title: Decorator pattern

text: The "decorator" design pattern is one of the twenty-three well-known "design patterns"; these describe how to solve recurring design problems and design flexible and reusable object-oriented software—that is, objects which are easier to implement, change, test, and reuse.


title: Decorator pattern

text: When using subclassing, different subclasses extend a class in different ways. But an extension is bound to the class at compile-time and can't be changed at run-time.


title: Decorator pattern

text: This allows working with different codice_1 objects to extend the functionality of an object dynamically at run-time.


title: Decorator pattern

text: The decorator pattern can be used to extend (decorate) the functionality of a certain object statically, or in some cases at run-time, independently of other instances of the same class, provided some groundwork is done at design time. This is achieved by designing a new "Decorator" class that wraps the original class. This wrapping could be achieved by the following sequence of steps:


title: Decorator pattern

text: This pattern is designed so that multiple decorators can be stacked on top of each other, each time adding a new functionality to the overridden method(s).


title: Decorator pattern

text: Note that decorators and the original class object share a common set of features. In the previous diagram, the operation() method was available in both the decorated and undecorated versions.


title: Decorator pattern

text: The decoration features (e.g., methods, properties, or other members) are usually defined by an interface, mixin (a.k.a. trait) or class inheritance which is shared by the decorators and the decorated object. In the previous example, the class "Component" is inherited by both the ConcreteComponent and the subclasses that descend from "Decorator".


title: Decorator pattern

text: The decorator pattern is an alternative to subclassing. Subclassing adds behavior at compile time, and the change affects all instances of the original class; decorating can provide new behavior at run-time for selected objects.


title: Decorator pattern

text: This difference becomes most important when there are several "independent" ways of extending functionality. In some object-oriented programming languages, classes cannot be created at runtime, and it is typically not possible to predict, at design time, what combinations of extensions will be needed. This would mean that a new class would have to be made for every possible combination. By contrast, decorators are objects, created at runtime, and can be combined on a per-use basis. The I/O Streams implementations of both Java and the .NET Framework incorporate the decorator pattern.


title: Decorator pattern

text: As an example, consider a window in a windowing system. To allow scrolling of the window's contents, one may wish to add horizontal or vertical scrollbars to it, as appropriate. Assume windows are represented by instances of the "Window" interface, and assume this class has no functionality for adding scrollbars. One could create a subclass "ScrollingWindow" that provides them, or create a "ScrollingWindowDecorator" that adds this functionality to existing "Window" objects. At this point, either solution would be fine.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Now, assume one also desires the ability to add borders to windows. Again, the original "Window" class has no support. The "ScrollingWindow" subclass now poses a problem, because it has effectively created a new kind of window. If one wishes to add border support to many but not "all" windows, one must create subclasses "WindowWithBorder" and "ScrollingWindowWithBorder", etc. This problem gets worse with every new feature or window subtype to be added. For the decorator solution, a new "BorderedWindowDecorator" is created. Any combination of "ScrollingWindowDecorator" or "BorderedWindowDecorator" can decorate existing windows. If the functionality needs to be added to all Windows, the base class can be modified. On the other hand, sometimes (e.g., using external frameworks) it is not possible, legal, or convenient to modify the base class.


title: Decorator pattern

text: In the previous example, the "SimpleWindow" and "WindowDecorator" classes implement the "Window" interface, which defines the "draw()" method and the "getDescription()" method that are required in this scenario, in order to decorate a window control.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Adding or removing decorators on command (like a button press) is a common UI pattern, often implemented along with the Command design pattern. For example, a text editing application might have a button to highlight text. On button press, the individual text glyphs currently selected will all be wrapped in decorators that modify their draw() function, causing them to be drawn in a highlighted manner (a real implementation would probably also use a demarcation system to maximize efficiency).


title: Decorator pattern

text: Applying or removing decorators based on changes in state is another common use case. Depending on the scope of the state, decorators can be applied or removed in bulk. Similarly, the State design pattern can be implemented using decorators instead of subclassed objects encapsulating the changing functionality. The use of decorators in this manner makes the State object's internal state and functionality more compositional and capable of handling arbitrary complexity.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Decoration is also often used in the Flyweight design pattern. Flyweight objects are divided into two components: an invariant component that is shared between all flyweight objects; and a variant, decorated component that may be partially shared or completely unshared. This partitioning of the flyweight object is intended to reduce memory consumption. The decorators are typically cached and reused as well. The decorators will all contain a common reference to the shared, invariant object. If the decorated state is only partially variant, than the decorators can also be shared to some degree - though care must be taken not to alter their state while they're being used. iOS's UITableView implements the flyweight pattern in this manner - a tableview's reusable cells are decorators that contains a references to a common tableview row object, and the cells are cached / reused.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Applying combinations of decorators in diverse ways to a collection of objects introduces some problems interfacing with the collection in a way that takes full advantage of the functionality added by the decorators. The use of an Adapter or Visitor patterns can be useful in such cases. Interfacing with multiple layers of decorators poses additional challenges and logic of Adapters and Visitors must be designed to account for that.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Decorators support a compositional rather a top-down, hierarchical approach to extending functionality. A decorator makes it possible to add or alter behavior of an interface at run-time. They can be used to wrap objects in a multilayered, arbitrary combination of ways. Doing the same with subclasses means implementing complex networks of multiple inheritance, which is memory-inefficient and at a certain point just cannot scale. Likewise, attempting to implement the same functionality with properties bloats each instance of the object with unnecessary properties.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Decorators can also be used to specialize objects which are not subclassable, whose characteristics need to be altered at runtime (as mentioned elsewhere), or generally objects that are lacking in some needed functionality.


title: Decorator pattern

text: The decorator pattern also can augment the Facade pattern. A facade is designed to simply interface with the complex system it encapsulates, but it does not add functionality to the system. However, the wrapping of a complex system provides a space that may be used to introduce new functionality based on the coordination of subcomponents in the system.


title: Decorator pattern

text: For example, a facade pattern may unify many different languages dictionaries under one multi-language dictionary interface. The new interface may also provide new functions for translating words between languages.


title: Decorator pattern

text: This is a hybrid pattern - the unified interface provides a space for augmentation. Think of decorators as not being limited to wrapping individual objects, but capable of wrapping clusters of objects in this hybrid approach as well.


title: Decorator pattern

text: As an alternative to the decorator pattern, the adapter can be used when the wrapper must respect a particular interface and must support polymorphic behavior, and the Facade when an easier or simpler interface to an underlying object is desired.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Two options are presented here: first, a dynamic, runtime-composable decorator (has issues with calling decorated functions unless proxied explicitly) and a decorator that uses mixin inheritance.


title: Decorator pattern

text: This example demonstrates a static Decorator implementation, which is possible due to C++ ability to inherit from the template argument.


title: Decorator pattern

text: The following classes contain the decorators for all codice_28 classes, including the decorator classes themselves.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Here's a test program that creates a codice_28 instance which is fully decorated (i.e., with vertical and horizontal scrollbars), and prints its description:


title: Decorator pattern

text: The output of this program is "simple window, including vertical scrollbars, including horizontal scrollbars". Notice how the codice_30 method of the two decorators first retrieve the decorated codice_28's description and "decorates" it with a suffix.


title: Decorator pattern

text: The following classes contain the decorators for all classes, including the decorator classes themselves.


title: Decorator pattern

text: Here's a test program that creates a instance which is fully decorated (with milk and sprinkles), and calculate cost of coffee and prints its ingredients:


title: Decorator pattern

text: The following Python example, taken from Python Wiki - DecoratorPattern, shows us how to pipeline decorators to dynamically add many behaviors in an object:


title: Decorator pattern

text: Please do not confuse the Decorator Pattern (or an implementation of this design pattern in Python - as the above example) with Python Decorators, a Python language feature. They are different things.


title: Decorator pattern

text: The Decorator Pattern is a pattern described in the Design Patterns Book. It is a way of apparently modifying an object's behavior, by enclosing it inside a decorating object with a similar interface.


title: Decorator pattern

text: This is not to be confused with Python Decorators, which is a language feature for dynamically modifying a function or class.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Carmit Maile Bachar (; born September 4, 1974), known professionally as Carmit, is an American singer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. She is a member of the Pussycat Dolls. She is married to longtime partner Kevin Whitaker and gave birth to Keala Rose on September 18, 2011.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: In November 2019, it was announced that Carmit had rejoined the Pussycat Dolls for their 2020 reunion tour. They released their comeback single React on February 7, 2020.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Bachar was born in Los Angeles, her father is of Jewish Israeli descent and her mother is of Indonesian, Dutch and Chinese descent. She was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. She was raised in Encino, California. Both parents were dancers; her mother worked as a dance teacher at Bancroft Middle School of Performing Arts and her father worked with Elvis Presley and Marcel Marceau. Bachar competed internationally as a rhythmic gymnast for 10 years, and placed 5th in the U.S. Olympic trials in 1992. During her career competing on the U.S. National Team, she attended Hamilton Academy of Music in Los Angeles, studying music, dance, piano and viola. But throughout the years of talent, she endured the years of cleft surgery and was also the victim of bullying.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Bachar joined the Pussycat Dolls in 1995 while they were a burlesque show. In 2002, she brought her friend Gwen Stefani to perform at the Pussycat Dolls show. Stefani brought along Interscope's Ron Fair and Jimmy Iovine. Later, the Dolls got signed at Interscope Records.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Carmit was a member of the Pussycat Dolls longer than any other performer being that she started in 1995 with the Burlesque show and left in 2008 after five years with the recording group. She was also the first doll to be signed into the recording group. Most of the then members, including lead singer Nicole Scherzinger and back-up singer Melody Thornton, were cast by co-founder Robin Antin in 2003, when the group was being transformed into pop recording artists.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: In 2006 and 2007, she toured with the Dolls in support of their multi-million selling album "PCD". She was one of the three lead vocalists in the group, and had lead parts in the songs "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going", "Beep", "Buttons", "I Don't Need a Man", "Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)", "Right Now" and "Tainted Love", "Fever", "Whole Lotta Love", among others.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: In February 2008, reports surfaced that she was leaving the Pussycat Dolls to pursue solo projects. On March 8, 2008, Bachar officially announced her departure from the Pussycat Dolls on the group's official website.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Thornton gave Bachar special thanks in the 'Thank You' section of the Pussycat Dolls' second album "Doll Domination".


title: Carmit Bachar

text: In November 2019, it was announced that the group had reformed and were going on a reunion tour in 2020. On December 5, Bachar and Jessica Sutta announced during an interview with Entertainment Tonight that a new album was in the works.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: On February 7, 2020, the group's comeback single, "React" was released. The reunion tour was officially cancelled in January 2022. According to a joint statement made by Bachar and Sutta, they were unaware of the cancellation until they saw Scherzinger’s Instagram post.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Bachar has appeared in several films, including "13 Going on 30", "Along Came Polly", "The Scorpion King" and 2003's "" featuring the Pussycat Dolls. In 1997, she was credited as a dancer in the Nickelodeon film "Good Burger".


title: Carmit Bachar

text: As a freelance dancer she has toured or appeared live with several rock/pop acts. In 1999 and 2000, she was the "Livin' La Vida Loca" woman in Ricky Martin's world tour. In 2003 No Doubt's world tour, and appears on stage with Gwen Stefani during "Bathwater" in No Doubt's DVD "Rock Steady Live". In 2001, she was a dancer for Aaliyah's music video "Rock the Boat". In 2004 she was a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson during the infamous Super Bowl half-time show. In 2004, she was a dancer for Beyoncé's tours and appears on Her 2004 DVD "Live at Wembley". She appeared in more than 21 music videos including Macy Gray's "Sexual Revolution", Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't It Funny", Wyclef Jean's "Perfect Gentleman", the Black Eyed Peas's "Shut Up", Michael Jackson's "Blood On The Dance Floor", Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat", the Offspring's "Why Don't You Get a Job?", and also Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy".


title: Carmit Bachar

text: In 2001 in Los Angeles, Bachar, Lee Cherry, Scarlett Cherry and others started an 'underground' nightclub called Freedom. This became the occasional "multi-genre cabaret" which was first held at the Hollywood Athletic Club, then The Key Club. As of 2006, Bachar is still co-producing the event, which is now called The Zodiac Show. In August 2008 it was reported that Bachar will be doing another Zodiac Show, which she described as "a rock 'n' roll version of Cirque Du Soleil". The 2008 show was a success and The Zodiac Show may tour outside of the US.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: It has been reported that she wishes to form a non-profit organization called "Smile With Me": "I want to have my own charity for children and adults who are born with a cleft palate. I was born with one and I want to educate and inspire people by saying that inner beauty is more important than looks."


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Bachar is an ambassador of "Operation Smile", a worldwide children's medical charity that helps improve the health and lives of children and young adults born with facial deformities. In November 2007, she participated in an Operation Smile international medical mission in Bolivia, where she and her team organized creative stations for the kids like face and body painting, bookmaking, music and dance.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: Bachar is featured in the 2007 song "Lo-Down" by Storm Lee on his album "Soulfillapopkilla". Meanwhile, she recorded background vocals for Macy Gray's album "Big". She also collaborated with Vikter Duplaix on an upcoming song of his.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: In an interview with "E!" from March 2008, she mentioned that she wants to release a solo album in the future. In another interview with Savvy.com she said she worked with Macy Gray and that her album will be released in 2009. In June 2008, a song called "Carmasutra" appeared on Bachar's MySpace. She confirmed in her blog that it's an older demo song. In December 2008, an unfinished version of "Overrated" was leaked. In June 2009, she performed a new song called "Fierce" in nightclubs. It was produced by Jared Lee Gosselin, and written by Carmit Bachar, Kay Cola and Che'Nelle. Other producers she worked with are among others Justin Michael, Phillipe Bianco, Leo Mellace and Steve Catizone. Bachar's album was set to be released in early or mid-2010.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: In the September 2009 issue of "Kee Magazine", Bachar revealed that her album will be titled "Formerly Of...".


title: Carmit Bachar

text: On 18. March 2010, rapper Detroit Diamond released an EP which featured a track with Bachar titled "Something 'Bout You", as well as her solo songs "Fierce" and "Cream". The EP, produced by Jared Lee Gosselin, is available on HMV.com.hk and also on iTunes and Amazon as digital download.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: With the LadyStation she released their debut song "Body In Motion" in 2011. In July 2012, the duo released a single "Motivation" with DJ Paul Thomas.


title: Carmit Bachar

text: On February 24, 2017, Bachar release her first official single "It's Time" under her stage name "Carmit".


title: Victoria, Seychelles

text: Victoria () is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Seychelles, situated on the north-eastern side of Mahé island, the archipelago's main island. The city was first established as the seat of the British colonial government. In 2010, the population of Greater Victoria (including the suburbs) was 26,450 (26.66%) out of the country's total population of 99,202.


title: Victoria, Seychelles

text: The area that would become Victoria was originally settled in 1778 by French colonists after they claimed the island in 1756. The town was called "L'Établissement" until 1841 when it was renamed to Victoria by the British, after Queen Victoria.


title: Victoria, Seychelles

text: Tourism is an important sector of the economy. The principal exports of Victoria are vanilla, coconuts, coconut oil, fish and guano.


title: Victoria, Seychelles

text: Attractions in the city include a clocktower modelled on Little Ben in London, the courthouse, the Botanical Gardens, the National Museum of History, the Natural History Museum and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market. Victoria Market and the brightly coloured fish and fruit markets is the local hot spot for the Seychellois people.


title: Victoria, Seychelles

text: There are two cathedrals in Victoria, Immaculate Conception Cathedral (Roman Catholic) and St Paul's Cathedral (Anglican). There are also Baptist and Pentecostal churches, mosques and Hindu temples.


title: Victoria, Seychelles

text: Victoria is served by Seychelles International Airport, completed in 1971. The inner harbour lies immediately east of the town, where tuna fishing and canning is a major industry. One of the largest bridges in Victoria was destroyed by tsunami waves from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.


title: Victoria, Seychelles

text: Victoria features a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification "Af") with high temperatures throughout the course of the year. The capital does have noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year, with June and July being its driest months and December through February being the city's wettest months. However, since in no month does the average monthly precipitation falls below in Victoria, the city does not have a true dry season month. This lack of a true dry season month is a primary reason why the climate falls under the tropical rainforest climate category. The capital averages about of rainfall annually. Although being very rainy, skies are usually clear to partly clear and completely cloudy days remain scarce throughout the year even during the rainiest months.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: The siege of Sloviansk was an operation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to recapture the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast from pro-Russian insurgents who had seized it on 12 April 2014. The city was taken back on 5 July 2014 after shelling from artillery and heavy fighting. The fighting in Sloviansk marked the first major military engagement between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces, in the first run of battles in 2014.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 12 April 2014, as unrest grew in eastern Ukraine following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, masked men in fatigues, armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, captured the city administration building. These men, who claimed to be pro-Russian fighters under the banner of the Donetsk People's Republic, subsequently gained control of the rest of Sloviansk and began to fortify it. In response, the Ukrainian Yatsenyuk Government created the first Anti-Terrorist Operations zone (ATO) and launched a series of counter-offensives against the insurgents, resulting in a standoff and violent skirmishes.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: As tensions in the city increased, the insurgents began to take journalists and others captive, instigating a hostage crisis. The Security Service of Ukraine said on 18 April that "Sloviansk remains the hottest point in the region." On 20 April, Right Sector was ordered by acting President Oleksandr Turchinov to sabotage an insurgent-controlled television tower, leading to the first combat fatalities. By June, roughly 40% of the city's population had fled. On 5 July, after the insurgents had retreated to Donetsk City, Ukrainian authorities retook control of the city.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 12 April, a group of masked militants, which was formed in Crimea and led by former officer of Russian security services Igor Girkin, captured the executive committee building, the police department, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU, Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrayiny) offices in Sloviansk, a city in the northern part of the Donetsk Oblast. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry the militant supporters of the Donetsk Republic fired indiscriminately on the building. Raiding the police armoury, the militants seized at least 400 handguns and 20 automatic weapons. "The aim of the takeover was the guns," a Ukrainian police statement said. "They are giving these guns to participants in the protest in Sloviansk.". After takeover of the city by militants, Sloviansk mayor Nelya Shtepa briefly appeared at an occupied police station and expressed support for the militants. Others gathered outside the building and similarly voiced their support for the militants. They told Ukrainian journalists who were reporting on the situation to "go back to Kyiv". Nelya Shtepa was later arrested by the insurgents, and replaced by the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: The following morning the Ukrainian government announced a counter-terrorism operation in the city. An ultimatum was given for the separatists to disarm and surrender to authorities within 48 hours.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Police began the operation by clearing a highway checkpoint controlled by separatists. A group of insurgents exited their vehicle and opened fire on the Ukrainian police, killing two SBU officers and injuring several Ukrainian military personnel. One separatist was also killed in the shootout, while the remainder fled into the woods. The car the gunmen were in had a Poltava Oblast license plate, which was traced to the private security firm Yavir. In an unrelated shootout in the city itself, two people were shot dead by an assailant in plainclothes, and another was wounded.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: By the next day Sloviansk was reported to be under pro-Russian control, with more important government buildings and other areas taken by the militants. The Ukrainian army ground forces were deployed on the same day, after the separatists declined the ultimatum to lay down their arms. Two civilians were shot and killed at point blank range by pro-Russian militants in a car in Sloviansk; another one was wounded.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukrainian forces launched their first military offensive to regain control of the Kramatorsk regional air base, using transport helicopters and armoured vehicles. Militants attempted to regain control of the airport, resulting in heavy fighting, but were not successful. Russian media estimated that this clash resulted in between four and eleven deaths. The leader of the government military operation, General Vasyl Krutov, was attacked by pro-Russian sympathizers after addressing a crowd demonstrating in front of the air base. Ukrainian armoured units were reported to be encircling Sloviansk to blockade all approach routes.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema claimed that elements of the 45th Russian airborne division were seen in the Sloviansk area on 16 April. Six Ukrainian armoured vehicles drove through Sloviansk bearing Russian flags, after their crews had apparently defected to the separatist cause. The 25th Airborne Brigade that had been blockading Sloviansk was then disbanded on orders of Ukraine's president. The government announced that the soldiers responsible would be court martialled.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 18 April, Sloviansk "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev announced a "hunt" for Ukrainian speakers in the Donetsk region, commanding the militants to report suspicious activity, especially if they heard that the Ukrainian language was used.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukrainian media claimed that the Zhytomyr Armoured Brigade recaptured two of the six armoured vehicles near Kramatorsk late on 18 April. No fatalities were recorded while one separatist was wounded. Following negotiations, a compromise was reached to return the remaining four BMDs to the Ukrainian military, but an official from the Ministry of Defence announced that the vehicles were still in the hands of the rebels as of 23 April.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: In a later interview, Igor Strelkov, the commander of the pro-Russian forces at Sloviansk, claimed that they had six armoured vehicles, including a BMD-1, BMD-2, and a mortar carrier.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: A truce for Easter was called by the Ukrainian government, which promised to temporarily halt military action in eastern Ukraine on 19 April.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Pro-Russian members of the Donbass People's Militia began a pogrom targeting the Romani population of the town. According to the International Renaissance Foundation, a Ukrainian NGO, separatist militiamen entered houses inhabited by Romanis, beat the residents, including women and children, and stole their property. The militants claimed they were acting on orders from "people's mayor" and militant leader Vyacheslav Ponomarev. Reports of the attacks were confirmed by Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, as well as a heightened level of xenophobic rhetoric at separatist rallies. Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said that the government will not tolerate incitement of ethnic hatred and instructed law enforcement agencies to identify those involved in the attacks on Romani. According to Ponomarev, he held talks with Romani who he alleged were involved in drug trafficking, and "removed them from the city." Ponomarev said the incidents were not attacks on Romani, but rather "cleaning drugs out of the city."


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Separatists kidnapped Euromaidan activist and journalist Irma Krat who had arrived in the city to cover the conflict. They later paraded her blindfolded in front of the press.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 20 April, 20 Right Sector members led by Dmytro Yarosh were covertly sent by acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov to destroy the transformer of the Slavyansk television station on Karachun mountain. When their four-car convoy attempted to pass an insurgent-controlled checkpoint, a gunfight broke out, leading to the first combat fatalities of the conflict. Subsequently, the insurgents' claimed that they were attacked by Right Sector, but this was denied by the Kyiv government until two years later, when Dmytro Yarosh admitted that it was true. The two accounts continue to differ on which side shot first.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: The pro-Russian separatists in Sloviansk claimed to have confiscated firearms including a German World War II-era MG-42 machine gun, a night vision device, aerial photos of Sloviansk, military uniforms, camping tools, US cash, and an alleged Right Sector business card of presidential candidate Dmytro Yarosh. Right Sector symbols including a medallion were also claimed to have been found. Right Sector spokesman Artem Skoropadsky denied the group's involvement in the attack, and blamed Russian special forces for it. "We don't have ID cards with numbers. We only have ID cards with letters, where we mention the department where the person works," said Boryslav Bereza, head of the information department for Right Sector. CNN called the phone number on the calling card and reached a woman who expressed surprise at the situation. She said that she was in Kyiv and had no relation to anyone in Right Sector. Viktoriya Siumar, deputy head of Ukraine's National Security Council, said the shooting was being investigated, but that there were indications that it was "an argument between local criminal groups".


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Sky News correspondent Katie Stallard said there were inconsistencies in the separatists' accounts and there was no coherent evidence to back up their claims. Daniel Sandford of the BBC described the evidence presented as "dubious".


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said at least three separatists were killed and three wounded in what it suspected might have been an incident set up by Russian agents. "Armed lawbreakers and saboteurs who are terrorizing the local population around Slaviansk ... have turned to cynical provocation," the SBU security service said in a statement, describing the incident as a "staged attack". No group was present "other than the saboteurs and crime figures, supported and armed by officers of Russia's GRU" military intelligence, the SBU added. They also noted "One cannot but suspect the speed with which camera crews from Russian TV stations appeared at the scene of the shooting, and the obviously staged subject matter of news reports in the Russian media." The alleged Dmytro Yarosh business card was widely mocked on Ukrainian and Russian social media. In 2016, on the two-year anniversary of the attack, Dmytro Yarosh talked to "Censor.net", corroborating that he did in fact lead the attack (though the actual combat leader was an unnamed Afghan national), and gave a detailed account of it.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Following the incident, "people's mayor" Ponomarov appealed to Russia to intervene militarily. Ponomarev then instituted a curfew in the city.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: It was later reported that the man killed at the checkpoint was Pavel Pavelko, a resident of the surrounding area.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: OSCE monitors were barred from the city by the separatists on 21 April. An OSCE team "has been in Donetsk but has not yet made progress," one diplomat said. "They are trying to get back into Slovyansk, but pro-Russian demonstrators have been blocking the way." An OSCE assessment released Monday described the situation as "very tense" in Donetsk and as "deteriorating" in Sloviansk, where "the entire town is under the control of armed groups."


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukrainian officials distributed photos to the U.N and U.S councils allegedly showing that pro-Russian militants were undercover Russian special forces. Other photos showed militants equipped and dressed the same as Russian soldiers in Crimea.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: A Ukrainian military surveillance plane was damaged by small arms fire as it was on a reconnaissance flight over Sloviansk on 21 April, but safely made an emergency landing. None of the crew members were hurt. American journalist Simon Ostrovsky from Vice News was held captive by militants in the city.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 23 April Ukraine's Interior Ministry said it had cleared separatist forces out of the nearby city of Sviatohirsk and that no one was injured. "During the anti-terrorism operation by special forces, the city was freed," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. "Currently Sviatohirsk and its surroundings are being patrolled by police."


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ponomarev promised to prevent presidential elections in Ukraine at any cost. He said, "We will take all necessary measures so that elections in the southeast do not take place". Asked how he would accomplish this, he responded, "We'll take somebody as hostage and hang him by the balls." He also promised to destroy dissent, calling it "a harsh truth of life."


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 24 April, Ukrainian troops took control of three checkpoints surrounding the city, and according to the Interior Ministry, five separatists were killed and one police officer wounded in the attacks. The checkpoints were burned. Ukrainian forces distributed leaflets to residents of Sloviansk encouraging them to remain peaceful, and the Ministry reported that Ponomarev had announced that anyone seen with the leaflet would be "shot on the spot."


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: The leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic told Interfax-Ukraine that "a combined arms operation has been launched in Sloviansk. This means only one thing: a civil war." Ukrainian officials said that the counter-insurgency operation intended to retake all of Sloviansk the same day, but an increased threat of a Russian invasion halted the operation – Russian forces moved to within of the Ukrainian border. The government confirmed seven were killed during the operation.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukrainian Forces surrounded Sloviansk supported by multiple armoured columns, and warned civilians to stay indoors ahead of a planned offensive on 25 April. The pro-Russian militant commander Ponomarev threatened to turn Sloviansk into a "Stalingrad" if Ukrainian troops were to enter the town. He also reported that only one checkpoint to the east of Sloviansk remained under separatist control, while the rest had been captured the previous day.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukrainian authorities said that the second phase of the military operation in Sloviansk would include blockading the city to prevent any reinforcements from entering.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: In the city, it was reported that pro-Russian militants had beaten children whom they caught photographing a separatist checkpoint. The news caused a backlash in residents' opinions of the militants. BBC journalist Natalia Antelava was threatened at gunpoint by members of the Donbass People's Militia while attempting to interview locals.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Russian media, citing Russian Ministry of Defense analysis, reported that Ukrainian forces planned to wipe out the entire population of the city; this was denounced as propaganda in the Ukrainian press. On 26 April, the Ukrainian troops blockading the city began erecting checkpoints on roads leading to Sloviansk.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 28 April, self-proclaimed "deputy mayor" of Sloviansk, Igor Perepechayenko, was arrested by SBU officers. Officials claimed Perepechayenko had been establishing contact with the General staff of the Russian Armed Forces and the GRU, and was arrested at the Donetsk airport while returning from a flight from Moscow.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Residents reported that gunmen from the Donbas militia began extorting shop owners in the local market for "rent" and had begun stealing expensive cars.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: During the early morning on 2 May, Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale operation to retake the city. There were reports of gunfire, explosions, and a military helicopter opening fire. Separatists said one helicopter had been shot down, and one of the pilots captured. A commander at a separatist checkpoint told the Russian News & Information Agency that government forces took control of another of the roadblocks on the outskirts of Sloviansk, as well as the city's television broadcasting centre. A police station was reportedly re-captured, while the city centre remained quiet. Several armoured vehicles were seen outside the city. Separatist authorities claim that three militants and two civilians were killed in the clashes. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that up to nine checkpoints around Sloviansk had been seized. They also acknowledged the shooting down of two Mi-24 helicopters and the death of two airmen. Seven servicemen were wounded. The pilot of one of the Mi-24s, badly wounded, was captured by pro-Russian forces.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: The fighting died down by afternoon, but by the evening separatists launched a counteroffensive that killed two Ukrainian paratroopers at Andriivka, southwest of Sloviansk. Ukrainian National Guard Commander Stepan Poltorak said that the town had been practically cleared of terrorists.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: After the helicopters were shot down, Ukrainian authorities stated that this had been done with Russian man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS). Jane's Information Group editor and military analyst Nicholas de Larrinaga says that the use of "MANPADS outside of formal armed forces has historically been very rare" and that the type used was an "Igla" model, either the earlier 9K310 Igla-1 (SA-16 'Gimlet'), or the later 9K38 Igla (SA-18 'Grouse'), which are in service with both the Ukrainian and Russian armed forces. An independent Russian military journalist, Pavel Felgenhauer, said that the effective usage of MANPADS in Ukraine proved not only that the people who used it were specially trained, but that the weaponry was supplied by Russia. According to Felgenhauer, Soviet MANPADS would not be functioning right away, as they were equipped with a short-lived battery. On the other hand, MANPADS of the Ukrainian army (type "Igla") would not hit a Ukrainian helicopter, because such systems have a friend-or-foe identification ability.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: During the fighting, about one hundred civilians gathered outside the city hall to appeal for Russian intervention.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 5 May, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced that Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fighting with pro-Russian separatists on the outskirts of the city, and said the separatists, numbering as many as 800, fired "large-caliber weapons," and "used mortars and other equipment." Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and twenty more were wounded in the fighting. He claimed 30 "terrorists" were killed, and dozens wounded. Strelkov, a Donbas Militia leader, told the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti that "We lost around 10, including peaceful residents, and 20–25 were wounded." According to a statement on the Interior Ministry's website, separatists used unarmed civilians as human shields as they attacked Ukrainian troops and set fire to nearby buildings, and fired at a minibus carrying wounded people from the battlefield, killing an officer in a special police unit who was escorting it. Pro-Russian insurgents also shot down a Ukrainian M-24 helicopter in Sloviansk using a heavy machine gun.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Following the referendum on the status of Donetsk Oblast, on 12 May, Donbass People's Militia leader Igor Girkin declared himself "Supreme Commander" of the Donetsk People's Republic. In his decree, he demanded all military stationed in the region swear an oath of allegiance to him within 48 hours, and said that war would be waged upon those who did not. This was followed on 15 May by a deputy of Strelkov issuing a second ultimatum at a press conference, giving Ukraine 24 hours to withdraw its troops from Donetsk. On the 23rd, he urged all residents of the city to evacuate, saying that artillery would be used.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Throughout this time, attacks by both sides continued. These included a separatist attack on a Ukrainian convoy near Kramatorsk on 13 May which killed seven Ukrainian paratroopers and a disputed number of separatists, and mortar attacks on Ukrainian positions at Mount Karachun, near Sloviansk, on 19 and 20 May leaving one Ukrainian soldier dead and seven wounded.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukrainian forces used artillery fire against Sloviansk and surrounding villages; pro-Russian sources said that three villages including Semenivka were damaged by Ukrainian artillery fire on 19 May, and it was also reported that two civilians were killed by artillery fire in Sloviansk itself on 26 May, and three on 7 June. The following day, 120 children were evacuated from the city.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: The Ukrainian military also used both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft over Sloviansk throughout May and June which suffered a number of losses, the most serious being the shooting down of an Mi-8 helicopter on 29 May, killing 12 including the helicopter's crew, six representatives of the Berkut special task force, and Ukrainian National Guard general Serhiy Kulchytskiy. Two helicopters were downed on 3 June, an An-30 surveillance aircraft was shot down on 6 June, and another helicopter on 24 June, a day after the agreement to a week-long ceasefire, killing all nine on board.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Separatists made repeated attacks on the checkpoints that the Ukrainian forces had set up on roads leading out of Sloviansk, inflicting and suffering casualties without taking the positions. On 24 May, an attack with mortars, RPGs and small arms killed two Ukrainian soldiers, while a mortar attack on 7 June left one dead. An attack with mortars and automatic grenade launchers and mortars on 28 June killed three Ukrainian servicemen.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 3 June, the Ukrainian military launched a new offensive against Sloviansk and the nearby village of Semenivka. The fighting left at least ten separatists and two Ukrainian soldiers dead, and 42 Ukrainian soldiers and 12 separatists were wounded, while one Ukrainian armoured personnel carrier was damaged. A Ukrainian military convoy was attacked while moving south toward Sloviansk from Izyum.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Divisions emerged within the separatist forces. On 27 May Girkin said that some of his men had engaged in looting of the city, and that in response he had had company commander Dmitry Slavov and platoon commander Nikolai Lukyanov executed. Ponomarev was dismissed from his post and arrested by Strelkov on 10 June. "The so-called people's mayor Ponomarev has been dismissed for engaging in activities incompatible with the goals and tasks of the civil administration. I cannot provide further details for now," Strelkov said in his statement.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 21 June, a suspected agent allegedly recruited by the FSB was captured by the State Security Service near Sloviansk.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: President Poroshenko declared an end to the ceasefire at the end of June, after at least 27 Ukrainian servicemen were killed during it. A renewed government offensive followed, once again using heavy artillery and airstrikes. A TV tower on Mount Karachun was destroyed by shelling.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: DPR militants retreated from Sloviansk on 5 July. According to Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, he personally gave the order for the Ukrainian flag to be raised over the town. Separatists and Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov both said that a portion of the rebels, including Girkin, military commander of the DPR, were retreating from Sloviansk. Avakov claimed that the separatists were "suffering losses and surrendering", and had lost one tank and four armoured vehicles in the retreat. Associated Press quoted Andrei Purgin, a spokesman for the separatists' self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, as saying the rebels were evacuating. A rebel commander said that they were falling back to Kramatorsk. Captured hostages claimed to have freed themselves from Sloviansk's main police station, and confirmed the rebel retreat. According to Girkin, 80-90 percent of his men had escaped from Sloviansk. On 11 July spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Lysenko claimed Ukrainian security forces had not destroyed the retreating military column because they had received information that the separatists were using human shields.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 5 July, the Ukrainian flag was hoisted over the city council building. Several hostages, including Mayor Nelia Shtepa, were freed.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Following the fall of Sloviansk, in the same weekend (5–6 July), government forces took control of several other towns in northern Donetsk Oblast: Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka and Artemivsk.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 11 July, Sloviansk's Mayor Nelya Shtepa was arrested for an "attack on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine".


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 24 July, Human Rights Watch reported that Ukrainian authorities found and exhumed a mass grave in the city.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Thirteen military international observers were referred to by insurgent leader Vyacheslav Ponomarev as "prisoners of war". Ponomarev warned hostages would be killed if he came under attack. As of 2 May, the "Kyiv Post" reported that 31 people remained missing or were hostages in Donetsk Oblast.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukraine's acting president relaunched military operations against pro-Russian militants in the east after two men, one a local politician, were found tortured to death. The politician, Volodymyr Ivanovych Rybak, from the Batkivshchyna party, was found near Sloviansk. Both men had the same cause of death: "combined injuries due to torture and death by drowning while unconscious." Rybak was kidnapped by four pro-Russian militants in camouflage after he took part in a "For a United Ukraine" demonstration near the Horlivka city council building – he was found in the river with a backpack filled with sand around his back and gutted. A statement by Ukraine's SBU state security service implicated Igor Bezler and Igor Strelkov – whom it describes as senior officers in Russia's GRU military intelligence services which is leading the pro-Russian separatist movement in eastern Ukraine – in Rybak's murder.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Rybak's wife, Elena, claimed at a news conference that the checkpoints into the city of Horlivka were manned by Chechen militants, and they would not allow her to enter the city to identify his body.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) released a YouTube video implicating Bezler with an alleged audio recording. In it, he allegedly orders a subordinate to abduct Rybak, tie his hands and blindfold him, and then drive him to a remote place so that he could rendezvous with the captors. In the second part of the recording, Russian Military Intelligence Colonel Strelkov calls Ponomarev to take care of (Rybak's) body because it "is lying here and beginning to smell." In response, Ponomarev complies, and says he will come to take the body and "organize the burial of this rooster."


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 22 April, Simon Ostrovsky of Vice News was detained by pro-Russian separatists. "We had been looking into whether there were actual Russians involved in what's going on here – for the two days prior to me being captured," Ostrovsky said. "I had been phoning them and requesting interviews with them on that subject so maybe that's why they decided it was time to stop me." Recounting the experience, he claimed, "They beat me up as an introduction to the whole situation, blindfolded me, tied my hands behind my back," Ostrovsky said. "Then they eventually untied them and I was just hanging out in the room with the other prisoners." Ostrovsky says his captors accused him of working for the CIA and FBI, and that during his stay "a dozen other nameless detainees were ferried in and out of the cellar of the Ukraine state security (SBU) building by the pro-Russia militants" and that many had been there for up to two weeks.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: When asked of his whereabouts during a press conference, self-appointed "people's mayor" Ponomarev said "nobody abducted him, nobody is holding him hostage, he's with us now in at the SBU, preparing material and working."


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Stella Khoraeva, a spokeswoman for pro-Russian insurgents, told the Associated Press that Ostrovsky was "fine" and "suspected of bad activities," but refused to explain. She added that the pro-Russian group was conducting an investigation into Ostrovsky's activities. Khoraeva then said Ostrovsky was initially captured for spying on behalf of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists. Ponomarev reciprocated this claim, saying "According to our information, he is an informer of the Right Sector." Later, she said that the insurgents had planned to take Ostrovsky, which was prompted from his "incorrect way" of reporting. "We knew where he was going and the men manning the checkpoint were told to look out for him," she said.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Ponomarev has said his arrest was "so he wouldn't put out a lot of provocative commentary, so he wouldn't conduct hostile activity on our territory. In the final analysis, he is an undesirable element in our area." When asked when he would be released, he said he would be released "when we consider it necessary for him to get out." He also reiterated that he is not a hostage, but that they were 'defining his place of stay, so to speak.' The self-styled mayor then said that Ostrovsky could be released in a trade: "We need captives. We need a bargaining chip. Many of our comrades are imprisoned. Those guys [Ukrainians] are grabbing them, then taking them to Kyiv and torturing them. So then, we're doing the very same thing. That is, in the sense that we're taking captives," said Ponomarev.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: Jen Psaki, the US State Department spokeswoman, said US authorities are "deeply concerned" about the situation and are working to resolve it. "We condemn any such actions, and all recent hostage-takings in eastern Ukraine".


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 25 April near Sloviansk, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry lost contact with military inspectors from OSCE participating states. The group, on an inspection mission under the Vienna Document on military transparency, was made up of three German soldiers, a German translator, and military observers from Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, a ministry spokesman said. "In Donetsk region communication has been lost with members of the OSCE military verification mission ... According to preliminary reports, they could be captured by terrorists," the director of the ministry's information policy department, Yevhen Perebyinis, said at a briefing. The Interior Ministry later confirmed that 13 people (seven members from OSCE countries, five Ukrainian military representatives, and the driver) had been taken hostage by pro-Russian militants and held in the SBU building. Ponomarev says he believes the detained military observers have a Kyiv "spy" in their group. "People who come here as observers for the European community bringing with them a real spy – that is inappropriate," Ponomarev told reporters. He also claimed the detention was due to the bus having "banned ammunition on board," and he along with Russian media accused the observers of being "NATO officers." The separatists have said they refuse to release the hostages until they meet with "competent authorities in Russia". Igor Strelkov, commander of the separatist militia, accused the monitors of being "NATO spies," and that they would only be exchanged for pro-Russian "activists" held in custody in Kyiv. On 3 May, following the second offensive on Sloviansk, the observers along with five Ukrainian observers were released. The SBU then released what they described as a tapped phone call implicating Russia in the abduction, naming specifically Vladimir Lukin and Igor Girkin.


title: Siege of Sloviansk

text: On 29 May, Ponomarev admitted that he and his men were holding four OSCE observers, promising that they would be freed soon, according to Russia's Interfax news agency. He said they were detained for being "most-zealous." The OSCE said it had lost contact with one of its four-person monitoring teams in Donetsk on Monday evening. His men had previously kidnapped OSCE monitors in eastern Ukraine.


title: Ha-ha

text: A ha-ha ( or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view of the landscape beyond from the other side.


title: Ha-ha

text: The design can include a turfed incline that slopes downward to a sharply vertical face (typically a masonry retaining wall). Ha-has are used in landscape design to prevent access to a garden by, for example, grazing livestock, without obstructing views. In security design, the element is used to deter vehicular access to a site while minimizing visual obstruction.


title: Ha-ha

text: The name "ha-ha" is thought to have stemmed from the reaction of the son of Louis XIV of France whose governess prevented him from approaching the drop for fear of injury. When he approached, he said "Ha Ha, this is what I'm supposed to be afraid of?" and since then more people started referring to "saut de loup" as "Ha Ha"; alternatively it could be just because of the element of surprise one has when approaching the construction. It may have been referred to as "ha-hah" as an abbreviation of "half and half" with half a wall and half a ditch although this explanation is rarely favored. In a letter to Daniel Dering in 1724, John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont (grandfather to the prime minister Spencer Perceval), observed of Stowe: "What adds to the beauty of this garden is, that it is not bounded by walls, but by a ha-hah, which leaves you the sight of the beautiful woody country, and makes you ignorant how far the high planted walks extend." In the 18th century, they were often called a sunken or sunk fence, at least in formal writing, as by Horace Walpole, George Mason and Humphry Repton. Walpole also referred to them as Kent-fences, named after William Kent.


title: Ha-ha

text: Before mechanical lawn mowers, a common way to keep large areas of grassland trimmed was to allow livestock, usually sheep, to graze the grass. A ha-ha prevented grazing animals on large estates from gaining access to the lawn and gardens adjoining the house, giving a continuous vista to create the illusion that the garden and landscape were one and undivided.


title: Ha-ha

text: The basic design of sunken ditches is of ancient origin, being a feature of deer parks in England. The deer-leap or consisted of a ditch with one steep side surmounted by a pale (picket-style fence made of wooden stakes) or hedge, which allowed deer to enter the park but not to leave. Since the time of the Norman conquest of England the right to construct a deer-leap was granted by the king, with reservations made as to the depth of the foss or ditch and the height of the pale or hedge. On Dartmoor, the deer-leap was known as a "leapyeat".


title: Ha-ha

text: The name "ha-ha" is of French origin, with the term being attested in toponyms in New France from 1686 (as seen today in Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!), and being a feature of the gardens of the Château de Meudon, circa 1700. The technical innovation was presented in Dezallier d'Argenville's "La théorie et la pratique du jardinage" (1709), which the architect John James (1712) translated into English:


title: Ha-ha

text: Grills of iron are very necessary ornaments in the lines of walks, to extend the view, and to show the country to advantage. At present we frequently make thoroughviews, called Ah, Ah, which are openings in the walls, without grills, to the very level of the walks, with a large and deep ditch at the foot of them, lined on both sides to sustain the earth, and prevent the getting over; which surprises the eye upon coming near it, and makes one laugh, Ha! Ha! from where it takes its name. This sort of opening is haha, on some occasions, to be preferred, for that it does not at all interrupt the prospect, as the bars of a grill do.


title: Ha-ha

text: The etymology of the term is generally given as being an expression of surprise—someone says "ha ha" or "ah! ah!" when they encounter such a feature. This is the explanation given in French, where it is traditionally attributed to Louis, Grand Dauphin, on encountering such features at Meudon, by d'Argenville (trans. James), above, and by Walpole, who surmised that the name is derived from the response of ordinary folk on encountering them and that they were "... then deemed so astonishing, that the common people called them Ha! Has! to express their surprise at finding a sudden and unperceived check to their walk." Thomas Jefferson, describing the garden at Stowe after his visit in April 1786, also uses the term with exclamation marks: "The inclosure is entirely by ha! ha!"


title: Ha-ha

text: In Britain, the ha-ha is a feature of the landscape gardens laid out by Charles Bridgeman and William Kent and was an essential component of the "swept" views of Capability Brown. Horace Walpole credits Bridgeman with the invention of the ha-ha but was unaware of the earlier French origins.


title: Ha-ha

text: The contiguous ground of the park without the sunk fence was to be harmonized with the lawn within; and the garden in its turn was to be set free from its prim regularity, that it might assort with the wilder country without.


title: Ha-ha

text: During his excavations at Iona in the period 1964–1984, Richard Reece discovered an 18th-century ha-ha designed to protect the abbey from cattle. Ice houses were sometimes built into ha-ha walls because they provide a subtle entrance that makes the ice house a less intrusive structure, and the ground provides additional insulation.


title: Ha-ha

text: Most typically, ha-has are still found in the grounds of grand country houses and estates. They keep cattle and sheep out of the formal gardens, without the need for obtrusive fencing. They vary in depth from about (Horton House) to (Petworth House).


title: Ha-ha

text: Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire is separated from its extensive grounds by a ha-ha to prevent sheep and cattle from entering the Hall's gardens or the Hall itself.


title: Ha-ha

text: An unusually long example is the ha-ha that separates the Royal Artillery Barracks Field from Woolwich Common in southeast London. This deep ha-ha was installed around 1774 to prevent sheep and cattle, grazing at a stopover on Woolwich Common on their journey to the London meat markets, from wandering onto the Royal Artillery gunnery range. A rare feature of this east-west ha-ha is that the normally hidden brick wall emerges above ground for its final 75 yards (70 metres) or so as the land falls away to the west, revealing a fine batter to the brickwork face of the wall, thus exposed. This final west section of the ha-ha forms the boundary of the Gatehouse by James Wyatt RA. The Royal Artillery ha-ha is maintained in a good state of preservation by the Ministry of Defence. It is a Listed Building, and is accompanied by Ha-Ha Road that runs alongside its full length. There is a shorter ha-ha in the grounds of the nearby Jacobean Charlton House. The Royal Crescent row of 30 terraced houses in Bath, Somerset, which were built between 1767 and 1774 in the Georgian architecture style, also feature a large ha-ha that provides an uninterrupted view of Royal Victoria Park.


title: Ha-ha

text: In Australia, ha-has were also used at Victorian-era lunatic asylums such as Yarra Bend Asylum, Beechworth Asylum, and Kew Lunatic Asylum in Victoria, and the Parkside Lunatic Asylum in South Australia. From the inside, the walls presented a tall face to patients, preventing them from escaping, while from outside they looked low so as not to suggest imprisonment. For the patients themselves, standing before the trench, it also enabled them to see the wider landscape. Kew Asylum has been redeveloped as apartments; however some of the ha-has remain, albeit partially filled in.


title: Ha-ha

text: Ha-has were also used in North America. Only two historic installations remain in Canada, one of which is on the grounds of Nova Scotia's Uniacke House (1813), a rural estate built by Richard John Uniacke, an Irish-born Attorney-General of Nova Scotia.


title: Ha-ha

text: Mount Vernon, the plantation of George Washington, incorporates ha-haws on its grounds as part of the landscaping for the mansion built by George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington.


title: Ha-ha

text: A 21st-century use of a ha-ha is at the Washington Monument to minimize the visual impact of security measures. After 9/11 and another unrelated terror threat at the monument, authorities had put up jersey barriers to prevent large motor vehicles from approaching the monument. The temporary barriers were later replaced with a new ha-ha, a low 0.76 m (30-inch) granite stone wall that incorporated lighting and doubled as a seating bench. It received the 2005 Park/Landscape Award of Merit.


title: Ha-ha

text: Due to the hidden nature of ha-has, they can pose potential injury to the public (especially considering their initial designs were to be invisible).


title: 95th Academy Awards

text: The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor films released in 2022, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 12, 2023. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel will host the show for the third time, after having done so for the 89th and 90th editions of the ceremony.


title: 95th Academy Awards

text: On June 21, 2022, the Academy announced its winners of the 13th annual Governors Awards ceremony which was held on November 19, 2022, during which the Academy Honorary Awards and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award were presented to the following recipients:


title: Social services

text: Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administered by a government agency. Social services are connected with the concept of welfare and the welfare state, as countries with large welfare programs often provide a wide range of social services. Social services are employed to address the wide range of needs of a society. Prior to industrialisation, the provision of social services was largely confined to private organisations and charities, with the extent of its coverage also limited. Social services are now generally regarded globally as a 'necessary function' of society and a mechanism through which governments may address societal issues.


title: Social services

text: The provision of social services by governments is linked to the belief of universal human rights, democratic principles, as well as religious and cultural values. The availability and coverage of social services varies significantly within societies. The main groups which social services is catered towards are: families, children, youths, elders, women, the sick and the disabled. Social services consists of facilities and services such as: public education, welfare, infrastructure, mail, libraries, social work, food banks, universal health care, police, fire services, public transportation and public housing.


title: Social services

text: The term ‘social services’ is often substituted with other terms such as social welfare, social protection, social assistance, social care and social work, with many of the terms overlapping in characteristics and features. What is considered a ‘social service’ in a specific country is determined by its history, cultural norms, political system and economic status. The most central aspects of social services include education, health services, housing programs and transport services. Social services can be both communal and individually based. This means that they may be implemented to provide assistance to the community broadly, such as economic support for unemployed citizens, or they may be administered specifically considering the need of an individual - such as foster homes. Social services are provided through a variety of models. Some of these models include:


title: Social services

text: Social services may be available to the entirety of the population, such as the police and fire services, or they may be available to only specific groups or sections of society. Some examples of social service recipients include elderly people, children and families, people with disabilities, including both physical and mental disabilities. These may extend to drug users, young offenders and refugees and asylum seekers depending on the country and its social service programs, as well as the presence of non-governmental organisations.


title: Social services

text: The development of social services increased significantly in the last two decades of the nineteenth century in Europe. There are a number of factors that contributed to the development of social services in this period. These include: the impacts of industrialisation and urbanisation, the influence of Protestant thought regarding state responsibility for welfare, and the growing influence of trade unions and the labour movement.


title: Social services

text: In the nineteenth century, as countries industrialised further, the extent of social services in the form of labour schemes and compensation expanded. The expansion of social services began following Britain's legislation of the 1833 Factory Act. The legislation set limits on the minimum age of children working, preventing children younger than 9 years of age from working. Additionally, the Act set a limit of 48 working hours per week for children aged 9 to 13, and for children aged 13 to 18 it was set at 12 hours per day. The Act also was the first legislation requiring compulsory schooling within Britain. Another central development for the existence of social services was Switzerland's legislation of the Factory Act in 1877. The Factory Act introduced limitations on working hours, provided maternity benefits and provided workplace protections for children and young adults. In Germany, Otto von Bismarck also introduced a large amount of social welfare legislation in this period. Mandatory sickness insurance was introduced in 1883, with workplace accident insurance enacted in 1884 alongside old age and invalidity schemes in 1889. Insurance laws of this kind were emulated in other European countries afterwards, with Sweden enacting voluntary sickness insurance in 1892, Denmark in 1892, Belgium in 1894, Switzerland in 1911, and Italy in 1886. Additionally, Belgium, France and Italy enacted legislation subsidising voluntary old-age insurance in this period. By the time the Netherlands introduced compulsory sickness insurance in 1913, all major European countries had introduced some form of insurance scheme.


title: Social services

text: According to Carmelo Meso-Lago, social services and welfare systems within South America developed in three separate stages, with three groups of countries developing at different rates. The first group, consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay, developed social insurance schemes in the late 1910s and the 1920s. The notable schemes, which had been implemented by 1950, consisted of work injury insurance, pensions, and sickness and maternity insurance. The second group, consisting of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, implemented these social services in the 1940s. The extent to which these programs and laws were implemented were less extensive than the first group. In the final group, consisting of the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua, social services programmes were implemented in the 1950s and 1960s, with the least coverage out of each group. With the exception of Nicaragua, social service programs are not available for unemployment insurance or family allowances. Average expenditure on social services programs in as a percentage of GDP in these states is 5.3%, which is significantly lower than that of Europe and North America.


title: Social services

text: Within Asia, the significant development of social services first began in Japan after the conclusion of World War II. Due to rising levels of social inequality in the 1950s following the reformation of the Japanese economy, the incumbent Liberal Democratic Party legislated extensive health insurance laws in 1958 and pensions in 1959 to address societal upheaval. In Singapore, a compulsory superannuation scheme was introduced in 1955. Within Korea, voluntary health insurance was made available in 1963 and mandated in 1976. Private insurance was only available to citizens employed by large corporate firms, whilst a separate insurance plans were provided to civil servants and military personnel. In Taiwan, the Kuomintang government in 1953 propagated a healthcare inclusive workers insurance programme. A separate insurance scheme for bureaucrats and the military was also provided in Korea in this time. In 1968, Singapore increased its social services program to include public housing, and expanding this further in 1984 to include medical care. Within both Korea and Taiwan, by the 1980s the amount of workers that were covered by labour insurance had not increased above 20%.


title: Social services

text: Following domestic political upheaval within Asian countries in the 1980s, the availability social services considerably increased in the region. In 1988 in Korea, health insurance was granted to self-employed rural workers, with coverage extended to urban-based self-employed workers in 1989. Additionally, a national pension program was initiated. Within Taiwan, an extensive national health insurance system was enacted in 1994 and implemented in 1995. During this period the Japanese government also expanded social services for children and the elderly, providing increased support services, increasing funding to care facilities and organisations, and legislating new insurance programs. In the 1990s, Shanghai introduced a housing affordability program which was then later expanded to include all of China. In 2000, Hong Kong introduced a superannuation scheme policy, with China implementing a similar policy soon after.


title: Social services

text: There have been several findings which indicate that social services have a positive impact upon the quality of life of individuals. An OECD study in 2011 found that the countries with the highest ratings were Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, whilst the lowest ratings were given by people from Estonia, Portugal and Hungary. Another study recorded by the Global Barometer of Happiness in 2011 found similar results. Both of these studies indicated that the most important aspects of quality of life to people were health, education, welfare and the cost of living. Additionally, the countries with the perception of high-quality public services, specifically Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, scored the highest on levels of happiness. Conversely, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania and Italy, who scored low on levels of satisfaction of social services, had low levels of happiness, with some sociologists arguing this indicates there is a strong correlation between happiness and social services.


title: Social services

text: Research indicates that welfare programs, which are included as a part of social services, have a considerable impact upon poverty rates in countries in which welfare expenditure accounts for over 20% of their GDP.


title: Social services

text: However, the impact of social service programs on poverty varies depending on the service. One paper conducted within China indicates that social services in the form of direct financial assistance does not have a positive impact on the reduction of poverty rates. The paper also stated that the provision of public services in the form of medical insurance, health services and hygiene protection have a 'significantly positive' impact upon the reduction of poverty.


title: Social services

text: The table below displays the welfare spending of countries as a percentage of their total GDP. The statistics are sourced from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.


title: Social services

text: According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the provision of health services is a significant factor in ensuring that individuals are able to maintain their health and wellbeing. The WHO identifies 16 health services that must be provided by countries in order to ensure that universal health coverage is achieved. These are classified under four categories: reproductive, maternal and children health services, infectious diseases, 'noncommunicable' diseases, and basic access to medical services. OECD data reveals that the provision of universal health coverage leads to significantly positive outcomes on society. This includes a positive correlation between life expectancy and the provision of health services and a negative relationship between life expectancy and countries which's social service programs do not provide universal healthcare coverage. Additionally, the density of the provision of healthcare services by the government is positively associated with increases in life expectancy.


title: Social services

text: Within the area of child welfare, social services aim to provide help to children and their families, whilst providing mechanisms to ensure they are able to live safe, stable lives with a permanent home. In the United States, 3 million children are maltreated each year, with the overall economic costs of child maltreatment totalling up to US$80 billion annually. Social service programs cost the US$29 billion USD on child maltreatment prevention and child welfare services. According to researchers, social service programs are effective in reducing maltreatment and reducing overall economic costs to society, however the effectiveness of these programs are significantly reduced when they are not correctly implemented, or when these programs are not implemented together. The issues in which social services attempt at preventing for children include substance abuse, underemployment and unemployment, homelessness and criminal convictions. Social service programs within this area include family preservation, kinship care, foster and residential care.


title: Social services

text: Empirical evidence suggests that social service programs have had a significant impact upon the employment of single mothers. Following 1996 welfare reform in the US, employment rates among single mothers have increased considerably from 60% in 1994 to 72% in 1999. Social services, particularly education, are considered by UNICEF as an effective method through which to combat gender inequality. Social services such as education may be employed to overcome discrimination and challenge gender norms. Social services, notably educational programs and aid provided by organisations such as UNICEF, are also essential in providing women strategies and tools to prevent and respond to domestic and family violence. Other examples of social services which may help address this issue include the police, welfare services, counselling, legal aid and healthcare.


title: Social services

text: Social services have played a central role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers, public officials, teachers, social welfare officers and other public servants have provided critical services in containing the pandemic and ensuring society functions. The impact of the pandemic was compounded by the shortage of social services globally, with the world requiring six million more nurses and midwives to achieve the goals set within the Sustainable Development Goals at the time of the outbreak. Social services, such as education, have been required to adapt to changing social conditions whilst still providing essential services. Social services have expanded worldwide through the introduction of economic stimulus packages, with governments globally committing US$130 Billion as of June 2020 to manage the pandemic.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: Popular is an American teenage comedy-drama television series that aired on The WB, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two teenage girls who reside on opposite ends of the popularity spectrum at their high school, but are forced to get along when their single parents meet on a cruise ship and get married. The show was produced by Touchstone Television and ran for two seasons on The WB from September 29, 1999, to May 18, 2001.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: Brooke McQueen (Leslie Bibb) and Sam McPherson (Carly Pope), students at Jacqueline Kennedy High School, are polar opposites. Brooke is a popular cheerleader and Sam is an unpopular reporter for the school newspaper. Their respective groups are forced to socialize when Brooke's father and Sam's mother get engaged and the two girls have to share a house.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: The plot of the first season revolves around the girls' school life, rival groups of friends, mutual animosity and plan to separate their parents. At the end of the season, Sam finds Brooke's real mother and encourages her to come back to town, which breaks up the engagement and splits the new family apart.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: By the second season, Brooke and Sam realize that their parents were happy together, and therefore team up to reunite them, a move which results in the girls slowly becoming close friends, and even referring to each other as "family", though tensions rise when they both get involved with the same boy. Also, a reversal of fortunes takes place, with Brooke resigning from cheerleading to focus on her studies, and Sam experiencing a surge of sudden popularity at school. In the end of the second-season finale – which turned out to be the unexpected series finale when the show was cancelled – Brooke is run over by a drunk and angry Nicole Julian (Tammy Lynn Michaels).


title: Popular (TV series)

text: The show aired in Sweden and Brazil with subtitles while retaining the original music and English dialogue. It also premiered with dubbed versions in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy and Russia.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: The complete series of "Popular" has been released on DVD in region 1 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The DVD versions of select episodes had to change several songs that were used in the original aired episodes to stock music due to licensing fees. Television shows like "Dawson's Creek", "Daria", "Mission Hill", "Grosse Pointe" and other series also went through similar situations where their DVD and streaming (ex. Netflix, Hulu) counterparts used stock music as a replacement in order to cut costs of using other artists' music.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: The show's main opening theme was excerpted from the song "Supermodels", a track from indie singer-songwriter Kendall Payne's 1999 album "Jordan's Sister". The ending theme song is "High School Highway" by Sydney Forest.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: In a review for Amazon.com, Bret Fetzer wrote, "The key to "Popular" is how it merges melodramatic soap-opera stories with wrenchingly blunt and honest portrayals of the cruelties of adolescence. While some viewers may find it galling to listen to a gorgeous young actress who's been on magazine covers moan about how she can't be as perfect as a model, the series tackles everything from anorexia to peer manipulation to teen sex with directness and an eye for moral and emotional complexity. An episode about a Sadie Hawkins dance becomes a satirical farce about body image (female and male); a slumber party turns into brutal humiliation; a teacher decides to get a sex-change operation, prompting anxiety throughout the school. Almost every character gets a moment of heartfelt grandstanding, yet the actors pull them off with commitment and guts ([Sara] Rue routinely turns speeches that could have been cheesy schlock into genuine pathos). Sure, some fantasy sequences are silly, but the show skillfully creates characters and situations that defy easy definition..."Popular" cunningly subverts expectations; it's a smart show for both."In 2014, "Entertainment Weekly" listed "Popular" at #21 on its list of the "26 Best Cult TV Shows Ever", calling it "the proto-"Glee"" and saying it "celebrated the value of outcasts and portrayed overplayed topics—Homecoming Court, sex, and secrets—through an absurdist lens."


title: Popular (TV series)

text: In February 2000, the casts of "Popular" and "Freaks and Geeks" competed against each other in a special celebrity week of "Family Feud" hosted by Louie Anderson.


title: Popular (TV series)

text: Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope appeared in episode 6 of fellow WB series "Grosse Pointe" as actresses from "Popular" in a volleyball game against Johnny and Courtney.


title: Mystic Pop-up Bar

text: Mystic Pop-up Bar () is a 2020 South Korean television series starring Hwang Jung-eum, Yook Sung-jae and Choi Won-young. Based on the Daum webtoon "Twin Tops Bar" by Bae Hye-soo, it is the first series to air on JTBC's Wednesday–Thursday time slot in eight years. The series aired from May 20 to June 25, 2020.


title: Mystic Pop-up Bar

text: "Mystic Pop-up Bar" tells the story of a mysterious pojangmacha (outdoor drinking establishment) run by an ill-tempered woman named Weol-ju (Hwang Jung-eum), an innocent part-time employee named Han Kang-bae (Yook Sung-jae), and a former afterlife detective known as Chief Gwi (Choi Won-young) who visit customers in their dreams to help resolve their problems. Kang-bae has a unique ability that is useful to Weol-ju - with a touch, he can make people pour out all their troubles. This is very useful to Weol-ju who needs to settle the grudges of 100,000 souls.


title: Mystic Pop-up Bar

text: The first script reading took place in August 2019 at JTBC Building in Sangam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.


title: Fire and Ice (poem)

text: "Fire and Ice" is a popular poem by Robert Frost that discusses the end of the world, likening the elemental force of fire with the emotion of desire, and ice with hate. Published in December 1920 in "Harper's Magazine" and in 1923 in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book "New Hampshire", "Fire and Ice" is one of Frost's best-known and most anthologized poems.


title: Fire and Ice (poem)

text: According to one of Frost's biographers, "Fire and Ice" was inspired by a passage in Canto 32 of Dante's "Inferno", in which the worst offenders of hell (the traitors) are submerged up to their necks in ice while in a fiery hell: "a lake so bound with ice, / It did not look like water, but like a glass...right clear / I saw, where sinners are preserved in ice."


title: Fire and Ice (poem)

text: In an anecdote he recounted in 1960 in a "Science and the Arts" presentation, the prominent astronomer Harlow Shapley claims to have inspired "Fire and Ice". Shapley describes an encounter he had with Frost a year before the poem was published in which Frost, noting that Shapley was "the" astronomer of his day, asked him how the world will end. Shapley responded that either the sun will explode and incinerate the Earth, or the Earth will somehow escape this fate only to end up slowly freezing in deep space. Shapley was surprised at seeing "Fire and Ice" in print a year later, and referred to it as an example of how science can influence the creation of art, or clarify its meaning.


title: Fire and Ice (poem)

text: The poem is written in a single nine-line stanza, which greatly narrows in the last two lines. The poem's meter is an irregular mix of iambic tetrameter and dimeter, and the rhyme scheme (which is ABA ABC BCB) suggests but departs from the rigorous pattern of Dante's terza rima.


title: Fire and Ice (poem)

text: Marveled at for its compactness, "Fire and Ice" signaled for Frost "a new style, tone, manner, [and] form." Its casual tone masks the serious question it poses to the reader.


title: Fire and Ice (poem)

text: In a 1999 article, John N. Serio claims that the poem is a compression of Dante's "Inferno". He draws a parallel between the nine lines of the poem with the nine rings of Hell, and notes that, like the downward funnel of the rings of Hell, the poem narrows considerably in the last two lines. Additionally, the rhyme scheme—ABA ABC BCB—he remarks, is similar to the one Dante invented for "Inferno".


title: Fire and Ice (poem)

text: Frost's diction further highlights the parallels between Frost's discussion of desire and hate with Dante's outlook on sins of passion and reason with sensuous and physical verbs describing desire and loosely recalling the characters Dante met in the upper rings of Hell: "taste" (recalling the Glutton), "hold" (recalling the adulterous lovers), and "favor" (recalling the hoarders). In contrast, hate is discussed with verbs of reason and thought ("I think I know.../To say...").


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Suicide in South Korea occurs at the 12th highest rate in the world. South Korea has the highest suicide rate in the OECD. In 2012, suicide was the fourth-highest cause of death.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: The high suicide rates compared to other countries in the developed world is exacerbated by the large amount of suicide among the elderly. One factor of suicide among elderly South Koreans is due to the amount of widespread poverty among senior citizens in South Korea, with nearly half of the country's elderly population living below the poverty line. Combined with a poorly-funded social safety net for the elderly, this can result in them committing suicide not to be a financial burden on their families, since the old social structure where children looked after their parents has largely disappeared in the 21st century. As a result, people living in rural areas tend to have higher suicide rates. This is due to extremely high rates of elderly discrimination, especially when applying for jobs, with 85.7% of those in their 50s experiencing discrimination. Age discrimination also directly correlates to suicide, on top of influencing poverty rates. Suicide is the number one cause of death among South Koreans aged 10 to 39.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: However, proactive government efforts to decrease the rate have shown effectiveness in 2014, when there were 27.3 suicides per 100,000 people, a 4.1% decline from the previous year (28.5 people) and the lowest in six years since 2008's 26.0 people.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: An extremely high suicide rate among the elderly is a major contributing factor to South Korea's overall suicide rate. As people age, certain sociopsychological factors such as income decline due to retirement, increased medical costs, physical deterioration or disabilities, loss of spouse or friends and no sense of purpose increases the risk of suicide Many impoverished elderly people kill themselves as to not be a burden on their families, since the South Korean welfare system is poorly funded and the tradition of children caring for their parents in old age has largely disappeared in the 21st century. As a result, people living in rural areas have higher suicide rates.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Although lower than the rate for the elderly, grade school and college students in Korea have a higher than average suicide rate.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Over the past 5 years, the number of suicide or self-inflicted injuries has increased from 4,947 in 2015 to 9,828 in 2019, and most cases involved people aged between 9 and 24. Kang Byung-won, a Parliament member from the Democratic party announced that "26.9 young South Koreans either attempt suicide or suffer self-inflicted injuries per day."


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: On average, men have a suicide rate that is twice as high as women. However, the suicide attempt rate is higher for women than men. According to a study, because men use more severe and lethal suicide methods, men have higher suicidal completion rate than women. The Risk-Rescue Rating Scale (RRRS), which measures the lethality of the suicidal method by gauging the ratio between five risk and five rescue factors, averaged out to be 37.18 for men and 34.00 for women. One study has translated this to the fact that women attempt to commit suicide more as a demonstration, while men commit suicide with a determined purpose.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Compared to other OECD countries, South Korea's female suicide rate is highest with 15.0 deaths by suicide per 100,000 deaths according to the suicidal rate list, while the male suicide rate is third highest with 32.5 per every 100,000 deaths. Women also had a higher increase of proportional suicide rate over men between 1986 and 2005. Men increased by 244%, while women increased by 282%.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Studies suggest that suicide rates are different between marital statuses. Individuals who were never married or had a change in their marital status due to divorce, death or separation are at a higher risk of suicide than married individuals. Divorced individuals are the most at-risk group, followed by individuals who have never married and widowed individuals were the lowest at risk group. Family relationships also contributed to the mental health of men and women. The study of divorce, separated or widowed statuses showed that individuals dissatisfied with family relationships were at a higher risk of depression, thoughts of suicide and low self-esteem.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Roy Baumeister's escape theory is used to further explain the differences in suicide rates between marital statuses. According to Baumeister, the escape theory has six steps, increasing the chance of committing suicide if the criteria for all six steps are met. Baumeister states that depression alone does not lead to suicide because most depressed individuals do not attempt suicide and not all who have attempted suicide are clinically depressed. According to Baumeister, the model can be viewed as a decision tree: First, the individual has a severe failure or setback that falls below theirs or society's high expectations and standards. Second, the individual starts to make unfavorable self-attributions about themselves causing them to mentally spiral downwards. Third, the individual will fuel their suicidal ideation by believing the failure or setback is because they are inadequate, unlikable, and guilty and a bad person. Fourth, the individual's negative emotions lead them to believe they fall short of perceived expectations. Fifth, the individual will start to experience cognitive deconstruction by shifting to low levels of thinking and becoming emotionless. Sixth, Cognitive deconstruction remove inhibitions making it difficult to recognize the consequences of suicide. Losing a spouse to death, divorce or separation might increase an individual's attempt at suicide.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Socioeconomic status is measured by a population's level of education, degree of urbanity and deprivation of the residence. Low socioeconomic status, high stress, inadequate sleep, alcohol use, and smoking are associated with suicidal tendencies among adolescents. The economic hardship factor is noted as the most frequently referred cause for elderly suicides. As 71.4% of the elderly population is uneducated and 37.1% of them live in rural areas, they are more likely to face economic hardship, which can lead to health problems and family conflicts. All these factors together lead to an increase in suicidal ideation and completion.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Gangwon has a 37.84% higher suicide rate than the rate for all of South Korea. Following Gangwon, Chungnam rates second and Jeonbuk rates third. Ulsan, Gangwon, and Incheon have the highest suicide rate for people above age 65. Daegu has the highest suicide rate for those ages 40 to 59. Gangwon, Jeonnam, and Chungnam have the highest suicide rates for those ages 20 to 39.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Because South Korean law heavily restricts firearms possession, only one third of South Korean women use violent methods to commit suicide. Poisoning is the most commonly used method for South Korean women, with pesticides accounting for half of suicide deaths among that population. 58.3% of suicides from 1996 to 2005 used pesticide poisoning. Another prevalent method by which South Koreans die by suicide is hanging. A study by Jeon et al. has shown a difference between the methods used by suicide attempters who did plan and did not plan their attempt. Unplanned suicide attempters tend to use chemical agents or falling three times as often as planned suicide attempters.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: A study by Subin Park et al. states that a major reason for the general upward trend in the South Korean suicide rate from 2000 to 2011 was the increase in suicides by hanging. Throughout that time period, hanging grew to be perceived as more painless, socially acceptable, and accessible, and thus became a much more common method throughout the first decade of the 21st century.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: In recent years amid the rise of suicide rates, yeontan burning has been used as a method of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Bridge jumping has also been used as a method of suicide. The Mapo Bridge in Seoul, is considered a suicide bridge, locally known as "Suicide Bridge" and "The Bridge of Death". South Korean authorities have tried to counter this by calling the bridge "The Bridge of Life" and posting reassuring messages on the ledges.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: According to the Werther effect, some people attempt suicide as reaction to another suicide. This applies also for South Korea. According to a study, South Korea experiences a surge of suicides after deaths of celebrities. The study has found three out of eleven cases of celebrity suicide resulted in a higher suicide rate of the population. The study controlled for the potential effects of confounding factors, such as seasonality and unemployment rates, and yet celebrity suicides still had a strong correlation to increased rate of suicide rates for nine weeks. The degree of media coverage of celebrity suicides impacts the degree of increase of suicide rates. In the study, the three celebrity suicides that received wide media coverage led to a surge in suicide rates, and the other celebrity suicides with low media coverage did not lead to an increase in suicide rate. In addition to the increased suicidal ideation, celebrity suicides lead people to use the same methods to attempt suicide. Following actress Lee Eun-ju's death in 2005, more people used the same method of hanging.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: An ongoing study has also suggested that high use of the Internet is associated with suicides. Among 1,573 high school students, 1.6% of the population suffered from Internet addiction and 38.0% had a risk of Internet addiction. The students with, or at risk of, Internet addiction had a higher rate of suicidal ideation compared to those without Internet addiction. However, the correlational nature of the study makes it difficult to determine the causal direction of this relationship.


title: Suicide in South Korea

text: Many people have been left orphaned or have lost a parent due to the Korean War. Within a random group of 12,532 adults, 18.6% of the respondents have lost their biological parent(s), with maternal death having a bigger impact on the rate of suicide attempts than paternal death. A study has shown that men have highest rate of suicide attempts when they experience maternal death from the ages of 0–4 and 5–9. Women have the highest suicide attempt rate when they experience maternal death from the ages of 5–9.