History.

Opened on 1 August 1844, the Zoologischer Garten Berlin was the first zoo in Germany. The aquarium opened in 1913. The first animals were donated by Frederick William IV, King of Prussia, from the menagerie and pheasantry of the Tiergarten. The nearby U-Bahn station was opened the same year.

Third Reich.

In 1938, the Berlin Zoo got rid of Jewish board members and forced Jewish shareholders to sell their stocks at a loss, before re-selling the stocks in an effort to "Aryanize" the institution. The zoo has now commissioned a historian to identify these past shareholders and track down their descendants, according to a report by AFP. Zoo director Lutz Heck was named chief of the Oberste Naturschütz Behörde im Reichsforstamt (highest nature preservation agency in the state department of forestry) by his friend Hermann Göring in the summer of 1938 and in this capacity he was the senior responsible person for the entire nature management.

World War II.

During World War II, the zoo area was hit by Allied bombs for the first time on 8 September 1941. Most damage was done during the bombardments on 22 and 23 November 1943.  In less than 15 minutes, 30% of the zoo population was killed on the first day, and on the second day the aquarium building was completely destroyed by a direct hit. Of the eight elephants, only one survived, the bull Siam, and 2-year-old hippo bull Knautschke was saved from the gunfire in his animal house. Most damage was done during the Battle of Berlin: from 22 April 1945 onwards, the zoo was under constant artillery fire of the Red Army. Heavy fighting took place on the zoo area till 30 April, and safety measures forced the zoo keepers to kill some predators and other dangerous animals.  By the end of the war, the zoo was fortified with the Zoo Tower, a huge flak tower that was one of the last remaining areas of Nazi German resistance against the Red Army, with its bunkers and anti-aircraft weapons defending against Allied air forces. At the entrance of the zoo, there was a small underground shelter for zoo visitors and keepers. During the battle, wounded German soldiers were taken care for here by female personnel and the wives of zookeepers. On 30 April, the zoo flak bunker surrendered.  A count on May 31, 1945, revealed only 91 of 3,715 animals had survived, including two lion cubs, two hyenas, Asian bull elephant Siam, hippo bull Knautschke, ten hamadryas baboons, a chimpanzee, and a black stork. After the battle, some animals had escaped, while some of the killed animals were subsequently eaten by Red Army soldiers.  Following the zoo's destruction, it and the associated aquarium was reconstructed on modern principles so as to display the animals in as close to their natural environment as feasible. The success in breeding animals, including some rare species, demonstrates the efficacy of these new methods.

Postwar period.

The zoo came to be located in West Berlin, hence a second zoo – Tierpark Berlin – was built in the East.

Zoo.

The Berlin Zoo is the most visited zoo in Europe, with more than 3.3 million visitors per year from all over the world. It is open all year long and can easily be reached by public transportation. The Berlin Zoologischer Garten railway station (also simply known as "Zoo") is one of Berlin's most important stations. Several modes of transport such as U-Bahn, S-Bahn and buses are interlinked here. Visitors can either enter the zoo through the exotically designed Elephant Gate beside the aquarium on Budapester Straße or through the Lion Gate on Hardenbergplatz.  The zoo maintains studbooks for black and Indian rhinoceroses and gaurs. The populations of rare deer and pigs are part of several captive breeding projects. Berlin Zoo supports conservationists in other countries (for instance, in Madagascar) and as a partner of the, a species protection foundation.  Most of the animals are housed in enclosures designed to recreate their natural habitat.  The zoo houses four types of great ape: orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos.  The carnivore house displays all big cats and many rare small predators, such as ring-tailed mongooses and narrow-striped mongooses from Madagascar. In the basement, visitors are invited to a view into the world of nocturnal animals.  The bird house presents a walk-through aviary and offers a broad variety of forms, including several regularly breeding species of hornbills and many parrots. Numerous big aviaries show waders, herons and many other species. The Berlin Zoo is one of the few zoos to exhibit tuatara (in the aquarium) and Luzon tarictic hornbills.

Aquarium.

The aquarium was built in 1913 as part of the Zoologischer Garten complex. In addition to fish and other aquatic life, it is home to most of the zoo's reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.

Animals.

Polar bear Knut was born in captivity at the zoo on 5 December 2006. He and his twin brother or sister were directly rejected by their mother on the day of birth. He was subsequently raised by zookeeper Thomas Dörflein and became the center of a mass media phenomenon that spanned the globe, quickly spawning numerous toys, media specials, DVDs, and books. Because of this, the cub was largely responsible for a significant increase in revenue, estimated at about five million euros, at the Berlin Zoo in 2007. Zoo attendance figures for the year increased by an estimated 30%, making it the most profitable year in its 165-year history. Knut died on 19 March 2011 after collapsing in his exhibit.  Bao Bao (1978–2012) was one of the first two giant pandas in Germany and became – for a time – the oldest known panda in zoos. He was together with the female panda Tjen Tjen (who died in 1984) given to West Germany by China in 1980. Between 1991 and 1993 Bao Bao was loaned to London Zoo. In 1995, back in his Berlin home, another female named Yan Yan was sent on loan from China in an attempt to mate Bao Bao. In spite of several artificial insemination experiments there were no offspring. Yan Yan died in 2007. In summer 2017, giant pandas returned to Berlin, when Jiao Quing and Meng Meng arrived on breeding loan from China. In September 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to twin panda cubs.  Fatou the female gorilla was born on the 13th of April 1957. She came to the zoo at an estimated age of two. In 1974 she gave birth to the first gorilla to be raised in Berlin, Dufte. Since the death of Colo in January 2017, she is the oldest living gorilla in captivity of the world (now together with American gorilla Trudy).

Incidents.

In 2008, Claudia Hämmerling, a Green Party MP, accused the zoo director, Bernhard Blaszkiewitz, of selling hundred of animals for slaughter, in some cases to breeders in China for potency-boosting drugs.  In 2009, a woman was mauled by polar bears after jumping into their exhibit. She was rushed to the hospital and survived.

The Berlin Zoological Garden () is the oldest and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers and is located in Berlin's Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,200 animals, the zoo presents one of the most comprehensive collections of species in the world.

Le Jardin zoologique de Berlin est un zoo allemand, situé dans l'arrondissement de Mitte, au sein du quartier de Tiergarten. Fondé en 1844, c'est l'un des deux zoos que compte la ville de Berlin, il est le pendant au Parc zoologique de Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, situé à l'est, dans le quartier de Friedrichsfelde. C'est le zoo le plus ancien d'Allemagne.


Plot summary.

Upon her second husband's death, domineering matriarch Bernarda Alba imposes an eight-year mourning period on her household in accordance with her family tradition. Bernarda has five daughters, aged between 20 and 39, whom she has controlled inexorably and prohibited from any form of relationship. The mourning period further isolates them and tension mounts within the household.  After a mourning ritual at the family home, eldest daughter Angustias enters, having been absent while the guests were there. Bernarda fumes, assuming she had been listening to the men's conversation on the patio. Angustias inherited a large sum of money from her father, Bernarda's first husband, but Bernarda's second husband has left only small sums to his four daughters. Angustias' wealth attracts a young, attractive suitor from the village, Pepe el Romano. Her sisters are jealous, believing that it's unfair that plain, sickly Angustias should receive both the majority of the inheritance and the freedom to marry and escape their suffocating home environment.  Youngest sister Adela, stricken with sudden spirit and jubilation after her father's funeral, defies her mother's orders and dons a green dress instead of remaining in mourning black. Her brief taste of youthful joy suddenly shatters when she discovers that Angustias will be marrying Pepe. Poncia, Bernarda's maid, advises Adela to bide her time: Angustias will probably die delivering her first child. Distressed, Adela threatens to run into the streets in her green dress, but her sisters manage to stop her. Suddenly they see Pepe coming down the street. She stays behind while her sisters rush to get a look, until a maid hints that she could get a better look from her bedroom window.  As Poncia and Bernarda discuss the daughters' inheritances upstairs, Bernarda sees Angustias wearing makeup. Appalled that Angustias would defy her orders to remain in a state of mourning, Bernarda violently scrubs the makeup off her face. The other daughters enter, followed by Bernarda's elderly mother, Maria Josefa, who is usually locked away in her room. Maria Josefa announces that she wants to get married; she also warns Bernarda that she'll turn her daughters' hearts to dust if they cannot be free. Bernarda forces her back into her room.  It turns out that Adela and Pepe are having a secret affair. Adela becomes increasingly volatile, defying her mother and quarreling with her sisters, particularly Martirio, who reveals her own feelings for Pepe. Adela shows the most horror when the family hears the latest gossip about how the townspeople recently tortured a young woman who had delivered and killed an illegitimate baby.  Tension explodes as family members confront one another and Bernarda pursues Pepe with a gun. A gunshot is heard outside. Martirio and Bernarda return and imply that Pepe has been killed. Adela flees into another room. With Adela out of earshot, Martirio tells everyone else that Pepe actually fled on his pony. Bernarda remarks that as a woman she can't be blamed for poor aim. A shot is heard, immediately she calls for Adela, who has locked herself into a room. When Adela doesn't respond, Bernarda and Poncia force the door open. Soon Poncia's shriek is heard. She returns with her hands clasped around her neck and warns the family not to enter the room. Adela, not knowing that Pepe survived, has hanged herself.  The closing lines of the play show Bernarda characteristically preoccupied with the family's reputation. She insists that Adela has died a virgin and demands that this be made known to the whole town. (The text implies that Adela and Pepe had an affair; Bernarda's moral code and pride keep this from registering). No one is there to cry.

Adaptations.

Film adaptations include:  In 1967, choreographer Eleo Pomare adapted the play into his ballet, "Las Desenamoradas", featuring music by John Coltrane.  The play was adapted as an opera, "Bernarda Albas Haus", by Aribert Reimann; it premiered in 2000.  In 2006, the play was adapted into musical form by Michael John LaChiusa. Under the title "Bernarda Alba", it opened at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater on March 6, 2006, starring Phylicia Rashad in the title role, with a cast that also included Daphne Rubin-Vega.  In 2012, Emily Mann adapted Federico García Lorca's original, shifting the location from 1930s Andalusia, Spain, to contemporary Iran. Her adaptation opened at the Almeida Theatre under the director Bijan Sheibani, starring Shohreh Aghdashloo as the title character and Hara Yannas as Adela.  Steven Dykes wrote a production named 'Homestead' for the American Theatre Arts (ATA) students in 2004 which was revived in 2013 (The Barn Theatre). The original production went on to perform at The Courtyard in Covent Garden, with members of an ATA graduate company Shady Dolls.  In August 2012, Hyderabad, India based theatre group Sutradhar staged Birjees Qadar Ka Kunba, an Urdu/Hindustani adaptation of The House of Bernarda Alba. Directed by Vinay Varma and scripted by Dr. Raghuvir Sahay, the play adapted Lorca's original to a more Indian matriarch family setup. The play boasted of a cast of more than 10 women actors with Vaishali Bisht as Birjees Qadar (Bernard Alba) and Deepti Girotra as Hasan baandi (La Poncia).  In 2018, dramatist Patricia Cornelius adapted "The House of Bernarda Alba" for Melbourne Theatre Company, retelling the story as a family drama set in a mining town in contemporary Western Australia. The adaptation was staged at the Fairfax Studio, and featured Candy Bowers as Martirio (renamed "Marti"), Peta Brady as Angustias (renamed "Angela"), Julie Forsyth as Poncia (renamed "Penelope"), Bessie Holland as Magdalena (renamed "Magda"), Sue Jones as Maria Josefa, Melita Jurisic as Bernarda Alba (renamed "Bernadette"), and Emily Milledge as Adela (renamed "Adele").  In 2019, Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas staged Lorca's "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" for its 44th theatre season under the direction of Alexander Cortez. 'The House of Bernarda Alba | Ang Tahanan ni Bernarda Alba' was translated by Daisy Lopez to English and translated by Alexander Cortez himself to Filipino.

The House of Bernarda Alba () is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with "Blood Wedding" and "Yerma" as a "rural trilogy". Lorca did not include it in his plan for a "trilogy of the Spanish land" (which remained unfinished at the time of his murder).

La Maison de Bernarda Alba ("La casa de Bernarda Alba") est un drame en trois actes de Federico García Lorca, écrite en 1936 et publiée de façon posthume en 1945. Dernière œuvre de Lorca, elle est créée à Buenos Aires le et publiée quelques jours plus tard, soit neuf ans après la mort de l'auteur. Elle est également jouée au Festival de Biarritz et au Théâtre de l'Œuvre en 1951, avec des décors et costumes d'Antoni Clavé.


Botany.

Caapi is a giant vine with characteristic white or pale pink flowers which most commonly appear in January, but are known to bloom infrequently. It resembles "Banisteriopsis membranifolia" and "Banisteriopsis muricata", both of which are related to caapi. The vine can grow up to in length, twining on other plants for support.

Phytochemicals.

Alkaloids.

Caapi contains the following harmala alkaloids:  These alkaloids of the beta-carboline class act as monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOIs). The MAOIs allow the primary psychoactive compound, DMT, which is introduced from the other common ingredient in ayahuasca "Psychotria viridis", to be orally active.  The stems contain 0.11–0.83% beta-carbolines, with harmine and tetrahydroharmine as the major components.  Alkaloids are present in all parts of the plant.

Polyphenols.

In addition to beta-carbolines, caapi is known to contain proanthocyanidins, epicatechin and procyanidin B2, which have antioxidant properties.

History.

First mention of caapi comes from early Spanish and Portuguese explorers and missionaries who visited South America in the 16th century, describing ayahuasca brews as “diabolic” and dangerous decoctions.  Although utilised among the indigenous tribes of South America for hundreds and perhaps even thousands of years, caapi was not identified by westerners until 1851, when Richard Spruce, an English botanist, described it as a new species. He observed how Guahibos, the indigenous people of Llanos (Venezuela), chewed the bark of caapi instead of brewing it as a drink.

Legal issues.

Legality.

In the United States, caapi is not specifically regulated. A 2006 Supreme Court decision involving caapi-containing ayahuasca, which also contains other plants containing the controlled substance DMT, introduced from the "Psychotria viridis" component, "Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal", was found in favor of the União do Vegetal, a Brazilian religious sect using the tea in their ceremonies and having around 130 members in the United States.  In Australia, the harmala alkaloids are scheduled substances, including harmine and harmaline; however, the living vine, or other source plants are not scheduled in most states. In the State of Queensland as of March 2008, this distinction is now uncertain. In all states, the dried herb may or may not be considered a scheduled substance, dependent on court rulings.  In Canada, harmala is listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as a schedule III substance. The vine and the ayahuasca brew are legal ambiguities, since nowhere in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is it stated that natural material containing a scheduled substance is illegal, a position supported by the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board.  Caapi, as well as a range of harmala alkaloids, were recently scheduled in France, following a court victory by the Santo Daime religious sect allowing use of the tea due to it not being a chemical extraction and the fact that the plants used were not scheduled. Religious exceptions to narcotics laws are not allowed under French law, effectively making any use or possession of the tea illegal.

Patent issues.

The caapi vine itself was the subject of a dispute between U.S. entrepreneur Loren Miller and the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). In 1986, Miller obtained a U.S. patent on a variety of "B. caapi". COICA argued the patent was invalid because Miller's variety had been previously described in the University of Michigan Herbarium, and was therefore neither new nor distinct. The patent was overturned in 1999; however, in 2001, the United States Patent Office reinstated the patent because the law at the time the patent was granted did not allow a third party such as COICA standing to object. The Miller patent expired in 2003. "B. caapi" is now being cultivated commercially in Hawaii.

Banisteriopsis caapi, also known as ayahuasca, jagube, caapi or yagé, is a South American liana of the family Malpighiaceae. It is one half of ayahuasca, a decoction with a long history of its entheogenic (hallucinogenic) use and its status as a "plant teacher" among the indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest.

Banisteriopsis caapi est une espèce de plantes dicotylédones de la famille des "Malpighiaceae", originaire d'Amazonie. Ce sont des lianes tropicales qui contiennent divers alcaloïdes, et dont l'écorce est utilisée par les populations locales pour la préparation d'un breuvage hallucinogène, l’"ayahuasca".


Structures.

The Sacro Monte at Varallo comprises the minor basilica and 45 chapels, either isolated or inserted into the large monumental complexes "Nazareth", "Bethlehem", "Pilate’s house", "Calvary", "Sepulchre" and "Parella’s house" – populated by more than 800 life size painted statues, in wood and terracotta, that dramatically illustrate the life, passion, death and resurrection of Christ. These interiors are vividly decorated with fresco paintings.  The Sacro Monte area is divided into two distinct zones. The first, surrounded by plants, is set out like a sloping garden; here the chapels are positioned at strategic points along the path. Beginning with "Adam and Eve" or "Original Sin", they narrate the story of Christ, from the Annunciation until his arrival in Bethlehem. The second zone, preceded by the "Porta Aurea", is located on the summit, and is built up of palazzi and elaborate porticos, built around the two squares; piazza dei Tribunali ("piazza civica") and piazza del Tempio ("piazza religiosa"). The aim here, was to represent the city of Jerusalem; it does indeed have a city feel about it. The chapels narrate the events of Christ's life inside and around the walls of Jerusalem; here are "The Last Supper", "The Burial", "The Resurrection of Christ" and "The Assumption of the Madonna", to which the basilica is also dedicated. The urban character of this Sacro Monte clearly distinguishes it from the others.

History.

The present layout of the Sacro Monte is the result of a series of interventions carried out from the very end of the 15th century up until the middle of the 19th century.  Father Bernardino Caimi, an eminent political and religious man, was the promoter of the Sacro Monte, with the help of rich local families. He had been rector of the Palestinian Holy Places, and an Ambassador to the Spanish court. A plaque tells us that Caimi tried to recreate the “Holy sites, so that who could not go on a pilgrimage might see Jerusalem”. After his death in 1499, father Candido Ranzo and father Francesco da Marignano, continued his work. Helped by Gaudenzio Ferrari from Valduggia (a key figure until 1529 – painter, sculptor and architect), creator of some of the most enthralling of the sacred dramas: "The Three Kings" and "The Crucifixion". The Lanino brothers Giulio Cesare Luini and Fermo Stella da Caravaggio were the executors of his work.  From the middle of the sixteenth-century work began on a total renovation of the site. At the height of the Counter-Reformation, all the events of Jesus’s life were to be represented, the passion and his death. The area was organized into two zones, the predominantly natural lower portion and the summit, destined to represent the City of Jerusalem. From 1570 to 1590 a substantial number of the chapels in the garden area were constructed, the frescoes were finished and the statues added. From 1593 until 1640, organization of the urbanistic, architectural and figurative elements was carried out in the elevated zone. The configuration of the Sacro Monte was taking place; the cardinal points of the first scenes - "Nazareth", "Bethlehem", "Crucifixion" and "The Burial" - were established in the new layout.  From 1565 until 1569 the architect Galeazzo Alessi played a decisive role in the renovation work, as did the Perugian architect Domenico Alfiano, and Valsesians Giovanni d’Enrico and Bartolomeo Ravelli. The sculptors, Tabacchetti, Giovanni D’Enrico, and painters like il Morazzone, Tanzio, Rocca, the Gherardini brothers, and the Gianoli brothers worked in the same artistic vein established by Gaudenzio Ferrari. However, Morazzone and the d’Enrico brothers, Giovanni and Tanzio, helped concretize the "gran teatro montano".

The Sacred Mountain of Varallo () is a "Sacro Monte" ("sacred mountain", a type of mountainside Christian devotional complex) overlooking the town of Varallo Sesia in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is the oldest "Sacro Monte", founded in 1491 by Franciscan friar Bernardino Caimi. It is built on a natural terrace on the rocky slopes of Monte Tre Croci ("three crosses mountain"), on the left bank of the Sesia river where it leaves Val Mastallone. It is 600 m above sea level, 150 m above the historic centre of Varallo.

Le Mont Sacré de Varallo est, par sa construction, le plus ancien de tous les Monts Sacrés italiens et étrangers. Il est situé à Varallo Sesia en Piémont. Sa fondation remonte à 1491 et c’est le moine Bernardo Caimi de l’Ordre des Observantins de San Francesco qui est à son origine.


History.

The massive stone structure was built by up to 20,000 workers between 1805 and 1820 as part of a system of fortifications designed to keep the newly independent nation of Haiti safe from French incursions. The Citadel was built several kilometres inland, and atop the Bonnet a L’Eveque mountain, to deter attacks and to provide a lookout into the nearby valleys. Cap-Haïtien and the adjoining Atlantic Ocean are visible from the roof of the fortress.  The Haitians outfitted the fortress with 365 cannons of varying size. These were obtained from various nations, and still bear the crests of 18th Century monarchs. Enormous stockpiles of cannonballs still sit in pyramidal stacks at the base of the fortress walls. Since its construction, the fortress has withstood numerous earthquakes, though a French attack never came and it was eventually abandoned.  Henri Christophe initially commissioned the fortress in 1805. At the time, Christophe was a general in the Haitian army and chief administrator of the country's northern regions. In 1806, Alexandre Pétion launched a coup against Haiti's emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Though General Christophe was aware of this through his system of spies, he did not warn Dessalines, viewing his assassination as a necessary evil that would permit him to achieve his goals. Dessalines's death led to a power struggle between Christophe and Pétion, which ended with Haiti divided into northern and southern states, with the north under Christophe's presidency by 1807. He declared himself king in 1811.  The Citadel was part of a system of fortifications that included Fort Jacques and Fort Alexandre, built on the mountains overlooking Cap Haitien. Dessalines ordered those forts built in 1805 to protect the new nation against French attacks. In the event of an invasion, Christophe planned to have his military burn the valuable crops and food stocks along the coast, then retreat to the fortress, setting ambushes along the sole mountain path leading to the Citadel.  Christophe suffered a stroke in 1820, and some of his troops mutinied. Shortly afterwards, he committed suicide—according to legend, by shooting himself with a silver bullet. Loyal followers covered his body in quicklime and entombed it in one of the Citadel's interior courtyards to prevent others from mutilating the corpse.

Description.

The colossal physical dimensions of the fortress have made it a Haitian national symbol, featured on currency, stamps, and tourist ministry posters. The fortress walls rise from the mountaintop and the entire complex, including cannonball stocks but excluding the surrounding grounds, covers an area of. Workers laid the large foundation stones of the fortress directly into the stone of the mountaintop, using a mortar mixture that included quicklime, molasses, and the blood of local cows and goats—and cows hooves that they cooked to a glue and added to the mix to give the mortar added strength and bonding power.  Large cisterns and storehouses in the fortress's interior were designed to store enough food and water for 5,000 defenders for up to one year. The fortress included palace quarters for the king and his family, in the event that they needed to take refuge within its walls. Other facilities included dungeons, bathing quarters, and bakery ovens. Also visible is the tomb of Christophe's brother-in-law, killed when the gunpowder room he was in exploded.  The Citadel's appearance from the trail leading up to its base has been likened to the prow of a great stone ship, jutting out from the mountainside. The structure is angular and assumes different geometric forms based on the viewer's orientation. Some of the angles on the Citadelle were intentionally put there by Christophe to deviate cannonballs if attacked and the Epaulette is a great example of using angles to deviate and deflect shots. Though most of the fortress has no roof as such (the interior top is a latticework of stone walkways), some slanted portions are adorned with bright red tiles. The fortress has been repaired and refurnished several times since its construction, including in the 1980s with help from UNESCO and the World Monuments Fund, though little of it has been replaced and its design remains the same.

Tourism.

The Citadel is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Haiti. Directions to and history of the fortress are provided by self-appointed guides from the town of Milot. Near the entrance to Sans-Souci Palace, which is at the start of the trail to the Citadel, visitors may be asked to pay a small fee. Visitors are also encouraged to rent a horse for the uphill trek. The first portion of the 11 kilometre (7 mi) trail is navigable by 4WD vehicle, although infrequent landslides and construction projects sometimes make this unreliable. Numerous people live along the trail and sell souvenirs or drinks, such as fresh coconut juice, to travelers. Drinks are a necessity in the tropical heat. The trail is paved stone, generally smooth and in good condition.  About three-quarters of the way up from the parking lot, visitors must complete the final portion on horseback or on foot. The entire 11-kilometre (7 mi) trail, starting in Milot, is almost completely uphill, but can be walked by experienced hikers who carry plenty of water. Most of the interior of the Citadel fortress itself is accessible to visitors, who may also climb the numerous staircases to the fortress's roof, which is free of guardrails. On a clear day, the city of Cap-Haïtien and the Atlantic Ocean can be seen to the north. Because of its elevation the top of the Citadel is used by United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for a Radio repeater, with an antenna on the highest point.  Though the turbulent political situation in Haiti (principally in the central region) has deterred visitors in recent years, the regions of the north and south of the country remain largely peaceful, making travel to the Citadel less challenging or hazardous than travel within the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

Conservation and safety concerns.

After visiting the Citadel in July 2012, Haitian President Michel Martelly heavily criticized the Haitian National Institute for Historic Preservation (ISPAN) — the organization tasked with preserving Haiti's cultural heritage sites — describing the site as in a state of disrepair and calling ISPAN's efforts "unacceptable". His visit was intended to assess the state of the Citadel for conservation, but he refused to visit its upper levels, deeming them unsafe for visitors.  Despite Haiti's shortcomings in preserving its own cultural artifacts, international organizations have stepped in to assist, such as the Global Heritage Fund, a California-based non-profit organization, which has investigated the Citadel for monument conservation, community development, training and cultural heritage revitalization. The project would focus on both the Citadel and nearby Sans-Souci Palace, with hopes of preserving the structures as safe tourism sites to promote sustainable local economic growth.

The Citadelle Laferrière or, Citadelle Henri Christophe, or simply the Citadelle (), is a large mountaintop fortress in Nord, Haiti, located on top of the mountain Bonnet a L’Eveque, approximately south of the city of Cap-Haïtien, southwest of the Three Bays Protected Area, and uphill from the town of Milot. It is one of the largest fortresses in the Americas and was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site in 1982—along with the nearby Sans-Souci Palace. The mountaintop fortress has itself become an icon of Haiti. The Citadel was built by Henri Christophe, a key leader during the Haitian slave rebellion (1791–1804), after Haiti gained independence from France at the beginning of the 19th century.

La Citadelle La Ferrière est un ouvrage militaire construit au début du à Milot en Haïti dans le département du Nord, par Henri Christophe. C'est la plus grande forteresse des Caraïbes : à 900 mètres d'altitude, elle se trouve à 15 km au sud de Cap-Haïtien, au sein du Parc National Historique - Citadelle, Sans Souci, Ramiers classé au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO depuis 1982. La forteresse pouvait abriter une garnison de 2000 hommes, 5000 en cas de nécessité.


Early years.

François Barthélemy Arlès was born on 3 June 1797 in Sète, Hérault. His father joined the army as a private soldier and had risen to the rank of battalion commander by the time of the Napoleonic Wars. François received little schooling as a child, but after his father retired gained some education at the Lycée Impérial à Paris. His father died in 1811 and two years later his mother, who was illiterate, was forced to withdraw François Arlès from school due to lack of money. At the age of 16 he became a factory boy at a shawl factory, then a worker and then a foreman. He said later, "I treated my workmen firmly, but with the respect that man owes to man. I placed myself between the servant and the master, not to frustrate the master, but to be useful to both." He added, "I was hungry and I remember it. " He was an enthusiastic supporter of Napoleon, and in 1815 after the emperor returned from exile in Elba, the 18-year-old Arlès volunteered for the army. He arrived too late to fight in the Battle of Waterloo. His employer gave him back his job, and from this time on he became a pacifist.

Silk merchant.

In 1816 Arlès made several long sales trips in Germany with a sample of fabrics and shawls. In 1817 he met Prosper Enfantin in Frankfurt, the future leader of Saint-Simonianism. Also that year he visited the silk trading house in Leipzig of Dufour frères, a family that had emigrated from France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. François Arlès tried to teach himself better French, and also learned German and English and studied the new discipline of political economy. In Munich he met Gustave d’Eichtal, who would become banker of the Saint-Simonian movement. He read the works of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. He became a firm supporter of the sovereignty of the people, and the 1819 Carlsbad Decrees confirmed him in his hostility to kings and priests. In 1820 he talked with Jean-Baptiste Say at the Conservatoire des arts et métiers in Paris. In 1821 Dufour frères offered him employment with their firm. In 1824 Arlès married Pauline Dufour, only daughter of one of the Dufour brothers. At the time of his marriage he joined his name to that of his wife to become "Arlès-Dufour". In 1825 he was placed in charge of the important Dufour freres branch in Lyon. This was the start of his prosperous career as a silk merchant. He visited England in 1826 and every year after. There he succeeded in business and also made valuable friendships. John Bowring, a follower of Jeremy Bentham, introduced utilitarianism to him. He became a friend of George Villiers, the future Lord Clarendon, and met George Richardson Porter, in charge of statistics at the Board of Trade. Porter gave him facts that supported his belief in free trade. Bowring visited Lyon in 1832. Arlès-Dufour also established cordial relations with British political and business leaders such as John Bright and Richard Cobden.  During the American recession that followed the Panic of 1837 Arlès-Dufour was almost ruined by customers in America defaulting on their debts to him. He left Lyon for London en route to New York. In London he received financial support from his friend and correspondent William Leaf and did not have to continue his journey. In partial recovery of his debt he received two properties at Kingston and Wilbur in New York State. He liquidated his company honorably. with the help of his international correspondents and Lyon notables, and in 1839 created his own company, Arlès-Dufour. The company opened branches in Zürich, Saint-Étienne, Paris, Basel, Krefeld, Marseille, London and New York City.  The new company had its headquarter in Milan. In 1851 the building holding its offices and warehouse in Milan was destroyed by fire. Arlès-Dufour was trapped in the rubble of the building for a while, but managed to escape with his wallet and account books. However, since some of the silks were not insured he suffered a second financial collapse, but was again able to rebuild his company with credit from his friends. In 1855 Arlès-Dufour hired Natalis Rondot to manage his Paris branch. Rondot helped him make contact with the Scottish firm Jardine Matheson of Hong Kong, a leader in the Far East silk trade. He agreed not to open any silk exchange in the Far East, but to buy from Jardine, Matheson, who would transport it. Arlès-Dufour would then sell through his network in Europe. This verbal contract would be respected for a century. He was concerned by the financial downturn that followed the Panic of 1857, and retired from business in 1859. The company was passed to his two edest sons and his son in law. He retained a fortune of 2.8 million francs.

Free trade and Saint-Simonianism.

As early as 1822 Arlès wrote, "The greatest and most conclusive step, and that which our state of civilization imperiously requires, is the abolition of customs and obstacles, which make communication and exchange between people difficult or impossible." In 1828 he wrote, "Let us abolish these barriers... multiply our relationships, live as brothers." He believed that freedom of trade must lead to universal peace. In 1828 he published an article in the Lyon paper "Le Précurseur" in which he spoke in favour of the free export of French silks in return for the free entry of foreign silks, which drew protests from those who felt the Lyon silk industry could not survive without protection. In articles in 1832 and 1833 in "L’Écho de la Fabrique" Arlès-Dufour wrote on subjects such as industry in Lyon, tariffs, cooperation with England and a progressive income tax.  Arlès-Dufour was sympathetic to the workers, having been one himself, and looked for ways to make their life easier. He soon decided that free competition was the answer. He became a convert to Saint-Simonianism in 1829 and remained faithful to these ideals for the rest of his life. The goal was to hasten social change during the transition to an industrial society following the principle that "All social institutions must aim at improving the moral, intellectual and physical fortunes of the most numerous and poorest classes". Arlès-Dufour was a friend of the Pereires and the Talbots, business leaders who were also Saint-Simonians. He wrote, "Everywhere, the class that has nothing in common but misery is at war with the one that has everything. And who could be surprised at that? Society, that is to say, the men who have, take care of this class only to contain it." However, he was opposed to the demands of workers in Lyon for minimum payments for their work, saying that a manufacturer could not operate at a loss. When the "canuts" (Lyon silk workers) revolted in November 1831 many observers blamed the Saint-Simonians for the uprising.  Arlès-Dufour believed in free competition, productive work, huge manufacturing enterprises and a strong sense of social solidarity. He contributed to the worker's newspaper "L'Echo de la Fabrique", where Enfantin says he "threw in as much Saint-simonianism as possible". In the early days of the French Second Republic in April 1848 he launched an appeal to the workers of La Croix-Rousse saying, "It is almost twenty years since... I called for an age of association of everyone, rich and the poor, manufacturer and the worker, by organization of labour, classification by vocation and the compensation according to work." In his property at Oullins he planted a lime tree, the "tree of liberty." However, he refused to run for political office.

Other enterprises.

Arlès-Dufour appears to have been the force behind the creation of the Banque de Lyon in 1835–36. He was a promoter of the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Lyon (Paris-Lyon Railway) and the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Lyon à Avignon (Lyon-Avignon Railway) and was a director of both of these companies. He helped merge them to form the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM: Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway), and seems to have been a director of the PLM.  In 1833 Enfantin led a party of 20 French technicians to Egypt to undertake new surveys and put new life into the Suez Canal and Nile Barrage projects. He met Ferdinand de Lesseps, at the time Vice-Consul for France in Egypt, and was presented to the Khedive Muhammad Ali, who approved the barrage but not the canal. Enfantin stayed in Egypt until 1837 working on the barrage, then returned to France. In his 1834 "Un mot sur les fabriques étrangères" Arlès-Dufour applauded the Suez Canal project, which would soon bring Paris as close to Calcutta as to Saint Petersburg. In 1844 Enfantin founded the journal "L'Algérie", with some funding from Charles Ignace Plichon. Enfantin, with support from Arlès-Dufour, was dreaming of creating a great railway network in France. He planned to also establish maritime commercial links with the Indies through a Suez canal.  In 1846 Enfantin and Arlès-Dufour created the Société d'Études du Canal de Suez, with French, English and German sections. The other French member were Jules, Léon and Paulin Talabot. The English members were Robert Stephenson and Edward Starbuck. The other members were Alois Negrelli of Vienna and Féronce and Sellier of Liepzig, who representedGerman firms. The company had initial capital of 150,000 francs, with its headquarters in Enfantin's house. In effect it was a semi-official enterprise, with strong support from the Muhammed Ali, who paid most of the cost. The plan was set back in 1849 when Muhammed Ali Pasha died and was succeeded by the pro-English Abbas Pasha.  The Suez project was revived in 1854 when Sa'id Pasha came to power in Egypt and heard and approved de Lesseps' proposal in November 1854. Lesseps wrote warm and enthusiastic letters to Arlès-Dufour when his project began to prosper at the end of 1854 and the start of 1855. He also asked him to make contact with the main banking houses in France and Europe and the "great capitalists of England". As a founder, Arlès-Dufour would be rewarded with a share of the profits. Later Lesseps would take full credit for the canal project.  In 1853 Arlès-Dufour and Enfantin founded the Compagnie générale des Eaux in Lyon, and in 1854 founded the Lyon Société des Omnibus. In 1856 he participated in the capital of the Deutsche Credit Anstalt founded by his friends in Leipzig. Arlès-Dufour participated in foundation of the Crédit Industriel et Commercial in 1859. He was the true founder of the Crédit Lyonnais in 1863, with his employee Henri Germain. The Crédit Lyonnais was launched by Germain on 6 July 1863 with an innovative model based on accepting small deposits on which it paid interest, and using the deposits to finance short-term loans. The first shareholders included Arlès-Dufour and other Saint-Simonians such as Paulin Talabot, Enfantin and Michel Chevalier, a close advisor to Napoleon III. There were 140 initial depositors, growing to 10,000 by its second year. The bank made an agreement with the new HSBC bank founded by a nephew of Jardine. When Enfantin died in 1864 he left all his property to Arlès-Dufour.

Public activities.

Arlès-Dufour was hostile to the monarchy of the Bourbon Restoration, and during the July Revolution of 1830 served in the National Guard and was temporarily deputy mayor. He was a municipal councilor of La Guillotière, a district of Lyon, in 1855, and general councilor of the Rhône department. Arlès-Dufour was elected to the Lyon Chamber of Commerce in 1832, and remained a member for almost 36 years. He exerted a strong liberal influence, and gained a considerable reputation for his frank statements about the policies of successive governments. He supported Bowring in his efforts to reduce tariffs in 1834, but they faced strong opposition from the winegrowers and the Lyon Chamber of Commerce refused to give support.  As a member of the Lyon Chamber of Commerce, Arlès-Dufour organized an exhibition of foreign silk factories in Lyon in 1834 so local producers could compare their goods to those of their main foreign competitors. Arlès-Dufour was a member of the jury at the Exposition des produits de l'industrie française in Paris in 1844 and 1849. He attended The Great Exhibition in 1851 in London as a member of the jury. He was secretary-general of the imperial commission for the 1855 Paris Exposition Universelle. He was again a member of the international jury at the 1862 International Exhibition in London and the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris.  During the 1851 exposition Arlès-Dufour discussed establishment of a free trade agreement with his friend Cobden, and this led to cooperation between Cobden's party and the French Association for Free Trade. However, there remained strong opposition to free trade in France, and it was not until 1860 that the Emperor imposed a treaty of commerce with England by a "customs coup". Arlès-Dufour's struggle for free trade was finally vindicated with the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier Treaty for free trade between Britain and France. Richard Cobden, who signed the treaty on behalf of Britain, wrote a personal note to him thanking him for the role he had played in the conclusion of the agreement. In August 1860 Napoleon III visited Lyon, where he made Arlès a Commander of the Legion of Honour. Arlès-Dufour gave his support to Julie-Victoire Daubié in her efforts to become the first woman to obtain a Bachelor's degree in France. He was one of the adjudicators in 1859 for a prize that Daubié won for her essay "La Femme pauvre au XIX siècle" (Women and Poverty in the Nineteenth Century). He and Daubié founded the Association pour l’émancipation progressive de la femme. He persuaded the Empress Eugénie to award the Legion of Honour to the painter Rosa Bonheur.  Arlès-Dufour was involved in various charitable organizations including the Comité auxiliaire de bienfaisance (from 1829), the Caisse de prêts des chefs d'atelier de soierie and the Société de Secours mutuels des ouvriers en soie. He was a strong believer in the right of poor people to education. He founded the Société d’Instruction primaire du Rhône in 1828, and was this society's secretary general until his death. Arlès-Dufour and Désiré Girardon, professor at the Martinière college, founded the École Centrale lyonnaise pour l'Industrie et le Commerce in 1857. The purpose was to train the best students of the Martinière School in chemistry, industrial mechanics, civil construction and industrial design. The school, today the École centrale de Lyon, opened on 3 November 1857 with 14 students. In 1864 Arlès-Dufour founded the Société d'enseignement professionnel du Rhône. He also founded a public library, a free primary school and a free secondary school in the Lyon suburb of Oullins. On 30 November 1867 Arlès-Dufour. Émile de Girardin and Frédéric Passy founded the International and Permanent League for Peace. In 1868 he created a homeopathic dispensary in Lyon.

Death and legacy.

François Barthélemy Arlès-Dufour died on 21 January 1872, in Vallauris, Alpes-Maritimes. In his obituary the "Journal de Lyon" wrote, "He made his life into two parts, one was industry and the other was humanity". Michel Chevalier said of him that few French people were so well known abroad. He had received decorations from Austria, Bavaria, Denmark, Prussia, Sardinia, Saxony, Sweden and Tuscany. He was a Commander of the Legion of Honour and a member of the L’Académie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Lyon. His firm lasted until 2013, called in turn Chabrières-Morel from 1885, then Morel-Journel & Cie from 1930.

Publications.

Publications included:

François Barthélemy Arlès-Dufour (3 June 1797 – 21 January 1872) was a French silk merchant and leading exponent of Saint-Simonianism. He was born to a poor family, had little formal education and began work in a shawl factory at the age of 16. Later he joined a silk company based in Liepzig, Germany, married into the owners' family and was placed in charge of its Lyon operations. Working first for his in-laws and then independently, he made a fortune in silk. Arlès-Dufour also became involved in banking, railways and the Suez canal project. He played an important role in the Lyon Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the jury in various international expositions. He believed in free trade and in social institutions that would help the most disadvantaged social classes.

François Barthélemy Arlès-Dufour, né le à Sète et mort le à Vallauris, est un humaniste, homme d'affaires lyonnais pro-européen, commissionnaire soyeux et l’un des principaux saint-simoniens.


Taxonomy.

The Sydney rock oyster and New Zealand rock oyster have previously been classified as two separate species: "Saccostrea commercialis" and "S. glomerata", respectively. They have also been grouped with the hooded oyster into a single species, "S. cucullata".  When proposing the name "Ostrea commercialis" in 1933, Iredale & Roughley noted that the New South Wales oyster had been variously referred to species "O. cucullata" Born (Ascension Island), "O. mordax" Gould (Fiji), "O. glomerata" Gould (New Zealand), "O. circumsuta" Gould (Fiji); and even to "O. trigonata" Sowerby and "O. mytiloides" Lamarck.

Distribution.

In Australia it is found in bays, inlets and sheltered estuaries from Wingan Inlet in eastern Victoria, along the east coast of New South Wales, and north to Hervey Bay, Queensland, around northern Australia and south along the west coast to Shark Bay in Western Australia. The spat for these oysters travels down the east coast of Australia on the East Australia Current. Also, a small population exists on the islands in the Furneaux archipelago in Bass Strait, and in Albany on the south west coast of Western Australia, where they are farmed.

Breeding.

Sydney rock oysters are "broadcast spawners", that is, eggs and sperm are released into open water where fertilisation occurs. Within hours of fertilisation, the eggs develop into free-swimming planktonic larvae. The larvae swim in estuarine and coastal waters for up to three weeks, during which they develop transparent shells and retractable feet. The larvae then settle on clean substrates using their feet to find suitable sites. The larval foot is resorbed once the larva is attached. The shell darkens and the small animal takes on the appearance of an adult oyster.  Growth rates vary with local conditions, but they generally reach in three years. Sydney rock oysters may change sex during life. Many start out as males and later change to females. About 60% of prime eating oysters are female. Selective breeding has reduced the time to market size from three to two years. Great success in selection for disease resistance to two protozoan diseases of oysters, namely, QX disease "Marteilia sydneyi" and winter mortality "Bonamia roughleyi", has been achieved.  Oysters are filter feeders, straining planktonic algae from the water. Birds, fish, stingrays, mud crabs, and starfish all eat Sydney rock oysters, with the Australian pied oystercatcher being particularly fond of them.

Commercial industry.

A substantial commercial oyster farming industry is found in New South Wales and southern Queensland, with a small, emerging industry in Albany, Western Australia. The industry produces a gourmet product and provides employment in isolated coastal communities. In Australia, oysters in peak flesh condition (i.e. spawning condition) are preferred for the half-shell trade.

Consumption.

Sydney rock oysters are best consumed when freshly shucked, but do have a good shelf life when kept whole, of up to 14 days providing they are kept at the correct temperature and handled safely.

Saccostrea glomerata, is an oyster species endemic to Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, it is known as the Sydney rock oyster and is commercially farmed. In New Zealand, where the species is not farmed, it is known as the New Zealand rock oyster or Auckland oyster. The species is closely related to "Saccostrea cucullata", the hooded oyster, which is common on Indo-Pacific rocky shores.

Saccostrea glomerata est une espèce de mollusques bivalves de la famille des Ostreidae. Ce mollusque endémique d'Australie et de Nouvelle-Zélande fait l'objet d'un élevage et d'une commercialisation par les ostréiculteurs australiens à des fins alimentaires.


Exile.

During his exile (1648 to 1672), Chöying Dorje travelled extensively through Bhutan, Amdo and Kham in East Tibet, Burma and Nepal, founding monasteries along his route. Traveling through dangerous lands he often concealed his identity, wearing common clothes, and was at times robbed and reduced too begging for food in a region he didn't speak the dialect. He wrote books on various subjects, composed songs and made an enormous number of paintings and sculptures. Also, while in exile he returned his monks vows and had a family.

Family and children.

It's likely when Karmapa was in the far southeast of Tibet for a period of twelve years, is when he took a consort. He fathered several sons and daughters. One of his sons, Norbu Zangpo, who was recognized as the Sixth Tsurpu Gyeltsab (c.1659-1698). Karmapa enthroned his 3 year old son Norbu Zangpo in a temple he helped build in Gyeltang with his bare hands. In 1667 the Karmapa brought him to Riknga Temple and performed novice ordination. In 1672 the Karmapa returned to central Tibet with a large entourage that included his wife, sons, and daughters. Most likely the main reason for returning was to arrange the installment of his son Norbu Zangpo at Tsurpu.

Return to Central Tibet.

After twenty-four years of exile, the Kagyu school was no longer the dominant school of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1674 the 5th Dalai Lama met with Chöying Dorje at the Potala Palace, and the reconciliation was welcomed by all after the many conflicts and difficulties.

Art.

Within the Tibetan artistic heritage, Chöying Dorje is perhaps the most exceptional artist of all times. The various biographies agree that the 10th Karmapa was a talented painter and sculptor already at a young age. It is also repeatedly stated that he was from a young age especially fond of Indian statues from Kashmir. This explains why many of the statues made by the Tenth Karmapa – regardless whether cast in metal or carved in ivory, wood, or conch shell, etc. – are stylistically very close to brass statues from Kashmir and Swat.  However, Chöying Dorje was not simply copying ancient Indian and Tibetan works. Just inspired, he rather created his own work of art – albeit using ancient stylistic elements. As mentioned in his biographies, he had ample opportunity to study early statues during his recurring visits to the Jokhang temple in Lhasa. His activities as a painter were evidently influenced by the Chinese tradition, which also explains why Chöying Dorje painted many works on silk. Chinese influence in the works of Chöying Dorje has its origin in arhat paintings that he had seen in Tibet and copied several times. The Tenth Karmapa also encountered other Chinese silk paintings during his exile in Lijiang, where he stayed for several years at the court of the local ruler. Chöying Dorje also created paintings influenced by Kashmir and Western Tibetan styles.

Chöying Dorje (1604–1674) was the tenth Karmapa or head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Chöying Dorje was born in the kingdom of Golok, Amdo. At the age of eight, he was recognized by Shamar Mipan Chökyi Wangchuk, the sixth Shamarpa and received the complete Kagyu transmissions.

Chöying Dorje, (, Khaytri Tang, province de Golok, Amdo -, Drak (sgrags)) fut le Karmapa, chef de la lignée karma-kagyu du bouddhisme tibétain également célèbre en tant qu'artiste pour ses peintures et sculptures.


Origin.

Advertising executive Alex F. Osborn began developing methods for creative problem-solving in 1939. He was frustrated by employees’ inability to develop creative ideas individually for ad campaigns. In response, he began hosting group-thinking sessions and discovered a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of ideas produced by employees. He first termed the process as organized ideation and was later dubbed by participants as "brainstorm sessions", taking the concept after the use of "the brain to storm a problem." During the period when Osborn made his concept, he started writing on creative thinking, and the first notable book where he mentioned the term brainstorming is "How to Think Up" in 1942. Osborn outlined his method in the 1948 book "Your Creative Power" in chapter 33, "How to Organize a Squad to Create Ideas".  One of Osborn's key recommendations was for all the members of the brainstorming group to be provided with a clear statement of the problem to be addressed prior to the actual brainstorming session. He also explained that the guiding principle is that the problem should be simple and narrowed down to a single target. Here, brainstorming is not believed to be effective in complex problems because of a change in opinion over the desirability of restructuring such problems. While the process can address the problems in such a situation, tackling all of them may not be feasible.

Osborn's method.

Osborn claimed that two principles contribute to "ideative efficacy," these being: Following these two principles were his four general rules of brainstorming, established with intention to:

Applications.

Osborn notes that brainstorming should address a specific question; he held that sessions addressing multiple questions were inefficient.  Further, the problem must require the generation of ideas rather than judgment; he uses examples such as generating possible names for a product as proper brainstorming material, whereas analytical judgments such as whether or not to marry do not have any need for brainstorming.

Groups.

Osborn envisioned groups of around 12 participants, including both experts and novices. Participants are encouraged to provide wild and unexpected answers. Ideas receive no criticism or discussion. The group simply provide ideas that might lead to a solution and apply no analytical judgment as to the feasibility. The judgments are reserved for a later date.

Variations.

Nominal group technique.

Participants are asked to write their ideas anonymously. Then the facilitator collects the ideas and the group votes on each idea. The vote can be as simple as a show of hands in favor of a given idea. This process is called distillation.  After distillation, the top-ranked ideas may be sent back to the group or to subgroups for further brainstorming. For example, one group may work on the color required in a product. Another group may work on the size, and so forth. Each group will come back to the whole group for ranking the listed ideas. Sometimes ideas that were previously dropped may be brought forward again once the group has re-evaluated the ideas.  It is important that the facilitator is trained in this process before attempting to facilitate this technique. The group should be primed and encouraged to embrace the process. Like all team efforts, it may take a few practice sessions to train the team in the method before tackling the important ideas.

Group passing technique.

Each person in a circular group writes down one idea, and then passes the piece of paper to the next person, who adds some thoughts. This continues until everybody gets his or her original piece of paper back. By this time, it is likely that the group will have extensively elaborated on each idea.  The group may also create an "idea book" and post a distribution list or routing slip to the front of the book. On the first page is a description of the problem. The first person to receive the book lists his or her ideas and then routes the book to the next person on the distribution list. The second person can log new ideas or add to the ideas of the previous person. This continues until the distribution list is exhausted. A follow-up "read out" meeting is then held to discuss the ideas logged in the book. This technique takes longer, but it allows individuals time to think deeply about the problem.

Team idea mapping method.

This method of brainstorming works by the method of association. It may improve collaboration and increase the quantity of ideas, and is designed so that all attendees participate and no ideas are rejected.  The process begins with a well-defined topic. Each participant brainstorms individually, then all the ideas are merged onto one large idea map. During this consolidation phase, participants may discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meanings behind their ideas. During this sharing, new ideas may arise by the association, and they are added to the map as well. Once all the ideas are captured, the group can prioritize and/or take action.

Directed brainstorming.

Directed brainstorming is a variation of electronic brainstorming (described below). It can be done manually or with computers. Directed brainstorming works when the solution space (that is, the set of criteria for evaluating a good idea) is known prior to the session. If known, those criteria can be used to constrain the ideation process intentionally.  In directed brainstorming, each participant is given one sheet of paper (or electronic form) and told the brainstorming question. They are asked to produce one response and stop, then all of the papers (or forms) are randomly swapped among the participants. The participants are asked to look at the idea they received and to create a new idea that improves on that idea based on the initial criteria. The forms are then swapped again and respondents are asked to improve upon the ideas, and the process is repeated for three or more rounds.  In the laboratory, directed brainstorming has been found to almost triple the productivity of groups over electronic brainstorming.

Guided brainstorming.

A guided brainstorming session is time set aside to brainstorm either individually or as a collective group about a particular subject under the constraints of perspective and time. This type of brainstorming removes all cause for conflict and constrains conversations while stimulating critical and creative thinking in an engaging, balanced environment.  Participants are asked to adopt different mindsets for pre-defined period of time while contributing their ideas to a central mind map drawn by a pre-appointed scribe. Having examined a multi-perspective point of view, participants seemingly see the simple solutions that collectively create greater growth. Action is assigned individually.  Following a guided brainstorming session participants emerge with ideas ranked for further brainstorming, research and questions remaining unanswered and a prioritized, assigned, actionable list that leaves everyone with a clear understanding of what needs to happen next and the ability to visualize the combined future focus and greater goals of the group nicely.

Individual brainstorming.

"Individual brainstorming" is the use of brainstorming in solitary situations. It typically includes such techniques as free writing, free speaking, word association, and drawing a mind map, which is a visual note taking technique in which people diagram their thoughts. Individual brainstorming is a useful method in creative writing and has been shown to be superior to traditional group brainstorming.

Question brainstorming.

This process involves brainstorming the "questions", rather than trying to come up with immediate answers and short term solutions. Theoretically, this technique should not inhibit participation as there is no need to provide solutions. The answers to the questions form the framework for constructing future action plans. Once the list of questions is set, it may be necessary to prioritize them to reach to the best solution in an orderly way.  "Questorming" is another term for this mode of inquiry.

Methods to improving brainstorming sessions.

There are a number of ways that groups can improve the effectiveness and quality of their brainstorming sessions.

Alternatives to brainstorming.

If brainstorming does not work for your group, there are some alternatives that you could use instead.

Electronic brainstorming (EBS).

Although the brainstorming can take place online through commonly available technologies such as email or interactive web sites, there have also been many efforts to develop customized computer software that can either replace or enhance one or more manual elements of the brainstorming process.  Early efforts, such as GroupSystems at University of Arizona or Software Aided Meeting Management (SAMM) system at the University of Minnesota, took advantage of then-new computer networking technology, which was installed in rooms dedicated to computer supported meetings. When using these electronic meeting systems (EMS, as they came to be called), group members simultaneously and independently entered ideas into a computer terminal. The software collected (or "pools") the ideas into a list, which could be displayed on a central projection screen (anonymized if desired). Other elements of these EMSs could support additional activities such as categorization of ideas, elimination of duplicates, assessment and discussion of prioritized or controversial ideas. Later EMSs capitalized on advances in computer networking and internet protocols to support asynchronous brainstorming sessions over extended periods of time and in multiple locations.  Introduced along with the EMS by Nunamaker and colleagues at University of Arizona was electronic brainstorming (EBS). By utilizing customized computer software for groups ("group decision support systems" or "groupware"), EBS can replace face-to-face brainstorming. An example of groupware is the "GroupSystems," a software developed by University of Arizona. After an idea discussion has been posted on "GroupSystems", it is displayed on each group member's computer. As group members simultaneously type their comments on separate computers, those comments are anonymously pooled and made available to all group members for evaluation and further elaboration.  Compared to face-to-face brainstorming, not only does EBS enhanced efficiency by eliminating travelling and turn-taking during group discussions, it also excluded several psychological constraints associated with face-to-face meetings. Identified by Gallupe and colleagues, both production blocking (reduced idea generation due to turn-taking and forgetting ideas in face-to-face brainstorming) and evaluation apprehension (a general concern experienced by individuals for how others in the presence are evaluating them) are reduced in EBS. These positive psychological effects increase with group size. A perceived advantage of EBS is that all ideas can be archived electronically in their original form, and then retrieved later for further thought and discussion. EBS also enables much larger groups to brainstorm on a topic than would normally be productive in a traditional brainstorming session.  Computer supported brainstorming may overcome some of the challenges faced by traditional brainstorming methods. For example, ideas might be "pooled" automatically, so that individuals do not need to wait to take a turn, as in verbal brainstorming. Some software programs show all ideas as they are generated (via chat room or e-mail). The display of ideas may cognitively stimulate brainstormers, as their attention is kept on the flow of ideas being generated without the potential distraction of social cues such as facial expressions and verbal language. EBS techniques have been shown to produce more ideas and help individuals focus their attention on the ideas of others better than a brainwriting technique (participants write individual written notes in silence and then subsequently communicate them with the group). The production of more ideas has been linked to the fact that paying attention to others' ideas leads to non-redundancy, as brainstormers try to avoid to replicate or repeat another participant's comment or idea. Conversely, the production gain associated with EBS was less found in situations where EBS group members focused too much on generating ideas that they ignored ideas expressed by others. The production gain associated with "GroupSystem" users' attentiveness to ideas expressed by others has been documented by Dugosh and colleagues. EBS group members who were instructed to attend to ideas generated by others outperformed those who were not in terms of creativity.  According to a meta-analysis comparing EBS to face-to-face brainstorming conducted by DeRosa and colleagues, EBS has been found to enhance both the production of non-redundant ideas and the quality of ideas produced. Despite the advantages demonstrated by EBS groups, EBS group members reported less satisfaction with the brainstorming process compared to face-to-face brainstorming group members.  Some web-based brainstorming techniques allow contributors to post their comments anonymously through the use of avatars. This technique also allows users to log on over an extended time period, typically one or two weeks, to allow participants some "soak time" before posting their ideas and feedback. This technique has been used particularly in the field of new product development, but can be applied in any number of areas requiring collection and evaluation of ideas.  Some limitations of EBS include the fact that it can flood people with too many ideas at one time that they have to attend to, and people may also compare their performance to others by analyzing how many ideas each individual produces (social matching).

Incentives.

Some research indicates that incentives can augment creative processes. Participants were divided into three conditions. In Condition I, a flat fee was paid to all participants. In the Condition II, participants were awarded points for every unique idea of their own, and subjects were paid for the points that they earned. In Condition III, subjects were paid based on the impact that their idea had on the group; this was measured by counting the number of group ideas derived from the specific subject's ideas. Condition III outperformed Condition II, and Condition II outperformed Condition I at a statistically significant level for most measures. The results demonstrated that participants were willing to work far longer to achieve unique results in the expectation of compensation.

Challenges to effective group brainstorming.

A good deal of research refutes Osborn's claim that group brainstorming could generate more ideas than individuals working alone. For example, in a review of 22 studies of group brainstorming, Michael Diehl and Wolfgang Stroebe found that, overwhelmingly, groups brainstorming together produce fewer ideas than individuals working separately. However, this conclusion is brought into question by a subsequent review of 50 studies by Scott G. Isaksen showed that a misunderstanding of the tool, and weak application of the methods (including lack of facilitation), and the artificiality of the problems and groups undermined most such studies, and the validity of their conclusions.  Several factors can contribute to a loss of effectiveness in group brainstorming.  Blocking:  Because only one participant may give an idea at any one time, other participants might forget the idea they were going to contribute or not share it because they see it as no longer important or relevant. Further, if we view brainstorming as a cognitive process in which "a participant generates ideas (generation process) and stores them in short-term memory (memorization process) and then eventually extracts some of them from its short-term memory to express them (output process)", then blocking is an even more critical challenge because it may also inhibit a person's train of thought in generating their own ideas and remembering them. Collaborative fixation: Exchanging ideas in a group may reduce the number of domains that a group explores for additional ideas. Members may also conform their ideas to those of other members, decreasing the novelty or variety of ideas, even though the overall number of ideas might not decrease.  Evaluation apprehension: Evaluation apprehension was determined to occur only in instances of personal evaluation. If the assumption of collective assessment were in place, real-time judgment of ideas, ostensibly an induction of evaluation apprehension, failed to induce significant variance.  Free-writing: Individuals may feel that their ideas are less valuable when combined with the ideas of the group at large. Indeed, Diehl and Stroebe demonstrated that even when individuals worked alone, they produced fewer ideas if told that their output would be judged in a group with others than if told that their output would be judged individually. However, experimentation revealed free-writing as only a marginal contributor to productivity loss, and type of session (i.e., real vs. nominal group) contributed much more.  Personality characteristics: Extroverts have been shown to outperform introverts in computer mediated groups. Extroverts also generated more unique and diverse ideas than introverts when additional methods were used to stimulate idea generation, such as completing a small related task before brainstorming, or being given a list of the classic rules of brainstorming.  Social matching: One phenomenon of group brainstorming is that participants will tend to alter their rate of productivity to match others in the group. This can lead to participants generating fewer ideas in a group setting than they would individually because they will decrease their own contributions if they perceive themselves to be more productive than the group average. On the other hand, the same phenomenon can also increase an individual's rate of production to meet the group average.

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.

Un brainstorming ou remue-méninges est une technique formalisée de résolution créative et collective de problème. Elle fut élaborée à partir de 1940 par Alex Osborn.


Taxonomy.

"Viverra civettina" was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1862 for a civet specimen from southern Malabar. Reginald Innes Pocock considered "V. megaspila" and "V. civettina" to be distinct species. Ellerman and Morrison-Scott considered "V. civettina" a subspecies of "V. megaspila". IUCN Red List considers it a distinct species.  There is some controversy as to whether the Malabar civet is even native to the Western Ghats or whether it is a valid species. Background information for the specimens is scant, so there is little to no information on its ecology or habits. In spite of the heavy habitat destruction in the region, the civet still seems unusually threatened for a small, generalist carnivore. The region where the civet was known to occur is the site of a major trading port, formerly including the trade of civets such as the large-spotted civet. Due to this, there is some speculation on whether the Malabar civet is an introduced population of the large-spotted civet that eventually died off.

Characteristics.

The Malabar large-spotted civet is dusky gray. It has a dark mark on the cheek, large transverse dark marks on the back and sides, and two obliquely transverse dark lines on the neck. These dark marks are more pronounced than in the large Indian civet. Its throat and neck are white. A mane starts between the shoulders. Its tail is ringed with dark bands. The feet are dark. It differs from the large-spotted civet by the greater nakedness of the soles of the feet. The hairs on the interdigital webs between the digital pads form submarginal patches; the skin of the plantar pad is naked in front and at the sides. There are remnants of the metatarsal pads on the hind foot as two naked spots, the external a little above the level of the hallux, the internal considerably higher. A male individual kept in the Zoological Gardens of Trivandrum in the 1930s measured in head and body with a long tail and weighed.

Distribution and habitat.

In the 19th century, the Malabar civet occurred throughout the Malabar coast from the latitude of Honnavar to Kanyakumari. It inhabited the forests and richly wooded lowland, and was occasionally found on elevated forest tracts. It was considered abundant in Travancore.  Until the 1960s, extensive deforestation has reduced most of the natural forests in the entire stretch of the coastal Western Ghats. By the late 1960s, the Malabar civet was thought to be near extinction. In 1987, one individual was sighted in Kerala.  In 1987, two skins were obtained near Nilambur in northern Kerala, an area that is dominated by cashew and rubber plantations. Two more skins were found in this area in 1990. These plantations probably held most of the surviving population, as these were little disturbed and provided a dense understorey of shrubs and grasses. Large-scale clearance for planting rubber trees threatened this habitat.  Interviews conducted in the early 1990s among local hunters indicated the presence of Malabar civet in protected areas of Karnataka. During camera trapping surveys in lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Kerala from April 2006 to March 2007, no photographic record was obtained in a total of 1,084 camera trap nights.

Ecology and behavior.

The Malabar civet is considered nocturnal and so elusive that little is known about its biology and ecology apart from habitat use.

Threats.

Until a few decades ago, local merchants in Kerala reared Malabar civets to obtain civetone, an extract from the scent gland, which was used in medicine, and as an aromatic.  It is now seriously threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation. Until the 1990s, it was confined to remnant forests and disturbed thickets in cashew and rubber plantations in northern Kerala, where the hunting pressure was another major threat.

Alleged sighting.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown of India, a video clip of an unidentified civet walking the deserted streets of Meppayur was uploaded on Twitter. The civet was identified by its uploader as a Malabar civet and the clip subsequently went viral online. However, numerous experts identified the civet in the video as actually being the small Indian civet ("Viverricula indica"), a similar-looking but far more common species.

The Malabar large-spotted civet ("Viverra civettina"), also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals. It has not been recorded during surveys carried out between 1990 and 2014. In the early 1990s, isolated populations still survived in less disturbed areas of South Malabar but were seriously threatened by habitat destruction and hunting outside protected areas.

La Civette à grandes taches ou Civette de Malabar (Viverra civettina) est une espèce de mammifère carnivore de la famille des viverridés.


Description.

The grey rhebok is a medium-sized antelope weighing with a long neck and narrow ears. The coat is short and dense and coloured in various shades of grey. Only the males carry horns, which are straight, sharp, ringed at the base, and around long.

Distribution and habitat.

Generally confined to the higher areas of Southern Africa, they typically inhabit grassy, montane habitats - for example, sourveld - usually 1000 m above sea level, and carry a woolly grey coat to insulate them from the cold. They are not strictly limited to this habitat as they can be found in the coastal belt of the Cape, almost at sea level.

Reproduction and behaviour.

The grey rhebok is territorial and maintains its territory by urinating and defecating, standing or walking in an upright posture, and patrolling. Males become extremely aggressive during the breeding season. The grey rhebok usually aggregates in herds of one to 15 females and young and one mature male. This species is therefore polygynous. The grey rhebok is a seasonal breeder, with mating taking place between January and April. Females are pregnant for about seven months, and give birth to a single calf in late spring and summer (November to January in the Southern Hemisphere).  This species is a browser, and gets most of its water from the food it eats, so it can utilize food sources a long distance from standing water.

Conservation status.

The grey rhebok is listed as Near Threatened, with the population estimated to be at least 2,000 individuals in protected areas and perhaps as many as 18,000 in unprotected areas. The uncertainty regarding the exact number is due to extensive areas of the species' range not having been surveyed or where estimates are unavailable.

In contemporary culture.

The Dutch spelling of the species, "reebok" (a mature male ree), lends its name to the British-American sportswear manufacturing company Reebok.

The grey rhebok or grey rhebuck ("Pelea capreolus"), locally known as the "Vaal rhebok" or "Vaalribbok" in Afrikaans, is a species of antelope native to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Eswatini (Swaziland). The specific name "capreolus" is Latin for 'little goat'.

Pelea capreolus dite aussi Péléa (afrikaans "Reebok", anglais "Rhebok", "Rhebuck", « chevreuil-bouc ») est une espèce d'antilope endémique d'Afrique du Sud, du Zimbabwe, du Lesotho et du Swaziland. C'est la seule espèce du genre Pelea, considéré comme le seul genre d'une sous-famille "Peleinae" ou d'une tribu "Peleini". Toutefois les études de phylogénie moléculaire le placent dans la tribu des "Reduncini", élargie pour la circonstance.