title: Sex selection

text: In contrast, in an interview study, sex-selection technology providers generally argued that sex selection is an expression of reproductive rights, was initiated and pursued by women, and was a sign of female empowerment that allowed couples to make well-informed family planning decisions, prevented occurrences of unintended pregnancy and abortion, and minimized intimate partner violence and/or child neglect. The Ethics Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine concluded that it is ethically appropriate to employ these new reproductive technologies to avoid the birth of children with X-linked genetic disorders. However, to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis and sex selection solely for non-medical reasons, the Committee claims, is morally inappropriate. Also, primary care physicians questioned whether women could truly express free choice under pressure from family and community. In addition, primary care physicians voiced the concerns that sex selection led to invasive medical interventions in the absence of therapeutic indications, contributed to gender stereotypes that could result in child neglect of the lesser-desired sex, and was not a solution to domestic violence. In addition, social risks of sex selection outweigh the social benefits of sex selection


title: Sex selection

text: Post-conceptual selection by preimplantation testing (PGD) also involves preferential use of embryos, and termination of pregnancy for gender selection also raises many ethical questions of the abortion debate.


title: Sex selection

text: In addition to the ethical concerns mentioned, issues of demographics arise in societies where social sex selection is common. A society may exhibit a widespread bias towards having children of a specific gender, either due to cultural biases or economic concerns (e.g. male children may be more employable in the future and thus provide more financial support). When combined with frequent social sex selection, this bias may produce a gender imbalance that has undesirable consequences. This phenomenon has been observed in many nations in the Far East, such as India and China, where social sex selection has produced unnaturally high male/female ratios in the population. Couples in these areas use reproductive technologies to choose the sex of their children, which ultimately leads to a skew the human sex ratio toward a disproportionately male population. Sex selection has also been detected in several countries of Eastern Europe such as Albania or Azerbaijan. A 2012 report by UNFPA estimates that the total gender gap due to prenatal and postnatal gender discrimination amounts to 117 million women. China's gender imbalance is further increased by the One Child Policy, although applicable only in most urban populations. In these nations, a lack of opportunity for many men to marry is believed to be producing increases in crime, demand for prostitution, mass emigration, and the selling of brides.


title: Sex selection

text: China's 'one child family' policy is considered largely responsible for the substantial imbalance of the sex ratio. Chinese government reports show that the sex ratio for newborns is 118:100 (boys:girls), higher in rural areas such as Guangdong and Hainan (130:100) compared to the average of 104:100 in developed countries. It is believed that the ratio would increase further to the point that, by 2020, men of marriageable age would be unable to find mates, resulting in large social problems.


title: Sex selection

text: Some nations, such as India, have attempted to curtail these gender imbalances with criminal statutes. In contrast, bioethicist Jacob Appel of New York University has argued that governments should pay couples to choose to have female children. According to Professor Appel, "if female babies [were] worth their weight in rupees and yuan, economic and educational opportunities for girls would soon follow."


title: Sex selection

text: In contrast, actual experience in Western cultures provides no evidence for any degree of gender imbalance from technologies which have long been available and legal – such as selective abortion or preimplantation embryo testing. When used for family balancing indications in such countries as the United States, pre-conceptual sex selection is widely sought without any preferential selection of males. A 1993 survey of more than 2300 pregnant women in the British population found no overall preference for either sex. These findings are largely consistent with other surveys conducted in the US. Thus the right of individual families to determine whether or not to balance gender of offspring in their families is not and will not become, in many countries, a demographic issue. Furthermore, in countries where such demographic issues exist because of strong gender preferences in a segment of the population, regulatory and legal control of, without denial of access to, sperm sorting technology can be utilized to provide individuals with choices while ensuring that equal numbers of boys and girls are produced for population demographic equality.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex selection is not new. There are a wide variety of social sex selections methods which have not been demonstrated to be effective. Because even implausible and ineffective methods have a success rate of 50%, many continued to be recommended by word of mouth.


title: Sex selection

text: The Greeks and Romans did not have a consistent theory of how sex was determined. Pliny the Elder claims that tying the right testicle of a ram will cause him to produce only females, but does not claim this about other creatures. Pseudo-Plutarch lists many Greek theories of sex determination, including heat and cold, left and right testicles, left and right sides of the body, sperm crossing or not crossing from one side of the womb to the other, and the strength or dominance of various body parts.


title: Sex selection

text: An 18th-century French book called "The art of boys" suggested an extreme method of ensuring children of one sex. The author suggests that one testicle and one ovary are intended for each sex. By removing a testicle or ovary, children of the other sex can be guaranteed.


title: Sex selection

text: Since the ancient China, Chinese people use Chinese Gender Chart to predict and select baby's gender. Chinese Gender Calendar was buried in an imperial mausoleum with a history of over 300 years. It was calculated and deduced by the ancient Chinese based on Yin-Yang, Five Elements, Eight Diagrams and time.


title: Sex selection

text: This calendar is a simple chart who matches the day of conception of the future child with the age of the mother at the day of conception. This table contains one more chance to conceive a boy. This may reflect the current female / male ratio.


title: Sex selection

text: Census data from India show an imbalance in sex ratios among children in the early 20th century, such disparities almost always reflect a preference for sons.


title: Sex selection

text: In the past, son preference may have resulted in the neglect or killing of female infants. However, since the early 1980s, ultrasounds and other technologies have enabled parents to detect the sex of a foetus during prenatal screenings. Those who prefer sons may arrange to abort female foetuses. This has accelerated sex-ratio imbalances at birth in parts of the world. It is estimated that, over the past generation, tens of millions of female foetuses have been aborted. Since the 1990s, some areas have seen up to 25 per cent more male births than female births.


title: Sex selection

text: Sperm sorting utilizes the technique of flow cytometry to analyze and 'sort' spermatozoa. During the early to mid-1980s, Dr. Glenn Spaulding was the first to sort viable whole human and animal spermatozoa using a flow cytometer, and utilized the sorted motile rabbit sperm for artificial insemination. Subsequently, the first patent application disclosing the method to sort "two viable subpopulations enriched for x- or y- sperm" was filed in April 1987 as US Application Serial Number 35,986 and later became part of US Patent 5,021,244; and the patent included the discovery of haploid expression (sex-associated membrane proteins, or SAM proteins) and the development of monoclonal antibodies to those proteins. Additional applications and methods were added, including antibodies, from 1987 through 1997. At the time of the patent filing, both Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and the USDA were only sorting fixed sperm nuclei, after the Application Serial Number 35,986 patent filing a new technique was utilized by the USDA where "sperm were briefly sonicated to remove tails". USDA in conjunction with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, 'Beltsfield Sperm Sexing Technology' relies on the DNA difference between the X- and Y- chromosomes. Prior to flow cytometric sorting, semen is labeled with a fluorescent dye called Hoechst 33342 which binds to the DNA of each spermatozoon. As the X chromosome is larger (i.e. has more DNA) than the Y chromosome, the "female" (X-chromosome bearing) spermatozoa will absorb a greater amount of dye than its male (Y-chromosome bearing) counterpart. As a consequence, when exposed to UV light during flow cytometry, X spermatozoa fluoresce brighter than Y- spermatozoa. As the spermatozoa pass through the flow cytometer in single file, each spermatozoon is encased by a single droplet of fluid and assigned an electric charge corresponding to its chromosome status (e.g. X-positive charge, Y-negative charge). The stream of X- and Y- droplets is then separated by means of electrostatic deflection and collected into separate collection tubes for subsequent processing. In 1994, the first British baby was born through gender selection Sophie-May Clark.


title: Sex selection

text: Recently, a study published in 2006 indicated that mothers with toxoplasmosis have a significantly higher sex ratio of boys to girls. This has been discussed in connection with the manipulation hypothesis of parasites.


title: Sex selection

text: Another study found a link between sex and the diet of the mother, but this may be due to statistical chance, and has yet to be confirmed.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex selection is illegal in most of the world. There is fertility tourism from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to the United States for sex selection, because preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD, a potential expansion of IVF), which can be used for sex selection, is prohibited in the UK, Australia and Canada, except when it is used to screen for genetic diseases, while the laws in the US are more relaxed in this subject.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex selection is illegal in China, but the Chinese government admits that the practice is widespread, especially in rural areas of China and among lawless groups such as ghettoized migrant workers in cities.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex selection is illegal in India. Prenatal determination of sex through ultrasound is also illegal in India. In 1994, the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act banned prenatal sex determination, and was strengthened by an amendment in 2003. These laws were instituted to combat the prevalent practice of sex-selective abortion. Every genetic counselling centre, genetic laboratory or genetic clinic engaged in counselling or conducting pre-natal diagnostics techniques, like In vitro fertilisation (IVF) with the potential of sex selection (Preimplantation genetic diagnosis) before and after conception comes under purview of the PCPNDT Act and are banned. However, these laws have generally failed to be effective in rural areas and, despite education efforts, sex-selective abortion continues to be practiced in certain small parts of India.


title: Air marshal

text: Air marshal (Air Mshl or AM) is an air-officer rank which originated within the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth nations. The rank is usually equivalent to a vice admiral or a lieutenant general.


title: Air marshal

text: Air marshal is immediately senior to the rank of air vice-marshal and immediately subordinate to the rank of air chief marshal. Officers in the rank of air marshal typically hold very senior appointments such as commander-in-chief of an air force or a large air force formation. Officers in the ranks of air chief marshal and air vice-marshal are also referred to generically as air marshals. Occasionally, air force officers of marshal rank are considered to be air marshals.


title: Air marshal

text: Prior to the adoption of RAF-specific rank titles in 1919, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became air marshal would have been air vice-admiral. The Admiralty objected to any use of their rank titles, including this modified form, and so an alternative proposal was put forward: air-officer ranks would be based on the term "ardian", which was derived from a combination of the Gaelic words for "chief" () and "bird" (), with the term "second ardian" or "wing ardian" being used specifically for the rank equivalent to a vice-admiral and lieutenant-general. However, air marshal was preferred and has been used since its adoption in August 1919. Sir Hugh Trenchard, the incumbent Chief of the Air Staff when the rank was introduced, became the first air marshal on 11 August 1919.


title: Air marshal

text: The rank insignia consists of two narrow light blue bands (each on a slightly wider black band) over a light blue band on a broad black band. This is worn on the lower sleeves of the dress uniform or on shoulders of the flying suit or working uniform.


title: Air marshal

text: The command flag for an air marshal is defined by the single broad red band running in the centre of the flag.


title: Air marshal

text: The vehicle star plate for an air marshal depicts three white stars (air marshal is equivalent to a three-star rank) on an air force blue background.


title: Air marshal

text: The Australian Air Corps adopted the RAF rank system on 9 November 1920 and this usage was continued by its successor, the Royal Australian Air Force. However, the rank of air marshal was not used by the Australian Armed Forces until 1940 when Richard Williams, an RAAF officer, was promoted.


title: Air marshal

text: In Australia, there are four appointments available for air marshals: the Chief of Air Force and, at times when they are occupied by an air force officer, the Vice Chief of Defence Force, the Chief of Joint Operations, and the Chief of Capability Development Group.


title: Air marshal

text: The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used the rank until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, when army-type rank titles were adopted and an air marshal became a lieutenant-general. In official French Canadian usage, the rank title was "maréchal de l'air". The Canadian Chief of the Air Staff ordinarily held the rank of air marshal. The following RCAF officers held the rank (dates in rank in parentheses):


title: Air marshal

text: The rank of air marshal was the highest in the Indian Air Force (IAF), held by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), from 1947 to 1966. In 1966, the rank of CAS was upgraded to air chief marshal and ACM Arjan Singh became the first CAS to hold the four-star rank.


title: Air marshal

text: The Namibian Air Force adopted the RAF rank system in 2010 previously having been using army ranks and insignia. However the rank of air marshal was not used until 1 April 2020 when Martin Pinehas was promoted to that rank and appointed as Chief of the Namibian Defence Force.


title: Air marshal

text: In New Zealand, the head of the air force holds the lower rank of air vice-marshal. However, when an air force officer holds the country's senior military appointment, Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force, he is granted the rank of air marshal. The current Chief of Defence Force is an RNZAF officer, Air Marshal Kevin Short.


title: Air marshal

text: In the Brazilian Air Force, the highest rank is , which can be translated as "air marshal" or "marshal of the air". The rank is equivalent to in the Brazilian Army.


title: Air marshal

text: In 1927, the rank of (), was proposed by for a protentional united Chief of the Royal Danish Air Force rank. The rank would have been equivalent to a major general.


title: Arçelik

text: Arçelik A.Ş. is a Turkish multinational household appliances manufacturer which owns Beko and Grundig.


title: Arçelik

text: The company engages in the production and marketing of durable goods, components, consumer electronics and after-sale services. Its products include white goods, electronic products, small home appliances and kitchen accessories, such as refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dishwashers, aspirators, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers and blenders.


title: Arçelik

text: Arçelik A.Ş. is active in more than 100 countries including China and the United States through its 13 international subsidiaries and over 4,500 branches in Turkey. The company operates 15 production plants in Turkey, Romania, Russia, China, South Africa and Thailand including refrigerator, washing machine, dishwasher, cooking appliances and components plants. It offers products under its own Eleven brand names, including Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Dawlance, Altus, Blomberg, Arctic, Defy, Leisure, Arstil, Elektra Bregenz and Flavel.


title: Arçelik

text: The company is controlled by Koç Holding, Turkey's largest industrial and services group with US$43 billion in consolidated revenues in 2008, and is the market leader in Turkey's appliance sector with its Arçelik and Beko brands. It is also the fourth largest household appliances company in Europe after BSH Hausgeräte, Electrolux and Indesit. Its top executives are Aka Gündüz Özdemir, Durable Goods President of the Koç Group, and General Manager Levent Çakıroğlu. Arçelik has been ranked "Number One in the Private Sector" for the 14th time in 19 years in "Turkey's Top 500 Industrial Corporations" survey that was carried out by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry.


title: Arçelik

text: Arçelik was founded in 1955 by Lütfü Doruk in partnership with Vehbi Koç and entered the Turkish major appliance sector by producing its first washing machine in 1959 and its first refrigerator in 1960 at its manufacturing plant in Çayırova, Istanbul. In 1968, Arçelik moved to its Çayırova facilities near Istanbul. In the 1970s and 1980s, the company expanded its product range and opened its Eskişehir refrigerator plant in 1975, İzmir vacuum cleaner plant in 1979 and Ankara dishwasher plant in 1993.


title: Arçelik

text: 1999 was a year of growth and reorganization. Arçelik founded Ardem to manufacture cooking appliances and brought under its roof Türk Elektrik Endüstrisi A.Ş. and Atılım ve Gelişim Pazarlama A.Ş. as a single legal entity. In 2001, Arçelik took over the marketing and sales activities of Beko products that used to be marketed and sold by Beko Ticaret. The new organization model enabled the company to manage production and sales/marketing activities centrally and to increase productivity.


title: Arçelik

text: Most recently, the merger plan between Arçelik A.Ş. and Grundig Elektronik A.Ş. was declared on February 27, 2009.


title: Arçelik

text: The company's recent goal is "to possess one of the ten most preferred global brands in its sector by the year 2010". To reach this goal, brands such as Grundig, Elektra Bregenz, Blomberg, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, and Troila have been incorporated in addition to existing Arçelik, Beko, and Altus brands.


title: Arçelik

text: Arçelik has focused investments on developing markets and as such, opened Beko LLC Refrigerator and Washing Machine Facility on October 13, 2006, which is the first plant constructed by Koç Holding outside Turkey.


title: Arçelik

text: As for the marketing and advertising strategy of the company in the UK, Beko launched an advertising campaign with the slogan: "Beko: Buy it before it becomes famous". It was widely seen on LED advertising boards used at Premier League football grounds in England. This has now changed to "Beko: Home appliances". The company used to sponsor Watford F.C., who played in the Football League Championship, during the 2007-2008 and the 2008–2009 seasons. Moreover, Beko was the main sponsor of Eurobasket 2009 and the presenting (main) sponsor of 2010 World Men's Basketball championship. In addition to these, Beko is the main sponsor of Turkish Basketball League since 2007–2008 season and German Basketball Bundesliga since 2009–2010 season.


title: Arçelik

text: According to company data, Arçelik/Beko holds a 7 per cent share of the European free-standing appliances market and 5 per cent of the OBM market. Beko products account for approximately two-thirds of Arçelik international sales and are among the top brands in many markets – including the UK (14 per cent share in refrigerators and 7 per cent share in washing machines) and Poland (5 per cent share).


title: Arçelik

text: In the last four years Arçelik has doubled its turnover, and in 2004 has registered a growth of 29% over the previous year. By the end of 2004, a total production figure of 7.4 million units has been achieved in four major production groups. Compared to last year a growth of 30% has been realized.


title: Arçelik

text: The 2004 turnover for the company stands at 2.7 billion euros. The sales revenue achieved through foreign sales now accounts for 44% of the total turnover. The foreign sales volume has mushroomed from 472 million euros to 1.2 billion euros in the last four years.


title: Arçelik

text: In Turkey, 15 million households are believed to use Arçelik products. These indicators regarding the performance are supported by the many international quality and technology awards, and other prizes Arçelik have received. In the last four years, it has continuously been selected the most admired Turkish company in all sectors.


title: Arçelik

text: With about 300 successful patent applications, Arçelik accounts for 10% of all the patent applications in Turkey, since 1996. Moreover, in the European durable consumer goods sector Arçelik is one of the top four companies with the highest number of patents to its name.


title: Arçelik

text: Arçelik, which in conformity to European standards earmarks approximately 1.5% of its total annual turnover to R & D, employs 450 researchers in its central and operational R & D departments. Working towards the goal of acquiring technological leadership in its sector, the company has won some very prestigious awards in the international arena in 2004, through the products it has developed.


title: Aston

text: Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre.


title: Aston

text: Aston was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as "Estone", having a mill, a priest and therefore probably a church, woodland and ploughland. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was built in medieval times to replace an earlier church. The body of the church was rebuilt by J. A. Chatwin during the period 1879 to 1890; the 15th century tower and spire, which was partly rebuilt in 1776, being the only survivors of the medieval building.


title: Aston

text: The ancient parish of Aston (known as Aston juxta Birmingham) was large. It was separated from the parish of Birmingham by AB Row, which currently exists in the Eastside of the city at just 50 yards in length. Aston, as Aston Manor, was governed by a Local Board from 1869 and was created as an Urban District Council in 1903 before being absorbed in the expansion of the County Borough of Birmingham in 1911, and a further part, Saltley was added in 1911.


title: Aston

text: Old buildings which became popular within Aston included the Aston Hippodrome and the Bartons Arms public house. Gospel Hall on Park Lane was opened in 1892 and demolished in the 1970s to be rebuilt at the top of Park Lane in 1979. The original hall had a seating capacity of 73. Another meeting place was the Ellen Knox Memorial Hall which was next door to the Midland Vinegar Brewery. The brewery was owned by the Midland Brewery Company was built around 1877. It was located on Upper Thomas Street. The brewery was a three-storey brick building with rounded corners, semi-circular windows and a slated roof. Other industry that was located in Aston include the Premier Motor Works which produced cars during the early 20th century. The works were situated at the junction of Aston Road and Dartmouth Street. On Miller Street was a tramcar depot which had a storage capacity of 104 tramcars. It opened in 1904 latterly being operated by the City of Birmingham Tramways Company Ltd on behalf of the Urban District Council before formally passing to Birmingham Corporation Tramways on 1 January 1912.


title: Aston

text: Aston underwent large scale redevelopment following the Second World War. South Aston was designated a renewal area involving comprehensive redevelopment of the traditional area known as "Aston New Town". The area, was more commonly called simply "Newtown" and is a large estate consisting of sixteen tower blocks, five of which have since been demolished. The project was approved in 1968. Three 20-storey tower blocks on the complex contained 354 flats alone.


title: Aston

text: Today, Aston gives its name to Aston Villa F.C. and Aston University (the campus of which is not in Aston but about 1.3 miles to the south in Birmingham city centre). Aston University is one of four universities in Birmingham. Aston Villa have played at Villa Park since 1897, and it has traditionally been one of the largest football grounds in England that has staged many notable matches at club and international level. The park has also hosted other sports and events including international level rugby league and rugby union. This is one of the main attractions in this town.


title: Aston

text: Much of Aston consists of terraced houses that were built around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Some of these houses were demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the Aston Expressway, which links Birmingham city centre to the M6 motorway. In the late 1950s, Aston was the location of the famous 'Venus Baby' case of Cynthia Appleton (87 Fentham Road).


title: Aston

text: By the early 1980s, Aston was suffering from severe deprivation with many of the terraced houses being outdated for the requirements of the time. Many of them lacked bathrooms and indoor toilets, whilst the vast majority were suffering from decay as a result of a lack of maintenance. There was speculation that the homes would be demolished, but Birmingham City Council made money available to the homeowners for them to be brought up to modern standards.


title: Aston

text: From 2001 to 2011, Aston underwent a £54 million Birmingham regeneration project named "Aston Pride", as part of the New Deal for Communities scheme in 2001. Many improvements were made, including reducing burglary, robbery and vehicle crime; spending £4 million on a health centre; and helping more than 1300 people find work (more than the target of 400).


title: Aston

text: Crime levels in Aston have remained stagnant in recent years. In December 2010, there were 369 reported crimes, the majority being for antisocial behaviour, while in December 2019, there were 328, mostly for violent offences. The crime rate in the ward is 10.35, which is higher than in other areas like Handsworth Wood (6.59) but lower than Nechells (16.6).


title: Aston

text: On 2 January 2003, gunmen shot at three innocent teenage girls who were celebrating the New Year in the Birchfield area near Aston. Two of the girls were killed and another was seriously injured. More than 18 bullets were fired from at least two weapons. Four men were later tried and found guilty of murder in March 2005. Marcus Ellis (the half-brother of one of the two dead girls), Nathan Martin and Michael Gregory were sentenced to life imprisonment with recommended minimum terms of 35 years on two charges of murder and three of attempted murder. A fourth man, Rodrigo Simms, received life with a recommended minimum of 27 years for the same crimes. A fifth defendant, Jermaine Carty, had walked free from court after being cleared of possessing a firearm. The four men convicted were members of a notorious local gang known as the Burger Bar Boys, who had been trying to exact revenge on members of their rival gang the Johnson Crew: a notorious local gang originating in the mid-1980s.


title: Aston

text: In 2004, the ward saw a voter fraud scandal in which Labour councillors were accused of a systematic attempt to rig elections. They had set up a "vote-rigging factory" in a disused warehouse, stealing and intercepting hundreds and possibly thousands of ballot papers to achieve this. Three councillors, Mohammed Islam, Muhammad Afzal (later cleared of wrongdoing) and Mohammed Kazi were accused of voter fraud, with the elections having to be rerun. All three were barred from standing in the following election.


title: Aston

text: Aston is part of the Birmingham Ladywood constituency, held by Labour since 1940 and represented by Labour MP Shabana Mahmood since 2010.


title: Aston

text: The 2011 census found that 22,636 people were living in Aston. It is the sixth most populous ward in the city.


title: Aston

text: It is a very ethnically diverse community, with 44% of the population born outside the United Kingdom. The largest ethnic group was Asian at 69.1%. More specifically, the Pakistani ethnic group was the largest at 30.9% of all Asians. Black British was the second largest ethnic group at 16.4%. White British was the third largest ethnic group at 7.8%.


title: Aston

text: The ethnic makeup of the area drastically changed in the 1950s and 1960s with immigration from the Commonwealth. Most of the immigrants were from the Indian subcontinent most notably from Pakistan, though a significant number were also from the Caribbean.


title: Aston

text: Aston is a young ward, with 33.5% of the population under 18, compared to the Birmingham average of 25.5%.


title: Aston

text: 31.7% of residents in Aston have no qualifications, higher than the Birmingham average of 20.8%. Moreover, 15.6% do not speak English as their main language and cannot speak it well, well above the national average of 1.9%.


title: Aston

text: Aston has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the city, with 57.8% of residents classed as economically active compared to the city average of 69.3% and national average of 77%. It is the 11th most deprived ward in the city.


title: Aston

text: The majority of employed residents (56%) work in lower skilled occupations, such as caring, leisure and sales. The average income in Aston (£12,033) is 35% less than the average income (£18,788) in England as a whole.


title: Aston

text: There are three secondary schools in Aston: Broadway Academy, refurbished and opened by the Duke of Kent in 2011, King Edward VI Aston, the only grammar school in the constituency, Aston Manor School and Eden Boys' Leadership Academy.


title: Aston

text: There are seven primary schools: Aston Tower Community Primary School, Birchfield Community School, Manor Park Primary Academy, Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Prince Albert Primary School, and Yew Tree Community School.


title: Aston

text: There are two libraries in the ward: Aston Library and Birchfield Library. Aston Library was due to be shut down by Birmingham City Council in 2017 to save money; however, this decision was reversed after public consultation. It is now run by community organisations.


title: Aston

text: Aston Cross was once the home of Ansells Brewery and HP Sauce. The six-acre Aston site was purchased by developer Chancerygate in 2007 at £800,000 per acre, but they subsequently sold it for half that price and it now houses a distribution warehouse for East End Foods. Aston Manor Brewery (Now Aston Manor Cider) was started in Thimble Mill Lane in 1982 by former employees of Ansell's after Ansell's Aston Brewery closed.


title: Aston

text: From 1956 to 1969, Aston Cross was the Midlands base of Associated Television (ATV) which had its Alpha Studios on Aston Road North. The ATV office building later became the studios of radio stations BRMB and XTRA-AM. Although both stations moved to Birmingham's Broad Street in the early 1990s, the building is still called Radio House. Launching in February 1974, BRMB was the UK's fourth Independent Local Radio station and, while in Aston, was the most listened to radio station in the West Midlands.


title: Note value

text: In music notation, a note value indicates the relative duration of a note, using the texture or shape of the "notehead", the presence or absence of a "stem", and the presence or absence of "flags/beams/hooks/tails". Unmodified note values are fractional powers of two, for example one, one-half, one fourth, etc.


title: Note value

text: Shorter notes can be created theoretically "ad infinitum" by adding further flags, but are very rare.


title: Note value

text: The breve appears in several different versions, as shown at right. The first two are commonly used; the third is a stylistic alternative.


title: Note value

text: Sometimes the longa or breve is used to indicate a very long note of indefinite duration, as at the end of a piece (e.g. at the end of Mozart's Mass KV 192).


title: Note value

text: A single eighth note, or any faster note, is always stemmed with flags, while two or more are usually beamed in groups. When a stem is present, it can go either up (from the right side of the note head) or down (from the left side), except in the cases of the "longa" or "maxima" which are nearly always written with downward stems. In most cases, the stem goes down if the notehead is on the center line or above, and up otherwise. Any flags always go to the right of the stem.


title: Note value

text: A note value may be augmented by adding a dot after it. This dot adds the next briefer note value, making it one and a half times its original duration. A number of dots ("n") lengthen the note value by its value, so two dots add two lower note values, making a total of one and three quarters times its original duration. The rare three dots make it one and seven eighths the duration, and so on.


title: Note value

text: The double dot was first used in 1752 by J. J. Quantz; in music of the 18th century and earlier the amount by which the dot augmented the note varied: it could be more or less than the modern interpretation, to fit into the context.


title: Note value

text: To divide a note value to three equal parts, or some other value than two, tuplets may be used. However, see swung note and notes inégales.


title: Note value

text: Although note heads of various shapes, and notes with and without stems appear in early Gregorian chant manuscripts, many scholars agree that these symbols do not indicate different durations, although the dot is used for augmentation. See neume.


title: Note value

text: In the 13th century, chant was sometimes performed according to rhythmic modes, roughly equivalent to meters; however, the note shapes still did not indicate duration in the same way as modern note values.


title: Note value

text: Around 1250, Franco of Cologne invented different symbols for different durations, although the relation between different note values could vary; three was the most common ratio. Philippe de Vitry's treatise Ars nova (1320) described a system in which the ratios of different note values could be 2:1 or 3:1, with a system of mensural time signatures to distinguish between them.


title: Note value

text: This black mensural notation gave way to "white mensural notation" around 1450, in which all note values were written with white (outline) noteheads. In white notation the use of triplets was indicated by "coloration", i.e. filling in the noteheads to make them black (or sometimes red). Both black and white notation periodically made use of ligatures, a holdover from the "clivis" and "porrectus" neumes used in chant.


title: Note value

text: Around 1600 the modern notational system was generally adopted, along with barlines and the practice of writing multipart music in scores rather than only individual parts. In the 17th century, however, old usages came up occasionally.


title: Note value

text: The British names go back at least to English renaissance music, and the terms of Latin origin had international currency at that time. "Longa" means 'long', and many of the rest indicate relative shortness. "Breve" is from Latin "brevis", 'short', "minim" is from "minimus", 'very small', and "quaver" refers to the quavering effect of very fast notes. The elements "semi-", "demi-" and "hemi-" mean 'half' in Latin, French and Greek respectively. The chain semantic shift whereby notes which were originally perceived as short came progressively to be long notes is interesting both linguistically and musically. However, the "crotchet" is named after the shape of the note, from the Old French for a 'little hook', and it is possible to argue that the same is true of the "minim", since the word is also used in palaeography to mean a vertical stroke in mediaeval handwriting.


The 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier is a cricket tournament that forms part of the qualification process for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. In May 2022, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed all the fixtures and venues for the three sub-regional Qualifiers.