Childhood and early life.

As a boy, Perry lived in Tower Hill, Rhode Island, sailing ships in anticipation of his future career as an officer in the United States Navy. He was the oldest of five boys born to Christopher and Sarah Perry. Perry came from a long line of accomplished naval men from both sides of his family. His mother taught Perry and his younger brothers to read and write and had them attend Trinity Episcopal Church regularly, where he was baptized by Reverend William Smith on April 1, 1794, at the age of nine. Reverend Theodore Dehon, rector of the church from 1797 to 1810, had a significant influence on the young Perry. He was educated in Newport, Rhode Island.

Early naval career.

Through his father's influence, Perry was appointed a midshipman in the United States Navy, at the age of thirteen, on April 7, 1799. Perry sailed aboard, of which his father was commanding officer, on her maiden voyage in June 1799. The ship made its first stop in Cuba, charged with receiving American merchant ships and providing escort from Havana to the United States. Perry's service aboard "General Greene" continued during the Quasi-War with France. He first experienced combat on February 9, 1800, off the coast of the French colony of Haiti, which was in a state of rebellion.  During the First Barbary War, he served aboard and later was first lieutenant (second in command) of. He then served under Captain John Rodgers on and USS "Essex". He was placed in charge of construction of gunboats in Newport and Westerly, Rhode Island.  Beginning in April 1809, he commanded the sloop, engaging in patrol duties to enforce the Embargo Act, as well as a successful raid to regain an American ship held in Spanish territory in Florida. On January 9, 1811, "Revenge" ran aground off Rhode Island and was lost. "Seeing fairly quickly that he could not save the vessel, [Perry] turned his attention to saving the crew, and after helping them down the ropes over the vessel's stern, he was the last to leave the vessel." The subsequent court-martial exonerated Perry, placing blame on the ship's pilot. In January 2011, a team of divers claimed to have discovered the remains of "Revenge", nearly 200 years to the day after it sank. Cannons from "Revenge" were salvaged by the U.S. Navy in 2017.  Following the court-martial, Perry was given a leave of absence from the Navy. On May 5, 1811, he married Elizabeth Champlin Mason of Newport, Rhode Island, whom he had met at a dance in 1807. They enjoyed an extended honeymoon touring New England. The couple would eventually have five children, with one dying in infancy.

War of 1812.

At the beginning of the War of 1812, the British Royal Navy controlled the Great Lakes, except for Lake Huron, while the United States Navy controlled Lake Champlain. The American naval forces were very small, allowing the British to make many advances in the Great Lakes and northern New York. The roles played by commanders like Oliver Hazard Perry, at Lake Erie and Isaac Chauncey at Lake Ontario and Thomas Macdonough at Lake Champlain all proved vital to the naval effort. Naval historian E. B. Potter noted that "all naval officers of the day made a special study of Nelson's battles". Oliver Perry was no exception.  At his request, he was given command of the American naval forces on Lake Erie during the war. Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton had charged prominent merchant seaman Daniel Dobbins with building the American fleet on Presque Isle Bay at Erie, Pennsylvania, and Perry was named chief naval officer.  Perry knew battle was coming, and he "consciously followed Nelson's example in describing his battle plans to his captains." Perry's instructions were:

Hero of Lake Erie.

On September 10, 1813, Perry's command fought a successful fleet action against a squadron of the Royal Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie. It was at the outset of this battle that Perry famously said, "If a victory is to be gained, I will gain it." Initially, the exchange of gunfire favored the British. Perry's flagship,, was so severely disabled in the encounter that the British commander, Robert Heriot Barclay, thought that Perry would surrender it, and sent a small boat to request that the American vessel pull down its flag. Faithful to the words of his battle flag, "DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP" (a paraphrase of the dying words of Captain James Lawrence, the ship's namesake and Perry's friend), Perry, with "Lawrence"s chaplain and purser as the remaining able crew, personally fired the final salvo, and then had his men row him a half-mile (0.8 km) through heavy gunfire to transfer his command to. Once aboard, Perry dispatched "Niagara" commander, Captain Jesse Elliott, to bring the other schooners into closer action while he steered "Niagara" toward the damaged British ships. Like Nelson's at Trafalgar, "Niagara" broke the opposing line. Perry's force pounded Barclay's ships until they could offer no effective resistance and surrendered. Although he had won the battle aboard "Niagara", he received the British surrender on the deck of the recaptured "Lawrence" to allow the British to see the terrible price his men had paid. Perry's battle report to General William Henry Harrison was famously brief: "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop."  This was the first time in history that an entire British naval squadron had surrendered, and every captured ship was successfully returned to Presque Isle.  Although the engagement was small compared to Napoleonic naval battles such as the Battle of Trafalgar, the victory had disproportionate strategic importance, opening Canada up to possible invasion, while simultaneously protecting the entire Ohio Valley. The loss of the British squadron directly led to the critical Battle of the Thames, the rout of British forces by Harrison's army, the deaths of Tecumseh and Roundhead, and the breakup of his Indian alliance. Along with the Battle of Plattsburgh, it was one of only two significant fleet victories of the war.  In fact, Perry was involved in nine battles that led to and followed the Battle of Lake Erie, and they all had a seminal impact. "What is often overlooked when studying Perry is how his physical participation and brilliant strategic leadership influenced the outcomes of all nine Lake Erie military campaign victories:

The Battle Flag.

"Don't give up the ship", a phrase repeated by Captain James Lawrence during his dying days after being wounded by enemy fire aboard the "Chesapeake" on June 1, 1813, became the battle cry of Oliver Hazard Perry. Perry learned of Lawrence's demise upon arrival at Presque Isle and commanded that Lawrence would be honored with the name of a brig, which would simply be called "Lawrence". A battle flag would also be needed, and the words of Perry's good friend Lawrence would be just the battle cry suited for the coming days. A woman named Margaret Forster Steuart, resident of Erie Pennsylvania, wife of Army Captain Thomas Steuart and sister to Thomas Forster, both friends of Perry's, Forster being commander of the Erie Light Infantry that had guarded the fleet, was enlisted to make the battle flag. With the help of her two daughters, three nieces, and a cousin, she had the flag ready for Perry within just a few days. As of July 2009, Perry's flag, Steuart's work, and Lawrence's dying words can still be seen today, as the flag has been placed on display at Bancroft Hall.

Perry–Elliott controversy.

While Nelson had Collingwood, Perry had Jesse Elliott, and was considerably less well served. Elliott, while serving with Isaac Chauncey at Lake Ontario, was tasked to augment Perry's squadron with 11 officers and 91 men, "and none were sent but the worst." Subsequently, detailed by Chauncey to command "Niagara," Elliott stated "that if he could have foreseen that he himself should be sent to Lake Erie, his selections would have been different." Elliott then appropriated the "best of the worst" for "Niagara"; and Perry "in the interest of harmony" accepted the situation, though with growing ill-will.  In his initial post-action report, Perry had praised Captain Elliott's role in the American victory at Lake Erie; and as news of the battle spread, Perry and Elliott were both celebrated as national heroes. Soon after, however, several junior officers publicly criticized Elliott's performance during the battle, charging that Elliott allowed "Lawrence" to suffer the brunt of the British fire while holding "Niagara" back from the fight. William Vigneron Taylor, Perry's sailing master, in a letter to Taylor's wife, put it thus:  The meeting between Elliott and Perry on the deck of "Niagara" was terse. Elliott inquired how the day was going. Perry replied, "Badly." Elliott then volunteered to take Perry's small boat and rally the schooners, and Perry acquiesced. As Perry turned "Niagara" into the battle, Elliott was not aboard. Elliott's rejoinder to history's criticism of inaction was that there had been a lack of effective signaling. Charges were filed, but not officially acted upon. Attempting to restore his honor, Elliott and his supporters began a 30-year campaign that would outlive both men and ultimately leave his reputation in tatters.  In Perry's report to Secretary of the Navy William Jones, written three days after the battle, he mentioned Elliott in what, at first, seem to be complimentary terms, but, when read carefully, betray his disdain for Elliott. Perry wrote, "In this action he evinced his characteristic bravery and judgement; and, since the close of the action, has given me the most able and essential assistance."

Congressional Gold Medal.

On January 6, 1814, Perry was honored with a Congressional Gold Medal, the Thanks of Congress, and a promotion to the rank of Captain. This was one of 27 Gold Medals authorized by Congress arising from the War of 1812.  Elliott was also recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal and the Thanks of Congress for his actions in the battle. This recognition would prove to fan the flames of resentment on both sides of the Elliott–Perry controversy.  In recognition of his victory at Lake Erie, in 1813 Perry was elected as an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati.

Later commands and controversies.

In May 1814, Perry took command of a squadron of seven gunboats based in Newport. He held this command for only two months as in July he was placed in command of, a 44-gun frigate which was under construction in Baltimore. While overseeing the outfitting of "Java", Perry participated in the defenses of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., during the British invasion of the Chesapeake Bay. In a twist of irony, these land battles would be the last time the career naval officer saw combat. The Treaty of Ghent was signed before "Java" could be put to sea.  For Perry, the post-war years were marred by controversies. In 1815, he commanded "Java" in the Mediterranean during the Second Barbary War. While moored in Naples, Perry slapped the commander of the ship's Marines, Captain John Heath, whom Perry considered incompetent and insubordinate. The ensuing court-martial found both men guilty, but levied only mild reprimands. After the crew returned home, Heath challenged Perry to a pistol duel, which was fought on October 19, 1817, on the same field in Weehawken, New Jersey where Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton. Heath fired first and missed. Perry declined to return fire, satisfying the Marine's honor.  Perry's return from the Mediterranean also reignited the feud with Elliott. After an exchange of angry letters, Elliott challenged Perry to a duel, which Perry refused. (While it was normally considered cowardly to refuse a duel, Perry's stature as a hero was such that no one doubted his physical courage and few felt that Perry had wrongly offended Elliott's honor.) He instead, on August 8, 1818, filed formal court-martial charges against Elliott. Perry filed a total of six charges and twenty-one specifications including "conduct unbecoming an officer," and failure to "do his utmost to take or destroy the vessel of the enemy which it was his duty to encounter."  Wishing to avoid a scandal between two decorated naval heroes, Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson and President James Monroe suppressed the matter by offering Perry a diplomatic mission to South America in exchange for dropping his charges. This put an official end to the controversy, though it would continue to be debated for another quarter century.

Mission to Venezuela and death.

In 1818 Perry purchased a large house on Washington Square in Newport which was built in 1750 for merchant Peter Buloid. The house remained in the Perry family until 1865 and now serves as the headquarters for, a sail training ship.  In 1819, Perry sailed for the Orinoco River, Venezuela, aboard of the frigate with the frigate and the schooner, arriving on July 15 to discourage piracy, while still maintaining friendly relations with Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Buenos Aires. Shifting his flag to USS "Nonsuch", due to its shallower draft, Perry sailed upriver to Angostura to negotiate an anti-piracy agreement with President Simón Bolívar. A favorable treaty was signed on August 11 with Vice-President Francisco Antonio Zea in the absence of Bolivar (who was engaged in the liberation of New Granada), but when the schooner started downriver, many of her crew, including Perry, had been stricken with yellow fever.  Despite the crew's efforts to reach Trinidad for medical assistance, the commodore died on board USS "Nonsuch" on August 23, 1819, his 34th birthday, as the ship entered the Gulf of Paria and was nearing Port of Spain. He was buried in Port of Spain with great honors while the "Nonsuch"s crew acted as honor guard. His remains were later taken back to the United States in 1826 and interred in Newport, Rhode Island. Originally interred in the Old Common Burial Ground, his body was eventually moved to Newport's Island Cemetery.

Family.

Perry's parents were Christopher Raymond Perry (1761–1818), who was also born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, and Sarah Wallace Alexander (1763–1830). Through his mother, Perry was a direct descendant of the uncle of Scottish nobleman and military leader William Wallace (d. 1305), whose life was the inspiration for the movie "Braveheart".  Perry married Elizabeth Champlin Mason in 1811. They had five children, four of whom lived to maturity. They were:  Perry's son Christopher Grant Champlin Perry was a physician, and served as commander of the Artillery Company of Newport from April 1848 until his death in 1854. In May 1849 he was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Rhode Island Militia and given command of the 1st Brigade encompassing Newport and Bristol Counties.  Perry's son Oliver Hazard Perry, Jr. entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1829, rose to the rank of lieutenant and resigned in 1849. He served on the United States Exploring Expedition under Captain Charles Wilkes from 1839 to 1842. Although he is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, for unknown reasons, he is not buried in the same plot with his parents.  Perry's son Christopher Raymond Perry graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1842. He served during the Mexican War and fought at the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8, 1846, and at the Battle of Resaca-de‐la‐Palma on May 9, 1846. He died on active duty as a 1st lieutenant in 1848.  His extended family's descendants include Commander John Rodgers, the second person to become a United States naval aviator, and well known civilian aviator Calbraith Perry Rodgers, the first person to fly an airplane—the "Vin Fiz"—across the United States.  Perry's nephew by marriage, George Champlin Mason, Sr., was a noted architect and historian.  Oliver Hazard Perry La Farge (December 19, 1901 – August 2, 1963), Perry's great-great-grandson and namesake, was an American writer and anthropologist, best known for his 1930 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel "Laughing Boy".  His great-grandnephew Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont (November 12, 1858 – June 10, 1908) from Buffalo, NY was an American socialite and United States Representative from New York.  Perry's great-grandniece, Ruth Black (November 1893 – September 3, 1964), married Gulf Oil executive Willard F. Jones.  Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton (August 4, 1823 – November 1, 1877) (no relation)—the 14th Governor of Indiana, a famous Republican politician and U.S. Senator, who was a leader among the Radical Republican reconstructionists—was named in his honor.

Dates of rank.

Although Perry is often referred to as "Commodore Perry", it should be kept in mind that, prior to the American Civil War, commodore was not a rank in the U.S. Navy but, rather, the title of an officer in command of a squadron of two or more ships. Perry first held the title of commodore when he took command of the Lake Erie squadron in 1813.

Assignments.

Note – Time gaps between assignments were probably in a "waiting orders" status.

Geographical namesakes.

Many locations, both in Rhode Island and near Lake Erie, are named in his honor, including:  An eastbound service plaza along the Ohio Turnpike is named the Commodore Perry Service Plaza, located in Sandusky County, Ohio.

Monuments.

The national monument commemorating Perry is the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial at Put-In-Bay, Ohio. Its tower, the world's most massive Doric column, was constructed by a multi-state commission between 1912 and 1915.  Other monuments include:

Documentary.

In 2016, principal photography began on "We Have Met the Enemy", a feature-length documentary produced by Lou Reda ("Vietnam in HD", "The Blue and the Gray"), for a planned spring 2017 release.

Eponymous ships.

Commodore Perry has been repeatedly honored with ships bearing his name.

Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. As the most well-known and prominent member of The Perry Family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace Alexander and United States Navy Captain Christopher Raymond Perry, and older brother of Commodore Matthew C. Perry.

奥利弗·哈泽德·佩里(Oliver Hazard Perry,1785年-8月23日-1819年-8月23日),美国海军准将。


History.

Early years.

Uffe Savery and Morten Friis met in 1977 while attending the Tivoli Garden Boys' Guard, and later, during their time at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, formed an experimental duo, called Safri Duo, whose name originated from the first letters of their respective surnames. Several albums were recorded and released through Chandos Records, on which the duo performed pieces by both famous classical (a.o. Bach, Mendelssohn, Ravel, whose works were arranged by Savery and Friis for two marimbas, or for marimba and vibraphone) and contemporary composers (a.o. Reich, Nørgård, Ter Veldhuis). Their performances of, especially, Ter Veldhuis' "Goldrush", Ravel's "Alborada del gracioso" and Anders Koppel's "Toccata for vibraphone and marimba" are often labelled as small milestones by fellow percussionists, as well as other musicians or people related to the world of classical music.

Mainstream success.

Earlier in 2000, a track named "The Bongo Song" started appearing on clubs' playlists. Produced by Michael Parsberg, it soon got airtime on MTV Europe. The mix between tribal drums over trance proved to be a success, and it ended the year as one of the best selling singles in Europe in 2000 as well as featuring prominently in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. This resulted in Safri Duo guesting along with Danish pop group Aqua during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 held in Copenhagen. "The Bongo Song" was featured prominently during the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in Manchester, England as well as the soundtrack of FIFA Football 2003. The album, named "Episode II", hit the market on 4 June 2001, nine tracks long, all featured the same percussion-electronica combination, except "Adagio" that kept the former classic line of the duo. A reissue added a second remix-only CD and the single "Sweet Freedom" recorded with Michael McDonald was released on 30 September 2002 (also "Everything" appeared in this CD Single as a B-Side). Two more tracks from "Episode II" were released as singles, "Samb-Adagio" and "Baya Baya". The Bongo Song became the anthem of the world-famous Coco Bongo super club in Cancún, where it is the party opening song every night.

3.0.

In 2003 the new album "3.0" was released. It featured Clark Anderson as vocalist on several of the tracks, including "All the People in the World", "Agogo Mosse" and "Laarbasses". The single "Rise" became a huge success and later they released a new version called "Rise (Leave Me Alone)" which featured Clark Anderson on vocals. In 2004 they released a remix album of "3.0" called "3.5 – International Version". It included the new version of "Rise" and several other tracks with Clark Anderson as vocalist and remixes of the already known tracks. They also played in the concert of Jean Michel Jarre (AERO Concert) on his famous track Rendez vous 4.

Origins.

Safri Duo's latest album "Origins" was released on 17 November 2008.

Safri Duo is a Danish electronic percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery (born 5 April 1966) and Morten Friis (born 21 August 1968). Initially classically oriented, they later made a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica. Released in 2000, "Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)", became one of the most popular songs in Europe in 2001. The single and subsequent album, "Episode II" each sold one million units worldwide, making Safri Duo the most internationally successful Danish act since Aqua.

Safri Duo(中文有翻译为:莎菲二人组合)是丹麦的打击乐二人小组,其成员为Uffe Savery(生于1966年4月5日)和Morten Friis(生于1968年8月21日)。起初他们做的是古典音乐。之后,被音乐唱片公司发现后他们将自己的音乐融入了部落民族音乐和现在的电子音乐元素。在此之后,他们著名的作品 Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)成为了欧洲当年最流行的歌曲之一。


Operation.

The lowest-level x86 interrupt dispatch code is written in assembly language and C. Once this code has done its job, it invokes the kernel, which runtime system and garbage collector are written in Sing# (an extended version of Spec#, itself an extension of C#) and runs in unprotected mode. The hardware abstraction layer is written in C++ and runs in protected mode. There is also some C code to handle debugging. The computer's basic input/output system (BIOS) is invoked during the 16-bit real mode bootstrap stage; once in 32-bit mode, Singularity never invokes the BIOS again, but invokes device drivers written in Sing#. During installation, Common Intermediate Language (CIL) opcodes are compiled into x86 opcodes using the Bartok compiler.

Security design.

Singularity is a microkernel operating system. Unlike most historic microkernels, its components execute in the same address space (process), which contains "software-isolated processes" (SIPs). Each SIP has its own data and code layout, and is independent from other SIPs. These SIPs behave like normal processes, but avoid the cost of task-switches.  Protection in this system is provided by a set of rules called invariants that are verified by static program analysis. For example, in the memory-invariant states there must be no cross-references (or memory pointers) between two SIPs; communication between SIPs occurs via higher-order communication channels managed by the operating system. Invariants are checked during installation of the application. (In Singularity, installation is managed by the operating system.)  Most of the invariants rely on the use of safer memory-managed languages, such as Sing#, which have a garbage collector, allow no arbitrary pointers, and allow code to be verified to meet a given computer security policy.

Project status.

Singularity 1.0 was completed in 2007. A Singularity Research Development Kit (RDK) was released under a shared source license allowing academic non-commercial use, and is available from CodePlex. Version 1.1 was released in March 2007 and version 2.0 was released on November 14, 2008.

Singularity is an experimental operating system (OS) which was built by Microsoft Research between 2003 and 2010. It was designed as a high dependability OS in which the kernel, device drivers, and application software were all written in managed code. Internal security uses type safety instead of hardware memory protection.

Singularity,一种实验性操作系统,在2003年至2010年间由微软研究院设计、发展出来。该操作系统的核心、驱动程序以及应用程序都以「受控代码」写成。系统“Singularity”在设计上完全改头换面,不再以其性能为标准,而以系统稳定性作为首要标准。


Life.

Follett was born in 1868 in Quincy, Massachusetts to a wealthy Quaker family. Her family was composed of Charles Allen Follett, a machinist in a local shoe factory, and Elizabeth Curtis (née Baxter) Follett, respectively of English-Scottish and Welsh descent, and a younger brother. Follett attended Thayer Academy, a collegiate preparatory day school in Braintree, Massachusetts, and spent much of her free time caring for her disabled mother. In September 1885 she enrolled in Anna Ticknor's Society to Encourage Studies at Home.  From 1890 to 91, she studied at the University of Cambridge and then moved to study at Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women in Cambridge (later known as Radcliffe College). For the next six years, Follett attended the university on an irregular basis, eventually graduating "summa cum laude" in 1898. Her Radcliffe thesis, "The Speaker of the House of Representatives", was published in 1896. She would go on to apply to Harvard but would be denied entrance to the university on the basis that she was a woman.  Over the next three decades, she published many works. She was one of the first women ever invited to address the London School of Economics, where she spoke on cutting-edge management issues. She also distinguished herself in the field of management by being sought out by US President Theodore Roosevelt as his personal consultant on managing not-for-profit, nongovernmental, and voluntary organizations.  Follett died in 1933 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Ideas and influences.

Mary Parker Follet defined management as "the art of getting things done through people". Follett's educational and work background would shape and influence her future theories and writings. One of her earliest career positions would see her working as a social worker in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston from 1900 to 1908. During this period her interactions with the Roxbury community would lead her to realize the importance of community spaces as areas to meet and socialize.  Her experience in developing vocational guidance and evening programs in public schools, she would develop what would be her life's work and her theories in group dynamics. "The New State," her second writing published in 1918, would evolve from a report into her second published work. This publication would go on to lay the foundational theories for her most important theories and become a major center of attention of her career.  By participating in local recreational, educational, and advocacy groups Parker developed her ideals of participatory democracy and her ideals of society as "integrative." Observing people led Parker to believe that the boundaries of a person's identities are porous, affected by the society around them, which, in turn, is affected by the identities of the people within it. Thus the self and the society, according to Parker, are in a cycle in which they constantly help to create one another.

Organizational theory.

In her capacity as a management theorist, Follett pioneered the understanding of lateral processes within hierarchical organizations (their recognition led directly to the formation of matrix-style organizations, the first of which was DuPont, in the 1920s), the importance of informal processes within organizations, and the idea of the "authority of expertise," which really served to modify the typology of authority developed by her German contemporary, Max Weber, who broke authority down into three separate categories: rational-legal, traditional and charismatic.  She recognized the holistic nature of community and advanced the idea of "reciprocal relationships" in understanding the dynamic aspects of the individual in relationship to others. Follett advocated the principle of what she termed "integration," or noncoercive power-sharing based on the use of her concept of "power with" rather than "power over."  Follett contributed greatly to the win-win philosophy, coining the term in her work with groups. Her approach to conflict was to embrace it as a mechanism of diversity and an opportunity to develop integrated solutions rather than simply compromising. She was also a pioneer in the establishment of community centers.

Writings.

Follett's unique background often led her to take positions on major issues that mediated between the conventional viewpoints. In "The New State", she took the position on societal change that:"It is a mistake to think that social progress is to depend upon anything happening to the working people: some say that they are to be given more material goods and all will be well; some think they are to be given more "education" and the world will be saved. It is equally a mistake to think that what we need is the conversion to "unselfishness" of the capitalist class.""  Likewise, her position on the labor movement was as follows:"Neither working for someone nor paying someone's wages ought to give you power over them.""

Transformational leadership.

Ann Pawelec Deschenes (1998) found obscure reference pointing to Mary Parker Follett having coined the term "transformational leadership". She quotes from Edith A. Rusch's "The Social Construction of Leadership: From Theory to Praxis" (1991):"...writings and lectures by Mary Parker Follett from as early as 1927 contained references to transformational leadership, the interrelationship of leadership and followership, and the power of collective goals of leaders and followers" (p. 8).  Burns makes no reference to Follett in "Leadership". However, Rusch was able to trace what appear to be parallel themes in the works of Burns and Follett. Rusch presents direct references in Appendix A. Pawelec (Deschenes) found further parallels of transformational discourse between Follett's (1947, 1987) work and Burns (1978).  From "The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett" (p. 247): "Moreover, we have now to lay somewhat less stress than formerly on this matter of the leader influencing his group because we now think of the leader as also being influenced by his group."

Influence.

Although most of Follett's writings remained known in very limited circles until republished at the beginning of this decade, her ideas gained great influence after Chester Barnard, a New Jersey Bell executive and advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, published his seminal treatment of executive management, "The Functions of the Executive". Barnard's work, which stressed the critical role of "soft" factors such as "communication" and "informal processes" in organizations, owed a telling but undisclosed debt to Follett's thought and writings. Her emphasis on such soft factors paralleled the work of Elton Mayo at Western Electric's Hawthorne Plant, and presaged the rise of the Human Relations Movement, as developed through the work of such figures as Abraham Maslow, Kurt Lewin, Douglas McGregor, Chris Argyris and other breakthrough contributors to the field of Organizational Development or "OD".  Her influence can also be seen indirectly perhaps in the work of Ron Lippitt, Ken Benne, Lee Bradford, Edie Seashore and others at the National Training Laboratories in Bethel, Maine, where T-Group methodology was first theorized and developed. Follett's work set the stage for a generation of effective, progressive changes in management philosophy, style, and practice, revolutionizing and humanizing the American workplace and allowing the fulfillment of Douglas McGregor's management vision of quantum leaps in productivity. effected through the humanization of the workplace.

Legacy.

After her death, her work and ideas would disappear from American organizational and management circles of the time but continue to gain followership in Great Britain. In the last decades, her work has been rediscovered. During the 1960s, her ideas would re-emerge in Japan, where management thinkers would apply her theories to business.  Management theorist Warren Bennis said of Follett's work, "Just about everything written today about leadership and organizations comes from Mary Parker Follett's writings and lectures."  Her texts outline modern ideas under participatory management: decentralized decisions, integrating role of groups, and competition authority. Follett managed to reduce the gap between the mechanistic approach and contemporary approach that emphasizes human behavior.  Her advocacy for schools to be used after hours for recreational and vocational use affected the Boston area, where schools opened their doors after hours for such uses, and community centers were built where schools were not located, which was a revolutionary concept during the 20th century. Her experience working in that area taught her a lot about notions of democracy and led her to write more for a wider audience, particularly the business world. She believed that good practice in business would have a significant impact on other institutions.  Follett's legacy has been recognized by the establishment, in 1992, of the annual Mary Parker Follett Award for the outstanding paper to appear each year in "Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal". The award citation states that it is named "in memory of a pioneering woman in the field of management and accountability literature who was international and interdisciplinary in her approach."

Publications.

Follett authored a number of books and numerous essays, articles, and speeches on democracy, human relations, political philosophy, psychology, organizational behavior, and conflict resolution.

Mary Parker Follett (3 September 1868 – 18 December 1933) was an American social worker, management consultant, philosopher and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior. Along with Lillian Gilbreth, she was one of two great women management experts in the early days of classical management theory. She has been called the "Mother of Modern Management". Instead of emphasizing industrial and mechanical components, she advocated for what she saw as the far more important human element, regarding people as the most valuable commodity present within any business. She was one of the first theorists to actively write about and explore the role people had on effective management, and discuss the importance of learning to deal with and promote positive human relations as a fundamental aspect of the industrial sector.

玛丽·帕克·傅丽特(英语:Mary Parker Follett,1868年-9月3日-1933年-12月16日),美国的行政学家、管理理论学者、社会工作者,首位研究组织心理因素之人,被称为「现代管理之母」。


Organization.

The centre was established in 1993 in Longyearbyen, a town of 2,100 inhabitants on the western coast of Spitsbergen island. Despite its name, it is not a university (a status that can only be conferred by the government under certain conditions to larger institutions), but a limited company involved in research and some university-level education. The main idea behind establishing UNIS was that the unique geographic location of the island permits the study of Arctic sciences in situ, right outside the company walls. Its official language is Norwegian, but English is used in all tuition and 68% of its 690 students originate from outside Norway (in 2015, foreign students came from 43 countries). Of the international students, the largest groups were from Nordic countries outside Norway (12%), Germany (11%), the Netherlands (9%), the United Kingdom (6%), and Russia (6%). The tuition is free of charge and is carried out by 27 full-time professors, 43 adjunct professors and 160 guest lecturers. The latter are invited from Norwegian and foreign institutions within various joint research projects. Those projects are also instrumental for the enrollment of master and PhD students – UNIS does not accept its own graduates for those courses and requires potential candidates to present a letter of support from their home institution. One important collaboration is the educational exchange program with Russia. The funding for UNIS is provided by the Norwegian government, research councils and private industry.

Campus and events.

The company conducts both teaching and scientific research. The original UNIS building opened in 1995. The new Svalbard Science Centre, designed by Jarmund/Vigsnæs architects, was officially opened on April 26, 2006 by the King and the Queen of Norway. On September 2, 2009, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon visited UNIS. Together with the Norwegian Minister of Environment Erik Solheim, Ban Ki-Moon led a debate on the impact of a melting Arctic on the environment.  The Norwegian Polar Institute, the Svalbard Museum, and the Svalbard Science Forum share the building.

Services.

Although UNIS has no formal tuition fee, students are required to pay a semester fee of 580 NOK (about 65 EUR). For overnight scientific cruises, fieldwork and excursions, students must pay a daily rate of NOK 200 for food. UNIS has a library, established in 1993. A significant part of the library is electronic: the company is subscribed to a number of electronic databases that can be accessed from the library computers. UNIS has several research laboratories and a 15 m long research ship "Viking explorer".  Most students at UNIS live in five renovated mining barracks in Nybyen (4,150 NOK), a settlement on the southern outskirts of Longyearbyen (30–40 minutes by foot). From September 2014, some students live in the newly built campus Sjøskrenten (4,500–4,600 NOK), which is a 2-minute walk from UNIS. Both campuses are owned and administered by the Arctic Student Welfare Organization in Tromsø.

Safety and well-being.

There is a small hospital and a dentist in Longyearbyen, and a search and rescue team led by the Governor of Svalbard. Any seriously ill person is transported by airplane to mainland Norway. The nearest regional hospital is located in Tromsø, a two-hour flight away.  Polar bears are abundant in the area and are a threat to human life. As a result, local citizens often carry rifles, and every UNIS student and member of staff spends their first day learning how to use a rifle to defend themselves against bears.  Because UNIS activities include fieldwork carried out on boats, snowmobiles or on foot in a harsh environment, all new students and staff members are required to present a self-declaration confirming that they are in good health.

Student life.

There are various self-organized student groups at UNIS. Many are changing every semester according to student's interests, whereas some are fixtures. The UNIS Student Council is elected once per semester and represents the students' interests at university meetings and towards outside parties. Students are able to rent outdoor equipment, such as skiing or camping gear, from the Student Equipment group, which is also self-organized by interested students. Due to the arctic nature being easily accessible, outdoor sports and hiking are popular recreational activities for many students.

The University Centre in Svalbard (; UNIS) is a Norwegian state-owned limited company that is involved in research and provides some university-level education in Arctic studies. The company is wholly owned by the Ministry of Education and Research, and the universities of Oslo, Bergen, Tromsø, NTNU and NMBU appoint the board of directors. It is led by a director appointed by the board for a four-year term. The centre is the world’s northernmost research and higher education institution, in Longyearbyen at 78° N latitude. The courses offered fall into four main science disciplines: Arctic biology, Arctic geology, Arctic geophysics and Arctic technology.

斯瓦巴大学中心(),座落在挪威属地的斯瓦巴的首府朗伊尔城,于1993年启用,是挪威国立的大学,提供大学等级的极地研究,专门讲授地球物理学、北极生物学、地质学、北极科技,颁授学士、硕士、博士等学位,合计约有300名学生。


History.

Founding years.

On March 26, 1931, Swissair – Schweizerische Luftverkehr AG (English: "Swissair – Swiss Air Transport") was founded through the fusion of the airlines Ad Astra Aero (founded in 1919) and Balair (1925). The founding fathers were Balz Zimmermann and the Swiss aviation pioneer Walter Mittelholzer. In contrast to other airlines, it did not receive support from the government. The name "Swissair" was the proposal of Dr. Alphonse Ehinger, president of the directorial board of the Balair, although "Swissair" was first deemed "un-Swiss". In the first operational year, 64 people were employed including ten pilots, seven radio operators, and eight mechanics. In total, their planes offered 85 seats and operation was maintained only from March to October. The route network had a length of.  On April 17, 1932, Swissair bought two Lockheed Orions, making them the second European airline to use American planes, after the Czechoslovak operator CSA purchased a Ford Trimotor in 1930. The Orion was the fastest commercial airplane of its time and was put to use on the "Express line", Zurich-Munich-Vienna. This led Lufthansa to ask Heinkel for a model that could top Orion's speed, leading to the Heinkel He 70. In 1933, the first trans-Alpine route was introduced in 1933: Zurich-Milan.  For the first time in Europe, flight attendants were employed aboard the Curtiss Condor beginning in 1934. Nelly Diener, the first flight attendant of Europe, became world-famous. She lost her life after just 79 flights in a crash near Wurmlingen, Germany, on July 27, 1934. The cause of the crash was material fatigue.  In 1936, Douglas DC-2s were acquired and London was added to the route network. In 1937, the bigger Douglas DC-3 was bought. In the same year, both founding fathers died: Walter Mittelholzer during mountaineering in the Steiermark, Austria, and Balz Zimmermann succumbed to an infectious disease.  On August 27, 1939, days before World War II broke out, the airspace over Germany and France was closed. Swissair was forced to suspend service to Amsterdam, Paris, and London. Two days later, Swissair service was closed completely. Of 180 employees, 131 had to serve in the army. In spite of the war, some routes were re-introduced, such as Munich, Berlin, Rome and Barcelona. In 1940, an invasion of Switzerland was feared, and Swissair moved their operations to the Magadino plains in Ticino. Operations were suspended definitively in August 1944, when a Swissair DC-2 was destroyed in Stuttgart during an American bombing raid.  On July 30, 1945, Swissair was able to resume commercial aviation.

Ascension.

In 1947 the rise of shareholder capital to 20 million Swiss francs enabled long haul flights to New York, South Africa, and South America with Douglas DC-4s. The modern Convair 240, the first Swissair plane with a pressurized cabin, was used for short- and medium-range flights from late 1948. The first Swissair DC-4 flight to New York was routed via Shannon, Ireland, and Stephenville, Newfoundland, on May 2, 1947, although it actually ended in Washington, D.C., due to fog at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The total elapsed time was 20 hours and 55 minutes.  The public, including the federal government, the states of Switzerland (Cantons), municipalities, the Swiss Federal Railways, and the Swiss postal services took over 30.6% of the shares and enabled Swissair to get a credit of 15 million Swiss Francs to purchase the airline's first two Douglas DC-6B airliners for delivery in 1951. By that act, Swissair became the national flag carrier of Switzerland. The new pressurized aircraft were to replace the DC-4 on transatlantic routes.  In 1948, the airport in Dübendorf, which served as the base of Swissair, was relocated to Zurich-Kloten. Military aviation continued in Dübendorf. The next year Swissair plunged into a financial crisis due to a sudden devaluation of the British Pound because fares, except traffic to the United States, were calculated in British currency. At that time, the traffic to England made up 40 percent of Swissair's revenue.  In June 1950, Walter Berchtold, manager of Swiss Federal Railways, was elected to the directorial board of Swissair and served as the director. Until 1971, he created the corporate culture of Swissair. He grasped the importance of corporate image and corporate identity, and after the example of BOAC's "Speedbird", he introduced the arrow-shaped Swissair logo. Giving flight personnel a distinct uniform was also an important move. At the time, flight attendants' uniforms resembled the gray-blue ones of the Swiss Women's Army Corps, so Berchtold introduced ones in a modish marine blue, and Swissair initiated a veritable fashion competition among European airlines.  In 1952, the cabin layout on northern trans-Atlantic routes was changed to one with a first and a tourist class. First class had comfortable chairs in which one could sleep, given the name "Slumberettes". Those sleeping chairs were soon succeeded by beds, modelled after the U.S. Pullman railway cars. Two adjacent seats were moved toward each other and formed a lower berth. The wall panel could be folded downward, forming the upper berth in which the other person could sleep. A year later, tourist class was introduced on Europe flights.  In 1953 Swissair, with the city of Basel, founded a charter company called Balair, reusing the name of one of its predecessors, a company which initially used older Swissair aircraft to fly to holiday destinations.  As the first European customer, Swissair bought the Douglas DC-7C which enabled the company to provide non-stop flights to the United States. For shorter-range routes, the Convair Metropolitan was used.  In 1957, the Far East was added to the route network. Direct flights to Tokyo had intermediate stops in Athens, Karachi, Bombay, Bangkok and Manila. In that same year, Swissair helped Aristotle Onassis form the new Greek airline, Olympic Airways.  While competitors first looked at turboprop airplanes to replace their piston-engined craft, Swissair introduced jet airplanes. Together with SAS, Swissair bought Douglas DC-8s, which were delivered beginning in 1960. For medium- and short-range routes the Sud Aviation Caravelle was purchased. The aircraft were maintained in concert with SAS, and manuals for operation and maintenance were co-written.  Swissair was one of the few companies to buy Convair 990 "Coronado" aircraft -in 1962- for its medium- and long-range routes. Although the aircraft did not initially fulfill contractual specifications, they were liked by employees and customers. They operated on the airline's routes to South America, West Africa, and the Middle and Far East.  1966 saw the introduction of the Douglas DC-9. That aircraft became the backbone of the short- and medium-range routes, and, after convincing Douglas, on behalf of Swissair the Douglas Corporation offered a stretched variant: the DC-9-32. For the first time, Swissair was the launch customer of an aircraft type.  In 1971, Armin Baltensweiler took over as the president of the directorial board and ran the enterprise for over two decades. In the same year, the first Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet was acquired, and in the next year, the first McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 followed. Both types shaped the long-haul fleet until the 1990s. Again, the specifications of both aircraft were developed in collaboration with SAS. Also in 1972, Switzerland introduced a prohibition of night flights, which led to the cessation of cheaper night fares.  In 1973, the company struggled with severe turbulence: currency crisis, collective chaos, an air traffic controllers' strike, the October War and the first oil crisis were weathered without too much damage. In that same year, the regional representative of Swissair in Buenos Aires was kidnapped by a revolutionary group. After 38 days in captivity, he was released after the payment of a CHF 12.4 million ransom. The airline also phased out the CV-990s during that time.  Swissair was the second European airline to offer a service to the People's Republic of China, introducing service to Beijing and Shanghai in 1975. In the same year, Swissair was the launch customer for the DC-9-51. In 1977, Swissair was the launch customer for the third DC-9 type, the DC-9-81 variant, now called the MD-80. Armin Baltensweiler had traveled to a meeting of McDonnell-Douglas' directorial board in St. Louis to convince them to further stretch the fuselage of the DC-9-51. Baltensweiler was called the “Father of the MD-80". In 1979, Swissair was the first company to order the Airbus A310-200, and the jumbo jet variant with a stretched upper deck, the Boeing 747-300. Also, the Fokker 100 short-range aircraft and the three-engined MD-11 were aircraft for which Swissair was the launch customer. 1983 saw the replacement of the older DC-9s by MD-83s.  Since the 1960s, Swissair had been a world leader in the development of cargo reservation systems (CRS). PARS and CARIDO were examples for booking passenger seats and freight space.

"The flying bank".

After the 1960s, air traffic increased quickly and allowed many airlines – many of which were quasi-monopolists on their routes – to yield high revenues. Especially Swissair profited from its excellent reputation as a quality airline and from the fact that the political neutrality of Switzerland allowed the company to fly to exotic, but lucrative destinations in Africa and the Middle East. In geographic terms, the central position of Switzerland in Europe helped it to generate revenue from transfer passengers. By the early 1970s, Swissair was thus called "The flying bank", appealing to the large hidden assets and the huge liquidity Swissair had. Secondary, the "flying bank" was the designation for a corporate group which cared more about financial management than about flying airplanes.  With the beginning of deregulation and liberalization, airlines felt growing financial pressure. In 1978, Moritz Suter founded a regional airline named Crossair, which put Swissair under additional stress. To counter these changes, Swissair invested their large financial reserves into takeovers and into flight-related trades like baggage handling, catering, aircraft maintenance, and duty-free stores. This strategy diversified economic risks at the expense of the core business of Swissair – commercial aviation.

Concentration.

Regarding the furthering liberalization of Europe's airline market, Swissair focused more on commercial aviation and extended its partnerships. As the first European airline, Swissair signed in 1989 a cooperation treaty with Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines to form the alliance "Global Excellence". In 1990, together with SAS, Austrian Airlines and Finnair, the "European Quality Alliance" was founded. The latter alliance was later renamed to "Qualiflyer". Because of the weak economy, the Gulf War and its aftermath, and rising operational costs, many airlines lost money in 1990 and 1991. Additionally, on-going liberalization of the industry strengthened the competition. Consequently, Swissair lost 99 million Swiss Francs in the first half-year and was unable to pay dividends to its shareholders. In the years 1991 and 1992 Swissair had to dissolve financial reserves to cushion the losses from the commercial aviation sector.  On January 1, 1991, commercial aviation in Europe was completely liberalized and the existing capacities led to aggressive competition among the airlines. In a national referendum on December 6, 1992, Swiss citizens rejected taking part in the European Economic Area, EEA. This referendum was a significant disservice to Swissair, an airline with a minute domestic market: Its planes were not allowed to take up passengers during intermediate landings in EEA countries (e.g., Zurich – "Frankfurt" – New York), and Swissair was not allowed to offer tickets for sections that fully lie in EEA member countries (e.g., Zurich – "Frankfurt – Paris"). "See also freedoms of the air".  Like other airlines of smaller countries, Swissair now was under significant pressure. More and more national airlines affiliated themselves with airline alliances to maintain a worldwide market presence. But to be interesting for American alliance partners, an airline must have a critical size in terms of passenger numbers. To meet that goal, in 1993 an alliance between Swissair, KLM, SAS, and Austrian Airlines was proposed. This project bore the name "Alcazar" to create a single Central European airline. But in various countries, this project was criticized. In Switzerland itself, it was thought that the huge financial assets were too precious to merge Swissair with the other airlines.

Hunter Strategy.

In the late 1980s, as well as throughout the early 1990s, Swissair tried to merge with Air France, Lufthansa, and British Airways to get access to a wider European market. Finally, after deregulation, Swissair tried to expand beyond its home Swiss market; after the Alcazar project was cancelled, Swissair hoped to be a major force in European aviation.  In the 1990s Swissair initiated the disastrous “Hunter Strategy”, a major expansion programme devised by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Using this strategy, Swissair aimed to grow its market share through the acquisition of small airlines rather than entering into alliance agreements. Swissair decided to acquire 49.5 percent of the very successful Italian charter airline Air Europe, the unprofitable Belgian flag carrier, Sabena, and significant stakes in the carriers Air Liberté, AOM, Air Littoral, Volare, LOT, Turkish Airlines, South African Airways, Portugália and LTU, and planned to acquire stakes in Aer Lingus, Finnair, Malév, as well as Brazilian carriers TAM and Transbrasil. By mid-2000, it was predicted that Swissair would lose between CHF 3.25 billion and 4.45 billion over the next three fiscal years. The management however maintained in classical restructuring, the Board approved the reorganization of LTU for approximately CHF 500 million. Also, there were plans to take over Alitalia.  In summer 2000, the CEO Philippe Bruggisser came under public pressure, as the press published the financial situation of the group. Swissair and Sabena were each losing one million francs per day, and another million were lost every day at LTU and the French investments. The Board for the first time began to consider scenarios for phasing out the existing participations in other airlines, as Swissair looked to withdraw from their foreign investments. In January 2001 Bruggisser was summarily dismissed. Moritz Suter, the founder of Crossair, was nominated as the new CEO of SAirLines and thus all Group airlines including Swissair. After only 44 days, Suter resigned.  In March 2001, two studies by consultants were presented to the Board, which showed the financial difficulties of SAirGroup. At this point, the Directors resigned, with only Mario Corti, former CFO of Nestlé, staying behind. The buying spree created a major cash flow crisis for parent company SAirGroup, and was exacerbated by the environment caused by the September 11 attacks. Unable to make payments to creditors on its large debt, and with the refusal of UBS AG to extend its line of credit, on 2 October 2001 the entire Swissair fleet was abruptly grounded. Many blamed UBS for the fiasco, causing demonstrators to take to the streets with signs referring to UBS chairman, Marcel Ospel as ""Bin Ospel"", in reference to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and redefining the bank's acronym, "UBS" as the "United Bandits of Switzerland".  Two large bridge loans from the Swiss government were required to finance the continuation of flight operations. This notwithstanding, with the resumption of flight service, it was necessary for flight crews to carry large sums of cash to purchase fuel at foreign airports.

Grounding.

On 1 October 2001, the public was informed, via a press conference, of project "Phoenix" and announced that parts of the group sought a payment delay. However, the continuation of service was secured by the Swiss federal authorities, as they were willing to pay half of the loan.  2 October 2001 saw an increased necessity for strong liquidity, as all suppliers insisted on cash payments of outstanding invoices following the request of payment delay announced the day before. Cash reserves of Swissair filed on this day were barely sufficient to carry out the first morning flights. During the morning, fuel suppliers refused to fuel the waiting aircraft. Other accounts were consolidated on the one hand because of the prior termination of the cash pooling facility from the UBS, on the other hand, due to the threat of favoritism regarding debts. The banks refused a credit increase before the sales proceeded, and insisted on a formal referral validity of the sale agreement.  At 15:45, CEO Mario Corti announced a cessation of flight operations due to the security risks caused by the crossing of the Flight Duty Regulations. This led to the cancellation of over 230 flights, and thousands of passengers, as well as flight crews, being stranded around the world. Flight crew corporate credit cards were blocked by the banks, with some hotels expelling the crews, and having them return home at their own expense. Also, all tickets sold were voided.  Crossair shares were only reissued on the evening of 2 October due to the rewriting of Crossair shares, with their purchase price not arriving until the following day – the setting of flight operations – into the SAirLines account.  4 October 2001 saw demonstrations by former Swissair employees before the UBS presentation held in Glattbrugg, and the following day saw demonstrations in Bern's Federal Square.  At around the same time, SAirGroup's stake in Crossair was sold to the Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse. Furthermore, Crossair took over various assets of former Swissair, including its employees, aircraft and most European routes. Swissair and the SAirGroup were handed over to the liquidation firm of Jürg Hoss Liquidators and ceased operations on 31 March 2002. Crossair was renamed Swiss International Air Lines, or Swiss for short, and took over Swissair's intercontinental routes on 1 April 2002, officially ending 71 years of Swissair Service.

Transition phase.

On 5 October, commercial flights on most routes were gradually resumed thanks to a federal emergency loan of over CHF 450 million. This occurred, in part, to ensure Switzerland's continued accessibility as a business location, and to establish a basis for the creation of Swiss. Through preventing the complete collapse of Swissair, the other airline-related businesses of the group were spared collapse.  Following another federal repayable funding commitment of one billion francs, each of the 26 long-haul aircraft (MD-11s and A330s) and 26 medium-haul aircraft (A321s, A320s and A319s) were able to be transferred to Crossair / Swiss at the end of the winter schedule of 2001/02. On Easter Monday, 1 April 2002, the last flight of Swissair, flight SR145 from São Paulo, landed in Zurich. A 71-year-long chapter of Swiss aviation history thus came to an end. Between 1931 and 2002, Swissair had transported more than 260 million passengers. The SwissairGroup (the name change from SAirGroup to SwissairGroup was announced in 2001 but never officially implemented) still existed as 'SAirGroup in Nachlassstundung' (German: "Swissair in Administration") for several years until all assets were liquidated, including a large auction where many of the remaining Swissair assets, such as historic items, were auctioned. Today, Gategourmet continues as a subsidiary under the parent firm Gate Group.

Factors behind collapse.

Like other airlines that flew to the United States, Swissair's operations and profitability were disrupted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. As several politicians were amongst those included on Swissair's directors, commentators have pointed to potential conflicts of interest as fundamental to the demise of Swissair. Media have also suggested that the directorial board failed to oversee the actions of Philippe Bruggisser (Chief Operating Officer since 1996) and Eric Honegger (board member since 1993 and later board president), and that they left behind a convoluted corporate structure and financial commitments – among others a further purchase of 35.5 percent of Sabena's stocks – which would only come to light when Mario Corti was trying to save the airline.  The judiciary is continuing to examine why Swissair acquired counselling that supported the Hunter Strategy, and why Swissair continued to make certain payments despite nearing insolvency. Questions have also been raised about federal aid given to Swissair and the politicians involved. The highly competitive nature of the market during the business's final years also precipitated its demise: like rival company Sabena, Swissair fell victim to the competition of budget airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet.  A "BBC" correspondent said regarding the collapse "Something did die in Switzerland that day: not just an airline but an image the Swiss had of themselves and, more importantly, of their business leaders" and "The Swiss financial community's reputation for good business sense was already seriously damaged by the Swissair disaster."  Due to continued civil proceedings are part of the causes of the collapse of SAirGroup subject of legal proceedings and are therefore legally unclear. The following causes are widely recognized as crucial factors:

Legacy.

In 2002 the successor Swiss International Air Lines commenced operations. First called Swiss Air Lines, this Company was based on the former Crossair, and was a merger of Crossair and former Swissair employees, routes and aircraft. The Company Swissair continued to exist (in liquidation) but had no further assets. Due to legal problems with Swissair, the name had to be changed to Swiss International Air Lines.  Swiss took over 26 long-haul and 26 medium-haul Aircraft from the defunct Swissair fleet and refurbished the liveries and interiors to turn it into the new Swiss fleet, together with the former Crossair Fleet consisting of Embraer 145, Saab 2000, MD-80 Series and Avro RJ. The remainder of the Swissair aircraft that were grounded and were not taken by Swiss were returned to their lessors.  After problems with the former Crossair pilot unions, who refused to accept different conditions than the former Swissair pilots within the same airline, a subsidiary called Swiss European Air Lines was founded which belongs 100% to Swiss International Air Lines.  In 2004, it appeared that Swiss was going to become a member of the Oneworld alliance. It had codeshares with Oneworld carriers British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Aer Lingus and Finnair, and held a strategic partnership and joint operation for all service to North America and AA-operated flights beyond U.S. gateways using American Airlines. Swiss started to terminate these codeshare agreements but did not terminate the AA alliance. A theory emerged that Swiss was planning to use its partnerships, the AA alliance, and its partnership with British Airways, a strong supportive member of Oneworld, to join Oneworld itself.  However, in 2005 Swiss was taken over by the German airline Lufthansa, the national airline of Germany. With the merger with Lufthansa, Swiss joined the Star Alliance in 2006, which Swissair planned to join before it failed. With this move, Swiss's frequent flyer club, Swiss TravelClub became part of Miles & More, which was originally the Lufthansa Group frequent flyer club. It acts as both airlines' frequent flyer programme, along with many other Lufthansa Group airlines.

Management trial.

The criminal trial began 16 January 2007 in Bülach. The entire Swissair management board stood facing criminal charges of mismanagement, false statements, and forgery of documents. Top defendants in the trial were Mario Corti, Philippe Bruggisser, George Schorderet, Jacqualyn Fouse, Eric Honegger, and Verena Spoerry. Corti, Honegger, and Spoerry entered statements proclaiming their innocence.  On 7 June 2007 the court in Bülach cleared the defendants of all criminal charges over the airline's 2001 bankruptcy.

Continued use of the "Swissair" brand.

Swiss retains the rights to the "Swissair" name, whose value was estimated at more than 10 million Swiss francs in 2010. In order to prevent the trademark from becoming void through disuse, Swiss licensed it to Hopscotch Air, which operates a fleet of Cirrus SR22 planes in the United States, for use from 2010 to 2013. In Switzerland, the trademark is protected through its use by an aviation sports club, "Sportfluggruppe Swissair".

Fleet.

Historic fleet.

In its 71 years of existence, Swissair operated the following aircraft:

Swissair Asia.

Swissair Asia was formed to serve Taipei, Taiwan, within the Republic of China, while Swissair was maintaining service to the People's Republic of China. It began operating a twice-weekly service between Zurich and Taipei via Bangkok in 1995. The airline had two MD-11 aircraft (HB-IWN and HB-IWG). Aircraft formerly used by Swissair Asia had the Chinese character "" (, from the Chinese translation of Switzerland, "" (), on the tail fin instead of the cross. The airline was one of a number of airline subsidiaries flying under the "Asia" name with the purpose of flying to Taiwan, which included Japan Asia Airways (a Japan Airlines subsidiary), KLM Asia, British Asia Airways, Lufthansa Asien, Air France Asie, and Australia Asia Airlines (a Qantas subsidiary).

Corporate affairs.

Swissair's head office was on the grounds of Zurich Airport and in Kloten.  KSG, Architects G.Müller + G.Berger designed the final head office complex for the airline. It was in proximity to the main airport facilities and area freeways. The first phase of the building included offices for 1,600 workers, computer rooms, printing rooms, and 500-seat restaurant facilities. The second phase included an open plan office room, another computer laboratory, and expansions of the restaurant facilities.  In the 1930s the head office was in the Dübendorf Aerodrome in Zürich.

Accidents and incidents.

Over the 71-year history of Swissair, there were eleven major incidents reported resulting in 414 fatalities.

Swissair AG/S.A. ( Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; : S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.

瑞士航空(英语:Swissair,全称Schweizerische Luftverkehr)曾是瑞士的国家航空公司,于1931年由原Balair和Ad Astra Aero合并而来。瑞航曾是世界上主要的国际航空公司之一,且因自身的经济稳定性被称作“飞行的银行”并被认同为瑞士的国家符号。瑞士航空的总部设在位于克洛滕的苏黎世机场。


Background.

Dartmouth lies on the east shore of Halifax Harbour, and Halifax is on the west shore. By 1917, "Halifax’s inner harbour had become a principal assembly point for merchant convoys leaving for Britain and France." Halifax and Dartmouth had thrived during times of war; the harbour was one of the British Royal Navy's most important bases in North America, a centre for wartime trade, and a home to privateers who harried the British Empire's enemies during the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812.  The completion of the Intercolonial Railway and its Deep Water Terminal in 1880 allowed for increased steamship trade and led to accelerated development of the port area, but Halifax faced an economic downturn in the 1890s as local factories lost ground to competitors in central Canada. The British garrison left the city in late 1905 and early 1906. The Canadian government took over the Halifax Dockyard (now CFB Halifax) from the Royal Navy. This dockyard later became the command centre of the Royal Canadian Navy upon its founding in 1910.  Just before the First World War, the Canadian government began a determined,

Disaster.

The Norwegian ship had sailed from the Netherlands en route to New York to take on relief supplies for Belgium, under the command of Haakon From. The ship arrived in Halifax on 3 December for neutral inspection and spent two days in Bedford Basin awaiting refuelling supplies. Though given clearance to leave the port on 5 December, "Imo"s departure was delayed because her coal load did not arrive until late that afternoon. The loading of fuel was not completed until after the anti-submarine nets had been raised for the night. Therefore, the vessel could not weigh anchor until the next morning.  The French cargo ship arrived from New York late on 5 December, under the command of Aimé Le Medec. The vessel was fully loaded with the explosives TNT and picric acid, the highly flammable fuel benzol and guncotton. She intended to join a slow convoy gathering in Bedford Basin readying to depart for Europe but was too late to enter the harbour before the nets were raised. Ships carrying dangerous cargo were not allowed into the harbour before the war, but the risks posed by German submarines had resulted in a relaxation of regulations.  Navigating into or out of Bedford Basin required passage through a strait called the Narrows. Ships were expected to keep close to the side of the channel situated on their starboard ("right"), and pass oncoming vessels "port to port", that is to keep them on their "left" side. Ships were restricted to a speed of within the harbour.

Collision and fire.

"Imo" was granted clearance to leave Bedford Basin by signals from the guard ship HMCS "Acadia" at approximately 7:30 on the morning of 6 December, with Pilot William Hayes on board. The ship entered the Narrows well above the harbour's speed limit in an attempt to make up for the delay experienced in loading her coal. "Imo" met American tramp steamer SS "Clara" being piloted up the wrong (western) side of the harbour. The pilots agreed to pass starboard-to-starboard. Soon afterwards, "Imo" was forced to head even further towards the Dartmouth shore after passing the tugboat "Stella Maris", which was travelling up the harbour to Bedford Basin near mid-channel. Horatio Brannen, the captain of "Stella Maris", saw "Imo" approaching at excessive speed and ordered his ship closer to the western shore to

Explosion.

At 9:04:35 am the out-of-control fire on board "Mont-Blanc" set off her cargo of high explosives. The ship was completely blown apart and a powerful blast wave radiated away from the explosion initially at more than per second. Temperatures of and pressures of thousands of atmospheres accompanied the moment of detonation at the centre of the explosion. White-hot shards of iron fell down upon Halifax and Dartmouth. "Mont-Blanc"s forward 90-mm gun landed approximately north of the explosion site near Albro Lake in Dartmouth with its barrel melted away, and the shank of "Mont-Blanc"s anchor, weighing half a ton, landed south at Armdale.  A cloud of white smoke rose to at least. The shock wave from the blast travelled through the earth at

Rescue efforts.

First rescue efforts came from surviving neighbours and co-workers who pulled and dug out victims from buildings. The initial informal response was soon joined by surviving policemen, firefighters and military personnel who began to arrive, as did anyone with a working vehicle; cars, trucks and delivery wagons of all kinds were enlisted to collect the wounded. A flood of victims soon began to arrive at the city's hospitals, which were quickly overwhelmed. The new military hospital, Camp Hill, admitted approximately 1,400 victims on 6 December.  Firefighters were among the first to respond to the disaster, rushing to "Mont-Blanc" to attempt to extinguish the blaze before the explosion even occurred. They also played a role after the blast, with fire companies arriving to assist from across Halifax, and by the end of the day from as far away as Amherst, Nova Scotia, () and Moncton, New Brunswick, () on relief trains. Halifax Fire Department's West Street Station 2 was the first to arrive at Pier 6 with the crew of the "Patricia", the first motorized fire engine in Canada. In the final moments before the explosion, hoses were being unrolled as the fire spread to the docks. Nine members of the Halifax Fire Department lost their lives performing their duty that day.  Royal Navy cruisers in port sent some of the first organized rescue parties ashore. HMS "Highflyer", along with the armed merchant cruisers HMS "Changuinola", HMS "Knight Templar" and HMS "Calgarian", sent boats ashore with rescue parties and medical personnel and soon began to take wounded aboard. A US Coast Guard cutter,, also sent a rescue party ashore. Out at sea, the American cruiser USS "Tacoma" and armed merchant cruiser USS "Von Steuben" (formerly SS "Kronprinz Wilhelm") were passing Halifax en route to the United States. "Tacoma" was rocked so severely by the blast wave that her crew went to general quarters. Spotting the large and rising column of smoke, "Tacoma" altered course and arrived to assist rescue at 2 pm. "Von Steuben" arrived a half-hour later. The American steamship "Old Colony", docked in Halifax for repairs, suffered little damage and was quickly converted to serve as a hospital ship, staffed by doctors and orderlies from the British and American navy vessels in the harbour.  Dazed survivors immediately feared that the explosion was the result

Destruction and loss of life.

The exact number killed by the disaster is unknown. The Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book, an official database compiled in 2002 by the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, identified 1,950 victims. As many as 1,600 people died immediately in the blast, tsunami, and collapse of buildings. The last body, a caretaker killed at the Exhibition Grounds, was not recovered until the summer of 1919. An additional 9,000 were injured. 1,630 homes were destroyed in the explosion and fires, and another 12,000 damaged; roughly 6,000 people were left homeless and 25,000 had insufficient shelter. The city's industrial sector was in large part gone, with many workers among the casualties and the dockyard heavily damaged.  A mortuary committee chaired by Alderman R. B. Coldwell was quickly formed at Halifax City Hall on the morning of the disaster. The Chebucto Road School (now the Maritime Academy of Performing Arts) in Halifax's west end was chosen as a central morgue. A company of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) repaired and converted the basement of the school to serve as a morgue and classrooms to serve as offices for the Halifax coroner. Trucks and wagons soon began to arrive with bodies. Coroner Arthur S. Barnstead took over from Coldwell as the morgue went into operation and implemented a system to carefully number and describe bodies; it was based on the system developed by his father, John Henry Barnstead, to identify victims in 1912.  Many of the wounds inflicted by the blast were permanently debilitating, such as those caused by flying glass or by the flash of the explosion. Thousands of people had stopped to watch the ship burning in the harbour, many from inside buildings, leaving them directly in the path of glass fragments from shattered windows. Roughly 5,900 eye injuries were reported, and 41 people lost their sight permanently.  An estimated c$35 million in damage resulted (c$ million today). About $30 million in financial aid was raised from various sources, including $18 million from the federal government, over $4 million from the British government, and $750,000 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Dartmouth.

Dartmouth was not as densely populated as Halifax and was separated from the blast by the width of the harbour, but still suffered heavy damage. Almost 100 people were estimated

Mi'kmaq settlement.

There were small enclaves of Mi'kmaq in and around the coves of Bedford Basin on the Dartmouth shore. Directly opposite to Pier 9 on the Halifax side sat a community in Tufts Cove, also known as Turtle Grove. The settlement, dating back to the 18th century, had been a subject of controversy because white settler landowners wanted to remove the Mi'kmaq residents. In the years and months preceding the explosion, the Department of Indian Affairs had been actively trying

Africville.

The black community of Africville, on the southern shores of Bedford Basin adjacent to the Halifax Peninsula, was spared the direct force of the blast by the shadow effect of the raised ground to the south. Africville's small and frail homes were heavily damaged by the explosion. Families recorded the

Investigation.

Many people in Halifax at first believed the explosion to be the result of a German attack. The "Halifax Herald" continued to propagate this belief for some time, for example reporting that Germans had mocked victims of the explosion. While John Johansen, the Norwegian helmsman of "Imo", was being treated for serious injuries sustained during the explosion, it was reported to the military police that he had been behaving suspiciously. Johansen was arrested on suspicions of being a German spy when a search turned up a letter on his person, supposedly written in German. It turned out that the letter was actually written in Norwegian. Immediately following the explosion, most of the German survivors in Halifax had been rounded up and imprisoned. Eventually the fear dissipated as the real cause of the explosion became known, although rumours of German involvement persisted.  A judicial inquiry known as the Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry was formed to investigate the causes of the collision. Proceedings began at the Halifax Court House on 13 December 1917, presided over by Justice Arthur Drysdale. The inquiry's report of 4 February 1918 blamed "Mont-Blanc"s captain, Aimé Le Médec, the ship's pilot, Francis Mackey, and

Reconstruction.

Efforts began shortly after the explosion to clear debris, repair buildings, and establish temporary housing for survivors left homeless by the explosion. By late January 1918, around 5,000 were still without shelter. A reconstruction committee under Colonel Robert Low constructed 832 new housing units, which were furnished by the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Fund.  Partial train service resumed from a temporary rail terminal in the city's South End on 7 December. Full service resumed on 9 December when tracks were cleared and the North Street Station reopened. The Canadian Government Railways created a special unit to clear and repair railway yards as well as rebuild railway piers and the Naval Dockyard. Most piers returned to operation by late December and were repaired by January. The North End Halifax neighbourhood of Richmond bore the brunt of the explosion. In 1917, Richmond was considered a working-class neighbourhood and had few paved roads. After the explosion, the Halifax Relief Commission approached the reconstruction of Richmond

Legacy.

The Halifax Explosion was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions. An extensive comparison of 130 major explosions by Halifax historian Jay White in 1994 concluded that it "remains unchallenged in overall magnitude as long as five criteria are considered together: number of casualties, force of blast, radius of devastation, quantity of explosive material, and total value of property destroyed." For many years afterward, the Halifax Explosion was the standard by which all large blasts were measured. For instance, in its report on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, "Time" wrote that the explosive power of the Little Boy bomb was seven times that of the Halifax Explosion.  The many eye injuries resulting from the disaster led to better understanding on the part of physicians of how to care for damaged eyes, and "with the recently formed Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Halifax became internationally known as a centre for care for the blind", according to Dalhousie University professor Victoria Allen. The lack of coordinated pediatric care in such a disaster was also noted by William Ladd, a surgeon from Boston who had arrived to help. His insights from the explosion are generally credited with inspiring him to pioneer the specialty of pediatric surgery in North America. The Halifax Explosion also inspired a series of health reforms, including around public sanitation and maternity care. Having affected virtually every family and working collective in Halifax, the event was incredibly traumatic for the whole surviving community, so the memory was largely suppressed. After the first anniversary, the city stopped commemorating the explosion for decades. The second official commemoration did not take place before the 50th anniversary in 1967, and even after that, the activities stopped again. Construction began in 1964 on the Halifax North Memorial Library, designed to commemorate the victims of the explosion. The library entrance featured the first monument built to mark the explosion, the Halifax Explosion Memorial Sculpture, created by artist Jordi Bonet. The sculpture was dismantled by the Halifax Regional Municipality in 2004 and largely destroyed while in storage. In 2015, the remaining fragments were shipped to Bonet's family in Montreal despite a public campaign to return the sculpture to memorial display. The Halifax Explosion Memorial Bells were built in 1985, relocating memorial carillon bells from a nearby church to a large concrete sculpture on Fort Needham Hill, facing the "ground zero" area of the explosion. The Bell Tower is the location of an annual civic ceremony every 6 December. A memorial at the Halifax Fire Station on Lady Hammond Road honours the firefighters killed while responding to the explosion. Fragments of "Mont-Blanc" have been mounted as neighbourhood monuments to the explosion at Albro Lake Road in Dartmouth, at Regatta Point, and elsewhere in the area. Simple monuments mark the mass graves of explosion victims at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery and the Bayers Road Cemetery. A Memorial Book listing the names of all the known victims is displayed at the Halifax North Memorial Library and at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which has a large permanent exhibit about the Halifax Explosion. Harold Gilman was commissioned to create a painting memorializing the event; his work, "Halifax Harbour at Sunset", "tells very little about the recent devastation, as the viewpoint is set back so that the harbour appears undisturbed". Hugh MacLennan's novel "Barometer Rising" (1941) is set in Halifax at the time of the explosion and includes a carefully researched description of its impact on the city. Following in MacLennan's footsteps, journalist Robert MacNeil penned "Burden of Desire" (1992) and used the explosion as a metaphor for the societal and cultural changes of the day. MacLennan and MacNeil's use of the romance genre to fictionalize the explosion is similar to the first attempt by Lieutenant-Colonel Frank McKelvey Bell, author of the short novella "A Romance of the Halifax Disaster" (1918). This work follows the love affair of a young woman and an injured soldier. Keith Ross Leckie scripted a miniseries entitled "" (2003), which took the title but has no relationship to Janet Kitz's non-fiction book "" (1990). The film was criticized for distortions and inaccuracies.  In 1918, Halifax sent a Christmas tree to the City of Boston in thanks and remembrance for the help that the Boston Red Cross and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee provided immediately after the disaster. That gift was revived in 1971 by the Lunenburg County Christmas Tree Producers Association, which began an annual donation of a large tree to promote Christmas tree exports as well as acknowledge Boston's support after the explosion. The gift was later taken over by the Nova Scotia Government to continue the goodwill gesture as well as to promote trade and tourism. The tree is Boston's official Christmas tree and is lit on Boston Common throughout the holiday season. In deference to its symbolic importance for both cities, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources has specific guidelines for selecting the tree and has tasked an employee to oversee the selection.

The Halifax Explosion was a disaster that occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917., a French cargo ship laden with high explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. A fire on board the French ship ignited her cargo, causing a massive explosion that devastated the Richmond district of Halifax. Approximately 2,000 people were killed by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest man-made explosion at the time, releasing the equivalent energy of roughly.

哈利法克斯爆炸发生在1917年12月6日,加拿大新斯科舍省哈利法克斯,法国货船勃朗峰号货轮满载炸药,与挪威船舶伊莫号轮船在连接哈利法克斯港与贝德福德洼地的海峡相撞。白朗峰号上发生火灾,大约二十分钟后船上的炸药爆炸,摧毁哈利法克斯列治文区,并触发18米高海啸。大约有2000人死于海啸,火灾和建筑物倒塌,近9000人受伤。哈利法克斯爆炸是核武器发展前最大的人造爆炸,约2900吨TNT炸药当量。1918年5月,达尔豪西大学教授霍华德·L.布朗森估计爆炸约2400吨TNT炸药当量。


History.

There was already a settlement in place at Pingyao by the reign of the Xuan King (.), when the Zhou raised earthen ramparts around the site.  In the Spring and Autumn period, the county belonged to the kingdom of Jin. It was part of the kingdom of Zhao in the Warring States period. Under the Qin, it was known as Pingtao. During the Han Dynasty, it was known as the seat of Zhongdu County.  Pingyao served as the financial center of the region from the 16th century and of the entire Qing Empire during the late 19th century. During those times, there were more than 20 financial institutions within the city, comprising more than half of the total in the whole country. Rishengchang was the first and largest, controlling almost half of China's silver trade under the late Qing before going bankrupt in 1914 in the aftermath of the Xinhai Revolution.  Organized restorations have been undertaken periodically since the 15th century, the most recent phase beginning in 1979. In 1986, China designated Pingyao as one of the Chinese Historic and Cultural Cities. It became a World Heritage Site in 1997, including the outlying Zhenguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple. In 2004, part of the southern walls collapsed; they have since been reconstructed. In 2015, Pingyao ancient city became a national 5A-class tourist attraction.

Geography.

Pingyao is located on the east bank of the Fen River near the southwestern edge of the Taiyuan Basin. It is approximately south of central Taiyuan and southwest of Beijing, the national capital. Pingyao County is adjacent to Qi County, whose seat is also a protected historic and cultural city.

Climate.

The climate of Pingyao is temperate. It is cold in winter, often having northwestern winds with little snow and severe fog. In the spring, the temperature varies greatly between day and night, with a little rain and some winds. Summertime is often hot, humid and rainy. Autumn days have falling temperatures with little rain and are cool and clear with abundant sunshine.

Architecture.

Pingyao still retains its urban layout from the Ming and Qing dynasties, conforming to a typical ba gua pattern. More than 300 sites in or near the city have ancient ruins. The city has over a hundred streets and lanes, lined with close to 4,000 17th–19th century shops and residences. The streets and storefronts still largely retain their historical appearance.  The city walls of Pingyao were constructed in 1370, the 3rd year of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming. They enclose an area of about. The town is accessed by six barbican gates, one each on the north and south walls and two each on the east and west walls. This pattern is similar to that of a turtle (the head, tail and four legs), earning Pingyao the moniker "Turtle City." The walls measure about high, with a perimeter of. A 4m wide and deep moat can be found just outside the walls. Aside from the four structured towers at the four corners, there are also 72 watchtowers and more than 3,000 battlements. The number of defensive works supposedly represents the number of Confucius's disciples and other students. The walls are considered among the best-preserved ancient city walls on this scale.

Demographics.

As of 2009, Pingyao had a population of 48,531 people living in 16,634 households. 12,132 residents held local hukous and 36,399 were from other parts of China.

Governments.

Pingyao Ancient City and its environs are organized as the town of "Gutao", the seat of Pingyao County. Gutao directly oversees 10 administrative villages:

Economy.

As of 2009, the town had a labour pool of 19,059 people. 3,811 farmers worked 9977mu () of arable land, producing 33.7m RMB of crops, livestock, and other goods. The local focus is on increased mechanization and working the available land intensively. The area is well known for its beef and also produces grain and cotton. The rest of the workforce is divided between industry and the service sector, particularly tourism. Industry produced 840mRMB and was focused on improving the energy efficiency of its practices. A local specialty is lacquerware. The service sector, including tourism, produced less income than industry—790mRMB–but was growing rapidly and marked for special focus by local government.

Tourism.

Increases in tourism have put pressure on Pingyao. During China's Golden Weeks, the number of visitors to the city has sometimes been as high as 21⁄2 times its planned maximum capacity. During the single week around May Day in 2007, the town made about 94.5mRMB from visiting tourists.  Since that high point in 2007, the government has reduced the number and length of China's "golden weeks", spreading domestic tourism more equitably throughout the year. The Global Heritage Fund has also worked with the Pingyao County People's Government to protect the town against overdevelopment and damage from its high volume of visitors. The stated goal for their Pingyao Cultural Heritage Development Program is improved preservation of local vernacular architecture and traditional arts through improved planning and increased conservation efforts.

Culture.

Local specialties include Pingyao beef (, "Píngyáo niúròu") and wantuo (, "Píngyáo wǎntuō"), a favourite of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Other local products are Changshengyuan rice wine (), bean flour minjian (), and Jiupian(揪片).  The silver merchants of Pingyao in the early 20th century were the subject of the 2009 film "Empire of Silver".

Pingyao, officially Pingyao Ancient City, is a settlement in central Shanxi, China, famed for its importance in Chinese economic history and for its well-preserved Ming and Qing urban planning and architecture. Administratively, it comprises the town of Gutao in Pingyao County in Jinzhong Prefecture. It has a population of about 50,000.

平遥古城,位于中国山西省晋中市平遥县,是中国银行业的发源地,国家AAAAA级旅游景区。1997年被联合国教科文组织评定为世界文化遗产。