Maria Natasha Rajah

Maria Natashini "Natasha" Rajah is a Canadian neuroscientist who is Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, and Director of the Douglas Brain Imaging Centre. She is particularly interested in memory, ageing and dementia. Her research uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to establish how biological variables impact the neural networks responsible for memory creation and retrieval.
Early life and education.
Rajah studied psychology at the University of Toronto – St. George Campus and obtained her bachelor's degree, specialising in psychology in 1996. During this time she worked with Randy McIntosh for her undergraduate honours thesis which used O15 positron emission tomography (PET) to study associative learning in young adults. She continued to work with McIntosh for her postgraduate research at University of Toronto and the Rotman Research Institute.  She earned her master's degree in 1998 and her doctoral degree in 2003. Her research involved the use of neuroimaging methods to understand ageing and memory. She focused on studying age-related differences in the function of the prefrontal cortex. She moved to the University of California, Berkeley for her postdoctoral research, where she continued her work on ageing and the function of the prefrontal cortex with Mark D'Esposito.
Research and career.
In 2005 Rajah was appointed to Douglas Mental Health University Institute and the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, as an Assistant Professor. She was awarded a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award in 2007.
Her research involves the use of fMRI to understand the way biological and demographic variables impact the neural networks that mediate memory formation and retrieval across the adult lifespan. This includes studying how biological sex, stress and lifestyle factors influence brain function in healthy ageing and in adults at risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. She uses complementary image analysis technique (including multivariate, univariate and connectivity analysis) to answer her research questions.
Most recently, Rajah has begun to study memory decline in healthy middle-aged adults over the age of 40. She designed an experiment that showed participants a series of faces, and subsequently asked them to identify where and when the image of a particular face appeared on a screen. During the study Rajah monitored the participant's brains using MRI. She showed that memory decline started in early midlife and was linked to age-related differences in occipital-temporal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex function.  Additional memory decline in older adults was linked to more differences in lateral prefrontal, parietal, and medial temporal function. Rajah concluded that age-related decline in memory may be related to age differences in what middle-aged and older adults consider important information, compared to young adults. She is now investigating sex differences and the effect of menopause on brain function related to memory.
In 2011, Rajah was appointed Director of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute Brain Imaging Centre. The centre contains a 3T Siemens Prisma-Fit Trio MRI scanner that can be used for human imaging, as well as 7T Bruker MRI Scanner for imaging small animals. In 2017 Rajah joined the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform, which shares brain data between Canadian researchers. Rajah was tenured at the level of Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University in 2016 and was promoted to Full Professor in 2019. She is an Associate Member at the Department of Psychology, McGill University; is a member of the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), Women in Cognitive Science Canada (WiCSC), Memory Disorder's Research Society (MDRS), and the International Society of Behavioral Neuroscience (ISBN).
Selected publications.
She is the Editor-in-Chief for Ageing, Neuropsychology and Cognition and a Senior Editor for Brain Research.


A Sensation Novel

A Sensation Novel is a comic musical play in three acts (or volumes) written by the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, with music composed by Thomas German Reed. It was first performed on 31 January 1871 at the Royal Gallery of Illustration. Only four of German Reed's songs survive. Nearly 25 years later, the music was rewritten and published by Florian Pascal (Joseph Williams, Jr). The story concerns an author suffering from writer's block who finds that the characters in his novel are dissatisfied.
The piece satirises the sensation novels popular as pulp detective fiction in the Victorian era. Later in his career, when Gilbert wrote the famous series of Savoy operas with Arthur Sullivan, he reused elements of "A Sensation Novel" in their opera "Ruddigore".
Background.
"A Sensation Novel" is the fourth in a series of six short musical entertainments written by Gilbert for Thomas German Reed and his wife Priscilla between 1869 and 1875. The German Reeds presented respectable, family-friendly musical entertainments at their Gallery of Illustration beginning in 1855, at a time when the theatre in Britain had gained a poor reputation as an unsavoury institution and was not attended by much of the middle class. Shakespeare was played, but most of the entertainments available in theatres consisted of poorly translated French operettas, risqué burlesques and incomprehensible broad farces. The Gallery of Illustration was a 500-seat theatre with a small stage that only allowed for four or five characters with accompaniment by a piano, harmonium and sometimes a harp. Pascal's new score, written nearly 25 years later, sounds like early Debussy, out of period for this 1871 work.
"A Sensation Novel" satirises the sensation novels popular as pulp detective fiction in the Victorian era. The play concerns stock melodrama characters who take on a life of their own and comment negatively on the absurd plot their author forces them into. Music is a continual and essential element of the dramatic action throughout the piece. As scholar Jane W. Stedman observes in her book "Gilbert Before Sullivan", this play anticipates Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author". Fans of Gilbert and Sullivan will notice that Sir Ruthven Glenaloon prefigures Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, Baronet of Ruddigore; Alice Grey, the virtuous heroine, is a foundling like Rose Maybud in "Ruddigore"; and that other elements of the piece anticipate the Savoy Operas, including babies switched at birth and a self-decapitation. Gilbert's casting of the large, ungainly Richard Corney Grain as the "spirit of romance" was a joke that foreshadowed his casting of the rather large Rutland Barrington as the image of perfect manly beauty in "Patience".
Like some of Gilbert's other pieces for German Reed, most of the original score of "A Sensation Novel" is lost – four songs survive – although there have been re-settings by other composers. One such re-setting by Mike Nash was produced in 1998 at The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, in 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and in 2017 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Synopsis.
Act I.
In the first "volume", an author of sensation novels, despite having entered into a supernatural contract with the Spirit of Romance, is suffering from writer's block. Frustrated, he summons the Spirit, who informs him that the five characters he is using – the mild-mannered hero, the pure heroine, the villain and villainess, and the detective – are possessions that the Spirit has merely lent to him, and that they have lives of their own outside the text. The Spirit explains that the characters are all sinners who, as punishment for the crimes of their lives, must spend eternity playing a character that is the exact opposite to their true selves. Upon learning that his characters will come to life at the end of the first and second volume of his book, and before the final chapter of the third, the author, nervously reflecting that he has just finished the first volume, leaves his home before they appear, claiming to have an important meeting he had suddenly remembered.
When the characters do appear, it is apparent that they are quite different from the way they appear in the book. The sexy young vixen of the novel, Lady Rockalda (who loves the hero of the novel), is a world-weary and overindulgent mother of five unruly boys in life. Sir Ruthven, the villainous baronet, is a very kind-hearted, timid and shy individual. Not only are their personalities quite different outside the novel, but so are their love interests. The hero and heroine are quite bored with each other's insipidity: Herbert, the good, noble, pure and bland hero of the novel (who is a beer swilling, womanising, music hall frequenting young rover outside it), hates Rockalda in the novel but is in love with Rockalda outside it, while Alice Grey, the pure, virginal heroine, who hates Ruthven in the novel, is confident, aggressive, independent and in love with Sir Ruthven outside it. In life, Alice hates Herbert and Herbert hates Alice.
While they are in the novel, the characters are all miserable. Only during the few hours they get each night, free from the constraints of the authors' will, can they find even a little happiness. Therefore, they plot to work out how to prolong their time together and how to thwart the authors' schemes. The characters ridicule the trite, foolish and stuffy scenes they are forced to perform as part of the novel. Soon they are joined by Gripper, the novel's useless detective, who apologises for arriving late. He explains, however, that it is part of his job to be forever late – if he caught villains and stopped evil plots in a timely manner, no sensation novel would advance past the first volume. The characters realise that if Gripper were ever to be on time, their novel would be forced into its "happy" conclusion, with Alice and Herbert's marriage, a prospect that horrifies them all. Soon after this realisation, their time is up and they must return to their script.
Act II.
The characters reassemble in Act II, the second volume. Herbert has been sent by the author to Central Africa for almost the whole remainder of the book, since he was "getting so confoundedly insipid no reader could stand [him]." Thus far, however, Herbert and Alice's marriage has been delayed, since Ruthven stopped the train that was to have taken her to Africa with him. The convoluted plot that they are enmeshed in seems to indicate that Alice is the rightful daughter of a Duke, whose place was deviously stolen by Rockalda, but Ruthven thinks she may actually be his long-lost granddaughter – which would be quite disappointing, as it would end any hope of their marriage. Rockalda and Alice get into an argument about who is really the Duke's daughter, but they are interrupted by Gripper's late appearance. He tells the assembled characters that he believes "himself" to be Ruthven's long-lost granddaughter. Their time is soon up, and they reluctantly return to their book.
Act III.
At the start of Act III, which takes place just before the final chapter of the third volume, Herbert and Alice both enter, both in wedding dress and both depressed about what seems to be their inevitable end. Rockalda also comes to meet them, but Ruthven is nowhere to be found. Reading the manuscript, the characters discover that Ruthven has decapitated himself. They angrily call the author and inform him that they will rebel until he brings Ruthven back, and for good measure demand that he marry them to the characters they actually love. The author at first protests that it is impossible, but eventually gives in. Gripper rushes in, late as always, and refuses to be Sir Ruthven's granddaughter. The author, bullied into submission, agrees to bring Ruthven back, marry him to Alice, allow Herbert and Rockalda to marry, and reveal Gripper to be Sherlock Holmes in disguise. All ends happily.
Musical Numbers.
Act III.
The songs for which settings composed by German Reed still survive are marked with an asterisk (*).


Hawthorne (book)

Hawthorne is a book of literary criticism by Henry James published in 1879. The book was an study of James' great predecessor Nathaniel Hawthorne. James gave extended consideration to each of Hawthorne's novels and a selection of his short stories. He also reviewed Hawthorne's life and some of his nonfiction. The book became somewhat controversial for a famous section where James enumerated the items of novelistic interest he thought were absent from American life.
Summary and themes.
This is the only book-length study James wrote about a fellow novelist, and it is not surprising he picked Hawthorne for such extended treatment. The tradition Hawthorne began in American literature – the morally intense exploration of the universality of guilt and the ambiguities of human choice – was clearly carried on by James.
Although James expressed misgivings about some of Hawthorne's more extravagant symbolism and heavy reliance on allegory, he shared his predecessor's constant interest in moral quandaries, divided loyalties, and the inevitable conflicts between imaginative protagonists and intractable reality. James also shared Hawthorne's passion for careful craftmanship and thorough, unsparing analysis of character.
James' ranking of Hawthorne's novels, from "The Scarlet Letter" down to "The Marble Faun", has generally been accepted by later critics. Although James, at least in his earlier work, was more of a consistent realist than Hawthorne, the later novelist's work always betrays the influence of his predecessor's tendency towards metaphorical expression. In James' final novels such as "The Golden Bowl", this influence becomes even more pronounced in extended metaphor and complex symbolism.
Critical evaluation.
By and large James' book has enjoyed favorable reviews from later critics. They have usually recommended the book as one of permanent interest and still well worth reading. Critics have disagreed about how closely James followed Hawthorne's example, though there's general agreement that the influence was considerable, especially as James' fiction became more symbolic and dominated by psychological introspection.
The book is free from critical jargon and easily accessible to readers with little or no knowledge of Hawthorne's works. James can be surprisingly cutting and humorous about some of Hawthorne's more questionable flights of fancy. When Arthur Dimmesdale in "The Scarlet Letter" supposedly beholds an immense letter A marked out in dim red lines in the night sky, James says that Hawthorne is "crossing the line which separates the sublime from its intimate neighbor. We are tempted to say that this is not moral tragedy, but physical comedy."


Molly J. Crockett

Molly J. Crockett is an American neuroscientist who studies human morality, altruism and decision making. She received the 2019 Janet Taylor Spence Award from the Association for Psychological Science.
Career.
Molly Crockett is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Previously she was an Associate Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, a fellow at University College London and University of Zürich, funded by the Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust, awarded in 2010. Originally from Irvine, California, after a Bachelor of Science at UCLA she completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge (King's College, Cambridge) where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.
Work.
Crockett studies behavioral neuroscience, with a particular focus on the role of neurotransmitters on decision-making, for example studying how antidepressants effect negotiations in experimental settings. She has criticized science journalists for over hyping the generality of some of her research findings.
Recently, Crockett has begun researching moral outrage.


Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Editing

The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Editing is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association since 2012.


W. E. D. Ross

William Edward Daniel "W. E. D." Ross (November 16, 1912 - November 1, 1995) was a Canadian actor, playwright and bestselling writer of more than 300 novels in a variety of genres. He was known for the speed of his writing and was by some estimates the most prolific Canadian author ever, though he did not take up fiction until middle age.
He wrote popular romances and Gothic fiction as W. E. D. Ross and Dan Ross and under a variety of mostly female pseudonyms such as Jane Rossiter, Leslie Ames, Ellen Randolph, Ann Gilmer, Rose Williams, Rose Dana, Clarissa Ross, Marilyn Ross, Jan Daniels, Charlotte McCormack, Ruth Dorset, Miriam Leslie, Dana Ross, Laura Frances Brooks, Lydia Colby, Diana Randall, Diana Ross, and Marilyn Carter. He started writing erotic novels as Olin Ross, and Western novels as Dan Roberts and Tex Steele. As Marilyn Ross he wrote popular Gothic fiction including a series of novels about the vampire Barnabas Collins based on the American TV series "Dark Shadows" (1966–71).
Biography.
William Edward Daniel Ross was born on November 16, 1912, in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, the son of Laura (Brooks) and William Edward Ross. In 1934, he moved to the United States to study. He married Charlotte McCormack, and worked for years as an actor, manager of an acting company and in broadcasting. After his wife died in 1959, he returned to Saint John. In 1960, he married for the second time, to nurse Marilyn Ann Clark. At about this same time, he began writing novels, and found rapid success.
Ross appeared as himself on the January 31, 1966 episode of the CBS game show "To Tell the Truth". He received two votes.
His second wife, Marilyn, served as first reader of his works, and "Marilyn Ross" was one of his favorite pseudonyms.
He died on November 1, 1995, in his native Saint John, at 82, survived by his wife.
Bibliography.
Many of his novels have been published under different titles or pseudonyms.
As Marilyn Ross.
Dark Shadows Series.
Dark Shadows by Marilyn Ross


Suddenly Susan

Suddenly Susan is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1996, to December 26, 2000. The series was created by Clyde Phillips and starred Brooke Shields in her first regular series. Shields played Susan Keane, a glamorous San Francisco magazine writer who begins to adjust to being single, and who learns to be independent-minded after having been taken care of all her life. The series was developed by Gary Dontzig and Steven Peterman, who also served as executive producers during the first three seasons, and was produced by Warner Bros. Television.
Synopsis.
Susan Keane (Brooke Shields) has always been taken care of by someone else. She worked as a copy editor at "The Gate", a fictional San Francisco magazine. On her wedding day, she realizes that she and her wealthy, vain fiancé, Kip, are not meant for each other and that there is more to life than just being known as the "s" in "The Kip Richmonds", she abruptly leaves him at the altar. Now, she’s suddenly just Susan. Susan's parents, played by guest stars Swoosie Kurtz and Ray Baker, were less than ecstatic about their daughter deciding to end her engagement to Kip, though her grandmother and confidant, Nana (Barbara Barrie) stands as a pillar of support for Susan.
The day after the wedding, Susan goes to her boss, Jack Richmond (Judd Nelson), the rebellious brother of Susan's former fiancé, Kip, begging for her job back. Instead, Jack assigns Susan to write a regular column about being suddenly single. Susan's coworkers include photographer Luis Rivera (Nestor Carbonell), boyish rock music reporter Todd Stities (David Strickland), restaurant critic Vicki Groener (Kathy Griffin), and, in later episodes, investigative reporter and Susan's old enemy Maddy Piper (Andréa Bendewald).
In the show's final season, "The Gate" is taken over by Ian Maxtone-Graham (Eric Idle) and overhauled into a men's magazine that's run out of an old warehouse in Chinatown. Along with this, Ian brings his own team of workers, including executive assistant and U.S. Navy veteran Miranda Charles (Sherri Shepherd), sports writer Nate Knaborski (Currie Graham), and freelance photographer Oliver Browne (Rob Estes). Susan is faced with a new set of problems and has to prove herself all over again.
Besides the task of putting together a magazine and focusing on the lead character's life, "Suddenly Susan" also focuses on the private lives of many employees in the show.
Original pilot.
In the show's original pilot, written by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore and based on a dramatic script by Clyde Phillips, Susan worked at a publishing house editing children's books. After breaking up with her live-in boyfriend Ted (Brian McNamara), Susan finds herself "single" for the first time in years. Concurrently, Susan faces even greater challenges at work when her boss, Eric (Philip Casnoff), assigns her the task of working as an editor with Charlotte (Elizabeth Ashley), a hugely successful and highly opinionated romance novelist. Always on hand to provide support is Susan's grandmother, Nana (Nancy Marchand), her co-workers, acerbic best friend Marcy (Maggie Wheeler) and Neil (David Krumholtz), who has a crush on Susan.
When the series was picked up, Brian McNamara's "Ted" character did not return, though McNamara did later play the part of Cooper Elliot, who took Susan to Italy at the end of season one. Other changes between the pilot and the series were Barbara Barrie replacing Nancy Marchand in the role of Nana, while Swoosie Kurtz and Ray Baker replaced Kurt Fuller and Caroline McWilliams as Susan's parents, Bill and Liz. In the series, though the setting switches from a publishing house to a magazine, the main office set retained most of its features from the pilot; the most noticeable difference was that the elevator was to the right. While the pilot's storyline featuring Elizabeth Ashley as one of the publishing house's clients was not used in the series, a cardboard cut out of Ashley that was featured in the pilot appears throughout the first three seasons of the show – it can be seen briefly behind Susan's desk, near the filing cabinets along the back wall.
The actual location for the exterior shots of the office was the Newhall Building at 260 California Street in San Francisco.
Death of David Strickland.
David Strickland committed suicide in a Las Vegas hotel room on March 22, 1999. Strickland's death was later incorporated into the show's third season finale, which killed off his character, Todd Stities. Todd has gone missing, and throughout the episode, Susan desperately tries to find him. As the episode progresses, Susan learns about a number of good deeds that Todd had done around his neighborhood that she never knew about. Out-of-character interviews with the supporting cast also appear throughout the episode, with each actor sharing their personal experiences they had with Strickland before his death. As the episode comes to an end, Todd's favorite song, "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim, plays outside in the street as Susan and her co-workers sit in a circle praying for Todd's well-being. At last, the phone in the middle of the room rings, but the camera cuts away before the news of Todd's fate can be revealed. The episode ends with an archive video footage of Strickland and its titles: "The Gods of comedy looked down upon you and smiled".
Fourth season and cancellation.
At the beginning of the fourth and final season, Judd Nelson and Andrea Bendewald left the show; series developers and executive producers Steven Peterman and Gary Dontzig also left the series, and the show replaced almost its entire writing staff (with the exception of new co-showrunner Maria Semple, who joined the series the previous season). "The Gate" was transformed into a men's magazine by its new owner, Ian Maxtone-Graham (Eric Idle), and relocated from its trendy uptown offices overlooking the bay to a dingy former warehouse in Chinatown. In tow, Ian brought his own team of workers, including executive assistant and U.S. Navy veteran Miranda Charles (Sherri Shepherd), sports writer Nate Knaborski (Currie Graham), and freelance photographer Oliver Browne (Rob Estes). Faced with new challenges, Susan suddenly had to prove herself all over again.
Airing between "Seinfeld" and "ER" during its first season, "Suddenly Susan" was initially a ratings success, attracting almost 25 million viewers per episode, despite mostly unfavorable critical reviews. When the show was moved to Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. (against the Top 30 hit "Cosby") in the second season, the show experienced a large ratings fall, sliding from #3 to #71 in one year, bringing in less than 11 million viewers. The ratings failed to bounce back, and in its final season, the show barely ranked in the top 100, prompting NBC to pull it from the prime-time lineup with four episodes left unaired in June 2000. This final quartet of shows were burned off from 2:00 to 4:00 am (EST) on December 26, 2000, where they aired during the "NBC All Night" block.
Reception.
On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has an approval rating of 55% based on reviews from 11 critics. The website's critical consensus was: "Comedic inspiration doesn't spark Suddenly for this Susan, hampered by derivative gags that undermine Brooke Shields' energetic performance."
Caryn James of the "New York Times" wrote: "Like its lead character, "Suddenly Susan" has no identity of its own. The beauty of the magic time slot is that it gives Suddenly Susan, with its engaging star and flexible format, a well-deserved chance to grow."
Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" gave it a grade C and called it: "A wearyingly self-conscious updating of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show": nice girl trying to make it in the competitive workplace of a big town."


William Schoell

William Schoell (pronounced "shoal") is an American author, biographer and film historian, born in Manhattan and educated in Vermont, earning a B.A. from Castleton University. He has written several horror and suspense novels, such as "Late at Night" (1986) and "Saurian" (1988). He was the author of "Hidden Horrors," a column in the now defunct horror magazine "The Scream Factory", as well as a contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals including "Writer", "Writer's Digest", "Paris Notes", "Off Duty", and "BBC Music". He was also a talk show radio host and producer. More recently, he has published books that deal with film, and biographies, some of which were written together with Hollywood biographer Lawrence J. Quirk, his domestic partner. His play "Joe and Janice" premiered at the American Theater of Actors in 2000. He writes a popular blog on movies called Great Old Movies as well as one on B movies, B Movie Nightmare. Prominent in the Gay Rights Movement in the 1970s and later, he formerly had a blog called "Ask Gay "Dr." Bill," which answered questions about gay life and the LGBT community.


Yuriy Venelin

Yuriy Ivanovich Venelin (; born Georgiy Hutsa; 22 September 1802 – 26 March 1839) was a Rusyn slavist, folklorist, ethnographer and philologist best known for his research on the language, history and culture of Bulgaria and its people.
Biography.
Venelin was born in the village of Velka Tibava in Subcarpathian Ruthenia, Kingdom of Hungary (the present day village of Tybava in Mukachevo Raion of Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine). He enrolled in Lviv University and later moved to Chişinău, where he examined the language and history of Bulgarian expatriates. Venelin studied medicine at the Imperial Moscow University, but his interest in Bulgarian culture continued.
In 1830, he was envoyed to the Ottoman-ruled Bulgarian lands by the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He visited Bulgarian cities such as Varna, Kavarna and Silistra, recording folk songs and sayings and gaining a firsthand knowledge of the Bulgarian language. In 1836, he made the acquaintance of Odessa-based Bulgarian émigré Vasil Aprilov, with whom he kept up an active correspondence.
He died in Moscow in 1839.
Works.
Venelin was the author of "The old and today's Bulgarians in their political, ethnographic, historical and religious relations to the Russians", published in three volumes from 1829 to 1841. The work has been credited for popularizing the Bulgarian culture and history in the Russian Empire and influencing the national feelings of many Bulgarian émigrés.
Venelin's book "Critical studies on the history of Bulgaria", published posthumously in an abridged version in 1849 in Moscow on historian Spiridon Palauzov's initiative. The issue was financed by Russia-based Bulgarian merchant Ivan Denkoglu. The book was published again in 1853 in a complete Bulgarian translation in Zemun in today's Serbia; the translation was done by teacher Botyu Petkov, father of poet Hristo Botev.
Other works by Yuriy Venelin include "On the character of folk songs among the trans-Danubian Slavs", "On the formation of new Bulgarian literature", "Grammar of the modern Bulgarian language" and "Ancient and Modern Slovenes".


Jean Epstein

Jean Epstein (; 25 March 1897 – 2 April 1953) was a French filmmaker, film theorist, literary critic, and novelist. Although he is remembered today primarily for his adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher", he directed three dozen films and was an influential critic of literature and film from the early 1920s through the late 1940s. He is often associated with French Impressionist Cinema and the concept of "photogénie".
Life and career.
Epstein was born in Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland (then a part of Russian Empire) to a French-Jewish father and Polish mother. After his father died in 1908, the family relocated to Switzerland, where Epstein remained until beginning medical school at the University of Lyon in France. While in Lyon, Epstein served as a secretary and translator for Auguste Lumière, considered one of the founders of cinema.
Epstein started directing his own films in 1922 with "Pasteur", followed by "L'Auberge rouge" and "Coeur fidèle" (both 1923). Film director Luis Buñuel worked as an assistant director to Epstein on "Mauprat" (1926) and "La Chute de la maison Usher" (1928). Epstein's criticism appeared in the early modernist journal "L'Esprit Nouveau".
During the making of "Coeur fidèle" Epstein chose to film a simple story of love and violence "to win the confidence of those, still so numerous, who believe that only the lowest melodrama can interest the public", and also in the hope of creating "a melodrama so stripped of all the conventions ordinarily attached to the genre, so sober, so simple, that it might approach the nobility and excellence of tragedy".
He made several documentaries about Brittany. These include "Finis Terræ" filmed in Ouessant, "Mor vran" (The sea of the crows, in Breton) filmed in Sein, "L'Or des mers" filmed in Hoëdic, "Le Tempestaire" filmed in Belle Île.
"Chanson d'Armor" is known as the first Breton-speaking film in history. His two novels also take place in Breton isles: "L'Or des mers" in Ouessant and "Les Recteurs et la sirène" in Sein. In August 2005, his films "The Three-Sided Mirror" (1927) and "Le Tempestaire" (1947) were restored and re-released on the DVD collection Avant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 1930s".
Epstein died in 1953 from a cerebral hemorrhage.


Public Outreach Canada

Public Outreach is a group of private businesses that provide paid fundraising services to charities in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
The company was founded in 2002 by James Julien, Bryan McKinnon and John Finlay. The company typically hires people in the 18 to 35 agegroup. Most of their fundraising is done by face-to-face soliciting on street-corners, door-to-door canvassing and telemarketing campaigns.
Paid charity canvassing by private companies has proved controversial in some cities where it has led to complaints about aggressive soliciting in Victoria, British Columbia. A Public Outreach manager Emily Smits, said many Canadians find those in her profession “annoying,” even “accosting.” However Public Outreach co-founder John Finlay said Public Outreach tries to alternate busy intersections, rotating “fallow zones” to “give each community a break from being solicited.” Some fundraising companies have raised controversy by paying solicitors by commission and taking a large share from monthly donations which take many months or a year to reach charities. Public Outreach says it does not take commissions and pays its employees by the hour, although they are given targets.
Public Outreach Canada has been hired to raise funds for charities such as Amnesty International and the Canadian Red Cross. Public Outreach Canada has its head offices in Vancouver with a national recruitment centre in Toronto. It fundraises in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Ottawa, Kitchener and Halifax. A branch in the United States, Public Outreach Fundraising operates in Boston, San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. Public Outreach Australia New Zealand is based in Melbourne, Australia and Auckland New Zealand, and operates in every major city across both countries, as well as regional areas.


Vsevolod Pudovkin

Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin (; 16 February 1893 – 30 June 1953) was a Russian and Soviet film director, screenwriter and actor who developed influential theories of montage. Pudovkin's masterpieces are often contrasted with those of his contemporary Sergei Eisenstein, but whereas Eisenstein utilized montage to glorify the power of the masses, Pudovkin preferred to concentrate on the courage and resilience of individuals. He was granted the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1948.
Biography.
Vsevolod Pudovkin was born in Penza into a Russian family, the third of six children. His father Illarion Epifanovich Pudovkin came from peasants of the Penza Governorate, the village of Shuksha and worked in several companies as a manager and a door-to-door salesman. Vsevolod's mother Elizaveta Alexandrovna Pudovkina (née Shilkina) was a housewife.
A student of engineering at Moscow University, Pudovkin saw active duty during World War I, being captured by the Germans. During this time he studied foreign languages and did book illustrations. After the war, he abandoned his professional activity and joined the world of cinema, first as a screenwriter, actor and art director, and then as an assistant director to Lev Kuleshov.
In 1924, he married Anna Zemtsova. Pudovkin asseverated that his wife encouraged him for pursuing a career as a filmmaker.
His first notable work was a comedy short "Chess Fever" (1925) co-directed with Nikolai Shpikovsky. José Raúl Capablanca played a small part in it, with a number of other cameos presented. In 1926 he directed what would become one of the masterpieces of silent movies: "Mother", where he developed several montage theories that would make him famous. Both movies featured Pudovkin's wife Anna Nikolaevna Zemtsova in supporting female parts (she left cinema shortly after).
His first feature was followed by "The End of St. Petersburg" (1927), and "Storm Over Asia" (also known as "The Heir of Genghis Khan"), titles which compose a trilogy at the service of the bolshevik revolutionary policy.
In 1928, with the advent of sound film, Pudovkin, Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov signed the Manifest of Sound, in which the possibilities of sound are debated, and always understood as being in a state of tension and nonsynchronization with the image. This idea would be brought to bear in his next pictures: "A Simple Case" (1932) and "The Deserter" (1933), works that do not match the quality of earlier work. In 1935 he was awarded the Order of Lenin.
After an interruption caused by health concerns, Pudovkin returned to movie making, this time with a number of historical epics: "Victory" (1938); "Minin and Pozharsky" (1939) and "Suvorov" (1941). The last two were often praised as some of the best movies based on Russian history, along with the works of Sergei Eisenstein. Pudovkin was awarded a Stalin Prize for both of them in 1941.
During World War II he was evacuated to Kazakhstan where he directed several patriotic war movies. He also played a small part in the "Ivan the Terrible" movie (as God's fool). With the end of war he returned to Moscow and continued his work at the Mosfilm studio, making biographical and war movies. In 1947 he was awarded another Stalin Prize for his work on "Admiral Nakhimov", and in 1950 — his second Order of Lenin and a third Stalin Prize for "Zhukovsky". His last work was "The Return of Vasili Bortnikov" (1953).
Apart from directing, screenwriting and acting, Pudovkin was also an educator and a journalist, author of several books on film theory, professor at VGIK, president of the cinema section at VOKS (since 1944) and a member of the Soviet Peace Committee.
Vsevolod Pudovkin died on 30 June 1953 in Jūrmala, Latvian SSR (near Riga) after a heart attack. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. One of the streets in Moscow is named after Pudovkin (see ).


Network packet

In telecommunications and computer networking, a network packet is a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-switched network. A packet consists of control information and user data; the latter is also known as the "payload". Control information provides data for delivering the payload (e.g., source and destination network addresses, error detection codes, or sequencing information). Typically, control information is found in packet headers and trailers.
In packet switching, the bandwidth of the transmission medium is shared between multiple communication sessions, in contrast to circuit switching, in which circuits are preallocated for the duration of one session and data is typically transmitted as a continuous bit stream.
Terminology.
In the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking, "packet" strictly refers to a protocol data unit at layer 3, the network layer. A data unit at layer 2, the data link layer, is a "frame". In layer 4, the transport layer, the data units are "segments" and "datagrams". Thus, in the example of TCP/IP communication over Ethernet, a TCP segment is carried in one or more IP packets, which are each carried in one or more Ethernet frames.
Architecture.
The basis of the packet concept is the postal letter: the header is like the envelope, the payload is the entire content inside the envelope, and the footer would be your signature at the bottom.
Network design can achieve two major results by using packets: "error detection" and "multiple host addressing".
Framing.
Different communications protocols use different conventions for distinguishing between the elements of a packet and for formatting the user data. For example, in Point-to-Point Protocol, the packet is formatted in 8-bit bytes, and special characters are used to delimit the different elements. Other protocols, like Ethernet, establish the start of the header and data elements by their location relative to the start of the packet. Some protocols format the information at a bit level instead of a byte level.
Contents.
A packet may contain any of the following components:
Examples.
Internet protocol.
IP packets are composed of a header and payload. The header consists of fixed and optional fields. The payload appears immediately after the header. An IP packet has no trailer. However, an IP packet is often carried as the payload inside an Ethernet frame, which has its own header and trailer.
Per the end-to-end principle, IP networks do not provide guarantees of delivery, non-duplication, or in-order delivery of packets. However, it is common practice to layer a reliable transport protocol such as Transmission Control Protocol on top of the packet service to provide such protection.
NASA Deep Space Network.
The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) packet telemetry standard defines the protocol used for the transmission of spacecraft instrument data over the deep-space channel. Under this standard, an image or other data sent from a spacecraft instrument is transmitted using one or more packets.
MPEG packetized stream.
Packetized elementary stream (PES) is a specification associated with the MPEG-2 standard that allows an elementary stream to be divided into packets. The elementary stream is packetized by encapsulating sequential data bytes from the elementary stream between PES packet headers.
A typical method of transmitting elementary stream data from a video or audio encoder is to first create PES packets from the elementary stream data and then to encapsulate these PES packets inside an MPEG transport stream (TS) packets or an MPEG program stream (PS). The TS packets can then be transmitted using broadcasting techniques, such as those used in an ATSC and DVB.
NICAM.
In order to provide mono "compatibility", the NICAM signal is transmitted on a subcarrier alongside the sound carrier. This means that the FM or AM regular mono sound carrier is left alone for reception by monaural receivers. The NICAM packet (except for the header) is scrambled with a nine-bit pseudo-random bit-generator before transmission. Making the NICAM bitstream look more like white noise is important because this reduces signal patterning on adjacent TV channels.


Uptime Devices

Uptime Devices was an environmental monitoring company in Austin, Texas from 1997 to 2019. They produced a range of tools that are utilized in Data center infrastructure management (DCIM). As of 2010, they had sold over 40,000 units in over 24 countries.
Uptime Devices was credited with creating the first SNMP-based environmental monitoring device, Sensor Hub. The company provided products that allow communication between physical environments and networks.
In 2008, Uptime Devices introduced the Daisy Chain Sensor® technology platform. The platform allows environmental sensors to be chained together over long distances by Ethernet.
Product ranges.
Uptime Devices provided monitoring solutions that detect environment, security, or power threats. Among the parameters they detected are:


Clarence Manning

Clarence Augustus Manning (April 1, 1893 – October 4, 1972) was an American slavicist. He worked for 43 years at the Columbia University in New York, eventually being appointed chairman of the Department of Slavic Studies. He published a number of studies on Slavic languages, countries and people, as well as translations of important Slavic works of literature, and was a pioneer in opening the field of study of Slavic peoples in the U.S. beyond the dominance of Russian studies of the times.
Clarence received his bachelor's degree at the Columbia University in 1912 and master's in 1913. During First World War, he worked in the intelligence police corps of the translation section of the Military Intelligence Division, having rank of sergeant. In 1915 he received his PhD, then became a lecturer in Slavic languages in 1917 and an instructor in 1921.
In 1922, he became acting head of the department of Slavic languages in absence of John Dyneley Prince, and later that year spent three months travelling through Eastern Europe, visiting Slavic countries and Greece.
In 1924 he received the rank of assistant professor, in 1935 became assistant professor of European languages, and in 1947 assistant professor of Slavic languages. In 1948, he received an honorary PhD from the Ukrainian Free University in Munich. He was also a member of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (which today forms part of University College London), Shevchenko Scientific Society and Slavonic Institute of Prague.
In 1952 he became associate professor of Slavic languages. He retired in 1958, but continued publishing until his death in 1972. He was married to Louise Marshall, and had one daughter, Alice Vail.


Moti Gitik

Mordechai "Moti" Gitik () is a mathematician, working in set theory, who is professor at the Tel-Aviv University. He was an invited speaker at the 2002 International Congresses of Mathematicians, and became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2012.
Research.
Gitik proved the consistency of "all uncountable cardinals are singular" (a strong negation of the axiom of choice) from the consistency of "there is a proper class of strongly compact cardinals". He further proved the equiconsistency of the following statements:


Death of John Adams


Loving More

Loving More is a non-profit organization formed to support and advocate on behalf of polyamorous people.
The organization began as Polyfidelitous Educational Products, officially founded in Eugene, Oregon, in the fall of 1984 by Ryam Nearing and her two male partners. They published the subscription-supported newsletter "PEPtalk", and launched a series of casual get-togethers in their hometown for nonmonogamous people, which eventually expanded to include annual retreats at Harbin Hot Springs.
After relocation to Captain Cook, Hawaii, the dissolution of the original triad, and conversion to polyamory, PEP was moved to Colorado. With encouragement from Robert Rimmer, author of "The Harrad Experiment", and others attending the fall East Coast Conference in 1994, Nearing joined with Deborah Anapol of the pro-polyfidelity IntiNet Resource Center to form "Loving More" magazine and conferences. Nearing filed a trademark application for "Loving More" in 1998, and was granted the trademark in 1999.
Anapol left the organization in 1996 to pursue other interests, including publishing one of the first books on polyamory, "Love Without Limits". Mary Wolf took over as Managing Editor in 2001; in 2004, Robyn Trask became Managing Editor. Trask incorporated Loving More as a not-for-profit corporation, with the intent to eventually become a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The organization has been running conferences and retreats since the mid-eighties in order to educate and support people in multi-partnered families and relationships.
The three most visible projects of Loving More are "Loving More" magazine, the Loving More website and two annual Loving More conferences, one on the east coast and the other on the west coast of the United States. Despite long hiatuses in publishing and outreach work, Loving More claims to be the oldest and longest-running polyamory organization, with over 3,000 members.
In recent years, Loving More has ceased magazine publication, shifting focus to a push for polyamory awareness by reaching out to therapists, doctors, lawyers and media to educate the public to possibilities beyond monogamy in loving relationships.


Linear temporal logic

In logic, linear temporal logic or linear-time temporal logic (LTL) is a modal temporal logic with modalities referring to time. In LTL, one can encode formulae about the future of paths, e.g., a condition will eventually be true, a condition will be true until another fact becomes true, etc. It is a fragment of the more complex CTL*, which additionally allows branching time and quantifiers. Subsequently, LTL is sometimes called "propositional temporal logic", abbreviated "PTL".
In terms of expressive power, linear temporal logic (LTL) is a fragment of first-order logic.
LTL was first proposed for the formal verification of computer programs by Amir Pnueli in 1977.
Syntax.
LTL is built up from a finite set of propositional variables "AP", the logical operators ¬ and ∨, and the temporal modal operators X (some literature uses O or N) and U.
Formally, the set of LTL formulas over "AP" is inductively defined as follows:
X is read as next and U is read as until.
Other than these fundamental operators, there are additional logical and temporal operators defined in terms of the fundamental operators to write LTL formulas succinctly.
The additional logical operators are ∧, →, ↔, true, and false.
Following are the additional temporal operators.
Semantics.
An LTL formula can be "satisfied" by an infinite sequence of truth evaluations of variables in "AP".
These sequences can be viewed as a word on a path of a Kripke structure (an ω-word over alphabet 2"AP").
Let "w" = a0,a1,a2... be such an ω-word. Let "w"(i) = ai. Let "w"i = ai,ai+1..., which is a suffix of "w". Formally, the satisfaction relation formula_1 between a word and an LTL formula is defined as follows:
We say an ω-word "w" satisfies an LTL formula ψ when "w" formula_1 ψ.
The ω-language "L"(ψ) defined by ψ is {"w" | "w" formula_1 ψ}, which is the set of ω-words that satisfy ψ.
A formula ψ is "satisfiable" if there exist an ω-word "w" such that "w" formula_1 ψ.
A formula ψ is "valid" if for each ω-word "w" over alphabet 2"AP", "w" formula_1 ψ.
The additional logical operators are defined as follows:
The additional temporal operators R, F, and G are defined as follows:
Weak until and strong release.
Some authors also define a "weak until" binary operator, denoted W, with semantics similar to that of the until operator but the stop condition is not required to occur (similar to release). It is sometimes useful since both U and R can be defined in terms of the weak until:
The "strong release" binary operator, denoted M, is the dual of weak until. It is defined similar to the until operator, so that the release condition has to hold at some point. Therefore, it is stronger than the release operator.
The semantics for the temporal operators are pictorially presented as follows.
Equivalences.
Let φ, ψ, and ρ be LTL formulas. The following tables list some of the useful equivalences that extend standard equivalences among the usual logical operators.
Negation normal form.
All the formulas of LTL can be transformed into "negation normal form", where
Using the above equivalences for negation propagation, it is possible to derive the normal form. This normal form allows R, true, false, and ∧ to appear in the formula, which are not fundamental operators of LTL. Note that the transformation to the negation normal form does not blow up the size of the formula. This normal form is useful in translation from LTL to Büchi automaton.
Relations with other logics.
LTL can be shown to be equivalent to the monadic first-order logic of order, FO[<]—a result known as Kamp's theorem— or equivalently star-free languages.
Computation tree logic (CTL) and linear temporal logic (LTL) are both a subset of CTL*, but are incomparable. For example,
However, a subset of CTL* exists that is a proper superset of both CTL and LTL.
Computational problems.
Model checking and satisfiability against an LTL formula are PSPACE-complete problems. LTL synthesis and the problem of verification of games against an LTL winning condition is 2EXPTIME-complete.
Extensions.
Parametric linear temporal logic extends LTL with variables on the until-modality.


Kenyans for Kenya

The "Kenyans for Kenya" initiative is a fundraiser that was started in July 2011 by corporate leaders and the Red Cross in response to media reports of famine and deaths from starvation in Turkana County.$10M was raised.


NotScripts

NotScripts was a free and open-source extension for Google Chrome, Chromium, and Opera web browsers. NotScripts blocked execution of JavaScript, Java, Flash, Silverlight, and other plugins and scripted content. NotScripts used a whitelist to allow execution of scripts from certain sites.
NotScripts has been abandoned by the developer. It was removed from the Chrome Extension store in September 2014.
Reception.
NotScripts was described by Martin Brinkmann of Ghacks as the first extension to bring some of NoScript's functionality to Chrome. In comparison, he remarked that NoScript on Firefox additionally offered cross-site scripting (XSS) protection.
ScriptBlock.
The extension was picked up by another developer and continued under the name ScriptBlock. The ScriptBlock chrome extension is blocked by chrome since February 15, 2018. Reason reported: "This extension violates the Chrome Web Store policy."


William James Prize

The William James Prize for Contributions to the Study of Consciousness is an award given by the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness.
Each year one prize is awarded for an outstanding published contribution to the empirical or philosophical study of consciousness by a graduate student or postdoctoral scholar within five years of receiving a PhD or other advanced degree.
The prize consists of:


Russian squat


Subala Upanishad

The Subala Upanishad (सुबाल उपनिषत्, IAST: Subāla Upaniṣad), also called Subalopanishad (सुबालोपनिषत्), is an Upanishad written in Sanskrit. It is attached to the "Shukla Yajurveda", and classified as one of the Samanya Upanishads of Hinduism.
The "Subala Upanishad", together with the relatively older "Mudgala Upanishad", are two Upanishads that discuss the Purusha Sukta of "Rigveda", both notable for asserting that Narayana (Vishnu) is the Brahman (Highest Reality, Supreme Being). The "Subala Upanishad" text differs from "Mudgala Upanishad" in presenting more verses of the Purusha Sukta, being longer, and for declaring Narayana to be the father, the mother, the refuge, the friend and the goal of every living being.
The text is notable as the one frequently referred to by Ramanuja, the 11th-century proponent of Vishishtadvaita (qualified monism) school of Vedanta philosophy and a major influence on Vaishnavism in the 2nd millennium CE. Some modern scholars suggest that the Narayana theology of the "Subala Upanishad" may have been the decisive impetus to Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita philosophy.
History.
The author or composition date of "Subala Upanishad" is unknown. Hans Hock states that it is a late Upanishadic text.
Manuscripts of this text are also found titled as "Subalopanisad". In the Telugu language anthology of 108 Upanishads of the Muktika canon, narrated by Rama to Hanuman, it is listed at number 30.
Contents.
The "Subala Upanishad" is structured into sixteen chapters and deals a range of topics, including cosmology, physiology, psychology, and metaphysics.
Cosmology.
The text opens as a conversation between Vedic sage Raikva (Subala) and Prajapati, the former is credited in the "Chandogya Upanishad" for "Samvargavidya". Raikva asks about the origin of universe, with the question "What was at first?" The answer that follows in the text mirrors the Nasadiya Sukta hymn 10.129 of the Rigveda. In both texts, Prajapati replies that there was neither "Sat" (Be-ness), nor "Asat" (not-Be-ness), nor "Sat-asat" (co-mingling of both Sat and Asat). This Vedic cosmogony asserts that the universe started from nothing, a state where neither spirit nor matter nor a mingling of either existed. The "Subala Upanishad" asserts that in this nothingness existed the absolute Para-brahman, from which darkness emerged. This account resonates with the verses of the Purusha Sukta hymn 10.90 of the "Rigveda".
The text states that from the darkness emerged ether (or space). In turn, air emerged from ether, fire emerged from air, water emerged from fire, and earth emerged from water. From earth emerged the egg, which split to create atmosphere and land. Between atmosphere and land emerged the divine person ("Purusha") with one thousand heads, one thousand eyes, one thousand arms, and one thousand feet, who created death. The Brahman then created seven sons filled with truth, called Prajapatis. Out of the divine Purusha's mouth emerged the Brahmins, from the arms emerged the Kshatriyas, from the thighs emerged the Vaishyas and from the feet emerged the Shudras. From his mind emerged the moon, from the eyes came the sun, from his heart came the life-force ("prana").
Chapter 2 asserts that from the apana of the divine Purusha came the Yakshas, Rakshasas, domestic animals, and Gandharvas. From his bones emerged the mountains, while the herbs and trees came from his hair. His forehead and anger became Rudra, while his exhalation became the Vedas, the Sutras, the grammar, the Nyaya logic, the prosody, the dharma, and all human knowledge and all beings. Atma (soul) emerged as divine light absorbing everything in the universe. He divided his own self (Atman of Purusha) into two, thus creating woman and man. The text asserts that along with the cycle of creation is competing cycle of destruction, wherein Vaishvanara destroys and returns everything back to darkness, where there is "neither "Sat", nor "Asat", nor "Sat-asat"."
Virtuous life as means to self-knowledge.
Chapter 3 elaborates the path to "moksha" (liberation) through realization of the ultimate reality and being, the Atman and the Brahman. Atman and Brahman, asserts the text, is unborn, uncaused, devoid of form or nature that can be sensed; is imperishable, neither short nor long, neither definable nor obscure, neither provable nor shrouded, neither manifested nor measurable, neither with interior nor with exterior.
One attains this Atman and self-knowledge through virtues, which are six in number – truthfulness, charity, austerity, non-injury to others, Brahmacharya, and renunciation. The text then repeats the "da, da, da" axiology found in section 5.2 of the "Brihadaranyaka Upanishad", referring to "dama" (self-restraint), "dāna" (charity) and "daya" (compassion).
States of consciousness.
Chapter 4 states that the soul resides in the heart of a living being ("dahara"), in a ten petaled lotus. The heart feeds the 72,000 vessels in the body (nadis). The immortal soul, the innermost center of one's existence, is ever-present as the "resplendent effulgence", whether one is in an awake state of consciousness or dreaming in one's sleep. This section of the "Subala Upanishad" resonates with the doctrine presented in the much more ancient "Chandogya Upanishad's" section 8.1.
Organs in the human body are divine.
Chapter 5 asserts, one by one, that 14 organs in the human body and "ahamkara" (personality) are divine. He who moves in these organs and binds them is the "fearless, sorrowless, infinite" Atman (soul, self).
For example, states the text, the eye is the deity Surya and the source of knowledge, and is thus linked to the soul. The tongue and mouth are Varuna, the hands are Indra, the feet are Vishnu, the mind is Moon, "ahamkara" (personality) is Rudra, and the sexual organs are Prajapati.
One must meditate on one's soul, states the text. This soul is the all-knowing ruler of all these organs and the source of happiness. The text asserts that soul is what is discussed by the Vedic texts and scriptures.
Narayana: the basis.
Chapters 6 and 7 state that Narayana (Vishnu) is the one divine alone. The directional gods, all Devas, time and the aeons, the planetary systems, the climatic phenomena, the fourteen nadis, all organs of living beings, parents, siblings, fire, and ghee (clarified butter) are identified as manifestations of Narayana. Narayana is the radiant indwelling spirit in everyone and in every creature, asserts the text.
Dissolution.
Chapter 8 through 12 state that everything except the Narayana (soul) is transitory and subject to dissolution. Everything merges back into the immortal, fearless, sorrowless, endless, seedless Brahman. Chapter 10 asserts that Atman is Brahman, and everything rests in one's own soul.
The life of the sage.
Chapter 13 asserts that the child is a state of innocence and non-attachment, and this is what one must cultivate. The child knows of no classes or stages of life and learns innocently. So also, states the text, is the state of moksha (liberation) for a sage, who knows no fear, worries, cravings, anger, or falsehood.
Gradual dissolution in the supreme.
Chapters 14 to 16 assert that with self-knowledge, a person dissolves into the supreme, the Narayana. In this state, there is "neither "Sat", nor "Asat", nor "Sat-asat"."
Impact.
The "Subala Upanishad" was frequently cited by the 11th-century scholar Ramanuja, the main proponent of Vishishtadvaita (qualified monism) school of Vedanta philosophy. His bhasya (commentary) on "Brahma Sutras", for example, references the "Subala Upanishad", as he interprets the "Sutras". Ramanuja justifies Vishnu as each individual self (Atman, soul), the inner self of everyone, everything in the world, the means to ultimate liberation, with theological arguments partly based on the "Subala Upanishad".
Bartley states that the Narayana theology of the "Subala Upanishad" was an important influence on Ramanuja, while Oberhammer and Rastelli describe "Subala Upanishad" as possibly the decisive impetus to Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita philosophy.
According to John Plott, the "Subala Upanishad" influenced the Bhakti movement in medieval India.


The London Prodigal

The London Prodigal is a play in English Renaissance theatre, a city comedy set in London, in which a prodigal son learns the error of his ways. The play was published in quarto in 1605 by the stationer Nathaniel Butter, and printed by Thomas Creede. In 1664 it was one of the seven plays that publisher Philip Chetwinde added to the second impression of his Third Folio of Shakespeare's plays.
The play was not entered into the Stationers' Register, but it is attributed to William Shakespeare on the title page of the only edition. This attribution is widely and generally rejected by scholars. The title page also identifies the play as a King's Men's play.
"The London Prodigal" has been dated as early as c. 1591, and as late as 1603–04. It is one of a long series of "prodigal son" plays that reach back as far as the Bible for inspiration and precedent; but it is also an example of the evolving Elizabethian genre of domestic dramas, and "one of the first naturalistic dramas in English".
Individual scholars have attributed the play to Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker, John Marston, and Michael Drayton; others have suggested Thomas Heywood and George Wilkins. None of these attributions, however, has been accepted by a significant proportion of the critical community.
Synopsis.
Matthew Flowerdale, the prodigal son of a merchant, Flowerdale Senior, is a libertine, gambler, swearer, brawler, drinker and thief. Flowerdale Senior's brother, Flowerdale Junior, warns him about Matthew's dissolute behaviour but Flowerdale Senior dismisses his fear, believing that "youth must have its course" and that his son will soon make amends. In order to spy on his son, Flowerdale Senior feigns death and appears disguised as a servant. He is soon appalled by the sum of his son's vices.
Matthew Flowerdale forges a will in which he pretends to be a wealthy man bequeathing all his fortune to Sir Lancelot Spurcock. When the latter discovers the will, he decides to marry his daughter Luce with Matthew. They are quickly married but Matthew is arrested for debt on his wedding day. He becomes poorer and poorer and robs one of Luce's sisters. Although she is abominably treated by her husband (he even asks her to become a whore), Luce remains loyal to him and finally moves her dissolute husband to repentance and reform. Flowerdale Senior reveals his true identity and congratulates his son for his new resolutions.


Canadian Screen Award for Best Editing

The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Editing is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian film editor in a feature film. The award was presented for the first time in 1966 as part of the Canadian Film Awards, and was transitioned to the new Genie Awards in 1980. Since 2012 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.
Beginning with the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards, a separate category was introduced for Best Editing in a Documentary.


Substance abuse

Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, medical and criminal justice contexts. In some cases, criminal or anti-social behaviour occurs when the person is under the influence of a drug, and long-term personality changes in individuals may also occur. In addition to possible physical, social, and psychological harm, the use of some drugs may also lead to criminal penalties, although these vary widely depending on the local jurisdiction.
Drugs most often associated with this term include: alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, methaqualone, and opioids. The exact cause of substance abuse is not clear, but there are two predominant theories: either a genetic disposition which is learned from others, or a habit which, if addiction develops, manifests itself as a chronic debilitating disease.
In 2010 about 5% of people (230 million) used an illicit substance. Of these 27 million have high-risk drug use otherwise known as recurrent drug use causing harm to their health, psychological problems, or social problems that put them at risk of those dangers. In 2015 substance use disorders resulted in 307,400 deaths, up from 165,000 deaths in 1990. Of these, the highest numbers are from alcohol use disorders at 137,500, opioid use disorders at 122,100 deaths, amphetamine use disorders at 12,200 deaths, and cocaine use disorders at 11,100.
Classification.
Public health definitions.
Public health practitioners have attempted to look at substance use from a broader perspective than the individual, emphasizing the role of society, culture, and availability. Some health professionals choose to avoid the terms alcohol or drug "abuse" in favor of language considered more objective, such as "substance and alcohol type problems" or "harmful/problematic use" of drugs. The Health Officers Council of British Columbia — in their 2005 policy discussion paper, "A Public Health Approach to Drug Control in Canada" — has adopted a public health model of psychoactive substance use that challenges the simplistic black-and-white construction of the binary (or complementary) antonyms "use" vs. "abuse". This model explicitly recognizes a spectrum of use, ranging from beneficial use to chronic dependence.
Medical definitions.
'Drug abuse' is no longer a current medical diagnosis in either of the most used diagnostic tools in the world, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD).
Value judgment.
Philip Jenkins suggests that there are two issues with the term "drug abuse". First, what constitutes a "drug" is debatable. For instance, GHB, a naturally occurring substance in the central nervous system is considered a drug, and is illegal in many countries, while nicotine is not officially considered a drug in most countries.
Second, the word "abuse" implies a recognized standard of use for any substance. Drinking an occasional glass of wine is considered acceptable in most Western countries, while drinking several bottles is seen as an abuse. Strict temperance advocates, who may or may not be religiously motivated, would see drinking even one glass as an abuse. Some groups even condemn caffeine use in any quantity. Similarly, adopting the view that any (recreational) use of cannabis or substituted amphetamines constitutes drug abuse implies a decision made that the substance is harmful, even in minute quantities. In the U.S., drugs have been legally classified into five categories, schedule I, II, III, IV, or V in the Controlled Substances Act. The drugs are classified on their deemed potential for abuse. Usage of some drugs is strongly correlated. For example, the consumption of seven illicit drugs (amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, legal highs, LSD, and magic mushrooms) is correlated and the Pearson correlation coefficient "r">0.4 in every pair of them; consumption of cannabis is strongly correlated ("r">0.5) with usage of nicotine (tobacco), heroin is correlated with cocaine ("r">0.4) and methadone ("r">0.45), and is strongly correlated with crack ("r">0.5)
Drug misuse.
Drug misuse is a term used commonly when prescription medication with sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, or stimulant properties are used for mood alteration or intoxication ignoring the fact that overdose of such medicines can sometimes have serious adverse effects. It sometimes involves drug diversion from the individual for whom it was prescribed.
Prescription misuse has been defined differently and rather inconsistently based on status of drug prescription, the uses without a prescription, intentional use to achieve intoxicating effects, route of administration, co-ingestion with alcohol, and the presence or absence of dependence symptoms. Chronic use of certain substances leads to a change in the central nervous system known as a 'tolerance' to the medicine such that more of the substance is needed in order to produce desired effects. With some substances, stopping or reducing use can cause withdrawal symptoms to occur, but this is highly dependent on the specific substance in question.
The rate of prescription drug use is fast overtaking illegal drug use in the United States. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 7 million people were taking prescription drugs for nonmedical use in 2010. Among 12th graders, nonmedical prescription drug use is now second only to cannabis. In 2011, "Nearly 1 in 12 high school seniors reported nonmedical use of Vicodin; 1 in 20 reported such use of OxyContin." Both of these drugs contain opioids. A 2017 survey of 12th graders in the United States, found misuse of OxyContin of 2.7 percent, compared to 5.5 percent at its peak in 2005. Misuse of the combination hydrocodone/paracetamol was at its lowest since a peak of 10.5 percent in 2003. This decrease may be related to public health initiatives and decreased availability.
Avenues of obtaining prescription drugs for misuse are varied: sharing between family and friends, illegally buying medications at school or work, and often "doctor shopping" to find multiple physicians to prescribe the same medication, without knowledge of other prescribers.
Increasingly, law enforcement is holding physicians responsible for prescribing controlled substances without fully establishing patient controls, such as a patient "drug contract". Concerned physicians are educating themselves on how to identify medication-seeking behavior in their patients, and are becoming familiar with "red flags" that would alert them to potential prescription drug abuse.
Signs and symptoms.
Depending on the actual compound, drug abuse including alcohol may lead to health problems, social problems, morbidity, injuries, unprotected sex, violence, deaths, motor vehicle accidents, homicides, suicides, physical dependence or psychological addiction.
There is a high rate of suicide in alcoholics and other drug abusers. The reasons believed to cause the increased risk of suicide include the long-term abuse of alcohol and other drugs causing physiological distortion of brain chemistry as well as the social isolation. Another factor is the acute intoxicating effects of the drugs may make suicide more likely to occur. Suicide is also very common in adolescent alcohol abusers, with 1 in 4 suicides in adolescents being related to alcohol abuse. In the US, approximately 30% of suicides are related to alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is also associated with increased risks of committing criminal offences including child abuse, domestic violence, rapes, burglaries and assaults.
Drug abuse, including alcohol and prescription drugs, can induce symptomatology which resembles mental illness. This can occur both in the intoxicated state and also during withdrawal. In some cases, substance-induced psychiatric disorders can persist long after detoxification, such as prolonged psychosis or depression after amphetamine or cocaine abuse. A protracted withdrawal syndrome can also occur with symptoms persisting for months after cessation of use. Benzodiazepines are the most notable drug for inducing prolonged withdrawal effects with symptoms sometimes persisting for years after cessation of use. Both alcohol, barbiturate as well as benzodiazepine withdrawal can potentially be fatal. Abuse of hallucinogens can trigger delusional and other psychotic phenomena long after cessation of use.
Cannabis may trigger panic attacks during intoxication and with continued use, it may cause a state similar to dysthymia. Researchers have found that daily cannabis use and the use of high-potency cannabis are independently associated with a higher chance of developing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.
Severe anxiety and depression are commonly induced by sustained alcohol abuse. Even sustained moderate alcohol use may increase anxiety and depression levels in some individuals. In most cases, these drug-induced psychiatric disorders fade away with prolonged abstinence. Similarly, although substance abuse induces many changes to the brain, there is evidence that many of these alterations are reversed following periods of prolonged abstinence.
Impulsivity.
Impulsivity is characterized by actions based on sudden desires, whims, or inclinations rather than careful thought. Individuals with substance abuse have higher levels of impulsivity, and individuals who use multiple drugs tend to be more impulsive. A number of studies using the Iowa gambling task as a measure for impulsive behavior found that drug using populations made more risky choices compared to healthy controls. There is a hypothesis that the loss of impulse control may be due to impaired inhibitory control resulting from drug induced changes that take place in the frontal cortex. The neurodevelopmental and hormonal changes that happen during adolescence may modulate impulse control that could possibly lead to the experimentation with drugs and may lead to the road of addiction. Impulsivity is thought to be a facet trait in the neuroticism personality domain (overindulgence/negative urgency) which is prospectively associated with the development of substance abuse.
Screening and assessment.
There are several different screening tools that have been validated for use with adolescents such as the CRAFFT Screening Test and in adults the CAGE questionnaire.
Some recommendations for screening tools for substance misuse in pregnancy include that they take less than 10 minutes, should be used routinely, include an educational component. Tools suitable for pregnant women include i.a. 4Ps, T-ACE, TWEAK, TQDH (Ten-Question Drinking History), and AUDIT.
Given that addiction manifests in structural changes to the brain, it is possible that non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging could help diagnose addiction in the future.
Treatment.
Psychological.
From the applied behavior analysis literature, behavioral psychology, and from randomized clinical trials, several evidenced based interventions have emerged: behavioral marital therapy, motivational Interviewing, community reinforcement approach, exposure therapy, contingency management They help suppress cravings and mental anxiety, improve focus on treatment and new learning behavioral skills, ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce the chances of relapse.
In children and adolescents, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family therapy currently has the most research evidence for the treatment of substance abuse problems. Well-established studies also include ecological family-based treatment and group CBT. These treatments can be administered in a variety of different formats, each of which has varying levels of research support Research has shown that what makes group CBT most effective is that it promotes the development of social skills, developmentally appropriate emotional regulatory skills and other interpersonal skills. A few integrated treatment models, which combines parts from various types of treatment, have also been seen as both well-established or probably effective. A study on maternal alcohol and other drug use has shown that integrated treatment programs have produced significant results, resulting in higher negative results on toxicology screens. Additionally, brief school-based interventions have been found to be effective in reducing adolescent alcohol and cannabis use and abuse. Motivational interviewing can also be effective in treating substance use disorder in adolescents.
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are widely known self-help organizations in which members support each other abstain from substances. Social skills are significantly impaired in people suffering from alcoholism due to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol on the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. It has been suggested that social skills training adjunctive to inpatient treatment of alcohol dependence is probably efficacious, including managing the social environment.
Medication.
A number of medications have been approved for the treatment of substance abuse. These include replacement therapies such as buprenorphine and methadone as well as antagonist medications like disulfiram and naltrexone in either short acting, or the newer long acting form. Several other medications, often ones originally used in other contexts, have also been shown to be effective including bupropion and modafinil. Methadone and buprenorphine are sometimes used to treat opiate addiction. These drugs are used as substitutes for other opioids and still cause withdrawal symptoms but they facilitate the tapering off process in a controlled fashion.
Antipsychotic medications have not been found to be useful. Acamprostate is a glutamatergic NMDA antagonist, which helps with alcohol withdrawal symptoms because alcohol withdrawal is associated with a hyperglutamatergic system.
Heroin-assisted treatment.
Three countries in Europe have active HAT programs, namely England, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Despite critical voices by conservative think-tanks with regard to these liberal approaches, significant progress in the reduction of drug-related deaths has been achieved in those countries. For example the US, devoid of such measures, have seen large increases in drug-related deaths since 2000 (mostly related to heroin use), while Switzerland has seen large decreases. In 2018, approximately 60,000 people have died of drug overdoses in America, while in the same time period, Switzerland's drug deaths were at 260. Relative to the population of these countries, the US has 10-times more drug-related deaths compared to the Swiss Confederation, which in effect illustrates the efficacy of HAT to reduce fatal outcomes in opiate/opioid addiction.
Dual diagnosis.
It is common for individuals with drugs use disorder to have other psychological problems. The terms “dual diagnosis” or “co-occurring disorders,” refer to having a mental health and substance use disorder at the same time. According to the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP), “symptoms of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and psychosis are the rule rather than the exception in patients misusing drugs and/or alcohol.”
Individuals who have a comorbid psychological disorder often have a poor prognosis if either disorder is untreated. Historically most individuals with dual diagnosis either received treatment only for one of their disorders or they didn't receive any treatment all. However, since the 1980s, there has been a push towards integrating mental health and addiction treatment. In this method, neither condition is considered primary and both are treated simultaneously by the same provider.
Epidemiology.
The initiation of drug use including alcohol is most likely to occur during adolescence, and some experimentation with substances by older adolescents is common. For example, results from 2010 Monitoring the Future survey, a nationwide study on rates of substance use in the United States, show that 48.2% of 12th graders report having used an illicit drug at some point in their lives. In the 30 days prior to the survey, 41.2% of 12th graders had consumed alcohol and 19.2% of 12th graders had smoked tobacco cigarettes. In 2009 in the United States about 21% of high school students have taken prescription drugs without a prescription. And earlier in 2002, the World Health Organization estimated that around 140 million people were alcohol dependent and another 400 million with alcohol-related problems.
Studies have shown that the large majority of adolescents will phase out of drug use before it becomes problematic. Thus, although rates of overall use are high, the percentage of adolescents who meet criteria for substance abuse is significantly lower (close to 5%). According to BBC, "Worldwide, the UN estimates there are more than 50 million regular users of morphine diacetate (heroin), cocaine and synthetic drugs."
More than 70,200 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017. Among these, the sharpest increase occurred among deaths related to fentanyl and (28,466 deaths). See charts below.
History.
APA, AMA, and NCDA.
In 1932, the American Psychiatric Association created a definition that used legality, social acceptability, and cultural familiarity as qualifying factors:
In 1966, the American Medical Association's Committee on Alcoholism and Addiction defined abuse of stimulants (amphetamines, primarily) in terms of 'medical supervision':
In 1973, the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse stated:
...drug abuse may refer to any type of drug or chemical without regard to its pharmacologic actions. It is an eclectic concept having only one uniform connotation: societal disapproval. ... The Commission believes that the term drug abuse must be deleted from official pronouncements and public policy dialogue. The term has no functional utility and has become no more than an arbitrary codeword for that drug use which is presently considered wrong.
DSM.
The first edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (published in 1952) grouped alcohol and other drug abuse under Sociopathic Personality Disturbances, which were thought to be symptoms of deeper psychological disorders or moral weakness. The third edition, published in 1980, was the first to recognize substance abuse (including drug abuse) and substance dependence as conditions separate from substance abuse alone, bringing in social and cultural factors. The definition of dependence emphasised tolerance to drugs, and withdrawal from them as key components to diagnosis, whereas abuse was defined as "problematic use with social or occupational impairment" but without withdrawal or tolerance.
In 1987, the DSM-IIIR category "psychoactive substance abuse," which includes former concepts of drug abuse is defined as "a maladaptive pattern of use indicated by...continued use despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, occupational, psychological or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by the use (or by) recurrent use in situations in which it is physically hazardous." It is a residual category, with dependence taking precedence when applicable. It was the first definition to give equal weight to behavioural and physiological factors in diagnosis. By 1988, the DSM-IV defines substance dependence as "a syndrome involving compulsive use, with or without tolerance and withdrawal"; whereas substance abuse is "problematic use without compulsive use, significant tolerance, or withdrawal." Substance abuse can be harmful to your health and may even be deadly in certain scenarios. By 1994, The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) issued by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM-IV-TR, defines substance dependence as "when an individual persists in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use of the substance, substance dependence may be diagnosed." along with criteria for the diagnosis.
DSM-IV-TR defines substance abuse as:
The fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5), was released in 2013, and it revisited this terminology. The principal change was a transition from the abuse/dependence terminology. In the DSM-IV era, abuse was seen as an early form or less hazardous form of the disease characterized with the dependence criteria. However, the APA's 'dependence' term, as noted above, does not mean that physiologic dependence is present but rather means that a disease state is present, one that most would likely refer to as an addicted state. Many involved recognize that the terminology has often led to confusion, both within the medical community and with the general public. The American Psychiatric Association requested input as to how the terminology of this illness should be altered as it moves forward with DSM-5 discussion. In the DSM-5, substance abuse and substance dependence have been merged into the category of substance use disorders and they now longer exist as individual concepts. While substance abuse and dependence were either present or not, substance use disorder has three levels of severity: mild, moderate and severe.
Society and culture.
Legal approaches.
Most governments have designed legislation to criminalize certain types of drug use. These drugs are often called "illegal drugs" but generally what is illegal is their unlicensed production, distribution, and possession. These drugs are also called "controlled substances". Even for simple possession, legal punishment can be quite severe (including the death penalty in some countries). Laws vary across countries, and even within them, and have fluctuated widely throughout history.
Attempts by government-sponsored drug control policy to interdict drug supply and eliminate drug abuse have been largely unsuccessful.
In spite of the huge efforts by the U.S., drug supply and purity has reached an all-time high, with the vast majority of resources spent on interdiction and law enforcement instead of public health. In the United States, the number of nonviolent drug offenders in prison exceeds by 100,000 the total incarcerated population in the EU, despite the fact that the EU has 100 million more citizens.
Despite drug legislation (or perhaps because of it), large, organized criminal drug cartels operate worldwide. Advocates of decriminalization argue that drug prohibition makes drug dealing a lucrative business, leading to much of the associated criminal activity.
Cost.
Policymakers try to understand the relative costs of drug-related interventions. An appropriate drug policy relies on the assessment of drug-related public expenditure based on a classification system where costs are properly identified.
Labelled drug-related expenditures are defined as the direct planned spending that reflects the voluntary engagement of the state in the field of illicit drugs. Direct public expenditures explicitly labeled as drug-related can be easily traced back by exhaustively reviewing official accountancy documents such as national budgets and year-end reports. Unlabelled expenditure refers to unplanned spending and is estimated through modeling techniques, based on a top-down budgetary procedure. Starting from overall aggregated expenditures, this procedure estimates the proportion causally attributable to substance abuse (Unlabelled Drug-related Expenditure = Overall Expenditure × Attributable Proportion). For example, to estimate the prison drug-related expenditures in a given country, two elements would be necessary: the overall prison expenditures in the country for a given period, and the attributable proportion of inmates due to drug-related issues. The product of the two will give a rough estimate that can be compared across different countries.
Europe.
As part of the reporting exercise corresponding to 2005, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction's network of national focal points set up in the 27 European Union (EU) Member States, Norway, and the candidates countries to the EU, were requested to identify labeled drug-related public expenditure, at the country level.
This was reported by 10 countries categorized according to the functions of government, amounting to a total of EUR 2.17 billion. Overall, the highest proportion of this total came within the government functions of Health (66%) (e.g. medical services), and Public Order and Safety (POS) (20%) (e.g. police services, law courts, prisons). By country, the average share of GDP was 0.023% for Health, and 0.013% for POS. However, these shares varied considerably across countries, ranging from 0.00033% in Slovakia, up to 0.053% of GDP in Ireland in the case of Health, and from 0.003% in Portugal, to 0.02% in the UK, in the case of POS; almost a 161-fold difference between the highest and the lowest countries for Health, and a 6-fold difference for POS. Why do Ireland and the UK spend so much in Health and POS, or Slovakia and Portugal so little, in GDP terms?
To respond to this question and to make a comprehensive assessment of drug-related public expenditure across countries, this study compared Health and POS spending and GDP in the 10 reporting countries. Results found suggest GDP to be a major determinant of the Health and POS drug-related public expenditures of a country. Labelled drug-related public expenditure showed a positive association with the GDP across the countries considered: r = 0.81 in the case of Health, and r = 0.91 for POS. The percentage change in Health and POS expenditures due to a one percent increase in GDP (the income elasticity of demand) was estimated to be 1.78% and 1.23% respectively.
Being highly income elastic, Health and POS expenditures can be considered luxury goods; as a nation becomes wealthier it openly spends proportionately more on drug-related health and public order and safety interventions.
United Kingdom.
The UK Home Office estimated that the social and economic cost of drug abuse to the UK economy in terms of crime, absenteeism and sickness is in excess of £20 billion a year.
However, the UK Home Office does not estimate what portion of those crimes are unintended consequences of drug prohibition (crimes to sustain expensive drug consumption, risky production and dangerous distribution), nor what is the cost of enforcement. Those aspects are necessary for a full analysis of the economics of prohibition.
United States.
These figures represent overall economic costs, which can be divided in three major components: health costs, productivity losses and non-health direct expenditures.
According to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medicaid was billed for a significantly higher number of hospitals stays for Opioid drug overuse than Medicare or private insurance in 1993. By 2012, the differences were diminished. Over the same time, Medicare had the most rapid growth in number of hospital stays.
Special populations.
Immigrants and refugees.
Immigrant and refugees have often been under great stress, physical trauma and depression and anxiety due to separation from loved ones often characterize the pre-migration and transit phases, followed by "cultural dissonance," language barriers, racism, discrimination, economic adversity, overcrowding, social isolation, and loss of status and difficulty obtaining work and fears of deportation are common. Refugees frequently experience concerns about the health and safety of loved ones left behind and uncertainty regarding the possibility of returning to their country of origin. For some, substance abuse functions as a coping mechanism to attempt to deal with these stressors.
Immigrants and refugees may bring the substance use and abuse patterns and behaviors of their country of origin, or adopt the attitudes, behaviors, and norms regarding substance use and abuse that exist within the dominant culture into which they are entering.
Street children.
Street children in many developing countries are a high risk group for substance misuse, in particular solvent abuse. Drawing on research in Kenya, Cottrell-Boyce argues that "drug use amongst street children is primarily functional – dulling the senses against the hardships of life on the street – but can also provide a link to the support structure of the ‘street family’ peer group as a potent symbol of shared experience."
Musicians.
In order to maintain high-quality performance, some musicians take chemical substances. Some musicians take drugs such as alcohol to deal with the stress of performing. As a group they have a higher rate of substance abuse. The most common chemical substance which is abused by pop musicians is cocaine, because of its neurological effects. Stimulants like cocaine increase alertness and cause feelings of euphoria, and can therefore make the performer feel as though they in some ways ‘own the stage’. One way in which substance abuse is harmful for a performer (musicians especially) is if the substance being abused is aspirated. The lungs are an important organ used by singers, and addiction to cigarettes may seriously harm the quality of their performance. Smoking harms the alveoli, which are responsible for absorbing oxygen.
Veterans.
Substance abuse can be a factor that affects the physical and mental health of veterans. Substance abuse may also harm personal and familial relationships, leading to financial difficulty. There is evidence to suggest that substance abuse disproportionately affects the homeless veteran population. A 2015 Florida study, which compared causes of homelessness between veterans and non-veteran populations in a self-reporting questionnaire, found that 17.8% of the homeless veteran participants attributed their homelessness to alcohol and other drug-related problems compared to just 3.7% of the non-veteran homeless group.
A 2003 study found that homelessness was correlated with access to support from family/friends and services. However, this correlation was not true when comparing homeless participants who had a current substance-use disorders. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides a summary of treatment options for veterans with substance-use disorder. For treatments that do not involve medication, they offer therapeutic options that focus on finding outside support groups and “looking at how substance use problems may relate to other problems such as PTSD and depression”.
Sex and gender.
There are many sex differences in substance abuse. Men and Women express differences in the short and long-term effects of substance abuse. These differences can be credited to sexual dimorphisms in brain, endocrine and metabolic systems. Social and environmental factors that tend to disproportionately effect women; such as child and elder care and the risk of exposure to violence are also factors in the gender differences in substance abuse. Women report having greater impairment in areas such as employment, family and social functioning when abusing substances but have a similar response to treatment. Co-occurring psychiatric disorders are more common among women than men who abuse substances; women more frequently use substances to reduce the negative effects of these co-occurring disorders. Substance abuse puts both men and women at higher risk for perpetration and victimization of sexual violence. Men tend to take drugs for the first time to be part of a group and fit in more so than women. At first interaction, women may experience more pleasure from drugs than men do. Women tend to progress more rapidly from first experience to addiction than men. Physicians, psychiatrists and social workers have believed for decades that women escalate alcohol use more rapidly once they start. Once the addictive behavior is established for women they stabilize at higher doses of drugs than males do. When withdrawing from smoking women experience greater stress response. Males experience greater symptoms when withdrawing from alcohol. There are even gender differences when it comes to rehabilitation and relapse rates. For alcohol, relapse rates were very similar for men and women. For women, marriage and marital stress were risk factors for alcohol relapse. For men, being married lowered the risk of relapse. This difference may be a result of gendered differences in excessive drinking. Alcoholic women are much more likely to be married to partners that drink excessively than are alcoholic men. As a result of this, men may be protected from relapse by marriage while women are out at higher risk when married. However, women are less likely than men to experience relapse to substance use. When men experience a relapse to substance use, they more than likely had a positive experience prior to the relapse. On the other hand, when women relapse to substance use, they were more than likely affected by negative circumstances or interpersonal problems.