was well received by Andy Capp's Tavern patrons; people came to the bar solely to play the game. Following its release, "Pong" consistently earned four times more revenue than other coin-operated machines. Bushnell estimated that the game earned US$35–40 per day, which he described as nothing he'd ever seen before in the coin-operated entertainment industry at the time. The game's earning power resulted in an increase in the number of orders Atari received. This provided Atari with a steady source of income; the company sold the machines at three times the cost of production. By 1973, the company had filled 2,500 orders, and, at the end of 1974, sold more than 8,000 units. The arcade cabinets have since become collector's items with the cocktail-table version being the rarest. Soon after the game's successful testing at Andy Capp's Tavern, other companies began visiting the bar to inspect it. Similar games appeared on the market three months later, produced by companies like Ramtek and Nutting Associates. Atari could do little against the competitors as they had not initially filed for patents on the solid state technology used in the game. When the company did file for patents, complications delayed the process. As a result, the market consisted primarily of ""Pong" clones"; author Steven Kent estimated that Atari had produced less than a third of the machines. Bushnell referred to the competitors as "Jackals" because he felt they had an unfair advantage. His solution to competing against them was to produce more innovative games and concepts.
"Home Pong" was an instant success following its limited 1975 release through Sears; around 150,000 units were sold that holiday season. The game became Sears' most successful product at the time, which earned Atari a Sears Quality Excellence Award. Similar to the arcade version, several companies released clones to capitalize on the home console's success, many of which continued to produce new consoles and video games. Magnavox re-released their Odyssey system with simplified hardware and new features, and would later release updated versions. Coleco entered the video game market with their Telstar console; it features three "Pong" variants and was also succeeded by newer models. Nintendo released the Color TV Game 6 in 1977, which plays six variations of electronic tennis. The next year, it was followed by an updated version, the Color TV Game 15, which features fifteen variations. The systems were Nintendo's entry into the home video game market and the first to produce themselves—they had previously licensed the Magnavox Odyssey. The dedicated "Pong" consoles and the numerous clones have since become varying levels of rare; Atari's "Pong" consoles are common, while APF Electronics' TV Fun consoles are moderately rare. Prices among collectors, however, vary with rarity; the Sears Tele-Games versions are often cheaper than those with the Atari brand.
Several publications consider "Pong" the game that launched the video game industry as a lucrative enterprise. Video game author David Ellis sees the game as the cornerstone of the video game industry's success, and called the arcade game "one of the most historically significant" titles. Kent attributes the "arcade phenomenon" to "Pong" and Atari's games that followed it, and considers the release of the home version the successful beginning of home video game consoles. Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton of Gamasutra referred to the game's release as the start of a new entertainment medium, and commented that its simple, intuitive gameplay made it a success. In 1996 "Next Generation" named it one of the "Top 100 Games of All Time", recounting that ""Next Generation" staff ignor[ed] hundreds of thousands of dollars of 32-bit software to play "Pong" for hours when the Genesis version was released." In 1999, "Next Generation" listed "Pong" as number 34 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Despite, or perhaps because of, its simplicity, "Pong" is the ultimate two-player challenge - a test of reaction times and very simple strategy stripped down to its barest essentials." "Entertainment Weekly" named "Pong" one of the top ten games for the Atari 2600 in 2013. Many of the companies that produced their own versions of "Pong" eventually became well known within the industry. Nintendo entered the video game market with clones of "Home Pong". The revenue generated from them—each system sold over a million units—helped the company survive a difficult financial time, and spurred them to pursue video games further. After seeing the success of "Pong", Konami decided to break into the arcade game market and released its first title, "Maze". Its moderate success drove the company to develop more titles.
Bushnell felt that "Pong" was especially significant in its role as a social lubricant, since it was multiplayer-only and did not require each player to use more than one hand: "It was very common to have a girl with a quarter in hand pull a guy off a bar stool and say, 'I'd like to play "Pong" and there's nobody to play.' It was a way you could play games, you were sitting shoulder to shoulder, you could talk, you could laugh, you could challenge each other ... As you became better friends, you could put down your beer and hug. You could put your arm around the person. You could play left-handed if you so desired. In fact, there are a lot of people who have come up to me over the years and said, 'I met my wife playing "Pong",' and that's kind of a nice thing to have achieved."
Bushnell felt the best way to compete against imitators was to create better products, leading Atari to produce sequels in the years following the original's release: "Pong Doubles", "Super Pong", "Ultra Pong", "Quadrapong", and "Pin-Pong". The sequels feature similar graphics, but include new gameplay elements; for example, "Pong Doubles" allows four players to compete in pairs, while "Quadrapong"—also released by Kee Games as "Elimination"—has them compete against each other in a four way field. Bushnell also conceptualized a free-to-play version of "Pong" to entertain children in a Doctor's office. He initially titled it "Snoopy Pong" and fashioned the cabinet after Snoopy's doghouse with the character on top, but retitled it to "Puppy Pong" and altered Snoopy to a generic dog to avoid legal action. Bushnell later used the game in his chain of Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants. In 1976, Atari released "Breakout", a single-player variation of "Pong" where the object of the game is to remove bricks from a wall by hitting them with a ball. Like "Pong", "Breakout" was followed by numerous clones that copied the gameplay, such as "Arkanoid", "Alleyway", and "Break 'Em All".
Atari remade the game on numerous platforms. In 1977, "Pong" and several variants of the game were featured in "Video Olympics", one of the original release titles for the Atari 2600. "Pong" has also been included in several Atari compilations on platforms including the Sega Genesis, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and personal computer. Through an agreement with Atari, Bally Gaming and Systems developed a slot machine version of the game. The Atari published "TD Overdrive" includes "Pong" as an extra game which is played during the loading screen. A 3D platform game with puzzle and shooter elements was reportedly in development by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar in September 1995 under the title "Pong 2000", as part of their series of arcade game updates for the system and was set to have an original storyline for it, but it was never released. In 1999, the game was for home computers and the PlayStation with 3D graphics and power-ups. In 2012, Atari celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Pong" by releasing "Pong World".
The game is featured in episodes of television series including "That '70s Show", "King of the Hill" and "Saturday Night Live". In 2006, an American Express commercial featured Andy Roddick in a tennis match against the white, in-game paddle. Other video games have also referenced and parodied "Pong"; for example "Neuromancer" for the Commodore 64 and "" for the Xbox 360. The concert event Video Games Live has performed audio from "Pong" as part of a special retro "Classic Arcade Medley". Frank Black's song "Whatever Happened to Pong?" on the album "Teenager of the Year" references the game's elements.
Dutch design studio Buro Vormkrijgers created a "Pong"-themed clock as a fun project within their offices. After the studio decided to manufacture it for retail, Atari took legal action in February 2006. The two companies eventually reached an agreement in which Buro Vormkrijgers could produce a limited number under license. In 1999, French artist Pierre Huyghe created an installation titled "Atari Light", in which two people use handheld gaming devices to play "Pong" on an illuminated ceiling. The work was shown at the Venice Biennale in 2001, and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León in 2007. The game was included in the London Barbican Art Gallery's 2002 Game On exhibition meant to showcase the various aspects of video game history, development, and culture. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24947 |
Post office
A post office is a public facility that provides mail services, including accepting of letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may also offer additional services, which vary by country. These include providing and accepting government forms (such as passport applications), processing government services and fees (such as road tax), and postal savings or banking services (such as savings accounts and money orders). The chief administrator of a post office is called a postmaster.
Prior to the advent of postal codes and ZIP codes, postal systems would route items to a specific post office for receipt or delivery. During the nineteenth-century in the United States, this often led to smaller communities being renamed after their post offices, particularly after the Post Office Department began requiring that post office names not be duplicated within a state.
The term "Post-Office" has been in use since the 1650s, shortly after the legalization of private mail services in England in 1635. In early Modern England, post riders mounted couriers were placed ("posted") every few hours along post roads at posting houses, also known as post houses, between major cities ("post towns"). These stables or inns permitted important correspondence to travel without delay. In early America, post offices were also known as "stations". This term and "post house" fell from use as horse and coach service was replaced by railways, aircraft, and automobiles.
Today, the term "Post Office" usually refers to government postal facilities providing customer service. The term "General Post Office" is sometimes used for the national headquarters of a postal service, even if it does not provide customer service within the building. A postal facility that is used exclusively for processing mail is instead known as sorting office or delivery office, which may have a large central area known as a "sorting" or "postal hall". Integrated facilities combining mail processing with railway stations or airports are known as mail exchanges.
Private courier and delivery services often have offices as well, although these are not usually called "post offices," except in the case of Germany, which has fully privatized its national postal system.
There is evidence of corps of royal couriers disseminating the decrees of the Egyptian pharaohs as early as 2,400 BC and the service may greatly precede even that date. Similarly, organized systems of post houses providing swift mounted courier service seems quite ancient, although sources vary as to precisely who initiated the practice. Certainly, by the time of the Persian Empire, a system of Chapar-Khaneh existed along the Royal Road. The 2nd-Century BC Mauryan and Han dynasties established similar systems in India and China. Suetonius credited Augustus with regularizing the Roman network, the "Cursus Publicus". Local officials were obliged to provide couriers who would be responsible for their message's entire course. Locally maintained post houses () privately owned rest houses () were obliged or honored to care for them along their way. Diocletian later established two parallel systems: one providing fresh horses or mules for urgent correspondence and another providing sturdy oxen for bulk shipments. Procopius, though not unbiased, records that this system remained largely intact until it was dismantled in the surviving empire by Justinian in the 6th Century.
The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis family initiated regular mail service from Brussels in the 16th century, directing the Imperial Post of the Holy Roman Empire. The British Postal Museum claims that the oldest functioning post office in the world is on High Street in Sanquhar, Scotland . This post office has functioned continuously since 1712, an era in which horses and stage coaches were used to carry mail.
In parts of Europe, special postal censorship offices existed to intercept and censor mail. In France, such offices were known as cabinets noirs.
In many jurisdictions, mail boxes and post office boxes have long been in widespread use for drop-off and pickup (respectively) of mail and small packages outside post offices or when offices are closed. Deutsche Post introduced the Pack-Station for package delivery (both drop-off and pickup) in 2001. In the 2000s, the United States Postal Service began to install Automated Postal Centers (APCs) in many locations both in post offices (for when they are closed or busy) and in retail locations. APCs can print postage and accept mail and small packages. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24949 |
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (officially abbreviated as PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 23, 2007 in Europe and Australia. The PlayStation 3 competed primarily against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.
The console was first officially announced at E3 2005, and was released at the end of 2006. It was the first console to use Blu-ray Disc as its primary storage medium. The console was the first PlayStation to integrate social gaming services, including the PlayStation Network, as well as the first to be controllable from a handheld console, through its remote connectivity with PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita. In September 2009, the "Slim" model of the PlayStation 3 was released. It no longer provided the hardware ability to run PS2 games. It was lighter and thinner than the original version, and featured a redesigned logo and marketing design, as well as a minor start-up change in software. A "Super Slim" variation was then released in late 2012, further refining and redesigning the console.
During its early years, the system was negatively received, due to its high price ($599 for a 60 gigabyte model, $499 for a 20 GB model), a complex processor architecture, and lack of quality games but was praised for its Blu-ray capabilities and "untapped potential". The reception would get more positive over time. The system had a slow start in the market but managed to recover, particularly after the introduction of the "Slim" model. Its successor, the PlayStation 4, was released later in November 2013. On September 29, 2015, Sony confirmed that sales of the PlayStation 3 were to be discontinued in New Zealand, but the system remained in production in other markets. Shipments of new units to Europe and Australia ended in March 2016, followed by North America which ended in October 2016. Heading into 2017, Japan was the last territory where new units were still being produced until May 29, 2017, when Sony confirmed the PlayStation 3 was discontinued in Japan.
The PlayStation 3 began development in 2001 when Ken Kutaragi, then the President of Sony Computer Entertainment, announced that Sony, Toshiba, and IBM would collaborate on developing the Cell microprocessor. At the time, Shuhei Yoshida led a group of programmers within this hardware team to explore next-generation game creation. By early 2005, focus within Sony shifted towards developing PS3 launch titles. Sony officially unveiled PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16, 2005, at E3 2005, along with a boomerang-shaped prototype design of the Sixaxis controller. A functional version of the system was not present there,
nor at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2005, although demonstrations (such as "") were held at both events on software development kits and comparable personal computer hardware. Video footage based on the predicted PlayStation 3 specifications was also shown (notably a "Final Fantasy VII" tech demo).
The initial prototype shown in May 2005 featured two HDMI ports, three Ethernet ports and six USB ports; however, when the system was shown again a year later at E3 2006, these were reduced to one HDMI port, one Ethernet port and four USB ports, presumably to cut costs. Two hardware configurations were also announced for the console: a 20 GB model and a 60 GB model, priced at US$499 (€499) and US$599 (€599), respectively. The 60 GB model was to be the only configuration to feature an HDMI port, Wi-Fi internet, flash card readers and a chrome trim with the logo in silver. Both models were announced for a simultaneous worldwide release: November 11, 2006, for Japan and November 17, 2006, for North America and Europe.
On September 6, 2006, Sony announced that PAL region PlayStation 3 launch would be delayed until March 2007, because of a shortage of materials used in the Blu-ray drive. At the Tokyo Game Show on September 22, 2006, Sony announced that it would include an HDMI port on the 20 GB system, but a chrome trim, flash card readers, silver logo and Wi-Fi would not be included. Also, the launch price of the Japanese 20 GB model was reduced by over 20%, and the 60 GB model was announced for an open pricing scheme in Japan. During the event, Sony showed 27 playable PS3 games running on final hardware.
The PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11, 2006, at 07:00. According to Media Create, 81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan. Soon after its release in Japan, PS3 was released in North America on November 17, 2006. Reports of violence surrounded the release of the PS3. A customer was shot, campers were robbed at gunpoint, customers were shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns, and 60 campers fought over 10 systems.
The console was originally planned for a global release through November, but at the start of September the release in Europe and the rest of the world was delayed until March. With it being a somewhat last-minute delay, some companies had taken deposits for pre-orders, at which Sony informed customers that they were eligible for full refunds or could continue the pre-order. On January 24, 2007, Sony announced that PlayStation 3 would go on sale on March 23, 2007, in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand. The system sold about 600,000 units in its first two days. On March 7, 2007, the 60 GB PlayStation 3 launched in Singapore with a price of S$799. The console was launched in South Korea on June 16, 2007, as a single version equipped with an 80 GB hard drive and IPTV.
Following speculation that Sony was working on a 'slim' model, Sony officially announced the PS3 CECH-2000 model on August 18, 2009, at the Sony Gamescom press conference. New features included a slimmer form factor, decreased power consumption, and a quieter cooling system. It was released in major territories by September 2009. At the same time, a new logo was introduced for the console to replace the previous ""Spider-Man"" wordmarks (named due to their use of the same font as the logos of Sony's then-current "Spider-Man" films), with a new "PS3" wordmark evoking the design of the PlayStation 2 wordmark replacing the capitalized PlayStation 3 lettering.
In September 2012 at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced that a new, slimmer PS3 redesign (CECH-4000) was due for release in late 2012 and that it would be available with either a 250 GB or 500 GB hard drive. Three versions of the "Super Slim" model were revealed: one with a 500 GB hard drive, a second with a 250 GB hard drive which is not available in PAL regions, and a third with a 12 GB flash storage that was available in PAL regions, and in Canada. The storage of 12 GB model is upgradable with an official standalone 250 GB hard drive. A vertical stand was also released for the model. In the United Kingdom, the 500 GB model was released on September 28, 2012; and the 12 GB model was released on October 12, 2012. In the United States, the PS3 Super Slim was first released as a bundled console. The 250 GB model was bundled with the "Game of the Year" edition of "" and released on September 25, 2012; and the 500 GB model was bundled with "Assassin's Creed III" and released on October 30, 2012. In Japan, the black colored Super Slim model was released on October 4, 2012; and the white colored Super Slim model was released on November 22, 2012. The Super Slim model is 20 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the Slim model and features a manual sliding disc cover instead of a motorized slot-loading disc cover of the Slim model. The white colored Super Slim model was released in the United States on January 27, 2013 as part of the "Instant Game Collection Bundle". The "Garnet Red" and "Azurite Blue" colored models were launched in Japan on February 28, 2013. The "Garnet Red" version was released in North America on March 12, 2013 as part of the "" bundle with 500 GB storage and contained "God of War: Ascension" as well as the "God of War Saga". The "Azurite Blue" model was released on October 8, 2013 as a GameStop exclusive with 250GB storage.
PlayStation 3 launched in North America with 14 titles, with another three being released before the end of 2006.After the first week of sales it was confirmed that "" from Insomniac Games was the top-selling launch game in North America. The game was heavily praised by numerous video game websites, including GameSpot and IGN, both of whom awarded it their PlayStation 3 Game of the Year award for 2006. Some titles missed the launch window and were delayed until early 2007, such as "", "F.E.A.R." and "Sonic the Hedgehog". During the Japanese launch, "Ridge Racer 7" was the top-selling game, while "" also fared well in sales, both of which were offerings from Namco Bandai Games. PlayStation 3 launched in Europe with 24 titles, including ones that were not offered in North American and Japanese launches, such as "Formula One Championship Edition", "MotorStorm" and "Virtua Fighter 5". "" and "MotorStorm" were the most successful titles of 2007, and both games subsequently received sequels in the form of "Resistance 2" and "".
At E3 2007, Sony was able to show a number of their upcoming video games for PlayStation 3, including "Heavenly Sword", "Lair", "", "Warhawk" and ""; all of which were released in the third and fourth quarters of 2007. It also showed off a number of titles that were set for release in 2008 and 2009; most notably "Killzone 2", "Infamous", "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue", "LittleBigPlanet" and "". A number of third-party exclusives were also shown, including the highly anticipated "", alongside other high-profile third-party titles such as "Grand Theft Auto IV", "", "Assassin's Creed", "Devil May Cry 4" and "Resident Evil 5". Two other important titles for PlayStation 3, "Final Fantasy XIII" and "Final Fantasy Versus XIII", were shown at TGS 2007 in order to appease the Japanese market.
Sony have since launched their budget range of PlayStation 3 titles, known as the Greatest Hits range in North America, the Platinum range in Europe and Australia and The Best range in Japan. Among the titles available in the budget range include "", "MotorStorm", "", "", "Call Of Duty 3", "Assassin's Creed" and "Ninja Gaiden Sigma". As of October 2009 "", "", "Devil May Cry 4", "Army of Two", "" and "" have also joined the list.
, there have been 595 million games sold for PlayStation 3. The best selling PS3 games are "Grand Theft Auto V, Gran Turismo 5, The Last of Us, " and "."
The last game released on the PlayStation 3 was "FIFA 19", on September 28, 2018.
In December 2008, the CTO of Blitz Games announced that it would bring stereoscopic 3D gaming and movie viewing to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with its own technology. This was first demonstrated publicly on PS3 using Sony's own technology in January 2009 at the Consumer Electronics Show. Journalists were shown "Wipeout HD" and "Gran Turismo 5 Prologue" in 3D as a demonstration of how the technology might work if it is implemented in the future. Firmware update 3.30 officially allowed PS3 titles to be played in 3D, requiring a compatible display for use. System software update 3.50 prepared it for 3D films. While the game itself must be programmed to take advantage of the 3D technology, titles may be patched to add in the functionality retroactively. Titles with such patches include "Wipeout HD", "Pain", and "Super Stardust HD".
PlayStation 3 is convex on its left side, with the PlayStation logo upright, when vertical (the top side is convex when horizontal) and has a glossy black finish. PlayStation designer Teiyu Goto stated that the Spider-Man-font-inspired logo "was one of the first elements SCEI president Ken Kutaragi decided on and the logo may have been the motivating force behind the shape of PS3".
On March 22, 2007, SCE and Stanford University released the Folding@home software for PlayStation 3. This program allows PS3 owners to lend the computing power of their consoles to help study the process of protein folding for disease research.
PS3's hardware has also been used to build supercomputers for high-performance computing. Fixstars Solutions sells a version of Yellow Dog Linux for PlayStation 3 (originally sold by Terra Soft Solutions). RapidMind produced a stream programming package for PS3, but were acquired by Intel in 2009. Also, on January 3, 2007, Dr. Frank Mueller, Associate Professor of Computer Science at NCSU, clustered 8 PS3s. Mueller commented that the 256 MB of system RAM is a limitation for this particular application and is considering attempting to retrofit more RAM. Software includes: Fedora Core 5 Linux ppc64, MPICH2, OpenMP v 2.5, GNU Compiler Collection and CellSDK 1.1. As a more cost-effective alternative to conventional supercomputers, the U.S. military has purchased clusters of PS3 units for research purposes. Retail PS3 Slim units cannot be used for supercomputing, because PS3 Slim lacks the ability to boot into a third-party OS.
In December 2008, a group of hackers used a cluster of 200 PlayStation 3 computers to crack SSL authentication.
In November 2010 the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) created a powerful supercomputer by connecting together 1,760 Sony PS3s which include 168 separate graphical processing units and 84 coordinating servers in a parallel array capable of performing 500 trillion floating-point operations per second (500 TFLOPS). As built the Condor Cluster was the 33rd largest supercomputer in the world and would be used to analyze high definition satellite imagery.
PlayStation 3 features a slot-loading 2x speed Blu-ray Disc drive for games, Blu-ray movies, DVDs, and CDs. It was originally available with hard drives of 20 and 60 GB (20 GB model was not available in PAL regions) but various sizes up to 500 GB have been made available since then (see: model comparison). All PS3 models have user-upgradeable 2.5" SATA hard drives.
PlayStation 3 uses the Cell microprocessor, designed by Sony, Toshiba and IBM, as its CPU, which is made up of one 3.2 GHz PowerPC-based "Power Processing Element" (PPE) and eight Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs).
To increase yields and reduce costs, the chip has 8 SPEs. After manufacture, every chip is tested and a defective SPE disconnected using laser trimming, leaving 7 SPEs. This means that otherwise discarded processors can be used, reducing costs and waste. Only six of the seven SPEs are accessible to developers as the seventh SPE is reserved by the console's operating system. Graphics processing is handled by the Nvidia RSX 'Reality Synthesizer', which can produce resolutions from 480i/576i SD up to 1080p HD. PlayStation 3 has 256 MB of XDR DRAM main memory and 256 MB of GDDR3 video memory for the RSX.
The system has Bluetooth 2.0 (with support for up to seven Bluetooth devices), Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 and HDMI 1.4 built in. Wi-Fi networking is also built-in on all but the 20 GB models, while a flash card reader (compatible with Memory Stick, SD/MMC and CompactFlash/Microdrive media) is built-in on 60 GB and CECHExx 80 GB models.
PlayStation 3 has been produced in various models: the original, the Slim, and the Super Slim. Successive models have added or removed various features, reduced the console's initial purchase price and weight, and increased storage capacity (with exceptions).
Numerous accessories for the console have been developed. These accessories include the wireless Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers, the Logitech Driving Force GT, the Logitech Cordless Precision Controller, the BD Remote, the PlayStation Eye camera, and the PlayTV DVB-T tuner/digital video recorder accessory.
At Sony's E3 press conference in 2006, the then standard wireless Sixaxis controller was announced. The controller was based on the same basic design as the PlayStation 2's DualShock 2 controller but was wireless, lacked vibration capabilities, had a built-in accelerometer (that could detect motion in three directional and three rotational axes; six in total, hence the name Sixaxis) and had a few cosmetic tweaks.
At its press conference at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced DualShock 3 (trademarked DUALSHOCK 3), a PlayStation 3 controller with the same function and design as Sixaxis, but with vibration capability included. Hands-on accounts describe the controller as being noticeably heavier than the standard Sixaxis controller and capable of vibration forces comparable to DualShock 2. It was released in Japan on November 11, 2007; in North America on April 5, 2008; in Australia on April 24, 2008; in New Zealand on May 9, 2008; in mainland Europe on July 2, 2008, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on July 4, 2008.
During E3 2009, Sony unveiled plans to release a motion controller later to be named PlayStation Move at GDC 2010. It was released on September 15, 2010, in Europe; September 19, 2010, in North America and October 21, 2010, in Japan.
On October 13, 2010, Sony announced an official surround sound system for PS3 through the official PlayStation YouTube channel.
The PlayStation 3 can also use DualShock 4 controller initially via USB cable, but Firmware update 4.60 enabled wireless connection.
According to Ars Technica, the number of PlayStation 3 consoles that have experienced failure is well within the normal failure rates in the consumer electronics industry; a 2009 study by SquareTrade, a warranty provider, found a two-year failure rate of 10% for PlayStation 3s.
In September 2009, BBC's "Watchdog" television program aired a report investigating the issue, calling it the "yellow light of death" (YLOD). Among the consoles that experienced the failure, they found that it usually occurred 18–24 months after purchase, while the standard Sony warranty covers one year after purchase. After this time period, PlayStation 3 owners can pay Sony a fixed fee for a refurbished console.
Sony claimed that, according to its statistics of returned consoles, approximately 0.5% of consoles were reported as showing the YLOD. In response to the televised report, Sony issued a document criticizing the program's accuracy and conclusions; specifically that the faults were evidence of a manufacturing defect. The document also complained that the report had been inappropriate in tone and might damage Sony's brand name.
Sony has included the ability for the operating system, referred to as "System Software", to be updated. The updates can be acquired in several ways:
The original PlayStation 3 also included the ability to install other operating systems, such as Linux. This was not included in the newer slim models and was removed from all older PlayStation 3 consoles with the release of firmware update 3.21 in April 2010. The functionality is now only available to users of original consoles who choose not to update their system software beyond version 3.15 or who have installed third-party, modified and unofficial versions of the firmware instead.
The standard PlayStation 3 version of the XrossMediaBar (pronounced Cross Media Bar, or abbreviated XMB) includes nine categories of options. These are: "Users", "Settings", "Photo", "Music", "Video", "TV/Video Services", "Game", "Network", "PlayStation Network" and "Friends" (similar to the PlayStation Portable media bar). The"TV/Video Services" category is for services like Netflix and/or if PlayTV or torne is installed; the first category in this section is "My Channels", which lets users download various streaming services, including Sony's own streaming services Crackle and PlayStation Vue. By default, the "What's New" section of "PlayStation Network" is displayed when the system starts up. PS3 includes the ability to store various master and secondary user profiles, manage and explore photos with or without a musical slide show, play music and copy audio CD tracks to an attached data storage device, play movies and video files from the hard disk drive, an optical disc (Blu-ray Disc or DVD-Video) or an optional USB mass storage or Flash card, compatibility for a USB keyboard and mouse and a web browser supporting compatible-file download function. Additionally, UPnP media will appear in the respective audio/video/photo categories if a compatible media server or DLNA server is detected on the local network. The Friends menu allows mail with emoticon and attached picture features and video chat which requires an optional PlayStation Eye or EyeToy webcam. The Network menu allows online shopping through the PlayStation Store and connectivity to PlayStation Portable via Remote Play.
PlayStation 3 console protects certain types of data and uses digital rights management to limit the data's use. Purchased games and content from the PlayStation Network store are governed by PlayStation's Network Digital Rights Management (NDRM). The NDRM allows users to access the data from up to 2 different PlayStation 3's that have been activated using a user's PlayStation Network ID. PlayStation 3 also limits the transfer of copy protected videos downloaded from its store to other machines and states that copy protected video "may not restore correctly" following certain actions after making a backup such as downloading a new copy protected movie.
Photo Gallery is an optional application to view, create and group photos from PS3, which is installed separately from the system software at 105 MB. It was introduced in system software version 2.60 and provides a range of tools for sorting through and displaying the system's pictures. The key feature of this application is that it can organize photos into groups according to various criteria. Notable categorizations are colors, ages, or facial expressions of the people in the photos. Slideshows can be viewed with the application, along with music and playlists. The software was updated with the release of system software version 3.40 allowing users to upload and browse photos on Facebook and Picasa.
PlayMemories is an optional stereoscopic 3D (and also standard) photo viewing application, which is installed from the PlayStation Store at 956 MB. The application is dedicated specifically to 3D photos and features the ability to zoom into 3D environments and change the angle and perspective of panoramas. It requires system software 3.40 or higher; 3D photos; a 3D HDTV, and an HDMI cable for the 3D images to be viewed properly.
A new application was released as part of system software version 3.40 which allows users to edit videos on PlayStation 3 and upload them to the Internet. The software features basic video editing tools including the ability to cut videos and add music and captions. Videos can then be rendered and uploaded to video sharing websites such as Facebook and YouTube.
In addition to the video service provided by the Sony Entertainment Network, the PlayStation 3 console has access to a variety of third party video services, dependent on region:
Since June 2009, VidZone has offered a free music video streaming service in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In October 2009, Sony Computer Entertainment and Netflix announced that the Netflix streaming service would also be available on PlayStation 3 in the United States. A paid Netflix subscription was required for the service. The service became available in November 2009. Initially users had to use a free Blu-ray disc to access the service; however, in October 2010 the requirement to use a disc to gain access was removed.
In April 2010, support for MLB.tv was added, allowing MLB.tv subscribers to watch regular season games live in HD and access new interactive features designed exclusively for PSN.
In November 2010, access to the video and social networking site MUBI was enabled for European, New Zealand, and Australian users; the service integrates elements of social networking with rental or subscription video streaming, allowing users to watch and discuss films with other users. Also in November 2010 the video rental service VUDU, NHL GameCenter Live, and subscription service Hulu Plus launched on PlayStation 3 in the United States.
In August 2011, Sony, in partnership with DirecTV, added NFL Sunday Ticket. Then in October 2011, Best Buy launched an app for its CinemaNow service. In April 2012, Amazon.com launched an Amazon Video app, accessible to Amazon Prime subscribers (in the US).
Upon reviewing the PlayStation and Netflix collaboration, Pocket-Lint said "We've used the Netflix app on Xbox too and, as good as it is, we think the PS3 version might have the edge here." and stated that having Netflix and LoveFilm on PlayStation is "mind-blowingly good."
In July 2013, YuppTV OTT player launched its branded application on the PS3 computer entertainment system in the United States.
PlayStation 3 initially shipped with the ability to install an alternative operating system alongside the main system software; Linux and other Unix-based operating systems were available. The hardware allowed access to six of the seven "Synergistic Processing Elements" of the Cell microprocessor, but not the RSX 'Reality Synthesizer' graphics chip.
The 'OtherOS' functionality was not present in the updated PS Slim models, and the feature was subsequently removed from previous versions of the PS3 as part of the machine's firmware update version 3.21 which was released on April 1, 2010; Sony cited security concerns as the rationale. The firmware update 3.21 was mandatory for access to the PlayStation Network. The removal caused some controversy; as the update removed officially advertised features from already sold products, and gave rise to several class action lawsuits aimed at making Sony return the feature or provide compensation.
On December 8, 2011, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed the last remaining count of the class action lawsuit (other claims in the suit had previously been dismissed), stating: "As a legal matter, ... plaintiffs have failed to allege facts or articulate a theory on which Sony may be held liable."
, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially reversed the dismissal and have sent the case back to the district court.
On March 1, 2010 (UTC), many of the original "fat" PlayStation 3 models worldwide were experiencing errors related to their internal system clock. The error had many symptoms. Initially, the main problem seemed to be the inability to connect to the PlayStation Network. However, the root cause of the problem was unrelated to the PlayStation Network, since even users who had never been online also had problems playing installed offline games (which queried the system timer as part of startup) and using system themes. At the same time many users noted that the console's clock had gone back to December 31, 1999. The event was nicknamed the ApocalyPS3, a play on the word "apocalypse" and PS3, the abbreviation for the PlayStation 3 console.
The error code displayed was typically 8001050F and affected users were unable to sign in, play games, use dynamic themes and view/sync trophies. The problem only resided within the 1st through to the 3rd generation original PS3 units while the newer "Slim" models were unaffected because of different internal hardware for the clock.
Sony confirmed that there was an error and stated that it was narrowing down the issue and were continuing to work to restore service. By March 2 (UTC), 2010, owners of original PS3 models could connect to PSN successfully and the clock no longer showed December 31, 1999. Sony stated that the affected models incorrectly identified 2010 as a leap year, because of a bug in the BCD method of storing the date. However, for some users, the hardware's operating system clock (mainly updated from the internet and not associated with the internal clock) needed to be updated manually or by re-syncing it via the internet.
On June 29, 2010, Sony released PS3 system software update 3.40, which improved the functionality of the internal clock to properly account for leap years.
PlayStation Portable can connect with PlayStation 3 in many ways, including in-game connectivity. For example, "Formula One Championship Edition", a racing game, was shown at E3 2006 using a PSP as a real-time rear-view mirror. In addition, users are able to download original PlayStation format games from the PlayStation Store, transfer and play them on PSP as well as PS3 itself. It is also possible to use the Remote Play feature to play these and some PlayStation Network games, remotely on PSP over a network or internet connection.
Sony has also demonstrated PSP playing back video content from PlayStation 3 hard disk across an ad hoc wireless network. This feature is referred to as Remote Play located under the browser icon on both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. Remote play has since expanded to allow remote access to PS3 via PSP from any wireless access point in the world.
PlayStation Network is the unified online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service provided by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, announced during the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo. The service is always connected, free, and includes multiplayer support. The network enables online gaming, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home and other services. PlayStation Network uses real currency and PlayStation Network Cards as seen with the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home.
PlayStation Plus (commonly abbreviated "PS+" and occasionally referred to as "PSN Plus") is a premium PlayStation Network subscription service that was officially unveiled at E3 2010 by Jack Tretton, President and CEO of SCEA. Rumors of such service had been in speculation since Kaz Hirai's announcement at TGS 2009 of a possible paid service for PSN but with the current PSN service still available. Launched alongside PS3 firmware 3.40 and PSP firmware 6.30 on June 29, 2010, the paid-for subscription service provides users with enhanced services on the PlayStation Network, on top of the current PSN service which is still available with all of its features. These enhancements include the ability to have demos and game updates download automatically to PlayStation 3. Subscribers also get early or exclusive access to some betas, game demos, premium downloadable content and other PlayStation Store items. North American users also get a free subscription to Qore. Users may choose to purchase either a one-year or a three-month subscription to PlayStation Plus.
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation Portable (PSP) game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games, add-on content, playable demos, themes and game and movie trailers. The service is accessible through an icon on the XMB on PS3 and PSP. The PS3 store can also be accessed on PSP via a Remote Play connection to PS3. The PSP store is also available via the PC application, Media Go. , there have been over 600 million downloads from the PlayStation Store worldwide.
The PlayStation Store is updated with new content each Tuesday in North America, and each Wednesday in PAL regions. In May 2010 this was changed from Thursdays to allow PSP games to be released digitally, closer to the time they are released on UMD.
What's New was announced at Gamescom 2009 and was released on September 1, 2009, with PlayStation 3 system software 3.0. The feature was to replace the existing [Information Board], which displayed news from the PlayStation website associated with the user's region. The concept was developed further into a major PlayStation Network feature, which interacts with the [Status Indicator] to display a ticker of all content, excluding recently played content (currently in North America and Japan only).
The system displays the What's New screen by default instead of the [Games] menu (or [Video] menu, if a movie was inserted) when starting up. What's New has four sections: "Our Pick", "Recently Played", latest information and new content available in PlayStation Store. There are four kinds of content the What's New screen displays and links to, on the sections. "Recently Played" displays the user's recently played games and online services only, whereas, the other sections can contain website links, links to play videos and access to selected sections of the PlayStation Store.
The PlayStation Store icons in the [Game] and [Video] section act similarly to the What's New screen, except that they only display and link to games and videos in the PlayStation Store, respectively.
PlayStation Home was a virtual 3D social networking service for the PlayStation Network. Home allowed users to create a custom avatar, which could be groomed realistically. Users could edit and decorate their personal apartments, avatars, or club houses with free, premium, or won content. Users could shop for new items or win prizes from PS3 games, or Home activities. Users could interact and connect with friends and customize content in a virtual world. Home also acted as a meeting place for users that wanted to play multiplayer video games with others.
A closed beta began in Europe from May 2007 and expanded to other territories soon after. Home was delayed and expanded several times before initially releasing. The Open Beta test was started on December 11, 2008. It remained as a perpetual beta until its closure on March 31, 2015. Home was available directly from the PlayStation 3 XrossMediaBar. Membership was free, but required a PSN account.
Home featured places to meet and interact, dedicated game spaces, developer spaces, company spaces, and events. The service underwent a weekly maintenance and frequent updates. At the time of its closure in March 2015, Home had been downloaded by over 41 million users.
Life with PlayStation, released on September 18, 2008 to succeed Folding@home, was retired November 6, 2012. "Life with PlayStation" used virtual globe data to display news and information by city. Along with Folding@home functionality, the application provided access to three other information "channels", the first being the "Live Channel" offering news headlines and weather which were provided by Google News, The Weather Channel, the University of Wisconsin–Madison Space Science and Engineering Center, among other sources. The second channel was the World Heritage channel which offered historical information about historical sites. The third channel was the United Village channel. United Village was designed to share information about communities and cultures worldwide. An update allowed video and photo viewing in the application. The fourth channel was the U.S. exclusive PlayStation Network Game Trailers Channel for direct streaming of game trailers.
On April 20, 2011, Sony shut down the PlayStation Network and Qriocity for a prolonged interval, revealing on April 23 that this was due to "an external intrusion on our system". Sony later revealed that the personal information of 77 million users might have been taken, including: names; addresses; countries; email addresses; birthdates; PSN/Qriocity logins, passwords and handles/PSN online IDs. It also stated that it was possible that users' profile data, including purchase history and billing address, and PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. There was no evidence that any credit card data had been taken, but the possibility could not be ruled out, and Sony advised customers that their credit card data may have been obtained. Additionally, the credit card numbers were encrypted and Sony never collected the three digit CVC or CSC number from the back of the credit cards which is required for authenticating some transactions. In response to the incident, Sony announced a "Welcome Back" program, 30 days free membership of PlayStation Plus for all PSN members, two free downloadable PS3 games, and a free one-year enrollment in an identity theft protection program.
Although its PlayStation predecessors had been very dominant against the competition and were hugely profitable for Sony, PlayStation 3 had an inauspicious start, and Sony chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer initially could not convince investors of a turnaround in its fortunes. The PS3 lacked the unique gameplay of the more affordable Wii which became that generation's most successful console in terms of units sold. Furthermore, PS3 had to compete directly with Xbox 360 which had a market head start, and as a result the platform no longer had exclusive titles that the PS2 enjoyed such as the "Grand Theft Auto" and "Final Fantasy" series (regarding cross-platform games, Xbox 360 versions were generally considered superior in 2006, although by 2008 the PS3 versions had reached parity or surpassed), and it took longer than expected for PS3 to enjoy strong sales and close the gap with Xbox 360. Sony also continued to lose money on each PS3 sold through 2010, although the redesigned "slim" PS3 has cut these losses since then.
PlayStation 3's initial production cost is estimated by iSuppli to have been US$805.85 for the 20 GB model and US$840.35 for the 60 GB model. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24951 |
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the best-paid athlete in the world.
In 1999, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award. That same year, Pelé was elected Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the "Time" list of the . According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in football history scoring 650 goals in 694 League matches. His total of 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendlies, is a Guinness World Record.
Pelé began playing for Santos at age 15 and the Brazil national team at 16. During his international career, he won three FIFA World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970, being the only player ever to do so. Pelé is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. At club level he is Santos' all-time top goalscorer, and led them to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores. Known for connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football, Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world, and his teams toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. Since retiring in 1977, Pelé has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has made many acting and commercial ventures. In 2010, he was named the Honorary President of the New York Cosmos.
Averaging almost a goal per game throughout his career, Pelé was adept at striking the ball with either foot in addition to anticipating his opponents' movements on the field. While predominantly a striker, he could also drop deep and take on a playmaking role, providing assists with his vision and passing ability, and he would also use his dribbling skills to go past opponents. In Brazil, he is hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in football and for his outspoken support of policies that improve the social conditions of the poor. Throughout his career and in his retirement, Pelé received several individual and team awards for his performance in the field, his record-breaking achievements, and legacy in the sport.
Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on 23 October 1940, in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil, the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho (born João Ramos do Nascimento) and Celeste Arantes. He was the elder of two siblings. He was named after the American inventor Thomas Edison. His parents decided to remove the "i" and call him "Edson", but there was a mistake on the birth certificate, leading many documents to show his name as "Edison", not "Edson", as he is called. He was originally nicknamed "Dico" by his family. He received the nickname "Pelé" during his school days, when it is claimed he was given it because of his pronunciation of the name of his favorite player, local Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Bilé, which he misspoke but the more he complained the more it stuck. In his autobiography, Pelé stated he had no idea what the name means, nor did his old friends. Apart from the assertion that the name is derived from that of Bilé, and that it is Hebrew for "miracle" (פֶּ֫לֶא), the word has no known meaning in Portuguese.
Pelé grew up in poverty in Bauru in the state of São Paulo. He earned extra money by working in tea shops as a servant. Taught to play by his father, he could not afford a proper football and usually played with either a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with a string or a grapefruit. He played for several amateur teams in his youth, including "Sete de Setembro", "Canto do Rio", "São Paulinho", and "Amériquinha". Pelé led "Bauru Athletic Club" juniors (coached by Waldemar de Brito) to two São Paulo state youth championships. In his mid-teens, he played for an indoor football team called Radium. Indoor football had just become popular in Bauru when Pelé began playing it. He was part of the first Futebol de Salão (indoor football) competition in the region. Pelé and his team won the first championship and several others.
According to Pelé, indoor football presented difficult challenges; he said it was a lot quicker than football on the grass and that players were required to think faster because everyone is close to each other in the pitch. Pelé accredits indoor football for helping him think better on the spot. In addition, indoor football allowed him to play with adults when he was about 14 years old. In one of the tournaments he participated, he was initially considered too young to play, but eventually went on to end up top scorer with fourteen or fifteen goals. "That gave me a lot of confidence", Pelé said, "I knew then not to be afraid of whatever might come".
In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city located near São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos FC, telling the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world." Pelé impressed Santos coach Lula during his trial at the Estádio Vila Belmiro, and he signed a professional contract with the club in June 1956. Pelé was highly promoted in the local media as a future superstar. He made his senior team debut on 7 September 1956 at the age of 15 against Corinthians Santo Andre and had an impressive performance in a 7–1 victory, scoring the first goal in his prolific career during the match.
When the 1957 season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of 16, became the top scorer in the league. Ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazil national team. After the 1958 and the 1962 World Cup, wealthy European clubs, such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, tried to sign him in vain; in 1958 Inter Milan even managed to get him a regular contract, but Angelo Moratti was forced to tear the contract up at the request of Santos' chairman following a revolt by Santos' Brazilian fans. However, in 1961 the government of Brazil under President Jânio Quadros declared Pelé an "official national treasure" to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.
Pelé won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the Campeonato Paulista; Pelé would finish the tournament as top scorer with 58 goals, a record that stands today. A year later, he would help the team earn their first victory in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo with a 3–0 over Vasco da Gama. However, Santos was unable to retain the Paulista title. In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio-São Paulo tournament after finishing in 8th place. In the 1960 season, Pelé scored 47 goals and helped Santos regain the Campeonato Paulista. The club went on to win the Taça Brasil that same year, beating Bahia in the finals; Pelé finished as top scorer of the tournament with 9 goals. The victory allowed Santos to participate in the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club tournament in the Western hemisphere.
Santos's most successful Copa Libertadores season started in 1962; the team was seeded in Group One alongside Cerro Porteño and Deportivo Municipal Bolivia, winning every match of their group but one (a 1–1 away tie versus Cerro). Santos defeated Universidad Católica in the semi-finals and met defending champions Peñarol in the finals. Pelé scored twice in the playoff match to secure the first title for a Brazilian club. Pelé finished as the second top scorer of the competition with four goals. That same year, Santos would successfully defend the Campeonato Brasileiro (with 37 goals from Pelé) and the Taça Brasil (Pelé scoring four goals in the final series against Botafogo). Santos would also win the 1962 Intercontinental Cup against Benfica. Wearing his number 10 shirt, Pelé produced one of the best performances of his career, scoring a hat-trick in Lisbon as Santos won 5–2.
As the defending champions, Santos qualified automatically to the semi-final stage of the 1963 Copa Libertadores. The "ballet blanco", the nickname given to Santos for Pelé, managed to retain the title after victories over Botafogo and Boca Juniors. Pelé helped Santos overcome a Botafogo team that contained Brazilian legends such as Garrincha and Jairzinho with a last-minute goal in the first leg of the semi-finals which made it 1–1. In the second leg, Pelé scored a hat-trick in the Estádio do Maracanã as Santos won, 0–4, in the second leg. Santos started the final series by winning, 3–2, in the first leg and defeating Boca Juniors 1–2, in "La Bombonera". It was a rare feat in official competitions, with another goal from Pelé. Santos became the first (and to date the only) Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores in Argentine soil. Pelé finished the tournament with 5 goals. Santos lost the Campeonato Paulista after finishing in third place but went on to win the Rio-São Paulo tournament after a 0–3 win over Flamengo in the final, with Pelé scoring one goal. Pelé would also help Santos retain the Intercontinental Cup and the Taça Brasil against Milan and Bahia respectively.
In the 1964 Copa Libertadores, Santos were beaten in both legs of the semi-finals by Independiente. The club won the Campeonato Paulista, with Pelé netting 34 goals. Santos also shared the Rio-São Paulo title with Botafogo and won the Taça Brasil for the fourth consecutive year. In the 1965 Copa Libertadores, Santos reached the semi-finals and met Peñarol in a rematch of the 1962 final. After two matches, a playoff was needed to break the tie. Unlike 1962, Peñarol came out on top and eliminated Santos 2–1. Pelé would, however, finish as the topscorer of the tournament with eight goals. This proved to be the start of a decline as Santos failed to retain the Torneio Rio-São Paulo. In 1966, Pelé and Santos also failed to retain the Taça Brasil as Pelé's goals were not enough to prevent a 9–4 defeat by Cruzeiro (led by Tostão) in the final series. The club did, however, win the Campeonato Paulista in 1967, 1968 and 1969. On 19 November 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal in all competitions, in what was a highly anticipated moment in Brazil. The goal, popularly dubbed "O Milésimo" (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco da Gama, when Pelé scored from a penalty kick, at the Maracanã Stadium.
Pelé states that his most memorable goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rival Clube Atlético Juventus on 2 August 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal. In March 1961, Pelé scored the "gol de placa" (goal worthy of a plaque), against Fluminense at the Maracanã. Pelé received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and ran the length of the field, eluding opposition players with feints, before striking the ball beyond the goalkeeper. A plaque was commissioned with a dedication to "the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã".
In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos. During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals.
After the 1974 season (his 19th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally play for Santos in official competitive matches. Two years later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season. Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé was credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest of the sport in the United States. During his first public appearance in Boston, he was injured by a crowd of fans who had surrounded him and was evacuated on a stretcher. Pelé made his debut for the Cosmos on 15 June 1975 against the Dallas Tornado at Downing Stadium, scoring one goal in a 2–2 draw.
In 1975, one week before the Lebanese Civil War, Pelé played a friendly game for the Lebanese club Nejmeh against a team of Lebanese Premier League stars, scoring two goals which were not included in his official tally. On the day of the game, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match.
Hoping to fuel the same kind of awareness in the Dominican Republic, he and the Cosmos team played in an exhibition match against Haitian team, Violette AC, in the Santo Domingo Olympic Stadium on 3 June 1976, where over 25,000 fans watched him score a winning goal in the last seconds of the match, leading the Cosmos to a 2–1 victory. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship, in his third and final season with the club.
On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. Santos arrived in New York after previously defeating the Seattle Sounders in New Jersey, 2–0. The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match, as well as Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore.
Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracanã. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and nine months, and he remains the youngest goalscorer for his country.
Pelé arrived in Sweden sidelined by a knee injury but on his return from the treatment room, his colleagues stood together and insisted upon his selection. His first match was against the USSR in the third match of the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he gave the assist to Vavá's second goal. He was the youngest player of that tournament, and at the time the youngest ever to play in the World Cup. Against France in the semi-final, Brazil was leading 2–1 at halftime, and then Pelé scored a hat-trick, becoming the youngest in World Cup history to do so.
On 29 June 1958, Pelé became the youngest player to play in a World Cup final match at 17 years and 249 days. He scored two goals in that final as Brazil beat Sweden 5–2 in Stockholm, the capital. His first goal where he flicked the ball over a defender before volleying into the corner of the net, was selected as one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup. Following Pelé's second goal, Swedish player Sigvard Parling would later comment; "When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that Final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding". When the match ended, Pelé passed out on the field, and was revived by Garrincha. He then recovered, and was compelled by the victory to weep as he was being congratulated by his teammates. He finished the tournament with six goals in four matches played, tied for second place, behind record-breaker Just Fontaine, and was named best young player of the tournament.
It was in the 1958 World Cup that Pelé began wearing a jersey with number 10. The event was the result of disorganization: the leaders of the Brazilian Federation did not send the shirt numbers of players and it was up to FIFA to choose the number 10 shirt to Pelé who was a substitute on the occasion. The press proclaimed Pelé the greatest revelation of the 1958 World Cup, and he was also retroactively given the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, behind Didi.
Pelé also played in the South American Championship. In the 1959 competition he was named best player of the tournament and was top scorer with 8 goals, as Brazil came second despite being unbeaten in the tournament. He scored in five of Brazil's six games, including two goals against Chile and a hat-trick against Paraguay.
When the 1962 World Cup started, Pelé was the best rated player in the world. In the first match of the 1962 World Cup in Chile, against Mexico, Pelé assisted the first goal and then scored the second one, after a run past four defenders, to go up 2–0. He injured himself in the next game while attempting a long-range shot against Czechoslovakia. This would keep him out of the rest of the tournament, and forced coach Aymoré Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament. The substitute was Amarildo, who performed well for the rest of the tournament. However, it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title, after beating Czechoslovakia at the final in Santiago.
Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world during the 1966 World Cup in England, and Brazil fielded some world champions like Garrincha, Gilmar and Djalma Santos with the addition of other stars like Jairzinho, Tostão and Gérson, leading to high expectations for them. Brazil was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches. The World Cup was marked, among other things, for brutal fouls on Pelé that left him injured by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders.
Pelé scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria, becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups, but due to his injury, a result of persistent fouling by the Bulgarians, he missed the second game against Hungary. His coach stated that after the first game he felt "every team will take care of him in the same manner". Brazil lost that game and Pelé, although still recovering, was brought back for the last crucial match against Portugal at Goodison Park in Liverpool by the Brazilian coach Vicente Feola. Feola changed the entire defense, including the goalkeeper, while in midfield he returned to the formation of the first match. During the game, Portugal defender João Morais fouled Pelé, but was not sent off by referee George McCabe; a decision retrospectively viewed as being among the worst refereeing errors in World Cup history. Pelé had to stay on the field limping for the rest of the game, since substitutes were not allowed at that time. After this game he vowed he would never again play in the World Cup, a decision he would later change.
Pelé was called to the national team in early 1969, he refused at first, but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals. The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was expected to be Pelé's last. Brazil's squad for the tournament featured major changes in relation to the 1966 squad. Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Valdir Pereira, Djalma Santos and Gilmar had already retired. However, Brazil's 1970 World Cup squad, which included players like Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Carlos Alberto Torres, Tostão and Clodoaldo, is often considered to be the greatest football team in history.
The front five of Jairzinho, Pelé, Gerson, Tostão and Rivelino together created an attacking momentum, with Pelé having a central role in Brazil's way to the final. All of Brazil's matches in the tournament (except the final) were played in Guadalajara, and in the first match against Czechoslovakia, Pelé gave Brazil a 2–1 lead, by controlling Gerson's long pass with his chest and then scoring. In this match Pelé attempted to lob goalkeeper Ivo Viktor from the half-way line, only narrowly missing the Czechoslovak goal. Brazil went on to win the match, 4–1. In the first half of the match against England, Pelé nearly scored with a header that was saved by the England goalkeeper Gordon Banks. In the second half, he controlled a cross from Tostão before flicking the ball to Jairzinho who scored the only goal.
Against Romania, Pelé scored two goals, with Brazil winning by a final score of 3–2. In the quarterfinals against Peru, Brazil won 4–2, with Pelé assisting Tostão for Brazil's third goal. In their semi-final match, Brazil faced Uruguay for the first time since the 1950 World Cup final round match. Jairzinho put Brazil ahead 2–1, and Pelé assisted Rivelino for the 3–1. During that match, Pelé made one of his most famous plays. Tostão passed the ball for Pelé to collect which Uruguay's goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz took notice of and ran off his line to get the ball before Pelé. However, Pelé got there first and fooled Mazurkiewicz with a feint by not touching the ball, causing it to roll to the goalkeepers left, while Pelé went to the goalkeepers right. Pelé ran around the goalkeeper to retrieve the ball and took a shot while turning towards the goal, but he turned in excess as he shot, and the ball drifted just wide of the far post.Brazil played Italy in the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Pelé scored the opening goal with a header after outjumping Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich. Brazil's 100th World Cup goal, Pelé's leap of joy into the arms of teammate Jairzinho in celebrating the goal is regarded as one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history. He then made assists on Brazil's third goal, scored by Jairzinho, and the fourth finished by Carlos Alberto. The last goal of the game is often considered the greatest team goal of all time because it involved all but two of the team's outfield players. The play culminated after Pelé made a blind pass that went into Carlos Alberto's running trajectory. He came running from behind and struck the ball to score. Brazil won the match 4–1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely, and Pelé received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. Burgnich, who marked Pelé during the final, was quoted saying "I told myself before the game, "he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else" – but I was wrong". In terms of his goals and assist throughout the 1970 World Cup, Pelé was directly responsible for 53% of Brazil's goals throughout the tournament.
Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio de Janeiro. With Pelé on the field, the Brazilian team's record was 67 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses. Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pelé and Garrincha.
Pelé has also been known for connecting the phrase "The Beautiful Game" with football. A prolific goalscorer, he was known for his ability to anticipate opponents in the area and finish off chances with an accurate and powerful shot with either foot. Pelé was also a hard-working team-player, and a complete forward, with exceptional vision and intelligence, who was recognised for his precise passing, and ability to link-up with teammates and provide them with assists.
In his early career, he played in a variety of attacking positions. Although he usually operated inside the penalty area as a main striker or centre forward, his wide range of skills also allowed him to play in a more withdrawn role, as an inside forward or second striker, or out wide. In his later career, he took on more of a deeper playmaking role behind the strikers, often functioning as an attacking midfielder. Pelé's unique playing style combined speed, creativity, and technical skill with physical power, stamina, and athleticism. His excellent technique, balance, flair, agility, and dribbling skills enabled him to beat opponents with the ball, and frequently saw him use sudden changes of direction and elaborate feints in order to get past players, such as his trademark move, the "drible da vaca". Another one of his signature moves was the "paradinha", or little stop.
Despite his relatively small stature, 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m), he excelled in the air, due to his heading accuracy, timing, and elevation. Renowned for his bending shots, he was also an accurate free-kick taker, and penalty taker, although he often refrained from taking penalties, stating that he believed it to be a cowardly way to score.
Pelé was also known to be a fair and highly influential player, who stood out for his charismatic leadership and sportsmanship on the pitch. His warm embrace of Bobby Moore following the Brazil vs England game at the 1970 World Cup is viewed as the embodiment of sportsmanship, with "The New York Times" stating the image "captured the respect that two great players had for each other. As they exchanged jerseys, touches and looks, the sportsmanship between them is all in the image. No gloating, no fist-pumping from Pelé. No despair, no defeatism from Bobby Moore." Pelé also earned a reputation for often being a decisive player for his teams, due to his tendency to score crucial goals in important matches.
Among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century, Pelé is one of the most lauded players in the history of football and has been frequently ranked the best player ever. Among his contemporaries, Dutch star Johan Cruyff stated; "Pelé was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic." Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Carlos Alberto Torres opined; "His great secret was improvisation. Those things he did were in one moment. He had an extraordinary perception of the game." Tostão, his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup; "Pelé was the greatest – he was simply flawless. And off the pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pelé." His Brazilian teammate Clodoaldo commented on the adulation he witnessed; "In some countries they wanted to touch him, in some they wanted to kiss him. In others they even kissed the ground he walked on. I thought it was beautiful, just beautiful."
Former Real Madrid and Hungary star Ferenc Puskás stated; "The greatest player in history was Di Stéfano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that." Just Fontaine, French striker and leading scorer at the 1958 World Cup; "When I saw Pelé play, it made me feel I should hang up my boots." England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore commented: "Pelé was the most complete player I've ever seen, he had everything. Two good feet. Magic in the air. Quick. Powerful. Could beat people with skill. Could outrun people. Only five feet and eight inches tall, yet he seemed a giant of an athlete on the pitch. Perfect balance and impossible vision. He was the greatest because he could do anything and everything on a football pitch. I remember Saldanha the coach being asked by a Brazilian journalist who was the best goalkeeper in his squad. He said Pelé. The man could play in any position". Former Manchester United striker and member of England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning team Sir Bobby Charlton stated; "I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player." During the 1970 World Cup, when Manchester United defender Paddy Crerand (who was part of the ITV panel) was asked; "How do you spell Pelé?", he replied with the response; "Easy: G-O-D."
Since retiring, Pelé has continued to be lauded by players, coaches, journalists and others. Brazilian attacking midfielder Zico, who represented Brazil at the 1978, 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup, stated; "This debate about the player of the century is absurd. There's only one possible answer: Pelé. He's the greatest player of all time, and by some distance I might add". French three time Ballon d'Or winner Michel Platini said; "There's Pelé the man, and then Pelé the player. And to play like Pelé is to play like God." Joint FIFA Player of the Century, Argentina's 1986 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Diego Maradona stated; "It's too bad we never got along, but he was an awesome player". Prolific Brazilian striker Romário, winner of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and player of the tournament; "It's only inevitable I look up to Pelé. He's like a God to us". Five-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo said: "Pelé is the greatest player in football history, and there will only be one Pelé", while José Mourinho, two-time UEFA Champions League winning manager, commented; "I think he is football. You have the real special one – Mr. Pelé." Real Madrid honorary president and former player, Alfredo Di Stéfano, opined: "The best player ever? Pelé. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both great players with specific qualities, but Pelé was better".
Presenting Pelé the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, former South African president Nelson Mandela said; "To watch him play was to watch the delight of a child combined with the extraordinary grace of a man in full." US politician and political scientist Henry Kissinger stated, "Performance at a high level in any sport is to exceed the ordinary human scale. But Pelé's performance transcended that of the ordinary star by as much as the star exceeds ordinary performance." After a reporter asked if his fame compared to that of Jesus, Pelé quipped, "There are parts of the world where Jesus Christ is not so well known."
In 1999, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) voted Pelé the World Player of the Century. That same year, the International Olympic Committee elected him the Athlete of the Century. According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful league goal-scorer in the world, scoring 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendlies and tour games. In 1999, "Time" magazine named Pelé one of the . During his playing days, Pelé was for a period the highest-paid athlete in the world. Pelé's "electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals" made him a star around the world. To take full advantage of his popularity, his teams toured internationally. During his career, he became known as "The Black Pearl" ("A Pérola Negra"), "The King of Football" ("O Rei do Futebol"), "The King Pelé" ("O Rei Pelé") or simply "The King" ("O Rei"). In 2014, the city of Santos inaugurated the Pelé museum – Museu Pelé – which displays a 2,400 piece collection of Pelé memorabilia. Approximately $22 million was invested in the construction of the museum, housed in a 19th-century mansion.
Pelé has married three times, and has had several affairs, producing several children.
On 21 February 1966, Pelé married Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi. They had two daughters and one son: Kelly Cristina (born 13 January 1967), who married Dr. Arthur DeLuca, Jennifer (b. 1978), and their son Edson ("Edinho", b. 27 August 1970). The couple divorced in 1982. In May 2014, Edinho was jailed for 33 years for laundering money from drug trafficking. On appeal the sentence was reduced to 12 years and 10 months.
From 1981 to 1986, Pelé was romantically linked with TV presenter Xuxa, which was influential in launching her career. She was 17 when they started dating. In April 1994, Pelé married psychologist and gospel singer Assíria Lemos Seixas, who gave birth on 28 September 1996 to twins Joshua and Celeste through fertility treatments. The couple divorced in 2008.
Pelé had at least two more children from former affairs. Sandra Machado, who was born from an affair Pelé had in 1964 with a housemaid, Anizia Machado, fought for years to be acknowledged by Pelé, who refused to submit to DNA tests. Although she was recognized by courts as his biological daughter based on DNA evidence in 1993, Pelé never acknowledged his eldest daughter even after her death in 2006, nor her two children, Octavio and Gabriel. Pelé also had another daughter, Flávia Kurtz, in an extramarital affair in 1968 with journalist Lenita Kurtz. Flávia was recognized by him as his daughter.
At the age of 73, Pelé announced his intention to marry 41-year-old Marcia Aoki, a Japanese-Brazilian importer of medical equipment from Penápolis, São Paulo, whom he had been dating from 2010. They first met in the mid-1980s in New York, before meeting again in 2008. They married in July 2016.
In 1970, Pelé was investigated by the Brazilian military dictatorship for suspected leftist sympathies. Declassified documents showed Pelé was investigated after being handed a manifesto calling for the release of political prisoners. Pelé himself did not get further involved within political struggles in the country.
In 1976, Pelé was on a Pepsi-sponsored trip in Lagos, Nigeria, when that year's attempted military coup took place. Pelé was trapped in a hotel together with Arthur Ashe and other tennis pros, who were participating in the interrupted 1976 Lagos WCT tournament. Pelé and his crew eventually left the hotel to stay at the residence of Brazil's ambassador as they couldn't leave the country for a couple of days. Later the airport was opened and Pelé left the country disguised as a pilot.
In June 2013, he was criticized in public opinion for his conservative views. During the 2013 protests in Brazil, Pelé asked for people to "forget the demonstrations" and support the Brazil national team.
In 1977, Brazilian media reported that Pelé had his right kidney removed. In November 2012, Pelé underwent a successful hip operation. In December 2017, Pelé appeared in a wheelchair at the 2018 World Cup draw in Moscow where he was pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Diego Maradona. A month later he collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to hospital. In 2019, after a hospitalisation because of a urinary tract infection, Pelé underwent surgery to remove kidney stones. In February 2020 his son Edinho reported that Pelé was unable to walk independently and reluctant to leave home, ascribing his condition to a lack of rehabilitation following his hip operation.
He is known for frequently referring to himself in the third person.
In 1994, Pelé was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In 1995, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed Pelé to the position of Extraordinary Minister for Sport. During this time he proposed legislation to reduce corruption in Brazilian football, which became known as the "Pelé law." Pelé left his position in 2001 after he was accused of involvement in a corruption scandal that stole $700,000 from UNICEF. It was claimed that money given to Pelé's company for a benefit match was not returned after it was cancelled, although nothing was proven, and it was denied by UNICEF. In 1997, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace. Pelé also helped inaugurate the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, alongside supermodel Claudia Schiffer.
In 1993, Pelé publicly accused the Brazilian football administrator Ricardo Teixeira of corruption after Pelé's television company was rejected in a contest for the Brazilian domestic rights to the 1994 World Cup. Pelé accusations led to an eight-year feud between the pair. As a consequence of the affair, the President of FIFA, João Havelange banned Pelé from the draw for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Las Vegas. Criticisms over the ban were perceived to have negatively affected Havelange's chances of re-election as FIFA's president in 1994.
Pelé has published several autobiographies, starred in documentary films, and composed musical pieces, including the soundtrack for the film "Pelé" in 1977. He appeared in the 1981 film "Escape to Victory", about a World War II-era football match between Allied prisoners of war and a German team. Pelé starred alongside other footballers of the 1960s and 1970s, with actors Michael Caine, and Sylvester Stallone.
in 1969, Pelé starred in a telenovela called Os Estranhos, about first contact with aliens. It was created to drum up interest in the Apollo missions. In 2001, had a cameo role in the satire film, "".
In November 2007, Pelé was in Sheffield, England to mark the 150th anniversary of the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C. Pelé was the guest of honour at Sheffield's anniversary match against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane. As part of his visit, Pelé opened an exhibition which included the first public showing in 40 years of the original hand-written rules of football. Pelé scouted for Premier League club Fulham in 2002. He made the draw for the qualification groups for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. On 1 August 2010, Pelé was introduced as the Honorary President of a revived New York Cosmos, aiming to field a team in Major League Soccer. In August 2011, ESPN reported that Santos were considering bringing him out of retirement for a cameo role in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, although this turned out to be false.
The most notable area of Pelé's life since football is his ambassadorial work. In 1992, he was appointed a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment. He was also awarded Brazil's Gold Medal for outstanding services to the sport in 1995. In 2012, Pelé was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh for "significant contribution to humanitarian and environmental causes, as well as his sporting achievements".
In 2009, Pelé assisted the Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In July 2009 he spearheaded the Rio 2016 presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria.
On 12 August 2012, Pelé was an attendee at the 2012 Olympic hunger summit hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street, London, part of a series of international efforts which have sought to respond to the return of hunger as a high-profile global issue. Later on the same day, Pelé appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, following the handover section to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.
In March 2016, Pelé filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking US$30 million in damages claiming violations under the Lanham Act for false endorsement and a state law claim for violation of his right of publicity. The suit alleged, that at one point Samsung and Pelé came close to entering into a licensing agreement for Pelé to appear in a Samsung advertising campaign. Samsung abruptly pulled out of the negotiations. The October 2015 Samsung ad in question, included a partial face shot of a man who allegedly "very closely resembles" Pelé and also a superimposed high-definition television screen next to the image of the man featuring a "modified bicycle or scissors-kick", often used by Pelé.
Santos
New York Cosmos
Brazil
Individual
In December 2000, Pelé and Maradona shared the prize of FIFA Player of the Century by FIFA. The award was originally intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona, many observers complained that the Internet nature of the poll would have meant a skewed demographic of younger fans who would have seen Maradona play, but not Pelé. FIFA then appointed a "Family of Football" committee of FIFA members to decide the winner of the award together with the votes of the readers of the FIFA magazine. The committee chose Pelé. Since Maradona was winning the Internet poll, however, it was decided he and Pelé should share the award.
Orders
Pelé's goalscoring record is often reported by FIFA as being 1281 goals in 1363 games. This figure includes goals scored by Pelé in friendly club matches, like international tours Pelé completed with Santos and the New York Cosmos, and a few games Pelé played in for the Brazilian armed forces teams during his national service in Brazil. He was listed in the "Guinness World Records" for most career goals scored in football.
The tables below record every goal Pelé scored in major club competitions for Santos and the New York Cosmos.
Pelé is the top scorer of the Brazil national football team with 77 goals in 92 official appearances. He scored 12 goals and is credited with 10 assists in 14 World Cup appearances, including 4 goals and 7 assists in 1970. Pelé shares with Uwe Seeler, Miroslav Klose and Cristiano Ronaldo the achievement of being the only players to have scored in four separate World Cup tournaments.
Source:
Pelé's statistics of goals and appearances differ between sources mostly due to friendly games. The RSSSF states that Pelé scored 767 goals in 831 official games. The following table is a compendium of sources that include data from Santos and FIFA official websites among others. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24953 |
Pacifism
Pacifism is opposition to war, militarism or violence. The word "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud (1864–1921) and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is "ahimsa" (to do no harm), which is a core philosophy in Indian Religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While modern connotations are recent, having been explicated since the 19th century, ancient references abound.
In modern times, interest was revived by Leo Tolstoy in his late works, particularly in "The Kingdom of God Is Within You". Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) propounded the practice of steadfast nonviolent opposition which he called "satyagraha", instrumental in its role in the Indian Independence Movement. Its effectiveness served as inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr., James Lawson, Mary and Charles Beard, James Bevel, Thich Nhat Hanh and many others in the civil rights movement.
Pacifism covers a spectrum of views, including the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved, calls for the abolition of the institutions of the military and war, opposition to any organization of society through governmental force (anarchist or libertarian pacifism), rejection of the use of physical violence to obtain political, economic or social goals, the obliteration of force, and opposition to violence under any circumstance, even defence of self and others. Historians of pacifism Peter Brock and Thomas Paul Socknat define pacifism "in the sense generally accepted in English-speaking areas" as "an unconditional rejection of all forms of warfare". Philosopher Jenny Teichman defines the main form of pacifism as "anti-warism", the rejection of all forms of warfare. Teichman's beliefs have been summarized by Brian Orend as "... A pacifist rejects war and believes there are no moral grounds which can justify resorting to war. War, for the pacifist, is always wrong." In a sense the philosophy is based on the idea that the ends do not justify the means.
Pacifism may be based on moral principles (a deontological view) or pragmatism (a consequentialist view). Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong. Pragmatic pacifism holds that the costs of war and interpersonal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War.
Some pacifists follow principles of nonviolence, believing that nonviolent action is morally superior and/or most effective. Some however, support physical violence for emergency defence of self or others. Others support destruction of property in such emergencies or for conducting symbolic acts of resistance like pouring red paint to represent blood on the outside of military recruiting offices or entering air force bases and hammering on military aircraft.
Not all nonviolent resistance (sometimes also called civil resistance) is based on a fundamental rejection of all violence in all circumstances. Many leaders and participants in such movements, while recognizing the importance of using non-violent methods in particular circumstances, have not been absolute pacifists. Sometimes, as with the civil rights movement's march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, they have called for armed protection. The interconnections between civil resistance and factors of force are numerous and complex.
An absolute pacifist is generally described by the British Broadcasting Corporation as one who believes that human life is so valuable, that a human should never be killed and war should never be conducted, even in self-defense. The principle is described as difficult to abide by consistently, due to violence not being available as a tool to aid a person who is being harmed or killed. It is further claimed that such a pacifist could logically argue that violence leads to more undesirable results than non-violence.
Although all pacifists are opposed to war between nation states, there have been occasions where pacifists have supported military conflict in the case of civil war or revolution. For instance, during the American Civil War, both the American Peace Society and some former members of the Non-Resistance Society supported the Union's military campaign, arguing they were carrying out a "police action" against the Confederacy, whose act of Secession they regarded as criminal. Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, French pacifist René Gérin (1892–1957) urged support for the Spanish Republic. Gérin argued that the Spanish Nationalists were "comparable to an individual enemy" and the Republic's war effort was equivalent to the action of a domestic police force suppressing crime.
In the 1960s, some pacifists associated with the New Left supported wars of national liberation and supported groups such as the Viet Cong and the Algerian FLN, arguing peaceful attempts to liberate such nations were no longer viable, and war was thus the only option.
Advocacy of pacifism can be found far back in history and literature.
During the Warring States period, the pacifist Mohist School opposed aggressive war between the feudal states. They took this belief into action by using their famed defensive strategies to defend smaller states from invasion from larger states, hoping to dissuade feudal lords from costly warfare. The Seven Military Classics of ancient China view warfare negatively, and as a last resort. For example, the "Three Strategies of Huang Shigong" says: "As for the military, it is not an auspicious instrument; it is the way of heaven to despise it", and the "Wei Liaozi" writes: "As for the military, it is an inauspicious instrument; as for conflict and contention, it runs counter to virtue".
The Taoist scripture ""Classic of Great Peace" ("Taiping jing")" foretells "the coming Age of Great Peace ("taiping")". The "Taiping Jing" advocates "a world full of peace".
The Lemba religion of southern French Congo, along with its symbolic herb, is named for pacifism : ""lemba, lemba"" (peace, peace), describes the action of the plant "lemba-lemba" ("Brillantaisia patula T. Anders"). Likewise in Cabinda, ""Lemba" is the spirit of peace, as its name indicates."
The Moriori, of the Chatham Islands, practiced pacifism by order of their ancestor Nunuku-whenua. This enabled the Moriori to preserve what limited resources they had in their harsh climate, avoiding waste through warfare. In turn, this led to their almost complete annihilation in 1835 by invading Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama Māori from the Taranaki region of the North Island of New Zealand. The invading Māori killed, enslaved and cannibalised the Moriori. A Moriori survivor recalled : "[The Maori] commenced to kill us like sheep ... [We] were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed – men, women and children indiscriminately."
In Ancient Greece, pacifism seems not to have existed except as a broad moral guideline against violence between individuals. No philosophical program of rejecting violence between states, or rejecting all forms of violence, seems to have existed. Aristophanes, in his play Lysistrata, creates the scenario of an Athenian woman's anti-war sex strike during the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 BC, and the play has gained an international reputation for its anti-war message. Nevertheless, it is both fictional and comical, and though it offers a pragmatic opposition to the destructiveness of war, its message seems to stem from frustration with the existing conflict (then in its twentieth year) rather than from a philosophical position against violence or war. Equally fictional is the nonviolent protest of Hegetorides of Thasos. Euripides also expressed strong anti-war ideas in his work, especially "The Trojan Women".
Several Roman writers rejected the militarism of Roman society and gave voice to anti-war sentiments,
including Propertius, Tibullus and Ovid. The Stoic Seneca the Younger criticised warfare in his book "Naturales quaestiones" (circa 65 AD).
Maximilian of Tebessa was a Christian conscientious objector. He was killed for refusing to be conscripted.
Throughout history many have understood Jesus of Nazareth to have been a pacifist, drawing on his Sermon on the Mount. In the sermon Jesus stated that one should "not resist an evildoer" and promoted his turn the other cheek philosophy. "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well ... Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." The New Testament story is of Jesus, besides preaching these words, surrendering himself freely to an enemy intent on having him killed and proscribing his followers from defending him.
There are those, however, who deny that Jesus was a pacifist and state that Jesus never said not to fight, citing examples from the New Testament. One such instance portrays an angry Jesus driving dishonest market traders from the temple. A frequently quoted passage is Luke 22:36: "He said to them, 'But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.'" Pacifists have typically explained that verse as Jesus fulfilling prophecy, since in the next verse, Jesus continues to say: "It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment." Others have interpreted the non-pacifist statements in the New Testament to be related to self-defense or to be metaphorical and state that on no occasion did Jesus shed blood or urge others to shed blood.
Beginning in the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation gave rise to a variety of new Christian sects, including the historic peace churches. Foremost among them were the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Amish, Mennonites, and Church of the Brethren. The humanist writer Desiderius Erasmus was one of the most outspoken pacifists of the Renaissance, arguing strongly against warfare in his essays "The Praise of Folly" (1509) and "The Complaint of Peace" (1517).
The Quakers were prominent advocates of pacifism, who as early as 1660 had repudiated violence in all forms and adhered to a strictly pacifist interpretation of Christianity. They stated their beliefs in a declaration to King Charles II:
Throughout the many 18th century wars in which Britain participated, the Quakers maintained a principled commitment not to serve in the army and militia or even to pay the alternative £10 fine.
The English Quaker William Penn, who founded the Province of Pennsylvania, employed an anti-militarist public policy. Unlike residents of many of the colonies, Quakers chose to trade peacefully with the Indians, including for land. The colonial province was, for the 75 years from 1681 to 1756, essentially unarmed and experienced little or no warfare in that period.
From the 16th to the 18th centuries, a number of thinkers devised plans for an international organisation that would promote peace, and reduce or even eliminate the occurrence of war. These included the French politician Duc de Sully, the philosophers Émeric Crucé and the Abbe de Saint-Pierre, and the English Quakers William Penn and John Bellers.
Pacifist ideals emerged from two strands of thought that coalesced at the end of the 18th century. One, rooted in the secular Enlightenment, promoted peace as the rational antidote to the world's ills, while the other was a part of the evangelical religious revival that had played an important part in the campaign for the abolition of slavery. Representatives of the former included Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in "Extrait du Projet de Paix Perpetuelle de Monsieur l'Abbe Saint-Pierre" (1756), Immanuel Kant, in his "Thoughts on Perpetual Peace", and Jeremy Bentham who proposed the formation of a peace association in 1789. Representative of the latter, was William Wilberforce who thought that strict limits should be imposed on British involvement in the French Revolutionary War based on Christian ideals of peace and brotherhood. Bohemian Bernard Bolzano (1781–1848) taught about the social waste of militarism and the needlessness of war. He urged a total reform of the educational, social, and economic systems that would direct the nation's interests toward peace rather than toward armed conflict between nations.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, pacifism was not entirely frowned upon throughout Europe. It was considered a political stance against costly capitalist-imperialist wars, a notion particularly popular in the British Liberal Party of the twentieth century. However, during the eras of World War One and especially World War Two, public opinion on the ideology split. Those against the second World War, some argued, were not fighting against unnecessary wars of imperialism but instead acquiescing to the fascist evils of Germany, Italy and Japan.
During the period of the Napoleonic Wars, although no formal peace movement was established until the end of hostilities, a significant peace movement animated by universalist ideals did emerge, due to the perception of Britain fighting in a reactionary role and the increasingly visible impact of the war on the welfare of the nation in the form of higher taxation levels and high casualty rates. Sixteen peace petitions to Parliament were signed by members of the public, anti-war and anti-Pitt demonstrations convened and peace literature was widely published and disseminated.
The first peace movements appeared in 1815–16. In the United States the first such movement was the New York Peace Society, founded in 1815 by the theologian David Low Dodge, and the Massachusetts Peace Society. It became an active organization, holding regular weekly meetings, and producing literature which was spread as far as Gibraltar and Malta, describing the horrors of war and advocating pacificism on Christian grounds. The London Peace Society (also known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace) was formed in 1816 to promote permanent and universal peace by the philanthropist William Allen. In the 1840s, British women formed "Olive Leaf Circles", groups of around 15 to 20 women, to discuss and promote pacifist ideas.
The peace movement began to grow in influence by the mid-nineteenth century. The London Peace Society, under the initiative of American consul Elihu Burritt and the reverend Henry Richard, convened the first International Peace Congress in London in 1843. The congress decided on two aims: the ideal of peaceable arbitration in the affairs of nations and the creation of an international institution to achieve that. Richard became the secretary of the Peace Society in 1850 on a full-time basis, a position which he would keep for the next 40 years, earning himself a reputation as the 'Apostle of Peace'. He helped secure one of the earliest victories for the peace movement by securing a commitment from the Great Powers in the Treaty of Paris (1856) at the end of the Crimean War, in favour of arbitration. On the European continent, wracked by social upheaval, the first peace congress was held in Brussels in 1848 followed by Paris a year later.
After experiencing a recession in support due to the resurgence of militarism during the American Civil War and Crimean War, the movement began to spread across Europe and began to infiltrate the new socialist movements. In 1870, Randal Cremer formed the Workman's Peace Association in London. Cremer, alongside the French economist Frédéric Passy was also the founding father of the first international organisation for the arbitration of conflicts in 1889, the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The National Peace Council was founded in after the 17th Universal Peace Congress in London (July August 1908).
An important thinker who contributed to pacifist ideology was Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. In one of his latter works, "The Kingdom of God is Within You", Tolstoy provides a detailed history, account and defense of pacifism. Tolstoy's work inspired a movement named after him advocating pacifism to arise in Russia and elsewhere. The book was a major early influence on Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948), and the two engaged in regular correspondence while Gandhi was active in South Africa.
Bertha von Suttner, the first woman to be a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, became a leading figure in the peace movement with the publication of her novel, "Die Waffen nieder!" ("Lay Down Your Arms!") in 1889 and founded an Austrian pacifist organization in 1891.
In New Zealand, during the latter half of the 19th century British colonists used many tactics to confiscate land from the indigenous Māori, including warfare. In the 1870s and 1880s, Parihaka, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major campaign of non-violent resistance to European occupation of confiscated land in the area. One Māori leader, Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, inspired warriors to stand up for their rights without using weapons, which had led to defeat in the past. In 1881 he convinced 2000 Maori to welcome battle-hardened British soldiers into their village and even offered food and drink. He allowed himself and his people to be arrested without resistance for opposing land confiscation. He is remembered as a great leader because his "passive resistance" practice prevented British massacres and even protected far more land than violent resistance.
Mohandas K. Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India, instrumental in the Indian independence movement. The Nobel prize winning great poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was also an Indian, gave him the honorific "Mahatma", usually translated "Great Soul". He was the pioneer of a brand of nonviolence (or "ahimsa") which he called "satyagraha"—translated literally as "truth force". This was the resistance of tyranny through civil disobedience that was not only nonviolent but also sought to change the heart of the opponent. He contrasted this with "duragraha", "resistant force", which sought only to change behaviour with stubborn protest. During his 30 years of work (1917–1947) for the independence of his country from the British Raj, Gandhi led dozens of nonviolent campaigns, spent over seven years in prison, and fasted nearly to the death on several occasions to obtain British compliance with a demand or to stop inter-communal violence. His efforts helped lead India to independence in 1947, and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom worldwide.
Peace movements became active in the Western world after 1900, often focusing on treaties that would settle disputes through arbitration, and efforts to support the Hague conventions.
The sudden outbreak of the First World War in July 1914 dismayed the peace movement. Socialist parties in every industrial nation had committed themselves to antiwar policies, but when the war came, all of them, except in Russia and the United States, supported their own government. There were highly publicized dissidents, some of whom went to jail for opposing the draft laws, like Eugene Debs in the U.S. In Britain, the prominent activist Stephen Henry Hobhouse went to prison for refusing military service, citing his convictions as an "International Socialist and a Christian" Many socialist groups and movements were antimilitarist, arguing that war by its nature was a type of governmental coercion of the working class for the benefit of capitalist elites. The French socialist pacifist leader Jean Jaurès was assassinated by a nationalist fanatic on July 31, 1914. The national parties in the Second International increasingly supported their respective nations in war and the International was dissolved in 1916.
In 1915 the League of Nations Society was formed by British liberal leaders to promote a strong international organisation that could enforce the peaceful resolution of conflict. Later that year the League to Enforce Peace was established in America to promote similar goals. Hamilton Holt published an editorial in his New York City weekly magazine the "Independent" called "The Way to Disarm: A Practical Proposal" on September 28, 1914. It called for an international organization to agree upon the arbitration of disputes and to guarantee the territorial integrity of its members by maintaining military forces sufficient to defeat those of any non-member. The ensuing debate among prominent internationalists modified Holt's plan to align it more closely with proposals offered in Great Britain by Viscount James Bryce, a former ambassador from the UK to the U.S. These and other initiatives were pivotal in the change in attitudes that gave birth to the League of Nations after the war.
Some of the many groups that protested against the war, as well as the traditional peace churches, were the Woman's Peace Party (which was organized in 1915 and led by noted reformer Jane Addams), the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace (ICWPP) (also organized in 1915), the American Union Against Militarism, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and the American Friends Service Committee. Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, was another fierce advocate of pacifism, the only person to vote no to America's entrance into both World Wars.
After the immense loss of nearly ten million men to trench warfare, a sweeping change of attitude toward militarism crashed over Europe, particularly in nations like Great Britain where many of its citizens questioned why it was involved in the war. After World War One's official end in 1918, peace movements across the continent and the United States renewed, gradually gaining popularity among young Europeans who grew up in the shadow of Europe's trauma over the Great War. Organisations formed in this period included the War Resisters' International the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the No More War Movement and the Peace Pledge Union (PPU). The League of Nations also convened several disarmament conferences in the inter-war period such as the Geneva Conference, though the support pacifistic policy and idealism received varied across European nations. These organizations and movements attracted tens of thousands of Europeans, spanning most professions including "scientists, artists, musicians, politicians, clerks, students, activists and thinkers."
Pacifism and revulsion with war were very popular sentiments in 1920s Britain. A stream of novels and poems on the theme of the futility of war and the slaughter of the youth by old fools were published, including, Death of a Hero by Richard Aldington, Erich Remarque's translated All Quiet on the Western Front and Beverley Nichols's expose "Cry Havoc". A debate at the University of Oxford in 1933 on the motion 'one must fight for King and country' captured the changed mood when the motion was resoundingly defeated. Dick Sheppard established the Peace Pledge Union in 1934 totally renouncing war and aggression. The idea of collective security was also popular; instead of outright pacifism the public generally exhibited a determination to stand up to aggression, but preferably with the use of economic sanctions and multilateral negotiations. Many members of the Peace Pledge Union later joined the Bruderhof during its period of residence in the Cotswolds. There, English, Jews and Germans lived side by side despite local persecution.
The British Labour Party had a strong pacifist wing in the early 1930s and between 1931 and 1935 was led by George Lansbury, a Christian pacifist who later chaired the No More War Movement and was president of the PPU. The 1933 annual conference resolved unanimously to "pledge itself to take no part in war". "Labour's official position, however, although based on the aspiration towards a world socialist commonwealth and the outlawing of war, did not imply a renunciation of force under all circumstances, but rather support for the ill-defined concept of 'collective security' under the League of Nations. At the same time, on the party's left, Stafford Cripps's small but vocal Socialist League opposed the official policy, on the non-pacifist ground that the League of Nations was 'nothing but the tool of the satiated imperialist powers'." Lansbury was eventually persuaded to resign as Labour leader by the non-pacifist wing of the party and was replaced by Clement Attlee. As the threat from Nazi Germany increased in the 1930s, the Labour Party abandoned its pacifist position and supported re-armament, largely due to the efforts of Ernest Bevin and Hugh Dalton who by 1937 had also persuaded the party to oppose Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement.
The League of Nations attempted to play its role of ensuring world peace in the 1920s and 30s, although with the increasingly revisionist and aggressive behaviour of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan, it ultimately failed to maintain such a world order. Economic sanctions were used against states that committed aggression, such as Italy when it invaded Abyssinia, but there was no will on the part of the principal League powers, Britain and France, to subordinate their interests to a multilateral process or to disarm at all themselves.
The Spanish Civil War proved a major test for international pacifism, and the work of pacifist organisations (such as War Resisters' International and the Fellowship of Reconciliation) and individuals (such as José Brocca and Amparo Poch) in that arena has until recently been ignored or forgotten by historians, overshadowed by the memory of the International Brigades and other militaristic interventions. Shortly after the war ended, Simone Weil, despite having volunteered for service on the republican side, went on to publish "The Iliad or the Poem of Force", a work that has been described as a pacifist manifesto. In response to the threat of fascism, some pacifist thinkers, such as Richard B. Gregg, devised plans for a campaign of nonviolent resistance in the event of a fascist invasion or takeover.
As the prospect of a second major war began to seem increasingly inevitable, much of France adopted pacifist views, though some historians argue that France felt more war anxiety than a moral objection to a second war. Neighbors with Germany, Hitler's spreading influence and territory posed an enormous threat to French livelihood. The French countryside had been devastated during World War One and the entire nation was reluctant to subject their territory to the same treatment. Though all countries in the First World War had suffered great losses, France was one of the most devastated and did not want a second war.
As Germany dealt with the burdens of the Treaty of Versailles, a conflict arose in the 1930s between German Christianity and German nationalism. Many Germans found the terms of the Treaty of Versailles debilitating and humiliating. German nationalism offered a way to regain the country's pride. German Christianity warned against the risks of getting into a war similar to the one Germany lost in 1918. As the German Depression worsened and fascism began to rise in Germany, a greater tide of Germans began to sway toward to nationalistic side of Hitler who would come to crush pacifism.
With the start of World War II, pacifist and anti-war sentiment declined in nations affected by war. Even the communist-controlled American Peace Mobilization reversed its anti-war activism once Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, mainstream isolationist groups like the America First Committee, declined, but many smaller religious and socialist groups continued their opposition to war.
Bertrand Russell argued that the necessity of defeating Adolf Hitler and the Nazis was a unique circumstance where war was not the worst of the possible evils; he called his position "relative pacifism". Shortly before the outbreak of war, British writers such as E. M. Forster, Leonard Woolf, David Garnett and Storm Jameson all rejected their earlier pacifism and endorsed military action against Nazism. Similarly Albert Einstein wrote: "I loathe all armies and any kind of violence; yet I'm firmly convinced that at present these hateful weapons offer the only effective protection." The British pacifists Reginald Sorensen and C. J. Cadoux, while bitterly disappointed by the outbreak of war, nevertheless urged their fellow pacifists "not to obstruct the war effort".
Pacifists across Great Britain further struggled to uphold their anti-military values during the Blitz, a coordinated, long-term attack by German aircraft on Great Britain. As the country was ravaged nightly by German bombs, pacifists had to seriously weigh the importance of their political and moral values against the desire to protect the home front of their country.
Some scholars theorize that pacifism was the cause of France's rapid fall to the Germans after it was invaded by the Nazis in June 1940, resulting in a takeover of the government by the German military. Whether or not pacifism weakened French defenses against the Germans, there was no hope of sustaining a real pacifist movement after Paris fell to the Nazis. Just as peaceful Germans succumbed to violent nationalism, the pacifist French were muzzled by the totality of German control over nearly all of France.
The French pacifists André and Magda Trocmé helped conceal hundreds of Jews fleeing the Nazis in the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. After the war, the Trocmés were declared Righteous Among the Nations.
Pacifists under the Third Reich were dealt with harshly, reducing the movement into almost nonexistence; those who continued to advocate for the end of the war and violence were often sent to labor camps; German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, and Olaf Kullmann, a Norwegian pacifist active during the Nazi occupation, were both imprisoned in concentration camps and died as a result of their mistreatment there. Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter was executed in 1943 for refusing to serve in the Wehrmacht.
German nationalism consumed even the most peaceful of Christians, either convincing them that the Nazis and Hitler were acting in the good faith of Germany or sufficiently suppressed by the fascist Nazi regime of the 1930s and 1940s that they were content to act as bystanders to the violence occurring around them. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an anti-Nazi German pastor who later died in 1945 in the Flossenbürg concentration camp, once wrote in a letter to his grandmother: "The issue really is: Germanism or Christianity."
After the end of the war, it was discovered that "The Black Book" or "Sonderfahndungsliste G.B." list of Britons to be arrested in the event of a Nazi invasion of the UK included three active pacifists; Vera Brittain, Sybil Thorndike and Aldous Huxley (who had left the country).
There were conscientious objectors and war tax resisters in both World War I and World War II. The United States government allowed sincere objectors to serve in noncombatant military roles. However, those draft resisters who refused any cooperation with the war effort often spent much of each war in federal prisons. During World War II, pacifist leaders like Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy of the Catholic Worker Movement urged young Americans not to enlist in military service.
During the World Wars, young men conscripted into the military but who refused to take up arms were called conscientious objectors. Though these men had to either answer their conscription or face prison time, their status as conscientious objectors permitted them to refuse taking part in battle using weapons and the military was forced to find a different use for them. Often, these men were assigned various tasks around the battlement including medical duties, though some were assigned various civilian jobs including farming, forestry, hospital work, and mining. Conscientious objectors were viewed by their fellow soldiers, the combatants of the war, as cowards and liars, claiming that any moral objection was most likely just a man's fear of being in the line of fire. In Great Britain during World War Two, the majority of the public did not approve of moral objection by soldiers but supported their right to abstain from direct combat. On the more extreme sides of public opinion were those who fully supported the objectors and those who believed they should be executed as traitors. The objectors of World War Two in particular were scorned as fascist sympathizers and traitors to their countries, though many of the men abstaining from taking up arms cited the influence of growing up in the shadow of World War One and their shellshocked fathers as major reasons for refusing to partake in the violence.
Martin Luther King Jr (1929–68), a Baptist minister, led the civil rights movement, which successfully used Gandhian nonviolent resistance to repeal laws enforcing racial segregation and work for integration of schools, businesses and government. In 1957, his wife Coretta Scott King, Albert Schweitzer, Benjamin Spock, and others formed the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (now Peace Action) to resist the nuclear arms race. In 1958 British activists formed the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament with Bertrand Russell as its president.
In 1960, Thich Nhat Hanh came to the US to study comparative religion at Princeton University and subsequently was appointed lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University. Thich Nhat Hanh had written a letter to Martin Luther King in 1965 entitled "Searching for the Enemy of Man" and during his 1966 stay in the US met with King and urged him to publicly denounce the Vietnam War. King gave his famous speech at the Riverside Church in New York City in 1967, his first to publicly question the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Other examples from this period include the 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines led by Cory Aquino, and the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests which included the broadly publicized "Tank Man" incident.
On December 1, 1948, President José Figueres Ferrer of Costa Rica abolished the Costa Rican military. In 1949, the abolition of the military was introduced in Article 12 of the Costa Rican constitution. The budget previously dedicated to the military is now dedicated to providing health care services and education.
Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith abolished holy war and emphasized its abolition as a central teaching of his faith. However, the Bahá'í Faith does not have an absolute pacifistic position. For example, Bahá'ís are advised to do social service instead of active army service, but when this is not possible because of obligations in certain countries, the Bahá'í law of "loyalty to one's government" is preferred and the individual should perform the army service. Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith in the first half of the 20th century, noted that in the Bahá'í view, absolute pacifists are anti-social and exalt the individual over society which could lead to anarchy; instead he noted that the Bahá'í conception of social life follows a moderate view where the individual is not suppressed or exalted.
On the level of society, Bahá'u'lláh promotes the principle of collective security, which does not abolish the use of force, but prescribes "a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice". The idea of collective security from the Bahá'í teachings states that if a government violates a fundamental norm of international law or provision of a future world constitution which Bahá'ís believe will be established by all nations, then the other governments should step in.
Buddhism is generally seen as among the least violent religious traditions, and Ahimsa (do no harm), is a primary virtue in Buddhism.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Buddhist nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar (Burma), who became State Counsellor (similar to prime minister) of Myanmar in April 2016. A devout Buddhist, Suu Kyi won the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and in 1991 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a repressive military dictatorship. One of her best known speeches is the "Freedom From Fear" speech, which begins, "It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."
Peace churches are Christian denominations explicitly advocating pacifism. The term "historic peace churches" refers specifically to three church traditions: the Church of the Brethren, the Mennonites (and some other Anabaptists, such as Amish Hutterites), and the Quakers (Religious Society of Friends). The historic peace churches have, from their origins as far back as the 16th century, always taken the position that Jesus was himself a pacifist who explicitly taught and practiced pacifism, and that his followers must do likewise. Pacifist churches vary on whether physical force can ever be justified in self-defense or protecting others, as many adhere strictly to nonresistance when confronted by violence. But all agree that violence on behalf of a country or a government is prohibited for Christians.
Jay Beaman's thesis states that 13 of 21, or 62% of American Pentecostal groups formed by 1917 show evidence of being pacifist sometime in their history. Furthermore, Jay Beaman has shown in his thesis that there has been a shift away from pacifism in the American Pentecostal churches to more a style of military support and chaplaincy. The major organisation for Pentecostal Christians who believe in pacifism is the PCPF, the Pentecostal Charismatic Peace Fellowship.
The United Pentecostal Church, the largest Apostolic/Oneness denomination, takes an official stand of conscientious objection: its Articles of Faith read, "We are constrained to declare against participating in combatant service in war, armed insurrection ... aiding or abetting in or the actual destruction of human life. We believe that we can be consistent in serving our Government in certain noncombatant capacities, but not in the bearing of arms."
The Peace Pledge Union was a pacifist organisation from which the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship (APF) later emerged within the Anglican Church. The APF succeeded in gaining ratification of the pacifist position at two successive Lambeth Conferences, but many Anglicans would not regard themselves as pacifists. South African Bishop Desmond Tutu is the most prominent Anglican pacifist. Rowan Williams led an almost united Anglican Church in Britain in opposition to the 2003 Iraq War. In Australia Peter Carnley similarly led a front of bishops opposed to the Government of Australia's involvement in the invasion of Iraq.
The Catholic Worker Movement is concerned with both social justice and pacifist issues, and voiced consistent opposition to the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Many of its early members were imprisoned for their opposition to conscription. Within the Roman Catholic Church, the Pax Christi organisation is the premiere pacifist lobby group. It holds positions similar to APF, and the two organisations are known to work together on ecumenical projects. Within Roman Catholicism there has been a discernible move towards a more pacifist position through the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Popes Benedict XV, John XXIII and John Paul II were all vocal in their opposition to specific wars. By taking the name Benedict XVI, some suspected that Joseph Ratzinger would continue the strong emphasis upon nonviolent conflict resolution of his predecessor. However, the Roman Catholic Church officially maintains the legitimacy of Just War, which is rejected by some pacifists.
In the twentieth century there was a notable trend among prominent Roman Catholics towards pacifism. Individuals such as Dorothy Day and Henri Nouwen stand out among them. The monk and mystic Thomas Merton was noted for his commitment to pacifism during the Vietnam War era. Murdered Salvadoran Bishop Óscar Romero was notable for using non-violent resistance tactics and wrote meditative sermons focusing on the power of prayer and peace. School of the Americas Watch was founded by Maryknoll Fr. Roy Bourgeois in 1990 and uses strictly pacifist principles to protest the training of Latin American military officers by United States Army officers at the School of the Americas in the state of Georgia.
The Southern Baptist Convention has stated in the Baptist Faith and Message, "It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war."
The United Methodist Church explicitly supports conscientious objection by its members "as an ethically valid position" while simultaneously allowing for differences of opinion and belief for those who do not object to military service.
Members of the Rastafari Movement's Mansion Nyabinghi are specifically noted for having a large population of Pacifist members, though not all of them are.
Non violence, or ahimsa, is a central part of Hinduism and is one of the fundamental Yamas – self restraints needed to live a proper life. The concept of ahimsa grew gradually within Hinduism, one of the signs being the discouragement of ritual animal sacrifice. Most Hindus today have a vegetarian diet. The classical texts of Hinduism devote numerous chapters discussing what people who practice the virtue of Ahimsa, can and must do when they are faced with war, violent threat or need to sentence someone convicted of a crime. These discussions have led to theories of just war, theories of reasonable self-defence and theories of proportionate punishment. Arthashastra discusses, among other things, why and what constitutes proportionate response and punishment.
The precepts of Ahimsa under Hinduism require that war must be avoided, with sincere and truthful dialogue. Force must be the last resort. If war becomes necessary, its cause must be just, its purpose virtuous, its objective to restrain the wicked, its aim peace, its method lawful. While the war is in progress, sincere dialogue for peace must continue.
Different Muslim movements through history had linked pacifism with Muslim theology. However, warfare has been integral part of Islamic history both for the defense and the spread of the faith since the time of Muhammad.
Peace is an important aspect of Islam, and Muslims are encouraged to strive for peace and peaceful solutions to all problems. However, most Muslims are generally not pacifists, as the teachings in the Qur'an and Hadith allow for wars to be fought if they can be justified.
Prior to the Hijra travel, Muhammad struggled non-violently against his opposition in Mecca, providing a basis for Islamic pacifist schools of thought such as some Sufi orders.
In the 13th century, Salim Suwari a philosopher in Islam, came up with a peaceful approach to Islam known as the Suwarian tradition.
The earliest massive non-violent implementation of civil disobedience was brought about by Egyptians against British occupation in the Egyptian Revolution of 1919.
Khān Abdul Ghaffār Khān was a Pashtun independence activist against the rule of the British Raj. He was a political and spiritual leader known for his nonviolent opposition, and a lifelong pacifist and devout Muslim. A close friend of Mohandas Gandhi, Bacha Khan was nicknamed the "Frontier Gandhi" in British India. Bacha Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar ("Servants of God") movement in 1929, whose success triggered a harsh crackdown by the British Empire against him and his supporters, and they suffered some of the most severe repression of the Indian independence movement.
According to the Ahmadiyya understanding of Islam, pacifism is a strong current, and jihad is one's personal inner struggle and should not be used violently for political motives. Violence is the last option only to be used to protect religion and one's own life in extreme situations of persecution. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said that in contrary to the current views, Islam "does not allow the use of sword in religion, except in the case of defensive wars, wars waged to punish a tyrant, or those meant to uphold freedom".
Ahmadiyya claims its objective to be the peaceful propagation of Islam with special emphasis on spreading the true message of Islam by the pen. Ahmadis point out that as per prophecy, who they believe was the promised messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, rendered the concept of violent jihad unnecessary in modern times. They believe that the answer of hate should be given by love. Many Muslims consider Ahmadi Muslims as either "kafirs" or heretics, an animosity sometimes resulting in murder.
Non-violence, Compassion for all life, human and non-human, is central to Jainism. Human life is valued as a unique, rare opportunity to reach enlightenment. Killing any person, no matter what crime he may have committed, is considered unimaginably terrible. It is a religion that requires monks, from all its sects and traditions, to be vegetarian. Some Indian regions, such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh have been strongly influenced by Jains and often the majority of the local Hindus of every denomination are also vegetarian.
Although Judaism is not a pacifist religion, it does believe that peace is highly desirable. Most Jews will hope to limit or minimise conflict and violence but they accept that, given human nature and the situations which arise from time to time in the world, there will be occasions when violence and war may be justified.
The Jewish Peace Fellowship is a New-York based nonprofit, nondenominational organization set up to provide a Jewish voice in the peace movement. The organization was founded in 1941 in order to support Jewish conscientious objectors who sought exemption from combatant military service. It is affiliated to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation. The small Neturei Karta group of anti-Zionist, ultra-orthodox Jews, supposedly take a pacifist line, saying that "Jews are not allowed to dominate, kill, harm or demean another people and are not allowed to have anything to do with the Zionist enterprise, their political meddling and their wars.". However, the Neturei Karta group do support groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas that are violent towards Israel. The Hebrew Bible is full of examples when Jews were told to go and war against enemy lands or within the Israelite community as well as instances where God, as destroyer and protector, goes to war for non-participant Jews. The Holocaust Remembrance Day (called Yom Hashoah in Hebrew) is a day a remembrance for many Jews as they honor those who fought to end the Hitler government which starved, shot, gassed and burned over six million Jews to death. It is observed on the day corresponding to the 27th day of the month of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar.
Non-violence is an important doctrine within Raëlism. The founder of this religion Rael has said ""The one holding the weapon is as responsible as the one giving the orders"". Other Rael statements include ""even if the Elohim asked them to kill someone they should refuse"".
While many governments have tolerated pacifist views and even accommodated pacifists' refusal to fight in wars, others at times have outlawed pacifist and anti-war activity. In 1918, The United States Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1918. During the periods between World Wars I and World War II, pacifist literature and public advocacy was banned in Italy under Benito Mussolini, Germany after the rise of Adolf Hitler,
Spain under Francisco Franco, and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. In these nations, pacifism was denounced as cowardice; indeed, Mussolini referred to pacifist writings as the "propaganda of cowardice".
Today, the United States requires that all young men register for selective service but does not allow them to be classified as conscientious objectors unless they are drafted in some future reinstatement of the draft, allowing them to be discharged or transferred to noncombatant status. Some European governments like Switzerland, Greece, Norway and Germany offer civilian service. However, even during periods of peace, many pacifists still refuse to register for or report for military duty, risking criminal charges.
Anti-war and "pacifist" political parties seeking to win elections may moderate their demands, calling for de-escalation or major arms reduction rather than the outright disarmament which is advocated by many pacifists. Green parties list "non-violence" and "decentralization" towards anarchist co-operatives or minimalist village government as two of their ten key values. However, in power, Greens often compromise. The German Greens in the cabinet of Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder supported an intervention by German troops in Afghanistan in 2001 if that they hosted the peace conference in Berlin. However, during the 2002 election Greens forced Schröder to swear that no German troops would invade Iraq.
Some pacifists and multilateralists are in favor of international criminal law as means to prevent and control international aggression. The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over war crimes, but the crime of aggression has yet to be clearly defined in international law.
The Italian Constitution enforces a mild pacifist character on the Italian Republic, as Article 11 states that "Italy repudiates war as an instrument offending the liberty of the peoples and as a means for settling international disputes ..." Similarly, Articles 24, 25 and 26 of the German Constitution (1949), Alinea 15 of the French Constitution (1946), Article 20 of the Danish Constitution (1953), Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution (1947) and several other mostly European constitutions correspond to the United Nations Charter by rejecting the institution of war in favour of collective security and peaceful cooperation.
However, some pacifists, such as the Christian anarchist Leo Tolstoy and autarchist Robert LeFevre, consider the state a form of warfare. In addition, for doctrinal reason that a manmade government is inferior to divine governance and law, many pacifist-identified religions/religious sects also refrain from political activity altogether, including the Anabaptists, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mandaeans. This means that such groups refuse to participate in government office or serve under an oath to a government.
Anarcho-pacifism (also pacifist anarchism or anarchist pacifism) is a form of anarchism which completely rejects the use of violence in any form for any purpose. The main precedent was Henry David Thoreau who through his work Civil Disobedience influenced the advocacy of both Leo Tolstoy and Mohandas Gandhi for nonviolent resistance. As a global movement, Anarchist pacifism emerged shortly before World War II in the Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States and was a strong presence in the subsequent campaigns for nuclear disarmament.
Violence has always been controversial in anarchism. While many anarchists during the 19th century embraced propaganda of the deed, Leo Tolstoy and other anarcho-pacifists directly opposed violence as a means for change. He argued that anarchism must by nature be nonviolent since it is, by definition, opposition to coercion and force and since the state is inherently violent, meaningful pacifism must likewise be anarchistic. His philosophy was cited as a major inspiration by Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian independence leader and pacifist who self-identified as an anarchist. Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis was also instrumental in establishing the pacifist trend within the anarchist movement. In France anti-militarism appeared strongly in individualist anarchist circles as Émile Armand founded "Ligue Antimilitariste" in 1902 with Albert Libertad and George Mathias Paraf-Javal.
Many pacifists who would be conscientious objectors to military service are also opposed to paying taxes to fund the military. In the United States, The National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund works to pass a national law to allow conscientious objectors to redirect their tax money to be used only for non-military purposes.
One common argument against pacifism is the possibility of using violence to prevent further acts of violence (and reduce the "net-sum" of violence). This argument hinges on consequentialism: an otherwise morally objectionable action can be justified if it results in a positive outcome. For example, either violent rebellion, or foreign nations sending in troops to end a dictator's violent oppression may save millions of lives, even if many thousands died in the war. Those pacifists who base their beliefs on deontological grounds would oppose such violent action. Others would oppose organized military responses but support individual and small group self-defense against specific attacks if initiated by the dictator's forces. Pacifists may argue that military action could be justified should it subsequently advance the general cause of peace.
Still more pacifists would argue that a nonviolent reaction may not save lives immediately but would in the long run. The acceptance of violence for any reason makes it easier to use in other situations. Learning and committing to pacifism helps to send a message that violence is, in fact, not the most effective way. It can also help people to think more creatively and find more effective ways to stop violence without more violence.
In light of the common criticism of pacifism as not offering a clear alternative policy, one approach to finding "more effective ways" has been the attempt to develop the idea of "defence by civil resistance", also called "social defence". This idea, which is not necessarily dependent on acceptance of pacifist beliefs, is based on relying on nonviolent resistance against possible threats, whether external (such as invasion) or internal (such as coup d'état).
There have been some works on this topic, including by Adam Roberts and Gene Sharp. However, no country has adopted this approach as the sole basis of its defence. (For further information and sources see social defence.)
Axis aggression that precipitated World War II is often cited as an argument against pacifism. If these forces had not been challenged and defeated militarily, the argument goes, many more people would have died under their oppressive rule. Adolf Hitler told the British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax in 1937 that the British should "shoot Gandhi, and if this doesn't suffice to reduce them to submission, shoot a dozen leading members of the Congress, and if that doesn't suffice shoot 200, and so on, as you make it clear that you mean business."
Adolf Hitler noted in his Second Book: "... Later, the attempt to adapt the living space to increased population turned into unmotivated wars of conquest, which in their very lack of motivation contained the germ of the subsequent reaction. Pacifism is the answer to it. Pacifism has existed in the world ever since there have been wars whose meaning no longer lay in the conquest of territory for a Folk's sustenance. Since then it has been war's eternal companion. It will again disappear as soon as war ceases to be an instrument of booty hungry or power hungry individuals or nations, and as soon as it again becomes the ultimate weapon with which a Folk fights for its daily bread."
Hermann Göring described, during an interview at the Nuremberg Trials, how denouncing and outlawing pacifism was an important part of the Nazis' seizure of power: "The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
Some commentators on the most nonviolent forms of pacifism, including Jan Narveson, argue that such pacifism is a self-contradictory doctrine. Narveson claims that everyone has rights and corresponding responsibilities not to violate others' rights. Since pacifists give up their ability to protect themselves from violation of their right not to be harmed, then other people thus have no corresponding responsibility, thus creating a paradox of rights. Narveson said that "the prevention of infractions of that right is precisely what one has a right to when one has a right at all." Narveson then discusses how rational persuasion is a good but often inadequate method of discouraging an aggressor. He considers that everyone has the right to use any means necessary to prevent deprivation of their civil liberties and force could be necessary.
Peter Gelderloos criticizes the idea that nonviolence is the only way to fight for a better world. According to Gelderloos, pacifism as an ideology serves the interests of the state and is hopelessly caught up psychologically with the control schema of patriarchy and white supremacy. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=24956 |
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