Subspecies.

Four or five subspecies are recognized, which vary in the colour shade of the neck collar and breast:

Description.

The average white-fronted plover weighs approximately 45-50 g, and the two sexes differ slightly in plumage coloration. Adult male plovers show a white forecrown and supercilium, with a dark band crossing the mid crown, with the rest of the crown a sandy grey colour. The face is mainly white, with a blackish brown stripe running from behind the eye to the ear coverts. The mantle, back, and rump is light greyish brown, with pale brown to grey fringing feathers. The upper covert and central feathers of the tail are black, and the lateral feathers are white. Primaries and secondaries are dark brown with white shafts, bases, and inner webs. White-fronted plovers also have a pale dusky-brown lateral patch on the upper breast, and white underparts, occasionally with a washed chestnut lower breast and upper belly. The eyes are brown, the bill is black, and the legs are pale grey, green-grey, or pale green/olive. Adult females have a similar appearance to adult males, however the black crown band is less defined and not as thick, and may even be absent in some cases. Juveniles have similar markings to adult females, but always lack the crown band altogether, and there is no black colouration on the head- lores are brown. The lateral breast patch is very variable between individuals of this species.

Calls.

The voice of a white-fronted plover is often a gentle piping ‘wit’, ‘woo-et’, ‘twirit’, and ‘tirit-tirit’, as well as ‘pi-peep’. When a plover is defending a territory, a harsh ‘chiza-chiza’ can be heard, followed by a ‘purrr’ or ‘squeak’. When the incomplete egg set is visited, a ‘croo’ sound is called, and during incubation a short ‘clirrup’ sound or ‘clup’ is made when alarmed. Other alarm calls consist of ‘kittup’ and ‘chirrrt’. Adult courtship is a sharp ‘krewwwwww’, and freshly hatched chicks often call a ‘tsick’, to get the attention of their parent.

Distribution, movement and habitat.

Distribution.

The white-fronted plover is endemic to sub-saharan Africa, and occurs at varying densities from Senegambia and Somalia to South Africa. The species is present along the entire South African coast and is also found inland, near large lakes and rivers. It also inhabits Madagascar. In Madagascar, breeding populations are resident on all coasts, and also inland. A genetic study reported genetic differentiation between Madagascar and the mainland population.

Movement.

The white-fronted plover has both resident and partially migratory populations, with some birds undertaking local seasonal movements. The coastal populations are largely sedentary, but occasionally move to more sheltered shores from exposed areas during harsh winters. Flooding of the lakes or the shores that they inhabit might urge inland populations to migrate. Birds mostly leave from December to May, moving from their inland habitats to the East coast of South Africa.

Habitat.

The species predominantly inhabits sandy shores, coastal dunes, estuaries, river and lake shores, intertidal mudflats or rocky coasts. It prefers to nests away from the water on open shorelines or on exposed sand among dry kelp wrack. It also nests on sandy shores, near both alkaline and fresh water inland rivers and lakes.

Feeding.

The white-fronted plover forages during both day and night, using the typical plover run-stop-search technique. This consists of running around, stopping suddenly to peck at an item and then running again. Prey can be pecked from the surface of water, or caught with shallow jabs, inserting less than half of the bill into the substratum. Another method used to forage is foot-trembling, which involves vibrating the toes on substratum to disturb small insects or force invertebrates to the surface. This has not been reported in the Madagascan populations. Other feeding techniques include flying up to catch insects, and feeding on insects that wash up on shore after getting caught in water. The main prey of the white-fronted plover are sand flies, grasshoppers, termites, mosquito pupae, fairy shrimp, gastropods, bivalves, isopods, crabs, and other small crustaceans and worms.  Plovers mainly forage in the upper half of the intertidal zone on sandy beaches, along high water lines and flooded depressions of dunes in summer. In winter, they forage lower on the shore. They often follow the waves in and out, foraging on the freshly wetted ground. They prefer foraging during low tide, but also in kelp wrack at high tide. In the middle of the day, they often stop foraging to preen. Some individuals defend their feeding territories year round, while others forage in non-territorial flocks, sometimes in mixed-species flocks with sanderlings ("Calidris alba") and curlew sandpipers ("Calidris ferruginea").

Behaviour.

Breeding.

The white-fronted plover is a monogamous solitary breeder with a life expectancy of approximately 11 years. It is usually found in pairs or in small flocks, but can also appear in larger flocks during the breeding season. For example, a flock of 375 individuals was observed in Namibia. Mates generally stay faithful to each other for a long period of time, however 'divorce' has been recorded in some cases. Plovers that have lost mates have been observed to acquire new mates, without losing their territory. This monogamy may be due to a reduced availability of alternative breeding options or possibly high costs of divorce.  Courtship displays include male plovers performing an upright posture accompanied by high stepping movements, while females lower their head. A few shallow nest scapes may be created in the breeding territory before choosing the final nest site. The white-fronted plover is very defensive of its territory. If an intruder invades the territory, the bird puffs out its plumage and chases away the intruder while uttering buzzing calls.

Territories.

Breeding pairs may have one breeding territory close to the high water mark that they are able to feed in, or have two territories that are defended, one for feeding and one for nesting. Nesting territories have an average size of 1.6 ha, and nests can be as close as 16.2 m to each other. The size and boundaries of these territories do not appear to differ much between years of breeding, and site fidelity was recorded as 97.3% for pairs that stayed together between years. Territories are defended against neighbouring birds of the same species, and can also be defended against other species that are in the vicinity, such as sanderlings and Kittlitz's plover ("Charadrius pecuarius"). Defensive behaviour often consists of low-level aerial attack, running at the intruder with lowered head, or aggressive forward-hunched postures. Non-territorial birds also exist, and as long as they keep to 'ordinary' behaviour pattens (feeding at a specific point and then flying away to a roosting site), the territorial birds appear to tolerate them.

Nesting.

The typical white-fronted plover nest consists of a small shallow scrape in sand, gravel, or shingle, depending on the environment, and is sometimes lined with shell fragments, pebbles, seaweed or twigs. However scrapes are most commonly unlined. Nests are generally more than 70 m above the high water mark. They are often built among beach debris or near dune vegetation. Scrapes are created by the bird pushing its breast into the ground, slowly rotating whilst kicking backwards. Pairs may create more than one crape before choosing one to nest in, as scrape building often overlaps with courtship. 1-3 eggs are laid, with mean clutch size varying for different populations. In South Africa, mean clutch size is 2.05; in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, it is 2.53 eggs. Egg laying dates vary between populations, which nest all year round on the coast but only from December to January in inland Namibia. Eggs are laid at 2-7 day intervals and are pale cream coloured, pointed ovals marked with fine blackish brown points and lines. The average dimensions of a white-fronted plover egg are 32.1 x 22.8 mm. Before the clutch is complete, the pair often visit the nest together, and occasionally straddle the egg, however no incubation is undertaken before the final egg is laid. During this joint behaviour, ‘croo’ calls are made.

Incubation.

Incubation is assumed to start at clutch completion (however this is not confirmed). The incubation period lasts for approximately 27–29 days, but can last up to 33 days. Both sexes incubate the nest during the day, and partly or fully cover the eggs with sand during the day in response to an approaching threat. Egg covering was not found to occur during normal breaks in incubation of the nest but only in response to a threat, and rarely at night. It is therefore hypothesised that egg covering is not related to temperature and insulation of eggs, but rather to predation avoidance. It is thought that the male undertakes the majority of incubation during the night. If a clutch is lost, it is highly likely that a pair will re-lay eggs.

Parental Care.

The fledging period of chicks is approximately 35–38 days, and the proportion of hatched chicks that actually fledge is estimated to be 28%. If a predator or threat is near, adults with chicks or eggs near hatching date will perform distraction displays such as ‘rodent running’ and ‘injury feigning’. ‘Rodent running’ consists of the adult running fast, with a low head and a low spread tail, similar to a fleeing rodent. Injury feigning consists of the individual running or cowering on the ground whilst flapping one or both wings, with a partly spread tail. Chicks feed for themselves immediately after hatching, however parents can lead chicks to foraging areas up to 2.2 km from the nest.  The annual adult survival rate for white-fronted plovers is 89-92%. This species is considerably longer lived than their northern relatives.

Conservation.

The white-fronted plover is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN due to its extremely large range, large population size, and while total population is decreasing, it appears not to do so at a threatening rate. The Madagascar population is estimated at 5,000–15,000 individuals (coastal surveys from Analalava to Tolagnaro yielded a total count of 1,457 individuals at 119 different locations), the global population at 73,500–103,500. Low nesting success may be partially compensated by multiple clutching and repeat nesting after egg loss, but overall there are too few data to reliably estimates population trends.

Threats.

The main threat to the white-fronted plover is habitat loss due to wetland degradation or destruction. In Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique, an extensive recession of the species’ inland range has taken place due to changes to river morphologies resulting from dam constructions. Key wetland sites in southern Africa, such as Walvis Bay in Namibia, have been subject to degradation because of the reclamation of wetlands for the development of suburbs, ports and roads. In Ghana, coastal erosion as well as proposed development involving drainage and land reclamation constitute a big threat for wetlands used as breeding habitat.  Major causes of nest loss in some regions are flooding due to spring tides and disturbance from tourists or off-road vehicles that drive through the breeding sites.

The white-fronted plover or white-fronted sandplover ("Charadrius marginatus") is a small (45-50 g) shorebird of the family Charadriidae that inhabits sandy beaches, dunes, mudflats and the shores of rivers and lakes in sub-saharan Africa and Madagascar. It nests in small shallow scrapes in the ground and lays clutches of 1-3 eggs. The species is monogamous and long-lived, with a life expectancy of approximately 11 years. The vast majority of pairs that mate together stay together during the following years of breeding and retain the same territory. The white-fronted plover has a similar appearance to the Kentish plover, with a white fore crown and dark bands connecting the eyes to the bill.


Films.

Filmmaker Timo Rose is best known for his "Mutation" trilogy, which involves a toxic chemical created by Nazis and rediscovered in modern times. The second and third chapters in this film trilogy were re-edited in 2006 into an FX-heavy "special edition" entitled "Mutation: Annihilation".  A large majority of his earlier FX work was done by German director/effects technician and close friend Olaf Ittenbach, although Rose currently does most of his own under his "Rosecalypse SFX" banner.  Substantially younger than many of his contemporaries, Rose bases much of his filmmaking on the brutality of early Andreas Schnaas and Olaf Ittenbach features. In the decade since he began creating films, he has directed more features than any other filmmakers in the German movie scene.

German/English-language films.

Since his 2004 film "Lord of the Undead", starring Debbie Rochon, Rose has made it a point to film at least a portion of each of his films in English. Many of his more recent films, such as "Barricade", "Fearmakers", and "Beast", have been shot primarily in English, with minimal German interspersed throughout.

Inspiration.

Rose's films are heavily influenced by modern, hyperkinetic action movies and video games. Some films even go so far as recreating scenes and character profiles from popular horror-themed video games (such as "Goldman" in the "Mutation" films, who is directly lifted from the Sega shooter "House of the Dead 2"). His penchant for practical gore effects are extremely reminiscent of the early works of German contemporaries Andreas Schnaas and Olaf Ittenbach.

Music.

Timo Rose has released several rap CDs under the stage name King Hannibal and takes part in numerous live performances throughout Germany. His albums, which mix traditional rap with metal have all been successful in Germany's upstart hip-hop industry. His latest music project, King and Prinzessa, was with Magdalena Kalley, his then-girlfriend who had also appeared in several of his films.

Timo Rose (born February 22, 1977 in Rellingen, West Germany) is a German horror and science fiction filmmaker, rapper, and founder of the production company Sword of Independence Filmworks (later Germaica/Rosecalypse Films and Records).


Description.

Fernandina's flicker is a medium-sized woodpecker, ranging in length from 14–15 inches (33–35 cm). Overall, it is mostly yellowish-tan, covered with varying amounts of black barring; its underwings are yellow. The male has a black moustachial stripe, which the female lacks.

Distribution and habitat.

Fernandina's flicker is endemic to Cuba. Though it was apparently never common, it was formerly found across the island. Now, however, it is restricted to isolated locations in nine of the country's 15 provinces: Camagüey, Cienfuegos, Granma, Holguín, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Río, Santiago de Cuba, and Villa Clara. The largest population is found in Zapata Swamp, where some 120 pairs are estimated to live, though this number may have dropped following recent hurricanes.  The flicker's natural habitats include dry forests, dry savanna, swamps, and pastures.

Behavior.

Though not a particularly social bird, Fernandina's flicker will sometimes form loose colonies of up to 15 pairs. It regularly fights with other woodpeckers.

Feeding.

Like its congeners, Fernandina's flicker often forages—primarily for ants, but also for other insects, worms, grubs and seeds—on the ground. It uses its strong bill to probe the ground and flick aside leaf litter.

Breeding.

Fernandina's flicker breeds between March and June; during courtship, pairs regularly engage in high-flying chases. Like all woodpeckers, it is a cavity nester. Recent fieldwork has shown that it prefers to use nest holes started by West Indian woodpeckers; the flicker usurps the original owners, finishes off the excavation work, and moves in. The female lays a clutch of three to five white eggs, which are incubated for a period of about 18 days. The young fledge after 22 days.

Voice.

Though it is regularly silent, the flicker's calls include a repeated "wicka" (the onomatopoeic sound which gives the genus its common name), and a loud series of "pic" notes.

Conservation.

With an estimated population of only 600–800 birds, Fernandina's flicker is one of the most endangered woodpeckers in the world. Overall, that population is declining, principally because of habitat loss. Farming, logging, hurricane damage and the caged bird trade—trappers bring down whole palm trees in order to capture nestling Cuban amazons ("Amazona leucocephala leucocephala")—are combining to squeeze the remaining birds into smaller and smaller isolated tracts. In addition, West Indian woodpeckers have been observed killing the chicks of Fernandina's flickers.

Fernandina's flicker ("Colaptes fernandinae") is a species of bird in the woodpecker family. Endemic to Cuba, its small population of 600–800 birds makes it one of the most endangered species of woodpecker in the world. Fernandina's flicker is threatened by habitat loss.


Authors.

The Polish Brethren or "Ecclesia Minor" were an antitrinitarian minority of the Reformed Church in Poland who had separated from the Calvinist majority, or "Ecclesia Major", in 1565.  Several authors had a hand in drafting the Catechism: Valentinus Smalcius, Hieronim Moskorzowski, Johannes Völkel and others. It is likely that some of the text had been prepared by the Italian exile Fausto Sozzini, who had settled among the Polish Brethren in 1579, without ever formally joining, and who died in the year before the Catechism was drafted. Despite his lack of any official status in the church Sozzini had been influential in bringing the Polish church round to a Christology which closely resembled what he had learnt from his uncle Lelio Sozzini in exile in Switzerland as a young man.  The Racovian Catechism was published in 1605, and subsequently translated into other languages. Smalcius produced a German version.  The "Ecclesia Minor" survived in Poland until 1656 when it was outlawed by the Polish Sejm in the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. These nontrinitarians, and their Catechism, would later become known as Socinians due to the prominence given to Fausto Sozzini's writings after his death in the series "Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum" published in Amsterdam 1665 and widely circulated in England and elsewhere.  On April 2, 1652 The English Parliament voted to seize and burn all copies circulating.  A revised Latin edition of the Racovian catechism appeared in 1680 in Amsterdam, revised by Sozzini's grandson Andrzej Wiszowaty Sr. and great-grandson Benedykt Wiszowaty. This was the base of Thomas Rees' 1818 English translation.

Contents (1818).

Preface

Distinctive doctrines.

Christology.

The most distinctive element in Socinian, as opposed to Arian, Christology is the rejection of the personal pre-existence of Christ. The theme of Christ's preexistence occurs repeatedly in the Racovian Catechism, with detailed discussion of disputed verses, such as: Most early Socinians accepted the infallibility of the New Testament and so accepted the account of the literal virgin birth of Jesus, but many later Socinians (i.e., Unitarians) did not.

The personal devil.

The Racovian Catechism makes muted reference to the devil in seven places which prompts the 1818 translator Thomas Rees, to footnote references to the works of Hugh Farmer (1761) and John Simpson (1804). Yet these references are in keeping with the somewhat subdued handling of the devil in the "Biblioteca Fratrum Polonorum". The Collegia Vicentina at Vicenza (1546) had questioned not only the existence of the devil but even of angels.

The Racovian Catechism ("Pol.": Katechizm Rakowski) is a nontrinitarian statement of faith from the 16th century. The title "Racovian" comes from the publishers, the Polish Brethren, who had founded a sizeable town in Raków, Kielce County, where the Racovian Academy and printing press was founded by Jakub Sienieński in 1602.


Career.

Born in the city of Nazret, he endured a difficult childhood. His parent divorced when he was three and he was raised by his father until the age of fifteen, when his father died. Tilahun worked for a stone company and lived on the streets for three years afterwards, relying on food handouts. Tilahun's first road races came as a teenager in Addis Ababa. He ran at the Great Ethiopian Run in 2006 and came fourth with a time of 28:34.77 minutes. He returned a year later but managed only ninth. Having demonstrated promise as a runner, local coaches told Hussein Makke, an elite running manager, of his potential. Makke took him into his stable of runners and Tilahun began training full-time.  Tilahun began competing in Europe for the first time in 2008 and his calibre became obvious. He was runner-up at the 20 kilomètres de Maroilles (timing 59:18 minutes), then ran 5000 metres and 10,000 metres bests of 13:12.40 and 27:32.60 minutes on the track. He showed his aptitude was for longer races, however, as at the Lille Half Marathon he won on his debut over the distance with a time of 59:36 minutes. It was one of the fastest times for a teenage athlete and set a new all-comers record for France. He ran his second half marathon race two months later in Delhi and his time of 1:00:28 was good enough for fourth in the high quality race. He was runner-up to Tadesse Tola at the inaugural Bahir Dar Cross Country in December.  He ran frequently in 2009 and began in the United States. He won the Monument Avenue 10K, Cooper River Bridge Run, and Bolder Boulder races, as well as taking second at the Bay To Breakers. He was dominant at the Falmouth Road Race 7-miler in August, winning in a time of 31:41 minutes. In his first international selection he ran at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships: although he was only eleventh overall, he led the Ethiopian men to the bronze medal in the team competition. He returned to the Delhi Half Marathon in November and again took fourth place. He took his first a career victory at the Great Ethiopian Run that month, edging Abera Kuma at the finish.  The first race of 2010 was an impressive one for Tilahun: he ran a new best and course record of 59:19 minutes to win the Zayed International Half Marathon. This brought him US$300,000 in prize money and his manager later reflected that these sudden earnings affected the athlete, saying that ""Tilahun is one of the most talented athletes in the world. Unfortunately, he is a wild man, in every meaning of the word. He is a great guy, a great talent, but he is wild." Heading to the United States he ran under 28 minutes for the 10K at the Cooper River Bridge Run (placing third with 27:52), won the Crescent City Classic, then ran a best of 45:50 minutes for third at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. He was top three at both the Bay to Breakers and Bolder Boulder, but missed the rest of the season through injury. After a long period out, he returned in good form as a pacemaker at the 2011 Chicago Marathon and reached the 30 km mark in 1:29:25 hours. Towards the end of 2011 he had run of 60:59 minutes in Delhi and ran a 10K best at the São Silvestre De Luanda taking third with 27:50 minutes.  He opened 2012 with a runner-up performance at the Houston Half Marathon, finishing behind Feyisa Lelisa. He set a 10,000 m best of 27:18.90 minutes on the track at the FBK Games and won the Crazy 8's Road Race and Boilermaker Road Race in July. This was the build up for his debut over the marathon distance that October. He entered the 2012 Chicago Marathon and produced a surprise performance on his first attempt, running the third fastest debut ever and taking third place with a time of 2:05:27 hours. His first victory over the distance came soon after, as he won the 2013 Rotterdam Marathon by over a minute in April 2013.

Tilahun Regassa Dabe (born 18 January 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who mainly competes in road running competitions. He has a half marathon best of 59:19 minutes and has won the Zayed International Half Marathon and Lille Half Marathon. He made his marathon debut at the 2012 Chicago Marathon and ran the third fastest ever debut of 2:05:27 hours.


Definition.

Grand potential is defined by where "U" is the internal energy, "T" is the temperature of the system, "S" is the entropy, μ is the chemical potential, and "N" is the number of particles in the system.  The change in the grand potential is given by where "P" is pressure and "V" is volume, using the fundamental thermodynamic relation (combined first and second thermodynamic laws);  When the system is in thermodynamic equilibrium, Φ is a minimum. This can be seen by considering that dΦ is zero if the volume is fixed and the temperature and chemical potential have stopped evolving.

Landau free energy.

Some authors refer to the grand potential as the "Landau free energy" or Landau potential and write its definition as:  named after Russian physicist Lev Landau, which may be a synonym for the grand potential, depending on system stipulations. For homogeneous systems, one obtains formula_5.

Homogeneous systems (vs. inhomogeneous systems).

In the case of a scale-invariant type of system (where a system of volume formula_6 has exactly the same set of microstates as formula_7 systems of volume formula_8), then when the system expands new particles and energy will flow in from the reservoir to fill the new volume with a homogeneous extension of the original system. The pressure, then, must be constant with respect to changes in volume:  and all extensive quantities (particle number, energy, entropy, potentials,...) must grow linearly with volume, e.g.  In this case we simply have formula_11, as well as the familiar relationship formula_12 for the Gibbs free energy. The value of formula_13 can be understood as the work that can be extracted from the system by shrinking it down to nothing (putting all the particles and energy back into the reservoir). The fact that formula_11 is negative implies that the extraction of particles from the system to the reservoir requires energy input.  Such homogeneous scaling does not exist in many systems. For example, when analyzing the ensemble of electrons in a single molecule or even a piece of metal floating in space, doubling the volume of the space does double the number of electrons in the material. The problem here is that, although electrons and energy are exchanged with a reservoir, the material host is not allowed to change. Generally in small systems, or systems with long range interactions (those outside the thermodynamic limit), formula_15.

The grand potential is a quantity used in statistical mechanics, especially for irreversible processes in open systems. The grand potential is the characteristic state function for the grand canonical ensemble.


Location.

The Thüster Berg lies within a triangle formed by the villages of Eime, Duingen and Salzhemmendorf in the western half of the Leine Uplands, which itself is in the northern part of the Lower Saxon Hills. It is about long and its highest peak is the Kanstein. It lies between Hemmendorf and Oldendorf in the north, Ahrenfeld, Deilmissen and Deinsen in the south, Marienhagen in the southeast, Weenzen and Thüste in the south, Levedagsen and the Domäne Eggersen in the west and the village of Salzhemmendorf to the northwest.  North of the Thüster Berg is the Osterwald, to the east the Külf, to the southeast the Duinger Berg and to the west the Ith. The River Saale, a southwestern tributary of the Leine flows to the west and north of the ridge. Its northwestern part belongs to the Weser Uplands Schaumburg-Hamelin Nature Park.  The B 1 federal highway runs past the Thüster Berg to the north and the B 240 to the southeast.

Geology and landscape.

The Thüster Berg is an upfold of Thüster limestone. On its steeply sloping northern flanks there are several limestone crags, mostly hidden in forest, which have names such as "Eckturm", "Dreckturm", "Falkenturm" and "Liebesnadel" (literally: "Corner Tower", "Mud Tower", "Falcon Tower" and "Needle of Love"). The rock ledge of the "Eckturm" () juts out of the forest towards the northwest below the summit of the Kanstein and forms a natural observation platform. There are disused limestone quarries on the southwestern side of the ridge.  The Thüster Berg is densely wooded, especially with stands of deciduous trees. Amongst the species of tree that thrive here are birch and pine.

Towers.

On the Kanstein, the main summit () of the Thüster Berg, stands an observation tower, known as the Löns Tower ("Lönsturm", ) and about 1 km further east-southeast is a telecommunication tower ().

Walking.

Numerous forest tracks run over the Thüster Berg. One of them runs over the crest of the ridge from Salzhemmendorf to Marienhagen past the "Eckturm", Löns Tower and telecommunication tower.

The Thüster Berg is a ridge, up to, in the Lower Saxon Hills in central Germany. It is situated in the districts of Hameln-Pyrmont and Hildesheim in the federal state of Lower Saxony.


History.

Greco-Roman.

The area is believed to correspond with the ancient emporium of Nikon, which is described in the 1st century CE Greco-Roman travelogue the "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea".  The archaeogical site (known by the early 20th century name "Port Dunford") contains a number of ancient ruins, including several pillar tombs. Prior to its collapse, one these structures' pillars stood 11 meters high from the ground, making it the tallest tower of its kind in the wider region.  Additionally, the area features a square edifice covered with a low, dome-shaped vault. It is one of the main local standing structures.  In 1913, Haywood reportedly found at Port Dunford a large collection of old coins, along with a vessel similar to a Greek amphora. He later disposed of the amphora pieces, and the vessel was also said to have been crushed during a storm. In 1930, Hayward showed the coins to an official with the British Museum, H. Mattingly. 87 pieces in total, they ranged in date from the 3rd century BCE to the early 4th century CE. Among the coins were 17 copper mints from the Ptolemy III to Ptolemy V dynasties of Ptolemaic Egypt, five pieces of uncertain origin dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries BCE, six pieces that had been minted under Imperial Rome between the reigns of Nero and Antoninus Pius, forty-six coins ranging from Roman Emperors Maximinus II to Constans, six mints derived from the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate, and seven pieces from Ottoman Egypt.

Early trading.

Based on the archaeological finds, Mortimer Wheeler suggested that Port Dunford was likely a trading station from at least the Roman period. In 1955, he and Dr. A.G. Mathew in turn visited the area. They discovered porcelain, pottery and building remains dating from the 16th century onwards.

19th century.

Following an agreement between the German East Africa Company and Sultan Ali ibn Ismail of Kismayo at the end of 1886, a German trading station called Hohenzollernhafen was established at Wubushi (Burgabo) Bay. At that time, the entire southern part of the Somali coast was nominally in the hands of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, but the Germans circumvented that problem by concluding a protection treaty with Ali ibn Ismail, who was hostile to Zanzibar.  After the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, the area came under British suzerainty and the port was renamed Port Durnford (also Port Dunford or Wubushi).

20th century.

In 1905, the area was described as follows: Port Durnford formed part of the East Africa Protectorate (first part of Tanaland province and later Jubaland) until, along with the rest of Jubaland, was ceded to the Italians in 1924 when it became known as Bur Gavo. First part of Trans-Juba, it became part of Italian Somaliland in 1926 and, with independence in 1960, part of Somalia.

21st century.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the town numbered just under 4,000 residents, similar to the population at the start of the 20th century (about 3,500 residents). In the Somali Civil War, the city was a haven for various Islamist groups, and the population fell to around 300 in 2011. Expeditionary Kenya Defence Forces and Somali Armed Forces of the Federal Government of Somalia, supported by French naval artillery and U.S. air strikes, occupied the area of Burgabo at the end of October 2011 in the campaign against Al-Shabaab terrorists.

Burgabo () is a port town in Lower Jubba province in southern Somalia near the border with Kenya. Other names and variants of the town include "Berikau, Bircao, Birikao, Birikau, Bur Gabo, Bur Gao, Bur Gavo, Hohenzollernhafen, Port Dunford, Port Durnford and Wubushi".


Early life and education.

McCreary was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and spent most of his formative years in Bellingham, Washington. He is the son of author Laura Kalpakian and professor Jay McCreary of University of Hawaii. His brother, Brendan McCreary, is also a musician. Bear has directed and produced several music videos for Brendan's band, Young Beautiful in a Hurry. He graduated from Bellingham High School in 1997.  He is a classically trained pianist and self-taught accordionist. He studied under the renowned film score composer Elmer Bernstein during which time he reconstructed and reorchestrated Bernstein's 1963 score for "Kings of the Sun". Their collaboration allowed for the complete score to be available as a soundtrack album for the first time in 40 years.

Career.

Television.

"Battlestar Galactica" and "Caprica".

In 2003, McCreary worked under primary composer Richard Gibbs on the three-hour miniseries which served as a pilot for the reimagined series of "Battlestar Galactica". When the show was picked up, Gibbs opted not to devote full-time to the regular series' production, and McCreary became the sole composer. He worked on the series until it reached its conclusion in 2009, scoring over 70 episodes. To date, six "Battlestar Galactica" soundtrack albums have been released, and have garnered a great deal of critical acclaim and commercial success. The soundtracks for seasons two and three ranked amongst Amazon.com's Top 30 Music Sales on their first days of release.  McCreary composed for the "Battlestar Galactica" prequel series "Caprica" and "".

"Human Target".

McCreary provided the score for the series "Human Target" (based on the comic book of the same name). The pilot episode and main theme score had been recorded with a full orchestra. The series has the distinction of having one of the largest orchestras on television.  The score to the finale of season one, "Christopher Chance", used the largest orchestra ever assembled for episodic television, and he took the opportunity to rerecord the main title theme with a new orchestration with this larger ensemble.  In July 2010, he received his first Emmy nomination for the "Human Target" main title.  In a post on his blog on July 25, 2010, McCreary announced the new creative leadership brought in for season two had not asked him to return for it, and he would be leaving the series.

"Black Sails".

The opening title sequence for "Black Sails" was composed by McCreary with a backing sea shanty inspired theme. It accurately features an instrument of the period in the form of the hurdy-gurdy.

"Outlander".

McCreary has composed the soundtrack for each of the first five seasons of "Outlander", with the main title being sung by long time collaborator and partner, Raya Yarbrough. McCreary was nominated for an Emmy for the episode "Sassenach" in 2015.

Other series.

During Comic-Con 2010, Bear McCreary attended panels for AMC's "The Walking Dead" and NBC's "The Cape" to announce he would be composing the score for both television series.  On July 15, 2013, McCreary announced that he would compose the score for ABC's series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." On September 4, 2015, McCreary released the official "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." soundtrack publicly.  McCreary served as orchestral producer for the rock opera "" airing on Adult Swim on October 27, 2013. This is a continuation of the Metalocalypse universe following the band Dethklok. The music features a 50-piece orchestra. The soundtrack was released on October 29, 2013.

Films.

McCreary made his theatrical feature film scoring debut with "Step Up 3D" and has scored several direct-to-video features, including "Rest Stop", "", and "".  Bear has scored three films with director Joe Lynch (of "Wrong Turn 2"), the latest being "Everly" which includes "Silent Night", a duet with his spouse, Raya Yarbrough. McCreary's latest feature film scores are for "The Cloverfield Paradox", released February 4, 2018, "Tau" in 2018, and then 2019's "" and "Child's Play".

Video games.

McCreary made an eight-bit rendition of the "Dark Void" theme, which was, originally, an April fools joke. However, the theme was used for the prequel, "Dark Void Zero". He composed all the songs in an eight-bit fashion by connecting the wires on an actual NES console and cartridge to create authenticity.  He arranged James Rolfe's "The Angry Video Game Nerd" "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" parody "You're a Mean One, Mr. Nerd" for the 2010 Christmas special, with orchestra and eight-bit audio elements.  McCreary also performed with his orchestra band live at Sony's E3 2016 press conference throughout the show and composed the score of the 2018 "God of War" game.

Personal life.

McCreary married singer/songwriter Raya Yarbrough in 2010. They have collaborated on the music of "Battlestar Galactica", "Outlander", "Defiance", "Da Vinci's Demons", among other projects. Their daughter Sonatine, named after the musical term "sonatina", was born on June 2, 2014.

Other influences.

McCreary credits composers Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, and Shirley Walker as being key to his growing up adoring film music. They were his heroes while he was growing up. Contemporary composers including Hans Zimmer continue to inspire McCreary's growth.

Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American musician and composer of film, television, and video games scores based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his work on the reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" television series and for the TV series "Outlander" and "The Walking Dead". He has also scored for the PlayStation 4 video game "God of War".


Early life and education.

He was the first born of two sons of Robert and Virginia Bahnsen in Auburn, Washington, and grew up in Pico Rivera, California. In youth he was beset by a number of medical difficulties, the most serious of which was a lifelong blood platelet problem that made it difficult for him to stop bleeding. He also had heart trouble which came to light only during his first college admissions medical exam.  Raised in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he actively participated in religious activities. He first began reading the apologetics of Cornelius Van Til when in high school. While attending Westmont College he began writing for the Chalcedon Foundation of Rousas J. Rushdoony and soon came to admire the latter's strong Calvinistic convictions.  In 1970 Bahnsen graduated "magna cum laude" from Westmont College, receiving his B.A. in philosophy as well as the John Bunyan Smith Award for his overall grade point average. From there he went on to Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, where he studied under Cornelius Van Til. The two became close friends. When he graduated in May 1973, he simultaneously received two degrees, Master of Divinity and Master of Theology, as well as the William Benton Greene Prize in apologetics and a Richard Weaver Fellowship from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. His next academic stop was the University of Southern California (USC), where he studied philosophy, specializing in the theory of knowledge. In 1975, after receiving ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he became an associate professor of Apologetics and Ethics at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Jackson, Mississippi. While there, he completed his studies at USC, receiving his Ph.D. in 1978. Bahnsen's four years at RTS were frought with contention, centered around his particular version of theonomic postmillennialism.

Later life.

One of the original pillars of Christian Reconstruction, Bahnsen was a leading proponent of theonomy, postmillennialism, and presuppositional apologetics. He lectured to a broad range of evangelical Christian groups at many colleges and conferences, not only throughout the United States, but in Scotland and Russia. He published numerous articles and has over 1700 audio tapes, videos, articles, and books to his name.  Greg Bahnsen's vocal advocacy of Christian Reconstructionism and theonomy was highly controversial during his lifetime, and a public disputation pertaining to theonomy led to his dismissal from the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. In addition, he was known for his public debates on apologetics, theonomy, religion (such as Roman Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism), and a variety of socio-political issues (such as abortion, gun control, and homosexuality).  Bahnsen is perhaps best known for his debates with such leading atheists as George H. Smith, Gordon Stein, and Edward Tabash. The debate with Stein marked one of the earliest uses of a transcendental argument for the existence of God (TAG).  In 1994 a controversy emerged after atheist philosopher Michael Martin was informed just three weeks before a scheduled debate with Bahnsen, "that Bahnsen would not debate unless Martin gave written permission to SCCCS to tape the debate" for resale to support SCCCS. Martin refused, because "he did not want SCCCS to profit from his participation", while SCCCS refused to let Bahnsen debate without the debate being taped. The debate was canceled. Since that time Martin has responded to Bahnsen's use of TAG, doing so in his own debates with Michael Butler, John Frame, and Douglas Jones, and has published his "Transcendental Argument for the Non-Existence of God" in the journal of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists, as well as in essays posted on the Secular Web.

Death.

Due to his lifelong medical problems, Bahnsen had to undergo a third aortic valve implant surgery on December 5, 1995. After the completion of the operation, serious complications developed within twenty-four hours. He then became comatose for several days and died on December 11, 1995, at the age of forty-seven.

Greg L. Bahnsen (September 17, 1948 – December 11, 1995) was an American Calvinist philosopher, apologist, and debater. He was a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a full-time Scholar in Residence for the Southern California Center for Christian Studies (SCCCS). He is also considered a contributor to the field of Christian apologetics, as he popularized the presuppositional method of Cornelius Van Til. He is the father of David L. Bahnsen, an American portfolio manager, author, and television commentator, as well as his first born, Jonathan Bahnsen, and youngest, Michael Bahnsen.


Dongbei University of Finance and Economics

Admissions.

DUFE's students are from all 30 provinces in China, as well as international students from more than 30 countries. As one of the most competitive schools, DUFE's average China National College Entrance Exams grades are consistently among the top three in Liaoning province. The graduate employment rates are also one of the highest (over 95%).

International cooperation/programs.

DUFE's International Education Center facilitates students' studies from international perspectives. Its participants at home are afforded the access to international perspectives. The international cooperation programs has grown to include 13 exchange programs with nine universities in six countries (the UK, Germany, Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Ireland and Austria). Some of the joint programs are:

Athletic programs.

DUFE prides itself in student athletes and collegiate sports. It is one of the national bases for collegiate sports development.  The men's soccer team has won four consecutive championships of China's collegiate men's soccer champions tournament — one-time champions and twice runners-up of “Phillips Cup” of China's men's soccer collegiate champions league, and Championship of Asia-Pacific University Men's soccer invitational. DUFE's men's basketball team had a strong force in the China University Basketball Association (CUBA), having won many city and provincial championships and third place in the national finals. DUFE's field and track team has been in overall second place Asia University Track and Field's Invitational, first place in the 9th China National University Field and Tracks Games.  DUFE's graduates includes athletes and coaches of Olympic gold medalists, world champions/record holders, and many national champions.

Dongbei University of Finance & Economics (DUFE, ) is a public university in Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Home to over 20,000 students, it is one of oldest and largest modern universities in Dalian. DUFE is one of the top schools in the field in China, with its graduates occupying high-level positions in government and industries, especially in banking and finance sectors. It has a significant position throughout the northeast and across the country.


History.

Rostselmash was founded in 1929 as a government contractor, producing a variety of products for state farms. In 1931, the first Stalinets harvesters were produced. The Stalinets-1 was awarded with the highest award (Grand Prix diploma) during the World Industrial Exhibition in Paris in 1937 and by 1940 fifty thousand units were assembled.  During Operation Barbarosa, Rostselmash dismantled its plant in Rostov-on-Don, and relocated in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Production shifted from agricultural goods to military equipment until the end of the war. In 1943, production was returned to Rostov.  After the war, the Stalinets-6 harvesters were assembled and in 1955 Rostselmash began to specialize in grain harvester production. In 1958, the SK-3 self-propelled harvesters were introduced followed by the SK-4 in 1962. By 1969, Rostselmash produced 1 000 000 harvesters. The SK Niva harvesters, introduced in 1973, remain in production for the Eastern European market.  By 1984 Rostselmash produced 2 000 000 harvesters. The Don Series combines were introduced in 1986; those along with tractors were sold in North America by Belarus Tractor of Canada. Both had a reputation for poor quality, lack of operator comfort, poor reliability, and lack of part availability.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, Rostselmash was incorporated into a joint-stock company in 1992, and fully privatized in 2000. The new owners — Konstantin Babkin, Dmitry Udras and Yuri Ryazanov withdrew Rostselmash from the crisis of 1990-s.  In 2007 they took control of Buhler Industries of Winnipeg in Canada. Buhler Industries are the owners of the Canadian–built Versatile brand of articulated tractor, founded by Peter Pakosh.

Products.

Harvesters.

Rostselmash produces four harvester variants. A 400 hp rotary harvester is sold the Rostselmash name in Eastern Europe and the Versatile name in North America. The RT 490 uses a unique Rotating Concave Rotary design where the concave rotates counter to the rotor, reducing dead spots and increasing usable area.  Vector and Acros harvesters are sold in North America through Python Manufacturing Inc.  The Niva is a 155 hp harvester developed in the Soviet era, and is available only in Eastern Europe and Africa.

Tractors.

Versatile tractors are available from 190 to 620 hp.

Rostselmash () is a Russian agricultural equipment company, based in Rostov-on-Don. It was founded in 1929. It primarily produces combine harvesters. The company income in 2005 was 400 million dollars. It used to sponsor a football club that used to be called FC Rostselmash and is, as of 2008, called FC Rostov.


Toponymy.

The name ""Cassaro"" comes from the Arabic word ""Qasr"" (fortress, castle). In fact, during the era of the Islamic Sicily, "Panormus", called "Balarm" by the Saracens, became the island's capital and a large portion of the ancient city was widely fortified. In the Middle Ages, especially during the Islamic and Norman periods, the street was also called ""As-Simat Al-Balat"" (Arabic) and ""Via (Platea) Marmorea"" (Latin) because it was paved with slabs of marble. Even now, the Arabic word ""balat(a)"" is used in Sicily to indicate the marble.  In the late sixteenth century, during the age of the personal union between the crowns of Spain and Sicily, the street assumed the name of ""Via Toledo"" in honor of the Viceroy García de Toledo Osorio, the main architect of its rectification. This denomination lasted until the unification of Italy, when the street was officially dedicated to the King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. However, the ancient name ""Cassaro"" never was abandoned by the people.

History.

The road was created at the time of the foundation of Palermo by the Phoenicians, cutting into two parts the city and connecting the ancient port to the Punic necropolis located in the area of the current Piazza Indipendenza and Corso Calatafimi.  During the Islamic era the street confirmed its role of main axis of the city, from which various branch detached as secondary roads called ""Darbi"", perpendicular to the main branch, inserting in the territory and ending in ""Aziqqa"", blind alleys distinctive of Palermo. During the Siculo-Norman age the Cassaro was richly described by the Muslim geographer Al-Idrisi in his famous ""Book of Roger"".  The most important innovation to the layout of the Cassaro occurred in the second half of the sixteenth century, during the Spaniard age. The project, maybe defined from the outset but accomplished in various stages, provided for the rectification and enlargement of the street up to the Church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo, near Palazzo Chiaramonte (at that time headquarters of the Viceroy).  The works, with the permission of the Viceroy Garcia de Toledo, began in 1567. It started with the adjustment of the southern area till ""Porta dei Patitelli"" (current Via Roma), then with massive demolitions to reach Piazza Marina. The development of this work was actively supported by the city nobility, that contributed to the opening of Piazza Bologni and Piazza Pretoria. In 1581 The Viceroy Marcantonio Colonna prolonged the street up to the city walls by opening the sea with the monumental Porta Felice.

Structure.

The street is perfectly straight from Porta Nuova, near Piazza Indipendenza, to Porta Felice, near the Foro Italico. It has a slight downhill sloping towards the sea. Throughout its path there are many streets leading into it but only two crossing: Via Maqueda (also known as ""Strada Nuova""), with which it forms the famous Baroque intersection known as Quattro Canti (Piazza Villena), and Via Roma, created in the late nineteenth century.

Transport.

Since 2015 the street is pedestrian in the stretch from the Cathedral to Quattro Canti. A free shuttle bus, called ""Free Centro Storico"" or ""Arancione"" ("Orange"), crosses the historic centre from Piazza Indipendenza to Porta Felice.

Feast of Saint Rosalia.

The Cassaro is the scenery of the long procession of the Chariot of Saint Rosalia during the ""Festino"", the night between the 14th and 15th of July of each year. The feast dedicated to the patron saint of Palermo involves every year tens of thousands of people.

The Cassaro () is the most ancient street of Palermo. From the late 16th century the street also had the name Via Toledo. Following the unification of Italy, it was officially renamed Via Vittorio Emanuele II, but the old and distinctive name is still in use. The street is rooted in the age of the foundation of Palermo by the Phoenicians. It provides access to a number of important sights, including the Royal Palace (also known as "Palazzo dei Normanni") and the Cathedral, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites.


History.

The station was built by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, and opened on 21 February 1842. In 1865 the E&GR was absorbed into the North British Railway, in 1878 the entire station was redesigned by the civil engineer James Carswell. It became part of the LNER group in 1923.  The climb through the tunnel to Cowlairs is at 1 in 42 and until 1909 trains were hauled up on a rope operated by a stationary engine, although experiments were carried out using banking engines in 1844–48. Three people died in 1928 when a train leaving the station rolled back into another train. Modern diesel and electric trains have no difficulty with the climb.  The adjacent station of the rival Caledonian Railway closed on 7 November 1966 as a result of the Beeching cuts and its services to Stirling, Perth, Inverness, Dundee and Aberdeen transferred to Queen Street. This caused difficulties with longer trains, as Queen Street is in a confined position between George Square and the tunnel.  In the 1980s, HST were used on Cross Country and East Coast services run by InterCity, having to use Platform 7 with the end of the train being close to the tunnel mouth.

Services.

Queen Street station's platforms are on two levels, with the high-level platforms running directly north–south, and the low-level running east–west. They are connected by staircases at either end of the low-level platforms, and by lifts accessible from Platform 7 on the high level.  In 2018, the typical Monday to Saturday service is:

High level.

The High Level station is the larger of the two levels, and is the terminus for the Edinburgh shuttles and all routes north of the Central Belt run by ScotRail. The high level railway approaches the station building through the Queen Street Tunnel, which runs beneath the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre to the Sighthill area northeast of the city centre. Platforms 1–7 occupy the High Level, Platform 1 being at the western end of the trainshed, and being considerably shorter – it is usually only used for local stopping services. Since the electrification of several of the routes from the High level station (Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High and to Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa) the fleet is largely electric, utilising the new Class 385 trains.

Low level.

Platforms 8 and 9 comprise the Low Level station, and it is the most central stop on the North Clyde Line of the Glasgow suburban electric network. Trains run frequently between Helensburgh on the Firth of Clyde, Balloch and suburban Milngavie to Airdrie, on the eastern edge of the Greater Glasgow conurbation and onward to Edinburgh via Bathgate and Livingston. The line is electrified; the fleet operating this route are Class 318s, Class 320s and Class 334s.  Services on the West Highland Line to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig occasionally use the Low Level station when the main route into the High Level is unavailable due to engineering work. As of September 2014, the to overnight sleeper also calls here instead of in the northwestern suburbs, eliminating the need for those travelling between Glasgow & Fort William and between Glasgow & London Euston on the sleeper to change there (alighting only southbound/boarding only northbound), the only locomotive-hauled train to call here.  The Low Level line between High Street, Queen Street and Charing Cross was built before the Glasgow Subway, making it the oldest underground railway in the city. In May–June 2014, work was carried out to redevelop the Low Level platforms, which now have new compliant seating.

Signalling.

Queen Street signal box, opened in 1881, was on a gantry spanning the tracks close to the tunnel mouth. It closed on 26 February 1967 when control of the high level station was transferred to a panel in Cowlairs signal box. That box was superseded by the new Cowlairs signalling centre on 28 December 1998. This in turn was abolished in October 2013 and the station is now under the supervision of Edinburgh IECC (which will eventually become the Edinburgh Rail Operating Centre).  The low level station had two signal boxes, 'Queen Street West' and 'Queen Street East'. Both boxes were over the tracks and closed on 8 February 1960. The low level lines came under the control of Yoker Signalling Centre (IECC) on 19 November 1989.

Redevelopment.

Minor refurbishment of the station has taken place over in recent years, which has seen the station internally repainted and paved with new flooring, and the CRT screens that displayed train timetables and passenger information were replaced with new LED information boards similar to those in Glasgow Central Station but smaller, in January 2008.  In August 2006 Network Rail revealed that it intended to redevelop Queen Street substantially, making use of the Hanover Street car park area to provide more retail space, and to upgrade the station's entrances, and to provide escalators down to the lower level platforms – at present there are only steep staircases at either end of Platforms 8/9, and lifts which have to be reached using a circuitous route via the main line platforms. More plans were unveiled in September 2011 by Network Rail, along with an announcement that the owner of the Buchanan Galleries shopping mall – Land Securities had been chosen as development partner for the station. This saw the 1970s hotel extension (which until recently fronted the George Square entrance of the station) demolished and replaced by a glass atrium. The previous plans of developing the airspace rights above the North Hanover Street car park into an expanded retail and restaurant area will be carried forward – and will form part of the proposed extension to the Buchanan Galleries, which will gain direct access to the station concourse. The redevelopment, which was initially scheduled for completion in June 2019, also includes an extension of the high level platforms to accommodate the longer trains that will be introduced as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).  In 2009, the Scottish Government announced that the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line would be electrified by 2017. Overhead line electrification lines have been installed on the high level platforms of Queen Street, with Class 380 trains now operating from the station as of December 2017, and Class 385 trains as of Autumn 2018. As part of this work, the High Level station was closed for 20 weeks (from 20 March to 8 August 2016) to allow of track in Queen Street Tunnel (and all of the tracks and platforms in the station itself) to be replaced. Services were diverted over various routes during this period, with some trains running to/from the Low Level station and others to/from Glasgow Central station (via Cumbernauld, Coatbridge and Carmyle).  In August 2017, work began on the £100 million redevelopment of the station, which was due to be completed by December 2019, but has now been scheduled to 2020 due to delays in receiving power to go forward with the work.

Proposals.

Various schemes to link Queen Street to station have been considered, as passengers travelling from the north of Scotland to the south and vice versa via Glasgow have to traverse the city centre either on foot or by road. A bus link connects the two stations (which also calls at the city's Buchanan bus station), use of which is free to rail passengers making a cross-Glasgow transfer on a through ticket. Neither of Glasgow's main line terminals is served by the Glasgow Subway, although a moving walkway was installed between Queen Street and the immediately adjacent subway station during the system's modernisation in 1980, whilst station is a short walk from Glasgow Central.  One option to allow cross-Glasgow rail journeys would be Crossrail Glasgow, using a former passenger line (now used only for freight) that links High Street to the Gorbals area. This initiative was reviewed favourably, but progress has been stalled indefinitely as of 2009. Alternative proposals envisage a new city centre station (possibly in a tunnel underneath the city centre) or a light rail / metro system.

Other sources.

Glasgow Queen Street () is a city centre railway terminus in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two main line railway terminals and the third busiest station in Scotland. The station is situated between George Street to the south and Cathedral Street Bridge to the north, at the northern end of Queen Street adjacent to George Square. Queen Street station serves the Greater Glasgow area's northern towns and suburbs. The station also serves the Edinburgh Waverley shuttle and is the terminus for all inter-city services to destinations in the North of Scotland. The other main city-centre station in Glasgow is.


History.

In 1962, Smidt published work on the palladium-catalysed oxidation of alkenes to carbonyl groups. In this work, it was determined that the palladium catalyst activated the alkene for the nucleophilic attack of hydroxide. Gaining insight from this work, Tsuji hypothesized that a similar activation could take place to form carbon-carbon bonds. In 1965, Tsuji reported work that confirmed his hypothesis. By reacting an allylpalladium chloride dimer with the sodium salt of diethyl malonate, the group was able to form a mixture of monoalkylated and dialkylated product.  The scope of the reaction was expanded only gradually until Trost discovered the next big breakthrough in 1973. While attempting to synthesize acyclic sesquiterpene homologs, Trost ran into problems with the initial procedure and was not able to alkylate his substrates. These problems were overcome with the addition of triphenylphosphine to the reaction mixture.  These conditions were then tested out for other substrates and some led to "essentially instantaneous reaction at room temperature." Soon after, he developed a way to use these ligands for asymmetric synthesis. Not surprisingly, this spurred on many other investigations of this reaction and has led to the important role that this reaction now holds in synthetic chemistry.

Mechanism.

Starting with a zerovalent palladium species and a substrate containing a leaving group in the allylic position, the Tsuji–Trost reaction proceeds through the catalytic cycle outlined below.  First, the palladium coordinates to the alkene, forming a η2 -allyl-Pd0 Π complex. The next step is oxidative addition in which the leaving group is expelled with inversion of configuration and a η3 -allyl-PdII is created (also called ionization). The nucleophile then adds to the allyl group regenerating the η2 -allyl-Pd0 complex. At the completion of the reaction, the palladium detaches from the alkene and can start again in the catalytic cycle.

"Hard" versus "soft" nucleophiles.

The nucleophiles used are typically generated from precursors (pronucleophiles) in situ after their deprotonation with base. These nucleophiles are then subdivided into "hard" and "soft" nucleophiles using a paradigm for describing nucleophiles that largely rests on the of their conjugate acids. "Hard" nucleophiles typically have conjugate acids with greater than 25, while "soft" nucleophiles typically have conjugate acids with less than 25. This descriptor is important because of the impact these nucleophiles have on the stereoselectivity of the product. Stabilized or "soft" nucleophiles invert the stereochemistry of the -allyl complex. This inversion in conjunction with the inversion in stereochemistry associated with the oxidative addition of palladium yields a net retention of stereochemistry. Unstabilized or "hard" nucleophiles, on the other hand, retain the stereochemistry of the -allyl complex, resulting in a net inversion of stereochemistry.  This trend is explained by examining the mechanisms of nucleophilic attack. "Soft" nucleophiles attack the carbon of the allyl group, while "hard" nucleophiles attack the metal center, followed by reductive elimination.

Phosphine ligands.

Phosphine ligands, such as triphenylphosphine or the Trost ligand, have been used to greatly expand the scope of the Tsuji–Trost reaction. These ligands can modulate the properties of the palladium catalyst such as steric bulk as well as the electronic properties. Importantly, these ligands can also instill chirality to the final product, making it possible for these reactions to be carried out asymmetrically as shown below.

Allylic asymmetric substitution.

The enantioselective version of the Tsuji–Trost reaction is called the Trost asymmetric allylic alkylation (Trost AAA) or simply, asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA). These reactions are often used in asymmetric synthesis. The reaction was originally developed with a palladium catalyst supported by the Trost ligand, although suitable conditions have greatly expanded since then. Enantioselectivity can be imparted to the reaction during any of the steps aside from the decomplexation of the palladium from the alkene since the stereocenter is already set at that point. Five main ways have been conceptualized to take advantage of these steps and yield enantioselective reaction conditions. These methods of enantiodiscrimination were previously reviewed by Trost: The favored method for enantiodiscrimination is largely dependent on the substrate of interest, and in some cases, the enantioselectivity may be influenced by several of these factors.

Scope.

Nucleophiles.

Many different nucleophiles have been reported to be effective for this reaction. Some of the most common nucleophiles include malonates, enolates, primary alkoxides, carboxylates, phenoxides, amines, azides, sulfonamides, imides, and sulfones.

Leaving groups.

The scope of leaving groups has also been expanded to include a number of different leaving groups, although carbonates, phenols, phosphates, halides and carboxylates are the most widely used.

"Hard" and "soft" nucleophiles.

Recent work has demonstrated that the scope of "soft" nucleophiles can be expanded to include some pronucleophiles that have much higher than ~ 25. Some of these "soft" nucleophiles have ranging all the way to 32, and even more basic pronucleophiles (~44) have been shown to act as soft nucleophiles with the addition of Lewis acids that help to facilitate deprotonation. The improved pKa range of "soft" nucleophiles is critical because these nucleophiles are the only ones that have been explored for enantioselective reactions until very recently (although non-enantioselective reactions of "hard" nucleophiles have been known for some time). By increasing the scope of pronucleophiles that act as "soft" nucleophiles, these substrates can also be incorporated into enantioselective reactions using previously reported and well characterized methods.

Ligands.

Building on the reactivity of the triphenylphosphine ligand, the structure of ligands used for the Tsuji–Trost reaction quickly became more complex. Today, these ligands may contain phosphorus, sulfur, nitrogen or some combination of these elements, but most studies have concentrated on the mono- and diphosphine ligands. These ligands can be further classified based on the nature of their chirality, with some ligands containing central chirality on the phosphorus or carbon atoms, some containing biaryl axial chirality, and others containing planar chirality. Diphosphine ligands with central chirality emerged as an effective type of ligand (particularly for asymmetric allylic alkylation procedures) with the Trost Ligand being one such example. Phosphinooxazolines (PHOX) ligands have been employed in the AAA, particularly with carbon-based nucleophiles.

Additional substrates.

The reaction substrate has also been extended to allenes. In this specific ring expansion the AAA reaction is also accompanied by a Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement:

Applications.

Pharmaceutical/natural products synthesis.

The ability to form carbon-carbon, carbon-nitrogen, and carbon-oxygen bonds enantioselectively under mild conditions makes the Trost asymmetric allylic alkylation extremely appealing for the synthesis of complex molecules.  An example of this reaction is the synthesis of an intermediate in the combined total synthesis of galantamine and morphine with 1 mol% [pi-allylpalladium chloride dimer], 3 mol% ("S,S") Trost ligand, and triethylamine in dichloromethane at room temperature. These conditions result in the formation of the (−)-enantiomer of the aryl ether in 72% chemical yield and 88% enantiomeric excess.  Another Tsuji–Trost reaction was used during the initial stages of the synthesis of (−)-Neothiobinupharidine. This recent work demonstrates the ability of this reaction to give highly diastereoselective (10:1) and enantioselective (97.5:2.5) products from achiral starting material with only a small amount of catalyst (1%).

Palladium detection.

Aside from the practical application of this reaction in medicinal chemistry and natural product synthesis, recent work has also used the Tsuji–Trost reaction to detect palladium in various systems. This detection system is based on a non-fluorescent fluorescein-derived sensor (longer-wavelength sensors have also recently been developed for other applications) that becomes fluorescent only in the presence of palladium or platinum. This palladium/platinum sensing ability is driven by the Tsuji–Trost reaction. The sensor contains an allyl group with the fluorescein functioning as the leaving group. The -allyl complex is formed and after a nucleophile attacks, the fluorescein is released, yielding a dramatic increase in fluorescence.  This simple, high-throughput method to detect palladium by monitoring fluorescence has been shown to be useful in monitoring palladium levels in metal ores, pharmaceutical products, and even in living cells. With the ever-increasing popularity of palladium catalysis, this type of quick detection should be very useful in reducing the contamination of pharmaceutical products and preventing the pollution of the environment with palladium and platinum.

The Tsuji–Trost reaction (also called the Trost allylic alkylation or allylic alkylation) is a palladium-catalysed substitution reaction involving a substrate that contains a leaving group in an allylic position. The palladium catalyst first coordinates with the allyl group and then undergoes oxidative addition, forming the -allyl complex. This allyl complex can then be attacked by a nucleophile, resulting in the substituted product.


History.

Foundation.

In 1960 Walter and his wife Mariella founded the company with the purpose of the production and distribution of children's clothing.  After the rise of prêt-à-porter for women in the 1970s, the company began to export abroad in the 1980s, and expanded into other lines of clothing, as well as by opening stores.

IPO and expansion of the Group.

In July 2000, it was announced that the company would be entering the Milan Stock Exchange. The shares were sold for 7 euro each on 13 and 14 July 2000. From 2000 to 2007 the group opened many new stores and made a number of acquisitions, including stakes in several companies in the leather industry, including Braccialini and Baldinini, Coccinelle, the aim being to cover different geographical areas, as well as offering a range of products.

Crisis and failure.

By the summer of 2008 the value of the shares Mariella Burani had declined drastically, by 28 August 2009 they were valued at 2.522 euro each. On 31 August the Italian Stock Exchange announced that Mariella Burani FG ordinary shares were suspended from trading indefinitely. On 11 January 2010, the prosecutor in Milan filed a petition for bankruptcy for Mariella Buran]. On 11 February, the Court of Milan declared the failure of Burani Designer Holding, Diego Moscato was appointed as liquidator and on 26 Feb he resigned the entire board of directors On 28 July 2010, the financial police of Reggio Emilia arrested Walter Burani and his son John on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy. His father Walter was placed under house arrest while his son John was held in custody in San Vittore. On 26 September, Giovanni Burani was also placed under house arrest.

The Mariella Burani Fashion Group, based in Cavriago, is a clothing, jewelry and watches company. Founded in 1960 by Walter and Mariella Burani, it became a public company listed on the stock exchanges of Milan and London. In February 2010 the company declared bankruptcy.


History.

Origin.

The castle of Knesebeck in Lower Saxony was jointly established by the first Duke of Brunswick/Lüneburg and the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1236, as a defence against the Slavs. Each appointed a knight to man it, who then both took their name from the castle, as was common at the time. The first documented mention in the black line is of a "Wasmodos von dem Knesebeck" in 1248. From 1374 the family held the position of hereditary chamberlain of the Principality of Lüneburg.  The first documented mention of the white line is of "Bodo de Soltwedele" in 1207. He was governor and constable in Salzwedel, from which he initially took his name. He is first mentioned as "de Knesebeke" on 26 January 1244 as a witness in a document for the Margraves Johann and Otto of Brandenburg.

Rise.

In 1281 "Pariadmus miles dictus de Knesebecke" appears as donor of an altar to St Spiritus in the convent of Diesdorf, while the brothers "Boldewinus" and "Paridam de Knesebeck" are mentioned as selling the estate of Mackstorf to the convent of Dambeck in 1283. In 1338 the family became vassals of Margrave Louis I of Brandenburg, in exchange for providing ten men in armour and forty armed with spears. In 1374 "Werner von dem Knesebeck" was awarded the position of chamberlain of the Principality of Lüneburg, which his grandfather hat first held, as a hereditary office.  Numerous members of the white line rose to senior positions in Brandenburgish and later Prussian military and public service. In 1440 Paridam von dem Knesebeck served as Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg, while in 1464 Matthias von dem Knesebeck became Prelate of the Benedictine Ebstorf Abbey, having previously served as secretary and chancellor to the Dukes of Brunswick. Ludolf von dem Knesebeck joined Vasco da Gama as a captain on his exploration of the sea route to India in 1497. Thomas von dem Knesebeck (1559–1625) rose to Landeshauptmann (Governor) of the Altmark and was instrumental in introducing the Reformation to Brandenburg. In 1901 he was honoured with inclusion among the statues of the Siegesallee, as a bust next to John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg. His son Thomas would also go on to hold the position of Landeshauptmann, as did another son Hempo von dem Knesebeck (1595–1656), who was previously diplomat and Master of the Horse to Christian I. of Anhalt.  Among notable members of the black line were (1775–1842), Hanoverian Major-General, and his sons Major-General Bernhard (1817–1887) and Lieutenant-General Ernst Julius Georg von dem Knesebeck (1809–1869). Bernhard von dem Knesebeck rose to prominence as a senior field commander during the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and the Franco-Prussian War (1871) and later as Commandant of Erfurt; his brother Ernst Julius Georg von dem Knesebeck served on the general staff and as ambassador to the Bavarian and Württemberg courts. His son Bodo von dem Knesebeck (1851–1911), rose to Imperial Chamberlain and Master of Ceremonies, Secretary of the Order of the Black Eagle and founder of the German Diplomatic Corps. His other son Lionel von dem Knesebeck (1849–1916), served as Hofmarschall to Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, the last King of Finland.  During the Second World War a number of family members became highly decorated. This included Colonel Wasmod von dem Knesebeck, who was awarded the highest military award, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, while serving as Chief of Staff of the 306th Infantry Division. Furthermore, Colonel Klaus von dem Knesebeck, Chief of Staff of the 65th Infantry Division, and Captain Krafft von dem Knesebeck were both awarded the second highest military award, the German Cross in Gold, the latter just days before being fatally wounded. He had been recommended for the Knight's Cross, but this was downgraded.  Of particular note among the women of the family is Friedrike Wilhelmine von dem Knesebeck (1750–1802), daughter of the Lieutenant-Colonel and Adjutant-General Carl Christoph Johann von dem Knesebeck, who became lady-in-waiting to Queen Sophia Dorothea of Prussia. While riding in a carriage in Berlin her horses bolted, upon which she promptly jumped from the speeding vehicle. Frederick the Great was so impressed by her courage that he penned a two-page poem in French, describing her as "braver than Penthesilea". The court painter Adolph von Menzel produced an engraving of the incident.  Three streets and a bridge in Berlin are named after the family.

Properties.

At various times the family has held the properties of Knesebeck, Tylsen, Karwe, Myllendonk, Huysburg, Röderhof, Osseg, Wall, Frohnenbruch, Hoerstgen, Dömnitz, Badekow, Gresse, Dambeck, Löwenbruch, Jühnsdorf, Langenapel, Döre, Fürstenau, Butow, Brome, Wittingen, Corvin, Woltersdorf and Colborn.

Coat of Arms.

In 1644 the white line and the black line united their arms, a griffin claw and unicorn respectively, resulting in a quartered shield. According to family tradition, the three banners in the coat of arms stem from an ancestor, the knight Iwan, who was awarded them by Rudolf I of Germany for having taken them from the enemy in battle against Ottokar II of Bohemia.

Knesebeck is the name of two branches of a prominent aristocratic family in the tradition of ancient nobility in Germany. In the 17th century they acknowledged a common ancestry and combined their arms. The "black" line of the family von dem Knesebeck stems from the ancient nobility of Lower Saxony, while the "white" line stems from the ancient nobility of the Altmark. Branches of both lines remain to this day. The family has produced numerous senior military and public figures. These have included ambassadors, bishops, governors, members of parliament, a field marshal, and dozens of generals.


Career.

Ralph Grey was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 15 April 1910 the only son of Francis Arthur Grey and Mary Wilks Spencer. He attended Wellington College before going up to University College, Auckland where he graduating as LLB. He then pursued postgraduate studies at Pembroke College, Cambridge and thereafter was called to the Bar. He began his legal career as a clerk before practising as a barrister. He was appointed a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand in 1932. He joined the Colonial Administrative Service in 1936, as a probationer. The following year he was an administrative service cadet at Lagos in Nigeria. In 1944 he married Esme Mae, daughter of Albert Victor Kerry Burcher, of Remuera, Auckland (widow of Pilot Officer Kenneth Kirkaldie, REFVR).  After World War II, he was promoted Assistant Financial Secretary in 1949. Two years later, he was an Administrative Officer First Class, quickly moving up to Deputy Secretary. He was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1951. He was Secretary to the Governor-General and General Council of Ministers in 1954, and Chief Secretary of the Federation the following year. Two years later he was raised up as Deputy Governor-General until just before independence in 1959. Grey was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) in 1955 and a Knight Commander (KCMG) in 1959. He was first appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1956. Grey was transferred to British Guiana as Governor and Commander-in-Chief for five years. As befitted a Governor he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG) in 1964. when he was moved to the Bahamas in the identical post for two years. Then he transferred to the Turks and Caicos Islands until 1968. That year Grey became Governor of Northern Ireland during the period of civil rights marches and increasing levels of street violence. The IRA announced a 'bombing campaign' against British rule which reached new intensity in 1971–72. In the depths of an economic recession, local government was suspended; Northern Ireland was subjected to Direct Rule from Westminster, and Lord Grey of Naunton was recalled. During the same period he was President of the Scout Council of Northern Ireland. From 1970 Grey was appointed Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries of Northern Ireland, supporting industry as an Honorary Member of the Chambers of Commerce and Honorary President of the Lisburn Chamber of Commerce. From 1970 he was also an Honorary Bencher of the Inns of Court for Northern Ireland.  Lord Grey of Naunton was the last Governor of Northern Ireland until 1973, having been appointed on 31 July 1968. When the post was abolished in 1973, he was promoted Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). At the same time he was Knight Commander of Ards, then Bailiff of Egle from 1975, until appointment as Lord Prior of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (1988–91).  The family lived in Gloucestershire among the rolling Cotswold hills at Overbrook in the village of Naunton, which provided the territorial designation of his peerage title. He was a Council member of Cheltenham Ladies College, where his daughter, Amanda, was educated. As well as regional commitments to Lloyds Bank he served on its board in Bristol during 1970s. Lord Grey served as Chairman of the Central Council of the Royal Overseas League (1976–81). He was Chancellor of the New University of Ulster from 1980, and then from 1984 to 1993, he was Chancellor of the University of Ulster. He received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland (the NUI) in 1985. Meanwhile, the University of Ulster awarded Honorary Doctorate of Literature and Doctorate of Science in the space of five years.  In retirement Grey was invited to be admitted to Gray's Inn. He was Grand President of the Royal Overseas League in 1993, Chairman of its General Council, but had been President since 1981.

Family.

Lady Grey of Naunton died on 22 March 1996; he and his wife had three children:

References.

Ralph Francis Alnwick Grey, Baron Grey of Naunton, (15 April 1910 – 17 October 1999) was the last Governor of Northern Ireland. He was created a Life Peer as "Baron Grey of Naunton, of Naunton in the County of Gloucestershire", on 17 September 1968.


Current situation.

The CERP headquarters is in Brussels (Belgium). The current president of the organization is Mr. Roberto Zangrandi, the head of ENEL European Affairs office in Brussels. Mr. Zangrandi was elected president at the CERP General Assembly that took place in London on 21 June 2008. On 19–20 June 2009 the General Assembly in Vienna discussed the current situation of the organization and, in particular, its stagnation. The confederation's re-launching was proposed.  Following the results of an extended associative marketing campaign conducted after the above mentioned General Assembly aimed at checking whether the national federations of public relations still had interest in such an umbrella organisation, the CERP Board of Directors decided to dissolve it and merge it within the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. The decision was taken at the Extraordinary General Assembly that took place on 12 November 2009 in Catania (Italy). The procedure of CERP's winding-up and its incorporation into the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management is underway and is to be finished in the first part of 2010. As a consequence of the dissolution, the European Confederation of Public Relations will be converted into a study centre and think tank. The new activities will include the positioning of the new body as a Brussels based Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management arm.

History.

The idea of such an organization belongs to a Frenchman Mr. Lucien Matrat; in 1956 he launched an initiative to create a European Committee of Public Relations. Such a committee was formed in Luxembourg the following year by a group of interested individuals, but the organization itself was officially established in Orleans (France) on 8 May 1959 by four founding members – Italy, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. At the very beginning of its existence the organization was called European Center of Public Relations.  The statutes of the organization provided for four working groups: CEDAN, CEDET and CEDAP. CEDAN, that is, the European Conference of National Public Relations Associations, aimed at active members and endeavored to coordinate activities of the national associations in order to reach agreement on professional principles, ethics, and practice. The two remaining working groups were aimed at the professional members: CEDET was meant for anyone involved in research and education whereas CEDAP was the forum for independent advisers and integrated employees.  The official language of the organization was French, but only till 1966 when English was granted this status too.  One of the most important achievements of the organization in those years was approval of Code of Athens (called also Code of Ethics) in 1965 which enjoins public relations practitioners worldwide to respect the Charter of the United Nations and the moral principles of its Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The author of the document, adopted in May 1965 in Athens and amended in Teheran in April 1968, was Mr. Lucien Matrat who launched the idea to establish CERP.  A number of national associations have joined the organization in the coming years. The first to join the founding members in 1959 were Greece and Germany. In 1965 the British Institute of Public Relations became a member of CERP, in 1974 – Danish Public Relations Association. In 1974 the organization counted 13 active members.  From the end of 70s the main CERP’s concern was reaching recognition of the profession and its coordination on the European level. But the main obstacle to the objective, so important for the PR field, was the fact that most European countries in those times were still thinking too nationally, and all the efforts did not go beyond declarations of common aspirations and intentions. However, on 16 April 1978 in Lisbon CERP’s General Assembly officially adopted “Code of Lisbon” – code of professional conduct establishing criteria, standards and obligations for PR practitioners. It consisted of three sections: Section I – Criteria and standards of professional qualification of practitioners bound by this Code; Section II – General professional obligations; Section III – Specific professional obligations (towards clients or employers, towards public opinion and the information media, towards fellow-practitioners, towards the profession). Members from 15 European countries agreed to the document as well as on disciplinary measures in case the code was not respected.  In this period CERP became also more visible on the international scene having acquired consultative status within Council of Europe (1976) and UNESCO (1983), which earned the organization some prestige.  In the meantime a new problem arose. There was more than one national association in some countries, the fact that raised a lot of questions regarding membership right at CERP. In 1979 an important decision was taken: several PR associations from a single country could become members of the organization.  In the second part of 80s, CERP’s complicated structure caused many discussions: its members were divided by two principal visions of CERP’s re-organization. The first group saw the organization as a unique body uniting and representing only the national associations, while another one opted for an organization of individual members. In 1989 CERP sub-divided into separate bodies becoming in such a way a confederation of 22 members (3 individual European professional associations and 19 national associations) that in the coming years were joined by the countries from Eastern Europe. Those 3 organizations emerged from CERP were the following: CERP CONSULTANTS, CERP PRO (Public Relations Officers) and CERP EDUCATION. CERP EDUCATION, however, gave the way to CERP STUDENTS, a fourth autonomous international organization within the Confederation which consequently in 1995 counted 23 full members from 20 different countries and 4 autonomous organizations.  During 1996–1998 further changes occur inside the Confederation: CERP EDUCATION turns CERP EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (CER), CERP PRO practically disappears and CERP CONSULTANTS becomes less active. December 2000 was crucial for the CERP EDUCATION AND RESEARCH: CERP’s sub-division decided to become independent from the Confederation. In such a way EUPRERA was born.  A few years later in June 2004, the CERP STUDENTS members decided on stepping out of the Confederation as well, and, therefore, the European Confederation of Public Relations Students became PRime, The European Association of Public Relations and Communication Students.

Recent activities.

On 16 March 2008 CERP organized a luncheon meeting with Mr. Gerard Legris, Head of Unit (Secretariat General of the European Commission for Transparency, Relations with Stakeholders and External Organizations) to discuss Code of Conduct for Public Affairs and Ethics in communication.  On 21 July 2006 CERP produced Joint response to the European Commission's White Paper on a European Communication Policy. The organization endorsed the EC intention to engage the citizens on the basis of different opinions towards the EU policies and considered crucial to implicate more widely the civil society in the debate on Europe and policy–making process. CERP offered to the European Commission further support and invited it to cooperate.

CERP – European Confederation of Public Relations is a Pan-European organization representing the national public relations and communication associations of Europe. CERP is also the European division of the worldwide organization Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management.


Life.

Walter Giers lived in Schwäbisch Gmünd since 1960. After school and an apprenticeship in steel engraving, he originally started as jazz musician in 1955. From 1959 to 1963 he studied at the Higher Professional and Technical School for Precious Metals in Schwäbisch Gmünd, and graduated in Industrial Design as Diplom Designer.  1963 he established his own business in Industrial Design "Form and Function" in Schwäbisch Gmünd. In 1992/93 he had a lectureship at the Academy for Design in Karlsruhe and was an associated artist at the Zentrum für Kunst- und Medientechnologie (Center for Art and Media), in Karlsruhe. 1968 he began with the production of artwork on the basis of electronic circuits. From 1985 on he had also been developing lighting concepts for various municipalities, since 1990 in partnership with the designer Berthold Beuthe (*1962 in Backnang).  Walter Giers also worked together with Kurt Weidemann, professor of communication, the jazz musician Wolfgang Dauner and the soundtrack composer Mick Baumeister. In 2003 Walter Giers was rewarded with the Maria-Ensle-Price from the Art Foundation Baden-Württemberg and in 2007 he was honored with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2011 he received the Cultural Award Baden-Württemberg from the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken and the Baden-Württemberg Foundation.

Work.

Walter Giers mostly worked in the field of kinetic, light and sound art. New about his artworks was his innovative idea to integrate electric circuits into art objects, which, apart from the functionality to create sounds and light, also proved to be exquisite design elements. In 1968 he developed his first interactive object, the radio sculpture "Mr. Brabbel". On this object the contemplator could manipulate and influence the object itself by provoking sounds and light effects, what turned out to be the future basic principle for many of his later works.  Furthermore, Giers used other media like laser, video and holography. He also made use of his art to point out various subjects of discussion; such as the environment (wale hunting), conflicts with media (indiscretion in journalism), psychical anomalies (insanity) or the use and abuse of religion. He mostly worked with ambiguities and concealed these problems behind visual attractive façades of acrylic glass, behind which electronic bulbs, neon tubes, lamps, wires, electronic chips, transistors, capacitors and transformers were installed and speakers had been integrated.  But there are also a number of works that are without any deeper meaning or substance, especially those playing with light and sound or varying luminous sources and colours, sometimes accompanied with different tunes and melodies.

Exhibitions and collections.

Giers’ work can be found at a number of museums and collections. For example, in the ‘Städtische Museum Gelsenkirchen’, ‘Zentrum für Kunst- und Medientechnologie (ZKM)’, ‚Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe‘, Museum im Prediger in Schwäbisch Gmünd, ‚Museum für Neue Kunst‘ in Freiburg, at the Ministry for Science, Research and Art of Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart, ‚Museum Ritter‘ in Waldenbuch, The ‚Collection Conrad Electronics‘ in Hirschau, the collection of the Allianz insurance, the collection of Daimler in Stuttgart and ‘The Marx Collection’ in Berlin. His work was already shown in more than 60 singular and group exhibitions as well as multiple installations, joint activities and conceptions.  On the occasion of his year of death in 2016 the Gmünder Society of Art has presented an exhibition headed "Concept.Coincidence" with numerous art works of Walter Giers.

Walter Adolf Giers (May 10, 1937 in Mannweiler, Germany - April 3, 2016 in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany) was a German light, sound and media artist and a pioneer of electronic art.


Original ship.

The original "Lagoda" was a merchant ship built in 1826 in the Wanton Shipyard on the North River in what is now Norwell, Massachusetts. The shipyard was owned and managed by shipbuilders Seth and Samuel Foster, and the ship was commissioned by Duxbury merchant Ezra Weston II.  Originally intended to be named ""Ladoga"" after Lake Ladoga in Russia, the letters "d" and "g" were accidentally swapped and, due to superstition that correcting the name would bring bad luck, she remained the ""Lagoda"". The ship's frame was constructed of live oak, and she had 3 masts and weighed 340 tons.  Weston employed the "Lagoda" for about seven years as a merchant vessel in trade with northern European ports. On February 25, 1833, Weston sold the ship to Boston merchant William Oliver. In 1841, she was purchased by Jonathan Bourne Jr. of New Bedford and converted to a whaling ship. The refit included the installation of a trywork, an on-board pair of trypots used to render blubber into whale oil. In 1860, the ship was converted it from full-rigged ship into a bark, which allowed it to be manned with a smaller crew and to sail closer to the wind.  The "Lagoda" was one of the few ships to escape the Whaling Disaster of 1871, an incident in which 40 ships whaling in the Arctic late in the season were surrounded by ice. 33 of the ships were trapped or crushed, but the "Lagoda" was one of the 7 ships that narrowly escaped, and it carried 195 of the 1,219 survivors to safety in Honolulu, Hawaii.  By the time Bourne sold the "Lagoda" in 1886, the ship had generated a profit of about $652,000 (). In 1889, the ship left the US to work as a coal hulk in Japan, being used to fuel steamboats in Yokohama, until she was sold again and eventually broken up in 1899.

Replica.

In 1915, Jonathan Bourne Jr.'s daughter Emily Bourne donated the Bourne Building to the New Bedford Whaling Museum in memory of her father. She also contributed funds to build a half-size model of the "Lagoda", and the museum commissioned shipwrights to build it in 1916. At in length and with a mainmast of, it is the largest whaling ship model in the world. The model is fully rigged and is outfitted with some of the supplies needed for a whaling voyage. The Bourne Building in which the model is located was renovated in 2010, and an interactive kiosk was installed to provide visitors with further information about the ship.

The Lagoda is a half-scale model of the whaling ship "Lagoda", located at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The original ship was built in 1826, converted to a whaling ship in 1841, and broken up in 1899. The model was commissioned in 1916 and is the world's largest whaling ship model.


History.

In the early 1930s the Italians with their "banda" troops encroached some distance inside Ethiopian territory into the Ogaden. Colonel Rettli had his headquarters at Mustahil, where he made contact with Sultan Olol Diinle and convinced him to support the Italian cause.  Mustahil has been subjected to a number of floods of the Shabelle. In October 1961, the river rose three meters. The Ethiopian Red Cross was among organizations providing aid in that crisis. Seven years later Mustahil suffered serious flooding again (May 1968). A third occasion was in April–May 2003, when the Shabelle once again burst its banks, forcing some 96,000 people to flee their homes. Kelafo and Mustahil were amongst the hardest hit. A UNICEF representative said that the situation was "worse than any year before."  The BBC reported 9 March 2009 that the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claimed it had captured Mustahil, having killed 80 Ethiopian soldiers, and was also fighting for control of Werder and Kelafo. The Ethiopian government denied this, claiming that the ONLF was on the run. On 12 May of that year, a clash was reported between ONLF fighters and the Ethiopian army at a checkpoint outside Mustahil. Two nomadic people at the scene were said to have been killed, while the ONLF claimed they killed 20 Ethiopian soldiers and destroyed two military vehicles.

Demographics.

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Mustahil has an estimated total population of 7,774, of whom 4,347 are men and 3,427 are women.  The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 5,207 of whom 1,597 were men and 1,359 women. The largest ethnic group in Mustahil was the Somali people (99.5%). sources state this town is inhabited by the jidle and Habar Gidir, Somali sub-clans.

Mustahīl (, ) is a town in eastern Ethiopia, close to the border with Somalia. Located in the Gode Zone in the Somali Region and straddling the Shabelle River, it has a latitude and longitude of with an altitude of 193 meters above sea level. It is the main town of the Mustahīl woreda.